Things had been quiet at the compound over the last three weeks. Eerily quiet. Since the birth and death of baby Mikaelson and occupation of the French Quarter by the Guerrera werewolves (led by Francesca "no one saw that coming" Correa) it had been inhabited by only three beings: Elijah, the eldest of the remaining Mikaelson clan, who had taken to his study and was spending much of his time analyzing the more unsavory bits of New Orleans' history – although he had lived through it, he was sure he could find something in these volumes that would be of some use; Hayley, the newest member of the family and recently turned hybrid – whose transformation had been somewhat less than seamless – spent most of her time in the nursery, rocking in a chair in the corner and staring out the window to the world she was now segregated from, or writing for hours on end in her diary; and Klaus, fallen King of the Quarter, who (when he wasn't pacing around like a caged-in animal) had taken it upon himself to assist Hayley with her transition.

Klaus felt responsibility after the loss of their child for Hayley's new condition and believed that they were kindred spirits – unloved by their parents and now doomed to walk the earth as the only remaining two of their kind (news had reached their ears of the fall of the Other Side and Tyler Lockwood's transformation into a human). Hayley was appreciative of his attentiveness; after all, he had shown her little affection in the time they had spent so far in the Big Easy.

Elijah must have felt a hint of jealousy at the bond she was forming with his brother, Hayley realized, but if he did, his nobility wouldn't allow him to show it. Elijah realized there were parts of her nature now that he could not understand, and he had seen a change in her that he felt could not be solely attributed to her transformation. Her brutal and unmerciful dispatching of Genevieve had shown him a darker side to this girl that he was not sure how to reconcile. He was almost content with the fact that she didn't seem dissatisfied at the long hours he spent pouring over old texts; any company she needed to keep she easily found in his brother and he was able to keep his mind off of the idea that she had perhaps changed from the girl he had let into his heart so readily.

The stillness of the compound was amplified one warm evening by the absence of Klaus. He had been called away to the bayou by Jackson, and although Elijah had vehemently protested, Klaus had agreed to go out and see him. If there would be any chance of taking down the werewolves who had overrun their home than Jackson would be their best bet, Klaus had reasoned and Elijah could not disagree.

So Klaus had left Hayley and her well being in his brother's capable hands and was off. He had left early that afternoon, and a solemn calm had fallen over the compound. Hayley had agreed to sit with Elijah in the study instead of isolating herself in the empty nursery, but she mostly just stared out of the window.

Elijah would look away from his reading every few minutes to glance up at her, but she hadn't moved for hours. He searched for a way to break the silence but no words came, so he continued on with his reading.

"Have you found anything?" she asked quietly all at once. Elijah was startled. He was never startled, but he had hardly expected her to speak. These were the first words she had said to him in a week. When he looked up at her she was looking back, her eyes deep with sorrow.

"I'm sorry?" he replied. Her voice had surprised him so much that he hadn't heard the words.

"Have you found anything? You've been in here reading for weeks. Klaus says you're looking for some kind of answer, something to make our home safe again. I want to know if you've found anything."

Elijah watched Hayley intently. There was strength in her voice that he hadn't expected to hear. He wanted to pull her close to him and promise her that he would find something. He wanted to swear to her that he would protect their family, and that one day they would all be together again, but he hesitated.

Elijah didn't make any promises he wasn't sure he could keep.

However, seeing Hayley look at him again with the same conviction in her voice and passion in her eyes that had made him fall for her in the first place caused him to make a decision. He stood and began to move around the desk towards her. Before he could take more than half a step she spoke again, and her words brought him to a standstill.

"Is there something to be found Elijah? Or are you just using your books as an excuse to avoid me now that I'm no longer human?" she accused.

She could have stabbed him with white oak and it would have been less painful. He took only a few seconds to regain his composure, but to him it felt like hours. He then smoothly sat back in his desk chair and steeled his gaze.

"There is something to be found here Hayley and when I find it your life and our home will no longer be in danger. It will be safe. But I must discover the solution to our problem before it can be implemented, so if you don't mind…" he explained, bringing the conversation to a raw and uncomfortable end.

Hayley sighed and turned her head back to the window. They sat for a few moments in an uncomfortable immobility, neither knowing what should be done next.

The tension was quickly broken, however, when they both heard the clicking of heels. Someone was running into the compound.

"Elijah!" Cami yelled, frightened and out of breath as she ran into the courtyard. She quickly looked from door to door, waiting for the vampire to appear. "Elijah, help!"

Elijah appeared hastily, followed closely by Hayley, from a door on the second level. He descended the staircase rapidly. "Camille? What is it? Are you hurt?"

Cami shook her head, breathing heavily from running. "It's not me. Where's Klaus? We'll need him, too."

"Klaus isn't here," Hayley declared, following Elijah down the stairs, still placing her hand on her stomach out of habit. "He left early this afternoon."

Cami immediately looked dejected. "When will he be back?" she demanded, panic and fear in her eyes.

"Camille, calm down," Elijah demanded. He led her to the corner of the courtyard where there was a patio set and pulled out a chair for her to sit in and catch her breath. "Tell me what happened," he implored. Hayley and Elijah both sat at the table across from her to listen to her story.

"I was working at Rousseau's this afternoon, and a young woman came in. She was asking for you," Cami began.

Elijah's eyes widened. "For me?" he asked. "Who was this woman?" He was cautiously curious.

Cami took a deep breath. "I have no idea. She just wandered into the bar and asked if I knew where she could find Elijah Mikaelson," she informed him.

Elijah thought for a moment. "And what did you tell her?" he questioned.

"I didn't have the chance to say anything at first. Francesca was there. She asked how this woman knew you. It was creepy; they looked like they were sizing each other up," Camille explained. Her heart rate had finally slowed and her breathing was back to normal, but she still looked terrified.

"What did she say?" Hayley wondered. She was intrigued at what this mystery woman had done that had caused level-headed Cami to become so unnerved.

Cami shook her head. "All she said was that she was an old friend of yours. She told me she had come by the compound earlier but that the place looked deserted and she was wondering if anyone knew where you were staying. Before I could tell her that you were here Francesca had basically chased her off," Cami continued urgently.

"What did this woman look like?" Hayley questioned.

"Long dark hair, dark eyes, almost black. Short, maybe five foot four or so. She was beautiful, but there wasn't anything distinctive about her that I could tell you," Cami described.

"Does she sound like someone you know?" Hayley asked Elijah. He almost rolled his eyes at her.

"She sounds like about a hundred someone's I know," he replied. "So why are you here now?" Elijah entreated Cami.

"I was finishing up my shift around 9 and I took the garbage out to the back alley when I heard this noise. I looked up and there's that woman who had come into the bar earlier, and she's all bloody and beaten. She must be a vampire because the werewolves attacked her and left her to die back there. Elijah, you have to come and help her," Cami begged.

Elijah shook his head. "Camille, I understand your compassion for this woman, and I admire it, I do. But Niklaus is not here, and my priority is to stay at the compound and keep Hayley safe until his return. I cannot leave, I'm sorry."

Tears filled Cami's eyes. "Elijah, if I could get her here on my own, I would, but there's no one else to help me and I'm not strong enough. She looks scared, Elijah, all she kept saying over and over again after I found her in the alley was 'hope' and I promised her I'd find her help-"

"Stop," Elijah demanded, cutting her off. "Repeat that."

Hayley's eyes were wide and she was holding her breath, praying that she had heard Camille wrong. She and Elijah exchanged a glance. Neither knew what this could mean, even though both knew that it could mean something terrible. Elijah reached for Hayley's hand under the table and she took it willingly, squeezing it as hard as she could, certain that if he had been human she would have broken all of his fingers.

"She looks scared. She doesn't want to die, and I promised I'd find her some help. That's why I'm here." Cami reiterated.

"No, not that. What did she say to you, in the alley?" Elijah asked.

"She only said one word, over and over again," Cami restated.

"What word?"

"Hope."

Hayley and Elijah both silently decided and agreed that any potential threat to their family trumped the surefire wrath that would be sustained from Klaus when he returned and discovered that they had left the compound. Hayley made a show of convincing Elijah that the girl should indeed be saved, and that she herself was no longer a porcelain doll and therefore should not be treated as such, especially when the life of another could be at stake and she would be at minimal risk. Elijah pretended to reluctantly agree and expressed to Camille that perhaps it was best that he save this vampire if he could (after all there were so few of them left in the Quarter) and could she take them to her please?

Cami agreed whole-heartedly and thanked Elijah for changing his mind (and silently thanked Hayley for talking him into it). Both Elijah and Hayley were careful not to let on as to why the sudden change of heart, but Cami was so exhausted from her earlier sense of panic and so elated at the thought that she may have finally done some good (poor girl had had a rough year) that she wasn't as observant as usual in that precise moment. The three of them arrived at the alley rapidly and Cami immediately rushed over to the woman.

"I'm back," she whispered, "And I've brought help."

The woman opened her eyes just barely, her breathing shallow. Cami had been right – the wolves had attacked her without mercy. She had at least half a dozen bites over her body and had lost a lot of blood.

Elijah stepped out of the shadows towards the girl. She looked small and helpless, lying propped up against the brick wall of the alley. She lifted her head ever so slightly and caught his eyes with hers. Camille had described her eyes perfectly – dark brown, nearly black – and they instantly recognized his. With all the strength she could muster, the girl took a breath, and with tears in her eyes whispered, "Hope."

Elijah could hear Hayley, who was standing not far behind him, stifle a sob. Cami cradled the woman's face as she lost consciousness before looking up at Elijah. "Do you recognize her?" she asked him.

He didn't answer. Elijah stood stoic for a moment, considering what to do next. He had to get Hayley back to safety, but the woman only had a few hours left to live, and he couldn't let her die like this. Klaus wasn't home, so taking her there would do little good now, unless…

He quickly made a decision.

"Camille I need you to do something for me," he spoke quickly, walking over to where the woman lay as he removed his suit jacket. He laid the jacked over top of the woman and scooped her up into his arms, making sure her head rested upon his shoulder. "I need you to go to the other side of the river, to where Marcel is, do you know the address?" Camille nodded hastily. "Good, I need you to go there and tell him that I need him to send you back here with a vile of my brother's blood as quickly as possible," he all but ordered, rising to his feet.

"Wait, Marcel has viles of Klaus's blood?" Cami asked incredulously. Her gaze passed from Elijah to the woman he carried to Hayley and back up to Elijah again. "I don't understand. Why can't you just wait for Klaus to come home?"

"Camille, I don't have time to explain and she doesn't have time to wait. Now, do you want me to save her life?" he asked. Cami nodded stoically. "Then I need for you to do this for me. Please," he pleaded.

"Of course," Cami agreed. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Elijah turned around to face Hayley. "We must return to the compound quickly. We're not safe here with the werewolves patrolling the Quarter." Hayley nodded silently in agreement, and together the three of them returned home.

Back at the compound Elijah placed the woman gently on his bed and brushed her hair out of her face. Hayley stood in the doorway, her lips puckered and her hands on her hips.

"I don't understand why you wanted to bring her back here. I mean what if this is some kind of threat?" she demanded.

"I do not believe that someone would have risked their lives in such a reckless way simply to pass on an idle threat," Elijah explained.

"But what if it's not idle?"

"Hayley, anyone willing or able to threaten us in this manner would be well aware of the state of the French Quarter and what would happen to any vampire who entered it. This woman clearly was not, which is one of the reasons why I feel confident that she did not come here to threaten us, but to warn us. I am asking you to trust my judgment." This clearly ended the conversation.

Hayley remained quiet for a few minutes, not entirely satisfied by his answer but resigned to the fact that she was not going to win this argument and content with the fact that Klaus would handle things when he returned home.

"You didn't answer Cami before," Hayley observed shrewdly. Elijah turned his attention away from the woman and looked up, trying his hardest to hold back his irritation.

"What do you mean?" he inquired, moving around the bed and towards the door, out towards the terrace overlooking the courtyard.

"She asked you if you knew that woman, and you didn't answer her," Hayley explained, criticism dripping from her voice.

"Hmm…" Elijah mused, but offered no further explanation. It was close to 11 o'clock and Klaus had not yet returned. Elijah was beginning to assume that they would not see him again until at least morning. He believed that under the circumstances that would be a blessing.

"Well, do you? Know her?" Hayley asked outright. She was becoming frustrated by his caginess. Where once he would have been completely honest with her, she now felt he was keeping secrets. Elijah again dodged the question.

"Hayley, I need a few moments alone with the girl. Perhaps I can figure out why she is here. Will you please keep an eye out for Camille and let me know the moment she arrives?" he asked coldly. He was not in the mood to be interrogated, not when the fate of his family was potentially at stake. He turned abruptly and walked back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Hayley huffed indignantly and crossed her arms. She did not like when people lied to her, but even more than that, she did not like being told what to do. She walked down into the courtyard and sat in a wrought iron chair to plot her revenge against Elijah's detachment and wait for Cami.

Elijah approached the bed slowly. Everything about her was the same. He smiled a little to himself. Had he expected her to change? He felt fearful for the warning that she carried, yes, but also fearful for her life. Again he touched her hair, this time tucking a strand behind her ear. He knew she was in pain, and that the number of werewolf bites meant the venom was travelling quickly. He placed both of his hands on her head, hoping that he could see what was going on in her mind, and that maybe it would reveal something about why she was here.

"You did what?" she shrieked. She was talking on a cell phone, clearly angry with whoever was on the other end.

"I didn't have a choice. He gave me his word."

"And we all know how good that is," she replied, sitting down on a sofa. She was in a tiny studio apartment, just big enough for one, maybe two. She rested her face in her hand. "And what am I supposed to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Elijah, you've just signed my death warrant." She looked up, and tears were streaming down her face.

"No."

"Yes. I trusted you. I was loyal to you. I helped you. And you went back on your word. He'll know that I helped you Elijah. He'll know what I've done and he'll kill me for it," she cried.

"I promise I will not let that happen."

"What good are your promises to me now?" she yelled, clearly enraged. She stood up and began to pace in the tiny apartment. "How can I ever trust you again?"

"I just need time - just a few days for him to fulfill his end of the bargain. Then I will come back for you, and I won't let anything happen to you. Can you trust me?"

The woman paused for a long moment before she answered, considering her next words carefully. "I'm done waiting for you," she answered before hanging up the phone, sinking to her knees, and sobbing.

Elijah withdrew his hands and looked down at the woman mournfully. Her eyes were opened and she was staring straight up at him.

"Elijah…" she mouthed, her voice not even a whisper.

Before he could reply, he heard yelling from the courtyard.

"Elijah! Cami is here! She has the blood!"

"It's going to be okay," Elijah told her, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "We're going to save you."

Camille had returned to the compound with haste carrying two viles of Klaus's blood and a message for Klaus from Marcel. Elijah had taken the blood immediately and requested that Cami linger at the compound until Klaus returned so that she could deliver Marcel's letter herself. Cami suspected that Elijah's motives were somewhat less than honorable – should the woman wake and a blood bag not suffice, having a human on hand would be useful. Although Camille knew that Elijah wouldn't allow any harm to come to her, the idea still made her uneasy. This wouldn't be the first time Elijah had used her to feed someone who was ill.

Hayley waited in the study with Cami – she wasn't much in the mood for dealing with Elijah's stoicism or stubbornness at the moment and figured that Cami could use some company while awaiting her potential "fate". She could only hope Klaus would return quickly and sort this whole mess out.

Elijah sat patiently by her bedside for several hours, but the woman did not stir. Eventually he began to doze off, the events of the evening catching up to him. He was almost asleep when he heard a weak voice.

"Elijah," she whispered, opening her eyes ever so slowly. Elijah jumped up from his chair and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb her. He gently reached up and brushed a strand of her dark hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, leaving his hand to rest by her shoulder so that he could lean over her. "Elijah," she whispered again, opening her eyes further, but never looking him in the eye.

"I'm here," he replied, his voice matching hers in softness. He held his breath to listen for hers – it was slow and even, unlike the jagged, gasping breaths she had been taking in the alley a few hours before. She was healing. "I'm here. You're safe for now." He wasn't quite sure how true this statement was; after all, Niklaus would be home soon. But for the moment, she would remain safe.

"Elijah, I made a mistake," she murmured. "I've made so many mistakes." She shook her head, still not looking him in the eye.

Elijah furrowed his brow. "That doesn't matter right now. Just rest," he assured her, leaning back to pull away. Before he could turn from her she snatched his hand in hers.

"Elijah, I need to warn…" she strayed off, her voice becoming strained with fear. "Please, don't let him kill me. I did something he won't forgive," she rambled.

"I remember."

"No, Elijah. I…I couldn't… I couldn't just leave…but the danger… I had to warn…" She wasn't making any sense.

"You need to heal. Please," he begged.

"Hope."

"I know, Hope is in danger, I know," he affirmed, trying to calm her.

"No. I came to tell you she's safe. And that I know who wants to hurt her."

This Elijah did not expect. But before he had the chance to glean any clarification, there was an interruption.

"Tell me who wants to hurt my child, and perhaps I'll consider letting you live," came a voice from the doorway.

Wide-eyed and trembling with fear, she pulled herself to a sitting position before locking her eyes on the man in the doorway and letting his name fall from her lips. "Niklaus."

"Hello again, Eden."