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The church was beautiful but Elena didn't come here to admire it. She stopped regularly to light the candles in honor of Alaric, Jenna, her parents, John and Isobel. Today she was just staring as she remembered each time that she had with them and tears welled up, threatening to fall as she fought to keep the grief in check. One by one the deaths had been a blow to her each time but here – as she lit so many candles – they felt like an ocean pushing against a wooden dam.

She didn't even realize she was trembling as she tried to hold the emotions in check. A simple caress of fingers against her arm – such a tender gesture and so familiar was her breaking point and the tears slipped down her cheeks. Once she was sure that her tears were all dried up, a handkerchief was placed in her hand and a very familiar male voice spoke.

"Lovely Elena," she didn't dare look up at Elijah's face as she knew it was him. "Are you alright?" When she didn't answer, he tilted her chin to look at her and the dried tear streaks nearly covered her cheeks. "Is there any trouble in Mystic Falls? Are you in danger?"

"I'm fine, Elijah." She told him truthfully. "There isn't…there isn't any trouble in Mystic Falls that I know of." Her smile was watery but still, she was being truthful. "I couldn't stay there-there's been too much loss in that town and I needed a fresh start." Part of it was the truth and the other part was her cover but it sounded so true to her that she made it seem that way. "No, I'm not in any danger."

He smiled and she could see how relaxed he was. "That is good though why you chose New Orleans, does make me wonder."

"I've never been here and I decided to wing it." That was a lie but she wasn't going to betray anyone's trust with her words. Elijah must have known and allowed her to continue though he was quite curious as to why she would lie to him about her reasons.

"How long are you here for?"

"A couple of days at the most." Lie.

"Would you care to join me at the Royal Coffee House?"

"I would love to but I just need to stop by my hotel room to get a few things." Her eyes were lighter, much more playful and it seemed that he was able to pull that out of her, even after her cry-fest. "Would you be kind enough to meet me here?"

"Of course, Lovely Elena, of course."

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Elena managed to make it back to the house in record speed and hurried into her room when Rebekah asked, "What is going on?"

"I met Elijah and he wants to have coffee at RHC. Call Caroline and see if she can skip today. We already have two of your brothers who know we're here-we don't need Klaus or the rest of them to discover this!" She could feel her panic rising and she slid onto the floor. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she could feel another cry-fest happening. "I didn't mean for him to find me! Honestly, I didn't!"

Rebekah sat beside her and rubbed her arms comfortingly. "I know you didn't." The blonde gave her a smile. "Though if my brothers do know that you three are here…I wonder how long it would take for them to find out what you three are hiding."

"I'll not betray you and Stefan, Bekah."

"I believe you."

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"I wasn't sure you'd show," Kol said as he approached her. He had on black jeans that fit like every man wished they would and an ice blue shirt. Bonnie blushed as she took him in. He was probably mocking her behind his shades.

"Where would you like to go for lunch?" he asked.

"I don't know any suggestions?" she shrugged with a smile - so far he had been courtesy itself and nothing like he was in Mystic Falls.

"Do you like seafood?" he asked. She smiled.

"I love seafood."

"I know just the place then," Kol smiled and they walked along until they arrived at Brennans. Bonnie quickly decided on the seafood bisque and Kol ordered the shrimp etoufee. As they waited for their meal Kol studied her for a moment until she blushed.

"What?"

"You're staring at me!"

"You're beautiful."

"It's rude to stare," Bonnie giggled.

"I'm glad I ran into you," Kol smiled. "So what have you seen since you've been down here?"

"Well I've walked all through the French Quarters - been down Bourbon and the like. Plus I've been to the cathedral and Central Grocery. I walked along the moonwalk and I've been to probably a dozen voodoo shops."

"I knew you wouldn't pass on the voodoo shops," Kol smirked and Bonnie found herself grinning back. She was having a good time with Kol Mikaelson?

"So how is Mystic Falls?"

"You know the same - though it's a little quieter now that your family is gone," Bonnie said. "How is your family? Are they here?" Kol looked at her warily for a minute.

"They're all here. Rebekah's planning to leave though. Elijah's been trying to talk her out of it but I'm pretty sure she's determined. She'll be lucky if Klaus doesn't put a dagger in her back."

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Elena tried twelve times to reach Caroline's phone but it just kept going to voicemail. With a sigh she realized she had already arrived at the coffee house. Truth be told it was one of her favorite places to go. The coffee was fantastic and she loved their blueberry muffins but today she was afraid they were going to taste like dirt. She walked in and greeted the worker behind the counter. She came so often they all knew what she wanted and a minute later she had a muffin and a vanilla cappuccino. She stepped out into the courtyard and sighed as she saw Caroline standing there speaking to Elijah Mikaelson. He smiled as he saw her approach and pulled out a chair for her.

"Elena you didn't tell me Caroline was also in New Orleans," Elijah said and Caroline looked at her pointedly over Elijah's shoulder. It was a look that clearly said 'we are so screwed' and Elena could agree with the sentiment. How were they going to pull this off?

"You didn't ask," Elena shrugged.

"You know once I heard how wild it was down here I had to come and see for myself," Caroline smiled brightly.

"So you got a job at a coffee house for the weekend?" Elijah asked calmly. He was like a dog with a bone when he got onto something. Nothing seemed to escape his notice.

"Oh no I live down here," Caroline smiled. Elena immediately started praying that Elijah didn't want an address. Instead he leaned back in his chair slightly. His manner became relaxed as he took a long sip of his coffee.

"This is exceptionally good coffee," he smiled.

"I love it too," Elena smiled.

"I'd better get back before I get fired. Elena I'll meet you at our spot tonight?" Caroline asked. Elena knew exactly what Caroline meant. There was an audaciously wild bar on a corner of Bourbon Street where there was so much going on atop the u-shaped bar each night that the patrons could likely sit there completely naked and no one would notice. It was good anonymity and they needed to regroup.

"Yeah seven?"

"Seven"

Elijah gave every semblance of being completely relaxed as he finished the rest of his coffee.

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