At first he saw nothing. Only feeling the piercing pain from where the dagger had struck him. Everything was black. No sound. No smell. No sight. Nothing. Within the next few seconds, color seemed to come into sight. As his senses started to resurface he saw a shadow coming towards him. An outline of a woman. As he squinted into the light the shadow slowly became identifiable. Hayley. Klaus was astonished. He had about a million questions in his head but all of them seemed to fade as he saw her approaching him. She was smiling, that brought great relief to him. Finally, she was a finger length away from him. Before he had the chance to say anything she threw her arms gently around him pulling him close to her and embracing him in a soft hug. He melted in her arms. Tears now flowing down his face. She wasn't angry at him. For the longest time that had been the one thing that Klaus worried about. After a few seconds longer she finally pulled away.
"Klaus Mikaelson, I was not expecting you." she looked beautiful. She looked happy.
He cleared his throat, looking into her eyes. How was she here, "It's good to see you Hayley… I don't know where to start." she brushed a strand of hair from her face. She sighed heavily, looking down at the ground and then finally looking him in his eyes.
"You're dead… I'm sure you knew that already. I'm also sure you knew there was a possibly you could end up here… The other side." she gestured out, both of them now turning to face what looked exactly like the Mikaelson manor.
Something about this still seemed off to him. How was he here? He expected to be in hell after everything he had done. He took a seat, placing both his hands on his knees. Frustration built up in his face. Hayley walked slowly over to the bench, taking a seat next to him.
"Hope…"
"Is fine." Hayley cut him off.
"Klaus, I know you weren't expecting to be here… To be with me. And trust me when I say I'm just as confused as you are… but for some reason I'm glad you're here." Hayley added. He turned to face her, taking a deep breath.
"Where's Elijah?" he asked slowly, almost not wanting to know the answer. What if he hadn't been as lucky as Klaus?
"Elijah is taking care of a few things but we did cross paths. He's at peace, Klaus. You should be too…" Klaus laughed bitterly. Peace? That was a very rare word used in the Mikaelson vocabulary.
"So you're telling me that I'm just supposed to go on knowing our daughter is still alive and facing the evil of the world without the protection of her two parents?!" He jumped up, turning harshly to face Hayley. Hayley now standing up as well, fists balled.
"Klaus you knew she was going to be without both of us before you and Elijah took each other's lives! You knew you were leaving her behind! I'm not going to stand here and yell at you or blame you, because I don't. I'm just telling you, this is what we were prepared for. Our daughter is not weak, Klaus. She was raised by an independent mother and a badass father. She will be fine. You need to know that. You need to believe that." there was no anger in her voice. It was more of a comforting tone, if anything. Klaus nodded slowly, bowing his head in defeat. She was right. Hope would be fine. But it didn't make it any easier being without her.
"You're right… And I'm sorry. I just don't know how you do it. How you go on without her…" he uttered. She took a few steps closer to him, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.
"I can't, and I never could. Whenever I'm having trouble or I'm missing her, I close my eyes… and I focus on her… The sound of her voice… The smell of her hair… The sight of her beautiful eyes… and then I'm with her." she trailed of slowly.
"...So, whenever you need her, whenever you want to see her, she's only one blink away… And it doesn't just have to be her. It can be Rebekah, or Kol, or Marcel… Just don't do it all the time, or you'll never get used to being without her." he didn't know what to say. He was happy to hear that he could still see his daughter, he needed that more than anything…
"Thank you Hayley." was all he managed to say. Hayley smiled gently.
"I'll leave you alone so you can see her. Elijah should be back soon, and maybe once you're done I can introduce you to this pretty little blonde bartender I met. Her names Camille, ring any bells?" she laughed, her hand leaving her shoulder as Klaus stood there, shocked.
Maybe everything would be okay after all. Maybe Klaus finally found peace…
