I returned to the city. My phone buzzed as I walked with an address so that was where I headed. On my way, I passed by the Mikaelson house and I couldn't help but pause by the rusty gate. I sighed softly. Then I caught myself, realizing what I was doing, and continued on my way.

I reached the address. Marcel was waiting for me there.

"Elena. I was pleased to get your call."

"I thought that given my current situation, you'd be my best bet for safety." I had originally planned on telling Marcel the full situation, about my pregnancy and everything but for some reason as I went to say the words, they stuck in my throat. I knew I was showing but I was confident that with loose enough clothes I could hide it for at least a bit longer, just until I made sure that he was the right person to trust. After all, I hardly knew the man. The only reason I'd chosen to take him up on his offer was simply that he was the only vampire nearby that I knew who was in a position to help. I knew about eleven vampires personally. Four were missing, one was (hopefully) dead, one was looking after Jeremy, one was god knows where doing god knows what (and who I wouldn't ask for help if she was the last vampire on earth) and one was presumably still an emotionless ripper. That left Caroline, Toby and Marcel. There was no way Caroline would understand the situation and if I went back to ask her help, that would mean I'd have to answer the very questions I was trying to avoid. Even if I was willing to do that, she was hardly a particularly powerful ally. Toby had the same problem. Nice guy, not particularly useful. Marcel had status, power, an entire city under his control and presumably a bunch of witches in his pocket.

"Well, I would like to welcome you to my community. I'll take you to where you're staying, give you time to settle in and then tonight I can introduce you to everyone else." We started walking.

"I do have to ask, Marcel, why did you give me this opportunity? I know Klaus took us both in and we were both abandoned by him but was that the only reason?" He looked over at me. "Sorry, I'm just kind of wary at the moment."

"It's understandable. And no, I didn't offer this to you solely for our shared family connection. I was… made aware of what you are."

"Ah…" I felt my body tense. Usually when someone found out that I was a doppelganger, it was followed by schemes and blood and pain. Marcel noticed immediately and held up his hands in a sign of peace.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of hurting you because of it. You can't help how you're born. I couldn't personally see how your status as a doppelganger would be of use to me, but I felt that you are a good person to have on your side. Klaus clearly saw something in you."

"He saw my blood. He needed it to make hybrids."

"I'm sure there's more to you than that. I like to take advantage of opportunities. Even if I don't know how they might work out yet. And I like to help people. Particularly people who are in need of a fresh start."

"I still feel bad just being here and not doing anything. Is there any way I might be able to help out?"

"There is. I have control over the city's witches, however I also have an entire city to run and don't always have time to keep an eye on them or hear their grievances. I'd like you to act as my envoy. They naturally don't trust vampires but you're… mostly human. And you're non-threatening. And you know how to handle yourself around dangerous individuals, a fact demonstrated by your extended survival around Klaus' family."

"What if they try to do magic on me?"

"They're forbidden to do magic in the quarter without my consent. But I'll send someone with you when you visit them."

I nodded slowly. I wasn't sure about the idea about having to interact with the witches regularly. Ideally I wanted to keep myself, and my child, away from people who might have an issue with the loopholes in nature that we presented. But this was the best way for me to survive and Marcel was the best ally I could hope for in my current circumstances.

He took me to one of the old buildings he owned and that he used as a base. It was reasonably quiet, only a few people dotted around. He led me to a bedroom.

"This will be where you stay. We share everything here so help yourself to stuff from the kitchen. If you find anything of interest you need to bring it to me. If you have a grievance with anybody, you tell me. If I'm not around, the guys with daylight rings are my inner circle. You know Toby of course and you met Diego I believe. My buddy Thierry is my second in command. You'll meet him tonight."

I nodded and sat on the bed.

"When did you want me to start with the witches?"

"Tomorrow. Today you can just settle in. Although feel free to look around their areas to get a sense of it if you like."

He left. I unpacked my bag and looked around, at a loss of what to do. I decided to take Marcel's advice and explore the area. I had a few menial tasks to do as well in order to try and make life a little easier. I visited the bank first so that I could actually have some cash, and then set about aimlessly. I bought some new clothes, several sizes too big so that I could keep my bump hidden as it grew. I knew eventually I'd need to bite the bullet and get maternity clothes but for the time being these would do.

I did a bit of googling on my phone and found that there was a small doctor's surgery in the area where I could get my pre-natal check up. It took some wandering around but I found the doctor's surgery and, after some hesitation, I went in.

"Hello, can I help you?" asked the perky receptionist.

"Hi, I was hoping I could get a check-up?"

"Well normally you'd need to call in advance but we do have a cancellation coming up if you can wait half an hour?"

"That's fine."

"Can I take your name please?"

"Elena Gilbert."

"Thank you, Miss Gilbert. Have a seat."

I sat down in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, fiddling awkwardly with the hem of my t-shirt. The time passed slowly but eventually the receptionist called my name. I went through to the examination room where the doctor was waiting. He was a young man and he smiled when I came in.

"Hello there Miss Gilbert. Please, make yourself comfortable." I sat down in the weird examination chair as he clicked on something on his computer. "I notice that your records don't have any previous check ups for this little guy or girl?"

"No… I have been… struggling to process it."

"Well that's understandable. We'll run a few tests, make sure everything is as it should be. Do you know how far along you are?"

"Not the exact amount. I know I'm between 18 and 23 weeks."

"That's quite a wide bracket." I looked away. "Well let's get started on those tests and make sure you're both okay."

He busied himself with various equipment, taking a blood sample from my arm before getting the ultrasound machine. I carefully rolled up my top, revealing my belly. He squirted some cold jelly onto my skin and ran the probe over my stomach. After a moment, a steady sound came from the monitor as it picked up my heartbeat. Then came a smaller one. I kept my head turned away from the screen, reluctant to look over and see.

"There's the little one." He looked over at me. "Did you want to know the gender?"

"Umm… no, I think I'll wait." In my mind if I knew the gender it would make it a real person and then I wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle it.

"Okay, that's fine. Everything seems to be good. I can't see any abnormalities which is a good sign. I'd say you're around 22 weeks gone." He smiled at me. "I'll print off a copy of the image for you to look at later… if you want?"

I bit my lip.

"Yeah… I guess…" I hesitated. "You must think I'm a horrible mother."

"No… I understand that it can be difficult sometimes. I've had women break down in that chair when they see their children." He printed the picture for me and tucked it into an envelope. "I'll need a urine sample to send off with the blood sample, just to make sure you're healthy too. Did you want me to send the results to the address on your file or do you have an alternative?"

"I have a new address."

"Then you'll need to fill in some paperwork with my receptionist." He handed me a small vial for my urine sample along with the envelope. "Fill that and then you're all done."

I nodded, went into the toilet to fill my sample before dropping it off. I did the paperwork in reception and then headed back into the street, putting the envelope with the picture into my pocket.

I came to a small bar with a sign proclaiming that they served food, and decided to stop in to have a drink and maybe a bite to eat. It was fairly quiet inside, dimly lit but in a way that made it feel cosy more than dingy. The bartender, a young blonde woman, smiled at me as I approached.

"Hello there, what can I get you?"

"Can I just have some water please? And whatever you'd recommend to eat?"

"That'd be the gumbo. Our chef, Sophie, makes the best gumbo in the quarter." She smiled. "I'll get that for you."

I took a seat in the corner and relaxed, making myself comfortable. The bartender brought me over a drink and I gave her a grateful smile. It was quite pleasant just sitting there without anything to worry about.

A young dark haired woman came out with a bowl of gumbo. She set it down and as she did so, her hand brushed my arm. She froze instantly, her eyes locking on me. I sighed softly.

"Witch?" I said, keeping my voice quiet.

"Yes…"

"Figures. So far only your kind have even really noticed this." I wondered if that was a thing all witches could do. That witch at the store had certainly reacted to it. Could they sense the full extent of what I was carrying or was there just a sense of wrongness around it?

"How did that happen?"

"I… I'm not sure… do you think you… or someone you know might be able to help me work it out?"

"We might be able to. We're not supposed to do magic but I'm sure someone in the community might be able to work out why you've managed this."

She left without another word. My good mood was sort of dampened by the talk but I tried not to let it bother me. I ate my gumbo and drank my water, before paying and headed out to the quarter once again. It was starting to get dark, the lanterns that were fixed to the walls has been lit and were flickering merrily.

I returned to Marcel's compound. It was busier now. The atmosphere was excited and happy and there was a small group of people playing instruments. People were laughing, drinking. Marcel saw me as I entered and beckoned me over. I went to his side and he cleared his throat, instantly commanding the attention of his group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we welcome a new member to our community. This is Elena and from this night she is one of us." The assembled group cheered. I smiled slightly. Marcel was different to how I'd expected him to be. Klaus used intimidation and fear to keep control, while Marcel's seemed to genuinely like him and want to serve him. Marcel turned to me. "I want to introduce you to someone."

Marcel led me over to a tall guy with dark hair, wearing a hoodie and flat cap. He was playing a trumpet and we waited for his song to finish before approaching.

"Elena, I want you to meet my right hand man, Thierry. He'll be accompanying you in your trips to the witches."

"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling. He glanced at me and frowned slightly.

"Weren't you with that lunatic Klaus?"

"I… I know him."

"How well?"

"Thierry… Elena is one of us now. I know you don't like Klaus but I will not hear you slander him in my house. If it weren't for him, none of us would be here." Thierry grumbled softly but nodded, returning his attention to his trumpet. I glanced at Marcel who shrugged and ushered me away.

"Don't worry about him. He's too loyal for his own good and he's still sore about Klaus biting Diego in his last visit. But he's the best person to help with the witches and I'm sure he'll warm up to you soon enough. Anyway, for tonight just enjoy yourself. Every night's a party in this town," He grinned and wandered off.

I found a seat and settled down, quietly content to people watch. I was mildly concerned that this was going to end up the same way as the other party had, with people suddenly dying, but it seemed like there was only vampires here tonight. I still wasn't sure if this was the best choice for me but at least it seemed like a better idea. There were more people, they took care of one another. Then again, I didn't know how they'd react when I told them about my pregnancy. I could foresee it going one of two ways. Either they'd be excited by the prospect of vampires potentially somehow being able to have kids or they'd see me as a threat and try to kill me. I just hoped it was the former. I would hide it for as long as I could with loose clothes and just hope that the witches wouldn't say anything. The longer I hid it, the more time I'd have to come up with a back-up plan if Marcel decided I constituted a threat.

The party went on late into the night. I spent most of it by myself, just observing, but I talked to a few people. I wanted to get a better idea of who Marcel was and what his people thought of him. They all seemed genuinely nice and happy to be helping him. I didn't want to let my guard down but I was beginning to feel more comfortable with my decision to leave the bayou.

It didn't look like they were planning on winding down anytime soon. I suppose that those without daylight rings had adopted a purely nocturnal lifestyle and were planning on making the most of it. Still, I was too tired to stay for the whole thing. I hadn't really slept properly over the past few days at the bayou, too caught up in my introspection. I went up to my bedroom and was about to get in when I caught sight of the full length mirror in the corner of the room. I paused before stripping off and moving to stand in front it. This was the first time I'd really been able to look at myself full on.

I ran my eyes over myself. My body was unfamiliar to me, it was like I was looking at a stranger. I started at the top, moving my eyes slowly downwards, taking in every little detail. My hair was far longer and seemed thicker, shinier than before. There was a thin silver scar across my forehead, barely visible under my fringe but there if I concentrated hard enough. My eyes held a hollowness, like my soul had been stripped out. I was paler too and my cheekbones were more prominent. My neck seemed empty without my necklace, too exposed and naked. I felt vulnerable looking at it. There was another scar, barely visible running from beneath my chin, down the hollow of my throat and across my collarbone. I traced it with my finger, confused by it.

Moving down from my face to my body where I felt the most disturbing change. I was thinner, incredibly so which made my swollen breasts and distended stomach seem all the more grotesque to me. Despite the thinness, my limbs seemed thicker in muscle. The whole thing made me uncomfortable to look at.

My eyes paused over my heart and a shudder ran down my spine. The bandages were still in place, although I had no idea if they were needed. I carefully unwrapped them, bracing myself for what might be beneath. I took in the jagged scar, horrifically visible in comparison to the small hidden ones that were dotted about my person, but oddly enough I didn't feel fear or revulsion at the sight of it. I felt… pride. Looking at it, I felt stronger.

My eyes moved to my stomach. It wasn't as large as I'd first thought in my shocked state. Clearly visible when naked but still concealable with loose clothes. Another pale scar bisected the bulge and I shivered. I knew without looking that I'd find another on each thigh and the soles of my feet. It was like a physical reminder of the parts of me that the siblings had taken, the link between us that had been so violently severed.

I turned away sharply, no longer able to look at myself. I pulled on my pyjamas and climbed into bed, curling up under the covers.

A/N: I know everyone's eager for the originals the return. I can guarantee at least one will be in chapter five (maybe the end of chapter four, haven't decided yet). In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying this sequel. I'm always unsure about my sequels.