Disclaimer: "I do not own Teen Wolf. The show, the characters, and any quotes from the show belong to Jeff Davis and his amazing team of writers. I only own Nixie, and anything I make her do or say."

Chapter 4: Episode 2x4

Nixie's not sure how long she managed to sleep. Maybe an hour. Maybe not even that long. All she knows is that headlights shining in through her window wake her up, and she lifts her head to see that Chris is back… along with Gerard and a couple of other guys.

She's still at the clinic, which means Stiles' must've finally gotten someone from the tow company to get his jeep into the shop. He'd probably thought about taking her with him, but she'd been asleep, and he probably also hadn't wanted to disturb her.

Dummy. Nixie would much rather be with him than here with the Argents, where she couldn't do anything. As far as she knew, Gerard still didn't know any of them were involved in the supernatural world, and that's how they needed to keep it, at least for now. So for the time being, Nixie ducked back down in the car as they climbed out and entered the clinic. She could only hope that Scott was already hidden away in a backroom, and that Chris or Gerard wouldn't think to go and check to see if anyone else was there.

She waited there in the back of Deaton's car until she heard the other vehicles start up again and pull away from the building. Sighing, she then sat up and got out of the car, walking inside and into the back. And upon seeing her enter the room, Deaton smiles gently and says, "I was going to say I should work on getting a better closed sign again… but I think I'll let you and Scott be the exceptions."

Smiling back, Nixie says, "Thanks Doc. Where's he at?"

Scott comes out from a medical supply room at her question, and then asks, "Are they gone?" Nixie shrugs and says, "Well, they drove away. They're gone for now at least. Not sure how long we can actually call them gone though. If they keep on coming back to Deaton with questions, you're going to have a serious problem hiding from them Scott. You can't just always conveniently disappear." Scott nods and runs a hand through his hair. Sighing, he says, "This is all getting really complicated, really fast." "Yeah. And we thought we were screwed before."

Scott gives her a look, but grins at her nonetheless and asks, "Where's Stiles?" "Not sure. Figured he got a tow for his jeep and went to check on it. He didn't tell you?" "No, but you're probably right. I'll call him later."

But as Scott was about to go into more details about what Deaton had already said about the dead body on the table, Nixie's phone rang. Upon seeing Stiles number, she says, "It's Stiles, hold on."

Swiping across the phone, Nixie asks, "Yeah?" "Nix…"

Stiles voice doesn't just sound scared. It sounds choked… like if he had the ability to speak louder, he would. But he couldn't. Something was stopping him… holding him back… preventing him.

Someone had him.

Scott had been about to ask a question, but immediately stepped back and closed his mouth when Nixie asked, "Where are you?" "Ar… Armor… I…" "I'm coming. Stiles, don't you dare die."

Hanging up, she calls 911 and the minute someone picks up, she says, "Someone needs to get to the Armor, Tire & Service Center. I think my friend is being attacked there or something. Go now please. This is Nixie by the way."

Hanging up again, Nixie then turns to Scott and asks, "You're meeting Alison right?" "I was. But…" "No… go and meet her. I'll keep you updated and you can fill her in. And if she has anything new to offer, let me know." "Got it."

Nixie glances at Deaton, and then says, "Thanks for lending me your car earlier. I'll be sure to come around again and give you a more proper thank you." "Of course. Do you need to borrow it again?" "No. I'm pretty sure at this point I can cut through the back alleys faster than your car will get me there this time. But thanks."

When she gets to Armor, the police and an ambulance are already there. Bypassing the slight crowd and a few of the other cops trying to keep people back, she spots Stiles on the back of the ambulance as he says, "I told you, I just… I walked in, and I saw the jeep on top of the guy. That's all."

Noah, sitting next to his son, watches him as he fidgets with his hands and asks, "What's wrong with your hand?"

Because Stiles was massaging his right one, as though trying to make the feeling come back to it. And Stiles doesn't know how to explain it to his dad. How did you explain, to someone who didn't yet believe, that you had been drugged with a paralytic toxin that had paralyzed you? No… Stiles, didn't know how to do that. So he just shook out his hand and says, "Nothing. Can I just get out of here now?"

Noah gives his son a look; one that clearly says, 'I don't think you're telling me everything you know'. Then he says, "Look, if there's something you don't think you can tell me…" "You think I'm lying?!"

"Of course he doesn't." Stiles jerks his head up at the sound of Nixie's voice, and Noah watches his entire body relax when Nixie is finally standing right in front of him. Her hands run up his arms, over his shoulders, back to his hands, and then she cups his face in her hands. Meeting his eyes with her own, she asks, "Are you okay?" "I'm alright Nix." "Who did it?" Stiles smiles gently and says, "I don't know who killed the guy. I wasn't here for that."

Nixie nods in understanding. Stiles would have to talk to her later. But for now… he was okay. He was mostly unharmed. That was all that mattered.

Breathing a sigh of relief for herself, she then says, "Of course he doesn't think you're lying. Right Noah?" Noah nods to her and to Stiles, and then says, "I'm just worried about you. Now, if you saw someone do this, and if you're afraid that maybe they're gonna come back and make sure you don't say anything about it…"

"Stiles isn't afraid of that." Noah looks up at Nixie again, and then to Stiles who shrugs, but nods his head. Noah then asks, "And why wouldn't he be afraid of that?" And in unison, both Stiles and Nixie say, "Because they have to go through her first."

Well, Nixie said, 'Because they have to go through me first', but same point. When Noah looks between the two of them in awe for a moment, Stiles just shrugs again and says, "I've been told enough times that all horrors of the world are going to have to go through Nixie first before they get to me. I firmly believe it. So… yeah, I wouldn't be afraid of that dad. And I didn't see anything. At all. So can I go now, please?"

Noah sighs, but then says, "Sure. But not in your jeep." At Stiles shocked expression, Noah explains, "Sorry kid. It's evidence. Gotta impound it." Stiles huffs and runs a weary hand over his head before then saying, "Alright, well, just make sure they wash it at least, please!"

Noah walks away with a slightly amused shake of his head. Then Stiles looks up at Nixie and says softly, "We need to talk. Not here though." "I've got my bike. If you want to pedal I can sit in your lap. A tight fit, but we can pull it off."

Stiles nods, and as soon as they finally manage to reach his house without crashing, he sighs as they hop off and says, "We really need to get your other bike up and running." "I know."

In his room, Nixie sits on the edge of his bed and asks, "So… what really happened?" Stiles sighs and says, "It was… it was that freaky lizard looking thing that Scott and Alison saw a few weeks ago. I was in there and the guy fixing my jeep was making way too many corrections. He said it was gonna cost me close to fifteen hundred bucks!"

Flopping down onto the bed behind her, Stiles throws his arms over his eyes and says, "There was this stuff on the handle of the office door when I opened it. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I just thought it was something gross from the shop. But then I went to pull out my phone. I was going to text you and Scott about the jeep and make sure you knew where I was. But then… then I just… I couldn't move my fingers. I couldn't bend them anymore. And then I started feeling it stretch up my arms. And then I couldn't even talk after a while and I fell to the floor. And then…"

Stiles shudders at the memory, and says, "Then the lizard thing sliced the guys neck with his tail, and he fell on the ground beneath my jeep. And then the jeep started lowering down from the ceiling. And it crushed him. And I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I almost couldn't call you. I tried the police first, but I kept messing up the numbers… so I just aimed for one, and I missed that the first three times. And then I was worried you might not even be able to hear me when I tried to speak into the phone."

To that, Nixie says, "I'll always hear you." Stiles finally smiles a little and says, "I know." Sighing again, he says, "Anyways. Then the cops showed up. But by then… I could finally move again, for the most part. My hand still felt weird. It still feels weird now, but at least it's moving. And I made up the story about simply walking in and finding him there. And now we're here, discussing how I lied to the police to protect them from knowledge of the supernatural."

Nixie nods, and then pats his shoulder and says, "You're okay now Stiles." "I know. But that thing… it got right in my face. It… screeched at me. It wasn't so much a roar as a screech. But then it just left. Like… it wasn't there for me. It wanted to warn me that it could've hurt me, if it had wanted to. But it didn't. It just left me there."

Nixie nods again, and then when her phone rings, she glances down to see Scott calling. She lets Stiles see the name, and then she hits speaker phone and says, "Hey Scott. I'm with Stiles. You got Alison?" "No... I think she got held up. I left her a little message, so I'm sure she'll call one of us later though. How's Stiles?"

Nixie glances at Stiles, and then says, "He's alright. Safe and unharmed, which is the point for now. We need to talk though. That thing you and Alison saw… it's back." Stiles nods and says, "And you were right. It's not like you. It's eyes… they were almost reptilian." Nixie squeezes Stiles shoulder for comfort, and then says, "You should just come here Scott." "On my way."

When he arrives at Stiles house and gets upstairs, Nixie is asking, "What do you mean?"

Walking in, Scott asks, "What are we talking about?" Nixie turns to him, and then says, "The lizard. Stiles says there was something else about the eyes on this thing." Scott nods and looks to Stiles for more, same as Nixie. Stiles ponders for a moment on how to explain, and then says, "You know when you see, like, a friend in a Halloween mask, but all you can actually see are their eyes, and you feel like you know them, but you just can't figure out who it is?"

Nixie nods while Scott asks, "Are you saying you know who it is?" Stiles shakes his head and says, "No. But I think it knew me." Nixie takes his hand in hers and says, "Maybe that's another reason why it didn't want to hurt you. Maybe it knows you." "Yeah, but then who is it?"

They all fall silent at that. Well, until Stiles and Scott both chuckle when Nixie asks, "But when I dressed up for Halloween in the past, you guys always knew it was me. I even tried really hard once to make sure you couldn't tell, and you still knew it was me." Stiles wraps an arm around her and says, "Yeah, but your eyes are exceptionally distinctive. People who've only ever seen you once couldn't even forget your eyes." "Oh whatever."

Stiles then looks up at Scott and sighs before asking, "So… what do you have to report? I think I've effectively complained about my night for as long as I'm able."

So Scott fills Stiles in on the body in Deaton's clinic, and on Boyd officially being another of Derek's beta werewolves. By the time everyone is officially caught up with everything, it's well past midnight. Scott sighs as he looks at the time and says, "I'm lucky mom's on nightshift. She'd freak out if she knew I wasn't already in bed."

Nixie nods, and then sighs and says, "Stiles… you mind if I just chill on the floor?" "Um, yes. You don't get put in the floor!" "Because I'm a girl? I'm offended." "Not because you're a girl. Because you're Nixie, and you shouldn't sleep in the floor." "We go through this every time." "Yeah, and I always win. Because I'm right." "Whatever. I'm taking the recliner though." "Fine. But then you get the nicer quilt too."

Scott chuckles at them, and then once they're settled, he leaves to head home.

For a while after that, Nixie stares at the ceiling, occasionally glancing at Stiles to remind herself that he's here, and that he's safe.

Whatever this thing was… it didn't want Stiles. At least, not yet. But what was to say it wouldn't change it's mind. They'd gotten lucky last night. That was all. And Nixie didn't like that. She didn't like relying on luck to be the reason her boys and the rest of her people were kept safe. Luck wasn't reliable. It was flimsy. It couldn't be counted on to always be there.

She could. And so with a determined nod, and knowledge of the fact that she was probably going to lose a lot more sleep over this… she determined to keep herself closer to them for now. Her apartment was going to be pretty much abandoned for a while, because she would be staying with either Scott or Stiles until this problem was resolved.

Not that she really had a problem with that. Not at all.

Derek was trying to teach them to fight, to attack… to be ready to take on whatever came at them.

But Isaac had pulled the same exact sequence of moves about ten times in a row now. Like he thought Derek would suddenly forget what he'd just done and not expect him to do it again. And though Erica had gone a little outside of the norm and jumped at him from the top of the abandoned rail car, he'd still heard her coming.

Sighing as he looked at both of them on the ground, Derek turns his back to them and asks, "Does anyone want to try not being completely predictable?"

Which is when Erica jumped up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and started kissing him. And it was good. She was a good kisser. Sort of. She liked to bite, and Derek wasn't into that. Which made it easy for him to toss her back onto the ground. Wiping at his lip, glaring at her, he says, "That's the last time you do that."

Boyd, for his part, moves over to maybe help Isaac and Erica. Though he's a little unsure as to whether Erica simply kissed Derek to try and take him off guard, or whether she might actually have a thing for him.

Didn't seem like she did though when she responded in her saucy and slightly offended manner, "Why? Because I'm not her?" Derek looks to her again, and at his confused expression, Erica smirks and asks, "What? You didn't think we noticed how last time you saw her, everything shifted? You were ready to knock Scott out for the count, and then she showed up and you just… backed off. You just stopped… like she was…"

Derek cuts her off and says, "No. It's because I have someone else in mind for you."

Erica's not quite sure how she feels about that. Boyd steps up behind her and says in a calmer and more simply curious manner, "She's right though. Nixie showed up, and you just… you quit." When Derek simply looks at him, waiting for the question there, Boyd shrugs and says, "I mean… I guess we're all wondering why? She's not like us. She's Scott's friend… who isn't even in our pack. So… why stop for her? Why listen to her? Why…"

Derek gives them all a hard look, and then says, "Nixie isn't in our pack. But she is always on the side of protecting what she's deemed to be hers. And last year, for a while, that included me. And I've seen the lengths she's willing to go trying to protect the people she cares about."

Glaring at each of them hard, he says, "She is off limits, as far as claws and physical abuse goes. If I find out any of you has hurt her intentionally, I will personally break every bone you have… repeatedly… until they stop healing in the proper place anymore. Got it?"

All three nod, and then Isaac asks, "So… are we done? Because, I got about one hundred bones that need a few hours to heal."

Derek gives him a look of compassion, which Boyd instantly backs away from. Compassion wasn't something Derek was particularly good at. Well, except where Nixie was concerned apparently. So Boyd knew that whatever was coming… it wasn't good.

And sure enough, rather than helping Isaac, Derek broke his arm. Snarling slightly, Derek says, "One hundred and one. You think I'm teaching you how to fight? Huh? Look at me! I'm teaching you how to survive!"

Derek doesn't see the looks in their eyes… not until a resounding metal clang sounds and he finds himself falling forward.

Erica, Isaac, and Boyd all stare at her in shock when they see Nixie standing there, metal pipe in her hands, behind where Derek had just been.

Derek rises to his feet snarling, but upon seeing her, he ceases coming after her. Glaring though, he asks, "What the hell was that for?" "For you being an ignorant bastard. Look at them."

He does, and for the first time registers the fear in their eyes. Back to Nixie, he forces his fangs to retract, and then she says, "You're scaring the shit out of them." He nods and says, "The world is a scary place. They need to know that." "They already know that you idiot. All three of them already know that this world sucks. That's why you chose them, even if you didn't realize it at the time."

Glancing at all three of them, she then looks back at Derek and says, "Making them afraid of you though? Not the way to go. Control through fear is flimsy… unbalanced… and hard to hold onto. Because eventually, fear turns to anger, and anger to hate, and hate to vengeance."

Stepping up closer to Derek, Nixie says, "So come up with something better, oh great and powerful alpha. Because as far as I'm concerned, you are only proving me right." "About what?" And he flinches back as though slapped when she says, "That you do not have the required patience or brains to be a good alpha. At this rate, you're turning into a slightly milder version of Peter. And so help me, if you turn into any version of him, I'll kill you myself."

Then she backs up a step, moving to Isaac. Bending down to him, she takes his broken arm and then looks in his eyes and says, "Don't you dare snap at me." He nods, and then cries out when she sets the bone back in place. But he keeps himself in control, and smiles at himself for it.

Well, until Nixie drops his arm and backs away immediately. She didn't offer the same comfort she had before. And he knew that was their fault, for what they'd tried to do to Scott.

Standing before all of them again, Nixie says to Derek, "I'm here to warn you." Derek raises an eyebrow and asks, "About what? The Argents? I'm already telling these guys everything I…" "I'm aware that you are informing them about the Argents. I'm talking about the other thing." "Other thing?" "Derek, are you really this stupid?"

He ponders for a moment what she might be talking about, and then says, "You mean the thing that killed Isaac's father. I didn't know you and Scott were dealing with that." "It wasn't exactly at the top of our priority list until last night." Derek waits for her to explain what happened, but she doesn't. Instead she simply says, "It's… some kind of lizard looking them. Reptilian at least. It's claws are exceptionally long, about as long as yours when you grow them out. And it has a tail."

Derek was glancing down at his hand, knowing his own claws were larger than most, but his eyes shot up to her when she said tail. "Tail? It has a tail?" "Yes." Nixie then takes a breath and says, "And it… it does something. Somehow. The tail at least. It secretes some sort of paralytic toxin that it can inject into it's victims. It paralyzes them from the neck down in a matter of seconds, leaving them helpless."

Raising a hand so he doesn't interrupt, Nixie adds, "We're not sure if the tail is the only thing that secretes the stuff. And it doesn't have to be injected for it to work. You can touch it on the outside of your skin and it works too. It's not instant, it takes a bit longer, but it still works."

Derek watches as she nods to herself, apparently satisfied that she's told him everything she knows. Then she looks up at him and says, "That's all we have for now. We're pretty sure it killed Isaac's dad, and one of Argent's younger men, and now the mechanic from down town." Derek nods, and then asks, "Why are you telling us this?" "Because you need to know if you don't want to die."

He watches her eyes take on a frightened look as she now adds, "And if you see it… run. Don't try to take on this thing… not until we have more." Derek asks, "Does it effect werewolves? Do we know that?" "We're not sure… I don't think it's attacked a supernatural creature yet? But you still shouldn't go near it. None of you." She looks pointedly to the other three, and then back to Derek briefly, before turning to leave.

She pauses though when Derek asks, "How do you know all of this? Did you see it? Did it attack you?"

Boyd and the others don't miss that for a moment, Derek was angry at whatever this creature was. They hadn't encountered it yet, but if it had hurt Nixie… there would be hell to pay. And they couldn't help agreeing.

But Nixie shook her head and said, "No. I haven't seen him." "Then how…" Nixie turns to him and says tightly, "He attacked Stiles."

Derek freezes at her words, not daring to ask another question. Stiles was one of the trio. He was one of her boys. It didn't matter what kind of hell he could reign down on this creature. Nixie's wrath would be ten times worse. Derek then says gently, "Is he…" Nixie nods and says, "He's fine. And I… maybe…"

She runs a hand over her hair and says, "He didn't so much attack Stiles, I guess. He just… incapacitated him… with whatever the toxin is that he puts out. But Stiles was there. He witnessed it. And he only just managed to call me. And his voice… it was…"

Nixie doesn't finish. She'd rather not remember just how soft and choked off Stiles voice had been. Instead, she looks back to Derek and says, "Don't go near this thing. Not until we have more information. Not until we know how to beat it."

And with that, she walks away, leaving them all behind in the abandoned station.

She was getting on her bike, about to pedal away, when her phone rang. Boyd was standing at the street entrance of the station, watching her as she stood there talking to Alison. "Yeah Alison? What's up?"

And upon hearing that Alison needed to get a message to Scott, Nixie laughs and says, "Yeah I got it. Just tell me what it is. This is going to be good, I can tell."

Derek joins Boyd at the entrance and asks, "You alright?" Boyd nods, but then nods to her and says, "She's worried." Derek looks at her too, and notes that even though she's currently smiling, there is a slight uptick in her pulse. Boyd's right. She is worried. More so than usual.

He'd heard the same uptick off and on throughout the previous half of the year, when they'd been dealing with Peter and Scott's new abilities as a werewolf. But this… this was constant. Nixie couldn't get the idea that this thing… whatever it was… had gotten at Stiles so easily.

Something told Derek she wasn't about to let it happen again. Which meant she'd be sticking to them like glue.

Which meant she wouldn't be at her own home for a while.

Derek ponders it a moment more, and then nods to himself before saying to Boyd, "Come on." "Where are we going?" "You're gonna help me pick up a piece of crap motorcycle."

Confused, Boyd asks, "Okay, but why?" "Because we're going to take it and fix it so it's not a piece of crap motorcycle." Boyd looks to Derek, then back to Nixie. Understanding finally dawns on him, and he nods and says, "Yeah. Let's get started."

"I'm so sorry about the other day. I'm trying. We'll get through this. I know because I love you."

Let's get one thing straight. Nixie does love Scott. Loves him like a brother. Loves both him and Stiles and all of her close friends as fiercely as a person can without actually being 'in love' with them. She has no problem saying 'I love you' to Scott.

It's when Scott starts smiling and looking at her dreamily, like he was in love with her, that had Nixie cringing inside while saying, "I love you more than…" Scott's eyes took on a particularly whimsical look and Nixie couldn't finish. She just said, "Okay, you two seriously need to find a better way to communicate. And yes, I know that when you're looking at me like that, you aren't actually looking at me. You're thinking about her, and her eyes, and her smile, and all that good jazz. But it's seriously beginning to creep me out. So…"

Scott hurries to say, "What, no! You and Stiles are the only two we can trust." Stiles, sitting next to Nixie one step higher, looks at her and shrugs and says, "You could make him pay you." "No. That's just mean." "Hence you being the source of communication." Nixie raises an eyebrow at him and asks, "What? Because I'm cheap?"

Scott grins as Stiles quickly scrambles to recover from the trap he walked into. "No! No, no, no, no… You are not cheap. You're expensive. So expensive. Like… millionaires couldn't afford you. And we are but humble peasants that are blessed with your good graces and presence."

Nixie is laughing by the time he's finished, and then pats him on the shoulder and says, "I'm only teasing. But that was very good. Very good for my ego." Stiles rolls his eyes, but then looks back to Scott when he asks, "I hate to bug you again Nix, but is she coming to the game tonight?" "Yes. And that ends the message I was told to bring. Now, tell us about what Deaton said again. Which, by the way, I'm still not happy about you leaving out last night."

Scott nods and says, "I know, and I'm sorry. Again. But with Stiles getting attacked and not meeting Alison and… it just… I just forgot." Nixie nods and says, "Noted. But try not to forget such crucial information again in the future. Because this is huge. Right?" Scott and says, "If Deaton's right, then yeah. Pretty huge. He thinks Alison's family keeps some kind of records of all the things that they've hunted. Like a book."

Stiles claps his hands together and says, "He probably means a beastiary." Nixie looks back at him, and then says, "How on earth can you be so calm about anything that's called a beastiary? And does no one else see the problem that there is such a thing as a beastiary being in existence? As in, there are so many creatures in existence that someone actually took the time to keep a book of records about every single one of them. No one finds that frightening? No one else? Just me? Okay, good to know."

Stiles squeezes her shoulder and says, "I don't think you got enough sleep." "I got plenty of sleep. I haven't had coffee yet." Stiles rolls his eyes and says, "I offered to make it." "You had just been through a rather traumatizing night! I wasn't about to make you make my morning coffee on top of everything else. It's my own fault I ran out of time." "It's your own fault for thinking making you coffee is so burdensome that last night would actually effect whether I want to make it or not. I'm not even gonna ask anymore in the morning. You just better be ready to get coffee. End of discussion."

Back to Scott, who is struggling not to laugh at both of them, Stiles says, "Moving on. A beastiary is like an encyclopedia of mythical creatures." Scott stares at him in surprise, and then asks, "How am I the only one that doesn't seem to know anything about this stuff?"

Stiles pats him on the shoulder and says, "Okay, you know, you're our best friend, you're a creature of the night. It's kind of like, a priority of ours. Remember, me and Nixie did extensive research on this stuff before we were even certain you were a werewolf. Now we're certain. Now the research never ends."

Nixie nods in agreement, and then pats Scott's knee and says, "Plus you kind of have your hands full trying to catch up and not fail all your other classes for the year. Leave the supernatural research to us. You focus on your grades in school. We'll meet in the middle, and presto, we'll save the world. Again."

Stiles grins and says, "Yeah. Batman, Robin, and Catwoman." Scott grins at them again, and then says, "Okay. So, if we can find this… beastiary… and if it can tell us what this thing is…" Stiles nods and adds, "And who?"

Sighing, Nixie says, "We need that book."

Of course, Scott and Stiles say it at the exact same time that she does. And while both boys look at each other oddly, both end up smiling when Nixie throws her head back and laughs. Her head leaning back against Stiles thigh where it rests behind her, she says, "Was that not awesome! Oh come on! It was awesome! I don't care if you don't agree. It was."

Stiles just brushes some of the hair out of her face and says, "Yeah, yeah, alright get up. We need to get to class. We need to work out how to find that book. And hopefully accomplish all of that before the day is out. No pressure or anything." Nixie nods and says, "Right. No pressure at all."

It's as Nixie is relaying all this to Alison at lunch that her head snaps up when Alison asks, "Like… could this book be bound in leather?" Nixie stops eating and says, "Alright, out with it. What do you know?" "Nixie… I'm not so sure we should be getting involved here. I mean… my dad is…" "Alison, your dad doesn't even know what we're dealing with yet. And he doesn't have as much information on it as we do. And trust me, if he guesses wrong about what he thinks it is, and he gets hit with… whatever it is that this thing sticks into people…"

Alison watches as Nixie shudders at the thought, and then Nixie says, "Just… help us. We figure out what this is… and you can tell you dad. You can blame it all on me. Remember, I stole all the flashcards from every photographer at Kate's funeral. You call totally tell him I swiped… whatever it is that you think the beastiary might be. So just… come on. Help us."

Alison sighs and says, "Alright. All I know is that… if it is a book that's old and worn… well, I saw my grandpa with a book that fits that description." "Alright. Let me tell Scott and see what he wants to do." "Sure thing. I'll be here."

When Nixie catches up to Stiles and Scott in the hall, catching her breath, she says, "Alison says she saw her grandpa with a book that could be our beastiary." Scott beams and says, "That's great. Where does he keep it?" Nixie sighs and says, "Don't know. Too excited about telling you. Didn't think to ask."

Stiles pats her shoulder and says, "Okay, we'll tag team this. I'll go back and ask this time. You go back next time." "Sure."

So Stiles runs off to talk to Alison, and Scott puts an arm around Nixie as they walk. "You alright?" Nixie looks up at him and says, "Yeah. Just worried." "I know. I can hear your heartbeat. But it's constant. Like… even when you're happy and with us… it only goes back to normal for a second. And then you're worrying again."

Nixie nods, and as they reach his locker, she leans against the one next to it and says, "I just… this thing… it's bizarre. And it's deadly. And it…" "It had Stiles." Nixie looks to Scott, who smiles gently and says, "Not much worries you… except when one of us is in danger or hurt. And then you're either worried, or your angry. I think I'm used to you getting angry at whoever caused it, and that's why it's so strange to hear your heartbeat constantly picking up speed." Nixie nods, and then says, "Well, as soon as we nail whatever this is and figure out how to beat it, I promise to go back to just glaring angrily at all the people who mean to harm you."

Scott chuckles and has just shut his locker when Stiles comes back panting and says, "She says… must be… his office." Nixie nods and then pulls out Scott's old inhaler and hands it to Stiles saying, "Here. Use it."

He does, and then Scott asks, "Can she get it? Is that a possibility?" Nixie mock salutes him and says, "I will report back with an answer ASAP sir."

Both boys laugh at her as she takes off. At the lunch table outside, Alison looks up at her and says, "Hey. New question?" "Yep. Can you get it from his office?" Alison ponders that and says, "Not without his keys." Nixie nods, and after sitting back down with her, Nixie says, "Alright, so let's make a plan on how to get those. How tricky do you think it might be?" Alison bites her lip in concentration, and then says, "I honestly don't know. He carries them with him always." Nixie nods and then asks, "Like, in a jeans pocket? In his hands? On a chain attached to his belt?"

Alison thinks for a moment, and then says, "In his coat pocket, usually." And at Alison's smile, Nixie says, "Boom. I see a plan forming." "I think I can get them. But… not until later. At the game tonight. I think… yeah, I think I can do it." Nixie nods and says, "Alright. We'll be ready to get them from you somehow. You probably shouldn't leave your grandpa. Do that, and he might suspect you? We don't need that on top of everything else." "Right."

And with the plan formed, Nixie goes back to tell Scott and Stiles. They needed this to go off without a hitch. For once, they needed something to go according to plan. Even if the damn book wasn't in the office… they at least needed the plan to succeed without them getting caught.

Nixie could see how much stress Scott and Alison were under, trying to keep their relationship secret and strong. They seemed to keep getting caught up lately and unable to meet. Nixie made a mental note to ensure that they could see each other alone sometime soon. She'd somehow send Chris and all his teams on a merry chase through the woods if she had to.

But for now, get the beastiary. Then she would worry about keeping Alison and Scott on happier terms.

Nixie was prepared to be a further distraction. Gerard had the game to focus on, and Alison to keep him occupied. But the man was an Argent, and should he end up needing further distraction than all that, Nixie figured that could be her main part in this whole plan. Become the rest of the distraction.

That's when Stiles texted her, and told her to get to the parking lot ASAP. Unsure of what could already be going wrong with the plan, she gave Alison a dubious look and a shrug, and then took off away from the game and to the front of the school to the parking lot.

There she found Stiles hadn't even gone inside yet. He was standing next to the driver's side door, talking to a crying Lydia.

When Stiles saw her coming he relaxed a bit. He wasn't sure what else to do for Lydia at this point, except listen to her. And unfortunately, and he did consider it extremely unfortunate, he didn't have that time. To Nixie, he whispers, "She says that I'm gonna think she's crazy. Me of all people. I…" "Go Stiles. I got her." "Good."

Lydia watches as Stiles moves away reluctantly, and then glances over as Nixie bends down so she can peer into the open window. Tilting her head, Nixie asks, "What's wrong?" "I don't know. Everything? Nothing? I just… I don't know. I… I think I'm going crazy." "You're not."

Turning to fully look at Nixie, Lydia asks, "How do you know? I haven't… I haven't even told you…" "I know." At Lydia's confused look, Nixie just smiles gently and says, "You're my best friend Lydia. I know when you're upset, even if you don't want to tell me why. Even if you try your hardest to seem okay… you can't fool me Lydia. You'll never be able to do that."

Lydia just stares at her for a minute, and then leans back in exhaustion and says, "I do feel crazy though. I keep… I keep seeing things. Things that I know aren't there and can't be there. And… and I've been… I've been doing things. In my sleep I think. I… I punched one of the mirrors in my room last night."

Lydia removes her gloves to show Nixie her cut up knuckles, and Nixie reaches to take them and pull them closer instantly. Her touch is gentle, but there's no mistaking the concern now etched firmly into Nixie's features. Now she's scared too. Lydia almost starts crying again as she says, "See? I'm going insane."

"Lydia… shut up." Lydia blinks in confusion, looking up to Nixie in surprise. "But… I…" Nixie gently smooths over her hands, inspecting the wounds but not hurting them any further. Then she says, "You are the most brilliant person I have ever had the privilege to meet in my life Lydia. You have one fault that I can find, and it is not that you are crazy."

Upon Lydia's silence, apparently waiting to hear what her fault is, Nixie says, "Your fault is in the fact that you don't want the rest of the world to see how smart you really are right now. With time, I am going to cure you of that fault, and then you will be perfect. You are a genius. You are not going insane."

Nixie's firm eyes meet Lydia's as she says, "You're not allowed to. I won't let you."

She stays like that for as long as Lydia needs her to, letting Lydia's eyes search her own for any amount of doubt or wavering. There is none. Nixie is as certain about this as she has ever been. Something was going on with Lydia. Something that was at times frightening her; enough to make her think she was losing it. But Lydia was not going crazy.

Lydia had been bit by a werewolf, and was now suffering the consequences of that. What exactly those consequences meant and how they would end up playing out, Nixie has no idea. But Lydia is not losing her mind.

Nixie mentally plots out how far away Lydia's house is from both Stiles and Scott and Alison, and determines that it's close enough to all three that if any of them needed her immediately, Nixie could still get there in a decent amount of time. With that in mind, Nixie helps Lydia slide back on her gloves and says, "Go home Lydia. Take a hot shower. Throw away your broken mirror. I'm gonna come over later, and you can do my hair."

Lydia's eyes widen before a smile spreads across her face. "Really?" Nixie rolls her eyes, but smiles gently and says, "Yes. But for now go home. And if you fall asleep, don't worry. I'll let you do something with my hair in the morning. But I warn you now, I reserve the right to undo anything I deem too crazy." Lydia laughs and says, "Of course."

Nixie doesn't let anyone do her hair. She's not into that sort of thing. Doing her own hair for the winter formal a while back had been a rarity in itself. She honestly might not have done her hair then, if not for Melissa telling her a week earlier that she couldn't just go in a ponytail.

Anyways, bottom line, Nixie doesn't do her own hair very often, much less let someone else touch it. But Lydia… well, Lydia she trusts to an extent with her hair. At the very least, she trusts Lydia to not damage it with too much product or too much heat. Nixie might not do much with her hair, ever, but she did like her hair. It was wavy, easy to straighten if it needed it, and was often tangle-free and easy to brush. What more could she ask for?

Nixie watches as Lydia drives away, and is about to head back to the lacrosse field, when her phone rings again. Picking up, she asks, "Yeah? You find it?" When Stiles doesn't answer right away, Nixie frowns and asks, "Stiles?"

Then Nixie hears the muffled sound of Derek's voice as he asks, "What did you see at the mechanic's garage?" Nixie grits her teeth and says, "I told him everything we know. What the hell does he need to bother Stiles for? Damn it!" And with that, she takes off into the school to try and find out where Stiles ended up.

Not in the office. Damn. And judging from the lack of order in the room, Stiles hadn't been able to find the book before getting snagged by Derek. Or maybe one of the other three. Nixie can't be sure yet.

She straightens up what she can really quickly, and then takes off down the hall again, trying to think of where Derek might've taken Stiles to interrogate him.

Nixie had just reached the pool that connected to the gym on one side when she heard Derek yell at Stiles, "RUN!" And to herself, Nixie says, "Well, you might not be a complete asshole yet."

She dashes inside in time to see Erica knocked out on the floor, and then hears Stiles say, "Derek, your neck?"

Oh for fuck's sake.

Nixie first runs over to Erica, seeing that Stiles is attempting to drag Derek with him out of the room. Dragging her over into one of the locker rooms and wedging it shut, hoping that'll protect her well enough, Nixie then runs back out in time to see Stiles drop both his phone and Derek. The phone lands on the side of the pool.

Derek's paralyzed body falls into the water.

Cursing under her breath, Nixie strips off her coat, leaves her phone with it, and then takes off for the other side of the pool. To Stiles, who is debating on what to do, she says, "Call Scott!" And without waiting to see if he listened, she dives into the water after Derek's sinking body.

Stiles is struggling to dial the right number, his fingers shaking with all the added adrenaline in his body. He jumps and then sighs in relief when Nixie resurfaces in the water, Derek's body coming up with her. Slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, she gasps in a breath and then asks, "You get him?" "I'm trying. It's…" "Stiles, take a breath."

He tries, but then the hissing sound resounds throughout the entire room, and Stiles is back in panic mode. Struggling under Derek's weight, Nixie says, "Leave it there and come help me." Stiles nods and drops his phone back down, climbing halfway down the ladder into the pool to try and help her get Derek out.

But that thing comes back, and instead of getting out, Nixie grabs Stiles and drags him in with her. Pulling all of them further into the water, Nixie says, "Get on his other side Stiles. We need to wait for a better opportunity." Stiles holds up Derek's other side, taking some of the weight, and with that, it becomes easier to manage.

Nixie glances all around for the creature, waiting for him to show up again. When she doesn't see it, she says, "Come on. Let's try to get him to the edge." But as they get closer, it returns, and hisses at them. Nixie kicks off the wall and backs away again, cursing under her breath and spitting out a mouthful of water.

Derek glances over at her, and then sighs and says, "Sorry." "For what exactly?" "I don't know. But I figure I owe you one for something." "You do indeed, you giant ass. But since you haven't figured out what that is yet, shut the hell up."

Stiles then points hurriedly to the creature and says, "Look! You see that?" Nixie glances at it, watching as it backs away from the water's edge in fear. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Nixie asks, "So what? It hates the water?" Stiles shrugs and says, "I think it can't swim. I mean, think about it. It would've come in here after us by now if it could." "Or maybe we just aren't the target. Same as you weren't at ARMOR last night." "Then who is the target?" "I don't freaking know! Just not us, apparently."

Stiles nods at that, and then glances back at the edge of the pool where his phone is. To Nixie, he says, "I don't think I can keep this up much longer. My shoes are dragging me down." "Yeah, well, my boots aren't exactly a picnic either." "Right. Look, I think I can get to my phone. Let me try Scott again."

Nixie is about to respond, when Derek shouts, "No, no, no! Don't even think about it!"

The harsh slap to the back of his head literally punches his face into the water. Nixie holds the back of his hair and pulls it back, and then says, "Shut the hell up! This is all your fault anyway! None of you would even be in here if you had just left Stiles alone like I told you to. I gave you all the information we had, you freaking asshole."

Then to Stiles, she says, "Go. I've got him. At least for a few minutes. Try him again. Hurry." Stiles nods, and once he's sure Nixie's got her grip on Derek again, he lets go and swims as fast as he can towards his phone.

Derek feels himself get hefted up an inch higher as Nixie struggles under his weight. Glancing over, he asks, "You alright?" When she doesn't answer, he strains his eyes to see where her head should be. Except it's not there.

Or… it wasn't. It surfaces out of the water a second later. In the same instance, he drops back down the inch or so higher he'd been held up. Gasping in a breath, Nixie asks, "What'd you say?" "I asked if you were alright?" "Oh yeah. I'm fucking peachy. Now quit distracting me from keeping you alive."

Her head drops back beneath the surface, somehow giving her more leverage to hold him just a little higher out of the water. She has to come back up every so often for a breath of her own, but she always drops back down to shove him up higher.

When Stiles comes back, taking more of the weight again, Nixie asks, "You get him?" And Derek says, "Tell me you got him." Stiles glares at Derek, but then says to Nixie, "He said he couldn't talk right now and hung up on me." "WHAT?!"

Nixie grits her teeth and says, "I'm going to beat him in the head. With a bat." Stiles suggests, "I'd suggest book. You'd feel less guilty about it later." "Whatever."

They hold Derek there for a while longer. It's been at least four hours, judging from what Nixie can see of the clock on the wall. She knows Stiles is getting exhausted, and she's honestly not sure how much longer she can keep this up.

Derek can feel her arms shaking from exertion around him. She was still trying, but it was becoming apparent that she was losing her grip. Cursing under her breath, Nixie glances at one of the diving posts at the end of the pool and says, "Come on Stiles. We get there, and we can hold ourselves up while we hold him."

Together they try to carry Derek above the water. It's tricky though, even with two of them. They have to make sure they keep his head above the water all the while swimming towards their destination.

Nixie goes under the water and puts her body beneath his, using herself as a sort of board. Gripping the shoulders of his shirt, she kicks behind her and it makes their progress go a little faster.

When she sees the wall in front of her, she moves out from under him and grips Derek's arm tight while resurfacing and reaching for the handle above her. Stiles reaches for the one right next to her, and is actually smiling. It wasn't a great accomplishment or anything, not really. But here they were… two humans, saving the ass of the supposedly mighty alpha. They were soaking wet and still trapped in the water. But they were surviving.

For a brief moment.

Nixie's only warning of any new danger coming was Stiles' smile vanishing and his eyes widening. His mouth had been opening, an obvious shout and warning meant to be given to her. But it was too late. A hand wrapped around the back of her head. No claws penetrated her skin, so she wasn't injected with the toxin.

But that didn't really matter, when the hand of the creature slammed her face down onto the concrete side of the pool… hard. Her head smacked against it with a crack, and her world went blurry for a brief moment before everything was suddenly black.

Stiles watched helplessly as Nixie was at one moment holding up most of Derek's dead weight, and the next she was sinking down into the water herself. "NIXIE!" Derek strains his eyes to see her, but when he can't even so much as see the top of her head in the water, he says, "Get her!" But Stiles just grips Derek tighter and says, "She'll kill me if I drop you." "She'll die and won't be able to kill you if you don't go and get her now!" "Shut up and let me think!" "Stiles!"

That's when a hand grabs Stiles' shoulder and hauls him out of the water. Derek follows shortly after, and Scott shifts into his wolf form and roars at the creature on the other side of the pool.

It quickly leaps across the room to join them on their side, and then wraps a tail around Scott's ankle and throws him into a mirror on one side of the room. Scott snarls again, and the creature approaches him threateningly.

Picking up a piece of the broken mirror around him, Scott prepares to fight him off… when something strange happens. The creature stops. Its gaze goes from murderous to curious as it looks at Scott.

No… not Scott. At the piece of broken mirror in his hand. The creature is looking at itself in wonder, as though it was seeing itself for the first time.

As though before this very moment, it had no earthly idea just what it looked like to other people.

It takes off after that. Literally leaping up a floor in height, and then into the ceiling, and then shattering the glass in the roof as it takes off into the night.

Scott is about to relax and just sit back in relief, when Stiles scrambles up and says, "Scott! Nixie's still in the water!"

Derek's still half paralyzed, so he still can't help as Scott dives down into the water and drags up Nixie's unconscious form. Stiles helps him pull her out of the water, and then hurriedly tilts her head back while Scott scrambles to her side and starts performing the CPR compressions on her chest. Every fifteen or so pumps of her chest, Stiles leans down and breathes for her, bending down to listen afterwards and see if she's breathing on her own again.

Derek tilts his head and focuses his hearing, trying to pick up even the slightest pulse in her system that's not caused by Scott's compressions. But he's still too weak from the toxin, and he's honestly not sure he could tell the difference right now.

For a brief moment, Stiles and Scott both looked at each other, and Derek could see the horror in their eyes. He'd never seen either of them so scared. Not when dealing with Peter. Not when dealing with the hunters. Not for anything else.

But this… losing Nixie… that terrified them to no end. Derek knows that Scott would be just as devastated over Alison dying too, but this was different. Nixie was like their sister. She was the third musketeer in their trio.

There would be no coming back from losing her. She wasn't a person who could ever be replaced.

Derek was about to recommend that one of the call a hospital or something, when Nixie's body finally lurched. Twisting to turn on her side, she coughed and gagged and began spitting up the water she'd managed to inhale. Derek would guess at least a lung-full of water was spit out onto the ground before she finally managed to take her first huge breath of fresh air.

But she was alive and breathing. That's what mattered.

Slumping back down on the ground, Nixie raises a hand to the right side of her head and cringes. "Damn it. That really fucking hurt." Stiles actually laughs. He can't help it. Kissing the top of her head, he says, "Never do that to me again. Ever. You understand." "If I had any say in it, it wouldn't have happened the first time."

Scott sighs in relief, and as Nixie rolls over onto her back again, she keeps taking in gulps of air, not trying to talk anymore for a while.

Then she finally asks, "Stiles? You okay?" "I'm good." "And Derek?" Stiles points to where he's still laying, and Nixie glances in his direction. Closing her eyes in peace, she says, "Good. Someone remind me to kick his ass later." Derek nods that he himself might do it for her, if that's all she wanted right now.

Nixie laughs for a moment, but then stops and asks, "Erica? Someone check on Erica. I shoved her in the locker room over there."

Scott gets up to go and check, and upon finding her still there and safe, he says, "She's good." Nixie sighs again and says, "Awesome. Alright, someone get me up. We need to get out of here before… well, I don't really know what. But if it decides to come back, I'd rather not be here." Stiles nods and says, "Totally agreed. Let's go."

And that's when Scott remembers, "Oh wait! I have to get Gerard's keys. The book is on the keys!"

To which Nixie replies, "How the hell does he have an actual book hanging from his keychain? It'd have to be a massive link to hold that thing on there. I mean… what?!"

Outside at Melissa's car that Scott drove to the school, Nixie looks over Scott's shoulder as he pulls up a copy of the book from the flash drive. And of course, it's in a language that no one else can read. Perfect.

Stiles sighs and asks, "Is that even a language?" Scott sighs and asks, "How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is?" Nixie looks at it again and says, "I'm pretty sure it's a form of latin. But I don't know enough about the language to know which kind or even begin to know how to read it."

"You don't have to." All three turn to Derek when he walks up to them with Erica. Erica, for her part, smiles at Nixie and even raises her hand slightly in a wave. Nixie simply turns to Derek with an extremely unhappy expression.

Knowing she's not in the mood for him to draw anything out right now, he says, "It's called a kanima." Stiles, possibly slightly more pissed than Nixie is at this point, says, "You knew the whole time!" But Derek shakes his head and says, "No. Only when it was confused by its own reflection."

Eyebrows pulling together in confusion now, Nixie asks, "Wait, what? When did that happen?" Scott relays exactly how the fight went down before he pulled her out of the water, and then says, "I just… your head still hurts. I didn't want to…" "Pertinent information gets told in spite of headaches Scott. Make a note of that for the future. Write it down. Always tell me everything."

Scott smiles gently at her, and then they turn back to Derek. Nixie asks, "So why was it confused by it's own reflection? It doesn't know what it is or something?" Derek nods and then adds, "Or who?" "Great. That's just great."

Stiles, still annoyed, asks Derek, "Well what else do you know?" Derek shakes his head though, eyes still on Nixie as he says, "Just stories. Rumors." Scott asks, "But it's like us?" Derek frowns and says, "A shape-shifter, yes. But it's not right. It's like…" Nixie narrows her eyes at him for a moment, and then asks, "An abomination?"

He nods to her, and then after giving her one more glance over, reaches behind Erica's back and pulls out Nixie's jacket and phone. Handing them over, he says, "You left these." She takes them back, but simply tosses them into Scott's car. Leaning against it, she nods to Scott.

Scott nods back, and then to Derek, he says, "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents." Derek glares and says, "You trust them?"

"Nobody trusts anyone." Both turn to look at Nixie, and as she stands up straight again, her eyes piercing into Derek, she says, "And that's the problem. We're here, arguing about who's on what side. And while we're doing that, wasting precious time, there's something scarier, stronger, and faster than any of us out there." Scott nods and says, "And it's killing people! And we still don't even know anything about it!"

Derek glares at him again, and then says, "I know one thing. When I find it… I'm gonna kill it."

Then he looks over at Nixie and says, "And you're wrong. I trust you." But he leans back in surprise when she says with conviction, "No, you don't."

Stepping up to him, eyes still piercing right through him, she says, "I told you everything we knew. I told you everything we had. And still you dragged Stiles into this fucking mess to interrogate him. And you nearly got him, Erica, yourself, and me all killed in the process. So no… you do not trust me. And we all nearly died for it."

Then to Erica, she points a stern finger and says, "That's twice you've played a part in hurting one of my boys. Touch Stiles again, and I don't care that you think you have an invincible and strong new werewolf body. I'll skin every inch of that new and flawless perfect flesh right off your body and toss it in a dumpster somewhere."

Back to her boys, she says, "I need to get my bike, and then I need to be dropped off at Lydia's. Don't argue with me about it. I promised her, and I'm going. End of discussion."

Scott and Stiles just nod after a moment, and then they all climb into the car and head off from the school, leaving that nightmare as far behind them as possible.

Lydia was in her room, tidying up a few things. Now that the broken mirror was gone and her sheets were changed, she felt a whole lot better.

And when her mom announced that Nixie was here, Lydia smiled and threw her door open wide to greet her friend.

Who is sopping wet from head to toe.

Lydia's smile vanishes for a moment, and she asks, "What…" But Nixie holds up a hand and says, "I don't want to talk about it. You have some extra pajamas I can borrow?" "Yeah, of course." "Great. I'm gonna need a shower before you can do anything to my hair. But I'll be quick, I promise." "Okay. Nix, are you sure you're alright?"

Nixie smiles and says, "Yeah, I'm great. This whole…" she gestures up and down her soaking wet self and says, "Yeah, this was just… an unfortunate event that happened after you left the school tonight. But I'm fine. Just a little wet." "A little?" Nixie grins and says, "Yeah. Just a smidge."

Lydia finally laughs, and after handing her a pair of sweatpants and a tank top to change into, Lydia settles back in front of her wardrobe while Nixie moves to take a shower.

While in Lydia's bathroom, Nixie checks on the wound on her stomach. It's all healed now, no longer bleeding after showers and no longer needing bandages anymore. She supposes that's lucky, otherwise some of them might've come off in the pool, and the boys might've found out. On top of everything else, they didn't need to find out about this too. Besides, she was fine now.

When she came back out, Lydia sat her down in front of the tall mirror in her room and then went about drying her hair. Upon brushing some of it on Nixie's right side, Nixie flinched and Lydia paused to ask, "Too hot?"

Nixie sighs and says, "I bumped my head is all. It's a little tender, but I'm fine. Just go ahead. And no, it's not too hot. It feels nice actually."

Lydia continues, a bit gentler than before. And when she actually goes about styling Nixie's hair in a pretty French braid with two bands wrapping around the sides of her head, Lydia can actually feel the bump on the side of Nixie's head. You can't see it, thanks to her hair… but Lydia feels it nonetheless.

When she's done, she gets Nixie some Asprin, and then sits down on the bed and says, "Thanks. I feel better." Nixie grins as she takes the pills and asks, "Because you did my hair? If that's all it takes, I'll make regular appointments." Laughing, Lydia says, "I may take you up on that." "Anytime Lydia. You know that." "Yeah, I do. Are you staying tonight?" "Well, yeah. I'm not about to ride my bike home in this outfit."

They both laugh, and then as they're getting ready for bed, Nixie's phone rings. Seeing Scott's name, Nixie says, "I'm gonna step out for a minute. Be right back." "Sure thing."

Outside of Lydia's room, Nixie answers and asks, "Scott?" "Gerard knows."

Freezing for a second at the panic in Scott's voice, Nixie then says, "Okay, calm down Scott. What does he know?" "He knows I'm a werewolf. He knows that Alison and I aren't actually broken up. He… I think he knows everything." "Me too?" "That I'm not sure about. But probably. He probably figures both you and Stiles are in on everything, seeing how close we all are."

Nixie nods, and then asks, "What else? This wouldn't have you as worried as you are. What else happened?" "He… he threatened my mom."

The pause is so lengthy that Scott, for a moment, wonders if the line went dead. Then Nixie says, "We'll fix this Scott. What did he say?" "He said I'm going to do him a favor in the future. And he said I'd do it, or the knife he stabbed me with would be used to stab mom." "He stabbed you?!"

Nixie grits her teeth, and then says, "I knew I didn't like him."

She thinks on it a moment more, and then says, "Alright. Scott, I need you not to stress about it so much. Okay? I know that's hard… but trust me. Right now, there's nothing we can do about it. Gerard thinks he has you in his pocket now, and you need to play along as though you might be. We can't figure out how to trick him the way he's been tricking us until we know what he wants. Once we figure that out, then we can figure out what to do. Got it?"

Scott takes a moment to go over what Nixie just said, and then sighs and says, "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Nix… thanks. I…" "Hey, that's what I'm here for. Keep me posted. As soon as you figure out what he wants, we'll figure out our next step. I promise, nothing is going to happen to Melissa. Not while I'm here to say anything about it." "Thanks Nixie." "Of course Scott. Now, get some sleep."

When she crawls into bed next to Lydia, she wonders just how she's going to manage beating Gerard though. She knows she told Scott not to worry. She knows that she's right, and that they can't really form a plan on how to beat him until they know what exactly it is that he wants.

That being said… she hated not having a plan on how to beat his ass into the ground already. He'd threatened Melissa. He'd stabbed Scott… in public!

Before she was through with him… Nixie was going to make sure he regretted ever touching one of her boys.

And that's Chapter 4! Chapter 5 will follow shortly. Thanks to all of you who keep on reading my stuff. :)