Here's my story on how the series is going to pick up in Season 4!

"Mom, could you tell me another one? About… dad?" Hope asked hesitantly. Hayley looked deep into those big, hazel eyes and smiled.

"Of course, sweetie," Hayley said as she stroked her seven-year-old daughter's brown hair. She couldn't resist it when she made the puppy dog face at her. Well, actually she knew exactly when Hope was trying to manipulate her, but she couldn't resist her asking about her father.

Once or twice a week, Hope would ask her to tell stories about Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, Freya and… Elijah. Hope could sense it was hard for her to talk about, so she never asked every night, but she was a curious little girl. When Hope was three, Hayley would find her opening all of the drawers of whatever hotel or safe house they were staying in. When she was four, she found the caskets and began to ask questions about that. As she got older, she began to ask little bits and pieces about what was going on until she knew the kid-friendly version of the story.

Hayley pulled some blankets up to Hope's chin and made sure her trusty wolf stuffed animal, creatively named Wolfy, was right next to her. Hayley sank back on to the pillows and wrapped an arm around her daughter before closing her eyes and trying to think of a Klaus story. Sometimes she had to make things up when she couldn't think of any of the good deeds he had done, but tonight she was feeling sentimental. She also felt it was time for Hope to hear who her father really was.

"My favorite story about your dad is the reason we're on this little journey. This is the story that makes him a hero. Your dad… well, he made sure that you, me, Uncle Elijah, Uncle Kol, Aunt Rebekah, and Aunt Freya could live. You know the mean man down in New Orleans? Marcel? Well, your dad decided that Marcel could take him as prisoner so that the rest of us could be free. You see, Marcel was mad at your dad for something he didn't even do, but your dad decided to take the blame anyhow."

"But only you and me are free! Uncle Elijah and Uncle Kol are all still asleep. That's not a fair deal," Hope said with a scowl. Hayley suppressed a smile after hearing Hope's word choice to describe the situation.

"You're right, it's not a fair deal. That's why we're still trying very hard to wake them all up. After that, we can go save your dad," Hayley explained.

Hope was quiet for a moment and looked down at her blankets. Her eyes wandered to the metal bracelet that hid her powers and she twisted it on her wrist. Last year, Hope took it off and accidentally blew up all of the light bulbs in the hotel room, so Hayley had to tell her she was witch. She wanted to keep the wolf part a secret at least a year or two more.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Hayley asked as she tucked some hair behind her ear. Hope looked up at her with those big eyes again and frowned.

"Why is Marcel after us? Doesn't he have what he wants? Why do I have to keep my magic hidden from him?" Hope asked. Hayley hesitated to answer because frankly, she didn't know what to say. Hayley tried not to keep her in the dark, but she didn't exactly want to tell her seven-year-old daughter that a man was trying to murder the only four relatives she knew.

"Well… see Marcel was trying to hurt your Aunts and Uncles. Your dad made sure that we got away before he could do anything, but now he still wants to hurt them. We have to keep your magic hidden so he can't use other witches to track us down," Hayley explained.

"Well that's just rude!" Hope exclaimed. Hayley grinned at her little pout and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"I agree, but it's way past your bedtime now, so it's time to go to sleep," Hayley said before getting off of Hope's bed. Hope snuggled into her blankets and pulled Wolfy close to her.

"I hope we wake them up soon. I know you miss Uncle Elijah. Goodnight, Mom. I love you," Hope said before closing her eyes. Hayley's heart lurched at the mention of Elijah's name, especially coming from her daughter's mouth. Hope had found her crying with Elijah's casket open once, so Hayley had to explain to her how they were "very special friends". It was a bit awkward to say the least.

"I love you, honey. Goodnight. Sweet dreams," Hayley said before shutting the light off and cracking the door open. Hope was still getting over her 'scared of the dark' phase, but Hayley didn't mind. She wanted to keep her as innocent as she possibly could.

Hayley walked down the stairs towards the kitchen and immediately opened the fridge to find the wine. She grabbed the bottle and a glass from the cupboard next to the fridge before walking over to where the fire was raging in the fireplace. Hayley poured herself a glass and sipped it slowly as she gazed into the flames.

After leaving New Orleans, Hayley didn't know what to do. Her first thought was to drive to Mystic Falls seeing as that was one of the only other supernatural-filled towns she knew about and actually knew people from, but that was a bust. It had been overrun by crazy witch-vampires and Hayley sure as hell wasn't bringing her daughter into that mess.

For the next two years, she jumped around a lot. She tried visiting some of the areas inhabited by the wolf packs she stayed with when she was younger, but most had moved on. That is, until she got lucky. She found some remaining members of the North East Atlantic bloodline, one of the seven original bloodlines she desperately needed blood from. They were able to lead her to one of the last remaining original members who gladly gave a healthy sample of their blood after hearing about her situation. There also may have been a bit of intimidation persuasion that happened, but she got it nonetheless.

From there, she was able to gain information about other packs. She was also able to find herself a witch who could syphon magic, allowing her to finally wake up Rebekah. With the two of them working together, they were able to cover way more ground. It turns out the witch able to syphon magic knew a coven that specialized in in poisons and antidotes. Thus, Freya was saved and their number grew to four.

For the past year, the three of them had been hunting down the remaining five original bloodlines, now only down to their last bloodline. They had been hard to track down. Freya and Rebekah were out now following up on a lead, but the last five tips they had gotten proved to be dead ends. Part of Hayley wondered if anyone from the original bloodline was still alive, but she forced herself to keep hoping. She couldn't give up. Not while they were so close.

Hayley poured herself another glass just as the front door to their small house opened. Currently, they were staying in a for-sale house along the coast of Oregon that Hayley had compelled a realtor to stop showing for the time being. Freya and Rebekah walked through the front door drenched in water.

"How'd it go?" Hayley asked. Rebekah gave her a look that said 'don't ask' and simply stomped her to her bedroom. Freya, on the other hand, sighed and flung off her boots and rain coat before joining Hayley on the adjacent chair by the fire. Hayley offered her glass to Freya, but she shook her head and reached for the bottle instead. After taking a long pull, she put it back on the table and rubbed her temples.

"We keep being led to packs with the bloodline in them, but not a single pure member. I'm starting to think Lucien may have done a good job wiping them all out," Freya muttered. Hayley sighed and took a sip of her wine.

"I was just thinking that too. Do you think the spell would work if the blood wasn't pure? I mean, it would have the original bloodline in it, right?" Hayley asked hopefully, but Freya just shook her head.

"It would be too diluted. Lucien was careful when he got pure blood. Our only shot at curing Elijah and Kol is finding this last original pack," Freya said.

"Then we bloody torture one of the other ones until they lead us there!" Rebekah exclaimed as she returned from her bedroom. "I'm sure they know something; they just don't want to give up any information that's not going to help one of their own."

"We aren't torturing innocent wolves," Hayley said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Well, I don't know what else to do!" Rebekah said in frustration. She entered the room with two more glasses and another bottle of wine, an act that made both Freya and Hayley smile.

"Might as well get drunk then," she said as she filled her glass almost to the brim. Hayley grinned at her and proceeded to fill her and Freya's glasses as well. Hayley held her glass up towards the fire and looked at the two women.

"Here's to better luck tomorrow… and praying we don't have massive hangovers in the morning," Hayley said. The two girls raised their glasses as well and the trio shared a laugh before taking a lengthy sip of their drinks.

As the night wore on, and the alcohol continued to be poured, the three began to reflect on their missing family.

"I can't wait to hear what sarcastic comment Kol has ready for us as soon as we wake him up," Freya said with a grin. The two had conquered their differences about Davina while trapped in the dream land Freya had created for them, and they had gotten quite close.

"I can't wait to see Elijah," Rebekah said hopefully. "Not that I'll be the first face he wants to see." Hayley blushed as the two sisters looked knowingly at her.

"I think sister trumps two-time hook-up," Hayley said jokingly. Rebekah rolled her eyes and Freya simply stared at her.

"Oh, shut it! You didn't have to look at him pine over you for three years in dream world. We've only been a part two years. Trust me, we've been apart for much longer periods of time thanks to our dear brother," Rebekah countered. The mention of Klaus quickly sobered the three up and the atmosphere noticeably darkened.

"As much as I miss Kol and Elijah, and as much as I want to kill him sometimes… I miss him," Freya whispered.

"Me too," Rebekah said. Hayley stared at the bottom of her wine glass and closed her eyes.

"So do I. So does Hope. She doesn't really know him, but I tell her stories and she connects to him. She loves that little wolf he gave her when she was a baby," Hayley said. She paused for a moment and looked into the fire thoughtfully. "She's so much like him already."

The silence was disrupted by loud knocking at the door. The three of them were immediately on their feet and ready to throw themselves at whatever was at the door. Hayley positioned herself in front of the stairs leading up to Hope's room as Rebekah approached the door. She opened it slowly only to find a young man at the door.

"Who the hell are you?" Rebekah snarled at the man.

"Someone who knows where to find the last original member of the Deep Water pack," he said. Rebekah stepped away from the door so Hayley and Freya could get a look at him.

"The name's Tobias. Which one of you is Hayley Kenner?"