A/N: To those of you that read this story years ago when I first started it, most of the next 10 chapters are the same as the first time round. I am make some edits and a few changes here and there to make the story flow better now that I have gotten back on track to finish writing this. It is going to be worth re-reading them though I think, because it has been a long time and I am indeed making a few changes.
The next afternoon when she woke up, Elena covered her head with a blanket to block out the sun and the world alike.
The trip to the hospital had been worse than she had thought it would be. As expected, they had wanted to know what had happened to her. She had stayed silent like Jeremy suggested, but that hadn't saved her. They'd called the police. The nurse said they had an obligation to report to the police when they believed the injuries they were treating were purposefully inflicted. The police had taken pictures and asked lots of questions that she evasively answered, continuing to insist that a dog had attacked her. Her story couldn't explain away bruises in the shape of fingers.
With that thought she hurriedly got up and rushed to get dressed. If she moved fast enough, maybe she could outrun the memories of the night before. Maybe she could forget the blood all over Stefan's face and... Not moving fast enough, obviously. Dressed in record time, especially considering the annoying brace, she all but ran out of her room and down the stairs.
Caroline and Jeremy were in the kitchen as Elena reached the bottom of the steps. Before she could run out the door, though, Caroline was there, with Jeremy close behind.
"Oh my G-" Caroline stopped herself short. "Elena, what-" she stopped again, reminding herself not to ask any questions.
"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked. "Be back soon, little brother. Promise to stay away from all vampires. Need some time alone." With that, she was out the door.
"Should we follow her?" Jeremy asked Caroline, clearly worried.
"No. No, she'll be fine. We can't follow her everywhere she goes. If she isn't back in a couple hours, we'll call her and check in."
"Jeremy nodded. "Okay."
. . .
Elena made a mental note to thank Caroline for bringing her car back to her house. She walked in the Grill and walked straight up to the bar. Matt was there a few seconds later.
"What can I get you?"
"Double shot of Bourbon on the rocks, please."
Matt's eyebrows rose. "Its only four o'clock in the afternoon, Elena."
"So?" Elena shot back.
Matt shrugged. "Okay. Comin' right up."
As soon as he set it down in front of her, Elena slammed it back. It burned a fiery path to her stomach, which was just what she wanted. As she opened her mouth to order another one, she froze. Her hand came up to her stomach. She had forgotten about the baby. What kind of person forgets they're pregnant? She felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. She couldn't believe that she possibly could. She couldn't even form coherent thoughts. She quickly dug money out of her purse and threw it on the bar.
"Elena?" Matt questioned as she stood up. "What's wrong?"
"Uh... um, nothing. I just... I remembered that I have somewhere I'm supposed to be. Thanks for the drink." As she left the bar, her thoughts were swirling so fast she couldn't think straight. She was almost to the car when she suddenly ran into something rock hard. She would have fallen over if someone hadn't grabbed both of her arms. She winced at the pain elicited by the tight grip. Looking up, her mouth almost fell open as she registered the face that was barely a foot away from hers. The hands released her and she stepped back, her eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you doing here?"
The vampire put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I most sincerely apologize, Elena. But, if there is even a chance that my family is actually safe, hidden somewhere... He left orders that if he died, they were to be thrown into the ocean. I simply could not risk it."
Elena held her angry stance for a moment longer, and then the fight left her. She just didn't have the energy to be angry. She didn't have the energy to feel anything. She simply felt numb. She sighed, "I understand. Now if you'll forgive me, I just want to go home and sleep."
"Are you alright?"
"Eventually. I hope."
. . .
It had been three weeks since that awful night and Elena still felt like she was fighting to make it through each and every day. She fought not to think about Stefan. She struggled to not think about Damon, not to think about 1864, not to worry about everything that could go wrong with the baby, not to worry about Klaus coming back, not to fail out of high school, not to wonder what she was going to do when she graduated. The list went on for what seemed like forever. And hanging over all of it was the other shoe that she kept expecting to drop. No one's life had been threatened in over two months, but this kind of peace never lasted in Mystic Falls. Something was bound to go wrong eventually. She tried her best not to think about that either. Tonight, she was going to go and try not to think at all. She'd heard a couple of her classmates at the Grill talking about a bar that does a karaoke night on Thursday nights. The bar was one town over from Mystic Falls, so it would suit her just fine.
Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy had barely left her side in three weeks and she really just needed to get away from everyone. Her inability to drink alcohol really sucked, although she realized it was probably for the best. If it wasn't for the baby, she would be well on her way to being more of an alcoholic than Alaric. But hopefully listening to people butcher perfectly good songs would be a decent distraction.
She dressed in skinny jeans, knee high boots, and a top that clung to her waist and hips and plunged down into a deep V. She carefully applied her make-up. When she was done, you could barely tell she had put any on, but it very subtly accented her features. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and a small smile touched her lips. It was the perfect blend of sexy and classy, creating a look that would turn heads without being slutty. She wasn't really in the mood to turn heads, but she decided that if she was going to go out, she should at least look like someone planning to have a good time.
An hour later, she was sitting at the bar with a 7-Up in her hand, watching a guy sing what Elena was sure was the most horrible rendition of Elvis Presley's song Hound Dog ever sung.
"Can I buy you a drink?" Elena glanced over at the guy that had walked up to lean against the bar beside her.
"No, thanks."
"Do you want to dance?"
She didn't even glance at him this time. "No, thanks."
"Well, you're not going to have any fun that way."
This time Elena turned her head to glare at the annoying man. "Can't you take a hint?"
"I believe the lady would like you to leave her alone," came the smooth voice of Elijah from her other side.
The man leaning next to her raised his hands. "I didn't mean to bother the lady. Just wanted to make sure she was enjoying herself." He turned and bowed slightly to Elena. Straightening, he said, "I own this bar. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know."
As the bar owner walked away, Elijah asked, "Is this seat taken?"
"Are you following me? Or just spending a lot of time in bars?"
"Maybe a little of both," Elijah replied with a small smile as he sat down next to her.
Elena turned back to the stage as another brave soul came up to sing. After a couple minutes, Elena burst out, "Ok, what? Why are you staring at me?"
"I apologize," he said as he continued to stare.
"You're still doing it."
"May I ask you a personal question?"
Elena glanced at him, then turned her eyes back to the stage and shrugged, "Sure."
"Who is the father?" Elena, who had been in the process of taking a sip of her drink, promptly choked.
"What?"
"I can hear two heartbeats," he shrugged.
Elena looked at him with eyes full of panic. "You can't say anything to anyone. If Klaus hears of this..." she trailed off, sure the result would be worse than anything she could come up with on the spot.
"Your secret is of course safe with me." Elena nodded and tried to relax, working on slowing her heartbeat. Too much excitement wasn't good for the baby and panicking was not going to make Elijah magically forget what he knew. She just had to hope to God that he kept his promise. Trusting an Original. Like that had ever turned out well for her in the past. She turned back to watch the stage.
From Elijah's perspective, her heartbeat had sped up until it was even faster than her baby's. He smiled as he listened to the two cadences, matching up briefly, then moving out of sync again as Elena's heartbeat slowed.
Elena was about to tell Elijah she was heading home when the bar owner caught her eye. He was leaning forward, talking to a girl. His hair was dark, a lock falling over his forehead as he spoke. Suddenly the girl turned and began moving toward the exit, the bar owner following her. That's when Elena noticed the glassy look in the girl's eyes and realized why the pair had caught her eye. How many times had she seen Damon lean forward just like that? The bar owner was definitely a vampire.
"Ah, you noticed did you?" Elijah asked.
"What?"
"The owner. You noticed he was a vampire."
"You spend enough time around 'em, you learn to pick up on the signs." Just then, a guy she recognized walked on stage. She was pretty sure he had been in her math class last year. Her eyebrows shot up when he began to sing. He was good. Really good, actually.
"Last night I had a crazy dream.
A wish was granted just for me, it could be for anything
I didn't ask for money or a mansion in Malibu
I simply wished, for one more day with you"
"Would that not be nice? To be able to have one more day with someone you've lost?" Elijah asked.
Jake continued to sing as Elena answered, "It'd be nice if it were possible. But it would be very bittersweet- you would only have the one day," Elena said.
"But then again I know what it would do- leave me wishing still, for one more day with you.
First thing I'd do, is pray for time to crawl,then I'd unplug the telephone and keep the TV off
I'd hold you every second, say a million I love you's.
That's what I'd do with one more day with you."
The crowd cheered as Jake took a bow and left the stage. "At least for you it's possible," Elijah stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Compulsion can do many things," he said with a wry smile.
"But it would all be fake, so what would be the point?"
"I would love to see my mother's face again, so that I can memorize every detail the way I never did when she was alive because I did not think it important at the time. I am sure the memory is somewhere in my mind, but I have long since lost the ability to visualize her face. I would like to be able to go back and savor my sister's carefree laughter, a sound that has long since died away. These are things that would live on in my memory, things I could cherish, long after the day with them had ended."
Elena had trouble imagining Elijah as a child. It just seemed so unnatural, Elijah and Klaus, young, innocent, carefree. The things that 1000 years of existence could do to a person's psyche... It's amazing the whole Original family wasn't even more nuts than they are by now, honestly.
"You are the one staring now, my dear."
Elena shook herself. "Sorry, I was just... 1000 years is a long time."
"Yes, it is," Elijah responded quietly.
"In history class, Stefan would answer questions and it was always so weird to think about the fact that he'd been there. He'd seen so many things that I can't even imagine. I mean, you saw the Crusades. You have seen so many facets of human history. The books you could write."
"You could write your own books, you know. Spend the next 1000 years as a historian or a poet."
Elena laughed. "My mother encouraged me to write, you know. Told me if I wanted to be a novelist, then I should be one." Her smile faded. "If she only knew that my diary would turn into a horror story. She would have packed up the family and run." After a moment of silence, Elena shook herself, set down her drink, and stood up. "I'd better be heading home."
Elijah had stood as soon as she did and now he gave her a small bow. "Have a very nice evening, Elena."
. . .
Over the next several days, Elena kept thinking back to her conversation with Elijah. What would she do with another day with her parents? With Damon? Her mind went from sentimental ideas to decidedly naughty ones. More than anything, though, she wanted to be able to talk to Damon about the baby, to tell him how sorry she was. She wanted to be able to spend time with him the way she never got to, memorize every feature the way she purposefully had never let herself. She would think about it at the oddest of times, like now, as she sat waiting to meet with her OBGYN.
"Elena Gilbert."
Elena stood and followed the nurse back. The nurse had her weigh herself and then checked her blood pressure and temperature. "All normal," she said with a smile. "The doctor will be in soon." So Elena sat back and thought some more. She was so wrapped up in her world that she almost jumped out of her skin when the doctor walked in.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
Elena sat up. "It's not a problem. I just spaced out there for a minute." She offered the doctor a small smile.
"I'm Dr. McKenna." She put her hand out and Elena shook it.
"It's very nice to meet you, Elena. Are you ready to get started?" Elena nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. She should have brought Caroline or Bonnie with her.
"Okay. Lay back and pull up your shirt." Elena complied and Dr. McKenna brought the ultrasound machine closer to her. "This is going to be a little cold," she warned Elena as she picked up the tube of gel. Elena nodded and the doctor spread the gel over her stomach and turned on the machine.
Elena looked up at the screen. "Is that...?"
"Yes," Dr. McKenna responded with a smile. "Meet your baby, Elena."
Suddenly, Elena was laughing. It seemed so crazy that after the last year of fear, running, blood, time travel, death, magic- here she was. No one she knew had been threatened in months. She was sitting in a doctor's office, a knocked up teenager with an absent father. That little tiny baby on the screen had no idea the world it'd been conceived in, it was innocent, brand new life amid all the death.
"Are you okay?" Dr. McKenna asked.
Elena realized that she must look like a maniac, laughing the way she was. "I'm sorry, I'm just. It's been such a crazy year." Her laughter turned to gasping sobs.
"Hey, hey," Dr. McKenna said. She set the ultrasound wand down and took Elena's hand. It's okay. It's all gonna be okay."
Elena tried to suppress the sobs, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"No, no, it's alright. Pregnancy hormones. Happens all the time."
Elena gave the doctor a small smile, even though tears were still coursing down her cheeks. "Is everything alright with her?"
Dr. McKenna left picked up the wand and resumed checking the ultrasound monitor. She frowned.
"What?" Elena asked, worry clear in her tone.
The doctor looked more closely at the monitor, shifting the wand to see a different angle. Then she put the wand down. "I want to order more scans so that I can get a clearer picture. I don't want you to worry before we have more information."
"What did you see?" Elena demanded. "You clearly saw something that worried you."
The doctor replied, "There may be a problem with the placenta. I really need a more clear image to be sure. We can schedule scans tomorrow, then go from there."
. . .
Elena ran faster than she even knew her legs could carry her. What was she supposed to do? What was she going to do? How could... after everything, how could it have come to this? As she reached her car, she pulled frantically on the door handle before realizing she hadn't unlocked the doors. She fumbled in her purse, her hands shaking so badly it fell to the ground.
Finally she managed to get her keys and unlock the door. As she pulled it open, a nurse came running out of the building calling her name. She was in the car and pulling out of the space by the time the nurse reached her. She kept right on going, pulling out of the parking lot and driving down the road, not even caring where she was going.
She pounded the heel of her hand on the steering wheel. No! This was not how things were going to go! Absolutely not!
Elena drove around aimlessly, mind whirling, before her tears made it too hard to see and she pulled into the nearest parking lot. She looked up towards the sky through the windshield and yelled, "Why? What great wrong did I do?" Her parents, Jenna, Stefan, Damon- they were all gone. Now this. How much pain can a person be expected to withstand and still keep breathing?
A tap sounded on her window and she jumped, shrieking."We're not open yet, ma'am." It was the vampire bar owner. She realized she had stopped in front of the karaoke bar.
Elena rolled down her window. "I... I know, I'm sorry. I don't even know what I'm doing here." Tears continued to fall down her face.
"Hey, hey. It can't be all that bad, can it?"
"Uh, I'm, ah, I'm okay."
"Yeah, right. Okay. I hear that girls like a shoulder to cry on, but I don't know you that well and I'm the only one around right now, so how bout I lend an ear instead?"
Reluctantly, Elena cracked a small smile. As she stared into the guy's face, she realized how sad it was that after receiving news that had shaken her to her core, she had run to the parking lot of a bar and the bar owner, who happened to be a vampire and whom she barely knew, was the one offering to listen to her woes. She was tired of thinking about the long list of disasters that had befallen her over the last several years. She was tired of being miserable.
She swiped the tears off her face with both hands and smiled. A wide, full smile. "You know what? You were right the first time we met. The way I'm going, I'm really not gonna have any fun. You wanna come have some fun with me?"
"Ma'am, no offense meant, but I don't think you're idea of fun is the same as mine."
"You don't know me. How do you know what I think is fun?"
He smiled. "If you want to have some good, slightly naughty fun dancing and drinking in my bar, I'm happy to oblige. But when I leave here to have some fun, my tastes run a bit darker, less gentleman-like."
"Makes sense, since you're a vampire and all. I'd say early nineteen hundreds by your manners and style of dress. So here in your bar, you play the gentleman you were raised to be, then when you leave you indulge your vampire side. That about right?"
The shock on his face really was comical. Elena laughed, "Surprised, are you? Well," her smile disappeared, "I don't really know you and you don't know me and that state of affairs suits me just fine at the moment. Here is all you need to know- I have friends that are witches, werewolves, and vampires. A vampire hunter lives in my house and the guy you saw me with in your bar is a member of the Original vampire family. If all that doesn't scare you off then I propose we have a little fun this weekend. Maybe a bit of dark fun, even."
She thought for a moment. She was feeling reckless, but knew she couldn't be downright idiotic. "I have three rules- one, you have to get me the hell out of Mystic Falls; two, don't mess with my memories, I have ways of finding out if you do (she didn't of course, but he didn't need to know that); three, you have to have me back by Sunday afternoon or they'll come looking for me and neither one of us will be happy if that happens. Other than that, anything goes. I just want to quit thinking, quit caring, and get the hell out of this God forsaken town."
The bar owner stared at her for a while longer and then a slow smile spread over his face. "I can help you with that, darlin'."
Hope you liked it. Damon will be back at the end of Chapter 16, so just a little longer! If you review, I'll send you the beginning of the next chapter. That way, I get feedback and you get something too :) Lots of love to my readers!