Shout out to:
*Serena Sterling: Aw, it doesn't matter if it's not a word because it fits perfectly :3 I agree, and I added it in for this chapter! You're welcome and thanks!
*Bre: Yes, it came late again but that's okay :) Thank you, I hope to progress their relationship until it's less physical, but still some of course ;), and more about the emotional side but without making them OOC.
*TheHungryRainbow: She does, doesn't she? So does he though!
So.. I don't think I'm done using Jacob's character yet.. If he were to come back in, he probably won't be a baddie but he won't be their friend either, you know? I'm not sure.. I just think he wouldn't have left things the way they were between he and Ash considering he obviously still likes her alot. But, we will see!
..
Ash wakes up, only to find Derek is already awake.
She rolls onto her stomach, look over at him.
Derek turns around when he hears movement and hears her heartbeat become slightly uneven and a little faster as it usually is when the erratic girl is concious.
"Hey." She says sleepily, resting her chin on her hands and meeting his eyes with half-closed eyes of her own.
"Morning." He says.
Ash's eyes dart of to the window and the sun's only just coming up now so it's early.
"How long have you been up?" Ash asks, looking back over at him again.
"Couldn't sleep. How you feeling?" He quickly moves past his answer to check on her, as he sits back down on the bed beside her.
"Better, I guess. You didn't sleep? Not at all?" She gives her answer and goes back to him though.
He doesn't reply so Ash gives him a firm look, raising her eyebrows.
"Derek?" She says.
"No, okay?" He sighs.
"Why the hell not?" She asks with a sigh of her own.
"I had too much on my mind last night, I couldn't." He says honestly. "I just..I wanted to make sure you slept through the night and didn't have any..you know." He admits, not saying the word 'nightmares' but Ash understands that's what he means, which means he knows about the bad nightmares she occasionally has.
Ash looks away awkwardly because she didn't think anyone other than Scott knew, but she's wrong, more than just Derek know, she just seems to think that maybe they don't care enough to notice but she's wrong about that too.
"I'm sorry I made last night all about me." She apologies, once again looking at him. "It was supposed to be about you."
"No, I said what I needed too, and so did you. It was about us both." He says.
"Okay, well, I'm sorry for getting so upset like that-"
"Ash, you really gotta stop apologising for things you can't control, things that aren't your fault." Derek says. "It's okay, Ash. It's all okay."
"That's not the only thing I'm sorry about though." Ash shakes her head. "I haven't been kind to you in the past-"
"Don't apologise for that." He stops her. "I wasn't that kind to you either-"
"That's not true. I got what I deserved, and you still helped me, and my family." Ash says. "I can't..I can't forget that day, with the-the Oxy. And I don't mean what I did or didn't do, I mean what I called you. You're not cold-hearted, you've never been cold-hearted." Ash takes back what she said months ago, because in the last couple weeks, he's showed he's the exact opposite to a 'cold-hearted bastard' and Ash needs to settle that right now too.
Her hand comes to his chest, resting over his heart. Ash can feel his heart softly thumping under her fingers.
"I'm sorry." Ash says.
Derek looks down at her, meeting her eyes. He brings his hand over her's that's on his chest. He doesn't respond, because she doesn't have to apologise for any of that, that's in the past, things are obviously different between them now. He just leans forward and kisses her.
Ash pulls back, frowning a little, but it's not in rejection.
"Hey, I'm trying to be sentimental here." She says.
"Okay then." Derek nods, pulling back again. "Go on." He says, giving her the chance to finish.
"Oh..no, I was done." Ash says. She chuckles and leans forward, kissing him this time. He shakes his head fondly before kissing her back.
Before their conversation is forgotten past their locked lips, Derek pulls back again, looking at her.
"What are you doing, Ash?" He asks her.
"What do you mean? I'm..kissing you?" She says, confused. "Am I suddenly not allowed to do that or something?" She frowns.
"No, you can, of course you can." He assures her. "But..why are you being so repentant?" He asks her.
"I don't know, I just.. After last night, thinking about all that crap again..I just wish I could take some things I've said or done back, you know? Change things? For the better?" She says.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He nods.
"And what you told me last night, I don't know why she did that to your family but you gotta know..it wasn't your fault, Derek." Ash says.
Derek sighs, shaking his head.
"I caused to fire." He says.
"What? No, you didn't. Kate-"
"I was dating her." Derek cuts her off, needing to get this out this time around, needing to make Ash understand his sin and not let him off so easy, not after the hell he and the little family he had left went through in the days and weeks that followed the infamous Hale fire.
"You what?" Ash asks, unsure if she heard that right.
"She was using me to get to them. I didn't know who she was, I had no clue, not until it was too late." He admits, averting his eyes away from her as he feels his shame protrude out again, his guilt.
Ash thinks about it for a moment, about how Kate was always odd when she dealt with Derek. The way she'd look him up and down with approval of a more stimulating kind, in the same kind of way Ash looks at him, except Ash doesn't do it to hurt or manipulate, only to appreciate him.
But, the pieces fit together easily enough now that Derek's said that.
"Okay." Ash says.
Derek looks back at her when she doesn't say anything else.
"That's all you're gonna say? 'Okay'?" He asks her, like he's offended with the reply, but he's just shocked, surprised, that she really is letting him off this easy because Derek believes he deserves to be punished for what he's done, it's why he doesn't feel sorry for himself when horrible things happen to him, he just figures it's karma or something, what goes around comes around.
"What do you want me to say?" Ash asks him, actually curious as to what reaction he was looking to get.
She's not going to explode and yell, say horrible things and make him feel disgusting, because it wasn't his goddamn fault. He was tricked, played, just like Kate's probably done to so many other people. Ash feels nothing for that woman, no sorrow, no saddness, and absolutely no regret for what Peter did to her. She deserved every second of pain she was in. In fact, she deserved more. She died in seconds, bleeding out, while the Hales would have burned for minutes, agonosing minutes, feeling their own skin and flesh fry to a crisp before they either died from the inflicted wounds or maybe just from the smoke inhiltion, if they were that lucky. And the emotional damage that was left on the surviving Hales, the physical damage left on Jessie..Ash could never blame Derek for that. She just wishes he could see it the way she does, that he's not at fault, he's a survivor.
"You didn't know who she was. Yeah, I mean, I can see why you might think you're to blame but-"
"Think?" He questions, standing up again, a deep frown darkening his face. "I am to blame."
"No, you're not." Ash shakes her head, getting out of bed and standing up as well now. "You had no idea. She knew what she was doing, you aren't responsible for her or her actions."
"Yeah? Well, maybe if I wasn't so blind, I would have seen that she was just-"
"Just what, Derek?" Ash asks him. "Do you realise how hard is it to see someone's using you? To see past the love you have for them?" She asks.
Derek stays quiet, unsure how to answer that.
"You know, now that it's done and I've had the time to really think about it, I don't think that was the first time Jacob cheated on me. But how was I supposed to see that, right? I thought I was in love and that we'd be together forever, it was stupid. But I didn't know that, not until it was too late." She says, trying to make him understand.
She sighs, rubbing her hand down her face.
"I don't wanna argue with you. And I can't make you think what I think. But, just so you know, their sins are on them, not us." She says softly.
Derek just looks at her with intrigument, wondering how the hell he got this girl. Wondering how he found someone that would stand up to him and argue back like that, and not give in to him no matter how much he flashed his eyes or showed his fangs. Wondering how she's managed up to put up with his attitude, his personality and his temper without walking away, like he expects most people will do. Hell, he's still surprised the pack have stuck around, that Jessie has too. But he's happy they have. As odd as it may sound, he can no longer imagine his life without them anymore, he doesn't think he wants to even try picture it.
"You have a beautiful family, Derek." She says.
"Had." He corrects her sadly. "I had a beautiful family."
Ash sighs and walks around the bed to his side. She takes his hand, pulling him to sit down on the bed with her again. She reaches up behind her, unclasping her necklace. She holds the locket in her hand, bringing it out in front of her.
"Before my Mom died, she gave this to me." Ash says.
Derek glances up at her but she just keeps looking at the gold heart locket.
"She's had it since before Jade was born." She says. She opens the locket, showing him the picture inside of it.
Derek looks at a younger version of the McCall family. All of them. Melissa and Hailey sitting together. Ash holding a newborn baby which Derek can tell is Jade. And a young Scott. All of them, except Rafael.
"I was so mad that she was letting Rafael back into our lives again. She gave me this and told me that the people in the picture were my family, that they'd always be my family." She closes the locket again, squeezing it tightly in her hand. She looks up, meeting Derek's green orbs.
"Dead or alive, they're still your family. Melissa's still my Mom, just like your Mom is still your Mom. Just..don't forget that, ever." Ash says. She looks down at the locket again with a sad frown. "Here or not, nothing will ever change that." She says.
Derek looks at her hand, noticing she's holding onto the locket so tightly that her knuckles are white. He gently pries her hand open, taking it into his own hand. He stands up and goes behind her, putting the necklace back around her neck and clasping it together again, with a little difficulty as he isn't used to dealing with jewellery, obviously.
He walks back around to stand in front of her, guiding her to her feet again.
Ash watches him, wondering what he's going to do.
He leans in and kisses her again. But it's not just a kiss, it's like a 'thank you' but without words.
Ash wraps her arms around his back and hugs him close, not letting him pull back just yet.
"You okay?" He asks her, resting his arms on her lower back, looking down at her.
Ash nods with her cheek againist his shoulder.
"Hey, Derek. Stiles just.." Jessie walks into his room but pauses. "Oh.. I.. Sorry." She says, realising he's not alone like she thought he would be.
Ash steps back and they both turn to the younger girl.
"What has Stiles done now?" Derek asks her, neither him or Ash justifying themselves because they don't have too.
"He and Scott found out who the guy in the hospital is." Jessie says, moving past the subject.
"The guy the Skinwalkers put there?" Ash asks her.
"Yeah." Jessie nods. "Why don't you two get some clothes on and join us?" She suggests with a teasing smirk. She leaves the room after that, closing the door behind her.
Derek pulls out a fresh shirt and grabs Ash's hoodie from off the end of the bed. He hands it to her and she pulls it back on over her singlet while Derek puts his shirt on.
"Scott's out there." Ash says, looking at the bedroom door.
"Yeah, he is." Derek nods.
Ash nods, taking a breath before walking ot of the room, Derek following her.
Scott's eyes shoot up from Jade's face and it takes him only a second to notice Ash's bed hair. Because she stayed here last night. With Derek. Scott looks over at Derek next and the alpha meets his eyes evenly.
Derek's not going to call things off with Ash just because Scott said so. He does understand that the young man just wants to keep her safe but Derek's already said it once and he'll say it again, he will keep her safe.
Stiles looks between the two werewolves before deliberately clearing his throat loudly, to draw their attention to him.
"We found out who the guy in the hospital is." Stiles says, slapping the file down on the dining room table.
Derek, Ash, Jessie and Scott are drawn to Stiles and the file.
"His name's George Harrison." Stiles continues, opening up the file for them to see.
Isaac is attracted by the noise as well, joining them downstairs and over by the table.
Peter's god knows where though. That's probably for the best right now, especially considering they certainly don't need anymore tension than there already is in the Hale loft.
"He's still in the hospital on bed rest but he's not critical anymore, he's pulled through the worst of it. He's gonna survive and fully recover." Stiles says, making them all feel a little better.
But Derek knows there's fault to that statement and he has to suck that good feeling from the air even though he doesn't really want too.
"No." Derek shakes his head, making them all look at him with frowns. "They won't let him live. They'll hunt him down and finish the job. It's what they do."
Scott looks over at him with narrowed eyes, because if they'd do that to George, they'll do it to Derek too. Once again, if Ash is attached to him, she's in danger too.
"Then we have to kill them before they do that." Jessie says, looking at Derek.
"Yeah." Derek nods in agreement. "I'll go to B.H Memorial. I'll talk to Harrison, see what I can dig up about his attack."
"I'll come too." Ash says.
Scott looks over at her now but Ash speaks before he can object.
"You can't just waltz in there. There's security measures taken, especially for patients that are or have been on the critical list." Ash says, knowing this from her mother's few hundred work stories she'd tell her once she got home from a long day at the hospital. "I'll lie, say I need a check-up on my hand. My Doc works in that department. It's dirty, but at least it gets us in." She says.
Jessie, like she was when she first arrived back in Beacon Hills, is still impressed by how this pack binds the illegal and the legal together to form a foulproof plan.
"Then I'm coming too." Scott says, wanting to be there to look after his sister in case it goes south.
"Okay." Derek nods. "Me, Scott and Ash will do this. Ash will get us in, we'll question Harrison." Derek says, the second part to Scott, which the beta nods to in agreement.
Jessie and Stiles share a look, wondering if Derek and Scott working together is a good idea or not right now.
"We need to find anything else we can on them, it'd be best if we knew where to find at least one of them. That way, we can pin him down, squeeze him for information, try and figure out why this is happening." Derek says.
"To stop it from happening ever again." Ash corrects him, because this is more than just personal for her, they killed her goddamn mother, stole her away from her family.
Derek looks over at her and nods.
"Yeah, we will." He promises her.
Ash looks up at meet his eyes, his magically green eyes that she likes so much.
"Yeah." She nods back.
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The pack are ready to kick ass and take names, especially Ash! Favourite, follow and review!