Authors Note: So I'm really excited! I'm getting the biggest number of hits so far for this story! I want to thank all of you who have read and give a special shout out to the people who review. I'd also like to thank those who requested I write a continuation for Building Sandcastles. Although I'm not planning on continuing per-say, I've now been given an idea for later on in this story. ;) Here's Chapter 8… Hope you enjoy!

"Maybe I'll just wait out here." Derek whispered in my ear – clearly panicked. I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. If I had to face Tori, I wasn't doing it alone.

"Make it quick!" Tori snapped, as she ushered us inside, "And you better not have any fleas!" She shot Derek a glare over her shoulder.

I walked over to her bed and flopped down on the corner. Both Derek and Tori were leaning against the wall, arms crossed and wearing matching scowls.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened during your training session with Faye," I started, trying to keep my tone as light as possible.

"Well, I don't. So if you'd kindly leave…" Tori grumbled, as she started towards the door.

"Tori, wait." I stood slowly and started walking towards her, "Don't you find it strange that someone who claims to want to help us would use 'abomination' to describe us? That's a pretty harsh word - even if you are angry." By now I was standing not 3 feet from Tori, with Derek – still leaning against the wall – between us.

"You don't mean…" Tori's eyes got wide.

"Look, I don't know, but this seems like something they're capable of; we are in the middle of a war."

"If what you're saying is true, then what are we going to do? We can't let her know that we know, and we have no proof." Tori turned to face me.

"We'll just have to be careful – very careful. We should also tell some of the people we know we can trust."

"Like Simon?" Tori suggested.

"Yeah, Simon definitely, Chaim, Andrew and Rowan are probably ok too, but we'll have to wait to make sure."

"Yeah, ok…"

"I feel like I'm watching a tennis match here!" Derek growled- obviously upset about being left out of the conversation. Tori and I both turned to stare at him, shocked by the outburst. "What we need to do is keep an eye on Faye without her knowing that someone is watching."

"Brilliant as always, Wolf-Boy! And how are we supposed to do that? You got any other great plans that you…."

"Liz!"

"Excuse me?" Tori's gaze turned to me.

"Liz." I looked at Derek and – by the smile on his face- knew that we were on the same page. "I can try to contact Liz and ask her to watch Faye and the others for anything suspicious. She won't be able to go everywhere – I'm sure there are blocks up in all the Edison group buildings – but she can keep an eye out for us."

"Oh," Tori huffed and turned to Derek, "Just a lucky guess. I'm not impressed with your freaky wolf-boy knowledge. It'll take a lot more for you to earn a cookie."

Derek rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. "Well if that's all we have to talk about, I should probably go find Simon and let him in on what's going on."

I watched him as he strode out of the room. Sighing, I turned to Tori. "Why do you have to be such a bitch to him all the time?"

"What do you mean?" The scowl was back on her face.

"You're always so nasty to him! I know he's not always the easiest person to get along with, but I hate to break it to you; neither are you! All he's done this entire time is look out for us."

Cursing softly she turned away, "More like look out for you."

I could tell she hadn't meant for me to hear her, but I did. "What are you talking about, Tori? Derek cares about your safety just as much as mine."

"I wouldn't bet on it." She looked at me over her shoulder, "You really are clueless."

The evening from then on passed much more smoothly then the past few days had in the safe house. It was nice to have the old Simon back – laughing and flirting. The mood around the dinner table was light – Most of the members were out on missions, meaning Tori, Simon, Derek, Rowan and I were left to our own devices.

After dinner, Derek and I drew the short straws and had to clear and wash the dishes while the others went off to watch a movie. I walked into the kitchen and let the water run. I looked off into the dining room and caught Derek scratching at his forearm. Looking back down at the water I frowned. Was he starting another partial change? I hoped he would tell me, especially after everything Chaim had said.

"Is the water warm yet Chloe?"

I jumped, sending water spilling onto the floor. "Yeah, I guess. Here, let me help you with those." I turned a little too quickly to take some plates from Derek and felt my feet slip out from underneath me. The moment my butt hit the floor I winced – that was going to smart for days.

"Chloe! Are you okay?" His question may have sounded worried, but there was amusement in his eyes as he gave me his hand to help me up.

"Yeah, yeah! Lets just get to work."

I added soap to the water and loaded up the sink with glasses and cutlery. "Chloe, about raising Liz," Derek started, taking a sudsy dish from me and wiping it dry, "Do you think you'll be able to do it? You don't have anything tied to her anymore."

"I'm not really sure," I mumbled. I was slightly hurt that Derek didn't have faith in my abilities, but I knew he was right – it would be very difficult. "I guess I don't really have a choice though. I've got to try."

"I guess, it's just…" He paused.

"It's just what?" I turned to look at him. He was picking at an imaginary spot on one of the dishes, his eyes down cast.

"Just promise me you won't push yourself too hard." He locked eyes with me for only a second, but genuine worry was there this time.

Authors Note: So because you were all such good little reviewers I decided to update really quickly! Hopefully you all liked the little Derek/Chloe moments… There aren't many yet in this story but I do try to keep all you shippers interested. If you haven't yet read my one-shot Building Sandcastles, I recommend you do. It doesn't pertain to this story yet, but it might in the future. Thanks again for all the lovely reviews; I'm glad that you all seem to be liking this so far.