Give 'Em Hell Kid

Hayley sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the wall. She thumbed her wedding ring that hung on the chain around her neck nervously. Where was Elijah? She had called him twice and was sure he would've called by now if everything was okay. Ever since their moment last night, he was all she could think about. She had worried for him before, but now that they were… well she didn't know what they were to be honest. Regardless, she ached to see him and ensure he was safe.

Suddenly footsteps approached her from the hall. Hayley looked up to see Elijah walking towards her. Immediately her heart started beating quickly. His walk was staggered and his expression was deeply concerning. The normally calm and collected Elijah Mikaelson was visibly shaken. He approached the table in the middle of the room and steadied himself. What struck Hayley immediately was the blood that covered his right hand.

"Elijah…" Hayley said wearily. She was afraid. No matter what horrible thing had happened, Elijah was always calm. He always held himself together. But not this time. No, this was a version of Elijah she had never seen before. This was a man who was broken.

Elijah's legs began to shake and he fell to his knees. He gasped sharply and his eyes began to water. His chin quivered as he looked rapidly at Hayley's feet. He seemed to be searching for something to say, but he could not find the words. His whole body was now shaking so horribly that he pressed his hands to the floor for support.

"Forgive me," he breathed. His words were muddled with a choke instead of precisely and eloquently spoken as usual. He looked down at the floor and watched his tears hit the floor like tiny rain drops.

"What happened?" Hayley asked. Elijah looked at her, but he bowed his head down to the floor once more. He shook his head in either disbelief or sadness, or possibly both. Hayley gripped the edge of the bed to make sure she too didn't start to shake. She was beyond nervous at the fact that there was something that could make him react in this way. She almost didn't want to know.

"Tell me, please," Hayley managed to say. She was beyond scared of what he was going to say next. She feared the worst. Was it Klaus? Freya? Kol? Even Rebekah? She had just put Hope to sleep, so that worry left her mind. Hayley gripped the sheets of her bed tightly in anticipation.

"It's Marcel."

Marcel? She knew he was upset about Davina, but what did he do? Did he hurt someone? Was he okay?

"I took his life."

No. Hayley's eyes widened in disbelief. Elijah killed Marcel? How… how was that possible? Elijah would never do such a thing, would he? At that confession, Elijah completely broke down. He began to cry as Hayley stood there in shock. There had to be a reason… right? She watched as the man she loved, the solid wall, the noble Elijah crumbled in front of her. Knowing the guilt he must be feeling, Hayley rushed to him. She stood and pulled the kneeling man to her body. He pressed his face to her leg and loosely held her arm as Hayley wrapped her other arm around him.

Hayley looked down the hall to see Klaus's figure disappear quickly to his room. God, he must be devastated. Of all the things Klaus deserved, he did not deserve this. Marcel was basically his son. No one deserved to lose a child. That she knew well enough. Her attention reverted back to Elijah who still clung to her like a child. Hayley eventually kneeled and took him in her arms.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," Elijah sobbed into her shoulder. Tears pricked at Hayley's eyes hearing Elijah so broken. His crying tugged at her heart, but she knew he needed her to be strong for him right now. Hayley held him tighter and threaded her fingers through his hair. She could feel his chest vibrate with repressed sobs against her, so she kneeled with him saying nothing until he calmed down. Eventually, his breathing steadied and he moved his forehead to her shoulder so he could look down at the floor.

"I had to," he whispered. "It was my only choice."

"You have to tell me what happened," Hayley whispered. Elijah moved his head slowly away from her shoulder as she released her hold around him. His eyes flickered nervously up to hers, but he continued to stare at the ground.

"The prophecy. It was him. He was our undoing. He was going to kill Niklaus, Rebekah, and me. And the blood…" Elijah trailed off. He looked up to Hayley with glassy eyes once more. "There was so much blood on you and on Hope and I couldn't… I had to be sure."

Marcel… he was the friend, foe, and family. Hayley's heart lurched when Elijah said Hope's name, and she could feel the chill run down her spine when Elijah spoke of blood. What did that mean? Were they going to die? Would Hope…?

"How was he going to kill you? The White Oak is gone, Lucien is gone-"

"The serum. Vincent extracted the serum from Aurora's heart and gave it to Marcel. He was going to take it and kill us all. Niklaus… he was trying to reason with him, but he just would not listen…" Elijah said.

Hayley's heart broke for him. He was always tasked with making the most difficult choices to save his family and this one decision had finally broken him. He took all the blame for this outcome and she knew the guilt would eat at him forever. And forever is a very long time.

Hayley pulled Elijah to her again and embraced him. She stroked his hair and whispered words of compassion though she knew they would not help. Elijah said nothing in return, but did not pull away. She would hold him until he no longer needed her to and then… then she was going to see Freya. She needed to know what he saw in that prophecy.

Elijah's back was turned away from her as she walked in the room. He stared into the raging fireplace and stood rigid. He was a statue dressed in black as the flames danced around the room making him seem more intense than he already was. Hayley took a few steps toward him and sighed.

"It was the only way to be sure, Elijah," she said. Elijah made no movement so she took another step forward.

"And Klaus… I think part of him sees that already," she tried again. Elijah stayed completely still. Hayley was worried he would be like this. He would put up his wall and not let her in. It was true though; Klaus knew Elijah had done the right thing. It was just hard to accept. Just like it was hard to let go of his guilt.

"But more than anything, you have to forgive yourself."

For a moment, he was still, but then he turned around and looked at her. His eyes were empty and his face was full of grief. Elijah's wall had fully and completely reappeared, but as a steely exterior that not even Hayley could break through. He looked at her as though she was nothing important and strode by her without a word. Hayley felt a pit begin to form in her stomach. It physically hurt her to see him this way and to know there was absolutely nothing she could do to help him. She was vaguely aware of his footsteps stopping, but turned towards him.

Elijah grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Before she could even realize what was happening, Elijah's lips captured hers in a searing kiss. He snaked his hand up her back to her neck and pressed Hayley's lips hard against his. She finally responded and began to kiss him back. Part of her knew he just needed a distraction, but the other part didn't care. Hayley had waited a year to finally be able to be close to him again, and the time and circumstance just didn't seem to matter. She needed him and he needed her. That was all that mattered.

Elijah's lips were hard against hers, but she didn't care. She didn't care that he was dominating the battle between their tongues or that he was being rough or that he was using her to take away his pain. She knew what she meant to him and what he meant to her. Knowing Elijah, he would probably apologize in the next few days if not tomorrow. But at the moment, Hayley was just relishing in the fact that she finally got to be with the man she loved.

Hayley wrapped her arms around Elijah's neck and he maneuvered them to the couch. He sat and allowed Hayley to straddle him as they kissed. She ran her hands through his hair and he pressed his hands to her back, but it wasn't enough for him. Elijah quickly flipped them so that Hayley was lying on her back and he was hovering over her. With one hand he pinned her arms above her and kissed from her mouth along her jawline until he reached her ear.

"I need you," he whispered huskily. Elijah's tone sent shivers up Hayley's spine. The way he said it was almost demanding, and normally that would've pissed her off, but she was surprised at how sexy is sounded coming from him. He pressed another searing kiss to her mouth and she nipped at his bottom lip as he pulled away. His dark eyes bore into hers and the black veins in his eyes became apparent. Hayley freed one arm so she could touch his face and nodded.

"Then have me."