One Month Later:
If Hayley learned anything about the Mikaelsons' in the last month it was that they were resilient. After Caroline left, Klaus had taken to drinking, but found solace in bonding with their daughter. Rebekah and Marcel stayed to support Klaus. Kol gave up his grudge toward Klaus and had even been working on forming a relationship with Hayley; that did not include threatening her. Esther and Mikael continued to seek release for their children from Mikael's mistakes. And Elijah, Elijah had been showing Hayley how much in love with her he is.
"Good morning," Elijah whispered into her ear. Hayley rolled onto her side to find him; standing over the bed. He wore a suit and a tie. In his hands, he held a tray with an assortment of breakfast items on it. "I have to go into town with Father today but I wanted to see you first," he said, smoothing a wavy lock behind her ear.
"Thanks," Hayley said with a wide smile as she sat up. He placed the tray in front of her. She grabbed his tie, pulling him closer and smiled at him before she kissed him. Hayley thought that she could die happy as Elijah pressed closer to her; moving the tray aside.
Elijah pulled her onto his lap, his eyes piercing into hers, "I do hope that you and Niklaus will be able to play nice together in my absence," he whispered against her lips.
"Maybe," Hayley offered him a teasing smile. She straightened his tie and wiped her lip balm from his mouth. "Have a good day," she told him softly.
Grinning, Elijah kissed her on the forehead. "I will be home soon."
"You'd better be," Hayley said as he made his way to the door. He turned, pivoting on one heel and gave her one of those heart-stopping smiles that left her wishing for more of everything with him.
Elijah patted the doorframe and then disappeared. Hayley smiled at her breakfast. She'd become such a sap and she loved every single minute of it. "Hayley?" Rebekah called from the hallway. "Are you dressed yet?" The blonde popped her head inside the room.
"No. I was just about to eat," Hayley replied, cutting a pancake and taking a bite. "Oh, my God! This is so good. Thank your mom for me."
"That's Elijah's doing," Rebekah retorted with a smirk. She came into the room in a new dress.
"Going somewhere?" Hayley quipped.
Rebekah looked at her dress. "Yes. If you must ask. Marcel is taking me somewhere. Heaven knows he couldn't just tell me where; so I'd know what to wear. No, it has to be an entire ordeal." Sighing, Rebekah sat down on the edge of the bed; playing with a corner of the comforter. She looked distracted.
"Are you okay?" Hayley asked before taking a sip of her orange juice.
Rolling her eyes, Rebekah looked at Hayley. "It's been years now. Years. And what feels like centuries... And after the madness of Nik's epic fail of a wedding, I..." She looked back down at the comforter. "I don't know. Somehow, I thought that after Caroline, it would be my turn. Now, I just don't see Marcel proposing to me."
"Rebekah..." Hayley had no idea what to say. She wanted to tell Rebekah that unless Marcel was hiding something pretty massive; they'd probably get their happy ending. Hayley had no idea what would happen to Rebekah and Marcel. However, she did not want to give her friend false hope for a future that might never come to pass.
"Thanks for listening to me," Rebekah said with a faint smile.
Hayley nodded. "I'll see you later."
"Yes," Rebekah nodded, getting to her feet and smiling widely. "Perhaps Marcel's planning something lovely for us. One can be optimistic."
"Yeah," Hayley chuckled and watched Rebekah leave.
A couple of minutes later, Hayley finished eating and left the bed that still smelled like Elijah. When she was dressed and ready to confront the day, she headed into the hallway to find Kol carrying a giggling Hope on his back. "Faster!" her little girl cried.
"Slow down!" Freya called from the end of the hall. "That vase is a family heirloom." She gave Kol a faux disapproving look.
Kol winked at Hayley before pulling Hope off his back. "You mean this child-sized vase?" he asked, pretending to drop Hope into it.
"Ahhhh!" Hope cried. "Don't put me in there!" she cried out, clinging to Kol's shirt.
"But I thought you wanted to go to China?" Kol quipped.
"That's not China!" Hope declared, still hanging off of Kol's shirt.
"What is going on?" Klaus demanded, coming out of his bedroom and looking hung over. He rubbed his drooping eyelids.
"Daddy, Uncle Kol is going to drop me in the vase!" Hope called to her father.
"She said she wanted to visit China!" Kol added. "I thought I'd help."
Klaus' lips quirked into a smirk. "I think perhaps you could do better than that, brother," he said, lacing his fingers behind his back, he strode down the hall, glancing at Hope. "Perhaps we will dig a great hole in the backyard. That is how Elijah determined we could get there as children; is it not? We'll just drop my precious child down the hole, and just like Alice, she'll find herself in a new land. Perhaps with a rabbit to guide her?"
Hope let out a giggle and shook her head. "Daddy, you are so silly."
Klaus grinned, holding out his arms and Kol offered Hope to him. "I'm done, my back gave out an hour ago." Trudging past Hayley, Kol placed a hand on her shoulder. "I do not know how you did this for all those years on your own. My family is many and we barely have the combined energy to keep up with our littlest member."
"I had my work," Hayley told him. "Baking can be cathartic."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kol replied with a smile. "I have a bit of making up to do with a certain young woman I've been neglecting over the past weeks."
"Make her chocolate eclairs; Davina loves them," Hayley suggested.
Kol looked skeptical. "I have no idea how to."
"I can teach you, tonight, after Hope goes to bed," Hayley reassured him.
"Right, then. If she ever goes to bed," Kol looked at Hope who had crawled onto Klaus' shoulders and was doing battle with her Uncle Finn—who had come upstairs—their hands were locked together, pushing back and forth. Finn wore a mask of concentration as he fought Hope. Hope kept giggling as her uncle would wobble backwards and then come back for more.
"Agh, you win! Again!" Finn cried, laughing as he bent his knees; hanging his head in defeat.
Hope began to clap. "Again! I want to play again!"
"Oh, I can't!" Finn cried, pressing his hands together and holding them up to Hope. "Oh, please show mercy!" he cried.
Hope jumped up and down on Klaus' shoulders. "Again. Again!" she cried out with a giggle.
"All right. If you insist!" Finn got to his feet and locked hands with Hope again. "Go easy on me this time."
"Show him no mercy," Klaus ordered his daughter.
Hayley rolled her eyes and then felt her phone jiggle in her pocket. Pulling it out, she walked back into Elijah's bedroom and closed the door. She hit the answer button. "Hey, how are things at home?"
"Fine," Caroline replied and then sniffled. "How are things—you know what—don't tell me. I don't want to know." Hayley could almost see the other woman shaking her head.
"Okay..." Hayley had no idea what to say.
On the night of Caroline and Klaus' failed wedding, Caroline had driven just outside of New Orleans and they'd gone into an all-night diner.
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"I can't. I just can't," Caroline had cried over a slice of pecan pie before shoving a bite into her mouth.
Hayley had sat across from her; looking at the sky. It would have been a beautiful night to celebrate a happy union. "What do you want me to say?" she asked the runaway bride.
"I don't want you to say it. I want him to say it. I want him to have had said it when he found out. This is not your fault. You were trying to help your kid. This is Klaus. This is Klaus thinking that's he's always right. And he didn't trust me. He didn't trust me enough to think that I could handle his being a dad." Caroline shoved the pie away in frustration; rubbing at her sore eyelids. "I love him but I can't be with someone who can't trust me enough to tell me something as big as: he has a kid."
Hayley sighed. "I think that he thought that he was protecting you."
"Protecting me? Like... Seriously!" Caroline groaned, pulling the pie back to her and taking another bite. "I mean if I didn't tell him that I was pregnant; he'd hold that against me." Rolling her eyes, Caroline sat the fork down and looked at Hayley. "Is that why you didn't tell him for so long?"
"I... I think I was afraid that he'd try to take her from me. And we didn't know each other," Hayley folded her hands on the table top. "And then I met Elijah and I couldn't walk away from the family."
"'Cause you fell in love?" A ghost of a smile appeared on Caroline's lips. "Mikaelson men can do that to a girl."
"Yeah. They can," Hayley smiled before asking, "Where are you planning on going?"
"Promise you won't tell Klaus?" Caroline eyed Hayley who nodded. "Home, to Mystic Falls. My mom misses me and I need time to think."
"Okay," Hayley nodded.
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"Is he okay?" Caroline blurted and then inhaled sharply.
"He could be better," Hayley said. "I think he's kind of lost without you."
Another sharp inhalation on the other end of the phone made Hayley pause. "You should come home."
Caroline didn't speak and Hayley thought maybe she'd hung up. "I'll think about it."
"Okay," Hayley nodded, knowing Caroline couldn't see her.
"You know those cakes with the blue or pink inside?" Caroline asked Hayley.
Now it was Hayley's turn to be silent. "Hmmm?"
"Could you make one of those and give it to Klaus. It needs blue on the inside," Caroline said quietly.
"Blue?" Hayley then wanted to kick herself. "You mean you're...?"
"Yup." Caroline let out a dry chuckle. "We always have the best timing."
"Mommy?" Hope cried from outside her door.
"Coming, baby!" Hayley called back. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye." Caroline hung up and Hayley pocketed her phone.
Opening the door to Elijah's room, Hayley found Hope waiting for her—the Mikaelson men had left the hallway. "Where is everyone?" Hayley asked her daughter.
"They got a phone call from Grandpa," Hope replied.
"Oh." Hayley had no idea what to say to that. "Looks like we're all by ourselves. What do you think we should do?"
"I want to paint, like daddy does," Hope declared, throwing her arms out and letting out a laugh.
"Okay. Go get your paints," Hayley replied, watching Hope run off to the room that the Klaus had offered her.
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"And this is to be your room from now on," Klaus had told Hope with a grin that made him look almost kind.
Hayley's lips turned up at the corner as she watched Hope walk around the room, examining everything, including the brand new paint set and easel.
"Can we really stay here, Mommy?" Hope's eyes widened as she looked up at Hayley. "Please?"
"Yes, mommy, can she stay, please?" Klaus teased Hayley. He seemed at ease but she could see genuine pleading in his eyes.
"Sure," Hayley nodded.
Hope whirled around in a circle to face her father. "She said yes!" she cried out, holding out her arms to him.
"I heard," Klaus replied, scooping her up.
"Am I interrupting?" Elijah's voice sounded from the doorway and Hayley turned to find him right behind her. She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear and he glanced at her, his eyes lit up, making her blush.
"Not at all, brother." Klaus stepped closer to them. "My daughter and I have a bit of catching up to do." He moved past them and Hayley watched Hope walk beside her father like they were together every day.
Silence filled the room and Hayley tried to think of something to say as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Elijah's eyes trailed over the floor before finding her eyes. "Are you enjoying your time here?" he asked her.
Hayley let out a chuckle. "What's not to love?" she looked back at Hope's canopy bed and 18th century dresser. "You family does live in style," she said drily. "I do miss work."
"I'm sure you do. Perhaps you should go back this week. I'll keep an eye on Hope." Elijah's eyes were on her again but Hayley had been avoiding his gaze. She did not feel entirely comfortable with leaving Hope alone with the Mikaelsons. The idea of going to work—even for a short shift—felt unbearable. She had no idea what to tell Jane Anne; she couldn't just keep taking time off, without just quitting but she loved her job. She'd miss her new friends, Cami, Jack, and even Oliver, sort of.
Hayley raised her eyes. "I'll think about it." She knew that her words did not seem to inspire a ton of confidence. Even Elijah did not look convinced but he did not push her. She decided to try something else. "How do you think Klaus is holding up with the whole Caroline-running-off thing?"
Sighing, Elijah placed his hand on the doorframe. "I am sure that with time, Niklaus will see the error he made, and attempt to make it right. Then it is up to Caroline to make her own decision about what and who she wants in her life."
Again, a charged silence filled the room and Hayley could only look at the floor, clasping her hands in front of her. She knew what Elijah was trying to ask her. Did she want him? Them. The whole family because they seemed to come as a package deal.
"I think that Caroline loves Klaus," Hayley said, trying to understand where she was going with this. "And I think she's afraid of that feeling. Because it's like you're about to leap off this massive diving board and you have no idea if there's any water because you are too scared to look down. So, you just either stay on the board or you jump. I guess we have to see if she's ready to jump and see what's at the bottom of the pool."
Elijah smiled and Hayley smiled in return. "Would you like to see what kind of mischief that my brother has gotten your daughter into?"
"Sure," Hayley nodded. "I bet he has her painting the walls with her hands."
"Sounds like something that Niklaus would do." Elijah placed a hand on her back and they left the room.
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Hope came running out of her room with her paints and a sketch book she painted water colors inside. She ran past Hayley. "Don't run, baby!" Hayley called after Hope who slowed down but kept moving quickly.
When they got downstairs, they found Kol, on the couch. He looked bored and kept flipping TV stations. "Oops. No, HBO with wee eyes and ears about."
Hayley rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you be with the other Mikaelson men?" she inquired in a light tone.
Kol shook his head. "I was shot which means I get a pass." He looked at Hope who sat down in front of the coffee table. "And what are we up to?" he asked her, leaning over and tickling her.
"I'm making a picture of you and Mommy and Uncle Elijah and Daddy and Aunt Rebekah and Aunt Freya and Uncle Finn and Grandma and Grandpa." Hope looked up at Hayley. "Mommy, can you get me a cup of water for my brushes?"
Hayley nodded. "Of course." She walked into the kitchen to find a glass. While she poured water into it, she remembered her promise to Kol to help him make a desert and set the glass down. She opened a drawer to find her recipe book—that she could not live without—and began to flip through the well-worn pages. Groaning, she realized that recipe for the eclairs was in her other book.
"Damn," Hayley muttered. She could just give Kol another recipe but she also wanted her notebook.
Hayley's old apartment was still in her name so she needed to clear her things out and end the lease anyway. Sighing, she picked up the water cup and walked back into the living room where Kol sat beside Hope, examining the paint colors she'd brought with her. "And we're all to be green, are we? Like aliens?"
Hope giggled. "Yes!"
"I've got to go back to my old place and get a notebook I left there," Hayley told Kol who nodded.
"Right. I will see you when you get home, Hope-fully!" Kol said, hugging Hope and making a growling noise that made the child laugh and wriggle in his embrace. He patted her on the head before letting her go.
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Hayley unlocked the door to their old apartment. It felt like a year since she'd come here; when it'd only been a month. "Baby, I'm going to go get my notebook." She called to Hope who nodded, hugging her stuffed rabbit to her chest.
Walking over to the kitchen, Hayley opened a drawer and began to go through things. She really needed to get rid of some old phone bills and other junk mail. "Ha!" she exclaimed with a huge grin as she pulled the notebook out. She flipped it open and found the eclair recipe that she'd perfected in college. "Hello, my old friend," she said to the recipe.
Pushing the drawer closed, Hayley turned around and made her way back to the living room part and looked around. "Hope?" she called.
Hope did not reply. Hayley did not panic. Sometimes her daughter liked to hide, like most kids did. Shaking her head, Hayley walked into her daughter's old room and peeked under the bed. Hope was not under the bed. She strode over to the closet and opened it. No Hope. Feeling a twinge of fear spike in her chest, Hayley moved out of the room and into her old room. She looked under her bed and in her closet. No Hope. She wasn't in the bathroom or under the kitchen sink.
Hayley's hands went up to her hair, her fingers digging into her long locks. "Hope?" she yelled. She ran back into the living room and to the front door.
Hayley jerked the door open. A fuzzy shape on the floor made Hayley move quickly. Picking up the rabbit, she inhaled its scent that smelled like her daughter. "Hope!" she screamed but no one answered her. The silence seemed to echo forever.
Thank you for reading, faving and following.
Peace.