Normalcy
The night that Jackson had turned into a fully-fledged werewolf, everybody had a different outcome. Lydia stayed with Jackson, Allison went home with her father, and surprisingly enough, Scott, without one of the two trying to kill the other. Gerard had gone missing, The Hales and Isaac left as a group.
Stiles drove back home alone in his dented Jeep after clearing out the broken glass, with the windows rolled so that he didn't have to smell Lydia's presence. Because it would only remind him of the fact that he wasn't the hero and he didn't get the girl.
This was the third time this semester that he didn't have an explanation as to why something needed to get replaced or fixed. First, he almost died getting a part for the Jeep, and then he had to replace a dead cell phone that was probably still in the pool somewhere. Now his car was destroyed, and he had to come up with some sort of lie
so Dad could cover the expense.
Stiles really needed to get himself a job, but with school and trying to stay alive as the only single and more than ready to mingle human in the group, there was no time.
Although, now that Gerard was gone and Jackson probably wasn't going to be terrorizing people anytime soon, Stiles probably had more time to focus on his lacrosse game. Try and see if the one good game that he had wasn't just a fluke.
There were also SATs to think about, classes to prepare for, a college list to draw up. Maybe even some sort of academic program to narrow down- he doubted that sarcasm was a major, and if it did, they might as well have given him a doctorate already.
Real life, normal life, things that teenagers should be thinking about. No more sleepless nights, no more anxiety, no more wishing that he had super-powers. Just school, lacrosse, maybe thinking about college later if there was time.
Full schedule of avoiding the topic until cornered by Dad and forced to decide. Good plan. Solid.
What Stiles wasn't expecting was to have a strange panic rise up four months later because he woke up not feeling scared. Like everything was too normal, and that there was something wrong.
He went to school hyper-aware of his surroundings. He almost made it until the end of the day when he finally realized what was wrong. That for some reason, he was more along than he had been in a long time.
Scott was around him all day long, but his mind was always somewhere else. Classes with Allison were awkward and tough on the guy, because this time, they were actually broken up and having to deal with the fall-out. Scott kept hoping that it would change, that she would change her mind, but she hadn't yet.
Stiles had recreated the old routine of his normal life, to the degree that even though Scott was around him all day, he was never around when the full-moon came around. And it wasn't because Stiles wasn't here for him, wasn't because Stiles didn't want to help.
It was because Scott started hanging around more with Isaac, and they went through the full-moon together. It had been like that for the past couple of full-moons- Stiles just wasn't…needed around anymore.
Stiles had all of this time to dedicate to studying for the SATs, quite possibly, the most boring standardized test of all time. The routine of going to the prep classes, doing review exercises, and taking practice tests was so automatic that he didn't even realize that he was doing them.
He used to spend all of this time reading up on the lore, trying to separate myth and reality in figuring out werewolves, alphas, packs, and then Kanima. And now there was nothing to check out of research, and Stiles was a little afraid that he had forgotten it all.
Allison was always hanging around Jackson and Lydia, Scott was always around Isaac, and Stiles was here with the Princeton Review and Kaplan.
Stile was on the same team as Jackson, but he hadn't had a conversation with him in a month. Lydia may as well have never noticed him in the first place.
Things were normal in Stiles' life, but they weren't normal. His friends were just strangers to him now. He wondered if they felt the changes as they happened, if they wanted it to occur, or if change just snuck up on them.
As he saw the math equations on the board, he wondered if the Argents were still hunting on the full-moon. The moment the thought slipped into his mind, he realized that he hadn't seen Derek in a while.
Stiles never really made a conscious effort to go and see the guy- he just kind of dropped by. Stiles realized that he hadn't seen Derek in four months, that anything could have happened to him, that he could be dead right now, and he wouldn't have even known about it.
Stiles used to consider himself a good friend- not anymore.
He was almost out the door when he heard his name being called. "Where are you going, Stilinski?"
"I'll have the work done this time tomorrow", he mumbled before he continued walking, barely noticing the other students staring at him.
He was out of the building, in his car, and driving over to Derek's house before security could stop him. He didn't care that there were two more classes left in the day, that now, he had a lot more homework to get done, and that he was probably going to miss his prep class by the time he got there and back.
He just needed to make sure that Derek was okay, that he wasn't dead. That they hadn't hunted him down.
Gerard was still out there. Still crazy. Stiles shifted gears and went faster.
He had Derek's phone number, but there was always a bad history with people picking up their phones. And besides, there was the chance that Derek was hiding from someone, trying to get away- the last thing he needed was for his phone to give him away.
He felt stupid and selfish for not going to see him before, for not checking on him. Derek was probably hanging around Peter. The guy could have betrayed him, attacked him. And Peter has been an Alpha for longer than Derek- if they started fighting, it would be bloody.
It wasn't until Stiles pulled up to the house that he realized that even if Derek was in trouble, if Peter was trying to kill him in their old house, there wasn't much that he could do. He wasn't a wolf, he was weak and human. The only thing that had changed over the past four months was his ability to write a decent essay in twenty-five minutes.
He got out of the car anyway, suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that he had no weapon on his person, and opened the front door.
The guy was probably hiding out the second he heard the door open.
"Derek?" He called out. "It's Stiles. Just me, there's no one else here."
Derek appeared out of nowhere. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Stiles gave him a look-over. There was blood on his shirt and he was covered in sweat. But all-in-all, he was okay. He was alive.
"Me? I'm fine. What's going on with you? Were you bleeding earlier?"
Derek looked down at his shirt. "It's nothing. Why are you here?"
"What are you doing?"
"Training", Derek said, walking away.
"For what?" Stiles followed him
"There's a pack of Alphas. They've been in town for a little more than four months now, and normally I'd leave them alone, but they've got Erica and Boyd."
"How can there even be a pack of Alphas? Who's in charge, the Alpha prime? The Super-Alpha?"
Derek grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his face and arms. "Alpha male and female. Particularly evil and incredibly powerful. Erica and Boyd didn't join them, they were captured."
"And you're trying to invade the camp? Just you?" Stiles asked
"Peter's here too."
"Why haven't you asked anyone for help?"
Derek threw the towel back to where it was. "There's no one left to listen."
"Well, I'm here", Stiles said. "I'm listening."
"It's been four months. I didn't think anyone would come back unless they needed something. Which leads to the question- what do you need?"
"If they're as powerful as you say they are, then going up against an entire pack of Alphas with just one person is incredibly stupid, no offense. You need to ask other people for help. Scott and Isaac. Or Jackson."
"The less people involved in this, the better."
He didn't miss this part, though. Derek being stubborn and not listening. Or demanding things instead of asking. He almost cut off the guy's arm because of it.
"I don't have a pack anymore, Stiles."
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Scott said that even though I was an Alpha, I wasn't his Alpha, and obviously Isaac agrees with him. And Jackson told me before he became a Kanima that he wasn't part of it. They all either chose to be Omegas, or part of Scott's pack."
"Then why are you going after Erica and Boyd? Wouldn't most Alphas let them die for leaving the pack?"
Derek was silent for a second before answering. "They weren't kicked out of the pack."
But that wasn't a good enough reason for Stiles. Derek cared about them, and just because he didn't want to admit it didn't mean that the emotions weren't there. And he wouldn't believe it coming from Stiles- he needed to say it himself.
"They left you. You warned them, and they left anyway. Hell, they were captured by Allison's Dad, and after he let them go, they still didn't come back."
"I gave them the bite. They're my responsibility."
Stiles let out a laugh. "Well, they obviously didn't want a babysitter. Leaving shows that they'd prefer to run than stick around with you."
Derek grabbed him and pushed him against the wall, holding him there. "Don't. Say that." He said, accenting every word. "They're family. Laura wouldn't give up on them, and neither would I."
Mission accomplished. "I know", Stiles said. "They're not Omegas, they're Betas, including Scott. I promise you, we're going to get them all back. But you're not going to be alone."
Derek stepped back from the wall and let go of him. "What are you going to do?"
"Half of your pack's here. I'm going to make them help you."
"And how are you going to do that?" Derek asked. "Give me a sample."
Stiles laughed. "Well, I'm not going to punch them in the face, for starters. Just let me do this one thing, okay?"
"The pack's on the move. We don't have much time."
"Give me a couple of hours, and have your phone nearby. I'll be in touch. Do you have an actual plan?"
"Layout of the camp on my computer and a couple of ideas in my head."
"Send everything that you have to my phone. We'll fix up the strategy to accommodate the whole pack when I get back."
Stiles was in his car buckling his seatbelt when Derek knocked on the passenger window. He was saying something, but it was muffled.
Stiles pressed the button to roll down the window. "What?"
"Why did you come here?"
He shrugged. "I wanted to see if you were okay. Didn't realize how long it had been."
"Why would you do that?
"Because we're not just friends when the world's ending, and I think it's time that everyone else figures that one out." Stiles stuck the key in the ignition and shifted gears. "I'll be in touch."
He started driving until he made it to the vet's clinic, where Scott worked. He found his friend playing with a puppy.
"What are you doing here?" Scott asked
"Hey, buddy", he started. "We need you tonight at Derek's house."
"Why? What did he do now?"
"Long story short, there's a pack of Alphas in town, they kidnapped Erica and Boyd, and Derek's trying to get them out alone. So you and Isaac need to get over there right now and help him so Derek doesn't get himself killed."
"No, we don't." Scott said. "This is Derek's problem, not mine. And it's not your problem, either. Have you noticed the pattern yet? Derek does something to screw up, we come in and fix it. But for some reason, Derek hasn't stopped screwing up. He never tells us the full truth anyway, so why should we trust him? Things have been good and normal around here for months. Why should they change?"
"That's what I thought too", Stiles started. "But they haven't been normal. The Alpha pack's been here this whole time. We've just been closing our eyes to it."
"It's been what, four months?" Stiles nodded. "Four months, and he hasn't been able to get them out?"
"Alpha pack, Scott. Pack full of Alphas. Obviously they're stronger."
"So get Peter to help him." Scott insisted.
"Peter's been helping. They can't do it alone."
"If it's such an emergency, then why hasn't Derek asked for my help before now?"
"Derek's too damn proud to ask for help. And besides, you did tell him that he wasn't your Alpha. Not the nicest thing to say."
"He was going to kill Jackson instead of saving him!"
"Derek was trying to do whatever it took to stop the deaths. Isaac's Dad, for one."
"Isaac's dad abused him."
"Isaac's Dad is his anchor, and nobody deserved to die like that."
"What's going on here?"
Stiles turned his head to see the vet. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, you're here. Could you tell Scott over here that helping Derek save Erica and Boyd from the pack of Alphas that are in town is the right move?"
"I'm not entirely convinced that it is." Dr. Deaton said.
"Are you kidding me? You saved him when Peter was brought back, how could helping him now be the wrong call?"
"Derek's a reckless Alpha. His failure is obvious from his pack. It's in shambles."
"His pack? Never gave him a chance. And if they even tried, they would have spoken with him at least during the full moon. You all abandoned him!"
"He didn't want us involved." Scott told him.
"You should have been involved anyway. You know how closed off he is."
"Stiles, you can't help someone who doesn't want to be saved."
"You're still alive, aren't you?" Stiles asked Scott. "When Peter changed you, he said that you were brothers, that he was going to help you stay alive, and he didn't even know you. And you fought him every step of the way, but you're still alive, aren't you?"
"Look, we can't just jump like this every second that Derek needs something." Scott said.
This wasn't Derek asking, it was Stiles. "Well, then mission accomplished. He stopped asking. And unless you help him, chances are he's road-kill by the end of the night. I don't think it'll be the first time he tried to rescue them."
"Guilt isn't going to get me to help."
"What, are you too busy tonight to help or something? Are you doing something else?" Stiles turned to the Vet. "Dr. Deaton, my friend here has to cut his work-shift short tonight because he has to save Derek's life. Is that okay with you?"
"I have no problem with it", Deaton said. "But Derek has a history of just going in without a strategy."
"Then help him come up with one!" Stiles exclaimed. "You have experience with this kind of thing, I have no idea how or why, but you do. So help him instead of sitting here."
"I've been protecting Derek and his family since he was a toddler."
"Well, you did a poor job of that, didn't you? How many Hales are still alive?"
"Stiles, that's not his fault", Scott said.
"Well, it's not Derek's fault either. The Argents are responsible for that."
"Allison had nothing to do with it."
"Funny", Stiles said. "I never mentioned Allison. I mentioned her family. You know, the werewolf hunters that won't stop until the entire pack's dead. It's going to come down to self-preservation eventually, Scott, and you know it. Just because you got out of making the decision last time doesn't mean it's the only time it'll come up. You're not an alpha yet. You're too busy following Allison."
"That was part of a carefully crafted plan", Deaton said.
"And where was Derek when the master plan was being developed? He was making sure that his pack would be able to survive in case Gerard decided to hunt them down, and separately whining to me about how unfair it was. Derek doesn't have time to sit down and come up with a strategy, but he could today if he has help."
The bell at the front desk rang and the vet left the room. So much for that.
Stiles turned back to Scott. "Your mom already knows that you're a werewolf- you don't even have to lie to her. You just have to show up."
"You said that you were a better Yoda than Derek was. Since when are you on his side all of a sudden?"
Stiles didn't realize that Derek was on the opposing side. The way he saw it, it was us against the Alphas, or us against the Argents. It used to be us against the Kanima, but it wasn't like that anymore.
"Dude, you're my best friend. But you and Derek have always been on the same side. He hasn't been the bad guy to us in a while."
"He's threatened to kill you more than any of us!"
"And he's saved my life just as many times. Actions and words, Scott. While I was trying to get Lydia to notice me and you were trying to get Allison back, Derek was trying to track down killers."
"Which ended up being his uncle, and who he let live."
"If you had an uncle that you were close to who ended up being a killer, and he somehow came back to life, promising that he would change, wouldn't you give him the smallest chance to prove that he was still the same person that you loved?"
"So Peter Hale gets the smallest chance, but the rest of us don't get a full story?"
"I'm your best friend and you didn't give me the full story with what you were going to do with Gerard", Stiles pointed out. "Did you tell anybody else? Isaac?"
Scott shook his head.
"How about Allison? You used to tell her everything, and all you've been doing with your wolf-abilities recently other than changing during the full moon is giving her the puppy-eyes, hoping that she'll take you back. Did you tell her the plan so she wouldn't worry when Jackson was about to kill her?"
"No", Scott said quietly. "I thought it'd be better if no one else knew about it."
"Don't you think that maybe you picked that up from Derek?"
Stiles checked the time. He had been here talking to Scott for an hour, and he didn't want Derek to just randomly go out and look for the Alpha pack with only Peter to count on.
"Look, I've got to go rally up the rest of the troops. I remember at one point, you telling Erica and Boyd to be on your side. That stuck with them, was probably part of what made them leave in the first place, and now they're in trouble. They're just as much your responsibility as Derek's, and you've abandoned them for four months. Help Derek tonight, and the rest of it won't matter. I'll be back."
Isaac was easier to get to- all Stiles had to do was call and say that Derek needed his help, that they needed to get the rest of the pack together.
Jackson though, Stiles never really connected with him, and he couldn't exactly force the guy to be a team player, especially now that he knew that he wasn't interested in being part of the group.
Stiles drove to Lydia's house instead, reintroduced himself to her mother, and waited in her room for ten minutes until she got home.
"Is everything alright?" She asked when she saw him there. "You just left class. You looked like you were going to hurl."
"I'll be okay", he told her. "I need your help with something."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, I guess I'll just tell you", he said awkwardly. "There are a couple of people in trouble, and Derek's going to try to rescue them tonight. We need Jackson to help out. He's one of the only people who are strong enough to get them all out alive."
"Isn't Derek that guy who nearly killed Jackson?"
"No." Geez, why did everything have to be a long story? "He's the guy who saved his life. It's…complicated."
"I think I can catch on."
"Do you remember when you came to my room and you said that you needed my help to save Jackson? And I thought you were crazy, but I did it anyway?" She nodded her head. "Well, I need Jackson's help to save a lot of people, and even though it's crazy, if you could tell him that, I would be really grateful."
"You're going to have to do a little better than that. Tell me what's going on."
He sat down at the bed next to her. "How much did Jackson tell you?"
"Everything that he knows."
Not expecting that. "Okay, so it won't be so hard to explain. There are two members of the pack that left four months ago, and I thought that they just left. But it turns out that they got kidnapped by a pack full of Alpha wolves, which is exactly what it sounds like. Derek's been trying to get them out, and he's planning on invading whatever camp that they have set up tonight before they leave town. I thought it would be insane to try and take them all on with just his uncle, so I'm trying to strengthen the attempt with numbers. I just need Jackson to try and help out. If it gets dangerous, he doesn't have to stay. Since he's one of the strongest and fastest, he's really an asset to the cause."
"Why wouldn't you ask Jackson yourself?"
"Because I don't have time for him to say no. If I can get them all together, no one will die. I have to try."
"When do you need him?"
"In an hour", he said. "At Derek's house in the woods. I'll be done picking everyone up by then."
"Jackson doesn't need the taxi service. He'll be there, Stiles."
Lydia was always a ridiculously smart girl. "Thank you, Lydia. You're the best."
"Oh, I know", she said with a smile. "Make sure that Jackson's okay and you'll stay on my good side."
"I promise", he said automatically. "Thank you."
An hour later, Stiles pulled up to the house again, with Scott and Isaac in the backseat. He saw Derek emerge from the front door, probably because he saw his car's lights.
Stiles was the only one who got out of the car. "I took a look at the picture you sent me of the camp-site. Do you know where in particular they're keeping Erica and Boyd?"
"Right next to the Head Alpha, surrounded by the pack."
"Okay, you're going to have to tell me about the Head Alpha and we're going to have to scope out the area first to see where the safest entrance is."
There was a loud revving sound as Jackson's Porsche sped around the corner and slowed down before it came to a complete stop. He got out of the car and locked it.
"What's this I hear about a family reunion?" He asked
"You brought Jackson?" Derek asked
"Nah, I picked up all of the kids from practice." He told Derek. "Alright guys, you can come out of the car now."
Scott and Isaac came out, and Stiles thought that even in the dark, he could see a little bit of shock on Derek's face. "They're all here?"
"All you have to do is tell Peter to come on out, and we have a full team here."
Stiles felt his shoulder being grabbed and then being pulled to the side by Derek. "They're not going to listen to me. This is never going to work."
"You brought them all together in the first place. You haven't failed as an Alpha yet. You haven't given up on them. We'll come up with some plan out of our asses and make everything work out. Just like we always do."
Derek was completely silent, like he was trying to thank Stiles, but the words weren't coming out.
"You're welcome." Stiles gave him a little push, and watched as Derek looked at them all. Like they were all home, and that maybe things would work out.
"Thank you all for coming. We have work to do."