Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries.

slight spoilers for 4x18 American Gothic

Elijah glanced over at his Rebekah as he drove down the dark street. Her head lolled against the window in her sleep and Elijah sighed. They were mere minutes from Mystic Falls and even though he was happy to be home with his siblings, Elijah dreaded it.

Rebekah wanted to take the cure. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, about her seeming to give up so easily. What if it didn't work? What if she died before she got to live her simple life? There were too many variables for him to be comfortable with and it was something he and Niklaus would have to discuss whether Rebekah liked it or not. He couldn't lose another sibling and more importantly, he hated to think what would become of Niklaus if they lost Rebekah.

Elijah hated to think of Niklaus at the moment. Only because of the decision he would have to make concerning Katherine. Katerina. His Katerina. The only girl he had ever and would ever love. He had betrayed Niklaus once for her sake; did he have it in him to do it again? Could he bear to look his baby brother in the eyes and tell him the truth- where he had been and what he had been up to, divulge this information to Niklaus and risk his wrath?

He put the car in park once they were in the driveway of their brightly lit home. Elijah would have chuckled at Niklaus' eagerness but it was well past three in the morning and he was oh so weary and weighed down.

He quietly pulled the cure out of his pocket and opened the box to look at the vial of what he presumed to be blood. He studied it for a long moment. It was a curious thing, how a tiny bottle of liquid had started such a war and caused such strife but who was he to speak when he was considering acting out of love for something he was unsure he could or would ever have.

But it was a risk he had to take. If there was one thing Elijah was sure of it was that he loved Katerina. He wanted to find her under all the layers of Katherine. He wanted her to be his for the rest of eternity.

Placing the cure in his back in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to a number he had easily memorized.

I will talk to my brother for you, Katerina. I cannot make you promises but I will do everything in my power. Do not disappoint me.

He left off the please at the end and leaned against his headrest, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. A reply came through quickly and he opened it eagerly but with an air of caution and foreboding.

Thank you.

He pressed his lips together in a tight line and clicked the lock screen on his phone, trying not to feel too disappointed as he prepared to get out of the car. His phone chimed once more and with a heavy heart, he opened it.

I mean it. And I won't disappoint you. I love you, Eli, and I'll tell you as many times as I have to for you to believe me. Please don't give up on me. I need you- more than you realize and not just a means of survival. I swear. I. Love. You.

Elijah swallowed, unable to reply because of all the conflicting emotions and thoughts running through his head. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car as Niklaus was walking towards him with bare feet and sleep tousled hair, sweat pants hanging loosely on his hips and a wide smile on his face.

"Big brother," he said warmly.

Elijah returned the smile and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's been too long, Niklaus and for that, I'm truly sorry," he said, squeezing Klaus' shoulder. Elijah had missed both his brother and sister a great deal. Without a second thought, he pulled his younger brother into a brief hug and smiled slightly as he felt Klaus lean into it for a moment before pulling back. With another squeeze of his brother's shoulder, he moved around the front of the car and pulled Rebekah out and into his arms, Niklaus pulled Elijah's small bag out of the backseat and followed his brother inside.

"You look like you could use a drink," Klaus said after Elijah came out of Rebekah's room from tucking her under the blankets of her bed.

"We'll talk in the morning, Niklaus," he said off handedly, giving his brother a tight-lipped smile and clapping him on the shoulder once more before wandering through the vast halls and into his bedroom.

He collapsed on his bed and ran his hands through his hair before pulling out his phone and sending another message.

And I love you, Katerina.

A/N: *cue really loud screaming* omg omg omg i've been a Kalijah shipper since S2 and I always thought they were just ff and crackship gold and then they finally happened (sorta kinda) and now I'm freaking out! like I seriously don't even know how to channel my feels. at all. I kinda turned into a pile of goo their last scene because it was sososo beautiful and heartbreaking and ELIJAH'S FACE and the way Katherine held his hands and I'm just a bundle of emotion so excuse me and whatever I'm even saying in this A/N because OOH EMMM GEEEEE.

anyways, I am considering turning this into something longer but I have some other stuff to work on/do first lol.

thanks for reading! please review if you have a minute:)