and i've never known a remedy like ours (for nosuchthingasfate)

[asiwillcarrymyregret]

"...can I meet you at home later? I need to run an errand for Lydia."

Having lovers was nothing new for Elijah and Niklaus, nor was having lovers who were close. The girls were an impressive pair, and as devoted as they were to their mates, each Mikaelson shared a special fondness for the other's chosen. Elijah respected Lydia's presence of mind, and Niklaus was endlessly entertained by Allison's thoughtless bravery in his presence.

What was new was having lovers who so blatantly refused to abide by the life the Mikaelson men led. They acknowledged their strengths, accepted their power, and made concessions to deal with it all while demanding, in no uncertain terms, absolute respect in all aspects of their lives.

So Allison was honest about keeping her secrets, an Elijah allowed her to have them. She would not endanger Lydia, nor would she endanger someone for whom Lydia cared.

They had plans to go to lunch together, but when Allison got a text message and promptly asked Elijah to let her go, openly admitting that Lydia needed her, he searched her face with concern for only a moment before he nodded his assent...and leaned in to kiss her, slow, warm, and lingering.

After all, just because he understood did not mean he had to like it.

Drawing back with a small, teasing smile, he left her on the corner they'd chosen to meet, and dined alone for the afternoon. Still mildly worried about Lydia and her recent bout of illness (which had Niklaus in a foul temper, another matter that had driven him to ask Allison to lunch outside the safety of the plantation), after lunch Elijah stopped at a nearby market to pick up some groceries in order to fix chicken soup for dinner, one he hoped would soothe her unsettled stomach. He also added a bottle of ginger ale to his purchases, and impulsively stopped at a flower stand to pick up two roses, one for each girl: yellow for Lydia, and blood red for Allison.

He heard the two upstairs when he finally made it back to the house, and busied himself with putting away the food, all while making a point of not eavesdropping. Klaus was in his study, drinking or painting, Elijah wasn't sure...all he knew was that things were far too quiet.

And that was never good.

Distracting himself with cooking, he was just shedding his jacket and removing his tie when he caught Allison standing in the doorway of the kitchen, just watching him.

"With Lydia feeling ill, I thought I would try my hand at chicken soup." he explained with a small smile, nodding to the bottle of ginger ale on the counter. "That should help, too...it will certainly taste better than plain ginger root tea, at any rate."

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[nosuchthingasfate]

Can you get me a pregnancy test?

The text request from her best friend had certainly thrown Allison for a loop but not nearly as much as the result of it. Even now as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, she could still see Lydia's pale features as she pressed her hands over her stomach while trying to understand what was happening.

She hadn't wanted to believe it, neither of them did, and so Lydia had taken the second different pregnancy test that Allison had bought on a whim. That one had been positive as well and now they were left with a bunch of different questions.

What was Klaus going to do when he found out?

Was he going to think Lydia had cheated?

Would he threaten or kill Lydia when he found out and thought she had cheated?

Even now she could hear Klaus going up the stairs to Lydia's room after Allison told him that the other girl needed to see him. She had feared he would be able to see the truth on her face when she faced him but he had only given her a frown before brushing past her to go in search of Lydia.

"She's not ill." She said it softly as she looked at Elijah, drawing closer to him. "She's pregnant." She said it so softly that she prayed only Elijah would be able to hear her.

[asiwillcarrymyregret]

Elijah looked up sharply, and were his reflexes less than superhuman, might have dropped the knife he'd just picked up at the moment she spoke. Setting it carefully on the butcher block, he turned to Allison with eyes wide with shock.

"She's--" He cut himself off, afraid to speak the word aloud again. "And she believes Niklaus..."

He trailed off, wiping a hand over his mouth. The facts were obvious: she could not have strayed. Niklaus would have known, smelled another man on her skin, even if Elijah had not. Knowing her whereabouts was insignificant, Niklaus would have known.

And yet...

Elijah shook his head. "Such a thing is impossible, he's a vampire."

[nosuchthingasfate]

"No, he's a hybrid." Allison bristled a little when he claimed that such a thing was impossible. She knew it certainly seemed that way but she had seen the pregnancy tests with her own two eyes and she had seen the look on Lydia's face. "And of course she believes it belongs to your brother. Lydia is a lot of things but a cheater isn't one of them. Not only that but when could she have the time? She's always here and pretty much always with him."

"Look, I saw the tests. She took two." She moved closer to him, needing to be near his side as she was freaking out a bit at the moment. "That's why I canceled our plans and said I had to get something for Lydia. She suspected that maybe she was pregnant and she asked me to get a pregnancy test."

"What I want to know is can you guess how your brother is going to react?" She asked while tilting her head to the side with a concerned look. "Is he going to get mad and hurt her?"

[asiwillcarrymyregret]

"He may get angry, but he won't do her harm." Elijah replied after a moment's hesitation. "She's awoken things in him I haven't seen since he was human...and she's the key to bringing him complete power over this city."

With a sigh, Elijah's hand drifted to rest on Allison's shoulder, as much to draw strength from her presence as to comfort her.

"I apologize if I seem dismissive," he went on, drawing another deep breath to collect himself and focus, "I don't mean to intimate that Lydia would be unfaithful...that's not what I mean." He hesitated, withdrawing his hand to run it back through his hair.

"You could have a valid point about his nature as a hybrid...werewolves can have children." he admitted. "But we need to confirm this to be sure. I am afraid that we will have to impose upon the witches to be certain. She's been bespelled once before with her link to Sophie, without mystical confirmation we can't be certain there's something else behind this pregnancy. If this child is a matter of natural circumstance...I won't risk his or her safety by handling this blind."

[nosuchthingasfate]

Allison forced herself to relax a little as he reassured her that Klaus wouldn't actually hurt her and she believed him. At least she believed that Klaus wouldn't hurt Lydia physically but the man was a brute emotionally. He didn't have a filter and she had witnessed his cruelty more than once. Not that it bothered Lydia normally. Her friend had thick skin like armor made of titanium...except for the fact that she was feeling uncertain and freaked out which meant the same armor was a little fractured at the moment.

Wetting her lips, she nodded as Elijah reassured her and then came up with a plan. "Good." Having a plan would give her something to do. "Then we should go and see these witches. Ask them what the hell is going on."

She hesitated after a moment though, frowning as she looked up into his face. It was strange how quickly he had become so important to her and how quickly she had come to trust him. Which she did but she didn't trust very many people beyond him and a handful of others. "But what if the witches aren't behind this and we give them some ammo against Klaus? You guys were hiding Lydia before because she could be used against him, especially if anyone knew about their growing relationship. What's going to happen when people find out that he actually has a baby on the way?"

[asiwillcarrymyregret]

Elijah met her gaze, and allowed her to watch his features harden, watch the warmth and good humor slip away until he was the cold, calculating man so feared that his enemies killed in his name, praying it would win them his favor.

The man who could, even now, kill her without guilt...he would mourn her, he would know pain, but if he had to protect his family, the deed could be done.

"There is a reason the things we cherish are so often put in danger, my dear." he replied coolly. His hand drifted up to caress her cheek with the backs of his fingers, the warmth in his touch betraying his affection. "It is because we are feared...and it is that same fear that will keep Lydia safe. You girls are family now, and love of family, love of blood, is the reason why the Devil himself trembles at the mention of our name."

His hand fell away from her face, unconsciously seeking out her hand.

"That is what will happen if we see evidence that anyone is moving against either one of you: blood." he continued, calm as stone. "In the streets, in the swamps, the French Quarter will be painted in entrails, and the vampires of New Orleans will be feasting on fresh hearts for the next six months. That is what will happen...understand that, and be comforted."

[nosuchthingasfate]

The look on his face caused ice water to run through her veins as she would believe that he could kill her if he ever put his mind to it. She wondered briefly if she was being smart in being involved with him but the brief brush of his fingers against her cheek distracted her a bit as she let out a little breath.

"It's not like we're not used to being in danger." She murmured, her voice tight as she followed his hand before reaching to give him the touch he wanted.

Then she sighed softly as he warned her of the blood that would run the streets if anything happened to Lydia and, presumably, her. "I want to come with you when you go to see the witches." She informed him then, knowing full well he would protest. "Lydia is my best friend. If the witches are messing with her, I want to have a hand in changing their minds."

[asiwillcarrymyregret]

"If the witches are lashing out at her, they could easily lash out at you, and I'd rather not kill anyone I don't have to today." Elijah replied blandly, bringing her hand to his lips so he could kiss the inside of her wrist with a sigh. "I am not questioning your ability to take care of yourself, nor you capacity to help, Allison...but today, I am protecting what's mine..."

His free hand drifted to her waist, then slid to press against her own stomach...thinking not of a child, but the scar tissue that gathered under his palm when he found the right spot, the place a sword had nearly stolen her before he could ever know her warm touch and soft voice, before he ever would have known the joy of watching her move with a knife in her hand or the deadly poetry of seeing her loose an arrow on an unsuspecting victim.

The thought of seeing Death reach for her again so soon chilled him.

"...and it is one argument you will not win."

[nosuchthingasfate]

Allison felt like being reckless, telling him that the witches wouldn't dare go against her, but she knew better than to do that. He would tell her that she was being emotional and he was right but, then again, so was he. They were all going to be a bit emotional about the fact that Lydia was pregnant with Klaus's child because right now they were all in the dark about what it meant. It wouldn't be a normal pregnancy or even a normal child. She was worrying about her best friend and he was worrying about his family.

And he was worrying about her which was a thought that made her smile a bit as she leaned into him and felt his hand drift down over her scar. It was the same reverent touch as every other time he touched her there and she knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about what would have happened if she had died and they had never met.

Still, she pursed her lips. "Fine." She sounded annoyed at the idea of being kept out of the loop at the moment.