Hey guys! I JUST posted the last chapter, but I was inspired, so you guys get this chapter a lot earlier than expected… which is a good thing, right?

Hugs go out to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys are the reason I'm posting this so earlier – reviews make me all happy and I get this burst of energy and it's just like, "I WILL NOW GO WRITE SOMETHING EPIC FOR THESE AMAZING FANS!" and then you get early updates! (If that made any sense, you should be worried about the state of your mental health. Please consider getting yourself checked out.)

Anyways, this is gunna sound really dumb, but here goes: I wanna write a song fic, but I kinda… need a song? (insert facepalm here). It'll probably be from this story (Derek POV, anyone?) so it'll need to be a little less… happy? Nothing screamo or anything, but nothing pop, either. Also, preferably something from the last 5 or 10 years…

Prize: the person who submits the song I use gets to read the song fic earlier than everyone else and also gets a preview to the next chapter of this story. Sound good?

That's all for now! If I think of anything else, it'll be in the closing A/N.

Enjoy!

Note: You'll understand this a lot better if you watch CSI: Miami as obsessively as we do.

Disclaimer: Things get awkward after Christina reads Steph's last few updates…

Christina: *Pats bed*
Steph, come here. We need to talk, son.

Steph: *Confused*
Okaaaay…? What's this about?

Christina: *Pulls off Horatio glasses*
Well, I can't help but notice that you've been including some… mature themes into your stories lately, and it makes me wonder if you're being… safe.

Steph: *Eye twitches, but she's calm*
Are you seriously asking me if my characters are being SAFE? Dude, this story is rated T, for Godssakes!

Christina: *Jumps up*
OMG, EWW! I didn't mean it like that! I meant that you should make sure you include disclaimers into every chapter! You don't own DP, ya know!

Steph: *Slightly embarrassed*
Oh… okay then.
*Gets up to leave the room because it has suddenly become way too awkward for her liking*

Christina: *Puts Horatio glasses back on dramatically and looks into the camera lens*
Kids, (unnecessarily long pause) these days…
*Steps out of frame really dramatically*

Darkness

But what is all this fear of opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?

-James Thurber

Rae agreed to follow us back to the house Tori and Derek had chosen.

I'd studied her on our way to house – wondered why I felt so uneasy in her presence – but I couldn't figure out what it was. She had long brown hair, copper skin, and eyes that begged: 'trust me!'.

I didn't – at least not yet.

You're probably just being paranoid. Relax already! Not everyone's out to get you, you know.

Once we arrived at the house, we'd found the living room and set up our stuff. Rae had managed to get a fire going in the fireplace while we worked, and by the time we laid out our blanket, the room was – supposedly – warm and cozy.

I tried to ignore the biting cold as Rae filled us in on what had been going on the past few days.

"The Edison Group put out the equivalent of an amber alert on you guys – every supernatural in the state is on the lookout for a group of 'four children traveling together, ages ranging from 15 to approximately 18'," she relayed, sounding like she'd both said and heard it a million times already.

"Did they… say whether they wanted us dead or alive?" Simon ventured.

"Alive," Rae said confidently. Then she bit her lip and frowned. "Well, except for-"

"Me." Derek didn't seem the least bit surprised to learn that the Edison Group thought he was expendable.

"It's either way for you, buddy. Sorry about that." Rae sounded genuinely sorry – like she felt responsible somehow.

Weird.

We were all silent for a few moments – lost in our own thoughts – but I didn't expect it to last; If I'd learned anything, it was that moments of silence expired quickly when Tori was around.

"So what's your story?" she asked suddenly.

Rae looked towards Tori, but I could tell she was a hundred miles away. "My story?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "You're living on the streets. Obviously something had to happen to put you there."

"Tori!" Simon's horrified exclamation echoed eerily throughout the room.

"No, she's right," Rae said, smiling kindly at Simon before returning her focus to Tori. "Let's just say the Edison Group doesn't take 'no' for an answer, okay?"

"They tried to recruit you?" Tori asked knowingly.

Rae nodded sadly. "They told me I had two options: join up willingly or lose everything. I thought they were bluffing…" She wiped away a single tear that'd found its way down her cheek. "I came home one day and the place was trashed. There were scorch marks everywhere – like they were taunting me or something – and Mum… Mum was nowhere to be found."

I glanced at Derek, Simon, and Tori – each wore the same solemn expression: a mark of the hardships they'd been through so far, reflected on each of their faces. I knew what they were thinking - each of us had been denied a normal childhood, separated from the people who loved us… all because of the Edison Group.

I looked away, feeling like I was interrupting a very private moment – their grief was fresh, while mine had become tolerable over the passing years.

Once everyone had recovered, we told Rae about everything that'd happened to us after being taken into Edison Group custody. She listened carefully as Simon imparted the events of our escape and nodded every few seconds while Tori described the night we'd spent in the woods. She listened politely and seemed attentive, but something about the way she took it all in stride – she had hardly seemed surprised when we told her about the Edison Group's plan for us – put me on edge.

Or maybe it's the cold making you paranoid…?

It was true – it seemed like the room was getting colder every passing moment, even though the fire was still blazing in the grate.

I sat there though the entire retelling of our adventure so far, trying to fight both the feeling of uneasiness that seemed determined to overpower my brain and the inevitable illness that was fighting for dominance over my (sadly) inferior immune system. I could feel myself drifting off – retreating to a place that was warmer…

"Chloe?" I lurched out of the haze, realizing I'd falled asleep while sitting up.

I regretted it almost immediately. I was struck by a bout of nausea and dizziness so bad I had to squeeze my eyes together tightly just to bear it.

When I opened my eyes again, Derek was kneeling next to me looking worried, Simon hovering behind him.

"I'm fine, really. Just fell asleep and-" He brushed my forehead with the back of his hand, and I shivered again… though that time, it wasn't because of the cold. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the feel of his hand on my skin and the sound of his breathing.

He swore under his breath, then turned to Simon. "She has a fever," he said gravely, brushing my bangs back from my face.

"N-no! That d-doesn't make sense!" I croacked, pulling the sweater tighter around myself. "I'm f-freezing," I admitted. "Wouldn't I be warmer if I had a f-fever?"

Across the room, Tori shook her head. "He's right, Chloe. Your eyes look glassy and everything…" She turned to Derek. "How many layers is she wearing, anyway?"

"Two sweaters, a longsleeve shirt, and a tee," I said, a little offended. Was it really necessary to talk about me like I wasn't in the room?

This time Tori swore, much louder than Derek had. "She's still cold even with all that on?" She looked from Simon, to Derek, to Rae. "Any of you guys have any first-aid experience?" When no one answered, she spun to face Rae. "I have a spell that raises body temp, but it probably isn't a good idea if she has a fever… Any chance you can get a bigger fire going? Maybe then-"

"We can't do that," Derek interjected. "Any bigger and the smoke will attract the attention of the neighbours. We can't risk it."

"Would you rather her fever rage out of control and she start hallucinating?" Tori snapped.

"Would you rather we had to force her to run in this state?" Derek shot back. They continued arguing, but by then I'd stopped listening. I could feel my eyes drooping again, and I felt so much better when I closed my eyes – warm and safe and—

"Chloe? You have to keep your eyes open, doll. It's not a good idea to fall asleep right now…" I forced my eyes open at the voice, having practically forgotten Rae was in the room. I smiled weakly at her and she returned it, patting my arm comfortingly. She stood up and went to go join Tori and Derek on the other side of the room. "If you idiots are done flipping out on one another, I have an idea you should probably hear," she said, looking from Derek to Tori with a look of disgust on her face. "Honestly, people! If you really cared about Chloe, you wouldn't be wasting time arguing now, would you?"

I saw Tori's glare from across the room. "Excuse me? Who are you to tell us we don't care? You just met her yourself!"

Rae opened her mouth to argue, but Derek held up a hand to silence them both. "She's right," he said quietly, his eyes meeting Tori's. When he was sure Tori was calm, he turned to Rae.

"What's your idea?"

"You have got to be kidding."

Tori's voice rang out through the silence. "That's your brilliant idea? Use wolf-boy as a giant snuggie?"

I struggled to decipher what she meant. I don't get it. What does she want to do…?

Tori laughed nervously. "That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Well, I don't see you coming with any brilliant ideas!" Rae snapped, glancing over at me for a second. "She's cold, okay? And judging by your lack of extra clothes-" she pointed to Derek, who was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, "-you're warm." She paused, then, "ever heard of sharin' the love?"

I could practically hear the smile in her voice, and when I heard Simon attempting to stifle a laugh, it finally clicked.

No way! Absolutely not. I've already met my quota of clichés for the day, thank you very much.

"Rae, no offense, but Tori's right. I'll be fine in a couple of hours, just lemme-"

"Don't play that, Chloe. You're cold, and since Tori's spell won't do anything but kill you, we really don't have any other options."

"Why don't you do it?" Tori asked Rae, in sync with my thoughts. She knows how awkward this'll be for me…

"Because I'd probably burn her! Do you guys like your Chloe crispy? 'Cause I have no extra body heat unless I flare up…"

I don't know what made me do it, but I suddenly pictures Rae bursting into flames and giving me a bear hug while I screamed bloody murder.

I shook my head to stop the thought from progressing. Woah. That's a little morbid, even for me.

Simon cleared his throat. "Guys, I don't mean to interrupt your little brainstorming session, but she just went really pale…"

I closed my eyes as the room spun around me. "N-no, I'm… I'm okay, really."

"Enough arguing," Derek said, his voice revealing how worried he was. "You guys go to that drugstore we saw nearby; grab some Motrin and whatever else we need to make her feel better, okay? I'll stay here."

Tori mumbled something along the lines of, 'should've suggested that before' using a variety of… colourful adverbs.

I heard their retreating footsteps and tried to open my eyes, needing to tell them to stop – it wasn't worth it; it was too dangerous – but by the time I got them open, they were already gone.

"You guys are… overreacting," I whispered, closing my eyes and resting my head against the wall.

"No, we're not. You look like death, Chloe – no pun intended."

Rolling my eyes would've taken too much effort, so I just pulled my sweater tighter and whispered, "jerk".

He chuckled nervously and crossed the room. I could feel it when he got close, and I could hear the sound of his breathing. In… out, in…out. It's like a lullaby if you listen closely.

He brushed my forehead with the back of his hand again, checking to see if my fever had gone down. "Holy shit," he whispered, removing his hand; I took that as a sign that it hadn't.

"Stop stressing out over nothing – I'll be f-fine in a c-couple of hours, Derek."

"Are you still cold?" he asked, ignoring me.

"A li-little. It's no big d-" I stopped, feeling his arm on my shoulder. He was barely resting it on me – keeping the majority of the weight off it – but the affect was immediate.

"Better?" he guessed, his tone smug.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I'll be-"

"I want to," he said, cutting me off mid-sentence.

We were quiet then, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence like the one I'd experienced with Simon the day before. It was more of an… understanding of sorts – a mutual acceptance of the fact that we were bound together by something that went far deeper than a few years spent together in a backyard someplace; no fight – no matter how serious – was going to sever that bond.

I snuggled into his side, trying to find a comfortable place to rest my head. Once I was satisfied, I laid back and let the rest of my body relax, allowing all my clenched-up muscles to go slack.

I felt a hundred times better now that I wasn't shivering uncontrollably, ya know?

I could feel my heart rate slowing down – my breathing and my pulse decelerating – and after a few minutes, I knew I was hovering on the edge on sleep.

Then – so quickly I wasn't really sure it even happened – he leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss on the top of my head.

"You scare the crap outta me, Chloe Saunders," he mumbled.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

What felt like an eternity later, I heard Rae's voice flit through my dream.

"Chloe? You need to wake up and take your meds, darlin'."

I peeled my eyes open experimentally, rubbing them when I realized Rae was holding out a few pills, waiting for me to take them from her. I held out my hand and accepted them, holding out my other hand for the water bottle that lay next to her feet. "How's her fever?" she asked Derek, watching as I swallowed the pills and drank a sip of water.

"It went down a bit once she warmed up, and I think she'll be fine after those pills kick in… what took you guys so long, anyway?"

"I uh… had to use the bathroom," she stammered quickly, frowning. "The jerk at the cash register wouldn't let me in until we paid for everything, and Tori and Simon were having a … disagreement about what kind of stuff to get, so…"

I closed my eyes again and leaned back against Derek, tuning out and wishing I could remember what kind of dream I'd been having before Rae had woken me up. Something about mom and dad… and something about… fire, I decided, straining to remember. Definitely something about fire.

That realization made me uneasy – why would I be dreaming about fire? – until I remember what Rae could do. Calm down – it's just that stupid scene from before playing out in your dreams. Nothing to worry about…

The sound of voices pulled me out of yet another dream. Must've fallen asleep. Maybe I should-

"Where's Rae?" Tori asked.

"No idea," Simon mumbled, yawning into his hand.

I forced my eyes open and saw that Rae was indeed absent from the room. I sat up and glanced around, wondering where she could've gone – it was still dark out, and unless she wanted to sleep in an alley, there was really no reason to leave…

"She said she was going to check out the rest of the house," Derek said, shifting the position of his legs. "I can still smell her in the house," he assured us. A few seconds later, though, he frowned and turned his head towards the hallway entrance. "There's a weird noise coming from upstairs," he said. "I can't place it, but it sounds like some sort of tapping…"

Tori shrugged. "She's probably just texting a friend or something..."

Simon's eyes widened in horror. "Guys… where does a girl who's supposedly living on the streets get a cell?"

We all looked around at each other, simultaneously realizing what he meant.

"Edison Group," I whispered, as all three of them raced for the stairs.

They kicked down the door a millisecond later, the 'BOOM!' rooting me in place.

I heard Tori's shout and Rae's scream, but all I could think about was how Rae had betrayed us.

We'd taken her into our confidence, and she'd done nothing but hand us over to the Edison Group.

Someone was shouting my name, but the sound was drowned out as dozens of Edison Group guards rushed in, each carrying a gleaming firearm. I watched as the guards bounded up the stairs, each one yelling orders to their squadron. I wondered briefly how they'd managed to remain concealed – why Derek hadn't heard or smelled anything – but it was only briefly; I had more important things to worry about.

They didn't see me at first, huddled against the wall, almost completely concealed behind a mound composed of our backpacks and jackets. They approached slowly once they recognized me, putting down their guns and taking slow, careful steps.

They were trying to keep me calm, but it didn't matter – I could hear Tori's screams drifting down from the top floor.

"Get away from me," I growled at the nearest guard, glaring. I pressed my palms against the wall behind me and used them as leverage to pull myself to my feet, keeping my eyes locked on the pair of guards in the room.

The guard standing farther back actually laughed. "Would ya take a look at this, Jim? Little tyke's got some fight in 'er!"

I wanted to think of some really witty comeback – something to prove I wasn't some poor defenseless damsel in distress – but all I could come up with was fuck you, asshole.

I locked eyes with the nearest guard. He looked young – brown hair, judging by his eyebrows - and smooth unblemished skin gave him the appearance of someone closer to my age.

He broke our eye contact when one of the guards who'd gone upstairs crashed to the ground beneath the railing. I looked up and spotted Derek, frozen in place.

Did he just…?

He recovered quickly, seeing me surrounded by guards. He jumped from the top floor, landing less than a foot away from the guard who'd flown over. Within seconds he was in the room, trying to fight his way past the guards to me.

Then I heard it.

A gunshot – a crack like a whip, like lightening exploding from the sky. At first it didn't register in my mind – why would they be shooting at Simon and Tori? They were wanted alive… weren't they?

Then I looked around. He slumped to the ground, but it still hadn't clicked.

When I saw him lying face-down on the ground… it finally hit me.

No!

I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the moment his soul left his body.

I couldn't hear anything anymore – it was like someone had pressed mute, stopping all sound. A good thing, too, because if I'd had to hear his voice… I started to tremble, that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach returning. It was like someone had yanked the ground out from under me, and I was falling – falling endlessly.

I kept waiting for the moment when I'd hit the ground, but it never came.

And suddenly, I was ten years old again, screaming for my parents, desperate for an answer that would never come. I felt the familiar chill run down my spine, heard the whisper of 'gone, they're all gone', but it was like I wasn't watching it through my own eyes anymore - I was separated from it all, unable to connect what I was seeing to what was going on.

I waited for the darkness to take me – isn't that what's supposed to happen? The darkness? It happened last time, didn't it? – but it never came. I just stood there, watching, as they stepped over his body and came towards me, brandishing a syringe.

"Don't try fighting, girlie – you'll only hurt yourself like your friend here," the further guard warned.

I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly, unable to accept what had just happened.

The guard grabbed my arm and plunged the needle into my neck. I winced, but I was too tired to fight, and everything was blurring together…

I slumped down, all feeling gone from my legs. The younger guard – the once who'd remained silent; the one who'd looked almost apologetic as he watched his partner sedate me – caught me before I hit the guard, scooping me up like I weighed nothing.

I couldn't struggle – I'd lost all feeling in my extremities – but I watched as they carried Simon and Tori out the door in stretchers, and I knew it was all over. The guard deposited me onto a waiting stretcher, and I could've sworn I heard a whispered, 'sorry'.

Rae stepped into the room just as I was about to lose consciousness.

I could feel her eyes on me, so with everything I had left I raised my head up off the stretcher they'd placed me on and whispered, "Why, Rae?"

She watched me sadly, her head bowed in shame. "I'm… so sorry, Chloe. They have my Mum, and they said if I helped them-"

It was then that the darkness finally found me.

I welcomed it in.

I swear, that wasn't supposed to happen! This story has a mind of its own! One minute I'm thinking about what they're gunna do, and the next I'm writing a death scene? Totally NOT my idea, I swear!

Seriously though, I'm still in shock… reviews might help though.

So umm… review please. But PLEASE, refrain from asking if she's gunna raise him and have some zombie-werewolf reunion type deal, cuz that's just… yeah, stopping there.