-8-

They rode four to each car through morning New Orleans traffic. An awkward process of decision making resulted in Elijah driving Hope and her parents in one; Kol driving their sisters and Keelin in the other. While Elijah would have much preferred Rebekah's chatter to Hope's anxious stream of voiced concerns for Hayley's well being, he knew he was needed here. Niklaus was unable to care for them both when things escalated, which happened oftentimes at random.

For now, Hayley's dosage seemed just right, for she was singing along with Hope to a classic rock song on the radio. NPR was not anyone's first choice but his own. Though, if not for the power ballad of the 1980's, he would have missed out on seeing the three of them so very happy. It had taken some time, and surely they were not there yet, but Elijah and Niklaus were healing. How could he not be pleased with his brother's growth in these past tumultuous years, or for that look that blanketed his glowering features with something that softened him almost unrecognizable.

Perhaps it had always boiled down to this;Niklaus had never quite fit in with the Mikaelson children and now he had found his place. A family to call his own that understood what Elijah and his siblings could not; someone who shared his pack mentality and a child who carried his blood to howl at the moon with -so to speak. Elijah did not have it in him to hold malice against a natural progression in his brother's story. It was not as Elijah would have written it, but Niklaus knew love now in various capacities Elijah would never be privy to. He would not know the love a parent has for a child nor would he know what it felt like to be needed as Hayley needed and continues to need from Niklaus. Elijah remained merely grateful that he got to be so much a part of his niece's life thus far.

"Sure are quiet up there," Hayley called to Elijah, her large catlike eyes meeting his in the rearview. Elijah could see Niklaus's fingertips tapping along with the music against her shoulder. Physical touch with his brother helped Hayley tremendously in combating the feelings of despair that the curse inflicted. Elijah had grown used to it, this hybrid bond, though it still seemed so foreign in a way to view them under the veil of any sort of intimacy. It still seemed unreal, like a strange dream.

"I do not think this song requires a third participant. A duet does the song justice, no need to saturate the harmony." He offered a grin. Hope started wiggling in her seat which meant she'd need a restroom soon. Elijah was impressed she made it this long without one. They started a joke when she was ten that her bladder was pea sized; pea for my pee.

Hayley blinked away, smiling lazily. He wondered if she was remembering the time he was drunk enough to entertain her with a rendition of Battle of New Orleans while Hope played the banjo she learned on when she was eight. They had laid on their backs in the long grass on the fourth of July, a strong dose of potion rendering Hayley close to normal. They had watched the fireworks over the river and laughed at the way Hope gaped open mouthed, front tooth missing, at each thundering explosion of color like each one was something new. Elijah wished he remembered that feeling of everything being new and unexplored. He'd had a taste of what it was to be where Niklaus is now and it had been hard to step aside and redirect his role. It still was, at times, especially since they were all in so much buried pain.

Elijah pulled into a rest stop once Hayley fell asleep, her head lolling to the side under Niklaus's chin. Hope fled for the restroom, the several coffees she downed for breakfast catching up to her. Elijah watched in the side mirror as Rebekah strode to the car and peeked into the window as he rolled it down.

"Brother, do tell me this wondrous beach house is near. Kol has begun retelling that story about the time he pissed blood for a week after breaking it off with that witch from the 1300's."

"Ah," Elijah shook his head in exaggerated sympathy, "I do hate that story, though I must always applaud our younger brother's affinity for detail in retellings."

Rebekah's hair tousled in a gust of wind and she fussed against it until letting out a short huff. "Alright, well, I'll see you at our destination in...?"

"No more than an hour," he finished for her, patting her well manicured hands that dangled over his door.

She flashed a forced smile, "fantastic..."

Niklaus said softly from the backseat as Rebekah retreated, "our sister has always abhorred travel, has she not?"

"Indeed," Elijah confirmed, eyes scanning the brick building's restroom doors for Hope's bright yellow sundress.

"She is eager for teleportation to be invented, though I imagine that will be another millennia away as humanity seems to be growing more in size and less in intelligence," Niklaus went on. Much like his daughter, he did not always know when to leave the silence alone. The last thing Elijah liked to think about was time going on forever. Not with Hayley's cursed state of living within it.

Hayley said something incoherent and shifted against Niklaus. They all jerked in surprise when Hope opened the door and flung herself down.

"You guys, remind me to never use a public restroom again. Every time I think it's going to be better -but then it's...it's worse." Hope shuddered and kicked off her flip flops, propping her feet at the dash. "You okay, mom?" she asked over her bare shoulder.

"I'm fine, just sleepy," Hayley mumbled, reaching out to squeeze Hope's hand. Elijah took this opportunity to suggest they have some quiet time the remainder of the way.

Hope nodded and pulled out her leather-bound notebook that she'd been jotting in for years; mostly song lyrics and spell ideas. For the remaining hour Elijah listened to the scrawls of pen to paper over the whir of engine and Hayley's intermittent murmuring met with Niklaus's soothing responses.

By the time Elijah pulled into the narrow stone driveway at the rear of the water-facing beach cottage, Hope was asleep with pen still in hand and turquoise painted toes twitching on the dash. He glanced into the mirror and watched Niklaus wake Hayley with a gentle graze of knuckles along her jawline. She groggily stretched and yawned, looking towards Hope.

"Look," she whispered to Niklaus, nodding towards Hope. They peered at her with those grins they've had on their faces since she was born, as if she were still just a little thing dozing in the sunlight rather than a of a teenage girl who rarely woke as sweetly as in her baby days.

It had always been a difficult task waking Hope from even the lightest of sleeps. She slept heavier than the dead at times. Elijah plucked the pen out of her hand and clicked it loudly near her ear. She startled and swatted at him, ignoring their collective chuckles. A squeal of delight escaped her lips when she saw they had arrived, throwing her arms around him.

"You like it?" Elijah asked, patting her back lightly. Hope had given him a list of musts for the beach house and he nearly crossed them all off. She had wanted an older home but with a modern feel to it; I don't want to have to dig a hole in the sand to piss or anything so like updated but as old as you can find. He found this quaint Creole beach cottage that he would not necessarily consider old, but she likely would.

Hope didn't answer him but tore out of the car to get a better look. The smell of salt and sea lulled his senses, reminding him of long ago; his viking father teaching him to catch fish on barbed hooks. It was strange what still fired away in his brain given the right stimulus.

"This is beautiful," Hayley said, slipping out of the car to trail behind Hope. Elijah was glad to see her walking a straight line for now. He watched her smile into a breeze, hair whipping like tethers of chestnut and honey. She was thinner and it worried him, but it was nothing she would not overcome once back to her natural state, which he intended to make happen whether she sank her teeth into him again or not. Her fingers ran along the banister and rested at the top and he thought she would be much happier here than the bayou.

The home was built in the late 1800's, nestled in the white sand and facing the gentle gulf waves. With a hipped roof and white columned porch, it certainly took on a French Caribbean architectural influence. Though, the inside was even more pleasing than the outside and met Hope's top requirements; only three bedrooms so that we get to rotate who sleeps out on the porch with me. Not too flashy, I don't want to feel bad about tracking in sand and spilling wine but I also don't want to sleep on dirty sex sheets so, clean.

Hope linked arms with Hayley and called over her shoulder, "can we go in?"

Elijah gestured with a hand and short nod. Kol was just pulling up now, music blaring and the tortured expressions of the three passengers staring out of the windows. Hope wiggled against Hayley and tapped her bare feet on the porch in anticipation as they waited for everyone to climb the wooden stairs.

"Go on, the key is in the little box under the doorbell."

There was a cacophony of admiration as the family entered past the thick ornate door. Like many old homes on the sea, the front and back doors aligned with a wide hallway, splitting the house down the middle. It allowed for ocean air to brush down the expansive hall like a current if both doors were left open, trickling fresh air into each room. Plenty of light filtered through the tall double hanged windows, brightening the already crisp interior of slender ivory horizontal wooden boarded walls that stacked from floor to high ceiling. Definitely not 'flashy' but Elijah found it to be perfect in its simplistic elegance.

Hope ran ahead of them, darting into each room and dragging Hayley along with her by the arm. Niklaus joined them in the main space that overlooked the water and back deck as their sisters started investigating the bedrooms in exuberant voices and footsteps that carried against the polished stain-wood floors. Elijah looked on from the doorway as father and daughter admired the floor to ceiling bookshelves stocked with everything from Paris Fashion in the 1900's to Stephen King.

"Is there a pool?" Hope asked, as if just remembering her other requirement; there has to be a private pool where I can lay out without getting sand up my crack.

"Yes, it is small, you can see it if you exit through here," Elijah gestured towards the door where Kol just joined everyone outside.

Hayley smiled when Hope rushed by them to exit onto the deck and lean over the railing to get a look. Hayley bumped purposefully into Elijah's side with a gentle nudge and said, "Thank you for all this. She looks so happy."

"So do you" he nudged her back, their eyes meeting, "if only it lasted." He didn't care how she took his words any longer. He meant to repair this family and they couldn't do that every time the potion ran out. Elijah would speak with her again, when it was time.

The smell of garlic and wine drifted up the narrow stairs and into the room where Hayley's mouth latched to his neck. He cradled her there in the creaking chair, his feet propped on the windowsill and hers tucked between his extended legs. The moon reflected off the sea in choppy slivers of glowing white and the wind blew mildly through the opened glass. Klaus remembered how strange it was the first several times she drank from him. An intimate act because she responded well to the physical contact during a feed from his vein.

It had taken an awkward several tries before they abandoned their need to apologize for the way it made them feel. Hayley didn't like needing something from him and he didn't like the vulnerable state it left him in, emotionally speaking. It was nearly impossible to blood share as they did without developing an intense bond. Now, it was just part of their day when she was in human form. After the potion makes her sick, his blood and touch are of comfort.

"You've done well so far, I should think this new potion is working in our favor," he squeezed her arm lightly. She felt warmer, which pleased him. Laughter erupted from downstairs, dishes clanking as dinner was prepared by too many hands in the modestly sized kitchen. He knew she was nervous about spoiling the fun this week, but Klaus was pleased with their lack of hiccups thus far. They had never pushed for longer than four or so days in a row, but neither of them wanted to quit trying to push for more time as a family.

Hayley pulled one last sip of him, unlatching expertly -something he had to teach her the first handful of times. She was self taught in most things but never turned down an opportunity to learn from someone more knowledgeable. He liked that about her. He had liked teaching her to close the wound, applying pressure with her tongue and thrusting her wrist to his lips. It was cleanest this way, keeping the blood from pulsing out in the moments it took his body to heal. Admittedly, it felt quite nice too, her warm tongue against his thumping skin and the little uninhibited sounds she always made into his ear as he drank briefly from her grasped wrist.

Klaus shivered when she scraped her nails through his hair and tugged, angling his lips to hers. She tasted like copper and mint; hot and cold. Her kiss left him hungry and taut with need.

"Come back," he reached for her when she broke free and slid out of the chair. If they were alone, she would have -he knew her well now. Klaus would have had her against the wall, fingers curled into her hips and sharp thrusts that would leave her flushed and clawing at his back with splayed hands. He loved making her beg for release. They were good in certain ways together, no matter what anyone else thought. To hell with them, they had no idea what it was to endure this with another.

Hayley looked over her shoulder from the doorway, her lips swollen and nipples peaked under the thin material of her form fitting dress. He loved that he put that look on her face and the flush in her cheeks.

This was their secret and it's what he imagined kept them both sane between the bouts of despair and loneliness.

"Come on, you," she rolled her eyes but with her sweetest smile. He had to tuck himself up into his waistband as they descended the stairs, sighing in sexual frustration. While she made it clear he could fuck and feed on whomever he pleased, Klaus was doing his best at being an honorable king to his queen, no matter how they began. Beginnings were often either disastrous or they were made of magic. Theirs had always been a bit of both.

It was much cooler in the house now that the sun was down and all the windows and doors hung open. The kitchen had a hell of a view off the deck, where Elijah could be seen nursing a glass of something stronger than wine.

"Smells good in here." Hayley wrapped her arms around Hope from behind, resting her chin on her daughter's sun kissed shoulder. She was giggling at something Freya said to Kol, stirring a bubbling sauce at the stove. Elijah had taught Hope to cook very young, thankfully, because god knows Hayley sucked at making anything that didn't come prepackaged. She remembered sitting at the table of his immaculate home while Hope stood at a step stool; Elijah both braided her hair quickly down her back and tied her apron behind her tiny waist.

He'd said with a sly smile, "no dear niece, your mother does not cook, she merely follows instructions off of a box. I will show you the difference between preparing and cooking."

Hayley hadn't taken offense, he had always poked at her ways of doing things much like older generations did with the young. He looked like a young man but he was older than the men who sat playing chess in Jackson Square, gnarled fingers unsteadily maneuvering pieces and adjusting their fedoras when the wind picked up. She liked watching them on her walks before she'd been cursed, sometimes stopping to watch parents and children spread out on picnic blankets. It was an old habit, admiring families and happiness from afar.

Now Hope no longer needed a step stool or direction in the kitchen. She thrust a spoon full of sauce into Keelin's mouth, hand cupped beneath for spillage. Hayley grinned when Keelin moaned and went cross eyed, "damn that's amazing."

Hayley helped bring food to the table, Klaus's blood settling nicely with the residual effects of the potion. She felt alert and content, a warm blanket with a mug of coffee sort of feeling. It would be nice if it lasted a while, but she was never one to expect the best. Not that she was a huge pessimist or anything, but she couldn't prepare if she got comfortable.

Hayley settled into her seat next to Hope and tried not to notice Elijah's gaze from the other side of the table. The dining area was basically an extension of the kitchen, but it faced the water through open french doors. A neat line of candles ran the length of the mahogany table, dancing in the mild wind and casting a warmth to the home cloaked in night and moon-glow.

"Wine, love?" Klaus approached with the bottle. She nodded and held up her glass, her other fingers brushing absently through Hope's tangle of hair. Hope held hers up as well, even though she had clearly had a glass while cooking dinner. Her lips were stained maroon and she giggled louder than usual. But hell, it was her birthday trip. By this age Hayley was dancing on tabletops and doing whiskey shots alongside men with gray in their beards. Plus, Hayley loved watching Hope laugh, the way her nose scrunched up really cute and eyes lit up like her father's. When had she gotten so big? Not just big but...mature? The years ran together in these blurs and blips but it was like Hayley was just starting to notice this girl was becoming the most beautiful young woman.

Once everyone was seated, Klaus grasped Hayley's hand beneath the table. It all happened so naturally now. She glanced at him and liked the way he snuck her a wink and grin. So different from the way it was, yet it felt so oddly comfortable she could hardly remember what it felt like with him before.

The tinkering clink of Elijah's fork to glass silenced the chattering as he waited for their attention. It was times like these that Hayley remembered how old these people really were. Their little traditions and customs and old ass manners bled through even casual nights like these. Kind of like right now, everyone knew Elijah would give the toast tonight, and then tomorrow night on Hope's birthday Klaus would do the honors. Hayley wondered if they had secret original vampire meetings about these sorts of things or if it was just something they texted one another: 'hey brother, only I get to do the toast on her birthday but you may have the day before.' 'Deal.'

Elijah's toast was nice and Hayley often wondered if he held back so that Klaus's were always better. Seemed like an Elijah thing to do. She tried to concentrate but her mind was all over the place now that she had Klaus's blood rushing her body. Not to mention he was being an ass and rubbing his fingers up her inner thigh because he knew she was buzzing with him. She shouldn't have kissed him, leave it to her to always fuck up her own boundaries.

"And as luck would have it," Elijah continued in his warm and articulate tongue, "she's lived up to her name every moment I've had the privilege and honor of being her uncle." All the women cooed as Hope brushed away a tear and thanked him with a big smile. Except for Hayley. She struggled with this part of it more than most. After a while, Elijah excelled at his job -not surprising. He took on a main caretaker role with Hope and developed a really close bond. Like when she was a kid and got hurt, after a while the first person she'd look to was Elijah. It was the same now too, Hayley could see it. Klaus didn't want to see it so he treated her concerns like they were part of her curse. I mean hell, they probably were.

Hayley's knee hit under the table with a loud thwack when Klaus's fingertips slipped inside her panties. She tried to hate him for it, and for everyone's stares as they tried to figure out if she was having some sort of episode, but he knew how to touch her. He was way too good at it and he knew it, smug bastard. He peered at her with a wolfish grin he didn't even try to mask.

"Sorry," she flashed a smile.

There was a long silence but thank god for Keelin. She asked Hope, "so what are your plans after you get your diploma?"

"I'll just enroll in some local classes or something. I want to focus on family right now."

Everyone quieted at that. Klaus's fingers stilled and slipped back to his own lap, leaving a trail of moisture across her skin. Hayley was terrified that one day she'd wake up out of this fog and find that Hope had never truly been happy or done anything for herself. It played and nagged at her mind, even when in wolf form. That meant something.

Elijah, always so good at this stuff, swooped in with, "Niece, you have incredible talent in arts and music. I would enjoy helping you venture further with them if you'll consider it."

Hope took a bite of her pasta, the action signaling that everyone else could eat. Hayley about laughed, she wasn't sure why. Well, it could be because of the potion and blood. But it was kind of funny that they followed these weird rules of the past. Some long dead etiquette that they couldn't really care that much about. Though, they would have to for it to carry on this long. What Hayley came from was a time where if she wanted to eat she started eating. It didn't matter who was the head of the table or which fork she should use for what. Eat the food and move on.

"I'll think about it," Hope mumbled around her fork.

Turning towards Hope, Hayley asked, "how are things with training? Your arms are toned as hell." Hope smiled and jokingly flexed like a body builder. Hayley wanted to ask her so much more but she'd save the more personal stuff for when they snagged some alone time.

"Pretty good. I think I do better learning at the fighting ring than with the wolves," Hope admitted.

"Why do you say that?" Hayley implored. The wolves could teach Hope a lot about defense, not to mention help with strengthening her body and reflexes. Wolves got some great upgrades after triggering the curse, but they still lacked the speed and agility vampires took on upon transitioning. She wanted Hope ready for the inevitable. One day she would trigger her curse, it came with the name.

Hope set her fork down and took a huge gulp of wine. Hayley wasn't trying to start an argument, though anytime she brought up the wolves Hope got all tense and changed the subject. Hayley wanted to know why.

Hope cleared her throat and took to vigorously cutting her chicken. "I think the wolves take it easy on me. I don't know. I like working with the vampires." There was an edge to Hope's voice that Hayley didn't like but she wasn't going to push. Though, it did hurt. All Hayley ever wanted was for Hope to experience what it was like to belong in a pack and fight for and be fought for. They were their people and Klaus's people now too. It was important that they each kept that bond strong or the pack would feel it and deteriorate. Hayley could only do so much in her state.

The wine tasted too sweet, but everything did after a long feed from Klaus. Hayley finished her glass off, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as the silence settled too long.

It was Kol who broke it. "Niece, permission to speak freely on the topic?" Hayley narrowed her eyes.

"No, you may not," Hope snapped, leaning over her plate to glare down the table. Hayley glanced at Klaus, trying to get a read on what he thought of this turn in conversation. His jaw looked clenched and eyes calculating.

"What is it, brother?" Klaus inquired, folding his arms tightly and leaning back in his chair. Hope grumbled and pushed away from the table. Hayley moved to follow but Klaus set his hand heavily on her shoulder. "Let her be, perhaps Kol has something of importance to add?"

Kol eyed Hope as she stalked out of the room, her flip flops smacking loudly down the hall. He rubbed at his face and let out a heavy breath.

"So..." he began, eyes flicking towards Elijah before settling on Klaus, "I went to go pick her up one night back when she was twelve or thirteen, she's crying and it took some persistence but I got her to explain." Kol stirred his pasta absently, scratching his head in obvious discomfort.

"Well?" Klaus pushed icily. The sounds of zippers and clunks came from one of the bedrooms. It sounded like Hope was digging around in her suitcase.

"The guys were being assholes about her body. So I scared the hell out of them," Kol shrugged.

Hayley pushed away from the table so fast that her chair fell to the floor. Klaus was right behind her, calling her name lowly. He thought she was going to lose it or the curse would take over, but she was calm. She only wanted to be there for her daughter for one damn time. It should have been her scaring the boys in the pack, not Kol. Someone should have told her.

"Who were they?" Hayley asked, flinging the door open. Hope was just pulling a gauzy cover over her bathing suit and let out a yelp at the intrusion.

Hope glared at her. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"The hell it doesn't."

Klaus edged into the room, his presence causing Hope to clamp her mouth shut and wrap her arms around her body like armor. His accent and tone softened the question, "What did they say?"

Now Elijah was hovering in the doorway, always close by in case things escalated. Hayley hated this dynamic, as if Hayley could only be handled by Klaus and Hope by Elijah. Sometimes a daughter only needed her mother, and this was one of those times.

"Will you two give us some space?" Hayley asked through clenched teeth, eyes darting between the brothers. Hope growled in irritation and brushed past all of them.

She could be heard stomping past the family to go towards the deck, shouting, "Thanks a lot uncle Kol!"

Turning to Klaus, Hayley said as calmly as she could manage, "I am fine, I feel normal. I just want to talk to her about this alone. Things like this...they are meant for me to handle. Get it?"

He looked towards Elijah and then at his feet. With a brief and small nod, he murmured, "Got it."

As Hayley brushed by Elijah in the hall, he gently grasped her shoulder and reminded her, "she's had more to drink than usual." Maybe he was preparing her for some erratic version of Hope, but Hayley needed everyone to back off and understand this was her daughter. No matter how much alcohol fueled Hope's emotional response or what curse toyed evilly with Hayley's, this child was her heart.

A/N: More soon! Reviews are appreciated, thank you as always.

As for what I kept from the show...I really kinda took lazy liberties with it. So AU as in there is no The Hollow/Inadu story line but I liked Hayley saving them all before that and bringing Keelin into the story that way. I guess it starts a new story after Hayley brings back the family and Klaus meets 7 year old Hope (with relations improving with Marcel over Hayley's suffering/curse and a future scene with hope and marcel). Does that make sense? It's all good for a moment until Hayley is cursed and Hope is shifting from being raised by Hayley to by the family, Elijah being her main caretaker because Klaus was/is needed to keep Hayley as sane/cared for/active in Hope's life/safe as possible. I like to explore the city's supernatural politics too but I'll keep it light. I'm more interested in exploring the family and their growth.

I'm going to finish up this birthday trip before I slap you around with some more backstory. Or I might just slap you with it in the middle somewhere. We'll see.