"When are you going to figure out the cure? Do you realize my wife is dying? I need this cure now!" River shouts and the people in the lab bow their heads in shame.

I grab his arm. "River, calm down. They're doing the best they can. I still have a month left."

"A month?" River cups my face. "'My queen, that's not enough time. They have to hurry before you..."

"I know. But rushing them won't help. Keep them motivated, ask them if they need any equipment, and leave them be. Got it?"

"Fine." He grumbles.

I smile, my hands around his neck. "I'm going to be okay, River. Don't worry."

"I can't help it. I care too much."

"Thank you for that." I kiss his cheek. "You're the best husband ever."

He shrugs, grinning. "I know."

"Cocky much?" I chuckle as I touch his hair.

"Very. Now, I'm going to stay here for a while. You can hang out with your friends. They keep complaining, saying they miss you."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight?" I ask and he nods.

"Of course." River pecks my lips and hugs me tightly. "Remember to have your pills."

I sigh, nodding. "I know, I know. Bye, River."

"Bye, my queen." He grins and I walk away, towards Alexis' room.

She squeals once she sees me.

Yes, you read that right. Alexis Ashmore squealed!

"I haven't seen you in so long! River has been so possessive lately. Was he holding you captive?" Alexis hugs me and I laugh.

"No, I was with him willingly."

She shakes her head. "You're crazy. I cannot survive that boy. He's so annoying!"

"I think he's bossy." Sam says as I give her a hug. "But don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me." I wink.

I look around Alexis' room, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Where's Cody and Drake?"

Sam chuckles. "They're on cleaning weaponry duty."

"What?" I give her a look. "That's a thing here?"

"Yup. I had to do it once as a punishment from my grand old uncle." Alexis says with false enthusiasm.

"I had to do it twice for raiding the kitchen." Sam suddenly brightens, grinning at me. "Hey! You should talk to the leader about that. Convince him to take it away!"

I smile nervously. "Uh, I'll try."

"Oh, thank heavens. I'm pretty sure I'm next on duty." Alexis sighs in relief as she plops down on her bed. Sam stares at me then gasps.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, BA!" She gently pushes me onto the bed. "I forgot about your whole, um, situation. You shouldn't be standing around."

"Thanks, Sam. But I'm fine. Really."

Alexis squints at me. "Did you have your pills yet?"

"Well..." I bite my lip. "No. I was going to have them later."

"No way! Where are they? I'll go get them." Sam offers but I shake my head.

"It's fine–"

"It's on her bedside table." Alexis cuts me off, making me frown. Sam nods and walks out.

I quirk an eyebrow at Alexis. "How'd you know that?"

"I know everything." She shrugs nonchalantly.

"You're such a creep." I laugh and she sticks her tongue out at me. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're such an immature creep!"

"Ha. Ha. You're freaking hilarious." Alexis says sarcastically and I smile proudly.

"Thank you."

"You're so not welcome."

I smile softly at her. "But really, thanks, Alexis."

"Um, you're welcome." She chuckles. "But for what exactly?"

"I don't know. Everyone else is treating me differently. They're being nicer and more gentle. Like I'm some kind of fragile butterfly." I shrug.

"Well, I mean, can you blame them? Everyone just found out you're dying, Blair. That's a big deal. Death is a big deal." Alexis says and I nod.

"You're right, you're right." I mumble. "I guess I just want people to ignore that and act normally with me. It...it kind of makes me feel better. Somehow."

Alexis smiles. "That makes sense...sort of."

"Yeah." I laugh as Sam barges in. She hands me a glass of water and holds my pills in her other hand.

"How many are you supposed to take?" Sam questions and I count them.

"Three, for the best effect."

Alexis watches me pop the pills in my mouth and gulp it down with water. "Do you have to take those everyday?"

"Mmhm." I nod. "And on really bad days, I take them every four hours."

"Jeez." Sam comments.

Alexis takes my glass and places it on her bedside table. She pats the spot beside her and I lay there peacefully. Sam sits by our feet, staring at the TV which is playing Gossip Girl on Netflix.

Chuck Bass shows up and I whoop. "That's my man!"

Then Nate Archibald appears next to him and I whoop again. "And that's my other man!"

Alexis grabs her phone and puts it in my face. It's a picture of River at our wedding with his suit on and everything. He looked absolutely stunning.

"That's my main man." I grin and they smirk.

"You two are so in love." Sam chuckles while Alexis nods in agreement.

I smile, embarrassed. "Well...I mean–"

"Wait." Alexis cuts me off again. "Don't tell me neither of you have confessed your love for each other yet!"

"That's crazy!" Sam exclaims.

I fidget with my hands and give them a sheepish smile. "We don't wanna rush anything..."

Alexis scoffs. "Rush? Girl, you two are already married! You've skipped thousand of steps in your relationship!"

"Next thing you know, you'll be pregnant!"

"Whoa there!" I yell, giving Sam a dangerous look. "That's a little extreme. Nobody is getting pregnant anytime soon."

"So...you haven't had–"

"No."

"Not even–"

"No."

"What about–"

"No, Alexis!" I roll my eyes. "We've kissed and cuddled. That's all."

"I would've expected he made a move by now." Sam says while Alexis shakes her head at me.

I sigh. "He did once, actually. But I told him I wasn't ready. He's been really sweet about it."

"Sweet? Girl, he's trying to control himself and he's having a lot of trouble with it." Alexis chuckles and I turn towards her, my interest piqued.

"What do you mean?" I squint at her. "What do you know that I don't, Alexis?"

"A lot of things, really. But that's not the point."

"Can you get to that faster?"

She rolls her eyes. "Fine, fine. So every time I see River with you, he's always gritting his teeth and putting his hands behind his back. And every time you get really close to him, he tenses up."

"Oh, wow. He wants you, BA. He wants you real bad." Sam wiggles her eyebrows at me and I frown.

"Okay, thanks. Can we talk about something else now?" I ask, a bit uncomfortable.

Sam grins at me. "Do you want him too?"

These girls will be the death of me. Okay, wait, that's not very funny...

"I mean, of course. But I want it to be special and I'm not really ready."

"I think you're just scared. You shouldn't be, though. It's what you both want so..." Sam shrugs.

"Yeah." Alexis nods. "It's also what you both need. But it's your choice. You choose when you want to do it for the first time."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "How do you know it's my first time?"

"You can just tell."

"Hm, weird." I mutter and she shrugs.

"But anyway!" Sam picks up the remote and turns up the volume on Gossip Girl. "Let's have some GG time."

•••

"Why do you have to take her away from us? She was ours first, you know!" Alexis glares at River and I chuckle.

"Oh, shut up." River sighs. "She's my wife, not yours."

Sam pouts. "Will you have breakfast with us tomorrow?"

"Sure. Can River come?"

"Uh, yes." She smiles nervously as River stares at her.

"Hey." I whisper in his ear. "You're scaring her. Stop."

He smiles at me and kisses my cheek. "Alright then. I'll see you two at breakfast tomorrow. Bye, Assassins."

"Bye, Leader."

"Bye, douchebag."

River glares at Alexis before leaving with me behind him.

I call out to them. "Bye, guys!"

"So..." River holds my hand as we walk to his room. "What'd you do today?"

"If you're asking if I took my pills, then yes. I did."

He grins. "You're so smart and beautiful."

"Oh, I know. I'm the full package." I smirk and he laughs.

"Yes, you are." River murmurs as he gazes at me.

We walk inside his room and I sigh. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay. Do you want me to get some clothes from your room for you?"

I shake my head. "No, I'll get it myself. Thanks."

"Yup." He nods and I quickly go to my room. Then I come back with my clothes and take a quick shower.

I wonder if Alexis right. Is he trying to control himself around me? I never knew how much an effect I had on him. Maybe that's why he didn't want to get too close to me on the bed...

I put on my clothes and lay by River on the bed.

"Hey." He smiles. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. Just thinking."

He nods. "Okay."

I bite my lip and turn towards him. "I..."

"What is it, my queen?" River touches my cheek gently.

"Well, I was wondering if I could talk to my family."

"Of course!" River smiles, nodding, and I gulp.

"But can I FaceTime them?" I question and he shrugs.

"It's against the rules, actually." He kisses my forehead. "But you're an exception."

I smile. "Thank you, River."

"Anything for you, my queen."

We talk about little things until we fall asleep in each other's arms.

Completely content.