Chapter Five
Elena woke to the sound of a pen scratching across a sheet of paper and the feeling of being buried alive beneath the softest, warmest bundle of blankets that she'd ever had the pleasure of being surrounded by.
There were certainly worse ways to die, she thought.
She felt rejuvenated as she dug her way out from under the covers, her eyes immediately finding Caroline, who was dressed in a pair of pink pjs and was sat cross-legged on her side of the bed, scribbling away at what Elena assumed was homework,
"Good morning, Sleepyhead," Caroline's eyes didn't leave whatever she was working on as she spoke, her voice more chipper than usual given the fact that she couldn't have been awake for long, "If you give me ten minutes, I'll just finish up here and then we can go on a run, if you'd like. By the time we get back, everyone else should be awake."
Elena blinked as she sat up, a yawn escaping from behind her lips as she stretched her arms over her head,
"What time is it?" her voice was still husky from sleeping and Caroline's eyes moved faster than Elena could follow,
"About six in the morning."
Elena frowned and curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs,
"Why are you up, then? And who got me out of my dress?"
At that, Caroline finally looked up at her, her blue eyes widening slightly,
"You don't remember?"
Elena shook her head and Caroline sighed,
"Rebekah and I helped you get out of the dress a little while after you came upstairs. You were pretty out of it, though, so I guess it's not really a surprise that you don't remember. Rebekah's going to get the dress dry cleaned and then it'll be hung in your closet."
Elena stumbled out of the bed while Caroline went back to whatever it was that she'd been doing and made her way over to the chest of drawers in her room. She knew that Elijah had said that he'd 'semi-stocked' her room with clothes, but she wasn't sure what that had meant until she began to open the drawers, her eyes widening with each one that she opened.
He hadn't bought her underwear, which she was immensely grateful for, but he had stocked one of the small drawers with socks. It had a fancy divider in it that separated the drawer into individual slots for each pair of socks.
As she opened each drawer, she found a different variety of clothing that had been carefully folded and organised so that each item had its own place to live.
He'd stocked it with jeans, leggings, vests, t-shirts, sports wear… If she wanted it, it was there.
Which made her almost afraid to look in the closet.
And unlike her clothes in her apartment, these would all fit properly.
She wanted to pretend that a swell of warmth hadn't grown in her chest, that her shoulders weren't shaking with happy sobs that she was trying desperately to hide, but then Caroline was flying across the room, wrapping her in a tight embrace and stroking her hair as Elena crumpled in her arms.
They wanted her.
This room, the clothes, the ball…
She was a Mikaelson.
And she knew that she should be used to it, she shouldn't be so emotional about pieces of clothing, but for some reason, she couldn't stop crying. Caroline gently lowered them to the floor, slowly rocking her as tears continued to stream down her cheeks.
They'd even gone and found Jeremy and gods she couldn't wrap her mind around it, she couldn't even begin to process all the little things that they'd done for her.
Elijah had been so confident that they'd find her, that she'd come home, that he had gone clothes shopping. He'd stocked the room that she'd been given while she'd been away, he'd gone shopping with her in mind…
When was the last time someone had done that for her?
Not since before the Gilberts had died.
Caroline didn't say anything, she just held her and rubbed soothing circles into Elena's back as she sobbed into the blonde girls shoulder,
"Is this real, Care?"
Elena felt Caroline stiffen for a split second before her arms tightened around her, Caroline's chin resting on the top of Elena's head,
"Yeah, this is real. You're really back, you're safe and I've got you."
Elena clung to her for a few minutes as she struggled to get her emotions under control before she sucked in a deep, shaky breath and rubbed away her tears with the back of her hand,
"I'm sorry for crying on you," she ran a hand down her face and Caroline shook her head before helping her to her feet,
"That's what friends are for, right?"
Elena nodded and sucked her lips into her mouth as she ran shaky hands through her hair,
"I want to run," she breathed out shakily, her voice cracking slightly, "I need to clear my head and feel a bit more like me, you know?"
Caroline just nodded, her eyes filled with sympathy as she watched her friend struggle to collect herself,
"Sure, we can do that."
Elena gestured towards the drawers,
"Elijah got me some sports wear, you can borrow whatever you need."
The girls dressed quickly, Caroline's homework lay forgotten on the bed as they quietly flitted around the room. Caroline told her that they were the only ones awake and Elena just nodded as she tore a brush through her hair, throwing her curls into a tight ponytail before the girls snuck down the stairs.
They quietly made their way through the kitchen, unlocking the backdoor so that they could get back in and Elena's heart stuttered slightly as she turned her gaze to the chicken coop.
Oh, she was pathetic.
She'd even missed the birds.
She sighed before asking Caroline to wait and opening the door to the coop so that the birds inside could roam around their little fenced-off patch of the garden. She put down some feed for them and gave them fresh water as they clucked around her feet and a soft smile tugged at her lips before she left them to their business, locking eyes with Caroline before starting her stretches.
And then they ran.
Caroline filled the silence of the morning with quiet chatter while they ran through the forest that surrounded the manor, she told Elena about how the rest of the ball had gone after she'd retired for the night, about Jeremy spending most of the night dancing with Bonnie after they'd had an explosive argument in the garden about the way that Bonnie had behaved through the summer and how Kol had single-handedly eaten all of the quails eggs, much to Nik's displeasure.
Caroline filled her in on the gossip from school that she'd missed. Caroline had actually been submitting work for her in her absence, so she wasn't technically behind.
It was mindless chatter, but it kept Elena's mind firmly locked on the here and now and stopped it from wandering to the last time she'd been running through the trees-
No. She wouldn't go there.
She shook herself as she pushed her body harder, making herself go faster even as a layer of sweat built up on her skin and her lungs began to burn. She hopped over tree roots and turned sharply through bushes and brambles until Caroline began to frown,
"You don't normally run this far, 'Lena. We should head back-"
"Not yet," Elena cut her off, "I can keep going."
Then Caroline was in front of her, putting her hands on Elena's shoulders to stop her from taking another step,
"Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should. We've doubled your normal route and you've turned into Elena the Talking Tomato, let's go back."
Elena shrugged her way out of Caroline's grip and leaned against the nearest tree,
"Running saved my life, Care. What if next time, it's not enough? I need to keep going."
Caroline sighed and kicked at the ground,
"I know. I get it, I do. I can't imagine how frightened you must have been, and if you let us, we want to help you. But this? Pushing your body to it's limit? That's not healthy. There are better ways to manage that feeling in your chest," Caroline pushed her palm into Elena's chest gently, putting just enough pressure there to ground her into the moment and despite herself, Elena's chest relaxed slightly, "Come on, we'll jog back, okay?"
Elena sighed, letting her head droop,
"Yeah, okay."
Caroline gently tugged her off the tree and lead her back towards the manor. It took them nearly an hour to make it back and Elena was shocked, she hadn't thought they'd gone that far…
And yet, they had.
They slipped through the double doors that lead into the kitchen and were greeted with the sight of Nik and Elijah being all domestic.
Elijah was making what looked like pancakes and Nik was sat at the island, nursing a cup of coffee between his hands. The men's eyes snapped to them as they came through the door and Elena saw the muscles in Elijah's shoulders relax slightly as he took the pair of them in,
"Go and wash up before breakfast," he ordered quietly, "You know where the bathrooms are, Caroline."
The girls nodded and were just about to leave the room when Nik caught Caroline by the wrist, spinning her to face him with a smirk on his face,
"I could always lend you a hand, should you need it, Love?"
Elena's eyebrows shot up to her hairline as she watched the blush climb up her friend's cheeks, but despite the blush and the way Caroline's eyes sparkled, she made a show of rolling her eyes and turning her back on the hybrid,
"Puh-lease," Care's voice was oddly teasing and Elena crossed her arms over her chest as she watched her friend, "If that line ever actually works for you, do let me know. Come on, 'Lena."
Caroline grabbed Elena's arm and all but dragged her from the room, both of them ignoring the laughter that followed them into the hallway.
Elena showered quickly and then dressed for the day in a pair of well fitted blue jeans and a soft purple peplum top that she was sure was made of clouds. She slipped her feet into a pair of yellow fuzzy socks and then left her hair to air dry.
She shuffled downstairs and then paused, unsure of where exactly she should go. A part of her suspected that she was expected at breakfast, but she didn't really feel hungry. She hesitated for a minute before quietly making her way to the sitting room and curling up on the sofa, pulling her legs up to her chest and squeezing into the smallest ball that she could make, resting her head on her knees and staring out of the window, watching the chickens dig at the dirt.
Elena knew that her body was shaking, but she'd gotten so used to the tremors by now that she hardly noticed them anymore. She'd started to get them while she'd been locked in her cell and they'd plagued her incessantly since.
Still, when Jeremy crept into the room and her eyes met his, it would have been impossible for her to not notice the way his face crumpled when he took her in, the way his shoulders drooped as he knelt down in front of her, his now larger hands gently prying hers off her legs and enveloping them with his warmth,
"Elijah's made breakfast," he told her quietly, pretending that they had any privacy in this house full of vampires, "Why don't you come and join us? I know you like pancakes."
Elena pulled one of her hands from his and gently placed it on his cheek, offering him a soft smile,
"I'm not hungry," she matched her tone to his, keeping it quiet and light, "You don't need to worry about me, Jer. You go, before Kol and Niklaus devour everything that Elijah has made."
Jeremy frowned as he took her in, his eyes scanning her face as he shook his head,
"You've lost so much weight, Elena and you're shaking like a leaf, please come with me. Come eat something, even if it's just one little pancake?"
He was leaning into her palm as if that would stop her tremors and Elena felt her breath catch in her throat. Jeremy was so young, it wasn't his job to be checking in on her. He should be at breakfast, eating more pancakes than she could count, probably with an unhealthy amount of syrup.
She straightened her spine as her resolve settled, fixing him with her 'stern older sister gaze' that she hadn't had to use in far too long,
"Go and have breakfast, Jeremy. I'm perfectly fine."
Jeremy held her stare for a moment before his shoulders slumped and his head fell onto her shoulder,
"I'm worried about you," he whispered into her shirt and Elena felt something in her chest crumble as she slowly wrapped her arms around her little brother, resting her chin in the top of his head,
"I'm okay, honestly. I just don't want any breakfast, that's all. You go, I'm okay."
Jeremy pulled back from her, a hint of his temper coming through as he snapped at her,
"I've grown up with you, Elena. I know when you're okay and this," he gestured towards her with sharp movements, his eyes hardening, "This isn't okay. You've never been this skinny, and sitting in here, all alone, to hide the fact that you're shaking and afraid? That's not okay."
And she didn't want to lose her temper, she really didn't, so she tried to keep her voice soft as she responded,
"I'm fine. I'm not hungry."
Jeremy ran his hands through his hair, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks,
"That's such bullshit and you know it. You want to know what I think?" and then he was pulling her to her feet, jabbing his finger at her, "I think you're barely holding yourself together and I think you've been this bad for a while, since before you were taken to Montana."
Elena rolled her head against her shoulders as an angry heat began to grow in her belly,
"You don't know what you're talking about," she told him sharply, letting a hint of her temper come through, "I've been fine. I am fine."
But he wasn't done,
"You're afraid to let anyone in, right? Because of me and because of Damon and Bonnie. And you're hurting so damned much, but you won't let anyone help you, right!? So, what, we get to watch you waste away!?"
And her temper snapped, the light above her exploding as her cheeks began to burn,
"You don't get to come here and judge me. What's this? Attack Elena O'clock?! Get your ass in the kitchen and eat your damned breakfast and leave me alone! I'm NOT hungry, alright!? If I was hungry, I'd eat. I am coping, alright? I am doing my damned best and no one, not Damon, not you, not even God has the right to judge me right now!"
The door swung open and Elijah glided in, pressing one hand into Elena's shoulder, squeezing gently as he guided her back and away from the shards of glass that had fallen across the floor,
"Let's all calm down, shall we?" He turned to Jeremy and inclined his head towards the door, "Go and enjoy your breakfast, Jeremy. I need to talk to our sister."
Jeremy's eyes flicked between them before he nodded stiffly, stepping carefully to avoid the glass as he left the room and then Elijah was pulling her into a tight embrace, even as she tried to pull away,
"Get off me, Elijah, I'm not in the mood-"
He squeezed her tighter, sighing softly,
"I suspect Jeremy is speaking from a place of concern. He's truly worried for you, he's not trying to upset you," his voice was soft and soothing and Elena felt her temper melting away as she drooped into Elijah's embrace,
"I'm fine," she croaked into his shirt, "I'm okay. I'm trying."
"I know," he crooned, gently stroking her still-damp hair, "I know, and it's alright. You can feel however you want to feel, be it angry or sad or happy."
"I don't want to feel like this," she whispered, "I broke Niklaus' light, didn't I?"
Elijah gently pulled back from the hug to make a show of inspecting the room before sniffing imperiously,
"You've done the room a favour, that light was atrocious, anyway."
Elena sighed and leaned into him again, drawing in the comfort that he was always offering her, and she looked up at him when his quiet voice met her ears,
"Have you had a chance yet to read the note that Caroline wrote you?"
Elena met his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, summoning up her courage before saying very, very quietly,
"I don't need to read it."
Elijah frowned down at her, a flash of disappointment in his eyes,
"I understand of course, you aren't ready to give up your independence and that's fine-"
Elena pressed her hand over his mouth with an amused smile,
"I don't think you do understand, actually. I've been thinking about it since you mentioned it yesterday and my answer is yes. Yes, I'd like it if you were my guardian."
A bright smile split across Elijah's face,
"You're sure?" he asked and all she could do was nod before he was lifting her off the ground, spinning her in a quick circle before carrying her from the room and into his study, where he put her back on her feet and then plucked little shards of glass from her hair before sitting in his chair behind his desk, gesturing for her to sit in the window seat, which she did, tucking her legs beneath her,
"I'd like it if you moved in," he told her without hesitation and she pursed her lips,
"Are you sure the others won't mind?" she deliberately kept her voice quiet and Elijah smiled at her before gesturing towards the kitchen with his head,
"They're all in their celebrating this victory. Family belongs together, after all."
Elena rolled her eyes even as a smile grew on her face,
"Okay. Yeah, sure, why not?"
Elijah leaned back into his chair, pressing the tips of his fingers together,
"I'd like to discuss your car."
And the smile fell off Elena's face,
"What about it?"
Elijah seemed to be searching for the right words,
"I took the liberty while you were away of taking your car to the garage. The mechanic was of the impression that your car is no longer road safe," he kept eye contact with her as he spoke, "I can, of course, get it repaired anyway, but we will be having this conversation again in a few months. The other option would be for you to allow me to replace your deathtrap-on-wheels."
Elena slumped into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest as she thought about it,
"I can't ask you to do that," she told him, "You've all spent more than enough on me already. If you know what's broken, I can take it to this friend I have, like I did last time and he can fix it up cheap-"
Elijah leaned forward on his desk, pressing his palms into his forehead,
"Elena, stop trying to give your brother an aneurysm and let him buy you a car." Finn was in the doorway with a plate in his hands that he promptly brought over to her and deposited next to her on the bench. There was a small stack of pancakes with strawberry syrup and fresh strawberries and raspberries on top, just the way she liked them, and her heart lurched as she realised that Jeremy must have prepared her a plate.
Finn handed her a knife and fork and then turned to leave,
"Cost is a non-issue to us, try to remember that before you kill your un-killable siblings."
And then he was gone and she was left blinking as Elijah sighed,
"He has a way with words, doesn't he?"
Elena blinked almost owlishly,
"I'm really not sure what goes on in his brain," she whispered, and Elijah shot her half a grin,
"He's made mention more than once of sending you to join a convent, so I wouldn't go arguing with him if I were you."
Elena snorted,
"I'm sorry, he what?"
Elijah grinned as she began to cut up her pancakes,
"Oh, yes, he's very worried about this world corrupting you. He's of the opinion that perhaps a life in a nunnery might appeal to you."
Elena chewed on her pancakes even as she scowled at Elijah, who's eyes were twinkling with amusement,
"Perhaps he could even convince Caroline to join you there. You know, in case you need a little friend."
It was fortunate that she'd finished her mouthful, because she definitely would have choked as a full-bellied laugh left her,
"Oh, stop it! I can't even imagine Care as a nun."
Elijah was grinning now and she could only imagine the things he was listening to Nik rant about.
Elena sighed as she ate another mouthful of her pancakes, a little ball of contentment growing in her chest,
"So, I let you fix my car and I move in, I'll need to sort out my apartment and re-pack," she was grumbling to herself which only made Elijah's grin grow, "I hate packing and then I'll have to un-pack, and I'll need a key to the manor so I can let myself in and out, obviously."
"Obviously," Elijah drawled, and Elena promptly ignored him,
"Then what do I do with my apartment? I guess I could sell it, my bank account would definitely be grateful if I did but I don't know if I want to sell it-"
"You could always rent it out," Elijah butted in, "Then you'd get money each month. Though you won't be needing it of course."
Elena frowned and crossed her arms over her chest,
"What do you mean? Obviously I need money. I can't expect you to keep me for free, and I imagine I'll still want to shop-"
Elijah held up a hand to cut her off and then he opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope, which he then handed to her in silence, gesturing for her to open it.
She chewed on her lip as she gently tugged the envelope open and her eyes widened as a small, black card fell into her hand,
"You're a Mikaelson. That comes with a certain amount of risks, that's true, but there are some perks. One of those perks is in your hand."
Elena was rapidly shaking her head,
"I can't take this, 'Lijah-" she went to hand it back to him, but he just gently took her hand and closed her fingers around the card,
"It's yours," he told her rather firmly, "I won't accept it back. It even has your name on it."
And when she looked, she found that it actually did read Elena Mikaelson.
Her heart was stuttering in her chest and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to hug her brother or throttle him and as if he could read her racing mind, he just carried on as he sat down beside her on the window seat,
"In terms of expectations, I want you to feel comfortable coming to me about anything, whether it's to tell me about your day at school, or whether you're struggling with anything. If there's something on your mind, I want you to be able to come to me," she nodded to him while he spoke and she finished off her pancakes, "There will be a curfew of ten pm on school nights, but the weekends and holidays are yours to enjoy as you will. Though, I would like you to agree to allowing Niklaus to upgrade your phone so that we can make use of the handy GPS tracking that we all use, we don't want a repeat of the last few weeks." And Elena couldn't even argue with that logic.
So, she nodded slowly as a pleased smile stretched across Elijah's face,
"I won't interfere with your job," he told her seriously, "I think it's good that you have some responsibility, and I'd like it if you kept working, though I wouldn't argue if you chose to quit. In terms of chores, I think you'll have your hands full between school work, your job and your share of Finn's farm management. I know this is a big change, and we're all going to have to get used to certain changes, but I truly believe this is the best course of action for us all."
Elena chewed on her lip for a moment before quietly asking,
"What about when Esther comes back? I don't know if I want to live with her."
Elijah sucked in a deep breath and nodded slowly,
"I suppose her return is an inevitability," he admitted slowly, but he was cut off from whatever else he was going to say by the entrance of Kol, who darted into the room to collapse by her feet,
"She can go sleep in a tent for all we care. With any luck, she'll irritate the wrong person and they'll do us the mercy of putting her back in her coffin."
Elena rolled her eyes as she ran her hands through Kol's hair almost robotically, ignoring the way he leaned into her touch,
"I'm being serious, I'm not ready for that yet."
Elijah hummed and Kol snorted,
"You think I'm not serious? Do you not think it's strange that we haven't sought her out? She can stay wherever she is."
Elijah leaned forward, ignoring Kol entirely,
"If she returns, we will arrange alternative accommodations for her. This is your home, Elena."
And all she could do was nod, Elijah's tone was full of conviction and his eyes were completely earnest, he truly believed what he was telling her.
And a part of her wondered if she was making the right choice, was this the right thing to do?
But if it was wrong, if she shouldn't be doing it, why did it feel so good?
For the first time in far too long, Elena felt truly content.
Even her tremors had finally faded away into just a gentle shaking and she knew that whatever came next, she wouldn't regret her decision today.
She didn't need the note from Caroline, she didn't need anyone else's permission.
Every little thing that she needed was under this roof.
Elijah cleared his throat and her eyes snapped to his,
"I think your friends are arriving. Seeing as the sitting room is currently out of commission, I'd recommend making use of the dining room."
Elena barely had time to nod before Kol was dragging her to her feet and Elijah was smiling as she was yanked out of his office.
Kol had her wrist in his hand, and she wanted to pull herself free, but as the thought entered her mind, she wondered if maybe he'd missed her as much as she'd missed him and then she couldn't bring herself to begrudge him holding onto her. Instead, she grabbed his sleeve with her free hand and followed him as he led her through to the dining room.
One of the perks of living in a house full of vampires that couldn't control their nosiness was that the dining table came pre-loaded with snacks and drinks and she wondered briefly who had set it up, because if it was Finn, there was a good chance none of it was edible and as if he could read her mind, Kol began to talk,
"Caroline and Rebekah set up the refreshments, they're just going to let Tyler and Matt in. If you get uncomfortable, I can always rip the busboys tongue out of his head?"
Elena laughed as she took a seat,
"I'm sure that won't be necessary. We used to date, you know?"
And Kol froze, the vampiric black veins appearing beneath his eyes,
"Pardon me?"
Elena kept laughing, clutching at her stomach as Kol fixed her with a dark glare,
"Oh, you're killing me, calm down, I can't breathe!"
Jeremy raised his brows at the pair of them as he entered the dining room,
"I feel like I'm missing something here?"
Elena kept laughing even as Kol turned his dark eyes to Jeremy,
"Don't tell me she actually did date the busboy?"
Jeremy blinked and frowned,
"You mean Matt? Yeah, for a little while, why?"
Kol crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, a dark scowl on his face even as Rebekah came into the room and whispered something into his ear. At whatever she said, the veins beneath his eyes disappeared but the dark scowl remained and Jeremy sat down on one side of Elena, nudging her gently with his foot,
"I'm sorry about earlier," he whispered to her, a glimmer of shame in his eyes, "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that, can you forgive me?"
Elena rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, ignoring Kol as he sat opposite her,
"Forget it," she told him as she nudged his shoulder, "It wasn't all your fault, anyway. I could've just agreed to eat breakfast and I'm the one who blew up the lightbulb."
Rebekah rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Kol,
"Nik's fixing it up as we speak, he couldn't possibly leave it broken for a day."
Elena chewed on her lip as a flash of panic flared in her chest, she hadn't even moved in yet and she was already being an inconvenience. What if Elijah changed his mind? What if she was too much hassle? What if-
Kol gently kicked her leg beneath the table and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest,
"Niklaus is always looking for reasons to renovate and redecorate, I'm honestly shocked he didn't piss his pants at the chance to go shopping for a whole new fixture."
Rebekah snorted,
"Maybe he did, he left the room very quickly."
When Caroline came into the room with Tyler and Matt on her heels, she had Elena's school bag gripped in one hand and her own in the other, a bright smile on her face as she set about ordering everyone to take their seats. This was her element, Elena thought. Caroline Forbes thrived when she was in charge of a project, she was built to be a leader.
With her colour-coded homework planner, multiple pages of notes and meticulously thought out plan for the day, she actually looked like a real teacher. A soft smile played on Elena's lips as a burst of pride shot through her.
Her best friend rocked.
In fact, aside from the sound of pens scratching across paper and the occasional jump-in from either Rebekah or Kol, the morning passed quietly, with just Caroline's voice reverberating through the room.
And it wasn't boring, either. Caroline had come prepared, she had diagrams and charts to back up her points and she incorporated little quizzes as well to keep their minds on the task at hand.
It wasn't until it was nearly lunch time that Elena spied the shadows creeping into the room and it was like a punch to the gut, because here she was, surrounded by some of the strongest, fastest, most protective people on the planet and the sight of a few shadows had panic prickling at her skin, her tremors deepening until she could hardly hold her pen and a light layer of sweat building on her forehead as her eyes began to frantically seek out the light switch. She swallowed thickly, ignoring the questioning look on Kol's face as she forced herself to suck in a deep breath.
Jeremy beat Kol to the punch by less than a second, his chair scraping back as he climbed to his feet and Elena hadn't realised how tense she'd gotten until he flicked the light on and her muscles relaxed, her shoulders drooping as she slumped back in her seat.
Elena ground her teeth together as she tried to get her hands to stop shaking, but it was an ultimately pointless endeavour and she couldn't help but be slightly relieved when Finn entered the room, cutting Caroline off just as Jeremy re-took his seat,
"I require Kol and Elena."
Elena's eyes darted to Kol, who mimed zipping his mouth shut, and Caroline smiled,
"Sure, we're almost done with Elena's catching up, anyway. She didn't really miss much," and then the blonde's eyes were on Tyler, "Now, you, on the other hand-"
And Elena was up and out of her seat, ignoring the fact that her tremors were making it difficult to keep her balance.
Or, they were, until Finn grabbed one of her arms and Kol grabbed the other, the pair of them supporting her as they left the room.
They led her through to the kitchen and she didn't dare tell them that she was fine when she knew how obvious it was that she simply wasn't.
There were some things that she couldn't hide.
Her traitorous body getting the tremors was just one of them.
Her brothers deposited her carefully into a chair at the kitchen island, Kol sat down next to her and knocked his knee into hers, shooting her a reassuring smile that did little to hide the burning desire for violence that was dancing in his dark orbs, teasing her with all the different vicious ways he was imagining destroying the people who had hurt her.
For a brief, morbid moment, she wondered what he'd done to the werewolves that had no doubt caught up to him in Montana.
She didn't dare to ask.
Finn slid into the seat opposite her, his chocolate orbs pinning her own as he took her in, a tiny frown just beginning to pucker across his forehead,
"You're shaking." He wasn't asking a question, rather it was just a very pointed statement that had Kol rolling his eyes, but Elena just shrugged,
"I can't make it stop," she admitted quietly, "It started when I was locked in my cell, but it won't go away."
Finn seemed to consider her answer for a moment before nodding slowly,
"In January," he began in a rapid change of topic, "We will go and buy some new animals. Perhaps some calves. As spring approaches, there will be much to do and buy. I would appreciate it if you continued to give me your assistance."
Elena smiled at him as a flash of excitement tore through her, he couldn't be serious, right? He wasn't actually going to buy some cows!?
He didn't laugh, so apparently he was completely serious and for a second, she was just a teenage girl caught up in the moment,
"Oh my god, really!? That's so exciting! What type of cow are we going to get? Oh, can we get a fluffy one? Please!? I can't believe we're getting cows! Can we have piglets, too?"
And then she was clamping her own hand over her mouth as the corner of Finn's lips twitched up and he leaned back into his seat as if he were appraising her,
"Fluffy cows? I will have to do some more research," he tapped his chin almost thoughtfully and Elena's eyes widened at the sight, in all the time that she'd known Finn, this was the most expressive that he'd been. Kol didn't waste any time before tugging out his phone and with a few taps of his fingers, he'd brought something up which he seemed to consider for a moment before nodding and then sliding the phone across to Finn for him to look at,
"Highland cows?" Finn said it slowly, as if he'd never heard of them before, but then he was nodding, "This would be your preference?" his eyes shifted to her so quickly that she struggled to keep up with his shifting attention and she slowly nodded,
"I mean, it's not important, if it's not practical then we can obviously look at some others, I don't expect you to pick them just because I like them-"
"I will do some research," he cut her off, "I have not had the pleasure of raising piglets. The hogs we had were looked after by Father. Luckily, we have a large store of timber," Finn shot an almost grateful look at Kol and Elena damn near fell out of her seat, "We may need more space. I will mark out the area that we will need and you will clear it." And Kol just nodded.
Was she dreaming? Since when was it that easy for Finn to get Kol to agree to anything? Then Kol turned his mischievous eyes on her,
"I'm so going to make the pig home out of bricks. Get it, 'cause of the big bad wolf?"
And Elena laughed, a real, delighted laugh as she pictured Nik trying to blow down the pig home.
Finn didn't seem to understand, but he also didn't seem like he cared to try, either,
"I don't think pigs live in brick-made homes. Like I said, I will do some research while I take Jeremy home tonight," he blinked and then his eyes were on her again, "I will be gone for a few days. Elijah assures me that you will take care of our chickens?"
"Of course," she was quick to respond, her heart hammering away in her chest as a grin grew on her face, she really loved looking after the birds, "Yeah, of course I'll look after the chickens."
Kol nudged her with his elbow,
"Nik's gone with Elijah, they're arranging for your car to get fixed and then going to pick out a new light fixture together, so they'll be gone for most of the day. Let's do something fun while they're not here, like paint Nik's room hot pink," his eyes were practically glowing with excitement and Elena laughed again until Finn tapped on the countertop.
When he had their attention, he lifted a bag up from the ground beside him and very carefully, he handed it over to Elena,
"That's our grimoire," he told her seriously, "It's yours now. Perhaps, instead of painting Niklaus' room and causing a temper tantrum that will have a chair thrown through the wall again, you could direct your energy towards teaching Elena some new magic. I'd recommend the spell that unlocks locked things," his eyes softened just a little as he looked at her, "Your tremors have calmed down now. Perhaps learning to unlock doors and restraints will make you feel a little more secure."
Then he was standing, brushing himself off as if he'd been doing something that involved getting dirty rather than just sitting and talking,
"I am going to go and continue to mark out the areas I will need by spring. Try not to break anything else."
She could've sworn he was teasing her, and then he was gone, and Kol was half-grinning at her,
"You're definitely getting fluffy cows."
And Elena just grinned, nudging him with her shoulder, which then prompted him to almost knock her off her chair as he shoved her, a delighted laugh escaping from him as she gripped onto his arm to stop herself from falling onto the floor. She glared at him with narrowed eyes and was just contemplating how much trouble she'd get into if she were to 'accidently' set him on fire, just a little bit, when there was a knock at the door and Kol called out almost lazily,
"Come in, mate, before our sister actually does fall off her chair."
The door slid open slowly and Jeremy walked in, rubbing at the back of his neck as he stepped into the room,
"Can I join you guys in here? I really don't care about whatever Caroline's trying to teach Tyler."
Elena smiled at him and nodded,
"Sure, you can watch Kol teach me some magic, instead."
Jeremy flicked his eyes between the pair of them and then nodded,
"Sounds better than sitting through a speed course on science."
To be fair, he wasn't wrong.
He sat down opposite them as Kol picked up the bag with the grimoire, fixing Elena with a stern look that didn't look right on his face,
"Remember, the deal with this is that you don't go practicing anything without supervision. Some of these spells are old and you still don't have a firm grip on how much power a spell needs yet, we don't need you killing yourself trying to turn Niklaus orange, okay?"
Elena blinked at him,
"There's a spell that can turn someone orange?"
And as if he could read the thought directly out of her mind, he scowled and threw an apple at her,
"If you turn me orange, you and I are going to have problems."
From across the counter, Jeremy grinned, he looked less gaunt than he had last night, like someone had lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders and told him he could be just a normal teenager again,
"If you don't turn him orange, then you and I are going to have problems."
Kol turned a frosty glare to Jeremy, who's eyes widened briefly before Kol's face broke into a wide grin,
"If she turns me orange because of you, I'm going to get the Bennett witch to turn you pink and see how you like that."
Jeremy blinked and then turned back to Elena,
"On second thought," he said, "You'd better not."
Kol grinned victoriously as he fished the grimoire out of the bag,
"That's what I thought."
He dropped a large, heavy looking tome in front of her that looked to be around the same size as the Bennett grimoire, it was bound in a dark, aged leather and smelt musty but the excitement in Kol's eyes killed any disgust that might have been growing in her stomach,
"Let's do some magic, then, yeah?"