When I first woke up, for a brief moment, I thought I was still in that basement with Lewis. I feared that everything from yesterday with C and Bonnie and Nik had only been a fleeting dream.

But when I realized I was in Nik's bedroom, I knew I hadn't dreamt it and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

I sat up and stretched and noticed I was alone. But just as I noticed this, the door opened and Rebekah stuck her head in. "Oh good, you're awake." I slid up until I was able to rest my back against the headboard as she came into the room and sat down on the side of the bed, next to my feet. "Here. For you." She handed me a blood bag and I realized how hungry I was.

"Thanks."

As I began to drink, Rebekah answered my unspoken question. "Nik had to go out, but he didn't want you to be alone." I nodded.

"I'm so glad you're all right, Ri," Rebekah continued. "It would be just my luck that the first real friend I've had winds up dead before I can even let her know that she's my best friend." I laughed at how she turned me being held captive into something about her, as only Bekah can.

But I also smiled hugely at her declaration that I was her best friend. Rebekah may not have nearly as many walls around her as her brother does, but she's not one to admit, out loud, her feelings and her connections, so I greatly appreciated my new categorization.

"Love you too, Bekah."

She returned my smile. "Did Lewis feed you while he held you captive?"

"No."

"Should I get another for you, then?"

"No thanks. One is fine."

Rebekah was quite for only two seconds before she changed the subject. "I've been thinking about your situation with Caroline."

"Really? What do you mean?"

She raised her eyebrow at me, giving me a look that just dared me to defy her next statement. "I heard what they made you do at the party by the falls the other night. And the fact that you're here and not at the Forbes house, despite the fact that it was Caroline who rushed into the apartment building to get you out, suggests that you two have not made up yet."

I never doubted that Rebekah had overheard the argument.

"And by the way," she spoke again, "I'm glad you chose Nik."

I smiled as I shrugged. "I made the right decision. I know I did. And I'm not with Caroline because I'm still angry with her for forcing my hand. I told her we needed some time apart; we needed to cool down a bit."

She nodded. "I cannot believe they actually forced you to choose. I know they're thick, but did they really think you would choose them after they issued you an ultimatum?"

"I thought about that, a bit, while I was alone. At first, I thought C and her friends just could not imagine being wrong when opposed to Nik. But now, I'm wondering if maybe they just underestimated how close Nik and I are. And considering how they ignore him or glare at him at the best of times — when they're not trying to kill him, that is — I'm not surprised that they didn't pay enough attention to who he spends time with or how he is when he's around another person." I shrugged again. "Or perhaps they've just taken my presence for granted and never really looked at me, or else they would have seen how much I care about him."

"Idiots, the lot of them. Obviously." I smiled but didn't respond. "You should just stay here, Ri. You and Nik are practically inseparable anyway, and you're almost always here. So why not? Plus, I'd love to have you hanging around here more often."

"I appreciate the last part of your statement. But Nik and I are not inseparable." Though as I spoke the words, I felt the sharpness of their lie as if it were acid. We were rather inseparable. I could only go so long without seeing him, or hearing his voice, or even just feeling his presence. If I was watching myself right now, I would roll my eyes and think about how pathetic I was.

But since I was experiencing this, and not watching it as an objective third party, all I could do was smile ridiculously and hope Nik felt something similar. How embarrassing if all this was only one-sided.

"How close are you and Nik?" I looked to Rebekah's face and found her eyebrow quirked in my direction.

I felt my face redden, but I could barely answer Rebekah's question. I chuckled. "I don't know. I don't know how to describe it." But I think the ridiculous smile that I could not remove from my face gave away more to Rebekah than any words.

"I like the two of you together. And I like how he is, how he has been, since you've been in town."

"Do you mean he's changed?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. It's more like he's reverted back to the brother I once knew. He's been very dark and cold lately, and he's closed himself off. I've noticed a huge difference between how he was when I was first undaggered and how he was in the 1920s. But since you've entered our lives, he's a bit brighter. And happy. And Nik does deserve happiness. Despite what the people of this town may think."

"Like you said, this town is full of idiots."

"I am quite smart. And observant."

"And modest," I noted.

Bekah continued as if I hadn't spoken. "If it weren't for us, this town would be populated with only simpletons."

"Good thing we're here, then." We both laughed at that. "Maybe Nik's mood has improved because he has his sister back at his side."

She snorted. "Not bloody likely, Ri."

"If anything, though, I think he's changed me."

"I agree. You're stronger and more confident since you and Nik have gotten closer."

I smiled, liking that idea. I wasn't sure if it was true, but Rebekah rarely gave out compliments, so I knew better than to argue with what she said.

"Thank you for not wording it as though I've changed him. I would really hate to think that."

As I finished drinking the blood bag, I noticed Rebekah trying to discretely look at her watch. But Rebekah is anything but discrete.

"You don't have to stick around and babysit me, Bekah. If you want to go somewhere, you can. I might go for a walk or something. Stretch my legs."

She shook her head. "Nik would kill me if I left you alone."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. Seriously. Go."

"Really?" I nodded. "Thanks, Ri." She pulled me in for a quick hug before she stood. "A bunch of the cheerleaders who just graduated are going to the Grill and I'm hoping Matt will notice how I look much better than all of them combined."

I laughed at her comment. "Cheerleaders graduated? Wow! Yay for breaking the social stereotype."

"I know. Wish me luck!"

"Bye."

Once Bekah left, I texted Nik to let him know I was taking a walk. The fresh air and the freedom to walk around felt amazing after being confined by the boundary spell to that small space inside that very dusty basement.

But for the first time in my entire life, I didn't want to be alone. Even though Lewis has been present most of the time, I had never felt more isolated and lonely than I had when I was being held in that basement storage area.

But I didn't want to burden anyone — anyone I wanted to spend time with had already hugely inconvenienced themselves by trying to save me — so I went to visit someone I hadn't visited yet since I arrived here in Mystic. Someone who wouldn't mind if I went to hang out with her, but who, if she could, would most definitely scold me for staying away for so long.

I ran there, and then took a leisurely walk around the area before I settled at her place.

I didn't know what to do, or what to say, so I just sat down.

After a few moments, I whispered, "I miss you."

I wasn't sure if she could hear me or not, but I felt better saying those words aloud. And here.

I was still sitting in the cemetery when Nik sat down beside me.

"This is an unexpected place to find you, love."

"And yet you have found me. Why are you always able to find me? Have you put a tracking device on me?"

He shrugged. "I'm merely observant. And I begin to feel apprehensive when I don't see you for a certain length of time, especially after just getting you back."

I nodded, understanding his apprehension completely. It was nice to know it wasn't one-sided. "We're all undead anyways; perhaps we should feel more at home in a cemetery."

"Or we could feel as though it is a place we just missed out on joining one," he pointed out as he put his arm around me.

I saw the rationality of this point. "That's true."

"What brings you to the cemetery, Riley?"

I pointed behind me to the tombstone we were now leaning back against. "My mother. This is where she's buried. I found it strange that she requested to be buried in the cemetery of the town she fled from, but now that I've spent time here, I see how Mystic Falls, with its small-town charm, can grow on a person and become part of you."

"Sounds like an infection."

I laughed. "Or maybe for her, this town was always home, no matter where she lived."

"Shouldn't you be sitting so you can face her grave marker, instead of leaning against it?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I did try that. But then I was leaning against someone else's tombstone, someone I didn't know, and that felt weird. And awkward. So I stopped. I sit this way because I know my mother wouldn't mind."

We sat in silence for a while.

"Do you come here often, love?"

I felt like he already knew the answer before he asked the question, but I responded anyway. "No. I actually haven't been here since she was buried; we had the funeral service back in Williamsburg. I uh," I paused and sighed before continuing. "I've been avoiding coming here."

"Why?"

"Guilt. I felt guilty that I lived while she died. It's still my fault, in some ways, but the blame for her death lies with Lewis. He's the one who should feel guilty, not me."

"Do you want to be alone?" His tone was shrouded in reluctance — he knew he needed to ask, but he didn't want my answer to be a 'yes.' Good thing for him.

"No. To be alone is the last thing I want right now, Nik." He shifted until he was the one with his back against the grave marker and I was sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest, with my knees up against my own torso. His arms wrapped around the outside of mine and he joined his fingers with mine where they rested, on top of my knees.

"Bekah and I were talking earlier, after I woke up to find you were not there."

"Errands," he simply said. "What were you two chatting about?"

I tilted my head to look back at him. "You."

"Uh oh," he said with a chuckle.

I shook my head before facing forwards again. I was watching out entwined fingers as I spoke. "Not like that." I paused as I realized something. "I don't know. Perhaps I shouldn't say anything — maybe this would betray the trust of a friend to her brother. That sounds bad."

He lowered his head and I could feel his warm breath against the side of my neck as he untangled one of his hands from mine and used it to move all my hair over onto one shoulder. "Rebekah is someone who holds a grudge."

"She just mentioned how you're different when I'm around, or since I've been in this town. Good different. Not changed, just different." I let out a breath as his hand rejoined his other one in front of me. "If anyone has changed, I feel it may be me."

"I hope not; I like you as you are." He began placing kisses along the base of my neck. That made speaking a bit more difficult.

"Perhaps 'changed' isn't the appropriate word, then. Maybe I've just become aware of certain things since I've met you."

"Such as?" He was now kissing up my neck.

I rolled my eyes at myself; I couldn't believe I was actually admitting this to him. "I never realized how lonely I was until I met you. I always thought I was perfectly okay with being alone all the time. But I wasn't; I just hadn't met anyone I wanted to spend my time with. And now, I cannot imagine spending any more time away from you."

His lips halted their movements and his hold around my torso tightened as he also held me slightly more against this chest. "That's good, because I'm never letting you go again, love."

I felt a wave of comfort and security pass over me at his words. "It would be nice to stay like this forever," I mused.

"Only for a little while. Eventually we'd get hungry. Or it would rain. And at some point, we could need to bathe."

I scoffed at him. "You are ridiculous." I rolled my eyes as I moved my arm back to elbow him in the ribs, but I'm sure he felt nothing. His hold on me did slacken with my movement. I stood and turned around to face him. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go somewhere else."

He stood and grabbed my hand. "Where to?"

I shrugged. "Wherever you want to go."

We had only walked as far as the entrance to the cemetery when I blurted out, "I need to tell you something." I groaned inwardly before continuing on. "Gosh, why does it feel like I'm always starting a conversation with you lately by using those words?"

Nik actually — and luckily — chuckled at that. "Because you have been. Is there something else you haven't told me?"

"Sort of. When I was in the basement of the apartment building, before Lewis had taken C home, I told her the truth about the sire bonds, that they cannot be broken. I'm sorry." Then I started rambling. "It's just — we were kind of talking about it, and I didn't know what was going to happen to either one of us in that basement, and I felt like she should know and… I'm sorry."

He shook his head and squeezed my hand tighter. It was a comforting gesture. "That's all right, love; I never expected you to keep that from her anyway."

I smiled up at him, but then grew cautious. "…You're really not angry?"

"No."

"So this isn't the calm before the storm?"

"No," he said as he shook his head again. "But while we're on the subject of confessions, I too must inform you of something?"

Ominous, but only fair. "Okay…"

"I was very angry with you when I found out that you went after Lewis instead of waiting, as we had planned. I was terrified to think of what may have been happening to you."

"It turned out all right," I whispered.

"That doesn't erase the fear I felt. Or the anger." I was in awe of how honest he was being. He didn't seem to have any walls up to protect himself. I was receiving a rare glimpse into Niklaus.

I stopped walking and he turned to face me. I smiled and cupped his cheek with the hand that wasn't clasped in his as I stepped closer to him. "I know. Nothing does. But I can't promise that it won't happen again. Even when I'm angry with her, I will still always fight for C, just as I will always fight for you."

He sighed. "I've taken for granted the fact that you'll always be there."

"As I have with you. You're the one who's more invincible, of the two of us." I took a deep breath. "You won't lose me, Nik," I reassured him.

"You can't guarantee that, love."

I shook my head, agreeing with him. "Nor can you. So I guess we'll both just have to avoid dying, then."

We ended up back at the Mikaelson mansion, which was just fine with me. We sat on his bed and I told Nik everything about what happened while I was in that basement and what Lewis was trying to do.

We were both quiet after I finished speaking. He was probably thinking about making hybrids, or wondering if what Lewis was attempting was even possible.

I was also wondering if Lewis could ever actually reanimate dead blood, which could give Klaus the ability to create hybrids again. But more than that, I was wondering if that was Lewis's real plan. It didn't seem right. Something felt odd.

And if there was only one thing Nik had taught me, it was to trust my instincts. He had once told me, back when we barely knew each other, that 'following your instincts happens to be a very useful tool; one that most people ignore,' or something like that.

And since I was trying a new thing where I tell him everything, I decided that I wanted him to know about my thoughts. "Something stinks about Lewis's plan."

"How so?"

"Let's assume he can actually, eventually, reanimate dead vampire blood, which would give you the ability to create hybrids again. Why would he want to help you?"

"He doesn't, according to Caroline; he wants to keep me away from you, so he's offering me something he believes I won't be able to refuse."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "So he says. But Lewis doesn't want to protect me. He's in this for himself." I shook my head slightly as I spoke. "I don't know how yet, but I don't trust that this is the entirety of his plan."

"You don't?"

"No. He may have turned me so I wouldn't have magic, but he wouldn't care who I spent my time with now. He's up to something else, but it must be something involving you. He must need to be close to you in order to achieve his real goal."

"You really believe he is that self-serving?"

"Absolutely."

"But that doesn't explain why he would now be disguising his real intention by trying to reanimate dead blood?"

"I know. Is there another reason he may want reanimated blood from a vampire? Could it have some other purpose?"

He thought about that. "None that immediately come to my mind."

"Okay, so what does Lewis gain by doing this, then? He'll get closer to you; he may think he'll gain your trust."

"Unlikely," he sneered. I smiled at that. "He might also think he'd get closer to you, if you thought he was helping me."

"Mmmm, maybe. But now that I don't have magic, I think I'm pretty useless to him. Whereas having you as an ally, in any capacity, would be a big deal for him. That must be what he wants — to be close to you — to have your ear and maybe even your confidence."

"For what means?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I was getting flustered. He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead; a comforting gesture in the midst of a highly uncomfortable conversation.

"We need to know more, love."

"That's easier said than done, Nik."

"Maybe not." I tilted my head and gave him a questioning look but I didn't say anything. "I've had a hybrid tailing him since I found out you ignored me and went to the basement. I wanted to know where he was, at all times. That was part of my plan. The one neither you nor Caroline cared to follow."

"Yea, yea. Wait, is that safe — for the hybrid, I mean?"

I rolled my eyes at his shrug. "The hybrid is doing surveillance, not eavesdropping or planning to kill him."

"Where is he?"

"In his apartment. An interesting note: while you were trapped in the basement, the hunter entered the apartment building."

"He did?"

Nik nodded. "And since you never saw him, he must have gone up to Lewis's apartment."

"So they are still working together?"

"Seems so."

I perked up. "We should go eavesdrop on him, then. See if the hunter comes back, or see if we can learn more about what Lewis is up to."

"We can't, love; not just yet."

"Why?"

"I'll be right back."

Nik flashed away before I could say anything else. It was quiet for a moment or two before I heard steps on the stairs. But this time, I heard two sets of footsteps.

Why would be bring Bekah into this conversation?

But when he re-entered the room, I saw that he was not with Rebekah. He was accompanying an older, caramel-skilled woman.

"Riley, this is Anita. She's one of the witches I keep tabs on, in case I need one of them."

The witch scowled, as if she would have used different phrasing to describe her relationship with Klaus.

But I just sat there, confused. Why would he bring in a witch?

Nik took in my confused expression. "It will be pointless to go to Lewis's apartment because of his silencing spell. But Anita can break the spell."

"You can?" I asked her.

"Not exactly. On my own, I cannot hope to undo the spell."

"You need the help of another witch?" I questioned.

"No. I need a connection to that warlock to undo his spell. A direct line. A blood link."

"Blood? Why does almost every spell require blood?" I had asked the question almost hypothetically, but Anita answered.

"Blood is the lifeline of so many elements."

"So you need my blood? Even though my blood is dead?"

She shook her head. "Dead or alive, your blood will always link you to your family."

I stood. "Okay. The faster Anita breaks the silencing spell, the faster we can learn what Lewis is up to."

Nik stepped closer to me. "Not 'we,' love. You'll be staying here."

"No. No, I can't sit here while you're out there by yourself."

"And I will not go at all if you insist on your presence."

I was just about to continue my argument when Anita spoke louder than both of us. "Enough! This spell requires no more input from either of you, besides your blood." She looked at me when she said 'your blood.' "But I will require some silence." She stepped closer to me as she held up a small dagger and reached out for me.

I stretched my arm out towards her and put my hand in hers, palm up. She made a quick slice and released my hand.

She held the knife in her hand as she turned to Klaus. "I'm ready."

"That's all?" I asked.

She shook her head. "This is all I need. But I cannot perform the spell until I am in the presence of the silenced area."

That makes sense…

"Riley, please stay here. I will not have you at his mercy or within his grasp again."

I felt myself giving in — I always seemed to when Nik said 'please' — but I argued anyway. "But you cannot go alone."

"I won't, then; to appease you. I'll take a hybrid with me, to join with the one already following Lewis."

I sighed. "I still think I should be there, too."

He was unwavering. "No."

I gave in, but on my own terms. "Fine. I'll stay here. But just because I stayed back this time, it doesn't mean I will do so the next time."

He tilted his chin lower; his blue eyes stared into mine in just that way that always sent a small shiver down my spine. "I know," he simply said.

He stepped closer and brushed his lips across mine before leaving with Anita.