A/N: Ummm… so you may hate me after this chapter. But luckily my review thing seems to have broken as it's not displaying them so I can remain oblivious.

That night I put the girls to bed and went to get ready. My heart was pounding in my chest and I had a feeling of nausea rising in my stomach. I didn't want to do this but I had to commit. I would do whatever it took to stop Lucien from getting those rings. I'd give up on going home entirely if I could stop him.

I did my hair and make-up before changing into a black negligee. Think Katherine, I told myself. She'd do this. She'd do whatever it took.

I headed down the hallway to Tristan's room. I stopped outside the bedroom door and went to knock. I hesitated. Did I really want to go down this path? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and knocked.

There was silence for a moment that seemed to stretch out into an eternity. Then the door opened. Tristan leant against the frame and smiled. He wasn't dressed in his usual suit, instead he was wearing the trousers and the shirt, only half buttoned. I bit my lip.

"Hello Tristan."

"Elena. Please, come in." He stepped aside, letting me in. A small smile played across his lips as I entered hesitantly.

His room was large and decorated with warm wood tones. I perched on the edge of the bed, chewing my lip nervously. No matter how much I told myself that I had to do this, it didn't make the prospect any easier to deal with.

"So," he said, taking a seat in a large armchair facing the bed. "We're here to negotiate."

"Yes."

"Why don't we start with what you want from me and I'll respond with what I want and we can go from there?"

"Okay. Well ideally, I'd like to enlist your help in getting myself and my children away from Lucien and back to the Mikaelsons. However, failing that… you know what Lucien wants from me…?" Of course he did, but I still felt uncomfortable acknowledging Lucien's goal and saying the words.

"Yes."

"Well there's an item in New Orleans that could give him what he wants and I… really don't want him to get hold of it." I decided not to specify the item. If Tristan tried to double cross me, I didn't want him to know what the item was. That way he couldn't exploit it for his own ends.

"So the minimum you want is to have this item retrieved and destroyed?"

"Destroyed, hidden, as long as it's somewhere he can't get to it. What would I need to do to get your help?" Now we were coming to the crux of the matter. I had a churning nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach although I tried hard not to let it show.

He tented his fingers, watching me intently. He looked to be deep in thought but I felt that he knew exactly what he wanted from me already.

"Well naturally, the first thing I'd want is your agreement to join the Strix."

"Just me?"

"For now."

"No. I know you want Lilah but I want her left out of things until she's old enough to make her own decision."

"That's understandable and reasonable. Okay."

"Would you want me as a human? Or would my agreement to join require my transformation?"

"I could be persuaded to keep you human."

"Surely that would make my joining your Strix entirely pointless? I wouldn't be much good as part of your vampire army as a human."

"I don't want you as a soldier Elena."

"I thought that was the whole point of your group."

"No…" He got up and came over to sit beside me. "It was created as a group of likeminded individuals who wanted to affect change and meet with people of similar tastes."

"And you only want me because I had sex with Elijah and had a kid because of someone else's spells"

"You don't give yourself enough credit. You are a beautiful, talented, intelligent individual who managed to ally one of the most infamously warring cities around. Wolves, vampires and witches kneel before you Elena. I want to restore you to your glory."

"Why?"

"My reasons are my own."

"Okay. Do you have any other conditions…?"

"Well, I know what I want…" His hand rested on my knee. "As I've said, you're very beautiful. But I'm not like Lucien, I won't make you."

"But if I… would that get you to help me?"

"It certainly wouldn't hurt."

I bit my lip and in my head I said a silent apology to the men I loved. I leaned forward and kissed Tristan softly. He kissed me back. His kiss was firm, knowing what he wanted and how to get it. His hands went to my waist, pulling me closer to him. I looked up at him.

"Just this one time… right?"

"Yes. I wouldn't expect anything else."

"Okay then."

I returned to kissing him. He lowered me back onto the bed, never breaking the kiss. His hands moved down to the hem of my negligee and then up underneath the soft fabric. I couldn't help a small shudder, too used to Lucien's rough violating touches. Tristan's hands were nothing like his, they were soft and considerate, thinking each action through before performing it. I knew that he wouldn't allow me to just lie there. He wasn't like Lucien, the act wasn't enough for him. He wanted me willing, he wanted me as a participant not a body. I reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, letting my hands run over the contours of his chest.

He pulled back to shrug off his shirt and I used the opportunity to move further back into the middle of the bed. He came over and lay beside me. His arms encircled me but the action didn't feel restraining like when Lucien held me. There was an undercurrent of possessiveness but I had room to move. He ran his fingers through my hair, kissing me once more. His other hand explored the curves of my body, coming up to cup my breast. I closed my eyes, letting him do as he pleased. I undid his trousers and pushed them down and he moved on top of me once more.

"Elena, please open your eyes." He said softly. "I am not going to have sex with a woman who behaves like a corpse."

I opened my eyes.

"Please remember that I've spent five years with a guy whose idea of foreplay is to slap me and push me face first into a wall."

"Yes well I have a very different technique if you'll let me."

"By all means Casanova."

He kicked off his trousers and his briefs while I slipped my negligee off over my head. I was trying to channel Katherine, to act seductive but I felt like a teenager losing her virginity. He moved his mouth to my breasts and kissed and sucked lightly at the flesh there before descending down my stomach. He took hold of my underwear in his teeth and tore it off with a sharp tug. I let out a startled noise and half sat up. He placed a hand on my chest, lightly pushing me back down and gave me a wicked grin.

He moved down between my legs, kissing along my thigh. He rubbed me softly, taking his time to warm me up. His mouth continued to move between my thighs as his fingers gently probed my entrance. He pushed one in slowly, his thumb rubbing my clit softly as he did so. I felt a brief moment of pain in my leg but it was quickly replaced by pleasure. He continued, working slowly until I was a moaning mess. He pulled back and kissed me softly. I tasted a peculiar coppery taste on his tongue.

He looked down at me with unreadable eyes and I felt more vulnerable than I ever had before. He rested his weight on his forearms so I felt him against me without being crushed. He ground against me slowly before entering me in one long movement. I moaned softly, resting my hands on his shoulders. He gripped one of my legs, hooking it around his waist. His movements were calculated, his touches somewhere between tender and firm. Each thrust was precise and pushed a soft moan from my lips. His own mouth moved to my neck and sucked lightly at my pulse point. One hand moved to caress the curve of my hip, his thumb running along the dip of my bone. I felt myself lifting my hips, wanting to feel more, wanting him deeper. My entire being felt like a slow fire was burning inside of me, growing in size as it consumed more of my body.

He built in speed and intensity, growing rougher but still keeping control. I bit into my lip, hard enough to draw blood and he brought his mouth back to mine, crashing against me in a furious kiss that smeared the stray blood like lipstick. The candles that lit the room seemed to be getting brighter and Tristan's soft grunts coupled with my own moans filled my head, overwhelming my brain. I could feel my pleasure building.

I let out a loud cry as he brought me to my climax. I felt like I was falling, like I'd been holding onto a rope that had now been cut and I was tumbling backwards into a great abyss. I slumped back into the pillows, breathing hard, as he continued thrusting until he reached his own orgasm, my name cresting his lips as he did so.

He cradled me against him for a moment, our bodies joined as one, before he rolled off of me and lay beside me, wrapping an arm around me as we caught our breath. I felt tears on my cheek and although I tried to wipe them away they began to flow faster and heavier. Tristan looked at me and frowned.

"Why are you crying? Was it that bad?" he asked.

"No… it was… good… great…" I wiped my eyes. "I feel like I've betrayed them."

"Don't. You're just trying to make the best of a bad situation. It's not fair to put this much pressure on yourself." He wiped some stray tears from my cheek. "Humans need physical contact, they need affection, and they need to be held. You've spent five years in fear and pain. You deserve something good."

I rested my head on his chest. I had known that I wouldn't feel good but it was far worse than I expected. The way Tristan had touched me and held me… it almost made it worse in a way. I couldn't just look on it as something I needed to do to. It had become something that I had enjoyed. And now I felt sick to my very core with what I had done.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tristan asked.

"No, that'll just make me feel worse… you need to stop being nice to me."

"No." He propped himself up on his elbow. "I like you Elena. And I want to look out for you. If you need to talk, you should. If you need someone to hold you, then tell me. But I'm not going to stop being nice to you."

"You confuse me Tristan."

"Good. That'll keep you on your toes." He grinned. "I'll make arrangements for your initiation in the morning. And I'll see what I can do about getting you back home."

"Thank you." I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You know I'm surprised Lucien hasn't come back yet in a fit if your witches keep stalling him."

"Oh he's getting very angry but he knows my witches are the best. That's why he came to me even though he hates me. And they're stalling but they're feeding him a little bit of information at a time to keep him placated."