"Germany is a cool place," Lilia declared a few hours later, sitting in Nick's hotel room.

"That's good, considering that we're in Sweden," Nick reminded.

"Exactly, we're in Sweden, which is why it's a good place. It's good we understand each other," she said. Her eyes were half open, and she had just recovered from a giggling spell brought on by watching her pop fizz.

"Lilia, when was the last time you slept?" Nick asked, concerned yet amused.

"Um…What day is it?" she asked.

"Wednesday," he answered.

"Oh, well. Um…about forty-eight hours, give or take a time zone," she said. Suddenly, her exhaustion caught up with her and she yawned ferociously, her eyes watering and her jaw cracking from the enormity of it.

"Bed time, Lily. Bed time," Nick said with determination. She protested, so he picked her up over his shoulder and dropped her on the bed.

"Nick, what are you doing?" she complained as he threw a blanket over her.

"You must be exhausted. Go to sleep," he ordered.

"But I came to see you," she protested, trying to sit up, as he pushed her back down.

"And you can see me when you wake up," he said. She fell back, and pulled him with her.

"If I sleep, so do you. Deal?" she said. He smiled, and crawled into her arms, cradling her close to him.

* * * *

"Baby!" Damon and Sandy cried out the next afternoon as she walked backstage, holding hands with Nick. She released Nick's hand, and ran to her friends, hugging them and exclaiming about everything that seemed different.

"Damon! Your hair! It's blue…Wow, different," she exclaimed. He laughed, and they sat down together, Lilia with Nick's hand on her shoulder, to catch up over the past months that they hadn't seen each other.

"Hey, where's Paul?" she suddenly exclaimed, noticing that he was missing from the scene.

"He's with Jordan. They have some sort of crazy ass meeting," Damon explained.

"What? They have all week for meetings! The day that I'm here…Okay, so where is this meeting? I'm going to go rescue him!" Lilia declared, standing up, preparing to do battle with Jordan.

"Down the hall to the left!" Damon called. She stormed off down the hall, until she found the desired door. She heard laughter down the hall, as her friends anticipated Jordan's face when she burst the door open. Laughing with them, she threw open the door.

"Baby!" Paul exclaimed.

"Hey Paul! I have a…um, important thing to show you. Matter of life or death, you know," she said, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the office.

"I'll catch up with you later Jordan!" Paul called over his shoulder, as the two fugitives escaped down the hall, laughing all the way.

"Lilia, you are the craziest person I have ever known, but thanks for rescuing me. Jordan hasn't lighten up at all, and he's driving us batty," Paul explained.

"Lilia, you bad ass, come on, we're going to lunch," Nick said.

* * * *

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded. It was pretty late for Lilia's jet lagged body to be dragged up a million flights of stairs.

"Does it really matter? You're going to love it, I promise. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I would have to show it to you one day. And that day has arrived, flower girl. So just stop your complaining and get moving," Nick order, pulling her along. Lilia felt like whining, but she could see how excited he was to be showing her whatever it was they were going to see.

They reached the top of the staircase, and Nick opened the big metal door in front of them, taking her to the room of the hotel. He pulled her out, and she was enveloped in the bluest night sky she had ever seen. The sky was dark sapphire, with all the stars sparkling like diamonds within it's deep shade. It was all around her, beautiful, peaceful, quiet. And enormous.

"Oh my god," she exclaimed softly as she turned about in wonderment. She caught sight of the moon, the huge, glowing moon and was humbled as to her own worth in comparison with the universe's glory that was before her.

"I know. It's breathtaking," he said, putting his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder.

"I have never seen the night sky so clear, so defined. Wow," she repeated. She breathed deeply the night air, so fresh and clear. Her weariness was gone, replaced by wonderment at such a sight.

"Dance with me," Nick whispered in her ear, as he put his arms around her and they began to sway.

"Nick, there's no music," she whispered urgently, feeling slightly stupid dancing without any music.

"There doesn't have to be. Come on, it's a romantic thing to do," he said.

"Says who?"

"Says I. So, shhh, just enjoy the moment that I have created for us," he said.

"As you wish," she sighed, knowing how important this was to him. They moved around slowly, and the atmosphere worked wonders on her. She got caught up in the moment, and the extreme closeness she felt to Nick at that moment. She pulled back slightly from his arms and found herself staring once again into his eyes, depths of blue that she could easily get lost in.

He kissed her softly, then put his face close to her ear, and whispered softly, "I think I love you."

Lilia's heart stopped beating for a second, she swore it did. This was unexpected, a complete and utter surprise. She withdrew from him, and turned away, her head in her hands. Nick felt his heart crashed down to his knees as he observed her reaction. But his hope soared slightly when she turned back and took his hand.

"I know I love you," she said. And she knew that she meant it. She was sure she meant it. It was happening so fast, so completely that she felt lost for a moment with the enormity of the emotions that she was feeling, but she could feel the one standing out the most. She knew what it was, she knew what she felt. And she had told him.

Happiness swelled between the two, and they held each other closer, absorbing the scenery, the moment, so they could hold it close to them when it passed.