Fire was burning far through the trees and you could hear the snaps and cracks as the flames grew higher.
Klaus was standing head of the largest circle, a small brunette girl before him. In the other two circles lay a blonde girl and an auburn-haired girl.
The brunette girl whimpered as Klaus knelt before him.
"Do not fear me, Elena."
"Where's my mom." She cried. "I want my mom."
"Your mother is dead, sweetheart… Rebekah on the other hand, well she's going away for a long… long time." He smirked as he stroked the side of the young girl's face.
"What are you going to do to me?" She panicked, her fear evident.
"I'm going to kill you, love."
"You can't be serious Rebekah."
Rebekah was seated in an armchair, holding Elena in her arms. She smiled happily at the infant who looked up at her with big brown eyes. Candles were dotted around the room, illuminating the family with a warm glow. A fire crackled in the hearth.
"Rebekah. Stop fussing with that… thing and pay attention!" snapped Klaus. Rebekah lifted her head and glared at her brother.
"She. Not it. Not a thing. She. Elena. And I am deadly serious. I'm not abandoning this child and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind."
Elijah came into the room with a baby bottle, handing it over to his sister. Kol, who was sprawled on a sofa, studiously ignoring them all, glanced over and rolled his eyes at the scene.
"Oh, let her keep it Klaus. She'll play with it for a week or two and then get bored. Then we can ditch her pet or kill it."
A soft growl came from Rebekah.
"Rebekah, I understand that you're attached to it but babies require a lot of attention. And care. And we are on the run."
"Klaus, we've been on the run for centuries. And you always find time to do what you want. I have wanted nothing more than to have a child, please give me this chance."
Klaus looked at his sister, saw the pain and need in her eyes. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes.
"Fine. It can stay. But, if it comes to a choice between you and the child, I will pick you." He sighed again. "We're moving on in the morning. Make sure you're ready to go."
He turned and headed out of the room. Kol called after him.
"I hope this place actually has electricity! Not that I don't love the rustic horror movie vibe you're going for here!"
Klaus muttered something that sounded like a curse, before disappearing up the stairs. Elijah glanced at Rebekah, who had quietly begun feeding Elena.
"You'll be alright?"
"Yes, we're fine, thank you Elijah."
He nodded and followed his brother out of the room. He caught up with him on the upstairs hallway. Klaus was looking out of the large window, looking down at the trees.
"You did a good thing for Rebekah."
"Maybe. That remains to be seen."
"It was, Niklaus. She has wanted this for years."
"Yes but children do have a tendency to complicate matters. That's hardly what we need right now."
"Mikael has almost caught us before. We always manage to get away. This time will be no different."
Klaus managed a weak smile.
"I wish I shared your optimism Elijah. Maybe you're right. Perhaps this change will be good for us."
The pair stood in silence, looking out of the window. Both were deep in thought, uncertain of their future. Things had never been easy but recently they had felt their father's grip tightening around them, forcing them to flee once more. Despite Elijah's words, he didn't feel particularly optimistic. It was true that they had escaped before and probably would again, but each time it got a little harder and running got a little bit more tiring. He hoped that the child would be good for them, not just for Rebekah but for his brothers as well. They had been fighting even more regularly lately and despite his best efforts, things had not eased. He had hoped that convincing Klaus to resurrect both Rebekah and Kol from their sleep would allow his brother to focus less on his fear and growing paranoia, returning them to a family once more.
"Are the parents still by the road?"
"Yes. Why, are you hungry?"
"No, I'm fine. However, a car with two victims and an empty baby seat may lead to questions. Especially if they have family. I'll go look for their IDs, maybe I can find their family and prevent them from investigating the child's disappearance."
"My brother. Always three steps ahead of the rest of us. What we do without you?"
Elijah smiled slightly.
"Get some rest Niklaus. For tonight at least, we are safe."
Elijah turned away and headed downstairs, leaving the house quietly. He followed the smell of blood and gasoline to where the car was crashed. No one had driven by, so the bodies lay undisturbed. He paused, looking at the scene and felt pity for the couple. Things should have gone differently. They should have had a chance to raise their daughter, seen her grow up into a young woman. Instead, their life, their potential had been snuffed out prematurely. So easily.
He moved with practiced ease, locating the man's wallet and driving licence. Dr Grayson Gilbert. Mystic Falls.
"Mystic Falls…" He mused to himself. He knew that name. They'd driven quite a distance. He'd never visited the town itself, but he was well aware of it and it was at least a few hours' drive away. He briefly wondered what they were doing out here.
After checking over the scene for anything that would give away his family's involvement and confirming it was clear, he returned back to the house.
Rebekah was still in the armchair, humming softly to the baby. Kol had disappeared to somewhere else in the house which relieved Elijah a little. He didn't need his younger brother making sarcastic comments.
"She's an angel," Rebekah said softly. He looked over at her and smiled slightly.
"I know that you're determined to do this and I support you, but I have to ask if you're sure."
"I am surer of this than anything else. I want to be responsible for something good in this world Elijah. All we do is destroy and this is a chance to change that."
Elijah smiled slightly and nodded.
"You'll be a good mother Rebekah."
The next morning the group assembled outside the front of the house. Klaus had acquired a car without much difficulty and was leaning against the side of it when they emerged. Kol climbed in and raised his eyebrow as he noticed a car seat strapped into one of the back seats.
"Did you rob a soccer mom Nik?" Kol asked, chuckling to himself.
"It seemed fitting given Rebekah's newly found maternal instincts."
"And what about our other dear brother?" Elijah asked. "This car doesn't have much storage space."
"He's safe for the time being, I'll have him delivered when we're settled. Don't worry brother, I've made sure he's taken care of. Now, would you get in the car? We have miles to go and not much time to get there."
"I'll get in, on one condition."
"What's that?"
"I want to make a stop."
"That's a good idea," cut in Rebekah. "I need to get some milk and nappies for Elena."
Klaus regarded his siblings for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
"Alright. If we must."
They got in the car and Rebekah, who had been holding Elena in her arms carefully tucked her into the car seat. She frowned for a moment, trying to work out which strap went where.
"I don't want to be stuck next to the brat!" Kol scowled.
"You're the brat Kol. You're lucky she doesn't complain about sitting next to you." Rebekah didn't look up as she spoke, too focused on trying to safely harness the child. Klaus gave a disgruntled sigh, impatient to start their journey.
Elijah craned round in his seat and reached over as Rebekah gave a muffled curse, the correct orientation of the straps eluding her. He deftly fastened the straps in a few quick moves, drawing looks of surprise from his sister and youngest brother.
"What?" he asked, sitting back round.
Klaus started the car before any of them could say anything and they drove off. Elena gurgled in her car seat, waving her arms happily. Elijah smiled to himself, taking the ID from his pocket. He'd done some research the night before and had managed to find out quite a bit about both Dr Gilbert and his wife in not very much time. He guessed it was because they were from a small town with a close knit community, which was useful for his research but not so great when it came to compelling people who might be concerned by the child's disappearance.
"So where do you want us to stop?" Klaus asked.
"Mystic Falls, Virginia."
Klaus did a double take, looking over at him with suspicion but didn't say anything. Of course, Kol, always ready to take any opportunity to cause trouble, piped up immediately.
"Isn't that where that doppelganger bird used to live? What was her name? Kate? Kitty?"
"Katerina," said Elijah softly. "And yes, she did live in Mystic Falls for a short period."
"Before causing a massacre of all the local vampires along with herself," Klaus said. "Which is a shame."
"You upset she died?" Kol asked, smirking.
"No, I wanted to kill her myself and make it last a lifetime or two." Klaus was digging his fingers into the steering wheel, his knuckles turning to white with the force.
"Well, maybe you can find her grave and… I don't know… desecrate it for a lifetime or two," Rebekah said, making faces at Elena who giggled happily.
"So why are we visiting your former lover's place of death?" Kol asked.
"Because it's where Elena comes from."
"And we're going to dump her back home? Excellent!"
Rebekah slapped him hard about the head, Elena laughed at the action.
"Can you two try and be civil for five minutes? Or better yet, why don't you just stay silent until we get there?" Klaus said.
Kol rolled his eyes and rested his head against the window. Elena's tiny fist collided with his arm and he growled, drawing a glare from Rebekah. Their two older brothers both muttered under their breath, Klaus irritated by the antics and Elijah disappointed by the tense environment that had developed. When they got to Mystic Falls, he resolved to take Rebekah and give her a chance to relax without Klaus or Kol making comments. Otherwise, he feared that his youngest brother was likely to lose a limb before they even got to their new home. He looked in the mirror, catching sight of the baby and he couldn't help but smile to himself.
Fortunately, Kol stayed silent for the next few hours and Rebekah amused herself with the baby. Elijah was surprised by how well behaved the child was. Apart from her happy babbling, she made very little noise, seemingly content with the world. When they entered the town, Elijah peered out of the window, looking around at the town. While a lot of it had been modernised, the history of the town was clear in most of the buildings and he could easily imagine Katerina walking the streets. He smiled to himself. Despite everything, he often found himself thinking of her with maybe a touch of longing in his heart.
Klaus pulled over in the main square.
"How long do you think you'll need?" he asked. "I don't want to spend too long here."
"Give us an hour," Elijah said. Klaus opened his mouth to argue but he cut him off. "You and Kol can use that time to get a drink. Rebekah and I will deal with the girl's family and get some supplies for her."
Klaus looked like he still wanted to argue but the temptation of a drink and an opportunity to feed was clearly too great to resist. Kol seemed happy about the prospect of leaving the car as well.
They split into two groups. The two men headed into a building with a sign that read 'Mystic Falls Bar and Grill' while Elijah got his phone out and checked the address he'd dug up for Dr Gilbert. By this point, he theorised, the bodies would most likely have been found and reported to the family. Rebekah, with Elena in her arms, followed behind him as he set off. Elijah wondered if that girl would ever touch the ground growing up.
The streets were quiet, only a few people scattered around. Elena squirmed in Rebekah's arms and let out a squeal. Elijah wondered if she knew where she was, recognized it somehow.
The pair reached Maple Street and drew level with number 2104. Rebekah expected to see cars parked outside, people offering their condolences. In a town this small, most of the residents probably already knew about the deaths.
Elijah knocked lightly at the front door. After a moment it opened and a young woman, hair bedraggled and eyes rimmed with red, bloodshot and teary, stood there.
"C…can I help you?" she asked, clearly fighting tears. This confirmed Elijah's suspicions.
"Are you a relation of Dr Grayson Gilbert?" he asked, making sure his body was between the woman and the child.
"I'm… I was his sister in law… who are you?"
"My name is Elijah Mikaelson," he said, layering his voice with the hypnotic compulsion. "This is my sister Rebekah. Please let us in."
The woman blinked.
"Come in…"
Elijah, Rebekah and Elena headed inside. Elijah looked around as the woman led them into the living room. There were pictures on the walls and over the fireplace, of the couple, the woman and another man. He frowned slightly, noting that there were none of the child.
The woman seemed to notice Elena for the first time. Her eyes widened.
"Elena! Oh my god, you found her! She's alive!" She reached out for her niece. Rebekah pulled back automatically, clutching the baby.
"That's why we're here," Elijah said, decided to intervene before either of the women could get too distressed. He placed a hand on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. "Sit down. Be calm."
The woman sat obediently.
"What is your name?" Rebekah asked.
"Jenna. Jenna Sommers."
"Tell me about your niece," Elijah prompted. "When was she born?"
"June 22nd"
"Did your sister have any other children?"
"No. They always wanted more but they didn't get the chance."
"Do you remember the day she was born? Do you remember how you felt?" He didn't want the woman to suffer and he knew that this would be hard for her. He wanted to make things as easy as possible.
"I wasn't there…" Elijah frowned.
"Do you… do you remember how you felt when you found out your sister was pregnant?"
"She wasn't…"
"What?"
"They adopted Elena. Grayson's brother… his girlfriend was pregnant… they took her in."
"Well that was nice of them. But Jenna, listen to me. Your niece didn't survive the car accident. She died, with your sister and her husband. Do you understand? This is not your niece, this is our child."
"It's not my niece…"
"When we leave, you will forget we were here and remember only that she died with them."
"I understand. Elena died."
"And we were never here."
"And you were never here."
"Good. Now, my sister is in need. Our child is very young and we don't have anything we need. You're going to be very nice and take care of us. Go upstairs and fetch a bag. I want you to get clothes, toys, everything that the child needs."
The woman nodded and headed up the stairs.
"When did you go so soft Elijah?" Rebekah asked softly. "There was a time when you would have just compelled her to forget and left."
"That's what I did."
"But you were trying to comfort her. You wanted her to remember the good feelings so she wouldn't be sad."
"Is that a bad thing? We are abducting her niece."
"Not abducting. She would have died on the roadside before anyone found her. We saved her."
"You can call it what you want."
Jenna returned and handed them the bag, her expression dazed. Elijah gave her a sad smile as he ushered Rebekah out. Death was something he had long ago got used to. It was a part of his existence, one he didn't particularly like but that he had accepted. Still, when he saw humans dealing with death, he felt a twinge of some long buried emotion.
He had intended to go to the morgue and have a death certificate forged for the child, just to cement her status, but he felt reluctant to leave Rebekah alone with the infant on the streets. Someone could recognize her, and while she was more than capable of taking care of herself, he felt uneasy. Maybe it was what they were involved in, or maybe it was the knowledge that the woman he had once loved was part of this town's history, but this place just felt wrong to him.
He felt like he was being watched and lifted his head, glancing around. He thought for a second, he saw a figure retreating in the distance but he blinked and they were gone. Frowning to himself, he followed Rebekah back to the car where Klaus and Kol were already waiting for them.
"Let's get out of this damn town," muttered Klaus. Elijah's frown grew. He wondered if his brother felt the same sense of unease as he did and if it had the same reason. They piled back into the car, Elijah relocating to the back with Kol taking the front passenger seat. They headed down the road, passed the sign that said 'Welcome to Mystic Falls'. Elijah looked out of the window, once again feeling that seem sensation that someone was watching them.