Three days passed.
And New Orleans returned to chaos surprisingly quickly.
Not cosmic chaos.
Not dimensional-collapse chaos.
Just Mikaelson chaos.
Which honestly might have been worse.
Klaus stood inside his studio painting aggressively while classical music thundered through the room loud enough to irritate several vampires on the opposite side of the compound.
His brush slashed violently across the canvas.
Sharp strokes.
Dark colors.
Restless energy.
Annoyingly aware of the silence left behind after Drake and Ciri disappeared.
The compound felt emptier now.
Which irritated him immensely.
"You're sulking."
Klaus didn't look away from the painting.
"I do not sulk."
Rebekah leaned casually against the doorway holding coffee.
"You've spent three days glaring at walls."
"I glare artistically."
"Mmhm."
Klaus ignored her.
Mostly because she was correct.
The hybrid exhaled quietly afterward.
Something felt…off.
Not danger exactly.
Instinct.
The strange pack bond still lingered faintly in the back of his mind.
Ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
And yet—
Comforting.
Very annoying.
Klaus dipped the brush into darker paint before speaking again.
"It's quiet."
Rebekah looked at him carefully.
There it was.
The real issue.
"You miss them."
Klaus scoffed immediately.
"I tolerate them."
"You trauma bonded with the cosmic wolf couple."
"I despise that sentence."
Rebekah smirked into her coffee.
"You checked the courtyard three times yesterday after hearing dimensional magic."
"That proves nothing."
"It proves you're emotionally attached."
Klaus pointed the paintbrush at her aggressively.
"I will compel your next therapist."
"You'd have to find one brave enough first."
Before Klaus could retaliate verbally—
A knock echoed through the compound.
Both Originals paused.
Klaus frowned slightly.
"Who visits unannounced?"
Rebekah looked at him flatly.
"You murder half the city. People tend to avoid surprise visits."
Fair.
Another knock followed.
Slow.
Careful.
Klaus sighed dramatically before setting the brush aside and heading toward the entrance hall.
Rebekah followed immediately because curiosity outweighed survival instincts in the Mikaelson family.
The massive front doors opened slowly.
And Klaus froze.
Hayley Marshall stood there.
Tired.
Nervous.
And very clearly pregnant.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Klaus blinked once.
Then again.
"…What."
Hayley crossed her arms defensively instantly.
"That's exactly why I didn't want to come here."
Klaus stared at her stomach like reality personally offended him.
"You're serious."
"Unfortunately."
Rebekah appeared beside him.
Then immediately gasped.
"Oh my God."
Klaus still hadn't moved.
Hadn't spoken.
Which honestly terrified everyone more than yelling would have.
Hayley suddenly looked uncertain.
"Klaus?"
The hybrid finally looked up slowly.
For once—
No smirk.
No arrogance.
No cruelty.
Just genuine shock.
"…It's mine."
Not a question.
Hayley nodded carefully.
Silence stretched again.
Then Klaus laughed once.
Short.
Disbelieving.
"This is impossible."
"Apparently not."
"A werewolf cannot conceive with a vampire."
Hayley raised one eyebrow.
"Well somebody forgot to explain that to biology."
Rebekah looked moments away from emotional collapse.
"You're having a baby."
Klaus looked deeply alarmed by that sentence.
Hayley shifted awkwardly.
"I didn't know where else to go."
And that—
More than anything—
Snapped Klaus back to himself.
Because beneath the sarcasm and shock—
He heard the truth.
She came to him.
Trusted him.
Needed him.
The hybrid slowly straightened afterward.
Ancient fear flickered briefly across his face before vanishing beneath controlled calm.
But Rebekah noticed.
So did Hayley.
Because Klaus Mikaelson wasn't afraid of enemies.
He was afraid of hope.
Quietly—
"Come inside."
Hayley blinked slightly.
"That's it?"
Klaus frowned.
"What exactly did you expect? Dramatic betrayal? Possibly later."
Rebekah slapped his arm immediately.
"Behave."
Hayley laughed despite herself.
And somewhere deep beneath centuries of violence and paranoia—
Something inside Klaus shifted.
Because for the first time in over a thousand years—
Niklaus Mikaelson wasn't thinking about survival.
He was thinking about family.
The compound descended into controlled chaos almost immediately afterward.
Which honestly was still chaos.
Rebekah practically vibrated with excitement while interrogating Hayley about everything simultaneously.
Elijah arrived halfway through the conversation and nearly dropped his glass of bourbon after hearing the words "Klaus" and "baby" in the same sentence.
Marcel laughed for five uninterrupted minutes.
Klaus considered murdering him briefly.
Only briefly.
Now the hybrid stood alone on one of the compound balconies overlooking New Orleans while the city glowed beneath the night sky.
His mind refused to quiet.
A child.
His child.
Impossible.
Terrifying.
The thought should have filled him with joy immediately.
Instead—
Fear crawled beneath his ribs.
Deep.
Ancient.
Because Klaus Mikaelson knew exactly what monsters could do to children.
Mikael.
His father's rage.
A thousand years of violence.
Paranoia.
Cruelty.
Pain passed from father to son like inherited poison.
And now—
Now there would be a child carrying his blood.
The hybrid gripped the balcony railing harder unconsciously.
"What if I ruin her?"
The words escaped quietly before he realized he spoke aloud.
A familiar voice answered behind him.
"You will."
Klaus turned instantly.
Elijah stood nearby calmly.
Naturally.
The older Mikaelson stepped beside him silently.
Then after a moment—
"You'll make mistakes."
Klaus laughed humorlessly.
"That may be the understatement of the century."
"Yes."
Elijah's honesty actually startled him slightly.
"But Niklaus…"
His brother looked toward him carefully.
"You are not Mikael."
Silence.
Klaus looked away immediately.
"You don't know that."
"I do."
The certainty in Elijah's voice hit harder than expected.
Because Elijah had seen Klaus at his worst.
The monster.
The tyrant.
The paranoid immortal who daggered his siblings for centuries.
And somehow—
He still believed Klaus could be better.
Ridiculous.
Dangerous.
Hopeful.
Klaus hated hope.
Hope made people weak.
Hope made loss hurt more.
The hybrid exhaled slowly.
"She deserves better than me."
Elijah's expression softened faintly.
"That child will never doubt she is loved."
The statement shattered something quietly inside Klaus.
Because despite everything—
Despite every monstrous thing he'd ever done—
Elijah genuinely believed that too.
Klaus looked out over the city again silently.
Then suddenly—
The pack bond pulsed sharply.
Warm.
Ancient.
Protective.
The hybrid froze slightly.
Drake.
The sensation lasted only a second.
But somehow—
Klaus understood instantly.
The cosmic idiot felt his fear across realities.
Unbelievable.
Absolutely unbelievable.
A faint laugh escaped him despite himself.
Elijah glanced sideways.
"What?"
Klaus shook his head slowly.
"…Nothing."
But inwardly—
For the first time since Hayley arrived—
The fear eased slightly.
Because somewhere across infinite worlds—
Someone would answer if he called.
Not out of obligation.
Not fear.
Family.
The realization settled strangely inside him.
And for perhaps the first time in centuries—
Niklaus Mikaelson didn't feel alone facing the future.
Inside the compound Hayley laughed softly at something Rebekah said.
The sound drifted upward through the warm New Orleans night.
Klaus listened quietly.
Then very softly—
Almost too quiet to hear—
"I'll protect you."
Promise.
To the child.
To the family.
To himself.
And somewhere far beyond New Orleans—
Across endless realities—
The pack bond pulsed warmly in response.