Summary: Set in S5. Based on the song "How Do You Leave The One You Love?"
*1492-Ball*
We've been down this road before
I can't take it anymore
I have nothing left inside myself to give
Still every time I see your face
I'm falling back into that place
When everything to me feels like the first time
Katerina Petrova was at a ball, being introduced to Klaus and Elijah. Then, after she'd been introduced to Elijah, he was silent for a moment, which made her look at him.
"I'm sorry. You just remind me of someone," he apologized.
She did a curtsy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
He took her hand as she curtsied and said, "The pleasure's all mine." Then, after she was introduced to Klaus, he kissed her hand, said something in Bulgarian that impressed her, and kissed her hand.
"Very good," she said with a smile at him, once he'd said something in Bulgarian.
*American Gothic*
I want it to be possible
I'm hoping for a miracle
There has to be another way
I don't want to face the truth
How do you leave the one you love?
How do you rise above it all?
Where do I find the strength to make it
Through tomorrow when you're gone?
Kat stood in front of Elijah the night she'd given the cure to Elijah back in Pennsylvania. She'd given him a choice, letting him choose where their relationship stood after she'd lied for once to him. Now, they stood in front of each other at the Mikaelson house in Mystic Falls.
"Elijah, please. It's our turn. Let us, you and I, go on our own little adventure," she pleaded, realizing he was about to, again, choose Klaus over her.
"Katerina," Elijah replied, putting a hand on the side of her face. Then she put a hand on his arm and, after a moment, even though it showed that he wanted to kiss her, he instead kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then he told her, "Goodbye." Then, a moment later, he was gone, leaving her with a broken heart again.
*Dead Man On Campus*
And what do I tell myself tonight?
How can I ever make it right?
How do you leave?
How do you leave the one you love?
I'm so tired of being strong
I'm so afraid of being wrong
But I don't want to live a lifetime with regrets
So I have to let you go
Walk away now even though
My heart is telling me it's a mistake
But can I ever set you free?
You've been the very heart of me
There has to be another way
I don't want to face the truth
It was a dismal night, as she stood on the clock tower in Mystic Falls. She was ready to end it all. Elijah had left and Elena had shoved the cure down her throat, making her human. Silas had drank the cure out of her. Now she was dying of old age at a rapid pace. She'd always been strong as a vampire, but as a human, she couldn't help her emotions. And she didn't want the pain of dying of old age. Especially, alone. Despite being reunited with her long-lost daughter, she felt alone without Elijah there. She knew he would always be one phone call away when he wasn't daggered by Klaus, but she didn't want to have to call him for help. Besides, it would probably be too late by then. She didn't have that much time left. She was already getting gray hair. And everyone in this town either despised, hated, or wanted her dead. She was completely and utterly alone right now.
She closed her eyes, as she stepped towards the edge of the clock tower.
After a few moments of thinking of how she was going to jump off the clock tower, she had a feeling, which was always something she paid attention to. It was a feeling that she shouldn't do this, despite how scared she was of dying. So, because of this feeling, she stopped and decided not to kill herself. She decided that there had to be another way. And despite everything, she decided that her best chance of surviving was New Orleans. Apart from Klaus, New Orleans was safe as long as Elijah was around. So, that's what she did.
*New Orleans*
How do you leave the one you love?
How do you rise above it all?
Where do I find the strength to make it
Through tomorrow when you're gone?
And what do I tell myself tonight?
How can I ever make it right?
How do you leave?
How do you leave the one you love?
I want it to be possible
I'm hoping for a miracle
There has to be another way
I don't want to face the truth
It was a nebulous night in New Orleans, as Elijah left the only bar in town, on his way back home. He'd needed a couple drinks after everything that had happened. He would need many more too, but he wasn't one to make himself drunk just because of grief, no matter how deep the grief was. He'd lost Klaus to The Hollow, since Klaus had wanted to keep everyone safe, including Hope. That was the price. Now, after everything, there wasn't much left of the Mikaelsons. The bond, "always and forever," eventually had broken their family apart. It had taken 1,000 plus years, but it had happened. Now, Elijah was dealing with the loss of Klaus and knew that he would soon lose Rebekah too, because she wanted to still take the cure. Hope hated him for Hayley's death, so there wasn't really a bond there between them. His family was apart now and, this time, he knew he couldn't fix this. He just had to deal the best way he knew how. He didn't know what to do without Klaus, though. He'd been so loyal to him throughout the centuries that he'd always sacrificed love in the name of family.
Elijah stopped in his tracks half an hour after leaving the bar, smelling the familiar scents of Katerina, human, and blood. He didn't think she'd be here to cause any trouble, considering a human Katerina couldn't do much, so he assumed she'd come to town for help. He assumed since the smell made it seem that she was human again, that someone had shoved the cure down her throat. She'd loved being a vampire, so being human again was like a curse on her.
After a moment of debating, he followed his heart for once in centuries, following the scent trail of her, which soon led to an SUV that had crashed into a tree. Seeing the scene, he hoped she was still alive and would be okay. He didn't know what he'd do if she wasn't around. They'd always been the best part of each other. And he hadn't looked out for her all these centuries to fail her now.
"Katerina!"
In an instant, he blurred to the wrecked SUV and was at her side of the car. Then, with vamp strength, he forced the door to open, since it was jammed and dented in. Then he finally could look at the damage to see how bad it was.
How do you leave?
Where do I find the strength to make it
Through tomorrow when you're gone?
And what do I tell myself tonight?
How can I ever make it right?
How do you leave?
How do you leave the one you love?
How do you leave?
How do you leave the one you love?
He rested a hand on the side of her face.
"Katerina, it's me. Can you hear me?" he called, hoping to wake her up. When she didn't wake up though, he knew what he had to do. He had to get her to Freya to be healed. He had to do it quick, because he knew he was going to lose her if he didn't act soon.
He took his hand away from her face and then gently picked her up in his arms, before blurring to the compound.
Later that night, Freya healing her saved her life. Then, after she and Elijah had a talk, they fixed things between one another and Freya was able to reverse the aging. Elijah and Kat even got back together again.