Chapter Seventy-Six

                                    

                                          
Cassandra stands at a counter in the Gilbert house as she brews coffee. Elena's call had been about her run-in with Elijah the night before. He wanted to talk to her about what happened. About what came out of that coffin. And Elena wanted to fill them all in over breakfast and coffee. And whilst there is no food in, they do have coffee. Stefan, Damon, and Elena are gathered around the central island counter waiting on the coffee as they talk.
"It was their mother Esther who was sealed in that coffin" Elena admits as Cassandra takes the coffee-filled mugs from the counters.
"What?" Damon asks as he takes the mug from Cassandra. "How is she even alive? Thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago"
"I don't know" Elena shrugs a little.
"Well, I'm guessing she has a couple of connections in the witching community on the other side" Cassandra offers, Elena nods a little in agreement.
"Elijah said that she wants to live in peace with her family, including Klaus" Elena counters.
"She was supposed to be the weapon to help us kill Klaus" Stefan complains. And he has a point. Whatever was in that coffin was supposed to be something that would help them stop Klaus once and for all. All that effort. All that time. Wasted.
"Well, not anymore...at least not according to Elijah" Elena argues.
"That coffin was the only thing stopping Klaus from tearing us to shreds" Stefan reminds them. Damon sighs a little and shakes his head.
"Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" He asks. Cassandra touches his arm and he pulls it away from her just to wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to kiss her head.
"Look, Elijah promised me that his family wouldn't hurt any of us," Elena tells them. "I believe them"
"Then more fool you" Cassandra points out. Elena looks at her. "The only people we can trust truly can trust...if the four of us, Bonnie, Caroline, and Jeremy, maybe even Matt and Tyler, maybe...That is it...definitely not any of the Originals" Elena sighs but nods. She knows that her closest friends, the people that she loves, are the ones she should be relying on. At the end of the day, they've all been more reliable, minus a few tough spots along the way. They've all stood by each other in the end. The doorbell then rings. Elena glances back towards the door before turning to her sister.
"I'll get that" She offers and then goes and opens the door, before she smiles softly, a feeling of relief rushing through her as she sees Ally standing there, wearing a bright smile.
"So I hear you've had a bit of a time of it" Ally offers, Elena lets out a breath. "Oh, and I found these" Ally holds out two envelopes. "On your porch...."
"Thanks" Elena takes them from her. "Come in, the others are in the kitchen" Ally steps into the house. "Cas and Damon are going to be so glad you're back, they've been worried"
"I was fine" Ally argues, Elena hums a little.
"You could have dropped them a text, let them know that" Ally shrugs and pulls a face in agreement, she supposes she could have. But then they would have asked her to come back and she would have had a hard time saying no to them. She then heads towards the kitchen, shrugging out of her trench coat. Almost immediately, Damon moves to her, the second he sees her standing there in the flesh. Ally smiles at him before she hugs him with a chuckle. She's missed him as much as he's missed her. But she had a whole new world to adjust to. To get to know. Plus it would be weird if there were two of them running around the same town. That wouldn't have helped them.
"I'm glad you're back" He whispers to her and she smiles and nods into his shoulder. Being away from people that she considers her friends has been hard too. Exploring a new world on her own without guidance has been hard. And she is glad that she came back too. Granted she did only do it for one reason. For one text, one from Damon that told her that Kol was finally back. Not that she hadn't felt it the moment it happened. Like a weight was lifted. She fed and was full. She slept and was refreshed. Everything was falling back into place. It is a good time to come back to be around friends. To be reunited with her long-lost lover. She pulls back from Damon who winks at her. She chuckles softly and then waves at Cassandra who is just as relieved as Damon. They'd both considered that Katherine might have had something to do with her silence, but it is nice to see that they are both wrong.