Who: Elijah Mikaelson elijahm & Hayley Marshall crescentwolf What: Talking about the future. When: Tuesday, April 7, late afternoon Where: 108A, Hayley and Hope's room at Hope Springs Apartments Rating: Audience Discretion is Advised Warnings: Vampire and a hybrid and all kinds of creepy immortal things. Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
"Hope Springs eternal, isn't that right?"
Elijah mused aloud as he stared out at the sign visible from Hayley's window. His niece, their very own Hope, was sleeping peacefully; none of them knew what kind of eternity she had stretching out before her though time would certainly tell. She was beautiful. It took everything in him to walk away from her every time he did, but he did it willingly enough.
No one needed him putting himself first. Not now. Not ever. He was Hope's uncle. Her safety and protection were his to worry over. As long as the child was safe, secure, and surrounded by love, she had all she needed in life and Elijah should be grateful for whatever small part of her he was allowed. Hayley did not have any reason to share her daughter as freely as she did. The last thing Elijah should do would be to pressure her for more of the child when she herself had already missed out on so much for the babe's well-being.
"I took a job. Today. I'd met some interesting people out and about. The young girl, Violet, is here, as is the fellow Wick who apparently is our new Sheriff. He's---cold. I don't think we should spend much time around him. I don't trust him. A young man I met earlier upon our arrival was near death, yet I haven't seen him nor have I heard of a death among our ranks. He refused my offer of aid. I found him to be rather old-world in his mindset. It was strange to feel as if I'd met someone my own age when his countenance was so very young and his body so obviously decaying. I'll be managing the local Bello. It's an Italian restaurant. Very high-fashion it seems. They were much intrigued by my dress, my carriage, and apparently the fact I speak Italian does wonders for my employability. I'll be making enough to move us out of here."
The apartments were tiny. They weren't worse than some places the Mikaelsons had holed up in during their eternal lives, yet they were not the sort of place Elijah wanted Hope to grow up in. She deserved more. She deserved to feel as if she were the heiress to an empire which she was by all rights. If that meant Elijah had to humble himself to work as a manager of a food establishment, he was certainly capable of hosting whatever was required for this area. He'd kept his family gatherings in line. It was hard to imagine he'd be unable to manage a dinner party at a restaurant in Test City.
"Do you think you'll want to move out? Somewhere with me? For Hope. Our Hope," Elijah emphasized as if Hayley would be confused. He was grateful he didn't flush. The last thing he wanted was to blush in embarrassment before a woman her age because he was stumbling over his own words.
So much for his noble attitudes, he thought with a rueful smile.
~*~
Hayley was tired. She didn't like whatever game they were playing. And when they did find out whoever was behind all of this, they were going to have boatloads of fun dealing with one severely pissed off hybrid girl. She was annoyed about being brought here at all, but her daughter was also here with her, and who knew what might happen? If the last place had been any indication, they were going to be messed with a lot here. Or maybe not, but she wasn't thrilled at the prospect of it. She was glad to have Hope with her, but also worried about her safety. She knew she shouldn't have been, because Elijah was there. And she was there. But who was to say they couldn't all be turned human again?
She sighed in frustration, looking over at her sleeping daughter. Elijah seemed to be adjusting to this life a lot better than she was. But Elijah was also over a thousand years old and quite adaptable to any situation, she figured. There was a lot they needed to discuss, but Hayley was reluctant. She was a married woman now, and while she thought she could be happy with Jackson Kenner, it never changed her feelings for Elijah. When did her life get so complicated? Oh right, when she'd had a weak moment and slept with Klaus. But all things considered, she wouldn't change it for the world because it gave her Hope.
"That's good, that you got a job." They didn't have access to their finances here. Jobs were necessary. But if she got a job, who would be watching Hope? Who could they trust to do that? Now she felt as if she were becoming as paranoid as Klaus.
She rubbed the back of her neck, considering his question. "Well, we certainly can't stay here." She reasoned. And it would be much better if they were together, just in case something did happen. Klaus should be here too, then maybe she wouldn't feel so uneasy. There wasn't a lot that could level Klaus and even though she frequently butted heads with the Original hybrid, she knew he'd do anything to protect his daughter, just as she and Elijah would. Jackson and his pack wouldn't have been bad either, but things were already complicated enough.
~*~
Circumstances kept pushing them together. Hayley had lived such a short time. Every time she nearly reached freedom something came forward to push her away from it. Elijah would call it a conspiracy if he were Klaus. His mouth quirked up at the corners to think of his brother. He'd told someone they should count themselves lucky his brother was not in residence, but should they? Klaus could be a right bastard, but he was fiercely protective of those he called his own.
He would protect Hayley, Hope, even Elijah if it ever came to the point where Elijah required the protection of someone else.
Lucky was a subjective thing, was it not?
"You don't have to worry for money. I'm paid well enough to support our needs. Hope's needs. If you should choose to find employment, we can worry over that then though I know nothing here which seems likely to harm any of us. There are unnatural beings here the same as us, but there are many who are merely humans. People. They're only trying to live."
Elijah and Hayley were only trying to live in their way. They'd been damned to the existence they were a part of now. Neither of them had chosen to be more than human. Someone else had taken their choices from them. Bad decisions had resulted in their damnation. His bad decision was an interest too strong in a certain widow; Hayley's bad decision had been a fling with his brother.
They were interested in the wrong people.
What a sin to damn someone to eternity…
"I want what's best for us. I don't want to make you think you've no choice in the matter. Too many people have taken your choices. You will always have a choice with me, Hayley. I understand our arrangement as family. I know my brother basically drove you to Jackson Kenner as a way to protect Hope. Hope wouldn't even be in danger were it not for her parentage. Being a member of the Mikaelson family is not easy. It's not something a person would choose if they had all the facts. I am no fool. I know we cannot forget what awaits us at home. I don't want---to play house with you. I only want you to feel secure. Safe. I want Hope to have the best I can offer her. Does that make sense?"
~*~
She was glad that she wouldn't need to work for now. Hayley was not much of a people person, and she had already lost so much time with her daughter. She couldn't be there for the first months of her life. It was absolutely vital to Hayley now, to be with Hope. She really had no way of knowing if this place were better or worse than home yet. Or if it was anything like that fake Vegas they'd been in. At least they'd had their home there. Here they had only depressing apartments.
She guessed she shouldn't complain. Things here could be much worse than they were. At least Elijah was here as well. And it would be nice to see Violet again. Hope really seemed to like her. As long as Hayley was with her daughter, she could deal. She could even be nice and friendly to whomever she met here, but if anyone should mess with Hope, they'd have one pissed off mama hybrid to deal with. She tried not to worry about it. As Elijah had said, many of the people here were just humans.
It had been such a long time since Hayley had felt like she was human. She almost couldn't even remember what it had felt like. She supposed she was never truly human at all. But she'd tried to fit in, until she was discarded like yesterday's trash.
She looked over at Elijah and nodded. "I understand what you mean." Their feelings could not be allowed to get in the way. Her marriage to Jackson had to be real and genuine, or the pack would not benefit from her hybrid powers. They needed that, so whatever she felt for Elijah, she couldn't act on. Not even here.
~*~
"Good," Elijah announced with a deep breath in and a smile which did not reach his eyes, "We're in accord. I'll work to earn our keep. You and Hope shall seek better living arrangements for us all. I can give you access to my accounts on my device which you're free to access at any time. If this place won't allow you to use my cards for funds, I'll figure out how to transfer money from my bank account to yours in order to keep things running smoothly. Best of all? Neither of us require much in terms of sustenance."
They would have to find a way to get blood. Food was only necessary for Hope. Both of them had a fondness for a drink every now and again, but they could live without it if needed. The finest things in life changed from person to person. In Elijah's case, the finest things he could have were the ones which made his niece giggle. There was nothing more precious to him than that child's joy.
Hayley had never been high maintenance at home. She wasn't like Rebekah. That one needed the finest of everything to keep her happy. Her gowns, her hair, her car, everything she had was absolutely perfect for her or it was unacceptable. It was hit or miss with Rebekah when it came to her happiness. The truth of what would make her genuinely happy was outside the realm of what money could buy.
No one could pay enough to anyone to allow his sister the chance to live fully again, to have a family of her own, to feel her child grow in her belly, to see her face change with age.
There were only so many miracles allowed for one family of monsters. Bex had missed out on their last one, Elijah feared.
"On the matter of our household---how do you feel about Bex? My sister, that is to say. Rebekah. She could be an asset to us. Help with Hope. Assist with finances. Give you the opportunity to take a break when if ever you needed to do so. I understand your decision is your own. I won't pressure you with my preferences. I will say only if I had to choose the best of us? It wouldn't be me. It would be her. She is truly the best of us and always has been."
~*~
Hayley nodded, what Elijah was proposing seemed best for now. She knew she might grow bored sitting at home all the time, but she didn't really see that happening. She had Hope, and she felt as though she could just stare at her endlessly and never tire of it. If it came time that Hayley had to get a job, well there weren't a lot of people she would have trusted to look after her daughter. Violet, perhaps. But she would likely be having to get a job as well.
Hayley knew what it was like to have nothing, to be barely scraping by. She didn't need all the finer things in life, she never had. And she would sacrifice whatever she needed to, in order for baby Hope to have everything she needed. That child was going to be spoiled by her mother, uncle, aunt, and probably anyone who was lucky enough to meet her. She supposed she would have to get used to meeting people here, but there would be time for that later.
"I'm fine with Rebekah living with us." Hayley said. She was grateful to the other girl for all the help she'd given where Hope was concerned. And Hope definitely liked her, so having Rebekah around would be a good thing. She and Hayley hadn't been super close, but maybe that could change here. This place was so different from what they were used to. Maybe they could call it home, for now though. Just maybe they could make lives here. She just hoped it wasn't tricky like the last place had been.
She smiled at the way Elijah spoke about Rebekah. He loved his sister very dearly, Hayley could tell. It made her curious how he might speak of her to someone else. She recalled when he was praising her for Violet's benefit. Hayley didn't think she was nearly as good as Elijah seemed to. She was just doing the best she could to hold everything together. Her life had changed forever the night she'd slept with Klaus. Now, without ever wanting it...she was part of all the Mikaelson drama. And Hayley did not do drama, as she'd once told Caroline Forbes back in Mystic Falls. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
She wondered how Elijah could stay so level headed. She knew he felt for her, probably even more deeply than she felt for him. But he seemed to be keeping his feelings out of it entirely. How long could that last while they lived in the same house? She didn't know. But she pushed those feelings aside. She was married to Jackson Kenner, and even this place and these circumstances could not, and would not change that. She had to be loyal to him, no matter what she felt.
Hayley did not want Elijah to be alone, but it broke something in her to think about him with anyone else. She shrugged that thought off as well. There was enough to deal with, without her becoming jealous or something. "I think you've worked out a pretty good plan." She told him, as she looked over where Hope lay. She was lucky to have Elijah as an uncle, and Rebekah as an aunt. And Hayley was lucky to have a daughter at all. She never forgot that. So she was going to do everything she could to be the best damn mother to the girl.
~*~
Elijah wouldn't ask for much more from Hayley. She had given more to his family than anyone ever had. Their history was one of conquering, taking, and force, yet Hayley Marshall had given of herself freely for the sake of one of their bloodline. True, she hadn't planned for Hope. It hardly mattered how Hope had come about though. The point was the girl was there and Hayley wasn't using her as a bargaining chip. She was being a good mother. Something none of them had any experience with whatsoever considering Esther's machinations.
He thought it was fair enough to mention there were a few homes he'd noticed in the ads of the local paper. It was his habit to keep up with the local news. People said more between the lines of their publications than they did on their televised broadcasts. It was a trend which had not changed in all the years of his life; Elijah was grateful for it as it kept him on top of things enough to do right by his family.
"I would politely request you look toward a single story home. Given the locals here? I have no desire to try to cool a multi-story dwelling on what myself and Rebekah will be contributing to the household. There are many being advertised in the paper located in Desert Springs community. I think Mountain View Estates are out of our price range, but if you see a listing there you're particularly fond of? Let me know and I'll make an inquiry. We will require a minimum of three bedrooms, preferably four."
Humans were everywhere around them which was quite nice on the whole. None of them made use of that pesky plant vervain. Elijah was hardly above using a slight trick to compel a better bargain out of someone if it meant he could secure Hayley's happiness in this place. The number of worse offenses he'd committed in his life was too large to list out. He'd only get bored or depressed and neither would help either of them or Hope. Bex would be more than happy to steal themselves a house. Elijah was doing the best he could for them all to get them on board with arranging for a rental.
"Does that sound agreeable to you? You pick the specific home, I ask only for one floor, Bex and I split the costs of the rental?"
~*~
Hayley didn't mind whether it was a one or two story home, especially because she was not going to be the one paying for it. That fell on Elijah and Rebekah, at least for now. The thought was slightly upsetting, because Hayley was not just some freeloader. She could work too, but she had Hope to think about. And Hope came before everyone else, and everything else. So whatever style home Elijah wanted for them would be fine. He knew a lot more about all of this anyway. All Hayley needed was a place to rest her head and watch over the little princess.
"Yes." She nodded. "I can look in the paper and go check out some of the houses." She said. She was being agreeable about this, though she was concerned about them getting so comfortable here so quickly. When people were comfortable, they tended to let their guard down. That was not something that any of them could afford to do here. She knew Elijah realized that, and Rebekah as well. That was why she wasn't protesting. None of them would let their guard down as long as they were around Hope.
"I'm sure I'll be able to find something." She said. "But then we can look together, so we all have a say in what house we pick." She didn't feel comfortable picking one without him, not because she couldn't...but because it was going to be his home too. He should have some say in it, beyond how many levels it had and all of that. If they were going to be here awhile, they had to all like where they were staying.
"And I can probably help out, you know...get a job in the future." Hayley offered. "I'm just not ready to trust anyone with watching Hope." Except maybe Violet, but she'd likely have to get a job as well. Hayley wasn't good at sitting around, but she had a feeling Hope would keep her very busy.
~*~
"Whatever home you pick will be the right home."
Elijah wasn't saying it to be romantic. He knew they had no ability to pursue romance. It wasn't about how they felt. What he was saying was the pure truth as he knew it: Hayley would choose the right home because she loved Hope more than anything or anyone else. The knowledge of that fact was enough to keep him calm in the face of their uncertain future. She would choose and she would choose wisely. Her background was such that she understood budgets, financing, simple things such as checking on the neighborhood at large rather than the single house they'd be living in.
His family had grown lazy about such precautions. It was easy to become lazy when one was immortal to the most absurd degree they all were as Mikaelsons. Hope had no luxuries they knew about to date. She would need to be thought of first in all decisions, placed first always; Hayley would do so without question because she was the girl's mother and she had only recently acquired true immortality herself. Whereas Elijah and Rebekah were both far too sure of their invulnerability, Hayley still remembered how it felt to die.
She would choose wisely.
Elijah would bet his eternal life on it.
"Bex isn't someone you should allow a say in such a matter besides the fact I trust your judgment. She's a tendency to think with her desires rather than her needs. Trying to accommodate her would bankrupt us. Believe me, she'll settle for getting the room with the biggest bed. As I imagine she'll be most likely of the three of us to require the biggest bed---I see no reason not to allow her the master suite."
He didn't look at Hayley as he finished. His heart beat slowly, but it still beat and it could still be broken. Elijah had no need to look at her ever again if truth were told. He'd already memorized her face. Hayley should know he would not be seeking the company of any other no matter how he could never have her company for himself. She had marriage vows to uphold. He was only a fool in love.
They were both what they were and they were going to make it in this world. Elijah was certain of it.