CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

"That memory that Stefan showed me — what was it?" Nyx asks. "Why that memory?"

"That was the first time I knew that you were more than just a pain in my ass." Dean tells her, and a small smile tugs at her lips. "That was the first moment that I realized there was no woman out there better than you."

Her smile widens as she nuzzles closer into his side. The two are cuddled together in the guest room at Meredith's, and the twins are asleep in their playpen a few feet away from the bed.

"I love you." She says. "So much."

"I love you too." He says as he looks down at her. "What's going on, Nyx? You've been acting strange since you got here last night." He asks as he sits up and leans against the backboard of the bed.

She quickly gets up and climbs onto his lap, facing him like when they talked after their last bad fight. "You know that none of what I said was true, right? I mean, the part about it not being Matt who helped me with the FBI was, but it doesn't mean anything. They showed up while I was here, and Damon had just helped me get the twins home because I was struggling all on my own. I—"

"Hey." He cuts her off. "Slow down. What's going on? Babe, what's got you so freaked?"

"I need you to know that you were never a distraction, not for a second. When you were in the hospital after Yellow-Eyes... I was terrified that you would die believing it. Because not a word of it was true. You weren't a distraction, and I have never felt stuck with you. You weren't just some intriguing older guy. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You've made me happier than I ever knew I could be, you gave me the twins and I love you so much more than I knew was possible. I love you, and I need you to know that." She tells him.

"Why are you crying?" He asks as he puts his hands on either side of her face and uses his thumbs to wipe away her tears.

"Tell me that you believe what I'm saying now, not what I said then. You guys were right, I wasn't myself." She says, and he nods.

"I know." He tells her as he runs his hands up and down her arms. "I love you too, baby."

She leans forward and presses her lips to his, placing her hands on both sides of his face. His hands move to her hips as she kisses him rougher, deepening the kiss. After a few seconds, he pulls back and looks at her before wiping away more of her tears.

"Nyx, you're scaring me." He says, and she sighs as she lets her head hang low. "I need you to tell me what's going on."

"Kol showed up in the cellar after Vicki did. He was going to kill Carter, but she saved him before he hit the wall, head first. And then Kol..."

"Who the hell is Kol?"

"He's Klaus' younger brother." She tells him. "The one that Jeremy killed to complete his mark."

"He was in the cellar last night?" He asks, and she nods.

"Vicki saved Carter, and Kol took advantage of her distraction. He's a thousand years old, even as a ghost​ there's​ nothing I could do to him. There was nothing any of us could've done to stop him." She takes a deep breath, fighting back a sob. "He killed me, Dean. When Bonnie puts the veil back up, I'm gonna be gone. I'm dead."

"What? No." He shakes his head. "You ca— I mean— But you're— You..."

"I'm sorry." She wipes away the tears that fall silently down his face. "I had Damon bury my body last night. I didn't want you to see me like that. I want you to remember me like this, how I am with you."

"I..." He chokes back more tears.

"I know." She leans her forehead against his, and he wraps his arms around her torso.

He then buries his face in the crook of her neck and tries to memorize everything about her. The way she feels in his arms, her warmth against his skin, how sweet she smells because of her perfume.

—

Nyx walks out of the guest room, and Sam sees her wiping tears from her face. "Hey."

"Sam..." She looks up at him, unsure how she's gonna tell him.

"Dean told you." It's not a question; he thinks she knows. "About the deal."

"Deal?" Her eyebrows furrow.

"The demon deal." He says before he realizes that she has no idea what he's talking about.

"What demon deal?" She asks as Dean walks out of the room. He sighs as he looks at her. "Dean, what's he talking about?"

"Damn it." Dean mutters.

"What deal?"

"Yellow-Eyes — he took Sam. There was this...battle of the psychics, and Sam lost." He says. "He died. And I..."

"You made a deal?" She questions. "Just like John? Your life for his."

"What was I supposed to do?" He asks.

"You—" She has to refrain from punching the wall — or him. "You were supposed to think about the kids!" She snaps.

"Like you did when you flipped the switch?"

"I gave them their father! Elena was going to kill you!" She turns away from him. "I knew that that you guys wouldn't stop until you got me to flip it back. And you did — in record time, I might add."

"I couldn't live if he was dead." He says.

"You think I don't know that feeling? I've lost four family members just in the time that I've known you! Not to mention my friends." She takes a deep breath and looks at him. "How long did you get?"

He sighs. "One year."

"So, in one year...our babies are gonna be orphans. They're​ not gonna have any parents anymore!" She snaps.

"What are you talking about, Nyx?" Sam asks, confused. "They'll still have you."

"I'm a ghost, Sam." She looks over at him. "Kol killed me last night. I'll be gone soon."

"Wait, what?"

She looks back at Dean. "I gave up my humanity so that you could live..." She says with tears in her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, Sam, I'm glad that you're not dead, but..."

"I know." He nods.

"I have to go." Nyx says. "I have to go and talk to Bonnie." She disappears, but it's not Bonnie that she looks for.

She goes back to the cemetery and stops in front of her family. They all stand up when they see the tears in her eyes and the look of pure devastation on her face.

"Nyx?" Jeremy walks over to her.

"Sam died, and Dean made a deal to bring him back. He sold his soul." She says, and they all look at each other.

"Oh my God." Elena mutters, but Nyx looks at Ric.

"He's gonna die in a year." She tells him.

"Oh." He sighs as he looks down, realizing what she's telling him.

"What?" Jeremy looks between the two of them. "What else is there?"

—

"I'm sorry, Nyx. I wish there was something that I could do." Bonnie says, and Nyx nods.

"I know."

"So, both of us, huh?" She sighs. "You can't tell them about me. You can't tell them that I'm dead too. It's too much."

Nycole nods. "Our little secret." She sighs.

A few hours later, Nyx is sitting on the floor at the Boarding​ House, and she has the twins with her. Dean's sitting at her side, and they've each got a baby in their lap. The twins eventually get antsy, and they let them play on the floor with their toys.

"What's it like?" Nyx asks, and everyone looks at her.

"What?" Ric asks.

"The Other Side."

"Lonely." Vicki says, and Lexi smacks her arm. "What? I want her to have realistic expectations."

"It can be lonely." Lexi nods. "But we can still see everyone here. Our friends. Watch them live happy, full lives. It's not all bad."

"You're a tough kid, Nyx." Ric says. "You'll be alright."

"You'll still get to watch the twins grow up."

"You'll be their little guardian angel." Vicki says with a smile. "You always did believe in angels."

"Really?" Dean asks as he looks at her.

"That belief has faltered a lot." Nyx tells him. "I lost my faith a long time ago. I at least lost any faith that a higher power gives a damn about me."

Dean wraps his arms​ around her, and she leans into him as they watch Jeremy play with the twins. He sticks around for a while before leaving to go and see Bonnie. The others get back from graduation, and Nyx reluctantly stands up from her place in Dean's arms.

"Lexi, Vic, can you two watch the twins for a minute?" She asks, and they both nod.

"Where are we going?" Dean asks as she pulls him out of the room. They end up in the library, and she looks up at him. "I don't want to argue with you right now."

"Me either." She says. "But we need to talk about what's gonna happen after your​ year is up. Where do the twins go?"

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it." He tells her, shaking his head.

"Neither do I, but I don't have a year. I don't even have an hour. Unless you want to make this decision alone... We have to talk about it." She says, and he nods.

"Sam?"

"You think he'll stop hunting?" She questions. "When we're both dead?"

"Probably not." He sighs. "Elena?"

Nyx sighs as she looks down.

"You don't want them in Mystic Falls."

"Can you blame me?" She asks.

"I'll talk to Bobby." He says, and she looks up at him. "He can teach them about everything when they're older, but only so that they can defend themselves. Not so that they can be hunters. Everyone can visit and help..."

"You think he'll do it?" She asks,​ and he nods.

"Yeah, I do." He tells her, and she nods.

"Then ask Bobby. I definitely trust him enough." She says. "Just make sure they know him. So he won't be a stranger when the time comes."

"I will." He says, and they're both fighting​ back tears.

"Let's go back. I want to stay with them for as long as I can." She says, and he nods.

"So, the Other Side." Lexi's saying as she sits down on the couch. "Not exactly​ a party, is it?"

"I've lived...better." Ric agrees.

"There's an understatement." Vic says from where she's playing with the twins.

"Always such a downer." Nyx says as she and Dean walk into the room.

"You know there's something else out there, right?" Lexi asks, looking around at the other ghosts in the room. "There has to be. Silas' whole agenda was to find peace with his one true love, and whatever peace is — it's out there. I figure, once we've served our time for all the bad things we've done, then it's just about letting go and moving on."

"And how are we supposed to do that when all the knuckleheads we care about can't seem to keep their lives straight?" Ric asks.

"Yeah." She sighs.

"Can someone explain this whole Silas thing to me?" Dean asks.

"He's a two-thousand-year-old immortal who wants to get rid of the Other Side so that he can take the cure and die. Once he dies, he'll be reunited with his true love and have his happily ever after." Lexi tells him.

"He's around because he had the cure that our idiot friends found." Nyx says. "Jeremy had the tattoo of the map that led to it because he was a Hunter, one of the Brotherhood​ of the Five. He died when Katherine fed his blood to Silas to wake him up so she could steal the cure from him."

"Uh-huh​." He nods. "I'm just gonna pretend that that all made sense and move on." He says as he sits next to her on the floor.

"I always wanted to meet you. You know, before I died." Vicki says as she looks at Dean. "This hot older​ guy who made my best friend happy and taught her to be a badass." She says, and he chuckles as he looks at her. "I'm really sorry that your first impression of me was when I tried to kill Nyx while she was pregnant."

"That wasn't my first impression of you. She talked about you all the time, told me stories about when you guys were kids." He tells her. "You tried, you failed. Bygones?"

"Really?" She asks, genuinely surprised.

"She's already forgiven you, so, yeah." He nods, and she smiles as she looks between the two of them.

"Hey, guys." Ric gets their attention, and they look at him.

"Alex's crawling." Lexi tells them, and they all immediately turn their attention to the twins.

"That's my boy." Nyx smiles as she quickly gets up. She goes to the other side of him and he crawls to her. She picks him up and hugs him, kissing his cheek. "Mommy's so proud of you, my love."

"I think someone else wants some attention too." Sam says as he walks into the living room. They all turn and see Everly crawling over to Dean.

"Hey, Daddy's little princess." He picks her up and walks over to Nyx.

The four of them stand together, happy and smiling. All Nyx can think is, thank you for letting this happen while I was still here.

Lexi leaves with Stefan to get rid of Silas' body. Vicki goes to spend some time with Matt while she still can. Damon walks in, and Nyx smiles at him mouthing thank you for everything, and he smiles before leaving the room with Ric right behind him.

Nyx reluctantly hands Alex to Sam, but she stays with the four of them. She kisses the twins and then hugs Sam one last time. "I'm gonna miss you." He says with his arm wrapped tightly around her. "Goodbye, Nycole."

"Goodbye, Sammy." She whispers. "Bye, my babies." She looks between the twins.

"Nyx..." Dean starts, and she looks up at him.

"I love you." She says, and he leans down to kiss her. "I will always love you." She whispers against his lips.

"I love you." His voice is low, rough from the tears he's trying to hold back.

He looks at Alex when Everly reaches for her brother and uncle. And Nyx is gone when he turns back to look at her.

"I'll always love you." He whispers. "I miss you." He then hugs their daughter.

"I know, baby." Nyx whispers as she watches the three of them.

Sam rests his hand on his brother's shoulder, and Dean looks at him with glassy, green eyes.