A/N: Okay, so here it is. Some of you have messaged me asking for a more 'depressing' chapter, and I have listened. This is a little bit shorter than the others I have written because I decided to change the ending last minute because it was just too sad to write :(. So here is a slightly sad, depressing, but also cute fic set some time near the end of Season 1.
Hayley smelt the blood before she saw it. As her bedside lamp clicked on, she sucked in a sharp intake of breath at what she saw. Blood stained her pyjamas, and the cream sheet thrown over her bare legs was discoloured with various shades of red.
"Klaus! Klaus! Oh my god, Klaus!" Her breaths were ragged and infrequent, and she clutched her chest as her lungs refused to co-operate. She couldn't breathe. She needed to breathe.
She threw her legs off the end of the bed and stumbled towards the door. Her legs were shaky, and she could hear her heart beating rapidly in her ears. A feeling of dread swept through her, and it took all of her strength to prevent herself from giving up completely. The little hope she had left kept her moving towards the door, making her way closer to him.
Her hands were clumsy as she fumbled with the door handle. She pounded her fists against the wood when the door refused to open, and a high-pitched hysterical scream tore past her lips. The inevitability of her situation made the worthlessness she'd felt during the long months she'd been held prisoner within the city threaten to overwhelm her. She slumped against the door, her chin resting against the top of her knees. Angry tears filled her eyes, and she pulled the sleeve of her oversized jumper over her hand to wipe them away. Hayley and her baby had survived through everything that life had thrown at them; being kidnapped by witches, Marcel's vampire's trying to kill them to get back at Klaus, Mikael trapping her in her own head in attempt to kill her and her baby. Through everything, fate had been on their side and they had just about scraped by. But now, it seemed that life had other things in mind.
The door slowly edged open, and Klaus' voice broke through her thoughts. "Hayley! Hayley, are you alright?"
She couldn't muster up the strength to answer him. Instead, she nodded weakly, hugging her arms around herself in attempt to find little comfort and reassurance.
Klaus pushed the door open a little wider, gently at first, before slipping into the room between the small gap he'd created. Hayley still sat slumped against the door, a look of hopelessness and defeat evident on her face. Her hair was still ruffled from sleep and the dark circles beneath her eyes told him that she hadn't been sleeping, either. Her cheeks were damp from her tears and her eyes were red-rimmed as she stared blankly at the blood staining the cream bedcovers. Her blood.
Klaus crouched down beside her and tentatively took her hand with his own. "Hayley. We need to get you to the doctor's. Now."
When she showed no sign that she'd heard him at all, he tugged lightly at her arm, urging her to her feet. When her body refused to co-operate, he huffed in annoyance. "Hayley, please."
She turned to look at him then, and another tear fell from her lashes and trickled down her cheek. After a moment, she wiped it away with the tips of her fingers. "I already know what he's going to say, Klaus. I can't feel her anymore."
Klaus took a sharp intake of breath. His hand tightened reflectively around hers, his free hand reaching for her swollen stomach. She had long progressed into her third trimester, and her stomach had grown so big that Klaus was afraid she'd burst if the baby grew any bigger. His fingers brushed across her bump as he listened intently, desperate to find the faint sound of his daughter's heartbeat. Panic etched within him when Hayley's quiet sobs was all he could hear.
In one smooth movement, he tucked his hands beneath her and scooped her trembling form into his arms. He pushed open the door with the heel of his foot and carried her towards the car. Regardless of what she said, he had to get a second opinion. His daughter had grown on him considerably, and he was prepared to do almost anything to ensure her safety.
When they reached the front door, he placed her carefully on the bottom step while he hunted for his car keys. When he found them on the dining room table, he tucked them into his pockets and blurred back into the hallway. Hayley had slumped against the wall, her eyes closed, and lips parted slightly.
For a moment, he just watched her. Despite everything, she looked almost at peace. The constant frown that had taken residence upon her face during the past few months was still there, but it seemed fainter, somehow. Her body had visibly relaxed and her breathing had slowed considerably, easing into a more regular rhythm as sleep overcame her.
And then he heard it. His daughter's heartbeat, quiet but strong. It beat furiously, as if demanding to be heard. Klaus smiled, exhaling slowly. Right there, in the silence of the old Mikaelson house, something within him changed. He felt the broken pieces within himself find their way back together. He felt whole.
Somehow, they would make it through this. All three of them. Together.