I do not own TVD or TO.
2011
The sun dipped below the horizon, taking with it the final streaks of violet and orange and staining the air with the indigo that came only at twilight, and for one long moment the world was at peace.
Elena loved twilight. She adored the quiet moments when everything went quiet and everyone stilled caught up in the evening haze.
It never lasted.
Twilight always gave way, relenting to the darkness of night and the witching hour, but those quiet moments were appreciated more when the supernatural world emerged in full force. In those mystical moments she had held her infant son as he would succumb to sleep, New Orleans and its chaos and tensions were put on mute, and in her more recent years twilight was the only time of day she dared to look at the picture.
She hooked the chain with her thumbs and pulled the necklace over her head, resting the oval locket in her palm.
"You two are oddly quiet," she slipped her thumb nail between the seam, popping the latch.
Caroline started, jerking and catching her breath. The car lurched to the right but was quickly righted with Bonnie's startled shriek. The blonde's shoulders tensed as she apologized profusely while glancing in the rear view mirror at the young witch.
"Sorry," Elena's eyes darted to Bonnie as she grimaced. "That was my fault," she turned to Caroline, "I startled you. What were you thinking about so intensely?"
"Seriously?" Caroline muttered, taking her eyes off the road to cast Elena a quick glare.
The unexpected display of anger had her brow lowering and a tight feeling beginning in her chest.
"In the last twelve hours you've gone from meek, human Elena, to a hundred year old badass Original," Caroline continued to glare, this time at the road. "You've compelled a vampire, terrorized a few dozen more, upstaged New Orleans big kahuna, revealed a son, and now you're walking into an altercation with Klaus. He's going to be livid."
"It's not like he can kill me," she shrugged. "He can't hurt me Care, and if he hurts anyone else I love there will be hell to pay."
"You're an Original," Bonnie leaned forward, tilting her head, "he could put a dagger in you."
"He can try," her lips curled up in a dark smirk.
"You're running headfirst into danger over a guy," Caroline shook her head in utter disbelief. "What happened to you and Stefan? He's your epic love."
"Stefan was a love," she sighed, "but ultimately we weren't right for each other, and anyway," she gave her friend a pointed look, "we broke up in June."
"So you're jumping into love with a new guy – Klaus' brother of all people. You know rebounds never end well."
"I'm not jumping into anything Care," Elena rolled her eyes; "I haven't been with Stefan in over a century." She leaned back and sighed. "And I never said I was in love with Kol."
"Are you saying you're not?" Bonnie crossed her arms. "You've admitted to looking for him. You said you kept his picture hidden to protect it from sunlight," she lowered her eyes, nodding to the locket; "you were wearing it around your neck."
"You might not be in love with him," Caroline pulled into a service station for gas, "but you've definitely got feelings."
Elena's mouth popped open but no sound came out.
Caroline smirked.
"He's an Original," Bonnie whispered. Her tone held a note of warning.
Elena twisted to meet Bonnie's eyes.
"So am I," she cocked an eyebrow.
"You're not like them," Bonnie shook her head, "not like him."
"You don't even know him, Bon," her eyes narrowed. The temperature in the car rose.
Caroline glanced sideways between her silent friends and hurried to cut in before Bonnie could add to the growing tension with the single question she knew was on the tip of her tongue: 'do I even know you?'
"I'm pretty sure you promised us a picture," Caroline held out her hand.
Elena blinked a few times and shifted back, clearing her throat. She opened the locket with gentle fingers and passed it to Caroline.
Bonnie scrutinized her friend's hands, ears and throat as she observed the suddenly apparent lack of jewelry; Elena wore only the pyrite ring.
"You're not wearing a daylight amulet," Bonnie's brows shot up. She berated herself for not noticing sooner.
"She's an Original," Caroline tilted the small photograph towards the window, remembering at the last moment to keep it from the light, "She won't burn."
"But the Originals still wear daylight rings," Bonnie sighed, "every one of them except for Klaus has one, so where is yours?"
"I don't have one," Elena shrugged. "I never needed one, which will be good for remaining anonymous for a few days in Mystic Falls."
"Why don't you need one?" Caroline frowned.
"Let's just say I have more in common with Klaus than his siblings," Elena smirked.
"Are you saying you're a hybrid?" Caroline tilted her head.
"You're not a werewolf," Bonnie unfastened her seatbelt.
"No," Elena glanced into the backseat, "I am one of a kind, and more than happy to stay that way." She reached into her purse for a thick leather bound book. "For the time being I'd like most people to see me as human…" she flipped through the pages, stopping when she found a drawing of a charm bracelet. She glanced up to their narrowed eyes. "I don't mean either of you, and I'm gonna tell Jeremy and Ric, but Klaus and anyone who might mention it to Klaus can't know yet."
"Other vampires," Caroline licked her lip. "How are you gonna hide it? You're scent…"
"I've got that figured out," Elena smiled. She lifted her hand from the blank page so they could see the dangling bracelet before she fastened it around her wrist. "Smell me."
Caroline frowned, but leaned forward to comply. She sniffed at her friend, delicately and felt her eyes grow round.
"That's amazing, but… wasn't that a drawing a second ago?"
"I said I had more in common with Klaus, but we're not exactly alike," Elena grinned. She closed her book. "Every page holds something different, and I'll admit it's a little chaotic in terms of organization, but they take up less room this way." She waved the book before putting it away and fixing Caroline with an amused look. "Am I gonna get my locket back?"
"After I get a good look," Caroline turned her gaze to the small picture. A deep sigh escaped her lips when she saw the old photograph. "Why is it when a hot guy holds a baby he looks ten times hotter?"
"He's holding a baby?" Bonnie shifted until she was wedged between the front seats.
"It's one of the laws of the universe," Elena shrugged. The picture swam in her mind's eye with sharper colours than the sepia image; the tiny hands he held were pink, the tiny shoes that helped Thierry stand steady were navy blue, and Kol's laughing eyes were the deepest of browns.
"He didn't know I was taking the picture until it was done, then he took the negative," she smiled a wistful smile. "He said he had a reputation to uphold and that nobody could ever see it."
"You're showing us though," Caroline passed the antique necklace back.
Elena stared at the photo with reddening eyes. "He gave me the locket for Christmas," she blinked, fastening the chain around her neck, "he had put the picture inside."
She took a shuddering breath and exhaled, reaching for the door handle.
"I think I'll stretch my legs before we leave."
1914
Dark circles ringed the space beneath her eyes; they shadowed the lively brown, betraying her sleepless night. She gazed at the culprit as he began to stir; his features held an angelic innocence, but she had seen beneath the surface.
She couldn't exactly blame him though. It was hardly his fault he had turned into the creature from the black lagoon at bed time; like most children the adventure should have ended, but for him it never would. He was perhaps a year old, off his routine and missing his mother and father.
Every hour or so he would wake up and cry. The only thing that had stopped the screaming was being held by her. Singing to him had reduced the tears to sniffles and eventually he would fall asleep only to wake up again and restart the process.
She took a moment to revel in the silence. The quiet stillness washed over her, weighing down her eyelids. Her heartrate slowed as her breathing leveled out, but before she could fall asleep where she sat his blue eyes fluttered open.
His mouth stretched wide in an adorable yawn. He blinked at his surroundings and rubbed his eyes with two small fists.
She picked him up when he reached and went about her newest routine. She rubbed his back, kissed the top of his head and moved to the desk she had converted into a makeshift changing table. Her hands went through the motions of changing the cloth diaper.
She dropped the soiled cloth in the woven basket at her feet and made a note to do the laundry if she managed to get him down for a nap; there hadn't been a ton of supplies in the baby carriage and she couldn't exactly go out and buy more. Her mind briefly wandered to the ease of the twenty-first century, but she snapped back to reality when she reached for a clean cloth.
The stack sat higher than it had the previous time she had changed him. She stared at it, uncomprehending, before twisting to the other side and staring at the empty basket that she knew had been half-full with soiled cloth.
Her charge let out an indignant little huff and kicked his legs in the air, bringing Elena back to her task.
"Alright, alright," she cooed, "I get it. You don't like being exposed." She finished up and hurried downstairs to the kitchen where she paused in the open door and took in the scene.
Kol stood at the counter with his sleeves rolled up breaking tiny bits of egg and bacon into bite-sized pieces – child sized pieces.
She have might been embarrassed to be caught staring, but she was too tired.
"Good morning," he caught her eyes and held her gaze. "I trust you had a good night sleep," sarcasm dripped from his tongue.
"Excellent," she adjusted his weight, "I slept like a baby."
"You woke every hour crying then," he held out a steaming mug.
"I never cried," she sipped the rich coffee, praying for the caffeine to kick in; she needed a strong jolt to survive the next few hours.
He gave her a look, examining the shadows under her heavy eyes. He doubted she could consent to gaining extra sleep now that the baby was awake.
Elena followed him to the table and sat, balancing the boy on her knee. She flattened one hand on his stomach to keep him in place and glanced out the window into the bright courtyard, drawing in a deep breath.
Birdsong filtered through the panes of glass. The cheerful sounds continued either oblivious to the previous evening's horror, or in bold defiance of it.
She found Kol's eyes on her when she turned back to the table that she suddenly noted was set with three plates instead of the usual two.
"Were you in my room last night?" She tested the temperature of the food. Judging it to be cool enough she slid the plate forward and offered a small piece of scrambled egg; tiny fingers claimed it and a second later he tucked into the breakfast, babbling between bites.
"I may have popped in around four in the morning," he took a bite of his eggs and chewed, glancing down at the baby. "I heard whimpering when I got back, so I checked in. You were sound asleep so I tidied up and left."
"Oh," she nodded, numbly, "thank you. You didn't have to do that though. I was going to tidy up later." She glanced down at the baby and found him staring at Kol, and Kol for his part was doing his best not to let his gaze linger on the child. "He must have gone right back to sleep."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because he woke me up every hour or so," she glanced at the clock, "the last four hours were the longest stint."
Kol took a sip of his coffee and glanced down at the boy who was reaching a grubby hand towards him; thankfully babies couldn't speak.
"You went out?"
Her voice startled him. He cleared his throat and nodded, setting down the mug.
"Yes," he reached into his pocket, "after you went to bed I returned to Saint Anne's." He unfolded a heavy sheet of paper and stared at the neat lines of ink.
He was silent for so long Elena thought he was going to leave it at that, but then he spoke in a voice so quiet she would have labeled it as hesitant.
"It's one of the smaller parishes. I spent the midnight hours combing through the records."
"What did you find?" Elena wiped the baby's hands with a napkin.
"There were six children born around the right time; two of them were girls." He scanned the list of names and their next of kin, and skipped over the first. "Is he old enough to recognize his name?"
"I've taken care of younger babies who knew their names," Elena bounced him on her knee. "This little one," she lifted him to stand on her legs, "is just about ready to start walking. If he's old enough for that he's old enough to know his name. What names did you find? There's not two of one is there?"
"No," he chuckled and glanced down, picking the second name: "Samuel."
There was no response.
Elena tilted her head, pursing her lips. "Maybe a nickname?"
"Sam?" Kol watched him gnaw on his fingers. "Sammy?" He sighed. "I guess it was too much to hope for the boy with both sets of grandparents living."
"Keep going," she bit back a laugh.
"Henry," he cleared his throat, referring to his list.
Elena repeated the name, bouncing him slightly. There was no response as she shook her head. The third name garnered the same reaction and she looked up in time to see something flash in Kol's eyes; her heart fluttered.
"What's wrong?" She turned the baby around and felt two tiny fists curl in her hair where it hung loose over her shoulders. "Why so reluctant to say the fourth?"
She rubbed one hand over the baby's back and counted the even breaths.
He inhaled and stared down at the paper until the only thing he could see was the first name on the list, forming the bridge they had to cross. In spite of her sleepless night he doubted she would elect to place the by in an orphanage; such arrangements rarely worked out.
"Kol," she broke him from his reverie, "what's the last name?"
"Thierry," he sighed. A shill settled over him as large blue eyes turned to him.
"Thierry?" Elena questioned.
The baby turned his attention back to Elena. His eyes moved from one adult to another each time his name was said.
"Thierry," Kol nodded, both encouraged and dejected by the boy's reaction and happy babbling, "Vanchure."
"Any family," she tilted her head, "I'm guessing no, and that's why you didn't want to say his name."
"Apparently I am easy to read," he lowered the paper and his eyes.
Thierry chose that moment to wiggle in Elena's arms and point towards the floor. She eased him down on his feet and he curled his toes, squealing at the cold sensation. He clung to her skirt for a moment, lifting one wobbly leg but then he changed his mind and dropped down on his knees.
Elena watched the start of his adventure before shifting her eyes to Kol and finding the Original watching the baby boy he had orphaned.
She glanced at the paper, slack in his hands. Line after line revealed several dozen names written in neat rows. She recognized his writing, it appeared far more neat than she had ever seen it as though he had spent hours painstakingly forming the letters after combing through pages of parish files. Nothing had been sorted, the outlook for the baby was actually bleaker, but he had done it.
"Thank you," she ran her finger around the rim of her mug.
He tore his eyes from where Thierry was crawling near the cupboards. A line appeared between his brows. "What for?"
"Looking," she shrugged, nodding to the paper.
"You told me too?"
"Yeah, but…" she leaned back in her chair and met his eyes. A bemused smile played over her lips. "I just… I didn't expect you to actually listen to me."
"Yes," he chuckled, "well, you were…" he tilted his head, struggling to push out the word. "You were right," he sighed, "I acted rashly when I should have waited and former a better plan."
She tilted her head, biting down on her lip to hide her smirk.
"Was that painful to say? I get the distinct feeling you don't admit you were wrong often." She tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Don't get used to hearing it, darling," his smirk didn't quite reach his eyes. "Enjoy it while it lasts. You will only hear me admit to being a monster once."
On the other side of the kitchen Thierry tugged open a kitchen cabinet.
"You're not a monster, Kol," Elena glanced towards the counter. She looked back when she was sure Thierry wasn't into anything he shouldn't be.
"You hardly know me," Kol leaned across the table, meeting her eyes.
"I know enough," she shifted, crossing her arms on the table, "and I'm learning a bit more every day, but I've never thought you were a monster."
"You say that with such certainty," he scoffed, looking away. The conviction in her eyes was stronger than any he had seen.
"Because you're not one," she reached across the table, covering the back of his hand with her palm. A prickling sensation traveled the length of her arm, carrying the weight of his emotions. "A monster would have killed me the moment we met."
"I still could," he chuckled, cocking an eyebrow. He met her laughing eyes and the air stilled in his chest.
"I know you could," she whispered without a trace of fear, "but I doubt you would." She went to check on the baby but found her gaze trapped as she was held in place with his eyes. She breathed the next words, afraid to break the sudden spell around them. "Do you have any suggestions for Thierry? I don't want to go back to the future without knowing he's okay."
Something passed behind his eyes that puzzled her. She followed him when he opened his mouth and leaned a little closer.
"Elena…" he began and paused, scrambling for the final confession he had to make because it was something he never should have hidden from her.
"Yes?" She whispered the prompt. Her eyes flickered from him uncertain gaze to his parted lips, but before he could make another sound there came a loud clang.
Their heads snapped towards the kitchen counter. A moment passed where they exchanged a quick glance before bolting away from the table.
Elena's heart leapt into her throat, only dropping when she saw the mess of clean mixing bowls on the floor with Thierry in the middle of the chaos slapping an overturned bowl to make a hollow thumping sound.
He froze when they stared down at them with one hand up in the air ready to strike.
Elena glanced at Kol, trying to gauge his reaction. She was unsure what to think when he opened a drawer and examined the contents before selecting a wooden spoon and a metal whisk. She watched as he got down on the kitchen floor.
"You might try one of these instead," he held out the utensils.
Thierry stared, fascinated by the looping metal of the whisk. He reached out and turned it over in his little hands.
Kol flipped over a few bowls of varying sizes and guided Thierry's hand, showing him how to use the whisk to hit the bottom of the bowls.
Elena adjusted her skirt and sat on the opposite side of Thierry, blushing when Kol caught her staring.
"What?" He cocked an eyebrow while providing accompaniment with the spoon.
"It's nothing," she shrugged. "I just didn't realize you were so good with kids. You looked at him last night like you thought he was gonna bite you."
"It was the other way around, actually," his humourless laugh only increased Elena's confusion and his own. "I had just slaughtered twenty-seven people. The thought must have crossed your mind."
Elena resisted the fleeting urge to snatch the baby into her arms. Kol had spent hours hunting for the boy's family; if her were the monster he thought himself to be he could have killed Thierry on the spot – just as he would have killed her.
"I never thought that," she shook her head, "not until just now, and that's only because you brought it up." He tilted his head as if listening for a tremor in her voice. "I don't think you're going to hurt him."
He met her dark eyes and she frowned, but after a moment he nodded.
"You believe me," Elena chewed her bottom lip, "just like that?"
"Yes," he picked up the fallen whisk, returning it to Thierry, "your heart jumps when you're dishonest."
"Oh," she nodded. Her fingers curled around Thierry's wrists so she could gently steer him to a different bowl. "Is that unique to me, or…?"
"Everybody," he chuckled. "Vampires have the ability to hear that skip."
"That ability sounds nice," her hands smoothed over her skirt.
"Do people lie to you often?"
"All the time," she shrugged. "Sometimes I think I can tell, but most of the time I'm not sure…" she lowered her eyes to watch Thierry, "… like with you."
The spoon clattered on the floor.
"Me?" He looked up sharply; in his chest he felt his heart race.
"You," she nodded, oblivious to the pounding organ. "You're hiding something from me; I just don't know what it is."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"You're lying," she lifted her chin, finally meeting his eyes.
"Are you sure you can't hear my heart?" The question drew a small laugh from Elena. "It's not that I want to hide this from you. I just don't know how to tell you."
"Will you tell me eventually?" She tilted her head. "When you figure out how to say it, will you tell me?"
"Yes," he held her gaze.
They sat there for a moment, the only sound Thierry's unsteady drumming. Just when Kol thought the silence would succeed in doing what his father never could she gave him a shallow nod and a soft smile.
"Okay."
She paused at the edge of the walk and worried her bottom lip. Typically he required a minimum of twenty-four hours to calm down enough and talk to her; if they were lucky he would return to the family dynamic within the week.
She doubted they would be lucky.
His reaction to Klaus' line of questioning and ill-advised ribbing had told all of them that something more was going on. Klaus believed his outburst was a result of whatever plan he had concocted that involved the massive diamond Klaus had laid claim to the previous night.
She knew better.
She recognized the stance he had taken. She knew that for once the root of his anger resided on the surface. For once he meant what he said, and it was possible the diamond played a part, but it all boiled down to her.
'Isobel' was what had set him off.
She counted to three and started toward the house. Her steps faltered. Her eyes sought out the flash of colour in the upstairs window. Pale blue silk poked out from beneath a curtain of glossy brown curls. She caught the briefest flash of features, but didn't have time to properly catalogue them before the woman vanished from view.
"Where are you going?" She pushed her hair over her shoulder, turning away from the window. Her skin cooled rapidly once she stepped out of the winter sun.
He gave no response and rounded the corner.
Elena followed, not trusting the safety of the house for an infant. She watched him crawl around and locate the tiny teddy bear she had taken from the carriage.
She squatted, grabbing him under the arms and setting him on his wobbling feet. She held one of his hands, but he refused to give her the other one. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
"Can you walk with just one of my hands?"
He took a tiny step forward and stumbled, scowling at his feet. He lifted his other hand; the teddy swung around.
Elena caught his hand in a way that let the bear hang between them. She giggled when Thierry laughed and tipped his head back to look at her.
"Come on then," she smiled, "let's show your friend around."
She stayed bent at the waist and wandered around the room. In the distance she thought she heard the soft click of a door and rejoiced in the knowledge that Kol had cooled down again, but she was willing to admit that he could be acting calm for the benefit of Thierry; he had quieted quickly when she dragged the baby out from under the Christmas tree.
"Should we go decorate?" Elena lifted him by his arms so he dangled over the floor for a few seconds. "Or do you want to walk around the study some more?"
"Dow'," Thierry kicked his feet, giggling.
Elena complied. They went five more steps before he came to an abrupt halt; he tugged one small hand free and pointed in front of them after a swift wind blew through the hall; it took her a second to realize he was waving, but when the quiet 'hi' slipped out she understood.
A slow smile began as she lifted her eyes from Thierry, but it fell away the higher her gaze traveled. She saw black shoes with a low heel and her breath caught, a flared green skirt and her heart stuttered, and by the time she made it to the startled blue eyes it was all she could do to bite down her horrified whisper and turn it into a rush of breath.
What did you think?
What was your favorite part or line from this chapter? Predictions for the next one? Will Elena succeed in staying hidden from Klaus?
Elena returns to Mystic Falls in the next chapter. I'm thinking she has to get Caroline to sneak into her house and wake up Jeremy to invite her inside.