Summary: Hayley is recovering from the loss of her daughter, but eventually needs some company and turns to Elijah in her loneliness.
Hayley didn't know what to do with herself now. After all the chaos and agony that the last few days had brought down on them, what was she meant to do? Her hand rested on her stomach, she should have her baby. Her daughter should be with her now, but it wasn't possible for her to keep her child with her. She knew that Hope would be safe with her aunt wherever it was that Rebekah had taken her daughter away to, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with. Hayley heard voices from the rooms beneath the nursery, and frowned. She couldn't make out who they belonged to, but it wasn't long before the nursery door opened.
She looked over her shoulder at the intruder and saw Jackson with another of the wolves, but she turned her attention back out to the street. She didn't want company right now. Elijah had understood that and after Klaus had left with his daughter, Elijah had left her alone. She had liked that, as lonely as it was, she needed to be alone to process what had happened.
"Hayley, we're so sorry about what happened." Jackson said, moving to her side. "It must be awful and I can't imagine how you'll be feeling, but you should come home to us. You should be with family. You have no ties to these people any more, the father's skipped town as well according to the rumours. Where is Klaus anyway?" Jackson asked her, reaching out to place a hand on her arm that Hayley pulled away from.
"My brother's whereabouts and reasons for leaving is none of your concern." Elijah said from the doorway, catching Hayley's attention. She hadn't noticed him come up, but he must have followed the wolves up. "As for Hayley's living arrangements, I feel that those decisions should be up to her. For the record, she is family, and she is more than welcome to remain here with me if she wishes." Elijah said calmly before turning his attention to Hayley. "I apologise for the intrusion. I can remove them if you so desire."
Hayley nodded her acceptance of his apology. She was family here too, and it would be here that she'd stay. She was meant to be betrothed to Jackson, but Elijah had made it clear that she had a choice, and that he was willing to be one of those choices. She'd made up her mind that day. Besides, Elijah needed her just as much as she needed him right now, but it seemed that Jackson was only interested in having her back with the pack, playing the role of leader. She shook her head and then turned back to the wind. "I'm staying here, Jackson." She said simply, pulling away from his touch again.
"What? No Hayley, you belong with us, not some vampire. You think you're safe here now that you're not carrying his niece? They'll poison your mind, Hayley." Jackson snapped and his tone spoke volumes of his disregard of her loss. She reached out and slapped him hard across the face, leaving an angry, red mark behind. His companion snarled but was quickly silenced by Elijah's glare and Jackson holding a hand out. Hayley watched as realisation dawned on Jackson's face.
"My daughter – his neice – is dead!" She snapped, tears welling up in her eyes. She had no problem showing the grief of a mother that had lost her child. She had lost her child, and as long as everyone just believed that Hope had died, then she could easily fool them. "Elijah would never hurt me, regardless of my daughter, so yes, Jackson, I know I'm safe here." She said, wiping her tears away furiously. "Family is about more than blood and I will not be used by you for your own gains to reunite the two packs. Elijah and Klaus are my family."
"Klaus isn't even here. He left you both, Hayley!" Jackson snapped at her, gaining him a snarled warning from Elijah.
"Klaus is mourning his daughter. I don't know where he is, but he has the right to disappear to grieve for our daughter." Hayley replied simply, taking a step away from him. "I want you to leave, Jackson. You need to go now. I want to be alone." She said simply, turning her face to the window again, and catching the anger on Jackson's face from his reflection.
"I see how it is." He mumbled and Hayley saw him glance at Elijah. "You've chosen then, have you? Moved onto the other brother and ignoring what you were born to do?" He said, grabbing Hayley's arm and spinning her around so her back was to the window. His hand wasn't on her long before Elijah had intervened and torn Jackson back from her, moving in front of him.
"Hayley was born to live her life as she wishes. Of which she has informed you of and you will respect those wishes and leave this compound now and willingly or I will throw you from it." Elijah said, his voice calm and authoritative but the threat behind his words was so clear that Hayley saw Jackson tense. For a moment, she thought that he was about to argue, but after a moment he moved away from Elijah and turned, leaving the room in silence with his companion on his heels. Hayley let out the breath she hadn't realised that she'd been holding. Elijah turned to her, inclined his head in a slight nod and then turned to leave.
"Elijah." Hayley heard herself say. He stopped and looked at her and suddenly she was very aware that she had no idea what to say. She'd been on her own for hours, sitting in this nursery switching between hunger and despair. Elijah would come to her and bring her blood bags that he'd clearly been out to get from the nearest hospital, but he'd leave them for her and wouldn't ask her to speak. She suddenly didn't want to be in this nursery any longer. She moved to Elijah and all but fell against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. She wanted to cry, to sob and scream at him about how it wasn't fair, but she no longer had the energy so she just held onto him and she let him hold her.
It was something so simple, but something that they both needed desperately. It wouldn't bring Hope back to them, but it kept them strong enough to get through another day. The entire town had been talking about the death of the Mikaelson baby and well-wishers had come delivering condolences and flowers for the parents. Elijah or Marcel had answered all well-wishers, explaining to them that Klaus had left to mourn in private, and that Hayley wasn't accepting visitors. She'd seen them come and go from the window, heard them with her new vampire hearing and never once did she leave the nursery. She didn't want their sympathies or their flowers. She wanted her daughter and since that wasn't possible, she wanted to be alone.
Elijah placed a chaste kiss on her head and she allowed him to lead her out of the room and through the compound to her bedroom. The compound was quiet as of late, ever since Klaus had left everyone had been keeping themselves to themselves. It wasn't that Hayley didn't appreciate the time to be alone, but it was unnerving. Since they had all arrived in New Orleans there had been nothing but chaos and she knew that most of them were keeping quiet because they were nervous of her – which made them nervous of Elijah who had been acting like her personal bodyguard.
Mostly the other occupants were nervous of her reaction though. She was a mother without her child, a child believed to be dead. That was hard enough for any mother to deal with, but for her, a mother who lost her child to infighting between the supernatural community, it was unbearable. They were on edge because she was a mother without her cub, and because Elijah had made it clear that he'd kill anyone that bothered her. She appreciated it, but the silent looks that she got were almost as bad. Without Elijah at her side, she didn't know what she would have done. He had been brilliant throughout everything and she had no way to thank him. How could she even put her gratitude into words?
They stopped outside of her room and she hesitated. Every night she had went to bed and cried herself to sleep since she'd lost her daughter. She didn't want to continue like that, but she didn't know how to fill the empty hole that losing Hope had left her. How was she meant to recover from that? Hayley watched Elijah turn to move to his room further into the compound and reached out to him, taking his hand to stop him; she didn't want to be alone any more. She watched him in silence, trying to think of the words that would make him stay, but she didn't know how to word it. Elijah was such a gentleman that he probably wouldn't want to assume she wanted him in her room; he'd probably think that he would be taking advantage of her, but she had never needed someone so much in her entire life like she did right now. She needed him desperately and she didn't know how to ask him or let him know.
"Hayley. I know that you're meant to be betrothed to Jackson. I know how I feel about you and I know what I want." Elijah said before she had a chance to get the right words. He took her face in his hands gently, as though she was something precious; his gaze never left her eyes. "I want you to be happy, Hayley, now more than ever. If you are happier in the the Bayou with your family then I will not stop you from going there."
Hayley listened to him and shook her head, taking his hands into her own. She had to admit, she did miss the pack, they were technically her family, but she couldn't go back to them. She had no intention of marrying Jackson, as sweet as he could be. "Your my family, Elijah." She said softly, giving him the smallest of smiles. "The pack were great, they were accepting of me and they treated me like royalty."
"You are royalty, Hayley, and should be treated as such." Elijah told her, letting his gaze trail over her body. She loved the way he looked at her sometimes.
"I'm not though, Elijah. That's not who I am." Hayley said, shaking her head again. How could she explain it. "Its who I would have been had I grown up with them, but I didn't. I'm not some royal wolf to married off to help solve political problems. I want to stay here. With you." She said simply. She watched him smile and his little lopsided grin made her smile. "Stay with me tonight?" She asked him, her eyes never leaving his. He hesitated briefly and she knew exactly what he was doing. He was fighting himself. Fighting his urge to stay with her and hold her and kiss her and he was fighting his gentlemanly and noble side that told him that she was vulnerable.
"I don't want to be alone tonight." Hayley said after a moment. "Its so... I'm not vulnerable, Elijah. I'm not asking you to come into my bed for anything sexual, I just cannot bare the thought of another night alone." Her words seemed to convince him because he smiled slightly, nodded and then opened her door. She went into the room first, and Elijah followed her, closing the door behind him.
She moved to the bed and paused as she moved to grab the vest and shorts that she slept in. How did Elijah sleep? She had said nothing sexual but how the hell was she meant to keep her hands to herself if he took that damn shirt off? She swallowed, her heart racing and it was only the hand on her shoulder that got her attention again.
"Hayley?"
She looked at him stupidly, her lips ever so slightly parted as she slid her gaze down his shirt covered chest. God she had it bad. Hayley lifted her gaze back to Elijah's eyes and found his concern clearly written on his face. "I'm okay." She mumbled, but her thoughts were slow. Her skin felt too hot and she watched him pick up on the little clues of her body; her flushed skin, her racing heart. His gaze flashed to her neck and back and she was suddenly curious as to when he last fed. He turned away slightly, but she cupped his jaw and looked at him closely.
"You're hungry. When did you last feed, Elijah?" She asked him, dropping her hand to her side when he stopped resisting her. He didn't answer her, but she wasn't really expecting him to. She brushed her hair back from her neck, leaving her skin bare and tilted her neck back slightly.
"No. Hayley I will not feed from you." Elijah protested, taking her face in his hands. "I will not harm you, I don't need to feed as often as most vampires. I am old enough to control this. I will feed tomorrow." He told her, but she persisted. He was needing to feed, and while it could wait until the morning, she wanted this. She wanted the intimacy and the trust. She trusted him.
"Its okay, Elijah. I trust you."
"You don't know what you're offering."
"Yes, I do." Hayley said with a smile at him and tugged him closer, pulling his mouth to her neck. He hesitated for a moment but the pounding in her neck was too tempting and he wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer as he suck his fangs into her neck. She gasped as he pierced skin and wrapped her arms around him, spreading her hands out on his back and keeping him close.
It was a strange feeling, not entirely sore and oddly soothing. When he pulled away, he kissed the already healing wound and then licked his lips.
Before he thanked her as she knew he would, Hayley slid her hand to the back of his neck and kissed him fiercely. She knew that she was pushing his restraint to its limits, but she needed him to understand that how he felt for her wasn't one sided. She wasn't sure if it was love, but it was more than lust. The very thought of being without him was so unbearable to her.
Elijah returned her kiss, but it wasn't fuelled by lust and need, it was gentle and caring and loving. He loved her and he wouldn't lose her again. Not like that. How he'd felt when she lay dead in that church, he couldn't begin to put it into words. He loved her and he needed her to be safe.
She doesn't know how dangerous it is to be loved by you.
The words rung out in his head. Was Sabine right all along? Was Hayley far from him? Would he only her more pain and agony? He pulled away from her, resting his forehead on hers and keeping his hands at her jaw. He should leave her, he should keep her safe by disappearing, but he was so far gone with her. He was in too deep and as selfish as it was, he would gladly drown in her.
"Hayley. Its not safe." He mumbled, pulling away from her entirely and moving to the french doors in her room.
"What? What's not safe? Elijah, there's been no noise of any fighting for days." Hayley said, stopping when she saw him shake his head. She frowned and licked her bottom lip, still tasting him on it.
"Its not safe with me. Its dangerous to be loved by me, Hayley. I don't want you to be put in danger because of me, I don't want you to be hurt because I love you." Elijah told her, his back to her. He sounded like he was breaking up with her or about to leave and she couldn't let him leave. She needed him.
Hayley moved to his side, taking his arm and paused. She watched him as she held onto his arm. He didn't reject her, or shy away, but he looked a little more distant than he had before. She had so much that she wanted to say, to ask, but where did she begin? "You love me?" She heard herself ask.
"Yes, Hayley. I've fallen for you, and it was my sister who first pointed it out to me." Elijah said, shaking his head. "Hayley..."
Hayley raised her hand to silence him, pressing her finger to his lip. "Elijah, I don't know where you got this insane idea that its dangerous to be loved by you, but I want you to forget it right now. You once asked if I ever knew how rare love is, well I do and I will not have you believe that I am in danger because of it." She said, taking his hand. "Elijah, love isn't a weakness. Its a strength, it gives you something to live for; someone to fight for. Now, I'm going to get changed for bed. I would love it if you stayed with me, tonight." She told him, smiling. "You can protect me from any dangers through the night."
Elijah watched as Hayley made her way back to the bed with a smile, turning to look out of the window as she changed. When he heard the covers move on the bed he turned back to see her climbing into the bed and shifting over to the far side, leaving a space for him. He gave her a smile and kicked his shoes off, before he removed his suit jacket and shift, leaving them neatly hanging over the back of a chair. The entire time, he was aware of Hayley's eyes on him and her slightly increased heartbeat that spoke of her desire for him.
When he got into the bed with her he stretched his arm out and she didn't hesitate before moving closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, crossing his other arm across his bare chest to stroke Hayley's hair. "Sleep now. You need the rest." He said softly, kissing the top of her head. "You're safe with me."