Notes: This is my first Vampire Diaries fic. I'm almost caught up on the third season, but I just had to write this.

This takes place in 2x22, right after Katherine gave Damon the vial of Klaus' blood.

She was walking through the Salvatore house, maybe for the last time. There was no way she was staying in Mystic Falls—not while Klaus was still there. Behind her, she could hear Damon's breathing grow steadier, and her doppelganger's relieved words.

She paused in the doorway when she heard footsteps running down the stairs.

"Katherine! Katerina! Wait!"

She rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and spun around. "Just because I saved your boyfriend doesn't mean I want to be your friend, Elena."

"I know," said Elena, coming to a stop. "I just… thanks. You didn't have to come, but you did. So thanks."

Katherine raised her eyebrows as Elena took another deep breath.

"Oh, you're welcome, Elena," she said mockingly, hiding her frustration. "And of course I had to come. I couldn't leave you all alone while Stefan and Klaus went on a murder spree. You needed someone to keep you company."

Elena didn't bother with the denials or the hurt expressions. "I know you didn't do it for me, but that doesn't make me any less grateful."

"But that's where you're wrong, Elena," said Katherine, her tone biting. "You don't know. Nobody knows anything about me, so stop making assumptions. What would you say if I told you I did do it for you?"

Elena's eyes widened. "You… what?"

She was going to regret this, but she was on a roll. "When Klaus murdered my family, he missed my baby. That's the only reason you exist in the first place. But I never met my baby. She grew up, and died, and I never got to see her. I don't know if she looked like me, or knew about me, and if she did, all she knew was that I was a shameless slut and she was an unwanted bastard."

Elena's face had gone from shocked to sad to full of pity, and that made her even angrier.

"I will always look out for myself, Elena. I will always put myself first. And I may be a manipulative bitch, but I'm not heartless. I cared about my baby. I loved my baby. She was the only good thing I ever did. And once I turned, I could have gone searching for her, found her, raised her, but I didn't. I didn't even think about it.

"Isobel was my friend, but she was just like me. She put herself and her ambition first." Katherine took a breath, and realized she was starting to cry. "I don't like you, Elena, but you're good. And when I look at you, all I can think is that I hope my baby was more like you than like me. Because I'm cruel, and I'm vain, and if turning you over to Klaus would have assured my freedom I would have done it in a heartbeat. I will always put myself first, Elena."

And now Elena was crying a bit, too, and Katherine realized with a jolt that she was standing here, pouring her soul out to her doppelganger in the house of the boy who would never love her back. She wiped under her eyes, and sniffed a bit.

"But you're all I have left of my baby, Elena. And saving Damon was one of the only things I could do for you that would honestly leave me unscathed. So I did it for you. I did it for my baby. I'm not stupid, Elena. I know that, if souls and heaven or whatever exist, and there's a part of her still around, she hates me, and I will never be selfless enough to make it up to her. But I love her. And she probably loves you. And if giving you back Damon would make her happy, wherever she is… then how could I not do it?"

With one more look at Elena's tear-streaked face, Katherine turned on her heel and left the Salvatore house.