Le Grand Guignol

Elijah walked slowly back to the fallen tree where Hayley was waiting for him. Sabine trailed a few steps behind him, but he didn't care. She was nothing to him now. The weight of the jar in his hand got heavier with each step he took towards her. With each step he took, the image of Hayley walking away from him grew clearer and clearer.

If he gave her the antidote, she would leave him. If he didn't, he would lose her to anger and spite. Either way, he would lose her, and despite himself, despite every rule he lived by for the past thousand years, he wanted to be selfish. He wanted to throw away his conquest for Niklaus's soul and finally be with the woman. But he couldn't. It was too late now.

Elijah walked up to Hayley and she stood to meet him. He noticed that there was only one wolf with her in the distance, but he needn't guess who it was. He already knew. Jackson.

"You came back," she said

"I'll always come back," he replied. "Take it. It will work."

Hayley's infectious smile grew wide on her face as he handed her the jar. She held it close to her chest and shook her head slightly in disbelief.

"Eve and I will round up as many of our people as we can. Come full moon, I can finally free my family," she said. She smiled again, but this time pulled Elijah into a tight hug. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent, knowing this was goodbye for now. He held on to her tight not wanting the moment to end, but as he felt her begin to pull away, he released her.

Elijah looked at her and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. Did she even know how beautiful she was? Did she know what she did to him? He let his hand graze her cheek slightly and noticed how her demeanor changed. The smile that was etched on her face slowly ebbed away as she drew closer to him. Oh, how he wanted her. He desperately wanted her, but he couldn't. Not now and certainly not with Sabine and Jackson watching them. So, using all of his strength and self-control, he tilted her head down and kissed her forehead before pulling away from her.

"Hayley… I wonder if they have any idea how lucky they are to have you," he murmured, studying her eyes with his own. Hayley grinned again and squeezed his hand before backing away towards the new man in her life. She walked away happily with the wolf and Elijah let out a shaky breath he didn't know he had been holding in until now.

She was gone and she was happy. And that's all he could ask for.