Stiles left the Hale house with too many mixed feelings. He glanced at the containers of food now sitting on the seat next to him.
Peter's words still echoed in his mind. That he could come over to read whenever he wanted to. That he could stay for dinner. It was an invitation into the pack. Stiles didn't know how to handle that.
He didn't even make it out of the preserve before he had to stop the car. He was driving too erratic, all the tension breaking free now, and he would end up in a ditch if he didn't stop to collect himself.
His thoughts were running in circles and Stiles forced himself to take a deep breath. He'd survived the evening. He just needed a moment to let it sink in. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes, just for a minute.
"I think I'm going to try that pecan pie now," Stiles proclaimed but didn't move or even opened his eyes for almost another minute. He probably should just drive back to his cabin and eat the pie there with a fork and everything but now the idea was in his head and he couldn't wait.
Peter had once said that he was not just a stress eater, he was a relief eater as well. And he was having quite a lot of relief right now, okay?
Stiles found the pie and took a healthy bite. He was still more than full from earlier but he just needed something sweet to chew on. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the rich flavor.
"Damn, this is good," Stiles muttered to himself and took another bite. He didn't intend to demolish the whole slice here in the car, the pie deserved more appreciation than that, but one more bite couldn't hurt.
Feeling better, he wrapped up the rest of the pie for later, licked his fingers, and reached for the key in the ignition. If he wanted to make it home before Derek popped out of whatever body of water was nearby he better hurried.
"Too late." Stiles caught sight of a figure walking between the trees. A second later it became clear that it was not Derek. He would come straight for Stiles, this person was moving past him. His second thought was that this was one of the Hales but then he caught a glimpse of the face.
Kate Argent.
"What are you doing out here?" Stiles wondered and ducked deeper into his car. She didn't seem to have noticed the car, she was making her way through the woods at quite a distance from the road. Stiles wondered if he should follow her, just to see what she was up to. Or had been up to. Judging by where she was heading, she was coming from the Hale house.
Stiles turned in his seat, not sure where to go but then he noticed the orange color above the trees.
"What the fuck?"
The engine roared to life and Stiles turned the car around.
The house was on fire. Flames were licking through open windows and black smoke hung heavily over the clearing. But there were no people outside. The front door was closed but through the windows, Stiles saw movement.
Stiles didn't wait for the jeep to fully stop before he jumped out. Now he did hear the screams. The pack was trapped inside.
"Hey!" He screamed but his voice got lost in the roaring of the fire. He had to shield his face with his arm to get even close enough to see what was blocking the door. And why the pack didn't just escape through the windows, most were broken anyway, he didn't know.
The door was blocked with some wooden beams. They didn't look sturdy enough to stand a chance against a werewolf, for sure not against a panicked werewolf fighting for his life, but they were holding. The whole door was vibrating with every thump of werewolves trying to break through but it was holding. Against werewolves.
"Stay back!" Stiles yelled in hope that the wolves inside would hear him. "I'm going to ram it in."
With that, he sprinted back to his jeep.
He floored it and braced himself for the impact.
He took out half the frame with the door and cracked his head on the windshield but the door was now open. Smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe, and when Stiles stumbled out of the jeep, the heat hit him like a brick wall.
"Get out!" He yelled and grabbed the person closest to him by the arm. The fresh air coming through the broken door fueled the flames. They were closing in in them. Fast.
Dragging whoever he'd grabbed, Stiles headed towards the door. The person was helping but Stiles still had to do most of the work. But people were climbing over the jeep now. Most were able to get out themselves, others were dragged like the one Stiles was helping out.
"Is everybody here?" Talia's voice carried over the growing group of coughing and spitting people. Out in the fresh air, the person Stiles had been dragging with him came to life as well. One of the women, Christina or Deborah, he wasn't sure and didn't care. His vision was blurry. Smoke and soot were burning in his eyes and when Stiles wiped his forehead with the back of his hand it came back sticky with blood. That explained the dizziness.
"Emily?" The woman came up to a wobbly stand. "Emily!"
Frantically she was looking around.
"Where's Peter?" Talia asked from the other side.
"They were upstairs, both of them." Stiles heard somebody say and a second later he sprinted back into the burning house. There were voices behind him, trying to hold him back but he ignored them. There were still people in there. Peter was in there.
The heat almost knocked him out and the smoke was clogging his lungs making him cough but he stayed low and made his way to where he thought the stairs were.
It felt like an eternity and by now Stiles was sure that he'd missed the stairs but then he stumbled over them. On all fours, he crawled upstairs.
Where was Emily's room? He couldn't remember which way to go. There were too many rooms up here. Stiles stumbled forward, squinting against the heat but with the smoke burning in his eyes and flames all around him he couldn't see a damn thing.
He stepped on something and fell to his knees, burning his hands on the smoldering floor.
"Peter?" The lump on the ground had the right size for a man. "Peter, c'mon. Get up."
It was not just Peter, Stiles realized when he tried to move him. Under him was a smaller body. Emily.
"Peter!" Stiles yelled but it only came out a croak.
There was no way he could carry out both of them.
Emily was lighter and Peter's chance to survive just that little bit longer was way higher with him being a werewolf but it was still a hard decision to make.
"I'll be back," Stiles tried to say when he picked up Emily under the armpits. Dragging her seemed to be the best option, staying as low as possible. Stiles just hoped that he was moving in the right direction, he couldn't see anything besides smoke and flames.
Suddenly a wet hand landed on his shoulder.
"Stiles," Derek said behind him.
"Get Peter, we have to get out of here," Stiles yelled and changed direction. They only had to get to the bathroom now. They were getting out of here.
Stiles got a face full of hot steam when Derek stepped past him to get Peter but he just ducked his head and tightened his grip on Emily.
For a second Stiles wondered if Derek would just vaporize, he was a walking steam cloud but he didn't have time to worry about that. Derek dragged Peter by the collar as if didn't weigh anything and when he passed Stiles, he grabbed him the same way. Stiles just had to hold on to Emily. He buried his face in her neck to avoid the heat and the smoke as best as he could. Just a moment longer. They would be back at the lake in a second.
The cold water came as a shock. One second Stiles felt his skin blistering and then cold water knocked out what little air he had in his lungs. It was tempting to just sink to the bottom of the lake, let the water soothe his burned skin, fall into Derek's embrace until he was healed up but he still had Emily in his arms.
Stiles kicked upward and broke the surface. Making sure that Emily's face was out of the water, he swam towards the shore.
Derek came up as well. With Peter in his arms.
"Derek," Stiles whispered. "No."
For now, Derek had his hand under Peter's head, holding him above the water, but the way Derek was looking at him …
"Derek!" Stiles tried to get his attention. "Look at me. You're not going to do that. You're not!"
Slowly Derek looked up to meet his eyes. There was misty blue burning in Derek's.
"Get her out of the water," Derek said in a dangerously low voice.
Stiles started to swim. He didn't know if Emily was even alive but he didn't save her to let her drown now. But he kept talking. If he could stall Derek long enough …
Just until he'd brought Emily to safety.
"Derek, I like him," Stiles spluttered between strong strokes. Almost there. "I think I love him. Don't take him away, please, don't."
Derek had killed that hunter not long ago, without that he wouldn't be able to resist as long as he was now, Stiles knew that. But eventually, Derek would give in to his nature.
When Derek started to move, Stiles was certain that he would drag Peter under but instead, he brought him closer to the shore. Still supporting his head with one hand.
"Hurry," Derek said, his voice pressed with how much he was restraining himself. Stiles didn't have to be told twice.
He reached the shore and dragged Emily on dry land before he dove back in.
"Give him to me." Stiles tried to pry Peter out of Derek's arms but Derek didn't let go. If anything he was hugging him even closer to his chest.
"Derek." Stiles tugged harder. "You can't have him. He's mine."
Stiles didn't stand a chance against Derek, he knew that, not if Derek wanted to take Peter.
"Derek, please."
Suddenly Derek let go and Stiles stumbled backward with Peter landing on top of him. Stiles didn't wait for Derek to change his mind. The second he broke the surface again, he swam back to the shore as fast as he could.
It was harder to drag Peter onto dry land but Stiles only dared to let go of him when his feet were out of the water.
Peter looked bad. His left side was a black mess, still radiating heat. His clothes were melted into the skin and half his face was gone as well. But he was breathing. That was enough for Stiles. His freakish werewolf healing would take care of the rest.
"Don't you dare and die on me now," Stiles muttered but turned to Emily.
She was not breathing.
"Shit."
At least he found a heart-beat. Sluggish but there.
Stiles tipped her head back, checked that the airways were free, and then he gave her the first breath. Her chest rose with the air but she was not taking the next breath on her own. Stiles breathed into her mouth two more times before he dared to take the second to take his phone out.
"Dammit." Stiles cried in frustration when it didn't turn on. It was dripping wet. "Derek, we need an ambulance here. Get John. And we might need Talia as well. Hurry!"
Derek had been watching him from where he was still standing up to his hips in the water but when Stiles looked up after giving Emily the next breath, he was gone.
