What's At Stake, Epilogue

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Ba-deep Ba-deep Ba-deep, that's all folks! There may or may not be a sequel forthcoming; it will depend on how the rest of the season rounds out and on how much work I start doing on my original stuff. Although if the flashback of Klaus-Katherine-Elijah is half as yummy as the stills make it look, I may have to delve into the late 15th century for some flashback fic.



I hope you've enjoyed my little survive-the-hiatus project. I've had fun with it. Now let's wish that dagger out of Elijah on the show and see some dual (or would that be 'duel') BAMFery, Original style.

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Elijah finished ordering his notes and laid them on the immaculate desktop, looking through the wall of windows to his right, out onto the courtyard. The three weeks since the full moon had been an absolute blur of phone calls and paperwork; partially due to playing catch up on the interests he had neglected while in Mystic Falls, and partially due to the details of consolidating all of Klaus's holdings with his own. His right to do so had nothing to do with any legislative statutes and everything to do with the time-honored vampire rule of 'to the victor go the spoils.' The annexing of Klaus's assets, both real and liquid, had significantly swelled his own coffers, depleted below his comfort level by massive expenditures both before and after the ritual. In all honesty, this was no time to take on this new endeavor, but the offer, finalized just the previous evening between himself and the Board, had been too… intriguing to turn down.

Amongst the details he had handled over the past weeks was the disposition of the compound off the coast of Wales, where Klaus had held his cadre of witches. Elijah had issued an edict that they were to be released from any bonds of servitude that Klaus had implemented. He did, however, offer them an option: leave to seek their own livelihoods, or remain and establish an academy of sorts for those who possessed the Gift and who wanted or needed direction in it. Andie had wholeheartedly endorsed the idea and the "collaborative spirit" behind it, even going so far as to campaign on its behalf amongst her peers, so that a respectable portion of the Gifted chose to stay and put their heads together to bring the idea to fruition. She had already dubbed it 'Fogwarts' for the perpetual mist that surrounded the island.

Andie herself had opted to remain in Mystic Falls with her young son and continue in her job with the television station. Once she had heard the whole story, Jenna had forgiven Andie for her part in the deception, and the two had become tighter than ever, bonded over their shared secret knowledge of all things supernatural.

Alaric, unable to sway Jenna to give him another chance, had left town, delighting Elijah but leaving Damon short a drinking buddy. Not that he had much time to spend idling away at the Grill; between overseeing the construction at the boarding house, giving Caroline some reluctant tutelage, and taking on some tasks for Elijah that he hoped would interest the younger vampire in a more formal sort of employment, he was kept busy and (mostly) out of trouble.

Bonnie, at last report, remained in a coma, to the bafflement of her doctors. Elijah had made arrangements for a couple of witches gifted in magical healing to surreptitiously visit her soon to assess what, if anything, might be done for her. Jeremy, Elena and Caroline still took turns sitting with her, talking to her, hoping to somehow break through, but life marched inexorably on, as it was wont to do; school and other obligations started to pull them away and back into the ebb and flow of day-to-day activities.

Stefan had surprised him by stepping up to help Damon with some of the details at the house. So far, the two had avoided coming to blows, though in their usual manner they bickered over everything from what color grout to use to the placement of the outdoor oven that Damon wanted to install. Elijah thought privately that they rather enjoyed the back-and-forth and would have been uncomfortable in the extreme to be forced into any sort of strained civility.

Katerina, after a few days of tormenting the Salvatores, had simply disappeared. Elijah had no doubt that she would reappear in the future, bringing with her the kind of chaos that only she could produce.

A bell sounded, and students started filing into the room. Caroline was third through the door, stopping dead when she saw him and causing the boy behind her to bump into her. She moved aside, in time for Elena and Stefan to come through the door. They paused beside her, the trio shooting him identical 'WTF?' looks. He nonchalantly gestured them toward their seats.

He sat casually behind the desk, his ankle crossed over his knee as he leaned back in the chair, waiting for all of the students to come in and seat themselves. He remained quiet and watchful as they settled themselves; gradually, their conversations dwindled under his gaze until they all sat in silence, looking at him with varying degrees of expectation and apprehension. Once they had all quieted, he stood. "I realize that you've had a series of substitutes over the last few weeks, and I expect that your studies have suffered accordingly. Rest assured that the vacation ends now." He caught the wide-eyed look that Caroline shot at Elena, and smiled. "I'm Elijah Smith," he announced to the room. "Your new full-time history teacher."