The odd group of supernaturals sat around the large kitchen table eating a big meal of spaghetti, tossed salad and freshly baked buns. Derek, Chloe, Simon, Andrew and Tori were actually having a fairly pleasant time. It was their first complete day at the old Victorian safe house and there had been surprisingly little bickering. Perhaps because there was hot food, hot showers and comfortable beds. And Derek and Tori were avoiding each other like the plague, so there was that, too. Although Chloe was enjoying the jovial atmosphere, her stomach felt a little off all day and she had been even more quiet than usual. Derek was the only one who seemed to notice her withdrawn mood and kept shooting glances at her as she twirled her fork on her half full plate. Maybe she was coming down with something – what with sleeping in alleyways, running through the woods and being crawled on by corpses.

And, with that delicious thought, she looked down at her food and pushed her plate away, which earned her another concerned look from Derek. Chloe smiled and indicated that her stomach was off. His brows furrowed and he gazed at her for a little while longer before nodding and reaching for her plate and dumping her leftovers onto his. Chloe giggled and sipped her water.

"Geez, wolfboy, you're eating everyone's scraps now?" Tori exclaimed, evidently noticing the exchange.

Derek grunted and continued to eat.

Andrew glanced up from his food, his face darkening as he sized Derek up. This was not the boy he knew and he didn't know if he should trust the large, genetically modified werewolf that had taken the boy's place. That infuriated Chloe. After all Derek had done – gotten them out of Lyle house, kept them safe – Andrew was looking at him like every other adult did – with mistrust. She felt like scowling at the man. Wait, was she scowling? What was wrong with her?

"Did they feed you enough at Lyle house, Derek?" Andrew asked, reaching for his glass of water.

"Well enough." Simon answered for his brother. "We had to sneak down for snacks, but he didn't starve."

Simon seemed nervous about this line of questioning and Chloe felt anxiety join the weird feeling in her stomach.

"Did they treat you differently, Derek? I mean, I heard about what happened with that boy…"

Chloe, Derek and Simon froze. Seriously? He was bringing this up now? Tact, anyone? Chloe's eyes stayed on Derek's half hidden face and noticed his jaw working. She felt awful for him.

"What? What happened? What boy?" Tori demanded, glancing between the three of them.

Simon cleared his throat. "Some dumb rednecks were holding me at knifepoint and Derek fought them."

"And?" Tori asked, slamming down her fork. "I'm not stupid. What aren't you telling me?"

"One of those guys was seriously hurt…"

"When Derek hauled him off Simon. He had a knife held to Simon's throat, we did mention that, right?" Chloe interrupted, staring at Andrew. What the heck was his problem?

"The guy broke his back." Simon conceded, sighing.

Chloe winced as she saw Tori's eyes widen.

"You broke some guy's BACK?! Why didn't they have you locked up?"

"Tori!" Chloe barked, her chair screeching back as she stood. "Shut it. May I remind you that you, you little budding sociopath you, knocked me out with a brick, bound and gagged me and left me in a crawlspace with a couple of friendly corpses. So. Just. Shut. It."

The whole table was staring at her in shock. Chloe was not this girl. The argumentative one. But something inside of her could not let this one slide. How dare he make Derek feel like this? Sure, Derek wasn't Mr. Sunshine and she herself annoyed the heck out of him, but this was cruel. She knew he felt awful about what had happened and Chloe turned back to Andrew.

"And what about you? What if you had seen the same thing? Someone with a knife held to Simon's throat? And one hastily said knock back spell sent the guy flying back into a pole, breaking his back. How would you feel if we sat here judging you? Thinking that you were a monster because you protected a loved one? Your insinuations are cruel and uncalled for. I know that, and I'm the fifteen year old. You're supposed to be the adult!" She said. She did not yell or shout, she said it coldly and evenly, her eyes never wavering from the stunned man in front of her. "I trust Derek with my life. I do not trust you. You need help getting into the Edison facility? Get your head out of your ass or we're gone."

When finished her tirade, she looked around the table. Derek's expression was unreadable as usual, Tori looked strangely impressed, Andrew looked appropriately chastised and Simon had a big grin on his face. Chloe stood for a second and then left the kitchen and made her way upstairs. Had she really just done that? She was struck with a feeling of unreality as she walked down the upstairs hall and into the bathroom. It was there that she discovered the reason for her strange mood and she laughed. How long had it been since she had finished her first one? Two weeks? Almost three? It hadn't lasted very long, only two or three days, but she remembered her aunt mentioning something about how it sometimes took a while for the body to discover its rhythm.

Her aunt Lauren. Thinking of her made a sharp pain bloom in Chloe's chest, making it hard for her to breathe. No! She told herself, None of that now. I don't have it in me to think of that now.

Chloe searched under the sink, silently praying that she would find an extra pad and that she would not have to go downstairs to the man she had just told off and ask him to take her to the store. With a sigh of relief, she found a half empty box of tampons. After reading the instructions (Who were they fooling? That diagram didn't help anybody), she did as she was told, flushed and washed her hands. Looking into the mirror over the sink, she sighed again. The dark hair dye had almost all washed out, turning her hair a dirty blonde that suited her. She looked incredibly pale, though, probably because she had been feeling under the weather today. She splashed cold water onto her face and patted her wet skin with a towel until her face was flush with some colour. Maybe she should ask Tori if she had any lip-gloss. Then again, after visualizing Tori's reaction, maybe not.

Chloe left the washroom and entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. And promptly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see Derek sitting on her bed.

"Don't flip out, it's just me." Derek said, his eyebrow cocked. He looked incredibly amused.

"Ha, ha." Chloe answered sarcastically; but she couldn't help but give him a genuine smile.

"What, no yelling?"

"No, I think I got it all out." She replied, sitting down next to him. "No, wait…DARN! Okay, now I'm done."

He laughed and Chloe watched his face. He looked good when he smiled.

"I'm very impressed. You almost, kind of cursed."

"I did curse! I said ass! Out loud!" She replied.

Derek laughed and they were silent for a moment.

"Andrew apologized. He said you were right." He said, looking down at the hardwood floor.

"Good." Chloe replied. "You deserved an apology. What you don't deserve is the way some people automatically treat you."

Derek turned toward her and opened his mouth to say something, but froze and sniffed the air. He put a large hand on her shoulder.

"You're bleeding." He said, concern filling his face as his eyes searched her body for the source. Chloe blushed as he breathed in again. His face immediately reddened and he dropped his hand from her shoulder when he finally figured out what it was.

Chloe watched his mouth working, trying to figure out what to say. She had never seen Derek at a loss for words before and she forgot her embarrassment and laughed.

"Now you know why I've been so cranky." She joked, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Sorry…" He mumbled, his face still burning.

"No worries. It's actually nice to see someone else blushing for a change." She replied, "Besides, you turn such a lovely shade of tomato red."

"Yeah…thanks." Derek smiled, finally turning his piercing green eyes onto hers and she felt that now-familiar funny feeling in her chest.

For once, she didn't look away and he lifted his hand and ran his fingers along her cheek. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his touch. His fingers were rough, calloused, but his touch was so gentle she hardly felt it. Chloe sucked in a shaky breath as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. She opened her eyes and looked at his face. His eyes were fixed on her mouth and were filled with such longing that it made her ache.

"Chloe! Hey Chloe?" Simon called from downstairs.

Chloe felt annoyed at the interruption. Derek shut his eyes tightly and she watched as his jaw worked. He dropped his hand and she missed the warmth.

"I'll tell Simon you're in here…" He said as he got up from the bed and strode to the door. He stopped before he opened it, his fingers flexing. "And thanks…for what you said."

Derek opened the door and disappeared down the hall, leaving Chloe sitting on the bed, confused and a little sad. What had just happened or even what she wanted, she didn't know. But whatever it was, it left with Derek.

*~*

The day was sunny and cloudless and Chloe was lying on the grass looking up at the beautiful azure sky. She had come to visit her mom and she was lying down on her grave and taking to her. Filling her mother in on what was happening in her life. She felt so calm and relaxed here with her mother, like she didn't have a care in the world.

"I think I'm in love with him, mom." Chloe said, dreamily. "And I think he feels the same way."

She ran her hand along the grass beside her and she heard him, off in the distance, coming to find her and she flushed with happiness.

"Chloe!" He shouted; he sounded panicked.

Chloe looked back up to the sky; it was quickly changing. Dark storm clouds were rolling in and the calm blue had changed to an angry purple.

"Chloe! Damn it, where are you!?" He was screaming now.

"Mom…" Chloe said, her brows furrowing. "I think I'm in danger…"

Before Chloe could get up, her mother's rotting skeletal hand exploded from the earth beside her and the fingers clamped down on her bare neck…

And Chloe sat up in bed, a scream dying in her throat. She was sweating and shaking and it took her a few minutes to calm down and stop panting. It wasn't real, it was just a dream. She kept chanting that against her rising panic. Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…

Sleep was not going to happen again tonight. There were too many thoughts bouncing around in her restless mind and she couldn't calm down enough to really rest. She got up from the comfortable bed and stretched. She had on a crisp, white nightshirt that reached a little above her mid-thigh and she nearly laughed. She had never dared wear something so short before. That said, she had never been a fugitive before, either. She was quite the little rebel now. She snorted. Yeah, right. She glanced at the clock as it changed from 2:53 to 2:54.

Chloe needed some air. There was no way she was going back to sleep. Not after that dream. She opened her bedroom door and crept out into the dark hallway. Derek's room was at the end of the hall and she fought the urge to go and talk to him. She knew he wouldn't mind, but it was late and he needed his sleep. So, Chloe turned and crept down the stairs and through the dark kitchen, running into a counter top and a chair before she got to the back door. She unlocked the backdoor and opened it, and she froze as it creaked loudly. She listened for movement from upstairs – she heard none and stepped out.

It was cold.

Chloe shivered and hopped back inside, grabbing a hoodie that was abandoned on the back of a kitchen chair. She slipped it over her head and she immediately realized it was Derrick's – the hem hung below her knees. Pulling the sleeves up to free her hands, she went out again and shut the door. She skipped down the ice-cold steps in her bare feet and walked along the large veranda to the cushioned porch swing. She sat down, her feet not touching the ground, and looked out at the backyard. And by backyard she meant forest – thick, isolated and full of dead little forest creatures just waiting for her to go to sleep and return all their souls to their rotted little bodies. She whimpered at the thought and a tear ran down her cheek. And with that, the gates opened and she wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. She didn't want to be this girl – the one who cried over her lot in life. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be able to control her powers and not accidentally raise a graveyard full of the dead when she tried to summon a spirit.

The backdoor opened and she jumped, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Derek walked up to the swing and stood in front of her. He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a black tank top. Chloe was afraid that if she made eye contact with him she would burst into tears again and she really didn't want to do that in front of him. She didn't want to be the damsel in distress. She wanted to show him that she was strong and she couldn't do that when she felt so weak.

Derek cleared his throat.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

Something in his voice made her look up. He looked uncomfortable – like he didn't know what to do – but his bright eyes shone with concern. He was flushed and feverish and Chloe jumped off the swing.

"Are you okay?" She asked, automatically reaching up to feel his forehead. "Do you need to…"

He was hot – too hot; then again, her hands were freezing. Derek caught her wrist and took her hand away from his forehead. Derek looked down at her body and a small smile played on his lips when he saw that she was wearing his sweater.

"No…" He said absently, his concerned eyes returning to her face. "Not yet."

"Oh." Chloe replied oh-so-eloquently, cocking her head. He seemed to be struggling for words. "Sorry, did you want your sweater back?"

"Why were you crying?" He asked, his words soft and deep, ignoring her.

Derek raised his hand and Chloe had the impression he wanted to touch her cheek again, but a dark look passed through his eyes shining eyes and he dropped his arm and clenched his fist.

"I-I w-wasn't…" She started to lie.

Oh, for God's sake. She had her own built in lie detector! She threw her hands up in the air and dropped back into the cushioned swing.

"I know, I know. I'm a terrible liar." Chloe sighed.

"Did you want me to go get Simon? He's better at…"

"I'm…so scared, Derek." She interrupted, pulling her legs up under her. She was honest; who else would tell her the unadulterated truth? "I'm scared for my aunt. I'm scared for us. But mostly, I'm scared because…"

Chloe tried to find words and Derek sat down beside her, waiting for her to continue.

"I…I met a demi-demon at the Edison facility. They're using her to power and protect their experiments." Chloe glanced at his face; worried that she'd see anger there for not telling him earlier, but there was no anger. He just furrowed his brow and listened. "S-she's been there a long time and she knew all about us. About me. She called me the 'prettiest little abomination' she had ever seen…"

She glanced up at him when she heard a low growl emanating from his throat.

"She tricked me into pulling her through by pretending to be Liz…and s-she…shhhh…"

Chloe felt his warm hand on hers, his thumb rubbing the spot between her thumb and forefinger.

"It's okay. Just take it slow." He said and she sucked in a breath, trying to calm down.

"S-she said that I just about raised a nearby graveyard full of the dead when I summoned her. And I wasn't even trying my hardest, Derek!" Chloe cried, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm terrified because I'm beginning to think that she's right…that I am a m-monster…"

"No, you're not." Derek said firmly as he shook his head.

"How can I not be a monster if what I do is monstrous?" She asked, looking him in his eyes. "Can you imagine how awful it must be to be thrown back into your rotting corpse? Talking to ghosts, fine. I can handle that. But forcing souls back into their dead bodies…is…h-horrifying. And I don't even know when I'm doing it!"

Chloe sobbed and clamped a hand over her mouth. So much for acting strong. Suddenly she sound herself enveloped in Derek's warm arms and she pressed her forehead to his chest.

"You are the farthest thing from a monster that I have ever seen, Chloe." He murmured; she could feel the vibrations through his chest wrapped her arms around his waist. "But I know how you feel. You have all this power…more than you can handle and nobody around you really understands what it's like…"

"You do." She said into his chest.

"Yeah, I do. But that doesn't make it any less frightening. It does add a little bit of comfort though, and that goes along way."

Chloe nodded, her face still buried. Derek was silent for a while and she relaxed in his arms. He was warm and comfortable and safe and she snuggled in closer, fighting the cold.

"I think I'm a monster." He said suddenly and Chloe whipped up her head

"You are not!" She stated, staring him right in the eye. "Don't you dare think that!"

"You see?" he said, putting his large hand against her cheek; she leaned in to his palm. "You think the absolute worst of yourself; so do I. It takes a friend to remind you that you're not. Chloe, you're smart and kind and you have more empathy than anyone I've ever met. The fact that you're worried that you're a monster, kind of proves you aren't one."

Chloe smiled and Derek wiped away a tear with his thumb.

"Thank you." She whispered, raising her hand and putting on his. "See? You knew exactly what I needed to hear."

Derek blushed and looked away, but Chloe held his hand to her cheek.

"Why do you always pass me off to Simon?" She asked bravely, before her nerve left her.

He looked very surprised by her question.

"I thought…you liked Simon." Derek replied, meeting her eyes again. "And because Dr. Gill's right. Girls like you don't go for guys like me."

"Derek, Dr. Gill is crazy. Like Clockwork-Orange-One-Flew-Over-The-Cuckoo's-Nest crazy. She doesn't know me and she most definitely doesn't know you." Chloe said.

Derek chuckled and guided her head down to rest in the crook of his neck.

"She definitely underestimated you." Derek murmured.

Chloe stayed cuddled into his arms for a while. He was arrogant, opinionated, bad-tempered and he made her feel safe and unquestionably happy. Because, apparently life wasn't confusing enough. She didn't want the perennially cheerful sorcerer. She wanted the brooding werewolf. And she decided to take action because she didn't think he ever would.

"Derek, would you do something for me?" Chloe asked softly, hesitantly.

He sighed.

"I'd do anything for you, Chloe." He murmured.

She raised her head and looked him in the eye. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could hear it.

"Please kiss me."

"Chloe…"He groaned as he lowered his mouth to hers.

Derek was gentle – as if he was afraid he would break her. He made a long low sound in his throat that sent an urging, aching feeling straight into Chloe's abdomen, making her clench her thighs together. He moved his lips slowly, hesitantly against hers, which was okay at first, but it left her wanting more of him. More what, she didn't really know. She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth and he responded by growling and pulling her onto his lap. Chloe giggled and threw her arms around his neck and Derek placed one shaking hand on her cold thighs while his other arm snaked around her back.

"I don't want to hurt you." He growled, his voice deep and husky.

"You'd never do that." Chloe said, laying her forehead on his. She wanted to touch his cheek, but his face was still healing from the fight he had had with the other werewolf. "I only want to kiss you, not battle you to the death."

Derek smiled. "You know what I mean."

"I know." She answered and she closed her eyes as he stoked her thigh with his thumb.

"I…can't believe…that you…want me." He whispered, staring at her almost in awe.

Chloe smiled and bravely ran her fingers over his lips.

"Well, you are incredibly grumpy, but I can live with that." She joked.

Derek's lips twisted in a smile and she kissed his mouth as his hand slid up her thigh, under the bunched hoodie and he sighed as he touched her warm skin there.

Suddenly Derek sucked in a breath and froze. His change had started and she hopped off of his lap and held out her hand to him.

"Come on. Let's find a spot." She said as he took her hand and stood up. He did not look happy and he swore under his breath.

"Of all the times this could have happened…" He muttered, leading her into the woods.

Chloe laughed, her bare feet slipping on the wet grass.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the opportunity will arise again." She said absently, keeping her balance. Oh. Did she say that out loud?

Chloe looked up and caught Derek giving her a sideways glance, his brow cocked. He looked…surprisingly contented. She blushed and shrugged. Well, it would. He started to laugh but doubled over in a sudden burst of pain instead. Chloe winced.

Derek found a small clearing near the house and, dropping her hand, he stripped off his shirt. Chloe looked away from his naked chest when she felt a stirring inside of her. Ogling Derek's muscled chest would not help him. He dropped to his knees and spread out his tank top for her to sit on. She knelt beside him as he leaned on all fours and stroked that spot between his shoulder blades. Pain wracked him and she steeled herself against it. It was hard to watch him in so much agony, but he needed her strong, so strong she would be.

Unfortunately, it took him a long, agonizing time for him to reach the point he had before – jaw elongated, ears pointed, coarse back hair covering most of his skin. She whispered comforting words to him and stroked his back. Chloe expected the transformation to stop there, but it didn't. His bones cracked and shifted and she thought she spied a light turn on back at the house. Someone awakened by his suffering howls?

"Chloe…" Derek said, his voice not quite human anymore. "Run…"

She knew what that meant – he thought he was going to complete his transformation and he wanted her to get out of harms way just in case. She got to her feet and stepped back. She couldn't leave him like this – trapped between two forms.

"No. I'm not leaving you now." She said, resolutely.

He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off.

"Derek, shut up and let this happen."

It was the first time he's listened to her without an argument, whether it was intentional or not. Chloe watched wide-eyed, as he completed his painful transformation. She watched until he was a giant black wolf lying, panting and exhausted, in front of her.

"D-Derek?" She asked softly, ready to bolt if something went wrong.

The wolf turned his eyes on her and she relaxed. They were his eyes, green and human. Chloe smiled. Those eyes looked incredibly pissed at her, but she'd dealt with his temper before. And he couldn't yell right now, so she walked over and knelt down in front of him.

"You did it!" She squealed. "Congratulations!"

Derek looked her straight in the eye and growled, just a little. She'd heard that before, too and she was too excited to let it bother her.

"Okay, so I didn't run." She grinned as she shrugged. "I didn't want to leave you. And you haven't eaten me yet, so there."

Derek snorted. Yeah, not yet, he seemed to say.

Chloe rolled his eyes.

"Go! Explore! This is you're very first night as a wolf. Go hunt some rabbits or do something wolfy. You can yell at me later. And we both know you will. But I won't even sass you, I promise."

This time he rolled his eyes and gave her another snort. Yeah, right.

Stretching, Derek stood up on new legs and deeply breathed in the intoxicating scents of the forest. He trotted around in a circle, looking out into the woods and sniffing the air, but he walked back to where she was sitting. He lowered his muzzle and sniffed her hair, her neck and Chloe giggled as he licked a ticklish spot behind her ear. He huffed a wolfy laugh and continued to snuffle her hair, his wet nose working back and forth. He worked his way down, and when he spent a little too much time sniffing her lower region, she flushed and pushed him back.

"Just because you can smell that, doesn't mean you should."

Derek huffed and lay down beside her, his tongue hanging out and his hot exhalations coming out as fog in the cold air. He cuddled up to her legs, making sure she was warm and lay his huge head down across her thighs. She absently stroked his head and ears and the exhausted werewolf closed his eyes and wined, enjoying her touch.

"Derek? Chloe?"

They both lifted their heads and looked toward the house. Simon was running through the backyard and into the woods to find them. He must have heard the howls.

"Over here, Simon!" Chloe called out, turning her attention to Derek. "Boy, is he gonna be surprised."

"Hey, guys! Everything alright out here?" He asked as he stepped out into the clearing.

Simon stopped in his tracks when he saw the big black wolf lying next to Chloe's small form.

"Whoa!" He cried as he spied the remains of Derek's ripped shorts. "Bro? Dude! You did it! You're a wolf! And you're still you! Told you dad was right."

Simon sauntered over and stopped in front of them. Derek gave him a big wolfy grin, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"So, you holding Chloe hostage, or what?" Simon asked reaching for her hand.

Derek growled and Chloe and Simon froze. It wasn't an 'I'm-going-to-eat-you-for-dinner' growl. It was a warning; a 'Back-up-off-my-woman' growl and while it dawned on Chloe why Derek reacted that way, Simon didn't really understand and reached for her again. And again he received a growl.

"What's up, bro?" Simon asked, confused.

"Aw, I think he wants to keep me warm." Chloe explained. It wasn't a lie, per say. She was warm. It sounded better than 'I'm his, don't touch me'.

Derek huffed and laid his head back down across her thighs. Simon understood then; Chloe could see the realization as it dawned across his handsome face and her stomach clenched in anxiety. Simon smiled wistfully to himself and nodded. He looked at Chloe.

"You okay out here?" She said softly, somewhat sadly.

Chloe nodded, giving him a relieved smile.

"Do you need a blanket or anything?"

"No, thank you. I kind of have one already." Chloe replied, looking down at Derek's large head resting on her lap.

Simon nodded.

"Alright. Shout out if you need anything." Simon said as he turned to leave. "And congrats, bro."

As Simon made his way back to the house, his hands in his pockets, Derek raised his head and gazed at her, adoration shining in his green eyes. Chloe grinned and kissed his muzzle, his whiskers tickling her cheek. She slid down, laying her head on his neck and Derek curled around her, keeping her toasty warm.

And finally, she slept.

*~*