Klaus found himself frozen outside of the massive compound. When he walked away from Hayley and out of the door he had it in his mind that he was going to the nearest bar but he never made it there. Every time he got ready to open the gates to leave Nikol's face flashed before him and he lost his nerve. He lingered at the gates for a little while but couldn't bring himself to actually open them. Instead he wandered to a secluded area just on the outskirts of the property. It was a familiar place for him. When he and his siblings ruled the city 100 years ago he would often find his self in the secluded area. It was dark and hidden; no one really knew where it was but him. It was where he would go when he needed to get away from everyone, to clear his head. It had become a sanctuary for him when he wanted to wallow in his loneliness or sadness. It was no surprise he ended up there on this night.

He sat on the stone bench he had put there all those years ago with his bottle of scotch besides him. He let out a deep sigh and lowered his head. "What am I doing?" he said out loud. It had been the best day of his life, a day where he got something that he never thought was possible, a day where he fell in love at first sight and finally felt like his eternal life had meaning. Yet here he was, in an all too familiar place and in an all too familiar state, alone. Hayley Marshall had just given birth to his daughter. They had finally gotten out of their own heads and let themselves fall victim to their desires, and he had hurt her already. He was the strongest person walking the earth but inside he was still an easily wounded little boy. What she said shouldn't have even hurt him, but it did. If it had been anyone else telling him to suck it up he wouldn't have care but something about it being Hayley wounded him. She had an ability to read him like no other and it drove him mad and enthralled him all at the same time.

He stared out into the darkness trying to block out the voices in his head with the sounds of the electric nightlife of the French quarter. He listened to the cars pass and the people laughing. He envied the happiness he heard in the streets. He envied the people he saw walking without the weight of 1000 years on their shoulders, people who let go of all inhibitions and enjoyed the world and the people in it. He envied the people he would never be, the people who grabbed ahold to happiness and never let it go. He was the person who ruined the happiness of others not the person who experienced it. He'd ruined Rebekah's happiness for centuries, Elijah's too and now he had he ruined the happiest day of his and Hayley's life.

Her words rang between his ears as he thought about his actions, "typical Klaus, typical". "Will I always be this way?" he wondered. When Elijah first started all this talk of his "redemption" he wrote it off as another one of Elijah's grand delusions. That all changed the day Hayley told him it was a girl. That night he retreated to his quarters and smiled for hours until he fell asleep. He dreamed of her face and her laugh and actually entertained the idea of having "redemption", of actually having happiness and a family of his own. Of course that didn't last long. He had learned as a boy that happiness was always fleeting for him, there was always going to be someone waiting in the wings to take it away from him, so over the years he learned to launch a preemptive strike to spare himself the pain of the inevitable. It wasn't a surprise that he repeated the cycle again tonight, letting it in and shutting it out. It was typical Klaus. Maybe he would always be typical Klaus.

He shook his head to snap himself out if his inner monologue and focused on the world around him again. Hayley and Nikol's face flashed before him again and overwhelming guilt took over. How could he walk out on them? How could he even think of leaving his beautiful little girl who meant everything to him? How could he leave Hayley alone to tend to her when they were supposed to be in this together? He knew he was only leaving for a night. It wasn't like he as walking out on them forever but what it symbolized is what got to him the most. Today he walked out after a wounded pride, but what would happen if it were more than that one-day? Would he leave for days? Months? Forever? Deep down he knew he would never leave them forever but he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that walking out wasn't a habit. He let his thoughts linger for a little while longer and finally came to the realization that he could no longer be the typical Klaus. He had to break the habits, break the cycle, or he would ruin his daughter just as he was ruined, and that's something he couldn't live an eternity with. He wasn't sure how he would do it just yet, all he knew was he needed to go back to his home. He needed to go back to his daughter and her mother.

He slowly stood up and made his way back inside the compound. When he walked back through the door he placed the unopened bottle of scotch back on the table he took it from and made his way up the stairs to find Hayley.

He didn't notice Rebekah sitting in the study. She had heard him come in and almost made a smart remark but she noticed the weary look on his face and decided against it. She was surprised he had only stayed gone for 45 minutes; she thought for sure it would be morning before she saw him again. "Maybe Elijah was right after all?" she thought to herself. Maybe, just maybe he was capable of teaching himself the error of his ways.

When Klaus finally reached the nursery he paused. He wasn't really good at apologies since he's never really had many remorseful moments over the centuries. He almost lost his nerve but quickly remembered that this was something he needed to do, and knowing himself he would be doing it often so he might as well get used to it. He stood at the door for a few more moments, watching Hayley in her custom oversized rocking chair. She was trying to get Nikol to sleep but the infant was wide-awake. He could see that the exhaustion was taking its toll on her. He took a deep breath and slowly approached her.

"Hayley…"

She looked up at him, startled by his presence. She had been crying since he walked out the front door. She was frustrated and hurt , and she was physically exhausted. Plus she struggled with her first time attempting to breast-feed and Nikol had screamed for a good 20 minutes after he left. To say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement. She felt like she was already failing as a mother and it was getting to her. She looked up at him and quickly turned away, not wanting him to see how out of sorts she was. She didn't want him to think he had the power to affect her that much.

"Hayley, I…"

His voice trailed off before he could get out what he wanted to say. Seeing her in the state she was in made him feel even guiltier. He stood in silence again, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Hayley just sat in her chair and continued to rock Nikol. She really wanted to hit him with a few more verbal bullets. She was angry after all, but then she thought about how that would just upset him and make him leave again and she didn't have the energy for another argument. She could tell he was struggling to verbalize why he was currently standing at her door. There was desperation behind the way he said her name. It washed her anger away and replaced it with sadness. She wanted to hear what he had to say so she finally decided to break the silence.

"You came back, I'm surprised"

He let her words linger in the air for a few seconds before responding,

"Yes, well I… I shouldn't have left in the first place." He slowly stepped closer and closer to her until he was directly In front of her. She kept her head down, refusing to look him in the eyes. The sight of Nikol distracted him for a moment. She was so beautiful.

" As I was saying, I shouldn't have left the way I did. It was childish of me and I deeply regret it, please forgive me"

"Is this how you give someone a sincere apology?" He thought to his self. It wasn't his first time saying he was sorry but it was one of the first times he actually meant it. The words felts strange falling off of his tongue, he had lived for 1000 years yet this was all so foreign to him.

She finally looked up at him, her hazel eyes piercing his soul. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did Klaus, it's just that I thought we… I mean I was mad that you were so upset with me for no reason."

"You don't have to apologize to me love, I was being unreasonable and I admit it"

"I wasn't trying to imply that you couldn't handle her Klaus. I thought you would know that after earl-" , she thought twice about bringing up what happened earlier between them, she didn't want to tackle that yet and he probably didn't either. "I mean I don't get why u had such a tantrum. That's not okay Klaus. You walked out on me with a newborn, she hasn't been here a day and you're already storming off. I don't even know how long you were gone but it doesn't matter you abandoned us"

Inside she cringed at her use of the word us, it just slipped out, she wasn't sure she would even call them an "us" right now but it was too late to take it back. She meant everything she said though. She felt abandoned for the umpteenth time in her life. His walking out of her life lasted only minutes but it felt like an eternity. An old wound was ripped wide open, a wound she wasn't ready to deal with. All she knew was that it was something she wasn't going to accept anymore, especially not from him.

He sighed. He knew she wouldn't make it easy. Her fearlessness and her audacity to call him out was one of the things that originally attracted him to her. He knew she wouldn't let him off the hook easily.

"I know, I just…" He wanted to tell her exactly what was going through his mind when he snapped on her but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "I don't know what came over me Hayley. I reacted like a child toward the slightest offense; I guess you could say it's so natural for me that I almost don't know how to be any other way. It's not an excuse but it's the truth."

He took another deep breath and looked into her eyes hoping to find any sort of understanding, instead he only found hurt.

"I know what you must be thinking-"

"Don't pretend to know what goes through my head Klaus. I already know what's about to happen, your going to say that you know I'm thinking that you're a terrible person, and a bad father who will walk out of Nikol's life anytime he gets upset. Don't look to me for a pity party Klaus because I won't give you one and you don't need one"

He was taken back. She was able to read him even better than he thought.

"Well little wolf, since you seem to know me so well what do I need?"

"You need to stop thinking the worst of yourself and you need to start giving others the chance to think the best of you. I don't think any of those things. What I was thinking was that you're a temperamental jerk and that what you did was childish and selfish, that pretty much sums it up."

He let out a light chuckle. Of all the things he'd been called and thought of his self, jerk was very far down on the list. He stepped back towards the window in the nursery and stared at the moon for a few moments. He let her words marinate within his mind for a bit while silence filled the room once again.

"Is she asleep yet?"

"No, she's still wide awake. At this rate I'll be up the rest of the night, guess that's something we'll have to get used to"

" I guess it is little wolf", he said as he peered out of the window again. There was something about the moon that was so calming for him

"You know on nights like this the moon is the most calming thing in the universe"

Hayley looked up at its glow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if she was breathed its energy into her lungs. "I know" she responded.

"Perhaps our daughter might feel the same."

He turned to face her with his arms extended, motioning towards their restless daughter in her arms "Would you mind?"

She stopped rocking and slowly stood up

"No of course not"

She carefully placed her in his arms. He cradled her in his arms a lifted her up a little so that he could whisper in her tiny ears. Hayley stood off to the side observing him closely.

"I love you Nikol Andrea Mikaelson," he whispered. Her little body squirmed in his arms and she stared at him. Call him crazy but he was sure she knew he meant it.

"Now how about you let your mother and I get some rest"

He stood silently at the window staring at her, letting the rays of the moon frame her features as he admired them. Hayley approached them from behind. Reaching over Klaus's arms to graze her hand with the back of her fingers. She wasn't angry anymore or sad, it was almost as if the moon swooped in and washed all the tension away. She wasn't complaining.

" I think we just survived our first fight," she said, giving him a slight toothless smile.

"Did we little wolf?" He responded as he looked over at her slightly amused.

"Yeah I think we did. Why don't you try patting her lightly on her back, one of the books I read said most babies find that comforting"

He moved on his hands slightly and lightly patted her. "Like this?"

"Yeah just like that"

She looked at Nikol who was already closing her eyes. "Great after all that time rocking her this is how she finally decides to fall asleep,"

She was slightly jealous but the sight of her daughter being put to sleep by her father quickly erased that from her mind. "I guess you were right, she's comforted by the moon just as we are, how did you know?"

"Well I figured she is our daughter, it would only be natural for her to take comfort in the moon. I guess it's something all three of us share now".

He takes his attention from his sleeping daughter for a brief moment to look up at Hayley. She diverts her eyes from the moon to his and they loose themselves in each other's gazes.

He feels a familiar desire for her stir within him. She was absolutely beautiful with the glow of the moon illuminating her skin. Every striking feature she possessed was magnified by it. He stilled his thoughts to contemplate what he should do next. He knew what he wanted to do, and oh did he want to do lots of things. Yet even though they crossed that line earlier in the night he still felt wrong for the intense notions currently running through his mind. He surmised that they were similar to the thoughts of the two young lovers he saw earlier indulging in the thrills of the French quarter. The ones he envied. Even now, as he finds himself adrift her hazel pupils, they weren't those people; they would never be those people.

As much as she tried to fight it she never let her gaze loose his. She could see the fire burning behind his pupils and she could feel its heat on her skin. This wasn't the first time she found herself in this position. One night she ventured into one of the corridors of the house after a fit of restlessness. She was seeking out the moon and found him doing the same thing. There were no words exchanged, just mutual understandings. They stood side bye side and let the moon take them over. They were connected to it and it was connected to them and now she and Klaus were connected to each other. She remembers him he whispered goodnight to her as she retreated to her quarters, causing her to turn around and meet his gaze. "Goodnight" she whispered before returning to her room to lose herself in one of the most peaceful nights of rest she had ever experienced.

Now here they were again, indulging in a familiar high and all she could think about was lying in his arms and bathing in the moon. They were starting to drift closer and closer as if they were magnets searching for their corresponding poles. Before the pull got too strong Hayley pulled back, opting instead to rest her head on his shoulder. He was content with her actions, grateful that she would show him any form of tenderness after his earlier behavior. Time moved on as they just stood there, neither one of them having enough will power to interrupt the moment.

Klaus didn't know how long they were standing there, but next thing he knew Hayley was asleep on his shoulder. He smiled to his self and looked at the two slumbering ladies he was tangled up in. He felt content with life. He shifted Nikol to his other arm and used his free hand to slowly guide Hayley to her chair without waking her. He then walked to Nikol's crib and gently placed the sleeping newborn in it. He leaned in and lightly kissed her little forehead.

"Sleep well my little princess, sleep well".

After making sure Nikol stayed asleep he went over to Hayley. "Let's get you to bed little wolf".

He carefully took her into his arms, carrying her out of the nursery and into her adjourning room. He pulled back the plush bedding on her massive bed, placed her in on the side he knew she liked to sleep, and pulled the covers over her shoulders. Removing her hair from her face he left her with a kiss on her forehead before the retreated to his bedroom.

"Sleep well little wolf, sleep well"

A/N: Once again thank you guys for reading and reviewing! So I said in advanced that this story was going to be angsty. Hope you guys can bear with me. Next Chapter there will be a slight time jump (finally lol). Don't forget to leave any suggestions of you have any!