The next morning...
'What's the holdup?' Kol asked, coming onto the porch where the family was enjoying a lovely morning. Elijah and I were seated on chairs, reading the paper, Rebekah was leaning against the porch rail, Freya was seated on another chair and Klaus was looking out at the property. 'Alright, we rescued Nik, escaped mortal danger - why are we not on a private jet to Saint-Tropez?' He leaned over, snatching the paper out of Elijah's hand. 'You can catch up on the last five years when we're on our way - I assure you, you haven't missed much.'
'Circumstances have changed,' Elijah said, rising to his feet. 'We will leave here soon enough.'
'We have our niece to consider,' Rebekah said.
'Kol has a point,' Freya spoke. 'We need to put an ocean between us and Marcel Gerard as soon as possible.'
'We're not going anywhere today,' Klaus said, turning away from the tranquil view to face the group. 'I want one day of peace with my daughter before we uproot her.'
'Any delay is a risk.'
'One day,' Klaus snapped to Freya. 'We're in the middle of nowhere, the house is cloaked, we weren't followed, and I'm not asking!' Just then Hayley walked out, with a certain smaller person in tow. Klaus turned, realising he'd been shouting.
'Everybody, look who's awake,' Hayley said. We all looked to Hope.
'Hello,' she said shyly. Klaus looked at her softly.
'Hello,' he replied.
'Mom, can I go play in the garden?' Hope asked.
'Yeah. Sure.' She turned and ran off, down the porch steps. Klaus turned to look back at Hayley.
Rebekah and Elijah looked out at Klaus, as he watched his daughter tenderly.
'Now that our brother has found his noble purpose, what about you?' she asked him.
'Let's give him the day with his daughter,' Elijah said. 'Tomorrow, we seek sanctuary elsewhere.'
'That's not what I meant, is it? You're no longer tethered to him. You and Lilliana must have thought about it. So... what will you do with your immortality now you're not burdened with saving Nik's soul?'
'I don't know.' He turned to face his sister. 'And what about you? Do you still desire a family of your own?'
'Well, true love continues to elude me. Though certainly there's an app for that now.'
'I am sorry. I know the way that you felt about Marcel.' She stood.
'We have the opportunity for a fresh start,' she said. 'Perhaps we should use this one quiet day to decide what we want our new beginning to be.' She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and left the room.
That evening...
I walked out to the pergola out the front of the house, completely barefoot and wearing a small blue dress. Elijah was standing in the pergola, and there was a small couch and table, with candles lit, and he was pouring a glass of champagne and a glass of orange juice.
'Was she asleep?' Elijah asked.
'With her muddy shoes on,' I said with a chuckle. 'Hayley put her to bed.'
'Who else do I know does that?' he quipped.
'Expecting company?' I asked softly. He turned to me.
'Yeah. She should be here any second. I think you're going to like her.' He walked towards me, giving me a soft kiss.
'You okay?' I asked once we pulled apart, noticing his contemplative look.
'Rebekah asked me something, who I might be if Niklaus no longer needed me. Did I have any desires of my own? And I thought about it. There was a time long ago, I do recall, I wanted more. Somehow, I have lost the feelings beneath blood and chaos.'
'Hey,' I said, gently grabbing the back of his neck and making him look into my eyes. 'You can't let the bad things that you did in your past define you. I know you. You are good.'
'No, you are good,' he said softly. 'I was wrong when I said that you were a Mikaelson. You're not a Mikaelson. You don't have a Mikaelson heart. There's just too much good in you.' He brushed the hair out of my eyes, looking at me tenderly. 'It's why I love you.'
'I love you, too.' We kissed each other again. When we pulled apart once more, he placed his hand on my stomach, tenderly looking into my eyes. 'You're going to be the best father, Elijah. I know you will. And our child will be honest and selfless, like you.'
'And our child will be brave and kind, like you,' he replied.
Klaus walked into the living room.
'You two don't need to come,' Klaus said to Elijah and I.
'You spent half a decade as Marcel's prisoner, now let me take Hope,' Elijah urged.
'Hayley is distraught; stay and comfort her.'
'If this is indeed a trap, if Marcel is intent on killing us... your daughter needs a father,' I said softly.
'We're all going,' Hayley spoke, walking into the room. 'She needs me. I need the three of you.' We turned to look at her. 'We're family. We stick together.'