Piece of You | Finn Mikaelson

Chapter 2

Elaine rarely had nightmares.

After a thousand years, she'd learned to cast them away. Block them out. Most of the time, it worked. But ever so often, one creeped back in. Usually from the same cluster of memories which pained her the most.

All of them surrounding Finn's departure, and what followed after the birth of her son.

"Push, darling, push," said Aurora, holding her sister's legs. Elaine had gone into labor unexpectedly, and they had no choice but to find the nearest forest clearing. "There— now stop pushing for a moment."

"Breathe, Elaine," said Tristan, holding her hand tightly as Elaine looked up at the night sky, trying to count the stars to distract herself from the discomfort. "Breathe."

"Tr— Elijah," she corrected herself weakly, not wishing him to fly into a panic because she used his true name, and not the name of the person he believed himself to be. "I cannot... I cannot do this anymore..."

"Yes you can, Elaine. You will give birth to your child. The pain will not last much longer."

"No," she breathed, shaking her head. "No... something is wrong. I can sense it. When I push, it hurts differently." She choked out a sob. "Something is wrong with my child... please do not let it die, please..."

Tristan nudged Lucien. "Niklaus, examine her."

Lucien moved forward, placing his hands on her stomach. He felt around, putting pressure with his fingertips, causing Elaine to whine. "Something does feel strange," he said, tilting his head, eyes flickering toward Tristan and Aurora as if he had a feeling what was wrong, but didn't want to voice his suspicions until he was sure. "Elaine, forgive me, I must examine you further."

She was too tired to protest. He slid his hand inside, frowning as he felt around, blanching when he realized his suspicions were right. "That is not a head," he whispered. "Those are... feet. Your child is facing the wrong way."

"No," Elaine started to sob. "No, no, no..."

"The head," said Lucien, withdrawing his hand and letting it hover over Elaine's stomach, close to where her chest was, "I feel it here."

"Do not push anymore," urged Aurora. "We must determine how to remove the child first."

"Perhaps we could cut her," suggested Lucien. "I saw it done once."

"Did the woman survive?" asked Tristan.

"I cannot say she did."

Elaine moaned in pain, squeezing her brother's hand. "Promise me you will take care of my baby, please... please!"

"I will," promised Tristan. "You have my word." He nodded to Lucien, who went to fetch a knife. "Rebekah—" he faced Aurora, "you will heal her when the child is out. Our blood will mend her wounds. It will stop her from dying."

She assented. Lucien returned with the knife, and started to cut, causing Elaine to howl in pain, writhing on the ground and screaming her lungs out.

"Almost, darling," said Aurora. "Almost— Niklaus be gentle..." Lucien made his cuts thinner and thinner. "There!" She stopped him, opening the rest of the path with her hands, and beginning to pull the child out. With a swipe of the knife, Lucien cut the umbilical cord. The child began to cry, and Aurora quickly placed him in Elaine's arms, biting into her wrist and dribbling the blood into her sister's mouth.

"It is a boy," said Tristan. "You have a son, Elaine."

"A son," she whispered, carefully caressing the baby's head while Aurora tried to wrap him in the only thin rag they had in his size.