YEAR 15

Ryan was awakened by the sound of his older daughter's heaving, rasping breaths, cluing him in to the onset of one of her panic attacks. He rushed into her room and found her sitting at the end of her bed, elbows pressed to her knees and the heels of her palms covering her eyes.

Jessica was staying at her mother's with their ten year old daughter Nora, but luckily Ryan was the one more equipped to deal with Harriet's attacks. Crouching in front of her, he gripped her forearms and pulled them toward him, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her hazel eyes locked onto his own, the only trait she had inherited from him, and the rigidness slowly began to leave her spine.

"Breathe with me, brave girl. In two three, out two three. In two three, out two three."

After what turned out to be her longest attack yet at nearly ten minutes, Harriet regained her composure, though she continued to look unsettled and skittish.

"Dad, something's wrong. I think something's wrong with Derek."

Gently tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, he tried to soothe her.

"What makes you think that? Usually you know for sure. Is something different this time?"

"It doesn't feel like he's injured or anything. I'm getting better at feeling his emotions, but this hurts – Dad, it feels like something just got torn out of my chest, like I'm hollow. Physical injuries feel weird, but not like this. Something bad happened."

He stood up and nodded to himself, replying, "I'll give Talia a call. You need to be careful when it comes to emotional damage. He hasn't purposely called on you since you were both thirteen, he might not feel comfortable confiding in you all of a sudden."

Ryan regretted his words when Harriet noticeably flinched before choking out, "You're right. I don't think he sees me as his friend anymore."

He didn't know what to say to comfort his daughter – she was no longer the little girl who would blindly believe whatever it was he said. At fifteen she was old enough to view her situation realistically. The job that she had once thought made her a guardian angel of sorts was now considered a heavy responsibility, a destiny that gave her more power than she would ever have wanted for herself.

He left the room, knowing that his daughter preferred to be alone when she was upset, and walked into the dining room to grab a telephone.

The dial tone only rung twice before the call was picked up with a clicking sound.

"Ryan?"

"Talia, are you near Derek? Harriet felt that something bad was happening, but I think it was an emotional response; she is starting to sense pain that isn't just physical."

A moment of silence followed before he heard the Alpha let out a sad sigh.

"Someone very close to Derek just lost her life in a very violent manner. He was there when it happened, and due to the circumstances surrounding her death he blames himself. We are all trying to be there for him, but it will take him a while to mourn and come to terms with what happened."

"I'm so sorry, Talia. I'll let Harriet know what has happened. She's already made it clear that she knows it wouldn't be helpful for her to appear when they haven't seen one another in a few years. I'll make sure she doesn't smoke out unless Derek summons her."

"Thank you, Ryan. And make sure Harriet knows she can always reach out to David and I for updates on Derek if she's worried."

"Alright. Goodbye, Talia."

"Goodbye, Ryan."

Just after hanging up, he turned around to head back to his daughter's room. However, she stood in the doorway of the dining room, leaning against it's frame to support herself. Harriet looked exhausted – she always did after one of her panic attacks. The sad look on her face already told him that she had heard his half of the conversation he'd just finished, and that she had been able to guess the gist of what Talia had said.

"I'll go back to bed, its good to know he's okay. 'Gnight."

"Harriet, wait –"

"I know, Dad, alright? He doesn't need me. It's a good thing, but it doesn't make it feel any better. I just always thought we'd be bigger parts of each other's lives." She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening them once again adopting a resigned expression, "I'm going back to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow for diving practice." She turned and left without another word, and a few moments later he heard her door close quietly.

Ryan and his wife had always been worried that too much of Harriet's life would be invested in or intertwined with Derek Hale's. They had never once considered that the very opposite possibility would hurt her just as badly.

Neither Harriet nor her father had noticed yet that the once silver band around her wrist had turned a dark onyx, as if the light had seeped away. The next time her eyes flashed as she tried to feel Derek through their connection, they too would show their newly-darkened state.