A/N: Thank you for the comments. I am sorry I am uploading very slowly this time. My family is visiting and I am unable to write it down. But I have a little long story in mind for this particular fan fiction so hang on tight and enjoy.
Synopsis: Hayley and Klaus tie the knot for their daughter sake and start their lives but realize soon that they have many hurdles to come over before they find room of each other in their hearts.
The next twenty for hours were a blur to Hayley. She had to pack their things and get to the airport; then he picked them up and took them to his apartment, so they could leave their bags there and freshen up before take them to the marriage registrar office in the afternoon. Hayley was exhausted and the worse was whenever he was close near her
During the ceremony, especially when she was about to sign the marriage certificate, her apprehension and nervousness were at peaks.
She stole a glance at him but he was busy reading the document the magistrate had handed him over and wondered 'how come he was so relaxed? He has just broken up with the love of his life to get married to her so he must be feeling something'. Her heart sank as she realized that she will never have a perfect marriage all girls dream of having but then she hardened her heart by saying to herself 'that was never for her. Right now she just wants some stability for Hope which only her father can provide'.
She startled from her thoughts as the judge said "by the power vested in me I pronounce you husband and wife" while at the same time Hope put her hand on her knee. She smiled and kissed her.
On the way to home, Klaus said without looking at her "I will file for Hope adoption as soon as I can".
When she didn't say anything he looked at her staring out of window and said "I know you didn't want this but I promise things will get better".
Hayley stared out of the window and suddenly it hit her that he does not know about her cancer. She turned to him and said "I need to tell you something".
Klaus asked "what is it?"
Hayley said in hesitant style "I have…" but stopped.
Klaus chanced her a glance and from the frown on her face he realized what she was going to tell him but he decided to play along reminding himself that she does not know that her secret is not a secret anymore. He asked "you have what?"
Hayley said "I have no idea how will we explain this".
Klaus knew at once that she was not going to say that. He said "leave that to me. When I tell them that I fell madly in love with you, they will understand".
Hayley looked at him in shock and said "that is a lie".
Klaus smiled and said "yes … " and then added "for right now but this is the perfect reason for us to get married".
Hayley stared at him and wondered 'right now? Is he expecting them to fall in love with each other? No way she will never fall in love with someone who raped her' but then it started to sunk in that she had married the man who had raped her and her heart started to sink. She deliberately thought of the reasons why she married him and started to calm down somewhat.
As he stopped his car outside a building she asked him "where are we?"
Klaus said "at my station. I need to get the safety box to put my…" he looked towards the back seat and saw that Hope had gone to sleep so he continued "gun in. With Hope in the house I cannot leave it my drawer unlocked".
Hayley said "Is it necessary to have a gun in the apartment? and is it safe to have gun in that house even if it is in the lock and key".
KLaus said "Yes, I must have my gun with me at all time. I don't stop being a detective just because I'm in my house. And i do believe it will be safe in the locked box. Wait I will be back in a minute".
He got out of the car and went inside whereas Hayley looked at him thinking 'how come he is so calm after what they had done?'
She was lost in her thoughts thinking about the consequences of her actions and and telling herself repeatedly to calm down not knowing that klaus was doing the exact same thing at that precise moment. She startled out of her thoughts when the door opened and he was back with a metal black box. He put the box under the seat of the car and put the car on the road again. The rest of the drive was a quiet one.
After they reached his apartment building, he carried Hope in his arms and led her to their apartment again. He unlocked the door and took her to the bedroom where they stayed when they got stranded due to/because of the storm. He laid her on the bed, turned to her and said "this will be Hope's room. You can set it as you want. Ours is the other one".
Hayley said with racing heart "uhm Mr Mikaelson, I was thinking may be I should be sharing room with Hope until she settles down".
Klaus looked the reluctance on her face and knew fully well why she said that. There was something on his face that just made Hayley feel guilty and she started to blush but then he said "First of all it is Klaus and secondly okay. But Hayley you have to move in with me at some time in near future to make this marriage work. The more time we spend apart, the more time it will take us to accept our relationship and break the wall that is between us. We cannot live like two roommates all our lives. I will give you space and time. I promise that I will not cross the line with you until you want me to but you have to make an effort to work on our relationship too. Right now you can set your things in this room and the second bathroom down the hall but think about what I just said".
Hayley stared at him lost for words thanking her luck that he was not making an issue about this. Klaus said to her "I have to tell Elijah".
Hayley asked him "when will we tell Hope about our marriage?"
Klaus looked at sleeping Hope and said "she is sleeping. May be in the morning or when she wakes up. Right now I am going to tell Elijah. Do you want to tell Hope or should we do it together?"
Hayley thought for a moment and then said "may be together".
He nodded and walked out. He dialed Elijah's number.
As the call connected he said "hey busy?"
Elijah said "no, not really. I was just out for dinner. How are things at your end?"
Klaus looked up as he sensed her and said "I have a news for you".
Elijah said with annoyance "what now? You already dropped a bomb by calling off this wedding. Why did you do that? At least tell me that".
Klaus looked at Hayley and saw her biting her lips and said "I married somebody else".
There was a silence on the other end and then he heard Elijah say "what?!"
Klaus said "yes".
Elijah asked "who is she?"
Klaus said "Hayley".
He could literally see Elijah's mind working to place her. He heard him say "Hayley! Hayley Marshall?!" The shock in his voice just made him smile.
Klaus said keeping eye contact with her and with a smile "yes. You were right about her. I will tell you the detail when you come visit us. I knew mother would raise an issue especially after what happened between them. That is why I opted for marriage in court. We got married today, a few hours after I picked her and Hope in the airport".
Hayley turned and went back in Hope's room.
Elijah asked "Niklaus what is going on? You loved Caroline and she loves you too. What happened?"
Klaus said "we were having problems for the past few months Elijah."
Elijah asked "your problems with Caroline? How come I didnt know that? What problems?"
Klaus said "It is not her Elijah. During the time I spend in Mystic Falls I realized that I have change. I love Caroline but I cannot spend my life with her. We dont see life the same way as we used to. The more time I spend with her the more I became convinced that we will not be happy together and then I met Hayley. I think I have been looking for a girl for a while now. The girl next door and Hayley is like that girl. The more I got to know her the more I got impressed by her and here we are".
When Elijah didnt say anything he said with a smile "Any way you need to visit me… us I mean before I visit Mystic Falls. I will give you the honor of breaking the news to mother but if you dont want to I can do that when I come visit her next month".
Elijah said "let me do that. Her heart is not strong".
Klaus said "okay good".
Elijah said "oh my god. This is so weird. I surely will be visiting over the weekend. Just need to wrap up this case".
Klaus said "sure".
She was sitting on the bed with Hope still sleeping when she heard him say from the door way "Elijah will be visiting on Saturday. I don't want him to see our living situation. So you have over a week to adjust to this new change in our lives. I am not forcing you but I think the sooner we put all our cards on the table, the better it will be for our relationship and for Hope". At the end of the sentence he looked at Hope.
Hayley followed his gaze and reminded herself the reason for which she had married him and tried to calm her nerves.
Klaus noticed her getting nervous with his presence so he turned around to leave but then stopped and said "after you have settled down a bit, can you come out in the living room. I need to talk to you about something"
As his back disappeared Hayley thought 'why should she go talk to him or listen to anything he had to say' but then chided herself by saying to herself "dont be childish. You guys are married and stop thinking about what happened between you two if you really want to move forwards with your life for Hope's sake"
She opened her bag, took out her things and started putting them in closet all the time wondering what does he want to talk about. She even started to do some rehearsal conversation in her mind to prepare herself. There were very few things so she was done in an hour. She took a deep breath, prepared herself for the conversation with him and went to the living room.
Klaus was lying down on the sofa reading a book when he sensed her. He sat up, smiled at her and gestured her to have a seat. As she sat down he said "there is a safety box behind my clothes in the walking closet in my room. It is fixed in the wall. I will give you the code. I have put the gun in that box. Just keep Hope out of that area not that she can open it".
When she nodded, he got up feeling flustered and knelt down in front of her making her jump up. Klaus looked up at her and exclaimed "what?"
Hayley asked in surprise "what are you doing?"
Klaus stood up and even though his heart was beating really fast from the nervousness he said in a calm voice "I should have proposed you in a more traditional way but under the circumstances I was not sure how to do that but now that we are married I think it is necessary. I know the circumstances of our marriage are far from ideal but I will only marry once. At least that is the plan as of now". He smiled at the dumb look on her face and for some reason she felt butterflies in her stomach. He then continued "And every married couple has to have rings. So I bought this ring for you when you said yes".
Hayley stared at the beautiful ring with three big diamond stones and then at him and said "I cannot take this from you. This is too expensive".
Klaus said "yes it is but I can afford it and I want you to have it. You are my wife and you deserve this".
Hayley looked at him and said "Mr… Klaus if you think that you can buy my feelings from your …" she stopped talking as she saw his eyes hardening.
He said angrily but in low volume "you don't want to wear it dont but dont doubt my intentions for marrying you. I married you solely because of Hope but if in the process we get to find peace and start to care for each other then that will be bonus. I always imagined that I will love my life partner and she me so I am hoping that someday we will start to care about each other like any normal happy couple does and forget about that horrific past of ours. I imagine you want happy life too because we both need to work together to get that happy future".
He put the ring back in a small red velvet box and put it on the table with another red box and left the living room. After a few seconds Hayley heard the door close and knew that he had gone to his room. She stood there feeling miserable at what she had said to him. She looked at the ring boxes and wondered 'why are there two?'
After few curious moment, the curiosity won and she opened the other one and smiled as she saw a masculine wedding band in it. She looked towards the door where he had disappeared into and then with regret picked up both the boxes and went to her room too.
Both of them managed to get some sleep without having dinner after hours of brain storming about their future. By the time he woke up, she had already given Hope breakfast, changed her and was having coffee.
She was sitting on the sofa watching TV with Hope when he entered the living room. Klaus ruffled her hair gently and asked her "what are you watching?"
Hope looked at him and said with a a grin "Tom and Jerry".
Klaus said smilingly "you really love those don't you".
Hope said "uhun" not taking her eyes from the screen.
Klaus laughed and went to the kitchen without looking at Hayley.
Hayley thought for a moment and then followed him in the kitchen and said "I am sorry about last night".
Klaus said "it is okay. If there was anyone else in your spot, she would have thought…" he stopped speaking as his gaze went to her left hand. He smiled and continued saying "she would have thought the same". He paused for a second and then said "thanks".
She smiled and gave him his ring and said after a moment of hesitation "Klaus it will take me some time to warm up to you. Please don't take it the wrong way. Believe me I don't hate you. In fact I don't know how I feel about you. But every time I see you I cannot forget that ….".
She couldn't finish the sentence so she stopped making Klaus's stomach drop several inches. He said softly "I know. You think you are alone in that? I cannot stop thinking about the brutality with which I…."
Hayley raised her hand and said "no please. Can we not discuss that please?"
Klaus said "sure".
After a short pause she said to him "I was thinking of talking to Hope. She asked me today what we were doing here. Do you want to come?"
Klaus said while pouring coffee in the cup "yes".
They walked to the living room with her and the sat on her either side and looked at the screen. Klaus said "let this one end and then we can talk to her".
Hope snuggled against Hayley while Klaus relaxed on the sofa, looking at the cartoon and sipping his coffee wondering with contentment 'how soon his dream of spending time with his daughter was coming true!' and it hit him that he had never imagined he would be able to watch cartoon with his daughter so soon after asking Hayley to marry him.
After about five minutes Hayley said to Hope "hey it is time to switch the Tv off. We want to talk to you about something".
Hope looked at Hayley and Klaus was very impressed when she didnt even peek a word as Hayley switched off the TV.
Klaus turned to her as Hope settled down in Hayley's lap and asked "so Hope are you liking your new home?"
Hope looked at Hayley and said shyly "yes".
Hayley kissed her hair making Klaus itch to take her in his own lap. She said "Hope I want to tell you something".
Hope looked up at her face and said "what mommy?"
She nestled close to her as Hayley held her tiny hand and said "you know Mr…Klaus right?"
Klaus felt his heart skip a beat as she nodded her head vigorously and smiled at him.
She brushed her hair back from her forehead with her hand and said "a few days ago he asked me to marry him and I said yes. Today we got married honey".
He smiled as Hope looked towards his mom and then at Klaus and asked "what is marry?"
Hayley looked at Klaus and said "well that means that two people promise to love each other and care about each other. They get to live together like he and I are going to be living together in this house with you…." she paused for a second and continued "and you get to call him daddy".
Klaus who was looking at Hope's confused face with racing heart thinking 'will she accept him as her father or not' looked at her when he heard the words "daddy".
Hayley smiled at him and nodded him to take over but the next words coming out of Hope's mouth just broke his heart.
Hope looked towards him and asked "what is daddy?"
Hayley gulped her tears and said keeping her voice stable "well just like I am your mommy because you came out of mommy's tummy and mommy loves you and takes care of you, daddy is a man who takes care of you too, protects you. Give you everything that you want. Take care of you".
When Hope didn't say anything and continued to stare at him he smiled and said "so what do you say Hope? Do you like it?"
Hope smiled at him. She looked from Hayley to him and then nodded her head slowly.
He patted his hand on his thigh and gestured her to come to her.
Hope hesitated just for a second but then Klaus noticed Hayley giving her a slight nudge and his heart warmed up for her. She got up and crawled to his lap. He said "do you want to call me daddy Hope?" hoping she would say "yes".
Within moments his heart felt lightest when she nodded her heard after a slight hesitation.
Klaus smiled and said "and you know what? Mommy will get to call me Klaus now".
Hope said "but she calls you Mr Mikaelson".
Klaus laughed whereas Hayley smiled too feeling very self conscious and nervous . He said "well yes but that was when I was her boss. But now I am her husband. Do you know what a husband is?
When she shook her head snuggling close to him he said "well when a man gets married to a woman, man is called husband and the woman is the wife in that relationship".
Hope asked "what is retionship?"
Klaus thought for a moment and then said keeping his chin on top of her head and holding her hand unconsciously "relationship is how two people are related".
Hope asked "what is related?"
Klaus looked at Hayley and caught her looking at him.
He asked now feeling helpless "do you want to take this one?"
Hayley's heart was fluttering at the way he was talking to Hope; the way she was snuggled in his lap, the way he had his chin rested on her head and her hand in his hand and she couldn't help but smile when he asked her help to answer that particular question.
She said "related means connected. You know how you connect your blocks with each other. Just like that people, animals, things connect to each other too. That is called related. Like you and mommy are connected by parent relationship. You are my daughter and I am your mommy. Now Mr… " when Hope chipped in "Klaus mommy".
Hayley felt nervous and said after a little hesitation "Klaus is your daddy and my husband".
She noticed his eyes on her face but refused to look at him when Klaus said "and your mommy is my wife. That is called related and you know what? We are all a family. A new family who will love each other and be happy with each other".
At those words she looked up and caught him looking at her.
Klaus asked keeping his eyes locked on Hayley's face "are you happy Hope?"
He felt her head move up and down and smiled as Hayley broke the eye contact and looked away. Klaus got up from her bed and said "now you sleep. This is a new house so mommy …." Hope chipped in "but I have lived in this house before too".
Klaus smiled but Hayley said "Hope we don't interrupt when someone is talking".
He said "yes but now this is your home. Last time you were a guest in this house. As this is your new home and new room so mommy will be sleeping with you for a few days so that you don't get scared and then mommy will move to the other room".
Hope grinned and said "I sleep alone in my old room".
Klaus said "yes but for a few days mommy will share the room with you".
He looked at his wrist watch and said "It is Sunday so lets go have some brunch. Our first brunch as a family".
Hayley said with some hesitation "but Hope and I already have had breakfast".
Klaus said "then you can have coffee and Hope can have something light too. Dont the kids get hungry often?"
Hayley looked at the Cheese Cake Factory sign and smiled.
Klaus looked at her smile and was about to ask her the reason for it when Hope chipped in "mommy where are we?"
Klaus looked at Hope and asked "we are here to have brunch love?"
Hope asked "what is brunch?" whereas Hayley said "Hope has never been to a fancy place like this before".
Klaus asked looking at Hope holding Hayley's hand "and you?"
Hayley looked around and said casually "a very long time ago. Seems like ages".
Klaus looked at her face scanning the environment and knew she was talking about the life before the rape and he started to feel guilty how his act changed her life for ever. He looked at Hope who was now pulling at his sleeve and asking "what is Bunch?"
Klaus smiled and said "brunch is a meal we eat between breakfast and lunch. We combine both meals in one meal".
Hope skipped excitedly, looked at Hayley and said "I want chocolate milk mommy".
They were led to their seats by a young waitress. Hayley ordered chocolate milk for Hope along with pancakes whereas Klaus ordered himself some eggs, coffee and pancakes too. He looked at her as she was staring at the menu and asked "what are you going to order for yourself?"
Hayley said "I am not hungry" as her eyes scanned the prices. She closed the menu and gave it to Klaus.
Klaus looked at her and then said to the waitress "bring her the same I am having".
After the waitress retreated he picked up the glass of water she had put in front of him and said "you should eat more. People will think I am starving you and I will find that very offensive considering I am your husband".
She smiled and said "I never gain weight not matter how hard I try".
She looked at Hope who was coloring the paper and said "how did Mr Mikaelson…. I mean your brother react when you told him about our marriage?"
Klaus leaned back and said "Elijah was shocked as expected. But he will get over it. He likes you".
Hayley's head snapped in his direction and saw him looking towards a table where a young couple was sitting snuggled close to each other. As she was watching him he looked away from them and caught her looking at him.
He smiled and said "so do you think you will like New Orleans?" Before she could answer the waitress came back with their order.
She gave Hope the chocolate milk when she heard a voice "Klaus, what a surprise!"
Hayley looked up at a very pretty blonde who was smiling at Klaus.
Klaus asked "are you following me partner?"
She laughed and said "yes sure. You are the only one I will follow right like we dont see each other every day".
Klaus smiled and turned to Hayley and said "Hayley, Alexis, my partner. Alexis Hayley, my wife. and this is our daughter Hope".
Hayley felt her eyes expand in surprise and wondered 'has Klaus not told anyone about their marriage'.
Alexis recovered from the shock, smiled and said "o wow Klaus, you deceiver. I was supposed to get married before you. Wait till Alex finds out".
She shook Hayley's hand who had stood up and said with a smile "it is very nice to meet you Hayley. Klaus is the best you know and seeing that I am his partner you and I need to bond over his flaws".
Hayley smiled and said "looking forward to it".
Alexis bend down and said to Hope "hello Hope. It is so nice to see you. Will you be my friend?"
Hope looked at Hayley shyly and snuggled close to her.
Klaus said "of course she will. She needs a aunt in New Orleans and Alexis need a niece to spoil right Alexis?"
Alexis said "of course" and then she said to him "I will let you have the family time and will see you around Hayley".
As she walked away Hayley noticed his gaze on her face. He said "Alexis is my partner more like a sister. I have known her for the past seven months and she has never made me feel Rebekah's absence and I would love it if you two get along as much as we do".
Hayley smiled and said "I like her. She is sweet".
Klaus smiled and dug into his breakfast. He noticed that she hardly touched her breakfast but drank the coffee. Hope ate her fruits and drank her milk. They packed the leftovers, he paid the bill and they left with him hoping that she will finish it some time later in the day.
After the breakfast Klaus showed them around the city a bit, took Hope to a park near the apartment, tried to occupy her with random chit chat but soon discovered that his work is not as laid out as he had imagine. They returned in the evening. By that time Hope was tired. He said to her "why dont you give her something to eat and put her to bed and then we can eat something later".
After she nodded Klaus went to his room whereas she gave her hot milk, a cheese sandwich.
She then bathed Hope, changed her into her pink nightclothes and settled her in the bed. She kissed her on the forehead and was about to read a book to her when she noticed Klaus standing at the door. From his wet hair she gauged that he had just taken a shower. She said smilingly "it was a great day. Hope had loads of fun".
Klaus itched to ask "and you?" but didnt.
He just smiled looking at Hope. Hayley followed his gaze and asked impulsively "do you want to sit while I read to her?"
Klaus nodded and walked to the bed and sat at the foot of the bed.
He sat there listening to Hayley reading to her, noticing the shakiness in her voice, knowing well that was because of him. After around five minutes Hayley closed the book and kissed Hope on her forehead and said "good night honey".
Hope said with a smile "good night mommy".
Hayley got up and went to the closet to put her clothes. She smiled as she heard him say "good night love".
Klaus bent down and kissed Hope on the forehead at the exact same spot where Hayley had kissed her. As he stepped back she smiled and said shyly "good night daddy".
He felt as if his heart had stopped beating at the same time a lump in his throat and realized that the last time it had happened was when he had heard about his father's death. He turned around and saw Hayley looking at them. He smiled and then looked back at Hope who had turned to her side and had her eyes closed.
He retreated from the room without saying anything to Hayley.
Hayley saw him leaving the room and looked at Hope and saw that she had already gone to sleep. She stood there marveling at how easily Hope had broken the wall between her and Klaus. She wondered 'what should she do to achieve that?'
His words "you will have to make an effort too Hayley' were echoing in her mind and reflecting back at the day they had she realized that he had been making an effort all day long while she had not taken first step in anything so after some deliberation, remembering that they were supposed to eat dinner, she left the room softly closing the door behind her.
He was lying on his bed thinking about going to the kitchen and making something to eat when his cell rang. He smiled as he read Elijah's name on the caller ID.
Hayley looked around in the fridge and when she couldn't find anything she decided to make something.
He asked "so what time are you arriving Elijah?" when he heard a sound coming from the kitchen.
He got up from his bed and headed out of the room.
Elijah said "at 2 Saturday afternoon but I have a meeting and then I need to see the office and then will drop by. I have a flight on Sunday evening so not opening my house this time. On that topic why dont you move in that house now?"
Klaus walked into the kitchen said "hmm, I didn't thought about it, but now that you mention it I will give it some thought and I let you know".
He looked at Hayley who was opening the drawer and taking out the knife and then looking around for something.
He asked "how is she?" making Hayley look a him while Klaus eyed the vegetables on the counter next to the knife. He gestured her aside, bend down and opened the bottom cabinet next to the sink and gave her the chopping board. She smiled and took it from him and started chopping the vegetables.
Elijah said "better. But I dont think that news of your marriage will sit well. Just a fair warning. I tried to talk to her about Hayley to gauge how she feels about her but she just was not ready to listen about her. This marriage will not help the situation".
Klaus looked at Hayley who was looking at him. He asked "what do you need?"
Hayley said "a pan to make pasta. Do you have spaghettis?" whereas Elijah said "nothing".
Klaus said "no I am talking to Hayley" while taking out the pan from the bottom cabinet next to the stove.
Elijah said "oh okay. Any way I will be coming on Saturday afternoon. Will talk then".
After putting the cell down Hayley said to him "I wanted to talk to you about my job. I want to join New Orleans' office but for that I need a babysitter for Hope".
Klaus gave her pasta pack and asked "why do you want to work?"
Hayley looked at him and said "because I need the job Klaus".
Klaus at once knew what she was talking about so he said "I mean why do you want to work right now. You have just moved in here. Hope needs time to adjust; Everything is different for her. Lets look for a good babysitter for her and then you can work if you still want to. How about putting her to school?"
Hayley said pouring water into the pan "yes, I want to. After summer break. She is turning Five in June".
Klaus asked "when?" handing her oil bottle, salt and pepper.
Hayley poured some oil in the pan, put vegetables in it and said as they sizzled "June 25th".
Klaus stared at her remembering that he was supposed to get married to Caroline that day and then he remembered her reaction in Elijah's office when Caroline had told her the wedding date. Hayley turned around and opened a cabinet when he asked "plates?"
When she nodded he pointed toward the right most cabinet and said "if you want we can move to Elijah's house. He offered it to me.".
Hayley said "no, this is okay. It is near your work too right?" as she poured the past in the boiling water.
Klaus said "yes".
Hayley said "then here is fine".
Hayley suddenly felt dizzy so she put her hand on the counter.
Klaus saw her holding onto the kitchen counter and at once knew something was not right. He asked her "what happened?"
Hayley said after a second of silence "I dont know. I just feel dizzy".
Klaus stared at her knowing well that her chemo side affects must be acting up again. He almost wished he would talk to her about her cancer but he had realized from her hesitation in the car on the way back from the marriage registrar office that she was not ready to talk about it just like he was not ready to talk about his secret. So he said "Too much outing in the heat. May be if you eat something you will feel better".
Hayley thought of refusing but then she realized that she needed to eat something to gain some strength. She suddenly realized she was due to have a chemo in near future. She looked at Klaus and wondered should she tell him right then about her cancer or wait it out.
Klaus said seeing her thoughtful expressions "why dont you sit? I will finish this and then we can eat and turn ourselves in. I have work tomorrow too".
As she sat on the small kitchen table, he expertly took over and within minutes he was putting the pasta dish in front of her and he settled down to eat too. During the dinner Klaus noticed that even though she was eating her food but still she didn't look so good. He tried to engage her in conversation to which she was answering yes or no so he stopped talking after a while.
After they were done he said to her "now go and rest. You will feel better by morning. I will clean up".
Hayley didn't need to be told twice. She got up and left. Klaus cleaned the kitchen thinking about how to draw her out and then retreated in his bedroom too and went to sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Next morning he left his apartment after making coffee for himself and before Hayley and Hope even got up. He was looking at the perp file that the captain had put on his table when Alexis walked towards him and leaned against his desk, then asked him in an accusatory tone "what was that Klaus? I thought it was you and Caroline".
Klaus sighed and looked up from the file he was looking at and said "Caroline and I had been having a lot of disagreements for the past two months and things were not good so we mutually decided to call it off".
Alexis said "and Hayley?"
Klaus said "she was my father's secretary in our office in Mystic Falls. (I got the chance to work with her after my father died and gradually. During mine and Caroline's problems I got to know her better and didnt know when I fell for her. I asked her to marry me and she said yes".
Alexis asked still looking confused "and Hope?"
Klaus looked down and said "she is her daughter but now she is ours".
Alexis asked him "but Caroline! You loved her! I know you did".
Klaus said "yes I did but we were having very serious problems Alexis. We both wouldn't have been happy if we had entered the wedding with those problems".
Alexis asked "now are you happy?"
Klaus looked at his hand and thought for a moment and then looked up and said "yes".
Klaus looked up as Ben entered the squad room and said "there was a robbery at the bodega at the corner of 24th and 38th. Mikaelson you and Woods take this one".
Klaus nodded, took out his gun and badge from the drawer and left the squad room with Alexis.
After coming back from the bodega and apprehending the perps he put them behind the bars and was went down to the ground floor to submit the evidence. He was climbing up the stairs thinking about how easily he had managed to apprehend on that chase and realized his werwolf abilities; speed and extra strength were kicking in faster then he had imagined. He smiled at that realization as he skipped two steps at a time to get to his floor. He stopped just before entering the squad room as he saw her sitting on the bench scanning the people passing by. He wondered 'what was she doing here?'
He smiled as he noticed the degrading way she was looking around her. He walked to her and said "hey Caroline, what a pleasant surprise! When did you come?"
Caroline stood up and her face lit up as she spotted him. She stepped forward and kissed him on his lips taking him by surprise.
Klaus stepped back as soon as her lips touched his and said "Caroline, I cannot".
She said "come on Klaus, we can make it work. Even though it has never been done before, I actually think that we can make our marriage work."
Klaus looked at her in confusion and said "Caroline, Hayley and I got married this Saturday". He showed her his left hand.
She stared at the ring in his ring finger and then at him and the smile vanished from her face, only to be replaced by anger and resentment.
She exclaimed "what?! but we broke up last week Klaus. How could you get married so quickly?" Her voice raised by the end of her sentence.
A couple of passerby's looked at them. Klaus looked at her with raised eyebrows and said "I understand that you are upset but do you want to shout or talk about it?"
Caroline said angrily "don't patronize me Klaus. you moved on. You married her and forgot about me like I was some kind of discarded piece of clothing".
Klaus looked at her in shock and said "please Caroline. This is my work place so lets go and talk somewhere".
Caroline jerked his hand away from her arm and said angrily "don't dare to calm me down. You proposed to her before you broke up with me and then you got married to her faster then blinking an eye. How could you do that to me? I am starting to think that that you have been sleeping with her when we were together".
Klaus felt himself losing temper but he took a deep breath to calm himself and said "no, I was not having an affair with her. I want to explain everything to you but if you are going to act that way then I would prefer that you leave".
Caroline stared at him and then stormed out of there.
He sighed with exasperation and went to the squad room. Alexis looked at the frown on his forehead and asked "I saw Caroline outside. Is everything okay?"
Klaus sighed and said "yes, just an argument".
They were luckily called on a case so his mind got distracted. When they came back, she was waiting for him in the waiting room.
As he entered she stood up and said "listen I am sorry for what happened earlier. It will take me some time to get used to the idea that you and I will not be able to share our lives together. I really want to get to know Ms…. Hayley seeing that you and I are best friends and we will always have a connection".
Klaus said with a smile "I am glad that you are willing to work on it Caroline. I am sure you will realize soon that we couldn't have worked out".
From her expressions, Klaus realized that she was not convinced on the topic but he thought 'better not to stir the hornet's nest.'
Caroline said with a smile "I also want to apologize to her".
Klaus asked "why?"
He noticed her looking apologetic and his heart skipped a beat as she said "I was rude to her when I found out that you had proposed to her".
Klaus wondered 'why didnt Hayley tell him about it?' but he asked Caroline "when? what did you do? I cannot imagine you being rude to anyone".
She said regretfully "well I am not too proud of it. But I love you so much and your breaking up with me just threw me off and when I saw her and she told me about the proposal I just lost it"
Klaus wondered 'what had happened and where? Did it happen before he came back from Mystic Falls or after' but he decided not to ask her.
He said to her "I will be heading home in half an hour. If you want to wait here you can otherwise I can pick you up from somewhere and we can go home together".
Caroline looked around the room with contempt and said "I will wait for you at the coffee shop around the corner".
Klaus nodded and headed out leading her out of the station.
She was playing with Hope with her doll but her mind was busy thinking about Klaus and her relationship and their future. She startled when her cell rang. She picked it up and saw his name on the caller ID. She sighed, put it against her ear and said "hello".
Klaus said "I wanted to tell you Caroline is in town. She stopped by this morning and I told her about our marriage. She was really upset and left. A couple of minute ago she came back and said she wanted to meet you and Hope and wanted to apologize about something. What was that about?"
Hayley looked at Hope remembering her and Caroline's last encounter and said "oh that was nothing. So is she going to be visiting?"
Klaus said flipping through the file "yes I will bring her along when I am done here. She might stay the night".
He felt like asking her to move in his room so that Caroline does not suspect anything but for some reason he couldn't find the courage to ask her that.
She said "right".
When she was putting the cell down, he asked "how is Hope doing?"
Hayley smiled and said "good. I think she is starting to understand what we told her yesterday".
He said "okay good. See you in an hour".
Hayley sat there looking at Hope chattering away for a few minutes and then she got up and went to the bathroom.