AN: Katherine's bodyswap is necessary and very temporary.

Sorry in advance. I don't know where this went. -Izzy x


Chapter Twelve – The Originals 3x13

"Hey Rebekah," Freya said, anxiously into her phone. "Before you left, you told me to take care of our brothers, but… I'm in way over my head here. I need your help. It's Elijah. He's at the end of his rope, and I don't know what to do to help him. Katherine's dead. You're gone. Rebekah, I think… I think he's going to do something desperate."


12 Hours Earlier…

"Klaus?!" Caroline called, walking into the compound and setting her suitcase down by the gate. "Klaus?!" It was late morning, and Caroline had just gotten off her flight and looking forward to a hopefully relaxing day. But as soon as she saw the Mikaelson's mini bar, she knew her hopes were a little too out-of-reach.

Elijah was sat in one of the stalls, his shirt untucked and the top few buttons undone. He was slumped over the counter, his head in his arms and his hands resting around a bottle of vodka, which was leaking onto the table. His hair was getting sticky with the alcohol. She'd only ever seen the older Mikaelson brother a handful of times, but he'd always seemed so collected and smart. Now, he looked like somebody broke him.

"Elijah," she called, worriedly, a little softer as she approached him. She craned her neck to try and see his face, but he didn't look up at her. "Hey, Elijah," she tried again, reaching her hand out to comfortingly rub his shoulder. Then he perked up and snatched her wrist, moving her hand off of him. He didn't use enough strength to hurt her, so she decided not to fight it. He glared at her, slightly confused, as if trying to put a name to her face.

"You left," he remembered after a moment.

"I came back," she replied, shrugging slightly.

Elijah got to his feet and studied her for a minute before grabbing his vodka and taking it into another room, scratching his stubble as he went. Half a second later, Klaus arrived in the courtyard, studying Caroline with a confused expression on his face. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again after a moment of thought. She looked over to where Elijah had stalked off to. "What's up with your brother?" She asked.

Klaus followed her line of sight and then ventured into the room Elijah had slumped himself down in. Caroline watched as Klaus took the alcohol from him and inspected him, concerned. "Elijah what's up with you?" He asked.

Elijah looked at his brother, completely expressionless, as if deciding whether or not to reply to that. "I killed Rebekah," he admitted, seemingly unashamed as he spoke. Klaus's face fell and Caroline's eyes widened, neither of them expecting that. "The mark on her arm stayed, so I daggered her before she went insane."

The explanation caused some relief in Klaus and Caroline, and Klaus rolled his eyes. "Well, we'll have to find her another cure," he mused. "You should have told me, brother, that sounds like a very reasonable plan to me."

"I lost her," Elijah continued. "I put her body in a storage unit, and I went to visit her last night. But she wasn't there. She's missing. Now, I don't know if it was Aurora, the Strix, or Lucien, but I'm guessing she's at the bottom of the ocean by now, and I don't know where."

Klaus's face fell again. "You're not serious?" He asked. Elijah simply nodded and then there was a long, long pause. Caroline looked between the two brothers, and slowly took the alcohol out of the room, hoping to give the two of them a little space to talk. Although, it was a whole three minutes before one of them finally remembered how to use their voice.

"Niklaus," Elijah started.

"I'll talk," Klaus interrupted, in a voice to eerily calm it made Caroline's skin crawl to hear it.

She heard Elijah cough. "Okay," he agreed.

Klaus took a deep breath. "You, not only killed Rebekah, but you didn't tell me. Didn't let me keep her safe. You took so little care of her, that she is now gone. In the life that we're living right now, she'll probably be gone forever."

She heard Elijah shuffle, awkwardly. "She's my blood too."

"Not anymore," Klaus said, barely more than a whisper. "Since you have so little respect for your family, you're not a part of this one anymore. You don't need to stay here either. You can go. You won't be needing to call Freya or Hayley, where you're going."

"You don't know where I'm going," Elijah claimed.

He stormed out of the room, past Caroline, and out of the compound. He didn't bother cleaning himself up before leaving; he seemed quite happy to roam the streets as he was. He slammed the gate so hard it rattled on its hinges. Caroline watched him go, her eyes wide, and sad. When Klaus re-joined her, he forced a smile.

"Sorry you had to witness that, love," he said. "Let me have a drink first, and then I'll be right with you." He poured himself a scotch and Caroline decided not to speak. He added something though, a moment later. "Where have you been?"

"I," came a new voice, "have been out making sure the Strix and their witches are looking for Aurora." Some tall, handsome guy roamed into the compound, seemingly quite mad with Klaus. "Is that okay?"

"Marcel," scolded another new voice. A shorter blonde girl joined them from another room. "It's not Klaus's fault that Cami is waving the white oak around like a kite. And it's not his fault that Aurora made a deal with one of your witches."

"Aurora's back?" Caroline interrupted. "Wait, what did I miss?"

"Introductions, apparently," the man – Marcel – said.

"Oh, I'm Caroline," she said, beginning to smile as she held out a hand to shake his. "Marcel, was it? I'm an old friend of Klaus's. Hi." Marcel shook her hand and she extended it to the blonde girl, who also shook it. "Probably not as old as you guys, but that could just be me making a general assumption."

Klaus smirked "Marcel's an old honorary-Mikaelson from the 1700's, and Freya's my long lost big sister who suddenly became found a few months ago."

Caroline nodded, as if that were all up to speed. "Freya. Great name."

"Freya, for future reference, I'm quite capable of defending myself," Klaus chimed in, getting to his feet. "What I cannot do is cast a spell to find Aurora. In that respect, we're alike."

Freya looked murderous. "Aurora is cloaked," she said with a scowl. "Most likely by the witch she killed. I have been working non-stop every day-"

"Well you've certainly stopped now, haven't you?" He reminded her. "Go on then. On your way."

"Klaus," Caroline scolded. "If you don't play nice with witches they're gonna take their ball and go home."

Freya held up a hand to silence Caroline as she stepped up to Klaus. "Do you talk to our other sister this way?" She asked. Klaus's face fell at the mention of Rebekah, and only Caroline knew exactly why. "Didn't think so," Freya said, storming out of the room.

Caroline got to her feet in an attempt to ease the tension. "So we're looking for Aurora, who's cloaked, because she's got some white-oak and you drowned her brother. Have you tried the witch she's been working with?"

"She's dead," Marcel informed her. "She used to work for the Strix, but nobody can tell how Aurora got to her. Our coven had the same cloaking spell as Freya."

"Your coven?" Klaus asked. "You're quite comfortable with the Strix, aren't you?"

Marcel nodded. "Yeah, yeah I am. To help you." He made to storm out, but Klaus grabbed him by the shirt to stop him.

"You have any more news from your BFF's to tell us?" He asked.

Caroline jogged over. "Okay, so Marcel seems like a friend," she said. "So how about we channel that rage towards Aurora, hm?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes at Marcel before letting him go. "You're lucky I've got my babysitter today," he said, letting Marcel leave.


Elijah tried not to blink. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Markos, and the firelight. He saw Aya's face and Cade. So, he kept his eyes open, which only made him look angry and crazy as he stormed down the street. He pulled into the only bar in the city his brother didn't like. It was a little punk-rock for his taste, with bright yellow lights on every surface and band-posters up around the place, but he didn't notice. With the dishevelment of his suit, he could pass it off as ironic, and so he didn't seem entirely out-of-place. And it was almost entirely empty given the time of day.

He ordered himself a pint of beer and he could feel Gia laughing with him about it. No, he didn't like beer, but he'd spent the last twelve hours chugging the hard stuff, and he wanted to clear his head out a little bit. To clear it of everything.

But the thought of Gia made him smash the glass in his hand, and forced him to pick broken glass from his skin. He had been forced to watch Gia die. He hadn't cared enough when Kol died. He hadn't even known when Katherine died the first time, and he wasn't there for her when she died the second time. He killed Rebekah himself. He couldn't save Markos.

"Here," the bartender said, giving Elijah another drink. "On the house. You look like you could use it." She was young and pretty. Blonde with bright eyes and a big mouth. She had a thick New Yorker accent.

"Thanks," Elijah said, deciding that he was going to sleep with her. Not right then, but probably before the night was through.

When she moved out of the way, Elijah noticed the mirror behind the bar. He ignored his wild hair, his stubble, his untucked shirt with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. Behind him, stood Finn, looking at him disappointedly.

His head whipped around and scanned the place behind him, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. Nobody was. It was all in his head. He downed his drink and rubbed his tired eyes, calling back over to the bartender. "Hey. Two more." If he kept going at this rate, then perhaps he could drink himself into a coma for a few hours. That would get his mind off of it all, right?


Klaus told Caroline he was going out to find Hayley, to recruit her help, and Caroline decided to stay at the compound to help Freya, but as soon as she went to check on the witch, her face fell. The room she had been performing the spell in was trashed. Furniture was sprawled across the room and pieces of paper baring spells were scattered everywhere.

Caroline called Klaus and almost cringed at his optimism on the other end of the line. "Can I assume my very gifted sister has finally located my crazy ex?" He asked.

She nudged a chair out of the way with her foot and walked up to the desk. "Actually," she replied, awkwardly. "I think your crazy ex found your sister. But it looked like she put up a good fight."

"Well then we'll procure another witch to track her," Klaus decided, making Caroline frown. Did witches grow on trees in Louisiana? In Mystic Falls they pretty much just had Bonnie. And if Bonnie didn't feel like helping, or if someone needed to track her then…. Well then, they were screwed.

"There's no need," Caroline said, picking up a piece of parchment from the table, lying next to a lavender flower and watch. "A clue."

"I'll be back in a moment," Klaus said and hung up. Caroline read over the neat handwriting in distaste.

A forest of Pine. And a boy made so fine. Come quickly. If not – then poor Freya shall rot. Buried in dirt for all time.

When Klaus arrived back, he took the poem from Caroline and read it aloud before pacing around the study anxiously. "The woman is insane," he deduced, putting the paper down and turning to Caroline. "I apologise for this, Caroline."

Caroline shrugged it off. "So, what? Now we're playing her twisted game? What did she do to your sister?"

"Freya saw a vision of herself buried alive," Klaus remembered, direly. "She'll do anything to bring about this bloody prophecy."

Caroline didn't even pause before grabbing her jacket. "Don't just stand there, Klaus, let's go!"

He grabbed the watch and followed Caroline out.


After a few hours, the bar began to fill up, and some rock band took the stage. The music was loud, and very drum-centric. Elijah hated it, but he'd drank so much one of the bartenders had to go out to buy more. They'd tried to cut him off but he'd compelled them to do otherwise. They did find it miraculous, however, that he wasn't on the floor yet.

The pretty blonde bartender, Kara, kept pouring him shots, which they took together over the counter, ignoring half of the music. "Slippery nipple?" She offered, nudging a shot towards him.

"Yes please," he replied, drunkenly, which made her laugh.

"Get your head out of the gutter," she ordered. "It's a shot. Or would you prefer bourbon?"

Elijah smirked. "Bourbon's my drink," he claimed, defensively. He downed both shots she offered and slapped his hand on the table. "Keep them coming," he demanded.

Kara did so, pouring shot after shot, and somehow it didn't go to Elijah's head. He'd been drunk before, of course he had. Why wasn't this bloody working? "Hey," she said, "you didn't give me a name."

He clicked his tongue, debating whether or not to give them a real name. But he couldn't think up a fake name on the spot, and giving her a sibling's name could become awkward for future endeavours. "Elijah," he told her.

"Ooh," she mused. "Sexy." She looked past him towards the corner of the bar, and scowled. "Is that your girlfriend?" Elijah followed her line of sight to some brunette women he's never seen before, with smudged eyeliner and messy hair. He shook his head and Kara smiled. "I think she wants to join us," she mused. "How about we take this party to her?"

Elijah shrugged, getting to his feet. "Wouldn't want to miss it."


Klaus held the watch in the palm of his hand as he walked through the forest. They neared a little metal shack not too far away and Caroline gestured towards it almost triumphantly. "That kind of smells like your sister," she said. "In the least creepiest way possible."

"Freya's not in there," Klaus informed her. "She was, I can smell her blood. But the stronger smell is West."

"Okay," Caroline nodded. "You follow the scent, and I'll look for clues in the cabin." She started up the hill towards the place but Klaus called after her. "Don't worry," she mused, turning around. She opened up her handbag and pulled out a water gun and a stake. "I got vervain, and I got a weapon. And with any luck, Aurora's going to die today."

She walked away from Klaus and opened the front door of the cabin, thankful that she could step over the threshold. It was run down and dirty, with piles of rope and old candle sticks lying around. She walked past a bunch of bookshelves and found some detailed pictures and diagrams of bullets, and one diagram of a little whittled chest piece.

She gathered up the pieces of paper and looked at one of the bullets and was about to leave when she heard a gun click behind her.

"Aurora," she greeted, turning around and bringing her own gun out of her bag, levelling it with Aurora. Of course, it was a bubblegum-pink water-gun, but the look on Aurora's face was priceless.

"Modern weaponry for the modern woman on one hand," Aurora mused, "and a child's toy on the other. Let me guess… vervain? Good luck with that, sweet Caroline. I think mine has better ammo. It's pretty, no?"

"It looks like the gun my Barbie Spy had when I was little," Caroline replied, with a shrug. "But then again, I can't really say much."

"Not for long, anyway," Aurora teased.

"How's your eye?" Caroline backfired.

"Perfectly able to see my target," Aurora returned with a smirk.

Caroline narrowed her eyes a second later. "Then what are we waiting for?" She asked, stepping forward. "Klaus?"

"I'm not here to kill Klaus," Aurora claimed, matching Caroline's step forward. "I'm only waiting for him to arrive, so he can watch you die."

Caroline paused, considering her actions before making circles around Aurora. "You think," she mused as she walked, "that I'm the reason you and Klaus aren't together?" She watched as Aurora started to look sad. "You remember that you're batshit crazy, right? You don't think that's got a little part to play in all of this? I suppose he's just able to distinguish the difference between real love and some petty desire."

"Real love?" Aurora asked, running forward and pressing the gun to Caroline's chest. "Like the love of family? My beloved brother, Tristan, suffers in a box. Drowning over, and over again – unable to die. This isn't jealousy! This is revenge!"

Just as she said that, the door burst open. Klaus walked across the threshold, supporting Freya who looked about ready to collapse. "Stop this!" He demanded, glaring at Aurora.

The red-head pushed Caroline away and turned to gun to Klaus. "The bullets are white-oak, Klaus," Caroline informed him.

"We both know," Klaus said, stepping forward and smiling at his ex, "that you're not going to pull the trigger."

"You're wrong," Aurora said. She shot at Caroline, but Freya did a spell to knock the bullet out of it's path. Aurora flashed away and the witch fell to the floor with the effort. Caroline ran to her side and Klaus headed to the door, saying something about needing to murder his ex.


As the music picked up, so did the party. Kara started screaming at every shot, which made Elijah laugh, even though it wasn't funny. The other girl… something beginning with an S? Sophie? Good enough… started offering body shots to Elijah, which he graciously excepted.

"I like this girl," Elijah said, his voice hitching slightly as he spoke.

"Mm which one?" Sophie asked, laughing.

"Both," he replied with a shrug.

"Let's dance!" Kara pleaded, jumping over the bar and pulling Elijah to his feet. In no way did he want to dance to this crappy music, but he relented and followed the women onto the dance floor, purely for the opportunity to get closer to them.

"Don't scream," he compelled them both before biting into their necks individually and drinking as much as he could without killing them. He must have drunk from everyone on the dance floor at least once as he worked his way through.

Eventually though, Kara took his hand and led him and Sophie away, to a room behind the bar. There was a big mirror on one wall, and the other three were covered in graffiti. There was a dirty looking worktop underneath the mirror. He made out angrily with Sophie against the worktop as Kara pulled something out of her pocket.

He didn't pay attention to Kara as he ripped Sophie's clothes off, throwing the tatters into a pile in the corner and ignoring them. She undid the buttons of his shirt, but he didn't pay that any attention either. He was too busy burying his fingers into her already wet folds.

It was only when he heard Kara snort that he saw the little lines of white powder on the table.

No, maybe the alcohol couldn't stop him from thinking about his problems. The blood definitely wouldn't, and after 1000 years, sex was simply a part of the routine. All of this was the usual. Nothing that could distract him, anyway.

But he hadn't done any hardcore drugs since the nineties.

He ran a hand through his hair and pushed Sophie away. Kara picked up where he left off and the two women made out with each other, removing clothes as fast as they could and soaking their fingers in each other.

Elijah ignored them and picked up the straw next to the lines. He took a deep breath, distancing himself from any rational thought, and snorted. Instantly his head started to feel a little clearer but a little busier at the same time. He took another before straightening up and looking straight in the mirror.

He didn't see himself.

He didn't even see a trace of himself left.

He was hidden behind the stubble and blood stains, and the powder on his nose and the smudged eyeliner on his cheek. But even in his eyes, he couldn't see anything behind the bloodshot red, and the tired bags.

But he did see Finn again, standing in the background and looking sad.

Elijah growled and his fist collided with the mirror, smashing it into pieces. The women jumped away from it, shrieking, and then laughed. "Big man," Kara praised, giggling.

"Get on your knees," Elijah ordered, in reply. The women did so and he undid his pants, pulling them down just far enough so that he could pull his cock out, stroking it slightly to make it harder than it already was.

Sophie didn't waste any time. She pushed it down the back of her throat and started bobbing her head back and forth, rolling her skilled tongue around the tip whenever she backed out. Kara sucked his balls, eagerly. When he came, they kissed to share the load, and he put himself away, doing up a random button in his shirt before bailing.

"Hey, you just gonna leave us here?" Sophie asked. He didn't reply, he just left.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elijah found Hayley at the church, where he was pretty sure he wasn't welcome. But he walked in anyway and she turned to face him. She was bleeding through her shirt, and she looked angry, but her face softened when she saw him.

"Elijah, hey," she said, standing up. Her face fell, however, when she saw what a mess he was. "You have blood around you mouth," she informed him. He stepped closer and ignored her. "And you reek like sex. And is that… Is that cocaine around your nose?" She sounded outraged and tried to wipe it off for him, but he pushed her hands away and wiped it off himself.

"Ignore it," he ordered. "Just leave it." He leaned down to kiss her neck, but she pushed him away. "Hayley-"

"Elijah, stop," she ordered, scowling. "What the hell is wrong with you? What exactly have you been taking? Just cocaine?"

"A long look at my actions and their consequences," he added with a shrug. "And a city-wide amount of alcohol."

Her eyes looked hard and angry. "Elijah, why are doing this? Are you okay?"

Elijah just shook his head, but he did smile. "I'm choosing you," he told her, leaning forward. "I've been trying to choose between you and Katherine, and I'm here because you're easy."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't mean it like that," he said, quickly trying to undo his mistake. "To be with. Comfortable. Katherine's mean." He tried to kiss her again, but she shoved him so hard he fell against the wall behind him, and some of the plaster broke away.

"Let me get something straight here," she snarled, stepping up to him. "My husband died, and I'm still mourning. I'm not part of some stupid competition for your affections." She wiped some of the smudged eyeliner off of his cheek as she talked. "Especially since you can't even wipe the god damn cocaine from your nose. You have a niece now, Elijah. You're an uncle. Act like a fucking adult." She spat the words out and glared at him, waiting for a reaction.

He rolled his eyes and pushed past her, heading towards the door. "Katherine's dead," he informed her, as he left. "You won by bloody default, anyway."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elijah watched from a distance as Aurora walked through a dark street of New Orleans. She opened the door to her car and pulled out her phone, but before she could find a number, Elijah flashed towards her and snapped her neck.

He searched her quickly for the gun which he slipped into his pocket.


He didn't even notice when night fell around him. Everything was dark anyway. But by the time the sky was black, he'd found himself outside of her condo. The one she'd bought. The one they'd shared for only a few days. He took a deep breath and opened one of the front doors, leaning on the threshold before stepping inside.

She hadn't lived here for long enough to leave a big mark, but he could smell faint traces of her. On the bed where they'd made love. In the kitchen where they made love. In the bathroom where they'd made love.

They really had been busy.

He could have been stood there for seconds or hours, he wasn't really paying attention. But his head snapped around when someone knocked on the door.

Freya stood there with a small cardboard box and a soft smile on her face. "Klaus told me about the fight this morning. He didn't tell me why, but he said you weren't allowed to come back. I figured I would find you here."

Elijah narrowed his eyes at the cardboard box and then looked back at her.

"I bought some take out from your favourite restaurant," she said. "Usually they don't allow take-aways, but I was very convincing." She stepped into the kitchen and found some plates for them, setting some food out for him. "I thought we could talk about it," she added.

Elijah blinked and stepped forward and kissed Freya's cheek. "Thank you," he said. "I just… I need to grab…" He trailed off and walked into the bedroom. He closed the door and locked it, but it was probably unnecessary. He'd already had a witch come by and create a salt barrier that only he could cross.

He heard Freya's confusion on the other side of the door, but he ignored her. He pulled Aurora's gun out of his back pocket.

"Elijah?!" Freya asked, running to the door and banging on it desperately. "Elijah, what are you doing? Elijah?"

"I'm taking care of the Strix," he replied, his voice becoming croaky as he talked. His throat burned and stung as he spoke. He tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs just rattled. "Making everybody's lives a little bit easier."

"Elijah!" Freya exclaimed. "What does that mean?!"

Elijah turned to the full body mirror next to Katerina's window, and took a look at himself. He was still a mess, but his face glistened with tears he didn't remember coming. In his reflection, he saw Finn again, standing behind him with his arms crossed. He didn't smash the mirror again, instead he spoke to him. "Are you going to follow me for the rest of my life? That shouldn't last for long."

"Elijah?" He heard Freya at the door. "Open up. Talk to me! Please!"

"I'm so…" Elijah mused, looking at Finn in the mirror, "pissed. How pissed were you when you decided to kill yourself, Finn?"

"That was a sacrifice for the greater good," Finn informed him. "This is not the same."

Elijah growled. "This is the same. The Strix are ruining my family's life. Well, what's left of them, anyway. If I die… then they die too." He listened as Freya tried to break the door down, so Elijah turned his attention to her for a minute. "What about you, Freya? How much did you have to drink before killing yourself?"

There was a long pause at the door before Freya finally answered. "I was in a lot of pain," she replied. "And I was trying to save my unborn child from a fate worse than death."

On the outside of the door, Freya had given up on Elijah and pulled out her phone, a list already forming in her head of people to call. She started with Rebekah first, knowing that she was probably somewhere on the other side of the planet, searching for a way to bring back Kol, but she could call Elijah, right?

Rebekah didn't answer, so Freya left a message. "Hey Rebekah," Freya said, anxiously into her phone. "Before you left, you told me to take care of our brothers, but… I'm in way over my head here. I need your help. It's Elijah. He's at the end of his rope, and I don't know what to do to help him. Katherine's dead. You're gone. Rebekah, I think… I think he's going to do something desperate."

She hung up and called Klaus, who also didn't pick up the phone. She grumbled to herself and called him again. He definitely was not busy. He had no right to neglect his phone. The second time she rang.

"What is it?" Klaus demanded, bitterly. "I'm a little busy, Freya, so this better be important.

"Klaus, I think you need to get worried about Elijah," she said, quickly and urgently. "Really quick. We have a crisis over here."

She could feel Klaus roll his eyes on the other end of the phone. "I've made it perfectly clear that Elijah is not my concern. I already dealt with a crisis today. One that Elijah so kindly neglected. Whatever's happening to him – he deserves it."

Freya guessed that he was about to hang up, so she yelled quickly. "He's got Aurora's gun, Klaus! And he's planning on using it."

There was a short pause, which they really didn't have time for, before Klaus replied. "You… you don't mean…"

"Yes! I do," Freya said. "He doesn't just blame himself for Rebekah, he blames himself for Kol, and Katherine too. I need your help Klaus, I can't do this by myself."

"Okay," Klaus said, soothingly. "Tell him to pick up his phone."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Caroline had Hope sat on her lap as she sat on the floor between couches in the compound. Klaus was making them a couple cups of tea so they could finally relax, and talk properly. Aurora had ended up shooting Klaus before running away as fast as possible. Caroline had got the bullet back before it reached his heart, which bought back old memories for the pair of them.

"Are you and Elijah going to be alright?" Caroline asked him as she accepted her tea.

Klaus scowled. "Not for centuries, if I'm lucky. But I will find Rebekah and undo is mistakes."

"He's your brother," Caroline reminded him. "Right?"

He rolled his eyes and sat next to her, taking Hope and sitting his daughter in his own lap. "When your friends in Mystic Falls first met Elijah, he'd just been spending a century and a half trying to kill me. Our alliance is new, and currently broken. It should be decades by the time we make up. But speaking of your friends, what did you come here for?"

His phone rang and he checked the Caller ID before ignoring it.

Caroline took a sip before setting her mug down on the coffee table. "Stefan's being chased by someone none of us can kill," she informed him. "I was hoping that you can take a shot at it."

Klaus nodded. "Lead them here, and I'll take care of it."

"Yeah, Stefan's on his way," she said.

His phone rang again, and he scowled before answering it. He gave Hope to Caroline and got up to excuse himself. Caroline played with the baby until he came back, looking dire.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I think…" Klaus mused, as he searched through his contacts. "Katherine's dead. Rebekah's dead. And Elijah's about to off himself too."

Caroline's face fell and she got to her feet. "Oh my god, Fiora."

Klaus blinked. "No. Elijah."

"No! Fiora! I'm so stupid," Caroline said, handing his daughter to him and taking the phone. "I can't believe I didn't tell him. Trust me, Klaus, I know what to say."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elijah heard his phone ring and saw Klaus's Caller ID. He heard Freya outside the door, begging him to pick up the phone. He was sat on the edge of the bed, tapping the end of the gun to his chin. On the very last ring, he answered, still unsure of that decision.

Caroline Forbes spoke quickly and clearly, without wasting a second of time. "Whatever desperate move you're about to make, I need you to stop, and I need you to listen to me, because this is about Katherine."

Caroline waited for a signal that he was listening. Elijah tried to speak straight away, but he choked. His mouth didn't work with him anymore, and it took him a few seconds to spit out the words. "What about her?"

"She was in Mystic Falls a number of weeks ago," she explained, hurriedly. "She was just passing through, but I let her stay with me for a night. She was doing research on somebody named Fiora Petrova. A doppelganger. An eight-hundred-year-old vampire. I think she was planning on faking her own death."

Elijah paused, breathing deeply and refusing to believe her. "You're… you're lying."

"I'm not," Caroline promised. "I give you my word. I know how much that means to you. But I took a copy of her research anyway, because I knew this story wasn't over, and I may well need it. I can show you. I can show you. Please. I know it's not much, but it's hope."

Elijah bit his cheek and lowered the gun, nodding softly to himself. There was a long pause before he spoke, choking out a thank you.

"We're going to figure out what really happened, Elijah," Caroline promised him on the other end of the line. She sounded genuine and kind, and even though Elijah didn't know her, she made him want to. "You and me, okay? We can figure this out."


When Elijah returned to the compound, everyone had left. Caroline had taken Hope somewhere safe with her mother; Freya had left Elijah to go in on his own. It was just him and his brother.

Klaus didn't say anything, and neither did Elijah. But his younger brother did hand him a cup of tea and they sat down together. After about sixty seconds of pure silence, Klaus reached over and took Elijah's hand, comfortingly. Elijah didn't stop him, or pull away. He excepted the gesture, and they remained like that for a little while, enjoying reconciliation without words.


AN: Again, I'm sorry. I am but a simple instrument to the muse.

Let me know what you think. -Izzy x