Chapter Ten: Ready or Not

"Are you still feeling ill, dear? Are you sure it's not the flu?" Mrs. Connors frowned as she walked into Katherine's room. She had been feeling sick ever since she half-filled the application to the café. The manager was a nineteen year old kid, one bash of an eyelash and the job would be hers.

The problem was her. Or more importantly what was happening to her. After 500 years she had finally gotten sick. Except she didn't know what was making her so sick. She was just tired, grouchy, and worst of all vomiting every time she put something in her mouth.

What if it was cancer or a tumor? She shook her head. Katherine was freaking herself out.

"Maybe." Katherine said. She was resting on her bed, grateful that Mrs. Connors felt even a small amount of pity towards Katherine. She didn't remember what the flu felt like.

Katherine held a cold compress to her upset stomach in hopes that it would settle down.

Mrs. Connors put down a big bowl of chicken soup in front of her. "Here, I made you a nice lunch."

Katherine's smile fell. "Thanks, Mrs. Connors, but I'm not really hungry."

"It will help, dear I promise." Mrs. Connors encouraged.

Katherine took small sips. She didn't have the heart to tell the old lady no, especially since she was the only person that had treated Katherine with actual decency.

Mrs. Connors laughed softly.

Katherine looked up. "What?"

"Oh, nothing dear just an old lady being silly by myself," she smiled. '"It's just your symptoms remind me of when I was pregnant with my daughter-oh, I always felt like such a mess. When someone was pregnant back then, we used to say that she had the baby blues."

Katherine nearly spit out her soup. A baby? Her, yeah right. She paused. She remembered feeling like this when she had been pregnant with her daughter in Bulgaria 1490. And she knew that she could carry a child again. She got a nice, icky reminded every month with an additional gift of cramps and a bloated stomach.

But she hadn't had sex in a year not since she had been turned human. The only person she had, had sex with was-"Son of a-!"

Caroline blinked towards her friends who had delivered some unexpected news. "What do you mean, Katherine left while you were in New York?"

"She didn't leave exactly," Stefan didn't really feel like elaborating. "Damon kind of kicked her out."

"Why?"

"From what I can gather she brought up stuff from Elena that didn't make him happy."

Caroline's face darkened. "Well, good riddance then. Katherine, doesn't even deserve a warm welcome after everything she put us through," she paused. "Still, I can't help but feel a bit bad for her, I mean she is human now and something tells me she hasn't worked a day in her life."

A slow understanding smile appeared on Stefan's face. "I get your point. I don't think I will ever forgive her for what she did to Elena, but I made peace with it. The point is that Elena is dead and Katherine is not and part of me wants her to live the normal, human life she never could."

Caroline squeezed Stefan's shoulder. "Oh, Stefan you big old softie. Speaking of which where's he who shall not be named? How is he taking it, any guilt?"

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think?"

Caroline and Stefan turned towards the bar at the grill where Damon was having tequila shots while Matt tried to keep his distance. They could both hear Damon because he was practically shouting.

He raised his glass. "I would like to make a toast, to the end of a reign by the psychotic bitch we all love to hate, Miss Katherine Pierce!"

Stefan turned to face Caroline. "What do you think?"

Katherine practically ran to the ladies aisle in the only pharmacy in town, practically knocking people down with her little red carry out basket. She knew she was being completely stupid. There was no way that she could be pregnant, especially since the only sex she had, had ever since she became human was with a vampire.

There was a tiny cluster of take home pregnancy tests with pictures of smiling women and daisies in the counter. Katherine let out a snort as she plastically shoved half of the take home tests into her little basket.

Katherine waited impatiently in line to pay for her stuff. "Next." The bored, gum chewing college girl said. Her eyes widened when she saw the ten different pregnancy stick she put on the counter. "Honey, are you sure you need all of this?"

"I know what I'm doing, honey," she snapped as she put down a bunch of crinkled bills on the counter. "Now ring me up."

Later that evening, Katherine slumped against the bathroom wall begging the universe to just kill her right then and now. Katherine felt a lump in her throat, and she didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry.

She closed her eyes, she really wished that the universe would end her here and now. It really would be kinder. On the bathroom floor there were ten pregnancy tests all with a cheerful pink plus.

The damage was done. She was pregnant. With Damon's baby. It had to be Damon's he had been the only one she had slept with.

She rubbed her index fingers against her forehead. "Oh, god what am I going to do with a baby?"

"Katherine," Mrs. Connors knocked on the door worriedly. "Are you ok? You've been in there a long time."

Katherine cleared her throat. "I'm fine."

The next thought almost came instantly to her. She rested her hand on her belly. She needed to get rid of it. An abortion.

-End of Chapter Ten-

Thank you so much for your reviews! Damon and Kat are going to have trouble accepting the fact that they are going to be a Daddy and a Mommy.