So this chapter has a lot of Audrey but I promise there's a lot more Nathan coming up soon.

Thanks again for the reviews! You guys keep me going forward. :)

Audrey felt as if she was moving in a haze. She changed out of her sweatpants and pulled on her boots in an automatic motion, stopping only when she realized Nathan was still sitting on the bed, watching her carefully.

"Something wrong?" She grabbed her jacket off of the chair where she'd flung it hours earlier, slipping into the sleeves carefully.

Nathan shook his head slightly, his features slipping into a frown. "I don't know. I don't know what's going on with you." His words made her pause in her motions, and she came to a stand still at the foot of the bed. "One minute you need to talk to William, the next you don't want anything to do with him, now you want to go see him again?"

Audrey pursed her lips, trying to slow the runaway train of thoughts inside her head. She could still feel the prickles along her spine that the dream had raised, the uncomfortable feeling of being watched even when she knew they were alone. But something inside of her was screaming not to leave Nathan behind, not to shove him aside even in pursuit of her own answers.

"I've told you everything." She sunk onto the edge of the bed, the old mattress creaking with her weight in an unfamiliar place. "I think William can explain what's going on, why I'm having these flashbacks, or memories, or whatever they are."

"What happened just now?" His voice was gravely with sleep, but she could recognize the concern in it. She wondered if she'd been moving about as she slept, as she had when she'd been having the nightmares.

"I think I was remembering something else, but William interrupted it."

Nathan frowned. "How?"

The best she could manage was a half-hearted shrug. "I'm not sure, but I'd bet it has something to do with our connection. He said he felt it when we opened that door." She sighed, raising slowly to her feet to look down on him.

Audrey could feel his eyes follow her as she strapped her gun to her waist, then as she knelt down to secure her backup to her ankle. She looked up to meet his raised eyebrows and merely shrugged in response.

"I want to be prepared." She said matter-of-factly, standing up and giving him a pointed look.

"We can't hurt him." Nathan chastised her, but there was a mocking note to his voice, a reminder of how she'd berated him about the same fact yesterday.

"You can't hurt him. I don't know, maybe it's different for me." Audrey sounded vaguely hopeful, and he frowned.

"You really think that?"

"No." She shook her head. "But can you humor me?"

His mouth quirked up in a smirk as he nodded at her. Finally he slid from the bed, crossing over to where she stood and wrapping his arms fully around her waist. She relaxed in his grip, resting her head just over his heart. The steady beating created a soothing tone, and for just a moment she closed her eyes, taking several slow breaths. A few seconds passed and Audrey pulled away from him, pressing her hand against his chest to put space between them.

"Do you still want to come?"

"Of course." Nathan's answer came automatically, his brow wrinkling as if he was surprised it was ever in question. "I know you can handle it, but I want to be there."

She ducked her head even as she smiled. His steadfast devotion was comforting and wonderful, but sometimes she feared it only put him in danger.

"I have a plan, though." She looked back up at him, and once more she was consumed with the desire for answers, for any scrap of evidence she could find, even if it came from the least desirable of places. "And you're not gonna like it."

Nathan sighed, turning away from her and tugging open the drawer of the dresser she'd allotted to him.

She took another deep breath before continuing. "You can't go in with me."

She watched his posture stiffen, his head shaking gently before he pulled on a fresh shirt and turned to face her once more.

"Didn't you just say-"

"Yes, but he can't know you're there." Audrey knew William wouldn't talk much if Nathan came with her; whatever he claimed about how they were meant to love each other, she'd realized he still viewed Nathan as some sort of a threat. If he tagged along with her she wouldn't get any answers.

Nathan gave her a prizewinning pout, and she had to bite down at her bottom lip to keep from laughing at him.

"Look, I need answers and this is my best shot." She cleared her throat, crossing her arms as she waited for his reaction.

He sighed, leaning back against the dresser. "I know. What's your plan?"

She was surprised Nathan wasn't fighting her on going alone to talk with William, but perhaps he could tell just how desperate she was for any scrap of information he could give her. She couldn't even sleep anymore without being invaded by Mara's thoughts, her memories. It felt as if every moment she was haunted by a past she still didn't understand.

And as much as she wanted Nathan by her side, she'd have better luck with William if she approached him on her own. It was obvious to see what his end goal was: for her to be Mara again, to abandon Audrey and Sarah and Lucy and everyone else she'd been. All the good parts of her.

She took a deep breath before finally answering Nathan's question. "If I tell him I want to know about Mara because… Because I want to be like that again, then I think I'll actually get something out of him."

Nathan's face clouded over for a moment, adapting the stony expression he wore so often with others. "You don't, right?" He asked, his voice flat.

It took her a few minutes to figure out what he was referring to. Suddenly she frowned deeply, trying to find the words to refute him when she realized she had a much better way.

She closed the distance between them in two easy steps, one hand fisting in his shirt as she rocked up onto her tip toes to kiss him soundly. It didn't take him long to respond, his arm coming to curl around her waist and his hand cupping her cheek.

She broke away reluctantly after several moments, noting the way his flushed cheeks almost definitely matched hers.

"No." Audrey shook her head, her hand releasing its tight grip on his shirt. She smoothed over the fabric for a moment, wondering briefly what sensations registered for him through the cloth. Looking back up at him with a smile, she settled back down on her feet, making sure she was still as close to him as possible. "No, of course not. You were right, that's not who I am anymore."

Nathan's stance finally relaxed, if only slightly. His hand lingered on her face, his thumb just barely brushing over her skin before he dropped it. "You sure it'll work?" He asked.

Audrey desperately wished she could say yes, yes of course it will, I'm going to find out about me and Mara, and once I know that then we can get rid of William, send him back to whatever hellhole he came crawling out of, and then we can end the troubles, and then we'll live happily ever after, right?

But there were no definitives in anything they did anymore, and Nathan knew that as well as she did. All she could offer was the hope that this would all end okay.

"We'll see, I guess." She tried her best to sound positive but he surely knew her well enough to pick up on when she was nervous. He reached out for her hand, squeezing her fingers tight within his own.

"Alright." Once again he had schooled his features into a passive expression, his eyes holding a blank stare. "What do we do next?"

Audrey instructed Nathan to drive them to an empty warehouse near downtown, and surprisingly enough he complied easily. He didn't even seem thrown off that she was unable to explain just how she knew where to go. There was a niggling feeling bouncing around inside of her brain, it seemed. Somehow she just knew where William was. She couldn't describe it to Nathan, but it was just an innate sense, a fact she didn't even have to think about.

She wondered if that meant William knew where she was, if he was capable of finding her the same way. She had thought as much just after they'd opened the door in the lighthouse, when she could feel their connection as if it was a real, tangible thing.

It had been terrifying and alluring at the same time, but she'd tried to shut off those feelings, push them away as fast as she could. Now the feeling was faint but she could still sense it, beating deep inside of her.

She hated it. She hated the idea that she was bound to William in some way, that her survival ensured his as well. But maybe getting some answers about her past, about who Mara was and what she had done, would lead her to a way to severe her ties with William.

As they neared the rundown building Audrey tried to push down the butterflies in her stomach. She would be fine, Nathan would be nearby, and William couldn't hurt her anyways. At least that's what she repeated to herself as she asked Nathan to stop the car over a block away from their intended destination.

He turned to her with a frown.

"William's not an idiot." She reached for the door handle, the cold metal bringing her out of her thoughts. "If we come up together he'll know you're here."

Nathan sighed, undoing his own seatbelt before shifting in the seat to face her. "I kinda feel like you're making me wait outside while the big kids talk."

Audrey rolled her eyes, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. "Yeah, that's exactly it."

He raised his eyebrows and she let out a laugh. As he extended a hand to brush a fallen strand of hair back behind her ear, her face grew serious again. "I want you here." She responded, her gaze flicking away from him. "I always want you with me."

He smiled softly, sweetly, and briefly she thought he was about to lean in and kiss her, but he turned away once more and cleared his throat.

"I'll give you a head start, then."

Audrey nodded, pushing open the car door without another word. The sun was beating hot overhead, but the wind was strong enough to make the day still feel a bit chilly. She counted her steps as she walked away from the car, one two three four, nearly silent in her boots. The building seemed covered in darkness as she approached it, the fading brown paint out of place on the street full of colorfully painted shops.

Facing the open lot were two large wooden doors, and even from a few feet away Audrey could pick out largely splintered areas. The wood looked as if it had seen better days a few decades ago. She knocked carefully, sparing a glance behind her to ensure the parking lot appeared empty.

Almost immediately the door swung open, and Audrey had to force down her automatic urge to smack the smirking face that greeted her.

"Well, I thought you'd be here sooner."

She pushed by him roughly, entering a darkened hallway, bare except for the ancient wallpaper peeling on the walls.

"Are we not going to invite Nathan in, then?" William slammed the door shut and suddenly the hall was covered in darkness. Audrey blinked rapidly, her eyes trying to adjust, and she quickly spun back around.

"Nathan?" She asked, trying to keep her tone flat, but she knew it was already a hopeless cause.

He grinned at her, giving a shrug before he started walking down the hall. "Come on, you can't lie to me. We don't have secrets anymore."

"What the hell does that mean?" She reluctantly followed after him, the sound of their scraping feet echoing in the empty space.

William whirled to face her, that same obnoxiously wide smile plastered on his face. "It means that our connection is still here. It never went away." He sounded almost breathless in his excitement. Audrey shuffled back a step, her eyes trained on him.

"I'm glad Nathan's not coming though, because I really think we need some alone time." He continued on down the hall, Audrey slowly following after him.

"I gotta admit, I was getting a little worried. I was going to come find you if you didn't show up soon." His voice had a teasing tone to it, like all of the death and destruction he was committing in this town was some great big joke. She grit her teeth, biting back all the angry phrases that came to mind. Shouting obscenities wasn't going to get her anywhere, although it might make her feel a bit better.

The hallway emptied into a wide open room, illuminated partially by the tall dusty windows. It took a few moments but Audrey recognized it as the room from her dream, or almost-dream, or whatever the hell it was.

That realization sparked a burning question. "How did you talk to me?" She stopped suddenly in the doorway, and her voice rang out strong in the empty air. He turned round once more, pausing in the center of the room.

"What?"

She took a step forward, eyes glancing over the darkened corners and bare walls she'd found herself thrust into. "In my dream. You…. You did something. You talked to me."

As if on instinct his smile returned, slowly growing as she spoke. He nodded, taking a moment to survey the room himself. "I told you, we're connected. We're unique."

Unique. That was one way of putting it, Audrey scoffed.

William's attention snapped back to her. "That's why you're here, isn't it? You want to know about us."

"No." Her response was immediate, cutting off whatever nonsense he was about to spew. "I want to know about me."

He sighed, beginning to pace about the room. "We're the same." He offered, and Audrey watched him walk, trailing his fingers along the peeling walls. Something sharp pricked on her own hand and she lifted it up, watching a small bubble of red rise on the pad of her ring finger and start to snake down the skin. She wiped it away, glaring up at him as he raised his own injured hand. "See?"

She clenched her hand into a fist, but she could feel the cut finger beating within it, the persistent throb of a wound.

"I'm not here to play games."

The room was so quiet she could hear his soft chuckle, even as she remained lurking near the doorway. "I don't want to play games with you. Not yet, anyway." William shook his head, and for the first time since she found out who he was his voice sounded sincere. "I can tell you everything. Better yet, I can show you everything." He stopped pacing finally, turning to face her with a wide grin. "What do you want to know?"

A thousand ideas ran around in her head but it felt as if her throat was too dry to speak, and she couldn't utter a word. What did she want to know? Anything she could. Anything at all.

"Who am I?" She managed at last, the words coming out just above a whisper.

William reached for her hand and she flinched as he touched her but didn't pull away, her eyes locked on his.

"You're Mara. My Mara, you remember, don't you?" His voice dropped an octave as he crept closer, and when he extended his other hand to just barely brush her cheek she stepped back suddenly, her fingers closing around the handle of her gun.

"Don't."

He dropped his hand with a roll of his eyes, following her orders and inching away from her once more.

"You're not gonna use that." He shrugged, and Audrey quickly shook her head.

"I'll knock us both out, I don't care." It'd be worth the headache, she thought.

William tilted his head, observing her for a second, before he turned away again. "Have it your way." He didn't resume his walking, but instead stayed positioned just a few feet from her, hands shoved into his pockets. The two of them remained in silence for several long seconds, and as much as her brain was screaming at her to ask him something, anything, Audrey resolved not to be the one to break it.

"Did you just come here to be stubborn, then?" He laughed to himself, but it sounded more cruel than humorous. "That's an Audrey Parker trait. I'm not very fond of it."

"I came for answers." She pressed her lips together, her fingers itching to grab for her gun once more. "And I don't care what you're fond of."

Something seemed to change in his expression, and the jovial, almost gleeful look he'd held before vanished. His eyes were hard, and he advanced towards her. "You need to ask questions to get answers."

Audrey retreated again, her feet knocking into the wall as she stepped back.

"I did." She tried to sound calm and confident still but the nervousness was growing in her stomach, even as he turned to face away from her.

"And I told you. I can show you everything." His back was to her but she could imagine the look on his face, a malicious smirk to match the angry tone of his voice. "But this is the end of the line for Audrey Parker if you remember it all."

Audrey shook her head, knowing he couldn't see it anyway. He had to be wrong, didn't he? She could choose who she wanted to be. Whatever Mara had done, that wasn't her. Not anymore.

But still she could remember the power that had flowed through her when she gave Lincoln Harker a trouble, how good it had all felt. Some part of her believed what he was saying, that there was still something within her that belonged to who she used to be.

William spun back around, and the momentary anger seemed to have faded. Once again he looked so ecstatically pleased with himself, his smug smile only growing as she remained silent. "Well?" He asked. "Got anymore questions?"

She flatted her palms against the rough wall, the uneven surface digging into her skin. Maybe she should leave now, turn around and walk out of this creepy place, find Nathan and drive until they were far, far away.

But as appealing as that sounded, she knew she couldn't just up and leave. She couldn't desert Duke, for one, although she had a feeling he would be equipped to handle just about anything by now. Even beside him, she had a duty to Haven, didn't she? She couldn't leave thousands of innocent people in the hands of someone like William.

No, she had to do this. Not just for the town, but for herself. She'd spent countless lifetimes living as other people, it was time she knew who she really was. Regardless of what that knowledge might do to her.

Only one question really seemed to matter, then. "How?"

William surveyed her, his gaze focusing intently on her own. "How what?" He responded, the mocking tone returning to his voice.

"How can you show me?"

He reached for her again and she shook her head, but she was already pressed back against the wall, there was no where else to go. When his hand made contact with her own she felt that same spark again, the electrifying feeling that raised the hair on the back of her neck.

"It won't hurt." William looked down at their hands and Audrey closed her eyes. Her brain was whizzing again, filling her with doubt. What if he lied? What if he wasn't going to help her at all?

She wanted to get away, to shove him off and run out the door. This was a horrible idea, she decided. She couldn't trust him with something like this. Her eyes flew open as her resolve to get away solidified, but all she had time to see was William reaching for her head before there was another strong spark and a crackling noise, and everything faded away.