Temporary Home Chapter 5: Drive to Austin pt 1, an originals fanfic

Disclaimers: I do not own TO or the characters.
Spoilers: season 4
Rating: T

Notes: Hello everyone. It's been a while! I've been with my grandma for the last several weeks but I am back now. And here is the next chapter!

Notes 2: The next morning and part of their drive. Some more Freelin interaction, plus a bit with Hope and Keelin. Jared is also officially introduced, and meets the Mikaelson family.

Enjoy! :)

June 7th, 2019

Keelin makes her way into her room. She leans against the doorjamb, watching the figure in the bed.

She walks slowly over to the bed. Freya looks so peaceful, and she is hesitant to do this but eventually, she reaches out a hand to brush her bangs away from her forehead.

It awakens her. Freya inhales deeply, her expression contorting into a grimace.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Keelin keeps her voice soft. "How are you feeling?"

Freya gives out a half hum-half groan. She tries to rake her fingers through her hair, only to be stopped, a warm hand wrapping around her own.

"That's probably not a good idea," Keelin murmurs, reminding her of the stitches in the back of her head.

It takes a moment, but finally, sleepy green eyes blink up at her. Keelin tries to ignore the way Freya's unguarded expression makes her heart do flip-flops.

"What time is it?"

"Just before 6:00."

She checked her over for a concussion last night before, determined that Freya was good to go, but didn't argue when Hope begged Freya to stay in Keelin's bedroom and watch a movie with them.

(And it ended in Freya staying the night in her bedroom, so that's a plus.)

"God. Don't you know the meaning of sleeping in?" Freya groans.

"Oh, yeah. But, I wanted to get a head start. We have, what I hope to be, a 9-hour drive but will most likely end up being a 12-hour trainwreck."

Freya raises a brow, partially covered by her face being turned into the pillows. "3 hours longer?"

"Well," Keelin starts, rolling her eyes. "That's only if we get lost no more than twice."

"We're leaving soon?"

"That's the plan. Hopefully, Jared will be here by 8:30 at the latest, and we'll load up and head out."

Freya sighs, and rolls over to her back, only to flinch forward, curling in on herself. Keelin's hand instinctively goes to her back as Freya presses her forehead against her knee.

And she tries, hard, not to think about the feeling of Freya's nose squished against her knee. Or how they are certainly not close enough for Keelin to swipe Freya's hair to the side with one hand, her thumb pressed to her temple, while the fingertips of her other trails random patterns across Freya's back, and, while doing so, she ignores the voice in the back of her mind that is telling her she's creeping towards dangerous territory with the girl who's occupied her mind for the past several weeks.

Keelin ignores all those thoughts and shoves them into a box to be dealt with later, when she doesn't have sleeping beauty practically curled up in her lap.

"He's not going to be here for another couple of hours, so you don't have to get up right this minute. i just wanted to let you know that Hope and I are awake."

The only reason she can tell Freya is still awake is the feeling of her fingers playing with the hem of her pants leg.

"Hey, listen. I am going to go find Hope and try to convince her to eat some breakfast now. Jared said there was a McDonalds a few hours away with a huge playroom, and I am sure she'll want to go there. So, would you like to go back to sleep, and I'll wake you up in about an hour, or do you want to just get up now?"

Keelin has to quickly and unexpectedly resist the urge to lean down and kiss her forehead as Freya moves backwards to where she is laying against the pillows.

She presses her lips together, and realizes Freya is watching her.

"It's still early. I don't think anyone besides Hope and Hayley and I are up, so you can stay in here if you want."

Freya's eyes are still half closed, unguarded, sleepy greens blinking in almost slow motion. So, Keelin offers,

"I think Rebekah bought some fruit, you want me to make you a smoothie?" Adding, "I'll bring it up to you; I know you don't like to people this early."

She's rewarded with a dimpled smile as Freya closes her eyes and pulls the blanket up higher. Keelin heads to the doorway, pausing briefly, knowing that if Jared saw her right now, there'd be no end to his teasing.

Outside in the hallway, she meets Hope. The little girl is apparently officially going with them. Her hair is pulled back and curled, and she is dressed in a grey, short-sleeve shirt that has a picture of a white cat wearing purple 'nerd' glasses, with matching leggings, and sandals.

"Good morning, Keelin!"

"Morning, sweets. I take it you're coming with us?"

"Yep!" They start to make their downstairs. "Daddy said I could go if I really wanted to."

"Well, good. Listen," Keelin sits Hope on the kitchen counter, grabbing the blender from its place underneath the cabinet. "Jared called and said there is a McDonalds a few hours away that has a pretty big play area."

She takes an apple, the cutting board, and a knife, and rinses the apple with water.

"Now, we can eat breakfast here, and in a few hours eat lunch at that McDonalds. Or, we can eat breakfast at the one in town, and go somewhere else for lunch."

Hope chooses the bigger McDonalds, of course. Keelin tells her to make sure her suitcase is packed, along with the backpack of toys or whatever else she wants to bring to keep her occupied.

While she is doing that, Keelin makes Freya's smoothie — banana, apple, and raspberry, with cinnamon sprinkled in — and she makes Hope a quick breakfast of oatmeal with fruit, to tide her over until lunch.

Keelin brings the smoothie up to her bedroom, sees Freya is still laying down, though it is obvious she is no longer asleep.

She knocks on the doorjamb, then walks closer, handing over the fruity drink, and informing her there's no rush to get around.

By now it is nearing 7 in the morning, and they laze around for another half hour before Jared texts Keelin to let her know he's less than 90 minutes away. Estimated arrival time is about 8:30.

Freya goes to shower, and Hope picks out a movie to watch while Keelin is getting dressed.

*1 hour later*

Hope is outside now, bouncing eagerly as she waits. Klaus and Rebekah are with her while Kol has already left for the day. Elijah is in the kitchen with Hayley, and Freya and Keelin are still upstairs.

Jared arrives 20 minutes early, thanks to a short cut. As soon as he pulls up, Hope bolts inside to call for Keelin and Freya.

Rebekah, for her part, has already met Jared. Several weeks ago when he came to drag Jonathan back to Austin, Freya was unable to go with Keelin but did not want her to meet with him alone.

Rebekah happened to be the only free person, and thus, she met Jared before any other family member.

Jared steps out of his truck, holding a small pink box. He hands it off to Rebekah.

"For the good lady."

"Smart man." Rebekah says, turning and walking inside while Klaus sizes up the man who is going to be spending the next three days with his daughter.

Keelin and Freya arrive outside with Hope now, Hayley, Rebekah, and Elijah following. Elijah is arguing with Rebekah over which donut is whose while Keelin brings Hope to where Klaus and Jared are standing. Hayley helps Freya put everyone's bags in the back of the truck.

"Jared, this is Klaus, Hope's father." She notices immediately that Klaus is eyeing him, problem trying to figure out if he can trust this new, unknown man with one of the most important persons in his life.

She then gestures down to Hope, who is looking up at Keelin, slightly more subdued than her excited nature from earlier. "This is Hope."

"And behind me," Keelin thumbs in that direction, glancing over at Freya to see her rolling her eyes at her siblings. "arguing about the donuts, are Rebekah and Elijah, and over there is Freya, and Hayley, Hope's mom."

Hope is standing between Keelin and Klaus so, as Keelin bends down to the young girl's height, Klaus rests a hand on the back of her head.

He knows he can trust Keelin — and that is significant coming from him. Niklaus Mikaelson does not trust easily, and certainly not with his daughter's life or safety — and, at the very least, Freya will be with them.

"Hope, this is my friend, Jared."

Jared bends down next, pulling a small stuffed animal from his jacket pocket.

"Hello, Hope. It is very nice to meet you." He holds out a hand, which she shakes, earning him a smile from the small girl, and a grin from the adults around them. Jared then presents the stuffed animal — a lion — and Hope's smile widens.

She turns to Keelin, eyes twinkling. Keelin nods, and Hope immediately reaches out to take it in her arms, obviously happy with her impromptu gift.

After this, Hope pulls out her other lion, the older one she received as a baby, and goes to the truck with Keelin. Jared had explained earlier that, depending on Hope's height and if she correctly fit an adult seatbelt, she may have to use Jared's niece's booster seat.

Of course, the truck seats are just a smidge too big — Hope's knees do not meet at the edge of the seat — and therefore, she has to sit in the booster.

She complains about it, but only a little. Keelin assures her that she will not have to use one in her own car, as the vehicle is smaller, and therefore, she will fit the seat better.

In this time, Jared is "officially" meeting Hayley and Klaus. Freya walks over, and Keelin informs her she is driving so the witch can either ride in the back with Hope, or in the front seat.

It takes less than 20 minutes before they are on the road, and Hope is waving goodbye to her parents and aunt and uncle, as they pull out of the driveway.

*4 hours later*

"I'm just sayin'! You're the one driving and you're following the GPS. How do you get lost when you're following the GPS?!"

It was supposed to take less than three hours to reach the park McDonalds destination, maybe a bit more if there was traffic. Now it is nearing four hours since they left New Orleans.

"Jared Howard Bonheur. You watched me make every turn that GPS told me to take. I think the problem is, your trusty sidekick needs to be retired for a newer, better version or model."

Jared fake gasps, placing a hand over his chest.

"Do not talk about Betsy that way! She is our friend, and should be treated with dignity and respect."

Hope giggles from beside him, where she is coloring design-your-own-stickers with her "traveling art set".

"You named it 'Betsy'?"

Jared takes the question very seriously; Keelin rolls her eyes, slowing as they come to a stoplight. She moves her gaze to the rearview mirror; Jared and Hope are having an in-depth discussion about the name of his navigation system.

Keelin glances to her right. Freya has the passenger seat leaned back and is turned sideways.

Earlier, she was conversing with Hope as the little girl eagerly — and quite ecstatically — looked through the sticker book. It has 550+ stickers that are blank and in different sizes, shapes, and themes (letters, numbers, animals).

After settling down, Hope opened her colored pencils and markers, getting to work making personalized stickers for everyone. Eventually, Keelin and Jared took over the conversation as Freya drifted off to sleep.

Keelin knew, the moment it happened, that there would be no end to Jared's teasing.

(Because, wouldn't you know it? Freya was fidgeting with her ring the entire time.)

They come to the McDonalds about 15 minutes later. Freya is awake now, (and Keelin knows because she feels her thumb running across the stone of her ring).

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

"Hi, Auntie Freya!"

"Hey, sweetheart." Freya stretches her arms, finally releasing Keelin's hand. Jared takes no prisoner. She makes the mistake of looking to the backseat and making eye contact with him

He mouths just friends, my ass. To which, she responds fuck off.

Freya catches the end of it, but Keelin is out of the truck before she can ask, and the only response from Jared is laughter as he exits and then opens Freya's door for her.

The four make their way into the fast-food restaurant. After bathroom breaks and ordering, they go to the PlayPlace. Of course, once Hope sees just how big it is, she immediately wants to FaceTime Hayley to show her.

They are there nearly two hours. Hope gives a full, complete, 360° tour of the entire PlayPlace. She drags Jared into it even as Freya is trying to stop her, because surely this grown man does not want to be lugged around by a 7-year-old.

Keelin declares it is time to leave once Jared finally frees himself from the blue curly slide, having gotten stuck, as Hope's laughter echoes through the plastic tube, and Freya has to use a little magic to get him out.

"All right, you two. Let's go before you get in any more trouble."

"Can I get an ice cream cone, Keelin? Please."

"You'll have to ask Jared, sweets. It's his truck."

He agrees on the condition that she is extra careful. And that is how they begin the next four hours of their drive.

*4 hours later*

"I'm booorred." Hope complains, following it up with, "And hungry."

"We just ate four hours ago."

"Was it really four? It feels like a hundred, or six."

"That's a big difference." Freya quips from beside her.

Everyone has switched places now – Jared is driving, and Keelin is in the passenger. Hope has scooted over behind her while Freya sits in the back driver seat, parallel to Keelin.

They ran into some roadwork, and so what should have been another four hours of productive driving turned into only half of that.

Consequently, they are still hours away from their destination, and it is getting close to seven in the evening.

Keelin turns in her seat to face Freya.

"As I was saying.… what should have been a 9-hour drive total has turned into an 8-hour drive, so far, and we are barely even over the state-line. We still have over four hours left. So, about 13 altogether. I was an hour off."

She is referring to this morning. When she said it would most likely take them 12 hours to drive to Austin.

"How many times did you get lost?" She remarks back.

"A lot."

Keelin rolls her eyes at Jared.

"The GPS misled me twice," Keelin corrects. "Thank you very much."

"I'm pretty sure it was more than twice."

"Yeah, Keelin. You made a bunch of turns. You were driving like a grandma cause you didn't know where you were going!"

"I just want you both to know I hate you." She points between the two of them.

They drive in silence for several minutes before Jared speaks up.

"Alright, so what's it gonna be – keep driving, and get there around 11 or midnight, barring any more roadwork or difficulties. Or, we can stop at a motel for the night."

"Oh, can we go to one with a swimming pool?!"

Keelin turns around to look to the backseat. "We'll stop, get some sleep, finish driving tomorrow? We're all tired, and we might as well get out, stretch, spend some time out of the car."

They decide on a hotel, and make a stop at a Dollar Store, to get arm floaties for Hope. The argument over how many rooms and who stays in which is whole other ordeal, but eventually it comes to Jared staying in a room by himself while the girls share one, with two beds.

Though Keelin is certain both Mikaelson girls will just end up in her bed, as it has yet to not happen more than it does.

Dinner consists of fast food (again), but Keelin also bought a mini blender and some fruit so they also could have smoothies.

After they check in, they eat, wait a bit, then change into their swimsuits, and grab their towels (and the pool toys Hope convinced Keelin to buy), and head downstairs.

They have the indoor pool to themselves, and Hope eagerly jumps in the pool. Keelin calls Hayley and lets her know they will call back on Jared's phone (so she knows to pick up), because Jared has a waterproof phone case, and of course, Hope thinks it is the coolest thing ever.

So Hope talk to Hayley and Klaus, and says hi to Rebekah and Elijah, and shows Kol what a phone call under water looks like.

Meanwhile, Freya is in the hot tub, and Keelin and Jared are standing over to the side.

"Be honest," Jared whispers in her ear, even though Freya can't hear them. "How long did you stare after she came out of the bathroom?"

Freya has a red bikini on. Keelin is dressed similar but in black. Jared has to admit — even if he has eyes only for his boyfriend — red is a good color on the blonde, and she looks amazing in it.

Keelin just slaps his shoulder, hissing out, "I am not discussing this with you. I don't like her like that."

He simply smirks. And that is when she realizes her mistake.

"I never said anything about you liking her." His smirk widens. "But now that you mention it…"

"No."

"Keelin," Jared checks on Hope quickly, the father in him making him able to split his attention. "It is clear she likes you."

"She does not! And–"

"–Keelin, she fell asleep holding your hand this morning!" He whisper-yells. "Even when she was talking to Hope, her hand unconsciously found yours. Hell, you laid your hand on the console before then, and without even saying anything, she–"

He stops, realizing something.

"Neither of you were even looking at each other."

And it's true: Keelin backed out of the driveway and then switched to driving one-handed. Her right hand went to the console and, as Freya turned in her seat to look at Hope, she automatically reached for Keelin's hand. Her thumb touched the stone of her ring, but neither of them acknowledged it or looked to one another.

She fell asleep that way about half an hour later.

Keelin is avoiding eye contact with him now. He knows he on the right path.

"How many times has she done that, exactly?"

"What?" Keelin snarks. "Fell asleep while I was driving? None. Kinda hard to when I don't have my own vehicle."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Jared whisper-yells (again), but Keelin just rolls her eyes. Then, he remembers something else.

"You didn't take your hand back."

That is another thing.

And Jared has known Keelin well over a year. He knows she is not one to (usually), (hardly ever) drive one-handed. However, even once Freya had fallen asleep, she left her hand on the console.

Freya had started out with her thumb touching the stone. After a few minutes, it had progressed to her spinning the ring around on Keelin's finger. And Keelin, herself?

Well, she had adjusted how she laid her hand to allow Freya to do it.

But not once did Keelin take her hand back. Not even when it was clear Freya was asleep.

"And you called her 'Sleeping Beauty'." He comments smugly. He certainly did not miss that little tidbit of information. "When did that start?"

Keelin shakes her head. She does not answer, not because she doesn't want to (ok, she definitely doesn't) but because she honestly cannot remember.

Was it before or after Jared came down? After Freya had spent the night in her bedroom the first, or third time?

She referred to Freya as Sleeping Beauty way back, months ago, in that barn. When Keelin knew nothing about Freya, or Hope, or the rest of the Mikaelson family.

When Hayley knocked her out at the bar, and she woke up in the barn. She was simply a captive, chained up, and led against her will.

She called Freya Sleeping Beauty because Hayley said she needed her venom to wake the sleeping witch.

Who knew those actions and events — that same witch — would lead to this moment right here?

Keelin shakes her head again, steps away with her hands raised.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. I can't. Not when I am going to have to go up there and sleep in the same room as them."

She turns her back and walks away without letting him respond. Jared understands. As much as he wants to keep teasing and questioning — and oh, he most definitely will — it would not be fair to do it now.

Because if he did question and tease and ask for an explanation she probably does not have, her mind would be whirling with questions and, knowing Keelin, she would not be able to focus on much of anything else for the rest of the night.

And Freya is too perceptive when it comes to his best friend to not notice. Or worry. And ask more questions. Of course, Keelin could just bunk with him, and avoid all of that, but again.