14
**I have returned from the murky depths. I hope you like. Thanks for reading.
As Jessie surveyed the property, Derek decided to take the betas aside for a little pep talk. Actually, it was more him pursing his lips and glaring and saying, "Don't freaking die." It wasn't worthy of a scene in Braveheart, but it was serviceable at the late hour. Jackson listened to Derek only half-heartedly. He couldn't take his eyes off Amy. He saw her watching the grounds intently, trying to find some form of a weak spot. He sensed her apprehension. She didn't want any of the betas to get hurt, and he knew she was beginning to get cold feet. It was time to reassure her.
She had been so deep in thought that she jumped when he went and stood beside her. "Jackson," she said, smiling. "You're getting stealthier."
"I think it's more that you're nervous, Amy," he said. "Normally I couldn't sneak up behind you if I tried."
"But I'd like it if you did," she said, winking.
"Very funny," he said, chuckling softly. "Can we take a short walk alone?"
She nodded and took his hand gently as he helped her up.
They walked along the brook that ran parallel to the property. She was distracted but tried her best to offer him reassuring and warm smiles.
"I know what you're thinking," he said.
"Then you should probably have me pressed up against a tree right now," she said tickling him playfully.
He sighed. "Man, you hide it well Amy. I've got to give you credit. If I were a human, you'd have me completely fooled. But as we've all learned from this week's exercise, I'm not human. Not anymore." He stopped short and placed his hands on her hips. "Like I said. I know what you're thinking."
"Okay. Then what am I thinking?"
"You're thinking we've been through too much just to get sliced and diced by some hunters," he said. "But I say we've been through far too much NOT to do this. I know you just want to turn us all around and go back to Beacon Hills, hell, anybody would."
She put her head down. "Don't tell the others. I have to be strong for them."
"The others aren't stupid, Amy. Don't you see Derek looking at you every five seconds, or Scott trying to get near you so he can feel your emotions better? Even Stiles has a bit of a clue. They know something's up with you," he said. "And I know better than any of them."
"Great," she said, sighing. "So all this time I've been trying to put up a front and it hasn't worked?"
"I wouldn't say that," said Jackson. "Not at all." He kissed her cheek and nuzzled into her shoulder. "We know you're not scared for your own safety. You're scared for ours. Because you care for us."
"You don't think it undermines my ability to lead?"
"It doesn't undermine anything. Good leaders, real leaders, show their love for those that choose to follow them. You think any of us would go running blindly into a hunter's nest if we didn't believe in you? If we didn't care for you as much as you care for us?" he asked.
She simply watched him.
He grabbed her hand. "Amy, I wouldn't even have made it this far without you. Either Derek or the hunters would have killed me and I'd be six feet under the ground, looking like Godzilla The Teenage Years." He squeezed her hand tightly. "Now I have a real chance at a life. I owe that to you."
"No. It wasn't just me," she argued.
"Yes," he said. "I know. "It has a lot to do with Stiles and Scott too. But let me save my heartfelt thanks for them for another time. Right now I'm thanking you. You deserve a thank you. You deserve everything and anything in the world and hopefully I'm the one that will give you that."
She bit her lip and looked away from him. "I have so much to thank you for too, Jackson. You,"
"You don't have to say it in words Amy," he said, tucking his hand behind her ear, making her look at him. "Everything you do says 'thank you'. Everything you do says that you care about me and that you love me. And I…"
"Don't," she said. "You'll have plenty of times to say it."
"Hey," he said softly. He smiled. "Deep down I'm still a jock with a big ego, so don't ruin my big moment here, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
He touched his lips to her forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too," she said, embracing him.
They held each other tightly for a few moments. She laughed softly. "You were even kinda cute when you were covered in scales," she said. "I still would've stuck around."
He giggled into her neck. "Yeah? You mean you would've been my lizard girlfriend? In it for the long haul?"
"Sure," she said, looking dreamily into the sky. "I'd have gotten a nice big terrarium for us to live in. We could set up a heat lamp and I could go to the pet store and buy some crickets for you to eat, too. I mean we'd have to go light on furniture because you'd be knocking everything over with your tail, but that's okay. We could lay on cedar shavings instead."
"Aww, aren't you sweet?" he said, tickling her ribs and drawing her in for a long sensuous kiss. "Mmmm, he groaned. "I think all this lizard talk is getting me excited."
Her shoulders shook with laughter. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," he said, nipping her neck. "What do you say we head a little further into the woods and discuss our, um, terrarium a little more? I mean it may be our last night on Earth and all."
"Ah, the old 'last night on Earth line, ey?" she asked.
He bit his lower lip. "Please tell me that it's working," he said.
She gazed at the handsome man that took her out of the cold, made her warm and fed her and brought love back into her life. She smiled, thinking she'd do a hundred back flips at that moment if he asked her to. "Yeah," she said, taking his hand and leading him into the trees. "It's working."
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Jessie grinned as the wolves and Stiles gathered near a retaining wall on the east end of the property. "Okay I've got your weak spot, Amy," he said. "I had totally forgotten this but see the fencing just next to the guard shack?"
"Uh huh," whispered Amy.
"Well it's not only facing in the direction of conservation land but it abuts onto it as well. That part of the fence can't legally be electrified," said Jessie.
"How do you know that?" asked Stiles.
"I've spent time here in the past. Sometimes Victoria or Kate would have us meet them here to go over the scope and to pay us, too. The cops in this town are really anal. They hassle the Argents about that fence all the time. It's not activated, trust me," said Jessie.
"Awesome!" said Stiles, holding up his bolt cutters. "So I'll finally get to use these!"
Derek raised an eyebrow. "You came to battle with hunters and brought your trusty…bolt cutters?"
"Excuse me, Jason Bourne, but as we're all learning from Jessie, these will come in much handier than your big-ass fangs," said Stiles.
"Not if I bite your hands off first," said Derek.
"Not if I bite your hands off first," said Stiles, in a mocking tone. He stuck his tongue out at Derek.
Jessie exchanged a look with Amy. "Do they always get along this well?"
"No, sometimes they fight," said Amy.
Jessie chuckled. "Anyways, we can get that fence cut pretty quickly but we need a decoy to allow the rest of us to slip into the house."
"How do we get into the house?" asked Scott.
"There's a service door for the kitchen about thirty feet from the fence. Nine times out of ten it gets left open by the staff, but at this late hour, I'm sure it's long since locked. But," he said proudly. "I have the outdoor entrance code. That will get us access to the inside."
"Then what?" Jackson asked. "Get swarmed?"
Jessie smirked. "Nope. I know this place well. The hunters outside are all they've got. Victoria rarely allows them in the house. If we can slip inside, we can activate their lockdown code, which will keep the bastards outside where they belong. It will take them at least ten minutes to override that code, buying us much needed time and they probably won't even notice a thing anyway. Next, a little swipe to the lovely Vickie's jugular and we're golden."
"Okay so we've got a solid way in. But how about when we get back outside? If we're lucky enough to get in unnoticed, I doubt we'll have the same good fortune on the way out," said Isaac.
"That part will be slightly trickier. Our only problem will be with the hunters near the east wall, which, at my count is only a dozen," said Jessie. "There are more than enough of us to take them out in no time. The rest are easily a third of a mile away on the south side. If we can create a diversion at the south side wall, we've just secured our clean getaway."
Amy suddenly smiled. "I may have just come up with a diversion that will keep ALL of the hunters at bay. We might not even have to raise our claws tonight, with the exception of Victoria, of course. And, I think it might be just the thing that will keep our one human safe."
"Always like that idea," said Stiles.
"I'm glad you do," said Amy. "Because you're the diversion."
"Knew that was too good to be true," said Stiles, groaning.
"Don't worry. You'll be safe," said Amy. "But I hate to break the news to you. This diversion doesn't involve use of your bolt cutters."
"Damn," said Stiles. "Foiled again."
"I just need an hour to work out the details. Now, in other news," said Amy. "What the hell are we planning on doing with Chris?"
"I think he's secure with Boyd and Franco watching him at the car. They're at least three miles off," said Jessie. "And I don't know about Boyd's skills but Franco's got a pretty damn impressive track record in battle."
"Good," said Amy. "Boyd's very observant. Chris may be hog tied but he's smart and he'll be hell bent on coming to Victoria's aid."
"So one can be the eyes, the other the brawn," said Derek. "Let's get a move on."
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"Okay gather 'round my kiddies," said Amy, motioning for the rest of the pack to come close to her. "Now that we're geared up, here are the ground rules. Whoever gets to Victoria first takes the kill shot. Don't let her talk to you. Don't let her sway you in any way. She's a beast and she'll only play to our emotions to survive."
Everyone nodded.
"And," she said. "Stiles…you ready?"
Stiles cleared his throat nervously. "Are you really married to this idea, Amy?"
Amy smiled reassuringly. "You will do great. Got that bottle, Spur?"
The big man grinned and extracted the bottle of Jim Beam from his coat. "Here ya go, kid. A little liquid courage. May wanna take a few swigs 'afore ya go for it. It's cold out tonight."
Stiles looked around at the other wolves, all watching him with various levels of amusement. Well, besides Erica who eyed him with a decidedly more reluctant gaze. He unscrewed the cap on the bottle and took three long pulls. He grimaced at the burn. "Here goes," he said, stripping off his clothes.
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With Stiles being otherwise engaged in the woods, the pack didn't need to use the bolt cutters on the fence after all. They simply jumped over it soundlessly, after the dozen or so hunters that manned the east side went to investigate what sounded like a fisher cat in the woods. "Nature's forever on the side of the wolf," whispered Derek, grinning. They made it soundlessly to the service door, knowing their next move.
"At times, so is technology," said Jessie, entering the access code to the service door. The keypad blinked, indicating their clearance to enter. "Huh," said Jessie, shrugging. "You think they'd change the code once in awhile. Anyway, on three," he said, placing his hands on the knob. "One…two…" He pulled open the door and each wolf slipped in swiftly. Once the door was closed, Jessie quickly locked down the house. "We should still be fine. Nothings been tripped." he said. "The hunters on our side check the doors periodically. Some, not all, have override codes. I'd say we have ten, maybe fifteen minutes."
"Let's make it count, then," said Derek.
Jessie nodded. He looked around. Fortunately the kitchen staff was long asleep, so they could have spoken at a normal volume. However, Jessie thought it best to softly whisper. In fact, werewolf "whispers" were so low that a human ear would be hard pressed to hear it. "Amy, Jackson, Erica and Billy Boy, you're with me. We'll hit the study and sweep west, staying ground level. Then we'll head up. Spur, you've been here almost as much as me. Think you can find your way around?"
Spur grinned. "Yep." He patted two of the other Dogs' shoulders. "I'll take the Oakley boys here with me." He nodded to Derek. "And I want a chance to see what Tom Cruise here has got."
"Isaac, you stick with Amy and I'll go with Spur," said Scott. "That'll keep us moving in and out of here in equal numbers."
"Alright," said Spur. "We make a separate search of the first floor, then we'll go on up to 'ole Vicki's bedroom and make her squirm."
The other Dogs giggled.
"Don't take this lightly guys," said Jessie. "This house is filled with traps. Don't get yourself caught."
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A strange purple light was cast upon the inside of the house, the dawn having only a tenuous grasp on the sky. It pulled at the walls, urging for the sun's arrival, only to retreat, as if in fear of what the light may illuminate within the massive structure. The cold of the marble floors sunk through the soles of their shoes as they moved, each sense so strong it was almost painful to experience.
The smell of women's perfume permeated the air. At first, it tricked the wolves into thinking Victoria was close, possibly around every dimly lit corner. However, the first floor showed no sign of the woman.
Or any traps for that matter.
The two groups met up after their individual sweeps of the first floor. They looked at each other nervously as they ascended opposite sides of the staircase. The smell of perfume began to get stronger. Erica shook her head. "Man, that's intense."
The betas blocked their noses. "Don't do that," warned Derek. "It might be bad but don't cut off your sense of smell. Ever."
The betas nodded and removed their hands from their faces.
"I don't hear a heartbeat," whispered Amy.
"That's disconcerting," said Isaac.
"What's even more disconcerting? The smell. And I'm not talking about the perfume. I'm talking about the smell that's underneath the perfume. You getting that Amy?" asked Derek.
She inhaled, coaching her nose past the sickeningly strong aroma of synthetic lavender and honeysuckle. She struggled and shook her head. Derek broke the barrier between the groups and went to her. "Close your eyes," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's…how do I describe it…? It's like in a song. It's layered. Inhale even if it's unbearable. Breathe in Amy," he instructed gently.
She did as she was told and suddenly she knew. Her eyes shot open and she tore away from Derek and up the stairs. The others followed her as fast as they could, moving through the weakening darkness with ease.
Amy came to a skidding halt at the entrance to the master bedroom. The perfume was so strong that she felt her stomach lurch. She gulped, going to the other side of the bed. The group waited, watching intently for her reaction. "You were right Derek," she said softly. "There was another smell under the perfume."
Derek stepped forward, placing his hands in his jacket pocket. He nodded to her. "Yes. There was."
Erica's lips curled in disgust. "What was it? What was the smell for Christ's sake before I puke all over my new boots?"
"Death."
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Amy looked down at the stiffened corpse. Left arm draped over the heart. A diamond tennis bracelet lay delicately on a dainty, pale wrist. This drew Amy's eyes up to the hand of the deceased. There was a large, sparkly diamond perched on the ring finger. She knelt to the side of the body. "Scott? Derek? Anyone want to come make a positive ID? I've never seen Victoria Argent before."
Scott scrambled over, his eyes widening. "It's her," he squeaked out. "I can't believe it."
Jackson walked over. "How? Did she actually off herself?"
"Is she holding something?" asked Erica, nodding to the woman's hand. "I think there's something in there."
Amy peeled back Victoria's fingers, already tightened by rigor mortis. It was a letter addressed to her husband and daughter. Amy read it and then handed it to Scott. "Seems a little generic as far as a suicide note is concerned. Don't you think?"
Scott looked at the letter and read aloud. "I'm so sorry. I can't take back all of the bad things I've done. I love you both." He looked up. "This definitely wasn't written by Victoria. She was way too intelligent for this. She graduated from Babson with highest honors. She was a Mensa member and her husband and daughter were everything to her. She'd never write a shit-ass note like this."
"I doubt she'd ever kill herself either," said Derek. "She loved herself way too much."
"Then who did it?" asked Isaac. "And how? I don't see any bottles of pills or poison or anything," he said looking around.
Derek leaned down and smelled Victoria's lips. "She didn't drink anything that I can tell. Maybe an injection?"
"I don't see any syringes," said Scott.
"Let's look under the body," said Amy.
Derek lifted Victoria. Amy extracted a small syringe from under the dead woman's back. "Well," she said, eyeing the object. "Here's what did her in."
Jackson sighed. "Whether it was Victoria or not, someone beat us to the punch."
"I knew something was up. None of the traps were activated," said Amy. "And the perfume. A human nose would never have caught the smell of a decomposing body under all of that. I think someone was trying to help us."
"I wonder who," said Jessie.
"Who cares?" asked Spur. "The snobby bitch is dead."
Derek nodded. "And there you have it. Okay, wipe everything down and we put Victoria back the way we found her."
"That's it?" asked Scott.
"Well, we could bring her back to life and kill her again," offered Derek sarcastically.
"That's not what I meant," said Scott. "I meant aren't we going to find out what really happened to her?"
"Why? So you can have an easy explanation for Allison?" asked Derek.
Scott shrugged. "Well…yes. Her mom was evil but she was still her mom. I'd like to be able to tell her what happened."
"She killed herself," said Derek. "There's your explanation."
Scott looked down at the floor dolefully. "I just thought…"
"Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever know, Scott," said Amy. "Someone, whether they knew it or not, was doing us a favor. That's really all we can know."
The pack placed Victoria, the syringe and the letter back where they were found and stood. "Okay," said Jessie. "So whoever offed Victoria was nice enough to disengage all of the traps in the house. Now we just have to get past the east wall hunters. Is Stiles ready?"
Derek smirked. "Probably not but he'll play ball. He always does." He chuckled as he pulled out his phone and texted Stiles. "This should be a pretty good show."
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The exit from the house went smoothly, up until it came time to hop the fence. The hunters were still gabbing about the fisher cat, when the group each made their way to the other side. The alphas stayed on the opposite side of the fence until all of the betas made their way safely across, including The Dogs. Erica was the last to ascend, but she didn't quite clear the fence, badly gouging her thigh on the way over. She let out a small yelp. Isaac and Scott quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a blind spot.
Derek grabbed Amy and yanked her behind the empty guard shack, just as several hunters turned towards the sound.
Isaac clapped his hand over Erica's mouth. The girl whimpered as her body tried it's best to heal from the injury. Amy's keen eyes caught fresh, crimson blood staining the chain links where Erica's flesh was ripped open. A large, syrupy drip was pooling on the metal and was about to fall to the ground below.
"Shit," whispered Amy. Derek held fast to her, his breathing rapid. She gulped, looking at the other side of the fence at a panicked Scott and Jackson. "It's okay," she mouthed.
Jackson's heart rate climbed. "I can hear them talking about a noise," he whispered, turning to Scott nervously.
Scott swallowed as he tended to an already healing Erica. "Stiles is still out there."
"Heh heh," chuckled Spur. "He sure is. And in all his glory, too."
Suddenly the hunters all turned to the woods, where a figure emerged from the trees. It stumbled and giggled, holding a dwindling bottle of booze. The east wall hunters were intrigued and began making their way towards the newcomer at the south wall, forgetting about any of the strange sounds they heard.
Amy and Derek breathed a sigh of relief and made their way over to the fence to join the rest of the pack. Amy stopped at the top of the fence and quickly used her shirt to wipe up any of Erica's blood. When she made it to the other side, the pack ran back and hid behind the retaining wall. "I never thought I'd say this," said Derek. "But thank God. It's Stiles."
One of the hunters pointed and started to laugh hysterically. "Look! It's some drunk kid, naked as the day he was born!"
They all caught a glimpse of Stiles getting closer and closer to them. He was fully naked, save for his socks. He caught sight of the hunters. "Whoo!" He hollered. "Is this where the party's at? Where are all the ladies?" Then he stopped and did some ridiculous dance, thrusting his hips and feeling his nipples while sticking out his tongue. Some watched in disbelief while others laughed so hard that they were doubled over.
"Will he be alright?" Erica asked, nervously.
Amy nodded and gently squeezed Erica's hand. "Don't worry. He'll be just fine. He'll meet us where we all planned in fifteen minutes. I promise, Erica."
"Jesus," said one of the hunters. "Hey someone turn off the fence or else this drunk bastard's gonna run into it and electrocute himself!" Another hunter went over to a box mounted on the house and turned off the voltage.
When Stiles reached the fence, he grinned. "Hey," he slurred. "W-W-Would…do any of you fine gentleman know how to get back to the highway?"
The hunters all burst into fits of laughter.
"Guys as much as I'd pay to stay and watch this, remember Stiles is using this remarkably hilarious act to help us get out of here so let's vamoose," said Amy. The others followed, occasionally looking back as their friend firmly pressed his ass into the chain link fence and them removed it, asking all of the hunters if his butt looked "like a waffle".
One of the hunters stepped forward. He looked to be in his fifties, sort of grizzled but not altogether dirty. "Son, I don't know what kind of frat you're rushing or if you're just nine kinds of crazy, but you've lost your damn luggage."
"Literally," said one of the other hunters, a younger man in his twenties. "I bet it's the Pi Kappa's. Those assholes are brutal to their rushes."
The older hunter sighed and opened the gate. "Come on in, son. I'll call your dad."
"Oh no, don't do that!" said a feminine voice from the woods. She giggled, embarrassed, as she ran towards the large group of men wearing only her underwear and a little tank top.
"Whoo!" they all called, admiring the redhead's ample assets. "Damn!" They all whistled.
The young woman made her way to Stiles. He tried his level best not to break out of character and stare at her in disbelief. But it was…it was…"L-Lydia," he choked out, wide-eyed.
She smiled and embraced him. "That's right Jake, it's me baby," she said, wrestling the bottle from him and turning to the group of stunned men. "I'm so sorry," she said in an innocent, feminine lilt. "He's never been able to handle his liquor." She giggled.
Stiles grinned and slurred. "Yeah but I can handle other things, you know what I mean?" he asked, laughing hysterically at his own joke. He looked at one hunter, an overweight man in his forties. "This guy knows what I mean."
"Where are you two kids coming from?" asked the older hunter, sighing.
"Oh, we were just camping in the woods near Snake Creek and he went and got away from me," she said, shrugging.
"We were up at ole Snake Creek and I showed her my snake," he said, stumbling forward and giggling uncontrollably. "Get it? My snake, ah God I kill myself sometimes!" The other hunters simply shook their heads and chuckled.
"Okay that's enough now, babe," said Lydia, holding him up. "We're so sorry to bother you all. Won't do it again, I swear," she said, batting her eyelashes.
The older hunter grumbled and conceded. "You need an escort back?" he asked.
"No sir," she said, taking Stiles' arm and throwing it over her shoulder. "I'm stronger than I look. Thanks so much and sorry for the trouble!"
"Peace out, bitches!" called Stiles, waving as they walked away.
The other hunters stared admiringly at Lydia's retreating back until she and Stiles disappeared into the woods.
It was another two hours before Victoria's body was discovered.
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Scott chose to be the one to break the news to Chris. Despite his issues with the boy, he knew that Scott wouldn't lie to him. In fact, all of the wolves eyed him with a sympathy only usually reserved for those of their kind. When the gag was removed from his mouth, he simply hung his head and sobbed. "Take me home. To Allison. Just take me home."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
It came time for The Dogs say their goodbyes to the pack. Derek handed Jessie the remainder of the money, which he divvied up among them.
Amy stepped forward and gave Jessie a warm hug, one he didn't shrink away from. "See? You're not such a bad leader. Not so bad at all," she said.
"Likewise," he returned. He looked at his rag-tag group and chuckled. "Well, where do you boys want to live out our retirement years?"
"Vegas."
"The Bunny Ranch."
"Strip club."
"Your mom's ass."
Amy giggled. "Looks like you've got your hands full."
Jessie laughed. He looked at the pack before him. Derek sat scowling, despite his victory, most likely due to the fact that he'd been hoping for a showdown to make the history books. But as it turned out, no one would ever really know that the wolves infiltrated the infamous Argent house.
Jackson stared at Amy with stars in his eyes. Scott was dozing in the backseat of the Tahoe. Boyd and Isaac wrestled. Then there was Stiles. He sat red-faced on a rock, pulling on his sneakers, bookended by a smiling Lydia and a growling Erica. "I've got MY hands full?"
Amy sighed. "It's going to be a long ride home."
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"So," said Stiles, sitting in the passenger side of the Escalade. "Anything to say?"
Amy shrugged from the driver's seat. The sun was nearly up. Scott, Jackson and Derek were all passed out in the back. "I like to have a little something up my sleeve at all times. What of it?" She tried not to giggle.
"Oh something up your sleeve, is it?" asked Stiles. "Well the diversion itself was, despite my utter humiliation…"
"You were freaking awesome!" said Amy. "I know you were buck ass naked but seriously, you should consider acting. You were so convincing, I mean,"
"That aside," said Stiles. "I was going to say that the idea was brilliant. HOWEVER…Lydia?"
"Well I knew that the hunters would take pity on you and take you and call your parents. That would give them too much time to discover Victoria's body, because, at the time, I didn't know she was already dead so I thought they'd discover the body and immediately suspect you of having something to do with it and then bring you into their custody and do God only knows what to you or WORSE call your dad and all hell would have broken loose and…"
"Hey rambling girl," said Stiles. "I get that. But…Lydia? Couldn't Erica have come out and pretended she was my girlfriend? You know, since she's already seen me naked? Did you really have to pick the girl that I, up until about two weeks ago, had a massive crush on?"
"I needed a human girl. Erica's eyes would have flared in their lights, as would have mine," she argued.
"Fine," said Stiles. "How'd you even get Lydia anyway? She was back in Beacon Hills and would never have made it up on time to help."
"Girls have very good memories Stiles," said Amy. "The day I went to the medical center with Allison we got to talking. Turns out, Lydia's filmmaker aunt Shannon has some cabin like a half hour from the Argent house and that Lydia would be up here this week just to get away from Beacon Hills after everything that happened."
"So what exactly did you tell her?" asked Stiles. "I mean she's aware that there's weird shit going on, but not, you know, quite this weird."
"I'm still not sure," said Amy. "Jackson was the one that called her."
"Ah," said Stiles bitterly. "Now the truth comes out. It was because Jackson called her."
"Actually," said Amy. "She told Jackson to go to hell. It was only when he said it was to help you that she decided to come out."
Stiles eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"Would I lie to you?" Amy asked.
He smiled at her. "No."
"You did try to save her life, Stiles. I think she kind of owed you, no?" asked Amy.
Stiles shrugged. "Maybe." He sat there, hoping that Amy didn't catch the grin forming on his face. Wow. Lydia. His former dream girl coming to his rescue. It was something that pleased him, but didn't overwhelm him the way it would have in the past. He looked out the rearview mirror and watched Erica gaze dreamily out of the passenger side window. He couldn't help but smile. The girl certainly wasn't lacking in both looks and swagger, and he found himself thinking about her more and more. Stiles' life had certainly changed in such a short time. As he looked over at Amy, he knew that it was about to change just a bit more.
He yawned. "How much longer?"
"At least four hours," said Amy.
Stiles nodded. "Sounds like just enough time."
"Time for what?" she asked.
He smiled. "To sleep off a Bite."