A/N: Just because there was some obvious concern in the last chapter that I'm sure many of you might have felt and not necessarily chose to voice, I'm addressing those concerns in this chapter officially and formally, and then after I won't mention it in the authors notes. This will be a long note, but please read.

PLEASE READ:

This is NOT a Chloe/Simon fanfiction.

This IS a Chloe/Derek fanfiction.

Always has been, always will be.

A story is nothing but boredom and pointless words on a page if there is not a little conflict. As I am trying to write a realistic, 'could be the real thing' continuation of the series, I cannot ignore what is provided in the official books. There is evidence that at some point, Simon and Chloe, hopefully for only a short portion of the book, will be together. The author has said herself that both guys will get a chance with Chloe. I don't like writing it more than you like reading it, but I'm not the type of writer who just sees an obstacle in a characters path, and has them lamely step aside.

Skip over the Simon/Chloe aspects if they bother you that much;

Enjoy it as just another bump in the road before Chloe and Derek's Happy Ending;

Or, stop reading completely - though I'd prefer you gave it a chance! It's still Derek and Chloe.

All the way.

Sorry for the incredibly long delay, my sixty page novella was due this past Friday and I was nowhere near done, so I had to scramble to get it done. Updates should resume at the same pace as before, for awhile at least. Thanks for hanging in there!

Reckoning

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter IX - The Truth About Siblings

I waited for Derek to break the silence; I wasn't sure why I wanted him to. I only knew that I did. When he still hadn't spoken, I decided to speak first.

"How are you?" I asked lamely. He glanced up at me for a moment before turning back to his food.

"Fine." He responded. I waited; he said nothing more. I tried again.

"How's your ankle?"

"Equally fine." I stood up suddenly, catching him by surprise.

"What is your problem with me all of a sudden?" I questioned him. "You were perfectly fine just last night; now it's like we're not even friends." I wanted to kick myself for getting into this conversation; I didn't want to be his friend, right? I couldn't tear him and Simon apart. Yet here I was, demanding his friendship.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Chloe." Derek told me, his voice harsh. "I'm no different. Even if I was, why would you care?" I caught something strange in his eyes then, and an off-tone to his voice. Something was bothering him, but I didn't know what. He looked away and began eating again, not acknowledging my presence at all. Great. I sat back down.

Derek and I ate in silence until Simon and Tori returned. Tori looked the same as she had when she left, but Simon looked pale. Was the thought of Tori being his sibling that bad? Or was Tori completely wrong? Maybe what Andrew had wanted to tell them had nothing to do with the sibling factor at all. We were jumping to conclusions, making assumptions.

Simon sat down next to me and didn't say anything. Derek looked between the two of them expectantly; I could tell he didn't like being kept in the dark.

"More of us will be arriving by nightfall; after dinner, you'll be taken to our meeting room to talk to the other supernaturals of this organization." Andrew said, cutting through the silence that had fallen over us. We nodded our heads in acknowledgement but none of us seemed to be very talkative. Andrew went to walk away when Tori spoke up.

"Hey, Andrew? Could we please be allowed to shop for more clothes? I'm getting tired of wearing the same outfit every day, it's sort of… gross." Andrew chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't think we can afford you going out yourselves – but I can send someone out to get things that are your size. They might not be your ideal fashion but this isn't a time to be picky." Tori looked like she wanted to protest, but she seemed to have decided to shut her mouth. I was kind of sad myself – I knew that neither Simon nor Derek would want to go with Tori, so if I had, maybe I could get away from both of them for awhile.

A sharp pang of guilt hit me then. It was wrong for me to be dating Simon and still thinking about getting away from him, like he was some sort of plague I had to avoid, wasn't it? If I liked him, I wouldn't be thinking that way. Or at least, I shouldn't be.

I was also a little scared at the thought of talking to the other supernaturals that night. What would they tell us? What would they decide?

Andrew left the room then, and Derek finally seemed to decide he couldn't wait any longer.

"Well?" He said, prompting them. "What did Andrew want to talk to both of you about?" He looked at Simon expectantly, but to his shock, Simon lowered his gaze and said nothing. Moments passed, and Simon remained silently. Finally, Tori rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Try not to act so much like I've ruined your life, would you Simon?" She told him bitterly. I could see the hurt in her eyes and I felt bad for her. She turned to Derek then. "Turns out, my mother thought that my life needed to be more screwed up than it was already going to be. She slept with your dear old dad, and had me."

Derek looked stunned, and looked to Simon for confirmation. Again, Simon said nothing. I was beginning to sense a definite wall between them, as if they were on completely different pages than before. He turned back to Tori.

"Your mother's a witch, right? So wouldn''t that mean you're…"

"A cross-breed? A half witch, half sorcerer? Yeah. Don't remind me, okay?" Tori left the room then without another word. I felt uncomfortable being left alone with Simon and Derek. My sort-of boyfriend and the guy who seemed to hate my guts now.

"I can't believe this," Simon whispered after awhile. Derek's gaze lifted to look at Simon, but I saw the flickering look of pain across his face when Simon turned to me.

I was doing exactly what I had been trying to avoid. Was I destined to tear apart these incredible guys that I cared about so much?

"I mean, I can't believe that Tori's supposed to be my… sister." Something in his voice annoyed me suddenly, and I turned to him defensively.

"This isn't exactly a picnic for her either, you know." I reminded him. He shrugged.

"I know that, I mean, she had a crush on me before right? Thank god I never gave in. It's just… I don't know. I guess I thought my dad would have told me. Maybe he didn't even know."

"He had to have known," Derek interrupted suddenly. "I don't think Andrew could have kept that from him. And I mean, it's not like Tori's mom got pregnant by herself." Simon glared at Derek and I was shocked at the anger in his eyes.

"Dad would have told me, I'm his only son!" He seemed to realize too late what he had said – too late to stop the pain Derek now felt. "Derek," Simon said weakly. "I only meant…"

"Biological son, right? That's all you meant. Well, Simon, I'll do you a favour – I don't need to be a part of your family anymore. You think I don't notice the way you've started cringing around me, ever since I started going through the change? That I fail to notice you never volunteer to help me, that you just… leave? If I make you so uncomfortable, maybe I really should have just left." Derek turned to leave and I ran to stop him. He couldn't leave – he couldn't run away from us again.

"Derek, wait. Simon didn't mean it that way, I know–" Derek shoved me then, and I fell to the ground. He hadn't used that much force on me since that time he had confronted me in the laundry room after I'd found out what a necromancer was. I didn't feel frightened this time, though – and the pain I felt was of a different kind.

"It figures you would stand up for him, but do us both a favour Chloe – stay out of it." He walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs. I wanted to follow him, but I knew it was best to leave him to be by himself.

I got up, brushed myself off and turned to face Simon. He looked like he was suddenly sick.

"I didn't mean that," He whispered, to no one in particular. "Derek is my brother in every way that matters. And…" He looked up at me, looking ashamed. "I don't care that he's a werewolf. It doesn't change anything, except… I'm afraid to be around him when he Changes, like he said. I wish I wasn't, but I am, and I don't know how I can fix that. Everything I've ever been taught… I mean, he gets violent when he's not Changed. I've seen that and I've been able to handle it. But when he's Changed…" Simon trailed off, shaking his head.

"He's your brother, Simon." I told him firmly. "He's a human being, no matter what happens to him. I've been there when he's Changed, and he's still the same guy. Actually, he's almost… vulnerable. You should be there for him. I know he must feel alienated, and I know you're not trying to make him feel that way, but it'll only strain your relationship more. You both have to find your dad, we all have to go against people who threaten our very existence. We need all of us. You and Derek have to work this out."

"You really care about him a lot, don't you?" Simon asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

"I… of course. Derek is my friend." I responded carefully, not meeting Simon's gaze. He laughed weakly.

"That's not what I meant," Simon explained, staring at me intensely.

"I know it's not," I whispered. "But… Simon? You shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answer to. I'm going to go see how Tori's holding up, and you should go see Derek."

"Okay," Simon whispered, looking away. "I guess you're right. Thanks… for being a good friend." Something about the way he said 'friend' made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable, so I simply nodded before going to see Tori.

I passed Simon and Derek's room on the way, and heard movement inside. I wanted to go talk to Derek, but I knew I had meddled enough. With a sigh, I opened the door to my bedroom with Tori and stepped inside. Tori looked up at me and snorted as I entered.

"Something funny?" I asked her, my eyebrows raised.

"Just your never-ending good luck. Tell me, do you ever get tired of people falling over themselves to get close to you?" Tori asked me snidely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked her defensively.

"Nothing, I'm sorry, it's just… I'm feeling in a low place right now. Being mean tends to distract me, and you seem to have a little love triangle disaster going on, so I guess you seemed like the opportune victim. Derek would snap my head off, and Simon doesn't give a damn," Tori muttered under her breath.

"How are you holding up with all that?" I asked her cautiously. She rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to walk on eggshells around me, Chloe. I don't care that he's my brother, or that I'm… even more of a freak of nature than I thought. I am a bit angry that my mother put me in this situation though. Was I not enough of a freak for her? She had to make things worse?"

"Maybe she loved him." I immediately regretted trying to stand up for Tori's mother.

"My mother doesn't love anyone," Tori spat. "You don't… treat people that way. Not when you love them." She rolled on her side on the bed, facing away from me. I thought about what she had said, and about all that her mother had put her through. Making her believe that she had some medical condition, that she was hindering her own recovery. Tori tried so hard, but there had never been a chance to recover from her condition.

Thoughts of my own father trickled into my mind, as I wondered how he was doing. There had been many times when I felt as though he didn't care what happened to me, but when I saw how he acted when he believed I was missing… it broke my heart. I wanted to see him, so bad, but I knew it would put him in danger. Would I ever be out of danger? Would I ever be able to see him again? Or will I always be on the run, I thought sadly, lying down on my own bed.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I don't know if Simon talked to Derek, or if Derek was even still here. For the longest time, I didn't care. I was tired of the drama raging within me over these two boys, when I had my own problems to deal with. When dinner came, I went down the stairs with Tori, neither of us speaking a word.

I was relieved to find both Derek and Simon sitting at the table, though they weren't even looking at each other. I did a quick examination of the two of them, and didn't notice anything physically different. That was good, I noted. They hadn't gotten into a physical fight.

There were several other people at the table that I didn't recognize, and I blushed under their curious gaze as they watched me enter the room. I wondered if Tori felt as uncomfortable as I did, but I didn't want to ask. I took my seat away from both Derek and Simon. I didn't want to choose sides tonight.

A/N: I don't like ending it here, but I wanted everyone to know I wasn't dead or abandoning the story, and that I just had other writing obligations to attend to first. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless.