Story: Elena's Baby
Chapter: New Findings
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or its sexy characters but I do own this story and additional characters and that's damn good enough
It was just a blur; there were no concrete surroundings at this point. The wind was blowing through Elena's hair just as the drier from a car wash would to a dripping wet SUV. As she was placed down on the hard dirt ground, her eyes surveyed her surroundings looking for a way out.
"Don't even bother; no one's going to find you here."
Elena whipped her head around to look into the face of her capturer; he had brown hair and very pale looking skin. He was staring at her with a look in his eyes that made Elena very uncomfortable; he had a mixture of lust and sheer smugness in his eyes. Just as she was about to speak up about the current situation, a man with short blonde hair and emerald green eyes emerged from the shadows.
"Were you followed?" The blonde haired man said to her capturer.
"No sir, I was quick and slick. I'm positive no one followed me," said the capturer. His had skin so light he was border line Albino.
"Did you tell anyone you were taking her or your plans to meet with me tonight?"
"No, everyone thinks I've went out of town to hunt," the capturer assured the blonde.
"Good."
Though, it wasn't too long until the blonde man produced a stake from under his sleeve and lodged it right into the heart of the other man. Elena screamed and turned her head, not wanting her eyes to see the horror of what just happened in front of her. Sure, she had her fair share of witnessing death having been around the supernatural family for so long but it still caused her blood pressure to spike when things like this happened.
He lifted his shirt off his head and Elena's mind was racing from speculation of what she was here for; she's watched a lot of Law and Order SVU. "What do you want from me?" Elena asked. Her face remaining stoic as her defense mechanism shot up but Elena could feel her heart beating in her chest out of sheer anxiety. She wanted to go home; she wanted to be with her daughter and her husband.
"Oh don't you worry, I have no intention of harming you. Yet," he said.
He looked down at his right arm and saw the ink that once held a large amount of a tattoo finally liquefy under his skin and lift upwards, creating a bigger tattoo. Once it stopped around his shoulder blades, the tattoo remained perfectly intact. He looked over at Elena's face, her face in pure wonder and shock at the ink on his arm. It was ridiculous and inhuman of a tattoo to do that.
"You can see it, can't you?" he said.
"Well yeah I can see it; I mean it just transformed into this huge tree," she exclaimed.
His eyes widened and he stared at Elena with determination. "Why am I here? Who are you?" she asked.
He lifted his discarded long sleeve shirt onto his head and put his arms through the sleeve holes, completing his look with fingerless gloves that smelt like they were laced with vervain. Once satisfied with his completed look, he answered her. "My name's Maddox and you're here because I've got something to say and you're going to shut up and listen," he said calmly. She nodded for him to go on.
"This tattoo, you said it looks like a tree," his voice looking for clarification. She nodded and he continued, "It's the Ligno Vitae. That's Latin for 'Tree of Life' and this tattoo is a map that decodes its way to the tree. That and no one has ever seen the Tree of Life so this tattoo will tell us exactly what it looks like," he said.
Elena cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Those are some great historical facts right there, but why are you telling me this. I know nothing about this tree and neither do any of my friends, I can't help you," she said. "Why do you need to get this tree anyway?" she asked.
"I don't need your help, you silly little girl. I'm telling you this so you can warn your family and friends that danger is fast approaching," Maddox said sternly.
"Danger?" she asked, "What danger? Danger to whom?" she asked.
"To the one they call Ava Salvatore, your daughter."
Damon was pacing around the vicinity of the house trying to find Elena while still being able to keep a close ear on Ava just in case anything happened to her. When it was remotely clear that he wouldn't find her around the house, he blurred back into his room to call Bonnie.
"What do you want, Damon? It's the middle of the night," Bonnie snarled, damn him for ruining her sleep.
"I'm sorry for ruining your beauty sleep, witch. But my wife is gone and I need you to find her," Damon demanded.
He heard a rattle on the other end and Bonnie's voice lost its grogginess. "Elena's gone?"
"I'm not married to anyone else the last time I checked. Stop asking stupid questions and do the damn locator spell or so help me God-" He started before Bonnie cut him off.
"Shut up for a second. Run over here and give me a hair brush or something of Elena's and I'll do the locator spell," She said.
"No, I've got Ava and she's sleeping. You're going to have to come over and do it here."
"Damnit Damon, Jeremy's gone to a bar in Richmond with Alaric and he took my car with him. I'm a witch not Speedy Gonzales, I can't run my ass over there in record time," she seethed.
Just as Damon was about to say something back, he heard the sound of the side door being crept open. "Bonnie, I'll have to call you back," he said. He ran so fast to the basement that he thought he literally had teleported or zapped. There lay Kol half sprawled on the couch and floor with a bottle of bourbon in his hand, more specifically, Damon's bourbon.
"Of all the dumbass things you've done, Kol," Damon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm trying to have a good time, Mate. You should try it sometime," Kol joked.
Damon's eyes burned in their sockets, "I don't have time for this, Elena's missing and someone took her. I need you to either watch Ava while I go to Bonnie's to give her some possessions of Elena's or-"
"I'll deliver the items to Bonnie, stay here with Ava," Kol interrupted. Just before Damon could question him; Kol blurred out of sight. For once, Damon actually listened. For it was his wife that was in danger and he would do anything to get her back, that includes sucking up his pride and doing what he was being told.
Damon snuck into his daughter's bedroom and let out a sigh of relief, a breath that was unnecessarily being held in considering he was a vampire and didn't need the air.
She was sleeping soundly and his heart ached at the beautiful sight. He transferred himself to the rocking chair at the corner of the room and watched his daughter sleep through the light being shone through the room from the moon. He couldn't help but worry about Elena, but being in the proximity of his innocent and naïve daughter made him a little less anxious. He couldn't be going crazy and searching for Elena while trying to keep a brave face for Ava.
So he sat there watching her sleep, praying that Bonnie would get back to him ASAP.
"What do you mean?" Elena asked.
Truth be told, she was petrified at the possibility of someone causing harm to her daughter. He looked at her and sighed before shaking his head, "Your daughter is the offspring of a vampire and a doppelganger, no? She's needed in the ritual," said Maddox.
Elena felt her body tremble with anxiety and anger; her daughter was not going to be thrown into a supernatural realm of rituals and sacrifices like she had been introduced to. She wouldn't allow it and no one would dare try for fear of Damon and the rest of the supernatural beings in Mystic Falls bringing such terror by the mere thought of precious Ava being in harm's way.
"What ritual, what are you talking about?" Elena spat.
He sat cross legged in front of her and smoothed out the dirt between them with the palm of his left hand, picking up the nearest twig with is right hand. He drew a tree with the ragged end of the sticky and then drew a large box beside it, the vines of the tree connecting with it. "This tree is the Ligno Vitae. Legend has it that it's the tree that reaches through to The Other Side."
"The Other Side is where all the supernatural beings are being kept, right? Like dead vampires, werewolves, hybrids, witches, that sort?" Elena asked, trying to understand what he was doing.
"Yes, doppelgangers, hunters, hybrids, vampires and werewolves are all destined to perish on The Other Side and live a life of torture. All immortal creatures will be punished there because it is a place ruled by witches and their hatred for the supernatural for having a more than fair advantage while living on earth. Immortality, special circumstances like speed and agility, anything non-human," said Maddox.
"So what does the tree do?" She asked.
Maddox then drew a cloud on the top right corner above the tree, vines connecting to it too. "This tree is the gateway to freedom for all supernatural beings on earth. Once the tree is activated, every supernatural being will come across to this tree to drop a significant amount of their blood in the surrounding soil. This way, once they die they won't be stuck in misery for eternity; they'll be free."
Elena was mesmerized by this tree; it could do wonders for the supernatural community, her being among them. Then she remembered Maddox saying something about her daughter in a ritual and that snapped her back to reality.
"And where or how does my daughter fit into this?" Elena whispered.
Maddox closed his eyes and grasped the crucifix hanging around his neck in a golden chain, "She's needed in the sacrifice."
Elena's eyes blazed with anger and fear, she couldn't believe he would say that to her. "No, she's not a pawn in your silly games. You stay the hell away from my daughter or I'll kill you myself," she said. No one was going to touch a hair on her baby's head, not if she had anything to do about it. She was only three for Christ's sake.
Maddox's eyes softened for a split second before turning stoic again. "You think I'm the one calling the shots? If it were up to me then the supernatural creatures that roam this planet would suffer an eternity on The Other Side. I'm just as much a pawn in this fucking game as your daughter. They're using me to find the damn tree and then they'll kill me," he spat.
"We'll protect you if you stay on our side, we won't let anyone hurt you if you just tell me everything you know," Elena pleaded with her soft and doe-like eyes.
"You can't protect me, no one can. I'm as good as dead and you know it. They killed my family, I have no one. Once they get the tree then I'll drop my own blood and kill myself if they don't," he glared at her.
Then she understood him, he wanted to die. He didn't care about anyone at the moment; just his family. She could sympathize with him too because if it came down to it, she'd do anything for her family. Once they were gone, she'd have nothing to live for.
"Then why are you telling me any of this?" Elena asked shakily.
"I'm trying to warn you about the danger that's coming to you and your family, Elena. I never got the chance to protect my family, now's your chance to protect yours."
Kol raced from the house with a bag full of Elena's belongings and over to Bonnie's house. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to Elena while he was out partying and drinking the night away. He should have been home and he should have picked up the phone the first time Elena tried to call him. He should have been there for them, but he was selfish and was having fun at the expense of his best friend's life.
Once he reached Bonnie's front door, Bonnie felt his presence and invited him inside. She knew he would never harm her, or cause harm to her family. He dropped the bag of things on the coffee table and paced around the room nervously.
"Could you stop pacing, I'm trying to concentrate," Bonnie glared.
"Do your job and shut up, witch," Kol spoke with a heavily emotional voice.
Bonnie backed off, she knew better than to piss of an Original. She spread out the candles and cut out the lights, putting Elena's hairbrush on a silk cloth next to a global map on the coffee table. She closed her eyes and started to chant in a low voice. Before long, Kol watched on as Bonnie's spell had started a fire to the map until it disintegrated.
"Is that supposed to happen?"
Bonnie shook her head and Kol was about to speak before she raised her hand and shut his mouth for him, she'd had enough of his speaking for one night. "It won't let me do a locator spell from the power of the witches on The Other Side; maybe they're just not in the mood to help me right now. I've been practising a type of magic, called expression, I'd like to try it out and see if it can lead to Elena," Bonnie said to Kol. She hadn't taken her eyes off of the brush she'd been using to direct her.
As Kol began to anxiously look around the room, his eyes lit up at the small trail of fire that was going from the living room and out the front door. "Bonnie-"
She opened her eyes immediately and saw the trail; it was leading out the door and into the woods. After every step Kol took, the fire behind him burnt out as if there were no trail to begin with. It was remarkable. Bonnie picked up her phone and dialed Damon's number.
"Yeah?" she heard on the other end.
"We've found her."
Damon gently but quickly picked up his sleeping daughter from her bed and she snuggled into his chest. He knew that had she not known the familiar scent, she would have definitely woken up. Though, she knew it was Damon. She took comfort in her father's strong arms wrapping around her. As she dozed off again, Damon put Ava in the backseat of his car and drove over to Bonnie's safe and soundly.
When they reached Bonnie's driveway, Damon got out of the car to unbuckle his daughter and wrap her in the blanket. "Daddy, why are we at Aunt Bonnie's house? Where's Mommy?" Ava asked tiredly.
"Mommy's out and I have to go pick her up so you're going to have to stay with Aunt Bonnie for a little while so she can watch you while we're gone," Damon assured her.
Ava's eyes shot open, "Where's Mommy? She never leaves without saying goodbye or giving me a kiss."
This made Damon's heart crumble, how do you tell your three year old daughter that her mom, your wife, is missing? He ignored her question and began to walk up Bonnie's driveway. Just as he was about to knock on the front door, Kol and Bonnie opened the door. Kol passed him on his way out and Damon handed Ava to Bonnie, even though Ava tried her best to cling to him.
"Baby, I have to go get Mommy so you have to stay with Aunt Bonnie until we come back," Damon pleaded with his daughter to comply. Ava frowned but surrendered, allowing Damon to give her a kiss goodbye before Aunt Bonnie closed the door softly.
Bonnie brought Ava to the spare bedroom in the house but Ava quickly refused because she wasn't tired anymore. Bonnie knew it had to do with Ava's longing to be with Elena. No matter if Ava had Damon, she would always need Elena. She's been with Elena every day since birth and they've never been apart for more than just a few hours.
Ava curled into a ball onto the couch and a tear escaped her eye, alarming Bonnie. "What's the matter, baby girl?" she asked.
"I miss my mom," Ava whispered.
Bonnie's hand flew to her heart as she was trying to hold back sobs of her own. She knew her best friend would make a great mother ever since they were little. Elena had that maternal side of her that shone brighter than most of her qualities. She had seen it when they were kids and Elena would always pretend play the mom of Caroline and Bonnie. She'd seen it when they were about thirteen and started their own babysitting jobs, babysitting people's kids around town. She'd seen it when she tried to put those she loves before her and protected them no matter what, like a primal mother bear protecting her cubs.
Now, she sees it with the way Elena is with her own daughter. She is protective, kind, nurturing and most of all, loving. Ava's sadness and longing for her mother shows that Elena is doing her job correctly. Bonnie wrapped her niece in her arms and placed a gentle kiss on Ava's forehead.
"She'll be here soon, I promise."
"How does this ritual work?" Elena asked in a hushed tone.
Maddox looked into Elena's doe eyes and debated whether responding, though thought it would be better if did. "It needs to be activated to work. Though, the only way to activate the Ligno Vitae is through a three-part sacrifice. This must be performed by a witch who has tapped into expression because it requires dark magic to stop the nature of the witches. You'll need a Bennett witch because it is the direct bloodline of the first witch," he said.
"Why do they need my daughter?"
"To complete the ritual you need three different hybrids, a werewolf/vampire, a doppelganger/werewolf and a vampire/doppelganger. You need three different mixtures to bring the tree to life because it will combine the power of all three supernatural beings. Through the sacrifice, their blood must be mixed together to overpower the spell that made the tree dormant," Maddox informed her.
Maddox started to move over to the other side of the room to throw on his overcoat. He looked at Elena for the last time and half smiled, "Be careful Elena, and whatever you do, protect your family. I'll be in touch once I find out more," he said.
Just as Elena was going to run after him, he vanished into thin air. Elena looked around the gloomy cave and shivered as she tried to find her way out. It was almost impossible, it was like a maze. She was jumping over logs and ducking under spider webs when she found the opening of the cave. Elena sighed, letting out a breath of relief and ran towards it only to collide into another body.
"Elena?"
She looked up and saw Damon holding her in his outstretched arms. Her eyes teared up as she thought about the last time she saw him, how she was arguing with him and wasn't speaking to him. She hugged him closed to her body and let a tear roll down her cheek. Elena inhaled Damon's scent of bourbon and his Molton Brown Re-Charge Black Pepper Bodywash; she'd remember this scent forever.
"I'm so happy to see you," Elena whispered.
"What happened?" Damon asked lightly.
Elena sighed and withdrew from Damon, "I'll tell you on the way home, all I can think about right now is Ava," she said.
Damon nodded in understanding and slung his arm over his shoulder, pulling her towards him as her arm went underneath his jacket and around his waist. They started walking and Damon's mind started to wander to all the things that could have happened to Elena tonight. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her tonight, knowing that she was only outside to get some space from him and their argument.
As they were walking, Kol caught up to them. He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tight. Not even startled at the lack of breath she was receiving, she slipped her arm from Damon to wrap her arms around Kol's mid-section. He was shaking in his hug and Elena ran her hand up and down his back, letting out soothing words to him.
"I'm okay, nothing happened to me. I'm still here," Elena whispered.
He released his tight grip on her and backed up a little bit, surveying her body and face for any distinguishing marks. There was a scrape on her left leg that was slightly bleeding. His face got a little angry, "What happened? Who did this to you?" Kol asked.
Damon's eyes widened as he could now smell the blood on her leg, he blurred to her side and crouched down to inspect it. He looked up at her with a face just as angry, "Who did this to you?" he repeated the question.
She gulped, "I don't know who took me. He was a vampire and when we got to the cave he threw me at the ground, my leg must have hit something. In all honesty, I wasn't concerned about it, just what was going on around me," she said.
"I'll kill him," Kol's eyes blazed with fury.
"He's already dead, Kol. Maddox killed him," Elena explained before Kol could go out searching for the lanky vampire.
Damon forced her attention to him by grasping her chin and tilting her head up to look at him. She obliged and looked him in his deep oceanic blue eyes. "Who is Maddox, what does he want?"
Elena's eyes started coming to tears as she squeezed Damon's hand, all of the moments she shared with Maddox and learning about the Ligno Vitae were starting to hit her. Her precious daughter was needed for the sacrifice and danger was about to ascend onto her family. Kol looked at Elena's crying face and that just added to his fuel, he blurred out of sight in the hopes of trying to find this Maddox guy and get answers from him.
Damon gathered Elena in his arms, providing her with the comfort she needed and silently thanking Kol for the time alone with his wife. He was so worried about Elena that he had no time to be angry with anyone or anything right at this moment.
"Damon, they want Ava," Elena cried.
He stood frozen for a second and didn't speak for what seemed like forever. She cried in his chest and he held her tighter than ever, knowing that she'd need the comfort and because he needs her just as much as she needs him. He picked her up bridal style and whispered calming and soothing words into her ear and blurred them over to their house. He sat her on the couch and moved over to the kitchen to make her some coffee. Though, the reason he moved away was to call Bonnie.
"Did you find her?" Bonnie asked worriedly.
"Yeah, but Bonnie, it's much worse than that now. I need you to get over here as fast as you can, it's so much bigger than what you think," Damon said softly. He was afraid of his own voice.
"Jeremy just showed up, he'll watch Ava until I get back. I'll be over in 10," Bonnie whispered before hanging up.
Damon returned to the couch and gave Elena her coffee. She sipped it slowly, savouring the taste. "Thanks, Damon," she sighed.
"Tell me what he said," Damon pleaded.
Elena shook her head, "We should wait for Bonnie to get here, to see what she says about all of this," she whispered.
Damon got up and turned his back to her and paced around the living room. His hands were on his face and through his hair; he was usually patient but the suspense about his daughter was killing him. "Damnit Elena, she's my daughter too. Tell me what he said to you," he spoke through clenched teeth.
Elena looked up at him with a glare, "Do you think this is easy for me, you jackass? I just learned that my daughter was needed for a sacrifice so that she could save every supernatural creature on earth, including me and you. How do you expect I take that?" Elena said furiously.
Damon's face turned into a mixture of shock, fury and worry. "He told you that she needed to be sacrificed and you're only telling me now? Jesus Christ, Elena. There are things you keep to yourself and then there are things that you should fucking share with others. She's my daughter for crying out loud, you're my wife! What happened to 'we took vows not to keep things from each other'?" He yelled.
Elena knew it was misplaced anger being directed to her, but that didn't make the words hurt any less. "I'm sorry? Weren't you the one holding things from me and not telling me things? It took me two weeks to find out that we were in danger because you held it to yourself and didn't want to tell me. I withhold something from you for forty five minutes and all fucking hell breaks loose? You're a hypocrite," she yelled back.
"Great parenting on your job, Elena. I withheld a stupid little note; you withheld information about my daughter being used in a fucking sacrifice. You tell me which one is more serious!" He screamed out.
"Your daughter? You little asshole, where the fuck were you the first three years of her god damn life while I was busting my ass trying to make ends meet just for her. She's my daughter, you only showed up a month ago. Do not tell me how to parent my daughter or deal with information giving to me about her," she shrieked.
"I showed up a month ago because that was the only time I got to come back to you for saving your god damn life, and hers! Don't throw that in my face, I did it for you guys," he looked at Elena with a hurt expression.
"Don't imply I'm a bad parent then, you have faults just like me. Damnit Damon, why are you fighting me about this? Do you think it's a walk in the park to talk about my daughter's potential death, especially with you? She's just a baby, Damon. I won't allow her to be used in a sacrifice. I've had my fair share of sacrifices and rituals for God's sake, I'm done with it!" Elena squealed. Her eyes relinquishing long overdue water falls of tears.
He couldn't stand to see her cry but he knew if he tried to comfort her she would push him away because of the fight they were just having. Just as he was going to speak out again, the front door opened and Bonnie stepped into the foyer.
"What happened?" Bonnie asked curiously, seeing her best friend in tears and Damon with an upset expression on his face. She glared at him, thinking it was his fault. He raised his arms up inn response and Elena lifted her head up to see her best friend standing there. She ran to Bonnie and embraced her, needing some female comfort right now. Bonnie ran her arms up and down Elena's back soothingly and let her cry it all out.
After about five minutes of crying, Elena's sobs reduced to sniffles and then stopped completely. Elena sat down on the couch and Damon on the arm rest of the couch on the other side, Bonnie sitting on the matching sofa chair in front of them. She started telling them of the things she witnessed and heard tonight in the cave.
"What did his tattoo look like?" Bonnie asked.
"He had a mark which was growing on his back. It grew as he killed vampires and he told me its legend. It's the Ligno Vitae, an ancient tree that links The Other Side, Earth and Heaven," Elena answered.
"Why would they need to link the three of them together though?" Damon questioned.
"All supernatural beings die and go to The Other Side because the Witches hated them, so they need a vampire/werewolf, a doppelganger/werewolf, and a doppelganger/vampire to combine their powers and activate the Ligno Vitae," Bonnie summed up for Damon.
"That's not all. He said they need the ritual to be performed by a witch who has tapped into expression and who has a direct bloodline from the first witch. I don't even know what expression is," Elena said.
Bonnie gulped and searched Damon and Elena's eyes, "Expression is a form of black magic, it's the most powerful magic there is and it can override the spells of the original witches, even the witches on The Other Side," she stuttered.
Damon narrowed his eyes at Bonnie, "How do you know?"
"Because I've been practising it," she said.
"Bonnie!" Elena gasped.
"How do you think I got the locator spell to help you find Elena? I'm not using it for the forces of evil for god's sake; I'm just using it because the witches on The Other Side are always refusing to help me. You always need me to do things that corrupt the witches' laws of nature so I need it," Bonnie explained.
Damon nodded in understanding; if Bonnie needed to tap into dark magic to help her friends then he understood. He'd do anything for Elena, Ava and Stefan. Elena, however, was still wary about Bonnie using dark magic. She didn't want it to consume her; though she thought against speaking her thoughts for fear that she might upset Bonnie or Damon.
"So how exactly does it save the supernatural from eternity of terror," Damon said sarcastically.
Elena looked up into his eyes for the first time since Bonnie came over, "Maddox said you'd have to drop a significant amount of blood in the surrounding soil of the tree," she said.
Damon scoffed, "I should kill that Maddox guy, if I do then all of this is over. They can't get to the tree if they don't know what it looks like."
Bonnie shook her head, "Don't do anything until we know everything there is about this ritual or these people. Elena said that he was working for some people who are running the show, killing him would be stupid because he's obviously on our side. He's our mole, if he leaks information while still acting like their ally then so be it. We'll always be one step ahead of them," she said determinedly.
"Damon, Maddox is only helping them because he's fighting for his life, just like we would be. You did the same thing when Sage had you, don't treat him any differently. If anything, you should be thanking him for letting us know all about this," Elena reminded him.
Damon rolled his eyes and got up just as Bonnie did.
"I'm going to go home and research a little more about this. I'll look through some grimoires and try to get a hold of Grams; maybe she'll know something about the Ligno Vitae. Ava's still there with Jeremy, if you want to you can come spend the night. I might need you guys in the morning for some back up information just in case," Bonnie suggested.
Damon looked over at his wife and Elena nodded, she was in desperate need to see her daughter. "I'll grab some of our things and I'll head over there, you and Bonnie can go on without me," he offered.
"Why don't we just carpool?"
"We're going to need the car tomorrow to get home and I know you want to catch up with Bonnie and talk about your girly things," Damon smirked, "Go, I'll be there soon," he said.
He placed a kiss to her forehead before walking at a human pace towards the stairs and into their room to grab some pajamas for Elena, clothes for the both of them tomorrow, and some toiletries as well. Then, remembering that Ava was probably without any clothes or a tooth brush, he packed some of Ava's things too.
"Ava was really upset tonight. No one told her that you were kidnapped or in danger but it was like she could sense it. She kept saying something was wrong because you never came to say goodbye or give her a kiss. Are you guys ever apart for long periods of time?" Bonnie asked as they were driving towards her house.
"Ever since I had Ava, I've never been away from her for more than a few hours. She's never had sleepovers with friends because I think she's way too young and she's only slept over at Caroline's house once. That may not be healthy but once you become a mother, everything changes. You realize that no matter how sophisticated you are, becoming a mother will reduce you to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. The urgent call of 'Mom!' will cause you to drop a soufflé or your best crystal without a moment's hesitation. You'll never watch another tragedy on the news without thinking 'That could have been my daughter.'
"Bonnie, I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her. Yeah, Damon's her father and he'll be torn up about it, even broken inside. But I will feel like nothing. If something happens to her, I'm as good as dead. I've been with her since she was born, I've stayed up through late night feedings, I've witnessed her first laugh, first words, first steps and I've witnessed it alone. No one will understand, not even Damon," Elena said. Her voice was wavering with emotion.
Bonnie reached over and grabbed Elena's hand with the one she wasn't driving with and squeezed. "I know, Elena. But you know that nothing will happen to Ava. Look at her family, for heaven's sake, look at Klaus; no one is going to get to her if he has anything to do about it. Elena, she's not in any danger, don't you worry," Bonnie assured her.
"I think the reason she knew something was going on was because she can sense auras around people's bodies. If people are upset, she senses it because she can see it around you. I was calm when I was talking to her so she was calm but when Damon was talking to her, he was worried about you, so she anxious and worried. She's a truly remarkable little girl, I can tell you that," Bonnie smiled.
When Bonnie pulled her hand away from Elena's, she felt this weird rush of adrenaline flow through her body. She looked over at Elena to see if she felt it to, but she didn't. It was unexplainable, there was energy emitting from Elena's body and Bonnie couldn't help but wonder why.
They got to Bonnie's house and as soon as they stepped through the door, Elena felt something collide with her lower half of her body. Looking down, she noticed it was Ava. Elena smiled at her and picked her up, placing kisses all around her face and hugging Ava to her torso.
"Mommy, where did you go?" Ava asked worriedly.
Elena smiled at her daughter, "I just went out to Aunt Katherine's house, I forgot my necklace there. I didn't say goodbye because you were supposed to be sleeping," Elena said. She kissed Ava's nose and looked over at Bonnie. "I'm just going to take her up the guest room and get ready for bed. Thanks Bon."
As Elena ascended the stairs, Ava rested her head on Elena's shoulder, snuggling into her as much as she could. Elena opened the door to the bedroom and closed it behind her, setting Ava down on the bed. "Momma, why are we sleeping at Aunt Bonnie's?"
"Because she needs Daddy's help tomorrow with something and Aunt Caroline is coming over to get ready with me for the Founder's Day Parade tomorrow. We're in charge because Mrs. Lockwood is getting too old and cranky to do it alone," Elena chuckled, causing Ava to giggle.
Elena took the liberty to use the ensuite bathroom in Bonnie and Jeremy's guest room, setting up towels and things so that she could be ready to take a shower before bed. When she got back to the room, Damon and Ava were lying down on the bed side by side talking about unicorns. She smiled as they fought about it playfully, they could be so corny sometimes.
"I brought your things," Damon nodded towards the bag beside the door.
"You should shower first, I'll put Ava to bed," Elena offered, silently pleading with Damon to go along with her. She needed the time with her daughter.
He stood up and gave Ava a kiss on her forehead, grabbing a bag of his things and bringing them to the bathroom with him. He closed the door behind him and Elena looked over to her daughter. She was the spitting image of the man she was supposed to be upset with, how could she look at a miniature version of him and still be upset? She couldn't.
Elena brought the covers of the bed back and Ava slipped under them as Elena's brought them up to her chin. She reached over to the other side of the bed and placed the bear in Ava's arms. She smiled down at her and placed the gentlest kiss on her cheek, "I love you, baby girl. Mommy will never let anything happen to you," she whispered, tucking a strand of loose hair behind Ava's ear.
Elena lay down beside Ava, waiting for Damon to be done with the shower, but she couldn't help but let sleep overcome her. It had been an exhausting day and night, she needed her sleep.
Damon came out of the bathroom clad in his boxers and saw both of his girls sleeping. He didn't have the heart to wake Elena up for her turn to shower, so he just climbed in on the other side of the bed. It was a king sized bed, able to fit the three of them. Damon was on the left, Ava in the middle and Elena on the right. He was watching them sleep with such fascination in his eyes.
Ava was curled into Elena, her teddy bear wrapped in her arms. Elena with her arm wrapped around Ava securely, like a mother bear and a baby cub. Elena reached her hand out and grasped Damon's, opening them unexpectedly. Her eyes opened slightly, as if she had been awake the whole time.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, a small tear falling from the corner of her eye.
His heart broke at the sight of his wife and he brought her hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on it. "Don't be sorry, baby. I over reacted, as always. None of this is your fault; you're just doing the best you can. I'm sorry for making you feel guilty and for keeping things from you," he also apologized. She squeezed his hand as a sign of forgiveness and he smiled genuinely at her.
He let go of her hand and took off the necklace he was wearing, undoing the clasp at the back and releasing the wedding ring she dropped when she was taken earlier that night. He slipped it into her finger and she smiled at him before dozing off, the last thing he heard from her was a soft, "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Kol sighed as he searched around the forest for that Maddox guy, he didn't think he would be able to find him. His fury had dissipated about an hour ago and now all he was doing was searching through an empty forest, or so he thought. He heard a couple of twigs breaking from behind him and blurred around him. Grabbing the man behind him and slamming him against the tree.
"Nice to see you, brother," said the man.
Kol loosened his grip but still had a firm hold around his neck, "Finn, what are you doing here?" he asked. What would Finn of all people be doing there? He and Klaus had a falling out years ago and he never came back. If Klaus finds him here, Finn's as good as dead, or daggered in their case.
Finn threw Kol off and fixed his fair with a quick flip, "I came to have a talk with Niklaus. I came seeking his forgiveness as I am going to try and make amends to make this family one again," he answered.
Kol laughed and held his stomach, "Really? That's your excuse? I know you Finn; you always have an ulterior motive. So what is it, brother? What's the secret agenda of yours?" Kol questioned.
Finn walked past him and kept heading down the trail, knowing he'd find a hotel somewhere close by in Mystic Falls. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, little brother. Family means nothing to you and your incompetent mind. Though, can't say I blame you. Mother turned you into a non-aging brat, you'll never outgrow it no matter how many years you live," Finn spoke.
Kol angrily ripped a tree branch off a tree and staked Finn through his left shoulder, "Don't dare presume to know anything about me. You don't know the meaning of family; you walked out on us two years ago when you and Klaus had a disagreement. You didn't think we needed you? Though, can't say I blame you. You were probably out looking for Sage, that evil bitch from hell that ruined my family. So no, you're the brat. You'll never outgrow your hatred for this family, that's why I know you're not here to make amends," Kol seethed.
Finn angrily pulled the stake out of his shoulder and glared at Kol, "I'm not going to fight you because family means something to me. Unlike you and Niklaus, I'd never physically hurt my family. I'll see you soon, Kol," Finn said calmly before blurring off into the night. Kol didn't know what Finn doing back in town meant, but he knew it didn't mean anything good. So he did what he had to do and that was warning his family.
As he gathered his siblings at Elijah's house and told them what was going on, they all had different opinions about it.
"You staked him?" Rebekah squealed.
Kol, Elijah and Klaus rolled their eyes simultaneously, of course she was going to over react. Though, she'd been taking it better than the rest of her siblings, in fact, she was happy that her family was together again. While the boys had doubts, Rebekah thought of this as a time to rekindle their relationships and build a family with all the members they had left.
"Seriously, Bekah, not exactly the point here," Kol said.
Elijah held his hand up in the air as Rebekah opened her mouth to speak and give Kol a piece of her mind. "Enough, both of you. I don't think Finn is here on pure intentions, and I do recommend that everyone keep their eyes open for some suspicious behaviour. Though, we are wrong to deny our brother of the family he wants. If it's family he wants, then it's family he gets. Just, keep him at arm's length. We'd be fools to blindly trust the man who walked out on us," Elijah spoke wisely.
Klaus smirked, "Let him be the one to apologize to me, I won't step up first," he said.
"You smug bastard, you let him walk out on us. If you didn't dagger him and betray him so many times, he wouldn't have left in the first place. You should be the one to apologize," Rebekah glared at Klaus. His smirk dropped from his face and he gave her a menacing look.
"Would you like to end up in a box? I can make arrangements," Klaus seethed.
"Enough, go home, all of you. We'll discuss this at the Founder's Day Parade tomorrow," Elijah bellowed. He was sick of his family fighting. He was happy that Finn was back, like Rebekah, but he had a lot of suspicion, just like Klaus and Kol.
"If Finn is here on ulterior motives, and those imply hurting my loved ones, I'll kill him. Do you understand?" Kol said seriously.
Rebekah grabbed her coat and slipped on her shoes before turning back to look at him, "You kill him and I'll kill you," Rebekah said. A part of him wanted to believe she was joking, but he knew he wasn't. Though, she was no threat to him. Klaus would have her daggered and in a coffin until deemed ready to calm down, she'd never kill him. That doesn't make what she says any less hurtful.
Kol looked over to his brothers, "I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Damon, where are my heels? The black ones I bought on Tuesday at the mall?" Elena yelled from inside the bedroom closet. She knew she didn't have to yell to get his attention, considering he had magnificent hearing ability, but she did it anyway.
He came into the closet and shrugged at her, "I don't know. I didn't touch them, I prefer my shoes a little more platformed and closed-toed," he said sarcastically.
He took in her appearance and was in awe. She was wearing a champagne coloured cocktail length bateau neckline with scoop back dupioni dress. Wide matching waistband and pleated skirt with pockets at side seams. She rolled her eyes and got out of the closet and off to Ava's room, hoping she would know where they were.
"Ava, do you know where-" she started before she found them. They were neatly polished and placed on a stool outside of her bedroom door. She smiled and picked them up, walking downstairs to see Kol sitting at the kitchen table eating toast and drinking milk. She held up the shoes and shook them a little, her smile expanding as she saw him smirking.
"I knew you'd need them today so I took the liberty of polishing them for you, you had a rough night," Kol shrugged. Elena laughed, he reminded her of Damon. He didn't like taking responsibility for the good deeds he does.
"Thank you, I had no time to get them done this week. You didn't have to do that, but I'm so happy you did," she smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Are you going to the Founder's Day Parade today?" Elena asked, pouring herself some milk.
"I am, I'm meeting Klaus and Elijah there," Kol answered.
"Planning on seeing Finn there too?"
Kol turned to face her, his face shocked. "How'd you know he was back in town? He only got in really late last night," he asked.
"I heard all about your sibling meeting last night, Caroline told me. She demanded to know why Klaus was leaving in the wee hours of the morning," Elena chuckled, "Not a big deal, it's strange but I don't exactly think much of it. If Finn wants to apologize to Klaus then so be it, maybe he'll even leave after he does it," Elena raised her eyebrow and smirked.
Kol chuckled and brought his dishes to the dishwasher, loading them up with Elena's just-now finished cup of milk. She walked back up the stairs and saw that her daughter was still in bed, snoring. Elena laughed and that woke Ava up. With a groan, Ava rubbed her tired eyes and frowned at her mom.
"When did we get home? I thought we were staying at Aunt Bonnie's?" Ava whispered.
"Well we were going to, but it turns out that Aunt Bonnie didn't need Daddy's help with anything after all and Daddy forgot all my things here for the Founder's Day Parade. We left Aunt Bonnie's really early this morning and you were so tired so I put you back to bed. But it's time to get up now, lazy bones, we need to get ready because Aunt Caroline is going to be here any minute," Elena explained.
Ava rolled her eyes and hopped out of bed, throwing her covers back in a lame attempt at making her bed and walked to her bathroom to brush her teeth. Elena smiled at Ava's laziness and went to search through her daughter's clothes to pick something for her to wear. Elena finally found a dress in Ava's closet that she really liked.
It was a long sleeve knee-length dress with thick black laced cap sleeves and a velvet blue cotton skirt, the tops of the skirt had pockets. It came with black patterned see-through stockings and black flats. Elena laid it down on the bed for Ava and walked over to the bathroom where Ava was now drying her hands on a towel.
Elena bent down to Ava's height and smiled at her, "Listen baby, Mommy needs to go get ready and meet Aunt Caroline for the parade. Daddy will bring you by to see it later on, okay?" she said.
"Okay Mommy," Ava smiled and placed a sloppy kiss on Elena's lips before giving her a hug and running into her room to get dressed.
Elena walked over to her room and saw Damon putting on his slim-fitting long sleeved black dress shirt and velvet blue tie. She smirked at the colour co-ordination as she had previously picked the same thing for Ava's colour patterns. Now they were both going to look like twins, she thought.
She walked up to her sexy husband and wrapped her arms around his back, breathing in his familiar scent and kissed his back. He smiled down at her interlocked hands around his midsection and turned around in her arms, bringing his head down to place a kiss to her lips.
Elena moaned softly as his tongue caressed her lips, teasing them open. She obliged and opened her mouth for him and welcomed his tongue with a fight for dominance with his. His hands were running through Elena's long silky waves, massaging her scalp and earning himself those cute little moans he loves hearing come from her mouth.
He turned them around and pressed her up against the wall, moving his kisses from his lips down to her jaw and leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses down to her neck. She ran her fingers through his raven black locks and shut her eyes dreamily.
She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, gyrating herself against his lower half. He groaned in frustration and pulled back from her, resting his forehead on hers.
"We've got to stop before I won't be able to control myself. Ava's across the hallway and you need to meet Caroline at the Council office in half an hour," Damon whispered.
"I know, but you're too hot to resist," Elena chuckled. Damon let out a heartfelt laugh and kissed her neck as she unwrapped herself from his waist.
"I'll let you have me later on, if you're good," Elena whispered in his ear. He groaned at the sensation of his painfully hard length growing harder from her words.
"You'd better."
"Elena, you look incredible. You're shoes, jeeze, they're so shiny. You got them polished, didn't you?" Caroline said. Elena smirked and twirled around for Caroline to take in her appearance. Caroline whistled at her and smirked. Elena walked over to the clipboard on the left side of the room and picked it up, along with a pen and a notepad.
"This year's float is going to have, Ashley Pennington with Daniel Foss, April Young with Justin King and Catherine Harte with Will Stacy as the three founding families, right? They've got all of their gowns and formal wear, I delivered it to their doors with Damon last week," Elena assured.
"Yeah, Ash and Dan are Lockwood's, April and Justin are Salvatore's, and Cathy and Will are Gilbert's. They all checked off with attendance and they're in Mrs. Lockwood's house getting ready. They're going to be doing the float around town for the first hour and a half then they're going to do their speeches and we'll set up for the carnival," Caroline said.
"Great, I'm just going to go check if our food stands and everything are going to be ready," Elena smiled.
She walked out of the square garden and out to Mrs. Lockwood's house; she was in charge of making the teens get ready for the parade and for the attendance of the caterers whereas Elena and Caroline were out making preparations for the actual event. The front gates of the Lockwood house was locked and Elena forgot to bring her ID key so she went around back of the house, knowing there was a gated fence she could open with no problem.
She walked around and up the lawn, seeing the entire streets and most of Mrs. Lockwood's property surrounded by town folk who were getting ready to enjoy the parade. She smiled, knowing it was because of her and Caroline that there were people here.
As she was about to walk on over to the backdoor of the Lockwood mansion, she looked on over to the suspicious sight in front of her. In the distance, there stood Maddox and Finn. They were talking and that was putting it mildly, it looked like a very intense talk. Just as she was going to avert from looking at them and bring her attention elsewhere, Maddox made quick eye-contact with her and she heard him speaking in her head.
Don't tell anyone what you saw here; trust me, I will tell you everything and everything will come together smoothly. For Ava's sake, Elena, keep this to yourself and go about your day.
So without and question, she did.
So tell me, how did you like it? Did you like it, or did you hate it? This is the new plot development and believe me when I say this is only the beginning, later chapters will definitely have you reeling for more with new discoveries and Damon and Elena development!
I'm really sorry about the extremely late update, I truly am. I'm not going to put my problems on my fans, but I was just sorting through some stuff in my life. Don't you worry though; the next chapter is already half way done!
I just wanted to say a quick Happy Easter to those who celebrated it this weekend, I was supposed to have this up by Saturday night but a few plot revisions kept me back a couple of days.
I'm really impressed with the reviews that I've been getting so please, for the love of God, keep reviewing. Constructive criticism is welcomed here and I encourage you to tell me how you're feeling about the story.
I want to know your favourite part of this chapter and your least favourite part of this chapter!
I can't wait to hear what you think about it and I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible, but it all depends on your reviews! I'm not picky but I would like about 20 before the next update *smiles shyly*.
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