The touch was exactly what the touch of a lover's hand should be: familiar, yet exciting as a whispered promise. Derek felt an almost irresistible urge to take her hand and place it flat against his chest, near his heart. Maybe he should've done it. He knew now that she would've laughed, if he'd done it, and she would've liked him for it. But strangers that they were then, they stood for five long seconds and held the stare, while all the parallel worlds, all the parallel lives that might've been, and never would be, whirled around them. The truth is that, no matter what kind of game you find yourself in, no matter how good or bad the luck, you can change your life completely with a single thought or a single act of love. There's a truth deeper than experience. It's beyond what we see, or even what we feel. It's an order of truth that separates the profound from the merely clever, and the reality from the perception. We're helpless, usually, in the face of it; and the cost of knowing it, like the cost of knowing love, is sometimes greater than any heart would willingly pay.

He heard a warning, deep within - we usually do , when something worse than we can imagine is stalking us, and set to pounce. Fate's way of beating us in a fair fight is to give us warnings that we hear, but never heed. Derek didn't heed the warning and now, Claire's life was in the balance. The school teacher, Jennifer Blake had shown up in the fight somehow, out of nowhere and she wasn't there to help them. The next thing Derek knew, was catching Claire before he hit the ground, her body felt limp against his hands.

What the teacher wanted with the last Alpha was beyond him and he could care less. Laying her down in his loft, on his bed, Derek felt his heart clench. They were so close. So close to getting rid of the Alphas.

"Derek, careful." Peter reminded him.

The veins on the Alpha's arms were darkened, and Derek suppressed the urge to scream. A few heartbeats later, Derek stood and had to lean against the wall. Derek clenched and unclenched his fingers several times, trying to get the feeling back in them. Isaac and Scott looked at him, then at Claire. Standing on either side of the bed, both of them laid a hand onto her arm, their own veins darkening as Claire's pain was taken away, just so the girl could get a decent night's rest. It was owed to her, for all the things she did and for everything she sacrificed. She'd lost her parents, and yet she was still fighting, still surviving.

It was the least they could do.

Derek watched silently from his place by the wall, admiration filling his eyes. Despite their differences, they were still willing to help him and Claire. A few moments later, both Scott and Isaac withdrew their hands, feeling the effects. Stiles and Cora helped them each take a seat and rest.

"Derek..."

Despite his weakness, Derek forced himself to walk over to the bed, sitting down next to her. "I'm here." He took her hand in his, holding it gently.

"I'm cold.." Heavy eyes looked up at him. They were so dim, he could barely see the once bright blue in them.

Derek helped her up, and with as much ease as he could, sat behind her, sitting up against the wall behind him, her back against his chest, his arms draped over her waist. She relaxed against him, her head rolling to the side.

"She gonna be okay?"

Cora.

"I don't know." Derek whispered, brushing a few dark strands of hair out of her face.

"Alright, the rest of you need to go home and get some sleep." Peter ushered Allison, Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Isaac out the door of the loft, promising to call if anything happened.

"She's shivering. I'll get you two some more blankets." Cora stood. "You should get those wounds cleaned, Derek."

Not taking his eyes off Claire, Derek replied, "I can't. Not with her like this."

Five minutes later, heaped up on the blankets, their bodies bound by weariness and her deep slumber, surrounded by sickness and hope, death and defiance, Derek touched the soft surrendered curl of Claire's sleeping fingers to his lips, pleading to whatever force of nature that could heal her, if they could. He didn't care how, he just cared that Claire would be okay.

Cora and Peter exchanged glances. They weren't watching the big bad Alpha anymore. They were watching the Derek they grew up with. That kind of love should've been able to beat sickness. That kind of love should've conquered anything.

They watched Derek take her hand and intertwine it with his, the veins on his arms turning black again. He took away her pain. Derek clenched his teeth as he willed the pain she was feeling to be transferred to him. He knew the risks. Too much of her pain could kill him, but to see her suffer so bad, he couldn't help it. He wanted to take all her pain away. Even if it did kill him in the end. The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. She was one of those rare, beautiful people. And Derek couldn't sit by and let her soul be tainted with pain.

"Don't fight it." He whispered, tightening his grip on her. His chest trembled with her sobbing as he attempted to calm her down. "Shhhhh.." He steadily rocked her back and forth gently as he continued to take her pain away. A good portion of the night was spent on his bed for Derek, who cradled Claire in his arms still, his mind nearly ready to pass out from the exhaustion, but he forced himself to stay awake. She had relaxed again against him a few hours ago and yet, Derek didn't have the heart to move her. She had fallen asleep god knows when, and Derek could hear the steady heartbeat coming from her, never once moving to alert him that she was in pain once again.

His fingers were so numb from running them through her hair, that Derek didn't even feel the softness of her hair anymore. Claire's heartbeat picked up and her breath became labored. Derek took her hand, even though he was still weak, willing the pain to be transferred again. His mind was slipping and he could feel himself losing consciousness, and before he come back to reality, darkness took over him.

"Derek!"

Cora laid Claire down on the other side of the bed as Peter laid his nephew down on the other side.

"What the hell happened?!"

"He took too much of her pain away." Peter answered her, putting his ear to Derek's chest.

"Is he alive?"

"Barely." Peter replied, fingers pressed against Derek's neck. "It's going to be a long night."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: jaajskdflajskdlfasdf, God this chapter tore my heart open. I'm such a sap for angst-y chapters. Don't worry, though! Jennifer will be explained!