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 maker her do or say."

Chapter 9: Episode 6x19

Nixie awoke with a slight jerk. It was the middle of the night… or early morning. She wasn't sure. She just knows it's entirely too early… or late… to be waking up right now.

But the danger, which had already been potent around them, was about to reach its peak. And with that, came an even more heightened sense of Nixie's abilities. A certain sense of when her friends were in danger was always something she had nowadays. But now…

Well, now she's back to feeling like she did when she'd become an emotional tether for three people who sacrificed themselves to a stump in the ground. Not so much the ache and pain part of it. She did feel a tug on her heart, but it was more like a gentle nudge, guiding her in the direction she needed to go, rather than a firm yank like it had been before.

In any case, she snuggles further into Jordan's arms for a moment, sighing contentedly as his body heats up in response to her movement. And his arms that were wrapped around her tightened their grip as well. He wasn't even awake yet, but he even in his subconscious, he could apparently feel that she was about to get up and leave him for a while.

They really need to find this damn Anuk-Ite and kill it. Because things were getting ridiculous. Nixie constantly felt fear welling up in her friends' hearts and minds. She didn't quite understand it, because while she sometimes felt that overwhelming sensation start to take over, she could also push past it and think around it. Meanwhile, not even Scott seemed fully capable of shoving that fear to the side. He was a true alpha, and he could push on in spite of it for the most part. But it was often clear in the shaking of his hand, that something in the air was still terrifying him.

And though Nixie was handling it better than most of the others… she still wasn't sleeping the way she used to in Jordan's arms. She felt safe, that was for sure. But in the past, all she'd needed was to be beside him. That was enough. And now…

Now her arms are wrapped around his waist when they go to sleep, her hands sometimes running up his back and gripping at the backs of his shoulders. Likewise, Jordan's arms were around her, locked in a firm grip that assured him she wasn't going anywhere without his knowledge.

Nixie knows that her gripping him isn't so much out of fear for herself. It's more out of the worry that he might disappear on her in the morning if she weren't holding onto him. Blakely, whose first name Nixie finally figured out was Heather, had warned them both that the entire station had every intention of trying to get them all out of the way. Jordan included. And though they weren't stupid enough to kill him, thanks to his belonging to Nixie… well, they were still stupid enough to want to hurt him.

Nixie feels him sigh against the top of her head before he asks, "And where are you going at four in the morning?" She groans at being alerted to the time of day. Then she sighs, "Lydia's having a nightmare. Or… well, a banshee-mare, I guess I should say. I think she's having some sort of premonition in her sleep."

Jordan pauses, and then asks, "Did she call you?" "No, babe. I just feel it. Which means shit is hitting the fan, probably as we speak." Letting out a long breath against her, Jordan then asks, "And you need to go?" "Yeah." "You hungry?" "Always."

He chuckles at that, and then kisses the top of her head before finally loosening his grip. Leaning back a little, he asks, "Bacon?" "Now you're just teasing me. The answer to bacon is always yes." "I know."

He kisses the end of her nose, and then grins when she moves in to press her lips to his. Slanting her mouth against his, she tries to dive in for more. Jordan rolls so he's over top of her though, and pulls back to remind her, "Lydia." Nixie sighs, "Damn pregnancy hormones." Grinning, Jordan says, "And if you don't want me to take advantage of them, you better hurry up and hop in the shower."

But as he lifts himself out of bed and heads towards the kitchen, he can't help laughing when Nixie asks from the bathroom doorway, "How exactly does that help? Especially when I don't know where you think you're going. Get your ass in here. We're conserving water this morning." "Nixie, we never end up conserving water when we share the shower." "Well, see?! Then we should practice, don't you think."

As he raises an eyebrow, Nixie pouts. Finally, Jordan just moves in past her and cuts on the water in the shower, helps her out of her shirt, and then mutters against her lips, "Lydia needs you." "It should be considered sad that you're the one remembering that more than me at this point. Shouldn't this overly lustful feeling be dying off for me eventually?" Jordan shrugs, but then backs her under the stream of hot water while saying, "I hope not." "Jordan!"

As Derek prepares to leave, trying to take off after Kate, he pauses when Chris says, "Derek, they're gonna need help. A lot of it."

Turning back to his former enemy turned friend, Derek says, "I know. And while I've been trying to figure out who framed me, I've been working on that too." Chris tilts his head, "How? From what I've managed to gather, Nixie doesn't even know where you are right now." "She doesn't. Something I'm sure she'll berate me for. I'll buy another cell phone and never get rid of it again, when I get back to the states."

Then he shrugs, "I've been making some calls." "To whom?" "Everyone."

When Chris still looks confused, Derek explains, "Ethan and Jackson have been in London for about two years now. They're on their way to Beacon Hills as we speak. Isaac has been in Paris, living with the pack you introduced him to there. He's trying to see if he can round up a few recruits to bring with him before he heads back. And Kira…"

Derek sighs at that one, "Harder to reach, but done nonetheless. The skinwalkers usually don't leave their desert homes for much of anything. But for a blue dragon, they're coming, and they're bringing the desert with them."

Chris stares at him with wide eyes for a moment. Then he can't help saying, "So, when you said everyone?" Derek nods, "I meant everyone." "And they're all coming?"

And then Chris can't help laughing when Derek grins and says, "It's amazing how quickly people are willing to move and help, when you mention the name Nixie Parrish."

On their way to Scott's, Nixie just has to clarify again, "Okay… so I just need to ask one more time. 'Where is Jackson?' Jackson? As in, your old boyfriend who was most definitely an asshole, and is now living in London? That Jackson?" Lydia nods, and before Nixie can ask, she says, "And no, Nixie, I don't know how I'm so positive I'm talking about him. Well… other than the fact that I don't know any other Jacksons. And it felt like a name I knew when I said it in my sleep. I felt… worried."

Nixie nods, "Noted. The banshee is worried. Which means we should all, obviously, be worried. So yeah."

At Scott's house, Nixie frowns as Lydia moves around the house looking for him. She, herself, obviously already knew Scott wasn't in the house. His scent was all around, but it wasn't strong enough to mean that he was actually here. He had been, a while ago. But he wasn't anymore.

Someone else was though.

Lydia gasps as Nixie spins around, a dagger already finding its way into her hand, and then being held against Peter's throat. If Lydia had been on her own, the man might've been able to appear out of nowhere. But not while Nixie was around.

Tilting his head, he says, "I'm flattered that you recognize my scent so easily." "You shouldn't be. It's only burned into my senses the way it is so I can kill you if you do something stupid while in my vicinity." Peter looks back at her evenly for a moment. Then, to her and Lydia's surprise, he nods and says honestly, "Fair enough."

Raising an eyebrow, Lydia then asks, "What are you even doing here?" "Well, I'm looking for Malia? You?" Tilting her head at the man, Lydia answers, "Looking for Scott. Obviously. Why would Malia…"

But Nixie turns her head and stops Lydia by saying, "Actually… it's not that far of a stretch." Lydia's eyes widen, "Really?" Nixie shrugs, but then turns back to Peter when he asks, "But why are you two searching for Scott?" Nixie raises an eyebrow and says, "We're the good guys here. We'll be asking the questions." Lydia nods, "So why are you looking for Malia?"

Peter might've stepped forward a little, but as the blade at his neck pressed in harder, he winced before offering up, "Parental concern." Nixie scoffs a laugh, and Lydia narrows her eyes at him. The man's redeemable quality was Malia, but neither of them were really buying that right now.

Sighing, Peter asks, "Why didn't you just call Scott?" Lydia shrugs, "Why didn't you call Malia?" Peter huffs, "I… we're not… this is…" Wincing as Nixie presses her blade harder again, he gives her a look and says, "We're obviously not getting very far with this conversation. And would you please put that down?"

Nixie narrows her eyes, but then frowns deeper when Lydia finally concedes, "I can't reach him." And Lydia sighs when Nixie snaps her head around and asks, "What?!" "I… already tried to call him. He didn't pick up. But that doesn't mean…" Nixie rolls her eyes, "If you didn't think it meant he was in some sort of trouble of some kind, you would've already told me to call him, fully expecting him to answer me, even if he didn't answer you."

Peter lifts a finger gently into the air and says, "At the very least, I'm doing better in that department. The other reason I'm here, is because I'm looking for Nixie." When both girls look at him like he's lost his mind, he shrugs, "She calls, and everyone always answers, unless they are completely unable. So… I went looking for her. But you weren't home, so I figured my next stop should be here. I would've gone to Lydia's next, if this turned out to be unfruitful."

Nixie tilts her head at him, so Peter ends with, "I… can't reach Malia, either. Or anyone, for that matter. And there are reports that several cell phone towers in the area are down." Nodding, Nixie then blinks, "Then why did you think I'd be able to call them?" "I honestly don't know. But I figured you might have some high-powered way of making it happen."

Lydia sighs, "Alright. That's definitely cause for concern." Peter turns to her, "It's more than that." Nixie and Lydia share a glance, and then Lydia asks, "Monroe and Gerard?" Peter nods, "They're cutting us off from the outside." Nixie sighs, "And each other." "Which likely means that they've already started amassing troops on their side."

Finally, Nixie lowers her blade from his neck. Slipping it back into its place at her belt, she then turns to look at her best friend. The banshee takes in a deep breath, and then just cocks her head to the side and says, "Alright. Then we better find ours."

And then she grins when Nixie says, "That's the spirit. I'm gonna go grab a pair of Scott's pants or a shirt or something." Glancing at Peter, she adds, "Something of Malia's too. Let's see if we can get this done before the world decides to go to hell in a hand basket, shall we!"

As Jordan hurriedly opens and then re-bolts the door into Chris Argent's bunker, he jumps in surprise when he sees Noah's gun pointed at him from the other side of the room.

The sheriff quickly lowers it though upon seeing who it is. Sighing, he asks, "What do you got?" Opening the backpack he managed to bring with him, Jordan says, "Monroe has the entire station pulling accident reports. Blakely says they're going back at least a decade. This is what she managed to grab for me. But its things like totaled cars, industrial accidents, fires."

Nodding, Noah sighs, "Melissa told me she saw the same thing happening at the hospital. She saw a nurse collecting charts, pulling all the same kind of stuff. Strange reports, incidents where patients came in covered in blood, and then somehow ended up miraculously healed and discharged on the same day. And that's not the only thing. McCall, Scott's dad, told me about something he saw at the high school."

Jordan nods, "Kids walking around with bandages. Nixie told me after Liam showed it to her. A test to see how fast they heal." Noah sighs, "They're making lists." "And this is everyone around us. Neighbors, friends." "They planned this out. It's not just random opportunities…"

Noah looks up from the case in his hands, and says worriedly, "It's an operation." Running a hand over his face, Jordan says, "This is really happening. I mean, Nixie said this morning before she left that it was definitely worse now than it had been yet. But… God. This is really happening." Noah nods, and then puts a hand on Jordan's shoulder. "And we need to find out when, if we're going to help her. Exactly when."

Jordan nods, and then glances down as the radio on his shirt goes off. "All units, please respond, we have a ten-one-seven at Eichen House. Somehow concerning a person named Bennett."

Noah and Jordan snap their eyes to look at each other, and then Jordan says, "I'll check it out. They technically haven't kicked me off the force yet. I'll figure out what's going on." As he turns to leave though, Noah asks, "How's the baby?"

Turning back to Noah, Jordan says, "Beautiful as ever. Everything's still moving at twice the speed, so Nixie looks like she's sixteen weeks rather than just eight. But aside from that, everything seems to be perfectly fine." Noah nods, and then adds, "Jordan… I know I don't need to tell you to proceed with caution. But you're Nixie's husband, and she's my daughter. Which makes you like another son to me."

Jordan nods in understanding, "And I'm grateful for that." Noah nods back, and then says, "Just… don't forget. They know what you are. And whether your Nixie's or not… her eyes only hold so much influence. Especially where Monroe is concerned. Be careful."

Taking a deep breath, Jordan turns for the door to leave. He pauses at it though, and then turns back to Noah. "Sheriff… if you don't hear from me within the next two hours… tell Nixie what happened." Noah nods, "And then what?"

Jordan lets out a long breath. "Then get out of her way. And pray no one else is stupid enough to get in it."

Peter sighs, "They haven't been here." Lydia tosses up her hands where she stands on the other side of the table in the back room of the clinic. "Then maybe we should go to the school."

This was usually the part where Peter would say something sociopathic or insultingly sarcastic, and Nixie had her eyes ready to glow, depending on exactly what it was. But instead, Peter turns the conversation back around to a point he was trying to figure out. "Lydia, you never said why you were waiting for Scott."

Lydia glances over at Nixie, who narrows her eyes at Peter for a moment. But then she looks to Lydia and says, "You're the banshee. It's up to you." Moving to stand across the table from Peter, Lydia asks, "Are you sure you wanna know?" Peter shrugs, "Do I need to know?"

Pressing her lips into a firm line for a moment, Lydia then says, "Last night, I woke up to Nixie shaking me. I was a shivering, sweating, worried mess. And as she'd been trying to wake me up, and even after I finally opened my eyes, I woke up saying two words. Granted, they might just be from a dream…"

But they both look to Nixie when she crosses her arms and says, "Banshees don't dream. They predict. Sometimes in their sleep… but they don't dream." Lydia nods to her in understanding, and then says to Peter, "Which leads us to believe that it's something else."

Peter glances between them, and then asks, "Well… what were the two words?" Lydia sighs, "Where's Jackson?" Leaning back and running his hands through his hair, Peter comments, "That is disturbing on multiple levels. But… what else?"

Lydia looks to Nixie again, even while Peter says, "Guys, come on. Don't hold back on me. I never held back on you." Snapping her silver eyes up to look at him, Nixie says in a low growl, "Yeah, that's kind of the problem. Jackass." But, turning back to Lydia, Nixie says, "It's up to you, Lyd."

Sighing, she looks to Peter again, and then says, "I saw you… turned to stone."

Shaking her head, trying not to remember it while also having to get out the words, she continues, "I was in a storage container. It was steel. There was a blue wall." As a tear begins to leak from her eyes, she shakes her head sharply and turns to head for Nixie… only to find her friend already at her side.

Wrapping Lydia in her arms, willing every ounce of comfort she can into that touch, Nixie looks over her shoulder at Peter. Shaking her head, she says, "Lydia saw everyone, even Derek and Ethan… turned to stone. All of us."

Peter grits his teeth and finally can't help himself as he says, "Does she ever see anything even remotely optimistic?!" Nixie snarls at him, and then says, "All of her predictions are optimistic, because they are what give us the opportunity to prevent these terrible things from happening. Which is what we're going to do?"

But Nixie frowns when Lydia shakes her head and says, "Actually… I… not all of us. I didn't see everyone. I saw almost everyone. I even saw me. But…" Tilting her head at Nixie, sadly… but also in wonder, she adds, "But I didn't see you. I… I saw rain. I saw the blackest rainclouds I've ever seen. Lightning and thunder crashing, wind tearing at the world, and rain so cold it practically froze before it even hit the ground. But… you weren't turned to stone."

As they both stare at each other, trying to figure out what that means, Peter suddenly asks, "Storage… do you mean shipping container?" Both turning to look at him for a moment, Nixie then nudges Lydia and asks, "Lyd?" She thinks on it for a moment, and then nods excitedly, "Yeah. Yeah, I was surrounded by them!"

A small glimmer of hope emerges onto Peter's face, and he says, "I think I know where that is." Lydia smiles, "Then you know how to find Scott!"

And then they both look towards the door, where Nixie is now standing, as she says, "Great. So let's hop in the car and get a move on already. I'm driving." As they head out, Peter asks, "Why is she driving your car, Lydia?"

But as they slide in, Lydia simply buckles in immediately, and then does a little cross in front of her. Nixie raises an eyebrow, "I didn't know you were Catholic." "I'm not. Just shut up and drive." Nixie grins when Lydia even goes as far as to already grab the armrests for support. Then she glances back at Peter.

"For the record, you definitely want to buckle up. Because the reason I'm driving, is because neither of you know how to drive like our lives depend on it, worth a damn. Just keep your eyes open, tell me when to turn, and if you value your life, do not be that person that becomes a backseat driver. You won't have to worry about turning to stone if I end up turning you into an ice sculpture first."

As Noah steps inside his house, carefully glancing around to make sure no one else is here that he doesn't know, he then calls out, "Naomi! You here?"

He sighs in relief when hears a gun barrel's slide get knocked back into its proper place. He'd briefly worried that the situation at Eichen, when they'd mentioned a Bennett, meant that someone had actually managed to take Naomi back to that horrible place. But as he steps into the dining room, he finds Nixie's mom sitting at the table. A pistol, a rifle, a semi-automatic, and also a crossbow in front of her.

When Naomi had asked him to learn how to shoot, he'd been more than willing to teach her. In the world they were a part of, it was essential that every one of them have a way to protect themselves. Whether it be an electric baton, special herbs and mixtures, or… guns.

Honestly though, the process of teaching her got him to wondering about what character traits Nixie actually had managed to inherit from her birth father. He'd always assumed some part of Nixie's desire to always be prepared to fight had come from the man he knew had been a marine before he died. But…

Well, Naomi learned the pistol. Then she learned the rifle. And after she mastered both of those, she asked to learn more. She wanted to know all she could about how to protect herself, and the people around her. She wanted to be able to protect her daughter, if the occasion to do so ever arose. And that sort of determination, the kind that allowed Naomi to learn all of this as quickly as she was… that was the same determination that he'd always seen in Nixie.

Coming up behind her, squeezing her shoulders gently, he asks, "How long have you been at this?" "About an hour." Turning in her chair, she asks, "Have you talked to Nixie?" "Not today. I saw Jordan though. He said the baby was fine, and so was Nixie."

Naomi sighs in relief, and as her hands shake a little, Noah takes hold of them in his hands. Sitting in the chair next to her, he asks, "What's wrong?" She just shakes her head, "I… I'm not built for this. I mean, I want to protect her. I want to help all that I can, I do. But…"

Gesturing towards the guns, she says, "Every time I get ready to touch one of these, my hands start shaking." Noah nods, "But you steady them." "Yeah, but…" "Naomi…"

His thumb gently brushes against her knuckles, and as she calms down, he smiles. "You're not fearless." She scoffs, "Believe me, I know. Oh, if Nixie could only see me like this. She'd…" "She'd be so proud of you. And, she'd also probably smack you in the back of the head."

When Naomi blinks at him in surprise, Noah chuckles. "Not being fearless is something to be proud of, Naomi. At least, it is in Nixie's eyes. Being fearless, in her opinion, means you have given up caring about anything and everything. You don't have anything to fight for. You're just done. So… when I say you're not fearless? Naomi, I say that as one of the highest compliments I can give. Because you're not fearless, and yet you are still trying to do all of this. And that makes you courageous."

Drawing her hands up to his lips, he kisses her knuckles before saying, "And in Nixie's eyes, that is one of the greatest things a person ever can be."

Naomi nods after a moment, and then blushes while asking, "Is that the highest compliment you have to give? Because… I've heard quite a lot from you these past couple of months. And I've enjoyed them quite a bit." Raising an eyebrow, Noah smirks, "Ms. Bennett… are you fishing for something?"

Her blush deepens, but as she watches Noah smirk, she pulls one of her hands free and swats at his arm. She then moves to stand up, but Noah rises with her, bringing them toe to toe with each other.

Naomi sucks in a nervous breath as her hands rise up on instinct, landing on his chest. Though whether she's trying to keep a little space between them, or simply let her hands rest on his firm and warm body… she's not sure. Noah, for his part, lifts his hands to gently hold her at the elbows, keeping her where she is, and simply waiting.

They'd been dancing around this ever since he moved her into his house. The first day had been the only truly awkward day between them. Naomi had been well-informed, by Nixie herself, that Noah was practically her adoptive father. He was the man who had helped raise her; though he may not have realized how much at the time, since he hadn't known how very alone she'd been. And likewise in Noah's case, he knew that even while Naomi had been insane, Nixie still considered her mother to be one of the single greatest human beings to ever walk the face of the earth. If anyone were to ever have a higher place in Nixie's heart than her boys… maybe even higher than Jordan… it would be Naomi.

They both knew how highly Nixie thought of the other. In that sense, they saw each other as a person who was sat upon a pedestal almost, and they hadn't been sure of how to approach each other.

Ironically enough though, Nixie ended up also being the thing that broke the ice between them. Noah wanted to know more about the child that Nixie had been, before Naomi had been taken away from her. And Naomi wanted to know more about the young woman that Nixie had become, in spite of the hand she'd been dealt.

One particular thing Naomi thought was adorable, was how Nixie had come to love western movies. Turns out, her love of Clint Eastwood was partially Noah's doing. On one of the first night's she'd spent in their house, there had been a marathon on, and Noah had been watching it. Nixie had woken up later, when he'd still been awake himself, and come down for a glass of water. She'd apparently had a nightmare, though she refused to talk about what it was.

Noah had later learned that she'd dreamt of the day her mother first snapped. But at the time, he hadn't needed to know. He'd simply opened up an arm to her, and she settled onto the couch at his side.

Nixie hadn't even really been paying attention to the movies that night. She was focused on the comfort that Noah had provided. Comfort she usually wanted to give to everyone else, but had accepted from him that night.

Clint Eastwood was forever her favorite actor after that.

Then came other conversations. Nothing serious… but normal, common conversations. The ones that families had on an everyday basis. Like what they wanted for dinner, or what their plans were for the evening. Conversations that neither of them had really been able to have with another person in the same house, for quite some time.

Then came the flirting. Naomi might deny it, but Noah knew that's what it was. And yes, he knew part of that resistance was because Naomi had been apart from society for so long. But whenever she would touch him, she'd let her fingers linger longer than necessary. And at first, he'd chalked that up to her past loneliness. But then it started happening every day, and he would catch her glancing back at him to see his reaction.

And when he started teasing her back… well, Noah doesn't think he's seen anyone blush so beautifully. She was often the one who cooked dinner and breakfast now. And whenever she was at the stove, he'd take a minute to box her in there. He'd either reach directly past her to grab something from a cabinet, or he'd place his hands on either side of her against the counter, trapping her there. And he'd ask her normal, typical questions… but he'd be right next to her ear when he asked.

Then came the compliments that Naomi was referring to. They were small… but they still meant the world. He'd just tell her that he liked her hair pulled back in a bun from her face. Or he liked the purple shirt she was wearing that day. If she went to the trouble of fixing herself up a little bit, putting on a touch of makeup here and there, he'd notice and compliment her on it.

He also made a note of telling her that she looked beautiful without any makeup on. Garnering a blush from her that he teased was beautiful as well. And after that, teaching her how to shoot had proved to be an interesting affair too. Half the time that Naomi would miss, she would narrow her eyes at Noah, because it was clearly his fault. He was standing too close.

And now, here they were. Noah can feel that it's all come to a head. And if Naomi backed away now, he wasn't going to lie. He'd be a bit disappointed. But he wouldn't push her. She'd been through a lot. Her mind had been broken, and then slowly sewn back together after Nixie turned eighteen. The woman had lost over ten years of her life to the test that had been Nixie's trial for becoming a dragon. As far as he was concerned, she could have as much time as she needed to try and figure out what she wanted out of this life now.

She trembles a bit, another blush creeping into her cheeks. But finally, she licks her lips and says, "I… have not done this… in years. Joshua… my husband… he was the only…" Noah nods in understanding, and then admits, "It was the same with my wife."

Naomi looks up at him, her blue eyes darting between both of his for a moment. Then she shocks him by leaning up quickly and pressing a swift kiss to his lips.

Her face turns completely red after the fact, and she ducks her head down to face the floor. Shaking her head, she says, "I… sorry. I'm… rusty? No, I… I just…"

Noah's hands cup her cheeks gently, tilting her head back so she would be looking at him again. Thumbs brushing at her cheeks, he smiles gently and says, "I think you're better than you think you are at this. But, if I may…"

He draws her in slowly, pausing for a second right in front of her lips, giving her a chance to pull away, if that's what she wanted. But all she does is close her eyes, her breath catching in her throat as her anticipation builds.

The lips that land against hers are slow, gentle, and guiding. His hands move to gently cup her neck and the back of her head, holding her steady as he took his time to show her a better way.

And if he's reading it right, her hands tightening in their grip on his shirt means she definitely liked this kiss better than her own. Those hands then slide up his chest and over his shoulders. And as her fingers move to slide through his hair, her other hand clinging to his back, Noah's hands drift down to her back, pulling her more firmly against him.

When they finally break apart, Naomi gasps in for breath for a few seconds. Then she opens her eyes to look at him again. And for a moment, neither of them speak.

Then Noah can't help grinning when Naomi says, "I think… I'm still going to need more practice." Chuckling, he says, "I'll be more than happy to help with that." "Good."

She blushes again, and asks, "But… what is Nixie going to think of this?" Noah ponders that a moment, and then smiles gently before saying, "I don't think you need to worry about that. Nixie's number one concern in the world, is making sure her people are happy and taken care of. Now, I'm already taking care of you. Do I make you happy?"

Naomi blushes brighter, but smiles and answers, "Yes." "Then don't worry. Nixie will be thrilled. In fact, I think you may be surprised at just how thrilled she is."

Nodding, Naomi then glances down at the table and says, "Um… we should probably focus on the current crisis we're in though. You think?" "Yeah, probably."

But neither of them is really surprised when, after taking another moment to think about it, the guns and arrows on the table are forgotten as they make their way towards the couch in the living room.

In Lydia's car, they're about halfway to the place Peter's leading them to, when Nixie's phone goes off. As she takes one hand off the wheel to reach for it though, Lydia screams, "Don't take your hands off the wheel! I'll get it!"

Nixie rolls her eyes, "You'd think I'd never answered the phone while driving before." Peter's eyes widen as he asks, "While driving like this?" As he nearly slams into the side of the car as she makes a sharp turn, Nixie then says, "I don't see what you guys are so worried about. I haven't even gotten around to breaking one-hundred yet. Granted, that's because we've hit a lot of turns, more than I was expecting. But still…"

As Peter just stares at her like she's an alien, Lydia finally gets the phone from Nixie's pocket. Glancing at the caller ID, she then swipes across to answer and puts it on speaker phone. "Mason?" "Lydia? Where's Nixie?"

Cringing as they go around another sharp turn, Lydia lets out a shaky breath and says, "She's driving… if you can call it that." Nixie gives Lydia a look, and then can't help laughing when Lydia exclaims, "Eyes on the road!"

Doing as she's told, Nixie asks, "What's up Mase?"

He briefly explains that Nolan… yes, Nolan… had lead Liam into the hospital to show him something. The first thing being that there were two nurses on the staff at the front desk that were definitely a part of Gerard and Monroe's army. Nurses!

Nixie grits her teeth and says, "I guess I'm just going to have to start vetting the entire God-forsaken town to figure out which ones can stay and which ones can leave. It only took me four years to convince Noah that he shouldn't hire anyone I didn't like. I'm sure I can convince David and Melissa in… one? Maybe two years, I don't want to seem too cocky."

Mason and Corey grin at each other, and then Mason says, "Well, the second thing Nolan wanted to show him was… there's three supernatural creatures in the hospital that were brought in last night. And they're hooked up to IVs that… well, they're filled with wolfsbane. They appear to be constantly pumping it into their system or something."

Frowning further, Nixie asks, "So what are you guys doing?" "Corey and I are going to meet Liam. We'll help him unhook the IVs, and we'll hopefully get them out before any permanent damage is done."

Nixie shakes her head, and then adds, "Worth noting, I don't like the sound of this. By the way, how am I able to receive your call, but we can't reach Scott." "He must be in the range of a different cell tower. One that's no longer functioning. Corey and I are probably about to drive out of range too, so be braced for that."

And they can't help grinning again when Nixie says, "I am literally never able to be braced when you people run into dangerous situations without me. But, that shouldn't come as a surprise to you at this point. Now, someone please explain to me why we're suddenly trusting Nolan?"

Mason sighs, "We're not entirely sure ourselves. But, Liam said it looked like he was becoming more frightened of Monroe and Gerard than he ever had been of us. So… maybe his ideas about what he truly finds terrifying have changed." Nixie nods, "Hopefully that's true, because that would be a good thing. He didn't look like a bad kid. He just looked terrified."

For a moment, all is silent. Then Nixie says, "Alright. You two be safe and as careful as possible. Call me the minute you think something is going wrong. And if either of you get hurt before I'm able to come and help you, I may even come close to giving you a concussion, Mason. I'll fix you right after of course, but I will be smacking you in the back of the head."

Corey laughs while Mason says, "Copy that. If for some reason we can't call, I'll try to find another way to message you." "That's my boy. Keep me posted." "On it."

Lydia hangs up, and then asks, "What do you think?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, you said you didn't like it. Why?" "Because there are two hunters working in the hospital now. And there are three supernatural creatures in that same hospital, hooked up to wolfsbane. If that's not something that smells fishy, then I don't know what is."

Sighing, she then adds, "And… I have this terrible sense of foreboding." Lydia glances over at her, and then says, "Yeah. Me too."

And then Lydia can't help but grin when Nixie says, "The banshee and the dragon both have a sense that the world is about to end as we know it. It's official. The rest of this night is about to get very interesting." "Sarcasm? Really?" "First of all, yes. Always. Why do you people keep asking that? And second of all, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm quite serious."

When they arrive at the shipyard, Lydia sighs in relief before saying, "I'm driving home." "Fine. But I may opt for flying, depending on what we learn while we're here." "Noted."

Running across the yard and moving past the blue containers, Nixie shouts when she spots them, "I see them!" Lydia joins her, and then shouts, "Scott! Scott!"

But as they get to Scott, Nixie blinks when Lydia immediately says, "None of us are gonna survive this." Eyes widening, he asks, "What? Why? What are you guys doing here?" Nixie points to him, "Excellent question, and I was about to ask you the same thing. Why am I not also being taught by Deucalion on how to fight this thing with my eyes closed?"

Deucalion, who stands on Scott's right, puts a hand on her shoulder and says, "Because you don't need me to teach you. You've already been trained, thanks to Chris Argent, by one of the finest fighter and weapon's master this country has. And your senses, even before you were a dragon, you were always using to determine where your enemies were, and how to sort them out and best them. So my teachings, you do not need. You need only to be you."

And he grins when Nixie says, "And just like that, I'm not mad anymore." "Good." Scott looks between the two, but then turns back to Lydia, "Okay. But back to you thinking we're all gonna die. What do you mean?" Peter explains, "They're coming. Monroe and more. And they have heavy firepower."

Nixie nods to that, but then freezes, tilting her head to the side to listen.

Deucalion wasn't kidding. Especially when it came to her sense of hearing. That had been her one sense that had always been heightened. Her sight had sharpened with time, and even more as a dragon. But her ears… they had always been able to hear things that they shouldn't.

For example, the cocking of a gun, the loading of a clip, and the pressing down of a trigger, right before that first explosion of the bullet leaving the barrel.

It still wasn't a sound as distinct for her as an arrow. That had always been a sound she associated with Alison before. A good sound. So even though it wasn't anymore, she still always heard it in record time. Bullets, however, were always a bad sound. Even if they were being fired by Chis, Jordan, or Noah. They were always bad.

Which is why Deucalion took two bullets, one to the stomach and one to the chest, before a blue wing was suddenly wrapped around him. "GET DOWN!"

Everyone moves at Nixie's command, and as Deucalion sinks to the floor, she catches him and hauls him over to the side, out of the line of fire. Wincing as he looks up at her, he tries to stop her from placing her hands on him.

Glaring at him, she says, "I'm about damn tired of people trying to tell me who I can help heal and who I can't. So shut up and let me help." Gripping his hand, she assesses his injuries, feeling the way her body reacts to trying to help him.

The one on his stomach was not something she could do anything about. But as that wasn't the bullet that was currently killing him, she wasn't as concerned with that one. Opening her eyes to look at him, she says, "I can't take the one in your gut. I'm pregnant and that would not be good for the baby." Deucalion nods, but then his eyes widen when a spot on the right side of her chest tears open and starts to bleed. Wincing at the pain, she then says through her teeth, "But that I can help you with."

A bullet ricochets off of her wing, and then Nixie carefully folds them back into her body. Glancing around to try and find everyone amidst the barrage of bullets and chaos, she can't help but say in aggravation, "Well, it's official."

At Deucalion's confused look, she explains, "The world has officially gone to hell in a handbasket. So now, we're going to have to go through hell to get out handbasket back." Raising an eyebrow, Deucalion asks, "And how exactly do you intend to do that?"

"Same way I've always planned to get through hell. By making it freeze over."

Chapter 9! Two more to go guys. :)