Chapter 2
Double Trouble
Elijah POV
Now that we are in the same town as them, Freya has been able to locate them much easier. We parked on the road and walked up the drive enough to observe them first. She's out there with another woman Niklaus identifies as Bree. She reminds me of Snow White because her skin is so pale, hair so black and eyes so blue.
Roxanne looks slimmer than the last picture I saw posted of her in the paper, but aside from that, she looks exactly the same. She still dresses in black, her hair braided over her shoulder, and of course, that trademark scar on the left side of her cheek.
"Twins?" Rebekah is in awe.
"And boys! It's been girls born first in our line for so long." And Freya is in awe with her. I think we all are. Twins! What are the odds?
"I thought I told you I didn't want to see your face again."
I hadn't heard them approach. Both of these vampires were turned later on in life but clearly lead an active lifestyle. They stand shoulder to shoulder at six-foot-two I'd say, and they lack the softness most human males have these days when they reach age forty.
"Sean, Val." Niklaus is cautious around them despite their vampire youth.
Seans hair is more gray and white, with a hint of brown. Val's hair is gray and white with the faintest touch of black.
"I'm sure you're aware of who their father is."
"Not you." Sean deadpans.
I glance at Klaus and catch a flash of pain across his features.
"Allow me to rephrase that: anyone can father someone, which you have. But you are not their dad and you are not welcome here." Val clarifies.
"And who's going to stop me? You? You're baby vampires compared to me."
"It's not me I'm concerned about. You see, Roxy played you." Sean finds great humor in that.
"What do you mean?" My brother hisses.
"She's immune to your compulsion." Sean clarifies.
I can see the horror cross my brothers features and I know he realizes 2 things: he broke his promise to never compel her and he broke her heart while attempting to do so.
"What?"
"And who do you think had to pick that up? Not you. Of course not. And let me guess, that's yours too? Oh, she's going to love that. You leave her, shack up with someone else and then you bring your new family here." Sean's head tilts towards Hayley, dislike obvious in his expression. I'd say he's even disgusted and not just by her, but the fact Niklaus brought her here.
They have so many things wrong.
"That's only half true. I've no interest in Klaus. He and I were a drunken one night thing." Hayley corrects.
"Doesn't make it any better. And I love how everyone uses I'm drunk as an excuse. When it's the other way around she'd be nothing but a whore. What gets me is you're okay with your woman fucking your brother?" Val's eyes flick between Hayley and I. Yes, that's true. We have been intimate many times but we are not together in the way she wishes.
"It was before and it brought me my niece."
There's a slight shrug of his shoulders telling me he doesn't see it my way.
"I'm warning you, Klaus. It's for your own protection. Not from us, but from her. She will not be happy to see you or her or that, and she will hurt you." Sean tells him.
"I'm sure I can handle it."
"Then you clearly don't know Rox as well as you think you do." Val replies. "Why are you even here?"
"I have a right to see-"
"You lost that right when you decided to walk out of her life when she had news to tell you. Did you even notice the extra heartbeats in the room? Or were you in that much of a rush to get rid of her?" Sean growls.
"You think I wanted to leave?"
"What one wants and what one does are two different things. Reality: you hurt her. Reality, when Rox is hurt, she doesn't hurt anyone but the person that hurt her. Witch tells me I'm of your bloodline, which means she is too, and I am not going to perish for your stupidity. No one wants you here and I strongly suggest you piss off." Val responds.
"Roxy's a grown woman. I think I'll let her decide." Klaus stares back at Val and neither of them are backing down.
"Fifty says she kicks him in the nuts." Sean bets.
"Nah. She'll go for his face. Maybe his neck." Val responds.
They pat hands and Hayley snorts.
"Bets? Seriously?
"Seriously. We also had one going that he'd never come back. Looks like we owe Bree a hundred bucks." Val says.
Their play time comes to a screeching halt when she spots us. The giggling stops and Bree takes the boys inside. They look just like my brother when he was a boy.
"Niklaus." Freya's warning goes unheeded.
I keep Hayley behind me. Hope is in her arms and in the silence I can hear her starting to fuss. I've no doubt she can feel the tension. Children can sense that.
Her men move around to either side of her and they form a line between us and the house. She doesn't move. Doesn't blink. It's like looking at a statue the way she stares back at Niklaus like she is looking not at him, but through him. Is she even breathing?
"We need to talk."
Her foot comes straight up and blindsides him in the face. My brothers head snaps backwards and he lands on his back, unconscious. Her eyes have turned to gold on black and her werewolf is showing, but she doesn't hit him while he's own.
Her eyes move around all of us quickly before landing on Hayley. The bark that comes out of her is a clear warning to leave and Hayley doesn't need to be told in words to do so.
"I believe that's our cue to fuck off and come back later."
When Roxanne blinks I can see the tears.
She looks at Kol. "If by later you mean in a thousand years, even then it would be too soon. Take that," She points at Niklaus. "with you, and inform him I don't want to speak to him. I want him in or about my life, or my children's."
"They are his children too. He has a right to see them." I point out.
"What for? He left me because it was dangerous for me to be associated with him. If people find out they're his, how much more danger do you think they'd be in? I'll tell you where: worse than where they are now. As far as the entire supernatural world is concerned, they take after me and their father was either a were, a witch or a human. Now take that shit you're selling and get off my lawn!" Her voice raising as she speaks.
Roxanne has a point. She's a hybrid. None of us believed Klaus could reproduce the human way and it came as a shock to us all. Everyone will assume they take after her and their father could be anyone- anything.
"This isn't over." I tell her.
"I'll find a fat lady to sing for ya." Roxy replies.
Kol chuckles as he gives me a hand picking Klaus up and taking him to the car.
"She's got a mouth on her. Definitely a screamer."
"Kol, shut up." Rebekah sighs. "I have a bad feeling about that one. She's not afraid of us at all."
Hayley is sitting in the passenger seat and Hope is already in her car-seat.
"She's sweet. What happened to her face?" Hayley asks.
"I do hope that's sarcasm. As for the scar, it came about from someone trying to kill her and failing."
"It is sarcasm and too bad they didn't succeed. She's a real bitch. Did you hear her bark at me?"
"I think she was caught off guard and so enraged it was either bark or kill you."
I most definitely agree with Freya on that. I think the only thing that saved her was the fact she was holding a baby.
"She's got a good point though."
"Rebecca." I scold.
"What? It's true. He says he left her so she wouldn't get hurt, right? If the compulsion didn't work, that means he broke her heart and in her eyes, he didn't even care while he did it. Clearly, that hurt. And if no one knows he's their father, they'll think they're a hybrid because she's a hybrid and their father could be anyone. Everyone knows Hope is his. They don't know the twins are his. Yes, they should be able to know each other, but that isn't gonna fly with her. And it isn't fair to her either." She ducks into the backseat where she sits with Klaus.
"Ooh, my face." He moans. "Are we still there?"
"I think a cooling off period is a good idea."
Niklaus touches his nose, sees the blood and nods in agreement. He sighs and leans his head back against the seat.
"She hates me." Klaus moans from the backseat.
"And I don't blame her."
"Hayley." I warn.
"What? I'm not gonna spare his feelings and coddle him. He had something good and he fucked it up. That's what you Mikaelsons do and I know cause I've seen it first hand, and I dare you to tell me I'm wrong."
I can't. She's right. If outside forces outside our family don't cause us to lose our happiness, we sabotage ourselves.
KLAUS POV
My nose hurts. My face and head hurt from her foot meeting my face but it's trivial compared to the ache in my chest. She hates me. I could see it the way she stared at me like she did everyone that crossed her. I was an insect in her eyes and she's going to crush me with her bare hand if she has to.
I pour myself a drink and down it. I can hear the others throughout the house. Freya and Rebekah are on the back porch talking, and practically betting if Roxy will ever forgive me. Hayley is feeding Hope. Kol is setting up his video games in the den while Elijah decides to make himself comfortable on the sofa.
"Not even bothering with the glass this time?"
What for?
"What I want is at the bottom of this. A glass just gets in my way."
"Roxanne isn't at the bottom. Getting drunk solves nothing, nor will it make you feel better. Go wash your face, Niklaus. "
"Not drinking won't make me feel better either."
He doesn't move to take it from me but continues to stare at me.
"Unless you've got something to say, go away."
"Kol has suggested that the two of you have your fist fight and then talk. Everyone is in agreement with that. Then I suggest you tell her the danger she and those children are in and we will go from there. And that's if she doesn't run,"
"Roxanne doesn't run. She burrows in and makes everyone else run." Klaus speaks firmly.
"Good."
"Good?"
"Good. Freya's working to keep Delilah off our trail and how to undo the bond between you two. There's no telling how long that will work or how long that will be. She suggested that we were able to find them once we hit town was because the entire town is covered in magic, and because we were beneath the veil,"
"Freya was able to sense them."
"Yes. She insists there's a powerful witch here that Roxanne must have allied herself with. If we spend more time preparing and less time chasing Roxanne, things will be a little bit easier. Now will you please go wash your face before Hope sees you."
I breathe in deeply and haul myself up the stairs. Wash, have another drink- a long one- and drop face first on to my bed. So tired . . .
It's a dream. I know it's a dream because I'm happy here and I'm with her, in the past, before I screwed everything up.
"I swear you're priapismic."
"What's that?"
"Constant wood."
"That's what you do to me."
I adjust the sheet so I can get closer to her, skin upon skin and I brush her hair from her shoulder so I can nibble on her. She sighs and turns to goo beneath my hands.
"If you start that, we'll be late for lunch with Bree and Frye."
"Knowing them, they'll be late for the same reason. You're not going to let me turn blue, are you?"
"KLAUS!"
"It is a good color on you."
I growl and huffs and puff in her ear, and my breath across her neck tickles her.
"Just for that I'm going to make you scream."
"Klaus! Come on! We've got things to do!" That's not Rebekah yelling now, but Freya.
"Good luck with that."
"I don't need luck, darling. I'm just that good. Or have you forgotten already?"
"Remind me."
"Klaus!"
There it is again. Rebecca bellowing from the stairs. Damn my libido and picking that time of all times to dream of.
"Wake up you wanker! It's ten o'clock!"
"He's probably hung over."
The door opens and in comes Kol. He tips the bed and I roll out of it and face plant on the floor.
"Never mind the hangover. I think he's still drunk. Get up, old man. We gotta go save your kids and deal with another crazy ex." Rebekah speaks.
"She's not crazy. The shrink says so."
"What shrink?" Freya asks.
"After her stalker. She saw a shrink." I grasp Elijah's hand and let him to help me up. "Excuse me. I'm gonna throw up."
"So charming. What did she see in you?" Rebekah muses and all at once they look at Hayley.
"Don't look at me. We were drunk and lonely and it was once. I've zero desire for a relationship with anyone besides Elijah."
Of course she would choose my brother over me, but for once I don't give a damn. I don't like Hayley. I've never considered her more than an acquaintance and that's at best. I just wish I knew why Elijah still refuses to accept her affection and be with her. We can all see that he loves her but he refuses her.
Why?
I couldn't imagine being that close to someone- living under the same roof as them and sleeping in the room right next to them- and not having them.
"Likewise."
"I would hope so. Or that'd be incest and I never knew you were into guys." Hayley teases Elijah.
"Toothbrush?" Freya suggests.
"Good idea."
"Did you even unpack?" Rebecca asks.
"Nope."
I grab it from my suitcase. Uugh, disgusting even myself these days. Wonderful.
"Do I get to change my clothes or are you all gonna watch?"
"It's nothing we haven't seen, but I'll pass on that." Hayley replies.
"That's not what you said then."
"I was drunk and desperate. Now don't be a dick to feed your bruised ego. It's not weak to," She pauses, "like someone."
"Like? Nah, he's in loooove." Kol teases.
"Shut up and get out of my room."
"She certainly can put you in your place, huh? You see that high kick? I was not expecting that! When you said she kicks people in the face I was thinking more Chuck Norris style. There was no tell she was gonna do that!" Kol continues to ramble as he lays on my bed. I don't bother trying to make him get out and just get dressed.
"So, fraternal twins; y'know what that means right?"
"The egg split. So what? It happens all the time."
"Actually, no. When that happens you get identical twins. Fraternal twins is you having super sperm and fertilizing two different eggs."
"Why do you know this?"
"I looked it up. Google's faster than looking it up in a medical book at the library. Are you ready to get kicked in the face again? Freya and I got a bet going on she's gonna do it again. Rebecca and I got another bet going that she's gonna get Hayley next."
I chuckle. "She probably will."
"You really like her, don't you?" He's got a tone I rarely hear from him. It's a cross between envy, sorrow and maybe even pity.
"Immensely." I sigh. "How are you doing? With Davina?"
"Life goes on. I'll deal about it when I'm alone. Y'know how we are. We boo-hoo to ourselves and a bottle. And you could've picked someone better lookin' than Hayley. If you're gonna dump a girl, do better, not worse. Even with that scar on her face, she's a ten."
"I beg to differ. That scarring makes her look like the Joker." Hayley cracks.
"You're lucky you're holding my child. Morning, my puppy." I kiss her forehead and take her when she leans for me.
"Don't make me hurt you, Niklaus. You keep your hands to yourself." Elijah is last out the door. "And if she attacks Hayley,"
"Hayley can take care of herself. I'm a hybrid, too, remember?"
"She's a tribrid." Freya announces.
"What?" Leave it to Hayley to be confused.
"Tribrid. Didn't you notice?"
"But she's also vampire so she can't have magic." Kol argues.
I think Kol would rather be a witch than a vampire.
"She's also half werewolf and there are were-witches so it's not impossible." Freya replies. "Just like Hope's a tribrid, even if her werewolf is dormant because she hasn't killed anyone yet."
"Nor will she ever." Hayley doesn't like being a werewolf and has expressed she doesn't want Hope triggering her gene. Ever. Despite the fact that as a hybrid she wouldn't have to change unless she wanted to.
"If it's unavoidable, I rather her kill and live, thanks." I peck her cheeks, her forehead and then her lips and make her giggle before putting her in the car-seat.
As much as I love my daughter, I love my sons too. I've only ever seen them and moments when they're young like this, they're so trusting, dependent on me, unknowing what a monster I am, and I will never have that with them. I've little doubt that like their mother, they're going to hate me.
I wasn't around Hayley much unless it was for protection, but Roxy, I'd have loved to watch her become enormous with my children. I won't admit it out loud, but I had fantasized a few times what our life would be like if we were both mortal and capable of producing naturally.
"You ready for this?" Freya asks me.
"Don't have a choice, do I?"
Inwardly, I sigh, thinking how cruel I must have come off when glamouring her to forget me. Who could forgive that? I wouldn't. I couldn't. And it does not help that Roxanne and I are too much alike. She'll never forgive me and if she does, she's never going to let me forget it.
