Note: I have new story, Mystic Falls: Homecoming, over in the TVD/TO crossover section if anyone is interested in checking it out and a project called Her Turn Films, outside of the FanFic world. If anyone wants to ask me anything about HTF, feel free to PM me. Thanks!
Hello, my lovely readers. Hayley's dream world is becoming a bit too hot for her to handle and Tyler endures Hayley's questioning. On with the show…
Chapter 7: Oral Testimony
Groaning, Hayley felt herself dozing off. It was past midnight and she sat with a file open on her lap, her feet atop her desk. Marcel had come by—minutes ago in fact—to ask her if she wanted to go back to his place for a very late dinner and to watch bad cable TV like they were still in law school. She had declined the offer because she was worried that Chinese and a couple of beers would send her to sleep.
A solid knock on her door sent her folder to the floor and Hayley with it. Gasping in shock, Hayley rubbed her shoulder, squeezing her eyelids shut against the hot tears that filled her eyes. She heard someone's feet moving toward her and she reached up, fingers sliding over it, desperately searching for her letter opener. People killed lawyers all the time. Who knew who had come to her door after midnight?
"I believe this is what you are looking for?" Elijah's face came into view, along with the letter opener in his hand, and Hayley shed brand new tears, of relief, falling forward into his arms.
Elijah shifted, placing the letter opener on top of her desk as he pulled her to her feet. "Are you quite alright, Hayley?" he asked, gently stroking her hair off of her forehead and peering at her.
"Yeah," Hayley breathed, feeling her heart pounding away in her chest as Elijah stared down at her, his eyes still searching her for injury. Her eyes were glued to his lips.
When Elijah's eyes finally met hers, Hayley inhaled sharply. "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
"I thought you might still be here and I needed to see you," Elijah replied, his hands moving to her lower back.
"About?" Hayley wanted, desperately, to play it cool but it had been so long since she had sex. And all she wanted was for him to drop his pants.
"I wanted to ask you a question," Elijah said, his eyes dropping to her lips.
"Okay." Hayley nodded, waiting, hoping she knew what he wanted because she wanted it so badly she had to stop herself from tearing his shirt right off his body.
"I thought that you might want to," Elijah began when Hayley cut him off.
"Yes, Elijah, yes," Hayley moaned, her hands moving to the back of his neck.
Elijah gave her an amused look. "I have yet to tell you what my request is."
"Oh, yeah, that. Well…" Hayley wondered why Elijah was not kissing her and ripping her panties off.
"I thought you might want to try getting Niklaus and Caroline back into the same room. It seems as if there is unresolved tension. Perhaps if we gave them time alone, they could come to a resolution." Elijah's serious expression made Hayley want to scream.
Nodding, Hayley allowed her hands to fall down at her sides. "Okay. Yeah. We can try that."
"How does next Thursday sound to you?" Elijah inquired while Hayley moved away from him. She needed the space. She needed a cold shower. She needed to never be alone with him again. She no longer trusted herself.
"Sounds good," Hayley said, not bothering to check her calendar.
"Good. I will contact Niklaus tomorrow." Elijah moved toward her door, pausing with his hand on the edge. "And, Hayley, you really should consider sleeping in your bed."
Hayley nodded, feeling disappointment flooding her. "Thanks," she muttered, her eyes on her desk top.
Taking a moment, Hayley closed her eyes and then reopened them. "Elijah?" she called.
"Yes?" Elijah replied, half-in and half-outside of her office.
Rounding her desk, Hayley strode over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Elijah took a second to react before his began to hungrily attack her own. Hayley let out a cry when his body moved flush with her own. He pushed her backwards and away from the doorframe before lifting her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist and was panting by the time her back met the cool wood of her desk. "Elijah, this isn't going to be anything more than sex, a mutual satisfaction of a bodily need. I do not have time for a real relationship with dating and drama and…" His lips were on her neck and she could not think.
"That is fine, Hayley," Elijah said, sitting up and tearing her blouse open. "I do not have time for a relationship either. What with work and Nadia. My siblings. They never allow me a moment's rest."
"So we're agreed," Hayley cried out as she undid his pants.
"Certainly," Elijah replied and she let out another loud cry when he pushed her back down and began to make love to her.
~0~
The loud cry of a small child made Hayley nearly fall out of her seat. Somehow she had fallen asleep, sitting upward. How had she managed that? Oh, yes. She had been in the middle of her third Elijah Mikaelson sex dream of the week.
Shaking her head, Hayley moved to the door. "Hey," she called when she was met with Caroline, Fi and Tyler Lockwood.
"Hey, Hayley. Sorry. I couldn't find a babysitter. Again," Caroline said, bouncing Fi on her hip.
Fiona grinned at Hayley before she wiggled on Caroline's hip who set her down. The little girl made a run for the opposite door. "Let me in, Marcie!" she shouted, banging on the door.
"Oh, my God!" Caroline cried, moving to collect her child when the door opened and she came face-to-face with Rebekah Mikaelson.
Hayley could count on one hand what Rebekah would be doing in Marcel's office at seven o'clock in the morning; when they were not working a case together. "Rebekah, good morning," Hayley called, trying to distract her from Caroline and Fiona but she was too late.
"Oh, hello there, darling, you must be Fiona," Rebekah knelt down and smiled at Fiona who grinned back at her, rocking from side to side.
"Hi," Fiona replied.
Marcel came to the door, eyeing Hayley, Caroline, Tyler and then spotting Rebekah. "Hey, Bekah, don't we have—"
"Not anymore," Rebekah retorted, not bothering to look back at him. "Do you know who I am?" she asked Fiona.
Fiona shook her head, her curls flying. "Nope," she replied.
"I am your auntie Rebekah," the Mikaelson sister's eyes flicked to Caroline, a glacier's iciness in her glance. "And you must be my very beautiful niece, Fiona."
"Yes. She is," Caroline said. "And we have a meeting with Hayley. So if you will excuse us…" Caroline attempted to pick up Fiona but Fiona took a step to the side and then darted into Marcel's office, clinging to his pants' leg.
"I want auntie Rebekah and Marcie to play with me!" Fiona shouted and Rebekah let out a chuckle.
"She's definitely got Nik's temperament," Rebekah noted, folding her arms over her chest. She turned sideways to be able to look between Fiona and Caroline. "And it looks as if she has chosen Mikaelson over Forbes, how shocking."
"Rebekah," Marcel said quietly, gathering Fiona into his arms. She began to play with his tie while he gave Rebekah a disapproving look.
"What? She's the one who would like to keep us separate from the little girl who obviously wants to be with us." Rebekah's smirk fell on Caroline.
Caroline's back was to Hayley so she could not see her friend's expression but she saw her shoulders slumping, her hands grasping at the air. "Rebekah, please," Caroline said. "Don't get in the middle of this."
"Oh, and why shouldn't I? Nik would a very wonderful father and you refuse to even give him a chance," Rebekah snapped back.
"Hey, look, I think you should give Caroline back her kid and that we should be able to go to our meeting, in peace," Tyler told them, his hands on his hips.
"This does not concern you, Lockwood. This is a family matter," Rebekah snarled.
Fiona began to cry, burying her face in Marcel's shirt who rubbed her back, cooing into her ear. "Cool it, people," he ordered them, moving to pace around his office.
"Caroline, maybe you should let Rebekah and Marcel watch her while we talk," Hayley said quietly.
Caroline turned to Hayley. She looked like Hayley had slapped her, her face pale and drawn. "What?"
"Just to keep the peace. For the moment," Hayley said, walking over to Caroline and coaxing her into Hayley's office. The triumphant look on Rebekah's face did not last as Hayley glared at her. "And maybe Rebekah can make it up to you, by taking you and Tyler out to lunch, and behaving in a civil manner, since you are family."
Opening her mouth, Rebekah started to say something when Marcel placed a hand on her arm and they all noted Fiona had fallen asleep. "Right then. Lunch. Tyler's buying his own."
Scoffing, Tyler looked like he was about to retort when Caroline replied. "Sounds good." Her words were clipped and lacked genuine enthusiasm before she walked across the office floor and took a seat in front of Hayley's desk, her back turned to Rebekah.
"Come on, Tyler, let's get this over with," Hayley called.
Tyler hesitated before closing the door on Rebekah and striding over to sit beside Caroline, offering her his hand. Hayley watched him squeeze Caroline's hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it. Caroline gave him a smile but it did look wane.
Hayley felt a pang of loneliness and another pang of remorse for how much pain her friend was in. Stepping around her desk, she tucked her skirt under, just to do something with her hands, stalling for time. This part would be unpleasant but necessary, might as well jerk the Band-Aid off now.
"So, Tyler," Hayley said, grabbing a notepad and flipping it open. "How long have you and Caroline been seeing each other?"
"You know how long we've been together, Hayley," Tyler replied, relaxing into his chair and shaking his head at her.
Hayley smirked back at him. "Thank you for stating the obvious, Ty; that will definitely help when it's Elijah taking you apart, not me."
Finally, Caroline's lips turned up in a real smile. "Yeah, Tyler, take this seriously," she demanded, her tone light as she smacked him on the knee playfully.
Tyler glanced at Caroline and then at Hayley. "Fine. Okay. We'll play this game." Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, he began to count on his fingers. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six."
"Tyler!" Caroline cried, smacking him on the knee, harder this time. "Seriously! This is about my kid! Do you want me to lose custody?" Falling back into her chair, her smile fell into a deep frown.
"Care, this is stupid," Tyler replied. "Klaus is just being a dick. He doesn't want Fiona. He wants to make you pay for choosing me, and not waiting around for him to come running back to you." Getting up, Tyler began to run his hands through his hair. "He's just a jackass. He's always been a jackass."
"Tyler," Hayley began when Tyler held up a hand. "Look. I'm sorry. I think we should do this some other time."
"We do not have more time, Tyler," Hayley snapped, standing up. "Caroline, I think it might be better if you go downstairs and get a cup of coffee. Let me question Tyler."
Caroline looked from Tyler to Hayley. Tyler had his face buried in his hands and Hayley had her hands on her hips as she waited for Caroline to make the right move here. If she wanted things to go smoothly—when they had to face Elijah—she would allow Hayley to question Tyler without interference.
"Okay," Caroline said quietly, she shouldered her bag and got up. Walking over to Tyler, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."
"Uh-huh," Tyler replied, patting her lower back before watching her leave.
When Caroline was gone, Hayley gestured toward the chair that Tyler had been sitting in earlier. With a sigh, he moved back to his seat. His eyes lifted to Hayley. "Gloves off?" he questioned her with a sad smile.
"Yes," Hayley replied. "When did you and Caroline begin your relationship?"
"Three years ago," Tyler replied.
"And how long after you were became involved did Caroline give birth to Fiona?" Hayley waited. She already knew the question to this.
"Caroline and I did not officially get together until Fiona was six months old," Tyler replied.
"How active were you in Caroline's life previous to Fiona's birth?" Hayley began to take notes while Tyler hesitated.
"What do you mean active?" Tyler asked.
"I mean: How much time did you spend with Caroline?" Again, Hayley waited. She was only warming up.
"I don't know. It's not like we counted the hours that we spent together," Tyler adjusted his position on his seat.
"But if you had to take a guess. Would you say you spent a couple of hours a week together? Less? More?" Hayley sat the notepad down and watched Tyler closely.
"More," Tyler said quietly.
"Five?" Hayley shot back.
"More," Tyler said.
"Ten?" Hayley countered.
"More," Tyler muttered, running a hand over his face.
"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? I couldn't catch your answer," Hayley replied.
"More!" Tyler snapped, his look irritable.
"If you think I'm being a pain, you just wait for Elijah's version," Hayley snapped back. "When was the first time you spent the night in Caroline's apartment?" she asked, consulting her notes.
"Two months before she had Fiona," Tyler told her.
Hayley looked up. "But you said you were not 'officially involved' until after she had Fiona, correct?"
Tyler inhaled. "Caroline got sick. You remember. They thought she might go into early labor so the doctor recommended bed rest."
"Tyler, I am the lawyer, what I know does not matter unless I am asked to testify," Hayley told him.
Sighing heavily, Tyler gripped the handles of the chair. "Alright. When Caroline was seven months she thought she was having contractions. We had been hanging out a lot for the last three months. Getting lunch together. Going to movies. I took her to Lamaze because she hated how people gave her pitying looks when she came in alone and you were at work."
"So you were dating?" Hayley said.
"No," Tyler groaned. "Not officially."
"What does 'not officially' mean to you, Tyler?" Hayley inquired.
"Not officially means that we hadn't sat down and discussed whether we wanted to be in a relationship, instead of just hanging out, as friends." Getting up, Tyler began to pace again. "I don't know what any of this has to with whether Fiona should be with Care of Klaus?"
"It has to do with you, and your relationship with Caroline," Hayley retorted, tapping her pen against her notebook. Remembering Elijah doing the same thing to unnerve her; she stopped. "Let's try it this way: How much time do you spend with Fiona?"
"I'm with Caroline every morning and every evening. I guess you would say that I'm like a father figure to Fiona," Tyler said, coming to stand behind his seat and gripping the back of it.
"But you're not her father," Hayley said, watching Tyler's eyes fall to the carpet, his shoulder slumping. "Have you and Caroline discussed expanding the family?"
"You mean having more kids?" Tyler's eyes lit up and a grin appeared. "Not really. Not yet. I don't want to put pressure on her right now. Not with the whole Klaus thing."
"But you want children?" Hayley knew she was leading him down a path that he might not like once he got to the end.
"Yeah," Tyler said. "I'd like to have at least two or three. However many Care can handle having."
"And they would be yours," Hayley said, watching Tyler closely.
"Yeah. Who else's kids would they be?" Tyler replied with a laugh, standing up straighter.
"Unlike Fiona," Hayley added.
Tyler's face flushed and his jaw tightened. "That is not fair, Hayley. You know that I take care of Fi like she's my own kid."
"Do you, Tyler?" Hayley asked him.
Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell, Hayley? I read her bedtime stories. I feed her. I take her to the park. I watch kid's movies with her. What more am I supposed to do?" Slamming his hands on the back of the chair, he glowered down at her.
"Not losing his temper would be a great start," Hayley flipped to a new page in her notebook. "Now, sit down."
Tyler sat back down, grumbling to himself something she did not catch. "Fine. Now what?"
"Do you intend on marrying Caroline?" Hayley asked him.
"Are you kidding me?" Tyler shook his head.
"Just answer the question," Hayley began to tap her pad of paper again, this time on purpose.
"Yes. I plan on marrying Caroline. If she'll have me," Tyler said.
"And you don't think that you'll ever look at Fiona, and see Klaus, and feel resentment?" Beginning to write her next question, Hayley ticked off the seconds it took for Tyler to formulate a reply.
"What? Are you a therapist now?" Tyler's resentment made Hayley shake her head. He really needed to keep his temper in check before he dealt with Elijah.
"No, Tyler. Are you going to answer the question?"
"Fine. No. I will not feel resentment toward the child who has nothing to do with who her dad is," Tyler's words made Hayley pause.
"No one really has anything to do with who our parents are and we don't really have control over how we react to certain stimuli. Like the name Klaus which sets this little vein in your temple into a frenzy," Hayley tapped her own temple, watching the vein in Tyler's throb under his skin. "So, tell me that Fiona being Niklaus Mikaelson's daughter, knowing that Caroline and Klaus used to have sex, regularly, that they were in love, that if he didn't leave, they might still be together as one big, happy family with young Fiona, that does not make you feel a second's worth of resentment toward the child?"
Sitting forward in his chair, Tyler glared at Hayley. "What I resent is being in the position of the bad guy here. I have done no wrong. I love Caroline. I am good to Fiona. I am there for both of them. Unlike Klaus, who left them."
"And you were all too happy to step in once Klaus left. Because you had been waiting for Caroline to be in a vulnerable state. And then you made your move." Hayley pushed her notebook aside, sitting back and watching Tyler explode.
"Are you freakin' serious, Hayley?" Tyler asked, getting to his feet. "Is that what you think happened?"
"I don't know, Ty, why don't you tell me? That way, when Elijah asks the same questions I don't end up looking like an idiot." Hayley got to her feet and folded her arms over her chest.
"Fine. Yes. I liked Caroline. I thought she was beautiful, smart, kind and I wanted to marry her from the second I met her. And she was in love with my friend." Tyler deflated. "So, yeah, when he was out of the picture, I became a shoulder for her to lean on. I had no idea she was pregnant until she was four months and she comes to lunch one day and says 'Tyler, I'm having a baby. I know I am young and I have plans. But I am pregnant. And I want this baby. And I am going to start showing soon, so I wanted to tell everyone I knew before they started telling me about diets I could try.' And I said: Okay. Cool. Whatever you need, I'm here for you."
"Tell me about the night that Klaus mentioned during the first meeting with Elijah, when Klaus answered Caroline's phone," Hayley replied.
Tyler looked away. "I don't remember a phone call."
"Tyler, Elijah. Klaus. Caroline. And I were in that meeting," Hayley reminded him. "Want to try again."
"Shit." Tyler moved toward Hayley's office door and then he stopped, turning back around. "Caroline and I had a fight. I went out and had a few drinks. This girl came in. She kept flirting with me. And I told her it wasn't going to happen. But she kept coming on to me. The next thing I know her hand is half-way up my thigh and her tongue is in my ear. She's practically in my lap and who happens to walk right by us: Klaus. He'd only been home a couple of days. And he gets this smirk on his face, like he knows what's going on and I want to stop him, but he's gone by the time I get this girl off of me."
"Did you tell Caroline?"
Shaking his head, Tyler rolls his eyes toward the ceiling. "I did. Right after your little meeting with the Mikaelsons. I don't think she believes me. But that's all that happened. I swear on my mom's life. I did not and would not cheat on Caroline."
"Good to know, Tyler," Hayley said, flipping her notebook closed. Now she would have to try to find the girl from that night. She loved the easy tasks her clients gave her.
A knock sounded on the door and Caroline entered. "Hey, guys. Are you just about done?"
"Yes," Hayley replied. "Tyler, I will ask you for some follow-up details but we can go over them on the phone."
"Right." Tyler got up, looking pale and like Hayley had just performed an invasive examination.
Hayley walked over to the door to watch Caroline knocking on Rebekah's door. Marcel answered and Hayley placed her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. Fiona hung from his back while Rebekah tried to hide in the corner of the office.
"Auntie Rebekah, come on, it's time for lunch!" Fiona cried, waving her hand. "Let mommy see how pretty I made you!"
'Auntie Rebekah' came to the door, her head down, her curls obscuring her face. Marcel slid Fiona off his back and into Caroline's arms before brushing Rebekah's curls over one shoulder and lifting her chin with his fingertips. "She's as gorgeous as ever," he told them.
Rebekah glowered at everyone, batting her blue eye shadow covered lids and pursing her purple covered lips. "Not a word," she muttered, pushing her way past the group.
Caroline let out a giggle and Hayley chuckled behind her hand while Rebekah's back stiffened. Hayley just wondered where the child had found those colors because she knew they weren't in Rebekah's bag. Just one more mystery to solve for another day.
Thank you reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answers to Guest reviews:
Bella: Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too!
Sensira: Thank you! The idea of taking the friendship between Hayley and Marcel from the show have and translating/developing it into a human relationship is a lot of fun to write. There are not many stories that include platonic friendships between the sexes; so I wanted to show that in this fic.
Peace,
Jessica