Disclaimer: if I owned this- Elijah would be a series regular. This completely ignores the attempts of Jonas and Luca to help Elijah.. and well, hm. Maybe more of a replacement to "The House Guest" but obviously recognizing Katherine's return

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What she's about to do is utterly stupid, and she's fully aware of this, but she's going to go ahead and do it anyway; she's gone this far so she might as well go all the way, right?

She didn't know if they would forgive her or understand, but her mind was made up.

Elena paced at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, knowing that at any moment, Damon or Stefan could return from their little outing with Katherine.

Katherine's appearance and insistence on helping had fueled Elena's determination to do what she was about to do… or rather, to undo what she had done; the slim brunette peering briefly through the door that was separating her from Elijah's dormant body.

Right now, in the grand scheme of things, Elijah was the lesser of two evils. And unlike Katherine, at least Elena knew where she stood with Elijah.

Maybe.

Biting her lower lip, worrying the soft flesh, Elena realized that there was a distinct possibility that Elijah would kill her the moment she removed the dagger from his immobile body.

A dagger that she was responsible for putting in him, no less.

Elena could still see the worry on his face, the urgency in his voice- and dare she even think- compassion? Elijah wasn't easy to read, his charismatic, cool and collected façade concealing a ruthless monster. But when she had plunged that knife into her stomach, his mask had cracked just enough for her to glimpse a sliver of humanity.

Elena hoped that she could still appeal to that one shred, taking a deep breath and willing her heart to stop beating so erratically as she finally ventured into the cell.

Alternating between praying to whatever deity might listen and offering apologies (though if they were for the Salvatore's, her family or the Original- she didn't know), Elena knelt beside Elijah's motionless body.

Closing her eyes as she grasped the handle of the dagger, Elena pulled, her eyes opening on their own accord it seemed; liquid chocolate orbs captivated by the way Elijah began to return to his normal (and otherworldly) state.

And then, just as quickly as she was sitting- a breath released when Elijah started to move- Elena found herself pinned between the wall and the Original.

TBC

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Note: this is my first venture into the fandom- a short start but should hopefully pick up speed soon enough. thank you for taking the time to give this a look.