He decided that letting Allison work with them was something that needed to be discussed with the whole team, so Stiles rallied up the troopers and told them to meet him at Derek's loft, since it was less crowded than his bedroom.

Allison hopped in the passenger's seat next to him and Stiles could feel something twist in his stomach the second she shut the door behind her. It was the first time someone had sat there that wasn't Scott since his funeral. A part of the reason Stiles hated that motorcycle was that the new wheels disturbed the Scott and Stiles tradition of getting around. He had no problem with Scott being more independent, he just liked it better when they were together.

And now they wouldn't be again. Stiles wondered how much pain Peter was in, holding Allison against his will with a hand that was badly injured and slowly healing from wolfsbane. "You sure that you're okay?" He asked, not looking at the filled seat.

"Fine", Allison answered. "Let's go."

"It's not going to be the first time it happens", he tells her. "If you want to help, it's not going to be easy."

"I know."

He stuck the key in the ignition and sent Lydia a text. He still wanted to go to Chinatown when this was over before the store closed for the night to get some magical supplies. He had been keeping a list as he read up on things. He wanted to keep Lydia involved, but it wasn't a good idea for her to be in the loft right now.

She responded almost immediately, agreeing to drop by at his house afterwards. Stiles turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway.

The drive to the loft was silent, and Stiles wished that it was a comfortable silence or something that could easily be filled with his rambling, but he and Allison never really had a relationship separate from Scott. It was only an issue now because Stiles was desperately hoping that she wouldn't bring up his name.

He wished that he hadn't offered to drive, that he didn't insist that she was in shock and shouldn't drive. He was taking her to a pack of werewolves that she once tried to kill. It wasn't going to be pretty.

When they finally made it to the parking lot, Stiles greeted the doorman and they got in the elevator. He typed in the passcode and the doors opened to an empty space.

"Stilinski and guest, master override", he said softly.

There was a whirring noise. "Override request granted."

"And guest?" Allison asked

It wasn't like Allison and Derek were best friends. He forced Stiles to make the security system blare an alarm if any of the Argents were here. Stiles shrugged instead of giving an explanation. "Go with it."

Isaac and Boyd were waiting for them. "Where are Peter and Cora?" Stiles asked, hoping they hadn't left to look for Derek yet.

"Talking upstairs. Cora said that they were already up to speed", Isaac answered.

"What is she doing here?" Boyd demanded, eyes turning gold.

"What's with you guys and the shifting first and asking questions later thing?" Stiles asked. "Cut it out. It's okay."

"It's okay for now", Boyd let out. "Talk to me when there are arrows sticking out of you everywhere you look. She'll find a place to put more."

"Did Peter and Cora tell you I'm calling the shots now?" Stiles asked

"Cora mentioned something about spells and you being the decision maker, yes." Isaac confirmed.

He didn't see anyone saying whether or not it was a good idea, so he figured he'd at least make a joke about it all. "Good. Isaac, drop and give me twenty."

Isaac had only hesitated for a split second before getting on the floor. Stiles froze at the look of terror in his eyes. It was like isaac had never met Stiles before, like he was waiting for some sort of physical blow if he didn't do exactly what Stiles asked. "I was kidding", he said as quickly as possible. "I didn't mean it, Isaac, I'm sorry." Isaac got up like nothing ever happened.

It was scary how quickly Isaac followed orders. It wasn't right.

Stiles cleared his throat a little bit and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Now, we obviously have a bit of a problem with the Alphas still", he started. "And there's something else. The Darach is still out there. Lydia's convinced that the druid's the reason Scott", Stiles stopped for a second, almost choking on the words. "Is gone."

He gave himself a couple of seconds before continuing. "I read about magical wards that can block out supernatural beings to keep places safe, and I'd like to do that with every place that we're in regularly so that we can all at least sleep at night."

"We're supernatural beings", Boyd said slowly, as if Stiles were dense. "If it works, we won't be allowed in either."

"Obviously I've thought of that", Stiles said, putting his hands on his hips defensively and rolling his eyes. "There's a spell that I can use on amulets that will let you guys get in, but the tricky part is that you can't lose it. You need to have it on you all of the time. The second someone loses it and an alpha picks it up, we're all screwed. So if you guys give me something that I can enchant that you carry around that has emotional meaning, I can get the ball rolling."

"What if it doesn't work" Isaac asked

"It won't damage it at all, and it it doesn't work, then we'll all be as safe as we are right this second", Stiles answered with a shrug. "We might as well give it a shot."

He held his hand out, but both of them were silent and not moving at all. A moment passed before Isaac answered. "I don't have anything."

"I don't either", Boyd confessed.

"I do." A voice called out from the top of the stairs. Stiles looked up at Peter, who was leaning against the railing. He grabbed a necklace out from under his shirt and pulled it over his head. He held it over the staircase and dropped it down.

Stiles caught and examined it. The pendant was a pewter eagle with its wings spread apart It was held around a thick, black cord. "Do you want to come down and join the rest of the class?" He asked. "Maybe give a history lesson?"

"My wife gave it to me on our anniversary."

"Someone married you?" Isaac blurted out. Boyd elbowed him in the stomach as Peter turned his back on the staircase, walking away.

"You know what you did", Stiles told Isaac, putting the necklace in his pocket. The second the words left his mouth, he felt his stomach lurch.

You know what that was for.

"I'm sorry, can we go back to why she's here?" Boyd asked, gesturing towards Allison, who had been silent the whole time.

"She wants to help." Stiles explained.

"My father too", she added quickly.

"You didn't say anything about your Dad", Stiles mentioned.

"With this group, I need to work with who's not going to kill me the second my back's turned", Allison answered.

"You're both supposed to be retired", Stiles told her. "If you both come out of retirement, your whole team of hunters will be too. You know", he added. "The ones that were led by Gerard."

"They won't come back unless the code's broken. Which will only happen if a werewolf kills a human."

"Which might happen if the Alphas get their hands on her", Boyd pointed out. "Which is why she shouldn't get involved."

"I want the Darach", Allison said steadily. "Do what you want with the Alphas."

"Does that mean you're just going to stand there if an Alpha decides to kill us" Isaac asked

Allison let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Stiles, hoping he'd pitch in. "Answer the question, Allison", he instructed.

"Of course I'm going to help, she snapped. "I think my Dad and I can figure out some sort of pattern with the sacrifices, see what it's looking for"

Stiles nodded. "Okay, do what you can."

"You can't be serious!" Boyd exclaimed. "Do you realize what she put us through? What she put Erica through?"

"I'm sorry", Allison tried.

"Save it. That's not good enough."

He watched Boyd getting closer to Allison, getting angrier. "Boyd." Stiles' tone was sharp, enough to get Boyd to stay still. Boyd took a breath and stepped in front of Allison. "Now, you two need to learn to take your emotions and grief and shelf it for a little while. I know it's hard and it's a lot to ask for, but this isn't an easy situation for anyone. It's got to be done. We're low in our original numbers and we need as many hands as we can."

"She can't be trusted", Isaac said.

"Scott trusted me", Allison told them.

Stiles winced, turning around so he was standing next to Isaac and Boyd and now facing Allison. "I know. And that's why we're giving you a chance."

Allison smiled. "Thanks, Stiles."

She didn't want to thank him yet. He shook his head. "If anything goes wrong and you betray us at all, I'm not going to hold them back, you understand? I'll let them break the code, and I'll let them break any hunters who come walking through here. Running away to France for the summer won't absolve you of it."

The smile on her face was suddenly replaced by terror. She nodded silently.

"Good", Stiles said cheerfully. "Let's get you home."

She turned away from Isaac and Boyd, trying to give them a small smile and waving a little bit on her way out.

Stiles waited until she closed the door behind her and looked at Isaac and Boyd. "Follow her when she does. Make sure they don't contact any hunters."

"I thought you were giving her a chance to prove herself?" Isaac asked

"I'm not waiting for anyone else to die", Stiles said evenly. "I'm not fucking around anymore."

"I'll do it", Boyd volunteered.

"You have friends here", Stiles told Boyd. "Friends and pack and family. I want you to know that, I want you to believe that. But that doesn't excuse the Alphas for what they did. You help me, and I promise we'll get Kali. I promise you you'll get first crack at her."

Boyd nodded, and Stiles turned to Isaac. "You're safe", he told him. "If the ward doesn't work, I'll find some other way to make sure that you are protected. You're safe."

Isaac didn't reply or move at all. Stiles nodded to himself, satisfied with what he just said, and ran up the stairs. "Cora?" he called out. "Cora, are you here?"

She appeared out of nowhere, unaccompanied. "Yeah?"

"Don't leave until I get the chance to test things out, okay? Give me a day to figure it out, make sure that I can actually keep these guys alive."

"Sure", she agreed, turning to leave.

"Was Peter really married?" he asked

She turned back to face him, and gave him a sad look, nodding her head. "Be careful", he told her. "I want to trust Peter, but I also don't want to find your body cut in half."

"I get it." Cora answered.

"Okay", he called back as he headed down the stairs and out the door.

She was silent on the elevator ride, and silent until she put her seatbelt back on. "I miss him too, you know."

He nodded, turning the car on.

He could find me even if I was buried at the bottom of a sewer covered in fecal matter and urine.

The one person that he counted on to help him through all of this crap wasn't here anymore, and even though everyone's grief was different, Stiles had a feeling that this was something that Allison couldn't understand, and neither could Isaac or Boyd.

He dropped Allison off and texted Lydia to say that he needed to make one more trip before he headed back to his house. He didn't wait for a reply, he just started driving and didn't stop to turn back or reconsider until he was in front of the door and knocking. He didn't think that it was a good idea to use his key.

The door opened and he saw Scott's Mom. "I wondered when you would stop by", she said softly.

"I'm sorry", he said, afraid to look her in the eye. "He's my responsibility when things like this happen and we stay someplace overnight, and I let you down. I took the only family you have left. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Mrs. McCall let out a breath and stepped forward. For a split second, Stiles wondered if she would slap him across the face, but she held him in his arms instead. "Oh, sweetheart. It's not your fault."

He was starting to feel ridiculous, bursting into tears every time something happened that reminded him of Scott. The second he felt Mrs. McCall wrap her arms around him, Stiles felt the tears rolling down. It was selfish- she was the one who should be crying, she's the one who lost a son. She's the one who was all alone now. But he couldn't stop himself from sobbing. "I miss him so much."

She was the only one who understood what he was feeling. His father did the same thing he did when his mother died- work a lot, drink at the end of the night to drown the pain, and refuse to mention it, as if Scott had never existed. When Mom died, Stiles spent time with Scott, talking about comic books and eating Mrs. McCall's brownies. He could smell the chocolate through the door.

"It's real, isn't it?" She asked him. "He's not just stuck at school, you're not just playing a prank on me."

He was familiar with the feeling.

"It's not April", he told her, remembering the time he and Scott put her stethoscope in the freezer while she was sleeping. She looked for it for an hour before she found it, shaking her head and putting parts of the stethoscope on their skin, shocking them with the cold and tickling them on the couch.

It was a good memory, but Stiles was starting to remember how good memories turn sour when they involve someone who isn't there anymore.

She let out a tearful laugh, holding him tighter. "No, it's not April."

"Please don't blame Scott for what happened", Stiles begged. "It wasn't his fault."

She pulled back and sniffled, wiping away a tear. "The report said it was a suicide."

"Something made him do it", he informed her, hands on both of her shoulders. "I'm not sure how or why, but we're going to get it. I promise you we will. Whatever it takes. I'm going to figure this out."

His phone beeped with an incoming text, and Stiles let her go to pull the phone out of his pocket. Lydia was asking where he was.

"I should get going, he said. "But I'll come by again, I promise."

"I have some brownies cooling inside. You want some for the road?"

"Sure."

They stepped into the house and Stiles remembered that Isaac lived here too, was probably heading back here at some point. Or maybe he wasn't now that both Scott and Derek were dead and Cora was leaving with Peter.

"Does Isaac still stay here?" He asked

Mrs. McCall pulled out a small empty container. "Yeah, he keeps me company."

"You don't mind, do you?" Stiles asked, thinking of the way Isaac just dropped down, like he had no control over his body. "I just...don't want either of you to be alone right now, but if Isaac brings up bad memories, I understand. I can ask my Dad if he can stay with us if it'll make it easier."

"I don't mind", Mrs. McCall answered as she put some brownies in the container.. "I like having him here. He's a good kid."

"Yeah, he is", Stiles agreed. It was the truth- Isaac was a good person, who deserved a hell more than what he got. Nobody told him why he suddenly moved out of Derek's loft and in here. Stiles wished he had the good sense to ask.

If he managed to set up a magical ward of protection, this would be the second place he did it on. He wanted to make sure that both his father and Scott's mom were protected. He was tired of the wrong people dying around here.

Mrs. Mccall closed the lid and handed Stiles the container. "Don't be a stranger, Stiles."

"I won't", he promised, taking it. "Thanks, Mrs. McCall", he said, giving her a one-armed hug before leaving.

***

"Geez, Stiles, you think we've got enough mountain ash?" Lydia asked, glancing at the huge sack in the shopping cart.

"It's like a baker buying flour", he explained. "It's in pretty much everything we need, like it's the key to it all."

"Everything here's powdered", she remarked. "You're a speeding ticket and a suspicious look away from having your car inspected for cocaine."

"This face?" He asked, taking his hands and lifting his chin with them. "This face could do no wrong."

"The cart explains more than the face", she said. "And the cart's saying that you're ready for a supernatural bomb."

"This is just the basics", he said, taking a can of red paint from the shelf.

"What do you need from paint?" She asked "And why does this place only stock red? What's wrong with green, or something a little less like a crime scene?"

"You saw that book on runes", he reminded her. "This is how I'm going to tap into them, if everything goes well and Peter's not wrong about me."

"You shouldn't listen to a word he tells you", she said, taking another can of paint and dropping it into the cart with a loud bang. "It's not going to end well for you."

"Funny, that's what he said about Allison", he commented.

"Well, obviously I'm right and he's not."

"Have you been feeling anything recently?" Stiles asked. "Not knowing where you end up?"

"No, why?"

He was silent for a moment, taking a breath. "I need to ask you a favor."

"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with pickled sea slugs", she said, grabbing the bag, inspecting it, and tossing it back on the shelf.

"If Scott tries to contact you somehow, to get back. I know it traumatized the crap out of you and scared you, but I don't think Scott would do that to you. Could you just...do what he needs?"

She nodded. "I think I can do that. But Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

"It's illogical to hope that it would happen."

Stiles sighed, tightening his grip on the shopping cart handle. "I know. But on the other hand, it's illogical for me to be the leader of a pack of werewolves, right?"

She scoffed, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Trust me, the rest of them are incredibly dense sometimes."

He smiled. "Want a brownie?"