Jackson Kenner had expected something like this from his wife. He knew her all too well. He had pushed her to the edge, and ever since he had heard of her escape he had known an attack was inevitable. What he didn't expect, however, was for her to target the thing she held so dear to her, their house, during this battle.
It made sense though, as Jackson himself had first introduced the house as a weapon when he kicked her out and used it as a center for anti-Hayley gatherings. In his mind his actions were justified, hers were simple childishness.
He walked into the burnt down house and nodded at the werewolves who were looking for anything to save. It was destroyed, darkened, tarnished. Everything they had built together, all the generations before them had left behind, they were all gone. He shook his head in disbelief and began making his way through the wreckage.
"Immature, that's what she is" she heard one of the werewolves state as they joined his side "Her behavior is making her more unacceptable as a Queen. I don't understand why the ancestors aren't punishing her yet"
Jackson was barely listening to them. He picked up what was left of a framed photograph and trying to make out what it was. As he wiped the glass clean he recognized the image in front of him, what was barely left of it at least, and remembered the day it was taken.
They were looking eye to eye and their hands were intertwined in front of the camera. They were laughing, they were young, they were happy – this was far before they had lost their way in their relationship. Not yet married, but truly happy.
"I don't want to take a photo" she insisted "I look ugly"
As she raised her hand to cover her face he held it in locked their fingers
"The day you look ugly will be the end of the world, for the idea of you looking any less than perfect seems impossible, or impossibly difficult to come by"
"Jackson, stop it" she said as she began smiling
"You don't need to look at the camera, look at me and make me the happiest man alive"
"Jack, come on" she said as she began laughing and he joined her
"I actually did take a photo of you guys already, I think it's way better than any photo you could have posed for"
Jackson pulled his fiancé to his chest and they looked at the photo together, nodding and giggling.
"I love it, ironically" she whispered and he kissed her neck "It's so us"
"It is" he responded, "A perfect symbol for our happiness"
He smiled to himself as the memory flashed before his eyes. He hadn't been listening to the men around him for a while now.
"As if the damage she had done while she whored herself around wasn't enough…" he heard one declare as he began to focus once again
At that moment, something flicked in Jackson's head. He felt like a different man. He felt defensive of the woman in that photo, of the woman he made promises to. Only one question flashed in front of his eyes as he lunged at the man's neck: "What had you been thinking Jackson?"
"Don't you dare refer to her in such a manner again" he snapped as he continued to throttle her with rage-filled eyes "She is my wife and your Queen"
"Since when are we on that page again?" one of the others snapped "Jackson don't hurt one of your own for that woman"
Jackson let go, torn apart between the sense of guilt that was growing inside him towards his wife, and the sense of power he was so hungry for.
"Perhaps we need to re-assess the situation" he said as he pushed his hair back and began pacing through the ash black room "Perhaps what she did wasn't that bad"
"She is pregnant with another man's child Jackson"
He looked up and saw what was left of their bedroom through its doorframe. The first time they walked through that door she was so excited about the things to come, but he was aware things wouldn't go that well for them.
"We are married Jack!" she exclaimed as she pushed him on the bed and climbed on top of him "We are married!"
He nodded and pushed the hair off her face "You are so special, you deserve a beautiful life"
She smiled and leaned in to kiss him
"We do, and we will have a great life together"
He let her lips sink into his and her hands travel across his body. He responded to her touch, but his heart beat faster with guilt and worry as he did.
A sense of guilt and worry very similar to that night made his heart beat even faster as he stood in the ash and looked over at the burnt down bed.
"I need time" he said coldly and left the house.
He had to find Hayley, and he had to speak to her.
Hayley Marshall on the other hand was sitting on the porch of the Mikaelson mansion, feeling more alone in a house full of people than she ever had before. She was angry at the world, she was scared and she felt the desire for senseless vengeance in her veins.
"Lemonade?" Kol Mikaelson offered as he sat down beside her "It's nice and refreshing"
She nodded and took the glass from him, taking a sip of the ice-cold beverage immediately
"I am so angry" she hissed as Kol also drank "My head is full of misdirected anger"
"What are we doing about Caroline?"
"Why do you want her gone?"
"She is a bad influence. She makes him this weird fluffy individual who suppresses his negativity around her and unleashes it on the rest of us"
"That's why you want her gone? Because he's mean to you?"
"I don't trust her. What is your reason then?"
"She is the one thing standing between my child and its father"
Kol nodded understandingly.
"But first, I want to deal with the wolves. Those are more pressing matters"
"Will you actually stay pregnant to his child in his house and not tell him anything?"
"You agree that he is not ready to find out yet. Do you have an alternative? Because I don't"
"I'm looking for one" he responded, "I actually began to like you Hayley Marshall, you are quite a cool friend, you deserve the Kol Mikaelson protection"
"The what?" she asked as she looked over at him
Before he could answer a figure that approached the porch interrupted them. As the silhouette got closer and the identity became clearer Kol jumped up, stood in front of her and growled in defense, his vampire eyes exposed threateningly. Hayley recognized the man who had just arrived and stood up to meet the eyes of her estranged husband.
"I'm only here to talk to my wife…just talk Hayley" Jackson explained
"She doesn't want to talk to you" Kol responded instead of her "We made it very clear that no werewolf is to touch her on our land without subjecting himself to severe-"
"Let's talk" Hayley said, keeping her head high. She really was wondering what Jackson had to say "Besides, there is no way Jackson can hurt me, unless he wants to get hurt himself"
Jackson smirked at the remark while Kol looked at her hesitantly.
"It could be a trap" he pointed out
"It is not a trap, I am not that low" Jackson protested
"Let's talk Jackson, but we're to stay on these grounds"
"I'll give you some privacy, I guess" Kol said disapprovingly and walked in
There was a long pause before either of them said anything. Hayley had the guilt of facing the crime of adultery she had committed, while Jackson was ashamed of the way he responded to his wife's actions, when he himself knew so well that he was in the wrong too.
"How are you?" Jackson finally broke the silence
"I don't know Jackson. How would you be if you lost everything you held dear all at once?"
"You didn't lose everything all at once"
"I lost my marriage, my power, my respect, the house"
"You chose to destroy the house"
"Because you chose to use it against me"
There was silence once again. Something told Hayley Kol was secretly listening, but she couldn't be bothered.
"How is the child?"
Hayley hesitated to respond
"I am sorry that you had to suffer through all of this at such a sensitive time"
Hayley was shocked by the sudden change in attitude that her husband was showing. She looked up at him and into his eyes, trying to find out what game he was playing.
"Why are you apologizing now?"
"Because I realized I made a mistake"
"Bullshit"
"Hayley…I hated you so much this morning when I found out about the fire" he began to elaborate "Then I walked into the ruins that used to be our house, and I walked through our memories"
Hayley was looking at him carefully, trying to understand what his next step would be.
"You remember the photo we took outside aunt Gina's place? When was the last time you stopped to look at it?"
"I remember taking that photo" she said as she dazed off "Things were so simple then"
"As I looked back at those days I realized Hayley…it took hating you so much to finally realize how much I actually loved you…you don't hate someone so much unless you actually loved them"
"What is this nonsense?" Hayley snapped "What are you trying to achieve? Our marriage is over. I don't care what the ancestors say"
"I know Hayley, I had no intention of pulling that dead horse through more…I just want to end this feud. I'm going to talk to the werewolves. Remind them you're the Queen. We all needed a reminder"
"You are suddenly okay with me cheating now?" she asked boldly
He took his time and avoided her eyes.
"Let's just say I have my reasons to forgive you"
"And the ancestors? Why don't they punish me? What are they waiting for?"
"I don't know Hayley, but we'll try to avoid it"
She took a deep breath and looked at the man she used to love
"I wish we hadn't come to this" she said as tears filled her lids "I never thought things would end this messed up"
He sighed and nodded. None of them did actually expect things to get this chaotic.
"How does he treat you?" he asked after another pause "Is he kind?"
She pursed her lips and looked away, almost ashamed
"They are all very nice to me, very caring"
"Is he supportive with the baby?"
Her breaths got shorter. She held her forehead with her palm and looked at the ground
"Do you love him?"
That made her head jolt upright and look over at him. Love? He had so openly asked her about love?
"I don't think I feel comfortable talking about it with you"
"I know the answer; your blushed cheeks give it away"
"I don't want to talk about it"
"Well, you two are having a child, there is no point of attempting to get between it. Besides, I know our marriage has no hope, especially given the circumstances"
She smiled to herself, while her heart knew she had no hope of getting Klaus anytime soon, his unexpected support made her feel hopeful.
"Hayley before everything, we were friends"
"We were best friends" she corrected
"Perhaps I should behave more like it"
"If only you behaved more like it throughout our marriage"
"I know, I should have, I am sorry Hayley"
"I'm still surprised you are so different all of a sudden"
"Certain things I had done in that house came back to me" he elaborated "I had to face my errors"
She nodded.
"I will talk to the wolves, I will try to get them to behave more respectfully towards you"
"Thank you"
"Well, I will take my leave of you for now Hayley. I hope things get better from here"
She nodded and stood up, putting her hands in her pocket to make sure an awkward potential hug is avoided. Things may have calmed down, but she still felt pain when she was with him.
Jackson began walking away as Hayley walked back in, unaware of the car of Klaus Mikaelson that approached the house.
"What are you doing here?" he said aggressively as he got out of the car with full speed and confronted the werewolf
"I was simply talking to Hayley"
"Don't" he snapped "I just warned all of your people about the consequences of hurting Hayley or trying to get to her here"
"I have no intention of hurting her. I want peace"
"Bullshit. If you don't care about her at least care about the health and safety of your unborn child"
Jackson stopped and looked at the Mikaelson with shock
"My unborn child?"
"You may not want to raise it or be a part of its life, but at least let her do her best to raise that child with love and compassion"
"You don't know" Jackson said under his breath
"I beg your pardon?"
"I need to go" he said and began rushing away
One thing was to lose Hayley to a man she loved who loved her back. But if he didn't even know the child was his, that meant she couldn't tell him. He still had a chance. If Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley truly had the relationship Jackson had assumed they had he would know about his child. Jackson could fix the error of his ways from the past.
In the meantime, Klaus had gone in the house in search for Hayley. He found her sitted in the living room, her legs curled to her chest, a book in her hand. He approached her, glad to find her alone for the first time in a long time, and sat by her side.
"How are you Hayley?" he asked as she looked up and seemed shocked to see him before her
"I'm good. Did you see anyone outside?"
"I know Jackson was here. Did he bother you?"
"He wanted to make peace"
Klaus raised his eyebrows "Do you want to make peace with him? Make the marriage work?"
"There is no marriage left to fix" she snapped immediately
"I'd understand if you tried to make it work for the sake of your child" he replied
She looked away from him and sighed
"I have no intention of trying to make our romantic relationship work again. I don't love him anymore"
Klaus nodded as a smile he couldn't understand or control formed on his face
"I'm glad you have your mind set. Doubts would only hurt you"
"I just want my kingdom back"
"And you shall get it back Hayley, I assure you"
She smiled at him, her eyes slightly soaked with tears
"Are you crying? I don't think that's good for it"
"By it do you mean my child?" she asked as she wiped her tears
"Well, yes, I guess"
"Are you excited about my pregnancy? If I end up still staying over at your place during birth…"
"I hope we will settle you back as your Queen by then, but if not, I'd be more than glad to be of any assistance. I like children"
Hayley seemed shocked to hear this
"I didn't know you liked children" she stated, still in shock
"I do. Plus, I care about you too, so your child is obviously going to be under my protection"
"You care about me?" she asked for elaboration
"You know I do" he said as he tried to look away from her eyes
"Why are you making it this difficult?" she asked insistently
"I'm not sure I understand" he said as he looked back at her, not aware of how close their lips would be as a result
"That night meant nothing more to you than you say it did?" she asked as she leaned in some more "Nothing?"
He didn't understand his body's reaction to her. His lips were pushing to touch hers, his body was reacting excitedly to her smell, he was throbbing against his jeans, begging him to grab and have her right there.
Suddenly the jingle of keys pushed them apart. Klaus stood up and walked away from her. Caroline walked in and Kol walked down to see who had arrived. They all looked at the duo in the living room, who were clearly acting weird.
"Hey, how is everybody?" Caroline asked as she put her bags down and went up to Klaus for a kiss
He made sure to not push himself against her too much and began chatting his girlfriend up distractingly, an eye still on Hayley.
Hayley smiled right back at him, aware of his biological reaction to her. She knew she still had reason to have hope, and he just confirmed it.
Hey guys! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I admire the time and effort you guys put into it. Sorry, due to my exams and such I didn't have time to write the chapter consecutively, so a few days in between every part I wrote made the story seem a bit uncorrelated. Hopefully this chapter will be better and make more sense! Please leave a review to help me get better! 3