[ he needs no other prompting or instruction than that. there isn't anything more than this: finding her and finding his child. (and perhaps the fate of both.) he lets his determination drive him; it's his only solace against the fear. he lets the rage that she's been here shake him, needs it more than the terror.
he's there within a minute, perhaps two, though he wastes no time. klaus walks in uninvited and unannounced, the containment of emotions in his expression barely effective. he needs to see her. ]
[It's going to be obvious. The state of her. The not being pregnant. He'll notice immediately and she'll have to tell him. She'll have to explain and it will hurt and she's not sure if she's ready to say it. Not out loud. It makes it real and maybe she can just pretend that while she's here everything back home is okay.
Hayley takes a breath when he's suddenly there. That unexpected remembrance of his speed of his ability to just be there.]
Klaus. [They've never been the type to hug. Never held onto those affections for each other, but she is glad to see him.] I need to know what you remember. [She needs to know if she has to say it. If he already knows, but just kept it from Rebekah.]
[ if it's obvious to him, the answer she seeks is obvious to her: it's in the way his eyes round and his face slackens seeing her body devoid of the life she's carried inside of her. it's followed by the maddening devastation and grief, the tight-jawed anguish and hope. the urgency in her to know what he's remembered doesn't help his state. ] Where is she?
[She steps closer to him and reaches for his hand. She wants to make sure she can reassure him.]
Safe. She's safe. I promise. Everything went wrong, Klaus. Francesca, Genevieve -- everything happened and -- [She takes a breath.] She's safe, but we had to send her away. [Her mouth forms a tight line, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her, but it's hard. She's still learning about all her newfound vampire sides.] We had to so that she was safe. So that no one would come after her anymore.
[ safe. he's never known comfort like her reassurances offer: total and complete, even though his baser instincts fight to reject in the wholeness and simplicity of it. he nearly pulls away from her hand, so ready he was instead to force these answers from her, so shaken he is with disbelief.
this is his fault. despite all his efforts, his scheming and planning. naturally someone as blood thirsty and power hungry as francesca would have a hand; of course inviting someone as treacherous and conniving as genevieve under his manipulation would lead to this. he failed and there's nothing he can do.
but nothing is more devastating than the thought of living without their child. his fingers tighten around hayley's, perhaps too tightly. in his paranoia and desperation he won't let her go, can't let her leave, even though he's not blind to the pain in her eyes and her determination to explain. ] What did they want with her? Who has her?
[The tightening of his hand doesn't hurt her. She barely even notices, but she can hear the strain in his voice, the worry that carries through both of them.]
Rebekah has her. You brought her to Rebekah and Elijah and I stayed behind. Making sure that everyone believes that she's [She almost says it, but the tightness at the back of her throat gives her enough pause to change her mind.] gone.
It all happens so fast. [She swallows thickly.] The agreement you had with the wolves. The moonlight rings -- Genevieve does the spell, but she has an agreement with Francesca. Francesca who is from the Guerrera line of werewolves takes the stones, and her family bite all of Marcel's vampires. [She doesn't even care if Klaus doesn't know how far their feud went.]
Genevieve gave her the stones and then she took me. [Her mouth draws into a tight line, her breathing growing a bit shaky. The thought of being taken, being told what they were going to do, how they were going to kill her baby.]
They take me... so they can take our baby and sacrifice her. [Her eyes well up a bit, thinking about how anyone could do that, how angry she was, how she told them what she'd do if they touched her child.] They take her, Klaus. They kill me and they take her.
[ perhaps it's hearing that for all intents and purposes their child was to be killed. (it's an obvious conclusion, one he should have accepted himself, but it's not one he was in any position to believe.) perhaps it's hearing it was his agreement that caused them ruin, that he could have been so thoroughly betrayed and manipulated. perhaps it's hearing they killed hayley.
he can't believe any of it. he won't. unwanted tears stab at his eyes and his arm extends quick, his hand wraps around her throat, and his fingers flex. (he can't will them to tighten, looking in her eyes.) ] You're lying.
[This is not the reaction she thought she'd get. It's familiar, in an odd sort of way. The threat of him. His need for possessing, for having. It's not quite that same pressure, but it's still his hand on her throat. For a moment she doesn't react. It's not like she has any idea of what to say next. Rebekah had told her to be careful with how she told him what had happened, but she didn't realize that it'd be this difficult.
She also forgets her strength for a moment. Then her hand moves to curl around his wrist. A gentle pull, not her full strength, but her eyes meet to his. She's unable to hide away any of the pain that comes when she thinks of how she had to give her away. How she fought so hard for the life of their child only to realize that the best chance she has is the one where she's not with them.]
[ she wouldn't. he knows it; oh how he does know it, looking down at her, his fingers curled about her neck. there's nothing but the truth and reflection of pain in her eyes, in the gentleness of her touch.
his chest blooms with it, that anguish. it fills him and there is no desire to hurt her where there should be. where there might have been, not too long ago. his hand bends back without any fight then; he releases her. all he can do is let out the gasp of breath he was holding and turn away. (to hide from her, from himself.)
it's a moment before he speaks, his words thick. ] I was arranging the pact with the wolves for the moonlight rings. Everything after that [ losing them both - meeting and saying goodbye to their daughter ] I've no recollection.
[His release of her throat is a good thing. She didn't want to have to continue this struggle. They've had enough fighting in the past few days to last them a while.]
It might not have happened for you yet. If you've been here. Some of the others say that time isn't fluid here.
[She moves toward him and settles her hand on his shoulder.]
None of us knew what Francesca was doing. They had been hiding as untriggered werewolves for a while.
[Her voice goes softer, trying to ease his mind. She knows that this is a lot and even worse that he's just having to hear it, not actually know any of it.]
You came for us. The witches took me to the church and you heard my screams and you came for us. [It's hard to explain to him how even his effort wasn't enough. That somehow he hadn't been able to save them.]
Her blood was still in me when they tried to kill me. I woke up in the church and followed her... I could feel her. They didn't succeed in any of their ritual, Klaus. Davina wasn't a part of it and the other Harvest Girls are dead.
Genevieve is dead, too. [Hayley's jaw tightens at her name. There's no remorse for the death that Hayley caused. No thought to the borrowed time that she took back from her.]
Our child, Hope -- our baby girl, she's safe. Healthy and alive and beautiful.
[ he knows as much: about the time. he knows that and plenty more. (he's struck again wondering where she's been, what she's been up to, who she's been with.)
her attempts to comfort him aren't in vain, but there's nothing to do about the twisting of the knife as she details their story. (he came for and didn't save her, save them; that much is clear.) he doesn't want to believe so much of what she says, but he can't not. there's satisfaction mixing with his pain and wrath and longing at the very least, hearing about the deaths of their enemies.
he notices it doesn't include francesca. he notices the hardness in her tone mentioning genevieve's fate, and that hatred is something he's fast relating to. (he can tell she dealt the blow and he feels cold satisfaction and pride.)
hope. their child is alive. just as hayley says - and that's all that matters. all that can matter. they were backed into a corner and they've been again. he reaches to curl his fingers around her arm, his hold firm and reassuring. ] Then we take care of the enemies that wish her harm. [ it's a promise. it's a longing he must fulfill, to have their daughter home. ] And I will protect you here.
[Hayley lets her gaze lift to his as she nods in agreement.]
That's the plan. [At least back home it is. Marcel on their side, the werewolves framed for the death of their child. She knows that it puts her on the other side of things, but the acts of Oliver are too much for her to simply forget and forgive. Jackson stood by his side and didn't question his place, either. Hayley doesn't see a leader there, she sees weakness.]
It'll be our city and then our daughter will be welcomed home. Not that being here is going to help that, but I didn't want you here and worried about her safety.
[ it's a plan that doesn't surprise him. backed into that corner, there seemed to be very few options. he has plenty of questions, plenty of concerns (specifically how he could have failed in this fight) but for now he accepts her concern with the his typical quiet lack of grace. (he doubts this knot of grief and longing in his gut will ever unloosen.) ] I take it you understand we have our own worries to attend to. That someone's told you what's brought us here and why? [ clearly someone has. ]
[Her gaze looks away from his at the mention of them being brought to this place. When she looks at him again she nods.] I could hear them talking about it from the moment I got out of those caves.
[She exhales and runs her fingers through her hair. It feels better having told Klaus what's happened, but she knows the relief she feels isn't something he seems to have at the moment.]
Klaus, you can ask me anything. I won't keep things from you. [She knows that she's done it in the past. Secrets and arrangements. He did so much for her, for their child, and she's going to start treating them like a family.]
[ his gaze stays on her despite her momentary discomfort in order to gauge her thoughts. this is not what he wants, being here, not for her or himself, yet her presence is selfishly welcome.
still she asks for trust, offers her own, and he's silent for a moment. he has plenty of questions. he wants to know everything: the details. what went wrong and how, the motivations, the betrayals. he wants to know about the wolves, about marcel and elijah. (he wants to know what holding their child felt like, how small she was, the color of her eyes.)
tears still hang from his lashes, but he's found a measure of composure. ] What benefit would the sacrifice reap? Genevieve had a motivation, some sort of plot.
[He has every right to ask the question, but the thought of diving right into the fact that their child was the true target of everything, that she would have to start out explaining how killing their daughter would benefit the witches.]
She wanted to live. The reaping hadn't been completed. [She's trying to prolong saying it, to add more details where she's certain he doesn't need them.] Genevieve was brought back and one Harvest girl still laid in that tomb waiting. If they...
[Hayley takes a breath, looking away for a moment before attempting to meet his gaze once more.] Our daughter has your mother's blood - she's a quarter witch and a powerful quarter at that. To put that power back... it would be enough for Genevieve to stay.
[As she explains, she brings her hand up to his cheek, brushing lightly there with her thumb.] She's so beautiful. [Her own tears begin to blur her vision slightly. Not wanting to talk too long about the fact that someone would willingly harm an innocent baby just for their own benefit.]
[ perhaps it's what he needs to focus on. what he must choose to ask in light of this. it serves a purpose; it gives him one. his responsibility lies in protecting his daughter, knowing their enemies enough to properly avenge them for the wrongs they've committed.
his expression isn't nearly as stoic as he wills it to be, but the quiet, murderous rage he feels is obvious in his eyes. the more she says, the more incentive he has. his lashes flutter at the at the mention of his mother, at the reason. it's the feel of her touch as well, the tears in her eyes that he feels building in his own. he looks down as if to escape both, shifts on his feet and leans into her touch. ] How long did we have her? [ it's an easier question to ask for the answers he needs. if he had a chance to hold her, take care of her, know her. ]
[For as simple a question that might seem, the answer is going to be as hollow as all the others.]
A day.
[She knows her answer isn't enough. It can't be. She steps in closer to him, her hand brushing from his cheek to the nape of his neck as she rests her forehead to his.
They couldn't risk longer than that. There was so little time to hold her, to smell that baby smell.]
We bring her home. We take care of her. We love her. She has one night with us and the next day we have to say goodbye. I take a single drop of her blood for my transition, and it pained me to do it. [She looks away from him at that. The guilt still sitting in her that she needed to do that just to survive. Her free hand moves to wipe the tears that have fallen to her cheeks.]
Marcel... he does his part. He places blame on the wolves. Lets you compel him to forget the truth. Then you take her to Rebekah. Elijah and I stay behind to mourn her with the others that died.
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I have a little shack thing. Place.
[She sends him approximate location information that is good enough for him to be familiar with it.]
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he's there within a minute, perhaps two, though he wastes no time. klaus walks in uninvited and unannounced, the containment of emotions in his expression barely effective. he needs to see her. ]
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Hayley takes a breath when he's suddenly there. That unexpected remembrance of his speed of his ability to just be there.]
Klaus. [They've never been the type to hug. Never held onto those affections for each other, but she is glad to see him.] I need to know what you remember. [She needs to know if she has to say it. If he already knows, but just kept it from Rebekah.]
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Safe. She's safe. I promise. Everything went wrong, Klaus. Francesca, Genevieve -- everything happened and -- [She takes a breath.] She's safe, but we had to send her away. [Her mouth forms a tight line, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her, but it's hard. She's still learning about all her newfound vampire sides.] We had to so that she was safe. So that no one would come after her anymore.
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this is his fault. despite all his efforts, his scheming and planning. naturally someone as blood thirsty and power hungry as francesca would have a hand; of course inviting someone as treacherous and conniving as genevieve under his manipulation would lead to this. he failed and there's nothing he can do.
but nothing is more devastating than the thought of living without their child. his fingers tighten around hayley's, perhaps too tightly. in his paranoia and desperation he won't let her go, can't let her leave, even though he's not blind to the pain in her eyes and her determination to explain. ] What did they want with her? Who has her?
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Rebekah has her. You brought her to Rebekah and Elijah and I stayed behind. Making sure that everyone believes that she's [She almost says it, but the tightness at the back of her throat gives her enough pause to change her mind.] gone.
It all happens so fast. [She swallows thickly.] The agreement you had with the wolves. The moonlight rings -- Genevieve does the spell, but she has an agreement with Francesca. Francesca who is from the Guerrera line of werewolves takes the stones, and her family bite all of Marcel's vampires. [She doesn't even care if Klaus doesn't know how far their feud went.]
Genevieve gave her the stones and then she took me. [Her mouth draws into a tight line, her breathing growing a bit shaky. The thought of being taken, being told what they were going to do, how they were going to kill her baby.]
They take me... so they can take our baby and sacrifice her. [Her eyes well up a bit, thinking about how anyone could do that, how angry she was, how she told them what she'd do if they touched her child.] They take her, Klaus. They kill me and they take her.
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he can't believe any of it. he won't. unwanted tears stab at his eyes and his arm extends quick, his hand wraps around her throat, and his fingers flex. (he can't will them to tighten, looking in her eyes.) ] You're lying.
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She also forgets her strength for a moment. Then her hand moves to curl around his wrist. A gentle pull, not her full strength, but her eyes meet to his. She's unable to hide away any of the pain that comes when she thinks of how she had to give her away. How she fought so hard for the life of their child only to realize that the best chance she has is the one where she's not with them.]
I wouldn't.
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his chest blooms with it, that anguish. it fills him and there is no desire to hurt her where there should be. where there might have been, not too long ago. his hand bends back without any fight then; he releases her. all he can do is let out the gasp of breath he was holding and turn away. (to hide from her, from himself.)
it's a moment before he speaks, his words thick. ] I was arranging the pact with the wolves for the moonlight rings. Everything after that [ losing them both - meeting and saying goodbye to their daughter ] I've no recollection.
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It might not have happened for you yet. If you've been here. Some of the others say that time isn't fluid here.
[She moves toward him and settles her hand on his shoulder.]
None of us knew what Francesca was doing. They had been hiding as untriggered werewolves for a while.
[Her voice goes softer, trying to ease his mind. She knows that this is a lot and even worse that he's just having to hear it, not actually know any of it.]
You came for us. The witches took me to the church and you heard my screams and you came for us. [It's hard to explain to him how even his effort wasn't enough. That somehow he hadn't been able to save them.]
Her blood was still in me when they tried to kill me. I woke up in the church and followed her... I could feel her. They didn't succeed in any of their ritual, Klaus. Davina wasn't a part of it and the other Harvest Girls are dead.
Genevieve is dead, too. [Hayley's jaw tightens at her name. There's no remorse for the death that Hayley caused. No thought to the borrowed time that she took back from her.]
Our child, Hope -- our baby girl, she's safe. Healthy and alive and beautiful.
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her attempts to comfort him aren't in vain, but there's nothing to do about the twisting of the knife as she details their story. (he came for and didn't save her, save them; that much is clear.) he doesn't want to believe so much of what she says, but he can't not. there's satisfaction mixing with his pain and wrath and longing at the very least, hearing about the deaths of their enemies.
he notices it doesn't include francesca. he notices the hardness in her tone mentioning genevieve's fate, and that hatred is something he's fast relating to. (he can tell she dealt the blow and he feels cold satisfaction and pride.)
hope. their child is alive. just as hayley says - and that's all that matters. all that can matter. they were backed into a corner and they've been again. he reaches to curl his fingers around her arm, his hold firm and reassuring. ] Then we take care of the enemies that wish her harm. [ it's a promise. it's a longing he must fulfill, to have their daughter home. ] And I will protect you here.
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That's the plan. [At least back home it is. Marcel on their side, the werewolves framed for the death of their child. She knows that it puts her on the other side of things, but the acts of Oliver are too much for her to simply forget and forgive. Jackson stood by his side and didn't question his place, either. Hayley doesn't see a leader there, she sees weakness.]
It'll be our city and then our daughter will be welcomed home. Not that being here is going to help that, but I didn't want you here and worried about her safety.
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[She exhales and runs her fingers through her hair. It feels better having told Klaus what's happened, but she knows the relief she feels isn't something he seems to have at the moment.]
Klaus, you can ask me anything. I won't keep things from you. [She knows that she's done it in the past. Secrets and arrangements. He did so much for her, for their child, and she's going to start treating them like a family.]
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still she asks for trust, offers her own, and he's silent for a moment. he has plenty of questions. he wants to know everything: the details. what went wrong and how, the motivations, the betrayals. he wants to know about the wolves, about marcel and elijah. (he wants to know what holding their child felt like, how small she was, the color of her eyes.)
tears still hang from his lashes, but he's found a measure of composure. ] What benefit would the sacrifice reap? Genevieve had a motivation, some sort of plot.
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She wanted to live. The reaping hadn't been completed. [She's trying to prolong saying it, to add more details where she's certain he doesn't need them.] Genevieve was brought back and one Harvest girl still laid in that tomb waiting. If they...
[Hayley takes a breath, looking away for a moment before attempting to meet his gaze once more.] Our daughter has your mother's blood - she's a quarter witch and a powerful quarter at that. To put that power back... it would be enough for Genevieve to stay.
[As she explains, she brings her hand up to his cheek, brushing lightly there with her thumb.] She's so beautiful. [Her own tears begin to blur her vision slightly. Not wanting to talk too long about the fact that someone would willingly harm an innocent baby just for their own benefit.]
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his expression isn't nearly as stoic as he wills it to be, but the quiet, murderous rage he feels is obvious in his eyes. the more she says, the more incentive he has. his lashes flutter at the at the mention of his mother, at the reason. it's the feel of her touch as well, the tears in her eyes that he feels building in his own. he looks down as if to escape both, shifts on his feet and leans into her touch. ] How long did we have her? [ it's an easier question to ask for the answers he needs. if he had a chance to hold her, take care of her, know her. ]
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A day.
[She knows her answer isn't enough. It can't be. She steps in closer to him, her hand brushing from his cheek to the nape of his neck as she rests her forehead to his.
They couldn't risk longer than that. There was so little time to hold her, to smell that baby smell.]
We bring her home. We take care of her. We love her. She has one night with us and the next day we have to say goodbye. I take a single drop of her blood for my transition, and it pained me to do it. [She looks away from him at that. The guilt still sitting in her that she needed to do that just to survive. Her free hand moves to wipe the tears that have fallen to her cheeks.]
Marcel... he does his part. He places blame on the wolves. Lets you compel him to forget the truth. Then you take her to Rebekah. Elijah and I stay behind to mourn her with the others that died.