AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update,I normally like to have an update once a week but school is taking away some of my writing time! Anyways thanks for all the great reviews so far, keep giving me feedback I really appreciate it. To make up for not updating sooner I will have chapter 9 up by tomorrow. Enjoy :)
"Do you want your daughter? She's been with me all day." Hayley asked as she walked into Klaus's art studio where he had been holed up all day.
"Sure, just put her there" He said, never breaking his attention from the canvas he was splashing paint onto. "I'll pick her up when my work here is done for the night"
"How long will that be? I won't just have her sitting here being neglected when she could just stay upstairs with me"
Her words caused him to stop his movements and peer at her from the corner of his eyes. "Just put her down and get out," he snapped.
Hayley rolled her eyes and walked over to the plush bouncer pillow that Klaus kept in the room for Nikol. She kissed her daughter gently on the forehead and left her with her grumpy father. She knew why he was in a bad mood, which is why she didn't press the issue farther even though she wanted to. Things had been tense between them since she rejected him at the party two weeks ago. He tried to avoid her most of the time, only really speaking when necessary for things concerning their daughter. He spent most of his time out taking care of vampire business or in his art studio. Gradually the amount of time he spent with Nikol decreased as well and it was starting to really frustrate her.
She understood why Klaus was hurt after what happened at the party. It was probably hard for him to admit that he cared for her in a way that went beyond their partnership for their daughter. She felt the same way about him but something in her just wouldn't let her go there with him, not again. She didn't reject him because she didn't care for him, she was afraid and unsure of whether or not what she felt was something real and something they could build on. The last thing she would want is to give into a temporary desire and ruin the amicable relationship they had right now. She would rather her daughter grow up with two parents who appreciate and respect each other than two parents who can't stand each other because they got into an ill advised romantic relationship that didn't work out. She doesn't love Klaus, and she may be developing some romantic feelings for him but it wasn't enough to risk it, not with someone easily angered and who knows how to hold a grudge like Klaus. Of course Klaus would never understand that which is why she hadn't even bothered telling him, not that he would have listened anyway.
Hayley sat in the kitchen alone saddened by the distance between her and Klaus and the distance it was causing between him and their daughter. Rebekah walked into the house after a night out with marcel and found her sulking over in the corner. Sabine had told her all about Klaus and Hayley's little midnight dance and how into each other they looked on the dance floor. She thought she would find them in a blissful state the next day and was surprised to see that they were barely even speaking. She knew something had happened between them but neither would open up and say what it was.
"What on earth are you doing in here sulking Hayley? You seem really unhappy lately what's going on?" She asked as she took a seat near at the corner table.
"It's nothing Rebekah, just tired that's all, new baby and everything."
Rebekah could tell that she was lying but she didn't want to pester her too much, the last thing she wanted to do was make Hayley more upset that she already was. "Fine, how's my little niece then? I feel like I haven't seen her all day"
"She's—"
Before she could answer Rebekah's question Klaus rushed into the kitchen with a crying Nikol in his arms.
"Here take her I have to go," he said as he dumped the child into her arms.
"What the hell do you mean you have to go? Are you seriously just going to dump her on me after you've barely spent any time with her today? Can't whatever it is wait?"
"No it can't and I don't have time for your little guilt trips right now Hayley"
"You don't have time for anything lately Klaus, especially not your daughter. I know you're upset about what happened at the party but you can't keep avoiding her and your responsibilities too, you've barely done anything these past two weeks"
"I'm amused you think you have that much control over my emotions love, this has nothing to do with you or that night, get over yourself"
"Then where are you going? Why do you have to leave? Why have you been avoiding me and spending less time with your child?"
Her onslaught of questions about things he was in no mood to talk about angered him and he didn't have the time to hash this out with her. He had had enough of her pestering. "I DO NOT have to answer to you," he yelled. The increase in volume of his voice startled Nikol causing her to cry even louder.
"Maybe you two should calm down, you're upsetting your child," Rebekah intervened, though her suggestion went completely ignored by both of them.
"You're not leaving here until you give me an answer Klaus!" Her anger had risen and she was done with his ridiculous behavior.
"Listen to me little wolf, you're not my wife, you're not my girlfriend, you are NOTHING to me, and I DO NOT have to listen to this nonsense any longer." He shouted as he barged out of the room, to which Hayley could only lower her head in disgust.
"What in the bloody hell is going on with you two?" Rebekah questioned.
"It's nothing, just drop it" Hayley replied, clearly upset but trying to hide it.
"No, you two have been distant since the night of the party and now you're arguing in front of your daughter, what's going on? I'm not leaving this table until you tell me"
Hayley let out a heavy sigh as she rocked Nikol on her arms to try to clam her down. Once she had the child under control she decided that it might help to open up to Rebekah about her Klaus issues, after all she did look at her as a sister, and no one knew him better than her.
"This all started the day of the party. Klaus and I shared a dance after you left, well we shared more than one dance, but after the dance we kind of had this moment…"
"What kind of moment?" Rebekah inquired, she already knew the two harbored feelings for each other that they wouldn't admit so she had a pretty good idea of what went down between them.
"Klaus started talking about how great I looked and he told me that he cared for me, I told him I cared for him too. It got a little intense and we almost kissed."
"Almost?"
"I pulled away and Klaus stormed off and he's been avoiding me since then"
"So that's what this is about? You rejected him? Nik has never handled disappointment well. Why did you pull away?"
Hayley wasn't sure if she even knew the answer to this question and even if she did she sure wasn't about to tell Rebekah.
"It just, it didn't feel right. I don't know, Klaus and I don't have that kind of relationship, we don't have feelings for each other."
"Oh right you don't, you're just co-parents, or at least that's what you tell yourselves." Rebekah said rolling her eyes. She was amused by Hayley's denial
The truth is everything in Hayley wanted to kiss Klaus but she still couldn't let herself go there. It was too easy to just get caught up in the moment again and not think about the implications it would have. He said the he cared for her but what did that even really mean. She's the mother of his child so of course he cares for her. He could have just been really attracted to her that night, or he could have just been playing a game with her. She wasn't about to let herself get worked up because of some potentially meaningless words. Klaus wasn't the feelings and relationship type so what would make her think he's all of a sudden changed. She just couldn't take that chance with him. She had life changing consequences after giving him her body; she could only imagine the damage giving him her heart could do.
"What do you mean it happened again?" He shouted. Klaus's argument with Hayley had in a particularly nasty mood so hearing that there were two more attacks on vampires in the quarter was not going to go over well.
"Diego and John saw it happen with their own eyes, the werewolf bit two night walkers and took off. This isn't some random attacks we are being targeted Klaus." Marcel explained.
Turning his attention to Diego and John, he paused for a moment before asking if it was true.
"Yes there was nothing we could do to stop it"
The next thing everyone knew Klaus had John's bloodied heart in his hands. He had ripped it out in blind rage before he could even explain everything that happened. Marcel and Diego looked at Klaus with disgust and horror.
"Klaus what is wrong with you, he was one of out best guys"
"If he was one of out best guys he would have been able to help his fellow vampire, I will not tolerate a vampire with a defeatist mindset so for that he deserved to die."
He didn't really want to kill John but his rage from his argument spilled over and he lashed out. He needed something to get it all off his chest and unfortunately for John he was the closest target.
"Dammit Klaus! That wasn't okay! You can't just kill one of our guys, especially when we are loosing them left and right these days"
"Ah yes about that, if you don't mind I'd much rather you fill me in on how you're figuring out how to stop this instead of bombarding me with your whining"
Diego finally decided to speak up again. "We were targeted, the wolves just came out of nowhere and cornered them. It's like they were following the orders of someone"
"And how might you think werewolves are getting orders? They are stuck in wolf form they can't exactly communicate complex plots against the vampires in that state."
"What if it's a human? What is a human is somehow controlling them?"
"I can guarantee you that there is not a human who could get within 20 feet of those wolves without being eaten alive"
"I know of a few that could…" Marcel finally chimed in looking at Klaus sternly. Klaus knew exactly what he was hinting at.
"Well don't play coy Marcellus, just say what you're thinking. You think my family is behind this?"
"They are the only ones who could pull it off Klaus, so yeah I do and I'm not going to sit around here and watch more of my men get slaughtered so you might want to go handle them before I turn the rest of the vampires loose on them.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"This has gone on long enough and if we have to slaughter them all to stop it then I will and on the full moon Hayley's family might be next."
Klaus tossed Marcel across the room in anger and held him in the air by his throat.
"Now you listen to me marcel, if you so much as go anywhere near my family there won't be any vampires left to slaughter the wolves. I'll kill you and the rest of them."
"What's wrong with her!" Hayley shouted.
When Klaus handed Nikol back to her Hayley noticed the child was warm but she was too preoccupied with her drama with Klaus to think anything of it. When she child started to get extremely fussy Hayley noticed her flustered cheeks and increased body temperature. She panicked and yelled for help since she had never seen a sick child before. Rebekah stormed into the room to figure out what was the cause of Hayley's pleas for help and found her crying hysterically with a crying Nikol in her arms. She tried to calm her down as best she could but it was no use, as the panicked mother only got worse. Rebekah decided the best thing she could do was find help so she shouted for Elijah and Sabine who were tucked away in the other side of the house. They came as soon as Elijah heard Rebekah. Sabine checked out the baby but she was of no use with her limited knowledge so she suggested they let her contact one of the witches in her coven who practiced medicine. When the doctor arrived Nikol had stopped crying but she was now lethargic and almost unresponsive, which sent Hayley into even more of a panic.
"Is my daughter going to be okay? Please I need some answers!" She pleaded as the doctor continued checking Nikol out.
"I don't know yet Hayley, give me a little more time and I promise I'll have some answers for you. I'll do whatever I can to help your daughter."
Hayley found some comfort in the doctor's words but she was still a worried mess. Her baby's life had been in danger while she was still pregnant but this was different. She couldn't imagine not being able to see her face anymore, or hear her little baby laughs, or look into her beautiful blue eyes. The worst-case scenarios went through her head and she was afraid that they would come true. "I just want her to be okay" she desperately let out while wiping away the tears that had been falling down her face.
"She will Hayley, she's a strong little baby and she's a fighter just like her mother and father, she'll be okay." Rebekah offered as she rubbed Hayley's back to comfort. "Speaking of her father, why don't you call Klaus and tell him what's going on? I'm sure he'll want to know that there is a problem."
"Please, I doubt Klaus can be bothered to take away 5 minutes from whatever he's doing to come home and see about his daughter. He couldn't be bothered to spend even 30 minutes with her tonight. I'm not calling him."
"Hayley I get that you are upset but Nik loves that little girl, he would want to know."
Hayley knew Rebekah was right. Their argument and seeing Nikol sick was overwhelming her and she wasn't thinking clearly. She knew how much Klaus loved their daughter, he would be worried sick if he knew something was wrong with her and he would be livid if no one told him. She reluctantly picked up the phone and dialed his number.
Klaus roughly tossed Marcel to the ground and was about to continue his threat when he heard his phone ring. He looked at the caller ID and it was Hayley. He had no idea why she of all people would want to talk to him right now and he definitely didn't' want to talk to her so he ignored it. "As I was saying Marcel don't think for a second that this is an empty threat either, I will—" , he was interrupted by his phone again and looked dowm to see that once again it was Hayley calling. "WHAT!" he yelled into the phone but he didn't hear her say anything, he only heard silence then the line disconnect. She hung up on him and he looked at the screen in confusion and started to tuck his phone away again but it rang, this time it was Rebekah calling. He figured something must have been going on if he was receiving this many phone calls so he answered it, this time he was a little calmer. "What is it Rebekah?"
"Klaus why haven't you been answering your bloody phone? Hayley has been trying to call you."
"I did answer but the little wolf hung up on me, I don't have time for this what do you want?"
"Your daughter has fallen ill Klaus, there is a doctor here checking her out but she's very sick. We thought you would like to know, I do hope you can be bothered to come home and help Hayley tend to her."
When Klaus heard Rebekah's words his heart dropped into his stomach. It had to be serious or Hayley would have never dismissed her anger to call him. Now he felt guilty for not answering her call the first time. He panicked when he thought about what could be wrong with her. Rebekah heard his breathing change and she knew that he was most likely panicking.
"Klaus don't worry she's in good hands, she's going to be okay you just need to get here you stubborn ass."
"I'm on my way" Was all he said as he hung up the phone. He didn't even tell marcel that he had to leave. He jumped in his car and drove as quickly as he could until he reached the compound.
When he arrived Hayley was in the hallway with Rebekah in tears. Seeing her so upset made his mind think the worst. Just the mere thought of his daughter being so gravely ill that she perished made his chest tighten and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Hayley? What is it, what's going on is she okay? Where is she?"
"She's in the room with the doctor, she still hasn't said anything yet. I couldn't look at her like that any longer so I came wait out here."
Klaus breathed a sigh of relief that his worst fears hadn't come true but he was still terrified. He didn't like the uncertainty and he didn't like that his child was in such a vulnerable state. He looked over at Hayley and a guilt rushed over him. He thought maybe if he had just stayed with her like Hayley wanted this wouldn't have happened, or maybe it was something he did while he had her in his studio was the cause of her sickness. Some way somehow this was his fault and he would never forgive himself if she didn't recover.
Both Klaus and Hayley perked up when the doctor finally came out of the room with an update on Nikol's condition.
"It's probably just a bug but I'm still not sure what's causing her sickness. I've put her on fluids and gave her something to bring her fever down. We'll just have to keep watching her to see how she handles the medication and go from there."
All of Klaus and Hayley's fears weren't eased but they felt better knowing that there was some progress made. They rushed into the room to see their daughter and let out a sigh on relief when they finally saw her tiny body resting peacefully. Hayley started to tear up and Klaus instinctively pulled her into his arms to comfort her.
"It's okay little wolf, she's going to be okay." He wasn't even convinced of those words himself but he knew she needed to hear them.
Rebekah, Elijah and Sabine decided to give Hayley and Klaus a moment so they stayed out in the hallway.
"Excuse me doctor? I'm sorry what did you say your name was again?" Rebekah asked.
"Kim"
"Yes Kim, so do you think that my little niece will recover okay?"
"Yes, she should be okay in a few hours. I think she just got a bug; this old house is just filled with germs and things. I don't think they really have anything to worry about since I'm pretty sure her fever will go down in a little while and I'll give her some herbs, but everyone should probably watch her closely for the next few hours. She should be perfectly fine after that."
"That's great to hear." Suddenly Rebekah had the woman pinned against the wall.
"You will tell them that you don't know how long it will take her to recover, tell them that you don't recommend they leave her side and that they need to monitor her closely. You expect her to make a full recovery but there are no guarantees. You will then return here tomorrow morning with the same update."
The doctor blankly nodded yes and entered the room where Klaus and Hayley were.
"Rebekah what do you think you are doing?" Elijah questioned. He was not pleased that his sister compelled the woman to lie to Klaus and Hayley. "Why would you instruct her to lie to them, you know they are worried sick."
"I have my reasons Elijah, just trust me, it's just a harmless lie."
"I don't quite see how it's harmless sister. You're lying to our brother, if he knew he would—"
"That's why you're not going to tell him, just leave it be Elijah. I know what I'm doing"
"She's right Elijah, there's no harm in it just relax" Sabine chimed in, giving Rebekah a wink to let her know she approved of her scheming.
"I don't understand why the doctor's changed her tune all of a sudden Klaus. Now she's doesn't know how long she'll be like this and she's out of the woods? Why is this happening? She's just a baby" Hayley didn't take the doctor's new recommendation well. Klaus was upset about it too but he kept a brave face for Hayley's sake, she was already freaked out, seeing him upset would only make her worse.
"I don't know love, it could be just a precaution. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just relax it's going to be a long night."
Hayley appreciated how he kept trying to reassure her and comfort her despite their earlier argument. He was being great and it almost made her forget that she was angry at him at all, but even with his nice façade she wasn't going to let it go that easily, even if she had more important things to worry about.
"I'll stay with her, you can go back to doing whatever was so important to you before." He was taken back by her attitude given their current situation but he wasn't surprised, Hayley knew how to hold a grudge and she wasn't keen on letting him off the hook when he displayed some questionable behavior.
"I'm not going anywhere love, I'll be staying right here with our daughter. I suspect you will do the same so we might as well forget about what happened earlier since unfortunately we'll be sharing a room tonight"
"Its easy for you to just say drop it when you're the problem,"
"I'm the problem? Right, of course it's all my fault. Poor Hayley victimized by the mean hybrid. Let's not forget your role in all of this Hayley, you're no victim here love."
Hayley peered at him from behind her eyelashes. Of course he was shifting blame, he never could take responsibility and own up to his mistakes. It was always anyone's fault but his. She wasn't going to let him manipulate her into forgetting about it all.
"I guess it will be a long night then" She said, rolling her eyes so he could see her displeasure.
"Indeed it will."
NOTE: Soo I have taken heed to a few reviews that said they want more klayley romance. I promise we will get there but this story is angsty and I enjoy angry klayley so that will be a thing throughout the story. I hope you guys liked this chapter despite the klayley arguments. On the bright side thanks to everyone's favorite auntie rebekah our favorite pair is stuck sharing a room tending to a sick child they both love very much. I have a feeling this close proximity for an extended period of time might be just what these in denial parents need :)