The Originals: Rewritten

Ch.35: Transformation

When she woke up, she was in bed. She felt uninjured, but saw that she still had the clothes she'd warn when she'd been injured. She also felt different. That told her that she couldn't be human anymore. But all she knew was that everything was heightened more than what she remembered.

She sat up in bed and finally looked around, where she saw Elijah standing in the threshold.

"I'm sorry, Katerina. Klaus didn't have a choice. You were very nearly dead when he found you. I know you liked being human."

"So...I'm a hybrid now?"

"It's better than being dead. We weren't even sure if you'd come back."

"If everyone was so worried, then where's Klaus?"

"He's around. He just couldn't watch you. He blames himself for being too self-absorbed from these few weeks that he didn't notice you gone, despite my best efforts to dissuade him from that notion."

"What about you?" she wanted to know.

"I thought you'd need help with your transformation."

"Oh, now you want to help? You weren't there the first time. Why help now? Kol was much better at helping the first time around than you were. You weren't even there. Now, you want to be useful? You shouldn't even be trying. All you've ever done was try to find someone that isn't even there anymore, rather than supporting my decisions. What makes you any better at helping the situation than Klaus? Klaus should be the one here. At least, he knows what being a hybrid means," she replied. There were times Elijah had been there for her yes, but like she'd pointed out, he'd rarely been there. Before Pearl and Anna had come along, Kol had been the one to help her when she'd first turned into a vampire. And she knew as well as Elijah that she was right. He'd always tried to find Katerina beneath who she truly was as a vampire, instead of supporting her or helping her through what she needed help with. And Klaus was grieving and was also mad at himself for not realizing she was in danger until nearly too late, but Klaus could help her in a way that Elijah never could. That was her perspective, anyway. Why have a vampire teach a hybrid, after all? All Elijah would probably get was hurt, which she didn't want to physically do to him.

When she told him about who had been there for her when she'd first turned as a vampire, he clearly hadn't known. He was pretty sure nobody knew. After all, it was rare that Klaus would keep something from him, which had to mean that this was a secret or something between her and Kol. Now he understood why she had a different perspective on Kol. He was there when Elijah wasn't or couldn't be. And she was as correct as always, even though he wished she wasn't. He'd always tried to help her by trying to reach what he believed could still be there. And as a human, he'd seen that there were parts of Katerina that were there, but not as much as he had hoped. Now that she was a hybrid, he was sure that she'd revert back to how she used to be. He was just afraid that it would be worst, because of Klaus making her a hybrid. Even though he'd always had a connection with Katerina, he doubted it would help keep her at least a little human. And as a hybrid, there wasn't much he could do when he was just a vampire, Original or not. He knew if she wanted to or her anger got the best of her, she could bite him, and he didn't necessarily feel like going through all of that.

"You're right. I wasn't there when you needed me in the beginning. I wasn't there a lot of times, but I am now," he replied. "I may not be able to teach you the ways of a hybrid like Klaus can, but right now, he's made it clear that he needs to be left alone. If I help the vampire part of you, then the wolves can help the other parts of you," he added, trying to reason with her.

"I learned everything the last time I was a vampire. What could you possibly teach me that I don't already know?" she quizzed him.

"You're not a 500-year-old vampire anymore, Katerina. You got used to being a human, so now that you're a hybrid, you'll have to relearn everything. Even if you haven't forgotten anything. It would be a good opportunity to freshen up your skills, anyways. Maybe you'll learn something from me, Kol and others didn't teach you or know."