Hello sweeties! Sorry for being away so long and thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed :)
This isn't my best writing but I really wanted to get it on here and I wrote it on one go. Enjoy and let me know what you think :)
Dragging her sister from the building by the arm, Katherine rounded on Lacy the second they had cleared enough distance that made her certain the woman would be unable to return to the Grill in brash anger.
"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Katherine demanded, her brown eyes wide with expectation and her cheeks flushed.
Brimming with fury and embarrassment, Lacy shifted from one foot to another and ran her fingers through her hair; gripping the roots with such force that a ripple of pain coursed through her. She clung to it and used the pain to ground herself and tame her anger. Around her, the bells of the clock tower tolled and rang out deep and far-reaching across the town square. Noon had arrived.
"Lacy!"
Releasing her hair and opening her eyes to stare at her older sister, Lacy blinked once and then again. Kol's words had shocked her and she could not shake the image of sheer betrayal she had witnessed in his eyes as he spat his words of spite.
"What?" Lacy asked; her gaze almost blank from expression as she tried to make sense of all that had happened in the past hour.
"Kol!"
"I-"
She opened her mouth. She had every intention of fabricating some excuse that would hopefully placate Katherine's curiosity and convince her that Kol's outburst was without sufficient meaning or justifiable reason. Instead, as her eyes met those of her sister and her mind recalled the reveal of Katherine's own secret, she found herself unable to lie.
"…I had sex with him."
Gaping at Lacy in utter disbelief, for the first time in as long as she could remember, Katherine found herself lost for words. Remaining silent as she attempted to digest what she had just heard from her own sister, Katherine began to shake her head almost violently.
"Wait… no…hang on a damn minute! You slept with Kol? Kol Mikaelson? Brother to the one and only Klaus Mikaelson - the most insecure, paranoid, egotistical jerk this side of the continent?"
Simply nodding, Lacy cringed when Katherine released a loud laugh from the very depth of her lungs.
"Well… fuck me. This is a pickle."
"Katherine."
"I'm not going to ask you how long you were sleeping with him or why. I just want to know one thing."
"What?"
"When are you going to tell Klaus?"
All blood draining from her face, Lacy felt her head begin to spin and she willed herself not to fall to the hard concrete paving stones beneath her feet as she began to fill with panic. Sensing the sudden change in the woman, Katherine frowned.
"I won't tell him, Lacy, but he's going to find out eventually. Judging from the massive tantrum Kol had in there, he's just about ready to blow and spill the beans… I don't want to see you getting hurt because you slept with the two worst Mikaelson men."
Her concern was genuine and Lacy could hear it. It warmed her heart and she finally let herself admit that she needed her sister to be a permanent fixture in her life. Too many years had been spent living with her absence and no matter what Klaus had say, she would not be sending Katherine away in a weeks time. Giving Katherine a weak but sincere smile, Lacy pulled her sister in for a hug and embraced her tightly.
"Thank you." she spoke softly.
"For what?" asked Katherine, surprised by the out of character action of her younger sibling.
"For being my sister."
Returning the hug, Katherine took a deep breath and sighed.
"Don't thank me just yet."
Slamming the door to his office shut and causing the glass inside the window frames to shake, Klaus threw his body down into the cushioned leather chair situated behind his desk and huffed in frustration before planting his head on the desk. He closed his eyes and soothed himself with the silence that surrounded him and the coolness of the wooden desk. His sanctuary, however, was not to last as the arrival of brother shattered the quiet stillness of his office.
"Where have you been, brother?" Elijah asked with an undeniable air of authority.
The highly unexpected reappearance of his former wife the night before had thrown him completely of edge, and his stress levels had reached unimaginable levels in the hours that had passed without either the presence of Lacy or Klaus. Keeping his head on the desk and his eyes shut, Klaus replied to his brother through gritted teeth.
"I had business to attend to concerning the mother of my unborn child."
"Well, as happy as I am to see you finally taking what I assume is an interest in fulfilling your parental duties-" he started as he advanced further into the room. "-I have spent all morning trying to explain to your clients why you aren't here."
"Please, brother, now is not the time to test my patience."
Completely disregarding Klaus' comments, Elijah continued to rant as his voice became even more strained with each passing second.
"And if that weren't bad enough, Lacy hasn't shown up and isn't answering her phone…"
At the mention of his girlfriend's name, Klaus snapped his head up and glared at Elijah with wide, worrisome eyes. Jumping up, his chair skating backwards a few feet, Klaus immediately grabbed his phone and dialled Lacy's number and listened impatiently to the ringing tone as he continued to eye his brother.
"You come in here chewing me out for being late and don't bother to tell me my goddamn girlfriend's missing until now!"
"Klaus, this is not the point."
"Of course it's the bloody point, Elijah! My entire relationship with Lacy is hanging by a thread right now and her meddling bitch of a sister isn't doing anything to help matters!"
When Lacy failed to answer and the ringing tone changed to the sweet sound of her voice as her answering machine message instructed him to leave his name and she'd get back to him, Klaus shoved the device back into the pocket of his jacket and surged past Elijah. Standing in the doorway, Elijah watched on as Klaus barged his way through the busy office.
"Where are you going?" he shouted after the man on a mission.
"To find my girlfriend!"
With thoughts of Lacy on his mind, Klaus found it hard to focus as he sped through the streets of Mystic Falls and screeched to a halt in front of his shared home; parking so haphazardly he was sure he would be fined for doing so. Caring very little about a potential penalty, Klaus climbed the steps two at a time and pushed the front door open. He slammed it shut and yelled out Lacy's name whilst searching the ground floor.
Finding the ground floor empty, Klaus carried on with his shouting of Lacy's name as he moved towards the staircase and ran up the stairs in record time. His first port of call was their bedroom and his panic grew when he found it to be devoid of his girlfriend.
Walking away from the room in abject defeat, Klaus did not Lacy standing at the end of the upstairs hallway right outside the door to the bathroom until she quietly spoke.
"Klaus?"
"Where have you been?! Elijah said you didn't go to work this morning. Why the hell didn't you answer your phone?! I've been out of my mind with worry!"
He was mere inches away from her now and he could see the concern in her beautiful eyes; a concern that mirrored his own. He knew his tone had been far too harsh but he couldn't help it. Defaulting to anger in times of worry was what he did.
"I'm sorry. Katherine-"
"I don't give a damn about Katherine. I give a damn about you."
"You were with Caroline." Lacy replied, exhausted.
"She's fine. The baby's fine. Now I need to know that you're okay… that we're okay."
"Klaus-"
"I know I'm asking a lot. I'm a fucking mess and I don't deserve you, and I have no right to ask you to stick with me whilst I raise a kid."
"Klaus, I need to tell you something."
"But I need you. I can't do any of this without you."
A crease forming in her brow, Lacy picked at her nails.
"Please, Klaus, I really need to tell you something" she countered with a strange urgency to her voice; knowing that if she did not tell him in that instant then she would never have the courage to do so again.
They spoke in unison; each one drowning out the other.
"Marry me."
"I'm pregnant."
They stood in stunned silence as they surveyed one another. They saw with scrutiny as the face of the one whose eyes they were looking into changed expressions; mirroring one another's confusion and anxiety.
"What?"
"What?"
"Hello, Elijah." Katherine purred as she appeared in the doorway of his office; her body leaning gracefully against the frame.
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Elijah risked a glance towards the goddess standing ahead of him and cursed himself when he felt his heart skip a beat. He loathed how Katherine was still able affect him so deeply even after a decade away from Mystic Falls. They had never exchanged a single word in her time away but his memory had never been able to forget the both sweet and powerful nature of her voice.
"What do you want, Katherine?"
"You."
The expression on his aging, yet handsome, face did not alter one ounce. He remained outwardly calm and composed; something which he had never had a problem with and prided himself on. With a roll of her eyes, Katherine forced a slight laugh and entered the office, eyeing it carefully as she took in the grey walls and ceiling to floor windows that were frosted to block out the world outside.
"Oh relax. I'm not here for you, Elijah."
"Then why are you here?"
"My my, you are impatient today, aren't you?"
"Katherine, I don't have time for your games. I have work to do. So, kindly tell me what it is I can do for you or get out of my office and never come back."
Rolling her eyes once again and flipping her hair back, she placed both palms on Elijah's metal topped desk and leaned forward so that their faces held only a small distance between one another. With a determination of a mother bear protecting her offspring, Katherine spoke clearly, concisely, and with an air of authority that made it obvious her demands would not be up for negotiation.
"I need you to do something for me."
"Katherine, why on earth would I do anything for you?"
"Because this is for Lacy."
She saw the look of disbelief he gave her; his eyes displaying how little he thought of her and how he doubted her intentions.
"Look, I know I was a total bitch to you and I don't deserve your help, but believe it or not I want what's best for my sister. I know you well enough to know that you want that too."
"What's best for Lacy is for her to be with Klaus. She's happy with him. Leave them be, Katherine."
"Elijah-"
"Please leave."
Standing to her full height, Katherine sighed in frustration and dread.
"Help me with this and I'll do something for you."
"And what would that be? I don't need anything from you." he answered back; vaguely curious about her reply.
"I'll leave Mystic Falls and never come back. You can live happily ever after with that child bride of yours."
Tempted by her offer, Elijah sat quietly as he contemplated his options. Having the living, breathing incarnation of his ex-wife within touching distance was clouding his judgement and he struggled to think straight. Interpreting his silence as refusal to engage her, Katherine turned her back and walked out of the room; stopping short as she crossed the threshold into the main office floor.
"Think about it, Elijah… and just for the record, I didn't lie when I said I wanted you. I will always want you. I love you… but I love my sister more."