A Tree Called Life

Chapter 14

Upon hearing her last words, Elijah flashed over to her prone form and attempted to wake the limp woman. "Katerina? Katerina, I insist you wake up." He received no response. Sighing, he tried a different tactic. "Rebekah! Niklaus!" He shouted a few times. Soon the sounds of doors and footsteps brought his brother and sister to his office, both clearly unhappy at being awoken.

"What the hell is going o— Oof!" Klaus stumbled forward as a half-asleep Caroline collided with his back.

"Sorry!" She squeaked, sidestepping him. "I heard shouting!" Caroline shook herself awake, disheveled. "What's going on?"

"I was attempting to ask th—" It seemed that Klaus was destined to be eternally interrupted, for at that moment Rebekah noticed Katherine on the floor and rushed over.

"Elijah, what happened?!" His sister knelt down beside him.

"Oh my god, Katherine!" Caroline gasped, taking residence at Rebekah's side.

"We were talking, and shortly after she stood, she collapsed." Elijah said, running his eyes over his love's form, praying that she would wake up.

"Did she complain of anything? What were her symptoms?" Caroline asked frantically, attempting to determine the situation.

"She complained of a pain in her left shoulder and arm. And when she stood she was dizzy." The eldest Original rattled off.

"Anything else?" The blonde snapped, heart sinking. She had idea of where this was going.

"She told me this morning that she has felt nauseated for the past few days, but I didn't think anything of it." Rebekah piped up.

"Call an ambulance." The youngest vampire said immediately, standing up. The Mikaelsons just looked at her, confused. "She hasn't just fainted, damn it!" Caroline scanned the room for a phone before noticing Katherine's on the chair. She snatched it up and started dialing. "Are you three so out-of-touch with humans that you can't even comprehend the fact that Katherine is most likely dying on the floor!" Elijah paled significantly, and looked from Caroline, to his sister, to Katherine. She was dying, and he had no idea. "Operator?" Caroline paced the room. "My friend just had a heart attack, and now she's unconscious. How do I know that? She complained of pain in her shoulder and dizziness! No, no chest... Look! I am well-educated on the different heart attack symptoms, and I know exactly what I am talking about! Now can you just get here before my friend dies! Thank you." She gave the address of the manor, before closing the phone and sitting down, wringing her hands. "They'll be here soon. All we can do is wait now."

"How did you know, sweetheart?" Klaus asked, taking a seat by the girl, attempting to comfort her.

"I had nothing to do this summer, so I spent the majority of it reading and really just talking to people in the long-term wing at the hospital. I found out about the program from this person my mom works with. Honestly, it wasn't as boring as it sounds. The people I met really didn't have any family that could be there in the day, and lot of them were elderly, and I kind of enjoyed it." She shrugged. "Anyways, I had to take this class, and I learned how to identify heart attacks and strokes and things like that, just in case something happened while I was in the room, you know?"

"And Katherine has all the symptoms?" Klaus questioned. He did not exactly care whether or not Katerina Petrova lived or died, but she was important to Caroline and his siblings. Therefore, he could at least try to be civil about this situation.

Caroline nodded, shoulders shaking. Her gaze wandered to her motionless friend, surrounded by Elijah and Rebekah, and tears started to fill her eyes. "H-her time's running out, isn't it? I mean, she had like three months at best before we came down here. It's been half that."