The next morning, Elijah made his way down to the kitchen. He was keeping an ear out for Elena in case she woke up. He and Niklaus had sat by her side the whole night.
When Elijah walked into the kitchen, he saw Jeremy seated at the table. The boy looked like he hadn't slept much. "Good morning, Jeremy."
Jeremy panicked when he saw Elijah. The last he knew, the older Original was with Elena. "Wait, why are you down here. You were watching Elena. Klaus isn't with her. I just saw him in the living room with Caroline. She can't be alone!"
Elijah raised a hand to stop the boy's panicked rambles. "Calm down. Elena is sleeping. She's alright for now."
"But what if she wakes up?" Jeremy asked.
"If she wakes up, I'll hear her and I'll go to her," Elijah said calmly.
Jeremy relaxed considerably. He forgot about vampire hearing for a minute. Elijah could be at Elena's side in seconds if he needed to. "Sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for. I know you're scared. To be honest, so am I," Elijah said. Elena was in a terribly bad way, and that scared him. It scared him and hurt him to see how beaten down she was.
"I saw my sister burn yesterday," Jeremy said in a broken tone. That had been the worst moment of his life, and there were a lot of bad moments. He saw his sister on fire. He thought he was going to lose her.
"I can only imagine what that was like for you. I imagine that all of this has been very hard on you," Elijah said. He could tell just by looking at him that Jeremy was not okay either. He might not be suicidal, like Elena was, but he was certainly not unaffected. It was not easy to realize that your father was a monster. Elijah knew that all too well.
"I'll be fine as long as Elena's okay. I just want to help her," Jeremy said.
"You did help her," Elijah said before taking a seat across from him. "You and your friends did the right thing yesterday. You knew you were in over your heads, and you asked for help."
"We should've done it sooner. Caroline wanted to," Jeremy said.
"Perhaps you should've, but I understand why you didn't. It isn't easy to face the fact that you aren't equipped to help someone you love by yourself. I imagine it was also very hard to trust my brother and me. When you realized you were in over your head, you asked for help. Unfortunately, that was probably the easy part. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Bringing Elena back from the brink is going to be difficult. We can't do it here," Elijah said.
Jeremy shut his eyes sadly. He felt his stomach sink at what Elijah was saying to him. He knew this was coming, but it was still hard for him to face. "I know. I knew when we made that call that you were going to take her away. I think we all knew. Well, maybe not Damon, but he's an idiot, so he doesn't count. I know she has to go with you, not just because you don't live here anymore, but because being in this place will only hurt her more. She'll never stop being reminded of what my father did if she stays. Mystic Falls isn't home for her anymore. It's hell."
"You're a good brother, Jeremy. You are prepared to do what is best for your sister even when it isn't what's best for you. But I want to do what's best for both of you. That's why I want you to come with us," Elijah said.
Jeremy opened his eyes and looked at Elijah in surprise. "What?"
"I want you to accompany us to New Orleans. Elena needs you and you need her. You can't get through this without each other. I won't separate you," Elijah said.
"You'd really take me with you? I killed your brother," Jeremy reminded him. Elena blamed herself for Kol's death, but he was the one ultimately responsible. It was his hand that ended Kol's life. He was battling with his own guilt. He killed his sister's father. He was the reason she'd never know him. He would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
Elijah sighed and sat back in his chair. "Did you kill Kol out of malice or simply because you could?"
Jeremy shook his head. "No. He was trying to stop us from going after the cure. That's not why we did it either though. Kol compelled Damon to kill me. Klaus said he was going to stop him, but we didn't trust him. The only way Elena could see to save my life was to take Kol's. When Kol was in the house, we all fought. Kol was going to cut my arms off. Elena cornered him long enough for me to stake him."
Elijah nodded. He believed him. He never believed that Elena and Jeremy had ended Kol's life on a whim. He knew what his brother was capable of, and he also knew that Elena and Jeremy were not monsters. They didn't kill for the sake of it. "I can't honestly tell you that taking Kol's life was okay. I can't tell you that I haven't been furious about it, but make no mistake, if I ever thought you killed him out of hatred, you would already be dead."
Jeremy gulped a little at the coolness in Elijah's voice. Elijah was always so calm and mostly kind whenever he encountered him. Sometimes he forgot just how dangerous he really was. "We should've listened to Kol abut Silas. I'm sorry."
"I believe you. I always knew that Kol's death was complicated. My family has done a lot of damage. It's understandable that you wouldn't trust him," Elijah said.
Jeremy snorted. "Well, it seems my family has done more damage to mine than yours ever could to mine. I never thought I'd be able to say that."
"Your father's actions are on him. You're not accountable for it. But perhaps we can try to lay it to rest now and move forward," Elijah said before offering the young man his hand.
Jeremy looked at Elijah for a minute before placing his hand in his and shaking it. "What happens now, other than leaving this place? How do we help, Elena?"
"I'm not entirely sure yet. We're going to have to take it one day at a time, and it's going to be a rough road. First, I want to get some blood in her. I didn't like her color last night. I imagine she hasn't been feeding regularly," Elijah said.
Jeremy shook his head. "I haven't seen her feed at all since she got home from college. We tried to get her to feed yesterday, but she wouldn't."
"I feared as much. I'll take care of it as soon as she wakes," Elijah said.
Just then, Klaus and Caroline walked into the room. Klaus looked livid. "Caroline tells me that these Augustine bastards still exist. Before we leave, each and every one of them will meet their end!"
"Agreed, but Elena is our first priority. Speaking of which, Ms. Forbes, would you know where the Salvatores keep their blood? I need to get Elena to feed," Elijah said.
"Yeah, I'll get it for you," Caroline said before leaving the room.
"I'm gonna get some air," Jeremy said before following her out of the room.
"Elijah, my hearing must be going because I could've sworn I heard you invite Kol's killer to live with us," Klaus said as he glared at his brother.
"Niklaus, Elena and Jeremy need each other, and you need to find a way to come to terms with Kol's death," Elijah said.
"You expect me to forgive the little bastard who murdered our brother? He's lucky I don't rip his heart out!" Klaus snarled.
"Is that how you feel about Elena? Are you saying you hate her? That you can never forgive her? If so, you can't be around," Elijah said. He didn't really blame his brother for his feelings. He was entitled to be angry, but Elena couldn't be around it if she was going to heal.
"That's different," Klaus said. Honestly, not too long ago, he had wanted her dead for Kol's death too, but she was his niece. He would forgive her.
"Because she's Kol's daughter?" Elijah asked.
"Yes. We forgive each other for things we'd never forgive an outsider for. Elena is our family," Klaus said.
"And Jeremy is hers. Even if you can't completely forgive him, you have to accept him. Frankly, Niklaus, if he can find a way to deal with you, you can do the same. Do you honestly think your hatred for him is one-sided. You killed his aunt, yet he is still willing to deal with you for Elena's sake. I'm not saying you have to get over it tonight, but you have to make peace with it. You won't be able to help Elena if you can't. You owe it to her and to Kol," Elijah said.
Klaus grunted in response but said nothing. He grudgingly had to accept that his brother was right. He wanted to help his niece. How could he do that if he still held a grudge over Kol's death. How could he expect her to forgive herself if he couldn't do it? The truth was, he hadn't forgiven her yet. He didn't hate her. He couldn't hate her, but forgiveness took time. He imagined it would be a while before she forgave him for the things he did to her as well. "I'm angry, Elijah. I don't know how to let that go.
"I'm not saying it has to happen now. I'm just saying try," Elijah said. He then heard Elena start to stir. "Elena is awake. I'm going to sit with her. When Ms. Forbes comes back, meet me in her room with the blood. We need to get her to feed, and unfortunately, I think it will take both of us. I fear she will resist."
Klaus nodded and watched as his brother got up and left the room.