Without the distraction of trying to calm Katniss and remind her that everything is fine, Derek has entirely too much time to think about last night. His dreams were more vivid than they have been since his arrival here. He's fairly certain that Ronan, for whatever reason, played a pretty big role, but the rest is really confusing. It's hard for Derek to identify with the images in his head, but they're so real that he feels like he experienced them himself when he knows that he didn't.

He's sitting alone at the end of a table in the Commissary choking down soylent while he's trying to work it out. Were those stories that Isaac had told him about the way things were back home and Derek's subconscious is pulling them out of nowhere all of a sudden and filling in blanks however it can? Is Ronan supposed to be Jackson in this scenario? Was the fight his subconscious mind's way of making sense of the kanima mauling Mr. Lahey to death?

If that's the case, why did he/Isaac-with-the-wrong-face — surely another Alpha he's seen around in passing standing in because dreams are ridiculous — live in a trailer when Derek knows Isaac lived in a house? Why the hell was Ronan/Jackson laying on a bed with him/wrong!Isaac? Derek knows that Jackson watched Mr. Lahey beat the shit out of Isaac for years and did nothing. There's no explanation for the quiet companionship in the dream. Is there a significance to the Transformer that Derek missed because he's always thought dream interpretation is a load of horseshit?

And most importantly, why does Derek feel like he lived it, rather than like he dreamed it?

For most of the day, Derek is working on his final reports for the research study. He goes to his troubleshooting station, cranks out the few assessments he has for the day and then, giving Katniss a quick kiss before leaving, gets permission to work independently.

Half the afternoon, he's in the Commissary with paperwork on one side of him and food on the other, and the other half, he's in his and Alcide's room. This stupid report is incredibly important. So much so that that fleeting kiss to Katniss — a domestic, relationshippy sort of gesture they'd never shared which, therefore, shouldn't have felt as reflexive as it had — is sort of the last thing on his mind at the moment, even though it really, really shouldn't be.

While Derek doesn't typically have any interest in whatever stupid activity is set up for Citizen Improvement, now and again, something will grab his attention. Seeing as how he's stuck in this entirely too breakable human body for now, he decides that learning basic first aid is not actually a bad idea. So, after he finishes up the last of his reports for the research study to turn into The Computer in the morning, he heads down a little late.

Largely, Derek hangs back and listens. He nearly never makes a real effort to participate in anything offered by The Computer and this is not exactly an exception, but where needed, he'll be a little less stubborn and join in. All anyone really needs to do is ask.

After a long day of trying to put his head back together, he's admittedly much more focused on this particular activity than he ever seems to be with anything else. Mostly, it's because he just needs a goddamn rest from over-thinking his dreams last night, so something like this comes as a welcomed respite.