So this story takes place almost right after the end of The Reckoning and is just supposed to be what I believe is called "fluff" for Derek and Chloe. (And is oddly enough told out of Kit's point of view.) This is my first fanfic and it took me a while to finally upload it because I was insecure about it, but I have read my fair share of crappy fanfics that got good reviews so that makes me feel a tad bit better. Even though this is my first story don't let that stop you from criticizing if you find a problem. Constructive criticism is always welcome and I won't feel bad hearing your opinion since everyone is entitled to one. This is just meant to be a one-shot and won't be extended.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. All rights to Kelley Armstrong.

I walked into the room I shared with my sons and found Derek, pacing from wall to wall. He was rubbing his arms furiously and mumbling to himself. He had dark circles underneath his eyes and looked as if he hadn't slept in a days. I had been noticing this kind of behavior for the two days since we escaped from the Edison Group. Truth be told, this really had me worried. Even though he is normally on his toes in case something was to happen, Derek hasn't ever been this high strung. It just goes to show that the Edison Group ordeal had had more of an effect on him than I had originally anticipated.

"Derek?" I said.

He jumped as if he didn't hear me come in, which worried me as much as his current pacing did.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just tired, that's all," he mumbled, his sentences clipped.

I wasn't buying it. He was probably on edge considering how much he's been through in the past couple of months, and living in a cramped motel room in a big city was certainly not helping matters. His senses were probably overloaded.

"Derek, do we need to talk?"

"No," he said gruffly.

I sighed and shut the door to the room. I sat on one of the two beds and waved Derek over to the other. At first, he didn't comply, just kept glancing towards the door connecting our room to the one Chloe, Tori, and Lauren shared. Simon was in there with them, talking. When he was absolutely certain that the room wasn't going to explode or whatever natural occurrence he thought was going to rip the door off its hinges, he sat down.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked.

He nodded and muttered a half-hearted "of course," under his breath.

I sighed and sat closer on the edge of the bed, leaning in and lowering my voice. "Derek," I said gently, "I don't expect you to be alright after everything that has happened, and I won't hold it against you if you aren't."

He said a little more convincingly that he was doing fine, but wouldn't quite meet my gaze while doing so. I sighed and tried again.

"You look tired," I tried. When he mumbled that it was nothing I quit beating around the bush. "When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?" I asked bluntly.

"Last night."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I had never actually seen him go to bed- I went to sleep before he did and he was up and about before me the next morning- but I was fairly certain he had never fallen asleep.

He sensed my discomfort and sighed. His shoulders were slumped and his head was drooping- it was obvious he was exhausted- but every now and then, he would keep sending nervous glances towards the door connecting the rooms. His defenses were failing and he knew it.

"The first night we were with Andrew," he said, heaving a sigh.

"What?"

"That was the last time I had gotten a full night's sleep. The first night we arrived at Andrew's "safe house," a week ago."

I gaped at him. "Derek!"

"I still get sleep whenever we are driving between motels- I slept the whole way to Pennsylvania," he said, as if that fact would help his case.

"Derek, that's not healthy! Why-" I stopped and took a deep breath and then started over. "You do know that we will be safe, if not for a little while, considering how far this set the Edison Group back, don't you? Nothing bad will happen to you again."

When he didn't answer, I got an idea as to what might be troubling him. I almost hit myself for being so stupid. He wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about us. He tried to keep himself awake so that, should the Edison Group show up (which I knew in the back of my mind would eventually happen), he would be poised and ready for action. When I relayed this to him, however, he muttered that it was something like that.

"I know I shouldn't be worried, but I still am," he said. "Normally I can get to sleep because I know that if there was any kind of danger, I'd be in the room with you, and you and Simon can protect yourselves."

Of course that was his logical side talking. He did his damnedest to keep us safe, but subconsciously knew that we could protect ourselves if he were gone- or sleeping for that matter. What kept him awake was the need to protect the ones he didn't think could protect themselves. Tori could, of course. She was a stronger spell caster than I was. Lauren was probably the weakest out of all of us, but, with the way she treated Derek, I highly doubted that it was her safety that had him so concerned.

"You're worried about Chloe." I said. It didn't come out as a question because there was no question about it.

He nodded his head. He told me how it was hard to hear her at night over the rest of us and the sounds of the city. He said that she didn't have defensive powers and was the smallest out of everyone and that he needed a way to make sure she was safe. I hardly listened as he spoke. His words sent my mind reeling. He cared about someone other than me or Simon. As great as that was, it meant that a topic I didn't think I'd have to broach for a few more years had suddenly decided to rear its ugly head.

"Derek," I said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I'm going to ask you something and you have to be honest with me. I can't help you if you aren't."

He inclined his head for me to continue.

"Do you remember the talk we had when you were twelve? The one about wolf instincts and mates?"

Derek's eyes widened. "Okay, dad, I know where you're going with this-"

"The Edison Group tried fixing certain instincts and I don't know if-"

"No, dad, you have to listen-"

"I want to help you Derek."

He sighed. "I know that, but-,"

"Derek," I said. "Is Chloe your mate?

He sighed and looked at the ground, rubbing perspiration off the back of his neck. "God, dad, you watch too many movies." I gave him a curious look and he went on. "I didn't have that "love at first sight," crap where I automatically knew she was the one the minute I saw her." He chuckled, softly and humorlessly, then finally looked me in the eye the first time this entire conversation. "You're right, I like her. I like her a lot, but I have known her for a grand total of four weeks, and I couldn't stand her for two of them! I don't love her yet."

I considered his words and nodded. "But mate or not she is still part of your pack now, correct?"

He nodded glanced down at his hands with a slumped posture. He looked even more tired than ever.

I formulated a plan for his predicament. We needed to find a way to keep Derek calm enough to sleep through the night. When I told him this he begged me to tell him what my plan was, in case it was something he thought would accidentally scare Chloe off. I reassured him that I wouldn't let that happen and told him he could listen through the door if he wanted. He agreed, begrudgingly, and sent me on my way.

-Time Gap-

I walked through the door connecting us to the girl's room. All three girls and Simon were clustered over on one of the beds- Lauren trying to break up a fight between him and Tori. Simon waved when he saw me and Lauren glared at me, a cold, pointed look that said "get over here and fix this!"

"How about we grab some pizza for dinner," I said. "It would be nice for the three of you to the out of the motel for a while."

"Three?" Tori asked.

I looked over at Chloe, who was quietly fiddling with a thread on the sleeve of her shirt.

"I'm sorry Chloe, but we can't risk anyone recognizing you. Trust me, if there was a way to fix this I would."

"It's fine. I understand," she said. Although I could tell by her tone that it wasn't as okay as she said it was.

"Lauren, would you mind taking Tori and Simon downtown while I stay with Chloe and Derek?"

I could tell by the way Lauren stiffened that she didn't want Derek and Chloe being left behind together, but seeing as I was also staying behind, she couldn't find a way to say no without making herself out to be the bad guy. She nodded, grabbed the keys, and walked Simon and Tori to the car.

The room was uncomfortably quiet. When the sound of the car engine faded away, I turned towards Chloe and asked if I could sit. She nodded and scooted over to make room- even though there had been enough to begin with.

I sat down as the silence enveloped us once more. Before I could get a word out, she opened her mouth and blurted, "Is Derek alright?"

I raised an eyebrow at her, a slight smile creeping onto my face.

She blushed and said, "I-it's just that h-he seemed out of it today and he looks sick-," her eyes bugged and she rushed on, "n-not in a bad way just, like he doesn't feel well."

I let out a soft chuckle and nodded. "No, actually, Derek is having some problems," I said. "He hasn't been sleeping." She gave me a questioning look but I continued anyway. "He has been having problems with the whole Edison Group thing and, really, I don't blame him. You and him and everyone really have had an exhausting last couple of weeks. He's told me a lot about it." I looked at her to see if she understood. She nodded.

My voice softened. "He told me about Lyle House and the "transfers" they conducted. He's told me about the two werewolves that cornered the two of you in a park, about the cemetery summoning, and about the poltergeist at Dr. Banks' house."

Chloe gave a humorless laugh. "It seems that I'm always the one in trouble."

"Yes, it does," I said, smiling. She smiled too, the tension beginning to ebb. "It also seems to be putting Derek more on edge than usual."

That was the important part. I needed her to know that Derek was really struggling with having a new friend to watch out for- without the part where he said she couldn't defend herself. The last thing Derek needed was her to be mad at him.

"Derek thinks I'll get myself into trouble he can't save me from," she said.

I nodded. "You see, the thing is, Derek used to have these episodes all the time. When he was younger and had first started to accept me as his father, he would knock on my door in the middle of the night and ask to sleep in my room because he needed to make sure I was okay. Then he'd have to go back and bring Simon with him so he could watch over both of us. When his senses started to kick in, he could hear us breathing from all different parts of the house and didn't need to come into my room anymore… You are the first person Derek has let in since then and, with the Edison Group now an even bigger threat, he is much more afraid something bad will happen to you. To all of us."

Chloe nodded, understanding. Then she frowned. "Can he not hear me breathing when I'm asleep?" She asked.

I shook my head. "We're living in a big city with so many sounds and smells that Derek has trouble sorting through. Plus, you're a lot smaller, so he can't hear you as clearly over the rest of us. He doesn't have the same reassurance that you're okay." As I explained I purposefully left out the minor detail that Derek thought she had weaker powers. Obviously that wasn't the case if she could summon up the restless souls of those inhabiting an entire cemetery, but that wasn't something she could easily defend herself with and that was all that mattered to Derek.

I continued on with my plan. "I was thinking that we could trick him into thinking you were close by at night."

Her frown deepened. "How?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, only now doubting my plan. I really hoped she would do this for Derek without thinking it a little too weird. He really needed this.

"I was wondering if maybe we could take an item of yours that held your scent and keep it our room at night. Maybe trick his brain into relaxing and thinking you're safe with him."

I hadn't realized the weight of those last two words until after they had left my mouth, and was completely mortified when they did. Chloe, thankfully, seemed to focus more on the weight of the situation rather than the words, and walked over to the nightstand. She picked up a small sweatshirt and held it out to me. "Would this work?" she asked.

I smiled and grabbed it from her. "This would be perfect."

I wasn't sure of how to leave it so we sat in an uncomfortable silence again, Chloe swaying and shifting her weight from foot to foot. A minute later, the lock on the door turned and Simon stepped in with four pizzas. I put the sweatshirt down and Chloe and I went to help him. Lauren and Tori came in and helped and when Simon's load was lifted, I grabbed the shirt, set it in my room, and went with Derek back to the girls' room.

During dinner Derek never said a word. Chloe waited until he had sat down before taking her seat next to him on the bed. He stiffened and looked at me but I pretended not to notice. Halfway through dinner, when Simon was diffusing the awkward tension with an overly long speech about basketball, I glanced at Derek and Chloe. Derek was sneaking glances at Chloe out of the corner of her eye. She noticed and turned to him. The bridge of his nose turned a light pink and he turned his head away quickly.

I stared at the back of Chloe's head as she kept looking at Derek. Please, please do this for him.

I was about to interject something- anything- to help divert her attention. However, before the words could leave my lips, Chloe laced her fingers with his. For a moment, Derek just stared at their entwined hands, then at her. She gave him a small smile and he relaxed- as much as he could without falling asleep right there. I let out a breath I hadn't known I had been holding. She looked at me and I mouthed a 'thank you,' to her.

After dinner, Derek resumed his pacing in our room. Simon had crashed on one of the beds and the girls were asleep in their room. I grabbed Chloe's sweatshirt from the desk and tossed it at Derek. He was so caught up in pacing that he hadn't noticed the flying sweatshirt until after it had hit him in the face. He let it fall into his hands and held it for a minute, then neatly folded it and placed it on his nightstand.

"Does that carry her scent?" I asked.

He nodded. "Do you really think this will work?"

"I hope so," I said. "If it doesn't then you'll have to sleep on the floor and we'll have to move Chloe into your bed."

He scowled at me and the tips of his ears turned red.

I looked at the shirt again. "That is the itchiest thing I've ever felt. And why does she have a sweatshirt from the boys department?"

Derek didn't meet my gaze but couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Goodnight dad," he said.

"Goodnight," I said climbing into bed. God I hope this works.

-Time Gap-

The next morning I woke up, and for the first time since the Edison Group escapade, I woke up before Derek. He was curled up in his bed fast asleep, his back to me. I smiled and started getting ready. Simon was already up and about, most likely at breakfast with the girls. Which was odd. Simon was never up this early. I checked the time on the bedside clock.

10:35

Had it really been that long?

A soft knock sounded on the connecting door. I told whoever was on the other side that it was okay to come in and the door creaked open. Chloe popped her head in through the gap.

"Um, Aunt Lauren said that she left her hairbrush in here," she said.

I waved her in and helped her look for it. I found it by the sink and handed it to her. She thanked me and turned to leave, walking back to the door but stopping before she opened it. She turned around to face me. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again, her eyebrows bent questioningly and a slight blush creeping onto her face.

"Chloe?" I said.

"Hm," she said, turning to me. "Oh, no, uh, thanks for helping me look for the hairbrush."

"You're quite welcome."

She nodded, a small smile on her face. She opened the door and said, "It's good to see Derek was able to get some sleep."

She closed the door behind her and I looked at Derek to see what she meant. Derek had, at some point in the night, pulled the sweatshirt off the nightstand and had curled up with it. I let out a silent laugh and continued getting ready.

I guess there were some instincts you just couldn't fix.