Hello my darlings :) I hope you all enjoy it. As always, I only own my OC and story line.

Ten years previously…

"I will not stay here, Elijah!"

"Katherine, be reasonable. This is your home."

"My home is wherever I choose it to be!"

"All I'm asking you to do is to reconsider. Think about your options. Our entire life is here…"

"I don't want it to be! I want to get out of this town! I finally have the chance to do that and you want me to stay. There's nothing to stay for!" Katherine screamed, throwing her hands wildly into the air and glaring fiercely at her husband.

Stunned into submission and silence by his young wife's speech, Elijah stared dumbfounded at the woman and tried, with great failure, not to feel angry, rejected, and worthless. He had known the year before when he had married her against the wishes of his parents just what he was getting himself in for. Katherine was a wild beast that not even the most experienced of handler could ever tame. She played to her own tune and followed her whims wherever they took her. It had always been the thing that attracted Elijah to her. Now, it was the very thing that would become the undoing of their short marriage.

"What about me? Am I not worth staying for?"

With one hand resting on her hip, Katherine stared at Elijah momentarily before scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Elijah. This is not about you."

"If I'm not enough to make you stay…" Elijah continued, determined to win even as it became abundantly clear that he was losing the battle. "…then what about Lacy? Think about her. She's only thirteen."

"Urgh, Lacy will be fine! She's got my dad and his new wife. Lacy will be fine without me! You just don't want me to go!"

"You're damn right I don't!"

Balling her fists into her mass of silky curls, Katherine stomped her foot like a impatient toddler and let out a half-scream of pure frustration. She could not understand as to why Elijah was treating her in such a way; why he was acting like she was doing wrong when all she was trying to do was follow her dream.

"Elijah, please, I have a chance to join one of New York most prestigious PR companies. I was hand-picked for this internship! Do you have any idea how important this is?! Things like this don't happen every day!"

"I understand that. Jesus, Katherine! All I'm asking you to do is to think for a bloody minute before you run off to New York and leave me behind!"

"You're the one who's choosing to stay behind. Don't you dare put this on me."

Feeling the anger swelling up inside of his chest, Elijah forced himself to take a number of deep breaths with the intention of sating his rage. It was true. He had made the decision to remain in Mystic Falls and continue to work at the Publishing company that his family owned. He had already gone against his parents by marrying Katherine. He did not want to disappoint them further by abandoning the family business and them as well.

"You know I can't leave. Katherine-"

"Yeah, yeah! I get it! Elijah Mikaelson, the good little boy who does everything his mommy and daddy tells him to. For once in your life, put yourself and me first!"

"What the hell did you think I was doing when I married you?!" he yelled, closing the short space between himself and Katherine and bearing over her. "I love you. I married you. We're barely out of college. We haven't even been married a year and you want to run away."

Slapping Elijah with ever molecule of force she could muster from deep within her adrenaline fuelled body, Katherine watched her husband's head snap to the left and she cursed out loud as the flesh of her palm stung wildly.

"How dare you! Our marriage is not a tool for you to use to make me feel guilty. I love you more than you could ever imagine, Elijah, but if think I'm going to put your happiness before my own then you're a fool. I am Katherine Pierce and I will not be confined to a life of a Mikaelson with 'Friday night dinners' and you're meddling mother. Let me make this very clear to you… you have a choice. Stay or come with me."

Torn between his duty as a son and his duty as a husband, Elijah remained quiet as he contemplated his options. His love for Katherine had spun a number of years. He loved her with such passion and intensity that it chilled him to the core. Yet, he felt a strong sense of obligation and responsibility to those who shared his blood. He could not just abandon them with no thought to the consequences.

Having remained silent for too long, Katherine sighed heavily at Elijah. Inside of her chest, she felt her heart break in two. His face displayed his choice so clearly and he had not chosen her. Allowing herself only a moment to wallow in self-pity, Katherine mentally scolded herself for such weakness and held her head high; pushing her shoulders back and exuding an air of unwavering confidence.

Placing her back to Elijah, Katherine walked a few steps forward until she was only centimetres away from the front door to the tiny apartment they had spent their married life in. Removing the slim, gold ring from the fourth finger of her left hand, Katherine let it drop to the floor. It clattered and clanged for some seconds before finally halting. Without faltering, she opened the door to her marital home and stepped out; banging the door closed and ending her connection to Elijah.

"Elijah never told me he was married." Hayley stated, unsure of what to say or how to act now that she was faced with a very present reminder of Elijah's past.

Keeping her eyes on Elijah, Katherine felt a slight sting at his expression; a smile of forced politeness and eyes vacant from any warmth.

"I'm hurt. I thought I'd at least warrant a passing in conversation." Katherine replied with a smirk.

Knowing her sister as she did, Lacy knew that if the conversation where allowed to progress any further then a fight would break out amongst the ex-spouses; Katherine Pierce was not one for backing down or letting others have the last word.

"Then again, I suppose it's difficult to sum me up in just a sentence…"

"'Heinous bitch' comes to mind." muttered Klaus; whose comment earned him a sharp look of disapproval from Lacy.

"I mean, looking at how cosy you two are together, I can't imagine you and your little girlfriend have had the dreaded 'exes' chat yet. Let me save you the trouble…"

Standing abruptly, Elijah gripped the table with the tips of his fingers and watched as Katherine focused her attention solely on the shocked looking Hayley who sat beside him.

"Katherine." he warned; wanting to protect Hayley from Katherine's wrath and snide comments.

"We met. We fell in love. Got married way too young, and when it came time for Elijah to choose… he chose his family… like he always does. Don't for a second think you'll be any different. You will always be second best. If you want my advice-"

"I don't." Hayley interrupted; though it did little to deter Katherine from her mission.

"Run. Get as far away from his messed up family before it's too late."

Fixing her mouth into a smile, Hayley stood slowly and broke her eye contact with Katherine. Kissing Elijah gently on the cheek, she uttered a goodbye.

"Lacy, thanks for dinner."

"I'll show you out." Lacy said quickly, following Hayley out of the room.

Once the door was shut securely and Elijah was confident Hayley would not be returning, he rounded on Katherine. His body was so full of anger but he remained calm; the shock of seeing her for the first time in a decade helping to contain his fire.

"I hope you're pleased with yourself."

"Naturally."

"She is a nice girl who has done absolutely nothing to deserve being treated like that."

"I was just giving her some advice. But now that I think about it… she was a bit young. Does your mother know you're dating a toddler?"

Smirking, Klaus let out a dry laugh at Katherine's comment and the sigh of exasperation it emitted from his older brother.

"Niklaus, do not encourage her."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare, brother. I'm just revelling in the fact that Mother will now have something else to focus on besides my love life."

"Speaking of which…" Katherine said, tearing herself away from Elijah who began to gather his possessions. "I'm going to be sticking around for a while. If you upset her - if you so much as put a frown on that beautiful, perfect face of hers because of your bimbo baby momma - I'm going to cut off your balls and feed them to the dogs. Is that understood… Niklaus?"

"That's enough, Katherine." Lacy exclaimed upon her return.

Giving Klaus one last look to ensure that the man knew she was entirely serious in her threat, Katherine turned to her sister and smiled reassuringly at the woman.

"We were just catching up."

"Whatever. I don't need this right now. You can stay in my old room." she replied, beckoning for Katherine to follow her and sighing with relief when she did.

Alone, together, Klaus and Elijah eyed one another carefully. With great exasperation, Elijah collapsed back down into the seat and rubbed his temples.

"Well… this is going to get interesting." Klaus mused.


"I want her gone." Klaus stated with a tone that signaled it was not up for discussion.

Knowing that her older sister was still sleeping, Lacy poured her daily dose of coffee into her favourite travel mug as she continued to ready herself for the work day ahead.

"She's my sister."

"You've barely seen her in ten years. The woman abandoned you like she did Elijah. She left you with that woman."

"She's my family."

Slamming his fist down onto the cold, marble-effect counter-top, Klaus seethed with irritation. He could not fathom why Lacy had suddenly become so attached to Katherine.

"I am your family!" he yelled; the noise vibrating off the walls and echoing around the room.

Lowering his voice, Klaus grabbed Lacy by the wrist and let his eyes fall onto hers. Even with Lacy, the woman who had meant the world and more to him since the very first day they had met as children, Klaus despised the weakness caring for another brought out in him. Pride always came before a fall and Lacy was unintentionally making him throw aside his pride and beg for something more from her.

"Me. I'm your family. Me, Elijah, Rebekah…" he teetered off before pressing his forehead to hers and breathing in her scent. "You don't need anyone else."

Placing a palm to his cheek, Lacy squeezed her eyes shut for only the briefest of seconds. She opened them moments later and let her hand slip from Klaus' face and back down to her side.

It was the absolute truth that Klaus and his siblings were her family; they had cared for her, loved her, protected her and taken her in good and bad times. Klaus was her best-friend and soul mate. Even the disapproval of Esther and Mikael was of no concern to her. Yet, there was a deep-rooted desire within Lacy that had taken seed from the instant she had come face to face with a pregnant Caroline. She wanted her big sister. She needed her own blood around her - someone who had her best interests in mind whilst she focused on being all that Klaus needed.

"I need her. She's staying and I won't hear another word about it, Nik."

"Lacy!"

"Do not push me, Niklaus."

Stomping away from him, Klaus observed her with a mixture of annoyance, anger at her refusal to send Katherine away, and amazement at how pushed his emotional buttons like no-one else.

Chasing after her, he caught her by the elbow and swung her around to him. Her lengthy chocolate-brown locks were styled in lose waves that seemed to exude a wildness and matched the same expression located in her doe-like eyes.

"What now?" she asked, exasperated and desperate to leave for work where she could be distracted from the changes in her private life.

"One week. That's it. After that, she's gone."

"Nik-"

"I'm compromising here, love, and you know how much I hate to compromise. She can stay for a week. Whatever it is you need her for that you can't get from me… you have til then to get it. This is your only choice, sweetheart. She doesn't belong here. She's bad for you and bad for Elijah."

"That's not fair. Elijah is a grown man. He and Katherine can sort their own shit out."

"And you?"

Hesitating, Lacy pondered on her own issues. She had not yet completely figured out why she so badly needed her sister's presence but one thing was clearly obvious to her; the answer would not please Klaus.

"I-"

The one word had hardly left her lips before she was interrupted by the shrill noise of a ringing phone. Keeping his one hand wrapped around Lacy's elbow, Klaus gave the woman an apologetic look as he reached into his pants pocket and fished out his phone. Harshly pressing the 'answer button' he snapped down the phone at the caller.

"What? I'm in the middle of something!"

He listened for what seemed like a long time to Lacy but was in fact only a minute or two. She watched his face turn to stone; his eyebrows furrowing into a concerned frown and his voice straining as he replied in short, sharp sentences.

"What's wrong?" she enquired as soon as Klaus had ended the call.

"It's Caroline. She thinks there's something wrong with the baby."

"Oh."

It was all that Lacy could think to say. Her heart stopped for a second and she held her breath.

"I have to go." Klaus said; hurriedly placing a chaste kiss on Lacy's cheek and surging off. "One week!" he yelled back in reminder, and then he was gone.

Standing alone in the kitchen, Lacy was paralysed. The hands of the clock ticked by and she became evidently aware that she would be late for work if she did not move from the spot. From the corner, a noise disturbed her from her solitude and she turned to see Katherine leaning against the door frame; a look on her face that made Lacy feel as if she was being reprimanded.

"And so it begins." Katherine stated.

"What are you on about?" Lacy replied; busying herself with meaningless tasks as she cleared away Klaus's travel mug and papers for the day.

Advancing deeper into the room. Katherine leaned against the counter top and gazed at her younger sister like a hawk.

"He's always going to put that baby first."

"So he should. It's his child."

"But it's not yours. Does that mean you have to make sacrifices for it too?" Katherine reasoned.

"I love him." was all Lacy said in response.

"Do you want to be a mom? Because you'll be giving up everything for him… and it won't just be the two of you. That baby momma of his will always come before you too. That's the way those men work. Mikaelson men put everyone else before the women they claim to love."

"Me and Nik are not you and Elijah. Besides, you left him for a job. The guy adored you. Can you really blame him for holding a grudge?"

Stung, Katherine pulled herself to her full height and decided that further action was needed in order to protect her sister from the grasp of the Mikaelson family. She had failed her once by leaving; now she would save her by returning.

"What happened with me and Elijah wasn't that simple. You were a child. You have no idea why I left."

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit, Katherine! You left for your job. You gave up a really great guy to go lead some single life in New York! Nik has been my best-friend since I was eight! You've been gone for the last ten years. You have no idea what's gone on in my life."

Laughing dryly, Katherine rounded on her sister and stared the woman down.

"You honestly think I don't know about your life? About what that woman put you through? Your graduations? Your boyfriends? Your abortion?"

"How'd-"

"Just because I left doesn't mean I stopped caring about you. You and me are not as different as you'd like to think. I know about your life because I took an interest. You never bothered to ask about mine."

"Katherine-"

"I know why you ran away when you found out Klaus was going to be a dad - why you're still contemplating running away even now - you don't want to be a mother. You might love Klaus but that does not mean you should be with him."

"I love him. Why is that so hard for you to understand? Baby or no baby."

Tugging at her own curls, Katherine hated how stubborn her sister was being.

"I know you love him! Just like I loved Elijah! Jesus, I'd have done anything for that man. I still would!"

"You left him for that job. It's your own fault."

"I didn't just leave him for the job! I mean - yes - I left for the job but I was ready to come back two weeks in. I missed him that much. I was pathetic."

Confused, Lacy struggled to comprehend the new information that was being presented to her. She had always assumed that Katherine had left and had never wanted to return. It was how Elijah had always penned it.

"Then why didn't you?"

"Simple… I found out I was pregnant and I realised that if I returned, I would be suffocated by his family. Elijah always did as his mother said and Esther would never allow us to raise our child away from Mystic Falls. So I stayed in New York. Don't you see? If you stay with Klaus, the exact same thing will happen to you. It already is."

"Wait. Hold up, one goddamn second. You were pregnant?! How did I not know about this?!"

Rolling her eyes, Katherine grimaced at Lacy.

"Change your clothes. If I have to tell you all the sordid details, I'm going to damn well have a constant supply of wine whilst I do so."

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