“Who are you?” I demanded shakily, my legs threatening to collapse from the absolute terror that gripped me. He’s in the house. He knew where I lived.
“Just let me explain, please,” he said, his voice softer and less intimidating than before. Gracie’s fingers clenched around my elbow, a clear warning not to listen to him, but what choice did we have? He was already inside.
“Fine. Explain.”
“My name is Christian Davis. I think you knew my brothers.”
“Your brothers? No, I’m sorry, I don’t know anyone by the name of ‘Davis’-”
“Not Davis. Masters. They changed their names.”
“Well, mister, I don’t know any ‘Masters’ either, so-”
“Ethan and Aiden?”
The heat flushed out of my cheeks at the mention of the deceased twins, and I staggered back a step. Ethan and Aiden had a brother?
“Come on in then,” I said much more hospitably, gesturing for him to follow me to the kitchen. Once seated, I allowed him to explain himself further, although most of my fear was gone now. No relative of Ethan and Aiden would attack us. That much I’m sure.
“So could you back up just a sec? Yes, I did know Ethan and Aiden. But how did you find me? And how do you know my name and where I live? Also Aiden told me his parents died when he was ten. And he didn’t mention anything about another brother.”
“That’s because I’m eight years older than Ethan and Aiden. I was already in college when our parents died, and I couldn’t come back to take care of them. That’s why they went into foster care.”
“Okay...so now’s the part where you tell me how you found me and how you know about me.”
“Right. I was at a party a couple weeks ago at UCLA, where I go to college, when I overheard this guy next to me telling his friend about how messed up this girl who he lived with was, said her friend Aiden died. Naturally, the name sparked my interest, so I kept listening, and once I heard Beacon Hills come up, I started to worry about my brothers. So I got in my car and drove down here, but I didn’t know where they would be staying. We didn’t keep in touch very well when I left. But on the off chance Aiden had died, I knew exactly where Ethan would bury him, so I drove to-”
“The lot. Where your parents house used to be,” I mumbled in amazement, the last dregs of my worry dissolving as his words reaffirmed, above anything else, that he truly was Ethan and Aiden’s brother.
“Yeah. And when I got there, I saw a girl standing beside not one, but two graves there. And that’s when I realized that both of my brothers were dead.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm lightly, the despair in his eyes making my heart ache. The words I killed your brother were on the tip of my lip for the entire conversation, but I stifled them, and kept listening.
“Thank you. When I saw you there, I figured you must’ve known my brothers pretty well, and you could fill me in on what happened to them. So I followed you, but then I decided it was too creepy for me to just show up on your doorstep when you were obviously grieving my brother’s death. As I was driving away from your house, some guy ran outside and stopped me, asked what I was doing there. I told him I was looking for a redhead girl who I thought could help me out with something, and he gave me your name. So I waited a few days, and planned to approach you after school, so that it wouldn’t come off the wrong way. But then I saw you get carried into a Hummer dripping wet, so I tried to go back to my car and just give up, but lost my keys and instead had to sit outside and wait for a cab. I was just heading out to the front of the school to get in the cab when I recognized you in the parking lot, and well...you know the rest. I’m sorry that I scared you. I know this all seems so-”
“Crazy? It’s okay. It’s quite a story you have there, but I believe you. If I were you I would want to know what had happened to my brothers.”
“But wait...why did you break down the front door?”
“Oh, sorry about that. I thought I heard screaming from inside, and I was worried you were in danger. Although now I realize that you were only scared of me,” he said good-humouredly, and I cracked a slightly-hesitant smile. My mind was beginning to race as it occurred to me that he hadn’t brought up anything about his brothers being werewolves. He must not know. So how do I explain to him how Ethan and Aiden died?
“I guess so.”
“Well now that I’m here...do you mind telling me how you knew my brothers?”
Christian and I talked for about an hour; once we’d moved past the topic of Ethan and Aiden, I found myself telling him a little about my life, and about Derek and my pregnancy and an abridged-version of what the pack was like. Gracie had gone upstairs after hearing that Christian wasn’t a predator, and now that it was nearing midnight, I’d sent Christian home with a promise that I’d visit his brothers’ graves for him on holidays and their birthdays, when he couldn’t.
“And maybe we’ll run into each other there sometime,” he’d said before he’d left, driving down the road in his black Ford Fiesta. After the strange but pleasant turn the night had taken, I was even more exhausted than I’d been earlier, and I retired to bed almost immediately.
The next two days passed without any more surprise visitors or unprecedented incidents. Gracie and I went shopping after school on Thursday for a Valentine’s Day present for Derek, and then went out to eat afterwards. For the first time, Gracie had to spend the night at the apartment, because she had some big presentation the next morning, so I prepared myself to be in the huge house by myself that night. It was already pretty late by the time we finished dinner, so I changed into sweatpants and got into bed with my Pre-Calculus homework, turning on the CW as background noise. Derek had texted me earlier, telling me that the bonding trip was going really well and that they would probably stay through the weekend. I’d told him not to worry about me, that everything was fine, and that I would see him on Monday. In truth, however, the empty house was starting to make me lonely, and it was only my first night alone.
“So how are you feeling? I mean you are a...werewolf now, aren’t you?”
“I-I’m sorry, I just...I don’t want this, Aiden. I don’t want to be a werewolf!”
“I know. I remember you telling me that, ages ago.”
“You do?”
“Sure. You were incredibly serious about it, and to be honest, it took me by surprise. A human like you, so integrated into the world of the supernatural...I would’ve thought that’d be your dying wish.”
The memory of when I’d run over to Aiden’s apartment to take refuge when Derek and I had gotten into a huge fight about me being a werewolf trickled through my mind. At the time, I’d thought Derek had turned me, but now I knew that it had been Aiden. That conversation must’ve been so hard for him. Aiden had understood my wishes, and yet he’d still turned me rather than see me die. A small part of me wanted to be angry, and hurt, and feel betrayed, but the other, stronger part knew that none of it mattered anymore. Aiden was just doing what was best for me. But when he saw how it wreaked havoc on my life, he found a way to undo it. He sacrificed his life to undo it.
Snuggling up under the covers, I was struck by the immense silence surrounding me, and I hastily turned over to hit the play button on my iHome. “How to Save A Life” by the Fray began to gently float out from the speakers, washing over my sizzling nerves and tingling senses, and with one last painful thought of Aiden, I fell into a light, restless sleep.
*** *** ***
Over the weekend, I had to go in to tutor some kids at school, and then take two placement tests so that I could test out of Spanish, which would free up three periods a week for me to study for my History test and finish the three books I needed to for English. It was a busy few days, and I spent as much of the day out as I could, before finally returning home to the big empty house. Spending too much time there by myself brought on the sort of depression I’d fallen into after Aiden’s death, so I tried to avoid it as much as possible. Scott and Stiles took me to a party on Saturday night, thrown by some friend’s of theirs who I didn’t know, and I rode with them and Lydia and Kira, Scott’s new sort-of girlfriend. Without my knowledge, Allison had apparently moved away to live with her relatives on the East Coast, which I found a little sad but not all that shocking. Allison had been through a lot.
“So Kira, how are you liking Beacon Hills so far?” I asked casually, as Scott threw me a look from behind her head. Lydia was up in the front of the Jeep with Stiles, while Kira was seated between Scott and I in the spacious back seat.
“Good, I guess. The people here are kinda strange, but I guess they are everywhere. I’m just glad I’m making friends,” she said softly, pink tinting her cheeks as she shot a sideways glance at Scott. I stifled a laugh, enjoying Scott’s obvious confusion on what to do or say next. This boy needs so much of my help. When we got to the party, Lydia immediately grabbed Kira and dragged her to the kitchen to get drinks.
“You coming, Chris?” she offered, but I shook my head. Scott had just received a phone call, and he and Stiles were huddled in the doorway that we’d just passed through, expressions loaded with worry and unease. I know those looks.
“I’ll catch up with you guys,” I mumbled as I made my way back towards my friends, my neon pink skirt catching on somebody’s jeans as I went. The house was packed with people, scantily dressed and sweating. Loud music was blasting out of several different speakers, alcohol was everywhere, and there was a hazy look to the air that suggested people inside were smoking.
“What’s going on?” I asked fiercely, lowering my voice and leaning in towards Scott and Stiles conspiratorily. Scott’s furrowed eyebrows and dark brown eyes met mine, all playfulness and joy absent now, and Stiles ran a hand through his hair, mumbling a string of curse words under his breath.
“Okay, there’s something we didn’t tell you,” Scott admitted, taking my arm and leading me outside onto the lawn. There were a few people milling about, but for the most part it was emptier and much quieter than inside.
“What is it?”
“Kate’s back. Like, not-dead.”
“Kate Argent? The one that Peter killed last year?” I repeated in disbelief, my eyebrows shooting up as my thoughts raced back to that night. That was the first time Derek and I said ‘I love you’ to each other.
“Or didn’t kill, is more like it,” Stiles interjected, pacing slightly in place.
“But how? I mean we saw Peter rip her throat out.”
“Yeah but you know that rumor about turning someone with a scratch?”
“Yeah. I thought it was just a rumor.”
“Well, if they go deep enough...it works. Peter turned Kate that night, and now she’s back.”
“Dammit, what is with all of these rumors suddenly being true?” I grumbled as Scott checked his phone once more, and suddenly he and Stiles began hustling me off the lawn and down the street, to where we’d parked the Jeep.
“Wait wait wait, where are we going? To stop Kate?” I asked as I was pushed into the Jeep, squashed between Scott and Stiles’ much larger frames, my baby belly not doing anything to help. They’ve grown a bit since the last time we did this three-seater thing.
“Not exactly,” Stiles sang darkly as he started the car and we pulled out of our parking spot.
“Kate has Derek,” Scott finally told me after a minute of strained silence, and my eyes widened almost painfully.
“What?”
Despite my protests, Scott and Stiles had dropped me off at home and insisted I stay there and wait for them to come back, hopefully with Derek. They said it was too dangerous for the baby if I went, and for once, I relented. But I spent the entire night calling every single member of the pack, to no avail. I paced, I cleaned, I tried to watch TV but my mind was too distracted. Derek was in trouble, and I was in lockdown in our enormous house by myself, not knowing if my husband was alive or dead. Come on Derek, please. Please don’t leave me. Please be okay. You have to be okay. Finally, early Sunday morning, I received a call from Stiles, telling me they were on their way back here. I’d been sprawled over the kitchen table, my head resting on the dishrag I’d been using to clean the wood surface, when I caught the sound of my phone ringing, the Spongebob theme song blaring into the creaky silence.
“Finally! Is Derek okay? Is he with you?”
“Yes, he’s here. We’re almost there, you’ll see him soon.”
“Can I talk to him?”
“Uh, sorry Chris, I’ve gotta go. See you in a few, though.” Once Stiles hung up, I skirted around the house tidying up anything I’d overlooked. I changed into comfier clothes than the party ones I’d stayed in all night, and after nearly twenty minutes, a knock finally sounded on the door. I jumped up from the kitchen stool I was perched on, running to open the door with a pounding heart. To my disappointment, it wasn’t Derek waiting on the porch, but the entire pack, who pushed past me without a word. They were dirty and bloody and grimy, scowls on their faces and mumbles of dissent running through them, but I barely paid the wolves any mind.
“Where’s Derek?” I called to Scott as he slid out of the Jeep, his lips set in a grim line. He pulled open the back door, as Stiles came around from the driver’s seat and slowly approached me.
“Derek’s here, and he’s fine but...Chris, there’s something we have to tell you.”
“What? Can I just see him already?” I called anxiously, running out onto the front steps just as Derek slid out of the Jeep, raising his head to meet my gaze uncertainly. Oh my God. I froze in place, my thoughts stuttering to a complete stop as my eyes raked over his figure.
I was looking at seventeen year old Derek.
*** *** ***
“What happened to him?” I hissed at Scott and Stiles angrily as I stomped down stairs and joined them in the kitchen. Derek was upstairs, showering in our bedroom even though he had no idea who I was or whose house he was in. They’d been in some sort of fight, everyone covered in blood and dirt, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was finding out what the hell had happened to my husband.
“We don’t know. We found him like this, no sign of Kate anywhere. Just these scary ass monster things that were guarding the tomb.”
“But how - what - how? How is it possible for him to be seventeen again?”
“We’re not sure. We’re gonna go to Deaton first thing tomorrow, but for right now, we all just need to get some sleep.”
“How am I supposed to sleep beside my husband when he doesn’t even know who I am?” I hissed in frustration, and Scott shrugged as Stiles turned to go.
“Not our biggest problem right now, Laymen. Goodnight.”
Once they’d gone, I was left to my own devices to figure out how to deal with my suddenly-teenaged husband. I crept up the stairs and peered into our bedroom hesitantly; he was lying on the bed, stretched out and shirtless, almost asleep. I marvelled for just a second at how much smaller he was; he still had the defined abs and muscular frame of the Derek I knew, but know he looked more like somebody my age. Oh my God. Derek is my age now!
“Hi,” I announced my presence quietly, stepping into the darkened room and flicking on a light. I nearly peed myself when Derek woke up with a yell, grabbing at the blankets underneath him in a frantic attempt to cover himself up.
“Whoa, whoa, it’s just me. Sorry if I woke you.”
“W-what are you doing in here?” Derek shot at me, his much-younger voice taking me back to the days when I would admire him from afar in the cafeteria in freshman year. This is too weird.
“Uh...this is my room too. Didn’t Scott and Stiles tell you?”
“Who?”
“Those guys, who brought you here.” Oh man, he doesn’t even know who Scott and Stiles are.
“Tell me what?” Derek demanded anxiously, sitting more fully up and grabbing one of his t-shirts from the chair beside the bed. Once he was properly dressed, he stood up and crossed his arms, obviously unsure of me still.
“Um, you live here. I’m your wife, Chris,” I said, the painful awkwardness of my statement making me cringe. Way to go, Chris. You just bombarded this seventeen year old with the fact that he’s married in high school to a girl he doesn’t even know.Derek’s eyes widened, and the way his jaw dropped would have made me laugh if the situation wasn’t so screwed up.
“You’re - my - what? We’re married?” he blurted out, the defensiveness in his expression briefly replaced by shock.
“Yeah.”
“I married a girl who has a guy’s name?”
“Yes, you did, but my real name is Christina, if you must know,” I growled, my teeth gritted at the insult. He didn’t mean it. He’s just surprised, that’s all.
“But I’m only in high school.” Derek was looking around the room like it was a cage, like I was a spider who had trapped him in my web. His familiar green eyes were still open wide and full of fear, like a lost child.
“Not the Derek I know,” I muttered without realizing what I’d said, and his eyes widened further.
“What does that mean?”
“Look, I don’t know if I’m the right person to be explaining this to you…” I trailed off uncertainly, plopping my butt down on the bed and lifting my legs into a criss-cross position, which was the most comfortable with the baby.
“Well if you’re telling the truth, I guess you’re my wife. I can’t think of a better person to tell me what the hell is going on,” Derek reasoned, sitting down hesitantly on the opposite side of the bed, his arms still crossed and his eyes still narrowed in suspicion. Okay then. Here goes nothing.
“Um, okay. I don’t really know how it happened or even why it happened, so don’t even bother asking me. But, um...you’re not seventeen. You’re twenty-one.”
“What?” he exclaimed, leaping off the bed again.
“You’re twenty-one, and you’re a mechanic, and you’re also an Alpha. Of a pretty powerful pack.”
“I’m the Alpha? What happened to my mom?” he asked suddenly, and my heart sank. Oh no. He doesn’t know yet. I hadn’t known Derek back when his family had died, but I could only imagine the pain he’d suffered when he’d found out. I knew the emotional scars it had left on him, even four years later. I can’t be the one to break it to this kid that his entire family is gone.But I knew Derek, and I knew he would want to know the truth.
“Um...your mom’s dead. Your whole family died in a fire shortly after, well, this. You were a teenager when it happened. I’m so sorry, Derek.”
“Oh God.” Derek’s face fell, and he dropped back onto the bed with a soft thump. I didn’t know whether to comfort him or leave him alone, but he suddenly turned to me with hardened eyes.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” he shot at me abruptly, his voice terse and guarded.
“About the fire? Or about you?”
“About all of it. How do I know you didn’t just kidnap me?”
I thought for a second, how I could prove to him that I did know him when he was twenty-one. That I was telling the truth. But then my eyes fell on a framed picture of Derek and I from our wedding that was sitting on my bookshelf, and I slowly got up to retrieve it, along with the small newspaper clipping I’d pasted onto the back.
“Here. Look at this. This picture was taken about a month ago, at our wedding. On the back is the newspaper article from the day after we got married. Go ahead, read it,” I explained, handing the picture to him. It was almost frightening to see how his eyes instantly recognized himself, standing up on that altar, and me, across from him, my hands in his. The article on the back proved the date, and the journalist critically described the “rushed union between a high school girl and a much older man” in a few paragraphs. Once he’d finished reading it, Young Derek looked back up at me with a lot less hesitation than before.
“So if I’m actually twenty-one...why am I seventeen right now?”
“I don’t know. When I last saw you, you were twenty-one. And now...you’re seventeen.” Typical Derek to not deal with emotional stuff right now.
“Okay.” Silence fell over us for another minute, and I pushed back the feeling of wanting to cry. I’d been so worried about Derek, and now...he wasn’t even back, not really. He couldn’t wrap his arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be okay. I hope this isn’t permanent.
“So if I’m your husband...does that mean that’s my baby in there?” Young Derek said suddenly, pointing at my very pregnant belly, and I nodded. Before I could say anything else, however, my stomach suddenly cramped up, very painfully, and I cried out. Excruciating pain shot through my stomach, as though every bone in my torso was being smashed to pieces, and I doubled over, falling off the bed and onto the ground.
“Miss? Are you okay?” Derek’s voice came from above me, but I let out a loud groan that turned into agonized scream for help. Am I going into labor? I wondered vaguely as the door to our bedroom burst open and Drake rushed in, followed shortly by Brooke and Hunter. I shrieked again, my screams overlapping as blinding red pain seared through my entire body, and before I could warn them, I passed out.
*** *** ***
“Chris? Chris, are you awake? She’s awake, doc!” a voice shouted from my left, and as my eyes fluttered open, I recognized Stiles and Scott in the chairs beside my bed. I was in Dr. Shea’s office, strapped up to a bunch of machines, but I didn’t feel any worse than usual. The shooting pain was gone from my uterus, and I was feeling much better.
“Good, good,” Dr. Shea sang as she bustled in, checking my vitals and giving me another shot of whatever was dripping into my IV.
“What happened?” I croaked, clearing my throat as Dr. Shea peered over me, looking into my eyes.
“You just had some minor abdominal pains, similar to contractions. They were quite strong, though, so I ran some tests just to be safe. We’ll know more shortly,” she said, turning to go before she caught sight of the clock and whipped back around to point a finger at Scott and Stiles.
“I hate to say this, boys, but family only now. Visiting hours are up.”
“Fine. We’ll see you later though, right Chris? You’ll be out of here in no time,” Scott promised me as they left, and I let my eyes close again once I thought I was alone.
“Um...sorry for what happened to you.” Young Derek’s voice broke the silence, and I jumped a little, whipping my head to the right. I hadn’t realized he’d been sitting there, eyes worried and hands clenched around the armrest of his chair. The chair that Derek has sat in a million times before.
“Oh, um...thanks. You don’t have to stay, though. I mean, you hardly know me,” I mumbled, blushing when Derek’s all-too-familiar green eyes landed on mine.
“I know that. But, I mean, that is my child in there, so I feel like I have at least partial responsibility.”
“I guess so,” I chuckled lightly; he sounded just like the Derek I knew.
“So can I ask you something?” Derek questioned cautiously, as though he was expecting me to say no.
“Sure.”
“If you’re seventeen now...and I’m actually twenty-one...what are you doing with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m four years older than you. Well, the real me is four years older than you. Why would you give up your best years to be married and pregnant to some guy before you’re even out of high school?”
“Oh,” I responded shortly, surprise coating my features at the question. “Um, well I guess because I fell in love with Derek - er, with you?”
“Let’s just say with Derek,” he said quickly, and we both laughed.
“Deal.”
“So you were willing to give up your entire life for Derek?”
“I didn’t give it up, but I would. I would give up everything I have for Derek,” I admitted, the corners of my lips turning down as thoughts of Derek flew through my mind.
“You must really miss him right now, huh?” Young Derek asked me softly, and I nodded. It was strange, talking about Derek like he was a different person, but to this kid, he was. And to me. This kid isn’t my Derek.
“I’m sorry,” he told me suddenly, his voice dropping lower as his eyes drifted down towards the sheets on my hospital bed.
“No, don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault.”
“I know, but...I still feel guilty. You were expecting your twenty-one year old husband, and instead you got this seventeen year old stranger."
“Come on, it’s not like that. I did know this version of you actually. Well, sort of.”
“Really? Did you go to Beacon Hills High?”
“Yeah, I go there now actually. I was a freshman when you - older you - was a senior.”
“Is that how we met?”
“Pff no, I wish,” I snorted, imagining Derek Hale, captain of the basketball team, actually going out with little ole freshman Christina Laymen. In my dreams.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Can I let you in on a little secret?”
“Yeah, totally,” Young Derek said happily, leaning in closer. I almost pinched his cheeks, he was so cute and excitable at this age. No sadness. No remorse. He’s just this happy teenager.
“When you become a senior, you’re this like huge basketball star. You’re captain of the team, and everybody wants to go out with you. Trust me,” I confided in him, and was rewarded by an audible gasp and the sight of Derek’s green eyes lighting up at the news.
“Really?”
“You betcha,” I nodded, smiling when he sat back with a satisfied look on his face.
“But wait,” he realized after a moment. “You said I’m already twenty-one. That means I missed it.”
“No! Older You loved his glory days as a basketball player. Once you’re back to normal-” We both stopped, and my eyes dropped, grief hitting my stomach like a stone when the horrifying thought occurred to me. What if Derek never comes back? What if he’s stuck like this and has to grow back up?
“Am I going to be back to normal? The twenty-one year old me?” Derek asked, and I lifted my tear-filled eyes to meet his sadly.
“I don’t know.”
Our curtain of despair was lifted when Dr. Shea came back into the room, her glasses pushed up onto her head as she gave me a onceover.
“I have some great news, Christina,” she chirped happily, standing at the bottom of my bed. I sucked in a breath, hoping for the best. What if she says I’m going into labor? Or I can’t have this baby? My blood went cold. What if I had another miscarriage?Without really thinking about it, I reached out and took Derek’s hand. He looked at me in surprise, but when he saw the terror and dread in my eyes, he squeezed my hand in his grasp.
“What is it?” My voice trembled slightly, and I swallowed hard, trying to summon up thoughts of my Derek to calm me down.
“As happens sometimes, something was overlooked in your previous sonograms, possibly because of the supernatural nature of your pregnancy.”
“Okay…”
“I’m very pleased to tell you that the test results came back and...you’re not just having a baby, Ms. Hale. You’re having twins!”
******************************************************
OH MY GOD! What did you guys think of this whole chapter? If you've been watching Season 4, you know that I COMPLETELY GIVE CREDIT TO THE SHOW FOR ALL OF THIS! Derek-becoming-young-again was just too good too pass up. So comment comment comment! Also what do you think of Aiden/Ethan's brother? Do you believe his story? And what about TWINS OMG! I'm so excited! anyway thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYBODY!!! also sorry that the format of the chapter was messed up before - i posted from my phone so thats why. its fixed now! thanks! xoxo