Hello everyone. So this will take place after TVD 5x11, as for the Originals most of that show won't happen in here (I need Davina and Sophie alive for my plans) so this takes a turn and won't follow the plot of either show closely. There will be no Hayley or baby in this story, because I think they are both stupid and I can do what I want in fan fiction.
Summary: Katherine's time in Elena's body is running out but there is something she needs to do. She enlists Caroline's help and together they travel to New Orleans. Will the trip turn out to be what either of them expects?
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters they belong to all those people at The CW. Only the plot is mine (I diffidently don't see it ever happening for real).
A Change of Heart
Chapter 1 – A Bone to Pick
"I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this." Caroline said as she and Katherine walked down the old style New Orleans street.
Katherine smirked, "Everything will work out. You'll see."
Caroline glanced at the brunette, "Are you sure he'll even want to see you? He didn't come when you were on your death bed."
"Which is why we are here now, I want to know why." Katherine reminded the blonde, "He and I have been playing around each other for 500 years and yet when I am finally going to be gone forever, he can't bother himself to come say goodbye? No, that is not acceptable."
Caroline could understand Katherine's motives, which was why she broke her out of the Salvatore cell in the first place. She sighed, "I just wish I didn't have to run into Klaus while I was here."
"Maybe you won't." Katherine offered with a shrug, and stopped in front of a bar, "How about we get a few drinks first? Maybe the liquid will give you some courage."
Caroline rolled her eyes but followed Katherine into the bar, as straight to the bartop. The two women sat down and waited for the blonde behind the bar to make her way over to them. Caroline scanned the bar, it was only 7pm, so it was a light crowd but it was slowly starting to fill up. She turned to her companion, "What do I do if I do see him?"
"Have some fun that you will feel guilty about later?" Katherine suggested with a shrug and then she smiled as the bartender came closer.
"Hello ladies, what can I get for you?" The bartender asked, her smile nice and inviting.
"I would like a vodka cranberry." Caroline answered, and after thinking on it added, "Make it two of them."
Katherine laughed and said, "I'll have a bourbon, straight up please."
"Coming right up." The bartender replied and went about pouring the drinks.
Caroline nervously tapped her finger on the bartop, "I should have just let you come by yourself. Stayed in Mystic Falls and pretend that I had no idea how you got out of the basement or where you would have went."
"Ha, no would have believed that after they left us alone to go try to find Nadia and a traveler." Katherine said and smiled as the bartender gave them their drinks.
"True." Caroline said and she downed half of her first drink in one quick action.
"Do either of you need anything else?" The bartender asked as she watched Caroline finish off the rest of the first drink.
"No thank you…Camille." Katherine replied, reading the name tag to answer.
"Please, Cami and just let me know if you change your minds." She told her before going over to help a dark skinned man that had just arrived.
Katherine watched the bartender for a moment, she seemed to know the man well but was somewhat wary of him at the same time. She looked at the man, there was something about him. She turned a little more to get a better view and realized he was a vampire, and assumed the bartender was fully aware. She smirked and turned to Caroline, "I think I just found our way in."
Caroline looked at her confused and put down her now empty glass, "We needed a way in? I am pretty sure we could walk right up to them and shock the crap out of them right like that. Hey, Cami, can I get another please?" Caroline called to the blonde down the bar.
Cami looked over and said, "Be right there." Before she said something to the man in front of her and walked over, "Same thing?"
"Yes please, and make it another double." Caroline replied.
"Cool your jets Blondie, I am sure you want will still want to have some of your senses left when you run into Klaus." Katherine replied and said to Cami, "Just one will be fine."
"Just one, coming right up." She answered with a smile, but a sent a look toward the man she had been talking to.
Katherine saw out of the corner of her eye as the guy got up and came over toward them, "You beautiful ladies mind if I join you?"
"Of course not." Katherine responded, putting on her best flirtatious smile, "I am Elena, this is Caroline."
"I'm Marcel. What brings you to New Orleans?" He asked and took a sip of his scotch.
"Is that obvious that we're tourists?" Katherine questioned in return.
"I am pretty sure I would remember you if you'd ever been here before." Marcel answered, giving Katherine a million-dollar smile.
"Well, aren't you a smart one." She replied and looked over to Caroline, who was staring at her empty glass lost in her thoughts. Katherine rolled her eyes, before saying, "Caroline you are being rude not talking to our handsome admirer."
"He's probably safer if I don't talk to him." Caroline commented but looked over at him anyway, and scanned his body, stopping on his ring, "Or maybe not, must be important to have that."
His brown eyes lost hint of attraction, "Why are two in my city?"
"Way to ruin all the fun Caroline." Katherine scolded and then answered, "We are here to see Elijah. He didn't come to my funeral, and so I have a bone to pick with him."
Caroline let out a small laugh at the shock of that answer on Marcel's face before commenting, "I think you just ruined his fun Kat..Elena."
That shook Marcel back to himself, "Well, why don't you allow me to take you to him?" He said, and stood up, swiping his hand out to indicate they should follow him out the door.
Caroline scoffed at the iron gate they stood in front of, "A giant M, how humble of the Mikaelson family."
"I see you know them." Marcel commented sarcastically as he opened the gate, and ushered the girls in.
"Only intimately." Katherine informed him with a laugh in her tone, the smirk on her face showing her complete lack of fear.
Caroline on the other hand was nervous, she had no idea how Klaus would respond to her presence. She had long ago lost any fear that Klaus would ever hurt her, at least deliberately, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be happy to see her.
Marcel ignored Katherine's comment and led them over to a small table, "Please take a seat." He waited until they had before he turned to another man in the courtyard, "Diego, go find Elijah and Klaus, they have some guests."
Caroline got out of her seat and started to pace.
"Please sit back down." Marcel requested, though it sounded more like a command.
"Don't tell me what to do." Caroline snapped and continued to pace.
Katherine laughed, and whispered to Marcel, "You should try being nicer to her, I highly doubt she is coming with me when I leave."
Marcel raised his eyebrows at her, "And that concerns me how?"
"Oh, you'll see." Katherine told him before her eyes drifted to the staircase, where she watched as Elijah descended. She let out a little breath and stood to her feet, and walked toward him, "Hello Elijah."
"Elena, why are you here?" Elijah asked, looking her over in confusion, his eyes briefly drifting to a still pacing Caroline before coming back to her.
"I felt I owed it to Katherine, she was very upset when you didn't come to say goodbye." Katherine said, putting on her best Elena attitude.
She heard Caroline huff and stop her pacing, "We are not going to play this game."
"And what game is that love?" Klaus asked, staring down at them from the balcony.
"Not one that involves you." Caroline responded, giving him a pointed glare, but there was a slight twitch to her lips.
Rebekah appeared next to her brother and scowled as she looked down at them, "What are you two doing here?"
"I just had something to talk to your brother about." Katherine voiced, never looked away from the eldest Mikaelson sibling.
"I am just here because I couldn't let her come alone." Caroline answered, giving Rebekah a brief glance before looking back at Klaus.
"Of course you did. Well, as always, it is a pleasure to see you both." Rebekah replied sarcastically before disappearing back into the room behind her.
"What game Elena?" Elijah asked once his sister had made her announcement.
"I'm not Elena. Though, this is Elena's body." Katherine told him, even giving a flare of her arms for the show of it.
"Katerina?" Elijah asked his face just full of disbelief, and Klaus was at his side in a moment his face expressing clear anger.
Caroline came up and stood next to the doppelganger, placing herself between her and Klaus "Calm down, and let her explain everything."
Marcel had been watching this entire display from his place at the table and decided that whatever was going on, he didn't want to be a part of. He carefully removed himself from the courtyard and all the other vampires in area followed suit.
"I can't wait to hear this." Klaus replied and glared at Katherine.
Katherine sighed, she had really hoped that having Caroline along would distract Klaus, but that obviously wasn't happening, the man was too stubborn, "I didn't want to die. All the options had run out, except for one. My family comes from a long line of Travelers, so, when I was no longer a vampire, I got my magic back. Travelers have this spell, it allows them to live on in another's body once their original one has died. With my last breath I cast the spell and placed my mind in Elena's body. To keep my conscious in control, and not Elena's, which is bouncing around in here," She said and pointed to her head, "I had a Traveler do a separate spell that keeps me in control over Elena. The little Mystic Falls gang figured it out and wants to reverse the spell. When we left Stefan and Damon were still arguing about whether to keep me in Elena or to kill me all together, you can guess who was advocating which."
"I'm with Damon." Klaus commented, and then looked to Caroline, "Why are you helping the woman who killed you take over your best friend's life?"
"She agreed to not fight with us if I let her come and talk to Elijah." Caroline explained, and then added, "So, you two are going to talk, and then we are going back to Mystic Falls, and hopefully before everyone else shows up here. They may not be geniuses but I bet it won't take them too long to figure out where we went."
Elijah nodded, and looked to the brunette, "Come on, we can go somewhere more private to talk." He said and held out his arm for her to take.
Katherine smiled and placed her hand on the offered arm, "That is all I want." She replied and the two walked off.
Caroline watched the pair walk and felt her nerves return now that she and Klaus were alone. She could feel his body heat on the right side of her body, and it brought so many memories about that day in the woods.
"Why are you really here Caroline?" He asked, his eyes slowly rolling over her body, taking in every inch so he could remember her perfectly.
"I already said, I have to make sure Katherine actually keeps up her end of the deal." She said and took in the building for the first time, she was too nervous to do it before, "This is a really beautiful place."
"Allow me to show it to you." Klaus offered, and put out his arm for her, just like Elijah had done for Katherine.
Caroline smiled at him and placed her hand delicately on his arm. His hand soon covered hers as they began to walk.
"This was always my favorite city, and this my favorite house." Klaus commented as he showed her the main rooms.
"Why'd you leave?" She asked, taking in the finely crafted woodwork.
"Mikael found us, we had successfully avoided him for three hundred years, but in 1919 he came to New Orleans and burned us out." Klaus explained, and Caroline could see the hatred he still held for his father in his eyes.
"That sounds horrible."
Klaus shrugged, "I think the worst part was the loss that leaving New Orleans brought. We thought Marcel was dead. Elijah abandoned Rebekah and I. We went to Chicago, you know how well that went, and then I was alone. Those next ninety years were the worst decades of my life." He confessed to her, never once talking his hand off of hers or looking her in the eye, "I hope this time around works out better."
"I have faith in will." Caroline commented, looking at briefly out of the corner of her eye before saying, "So, Marcel was with you guys in New Orleans the first time?"
Klaus shook his head with a smile before answering, "Yes, Marcel was a slave to his father, the Governor. I rescued him, and when he became old enough, turned him into a vampire." He explained as he opened a door and ushered her inside.
"I feel like there has to be more to the story than that." She said but she didn't go into more on the subject when she noticed they were in his bedroom. She took a breath, but on her best emotionless face and said, "A little full of yourself aren't we?"
Klaus chuckled, "That was not what I had in mind, but obviously you did." He teased before walking past her, making sure that they touched as he did, and walked to the window, "What I came in here to show you," He opened the window, "Was this."
Caroline looked at him confused before she came to stand beside him. She felt her breath still for a minute, he had the most beautiful view of the city. It was all lit up with twinkling lights and she could here jazz playing in the distance, "This is beautiful."
"I thought you'd appreciate it." Klaus told her, but he was watching her not the view.
"Klaus." Caroline said and turned to look at him, "I really didn't come here to see you."
"Are you disappointed you did?" He asked, his eyes boring into hers.
Caroline looked at him for a long time, honestly she knew she would run into him. She had thought about yelling at him but all she really wanted to do, now that she saw him, was kiss again. It had felt really good to kiss him before, and the sex had been amazing. The way he was looking at her, she knew he wouldn't be against any advance she made, but if she did, what would that make them?
"You are thinking too much." He whispered before lowering his head and lightly brushing his lips against hers.
Caroline stopped him before he could pull away. She put her arms around his neck and attacked his lips, wanting to savor them.
Klaus didn't protest and pulled her closer. He gently lifted her up before placing down on the bed. And the rest of the night disappeared into a passion of flesh.
Katherine was tired of keeping her mouth shut, but she knew how Elijah valued his privacy so she would wait until they truly alone.
Elijah slowly opened a door and Katherine walked in, it was library. Volumes of book were displayed respectfully along the walls. Elijah motioned for her to sit on a large couch in the center of the room, Katherine obliged.
"Are you ready to tell me why you didn't come to my death bed?" Katherine asked once she was firmly comfortable on the cushions.
Elijah looked away in shame as he sat down beside her, "I apologize for that."
"Which isn't an answer." Katherine bluntly pointed out.
"No, and wish I had one that you would find acceptable." Elijah replied, moving his eyes up to look at her.
"I just want the truth Elijah. I don't care whether it was I want to hear, I just want the truth. You told me you loved me Elijah, I was hoping that meant enough for you to come say goodbye." Katherine admitted, trying to keep her feelings of betrayal at bay, "Klaus was able to come find the time, though I am sure it was not to say goodbye as more a form of last minute torture. Lucky for me that Caroline is such a good distraction that I never had to find out."
Elijah closed his eyes as her words sunk over him, "Katerina, I do love you and that was why I couldn't be there."
"I don't understand." She replied and wished for him to continue.
"I have spent the last thousand years watching the people I care about die." He stated and opened his eyes to look at her, "In all that time there has only ever been two women that I have loved, truly loved anyway. I had to bury one and I couldn't bring myself to do it again. I know that it was selfish and unfair to you but I…" He trailed off, not sure what else to say. He had been feeling guilty about his decision ever since he had watched his siblings drive away to head to Mystic Falls, "I never meant to hurt you."
"How did you think I would feel Elijah? For the last five hundred years we have being a game of cat and mouse. We had finally found a way to be together Elijah, and then this whole stupid cure thing tore us apart." Katherine asked, feeling her eyes fill with unshed tears, "Not to mention you choose your family over me."
"I explained to you when I left that…"
"Yes, that you were hoping a return to New Orleans could somehow redeem your brother. There is no way that more power can ever lead to redemption, I have tried it that way, and all it did was further destroy my soul." Katherine said to him in return and she let out a long sigh before saying, "And now let me be honest with you. I too have only ever loved two people, and those were the only times I have felt like something other than a horrible bitch. I was hoping that I would be able to say goodbye to both of those men before I died."
"Why didn't you call me when you learned you were dying?" Elijah asked then, getting defensive for a moment, "I only learned you were even dying because Damon called Klaus to gloat."
"Honestly, I didn't think you were care and it turns out I was right." She said and got off the couch and headed toward the door.
Elijah reached out and stopped her. He stood in front of her, "I didn't think you wanted me there and I wasn't going to put myself through that kind of pain for someone who I no longer thought cared about me."
"I called you for two weeks after Elena had shoved the cure down my throat. I waited for you to call me back and you never did. I took that as a sign you were done with me, so sorry I didn't call you to inform you of my demise. I don't know what I expected to get out of coming here." Katherine explained, and tried to move past him and out of his grip.
Elijah kept his grip firm, "I could make many excuses for why we haven't talked in these last months, but none of them will make it right. I don't know if there is anything that can at this point. I am sorry that I haven't been there for you."
"Be here for me now, don't let them kill me Elijah." Katherine begged, bring her free hand up to cup his cheek, "Help me and we can get another chance."
"At what expense Katerina? I do not want you to die, but I am also not going to let you take Elena's life from her." Elijah replied, removing her hand from his face and held it in his hand.
Katherine flinched back, finally causing Elijah to let go of her, and with her voice raised said, "Everything always comes back to little miss perfect Elena. Why is her life more important than mine?"
"I never said that. If the roles were reversed I wouldn't allow Elena to do this to you either." Elijah retorted, and kept his body firmly faced at hers, "I love you Katerina but I will not let you further destroy Elena's life."
Katherine huffed in anger, "I hate this Elijah."
Elijah softened his face, "No one ever said you had to like it but, if there is some way to fix this without losing either of you, then we will find it."
Katherine huffed as the tears she had been holding back finally slid down her face, "They will never give you the chance, because you are the only person that thinks I deserve one."
"I am not the only one. Caroline would not have helped you if she truly believed what the others do." Elijah said bringing his hand up to wipe the tears from her cheek, "I will not let them harm you."
"Unless that is the only way to save Elena." Katherine reminded him, looking into his brown eyes, "Isn't that right?"
Elijah let out a sigh as he locked eyes with her, "It won't come to that, there is always another way when it comes to magic. Trust me, I will not let you just disappear."
"Thank you Elijah." Katherine whispered before she placed a hard kiss to his lips.
Elijah savored the kiss for a long moment before he gently pushed her away, "Stop Katerina."
"What's wrong?" Katherine asked, raising her eyebrows at him.
"I am not going to be with you intimately while you are in Elena's body." Elijah explained, taking a small step back.
"Why not?" Katherine questioned, looking at him oddly, "It's practically the same body I've always had."
"But it isn't yours, it is Elena's body, and she is my friend. I will not disrespect her if I can help it." Elijah explained, giving Katherine a pointed stare.
"Fine." She consented, though her tone let him know she wasn't exactly happy with it, "Are you at least going to let me stay here or am I going to have to find a hotel?"
"Of course you are welcome to stay, we have plenty of extra rooms." Elijah assured her with a smile.
"If I promise to behave myself, can we have the same room?" Katherine asked, giving him a sly smile, her tears completely gone now that she knew Elijah was on her side.
Elijah smiled at her persistence, "If you do anything inappropriate, I will place you another room."
"I won't do you anything that would ruin more Elena's image." Katherine promised, and held out her hand, "Deal?"
"We have a deal." Elijah agreed and raised her hand to his hand, placing a kiss on the back of it, "Tomorrow we will find a solution."
"Thank you Elijah, and I truly mean that." Katherine said, stalling him before they could leave the room.
"I have to acquit myself somehow for failing you, and what better way than saving your life my love?" Elijah asked, and then placed a soft kiss to her forehead.
Katherine smiled as Elijah led her up the stairs, and she wished she had come here from the start and had just forgotten all about Stefan.
So this was originally only going to be a oneshot, but then it turned out to be really long (and I still am not finished) so there will be one or two more chapters. I am sorry for any grammar mistakes or the like.
Don't be afraid to review and let me know what you think, whether good or bad. I just want to know your thoughts!
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!
I can also be followed on tumblr at psychvamp25