Three weeks passed by in a daze.

Tessa felt nothing. Just a seeping numbness, sealed with a promise to keep away the realization that was slowly making its way into Tessa's mind.

Jem was gone.

She blamed herself just like she knew Will did, who had been so closed off for those weeks that Tessa was afraid he'd shatter. For he hadn't just lost a companion, but a man that was a close as blood, who'd had his back for years, who'd given him friendship and hope in those times Will thought it impossible. And now it had been brutally taken away from him, buried under the Institute's foliage, leaving the place empty. Hollow.

Henry and Charlotte continued to make plans for their son, but they did it with grief instead of joy and in tears of sadness. Tessa couldn't even bring herself to go up the flight of stairs and pass Jem's room. She was afraid to see the empty bed, cold with the absence of its owner; chilled to see the violin case, playing a song of silence.

She was constantly in the library, desperate to escape her world and enter another's, yet she hadn't gone near A Tale of Two Cities. Her Charles Darnay was gone.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," the eerie and familiar voice chided to Tessa from the lurking darkness. "You know you can't hide forever. You know I'll find you."

Fear pounded in Tessa's heart as she turned and ran. Ran into the blackness that just seemed to get colder, covering her in shadows. Tessa screamed out and turned around, shaking them off as if they were tangible beings. She ran one way and then the next, the crawling darkness just an endless labyrinth, confusing her. Panic seized her as she looked for an escape, each attempt done in vain. Sweat beaded at the nape of her neck, her hand clammy and wet. She gripped tightly on her Angel, waiting for it to spark to life and offer up some guidance.

But it was not her Angel fastened to her neck.

It was the jade necklace Jem had given her.

She let it drop, the jade feeling so cold that her fingers literally sprouted crystals from the contact.

Tessa's breathing came in quicker, harsher gasps as she tried to keep herself together. "Jem?" she called into the darkness. "Jem, please help me!" she begged to him.

Then he appeared before her, yet he seemed unable to reach her. "Run, Tess."

"I can't!" she cried, turning in circles as she tried to find a door. A sliver of light. But there was just nothing. Nothing except Jem who was beginning to fade. "No!" she screamed, rushing forward. "Don't leave me! Please don't leave, Jem! I'm sorry!" she said, wanting to just grab hold of his hand.

But the closer she got, the farther he receded, dimming more and more. "I have already left, Tessa," he said, giving her a weak smile.

Tessa though, refused to believe this. "No! Save me, Jem! I can't-" her voice cracked.

"I can't save you, Tessa. No one can."

And then, Jem disappeared, replaced by Mortmain. Automatons suddenly came in to view, surrounding Tessa and closing in on her. Behind Mortmain, she saw a woman shrouded in black. "Hello, Deary."

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as the machines grabbed her, tearing at her.

"Tess!" Tessa heard Mortmain shout, but his voice sounded . . . off.

"No, no, NO!" she continued to shout, thrashing around as mechanical claws dug into her, the pain making her cry out . . .

"Tessa! Wake up!" she heard someone call, but it was not Mortmain.

Tessa's eyes flew open, meeting Will's intense and concerned gaze. Her breathing was rough and jagged and she could somehow still feel the automaton hands on her, pulling at her hair and clothes. "I'm sorry," she gasped, feeling tears well up in her eyes and spill over. She couldn't even try and stop them. She kept seeing Jem's face, telling her that he was gone and that he could no longer save her. Protect her.

"Shh, Tessa," Will said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. "It was just a dream."

She shook her head, attempting to quiet the sobs that were slowly making their way up her throat. "No, it was real," she said, suddenly feeling as if she couldn't breathe. "I saw-Jem. He said-said he couldn't-that he had already g-gone."

She could feel Will freeze, causing more tears spilling over her face and down her cheeks. "I feel s-so gui-guilty," she gasped out, her hands grabbing at Will's shirt, the cloth rumpling in her hands. "If I hadn't-If I'd stopped him from-"

"Stopped him from what, Tess?" Will asked, pulling back to look at her. She could see the pain in his eyes as he leaned over and wiped the tears from her face. "We knew that this was going to happen. Sooner or later, we would have had to face this."'

"But he would have been here longer-"

"No," Will said, "Jem told us he was done. Tessa . . . Jem was ready. It's us who weren't. May never be."

Tessa buried her face in Will and cried harder, dampening his shirt. Will didn't seem to mind and tightened his grip on her, refusing to let her go.

She did not know how long she cried, but stopped when her eyes could no longer produce tears. She rested her head against Will, breathing in his scent. "I'm sorry, Will," she said, her voice rough and broken.

He rested his cheek against the top of her head. "For what, Tess?"

"For causing you so much pain. I don't deserve your comfort."

That made Will pull back to look at her face again. "Don't say that. You deserve the very best, Tessa. It kills me to see you get hurt and know that I have been the cause of that."

Tessa cleared her throat. "For the wounds you have opened, Will, you have also closed them. For it is I who has cut your heart and refused to seal it back together," she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed.

Will pulled her over to him, slowly moving down until they lay on her bed, his warm, reassuring arms embracing her tightly. "If you say that you have cut my heart, than you have cut your own as well, Tess. Because my heart belongs to you," he said, running his hand over her hair softly.

Tessa pulled him as close as she possibly could, unable to let him go. "I can't lose you, too, Will," she said, her voice barely audible, low due to exhaustion.

Will kissed her forehead. "I won't let that happen, Tess. I will always come for you. Forever."

And those were the last words Tessa heard, lulling her to sleep, embraced in the arms of the man she loved.

No, this is not the end yet, just in case you are wondering. I have probably around two-three more chapters to go before I end it. Please R&R!