Hey guys :) This story has been getting some rather increased interest lately so a massive thank you to everyone who has read/favourited/followed.

This chapter isn't drama and action packed but it took me by surprise as i was writing it. It was partially inspired by sweetdreams705 and CrazyZee who both requested more Katherine. I hope I have delivered!

I loved writing this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it :)

As usual, I own nothing but the usual stuff.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Surely they were playing a trick on her. The woman in front of her looked so beaten down and broken; hair wild and unkempt with eyes that were rimmed red from relentless weeping. She was a shadow of her former self and it broke Katherine to her deepest core to witness the physical manifestation of her sister's grief.

"Kat…"

Storming forward, Katherine snatched her sister off the doorstep and into the caring embrace of her arms. Blood rushed through her veins and carried with it such a need to protect and care for the younger woman that she felt fuelled by it. Clinging to Lacy as if she were terrified the woman would turn on her heels and flee, Katherine dampened down her urge to bombard her with questions and instead guided her into the house. The agreed silence continued as the older of the two sisters headed straight for the kitchen, pulled out two glasses and a bottle of chilled wine and poured the liquid until it nearly reached the brim. Handing one straight to Lacy without any request, she took a large gulp of her own drink and then another when it did nothing to sate the burning flames of rage that flickered in the chamber of her heart. The reason for the unexpected visit of her younger sister had yet to be revealed to her but she was a smart woman and prided herself on being such. It did not take a genius to figure out that only a Mikaelson could cause such anguish in a woman. After all, it was a look she had seen in the mirror every day for the last decade.

Reaching for the phone that stood on the small, oak coffee table, Katherine did not respond when Lacy shot her a questioning look. Turning her back, she punched in the numbers that she still knew by heart and swallowed another mouthful of wine. Dutch courage. There was no way of lying to herself this time. She needed help and she had no other choice but to put aside her own fears in her attempts to fix the broken mess that was now her sister.

The dialling tone ended abruptly and a voice answered. For a second, Katherine was too nervous to speak yet she persevered and was surprised by how self-assured she sounded as she made her demands.

"Hello?"

"Elijah, you need to get here now."

"Katherine? What the hell? You can't just order me to do whatever you."

Elijah's timbre was as it always was. Controlled. Katherine knew though, she just knew, that he was anything but controlled when it came to her. They brought out both the best and worst in one another, and she was certain that if she were not careful in her approach then they would most likely explode into an argument. Now, however, was not the time for being careful when Lacy's welfare was her number one priority.

"You listen to me, Elijah Mikaelson. I've just had my little sister turn up on my doorstep a complete fucking mess. I have no idea what the hell has happened but I can only guess that it has something to do with your darling brothers. So when I say you're coming here to help me, you can damn well believe that I'm not giving you an option."

She was boiling with anger that she could not quite pinpoint the source of. Hearing nothing but static and heavy breathing for the longest of minutes, the tether on Katherine's already waning patience disintegrated and she screeched down the phone.

"Elijah!"

"She lost the baby." His reply came, unusually subdued and soft as if he too felt the pain of the loss.

"What?" Katherine said in disbelief, locking eyes on Lacy and wondering how she had not known until that very second.

"I said-"

"I heard you. When?"

"The night you left."

"Fuck… fuck… and you didn't tell me?!"

A new wave of rage battered her and Katherine struggled to contain it. She wanted to scream. She yearned to hold her sister and tell her all would be well. She wished, more than anything, she could go back to the last she left Elijah and burned their marriage to the ground. Maybe if she had never have left then Lacy would never have been set on a path that had so clearly tainted her.

"It wasn't my place to tell you anything, Katherine. I was trying to clean up the mess that was left behind. Jesus, if you had stuck around then maybe Lacy wouldn't have had to go through that alone!"

In her mind's eye she could see him; forehead crinkled with worry lines as he tried to remain composed and hands most likely gripping the phone so tightly that his knuckles had been drained of colour. Next to her, Lacy had now stood and though she had yet to utter another word her eyes held more questions than Katherine was willing to answer.

"What do you mean she was alone? Where the fuck was Klaus?!"

"Niklaus was right by her side up until the moment he realised it wasn't his baby. I've had my hands full here and you were nowhere to be seen. I could have used your help but you ran away. Again."

Finishing the wine that remained in her glass, Katherine ran her fingers through her hair and as she gazed upon Lacy she lost all fire of fury.

"Elijah, please. I don't know what to do and I need you here."

It was not often that she begged and even with all their unresolved business she would have gladly crawled across broken glass and pleaded if it meant Elijah would come. As much as she hated to think about it, it was fact that she had not only abandoned Elijah but Lacy too the day she had chosen to leave Mystic Falls. It may not have been too late to make amends but the truth of the matter was that Elijah had been Lacy's family for far longer than she had. For Katherine it was a bitter pill to swallow and she had to clasp her throat to keep from crying out.

"Please."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

With a click he was gone. Clutching the phone to her ear for a few more seconds Katherine cleared her throat and then placed it gently back on the table. Switching her full attention to Lacy, she did not even attempt to smile as she spoke with a resounding authority that made it obvious her wishes would not be denied.

"Tell me everything."

"Where are you going?"

Her sweet voice rang out to him and Elijah stiffened. Guilt swamped him and he instantly regretted having involved such a pure creature in his soap opera of a life. He did not turn to face her as he replied; knowing that if he did so he would be confronted with eyes that betrayed her true emotions as she pledged her understanding of the situation.

She had been sleeping soundly and peacefully and had been awoken by the absence of his arms; the same arms that had held her as he caressed every inch of her quivering body just hours earlier. Now, sleep was a distant memory as she listened to him when he offered up only the briefest of retorts.

"I'm going to see Katherine."

"Your ex wife, Katherine? The same woman who ruined your life and verbally abused me?"

"She needs me."

She wasn't sure whether he had meant to hurt her with his simple phrase of words but that had been the end result. She needed him. That was his excuse. With a violent shake of her head, she sat straight up in bed and tugged the sheets closer to cover his bare body. What about her? Didn't she need him too?

"So… you just go when she calls? She says 'jump' and you say 'how high?'"

"Haley, this isn't about you." Elijah began with a sigh. He disliked lying save for when the occasion called for it. Now he wished had omitted the truth.

"The hell it isn't. You're leaving me to go see your ex wife."

Still refusing to face her, Elijah continued to button up his shirt whilst explaining the intentions of his actions.

"Listen to me, Katherine was my family once… you could be my family one day…" he admitted. "But Lacy is my family. My brothers aren't the only ones who care about her. Katherine needs me to help Lacy and although I have absolutely no idea of how to do that, I will do whatever it takes…whatever she needs… if it means I can help Lacy."

Unable to argue against the truth of the man's conviction and feeling ashamed for allowing her jealousy to get the better of her, Haley reached forward and placed a hand gently on Elijah's back. She let it rest there for a moment as she whispered to him her apologies. Finally dressed, Elijah stood and half bent his body as he dipped down to catch Haley's mouth with his. The kiss did not last long. Nevertheless, he hoped it conveyed all the things he could not say; that she would know he would be returning to her.

When he finally arrived at the address given, it had taken Elijah more hours than he had cared to count and the glowing numbers of his wrist watch made it glaringly blatant that the hour was an ungodly one. Staring up at the impressive multi-storey, red bricked building Elijah smiled faintly. It was so like his ex-wife to live in such a contemporary apartment. Making sure his car was secure, he journeyed the few steps to the entrance and pressed the button that signalled Katherine's residence. A buzz came seconds after and he pushed on the glass doors. Although the time it took to reach the apartment he sought was in reality no time at all, it seemed to drag on as his mind played out all the scenarios he'd entertained since discovering Katherine had left town five days previously. He was not afforded the opportunity to knock before the door was swung open and the woman herself stood before him in all her glory.

One hand on the door and the other grasping a freshly poured glass of white wine, Katherine eyed her former husband with great speculation before standing aside and silently inviting him to enter. Seeing Elijah step over the threshold left her with a strange sensation in her stomach. Her old life and new life were fast on a collision course and she was not sure what to make of it. This could have been there home if only he had had the nerve to leave with her. Shaking away such thoughts, Katherine thrust the glass towards her visitor and shrugged her shoulders when he declined.

"How many of those have you had?" Elijah inquired; his eyes trained solely on Katherine.

"Glasses or bottles?" she remarked, her eyebrows cocked in a dare for him to pass judgement.

"I was just wondering."

"I just found out my sister lost a baby, an ovary, and a boyfriend all in the space of a few days. I needed a drink. Sue me."

Feeling tiredness tug at his brain cells, Elijah stifled a yawn and shrugged himself out of his jacket; placing it carefully over the back of a wooden chair that stood against the breakfast bar to his right.

"Where's Lacy?"

"Sleeping." sighed Katherine, sitting herself down in the other wooden chair and sipping at the wine.

"How is she?"

"How'd you think? She's heartbroken and grieving."

"I thought she didn't want the baby." he said, slightly puzzled.

Scoffing lightly, Katherine's curls shook as she did so. The stupidity of men.

"She may not have wanted to be a mother but she still lost her child. You don't know what that does to a woman." she argued back, her voice echoing in the glass as she took another sip of wine; this time much larger than the last.

"I know what it does to a man."

"Oh don't start this, Elijah. Now is not the time."

"Then when is?" he barked, pulling him back when he remembered that Lacy was sleeping. "You lied to me."

Draining her glass, Katherine got to her feet surprisingly steady in spite of the amount of alcohol in her system. Keeping her voice level, she closed the small gap that remained between herself and her ex husband and lifted her head so she could stare into his eyes.

"I never lied. I just never told you I was pregnant. I didn't even know until after I'd left. You chose to let me go. You were the one who decided our marriage wasn't worth saving. So as far as I was concerned, you'd forfeited every right to know about my life and our daughter's life."

"You don't get to make those decisions! She's was mine! You stole my chance of being a father!"

"And you stole my happiness!"

Both of them now panting with anger and a decade of pent up emotions, Katherine and Elijah glowered at one another. Their heavy breathing dominated the room and without allowing herself to think, Katherine twisted her fingers around the nape of Elijah's neck and drew him in for a kiss; a kiss that his body reciprocated on memory alone and made every nerve ending sizzle.

Her tongue tasted heavily of wine but Elijah cared naught. Every sense of reason flew out of the window the instant his hands gripped her slim waist and pulled her flush against him. They spoke not a single word nor broke their forbidden kiss even as they hurried to the room where Katherine usually slept. Neither gave any consideration to their sleeping guest or to the consequences they would surely face in the cold hard light of day. Their only concern was their search for mutual pleasure and when Elijah entered her minutes later, her body encased beneath his, it was as if he had never been away; time, the universe, his whole entire life back in Mystic Falls… none of it held any meaning. He was home.

Waking as daylight streamed through the window, Elijah let out a loud groan and stretched; every muscle screaming out in relief when he did so. Glancing over, he saw that the space beside him was devoid of any female presence and guilt automatically began to weed its way into his veins. How could he return home and be with Haley when he had betrayed her trust and proven her jealousy and insecurity to be well founded.

"God dammit!"

"Sucks. Doesn't it, Elijah?"

There she stood leaning casually against the doorway. She looked as she always did; hair in neat waves and skin glowing. Her eyes, he was relieved to see, held no judgement towards him. Yet, he was unsettled by the lack of any emotion situated in them. Her sparkle - the fire that made her who she was - was missing and it dawned on him that Katherine has been justified to drink herself drunk with panic. Lacy was gone and in her place was a woman he barely recognised.

"Knowing you've betrayed someone you love."

"Lacy-"

"Make a choice and do it before it's too late."

Leaving him with her parting words, Lacy backed out of the room and retreated back to the corner of the sofa she had wordlessly claimed as her own. Curling her legs up and under her, she hugged the turquoise throw cushion that sat to her left and stared blankly at the tv screen that played out some quiz show she paid no attention to. The emptiness inside of her was a welcome reprieve from the torment of her curious mind as it wondered what Klaus and Kol were doing. Had they fought? She hoped not although she knew it was an inevitability. She had torn apart a friendship, a relationship, and a family all because she hadn't been brave enough to tell the truth when it had mattered.

The sound of footsteps approaching didn't break her concentration and she kept her eyes trained on the screen. Next to her Elijah stood tall; his presence odd to her in a space that screamed Katherine Pierce. He was fully dressed now and it was not lost on her how his appearance gave nothing away of his misdeed. After all, she was a mistress in the art of covering up indiscretions.

"Talk to me."

It was a simple request. How else could he aid her in her recovery than by giving her his unconditional support? Behind him he noticed that Katherine had remained perfectly silent and had made no effort to approach them. Occupying the empty seat to the young woman, Elijah softly placed a hand on Lacy's cheek and turned her chin so she was forced to watch him.

"I broke him."

"He'll forgive you. He loves you."

"He shouldn't…"

Remaining frozen, the only movement Lacy exuded was that of changing her direction of gaze so that her eyes caught those of her older sister. With eyes identical to her own she saw in them a reflection of her own emotions. Katherine was in love. Katherine was hiding her distress behind a mask of indifference. Just like her, Katherine knew when she was beat and when there was a battle worth fighting. It was not acceptance or approval she was searching for in the eyes of her sister but understanding. Sacrifice was in their nature she had realised.

"…and I don't want him to."

"Niklaus-"

"-Is better off with Caroline. He wants a family more than I think he even knows. I can't be his family anymore. It's selfish."

Putting up no fight when Lacy removed his hand from her cheek, Elijah sat in deep sadness and tried to form any argument that would convince Lacy to return with him.

"And Kol? What about him?" Elijah pondered, trusting his intuition that the woman next to him held true feelings for his youngest brother.

"Just tell him I'm sorry."

"He'll be heart broken."

"Nobody gets out of a war unscathed, Elijah."

With a shuffle and a swivel, Lacy dismissed the man she so whole heartedly loved as a brother and resumed her previous activity. She only half listened as he continued to talk to her whilst standing and heading for the front door.

"If this is what you need then I'll make sure everything is taken care of. Just… don't wait too long to come home, Lacy. Klaus and Kol aren't the only ones who'll miss you."

It was as his hand was on the door handle, still having not spoken any hellos or farewells to Katherine after their night of unplanned passion and debauchery, that he heard Lacy whisper her parting words to him.

"Don't make my mistakes. She deserves better than that."

As he closed the door and walked further away, Elijah let the last seconds in the company of the Pierce women play out repeatedly in his head. Haley or Katherine. Just which of them deserved better he wondered.

So what did you think? :)

Worry not, Klaus and Kol (And Caroline) will be returning very soon ;)