Author's Notes: First of, thanks to to anyone who read part 1, particularly the people who put this story on their favorite & follow lists! :) As promised, here's part two. Enjoy reading!

Shattered

~oOo Part II: Confrontations oOo~

Several days had passed during which Elijah barely ventured out of the mansion at the plantation estate. In fact he had only left the house once, early on the day after his argument with Rebekah, and ultimately the only reason why he had done so had been to replace his - quite literally - broken phone. After all, Katherine would have a difficult time calling him back, if he couldn't be reached under the number he had given her to get in contact with him, just because he had chosen to let his frustration out on the phone. So, he had gone to acquire a new cell phone and upon returning to the plantation he had simply put the SIM card of his previous phone into the new one, as it was the easiest way to ensure he would continue to receive any calls made to that number.

He had received a few calls from his siblings and Hayley, but he had elected not to answer any of them, nor did he bother to listen to the messages they had left him. However, so far he hadn't heard anything from Katherine. Not even so much as a text. And quite truthfully the waiting was driving him crazy, but still he had so far done his best to refrain from calling her again. After all, he knew that, if Katerina was in fact still upset over him leaving and therefore ignoring his calls, it would do him no good to keep calling. He would just have to wait until she was in a more forgiving mood. ... Perhaps he actually deserved going through all this anguish, the uncertainty and fear. Perhaps this was his punishment for hurting Katherine again, for breaking his word - for breaking her heart again.

For a while he had simply continued to sit on the couch, trying not to think too much. Yet with very little success. He just couldn't get Katerina off his mind. Then again, how was he supposed to stop thinking about her - to stop worrying about her, when she meant the world to him? It was simply impossible. And it wasn't just the question of whether Rebekah had told him the truth - the question whether Katerina might have in fact died, which haunted him. There were so many memories occupying his mind. Memories of their time together back in England. Of their reunion not even a full year ago. All the wonderful moments they had shared with each other, both back in England as well as after they had finally been reunited. Yet, he also remembered all the years apart from her after the events in 1492, how hard it had been to be without her for so long. He could hardly imagine going through anything like that again, having to face living without her... It had already been beyond painful to make the choice to part from her in the first place. Every day since then, every day apart from her had been all but agonizing. So, how on Earth was he supposed to endure having to spend the rest of his endless life without her!?

He did his best to push those dark thoughts aside, but as much as he tried to stop thinking about it - as much as he still wanted to believe that Katherine was okay, he couldn't deny that his hopes of that in fact being the case were dwindling away with every passing day, every passing hour that he didn't hear back from her. And as his doubts grew, so did his fear of having lost the girl he had loved for more than half a millennium. Yet, admittedly his doubts weren't just rooted in Katherine's failure to respond to any of his calls so far, but also in the fact that he knew his sister... The fact that regardless of how much he might want to cast her claims aside as spiteful lies, aimed at causing him pain, in the end he simply couldn't truly convince himself of it. After all, as rash and impulsive as Rebekah could be when upset, hurt by the actions of one of her brothers, Elijah had never known her to lash out in such harsh fashion in response to any of their perceived wrong-doings. Such disproportionate cruelty always had been Niklaus's way of retaliating, not just against outsiders but even against their own family. Their half-brother may have stooped to such lows as to claim Katerina had perished, simply so he could enjoy seeing the pain those news would inflict upon him, but Rebekah? Never! He simply knew that, no matter how angry and frustrated she might be, his little sister would never go that far just to get even. She wouldn't even do such thing to Niklaus, let alone to him. Yet more to the point, as to why he just couldn't truly make himself believe that she had been lying, was that - even if she were inclined to wilfully inflict such pain on him, there was just no way Rebekah would ever possibly do so by fabricating such a preposterous tale as the one she had told him! Rebekah simply knew him too well as that she would ever think it possible he would believe her, if she claimed that somehow Elena or one of her friends could've gotten the better of Katherine, let alone that Katherine had died - and of old age, no less! So, why would his sister claim as much, when she knew full well how absolutely absurd and unbelievable it sounded? When she knew he would never believe her? She simply wouldn't, plain and simple. That was, unless it was in fact the truth... Which was why, as much as he tried to cling to his hopes - his almost desperate wish to believe Rebekah had lied, in the end he knew better than to actually do so.

And what little of his hope he had managed to hold on to had soon all but evaporated following the conversation he'd had with Niklaus, when his brother had shown up uninvitedly at the plantation the day before.

He was once more sitting on the couch in the living room, now looking over pictures of Katherine, a bottle of bourbon standing upon the coffee table along with a half-full glass from which he drank every once in a while. As focused as he was on the photographes and drawings in front of him, he didn't hear his brother's approach until Klaus's voice rang through the air, "Ah, there you are, Elijah. Don't you ever answer your phone anymore?"

Despite hearing the irritation in his brother's voice Elijah didn't bother acknowledging his remark - or even Klaus's presence. In fact he didn't even so much as glance up from the pictures he was looking at. Yet even without seeing his brother's face, he was aware that undoubtedly Klaus was scowling in annoyance as he was speaking.

"Have you already forgotten the mysteriously resurrected warlock who just came after us, which just happened to coincide with the failed Reaping?" Klaus was continuing, not actually waiting for any response from him anyways, "Four Harvest girls were supposed to be resurrected; none of them came back. Instead Papa Tunde miraculously returned from the dead, eager to get revenge because we killed him and his twin sons. He's still out there, in all probability along with another three witches resurrected in the Harvest girls' stead. And yet, instead of helping me get rid of this rather obvious threat, you have nothing better to do than sitting around here, staring at pictures!"

Still not looking up Elijah didn't interject throughout his brother's rant. Even when Klaus had finished talking he continued his silence for another few long moments. When he eventually spoke he didn't comment on his brother's complaints, instead wanting - demanding to know, "When were you going to tell me, Niklaus!?" There was a notable edge to his voice, an anger and hostility he kept carefully contained. While he was speaking he finally looked up at Klaus, his expression set into a barely masked glare.

For the briefest moment Elijah half expected his brother to play dumb, that Klaus would pretend he had no clue what he was talking about. But then Klaus apparently thought better of it, perhaps simply because, given his mood along with the various pictures of Katherine upon the coffee table, it was fairly obvious what his question was referring to. Instead Klaus scoffed darkly, "Rebekah just couldn't keep her mouth shut, could she?" his face darkening slightly as he shook his head with obvious annoyance.

Again Klaus didn't wait for a response, and at any rate his remark had obviously really been a mere observation, not an actual question, considering that undoubtedly he was perfectly aware that, if Elijah knew about Katherine's fate, their sister must have been the one who had told him. Giving another irritated shake of his head, Klaus pointed out with utter indifference, "So, the harlot is dead, what of it? I hardly see how it's relevant, or why Rebekah just had to tell you. It's not as if Katerina hadn't had it coming for the past five centuries. If you ask me, good riddance to her, it was about goddamned time!" while speaking his voice took on a derisive edge, an almost smug smirk appearing upon his face as he continued, "Frankly, I'm rather surprised that you even care about Katerina's death, though. After all, with how you just can't take your eyes off of Hayley and have been chasing after her since we got here, I had admittedly thought you'd finally come to your senses and had moved on from your foolish infatuation with that wretched strumpet. But, in any case, at least you already have a shoulder to cry on after this devastating loss. I'm sure, Hayley will enjoy to finally have your full and undivided attention now that Katerina is once and for all out of the picture." toward the end the smirk upon Klaus's face widened, growing more smug and even outright menacing, the gleeful glint in his eyes becoming notably more pronounced.

As his brother spoke Elijah's eyes flashed dangerously, his whole body tensing with not just furious anger but also shock and pain - grief. Admittedly, ultimately Klaus was merely confirming what deep down he had already known but hadn't wanted to believe. He just hadn't been able to acknowledge, let alone accept the possibility that Katherine could be dead. Instead he had stubbornly quieted - ignored that nagging voice of awareness in his mind, even as with every passing moment he had felt that painful truth weigh more heavily upon him, until it was all but crushing him. Yet, no matter how much he might have tried to deny it, to turn a blind eye to it, it didn't change anything. No matter how desperately he wanted to believe otherwise, he couldn't just keep running from the facts, from what deep down he could tell was the truth. ... Katerina was gone. Still, in the end the fact that he had already known as much didn't make it any less painful to find his fears confirmed. Especially as Klaus's all too typical vicious demeanor, his taunts, only served to worsen the impact of what he had told him.

And something inside of him just snapped with the sheer, all but blinding rage surging through him. The last few words had barely left Klaus's lips when Elijah already punched him hard into the face, then slammed him into the closest wall, his right hand grasping the front of Klaus's henley in a chokehold. Yet it wasn't just Klaus's derisive tone, the fact how obviously his half-brother was gloating about Katherine's death, that set him off. To an equal, or perhaps even greater part his anger was rooted in the realization that, if he truly paused to think about it, he couldn't help but blame Klaus for what had happened to Katerina. After all, the only reason why he had come to New Orleans - why he had parted from Katerina, had been to help Klaus, to protect Klaus's unborn child! Even though his brother had outright denied him his request to pardon Katherine and therefore the chance to find happiness, any chance to be with the one he loved... And how had Klaus thanked him for his continued loyalty!? He had betrayed him less than twenty-four hours after he had decided to stay in New Orleans, daggering him and handing him over to Marcel! Further adding to his seething rage were Rebekah's words from the other night - her taunting remark that Katherine must have reached out to him after she had become human, which were still echoing through his mind. Although his sister may have merely made that almost taunting quip to further deepen the impact of her revelation, it didn't change that ultimately he knew she was right... He knew Katherine, after all, and no matter how angry, how hurt she may have been when he had elected to leave her again, once again putting his family before their relationship, he just couldn't imagine that she won't have tried to get in touch with him, considering that he was one of the very few people - perhaps the only one, she had truly trusted. He was the one person she would have turned to for help and he knew better than to believe for even a second that, even if Katherine may have otherwise never wanted to see him or speak to him again, her hurt feelings or pride would have ever prevented her from reaching out to him for help if she was in trouble, let alone in actual danger. After all, he knew that, no matter what other things might define her, first and foremost Katerina was a fighter, a survivor - she would always do whatever was necessary for her to save herself, to survive... Which was why he just couldn't banish the nagging suspicion, the instinctual awareness that, if Katerina had tried to contact him, it had undoubtedly been shortly after her run-in with Elena - she wouldn't have just waited around, knowing how vulnerable she was as a mortal, knowing of the danger this development put her in given how many enemies she had.

But her calls - any attempts she may have made to get in touch with him had been in vain, because he had been incapacitated, lying in a coffin with a dagger in his heart.

It was the only explanation why he hadn't heard from her after their parting. Because there was one thing Rebekah had definitely been wrong about; no matter how preoccupied he may have been with trying to keep Hayley and her unborn child safe, there just was no way he would have ever let anything prevent him from helping Katerina if she needed him! Nor would he have failed to react if she had contacted him. He would have undoubtedly been susceptible to her calls, already because, as much as he had tried to remain focused on the task at hand, there hadn't passed a single day since his arrival in New Orleans that he hadn't hoped to hear from Katerina, that he hadn't hoped to hear her voice...

It truly was that realization which ultimately fueled the furious anger coursing through him right now, the fact that through his underhanded actions Niklaus had made it impossible for Katherine to reach him in time and therefore had prevented him from being able to help her. Granted, there was no way for him to be sure whether he could have actually helped her - saved her, but at least he could have tried to, if he had known what was going on. Perhaps, one could argue, that his brother couldn't have possibly known at that point in time what would happen to Katerina after they had left for New Orleans, that there hadn't been any way Klaus could have known of the repercussions his betrayal would have. But in the end it had been Klaus who - through his cruelty, through his refusal to let Katerina be - had forced him to leave her in the first place. And if all this weren't enough, even once Klaus had found out what had happened to Katherine his blind hatred toward her had led him to hide this information from him. More to the point, Elijah was perfectly aware that unlike Rebekah, who may have initially kept what had happened to Katherine from him simply to spare him the pain, the same could not be said for Klaus. On the contrary. He knew his half-brother too well as not to realize that his secrecy was rooted in far less benevolent reasons, that it hadn't been mere neglect on his brother's part. Klaus had kept the knowledge of Katerina's fate from him simply so he could use it to his advantage as he saw fit, undoubtedly fully intending to wait with revealing the devastating news until just when it suited his schemes best; which ultimately meant the next time Niklaus was displeased with him and sought to retaliate by causing him pain. It was through all his selfish actions, and most notably through the selfish choice to keep him in the dark, that Klaus had deprived him of any chance he may have otherwise had to find a way to save Katerina, or to even get a chance to say goodbye to her and - even more importantly - to be there for her in those final moments.

And deep down he knew that this was one thing, one transgression, for which he would never forgive Klaus. Regardless of all of his brother's misdeeds over the past centuries which he had been willing to look past, this was just something he could not forgive. Nor was he willing to even consider doing so. Not ever!

Still glaring he willed himself to compose himself and slowly released his grip from Klaus's shirt while he told him darkly, "Get out of my sight, Niklaus!" emphasizing each word as he spoke, which only made the anger in his voice more pronounced, giving his demand a threatening edge...

For a long few moments they had kept standing there in silence, their eyes locked in equally angry glares as if they were trying to stare the other one down. However, eventually it had been Klaus who had looked away first, briefly dropping his gaze. After a moment Klaus had looked back up, sending another defiant scowl in Elijah's direction, then he had pushed past his older brother and had all but stormed out of the room, slamming the front door shut as he left. Now, the following day, Elijah was standing by one of the back windows in the living room, glancing out at the garden, when the sound of approaching steps, the clicking of heels, eventually caused him to snap out of his reverie, out of his dark thoughts. However, he didn't move to see who it was, as he admittedly didn't really care. All he really wanted right about now was for everyone to just leave him alone already; for his siblings and everybody else to just let him grieve the loss of Katerina in peace!

Soon the clicking of the footsteps reached the sitting room, the person slowing down slightly upon entering the room. Only a brief moment later he felt someone's gaze coming to rest on him and heard Hayley's familiar voice, "Elijah, finally! What's going on? You don't answer your phone, you don't call back... I've been looking for you and trying to call you for days!" while she was speaking the footsteps stopped as she came to a halt; in the center of the room he guessed without actually checking. "I was starting to get worried, thinking Klaus had used one of those daggers on you again or might have done some other nasty thing to you." she continued, the faintest trace of an accusation over him just dropping off the face of the earth without a word in her voice, yet he could also hear a notable edge of concern. Her eyes were still lingering on him, or more specifically boring into his back as he hadn't moved so far to turn and look at her.

"I am not in the mood for company, Hayley." Elijah pointed out, not commenting or otherwise reacting to what she had said, the concern she had expressed for him, before turning for the briefest moment to look at her, his face an unreadable mask, as he added, "I thought I had made that clear when Niklaus was here yesterday." He then turned his attention back toward the window, once again looking outside with little actual interest as to what he was seeing.

He could hear Hayley sigh lowly at what he told her, the fact that although he wasn't saying it quite that directly he was basically telling her to leave - pushing her away quite obviously. She started to walk again, though her movements now seemed almost a bit hesitant, perhaps having finally picked up on his mood, and after only a few steps into his direction she stopped once more. She sighed again before she broke the tense silence that had started to build between them, "Listen, Elijah... I know, I betrayed your trust and I can understand how upset you must have been. But you can't really just continue to stay mad at me for all of time. I really am sorry for what I did, and you have my word that I will never do anything like that again. I promise. I just... Please, can't we start to move past this?" toward the end her voice cracked ever so slightly from her emotions - her almost desperate wish that things could be alright between them again, like before, and she fell silent, another sigh, this one considerably more heavy, escaping her.

While he listened he eventually turned fully toward the young werewolf, raising a brow as he regarded her with a long glance, "You really think this is about you, about you betraying my trust?" He couldn't quite stop himself from scoffing lowly, giving a disbelieving shake of his head at the arrogance, the self-centered sentiment her words implied. Looking back up at her face he stated matter-of-factly, "It may come as a surprise to you, Hayley, but not everything in my life revolves around you. In fact, as it so happens this has absolutely nothing to do with you, or the fact that you elected to invade my privacy to aid Sophie's plans." and while his voice didn't actually rise and in fact remained calm as he spoke, he couldn't quite keep a faint trace of irritation from lacing his words. Granted, he was aware that Hayley's apology was in fact sincere, that she truly did regret her actions, but as he had told her the other night after they had witnessed Sophie's attempt to complete the Harvest ritual; it just wasn't that simple. With how much he valued not just promises, both the ones he gave to others as well as those made to him, but also honesty and loyalty, he couldn't just look past - let alone simply forget her betrayal. Especially as she could have, should have known better after the time they had spent with each other these past few months, after the glimpses she had gained of his mind. Or after reading his journals for that matter. It also didn't exactly help the situation that Hayley had attempted to brush the whole thing off on account of the mere fact that Céleste had already been dead for over two centuries, as if her death automatically made his connection and promise to her less significant, less relevant. Which, as he had tried to explain to Hayley that night, simply wasn't the case, at least not for him. Not when he knew first hand just how rare actual love was, and he himself had in fact only found real love twice in over a thousand years. Like he had implied to Hayley, his love once given, was given forever and not even death could erase that bond. Yet, what he had not shared with Hayley was that he hadn't been speaking of Céleste then. Rather he had been referring to Tatia, his first real love and the love of his human life, and Katerina, who despite all the years they had been forced to be apart had truly held his heart ever since he had met her in England. She really had been the true love of his life as vampire. Still, Céleste had been - and would always remain, important to him, special. In part this was already because unlike his siblings he had always been very guarded with his feelings, being reluctant to care about people outside their family in general and it was very rare for him to form any attachments beyond his siblings at all. He was even more hesitant to form romantic attachments, and while he'd had other lovers after Katerina aside from Céleste there had been not many of them. In fact he could count them on one hand, simply due to the fact that he just wasn't the kind of man to sleep with a woman he did not actually care about. Yet more importantly there was also the fact that in the end he had never stopped loving Katerina, the lingering ache of being apart from her having remained ever present within him. Céleste had been the first woman in over two centuries whom he had eventually allowed himself to care about. She may not have actually taken Katherine's place within his heart, but he had still loved her and being with her he had in fact found at least a semblance of the happiness he had shared with Katerina in England. In addition his promise of ensuring that Céleste would be left in peace after her death was also of even greater importance to him, because he hadn't been able to prevent her untimely death in the first place.

But all that was beside the point right about now. In fact currently just about everything around him, all the recent events in New Orleans, were all but negligibile for him in light of the fact that he had just lost Katerina. And at any rate thinking of Céleste, the fact that he hadn't been able to save her all those years ago, only served to inevitably steer his thoughts right back to his current troubles, to the fact that once again he had lost someone he cared deeply about - someone he loved, because he had been unable to protect them. Yet Katherine's death weighed exponentially more heavily upon him, as she had meant so much more to him than anyone else ever had since his human life had ended and he had lost his first love.

Which ultimately was the actual reason for his wish - his need for solitude; not the recent rift between him and Hayley. He was just in way too much pain as that he would have any capacity or patience to worry about the problems of those around him, whether it were Klaus's schemes or Rebekah's complaints of being slighted by her brothers. More to the point, he certainly was in no state as to deal with his siblings' constant bickering. Or, for that matter, with Hayley's contrition over her recent actions and her hopes of reconciling with him. In fact having to deal with the young werewolf's visit and her subsequent nagging was quite truthfully just about the last thing he needed right now. The truth was that, as much as he had come to genuinely care about Hayley over the course of the past few months, her recent behavior and actions - her desperate attempts to absolve herself from whatever guilt she felt over betraying his trust, were considerably grating on his nerves and at this moment in time he admittedly couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance, brought forth by her automatically making his withdrawal from everyone about herself.

With all that considered he felt a sense of relief when Hayley, contrary to what he had expected, didn't protest or argue in response to what he had just said, and he already almost allowed himself to think that she had accepted his request and would now take her leave. However, instead he found himself faced with having to adress a subject he wished even less to discuss with her than Céleste as just then Hayley's gaze landed on the pictures still lying on the coffee table. "Wait, you and Katherine!?" she asked incredulously, her voice rising slightly both in volume as well as in pitch and her brows knitting into a deep, disbelieving frown as she reached for one of the photographes and picked it up.

Meanwhile Elijah had started walking toward the young woman, but he came to a halt when she noticed the pictures and reached out for them, a frown appearing on his own face. Even without actually seeing the picture in her hands he knew which one it was; one of the only photographes of him and Katherine together... The picture had been taken at a classy upscale nightclub where he had taken Katherine to dance after they had been out for dinner one evening. It showed them dancing, with him just lifting Katerina from a dip and drawing her close towards him, both of them smiling happily, completely absorbed - lost, in one another's presence. There was another photo which had been taken that night, in fact just a few mere moments later, of them sharing a wistful kiss; though apparently Hayley hadn't noticed that one, being too focused on the picture that had caught her attention. A circumstance he was rather grateful for, considering that with Hayley's reaction to the picture that she was looking at he could vividly imagine the drama that would ensue if she had instead picked up the other one. Admittedly, with how private a person he was, such public displays of affection as the photographes showed were quite unusal for him, but Katherine had always been his exception to everything. She had always been the one and only person who could cause his carefully crafted and well-maintained walls of self-control to slip away, causing them to just crumble down in pieces. Almost right from the start, already shortly after he had met Katerina back in England, he had found it difficult to exert the same restraint he usually displayed, when he was in her presence. What was more, with Katerina he didn't actually mind to let his guard down, to show that more gentle and affectionate side of himself. Still, when she had shown him the photos he had for the briefest moment felt a sense of, perhaps not actual anger but at least a trace of mild annoyance or irritation at this invasion of their privacy. Yet ultimately he had, for the most part, been surprised. Granted, he had known that there had been a photographer around that night, taking pictures for an article to be featured in some fancy lifestyle magazin or something along those lines, but he hadn't been aware that they had also photographed him and Katherine.

As Hayley was speaking Elijah's expression hardened, not caring much for her tone, especially right about now, this rather absurd outrage she chose to display at the mere notion that there was a connection - let alone deep rooted feelings, love, between him and Katherine Pierce. "Yes, Katerina and I. As a matter of fact, I have loved her for over five centuries. I love her to this day." he told her, his tone measured as he looked her squarely in the eyes. Yet even as calm as his voice was, as he continued speaking there still was a subtle sharpness, a coldness to his words that could cut right through you and chill you all the way to your very core, "Although I would have expected you already knew as much, having read my journals, after all." With that he pointedly took the picture from Hayley's hand, his gaze lingering for the briefest moment upon it as he couldn't silence the memories of that night - of how happy they had been then, which were washing over him at the sight. Along with the memory of the day Katherine had given him the photographes when he'd had to part from her for a while to take care of some business matters. She had told him, that way she would always be with him... He hadn't been all that surprised that, unlike him, Katherine had noticed the photographer as he knew how aware she usually - actually always, was of her surroundings. It had mildly surprised him though, that she had taken the time to track the photographer down and acquire copies of the pictures they had taken of them. At first the gesture had admittedly struck him as untypically sentimental coming from her, but that hadn't negated how deeply he had appreciated it all the same that she had done so. Particularly after he had left for New Orleans, not knowing when he would get to see her again. ... He appreciated the gesture even more deeply now. Now that, as it had turned out, he never would see her again. As that realization flickered through his mind once again he felt a stab of agonizing pain coursing through him. He knew that, in the end, Katerina had been perfectly aware that he did not need any pictures to remind him of her, to make him feel like she was with him. After all, she already was with him all the time considering that since he had first met her there hadn't passed a single day without him thinking of her. Especially when he had been apart from her.

Even as caught up as he was in his troubles, his pain, he didn't miss how while he was speaking Hayley's face fell ever so slightly when he professed his feelings for Katherine. A circumstance which brought once again to his mind Rebekah accusing him the other night of having feelings for Hayley, causing him to forsake Katherine because of this supposed attraction. Reminding him of how Klaus had voiced similar suspicions more than once since Davina had released him, which had even caused his half-brother to leave him poisoned in the bayou out of sheer paranoia, harboring the absurd notion that Elijah would end up taking his place in his child's life...

Elijah could see why his siblings, and perhaps even Hayley herself, may have come to think that he had developed some level of romantic interest in her. He also realized that admittedly he had done little to nothing in order to dispel their assumptions, or to discourage Hayley from reading more into his kindness than there really was to it. Perhaps he had even - albeit unintentionally, fueled that notion with how much of his attention he had been focusing on Hayley since his and Klaus's arrival in New Orleans. And while he had never intended to give the impression of having anything beyond a platonic interest in Hayley, he would have to admit that it hadn't been merely kindness that had driven him to pay so much attention to her, to spend so much time and effort trying to help her and be there for her. The truth was, focusing his attention on Hayley, along with doing his best to aid Klaus despite his betrayal had been a welcome distraction after he had found himself forced to part from Katerina once again for the sake of his family. Since their parting he had been actively doing his best not to think too much about her. It had just pained him too much to think of her, about the last time he had seen her. To remember the hurt and heartbreak he had seen in her eyes after he had kissed her goodbye... Yet in the end, as hard as he had tried, ultimately his attempts had been all but futile as Katerina still had always been in his thoughts, even if it was merely the nagging voice of his guilty conscience in the back of his mind which he just hadn't been able to quiet. In addition, he had also been quite aware that, if he truly allowed himself to pause and think about Katherine; about what he had given up for the sake of helping Niklaus, his resolve to stay in New Orleans would undoubtedly start to waver and crumble away. And he just couldn't allow that to happen. After all, he had given his word to Hayley to protect her and her unborn child. Plus, there would always be Niklaus... Elijah was perfectly aware that his brother would have never permitted him to just leave. Especially not for Katerina. Driven by his sheer hatred Klaus would have never permitted him to find happiness with Katherine, that much he had made perfectly clear back in Mystic Falls, while Rebekah had been attending her senior prom hoping to convince him to give her the cure so she could become human. Not only had Klaus outright denied his request to finally set his vendetta against Katherine aside and grant him a chance at happiness, but his brother had gone so far as to vow that should Elijah in fact refuse to give the cure to him, he would make it his eternal cause to make him suffer for it. By hunting down Katherine and at long last take his revenge in killing her. The subject of the cure may have become moot that same night due to Silas's trickery, but Elijah had no doubts or illusions that this circumstance wouldn't have negated Klaus's threat. He simply knew his brother far too well as that he would, even for a second, believe Klaus wouldn't have still made good on his threat to harm Katerina if he had acted contrary to his wishes in some other instance. Such as leaving New Orleans to build a life with her.

At any rate, the fact remained that while he could undoubtedly see what others would find appealing about Hayley such as her obvious beauty, but also her intelligent and caring nature and fierce confidence, he himself had no romantic interest in her. Already because she was going to have Klaus's child. Which was among the main reasons why, even if he weren't irrevocably in love with Katerina, he neither could nor would ever see more in Hayley than what she was to him right now; a friend, an extension of his family... And he supposed that, although he hardly wanted to get into any of this right about now, he probably ought to finally clear up this matter, once and for all. After all, clearly Hayley had started to develop feelings for, or at least an attraction towards him and while he would rather not have to deal with this at the current moment in time he also didn't want to end up leading her unintentionally on.

Momentarily lowering his gaze as he ran a hand over his face, he took a slow, deep breath while considering the situation at hand. As he slowly released the breath in a low sigh he looked back up at the young werewolf, weighing his words carefully as he eventually broke the silence that had fallen between them, "Hayley... I care about you, but as a friend. To me you are a part of the family, and I will protect you like I promised you. Just as I have done, and always will do my best to protect my siblings. I am sorry if I misled you somehow, but there will never be more than a friendship between you and me." he told her, admittedly not without a trace of wariness and apprehension as he currently had bigger concerns than Hayley's apparent feelings for him, "I love Katherine. The only reason why I parted from her was that my family needed, and still needs, me here in New Orleans and I knew, given Klaus's hatred of her, she would never be safe here. I did not leave her because my feelings for her would have changed." and although he didn't outright say it, his voice made it perfectly clear that he always would love Katerina. His voice also betrayed with equal clarity the regret he now felt over making the choice to leave her, the grief and guilt that haunted him over her death.

If he'd had any lingering doubts before that Hayley had hoped there to be more between them than a platonic, albeit close, connection her reaction to what he had just said would have taught him otherwise. Although he had, despite his current state of mind, tried his best to avoid being harsh about it as he didn't wish to cause her undue pain, the hurt now flashing clearly through Hayley's eyes could not have been more pronounced had he slapped her right into the face. Yet he also saw a trace of anger flicker over her face, her posture tensing slightly - undoubtedly in response to his rejection, and pursing her lips, almost defiantly, she demanded to know, "So, what? This whole time you've been so nice and chivalrous toward me, I was just a little something on the side for you, to toy with while being apart from Katherine!? And now you seriously have the nerve to try and tell me that this thing between us was supposedly just in my head!?" She scoffed giving a shake of her head, her hands curling up at her sides in anger, and an almost venomous edge slipped into her voice as she snapped at him, "If you really love her so much, how come you never even so much as mentioned her this whole damned time!? Not even that day in the bayou! You made such a big deal out of Céleste and yet you didn't mention Katherine with even a single syllable!"

At what she said Elijah's expression set into a deep frown, showing the faintest trace of irritation as his patience now truly began to run thin, "Do not mistake me for Niklaus, Hayley. I do not toy with people, or their feelings. The fact that you would even read such unsavory motives into the kindness I displayed toward you, only proves to show how little you actually know me. There is no thing between you and me. As I already told you, I was being kind to you, because I have come to consider you part of my family. I simply tried to be there for you, as a friend. Which, however, does not automatically entitle you to any knowledge of my personal life. Especially as by now you ought to have started to realize just how much I value my privacy. Which is also precisely why I did not tell you about Katerina; because it is none of your business, Hayley." he pointed out to her, his own voice even now still remaining remarkably calm, the hardening of his expression being the only real indication of his rising anger. Undoubtedly, had this been anyone else than Hayley, who was after all pregnant with Klaus's child, he would have reacted far more harshly to her words as her accusations not only offended but also wounded him deeply. After all, she wasn't just implying that he would have taken advantage of her, but also that he would have betrayed Katerina, and particularly the latter of which struck a painful nerve within him in light of the recent revelation of Katherine's death.

He briefly remained silent, taking a breath and willing himself to retain his composure. When he spoke again he told her, "Now would you, please, be so kind and leave. I wish to be alone." his voice now stern as he reiterated his request to be left alone, yet his tone still wasn't unkind despite the circumstances.

For a long moment Hayley remained standing where she was and it almost looked as if she were going to argue about leaving. However, eventually she sighed, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly and without another word she turned on her heels and strode out of the room. Releasing a quiet, yet still heavy sigh, Elijah briefly glanced after her before turning his attention back to the pictures on the coffee table, a frown on his face. He didn't pay attention to the fading sound of Hayley's footsteps as she made her way out of the mansion, or to the sound of the door opening and closing, which would follow soon enough.

As he moved to sink down on the couch it crossed his mind that perhaps he had been unduly harsh just now, but he just couldn't bring himself to care about that or anything else at this moment in time. There was just too much pain coursing through him, the all but agonizing grief threatening to consume him while he couldn't stop thinking of his beloved Katerina. Of the last time he had seen her. All the things he had hoped for, all he had envisioned their life, their future could be if only they could procure her freedom from Klaus's wretched vendetta against her. If they could only find the right time... For over five hundred years he had been so sure that eventually they would finally have a chance to be together. Even during all those years they had been apart he had never lost that hope, that faith. He had never given up his belief he would find her, that he would get a chance to prove to her how much she meant to him, how much he loved her. His belief that they could find happiness. And now all of that was lost to him, to them. Katherine had been torn from him yet again. Forever. Irrevocably. It reminded him all too harshly of all the previous times he had failed her. Of how he had, selfishly, kept the truth about his family, about Klaus's intentions - about himself from her back in England all those years ago. How he had turned his back on her when Katherine had fled, forcing her to take the only path she had seen to save herself by becoming a vampire. How he had let Klaus slaughter her family, and hunt her for centuries. Of how, when they had finally been reunited not even a full year ago, he had vowed they would finally be together - only to leave her again. And now he hadn't even been there for her when she would have needed him the most, when she had been dying!

No, instead of at least being there for her now - instead of trying to find a way to save Katerina he had been here in New Orleans, never even knowing that she would have needed his help. All just because he had left her again for the sake of a brother who had betrayed him barely more than a few hours after he had made that difficult choice. Sure, he'd had reasons for making the choice he had made, reasons that had made sense to him at the time. However, now that he knew what had happened to Katerina after they had parted from each other, none of those things really seemed like valid enough reason for what he had done. Now it just felt like he had merely done the easy thing, the thing he had always done - putting his family first, before anything and anyone else, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness. Of course, it had been a painful choice for him to make, one he had struggled with, but it was what he had always done, for over a thousand years and in the end continuing this familiar habit of putting his family first had been easier than to break with it. He had told himself that going with Niklaus to New Orleans was the right thing to do, that it was what he had to do. Not just for the sake of his family, but also to ensure Katerina's safety, to ensure that Niklaus wouldn't make good on his recent threats against her. And admittedly there had also been a part of him that had perhaps foolishly hoped, if he helped his brother to acquire what he wanted - if he helped him to regain control of his former kingdom, that perhaps Klaus would be inclined to reconsider his decision to insist on continuing his vendetta against Katerina. That perhaps Niklaus would, for a change, show a sliver of mercy and finally grant him a real chance at happiness.

He had fully intended to return to Katerina once things in New Orleans were settled. He had believed, had been convinced that he would find her again. That he would have an eternity to make things right, to make it up to her that he had left. He had been convinced that once Niklaus was satisfied he himself would be free to pursue his own wishes, his hopes - that he would be finally free to be with Katerina and build a life with her, a future with her. Not for even a second would he have imagined that by making the choice to leave her and help Klaus, he would lose any chance to ever have any of those things. That this time he would end up truly losing Katerina.

And the agonizing pain and grief, the guilt and regret haunting him over leaving Katerina yet again, over having lost her, was outright killing him! Already he could feel himself spiraling out of control, could feel that he was losing himself in his dispair. He was well aware that since he had first been confronted with the possibility of having lost Katherine, he had begun to drink far more than he would under normal circumstances, more than he would actually consider acceptable. He knew that he neither fed nor slept enough. He was aware that he probably looked like hell, his usually flawless appearance becoming more disheveled every day. But he just didn't care. And even if he were to in fact care, he wouldn't know where to even begin with trying to put himself back together, nor did he think he actually had the strength to do so right about now.

Still he would go on, somehow... Even if it was merely because he had no other choice. After all, he and his siblings couldn't die. Nothing could kill them except the white oak stake, which he had returned to Niklaus. Perhaps foolishly, one could argue. Elijah was well aware that Klaus would sooner put a dagger in his heart again rather than allowing him to die, already simply due to Niklaus's need for control. But even more so because, no matter how deep the rift between any of them may have grown over the years, not even Klaus would ever want any of them to actually die, to lose any of them that irrevocably. There was, after all, a reason why Klaus had kept even Finn around for all those centuries, admittedly daggered and locked away in a box, but still perfectly safe from any potential harm. Although he found it sometimes almost impossible to truly believe, especially at this point in time when his half-brother was so obviously relishing to see him suffer the way he had since learning of Katherine's death; Elijah knew that in the end Klaus did love them. In his own twisted way. And even in the purely hypothetical event that he could in fact acquire the white oak stake, or find another way to end his now truly meaningless existence, ultimately he knew he simply won't be able to do it. No matter how agonizing it was for him, having to even imagine a life without Katerina - let alone live without her, he simply couldn't abandon his family. For better or worse, his sense of family loyalty simply forbade it. Rebekah and Klaus needed him. His unborn niece needed him. And regardless of anything else that had happened, regardless of Hayley's betrayal of his trust, he had given his word to protect her and the child she was carrying. He may not actually have any feelings for her beyond considering her part of the family, but he had meant it when he had told her he cared about her - even if it perhaps wasn't in the way she had hoped. He simply could not break his word. Especially because if he did, those past few months would have been in vain. Protecting Hayley and the child had been the main reason why he had chosen to return to New Orleans permanently. His promise to keep them safe had been the one and only reason why he had willed himself to part from Katerina. If he abandoned those words now, it would ultimately mean that he had forsaken her for nothing. He would have broken her heart again for nothing. He would have lost her for nothing! So, he would do what he had been doing now for over a thousand years, he would find a way to somehow persevere for the sake of his family.

Even though right now he admittedly couldn't even begin to comprehend how he was supposed to accomplish that, as even the simple act of breathing felt like too much effort. The truth was, right now every day that passed felt like he was dying over and over again on the inside, each time a little more. Yet he would never find relief from the pain, and never had his immortality felt more like a curse than it had ever since that fateful evening when Rebekah had first told him about Katherine's death.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, hope you liked the story so far. Feedback would be very much appreciating, as it's a great motivation with writing when I know what people think, what they like and what could perhaps be better.
Anyways, I'm still working on the final part to this story, so I'm not sure when I will be able to post it. But I'm doing my best to get it done and up soon. :)