The plane's wheels touched down and Caroline continued to pretend she was asleep. It wasn't until Klaus' hand touched her's that she finally opened her eyes. Most of the passengers had cleared out by that point. "Perhaps you should stop ignoring me and we should disembark?" Klaus said, standing up and grabbing their carry-ons. Caroline huffed dramatically and stood up, following him off the plane.
She watched as New Orleans passed by from the car window and closed her eyes when they pulled up to the Abattoir. Klaus said, "Ready?"
"Absolutely not." Caroline muttered.
"Do try to be pleasant, love." Caroline gave him a look but exited the car and tried to put a smile on her face. He looked over the car at her and said, "You're grimacing. Try harder."
"You do remember that this is difficult for me, right?" She said, narrowing her eyes at him.
He nodded. "I know."
They walked into the house, Klaus with their bags. He set them down just inside the door and Elijah appeared almost instantly, Hayley at his side. Klaus straightened and looked at Hayley's lack of pregnancy belly.
"It would appear I am too late, though we rushed as fast as we could here." He said quietly, saddened by the fact that he had missed his child's birth. He snapped out of it quickly and continued, "So, what has it been like since I departed? All flowers and hand-holding?"
"Oh, it's been quiet." Elijah replied, he gave Hayley a knowing look.
Klaus scoffed and said, "What aren't you telling me?"
Elijah sighed. "There was a little witch problem a few days ago. They kidnapped Hayley and tried to take the baby for sacrifice for their coven. But Marcel and I handled it."
"Marcel?" Klaus' fury was rising, his shoulders tensing and fists clenching.
Elijah raised his hands in defense. "He's made amends, brother."
Caroline placed a hand on Klaus' arm and said quietly, "I think you're missing the most important part: your child is safe."
Klaus nodded. "Of course. Where is she?"
"Upstairs with Rebekah."
"Rebekah?"
"She came back to keep your daughter safe." Elijah said slowly so his brother could control his temper.
"And why is the baby in danger still? Did you not deal with the witch problem sufficiently?" Klaus asked, a murderous look on his face.
Elijah knew the look too well but replied in a calm manner. "We dealt with those witches but there are still the werewolves, our father, and our newly returned mother."
"I thought your parents were dead." Caroline whispered, her hand tightening on Klaus' arm.
"They are. But the thing about my family, love, is that the dead don't always stay dead." Klaus explained.
"Yes, and they are dangerous." Elijah said, frowning as he looked at Caroline. "And they, as well as the witches and wolves, pose a threat to the child. She's our family's only hope at happiness, Niklaus." Elijah gripped his brother's shoulder tightly so he would pay attention. "But you have forced your enemies upon her simply because she carries your genes inside her. She was cursed to have a doomed, miserable life the second she was conceived."
Klaus broke his brother's gaze and sighed. "How can we change this for her?"
"I take it no one has found you in Paris?" Elijah asked. Klaus nodded. "Then take her with you."
"What?" Caroline asked, stunned.
"Take her with you." He repeated slowly, this time just for Caroline. "She'll be safe with you. No one knows where you two have gone. You're a continent away, across a vast ocean. No one will come looking for you. She will be able to live a normal life. We will take care of the problem here. We'll make it seem as though your daughter was killed in the battle that occurred here and none will be the wiser."
Caroline looked at Hayley, who had been very silent. "Are you okay with this?"
"I'm looking out for my child. Going with you two is her best chance." Hayley said quietly. "That doesn't mean that I'm fond of you. I just know she will be safe."
Caroline could sense a change in the wolf. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked her up and down. "Something's different about you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hayley said, offended.
Elijah placed a hand on her back to calm her and said to her, "She's referring to your new…affliction."
"And what affliction is that?" Klaus asked, eying her thoughtfully.
Hayley sighed and said, "Well, when the witches attacked and took the baby, I was…killed in the process…"
"You're a hybrid." Klaus said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes."
"How is that possible?" Caroline asked, looking from Elijah to Hayley.
Elijah was the one to answer, "She died with the child's blood in her system; the child is a hybrid, her vampire blood brought Hayley back. Hayley has transitioned and is herself a hybrid."
Hayley looked almost ashamed of it, like she was betraying her werewolf side. But, she would have been dead had it not been for her daughter's blood. Her face softened when she realized how upset she looked. "Would you like to see her?"
Klaus smiled as he said, "Yes."
Hayley led Klaus through the house up to the nursery. Caroline trailed behind next to Elijah. They followed in silence before entering the nursery behind the parents. The crib was in the corner next to the window. Rebekah sat in a rocker next to the crib, the baby in her arms.
"Nik." Rebekah said, quietly.
Klaus smiled at his sister, a genuine smile, one in apology. "Rebekah. You look well."
"I am." She said, smiling back at him. She stood from the chair as he approached. A big grin stretched across his face when he looked on his daughter's face for the first time. Rebekah handed the child to her brother and Klaus' eyes crinkled at the corners as he couldn't take them off of his daughter. Caroline found that she couldn't hate Hayley, not in this moment, not when she saw how happy the child made Klaus, the child Hayley had given him. Klaus looked like any other father seeing his child for the first time.
"Does she have a name?" Caroline asked, peering over Klaus' arm at the infant.
Hayley shook her head and looked at Klaus as she said, "I didn't want to name her without you."
Klaus looked down at their daughter in his arms and, as she squeezed his finger in her whole hand, he said, "What of 'Hope?'"
Hayley smiled and said, "Hope it is."
They were prepared to leave the following morning. They packed up in the garage and made sure they were taking the car with the darkest tinted windows. Hope was in a carseat and Caroline sat next to her in case she was fussy. Klaus said quick goodbyes to his family, they weren't the sentimental types. He climbed into the passenger's seat, Elijah in the driver's, and off they went, headed for the airport.
Hope was surprisingly good on the plane for such a young baby. Klaus had her in his arms the whole time, it didn't bother him one bit. He was even able to hold a book and read with his other hand. Caroline couldn't stop watching him; he had changed into "dad mode" so fast, like a switch had been turned inside of him. She admired him.
They arrived home and Klaus set Hope in her new crib. He had called ahead and had hired help prepare a nursery for the newborn. He wasn't disappointed by it. Hope was sleeping soundly so he left her alone, turning the baby monitor on and taking the receiver with him into his bedroom next door. Caroline was unpacking.
He set the receiver down on the dresser and said, "You've been awfully quiet."
She hung up a blouse as she said, "I didn't feel like talking."
Klaus scoffed. "Love, I've never known something that you didn't have a comment for."
Caroline sighed and set down a dressed she had just pulled out of the suitcase. "This whole situation bugs me, okay?"
"What situation is that?"
"This! Playing parents with you!"
Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you wish for me to turn my daughter away, to send her back to the danger in New Orleans?"
"No, of course not. I didn't mean it like that. It's Hayley, honestly."
"What's the problem with her now? I thought we'd resolved this issue long ago."
There was a long pause before Caroline cried out, "I can't give you kids like she can!" Her hands shot to her face, covering it, as she turned away from him.
Klaus closed his eyes, shaking his head as he walked over to Caroline. He put a tentative hand on her arm but she brushed it off; he knew she would do that. He sighed and said, "Do you think Hope won't be enough for me?"
Caroline turned toward him, her eyebrows furrowed, "What does Hope have to do with this? I have nothing against her, I'll love the crap out of your daughter." She paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "I want to give you kids one day, ones that look like us! With your eyes or my nose or you psychopathic tendencies. But I can't do that; I can't have kids."
"I don't need more kids. I just need you." He said quietly, not looking at her.
Hope chose the worst moment to cry out from the room adjacent to theirs. He looked at Caroline for a split second before leaving the room to take care of his daughter. It made her feel like such an idiot for saying anything.
