The rays of the morning sun are shining brightly through the windows of all the houses and apartments in New Orleans, forcibly waking anyone inside. A loud, sluggish groan comes from one of the highest apartments in the city as Hayley Marshall awakes.

Never one to sit and enjoy mornings, Hayley who is lay flat on her stomach, turns to face away from the window. She expects to open her eyes and find her husband lay there smiling at her, but when she opens her eyes... there is nothing but an empty space next to her. This is nothing new to Hayley. Almost everyday for the past year of her marriage, Hayley has woken up alone and by now, she is use to it.

But that does not mean that it hurts less.

Suddenly feeling very awake, Hayley jumps up without a seconds thought or hesitation. She walks into the en-suite bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror as she pulls her toothbrush and toothpaste from the little cup at the side of the sink. Beautiful, emerald green, catlike eyes stare back at her. After staring herself out for a few seconds, Hayley sighs and averts her eyes to her long, brown wavy hair. Even after a long sleepless night of tossing and turning, her hair shines in the utter most delightful way.

Once she has finished in the bathroom, Hayley walks to her wardrobe. She pulls out some tight, dark blue jeans and a black tank top. She puts them on and then takes her dark grey jacket off its hanger and pulls that on. The sun may be shining, but its best to be prepared for the weather to take a turn for the worst.

Hayley walks out of her bedroom and down the corridor to the large, open space kitchen and living room area. She collects an empty tumbler from the night before, she assumes. She went to bed quite early last night, didn't even wait for Klaus to arrive home. And it is not the first time she has done that as of recent.

Truth is, Hayley takes herself to bed early to avoid the impending arguments. She hates arguing, she always has, and her husband, Klaus knows that. But it doesn't stop him from bringing the same arguments up whenever he is in a rotten mood. Which seems to be always at the moment.

Once in the kitchen, Hayley drops the glass in the sink; she isn't going to wash it for him. She then opens the fridge and pulls out a bowl of fruit. She grabs a clean cup from the cupboard and pours what is left from the coffee machine into it before grabbing a spoon from the drawer. As Hayley walks to the large black couch, she hears the familiar panting sound coming from down the corridor. Hayley sits down on the couch, folding her legs under her, just as a grey and white, wolf-like husky appears.

"Hey Jack" she says in a high pitched voice that most women use when talking to their babies.

Jack wags his tail and trots over to Hayley. He jumps up on the couch next to her and lies down, resting his head on her leg. Hayley smiles at him before picking out a piece of apple from her breakfast and offering it Jack, who takes it instantly.

Hayley hadn't wanted a dog at first, but now she could not imagine her life without him. That is probably because he is always there when she needs a cuddle, or someone to talk to who won't immediately jump to conclusions or cause an argument. He can't speak anyway but that's besides the point.

Suddenly not feeling too hungry, Hayley finishes her coffee and goes back into the kitchen. Jack follows, knowing what is about to come. Hayley puts the rest of the fruit in Jack's dog bowl and puts her cup and bowl in the sink. She turns back around to see Jack has already finished the fruit and is sat there staring at her expecting more. She's known many dogs in her lifetime, but she has never known a dog to be as greedy as Jack.

Hayley smiles and kneels on the floor. Jack goes to her and she wraps her arms around him as he rests his chin on her shoulder. He is hugging her in his own way.

"There's none left. Sorry, little boy."

Hayley pulls away and kisses Jack's head before she stands up and walks to the front door. Jack follows her and gives her the puppy dog eyes, thinking that she is going somewhere without him.

"Just getting the mail, I'll be right back" Hayley tells the dog as she makes her way out of the door.

The elevator opens before she can even press the button and out steps Rebekah, her sister-in-law. She has the mail in her hand and a smile on her face as she sees Hayley. They grew very close during the planning of the wedding, mostly because the groom couldn't care less about who was wearing what and what order the day was going to go in.

"Hayley!" Rebekah pulls Hayley in for a quick hug.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Rebekah pulls away and walks into the apartment without invitation. Something that use to bother Hayley but she has grown use to the blonde's ways. If Rebekah wants something, she'll take it and if Rebekah wants to do something, no one is stopping her.

"Where is my evil brother today? I planned to do lunch with him aroundabout this time."

"Beats me, but its nice to know he has time for you and not for me," Hayley says as she follows Rebekah into the apartment.

"Oh, not this again. Hayley, this has been going on for far too long, you need to give him a slap and tell him his family is far more important than work". Rebekah says while petting Jack.

"I've already tried that and do you know what that leads too?"

"Arguments," they say simultaneously.

They look at each other for a few seconds and then they both break into a smile. Rebekah is a one of the main reasons why Hayley has been able to stay strong and stand up to Klaus when it is necessary and he takes things too far. Which at the moment seems to be every time they see each other, and even that really isn't that often.

"Oh, almost forgot."

Rebekah holds the mail out to Hayley and she takes it. As Rebekah goes to the kitchen to help herself to whatever she can find, Hayley plops herself down down on the black, single seated couch and reads the names on the envelopes.

Two bills, a letter about work for Klaus that Hayley considers shredding, a letter from the gym for Hayley and a handwritten letter with both Klaus and Hayley's names on the front.

Curiosity is about to get the better of Hayley when Rebekah returns with a bar of chocolate in her hand. Well, half a bar of chocolate because the other half is in her mouth. The blonde eats and eats and eats, but barely ever puts on any weight, and that isn't because she goes to the gym because the blonde doesn't even know the meaning of the word.

"Anything nice?" Rebekah asks, nodding towards the mail, mouth full of chocolate.

Hayley looks at the mysterious letter for a few seconds before she looks beck up to Rebekah and smiles. She shakes her head. She would tell Rebekah about the letter but a part of her knows that if she did the letter would be open before Hayley could blink. Hayley is nosy, but Rebekah is something else.

"There never is anything nice anymore."

Jack runs in and skids to a stop in front of Hayley. He barks three times and then goes around in a circle twice before he barks again. Hayley laughs at him and Rebekah smiles as she holds his leash up in the air. She waggles it and Jack flies over to her, tail wagging like a fan.

"I think its about time we got this pup outta here."

Hayley smiles at Rebekah and puts the mail to one side before getting up.

"Lets go."

Once his leash was clipped on, Jack barked again and ran to the door, excitement surging through his body. Hayley and Rebekah follow him, a little less excited. Hayley grabs the end of his leash and opens the door to let Rebekah out first. Once Rebekah has gone through the door, she presses the button for the elevator and turns back to Hayley, who is staring back at the mystery letter on the arm of the chair.

"You coming?" Rebekah asks, dragging Hayley out of her trance.

"Yeah" Hayley says and shuts the door behind them, leaving the mystery letter behind.