Stiles had been sure that Cora was dead. When Derek dragged somebody under like this, they were doomed. He'd still gotten right in Derek's face which had given Peter the chance to get Cora out of Derek's hold but Stiles just knew that Peter would drag a dead body out of the water.
"Derek, look at me," Stiles said but Derek's attention was elsewhere. So Cora probably was not quite dead but Peter hadn't gotten her out of the water yet either.
Derek's form dissolved and Stiles felt his presence move past him. Shit.
Stiles followed him. They wouldn't get a second chance. If Derek grabbed Cora again he would not let go until she was dead.
"Derek." Stiles tried to get his attention and to his surprise Derek paused. Which meant that Cora was either out of the water or dead. Most likely both.
"Derek?" Stiles reached for him but Derek turned away from him.
"I'm sorry." Stiles felt the words echoing in his mind and then Derek was gone.
Down in the depths of the lake Stiles could feel his presence but it was distant and stretched out so thin that Stiles didn't even know where to look for him. Letting him be for the moment, Stiles swam to the surface.
Peter was giving Cora mouth to mouth.
Stiles stepped out of the water but he kept his distance. Peter wasn't giving her heart-compression so she had to have a heart-beat. Not much Stiles could do to help here. It did remind him of the night he had to give the breath of life to Emily. She had recovered just fine and she wasn't even a werewolf.
Stiles dared to hope. If he was honest, he didn't care that much about Cora but he knew what her death would do to Peter and Derek. So when she started to cough, Stiles let out a breath as well.
He stuck around long enough to make sure that she was okay but then he dove back into the lake. Peter and Cora needed some privacy and he needed to tell Derek that he hadn't killed somebody today. The latter turned out to be harder than expected because Derek had retreated into the lake and didn't react to Stiles' calling for him.
"Stop brooding, you damn idiot!" Stiles yelled into the void of the lake. "She's alive!"
Eventually, he did get Derek's attention. His presence thickened around Stiles, not taking form but Derek was all around him now. Stiles let himself sink into him.
"She's alive," Stiles repeated just to make sure that Derek got the message.
"What about Peter?" Derek asked after a moment.
"What about him?" Stiles rose a bit, he had been close to drifting off. "He can't drown, silly."
"Is he mad at me?"
"He knows that you're a force of nature," Stiles assured him.
Derek didn't seem convinced but didn't push it either.
"You'll see once he's back." Stiles snuggled deeper into him. Things might be a bit awkward at first but he had no doubt that Peter and Derek would be good.
Stiles lost track of time for a little while but he rose when Derek left. To get Peter, it turned out. That must have been awkward.
"Hope your family didn't give Derek a hard time," Stiles greeted him when Peter joined him in the water. Derek had retreated immediately, his presence just a distant echo.
"They are not used to him just showing up out of nowhere to get me." Peter let go and his form started to get blurry around the edges. He was getting used to this quickly.
"How's Cora doing?" Stiles asked and listened to Peter's answer that was more in his mind than in his ears. Peter had brought her home after they had talked for a while. There had been lots of hugs and tears but nobody was blaming Cora. The whole pack had been worried.
Stiles stayed with Peter for a little while longer but he was getting restless. So when Derek returned and reluctantly floated around them, Stiles left so that Peter and Derek could hug it out.
Peter had left his phone on the table and when Stiles checked the time, he found two messages waiting for him. The first one was from John. They had been supposed to have dinner today but it was almost ten in the evening by now.
The other one was from Scott. Surprised Stiles read that one first.
Went by your place but your uncle says you're not up for visitors. Missed you at school. Hope you're doing okay. Wanna hang out sometime?
Stiles blinked at the message. With Kate busted and everything else, he hadn't thought about school. He doubted that he was going back. Officially they could say that he was still coping with what had happened and maybe they could get away with telling people that John was homeschooling him for now. Stiles didn't know and at the moment he didn't care about stuff like school.
John's message was similar. That Scott had been there but also that Cora was back with her pack. And he asked how Stiles was doing.
Peter wouldn't come up any time soon and suddenly his cabin felt too empty.
It was late but Stiles still answered John, asking if he could come over. He got a prompt answer and twenty minutes later he parked his car in John's driveway. At least at this time of the night, the hellhound next door was not outside so Stiles got to the front door without his ankle getting mauled.
"Long day?" John asked after one look at him.
John made him instant Mac'n'Cheese which Stiles ate right out of the pot. He did feel better with something rich and warm in his stomach.
"So, Scott was here?" Stiles asked because he didn't want to talk about Cora just yet. They would get to that, John was bursting with questions, but not just yet.
"He's worried about you." John followed his lead and didn't push for the other topic. "Brought your homework."
"What did you tell him?" Stiles asked between two spoonfuls of cheesy goodness.
"That you're not up for visitors." John shrugged. "But he wants to come by again. Do you want to see him?"
That was the question. No need to keep up the charade any longer but thinking about it Stiles found that he wanted to see Scott. John had work tomorrow so Stiles texted Scott that he could come by around noon.
With that out of the way, John brought him up to date with the investigation. The FBI had taken over but John's department was still part of the investigation. They had even made an arrest and had strong leads on another one.
"Kate?" Stiles asked but John shook his head.
"It's quite possible that she's left the country already. The Argents have family in France."
"Did you ask Chris?" Stiles doubted that the brother could tell them more, Kate was not stupid enough to stay in contact with him.
"Some FBI agents had a chat with him, he clammed up again." A smile ghosted over John's face.
"They're using the wrong tactic," Stiles agreed. Threatening the hunter had been fun but he sobered up quickly. "Peter wants Kate dead. Now more than ever."
"Can't say that I blame him." John made a pained face. "Using a minor like that? And she would have killed the whole family if it hadn't been for you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a hero." Stiles squirmed. He took a moment to scrape the last bit of cheese out of the pot before he sat it down.
"It's not that I can stop Peter," John said carefully. "Or arrest him for that matter. Even if I catch him red-handed, in his case most likely literally, there's no way I can hold him for long. Been there, done that." He glared at Stiles.
"I never killed anybody." Stiles raised his hands in defense. For a while, John had thought that he was some kind of a Jason wannabe but they had cleared that up.
"You created a monster." John ignored his comment.
"Technically Derek created the monster."
It got him another glare from John.
"Did you hear from Talia?" Stiles changed the topic. The less John knew about Peter's plans the better. Not that Stiles knew much, just that Kate had it coming.
"She called me to call off the search but I haven't spoken to her since."
They talked for a while but John had work tomorrow so around midnight Stiles wished him a good night and left.
Peter hadn't come up yet and going under for a while did sound nice so Stiles stopped at his cabin just long enough to strip down to his underwear and then he dove into the lake.
Stiles was used to Derek waiting for him, Peter being there as well was kind of strange but he found that he could get used to it. They would have to figure out the long-term logistics, not down here but how to handle life at the surface, but for now, he was content with just sinking into Derek with Peter wrapped around him as well.
Stiles had to hurry to be at John's place in time for Scott. Peter dropped him off. They still only had one car and Peter wanted to get back in touch with his contacts and the members of the pack living all over the town. He was the left hand after all and it was time to get back to doing his job. Stiles understood that and didn't ask about details.
Stiles watched him drive off but then he had to sprint to the front door because Buttons came at him yipping.
"One day I'm going to kick your furry ass all across the lawn," Stiles muttered, his back pressed against the door he's slammed shut in the dog's face.
When the doorbell rang, it was accompanied by barking.
Stiles opened the door a crack, convinced that it was Mrs. Chandler who must somehow have heard him threatening her dog, but he was greeted by a broad grin on Scott's face.
"Scott?" Stiles had a suspicious glance around before he dared to open the door farther.
Scott had a leash in his hand and at the other end was a dog who was greeting Stiles with his tongue lolled out.
"You remember Max?" Scott gestured at the dog. "Deaton lets me walk him and I think I've almost convinced Mom that I can keep him. Hope your uncle doesn't have anything against dogs in the house." The last bit seemed to have occurred to him just now.
"It's fine." Stiles opened the door fully.
The dog took the lead with Scott in tow.
"You got along with him well and I thought that he would help. You know …" Scott avoided his eyes, suddenly self-conscious. "With what has happened to you and all that. When your uncle said that you're not up for visitors I thought that the dog would be a good idea."
"I'm not traumatized," Stiles said but couldn't help but add: "That badly. I'm definitely in need of some puppy cuddles."
Max was sniffing around, there must be some interesting scents around here but Peter's didn't seem to be present enough to bother the dog.
They settled on the floor in the living room and for a little while Stiles pretended to be just a teenager, fooling around with the dog while Scott brought him up to date with what he'd missed at school.
"Are you coming back soon?" Scott dared to ask. "Cora hasn't been back but the other teenagers from the Hale family have been back to school today."
"I don't know." Stiles let out a sigh. "I don't want people to look at me and whisper behind my back."
"You're a hero."
"That's exactly the problem." Stiles reached over to give Max a good belly rub. "Things with my parents weren't good, John took me in to get me out of a bad situation and then I get kidnapped and I almost die in a burning house. I don't want to be a hero, I just want to be left alone."
He was playing it up but he had to give Scott something.
"I understand that." Scott gave him a sympathetic look. "But you can't hole up here like that. It's not good for you."
"I don't think that I'll be back at school any time soon," Stiles admitted. He had no intention to ever go back but he couldn't tell Scott that.
"Okay." Scott nodded in earnest, it was adorable. "But I'll come by every day to bring your homework and to keep you company."
"Maybe not every day."
