- You Are My Sunshine -
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...You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
you make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, dear, how much I love you,
please don't take my sunshine away...
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Hope Mikaelson was three years old when her father first laid eyes on her after handing her to Rebekah.
He had dreamed of the moment of meeting her once again more than he could count, it had been the only thing that had kept him sane. It would kill a small part of him whenever he woke up from a dream of seeing his daughter, because he would have to face the horrible reality that he had caused all thanks to his greed. He blamed himself for what had happened. It was his fault that there were wars happening in his city. His jealousy and thirst for power had ruined the home in which he wanted to bring up his daughter. He had torn his family apart, separated Hayley and himself from their only child, and for that, Klaus carried guilt that he had tried to rid himself of.
It was a few months after receiving a large brown of envelope from his sister which contained pictures of his daughter, all through that two years, and it had broken down the wall he had built to stop himself from running after them. His sister had been keeping tabs of them, thanks to Elijah communicating back and forth, so she had knew it was safe to sent the pictures. His daughter was beautiful. She had his eyes, which sparkled when she smiled or laughed, but darkened slightly when she was in a mood over something small. She had Hayley's dark hair and smile, as well as her bone structure which was becoming more noticeable as got older. The pictures were of her first crawl, first steps and others were random but they made his day, they had brightened up his entire year. The sentences Rebekah wrote on the back made his day, as if he could picture the scene in his mind.
The first picture he had looked at was just a few seconds after his daughter first started to crawl, Rebekah made sure to capture the moments of her 'firsts' perfectly. The picture was of her by the window, near the long, red heavy curtains that reached the floor. Her teddy was in her hands, a happy look on her face as she looked up at the camera.
9 months old: Hope crawled for the first time. She disappeared from her play room, where she had been playing with her favourite teddy. I found her behind one of the curtains, her teddy in hands. You should have seen the proud look on her...a Nik-like smirk on her face when she noticed that I had been searching for her.
The next picture was just after she had said her first words. The picture had been taking during the night, when Rebekah was woken up to Hope's crying. His daughter was curled in her bed, the wooden knight clutched to her chest, a content smile on her face, along with an annoyed look when she glanced up at the camera, no doubt wanting to go back to sleep.
18 months old: Sorry to disappoint you Hayley, her first words were 'daddy's knight'. She can't get a good night's sleep without the thing. I was woken up from my beauty sleep by her crying. When I went to see if she was okay, the poor girl was standing up in her crib, looking over the side. She had accidentally dropped it through the bars when she was playing with it. I couldn't find it in the dark, so just as I went to turn on the light, I heard her say the words, loud and clear. I wish you lot were there, but i'm sure you'll be hearing it soon enough. It took me a good half hour to get her back to sleep, and I had to buy a new crib, just in case it fell through the bars again.
There were several more pictures of her firsts, and Klaus was positive that he would cherish them for as long as he roamed the earth.
He had spent over one thousand and ninety five days fighting for their home and away from his little girl. He'd been close to death more than once at the hand of his father when he had grasp of the White Oak Stake. Each time, when he had seen the stake hover over his heart, images of first holding his daughter would come to mind. All the things he'd miss out on if they ever won the wars. Of her saying his name the first time, embracing her after spending what had felt like forever away, smiling at him.
It gave him strength to fight back against the man who had held him in contempt his whole life. It gave him the strength to stand against the woman who had made him weak as a child, whose mental, manipulative abuse had almost made him break. He would not allow his daughter to grow up without a father, even if he wasn't there in the flesh. Even if he was thousands of miles away, he was still there in spirit, Rebekah made sure of that.
He would not allow Elijah, no matter how much he loved his brother, to be the father figure in her life. He didn't want that, he didn't want her thinking, even for a moment, that he didn't fight for her. He didn't want her to have no memory of him, he didn't want her to hear about all the horrible things he had done and think of him as a monster. He wanted memories with his daughter, he wanted to share something with her. So, he fought with each ounce of power he had, he fought back against those who threatened him, he showed no mercy. He tore off limbs, he ripped out hearts, he fought tooth and nail so that his daughter could come home.
She kept him going, whenever he would sit in his study, and contemplate whether he should run away from the man who despised him, from the mother who hated who he was, he found comfort in thoughts of his daughter. Hope was the one thing that got him through the three years of mental and physical exhaustion, the image of her being safe in his arms once again, where no soul could harm her or their family, was a picture that had been becoming much clear with each war they won.
Hope was in the park with Rebekah when he first caught sight of her. Rebekah was sitting on a bench near by, smiling and chucking as her niece sat in the middle of the sandbox. She was wearing a pink dress with a small bow in front of it, no doubt, even if she was getting messy, she had to look her best. He was sure that his sister had been spoiling his daughter, something Rebekah had said she was going to do as soon as Hayley's bump began to appear.
She was perched in the middle of the sandbox, a blue toy bucket and plastic spade in her hands, and she was filling it up to the top, an innocent smile on her face. He slowly made his way towards the bench his sister was sitting on, whose eyes were on her niece at all times, waving at her whenever she heard her name being called.
"Aunt 'Bekah. Look at me, aunt 'Bekah! I'm making a castle!"
The blonde giggled and nodded encouragingly as Hope flipped the full bucket of sand, tapping it with the spade on top before slowly pulling it off, revealing a small sand castle. It began to crumble, and he heard Hope sigh before she pouted then started again. His sister waved over at her, a wide smile on her face as she watched her niece, adoration on her face. Klaus swallowed thickly as his daughter began to dig up more sand, giggling to herself, her imagination keeping her attention.
"I see you, sweetheart. You're doing very well...try not to get your pretty dress too sandy, though."
Hope just smiled at her aunt, attention now fixated on building another castle. A small smile appeared on his face as she shuffled over to another side of the sandbox, forgetting Rebekah's protests against getting her dress dirty. She settled closer to the edge, where there was more sand, and began to fill up the bucket once more. As she did, she began to hum to herself, oblivious to the other children, one that was slightly glaring at her.
Hope had sat on her sand castle without realizing it, and suddenly the child began to whimper, but his daughter just carried on building her sand castle. A laugh was tempted to leave him when the child attempted to grab Hope's spade, finished with using her hands to fill up the bucket, but Hope shook her head, clutching it to her chest. Then she spoke, something he hadn't experienced, and it hit him hard. Her accent was clear, something that had gotten stronger the more she stayed with her aunt.
"Nuh-uh...mine. Not yours. Mine."
Klaus was now a few meters behind his sister, who was pulling out what seemed to be Hope's lunch, getting ready to call her over. She had made no sign that she knew that her brother was near, but his questions were quickly answered a second later when he heard Rebekah's familiar giggle. The sound made him smile slightly, he had missed his sister dearly, though he would never admit it.
"Are you going to stand there all stalker-like or are you going to sit down?"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Klaus smiled at her."Hello, little sister."
She turned her head and grinned at her hybrid brother before glancing over at her niece."She is definitely your daughter, Nik. Has to be in control of an empire of some sort...even if it is a playground sand pit at three years of age."
"...make sure not to tell Hayley that. Little wolf has been rushing around, threatening vampires that are allowed in the compound. Although, Elijah and myself have already made it clear that there are not to be any business around our child. She's at home right now, I was kicked out from Hope's bedroom, even Elijah isn't allowed in until Hayley has finished decorating. She has been in there all weekend, trying to keep her mind focused. Before, she was counting down the hours, driving us bloody mad. Seems as if you have rubbed off on her quite a bit."
"I do my best, Nik."
Rebekah patted the bench next to her and he slowly sat down at her left, his hand covering hers, squeezing it as a way of saying hello before he placed it back by his side. She smiled up at her brother before their eyes drifted back to the little girl. She was now making her second sand castle, laughing along to herself, oblivious to the blue eyes that were watching her, identical to her own. He pushed the negative thoughts away when he reminded himself that she wasn't ten years older, thinking that her father wasn't bothered about her, drowning in her self-loathing like he was. Those thoughts hadn't entered her mind, her biggest worry at that moment was the sand in front of her and that he could still make up for lost time.
It was better at three years old than six or seven, he could still be the father he dreamed of. He had wanted to be there for the firsts, where she had crawled and so on. He wanted his name to be her first word, he wanted to encourage her to take her first steps, but he had missed out on them too. When Rebekah had written on the back of one picture that she was beginning to talk and walk, it upset him. That had hit him hard, it had devastated both him and Hayley, but Elijah had comforted them, telling them that she'd be doing it for the rest of her life, that they had to be there for the bigger things.
Klaus opened his mouth to speak his thoughts to his sister but all that came out was two words."She's beautiful."
"She is. Though, don't be fooled. She's a demanding little thing. She could talk her way out of hell itself."
His blonde sister turned and looked at him once more."...that she also got from you. Poor girl."
Klaus chuckled as the image came into his mind, and found himself, for the first time in almost three years, smiling. He hadn't smiled since he held his child in his arms on the day she was born. He remembered how baby Hope looked up at him, and how her cries had stopped, as if somewhere in her mind, she knew that she was in her father's arms, where she was safe and sound. Even at being a day old compared to his thousand years of living, she was the most amazing creature he'd ever seen. He had seen everything, been everywhere and it was nothing compared to his daughter. She was amazing. Even so small, she'd been through so much. Even when he saw her for the second time, after staring at her, he still couldn't believe that half of her was him. He and Hayley were apart of her, just like she was apart of him.
He couldn't believe that he had created something so...beautiful.
He couldn't describe the feeling. She was his. He had never had something that was his. Truthfully, even though his siblings had never had a problem with it, he had always felt somewhat left out because he was their half brother. It had never bothered Rebekah or Elijah, but he had felt like an outsider. It made the fear of being left behind worsen because he never truly felt like he belonged, so that was why he tried all he could to keep them all with him. Klaus tilted his head, breaking out of his thoughts when he heard Hope's laughter, music to his ears, come closer.
"Aunt Bekah!"
The two Originals looked up as a small figure, carrying a spade in one hand and a plastic bucket in the other, ran towards them. As she got closer, she passed the girl who had tried to steal her spade and bucket. Klaus watched as she jumped across to the other side sandbox, her small feet running across, taking down two neatly made sandcastles with them, a somewhat cheeky grin on her face as the child pouted in protest, whining to their mother. She jumped onto the grass, and he raised an eyebrow as his sister winced, clearly worried about Hope's dress.
Klaus chuckled and Rebekah glared at him."Nik, please tell me that you are not amused by the fact that your daughter enjoys torturing other children."
"Of course not, dear sister. I'm amused by the fact that I used to do a similar thing to you whenever you used to make daisy chains."
"That was you?! I thought it was Kol who would rip them apart."
He turned towards his sister, a grin on his face, mirroring Hope's."It was at times, especially when you used to force him to sit down while you put them in his hair."
Her glare disappeared as the memory flashed in her mind, and before she could reply to her older brother, a light weight jumped into her arms. Rebekah laughed as her niece perched herself onto her lap, dropping her bucked and spade to the ground. For the first time, Klaus had a clear view of his daughter. As soon as his eyes landed on the small girl in front of him, Klaus felt something he couldn't describe. He felt...whole. She was the missing part of him he had been without for one thousand years. She was a piece of his heart, something he was so sure that had died when he first turned. The loneliness, the hurt, the anger fell away as soon as she was near. The walls Klaus had built crumbled when his gaze settled on his daughter.
How could someone so small hold so much power over him?
She was near one, if not the, most powerful being that roamed the earth, who had left thousands of dead bodies in his wake. The mere mention of his name sent fear throughout the supernatural community, he had done unspeakable acts, met and saw everything yet the sight of her made him want to hand everything good in the world to her. She had no idea what she meant to him and to those around her, what they would do in order to make her happy and feel safe.
"Aunt Bekah, did you see my sandcastles? Were you watching?"
Her blue eyes sparkled, eyes looking up at her aunt who nodded in reply."Of course I was, sweet. I was also watching when you stomped on that poor girls sandcastle."
His daughter looked down for a moment, her long legs swinging back and forth as she tried to think of something to say. He fought his smile when she lifted her head once more, this time, a pout on her face and her eyes wide with innocence.
"She tried to take my bucket, Bekah and when I said no, she stuck her tongue out at me. You say that it is not nice to do that. "
His sister glanced over at her brother and sent him a look as if to say 'she got it from you!' but he just carried on listening, fascinated by his daughter. Her dimples and her blue eyes got to his sister, the innocent look on her face reminded Rebekah of Klaus when he was younger. Because of that, she always gave into her niece, she was the most adorable child she had ever seen. She was impossible to stay cross at, especially when she gave her aunt the look.
"That is right, Hope. If she is doing things like that, you best stay away from her."
Rebekah sighed when she looked at Hope's hair, which had been tied back in a neat pony tail. Now, the white ribbon that she had used was almost unlaced, and her hair was untidy from the wind.
"I do wish that you do not play in the sand, sweetheart. It's much too messy for a girl."
As her aunt took out the ribbon and fixed her dark hair, Hope looked up at Klaus, who was still watching carefully, unusually silent. She offered him a kind smile, which he had returned eagerly, causing her to look back down at her feet shyly. Her pink shoes caught her eyes, and the smile stayed on her face as Klaus continued to look at her. Rebekah looked over at her brother, eyes telling him to speak to his daughter, before she got back to her task. Klaus suddenly felt nervous, something he was never used to feeling. He didn't want her to dislike him or feel uncomfortable around him. He had dreamed of seeing her again but had never thought of what he would say.
What if she didn't like him?
But before he could say anything, a soft, innocent voice broke through his self–conscious thoughts.
"Hi."
Hope smiled at him once more, and before he could think, Klaus responded."Hello, love."
Eyes wide, she tilted her head, staring at him. Then, she raised her hand, pointing at his eyes."They are mine!"
As she spoke, she pointed at her own eyes which were identical to his own. Klaus let out a chuckle as she let out a gasp. She seemed older than her age, something that must have had something to do with the hybrid inside of her. His fingers itched to grab her and pull her into his arms where she would be safe and sound for all eternity but he didn't want to scare her.
"That's right, love. Well, they're mine actually...you have my eyes."
Rebekah spoke up then."Yes, that's true, and you both use them to you're advantage. Don't think I don't know about that, Hope Mikaelson."
"Don't listen to her, sweeheart. She's just jealous."
Hope giggled, blushing shyly. "Aunt 'Bekah says my eyes are special. That means you're special, too."
"That we are, Hope."
Her aunt smiled as she put the finishing touches on the ribbon in her hair, before she moved her niece in between herself and Klaus. She looked up at him, gaze drifting over his face, then she shuffled closer to him. While her aunt sorted out Hope's lunch, the three year old continued to stare at Klaus, as if, in her young mind, she could figure him out. He did the same, keeping his eyes on hers, eyes narrowing when, all of a sudden, a wide, grin worked it's way onto her face. Her eyes sparkled once more, and it was as if she had worked out some that had been bothering her since she ran over to the two Originals.
Her innocent yet cheeky voice broke their comfortable silence."It's you."
Rebekah's head turned to the two and Hope looked over at her aunt before she returned her attention to her father. Klaus' expression switched to once of interest as he watched his daughter. The siblings shared a stare before they waited for her to continue.
"...and who am I, love?"
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
The hybrid inside of her knew exactly who he was, just like he felt her whenever she was near him but the rest of her was still connecting the dots. He could stand in a crowd of a thousand people, and she would still know where he was without trying, even at a young age, just like anyone else in their family. Rebekah could tell that her niece was slowly realizing who exactly was next to her, she had told Hope about her father, told her that he was a brave whenever she placed the wooden knight next to her before she slept, and that he would someday come for her then bring them both home.
Hope's hand disappeared into the pocket of her pink dress, pulling out the wooden knight that she carried around with her. Her aunt could never persuade her to part with it, even when they left the house. She held it in her small hands, and Klaus felt unwanted tears sting his eyes.
"...you're my daddy."
Klaus let out a choked sound, the words were music to his ears, and he couldn't explain how he had felt in that moment. Without warning, his daughter jumped into his arms, her small ones locking around his neck as Rebekah looked on, fighting her own tears. His eyes shut contently as images of first holding her ran through his mind, and he whispered her name, holding her as gentle but as tight as he could, scared that she would disappear into thin air. She clung to the wooden knight in her hand, not knowing how much he had dreamed of this very moment. Feeling tired from all her playing, Hope slumped against her father, but before she gave in to sleep, she whispered once more.
"I knew you would come for me."
The princess had finally returned to the king...her knight in shining armour.
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...You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
you make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, dear, how much I love you,
please don't take my sunshine away...
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I have no idea where this came from, but here it is. I hope you like it. Please leave a review. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.