Hayley stood there for a couple of minutes at his new discovery. She was surprised that she had not seen it before – the care from him. The care that he had been hiding to show. It had broken her heart when he had said "I was supposed to protect her". She had been so absorbed in her own sorrow and the want to take revenge that she had not thought about what he was going through at all. She remembered his anguished face when Davina had accused him of killing her baby. She wanted to slap Davina at that time. Hope was not just her child, it was both of them. She suddenly turned and walked out of the room. She saw him standing next to Stefan in the court yard. She called him "Klaus"

Klaus and Stefan turned towards her and saw her coming down. Klaus said "Not now love" and then he started to leave but Hayley whooshed in front of him stopping him which earned her a chuckle from Stefan. She glared at him and said to Klaus "We need to talk about what happened right now"

"What? I am in a hurry" Klaus said trying to pass by her

"You cannot escape from it Klaus. We need to talk about her" Hayley said

"I don't want to talk about her. Why don't you get it?" Klaus suddenly yelled, holding her from her upper arms which made her jump

"What is going on…" Elijah came out of his study and stopped when he saw them in that way.

Hayley looked into his frustrated eyes and lifted her hand to touch his face but Klaus caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes and let her go. He then walked out of the compound.
Stefan looked at Elijah and then Hayley who was on the verge of crying and then left after him.

Klaus was putting the car in gear when Stefan sat in his car. Klaus gave him an annoyed look and then asked him "So have you decided what you are going to do about Caroline and Elena's plan?"

"Don't be an ass Klaus. I have not agreed to that and you know it" Stefan said in an equally annoyed voice.

"You can try. You all tried before right?" Klaus smirked at him "but this time I will fight harder as I have reason to fight now"

"Yes I know" Stefan said quietly. After a couple of minutes of silence he asked him "where are we going now?"

"To the bar" Klaus said

Klaus stopped the car near Rouseau's and went in. Cami was serving drinks. She looked at them and sighed. Then she turned to a handsome guy sitting on the bar. She smiled at him and started talking to him. Klaus walked in and went to the bar and demanded a drink from Cami. The man sitting on the stool looked at him and smiled.

"If you don't want to die then don't indulge him. He is in a foul mood today" Cami told him while pouring the drink for Klaus and Stefan which made Stefan laugh

"You have made quite a few friends in just a year. I am impressed" He patted Klaus on the shoulder and said.

"Why? Is he a fighter?" The young man asked

Klaus turned to him with a smirk on his face. No one had ever said something like that about him. He then turned away from the man.

"HI, my name is Kaleb" He outstretched his hand for Klaus to take it who just glared at his hand and kept on drinking his drink.

"He is not that bad usually especially with manners" Cami sneered at him and then went to the other side of the bar

Kaleb took his hand back when Klaus didn't shake it and smiled.

"That is fine. I can come some other time for the introduction" Kaleb said calmly

Cami came back with another drink in her hand and put it in front of Stefan who smiled at her. She took a deep breath and then asked him "Klaus how are you and Hayley doing? Do you guys need to talk…"

Klaus got up and left the bar even before Cami could finish her sentence or before he saw Kaleb react. Stefan looked at Kaleb with narrowed eyes but he was looking at Klaus's back who had just left the bar.

Stefan got up, thanked Cami and said "He is having a little difficulty dealing with it. I will persuade him to talk to you but you know him"

He then left the bar too.

At the compound Elijah looks at Hayley and asks her "what was that about?"

Hayley snapped out of her thoughts and said "Nothing Elijah. He was just being an ass"

Elijah kept quiet for a while and then said "If you are trying to reach out to him then don't. He deals with his losses his own way, the best way that suits him. I have been trying to reach out to him for the past 1000 years"

Hayley smiled at Elijah and said "I suppose you are right but he needs to talk to someone about it"

Elijah held her hand and asked her "Have you talked to anyone?"

Hayley looked at his hand holding hers and then into his eyes and said "I tried to talk to him but he would not"

Elijah's eyes hardened just for a second and then he said "I suppose that is right. You both lost her. You both are going through the same loss"

Hearing these words aloud for the first time from someone else's mouth made Hayley realize how much she needed his support, his understanding but he was not letting anyone near. She just nodded and then let herself be engulfed in his arms.

Elijah said to her "Everything will be okay. She will be back even before you realize her. Niklaus has managed to rid New Orleans of Gurrea wolves just in two weeks"

"What about your father?" Hayley asked him still hugging him.

She felt Elijah getting stiff and then he moved her a bit back and looked into her eyes and said "we will deal with our father too. No one will harm Hope"

Hayley just nodded and was about to go to her room when Elijah leaned in and kissed her on her lips. She couldn't help but kiss him too. It was supposed to be a just a kiss but then suddenly Hayley felt too overwhelmed and she started to kiss him more passionately which took Elijah by surprised but he got over it soon and picked her up and took her to her room in a vamp speed. While taking her to her bed Elijah shut the door with his foot and then laid her to the bed. He was about to kiss her neck when Hayley suddenly said "I cannot"

Elijah looked at her and asked "what do you mean you cannot? Is it because of Niklaus?"

Hayley kept quiet for a second and then averted her eyes. She looked back at him and then said "No, it has only been two weeks since Hope has been born. I cannot. Can you wait for a couple of weeks?"

Elijah leaned back and then nodded. He got up from her bed but not before kissing her gently on her lips and then left her room.

Hayley just laid there with her hands on her forehead thinking about what she was about to do. Recently she had been feeling guilty of her feelings for Elijah and she was unable to understand why this happening to her was. She didn't have any feelings for Klaus. He was just her child's father and nothing else… Her thought would not go anywhere else. Was he just Hope's father to her? What was happening to her? Thinking that she got up and fixed herself quickly. Then she remember the discovery she had made earlier that day and it had really shook her. The person fighting to save her in her dreams was not the person she knew to be as Klaus but the more she thought about it the more it become clearer and clearer that it was Klaus. She wanted to talk to him about it but he wouldn't open up and she knew it.

She got up with frustration and went down to the study where she knew Elijah would be. She asked him bluntly "are we going to keep Francesca alive?"

Elijah turned around just in time to see Klaus enter the room. Elijah looked at Hayley's bluntness and coldness with stunned expressions.

Klaus entered the compound and the first thing he heard was Hayley demanding about plans for Francesca. He laughed and said "isn't that a music to your ears Stefan?"

"Shut up Klaus" Hayley turned to him and said.

Klaus raised his hands in truce and said with a smile "Okay love I was just commending your sentiments. That is all"

Stefan sat on the couch and poured himself a drink whereas Elijah looked at Klaus and asked him "where have you been brother?"

"Drinking" Klaus said and then poured himself a glass too.

"Didn't you just say that you were drinking?" Hayley asked him sarcastically

"Yes Love but there is no law that says that I cannot drink again" Klaus said raising the glass to his lips

Hayley walked up to him and snatched the glass from his hands angrily and said "If you stop drinking for one damn minute you will realize the mess we are in"

Klaus got up angrily too and said "I know exactly what kind of mess we are in"

"If you know then do something about it" Hayley shouted.

"I am. What are you guys doing?" he shouted back

They were standing so close to each other that their lips were inches from each other. Even in this anger Hayley and Klaus couldn't help staring at each other's lips. Elijah looked from Hayley to Klaus in confusion and then looked at Stefan who was just leaning against the sofa apparently enjoying their exchange.

Elijah said "Niklaus"

Klaus was the first to recover. He sat down on the stool with a smirk on his face.

Hayley looked at him sitting on the stool and then realized what has happened. She looked at the drink in her hand. She gulped it down and put in on the counter angrily and left the room. She felt drained. She went to the kitchen and opened the freezer and took out a blood bag. She turned when she heard a sound behind her. She could sense Elijah. She turned and smiled at him.

Elijah looked at the blood bag in her hand and walked to her and asked her "are you okay?"

He then tried to take the bag from her hand but she wouldn't let go. She opened it and then started drinking it.

Elijah looked at her and then said "Hayley!"

When she looked into his eyes he said "Are you okay? You have been acting really strange these days"

Hayley laughed and said sarcastically "Strange! Like drinking blood" she showed him the blood bag "like agitated, like wanting to kill our enemies? I wonder why that is?" she then started to drink blood

Elijah snapped "This is not you"

Hayley laughed and said "Elijah on the contrary this is me. I don't want to be anything else"

Elijah said to her with frustration "I know you are lashing out because of what you have been through and I can appreciate that but please don't lose yourself in all of this. Don't be like…"

He stopped. Hayley put the bag down slowly and asked him "like Klaus?"

When he didn't say anything she brushed past him angrily and went to the study.

Klaus was still sitting on the stool thinking about what to do next when she charged in and said flatly "are you coming with me to deal with Francesca or not?"

HE turned and saw her standing there. He looked at her with confused expressions. He could see anger bubbling just beneath the calm she was showing. He walked to her and stopped right in front of her. He lifted his hand and moved it near her mouth which made Hayley step backwards. Klaus smirked and then wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth and said "I will"

Hayley turned towards the door but stopped when she saw Elijah standing there. He said "Hayley I will come with you"

"No Elijah I don't want to go with you. Why don't you and Stefan figure out the other important issue?" she said to him coldly and then left

Klaus looked at Elijah who was glaring at him angrily. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'it is your mess. Clean it yourself' and followed her.

In the car before he put it in gear Klaus turned to her and asked her "what happened?"

"None of your business" Hayley said looking out the window. She could feel the tears looming in her throat.

"I know" Klaus said which made Hayley look at him.

She said miserably "I just miss her so much. I want her back"

"I know" Klaus said sadly "but this is not what is bothering you right now"

Hayley looked into his eyes and then looked away thinking 'why was it that she was getting more comfortable with him day by day?'

Klaus said after being quiet for a while "Hayley give him some time to…"

Hayley turned and snapped at him "Stop. Stop defending your brother Klaus. You have done it before too. It is his problem. He needs to deal with it". She looked away

"Hayley…" Klaus said but then stopped. After a few seconds he said "you both love each other" Hayley's head snap in his direction. Klaus smiled and said "yes I know. The whole world knows. Elijah had not cared about anyone like he cares about you. It is just hard for him to see this side of you. He is seeing it for the first time so it will take some time to come around it"

"What if he never comes around it?" Hayley asked him in a whisper

"He will" Klaus said.

When she didn't say anything he put the car in gear and reversed it.

"Why aren't you repulsed by me now?" she asked him

Klaus didn't answer so Hayley starting looking outside again. After a couple of minutes he looked sideways and saw her staring out the window. He shifted his gaze back to the road and said while keeping his eyes on the road "because I don't find anything to be repulsed about"