It's been so long since I've worked on this story that I might have been a bit hasty in my promise in Chapter 34. It might look more like 2 weeks by the time I get around to finishing this portion of the series. It's where I planned to divert fully from the show but I'm finding it to be more of a challenge than I thought. Any comments are appreciated as I attempt to wrap this part up. The song here is "Everywhere" by Michelle Branch and I do not own the song or Teen Wolf.
Chapter 35: "Everywhere"
"'Cause you're everywhere to me
when I catch my breath, it's you I breathe
You're everything I know that makes me believe
I'm not alone"
Isaac's jaw dropped and Allison's shoulders fell, there were so many fires to put out and only three of them to do it. Just one of these problems would be too much for their small group and now there were at least three that they knew of. Even if one person was sent to deal with each, they would be overwhelmed immediately as berserkers and Kate required a team effort not to mentioning finding two people that had likely gone different ways. Allison wanted to ask her father for suggestions, but her throat was tightening up with worry about the choices was she going to have to make. It might be night, but students often stayed late for extracurriculars and who knew how many berserkers Kate had under her command. Scott would do his best to protect himself and his family, but it would break him if his mother was hurt or killed as a result. Finally, there was Derek who was unable to protect himself in his current state and Peter who was up to who knows what.
Picking one meant putting the others in danger, while picking more than one with their small group would lead to everyone getting hurt or killed. She was only a teenager, how was she supposed to make such a decision? "Dad" She whispered softly, and he shook his head and opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by a knock at the door. Putting a finger to his lips, he motioned for them to move out of sight before stepping forward to open it with a gun already in his hand. "Coming." He called as his hand grasped the doorknob and he took a deep breath. "I should hope so, we need you Argent." A familiar voice replied, and Allison couldn't help but relax when she heard Sheriff Stilinki's voice. Chris Argent motioned to Isaac and tapped his nose with a single finger. Isaac nodded and lifted up his head to sniff the air for any trace of panic or an unfamiliar scent. Only recognizing the scent of the Sheriff and a few others, none of which were unfamiliar, he nodded to Argent who immediately holstered his gun and opened the door in response.
"About time." The older Stilinski muttered as he gave Argent a pat on the shoulder and motioned to those behind him to follow him in. Allison's fear and worry started to lift as she watched the Sheriff lead Parrish, Stiles, Lydia, Braeden, Liam, and Dr. Deaton into the room. Isaac watched warily as the group filed in and made note of a handful of key absences. He expected that Scott and Kira would be missing but he was not sure what to think about Malia. Despite their falling out with Scott over Liam and, indirectly, Allison's death, Isaac had tried to keep up with what was going on with the rest of the pack and knew that Malia had discovered who her father was. He might not have understood why Scott and Stiles had decided to hide it from her, but he certainly understood how her long lost father being Peter was the reason Stiles and Malia had separated.
Allison must have also noticed who was missing as he heard her whisper to Lydia, "I assume Scott and Kira are dealing with Kate, but where is Malia?" Despite having moved to stand beside Chris Argent, Isaac listened carefully from a distance as Lydia's red locks bounced as she shook her head. "Scott and Kira were going out on a date and we can't get ahold of them. Malia is…" She trailed off and he heard Stiles finish her thought, "With Peter supposedly at Derek's but since Braeden claims the flat is empty of both Hales, we have no idea where she is." He paused to sigh and shake his head, "It's all my fault. If I had only told her what I knew then she wouldn't have gone to him. You know that self-absorbed bastard won't help her, he'll just use her to benefit himself."
Despite getting along better now, Isaac and Stiles weren't exactly close by any means but that didn't stop Isaac from walking over and placing a hand on the gangly teen's shoulder. "You can't save her Stiles, if you keep blaming yourself. After all this, we'll go looking for her and Peter and sort this mess out, okay?" Lydia and Allison both nodded in agreement and Stiles, despite shaking Isaac's hand off, smiled at the werewolf. "I'm fine Scarfy, what's the plan for tonight?" Allison frowned at his question as all eyes turned to her and her father. She had some ideas, but she couldn't imagine sending some of these very breakable humans, her father included, to deal with these crises. Chris Argent looked over at her and nodded for her to go ahead. That look told her that there was no chance of him taking away this burden, not that she expected him to.
Taking a deep breath, she looked one last time at the group that had gathered in front of her that were looking back at her expectantly. Some looked more worried than others. Others looked angry and ready for a fight. "As we all know," she began with her voice faltering a bit, "there are three main issues to contend with. Four if you count Meredith but I assume that you left some deputies behind to handle that, right Sheriff?" The older Stilinksi nodded before adding, "I wouldn't have left if that wasn't the case."
Allison nodded as a few people relaxed a bit after the Sheriff's comment. "The three situations that remain then are the berserkers in the school, Kate at Scott's house, and finding where Derek is. Does anyone want to volunteer to go to the school?" Both Sheriff Stilinksi and Parrish volunteered to head to the school and do damage control however, neither had experience with Berserkers. "Dad, can you go with them?" Chris Argent nodded as he watched on as his daughter stepped into the role that she was born to do. Allison gave him a small smile before turning to Braeden, "I assume that you would like to look for Derek?"
The former bounty hunter looked like she was about to argue about why Allison assumed such a thing, so Allison quickly followed up by adding, "Since he is your paying client and all." The woman gave a curt nod to that as she relaxed a bit. Even though she and Derek had yet to use labels for whatever it was that they had, she knew that she didn't want everyone to know that she cared for him since that was a weakness. Allison understood where Braeden was coming from as she waited to get officially involved with Isaac herself due to a similar concern. What Allison knew but didn't add was that it was better to have the person you cared to share the burden than to carry all that fear and worry alone. Looking at Isaac, she gave him a soft smile and he smirked back at her before twirling two fingers as a reminder to continue.
Jolting herself from her thoughts, Allison took a deep breath and continued. "How about you go with her Deaton in case Derek is injured?" Although no one had ever explicit said that Derek was losing his werewolf abilities, most everyone knew, therefore Deaton would likely be needed to stitch him together since his ability to heal was not an option. The veterinarian nodded despite being slightly put out to be given the safer assignment. Turning towards the remaining group she sighed knowing that she was limited on her options of who else to send to look for Derek. On the one hand, Scott's mom, not to mention potentially Scott and Kira as well, were being held by Kate which meant that at least two supernaturals needed to be there to fight her. She and Isaac had the most training, so they were obvious choices which left Liam, Stiles, and Lydia. Stiles and Lydia had proven earlier that night that they needed saving from lower level threats, like a human with a gun, but Liam was a wild card who may or may not have control of his inner wolf. Although it went against her gut, she looked at Dr. Deaton as she added, "Liam you go with Dr. Deaton and Braeden to find Derek. Which leaves Stiles, Lydia, Isaac, and me to deal with Kate."
She might have been worried about sending Liam off on his own with two breakable humans, but a decision had to be made and having to watch Liam, Stiles, and Lydia in addition to fighting Kate was not an option. Her anxiety was slightly alleviated as Chris Argent gave her a nod of approval before stepping forward and directing everyone to grab weapons as needed and establishing ways to transport everyone to where they needed to go. Allison barely listened to her father as she moved towards Deaton and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Keep Liam safe." The older man smiled as he realized how much the huntress trusted him. "I won't let you down." She nodded and walked towards Isaac, Lydia, and Stiles before being stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she was met by the elder Stilinski who wore a worried expression. "Keep them safe, Allison." Allison managed a soft smile as she nodded, and the man pulled her in for a quick hug as he added, "Keep yourself safe too."
Pushing back memories of a similar hug in a hospital elevator, Allison nodded before pulling away and turning to the room full of people. "Thank you all for coming to help, we could never have handled this on our own." Lydia grinned as she stepped forward and hugged her friend, "You're not alone, Allison. We'll always be there to help." Her brown eyes were glassy as she grinned at Lydia who gave her an encouraging smile as Allison looked at the group before cheekily grinning and adding. "Why are we still standing around then? We have a town to save and friends to rescue."