So, here's chapter two. The chapter title is named after Ungodly Hour by The Fray. I picked each song for each chapter because I think it fits with that chapter, and I probably listened to the song while writing it, so I guess if you want to listen to it while reading it, you could. This chapter is still fairly early in season two.

Chapter 2: Ungodly Hour

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone."

– Rose Kennedy

The moon shone brightly in the sky though it was slowly shrinking from being full just a few days earlier. It was a beautiful night. The air was crisp, and the sky was crystal clear, so every star shone brightly in the inky blue. A soft breeze made the leaves on the trees sway just slightly.

Derek stood staring intently at the sky as if it held all the answers he had spent his whole life searching for. It was close to 3 in the morning, and everyone in Beacon Hills should have been asleep, but then again, Derek wasn't like the rest of the people in town. Not to say that being a werewolf had anything to do with why he was outside staring at the sky in the middle of the night.

The truth was Derek hadn't been able to sleep through the night in a long time. A lot of it was nightmares though he'd never confess to them. He'd wake up with the image of Paige, the fire, his family, or Kate burned into the backs of his eyelids so often that he wished he could rip his eyes right out if that meant he would stop being haunted by the sight of them. The rest was more of an uneasy feeling than anything else. He didn't like how vulnerable he felt when he went to go to sleep. He didn't appreciate feeling small and weak after he had spent so many years burying those feelings deep inside himself where he hoped no one would find them.

So instead of sleeping, he reflected on the time that had passed since he'd bitten Isaac. Erica and Boyd had soon followed Isaac in joining the pack, and they all let the sudden rush of power go to their heads. They were cocky, basking in their new strength and ability. Except Isaac, Derek reminded himself. Sure, Isaac acted as cocky as Erica at times which, frankly, was hard to do, but that's all it was, an act. Derek could see he was putting up a façade; he could see the pain that still lay barely hidden beneath the surface of his soft eyes. He was still just trying to protect himself.

And then, there was training. Erica and Boyd had reveled in the rush of drawing blood and breaking bones; they finally had the power to fight back, and they were more than eager to use it. Isaac was different. He hung back. Just as Derek thought the first time he heard him speak, Isaac was gentle; he was kind-hearted and quiet. Fighting just wasn't in his nature. He put on a good front, but when it came down to it, he didn't want to hurt anyone. Derek almost couldn't comprehend it seeing as he had been living on his rage and instinct to fight for the better part of his life. He didn't understand why Isaac didn't hold more anger in himself over what his father had done to him. He yelled at Isaac and even twisted his arm until it broke during training once because that's how he was taught to fight, but it felt wrong. Isaac's eyes had burned into him, filled with betrayal so much so that Derek had to look away.

Isaac was the one member of his pack that he couldn't quite figure out. His father had died shortly after Derek turned Isaac, so he was living with Derek while the other to still had families to go home to. Derek had known Isaac's home life hadn't been ideal; he'd seen Mr. Lahey drag his son into the house screaming himself. But seeing the nightmares Isaac had, Derek had realized what happened in that house must've been worse than he thought. He had decided to go back to Isaac's house to see if it would reveal anything for him and that's when he found the chains and the freezer. He couldn't imagine what Isaac must have felt being locked in that thing; he shuttered at the mere thought. And yet, he couldn't recall a time he'd heard Isaac speak about his father with even the smallest amount of contempt in his voice.

Derek was snapped out of his thoughts by an abrupt cry and a resounding thud. He hurried back into the train car to see Isaac, in some state between sleeping and waking, trying to curl himself into the smallest ball he could manage, his hands held over his head as if he expected someone to strike him.

Derek approached him quietly and deliberately got down to his level. "Isaac? It's Derek."

"No…please." Isaac whispered.

"It's okay. You're safe, Isaac. You here with me?" Derek spoke calmly and gently having done this many times before.

"Derek?" Isaac's eyes finally focused on him.

"Yeah, it's me. You were having another nightmare."

"I'm sorry," Isaac mumbled looking down as he once again curled in on himself. Derek had never been particularly good at being comforting, but in moments like this, Isaac made him desperately want to be. Usually Derek would leave him be at this point. Give him privacy to collect his thoughts and pull himself back together. But something about the way Isaac was still trying to make himself disappear made him want to stay. He wanted to say something that would make a difference to Isaac, but what was he supposed to say?

He eventually slid down the wall until he was sitting next to Isaac, making sure to give him enough room, so he wouldn't feel claustrophobic. "I get them too, you know." Derek had spoken before he meant to. He wasn't sure he had been ready to admit that. Isaac just peered over at him with his deep blue eyes, silently asking him to continue.

"Nightmares, I mean. I'm sure Stiles told you or you've figured it out on your own, but my family…they're all dead. They died in a fire ten years ago. It was my fault, I mean, it is my fault that they were killed…" Derek paused and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. And that's when he felt the gentle touch of a hand against his. He looked down to see Isaac's hand holding his own and then to look at Isaac himself. He had a foreboding amount of understanding in his eyes. All Derek had really told him were the facts, but he knew that Isaac understood what he had left unsaid. Isaac's lips turned upward in a gentle smile, and Derek was shocked to see that it wasn't one of pity, but of acceptance.

"Before my mom died, she loved to bake," Isaac started.

"You don't have to tell me, you know," Derek said quietly, interlocking their fingers as he spoke.

"I want you to know," Isaac replied simply and proceeded to rest his head on Derek's shoulder. Derek stiffened in surprised but soon relaxed when he realized that he didn't mind.

"So, my mom would always let me help her when she was in the kitchen. Sometimes Camden even helped too. It was just fun, you know? My mom was happy, so I was happy. Then, she died, and Camden wouldn't really look at me after that. I guess maybe I reminded him too much of her. And my dad started drinking, and he started hitting me. I thought it would stop, but it only got worse. And I thought Camden would help me, but he pretended it wasn't happening right up until he left for the army, and I never saw him again. That's when my dad…he started locking me in the freezer when he didn't think hitting me was enough of a punishment. He sometimes left me there all night. I just always thought that it was my fault because Camden never tried to help, and I knew the Whittemores could hear what was going on from across the street. No one ever said anything, so it just kind of felt like I deserved it. Maybe it was my fault that my mom died, and that's why I my father did it."

"No," Derek said firmly. "None of that was your fault."

"If none of it was my fault, then your family wasn't your fault," Isaac countered.

"You don't know the whole story," Derek sighed.

"It's still not your fault," Isaac insisted.

"Okay." Derek made to get up to leave Isaac to get back to sleep, but Isaac grasped his hand more firmly.

"Could you stay?" Isaac asked, blushing slightly. "Maybe just until I fall asleep?"

"Okay," Derek simply repeated, settling himself back down next to him. Isaac laid his head against Derek's shoulder once more.

"Thanks," Isaac mumbled.

Derek didn't reply, choosing to squeeze Isaac's hand to let him know he heard him. He closed his eyes and listened to Isaac's heartbeat as it slowed slightly, and his breathing became deeper. Derek could have left, but for reasons he didn't quite understand he wanted to stay. Isaac's presence was oddly comforting, and in that moment, he almost believed what Isaac had said about the fire not being his fault. He wanted to figure out why Isaac was the one person who could do that, but before he really got the chance to consider it, Isaac's warmth and his steady heartbeat lulled him into a sort of half sleep.

Derek managed to untangle himself from Isaac just before he woke. If Isaac had been a werewolf for longer, he probably would've been able to tell that Derek's scent beside him was still fresh. Derek was greatly relieved when Isaac didn't seem to notice. He wasn't sure what he would've said if Isaac had brought it up. But he didn't. Isaac merely murmured one more thank you to Derek as he started the Camaro to drive Isaac to school.

"It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers."

― Patrick Rothfuss

So, I hope it turned out okay. The next chapter probably won't be up until Friday at the earliest, but more likely Saturday or Sunday.