Chapter 26

Before he can process the image, Derek is across the room, catching her before she can hit the ground. Isaac is staring helplessly as Jacob starts to squall in his arms and he realizes that Lydia just took an arrow meant for him. His world moves in slow motion as chaos erupts around him.

Lydia feel like her world is going in and out of focus as noise echos around her. She feels the throbbing pain of the arrow thrumming through her body, more painful that anything she has felt since Peter's attack. She feels her knees go just as Derek is grabbing her arms, catching her from falling. He quickly scoops her up and then she is on the table on her side. She feels something entering her system, it burns as her heart pumps it through her body, as if her blood is turning acidic.

The rest of the pack watches in horror as Lydia screams, her body coiling in pain. Jackson, Allison and Scott react quickly, Allison grabbing a crossbow out of her purse as they run out the backdoor in pursuit of the assailant. Derek pleads with Lydia as her eyes start to roll back in her head, "Baby, baby please stay with me," he holds her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs back and forth on her cheeks, "Lydia please, stay with me."

Feeling the emotion of her Alpha overwhelm her, Erica looks to Boyd and Isaac. Isaac is frozen, still holding Jacob who is crying in earnest, like he knows his mom is hurt. Boyd has his cell phone out and is calling someone, Erica quickly realizes that it is Deaton, once she hears that the doctor is on his way, she moves to Isaac to take the baby. He seems shocked to see her when she touches him, "Isaac," she coaxes, "Let me take Jacob and see if I can get him calmed down okay."

After a moment, he looks down at the screaming infant and nods, allowing the blonde to take the baby. Once she has Jacob settled in her arms, Peter re-enters the room, she hadn't noticed that he had left, but he had a focused look on his face as he approached Derek, who was still slumped over Lydia on the kitchen table.

Squeezing Derek shoulder, Peter told the young man, "Deaton will be here soon, she will be okay," he reassured, but the look on his face said that he was just as worried as the rest of them. His uncle's words shaking him a bit, Derek leaned back and looked down at Lydia's wound. Reaching for the arrow, he is shocked when the nearly catatonic girl grabs his wrist, "No," she croaks out.

"Lydia I need to see," he starts but she cut him off, "It is poisoned, don't touch it."

"What?" Peter leans forward, slightly pushing Derek to the side. Lowering his face so that he is even with her wound, he carefully avoids touching the arrow, breathing deeply, "She's right, it is poisoned. I," he breaths in again, "It is wolf's bane, but it is a strain I am not familiar with."

"Why would?" Erica steps forward, finally having gotten Jacob to settle a little bit, "She's human."

"Because they weren't aiming for her," Peter whispered, looking up to Derek who nodded helplessly in agreement before turning to the Betas in the room. "Lydia saw it coming and she pushed Isaac out of the way, but I don't think that they were aiming for her."

Lowering himself to his knees, so that he could look into her eyes, Derek held her hand as she gripped his in pain and asked, "Lydia, what did you see? Your eyes flashed and you pushed Isaac out of the way, but what did you see?"

Opening her eyes with a pained grunt, Lydia gasped out, "I saw hands, black gloves, loading a bow, like Allison has. I felt the intention to do harm and I just knew," she gritted her teeth as the pain grew, "I knew Jacob and Isaac where in danger, it was like I could see it happening. I couldn't let them get hurt so I shoved him out of the way," her muscles were quaking in pain as her spine twisted a bit, "My God it hurts," she moaned, "What is this?"

Looking to his uncle, eyes, wide and scared Derek asked, "Why isn't she healing? You said that after the binding thing, she could use my powers, so why isn't she healing and why can't I drain her pain?"

Shaking his head for a moment, Peter answered, "I think the wolf's bane is stopping her from tapping into your powers; if you can't heal with it in your system, then neither can she," he theorized.

"I agree," Deaton answered from the doorway of the kitchen as he was lead in by Boyd. He was not, however, alone. He was followed by Melissa McCall who was carrying a medical bag and the Sheriff who walked straight over to his son. What shocked everyone was that Lydia's parents followed the parent party in, causing Cora to shrink back behind Peter and Derek to growl at the sight of the people who have treated Lydia so poorly.

Writhing in pain once more, Lydia opened her eyes when she heard Deaton's voice only to see both of her parents looking on in horror at the growing puddle of blood, now dripping off of the table and onto the floor under their daughter. Groaning once more, Lydia looked to Derek, "What the hell are they doing here?"

"I," her mother stepped forward, "Lydia you are injured of course we,"

"Oh shut up, I know you are not here for me," she bit out, her pain causing her to lose any patience with her mother, "You didn't give shit about me when you kicked me out and you haven't started caring now," she ground the words out as Deaton began to examine her and Melissa started laying out medical instruments. Mrs. Martin took one more step towards her daughter, reaching out only to be met with a low warning growl and the angry red eyes of the Alpha. Taking a step back, she brought her hands to her chest, trying to hold the sob in.

Lydia's mother brought her hands to her mouth and tried to repress her sobs as Lydia screamed out in agony when Deaton probed a particularly sore spot in her abdomen. Clinging to Derek's hands and forearms as he held her still, she tried to control her screaming as the doctor and Melissa shared a worried look.

"Okay," Deaton spoke to the young couple, "I am going to sedate her so that we can remove the arrow. I think it hit her spleen and it make have nicked her liver, so I need to repair those organs quickly. Time is of the essence here understand," he explained in his standard controlled voice but the pack knew that he was worried. He and Lydia had grown close over the past month as he taught her more about her powers and he was genuinely impressed by the girl's curiosity and intellect.

Derek seemed to pale even more and Erica was openly crying now, even as she tried to calm down the screaming baby in her arms. Squeezing Derek's hands with both of her own, Lydia made him look at her, "Derek, I want you to take Jacob into the other room okay," Looking around she made eye contact with Isaac and Erica, "All of you, go and wait, let Deaton do his job okay." No one moved and she could hear her baby getting more and more upset.

Finally she locked eyes with Stiles, who looked terrified but oddly stoic, "Stiles," she whispered and he nodded, understanding what she was asking. Leaving his dad's side, he crossed to Erica and took Jacob from her, rubbing the baby's back as he guided Erica to the door, "Come on Isaac," he prodded and the boy followed. Cora quickly exited, still giving the Martin's a wide berth, Boyd stopping to call to Lydia's parents, "Mr. and Mrs. Martin, let them do their work."

After a moment of looking back at their daughter, they reluctantly nodded and followed.

Melissa started an IV and injected a medication in it to sedate Lydia, "Derek," the young redhead prodded, "I don't want you to see this," she said, her voice weary.

"Lydia I am not leaving you alone," Derek whispered, tears in his eyes.

Pressing a kiss to his knuckles, she smiled softly as the medication started to take hold, "You are not leaving me, you are doing what I ask and taking care of our son. Please, I will not make it through this unless I know that Jacob is safe."

Closing his eyes against the welling emotion, he relented, "I love you," he whispered against her forehead.

"I love you," she mumbled as she lost consciousness. Standing Derek took a deep breath, still holding her hand he turned to Peter, "You don't let her out of your sight. Keep her safe, you owe her that." His eyes flashed red unconsciously and his uncle nodded, "Of course."

Looking back at his bleeding mate, he was reluctant to release her hand, as if he were afraid that if he stopped touching her, he would lose her forever. Deaton spared the young man a look, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Derek, I am going to do everything I can to help her, but I need to get started. I know you are scared but your son needs you to be strong now okay. Go take care of your baby, of Lydia's baby and I will take care of Lydia for you."

Taking solace in the doctor's words, Derek nodded and mumble his thanks before exiting the kitchen. Looking at the vet and at the now undead Hale, Melissa sighed, "I don't think that boy can take losing her."

"Well then you better not let her die," Peter answered darkly, all of the sass meant for the comment lost in the worry clear on his face. Who ever attacked them may have not been aiming for Lydia, but they had certainly hit the heart of the pack.

Walking into the living room, Derek felt as if he had aged ten years. Looking around, he saw both his sister and Erica in tears, Cora sitting in the corner, her knees pulled to her chest and her forehead pressed against her knees in an attempt to hide her tears. Boyd stood like a sentinel to her right, putting himself between Cora and Lydia's parents who where sitting on the couch. The Sheriff was on the phone by the stairs and Stiles was attempting to calm Jacob down. It was now that Derek noticed that Scott, Allison and Jackson were gone.

Crossing to Stiles, he took his son and asked, "Where are the others?" as he gently brought the baby to his shoulder, allowing the child to burrow his little head into the crook of his neck. Between his father's hand rubbing his back and the scent of him, Jacob had calmed into a few pitiful snuffles against Derek's throat after a few minutes.

"They ran out to see if they could track, you know" Stiles whispered back, tilting his head towards the other room where Lydia lay bleeding. Nodding, Derek walked over to the other side of the room, taking a seat in the chair facing the Christmas tree. Once Jacob was calm he looked to Erica, "Erica, I need you to go upstairs and get the stuff to make a bottle out of the box under my bed. Jacob needs to eat, so we are going to have to give him formula," Derek requested softly. The beta hopped into action, glad to have something to do. Stiles followed her up the stairs, knowing that she didn't need to be alone.

A tense silence filled the room, only the wet sounds of the surgery going on in the kitchen and the echoing heartbeats of the pack fill the space. Shifting the baby against his shoulder, Derek was nearly startled at Mrs. Martin's voice, "Is," she started, her voice raspy with tears, "Is that him?" She asked the Alpha, "Is that Lydia's baby?"

Repressing the urge to growl, Derek gently ran his palm over the back of the baby's dark downy head and nodded.

She continued at his affirmation, "May I?" She nodded towards the child and Derek's eyes flashed red at her again.

"You are not coming near my son," He answered incredulously.

She reeled in shock, "Excuse me, I just, he is my grandson." She scoffed.

"Yes, he is," Derek answered, finally making eye contact with her, his eyes hard and cold, "He is your grandson who you threw out in the cold when he was two days old in a shower of glass and insults. You don't get to see him, you gave up that right."

"I think I am justified for being a bit shocked at the situation" She tries to argue.

"There is no justification for the things that you called Lydia, not that night or when she saw you at the mall. You were hateful and bitter and I will not have that kind of pathetic meanness around my son. If, at some point Lydia decides that you are worthy of her time, then she can decide if she wants you near our son. Until then, stay away," he snaps, grateful when Erica reentered the room with a bottle for Jacob and a fresh shirt for Derek.

It wasn't until the blonde handed him the shirt that he realized that his current one was covered in blood. Lydia's blood. Suddenly he felt the weight of that reality settling on him and he gladly handed the baby to Erica so he could change his shirt, ridding himself of his mate's blood and trying desperately to ignore the fact that she had lost so much of it. In the shuffle to change his clothes he missed the hitch in the breathing of both his sister and Paul Martin as they saw the tattoo on his back. Boyd, however, did not miss it and would be looking into it as soon as this crisis was diverted.

Taking the baby back, Derek settled back into the chair and attempted to feed Jacob the bottle. The baby wanted no part of such a thing and he fought his father for several minutes.

"What is wrong with him?" Carol Martin asked, leaning forward again trying to get a glimpse of the baby.

Looking up at her with his best exasperated glare, Derek huffed, "He needs to eat," before trying to coax the bottle into the infant's mouth again. The baby stilled for a moment before screwing up his face at the plastic nipple and batting it away again.

"But why isn't he eating, if he is hungry?" The woman asked.

"Because," Derek snapped, "He has never been bottle feed before but unfortunately his mother is currently laid out on the kitchen table bleeding so she can't feed him and he is going to have to make due with this until she is better," his voice is a growl at the end sending Jacob screaming again.

"Derek," Boyd warns lowly and looking at the stoic Beta, the Alpha nods and takes a deep breath before shifting the boy in his arms so that the baby's head rested in his hand, his thumb rubbing calming circles behind the baby's ear, "Shh, buddy I know you are scared alright, because I am too," he spoke softly and with a gentleness that they had only ever heard directed at his son, "Your mom is hurt and there are a bunch of strange people around and that is stressing you out, but Jacob, your mom is going to be okay. I promise, your mom will be okay. Right now I need you to eat though and I know that you don't like it but just try okay. Try so that your mom doesn't have to worry about you while she is trying to get better." As if he understood what his father was saying, Jacob calmed down completely for the first time since all of this had started. After a bit more cajoling the baby latched onto bottle and began eating.

As the baby ate, a tense silence rolled out over the room like fog, everyone feeling the suffocating worry of waiting for news. After a few minutes, Derek shifts the baby to burp him and the infant finally nods off to sleep. Derek can feel the exhaustion that he had not felt in weeks returning as he sat tense, afraid to move lest he shatter the illusion of calm. Suddenly he felt a jolt of electricity flow through him, causing his head to jerk back.

The room was shocked as Derek jumped slightly, his eyes flashing green as he gasped in what sounded like pain. Stiles and Erica rushed forward, Erica taking Jacob, who was still sleeping and Stiles standing between her and the unstable Alpha.

"What is happening?" Cora asks, standing to Stiles' right.

"I don't know," he answers, "But it has something to do with Lydia," he looks to the others, "That is the color her eyes turn."

At the mention of her daughter's name, Mrs. Martin stood, "What does that mean?"

Her question is cut off by Peter entering the room in a slight panic, something none of them had ever seen. Grabbing his nephews head, Peter tightens his hand around the back of Derek's neck, speaking softly and sternly, "Derek, can you hear me?" Squeezing the younger man's neck harder, he asked again, "Derek, I need you to focus, Lydia needs your help."

His uncle's words had the desired effect, Derek's eyes fading back to their normal green for a moment before a shrill scream could be heard from the kitchen. Derek was on his feet and out of the room before anyone saw him move, Peter looked back at Boyd and said, "Boyd, we are going to need your help." With that he exited, most not noticing the slight wary air settling around him. Boyd followed silently ignoring Mrs. Martin's shrieks of "What the hell is going on? She is my child I have a right to know what is going on!"

Soon her yelling woke up Jacob and he started to cry again, jiggling the baby, Erica looked at the older woman with clear disdain, "Oh, will you shut up!" She snapped as she rubbed the child's back.

"Wha! Excuse me, who are you to tell me what to do?" She asked indignantly.

"Who am I? Who the fuck are you lady?" Erica challenged and Stiles moved cautiously to stand between them, ready to break in when necessary.

"I am her mother!" Mrs. Martin shirked, actually stomping her foot before reaching suddenly for the crying baby in Erica's arms. Before Erica could move to prevent the woman from grabbing the baby, Jacob spewed the contents of his tiny belly all over his grandmother.

Yanking her hand back, Mrs. Martin looked horrified as she attempted to shake the vomit off her hand, "Oh God, gross," she squealed, "Of course you would be just as difficult as your mother," she muttered.

"Stiles," Erica gritted out, "Take the baby."

Looking at her confused he asked, "Uh? What?"

"Take the baby," she stated coolly.

"Why?" His eyebrows rose.

"So I can rip this bitches throat out with my teeth!" She growled as her eyes flashed yellow.

Jumping into action, Stiles repressed a laugh as he stepped in front of her and tried to catch her eyes, "Whoa now, somebody has clearly had a little too much daddy- daughter time," At Erica's eye roll, he knew he had her, "How about you go upstairs and clean Jacob up and see if you can get him to calm down."

Letting out a breath, Erica nodded, knowing that he was trying to defuse the situation. Lifting her hand, she brushed her fingers along his jaw, offering him a soft smile before turning and walking up the stairs. After watching her walk up the stairs with a slight giddiness that made his father smile, Stiles turned to Mrs. Martin, "There is a wash room under the stairs, go clean your hands and if you insist on staying, please keep your snide opinions to yourself. Next time, I won't stop her."

Staring at the boy for a moment, she follows his command and goes to the wash room.

In the kitchen, things are getting a bit chaotic. Lydia is fighting the anesthesia and Deaton needs Boyd to hold her still while he finishes stitching her up. She had clearly started to bleed more during he surgery as the floor and table had a lot more blood covering them than when they left the room. Boyd could feel his heart pounding in fear as he followed Ms. McCall's instructions on were to hold Lydia so that she could move and rip her stitches.

Derek slowly dropped to his knees, reaching blindly for her face he cradles her head in one hand while the other strokes her cheek in a way that he hopes is comforting. "What happened?" He whispers.

"I am not sure," Deaton sighs as he places another stitch, "I clamped off the internal bleed and closed up the damage to the spleen and liver, but when I started closing she cried out and started fighting the anesthesia." He explained as he finished the last few stitches. Looking to Boyd he have the boy a reassuring smile, "Okay son, you can let her go now, we are done."

Looking to Derek for confirmation, Boyd gently released her at the Alpha's nod.

"Can I move her?" Derek asked, "She looks uncomfortable," his eyes have not left the priestesses pale face.

"Well, I need to put the dressing on the wound and then, yes, you can move her somewhere that she can rest more comfortably," The man offered a gentle smile, making short work of applying the bandages that Ms. McCall had prepped.

As soon as he was given he okay, Derek slide his hands under Lydia's unconscious body, trying to move her as little as possible as he lifted her to his chest. Before he could make it to the door, Boyd had it held open and Erica waiting for him at the top of the stairs to help, once she saw him, she moved back into the hallway. He actively ignored the gasps that came from her parents and his sister as he march quickly through the living room and up the stairs, once he reach his room, he was not shocked to see Erica there, already pulling out clean pajamas for Lydia and a basin filling with warm water in the bathroom.

"Lay her down on the bed and we will get her cleaned up and changed, I am sure she will sleep better if she is clean," Erica ordered softly, not making eye contact with her Alpha. Derek noticed his son sleeping peacefully in his bassinet to the side of the bed.

"Erica, you don't have to," he began as he eased the petite redhead down to the bed.

"She did it for me once Derek, I need to return the favor," She cut him off and he nodded, understanding completely because Lydia had done the same for him as well. She had cared for each member of the pack when the needed her and it was only know that he realized that they were all just as scared as he was.

After cleaning the blood off of Lydia and helping Erica carefully dress her in loose pajamas, Derek tucked her into bed. Sitting beside her while Erica dumped the water in the bathroom and put away the supplies they had used to clean Lydia up, he took a moment to breath in the comforting scent of his priestess, no longer completely overpowered by the smell of fear, pain and blood. His moment of zen was interrupted when Jackson entered the room quietly.

"How is she doing?" He asked tentatively, as if he was scared of the answer.

Sighing, Derek continued looking down at his mate, "She is going to be okay. Deaton repaired the damage, but we still need to find out what the shooter put in the dart, it is poisoning her and Deaton doesn't want to wake her up until it is neutralized."

Nodding, even though the Alpha could not see him, Jackson said, "I think we found something you need to see," at his words the Alpha looked over his shoulder at the usually self- confident Beta,

"What?" His eyebrows rose.

"The shooter," Jackson answers coolly, his disdain for the person who injured Lydia clear.

Standing, Derek presses a kiss to Lydia's still forehead before looking to Erica who nods, "I will watch over her."

Turning, the fear and stress that had plagued his features all night gave way to the cold countenance that they all knew meant pain to come. As Jackson and Derek exited the room, Erica sent up a silent prayer to who ever was listening that this ended in their favor, and that the cost was not anyone else in their pack.