Changed out of the tattered and bloody suit he was rescued in, Elijah laid still asleep on his and Audrey's bed, though his condition had gotten worse. Sweat had built up on his forehead, breathing erratically as his muscles tensed up, fear obvious on his face as he moved around restlessly. Audrey hadn't left his side all night, nor had she slept herself, trying her best to soothe him. She kept one of her hands laced with his, as she gently wiped his forehead with a cloth, feeling defeated as nothing seemed to ease his pain. She thought once he was found and brought home, things would feel good again, but she only felt more worried the longer he was stuck in this state. 

   "Nothing?" Klaus sighed as he walked inside.

   Audrey shook her head sadly. "He's been getting worse all night." She said quietly. "Whatever he's seeing, he's terrified, Nik."

   Klaus walked to the side of the bed, a frown appearing as he took in his brother's state. He glanced at Audrey. "You should rest."

   "I'm fine." She brushed off. "I can sleep later." 

   Klaus gave her a look, but he didn't try to argue. He knew it wouldn't do him any good. Audrey wasn't going to leave Elijah's side until he was awake, and even then, he doubted he'd find them away from one another at all. "Let me try something." He mumbled, as he placed his fingers on Elijah's temples, closing his eyes.

   "You think you can get in his head?" The Gilbert girl realized.

   "I can try." He muttered in response, clearing his throat as he put all his attention onto his brother. "I know you are locked in battle, however deep in your mind our mother has set the stage. Hear my voice." He spoke, as Elijah continued to twitch anxiously. "Our mother thinks she will win because she has left you alone, but you are not alone. Let me in." Moving his hands, he placed on his head and one on his chest, trying even harder to enter his thoughts. Elijah's body went rigid at his touch, forcing Audrey to drop his hand as he began to seize and spasm painfully.  "Let me help end whatever torment she has forced upon you."

   "Nik." Audrey said in alarm, as she saw blood begin to pour from his nose. "Nik!" She repeated but he ignored her, refusing to give up. "Klaus!"

   Hayley rushed in at hearing Audrey's panic, grabbing Klaus's shoulder and ripped him off of him, Klaus alarmed as he panted inn an attempt to catch his breath. "What are you doing?" She asked in confusion, as he wiped the blood from his nose.

   "I'm trying to enter Elijah's thought to wake him." He gestured to his brother, who continued to sleep fitfully. "Esther's locked me out."

   Hayley glanced at the Original in question, furrowing her brow as she noticed something. Walking closer, she carefully moved the neck of his shirt, revealing red rash like wound on his neck. "Is this rash a side effect of the witchy acid trip he's on?"

   "What?" Audrey moved closer to look for herself. "I didn't notice that before."

   Klaus walked closer to get a better look of the wound, a thoughtful look appearing. "I haven't seen this since I was a child. Mikael would return home from battle more blindly temperamental than usual, and our mother would use the petals of a rare merlock orchid to put him to sleep. She would mend his mind with a spell, and then wake him with the roots of the same plant." He looks at Audrey and Hayley hopefully. "If she has access to it now, then maybe it also grows in the Bayou. You two stay here with the wolves and mind the fort."

   Hayley rolled her eyes. "I'd rather rip your mother's head off."

   "Get in line." Audrey muttered angrily. 

   "Stay clear of her, both of you. I mean it." Klaus warned them seriously. "She already got you both once. What would happen if Elijah were to wake and find you both a victim of her madness?" He gave Audrey a significant look. "You and the baby especially."

   The doppelganger just held her hands up. "I don't plan on leaving his side." She said seriously.

   Hayley gave in reluctantly. "I won't go after her. I promise." Klaus looks at them both for a moment before turning and leaving. The Marshall woman waited until he was out of earshot, before turning to Audrey with a knowing look. "I've learned a few things from their mother. I won't go after her. I'll go after everything that she loves." Giving her no chance to question it, she turned and left the room herself.

   Audrey sighed as she took Elijah's hand once again, kissing the top of it as his body shook, his head twitching and flinching. "You're going to be okay. Klaus is going to find a cure for whatever this is." She promised him. "And I will be right here when you wake up." Laying down beside him on her side of the bed, she kept their fingers laced together, squeezing his hands in hopes it brought him some sort of comfort inside his head.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Audrey truly felt time passing slowly that day. She managed to get a bit of sleep while she laid beside Elijah, but not much. There'd been no word from Klaus or Hayley, so she wasn't sure how either of the tasks they'd set out on were going, but she just hoped that Klaus would be back soon with the merlock orchid. Audrey made her way back into the bedroom, after giving into the idea of leaving Elijah alone to sort herself out. She showered and changed, making herself something to eat and drink, and even check on the wolves Hayley had let make the compound home. 

   She sighed as saw his body twitch and spasm, moving to sit on the bed beside him. "What has she done to you?"She muttered, stroking her fingers through his hair. 

   "Hey." A voice spoke from the doorway, making the Gilbert girl look over her shoulder to see Gia stood there. "Hayley and Marcel thought you might appreciate some company."

   "I thought you'd be helping with whatever plan they've came up with." She raised a brow at her.

   "No, they've got it covered." She shook her head as she walked closer. "How's he doing?"

   "Locked inside the darkest depths of his mind, being forced to see himself as this monster." Audrey said bluntly. "And until Klaus gets back, I have no way of bringing him out of it."

   Gia blinked in surprised, before she slowly nodded, a thought coming to mind. "You tried going in his head?"

   "Esther locked Klaus out." The Gilbert girl shook her head. "It's impossible."

   "She locked Klaus out." Gia repeated, giving her a look. "But she didn't lock you out. You're different to Klaus, right? Marcel said you and Elijah are literally soulmates. Surely that comes with some kind of perk."

   Audrey looked at Gia for a moment, her eyes then falling back on Elijah as she contemplated the idea. When Klaus snapped her neck when he was daggered, she saw him when she died as her body healed. She knew this was a very different situation, and dying to get in his head wasn't an option. She could not and would not put the baby at risk like that. But she remembered that night after the ball, Esther's first attempt at killing her children. She made it clear then soulmate magic was beyond her capabilities, which is why she was going to kill Audrey instead of breaking the bond. 

   So maybe there was a chance she was unable to lock her out of his head.

   "I might be able to give him a message." Audrey let out with hope in her voice. "Let him know that he isn't alone."

   "Exactly--" Gia nodded and frowned as her phone went off. "They need my help after all. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

   "I've got this." Audrey assured her. "Go." As Gia left, Audrey wasted no time as she placed her hands on either side of his side, closing her eyes in concentration, taking a deep breath. "Let me in, Elijah." She whispered softly. "Let me in."

   When Audrey opened her eyes again, she found herself in the woods. It was dark and windy, and she looked around to try and figure out where she was, when a small boy ran past her. "You cannot catch me, Elijah!" He called over his shoulder, smiling playfully as he laughed continued to run ahead. 

  "Elijah?" Audrey followed where the young boy looked, to see a boy slightly older than him running after him, the same innocent smile on his face.

   "You're getting faster, Klaus, but you are not yet fast enough!" Young Elijah called after a young Klaus, Audrey watching in disbelief as they raced by her. She moved to follow the pair, and paused as this version of Elijah stopped in his tracks, young Klaus's laughter fading as he disappeared from sight. "Klaus? Niklaus?" He called out, looking around for him desperately.

   "There you are." A deep and familiar voice called, and Audrey followed young Elijah's eyes just ahead, where the man she knew stood. Wearing on of his usual suit, but covered in blood as he walked toward his younger self. "Do you understand?" He asks as his vampire face appeared. "One day, only a monster will remain."

   "No." Audrey whispered at his words, and moved closer. "That's not true." Her voice picked up, and young Elijah remained completely oblivious to her presence, as he looked at his older self in fear. "You're not just some monster, Elijah. You're so much more than that." 

   Hearing her voice, Elijah looked up from his younger self and realization clicked on his face, broken from the unending dream for a moment. "Audrey?" He asked quietly, fearing she wasn't real.

   "I'm here." She nodded, a small smiling pulling at her lips. As much as she wanted to run and kiss him, she knew she couldn't. She'd managed to get in, but he was still trapped in the darkness Esther had forced on him, and she knew she'd put herself at risk getting too close. "Elijah, listen to me. You're not a monster, okay? We're getting a way to help you, but I need you to fight whatever this is."

   "And what if I can't?" He asked, a broken tone to his voice.

   "Yes, you can." She insisted knowingly. "Because I know you. You're the love of my life. You have made mistakes, but that does not make you a monster." She stepped closer and reached her hand out to him. "You can fight this. For yourself, for me, for our child." She said strongly, and she saw the look of determination spark in his eyes at her words. "I love you." 

   "I--" 

   Audrey didn't get to hear his reply, letting out a small breath of surprise as she found herself back in their bedroom again, a still sleeping Elijah laid in front of her. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   When Klaus got back to the compound, he walked into the room to find Audrey still beside Elijah like when he left, doing her best to try and soothe his fitful state. She looked up as he walked over, watching as he pulled a pouch from his pocket, and began to rub what was inside of it onto Elijah's rash.

   "We were innocent once, Elijah." He spoke quietly. "This bloodlust was forced upon us by our parents, turning us from prey to predator. We're the demons lurking in shadow. We are the savage villains in fairy tales taught to children. But, not for my child. Not for Hope. Not for your child. Not for either of them. In their stories, we are knights in shining armor. Without you by my side, I don't think I can survive my own love for my daughter. They need you. Audrey needs you. I need you. I need you, brother. The monster in me can only be challenged by the monster in you." He spoke encouragingly as he treated his wound, and Audrey watched hopefully as she squeezed his hand. "Only together can we fight our demons and save our family."

   Klaus pulled his hand away as he finished, and the pair watched anxiously for a moment, before Elijah's eyes suddenly opened with a gasp. He looked shocked as he sat up, staring at his brother gratefully, as Audrey didn't hesitate to throw her arms around him. Elijah wrapped his arms around her and held her close, closing his eyes in relief. The thought of this moment was the only thing that had kept him going, and now he had Audrey in his arms, he never wanted to let go. He kissed her shoulder as he pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against hers as he kissed her properly. 

   "I love you." He mumbled against her lips, as Klaus left the room to give them a moment. "I never got to say it before."

   "I love you." She said wholeheartedly. "So much." 

   "Audrey, what you saw in my head..." He began quietly. "I need you to know, that was...I would never..." He fumbled over his words, not knowing how to say what it was he wanted to. 

   "Hey." She stopped him, shaking her head. "Despite what your mother did to you, I know the truth. I know you, and I know your heart. So whatever idea she put in your head, whatever you think you might do to me or to our child, ignore it. Because you'd never hurt either of us, I know that." She told him. "You're going to get through this, and I'm going to be there helping you all the way."

   Elijah nodded as he held her, resting his forehead on her shoulder and closed his eyes, taking comfort from her touch. Audrey let out a breath of relief as she kissed his forehead, closing her eyes in content. 

So, I was going to add on the last of the episode to this chapter, but I decided against it. It wasn't really needed, and I just wanted to focus on Audrey and Elijah after the last couple of chapters. Next chapter, Elijah and Audrey are off to meet up with Rebekah and the current littlest Mikaelson. 

I hope you all enjoyed!