We stayed at the hotel for the rest of the day, which gave Booker the right amount of time to talk to the others.

I volunteered my bedroom for Booker to use and I slept on the pull-out couch in the living room. Booker was fighting me on it, but one look from me made him go quiet and he was already asleep in the bed as soon as I left him there, giving him one check through and seeing he was going to be fine for the night on his own. However, as soon as I was about to close the door, Andy slipped into the room and gave me a knowing look before I could stop her. We were watching each other very briefly, and I knew that somehow, she was catching on with what was happening.

So Andy and Booker slept in the same bed together.

The pull out couch wasn't too bad at all for me, I've slept on worse furniture than this. Nicky and Joe had their own room, Nile and Oliver had rollway beds brought up for them to use and they decided to camp out with me in the living room. I was grateful that they knew I wasn't going to be okay alone, not with all that happened in that office and hearing all of those things from Kozak herself. I knew I was much older than them, but that small instinct within me didn't want to be alone. Even while I was watching the night sky roll through with my head on the pillow, I still felt that uneasiness as Oliver placed his bed next to my own, not saying anything to me but sensing that I just need him close by.

We were staring at each other, it was far into the night while Nile was asleep in her own roll away bed, gun under her pillow at the ready out of instinct. I watched Oliver's eyes as he was looking at me, showing me that he was there and he wasn't going to abandon me. The kiss we shared back there in that place, although they moved me, I knew they were merely for the emotional pull and drive we both were experiencing. Oliver reached over to lace our fingers together, watching me intently as I was about to fall asleep.

"I'll hold your hand if that makes you feel better," He whispered to me, his voice was also sounding tired.

"Thank you," I said to him, not wanting to fight it as I snuggled a bit more into my pillow, seeing him smile at me, "Holding your hand brings me peace,"

"I'm glad," he replied, "Eleanor…I know you're scared. My mum would hold my hand all the time when I was scared at night as a little kid, and it would help me sleep. So, if you want, I can do that for you too, if you want me to."

"I wish I could have met your mother," I mumbled into my pillow as my eyes were getting heavy, seeing him grin against his pillow.

"Why?" He pondered.

"To tell her how lovely and good her son is," I replied, scooting a bit closer to him from the pull out bed and breathing out one last heavy breath, "And how he's changed me…for good."

I heard nothing else from him, but I felt his hold on my hand tighten slightly and in protection as I fell asleep.

The next day felt like the longest day I've ever had.

Andy and Booker talked through the night, so she knew when we all woke up in the morning and ordered breakfast via room service. It was a melancholy feeling in the hotel room as Booker was still resting in my room, talking to Nile first for a long while. Andy was quiet the whole time, feeling the uneasiness of what she knew then and how she was trying to deal it with herself. The whole time Booker and Nile were talking in the room with the door closed, Andy was making plans to get us all back to my home in France, thinking that it would be a good resting place for Booker to heal.

All the while, Joe and Nicky were struggling, Not only with what they went through with Kozak and what they dealt with, but also with Booker. I wasn't there at the setting of the banishment, so I had no clue how they were feeling about Booker up until now. But now it was a change in the air, a shift of moods. Nicky, of course, having the soul of a saint, was saddened with all that was happening. Joe, on the other hand, his face was racked with guilt. No matter how many times Nicky tried to talk to him and coax him to talk, Joe was still lost in his mind. I could see the regret on his face as he was eating his breakfast in silence on the living room floor with us.

Finally, after Nile emerged from the bedroom, we all looked to see what came from the talk. Andy and I could see it, how she was trying so hard not to let it get to her, the notion about to sink into her bones from the news. She was holding herself together much better than I thought, but it was still fragile in her mind. It made it worse for Joe and Nicky, since Nile told them both that Booker wanted to talk to them together. Nicky was worried to death, looking at me with concern in hopes that I would tell him some kind of hint as to what was going on. I only stared, saying nothing as Joe laced his hand in Nicky's and the both of them going into the room, closing the door behind them with a soft click.

"Come on, kid. Let's get you some fresh air and we can talk about it," Andy said to Nile as she wrapped an arm around her, letting Nile lean against her and taking long even breaths. Andy took Nile out on a walk around the hotel garden and rest area, in hopes that it would let her feel better and get out those pains she was feeling. Which left Oliver and me there alone in the room, which only lasted for a few seconds before Oliver pipped up.

"Want to get a cup of coffee?" He asked, seeing that I was worn down. I nodded instantly.

"Fuck yes,"

Oliver placed a coffee cup in front of me as he sat across from me, the small coffee shop right across the street from the hotel was the perfect spot since we could see our hotel room from our seat in a corner table. The place was mildly crowded, but in our spot we were secluded and out of earshot as I held the cup in my hands, not saying anything for a moment. I could tell Oliver was watching me, not in a creepy way but in a manner that showed he wanted to say something to put me at ease.

"Look, Eleanor...I have no say in all of this," He explained suddenly, having me look up at him finally as he sat up a bit in his seat, "I'm still new and learning all of this….But I….this is a lot to drink in,"

"It is," I replied, nodding in agreement, "It's one of those mysteries about being who we are what we never get to understand or grasp,"

"No warning either, huh?" he had to ask, in which I was biting my lower lip, "You don't know when you're gonna…."

"No," I answered with a shake of my head, "I never saw it with any of them in my time with them. This is a first for me too,"

"Not with Andy?" he questioned.

"She turned mortal when I wasn't there," I replied, "Which is harder for me, I guess. But, she's been here the longest than any of us. That's understandable, I'm finally at peace with it. But with Booker….it's not fair," I muttered, feeling downcast in it all, "He's still so young….Immortal years I mean. For Christ sake, before you and Nile came along, he was the baby of the group,"

"He seems like a nice guy," Oliver offered, having me give him a small grin as he paused, "A bit rough around the edges, of course. You know, he reminds me of my Uncle Stanley. Smart as a whip, but never showed he was hurting to us when we were kids,"

"Booker's a proud man," I commented.

"Exactly!" Oliver agreed, "Pride is such a common thing, and I think Booker never wanted to be a burden. I could see it on his face, and I barely met the guy. But I think too he was just…trying to get by," I nodded, looking out the window briefly in the direction of the hotel, thinking of how Joe and Nicky were still talking to him and hearing this new blow. What were they felling through all of this? What was going through their heads as Booker was telling them everything? It made me feel a bit worse now since I knew this was going to be a tough pill for them to swallow.

I felt Oliver reach over to take my hand in his again, having me smile briefly in the feeling of his hand in my own and having me be an anchor for me somehow. It was a sense of safety in how he held my hand, something that seemed so grounded that I wasn't afraid that I would fly away. Oliver would hold me close if he could.

"You even said you were going to make sure he was safe and happy for the rest of his life, right?" Oliver asked, making me look back at him and nod my head, "That's good, then. He'll be in good hands with you,"

"How do you know?" I asked, trying not to sound bitter. Oliver just smiled, a warm gentle smile that made me go weak in the knees.

"Because I know you," He answered smoothly and without hesitation, "Even after a short period of knowing you, I know how big your heart is in protecting the others, protecting me, and anyone you think is in trouble. Even after all the shit that happened to you and would have broken any other person, you came out surviving it. I doubt you could ever settle for less with someone like Booker who is a huge part of your life,"

I could see it in how he was watching me, intensely and yet intimately. He never once would trail away with his eyes when we would have a conversation, I never saw him look somewhere place or at someone else. At first, I didn't notice it, I was just merely making small talk with him and getting to know all of his quirks. But now, after going through one intense recon mission and seeing him in action as our new member, I noticed more things about him that I never did before.

This was one of them, but his eyes were both so soft in affection and adoration for others, but fierce and piercing when protecting those in danger or when he was backed in a corner. Oliver was much more complex than I gave him credit for, and I was loving every part of it. I squeezed our hand together, looking at the locked fingers that were right in the middle of the table and giving a small grin.

"You know," Oliver said, not his voice being soft and kind, "This might sound a bit creepy and everything…but I liked holding your hand,"

My smile grew a bit bigger as I looked back at him, seeing him he was giving me those eyes of affection.

"Really?" I asked, seeing him bit his lower lip and nod his head.

"Yeah," he replied, "I don't know what it is….but it makes me feel safe. Grounded, I think,"

"I feel the same way, Oliver," I admitted to him, almost seeing a hint of blush along his neck. The way we spoke to each other was almost as easy as me using my bow and arrow, or playing the cello. It was calming and sensational at the same time.

"And," He cleared his throat, almost looking a bit uncomfortable now as he then looked at me directly in the eyes, "When I kissed you back there.."

My eyes went a big wide, almost thinking that he was already regretting doing that for me. How is it that I never saw this coming, how I thought it was going to be okay. I knew there was an adrenaline right that we were all going through at the time because of the fighting and breaking into the lab, and maybe the kiss was a spur of the moment kind of thing. But it was still a bit painful, thinking that he was going to tell me that he didn't like it. Of course, I was already emotional from dealing with Booker, and now seeing the others hear the news one by one, this was going to be a low blow.

Oliver, however, caught on with what was happening and he instantly shook his head in concern. He clutched my hand, thinking that I was going to take it away from him since I was feeling a sense of rejection.

"No… no no! Eleanor, I didn't mean it in a bad way." He said to me in a hurried low tone since he didn't want to make a scene. I was still looking at him as he took a long deep breath to collect himself instead of looking frantic, "I was going to say…..whether you thought it was the right thing for me to do or not…I'm glad I kissed you."

"You're glad?" I asked, trying to make sense of it, seeing him nod his head.

"That sounded like shit," he muttered, having me squeeze his hand as he then spoke again, "When I was stabbed back there, with the knife in my throat.." he paused, almost on instinct reaching up to touch his neck. it was like he felt a shot pain there where he was killed. I felt bad then, not realizing that he was going through this and remembering his first death, "I was scared….really fucking scared. I didn't know what it was going to be like or feel like. But as soon as I woke up, I saw your face….I saw your eyes and your hair. I remembered all of those times when I dreamt of you and what I felt when I saw your face, it was the same thing when I woke up and saw you,"

While he was saying this, it made me remember how I too was remembering how I dreamt of Oliver. I remembered seeing those eyes and feeling a sense of peace and calmness through me. It never made sense in my mind at first in why I would think like that about someone I never met before. But I didn't ignore it or push it away. A part of me now was embracing it and letting it sink under me like syrup or molasses.

"I felt so safe with you above me, even when I was covered in blood and when I was waking back up from whatever limbo I was in. The only thing I could think to do when I got my head wrapped around was to kiss you. Because...as least to me, it felt right," He explained, sounding more sure of himself as he was staring at me with kindness, beyond kindness, "I wouldn't take it back if you asked me to,"

"And I don't want you to," I added, feeling as though I had to say something with this subject if were going to be honest with each other, "I don't regret kissing you either,"

I could see a small swelling of color coming over Oliver now as I confessed that to him. it almost felt like we were star crossed lovers, which was quite silly. We both knew of the attraction there in the middle of the both of us, we felt it and we embraced it now over a cup of coffee. It was just a matter of timing, talking about this right after I went through something that was draining and chaotic.

"It just happened at a shitty time," I explained to him, seeing him look at me with a warm smile as I felt like I was going to have a hard time explaining to him what I wanted to do. it made me look down at the table, seeing the small grain of the wood against the table, "Not that I don't want to….or attempt to…."

"I'll wait," He said suddenly, sounding soft about it as I looked back at him. He was watching me with no hesitation and with no reluctance on his face as I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" I asked.

"You're right: this is bad timing for the both of us," he admitted to me as we were still holding hands together on top of the table, "I don't want to push things or further things faster when you need to collect yourself and be at peace. I'll be there for you, Eleanor. And if that means I'll wait to hold your hand, then I will. I'll wait for as long as it takes to kiss you again, to be close to you, anything you want. I'll be willing to wait,"

"Oliver, that seems too much," I confessed to him since it felt like I was giving him all of this pain from me and he was willing to just go with the flow.

"You're worth it to me," He replied with a sigh on his lips, showing me that he was telling the truth. That was another push of affection he was giving me and I was going to accept it. Although it was having me feel so many things, it was more natural with Oliver than anything. I grinned widely at him, no longer wanting to hide it or be shy about it. It wasn't fair that he was showing me that I was worthy of being loved by him, putting a wall up all around me and he was willing to wait for me to have the walls crumble down in my time.

"You're worth it to me too," I commented to him, "Which makes me wonder if you still want to have dinner with me?"

"Absolutely I do!" he answered, almost in a rush as I chuckled from how determined he sounded, "I'll make it memorable, I promise,"

"I'm sure anything you plan for the both of us will be just fine," I reassured him as he then gave me a cocky look. I also lost my breath as he was giving me some kind of face that showed that he was presented a challenge.

"You're going to have a dinner that you rightfully deserve, I give you my word."

Oliver and I walked back to the hotel, hand in hand as we were drinking our coffees in a comfortable silence as we could feel some raindrops about to come down. It felt a bit better for both of us to have that talk together, and I was more than willing to go nice and slow with Oliver. It felt like a breather in comparison to going back to the hotel to try and figure out what to do next. Although I was afraid to figure out what to do next, it felt a bit better that Oliver was going to be next to me and help me through it.

Once we crossed the street, we were about to into the hotel again when I noticed something in the back garden. I was slowing down, looking hard to make sure that what I was seeing was right. There was a grown man hunched over on the bench near the bustling flowers and a small water fountain, he was hunched over and looking down on the ground so badly that it was almost hard not to watch. But it took me a moment to see that he wasn't alone, and the person next to him was just as sad.

It was Nicky and Joe.

"Hey," I said to Oliver, seeing him look a bit too, "I'll meet you up at the room, but can you please check on Nile for me and make sure she's okay?"

"Of course," He answered, squeezing my hand in reassurance. I knew that Oliver, squeezing my hand, was a silent way of him kissing me. I squeezed it him, seeing him give me one more smile before he released my hand and walked into the hotel doors. I took in a long breath, figuring that I had to mentally prepare myself for what could happen when I approached the two fo them.

They were my closest friends, the closest things I had to brothers by blood. They were my brothers, I decided that a long time ago and I knew they saw me as their sister. We helped each other in times of need and distress, held each other traumas that came in our lives, I never thought of anyone else to fill in that place.

Once I made it through the small gate into the garden, I shoved one hand in my jack pocket as I was taking a small sip of my coffee in the other hand. They were tucked in the corner, clearly visible but not out in the open as I approached them quietly. It was such a heartbreaking thing to see: both of them not saying anything and just drinking in all that Booker just told them. Any bad news was never good to hear, and now I was seeing the effects with two kind souls.

Once I was in clear view of them, I saw the position they were in. Nicky had a hand on Joe's back, rubbing it with his knuckles in a soothing rotation as Joe was looking so lost in his mind. Their hands were held tightly together in the middle, Joe's spare hand was making a fist against his knee as Nicky was watching him with wet eyes. I cleared my throat, wanting to be polite as Nicky looked up at me. Joe's eyes stayed on the ground as Nicky blinked away the few tears that were about to come through as I gave him a kind smile.

"Where's Oliver?" Nicky asked, his voice sounded hoarse as Joe was still quiet and looking at the ground.

"I sent him up to check on Nile," I replied softly, seeing him nod his head and look at Joe briefly, the look of pain on his face to see Joe in this kind of state. He looked back at me, having me then walk over to stand in front of Joe, squatting down to be at his level and placing my coffee cup on the ground. I didn't know how I was going to handle this with Joe, since he was more prone to express his feelings in brash ways than Nicky ever did. I knew he would never have an outburst with me, it wasn't in his nature, but I had to be careful either way.

"Joe," I said his name so calmly, seeing him not move or look at me, "Joe…I can see it on your face and I can feel it too,"

He said nothing, but I could read it in his body language and in how he was so close to breaking into thousands of pieces within a breath or a spoken phrase. I gave Nicky one more look, seeing that he was trying to hold himself together from how Joe was sitting so still. He gave me a weak smile, though I looked back at Joe and I tentatively reach out to place on hand on his closes fists that were hovering.

"It's gonna be okay," I said to him so calmly and gently, hoping that he was going to listen and understand. He had to hear it from me, of all people what a victim of some twisted turn of events that almost shattered us as a group. But I also knew where Joe was coming from, he was mad at Booker for what he did and how he turned them all in to Merrick.

It felt like a switch, and Joe crumbled within seconds with a broken sob on his lips.

I moved quickly, stopping him from falling over to the ground as I wrapped my arms around him and was kneeling in front of him, feeling him as he was weeping into my shoulder. Joe's hands were going around my shoulders and clutching me so hard I thought I was going to bruise. I was holding him just as tight, letting him cry into my shoulder as Nicky rested his head against Joe's shoulder blade, holding his jacket in his fingers and silently crying.

I never thought I would be in this kind of position with either Joe or Nicky, but I could feel what they were going through as we all were huddled together. It was killing me that Joe was weeping and letting it out on me, but I did the same with him at the Villa when I had my panic attack. I had to be there for him now, not the other way around. Joe needed that comfort, that peace, and I was going to try and give it to him as much as I could.

"I did this…" he mumbled against my jacket in hiccups, having me give a concerned look over to Nicky. Nicky was crying, his tears were hitting Joe's jacket as Joe was saying it over and over, "I did this…I killed him….I killed him,"

"Joe!" I said in a soft gasp, moving my hands to frame his face and have him look at me. His face all flushed and puffy, tears hitting his beard and cheeks as he was watching me in such pain as I searched his brown eyes, "Joe, what are you talking about?"

"It was me," He said in a stammer, trying to breathe through his tears, "I was so mad at him for what he did to me and Nicky. The anger got the best of me and I was the one who wanted him to be banished for so long…. I sentenced him to his death!" Just hearing Joe say this was not like Joe at all. He was always using his words for good, for passion, not for pain. I knew then what was going on with him: He was feeling the guilt and blaming himself for Booker's fate.

"Enough, my love," Nicky tried to reason as he clutched Joe's neck while he was stopping himself from crying, "It was not you and you know it. We all agreed to it together, we're all to blame for it,"

"It was me, Nicolo," Joe mourned at Nicky as Joe closed his eyes again, placing his forehead against my shoulder to rest it heavily, "I was the one who said 100 years, you all wanted a shorter sentence for Booker! I practically sentenced him to die!"

"Joe, you can't blame yourself…." I was about to argue with him, but Nicky piped up.

"He told us everything, Eleanor," Nicky explained calmly to me as he was still clutching Joe's hand, "He said that he was supposed to be the only one to be turned in, going to Merrick and Kozak,"

"What?" I asked, looking at him in shock as Joe had another wave of tears, "What do you mean, Nicky?"

"He made a deal with Copley to have Merrick only take him, to leave us all out of it. When Kozak asked for you specifically, Booker wouldn't allow it to happen. He swore to protect you, to protect us. Booker thought that if Merrick knew how to take our Immortality, then Merrick could kill Booker permanently," Nicky said, trying to hold himself together and stay strong for the sake of Joe, "But something went awry and Merrick wanted of us, or none at all. Booker tried to prevent it, but it was already done."

I never knew this, and I sat back on my feet a bit with the news. Booker, all this time, was trying to turn himself in and not have us be involved with his own fate. This made the pit feeling inside of me worse. Booker was ultimately trying to find a way out, to die permanently. He thought this was the way, and now I knew how he was so affected with Joe and the others

"He tried to spare us," Joe said against my shoulder, "And look what I've done to him! We never gave him a real chance to explain….we just sent him away like a stray and we never looked back!"

"Enough," I said in a harsh whisper to him, seeing him go quiet and gulp as I shook my head at him and swiped my thumbs into his beard to get the excess tears, "I will not let you blame yourself for something that might have happened either way! Don't you dare tell me you're at fault for his mortality when it was that Kozak monster and Merrick that gave you the same pain!"

"Listen to her, my heart," Nicky quietly pleaded against Joe's hair as I looked at Joe directly in his eyes.

"What happened in the past is in the past," I reminded him, feeling his hands go down to both Nicky's hand and my jacket to keep himself grounded, "I can vouch for that sense of guilt that I carried. It's poisonous and it'll eat you alive, Joe. Should I blame myself for what happened to me back then at the camp when it was out of my control?"

Joe looked at me now in shock, no longer in sadness and defeat. Nicky looked too, just as affected as they both were staring at me like I said something beyond hurtful to them. I knew I was treading on shaky waters when it came to bringing this up to them since they both tried to tell me over and over that it was out of my control.

"Never," Joe said, sounding scandalized and so sure about it as he was searching my eyes. I sighed, squeezing my hand in his own as I gazed at him.

"Then why are you blaming yourself, Akhi," I said to him calmly. He took a few deep breaths, slowly blinking before he closed his eyes again and I embraced him once more. There were no more tears, but hie had against my shoulder told me that he was worn out. I rubbed his back in soothing circles, hoping it would make him feel better as I looked over at Nicky from over Joe's head. He took looked worn, but he was trying to just stay calm for Joe's sake. I was giving him a soothing smile as I rested one of my hands within Joe's curls almost in comfort.

"We need to be there with Booker for the rest of his life," I reminded the both of them, "He's been through enough alone and I won't let him be alone anymore, not when he has us now."

"He protected us," Nicky said in agreement before he pressed a kiss into Joe's curls, almost curling around him protectively, "We owe him our lives,"

"Right now, we need to be strong for him, " I said to the both of them, pulling away from them both to have them look at me, "We need to make sure we're there for him because I feel just as guilty for not being there for him when he needed us in the past. That has to be over with and down for now on, okay?"

They both nodded quietly, understanding what I was saying to them, I gave Nicky a soft smile as I then looked back at Joe, seeing that he was a bit better. I leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead, pressing it there for a long moment before I pulled back and framed his face in my hands.

"You have the most beautiful soul in this world, and it hurts me to my core to see you this to yourself," I reminded him, seeing him give me a soft smile, "I will not let you wallow in this any longer, nor will Nicky or the others. It's not your fault, and it never was, alright?"

Joe sighed, giving me a sad attempt of a smile as he nodded his head reluctantly, giving in. I smiled at him as Joe moved to look at Nicky. Nicky pressed a loving kiss on his lips and held it there for a long moment before he too pulled away and stared at Joe intensely and lovingly.

"Oh, Habibi. All is well now," he said in a sigh as Joe smiled at him weakly. The three of us stayed in that small bubble for a few moments more, letting the rain slowly start and hit us. We didn't mind it, I was just as worried for the two men in front of me whom I loved more than anything feeling as though the done the worst thing ever. We had to move past what happened then and look to what was going to happen now with our future. We now had two mortals to look after and make sure they lived the rest of their lives in peace and with no pain. It was going to be hard, painful, and gut-wrenching.

But there were no other Immortals that I wanted to face that fate with than the four I had.