"Look what I stole."
Katherine kicked out a chair and sat down at the table Stefan was seated at and showed him a bottle of Scotch whisky. Sometime after Klaus left, Stefan phoned and informed her of the bar he was at if she wanted to join. She, of course, had been happy to accept his invitation.
"I'm surprised you called me here, were you out drinking by yourself?"
Stefan sighed and grabbed the whiskey from her, popping off the lid to pour both a glass. "I needed to get my mind off things."
"You and me both," Katherine scoffed. "You would never believe it, but I just had a run-in with Klaus back at the house."
Stefan quickly downed the rest of his drink, giving Katherine a questioning look as he put his glass down. "Wait... Klaus was in our house?"
Katherine stretched her legs out on the chair before her, still thinking about her moment with Klaus. "Yep, just moments ago. However, the most surprising part was that he didn't kill me, he actually gave me my freedom... Although I won't have much time to enjoy that specific freedom, since I'm almost dead and all."
Stefan raised a brow. Klaus granting Katherine freedom was certainly not something he would have ever expected, but it's not like he had ever expected Katherine to be a dying human either. Life kept surprising him.
"Don't think that way. I'm sure Bonnie figures it out," he assured, trying to comfort his only company.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Sure she will. I've had a bad year, and to top it all off is the wonderful news of my soon-to-come death. Can you believe it? Me, Katherine Pierce, dying of old age. That's too pathetic."
She kept on rambling while drinking glass after glass. Stefan just listened, watching her in careful moderation until they were suddenly interrupted.
"I thought you never wanted to see me again. Why'd you call me?" Nadia asked as she walked up to them and crossed her arms, looking at Katherine.
Katherine coughed nervously as she turned to her, and then to Stefan. "Stefan, I'd like you to meet Nadia Petrova... My daughter."
Stefan's mouth dropped.
About an hour later, Katherine sat alone again by the bar and spun an empty shot glass around with her finger. She had gotten rid of Gregor by stabbing Matt with the traveler's knife, which had pissed off Nadia enough to make her storm out of there only after telling Katherine to go to hell. Katherine could understand Nadia's frustrations. However, she knew that Gregor was only using Nadia to get to her. She had to get rid of him, not only for her own sake but for Nadia and for Matt, whether or not Nadia liked it.
Katherine sighed to herself. It hurt her that she couldn't be a good mother to her only child, but she simply didn't know how to deal with her, especially when she barely had any time left. She had only been reminded of how little time she had left when she had walked back to the bar only to realize several more strands of her hair had turned gray. That was why she was doing what she was doing right now, writing her final letter.
Dear Nadia, maybe Stefan. I don't really know if you care or not.
I'm sorry that I killed your boyfriend Nadia, but it was the motherly thing to do.
And Stefan. I'm sorry that I chose to leave you like this, but I know you'll be alright.
I ran from my enemies for five hundred years, and one day I stopped. Now, a new enemy wants me dead, but it's something I'll never escape; Time.
So call it pride, or vanity, but after the life that I have lived, I refuse to drift into the sunset. I refuse to let time get the better of me. If I leave this world, it will be on my terms.
Try not to miss me too much,
Katherine.
I'm ready. I'm ready to do it, so why am I not jumping? Come on, Katherine! Don't back out now.
She put one foot over the edge, but quickly pulled herself back, suddenly feeling nervous. Was she really going to do this?
The wind was strong up there. Breezing through her hair and leather jacket, making her shiver with cold. She studied the grande, glowing city of New Orleans, thinking of how fun all those unsuspecting people down in the shining buildings must be having. Some were probably out drinking with their friends, enjoying the night out partying, or perhaps watching an evening football game. Others slept peacefully in their beds, having the full day of tomorrow in front of them. Katherine almost envied those people, but they didn't experience the exceptionally epic feeling she was having at that moment. She looked over the stunning city yet again. It was indeed a beautiful place to die.
She was ready.
She turned her back to the lights and the buildings and let herself fall. She let gravity take her.
Katherine fell graciously down from the skyscraper. She shut her eyes and awaited broken bones and quick death, but instead, she felt herself land in a pair of strong arms. Deep down, Katherine didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed, each emotion fighting to overpower the other. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the man who had caught her, and her hero was surely not someone who Katherine had expected to see ever again.
The hybrid looked down at the young woman he had just saved from a suicide attempt. His face changed from indifferent to a mix of confusion and worry when he saw that this woman was none other than Katherine Pierce.
Klaus put her safely back on the ground before he broke the silence.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Katherine felt a big lump form in her throat at his question and straightened her jacket uncomfortably, not meeting his questioning eyes. "Why did you save me?"
"Why did you just jump off the plaza tower?"
"Why do you think?" she mumbled, not holding back her sarcasm even in her vulnerable state.
"Why would you want to die? I'm sure being a human is sad and miserable, but that still doesn't explain your decision."
"You should have let me fall."
"I didn't know it was you."
"Great, then if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish what I started." Katherine quickly turned around and was about to walk to the tower's doors again, but Klaus grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"New Orleans... why did you come all the way here to end your life?"
"It felt right..." was all she could say, not wanting to tell him the truth. In all honesty, she knew Elijah had followed Klaus to this town, and she had secretly hoped he would be the first to learn of her death. Maybe it was out of spite for him breaking her heart, or perhaps it was because she loved him and wanted him to know. Katherine wasn't sure herself.
"I didn't give you freedom just for you to go off yourself. You're the only one to have ever escaped the immortal hybrid's wrath, it would be a shame for you to die like this," he smirked, trying to get her old survival instinct to kick back in. "And besides... I don't know if my brother could handle your death, especially so soon."
"I'm already dying, Klaus. I'm dying of old age. When Silas sucked the cure out of me I started aging rapidly. I have no place to call home, my daughter hates me and my body is falling apart." Her voice almost broke as she rambled all her concerns to her worst enemy. The tears that had welled up in her eyes had already started falling against her wishes. Damn these stupid human emotions, so hard to control. "I'm weak, pitiful, and human. Just kill me... I'm asking you to kill me." She shifted her gaze down, too ashamed to look into his eyes.
Klaus was slightly taken aback by her tears and the information bomb she had just dropped on him. She had never let herself show emotions like this in front of him before, and seeing her so vulnerable made him feel strange.
"You may feel like life isn't worth the struggle, Katerina. But when you come to your right mind, you will remember that you're stronger than this." When Katherine kept quiet, he continued. "I know you better than anyone else. You're not evil. You had your reasons for the actions you've done, just as I had mine. We're more alike than we dare to admit."
Katherine knew what he was saying was true, but she didn't want him to be her voice of reason. Her head was too murky and unclear to figure out why Klaus Mikaelson, of all people, was comforting her. She knew he had forsaken his revenge and all that, but that still didn't mean that he cared for her, did it?
"Why are you still here?" she asked, after a few seconds of silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Why didn't you leave the second you found out I was the one who jumped."
"Because no one deserves to be in such depression that they want to put themselves out of their misery. Not even you."
She curled her lips together and looked away from him again, glancing up at the tower. "So you're not gonna let me go back up there?"
"No, Katerina. I won't... What did you mean when you said your daughter hates you?"
Katherine cursed at herself for mentioning Nadia. Now that Klaus knew of her existence, who knew what would happen? Well, it was too late for her to lie now.
"Apparently she's still alive, or, undead is a better word. She's been following me for 500 years, but I can't blame her for hating me. She was looking for a mother, but instead, she got me."
Klaus didn't have a response to that. He was in shock that her daughter had been alive all these years. He remembered back in 1492, how sad she had been whenever she mentioned the child she had to leave behind in Bulgaria.
"You said you have no place to call home, where are you going to sleep tonight?"
"I'll probably be in a deep sleep I'll never wake up from."
"Not on my watch."
She furrowed her brows and stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"You're nothing more than a fragile human, so you're no threat. Therefore, I invite you to stay at my mansion, unless you prefer the park benches of course. Your choice."
He was right. Where would she go if she couldn't end it all tonight? Where was she welcome? It didn't matter, however. She didn't want to live under the same roof as him again. If she declined, she was free to go right back up there and jump again. Or he would refuse to let her decline. When Katherine thought about it, that did seem more Klaus-like. She was sure she was going to regret her following words, but she said them anyway.
"Okay... I'll come with you."