He knows looking for a physical sign is ridiculous, but he gives it another minute before he attempts to enter her head. He thinks of the song that Elena loved so loudly that it filled her mind palace, and he thinks he sees her arm twitch.
Her eyes fly open and she tries to move into a sitting position, but she forgets about the IV.
"Ow." She says with a rough voice he can barely recognize, and he gingerly removes the IV and tells her he'll be right back with blood and water. She nods, and he gets out of the chair near her bed and is back when she blinks. Elena tries to not look at her bleeding arm, and she has to remember that she needs to drink blood, that the dry rough part of her throat isn't going to be sated by water.
She gulps it down and she can feel her arm healing, and washes the blood down with water. He opens his mouth as she looks around the room and then she remembers.
"That wasn't a dream, was it?" She asks and he shakes his head. Her entire body seems to droop, and she starts crying. He wraps his arms around her, and she tells him she saw Bonnie, what her friend had said, and what she had done. Elijah holds her for a few minutes and she tells him she wants to take a shower, and scoots off the bed and almost falls as she tries to stand. He catches her, and helps her stand up. Her legs take a moment to get used to the real world and she asks him if the bathroom is where it was when he showed her the latest update of the house. He nods and she tells him it's been decades since she went through any kind of beauty routine and she needs to do something familiar before she can think about anything else. The hot water feels like lava against her almost stiff muscles.
He retreats downstairs to alert his siblings, and they give him smiles he doesn't understand completely, but he's focused on listening to make sure Elena's okay that he doesn't notice until he feels something touching his head.
"I did it!" Kol shouts victoriously, and Elijah has his arm around Kol's neck messing up his hair a second after that.
"It only took you four decades give or take." Klaus notes and Rebekah tells Kol and Elijah that they look ridiculous. Klaus's phone rings and Elena asks Elijah a question because she knows he'll hear it as he's fixing his hair.
He tells her that they'll be going to Bonnie's funeral once Jeremy arrives and they both hear Caroline on the phone with Klaus, she wants him to come with Elijah and the Gilberts. She thought she could handle it, she had decades to get used to the idea that Bonnie would be dead one day, but she's not okay and she needs him. She also adds that Alaric is just going to go straight to where she is rather than detouring in New Orleans.
He continues speaking to Elena, and Rebekah says that she's going to get some clothes for Elena, because she's fairly sure she doesn't know what's fashionable nowadays and it's only because they're friends. Elena lets out a choked laugh and Elijah sends his sister a dirty look and she rolls her eyes.
It is bizarre to see Elena not in her room, she's actually walking around and eating.
"I missed food so much." She says between bites. She missed everything really, but food's something the Originals have in their house. They all hear the car in their driveway and Elena moves to see who it is. She knows, she knows it's Jeremy and his door is barely closed before he's engulfed in a hug and familiar perfume hits his nose.
"Elena?" He asks although he knows, and wraps his arms around his sister. She cries, and her fragile human brother is the strong one in the hug.
"Thank you." He mouths, to the Originals watching, but especially to Elijah. They nod, different expressions on their faces.
Rebekah hands her a packed bag, and she notices three suitcases. Elijah says he'll drive, and Klaus calls the passenger seat. She hugs Kol and Rebekah, and thanks them and tells them she'll see them soon. They smile, and Rebekah tells Elena to take care of herself, and Elena tells her she will.
Plane rides have changed since she's been in a coma, but she talks and talks until her throat goes dry, it's so surreal to see more than one person at once. She's not completely okay, but she knows that life has to go on, and that it might be okay someday. She notes the disapproving looks on faces she's never seen before she she lands and Caroline almost tackles her. They're a mess, but they're a mess together and that's what makes them okay. When Elena has a slightly cracked rib, Elijah gently pulls them apart and his brother takes Elena's place and begins to comfort her.
Elena stays close to Elijah, Jeremy notices. Not that he's surprised, but he's surprised how translucent their feelings for each other are.
"We are not here for a fight. We are here to celebrate the life of Bonnie Bennett." Elijah reminds the witches watching their group stare too long for his liking.
"We know that." One of them says.
"Good." Elijah says as he opens a car door for Elena and Jeremy.