It was almost mid afternoon by the time anyone in the Mikaelson household saw each other again. Hayley slept in peacefully the entire morning; meanwhile Klaus did his usual brooding in his quarters, attempting to paint, something he had struggled with for the last few weeks. To his surprise his artistic juices were flowing again and he was actually able to make some real progress on a piece for the first time in months. Elijah on the other hand had been up and about all morning, waiting for his brother or Hayley to finally make an appearance after their night out together. He barely slept, not that he really needed it, but his mind raced with thoughts of that Klaus and Hayley could have been doing and why they were doing it in secret. He knew his brother too well to not have ideas, and the thought of Hayley being out with Klaus doing some of those things caused an unsettling emotion to wash over him. He already had serious concerns about her current emotional state since Hope's departure, adding Klaus's possible influence on that made those concerns amplify ten fold.

He had waited all morning to see Klaus and question him about his strange absence, but Klaus never showed his face in any part of the compound, which prompted Elijah to finally go and seek him out, of course he already knew where he was going to find him.

Elijah stood propped against the doorframe observing Klaus in action. He knew Klaus could sense his presence there yet Klaus said nothing. He was completely focused on his painting, which caused Elijah to raise an eyebrow since it wasn't lost on him that Klaus had been struggling with his art for months. Something got him focused again and Elijah couldn't help wondering if Hayley somehow played a part in it.

A few more moments of silence passed before Elijah decided to speak up. "Niklaus I see you've found your artistic touch again."

"It appears I have, I would appreciate it greatly if you didn't interrupt it." He replied, not even bothering to stop what he was doing or turn briefly to look at Elijah.

"I see you have not found your manners however brother." Elijah replied sarcastically. He finally stopped leaning on the doorframe and walked closer to Klaus, circling him while curiously observing his work. Klaus didn't appreciate Elijah's complete disregard for his desire to be left alone, but he didn't snap at him, choosing instead to ignore his presence and continue painting.

Elijah finally stopped and settled against the desk near where Klaus was painting. "There was an urgent matter that required your attention last evening Niklaus, only you were nowhere to be found."

"Perhaps there was another important matter I had to attend to. I leave all the time what is so strange about it this time." Klaus casually responded.

"I'm surprised you would just take off like that, especially given Hayley's most recent slip into whatever madness is consuming her."

"Either tell me what was so important that you have to annoy me with your presence right now or get out." Klaus coldly replied

"Hayley disappeared last night. Forgive me for thinking the mother of your child's absence would require your attention."

Klaus halted his movement and looked at Elijah out of the corner of his eye. Elijah could see his shoulders stiffen and body weight shift around. Up until that point he had no reason to believe that Elijah could have possibly noticed his and Hayley's absence, but then he realized that they did stay out longer than expected. They usually left when he was tucked away in his quarters and returned after only a few hours, this time they stayed gone until almost sunrise. He quickly thought of a cover and tried hard to maintain his normal composure as to not give away that he was hiding something.

"I'm actually surprised you would require my attention for that, aren't you the one who usually takes great pleasure in saving the poor distressed little wolf. I doubt my presence was truly needed." He said as he returned his attention back to his painting.

"Thank you for reminding me of all the times I've had to come to her aid because you were absent Niklaus. What was that you told me? Hayley is the mother of your child no mines? You would do best to remember that next time you want to disappear all night without so much as a word."

Klaus's jaw clenched and he gripped his paintbrush tighter as Elijah's condescending words registered in his ears. He eyed Elijah angrily as he leaned over to dip his brush in more paint. "I think the only person here that little inconvenient truth is lost on is you Elijah." He said as he made harsh brush strokes on his canvas. "You conveniently forget it when it doesn't suit your needs yet you come here and accost me with that fact whenever it does. Make up your mind already 'lijah, your pathetic posturing is starting to bore me."

"And your pretend aloofness has bored me for centuries brother."

" Yet here you are…" Klaus replied smugly.

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone last night?" Elijah questioned.

"Perhaps you should be asking Hayley herself that question Elijah."

His reply wasn't an outright denial but Elijah knew it was as close to him denying he was with Hayley he was going to get. The fact that Klaus wouldn't answer but wouldn't lie said enough. "Perhaps I should" was all he could muster up in response. He stood up and started to leave, but before he left out of the room he turned to watch Klaus at work for one last time. He watched his brother get considerably more relaxed than he was a few minutes ago, then he simply left.

Hayley squirmed and stretch as she felt the heat of the sun on her face. Her already tangled hair got even more tangled as she rubbed her head back and forth against her pillows. As she felt the smooth fabric of her pillows up against her face she started to finally pull herself out of her peaceful sleep. When she finally opened her eyes and realized she was draped in her own sheets and lying in her own bed she stilled. She couldn't remember even getting home let alone getting into bed and falling asleep. Pulling herself up she leaned against her headboard and blocked the sun from her face. She thought back to what she had been doing last night and that's when she realized how she must have gotten in her bed…. Klaus. She was with Klaus last night. Gradually the events from the night before started flooding her mind. She recalled being out with Klaus the night before, how they had argued, how he had told her that he regretted the day he met her, how she had slapped him not once but twice before comforting him and getting him to finally open up more about his grief. Then she remembered sitting on the ground and staring at the moon reflecting in the nearby lake as they talked about what it was like to hear their daughter cry for the first time right after she was born. The last thing she remembered was Klaus telling her that their daughter looked just like her so regardless of how she looked when they finally saw her again she would still be perfect and beautiful. A soft smile crept up on her face at the memory of him calling her beautiful. It actually surprised her that she was getting flustered thinking about it. As she tried her hardest to get rid of the strange smile on her face she bowed her head and tucked her messy hair behind her ears. That's when she noticed that she was still in the same clothes she felt asleep in. She must have fallen asleep shortly after Klaus's compliment and he must have carried her into the house and put her into her bed. She was thankful that he left her clothed despite how dirty she was, for some reason it made her uncomfortable thinking about him undressing her, which is another sentiment that surprised her considering he's seen every mole and every crease on her smooth flesh.

She was feeling surprisingly refreshed. She had no idea how long she slept but however long it was it did her good. She felt like she actually wanted to do more than lie in bed and cry about her daughter all day, which was a far cry from how she felt just a few nights ago. When the reflected light pulled her attention to the mobile still hanging above the crib her daughter wasn't occupying her heart ached. She sat and stared at it for a little while, thinking about how that mobile was her favorite part of the nursery. Ever since the night Klaus showed it to her she had looked forward to Hope's smile as she looked up at if from inside her crib. She was missing out on that moment and it saddened her, but unlike a few months ago today it wasn't a debilitating sadness. She felt motivated to pull herself together today or to at least give it a good try and that's exactly what she was going to do.

She pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom where she started running a nice warm shower for herself. She quickly discarded her dirty clothes and got in once the temperature was just right. She stood under the stream and let the hot water trickle down her skin while she inhaled the steam. Her shoulders were tense so she let the water linger there for a while. It was so relaxing and she didn't even want to move, she could have stayed there for hours. She closed her eyes and let whatever images were on her mind come to surface. Of course images of her daughter came to mind first. Her brown hair and her slightly chubby cheeks flashed in her head, which caused a smile to come across Hayley's face. That same smile quickly faded as hope's small little fingers peaking out from the top of her blanket during one of the few times she actually got to hold her came to mind. She wished so badly she could touch those little fingers again, to have them wrapped around her index finger or lightly brushed against her lips. Before she knew it she had her face buried in her wet palms and tears were mixing in with the water droplets on her cheeks. She wasn't sobbing as hard as she usually sobbed but she was crying, she was still grieving. No matter how relaxed or refreshed she felt she would always be missing something, she would always be missing Hope. Her pain was inescapable and there was no forgetting that.

Instead of wiping the tears from her eyes she turned towards the showerhead and let the falling water wash them away. She stayed like that for a few minutes letting her moment of grief come and go. When she felt like she had gotten it all out, at least for right now she was sure this wouldn't be her last time in tears today, she finished up her shower and got out.

Hayley made her way to her room and dressed herself, deciding to actually put on decent clothes today for a change. As she rummaged through her clothes for something to wear she came across a few items that she wore while she was pregnant. She thought she had gotten rid of them all in one of her fits of rage one night but she must have forgotten some. She felt that sting again, the sting of not being able to see the child she carried for 8 months. She felt herself sinking to the ground and she just let herself go. She sat on the floor with the shirt clutched in her hand and lowered her head, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. She felt like she wanted to cry again and she was on the verge of doing it, the tears were right at the rim of her eyes lids…then she heard Klaus's voice in her head. His attempts to soothe her aching heart came back to her and it gave her enough to pull herself together temporarily before she fell apart again. Before now she had never realized how comforting just talking to him had truly had been for her these past weeks. Just the sound of his voice was soothing to her sometimes and it was almost unsettling that he could really affect her in that way.

Lost in thought about Klaus she forgot about her sadness. She tossed the shirt aside and slowly pulled herself up off the ground. Her search for something to wear continued without a lot of luck. Honestly she needed new clothes but she wasn't up for shopping, she felt like it was too much of a happy activity. She also feared passing baby clothes or things for children and having a breakdown in public so shopping was out of the question for her; she would just have to make do with what she had from before she got pregnant. She finally found something suitable and managed to get it on. She decided to leave her hair just as it was but she tousled it a bit so it looked like it was messy on purpose. While she ran her fingers through her hair she thought about what she could possibly do with herself for the rest of the day. She may have been attempting to pull it together today but she still wasn't ready for being out on the town, she still preferred to stay locked away at her home. She sat on her bed and looked around her room, searching for something, anything to occupy her thoughts and her time, yet she found nothing. She was starting to get discouraged when she heard a knock on her door. "What could Klaus want?" she asked herself as she got up to get the door.

"Klaus what do you…" She said as she swung the door open. "Oh."

That was all she could say, oh, because her visitor wasn't Klaus, it was Elijah. It should have come as no surprise it was Elijah, he had a permanent residence just outside her door and yet Elijah's name and face didn't come to mind at all when she heard that knock.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you Hayley." Elijah said seemingly unfazed by her mistaking him for Klaus.

"No it's just. Never mind..."

"May I come in?"

"Sure." Hayley took a step aside and opened the door wider so that Elijah could enter. He walked in and stopped in the middle of the room. She could tell by the apprehensive smile on his face that he was there to see her but something else was on his mind, something she was sure she wouldn't want to talk about.

"You appear to be doing well today Hayley."

"If by well you mean I'm not having psychotic meltdowns because I miss my daughter then sure, I guess I am doing well today." She said casually. Elijah studied her carefully trying to gauge her mood.

"Have you had anymore since? I take it you know Klaus compelled you…I tried to stop him but Niklaus is-"

"Yeah I know all about that." She said cutting him off. "He had to do what he had to do." Hayley crossed her arms and took a seat on her bed. Talking about Klaus with Elijah was making her feel very uneasy.

"I happen to think it wasn't necessary, Hayley you can find other ways to deal with your grief, you don't have to resort to messing with your mind."

"What If I do?" She asked defiantly. "You saw me that night, you've seen me here all those nights. Nothing can help me but getting my daughter back and making the people that tried to hurt her pay, until that happens then what other option do I have when I'm that inconsolable."

"I have seen you and I've been here, I've kept my promise to you to always be here, I've been trying to help yet you can only manage to meet me with indifference. I worry about you Hayley." He slowly walked closer to her, at first keeping his hands tucked away in his pockets. Hayley watched him approach her, she could see the worry in his eyes and she appreciated it. Elijah was one of the first people to come into her life and make her feel like she mattered. He was there for her even when Klaus wasn't and that's something she would never forget. Having someone worry about her, and care about her was a welcome change for her and she appreciated it, she really did which is why she gave him a shy smile at his words. It wasn't a lot but it was all that she had to offer to him despite that other look behind his eyes, the glimmering one filled with longing and desire, the one she couldn't respond to the way she wanted to.

Elijah took her smile as encouraging so he finally got the nerve to make the physical contact with her that he so longed for. He pulled his right hand out of his pocket and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Hayley didn't shy away from his touch, which was a welcomed change for him. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to see you that way Hayley, I felt helpless." He said as he cupped her cheek and pulled her face up towards him. The intimate contact made Hayley feel uneasy, nervous, and almost afraid. The gentleness of his touch and the affection behind his voice, it should have been so comforting for her, she wished it were comforting for her, at least in the way that it used to be. Before he could lean into her even more she grabbed his wrist to stop his motion.

"You worry too much Elijah, I lost my child and my identity, you expect too much of me, I'm not as strong as you want me to be." She solemnly said.

"I don't want you to be strong I want you to let me in Hayley, I want you to stop shutting me out, to talk to me." He replied, gently moving his fingers against her soft cheek. She looked up into his eyes, but she didn't see his brown iris's, she saw icy blue ones, the ones she had looked into tenderly last night as she showed the same kind of affection and said similar words to him to comfort him. The true weight of their moment finally hit her leaving her confused. Elijah could see the confusion in Hayley's eyes and he wondered what its origins were. He didn't get a chance to ask since Hayley quickly broke their physical contact. His closeness was too overwhelming and confusing for her so she gently brushed his hand away and stood up. She stepped aside and crossed her arms in front of her chest putting more space between them.

"Maybe one day I will be able to do that Elijah, I don't know, but right now I just need…I need space. I need you to stop pushing me."

"If it is space that you need Hayley then that is what I will give you, but I will not stop worrying about you especially when you disappear for hours without saying a word to anyone."

Hayley gasped internally. She instantly wondered how he knew and how much he knew. "How long had Klaus and I stayed out?" She wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about Elijah."

"Hayley you were gone until morning. Is there a reason you feel as if you can not tell me about your whereabouts?"

"I didn't know I had to check with you for everything I did Elijah." Hayley responded with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"I was worried, I thought I had lost you. I feared something had happened or that you had taken off never to return, do you not understand that? Does it mean nothing to you?"

"I'm a hybrid now Elijah, I'm not that pregnant helpless werewolf anymore. There is no threat out there that I'm not capable of handling myself." Hayley said straightening her posture and putting her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't worry about me, you should worry about the people who have caused me this pain."

Elijah looked at her in confusion. He couldn't understand where the abrasiveness in her demeanor and the coldness behind her words came from. He peered his eyes at her trying to somehow rationalize how the woman he had fallen for could be so unrecognizable to him. "Do you hear yourself Hayley? You sound just like Niklaus."

Hayley looked at him emotionless at his accusation.

"What exactly have you two been doing? I know it is no coincidence that my brother was also absent from our home last night. I have fought for centuries to save Niklaus from himself, to help him return to the brother that I once knew, I worry about this path you are going down Hayley, the one he is leading you on, there is no comfort in that darkness, just ask Niklaus."

"We know that! You think we asked for this? " She yelled without thinking.

We, she said we Elijah thought to himself. We know that.

"I fear loosing you as I lost him all those centuries ago. Whatever you have been doing with him, whatever he's been teaching you and telling you, Hayley you can't feed into it. Don't become just like him, you will never find yourself again."

Hayley felt the strange urge to defend Klaus, maybe even more than she wanted to defend herself. No one has been of more comfort to her than he has and Elijah's dismissal of him and his harsh tone when speaking about him and his darkness bothered her. She took it strangely personal; it felt like he was dismissing her.

"Klaus may have his faults, but he loves our daughter as much as I do, he feels the same longing for her that I do and the loss we share…you couldn't understand it so don't pretend you know anything about us. How we choose to deal with that is between us." She said as she brushed past him.

"Now if you don't mind I'm done talking about this." She said harshly.

We, us that's all he heard once again. He exhaled deeply and turned to face Hayley. He had the answers he sought so his presence was no longer needed, and judging by Hayley's nervous running of her hand through her hair and her wrinkled brow his presence was not welcomed either.

"Perhaps it's best I leave you." He said as he walked towards her door. Before he left he pulled her cellphone out of his suit pocket and placed it on the table right by her door.

"You seemed to have misplaced this in my brother's quarters, I hope that is all you've left behind in there."

Then he was gone.

Upset and confused Hayley just sat and stared at her phone, replaying Elijah's last words in her head.

I hope that is all you've left behind in there

She hoped that was all she'd left behind in there.

AN: so not a whole lot of action is this chapter and Elijah was focused on pretty heavily but both is his conversations with Hayley and Klaus needed to be given some focus. Hayley seems pretty confused about a lot of things after her night with Klaus, we'll see how that factors in a bit more in the upcoming chapters. I hope you guy liked how the two confrontations played out drop me a review and let me know exactly how you feel about it :) oh and to a few of my reviewers who expressed how you don't want elijah to get hurt I completely understand, he's in a terrible position in this story and on the show and I don't want to see him hurt either, that's why it is so dangerous having him involved with hayley romantically. Elijah doesn't deserve to be hurt but unfortunately for him in this story (and I suspect on the show as well) he's dealing with two very broken and devastated people people who share somethings he just can't understand. Don't worry though, just because this is a klayley story that doesn't mean that Elijah will end the story completely heartbroken or just tossed aside. You'll just have to keep reading to see what I mean by that :)