PART 30

Elijah's gaze fell on Damon as he turned the corner that led to the basement. He stood, leaning against the locked door. His stance wobbled and Elijah wondered when was the last time he had gotten any sleep. His eyes were slowly dropping closed. Elijah's feet shuffled on the ground and the sound alerted Damon to his presence. Damon shook his head roughly and opened his eyes wide in an attempt to wake himself up as Elijah reached the cell's entrance.

Elijah looked through the bars on the door. Stefan rolled around on the ground, clutching the material of his shirt as his body twisted. Damon watched his brother with a sad expression. Elijah glanced at Damon and watched as he watched Stefan. Katherine's steps halted behind them and Elijah spared her a glance over his shoulder. "Open the door, Damon" he said. Damon looked away from his brother and to Elijah. Elijah tilted his head as Damon looked at him.

Damon kept his gaze on Elijah as he slowly reached into his pocket for the keys. Damon fished his key rings out of his pocket and began to finger through them for the key to the cell door. "Don't bother," Elijah said. He reached out his hand and laid a few on his fingers in the hook of the lock. Elijah pulled on the metal and it broke away from the door easily. Damon raised his eye brows as the clank of metal breaking echoed off the walls.

Elijah held the broken lock out to Damon and dropped it in his hands. Damon looked at it and tossed it over his shoulder. Katherine moved to the side to avoid the lock hitting her shoulder. Elijah slid the bolt free, swinging the door open. "Wait here," Elijah said holding his hand out in front of Damon and Katherine. His arm brushed Katherine's stomach and she stilled. Elijah pretended not to notice, but his eyes shifted back towards her briefly.

Elijah kept his steps slow as he approached Stefan. Damon and Katherine watched at the door. "What's he going to do," Damon whispered over his shoulder to Katherine. "No idea," Katherine answered. Elijah reached down and grabbed Stefan by his shirt collar. He held Stefan in front of him, "Where's Klaus?" Elijah asked. Stefan's head lulled back and he glared at Elijah. Elijah shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Wrong answer again, " he said, throwing Stefan against the brick wall.

Stefan grunted as he hit the wall, sliding down it before he landed on the sleeping cot. Damon's jaw tensed and he took a step into the cell. Katherine grabbed his arm, forcefully, stilling his advance. Her grip stopped Damon in his tracks. Damon looked back at Katherine, glaring daggers at her.

Katherine shook her head, "I wouldn't advise that," she said.

"Nor would I," Elijah agreed over his shoulder. Damon turned around to see Elijah standing in front of his brother. Damon may not have wanted to, but he took a step back. Katherine let go of Damon's shoulder and her attention turned back to Elijah.

"Stefan, we've been through this…it's really very simple" "I ask the questions…you answer them," Elijah explained. Stefan turned his head away from Elijah and let his body slump down the wall. Elijah's hand shot out and wrapped around Stefan's neck. Stefan was dragged up the wall slowly, by Elijah's grip, until they were face to face.

"Where…are…they?" Elijah asked again, his grip tightened with every word. Stefan's face shifted back to normal and he coughed loudly.

Elijah watched as he choked…"Hmmm?" he asked, still tightening his grip. Stefan coughed again, and Elijah released his grip.

"I didn't catch that," Elijah said. Stefan hunched over, rubbing his neck as he struggled to breathe again.

Elijah patted his back, "Where?" he asked as Stefan continued to try and form words. "Do you want blood Stefan?" Stefan looked up as Elijah said the word "blood." "Where are they!" Elijah yelled, angry. Stefan flinched away from him.

He coughed one more time…"They…" he coughed again, before he finished. "Covington.." he was finally able to get out. Elijah raised his eye brows, and leaned closer to him as he struggled with his words.

"Where?" he asked.

"They're at Covington Pier." Elijah moved from his place on the cot, Stefan finally relaxed, and his body slumped. Elijah reached down to the ground and picked up a bag of untouched animal blood, tossing it to Stefan. Stefan looked down on it in disbelief.

"You said you would give me blood!" he said furious. Elijah turned back towards him as he was heading to the door, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I said, I would give you BLOOD..I didn't say what kind." Elijah clarified. Stefan threw the blood bag at Elijah. Elijah dodged it easily, not even moving his hands from his pockets. He turned slowly and picked up the blood. Elijah sped across the room to him. His eyes locked with Stefan's and Stefan's mouth went slack.

Katherine and Damon watched as Elijah compelled him. Stefan's head nodded and he picked up the blood, tearing into it, he began to drink. Elijah stepped away from the cot, strolling across the cell's interior. He grabbed the bars on the door and shut it with a satisfying thud. Damon and Katherine watched over his shoulder as Stefan finished the first blood bag and scrambled around on the ground for another.

"You're going to need more blood," Elijah said to Damon. Damon nodded his head and turned on his heel, heading for the fridge. Elijah turned to Katherine, "I'm driving," she said, turning and going in the same direction they'd just seen Damon disappear in.

Katherine yanked the door of her bedroom open and crossed to one of her dressers. The suitcases had been out of place after Elijah had come back and they'd locked up Stefan. It wasn't long before she'd moved back in. "You're not coming," she heard Elijah say behind her. He'd followed her from the cell.

She ignored him as she pulled the middle drawer out. She reached into the back and grabbed at the fake back. She gripped the wood in her fingers and pulled. Elijah watched her, curious what she was doing. The back gave away easily and Katherine wrapped her fingers around what she'd hidden there. She let out a heavy breath as she grabbed the handle. Elijah watched as Katherine's back stiffened and she froze. Her hold tightened and she began to second guess what she was doing. Would doing this make her as dumb as Elena?

Katherine turned away from her dresser quickly, before she changed her mind. Elijah's eyes met hers as she turned around, her hair swung around her. Katherine kept her gaze on his, a death grip on one of her most prized possessions. It was heavy in her hand. Elijah's gaze shifted from her face and he looked at what she was holding. His eyes widened, and he looked back up at her. "You…?" he began to question. Katherine cut him off before he could continue.

"It was on accident that I found out how to kill Klaus…" Elijah watched as her finger traced the blade in her hand. "…and you," she continued, her gaze snapped back up to his. She turned, quickly, and began to step towards him. "Then, once I knew…I made sure that I had my very own white oak ash dagger…" Elijah's eyes locked with hers as she stepped towards him. Her feet moved slowly. Katherine waved the dagger between them when she was standing in front of Elijah.

"It wasn't really that hard to track one down." "You start killing the right people…" she trailed off, drawing the tip of the blade down the side of his neck, stopping when the tip rested on the edge of his top shirt button. "And…before you know it…you've got yourself your very own original-killing cherry on top."

Elijah grabbed her wrist roughly, yanking her arm away from him. The weight of the dagger blade vanished as the dagger left his neck. Katherine gasped, and looked straight ahead. Her eyes focused on his chest. The same spot where she'd just had the blade. Swallowing, she yanked her arm away from his grip and let her arm fall back to her side.

"But I never got to use it." she pointed out. Elijah glared at her as she spoke. Katherine took in a long, shaky breath before she continued. "I had a family Elijah, but he took them from me, he took everything that I had!" Her eyes stared into his, begging him for understanding. Elijah's gaze soften a bit and his muscles let loose their tension. Katherine took a step backwards away from him, breathing hard. Her eyes stayed on his as she did, because no matter how hard she tried, she found she couldn't break his gaze. His closeness was suffocating her. She clenched her teeth and tried to control her breathing.

Elijah took a step towards her. Katherine's breath hitched and she looked up at him. She focused on getting her breathing under control. "He took my family Elijah…" Elijah heard the sadness in her voice and his breath caught in his throat. "Just as he took yours," she said softly. Elijah looked away from her as those words left her mouth. Katherine stopped and stretched out her hand towards him. It stilled in the space between them before she could rest it on his shoulder. She dropped it to her side, turning away from him.

"He's taken so much…from so many people," she observed quietly. "It's been over 500 years…,"she trailed off. "Dammit! "I've earned the right to watch him die," she yelled. Katherine turned slowly towards Elijah, stepping up to him. "And so have you," she said, holding the dagger out towards him.

Elijah heard everything she said. He looked up slowly and saw that the dagger blade was facing towards him. Elijah stopped breathing. His mouth dropped open and he stared at the curve of the blade. His guard had been down. She could have killed him if she wanted to. He looked at her in disbelief. Her gaze caught his. He saw no deceit anywhere in her eyes. Katherine had told him the truth. She had meant everything she said.

His eyes bore into hers as he reached for the dagger's handle. His fingers gently closed around the cool metal and he started to take it from her. Her fingers slowly wrapped around his as the dagger slid from her hand. The contact had been brief and light, but still it made his fingers tingle as he moved his hand back. Her skin was warm and soft.

Everything in him ached to feel her skin again. Elijah looked at her, taking a step forward. There was fear in her eyes. She was scared. He wanted to tell her not to be. That he would protect her with everything he had. But the words stopped in his throat before they could fall from his lips. He clenched his hand into a tight fist at his side. He could not reach for her.

Katherine did not back away from him, she held have ground. He was so close that they were breathing each other's air. Katherine's eyes stayed locked on his. "You're driving," he finally said.