Katherine Pierce, also known as Katerina Petrova, had a good plan. No, she had a brilliant plan. Her plan would give her everything she'd wanted since she'd realized her bad luck in meeting Klaus Mikaelson. She could give him exactly what he wanted and secure her freedom. Of course, she would have to wait a couple of decades, but what were a couple of decades after five hundred years on the run?

Katherine's plan was set into motion when she passed through Mystic Falls. She wasn't sure what made her go back to the town, maybe nostalgia. After all, she had some good times there. While she was there, she came across a couple with a little girl. Looking at the child was like looking into the past. The girl was an exact replica of her as a child. That told her all she needed to know. Little Elena Gilbert was her doppelganger. And that's when she began to formulate her plan.

"The plan was easy enough, if also a bit unpleasant. She would take the child and keep her safe until it was time for Klaus to sacrifice her. She doubted he could use the girl now, and even if he could, Katherine didn't think even he was evil enough to kill a toddler, and Katherine wasn't evil enough to hand her over at the ripe age of two. So, unfortunately, that meant Katherine had the unpleasant task of caring for the kid until she reached the appropriate age.

The plan had gone off without a hitch, at first. Katherine took the kid without a problem. She snatched her after compelling a babysitter to bring her outside and let her walk off with her. She, of course, compelled the human to forget what happened before she left.

That had been almost five months ago. Things had gone how she expected at first. It was pretty hellish, which she expected. Taking care of a child wasn't Katherine's forte. Kids were much more needy than she anticipated. Elena needed help with essentially everything. She could barely feed herself, and most of it ended up on her instead of in her. She wasn't potty trained; she couldn't dress herself. It was awful, and that was just the kid's physical needs. The girl cried constantly at first. She wanted her parents. Katherine told her they had to go away for a while. She'd hoped the girl would forget, but she still cried every night for months for her mommy and daddy.

Eventually, however, things calmed down. Katherine figured out how to care for Elena. It wasn't fun, but she had a rhythm now, and Elena stopped asking for her parents. She seemed content with the life Katherine was providing. Things were going well. That was sort of the problem.

It snuck up on Katherine. She wasn't expecting it, and she wasn't even sure when it happened, but one day she noticed that she no longer considered having Elena around to be an awful burden she had to bear in order gain her freedom. Her smiles when Elena looked up at her or achieved something for the first time were no longer forced. She found she liked having Elena around. She liked playing with her. She liked teaching her new things. She was happy when she was around her. She loved her. Unfortunately, that was a big problem for her plan.

Katherine tried to force herself to stop caring about Elena, but she couldn't. She even considered bringing her back to her parents, but she couldn't bear to part with her. She was already in too deep. And the thought of Klaus getting his hands on her felt like a crushing blow to the chest. She couldn't do it. She couldn't let him take her.

Katherine's first impulse was to just keep running. She'd evaded Klaus for five hundred years. She could keep doing it. However, that was when it was just her. She had a kid now. Running with a child was different. She might still be able to pull it off for a while, but Klaus would find them eventually. He was likely already on the hunt for a new doppelganger now that an appropriate amount of time had passed. He found Katherine, he would find Elena, unless she got some help.

Katherine debated for a while on who to ask for help. She'd encountered a lot of people in her lifetime, but most of them hated her. She had no friends. That was by design. Friends were a weakness she couldn't afford. She couldn't have emotional ties to anyone. Of course, that ship had just officially sailed. Her first thought was to ask the Salvatores. Damon would do anything for her, even if she were forced to reveal to him that she was never in the tomb. She quickly nixed that idea though. Damon was loyal to her, but he was an idiot. He'd more than likely do something to get her or Elena killed.

Katherine considered Stefan as well. He wasn't quite as stupid as his brother and she had genuine feelings for him, but she'd kept a close eye on him over the years. He'd made quite a name for himself. He was a ripper. He was a significant threat to Elena's life. She couldn't have him around her.

Every person Katherine could think of came with a risk. Those that wouldn't immediately turn her over to Klaus were a risk to her child. Plus, she didn't think any of them could really help her hide from Klaus even if they were willing to. There was only one person she knew who had the means to do it, but contacting him would be a huge risk. He might help her, and it was a big might. He might also drag her and Elena right to Klaus. She wanted to believe he wouldn't harm a child, but it was a risk. Then again, there was a risk no matter what she did.

It took days of considering it before decided that best course of action was to risk contracting this man. She had no choice. He was Elena's best chance at survival. She just had to hope that she wasn't completely wrong about the kind of man he was. Of course, getting in touch with him was no easy task. It wasn't like she could pick up the phone and call him. However, she knew people that could find him, and once they told him that Katerina Petrova was alive and they to find her, he'd come.

Weeks passed since Katherine had made that call. Katherine was becoming worried. He hadn't come. She wondered if her contact had lied about his ability to get ahold of him. It was certainly beginning to seem that way. She'd started to resign herself to the fact that her plan had failed, again.

Things changed one night after she'd put Elena to bed. She was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. She shook her head as she washed the tiny, kid plate and silverware. "How did this become my life?

Katherine soon heard the doorbell. She shut the water off and made her way to the door. "Damn it! Why'd they have to use the bell. I swear, if this idiot wakes Elena, I'll rip their throat…" Katherine's threatening tirade came to an end as she opened the door and saw exactly who it was. It seemed her plan had worked out after all because he was here.

Katherine was frozen. Her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute and she couldn't speak. She had set this in motion, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember what she was thinking as she stared at the man in front of her. He looked different than the last time she saw him, yet he was exactly as she expected. The tall man in front of her was dressed in a dark, expensive suit and tie. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were cold. The dangerous vibe she got from him nearly sent her running, but she remained in spot. She'd set this plan in motion. There was no running from it now.

"Hello, Katerina. You seem surprised to see me, yet, I believe you were expecting me," the man said in a cool tone.

"Elijah," Katherine breathed out in a whisper.