AN: And we are back! Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Season 4, Ep. 1

Hayley's heart sank the longer she stared at the man sleeping in the slick silver coffin. She couldn't put into words how painful it was to see Elijah slowly withering away day, after day, after day.

Eventually, she closed the casket and headed downstairs again. When she closed the attic door behind her, she saw K standing at the base of the steps, leaning lazily against the wall across the way with her arms crossed gently over her chest. She was clearly waiting for the hybrid and it caused Hayley to hesitate in step. K glanced at her sadly through her lashes.

"While it's a sweet notion," she said as Hayley continued down the steps, "I doubt Elijah would like to know you spend everyday looming over him."

Hayley let out a gentle sigh and diverted her eyes from her friend's.

"I know," she mumbled. "I can't help it."

K nodded softly. She pushed herself away from the wall and took a wide step forward. Looping her arm around Hayley's shoulders, she guided the young woman away from the attic stairs.

"I know." she replied. "But we're close, and if the old lady's right, we could have the cure in a couple of days. Then we'll be even closer to being the big, happy Manson family that we are."

Hayley laughed softly before she could stop herself. She shook her head at K's statement and shrugged her arm away. K simply smiled as they continued their trek down the hall.

"You're such an ass." Hayley mused.

"Yes," she grinned, "yes I am."

The two continued to smile as they made it to Hope's room where the little one was sitting on her bed coloring. Hope was so big now, and smart, and beautiful and every other amazing word someone could think.

The sound of an old truck creaked and groaned as it rolled closer. Hope immediately perked.

"Is that her?" she asked the two young women in her doorway.

"I don't know," Hayley said despite the truth. "Let me check." her eyes danced between the pair. "Stay inside."

Hope nodded while K rolled her eyes. The warning was meant for the both of them and she knew it. As Hayley walked away, K turned her attention back to her little girl.

"How 'bout some lunch?" she asked.

"Okay." Hope nodded. She leapt off her bed and paused for a moment. "Can I take my drawing?"

She looked as though she didn't want to stop because she was in the 'groove' and it made K smile.

"Of course."

Hope smiled again and grabbed her supplies before charging through the door, passed K, and downstairs to their massive dinning room table.

By the time K made it to the kitchen, Hope was already coloring again. Musing to herself, K continued her trek.

"So!" she chimed from the kitchen. "On today's menu," K reappeared with a paper towel draped over her forearm like a waiter from a fancy restaurant and her spare arm behind her back. She even used the most pretentious voice she could muster. "We have a very nice turkey, sliced thin and topped with mayo, a bit of mustard, and lettuce, all resting between two pieces of our finest white bread and -of course- sliced diagonally." Hope began to giggle. "And that comes with either a side of Cheetos, or a pickle."

"Can I have both?" she smiled. She liked it when K pretended they were at a fancy restaurant.

"Of course," she nodded. "And to drink, might I suggest a glass of crisp, cold grape juice?"

"Do we have apple?"

"No, I'm afraid. Someone finished the apple juice off last night." she said with a playful glare at the little girl.

"Okay, grape."

"Very good, madam."

And with a bow, K disappeared into the kitchen to make lunch leaving Hope to her coloring.

As she went about preparing lunch, Mary and Hayley came inside. She could hear Hope happily greeting her great grandma, show her the picture she was working on and do everything an excited child would when someone they loved came to visit. K simply remained where she was, took a deep breath and readied herself for the tense situation to come.

A moment later, Hayley entered the kitchen where K was. She went for the fridge.

"Grab me the grape juice, please?" K asked.

"Yeah,"

Hayley dipped in and retrieved the jug along with the bottle of water she'd gone to get in the first place. She handed the juice to K and the water to Mary who'd appeared behind her.

"Thanks." K replied before noticing the wolf. "Hey, Mary."

"K," she said with a tight jaw and a stilted head-nod.

K forced a small smile before returning to the task at hand. The two of them got along well enough, but aside from forced pleasantries, there was little else. K was a vampire and that was enough for the werewolf matriarch to distrust. Throw in that K had willingly married Klaus, and well… there was only so much Mary could take.

But they were polite to each other, for Hope's sake. Neither wanted the little girl to see fighting between family members.

"So?" K asked as she cut Hope's sandwich in half.

"Mary thinks she found the last heir." Hayley said as she leaned against the countertop.

K glanced up at the old woman through her lashes briefly.

"You trust it?" she asked.

"I don't know." Mary's voice remained tight. "About as much as you can."

K nodded. She set the sandwich on a plate and reached for a scoop of chips to set alongside it.

"I'm going with you."

"What?" Hayley seemed a little surprised. "No. I'll be fine."

K shot her a stern, resolute stare.

"You could use the backup." K said. "Besides, someone has to watch the corpses while you're gallivanting around. Might as well be me."

Hayley cocked a single brow as she stared at K. The vampire didn't notice until she'd poured Hope her drink.

"What?"

"Gallivanting?" Hayley openly mocked. "Seriously?"

K rolled her eyes. She picked up her daughter's lunch and squared herself briefly on the hybrid.

"Shut up."

Hayley smiled and laughed to herself while K stepped into the dining room. The pair from the kitchen followed shortly after.

"Okay, my lady." K said as she approached Hope. "Art supplies off the table."

Hope didn't complain and instead gathered her things and shoved them as far to the side as she could. K gently set the food and drink down.

"Thank you, mama."

"You're welcome, baby." K kissed the top of Hope's head softly and let her eat while she cleaned up in the kitchen.

Hayley was accustomed to the sight, but it still unnerved the hell out of Mary. She just couldn't seem to get used to seeing K act so motherly and kindly to Hope. It was unsettling to her.

~!~

When it came time to leave, K and Hayley both loaded up the Mikaelsons.

"Do you have to go?" Hope asked as the pair approached her. "Both of you?"

"Yeah," Hayley said softly. "But we'll be back very, very soon. And we won't be alone."

A smile touched their collective lips at the thought.

"Besides," K said. "We both know your mom can't fight." she openly teased. "She needs me."

Hope's smile widened at the joke while Hayley glared lightly out of the corner of her eye.

"Now," Hayley said to their daughter. She bent down to look Hope in the eye. "I want you to listen to Mary, deal?" Hope nodded. "Good."

Hayley kissed two of her fingers and presented them to Hope. Hope repeated the action and pressed her fingers against Hayley's. Each smiled before hugging one another tightly. Hayley set off towards the truck while Hope turned her attention to K.

K squatted down in front of her daughter.

"Draw me something pretty?" she asked as she offered her pinky to Hope.

"Yeah," Hope looped her pinky around her mama's.

"And keep granny Mary safe?" she added the little jab just as the older woman was returning to their side.

"Yup." Hope giggled lightly.

K leaned forward and kissed her hand while Hope did the same to hers.

"That's my girl." she smiled. "Give me a hug."

K wrapped her arms around Hope and hugged her as tightly as she could without hurting her.

"I love you, carissime."

"Love you, too, mama."

K kissed the side of the little girl's head before the parted. With a final smile, she stood and made her way to the truck. Once she was inside, Hayley headed off down the driveway.

The pair rode in silence for awhile because there was nothing that needed to be said, but Hayley noticed something out of the corner of her eye that she thought was a little curious. It wasn't until she actually looked that she realized what K was doing.

"Does it hurt again, or something?" she asked.

K was surprised by the random question, even more so when she didn't immediately understand, until she realized what she was doing. K had been silently and absently scratching at the center of her chest like she used to when she felt Tunde's blade.

"No," she shook her head and made herself stop, "No, I haven't felt it since that witch made that golem, but… I don't know," she sighed, "it's just weird."

Hayley nodded.

When the witch siphoned the curse out of Rebekah, Hayley asked her to so something else. By then, the link between K and Klaus had drawn her thin. It looked like it was killing her and Hayley didn't want to lose K, too. So, she asked the witch what they could do. Because of the magic surrounding K, the witch wasn't given many options. All she really could do to help was create a golem.

The purpose of the spell was simple enough. The witch would create a clay golem that would be fed both K and Klaus' blood. So long as it was fed, it was 'alive' and the spell that drew on K's life-force would then take it from the golem. The little clay figurine was K's surrogate. Holding her blood and that of the person draining her was evidently all it took. But they had to keep it fed and whole. If it turned completely grey again or broke, the spell was gone.

K was pissed, however. The spell had been done without her permission and Hayley paid for it later, but she knew K would eventually understand. And eventually, yeah, she did, but K begged for them not to do it at the time. She begged to let her connection to Klaus remain because it was the only way she knew the hybrid was still alive. Feeling that pain was the only way she knew for a fact that Klaus was somewhere. Yes the others would have died if he did too, but the pain of their connection was just hers. Childishly, she wanted to keep it, no matter how much it hurt.

Thankfully, with a clear head, K was glad Hayley had done the spell. Now, she wouldn't be pushed into the world of nothingness because at the time, Marcel hadn't removed the blade from Klaus' heart.

So, once every few days, K would put a drop of her blood and a drop of his into the small hole the witch left as the heart of the golem. From there, black would spread until it engulfed the grey, human-shaped block of clay. As the days progressed, the black would recede and then she'd add the blood again before it was gone entirely. So on, and so forth. K was suddenly glad Klaus had left them with a few vials of his blood before the spell. He'd done so in case she was no longer immune to wolf bites, and she was grateful. It gave her something to feed the golem with.

But she'd still feel the phantom itch for no reason other than she knew it should be there. Hayley pitied her as a result. Unlike her, K didn't have a coffin to visit. That pain was all she had of Klaus.

~!~

K stayed behind while Hayley dealt with the wolf. Both knew it was the better option given the likelihood of the woman's willingness to help would all but disappear if K was around.

Bored and lazily listening to the radio for nearly an hour, K was about ready to lose her mind when Hayley finally appeared. Her brows rose as the young woman approached with another thrown over her shoulder. Hayley eyed her, sighed deeply to show her agitation, and motioned towards the back of the rental. K dipped down and pulled the trunk release tab. Hayley didn't hesitate to drop the body within. A moment later, she was in the passenger seat.

"I take it, things didn't go according to plan?" K jabbed as she started the car.

Hayley glared at her again. "Just drive." she growled.

Smiling to herself, K set off towards the warehouse where everything was set up.

~!~

"You have their stink all over you." Keelin snapped angrily.

"Actually," a voice chimed from behind. The young woman struggled in her confines, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't give and K was in her line of sight within a moment anyway, "That stink is probably me." she said casually as she approached Hayley. "You have a knife?"

"Yeah." Hayley reached into the bag and retrieved a blade. She handed it to K while Keelin grew increasingly restless. The feeling only became worse when Hayley retrieved a disturbing contraption.

"Look," Keelin continued to struggle and eyed the vampire with the knife and the hybrid with the… whatever the hell, "I don't know what kind of kiny sex shit you people are in to, but-"

"This isn't for you." K said simply. "It's for me."

"And this," Hayley shook the facemask, "Is just to extract your venom." Keelin's face dropped. "And yes, before you ask, it will hurt."

Hayley approached the young woman while K pulled out a small doll from her bag along with a vial of blood. Keelin's eyes danced from one to the other, but K didn't seem to be giving her a second thought.

K dipped her knife into Klaus' blood and used it to drip a single drop into the hole of the golem's chest. When it had, she licked the blood off and stabbed her finger to add it to the concoction. Quickly, black spread across the figurine, strengthening the spell keeping her sane. With it finished, she set it aside and turned her attention to the pair.

"You have that?" K asked when she noticed Hayley messing with the mouthpiece.

"It's being a pain in the ass." she grumbled. "Here,"

She offered it to K who began to fiddle with it, too. The piece was finicky and it had a temper all its own, which wasn't surprising. None of them had been entirely gentle when they tore them from the mouths of the wolves from Lucien's house of hell. They didn't realize until later that it was the best way to remove the venom they'd need to cure everyone.

"You want me to do it?" K asked as she straightened the giant needles.

"Yeah," Hayley nodded. "I'll grab the rest."

K nodded. When the needles were straight, she approached Keelin. The wolf was understandably uncomfortable, even more so now that the vampire had the 'instrument of death'.

"Get the hell away from me." she spat angrily.

"Look," K sighed heavily, "This is gonna happen, but if you stay still, it'll just be sore. If you move around while I'm trying to do this, it'll hurt a hell of a lot more. Okay?"

Keelin glared hatefully, but it did little to dissuade the young woman. Keeping her eye stern, K approached the werewolf again and whether she wanted to or not, Keelin remained still.

"Open," K instructed. Reluctantly, she did as she was told. K tenderly rested the needles against Keelin's gums just above her canine teeth. She made sure they were in the right place before looking into the young woman's eye again. "Stay perfectly still. I'll do it quick, but you'll feel the pressure."

Keelin nodded ever-so-slightly, but kept her head primarily motionless. K's eyes went back to the task.

"One, two, three."

On three, she shoved them into place as quick as a vampire could. Keelin growled loudly in pain, but could do little else with the mouthpiece in place.

"I know," K said as reassuringly as she could. She proceeded to strap the mask on. "It'll hurt like a bitch for a couple of minutes, but that's all we need."

"Here," Hayley handed K a vial.

K showed it to Keelin first.

"We just need to fill this. See? Not so much, right?"

Keelin only glared, but seemed a bit relieved they didn't want a gallon from her.

As the venom began to pour, K slid the tube into the vial and let it slowly fill. Within a few minutes, the vial was full and as she said she would, K removed the bit.

Keelin ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, groaned and coughed to try and rid herself of the feeling it left behind.

The problem came when she made it clear the two should have left the bit in. She wouldn't stop talking and it drew on K and Hayley's collective nerves.

"You know," Hayley sighed as she approached Freya, "You ask a lot of questions."

Ignoring the wolf, Hayley approached the blond in the coffin. K took her spot near the head of it and their eyes met. Each felt their nerves beginning to fray. They knew that once the witch woke -assuming she would- that they had minutes at best. This wouldn't be a happy reunion right off the bat. Too much had to happen first.

"Ready?" K asked quietly.

"As I'll ever be." Hayley replied.

With a shared nod, their eyes drifted back to the witch in the box. On an internal count of three, Hayley plunged the syringe deep into Freya's chest.

She reacted immediately. Freya gasped deeply for breath and shot up. Hayley wrapped her arms around her and hugged the blond tightly. When they parted, it was right to business.

"Do you have the supplies?"

"Yeah,"

"Good, because if we don't get this cure made soon, Kol and Elijah will die."

Hayley felt her heart drop, but it wasn't as though she was ignorant to the stakes.

As Freya tried to get out of the coffin with Hayley's help, another set of arms wrapped around her. She glanced to the side and smiled.

"Kali," she sounded relieved, and she was. She was so glad K hadn't slipped into the Netherworld alongside Klaus.

"Morning," K greeted a bit sarcastically. "Come on,"

Together, the pair helped Freya out and onto her feet.

"Okay," Freya sighed, "Lets get started."