Elijah had to drag Klaus back to the witches' crypt and vow he would protect the witches against Marcel in return for their protection of Hayley and the baby. When Sophie was fully convinced, she let Elijah have custody of the Marshall girl, much to the latter's chagrin. Luckily, Elijah had a plan that would keep her in comfort.
They travelled to the mansion they'd lived in many decades ago, when they had first met Marcellus Gerard as a young slave boy. The furniture from their settlements in Mystic Falls had quickly moved to the mansion and Hayley was noticeably overwhelmed by the state of the place. Elijah wanted to keep an eye on the young girl in case she wanted to run off, which seemed to be her first plan of action.
He heard coughing and sped to the doorframe of the large living room, Hayley was pulling the cover off of a baby crib they had bought down the street.
"Are you alright?" He asked
"Just dust" Hayley assured him softly. She looked around the room as she had done many times before Elijah had gotten to there. "This place is ancient."
"Indeed, it'll suit our purposes." Elijah agreed, stepping into the room towards her. Circling the crib that Hayley had uncovered, he glanced at her. "Right now you're the most important person in this family." He held her eyes. "You need a good home." Hayley smiled at him with a look of flirtatious distrust in her eyes, and as he recognized it he quick took a few steps away.
"So I'm curious, has anyone asked you how you feel yet?" Elijah asked, fiddling now with the bars on the wooden baby crib on the opposite end to where Hayley stood
"About having a magical miracle baby with a psychotic one-night stand?" Hayley asked solemnly. Elijah smirked
"About being a mother." He countered. Hayley's bright eyes filled with laughter to cover her pain quickly dissolved. She looked down and away
"I was abandoned when I was a baby. And my adoptive parents kicked me out the second I turned into a wolf." She replied. Elijah nodded, looking away himself. She hadn't deserved that treatment. He barely knew of her, and he could sense that already. "So I don't know how I feel about being a mother, because I never really had a good one."
Elijah straightened himself and picked up the coverings of the baby crib.
"I will always protect you." He swore, tossing the now folded cover onto a different covered chair. "You have my word on that." He added.
The smile that grew on Hayley's face was both flirtatious and grateful, adding to her already obvious beauty.
"And noble Elijah always keeps his word." Klaus's taunting words sounded from the door frame of the room, where he'd apparently leaned against the wood to enjoy the show. Hayley's smile disappeared into guarded anger, and Elijah's subtle observation of Hayley right behind. He turned to face his little brother completely, a hand in his suit pocket.
"What of the impotent witches?" Klaus asked, walking into the room to join the two, uncrossing his arms and glancing dangerously at Hayley.
"I believe them to be honorable." Elijah said quickly, also glancing at her. "They did release Hayley to me. Though they haven't been exactly forthcoming." He took a few long steps toward his brother "Marcel obviously has something that the witches need, although they are not ready to reach out and grasp yet." He put a finger to his lips in thought, leaning closer to Klaus. He need not trouble Hayley with such matters, even as she was particularly self-reliant.
"They don't want him dead. Merely out of the way."
"Well while you're puzzling out that little problem, tell me when you've made progress. I have another matter to attend to." Klaus replied, spinning on his heel to hurry out of the room.
"Which is?" Elijah asked. Hayley was curious herself as well. Klaus turned around and smiled at them both in a devious manner.
"It'll all make sense eventually dear brother. Have patience." He replied. Without another second for Elijah to add a word, Klaus was gone. In less than a minute later he'd told a loyal hybrid to track down Tyler Lockwood and ask him the one question that hinged on this entire situation.
"I'm sorry, what?" Tyler asked in surprised, dumbfounded by every word.
"Klaus demands to know, did you sleep with the werewolf Hayley Marshall?" The man before him asked again impatiently.
"Why does he want to know?" Tyler demanded in return
"Hayley is pregnant, and she accuses Klaus of being the father. If you have been intimate with her, Klaus asks you say so and clear matters up."
"First off, he knows that I won't do him any favors. I'm not going to go to New Orleans and talk to a bunch of stuck up witches and persuade them that I'm some baby daddy to a girl I was just friends with. Secondly, he also knows that only one of us, slept with Hayley. And it wasn't me that screwed her in revenge for something she said that he didn't like." Tyler replied. The hybrid blinked in surprise.
"How did you know about that?" He asked. Tyler chuckled
"Hayley's not entirely self-reliant, John. She does need to talk to people sometimes. And once in a while I'm willing to listen."
Tyler had practically shoved the hybrid out the door by the heel of his boot before noticing that Caroline had heard the entire conversation.
Elijah is on the phone to Rebekah about Marcel when Klaus shows Hayley to her room. She's as quiet around Klaus now as she was at the crypt, when around Elijah she was herself again.
"Tell me, what is it that makes my brother so much more agreeable?" Klaus asked in defeat, throwing his hands up. Hayley met his eyes in surprise and looked away with a shrug.
"He was kind to me." She replied simply. Klaus was speechless at the response, so many thoughts clouding his mind at the words she'd spoken. But then his phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him out of his head. He left the room and saw on the caller ID. He smiled, not knowing what brought this pleasure about.
"Hello, love." He greeted warmly, walking away from Hayley's room.
"Is it true?" Caroline asked. He stopped.
"Well, Tyler did inform me that he never was unfaithful to you with his lady werewolf friend-"
"Who's your little lady werewolf friend now." Caroline interrupted coldly.
"On the contrary love, I had a plan for her that came to an end. After that, things took a surprising turn. The rest is history, as they say." Klaus replied
"Oh but you got something from her alright, now she's pregnant with your kid." Caroline said. Klaus stopped short.
"Yes, that's true." He replied simply. After a moment, he realized she was thinking it through.
"So Klaus Mikaelson has to get started being a father now." She candidly replied.
"Caroline, have you had a bit to drink tonight?" He asked in concern. Her words were slurred but her emotions were coming through more boldly in her voice.
"No, I haven't. I'm just wondering why the big bad wolf suddenly got so impulsive and why you accused Tyler of something you did." Caroline shot back.
"I don't know why, Caroline. Some things I don't plan." Klaus snapped back. "I certainly didn't bloody intend this to happen, never thought it would. But now that it has….."
"Now that it has?" Caroline asked gently
"Maybe the big bad wolf's next adventure as you say, will be fatherhood." Klaus said, now coming to peace with his decision. Funny how talking to Caroline made it easier to sort through.
A long moment passed with silence, Klaus thought Caroline was going to hang up.
"Not, that it's any of my business or important in any way…." She trailed off
"No, love. The answer to your question."
"Which is,"
"If I love her or have any feelings for her. I don't. And I daresay she's none for me either." Klaus replied. Another long moment passed.
"Okay, well….I hope fatherhood is a great experience. Maybe it'll bring you what you always wanted."
"Power? I think not." He replied
"No, Klaus. Redemption." Caroline said, then muttered a quick goodbye before hanging up. Klaus hung up himself a moment later, remembering the second time he put her life in danger than saved it right at the last minute.
Anybody who is capable of love is capable of being saved.
Elijah had ended his phone conversation with Rebekah a few moments ago, debating if it was a good idea to bid Hayley a goodnight. He decided it was, nervously shuffling outside her door and rapping lightly on the white painted wood.
After a few moments the door opened and Hayley clung to it, nervously staring at Elijah.
"Um, hi?" She greeted
"Just came to wish you a goodnight." Elijah explained simply, in as gentle a tone as he could muster. She nodded and another smile grew on her face that she tried to hide. "How is the baby?" He asked
"Still here," Hayley replied, touching her stomach "hopefully I won't get too big once eight months rolls around, have a feeling being a fast-healing werewolf will have to buffer its skills when I have this kid."
"I believe you'll be fine." Elijah replied, blinking and regretting his words. What on earth did he know about a woman's body during pregnancy? He looked back at her, smiling apologetically. Hayley smiled back in return. He took a step away and Hayley followed him
"Wait, uh there's something else," She said. Elijah held her eyes as he came back to her door. "I don't know if this is a usual thing for a pregnant werewolf or not, but I kind of felt something…else? In there? I don't really get it." She explained. Elijah nodded and looked at her stomach, focusing his hearing.
"Remarkable" He breathed, then found her eyes again. "Pardon me a moment."
He called for Klaus until the hybrid had sped there.
"What is it?" Klaus asked irritably.
"I came to wish Hayley a goodnight, and she'd discovered something. Listen."
"I bloody know she's with child, I haven't got time for this." Klaus snapped, spinning on his heel and walking away.
"Niklaus!" Elijah snapped back at him. Klaus froze and turned around. "Just, listen. Once more."
Klaus walked back to Hayley and did the same as Elijah had done. His confused gaze on Hayley's face was enough to make her think she hadn't been imagining the other thing there.
"What, what is it?" Hayley asked Elijah. He stared at her with a disappearing grin.
"It is not just one child, you carry Miss Marshall." Hayley's eyes grew bigger. "It is two." Hayley looked at Klaus, whose confused gaze had wandered back to her stomach.
It was true. He could hear not one but two heartbeats now. They were out of sync, which made it more obvious. How did he not notice the second heartbeat before?
Elijah read Klaus's thoughts correctly as he observed his brother.
"It could be that the second child had not fully grown a heart yet when the witches released her." Elijah explained. Klaus looked back at him and nodded.
