Hey everyone!
As always, I want to thank all of you for your support for the last chapter and your continued support of the whole story and all my other stories and drabbles! All of it means the absolute world to me, more than you'll ever be able to know.
Now without any further ado, the chapter you have all been waiting for...Haylijah interaction!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot.
Chapter 3 - Making the Right Choice
Hayley woke up the next morning to the feeling of something slightly heavy falling on top of her followed by the feeling of that same something crawling over her. She quickly opened her eyes and was shocked to find two cute, happy looking eyes staring back at her. Hayley sat up and looked up towards the crib above her and then back to Hope. When she decided to sleep on the nursery floor the night before, Hayley had not expected to be woken up this way.
"Did you climb out of your crib?" she asked her daughter, still shocked by the fact that it had indeed happened. "You're not even two years old yet."
Hope giggled in response.
Hayley smiled back at her. "You really are my daughter."
Hayley stood up with Hope in her arms and stretched as well as she could given the circumstances. The floor hadn't been the most comfortable sleeping arrangement but she didn't want to sleep in her old room the night before. It no longer felt right to her. She instead had chosen to sleep in her daughter's room. Hayley wasn't so sure she liked her decision anymore. Too late to change her mind now.
After changing Hope's diaper and putting on her day clothes, Hayley made her way out into the kitchen to make Hope breakfast. She put Hope in her high chair and then looked around the room. Something was different. Hayley eyed every little nook and cranny of the room, but didn't notice anything out of place. What was the difference that she was feeling? Could it be that she was feeling the effects of being newly single again? Yeah, that's exactly what it was that she was feeling.
Hayley went back to making Hope's breakfast. Just as she placed Hope's food bowl in front of her, Hayley heard a knock on the door. Smiling at her daughter, she made her way to the front door and opened it to find Davina standing on the other side of it.
Davina smiled. "Hi, can I come in?"
Hayley nodded and stepped out of the way so Davina could come in.
"What are you doing here so early?" Hayley asked, closing the door.
Davina turned to face her. "I came to see if you'd made a choice yet," she answered.
Hayley opened her mouth to answer her, but Davina beat quickly beat her to it.
"I ran into Jackson downstairs and he was carrying a suitcase," Davina told her. "So I already know."
So that was the actual cause of the different feeling that Hayley had felt before. Jackson had already left.
"I'm guessing you haven't talked to Elijah about everything yet?" Davina questioned rhetorically, turning and heading over to the kitchen area to say hi to Hope.
Hayley shook her head. "Nope. I just broke up with Jackson last night."
Davina nodded her head as her way of saying that she understood. "If you would like me to do so, I could stay here and watch Hope while you go talk to Elijah," Davina offered.
Hayley's eyes widened, momentarily shocked at Davina's offer. Was it just her or did Davina really want her and Elijah to be together?
Davina smiled seeming to be reading her mind then. "I know you want to go talk to him."
Hayley couldn't disagree with her even if she tried. The break up with Jackson was still quite fresh, but just the thought of telling Elijah that there was a way for them to be together now and seeing his reaction was enough to make a smile break out onto Hayley's face.
"There is no time like the present, Hayley," Davina told her upon seeing the sudden smile on Hayley's face. "Go tell the guy that you are in love with that you two will be able to be work on getting together in a couple weeks or so," she urged her.
Hayley didn't have to be told twice. She kissed Hope on the forehead before dashing towards the door. "Thank you, Davina! I owe you one!"
Davina laughed in response. "Don't mention it!" she called after her.
Hayley ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her. She practically fell down the stairs as she rushed down them and out the front door of her apartment building. She didn't want to waste anymore time, she needed to see Elijah and to tell him the good news. It was time for her to release him from the pain she'd been causing him for way too long now.
Hayley rushed into the courtyard and made a beeline to the stairs. There was only one place to find Elijah this early in the morning, it was almost like clockwork for him to be there every morning. Hayley walked down the long hallway until she was standing in front of the door to Elijah's study. Without a second thought, she reached forward to grab the door handle and she twisted it, pushing the door open and making her way inside.
A small smile found its way onto Elijah's face when he looked up from his book and saw her standing there. The smile was apparently contagious because before she could stop herself, Hayley was smiling a small smile right back at him. They stayed that way, just smiling at each other, for some time.
"Where's Hope?" Elijah asked as he leaned forward and placed his book down on the table in front of him.
"She's at the apartment. Davina is watching her for me while I am over here talking to you," Hayley answered, reaching up with her left hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face.
"Davina's watching her? What about..." he trailed off when he caught sight of Hayley's now bare hand. "You are not wearing your ring anymore?" Elijah immediately observed.
Hayley brought her hand down and held it out in front of her. Her hand was bare now and she was surprised that it didn't bother her in even the slightest. Hayley at least figured that she would miss the feeling of something on her finger after having gotten used to it, but she didn't feel anything at all.
"I broke up with Jackson last night," Hayley admitted to Elijah who promptly stood up and cautiously made his way over to her. "It wasn't fair to him or me to stay together any longer," she told him. "Nor was it at all fair to you," she confessed as she felt guilt overcome her and she bowed her head in shame. "It killed me to hurt you over and over again. I didn't mean to do it but it still killed me."
She felt like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. The guilt she was drowning herself in was almost too much for her to bare. It was times like this when being a hybrid and having heightened senses and feelings revealed their downsides to her.
"None of my pain is your fault, Hayley," Elijah said sincerely, reaching out and placing one of his hands under her chin to gently lift her head so that she was staring at him.
Hayley shook her head, refusing to let him take her guilt away from her. She didn't believe for even a second that any of his pain was his fault, it was all hers. It was just like him, though, to try to make her feel better even when she didn't deserve to feel better.
"You're just saying that," Hayley argued as she quickly turned away from him.
"No, I'm not, Hayley," Elijah assured her. "I told you to go through with the ritual. I knew what I was signing myself up for when I did that. I knew the pain I would endure because of it. It's the price of doing the right thing, the selfless thing."
"I shouldn't have gone through with it. I should have figured out some other way to fix things," Hayley insisted, spinning back around to face him again. "I took the easy way out and everyone suffered in some way, shape, or form because of it."
"At the time, it was the only thing to do and we didn't have any time to figure out any other way," Elijah said, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her arms in a comforting manner.
Hayley felt herself immediately begin to calm down due to his touch. Elijah always did have a calming effect on her.
"Alright, so maybe you are right about that." Hayley sighed, finally allowing herself to correctly process his words. "But that doesn't change the fact that I acted like a total bitch towards you. I basically I only came to you when I wanted something."
Hayley frowned upon hearing her own confession. It was one thing to hear someone else say such things like that, but it was a whole other thing when someone says those things about themselves. It's so much worse. She had always prided herself on being selfless, but now...she was starting to think that she was anything but.
"How can you even want anything to do with me anymore?!" Hayley exclaimed, pulling herself from Elijah's grasp. "I wouldn't even want anything to do with me anymore if I were in your shoes."
"Hayley," Elijah said, trying to save her from her own self. "Why are you trying to find anything to make yourself feel guilty over?" he asked. "For as long as I have known you, you have never acted this way before."
"Yeah, well...I only just recently came face to face with some hard truths," she replied, turning and walking over to the bookshelf opposite of where he was standing.
"Everything you did, every choice you made this past year was with Hope's best interest in mind. You did what you thought was best for her. I can't fault you for any of that," Elijah told her. "You especially shouldn't fault yourself for any of it."
"But," Hayley started to argue.
Elijah quickly cut her off, walking over to her. "But nothing, Hayley. I am over one thousand years old. I've had my share of pain in the past. I'm more than capable of handling and overcoming much more."
"That doesn't make it any easier on me," Hayley admitted as she turned to face him. "I know deep down that it should, but it doesn't."
"Wasn't it you who once told me that you live in the now?" Elijah asked rhetorically, giving her a pointed look. "Making yourself feel guilty about past regrets, no matter how fresh the regrets are, is not you living in the now. It's you living in the past. You can't change what you've already said or done. All you can do is learn from the past. Or else you will repeat it instead."
Hayley chuckled. "You're using my own words against me."
"In a good way," Elijah assured her. "Is it working?"
Hayley thought about it for a moment before responding, "Surprisingly, yes, it is." She looked at him and smiled as he way of thanking him. "I guess I just needed a reminder to bring me back down to earth."
Elijah smiled. "I'm honored to be the one to help you back down."
Hayley looked at him thoughtfully.
Noticing her thoughtful expression, Elijah inquired, "What's on your mind?"
"I'm just thinking about how I'm once again being proven to that I really did make the right choice," Hayley answered honestly.
"Choice? What choice?" Elijah asked curiously.
"Yesterday, Davina asked me to breakfast because she wanted to tell me that she came across a spell that could help solve all of our problems," Hayley spoke in an informative tone of voice.
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "What kind of spell?"
"A spell that would allow us to finally have a chance together while still making it so that the pack can have access to my shifting abilities," Hayley explained to him. "In turn, I was left with a choice to make. Jackson or you."
"And you chose..." Elijah trailed off mid sentence.
"You," Hayley finished for him. "I chose you."
Elijah wasn't sure he could believe what he was hearing. She chose him? After all this time, she really chose him?
"You're sure about this?"
Hayley nodded her head without any hesitation. "I love you, Elijah," she confessed, looking at him with an intense gaze. "And I'm tired of trying to pretend like I don't just for the sake of everyone else. I know that makes me a little selfish but Davina made me realize that it's okay to be selfish every once in a while. Not to mention, it seems selfish now but with time it'll all play out the right way and selfish won't seem so bad anymore."
"As long as you're absolutely sure about this," Elijah said with a smile after processing in his mind everything that she told him. "I can't complain."
Hayley grinned as she took a few steps closer to him until she could wrap her arms around him. "I am really glad to hear it," she said, pressing her face into him and breathing in deep.
She had missed him so much. She had missed his scent. She had missed how his arms always felt around her, how safe and so very happy she felt. In Elijah's arms felt a lot like the home she'd always wanted growing up.
Elijah happily returned the hug, pulling her as close to him as possible. "For the record, I love you, too."
Hayley smiled into Elijah's shirt. "You don't realize just how happy I am to hear you say that," she told him, tightening her arms even tighter around him. "I really did make the right choice. It has always been you. It will always be you."
"And you for me," Elijah told her.
That was all the proof that Hayley needed to know that everything would always work out the way that it was meant to in the end. And, the right choice was right there in front of her...always and forever.
So, there you have it! Chapter 3! For now this is the final chapter, but maybe one day I will add more to it. Please be sure to leave me a review and let me know what you all thought of the chapter!