Back in Time

29

Damon handed our son to Jeremy who stared down at the baby like he had never seen the sun before. Enzo wrapped his arms around Bonnie as she gazed at our son, whispering in her ear. She nodded, leaning into him.

I turned to Damon, taking his hand. He was looking at everyone with the sweetest smile on his face. I kissed his cheek, and he looked at me. Damon wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, pressing his lips to the side of my face.

"That's our family." He murmured. I nodded.

Zach had woken up and began crying in Jeremy's arms, who looked up at me, slightly alarmed. I reached out and Jeremy handed him to me. Zach nestled against my chest, still crying.

"Shh." I rocked him gently. "You're okay. I know it's a bit confusing." After a minute, he calmed down, but didn't go back to sleep. He looked up at me with Damon's blue eyes. "Hi." I whispered.

"Here." Caroline had given Lexi to Stefan, and Stefan held her out to Damon. Damon took our daughter in his arms and cradled her.

"Freeze." Caroline pulled out the camera she must have got from Meredith. She snapped a few photos and I rolled my eyes. "You'll thank me later Elena." Caroline said.

"I know." I smiled.

Damon nudged my arm, and I looked over. He nodded down at Lexi, who had also opened her eyes. She was looking at Zach, and he was looking right back at her.

"Yes, that's your brother." Damon told Lexi. "And you will love him even if he steals your stuff." I laughed.

This was perfect. I had my perfect husband, my perfect babies, and all the love from my friends and family I could ever want. I didn't think there was anything that could ruin it.

-

Two months later, I was proven horribly wrong.

-

It had been almost two months since Lexi, Zach, and I had come home from the hospital. The twins had their own room in the Salvatore boarding house, directly next to the one I shared with Damon. Bonnie was only a few weeks away from having her own babies, Caroline moved into the Mikaelson mansion with Klaus, Jeremy had a girlfriend; her name was Anna and she was a vampire, and Stefan and Katherine were giving their relationship another try.

Katherine was great with my kids. They liked her best apart from me and Damon, probably because she looked exactly like me. Katherine swore it was because she was amazing, and we all just laughed at her.

One night, after Lexi and Zach had fallen asleep, I was in our room, but Damon wasn't there. I wasn't too worried, since it was just any ordinary Friday night. He was probably at the grill catching up with Ric, who was as busy with Lizzie and Josie as we were with our kids.

I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Closing my eyes, I relaxed in the silence, which didn't happen often. Then there was a blood curdling scream from downstairs. I shot up into a sitting position and flashed downstairs in just over a second.

Katherine was slumped on the floor, a stake in her stomach. A woman was standing over her, and a woman I recognised instantly. Keeping one eye on her, I ran to Katherine, pulling the stake from her stomach. She sucked in a breath, wiping her bloody hands on her shirt.

"Hello Elena." Esther smiled. "I must apologise. I mistook your doppelganger for you."

My stomach dropped. I knew why she was here. I had completely forgotten about the promise I had made to her. She wanted to turn me into a witch/vampire hybrid.

"What do you want?" I growled anyway.
"I hoped you wouldn't have forgotten our deal." Esther's eyes pierced right through me. "You agreed to turn into a witch hybrid once your babies were born. It has been two months. It's time."

"A witch and a vampire hybrid?" Katherine spat. "You're not touching her."
"What's so bad about it?" I asked.

"Elena, if she turns you into a witch hybrid, she can control you. It's not like a sire bond or being compelled - it's like she lives partly in your mind and controls everything you do." Katherine glared at Esther. "It also grows her power."

Esther did not try to stop Katherine from telling me this. She just stood there, hands clasped in front of her, waiting for her to stop. I helped Katherine to her feet and then stood firmly. There was no way I was letting this happen.

"No." I told her. Esther tilted her head to one side.

"It's not in your best interests to fight me Elena." Esther said. "One more time. Come with me." I shook my head.

"I will never do what you want." I growled. "No."

Esther shrugged, and then there were two distinct cries from upstairs. Wails of innocent fair. Lexi and Zach. I was about to run to them, but I found myself unable to move. A witch - it must be a witch because she was chanting - walked into the house with her hands extended.

A blinding pain forced me to my knees. Next to me, Katherine was suffering the same.

I couldn't move. My body was locked in place and on fire. My babies continued to cry, and then the sound slowly faded away. I wanted to scream, to throw myself at Esther and rip her heart out. But I was frozen.

"I hope you do reconsider your answer." Esther said. "Or you will never see your precious children again."

A second passed, and then she disappeared. The witch had disappeared with Esther, and the house was silent.

Able to move again, I threw myself out of the house, searching with my ears and my eyes. I couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Esther was gone, along with my babies.

I fell to my knees on the grass outside the house. Tears streaming down my face, I struggled to breathe as I let out an agonising scream.