The Beginning Of Our Forever [1]

18. Putting Family First

"I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you, Sheila. I'm so sorry that it had to be under these circumstances. I never wanted any of this to happen," Elena sobbed hysterically, as Sheila held her tight in her arms. Elena's tears dripped down her face and left a small wet patch on the shoulder of Sheila's dress. Sheila pulled back and held Elena at arms length,

"I don't want to hear any of that nonsense, you hear me?" she soothed, her hand reaching up to Elena's face and wiping away the puddles of tears beneath her eyes. Elena smile feebly in return.
"Mum explained what happened to you, to both of you. She spoke about you all the time, she wanted to make sure that I knew how much my Auntie Elena loved me. Looking at you now, I know that she wasn't lying," Sheila smiled and wiped away her own tears.

"I have so many things I want to talk to you about. So many things I want to know about your life, and about Bonnie's and Jeremy's. Would that be OK with you?" Elena managed to mumble, after getting a handle on her emotions and sniffing away her tears.

"Of course. I have so many things I want to learn from you too. You can ask me all the things you like when we're in the car," Sheila reassured Elena.

"In the car?" Elena queried. She didn't realise that her and Sheila were meant to be going somewhere together.

"Oh I'm sorry honey, I just presumed that you'd want to come with me... to take this one back to the hospital," Sheila smirked and gestured her head towards someone behind Elena. Elena flicked her head around and smiled when she saw that it was Jeremy walking towards them. Sheila brushed past Elena and opened her arms to Jeremy.

"Hi Dad. How are you feeling today?" she asked assertively. Elena knew that Sheila had probably asked him that question before and he had failed to recognise her. Sheila was a strong, beautiful woman, and she was doing her best to stop Jeremy's illness from claiming any more of his memories.

"I'm fine, Leelee, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not a little child," Jeremy joked, his familiar sarcastic attitude shining through.

"Dad, if you insist on calling me by that silly nickname, then I will continue treating you like a child," Sheila sighed, rolling her eyes, smiling. Elena saw so much of Bonnie in her. Jeremy looked over Sheila's shoulder at Elena,

"When Sheila was little, it took her a while to learn her own name. She could never manage to grasp the 'S' sound. So until she was about 7 or 8, she called herself Leelee," Jeremy smiled, nudging Sheila in the arm. Sheila laughed and bowed her head as she started to blush. Elena smiled too, not only in response to what Jeremy was telling her, but at the amazing relationship she could see that he and Sheila had.

"Alright, pack it in. We need to get you back to the hospital, all the nurses have been really worried about you," Sheila reprimanded him. Jeremy crossed his arms and tutted. Elena could sense a huge tantrum approaching.

"Nope. No way am I going back there. You can't make me, little girl," Jeremy said bluntly, turning his lip up.

"Come on Dad, don't do this today. Elena's coming with us too, and we have a present for her in the car don't we?" Elena knew that Sheila was trying to bargain with him; anything to get him to agree to go back to the hospital. Jeremy's facial expression immediately changed. He uncrossed his arms and his face filled with excitement.

"Okay. You win. Let's go." Jeremy smiled, knowing he was easily defeated. He reached out his left hand and linked it with Sheila's. He looked over Sheila's shoulder at Elena and beckoned her forward, holding out his other hand for her to hold.

After saying goodbye to the others and arranging for Damon to pick Elena up from the hospital later on, the three of them walked hand in hand towards Sheila's car, each of them overjoyed that the immediate Gilbert family, was now complete.

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Once Elena, Jeremy and Sheila had left the cemetery at the end of the funeral, Damon, Stefan and Caroline were left with the difficult task of dealing with the Mikaelsons. Despite their efforts to show the Mikaelsons that they weren't welcome here anymore, Klaus in particular was having none of it. Damon, Stefan, Caroline and the twins were making their way to their cars when they were interrupted by the sound of Klaus' irritating, but irresistible, voice,

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to play host to your old friends for a couple of days?" his voice thick with sarcasm. Damon immediately turned around to face him, his face crumpled with confusion,

"Are you out of your mind? You're not wanted here, and you certainly aren't welcome in our house. Just take the hint, and clear off back to where you came from," he stated bluntly, straight to the point.

"Oh but I like it here a lot! I had forgotten how much I liked Mystic Falls. Maybe we should move back here, don't you think, Kol?" Klaus taunted, looking over his shoulder at Kol. He knew that Kol would have his back on this, he enjoyed winding the Salvatore's up as much as Klaus did. Kol smirked back in return,

"That's such a great idea Nik! I'm sure Rebekah would enjoy being so close to Elena, given the precarious nature of her humanity," Kol taunted back. Klaus smirked. Hayley, Freya and Hope stood well back, they knew better than to get involved in a fight that Klaus was sure to start.

Damon lunged for Kol, his blood boiling after he dared to mention Elena's name in that way. He feared for how vulnerable Elena's humanity made her, but he wasn't even going to let an original threaten her like that. Caroline quickly intervened, rushing forward in a blur to stand in-front of Damon, one hand on his chest stopping him from moving forward and one hand pointing towards the Mikaelsons.

"STOP!" she shouted.
"They know better than to dare think they can touch Elena," she whispered to Damon, her voice soothing in an attempt to counter his rage.
"I'm sure we can let them stay for a few days, if they agree not to stay here permanently." Caroline looked across at Klaus and smiled through gritted teeth.
"Do you agree to that?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. Klaus smiled, his dimples forming in the corners of his mouth. This was exactly the response he wanted.

"Of course love. We're only asking for a few days. Besides, anything can happen in a few days," he grinned and gave Caroline a wink. If you had blinked at that very moment you would have missed it. Stefan however, hadn't missed a thing, and quickly moved to Caroline's side, placing an arm around her waist protectively.

"In your dreams," he smiled, trying to make light of Klaus' comment yet subtly hinting that there was no way he had any chance with her. Stefan turned Caroline around, gathered Damon and the twins and walked them all back over to the cars. The Mikaelsons were left standing there, smirking to themselves. Klaus couldn't help but get the last word in, as always,

"We'll meet you back at your place then?! I'll see you later Caroline!" he shouted. Even though Caroline had her back to him, she knew that he had that stupid grin plastered across his face.

As Stefan opened the car door for Caroline, she slyly looked over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Klaus. She wasn't surprised to find that he was still looking at her, his eyes reaching hers from all the way back over in the cemetery. She quickly looked down, breaking his gaze. Despite every part of her body telling her not to, she found herself smirking.

'This will not end well' she thought to herself, shaking her head.