Werewolves are real. Werewolves are real and Jackson was one. So were Isaac, Derek, Scott, Boyd, and Erica. There were also kanimas and werewolf hunters. There are probably a lot more creatures out there, but Lydia was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that there are werewolves. Lydia is also still dealing with the fact that Jackson died in her arms less than twenty minutes ago.
Argent tells Jackson that he needs to go to the hospital before he goes home. Jackson just nods quietly; he hasn't spoken since he asked if she still loved him. Argent grabs Allison and they leave on their own, while Derek and Isaac slip away without anyone noticing. Peter must have gone with them. She's glad. She doesn't have the strength to face that man. All who's left in the warehouse is Scott, Stiles, Jackson, and her. Stiles glances at Jackson and abruptly looks away.
"Dude, you need to cover up before you get in my jeep. I'm not having your junk touch my seats. I'll never be able to wash that out."
Jackson snarls and Lydia rolls her eyes. Scott moves to the jeep's trunk, pulling out a pair of sweats and tosses them to Jackson. Stiles makes an indignant noise, before quieting at the look Scott shoot him. Lydia crawls into the backseat with Jackson, grasping one of his hands in both of hers. She squeezes tightly, letting him know that she's here for him. He squeezes back. The jeep starts right up and Stiles smiles gleefully, patting the dashboard affectionately. Scott smiles softly, before turning to look out the window.
She wonders if he was wishing he was with Allison right now. It takes some maneuvering, before Stiles is able to drive out of the warehouse. Jackson still hasn't said a word and she's worried. Before, he would have never missed an opportunity to tell Scott or Stiles how stupid they were. Scott is the one to break the silence, and it occurs to her that silence between Scott and Stiles must be rare.
"I think we should just play the "I don't know" card when it comes to explaining what happened with Jackson." Jackson doesn't say anything, so Scott continues. "The doctors will run tests, police will have questions, but it would be best if you just played dumb."
Jackson nods. Lydia glances at Stiles and sees his hands tightening on the wheel. He gives a stiff nod at Scott too. Scott's hand comes up to touch Stiles cheek. She can see Scott's jaw muscle tighten.
"Who was it?" Scott asked.
Stiles moves a little, pulling away from Scott's hand.
"Gerard. A bunch of his goons grabbed me when the lights went out over the field. He was using me to get to you. By the way, Erica and Boyd are tied up in their basement."
A look of shock comes over Scott's face before he nods and pulls out his phone to text Derek the location of his pack.
"Don't worry about Gerard. He'll be suffering from now on."
Stiles and Lydia both turn to look at Scott.
"Is he dead?" Lydia asks.
Jackson and Scott both shake their heads.
"He was dying of cancer, and wanted the bite," Scott answered.
Stiles snorted. "So he gets away with killing werewolves, but the moment he realizes he's dying he wants to be one of the so called monsters."
"He threatened to kill my mom, if I didn't help him. I ended up earning his trust and was able to replace his medication with pills full of mountain ash. Derek's bite became ineffective on him. Right before he ordered the kanima to kill us he was spitting up black blood. He must have taken off shortly after that. Argent will find him."
"You sure Argent won't help him? He is his father after all, not to mention Argent has tried to kill you on multiple occasions."
Lydia can see Stiles shot Scott a weird look that she can't interpret and Scott shakes his head slightly. Stiles exhales loudly and his fingers twitch against the steering wheel. They pull up to a four-way stop when suddenly Stiles whips his head to stare at Scott.
"HANG ON, WAS THAT PETER THAT HELPED DEREK?!"
Lydia winced at the volume and she was worried she would have to explain what happened. She's not even sure what happened herself. Her heartbeat must tic up because Jackson is staring at her curiously. Scott winced and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention that. I don't know how but apparently he's alive and claiming he is a changed man. I didn't ask and I personally consider him to be Derek's problem right now."
"Oh sure, till Derek turns more teenagers and Peter uses him to go on his next killing spree."
Lydia snaps. She had just watched Jackson be impaled on both Hales' claws and she wants to get him to a hospital and she does not want to talk about Peter.
"Can we please just drive? They are bound to notice Jackson missing from the morgue."
Stiles and Scott turned to stare at her in shock. Jackson squeezes her hand lightly.
Stiles nods and shifts gears, the rest of the car ride is in silence until they reach the hospital's parking lot. Jackson asks Stiles to take Lydia home, when she moves to get out of the car with him. She can't mask the hurt on her face when she hears that. Jackson moves to kiss her cheek.
"I promise that we will talk later, but right now I need to be alone. At least until my parents get here."
She nods, not quite wanting to leave him so soon after what they went through, but also knowing that he needed time to process everything. Jackson turns to Scott.
"Thank you, for not giving up on me." Jackson choked out.
Something in Scott's expression softens and he nods. He reaches out and squeezes Jackson's shoulder.
"Let me know if you need anything."
Jackson nods and turns to go into the hospital.
Stiles and Scott drop her off at her house, with the same goodbye as Jackson. Scott tells her to call if there's anything she needs. As she closes the door, she hears Scott asking Stiles to drop him off at Allison's. He needs to make sure she is okay. Lydia wonders if any of them will be okay after all this. Her mother is asleep on the couch, no doubt waiting for Lydia. Lydia takes the blanket and covers her, promising herself to talk with her mother in the morning. She changes into one of Jackson's t-shirts and crawls into bed. Sleep eludes her though.
The night's events keep playing over and over again in her head. She wonders if she hadn't liked Allison's jacket or choose to hang out with Scott, if her life would have stayed normal. She turns to face the wall. Her phone says that it is three in the morning. Tomorrow is Saturday, so she's not worried about school. She feels she's about to drift off when her window opens. She bolts right up and Prada starts growling. She grabs her phone, not knowing if she needs to call someone or if she plans to throw it at the intruder.
A dark human shape climbs through and falls to the floor. She reaches for the lamp, light filling the room. There stands Jackson. He's now wearing his own sweats and a t-shirt. He looks exhausted. Lydia is out of the bed and throwing her arms around him in an instant. He clutches her too him just a little too tight but she likes it. It reaffirms that he's here. She's crying against his chest, damping his shirt. Jackson murmurs in her ear. He keeps saying that he's sorry over and over again. Sorry for breaking up with her, dying, or even the whole kanima thing she doesn't know. She doesn't know what to say to him. Instead she leans back, wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a kiss.
Later she's curled up into his side panting with the after effects. She feels sore. A good kind of sore. Jackson's arm is wrapped around her. His hand tracing her spine. She's about to drift off into sleep when Jackson starts talking. He tells her everything. From when Derek had scratched Jackson's neck looking for Scott, to when he figured out there were werewolves, asking Derek for the bite, and even the things he remembered while under the control of Matt and Gerard. He tells her that when he showed up at the hospital the doctors started freaking out when finding he was alive and ran some tests.
They wanted him to stay the night but he begged his parents to take him home. It was his mom who was the calmest and his dad was an emotional wreck. After they got over the shock of him being alive, his dad was crying and hugging him. He wanted to sue the school, the EMTs, and the hospital itself. Jackson convinced him not to and even to drop the restraining order against Scott and Stiles. She lets him talk, lets him get everything out in the open and she feels relief for the first time in months. She thinks that lying here in Jackson's arms, him being honest with her; it makes her believe that everything will be okay. Werewolves are real and her boyfriend is one of them. There are worse things that could happen.