Rebekah was leaving.

She had finally been forgiven, somehow, by her brother. In some weird, twisted way, she'd almost wished for him to kill her so that he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. She knew the little boy he had once been was still in there, deep inside, somewhere. If he had been gone forever, she would have welcomed death. It would have been the ultimate proof of what vampirism could do to you. But instead, his soul was still there. A glimpse. That was enough. After all, hope is the strongest thing a person can have. You only need a tiny portion of it to keep fighting, like a cloudy sky where you can only see one star. You know that if you keep looking at that star, waiting, more stars will eventually be seen. And then, the sun will rise. Eventually. And she'd had that little star of hope to cling onto.

And so he had pardoned her. That boy who took care of her when she was scared of the thunder was still there. And she knew that despite everything, in a twisted way, he would be a good father to the baby girl growing inside of Hayley.

Hayley.

This was the goodbye she had saved for last, the one she feared the most to make. She didn't want to leave her. She didn't want to leave the baby. The two of them, even though she hadn't even met the little girl, had grown to mean so much to her over the past few months.

Hayley's mood swings had been a challenge, but it had only been Rebekah who could show understanding for them, who could calm her down. Elijah was only thinking of his love for Hayley; Klaus of his over protectiveness of what was his. Marcel thought only of winning over Klaus and would manipulate anything that moved to succeed.

And Bekah… she only wanted to settle down. Have a family. Love someone who put her above everything else. It would be a hard thing to live up to, obviously. But Rebekah was a hopeless romantic, underneath all her… well, bitchy exterior.

Was it so hard, really? To love someone above everything else? Maybe, Bekah thought as she leaped through the woods towards the Bayou, she was too old to accept that the world had changed and the definition of love with it. True love was as much a legend to people as… well, as werewolves and vampires. She smiled to herself at that. Well, she did exist after all, so maybe there was hope for true love and soul mates after all. She had no problem falling deeply, madly in love with people. The problem was to get them to feel as passionately back. She thought she was way too old and scarred to have someone fall for her like that. Like Romeo and Juliet. People would argue for and against that love story; the age difference especially. But she was a couple of hundred years older than Marcel… I guess now the problem was that she was 13 and Romeo was like, 16 but… Well, truth be told, in that case almost all her lovers would have been waaaayyy too young for her. But being an original vampire, you couldn't be picky. And love was blind to things such as age and looks and sex… At least, that's what Rebekah had realized during her immortal life.

She slowed down, only to come to a standstill behind a tree. She saw the string of glowing lights on the houses, heard the voices. She felt like Romeo, standing outside of Juliet's balcony, not knowing what to expect. Intruding on the ground of the enemy family, which in an ironic way was true. Strangely enough, she felt like that, waiting to tell Hayley her goodbye. She could see some of Hayley's pack talking and laughing with her around a big fire. She looked like she belonged. In a way, that made it hurt more. Bekah could leave and know that Hayley was cared for, where she belonged.

But for a moment, when she had lived with them in that house… for a second it had felt like the siblings could have a shot at being a family again. It had been short lived, but the hope had been there, glowing in the dark.

Rebekah out her fingers against the soggy tree, tracing the cracks. The smell of the Bayou was musty and strong, like wet dogs, earth, pine trees and smoke. But there was something else underneath all that. A lingering warmth of a home cooked meal and fresh air, something you would never feel in a city. It was honest in a way that made Rebekah herself wish that she had been invited over for dinner. She shook her head since the idea of her eating with a bunch of werewolves was completely bonkers.

The people around Hayley started moving towards their homes.

"I'll stay a while," Hayley said, smiling politely at the others. They nodded and went inside, shoving each other and laughing. Bekah could smell the beer on their breaths even from here.

Hayley sat still, watching the flames with a scarf wrapped around her neck and her hair in a high ponytail. She was rubbing her hands absentmindedly, as if the heat just couldn't quite reach her. The fire was burning so high and yellow, seeming to reach for the starry sky with their flaming fingertips.

Bekah swallowed hard, put her hand in her pockets and then her feet moved, as if an invisible force was pulling her towards the wolf girl.

She didn't make a sound, but as if Hayley could sense her presence, she looked up. Her eyes widened and she rose.

"Rebekah?" Her voice was soft with a hint of sadness in it. "What are you doing here?"

Rebekah didn't know what to say at first. She walked up to her, then took a shaky breath.

"I came to say goodbye."

Hayley seemed to close up imeadiatly. She looked away, not being able to hide her hurt, then crossed her arms over her chest.

"What happened to us girls staying together?" Bekah looked down.

"Well Nick and I came to a sort of…" she stopped to take another shaky breath. "… all or nothing arrangement. I leave town for good and he allows me to." She tried a smile. "Can't pass that up."

Hayley snorted a little laugh and looked down at the ground. Bekah felt her heart surge forward. Damn her soft heart. When she looked up, their eyes met.

"A thousand years with Klaus and I guess you deserve a few vacation days." She sighed at the end.

"Listen, about Nick. He's a monster." She stared intently into Hayley's eyes, and the wolf didn't look away. "Do not ever cross him. But he wants more from life than to just be feared. He's too broken to find it himself." Hayley looked away as if she knew the feeling. Just like Rebekah did. Maybe it was one of those supernatural things. She took another breath. "But I do believe there is hope for him… in the baby that you carry."

Hayley met her eyes in a dark brown stare. Bekah ushered herself to keep talking, not being able to stop.

"And speaking of your child. Our family has no shortage of enemies. She will inherit all of them. Please… be careful." Hayley looked around, as if to make sure no one was watching them. Then half a smile crept onto her face a she moved her elbows out in a nervous gesture, like an awkward shrug.

"You know you could always come back and visit." She looked down and her voice took on a breathless tone. "I've been known to keep a secret or two from Klaus."

Bekah felt her heart skip a beat. There it was again. Hope. She forced it down, trying to smother it.

"Well, if I can't…" She looked down at Hayley's growing stomach, feeling that familiar heat welling up in her eyes. "You make sure to tell that girl stories about crazy auntie Becks."

Hayley's eyes were glued to her face. Bekah wouldn't bring herself to meet her gaze.

"And let her know that despite my absence I… do love her very much." When she finally looked up, Hayley had a warm smile on her lips and a look in her eyes that Bekah couldn't begin to understand. Then the soon to become mother smiled, a short grin, then looked away, putting her hands on her belly.

Bekah took in one last look, then she turned and slowly walked away, wishing for Hayley to say something, anything… but she didn't. And even though it hurt like hell, Bekah knew it was for the best.

Hope was in her heart, a lonely burning star in the endless darkness. Hope would help her find a way back into their lives, because she was way too entangled to be ripped away.

.

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A/N: Short, but I had to write this scene. It's so powerful. It was what had me screaming at the top of my lungs at the season finale, believing that Bekah would come to the rescue. She didn't appear until the end (such a disappointment, I had this vision that she would come and save the day despite Klaus expelling her, or whatever) but she did take care of Hope, just like I thought. And I'm on another chapter. Writing it now. Will try to post it soon. It will be some kissing, because finally I can see it happening. I have to get to know the characters to know how it would work, and now I feel like I do. It involves liquor. Hee hee.