Chapter 1
"Jackson we need to talk. Call me back when you get this. Please, it's urgent." Hayley said into the phone quite irritated with her soon to be ex-husband. Hayley threw her phone onto the bed and sighed, man, she had figured that it would be hard and that they were going to give her a hard time but not this. Not the ignoring her, and giving her dirty looks everytime she either greeted them or walked past them. Couldn't they get over it, it was her decision wasn't it.
Hayley walked out of her apartment and downstairs to leave and talk to Jackson when she bumped into Elijah and Klaus. Oh great, just freaking great! Hayley thought.
So she started to walk around them but Elijah called after her. Any other time she would have just ignored him and kept on walking but since he hasn't talked to her ever since she told them all, she wanted to hear what he had to say to her. "What is it, Elijah? You want to scream at me again, tell me that I am making a big mistake, huh?"
Elijah took a look at Klaus who slightly nodded his head while grinning that sneaky grin he always plasters on his face, something was up and Hayley was ready for it.
"I wanted to apologize to you for my actions..." Finally, we are at a standstill, Hayley thought. Klaus smiled at them because he hated to see Hayley have to go through this alone. Of course, he knew that she thought of him as a friend but Klaus doesn't have friends. Hayley is just someone he's quite fond of, well that's what he is trying to convince himself and her of.
"But..." Klaus' smile dropped because this wasn't what they practiced yesterday or this morning, they were to be supportive of her decision. The fact that the hope that was in Hayley's eyes just vanished from her in an instant broke his heart. It was like Elijah liked pulling the rug out from beneath her and ripping her heart out and shredding it to pieces.
"But what? Elijah spit it out because I have things to do before I go."
"But you can't do this. Think of your daughter and of us, you really want to destroy those things over something like this!"
"Elijah, I have told you over and over that there is no us! You can't *cough* You can't *cough* *cough* *cough*"
"Hayley come on, you can't be up right now," Klaus said going over to her and picking her up and taking her to her room to rest.
"No Klaus, I have things to do." Hayley protested as Klaus puts her to bed.
"Hayley you need to rest. We can't lose you earlier than we have to. I will take you to do whatever you have to do later on today, just for now rest. I am right here." Klaus said reassuring her everything was going to be okay. She simply nodded and just lay there. It took about an hour and a half before Klaus realized that Hayley couldn't sleep or wasn't going to, so he took off his shoes and jacket and shirt and got into bed with her. Hayley snuggled up with him and sighed. Klaus hadn't even noticed how all of this was taking a toll on her, he hated to see her in so much pain.
"Klaus?" Hayley asked after a long time of just staring into outer space.
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you do it?"
Why'd you do it?
Klaus thought about that over and over again and he still didn't have an answer. Not even after all of this time.
"Hey, dad," Hope said coming in with her dad's suitcase in one hand and her younger brother in other.
"Hello Hope and Leonard, aren't you guys suppose to be with mommy Cami, Hope?" Klaus said putting on his red leather jacket to go with his red Timbalands.
"Uh, she is talking to Uncle Finn and I am just bringing you the suitcase like you asked," Hope said to him as she places the suitcase on his bed.
Honestly, sometimes he couldn't even believe that Hope was now eleven years old and that Hayley has been dead for over five years.
"Honey, are we ready to go?" Camille asked coming into the room. They were going to his business meeting in Seattle.
"Yeah in a minute. Cami would you take Leonard to his room for bedtime, please." Klaus asked Camille before giving her a kiss on the cheek and waving to his son.
Hope said goodnight to Leonard before sighing and turning away from her father. Klaus sighed, ever since he and Cami announced their engagement there had been tension between him and the two main ladies in his life now.
"Hope what's the matter now?" Klaus said walking over to her pulling her down beside him on the bed.
"Why can't we come this time? You always say that it's too dangerous but what thing isn't just a little dangerous nowadays. Why do you have to take her all of the dang on time, instead of leaving us here for months and months on end."
"Listen, Hope, Camille can take care of her own self..."
"No, she can't! Even Leonard wins in a fight between her and he doesn't even know what the word means. Face it, dad, the only reason why you can't let her go is that you couldn't keep a hold of this one." Hope said touching her star-shaped Lockett with the picture of her mom in it.
"Hope, I have Leonard to take care of," Klaus said trying to dodge any conversation with his ex-lover.
"Oh, whatever, dad! Leonard can take care of himself, he does most of the time since neither you or his mother is ever around!" Hope said getting up turning around to him and crossing her arms.
"Excuse me, Hope you are really out of line with your father. Now apologize." Camille said coming from behind the both of them.
"Cami stays out of this," Klaus said getting up off of the bed.
"No, you don't deserve this Klaus. She needs to learn her place in this house. Neither you or I will be disrespected by this ungrateful little girl who has so much given to her."
"Excuse me, Camille you should know your place which is usually under my dad or my uncle Finn."
"Excuse me, young lady, you have no idea what you are talking about. Klaus let's just go." Cami turned around to a furious and slightly confused Klaus.
He just stood there taking in everything at once that was said and then realization hit his face.
"Klaus?" Cami asked hoping that he would say something.
Nothing.
"Klaus nothing happened between us okay. Nothing ever has, okay."
"Then what is she talking about Camille, please explain to me!" Cami flinched. She hated when he used her full name.
"Look she is obviously trying to create an argument out of nothing. Okay, Klaus lets just get our things and go. Okay, nothing happened." Cami walked over to him cautiously because she knew even if he loved her him and his anger wouldn't care. She'd get whatever was coming towards her.
"What does this child have to lie about Camille or what is it that you have to lie about," Klaus said getting real close to anger and her which made her take two steps back tripping over her own two feet making her fall backward.
"Klaus wait. I..."
"What is it, another lie!"
"No, I'm pregnant," Camille said as she waited for him to start choking her to death.
"What?" Hope asked incredulously.
"You expect me to believe that. I don't even know if that thing is mine or Finn's or another man. GET OUT!" He growled and she ran away. Klaus began a slow walk towards his bed he couldn't handle the heartbreak anymore that Camille or Caroline or Aurora or especially Hayley brought to him.
"Papa?" Leonard asked coming in half sleep and half awake.
Klaus gave a slight chuckle and picked up his son rocking him back to sleep. He turned to Hope who was crying. "What's the matter, my little luna?"
"I'm...I'm sorry Papa?" Hope said hugging him.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, my little luna. I will always love you and your brother. Maybe I don't need a companion's love but just my little lion and luna." Klaus said as he bent down to kiss her forehead.
Hope nodded her head as they heard a scream. They ran down the stairs to see Finn choking Camille. Then the whole family came down: Mikael, Esther, Elijah, Sophie, Rebeka, Marcel, Davina, Kol, Freya, and Jackson.
"Finn gets your hands off of her," Freya said releasing Camille from his stance.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Mikeal asked before realizing that the children were down there too. Esther hit him on his chest and eyed him.
"What is going on?" Mikeal said correcting himself.
"It only happened once and I am a vampire! It's impossible."Finn answered mostly to himself and to Camille.
"Camille is pregnant," Sophie said after a moment of silence occurred and everyone began to realize why Finn would do such a thing with Cami.
"How'd you know?" Finn asked but no one and even she didn't even have an answer to that. Sophie was just wise and reasonable.
Sophie shrugged and sat down for she was almost seven months pregnant with Elijah's twin boys. Elijah began to massage her neck, Sophie hated family drama which is mainly why she use to stay on the road all of the time.
"So Cami is pregnant. What is the big deal." Rebekah exclaimed still half sleep.
"It isn't Nikklaus' baby, its Finn," Sophie explains quite clear and simple. Now Rebekah was awake.
"Wait you mean to tell me that you slept with her! Your brother's fiance, Finn what is the bloody hell wrong with you." Rebeka yelled at him.
"Okay, I think that this family meeting doesn't need little children in here," Esther said as she grabbed a sleeping Leonard and a sobbing Hope from Klaus and up the stairs with Sophie who needed all of the rest that she could get.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with me! Ask her. Miss Klaus doesn't want me anymore can I come in for a drink." Finn said getting angrier that they are blaming him. It takes two to tango.
Everyone turned to Cami who was still trying to catch her breath and was failing miserably. Davina went to go to get her a cup of water.
"Klaus, I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened please forgive me. I..." Cami was trying to win him over with her whining as usual. Everyone sighed hoping and slightly praying that Nikklaus Mikealson would not fall for the most snobby, disrespectful, noisy and inhuman being that was Camille.
"Shut up Camille. You both need to take responsibility for your actions and give this child the life it deserves. Camille gives me my ring and take your stuff and your bags and leave NOW. Everyone can go back to bed now. Sorry for the inconvenience. Goodnight." Klaus said as he walked towards Cami and Finn. Cami reluctantly gave him the ring and Finn apologize to him. Klaus just patted his shoulder and walked away.
"You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Especially you Camille after everything that my son has been through and you do this to him," Mikeal said to them before walking away.
Klaus walked upstairs and into Leonard's room and saw Hope with him asleep. He nearly burst out laughing because Hope was hanging out in the small twin size bed. Klaus checked the time on his watch and sighed. He did not want to go out there without someone now, he wasn't sure he would keep his recently good behavior intact.
Knock. Knock.
"Finn I don't want to hear it."
"It's not Finn."
Klaus turned around to see his new sister in law shocked because they never had a close relationship before.
"Sophie what do I owe this newly delighted pleasure," Klaus asked getting a chair for her to sit.
She chuckled sitting down carefully and said," Well you could start by taking Hope and Leonard with you on your trip. Nikklaus they really miss you and it would be great for family bonding and for you to stop trying to rely on women to take away the hurt and brokenness from you and instead of letting your two beautiful children right over there do it."
"Well that's asking a lot don't you think," Klaus said while he turned away trying to hide the tears in his eyes.
"No, it's not. Isn't it honestly what you want to do, Nikklaus. Aren't you ready to get rid of your past and start looking forward to your future because you DO have a bright future Nikklaus? You just don't see it yet." Klaus smiled. Sophie got to know the real Nikklaus from being around Elijah too much, he was so glad that his brother finally found his true mate instead of the relentless amount of women he has gone through including his beloved and deceased Hayley.
"Thank you, Sophie. That means a lot to me. I am glad that we were able to bring you back. The world was getting a little lonelier without you in it." Klaus said turning around and going over to hug her.
"No problem besides what would the world do without me," Sophie said returning the hug back.
"Now go get some sleep, my love. I am pretty sure Elijah have searched the whole house and street by now." Klaus said releasing her and helping her to the door.
"Yeah, I know. Goodnight Nikklaus, Love you." Sophie said as she kissed his cheek and smiled.
"Goodnight Soph, Love you too."
Klaus walked over to the bed and gently picked up the two knuckleheads that would be accompanying him on his trip to Seattle.
"Papa?" asked Leonard waking up just a little.
"Go back to bed my little lion." Leonard simply nodded his head and went back to his slumber.
"Ooh! Dad turn it up." Hope yelled from the backseat of the car since it was Leonard's turn to ride in the front.
Klaus simply just rolled his eyes and turned up the volume on the radio which had War Sweater by Wakey Wakey on.
They had been riding for hours and Klaus found it surprisingly nice that Sophie was right. The kids made the trip very peacefully even though he had to speed to Seattle because of the constant whining about being there yet and having to go to the bathroom and the motels.
As the song was playing, Klaus reminisced about his and Hayley's road trip just before she had passed away...
"Klaus hahahahaha stop!" Hayley was laughing as Klaus tickled her and as Hope played in the sand. They'd traveled to a beach in California and Hayley asked if they could just take a break. Here they were all three playing in the sand together enjoying the sun that they rarely had in New Orleans.
"Oh no, you deserve this! This is for wasting ketchup all over my leather seats! Little wolf!" Klaus got on top of her to keep her from wiggling out and making her way over to the water.
"Well, you shouldn't have leather seats! Hahahaha!" Hayley said trying to wiggle out of his hold but he kept a soft firm grip on her. She began to regret even moving for he made his way under her arms.
Hayley kept laughing and she screamed when it was too much. It drew much attention from bystanders who immediately turned away when they saw he was just tickling the poor girl.
Klaus had finally stopped and given her a kiss. A deep one at that and in which his hand traveled to her hair. They pulled away and Hayley had a friendly and playful frown on her face.
"What is it, little wolf?" Klaus asked softly as he looked into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.
"You...You got sand in my hair! Hahaha." They both started to laugh and even more when Hope came over covered in sand. It was adorable. They were adorable and that was how it was supposed to be.
Klaus smile had faded as he turned to his partner or maybe even partner in crime. His eyes showed many questions, questions that he wanted to be answered.
Hayley simply gave a sigh and brought her lips to him and whispered,"Don't worry Klaus, I will be here. I promise."
Oh, how that promise had not been kept because he was here and she wasn't. He missed her so bad. No one could live up to her not even Cami who he had at a moment in life thought was even more beautiful than Hayley. But it was all just a phase, she had Jackson and Elijah and he had Camille and Aurora and maybe even Caroline at a point in time.
"Ooh, Papa I love this song! Heaven by Matt Bomer!" screamed his son.
Klaus smiled knowing that Mr. Bomer wasn't the original singer of the song but it wasn't all that bad really.
He remembered when he first met Hayley and the things that no one knew about it and he then figured out what she meant when she asked him why he did it...
"And I take it from the accent your an old one. Klaus?" The young woman pointed to him but he couldn't do anything say anything. All he felt was lust?
Mate.
She felt it too because she began to look in awe. Klaus hadn't ever thought about ever having a mate before and he was for once happy? For once he could love someone and they would him?
He was, of course, ready to fall with her into a happy place but he knew the dangers she would be in and he didn't want that. He didn't even want others touching her, watching her or loving her but he had to for her sake.
He walked to her and she stood her ground as he ran his hand through her beautiful chocolate brown hair. He could tell that she had been in hell through her young years and he couldn't help but think about a certain someone. Someone he knew, someone he knew very well.
He kisses her and growled when she kissed him back. He didn't want to let her go and so he began to smell her. She smelt like the forest and lilacs and pink roses mixed with the ocean.
He breathed in and out and asked her the one question he didn't want to.
"What's your name?"
"Hayley...Marshall." She breathed out as she clung to him and he realized that she had been alone her entire life just like he had and it broke him for what he was about to do.
He pulled back and looked into her sweet and elegant eyes and said the words that tore both of them apart.
"I, Nikklaus Mikaelson, reject you, Hayley Marshall." As he said these words, they both let a tear fall out.
She looked down in shame and he brought her head to his. She wouldn't look him in the eyes. Of course you big idiot! You just rejected her! You broke her even more than she already was.
"Look at me." He pleaded.
She did and he was torn inside. He hated that he had made her feel this way. The pain that he had in his heart since...
"Hayley... I didn't reject you because I don't want you and I'm a dick. I rejected you because I don't want you to be hurt by my enemies. I promise you that when the time comes, I will make it back to you."
She nodded and they heard Tyler talking with Caroline. They quickly pulled away and began a whole nother conversation so that their relationship was kept a secret.
"My reputation proceeds me."
He mentally laughed at how a great actress she was and how the children were hungry yet again even though they had just eaten less than an hour ago. They stopped for burgers and french fries with tiramisu and cinnamon milkshakes. It sounded worse than it was.
They only had about three hours left but then he would only have about an hour and a half to get to the meeting and get the children into bed.
"Ooh, Hope! Your crush is on!" Leonard yelled as he stuffed five french fries into his mouth.
Klaus smirked and looked at him with an uplifted eyebrow and asked about Hope's crush.
Hope only rolled her eyes and mumbled how its a girl and she is her favorite singer not crush and how Leonard should keep his mouth shut with food inside of his mouth.
Klaus laughed and turned up the radio to a woman named Karina Pasian who was singing Slow motion.
Hope honestly didn't get any of her genes from him since she was exactly like her mom. Same hair, same smile, same laugh, maybe even temper and the jumbling of words when she at lost at words or people. He missed her and sometimes being around Hope and Leonard only made it worse. Hope was just a little too much like her mom and Leonard just reminded him of what he couldn't have.
Camille was supposed to fix it like she used to but she screwed it all up. Now he had no one to wake up to, no one to see his children grow old with.
They made one more stop for the bathroom before hitting the borders of Seattle and settling in their rooms. Klaus walked out knowing that the children were at the register with all kinds candy and chips and gum and drinks and cookies. He was right and after he bought the junk they made their way to their hotel suites.
Hope had her own only because she was a girl going on a teenager. He had them unpack and into the showers before he left.
As he got into his car, he felt as if someone was watching him. He shrugged it off and proceeded to his meeting.
Of course, the meeting was nothing but drinks with his new buddies Tyler and Jeremy. Honestly, Klaus wanted to check on them and Mystic Falls but he also just wanted a break from reality. The reality was that Hayley was gone and even after all of these years he's never going to get over her because he realizes that he messed up everything.
"Hey man, it's going to be okay. Look her last words to you where um that she was going to be here. Well, maybe it's true. I mean we all know Hayley does not lie about anything." Tyler said as he drank down his share of the thirty shots that were ordered earlier.
"Yeah, Tyler's right man there has to be a reason why she told you those things. Maybe... ah never mind." Jeremy just shook his head popped a wing into his mouth and sat back.
Klaus looked over at him and wonder how Jeremy became such a strong person after everything that he and other people had put him through. It was funny that the girl that was a constant battle between Tyler and him was with Jeremy. Yep, Caroline and Elena's little brother; who would have thought. Even though he wanted to pass on the subject he nodded for Jeremy to continue hesitantly.
Jeremy sighed and said," Well you said that her actual birth name was Andrea Labonair. I say we start looking there and see what we can do about her and maybe what she meant by her last words to you. I think that there is more underneath the surface of Hayley Marshall."
"See this is the reason why your a detective and your just a regular guy who owns a museum?" Klaus said pointing to both of them. They all chuckled and began to head out. They planned to meet up tomorrow to learn more about Jeremy's hypothesis when they were all sober and had a clear mind.
As he walked to his car, he still had the feeling of someone watching him. When he turned around, he couldn't believe his eyes. Hayley?
Yes? Klaus' eyes widened at the realization that this was his beloved Hayley Marshall standing before him in a pretty tight fitted smokey grey dress. The woman smiled at him and then materialized out of thin air. Klaus sighed like he always did after encountering a hallucination about the love of his life.
I will be back soon my love. Klaus hears a familiar rustic and hushed voice that he hadn't heard in many, many centuries.
Andie?
"Wait, what do you mean you saw and heard her?" Tyler asked quite hysterical considering before Hayley died, they had made up and formed a new friendship. Tyler shook off his jacket and placed it in the closet and sat down in a chair beside Jeremy and Caroline. Klaus had called them to his suite the next morning to discuss what he saw last night.
"I mean I saw her, how much more literal can I get?" Klaus said gulping down the last of his scotch and pouring another. He hadn't gotten any rest from last night and was quite agitated. Hope had Leo in the room with her eating breakfast and getting ready to go with Caroline to the mall.
"Sorry, man, do you think that it is true?" Jeremy didn't really want to get on his bad side, but things needed to be said and discussed even if they were hurtful.
Klaus just sat there, honestly, he didn't have a clue if what he heard and saw was real. He felt like he was going crazy inside ever since her death. Camille didn't quite make it better with her infidelity. Sure, he cheated when he first got involved with her, but it was just a fling. He wasn't even sure to call it cheating, but of course, she would. If she was still alive, then he was going to have to cut this vacation short and head back to New Orleans.
"Klaus?"
Klaus looked up to see all of them looking at him with fear in their eyes. He would too consider the last time he was like this, he killed an entire club full of people and they had to get the rest of the originals to sustain him. He cleared his throat and slid his drink over to Tyler to finish it and proceeded to get up and turned off the television. With his back turned, he told Caroline to go ahead and they would meet them at the restaurant. When she left, he could feel Tyler and Jeremy approach him and stand beside him.
"We can look into it. The Armory may have some knowledge on Andrea and maybe, why she is trying to reach you." Jeremy spoke after a few minutes.
"What do you mean "trying to reach me"?"
"Well, if she is what we think she is, then something big is happening and-" Klaus cut him off by turning around and glaring at him, daring him to continue. Of course, Jeremy ignored his stature and proceeded with his reasoning on why this whole situation could be dangerous.
"Klaus, you said that the Andrea that you remembered held great power behind her that even Esther feared her. What do you think is going to happen? If she is what we believe her to be, this situation may be dangerous than we will expect it to be." Jeremy was always great with thinking things through and creating plans but of course, Klaus didn't have to tell him that he already knew.
"Wait, what are you talking about? Jeremy, who is we and what do you guys believe her to be, exactly?" Tyler asked the burning question that hid well beneath Klaus' own heart. Klaus wanted to know everything that Jeremy fantasized about. All of his theories about Hayley's death and how it connects to her doppelganger Andrea Labonair, his other true love before he found her to be dead. Just like when he...
"We as in Caroline and I found some journals that seemed to be centuries maybe even millennials old in a language that we couldn't decipher. We called Alaric and he told us that it belonged to a very ancient person and that she talked about you and your family way at the end of the journal. As we looked into it, we found out that no one used this type of language ever except witches from Bonnie. She also said that this looked like the language that the first witch had created and used to create werewolves before she suddenly disappeared."
Jeremy pulled out the books from the bag that he had and gave them to Klaus. Klaus felt as his heart was about to burst from happiness. This had to be it. The journal that his wife kept was not at all lost but found.