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Disclaimer: The .Vampire Diaries is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
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This story was started after the Season 4 episode entitled The Originals when Elijah said goodbye to Katherine. It sat on my computer until now and therefore ignores the cliffhanger season ending.
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The young office worker, stopping at the lunch counter to pick up his order, drummed his fingers, allowing his eyes to idly wander around the diner. His gaze first passed over and then backed up at the sight of a beautiful dark haired girl. Her beauty was what first caught his eye, but it was her absolute stillness that held his interest. The more he looked, the more fascinated he was by her. She was like an island in the middle of the busy mom and pop diner. People parted around her, seemingly not aware of her. If they did happen to look her way it was as if their eyes slid off her.
If he knew anything about vampires, he would have recognized compulsion, but he was ignorant of their presence in the world.
He stared at her and swore she never blinked. Certainly her thick, long black lashes never moved. The lush red lips were parted, but he could see no rise and fall in her chest, not even the slightest movement indicating a breath. He blinked his eyes to improve his vision, but she resembled nothing so much as a life size doll.
He turned to the middle age waitress behind the counter and indicated the girl with a jerk of his head. "Is she real?"
The woman glanced in the direction he indicated and looked blank. "Who?"
"The dark haired girl."
She looked confused. "Where?"
Now it was his turn to be puzzled. He half turned and openly pointed, vehemently insisting. "There." He stabbed the air to emphasize his point. "Her."
The waitress just shrugged and said, "I don't see any girl. Just those two guys. They're regulars."
Exasperated he said, "You're looking at the wrong table."
"There's no one there," she insisted. "Now stop bothering me. I got work to do."
The thoroughly befuddled man paid his bill and started to leave, but he just couldn't let it go. He turned mid stride and walked over to the table. He reached out with one finger to poke the girl and gasped as unfriendly cold brown eyes turned to him. Black pupils dilated, and she demanded in icy tones. "Go away."
His head jerked back as if absorbing a blow, and then he turned and left.
Katherine resumed her blank stare. Her calm exterior was a stark contrast to the thoughts swirling chaotically through her mind.
She ignored the cup of now cold coffee pushed to one side; milk congealed in a ring on the inner rim of the cup. A pushed to the side smart phone rested next to it on the table.
Katherine once again sat unnaturally still, exhibiting none of her typical mannerisms; no tossing of her shiny curls, no pouting of her lips, no fluttering of her eyelashes.
The brown eyes, so unfocused, peered inward. Now her lush lips were drawn in a straight line, her warmly tinted skin furrowed in a frown that would never permanently mark her brow.
Her hands were carefully laid out flat on the table.
A refrain kept ringing in her mind. She thought if she didn't silence it soon she would go crazy.
Alone. Always Alone. Forever. Forever Alone.
Now her nails clenched in and out making red crescents that quickly healed only to be gouged out again.
I can't bear it. I can't bear it. Not another five hundred years alone. No one to trust. Always watching out for myself. Always wondering who will betray me. I don't want to think about it. I have to think about it.
I can't do this. I just can't do this.
Alone. Always Alone. Forever. Forever Alone.
Katherine suddenly picked her hands up and slammed them back down on the table. She gave a decisive nod, finally reaching a decision. She stabbed several times with a carefully varnished nail at the smart phone lying on the table. When the 'Connected' message appeared on the screen she spoke without any polite preliminaries. "Don't leave me like this."
She didn't care that desperation bled through her voice. Pride should have kept her from pleading, but she was beyond that. Things were slipping out of her control for the first time. She was losing the will to fight for her life. She had always had a plan, always a way out, but now that she faced an empty future she was losing hope. It scared her beyond anything that she had ever faced before. She thought she had been terrified when she learned Klaus's plans for her. She shook her head at the naivety of that young girl. There were worse horrors than death to be faced.
"Katerina." The cultured voice with a slight accent, impossible to classify, drew out the syllables like liquid, but still managed to keep an edge to them.
Even in the midst of her anguish she couldn't keep from marveling over the way he spoke her name. No one said it quite like he did. Hearing those four syllables, each distinctly pronounced, almost as if they were separate words, made her homesick. It warmed her at the same time it destroyed her. She gathered herself up and repeated the words she had spoken five hundred years before. "Life is too hard to live without love."
She heard a sharply indrawn breath through the phone.
"I will not change my mind. This time I will stick by my brother. I will have my family." His voice was determined, but at the same time she heard the regret and pain. Regret for what might have been, but would never be. Pain for what she knew must be guilt.
"You can still help me." She used her last weapon. "Please." The word was no more than a whisper, but she knew he heard her.
The silence lasted only several moments, but it seemed like an eternity to her. She held an unnecessary breath, unable to prevent a soft sob of relief when he finally responded. "How?"
She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She rested her elbows on the table and steepled her hands, cupping her face, silently mouthing a prayer. She closed her eyes for a moment and then dropped her hands. This had to be her finest hour. She must be at her most persuasive. No general launching his troops in battle had more at stake than her. She spoke to the phone as if he was in front of her using every argument at her command. She didn't hesitate to play on his guilt.
When she was through, she closed her eyes and waited. She had done all she could. It was up to him. These next moments were the longest of her life. Her fate, her happiness depended upon this man she had deceived so many times.
"I will do it."
Tears sprung into her eyes, threatening to spill over her lower lids. She swallowed several times, blinking them back, and let out a tremulous breath.
"I'll find the best time and be in contact."
When the connection was cut she gave into the unaccustomed luxury of allowing her body to shake with relief. Just for a moment, and then she regained control. She could not afford to rest now. She had to set this up and then . . and then. . . .
Someone to love her.
Someone to laugh at her when she ate like a pig.
Someone to nod knowingly when she played her little games, well aware of how clever she was.
Someone who saw through her plans and admired them.
Someone to gaze at her open mouthed in appreciation of her beauty.
Someone to have her back.
Someone to spend long nights making love with her.
Someone to love her for whom she was.
To never be alone again.
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They burst into the Salvatore boarding house in unison. The three unsuspecting vampires were taken totally by surprise. Elijah swooshed over to Stefan, slamming him against the wall and holding him one handed by the throat, feet several inches off the floor.
Katherine swiftly forestalled Elena with a particularly savage kick to the back of the knee, breaking the joint, and then a stake through the midsection. She quickly immobilized a stunned Damon, pinning him to the wall, face first, twisting his arm up and behind him.
Elijah paid no attention to the byplay. His attention was entirely focused on Stefan. He tossed his hair back and asked the bewildered vampire, "Do you remember the night of the first Founder's Ball?"
Stefan's eyes widened and he tried frantically to protest what he knew was coming, but if it was a plea for mercy the Original ignored it.
"You do," Elijah confirmed. He used his free hand to hold the captive vampire's face toward him. The Original dilated his pupils until his eyes appeared black and spoke with passion. "You will feel for Kata . . Katherine what you felt for her that night. You will not forget what she has done, but you will accept it because she will always be your angel. You will burn for her as you burned that night. Her very touch will ignite you. She is the one, has always been the only one for you. You were stubborn and tried to fight it, but you have seen the error of your ways."
Elijah spared a glance at Elena, his face showing only pity, before turning back to Stefan. "You will not forget what has happened, but Elena means nothing to you. She is Damon's girlfriend. What you have done for Elena you did because you know your brother loves her. You did it all for him."
"No!" Elena painfully screamed in protest. "Don't do this! Don't make him forget his love for me! How can you do this to him? To me? No!"
Stefan stood stock still, mouth slightly open, green eyes dazed. His head rocked back as Elijah slowly lowered him to the floor, loosening his grip, but still supporting him.
Katherine leaned into Damon allowing her lips to brush his ear. She whispered to him, "It's best for everyone. I'll leave you and Elena alone. You and Stefan can start over, without either one of us coming between you two. She's all yours."
Elijah searched Stefan's face, noting the eyes clearing up, regaining their focus. He watched as the vampire immediately began searching, stopping only when his eyes found Katherine. A particularly sweet smile brightened his face.
A satisfied Elijah gently withdrew his hand. Stefan started, seemingly startled to see him so close, and looked inquiringly at him.
Elijah spoke calmly. "It's good to see you again, Stefan. Take care."
A bemused Stefan spoke haltingly. "Ah . . thanks. Good to see you too." He had the semi embarrassed air of someone who had allowed their mind to wander and realized they must have missed part of the conversation.
Katherine released Damon and walked slowly over to the duo.
Stefan reached out a hand and lovingly cupped her face with his long strong fingers. She smiled, holding his eyes, and rubbed her face against his fingers, cupping her hand over his.
"My angel." He had a look of wonder on his face. "You were the one after all. The one I thought I could never find. You were here, and I just didn't realize it."
The look on Katherine's face as she gazed back at him was so tender that Elijah looked away, feeling like an intruder in a very private moment.
"Pack your things. We're leaving, Stefan." She kissed his hand and released him.
Stefan rushed upstairs while Katherine turned and stood face to face with Elijah for perhaps the last time.
He searched her face for a moment before he softly spoke. "I loved you from that moment in the garden when you said . . . You had such a . . I wish . . I regret . . " He swallowed and gave up the attempt to say whatever it was he had wanted to say. He sighed and drew himself even more erect than normal. "I have come to an agreement with Niklaus. He will not seek any further revenge. You are free to live your life as you see fit."
Katherine's eyebrows rose. She knew Klaus would have demanded some type of payment from his brother. Her lips parted as she started to ask, and then seeing the expression on his face pressed them together, letting it go. Elijah's nod of acknowledgement and twisted smile let her know she had made the right choice. He would not discuss it.
"I wish you well, Katerina. He is a good man." Elijah stopped and then softly added, "Be kind to him."
Her smile was now more an upturn of her lip, and her eyes were withdrawn and thoughtful. She spoke slowly. "I think we're a lot alike you and I. My love for him is similar to yours for me. Like you, when you met me, I met him at a time when I had given up on love. I was tired of the harshness of life. The innocence, the purity of his love is what touched me. I think that's what you saw in me." She gave herself a little shake and assured Elijah, "I made a promise when he died that we'd be together again. I will not hurt him."
They looked at each other for another moment, knowing there was no more to say.
He made a small gesture with his hand, no more than a flicker, indicating this was it, and turned to leave. Before he reached the door she whispered. "Thank you."
He didn't turn but acknowledged her word with a tiny nod of his head. His guilt assuaged, he headed back to New Orleans; to his brother, his sister, and the mother and unborn child. To his second chance at a united family.
Katherine, hand on hip, secure now that she had what she needed, turned to a silently watching Damon. She tossed her curls, laughingly teasing him with her old sauciness and bravado. "Not a bad plan B, is it?"
He frowned, still not quite trusting her. "Did you really make a promise that you'd be with him again?"
Katherine sobered up immediately. "I did. On the night you both died, before I let George drive me away . . . I couldn't just leave him like that. I ran back and kissed him, promising we would be together again someday. I never lost track of him even when I was running."
Damon searched her eyes, and what he saw there must have satisfied him because he nodded.
Stefan came downstairs with a hastily packed bag, but stopped and turned to his brother, slightly worried. "Are we okay?"
Damon smiled and reassured him. "We're okay, Stefan. It's all good."
Stefan's face lit up and they exchanged a handshake which turned into a back pounding hug. When they released each other, Stefan turned back to his Katherine. He smiled shyly and held out a hand, and she placed hers in his. They left hand in hand, Katherine unable to suppress a triumphant smirk as she passed Elena, painfully removing the stake from her stomach.
Damon caught the look and groaned inwardly. Elena would be furious that Katherine had gotten Stefan. In her mind, the only thing Katherine deserved was death. Thinking of Elena made Damon dash to the basement for a blood bag to heal her. He urged her to drink, surprised when she didn't immediately comply. "What's wrong?"
Elena's reply stunned Damon. "If everything is so good, why do I feel like I'm the one who lost something precious?"
"I thought you lov. . ," he stammered.
She waved an impatient hand, insisting, "I do love you." She floundered for a moment before speaking. "Everyone got something out of this. Elijah gets to go home to his family with a clear conscience. Katherine has the love she always wanted. You have your brother's friendship again without any of the old baggage. But I, I had his love and lost it. Who knows? It's possible I might not even have his friendship."
She stopped and flapped her hands in frustration, trying to find the words to express what she was feeling. "His love was a comfort . . . a safety net . . always there when I needed it. I knew I was the one, forever someone special to him. That no matter what I did or who I was with he'd love me." She frowned. "I lost again."
And he had no answer for her.
~ FIN ~