By the time the cops were done taking our statements, I was on the verge of another breakdown. My body just couldn't stop shaking and the waterworks were well on their way to opening the flood gates, but as I began to hyperventilate with worry over Lydia's fate, Jackson suddenly pulled me into him and wrapped his admittedly very comforting arms around me, tucking his chin over my head and letting me cry against him. I could hear his pulse against my ear, fast and erratic from his own worries and I knew then that despite all his arrogance and insistence in pushing Lydia away, he still cared about her deeply.

"Tell me she's going to be okay. Please, tell me she'll be okay." I begged him as he continued to hold me, putting aside all our differences and mutual dislike of one another to be of comfort to the other.

"She'll be okay. She has to be okay." Murmuring against me, Jackson began to mutter in a mantra as the night continued on. When Ms Martin arrived I lifted my head and she took one look at my expression to determine that it was bad. She wasted no time, barely pausing to give my arm a weak squeeze as she was allowed into the room to be with Lydia whilst Jackson and I remained outside, standing at the window looking in. He took off his jacket and put it over my shoulders in a rather unexpectedly kind gesture so I slid my arms through the sleeves and let the warmth surround me.

Sometime later Stiles came rushing out of the elevator, making a beeline for Lydia but was cut off by his father who blocked his path and rather angrily confronted him in the middle of the hospital. "You know what? It's good that we're in a hospital because I'm gonna kill you!"

"I'm sorry. I lost the keys to my jeep, I had to run all the way here." Glancing around I noticed the sweat on his brow, evident that he had in fact been running.

"Stiles, I don't care!" To his credit, Stiles remained utterly focused on Lydia's condition, taking deep breaths as he asked if she was going to be alright. "They don't know, partially because they don't know what happened. She lost a lot of blood, but there's something else going on with her." I flinched, straining to listen to the sheriff who had lowered his tone, having quickly catching on that it seemed like Stiles knew something about what had happened at the dance. "The doctors say it's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock. Did you see anything? I mean, do you have any idea who or what attacked her?"

"No. No, I have no idea."

"What about Scott?" Scott? He had been with Allison, what did he have to do it? Frowning in confusion, I tried to think back and gather all the information I knew not just about tonight, but every freaky occurrence that had happened since the beginning of the semester. Now that I think about it, almost everything somehow involved either McCall, Stiles or both. They had to know something, and Stiles wasn't telling his dad, which meant he was attempting to keep it a secret.

"What do you mean? What about him?"

"Did he see anything?"

"What do you…is he not here?" I caught a look Stiles sent to Jackson and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him mouth something back whilst barely moving his lips. So he was in on it to. Those rat bastards, I am so going to kill them if they're at fault for what happened to Lydia.

"What are you talking about? I've been calling him on his cell phone. I've gotten no response." Something seemed to dawn on Stiles's face, realising something internally. I looked to Jackson who was tense beside me then back at Stiles, who was now following his dad away from here. Turning on Jackson, I fixed my eyes on him and very bluntly got to the point.

"What do you know?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you, what do you know?" I was done playing games, and I know that there's been something happening in this town for a while which did not make any sense by normal means. All the murders, the animal attacks, the night at school my friends were almost killed by a psycho murderer, the sudden changes in people, the secrecy, the lying, all of it. Now I know I'm not smart, but I'm a damn good judge of character, and if there was one thing I did know was that none of this made sense, and I knew exactly who was in the thick of it. "You are going to tell me everything you know or so help me god I will make your life unbearable."

"I don't know anything."

"You're lying." My jaw clenched as I watched Jackson closely, knowing full well that he was not telling the truth. He was far too obvious when he lied. "Listen to me, Jackson, and you listen good." Jabbing my finger into his chest, Jackson turned to face me head on as my intense glare focused entirely on him. "I don't know what this is all about, or who is responsible for all this, but if you know who did it, have even an inkling, then I want you to make them pay for this. You make sure that they can't do what they did to Lydia to anyone else, and you start making up to her everything you've done. Understand?" Nodding his head dumbly, Jackson easily agreed to my order, hesitating only a moment before going after Stiles.

I stayed with Lydia, waiting for better news all night without ever moving a muscle. I didn't even go home, staying put in my heels, dress and Jackson's jacket until her mom came out to see me, putting on a brave face. "There seems to be an improvement, her body isn't going into shock and she's stabilising. She's getting better." At the news my entire body went lax and I sagged against Ms Martin as she held out her arms for me, resting against her as I processed her words. "Sweetie, you should really go home. You can't be comfortable like this."

"I don't want to leave her."

"Trust me, a hot shower and a change of clothes will do you a world of good Cordy. Go home and look after yourself first, then come back in the morning. I'll call you if there's even the slightest change, I promise." Reluctant to leave but knowing that Ms Martin was right, I begrudgingly nodded my head in agreement. It was well into the late hours when I called my parents for a ride home, but when I explained everything that had happened they immediately set off for the hospital to come and get me since my car was still parked on school grounds.

My mom hugged me the moment she saw me and guided me into the car, crooning all the while whilst I just blankly followed her lead. My dad was solemn, unable to think of anything to say but when we got home, it was his hug I sought out. He was tall, broad and still possessed a fairly sturdy body from his youthful days of boxing and sports, meaning that when he held me, all my worries and troubles seemingly melted away to give way to his protective embrace. It had been a long time since I cuddled with my parents on the couch, but after tonight, I just wanted to be surrounded by their soft familiarity and unconditional love, knowing that at least here everything was safe and made sense.

I waited for a call from Jackson but never received one, so I guess I'm going to have to work on figuring out what was happening to this god damn town. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just suddenly swallowed up by the earth and we were all dragged down to hell with all the insanity that was going on here, and little did I know then that it was far from over.