Forever

Elijah

Home, I was finally home.

We'd visited some really pretty cities, but nothing quite felt like this.

I ran up my porch steps, Jaime following closely behind. He'd been the one to get me out, a loophole in Klaus' rules.

The door opened, Jeremy had his backpack slung over a shoulder. When he saw me, his eyes widened. "Drew?"

"Hey."

"Oh my god, Drew!" Elena came running.

"Are you okay? Where did you go?" Jeremy dropped his bag and pulled me into a crushing hug. "I tried calling you."

"Klaus stole my phone." And I probably would never get it back at this rate. "Maybe we should talk about this inside. They were asleep when I left, it won't take them long to guess where I've gone."

"They?" Elena took a step back to let me in.

"Two originals, one's Klaus, the other is Kol, who you guys haven't met yet. Though we should probably get the gang over here because he does want to murder a few of you." I turned to Jaime. "I'd invite you in, but if he asks you to bring me outside..."

"Yeah, no. I'll stand guard and try and run any interference. Though I'm pretty sure Kol is going to kill me when he sees me here."

"Just yell and I'll try and talk him down."

"That just fills me with confidence." Jaime deadpanned, leaning against the house.

"Wait wait. Kol is awake?" Jeremy followed me to the couch, which I promptly fell on.

"Yeah. Last night actually." It'd been a long day. Elena was on her phone, presumably texting the group. "Klaus knows. By the way. That Elena's alive."

"What? You told him?!" She stood.

"Doesn't matter how he knows, just that he does. I'm sure the Salvatores can save you from him- oh wait. He's only one of the most powerful vampires in history." I was so tired.

"What do you propose we do then." Elena set her hands on her hips.

"Figure it out. I got the warning to you. Do you know how moody Kol and Klaus will be? I'll be the one to deal with it so long as Elijah's in a coffin. Kol already thinks I do dumb shit for this group anyway."

"That's because you do, do dumb shit like trading your life for Damon's." Jeremy huffed.

"What?" Elena glanced between us. "Drew?"

"Jeremy. C'mon." I threw my hands up. "You suck at keeping secrets."

"We're supposed to be family. This is the second time you've kept something big from me. How am I supposed to protect you?" Elena began to pace.

"First of all. I can make my own decisions for my safety. If you haven't noticed, I'm not dead yet and I don't wear the Gilbert ring. Far as I know Matt, Bonnie, and I are the only people in this group that haven't died at some point." I got to my feet. "And secondly, the thing with Kol, that's my business. Not yours. You're not entitled to knowing anything about me." Maybe it was a little salty.

I was just so sick of everyone trying to 'protect' me without actually asking what it was that I wanted.

"Hey Drew!" Jaime shouted from outside. "You have company."

Shit. 

Had they already found us?

"Stay." I hesitantly made my way to the door. If it were Klaus, Jaime would be safe-ish. He wouldn't be killed, I don't think. If it were Kol, Jaime was already going to die, maybe he was trying to use him as a bargaining chip?

"Hello, dear sister." Elijah stood on the porch, hands in his pockets.

This was a lot. I let out a sigh of relief. "I thought Klaus had daggered you."

"He did, but Kol made some sort of deal." Great. They were getting along. Wonderful. "Though that begs the question why you're here."

"Jaime helped. I needed to warn my friends that the murder twins are on their way and Klaus wasn't a fan of me just texting them."

Elijah's attention drifted to Jaime. "Yes. The hybrid." He muttered in distaste.

I didn't like the look in his eyes. "He's my friend."

"I'm not the one you need to worry about."

"Elijah."

"I warned you how dangerous Niklaus is. Yet from what I hear, you continually push him."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I would prefer not to get lectured in front of everyone. "Can we not have this conversation right now? Because I'm pretty sure that if you're awake, that means Klaus has something he wants to share."

He smiled. "Very perceptive. May I come in?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Not particularly, no."

I stepped back, silently allowing him entrance. He'd already been invited in so he was only being courteous anyway.

"Elena." He nodded. "Jeremy. Shall we sit?"

Nodding, I shot my siblings a look as we sat on our couch. Elijah took the arm chair. "So, are you the only one they let out?"

"I'm here to negotiate on behalf of my more... murderous brothers. Kol thought you'd be more inclined to agree if you didn't feel threatened."

"Okay." I said slowly, itching at my bandaid.

"The construction of our home in Mystic Falls is nearly complete. We would like to settle here in peace, with the arrival of two of my other siblings of course."

"Wait. You're saying your family wants to live here?" Elena nearly stood but I caught her arm. Best not to piss off the only original who wasn't already mad.

"We haven't been together as a family in nearly two centuries and since Drew seems adamant on staying with you all, Kol and Klaus have agreed to play nice, so long as you can keep your friends under control."

"Not gonna happen." And there were the Salvatores. "Little Gilbert, good to finally see you back."

"Damon, please just agree." Because at this point, I was so tired. "They're giving us peace on a silver platter." I turned to see both of them standing in the entry way. "Think about it. We have the most powerful vampires in town, no more fighting. You think the tomb vampires would've dared to pull any of the shit they did if any of the Mikaelsons were here?"

"You said the construction of your house. You guys have been planning this." Jeremy leaned forward on his knees.

"As soon as Klaus knew how difficult it'd be to get her to leave, he began the project, yes. He just needed to buy some time." Elijah nodded.

Stefan stepped forward, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "And the fact that he now has an army doesn't hurt either."

"Hey! I feel like I should take offense to that." Jaime shouted. Seems no one has actually closed the door.

"Can we talk it over?" I cleared my throat. "Half our squad isn't even here."

Elijah stood, buttoning his jacket. "Of course, though I would hurry. This deal won't last forever. Oh and Jaime, was it? Niklaus would like to speak to you." He turned to me. "After your deliberation, Kol wants to see you, dear sister."

I couldn't deny that I wanted that too.