Elijah walked with Alaric Saltzman to a small house in Denver. He had no delusions that the conversation he was about to have with Jeremy would be an easy one, but he had to do it for Elena's sake.
"You don't have to be here for this. It will be better coming from just me," Alaric said. He was vehemently against Elijah joining him for this conversation, but the Original had made it clear that he would come with or without Alaric. Alaric decided it was best that he be present for it.
"Perhaps, but Elena is my niece. I will ensure for myself that lies are not being told about her," Elijah said firmly.
"And what happens if Jeremy still doesn't want anything to do with her?" Alaric asked. He hoped that didn't happen, but it could, and if it did, he had to make sure Elijah didn't do anything to him.
"I'm hardly about to attack a child for not understanding a complicated situation. If the truth is something Jeremy can't deal with, I will accept that, but only after I'm certain he has the facts," Elijah said.
Mostly satisfied with Elijah's answer, Alaric rang the doorbell.
"Jeremy opened the door moments later and looked unhappy. "Ric, I told you that you didn't' have to come out here," Jeremy said. Then he noticed Elijah and frowned. "What's he doing here?"
"He just wants to talk to you," Alaric said.
"I don't have anything to say to either of you," Jeremy said before he went to shut the door.
Alaric put his hand in the door to stop him. "Jeremy, I know you're angry, but just listen to us for a minute!"
"No! I don't want to hear anything he has to say! He's just going to defend her," Jeremy said. He couldn't even use her name because it wasn't Elena. She wasn't his sister. She was just some person inhabiting her body.
"Jeremy, I can't make you listen to me, but I can promise you this. I am not going away. I will sit out here for as long as it takes for you to listen to me. I have all the time in the world. I assure you that your resolve will break before min does," Elijah told him in a calm and patient tone.
"What do you want from me, man?" Jeremy asked.
"I want you to listen to the facts before condemning a young girl for something that wasn't her doing," Elijah said.
Jeremy sighed before stepping outside. He didn't want to have this conversation at all, but he also didn't want anyone inside hearing it. "I know the facts! Bonnie told me everything."
"No, Bonnie told you her version," Alaric said. He had been very angry when he found out what Bonnie had done. He'd lit into her for it. Bonnie didn't just hurt Elena with what she did. She hurt Jeremy too.
"Bonnie wouldn't lie to me," Jeremy said.
"I doubt she considers it a lie, but I do. She's been told the facts, but she refuses to acknowledge them. She decided from the beginning that this was Elena's fault, despite the fact that she was told otherwise," Elijah said.
"Don't call her that! She's not Elena!" Jeremy snapped.
"Yes, she is, Jer. Your sister and his niece are the same person. It's complicated, but they are a part of each other. Their personalities are intertwined," Alaric said.
"No. Bonnie made it seem like Elena was possessed basically held prisoner in her own body, maybe even dead. She said that his niece could help Elena by getting out of her body, but she won't," Jeremy said as he pointed to Elijah.
"Neither of those things are true. That has been explained to Ms. Bennett, but she refuses to accept it. Will you listen to what I have to say? If you still feel as you do now, I will not bother you again," Elijah promised.
"Fine," Jeremy said after a minute.
"Thank you. My sister, Freya, is Elena's mother. My sister has been running from a very powerful threat intent on getting her hands on the firstborn witch of every generation of our family. This woman made Freya's life hell, and Freya knew she'd do the same to her daughter, so she took desperate measures to protect her, first by staying on the run for the first twelve years of my niece's life. Then Freya decided that the best way to protect her was to hide her in the body of another. Now, I don't know what exactly went though Freya's mind as she made that decision, but I must believe that she didn't make it lightly. I don't expect that to bring you much comfort, but I hope you can understand that she was in a very difficult position," Elijah said.
"Wait, you said she was twelve, but this happened four years ago, didn't it? She would've been older than that," Jeremy said.
Elijah shook her head. "My niece was younger than your sister was. She's only fifteen now. She was very young when this happened. I imagine it took a very big toll on her. It still does."
Jeremy sat down on bench to his right. "Bonnie didn't tell me that."
"No, I suspected she didn't. She doesn't want you having information that might have you sympathizing with my niece. I'm sure you can imagine that no twelve-year-old makes the decision to jump into someone else's body. When that happened, your sister and my niece became one, so Bonnie's wrong when she says that leaving the body would return your sister complete control over her body. They're too intertwined for that," Elijah explained.
"So, you're saying that my sister's still in there?" Jeremy asked. He wanted to believe that. It had devastated him when Bonnie had basically told him that his sister was gone. He couldn't bear the thought of that.
"Yes. She is as much your sister as she is my niece. She loves you. It devastated her to find out that you were so angry with her. If I would've allowed it, I'm sure would want to be here right now," Elijah said.
"Even if all of this is true, she's lied to me for years," Jeremy said.
"Yes. She lied to my family as well. She didn't have a choice. Her mother made her swear never to tell anyone for her own safety. The only reason we know now is because she lost her temper. The thing you need to remember is that she's just a child still. If I'm not mistaken, she's younger than you are," Elijah said.
Jeremey snorted at the irony. She was younger than him, by at least a few months, yet she had been telling him what to do since the car accident. "Bonnie also told me that she had Damon compel me to leave town. Is that true?"
Elijah looked at Alaric. If it was true, he hadn't known about it, nor did he condone it.
Alaric nodded. "Yeah, Jeremy, it's true."
"I was not aware of that. I will speak to her about it," Elijah assured him.
"Come on, Elijah, don't punish her. I supported it," Alaric said.
"I have no intention of punishing her for something that happened before she was in my care, but I will let her know that it isn't acceptable," Elijah said.
Jeremy glared at his guardian. "You supported having me compelled. How could you, Ric?"
"Jeremy, you were falling apart over the supernatural craziness. We felt that it was best for you to have some normalcy," Alaric said.
"Then you should've said that! Making me leave town is one thing, but you had no right to have me compelled to be okay with it! You don't get to screw with my mind that way!" Jeremy snapped.
Alaric couldn't really say anything to that. Jermey was right. He'd screwed up by allowing that to happen. Elena was a child and Damon was Damon, but what was his excuse? He was Jeremy's guardian. He should've put a stop to it. "I'm sorry."
Jeremy turned to Elijah. "Can I talk to her? Can I talk to Elena?"
"I'd like nothing more than to let you do that. I don't wish to keep you from your sister, but protecting her is my responsibility. I need to know that you won't hurt her. I'm willing to let you see her with me present, at least for the first time. Can you accept that?" Elijah asked.
Jeremy nodded. He didn't know how he felt about all of this, but he knew he had to talk to Elena. He needed to decide for himself what was true.
"I would also like you to take a day or two to think things through. This was a lot of information for you. You need time to digest it," Elijah said.
Jeremy nodded before standing up and turning to Alaric. "I'll start getting my things together. Let me know when you plan to leave."
"You're returning to Mystic Falls, permanently?" Alaric asked.
"If I say yes, are you going to have me compelled again. Elijah won't do it, but I'm sure your buddy, Damon, will be more than willing to help you out again. Clearly I need to start consuming vervain," Jeremy said coldly before going inside without waiting for a response.
Alaric closed his eyes sadly. "He's right to be pissed. I failed him. I never should've tried to parent those kids. I'm horrible at it."
"Parenthood was thrust on you, Alaric," Elijah said.
Alaric shook his head before turning to him. "You of all people know I shouldn't be taking care of any kids. You took Elena away from me because I was horrible at it. You were right to."
"Alaric, I would've taken custody of Elena if you had been a perfect parent. That being said, it's true that I do not agree with your parenting methods. You allowed Elena to do as she pleased. However, you did believe she was eighteen," Elijah said.
"Jeremy isn't much older than Elena truly is, and I failed him. I should've known better than to let Damon compel him. Even you agree that it was wrong," Alaric said.
"I do," Elijah admitted.
"He's never going to trust me again after this. You know, I don't like you very much, Elijah, but you've been good for Elena. You've taken an active role in her education, and from what I've heard, you have set rules for her at home that are good for her. Her schoolwork has improved since going to live with you," Alaric said.
"Are you trying to ask me something?" Elijah asked. He got the feeling that this was going somewhere. Alaric Saltzman was not simply praising his parenting for the sake of it.
Alaric shuddered. He couldn't believe he was even contemplating what he was about to ask, but despite his personal feelings, he knew Elijah was a good guardian. He'd even been patient today with Jeremy, despite the fact that Jeremy had started off so angry at his niece. "I think that Jeremy will come around and accept the truth about Elena. He'll want to spend more time with her when that happens."
"He will always be welcome to," Elijah said. He got the feeling that wasn't what Alaric was getting at though.
"You're a better parent than I am, and it kills me to admit that. I was wondering, provided Jeremy is open to it, if you would be willing to do for him what you do for Elena. I think he needs it as much as she does," Alaric said.
Elijah was quite surprised by the question, mainly because he did know how Alaric viewed his family. Elijah wasn't opposed to the idea, but it wasn't something that could be decided right away. It needed to be considered carefully, on both sides. "I think we should continue this conversation at a later date, perhaps after I see how it goes when Jeremy and Elena meet again."
"Okay," Alaric said. He supposed he could understand that. What he was asking was extreme. Yes, Elijah had taken Elena in without hesitation, but she was his family. Jeremy would be different.
"This isn't a decision that should be made on a whim, not for either of us. You need to think it though, because if I were to agree to this, you would not be able to take it back later. Do you understand me?" Elijah asked.
Alaric nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think I'm going to change my mind. I can admit when I've failed."
"Alaric, admitting that you are not ready for the responsibility of caring for a teenager is not a failure. It's the opposite. We'll discuss this more another time," Elijah said before walking away.