Originals: Always and Forever (Klatherine)

Ch.7: Falling Apart

It was a beautiful day, as Klaus sat on a couch, having a shot glass of Bourbon. It had been months since his newbie hybrid had been saved from the wolfsbane, which her vampire enemy had given her. Peace had finally been happening. The wolves had also finally gotten a new alpha. For Klaus, everything was going according to plan. That was, if he didn't count Katerina and her sudden change. He'd never been good at the whole comforting thing though, so he'd been just waiting for her to get whatever it was, out. After all, as a hybrid, he knew how heightened the pain of losing someone was. They were so much alike though, he didn't force her to talk to him. Like him, he figured she would first. However, he was unaware that she'd ever had a daughter, and that she'd heard about Nadia's death. First, Jackson had been killed by Adrian months ago. Now, Nadia from none other than the werewolf she'd set up for Klaus to use years ago, and that Klaus had saved from having to turn every full moon. Tyler. Her world after Nadia had quite literally crashed and burned. Fallen apart.

Elijah entered the parlor to see Klaus doing nothing.

"It's been months. I'm concerned about Katerina."

"Katerina seems fine," Klaus replied, playing off how much she wasn't. As long as she wasn't destroying his city, he didn't care how long it lasted.

"If the two of you could treat each other more than just passing acquaintances..."

"She has you to help her," Klaus interrupted him.

"Sadly, like you, Katerina prefers to fight her demons alone," he reminded him.

Later that night, Elijah was in a room, when Kat walked in.

"Welcome back. What, isn't it the third night this week?"

"I don't need a caretaker. Hybrids are invincible," she replied and reminded him.

"I understand this is difficult for you," he replied.

"What's difficult is personal. What happened to Jackson was only the tip of the iceberg," she informed him.

"Whatever's happened, it will get better," he said, trying to comfort her. Despite having left when she'd been a vampire, he hated seeing her on such a rampage. He'd seen her at her highs and lows, and seen what she'd been capable of as a vampire, but acting out like this wasn't the Katerina he'd fallen in love with 500 years ago. She wasn't the vampire Katerina he knew, either. The Katerina he knew had control. Young vampire Katerina hadn't had much control, but even then, she hadn't been like this.

"How, Elijah? I haven't felt like this since 1492, when Klaus killed my mother. It took me three centuries to move on from that." Since she felt like she could tell him anything, just like when they'd still been together, she informed him, "She was torn from my arms, but I was still a mother." At that last part, she had to try and compose herself. "Now, I'm this. She found me when I was human, before Klaus showed up. The last thing we did was fight over me dying. She told me I was descended from Travelers. She wanted me to body jump into her. She spent her entire vampire life in search of me, as she told me. I didn't want her to waste whatever vampire life she had left by me being inside of her," she explained to him. "She left, because she didn't want to watch me die, and I don't blame her. Now, she's dead. I was informed that Lockwood bit her by accident. So, tell me. How is any of this going to get better?"

After a few minutes of composing herself, she left the room.

"Katerina," he said, but she continued to leave the room.

The next day, Davina was in the Quarter, as per usual, when Kol came up to her, starting a conversation, and they eventually introduced each other.

"Kol," he greeted her.

"Davina," she greeted back, as they shook hands.

"Cool name. Terrible taste in music, though," he replied back.

She gave a chuckle.

"You obviously need me," he added.

After she'd informed Klaus of the same thing that she'd told Elijah the night before, minus the parts about her mother, Klaus and Elijah were downstairs.

"As much as I'd like to comfort Katerina during this difficult time, I believe you're the only one that can help her," Elijah told him.

"She lost her daughter. How can I possibly ease her pain?" he replied. He didn't know what it was like fully, despite what he'd felt after she'd killed Marcel without telling him that she was going to do it. He never had children, so he couldn't relate to her pain to a full extent.

"Whatever she needs to hear," Elijah told him.

That night, Kat sat on a couch, Klaus seated on a coffee table in front of her.

"It will get better," he told her.

"How? I'm immortal. If I can't get through this, how'm I supposed to get through the rest of my existence? It took more than a few centuries after what you did to my mother. I don't know if I can live three centuries like this again. Or more."

"Your pain will fade with time," he assured her.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't feel like it. Especially, when her killer is still breathing."

"Rest assured, you shall have your vengeance, but right now, we need to stick together. Keep the wolves aligned with us, and the Quarter warzone free," he replied. He meant it, too. The pain his first successful hybrid had given Katerina, he wanted payback, too.

"Why would they listen to me? Jackson is gone. Eve isn't even a triggered wolf. Knowing Jackson and his pack for so long, they'll see me as the reason that Jackson is gone."

"Because you're their friend. Probably their greatest friend." He went to sit next to her on the couch. "We keep this city from falling apart. Defeat any enemies. Then I'll make sure you get the vengeance you so desire."

He rested a hand on hers.

She looked at him.

"It's a plan then," she agreed with him.