A/N - I've been shipping Kalijah since the episode Klaus where they first showed human Katerina and Elijah interacting, so now that it's a canon ship in the show, I want to know exactly how it happened and because of that I had to explore the beginning of their relationship. I am setting this shortly after 3.22 and as time progresses, it will catch up to somewhere around 4.18. I'm not sure how fast it will progress or how many chapters it will end up being, so enjoy the journey with me.
Katherine had been on the run for months. She had been sticking mostly to big cities, as it was easier to hide among the people. Anyone she actually had to deal with, she could compel to forget her and otherwise she could just make herself very unmemorable. If anyone came asking about her, no one would actually remember her to answer the questions, or they wouldn't be able to say they remembered her. It worked perfectly for her. Klaus would never find her if she had anything to say about it. She wouldn't be tortured again and she could live out the rest of her eternity in peace.
The problem with distancing herself so much was that she didn't have a source to tell her anything about what was going on in Mystic Falls. She could venture to the town once in a while and compel someone to tell her then compel them to forget that she was ever there, but she did so sparingly. She couldn't risk being seen by the people who knew her, those she couldn't compel because they were vampires or on vervain.
It had even been a month or more since she had actually been there to find anything out and there was absolutely nothing helpful. Klaus was still in town, which meant that she wouldn't be returning anytime soon for a longer stay. She wouldn't do anything to risk getting in his path. She was determined to stay away.
She was currently staying in New York City. She'd only go out at night and generally wore all black. It made her nearly invisible to most people in the city. When she did go out, she watched carefully in case anyone else was around that she wanted to avoid. It wasn't likely they would venture up this way, but she had to take every precaution that she could. She had to be sure that she kept herself safe.
That was why it surprised her the first time she saw Elijah Mikaelson in the city. At the moment her eyes fell on him, she had slipped into an alley, not using her vampire speed. She couldn't risk him noticing that someone had run faster than the human eye could see. And Elijah would notice—even if he wasn't there looking for her, he was always watchful of his surroundings and he had lived long enough to recognize a vampire from a distance.
She had watched where he went from there and caught sight of the hotel he was staying in. For the next few days, she watched his hotel from the darkness across the street. She couldn't tell if he was there looking for something—her for example, or if he was just there to be there. Maybe he needed the escape as well.
One night, she sat in a dark corner of the diner across from his hotel watching the hotel when she heard a familiar voice. "Hello, Katerina," the voice said in his rich accent.
She turned her head coolly, though her nerves were on edge. Elijah had found her. Was he going to take her back to Klaus again? "I thought you were daggered," she said with her voice as cool as her appearance. That was the last she could justify saying she had heard, after all. She had heard the whole Mikaelson family had been undaggered, but that would tell him that she had been spying on Mystic Falls, even on the rare occasions. She didn't want to give that away yet.
Elijah sat across from her, uninvited and she kept her cool, untrusting gaze on him. "The whole family was undaggered," he explained to her. "Everyone was returned to us, a whole family once again."
Katherine watched him, bored. She didn't care about the Mikaelson family, she only cared for news of one of them and preferably news that she would find to be good. "Well, it must be nice for you to have your whole family together again," she told him her voice unchanging.
"It was," Elijah answered. "Finn has been killed and so has Klaus. It's just me, Kol and Rebekah now and we're all separated." As far as Elijah knew, Rebekah was staying in Mystic Falls and Kol hadn't returned from Denver. Elijah wasn't entirely sure where he would end up.
Katherine could see the pain on Elijah's face and a part of her wanted to feel sympathetic, but at the same time the news that Klaus was dead was the best news she could receive. Elijah wasn't here to take her to him because he was dead and she was finally free. But was that really the case? Klaus was the one who really wanted to make her pay, but Elijah had been hunting her for years as well. "Well isn't that a shame," she replied in a very Katherine manner. She cared about no one but herself, but still looking at Elijah's face, his pain, she still felt bad.
She had turned off her emotions centuries ago and she fully intended to keep them turned off, she shouldn't care for anyone, least of all Elijah. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said finally, a slight tinge of annoyance in her tone, but it wasn't for him. She was annoyed at herself for not being able to leave well enough alone. She should be fine without offering sympathy. She never felt sympathy or regret or anything. She didn't know why she was feeling it now.
Elijah looked up at her after her words came out. While he had heard the annoyance in her tone, the rest of it had almost sounded… sincere. Was that possible? Katherine Pierce had never been sincere about anything, not since she had been the innocent human, Katerina Petrova. If she was being sincere now, was she playing some game? Or was Katerina still in there somewhere? Elijah decided he had to find out. "Thank you," he replied. "How long have you been staying here?" he asked.
Katherine wasn't sure she wanted to answer that question. Even if Klaus was dead, she still wasn't sure of Elijah's intentions or if he planned to repeat anything to anyone. She didn't need people trying to track her to her next location—which she would be needing to find soon. If Elijah had found her she would have to get out. "A while," she answered with a shrug. "I like it, I might stay." She already knew she wouldn't, but maybe she could keep him and everyone else off her trail if she left now. Tonight maybe.
"I may stay here for a while myself," Elijah answered. "Perhaps we could catch up. It has been quite some time, Katerina." He wasn't sure what he was getting at, exactly, but he really wanted to know if Katerina was still in there, if Katherine had any sense of her humanity in there. If she could be reached.
"That would be nice," Katherine answered. "However, I don't have any way to be reached right now, so you would have to give me a way to reach you." She had a cell phone, but she wasn't going to give him any information that could be tracked. Perhaps she would purchase a disposable cell phone soon.
Elijah picked up a napkin and wrote down a phone number, handing it over to her. Katherine picked up the napkin and looked it over. "I'll be in touch," she said, pulling out her wallet and tossing a few bills on the table before placing his number in it and putting it back in her purse. "Bye, Elijah." She got up without another word. Would she call Elijah or just bolt? She wasn't sure yet, but she thought something might be pulling her to call him.
A/N - They are already starting to feel a connection, something is fighting against Katherine's flight instinct but she isn't sure what it was and her brief moment of sincerity has Elijah wondering if Katerina is in there somewhere and if he can save Katherine from herself. The question is, will Katherine call Elijah or will she leave town? Reviews are love, people. Perhaps I will even use some of your ideas ;)