After destroying nearly all of his paintings, most of his furniture and anything he could put his hands on, he was livid. The fight he just had with Reno was still on his mind and he stood on the railing of his balcony, looking over the city. His feet planted firmly on top of the cement barrier that protected anyone from falling, he closed his eyes and let the soft breeze brush against him.

Hayley's incessant yelling only annoyed him and he did not wish to speak, but she was intent on doing so. Grinding his teeth, he kept his eyes close and his stance on the railing. "What do you want, Hayley?" It wasn't an invitation to come in, but she would no doubt take it as one. Cue hybrid female in three, two....

"I'm fine." He insisted, his tone clipped and short. Looking out over the city, he tried to calm himself from the dark rage he was feeling but it was hard to quell considering. He felt her touch his back and in a blink was standing behind her. He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her. "I'm.fine. Hayley. Your efforts are best spend being at the bedside of Elijah. I'm sure its where you want to be and it's where I'd rather you be." He turned away from her and stepped over some of his shredded and broken paintings.

He got angry with her words, what a stubborn woman she was. Growling at her, he spun around and extended his arms out at his sides. "What do you want me to say, Hayley!? What would you like me to tell you to make you feel better, enlighten me?" He dropped his arms. "You heard exactly what Reno said, all I do is inflict pain to everyone around me. It's all I'll ever do....it's all I'll ever be--a monster."

He looked away from her then and ground his back teeth together in frustration. "I don't know what you want from me, Hayley."

He wanted to pull away from her touch but didn't at first. Allowing himself a slice of comfort from her words and gentle hand, he closed his eyes and listened to her as she tried to reassure him he was not a monster but a good man, a good brother. Opening his eyes to look at her, he reached up and grasped her hand before pulling it from his face. Shaking his head, he met her eyes with a hard look.

"If it helps you to reassure yourself, Hayley." He was being an asshole, but it was how he dealt with his anger and he was better at pushing people away then letting them in.

He met her eyes and shook his head slowly, "You are just like Elijah in thinking I have some sort of redeeming quality. I fight and will kill in order to protect my family, at all costs. Any costs, any life...aside from those I consider dear are meaningless to me. And you see good in that? Do not try to make me out to be the hero when we both know I am the beast, Hayley. Our daughter's best chance is away from me and the danger my presence brings. I will only cause her pain..." His eyes glossed over with his own pain and tears from the one fear he had--that he wouldn't be good enough to be Hope's father.

He clenched his jaw as she scolded him for thinking such a way. His world was still turned upside down by the revelation that his own father was back and it was killing him and getting to him. Eating at him. The years he'd spent thinking he was unwanted by Mikael, learning of his true heritage and realizing he was unwanted and left behind to be raised by the monster Mikael was.

He turned his face and kissed her palm, closing his eyes as he lingered there for a moment. She showed him comfort when no one else did or knew how. She put up with his crap and she always set him straight. "I need to be alone. I need to think and I need to prepare for battle." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "For attempting to kill my daughter...she will suffer. She will pay."

He got angry at her insinuation and interrupted her, "If Emma hadn't been there, I would have killed Reno. How, pray tell, do you think he would have ended me. I am a hybrid, Hayley. An original whose only weakness is the white oak stake that a teenage witch holds ransom." He snarled a bit, "Do not try to make assumptions of my state, Hayley. I am perfectly fine and I assure you the only blood that would have been spilt would be the madman in the guest bedroom! Now, if you'll excuse me I should shower and remove this blood from my clothing." He passed her and his shoulder hit hers, angry that she would think of him as such a weakling that he was in danger of being killed.