I know this has taken forever, but I've had a busy few weeks. Sadly I still have a real life and am unable to devote all of my time to thinking about this show, although I still try.

Audrey's fingers clutched at his shoulders, and for just a minute Nathan thought he saw something wild in her eyes. Something unfamiliar. But she blinked it away and he pulled her closer, folding her in his arms. He had a tendency to forget how small she was, with the way she carried herself and the strength she projected. But he had several good inches on her, and as she rested her head on his chest she seemed so little. Nathan had the sudden urge to pick her up and carry her away from all of this, to tell her over and over that everything was going to be okay.

For a few moments they stood stock still, the sky beginning to lighten around them. Audrey sniffled lightly and he realized she must be crying those built-up tears. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, pulling her further into his embrace.

The wind blew through the both of them and she shivered, her hands coming up to push away from him just slightly.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, tilting her head away as she rubbed at her eyes. Nathan wisely pretended not to notice, and instead tucked some of her flyaway hair behind her ears.

"Don't be." He rubbed at her arm, and Audrey gave the barest smile.

"Let's get out of the cold." She offered, slipping from his grasp and nodding back towards the beach.

He missed her warmth the second she broke contact. He couldn't feel the loss exactly, but it had been there and then it was gone, and he grabbed her hand as she headed back down the pathway.

She was silent on the walk back to the Rouge. Nathan wanted to ask about what she'd seen, what had happened down there, but he didn't want to press her. Audrey had a tendency to play the hero and carry her burdens on her own, and sometimes he just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. He loved her, but she was stubborn as anything. Perhaps she was still worried about what he would think of her. She'd finally come around to confiding in him about what William had told her, but that had taken days. He didn't want her to think she had to deal with all of this on her own.

As they rounded the corner of the dock and Duke's boat came back into view, Audrey tugged on his hand.

"Let's go back to my place." She turned to face him and Nathan could see that her eyes were still rimmed red.

"You're not gonna talk to William?" Avoiding a trip to go see her psycho supposed ex was by all means fine by him, but she'd seemed so insistent just a few moments ago.

Audrey shrugged, and even that small movement seemed sluggish. "I don't want to deal with that now, I just want to go home."

"Okay." He let her lead him back to the Bronco, still parked nearby. If she didn't want to share this with Duke and Jennifer that was fine, but he hoped she'd open up to him at least.

She dropped his hand as she crossed over to the passenger's seat and pulled open the door. He hopped in after her, starting up the car in silence. It was a short drive back to her apartment, and had they not been woken at 4 in the morning they probably wouldn't have bothered driving. Even so, the brief minutes in the cab of the car felt like they stretched on and on as neither of them spoke. Audrey hunched down further in the seat, her arms crossed tight over her chest. He stole glances over at her every few seconds, trying to read her face, but she'd adapted a stony look again, staring straight out ahead.

As soon as he pulled into the Gull's empty parking lot once more she got out of the truck, the door swinging shut with more force than was probably necessary.

He followed her as she hurried up the steps, not bothering to look back at him. The sun had fully risen now, and as he turned to glance out over the water, Nathan could just barely make out the lighthouse sitting at the end of the beach. From this far away it looked the same as it always had, but he knew something unsettling had just occurred there.

He pulled open the door to find Audrey furiously tugging off her boots and abandoning her jacket on the floor. He waited until she flopped back down on the bed before shuffling closer.

"Are you gonna talk to me?" He tried to keep his tone level, but she could probably sense his concern anyway. He wasn't angry, just upset that she was still holding out on him. Even after what she'd told him yesterday, even after how he'd tried to reassure her, still she felt…. What, exactly? Scared? Worried? Guilty?

Audrey lifted her head from the mattress, and he noticed the blotchy spots still on her cheeks. The desire to wrap her in his arms and never let go arose again, but he knew he had to tackle the problem at hand first.

"I'm sorry." She used the same sorrowful tone as earlier, and Nathan shuffled closer to sink down onto the edge of the bed. "I'm not trying to shut you out. I promise." She pushed herself to sit up and reached out for his hand. "All of this is just a lot to deal with, and I…" Audrey sighed, her thumb beginning to rub a soft pattern over his hand.

He shifted closer, grabbing for her other hand. A small smile barely crossed her face as she stared down at her entwined fingers, but it was quickly gone.

"What did you see?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, and her hand ceased moving within his own.

"It wasn't like I saw it, exactly. I could feel it. Feel being her." Audrey opened her eyes again, but she gazed down into her lap. "It wasn't a memory, it was just…" She trailed off, shaking her head slightly.

Nathan kept silent, watching as she tried to recall whatever had happened down in the cave. He just wanted to know why she'd been so frightened, and why she now needed to consult William.

He didn't want to pressure her for anything, though, so he counted the slow seconds before she continued.

"When I gave Lincoln Harker a trouble, something happened to me. I felt this… I don't know, this kind of power. All over. And then I passed out." She seemed to draw in on herself, arms wrapping around her middle.

Nathan remembered the panic he'd felt as he watched her collapse at the Harker's. He was glad things had worked out for that family, but truth be told all he'd been worried about in the moment was making sure she came out of it all okay.

"You said you had that flashback, right?"

Audrey nodded. "Yeah. But that wasn't all. I think I had another one, later. After I fell asleep I had this dream, but it wasn't actually a dream, you know? It was another memory, I know it was."

"Of Mara's?" He tried to think of what she'd been like when he'd woken her hours earlier. He'd attributed it to be forced out of bed at such an early hour, but clearly he was wrong. How had he missed that something more was wrong?

"Yeah." She squeezed his hand gently, as if she knew what he was thinking, and he glanced back up at her.

She moved closer to him on the bed, and Nathan saw the same unfamiliar glint in her eyes, as if she was contemplating some wild action. He cleared his throat before asking the question burning through his mind.

"What happened in it?"

Audrey's eyes darted to the side, and her tone seemed to shift as she tried to recall the memory. "I was outside, somewhere. Somebody else was there, I can't remember what we talked about, but-"

"William?"

Her focus snapped back to him and she shook her head quickly. "No, it wasn't him. But I was happy. I felt happy, I mean. I could feel it even after I woke up."

Nathan didn't know what to make of that, although he supposed it was preferable to her relaying a pleasant memory with William.

"Was that what happened in the lighthouse?" He asked quietly, and she shook her head again.

"No, not exactly." She tucked her legs underneath her, sitting up a bit straighter, more focused now. "That wasn't like a memory, or anything. When Jennifer opened the door, I had that feeling again. The same feeling from when I troubled Lincoln Harker. It was so much stronger though, like it'd been magnified or something." She paused and drew in a deep breath, her eyes locking on his. "And I liked it. It felt good. And…. And right. I wanted it to happen again, even though I knew… I knew it could only happen if I did that to someone else. If I hurt someone else." She dropped her head and brought up a hand to rub at her eyes once more. Nathan couldn't tell if she was crying again or not but he gripped her hand tightly.

Now he understood her fear, and perhaps even the uncertainty he'd seen on her face. She was worried she'd turn back into the same person who'd created the troubles. Nathan didn't know what to think of Mara, but he imagined she had to have been the polar opposite of Audrey. She had hurt people; Audrey had healed them. Whatever William thought, and whatever doubts she herself might have, Nathan knew Audrey's good nature couldn't be undone with a few memories of evil deeds.

After a moment he cleared his throat. "I guess I should cancel our picnic in the lighthouse, then."

It took her a second to raise her head, but she gave him a real smile for the first time all morning.

"Probably a good call." She laid back down and he joined her, wrapping his arm around her stomach and resting his head atop hers. As he brought his legs up onto the bed she made a loud noise of protest, pushing him away.

"Shoes!" She complained, nudging at his feet. Nathan rolled his eyes but complied, slipping off his shoes before rejoining her.

"Are you still worried now?"

Audrey sighed, resting her head against his arm. "I just bought a new sheet set I don't want you messing it up yet."

"You know what I mean." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and he felt her sigh into his neck.

"Yeah, I'm still worried. I don't know what's going to happen next, with William, with whatever's happening to me…" She yawned widely, her face scrunching up before she continued. "I don't know if I'm ever going to not be drop dead tired."

Nathan smiled softly, wrapping his arm more firmly around her waist. "Get some more sleep. We can talk more later."

She mumbled half a response, but she was out in just a few minutes.

Nathan still felt wired off the adrenaline from what had happened in the lighthouse, and now his mind was whirling with all Audrey had revealed. He knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep, but at least this gave him some time to think things out.

And it was always nice to have half a second to watch Audrey be at peace. She was so full of action and ideas all the time, but she seemed so calm when she slept, it was nice to see.

She was also pretty cute when she slept, which was always reason enough.

The trees came into view first; tall oaks, branches stretching towards the sky. She'd never seen trees like that before. So big, so beautiful.

The grass was soft beneath her bare feet, soft and bright green. It, too, was beautiful. Wasn't everything beautiful here? Didn't she care for it all?

Her mind tried to whisper that no, she didn't, she didn't care for anything. She didn't care for anyone. But she already knew that to be a lie. She didn't hate it here. Not anymore.

There was a crackle behind her and she turned as if in slow-motion, her skirt ruffling with the movement.

He stood confident before her, that same smile etched on his face. Defiant, in a way. Challenging.

"Hello." She couldn't help the nervous feeling twisting in her stomach. It spread through her body, to her fingers and toes, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Hello." He repeated as he stepped closer, hands coming to rest on her waist. "Are you lost, miss?"

Her brain seemed to spin with him so close to her, and as she tried to think of a response he surged forward and kissed her. She rose up on her toes to meet him, and even as they broke apart she stayed pressed flush against him.

"Yes, I think I am." She could nearly feel his heart beating as they stood this close, and she rested her hand over his chest gently.

"I'm sure I can help you find you way back to town." He gave her a broad smile and she bit her lip, trying to hide her own grin.

"I certainly hope so." She was happy to play along with his little game, she had all day, all week, however long he wanted. However long they could have.

The scene changed abruptly, and before she realized it he had faded away into nothing. She was alone once more.

All of a sudden she couldn't quite recall who it was she'd just been speaking to. She'd known him in the moment, but he'd disappeared and now she couldn't even picture him. She couldn't even remember where they'd been.

Now she stood in an empty room, with boarded up windows and doors. There was a solitary light in the ceiling, but much of the room was shrouded in darkness. She felt cold; gone was the happy feeling of the previous moment.

"I was wondering what would come back to you first."

A voice rang through the room, loud and clear, but she couldn't find the speaker. She spun around but she still appeared to be alone.

"I gotta say, I am a little surprised. But I can fix it, don't even worry."

Something clicked in her head, and as a figure finally emerged from the shadows she knew who it would be.

"How are you doing this?"

William gave her a sly smile. "Oh, come on. You know." He stepped forward and she felt fear creep along her spine.

"You opened the door. I felt it. I felt you." He extended a hand and she retreated, moving into the darkness.

"You can't undo this. What's happening to you isn't going to stop."

She tried to find something to hold onto but the room seemed bare, save for the two of them.

"How do you know?" Her voice sounded so small, so far from what it had been just minutes before.

"Because we built this system together." William sighed. "We shouldn't have this conversation here."

As she stepped further and further back into the dark his voice faded away, until there was nothing but silence and blackness.

Audrey awoke with a start, her chest heaving as she drew in gasping breaths. She pushed herself to sit up, drawing her knees up.

Nathan sat up quickly beside her, reaching out to touch her cheek, resting his hand over her forehead before pulling it back.

"What happened?" His eyes were wide, his face displaying obvious concern. She took a few more calming breaths, trying to get her thoughts straight.

What the hell was that? It had seemed like another of Mara's memories, but then… Something had changed.

William. Somehow he was communicating with her? It probably had something to do with their connection that he was always going on about. Whatever that thing was, it was giving her a hell of a lot of trouble.

"Parker?"

She turned to Nathan, her brain still trying to make sense of whatever had just occurred.

"I gotta talk to William. And I know where to find him."