Chapter 41: The Motive

True to his word, Derek did wake her up when they arrived at the McCall house. Joe blinked her eyes open as he nudged her and she stretched her neck, sore from the awkward position where she had slumped in the corner of the seat. Derek's eyes narrowed a bit, as if he felt the strain in his neck as well.

"I'd carry you inside," he said softly, a small teasing crease on his mouth, "but your aunt's up and I suppose it'd be awkward."

"Jeez, what am I, five years old?" Joe mumbled at the prospect. She managed to unbuckle herself, but paused before exiting. "Are purple eyes normal with you guys?"

"No." Derek sounded sincere. "Never seen it, never even heard of it."

"Ugh. Maybe we're lucky and he's just using contact lenses." Joe rubbed her eyes and winced when she realized she had a full face of makeup on. She let her hands fall awkwardly to the side, squinting at Derek through eyes still heavy with sleep. "They were blue the last time I saw him, I-"

"We'll figure it out," Derek promised and leaned over to brush dried mascara off her cheek. His touch was electric, soft, and gone before she could appreciate it fully. "One problem at a time. Get some rest, Joe."

"Yeah, God, I felt like I was in a coma," she murmured and yawned. It had been a long time since she slept that heavy. "Was I snoring? No, wait, don't answer that. Better if I don't know." She still didn't get out of the car, brows pulled together as she remembered everything that had happened tonight. "I gotta tell her, right?"

To her surprise, Derek shrugged. "That's up to you. Is it possible Alex doesn't remember what happened?"

"Maybe," Joe admitted as she hadn't even considered that. "She was always a high-functioning drunk. Did you smell anything particular tonight?" Joe asked, again not sure what she was trying to find out. Could he smell if she was a) blissfully unaware of the little alcohol-fueled indiscretion or b) an evil, manipulative bitch?

A smile tugged on his lips. "Depends what you're asking. There were sixteen people around the table and you were right next to me."

"I just," Joe squinted, mind fogged up with sleep still, "can't imagine Alex being a cheater. Of all the problems we had, it was never that. To be honest, our relationship was just bad overall, but it was equally my fault. The first months were okay, I guess, but we wanted different things and I was spending all my time trying to get ahead in my classes and she had just come out of another relationship that ended on a sour note and then my insomnia got out of hand and..."

A sigh rose up from her inner core and she shook her head. "I'm just worried that I hurt Alex more than I realized, that this is my fault. Maybe she never got over the break up because I never gave her the chance? I mean, she pretty much gave me an ultimatum and I don't respond too well to those, so I just packed up in the middle of the night, blocked her number and wired her money to cover next month's rent and-" Joe realized what she was doing and ran a palm over her face. "I'm sorry. You literally listed up everything else you have to deal with, I'll spare you the relationship drama."

"My problems sound easier," he said with a patient half-smile, one she returned. "Most can be solved with violence."

"Haven't ruled that out yet," Joe said and lifted up her curls, giving her neck air to breathe and remembered vividly how he had ran his hand through it. "Uh... See you around, I guess?"

Derek sighed before she got the door open and she paused again. "I meant what I said about the depot. Don't come there unless it's an emergency; the Argents are trailing the entire county looking for us. For me. Scott has my number, call if you need me."

"Okay sure." Joe did not have any immediate needs to go there anyway. "Say hi to Erica for me, thank her for the extra hour for my hair." She pushed the door open and tried to step out without her dress riding up. "And uh, as much as tonight sucked, you made it suck a little less, so, thanks?"

Luckily, he didn't comment on the lame attempt of a compliment and just gave her a nod before she closed the car door behind her. He didn't drive away until she was inside the house.

Utterly exhausted, she leaned against the front door and tried to catch her breath. It'd been a hell of an eventful evening. And even with Jimmy's presence and Alex' announcement, now when Derek left she was free to focus on how close she and Derek had gotten to-

"Wow," said Aunt Mel and Joe snapped her eyes open. Aunt Mel, in regular clothes for once, stood with folded arms and raised eyebrows in the doorway to the living room. "I was gonna ask how the date was, but that might be a bit superfluous judging by that expression. That good, huh?"

Joe realized she was touching her own lips gently and let the hand drop. "Uh...yeah."

"No judgment here," Aunt Mel said and raised her arms in surrender again. "Just slightly bitter, but mostly happy for you. It's nice to see you get out again."

"Yeah," Joe murmured and then blurted: "Alex is getting married."

Before she knew it, Aunt Mel placed a beer in her hand and sat her down by the couch so they could talk it out. She told Aunt Mel most of it. Dancing with Derek, leaving out how insanely 'hot and bothered' she'd been, and how Alex surprised her by kissing her, their argument following, and how Derek did not seem to be jealous, but actually kind of supportive. Extremely supportive, actually. Annoyingly supportive. She felt like she did not deserve it.

"Okay, there's a lot to unpack here," Aunt Mel began and took a sip of her own beer. "Did you talk to Alex? No? And you feel guilty for Madison-"

"Madeline."

"Madeline, right, because you think she's engaged to someone who won't be faithful to her. And you're also a little annoyed that Derek's not jealous, which I get, because it's nice to feel wanted. Did you tell Derek that?"

"Not verbatim," Joe said, which Aunt Mel interpreted correctly to 'not at all'.

"Okay, you know what I keep telling you. Communication is key," Aunt Mel said, quoting herself from many times before, but Joe was sure the advice originated from the magazine Cosmopolitan. "I'm not sure if you should talk to Madison-"

"Madeline."

"Madeline, right, before you talk to Alex. Maybe try to give Alex a chance to come clean first. As you said, it was just a drunken kiss. A dealbreaker for you or me, but maybe this Madeline is fine with it. People are strange, you know. And as you said, Alex might not even remember it."

Groaning into her beer bottle, Joe pushed off her boots, wiggling her bare feet into the carpet. "I just don't want to be seen as a homewrecker and I hate keeping secrets. Am I a bad person if I don't say anything?"

"No, just a person," Aunt Mel said with a sympathetic smile. "Am I old-fashioned though for thinking they're moving a little fast ahead? I mean, it's only been two years since you guys split."

"That's why they call it U-Hauling," Joe mumbled and then had to explain the stereotype of queer women moving in with each other on the second date. She and Alex had at least waited a few months before they made that decision. "They may have been together since we broke up. I haven't really talked to Alex since the night I moved here."

"Well, I remember that night." Aunt Mel squeezed Joe around the shoulders. "Keep in mind that because of how you handled things," implying how Joe never handled it at all, "Alex never really got closure. Even if she doesn't have feelings for you anymore, there's a possibility she has feelings tied in with the break up itself. Didn't you say she mentioned that when you fought? That it was cathartic?"

"Yeah," Joe mumbled, now feeling even more guilty. "Ugh. So I owe her an apology too?"

"Maybe," Aunt Mel admitted. "Or just a conversation. As I said, closure." She smiled at Joe. "There's no easy answers to life, Joe. But talk to Derek, at least, if you want that to work. Tell him how you feel. Use your words. Be honest. Be explicit. Communication - is - key. Maybe he's just bad at expressing himself." Aunt Mel nudged her good-naturedly. "God knows you are."

Joe snorted. Understatement of the year.

With Spring Break upon them, Joe found herself avoiding Scott in the house at odd hours of the day. She was trying to wrap up her paper, but no one at the county returned her requests for interviews and she suspected they had began screening for her number. There were limits to how many times she could rewrite the same sections and there was no TA-work either, which left her restless and with far too much time to think.

She hated secrets. Hated lying to Aunt Mel about Scott's extracurriculars, to Scott about Victoria Argent's imminent doom, to Madeline about the kiss, to Kelly about Jimmy's true intentions, to Derek about her feelings... okay, that last one didn't count. That was still a work in progress.

A few days after the dinner, Joe had made at least ten attempts to knock on Scott's door and just confess everything to him. She had also chickened out at least ten times. It seemed like Scott and Allison were having issues, based on the frequent loud and angry music coming from his room. Maybe it was just the fact they were trying to keep away from each other, but Joe remembered Scott's lament the first time she had asked him to stay away from her. Kid was in love. Did she really want to add to his burden?

With Aunt Mel at work and Scott sulking in his room, Joe ventured downstairs to make coffee for herself. While it brewed, she leaned over the counter and stared into the infamous backyard, blessedly empty for once. No word from Derek, not that she had been expecting any. He was probably busy doing whatever he did to prepare the three newly turned werewolves for the full moon in a few days.

Just as she poured the coffee into a mug, her phone rang. Kelly Brooks. She hesitated, in case Kelly was calling to tear her a new one for not fessing up about that kiss to Madeline or warning her that Jimmy was a two-faced liar. Steeling herself, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hiii!" Kelly's voice sang through the speaker and Joe could imagine her big enigmatic smile. Not how Kelly usually started a lecture, so Joe relaxed a bit. "How are you? You have five minutes?"

When Joe made a noise of confirmation, Kelly continued in the same bubbly tone: "Didn't get a chance to say good bye the other night! You guys left so soon, I'm sorry I missed you. Guess Derek agreed with me on that dress and wanted to get you alone, huh? I'm surprised the table didn't catch fire whenever you guys looked at each other."

"Uh..." was all Joe could muster and could not particularly remember any impromptu arson taking place.

"You have chemistry, Joe, that's a good thing! Anyway, it was Derek I wanted to call about. I, uh..." There was a vulnerability in Kelly's voice that Joe seldom heard. "I haven't heard anything from James since yesterday. We've been texting on the regular since I flew back to San Diego, but then it just stopped." She talked fast, almost like she was apologizing for even calling. "I figured since he and Derek knew each other, you could ask if Derek might have heard something? If something happened, maybe? Like, if there's a family emergency or if he's really busy with his project? I'd call Derek myself, but I wanted to catch up with you too! Felt like we barely got a chance to talk during dinner."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you bring dates," Joe commented drily and sipped her coffee. She hadn't heard anything from Jimmy either, not that she was expecting to. He was playing some sort of game here and until she could figure out the rules, she was not ready to entertain him. Joe forced herself to sound detached. "I guess I can ask Derek to check in. You guys, uh, hit it off?"

"Well, he turned out to be a bit of a gentleman. After the dinner, he walked me back to my hotel, thanked me for the evening and left. Sent me a text the next morning to thank me again and hoping we could stay in touch. So then I regretted not asking him up for a drink. But then again, him leaving and sending a text first thing is why I wanted to ask him for a drink, so I guess that's a typical paradox. But we've pretty much been texting non-stop since then."

"Uh-huh," Joe said and had to admit that did not sound particularly worrisome. "What are you guys texting about?"

"Oh, everything really! He's got such in depth knowledge on things! Does not seem to like Professor Kane, though. He's an amazing writer, such a way with words. He's actually working on a book. Normally I wouldn't be so hung up on this, but it just seemed so out of the blue that he stopped answering."

"Maybe his phone broke?" Joe suggested, thinking his generator up in the cavern could have malfunctioned. The alternatives were worse — Argents. If they were out for blood, searching the entire county for Derek, they might have stumbled upon Jimmy. She could go up to check on him, but Joe could not shoulder more guilt and would have to let Derek know first. Not ask him for permission, she added mentally, just let him know where she was going. She figured she owed him that at least.

"Maybe," Kelly sounded doubtful, "or maybe the distance became too much. I don't know. It's funny though, he asked me about you and Alex! I didn't think it was that obvious I put you on opposite ends of the table. Well, it was obvious you were at opposite ends, but I didn't think the reason behind it was. I gotta say, I really am so glad you decided to attend anyway. I know it was hard with the announcement and all, but it was so good to see you again and to meet Derek properly. He is such a nice guy. Even Caleb seemed to like him, which is mind blowing because he never likes anyone and-"

Joe let Kelly talk while she drank her coffee, not even tasting it. She wanted to tell Kelly about the kiss, ask for advice. Then again, maybe Joe was reading too much into it. Maybe Alex really didn't remember. Was it her business? If she told Kelly, she would only shift the burden over to her and that wasn't fair either.

Which was exactly why she couldn't tell Scott about Victoria Argent, Joe realized with a heavy sigh. If she told him, he would face the same dilemma if he should tell Allison or not. Ultimately, the responsibility to 'confess' laid with the Argents. If Victoria knew what she was going to do, she had every chance to tell her daughter. Maybe that would open Allison's eyes to what kind of business their family ran.

"Joe?"

"Sorry," Joe said quickly, realizing she had zoned out. "So sorry. You were saying?"

"Just asking if you're hearing this weird beeping sound? Or if it's my phone that's acting up?"

"No, I hear it too." Joe made a face and held the phone away from her ear. It was very faint, like the sound a disposable camera makes when you activate the flash. "I got my phone fixed by a high schooler, so it might blow up. If you lose me, that's what happened."

"Oh, haha! Okay. Listen, I gotta say it again, I'm so proud of you for coming to that dinner. I was surprised you agreed to let her do the announcement there, but I guess she explained it was pretty important to Madeline, since she feels like an outsider, which I suppose she is, but still."

Something cold ran down Joe's neck. "What?"

"I just meant that since we never attended classes together-"

"No, wait," Joe said to cut Kelly off. "I never agreed to let her do anything. I didn't even know she was dating anyone until I happened to run into them a month ago."

For a few seconds, all Joe heard was that weird steady beep.

"Oh, I'm going to kill her!" Kelly shouted and something banged in the background, like Kelly had slammed a cupboard door shut. "She swore she would ask you before the dinner if it was okay! I didn't even think to check — I can't believe her! Are you serious? She really didn't ask you? I told her so many times she could not announce their stupid engagement at the dinner unless you were okay with it. Oh my God, Joe, why didn't you tell me? Well, I guess you couldn't tell me because you had no idea, did you? Oh, no, I feel so bad! Ohh, no, no wonder you guys left! Oh my God, Joe, I am so, so, so, so sorry!"

Yeah, no, Joe was definitely not telling Kelly about the kiss.

It took Kelly a while to stop apologizing, which left Joe exhausted just from listening. To be honest, that Alex was getting married was not bothering her. If it hadn't been for the kiss, she would have been surprised and then not cared as much. At least she hoped so. Finally, Joe managed to get off the phone with the promise to ask Derek about James. Just as she hung up, Scott padded into the kitchen with a moping frown on his face.

"Food?" he asked in a voice that betrayed he did not have high hopes for her answer. Normally his teenage angst would annoy her, but she gave him a free pass because of everything that was going on.

Sighing, she inspected the fridge and the cupboards. "Not gonna lie, Scott, it doesn't look good. I can make some pasta? With," Joe took another look in the fridge, "ketchup?" She peered over her shoulder and his face was an open book to how tempting that sounded. "How 'bout we go grocery shopping and pick up something on the way home?"

"Sounds like a safer option," he admitted and leaned over the counter, doing the same thing she usually did by just staring out the kitchen window. He looked the same as ever, albeit a bit scruffy like he hadn't showered today and his hair stuck up in weird places. It would do both of them good to get out of the house.

"You okay, kid?" she asked and then grimaced at herself. "Okay, that sounded way too much like Dad. I'll try again. You okay, Scott?" When he didn't answer, she hopped up on the counter to sit next to where he was leaning onto his elbows. "You know you can talk to me, right? I'm not as good as Aunt Mel, but since she doesn't know everything, I guess... I guess I'm the best option you got and I feel really sorry for you."

Not an outright laugh, but he seemed to smile a bit, still looking out the window. "Yeah."

"This about Allison?" Joe guessed, wondering how much more room she had for relationship drama. To be honest, she would rather discuss the kanima. "You guys talk yet?"

"No," Scott mumbled. "No, I-" He sighed and tapped his knuckles against the countertop. "She told her dad and Gerard about Jackson. About the rave. That's why the Argents showed up and," he blew air out his mouth slowly, "and the plan failed."

The plan. When had they ever executed a plan without failure? Leaning back against the window, she nudged Scott with her foot. He was not telling her everything. "And?"

"And," Scott said slowly and studied his hands again, "she went to the rave with Matt. Which is my fault because I told her we should see other people in public, I just didn't think she'd be, y'know, stoked to do it."

"Matt Daehler? The photography-kid who fixed my phone? He doesn't really seem like her type." As he nodded, Joe shrugged. Maybe it kind of made sense? He had mentioned knowing Allison after all. "They didn't check IDs at all at that rave, huh? Those bouncers were just for show."

"Yeah." Scott finally gave her a real smile, glancing up under the now limp strands of hair hanging in his face. He really needed a shower. "This may come as a surprise to you, but a lot of high schoolers have fake IDs anyway."

She grinned. "Oh really? I had no idea."

"Yeah, most only got one though," Scott said, frowning to appear serious. "Not a whole collection like Uncle Rob found in your room. What did you have, like twenty of them?"

"Hey, I was dating a forger," Joe laughed and nudged Scott again. "Those fake IDs was the only good thing I got out of that relationship. All part of my master plan."

"That got you eight months in Tryon."

"Only because it failed for reasons beyond my control," Joe defended and pulled her legs up to the counter as well. "Pulling that fire alarm was the most idiotic thing I ever did though. That made it a Class E-felony. The trespassing was still just a misdemeanor, would maybe have gotten community service, if that."

"I remember Mom was so angry about that fire alarm. Evacuating a hospital unnecessarily-"

"I know. I deserved every single day in Tryon," Joe mumbled, more serious now, glancing at her own hands. Tryon Detention Center for girls. She hadn't thought about that place in a while. "Never cried so much in my life."

"In juvie?" Scott asked, glancing up at her with concern.

She nudged him again, poking him in the ribs with her pointed toes. "No, when Aunt Mel yelled at me. Dad always yelled at me, never phased me, once but when Aunt Mel showed up?" Joe let out a low whistle, even though her stomach churned at the memory. "Man, I think Uncle Raf worried she would suffer an aneurysm. She was right though. I got lucky, Scott, really luck that no one was hurt."

"Is this a 'actions have consequences'-lesson?" he asked without looking at her and she shrugged again.

"It's more a 'actions have consequences beyond what your teenage-mind can comprehend'-lesson. Everyone's a dumbass when they're fifteen, but that's not an excuse when people are getting hurt."

"That's the thing," Scott mumbled and slumped down even further over the counter. "That's all I want, for no one to get hurt and-" He rapped his knuckles against the window now. "And I'm not sure how to do that. Jackson is killing people, I know, but I still don't think it's right to kill him because he's not in control."

"Without criminal intent, murder is technically manslaughter," Joe said, referencing some of her Criminology-textbooks. "At least academically. The law might look at it differently if, say, Jackson knows he's suffering blackouts or similar and doesn't do anything about it."

He shook his head. "I don't think he knows anything. He's been acting so weird lately. It's almost like he's more the kanima than Jackson now, you know?"

"Like his human side is the dormant one?" When he nodded, she tried to remember if they had ever covered this in her early classes. "Could be to disassociate himself from the murders. That's the old-school definition of dissociative identity disorder, that the mind creates alters to cope with on-going trauma. Not really sure how that fits in with the kanima-myth, but..."

She cleared her throat. "I, uh, have to tell you something, Scott, that I probably should have told you a while ago."

He peered up at her with interest, obiviously paying attention, but she never got the feeling that Scott was listening to her like Derek was all the time. Maybe it was because Derek was born a werewolf that it was like second-nature to utilize all his senses where Scott only remembered when prompted. Anyway, she tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice when telling him: "I found Jimmy."

It was one less secret to worry about and she felt her shoulders drop a few inches when telling Scott everything, including the parts she left out from Derek in fear he would disregard their rule for no dismemberment or carnage at the reunion dinner. Kidnapping, strange SUV, and helping with the kanima-murders — although Jimmy had let that last one slip.

"2006 swimming team?" Scott repeated when she got to that part. He'd taken the kidnapping a lot better than expected. Possibly he recognized how a little light-hearted abduction where no one actually got hurt did not matter in the long run. He perked up as he connected the dots as she had done. "And the kanima's afraid of water. That's," his face fell, "not really helpful?"

Joe laughed at his expression. "No, I know. I've checked the crime databases and newspapers for almost the entire county that year and there's a few accidents related to water, but nothing tied to the swimming team. The only thing I can think of is suicide or something that was ruled an accident, because that's not reported the same way and it's against media guidelines to publish stories on it unless it can be determined to be public interest."

"So it's a dead end?"

"Not necessarily. It'll still be in the police records, just not in the public crime database. Jimmy suggested it might be sealed records, if the swim team were minors. Uh, about Jimmy, Kelly just called and says she can't reach him so I thought I would go up and check, but I..."

She trailed off, ears getting warm with the admission she had to make. "I kinda feel like I have to tell Derek first. Like in case the Argents got Jimmy this time, it'll be safer- Scott McCall, if you don't wipe that grin off your face, I'll do it for you!"

To his credit, he did seem to try, but his face kept splitting into a huge smile. "I didn't say anything!"

"You don't have to!" she snapped and nearly fell off the counter trying to dig her foot into his side. "Shut up!"

"I'm still not saying anything!" Scott laughed and fended her off without effort. "Relax, relax! I get it. He's your mate, it's your instinct to- ow! Joe!"

She'd succeeded kicking him in the ribs, but it could not have hurt too much as he kept laughing. Fuming, she handed her phone over to him. "Just give me his number, asshole."

"How do you not have his number?" Scott asked in wonder and he rubbed his side pointedly. Before he could begin entering Derek as a new contact, her phone buzzed and he handed it back. "It's from Kelly?"

"Oh," she said and read the text. Heck of a coincidence. "Okay, nevermind, she heard from Jimmy."

It didn't say much else, only another apology for causing any unnecessary concern. No emojis, which Kelly's texts were usually full of, so it might not have been good news. Not that Joe minded, she had no interest in Jimmy and Kelly getting together. Guy lived in a cavern. Unlike Derek, her own brain treacherously added, who was squatting in an abandoned railway depot. Oh well, at least Derek's place was indoors.

Joe hopped off the counter and poked Scott in the same place she'd kicked him. "Grocery shopping and take-out?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And, uh, Scott?" She cleared her throat as she followed him into the hallway. This was equally payback and a much needed PSA. "Just something I thought about, out of the blue, related to nothing...but you do know that flavored condoms are only for oral use, right?"

He froze in the middle of putting on his jacket, his stare fixed out in the air in front of him.

Shrugging, she tried to sound casual. "I know you only got a C minus in Biology-"

Panic highlighted his face as he slowly looked at her.

"-but sugar does not belong in the concha, Scott. It messes up the pH-level." As he looked nowhere near ready to speak, she shrugged again. "Just saying, you don't want to give your partner a yeast infection." She left him standing there with an open mouth, patting his arm on her way past to the front door. "Whoever that might be. You ready to go?"

A short(er) chapter to catch our breaths after that last one. A little Derek and then some McCall-family bonding time.

So grateful for your responses to the previous chapter! I'm still on leave this week and your reviews are giving me plenty of motivation to write. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday :) Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think (as always), so please leave a review!

Also, big thanks to VaderWasFramed who brought up ship-names for Joe-Derek. In addition to their suggestions, I tried this online generator to see what they came up with and here are my current favorites: Joerek, Halegado and Doe. Another one I found hilarious was Joseferek, but what do you guys think? Don't hesitate to suggest others! :)