Hey, yeah, I'm a bit late in posting. Oops. But I was busy reading The Ranger's Apprentice series fanfics and then the actual series because I realized how much I love that series and had to reread it. I'm halfway through. Anyway, I'm off school today (again) due to snow (again) and I finished this just for you guys. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! I LOVE YOU ALL!

And now on with the chapter. I think this chapter could be my favorite... but I don't know why. Wait, I do know why! But you don't know why, at least not yet. I tried my best to keep Derek in character, but he might be a little OOC, or a lot a bit OOC, I suppose it depends on how you view Derek as a character. I don't know... you should probably read this now...

Disclaimer: Alas! Despite my utter love for the Darkest Powers I am not the actual owner of the series, which saddens my heart greatly.

Previously:

"Jon!" Jessa snapped, "The plan!"

"Right!" Jon smiled, "We get Nadinka to go into Chloe's body, Chloe will be able to control Nadinka with super necro powers, and then we kill Chloe."

Chapter 12: Woeful Love

"No." Derek said, not even a half second after Jon had spoke.

But Chloe could see where Jon was going, could see that it was the best, and possibly only, way to get Jessa back. "But Derek-" She began.

"No!" He turned to her, his voice set hard, his eyes burning, and for a second she was too afraid to say anything else, but then she pushed past that.

"It's the best way." She said, trying to get what she wanted to say out because she knew Derek was going to cut her off.

"No, it's not. So stopping thinking about it. It's not going to happen." Derek shot a glare at Jon, who looked quite startled by the harsh look.

"Derek," Chloe sighed, but didn't get any farther.

"He's right, it's not going to happen, Chloe." It was Aunt Lauren who spoke this time.

"What?" Her voice shot up an octave as she turned to her aunt. She could understand Derek telling her 'no', she knew he was profusely over-protective of her, but Aunt Lauren! No. Her aunt held no authority over her, not anymore, not after all the lies and the secrecy.

"It's not going to happen, Chloe, end of story." Her aunt said it like it was the end of the argument. Oh, was she wrong.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Chloe snapped. She will admit, it was harsh, but the relationship between her and her aunt had been shaky ever since Chloe had started seeing ghosts. There had been a distance between the two of them ever since then, one that neither of them have been willing to close. Now, suddenly, out of nowhere, her aunt wanted to boss her around? She was not going to let that happen.

"If you think for one second that I'm going to let you get yourself killed-!" Her aunt began.

"I'll come back!" Chloe threw her hands up, "I'm not going to stay dead!"

"It doesn't matter." Aunt Lauren said firmly, "It's not going to happen."

"She's right." Derek agreed.

Chloe could not believe it, for the first time ever Derek and her aunt were on the same side, and it was not the side that Chloe wanted them to be on.

Chloe glared at them both. They were so stupid! So stupid to believe that they could control her; so stupid to not see that this was the only to save Jessa! It's not like she wasn't going to come back! She would only be dead for a moment!

She looked at Kit, Simon, and Tori, trying to get them to back her up.

"Derek," Simon started quietly, but was cut off by his brother.

"No." Derek turned his glare on his brother, "I'm not going to risk Chloe's life. It's not going to happen."

"Then how are we going to get Jessa back?" Simon shouted, sparking the tension that had settled in the room.

"We go with the original plan." Derek replied gruffly, "We somehow send an electrical shock up Jessa's body and then we revive her."

"Oh, so my girlfriend is allowed to die but yours isn't?" Simon snapped.

"It's different!" Derek took a step closer to his brother, "Jessa's a werewolf! She has a better chance of surviving."

"Oh, I'm sure that's the only reason." Simon's eyes were blazing as he too took a step that closed that gap between him and Derek. "Just say it, Derek, you're willing to take the risk with Jessa's life and not Chloe's, after all, she's not your girlfriend."

"Whoa!" Jessa was staring at the two boys, wide-eyed, "The testosterone levels in this room just skyrocketed. I don't like this." Chloe agreed with her.

"Derek-" She started, but he didn't even hear her.

"I never said that!" Derek took another step closer to his brother, glaring down at Simon.

"You didn't have to; it's obvious that's what you're thinking!" Simon's face was turning red with anger.

"Simon-" If Chloe could just get one of them to stop then maybe they could calmly work out their differences.

It was an extremely hopful thought.

"What are you implying, Simon?" Derek growled at his brother.

"Simon," Jessa was standing beside her boyfriend, "I want you to think carefully about what you are going to say, and then don't say it!"

Of course Simon couldn't hear her advice and said exactly what he was thinking. "I'm implying that you think that Chloe's life is worth more than Jessa's, and I have to disagree."

Jessa tried to smack her boyfriend in the face because of his stupidity. It didn't work.

"Derek-" Chloe tried to stop it again. She moved to get in between them, but she wasn't quick enough, not that she thought that could have stopped them.

"You're right! I do think that!" Derek shouted, "Chloe does mean more to me than Jessa!"

"Great!" Simon replied just as loudly, "Now we can just go kill Jessa then and if she dies for good at least you can say 'hey, that's okay as long as it's not my girlfriend'!"

"So you want me to just have Chloe killed?" Derek shouted.

"And you want me to just watch as you decide to kill my girlfriend?" Simon countered.

"She has a better chance of surviving!" Derek yelled.

Jessa winced, "Wrong answer Derek."

And her statement was punctuated by the punch that Simon was throwing at him.

But it never reached Derek. Instead Simon's fist hit an invisible barrier halfway to Derek's face and bounced back. Surprised, Simon looked around, and his eyes landed on his angry father.

"Simon, back up! Derek, back up!" Kit's voice was as harsh as a whip, and both boys obeyed quickly, both backpedaling a few feet.

Kit removed that barrier that he had erected and stood in between the two boys. "What is wrong with you two?" He looked angrily at both of them, and despite that fact that their dad was a great deal smaller than them, both boys were suddenly scared. "Fighting like children! Fighting as if you weren't the boys I have raised you to be! I expect better from both of you!"

Both boys were staring down at their feet, suddenly ashamed of themselves.

Kit turned to Derek, "Just because you don't like the thought of Chloe being involved in the plan doesn't mean you can turn a blind eye on the idea and say that it won't happen without thinking it through. And don't be so cruel to your brother about it either, because he's afraid he's going to lose Jessa just like how you're afraid you might lose Chloe."

"And you," he turned to look at Simon, "just because you're worried about Jessa that doesn't mean you can talk to your brother like that. He's worried about Chloe, just like you're worried about Jessa."

He glared at both of them again, "You know exactly what I think about fighting; you know exactly how dangerous it can be if you two come to blows, and I can't believe the things you two said to each other. Apologize now!"

The anger between the two brothers that had flared up so quickly was gone just as fast and both boys seemed shamed by the words that they had just shared.

Sighing, Simon spoke first, "I'm sorry, Derek, I was just mad."

"I'm sorry, too." Derek said glumly.

"Good." Kit said gruffly, "Now shake hands."

The boys obeyed, stepping forward and grasping each others hands.

Kit nodded, "Now, I want everyone to leave this room and think over the plans that were discussed and fume down before we decide on a plan of action, understood?" Everyone nodded, and the tension that was in the room was suddenly released.

"Derek-" Chloe started, but he just held up his hand wearily, his eyes begging her not to say anything, but she pushed on, "We need to talk."

Sighing, Derek ran a hand through his hair, "Fine, but not in here."

Chloe agreed quietly, following him as he walked back outside onto the front porch.

Once the door was shut behind them, Chloe started again, "Derek, you-" but she stopped because he turned to look at her and he eyes seemed to hold the deepest pain, and that look caused her words to stop.

"You want to do it, don't you?" Derek asked her quietly.

"Do what?" She asked, startled by the immense sadness that seemed to radiate off of him.

"Get yourself killed."

Chloe hesitated a moment, not really sure how to reply. "It's the best plan we have." She ended up saying quietly.

"I don't like it." He had turned his back to her and was now facing Jon's yard and the woods that surrounded it.

"To be honest, I don't like it much either." She said with a tiny smile, "but I have to do it."

"No you don't." He said quietly.

There was something about the way that he was reacting that worried Chloe. He was taking this whole conversation way too calmly. She knew Derek, she knew that the possibility of her death was killing him, but for some reason he wasn't blowing up about it, wasn't fighting it like he normally would. It just didn't seem right.

"Derek?" She took a step closer to him, putting her hand on his arm, "Are you okay?"

She saw him frown, his eyes still on the landscape around them, "I said some really bad things to Simon." He murmured.

Chloe sighed internally, so that's why he was acting so weird. "You didn't mean it." She said, "You two were just mad at each other."

"No," Derek said, "I did mean it, and that's the problem. I meant what I said. I do think you're worth more to me than Jessa is, and that's what scares me."

Chloe waited for him to explain, but when he didn't she prompted him, "I don't understand." She said quietly.

He glanced down at her for a brief moment before going back to scanning everything around them. "Jessa's the only other werewolf I know, and because of this I thought I would never let anything happen to her. She's like a sister to me, and she's with Simon, and she helps me to protect all of you, and so I always thought that if something ever happened to her then I would save her."

He was frowning now, "And suddenly she's in trouble and the best way to get her back involves putting your life at risk." He paused, and Chloe took his hand in hers, he responded by lacing his fingers with hers, his eyes still out in the distance, "And even though I know that getting you involved would be the safest way for everyone, I just can't do it because I can't let you get hurt."

He paused, and Chloe didn't say anything because she knew that he wasn't done.

"I'm worried," he said slowly, "that if I'm not willing to let you get hurt now, what will I do if something were to happen to Simon or my dad? What if one of them were in trouble and I decide not to help them because it involves you getting in danger? What if I decide not to go with the best plan because I'm worried about you? Will I let them get hurt?"

He looked down at her, conflicting emotions in his eyes, "I love you Chloe, I love you so much, but I love them too. And I'm scared that I could put them at risk by trying to keep you out of danger."

Chloe took a moment to organize her thoughts before she spoke, "I love you too, Derek." She said, squeezing his hand, "But you should know that you are really protective, and you don't have to be." She smiled a small smile, "I'm not child, Derek, I can keep myself out of danger. Granted, I have had some close calls, but those were stupid mistakes and not entirely my fault. But I've held my own against ghosts, zombies, werewolves, demons, witches and whatever else I've been up against."

"You don't have to worry about me." She told him, "If you worry about me and try to protect me you let your emotions cloud your better judgement. You could end up doing more harm than good."

"But I can't let you get hurt." Derek said.

"Sometimes you have to do things you don't want." She said, "It's better for everyone if I'm the one we kill than if it's Jessa. I can control Nadinka once she's inside of me, I can make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone. If we kill Jessa then there's a chance that your dad or Simon or Aunt Lauren or even Jessa could get hurt. If you look at the two plans you know which one you should choose." It felt so weird to be talking about her own death.

"But you could die." He said.

"That's the whole point, Derek." She said sarcastically, "I have to die in order to get rid of Nadinka, but Jessa will be there to help bring me back, she's part necromancer, remember."

Derek sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair, then rubbing his eyes with his hands, frowning deeply as he thought everything over.

"I don't like it," he said finally, "but I think it's the best plan we have."

Chloe smiled and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him lightly on the lips.

Derek gave a weak smile and wrapped his arms around her, "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"You're agreeing to it because you know it's the right thing to do." She said.

He just sighed and lowered his head down to kiss her.

Jessa's POV

Jessa watched as Jon showed Simon a bedroom where he could stay for however long they were staying at his house. Jessa was impressed, the place was huge with plenty of rooms everywhere.

Simon just thanked the crazy necromancer and stood in the middle of the room, looking at it.

Jon nodded to her as he left Simon and her alone in the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once the door was closed, Simon let out a huge sigh, his shoulders slumping, his whole body screaming weariness. With a groan he shuffled his feet over to the bed and threw himself on it, burying his head in the pillow there.

Jessa watched him, a small sad smile on her lips, her eyes suddenly wet.

She had watched his and Derek's fight just moments ago and knew that Simon would be feelling horrible. She had watched as both brothers traded insults back and forth, each saying nasty things, and she had known then that they were both going to regret it. And she was right, here was Simon, regreting everything he had just told Derek in his anger.

She was more than certain that Chloe was trying to make Derek feel better wherever they were now, and Jessa wished she could do the same for Simon.

Jessa sighed, once again hating the fact that she no longer had her body and was stuck in the spirit world. Brushing off the self-pity, she walked over to the bed that Simon was lying on. She reached forward and tried to run her hand through his hair like she always did whenever he was stressed out, she frowned sadly when her hand went through him. She settled for sitting beside his head, she felt the need to be close to him even if he didn't know she was there. It made her feel better.

She was having trouble accepting the fact that she didn't have a body, watching everyone around her, talking about her, thinking about her, and yet not able to see her while she could see them. It was extremely depressing. It was nice that Chloe could see her, could talk to her and help translate for her, but it just wasn't the same.

It was good to see Purple again, her oldest friend, good to hug her and actually met resistance. The spirit world only brought one good thing, and that was Purple, but right now Purple was watching Nadinka's movements all the way over in LA, and Jessa was alone again.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by Simon suddenly punching his pillow. She jumped at the movement and watched as he repeatedly hit the pillow over and over again, cursing as he did so, obviously angry about something.

"Damn Derek! Damn Chloe! Damn Jon! Damn everyone!"

"Simon," she said, as if he could actually hear her, "stop."

"I hate this!" He exclaimed, "I hate everything!" He sat up quickly and threw the pillow across the room and watched as it hit the oppisite wall and slid down to the floor.

And then his angry expression crumpled and he put his head in his hands.

"Oh, Simon." She breathed, quickly blinking away tears, moving to sit down beside him, wanting to put a hand on his shoulder but didn't even try because she knew that her hand would just go through him.

He looked up from his hands after a while, and she saw that his eyes were rimmed in red as he held back tears. Her heart just about broke.

"Jessa?" She jerked in surprise when he said her name. She stared at him intently, wondering if she had somehow gotten through to him, if he could see her.

He wasn't looking at her, though, he was studying the room intently, as if waiting for something to appear. "Jessa? Are you here?"

She slumped down, defeated, he couldn't see her, it was stupid to think otherwise.

"I miss you." He said quietly, and she moved to look him directly in the face, wanting to see his face as he talked. "I miss you so much." He forced out a short laugh, looking down at his hands, "I don't even know if you're in here, for all I know I'm talking to myself..."

"You're not," she murmured, "I'm right here." She reached for his hands, only to go through him. Again. She felt tears burning her eyes.

"I know you're mad at me for what I said to Derek." He said, and she nodded, narrowing her eyes at the memory of the foolishness, "And I want you to know that I am sorry that I said what I said..."

"You should be," she told him, "it was cruel and inconsiderate."

"It was cruel to say what I did, and I wish I could take it back." He twisted his fingers together, "Derek's my brother, and I love him, and I can't believe I said those things."

"He'll forgive you," She felt a tear drip down her face, "I know Derek and I know he will forgive you. He's feels bad too, I know he does."

"He'll never forgive me, not after those things I said about Chloe." He groaned, "Chloe must hate me now, too."

"No," Jessa said firmly, "Chloe knows that that whole fight was stupid. She doesn't care about what you said, Simon. And to be honest Chloe can't hold a grudge to save her life."

He sighed, "I wish you were here."

"I am here."

"I wish you were here here. I wish I could hear you, see you, kiss you, hold your hand, listen to you laugh, watch you argue..." A tear dripped down his face as tears poured down hers, "God, I never knew how much I loved you until you weren't here." She watched him smile grimly, "Funny how things work."

"Simon..." She breathed.

"I love you, Jessa, I love you more than anything and I wish you were back because I miss you so much." His eyes started roaming the room again, and for a split second his eyes met hers, but it was only for a second.

Sighing deeply, he stood and walked right through her. He rubbed his eyes, getting rid of the few tears that had fallen. "I'll get you back, Jessa, you're coming back, don't worry."

"I'm not worried, Simon." She said weakly as he walked out of the room, "I love you..."

Awwwww... I love those two... It hurts me to write this. Eh, not really, I'm a total sadist.

Sooooooo, was anyone OOC? Did you like it? What did you think of Jessa's point of view? What did you think of Chloe and Derek's conversation? What did you think of Simon and Derek's fight? HELP ME! I need to know if you guys liked it as much as I did? All you have to do is review! Please review! Please? I beg of thee! ... please?...

Thanks- Cheerfully Blue