Edited, finished, and complete! Hope you all enjoy it!

I've got to do another chapter of Medjai Warriors, then I'll keep going on this. Sorry for the wait!

I stared at the computer screen. Tonight. Five hours away, maybe an hour there, then five hours back. It was just after five PM now. If I left right now I could be back by four. In the morning.

There was no question of not being there. I had been with Derek at every Change, both partial and complete, and I knew how much easier it was when someone was with him. I also needed an excuse to see him after two weeks. I couldn't do much for anyone, so that fact that I was one of the few people who could help him made me feel important and useful. I didn't want anyone else taking over my job.

I didn't care about being tired; I didn't get much sleep anyways because I didn't like taking the pills Andrew had given me that were supposed to help with my inability to sleep without raising a zombie. They were pretty much just knockout pills, and while they put me into a very, very deep sleep, they made me feel fuzzy and out of it all day, so I only took them if I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open, let alone do homework. Miranda had once said I looked like the walking dead, which made me break out in slightly hysterical giggles. Heh heh.

But first I had to convince Dad and Aunt Lauren. Liz hadn't reappeared, and I wasn't really worried; she often wouldn't show up for hours unless it was the weekend. She seemed to almost enjoy being dead. She was certainly taking every advantage being dead gave her. I hoped she wasn't walking through video games or computers anymore. Her telekinetic energy had a very negative effect on machines. The last accident, at a vending machine, had made the local paper.

I closed the browser and slid out of the chair, heading for the door and mentally preparing myself. What was I going to say? I think that after that A+ I got, I should get a little break. No. Too demanding. If something happens, then I won't go again. Not exactly truthful, but a better approach. I'll do the dishes for the next two months. A little drastic, but I could use it as a last resort. I'll . . . I lost my train of thought as I stepped into the dining room and saw Dad and Aunt Lauren sitting at the table, as if they had been waiting for me. I stepped forward with firm determination, hoping I wasn't about to trip over my feet, or my words.

"Dad? Aunt Lauren?"

They looked up and immediately set down the newspaper sections they had been reading.

"What do you want, Chloe?" Dad asked. Aunt Lauren looked like she was trying to guess what was going on.

"I was wondering if there was somewhere I could go tonight."

A look of realization crossed my aunt's face. "Where?"

"Mr. Bae's," I squeaked out.

"No." "Why?" Aunt Lauren and Dad said at the same time.

I faced Dad and prayed he would understand.

"Derek is Changing tonight, and it's really hard for him, and I've been with him every other time and it seems to help if someone is with him, especially me, so . . ."

"He's the werewolf, isn't he? Your boyfriend."

"Yes," Aunt Lauren took the chance and jumped in. "And I've told Chloe before, it's dangerous for her to be around him, especially when he's Changing. Werewolves are much stronger than normal people, and he could easily hurt her. He already has, when they were trying to get away. Show him, Chloe."

I wished she hadn't brought that up. When we had been escaping from the Edison Group, Derek and I had been seperated from Tori and Simon. I had been knocked out and Derek, still in his wolf form, had dragged me down the hall and out of the way into a deserted lab. Unfortunately, he had knocked against a table, and a scalpel had fallen and cut my leg. Derek had blamed himself for the accident completely. When Aunt Lauren first saw the cut she thought that Derek had caused it. I frowned at my aunt.

"That wasn't his fault. When he Changes it hurts him, and it helps if I'm there. He's been there for me every time I was in danger, and I want to do what I can for him."

My dad looked between us and we waited tensely. Aunt Lauren knew that she couldn't do anything if he decided against her. They may have not always agreed, but Aunt Lauren respected my dad's wishes. Most of the time. I hoped.

After a few moments, Dad looked at me carefully and asked, "Are you willing to take responsibility for your schoolwork?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Then I think you can go." He turned back to his newspaper without another word.

Aunt Lauren glared at him in frustration as I closed my mouth, still shocked at how easy it was. I rushed forward and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Dad." He smiled up at me and I saw the sad look of understanding in his eyes. He would have done anything for my mom, just like I will do anything for Derek.

I ran back up the stairs to my room and get ready.

~W~S~

Aunt Lauren drove me to the bus stop. She was not happy. I listened to her mutter phrases like "Padlock on her door," "Electric fence," and "Guns. Many guns," for the entire trip. I was getting a little worried, but I didn't think she would really do anything. Well . . . Except for the part about putting, "Alarms on her windows."

She stopped grumbling when we pulled up to the bus terminal. "You know how I feel about this, Chloe," she snapped out. "It isn't safe."

I was already half-way out of the car. "Sorry, Aunt Lauren. But it is safe. And even if it wasn't, I'd still find some way to help him." She stammered an objection, but I did't pay attention. I entered the terminal, bought my ticket, and by the time I came outside to wait at the bench, she'd already gone.

The bus arrived after fifteen minutes, at six o'clock, and I got on, faced with the task of occupying myself for five hours. I wasn't tired, though I knew I would soon need sleep, so I studied Spanish and Algebra, then went over my ideas for the new video project in film club. I was thinking about a bus ride. A long bus ride. I stopped when I wrote down that 'gato,' cat, meant 'once,' eleven, the hour I would arrive. I was too distracted for school.

I tried to sleep, I really did, but the uncomfortable jarring of the bus combined with my energetic thoughts kept me wide awake. So I just lay there, spread out across the seat with my legs in the aisle, looking behind me out the window at the darkening sky. My mind was nearly blank, simply filled with anticipation, wishing that the bus would go faster, wishing that I was there, with Derek, at this moment. So of course, the remaining hours crawled by more slowly than I thought was possible. Eventually, I dropped into a sort of half conscious trance, where everything felt glazed and out of place, like a video with horrible quality. I was slipping in and out of sleep, one moment reliving Lyle House, with the nurses surrounding me, and the next moment I heard the bus driver shout the address of the stop. I had arrived.

I slung my bag, filled with school books, my iPod, a snack, and a pillow, over my shoulder, and hurried off of the bus. I was the only one to get off, and the area, on the outskirts of the city, was deserted, except for a small terminal. I walked a little farther down the road to the stop light and looked up at the road sign. Turner Lane. Well, this was the right one. I kept walking, looking for the house Simon had sent me pictures of.

I found it almost immediately. It was small, green, with a low roof and a lit porch. There were no vehicles in the driveway, and I couldn't see anyone in the garage. I walked up and knock on the door. No one answered. Then I noticed the bright red door bell off to the side. I pressed it, and then jumped as a loud buzzer went off somewhere inside the house. There was a loud shout. "COMING!!!" I listened warily to what I could only guess was furniture falling over as what sounded like a herd of cows fell down the stairs. Simon threw the door open, and it slammed into the back of the wall with a crack. "Chloe, I am so glad to see you!" He wrapped me up in a quick, one armed hug, then grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the house at high speed, letting me see only a blur of color as I rushed to keep up. "They left for the park like an hour ago, and Derek looked really bad then. They took the car but I still have my bike, so if we hurry we might make it."

We emerged in the garage, and Simon pressed a small button on the wall to open the door. He had a mountain bike, and it looked nice, but he was highly offended when I asked if it could hold us both. "Are you kidding? This thing as a work of art, and I've spent enough money on upgrades to make sure it could carry at least two people." He skipped onto the front of the seat lightly, and motioned me behind him. I ascended much less gracefully, nearly tipping the bike over as I settled into position. And then we were off. I wondered if Simon did everything so fast when he was excited. I wrapped my arms around his waist tightly, exceedingly nervous as I looked down at the hard cement of the sidewalk.

Simon didn't even slow when we jumped a curb and nearly went out of control. Or, that's what it felt like. Simon seemed to be completely relaxed and having a great time. The minutes of terror dragged by as I clung to Simon for dear life, then we suddenly skidded to halt. Simon yelled, jumped off quickly, then helped me down, grinning all the while. "That was the first time I really got to try out the new brake system! Wasn't it great?" I nodded shakily, waiting for my knees to stop knocking into each other. When they did, I looked up at where we were.

It was a park. A huge, dark place, with trees bursting over the top of the fence that surrounded it. Oak, maple, beech. . . Those were only the ones I could recognize, and there were many more kinds.

"Wow."

"Yup," Simon replied. "Nice isn't it? This is one of the top rated parks in the state, and we're just lucky enough to live right next to it." He pointed behind me to the large parking lot, and I saw the single blue van. "That's Dad's van, so they must have come in this way."

I looked up at the iron fence, not sure what to think. "How are we going to get in?"

"The same way Dad and Derek got in. They probably left it open for us; I told Dad you would be coming."

"Did you tell Derek?" I asked, following Simon as he walked around the fence.

"Nah. I wanted to surprise him, and he didn't want you to come anyways."

I stopped. "He didn't want me there?"

Simon turned to look at me. "Oh, he wanted you to be there, he just didn't want to wear you out. He's worried enough about you as it is, what with the zombies and everything." He looked back at me, slightly worried. "Have you been having problems? You look tired."

I shook my head, even though it was a complete lie. "I've been studying for a test on Friday."

He didn't exactly look convinced. "Alright, but Derek will be able to tell."

I nodded and continued following him around the park. He was right, and I didn't know how I was going to convince Derek that I was doing as well as could be expected.

We walked for a few more yards, until Simon stopped and pointed to the large gate. A padlock was hanging in place, but when Simon pulled at it, it fell open instantly.

He pulled open the door and walked in as I trailed behind. Forests are always creepy at night, and this park was huge. When I turned around after a few yards I couldn't see the gate, and the light from the parking lot lamp was impossible to see with all the trees in the way. Luckily, Simon had brought flashlights.

I followed him closely, terrified of getting lost, and we walked for a few more minutes before I glimpsed another light coming through the trees.

"Dad?" Simon called out.

"Simon?" a voice answered. "Where are you?"

"Over here!"

Mr. Bae joined us moments later, his clothes dirty and his hair tangled with twigs. He smiled at me, his eyes grinning gently, and I was reminded of how much I liked this man.

"Hello, Chloe. It's great to see you again."

I blushed slightly, not really sure what to say. Simon saved me.

"What's up? Why did you start coming back, and where's Derek?"

"Derek heard you get here. Actually, so did I. That brake system worked, I take it?" He replied.

"Oh, it was great! You have got to try it."

Mr. Bae tried to hide his smile. "Alright, maybe later. Right now, Derek needs help."

I immediately snapped back to normal. "Is he alright?"

Mr. Bae nodded reassuringly. "He's fine, but you know how hard it is for him. He's down that path about 300 feet. I can-"

I wasn't listening anymore. As soon as he had told me where Derek was I had rushed down the path, which, I admit, was not the best plan, but at the moment, I didn't care.

Then I tripped over a tree root. I went a little more slowly after that.

When I thought I had gone about 300 feet, I started looking around and whispering Derek's name. I reached a small clearing, and then I heard a low moan.

Derek had moved into the darkness of the trees. He was already almost half-way through the Change, but under his thick black fur I could still make out his features. He was breathing hard, like he couldn't get enough air in, and I remembered watching a movie in Health about panic attacks. I rushed over and bent down beside him, and he shuddered when I placed my hand on his back. He looked over at me, and I picked up the silent thank you in his eyes. I smiled.

"I'm here. It's okay."

I sat there with him until it was finished, until the wolf had fully taken over his body, until the last spasms of pain had passed through his body, until he had completely calmed down. Then the Derek-wolf stood up, turned to face me, and fixed me with his worst glare.

"Oh, what? Are you still upset I came?"

He nodded firmly. I placed my hands on my hips, glaring back at him.

"Well excuse me! This is something I wanted to do Derek Souza, and you do not have control over how I spend my time. It's bad enough being at school, without anyone to talk to, and worrying about raising dead people, and ghosts, and school, and you and Simon, and Liz, and Rae, and if any of the Edison Group got away, and I wanted to come and do this so you better darn deal with it!" I hadn't realized my voice had been building, hadn't really thought about what I was saying, hadn't realized how much I had wanted to see him, and tell him about the past weeks. And now he was telling me he didn't want me around! I stared at the ground and swept a hand over my eyes to dislodge the forming tears. I felt awful, tired and hungry, maybe a little sick, and right now I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.

I felt a gentle nudge against my shoulder and looked up at Derek. His green eyes stared softly at me, and I gave a shaky smile. He pressed his nose up against my face, and I giggled at the cold, wet touch against my cheek. My smile was much more real now, and I threw my arms around Derek's neck. I kissed his furry cheek and then drew back.

"Now that, that little bit of unpleasantness is over, I think we should head back to your dad."

Derek nodded and stood. I placed my hand on his back as we walked, and he gave me a big wolfy grin. We traveled along the path, me clutching him so I wouldn't fall flat on my face as he strolled along carelessly, easily avoiding everything in his path. I guess you can blame it on his night vision, but by the time we got out of the park I wanted to trip him.

Simon and Mr. Bae were waiting for us. Simon hugged me goodbye, told me he was looking forward to the weekend, then jumped on his bike and zoomed away. Mr. Bae opened the van's back door, and I realized that the back seat had been removed, giving Derek enough room to curl up comfortably. I followed him in, and Mr. Bae got into the driver's seat. He was taking me back to the bus stop. The engine rumbled quietly to life, and we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

I leaned back against Derek, feeling the warmth of his body warming me and making me even drowsier. The van moved smoothly along the highway, and light from the lamps along the side of the road flickered through the windows. But I wasn't going to fall asleep. This would be the last time I would see Derek until the weekend, and I would not be spending it unconscious. So I whispered to Derek, even though, in his wolf form, he couldn't answer back. I told him about school, and Liz, and Kari, Beth, and Miranda, and all the kids at school, and my algebra homework that I knew he could have finished in three minutes, and anything else that popped into my head. And he listened silently, nodding every time I looked at him. I wished that this time would never end and that we could drive on through the night forever. Then the van stopped.

I sat up reluctantly, looking through the windows. The bus terminal was empty, completely deserted. A single yellow bulb illuminated the concrete sidewalk and the small rest area where food and tickets were sold. It was time for me to go.

I stood up as much as I could before opening the sliding door. Derek climbed out after me, and we walked side by side toward the bus stop. I looked toward the window where the tickets were sold, wondering nervously if anyone would notice the big, black, wolf and call the police. But everything was quiet, and the middle aged woman at the ticket window was asleep over a magazine. I didn't need another ticket anyways. The one I had bought back home covered the return trip. I glanced at my watch. 11:45. I had five minutes. Five minutes to say good bye to Derek again. Doing it at the safe house had been hard enough. I would be seeing him on the weekend. Only three more days and then I would be with him for an entire weekend. Two days. But I knew from experience that much could change in three days, or even one day. Friends, like Liz, could die. I willed myself to calm down. I had to do this.

I knelt down in front of Derek. Light poured down from the weak lamp above us, casting long shadows over the sidewalk, the grass, the black highway. A whisper of wind brushed my hair into my face. Derek gave a soft whine, the only sound he could make to show me what he was feeling. I lay my hand on his shoulder and wove my fingers in and out of the soft fur. I started to say something, I don't know what, but my throat closed up. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to. I looked down, trying to calm down enough to at least get my voice working again. Then Derek pressed his forehead gently against mine. I closed my eyes, calming quickly, and just knelt there, enjoying the feel of Derek's fur against my face. We stayed in that position until Derek suddenly looked up.

I turned toward the road and saw two pinpricks of yellow light moving toward us quickly. I looked back at Derek. His eyes told me everything I needed to know. That he was grateful I had been there for him. That he still thought it had been a bad idea. That he was worried about me, about how I was handling things at school, and the dead bodies, the ghosts. . .

That he loved me.

That I had to go.

I gave him a hug, quick but tight, and then stood. Derek headed back to the van where Mr. Bae was waiting for him. He gave me one more look, his green eyes shining in the darkness, then climbed into the back.I stood and waited for the bus. It seemed to take only seconds before it pulled to a screeching stop in front of me. I forced my legs up the steps and walked to the very back of the bus. I stared out the window at the blue van sitting in the shadows. The bus began to move, and I felt my stomach clench.

After a good forty minutes of staring out the windows, I gave my weary mind a rest. I needed to sleep. I had tests, assignments, film club and I'd only gotten one hour of sleep so far. I had to stop thinking about Derek.

I rested my head against the window and sighed. For my next film I would try a documentary about why you should never have a boyfriend who lives 300 miles away. It was much too difficult this way. I didn't know if I could get by with so little sleep, and then there was just the emotional strain of moving around between friends. Nate had asked me to the last dance of the school year, and I didn't really know how to tell him I couldn't go because I already had a boyfriend. Instead, I had told him I was busy that day. Way easier than explaining what was going on in my life. Summer was going to be an incredible relief. I imagined week long sleep overs and couldn't help grinning. Maybe going on a shopping trip into the city with Tori, going to the amusement park with Simon, going to the park with Derek. . .

If I could just make it through the last two months of the school year, I could make it. I lay down on the seat, trying to get as comfortable as possible. The weekend, the summer. I couldn't wait.