Hello, my lovely readers. It's time for the Haylijah and Klaroline to have a little fun! On with the show…
Chapter 14: What Happens in Vegas: Part III
Honestly, Elijah had no idea what Hayley had said to Caroline, the night before, but in the morning, Hayley had called Elijah's room, to tell him that Caroline was ready to sit down. It looked like things might finally be cooling down to do with this custody case. Hopefully Niklaus would do nothing to cause it to heat up, again.
"Now, Niklaus, I suggest you choose your words carefully," Elijah advised on the elevator ride down to the lobby.
Klaus looked worse-for-wear. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles and he looked wary. Elijah simply hoped for good news.
Walking toward Hayley and Caroline, Elijah felt his heart begin to beat a little bit faster. Hayley looked lovely in a sundress, her hair down. She looked more relaxed than he'd recalled seeing her—when they were working—not including out-of-office hijinks.
"Elijah. Klaus," Hayley greeted the men with a mysterious smile. "Are you ready to dine with us?"
"Dine?" Klaus' brows rose. "Where do you suggest we dine, pray tell?"
"The buffet is open," Caroline pointed out, with a twinkle in her eye.
Klaus' nose wrinkled. "You expect us to eat at one of those germ-infested—"
Elijah placed a hand on his little brother's arm. "What Klaus means is: We would love to." He shot a smile at Klaus who grumbled something that sounded very much like: "I hate you!" Shaking his head, Elijah walked beside his brother and behind the ladies, toward the dining hall.
Niklaus continued to grumble about news reports to do with illness and lawsuits ocurring from bacterial infection. "This is food?" he demanded, examining the display. "You seriously expect me to eat this slop?"
"It's not slop, my man, you ever seen Big Brother?" one man asked them with a low chuckle at Klaus ignorance of popular TV game shows. "Let me tell you what slop really is—"
"Let me reiterate," Klaus retorted, his voice rising over the other man's. "I could care less about the opinions of men who believe that Hawaiian shirts are something one wears for all occasions. And I could care even less for the unsolicited opinions of mere strangers, my man." His grin turned feral and the other man blinked at him.
"Sorry, sir. My brother struggles to have the most basic of social graces before his morning coffee," Elijah said.
Klaus turned his head to glower at Elijah.
The stranger grinned. "Just like my old woman. She's a real tiger without the coffee, you get me?" He winked and nudged Klaus in the ribs with his elbow.
Klaus balled his fists and Elijah caught Klaus before he could hit the man. "Yes, I do hate it when the woman-folk have an emotional reaction. Take my ex, Caroline, dear." Klaus smirked at Caroline. "She's something else when she hasn't eaten. Shall we?"
"Huh?" the man looked at them and then at the plates. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, buddy. Anyway… Oh, yeah. You all ever seen Survivor?"
Klaus let out a grunt as he picked up a plate and shook his head at Caroline who placed bacon on her plate. "That will kill you."
Caroline took a piece and took a big bite of it. "Ummm… Good."
"Now, this girl would survive on the island," their friends told them, pointing at Hayley.
Hayley chuckled. "You think?" She looked to Elijah.
Elijah smiled back at her. "I believe she would make a good eighty days."
"Only eighty?" Hayley cried, placing a cranberry muffin on her plate. "So mean."
"What about Klaus?" Caroline asked.
The man looked at Klaus. "Nah. He'd need his dry-cleaning done too quickly. End up being booted off for complaining about the leaky roof."
For a moment no one said anything before the other three began to laugh and Klaus shook his head. "Laugh now. Just don't ever get caught in a real survival situation or I will leave you lot behind."
"You been in a real one?" their friend inquired, loading up on scrambled eggs.
"I was a photographer. In Syria," Klaus said, his eyes on the pancakes he placed on his plate.
"Oh?" The man shook his head. "Troops have a hard time over there."
"Yes. And the helpless people who were gassed to death were having a party." Klaus set his plate down and walked away.
"Something I said?" the man asked, looking at the others.
"It's not you," Caroline replied. She picked up Klaus' plate and handed it to Elijah. "Can you take care of this?"
"Yes." Elijah nodded. "My brother…he struggles with things we saw overseas."
"Oh? Huh? Well maybe he could do Survivor. Could even make it through Bachelor in Paradise. Those shows are brutal. Wife loves them," the man said, his eyes on his food. "It was nice meeting you all." He broke off and left to join a cheerful-looking woman at a large table.
"You think Klaus will be okay?" Hayley asked Elijah.
Elijah shrugged, continuing to add to the two plates. "I believe so. Niklaus cares far more than he cares for others to know… And he loves deeper than he cares for those who can hurt him to know." Glancing across the room at his brother and Caroline, Elijah hoped that Klaus would not lose his temper, again.
"I'm done," Hayley announced. It looked like she had more food than five people of her stature could consume and Elijah thought about the world-wide hunger problem. He looked at his own plate and felt his stomach gurgle for food he did not like the looks of any better than Niklaus did.
"Right then." Elijah forced a smile. He picked up the two plates and they made their way over to join Caroline and Klaus. "Food, brother."
Klaus snorted. "If you think I will be eating that, you are mad."
Elijah shrugged and sat down. He picked up a fork and tried the eggs. They were much better than he expected them to be. Taking another bite, Elijah decided he did not hate the cuisine.
"Come on, Klaus," Hayley said, waving a piece of bacon. "When in Vegas. We won't tell anyone you lowered your high standards, just once." Caroline let out a giggle and the women nudged each other with their shoulders.
Klaus picked up a piece of bacon, sniffed at it, giving it a suspicious look before he lifted it to his mouth. He took a small bite before groaning at Elijah's, Caroline's and Hayley's rapt looks. "Would you all bugger off?" he demanded, picking up his fork and cutting into his French toast.
Soon everyone seemed to be enjoyjng their meal, in relative silence.
Picking up his napkin, Elijah wiped his mouth and then he coughed to gain everyone else's attention. "Hayley, you summoned me for a reason?" His brows lifted and Hayley looked to Caroline.
Caroline inhaled and turned to Klaus. "I wanted to…spend time with you. See if we…could…" She trailed off, not seeming to be too sure of her intentions at the moment.
"Perhaps we could see some of the sights. Try to keep the pressure to a minimum?" Elijah added, watching Caroline's expression change. She looked thoughtful and then nodded. "Wonderful." Elijah smiled, feeling relieved.
Hayley held up a hand. "We're not leaving until I've eaten enough pancakes that I feel like I have had my money's worth of pancakes." Getting to her feet, she picked up her plate and left them.
"Seconds?" Elijah inquired.
Klaus was too busy staring at Caroline and did not seem to hear Elijah.
Rising to his feet, Elijah followed Hayley to the buffet. "Back for more?" Hayley teased him with a grin.
"Always," Elijah retorted.
For a moment, the air was charged and Elijah considered the idea of suggesting they return to his room and make the most of their time in Sin City while Klaus and Caroline worked through their problems. However, Caroline appeared. "Muffins," she groaned. "Why didn't I get a muffin?"
"No idea, love," Klaus said.
Hayley looked behind Elijah. "Ah, I see you've finally joined the dark side, Klaus."
"Ha-ha, Hayley." Klaus rolled his eyes. "If I end up with a food-borne illness; I blame you."
Grinning, Hayley shrugged. "It's not just food-borne illnesses you should worry about."
"Ugh! Hales!" Caroline cried, trying to smack Hayley and managed to smack Elijah instead.
Elijah did hope they would find something else to do that would not end with him getting a black eye or worse.
~0~
"And my heart will go on!" Hayley sang into a microphone, her hands raised in the air.
"She's so tone-deaf, but I love her anyway," Caroline told Elijah.
They had gone into a theater where people were singing Celine Dion tunes until the real Celine Dion appeared that evening. "Here. There." Hayley cried out with relish.
"Oh, dear." Klaus placed his hands over his ears. "Please, I will pay her to stop."
"Like you're so great," Caroline snapped, rolling her eyes.
Klaus sighed. His eyes rolled to Elijah. Elijah shook his head. It was really a good idea to just let the girls enjoy themselves. Besides, Elijah could not imagine that this could get worse. If only.
~0~
"Elijah, are you coming out of there?" Hayley called out.
"No!" Elijah yelled back. He looked at the massive sideburns, the rhinestones on his new pants, his jacket with a cape and felt more foolish than he'd ever felt before. This included the time that he allowed Kol to convince him to put on a speedo, in college and to attend a family friend's beach wedding. Suffice it to say, Elijah did not make the wedding pics.
"I will stay in here, forever," Elijah replied, adjusting the sunglasses.
"Come out, Elijah. Or I am coming in, brother!" Klaus threatened.
With a deep sigh, Elijah went to the door. "This night will never be spoken of, again."
"Okay," everyone else agreed.
Emerging from the bathroom, Elijah groaned when Caroline took a pic with her phone. "Oh, you look soooo cute!" Caroline cried. "Hayley, get in there! I have to get one with both of you!"
Hayley came over and pushed her new, black locks over her shoulder. "Hello, Elvis!" she cried.
"You make a lovely Priscilla," Elijah said, placing an arm around Hayley's waist.
"Don't I?" Hayley grinned at Caroline and wrapped her arms around Elijah's waist. When the photo was taken, she looked at Elijah and he felt his heart skip a beat. She really was lovely.
"Time to go!" Caroline cried, clapping her hands together. "Klaus! The Elvis impersonator contest is waiting for none of us!" She took hold of Klaus' hand and half-dragged him across the floor.
For his part, Klaus began to whistle Blue Moon which made Caroline laugh.
Falling into step, a pace behind his brother and Caroline, Elijah hoped that Hayley was having a good time tonight. This case had been stressful for all concerned. It felt like they all deserved a bit of happiness and silly fun. If this meant that Elijah would have to allow himself to be mocked in a public venue, so be it.
~0~
"And next up, ladies and gentleman, we have Elvis from the Windy City! Come on out, Elvis!" the heckler, or the man who came first to audition as the host of this little event, clapped his hands, leering at Elijah.
Rolling his eyes, Elijah came onto the stage and strummed the guitar in his hands. "Thank you, thank you very much!" he cried, in his most horrible southern accent. Although the accent was twenty percent better than poor Niklaus' version. Nothing to say of Kol's attempts.
"Oh, Elvis!" Hayley shouted, her own accent laid on thickly which made Elijah's smile widen because Hayley came from parts of the more southern-ly portion of the United States. "Never let me go, honey!" she shouted, blowing kisses with both hands.
"What do you say, folks? Can I can get a big round of applause for this guy?" the heckler asked the crowd, throwing an arm around Elijah's shoulder and grinning at the crowd like they would throw him cash.
Elijah felt happy to be leaving the stage. Klaus would be next to undergo the heckler's treatment. "Good luck, Niklaus," Elijah said, holding out a hand to his brother.
"I do not need luck, brother. I have Caroline," Klaus strutted onto the stage and began to sing. Elijah tried not to shudder. He peered out at the attendees who seemed to be enjoying themselves as Klaus thrust his hips and showed just how "shook up" he was. This caused Elijah to shake his head and to smile ruefully. This brother was always full of surprises.
When Klaus came back behind the stage, he was all smug smirks. "I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. Victory is mine, Elijah."
"We shall see," Elijah said, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is Las Vegas. And the odds makers were last quoting the numbers were in my favor."
"Oh, really?" Klaus rolled his eyes but he looked slightly sullen until Caroline came running to him.
"That was hot! When did you learn to shake your hips like that? You never did that at any of the Shakira concerts we went to!" Caroline accused Klaus, pouting at him, with her hands on her hips.
Klaus' brows rose. "I've been working on my hip action, just for you, love."
"Oh?" Caroline's cheeks flamed and she turned back to the stage.
"Where is Hayley?" Elijah inquired.
"She's trying to sway the crowd to get you the win," Caroline replied, wrapping an arm around Klaus' arm and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't know, they really enjoyed Klaus' performance…"
"See! I knew it!" Klaus gloated, tossing a grin at Elijah.
"Silence!" Elijah said, lifting a hand as the heckler waved for the audience to calm their enthusiasm. "He's about to announce the winner!"
Hayley came back and leaned into Elijah's side. "So, I talked to half the crowd and—"
"The winner is Andre! A tax account from Wisconsin! Congrats!" the heckler shouted into the mic.
Andre clapped his hands to his cheeks and began to cry as his friends pushed him toward the stage. "I've always wanted to perform on Idol to my favorite, the king of rock and roll—" Andre continued to gush while Klaus stomped toward the back door.
"Brother! It is just a silly competition!" Elijah called after Klaus.
Klaus stopped when they were outside. "I don't care about the bloody competition. And Andre did not best me at I'm All Shook Up!" Stopping himself in mid-pace, Klaus placed his hands on his hips. "The fun is over for the day. That is all! And I did miss all of this… I do not recall us truly letting go since…"
"Since before you left?" Caroline asked, watching Klaus closely.
Klaus nodded, his head ducked. "I thought perhaps you would remember loving me, tonight," he looked at the sky above before looking at Caroline, "I made a mistake leaving you. You are the best person I have ever met—"
Before Klaus could continue, Caroline threw herself at him and pressed her lips to his.
"Oh, boy," Hayley uttered, turning her back on the duo. Elijah sighed and they decided to contemplate the night sky to the sound effects of loud kissing noises. "So, what do you want to do next?"
"Dinner?" Elijah suggested.
"No!" Caroline cried. "I want to play the slots first!"
"Caroline, this is how addiction begins. You play one time, the next thing we know you're selling off all your stuff on E-Bay, buying a ticket back here, and we have to send you to GA!" Hayley complained, turning to face her friend.
Caroline let out a laugh. "Come on, Hales! Just let me play, for like an hour. Then if I go Marge Simpson, you're perfectly free to send me to Georgia." She tugged Klaus along behind her.
"She does know you meant Gamblers' Anonymous, correct?" Elijah inquired.
Hayley shook her head. "She'd figure it out."
~0~
Back at the casino, Caroline took a seat and began to play. "Oh, no! Two cherries and a pineapple."
"And this is why you only got to put a twenty in the change machine," Hayley replied.
Caroline looked at the woman beside her. "Look at this lady, she's winning!" she pointed at the woman's money who gave Caroline a suspicious look.
"You can't use my machine!" the woman snapped.
"Wouldn't think of it!" Klaus snapped back, baring his teeth at the woman who sent him a scornful look in return. "It's alright, Caroline. We were bound to find something you were not good at, if we looked hard enough."
"Ugh!" Caroline cried, when the machine made an unhappy noise. "I hate this game. How about blackjack? I feel like I'm a card shark!"
"No!" Hayley cried. "How about dinner!"
"I'm not hungry!" Caroline retorted. "But I do need to pee! Here, Elijah! I trust you! Take my place!"
Caroline thrust the cup of coins into Elijah's chest and he looked uncertainly at the seat. "I can take it," Klaus offered.
"No! Not you! Let the pretty one in the suit sit! He looks like a lucky charm!" Caroline's former, charming companion said, patting Caroline's seat.
Hayley smirked at Elijah. "Looks like you've got a new fan," she told him.
Elijah took a seat and stared at the machine. He did not know why anyone liked these things anyway. They had little appeal.
"Pop one in and test your luck," the woman beside him ordered him, patting him on the leg.
Repressing a shudder, Elijah popped a coin into the machine. The fruit went by and then the machine made a lot of noise before coins began to spill out of it. "Oh!" he cried, trying to scoop them into the cup.
~0~
Two hours later, a whole crowd was watching Elijah. He'd taken his jacket off and loosened his tie. "Come on, baby!" he cried.
Caroline stood over him, her hand on his shoulder. "Go, Uncle Elijah, pretty soon you'll have enough to start Fi and Nadia on college funds."
"I think we should leave soon," Hayley said.
"Lady Luck is on Elijah's side," Klaus retorted.
Elijah pulled the lever and the crowd who had gathered around cheered because Elijah won, again. "Just one more time…"
"Nope! Time to pull the plug!" Hayley walked around the machine and literally pulled the plug.
"Hey, lady!" one of the people who had been watching cried. "You can't do that!"
"I just did! Elijah, dinner!" Hayley snapped, forcing him out of the seat.
Elijah got up and smiled at his new friends. "Thank you for the support tonight."
Hayley took hold of the bottom of Elijah's tie and tugged him out of the casino. "The buffet is closed for the day," she complained, marching them over to the elevators.
"But I bet Klaus' mini-bar is open," Caroline added, giving Klaus a look.
"True," Klaus said, throwing an arm around Caroline's shoulders. "I suppose I could order a pizza."
"Sounds like a plan," Hayley replied, yawning and covering her mouth with her hand. "Who knew watching someone gamble could be this exhausting?"
Klaus shrugged. "I haven't felt this awake in some time." His eyes were on Caroline and Elijah decided that after dinner, he and Hayley might want to find somewhere else to spend time together.
Klaus stopped at his door and slid the card inside. "Alright. Let's go inside," he said. His eyes were on Caroline in a manner that made Elijah nervous about going inside the room.
"Perhaps I should return to my room," Elijah said as Caroline disappeared inside Klaus' room. "Good night, brother."
"Good night," Klaus replied with a wicked grin before he closed his door.
"Well, thank you for a pleasant evening," Elijah said to Hayley.
'You think I'm leaving you alone? What? So I get to send you to Georgia?" Hayley waggled a finger in his face. "You're buying me pizza and beer tonight, Mikaelson."
"I am?" Elijah retorted, smiling. "And you will be returning to your room after?"
"You know what they say: What happens in Vegas…" Hayley's inviting grin made Elijah very happy that they'd decided to go on this little trip. Very happy indeed.
Answers to guest reviews:
Guest: Isn't it though! I hope you're looking forward to the next, big legal drama coming up!
Guest: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chap, too!
Anna: Thank you for asking for an update and I hope you liked the chap!
Mic: I'm glad you checked out the page, too! I really hope you stop by again!
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
-J