This is a little one-shot that takes place after the events of The Empty Grave. I just read the book and somehow, I was disappointed by the end. I thought about how it might go on all day and then I decided to write this. I hope you like it and please let me know what you think! I've also thought about making an entire story out of this, but since I have two other stories I'm writing at the moment, I'm not sure if I should try that. Please let me know what you think of that idea as well! It would be really great to hear your opinion!

I don't own the characters or places in this story!

Lockwood had put the DEPRAC documents beside my jacket. The papers formed a neat rectangle on the darkness of the counterpane, gleaming white in the fading light, but also softly sparkling.

Sparkling…?

I bent close, frowning. It was only then that I saw the beautiful golden necklace curled on the papers, with the sapphire glinting at its heart. Lockwood had taken it out of the old crushed box his mother had kept it in. Even in the dusk, the gem was glorious, undying and undimmed. It was as if all the light and love it had gathered in the past was shining out on me.

I stood gazing at it for a long time.

Slowly, carefully, I picked up the necklace and hung it around my neck. Then I put on my jacket and ran for the stairs.

Lockwood was still there, waiting for me. He stood there in the hallway and looked at the empty walls where the artefacts his parents had collected had been once. He looked thoughtful, his hand was on his rapier and the other one in the pocket of his new coat. I really liked the old one better.

When he heard my footsteps on the stairs, he turned around slowly. His eyes met mine and at once, the thoughtful expression vanished and he grinned. He noticed the necklace I was wearing and there was a sudden gleam in his eyes.

"There you are, Lucy!" He said and held out his hands as if he wanted to hug me. However, he let them sink again slowly. I took my rapier from the old umbrella stand and smiled at him. Somehow, I felt disappointed. "You ready to go?" Lockwood asked and I nodded. I had no idea where he wanted to go, but I didn't care. Being outside with Lockwood was enough to make the evening great. At least I hoped so. The last time we were out on our own, he had shown me that empty grave… I refused to think about that any more. It was in the past, wasn't it? We had stopped Marissa Fittes and her doings on the other side and soon, everything would be alright again.

We left 35 Portland Row and made our way along the street slowly. Even if it was getting dark, we were in no hurry. Lockwood looked happy and it made me smile as well. As always, there was this energy in him. Even if we were walking slowly, it was there. I saw it in the way he looked around and in the way his hand played with his rapier sometimes. And I saw it in the way he looked at me, even if it was difficult to explain.

Lockwood and I had always been close – closer than the others. Especially after our trip to the other side. However, something else had changed in the past months. There was this… tension between us, you could say. I saw it now too. The Skull had always said it, but I didn't really listen to its talks about my love life. Nevertheless, he had been right. I liked Lockwood, very much to be exact. Or let me say it in a different way. I knew I loved him. I had always known it, even if I had been too stubborn to admit it. Where I had realized this? I wasn't sure. Maybe in the moment Holly showed up at our agency or even earlier. At the very latest, I realized it in the moment the ghost under Aickmere's department store showed itself to me in the form of Lockwood – the hollow boy that caused me so many nightmares.

And Lockwood? I had no idea how he felt about me. Yes, sometimes he did things like giving me the necklace – I touched it carefully – but in every other moment, he behaved like nothing had changed between us. Like I was just one of his best friends. Don't get me wrong, it was great as well. But somehow… I wasn't sure if it was enough.

"Where are we going?" I asked in the silence around us. Lockwood, who had already been watching me, grinned.

"You'll see it soon. It's a surprise." He said simply and I raised my eyebrows. He knew that I hated surprises. However, I didn't protest in that moment. The excitement in Lockwood's voice made me curious.

Slowly, it was getting dark and all around us, the last people vanished in their houses and locked the doors after making sure that the iron chains were in its places. The ghost lamps on the streets started to shine and I looked at Lockwood next to me again. In their light, I could see his expression very well. I stared at him for a moment, took in all his features. His hair had some grey strands – it was an effect of visiting the other side – and there was still a little cut on his cheek. Otherwise, he looked as usual. His eyes shining in the approaching darkness, scanning our surroundings for possible dangers. And there was a smile on his lips, the one I liked so much and that made butterflies appear in my chest. Because this wasn't one of the normal smiles Lockwood put on when he wanted to make a good impression on someone or when he had another crazy idea. No, this was my smile, the one that appeared on his lips sometimes when he talked to me. I doubted that anyone else had seen it so far.

Just in that moment – I was still staring at Lockwood – he turned to me again. When he noticed me looking at him, his smile turned into a grin. However, I blushed and looked away quickly. "You're alright Lucy?" He asked and I nodded.

"Of course, everything's perfect." I said and took a deep breath. I hoped the color had vanished from my cheeks again and smiled at Lockwood. "Just wondered where we're going."

"We'll be there soon." Lockwood said and looked at the sky. I wondered why he was doing this. Soon, the sun would vanish completely and it would be night again. This thought made me feel sad. It had been a very beautiful day.

Suddenly, Lockwood turned and left the main road. I looked around and frowned. Why did we turn here? There was nothing to be seen except some empty buildings… I followed Lockwood quickly and stopped to think about this. Lockwood knew what he was doing, I told myself.

It didn't take long for me to doubt that again. Lockwood had stopped in front of a ladder at one of the highest buildings here. Did he forget that I didn't like heights very much? He smiled and touched my hand which made me shiver. "You don't have to worry, Luce, it's safe." Lockwood said and somehow, his smile made me forget my doubts. "I'll go first, then you can follow me." He looked to the sky again. "Come on, we don't have much time anymore!" Then he started to climb the ladder. Taking a deep breath, I followed him.

What I saw when I reached the roof of the building made me stare for a few moments. Lockwood had already walked across the roof and sat down on its edge. I followed him more slowly, still impressed by what I saw. We had the perfect view of London here, I could see the Thames and all those famous buildings in the middle of the city. And the sun made them all shine in a golden light. Now I understood why Lockwood wanted to come here.

I sat down next to him and he grinned at me, an expectant look on his face.

"It's beautiful. Thanks for bringing me here." I said and smiled.

"I hoped that you would like it." Lockwood said in a soft tone. "I discovered this place a few weeks ago when I was walking through the city aimlessly. I wanted to show it to you right after that, but then so many things happened…" He shook his head. "I didn't get a chance."

I nodded, still smiling. "Yeah, we've been pretty busy, I think." I said and Lockwood chuckled.

"You could say so. After all, we've stopped a mad woman and her crazy plans."

I raised my eyebrows. "I've never heard you saying that you think Marissa was mad." I remarked and Lockwood laughed again.

"But she was. That's obvious. Who else would talk to a ghost to get immortal?"

I shrugged. "I think she was really afraid of death. Back then, when I talked to her, before you came to help me…" I hesitated. I had never talked about this before and no one had asked about what had happened between Marissa and me. Maybe they wanted me to tell them without having to ask? Lockwood was waiting for me to continue with a patient expression on his face. Somehow, this encouraged me to go on. "She wanted me to join her. She said that we were very much alike, both talking to ghosts and stuff like that. She even compared me and the Skull to herself and her beloved spirit." I shook my head. "I really thought that it was offending. It's obvious that we were a much better team." At this, Lockwood chuckled, which surprised me. He had never liked my connection with the Skull very much. Yes, he had accepted it, but that was something completely different. He hated ghosts and me talking to them seemed like a slap in the face to him. He had always been worried when I got carried away… "Anyway, she really thought that it was right what she was doing. She wanted power and she wanted to live. While stopping the ghosts from going on with the silver fences on the other side, she could have both."

Next to me, Lockwood was silent. He looked at me with a thoughtful expression on his face. But there was something else in his look, something I couldn't make out yet. I sighed. "She said that she would have tolerated me by her side. The two of us, the most powerful Listeners, ruling together." I rolled my eyes. "She was talking such nonsense." Now Lockwood raised his eyebrows and I shrugged. "I told her to screw herself. I would never want to be like her. It was terrible. You know the rest of the story. I tried to kill her."

"You never told me all this…" Lockwood said slowly.

"You said it yourself. We've been busy. There hadn't been a chance." I said simply.

Lockwood sighed. "You really scared me back then, you know?" He whispered. "After our fight with Sir Rupert, we were able to leave the building. We were just about to take Kipps to the hospital when we noticed that you were missing." Lockwood closed his eyes. "I don't think that I've ever been this scared before. I thought my heart was going to stop beating. All I could think of was that something happened to you."

"Lockwood…" I began, but he shook his head.

"No, please let me speak first, Luce." He said and opened his eyes again. There was this strange expression I couldn't identify again. "I was furious. Holly wanted to stop me from going back, she said it was too dangerous. I wasn't very nice to her, I think. But in that moment, I didn't care. And then Flo arrived with Barnes and the other people from DEPRAC. I nearly hit Barnes when he told me that we couldn't go in yet." His lips twitched. "You should have seen the look on his face, it was priceless." He became serious again. "When we were finally in, I was worried sick because of you. Why did you have to go there yourself? Why didn't you wait for us?"

It was the first time he asked me those questions and I swallowed. "It was my fault, to be honest. I fled from one of the ghosts and I ran into the wrong direction. Not after you, but towards the lifts again. And I couldn't escape, so there was only one possibility…" I hesitated. "I thought that it was better this way. That I went there alone. It always had to be like that, between Marissa and me. I didn't want you to get hurt." My last words weren't more than a whisper. Next to me, Lockwood was frozen. His shocked expression didn't make me feel any better.

"Lucy…" He muttered and shook his head again. "Why?" It was all he said and the emotions in his voice made me swallow again. He sounded hurt, no, not just hurt, but so broken that it nearly ripped my heart into pieces.

"You've always been so reckless, Lockwood. It seems as if you wanted the danger, as if you liked to risk your life for us. It seemed as if it didn't matter if you lived or died… I couldn't stand that." My voice sounded sad too. "I couldn't do all this anymore, without you. I need you, Lockwood. We all do. And the thought of losing you… it still scares me so much. So I thought it was better when it was me. Because you would carry on. You could do this, you're stronger than me. Everything was better than you…" Dying. I couldn't say the word, I just couldn't do it. I hadn't looked at Lockwood during my speech and when I looked up now, he still looked shocked. And there was something else. I noticed the anger in his eyes immediately.

"Lucy… You can't just say… Why do you even…" He tried to start a few sentences, but stopped after a few words. His hands were shaking. Then he took a deep breath. "You can't think that it wouldn't have mattered to me if you died! I love you with all my heart Lucy, but sometimes you can be so damn stupid…" He shook his head, trying to control his emotions. When he looked at me again, there was an expression of deep sadness on his face. "I couldn't live without you. Yes, I carry on. I try to look confident every day, to motivate the others. But I couldn't do it without you. It's because of you that I have the strength to do all this. That's why I get out of bed every morning and make plans for the day. That's why I carry on…" He repeated and looked at me helplessly.

My heart was racing and I stared at Lockwood in silence. He didn't really say all those things, did he? My mind was still trying to realize that just happened. Did Lockwood say that he…?

"When I arrived at the seventh floor, I didn't dare to hope that you were still alive. And then I saw you, sitting on the ground, covered in blood. But you were alive and you looked at me and it was like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew I could fight Marissa then. I had to safe you. If you wouldn't have looked so bad…" Now Lockwood's lips twitched again. He had his emotions under control again. However, I didn't. My heart was still beating fast in my chest and I was afraid that he might hear it.

"Well, you didn't look much better, to be honest." I tried to cheer him up. It didn't seem to work, Lockwood still looked thoughtful and so serious…

"Why did you do it?" He asked suddenly and I blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"You freed the Skull. You broke the jar so that it could get out. I still don't really understand it. Of course he's saved us, but there was also the risk that he'd kill us all…" Lockwood made a gesture with his hands as if someone cut your throat. I shrugged.

"It's hard to explain. Somehow, I trusted him…" When I saw the look on Lockwood's face, I continued quickly. "I knew the risks. But I also knew that we didn't have a chance without him. You saw yourself how strong he is. And then, at the end, he sacrificed himself for us… I've thought about it very much ever since. He wasn't so bad, just lonely. I understand it now. And somehow, I'm sorry that he's gone…"

Lockwood didn't look convinced, but he nodded. "If he was still with us, we'd have to thank him for that, wouldn't we?" He asked.

I grinned. "He'd have insulted us anyway. Because we didn't free him much earlier and I was too stupid to break the glass… And of course we would all have died without him… You know that stuff."

Lockwood nodded. There was a small smile on his lips. However, he sighed again. "Can you promise me something?"

"Depends on what it is…" I said carefully and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Please, don't do something like that again. Don't scare me like that, please, Lucy. I don't think that I could stand it again." His voice was pleading and there was this look on his face, the emotions I could see there…

I nodded. "Next time, we'll do it together." I promised.

And then it was like Lockwood changed again, his face lit up and there was my smile again. His eyes were shining. "That's great, thank you, Lucy!" We were very close now, I hadn't noticed it before. I had been too busy controlling my emotions. Apparently, Lockwood noticed it as well. However, he didn't move away this time. It surprised me. He always left when we got too close to each other.

The last sunrays were shining on Lockwood's face now. The day was soon to be over. "The necklace looks really beautiful on you." Lockwood whispered and I smiled.

"I have to thank you for that. You didn't have to give it to me." I said quietly, not sure what else I could say.

"But I wanted you to have it." Lockwood replied and smiled. The butterflies in my stomach were back. "You know I wanted to give it to you before all those things happened…" He didn't have to tell me what he meant by that. I nodded.

"Seems like it hadn't been the right moment…" I muttered and remembered the short moment in the garden between Lockwood and me, right before our fight with the Winkman's and Sir Rupert had taken place. Before we had journeyed to the Other Side…

"I'm happy that I finally got a chance to give it to you." Lockwood said and hesitated. "Lucy… There's something I wanted to tell you for quite some time… I just hadn't been sure how to do it. And then so many things happened and we were always in danger…" He stopped again for a moment, looking deep into my eyes. "I think I realized that it was time to be honest the moment I lost you at Fittes house." I lost you, he said. Not we. "The moment I really realized how much I need you." He took my hand hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if I would want it. Of course I did, I had been waiting for this for so long… My heart began to race again. Lockwood's hand was warm and somehow, it just felt right to hold it.

I smiled. "Took you quite some time." I muttered and before I knew what I was doing, I had leaned forward and kissed him. Lockwood seemed frozen first, but then he kissed me back. His free hand was on my shoulder now and he pulled me closer. I didn't know how long we kissed each other on that roof, to me it seemed like a very long time. I had wanted to do this for so long, I just couldn't stop. And apparently, Lockwood felt the same. It was a great feeling, like coming home. In that moment, everything seemed to be alright again. I forgot the events of the past months and even the problem. It was just Lockwood and me, together. I had always known that together, we could face everything. However, I had never realized how true this was.

When we finally let go of each other, Lockwood was smiling softly at me. He touched my cheek and brushed away a few hairs that had fallen into my face. His other hand was still holding mine. Right now, he looked peaceful. Just like himself – not in the way he had looked back at Fittes house, of course – but like he had finally made peace with everything that had bothered him so much during the past years. It was like an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

We sat there in silence now, both watching the city in front of us. It was dark now and soon; the ghosts would appear. The agencies would start to go out on their cases and the other people were safely at home and tried to ignore the dangers of the night. The dangers Marissa Fittes had caused so many years ago. In many ways, it was a normal night.

Most people would be scared if they were outside now, especially if they just had their rapiers with them. However, I didn't care about that. Lockwood was with me and together, we could face everything. I leaned against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me.

"I'm glad everything ended so well…" I whispered and he nodded next to me.

"Could have been much worse, right?" He asked and smiled again. How I loved that smile!

"I think I have to thank you as well…" I began and he turned to look at me. "For saving my life."

"You know I would always do that, Lucy. You don't have to thank me for that. I already explained how I feel…" He didn't finish that sentence and I nodded with a smile.

"And you know that I do feel the same." I whispered and he grinned, his eyes shining.

Then he kissed me again. However, not as long as the first time. "We should leave soon, shouldn't we?" I asked and he nodded.

"I don't want to give George a chance to ruin the house." Lockwood said with a grin. "You know how he can be when it's about making changes."

I laughed. "You fear that he might paint your room as well?" I joked and Lockwood put a hand on his mouth, trying to look shocked.

"We didn't buy that pink wall paint Holly liked so much, did we?" He asked and now we both laughed.

"Pity that Kipps doesn't have a room at Portland Row, I bet he would like it." I grinned and Lockwood chuckled. I knew we both remembered the Spirit Cape Kipps had worn on the other side.

We stood up slowly and made our way back to the ladder. Before we climbed down, we turned around and looked at the dark city again. Everything seemed to be so peaceful. Next to me, Lockwood was looking at the stars that started to appear on the sky. "Let's go home, Lucy." He whispered and I nodded.

Once we had climbed down the ladder, Lockwood took my hand again. He didn't let go the entire way back to our home. We didn't meet any ghosts that night.

Except the thin youth with the spiked hair who was standing in front of 35 Portland Row and grinned at us, hands buried deep in his pockets.