…Thank god I managed to escape that one. Thankfully, hey, the good part about being captured by someone who terrifies you so much you can barely sleep at night is that you get a lot of time to think. Okay, that's usually really not a good thing at all. But in this instance, it was. Obviously I didn't have time to study or practice, but an idea hit me and I decided to give the spell one last shot. I'm almost positive it'll work this time, as long as I get put early enough in the timeline.
After performing the spell, I find myself kneeling next to Nadia at roughly the same point in the timeline I was in before. I'm not sure if it's the exact same time, though; I'd better hope it is. I quickly look through my recent calls and see that I haven't gotten any yet. Okay. They might not know yet; I need to act before they figure it out.
"Nadia," I say, briefly taking her hand in mine. "I don't trust that doctor after all. But don't worry. I have a plan… but I've gotta go, now. I'll explain later; call if you need anything; I should be back in under half an hour, okay?"
I see complete confusion in her expression as she asks, "…What doctor?"
Whoops. Wait, no, that's good; it's even earlier than I thought. "I'll explain later," I say again, and I give her a quick kiss on the forehead before rushing off. Even if it's earlier, I don't have time to waste, because I have no idea when exactly it was that they figured out I'm not Elena.
I start toward the Salvatores', calling Stefan on the way there.
"Elena? Where are you?" he asks. Good, he sounds genuinely confused. Thank god.
"Uh- I'm on my way over. I need to talk to you about something important, okay? Alone."
"Okay… Is everything alright?"
I sigh, letting my urgency show through so he'll get the extreme importance of this. "No. But we'll talk about it when I get there. I'll see you soon." With that, I hang up. I'm sure he has a million questions and is worried sick, but I don't really care about that right now.
When I arrive, I find him waiting for me, unsurprisingly looking worried. I give a slight nod upstairs, where we can go to his room and speak privately. He seems to get the picture, and we walk upstairs together. When we get there, I sit down on his bed and he sits next to me, although I'm sure he's going to move away soon.
"I need you to hear me out, okay? Just… please, listen."
"Elena… relax. Whatever it is, we'll get it figured out."
I must seem pretty upset if he's saying that, to be quite honest. I don't really care. I've been powerless to stop my daughter from dying three times now, and I'm not going to let it happen a fourth. I can't deny that I'm worried he won't even hear me out, too.
"I'm not Elena. I'm Katherine. I used a passenger spell – traveler magic – to possess her body when I died. But please, just listen!
"The reason I'm telling you this is because Tyler bit Nadia. She's dying, Stefan, and there's no way in hell Klaus would give me his blood to save her. He would love nothing more than to force me to watch my daughter die right before my eyes." I spit the last part, although I don't tell him I know from experience. "Matt still has the traveler knife; you saw me use it on Gregor. You know it works.
"I'll- I'll let you expel me. You can follow me around and never let me out of your sight; in Elena's body, you're faster than me anyway. But please… Caroline would be able to get some of his blood, right? I know you hate me, and I can't really blame you for that right now. But this isn't… it isn't for me. I just want my daughter to live. I know she's not the most popular with you all either, but… she's innocent, Stefan. Really, she is." I look up at him and meet his eyes. "The only thing she's ever wanted was to be with her mother. I can't give her that, but… she deserves a real life. I know she's done some not-so-great things, but so has everyone… and she was just trying to save the mother she searched for for so long.
"She doesn't deserve to die…"
Finally, I pause, and he responds. "Okay." I can feel the relief in my expression. "But you're staying right next to me the whole time. I'll convince Caroline to get some of Klaus's blood, we'll pick up the traveler knife, and then we'll wait till Caroline gets back. I'll let you stay by her side until she's cured and say goodbye. But then I'm bringing Elena back."
"Thank you," I say quietly. I know that I can count on Stefan. If nothing else, I know he understands that Nadia shouldn't have to die.
He talks to Caroline, and although she's massively resistant at first to helping 'Katherine's daughter,' he manages to convince her. She might feel otherwise if my identity was revealed, but Stefan keeps it to himself for now.
And so, she rushes off to New Orleans, already on the phone with Klaus, and Stefan and I go back to Nadia.
"K- Elena?" Nadia catches herself quickly. "What are you two doing here…?"
Translation: why on earth did I bring Stefan. I kneel back down next to her, Stefan close enough to easily catch me if I tried to run but far enough for me to pretend we have some privacy. "It's okay. I told him."
"What? That's not okay!" she objects. "You're…"
"Going to be expelled. I know." I take her hands in my own. "But Caroline is on her way to Klaus right now. Stefan talked her into getting some of his blood to save you."
"But they're going to kill you."
I move one of my hands to stroke her hair. "But you'll be able to live. …I'd much rather you get to live than sitting around and letting you die. Klaus wouldn't give me his blood, and there's no other way to cure it… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just let you die without doing anything I could to save you-"
"And how do you think I'm going to feel knowing you died saving me?!" she interrupts, her voice a mixture of anger and betrayal as she pulls away as best she can.
"…Awful, I know. But I'm your mother, and it's my job to protect you. …I want to. I had to."
"Selfish," is all she says. I can tell she's trying to avoid getting emotional with Stefan here. After a pause, she continues. "I never would have asked you for that. I don't want to live at your expense…!"
I can't deny being taken aback. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, all things considered. Not when she spent her whole life searching for me. I pull her into my arms and hug her tight. At first she seems not to respond, but soon she returns it. I know that under her anger, it's really because she's starting to grieve already. "I'm sorry we can't both live," I say softly, stroking her hair. "I wish it were possible, but… it's not. And I meant everything I said before. When I look back on my life… I've done pretty much everything I ever wanted. Most importantly, I was able to know you. But… I also lived a lot before then. Nadia, you spent your whole life trying to find me. You deserve more."
She doesn't answer, but I feel a drop of water fall onto my shoulder.
"It's going to be okay," I murmur.
"It's not."
I can't really object. I can't even reassure her that I'll always be with her from the Other Side, because I know it's possible I won't even go there, and it feels too wrong to lie. "Обичам те, ми Надя," I say instead. I love you, my Nadia.
"И аз те обичам… Не искам да те загубя," she answers. I love you too… I don't want to lose you. "…мама..."
'Mama.'
I hold her just a little tighter, cautious because I don't want to hurt her. Neither of us knows what to say, and we stay like this for a while, until I murmur, "I'm afraid you're going to fall asleep like this." The reason to be afraid for her falling asleep doesn't need to be stated. I feel a small nod and assure her, "There'll be more time for this after they give you the cure. Stefan promised, and… he'll keep his word about that."
I'm not sure that she trusts him, but I do. At least about this.
We talk a while longer, and it hurts so much to see her condition slowly worsen. Occasionally she gets hit by waves of pain, and all I can do is hold her hand and stroke her hair, reassuring her that Caroline should be on her way back with some of Klaus's blood by now.
It feels like a million years later, but finally, she arrives. Stefan accepts it, thanks her, and tells her he'll explain later after he notices her looking at us strangely. He brings the vial of blood to us, and I can't help but to break into a smile of relief. I'm a 'believe it when I see it' type who wants to see it take effect before I can fully relax, though. I help her sit up and she drinks it. Gently, I roll up her sleeve and watch the bite heal. It's only then that the relief sinks in, and I hug her tightly. "I did it," I say softly. "I… I saved you."
She nods, and I know she's less than happy because she knows it means I'm going to be expelled soon. Still, she hugs me back just as tightly, and I know she doesn't want to let go.
"All I want is for you to be happy," I tell her. "I know you'll miss me. But… don't forget that, okay? Live for me." I start to pull away to give her a smile, but she doesn't let me. So instead, I stroke her hair again, content to stay like this as long as she wants. I know that means forever, and I wish with all my heart that it was possible.
"Even if you can't see me," I add, "I'm always supporting you. И аз винаги ще те обичам." And I will always love you.
"Аз също," she promises. Me too. It's in a near-silent plea that she finally says, "Не ги пускай." Don't let go.
"I wish I didn't have to."
"Така че не…!" Then don't…! I assume she's more comfortable talking in Bulgarian so Stefan won't hear her vulnerability, or at least not what exactly she's saying.
I kiss the top of her head before murmuring, "Съжалявам." I'm sorry. And with that, I pull away. I can see the pain in her eyes, and the way she tries not to let it on further, and both hurt. Even so, she'll survive. She'll be okay. And that's all that matters to me. I stand, looking at Stefan to show him I'm ready to uphold my end of the bargain. As he approaches, I look back to Nadia, holding her hand. "You don't have to watch this."
I know she must know how difficult it would be to see, and yet her grip on my hand tightens. "I'm not leaving you."
I have mixed feelings on that, but since Stefan is approaching, all I say is, "Сбогом, ми Надя."
'Goodbye, my Nadia.'
"Do you want me to tell you when?" Stefan asks. Whether it's something of a final courtesy, pity for Nadia having to witness it, or awkwardness about having to kill the woman he used to love, I don't know. Probably anything except that last one, sadly.
"…Tell me when," I decide. And then: "…Goodbye, Stefan."
He doesn't reply to that. "Three…" he says, and I know he's beginning a countdown. "Two…" I can feel myself unconsciously holding on tighter to Nadia's hand as I come closer and closer to my once-and-for-all death. She doesn't respond, I can only imagine how painful this must be for her to witness… "One."
The knife is plunged into my side, and I stagger. Nadia catches me before I fall, and I manage to turn just enough to hug her back. I can hear the whispers of fleeting consciousness buzzing in my ears. It's funny… I never would have thought I'd end up dying in somebody's arms. It's comforting.
I don't fight the inevitable. My consciousness fades to black…
…
…
.
