Friendly reminder: If you don't like the story, then DON'T READ IT.

Simple, easy to remember.

Also, this is an Elejah fic for the most part. However there is Delena as well. I've had this story planned for awhile now and it is going to be pretty long, so bear with me. Or you can stop reading if this isn't your thing.

For all of you still liking this story, enjoy!

Chapter 8

"What the hell is going on?" Damon yelled, looking at the two Originals and the witch dead on the floor.

"Damon," Elena repeated, her eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at her former boyfriend. Her hands started shaking as her eyes filled with tears. She had to be dreaming; there was no way that Damon was here. Not now.

As Elijah turned to comfort Elena, Finn stepped forward and addressed the intruder, "Mr. Salvatore, I was under the impression that you were…locked away for an undetermined amount of time."

"I was, too," Damon scoffed, "Somehow that witch bitch of a mother of yours pulled me out before it collapsed."

"Did you strike a deal with my mother?" Finn asked slowly.

Damon shook his head, "All I was supposed to do was wait until she called me, and then I would get Elena back."

Finn nodded at the younger vampire's words as his gaze traveled to the broken young woman on the cot. He gently put his hand on Damon's shoulder, leading him out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, annoyed, "I want to see Elena!"

Finn led him out of the sanitarium, stopping at his car, "You'll see Elena soon," he assured Damon, "I just want to make sure she completely understands what's happening. She's very fragile at the moment."

"How did she end up here? With damn Originals of all people!"

"When she showed up here, I contacted someone I trust in Mystic Falls. I could tell she was running from something and I knew she was lying when she said she had ended things with you," Finn explained, running a hand through his hair nervously, "My contact said that you were imprisoned by a coven of witches and she wasn't sure when you were going to return. Elena has spent the past couple of weeks becoming who she once was. She felt abandoned by her friends, so she left."

Damon looked at the ground, his voice strained with emotion, "I tried so hard to get back to her. She's the only thing that kept me going while I was stuck in that hell," he looked up at Finn, his eyes reflecting the pain he was feeling, "I just want my girl back."

"Elena? Elena, look at me, princess. Please," Elijah begged. He stared at Elena, trying to get her to respond, but she just gazed at where Damon had been. He cupped her face in his strong hands, urging her to look at him instead, "Elena…"

"He's supposed to be gone…" She murmured, her empty eyes staring into Elijah's warm brown ones, "I just…"

He stroked her cheek delicately, "What do you want, Elena?"

"I don't know," she said softly as her eyes filled with tears, "I love Damon so much, but I was just putting myself back together."

Elijah took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. He wanted to swoop Elena up and run away with her. He wanted her to be who she wanted, not who everyone wanted her to be. He smiled a small smile at her, "Do you want to see Damon?"

"Yes…no…I don't know!" She screeched in exasperation as she stood up. She scratched her arm idly, trying to relieve the pain that was beginning to take over, "I spent so much time mourning him just to find out that he's alive. What am I supposed to do? I can't shut him out. But I can't go back to being stuck between him and Stefan."

"Then stay here in New Orleans," Elijah suggested hopefully.

She threw her hands up in annoyance, "And then what? I'd be stuck in the same situation either way," she huffed before continuing when he gave her a confused look, "She told me how you both feel. I can't tear apart brothers, especially Originals. I'll end up dead before I can even blink."

"If you're concerned about my feelings, don't be," Elijah said softly, "Your happiness is more important to me than my own."

"Elijah…" She sighed. She cared for him despite everything he'd done to hurt her in the past couple weeks. He'd always been there to save her, after all. She placed her hand on his cheek, trying to convey the feelings that were stirring inside of her.

"I hope you forgive me for how I've hurt you recently; it was never my intention," he said, placing his hand over hers, "You've always brought out the best and worst of my personality. If you choose to go back to Damon, I'll support your decision."

"But you won't like it," Elena mumbled, dropping her hand and staring at the floor.

He chuckled lightly, "No, I can't say that I would. But you're an adult and you're able to make your own decisions. Whatever makes you happy will make me happy, Elena."

"You'll always be here though, right?" She looked up at him with hopeful doe eyes.

"I'll always be waiting for you, Elena. You deserve a constant in your life."

"I don't know how everything will work with Damon," she admitted gently, "I'm hoping that he won't mind staying here for awhile. I don't think I'm ready to go home yet."

He smiled at her, "I assure you, I'll help you in any way that I can."

"Just remember what I said," Finn chided Damon softly as they both watched the doors of the sanitarium.

Damon snorted, "Yeah, I'll take your advice on my girl."

Elena and Elijah emerged from the abandoned building, his arm securely around her waist. Damon's anger flared slightly until he noticed how weak Elena was.

She stopped in front of Damon, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she looked up, "Hi."

"Elena, I-"

Before he had a chance to finish, she was in his arms. She nestled her face against the crook of his neck, inhaling everything that was Damon; the scent of leather and Bourbon mixed with her sweet vanilla scent. He wrapped his arms around her fragile body, holding her as tightly as he could.

"I've missed you so much, baby…" Damon murmured against her hair. He couldn't get enough of her. She was finally in his arms after months and months of torment without her.

Suddenly her relief turned to anger as she pushed away from him. Elena smacked him as hard as she could across the face, making his head snap to the side. Her voice shook as she accused him, "You left me. You made me a promise and then you left me."

Both Originals stared at the youngest vampire in shock and shrunk against the car, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her anger.

"Elena, I never-"

"No!" She screamed, visibly fuming with rage, "You left me, Damon. You said you would never leave me and you did!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, "Do you think I wanted to? Dammit, Elena! I did everything I could to get back to you. It tore me apart being away from you and here you are! You've already forgotten about me."

She shook her head, tears cascading down her cheeks, "I never forgot about you, Damon. You've always been a part of me."

Ignoring their audience, Damon moved his hands down to her waist and kissed her as if his life depended on it. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck and brought him closer against her. The world seemed to melt away around them.

Damon poured every emotion he'd felt while he'd been gone into their kiss. He wanted her to feel how much he had missed her, how much he still loved her.

When they finally broke apart, the Originals were nowhere to be seen. A set of keys laid on the hood of the car behind them and Elena smiled.

Damon turned towards the car and picked up the keys, "Well, they have tact and they're definitely hospitable," he looked at the black car, whistling, "A Lincoln MKZ. Didn't think I'd ever drive one of these again."

"They're good people," Elena said softly, "Finn's been nothing but nice to me."

He stopped and stared at her, "Do I need to be worried? I know I was gone for awhile…"

"No," she shook her head, trying to rid herself of her feelings, "Now, come on. Let's go."

"I don't think we should have left him with her," Finn mused quietly as he sat in the Compound.

"We didn't have a choice. She wouldn't have wanted us to stay," Elijah answered softly, "He won't hurt her."

Finn tapped his foot against the ground, "I'm more worried about her emotional state right now. She's been through a lot in the months that Mr. Salvatore has been away. I fear that being with him now is not in her best interest."

"That's her choice, brother. We can't change it."

The elder vampire cocked his head to the side as a devilish idea flitted through his head, "No, we can't change it. But we can influence it."

"No," Elijah said firmly, "You of all people shouldn't want to take away her free will." He was upset at the very idea of compelling Elena. She would never want that. When he noticed Finn's torn face, he continued softly, "I know you care for her, but it's her choice, brother. It's not our place."

Elijah patted his brother on the shoulder before he ascended the stairs to his room. His mind buzzed as he closed the door behind him and sat on the bed. How could he have left her with Damon? It was a bad idea, he knew that.

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Elena, hoping her phone was still with her.

You're more than welcome to use the plantation house if you and Damon decide to stay in town. Finn is staying at the Compound for a while.

-Elijah

Damon snorted as he picked the phone out of Elena's back pocket and read the text, "So, you were staying with Finn?"

"Yeah, why? Who's the text from?" She asked curiously.

"Elijah," he said with distaste, "I'd prefer not to stay there. We'll get a hotel in the city." He patted his pockets and groaned, "And I don't have my wallet. Perfect."

Elena smiled and reached into her purse, pulling out a leather beat wallet and handing it to him.

He stared at it in awe before quickly returning his eyes to the road, "Why do you have that?"

"I didn't really have any pictures of you," she shrugged, "I figured a driver's license was better than nothing."

"Yeah? It wasn't just so you could tap into my bank account while I was gone?" Damon teased, nudging his elbow into her ribs as she giggled.

They drove in silence, his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he maneuvered them into the Quarter.

"I haven't been here in a while," Damon murmured as he looked around for a place to park.

"I like it here," she said softly.

He pulled the car into the parking lot of a hotel and shrugged, "Then we'll stay. I need to tell Stefan I'm back though."

Elena cringed. She hadn't thought about Stefan needing to know of Damon's return. When Damon was gone, Stefan thought that they could bury themselves in grief together and tried relentlessly to get her back. He was one of the main reasons she had to leave. She didn't want to be brother hopping anymore.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her apprehension at the mention of his brother.

She shook her head, "Nothing. Maybe you should invite Caroline to come, too. That way Stefan's not alone."

Damon smiled, "My girl is always so thoughtful."

"Elijah, pleasure seeing you here," Cami said as Elijah sat down at the bar.

"Good evening, Camille," Elijah greeted her, a small worn smile on his face.

She grabbed a glass and filled in to the brim with Scotch, sliding it over to him, "Alright, spill. What's got you in a funk?"

"In a funk?" He repeated with amusement before taking a drink of the bitter liquid, "I suppose it's what men normally drink over. Not that it truly solves anything."

Cami smiled, "So a woman, then? Would this particular woman happen to be a brunette with the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen?"

Elijah pursed his lips and looked up from his glass, "And you know her how?"

"She comes in and drinks. Normally during the day," she shrugged, "She seems like she has a lot she wants to forget. Not that I blame her with the life she's had." Cami served another customer before returning to Elijah and giving him a pointed look, "You know Rebekah killed her right? It's a miracle she even wants to talk to you after that. She was just a teenager, hell, she still is!"

"I know," his face was riddled with guilt, "I never intended for her to transition. She was supposed to lead a long and full life outside of all of the supernatural nonsense."

The blonde smiled, "Good, you understand that you need to fix things. But my question is: why aren't you fighting for her? It's clear to me that you both have feelings for each other."

"The love of her life came back from…being away," Elijah answered simply, "I can't compete with that."

Cami snorted, "Are you serious right now? You're an Original, Elijah. An Original. You can't honestly tell me that you're just going to give up. Show her that you care. Show her that you want her."

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~Grace