Chapter 192

Buffy sat on Hope's bed with the teenager's head in her lap. Damon had driven Hope back to Mystic Falls to get her away from Klaus and Elijah. It turned out that Elijah's girlfriend, Antionette, was one of Greta's adopted children. When she had asked Buffy to take in her little brother Roman at her school, it had all been a setup to get close to Hope to kill her and her mother and then go after Buffy and Klaus.

Greta was no more, but that was thanks to Hayley. The hybrid had sacrificed her wolf side to buy Hope time to get away. As Hope was about to escape, Greta had shown up just before Elijah had. Elijah had fought Klaus and Damon to keep them from going in and saving Hayley and Hope. Damon had been incapacitated first and then Elijah had managed to best Klaus, stabbing him with a long wooden pole. Greta had bested Hayley, but Hayley's quick thinking had saved Hope. While Greta had her by the heart, Hayley had ripped Greta's daylight ring off and thrown them both outside to burn and die in the sun.

"Can I talk to you?" Hayley asked, walking into the nursery.

Buffy set the sleeping Lily down in her crib and walked out of the room. The two women walked downstairs and sat in the living room. Damon, Caroline, and Alaric were at work, so it was just the two women and the babies. "What's up?"

"I want to make you legal guardian of Hope if anything happens to me."

"What could happen to you?"

"Buffy, our lives are so crazy. My daughter has a list of enemies longer than the two of us put together. And who knows the lengths I'll have to go to for these cures."

"It's a good thing you're hard to kill."

Hayley chuckled. "Yeah. Still, I want the peace of mind to know that if anything happens to me, my little girl will always have a mother that will love her just as much as she does her own children." She reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a manilla envelope, handing it to Buffy. "I want to make it official so you have access to everything Hope will ever need. As far as the government is concerned, Hope doesn't have a father. So I'm it. Everything in there gives you the power of attorney and custody over Hope until she's 18. All you have to do is sign at the tabs."

Damon walked in with a steaming mug of tea for Buffy. She wiped her eyes again and took the mug gratefully. "I should've been there." The blonde said for the thousandth time.

"You were needed here." Damon replied for the thousandth time, gently laying his hand on her cheek and wiping away more tears with his thumb.

"This wouldn't have happened if I had been there."

"You can't think like that."

"I can and I am. Greta was nothing to me. I could've ripped her to shreds. I should've ripped her to shreds after what she did to Henry."

"And Elijah?"

"I've put him down at his most feral."

Damon sighed. "Baby, you were needed here. You saved three lives."
"At the expense of one of our family."

"Hayley knew what she was doing. She knew that Hope would be in the best of hands." Damon tenderly brushed Hope's hair away from her face.

"How are the twins?"

"They're pretty upset. Rick is with them."

Suddenly Hope gasped and her eyes popped open. "Mom?" She asked, looking frantically around the room as Buffy helped her sit up. "Mom?"

"Hope, baby….." Buffy started.

"Aunt Buffy? What happened? Where is she?"

"Breathe, kiddo." Damon said. "You're safe now."

"Where is my mom?" Buffy looked down, tears falling from her eyes to dot the sheets below. "What?"

"I'm so sorry, baby." Buffy said quietly. "She's gone."

"No, no." Hope began to shake her head frantically as she began to sob. "No, no. No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…."

Buffy sighed as she zipped the black dress up and looked at herself in the mirror. Damon was standing in the bathroom working on tying his tie. Josie and Lily were in their rooms packing their bags and getting dressed for the funeral. Hope was sitting in Buffy's closet staring at the dress her aunt had let her choose to wear. Damon and Buffy's bags were on the bed with Hope's.

"What are you still doing in New Orleans?" Buffy asked. Klaus was on video chat on Buffy's phone that was sitting on the nightstand behind her. She went and picked it up and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"The plane will be there to pick you up in half an hour." Klaus said.

"I know."

"Is Willow going to help with our geographical predicament? I cannot miss the second line."

"She's ready. She, Tara, and Alse are meeting us at the airport."

"Who's Alse?"

"Their five-year-old daughter."

"That's right. Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. You haven't met her."

"Astral projection is tricky magic. This had better work."

"Klaus, it'll work." He sighed and looked away. "I know you hate this, but you'll be there in the only way that you can."

"I should never have agreed to this. I should be there beside her, holding her hand."

"I know, but the consequences of you two being together have been escalating. We can't bring that kind of danger into the city."

"This is her mother's funeral. I should let the city burn. I'm sick and tired….." He trailed off and looked at something behind him.

"What's wrong?"

"If this houseplant gasping for life is any indication, there's another Mikaelson in New Orleans." Klaus showed her the dead plant.

"Kol and Rebekah know to stay away and Hope is with me."

"Elijah."

"Get rid of him, Klaus."

"Gladly." Klaus hung up abruptly and Buffy turned to the closet.

She walked through and sat down next to Hope. "We need to leave soon."

"I know." Hope said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I heard you talking to my dad."

"Do you want to pick a different dress?"

"No. I like this one. Thank you."

"I don't want to do this either." Hope squeezed her eyes tightly trying to keep the tears at bay. "Your mother and I didn't get off to the greatest of starts, but she became one of my best friends. By the end she was another sister to me. We had our own little mom's club."

Hope laughed slightly. "Is that when you two would disappear in the gardens and drink bourbon until you were tipsy and then think it was a great idea to blare old music while singing along terribly?"

Buffy grinned. "Yeah, that was one of our regular club meetings."

Hope began to sob. "What am I going to do without her, aunt Buffy?"

The blonde hugged her niece tightly, stroking her hair soothingly. She knew there was no good answer that would ease Hope's pain. The loss of your mother at such a young age was never anything that could be easily dealt with. The hallway door opened and Lily and Josie walked in. They were crying, too, and walked over to throw themselves around their mother and cousin. Buffy held all three girls, offering them a mother's comfort.

Damon walked in and gave the scene a sad smile. "We need to get going." He held his hands out to the twins and they walked over to him.

Hope wiped at her face. "I'll get dressed and meet you downstairs."

"Ok, sweetie." Buffy kissed her niece's hair and stood up.

Buffy and Hayley sat in the gazebo with the privacy screens down. Hayley reached over and poured more bourbon in Buffy's glass. The two laughed and clinked glasses.

"You think they'll find us in here?" Hayley asked.

"Eventually." Buffy said, taking a sip. "I don't think this is much of a secret anymore."

"I love being a mom, but I miss being a woman."

"You need to get out there and date."

"Who wants to date a single mother who also happens to be a hybrid?"
"I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would be more than happy to date you."

"Well…. There is one person…."

"Really? Who?"

"His name is Declan. He lives in New Orleans."

"Is that why your visits down there are getting longer and more frequent?"
"Maybe."

"Tell me about him!"

"He's Irish. Very Irish. Honestly I sometimes have trouble understanding him."

Buffy giggled. "Sexy."

"He's got this shaggy hair and these bright green eyes. And he's sweet."

"Does he know about...?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Will you tell him?"

"Maybe one day. If it gets to that day. For now, it's a nice little slice of normal."

Buffy and Damon led Hope, Lily, Josie, Alaric, Tara, and Alse into the compound. Willow had gone to meet Klaus in the bayou to do the astral projection spell for him. Freya walked down the stairs and met Buffy in the middle of the courtyard. The two blondes embraced tightly.

"Klaus has everyone's rooms ready." Freya said. "The second line starts soon. There won't be time to unpack."

"I figured. It's why we're all dressed and ready for the funeral." Buffy turned to look at the others. "You guys want to run your bags up to your rooms?"

Freya held out her arms to the twins. "Come on. I'll show you guys your room."
"I'll drop our bags in our room." Damon said, taking Buffy's bag from her. "Hope?"

"Thanks, uncle Damon." Hope said, handing him her bag.

"Tara, you, Willow, and Alse are in Rebekah's room. Alaric, you're in Elijah's room." Freya said as she headed up the stairs.

"Come on," Hope waved at them to follow. "I'll show you where they are."

Buffy watched them go and sighed. She turned and headed into the alley where Hayley's funeral cart was waiting. It was covered in beautiful white flowers and surrounded by soft, green moss. In the street, she could hear the band warming up their instruments. Buffy reached out and touched Hayley's arm through the flowers. A sob welled up and she covered her mouth to stifle it as the tears began to pour down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Hayley!" Buffy cried. "I'm sorry! I should've been there. This shouldn't have happened."

"No one blames you." Klaus said, suddenly appearing next to her.

"I blame me! I was supposed to be here, Klaus! I could've stopped Elijah."

"If I couldn't have stopped him…."

"We would've been there together. We would've stopped him together or…."

Klaus reached out and touched her cheek, causing her to shudder from the supernatural chill of the astral projection spell. "Dear heart, you always put the world on your shoulders and bear the burden of sins that are not your own. This is not the time for that. You were not at fault for any of this. I failed Hayley and I'm making Elijah pay for his part in it."

"He's still here?"

"On the outskirts of the city far from the bayou."

"What did you do?"

"I bit his woman. She'll die while he watches and can do nothing for her."

"Good. If she was in league with Greta, then she deserves to die with the rest of them."

"I agree. Once Hope is safely instilled in Mystic Falls again, I shall take care of the lot of them and make them suffer." Suddenly Klaus disappeared.

"What…."

"Ma'am, we need to move the cart into the street." A man said, walking up with a group of four others.

"Oh…. Uh, of course." Buffy stepped away and then men began maneuvering the cart towards the mouth of the alley.

"Babe?" Damon poked his head outside. "Everything ok?"

"I don't know." She took his hand and followed him inside. "Klaus was here, then he disappeared."

"You think he's in trouble?"

"I don't know. It doesn't feel like he or Willow are."

"Where's Dad?" Hope asked as Buffy and Damon joined her and Freya outside where they were standing in front of the cart with Hayley's body. Lily, Josie, Tara, and Alse were standing just behind them.

"He'll be here soon." Freya assured her. She smiled at Buffy. "There you are!"

"Where's everyone else?"

"Marcel and Vincent should be here." Buffy said, looking around. "There's Josh."

"What about Declan? Please tell me someone told Declan."

Freya closed her eyes sadly. "He's in Ireland. I was so focused on everyone else…."

"Oh, my God, aunt Freya."

"I talked to him." Buffy said, taking Hope's hand. "He can't make it to the funeral, but he knows."

Hope nodded. "Thank you."

The band started playing and moving forward. The cart started forward as well and the little group behind it began to walk. People behind them celebrated, waving umbrellas and scarves as they danced to the music.

Buffy noticed Hope looking around frantically. "Hope…."

"This is all wrong. She didn't even know all these people."

"Your mom made a mark on this city." Freya assured her. "Everyone's here to honor her."

"But where are all of her friends?"

Freya's phone began to ring and she dropped back to answer it. Lily and Josie stepped up on either side of Hope and each took a hand. Hope looked at them and then at Buffy with desperation. "This is all wrong."

Suddenly, two black vans screeched to a stop in front of them, halting the procession. Josh rushed over to one of them and yanked the doors open. There was a curtain in place and he shoved it aside to reveal Greta's thugs inside.

"Emmett. What the hell are you doing here?" Josh demanded.

"Where are Antoinette and Elijah?" Emmett asked.

"Probably under a rock somewhere. Maybe you should join them."

"We're not going anywhere till they're returned to us safely." He moved some cloth to reveal stake-shooting cannons. He lifted a gun with stakes attached to it.

Hope suddenly tightened her grip on Lily's and Josie's hands and looked at them both. "This already sucks enough." Lily said.

"Let's not let them ruin it more." Josie added.

Hope nodded and the three girls started chanting. "Bruciare supe terram, faciendo ignis ga praemium." One of the vans exploded and people began screaming.

Damon grabbed Tara and Alse and rushed them back inside the Mikaelson compound. "Girls!" Freya yelled.

"No!" Buffy blocked Freya from getting to the girls. They were killing the vampires responsible for the mess with Henry and Hayley.

"We can't let them get hurt."

"I won't! Go!" Buffy pushed Freya towards the compound.

"Weapons up." Emmett ordered.

"Crap!" Buffy rushed over and grabbed all three girls, getting them safely inside the courtyard and away from the vampires looking to kill them. She heard the second van's tires squeal as they raced away.

Buffy, Hayley, Damon, and Alaric sat around the dinner table on the yacht as they sailed home from Italy. The kids had gone to bed already, leaving the adults to have a night to themselves.

"This was an amazing vacation." Hayley said.

"Exactly what we needed." Alaric agreed.

"It was great to see Bonnie." Buffy said. "The girls were over the moon to spend time with their aunt."

"Next year's vacation, we should go to South America. Check out the rainforest and ancient ruins." Damon said.

"I'm not sure Lily would enjoy that." Alaric said. "She's not exactly an outdoorsy girl."

"True, but there's other things to do. I could take her to a soccer match or something."

"We'll figure it out later." Buffy said. "Let's just enjoy the rest of this vacation."

"Good plan." Hayley said.

"We'll take the dishes back to the kitchen." Damon said. "You ladies take your drinks out on the deck."

"Great plan." Buffy grinned at her husband and she and Hayely walked out onto the deck arm-in-arm. They headed over to the lounge chairs there and sat down. The air was brisk, but the night sky was clear and full of beautiful stars. The waters, while not still, were calm enough that they reflected the stars and made it feel like they were sailing through an endless galaxy.

"I wish it was like this everywhere we go." Hayley said, staring up at the sky. "It's so beautiful."

"It's my favorite part about sailing. You don't get this view anywhere else."

A noise made them turn around to find Lily, Josie, and Hope walking out onto the deck. They walked over and curled up on the loungers with their respective mothers. "I thought you guys went to bed." Hayley said, kissing the top of Hope's head.

"We couldn't sleep." Hope said.

"Who can sleep when the night is so pretty?" Lily asked, laying her head on her mother's shoulder.

"What are you guys doing?" Josie asked, settling between Buffy's legs and laying her head on Buffy's thigh. It was a tight fit with all three of them on the lounger.

"We're just enjoying the evening." Buffy said.

"I wish we didn't have to go back to school." Lily sighed. "Can we go live in Italy?"

"You would still have to go to school in Italy."

"Ugh!"

"You wouldn't have magic classes in Italy." Josie pointed out.

"That's true, I guess."

Hayley laughed. "What about you, Hope? Do you want to live in Italy?"

Hope shook her head. "No. I like our home in Mystic Falls and New Orleans."

"Good. I do, too."

"Oh! Can we live in New Orleans?" Lily asked.

"Are you bored with Mystic Falls?" Buffy asked her, moving her head to get a better look at her eldest twin.

"Not bored exactly, but a little bit. I love to travel! The world has so much to offer!"

Buffy smiled. "Yes it does. And for the record, we have a home in New Orleans."

"Yeah, uncle Klaus' house." Josie interjected.

"Exactly."

"We never get to go, though!" Lily complained.

"Yes, we do. We went there last summer."

"But before that we hadn't been since everything happened with Hope and the Hollow. I miss aunt Freya!"

"Are you saying you want to go to New Orleans more often?"

"Yes!"

"Ok. We'll figure something out if that's what you want. I'm sure Hope would love to visit more."

"I just wish my dad could be there." Hope said quietly.

"I wish he could, too, baby girl." Hayley said, wrapping her arms just a little tighter around Hope.

Hope was stomping around her room grabbing books, glancing through them, and tossing them back. Buffy sat on her bed watching her calmly. "Where was he?!" Hope demanded suddenly.

"He texted that something major came up." Buffy said.

"What? What could possibly be more important than my mom's fun…. Her funeral?"

Klaus walked into the room and gave a small smile to Buffy. "Hope…."

"Go away." Hope snapped at him.

Klaus watched her go through some more books. "There's no magic that can fix this."

"I said leave."

"Hope." Buffy warned.

"Please don't push me away." Klaus begged.

"You deserted me!" Hope cried. "You left me all by myself when you promised me that you would be there."

"I wanted to be there. I only just found out how dangerous this is. I could kill you."

"Then let me die! My mom is dead. She's dead. And it's my fault. And I need more than some half version of you." Buffy got up and walked over to Hope, taking her hand. "I can't do this. Dad, I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this. I don't want to live like this anymore."

"Please don't say that."

"You need to go. Just go." Hope shoved her hands out and magically pushed her father's astral projection away. Buffy started to say something, but Hope cut her off. "Just don't, aunt Buffy. Ok? Just don't."

Buffy nodded. "Let me know if you need anything." She kissed the side of Hope's head and walked out.

Using her tribrid vampire speed, Buffy left the compound and the city behind. She rushed out to the bayou to find Klaus. He was there in the midst of the wolves carving Hayley's name into a tree underneath Jackson's name. "I should've been there for you and for Hope. But I was scared of this very moment. This family, hmm? We're a curse to each other and to our home. And I know she needs me. I see that now. But loving her brings her closer to death. And I want her to live. I want her to grow up. I want her to love and be as strong and beautiful a woman as her mother. I don't know what to do. And I really wish that you were here to tell me, little wolf."

Buffy walked up behind him and hugged him tightly. He turned in her arms and clung to her for a long moment. They walked out onto the dock and sat down, looking out at the water where Hayley's werewolf funeral would be. "What happened today?" She asked. "What was so major?"

"Willow didn't tell you?"

"I haven't talked to Willow. When Hope shoved your astral projection out, I came here to find you."
"Always looking out for me, dear heart."

"Always." Buffy took his hand. "What's going on?"

"Vincent's witch friend, Ivy, showed up and stopped the astral projection when I was talking to you in the alley. She showed me this book with a prophecy about the Mikaelsons." He described the events that happened every time the siblings with the Hollow in them got near each other and what they meant. Every moment they were together, every first born who called New Orleans home would die.

"Does that include Hope? Lily? Me and Damon?"

"You all have a home here."

"What did Willow say?"

"Nothing. She asked if I was ok. I said no and then left her."

Buffy nodded and pulled out her phone. She had forgotten to turn it off silent and had missed calls from Willow, Freya, and Damon. "We need to fix this. We've got to find a way to get rid of the Hollow once and for all. Take it out of the Mikaelsons and…."

"How?"

"I don't know. But this needs to be fixed."

"The decision we made to take the power from her was to save her life. I had no idea it would ruin her in this way."

"She's not ruined, Klaus. We will figure out how to destroy the Hollow and reunite our family safely." Buffy sighed. "I need to tell you something. Marcel texted me just after the second line. He and Vincent decided to take Elijah up on his offer."

"They what?"

"I can't really disagree with the decision. All of this happened because Elijah doesn't know who he is."

"Well, that's the point. He doesn't know. He doesn't have any idea of the damage he's wrought. If he finds out, it'll destroy him. Either way, we've lost him. I was trying to save him from himself."

"I don't think we've lost him. I think it will take time to heal, but I don't think for a second that we've lost him." She looked at her phone. "Damon says they're getting ready to head here for the funeral."

"I should go, then."

"Yeah." Buffy laid her head down on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head. "We'll fix this, Klaus. I know we will."

"I have the utmost faith in you, dear heart." He gave her hand a squeeze and then disappeared.

The sun had set and torches had been lit around the werewolf camp. Buffy embraced Hope tightly as she walked up. Freya was already standing by Hayley's flower covered coffin blessing her body. "Aunt Buffy…." Hope began. "I know that you guys think that there's nothing else that we can do. But I believe that there is. There has to be. We have to save each other. We have to save always and forever. Aunt Willow and aunt Freya have taught me most of what I know about magic and you've taught me never to give up. So, I need you guys." Hope realized that her aunt was watching her patiently. "What?"

"I was going to tell you that I talked to your aunt Willow and we've already decided to help you look."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Hope hugged Buffy tightly. "Thank you."

"I have something for you. Turn around." Hope did as she was told and Buffy slipped Hayley's crescent moon necklace out of her pocket. She had brought it to send with Hayley's body, but at the last second had decided to give it to Hope. Reaching up, Buffy clasped the necklace around Hope's neck and fixed her hair.

Hope looked down at the necklace. "Is this…."
"Yeah. I think your mom would've rather you had it."

"Thank you so much, aunt Buffy. For everything."

"I love you, Hope."

"I love you, too, aunt Buffy."

Damon came up and wrapped his arm around Buffy's waist, kissing her neck. Lily and Josie walked over to Hope and held her hands. They saw Marcel, Josh, and Vincent join the group and smiled at them. Freya came over and joined them, standing next to Alaric.

"Oh, right on time." Damon said, nodding at a woman making her way through the crowd.

"Keelin." Freya gasped. "How did you…."

"Damon." Keelin said, holding her sobbing girlfriend. "I got on a plane right after he called."

"Thank you, Damon."

"Don't mention it."

Alaric reached over and touched Buffy's shoulder. "You're up."

Buffy took a deep breath and walked over to take her place on the dock with Hope. The wolves had placed the little raft with Hayley's body in the water. Everyone in the crowd turned to look at Buffy. "People will eventually forget the things you said and did. Such is the way of life. But no one ever forgets the way you made them feel. Hayley Marshall made me feel sane and grounded. When the realities of this life became too much to bear, we shouldered them together. We laughed and we cried and we raised our daughters together. When I failed, she lifted me up. And when I succeeded, she danced by my side. She did that for all of us." Buffy reached over and took Hope's hand. "No one will ever be able to replace her or heal the pain that we feel at her loss, but we can honor her. We can honor her with our actions and with our words. We can love each other the way she would've wanted us to love."

Lisina lit the funeral pyre and Damon pushed the raft out into the lake. He took Hope's free hand and gave it a squeeze. She watched the raft float away for a long moment. "Goodbye, Mom."

"Goodbye, sister." Buffy said. She let go of Hope's hand, sensing Klaus walking up behind her.

Klaus took Buffy's place, holding Hope's hand. His daughter looked up at him, confused. "What are you doing? You can't be here."

"Yes, I can. Just for a moment. Our family has infinite struggles ahead, but right now, I need to be here with my daughter."

The wind picked up and thunder and lightning crashed. Freya walked over to Lisina and said, "Things are probably gonna get ugly.

"Let's pack it in, everyone." Lisina announced. "Take shelter." The crowd began to disperse. Damon went over and took Lily's hand while Alaric took Josie's. Willow and Tara led Alse away.

Klaus gripped Buffy's hand, keeping her there with him and Hope. He turned to Hope. "I'll always be here for you. Even if I can't truly be by your side, holding your hand, I'll call and I'll write. And Willow and Freya will allow us some time together with their magic. But you have to know, this is the last time we can do this. Come here, sweetheart." He hugged his daughter tightly.

"I'm gonna fix this for us." Hope promised.

"I hope that you do."

The fire on Hayley's funeral pyre stretched out and the water around it set fire. "We shouldn't let the fire reach land. You should go."

"Just one more minute." Klaus held Hope's face gently in his hands. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He looked at Buffy. "Take care of her."

"Always and forever." Buffy promised. He kissed her cheek, touched Hope's cheek lightly, and then disappeared. Hope looked worriedly at the fire, but Buffy threw out her higher power light, extinguishing the flames on the water and forcing them back onto the pyre. The two stood there and watched the fire burn until it was out of sight.