authors note: For now this is just a bit of fluff on Sara and Nikolas falling into mated life after Relentless.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to the lovely Karen Lynch.

We went to a New York safe house then, after the healers decided Nikolas was fit to be moved. Tristan and Chris had to carry him into the back of one of the vans and set him down, he was still to weak to walk. I climbed in beside him and lay down next to him, still unwilling to let him go. Nikolas was in and out of consciousness, his body needed the rest after I killed the demon, but he was holding on for me. Stop trying to take care of me, Its my turn this time.

Stings my pride a little bit, to hear you say that.

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips to his chest. My Mori was coming down from its distraught state, and reveling in our closeness. I nuzzled in closer and felt more grateful than I think I ever have. This was almost lost to me. This huge, new wonderful thing between was almost gone. Forever. And now I actually get to keep this warm beautiful man . Forever.His breathing evened out then, as he gave into sleep.

My head was swimming. I killed a Master. I survived. Elena was the master. I teleported. I killed Elena. That thought gave me pause, knowing how much the situation hurt Tristan and even Nikolas. They were both glad i had survived but knowing about Elena...then witnessing her death...Things were going to be different with Tristan now, especially as he grieved for the sister he lost. Hearing of her pain and torture was going to weigh heavily on Nikolas. The little sister he lost...I couldnt figure out what to feel. I was relieved it was over, that Nikolas was alive, that we were together. I couldn't make myself regret killing her. She had hurt my Mate. She had tried to take Nikolas from me. I was only beginning to understand this Solmi business, but that was unforgivable. There wasn't a mohiri out there that wouldn't of done what i did..if they could. I guess the only way to label my current emotional turmoil would be bittersweet. But for right now in this moment the sweet was winning out. I was wrapped around my warrior, and his heart beat soundly beneath me. I kissed his chest again, thanking his strong heart for continuing to fight and beat when he had given his everything to me. I snuggled in closer (if that was possible) and continued to listen to his heartbeat, basking in the beauty of it.

When we arrived at the safe house it was Seamus and Niall that opened the doors. Their ever winning smiles were present, but tired. I knew now that several teams were dispatched and had fought hard with the large vampire nest that presided in the castle. Apparently, after we went missing David had tried to contact me about the location of the drawing. Chris had returned his call and explained the situation. Kalven had gotten a lead on a few possibilities and the mohiri had mobilized immediately to stage our rescue. The first castle possibility had been on the coast in North Carolina and abandoned. The second possibility had looked much more promising, due to documented vampire activity in the area. It was in Northern Ontario and had been a vamp nest of more than thirty. After they had cleared out the vampires they had realized that we were not there and while the vamps were mature, none of them were a master. It was during that moment of failure that David had reached out to Chris again, directly this time, about an odd possibility in New York. There had been rumors about a castle there...but no pictures. No sound eyewitness accounts. It was whispers, with no proof. The previous reigning Master had been using compulsion on the locals for so long, that nothing was definite. But they had been out of options and came directly to the area to begin scouting. They were about 30 miles south when Elderoin had appeared and pointed them in the right direction. He had remained in the area but was wary of interfering with the Warriors and causing their demon upset before Battle. I assumed he had been told I was safe or had felt it and then left, but didn't know the details beyond that yet.

Together the twins and I got Nikolas settled into one of the rooms of the safe house. It was a beautiful three story Victorian house that had been set up with 3 bedrooms on the second floor and a bunk room in the attic, for special occasions. like today. More Mohiri filtered in after that, tired and victorious. I could hear the quiet chatter downstairs that got steadily louder as someone procured several bottles of hard liquor. Between the two nests of yesterday and today, two Warriors had been lost. I listened as the cleanup crew finally came in, and then the Warriors toasted their fallen brethren. I wondered if Tristan was here, somewhere. Thinking of him alone mourning his sister hurt my heart. I debated between leaving Nikolas (my mori growled at the thought) to see Tristan and staying to let my own wounds heal with my mate. The decision was made for me when a gentle knock sounded at the door and Desmund peeked his head in.

I smiled at him, tired but happy to see my friend. "Hey, how are things going down there?"

"A bit too many people for my liking, and the swill is...unacceptable." He shuddered lightly and I laughed.

"What, no fine wine here? "

"Nary a drop." His smile fell. "I've just spoken with Tristan." I lowered my gaze "He's doing...as well as can be expected. He's going to take his leave and head back to Idaho. I will be accompanying him, for the time being." I nodded, a little hurt that Tristan would be leaving me. Desmund must have read my face. He entered the room more fully and came to sit beside me on the bed. " Now, don't go looking at me like that. Tristan, and I, are so relieved that we have you back. He's just...had a shock. He needs to inform his kin. And he needs time to accept things."

I nodded. I knew all of this. It was selfish of me to ask him to be there for me, when he was so hurt. I had just killed his sister, after all. His beloved baby sister. My eyes were wet at the thought. "Do you think...do you think he can forgive me?" I whispered, closing my eyes to brace myself of the possibility that I may not like the answer.

"Oh you dear girl. There is nothing to forgive. I think a part of his need for a quick departure is that he feels guilty that he wasn't the one to end it. Yes, he watched her die at your hand, but we are Warriors. That is our way. I believe that knowing who she was and all she had done weighs more heavily than watching her die today."

I took in what Desmund was saying, but my hear was no lighter for it. Until Tristan was ready to talk and tell me his feelings I would carry this weight. Desmund kissed my forehead and left soon after. Only to be replaced by Jordan.

The thrill of the battle was still etched on her face. I could tell she had gotten in on the celebration downstairs from her grin, and it was infectious. I moved away from Nikolas on the bed to sit with her on the love seat next to it. I watched Nikolas closely to see if my moving had bothered him in any way and prepared to move back the second i noticed anything. He was still sleeping peacefully though and I relaxed a little into the couch. Jordan watched on with one eyebrow cocked high.

I turned back to her and seeing her knowing expression blushed. "What?" I tried acting nonchalantly but i was busted and i knew it.

"So. Anything you want to tell me?"

"Uh..I teleported?" That distracted her for a moment.

"Wait , what? Seriously? Like Eldeiroin?" I nodded and told her about the chase with Elena. When I finished she had me rewind a bit to when I had realized that the Master was Elena. "I mean, what went through your head then? Did you freak out? What the hell are you wearing?" She picked at the lacy dress Ava had forced me into pre ceremony with a look of utter disgust.

I told her about arriving and Ana and grace, and my powers being stripped. When i got to the whole macabre wedding bit, she lost it. "WHAT! What a nutbag! I mean...WHAT?!" I got back around to the chase part and then skipped ahead to when I felt Nikolas in my mind. Her Cheshire grin returned and i looked down at my lap willing my blush away. "So. Did you leave anything out? Anything at all?" I studied my fingernails like I hadn't and she threw a pillow at me. "YOU DID IT! You did the deed! You're mated now!" I looked over at Nikolas shyly, willing him to still be sleeping. He was unchanged and i turned back to Jordan.

"Okay, yes we did it," I whispered. She whooped.

"I knew it! Tell me everything."

I thought back to that night (had it only been two nights ago?!) and joing with Nikolas. I did'nt know what to say without ruining the magic and intimacy of it. "Whoa it must've been good. I mean, it is Nikolas Dashnov, I don't know why I even asked."

I hid my face in my hands before i gave anything else away. "It was amazing." was all I could comfortably give away and she laughed at my blatant uncomfortableness. A loud cheer came up from downstairs and Jordan looked back to the door. "Oh, go on Miss Warrior goddess, go celebrate with everyone else." She looked back at me gratefully and bounded out of the room.

"Amazing, huh?" I hung my head in embarrassment and turned back toward Nikolas.

"Of coarse you woke up for that."

"Actually Jordan yelling woke me up, but I'm glad she did." My face couldn't have been any redder. I sat next to him on the bed and thrilled as his hand reached out for my own. I looked up into his eyes and melted when my green met his smoky gray.

"And why is that?"

"I get to see this beautiful shade of pink on my Mates face." I closed my eyes, loving the way it sounded. His mate. I was his mate. His match. "Have you slept yet?" He questioned running a finger up my arm, sending chills straight through me. With the current subject matter, my heightened emotions from my more and battle, and physical closeness of Nikolas, I felt fire in my veins and my cheeks warmed further.

"No I have not slept yet. I was watching over you." His eyes softened and he pulled my arm lightly bringing me closer to him. Desire bloomed in my chest and I closed the distance between us, kissing him with everything i had. Knowing how close I came to losing him and the absolute miracle that we were both here now fueled the flames, and I crawled up onto the bed and over top of him, keeping my body off of his healing one. He groaned into my mouth and i increased the pressure of my lips on his, and brought a hand up into his hair. His hands gripped at my waist and held my weight so i was free to bring my other hand up to his face. I pulled away to catch my breath, but continuing to rain kissed down his jaw and onto his neck. I was extra careful here, trying to both not bring his recent attack from Elena into his mind and reclaim what she had taken from us. He brought a strong hand up to the back of me head and growled as I took his ear lobe between my teeth and sucked lightly. My lips made their way back to his and my body dropped lower onto his, needing to be closer. He sighed a little and I sat up, afraid I had hurt him. I looked at him questioningly and he stroked my dark hair hair back from my face.

"You are so beautiful." The way he said it, reverently, in worship, made me look away shyly. "Don't do that. " His thumb ran along my jaw and I leaned my face into his hand. When his thumb got to my lips I opened my lips and nipped the top of it, pulling it between my teeth. Nikolas sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. I watch his reactions with fascination. He opened his eyes and dropped both hand to my waist. I moved a little against him then and he closed his eyes again. When he opened them this time he shot a small smile at me and lifted me off of him, setting me down next to him instead. My brain caught up with me then and I was horrified that i was trying to seduce a man that had nearly been dead several hours ago! What was I thinking?! He needed rest, and comfort. The things he had gone through...I put a hand on my face and groaned at my own stupidity. I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot.

He turned onto his side and pulled my hands back form my face. No, no, no, moy malen'kiy voin. No. You are not an idiot. You are...a little too sexy for me right at this moment. I'm afraid I don't have the adequate strength to do what you are leading us to.

"Wait, you think I'm sexy?" I was stunned and he laughed as his hand followed the curve of my body.

Incredibly. And mine. He dipped his head to kiss me, and while rationally I knew that he was putting the kibosh on sex right now, my mori and my body surged forward and met the kiss with intensity. His hand had rested on my hip lightly, but he responded to my kiss by moving his hand to my lower back and pulling me in closer. I moaned a little, and he broke the kiss and rolled onto his back.

It was a catch 22 of sorts. Our mori's couldn't handle any distance, but his physical body needed rest and his emotional state was...not possibly ready for this. Thinking about Elena with her hands...there while she drank from him was like splashing a bucket of cold water on my raging hormones. My mori growled at the thought and Nikolas sensed the quick shift of my emotions. He misread them though, "Hey, I promise that once I'm healed you will be beating me off with a stick. I don't think I can keep my hands off of you." I smiled at him like he'd hit the nail on the head. I needed to put as much distance as i could stand between us for a few minutes so he couldn't see where my thoughts were really leading. That's when i realized i'd been wearing this hideous, bloody dress throughout the entire make out session. I needed a shower.

I kissed him lightly on the lips and told my mori to back off when it tried for more. "I know. Just get some rest, I'm going to clean up and find us some food." He didn't look pleased to lose contact with me, but i could see the exhaustion behind his grey eyes.