Disclaimer: I do not own Wolfblood.

Episode 9 - "Never Look Back"

A/N: So, here it is. The last chapter! It's so bittersweet. Enjoy!

Two weeks later, and Rhydian was thriving. His wounds had healed almost completely and, even though they had faced a dark moon along the way, he still managed to get up walking again just a few days prior and a few days afterwards. Yeah, the dark moon knocked him out quite a bit, but after that had gone by he had made significant progress.

It was strange for Maddy to see him struggle to stand at first – she was used to seeing him strong and steady – but after a while, Maddy got used to it and, before they knew it, his strength was rapidly building again.

Which was why, now that he could sit down properly, him and Maddy sat down with her parents at the kitchen table to discuss the house situation that Rhydian had mentioned a couple weeks ago.

"We wanted to talk to you about Rhydian," Maddy said, and Rhydian chuckled.

"I just felt like talking about myself in third person." Rhydian joked. Everyone laughed.

"Shut up," Maddy grinned over at him, and she would've nudged him playfully in the ribs if it hadn't been for the fact she was scared to hurt him. She continued, "we were wondering if you still wanted him—us to stay here, now that you're back too. We didn't know what you were comfortable with...or what we're comfortable with. There are some kinks to be worked out."

"Like what?" Emma asked.

"Like…the fact that you're getting too protective and 'casting your eye' over everything we do together." She was trying to sound easygoing, but there was a hint of bitterness behind her tone.

"Mads," Rhydian said softly, reminding her to stay calm. He took a hold of her hand under the table and she took a deep breath, leaning back in her chair. "What Maddy means, is that we don't want to make you guys uncomfortable by me living here with you. In Canada it was different, and…we just wondered what the situation is going to be now, in terms of living arrangements."

"But we don't want to live separately," Maddy added hastily.

"We weren't going to try and separate you two, if that's what you mean," Dan said.

"Yeah. We're fine with you living with us, Rhydian. Just…so long as you keep your hands off, so to speak. At least here we can keep an eye on you." She winked.

Rhydian blushed, and Maddy frowned.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," she said.

"What?" Emma questioned.

"That. You getting all protective and nosy and covering it up to look as though you're just joking. Rhydian and I lived on our own for two weeks before you arrived; you weren't there to chaperone us then, were you? Anything could've happened—"

"Mads." Rhydian said again, caution in his voice.

Maddy continued, "so what's changed now?"

Dan raised his eyebrows. Emma just raised one. "The difference is, we're here to see it."

"But you were there to see it in Canada, too." Maddy pointed out.

Emma looked away, almost appearing hesitant. She glanced at Dan, bit her lip, and then turned back to her daughter and Rhydian.

"It's different here," she started, her voice tentative. "You two just seem more…connected than the last time we saw you in Canada. It's like your whole bond has changed…"

"…and…that's bad…?" Maddy clarified, genuinely confused.

Dan shrugged. "Not necessarily, but it's just a difficult adjustment for the two of us."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. She let her eyes fall down, and she shrugged lightly. Maddy and Rhydian waited patiently for her to continue, and somehow they both knew that this had now become the time for everyone to be honest. "It's a strange thing, as parents, to have to come to terms with. Especially as Wolfbloods. I know I may have been a little overly protective in the weeks we've been back, even when we lived here the last time, but it's just hard for me to accept Maddy growing up, and becoming so attached to someone who isn't me or Dan. I've been trying to back off a little, but…it's really tough, Maddy."

Smiling sympathetically, Maddy reached over the table and took a hold of her mum's hand. Emma's eyes came up to meet hers, and she smiled very slightly too.

"Mam," Maddy started, "I know it's hard for ya – both of you – but you have to understand that you make it harder for us when you get protective about all of it. It makes me want to draw away from you, not come closer."

Emma exhaled through her nose. "I know. I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence before Maddy leaned back in to her chair again, letting go of her mother's hand, and then she spoke.

"So…what shall we do? Where do you want us to be?" Maddy asked.

"I'm not trying to force myself on you," Rhydian added, just to be safe.

"…But we're a package deal now."

Smiling sadly, both Emma and Dan nodded.

"We want you to stay with us," Dan said. "We don't feel ready for you to move out yet, Maddy." He chuckled.

"But if you want to, that's fine," Emma added, "we'll understand."

Maddy and Rhydian were shocked to hear this; especially coming from both of her parents. They'd been expecting a massive uproar; hence Maddy's slight frostiness at the beginning of the conversation.

But now, Emma and Dan were smiling softly at Rhydian and Maddy across the table, and it made Rhydian feel weirdly at ease for the first time in weeks.

Maddy squeezed Rhydian's hand, and then she spoke. "We need a bigger bed," she said bluntly.

"But you're sleeping in separate rooms—" Emma started, but Maddy cut her off.

"What's the point? We slept in the same bed in Canada and we did for a week after Rhydian was injured. We might as well just buy a double bed; it'll be so much more comfortable for us."

Emma stared at Maddy, her expression reluctant. She chewed her lips as her forehead wrinkled, and then she turned to Dan who just shrugged, as though he knew there was no point in protesting.

"Okay," Dan said. "Okay, we can get you a bigger bed."

Maddy grinned. "Thanks."

"But," Emma said hastily. Maddy and Rhydian looked over to her. "You need to try and ease us in to this. It hit us all of a sudden; when we came back, seeing you so…you know…close. It was different than in Canada."

"That's fair enough," Rhydian reasoned, "we understand that."

"We'll try." Maddy agreed, and she felt Rhydian squeeze her hand.

"Jana," Maddy started as they sat in a booth at the Kafe. Maddy, Shannon and Jana were out for coffee together one Saturday morning after Maddy's parents had left to go and visit some friends for the weekend.

"Mm?" Jana mumbled in response, her mouth full of chocolate milkshake.

"Thank you. For looking after Rhydian while I was away. And you, of course, Shan. I don't think he could've done it without you."

Both Jana and Shannon smiled across at Maddy, and she grinned in response.

"No problem," Shannon replied.

"Yeah. To tell you the truth, it was nice being back here. And thank you for bringing Rhydian back. It wasn't the same without you when I returned, let alone without Rhydian as well." Jana added.

Maddy smiled. "I missed it here too much to stay away."

Jana and Shannon shared a smile. "We knew you would." Shannon grinned, and all three of them laughed.

It was so nice for Maddy to feel normal again. For her to be hanging out with her best friends, knowing she was going back to an alive and well Rhydian who was waiting for her at home to spend the afternoon together. Finally, things felt like they were settling back to normal; back to the way things should be. No more life-threatening situations, no more having to leave town.

When Maddy returned home that afternoon, she had a huge smile on her face. As soon as she walked in the back door, Rhydian came running up behind her and grabbed her by the waist. It made Maddy jump slightly, and she stumbled back in to him. He was laughing, and soon Maddy was laughing, and she turned around in his arms so she could look at him.

"Hi," Maddy laughed, looking up in to his eyes.

Rhydian grinned down at her. "Hey."

"What was that big jumpy welcome for?"

He shrugged. "Just happy to see you," he said before taking her hand and leading her in to the kitchen. She sat up on the worktop and watched as he put the kettle on. "How was your coffee date with the girls?"

"Good," Maddy nodded. "How's your morning been?"

"It's been alright. Pretty dull. I drew something for you, though. It's in my sketchbook." Rhydian nodded his head in the direction of the table as he popped a teabag in to each mug.

Smiling, Maddy hopped off the worktop and headed for the black sketchbook that was sitting on the end of the kitchen table.

"What's the drawing of?" She asked curiously, flipping through the pages and briefly admiring each of his works as she went.

"Wait and see."

When Maddy finally found the most current drawing in the back of his book, she gasped very slightly and smiled to herself.

It was a drawing of the two of them as wolves, curled up together on the forest floor underneath a full moon. Rhydian was lying behind Maddy and had his face in the fur on her neck. Both of their eyes were closed, and the moon was reflecting beautifully off of their fur. The moon looked realistic; so realistic, it almost jumped off the page. It was beautiful – just how Maddy imagined them looking when sleeping as wolves – and it made her heart race in her chest. He was so talented. She loved him so much.

"I love it," she said, her voice almost a breath.

Behind her, Rhydian smiled as he added milk to the mugs of tea. "Good."

When Maddy was sure he'd finished making the drinks, she threw herself at him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's beautiful." She said, pushing the side of her face in to his back. Rising on to her tip toes, she managed to just get her face up to his neck and she left a small kiss on the back of it.

Rhydian turned to face her, a grin on his lips. "Really?"

"Yes," Maddy whispered, flicking her eyes from his left to his right eye. He was smiling softly down at her now, and he brought his hand up to brush some hair out of her face. Then he let his hand settle on her cheek.

"I'm glad you like it," he said huskily before leaning forward and pressing a small, soft kiss on her cheek.

"I don't like it. I love it."

He smiled, kissing the very corner of her lips this time. "I love you."

"I love you too."

And then, at the same time, they tilted forward that tiny amount and kissed each other square on the lips. It was just a short kiss, but when they pulled back, their faces stayed right up close.

"I'm going to frame it and hang it above our new bed." Maddy said, moving her head away after a few short moments.

"I like the sound of that."

Maddy smiled. Rhydian smiled.

And then, he changed the subject. "I'm glad you had a good coffee date," Rhydian said.

"Me too. It was nice to have some girly time."

"I bet," he said.

"So, speaking of dates…," Rhydian started, a small smile on his face as he reached out to take Maddy's hands. Maddy smiled up at him curiously. "Your parents are away for the first time since the morning after our first date…"

Maddy smiled wider, realisation dawning on her face. "Yeah. They are."

"…and I was wondering if you wanted to do another date. Like the first one, but better."

"I'd love to."

"We could go out, or we could just, you know...," he shrugged, looking down to the floor for a moment, "have a movie night, and I'll make you dinner, and then…" his tone was suggestive, and Maddy smiled.

"Well, that depends."

"On what?"

"What you're cooking for me."

Rhydian grinned, pulling on her hand so she was closer and he could wrap her in his arms. She sighed, closing her eyes in to his chest, and they both held each other tighter.

"Lasagna?" Maddy said a few minutes later.

Rhydian chuckled. "What?"

"Lasagna. That's what we could have to eat."

"We could," Rhydian drawled, "but I don't know how to cook lasagna, so..."

"Oh. Well…I've got nothing. Surprise me."

Grinning, Rhydian nodded and kissed her cheek; softly, slowly. "Okay. Tomorrow night, yeah?"

Maddy shook her head. "No," she let him go and brought her hands up to cup his cheeks. Her eyes were sparkling in a way he'd only seen once before, and it made him never want to look away. "I can't wait that long."

It took Rhydian a moment to recover from the way she was suddenly close, and her thumbs were smoothing his cheek bones, and he could hear her racing heart. But when he composed himself, he smiled mischievously. "In that case, we could just get takeaway and have a date, like...right now."

Maddy grinned. "That's better."

A few hours later after their takeaway, when they were just full enough but not too full, they started to load the dishwasher with their empty plates. And then Rhydian leaned in to kiss her, and soon he'd picked her up, their lips still together, and carried her up to her room.

Neither of them looked back.

The next morning, Maddy awoke at around 4am to a peacefully sleeping Rhydian beside her. Deciding she really wasn't ready to get up or leave the comfort of Rhydian's embrace, she shuffled forward and wrapped her arm over his stomach, curling around him and smiling at the way she fit just perfectly.

She fit her head right under his neck, nuzzling her face in to his shoulder, and for a moment he awoke enough to mumble contentedly and hold her tight against him.

And the next time Maddy woke up, Rhydian wasn't beside her. There was a dip in the bed where he'd been lying. Even though no one else was in the room, Maddy self-consciously pulled the duvet even further up around her skin as she let her eyes adjust to the tinted light of her bedroom.

After a moment, Maddy rolled on to her back. And then, all of a sudden, her nostrils filled with the smell of bacon and black pudding and everything she loved in a cooked breakfast, and her face lit up. Inhaling one last time, Maddy then stood up. She wrapped her dressing gown around her body before shuffling down the stairs, her hair an absolute mess and eyes puffy. She was pretty sure there was a mark on her neck that she hoped would fade by the time her parents went home. Why did it always have to be somewhere so obvious?

"Morning." Maddy yawned as she stepped down the final step in to the kitchen. Rhydian was standing at the cooker with a spatula in a pan of frying bacon.

He looked up from the pan when she came in and grinned at her. "Morning gorgeous."

Softly and sleepily, Maddy smiled as she leaned against the banister. "That smells amazing." She commented.

"It's taking a lot of restraint not to eat it right now before putting it on the table," he said, still smiling. "Sleep well?"

Maddy nodded. "Great thanks. You?"

"Same here."

A warm, contended feeling settled in to Maddy's stomach right then at the sight of Rhydian cooking happily and pottering around the kitchen. He begun setting the table a few moments later, and Maddy had never felt more at home in her life.

Rhydian was wearing sweatpants and nothing else, and his hair was messy and tousled, and there may or may not have been a mark somewhere on his neck too. The scar on his stomach was still pretty obvious, and Maddy had had to be careful last night, but the scar was fading and it was soon becoming something she barely noticed.

God, Maddy loved him. It was insane, the amount of love she had for that boy. His talent, his bravery, his courage, his past, his laugh, his humour…his everything.

"I love you." Maddy said randomly and softly, her face still sleepy.

Rhydian stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. "I love you too, Mads. Now come eat some breakfast. I'm starving."

Maddy smiled.

Rhydian smiled.

Everything was how it should be.

"A scar does not form on the dying. A scar means you survived."

A/N: (Saw the above quote on Tumblr and felt it related to this story!)

Fair warning: this is going to be a really long speech. Feel free to ignore this, because it's going to get far too sappy and emotional for what can only be described as a Fanfiction that came purely from my tears over Maddian and the fact Maddy wasn't going to come back. Prepare for dramatic speech in 3...2...1...

Today is exactly 6 months I published the first chapter of this story. Can you believe that?

I never expected so many people to read this story. I never expected so many people to like it, let alone read it, and I can't thank you all enough for favouriting, following, reviewing, and just sticking with me as I've written this even if you didn't do any of those thing.

Whenever you may be reading this, whether it's years from now or on the day I publish it, THANK YOU.

The amount of views this story has makes me so incredibly happy, and all your kind words and encouragement about this story along the way has added some sunshine in to a pretty hard time in my life, so thank you all so much for that.

I truly don't want this story to end! I've loved every single second of it, and I really feel like this story is my baby now (think I'm maybe in too deep?), and it's the end of an era (if I want to get really dramatic). It's been sososo much fun.

But I'm kind of happy at the same time because as you know, I'm going to be continuing in the Ancient Grudge world I've created in a series of one-shots and drabbles set after this chapter. There'll be no running plot line (that I know of) and it'll be pure fluff and Maddian and friendship. I'm so excited for it!

So, the bottom line is, thank you thank you THANK YOU. For making this story 10000x better than it would have been without all of you. Thank you to all the regular reviewers whom I could always count on; you know who you are (I was going to shout you out but didn't want to miss anyone)! Thank you to the reviewers who would pop up now and again; I love you. And just thank you to everyone reading, even if you never reviewed once; I love you guys too! You've all made me so happy and just…AH, I can't. *group hugs all around*

Thanks for crying over Maddian and just Wolfblood in general with me. I'm forever grateful.

I hope you'll all stick with me in whatever stories I write next, and I hope you enjoy anything I write in the future as much as you've enjoyed this.

So, there are about 80 people following this story. I appreciate not all of those people will be reading, but if you are one of those people and you've never reviewed before – please do! I'd love to hear your thoughts at the end of this story, and hopefully if every single one of those followers review (even with just a smiley face! (or a sad face if you didn't like it…)) this chapter will get more reviews than any put together! That would make me so happy, you guys.

Lots of love, and I'll see you all over at the new one-shot series once I get back from my 2 week break!

Okay, that was embarrassingly long. Sorry about that. I'm in a dramatic mood. :')

For the last time in TAG…

Love :* xxx