Chapter 52: Fail Safe
With four werewolves and a vampire on the field, it was guaranteed that neither human stood a chance. Matt picked up the sport easily enough and Stiles had slowly been getting better with some one-on-one sessions with Scott from the previous year, but they were still barely keeping up. And the others were even trying to hold back, at least, with them. Stefan had played lacrosse in a couple of his lifetimes, a very long time ago. That, coupled with his advanced abilities, put him ahead of even Jackson. Soon enough, the werewolves' damaged pride clouded their better judgment. Scott pitifully attempted to keep the peace while Jackson, Isaac and Boyd teamed up against the vampire. Stiles was busy smirking at how easily Stefan dodged them, strictly taking the defensive and never rising to the bait. Stiles was honestly surprised. All of the werewolves he knew had about the worst tempers he had ever seen. From working with Damon those past months, he had half suspected vampires had the same problem. Yet Stefan wasn't even scowling. In fact, he was smiling – laughing, even. Eventually, Matt joined in. Isaac lightened up at that, chuckling too as he made a move at the vampire. Boyd seemed to back off as well. It was Jackson who apparently didn't receive the memo that this was only a game. Growling, the teenager bounded forward, diving for Stefan. The vampire swung his body to the side, revealing a bent over panting and laughing Stiles behind him. Stefan had been so distracted by the attack, he hadn't noticed the boy. Jackson couldn't stop his own momentum and the werewolf crashed into the human with a sickening crunch.
Several voices rang out the boy's name as Stiles' body was brought violently to the ground. Scott leapt forward, ripping Jackson away from his friend and snapping his extended teeth. A hand fell on Scott's shoulder and he turned to see Stefan's calm, yet warning, expression. The gold faded from Scott's eyes and the werewolf abandoned his prey without hesitation. Scott slid onto the grass next to his groaning friend. Isaac was already standing there, hovering awkwardly while Boyd hung back, glancing at their surroundings to make certain there were no witnesses. Matt had knelt down next to his fellow human the minute Stiles had hit the dirt. Stefan shot Jackson a Ripper-worthy glare and then joined them.
Stiles was on his back, face twisted tight together and sweat pooling in each wrinkle. But that wasn't what was concerning. Stefan saw the contorted elbow and popped shoulder first, his eyes trailing down to the bent fingers. The kid must have thrust his arm out in front of him on instinct when he saw the threat approaching, and now it was a mangled mess.
"Shit," Scott searched his own pads, and then glanced at the stands where his phone lay. "I should call my mom. I can bring him into the hospital with his jeep. Can someone take my bike?"
"Hold on," Stefan clamped his teeth down on his own wrist and then offered it to the injured boy. "I can help him."
"No!" Stiles grunted through a gasp. "No – no way, dude."
"It will heal you, idiot," Jackson supplied, nonplussed by Scott's glare. "Remember?"
"Remember?" Stiles ground his teeth together. "I remember being in the hospital for days in a coma. Ok, well, technically I don't remember that part. But I do remember being sick and in the worst pain of my short life for a whole week after waking up. I remember almost dying and my best friend over here going all protective wolf and thinking pushing me away was going to keep me safe, 'cause apparently, he forgot I'm the one that saves all of you."
Scott stiffened. All wasn't forgiven, apparently.
"When Elena gave us her blood, we healed right away," Isaac lifted his head.
"I never really thought about why. I guess we assumed it worked differently for humans, because we already naturally heal," Scott shrugged. "I was busy being happy you were alive. And then everything else was happening."
"And I figured it was all part of the 'healed by vampire blood' process," Stiles attempted to shrug and ended up shrieking.
The way Stefan's face was darkening told Stiles that, no, that was not part of the process.
"Besides," he hedged, trying to avoid that conversation - the one that lead to him revealing that hey, my ancestor was a super powerful witch slash werewolf protector and I can sometimes light candles with my mind - and started to sit up more, "there are Original vampires and Alpha werewolves on the loose. I'd rather not get killed and then come back as one of the undead, no offense."
"It's better than being dead for real," Scott argued, voice rising.
"My choice," Stiles hissed as he bumped his arm, "and, I never thought I'd say this, but I choose the hospital. And drugs. Lots of drugs. Tell your mom to not let them be stingy this time."
Stiles began using his uninjured arm to push himself up onto his knees. Scott and Stefan moved to help. Thankfully, they were both still supporting him when Stiles finally climbed to his feet. The boy was only voluntarily vertical for about ten seconds before his entire body pitched to the side, eyes rolling back.
"Shit," Scott muttered as he adjusted to keep hold of his friend's newly limp form.
"It's okay," Stefan took the majority of the kid's weight. "He just passed out."
"I don't blame him," Isaac shrugged as he shuffled alongside them and rubbing his own shoulder. "Broken arms aren't fun."
"More like broken arm, fingers, and busted shoulder," Matt corrected with a backward glare at Jackson.
"Hey!" Jackson spat back. "The vamp moved. Not my fault."
"Boyd can take your bike," Isaac volunteered, "but, uh, don't we have a small problem?"
"What?" Scott turned to face him after setting Stiles in the back of the jeep.
"His dad," Isaac fidgeted. "He was pretty freaked after the car accident already. Asking all those questions. He's gonna be suspicions. And then Derek'll kill us."
"Can't you mind control him or whatever it is that you do?" Jackson nodded at Stefan.
"Stiles wouldn't like that," Scott shook his head.
"Scott," Jackson stepped forward. "We've got crazy Alphas, hybrids and Original vamps coming to kill us. We don't have time to be dealing with the Sheriff. Who cares if it's what Stiles wants. This is about keeping all of us alive."
"Yeah, like you care," Scott clipped, but then sighed. "Fine. Do it. Let's go."
"You three go straight back to Derek's," Stefan pointed at the werewolves. "Matt'll come with us. We'll meet you there."
Jackson huffed, obviously not too keen on taking orders from a vampire, but obeyed.
"This was supposed to be a one-time thing," Chris Argent slammed the door of his car as he approached the Hale house. "Help stop Erica and Boyd and Derek's sister from hurting anyone in the town. That's it. Now you call me after sneaking off?"
"Derek's sister," Cora leaned forward on the porch and raised her hand. "I have a name."
"You're a Hale," Chris shook his head, "that's all I need to know to know that you're trouble."
"And you're an Argent. That's all I need to know." She stroked the burned railing, while eyeing him.
Chris had the decency to glance away once he got the message.
"How many times are we going to have to have the 'we're all on the same side' speech?" Allison threw her hands up. "And I wasn't sneaking out. You noticed. You just knew you couldn't stop me. Or shouldn't."
"You shouldn't be here. Fighting their battles."
"Their battle is about to be the town's battle, dad! You think the Alphas are bad? Someone, something, worse is coming. Stronger. Meaner. From the stories, he's slaughtered entire villages and cities without blinking."
Chris stiffened, body rigid but eyes instinctively reaching out to survey their surroundings.
"Who?"
Allison opened her mouth to speak, but turned at the sound of the front door swinging open. Alan Deaton stepped outside, sighed, and spoke.
"Have you ever heard of Niklaus Mikaelson?"
After Tyler had to jab Jeremy back to consciousness a second time with his elbow, the mini strategy meeting adjourned. They'd learned all they could about the different creatures' fighting styles already. Now they were just waiting on Argent to arrive. Deaton had showed up with the mountain ash already but barely spoke as they strategized and sparred. Allison had devised a pretty decent game plan, not that Damon would ever admit it, but she wanted her father involved. There was arguing, of course, most of the day was arguing. But this wasn't some teen tv show where they went off on their own and survived. They needed help. Deaton. Argent. Everyone, if they were to survive what was coming.
When Derek asked Jeremy when the last time the boy had slept, and the hunter couldn't answer, they paused planning. Jeremy denied and pouted all the way to the couch, where he promptly passed out. Tyler was still recovering, despite the blood bags he had been draining all day. He would never have admitted it, but everyone else saw. So when Jeremy slumped off and Allison pretended she needed a breather, everyone agreed to call it for awhile.
"I need to go take care of something," Derek announced after a moment, "it won't be long."
"Don't tell me you're getting tired too?" Damon teased.
"Just someone I have to see."
"In the middle of all this?" Tyler narrowed his brow from his spot on a chair. "You want to keep secrets in the middle of a war?"
"It's not a secret," Derek sighed. "Just something none of you need to worry about."
"Isn't that for us to decide?" Allison asked, not unkindly.
"It's nothing. The teacher, that was at the school the night of the full moon."
"Ms Blake?" Allison shook her head, confused.
"Someone saw you?" Damon crossed his arms. "A human? Great."
"We went over that," Allison rolled her eyes, "when we all debriefed."
"Really?" Damon shrugged. "I tend to tune the wolves out."
"I just need to go see her," Derek turned, ignoring the vampire.
"So, what, you're just gonna go up to teach and give her the ole puppy dog eyes and say 'please don't tell anyone about the big bad werewolf brawl you saw the other night in the school basement'? Just let me compel her. Easy."
"No," Derek shook his head. "You all aren't always going to be in Beacon Hills. We can't come to rely on your methods. And besides , I wasn't going to warn her not to tell anyone about us."
"Well that's just plain stupid. You want a council on your hands? Because stuff like that is how your town gets a council. Or more hunters."
"She's not going to say anything," Derek sighed.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Because I just do."
"Oh, oh, oh," Damon wiggled his eyebrows. "I see what this is. You like her. Bad move, bro."
"I'm just checking to make sure she's okay."
"Mhm. Sure you are. Hot for teacher, I can commend that."
Argent joined his daughter to plan and prepare after hearing the name of one of the most feared creatures he had ever heard of, and a little rousing speech about protecting the town from his daughter. He would have been lying if his first instinct hadn't been to take Allison and fly to the farthest continent.
Derek had returned not long after he had left, Peter behind him. No one said anything. They were all working with people they didn't like or trust. But the air thickened the second he crossed the threshold.
The girls showed up after shopping before dark, all sporting new outfits than what they had left in. And when Lydia handed Cora an oversized bright pink bag, the werewolf didn't snarl or resort to snark. Some of them were even sure they saw something of a smile.
It was near nightfall when the last four remaining members of the two misfit packs finally joined the others. The Sheriff was under the compulsion that Stiles was locked up in his bedroom for the night and didn't need to be checked on. Upon waking in the hospital, Stiles was, in fact, unhappy to learn that his father had been 'mind warped', as he had called it. Still, the power had its perks. In less than six hours, Stiles was stiffly shuffling up the Hale house steps, instead of remaining for further observation as the doctors had initially desired. Meredith hadn't needed Stefan's persuasive touch to let him go, but she did make the boys promise to call her if anything happened. When all was said and done, Stiles had come out of the hospital with one sprained and two broken fingers, a sprained wrist, a broken radius, and a back-in-place shoulder. His entire body felt like it had taken a freight train on in a game of chicken and lost, but he refused to voice any of the pain. He had barely just finished recovering from his last extended hospital vacation. He didn't need to give Derek or Scott another reason to peg him as the weak human link and kick him out of the pack. Tonight was a strategy meeting. And if there was one thing Stiles could actually do, was strategize.
"Have fun babysitting the kids today?" Damon greeted his brother after a lifted eyebrow and watching the battered kid brave the stairs up the porch.
"Have you ever heard of anyone getting sick from vampire blood?" Stefan whispered as low as he could, hoping the others weren't paying enough attention to overhear.
"Does that explain our new one armed mascot in there?"
"He wouldn't take my blood," Stefan watched Stiles laugh at something Matt was saying through the window. "Said it made him sick last time. He spent three days in a coma after Meredith gave him the blood. I spoke with her at the hospital. She thought it was because Stiles had been so close to death."
"Even Meredith isn't that stupid," Damon rolled his eyes.
"I think she was just hoping it didn't mean anything. She did just escape all of this," Stefan sighed, leaning against the railing.
"It's a mystery, brother," Damon patted Stefan's shoulder. "One that I really could care less about solving when our necks are on the line."
"No way!"
Both brothers turned their heads back toward the house at the indignant shout.
"Lydia, don't be so stubborn!" Jackson was stomping across the floorboards, but there was something underneath the screaming that Stefan or Damon had heard before.
"Stubborn? Ha! I'm being practical!"
"So am I!"
"You're being neurotic."
"I don't want – just – do it, okay?"
"Oh my – you can't even say it, can you? You don't want me getting hurt."
"Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"
"You thinking you can tell me what to do is hilarious."
The brothers rounded the corner and watched as the former - current? - couple continued, ignoring their new audience members.
"What's going on?" Stefan crossed his arms.
"Jackson wants Lydia to drink vampire blood," Isaac answered casually, as if the pair were discussing the weather.
"Five minutes ago," Erica added conspiratorially, "he was trying to convince her to become a vampire. Now he's bargaining."
"Sometimes I wonder why I even pay for cable television," Peter snickered from his spot against the wall.
"Nobody still pays for cable television," Isaac huffed and Erica chuckled.
"Look at Stiles!" Jackson waved a hand at the boy's cast-covered arm, drawing their attention back.
"The only reason Stiles was in the hospital, again, is because of you, Jackson!" Lydia pushed her finger into the werewolf's chest.
"It was an accident! And it wasn't my fault the first time!"
"Maybe if you would've been honest with me from the beginning and told me what was happening with you, we could've stopped Gerard sooner and then Stiles wouldn't have been hurt at all in the first place."
If Stiles was uncomfortable being used as cannon fodder for this argument, it didn't show. He plopped onto the couch that Jeremy had long since vacated and stared at the sparring, smirking. Pain pill loopiness or not, he was just entertained by watching Jackson squirm.
"Come on!" Jackson threw his hands up. "That's a reach. And I was being controlled!"
"Now you know exactly how I feel right now!"
"It doesn't mean you'll become one of them!"
"No, it means that I could."
"So what? How is that a bad thing?"
"A bad thing? All summer long, you've barely tolerated them. Made bad jokes. Just this afternoon, you tried to attack one of them just for being a vampire or being better than you at lacrosse. I'm honestly not so sure which bothers you more. Now, because vampyrism is convenient for you, you're on the bandwagon. And as tempting as never getting a single wrinkle is, I'd rather not spend eternity as someone who isn't even eligible to vote."
"You'd rather be dead?"
"Yes!" Lydia whirled around and paced away. "Stiles was right not to do it! I mean, an eternity of being miserable all the time? No thank you."
And if the comment stung any of the vampires in the room, they didn't voice it.
"These vampires aren't miserable!"
"Oh, really?" She spun back around to march toward him. "Years and years of watching everyone you love die. I already watched you die – twice. I won't do it again."
That seemed to end the conversation quite well. Lydia looked close to tears as she twisted on her heel and stalked away. Jackson wiped at his face, looking over and glaring at Isaac and Erica, who both were doing poor impressions of people who weren't smirking.
"You can't force her to do it," Stefan sighed, stepping toward Jackson.
"Who asked you?" Jackson's chest rose fractionally.
"You had a choice in becoming a werewolf. You asked for it. Scott didn't. Elena, Caroline, Tyler, Damon, me, none of us wanted to be what we are. If Lydia doesn't want to be a vampire and she becomes one, it will just be that much harder for her to accept. She might even get desperate and turn off her humanity after all that death she talked about. You still age, slowly, but you do. You can still have families, children. Grow old with the one you love. We can never do that. That's a lot to sacrifice for some people. Some people would rather be dead."
"This is too big," Jackson faced the window. "She's gonna get hurt."
"You can't protect her from everything. But, this fight, it's not as hopeless as you think. We've faced worse."
"Yeah. And did everyone survive?" Jackson spun around to be met with silence. "That's what I thought."
"You can't force it on her," Stefan stepped back. "And if you try, I'll be there to stop you."
"Me too," Scott leaned forward on the couch, patting Stiles on the boy's uninjured shoulder, before crossing the room and heading wordlessly out the door.
He had heard Allison making her way up the porch and needed an excuse to breathe away from everyone else.
"Everything go okay?" Scott collapsed onto the front steps next to her.
"Traps are all set," she leaned back. "Jeremy's just doing a last perimeter check with Derek and my dad. Our scents are all over this place. If any vampires or werewolves come looking for us, they'll definitely be in for a few surprises. We'll have to stick to the yard for training. And only a human can break the mountain ash circle spread around the property line. But we should be leaving soon."
"What about humans?" Scott looked out into the woods, as if he could spot the traps.
"Everything we set up is only harmful to vampires or werewolves. Wolfsbane, mountain ash, vervain, you name it, we used it. And alarms, too. Anything gets too close, and we'll know."
"Did you hear?" He nodded toward the house after a beat.
"I heard Jackson and Lydia fighting. What's new?"
"Jackson wants Lydia to become a vampire, or, at least, drink vampire blood in case something happens to her."
"Like Lydia would ever do that." Allison snorted.
"No, she wouldn't," Scott sighed heavily, letting a silence slip over them.
"Although," Allison smirked, "an immortal Lydia Martin? Pretty sure she'd end up taking over the world."
"Probably," Scott grinned and then frowned, waiting a beat before asking. "Would you?"
Allison's head snapped around to face him.
"Would I? What, drink vampire blood as a - what? A fail-safe? I – I don't know. My dad would freak."
"Your dad would never hurt you."
"But other hunters might."
"You run with a werewolf pack," Scott smiled. "I think other hunters already target you."
"I guess."
"Think of how scary accurate you would be with your bow," Scott mused and then swallowed as she glared at him. "Not that you're not already amazing – and scary – which you are, amazing, really."
"It'd be weird," Allison stretched her arms. "Stuck at seventeen forever."
"Could always get Danny to get you a fake I.D."
"I'd be able to compel people, remember? I wouldn't need one."
"Right, yeah. That – that'd be super sexy, by the way."
"Yeah, sexy. Compelling my way into nightclubs and out of traffic tickets. Really sexy when everyone around me is dead." She paused. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. It's - it's what Lydia said too. She said she had to watch Jackson die and wouldn't do it again."
"I can understand that. Losing my mom, I became someone else. It hurt so much and it was easier to be angry. If I'm a vampire, what if I lose my dad? I mean, someday, I'd lose everyone. Him, Lydia, and you. What if losing everyone, what if I turn into something worse than before? A monster. Stefan and Elena and Caroline are good people, but we've all heard the things they've done."
"You could never be a monster," Scott slid closer to her. "Scary, yeah. But not a monster. You didn't kill Boyd and Erica. Or Isaac or Derek. Or me. We all survived. And you can't really try to kill old age if we would die. I wouldn't be worried. You're Allison. You're strong and smart and could survive anything."
The pair shared a long look before awkwardly breaking apart.
"Besides," Scott cleared his throat. "You get along with Elena and Caroline. And Stefan's a good guy. I bet Tyler and Rebekah are too. You wouldn't be alone."
"He's right."
The two both turned their heads as Elena slipped out from the house and joined them.
"We all may not always get along all of the time and we've had a lot of problems." She shrugged, sitting next to Allison. "But we're all most of us have left. I never wanted to be a vampire, but I had a choice after I was turned. I could choose to die, or choose to stay with the people I love. Don't get me wrong. If I ever get the chance to be human again, I'm jumping at it. But if it's between my friends and family losing me forever or getting to spend the rest of their lives with them, it's worth it. We're a family now. All of us. And families always have room for one more. But it has to be your decision. No one else's."
"Thank you," Allison smiled at the girl. "And I'm sorry, that you didn't get a choice. And for everything that's happened to you. After my mom," she shook her head, "I can't imagine what you've been through. You are so strong."
Elena placed a hand over the girl's.
"So are you."
