Using Hayley's infant daughter to pass messages back and forth like they're in some kind of spy movie may not be Hayley and Elijah's idea of a good time, but they make the most of it

~Mikaelson Family Values~

"Why do you need to bring a diaper bag when you're taking her to her father's house? Doesn't he have everything he would need there?"

"You obviously don't know anything about babies. You don't take a baby for a walk around the block without bringing a diaper bag. Because Klaus having things for her there isn't going to help if she has a massive diaper emergency on the way there that it would be cruel to make her sit in. Or decides that she wants her bunny that Uncle Elijah gave her, and the fact that there is an identical bunny at Daddy's house is besides the point, because that bunny may look like her bunny, but it is not. Or any of the million little reasons why you never go anywhere without a diaper bag at this age."

Jackson just shook his head. And Hayley couldn't help but wonder if he suspected that the real reason for the diaper bag was so that they could use it to pass messages to each other. In particular so that Freya would have a means of telling her when she had figured something out. Not that that last part would probably occur to Jackson. She was pretty sure that while he might suspect her of passing love letters to Elijah, the thought that the entire Mikaelson family might be trying to help extricate her from her marriage would probably never occur to him.

Several hours later, as she unpacked the diaper bag, an envelope fell out. She smiled and hid it under Hope's mattress. She would open it that night, after Jackson had gone to bed.

The day felt never-ending. But finally, she was alone with Hope, and the rhythm of Jackson's breathing in the next room told her that she wouldn't be disturbed.

She pulled the letter out from under the mattress and read it by moonlight, grateful for her hybrid senses.

Dearest Hayley,

It has been decided that I should be the one to write to you to keep you informed of our plans. I think that that decision was based more on giving me the opportunity to say things that are just between us than any practical consideration.

Freya is already spreading herself a bit thin. Trying to both stop Dahlia and free you from your situation. At the moment, we don't really have much in the way of progress on either count. But, I promise you that she is working on it.

Niklaus seems to be hiding something. But, when isn't he? It would not surprise me if he has some diabolical plan of his own. At least for the Dahlia situation. His idea for how to help you is one that you can guess. I admit that there are times that I agree with him. It would be so easy. You would be free, and the ritual would be complete. Rebekah is actually the one doing the most to keep both of us from acting on this. She keeps reminding us that all it would do is create a second front in this war. The wolves would declare war, and might even attack you directly as the cause of our anger.

And so we are waiting, rather impatiently, I'm afraid. And I am not ashamed to admit that I am the most impatient of all. I want you here, in my arms, where you belong. I want… well, perhaps this first letter isn't the time to tell you what I want.

Just know that I love you. I have always loved you. And my biggest regret in my very long life is that there was ever a time when I made you doubt that. That I was never the kind of man that could just say how I feel. And I hope that someday, I can replace that ring or your finger with one that will be more of a promise than a burden.

Though, I need to stop that line of discussion, This is not at all how I want to do that.

I don't know that I'll write every day. Too much chance of Jackson discovering it if I do. But, I'll write at least once a week. More often if I have anything important to tell you.

Niklaus and Rebekah send their love. And, of course, you have all of mine. I love you, Hayley. Always and forever.

Love,

Elijah.

P.S. I know that you can't keep this letter. Pretend that it's Bonfire Night and burn it as my wish for you - and for us.

Hayley could only stare at the letter, as tears welled up. This, this was what she wished he had said the day she told him about the Bonding Ritual. Three little words were all it would have taken for her to call everything off. But, he had said them now. And there was a promise that someday, when she was free, she would actually hear them.

And then she read that paragraph again and gasped. The man had all but proposed to her. She turned the paper over and wrote her reply on the back.

My Dearest Elijah,

It was so good to hear from you. And I'm glad that your siblings decided to have you be the one to write to me. And for their reasoning.

Tell Freya that stopping Dahlia needs to be her first priority. Freeing me from my marriage will be all for nothing if I lose my family in the process. Like Rebekah said, we're immortal. I can deal with a few decades of Jackson if I have to. But, facing forever without Hope - or you - I can't deal with that. So, please. Make sure she deals with Dahlia first.

And when isn't Klaus hiding something, or being diabolical? But, please keep him from taking the easy way out in helping me in my situation. Jackson has accepted that keeping Hope from you guys is a real good way to have three original vampires and a VERY powerful witch all after his head. And I need you to not get involved in this, Elijah. Rebekah's right, it would start a war. In fact, keeping the two of you in line in regards to this is something I asked Rebekah to do. So, now I'm asking you. For me. Wait for me, Elijah. Don't do anything your way about Jackson unless he starts affecting Hope. I can take care of myself. I don't know if the wolves would attack me. But, they would certainly stop being loyal to me, even with the Bonding Ritual complete. And they would certainly go after your family and the other vampires. You and your siblings would probably end up fine, but we'd drain Klaus dry trying to save the others. And how many of my people would die in the process?

So, as impatient as you may be getting, please, just wait. It's all going to be okay. Somehow. Someday, I will be there, in your arms, where I belong. In your arms, and in your bed. I'm not ashamed to admit that I want that, too. I'm also not stupid and know that that was what you were hinting at. But, please do not try to tell me that in a thousand years, somehow the one thing you haven't learned is patience.

I love you, too. I have always loved you. And, I wasn't exactly fair to you on my wedding day. After all, you weren't the only one who never said those three little words. I am sorry about that. For not saying it. For being upset about you not saying it, even though you showed me so many times. Just… for needing to hear the words, but being unable to say them, myself. If only one of us had been a little bit more open and honest, a little braver, back when it would have made a difference.

But, I'm not going to dwell on that. The past is the past, and there is nothing that either of us can do about it. All we can do now is make the best of the present and plan for the future. But, I promise you, once I am free of Jackson, you will never have any reason to doubt my feelings. Because I will tell you every day that I love you. And, I am very much looking forward to the day when you can put a ring on my finger. That ring I will proudly wear until the stars burn out.

As much as it pains me to say this, I think that you should limit writing to when you have something important to tell me. The less reason we give Jackson to be suspicious, the better.

Give Klaus and Rebekah my love. But know that my heart and soul are yours. I love you. Always and forever.

Love,

Hayley

P.S. I couldn't bring myself to burn your letter. Not when it was the first time you ever told me that you love me. So, I'll instead ask you to keep it for me. I'll want it back once I'm free.

She refolded the letter so that her reply was on the outside, and then stuck it back in the envelope. And then she got Hope's diaper bag ready for the next day, sticking the letter at the bottom. And then she finally laid down on the floor in her daughter's room and went to sleep. And dreamt of being in Elijah's arms.

~Mikaelson Family Values~

It was two weeks before she got another letter. Part of her was glad that Elijah was listening to her and accepting that she had their best interests at heart. But, part of her was starting to get twitchy, needing to hear from him, again. And the second she heard Jackson's breathing slow into a sleeping rhythm, she pulled the envelope out from under Hope's mattress.

My Dearest Hayley,

Staying away from you is harder than I imagined. Not even writing to you is even harder. We may have a way of dealing with Aunt Dahlia, at least. It is rather convoluted, and not being a witch, I don't pretend to understand it. So, there is a very good chance that soon this war we are in will be over.

Don't worry, Niklaus and I will continue to behave ourselves. Just because we will be ending one war, doesn't mean we want to start another one. Especially not one that will automatically have you and Hope caught right in the middle of it. Even without Dahlia and the witches being after us, the best thing for all of us remains for the truce between our peoples to hold. Logically, I know that. Getting my heart to accept not having you around is proving to be another matter, entirely.

Though, I wonder if your people truly appreciate you, and the true queen you have proven to be. Even more than what your sacrifice means for us, I hate that you are forced to possibly give up decades of your life over this. I do hope that they understand what this is costing you.

But, there is, unfortunately, still no more idea of how to fix this without killing Jackson. As you requested, Freya has been concentrating her efforts on Dahlia. But, I promise you that the minute that situation is dealt with, finding a way to duplicate the Bonding Ritual will be my sister's top priority. We all want you and Hope home.

I wish I had more to say. All I can add is that I love you, with all of my heart. Well, there is more that I could say, but I don't know how you would actually react to that. So, I'm going to leave it for now. I'll write to you when we know more. Hang in there, Hayley. We'll figure something out. I promise you.

Always and forever,

Elijah.

Hayley smiled. Well, that was good. One problem was about to be solved. Good. Made even better by the fact that once that problem was solved, they could start dealing with the rest of their problems. With a little luck, she would be free in time for Hope's first birthday. A girl could dream, right?

And then she read the last paragraph again, and barely held in a laugh. Oh, her calm, stoic Elijah couldn't mean what she thought he meant. Could he? Well, whether he did or not, Hayley's mind had gone straight to the gutter. She turned the paper over and started writing.

My Dearest Elijah,

I am sorry for the trouble I'm causing you. For what it's worth, staying away from you is also hard for me. It is so tempting to just pack mine and Hope's things and leave here. To go back to the compound, back to you. My simply leaving wouldn't cause a war, but it still wouldn't be fair to the rest of the wolves. I try to remind myself of that.

But, every night, as I sleep alone on Hope's bedroom floor, wishing that I was in your bed, with your arms around me, I can't help wondering if it's really worth it. Would risking the Bonding Ritual breaking really be so bad?

But, it is so good to hear that at least one of our problems may be ending. Don't worry about not understanding what Freya is going to do to be able to explain it. I probably wouldn't understand the explanation, either. Hopefully, whatever she is planning will work, and we can be done with at least that part of our problem, soon.

I understand what you mean about logic and your heart being at odds. See my first paragraph in this letter for a reminder of my own battle between those things. Logically I know that I need to stay here and be the Alpha my people need, and to trust Freya to eventually save me from the less pleasant parts of this. But, my heart just wants you. And doesn't care about logic, or what the pack needs. My head may be a werewolf queen, but my heart just wants to be with you, no matter what the cost.

I'm trying not to think too much of a worst-case scenario. I refuse to consider that Freya won't be able to do anything, and I'll be stuck here until Jackson dies of old age. Though, when that fear kicks in, I just remind myself that you and I are immortal. One way or another, someday I will be with you. I hold onto that thought, and remind myself of it when things get bad. It's helping to get me through.

As for what you were going to say, but that you aren't sure how I would react to it… My mind went to very interesting places. Perhaps not what you really meant, but I can't help it.

I miss you. I miss the way you used to look at me. I miss kissing you. Sometimes, when things are getting really bad, I let myself remember your reaction when I told you about the Bonding Ritual. Not the moment when you told me to go through with it. But the rest of your reaction. I remember being naked in your arms, your lips on my skin. I remember the passion in your eyes. And how good you felt inside me. And I remind myself that I WILL feel that again.

Perhaps not the best thing to be thinking about while I'm laying on my daughter's bedroom floor. But, my nights are extremely lonely, what can I say? I miss you, and I love you.

Always and forever,

Hayley.

P.S. As always, give Klaus and Rebekah my love.

Well, writing that letter was maybe not the smartest thing in the world. No, she hadn't been lying about how often she remembers their last day together. But, still. Telling him that, just made her think of it, again. And made her miss him even more. She put the letter in Hope's diaper bag and then went and took a very cold shower. Not that the cold water was enough to dampen her feelings. And finally, she gave in, and let her fingers slide between her legs. And she closed her eyes and imagined that it was Elijah touching her. And bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed to keep from crying out his name.

~Mikaelson Family Values~

Elijah just smirked as Niklaus emptied out Hope's diaper bag, and handed him the envelope that had been tucked into the bottom of it. He opened it up and started reading it. And then his eyes widened as he got to the end.

"What's wrong? Is she okay? Do we need to go deal with Jackson, now?"

"Hayley is fine. And Hope is fine. Hayley sends her love."

His infuriating brother tried to rip the letter out of his hand. "Don't give me that. Something is wrong. What has you looking like that?"

"Honestly Nik, leave him be. I'm guessing that Hayley misses him. And decided to tell him just how much she misses him. Isn't giving them a chance to have those kinds of conversations the whole reason we elected Elijah to be the one to write to her?"

"Right. I'm… going to go take a shower."

Niklaus smirked at him. "A nice bracingly cold shower, I assume?"

Elijah just rolled his eyes and then vamp-sped up to his room, and the connecting bathroom. Yes, he needed a cold shower. Not that it was helping. He forced himself to think of other things. And eventually he got himself under control, enough to be able to go downstairs and visit with his niece. Though, he had no doubt that he was going to have some very interesting dreams. He smiled at the thought of telling Hayley about them the next time he wrote to her. Turn about was fair play, after all.