Submitted for the vd_kink prompt on LJ: Elijah/Elena - Elena has to pose as Katherine (for whatever reason). Elijah, however, quickly figures out she's not Katherine and decides to see how far she'll go with the act. Whether Elena eventually realizes that he knows or not is up to you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries in any way, shape, or form.

Elena sighed as she walked through her front door before closing and locking it behind her. Closing her eyes, she leaned her back against the door. She and Caroline had just managed to calm a near hysterical Bonnie after she told them exactly what Klaus had forced her to do. The Originals were no longer linked. As absurd as it may sound, she was grateful to Bonnie. She had inadvertently saved Caroline, Damon, and Stefan. Not to mention the only Original she truly did not want to lose.

"Long day, Elena?"

Snapping her eyes open, she saw her mirror image leaning against the handrail of the stairs. And Elena realized she was completely, utterly alone. Fear swept through her and she desperately wished she hadn't locked the door. Not that she would get very far if she attempted to flee, but she knew she couldn't fight her doppelganger, either.

Straightening up away from the door, she squared her shoulders. "What do you want, Katherine?"

Katherine smirked at her false bravado. "Why are you always so mean?" she asked with a pout. "Who says I didn't just want the pleasure of your company?"

At that Elena snorted. "You want to be in my company about as much as I want to be in yours. Which is not at all. So," she said crossing her arms, "what do you want?"

"Fine, down to business then." She pushed away from the handrail and leisurely walked over to Elena. Standing directly in front of her and placing a hand on the door next to Elena's head, she said, "I need you to do me a little favor."

"You want me to do you a favor? You have got to be kidding me!" Elena tried to push her away, but Katherine brought her other hand up to clasp her throat, pinning her to the door.

"Not kidding, Elena. I've pretended to be you twice to save your life. Once from the warlock, once from Mikeal. I'd say that you owe me one."

"I don't owe you a damn thing! You've tortured me every chance you've ever gotten! Hurt my family and friends!" The pressure of Katherine's grip tightened slightly, cutting of Elena's tirade.

"Be that as it may, Elena, you still owe me. I could just take you away, wait for the vervain to leave your system, and compel you to do what I want you to do. But, once you hear what I need you to do, you might not be so adverse to the idea."

Confusion clouded Elena's eyes, warring with the fear and anger there. Katherine eased her grip enough to allow Elena to speak. "What do you want me to do?"

"Hmm… Genuine curiosity," thought Katherine. "Got ya." Aloud, she said, "I happen to know where your favorite Original is right now. I've heard how close the two of you are. When you're not stabbing each other in the back, anyway." Elena's jaw tightened and fury reigned supreme in her eyes, causing Katherine to smirk again before continuing. "I happen to know that he's willing to end Klaus' life. It's an even exchange if you think about it. He's probably hoping his mother will be satisfied with the death of the reminder of her disgrace and leave the rest of them alone. And you happen to have the one weapon that can kill an Original."

"Elijah is not going to want Klaus dead. He's his brother. He couldn't kill him before, what makes you think he'll do it now? Besides, Stefan took the stakes to Klaus to get him to free Damon."

"Not all of them," Katherine replied in a sing-song voice. Reaching behind her with the hand that had been on the door, she pulled out one of the stakes. "Alaric really should have hidden his better."

It suddenly dawned on Elena what Katherine wanted. "You want me to take that to Elijah, pretending to be you. You want him to kill Klaus and set you free, so neither of them comes after you again." Katherine's eyes lit up and she nodded. Elena still didn't understand one thing. "Why not do it yourself? Why do you need me to take it to him as you?"

Katherine rolled her eyes before fixing Elena with a look of disappointment and distain. "And here when you put part of it together, I thought you were getting smarter. I want you to go because, as of right now, Elijah still wants me dead. He may try to kill me before I even have to chance to offer him my deal. If he does that to you just scream, 'I'm Elena.' He won't hurt you."

Elena made a noise of disbelief. "You do know he left me in the caves with his psychotic sister who does want me dead, right?"

"He did that knowing Rebekah wouldn't challenge him when he ordered her to release you." She was truly getting exasperated by her doppelganger. "Are you going to do this for me willingly, or should we get going so I can lock you up and wait for the vervain to run its course?"

Elena felt so conflicted. She had seen the way Rebekah had backed down when Elijah had saved her in the parking lot of the hospital. She didn't want to help Katherine in any way, shape or form, but she wanted Klaus dead more. Her friends would be safe and Jeremy could come back home. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "But what about the vampire blood lines? When Finn died every vampire turned by his blood died, too."

Relief flooded through Katherine. She knew Elena was considering helping her in spite of herself. People with love and compassion for others were so easy to manipulate. "Isobel researched our bloodlines. She didn't know that killing an Original would kill all created by their blood, she was just curious about which one she came from."

Elena waited for her to continue, but Katherine just paused and smiled at her. Growing impatient, Elena spat out, "Which one was it?"

Katherine savored her irritation for a few seconds more before deciding to tell her. "She had ruled out Klaus, Elijah, and Finn. Which means that only Kol and Rebekah are off limits. I wouldn't tell our boys about it not being Elijah, though, if I were you. They really don't seem to like the attention he pays you much."

An evil, vicious smirk appeared on Katherine's face once she was done speaking. Elena's fury at her ancestor only grew at the look and she briefly considered telling her to go to hell. Neither she nor Elijah felt anything more than an understanding as far as she was concerned. Or as far as she would admit to anyone, even herself.

Deciding to ignore Katherine's comments that she knew were only meant to rile her, she asked, "Have you already set up the meeting?"

"No, I had to wait to see if you'd agree to help me first. So will you do it? If not for me then for poor, sweet Bonnie, Caroline, and Alaric? Not to mention our boys. You know that they'll all die just to stop Klaus, so he won't use you anymore. Klaus has Kol watching your little brother. If the others try anything, one call and he'll be dead, too. Do you want them all safe, or do you want to spite me? Either way, you're going to do it, but will you be me and be selfish about it, or will you be the selfless Elena they all think you are?"

Elena knew that Katherine was well aware of the fact that she wanted to be nothing like her. She knew Katherine was trying to use that against her, but she had made up her mind before Katherine's little taunt. Elena wondered if she could pull off being Katherine as well as Katherine pulled off being her. Probably not, but she'd have to try to be the one person above all others that she never wanted to be like.

"I'll do it. Make the call and arrange the meeting."

Katherine smiled like a Cheshire cat and backed away from her, pulling her phone out.

The next afternoon, after a six-hour drive, Elena found herself standing in front of a beautiful house. She was shaking with anticipation and fear. Katherine had spent the night trying to show Elena how to walk and act like her.

"Can you attempt to be sexy? Alluring?"

"If I'm supposed to act like you, shouldn't that be slutty and manipulative?" Probably not the best idea to antagonize her vampire doppelganger, but she had been just as exasperated with Katherine as she was with her.

Luckily, Katherine had chuckled and only replied, "Cute, Elena."

Squaring her shoulders and putting on a flirty smile, Elena walked to the door with a sexy sway to her hips. She prayed all the while that she wouldn't fall flat on her face after tripping over her own feet in the five inch heels Katherine insisted she wear. After knocking, she glanced down at herself and almost groaned at what she was wearing. It so wasn't her, but it was most definitely Katherine.

Hearing footsteps, she quickly schooled her face back into a confident and sexy smile. Elijah opened the door and looked at her with cold, calculating eyes. She shivered and glanced down. He'd never looked at her that way before. Not even when she'd betrayed him.

"But you're not you, you're the evil, manipulative, vile, little whore Katherine! Be Katherine! Be Katherine!"

Taking a deep breath, she put back on the smile she'd seen Katherine use so often and looked up at him through her lashes. "Elijah, I'm so happy you decided to see me."

"Why don't you come in, Katerina? I'm sure you'd like to take this inside. I'm dying to hear what you have to tell me," he replied, taking a step back and gesturing for her to enter. A true gentleman, even with someone he hates and despises.

Elena entered and stopped after a few steps, waiting for him to guide her. After closing the door, he smiled at her slightly, still regarding her with those hard eyes.

"This way," he said, gesturing her to follow him as he walked ahead of her.

He led her to what she would she would guess was his study. It was beautiful, a leather couch, a large, dark cherry wood desk with a large comfortable looking leather chair, a burning fireplace, and the left wall line with books. Elena desperately wanted to take a look at the titles of some of those books, but that was something Katherine would never even care about, let alone look at. So, she instead turned her eyes to Elijah. He was sitting on the couch, staring at her, watching her intently.

"Why don't you come make yourself comfortable, Katerina?" His voice was filled with that confidant, sureness that he'd used with Trevor and Rose. Right before he took off Trevor's head with just a swipe of his hand. Elena gulped, but complied, sitting on the couch with him. She tried to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, knowing that he could cross it and kill her quicker than she could even comprehend.

"Elijah," she started, looking at him with Katherine's flirty, bedroom eyes, "I've heard about all the trouble that you and your siblings have had lately. I'm sure you know that Klaus got Elena's little witch friend to break the bond between you. I've heard a rumor that you may still want Klaus dead. He's done so much to you and your family, I can't really blame you." She said the last of it with what she hoped was Katherine's manipulative, false sympathy. He continued to stare at her without any emotion, his face completely unreadable. She knew he could hear her heart pounding and she wondered if she'd have a heart attack before he got the chance to even try to rip it out.

Elijah leaned forward slightly, eyes pinning hers. "What makes you think I would want my brother dead? You have heard of everything I've done recently to ensure my family's safety?" She nodded, her mouth dry. She hadn't been this afraid of him since the first time they'd met. Even then his eyes hadn't been this hard to read. Shock at her appearance, incredulity that she was truly human, and even a softness mixed with victory when he looked into her eyes saying, "Hello there." He'd been amused and a bit irritated at her audacity to try to negotiate with him. She focused back on him as he began speaking again. "Then you know I had no trouble trapping Elena and threatening her life to save my family. I hold her with a great deal more regard than I ever held you, yet I was willing to use her. What should I do with you sitting here, wanting me to kill my brother?"

She gasped, breathing hard. Had Katherine sent her here to be killed by Elijah? Was this all some setup designed by her insane doppelganger? No, it couldn't be. If Elijah killed her, he'd realize that she wasn't Katherine. He may not care for her in the way that Katherine implied, but he did understand and respect her. Katherine would never be able to outrun him if she manipulated him into killing her. He was testing her. She had to be believable and she had to remember to be Katherine. She could do this.

"Here goes nothing," she thought. "You should listen to what I have to say and then decide what to do with me."

Elijah couldn't believe his ears when Katerina had called, asking to see him about something important. She claimed to have, "Something he wanted, something that he would need." Curiosity and the great desire to finally put an end to her had him agreeing to meet her. On his terms, in his house.

However, since he'd answered the door and saw her standing there in tight black pants, a black silk and lace shirt, and black knee high boots with very high heels, he couldn't help but feel something was off with her. It was a nagging in the back of his mind that he couldn't understand. When inside his study, he watched her take in her surroundings and look almost wistfully at his books before looking at him. Katerina could care less about the written word. The only words that suited her were the ones that could manipulate or hurt her intended victim.

Once asked to sit, she had walked over with a sexy sway of the hips, not Katerina's usual sexual saunter. Even her expressions were off. She was terrified and rightly so, but not the way she should have been. There was no sexual banter or bribes of an intimate encounter. It almost sounded like she was beginning a negotiation with him when she had replied, "You should listen to what I have to say and then decide what to do with me."

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and it was all he could do to keep his cool and aloof mask. How had Katerina manipulated Elena into pretending to be her? Surely both had known the risks. He knew that Katerina would rejoice as much as his sister would if Elena was killed at his hand, or any hand for that matter. But, Elena was not as naïve as her age would suggest. Why would she put herself in such a dangerous position? What had Katerina done, or threatened to do, to who that Elena loved? At that thought his fury at Katerina grew and he knew his composure slipped a bit, jaw tightening and eyes narrowing dangerously.

Elena looked truly terrified now, so he forced himself to put his usual mask back on. He wondered how far Elena would go with this charade. Elijah knew how much she valued what was left of her family and friends. It's why he didn't begrudge her helping his mother. It had hurt him that she'd done it, but he understood why she acted the way she had. But he was curious; he really wanted to know just how far she would allow him to go. He wouldn't take it too far, his honor wouldn't let him take complete advantage of her, but he could test her.

"Then please, tell me what you've come here to say."

He watched her stand and pace a few feet from him. He couldn't help but smirk at the action. Elena knew as well as Katerina that there was no where she could go that he couldn't catch her. In this room, it would take less than a second. Elijah watched her gather her thoughts and then go back into "Katerina mode," as he had now dubbed it.

"I've heard," Elena began in a soft, sultry voice that hadn't affected him until he realized it was her, "that you believe the only real reason your mother came back was to stop Klaus. However, since she's already here, why not take care of all the abominations she's created? You've stopped her… for now. But you know as well as I do that she'll try again. If Klaus is taken out of the picture, maybe it'll satisfy her enough to leave the rest of you in peace."

Elijah stood up and slowly prowled toward her. Her heart rate had just begun to slow because of the feeble attempt at distancing herself from him, but now it went into overdrive. He stopped before her, leaving about a foot of space between them. She hadn't backed down, though she did tremble. He was fairly certain Katerina would have tried to run, or at least backed away from his advance. His respect and admiration for her grew. She'd always had more courage than any type of survival instinct. He hoped it wouldn't be the death of her one day.

"Klaus is indestructible, Katerina. How would you suggest I stop him?" He softened his voice, letting it glide across her. She shivered at his tone.

"I have something that can kill an Original," she replied, reaching behind her back under her jacket. "I'll assume you know what this is."

He couldn't hide his shock when she pulled out a white oak stake. Had Elena come to try to kill him permanently? He growled, knocking the weapon from her hand before grabbing her and pinning her to the far wall. He made sure not to hurt her, not completely sure of her intentions.

"Elijah, please!" she cried out desperately. "I wasn't going to use it on you, I wouldn't do that! I was only trying to show you!"

Elijah believed her. There was nothing but fear and truth in her eyes, no change in the slamming pace of her heart. He calmed slightly. He looked at her, eyes full of tears, shaking against him in terror. Still, he couldn't resist testing her. He just had to know. He ran his hands down her arms to grab her wrists, pinning them on either side of her head. She began to struggle against him, trying to push his body away from her with hers. He pressed her back using his entire length.

"Stop!" he commanded. She immediately stopped struggling with a small whimper. He looked down at her, her curls in disarray falling all over both of them. He was struck again with her beauty, both inside and out. He was also very aware of how her soft curves molded to his body. It was distracting, but he wasn't about to let her go. "Better. Now, Katerina, why would I believe that you wouldn't want me dead as much as you want Klaus dead?"

As soon as she pulled out the white oak stake to show him, Elijah growled. He smacked it out of her hands, sending it flying across the room. He grabbed her by her upper arms and sped her backward into the wall. He didn't slam her into it, just roughly pinned her. The anger in his eyes sent waves of nauseating terror through her. Elena then realized he thought she meant to use it on him.

"Elijah, please! I wasn't going to use it on you, I wouldn't do that! I was only trying to show you!" She desperately needed him to believe her, so she held his stare, even though what she saw in his eyes made her tremble all the more.

The look on his face changed and he slowly slid his hands down her arms to take hold of her wrists. He brought them up to pin them by her head. When he had first begun to move his hands, she was sure he would let her go. Now she completely panicked, having no idea what his intentions would be. She began to struggle, though she knew it was useless. She tried to use her body to push him away, but he just pressed the entirety of his against her. She couldn't move, but continued to try.

"Stop!" It wasn't a request; it was an order, a command. She instantly ceased her struggles, too afraid not to. She had never had a chance to consider his body before; he was always concealed in those suits of his. But now, with all of him pressed against her, she could feel the hard muscle beneath his suit. If she wasn't in the position she currently found herself in, she would surely have welcomed the feeling of him against her.

"Better," he said in a seductive voice. "Now, Katerina, why would I believe that you wouldn't want me dead as much as you want Klaus dead?"

The soft, sensuousness of his voice and his body against hers was distracting. She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a plausible excuse that Katherine would use. She considered telling him who she was, but dismissed it. That she had tried to fool him may not go over well in his current state of mind.

She looked up at him, surprised by the softness of his expression and emotions she couldn't quite name in his eyes. Suddenly, the answer was so clear. She wasn't sure if it was something Katherine would say, or even consider. She'd said it to him before and it was right then as much as it was now.

"Because I would be a fool to betray you again."

"Do you regret betraying me before? After so many nights spent in my bed, after how many times I told you I'd keep you safe? Even if you didn't know what I was going to protect you from, do you regret not trusting me then?"

Surprise and, to her utter astonishment, jealousy ran through her. Elijah had admitted that he'd cared about Katherine when she was human. She just had no idea that he'd slept with her. Elena tried to cover her surprise and suppress her jealousy. Even if Katherine didn't regret what she did, and Elena was sure she couldn't have cared less, she would most certainly lie her ass off here.

"Yes, I regret it. I should have trusted you, come to you for help when I found out about Klaus. But, you were, are, his brother and a vampire. I was scared. I realize now what a mistake I made in not coming to you. I know that you protected Elena and were going to give her the elixir you had gotten to save my life. I should have trusted you to protect me and save my life five hundred years ago. I'm sorry that I didn't." Even though she wasn't Katherine and nothing she had just said was anything she had done, she felt as if she were apologizing for all the things she had done to him. It felt good, liberating. However, she was not prepared for his response to her statement.

"Do you regret betraying me before? After so many nights spent in my bed, after how many times I told you I'd keep you safe? Even if you didn't know what I was going to protect you from, do you regret not trusting me then?" Elijah smiled softly at the surprise, tinted with what he suspected was jealousy, in her eyes that she quickly tried to hide. He'd never been intimate with Katerina, but Elena wouldn't know that. "How will she reply to this one?" he wondered.

After a brief pause, she finally answered him.

"Yes, I regret it. I should have trusted you, come to you for help when I found out about Klaus. But, you were, are, his brother and a vampire. I was scared. I realize now what a mistake I made in not coming to you. I know that you protected Elena and were going to give her the elixir you had gotten to save my life. I should have trusted you to protect me and save my life five hundred years ago. I'm sorry that I didn't."

The words that fell from her lips were as honest coming from her as they would have been deceitful for Katerina. Elijah recognized the confession for what it was. She wasn't apologizing for all of her doppelganger's mistakes, she was apologizing for hers.

Elijah surprised himself when he slowly lowered his mouth to hers. He was even more surprised when Elena, after stiffening for a moment, responded. It took all of his control to pull back from her mouth. He kissed along her jaw while she turned her head to give him better access. As much as he wanted to continue, the kiss had taken him too far already. He knew how far she would go to save her family and friends. He'd always known, he just wanted to test how far she would go as Katerina. She whimpered softly, trying to press even closer to him. He kissed down her neck and inhaled her scent, the intoxicating scent that only belonged to Elena Gilbert.

Straightening up, he released her wrists and backed a step away. She looked weak in the knees, her soft, brown eyes darkened with lust. He smiled softly at her and reached out to touch her cheek. She leaned into his touch and grabbed his hand to keep it in place.

"As much as I would like to continue this, it would not be honorable or gentlemanly of me, lovely Elena." She immediately dropped his hand, staring at him in complete and utter shock. He smirked at her expression. "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two of you? I'm not a Salvatore and you're nothing like her, Elena."

Elena felt herself grow red with embarrassment at her actions, but couldn't help but be secretly pleased that at least someone could tell the difference between the two of them.