"Scott!" Stiles screams in panic as the creature sinks its grotesque hand into his best friends' stomach and tosses him like a rag doll.
He can't do anything to stop the thing from going after Scott – at least not without his light – and he can't just sit still. He quickly grabs Allison's gun from where it lies next to her cold body and turns to aim at the thing attacking his friend.
He cries out at the sight that greets him. The creature – the hideous creature – is looking directly at Stiles at he pulls a fistful of Scotts organs out of his body and throws them off to the side. They don't go far as they're still attached to the brunet.
Derek gets up from where he'd been thrown by the disgusting monster, carefully holding his side where the thing had nearly punched through his stomach. Derek's sees are still glowing and he looks like he'd be willing to fight to the death, but Stiles can't take it anymore.
That's when Stiles hears police sirens crying in the distance, growing closer. The thing hears it too, and quickly makes a jump for Stiles. Stiles dives out of the way, but it's unnecessary as Derek tackles him midair.
Stiles doesn't see how, but Derek manages to launch it into the air and away from them as a police cruiser breaks through the line in the trees. It's the Sheriff's car, but it's not his father's anymore. Deputy – Acting Sheriff – Parish quickly goes after the creature as it flees.
Stiles runs over to Scott and powers slides to a stop next to him.
"Scott? Scott, please, talk to me." Stiles goes to perform first aid, but what do you do when your best friends entrails are laying around in a jumbled mess?
"Stiles?" Scott gets out, weakly.
"Scott, buddy, I'm here." Stiles wants to say it'll be okay, but it won't. There's no way he could heal this with both of their efforts combined.
"I'm cold. How cliché is that?" Scott gets out a weak laugh.
He wants to help, but there's nothing he can do. He can't even take away Scott's pain.
He turns and calls for Derek before turning back to his friend that's bleeding on the ground. He's already covered in his other friends so he isn't squeamish anymore when he places his hand on Scott's abdomen. He doesn't know what he's doing, but he's trying everything he can think of when Derek comes back to the small clearing sans Acting Sheriff Parish.
"Stiles, we have to leave. That thing could come back."
"I'm not leaving Scott."
"Stiles' you'll die, we have to go." Derek grabs Stiles' arm, but Stiles yanks his arm away.
"If it comes back, I'll let it kill me."
"No." Scott gets out, sounding like he's in a world of pain.
"Yes, I'm not leaving you, Scott. You're my brother, remember?"
"Stiles, please, it's not smart to stay here." Derek begs him, but he doesn't try to force Stiles to move.
"No. I'm not leaving while Scott's still alive." Stiles gather's Scott into his arms and maneuvers him to where Scott is resting against Stiles' chest. The Fay places his arms around Scott and hugs the Beta, crying into his shoulder.
"You need to go, Stiles." Scott cries with him.
"I'm not leaving you, both of you quit saying that."
"I can't break down and cry if you're here, Stiles." Scott half-jokes and Stiles can't imagine how much pain he's in right now.
Stiles watches as Derek grabs Scotts' hand, gently, with both of his and his veins blacken to indicate that he's taking Scott's pain. Scott tries to pull his hand free, but he can't.
"How long am I gonna bleed out for?" Scott asks Derek.
"I don't know." Derek winces, "A while." Stiles can tell Derek is putting himself in immense pain just to ease Scott's final moments.
"Let go." Scot tries to pull his hand from Derek's grip again, but the Alpha holds tightly.
"Let go, it's not helping enough for you to be in that much pain, Derek." Derek lets go, looking like he's going to throw up.
"I never thought I'd ask for this, but one of you…please, please, kill me. It hurts, so much." Scott sobs and Stiles cries with him.
Stiles knows Derek is barely going to handle Scott's death well, he can't let Derek think he was responsible for Scott's death in any way.
"I don't want to ask, but it hurts so badly. I wish I was human just so I'd have died by now." Scott confesses.
Stiles clenches his eyes shut and nods against Scott's shoulders.
Scott reaches up with an incredibly shaky hand and Stiles grabs it. The golden eyed boy focuses on Scott's heart, which he could probably grab is wanted to at this point, and he slows the beating. Scott tightens his grip as much as he can and Stiles almost thinks he can't do it.
"I love you, man."
"I love you, too." Stiles stops Scott's heart and breaks his neck, hoping that it's instantaneous enough so his friend doesn't hurt.
Stiles jerks upright, screaming Scott's name at the top of his lungs. He's jerking about, limbs flying everywhere, in a panic. Before he knows what's happening, strong arms are wrapping around his shoulders and chest. They pull him back against a solid, broad chest and a calm voice is telling him that everything is alright now.
He screams again, sobs ripping from his lungs and he holds tightly to the arms around him.
"Stiles, calm down, it's alright. You're alright." Like a rush of cold water, his fear and anxiety leaves, almost as if being leeched away from him.
He hears footsteps running into the room, from where Stiles is pretty sure the library is, and he turns to see Talia running into the room.
"What's wrong? Why is he screaming?" Talia asks, kneeling besides Stiles.
"He was having a nightmare. I think it induced a panic attack." Derek tells him mother from right behind him.
Derek, who has his arms securely around Stiles in a hold that shows he's taken classes. Derek, who is currently rocking him back and forth gently and holding him tightly. Derek, who had held him when his previous Panic Attack had struck him.
Stiles remembers what that panic attack was about.
He goes to sit up, but Derek keeps him in place, "Scott! I have to go see Scott."
Talia places her hand on Stiles' arm in a show of comfort, "Your mother took Melissa's car back to the hospital. She's there now, checking on your friend. She wanted to let you get some rest because she knows how much you worry about your friend."
"But -"
"No buts. You're going to stay here until your mother calls or comes back to get you. Do you understand?" She asks him, using a voice that Stiles recognizes as an Alpha command.
"Yes, ma'am." He slumps against Derek, who still has his left arm around him and is rubbing circles on Stiles' right shoulder with his thumb.
"Alright. Well, I'll be in the Library if you need me." Talia stands up and Stiles feels really small next to Derek.
The black haired werewolf is sitting on the right end of the couch with Stiles resting against him. The werewolf is leaning back, reading a book that Stiles' can't see the title of, with his feet propped up against the coffee table. The Fay is lying with his back against Derek side with his own feet resting on the left arm of the couch and his hands still gripping the arm around him.
When he hears the library door click closed, he murmurs to Derek, "I'm sorry for throwing you."
"It's alright." Derek sounds kind, forgiving. Something the Derek that Stiles' knew would never have been. Sourwolf would have looked down on him or at least given him hell about it.
"No, it's not."
"You were worried about your friend. You were probably already having that panic attack." Derek doesn't look up from his book.
"Doesn't excuse me of throwing you across the room." Stiles mutters into Derek's arm.
"I probably should have explained why I needed to know better. My mom had given me specific instruction. Unless it was an emergency, I wasn't to call her for anything. And my mother constitutes emergency as missing a limb or a dead person."
"I see." He did, he really did. Der – er, Sourwolf – had the same policy. If he said only call for an emergency, he meant emergency.
"Your friend will be alright. Maybe the bite took and he'll live as a werewolf."
'That's what I'm afraid of.' Stiles thinks.
Stiles feels a pang of guilt. This will be the second time Scott's been turned because of him.
"Shh, it'll be okay." Derek's other hand leaves the book to start petting his hair and Stiles melts into the touch.
"How are you doing that? I know werewolves can take away physical pain, but I've never hear of them taking away other pain."
"It's harder to do. Laura was actually the first one to figure out how to do it. My mom can't do it. It makes her really mad, but she's proud of Laura anyway."
"How'd Laura figure out how to do it?"
"Back when I was in high school, something bad happened and I blamed myself. I woke up one night and I couldn't breathe and Laura came running in and she spent an hour trying to get close to me. The minute she touched me it was like all my anxiety just vanished."
"Something bad?" Stiles murmurs, turning to look at Derek.
They're shining blue and Derek looks like he might start crying.
"You mean Paige dying."
Derek looks at him startled and confused.
"How – never mind. You seem to know just about everything about this family."
"Not everything."
"Obviously." Derek smirks, going to pull his arms from around Stiles.
Stiles grabs Derek's arm quickly, holding it place around his shoulders. The Fay turns away from Derek's confused look and back to the wall.
"I…I'm gonna go visit Scott soon, no matter what our parents say, but…" He trails off, "Scott's my only friend. He's my brother and I love him. I just…I need -"
"Alright." Derek leans back behind him and goes back to reading his book. Stiles relaxes into the one armed embrace and smiles.
He kind of likes this Derek.
