Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Six

Derek walks through Diana's apartment as she closes the front door, a cute little angry frown on her face. She turns and crosses her arms over her chest as she waits for an explanation as to why he is here, yet again.

"I don't like what you've done with your hair" Derek points out. Diana reaches up and runs her fingers through her now black hair. She shrugs. She wanted a change. She wanted her external appearance to reflect her internal feelings. So she went with black hair and darker eye make-up, it's working for her, she actually likes it. 

"I don't care what you think" She mumbles and moves towards him.

"I brought us lunch" He adds shooting her a look. "So..be nice or I'll eat it all myself" Diana checks on the twins in their baskets on the couch before moving to the kitchen where Derek is.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Diana asks Derek who sets down the bag of food on the counter. "Why do you keep turning up?"

"Because you are my friend, my best friend" Derek answers. "Because you didn't mean to do it...." He steps towards her. "Because you are in pain, and you need me. Because I stabbed you and it's long overdue revenge..." She laughs a little, he gives her a look. "Pick one" She sighs softly.

"I don't deserve you," She tells him, he shrugs.

"Stuck with me anyway" He assures her with a nudge. The front door opens and Jeremy lets himself into the apartment, Diana frowns watching him. Jeremy smiles at her.

"Hey" Jeremy greets softly. She just stares a little. She's actually been better around Jeremy than the others. No murder eyes. They all assume that means she wants to kill him less than the others. He shrugs out his jacket and kneels beside the baby baskets. Diana glances at him and then back to Derek who unpacks the food bags.

"What is he doing here?" She asks Derek.

"He wanted to see you" Derek answers. "And the twins....." He motions to the food. "You think I brought this much for two?"

"You're a pig" She argues. "So yes" Derek shoots her a look.

"Be nice to him" He whispers. "He's not done anything wrong" Derek reminds her, Diana sighs a little but nods. Out of all of them, Derek and Jeremy, and she supposes Matt, have done nothing wrong, they never asked to be involved in the vampire problems, in her problems.

"How are you, Jeremy?" Diana asks, he looks at her.

"I'm okay, Di, you don't have to worry about me"

"Oh, thank the gods, because pretending to care for that single question was exhausting" She comments and looks at Derek. "Happy?" He sighs a little.

"No, but it's a start" He argues then moves to Jeremy. "She didn't mean that"

"I know" Jeremy assures him. "I get it...." Jeremy looks at Diana who finishes pulling out the food from the bag. "She's...19 and a widow" Jeremy looks at Derek. "Gotta suck whatever way you look at it" he looks down at the twins. "So what did she decide on?"

"Hmmm?" Derek asks.

"Names?"

"She hasn't" Derek points out. Jeremy raises an eyebrow and looks at Diana.

"Still no names, Di?" Jeremy asks, Diana glances at him and then away again.

"No" She answers.

"It's been 9 days and you still haven't named them...I think it is long overdue" Derek scolds her with a smirk.

"I still don't know what I want" She whispers and turns away from them. She picks up the list of baby names and sighs. Ghost!Alaric stands before her. Jeremy glances at him, Alaric places a finger to his lips as he looks at Jeremy, he shakes his head, not wanting them to know he is here, not wanting Diana to know, it would just upset her more than she already is if she were to know he's been watching over her. Alaric turns back to Diana.

"You know this" he assures her. "You had your choices" he looks down at the list. "I liked them" He whispers. She sighs and touches the list, drawing her finger down the choices. She stops on one and looks at it sadly. "Yeah," Alaric tells her. Diana lets out a breath.

"Veronica" She admits, Derek moves towards her.

"What?"

"Her name is Veronica" She answers and looks at Derek.

"Alright, good, one down" he teases and pokes her nose. "What about the boy?" Diana looks back down at the list but there is one standing out, one that she did love when she originally offered it as a suggestion, Alaric seemed to like it to.

"Ezra" she whispers. "Ezra" she states stronger. "There. Names," She sets the list down and moves to the kitchen to eat. Derek and Jeremy share a look. Derek is trying so hard to keep her sane right now, he turns up in the morning and gets her up for breakfast, makes her shower and change....keeps her going.

"Meredith also sent these over," Derek tells Diana as he pulls a set of papers from his bag, he holds them out to her.

"What are they?" She asks.

"It's the forms from the hospital" Derek points out. "To register the babies" Diana sighs and shoots him a look. "You don't have to do it now." She takes the forms from him and sets it on the side to do later, when she is alone and she can cry and think about Alaric all by herself.

"Can we just eat?" she asks them as she sits at the table. "And then maybe you'll leave me alone"