AN: Kinda short, but I hope you like it. I think Fridays will be my official upload day. I keep forgetting Wednesday, lol. Side effect of no longer paying for cable. Anyway, let me know what you think and enjoy!

Chapter Seven

The following morning, when the farmer's markets and vendors were still on the streets, K took her sons for a walk. Klaus was still angry, still pacing through the house doing whatever it was he tended to do when he was frustrated. She wanted to avoid him for now. He was too short-sighted and short-tempered.

K kept her eyes peeled for Vincent and eventually found him sitting in a bench off to the side. Holding her sons hands in hers, K approached him at a wide birth. She wanted Vincent to be able to see them coming from a mile off, so to speak. She didn't want to frighten him. God only knew how anxious he already was given everything that was happening in the city.

When they were roughly ten yards from him, Vincent finally seemed to notice the trio. K could only imagine the sort of magic he felt coming off them. Between her sons' abilities and The Hollow still inside her, she knew they had to ring out to him like a church bell in a silent room. They had to be swimming in magic.

As she drew nearer, she noticed his eyes dart to the two identical boys at her sides. His brows came together and he shifted a bit in his seat. K didn't like it. She didn't know why he was so nervous, and that bothered her greatly.

"Vincent," she greeted when they reached him. "This is Matthew," she lightly jostled the hand of the boy on her right. "And Alexander." She did the same for the boy on her left. "My sons."

"Hi," he answered unsurely.

"Boys, this is Vincent. He's a friend of your Aunt Freya's."

"Hi," they greeted in unison.

"May we sit, Vincent?"

"Huh?" he tore his eyes away from the boys and met her gaze. "Yeah, sure. Let's go somewhere out of the way."

He stood and guided them away from the central hub of people where they found a small table and some chairs. It'd been set up for passersby to simply rest for a moment, so he knew no vendor would be angry for them taking the spot.

"So, uh… what'd you need?" he asked. K wasn't surprised that Vincent was uncomfortable around her, or the boys. Mikaelson blood, shaky truces, and how she left their last meeting meant it would always be strained.

"I need you to do something for me."

"Okay,"

"Can you search the boys? Check them for The Hollow, I mean."

His brow furrowed again. Vincent glanced to the two children staring back at him blankly. It was a little unsettling because he could feel the power coming from them, not to mention they had the same face. The only difference was Matthew had a little beauty mark below his left eye. Other than that, they were the spitting image of the other. Even more unnerving, they looked more like Klaus than Hope did when she was that age, and the hybrid had helped raise them, too.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I want them to be safe." She said. "I want to know if they can be near Hope."

"We're gonna go to school with her." Alexander said in his light, childish voice.

"But mommy's scared." Matthew added.

Vincent's brows rose. K understood the sentiment. For those who hadn't been around the boys, it was a little strange to hear them speak in unison, or as grown up as they tended to.

"Yeah, sure. Let me see what I can do."

K felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. She prayed Vincent would help her discover if the boys were actually safe or not because they were children. Not to mention, she assumed he'd want to know if the Hollow had somehow infected someone else.

~!~

When K arrived home, happy and content for the first time in ages, she was surprised to find Caroline within the courtyard talking to Klaus.

"Darling," Klaus said when he saw her. "We have company."

"Clearly," she nodded. "Caroline, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, hi." Caroline shifted on her feet a bit. She wasn't sure how to handle K. The two had hardly spoken ten words to one another over the last decade. All she knew was K was as dangerous as Klaus and apparently his wife. The massive ring on her finger simply confirmed it. "And who are these little guys?" her voice took on an immediately sweet tone when she saw the boys.

"These are our sons," Klaus declared with pride. "Matthew and Alexander Mikaelson."

"Oh," Caroline did her best to hide her surprise. She looked down at the little boys and squatted in front of them with a smile. "You're Hope's brothers."

"You know Hope?" Alexander asked quietly.

"I do." Caroline smiled. "I'm her teacher. Maybe one day, I'll be your teacher, too?"

"You will." K said. Klaus eyed her curiously. "Soon, hopefully."

"You sound certain." He said with an edge.

"Boys," K dipped down and knelt before them. "Can you both go and play in the library while the grownups talk for a bit?"

They nodded their agreement and soon scampered away into the back of the manor, out of earshot for the coming conversation.

"That's why I went to see Vincent today." K said, noticing Klaus' face harden when she had.

"That pompous witch? What'd he have to say, hm?"

"That our sons are safe."

Klaus eyed her in confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I had to be sure, Nik. I had to be sure that this thing inside me didn't leach into them while I was pregnant."

His face fell. It seemed like the first time Klaus realized that had been a possibility. Given there were no side effects through the years, he thought that naturally, the boys weren't affected, but K was never so certain. She reasoned that there wouldn't be side effects because if they did absorb some of the Hollow, it was just some of what she already had. She was afraid they'd lightened her burden, so to speak. If that were true, she'd have to stay far away from their family, too, and the only place that could help them learn to control their magic.

"And?" he asked.

"They're fine." K smiled. He breathed easier. "When they're old enough, if Caroline's willing to take on more Mikaelsons," Caroline smiled heavily and a bit playfully, "Then there's no reason they can't attend the same school as Hope. They can be around their sister with no worries of a backlash."

"Well," Klaus sighed in relief. "Perhaps that is some good news for the day."

K eyed him. "What's happened?"

He said nothing, but motioned to Caroline. The blonde took a deep breath and let it out before relaying the same information she'd given Klaus only moments prior.

"But, like I told Klaus," she said. "We've narrowed down her location."

"How could you have let her escape?"

"It's not a prison." Caroline said as though she'd had to repeat the statement with Klaus more than once. "Besides, Roman's a good kid, okay? They're… just being teenagers."

"Just teenagers." K repeated sarcastically.

"My sentiments exactly." Klaus replied. "Which is why Caroline and I are on our way to fetch them."

"Fine," K nodded, but she didn't seem happy. "Do you know how long you'll be?"

"Hopefully only a few hours."

She nodded once more. "Go say goodbye to the boys before you leave."

He smiled crookedly at her before disappearing to tell his sons he'd be back later, leaving her and Caroline alone for a moment.

"So," Caroline said, trying to cover her discomfort, but not doing a great job at it. "You and Klaus, huh?"

"I suppose." K wasn't entirely certain how to answer such an odd question.

Thankfully, the man in question reappeared shortly after.

"We'll be back shortly, darling."

"Be safe." K didn't know why she felt compelled to say something so mundane, but the words left her regardless.

"I will," he chuckled slightly.

Klaus gave her a kiss and departed with Caroline promptly. K wished she could go, but she couldn't be near Hope for obvious reasons. Still, something told her this wasn't going to be a good trip. There was a pit in her stomach that she couldn't identify and it bothered her greatly.

~!~

Later that Night:

While the boys slept, K continued to pace uncertainly in the courtyard. No one would answer their phones, at least not those who might know what was happening. It'd been hours since Caroline and Klaus left for wherever they planned to go, and neither had tried to contact K. Every time she called Klaus, it went to voicemail. Her imagination was running wild and the pit that had formed in her stomach earlier in the day hadn't settled. If anything, the lack of communication made it a great deal worse.

As she continued to walk a trench into the stone, she heard a noise behind her. A door opened and barely closed. K spun to see the source. It was Klaus.

"Where have you been?" she demanded to know as she charged towards him. "I've been calling you for hours, why haven't you-"

When he looked up, she was immediately silenced. His eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, his cheeks damp with tears. Something terrible had happened.

"Hope?" K could barely get her name out for fear of what the answer may be.

"On her way back to Mystic Falls, with Freya." Klaus said in a shaking voice.

K's brows came together and her stomach clenched. "Then why…"

Klaus blinked and a fresh wave of tears slide down his cheeks. He said one single word, and in it, K had all the terrifying answers.

"Hayley," he muttered softly.

K's breath was stolen from her. She knew. Somehow, she knew without a doubt that Hayley was dead. There would be no other reason for Klaus to look the way he did if that weren't the reason.

"How?" she choked on the word.

"She burned."

K let out a gasp as though she'd been punched in the stomach. She reached for Klaus and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tighter than she thought possible. Tears welled in her eyes and she began to cry.

Klaus clung to her. He clenched his fists, gripping her shirt tightly and ensuring she wouldn't leave him as he buried his face in her hair.

"I couldn't save her." He whispered in a tear-drenched voice. "I couldn't save her."

K hugged him tighter, squeezing him so hard he might shatter, and he did the same, but neither spoke a word of discomfort. In fact, they welcomed the pain of their bones splintering. It seemed easier to deal with than the ache they both now felt.

Hayley wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to be found, be saved at the last moment. She was supposed to return to New Orleans and to the life she had when the Mikaelsons were gone. She was supposed to be immune to the shit they brought down on the family. She was supposed to stay alive and untainted by their lives, for Hope.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Klaus asked.

K shook her head. "I don't know."

"And he watched." Klaus randomly said a moment later. K drew back and eyed him. It was as though he was having a conversation she hadn't been a part of. "He watched the whole thing."

"Who?"

Despite the tears and pain, despite the anguish he felt, Klaus glowered hatefully and said through a tight jaw, "Elijah."

K flinched. "What are you talking about?"

"Greta, and her little brat took Hope, took Hayley…" Klaus stepped out of her hold completely and began to pace as he did when he was agitated, but the tears still fell. "And Elijah helped them. He stood there, ran a stake through my heart and helped that psychopath."

"I'm sure he didn't-"

"He did!" Klaus bellowed. He was trembling as he stared at her. "He watched as Hayley burned." He took in a short, shaking breath. "And felt nothing."

K's heart broke. God only knew how horrible it was for that to be the last thing Hayley saw. To see the man you love watch on as you died without a hint of emotion, without recognition… It must have been awful.

"I don't know what to do, Kali." Klaus said, bringing her out of her thoughts. He looked broken. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"I…" K hesitated. While she generally had something to give, some knowledge or suggestion, she had nothing now. Her mind was a torrent and it couldn't clear. "I don't know."

How could Hayley be dead?