It had now been over 3 weeks since they had fled from New Orleans. Elijah had built up a small army of their allies to help. Klaus doubted that their plan would work but he wanted to remain hopeful for Hayley. He saw a light in her eyes that had been absent for so long. They had an unspoken agreement that she was to stay in his room after the first night they had shared. Klaus felt almost human when he was with her. All of his worries seemed to drift away. He should have known that it was too good to last. Klaus was starting another painting in the parlor. He glanced over to where Hope was playing and felt a smile stretch onto his face. She had grown so much since they had been there. She would babble to them and walk everywhere. As he started mixing some of his paints his phone buzzed. He answered quickly.
"Elijah?"
"No it's Freya."
Klaus was happy to hear his sister's voice. "I was hoping to hear from you."
"Klaus you need to get out of there."
He immediately stood. "What happened?"
"A witch from the other side undid my spell. They know you are not here and they are going to start looking for you."
He grabbed Hope and walked into the living room where Hayley and Rebekah were reading. Rebekah noticed the look on his face and stood.
"What's wrong?"
Klaus spoke to Freya. "How long do we have?"
"A few hours." She paused and then spoke again. "Stefan wants to talk to you."
"Put him on."
Stefan's voice rang through the phone. "Klaus, got to Caroline."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes you'll be safe there. I'll send Valerie to meet you."
"Alright."
He hung up and looked at the girls. "They know where we are. We need to leave now."
At his words they started to grab the necessities. Within 30 minutes they were back in Klaus's car speeding away. Rebekah sat in the back with Hope and took notice of the paintings.
"We are on the run and you grab paintings?"
He didn't answer. Hayley could sense his stress. She reached over and grabbed his hand over the center console. He glanced at her and he immediately relaxed. They would be alright.
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Klaus read the address off the letter Caroline had sent him months ago. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw that Rebekah and Hope were both asleep. Hayley was still holding his hand looking straight ahead. He spoke to her quietly.
"We're almost there."
She nodded. He eventually turned off the highway and then onto a road. He started to count and then pulled into a driveway. He nudged Rebekah awake.
"We're here."
She grabbed Hope and followed them to the door. He knocked and was greeted by Caroline.
"Klaus. Come in, Stefan told me that you were coming."
They stepped inside and Klaus smiled. Valerie was holding the twins on the couch. She smiled at him.
"Niklaus."
"Hello Valerie."
Hope looked at the twins curious. Hayley looked around.
"Where's Alaric?"
Caroline handed Hope a toy as she spoke. "He's away for a business trip. He won't be back until next week."
They unloaded their luggage into the guest room and then settled in Caroline's family room. Hope sat on the floor in front of the twins bouncy seats. She looked at a rattle then handed it to one of them. She smiled at Hayley and pointed to the baby.
"Baby!"
Hayley smiled. "I see." She looked at Caroline. "Which baby is that?"
Caroline looked and smiled. "That's Lizzie. She's the more outgoing one. Josie is a little shy."
Hayley helped Hope stand and kissed her cheek. "Do you like Lizzie?"
Hope nodded. She walked over and helped the baby bounce.
"Izzie."
Klaus was drinking a scotch in the corner. He stared out the window ignoring the sweet scene behind him. Rebekah stood and walked over to him.
"Go get some sleep Nik. I'll keep watch."
He looked at her for a minute then sighed. Caroline noticed and looked at the babies.
"It's bedtime."
Valerie and Hayley stood and they grabbed the girls. Soon Hope was sound asleep in her playpen while Klaus and Hayley slept in Caroline's guest bed. Hayley couldn't fall asleep though. She knew Klaus was worried, it made her uneasy. She listened to his heartbeat the whole night.
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The next day Klaus heard from Elijah. He was reading a book in the guest room when he answered his phone.
"Elijah."
"Niklaus. You and Hayley need to go truly off the grid."
"What do you mean?"
"I just got word. They have the last remaining white oak bullet and are trying to sell it to the highest bidder. I need you and Rebekah to separate."
Klaus sighed. "I'll leave tonight. Rebekah can stay here. Caroline and Valerie can protect her and shield her."
"Alright. Be safe brother."
Klaus hung up and went downstairs. The girls were in the kitchen making dinner. Rebekah noticed his face.
"What happened?"
"I just heard from Elijah. We need to separate."
"What do you mean?"
"They are selling the remaining white oak bullet."
Rebekah's eyes widened. "Who?"
"Elijah is trying to figure it out."
Hayley looked concerned. "Where do we go next?"
"Rebekah is going to stay here." He glanced at Caroline. "As long as that is ok with you."
Caroline nodded. "Of course."
He nodded and continued. "Hayley and I are going to go somewhere off the beaten track."
Hayley smiled. "I know just the place."
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Klaus was putting the gas nozzle away when Hayley came out of the store. She handed him a hat that said "Mother Trucker". He threw her a look.
"Absolutely not."
"We need to blend in." She slapped the hat onto his head. "Also loose the thousand dollar jacket."
He grumbled as he slid the jacket off. Hayley took the keys and drove them to a run down bar in the middle of no where. Klaus took a deep sniff and looked at her.
"More wolves? Lovely."
"They're old friends that will protect us."
He grabbed Hope and followed her into the bar. Soon they were led into a back room with a bed and small kitchenette. Klaus set up Hope's playpen and laid her down. Hayley started to dig through her bag and grabbed a change of clothes. Klaus copied and spoke as he changed.
"So how exactly do you know these people?"
"I came here after my parents kicked me out. They helped me understand. I use to come back every few months."
He nodded and covered Hope with a blanket. Hayley looked out the window and sighed.
"Full moon."
Klaus looked and smiled slightly. "Did you ever hear the story of the man on the moon?"
"Of course but it's just a fairytale."
"My mother, before she went nuts, use to tell all of her children that even if we were separated the man on the moon would be watching over us and would always keep us connected to eachother."
She smiled. "We'll have to tell Hope that story."
He kissed her head then sat down on the side of the bed. He was untying his shoes when Hayley leaned over and kissed him. Soon they were fully entangled with the glow of the moon coming through their window.
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The next morning as they ate breakfast in the bar Hayley heard from her friends of a young girl she use to babysit. As they went to leave Hayley stopped him.
"I need to see Kayla."
He sighed. "We need to keep moving."
"I can't just leave her out here alone and scared."
"We need to protect our family!"
"She is my family!" She looked him over and spoke softly. "You have made so many enemies by protecting your family. But we need to show Hope that being kind doesn't make you weak. Let me talk to her."
He thought it through for a moment before nodding. They left Hope with Hayley's friend. Klaus watched from a distance as she went to Kayla's home and led her to the meeting place. He let her talk to the girl and waited until Kayla was placing her item to emerge. Hayley smiled at him.
"Thank you."
He sat down next to her. "I must admit this place does feel...safe."
"I remember my first time coming here. I was around Kayla's age and I was terrified. But when I was here I knew for the first time that I was not alone."
He grabbed her hand and smiled. "You're not alone now. As I have said being a Mikaelson has it's issues but you will always have a home and people to watch your back."
She leaned over and kissed him softly. When they pulled apart she looked down at her left hand where she still wore her wedding rings. She stood and walked to one of the trees. She took a deep breath and placed the rings on it.
"Rest in peace Jackson."
Klaus walked over next to her and didn't speak. Instead he grabbed the id badge Kayla had placed up there.
"These wolves aren't disappearing."
"What?"
"They're being hunted."
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