Lydia is back, and Stiles fills her in on what have happened the last few days. They are all working on the house and the progress is satisfying. They discuss what to do with Hester. Allison is adamant about killing her, but Scott and Lydia roots for a peaceful solution. Melissa and the sheriff share an awkward moment. Isaac gets to know what jealousy feels like.
For the next five days, everything went back to normal. Well, normal wasn't quite the correct term. Nothing was really as it used to be, but they tried to create a new normalcy in the pack.
Getting used to Allison being a werewolf was one of the things they had to cope with. Not that she acted very much different from before, but none of them knew for sure if she could control herself fully. They always tried to keep an eye on her just in case. Scott was the only one who didn't seem to be bothered. He told them to have faith in her.
Chris indulged himself in the plans for the new house as if it was his own. He talked to Derek about it, but other than that, he didn't really interact with any of them; not even his daughter. It seemed like he too was scared of her, although he did his best to hide it.
Isaac and Alex were practically glued together. In the woods, when they were helping out with the house, they always found a way to touch and caress each other. Every time they took a break, they went far into the woods. Stiles didn't have werewolf senses and couldn't hear them, but Derek and Scott often seemed to squirm a little looking in the direction they'd disappeared.
At the loft, it was even worse. The two of them were at it like rabbits, sometimes moaning and panting through the whole night. Werewolves didn't necessarily need much sleep, but it was hard to understand how both Isaac and Alex could be awake and alert working on the house, after a whole night of lovemaking.
Stiles' foot was healing at a satisfactory rate. Even if he still had a dull pain both in his shoulder and his chest, he felt fine. It was nice to be able to get around without too much help, and he was also able to do some minor work on the house.
The framework was done in record time. Having werewolves on the team was helpful. They didn't need any cranes or other equipment to move the lumber and hold it in place. It was almost surreal watching Allison lift a beam over her head while Derek carefully adjusted it to make sure it was level, before he attached it to the frame.
Scott had to go to work at Dr Deaton's clinic almost every day, but he spent as much time he could helping out. Sometimes the doctor himself came and lent a hand. Even the sheriff put in some effort though he was still weak.
The funny little brick construction were in use every day. Alex, who seemed to be all thumbs when it came to raising a house, was definitely less clumsy by the stove. Sometimes Melissa came and helped him cook.
Stiles nodded to himself. "That's pretty much it." He turned to Lydia and gave her a lopsided smile. The girl practically had her jaw on her chest. She was almost unable to form a coherent sentence. "You, uh, I mean... are you... serious?"
Stiles put the car in park and turned off the ignition. "Dead serious." He chuckled a little. "I know. I wouldn't have believed it myself." Lydia jumped out of the jeep, but she didn't move any closer to the house. "Allison, a werewolf? I, eh, no, no, no."
This was the first time Stiles had been able to drive there on his own. He'd ran into Lydia at the store, and after hugging each other, she'd asked what was going on. She'd tried to call Allison, but there was no answer. She'd even tried Scott and Chris, and had worried that something really bad had happened to all of them. She couldn't see any of their cars as she drove past the loft, so when she spotted the jeep outside the supermarket, she'd ran inside.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Nobody was looking in their direction, so she got a chance to observe them. Allison and Scott were working on something at the back of the house. Chris was standing on the front porch – not really a porch, just some scaffolding – pointing and explaining something to Derek. Scott's mom and the sheriff were looking at what that seemed to be a blueprint.
On the side of the house, Lydia could see the brick stove Stiles had mentioned. Isaac was standing there with his arms wrapped around that guy Alex' waist. She remembered him clearly; he was cute as a button. He leaned his head back and looked up at Isaac, as Isaac bent down a little and kissed him.
"Isaac and Alex. It was in the cards. That does not surprise me." She sighed and turned to Stiles. "I was gone for way too long. This is like, eh... OH, I missed out on everything." Stiles grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the house. "But now you're here. C'mon."
Allison spotted them first. She dumped the pieces of wood she'd been holding and ran towards them. "LYDIA! I missed you." She hesitated for a split second when Lydia took a step back, as if she was scared. Then she put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Don't worry, I won't bite."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Isaac looked at his boyfriend with fondness. Alex was trying to get a fire going inside the brick stove, seemingly oblivious to anything that went on around him. He'd removed his T-shirt and was only wearing those old denim shorts Stiles had given him. They were hanging low on his hips, threatening to fall off. His skin had darkened significantly over the last few days working out in the sun.
The trees around the house shaded the plot somewhat, but Alex' seemed to suck up every ray that made its way through the branches. Isaac looked at his own chest. He wasn't white as snow anymore, but it took longer for him to get a tan. Getting too much sun exposure made his skin turn red. The sunburn healed almost instantly so it wasn't such a big deal, but he didn't like it.
Alex hadn't done much hard labor in his life, and he'd never really exercised too much. After five days carrying lumber and with some exciting work-out sessions in bed, Isaac could have sworn that he already started to see a slight muscle build-up in the guy. He knew it shouldn't be possible to notice any difference in that short amount of time, but Alex had almost looked a little scrawny when he first came to the loft. He didn't look scrawny anymore.
Wiggling his butt to the sound of the music as he fed the fire, he looked perfect. His body was glistening with sweat, and the hair hanging in the back of his neck was slightly damp from it. Isaac swallowed hard. 'How could he have been so lucky to meet someone that beautiful?'
They hadn't talked about commitment or anything. They were both happy with the situation and Isaac didn't want to jeopardize this relationship by bringing it up. In his gut, Isaac knew that he was in for the long haul. He could never give up Alex, ever. It scared him. Alex, with his gorgeous look and sparkling personality could have guys – and girls – falling head over heals for him. Isaac didn't want to think about, but he couldn't help it.
"Watching your man there are you?" Isaac got startled when someone came up behind him. "I can understand that, he is..." Lydia stared at Alex with approval painted on her face. Isaac blushed a little before he composed himself and gave her a hug. "Welcome back. I guess Stiles told you."
Lydia nodded and threw another peek at Alex. "Yeah, he did." In Isaac's opinion, her eyes lingered a little too long for comfort. "He is just..." She sighed. "I could easily stare at that for a long time too. Lucky you. I'd tap that."
Isaac shook the discomfort of Lydia's insinuation away with a shrug. Lydia wasn't a threat. Alex wasn't into girls. Isaac didn't think so anyway. He felt a shiver down his spine. He really didn't know much about Alex. He'd got tidbits of of the guy's life served randomly in between, but they hadn't really spent much time sharing life-stories. They had been way too busy exploring each others bodies to make time for chit-chat.
Well, Alex wasn't really Lydia's type either. She liked the tall, blonde, muscular guys. Isaac didn't feel convinced, but he repeated it to himself a couple of times like a mantra. "Oh, relax. I have to be allowed to look at him without you getting jealous." Lydia nudged him gently. "You two suit each other."
Isaac didn't get a chance to respond, before Lydia walked away. He watched her as she greeted the rest of the crowd. Then he looked at Alex again and wondered if he should ask. He and Alex were happy, and too much sharing could jeopardize that. Alex turned abruptly as if he knew he had eyes on him. With a big smile he lifted his hand to his lips and blew Isaac a kiss.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"We are gonna kill her, right?" Allison was munching on a piece of chicken as she addressed Derek. "I mean, I don't think your plan will work and we're not going to let her walk away with Alex." After a long and hard deliberation she'd caved in and told them she'd stand guard.
Scott had not been comfortable when they planned the murder, and had made Derek promise to try to reason with Hester first. Derek himself didn't seem to eager to kill her either, so he willingly agreed. "She is a smart woman, she might surprise us." Derek took a sip from his beer before he continued. "I'm not counting on it, but there is a slim chance."
Allison rolled her eyes. She'd been so ready to take that woman down, and she secretly hoped that she'd get the chance to shoot her in the heart. It was technically not a secret. Everybody knew how she felt, but they trusted her to stick with the plan.
The sheriff got up from the log he was sitting on and panned the group. "I don't want to hear it. You were not to discuss this in my presence." He turned to look directly at Allison. "I am a police officer; I can't know anything about this." Melissa hurried to get to his side when he started to walk away from them. She shook her head and sighed. "You did promise."
Allison got slightly embarrassed. She'd totally forgot that the sheriff was supposed to be kept out of the loop. She looked down. "I'm sorry, but it's been five day's and we haven't heard a word. I'm just...a little antsy. Sorry."
The sheriff waved her off. "I see, but coping under stress is important." He paused for a second. "And as I understand, it's even more important for you." He shrugged and threw a glance at Derek and Scott. "Isn't it right? She's a newbie and can..." He huffed. "Lose control."
Being told off like that was highly uncomfortable. Allison almost squirmed in her seat. Melissa and Mr Stilinski were walking away from the fire and sat down on the hood of Derek's car. Scott wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in. "It'll be okay. It's totally understandable that you forgot. We can talk about it tonight, okay?"
After the first meeting when Alex volunteered, they hadn't had a chance to have everybody gathered together like this. Allison just felt that they needed to talk some more about it when all of them were around. "Sure we can do that. I'm, I'm sorry."
Lydia looked totally lost and was sitting there with her mouth open. Allison reached her hand out and patted her friend's knee. "I'm sure you can join too." She looked up at Derek. "We can go to the loft, right?"
-o-o-o-o-o-
They decided to call it a night and after taking care of the leftovers, Melissa volunteered to take Mr Stilinski home. "I don't want to be in on this either." She gave her son a hug. "I hope you guys can come to an agreement with her. There shouldn't have to be any bloodshed." She patted Scott's back and sighed. "I know you want this to go down without a fight. You just have to convince the others."
Scott knew exactly what she meant. When she said 'the others', she was clearly referring to Allison. "Allison will not come near Hester. She'll be the backup if everything goes south." He whispered the words into his mom's ear. The rest of the crowd was busy loading the cars, so he was pretty sure nobody payed attention. "Hester has been a friend of the Hale-family for years. I'm sure Derek and her can come to an agreement."
As soon as his mom and Mr Stilinski had left, Scott walked over to Allison. She was busy loading the tools into her dad's car and startled visibly when Scott wrapped his arms around her from behind. He kissed the back of her neck before he moved around to face her. "You didn't mean that, did you?" He cocked his head and gave her a smile. "I mean, you don't really want to kill her?"
Allison rolled her eyes and tried to avert from looking at him. Scott froze up. "No! Really? Allison? We can do this peacefully; we don't need this to escalate." She took a few deep breaths before she met his eyes. "She tried to kill me. I want revenge." She rubbed her forehead vigorously. "I can wait, though. I can be a good girl and stand guard, but sooner or later I'll have to kill her."
Scott stroked her cheek and pushed the hair away from her face. "I understand how you feel, but isn't it better if we never see her again after this?" He shrugged. "If this works out, she'll stay away. She promised Derek."
In the corner of his eye, he could see that Derek approached them. He'd obviously overheard the short conversation. Allison lifted her head and stared at him. "I don't trust her for a second. She'll be back sooner or later. My dad killed her brother. She will never let that go, I'm positive."
Derek nodded. "I agree, but at the moment we are all her targets. We have to make her believe that we trust her. It's the only way. Threats are not an option here. We just want peace. Anything else we can deal with later."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Outside the Stilinski-house, Melissa exited the car and came around to help Mr Stilinski out of the passenger seat. "You'll be okay, right?" She reached her hand out for him, but he didn't take it. He got out of the car on his own and closed the door. "I'll be fine. I don't think I'm really on her list." He took a few steps forward. "That guy who attacked me was after Stiles, We all know that."
Melissa didn't know what to do. Mr Stilinski was still in recovery, but he was doing good, and she didn't know if he needed a helping hand as he walked towards the house. "I, uh, do you need any help?"
He chuckled a little. "Maybe, but I want to try." He took another two steps before he turned towards her. "You want a drink? A little one for the road." He seemed a little shy for a second. "I'm just, you know, I was just thinking, uh, Scott isn't coming home for a while and you shouldn't be alone either."
There was a few moments of silence before Melissa managed to react. Stiles' dad was inviting her for a drink. It shouldn't have been weird. She'd know him for ages, but for some reason she hesitated. "I, uh." She looked at her watch, but didn't really see the time. Mr Stilinski was waiting patiently with a smile tugging his lips. He looked perfectly at ease now, and Melissa felt stupid for not answering immediately. "Sure, one for the road. It has to be a small one. I have to drive home."
As soon as he'd unlocked the door, the sheriff gestured for Melissa to come inside. "I have to clean up. My hands ares till covered with soot from the fire." He chuckled a little. "Rearranging those logs was a bad idea." He walked over to the kitchen sink and squirted soap into his hands. "What do you want? Wine? Whiskey? Beer? I can probably manage to mix you a drink, but I wouldn't recommend it."
Melissa felt a little out of her comfort zone. She'd never been in this house alone with the sheriff. The two of them were friends so it shouldn't have been awkward, but it was. She watched him dry his hands with a small towel. "Oh, well, It didn't come out completely, but who cares." He turned around. "So, what can I get you?"
He opened a cabinet and pulled out a couple of bottles. Melissa sighed and scooted over to the couch. "I don't really care. Whatever you're having." She sat down and made herself comfortable. "I'm sorry about Allison's behavior." She threw a peek over her shoulder. "She knew that you weren't supposed to be involved."
Mr Stilinski came over with a glass in each hand. "You're sorry? Why? She's not your responsibility." He handed her the glass with half an inch of whiskey. He'd been quite a bit more generous with himself. "It's going to be okay." He walked over to the recliner and sat down. "The kids will be alright."
He didn't sound completely convinced, but he sported an encouraging smile. Melissa took a small sip from her glass. "I hope so, but Allison... I don't know if I trust her." She shook her head. "I'm afraid she'll do something stupid."
Mr Stilinski leaned forward, resting his forearm on his knees. "Trust your son. Trust Scott." He lifted his glass in a silent toast. "But we shouldn't really talk about it. I don't want to know what they are going to do."
They finished their drinks in silence. Melissa put the empty glass on the table and got up. "I better go. Will you be alright?" Stilinski nodded as he moved to get out of the chair. Melissa stopped him. "No, it's okay. Sit, I'll let myself out." She walked to the door and opened it before she turned around. "See you. Take care of yourself."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Sure! I'll stick to the plan." Allison didn't sound completely convincing. Stiles wasn't quite sure, but he thought he spotted the flash of orange in her eyes as she said it. He didn't know what it could entail, and he wondered if anyone else had noticed.
After packing up in the woods, Chris and Allison had taken off first with Alex and Isaac in the back seat. Stiles, Lydia, and Scott had left in the jeep shortly after, and now they were all at the loft waiting for Derek.
"We don't know what she's going to say. We don't know where she wants to meet him." Allison sighed and slumped down on the recliner. "How can we make a waterproof plan when we don't know shit?"
Scott walked over to her and stroke her hair. "I believe she'll agree to whatever Derek tells her. Remember, she's outnumbered. She'd in no position to set the rules." Allison brushed his hand away. "Then we shouldn't even consider this. We could go there and just... just..." She looked up at Scott. Stiles noticed the sadness in his eyes, and felt sorry for him. Allison must have noticed too, because she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry. It's just frustrating."
Lydia ran over to her and sat down on the armrest. "I don't know much about what's going on here. Stiles filled me in somewhat, and I believe that a peaceful solution will be the best." She shrugged and looked at Stiles. He knew she expected a little bit of support for her point of view.
Stiles took a few steps forward. "If possible, yeah, I agree." He nodded towards Alex. "Alex is the one in most danger here. If Derek can't convince her, he'll be in the crossfire. He should really get the opportunity to set the rules."
Alex and Isaac was in the kitchen putting the leftovers from their little get-together into the fridge. When his name was mentioned, Alex turned towards them. "Don't say that, Stiles. She is after you guys. I'm just a bargaining-chip." He shrugged. "She doesn't want a war either, but she's too proud to just back out. The only reason she asked for me back is because she doesn't want to lose face."
"You're wrong!" Everybody turned to Chris when suddenly spoke. He'd been sitting on the couch without participating in the little discussion. Now he got up and stared at Alex. "I'm the one she's after. Me and possibly Allison. Before she made that mistake to collaborate with that Alpha-pack, she had no reason to go after any of them." He gestured towards the teenagers.
Stiles nodded in agreement, but nobody payed attention to him. Chris continued. "She probably thought she could get their help to wipe us, the Argents, off the map." He chuckled humorlessly. "We also know that she wanted Derek in her pack, but the rest of you she couldn't care less about."
It was impossible to not interfere. Stiles cleared his throat and panned the crowd. "Totally! I couldn't agree more, but the fact is..." He paused a little. "As Alex said, he's just a bargaining-chip. He has no value for her per se. He'll be tossed aside in a heartbeat if she sees an opportunity to get a bigger price."
Stiles slumped down on the couch and sighed. "Alex' life is in her hands, and I don't think she'll hesitate for one second if she has to kill him."
