"You were looking for me?"

It was the only thing I could muster up and say to her as she was standing right at the doorway, hands folded in front of her, and her eyes watching me with such interest and intrigue that it was almost disturbing to stare. Her eyes were piercing and yet subtle, which to me seemed a bit worse as she was in her lab coat, watching me with that stare that reminded me of someone else….someplace else.

I could picture her in my mind torturing Nicky and Joe, bringing them pain, killing them, and watching them come to life, all in the same of science. it sickened me, to know that not only she was alive, but right in front of me and looking at me with no remorse on her face. All I could see in my brain was the pain in Joe and Nicky's eyes, and it made me all the more wanting to torment this woman in return. It wasn't like me, having this kind of anger festering in me. But it involved two people I held dear in my heart, that I would protect with all my heart, so this was getting far too personal.

"Of course I was, for quite a while actually," She said in a light chuckle, and as she moved to my right, I was moving to the left, keeping a distance between the both of us, "I know exactly who you are,"

"So you know why I'm here aiming right between your eyes?" I asked her cooly, seeing her give me a small smirk, still walking in a small arch across the room and I was still staying on the opposite end of the room with her. I didn't know if she was playing coy with me or trying to get into my head mentally with how she was smiling at me in such a manner. What was it about her smile that made me remember something?

"I know why you're here," She said to me, answering my question with her accent that seemed a bit unreal, "But I also wish to express to you why I did what I did,"

"Doesn't matter to me," I said back quickly, "What you did to now three of my friends is enough for me to kill you,"

"You think I wanted to do any of those things to them…just out of pure pleasure for it?" She questioned me, her tilted slightly tilted as she gestured to the office we were in, "They were not my main interest in all of this."

I was quiet for a moment, still not uncertain at first what she meant. I was a bit apprehensive about what she was saying and how she was defending herself with me. She was so calm about it, but now that I was seeing her and hearing her tell me that she had another target in mind was making me a bit confused. She wasn't targeting the others? Not even Joe and Nicky? What about Booker? Seeing him near close to death just a few moments before being in here with her was making me really feel like I was blindsided.

"Who did you want then?" I had to ask It felt like I was no longer having the upper hand in this. How was she so calm about all of this? it made me think that this had to be some kind of trap in all of this for me, somehow. She was close enough to the desk, looking down at some of the files before reaching underneath a stack that was apparently hiding another file that I didn't see at first. She took it in her hands, my eyes were still trained on her with her slow movements. She held the file up for me to see.

"Project Fräulein?" She asked, almost in a coy manner.

Everything in my brain was frozen in one moment and my eyes went lightly big. This was indeed a trap for me, I knew it there and now and it was making me cold all over. The arrow in my hand realized before I could think, but it wasn't aiming at Kozak. It was at the files, which were now pinned to the wall right behind her. Kozak looked at the files that were plastered by the arrow against the wall, which gave me time to place my bow back in the holster on my back and cock my gun to aim at her. This took me to another place in my brain, that place that I never wanted to go back to and never went to experience again. All this woman had to do was simply say the words, flaunt the paperwork in front of me nonchalantly, and show me her true color.

She wanted me to break.

"Say one more fucking word about that," I said to her, feeling some anger coming into me as she was slowly coming back around to look at me directly in the eyes that were a bit bigger now in fascination and wonder at me.

"I've known about you for quite some time," She explained, "After what I read about your endurance, your immortality, I confess I was beyond intrigued. I admit, I was young and naive to believe it, though most thought of as just a story, a fairy tale. I'll be honest, I didn't believe it at first. No one believed that my grandfather was capable of being so close to tapping into Immortality."

it was another drop that was in the room, having me feel the grip on my gun get too tight it was almost numbing my fingers. This can't be right, this can't what I was hearing. It was almost painful in what I was hearing and how it was all coming straight in front of my face. Yet she made it sound so sweet, almost melodramatic in how she was talking about him.

"You're…you're Stieve's granddaughter?" I asked, almost in a low tone.

"His only granddaughter," She answered, "And apparently the only one who kept going in the medical field. I was infatuated with what his files told me about a certain patient who could never die…who could never scar and never have a man left on her skin," The way she was saying this was almost like she was quite proud of what he did. This was slowly sinking over me and having me feel that sensation of going back into the subspace of agony of pain. It was like I was back in that room on the metal table, being strapped down….no. I had to push it back out and focus on the now.

"I didn't hear about all of it until he fled to Brazil in the 60s, I went to see him on a visit and he told me about it, showing me everything. That's when the idea came into my head…how I could possibly…keep going with the practice," She said as she then pointed to the stack of papers, "I went to medical school…worked my way to the top and found myself on the threshold with what I learned from my grandfather. It helped even more when I got the job with Merrick as his top doctor, working with him in hopes of changing the world and expanded lives to everyone."

"I'm sure that was your intent," I commented in a low tone, "Which was why you tortured Nicky and Joe…and now Booker. You don't even deserve saying their names,"

"Of course it was my intent," She said, almost seeing the anger there festering within me and she was still pressing on, "I believe my grandfather was on the right path when it came to medicine."

"The…the right path?" I asked her, almost in a shocked tone as I took a step forward, "A Nazi doctor….a maniac in his own right….was on the right path? With what he did to me for three days in the bunker was, in your mind….the right path?"

"He opened a golden opportunity for me to find the breakthrough that we needed to bring immortality into the world," she explained to me, "And although I had to pull a few punches and strings…all I wanted was you."

I could feel the floor drop underneath me as I was staring at her.

"Me," I repeated, trying to figure it out all and how it was linking all back to me, "Just me?"

"Only you," She replied, sounding so calm and took a step towards me, "You have no idea how long I searched for you….for all these years and with the resources I had at my disposal. Years of dead ends and uncertainty had me believe that all was lost in my search for you. Thanks to your friend Mr. Copley and his deal with Merrick, I thought it was just a bit closer. Although you weren't there, I had others I could attempt to work on—"

"So you decide to take it out on the both of them instead because I wasn't there?" I asked her coldly to cut her off from another rant, seeing that she was now faltering a bit because of how I was getting angry with her. I took another step towards her, I saw her retreat back a bit now as I was glaring at her with the gun still out in front of me, "They are the kindest beings in this world…beyond kind, not one monstrous bone in their bodies. You treated them to such pain…and you didn't even blink an eye to anything you did. And now…now you're doing it again? For what? Just to get to me?"

She gulped, already sensing she was on the losing side of his battle with all she was telling me. Her arms went behind her back, almost in instinct.

"I made a deal with my relatives over in Germany, and asking them for their assistance in retrieving you seemed the better option. My cousin Randall wouldn't do it, he was too soft...too weak. But his associate, The Wolf, was more than willing to take the generous amount I offered to find you," I tilted my head at her, feeling that simmer of anger growing a bit more now from what she was stating to me. I stumble a bit, already seeing how this was all making sense to me. I made me tremble with my spare hand.

"Let me get this straight," I said to her, breathing sharply through my nose and my eyes never leaving her sight, "You failed to get me when you were with Merrick, and after that when you into hiding. So, you weren't done with me? Then you decided to hire some Nazis to get me?" It was like I was piecing this complex puzzle altogether and weaving it from beginning to end. Now I understood the true logical reason by I was being hunted by the Nazis, having to run from them in Venice and end it all in Switzerland.

She said nothing, but I was no longer trying to remain cool and calm. I was so close to just shooting her and getting this all over with, letting this all got to rest. She saw it in me, how I was on the verge of going crazy on her because of what she was telling me. Kozak made it sound so simple, like what she did up till his point was considered right and truthful.

"And now you did this all over again to Booker?" I asked her once more, seeing her watch me intensely, "You did all of this….just to get to me. All you wanted was me? You used him as bait?!"

"Like I said…..just you," She said, trying to stay calm as I shook my head. Her arms flexed, almost showing me that she was grabbing something behind her back without me seeing what it was.

"I'm not for sale," I warned her, "Joe and Nicky weren't for sale….neither was Booker….or the rest of us. We're not yours to keep like experiments. I don't care how much you wanted me…but I will not let you hurt anyone else for the sake of your ideology of science,"

"It's for the sake of changing the world—" She tried to reason with me once again but I had enough with listening to her,

"Not at the expense of lives that didn't deserve that pain and torture," I explained to her, my voice getting bitter and almost raw now as I took one more step towards her, "I was tortured for three days….my bones were broken….my skin was peeled…. I was raped…..and any other kind of torture that you could ever think of was inflicted on me because of your grandfather's twisted brain. When I looked into his eyes, I saw a monster. I'm seeing the same thing in you right now, and I'm trying so hard not to shoot you between the eyes,"

I had to unleash all of this on her in how I was feeling all of this time. Dealing with the past 80 years of PTSD, moving away from my family, and thinking that it was all me when it was all this tilted family that did this to me. They inflicted pain on Nicky, Joe, and now Booker, all for the sake of getting me within their grasps.

It made me beyond angry and now I was in a rage.

"Before I do something that I'll regret for the rest of my life," I said to her, trying to control my volume with her and my anger that was about to be unleashed on her, "I'll make sure you will be locked up for the rest of your life, so you can get some kind of inkling as to what I felt,"

The soft sound of the door locking behind me was heard, having me look briefly and back at Kozak. I felt like there was going to have a change in the wind. I saw a look of determination there on her face, either that or desperation as she was glaring at me.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," She said to me calmly, having me look at her. Maybe she was giving me some kind of attempt to get me to stay here, away from the others. This trap, whatever she had planned, it wasn't going to work for me.

Not now. Not ever.

"You're gonna stop me from leaving?" I asked her in a low tone, almost challenging her. She said nothing, but she then threw whatever it was that was hiding behind her straight at me, having me duck just in time and hear the object slam against the door. I looked over, being low to the ground, wanting to see what it was.

A syringe. Shit.

I popped back up on my feet, aiming right at her arm and giving one shoot. She grunted, going down a bit in pain as I turned on my heel to at least have an attempt to open the door. I could use a bit of force to get through the locked door. But as soon as I was trying to get get the door to give and let me out, I felt two shots into my skin. They both were right at my spine. I cried out and fell to the floor.

I was instantly paralyzed.

It was my worst nightmare, not being able to feel anything from the neck down and all of my limbs felt like noodles. I was shocked as I slammed my head on the floor, trying so hard to try and more something, but nothing was happening. My arms and legs were numb and I was panicking. This was instantly the worst thing to happen as I could hear her stagger over to me. I couldn't see her since my head was out to the side and seeing things at an odd angle, yet I saw her feet and how she was staggering over to stand over me.

"I already have you here," She said in a grunt, reaching down with her injured hand and arm as she was reaching for the syringe that she tried to use on me before. I was now afraid, once again trying so hard to move something as I was stuck on the ground. The bullet that was against my spine was taking its sweet time to get out of my body, and I felt like this time…this time I wasn't going to make it.

"I'm not letting you go now," She said, having me slam my eyes and brace for the injection. All I could do was embrace my fate, wondering then if I was going to be the others again. I was going to be in the same position as Booker, if not worse since I was her main target this whole time. I was foolish enough to think that I could get her in my grasp, and I should have killed her sooner when I had the chance. Now I was screwed.

But the injection Never came, since a gunshot came through the window of the door.

My eyes opened again as I heard Kozak cry out, the doors that I was pressed against were yanked open in such a force I almost fell through myself as I was paralyzed on the stale linoleum floor. I was breathed hard at a rapid pace as I heard the commotion above me. A body fell to the floor and glass was falling all over me, and yet I was still stuck on the ground.

A body fell right next to me, giving me a choice but to see Kozak's body stiff and dead next to me on the ground. A lone gunshot was between her eyes as they went cold staring at me.

"Eleanor?!" I heard above me, I knew that voice and I wanted to cry in relief. The door was pushed to the side, having me hear several sets of feet as I was still looking at this dead body in front of me. I felt a hand against my neck, a real soft touch as I was finding my voice again, "Shit, you okay?"

"She paralyzed me," I said in a gasp, no longer wanting to see that dead body in front of me anymore, "She was going to sedate me with the syringe….and fuck! I can't feel my arms and legs!"

"Okay, hang on," I could almost feel an arm underneath me, attempting to roll me over into a lap of some kind. I was letting it happen as I was no longer on the ground, but looking up at the ceiling with a face perched over me and looking down at me, a look of concern etched on his face.

Nicky.

Joe and Andy were scanning the room to clear it as Nicky was holding me in his arms, having me wish I could smile at them from seeing their faces for the first time since we started this mission. But I was still freaking out over everything she told me, seeing her dead body next to me, and feeling nothing in my body.

"She got me in my spine," I said to Nicky in a grunt, slamming my eyes shut as I could feel the bullet trying to push itself out now. Nicky kept holding me up, partially on his lap and giving my spine some room. I was grunting and groaning through the bullet moving through my body, taking its time now. This pain was almost jagged, having me breathe in and out as it took at least 10 seconds before the bullet fell to the ground. I sighed in relief.

My fingers and toes were getting feeling back, and the sensation as slowly crawling up my limbs, almost like the feeling of ants on my skin as I was looking around now and attempting to sit up. Nicky helped, rubbing my back and making sure I didn't fall over as I was leaning against him until I knew I could walk again.

I looked over at Joe and Andy, finally seeing that they were analyzing all of the files and papers that were on the desk and the computer. Andy was the one who was walking over to the file that was stuck in the wall from one of my arrows, looking at the name of the side and having me see her eyes going wide before she gazed over at me.

I saw some cuts and fatigue on her face, though she wasn't in real mortal danger from what I could see in her stance. But her eyes were in shock now as she was watching me on the floor in Nicky's arms, now Joe and Nicky were looking too at Andy as she yanked the filed out of the wall. A massive hole was in the middle of it thanks to the arrow, but she didn't care as she walked over to kneel in from of me, showing me my file like an offering.

"She knew…" She said, Joe and Nicky were looking now and they too were shocked. I shook my head.

"Stieve was her grandfather," I said in a panicked tone, all three of them were almost scandalized from the news, "She tried to finish what he started, so she was looking for me all this time. She…she tried to use Nicky and Joe as bait as first with Merrick since she thought I was with them….and now she did the same with Booker…."

"Booker?" Joe asked, his voice sounding shocked from hearing about Booker. I looked over at him now, nodding my head. Nicky pressed his head against my own since he could tell I was about to cry and be overwhelmed, rubbing my arms with his hands to somewhat calm me down but I could feel it too that he also was shocked by this.

"Booker tried to stop her, tried to get her away from us….but she caught him instead and baited him…" I explained some more both my arms and legs were getting feeling back almost completely as I sat up on my own, "The Nazis that hunted me in Venice….and The Wolf…they all were working for her…because she was hunting me down to finish her grandfather's work."

"Jesus Christ," Andy said in a sigh, looking over at Kozak's body and having a look pf pure rage on her face from all that I told her. I finally moved to get up on my feet, Nicky helping me as I staggered a bit but I found my balance. I was once again overwhelmed from all that happened, and it made no sense in my brain for someone like that to go that far to find me. I hated it, how it almost got the others killed.

"Let's torch this place and get out of here," Joe said as he was looking around at the lab, looking disgusted at what he was seeing. We all nodded in agreement as Nicky finally spoke.

"We need to get rid of the all of the files too," He added swiping my arm around his shoulders to help me walk, "Joe, go get the hard drive just in case,"

Joe rushed over to the computer as I was looked back down at the Kozak's body, seeing how it was still down and the blood from both her arm and her head was seeping down onto the ground. It frightened me how she went through all of this work, all fo this pain that she inflicted on not just Nicky and Joe, but Booker as well, just to get me in the same room as her. It made no sense, not to me. But in the case of Kozak, and now her grandfather Stieve, I was a prize that they wanted more than anything. But at what cost?

"Where are the others?" I asked Nicky as Joe walked back over with the hard drive in hand, "How's Booker?"

Nicky didn't say anything to me, not at first. I looked at him in worry, seeing how he looked conflicted on his face as he bit his lower lip for a brief moment, "Nicky?"

"We'll take him to the hotel," Andy answered for Nicky, though the way she said it made me think was a dire subject. Even Joe, the one person who apparently was gun-hoe for his banishment, seemed out of sort, "Getting him away from this shit hole is the best thing right now. Let's head out,"

As much as I wanted to press on some more about Booker and his well being, I knew we had to leave this place before any more trouble came our way. This place was already condemned with all that Kozak wanted or do in here, what she did to Booker, and what she was attempting to do to me. It had to be burned to the ground for certain.

All four of us walked out of the office and down the hallway, hearing the office going up in flames right behind us.

Riding in the truck on the way back to our hotel was quiet, eerily quiet. Oliver was driving with Andy in the front seat, the rest of us were huddled in the back and looking beyond drained. I was next to Booker, looking him over carefully and with a bit of decency since we weren't alone apparently. Nile, Nicky, and Joe were on the other side of the truck, giving me some space as I did my own check-up him.

Nile and Oliver got Booker to the truck safely, running into Andy and explaining to her what happened before Andy Nicky and Joe went after me in the basement. Nile did a brief look over at Booker, already sensing he was dehydrated and serenely underweight, the sore along his skin were experiments from Kozak, much to our dismay.

"I'm fine," Booker said to me as he tried to get me to stop checking him. I scoffed, looking over the sore and seeing the redness along his skin and how tender they were. He looked past me though, a lot of remorse on his face as I looked back to see what he was looking at. It was Joe, who was watching my every move with him. But, in the case of Joe, there weren't any looks of anger or rage that I thought there would be. No, he looked a bit grim, almost regretful as Booker looked away from him, almost in regret himself. This was a touchy moment, that I could tell. I cleared my throat, getting Booker's attention back on me.

"How long have you had the sores?" I asked him, seeing him lean his head back and raise an eyebrow at me.

"You're a doctor again?" He asked.

"Answer the question before I make you,"

"That's not good bedside manner, " He advised me, having me now glare at him.

"Book," I wanted him, seeing him say nothing now as I looking back at the sores. Something wasn't right about them, and as I touched the very edge of one sore, I saw something that made me freeze. Dried blood, right along the edge. I froze, my fingers still on his skin now as I was trying not to think of the worst.

But it was there, plainly in front of my face, and it was having me take in a major breath.

"Eleanor?" Joe asked behind me, sensing my stillness. I knew the others were all watching me now, but I looked at Booker. His eyes were set on me, staying the same, and neutral. He knew something, and maybe he knew the same thing I did. I had to talk to him when it was just the two of us.

"Andy," I called out to her as I rolled Booker's sleeve back up to hide the sores, "I need you to call Copley and have him send over some medical supplies to our hotel room ASAP,"

"I'll call now. What do you need?" Andy asked, her voice was trying to stay level. The others were almost picking up on the change of the mood, looking a bit more alert and worried. Nile was on the verge of tears, watching Booker like he was about to be shot right in front of her. Both Nicky and Joe looked upset as well, Joe clutching Nicky's arm in a death grip as Nicky was looking intensely at me for some kind of sign. I wasn't looking at him though, I was focused on our leader.

I looked over towards the front of the truck, seeing how Andy was watching Booker now with uneasiness on her face. I could tell she was afraid, but she was trying so hard to see it together. Oliver looked concerned, and when he had the split second to look over at me, our eyes connected and I knew he could feel it too. I gulped, looking back at Andy as Oliver was looking ahead again.

"It's gonna be a list,"

"The IV looks good,"

"It's like you've done this before,"

I had to give him a small look as I saw the IV in his arm and I checked his temperature again. Booker was laying back in the bed at our hotel that we were staying at for this mission. We dumped the truck in an alleyway not too far away from the lab, getting into a spare SUV as we could hear some police cars not too far away from heading to the now burning lab. We didn't even look back as we knew the damage was done.

Once we made it back to the hotel in one piece, I ushered Booker into my room and closed the door before anyone could ask anything. A few minutes later there was a package of medical supplies waiting for us in anonymous bags at the front desk.

I had to get a drip in Booker as soon as I could, trying to get him hydrated again with fluids since I didn't know the extent of the actual damage that was there. I grabbed some ointments and gauzes for the sores, scrubbing down as much as I could to get the dried blood off his skin and make it less painful for him, and while I was doing all of this and keeping my head down, Booker said nothing.

Finally, after fussing over him or a few long minutes, I sighed and sat on the side of the bed next to Booker, seeing him look at me as I was rubbing my fingers with my eyes and taking some long deep breaths.

"How are you doing?" He asked, his voice was hoarse and serious. I gave him a weary look and sighed, sagging my shoulders in defeat.

"Ever since I came back with you all," I paused, looking down at my tired fingers, "It's been draining"

Booker chuckled as I smiled slightly.

"Seriously," I said in a huff, "I forgot how much energy it takes to be with them all for just a few days at a time. But all fo this…..all that happened….it was because of her. Kozak and her fucking grandfather that did it to me in the first place,"

Booker said nothing at first, but I knew he was watching me all the same as I was rubbing the back of my neck and replaying what she said to me over and over again. It made me wish I could scream, throw up, to do something. But I looked over at Booker, seeing his trained eyes on me and a small look of genuine concern.

"How do you know about Kozak and that she was after us?" I asked him, seeing him shift in the bed as he was thinking to himself in how to answer.

"After I was banished, and after I met up with you in Paris," He explained, "I contacted Copley on my own, making sure he wouldn't tell you guys what I was doing. He told me about Kozak and her escape, and I told him I would try to find her and make sure she wasn't going to get any of you. I did a solo recon, Copley helping me out with leads if I needed them. I wasn't too bad if I do say so myself,"

"And you knew she was after us…after me?" I asked, Booker nodded his head.

"I had a hunch when she was sniffing around in the old stomping grounds, going to other major labs in Europe. I was still watching her and was about to make my move when she got the jump on me in Spain. I was with her as her prisoner ever since." Booker answered though he was looking down at his arms and hands now that were wrapped and treated. I had to ask since it was on the tip fo my tongue, and we were alone than with no one around to hear us.

"Booker," I said his name very calm and yet with a wave to it since it was hitting me heard with what I was about to tell him, "Your sores…they're—"

"Old?" I looked at him in shock, seeing him look at me in a loving and yet sad stare, "I know,"

"You do?" I asked, already sensing that he knew what I was thinking and dreading to tell him. He sighed and nodded his head.

"They've been there for about a week now, Eleanor," he admitted. Having me pause and have the realization sink in. This felt worse than what I was discovering Kozak was pretty much stalking me. This was like a knife in the gut, and what I felt when I realized what happened with Andy felt a lot worse now. I saw him reach over with one of his hands, taking it in my own and holding it there so gently. I could feel the calloused fingers along my palms, it made me feel grounded as I finally found my words.

"You're mortal now, Booker."

It was set in stone, and now it was feeling a bit worse since it was now setting in my heart. This was not how I wanted it to be, how I wanted this reunion with Booker not to be like this. I would have waited for 100 years, but I was willing to wait because I knew then that he would be there. Now, it felt worse. What if I didn't know? What if none of this happened and we went on with our lives? What if we went down there to the designated place that we were supposed to meet…and he wouldn't have been there? What if…what if…

"Eleanor," He said my name so lovingly, my eyes closing and having me feel his hand squeeze my own as I was trying not to weep in front of him, "Eleanor…please understand, I'm at peace with it,"

I opened my eyes, looking at him and see his eyes staring at me with such kindness that it broke my heart all over. I felt a few tears coming down already as I sniffled like a child.

"How can you be at peace with this?" I asked him, almost a blubbery mess, "Did she make you mortal down there?"

"Who's to say?" he countered back in a shrug to me now as I cried a bit more, almost like a knife to the heart. Booker sighed, sitting up a bit with a grunt from his wounds and staring at me intensely in the eyes.

"It was time for me to no longer be Immortal, Eleanor," he explained, sounding so certain as he was talking to me, "It's been a battle for me to just accept the fact that I had to live on past my beautiful wife and beautiful sons. It was killing me, every morning that I was no longer with them it killed me slowly. As much as it was a blessing for me to have this life with all of you, I wasn't satisfied. I never was, and later on, as the years went by, I wasn't happy anymore,"

"Did you say anything to the others about this?" I asked him, "About what you were feeling,"

"Who was I to burden them in any of this, in what I was battling on the inside?" Booker answered me with a shrug of his shoulders, "I learned to keep it to myself, and maybe that wasn't the best thing for me to do. The alcohol barely helped, no matter how much I drank to forget,"

"Oh, Booker…" I said in a sigh, feeling worse now that he was going through all of this without any of us knowing or being aware of it. I felt terrible then, thinking of ways that I could have helped in the pat when we were all together.

"It got worse when you left," He commented, having me give him a sad stare, "Believe me, I'm not blaming for you leaving us. You had to go, I knew you did. We all knew, and as much as we wanted you to stay, and I wanted you to stay. We shouldn't keep you. But…..I guess seeing you walk away made it worse for me. I missed your company and your companionship in those times when you tolerated me, my own French Ally who both scolded me and loved me when I was the worst to you,"

"I could have stayed if that was the case…" I said in a weak tone, Book shaking his head and raising our joined hands to kiss the back of my own.

"You needed your peace and journey on your own, and I didn't have the heart to stand in the way of it," He reassured me, sighing against my hand as he then lowered it. I sighed, feeling far so heavy one again, almost in the same way after I killed The Wolf. There was nothing else to say at that moment between both of us. Nothing for us to argue about, or to fight over. But it was making me sad all over as I was trying to rub the tears from my eyes. I had no more tears to shed because it felt like I was crying far too much over the past month or two.

"So," I said in a stutter now as Booker was watching me in interest to see what I was going to say next, "Since you're mortal now, like Andy," Booker grimaced a bit from mentioning Andy, "I'm gonna make sure you live the rest of your mortal life in peace and happiness, okay? You're not gonna die until you're well into your 90s, an old grumpy man who is both cynical and kind,"

Booker chuckled, a good chuckle was something I missed about him so much as I grinned at him with my wet eyes and cheeks.

"You gonna babysit me and make sure I live to be an old man?" He asked, having me shrug and feel slightly playful with him.

"Of course, I'll make sure of it and the others will too," I reassured him, pausing for a second as he was staring at me. I knew that stare, it was a questionable one since I knew he was thinking of Joe. Joe was angry with him and his betrayal, so this was going to be a sticky situation.

"I'll leave as soon as I'm well enough," he started to explain to me, already sensing the uneasiness in the room with the subject at hand, "I don't need much since the last safe house I was in has all of my things—"

"You're not going anywhere," I vowed to him, seeing him go quiet and almost look at me like a deer in the headlights as I was seeing so authoritative with him. I squeezed our hands together tightly as I was looking at him directly in the eyes, "I'll make sure of that. We are not going to be separated anymore. I don't care if I have to fight them, especially Joe, tooth and nail. I'm making sure you stay with us for the rest of your mortal life. Got it?"

A free moment hung there in the air when either one of us was saying a word. He was watching me, seeing that I wasn't going to budge on this subject. He had to know that I was going to be in his corner, that I was going to defend him. He needed someone to defend him all these years, and I felt that shame that I didn't do or say anything to help him.

Finally, I saw a grin come on his face, and I noticed finally that his eyes were wet, right on the verge of crying in front of me. It was my turn then to bring our joined hands together and kissed his hand. He then pulled me towards him, having me pst my head against his chest and he wrapped his arms carefully around me as I did the same for him. His chin rested on top of my head, having em feel one or two tears hit my hair.

We both were content on where we were there on the hotel bed, knowing that this was a good tip in the right direction. I lost him once when I went away, and I was beyond close in doing it again now thanks to Kozak. But now, knowing what little time I had with him, I had to make it up to him and cherish it.

"I'll tell the others when it's a good time," Booker reassured me as he was keeping me secure in his arms.

"Please make sure you do it sooner than later," I asked him, breathing him in.

"Of course, only for you," he mumbled into my hair and then pausing, "Besides, I need to have a talk with you about this Oliver boy and his intentions are with you."

I froze in his arms, already sensing an awkward conversation about to implode there on the bed.

"We'll discuss that later when I'm ready. Deal?"

"Yes ma'am."