This next song is called Alone in this Bed by Framing Hanley. Yay! I know, aren't we excited? Not. Whatever. Heh heh, so what are we thinking so far? After this one, I'm going to start putting up Biting the Hand that Feeds, a chapter story. I hope you read it, but, meh, I shrug. Oh, I don't own any of the characters or the songs for that matter. I simply own the ways that I twist and bend them to my will. XD
Waking up without you, it doesn't feel right
To sleep with only memories is harder every night
And sometimes I think I can feel you
Breathing on my neck
Tonight, I'm reaching out to the stars
I think that he owes me a favor
It doesn't matter where you are
I'll hold you again
I wish, I could hear your voice
Don't leave me alone in this bed
I wish, I could touch you once more
Don't leave me alone in this bed
Not tonight, not tomorrow
I've got the feeling that this will never cease
Living in these pictures, it never comes with ease
I swear, if I could make this right
You'd be back by now
Tonight, I'm screaming out to the stars
He knows he owes me a favor
It doesn't matter where you are
You'll be mine again
I wish, I could hear your voice
Don't leave me alone in this bed
I wish, I could touch you once more
Don't leave me alone in this bed
What about the friends that we had?
We've been crazy not to go
Leave me in case and I'll
I wish, I could hear your voice
Don't leave me alone in this bed
I wish, I could touch you once more
And don't leave me alone in this bed
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Don't leave me alone in this bed
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Don't leave me alone in this bed
First Fights
Derek –23 Chloe –2
No matter what way Derek twisted or turned in his King sized bed, he couldn't get comfortable. Chloe was gone for the night; she was at Tori's house. Of course. They'd just had their first fight. Well, first fight as newlyweds. It was their worst fight, too. He hated thinking about it, about the things that were said…
"Derek Souza!" Chloe screamed, tears in her eyes. "Why is it that every time you have a bad day, you come home and drink until you can't even stand up right?" Derek shot out of his seat.
"I haven't been drinking!"
"Not yet!" She shouted, flicking hair out of her eyes. "Not that you weren't planning on it!" In all actuality, he was planning on not drinking unless it was a social occasion, not that he was telling her that he was going to quit.
"I wasn't! What happened to all that trust you've been talking about?"
Chloe sighed loudly, throwing her hands up. "Trust? That disappeared when you accused me of flirting with Simon! Your brother, my brother-in-law!" She shook her head.
"You were flirting, Chloe," Derek said in the voice that told he knew he was right, and nothing she said would change his mind. Well…
"You think that every time I'm talking to another guy that I'm planning on cheating on you, Derek! Can't you see that I love you? I don't try to hurt you, like you do when you're mad at me!"
"I've never-"
"Verbally!" She spat. "I just can't deal with this!" she shrieked, walking away. Derek followed her, powering quickly into the kitchen.
"What can't you handle, Chloe? Well? Go ahead and say it! Stop being such a little coward and say it!" That stung him as he said it, but the anger was blocking any sort of rational thought. Her baby blues filled up and she stared him straight in the face and he knew what she said next would hurt like hell.
"I can't deal with your possessiveness. I can't deal with the wolfish acts I have to put up with; namely your temper, the territoriality, the rage, and the fact that no matter what I do, you seem determined to make me the bad guy!"
He actually rocked backwards, almost falling. He caught himself on the counter- it was custom made as was the rest of the house- and stared at her through wounded eyes. Oh, that was low, so low, and yet… he deserved it, deserved the searing pain that torpedoed through him; he deserved how his insides squirmed in guilt and how his eyes stung immediately with tears.
"You said yes," he whispered. She stared at him, confused. "You knew how I was. You have known me since we were sixteen and fifteen. I never hid anything from you. And you still said yes, knowing everything." His voice was soft. It got louder, now, "You said yes, DAMMIT!" She flinched; outrage filled her eyes.
"So it's my fault then? It's all my fault that I said yes to y-y-your-" She stopped as she stuttered, obviously annoyed. "This is all my fault because I agreed to marry you?" She spoke the words so softly that Derek knew instinctively to back down. But he didn't, just kept leering at her. "Then maybe…maybe it wasn't as good an idea as we thought. Goodbye, Derek." She whispered. She snatched her purse up off the counter, got in the car, and left.
That was the first time in a long time that Derek had cried, really cried, full out bawled. She was gone, gone for good, finally done with putting up with his anger, his impatience… but what about all those good memories they had? Obviously, they didn't outweigh the bad, but they were surely worth something. The vacation they took to the beach; the playful days they'd stay home from work and just wrestle or tease each other gently and lovingly; when Derek would surprise her with some little gift that was basically nothing, but made her eyes light up. They'd only been married for a few months - five, in fact - and already…they were over.
Derek had to fix it, but he couldn't. He stared through the window, glaring hard, as if it was the sky's fault that he was stupid on how to keep someone he loved around. The stars twinkled merrily at him, as if to say, "Ha-ha! You've lost her, and it's all your fault, and guess what? We're going to go on as normal, even as your heart shatters slowly!" He wanted to hold her so badly, one last time, show her how much he loved her. It was silly, but he got up, out of bed and started walking around their large house. He went to the kitchen first and poured any sort of liquor or beer down the drain, with the water on. He tossed the empty bottles and cans into the trash. It wasn't really that that the fight had made him want to start over, it was strain. But still, he was in the wrong about that. He knew what that did to Chloe, when she saw him drinking, even if it was only now and then.
Derek put his hands flat on the counter, resting his weight there and putting his head down. More tears fell, and his body shook. It wasn't fair. She was gone. And he had actually tried.
"You see? Every time you feel strongly for someone, you push them away, some way or another." He jumped at the voice, then realized it was his own voice talking. "Why?" He whispered back, not caring that he was talking to himself.
"Because you're convinced that you're dangerous. How long have you and Chloe been together? And not once have you hurt her at all. But you still pushed her away." Apparently his subconscious was a lot more confident than he was; Chloe's pep talks were going somewhere. Derek let out a sob of a laugh, then shook his head. He couldn't go back to that bed, where he'd be alone all night; probably for the rest of his life.
Derek eventually gave in and went back to bed, falling into a fitful sleep where he dreamt that Chloe had seen a ghost on the road and swerved, thinking it was a real person. She'd crashed into a tree. While he was following the ambulance to the hospital, he woke up - he felt a familiar presence...
"Chloe!" He gasped, sitting up, disoriented, scared, shaking, but not for himself; for Chloe - because for a moment, he'd thought the dream was real. Was she okay? He had to call Tori, he really did. He reached for the phone, but stopped when a shaking hand caught his fingers. It was tiny and delicate, looking like a doll hand. The nails were painted a very delicate pink, and the touch of skin on his hand made his heart pitter patter quickly.
"It's okay, Derek." She murmured. He saw her face, the redness around her eyes and the slight reddening in her cheeks: she'd been crying. "It's alright. I'm sorry, God, I'm so sorry." She threw herself into his arms, crying more into his shoulder. He curled himself around her, rocking her gently, and they both cried together. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
"So am I." They looked into each other's eyes and simply stared. Derek hoped all his love was showing through his eyes, though he knew he had no problems saying it to her. He just wanted her to know he wasn't lying to her.
"I love you, Chloe Souza," he said sincerely.
She smiled a little. "I love you, Derek Souza. I love that our names are the same; I love that we live together; I even love it when you snore."
Derek looked away. "I do not snore!"
She rolled her eyes and turned his chin towards her. "Kiss me." He did, gently at first, but a little more enthusiastically when she slid her tongue very lightly over his bottom lip. His hands positioned themselves on her hips, hers on his shoulders. She pushed his button up shirt off and he slid her shirt over her shoulders, bearing them but not her. He dropped soft kisses all over her shoulders, making her shiver. Her hands were making trails over his back, trails of what felt like fire.
"Don't leave me again." He whispered, hiding the tears in his eyes as he lowered her onto to the bed.
"Never," she whispered, catching his lips with hers.
XXX
2 Months Later…
Chloe stared hard at the little plastic strip. It could be wrong- it most likely was wrong. She could convince herself that it was wrong- she was good at denial. But…it was the fourth one.
She called Derek at work and told him she was feeling better (she'd been home sick for a few days before she finally decided to try this…) and that she wanted him to come home.
"On my way. Don't leave the house, okay?"
"Alright. I…"
"What?"
"I love you." She whispered. A soft sigh on the other end.
"I love you, too." They hung up- they never said "good bye" or even "bye" because that was too final.
When Derek got home, Chloe was nervous. She was pacing and twisting her hands. What would he say? How would he take it? Would he flip out? No, they'd been married –very happily besides a few little quibbles in between –for seven months. It wasn't like…like this just happened…it was like-
"Chloe?" Derek called from downstairs, closing the door. "Where are you?"
"U-up here! I'm f-fine." She scowled at her stutter, and knew that Derek would be up the stairs in a second. She tossed the evidence in the trashcan, flipped the light off, and left the bathroom.
"What's the matter?" He took her face in his hands, making her feel tiny and safe all at the same time. She melted against him, closing her eyes and letting his steady heart beat and his even breathing steady her.
"I have some…news."
"Good or bad?" He asked, not even hesitating.
"Depends." His eyebrows furrowed, confused. "On how you take it, I mean."
"Oh. Well, spit it out."
"Derek, I'm… pregnant." She said, then she bolted into the bathroom, locking the door. Derek sat down, hard, on the bed. He felt lightly dizzy, as if someone had drained the blood from his head or like he'd been standing with his knees locked for too long. Pregnant? How? Well, duh, he knew how. He knew exactly how, and probably when, too: the last time they didn't use any sort of preventative precautions was… when they had their fight.
Derek started quickly going over things in his head, none of which involved adoption or abortion. Okay, so the baby will either be a werewolf or a necromancer, or both, which would be bad, but…Derek rolled his shoulders and knocked very softly on the door.
"Chloe, come out, please."
"No. You hate me." She said thickly. He could hear the tears in her voice.
"I do not hate you!" he scolded gently. "Please come out here." The door opened slowly, revealing Chloe standing there with tears on running down her face. Something had changed though, he could see that...
"We're keeping it," she whispered, not looking at him. "Or at least, I am. If you don't want it, you…"
"I want it." He said instantly. Oh, the change that took over her face at that moment- you would have thought he said he was going to buy her an island or something. The tears magically vanished, the sad draw of her face cleared, and her eyes were shining with new, happy tears. She threw her arms around him and kissed him sweetly.
XXX
7 months later… ^-^
"D-Derek?" Chloe called. She was lying on the couch, but she looked stricken, her face pale white. Simon was in the house, too, along with Rae, Tori, and Kit. They were all there to help take care of Chloe.
"What?" he asked, tiredly. She'd been keeping him up all night for a very long time.
And then he saw her face. Simon came in the room calmly, and saw her face too.
"Oh. Shit!" he said, dropping his cup. It shattered, but no one noticed. The house was suddenly full of motion. Rae and Tori had magically worked together to do the baby's room. They were the only ones who knew the gender, so no one was allowed to see the room.
"Alright, out to the car. Can you walk Chloe?" Kit asked, quite calmly. Rae was already starting the car. Tori had grabbed anything they needed. Simon was getting the car ready. Derek was standing there, pale faced.
"Uh, uh, I think so." She tried to heave herself to her feet, but winced. Derek snapped into focus and picked her up easily. She kissed his cheek, panting just a tiny bit. "Thank you."
Hours later…
"Mr. and Mrs. Souza….it's twins!" the doctor proclaimed excitedly while the nurses jotted down the date and time of birth: January 1st, 1:11 AM. Derek stared at the man as if he was nuts.
"Twins?" he asked, looking from the doctor to Chloe. She was still panting from the effort.
"Twins?" They stared at each other, faces lighting up. The doctor nodded.
"Twins." They said in unison.
"A boy and a girl." The sweet nurse said, handing over the two children to Chloe. She got the one wrapped in blue and Derek held the little girl. He stared into the tiny face for a long time, his breathing heavy. His daughter. She had black hair, with pale white skin. Her pale pink lips opened with a slight whimpering sound. He held her closer to his body and she stopped the crying.
"Here are the birth certificates." The parents signed their own names and Chloe wrote Tala Souza on their daughter's certificate.
"That means I get to name our son." He said it like that, simply so he could say it. They grinned at each other. Simon stared at the babies.
"I want to hold Tala." He said instantly. "She's my niece, I get first dibs!"
"She's my niece, too. Let me hold the boy." Tori said. Rae was standing at the back.
"Grandparents get first dibs." Kit said, pushing through them. A voice caught all of them off guard.
"He's right. Grandfathers should get first dibs."
"Dad." Chloe whispered. He'd been at their wedding, too, but he was never around much. He smiled softly and nodded.
"Can I see my grandchildren? Or- or is there a limit on how long someone is gone before they get kicked out?" he asked jokingly.
Kit immediately jumped in. "This is Tala Souza." He said, taking the tiny girl and showing her to Mr. Saunders. The man looked at the little girl and then looked at Derek, who offered a friendly nod.
"She looks like you." He said with a nod right back. Derek's cheeks heated up quickly, looking at Chloe for help; she just nodded in agreement. He wrote quickly on the birth certificate for their son, trying to ignore the anxious stares. Fynn Souza. Of course, their middle names were on there, but the family just wanted to see the first names. Simon choked when he saw Fynn's middle name, and darted out of the room. Tala's middle name was Elizabeth; no one asked who this was after.
"So when does the spoiling start?" Kit asked, looking down at his granddaughter. She her eyes flickered open, and everyone gasped in unison. She had one blue eye, one green. Fynn opened his eyes at his mommy- he had a mop of blond hair already- and his were the same, only his left eye was green instead of his right, like his sister's.
"Damn, you guys made some cute kids. How the heck did that happen?" Tori laughed, holding Fynn for the first time. Derek took Tala from his father, politely, but still wanting to keep her for himself. He never wanted to let her out of his sight. Ever.
That was WAY longer than I expected it to be. I didn't expect to do that part, but I was feeling mushy-gooshy so we're just going to go with it. Review, please. I have thirty reviews, and about six hundred something hits. What is that about? Oh, well, I'm happy with my reviews, anyways. You guys are awesome. Thanks.