The Key

6

EDITED

"I cannot believe you and Bonnie made it out of the prison world alive," I say in awe as we walk up the steps to the Boarding House.

Damon smirks, he just told me the full story during our evening out, 

"I'm just full of surprises, as you'll come to find out."

I smile at him genuinely.

We had a great time at our early dinner. 

We talked about our past adventures together. 

How Elena is married to another doctor named Liam now. How Alaric is married to a witch from a famous coven named Jo, who is also a doctor, and they have two twin daughters, Elizabeth and Jeanie.

Damon opens the front door for me and I step inside the warm house, letting the heat hug my body for a second since it was chilly outside.

I step towards the living room and that's when I see Elijah, and he turns to face me slowly. 

Stefan standing beside him turns to look at Damon and I as well.

Elijah's eyes hold bewilderment and...relief? As if he didn't believe until this exact moment that I truly was alive.

I studying his face, this flow of pure familiarity passing between us.

But it's as if seeing him, this Mikaelson, brings it all rushing forward at warp speed. My memories flooding back as soon as I blink my eyes.

Niklaus and I with our seemingly endless string of nights in New Orleans, the nights we spent making love. The countless arguments we had over our feelings. The attraction between us so strong we could've started a war with it. How Niklaus was always so forward and honest with me about how he felt, and how I sheltered my heart from him for so long until I finally caved in and loved him back.

How Rebekah literally became my new sister. How Elijah would comfort me when Niklaus and I would fight.

And then something more hits me.

Like a train.

Flashes of my pregnancy with Niklaus's child flash behind my eyelids. How Niklaus proposed to me. The excruciating labor I endured while the Mikaelson siblings all watched over me. But the reward was that beautiful little ball of sunshine, named Hope Soraya Mikaelson. 

My daughter. The one I died for. The one I'd die over and over for to protect.

Her little grey-blue eyes and her tiny hands. The little patch of thick auburn hair on her head. The way she felt in my arms, like I was complete and whole.

I gasp as I'm thrown back into reality and out of my memories which all seemed to penetrate my brain at warp speed, like watching a movie in fast forward.

And I'm now forced to acknowledge that Elijah is in front of me.

"Elijah?" I whisper quietly, afraid of how my voice might sound if I talk at a normal level.

Elijah holds up a small crystal ball, smiling,

"I asked a witch friend of mine to create memory retriever. Did it work?"

I'm now aware that Damon is still beside me, looking between us quickly. He is completely unaware of everything I just witnessed in my mind.

I look back to Elijah and smile a weak smile, nodding furiously. Tears streak down my face as I stalk forward and into his arms, hugging the man who was to be my future brother-in-law.

I feel him hurriedly throw his arms around my body, clutching me to him as if I'd disappear again if he let me go.

"I remember it all now. New Orleans. The wolf pack. Niklaus...Hope," I whisper into his ear,