Deucalion had decided long ago that he had to teach Chris a lesson. He'd bided his time over the years, and from a distance watched the carnage that was the Argent family. He watched as Kate killed the Hale family, he watched as she was in turn killed. He watched as Gerard returned, and smirked as Victoria killed herself, and Gerard fled. The old man meant nothing to him anymore. And now it was just Chris and Allison. He was at his most vulnerable.

Chris had taken something very important from him, so it was natural that Deucalion returned the favour.

Allison lay in the bed in Derek's loft, the bedsheets thrown off hours ago, and yet there was still a sheen of sweat covering her entire body. She was sleeping at the moment, but still she thrashed around, crying out in agony. It didn't take a doctor to know she was burning up, but nevertheless, Scott called Deaton and his mother in.

"Scott, she needs to get to a hospital." Melissa had said calmly, taking a step back from the girl.

"Melissa, while I understand this is frustrating for you… But there isn't anything that a hospital can do for her. If this fever is going to break, she has to break it herself." Said Deaton, refusing to catch Scott's eye.

"… Her body. It's rejecting the bite, isn't it?" Isaac's voice was tiny, and tired. He'd stood in the doorway, not wanting to come too close, the smell of death circling the room. Cora had made herself scarce as soon as Allison had been brought in, and Isaac quickly realised she knew exactly what was going on. Deaton nodded, and took a step back, moving towards the door.

"What can we do?" Asked Scott, following him to the elevator. Deaton looked around at the three of them, and shook his head.

"You're doing what you need. The fight is hers." He frowned, and left the loft, Scott pacing back over to the side of the bed, crouching next to it. It wasn't long until he felt someone sitting next to him, and Isaac nuzzled his head in Scott's neck.

"We can't lose her…" He murmured, kissing at Scott's shoulder. Scott blinked a few times, trying desperately to remain stoic – he was the Alpha, he had to stay strong for his pack, and in that second, he realised why Derek was so cold all the time.

"It's alright." He said calmly, reaching to take one of her hands as it twisted in his direction, and linking their fingers together. Twenty four hours ago she'd been fighting for them, protecting them. Twenty three hours ago Deucalion had got his revenge. Twenty hours ago her cough started. Fifteen hours ago she'd started coughing up black blood. From then on it'd been downhill, and so far, Isaac and Scott hadn't slept.

Sensing the rage building up inside Isaac, Scott pulled away, standing up. He needed to get out of this place. There were things that needed to be done, and he was the only one he trusted to get them done right.

"Chris needs to know what's going on." He said, moving to the door.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Snapped Isaac, moving until he was standing in front of Scott. "You know the Argents, you know their code, you know what they'll do her!"

"His daughter is suffering in there! How many times have we heard her call out for her mom? Talked to her?" Scott's eyes flashed red, in order to pull rank, and he glared. "I need to know I tried to get her what she wanted. She has no one."

"She has us! I thought that was enough for you!" Isaac lashed out, moving to hit Scott, but instead Scott grabbed his arm, forcing it back down at his side. The two just stared at each other as Isaac took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, and force the anger away. His breathing calm, Isaac let out a sob, and Scott held onto him tightly, terrified of him falling apart. It wasn't the same. Normally Scott offered the affection, and Allison held them both, knowing the right words to say.

"I love you." Was all Scott could offer in replacement. "I love you both." He kissed the beta on the forehead, and moved away. "I'll be back as soon as I can. You and mom call me if anything happens, okay?" Isaac nodded, and watched with hesitation as Scott left for the Argent apartment.

Scott wasn't surprised when the door was pulled open violently, or by the gun pointing directly at his face.

"Where. Is. My. Daughter?" Chris spoke through gritted teeth, and Scott took a deep breath, bracing himself.

"Mr. Argent… Chris." He moved to walk further into the apartment, but Chris kept the gun pointed at him. "Please, can we talk?"

"Where is she?" He asked again.

"There was an attack at the hotel." He looked at Chris again, eyes imploring. "Please can you just put the gun down, and I'll tell you everything."

The second Allison screamed out in agony, the fight stopped. The Alpha pack retreated from the hotel, and Isaac and Scott ran to her side, while Lydia stayed inside as she was told, screaming and being held back by Stiles, afraid of her getting hurt in turn.

"Allison-?" Scott approached from one side, watching as Isaac moved closer on the other, and together they pulled her to sit up.

"I—" She curled into Isaac's chest, gritting her teeth from the pain, both now being able to see the rip in her shirt. Pulling at the sleeve, Scott cursed as he saw the obvious teeth marks, buried deep into her shoulder. He glanced up at Isaac, and watched as he held onto her tighter. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"We'll get you back to town… We'll work this out." He swallowed. "Can you stand?"

"I… don't know. I feel… I feel sick." She murmured, leaning against both of them as they pulled her to her feet. Scott took her weight, allowing Isaac to pace outside the building, relieving some stress. Carefully, he slipped a hand under her knees, and lifted her against his chest. "Scott…"

"Shh… You need to rest." He murmured. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Isaac. "Isaac, you need to go to the road… try and find us a ride back to town."

"What are we gonna do?" He asked, afraid, moving close to the two. They'd only just started… whatever this was, and he'd never felt as loved as when he was lying between the two of them.

"We're gonna get her back to town, and then see what we can do."

As Scott finished talking, he looked up at Chris, who hadn't said anything throughout the whole story. He'd been pacing in front of the couch, and he looked up at last.

"Is she okay?" Scott shook his head, standing up.

"Her body… it's trying to fight the bite. She's somewhere safe, we have Boyd watching for the Alphas, but…"

"But the bite'll change you or kill you. I know." He looked down at his lap. "Where is she?"

"You're not going to… kill her, right?" Scott said, tense. "Because if you try, you know me and Isaac'll protect her."

"I know about your… thing with her, Scott. Do you really think it went unnoticed? Two werewolves crawling through her window every night? Her sleepovers at Lydia's that she never made it to?"

"I know you know, that wasn't what I asked." Scott's eyes narrowed, and he took a threatening step towards him. "You're not going to kill her."

"I'm not." He said, staring back at the boy. "Do you think I'd put myself through doing that to the only family I have left? You have no idea how much I wish I hadn't done it." He stood up, moving closer still to Scott, daring him to attack. "Now. Where is she?"

"… She's at Derek's." He sighed, and moved to the door. "I think… I think it'd be good if you came to see her." Chris nodded, wiping his face. Before he could agree though, Scott left. He had somewhere else more important he needed to be.

When Scott got back, he found his mom sitting on the couch, her head in her hands, and the place silent. She looked up when she heard Scott move closer, and cleared her throat.

"Mom? What's wrong?" He asked, gripping lightly onto her upper arms.

"She's been up and down a few more times, brought up some more blood… We tried breaking the fever again, but there's been no change. She just woke up for a little while, Isaac's in there with her." Scott nodded, staring through the door, and Melissa cupped his cheek. "Scott, please tell me there's something I can do to make this better."

"… I don't know, mom. I can't even go in there." He looked down at her, and this time, there were tears in his eyes – he was tired of being the strong one. How in the world did Derek do it? "I… They're everything to me. If I lose one of them…"

"Hey, hey, listen. You go in there, and you be with the people you love, because if you stay out here? You might one day regret it." Melissa kissed her son on the forehead, and looked at him. "I gave her a dose of Advil, there's some more next to the bed… I'm gonna run out to the store, see if I can get some more, just in case." He nodded, and turned towards the bedroom, taking a deep breath before walking in.

The sight in front of him wasn't an unusual one. Allison was lying in the center of the bed, her head curled onto Isaac's shoulder, eyes fluttering open and shut, and he was affectionately stroking her arm. But seeing the focus on his face, he could tell it was something more – he was trying to take her pain away. Scott removed his shirt, and picked up the cool flannel from the bowl beside of the bed, and climbing in, he held the material to her head. She let out a tired, satisfied murmur, and opened her eyes. They were glazed over, but he still thought she was beautiful.

"Hey…" She said softly, causing Isaac to look up, too. "Isaac said…"

"Yeah… I told him, he'll be here, I promise." He nodded. She nodded too, closing her eyes, and her head moving back to Isaac.

"Come…come here?" She asked, and Scott looked nervous.

"Allison, you know that won't help your fever."

"Scott, please." She said, staring at him until she started coughing. This time Isaac was the one to jump up, grabbing a tissue, and pressing it to her mouth. Scott looked away, seeing the spatters of dark blood against the white, before her shoulders relaxed against the pillows again. Sighing, he moved to her side, curling against her back. It felt like touching a hot iron, but as Allison turned toward him, he just held her tighter, her sweaty forehead pressing against his own head. "… I just want my boys."

"We're here." Said Isaac, cuddling her back. "Just you wait… When this is over, we'll go running together. Howling."

"Isaac." Scott hissed.

"No, let him." She muttered, her eyes opening to stare at him, before closing them again. Smiling slightly, Isaac carried on.

"Me, you and Scott. A pack. And a hunter for a werewolf… Do you know how perfect that makes us?"

"We weren't perfect before?" Smirked Scott, and he felt the other boy kick his leg. "But he's right… No matter what happens, we're gonna do this. No-one's gonna hurt you."

"I know." She whispered, nuzzling into his neck, and drifting off to sleep again. While she slept against Scott, Isaac moved from the bed, busying himself by cooling her with more flannels. In the silence, their only communication was holding each other's hands, reassuring each other that they were in this together. It was only when there was a knock at the door that both boys stood, wanting to show a united front.

Scott opened the door, and wasn't at all surprised to see Chris standing there, for once, unarmed.

"Deucalion's dead." He said plainly, though there was no emotion behind his voice – it was the coldest Scott had ever heard him, and he just nodded. There'd be time to thank him, but later – when Allison was better. He nodded towards the bedroom, and without another word, Chris hurried through, sitting by her bedside.

"Allison?" He reached for her hand, and she opened her eyes, blinking a few times.

"Dad…" She murmured, her eyes tearing up. "I'm burning…"

"I know sweetheart, I know…" He kissed her forehead, brushing her hair away from her face. "You hold on."

"Mom… Tell her to stop…" Chris glanced back at the boys, not knowing what to say, and Isaac could only look away, burying his face into Scott's chest, and trying not to let the sobs come out.

"She's… been asking for her." Scott nodded, as Allison thrashed on the bed again, a fresh layer of sweat covering her.

"She's… not doing anything, Allison. Don't worry. Just worry about getting better." Chris said, trying to stop his voice breaking apart.

"Mommy… Please… Please don't go." Her eyes were closed, and she whimpered, sobbing herself. "I'm scared I can't… not without you…"

"Allison…" Began Chris, but Melissa pushed her way into the room, and put a hand on Chris' shoulder.

"Don't deny her this, Chris." She crouched next to the bed, next to Chris, and stroked Allison's hair back. "It's okay, Allison. It's okay. No one's going anywhere."

"Mom…." Her hand reached out, searching for Victoria, and Melissa grabbed it, kissing it. She looked over at the door where Scott was just staring, Isaac's face still buried against him, and shook her head, and hoping Scott knew to come over. They both had to. Scott nodded, and slowly he coaxed Isaac to the side of the bed. His arm wrapped around her waist, and as Isaac did, he felt her pain. It was tearing away at her, and he braced himself, taking in as much as he could while she cried. Isaac followed suit, until they were both exhausted, and they just kept their arms around Allison, protectively, though there was nothing physical she needed protecting from.

"We love you, Ally." Scott whispered to her, closing his eyes, and resting his lips on her shoulder.

"We're always going to love you." Isaac nodded, his fingers running over her stomach, in calming circles.

It wasn't a quick thing. Gradually, her heart grew slower and slower, and even after the two stopped hearing it altogether, neither wanted to move. It was some minutes later Melissa realised what had happened, and gently she nudged the boys up, rubbing Chris' back. He let out his own cry of anguish, shuffling the chair closer to his daughter, and pressing a kiss to her forehead. It took Melissa physically maneuvering the two out of the room, as Isaac and Scott were both too numb to know what they were doing, before they sat on the couch, listening to Chris' cries.

"I thought she'd make it." Isaac said softly, staring at the floor. Scott said nothing, and this time, it was him curling into Isaac's chest. Allison's scent was still on his skin, and it made Scott cling to him even tighter, appreciating that this was probably the last time he'd feel like the three of them were still together.