Previously in "I'll Still Be Here", Sofia meets Katherine for the first time, having finally found her after 500 years while Marcel returns Rebekah to Klaus, Finn and Elijah. Elijah proposes to Hayley.

Chapter Thirteen

Mystic Falls – Several Hours Later…

Stefan let out a sigh as he held a sleeping Katherine in his arms. Sofia had left hours earlier to go back to her apartment in Richmond, telling Katherine she'd be back tomorrow sometime. Stefan placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the silky strands against his skin. "I love you, Katherine Pierce," he said softly to her.

Katherine smiled and kissed his chest. "I love you too, Stefan."

"You're supposed to be sleeping," he said with a smile down at her.

"Who wants to sleep when you've got a sexy vampire to look at?" she said with a smirk.

Stefan laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess I do make it difficult for anyone to sleep."

Katherine smiled then sat up to kiss his lips softly. "I hope that you don't mind that Sofia and I will be going to New Orleans when she returns from Richmond in a few days," she said.

"You're fine. I know that Elijah has a right to know that he has a daughter, and that you two should do this in person," Stefan replied.

Katherine nodded. "I just hope he doesn't get mad at me because I kept her a secret for so long."

"He won't, if you explain why," Stefan told her.

Katherine sighed. "I wish I had your confidence, Stefan."

Stefan lifted her chin. "Hey, listen to me; it's going to be okay. You did what you needed to survive, and that included keeping your daughter a secret from her father."

"The very same daughter that was torn out of my arms by my father the moment she was born because, in my mind, I disgraced my family."

"That's because you were young and unwed, Katherine."

Katherine sniffed and tears welled up in her eyes. "That didn't make it right!"

"Hey, at least you're getting the chance to get to know her now, instead of never," he said, reaching to wipe her tears away.

Katherine nodded and sniffed. "You're right, Stefan. It's just that I never thought I would see her again. I searched every village, hoping to find her, but I never did. Seeing her today wasn't exactly the easiest thing for me. And to think that Elijah's new fiancé helped her find me wasn't any easier for me to handle."

He nodded. "Maybe she was worried that her mother wasn't searching hard enough for her," he replied.

Katherine smiled a bit. "Yeah, well, I did get a little distracted when I met you back in 1864."

"Only a little?" he teased her.

"Okay, maybe more than a little distracted," Katherine said. "But, I couldn't help it. You were just so irresistible. Of course, Damon was irresistible as well, but not quite as irresistible as you."

"Hmm, am I still irresistible now?" Stefan asked as he shifted to move her over him.

Katherine smiled and kissed him. "Oh, I think it's safe to say that you're even more irresistible now than you were then. Why else do you think I followed you during your wanderings?"

"Oh, now I know why you were so mysterious after that one you tried to keep secret about wanting me to not know that you were there," Stefan said with a smirk.

"I couldn't let you know I was following you. That and I knew that Damon thought I was in the tomb and was obsessed with releasing me so we could run off into the sunset together and live happily ever after."

"But, he has his own happily ever after now. And I have mine. With the woman that I love," he said, leaning up to brush his lips over hers.

Katherine smiled against his lips. "Yes, you definitely do." She sighed. "When Sofia comes back, I want her to meet you."

"And I want to meet her," he said.

Katherine nodded. "Good. I'll make sure that Sofia gets to meet you. Since her father has no doubt moved on, I want her to know that I have as well, and that I'm happy for the first time in five hundred years."

"I can't wait," he said then flipped them over until he was on top, gliding into her waiting core and thrusting deep into her.

"Me either," she replied as she shifted to accommodate him. Katherine panted as she rocked against his thrusts, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "I love you so much, Stefan!"

"I love you too, Miss Pierce," he said in a deep voice, the timbre husky, ragged as he stroked his hands along the curves of her body.

Katherine panted as she felt his hands on her body, throwing her head back and letting out a scream of pleasure. "Mm, love me, Stefan…love me forever," she murmured after screaming for a few minutes.

Stefan smirked. "I intend to, Katherine. No one else matters but you."

"Nor anyone for me," she replied.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, Sofia was reading a magazine when her phone rang. She picked it up, not sure who would be calling. Seeing Hayley's number, she quickly answered. "Hello, Hayley."

"How did it go with your mother?"

Sofia smirked. "You don't waste any time, do you love?" She sighed. "Well, she didn't believe me at first."

"That's not surprising," Hayley said. "Katherine has had trust issues for centuries. Of course, most of them are courtesy of Klaus."

"Speaking of my uncle, how is my soon-to-be born cousin doing? Is she kicking up a storm?" Sofia asked, changing the subject.

"She is doing well. She even has a name picked out," Hayley replied.

"Oh? And what name did you decide to pick?" Sofia asked.

"Hope," the werewolf replied softly.

"That's a beautiful name," Sofia said. "I'll bet you're looking forward to meeting her."

"Yeah, I am," Hayley said. "Your father is as well."

"Ah yes, I hear that congratulations are in order," Sofia said.

"Thank you, Sofia. I do hope that you can be here when the ceremony takes place," Hayley said.

"I will certainly try to," the teenage vampire replied.

Hayley smiled, even though Sofia couldn't see her through the phone. "Thank you. I want to be able to meet my future stepdaughter."

"I'd like that," Sofia said. "I also hope that my father doesn't hate my mother for not telling him about me. I know she had her reasons, but still, it's not right. Five hundred years is a long time to keep a secret from someone, especially when it's someone you once loved."

"I sincerely hope that will happen for Elijah and me when I'm at that age," Hayley said.

"I don't know much about my father, aside from what I read about in records," Sofia said. "Though, he does sound like a passionate man."

"He is very passionate. He would do anything for his family," Hayley said.

Sofia smiled. "That makes me even more eager to meet him."

"I hope that you'll be able to soon," her future stepmother replied.

Sofia nodded. "Well, my mother and I are going to be coming to New Orleans in a few days, so I'll be able to meet him then. And my mother will be able to explain herself."

"We'll see you then," Hayley said before the two of them ended the phone call.

A Few Days Later – New Orleans…

Sofia walked into the mansion that belonged to her uncle, father and Aunt Rebekah ahead of her mother. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

No sooner did Sofia enter than Sage came in, a curious look on her face. "Oh, hello there, I wasn't aware we were having visitors. Who might you be?"

"Forgive me. I'm Sofia Petrova. Is this the Mikaelson residence?"

"Yes, it is. Again, who are you?" Sage asked.

"Sofia. You made it," Hayley said as she appeared behind Sage.

"Hello again, Hayley," Sofia said with a smile as she stepped forward to hug her future stepmother.

Hayley then looked at Sage after she and Sofia finished hugging. "Sage, this is Sofia. She's Elijah's long-lost daughter. Sofia, this is Sage O'Reilly, Finn's fiancé."

"It's nice to meet you, Miss O'Reilly," Sofia said with a smile.

Sage nodded, smiling as well. "The feeling is likewise, Sofia. I'm sure your father will be happy to see you. Five hundred years is a long time to stay hidden from one's family, even yours…"

Sofia shrugged. "At least I'm getting the chance to know them now, instead of never," she said.

Sage nodded and Katherine walked in. Before she could say anything, Elijah himself came in, seeing his former love. "Katerina, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, Elijah," she replied. "I hear you got engaged. Congratulations."

"As much as I appreciate this, I doubt you came all this way just to congratulate me on my impending nuptials. I will ask you again, Katerina, what are you doing here?"

Katherine sighed. "Okay, you caught me." She stepped back and revealed Sofia. "Elijah, this is Sofia. She's…our daughter."

"I'm sorry, she's our what?" Elijah demanded, stepping closer to his one-time lover and grasping his hand around her throat.

"It's true," Katherine said. "She showed up several days ago. She…she said she was in contact with Hayley, and Hayley told her where to find me."

Elijah turned his gaze to his fiancé. "You knew about this?"

"I had planned to tell you, but you needed to hear it in person from both of them," Hayley replied.

Elijah looked at Katherine, letting go of her throat. "Very well, but an explanation is in order, even if I don't appreciate being kept in dark about things like this. I would've liked to have known that I have a daughter."

"So you know now," Katherine replied in a slightly strangled voice. "And we'll both get answers that we both want."

Sofia nodded, knowing that she had to explain herself. "Agreed, and I'm more than ready to tell you." She looked at Sage. "Could you give us some privacy please, Aunt Sage?" Sage nodded and went to find Finn. Once she was gone, Sofia gestured toward the living room and Katherine, Elijah and Hayley followed her. Once there, it was a few minutes before Sofia spoke. "After my mother gave birth to me, my grandfather gave me to another family because he thought she dishonored them by having me and also by being unmarried. I lived with that family until I was seventeen, the age where they wanted to marry me off to some man in our village. However, I ran away, not wanting to stay where I knew I didn't belong."

Elijah nodded. "Is there another reason for that?"

"Yes. I wanted to find my mother."

"I see. And now that you have, what made you decide to become a vampire?" Elijah asked.

"I heard about what my mother had done to avoid being sacrificed by your brother," Sofia said. "So, I decided to follow suit."

Katherine spoke then. "That's what made you decide to become a vampire? Because of something I did to save myself? Sofia, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to," Sofia said. "If not, I would've eventually grown old and died during my search for you."

"You've found me. And you know that I won't be letting anything happen to you," Katherine said as she opened her arms. Sofia scooted over to snuggle into her mother's embrace as Katherine stroked her daughter's dark hair.

Elijah smiled. "That goes double for us, Sofia. Hayley and I won't let anything happen to you either."

Sofia returned his smile. "Thank you, Father." She looked at her mother, who nodded silently before Sofia looked back at Elijah and Hayley. "Father, if it is not too much trouble, I was hoping that you would allow me to live with you and Hayley, as I find New Orleans more exciting than Mystic Falls."

Elijah and Hayley exchanged a glance, conversation silent as they thought over what Sofia was asking before Elijah nodded. "I think that would be a splendid idea, Sofia. I will go about setting up your own room not far from Hayley's, if that is suitable for you," he said.

Sofia nodded. "And what are you going to do about Uncle Niklaus?"

"Don't worry about him," Hayley said. "He's more focused on his lady love, Caroline, so I doubt he'd notice you. And as far as Finn and Sage are concerned, they'll be fine with you being here as well. They're just as focused on each other as Klaus and Caroline are, so it'll be fine."

Sofia nodded again. "Alright," she said. "For now, I'm going to head upstairs and get some rest. It was a long drive here."

Elijah nodded and watched as Hayley escorted Sofia upstairs. Once the two were gone, he sighed at looked at Katherine. "Now that they're gone, I was hoping that maybe we could talk in private."

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to strangle me again, are you?"

"No, I will not do that again," he replied. "I only did that out of anger. I promise to not lay a hand on you this time."

Katherine nodded and stood up, following Elijah out to the back yard, watching as he shut the door behind them. There was a silence between them for a while before she said, "Okay, what did you want to discuss?"

"I was hoping that we could talk about living arrangements for her. I am sure that she'll want to live here with me, and that is fine with me and Hayley, but I also invite you into our home as well, Katerina," Elijah replied.

Katherine didn't know what to say to that. "You'd actually do that just for me, Elijah, even after I broke your heart?"

"Yes," he replied. "Five hundred years is too long to hold a grudge, so you are welcome here."

Author's Note: Hopefully this chapter didn't suck too badly, and that Erin can come up with a good beginner for the next chapter!