Elena sighed as she ascended the stairs, holding the railing as her feet slowly passed each step. Choking up, she almost turned back and ran down the stairs, ready to flee from the house as fast as she could. Facing the truth was never easy.
She turned to the room they'd shared since the girl had been told the truth of their arrival in Paris. A sigh of slight relief escaped her lips as she saw the rising and falling of her lover's chest. Elena walked over, making sure to be quiet as she lay down next to her.
The groan that came from Katherine was almost inaudible, but luckily Elena was close enough to hear. Elena watched the vampire open her eyes, noticing that the usual shine in them had dimmed to a small glimmer.
"Elena?" Katherine asked, turning her head to face the girl.
"Hey," she whispered to the vampire, smiling gently as she moved to be closer to her.
Katherine smiled back at her, looking into Elena's eyes. She saw them shining, knowing the answer to the question that was on her mind. Somehow, she found herself too afraid to ask. Were her heart still beating she was certain Elena would have been able to hear it pounding in her chest.
Without realizing it at first, the vampire felt a teardrop flowing down her cheek. Unconsciously, she moved her hand to wipe it away, but was stopped when Elena grabbed her wrist. Katherine forced herself to meet the teary twin eyes of her lover.
Nothing could be said; Elena knew that. The girl reached down and took the vampire's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. They clung to each other, holding onto the love they'd only known for a short while. In her dreams she'd imagined being able to tell the vampire she'd never let go, but now, she didn't want to give Katherine that false hope.
The shaky breathing coming from beside her pulled Elena from her thoughts. As a small choking sound came from her doppelganger's lips the girl moved to be closer. Their bodies were pressed together, hoping to take some comfort in their proximity.
Finally, Elena rested her forehead against Katherine's, shutting her eyes and tightening her grip on the vampire's hand. She listened to the uneven breathing of her lover, until she could take no more.
"I'm so sorry, Katherine," she whispered, placing a kiss to her forehead, letting tears stream from her eyes.
"It's not your fault," she heard the vampire respond. The girl opened her eyes to see the tiniest of smiles curling Katherine's lip, and could not help her own smile in response.
"Why did this happen?" Elena asked, feeling more pressure in her chest as a lump formed in her throat, "Why did he do this?"
"Things catching up with me, I guess," Katherine said with a small chuckle, looking up into the twin brown eyes she loved so much.
"I love you, Katherine," the girl said, tightening her grip on their hands.
"I love you too."
Damon paced the kitchen downstairs, getting a glass from one of the nearby cupboards and setting it down on the table. He heard the front door open and footsteps enter, but he didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. The entire house was filled with misery and pain, and he somehow managed to find it ironic that even though they were in the city of love that love had somehow managed to be destroyed.
The eldest Salvatore finally managed to find the bourbon and set it on the table. His thoughts turned to his brother, and how he hadn't seen Stefan since they'd found Elena in Paris two days ago. Since those two days he had been searching for a cure to help Katherine, and in those two days he had come up short.
He had found nothing. It was humiliating, but the humiliation wasn't what was making him so dreary. Damon heard the conversation that was going on between the two doppelgangers upstairs, and he could hear their compassion and love for each other.
Of course the Salvatore was jealous. His ex-lover had gotten the girl of his dreams, but it wasn't jealousy that was making him so dreary either. What was it? He wasn't supposed to care about Katherine anymore. No, it wasn't that he cared about Katherine; it was that he cared about Elena.
He was about to witness what could be the worst day in the girl's life. Damon swallowed the lump forming in his throat and started to pour the bourbon. In that moment he promised himself to be there for Elena, not because he wanted her to love him, but because he loved her, and he wanted her to be okay.
"Save some for me," he heard a voice from in front of him. After a few moments he turned his head to see the blonde vampire moving to sit at the table.
In silence he grabbed another glass from the cupboard and put it out for her, pouring some of the alcohol into it and sliding it to her. He wasn't in the mood for talking, but of course that was what Caroline was going to do. It was her way of coping and, in his current mood, he didn't have enough energy to stop her.
"We're too late aren't we?" she asked, taking the glass in her hands and tapping her fingers against it.
Damon nodded, downing some of his drink and slamming the glass against the table. The sigh that escaped him was filled with anger, pain, sorrow, and grief. It was filled with emotions he rarely ever allowed himself to feel.
"We're too late," he replied, staring into the distance, not engaged in what was going on around him.
"Why?" Caroline asked. He heard the crack in her voice and turned his head to look at her, seeing the tears in her eyes. "Why were we so late?"
"Because we had the story wrong, Caroline!" he exclaimed angrily, "Stefan lied! He told us Katherine took Elena to kill her! We didn't even think of the possibility that someone had a werewolf bite! We were too late when we got here, we were just stupid enough to keep trying."
"Don't say that!" Caroline exclaimed, but the Salvatore wasn't listening. He poured himself another glass of bourbon, but out of rage just threw it at the wall, breathing heavily, forcing himself not to break down.
"We had to try for Elena, Damon," the blonde said before completely emptying her bourbon glass. "We had to try and let her be happy."
"And what now?" Damon asked, an angry glint in his blue eyes, "Now Katherine is going to die. What's going to happen to her?"
A long silence floated between them. He began pacing, shaking his head and cursing himself mentally for not being able to find a cure.
"We'll be there for her," the blonde said softly, soon finding her voice, "We will be there for her."
"To do what? To tell her that everything's going to be okay and she's going to find someone else?" Damon asked, clenching his fist at his side, "Guess what, it's not going to happen."
"That's not what we're going to do, Damon," Caroline replied angrily, "We're going to make sure she's okay. We're going to make sure that she has someone. We're not going to let her lose anyone else and," she paused, sighing, "We're not going to let Stefan hurt her again."
Damon scowled at the mention of his brother, becoming angrier than he already was. The mere thought of his brother would now send him into a rage. He would never forgive Stefan for what he'd done to Elena, to Katherine.
"I'll kill him," he murmured softly.
"No you won't," Caroline said, smiling gently and going to stand beside him, "He's your brother. No matter how much we hate him for this we won't kill him."
"So what do we do with him?"
"I don't know, Damon."
Katherine heard the conversation going on downstairs, and she was touched at how willing Damon was to protect the girl she loved. She would have been jealous, but she found it to be pointless. The knowledge that she would be gone soon had removed some of her selfish attitude. Of course it could not remove all of it, she was still Katherine Pierce.
Her head was resting on the girl's shoulder, and for the first time since she had gotten the hybrid bite she felt at peace. Elena's fingers were running through her hair, massaging her scalp gently.
She still felt pain, for the bite was still there. On occasion waves of pain would crash down onto her, but Katherine was too weak to cry out or complain, and she didn't want to hurt Elena. With every cry she had made nights before she felt her lover's cringes. She wouldn't hurt her anymore. It would be over soon, and she was okay with that.
"Elena," she whispered, getting weaker with every passing moment.
"What is it, Katherine?" Elena asked worriedly, beginning to get up from the bed, "Do you need something? I'll get it."
"No," the vampire said tiredly, grabbing onto the girl's arm and feebly attempted to pull her back.
Elena sat back down, resting her back against the headboard and smiling slightly as the vampire's head was rested on her stomach. She knew if things were different, and the vampire was not dying, she would rarely see the softer side of Katherine she had always believed was there.
"Stay?" her lover asked tiredly, looking up at her with tears in her eyes. Elena couldn't refuse, but her only response was a nod.
"I don't want to be alone," she heard Katherine whisper.
"You won't be," Elena replied, kissing the top of Katherine's head, "I'll stay with you until the end."
A small smile curled Katherine's lips. Knowing Elena was going to be with her was comforting. She didn't want to die, but Katherine wasn't a fool, she knew she had no choice. There was no way to save her, and though she wasn't okay with that, she didn't want to cause Elena anymore pain than her death already would.
Pain began to brew in her stomach, and it slowly stretched outward. The vampire whimpered slightly, and felt her doppeganger's arms tighten around her. She tightened her grip on Elena's hand, trying to hold onto her as she began to be pulled into the darkness.
"Don't fight it, Katherine," Elena whispered, feeling her voice shake in her throat. "It'll hurt more if you do."
"Elena, it hurts," Katherine cried out, and it felt as if someone had stabbed the girl through the chest.
"I know," she comforted her lover, "I know it does. Don't fight. It's okay, Katherine. I love you."
Elena leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to Katherine's lips. She felt the vampire respond weakly, kissing her back, before she started to slow. The girl pulled away to stare into her lover's eyes as a tear fell from Katherine's cheek, and the last breath came from her chest as she closed her eyes.
Before darkness completely overwhelmed her, the vampire felt happy. Elena was the last thing she saw. She almost opened her eyes again, one last time, but it was over. Katherine sighed one last time.
I love you, Elena, was the last thought that passed through her mind.
The girl waited a few moments, holding onto Katherine's limp hand. She called her name again and again trying to get a reaction, but nothing happened. Elena knew it was over, but she couldn't accept it.
"Katherine!" she cried, tears freely rushing down her cheeks. The small drops of water fell from her chin onto the vampire's skin, yet still no reaction came.
"Come back!" she yelled, grasping the vampire's hand with all her might. "I need you, Katherine, come back!"
Her voice cracked, and she leaned her head against her lover's. It was over. Sobs tore from her chest, and she couldn't control herself anymore. Elena was in hysterics; her chest began to hurt because of how much she was crying.
Damon and Caroline were waiting downstairs, but when they heard Elena begin to wail they rushed up to where the two lovers had been. He stood in the doorway while Caroline rushed to her friend's side, wrapping her arms around the girl.
"It's okay, Elena," he heard the blonde whisper, and he saw her try to pull Elena away.
"No!" Elena almost yelled, moving herself back to Katherine, holding the vampire tightly in her arms.
He watched from the doorway, unable to move. His eyes were glued to the body of the woman he once loved. The Salvatore felt a tear fall from his eye and quickly moved to wipe it away. He bit on the inside of his cheeks, keeping the river of tears at bay.
Damon saw Caroline look at him, tears forming in her own eyes. He watched as one fell down the side of her face. She nodded at him, and his response was a curt nod. His steps were slow as he walked into the room, sitting at the foot of the bed, making sure he was in Elena's sight.
His heart melted as their eyes met, and he heard her shaky breath. She shook her head at him, holding Katherine closer. Damon raised his hand in surrender, letting her know he wasn't going to do anything.
The Salvatore moved forward and put a hand on her shoulder. They stayed that way for hours, letting Elena weep over her love. He waited until she was exhausted to get up from the bed.
Elena had closed her eyes after glancing at Katherine, and in her sleep the girl moved closer to Caroline. Damon looked to the blonde for confirmation, and after a nod he moved to Katherine's body and lifted it gently, making sure not to wake Elena.
Damon carried Katherine downstairs to the couch and gently laid her down, pushing hair from her face. A sigh escaped him, and another tear fell down his cheek.
"She loves you, you know?" he told her quietly, shaking his head slightly. "She loves you so much, and you just leave.
"But you do that with everyone, don't you? You let them fall in love with you and then you just leave, leaving their hearts in pieces. Was it worth it, Katherine? Was it worth dying to get back at her?"
He clenched his fists at his side, pacing beside her. The Salvatore ran his fingers through his hair, digging his nails into his scalp and drawing blood.
"Or did you really love her? I think you did, Katherine."
Damon knelt beside her, taking her hand gently.
"I'll take care of her, but I wish you were here to do it yourself."