Hi! I've been wanting to post a Darkest Powers Fic for ages, I've just never got round to really starting it! I have a long list of characters for this story, which might get confusing, but I will soon have a chapter in which they all get named. I would say less than half of my own characters get named in this chapter, and only one plays a central part. If you do find you are getting confused though, please PM me and I will send you the descriptions of the characters and their various relationships with other characters.

Chloe- 17

Derek- 19 (but only just)

Simon- 18

Tori- 18

Madi- 16

Anyway, please read and review!

October the 5th

"You can't be serious?"

The heightening excitement in Madison Scott's voice made Chloe Saunders wonder whether she had done the right thing telling her best friend, Derek's half-sister, Simon's girlfriend and genetically modified vampire, first. She felt dizzy; the public toilet's mirror and her dirty reflection kept spinning in front of her eyes and black spots were appearing in her vision.

Madi squealed. "Oh my God! You are!"

Chloe frowned at the raven-haired girl. "Madi, this isn't exactly good news. I'm only seventeen!" She felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat as the truth really hit her for the first time since she really found out a week ago. I am pregnant.

She didn't realise that she had been falling to the floor until Madi had her in her arms, helping her stay steady. "Calm down," she told her. "Derek is not going to go berserk, you still have plenty of options on what to do, your life isn't over, you're going to be fine."

Chloe managed to regain control of her breathing again, inhaling deeply through her nose and attempting to relax her body. Madi passed her the coke she had brought earlier which she had been slowly sipping away at over the course of the morning. She drank heavily, enjoying the taste before finally feeling ready to leave the bathroom.

She was definitely feeling a lot better than before; she had dragged Madi off to the most deserted bathroom in the shopping mall to tell her the news (far away from both Derek and Aunt Lauren) and yet had almost thrown up before actually getting the words out. The pair walked out, arms linked and behaving as if nothing was wrong, just in case anybody from the safe house on the trip was looking for them.

"I'm more worried about Lauren," continued Chloe, as they walked at a leisurely pace. "Imagine how that conversation would go."

They both shuddered at the thought. "Yeah. She's going to flip," Madi said, a little glumly.

"I'm not too worried about anyone else. Derek's probably going to go insanely happy. He's basically been craving pups ever since we mated-"

Madi made a face. "Girl, didn't want to know."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up. Anyway, I know that pups this early was probably not the ideal, but frankly, I don't think he minds, as long as I'm happy."

"He's so in love with you."

"You don't think I know that? I'm his mate."

"Doesn't mean it isn't any less adorable."

"Fair point. Anyway, I just don't know how to let Lauren know about it. You know how bloody patronising she can be, especially when it's me."

Madi nodded. Everyone at the safe house had been talked to by Lauren as if they were children under the age of ten, not teenagers, going on adults. It was the worst for Chloe, her niece, probably because she still felt mostly responsible for the blonde necromancer. Seventeen, and she would be well into her eighteenth year by the end of the nine months, Madi thought that there would have to be some line that Lauren couldn't cross into Chloe's personal life. The fact that Chloe had survived on the run, had managed to maintain a stable relationship with Derek (and there was no signs of that stability ever wavering) was evidence that she had matured into a strong young woman.

"You don't regret the baby, do you?" Madi asked her, gently.

"No," was her reply. "I love it already. I just hope Lauren does too."

PAGE BREAK

They approached the rendezvous, one of the slightly smaller restaurants at the centre of the mall, a Chinese Buffet. Food was already on the table and several of the teenagers were already digging in. Chloe spotted Derek at the far end, his face concentrated on the noodles and chicken in front of him. She smiled softly at the sight.

Just as she was about to walk over to him, though, Madi tapped her shoulder.

"Tell him soon, won't you?"

"I will."

Chloe watched Derek's face light up when he finally realised that she was back. He smiled at her, the one that made her stomach flip and forced her to smile back. She walked over, kissed his cheek before tucking into the food that the adults had bought her. He played with her hair, which had grown a lot since they had first met and had been dyed a light brown just in case anyone was still looking for her. She hadn't grown in height, but her face had matured over the last year, losing its roundness and her body had become more curvaceous, although was not over the top for her petite figure. Overall, she was quite pleased with how she had developed, but it still hadn't stopped Lauren from babying her ever since they had rescued her.

Worse still, most of the teenage supernaturals living at the safe house also got babied by her. It had taken a while for Chloe herself to get accepted by the others as many of them had thought that she was similar to her aunt. It had been a good few weeks before they realised that she was not at all like the doctor.

And now this happened.

It wasn't a bad thing really. She knew Derek would be overjoyed when she told him, but she knew that it would take a lot longer to persuade the adults it was a good thing. Even Kit might have his reservations, she thought, knowing that should anything bad happen anytime soon, Chloe would be putting them all at risk.

It wasn't as if she would be the only pregnant one; Alexandra was heavily pregnant with her partner's baby. Tom was a shaman, whilst Alexa was a clairvoyant and they were perfectly happy and accepted by the supernaturals.

Then again, Alexa wasn't seventeen.

"You okay?" came Derek's mumble. He had already finished his first helping and was digging into more food. The benefits of the all-you-can-eat buffet was that he would never go hungry, nor would be too expensive for Noah and Aislin, the owners of the safe house and friends to Kit. He had a worried expression of his face, as if he could sense her internal conflict.

She couldn't exactly lie to him, although she wasn't intending to tell him now. Nearly all of the teens from the safe house were sitting around the table and all of them were nosy parkers. He would have to wait until they returned to the sanctity of their room before she could say anything. "I'll tell you later," she muttered back, giving him a smile so he wouldn't get too worried. "It will be better that way."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and they both returned to their food, Chloe hooking herself into a conversation with Simon and Madi.

- Leora Andie Lacertae Phthalo