He checks on the car he's arranged to have delivered to Mystic Falls instead of thinking of other things. It will be there in a few hours. He decides to sleep until then, his phone is loud enough to wake him up, should someone need him.
She's back when he's making coffee.
"You were out?" He asks. He hadn't checked, but Elena's an adult. Technically. He still sees her and Jeremy as kids. They aren't, he reminds himself as she pours a cup of coffee. She pushes hair out of her face.
"Yeah. Elijah. He got into town last night, and everyone else was asleep. He helped me stay up. We talked, a little." She tells him, pouring sugar and creamer into her cup.
"That's good." He says, as Jeremy walks down the stairs.
She's explained it, that Elijah will keep her safe. She doesn't want to be a burden to them, and they have their own lives to go live.
"Hey." Her brother says.
"Hey." She smiles.
Bonnie is on Caroline's couch. She'll come over in a few hours with her, and they'll play the waiting game. Elena can feel herself slowly getting tired. The thought makes her take a gulp of steaming coffee. No, she's not going to sleep. She only has a few hours.
Jeremy hugs her. She hugs him back, he needs comfort and she's going to give what she has left.
The hug is even longer than the one she had with Elijah, and she doesn't mention the future.
It's not what anyone wants to hear, not right now. She proposes that the day be lighthearted. She suggests a movie marathon and the two men next to her agree to it. They pretend the tension in the air isn't thick, that the atmosphere isn't heavy.
They laugh a little too hard at lines they know already, but to them, it's perfect.