Chapter 37: Unfinished

"L. I. F. E. G. O. E. S. O. N.
You've got more than money and sense, my friend
You've got heart and you go in your own way
L. I. F. E. G. O. E. S. O. N.
What you don't have now will come back again.
You've got heart, and you go in your own way."
—L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N., Noah and the Whale

It was late into the evening, and the forest was quiet around them. The walk to the grave took longer than Allison remembered; had they really travelled so deeply into the forest to bury her? Allison couldn't recall much about the burial—she'd been exhausted after the fight, they all were. Magic had a way of sapping the energy out of her like nothing else she'd experienced.

It seemed as if they'd been walking for at least an hour when Lydia finally stopped her. "We're here," She said quietly.

Allison looked around, squinting in the darkness. Nothing looked familiar—or more accurately, it all looked too familiar. It looked like forest, like everything they'd been seeing for the last not-quite-an-hour. Trees, bushes, dirt...

"Are you sure?" Allison asked, still looking around her for some clue they were in the right place.

Lydia gestured to her left, towards an large oak tree. Allison saw the wide patch of dirt at its foot. Yes, that she remembered. She'd had no energy left to dig that grave, but she had anyways. If it hadn't been for Scott's help, she never would have been able to finish.

They stood at the end of the grave, and looked down at it. A shiver went through Allison's body as she considered what Isbel must look like now, lying under the bed of dirt. She didn't like to think of her that way.

"Are you going to say something?" Lydia asked, raising her eyebrows at her.

"I already said something, Lydia," Allison reminded her. "We already did this. We buried her, we said goodbye—"

"Except obviously you didn't really say goodbye, since you've still been having regular coffee dates with her in your dreams," Lydia replied.

Allison scowled, and looked back to the grave. "We don't go on coffee dates in my dreams," she mumbled. "It's not like that,"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Right, sure. Like she wasn't completely in love with you—do not even try to deny it, Allison. All that stuff about 'looking in to your heart?' Come on,"

"Lydia, what's your point?"

"My point, Allison, is even though we already did this—" She gestured at the grave, "You still haven't let go of her. Whatever connection you two have, you're holding on to it and her and it's keeping her here. And that's not good,"

Allison licked her lips, and glanced down at the ground. "But what if what I'm keeping her from is... what if it's not a good place?"

Lydia sighed. She reached out and took Allison's hand in her, squeezing it lightly. "Allison, it's not your responsibility to decide Isbel's fate for her. She made her witchy bed, and it's time for you to let her lie in it. It's what she wants,"

Allison nodded. "No, I know..." She sighed. "Alright, let's do this,"

Allison reached into her bag, and pulled out the athame and the coin. She held one in each hand, and looked down at them with a frown. She'd never done this consciously before. It had always just been something that happened while she slept. But Lydia thought that if she tried, she would be able to chose to find Isbel, outside of the dreamscape.

Allison closed her eyes, and gripped the items she held. The hilt of the dagger and the coin felt warm in her hands. "Isbel, are you there?" She mumbled. She concentrated on her, saw her in her mind. She pictured her standing in her bedroom, smiling pleasantly and looking as if she was waiting for something.

And suddenly, Allison was in her room with her. It was daytime, and light was streaming in through her windows. Although it had been night only moments ago, this didn't strike Allison as at all strange.

"Hello, Allison," Isbel greeted. She looked around her room, taking it in. "This is your bedroom, correct?"

Allison nodded. Isbel stepped over to her dresser, examining her things. She picked up a picture of Allison and her mother, then put it back down at went to look at the books on Allison's shelf. "I would have liked to have seen this," Isbel commented, taking a book of the shelf and leafing through it for a moment. She looked up at Allison. "Your room. I would have liked to have seen it,"

"You did, once," Allison reminded her.

Isbel shrugged, putting the book back on her shelf. "I suppose so. Although I was a bit... distracted, when I visited you that night. And not myself, entirely,"

"Right... "

Isbel turned to her, a strange look on her face. "Are you at my grave?" She asked. Surprised, Allison nodded. Isbel shivered slightly. "I can... I feel it," She said quietly. "It's unpleasant,"

"I came to say goodbye," Allison said, trying to ignore the strange tugging feeling in her chest.

Isbel smiled, but Allison thought it looked a bit sad. "I know," She said. She stepped towards her, and took Allison's hand. Her flesh felt cold. "Thank you, Allison,"

Allison's brow furrowed? "For what? Letting go?"

"For holding on," Isbel said. "For letting me share your dreams these past few weeks. It's... more than I deserved," Another small, sad smile. "But yes, now it is time to let go. This magic that binds us, it's unnatural. I must move on... to whatever awaits me,"

Allison gave Isbel a shaky smile in return. "I hope it's something good, Isbel. I really do,"

Isbel's smile widened. "Knowing you, Allison Argent, was all the good I could have asked for," Isbel leaned in, and pressed a soft kiss against Allison's cheek. "Goodbye," She whispered.

"Goodbye, Isbel," Allison muttered.

The room disappeared suddenly, and Isbel along with it. When Allison opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at a dark sky, obscured by climbing trees. Lydia's face popped into view, and Allison sat up slowly, her head spinning. Her back felt sore, and her had cold dirt on her hands. "What happened?" She asked.

"You fell," Lydia explained. "You closed your eyes and you just fell over. I thought you'd passed out..."

That explained the pain, Allison supposed. "How long was I out for?"

Lydia's brow furrowed. "You weren't. You closed your eyes, fell over, and now we're having this conversation,"

"Oh," Allison said. "Well, you were wrong about being able to talk to Isbel outside of the dreamscape." She said, rubbing her hands against her jeans to clear the dirt off of them. "Clearly I had to be asleep, for at least a moment."

"Alright, but clearly I was right about you being to choose to find her," Lydia pointed out. She put her hands on her hips. "You did find her, right?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah, I found her. She... thanked me, for holding on to her like I did, but told me it was time to let go."

"And what did you say?"

"I said that I hoped that there was something good waiting for her," Allison frowned. "And she said that knowing me was the only good she could have hoped for,"

Lydia raised her eyebrows. "And you still think she wasn't completely in love with you?"

Allison placed her hand on her cheek, running it over the place where Isbel had kissed her. "I don't know," She mumbled.

When she'd fallen, Allison had dropped the athame and Isbel's coin. She found them in the dirt with the light of her phone, and together she and Lydia dug a small hole in Isbel's grave. Then Allison placed the knife and the coin inside, and covered it back up again. They stood up, and looked down at the grave for a moment. Allison wasn't sure what she felt. Sad, of course... but something else, as well. She supposed some part of herself felt as if she should have saved Isbel. It was as if she'd failed her by letting her die, and then failed her again by letting her go. But that was ridiculous, of course. Isbel had sealed her own fate centuries ago. There was nothing Allison could have done.

Knowing so did not make her feel any better.

Both Allison and Lydia were quiet as they walked back to Lydia's car. Neither of them spoke until they were back on the road. "So, do you want to hang out?" Lydia asked, glancing at Allison out of the corner of her eye.

Allison bit her lip. "Actually... I have some more unfinished business to take care of," She said. "Think you could drop me off at Jackson's?"

Allison bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as she stood on the Whittemore's front porch. She told herself to be calm, that she could handle this—reminded herself that she had faced much, much worse and come away unscathed. Still, she couldn't help it. She was nervous as hell.

The door opened, and Mrs. Whittemore gave her a slightly surprised smile. "Allison, hello. We haven't seen you in a while,"

Allison smiled back. "Hey Mrs. Whittemore. Is Jackson home?"

Jackson's mother stepped back to allow Allison to enter. "He's upstairs," She informed her.

Mr. Whittemore was sitting in the living room, watching television with an expression that seemed as if he were angry with it. He looked up when he heard the door close, and when he spotted Allison his expression darkened. "Allison, what are you doing here?" He asked, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Oh, um, I'm here to see Jackson," Allison said, a bit startled by Mr. Whittemore's abrupt tone. Had Jackson told his parents about what she'd done?

Mr. Whittemore raised his eyebrows, and looked at his wife. He gestured for her to come closer to him, and when she walked over he pulled her in close and whispered in her ear. Allison thought she heard him say "Should we be letting her near him?"

Completely taken aback, Allison felt her mouth open a little.

Mrs. Whittemore looked as confused as Allison felt. "What do you—" She broke off suddenly, and some sort of realization seemed to come over her. She glanced back over at Allison, and Allison was sure she saw fear in her eyes.

What the hell was going on?

As Jackson's parents whispered amongst themselves, Jackson himself came shooting down the stairs. "Mom, Dad, it's fine. Allison isn't going to hurt me, you guys don't have to worry," He said. "Right Allison?"

"What? No, of course I'm not going to hurt you—I swear, I'm not going to hurt him," She said, looking at Jackson's worried parents. Still they remained hesitant.

"We're sorry, Allison," Mrs. Whittemore said. "It's just that after Jackson told us about you and your family—well, you understand, right?"

About her family—

Allison looked at Jackson, her eyes wide. Jackson shrugged. "I told them everything, Allison," Jackson said. "About me, about you... they know it all,"

"Oh," Allison said. She glanced back at his parents. It made sense now. Their fear, their hesitation to let her near Jackson. Jackson had told them she came from a family of werewolf hunters—that she herself was one. And now when they looked at her, they saw a killer. Of course they wouldn't want her around their son.

"Guys, I promise it's okay," Jackson was saying. "We're just going to talk, alright? I'll be fine. I'll leave my door open and everything,"

At this, Mr. Whittemore frowned and made a hmph noise. "You're going up to your room, huh? Sure it's not going to get a little crowded in there?"

Jackson sighed and rolled his eyes. "Dad, I told you, Derek is not in my room. You're imagining things,"

Mr. Whittemore did not look convinced.

Jackson lead Allison upstairs. As they walked down the hallway to his room, he glanced over his shoulder at her. "What are you doing here, Allison?" He asked.

"I'm here to apologize," She said.

"You did that already,"

"I know, but I want to do it again," Allison continued, as Jackson opened the door to his room. "I—" Allison broke off, her eyes wide. Derek Hale was sitting on Jackson's bed. So much for Mr. Whittemore's imagination.

"Allison," He said.

"I thought you said you were leaving," Jackson said, raising his eyebrows at Derek. "What happened to 'Allison and I should talk,' and 'I'll give you some space'?"

"I decided to stick around for a few minutes, just to make sure she didn't have any weapons on her," Derek said, standing up. "I know how you only like to talk to us if you've got a crossbow pointed at our throats,"

Allison scowled. "The bow was always for my protection against you," She said. "I didn't know you'd be here, so I don't have it,"

Derek nodded. "She's not lying," He said. He glanced at Jackson. "Alright, I'm leaving," He said.

"You don't have to," Jackson told him, stepping towards him. "Stay,"

Derek shook his head. "No, you two have issues to work out."

Jackson snorted. "Right, and you two don't?"

Derek glanced at Allison. "Somehow, I don't see our issues being resolved tonight," He said. Allison had to suppress a glare. She didn't see their issues being resolved ever.

Derek made his way to Jackson's window, opened it and stuck a leg through. "Call me later, alright?" He told Jackson. Jackson nodded, and gave Derek a quick kiss on the mouth. Then Derek was gone.

Jackson stood at the window for a moment before he turned around to face Allison. He crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back against the wall. "So," He said. "You said something about an apology?"

Allison nodded. "Jackson, what I did... going behind your back like that, convincing Derek he needed to break up with you... there's no excuse. I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to be a good friend... helping you..."

Jackson raised his eyebrows. Allison waited for him to say something; when he didn't, she continued.

"But I was wrong," She said. "Whatever reasons I had, what I did was wrong. If I was being a real friend, I would have talked to you about it, instead of going behind your back and doing what I thought was right for you. But I didn't, and I am so, so sorry,"

Allison paused, as the horribleness of what she'd done swept over her. How had it seemed like the right thing to do at the time? Had she really been so caught up in herself that destroying her friends relationship had seemed to her like it would help him? Why on earth had she thought that?

Truthfully, she knew why. Because it was Derek. Because there had been no doubt in her mind that having anything to do with Derek could be anything other than awful for Jackson. She'd never stopped to consider anything else.

But whatever prejudice she had against Derek, whatever hate she had for him... Jackson had chosen to be with him. She didn't understand it, but he must have seen something in Derek that wasn't apparent to her. Something worth loving.

No matter how impossible it seemed to her, if she wanted to be a good friend she had to respect that.

Jackson was regarding her quietly, and seemed to be thinking over her words. He tilted his chin up. "You're wrong about him, you know," Jackson said, almost as if he had read her thoughts. "He's not what you think,"

Allison licked her lips. "That's not the point. It doesn't matter what I think about him..."

"No, it doesn't," Jackson said. "But you're still wrong,"

"Jackson—"

"Allison, you went to Derek and you told me he was hurting me, that he was bad for me. You told him that, and he broke up with me because it killed him to hear. Do you understand? He couldn't handle even the idea that he was hurting me, so he ended it." Jackson paused, and tilted his head to the side. "Okay, part of it is because he's an idiot, obviously, to even have believed you for a second, but that's besides the point. He's not a monster, Allison. Not any inch of him,"

Allison turned away from him. "He killed my mother Jackson—" Allison wheeled back around before he could protest. "No, don't start—he bit her and she died. She killed herself because of what he did to her. Nothing you say will change that. Nothing,"

Jackson stepped towards her, and Allison could see anger in his eyes. "Have you ever considered that maybe you don't have all the facts? That maybe you don't know what really happened that night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you ask Scott what I mean. Get him to tell you,"

"Scott? What—"

"He was there that night, Allison. He was there and he never said a word to you. To protect you, probably." Jackson snorted, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Personally I think you can handle the truth. You're a big girl, aren't you Allison?"

Allison gritted her teeth. "Jackson, you're going to tell me what the hell you're talking about, and you're going to tell me right now,"

"Fine," Jackson said. She waited, but he just stared at her, jaw tense and eyes enraged. Then he dropped his gaze to the floor, as if suddenly ashamed. "She was trying to kill him. Scott... she tried to kill him. He called Derek for help..." Jackson licked his lips, and slowly lifted his eyes back up to meet Allison's. He no longer looked angry, or indignant. "He was only trying to protect him, Allison,"

Jackson's words seemed to swirl around her brain, not landing or taking root. She didn't understand what Jackson had told her, it didn't make sense to her.

For a moment, she just stood there, turning the words over and over in her brain. Without even realizing it, she found herself seated on the edge of Jackson's bed.

Allison felt as if she'd been split down the middle. Both parts of her seemed to be falling away from each other, trying to get away from it's other half; the part that refused to believe her mother had really tried to kill Scott and the part that knew with absolute certainty that it was true.

Jackson was speaking to her, telling her in a voice full of shame that he was sorry she had to find out like this, but he thought she'd deserved to know the truth. That was a lie, Allison knew. He'd been trying to hurt her, trying to show her that she had been wrong.

Allison shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. What did this change, really? Her mother was still gone, and Allison would never stop missing her. No matter the mistakes she'd made, the path she'd walked... and how could Allison hold any of it against her, when she'd almost followed the same one?

"She was still my mother," Allison said. It took her a moment to realize she'd spoken aloud. She lifted her eyes and looked at Jackson, who looked uncharacteristically apologetic. "And she's still dead,"

"I know," Jackson said, taking a seat next to her on the bed. "And I'm sorry, I really am. But Derek was just trying to protect Scott, I swear. He's not a bad person, Allison,"

Allison closed her eyes for a moment. Her mouth felt dry. "Jackson, why does it matter so much what I think of Derek?" She asked, opening her eyes again.

Jackson looked surprised. "It doesn't... it's just..." He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want you thinking I'm not safe with him, I guess. And... you're my friend. I don't want you to hate him,"

"I haven't exactly been a great friend to you lately," She pointed out.

"Yeah well, I've never exactly been a great friend to you," Jackson replied. Allison raised her eyebrows, and Jackson glanced away. It might have been her imagination, but Allison thought she felt him shift away from her on the bed. "When we started hanging out... I was only doing it to make Scott jealous. I didn't care about being your friend, I just wanted to mess with him,"

Allison felt a little like she'd been slapped. "You... what?"

Jackson cast a guilty glance at her. "When I got to know you, I cared about you, I swear... just at first..." He looked away again. "I'm sorry, Allison,"

"Why are you telling me this, exactly?"

"Just thought I'd get it off my chest. It didn't seem fair to let you beat yourself up for being a shitty friend, when I was way shittier to you in the first place,"

Allison sighed. She didn't know what to make of this information. "Why don't we just start over?" She said. She looked at Jackson, and saw surprise on his face. "New beginning, new friendship. No lying or hiding or manipulating. Just friends?"

Jackson nodded slowly. "That works for me," He said.

They sat in silence for a moment. Allison wondered if this fresh start meant she was forgiven for what she'd done. Technically, she supposed. However, she wouldn't be surprised if Jackson held on to some resentment for a little while longer. And she wouldn't blame him, either. Still, at least now she knew for sure that he still wanted to be her friend.

"So..." Allison said, searching for a conversation to start their new friendship with. She didn't want to talk about her mother anymore, or dwell on the idea that she had been trying to kill the first boy Allison had ever loved. It was too painful. Another day, she would talk it over with her father, try to understand why she mother had seen Scott as such a threat. For now, she would change the subject. "You told your parents everything, huh?"

"Oh, yeah,"

Allison smiled. "How'd they take it? Finding out about all that stuff, I mean—werewolves, kanimas, witches...?"

Jackson shrugged. "Not bad, actually. I was sort of having a nervous breakdown at the time—" Jackson shot her a look here that basically told her what that breakdown had been about. She glanced down. "And they were a lot more concerned about that than the 'holy shit our son is a werewolf' thing. I mean there was a little bit of that, obviously..." He shrugged. "I think all they want is for me to be okay. If I can do that and be a werewolf, then it doesn't matter to them,"

Allison smiled. "That's good," She said. "Sounds like they took it all really well,"

Jackson ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah... well, they took the whole werewolf thing a lot better than they took the whole Derek thing," He made a face. "I mean it was one thing when we were broken up, when it was in the past—when I told them we were back together, however..." He trailed off. "Not so much,"

Personally, Allison thought that reaction was entirely justified, but she kept it to herself, and attempted to look surprised. "Oh, yeah?"

Jackson rolled his eyes at her. "Shut up, don't pretend like you don't agree with them,"

Allison shrugged a shoulder. "Pretending seemed like the polite thing to do," She admitted. "So why don't your parents want you dating him? Pretend I can't think of a million reasons on my own,"

"Oh, lots of things." Jackson said. "He's too old for me, is the big one. And, he's a former wanted criminal—the fact that he was exonerated means nothing to them... "

"Gee, that's surprising,"

Jackson glared at her, and she raised her hands. "Sorry, continue,"

"He's in a position of power over me, being my alpha and whatever. I explained the pack dynamics to them, and they don't think it's right for him to be dating one of his beta's."

Allison pressed her lips together, and said nothing. If you don't have anything nice to say...

Jackson looked at her, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Allison, I'm not completely oblivious. I know that their reasons are... not invalid. He is too old for me, he's sort of dangerous... I get it, I do,"

She raised her eyebrows. "But... ?"

"But none of that matters." Jackson said, shrugging. "None of it... none of it makes any difference. You could give me all the reasons in the world not to, but in the end I'll always choose him. Every time,"

Allison opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again without saying anything. She couldn't help but find something familiar in Jackson's words. In a way, his situation wasn't all too different from the one she'd been in while dating Scott. Parents against him, all the reason in the world to walk away but knowing he never would...

Allison's parents had looked at Scott and seen someone dangerous, someone bad for her. And Allison had always known that Scott was anything but. Despite what everyone else thought, she had trusted Scott completely. Loved him, more than anything.

She looked at Jackson, suddenly filled with renewed shame over what she'd done. "I understand," She said quietly. Jackson looked surprised. "I get it, Jackson, I do. And I'm so sorry I took that away from you, even for a little bit,"

Jackson rolled his eyes, and reached forward to clasp Allison's shoulder. "Allison, you've apologized enough. We're putting all that crap behind us, remember? We both made mistakes, and if we want to we can spend the rest of our lives regretting them and punishing ourselves," He said. "But what'll that get us? Fucking nothing, is what. Wallowing and hating ourselves and moping around full of regret won't do anyone any good." He took his hand away, and looked her in the eye.

Allison knew what he was saying. "We can't undo the things we did... but we can do better,"

Jackson nodded. "Exactly. Derek thinks more things will come. Here, to Beacon Hills I mean. He doesn't think we're done fighting. And I figure if he's right, then that's not a bad place to start."

Allison furrowed her brow. "How do you mean?"

"We can fight," Jackson said. "We can fight whatever comes, stop it before innocent people get hurt. All our strength, our skills, we can make it mean something. We can—"

"Protect those who cannot protect themselves," Allison finished.

"What?"

"It's something I've been thinking about," Allison said. "My family—hunters, we have a code. 'Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent.' It means 'we hunt those who hunt us.' But I've been thinking that's... not right. I've been thinking maybe we should have a new code. A better one,"

Jackson raised his eyebrows. "And that code is...?"

"'Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger,'" Allison recited. "'We protect those who cannot protect themselves,'"

Jackson nodded. "Sounds like a good code,"

Allison smiled. "I thought so. I haven't run it by my Dad yet, but I think it'll be okay."

Jackson smiled, but it looked tense. "We can do this, right? Find some way to put all that darkness behind us and move on?"

Allison pursed her lips, thinking. "I don't know if we can put it behind us," She said quietly. "I mean, I'd like to yes, but I really don't know. The things that happened to us, the things we did... I think it'll always be a part of us, in a way,"

At her words, Allison saw Jackson's shoulder's sink. She put her hand on his. "But I know that we don't have to let those things define us, or say who we are and what we do," She continued, raising her eyebrows at Jackson. "You were right, Jackson. The past will always be there, we can't change that. But we don't have to let it decide what the future is,"

"How inspiring," Jackson replied. "You should work for Hallmark,"

Rolling her eyes, Allison gave Jackson's shoulder a light shove. "Shut up, okay? I'm serious. It's like you said. Whatever comes, whatever chaos enters our lives, we'll fight it. Whether it's a ridiculously difficult algebra test, or flesh-eating zombies. We're gonna fight it all, and we're gonna win,"

Jackson frowned. "I don't know, Allison. I mean, flesh-eating zombies are one thing, but algebra?" He sucked his breath in between his teeth. "Not my bag,"

Allison laughed and shook her head, and Jackson smiled at her. "Do you want to catch a movie?" He asked, surprising her. "It's been forever since I've actually sat down in a theatre to watch something,"

After considering for a moment, Allison nodded. "Sure," She said. "A movie sounds nice. Normal. I could use some normal,"

"We could call Lydia, see what she's up to..." Jackson paused. "There aren't any movie's based on Nicholas Sparks books in theatre's right now, are there?"

Allison shrugged. "No idea,"

"Well, we should check that, and then give Lydia a call. Maybe Danny, too,"

Allison raised her eyebrows. "How about Scott and Stiles?" She asked.

Jackson gave her a look that said she was pushing it. "I think I'd rather see a movie with the flesh-eating zombies,"

Allison shrugged. "That's fair,"

As Allison and Jackson went about calling their friends and choosing a movie to watch, a strange feeling settled in Allison's chest. Something foreign, but not at all unwelcome. It was a feeling of warmth and contention and Allison knew that for at least the moment, at least for this night... they were safe. She had meant what she'd said to Jackson, about fighting. Whatever came, whatever evil tried to kill them next or whatever chaos turned their lives upside down, it wouldn't matter. They would fight it all, and Allison knew that they would win.

But tonight, there would be no fighting. No strife, and no pain. For tonight they were just normal kids, not werewolves, hunters or banshees. Just normal kids going to see a movie on a Saturday night.

And that suited Allison just fine.

THE END

A/N: Well, we're approaching the end of the road here. There will be one more chapter, in the form of an epilogue, but then we're done! I apologize for taking so long to update recently, but I was busy with life stuff. Also, endings are hard. I'm still not completely satisfied with this one, but if I waited for an ending I'm completely satisfied with then we'd be here forever.