"You're dying." Elijah repeated, the words sounding foreign even to him. He could barely focus his thoughts let alone process his emotions.

Glancing over at her, Elijah almost expected she would take back the words she just said. Life would be so much easier if she did. But she didn't. She simply sat there looking out the window without speaking another word, other than the sentence she spoke a few minutes ago. She was dying. His beloved Katerina was dying.

"How?" Elijah finally asked trying his best to keep his emotions in check though it was quite difficult to. The woman he still loved was dying. It felt like a giant slap from the universe.

Katherine exhaled slowly. The last thing she wanted was to talk about this. She only told him because she didn't have the heart to go to this dinner, talk to him and give him false hope only to drop the bomb on him later. "Well. Let's see. After Elena shoved the cure down my throat I went into hiding. When I came back I stayed with the Salvatores for protection. But eventually, Damon sold me out to Silas. The bastard sucked the cure out of me and killed me. Or so he thought anyway. But I survived. Sort of. Without the cure in my system, my body is aging to the age I was as a vampire. Five hundred."

Elijah stilled at her words as guilt like no other came crashing down on him. It was his fault. He gave up the cure when she gave it to him. If he hadn't, Elena Gilbert would've never had the opportunity to turn her human in the first place. "I'm sorry." He whispered turning his eyes away from her, mainly out of shame.

"Don't. Don't do that. I hate those pitiful I'm sorry's. It's fine. There's nothing you can do." Katherine muttered and crossed her arms, trying to appear stronger than she felt at the moment.

"I was not apologizing because I pity you. I was apologizing because it is my fault. You gave me the cure as a show of your feelings for me. And not only did I not believe you, but I also gave it to the Salvatores. It is my fault you are dying."

Katherine remained silent when he spoke. She knew he was right. After all, she too had blamed him before last night. Even now she guessed she still did a little, deep down. But she was willing to put it aside. Maybe because she still cared about him, or maybe because she was just desperate to be loved and cared for by someone. Anyone. Maybe it was just a combination of both. "It isn't. I mean, it is in a way but, it isn't just your fault. I could've chosen to not go after Elena. I didn't have to come back to the Salvatores and ask for their protection." She sighed softly and ran her fingers through her curls. "What I'm saying is, I also made choices that got me into this mess. Perhaps those choices wouldn't have led to this situation if you hadn't made your own choices but...who's to say really?" It wasn't exactly an 'I forgive you' but it was honestly the best she could do. And they both knew it.

Elijah nodded, processing her words. Eventually he knew he wouldn't get anything better. Not that he deserved it. "Very well. In that case, do you still wish to go to dinner?"

It took Katherine a few seconds to actually answer. She definitely didn't feel like sitting through a meal with Elijah after confessing to him that she was dying. It was strange. Considering she went for a drink with Klaus when she told him. But Elijah was different. Because he actually cared about her, and she hated the fact that her fate was causing him pain. Not so much because he didn't deserve it, but more because seeing him like that happened to hurt her as well. And she went through enough these past two days without having to endure Elijah's pitying stares and forced smiles on top of it all. However she ended up slowly nodding at the question. Mostly because she was hungry and the last thing she wanted was to eat back at the house near Klaus. "One rule though. No talking about this. I, I just want to forget about my fate for tonight and enjoy a nice meal with you."

Elijah looked ready to protest, but when he saw the defeated look in her eyes he simply nodded. "As you wish." Once out of the car, he opened the door for her and began to lead her into the restaurant.

When Katherine reluctantly agreed to still have dinner with Elijah, she didn't think she would actually have a good time. She thought they would eat their meal in awkward silence and then drive back in even more silence. But so far Elijah made her laugh twice and made her smile about a million. She had forgotten just how much she enjoyed spending time with him. "By the way, I don't think I ever thanked you for last night." She said softly and took a sip of her drink. The words 'thank you' weren't something she said often. So whenever she did say them, it was certain she meant them. "For staying with me." She continued as her lips shaped into a warm smile. "I believe that was the second time you've carried me to my bed since I've been here. Keep that up and I'll start to think you're some kind of prince." She teased playfully, genuinely just having the best of time with him. Until he spoke of course.

"What are you talking about?" Elijah asked raising an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"You know. The first night I-" Katherine stopped in her words when she suddenly realized it must've been Klaus who carried her that night. The thought both made her sick to her stomach and extremely confused. And if the two hadn't gotten into an argument this morning, she was sure she would've interrogated him about it. "Never mind. I was pretty out of it that night."

Elijah's small frown remained but he accepted her answer nonetheless since it was obvious whatever it was, she had no intention of further discussing it. "Alright. Well, would you like to order dessert? This place serves a fantastic chocolate cake." He offered as a smile made its way back to his face.

"No, that's okay. I think if I eat another bite of anything I'll explode." Katherine said with a chuckle and pushed aside her plate a little. "I'm glad you suggested this. I didn't know how much I needed a night out until now."

"Yes, I figured. Living with my brother is not an easy task." Elijah laughed softly and waved the waiter over so he could pay for their meal. "I would also like to thank you, for trusting me with your...condition. I promise it won't leave my lips." He assured her. The last thing he needed was his brother snapping and finally killing her simply because she didn't have much time to live.

Katherine stilled when Elijah spoke, and not just because she really didn't want to talk about it. She suddenly felt a string of emotions surround her and she wasn't quite sure which one to focus on. She felt a little guilty because even now he wanted to protect her when the truth was she already told Klaus about the fact that she was dying. Before him even. But overall she felt strange. The way Elijah said it, made it seem like revealing the horrible truth about her was a show of trust. Yet she told Klaus almost as soon as he dared to question her hatred for humanity after she practically asked him to kill her. There had been no hesitation. She didn't even think about it when she blurted out the fact that she was dying to her greatest and oldest enemy. It had been easy.

Not only that, but now her brain seemed to instantly flashback to what happened after. In her mind, what happened that night had been merely one last act of insanity before he decided to kill her or before she inevitably died of old age. Whatever happened first. Except neither of those things happened. Instead, Klaus quite literally demanded she stay with him, and she still wasn't exhibiting any real signs that her death would come soon. The realization suddenly made her feel completely disgusted with herself.

"Are you alright?"

Elijah's question seemed to snap her out of her thoughts. "Yeah. I was just thinking." She said quietly and gently took his hand when she saw that he was already standing up beside her.

Elijah only nodded and led her back towards the car. Once the two were inside, he turned to look at her. "Are you certain there is nothing to be done?"

Katherine knew what he was talking about. The very thing she asked him not to discuss. But it seemed Elijah happened to be more stubborn than her sometimes. "I'm sure. Trust me. Let's just go okay?" She said quietly and shifted her gaze towards the window.

Elijah kept his eyes on her for just a few more seconds before eventually looking away. It didn't matter what she said. He would try to find a way to save her. Whenever he wasn't constantly being observed by his brother, he would do his best to research everything in relation to the cure. It was simply in his nature. How could he just stand by and let her die when he could be doing something to help her? Especially when deep down, he knew it had been his fault no matter what she insisted on telling him. They both knew it. He could see it in her eyes despite the words that left her lips. She had only been trying to make him feel better. A thought that happened to bring a small smile to his face as he drove down the familiar streets of New Orleans.