Chapter One – Wake Up and Dream Once More

You left your home. You're so far from everything you know.

Your big dream is crashing down and out your door.

Wake up and dream once more.

Come back when you can.

Let go, you'll understand.

You've done nothing at all to make me love you less.

So come back when you can.

Come back, I'll help you stand.

Let go and hold my hand.

If all you wanted was me, I'd give you nothing less.

So come back when you can…

Barcelona - Come Back When You Can

Teagan turned her head to look out the window, watching the scenery flash by as Isaac drove down the road and Avery sat silently in the back seat. She couldn't believe it had already been two months since the three left Beacon Hills.

While Avery stayed in a treatment center getting the help she needed, Teagan and Isaac stayed in a hotel near by. When they couldn't visit Avery, they would explore the town they were in; finding new and fun things to do or hang out around the hotel and just talk when Teagan was having a bad day.

After Avery was able to shut the door in her mind, she was mentally better. No hallucinations and all her thoughts were her own but emotionally she still had some healing to do.

She still occasionally had nightmares; of being haunted, of the things she did, of losing Allison, but Isaac was there for her each and every time. As a couple they were healing and on the right path, until something happened that could change everything.

~(Flashback)~

"Hey, you ready?" Teagan questioned, as she walked into Avery's room at the treatment center she had been staying at for the last two months.

"Yeah, this is my last bag." Avery stated, as she folded a shirt and placed it inside the bag. She had a few other shirts beside it that needed to be folded and put in before she could zip it up.

"After I'm finished with this, I have a few papers that I need to sign then I am free to go." She added with a nervous smile on her face. She was ready to go home, but just nervous about what people would say or think about her break down.

"Once you're finished, I'll call Isaac and we'll start loading your bags while you sign out." Teagan suggested, as she reached out to grab a shirt to help, but was too distracted to actually fold it.

"Where is Isaac? Is everything okay?" Avery asked, as she lowered her eyebrows. Things had been great for the couple when they first arrived, and once Avery was allowed visitors they would both show up and she could tell the trip was doing them both well. But the last time they visited she could tell something was bothering her best friend, she seemed worried about something and distracted, even now she looked that way, which worried Avery.

"He's at the car." Teagan quietly said, as she looked down at the shirt in her hand.

"Why?" Avery asked confused.

Teagan sighed, as she ran a hand through her hair. She didn't want to bring Avery down with her problems, not after all she been through, she didn't want to ruin her progress with her drama.

But when Avery shot her a look, she knew there was no way out of it, she had to tell her what was going on. Besides she had been dealing with this horrible secret on her own for the last week and wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it to herself. She had to confide in someone and her boyfriend was not an option right now.

When her friend didn't answer, she looked over at her, as she said,"What is going on? Talk to me, T."

"We had a fight." Teagan said, as she sat down on the edge of the bed and nervously pulled on the shirt in her hand. "A stupid fight, that is too stupid to repeat, and it was all my fault. He was being so sweet and helpful, trying to figure out what was wrong with me, but I just- I snapped at him."

Avery walked over toward her, taking the shirt out of her hand before she stretched it out, and tossed it aside. She opened her mouth to ask something, but before she could, Teagan lifted her head to look at her, her eyes wide as she continued,"I snapped at him, A. Then he started apologizing to me, for upsetting me, which made me feel even worse than I did so I told him to just leave me alone and I jumped out of the car and ran in here."

"God, I am the world's worst girlfriend." She added with a sigh, as she dropped her head. She stood up from the bed, beginning to pace across the floor, as the argument with Isaac replayed in her mind. She knew she was wrong while it was happening, but couldn't stop herself from snapping at him, but now that she thought about it more, she realized how much worse it was; how much worse she was.

"Oh my God… oh my God! I am seriously the worst. I was such a bitch to him!" She said, as she ran her hands through her hair, feeling even more guilty than she did before.

"Hey, listen, it's okay." Avery said, as placed her hands on Teagan's shoulders to stop her from pacing. "Calm down, T. Just take deep breaths, okay? You are not a bad girlfriend." She waited for Teagan to take a couple of breaths, before she continued, "We're all on edge today, I think. Returning home after being gone for weeks, with no idea of what is waiting for us and it's a long drive. I think we are all excited but also kind of dreading it."

As Teagan shook her head, she added, "Come on, T, this is Isaac. He understands what you went through and knows you're probably nervous about going home."

She assumed Teagan was nervous and worried about going home, afraid of all the memories hitting her. Being so far away it was easier to forget all of their Beacon Hill supernatural problems, but now they had to face everything; all the hurtful memories, all the mistakes they made, all the people they lost.

"That's not it." Teagan softly said, as she shook her head again.

"Then what is it? What is going on with you, T?" Avery asked, as she grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze.

Tears suddenly filled her eyes, as she whispered out, "I screwed up, A. I screwed up so bad."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Avery asked with a concern look.

Teagan didn't say anything as she looked down with more tears falling down her face. Avery thought back to the last week, thinking about little things Teagan said or did, then felt her eyes widen, having a pretty good idea of what was going on now.

"Teagan ..." She breathed out in shock. She couldn't believe this was happening to her best friend, out of everyone –she'd never thought this would happen to her.

"I know, God I know! I'm so stupid." Teagan cried out.

"Hey, you're not stupid. You're not the first person to do this." Avery said, as she rubbed her arms, trying to calm her down. "Have you talked to Isaac yet?"

"No, I-I can't tell him." Teagan said with wide eyes, as she shook her head. "I can't tell him this, Avery. I can't lose him."

~(End of flashback)~

Sensing Isaac looking at her, Teagan turned her head, giving him a small smile. She still felt bad for snapping at him earlier, but before they left; while Avery was signing herself out, she was able to talk to him and apologize for her behavior. He, of course, forgave her, but that didn't make her feel better.

She still shouldn't have snapped at him, plus she was keeping something huge from him. Something she knew she should tell him, but was too scared to.

A few minutes later, he pulled into a gas station to fill up while the girls used the bathroom and grabbed drinks. Teagan was finished first and walked over to the car holding a plastic bag filled with snacks.

"Hey, I got you a water." Teagan said, as she pulled out a bottle of water from the bag and handed it to him.

"Thanks." Isaac said, as he took the bottle from her. He raised his eyebrows, as he looked over at the bag, then asked, "What else did you get? I thought you weren't hungry."

"I didn't think I was, but then I got in there and everything looked good, but I didn't know what I wanted." Teagan answered.

"So you just bought the whole store then?" Isaac teased.

"I told you I didn't know what I wanted." Teagan snapped. "I'm sorry, I'll take it all back." She added, as she went to turn around and walk away.

"Hey, no, wait." Isaac said, as he reached out to stop her. He pulled her toward him, as he laid a hand on the side of her neck and said, "I was just kidding. You can buy whatever snacks you want. Or if you decide you want something else, we can hit a drive thru somewhere. Whatever you want, okay?"

Teagan released a breath as she closed her eyes, hating that she just snapped at him again. She dropped her head, resting it against his chest and whispered out, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Isaac said, as he moved his hand to the back of her neck to massage it. "We're been in the car for a while and I know you're tired." He added, remembering that she didn't get much sleep the night before cause of a nightmare. The first she had in a couple of weeks.

"We'll be home soon though." He continued, as he kissed the side of her head.

"Yeah, but still, I shouldn't take it out on you." Teagan said, as she lifted her head to look at him. "I'm sorry again for earlier, and I'm sorry for now, and I'm just.. I'm sorry, Isaac."

"It's okay." He said again with a smile. He pulled her toward him, pressing his lips against her for a gentle kiss. "It's you and me." He whispered against her lips.

"It's you and me." Teagan whispered back.

Isaac continued to smile at her, as he pushed a lock of hair that had escaped her pony tail, behind her ear. He wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her toward him, holding her as he continued to fill up the car with gas.

The two were still hugging, with Teagan's arms wrapped around his middle and head on his chest, when Avery walked out of the store. She paused; watching the couple, knowing her best friend needed this moment.

She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone and look at the time, at least that was the reason she told herself. She softly sighed, realizing they would be home in a couple of hours which made her a little nervous, although that wasn't what really worried her. It worried her that she had no messages from Derek.

Once the car was filled up, Isaac opened the passenger side door for Teagan, then glanced up, seeing Avery standing there deep in thought.

"Hey! You ready to go?" Isaac called out to her, getting her attention.

"Yeah, let's go." Avery said with a smile. She slipped her phone into her pocket, trying to push Derek out of her mind, as she walked over to the car.

Before she could open the car door, Isaac called out her name, getting her attention. He shot her a concern look, as he asked, "Are you sure you're ready?

A couple of months ago, she would have ignored her feelings; would have pushed the nerves aside and tried to convince everyone she was fine, but she had tools now with dealing with that kind of stuff. She allowed herself to feel those feelings, it was the only way she could work through them and be in a better place.

"I think I am." Avery answered honestly.

Isaac smiled at her answer; the old Avery would have flashed a fake smile and told him of course she was ready. She wasn't completely healed, but he could already see a change in her in the two months they were away.

He laid a hand on her shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze, as he joked, "Avery Dukate is always ready."

"Well of course she is." Avery joked back, as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Avery Dukate can do anything."

Isaac laughed at her comment, as he nodded his head toward the car and said, "Let's go home."

~()~

Avery ran her hands through her hair and looked up to see Teagan sitting in the passenger seat as Isaac continued to drive them all back to Beacon Hills. The car was silent other than music playing softly through the speakers.

Her brunette best friend sat staring out of her window lost deep in thought and Avery's forehead lined with concern wishing her friend would just open up to Isaac. They'd made it through so much already, she was sure this was something else that in time, they could make it through.

"You guys didn't tell anyone I was coming back today, right?" She softly asked, a little nervous for the answer.

Teagan didn't even seem to hear her, but Isaac looked at the blonde in the rearview mirror as he shook his head, "We were under strict orders not to."

She let out a small sight of relief, as she realized for the first time how nervous she truly was to see everyone again.

Her mind drifted back to her last session with her therapist at the treatment center, after she'd made arraignments to leave.

~(Flashback)~

"Well, I guess that's everything then…" Dr. Sharpe said as he closed the folder in front of him and leaned forward looking at blonde teen sitting on the couch facing his desk.

"You don't think I'm ready?" She realized with raised eyebrows.

"Honestly, I think that really depends on you Avery. You've improved so much since our first session, but I don't know if you're ready to return to your life in Beacon Hills." He answered, then clarified, "I would hate for something to set you off and undo two months of progress."

She looked down to her hands folded in her lap as she gave a small shrug, "I have to go back, I have responsibilities… people depending on me. I'm better now."

He stayed silent and she shrugged again as she looked around the large office.

Taking a deep breath she pointed out, "No more hallucinations, I can think clearly now. The nightmares are almost gone too…"

"What happens when you're back home and there's a party… with alcohol?"

Her eyes met his as she said, "I don't plan on attending any parties soon, like you said before… I know my limits and my own weaknesses. I need to avoid temptations, not let myself be in a triggering situation."

He nodded with a smile and asked her a few more questions before he noticed her pulling at the fabric of her dark jacket and he asked, "What's bothering you? Nervous about going home?"

Swallowing hard she questioned, "What am I supposed to do when someone looks at me like I'm crazy. I live in a small town…people talk…"

"People fear what they don't understand. For most, it's difficult to comprehend being in so much pain that the only way out is suicide… so there might be some people who are going to judge you. But just like triggering situations that can set you back, you need to avoid people who make you feel ashamed of what you've been through." He explained.

With a small, dry laugh she questioned, "So pretty much go back to town with my head held high and screw what everyone else thinks?"

"Easier said than done." He reasoned with a sigh, "But you've got a great support system… your friends and your dad."

"However… if you don't think you're ready to go back, I highly suggest you stay until the end of your recommended treatment plan."

"That's at least another 3 months…" She complained, pinning her eyes shut for a moment before she shook her head, "No, I've got to go back and face everyone eventually."

With a kind smile he assured her, "You can do this. You just need to take things one day at a time, and most importantly handle obstacles as they're thrown at you. You can't keep pushing things down like you were doing. It's toxic."

"I know." She agreed nodding.

"So when something happens and you don't feel like you can handle it on your own, you need to talk through it with someone; anyone really. Even if you talk through it with yourself in a journal. But getting those words out… getting the emotions out in the air or on paper will help you come to terms with what's happening." He continued.

As they both stood up he led her to the door as he said, "Ultimately, these next few weeks are going to either make you or break you. Transitioning back to your life and back to school, it's going to be difficult –there's no doubt about that. But you've learned the tools you need to make it through, healthy ways to cope with emotions from all ends of the spectrum."

"Thank you." She said with a genuine smile as he opened the door and she stepped out.

"You have my card and contact information… once you get settled in, give my office a call and we'll get you set up for an appointment." He reminded her as he gave her shoulder a supportive, comforting squeeze as she walked past him.

~(End of flashback)~

Avery's gaze drifted back to the front of her best friend's car as Isaac announced they were almost back in Beacon Hills. She saw him reach over and take Teagan's hand, as he brought it up to his mouth and gave it a gentle kiss, causing the brunette to look over and smile at him.

"Can you guys turn the radio up?" Avery questioned as she slid down in her seat some, flashing Teagan a smile as she looked over her shoulder to make sure her friend was okay.

Once the music was thudding loudly through the speakers, she closed her eyes and laid her head back against the seat. She was nervous about so many things, but the situation weighing the heaviest on her mind was if Derek had told the truth when he'd promised he'd be there when she returned.

There was a small but ever growing fear inside of her that even if he was being honest he might not want anything to do with her now, not after witnessing her at her lowest point.

Almost every day in the treatment facility she'd thought back to the night he'd saved her life, how when he was trying to talk to her down from cutting her wrist…mainly about when he told her he still loved her

At first she'd taken it to mean what he said, that he'd be there for her. But then the more she thought about it she'd convinced herself that he was only saying those things to calm her down.

That he was just trying to stop her killing herself.

After all she'd tried to call him a few times from her inpatient treatment place, but he'd never once answered the phone or returned any of her calls. Even when she'd called to let him know the day she was coming home.

Secretly, she hoped when she got home he'd be there to greet her with some explanation as to why he wouldn't talk to her, but she reminded herself not to get her hopes up.

With those thoughts and her stomach in knots she opened her eyes to see they were just a few miles outside of town, and she knew whether she was ready or not –it was time to jump back into her old life.

~()~

in what seemed like no time at all, Isaac pulled the car into Avery's driveway and turned the car off. The two girls sat silently, both had different things on their minds, both had things to be nervous and scared about, but they both knew it was time to leave the safety of the car and get back to their lives. Their time away was officially over.

Without a word, Isaac opened the driver side door and stepped out, then he walked over to the other side, opening the passenger side door and back door for both Teagan and Avery.

When both girls lifted their head to look at him, he shot them a smile, as he said, "We're home."

As Avery slowly stood up from her seat, Isaac turned to Teagan, holding out to his hand to help her out. The three walked to the back of the car, each grabbing one of Avery's bags from the back, then began to make their way toward the front door of the Dukate house.

Teagan kept an eye on Avery as they got closer to the door, wanting to make sure she was okay with returning home. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at Isaac and knew he was listening to Avery's heartbeat. He nodded his head at her, letting her know that the blonde was okay. He could tell Avery was a little anxious and nervous but other than that she was fine.

Avery opened the door and walked inside, with Teagan and Isaac walking in behind her. She glanced around the foyer, everything seemed the same but also seemed different. Or maybe it was her, maybe she was what was different which made everything in her house seem different. It was almost like looking at everything with a fresh set of eyes.

She quickly glanced down when she heard a small meow; followed by something rubbing against her leg. A wide smile appeared on her face, as she sat her bag down and reached down to pick up her black cat.

"Annabel! You just keep getting bigger and bigger." Avery stated, as she hugged her cat.

"She has gotten big." Teagan added, as she pet the cat on top of her head. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was surprised when another animal ran over to the small group.

"Aspen?" Teagan questioned, as her white husky dog ran over to her. She dropped the bag in her hand as she dropped down to her knees in front of the dog, giving him a big hug. She giggled as he began to lick her cheek, happy to see her. "What are you doing here, boy? Huh? How did you get here?" She questioned, as she petting him on top of the head.

"There's someone out back." Isaac said to the girls, as he sat the bag down beside the others.

Avery felt her eyes widen for a moment as she wondered if maybe Derek was there, waiting for her just like he promised he would be.

Isaac reached out to grab Teagan's hand, as the two; along with Avery and the animals, walked toward the backyard to see the girls' fathers, Richard and Paul, standing around the grill talking and laughing.

"Dad?" Teagan said, surprised to see her father there. Earlier when she spoke to him he said he was at work and would see her once she got home.

"Hey, Sweet Tea. Surprise!" Paul said with a smile, as he walked over to his daughter, hugging her tight.

"What's going on?" Avery questioned, as she looked over at her father. Her eyes jumped around, hoping there would be someone else by the grill for her, but was disappointed to see that Derek wasn't there. She didn't know why she even thought he would be. Not after all the times she called him with no luck.

"We thought we would surprise you all with a nice meal." Richard answered. "Kind of like a welcome home bash."

"You didn't tell anyone I was here thought, right?" Avery asked with a worried look. She just needed another day or two before she felt like she was ready to face everyone else. Right now all she needed was the ones that were already there and Derek, who unfortunately wasn't there like he promised.

"No, no, we just figured this would be between all of us. A family meal." Richard explained, as he walked over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, as he looked her over, with a smile on his face at seeing how much better she looked. "It's good to have you home, Avery." He stated, as he lightly touched her cheek, before pulling her toward him to hug her.

"It's good to have you home too." Paul added, as he threw an arm around his daughter's shoulders and pulled her toward him. He looked over at Isaac before holding out his other hand to shake his hand, as he continued, "You too, Isaac. It's good to have you all home."

"Thanks." Isaac said back, as he smiled at the older man; happy that he was finally accepting him again.

"I hope you all are hungry." Richard stated, as he nodded over toward the grill. "Food should be ready soon."

"Please tell me you didn't cook. We all know the only thing you can do is order food." Avery pointed out, as she looked over at her dad with raised eyebrows, causing everyone to laugh. They all knew her comment was true.

"You can all rest easy." Richard said, as he held up his hands in surrender. He pointed over toward Paul, as he added, "He cooked and I mostly just stood here. I didn't touch anything."

"So what are we having?" Isaac questioned, as he nodded his head over toward the grill. From the smells hitting his nose he had an idea what it was, but thought he would ask to be sure.

"Please say it's your famous barbecue chicken. I've been craving your chicken." Teagan stated, as she looked up at her dad; who smiled at her and nodded his head.

"Oh my God! I love your barbecue chicken." Avery added dramatically.

"I have heard nothing but great things about your barbecue chicken." Isaac said, as he looked over at Paul. "While we were gone, me and Teagan found this cute little barbecue place."

"Oh yeah! The one near that old shopping center." Teagan added, as she thought back to that day. It was one of the last good days they had before everything changed, before she had to start keeping a huge secret from him that could ruin everything.

Isaac lowered his eyebrows in confusion when he saw her face fall and had no idea why that memory would upset her. In his opinion that was a good day, every day with her while they were gone was a good day; even toward the end when she picking arguments with him over every little thing, snapping at him for no reason and shutting him out. He just assumed she was nervous about coming home and didn't want to push her, but even with all of that, he thought the trip was good for her; for them.

Realizing the others were waiting on him to finish the story, he cleared his throat then continued, "Yeah, that place. Anyways, we went there one day and their food was good, some of the best I have had, but she said the best barbecue chicken she ever had was her dad's. So I'm pretty excited to try it."

"Thanks, Sweet Tea." Paul said, as he kissed the top of her head.

"You'll like it." Teagan softly said, as she looked over at Isaac with a small smile on her face, but her mind was somewhere else.

"Well, while you all finish that up, I'm gonna take my bags to my room." Avery announced. She looked over at her best friend, as she stated, "Teagan, come help me."

"Hmm?" Teagan said, lost in her own thoughts again. When she saw Avery shooting her a look, she nodded her head, then said, "Oh, okay, yeah. Let's uh, let's grab your bags."

The two girls went back into the house and to the foyer, where Avery's bags were sitting. With bags in their hands, they made their way upstairs and into Avery's bedroom to put them down.

"Is it just me or does your room look different?" Teagan questioned, as she glanced around the bedroom.

"We'll deal with my Lydia-inspired room later." Avery stated, knowing their red head friend had to be the one to remodel it. "But that is not what is important right now. Teagan, you have to talk to Isaac. You can't keep this from him."

"I told you, Avery. I can't." Teagan stated. She pulled the hair tie from her hair, then nervously ran her hand through her brunette hair, as she added, "At least not yet."

"Well he's going to find out soon anyways, T." Avery argued. "For one; you're a terrible liar. And two; he knows you, Teagan. That boy can read you like a book and will know something is wrong if you don't tell him soon."

When she didn't say anything, Avery continued, "I mean, just a minute ago all it took was him bringing up something from your trip and you completely changed. You could tell something was wrong with you, that something was bothering you and he saw it too. What are you doing to do once he started asking questions? It's not like you can avoid him or anything."

"I know, okay? I know!" Teagan snapped, as she pulled her hair back up in frustration. She knew Avery was right, she knew she needed to tell him, but she was too scared of what his reaction would be.

Once she told him, it would change everything and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. She just wanted to pretend everything was the same and nothing was wrong.

"Teagan..." Avery began to say, as she rested her hand on her hip. But before she could say another word, there was a knock at the bedroom door, before it was pushed open and Isaac walked in with another bag.

Avery looked over at Teagan, seeing the worried look on her face, as they both wondered how much he overheard from their talk.

"You forgot a bag in the car." Isaac said, as he sat the bag down. As both girls continued to look at him, he lowered his eyebrows, as he asked, "What? What's going on?"

Avery looked back over at Teagan, with raised eyebrows, wondering if she was going to say something to him, but when she didn't. She rolled her eyes, then looked back over at Isaac, as she said, "Nothing. Just girl talk."

"Is that all?" He asked, as he looked over at his girlfriend.

Teagan cleared her throat and flashed him a small smile, as she nodded her head, and said, "Yeah. Like she said, girl talk."

Isaac nodded his head at her answer, but knew there was more to it than that. She had been acting weird for the last week and he had hoped after they got back home, she would be back to her old self, but so far that wasn't happening. After all they had been through, he would hate it if she was keeping something from him again.

"Well, I'm going to go check on the food. See you two soon." Avery stated with a clap of her hands, before she walked past Isaac to get to the bedroom door.

"Avery..." Teagan hissed, knowing what she was doing.

"Talk to him." Avery mouth to her, as she pointed to Isaac's back.

Teagan shot her a dirty look, which she ignored and instead shot her a wink back before she walked out of the room, leaving the couple alone in the bedroom.

"Teagan..."

"We should get downstairs too." She said, interrupting him before he could ask anything. But as she tried to walk past him, he reached out to grab her arm, bringing her to a stop.

"Hey, look at me." Isaac softly said. He waited a moment until she finally raised her head to look at him. "If there is something going on, you can tell me. Whatever it is, we can get through it. Look at everything we have been through, nothing can stop us, okay? It's you and me, remember?"

"I know..." Teagan whispered, as she lowered her head, tears filling her eyes. She closed her eyes for a moment, getting her emotions under control and then lifted her head to look at him. "It's just... I uh, I just..."

"What?" Isaac asked, when she paused. He softly caressed her cheek, as he whispered, "Talk to me."

"I'm-I'm just tired. It was a long drive and coming home is just... It took a lot out of me." She said, as she avoided his eyes. She took a deep breath, then finally looked over at him to flash him a smile, as she wrapped her arms around his neck then leaned forward for a tender kiss. She moved her hands to the side of his face, holding on to him as she deepened the kiss, a part of her never wanting to stop kissing him.

She rested her forehead against his, as she blew out a breath, then said, "I'm okay. I just need some sleep or something."

"You sure?" Isaac questioned, as he rested his hands on her hips. When she nodded her head, he moved his arms to wrap them around her waist and pulled her toward him. He ran a hand up her back, cradling the back of her head, as he held her close to him, before whispering out,"I love you."

"I love you too." Teagan said back, as she ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his head. "I love you so much, Isaac." She whispered, as she closed her eyes, hoping the secret didn't tear them apart.

~(The next day)~

"Out of all the places we could go eat…" Teagan teased as she pulled into the familiar gravel parking lot.

"Yes! I need some comfort food, I lived off of fresh fruit at the treatment facility." Avery said with a laughed as she pulled her bottle of perfume from her purse and spritzed herself.

"Oh yeah, your own private room with 4 healthy meals a day just sounds like torture." Teagan joked as the girls got out of the car and started toward the door.

Checking her phone and the sliding it back into the pocket of her jeans, Avery said, "When I just want some homemade food, yeah pretty much."

The best friends started for the door of Pammy's before Avery came to a stop and breathed out, "Is that..." Avery whispered her eyes wide as she stared past Teagan.

Looking over her shoulder she saw two men sitting on the bench lining the park, one she immediately recognized as the one Avery often gave food too, but it took a few moments for her to realize the other guy was Deputy Parrish.

"Go talk to him." Teagan urged as she slowly turned back around to look at Avery who smiled but gave a small shrug as she reasoned, "Maybe I'm just not ready to talk to anyone else… especially him…" Her mind drifted back to the night she'd been at his house and just kept throwing herself at him like some kind of desperate crazy person.

With an empathetic laugh, Teagan looked back and saw the deputy was standing up and she whispered, "Well… you might not have a choice."

"Shit…" Avery breathed flashing him a smile as he started their way and waved at them.

"Maybe he's in a hurry and can't stand around and talk?" Teagan offered speaking through a smile of her own.

"He's headed right towards us." Avery argued.

"You're home already?" He asked coming to a stop directly in front of the blonde before nodding a friendly greeting to Teagan.

"Yeah." Avery smiled as she shifted awkwardly and tried to avoid his eyes.

Looking between them Teagan blew out a breath as she excused herself from the conversation to leave them alone, "Well… I'm going to go in and save us a table, you know how the lunch time rush is…"

Her voice trailed off as Deputy Parrish glanced at the nearly empty parking lot and then back to her with a confused expression.

Avery held back a laugh at her friend's expense as Teagan smiled nervously at being caught in a lie and quickly turned to dart in the building.

Once she was gone, Parrish asked, "How are you?"

"Better." She said a tight smile, hating that he'd seen her at her absolute lowest point as she continued, "Much better. How about you? How have you been?"

"Good." He answered with a friendly smile, then added, "It's really good to see you."

He watched as she looked down to the ground and adjusted her stance on the gravel beneath her designer shoes and he started to ask if she was alright, but before he could she finally raised her head and said, "Just so you know… that night at your house, I, uh…I think I recall at some point not really taking no for an answer and kind of throwing myself at you…"

With a slight nod he agreed, "I recall that too."

Sighing she continued, "I just wanted to make sure you know that –that's not really me, I was just-"

Cutting her off he quickly said, "No need to explain, it's okay. I know you were in a bad place and I never once thought that was really you."

She smiled appreciatively and looked up to his bright green eyes and a small, but sad smile fell over her lips as she remembered all of the time they'd spent together and the way it felt when he'd kissed her. But things were different now, she'd spent her time away doing so much thinking and she was starting to realize deeply she still cared about Derek –to the point where she didn't think she could move past it to be in a relationship. But it still didn't stop the small ache in her chest as he smiled at her,

"Well, I should get in there… Teagan's probably already ordered for us both." She excused as she turned to start to walk away, but he stayed in place with a feeling that the conversation wasn't over. Pausing at the door she turned looked at him.

"This…" She said in a slightly defeated tone a she motioned between them, "It wouldn't have worked, right? I mean there's the whole age thing you kept bringing up… and the illegal thing…"

His eyes moved back and forth searching her face as he offered a somber and weak smile, agreeing with her reasoning, "There is the whole you being a minor and me being a deputy thing, yeah."

"Right." She agreed with a saddened expression as she continued, "And there's the whole you being too much of a boy scout to go there and break the law thing…"

He ran his tongue over his lips before pulling in a deep breath and pointing out, "And the whole you and Derek thing…"

Her eyebrows knotted with a slight look of pain and somehow she managed to find her words as she said, "I'm sorry… I just, I think I thought things were over with me and him, or maybe it just hurt less to believe it… I don't know."

Holding up his hands to silence her he offered a smile to try and make her feel better as he said, "It's okay, I saw you guys together that day… I get it."

"Yeah, but…"

"The guy sliced his own hand open to get the razor blade away from so you couldn't hurt yourself anymore." He paused remembering the moment vividly in his mind as he continued, "He got through to you when I couldn't, it's okay."

She glanced down to the gravel parking lot and held her breath for a minute before she looked up and asked, "I'll still see you around, right?" Even if she couldn't care about him the same way she felt about Derek she didn't want to completely lose Parrish either.

"Yeah, of course." He assured her.

She smiled and nodded, hoping he was telling her the truth because she didn't think she handle losing anyone else she cared about and he'd quickly became one of the few people she trusted.

Trying to smile through the sadness of the moment she flashed him a smile as she said, "Till next time, Deputy Parrish."

Returning the smile he added, "Have a good day, Miss Dukate."

She turned to head back inside but then stopped as she spun around and raced back towards him, wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, not needing to use her words let him know how much she appreciated him being there for her and that he did mean a lot to her. Immediately, she felt his arms fold around her, holding her in a tight, protective hug that almost instantly made her safe and warm.

~()~

"Teagan!" Avery exclaimed as she quickly located her friend's table to see the table top covered in small servings of almost every breakfast food on the menu.

With an innocent smiled Teagan pointed out, "This is not my fault… you left me alone with the breakfast menu, and you know how good the food is here!"

Avery laughed and shook her head, taking a drink of the water that Teagan had ordered for her.

Teagan took another bite of her syrup drenched pancakes and started to stick her fork through a waffle, but Avery grabbed her own fork and quickly stole it off the plate before Teagan could have it.

The brunette looked at her friend with wide eyes and Avery said, "Don't give me that pouty face… you've got pancakes."

"Yeah, but I wanted the waffles too."

Avery laughed and shook her head as she got to work on cutting her food up before saying, "How the hell does Isaac deal with you during breakfast? You are the worst person to eat with, I swear..."

Teagan shrugged her shoulders, as she quickly stuck some food in her mouth, her face turning a little red as she thought about several of hers and Isaac's mornings together. What would start with him cooking her breakfast would often turn into syrupy, sexy, fun.

"Wait a minute..." Avery said, as she looked at her best friend closely, recognizing the look on her face. She pointed her fork at her, a proud smile on her face, as she said, "You two get freaky with the breakfast food, don't you?"

Teagan coughed, the food choking her. She reached out to grab her drink, taking a sip, as she opened her mouth to try to deny it, but before she could say anything, Avery let out a chuckle, as she slapped the table, then said,"I knew it! I always knew Isaac was a kink master."

"Oh God." Teagan mumbled, as she covered her face with her hands. "I thought we decided you weren't saying that anymore." She added, as she removed her hands.

"You decided that but there is nothing wrong with being a kink master." Avery pointed out. She shot her a smile, as she added, "Say it loud and proud girl. My man is a kink master!"

"I would rather not." Teagan said with a chuckle, as she glanced down at the food in front of her. She stabbed another piece of pancake with her fork, than while Avery was busy laughing, she reached out to steal a piece of her waffle.

"Don't think I didn't see that, T." Avery said, as she pointed her fork at her, shooting her a playfully mean look before she smiled at her.

Teagan smiled back, taking another bite of food. She took a sip of her drink, swallowing the food, then stated, "So… you were out there for a while."

"Yeah, I had few things I needed to clear up." She vaguely answered.

But when Teagan continued to stare at her, Avery sighed, "What?"

After another bite of pancakes, Teagan asked, "What else did you talk about?"

"Why are you giving me the third degree, T?"

Laying her fork down on her plate, Teagan got a drink before she said, "Because for one I'm your best friend, and also because I've seen you guys together… I know you like him."

Avery pulled in a deep breath as she looked down, causing Teagan's smile to fall as she asked, "What…"

"I'm not eighteen yet… and he's a cop, so it's not like we could go there." She simply stated, but as Teagan started to argue she continued, "He made it clear we can't go there."

"It wouldn't work anyways…" The blonde mumbled under her breath, as she shoved a bite of waffle into her mouth.

Teagan made a face, thinking it sounded more like Avery was trying to convince herself of that more than anyone else.

"He pulled you back, you know? Remember… at the animal clinic, he's the one who brought you back, A. I don't care what the law says…" Her voice trailed off as she saw her friend trying to inconspicuously check her phone for about the hundredth time that day.

"Who are you waiting to hear from?" The brunette exclaimed, frustrated.

Tucking her phone back in her pocket she ran her hands through the hair and admitted, "I tried to call Derek from the treatment place."

"Yeah, and he didn't answer… or even try to call back. A, you even told him he could call Isaac back when he got your message since you couldn't have incoming phone calls there, and he never once called or sent a text." She pointed out.

Avery nodded, "Yeah, but I tried to call him again… not too long before we left Long Beach to let him know I was coming back and I just –I just thought he might want to be there when I got home, but I guess not."

Teagan frowned, she hated seeing her best friend upset and hated knowing Derek was the one who'd caused it. Then her forehead lined as she realized, "Wait… that's what's really going on isn't it? Yeah, Parrish might be a cop and you're a minor, but this is about Derek!"

"He's not a bad guy, T." Avery sighed then shook her head as she said, "Anyways, he's probably just busy or something right now."

As much as Teagan hated knowing Derek was upsetting and breaking her best friend's heart all over again, she hated seeing Avery looking like she was in pain again, so she swallowed hard and said, "I bet he is busy with some… werewolf thing."

Trying to casually bring it up Teagan said, "So, uh… what's made you so interested in Derek again all of a sudden."

Pushing her plate away from her she admitted, "It's not some sudden interest… it's just, I don't know. The night that I lost it and hurt myself, he told me he still loved me."

Teagan's jaw almost dropped at the newly learned information and Avery shifted in her seat as her friend said, "So he takes off for South America and never once checks in, then he gets back to town and he was a total dick to you then he just shows back up and says that?"

Avery gave a weak shrug thinking that pretty much summed up the past months.

Teagan looked down to her pancakes unable to eat either as she thought of how leaving town was one of the only decent things Derek did for Avery, but then he showed back up and while she knew he wasn't to blame for all of Avery's problems –she could put two and two together, and every single time he worked his way back into her best friend's world something bad always happened.

And it had only been two months since Avery's suicide attempt, all Teagan could think was that having Derek back in her life would set her back and she might lose her.

"Maybe I should try going to see him?" Avery thought out loud.

Blowing out an irritation laced breath Teagan carefully said, "Are you sure that's a good idea, I mean you just got home… and like you said he's probably really busy."

"You just don't want me to see him." Avery accused with a knowing look.

Picking up her glass and taking a long drink as she thought of to word her response, she finally sat the glass down with a clink on the wood table and said, "I want what's best for you, A. And I know you're doing better than when we left for Long Beach, and I'm so incredibly proud of you… but I'm worried that getting close to him again could set you back and that scares the hell out of me."

Avery nodded in agreement but didn't say anything for a few moments before she finally raised her head and asked, "You going to talk to Isaac soon?"

"Are you still hungry? We could hit that new frozen yogurt shop for desert!" Teagan quickly said, avoiding her best friend's questions.

"Oh, so we can talk about what's good for me… but talking about you doing the right thing is off limits?" The blond asked with an arched brow.

"Can we please not do this?" Teagan whispered as she glanced around as if people were there trying to listen in on their conversation.

"You know you're going to have to talk to Isaac, you can't keep this secret forever." Avery stated as she stood up and grabbed her purse before heading over to the counter to pay for their breakfast.

Teagan placed her elbows on the table and rest her head in her hands as her stomach jumped from nerves and anxiety. She'd already had enough on her plate to worry about with needing to talk to Isaac, but now she was worried about Avery getting close to Derek and him breaking her heart yet again.

This was supposed to be a fresh start for them all, the door was sealed shut in her mind. She'd had an amazing couple of months away with her boyfriend and Avery had gotten the help she needed. Coming back was supposed to be a good thing, a chance to see their friends again and get back into their daily lives. But now it already felt like everything was falling apart.

"Ready?" Avery asked as she paused next to the table.

Quickly pulling herself together Teagan stood up and nodded, "Yeah, I still vote we get frozen yogurt or ice cream, or something."

Avery laughed and linked arms with her as they headed for the exit and Teagan smiled too, trying to keep her hope alive. She had to hope that even when Isaac found out what she'd been hiding, that they could work through it. She had to keep hoping that Avery was really well enough to come home and that a certain tall, dark werewolf with anger problems and a habit of breaking her friend's heart would undo months of intense therapy. Because any other outcome would be unacceptable, losing Isaac or Avery would be unbearable… so she had to do what Isaac always did, hold onto hope and believe that somehow they'd figure it out and everything would be okay.

~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~

A/N- Thanks for reading! We're so excited to finally be posting this story and sharing it with all of you!

On my profile are the links to several videos to go along with The Blue Moon series, including our official season 4 video and the newest video is a Teagan/Isaac video by Miss E Charlotte, which I highly recommend because she's amazing at videos! ^_^

I hope you guys all liked the chapter. We'd really appreciate it if you'd take a few moments to leave a review and let us know that you've read the chapter.