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It takes Derek two days to catch up with Laura.
He's deep in the woods when she finally seems to stand still, and Derek reaches out for her, panting heavily and half expecting his hand to go right through her. Instead, it settles on her shoulder and Derek nearly sobs, sagging in relief and blinking away the sting in his eyes as he turns her around.
"Laura, is it really - how are you here?" She looks the same as she did in New York, before she told Derek that she had to go back to Beacon Hills and wouldn't tell him why. She grins at him, dressed in black jeans and that dark red leather jacket she loved so much.
"Hey, baby brother. Miss me?" She looks happy, cheeks flushed with blood and whole and alive. He sniffs, breath hitching as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat. There's something like hope welling up inside of him and he's afraid to cling to it. "Oh, would you stop with the surliness? You'd think you get paid by the minute to brood. Let's go get some food, I'm starving."
Everything she says is familiar, leaving Derek to deal with deja vu on top of everything else. "Do you remember what happened? Laura, you were - I found you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I do know that Georgio's is calling my name." Laura grabs his wrist and Derek's knees feel weak, like the energy is being sucked from his body. His eyes flash red and he keeps them glowing, looking at Laura desperately.
"Laura, I'm the alpha. You're - you died." Laura looks at his face, brows furrowed in a familiar display of confusion, before her face smooths out and she grips his wrist.
"I'm your sister, Derek. I'm your alpha." Her eyes fill with tears and she grabs Derek by both shoulders. He gasps and sways a little, but doesn't tear his eyes away from her face. He remembers this, remembers breaking down in a motel room off of some interstate when he couldn't get the goddamn smell of smoke off of his skin. She'd cupped his cheek, just like she's doing now. "I'm going to take care of you."
He remembers this. It's not real. It's a trick. He sniffs and schools his expression into something steely and determined. "You're not Laura. Stop wearing her face and get the hell out of here."
Laura's expression goes mean, flickering for a moment like a mirage. "Oh, Derek."
And then she disappears. Derek's shoulders sag and he presses the heels of his palms to his eyes, letting out a loud roar that startles birds from the branches above him. His breathing is ragged as he turns to try to find his way out of the forest, but he stumbles to a halt when he sees something in the dirt ahead of him.
It's the Laura that Derek remembers seeing last, naked and chopped in half, abandoned in the dirt. He lets out another sob that he can't help, and he knows this isn't real, it can't be, but he drops to his knees in front of her anyway. He touches her cold cheek all over again and grinds his teeth together so hard they crack, eyes burning furiously.
He knows he'll never find the other half, because he never did the first time so he doesn't remember it. He just pops his claws and starts digging, cutting his skin on the rocks, because he can't leave his sister here, even if it's not really her.
He loses track of how long it takes to dig the grave, and he gently cradles her body (what's left of it) with a steely reserve as he lowers her into the hole. He's already done this, and it's wholly unfair that he has to do it again. His hands drip blood into the dirt that he tosses on top of her, wounds not healing because his grief is too strong.
When he's done, he gets up and walks away, tears silently making tracks through the dirt on his face as he reaches the moonlight at the treeline. He doesn't pass anyone on his way home, and he doesn't stop until he's inside of his apartment.
The grief he felt when he first found Laura has all rushed back, and on top of that he feels weak, drained in an unnatural way, and he crumples to the floor with a sob. He presses his forehead to the carpet and beats on the floor with his fist, struggling not to cry.
It'll never go away, this pain. He can cover it up, distract himself from it, but it'll always be there. His shoulders quake as he remembers Laura's laugh, her sleek hair and the way her fingers felt when they touched his cheek. He would have given anything for another minute with her, and the hope he felt was quashed when he realized all he would get was memories and a monster wearing her face.
He curls up on the floor and presses his face into the crook of his elbow, sucking in sharp breaths, and tries to find the strength to get up and move on.
He's deep in the woods when she finally seems to stand still, and Derek reaches out for her, panting heavily and half expecting his hand to go right through her. Instead, it settles on her shoulder and Derek nearly sobs, sagging in relief and blinking away the sting in his eyes as he turns her around.
"Laura, is it really - how are you here?" She looks the same as she did in New York, before she told Derek that she had to go back to Beacon Hills and wouldn't tell him why. She grins at him, dressed in black jeans and that dark red leather jacket she loved so much.
"Hey, baby brother. Miss me?" She looks happy, cheeks flushed with blood and whole and alive. He sniffs, breath hitching as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat. There's something like hope welling up inside of him and he's afraid to cling to it. "Oh, would you stop with the surliness? You'd think you get paid by the minute to brood. Let's go get some food, I'm starving."
Everything she says is familiar, leaving Derek to deal with deja vu on top of everything else. "Do you remember what happened? Laura, you were - I found you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I do know that Georgio's is calling my name." Laura grabs his wrist and Derek's knees feel weak, like the energy is being sucked from his body. His eyes flash red and he keeps them glowing, looking at Laura desperately.
"Laura, I'm the alpha. You're - you died." Laura looks at his face, brows furrowed in a familiar display of confusion, before her face smooths out and she grips his wrist.
"I'm your sister, Derek. I'm your alpha." Her eyes fill with tears and she grabs Derek by both shoulders. He gasps and sways a little, but doesn't tear his eyes away from her face. He remembers this, remembers breaking down in a motel room off of some interstate when he couldn't get the goddamn smell of smoke off of his skin. She'd cupped his cheek, just like she's doing now. "I'm going to take care of you."
He remembers this. It's not real. It's a trick. He sniffs and schools his expression into something steely and determined. "You're not Laura. Stop wearing her face and get the hell out of here."
Laura's expression goes mean, flickering for a moment like a mirage. "Oh, Derek."
And then she disappears. Derek's shoulders sag and he presses the heels of his palms to his eyes, letting out a loud roar that startles birds from the branches above him. His breathing is ragged as he turns to try to find his way out of the forest, but he stumbles to a halt when he sees something in the dirt ahead of him.
It's the Laura that Derek remembers seeing last, naked and chopped in half, abandoned in the dirt. He lets out another sob that he can't help, and he knows this isn't real, it can't be, but he drops to his knees in front of her anyway. He touches her cold cheek all over again and grinds his teeth together so hard they crack, eyes burning furiously.
He knows he'll never find the other half, because he never did the first time so he doesn't remember it. He just pops his claws and starts digging, cutting his skin on the rocks, because he can't leave his sister here, even if it's not really her.
He loses track of how long it takes to dig the grave, and he gently cradles her body (what's left of it) with a steely reserve as he lowers her into the hole. He's already done this, and it's wholly unfair that he has to do it again. His hands drip blood into the dirt that he tosses on top of her, wounds not healing because his grief is too strong.
When he's done, he gets up and walks away, tears silently making tracks through the dirt on his face as he reaches the moonlight at the treeline. He doesn't pass anyone on his way home, and he doesn't stop until he's inside of his apartment.
The grief he felt when he first found Laura has all rushed back, and on top of that he feels weak, drained in an unnatural way, and he crumples to the floor with a sob. He presses his forehead to the carpet and beats on the floor with his fist, struggling not to cry.
It'll never go away, this pain. He can cover it up, distract himself from it, but it'll always be there. His shoulders quake as he remembers Laura's laugh, her sleek hair and the way her fingers felt when they touched his cheek. He would have given anything for another minute with her, and the hope he felt was quashed when he realized all he would get was memories and a monster wearing her face.
He curls up on the floor and presses his face into the crook of his elbow, sucking in sharp breaths, and tries to find the strength to get up and move on.
