for the rest of us death will be a relief

[praevaricatio]

Comments

[packguy]

Yep, you do that. We should be back in the Quarter in about an hour.

[Maybe a little longer if they take pity on her and they decide to roll through McDonalds for a better meal than spare beef jerky. But with that he will hang up and head back to the car so Derek can make his phone calls.]

[engender]

( Derek ends the call and then sees an alert on a message with a host of numbers on it, some recognized and some not. He reads it to himself first. He sends a succinct message that people who matter will understand.

And then he calls his girlfriend, getting up from the couch. He holds the phone under his chin as he starts to straighten up and clears out some lunch still on plates in the kitchen, scraping them over the trash can. )

[werewolfqueen]

[Hayley steps away from her meeting with Davina, making some arrangements for Beltane but also Christmas but also whatever other witch holidays come with the winter months. She feels the phone vibrate in her pocket and steps away.]

Hey, I was just about to call you. I have a couple more things to handle, but I was going to bring back dinner.

[engender]

Maybe you could bring enough for three. I don't know if you've been on this group we've been included in. But, there are people from other ...times, or who have been missing, or haven't been around for years. This is coming from the Winchesters. And Aiden who's on his way to our place with Erica.

( He doesn't ramble, but says very serious things in piecemeal Derek ways. He's opened up to Hayley before about Erica and Boyd and Isaac and why he and Isaac are strained and why they work under Scott. He's never recovered from it - in Isaac's eyes. But, he's also never tried.

Erica, she'd recognize. )

A friend of the Winchesters found her in the Bayou, thought she'd be better with other wolves.

[werewolfqueen]

[That is a lot of information and it takes her a minute to process it. She is on that text chain and will be investigating it later but right now she wants to focus on Derek.]

Are you okay?

[She doesn't know how he can be. She wouldn't be, if it were her. But she will make space for it, regardless. Give him the chance to tell her.]

[engender]

That depends on how Erica is, what she remembers. If she's been missing all these years and that wasn't her body Isaac remembers.

( And if it's not, what has she been through? And if it is, the trauma from it. There are now a thousand possibilities, especially from someone named, Buffy's contributions.

What kind of name is Buffy? )

[werewolfqueen]

Okay. So food first, feelings later. It is the werewolf way.

[She's joking, but also she's not joking.]

What does she like? Does she have a favorite food?

[engender]

I don't - ( It's been a long, long time. ) Maybe burgers and fries. Keep it simple. Or, Chinese. I don't know. I can ask Aiden - ( That's lame, as he sighs. ) for suggestions.

[werewolfqueen]

[She can hear that loss, though she would argue it's been years. You can't be expected to remember every little preference of a dead girl.]

Okay. Burgers and fries it is.

[She pauses.]

Try not to linger too much on the past, okay? In my experience, the past that lives in our head is always way worse than what actually happened. Just try to deal with what's in front of you.

[engender]

( He loves her.

Now is probably not the time to say it. But, he smiles to himself. )

Thanks. I'll see you, soon. I might call before you get here, if I think of something else. Or, if she gets here and needs... something else. Just. Stay close to your phone.

[yourtype]

["I'll be here."

Which may read as "I love you too," but that's for a conversation another time. For now, she hangs up and gives Derek time to get ready for Erica's arrival.

Which will come soon enough. They arrive outside Hayley's place, and Erica peers up at the building, trying to fit this into the context of Derek's life now. She's started to piece together that something happened to her. She doesn't recognize any of the songs on Aiden's radio, and the way Josh and Aiden talk around Derek is strange. Never mind the fact that Derek is in New Orleans, not Beacon Hills.

But she can't think about that too hard, not yet.]

So who's Hayley?

["Hayley is my alpha," Aiden replies, and Erica nods.]

And she and Derek are ...

[Aiden pauses, and then makes a face. "Involved?"

Erica smirks.]

You can say they're dating. I mean, it'd still be weird because it's Derek and he doesn't emote like a normal person, but I'm a big girl. I can take it.

[Aiden laughs. "Honestly, it's more that I'm not really allowed to comment on Hayley's love life. Derek's a good guy, though." He pauses before glancing back at her. "You want us to go in with you?"

Erica hesitates, before shaking her head. She can handle facing her alpha. Even knowing something's off, she can't shake the residual feeling he might be mad, but she won't put that on Aiden and Josh.]

I'll be okay. Thanks for the ride.

[engender]

( "Use that number," Josh says, talking about the slip of paper he gave her a moment ago. "if you need anything else. Derek's pack. So, you're pack." They're on the same side. Vampires are not loyal like werewolves, not in that way, but he's seen the unbreakable bond of pack firsthand through his husband and through Hayley. Davina's kind of pack, too, when he thinks about it.

Derek watches from up above, having heard the car come to a stop. He briefly sends out a message.

He doesn't let her get up the stairs, or even in the building, before he's opening the front door.

He's a little older, leaner, and less cold than she remembers. There is guilt in those eyes. And shock. Shock seems to be going around. )

[yourtype]

[Erica takes the number with a nod and slides out of the car. She doesn't have a phone yet, but she'll hold onto it until she does. As she turns to face him on the sidewalk, she can feel the "fine" facade that she's been trying to hold up begin to crumble in the face of her alpha.

The one who told her not to run, but she did.

The one who warned her that they were safer as a pack, and maybe he was right.

Tears flood her eyes so quickly and she knows she should try to get a handle on her feelings but it's been three months (she thinks) and she knows he's probably so angry with them, even if she doesn't see it on his face right now.]

Derek, please don't be mad.

[engender]

( It pains him to see her - and see her like this, to think that he would cause these tears. She looks exactly like he remembers her. He knows when she must be from. Around then, anyway. He doesn't know how to ask about the vault or about the alpha pack. He's never been good at this and defers to Scott, often. And, now, Hayley, here. But, Scott is still his alpha. )

I'm not mad. ( He says it plainly. Because he's sorry for so much. But he's not mad at her. He never was. He keeps his apology inside as he holds the door open for her. ) Come inside. We can talk. I've been living in an apartment upstairs.

[yourtype]

[She nods, swiping at her face as she follows and taking the reassurance at face value that he isn't angry. He doesn't smell angry either so that much is a relief. But she can also sense that there is something he's not quite telling her yet.

She's starting to feel like she has a sense of what it is.

Once they're inside his and Hayley's apartment (he assumes Hayley, and her scent is interesting. A little like Aiden but also a little like Josh), she looks around and asks the question she can only ask him.]

It's been a while, hasn't it? I mean, I don't remember anything after Kali came into the vault, but I think it would have taken more than three months for you to give up on on us, move to New Orleans and get a girlfriend.

[Part of her doesn't want to know how long it's been, but she knows that secrets aren't going to get her anywhere.]

And you ... you don't feel the same.

[Like he's not an alpha anymore. He's just another wolf like her.]

[engender]

I didn't give up on you.

( To start, there's that. He has to say that as he perches on the edge of Hayley's couch, one hand resting on his knee. )

Isaac and I looked for you. A bounty hunter named Braedan rescued him and he had no memory of what he found. Peter helped pull the memory out of him. ( He says everything in the past tense and doesn't want to go further. not the vault. not the dual investigations. scott's help. not what isaac remembered, finally. ) Erica, it's been a long while. Decades. ( He doesn't know how else to say it. ) Aiden says you appeared in the bayou along with another woman. There are reports from contacts of ours that it's happening other places. That people who have been gone or missing or -- ( are dead ) That they're reappearing.

( how can he go into it? )

I'm different, because I'm no longer an alpha. I gave the spark up to save my sister, Cora. Who was in the vault with you.

( He doesn't... know if she remembers Cora or if Cora was rabit at that point. He doesn't know anything. He hasn't thought about it in years. )

[yourtype]

I may have ... I think the other woman was a hunter. And she may have seen my eyes.

[And her claws, but let's not split hairs on that one.]

I don't know if she was a good one or not.

[Is there such a thing as a good hunter? She doesn't know. But the mention of Cora perks her up some, but fact that he only mentions Cora makes her worry.]

Are she and Boyd okay?

[engender]

There aren't only hunters like that now. Hunters helped Scott and his pack a few months back. My pack. And we all helped disband a wide-ranging hunter network that dealt in hatred and misinformation. ( He was kidnapped, not going to scare her. ) The hunter you appeared with, she's not after you and the hunters she's connected to are allies. They're the Winchesters, if you hear their name again.

( She needs to know that, because it will take time for her to walk in the world and not hesitate. Not feel like she's in danger.

He can't hide the subtle change in his expression. )

She's okay. Boyd didn't -- He survived the vault. But, he died not long after. He's gone, Erica.

[yourtype]

[The hunter information flies over his head but the mention of Scott is good. At least Scott is still alive.

Erica nods slowly, because that stings. She and Boyd just wanted to have a life. It's not fair that neither of them did. Which leaves only one other member standing of their very small pack, and she's almost afraid to ask, but she has to:]

Isaac? Is he gone too?

[engender]

No, Isaac survived. I released him. Sent him to Scott. ( A very, very generous reading of the situation is needed, Derek thinks, to push things forward and to stop Erica from being a sobbing mess. Though it's okay to be, he'd say. He's close to crying himself. ) He's been in Europe, but I think he's on the East Coast right now. He knows your alive. Everyone does. We're all in contact now. And, Scott is our alpha.

[yourtype]

Oh.

[That ... makes a shocking amount of sense, honestly. Scott and Derek's back and forth does feel like a struggle for control, but if Derek stepped down for any reason, Scott is the one who would take his place.

She shifts on her feet, playing with the sleeve of her shirt.]

Do you think he'll still want me in the pack?

[She thinks she knows the answer. But everything's changed so much, she can't help but feel she has to ask.]

[engender]

He wouldn't deny you if that's where you wanted to be. Scott's loyalty rivals his compassion. We are a mixed pack, now. Lydia, we discovered, is a banshee. Stiles died and is a vampire now. Allison runs the Argent organization, but she is also pack. He would welcome you with open arms.

( The sentimentality threatens, so he lists facts. )

He's here in New Orleans as well, I could arrange for him to come by. Everyone cares, Erica.

[werewolfqueen]

[That feels like a big choice, along with the swirl of confusion with hearing that everyone cares. Some parts of her doubt that Lydia and Allison care as much as maybe Scott or Stiles would and part of her does want to see Scott.

But it also feels like a bigger question than it should which is why it's good that she's saved by the bell - the bell being Hayley coming in the front door. She also has way more bags than originally anticipated when she previously said she was just going to bring home dinner.

She sees Derek first and flashes him a smile.]

Hey. Food has arrived.

[Then she sees Erica and offers her a softer smile.]

And you must be Erica. I'm Hayley.

["Hi," Erica begins timidly.

Hayley just nods and keeps breezing through.]

Aiden said you ate, but if you're still hungry I brought some food. Also I realized you wouldn't have anything, so I got you a change of clothes. Nothing fancy - we can go shopping for stuff that fits better when you're feeling up to it, but I thought you might want to change.

[She knows that when she died she wanted to rid herself of everything that she was wearing when she did. Erica seems to agree because she's been wearing this same set of clothes for the last three months, and she would do anything right now to feel clean.

"Yes, please." She starts to step towards Hayley before glancing back towards Derek. "Can I?"]

[engender]

( Derek moves over to Hayley to help with all the bags. This is a lot of bags, but he's grateful Hayley took it upon herself. And clothes, oh that's sweet. )

You don't need my permission.

( He holds the one bag that holds different clothing out to her. )

We'll set the table while you change.

[werewolfqueen]

There's an en-suite bathroom in the guest room. And there's extra toiletries and stuff here.

[She passes her over another bag and Erica takes both before following Hayley's directions to the guest room.]

I also got her a phone. We can set it up and save the numbers for the pack, at least. Give her some people to talk to.

[She then waits until she hears the shower start, allowing for a little bit of privacy for them both, before she turns back to Derek.]

How're you doing?