Everlasting- N.M {2}

30: gonna set your flag on fire

Astrid had woken up in her chosen room, and had gotten herself dressed and ready for the day before going to the kitchen where Elijah was holding onto Hope in his free arm while preparing breakfast for the three Mikaelsons in the safe house.

When Hope saw her mother, she began to coo happily, reaching out for her mother with her tiny hands. Astrid laughed at the motion and took Hope from Elijah's hold, kissing her on the forehead. "Good morning baby!" She looked up at Elijah who was focused on the cooking food in front of him. "Morning Elijah."

He briefly looked up smiling over at his sister-in-law. "Good morning Astrid."

Astrid made her way around the table, sitting Hope on her lap. She nodded at Elijah in thanks as he pushed over a cup of hot coffee. She looked him over once more, getting increasingly worried for him. "How was your sleep, Elijah?"

Elijah was silent for a moment as he set a few rashers of bacon between his and Astrid's plate, preparing pancakes additionally. "I suppose it was alright." He answered vaguely, not being entirely truthful with her.

"Elijah." She sighed, knowing the situation at hand was hard for him. "I know you're not telling the truth. You can be honest with me."

Elijah slowly looked up, his expression showing his exhaustion all over his face. "I didn't get any sleep. I couldn't."

Astrid's lips turned downwards at the statement, moving to set Hope in her highchair which had been placed next to her mother's chair. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard this is for you. Can I do anything at all to help you out?"

"Unless you can stop Hayley getting married...then no." He responded in a low tone, moving to plate Astrid's food, handing his sister the plate.

Astrid took the plate of food from him, deeply concerned for Elijah. When she realised there was nothing that could be done to help, she turned back to her daughter, who was sitting there quite happily, completely unaware of all the utter turmoil that was occurring in the lives of her family.

A short while later, Astrid had settled Hope down, and the young Mikaelson was now sleeping soundly, taking the first nap of the day. Astrid had taken this chance to go outside, and call Klaus, simply to check if all of them were alright, and also to inform him of what had happened since he left with Rebekah and Erik.

"I just want to kill her, Nik. I mean, Elijah of all people deserves happiness, but...it was of course ruined." Astrid leaned against one of the pillars outside of the house, closing her eyes.

"While I agree that how she acted in this situation was wrong, I don't think Elijah would like it all too much if you killed Hayley." Klaus responded in a calm tone, slightly easing her murderous wants.

"I hate that I can't do anything to help him. I tried to warn him at the very beginning, but he didn't listen to me. I knew something like this was going to happen." She grumbled in her fury, sighing heavily at the result of her brother-in-law's love for one girl.

"Astrid. Listen to me. This isn't your fault, there is nothing you could have done to stop this. And Elijah makes his own decisions, he is a grown man." Klaus told her in an attempt to quell her nerves. "As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think there is anything we can do right now."

"I know that. It doesn't make the situation any less irritating." Astrid replied in a pained manner. "I desperately want to help him, but I can't. There is literally nothing we can do right now for him, and it's..." She trailed off, trying to find words to describe what she was feeling. "It is killing me inside." She groaned, feeling helpless, which had been a rare occurrence in her life so far.