Previously, in "I'll Still Be Here", Hayley meets Jackson, a werewolf who wants to be free of a curse that was placed on his pack.

Chapter 20

Hayley led the way through the bayou, Jackson following behind her, along with Elijah, Klaus, and Finn. She wasn't sure if Josie was going to be willing to help them or not, given the fact that she hadn't been all that trusting thanks to what her uncle had done, but Hayley told herself that she was going to help Jackson and his pack gain their freedom from that awful curse. She also wondered if Josie could help them with their current witch problem. But, one thing at a time.

The front door creaks open in a slow manner just as the five of them reach the front porch of the house. "Who's there?" an aged, ragged voice calls out from behind the door.

Hayley pauses. "Josie, it's H...Andrea. Do you remember me? I'm the little girl that you used to let sleep on your front porch when I couldn't go home," she said.

Josie slowly opened the door, smiling at Hayley when she saw her. "Andrea, sweetheart, I was wondering when I'd see you again. How are you, child?"

"I've been better, Josie," Hayley said. "I didn't come as a social call, though. I'm here because I need your help. Actually, a friend of mine needs your help." She presented Jackson to the old witch. "This is Jackson, my...former betrothed. He's the alpha of a pack that was the victim of a curse, and he seeks freedom from it."

Josie's gaze went past the woman speaking toward Elijah, Klaus and Finn. "They stay outside," she spat before stepping back and opening the door further to let Hayley and Jackson inside. Hayley gave her fiancé a sympathetic look before going inside with the older witch and Jackson. Elijah and his brothers exchanged looks before they sat down to wait. Once the three of them were inside, Josie went to get her grimoire. "I think I may have a spell in here that can undo the curse that was placed on your pack."

Jackson nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Josie. I apologizing for intruding like this, but H...Andrea told me that you can help."

"Oh, you're not intruding at all," Josie said. "Any friend of Andrea's is a friend of mine." She nodded pointedly at the door. "Vampires, though, are beings I don't trust. They think that they're superior just because they're immortal." Hayley didn't like the tone Josie used and resisted the urge to say something in defense, telling herself that it wouldn't do her any good to lose her cool. One of them just happens to be my fiancé, she wanted to yell, but she kept her mouth shut. Josie looked through her grimoire until she found the spell she was looking for. "Ah, here we are. This should break the curse nicely." She looked at Jackson. "It's a very powerful spell, so I want you to be sure you can handle it."

"I'm very strong, I can take it," Jackson said. "Cast your spell, Josie."

The older witch nods and does so, the room shaking a bit from the force of the spell before it was complete. Once the spell was complete, Hayley looked at Jackson. "Are you okay?"

Jackson nodded. "I'm okay. Josie wasn't kidding about her spell being powerful. Though, I do feel different."

"That's the curse being lifted from you," Josie said. "You no longer have to worry about when you turn." She then looked at Hayley. "Now, Andrea, I hear you were the victim of a spell which nearly resulted in you losing your child."

"I was. The other witches know that my baby will bring about their destruction." She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I think I may have a spell that might protect her," Josie said. "I assure you, it's very safe for both of you. I've cast this spell lots of times on mothers who fear their babies are in danger."

"Go ahead and cast it," Jackson said before Hayley could respond.

Hayley gives him a look. "Are you certain that the other witches will know, or even Marcel?"

"Marcel and I go a long way back, dear. He's known me since I was a young, beautiful witch and I've always obeyed his rules. I never once practiced magic, and the ones now that choose to disobey his rules are no match for what I've been known to cast," Josie replied.

Hayley looked at Jackson and then back to Josie before she said, "All right, Josie, you can cast your spell. I could use a protection spell right now. I know Hope needs it."

When the chanting ended, Josie looked at Hayley. "How do you feel, Andrea?"

"I feel like there's a warm glow around me," she replied. "It's like a mother's embrace, something I haven't felt in years."

"That's the spell taking effect," Josie said. "You won't have to worry about anything or anyone harming your or your child."

Hayley smiles at the older woman. "Thank you for your help, for both me and Jackson," she said.

"You're always welcome here, Andrea," Josie said, reaching for Hayley's hand and squeezing it gently.

Hayley squeezed Josie's hand and then, after a few minutes, walked out of the cabin, where she was met with the anxious eyes of Elijah, who spoke before she could form the words. "What happened in there?"

"Josie freed Jackson and his pack from their curse," Hayley said. "She even cast a protection spell so that Hope won't be in danger anymore."

Elijah smiled and was about to reply when Klaus interrupted him. "As much of a relief as that is, there's still the matter of dealing with those witches that nearly killed you and Hope. They might not be discouraged just because your friend placed that protection spell on you. They might try other measures."

"Except that they won't, because Josie is actually an ally to Marcel," Hayley said.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "She is? Well, isn't that ironic? An elderly witch with a mistrust for vampires is allied with Marcel."

"Ironic as it may be, I think we could use her," Elijah said. "She obviously cares a great deal about Hayley, or she wouldn't have cast that protection spell on her to prevent any danger from befalling her and the child."

"The ...Hayley is pregnant with MY child and you're going to take this witch's side!?" Klaus growls.

"And it is my child as well, Klaus," Hayley spoke up. "She is mine as well. You'll do best to remember that."

Klaus growled at her and, without a word to either of them, vamp sped away from the cabin. Hayley shook her head and before she could go after him, Finn grabbed her hand. "Let him be, Hayley."

"I agree with Finn," Elijah said. "It's best that you don't go after him. Niklaus is upset and needs some time alone."

Hayley sighed. "How do you two put up with him? It must frustrate you to no end dealing with his moods like this."

"It does, but he is our brother," Finn said. "We've learned to deal with it for centuries."

Hayley shook her head. "It doesn't make it right, though. Family or not, he has to learn not to lose his temper so easily." She sighed. "Damn it, I never should have gotten involved with him."

"But I'm glad that you did, love. Because we're now together," Elijah told her.

Hayley shook her head again. "True as that is, Elijah, I still feel guilty. I forced this on your brother. I forced him to sleep with me because we were drunk, and I forced him to accept this pregnancy."

Elijah saw that she was about to cry and reached his hand out. "Hayley, I..."

"Don't...touch me right now, okay? I need to be alone."

With that being said, she sped off, leaving the brothers alone. Elijah sight after she was gone. Finn noticed his worry rise to the surface. "She will be okay, brother. She just needs some time, just like Niklaus needs time," he told Elijah.

Elijah sighed. "I know, but it still hurts me to see her like this. Hayley has had to endure so much in her young life, and I wish there was something I could do to ease whatever pain she's feeling."

Finn nodded. "You'll figure something out, Elijah. I know how deeply you feel about her. I feel just as deeply about Sage, and Niklaus feels as deeply about Caroline. A love like yours doesn't come along very often, and when it does, you must strive to keep the flame burning."

Elijah nods. "Thank you, brother."

Finn nodded. "You're welcome." He sighed. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to stay out here in this bloody swamp. I'm sure Sage is expecting me back at the mansion."

"You go ahead, Finnegan," Elijah said. "I think I'll stay here in case Hayley comes back." Before Finn left, he added, "And be sure to tell Caroline about Niklaus when you get back. She's going to be worried about him."

Finn nods. "I'll tell her." And then he was blurring off, heading back to the mansion.

Elijah watched his brother blur away and sighed. Although Finn had given him his vote of confidence, he wasn't sure just how he was going to help make things less painful for Hayley. He loved her so much and she needed him more than ever. In the woods nearby, Hayley scuffled her feet among the leaves while one hand gently rubs her pregnant belly. Her gaze traveled to the water just beyond the bayou. As she continued to look at the water, Hayley thought about how she had spoken to Elijah just before she left. She felt guilty about it, especially since he was only trying to help her. As she thought about it, she sensed another presence and turned around to see Jackson standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"I hope you don't mind, I was concerned about you since you left," he replied. "I followed you to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Hayley said. "I'm just upset about something and I wanted to be by myself for a bit."

"I know you better than you might think, love. My brother went through the same thing several months ago. With Josie, in fact. She's very good at hiding from him, but she, too, has a child. Oliver's child," Jackson told her.

Hayley blinked. "What? But, I didn't sense anyone else at Josie's cabin."

"It's true," Jackson said. "Josie had Ollie's child."

"Was it a boy or a girl?" Hayley asked. "I don't mean to pry, but I want to know."

"It's a boy," Jackson responds. "She had a son. And she swore that she would lift this curse for us as a promise to you for all that you'd lost: your parents, and me."

Hayley placed a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't lose you, Jackson. I gained you as a friend."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Jackson said, forcing a smile. "You're a great girl, Hayley, no matter what. Elijah is certainly lucky to have you."

At the mention of her fiancé's name, Hayley hung her head. "Elijah. He must be hurting so much right now. I have to make it up to him, even though I don't know just how I'm going to do it."

"Go to him, love. Show him how much you care about and love him," Jackson told her.

Meanwhile...

Back at Josie's cabin, the gentle rocking of a cradle could be heard with a soft squeaking sound as a now younger looking Josie sang softly to her infant son. As she continued to sing, Josie saw her son smile up at her and smiled back at him. Once the song ended, she lifted him up and held him, kissing him. "You're so precious to me, my child. You even have your father's eyes."

A brief knocking at the back door had Josie standing with the baby cradled in her arms as she walks toward the back door, opening it. "Josephine," Oliver said in a thick accent. His gaze fell to the baby in her arms and he immediately swept both mother and baby into his arms, kissing Josie.

Josie smiled against Oliver's lips and returned the kiss, moaning as it deepened. She then slowly pulled back, meeting his gaze. "I missed you, Ollie."

"I missed you too, love," he replied. "I hate it when I have to leave you." He looked at their son. "Our son needs both of us, not just his mother."

"He does," Josie said, smiling as she ran one set of slender fingers over the infant's head.

"Then, I'll make it so we can all be together," Oliver said. "I love you, Josie, and I also love our son. We should be a family."

"You have no idea how much I want that," Josie said. "All of this separation is no good, especially not in a child's years."

Author's Note: Josie belongs to me, she is a character I created for a site. Her face claim is Camilla Belle, in case you can't picture what she looks like.