A/N: Thanks as always to my reviewers, I'll do a big shout out after I've put up Part 3, hopefully sometime tomorrow night. This is right after the Part 1 segment, but later that night. And just to make you happy (who am I kidding, I did it to make myself happy too!), Derek + water + shirtless = ...... Sound good? ;)
Disclaimer: I'm not Kelley Armstrong and I don't own Darkest Powers
For all that Derek had faked that Change this afternoon, he wasn't faking it now. He wove in my bedroom doorway, eyes unfocused and glassy, hair damp with sweat. His skin was radiating so much heat I could almost see the haze around him, like a sidewalk in July.
"Chloe?" He cleared his throat, trying for something less hoarse. "It's happening again."
Blinking the haze from my eyes, I pulled sweatpants and a sweater on over my pyjamas, and grabbed some shoes and a jacket before I followed him down the darkened hall.
The stairs were silent for once, and the French doors opened without a single squeak. Derek staggered a little as he stepped off the flagstone patio and I shot forward to catch his arm, feeling the odd rippling under my hand.
"Easy," I murmured, letting my hand slide down to meet his hot palm. I hated being led blindly, but there was no way my night vision could even hope to compete with his. Derek moved quickly, guiding us into the deeper darkness of the forest, though we didn't need to go as far, since anyone who would come looking should know better.
The usual routine followed: I looked away as he stripped to his boxers and braced for impact. I settled next to him and laid my hand on the scorching skin of his back.
"It'll be ok, Derek. You'll be ok."
He nodded, his breathing loud in the quiet of the woods. The cool air might feel good to him, but I was appreciative of his warmth near me.
The rippling in his muscles started amping up but the really bad part was still to come. I waited, still not able to be totally calm about this. I could feel his stomach wrench even through his back and I winced in sympathy. Here we go.
The projectile vomiting this time was really spectacular, even for Derek. He wretched miserably for what felt like hours, a familiar low-level moan following each heave. When the pitch started to head towards a whine, I knew that he'd soon start sprouting fur, followed by the dreaded snapping bones, and I wasn't disappointed.
He gagged again and again, but I was pretty sure he'd already brought everything up, including his spleen. Well, maybe not literally his spleen, but he was sure trying. His body was shaking with the effort of keeping him propped on his hands and knees, so I leaned against his side to give him something to brace on, trying not to break the rhythm my hand had going on his back.
With a strangled cry, Derek's arms gave out and he collapsed onto the ground, his fingers still dug into the loamy dirt. Before I could do anything, another spasm ripped him up onto his knees again and I heard the unfortunately familiar snapping as his bones re-set. As minutes passed, the dark fur pushed out of his skin and I knew his face was turning more canine than human, even though he kept it turned away. I prayed for this to be the first full Change, so that we could both rest easy tonight.
"Please," I whispered fiercely, my palm no longer stroking skin but thick fur. "Please, please…"
He struggled to speak and after repeating himself a few times, I figured out that he wanted me to move away. My heart lurched; he wouldn't tell me to go unless he thought it was really going to happen. I fought the shiver, knowing that he was waiting for my reaction. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and remembered the sheer terror I had seen in his eyes that first time. No way was I going to panic now. He deserved better than that.
"Chloe?"
It was harder for him to get words out now. My name was barely recognizable. I snapped back to attention.
"Ok." I got up slowly and moved a few feet away, my pulse drumming in my ears.
It was almost as if he had been waiting for me to move. With a desperate surge, his body started to morph more completely than it ever had before. For a second I wondered if he would survive this, then I clenched my teeth and started praying again.
His eyes stretched wide with shock at the renewed pain and after a few minutes I'd really rather not remember, the Change was done. A black wolf that was bigger than a Great Dane stood where Derek had been kneeling. Its head was down, its legs shaking as its sides heaved.
I froze in place. No sudden movements sounded like a good policy right now, but if he was going to go postal on me, I really wanted to just get it over with. When his eyes met mine, I gasped and my heart started beating again. They were Derek's eyes, still shockingly green, surrounded now by thick, dark fur. He whined low in his throat and his tail swished wearily. Holy baby Jesus, he had a tail… This was surreal.
He sat down and waited like he knew I needed a moment to process this. I took a few deep breaths and shook my head to clear it. He got up and walked towards me slowly, waiting to see if I would panic. I fought the "RUN LIKE HELL" command that the lizard part of my brain was issuing and let him come right up to me. He nudged me with his big head and looking at him, a shaky laugh escaped me.
"Can I call you pookie when you're in wolf form?"
He narrowed his eyes and growled without any real menace. I grinned. "Who's the pretty puppy? You're the pretty puppy, aren't you?"
Clearly offended, he puffed himself up and stalked away, but the effect was ruined when he paused and looked over his shoulder, amusement clear in his expressive eyes. He whined inquiringly and motioned towards the forest with a swing of his huge head. I could almost hear his voice. You coming?
It was peaceful in the woods at night. I wasn't at all afraid; the biggest and scariest thing in these woods was padding along beside me, his head nearly to my shoulders. Heck, even a bear would think twice before messing with him. Once in a while he'd move away a little, sniffing curiously at something. I'd stop and watch him, marvelling again that human Derek was now that wolf.
A rustle in the underbrush drew his attention, and he darted over. I kept my face blank and hoped he wouldn't bring me back a dead rabbit, also known in the animal kingdom as a "present". After a few minutes, he came trotting out, seemingly pleased with himself, and I figured that if he'd just been eating something cute and fluffy, I'd really rather not know.
We wandered for over an hour, until my legs started getting tired, and I touched his back, my palm skimming the rough outer fur. He stopped and turned his attention to me. I didn't know how much he understood, so I kept it simple and spoke slowly.
"I'm tired. Can we sit?"
He closed his teeth on my sleeve and tugged.
"What?"
He swung his head towards a heavy clump of bushes, looking back at me encouragingly.
"You want me to go there?"
He shook his head and I could've sworn I heard him heave a wolfish sigh. Trying again, he started towards the bushes and I followed, still confused. A low growl stopped me as he turned to face me, shaking his head again.
"You want me to stay here?" He chuffed approvingly. "Ok." I hunted up a log that appeared reasonably clean in the dark. Derek trotted back over to me and tugged his clothes out of my grasp. Suddenly it was clear.
"You need to Change back, don't you?" A woof was muffled by his sweatpants, but I understood. "I'll wait here."
He disappeared into the dense shrubbery and in a few moments I head a low whine that grew higher in pitch as the seconds passed. Anxiety cramped my stomach; what if he couldn't turn human again? What if something went wrong? How was I supposed to find a way out of here to get help?
The horrible cracking of bones sounded again, but oddly it relieved me because at least it was something I knew. The whine cut off abruptly and Derek's very human groans replaced it, along with a faint retch or two. His heavy breathing was audible even to me.
"Still alive?" I called, my tone much more casual than I felt.
"Mostly." A wide grin split my face at his response even though his voice still sounded odd.
"Can I come over there now?"
"No." No one would ever accuse Derek of wasting words.
I waited, tapping my foot impatiently until the bushes took up a busy shaking. I took that to mean Derek was up and hopefully dressing. My thoughts were confirmed when he limped slowly out from the clump, relying heavily on low-hanging branches.
I managed to get to him just as his knees gave way. He braced his hands on the ground and struggled to get to his feet.
"Easy, easy," I murmured, dropping to one knee next to him. "You ok?"
"Tired," he whispered. I remembered how he had collapsed into an exhausted sleep outside that truck stop, but we couldn't risk staying out in the woods all night like that again. Not when we were being hunted like we were now.
"I know, but we have to go in." Tugging on his arm, I managed to get him up onto his knees. "Lean on me. Come on, Derek."
It took a few minutes, but he was eventually up on his feet. He tried to keep most of his weight off of me but I still staggered when he braced an arm around my shoulders.
"How far to the house?" I asked worriedly.
He didn't answer, just pointed, and I realized he had led us in a circle and the house was close enough that I could see the lights on the porch. I sent up a little prayer of thanks; there was no way I'd be able to help him much further than that.
Getting my feet on the patio felt like the finish line of a race, until I realized that I still had to drag a half-naked man up the stairs. And into the shower, I added to myself. Mud and sweat streaked his skin. The sheets would be ruined if he laid on them like this.
"'M ok," he mumbled when I had gotten him to the foot of the stairs. One big hand closed around the banister and I marvelled at how he was still able to move. I stayed glued to his side, afraid that he'd lose his balance and end up at the bottom. One slow, agonizing step at a time got us to the landing, where he started to weave on his feet and I was sure he wouldn't be able to go any further.
"No, no, keep going," I gasped, hauling on his other arm, frantic to get him onto the second floor, even if it meant that I had to leave him in the tub to sleep it off.
A loopy little grin creased his cheek. "Yes, ma'am."
Four millenia later we reached the top of the stairs and I breathed a sigh of relief that the bathroom was so close by. A few more shambling steps got us onto the cool tiled floor. I closed the door and hit the lights, all one-handed since I still wasn't totally sure Derek would stay vertical if I let go. The fan whooshed on noisily, and I hoped that no one came to check it out. The door didn't lock anymore thanks to Derek's heroic measures to save me from the killer soap dish.
Leaving him propped against the sink, I got the water running in the tub.
"You still with me?" I asked, letting it run over my fingers to check the temperature.
"Uhuh." Sparing a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw him leaning back on his hands, chin on his chest. He was really out of it but still standing, which I took as a good sign.
I turned to face him when the water was a warm, then realized that we had a problem.
"Uh, Derek?"
"Mm?"
"You need to get into the shower."
"Mmhmm."
I sighed, crossing my arms and tapping my foot impatiently. "I can't really help with this part."
"Oh." Finally, a few synapses had fired in that big brain of his.
"Yeah. But I don't want to leave you here alone either. At this rate Simon'll find you snoozing on the floor of the shower when he gets up."
He lifted his head with an effort and straightened up from his slump, weaving only a little. "I'll be fine."
"Of course you'll be fine. You'll be fine right up until you hit the floor, unconscious." I closed my eyes briefly to think and then uttered a request for strength. "Ok, here's what we'll do. I'll keep my eyes closed while you do the stripper thing and get in the shower."
A sigh, but he didn't argue. I heard a faint rustling as he stripped and I put my hands over my eyes, ensuring I didn't see anything I wanted- uh, I mean anything I shouldn't see.
Slow, measured steps crossed the floor to the shower, and the tub made its usual creaking noises as it accepted his weight. The curtain whooshed closed and the tone of the spraying water changed as it hit skin and after a super fast test peek, I relaxed and dropped my hands.
"Let me know when you're done and I'll bring you a towel."
He grunted. I rolled my eyes and yawned so widely my jaw cracked. Only when he left that bathroom in one piece would I crawl into the bed that called so seductively to me.
Fortunately he was done quickly, and I lobbed a towel over the top of the curtain before retreating back to my perch on the toilet seat and covering my eyes again. After another minute the tub creaked again and he cleared his throat.
"Done?" I asked.
"All clear."
After opening my eyes, I immediately wished I'd kept them closed. Derek shirtless was enough to make me blush. Derek shirtless with damp hair, little beads of water all over him and only a towel wrapped around his waist brought my blood pressure up to a dangerous level.
"Eyes up here," he said gruffly, his skin darkening with a flush. He shifted and cleared his throat. "I survived. I'm going to bed. You shouldn't have waited."
Like a mother hen with a six-pack, I thought, trying hard to keep my eyes above his collarbones.
It helped if I stared at his right eyebrow. "I did, so deal with it. Whatever, it's done and we both need to get to bed."
We left the bathroom together, both of us more than ready to hit our respective sacks, but just as I reached back to hit the lights a voice made me freeze in my tracks.
"Oh, my God."
I whipped around and saw Tori, blinking hard in the light from the bathroom. She was staring at Derek, her face a mask of shock while her eyes ran the same gamut as mine, and he shifted uncomfortably.
"Jesus, what?" he huffed, and I think he wanted to cross his arms, but one hand was clutching the knot in the towel in a death grip and the other held his muddy clothes so he settled for glaring as only Derek could.
She stepped forward, frowning. "You- you're..." She shook her head in surprise, her usual calculating expression making an appearance as she took in the two of us still standing outside the bathroom door. "Riiiight. Well, don't let me interrupt," she said coyly.
Derek growled at her, and I took the moment to flee for my bedroom with only a hurried "Good night," as I hustled by. Her soft laughter pursued me down the hall and into my room before I shut the door with a few choice words of my own, though who they were directed at, I'm not really sure.
Crawling into bed, I hoped I'd be able to fall asleep instead of thinking over that particular interlude ad nauseum. For once things seemed to be going my way; after a night without sleep my body had other plans. I was asleep before I had done more than pull the covers over my shoulder.