Hello, my lovely readers. The chapter is dedicated to AMS0220 for giving me a few ideas which will be incorporated as we continue this story! On with the show…

Chapter 19: The Ex Files

Wondering if he'd ever have a good day, again, Elijah Mikaelson laid in bed. He had an hour before he would have to go into the office. Meetings consumed his working hours. He needed to sit down with the evidence on the Gerard case. Just the thoughts of looking at Old Gerard's corpse made Elijah groan. Too many people would have wanted that man dead. and it was up to Elijah to deal with the one who had been accused.

A loud bang from down the hall startled Elijah. He threw his covers off and made his way out his bedroom. Down the hall he stalked, feeling as irritable as a cat who'd discovered a dog in its home.

Only it was not a dog who riffled through Elijah's cabinets. It was Klaus. "You're out of scotch," Klaus muttered.

Elijah's brows rose. "Niklaus, you do realize it is not even eight in the morning?" Elijah placed a hand on the closest wall and waited for the telling of whatever overly-dramatic sequence of events sent his brother into his little frenzy.

"I do." Klaus stood up and turned on his heel. "You know that my child prefers the company of Tyler bloody Lockwood?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing. "Caroline told me that Fiona 'needs' to accept Tyler's absence. What a load of crap!" Turning back to the cabinets; Niklaus renewed his search.

"Serves you right for spawning in the first place, Nik," Kol called from the couch. He laid across it. His shoes were on the Italian leather. Elijah felt his jaw tighten at the sight. "It's what condoms are for." Kol nodded his head as if he'd produced sage advice.

Rolling his eyes, Elijah stalked over to the couch. Leaning over, he swept Kol's feet off the couch before turning to Klaus. "I suggest you allow Caroline, and Fiona, to do what is best for them. You can't force yourself into their lives."

"Can't I?" Klaus petulant tone made Elijah scoff.

"No. You can not. Not and not risk losing them forever. Be patient," Elijah advised. He moved his focus to Kol. "And you, get up. I want you to find a place of your own. This is not a free hotel."

Kol shot to his feet. "But you're letting Nik stay!" He folded his arms over his chest. "If he's staying; so am I!"

Smiling, Elijah held up his hands. "Good! Then you can both find a place. Together. Or not. I do not care. I have a job to get to. I suggest you both take a good, long look at the classifieds."

"The what?" Kol called as Elijah turned his back on his brother and strode down his hallway. He closed the door to his bedroom and ran a hand over his eyes. "These are the times that try men's souls," he moaned. He tried to remember who said it originally and found his over-worked mind flailing for the answer.

Just at that moment his phone began to ring and he went to answer it. Glancing at the unknown caller listed on his screen; he chose to run the risk of speaking to a telemarketer. "Hello?" he said.

"Elijah." Katherine. Of course. His day would not be complete without a call from his ex.

"Is Nadia alright?" Elijah inquired. He walked over to his closet, trying to decide which suit to wear for the day.

"Nadia?" Katherine let out a laugh. "Yes. Why wouldn't she be?" Her tone suggested that Elijah was trying to brand her a bad parent.

"No reason," Elijah replied lightly.

Katherine inhaled. "I wanted to stop by. Talk."

"Oh?" Elijah frowned while pulling out a suit. "Right. How about we meet for dinner. I have a long day. There's a case I'm working on. It's taking up quite a bit of my time right now. If you're free…"

"Dinner would be fine," Katherine sounded pleased with the idea.

"Right. Have a good day." Elijah hung up. Perhaps he should have mentioned a time. However, he knew that Katherine made plans, and then made better plans, at a moment's notice. Honestly, it would not shock him if he called her later to find she planned on leaving the country, again.

Elijah decided to forget about his plan with his ex-wife and his problems with his brothers. He had work to do today. Better to focus on that.

~0~

Sitting behind his desk, Elijah puzzled over the details of the case. The arresting officer arrived at 11:46 p.m. There was a fifteen minute delay between when the 911 operator relayed the call to the Chicago precinct. Usually calls coming from the Lake Shore Drive were answered within five minutes of a crime being reported. What took the responding officer so long to arrive on the scene? Or did he lie about how long he was there?

Frowning, Elijah decided he would need to ask this officer to come in. The officer needed to tell Elijah exactly what he'd seen and heard that night. Pulling out a notepad; Elijah began to make notes.

Why was there a delay in the response time?

How did Marcel behave when the officer arrived? Any signs of agitation on Marcel's part?

No. That would speak to Marcel's state of mind. The officer had had time to rehearse what he thought Marcel had been doing.

Stick with the facts, Mikaelson.

Elijah tapped the pad before he moved on.

Blood. Were Marcel's blood spattered?

Not as in he walked through the crime scene and there was blood on his shoes. Or that he might have touched his father after "finding" him?

Elijah re-opened the file. He wanted pictures of fingerprints. Something about traces of blood in the sink from where Marcel tried to clean himself after killing his father. He could not have bludgeoned the man and not spattered blood all over his clothes, his hands, had it under his fingernails, and in his hair. This would mean most people would have taken a shower.

Sitting back in his chair, Elijah tried to think of what he would do if he wanted to pull off this murder. Put on clothes that he could easily slip out of. Place them inside a bag. Take the bag out to a vehicle. Then dispose of said bag at a location, far from the crime. However, he would also need something to cover his face, hair, and hands, to prevent questionable traces of blood from being found on him.

"Footprints," Elijah said, flipping photos over. Marcel's. Of course. He made the call to 911. He was trying to look like the person who discovered the victim, to establish innocence.

There were other sets of footprints, too. One of the sets belonged to the maid. One belonged to Elijah's father, Mikael Mikaelson. Elijah truly looked forward to sitting down with his father and talking to him.

Then there were the mystery prints. A woman's. How shocking? A mystery woman visited the site of the murder.

Yes, Gerard was known for having an eye for the ladies. Many of them younger, and too smart for him. Unfortunately the footprints could belong to any number of woman in New Orleans. Until it became necessary, Elijah had no intention of going on a hunt for his missing lady's footprint.

Cell phone beginning to buzz on his desk, Elijah picked it up, and glanced at the screen. Unknown caller. Katherine. Swiping the screen, Elijah lifted the phone to his ear. "Hello, Katherine."

"Hi, Elijah. Are you busy now?" Elijah glanced at his clock. Two o'clock in the afternoon. "How about lunch? I'll buy."

Elijah's brows went up. He could not remember the last time they'd had a cordial lunch. It must have been long before their divorce. One of the final steps toward the end of their relationship had been not being able to endure a meal together. Plates would go flying. Katherine would storm out of the room.

"Lunch?" Elijah paused. "I thought you wanted to have dinner."

"Can't I change my mind?" Katherine asked with a laugh. "Besides. I'm right outside your door."

Looking up, Elijah watched as the knob twisted, and Katherine entered the room. Ending the call, Elijah set his phone down as Katherine sauntered over to his desk. She leaned over it, her eyes moving over the photos on his desk. "Ouch. That must have hurt. Are you going to able to eat after looking at this?" She picked up one of the crime scene photos and turned it upside down. "Gets worse from this angle."

"Katherine," Elijah sighed. He got up and rounded the desk. Taking the photo, he set it down and closed the file with a flick of his wrist. "What do you want?"

Katherine took hold of the bottom of his tie. "I want to rescue you from this." She waved a hand at the file. "You need to come out. Remember what sunshine looks like. Enjoy an afternoon with me. Please?" She pouted, leaning her body closer to his.

Easing away, Elijah freed his tie, and rounded his desk. "Is whatever you want to talk about this pressing?"

Katherine cocked her head to the side. "I miss you. I want to spend the afternoon with you. Eat. Drink. Play with me." She grinned at him.

Rolling his eyes, Elijah gathered together the crime scene photos and slid them inside the file. "I will have lunch with you. And I do hope you have a good reason for this."

Heaving a sigh, Katherine flopped in a seat while Elijah put the file inside his desk and locked it. "I do. Like I said: I miss you. You're smart. You're funny. I have not had a good conversation in so long." She leaned forward in the chair. "Remember the time we went to Paris. You took me to your favorite library."

"I remember," Elijah retorted.

"My friends thought it was the least romantic thing anyone could ever do in Paris. Of course they didn't know what we did after we got back to the hotel. All that French speaking. Oh, la-la!" Laughing, Katherine fell back in the chair and waved an ankle at him.

"You want to go to lunch and reminisce about old times?" Elijah inquired. He had enough on his mind. A trip down memory lane did not suit his current state of mind. "Katherine, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have other things to be doing today."

"Like what?" Katherine demanded, standing up.

"Like…" Elijah rolled his eyes. "I have a meeting. With the defense attorney."

"You what?" Katherine let out a shocked laugh. "Why would you do that?"

"She's a friend of mine. I owe her a meal." Elijah found he was making this up off the top of his head. Yes. Hayley had paid the bill the last time they had lunch together. She insisted.

"Isn't that a conflict of interest, or something?" Katherine demanded.

Elijah shrugged. "New Orleans is full of conflicts."

Katherine crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"I sleep alone. Most of the time," Elijah shot back. "Excuse me. I'm going to be late." He made his way to the door of his office.

"Are you having sex with this friend of yours?" Katherine demanded, her brows rising.

Elijah shook his head. "That is no longer your concern. If you'd like to have dinner, and discuss whatever it is you want from me; then call me. We'll arrange a time."

Katherine's jaw set and she strode to the door. Stopping and turning to Elijah, Katherine angled her head within an inch of Elijah's. "You can't love her. Not like you love me." Then she strode away.

"Loved. Kat. Loved." Elijah went back inside his office and closed the door. He flipped the lock and decided to text Thierry to bring him a sandwich.

Going back to his chair, Elijah sat down and ran a hand over his tired eyes. Hayley did not want to speak with him. Katherine did. The world as he knew it had gone mad.

~0~

Having come to the conclusion that spending the entirety of a day inside his office would not help with his current case; Elijah decided to go out. His mind had led him to a place where he might relax. However, he did not expect to find the spot already occupied.

"Hayley?" Elijah said.

Hayley's head spun, her hair falling around her shoulders and the look on her face said that she did not relish his presence. "What are you doing here?" She demanded. She placed her hands on her hips. "This isn't your day."

"I'd forgotten," Elijah replied. He did not make an effort to leave her to her thoughts.

"If you're staying; I'm leaving." Hayley made her way to the entrance.

"Can't we both stay? Just for a little while…" Elijah heard the pleading in his voice. He despised this behavior in adults. Only a child would beg for something in this manner.

Pausing, Hayley shook her head. "You lost the right to hang out with me when you decided to come after my friend," she snarled, her eyes narrowed. She glared at him and Elijah inhaled sharply.

"Hayley, this is not my choice." Elijah stopped himself from saying more. He could not discuss why it was that the D. A.'s office were pressing charged against her client.

Shaking her head, Hayley let out a bitter laugh. "Maybe you're a lot more like your father than you know. You want to get to the top. Make D. A., after the boss wins the election to higher office. Yeah. Has a ring to it: Elijah Mikaelson, D. A. He'll prosecute all the men, women, and children who have done nothing wrong—other than be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Now, that is a winning slogan. Make into a bumper sticker!"

"Hayley! You are wrong!" Elijah snapped. "I have said it before. And I will repeat myself: You do not know that Marcel is innocent!"

Scoffing, Hayley shook her head. "What? Did the arresting officer catch him with the bat in hand? Was he waving it around? Did he say: 'Hey, I killed my Dad, please, arrest me!'" She sneered at Elijah. "You've got no real case. And you're going to lose."

Elijah watched Hayley stride out of the of the museum exhibition room. Her fire would sway many a jury member's vote. All she needed was one person to think that Marcel was not guilty. Then they'd have to go through the whole process again.

Feeling a headache coming on, Elijah decided to head home, and try to forget this whole day even happened.

~0~

Unlocking his door, Elijah strode into his apartment. Blessed silence greeted him. No Kol. No Klaus. Sighing in relief, Elijah made his way over to the kitchen. A bottle of scotch greeted him on the counter. A note was attached. "Thank you for putting up with us," it read. It was signed in Klaus' scrawl.

With a smile, Elijah opened a cabinet door. He removed a tumbler and unscrewed the lid of the bottle. Pouring out a drab, he picked it up, and went into the living room. Somehow the book he'd been reading had been undisturbed. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His eyes closed and he remembered Katherine's hands on his lower back as he read her a passage.

Taking a sip of his drink; Elijah tried to unwind. He flipped the book open. He'd read it more than once, over the past decade and a half. Required reading in his advanced French seminar. His eyes closed and Elijah did not remember falling asleep.

Elijah woke to find his phone buzzing. There was a text from Katherine. "Breakfast?" it read. Sighing, Elijah flipped the phone over. He picked the book back up, but it had lost its pleasure for him.

Rising, Elijah went into his kitchen. Perhaps he could engage in the simple act of making himself a meal. He went to the fridge and looked inside it.

Of course this is when his doorbell rang. Right. Probably Rebekah. Come to scream at him for being an indecent stain on society. Kol, who forgot something important. Probably his favorite gym socks. Or Klaus, come to de-cry Caroline's attempts to comfort their child.

The buzzer went off, again. "Hello?" Elijah called into the intercom.

"Can I come up?" Hayley. Now that he did not expect.

Buzzing Hayley up, Elijah went to the door and opened it. When Hayley came to the door, her cheeks were pink from the cold. But her eyes burned into Elijah's. "I don't want to hang out," she told him.

"You came here to tell me you didn't want to 'hang out?'" Elijah replied.

"Yes!" Hayley snapped. Then she clamped both hand around the back of his neck, kissing him.

Inhaling, Elijah moved backwards, tugging Hayley inside the apartment. He pushed the door closed and then pinned her against it. "Then let's not hang out," he gasped out as her hands went to his pants.

"I. Never. Want. To. Hang. Out. With. You. Again," Hayley moaned as Elijah pushed her body up the door and she cried out. "Never. Oh, God!" Elijah's palm went above Hayley's head, his other hand on her bottom as they moved.

With one last cry, Elijah pressed his face into Hayley's neck. "Do you want to sleep over?"

"Do you have to ask?" Hayley inquired.

"Won't Marcel wonder where you are?" Elijah asked. He moved back, setting her on her feet.

Laughing, Hayley dropped her coat on the floor. "I'm a grown woman. Marcel can get through one night without me." She looked at him over her shoulder. "Are you coming? Or are you sleeping on the couch?"

"After Kol did who knows what to it? I should burn the blasted thing," Elijah said, tugging his tie off and flung it on the floor. He followed Hayley back to the bed.

Hayley stripped as Elijah kicked off his shoes and could not concentrate on anything but Hayley. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. And I hope you know, I really am going to kick your ass in the courtroom," Hayley said, slipping under the covers.

"I'm sure you'll try." Elijah walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back. "Are you cold? You look cold, Miss Marshall?"

Pressing her arms over her chest, Hayley nodded. "I am cold. Do you mind helping me warm up?" With a laugh, she held out her arms and Elijah happily complied.

That night he went to sleep and did not worry about his case. He had little to worry about. He was warm. Content. His brothers were gone. Hayley returned to him. Elijah could not see how things could go wrong, again. However, he also knew that when you were happiest, that is when life presented problems.

Nuzzling Hayley's neck, Elijah decided to worry about tomorrow's problems in the light of the next day. Right now, he would enjoy the night and the wonderful creature who slept in his arms. Unless she planned on trying to find a way to prove her client's innocence, using Elijah. No. Hayley wouldn't do that…