(Chloe's POV the next morning)

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and the sun in my eyes.

My head is resting on Derek's chest and both of his arms are around me. I'm too warm, but I don't care. Our legs are tangled and I can't think of a way to move without waking him up. So I lay there for awhile, gently lifting up on my elbows so I can see his face.

His mouth is hanging open and his hair is a mess. But he's fast asleep and adorable. I lie back down and remember the perfect day we had yesterday. All we did was look up colleges. We talked about the future: college, a career for both of us, what it would be like after all that, a house and marriage (just abstractly, not us in particular, but the institution of it). We also talked about what the modifications meant for the next generation—if we could have kids or not. We only talked conceptually, not wanting to get too serious. I try to remember one, but I don't think we had even one argument.

Derek made lunch and, later, dinner. It was funny watching him struggle with the very domestic activity. He only burned two grilled-cheeses, though, and I applauded him afterward.

I feel Derek shift beside me and know he's awake. I look up and see that he's staring down at me. I grin.

"Good morning."

The corner of his mouth quirks up. "Morning." He sits up, taking me with him. He looks around then pulls his watch out of his pants pocket. After he Changed back to human, he must have partly dressed. I fell asleep when he was still wolf so I didn't see him dress. Now, he is wearing sweat pants and socks, but no shirt or shoes. I have a very nice view of his perfectly muscled chest.

He looks at me. "It's almost nine. We should head back before they start searching the forest for us." He stands up and offers his hand to me.

I take it with a sigh. We shouldn't have stayed out last night, but I'm glad we did.

He looks around, searching the forest, a slightly perplexed expression on his face.

"What is it?" I ask him. He looks at me a little surprised, then his mouth quirks again.

"I was just wondering why they aren't already looking for us now." Good point. I look around, suddenly wondering if they're watching us right now. I peer into the trees around us.

But then Derek relaxes and he laughs. "Nobody's here but us Chloe." He grabs me and pulls me into his side. "And actually, Dad and Lauren didn't get back until late last night. You fell asleep before then, but they got back around three in the morning. They're probably just sleeping in."

Oh, good. Maybe we can still sneak in with no one the wiser, I think hopefully.

We start to head back, Derek's arm around my waist. I'm stiff from sleeping on the ground but Derek moves just as gracefully and silently as he usually does.

When we get closer to the house Derek stops and sniffs the air. He looks confused again, but we continue going. His eyebrows are drawn together as we reach the backyard and I realize why as I smell something coming from the open kitchen window. Waffles.

I stiffen. Oh, no. They are up.

And making breakfast, apparently.

I look at Derek but he doesn't have an answer for me. So I can only assume they are waiting for us to get back if they are up and not looking for us. And if they are waiting for us, they are probably going to talk to us. They being Lauren and Kit. Probably going to tell us we can't date anymore, or lecture us for being irresponsible.

Well, they can try and Derek and I will give them Hell. I'm not going to lie down and let Kit and Lauren make all the decisions, especially concerning mine and Derek's relationship. We've had to make decisions nobody should have to make and we've handle situations, like being shot at and captured and held at gun point. I think we can make the decision to date.

I stiffen my back and resolve to walk through the door with my head held high. I march up the stairs to the kitchen, my shoes making a slightly dissatisfying thud. I stomp harder and the sound reverberates through my ankle bones. There, that's more like it.

I push the door open and step through, surveying the kitchen, my head high and eyes daring someone to challenge…

No one is in here.

I look back and see Derek is standing in the doorway, one eyebrow raised. What is going on? Where is everybody and why is there a plate of waffles getting cold on the counter?

Derek narrows his eyes at me. Stay, Chloe. I mean it. He walks ahead of me and through to the dining room. I am two steps behind him. Damn him and his warning to stay back. He knows by now I can take care of myself. Actually, I'm starting to wonder if he likes that I defy him and enjoys yelling at me afterward. No, not the yelling part, but maybe he likes the defying part. So, I stay right behind him and get only one growl from him.

Tori and Simon are sitting at the table silently, eating their waffles and Kit is alone at the other end of the table. He's rotating his cup of coffee but not drinking it, and reading the newspaper. He doesn't look up as he addresses Derek and me.

"Do you two need to change clothes? And you'll each want a shower. The waffles are probably already cold—Lauren made them half an hour ago. Hurry, and get ready." He looks up and meets our eyes individually. "We need to talk." He says all this without heat, despite the tension in his posture.

He goes back to reading his paper. Derek looks to Simon for a clue, but he shakes his head and points upstairs and stands up from the table. Tori ignores us. Simon follows us up the stairs and I go quietly, despite my curiosity being set into overdrive. Where's Aunt Lauren? Why isn't Kit yelling? What's he waiting for? Where's Aunt Lauren?

As we reach the top of the stairs I tap Simon on the shoulder. "What's-?"

He shoves his hand over my mouth to st0p me from speaking and brings a finger up to his lips in the universal 'quiet' sign. Then he points to a door down the hall that's shut. Aunt Lauren's room.

I narrow my eyes at him and Derek growls before slapping Simon's hand away from my mouth. He smirks, but shrugs and we continue on.

I don't understand. Is she still asleep? Does she not know what's going on? I definitely don't want to wake her up then.

We tiptoe past her door and I quickly stop in my room and grab clothes before heading to Derek's room with him and Simon.

Derek gets in the shower since he can hear well enough through the door and running water; while I wait to use the shower, Simon explains knowing Derek can hear him too.

"Your Aunt woke up and made waffles. Lauren and Dad are both taking the day off and I have no idea why, but Dad won't let Tori or I go anywhere. When Tori came downstairs, that's when your Aunt figured out you guys were gone."

Huh. Still not making sense. "So why weren't you guys looking for us? And why is Aunt Lauren still asleep? Or is she not asleep? What is going on?"

Derek opens the bathroom door so steam gushes out. He walks out and hands a fresh towel to me. I take it but wait for Simon to finish explaining. He looks slightly awkward. What? Derek has pants on.

"Well, I didn't hear everything, but I know your Aunt went out and was yelling for you. Dad went after her to try and calm her down, but she was panicking. I guess she said something about Derek," he glances at Derek nervously, "that Dad didn't like. He looked really mad and blasted her." At my stricken look, he revises his sentence. "I mean, yelled at her. No magic was used Chloe." I look at Derek and his eyes are narrowed as he thinks this through.

(I have Lauren's reaction and the yelling match between her a Kit written down, but decided to shorten the chapter by taking it out. It was a big part, but not a necessary one. I will put in all the extras I've cut from my story when it's finished. They'll be titled extras 1, 2, 3, etc.)

"So…is Kit mad at us? Or just mad at my Aunt? Or…what?" I ask, still confused.

Simon shrugs. "Probably both. But I think there was a reason he and Lauren are home today and it's something to do with where they went yesterday." He stands up to leave, patting my shoulder. "Don't worry about last night. Dad understands and he trusts both of you. And after she was yelled at, Lauren came up here and hasn't been downstairs since. She probably won't bug you either. But hurry and get down there. Dad doesn't just want to talk to you. It's all of us he wants to say something to."

He leaves on that very ominous note. Before he is completely out of the door, he turns back with a goofy grin. "So, uh…how was last night?" He wiggles his eyebrows. "You crazy kids have fun?"

He ducks out the door as I chuck a pillow from Derek's bed at him.

Fifteen minutes later (my showers take longer, thank you very much), we're all seated around the table, minus Aunt Lauren. I volunteered to get her, but Kit said that wasn't necessary: he was going up to talk to her after he explained some things to us.

Kit's sitting at the head of the table and we're all looking at him. My hair is still damp, but at least it's not dripping anymore. I grab it all and pull it back into a messy ponytail. Derek and I have a stack of waffles between us and I'm eating slowly while Derek practically eats several of them whole. A whole pitcher of orange juice is slowly disappearing as we fill our glasses—Derek multiple times.

Kit is tapping his fingers on the table and staring at them. Da-da-da-dum. He doesn't stop as he speaks, just continues to tap the table steadily. "Yesterday morning, Lauren received a call." He looks up and meets my gaze briefly. "Jaime Vegas was calling to say that she noticed an odd reaction from Chloe at the show. So odd a reaction that she decided to track down the seat number of the girl and the owners of the tickets for those seats around her. By doing this she got your aunt's name and then from there, got her cell number."

All the blood has drained from my face and Tori looks about the same. I stop eating. Derek is glaring daggers at me, no longer eating either. I'd be glaring daggers at me too, if I could. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What did I do? I attracted attention to us. The number one rule is stay inconspicuous. Is Jaime Vegas about to expose us? Crap.

Kit goes on, his hands folded now in front of him on the table. He stares at them as he speaks. I get the feeling that he's hiding some emotion by focusing on his hands, instead of meeting our eyes. It is annoying. "Before you all panic, let me tell you Ms. Vegas's stated reason for calling. She wanted to meet with Lauren, assuming she was your mom, Chloe. Lauren acted appropriately," Kit says loudly because Derek was about to say something. I realize it was probably a criticism of how Lauren took the phone call. "Jaime just wanted to talk, in person, and Lauren decided to think about it. We weighed the risks and decided to talk to her. Mainly, because…" Kit stops and looks up. Suddenly, he's staring directly at me. I can't tell what he's thinking, his face completely expressionless, his eyes hard and focused.

What is he going to say? I wasn't expecting any of this. They went to talk with that phony, Jaime Vegas, yesterday? Why? Is she a threat because I acted weird at her show?

"When she realized your aunt was about to hang up on her, Jaime said that she wanted to know if you could see ghosts." My mind goes blank. I feel my eyes glaze over as I feel like I'm going into heart failure. What does this mean? "She said that she was a necromancer and—"

Tori cuts him off. "Wait a second! So Jaime Vegas says she's a necromancer and you guys just believe her? What the hell? Am I the only one who sees how ridiculous this is? Did she prove it to you guys yesterday? What was your meeting like? What happened? Are we moving?"

Derek growls. "I'm sure he was getting to that, Tori." He glares at her and she shrinks into her chair and crosses her arms. I don't react at all to this little event, though it steals my focus. Derek isn't supposed to be scaring any of us. It'll only make Aunt Lauren like him less. But I can't muster the gumption to do anything about it. At least Aunt Lauren wasn't here to see that.

Kit raises his eyebrows but otherwise continues as if Tori hadn't spoken at all. I can only sit and listen. Simon seems to be daydreaming, but I know he's taking all of this in as much as I am.

"She said she was a necromancer and that if Chloe can see ghosts, but doesn't know how to handle it, she can help. The reason she thought Chloe could see ghosts, was that they were popping up at her show and she was having difficulty ignoring them herself. Those ghosts hadn't been in the building before, so she put the dots together," he looks at me and is speaking to me, though I can't focus on his face, I'm so shocked. "When a particular ghost popped up and frightened you so much, you jumped and immediately left the show. She figured and extra necromancer would be enough to attract all those ghosts and you didn't know what was going on and bolted. Also, no one else jumped in their seats at the exact time a ghost appeared in front of you." The last was said in a hard voice and I can tell he's unhappy that I let my control go in public.

Ah, so that's the reaction she saw. That's the exact thing we need to avoid. And I screwed up.

Kit is doing a good job of controlling himself at the moment. I'm sure that whatever he has left to say is the only holding him back from lecturing me. Derek looks ready to lecture me himself.

When Diane popped up, I about peed myself. Jaime Vegas must have seen me jump when I saw Diane, and I really want to point out that they would've jumped, too, but there's no excuse for me.

I nod slightly, acknowledging that I screwed up. I'm trembling, as I realize what I've done. We're going to have to leave for sure. I messed up.

But kit isn't done and he turns away from me, probably no longer able to look at me.

"So, we decided to meet with her. She could have been acting and could have been working for the Cabal, but the likely hood of a tv show spiritualist, someone who is constantly in the public eye for doing something supernatural, wouldn't be a likely candidate for the Cabals, we thought. So went to see her."

I sit up on the edge of my seat, though I want to wallow in my shame. We need to know what happened. Everyone is listening raptly, but Kit continues to sit, staring at his hands.

I am still trembling, and even though he's probably disappointed in me and mad that I fucked up, Derek takes my hand. I peek at him and…

He squeezes my hand. A small reassurance, but a reassurance that at least I'm not on his shit list. Tori keeps glances at me, pissed as all get out. Simon is as tense as his father and sits ramrod straight, his eyes fixed on Kit.

"At the meeting, she came and spoke with Lauren for maybe an hour, a little less probably. Later, we all spoke, as well as a few others who came as backup for Jaime, just as I went as backup for Lauren."

Derek is making a low growl, but coughs and cuts it off with difficulty. Simon looks confused and his voice is gruff when he asks, "Why would she need backup?"

Kit sighs. "I realize now how big a risk each of us was taking. Jaime is a necromancer," he looks at me and I feel my eyes widen. I don't know how to feel right now beyond shock. Again. "And she serves on the Council, so she has the resources to bring back up. And necromancers aren't equipped to handle some situations, Simon."

I'm still confused. I find my voice, but it's barely a whisper. "But…Why did she think she needed back up? Why would she think Lauren or I would be a danger to her if I'm just a necromancer? Did you say she was on the Council?"

Kit nods, as if he was expecting these questions. "Yes, she's on the Council. I'll talk about that in a minute. She had another reason for being interested in you other than you arousing her curiosity at her show. Did you, Derek, and Simon go into a store in town the other day called The Tome?"

We all nod.

"Jaime was in there that day. The back of the store is a supply store for necromancers. There aren't many stores like The Tome. Anyway, she saw you there and overheard all of you talking about zombies." His gives us each a hard look. Again, disappointment and anger, but directed at all of us, not just me. I don't feel any better, sharing the blame.

Derek glares at Simon and me. We were doing all the talking; Derek had been shushing us and reading silently. I slump a little lower. How could I have been so careless? Tori gapes at me, probably thinking the same thing. Her hands starts to twitch, but she stays calm. Though she's blistering mad.

Simon interrupts his father. "So, is Jaime working for the Edison Group? Is that why she had backup? Are we moving?"

Kit shakes his head. "No, we aren't moving. And like I said, she works for the Council. They, meaning the Council, didn't know about the Edison Group until Lauren and I told them about it yesterday. What the Council does is take care of Supernaturals who are in trouble with exposure or other supernaturals. They help those who need it. They didn't know about the Edison Group, otherwise they would have tried to stop it. Right now, they're trying to do something about it, but they aren't sure what they can do. It all depends on the legal documentation, but I'm not going to get into it right now.

"Anyway, Jaime had backup because she wasn't sure what to expect after seeing you three at the store, then Chloe at her show. She wasn't sure if she was dealing with a stalker or an inexperienced necromancer. She also noticed Derek." Kit glances at Derek and some silent communication goes on between them. Derek leans back in his chair and folds his arms, staring at his dad.

"She noticed Derek's behavior and thought it was note worthy. She's spent some time with werewolves."

Tori's mouth drops open and Simon is blinking rapidly. Really? A necromancer hanging with a werewolf shouldn't so ridiculous. Hello, Derek and Chloe?

"Jaime's backup were three werewolves."

This gets a bigger reaction. At least from Simon, Tori, and I. Derek doesn't move or say anything. Just looks at the wall, away from us his arms folded over his chest and I wish he wouldn't have dropped my hand. Tori gasps and her hands flash for second. Simon scoots back in his chair so fast the chair makes a loud squealing noise.

I look at Derek, my hand flying to my mouth. But otherwise, I wait for Kit to finish explaining. This is all a little overwhelming.

"One of the werewolves is also on the Council." He takes a deep breath and looks each of us in the eyes. "It took awhile, but Lauren and I feel that we can trust these people. We explained a lot to them, mostly about the experiments…and you four."

I look at Kit. I want to say he didn't have any right telling strangers all about us without at least discussing it with us first, but Tori beats me too it.

"What!" her voice squeaks, going up several pitches. "You told them what?"

Kit narrows his eyes and straightens his shoulders and his voice is dangerous. "Tori, think before you say anything more. Before you do anything. Now, do you honestly think that either of us, Lauren or I, would say anything to someone we didn't think we could trust? Would we say something to put any of you in danger?"

He gives us all hard looks. Derek still is staring at the wall, but I meet Kit's gaze, and so does Simon. Tori glares at him.

"We decided it was the right move." He sighs and softens his tone. "Guys, I'm going to be honest." Derek looks back at him and the look in his eyes in unreadable. Kit doesn't meet his eyes for more than a moment; from guilt, maybe. He looks at the rest of us. "Lauren and I are doing our best. We love you. We really do. You are our family, and we will do anything for you." His expression is hardens and he clenches his jaw, emotions brimming in his eyes. "But we can't get everything for you, like we wish we could. We can't give you the training or help you need. Just like we can't take back every second you had to spend on your own or at Lyle House, or…" He breaks off and Simon reaches over to grab his hand.

"We're fine now dad." Kit nods. It's weird to see Kit showing emotion, even though his eyes are dry and he's breathing evenly. It's obvious he needs a moment.

He looks back at us and then focuses on Tori. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to trust us, like it or not. I know all of you have become very independent and we can't make this decision for you, but this opportunity came to us for you to get help and I think it would be foolish not to take it. Jaime and Jeremy are coming here at noon to meet all of you."

Shocked silence ensues.

We are all sitting here, absorbing what he just said. Derek is the fastest and he thinks through what he needs to. Then gets up and leaves the room. As he passes Kit he whispers something in his ear. Kit nods and slaps his shoulder before letting him leave. I don't know what to do.

I ask Kit, "S-so…Jaime Vegas…is a n-necromancer?" I don't know what to think.

He nods. "A-and she's coming…here?"

He nods. He swallows once before speaking, "You can talk to her later and I think she's willing to answer any of your questions."

He looks at all of us, worried. "What I'm really concerned about is you guys being okay with mine and Lauren's decision to let them come here."

Tori slams her hand down. "Well, I'm pissed!"

Simon glares at her before getting in her face. "Why! Because our dad was looking out for us?" I'm temporarily shocked that he called Kit, his and Tori's dad. 'Our dad' he said.

"Wake up Tori! Dad loves us and he is not going to do anything to hurt us." He softens his tone and touches her shoulder. She's not looking at him as he speaks, but I see her lip trembling. "I know you're not exactly used to it, but dad cares about you and all of us. He'll protect you."

Kit places his hand on Tori's other shoulder and suddenly I'm feeling very much like the intruder.

I stand up and Kit looks up at the sound of my chair scraping. He gives me a questioning, searching look. I shrug. "I don't know how I feel about it yet. I'm not pissed, but I'm not…" I shake my head and shrug. I'm not happy. Not by a long shot. And I leave.

I want to find Derek and talk with him.

Derek is in the basement and he's lifting too much weight. Well, too much for me anyway.

"Want to talk about it?"

Derek seems more upset than me. I've been through a mild panic attack thinking I'd jeopardized everyone, then gone through another shock finding out that Lauren and Kit went behind our backs and decided to trust strangers, supernatural strangers, with our lives. Well, we're just meeting them, but our lives could be in danger.

I swallow and try to get past that.

I can't. Not yet.

Derek grunts. I'm not sure if that's a yes or no. He's concentrating fiercely and I realize he's going to be down here awhile. He's doesn't want to talk with me about this.

I feel pain in my chest knowing Derek doesn't want to talk about this whole situation with me. It's big and he just wants to act like a caveman down here in the basement. I realize he's not thrilled. None of us are.

I swallow hard and sit down in my usual seat.

"Um…I-I d-don't…" I can't even speak. Suddenly, my hurt and left over adrenaline from panic and all the overwhelming feelings in me burst. Now I'm enraged and I want to punch something.

I jump up and sprint toward the punching bag Derek just strung up, my vision tunneling as energy and adrenaline course through me, pumping my heart in to a frenzy. I fly at it, pummeling the poor bag. I punch and kick and grunt and scream. I'm yelling at it and the rough material of the bag is tearing the skin on my knuckles.

I think I understand why Derek comes down here after Lauren gives him shit he doesn't deserve. We don't deserve this. Any of this. We are just kids, and we deserve normal lives.

Simon and Tori don't deserve to have the fucked up drama they live through each day they wake up and remember they have a half-sibling they never knew about before. Tori doesn't deserve her messed up family and powers. Derek doesn't deserve the crap he gets and other people's judgments or his messed up family, either. None of us deserved to be put into that experiment.

My fists are flying and blood is smearing the bag from my spilt knuckles.

I keep screaming and before I know it, I'm pitching forward.

Except, forward isn't forward anymore. I'm in Derek's arms and he's holding me tightly, his arms around my waist and my back pressed to his chest. I continue to hit and scratch and yell. Tears are rolling down my face and my breathing is uneven from the sobs racking my body.

I crumple. He pulls me into him before I fall and he holds me closer. His legs give out and we're both on the floor. I curl my legs up and sob, doubled over between his knees, my forehead almost touching the concrete floor. Derek is a warm blanket draped over me, his chest covering my back and his arms stay wrapped around me. I clutch them like a lifeline.

It's a long while before I'm calm enough to hear him.

"Shh, Chloe. Shh. Chloe, Chloe, Chloe." Each time he says my name, he draws out the word, making it sound like a moan. The hurt in his voice gets to me.

What just came over me? I went completely out of control. I'm still out of control.

Derek is squeezing me tightly and he's bent over me, the warmth and tight hold on me the only things holding me together, otherwise I know I would have continued to come apart at the seams. Is this it? Am I going mad?

Derek is rocking slowly, side to side and breathing evenly, whispering my name in my ear. My head is pounding from crying so hard and the quiet noise and slow rocking is soothing. Slowly, I sit up on my knees and he follows. My breathing is still uneven and as I sit up, he pulls me back and sweeps my legs up. He sets me on his lap sideways and I curl into his chest, my legs coming up so I'm in a ball. He wraps arms around all of me, not once stopping the crooning of my name. After a while, I stop crying, though his previously clean shirt is damp from his sweat and my tears. I have the material clenched in both fists so I let go and smooth my hands over his chest, trying to flatten the wrinkles I caused.

I have a grip now. I lay my head against his chest, so close I can hear his steady and loud heart beat. He has such a big heart. I know he does. Other people just can't see it as clearly as me. They don't know him like I do.

Now he's tracing small circles on my back and it feels so good I think I fall asleep for a minute.

When I come back to reality, Derek has moved to the chair I usually sit in, still in the basement. I'm not in such a tight ball anymore, but he's got me wrapped securely in his arms.

Kit is standing in front of us, but I can't work up the energy to feel embarrassed even though my face feels swollen and my body is trembling every few seconds. It feels like shivers, but I'm not cold and I can't stop it.

When Derek feels me stirring, he stops whatever he was saying to his dad and looks down at me. He must see something in my eyes because his already tight grip on me tightens. "Don't worry. It's just the adrenaline. You'll stop shaking in a minute."

I can't nod because if I do, my head might just roll right off, but I look back over at kit, using only my eyes. Kit takes a step forward. I feel Derek's chest vibrating but the growl isn't loud enough for either Kit or I to hear.

Kit stops as if sensing that he's already too close. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I probably shouldn't have told you and the rest like that. But this could be life changing. I can call Jaime and Jeremy right now and cancel. You don't ever have to meet them."

I feel Derek's body all around mine. He's tense. I have enough sense to realize that Kit thinks my going crazy is because of him and Lauren deciding to have us meet a necromancer and werewolves.

I think about that. Was that the reason I totally lost my shit? Or was it the necro-crazies taking over?

After a few second's debate I decide that it was just a really tense and stressful day to blame.

I look at Kit. I can't speak at first and it takes a few tries before my hoarse voice comes out. "No. I'll meet them. We'll all meet them. Where's Aunt Lauren and what did you yell at her?"

I don't know why I even care about Aunt Lauren now, but everything is settling back into my mind. Every out of control emotion has stopped zinging through me and all that's left is adrenaline. I don't feel so numb anymore either, if that's the right way to describe what happened before I feel asleep in Derek's arms. Maybe it was more like I shut down in self preservation.

Warmth is soaking back into my bones from Derek. I can feel his arms, legs, torso, even his chin resting on the top of my head. He's thrumming, bursting with life. His heart beats a dteady rhythm and his lungs whoosh with air. He's exactly what a necromancer like me needs. Life among all the death I see and feel and hear every day.

With this new re-ordering of my brain, I feel my body stop shuddering and strength returning. But that doesn't mean I leave Derek's lap, even in front of his father. I need him. Instead, I just take a deep breath, cuddle closer and wait for Kit's answer.