I'm alive! Seriously though, I'm glad to be back after some health issues. I'm still struggling with motivation, but I will try hard to post once per week. Thank you for reading! Positive criticism is welcome! -V

Chapter 31. Connection

Daria traced a picture frame above the fireplace mantle of her family home with her fingers. Her mother smiled brightly beside a more youthful version of her father.

"It wasn't really her, you know," Stiles murmured beside her. "Trust me."

"I know." Daria's voice fell to almost a whisper. "I just can't help but wish that I could have spoken to her. Said… something."

"Would it really have helped anything?" He peered at her seriously.

She threw an arm around Stiles and pulled him closer. "No. Especially not if it would have kept you from coming back."

There was a sense of loss in not having gotten to talk to the echo of her mother, but it hadn't been real. Stiles was real. Alive. Home. It filled her with just enough hope to get through each day that followed the Ghost Rider's departure.

"You ready for the last day of school tomorrow?" She gave her brother a light grin.

Stiles threw his head back in exasperation. "Very funny." He shook his head with a muted glare. "Apparently I got an A on my finals. You know that? Can't remember a single question on any of the tests, but hey…"

"It'll be okay, Stiles." She laughed. His emotions were a constant ping pong between frustration and gratitude as of late, and it amused her to no end.

"Yeah… I know." He offered a half-smile. "And hey, thanks to Scott's Dad, it might be better than okay."

Daria grinned. Rafael had to call in a few favors, but when she'd asked him to help Stiles get into the FBI internship program, he readily agreed.

He'd also expedited her passport, ensuring that she would be able to go anywhere she needed to without interference, and Daria was grateful. She would find Derek soon, and a spark of excitement for the unknown flurried in her chest.

"Mom would be proud of you, Stiles." She leaned her head against his shoulder, letting her eyes linger on the photograph of her mother for a little longer.

"She'd be proud of you too, sis." He pulled her in for a hug. "I almost feel bad that we went through all this just to leave again."

"We'll be back together in Beacon Hills before you know it."

Her brother nodded with a smile. He had grown up so much in the past year, and it filled Daria with pride. Hopefully the change in the tide would favor each of them on their journeys.

"Derek…"

Derek blinked as his eyes adjusted to the now-familiar scenery of Daria's apartment. He had been awake this time, laying in a cot in northern Brazil as he prepared the journey to meet with Daria. Maybe it was inconvenient to travel thousands of miles to find her, but the prospect of having Daria by his side wasn't one the evolved beta could pass up.

"Mmm," a soft hum floated to his ears, and he spotted Daria's sleeping figure nestled under several blankets on the corner of her bed. Boxes were piled all around, half-filled with clothing and other necessities.

So she was moving out of her apartment before she left. Did that mean she planned on being with him for an extended period of time? Or… for good? The thought of Daria being with him permanently sent a thrill down his spine.

"Hmmmm," she hummed again, turning on her side, and Derek couldn't help but smirk. Somehow the empath had reached out to him in her sleep. It could only mean she was dreaming about him while channeling the wolf, and he couldn't help but feel pleased.

"Daria," he knelt beside her curled up form. Derek hated to wake her, but he also didn't want to violate her privacy.

"Derek," she sighed in her sleep, and he felt his blood flow a little faster.

"Daria."

Finally her eyes fluttered open. "Derek?" Then as wakefulness grew, she shot up from the bed. "Derek?! What are you doing here? How did you get in my apartment?"

He raised a brow and smiled. "You can see me this time."

"See you, wh–" She paused for several seconds, still waking up. "You… you're not really here."

"Not unless empaths somehow know how to teleport." Then a smirk grew on his face. "But if you're planning on dreaming about me often, you might want to channel someone else."

Daria stared incredulously, "Why you–" She tried to shove him, but her hand went right through, and the empath sent herself rolling onto the floor with a thud.

Derek laughed out loud. He couldn't help it. She was so cute, lying in a heap with an adorable scowl on her face.

"Stop laughing! It hurts!" she growled, and he coughed into his fist.

"I'd offer to help you up, but…"

"Yeah, yeah… I get it." With a glow of blue in her eyes, she leapt to her feet gracefully, and Derek marveled at the ease in which she borrowed his ability.

"I'm sorry for laughing," he said seriously.

"It's okay," Daria shrugged. "You're right. I shouldn't channel you when I sleep."

He dared to take a step closer. "Is that your way of saying you're going to keep dreaming about me."

A blush crept up her cheeks, and she grinned, "You know I can't lie to a werewolf."

He longed to hold her in his arms in that moment. To be there with her and feel her touch.

"I talked to Deucalion. He has a safehouse in the Blue Ridge Mountains." She edged closer to the echo of his face, and their skin nearly overlapped. "He said we could use it to meet - if you want."

Derek had never liked Deucalion, and the Alpha of Alpha's fatherly relationship with Daria was one he couldn't fathom, but he was grateful the old wolf cared enough for the empath to help in their time of need. "I can be there in two weeks." He'd have to find a way into Florida undetected, but it was worth it.

"Two weeks," Daria's eyes crinkled as she beamed.

They would be together soon.