Title: Fake Dates and Ritual Jealousy
Author: Alysia
Category: Post Episode/Alternate Universe
Couple(s): Elejah for sure.
Summary: (AU-Circa S3/Esther Plot Shenanigans but Elejah are together) For some reason, Elijah has to 'date' a young, attractive witch in order to get information about what she knows since they all believe she might be eventually called upon by Esther to act against the siblings. Elena can't help herself and ends up spying on them from across the restaurant in an irrational debate between logic and jealousy. As a cover-and because he can't resist a good show and torturing his brother-Kol goes with her and poses as her 'date'. What happens when shit hits the fan and Elijah ends up realizing they're following him? And how does he react to a jealous Elena, and moreover, how does he react to Kol laying on the 'act' thick as Elena's 'boyfriend' just to piss off his elder brother?
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD. Also, Jamie helped me with the title so I can't claim that it's totally mine.
Author's Note: So this is the brain child of Jamie (ElectricSymphany). She posted it an eon ago on a fan forum that we posted on. I've had it sitting on my computer (obviously incomplete) for months. As soon as I finished posting the epilogue to Flirting 101, I went back to this and have been writing it again. It won't be very long, and it will definitely have less chapters that Flirting 101, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. The summary above is as she posted it originally, though I have made a few changes. Elena and Elijah are not together…yet. Also, this is for Jamie, Eva and all of the other women (and sometimes guys) that made posting so much fun on that site.

Prologue

"So when Damon got that call earlier, it was you…" Elena said, reading into the words that were left unsaid.

Elijah Mikaelson nodded. "It would appear to be so."

Clearing her throat, the doppelganger focused her complete attention on him. "You've been awake for a matter of hours and the first thing you do is make arrangements with Damon to…" She trailed off, unsure about putting her thoughts into words. Damon had made no secret of his intentions were Klaus was concerned. However, she was slightly annoyed with the way he went about it.

"Take care of my brother?" He finished, his lips quirking up in amusement. Their topic was anything but amusing, but the way that Elena phrased her words so carefully caught his attention. His eyes scanned the length of her body, not missing a thing. She looked similar to how she was before he'd been daggered, but there was an unmistakable void as well. Her innocence was long gone, and he hated that he'd played a role in that.

She replied with an apologetic smile. "Yeah."

His smile died as quickly as his amusement. "Elena, about that night…"

She shook her head, holding her hand up in effort to silence him. There was no question as to what night he was referring to. "It's not necessary, Elijah," she denied.

"It is," he argued passionately.

"It's been months," she protested weakly. It wasn't that she was over the events that had taken place, but it hurt to think about. She hated the way that Jenna's life was ripped away. And she felt such guilt over the fact that her biological father gave up his life so she could live. She hadn't even come to terms with the revelation that Uncle John was her father before he gave his life…and she didn't like thinking about all of that when she didn't have to.

"Perhaps," he allowed. "But for me, it's been a matter of hours," Elijah added, hoping to offer her a different prospective. "You have had time to deal with everything that happened, but I have not had that luxury." He wanted to say this, he needed to. And he needed her to listen and accept his apology. "My actions that night…I've always lived by a code of honor." When he gave his word, he kept it. "However, I turned my back on you when you needed me most." He didn't bother to include her friends in his sentiment, because as far as he was concerned, they deserved no such mention. "You were depending on me to do what I promised."

She nodded. "I was," she admitted in a small voice. She'd betrayed him the night that she'd lured him to the lake house, but she thought that they'd moved past that. And then his offer to give her the potion he'd had made for Katherine when he still held the woman in high regard had only solidified that. When she learned the events that had taken place the night of the sacrifice though, she felt as if she'd been stabbed in the back. Ironically, she'd done the same to his sister…

"And I betrayed that," he sighed. "I offered you my assistance, and at the first chance, I betrayed you." His first order of business after being awakened was to learn everything that had taken place since then. "If your biological father hadn't offered up his own life for the sake of yours, your death would have been in vain." His actions had been deplorable.

"It wasn't your fault," she denied, meaning it. She may have felt betrayed by him, but in reality, he'd owed her nothing. When he opened his mouth to argue, she shook her head. "From the moment we entered our arrangement, you never hid your desire to be reunited with your family." The day that followed the sacrifice had been an emotional one. "I can honestly say that I wasn't surprised by your decision…and I don't hold it against you." If Jeremy had been taken from her and she spent so many years tracking him down only to have the possibility of getting him back dangled in her face, she'd have taken it. She would have grabbed onto the chance and never looked back.

He shook his head, staring at her with an air of wonderment. "How? How can you say such a thing? Because of my brother…me…your aunt and biological father are dead."

"And I will mourn them," she broke in. "The truth is, I will always miss Jenna…and John. I hate that their lives ended too soon, but it wasn't your fault. If the fault lies with anyone, it should be with Klaus. If it wasn't for him, Jenna never would have been there that night. And if I wasn't what I am, John never would have forfeited his life. I don't blame you on that front." Her very existence had been a threat to her loved ones. Jenna's life had been touched by the supernatural simply because of her niece's very existence.

"But I didn't take care of my brother the way I said I would."

Twisting her body towards him, she placed her hand over his in bold move. "That is unfortunate." She could lie, but what would be the point? "I can't imagine what it must be like to resign yourself to killing your sibling. I don't think I will ever be able to see your brother as anything other than a monster, but he is your brother…" If their situations were reversed and she found herself in his shoes, she couldn't imagine having to do such a thing to her brother, no matter how many years passed and how distant they grew.

During her impassioned words, his gaze fell to their hands. "It doesn't change anything." He took a chance, and entwined their fingers.

Following his gaze, she offered him silent support by squeezing his hand. "No. But it makes you human." She let out a sad chuckle. "You are more vampire than anyone else I've ever met, but you're more human as well. Klaus offered you the one thing that you dedicated your life to. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you more relatable." At least it did to her.

Shaking off the thought when she heard her doorbell ring, she made her way to the door. "I didn't expect to see you tonight," Elena greeted when she opened it. "Er, again," she corrected. With the broom in one hand, she pushed back the wisps of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. As soon as she'd returned home earlier that evening, she threw herself into cleaning the kitchen.

"Am I intruding?" He inquired politely.

"No, please come in," she offered, opening the door wider. When he stepped past her, she closed the door and leaned against it. "What can I do for you?"

"How are you doing?" His voice was gentle, but a serious frown bit at his lips. Moving his gaze down to her neck, he watched her caress it. Her skin was already beginning to darken into a nasty bruise.

"I'm fine," she denied weakly.

"Are you sure?" His brows furrowed together, not understanding her reaction. He'd expected her to be upset, shaken by Rebekah's attempt against her. "My sister-"

"Had every right to do that after what I did to her," she interrupted. From the moment Damon had informed her that the rest of Elijah's siblings were awake, she'd known that there was huge chance that Rebekah would make a move against her. She'd been anticipating it.

The frown on his face deepened and his eyes shot back up to meet hers. "That's a rather blasé attitude for almost being killed." Had Elena really changed so much in the time that he'd been daggered?

"It isn't the first time someone attempted to kill me." Hell, Klaus had already done that. "And I don't mean to come off as careless, but it's true. She was retaliating against me. I was the one that pretended to befriend her before stabbing her in the back…literally." The tone of her voice took on an air of regret.

Yes, and Rebekah had already berated him for it when he returned home earlier. At the time, she was spitting vinegar, and while Elijah listened without complaint; he was also wondering if Rebekah's version was actually how everything went down. His sister could be brutally honest, but she also had a way of twisting things around as well. And considering the fact that his sister already had an aversion to the Petrova bloodline, she was eager to believe the worst in Elena. Yet as he looked at the young woman across from him, he was able to read the regret in her eyes and body language.

"Thank you for helping me tonight when you didn't have to." Similar to how he had first introduced himself, he'd saved her life…yet again.

"Of course," he excused. "I'd hardly let her harm, maim or kill you." When his sister told him how she'd managed to find herself daggered, he knew she would make an attempt on Elena, it was just a matter of when. And when she left the mansion, he'd made sure to follow her.

She lifted her mouth in a half smile. "Why did you do that?" When he didn't immediately respond, she spoke again. "Not that I'm complaining, because I'd much rather be alive than not, but why did you save me?"

It was an inquiry that he'd heard, not only from Rebekah, but his brothers as well. Tilting his head, he offered her a small grin. "Because you're you."

She was sure that he wasn't finished responding, but her stomach clenched as she heard his words. It was moments like that, that made her question the things that she allowed herself to believe.

"My family has done enough against you, Elena." He was still dealing with his guilt from the night of the sacrifice. But it was more than that as well. For whatever strange reason, he didn't want to see her hurt because of his family. "However, I have to say, if you continue to stake my siblings and/or me, I will be unable to help you." He never thought that he'd be able to say such a thing without a hint of anger in his voice, but he found his guard lowered where Elena was concerned.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied quietly.

He looked around, taking notice of the fact that there was no other noise in the house. "Are you alone?" Perhaps that wasn't the wisest of choices on her part. What is his sister made another attempt?

She shrugged. "The hospital wanted to keep Rick for the night." Elena trailed off.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest of decision after discovering Rick in the state that she and Matt had; but upon realizing how close she'd come to losing him, she'd wanted to be alone. After her confrontation with Rebekah, she'd wanted to call someone, but when she'd reached for the phone, her mind went blank. She knew that both Bonnie and Caroline would have come over if she called them, but they were both dealing with their own issues. Things were already strained enough between herself and the Salvatore brothers, she refused to call them. And Matt, she knew he would have dropped everything for her, she didn't want him any more involved in the supernatural than he already was.

"Would you mind some company?" He offered after a moment. The truth was, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of leaving her alone.

"You don't have to stay, Elijah," she denied, not answering his question. She didn't want to put him out. Besides, didn't he have better things to do than play 'baby-sitter' to her? He was reunited with his siblings for the first time in hundreds of years. Why wasn't he with them?

"No, I think I do," he answered, looking around. The faint scent of blood was tainted by the stronger one of bleach, but it was easily detectable to his sensitive sense of smell. "What made you think you'd be safe by yourself?" He walked towards the direction of the diluted blood, stopping when he noticed the shape the kitchen was in. "What the hell happened here tonight?"

Slowly trailing behind him, she took a deep breath. She'd been expecting his reaction as soon as she let him into the house. "It's a long story…"

Discarding his jacket, he put it over the back of a chair at the kitchen table before moving back towards her. He took the broom from her grasp and moved to a corner of the kitchen that hadn't yet been touched. "And we have plenty of time," he observed as he started to sweep up the mess.

She watched him for a moment before making her way to the counter top to clean. "So, it's like this…"