A.N. This is a SEQUEL to When The Stars Align and it won't make any sense if you don't read that one first! I'm currently stuck at home for the next two weeks under doctors orders so I have nothing but time to work on this fanfic! Enjoy! Also, I'm only going to write this once because I'm terribly lazy: I don't own TVD or TO and I'm not writing this for profit! This is also posted on my AO3 account where I reply to every comment I get, so if you want to interact with me at all, that's the best place to do it!

Chapter One

What defines a home?

Is it the building itself? The rooms and corridors that you inhabit, day in and day out?

Is it a feeling? A sense of belonging, perhaps, or that sensation of security and safety that you get when you enter a place, the way your muscles relax and your mind goes quiet because this is it, this is where you live. This is yours, where you belong.

Or was a home a place at all?

Elena Mikaelson wasn't sure. She'd thought, once, that her house had been her home, but though she'd mourned it's loss, she hadn't necessarily pined for it either. She'd spent most of her youth in that house, she'd grown there, loved there, laughed there, it should have been home. And yet, when she'd given it up, that house hadn't truly felt like home in a long time.

Theoretically, her apartment was her home. She'd bought it, she'd paid for it and she'd lived in it.

But, standing in the door way and looking in, she didn't get that easy relaxation that she'd been expecting. She'd thought her chest would finally loosen enough for her to be able to breathe properly, she'd thought her shoulders would unwind and the fog that had settled into her brain might finally recede into the farthest reaches of her consciousness, but it didn't.

Staring into her cramped, little space, Elena felt nothing.

There was no magical sense of belonging, no immediate relief, just a cold and sinking realisation that she was back.

And she felt like she'd swapped one prison for another.

Her apartment was almost exactly the way she'd left it, except, perhaps, it was cleaner.

Caroline had tidied it, she'd told her, after it had been ransacked.

But, nothing was out of place. The sofa that Kol had bought still dominated the sitting room, her new kitchen light was still where she'd left it and nothing had changed.

So, why did it all feel wrong?

She'd assured the others that she'd be okay on her own when they'd dropped her off nearly twenty minutes ago, she'd told them to take Tyler home, that she'd go inside and probably fall straight to sleep.

She'd been wrong.

It had been nearly twenty minutes and she was still stood in the hallway outside of her apartment, just staring in.

She should go and rest, she knew, and yet…

How do you return to the vestiges of your life when you, yourself are no longer the same?

How could she return to school like nothing had changed? Like she hadn't been kidnapped, isolated, hunted and nearly killed? How could she feel safe in a place that didn't feel like home?

What if she fell asleep, and someone broke in?

She needed more locks. Bolts that she could screw into her door and those things that parents put in their kids windows to stop them from opening too far.

Maybe then it would feel more like home.

Right.

She just had to step inside and grab her purse, which Elijah had thoughtfully returned to her sitting room, along with her school things.

Easy, right?

Except it wasn't.

Her feet wouldn't move and for some reason that Elena couldn't explain, she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking.

She should have gotten Kol to check the apartment twice, just in case he'd missed someone on his first scan of the rooms. What if there was an intruder hiding in there, just waiting for her to step inside? What if they took her again-

She wasn't aware that she had devolved into full bodied shaking until the sound of her teeth rattling hit her ears, though that was secondary to the burning of her lungs as she struggled to breathe-

She had to do this, right?

She needed her purse, she had to secure her apartment, so she had to go inside.

She ground her teeth together before forcing her legs to move, putting one foot in front of the other until she'd crossed the threshold and had passed into her sitting room, her fingers snaking out and snatching up her purse quickly, holding it tightly against her chest as she dropped the pack that she'd had on one shoulder next to the sofa.

She also swiped up her keys before scurrying out of the apartment and almost slamming the door shut behind her, leaning against it as she fought to control her breathing.

How was she supposed to do this? How do you go back to your normal, everyday life after everything that she'd seen and done?

Even though exhaustion still clung to her bones, even though she longed for rest, she couldn't just stop.

She sighed as she pulled herself from the door and made her way down the stairs, she couldn't rest until she felt safe.

She had to make her apartment safe.

Even if that meant tearing through what scraps of money had accumulated in her three week absence, because apparently, Rebekah and Caroline had been covering her shifts and wouldn't let her pay them their fair share of the money.

She just needed to feel secure, that's all.

At least they'd gotten back to Mystic Falls in the morning, so the shops would be open. She could just jump in her car, run to the shops and she'd be back within an hour.

Except, when she got to her car, it wouldn't start.

And she remembered, much to her frustration, that her car not working was the entire reason she'd been at Mikaelson Manor in the first place.

Fine.

Fine.

She'd just have to walk, and that was fine.

She sighed deeply as she climbed out of her car and stretched her arms up over her head, the light chill in the air barely penetrating through her thermals.

The walk was slow, her body was still healing, as Finn had explained to her, and every part of her still thrummed with exhaustion, but when she did make it to the only hardware shop in town, it was with a grim determination that she stepped inside.

She'd have to be fast, she decided, because she'd barely made it past the door when the walls started to close in on her, the tiny space enclosing around her until beads of sweat prickled at her skin and her fingers began to twitch.

Fast.

She could be fast.

She side-stepped around a couple that were arguing about which type of nails they'd need, ducked underneath an old man's arm as he'd reached for one of the hammers on one shelf and she'd nearly screamed when her arm brushed against a member of staff, her spine automatically straightening and her jaw clenching as she stiffly made her way over to the aisle that she needed, ignoring the staff's eyes on her as she went.

She grabbed four bolt locks, two door chains and enough window restrictors for every window in her apartment.

And if the man behind the cash register looked at her strangely, Elena didn't care.

She bundled her items into a shopping bag and escaped from the store just as the walls started to shrink in on her.

"Elena? Is that really you?"

Elena stiffened, her fingers clenching her bag so tight that her knuckles turned white, and she forced a smile onto her face before turning to face Matt,

"Hey," her voice was still raspy, because while vampire blood was a magical 'cure-all' for injuries, Finn had explained to her that it would still be a day or so of discomfort because of the sheer extent of the damage that she'd suffered, "How are you?"

She wasn't really sure how to speak to Matt anymore, since he'd made it painfully obvious to her that he couldn't form a bridge between the girl he knew and the girl that she was born as,

"It's good to see you," he was rubbing the back of his neck as he approached her, a small, half smile on his face that she'd once thought of as attractive, "We were starting to worry that you weren't coming back."

"So was I," Elena inclined her head, her feet were itching to get moving, "I don't mean to be rude, but I should get going-"

"I can walk with you, I'm on my way over to Tyler's," Elena didn't sigh, or roll her eyes or even fidget, despite how much she wanted to, she just nodded and started walking, letting him fall into step beside her.

The first few minutes were awkward until Matt cleared his throat,

"So, listen, I'm real sorry about my attitude this summer," Elena didn't look up at him, but he kept talking anyway, "It was just a shock, you know? And I handled it all wrong, I can see that now. I mean, it's messed up, right?"

Elena flicked her eyes to the sky and sighed,

"Don't apologise," she told him, "I get it."

Matt ruffled his hair as he pulled his jacket tighter,

"No, I was wrong. I was being a terrible friend," his cheeks had reddened and Elena was trying to walk faster, despite the way her legs were protesting, "Anyone could see that you were struggling, and I wasn't there for you. I want to be there for you now, though, if you'll let me."

Elena felt like there was a lump in her throat as her shoulders tightened,

"I'd like that," she brought her free hand up to rub at her itching throat, "We've been friends forever, right? We'll be fine." She wasn't sure if she believed her own words.

Matt didn't look like he believed her, either, judging by the slight wrinkle of his forehead.

They continued on in silence for a while, which Elena was grateful for.

It wasn't that she couldn't forgive Matt, because she could, but for some reason that she couldn't explain, her body was refusing to relax and she felt as though her 'fight or flight' instincts were still telling her to run, to tear through the streets with her bag clutched to her chest like a mad woman-

"You've seen Tyler, right? How is he?"

The last time she'd seen Tyler this morning, was when she'd woken up in the car and he had still been asleep, his snoring reverberating through the vehicle in a way that she suspected her family only tolerated because he'd saved her,

"He rescued me," she told Matt, "He was tired when I last saw him."

Matt seemed to eye her for a moment,

"Are you sure you're okay? Your voice doesn't sound right…"

Elena shrugged, looking down at her boots as she answered,

"My throat got crushed. I'm okay now, though."

"Your throat-" Matt's eyes were wide and his voice was horrified as he looked her over, "What do you mean your throat was crushed!?"

Elena blinked at him,

"I mean my throat was crushed. But, I'm okay now."

The look of horror didn't quite leave his face as they rounded a corner,

"You're saying that far too casually. You get that, right?"

Elena just shrugged,

"It is what it is."

Matt peaked into her bag and frowned,

"That's a lot of locks," he tilted his head slightly, "Like, a lot of locks."

Elena shifted the bag into her other hand, feeling her pulse quicken under the scrutiny,

"It's for a project," she muttered,

"What kind of project needs bolt locks?"

"The kind I'm working on," she snapped and he raised his hands as if he were surrendering,

"Alright, okay, I'll keep my nose out of it."

Elena clenched her jaw as they both came to a stop at the crossroads and Matt rubbed the back of his neck,

"I guess this is where we part," he offered her a weak smile, "Unless you wanna come hang with Tyler and I? I'm sure he wouldn't mind?"

Elena shook her head because though she wasn't sure if she was ready to be alone, she knew she needed to get this over with,

"No thanks, I've got to work on my project. See you around, Matt."

She started to walk away, her heart hammering hard against her chest, when Matt called out to her,

"You know where we are if you change your mind!"

She nodded to herself and kept walking.

One foot in front of the other.

Just keep going, she told herself. Don't look back.

She made it back to her apartment roughly thirty minutes later, her fingers shook as she turned the key in her door, nudging it open with her toes.

It was silent, her stuff still lay abandoned exactly where she'd left it.

She sucked in a deep breath before she slid her keys between her fingers, feeling rather like a budget Wolverine as she forced herself to go inside.

It wasn't easy to ignore the tremors in her body as she navigated her apartment, flicking the lights on when she felt like there was darkness seeping out of the walls. The shadows seemed determined to reach her, or maybe she was losing her mind, but it seemed to her that the space was rapidly shrinking around her until she'd flicked on all the lights as quickly as she could manage.

Her chest heaved as she leaned against her kitchen counter, her fingers clumsily opening the drawers and searching for her screwdriver almost erratically.

When her fingers finally closed around the tool that she'd been looking for, it was with a very audible sigh of relief before she stumbled over to her front door, her feet tripping over themselves as she collapsed her knees once she reached the door mat.

She dumped the contents of her shopping bag across the floor, spreading it out until she had separated the door locks from the window restraints.

It took her a little while, but eventually, her front door was fit with six new locks, all of which she promptly locked.

They were evenly spaced out, with a chain lock on both the top and the bottom of the door and the others spread out in between.

She spent the rest of the morning fitting the window restrictors, which was slightly more complicated than the locks had been, but after a bit of work, she finally had it finished not long after lunch time.

Which was lucky, really, because it wasn't long after she'd finished and had finally taken off her coat and boots and crawled onto the sofa, that her phone rang. Not the satellite phone that was still in her coat pocket, but her mobile phone, which had been left in her schoolbag. Someone must have charged it, she thought to herself as she shakily pulled it out,

"Hello?" The croak was beginning to fade from her voice now, which must be a good thing, she thought,

"Hey, 'Lena, I hope I didn't wake you," Elena wasn't going to correct the assumption that she'd done as she was told, "Tyler, Matt and I are thinking about going out into the forest tonight and having a few drinks, like old times, what time should I pick you up?"

Elena chewed on her lip as she debated whether or not she actually wanted to go because as much as she was despising being alone, she wasn't sure if she could stomach any more time in the woods at the moment. In the end, her racing heartrate gave her away,

"Elena? Are you alright? Do you want me to come over?" Typical Caroline, Elena thought, always trying to come to her rescue…

"No, I'm okay. I think I'll pass on tonight though, you know, I've uh, got a lot of catch up to do-"

"Oh, but so does Tyler! He's decided to stay, so he's got to do the catch up work too, I thought maybe Matt and I could help you both, I've got notes and references all sorted out. Please come, I've missed you so much."

Elena felt guilt twist in her stomach as she burrowed deeper into the couch, her arms wrapping tightly around her legs,

"I- Maybe, okay?"

She could almost picture the doubtful frown that would be on Caroline's face, the way her brows would pucker and her lips would purse as she tried to think of what to say that might convince Elena to leave her now locked-up apartment that still felt too small and too empty,

"Let's go out for lunch," wasn't quite what Elena was expecting to hear, "We'll go to The Grill, my treat. Just you and me, okay?"

Lunch at The Grill with Caroline, or sit alone in her shrinking apartment for the rest of the day? Hmmm… Decisions, decisions…

"Okay," Elena's voice was quiet, just above a whisper, "Meet you there in forty five minutes?"

"No way, I'll come and get you. See you in five."

The phone call ended and Elena sighed, rolling her shoulders as she forced herself to stand again. Five minutes. Right.

She grabbed a handbag and threw in her keys, purse and phone before she grabbed her hair straighteners and very shakily began the process of removing her curls. She could do this, she told herself, she could pretend that everything was fine. She could live her normal, human life.

When the five minute mark arrived, Elena was stood outside her building.

She fiddled with her bag as Caroline's car pulled up besides her, climbing in almost robotically and forcing a smile onto her face that made Caroline frown,

"Stop it. You can't fool me with that look," Elena slid her seatbelt on as Caroline pulled away, "And it's okay, you know, that you're not alright. No one's expecting you to be fine, so you don't need to pretend with us."

Elena leaned her head back into the headrest, tilting her face so that she was looking out of the window,

"I'm fine," she would later swear that her voice didn't shake, "I'm alright."

Caroline didn't say anything, instead, she just gripped Elena's hand in her own for a moment, giving her fingers a little squeeze before turning back to focus on driving.

When they got to The Grill, Caroline went to lead her to a booth in the back, one that was almost submerged in darkness bar one flickering candle, but Elena shook her head, pulling her instead to a table by the window, where the light encompassed them and if Caroline noticed the difference, she didn't say anything.

When the waitress came over to take their orders, Caroline got herself a chicken caesar salad with a lemonade and Elena rubbed at her throat before ordering a tomato soup with a soft buttered roll and a glass of water.

"Does it still hurt?" Caroline gestured to her throat, a little frown on her face and Elena shrugged,

"A bit," she told her honestly, "I'm hoping it'll be alright by tomorrow."

Caroline pursed her lips a little before sighing,

"I wish there was something I could do to help-"

"You showed up," Elena cut her off swiftly, "You came and you didn't leave. That's enough."

Caroline slumped in her seat, her shoulders drooping,

"Of course I came," she said quietly, "There was no way I wasn't going to, even Klaus' temper couldn't stop me."

Elena cocked her head,

"Klaus tried to stop you?"

Caroline almost laughed, as it was, a soft smile spread over her lips and a little blush rose up on her cheeks and over her nose,

"Tried being the operative word, there. He said it was family business and I'd be safer here, because of the werewolves," she leaned forward, pressing an elbow into the table as she stared into Elena's eyes, "I told him there was no way he was going without me, the egocentric git. Besides, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? And I was fine."

Elena evaluated her friend for a moment. Something seemed different, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Elena leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest,

"He must've been worried about you," Elena hedged, watching as the blush on Caroline's face darkened, "It's not like Klaus to be so concerned about other people."

Caroline's eyes shifted quickly from Elena, to the table and then to the ceiling,

"He was just worried because I'm your best friend, that's all."

"Mmmhmmm, is that right?"

Caroline frowned up at the ceiling, a stubborn tension growing in her shoulders and Elena grinned before leaning forward, a hint of mischievousness in her tone,

"So, you wouldn't be interested to know that my brother just walked in, then?"

Elena laughed as Caroline lurched forward, one had flying to straighten her hair and the other gripping the table as she looked around, her eyes scanning all the other customers as Elena's giggles grew,

"Oh, stop it, please, he's not here-" Elena continued to giggle as Caroline turned a rather frosty glare on her, "Your face, you should've seen it, oh god."

Caroline crossed her arms and titled her chin up before sniffing,

"There was no look on my face, thank you," though the dark blush still adorned her pale cheeks, "And even if there was, it was just disgust because he'd be intruding on our time together."

Elena snorted,

"Yeah, sure, you keep telling yourself that."

Caroline hmphed before a soft smile tugged at her lips,

"I've missed this," she admitted almost wistfully, "I'm so glad you're home."

Elena ignored the burning in her eyes and shook her head before fondly telling her,

"You only wanted me back to give you more reason to talk to my brother."

Caroline rolled her eyes and made a puking motion,

"Puh-lease, if I wanted to spend time with Klaus, I'd just have you kidnapped. Apparently, you going missing means I practically moved into the Manor."

Elena frowned,

"What do you mean?"

The waitress returned with their food and their drinks while Caroline thought about her answer,

"Well, we all wanted to find you, so it made sense to work together. Rebekah and Kol had me come over with Stefan to discuss the best ways to search for you, and then we just kind of gravitated there every day to wait for news," Caroline gave her half a shrug, "It's kind of funny, actually, that the night you called me was the first one I'd spent at mine that week. Typical, right?"

Elena shifted her food across her plate as she thought about the bubble of warmth in her chest, she'd felt so alone sat in her cell.

For three long weeks, she'd been completely alone and utterly convinced that no one was searching for her, but the people that she loved, the most important people in her world, had bonded together and they hadn't given up.

Caroline shifted and then her hand was gently placed on Elena's arm,

"You know, the moment your call connected the second time, when you'd asked for the Mikaelson's, the very moment your voice came through that phone, Elijah started tracking your location? There was no way they were ever going to not come and get you. And when the call was late," Caroline's face fell, her normally un-shakeable positivity failing her, "Well, I imagine that Klaus is spending the day repairing the Manor. We were terrified that we were too late, that you'd, well, that you'd been killed."

"I was just so glad to hear everyone's voices," Elena whispered, her gaze falling to her shaking fingers, "I can't believe that Damon could do this to me. I mean, I'm not really surprised about Katherine, she's an evil skank and nothing she does surprises me anymore, but Damon? I thought we were friends. I just, I'm struggling," she admitted as her hands continued to shake so much that she dropped her spoon, "I'm so frightened, Care, and I'm hurt and I don't know how to make it feel better."

And then Caroline was out of her seat, her arms wrapped tightly around Elena as she stroked her hair,

"I know, it's okay, I've got you," she squeezed Elena a little tighter, as if she were aware of exactly how touch-starved her friend had become, "And Damon's a dick who will get what's coming to him, I swear. Stefan's asked that we don't kill him, but he's probably changed his mind after seeing how badly you were hurt."

"Elena? Caroline? Can I join you?"

Elena stiffened under Caroline's grip, her eyes squeezing shut as she forced herself to breathe through her nose, in and out, in and out.

Caroline didn't say anything, but she did pull back slightly from Elena, sitting back into her seat before turning to Bonnie, who was standing there rather awkwardly, ringing her hands. Elena sighed and turned to her, running a hand down her face and leaning back into her seat,

"I don't want to fight, Bonnie. I don't have it in me right now, so if you're here to tell me what a traitor I am, or that I deserved what happened to me then I swear-"

"I'm not," Bonnie cut her off quickly, and Elena noted that her eyes were bloodshot with heavy bags under them, her normally straight hair was frazzled and she looked as exhausted as Elena felt, "I just want to talk, please?"

Caroline looked at Elena as if to say 'It's your call'.

Coward.

Elena crossed her arms over her chest before nodding sharply, noting the way Bonnie's shoulders relaxed as she slid into the free seat.

It was silent for a while, and Elena didn't move until Caroline nudged her with her foot,

"You need to eat, come on."

Elena's hands were still shaking as she picked up her spoon, and she soon gave up on it entirely, choosing instead to rip chunks off her bread roll and use them like sponges to scoop and absorb the soup.

She was chewing on her first bite when Bonnie cracked,

"I'm sorry," she lurched forward, leaning both of her elbows onto the table and trying to catch Elena's eye, "I was wrong. I was wrong to leave you when you needed me and I was wrong when I thought doing that stupid spell was a good idea and I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to work it out."

Elena swallowed her mouthful, wincing as it struggled down her throat, a slight burn in it's wake before she slowly turned to meet Bonnie's eyes,

"I did nothing wrong," she watched as Bonnie blanched and seemed to shrink in on herself, "I lost everything, Bonnie. I lost you, I lost Jeremy, my home, my life and then, when things are finally starting to feel good again, just as I'm starting to feel like a person again, I got kidnapped from the safety of the Mikaelson kitchen."

"I know," Bonnie's shoulders slumped, a weary sigh leaving her as she sat back in her seat, "I know I can't take away the damage that I've done, but you were, are, my best friends, you guys, and when Stefan and Care came to me to ask for my help to find you, I swear that I tried. I tried and tried and then tried again."

Elena ran her hand through her hair and rolled her head against her shoulders,

"I won't give them up, Bonnie. I love them, even Klaus. As long as they let me, I plan to have them in my life. I've even asked Elijah to legally change my name to Elena Mikaelson. I want to believe that you've changed your mind, that we can move past this, but you have to understand that this is my choice, and I'm actually making it now. I'm choosing them."

"And are they choosing you?" Bonnie's eyes were earnest, as if this were the most important question she could ask, she even leaned forward again as she waited for Elena to answer,

"They came for me," Elena whispered, her fingers tearing off another chunk of bread, "They didn't have to, they could have moved on and gone their own ways, but they didn't. They came and found me. They searched through the Glacier National Park and they wouldn't leave without me."

Bonnie nodded, as if that was the answer she'd expected,

"I know," she admitted quietly, "I think I've known that they were serious about choosing you since I tried that spell at the beginning of term and Kol and Elijah took me home."

Elena shook her head, pursing her lips,

"They didn't know then. They suspected, but they weren't sure."

Bonnie almost scoffed, an amused grin on her face,

"Kol threatened to feed me my own fingers if I so much as looked at you again. He knew. And Elijah didn't exactly threaten me, but he did that thing where he looks at you like you're very, very stupid."

Elena scooped up a little more soup when Caroline nudged her, popping the bread into her mouth and making a show of chewing it.

"I know you think I'm annoying, but Kol said it was important for you to rest and to eat to help your magical exhaustion, so eat."

Elena rolled her eyes and Bonnie frowned,

"Magical exhaustion?"

Elena nodded while she chewed and let Caroline explain,

"Elena's magic is still undisciplined, and she deep fried at least twenty werewolves yesterday and Kol thinks it was her magic that stopped her from dying when her throat was crushed. It was bad, Bon."

Bonnie chewed on her lip as she looked Elena over, clear concern on her face,

"I should have been helping you with your magic, you were there for me when I was learning to use mine, I should've been a better friend. I'm so sorry, Elena."

Elena just kept eating.