Many thanks to my amazing beta - AryaTindomiel :)
Chapter Four
Klaus, with a smile on his face, stood in front of his easel stroking paint onto the canvas while using his vamp-hearing to listen to Hayley dotingly tend to their daughter while softly singing to her.
"You're such a beautiful baby girl... I love you so much and your daddy loves you more than anything in the world too, but... I l ove you a little bit more than he does."
He came to realise that hearing her quiet giggles made his heart beat just a little faster. He knew that something was changing inside him. His usually cold heart was warm whenever she was around him – not that that was an entirely new feeling but its intensity was stronger as of late. The flowery perfume, mingled with her natural wild and woodsy scent, invigorated his senses and made him weaken.
After a few more minutes of simply standing and listening he put the brush down, left his art studio, made his way down the hall, and knocked on the nursery door.
"Come in!" Hayley called from the other side of the door. Klaus opened and entered the room to see before him the sight of the mother of his child by the window cradling Hope on her shoulder. The sunlight was acting as a spotlight on the two of them making Hayley's long chestnut-coloured hair shine and showcase its various hues and highlights.
"Good morning love, how is our Littlest Wolf today?" Klaus walked closer to the pair with his hands behind his back, smiling softly.
"She's good. She hasn't cried or even whined so I guess she's used to being with me again. I just wish she would call me mama." Hayley refused to make eye contact with Klaus – she knew he felt guilty for allowing Cami to replace her role as their daughter's mother, but he couldn't find the words to apologise to her that would do justice and mend the rift between them.
"She will soon enough, just give her some time." Hayley only gave a single, curt nod as she turned and put Hope back into her crib. She turned back around to face Klaus who reached out and held her hands. It was now or never with his apologies.
"Hayley…" She looked up into his eyes that were full of guilt and sorrow. "Little Wolf…" Hayley's eyes lit up hearing his endearment. "I am sincerely sorry for all the pain and suffering I have caused you for those six months. Elijah and Rebekah always speak of me redeeming myself and how Hope my that redemption but my actions towards you – the mother of my child, someone who I trust and care about – only made me regress instead of progress."
"Stop Klaus, please-"
"No... I need to do this for me and for you. You have my deepest apologies." He ran his fingers down the soft skin of her bare arm, making her shiver. She pulled away from him slightly to stop anything more from happening.
"I can't accept your apology Klaus, not completely, it'll take more than just your words." He stiffened and his temper and exasperation was rising within him ready to lash out at her again. "However, for Hope's sake we need to move on from the past and work together to protect she and be the kind of parents that she deserves, the kind that we both never had," Hayley concluded. Klaus calmed and nodded moving closer to the younger hybrid to cup her cheek in his palm.
"That is all I've ever wanted for our daughter. I will do everything I can to earn your forgiveness and trust again." He caressed her smooth skin with his calloused thumb looking into her hazel eyes intensely. She reached to the hand on her cheek and squeezed it gently, telling him without words that she was willing to work with him and that they would get through this.
"Stefan, what brings you to New Orleans?" Elijah adjusted his tie as he walked down the stairs with Katherine Pierce following close behind him. The couple looked at him curiously.
Before the newcomer could respond he was interrupted. "Stefan Salvatore! What brings you to my humble abode?" Everyone turned to Klaus who was practically magnetized to Hayley's side as they walked down the stairs together.
Stefan shrugged casually. "Well, Mystic Falls was getting a bit too drama filled for me so I decided take a little vacation. I know I'm here without forewarning but I did get an invitation to visit the city anytime I felt like coming."
"And who was it that invited you?" Hayley pulled away from Klaus's side and made her way toward the direction of the kitchen to oversee the breakfast being prepared for the family. Even though the Originals had an established cooking staff, Hayley and Katherine surprisingly shared a love for culinary arts and enjoyed cooking meals themselves whenever they had the time or inclination.
"I did." Rebekah strutted down the stairs smiling. She walked over and gave Stefan a quick hug before leading him to the sitting room while gesturing a servant to take Stefan's things to his guest room. Klaus and Elijah followed their sister while Katherine went with Hayley.
The three siblings and Stefan spent the next hour catching up and exchanging news. At the sound of Katherine's call, the four of them joined the rest of the Abattoir's inhabitants in the dining room for breakfast.
The Mystic Falls vampire was already informed of who was living in the house and what they were if he had never properly met them, now Rebekah took to introducing – or re-acquainting in some cases – him to them as everyone chose their seats. Stefan was next to Rebekah with Davina and Kol on her other side. Klaus, of course was seated at the head of the table with his elder brother sitting on the opposite end and Hayley sat on the right of Klaus next to Freya. Spread on the table were platters of scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, a range of juices, and much more. There were even a few servants standing by holding small knives in their hands in case the vampires wanted fresh blood instead of the blood bags on a tray next them.
Everyone proceeded to fill their plates with food and make casual conversation with one another.
Halfway through the meal Elijah directly asked their guest, "So Stefan how long are you planning on staying for?" The eldest Mikaelson brother was still unsure about having him in New Orleans. He may be the good Salvatore brother but anyone who wasn't part of the family was a potential enemy.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. Probably until the Mystic Falls drama catches up to me and I'll be forced to go back," Stefan paused before adding, "Or until I'm no longer welcome here."
"Oh please, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like," Rebekah imputed, glancing sideways at Klaus who nodded his approval of her offer to their guest.
Stefan flashed a humble smile. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
Katherine displayed her signature smirk, "Actually I think the citizens of New Orleans will appreciate having your handsome face lighten up the French Quarter, it's been rather dark for a while."
Her comment only skated the edge of flirtation, there was no intention behind her words, but still Elijah's brown eyes narrowed a fraction and sharply said, "Katerina..."
"Elijah..." She echoed, voice tinted with an adoring tone while her feline gaze shifted to her lover's face and the smirk melted into a soft and ardent beam.
Kol immediately interrupted the intense stare-off, "Alright now you two turtle doves," he then put his hand over Davina's eyes, "Let's not traumatize anyone else shall we?" Alluding to the time he caught them being amorous in the corridors.
The couple turned their glares onto the mischievous Mikaelson brother while his girlfriend huffed, ripped his hand from her face, and slapped his leg.
The other occupants of the table shared an amused laugh and the meal continued until everyone had their fill and then parted ways. Rebekah showed Stefan to his room while the rest of the family went the study for further discussion of their plans.
"We need to talk about what we are going to do with the Crescent Pack. We need to protect Hope and make sure this city is safe." Hayley spoke in an Alpha tone, looking directly at Klaus.
"I've yet to contact North East Atlantic Pack, but with that weak mutt and his followers moving out of the bayou, they can stay there or if some of the wolves prefer we can make arrangements for them in the Quarter." Klaus knew that more needed to be done to create unity between the remainder of the Crescent Pack and the North East Atlantic Pack but he was rather uncertain of what exactly to do. He, unlike Hayley, had always been more vampire than werewolf in spite of being equally both.
"Niklaus, you know that bringing them here and asking them to fight for the sake of Hope is not enough. They and Hayley's pack have always been rivals and that is not going to change simply on your command." Elijah said.
Kol suddenly had a brilliant thought – something that Davina had already done successfully and with his and Freya's help it can definitely be a success... the only problem would be his big brother's consent. The Other Side may have been destroyed but there were remnants of it left and those supernatural who died after its destruction could still be stuck there, especially if there were those still they had unfinished business with.
"We can possibly bring back your biological father, Nik." Klaus was stunned. He hadn't thought of that. Hayley inconspicuously reached out to Klaus's hand and squeezed it gently.
"Ansel can help up with this. He knew more than any wolf alive about how to unite wolf packs and he was one the strongest and most influential Alphas in werewolf history." Hayley stated.
Davina then spoke, "Freya, Kol, and I can immediately start working on the spell, but we need his ashes." The little witch glanced at Klaus.
The Original Hybrid only nodded and with a simple, "Alright then," he was off with Elijah following him.
Freya blinked at her brothers' back, "I suppose we'll take that as a affirmation then."
Hayley sighed and got up. "I better head out to the bayou and talk to the pack."
"I'll come with you. You need one of us to back you up if anyone tries to attack you." Katherine smirked.
"Come on Kat you may have a few centuries but I'm a hybrid… they can't mess with me." Hayley grinned. Katherine laughed and walked out with her leaving the other three to prepare to bring Ansel back.
The two eldest Mikaelson brothers were quick to locate Ansel's body. Thankfully their mother made it known to her son that she indeed put his father, her former lover, to rest after she had found his bloody corpse. Klaus and Elijah wasted no time or words as they dug up the coffin and set the body on fire.
When they returned to the Compound, Ansel's ashes were handed off the family witches. Kol left them to their magic and joined his brothers deciding to prod Klaus. No one was oblivious to the shift in his relationship with the woman who gave him his child and while they were all curious it seemed that Kol was the only one who was going to interrogate.
"So, what's the deal with you and Hayley?" Kol asked breaking the silence between the three Originals while they waited for Ansel's resurrection.
"Nothing, she's the mother of my child." Klaus answered quickly. Kol smirked at Elijah, their beloved brother oh so loved his default answers and he absolutely refused to voice what it is between himself and Hayley.
"Please Niklaus, that girl means more to you than you are willing to admit." Klaus stopped short of pouring himself a drink. He was instantly irritated at hearing his brother make statements about his feelings, regardless of the validity of his words.
"Kol, Elijah, why don't the both of you focus your energy on maintaining your own relationships instead of concerning yourselves with mine and Hayley's. How I feel about her has absolutely nothing to do with you either. Unless…" Klaus turned around to face Elijah, "You're just using Katerina as your momentary comfort to mask your own feelings for Hayley."
Elijah scowled at Klaus's accusation. "Brother, I love Hayley like a sister, just as I love Rebekah and Freya. Katerina is the woman who holds my heart and I willingly admit. Now, you need to sort out your feelings for Hayley because if one thing is absolutely certain it is that she is clear about her feelings for you, whatever they may be." The two were standing close to each other facing off.
Kol watched and listened until they only stared, so he stepped in between them and pressed his hands on their chest and pushed them away from each other. "Alright Brothers, time to grow a pair and stop talking about our feelings. There are enough women in this household already anyway."
Klaus then determined that he could not stay in their presence any longer, he needed to see his daughter. "Where is Hope?"
Kol lifted his chin towards the ceiling. "She's upstairs with Hayley and Rebekah. Try not to anger Hayley though… things apparently didn't go well for her in the bayou."
Klaus nodded and started towards the stairs. He entered the open nursery to see his younger sister sitting on the floor playing with her niece.
She gave her brother an apprehensive look. "Did you find his body?"
"Yes we did. Our family witches are working on it now." Hayley came into the room looking frustrated. Not noticing Klaus was also present she bent down and picked up her daughter.
"Come on baby girl, time for a bath." She looked at her almost sister and thanked her before catching sight of the father of her child. "Oh Klaus you're back!" She said with surprise.
"Kol informed me that you encountered some issues with your pack."
Rebekah stealthily left the room and closed the door softly, smiling on the way out.
"They're reluctant to follow me now. Some of the wolves are blaming me for breaking up some of their families because Jackson and his followers want to leave and they are also refusing to work with wolves of another pack."
"Did you tell them which pack?"
"Not yet… I was going to but then things got a bit heated and some were going to attack but luckily I was able to subdue them. Katherine made her own impression, not a positive one and if I hadn't stopped her she probably would have killed them."
Klaus frowned. "You should've let her. If she won't, I will. How dare they try to hurt you?" He was about to storm out so he could make his own impression on the Crescents but Hayley reached out to his arm to stop him.
"It's my pack, let me deal with them. For now, you just do whatever it takes to bring your father's pack here." Klaus almost shivered at the pleasant sensation Hayley's touch gave him. She thankfully didn't notice and asked if he wanted to help her with Hope to which he agreed.
For the next few hours they spent time caring for their daughter and playing with her. The one-year-old seemed especially happy, perhaps it was because her parents were together and with her and for at least this time the three of them were content in one another's company.
The hybrid family's peace was interrupted by Rebekah shouting, "KLAUS! HAYLEY! COME DOWNSTAIRS!" Hayley softly growled, after such a terrible day this time with Klaus and Hope was nice and she didn't appreciate that it was being cut short. Klaus chuckled and went downstairs with right behind Hayley holding Hope.
The rest of the Compound's current residents were gathered around watching Klaus closely as he strode into the room. The Original Hybrid stopped and could only stare as he took in the sight of the newly risen man before him.
"Hello Son…"
Looks like Hayley is playing hard to accept Klaus's apologies but I think it's the right think to do because he betrayed her terribly, worse than what she did to him.
Yes! Stefan is in this story - I've always liked him and pitied him with the way Elena treated him in The Vampire Diaries. I still think it's weird Marcel and Rebekah were together and if they were to be together in future, it's weird. Klaus raised him as a son.
Thank you for all the support :) Lots of love!
R&R please :)
xox 3 Caz