Pairing: Aiden/Sara (m/f) hand, mild

New Orleans, Louisiana

Bayou

Mary's House

April 2011

Next Morning

Hayley had worked for a few hours on the plan for the home for wolves and then headed back to sleep. She had used some of the Mikaelson Foundation funds to ask Father Sean at St. Anne's to turn the old church rectory building into a temporary shelter. That was well and good, but few of the Bayou wolves would go there. A bunch of other people were using the service, but most only stayed for a day or two before moving on. That wasn't what Hayley had envisioned.

Jackson was a deep sleeper and never stirred when she slipped back into bed with him. If he wasn't so damn handsome and peaceful looking, she would have swatted his shapely rear with the flyswatter he had just used on her. But she didn't have the heart to do it. Plus, he'd end up tickling her and she did need some sleep.

Hayley woke up to smelling bacon and coffee. Mary always cooked, whether she was up for it or not, on the weekends. Hayley padded into the kitchen and found Jackson hovering over the stove, scrambling eggs and flipping bacon. She slipped her arms around his waist.

"Hey sleepyhead," Jackson purred, still cooking.

"Hey, you're the one who got a full night's sleep. I was up working. Jack, I won't be able to rest until the others are taking care of," Hayley confided, letting go of him to set the table.

"Well, right now. Go on and put your form in your bag. I signed it as Mary and don't want you gettin' extra swats. If they have any questions, Grandma and Ollie will be home tonight," Jack shared.

"Thanks. Coach C. is usually pretty cool, but I did see a different side of her yesterday," Hayley admitted. "She's really strong, too."

"Yeah, well, that's her job. Now sit, if you can, little lady," Jackson smirked.

Hayley rolled her eyes, "I'll admit that fly swatter stings more than I thought, but your hand was the worst. Thank God for wolf healing."

Jackson laughed softly, "I did it because I love you. Now, eat."

Jackson put Hayley's breakfast in front of her and then served her coffee.

"I could get used to this," Hayley grinned.

"We have the rest of our lives for that to happen," Jackson promised. "And last night, you know, after...was pretty great, too."

Hayley felt warm inside and happier than she had ever been. Then, she thought about those who didn't have a warm bed and family. But she pushed those thoughts aside and smiled back at Jack. Hayley's hazel eyes were full of love for the man she hoped would someday be her husband.

High School

One Hour Later

Hayley only had physical education, every other day. So she ended up just asking to turn in the signed form during homeroom. She scanned the hallways for Jean Ann Summers, hoping to avoid her. Yet, when Hayley got to Coach Cormier's office, Jean Ann was already waiting outside the door alone.

A rush of anger filled Hayley and she took a breath to calm herself. But if that bitch said one word...Hayley remembered that awful fly swatter assaulting her bum the night before and made her face blank.

"Hi Jean Ann, I guess you are here to give her the form, too," Hayley noted evenly.

"Yeah, I was afraid she'd give me more swats if I didn't," Jean Ann shared.

"Yeah, um, about that. I shouldn't have shoved you like that. I'm real sorry. I got a hot temper," Hayley apologized.

Jean Ann's eyes widened in surprise. "I shouldn't have said what I said neither. Please don't mention none of this to Oliver."

"To Ollie? I sure as hell won't, if you never tell him we got swats. He'd think me getting it was the funniest thing ever. I'd never hear the end of it," Hayley admitted.

"Deal," Jean Ann said, she stuck out her hand and they shook.

Coach Cormier boomed, "That's it, ladies. I am glad to see you making peace. Now, I hope you have that form for me from your folks. If not, I'm going to warm up your behinds again."

"Yes, ma'am," Jean Ann said softly, digging out the paper from her purse.

Hayley said, "Yes, Coach" and pulled out the form from her back pocket. She didn't even have a purse.

The coach unlocked her office and inspected the forms.

"Jean Ann, your daddy says we won't see anymore disrespect or bullying out of you," Coach pronounced.

"No, ma'am, you won't," Jean Ann said dutifully.

"Good. You can go back to homeroom," Coach informed her.

Hayley waited with bated breath to see if the coach would have an issue with "Mary's" signature. Yet the coach barely scanned the form.

"Hayley, shut the door," Coach said firmly.

Hayley bit her lip, "Am I getting the paddle again? It's signed..."

"No, it's not that. Just shut the door. What I have to say isn't for other eyes," Coach Cormier said with an ominous air.

Josh's Loft

"I can't believe we slept in again," Josh whispered to Aiden. Aiden started to roll out of the king-sized platform bed, but Josh pulled him back.

"Josh, I'm going to be marked tardy," Aiden snickered.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just you were up half the night with Sara. Why don't you just forget school and go back to sleep?" Josh purred.

"Tempting, but it's almost graduation. Don't you want to see me get my diploma?" Aiden teased.

"I think 'the diploma' is blank at the graduation ceremony and they just mail you the real one," Josh retorted. "But go. Take my car. I'll try to let Sara sleep another hour and then take her to daycare. This new crop of baby vamps is pretty good, but I don't want to leave them this long."

"Daddies, I don't feel good," a little voice said from the doorway. Aiden slid on his pants as Josh covered himself with the bed cover.

"What's wrong, honey," Aiden cooed.

"I don't know," Sarah whined softly.

Aiden went and scooped her up and felt her head. He shot Josh a pained look. Sara had been left behind at the old rectory shelter by her mom. Josh had been there meeting with Father Sean. They were talking about the factions and Sean had been about to call social services. At first, Josh assumed the little girl's mom would return, but she never do. A Bayou wolf named Eileen said the mom was on drugs and the little girl would be better off with Josh and Aiden anyway. Eileen had been a lifesaver and frequently babysat until they got Sara's paperwork in and got her into a daycare.

"Sara Philomena Stone, are you fibbing? Your forehead feels cool and you seem just fine," Aiden gently scolded.

The four year old, peered at Aiden with her chocolate brown eyes and then smiled so her dimpled appeared.

"Almost fooled you!" Sara giggled. "I'm not sick. I just missed you."

Josh found some shorts and scampered over.

"Come to Papa Josh. Daddy has to go to school. What do you want for breakfast, silly girl?" Josh asked, as he bounced her slightly in his arms.

"Cereal," Sara shouted, laughing.

Aiden kissed her and then Josh and then got in the shower.

"Papa, can we drive Daddy to school again?" Sara asked.

"Yes, ma'am, we have to. Daddy was sleepy and missed the bus. Let's eat and then we will get you dressed," Josh exclaimed. "Or Papa will be late for work, too."

Coach Cormier's Office

After Hayley shut the door and came back in and sat down in front of the desk, she couldn't help but remember yesterday. The coach had brought her and Jean Ann in here to paddle after their tiff yesterday. She shuddered and then met the Coach's eyes.

"Hayley, you know yesterday when I stopped her from beating Jean Ann to death?" Coach started.

"Coach, I'm real sorry about that," Hayley began, she looked down at her lap. She was twisting her hands together in a nervous gesture.

But the coach interrupted.

"I know. It's not that. It's...I saw your eyes. And you might have wondered how I stopped you," Coach Cormier said pointedly.

Hayley looked up, holding her breath. The Coach's eyes glowed yellow a second. Hayley exhaled.

"Oh, you're a w-wolf, too," Hayley stuttered in shock.

"Yes, my father's pack was Deep Water. There aren't a whole lot of us left. But I noticed your Crescent birthmark yesterday, too. If I noticed, then others could, too," Coach Cormier stated. "You have to be more careful."

"I try to cover it," Hayley said quietly. "Thank you for yesterday. I know I could have hurt her. I would have if you and the girls hadn't intervened."

"I get it," Coach said. "I just wanted to let you know I am here if you need me. We're different packs, but we got to stick together these days. When I was your age, I was much the same as you. My parents were gone, but I was taken in by kin. They helped get me sorted out."

"I know. That is what I have been telling Jackson. All packs need to stick together. I'm trying to start a place for our people, all packs. I tried to get a shelter together, but no one stays there longer than a day. A couple of people even abandoned their kids," Hayley admitted. "I have money from the Mikaelson Foundation. I just need some help getting it off the ground. We need a place of our own for the kids to live and go to school. This school is not for us..., not for me."

The bell rang for first period, but both she and the coach ignored it.

The coach looked at the clock, "I'll write you a transfer slip. Can you stay? I think I have a place that might work. My friend is a realtor. She could meet you and show you the place on the weekend. Here's her card. Did you ever hear of the Fleur-de-Lis Sanatorium?"

High School

45 Minutes Later

Hayley jogged out to the parking lot to meet Josh. Technically, she was skipping school, but she had to see this old sanatorium. Josh and Aiden seemed as excited as Hayley when she relayed what Coach Cormier had shared.

She opened the door to the compact, blue sedan Josh drove, and smiled at Sara. She held a small, brown wolf stuffed animal that Aiden had bought her.

"Hi Sara, are you coming to school?" Hayley asked. "Or just your wolfie?"

"No, I'm too little!" Sara corrected. "And wolves don't go to school...They hunt!" Hayley put on her seat belt and covered her smile. The little blond girl was quite the spitfire.

"Where's Jack?" Aiden asked, scanning the parking lot for the wolf he considered his alpha and brother.

"Um, Jack doesn't know about this. He's in class now," Hayley explained. "But I have the directions for the sanatorium. If it's in the shape that Coach Cormier said it was, we should be able to get it for a good price," Hayley reasoned.

"And we have the free labor of the baby vamps. Of course, they would only be able to work at night, but free is free," Josh quipped.

"Can't you get them daylight rings?" Hayley asked.

"I don't know, Hayley. That's not the way Marcel wants it. Like always, they have to prove themselves first. A new vamp with a daylight ring can just run off and go on a rampage," Josh explained.

Hayley nodded. Marcel might be in Mystic Falls, but he was still considered the King of New Orleans. But he was in Virginia and Josh was here.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the site.

"It is massive," Aiden breathed. He went to get Sara out of her car seat.

Josh looked over, "I don't know, Aiden. This might not be safe for Sara. Maybe you ought to stay in the car with her?"

Sara heard Josh's protest and yelled, "No, Papa, I wanna see the big house! Please..."

Josh relented, "Okay, but you have to hold our hands. No running off like you did at the fair."

"Uh-oh, what happened at the fair?" Hayley asked, seeing the pained expression on Josh's face.

"Little Sara here, broke loose and we lost her. It was only five minutes but Daddy Aiden here almost had a stroke," Josh said with meaning.

"It happens so fast," Aiden gushed. "But we had a talk and it won't happened again, right?"

"Right?" Sara confirmed. She hopped up and down holding her wolf. Soon, she was holding Hayley's hand as they approached the massive stone hospital.

"So Coach said that this place was abandoned some time after the 1918 influenza epidemic," Hayley breathed. "This could house a lot of kids."

"Hayley, what exactly do you envision?" Josh asked. "I know Marcel cut you a large check but this place would cost a lot to run. Did you consider starting smaller?"

"Yeah, we did start smaller. Father Sean started the shelter at the rectory, but wolves, Bayou wolves need space and nature. This place has both. It's away from the city. We could run a school here with technical training, and have all the extras like therapy, sports, and activities. The state would also contribute to sending other kids here if we got our certification," Hayley shared. There were walking through a garden area with old trees and some stone benches, all over grown with moss and ivy.

"But you are just a kid yourself. How can you do all this?" Josh pressed.

"Well, I'm building a team of helpers. Coach Cormier said she is tired of her job and would serve as Director. I know I'm young and inexperienced. But Father Sean knows some other adults who could teach. I know I said I wanted this to be only for wolves but what if we opened it to anyone, human or supernatural?" Hayley thought aloud.

Aiden grinned, "It would be like a Faction Home. Open to any kids in need. Plus, there are plenty of adults in the Factions, witch, wolf, human, and vamp who need jobs and homes. Josh, maybe this could work?"

The three looked at each other and nodded. Finally, Josh said, "I like it."

Then, Aiden looked around, "Where's Sara?"

Hayley sniffed the air. She looked back toward the parking lot, two yards away. Nothing.

"Oh my God, there is water here. I can smell it. I hear splashing," Hayley gasped.

Josh listened and then vamped away. Hayley and Aiden ran behind him. They found Sara walking dangerously close to the edge of a wall above a high fountain. If she fell, she could easily break a limp or get submerged in the stagnant water. Josh vamped to her and grabbed her as she lost her balance and dropped Wolfie into the brackish water.

"Noooooo, Wolfie!" Sara screamed as she tried to follow her toy into the fountain.

"Sara, you could have broken your neck! Stop," Josh hissed. He had to grab her small arm to keep her from leaping over the fountain.

"Oh, that's a little dangerous," Hayley gulped. "How did she even get away?"

"I don't know. This is what happened at the fair," Aiden confided.

Josh leaned down and tried to talk calmly to the four year old. She stomped and took her small fist and pounded him on the shoulder.

"Sara, you don't hit, Papa!" Aiden scolded. Sara, enraged, came over to Aiden and stomped on his foot.

"Get Wolfie!" Sara screamed.

Aiden frowned and sat down on the stone bench and turned Sara over his left knee. Smack! Smack! Smack!

Josh's mouth opened and he vamped down the stairs to fish out the sodden stuffed animal from the fountain.

"Owwwieeee," Sara shouted. She howled, though he had barely tapped her rear over her pants.

"I told you if you ran off again, you were going to get a spankin'," Aiden reminded her. He swatted her slightly harder. Smack!

"Nooooooo," Sara begged, as he let her up. "I f-forget! I want Papa!"

Aiden clutched the child to his chested and carried her down to where Josh had fashioned a stick to fish out the sodden toy.

Hayley watched Josh ring out the excess water and then hug and kiss his daughter. Tears came to her eyes. That was something Hayley never had, parents who cared. She could have had that in Marcel and Rebekah, but she gave it up for this. This being her pack, Jackson, and her future. She wanted to give others what she never really had, a family, a community, love.

After everything settled down, Josh and Hayley ended up meeting the realtor. She called Marcel and both she and Josh spoke to him. He knew the place and approved it. He had some work crews and a contractor. Next, they called Father Sean to get the support of the human faction.

Hayley was over the moon.

Then, she got home about 4pm. Mary came out.

"Hayley, where have you been? We've been calling you," Mary said. Jackson came out behind her.

"I thought you got kidnapped until the Coach called!" Jackson snapped. "Where were you? Coach Cormier said she told you to wait until this weekend, not skip school. She covered for you, but damned if she ain't hopping mad!"

Hayley pulled out her phone and realized that her text to Jack never went through.

"I'm sorry. I thought you knew...But I have good news! We got an orphanage...," Hayley started lamely.

Aiden got Sara out of the car to see Mary. Wolfie needed a wash and smelled horrible. Josh got him out of the trunk hoping that Mary would have an idea if he would survive the washing machine.

Mary greeted the small, blond child she considered a granddaughter and told Hayley they would discuss it later. Jackson stomped off into the Bayou and Josh put an arm around Hayley in support.