Chapter 97

Jackson called that same night around two in the morning to report that the lights were on in Finstock's house and that there was movement.

"But not of the normal kind, I think," Jackson said quietly. "He's wandering around, not getting ready for bed or whatever. And there's some Italian soap opera running but he's not watching it."

"Well, we know that he's watching telenovelas," Stiles replied as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, like a loon because he loves the drama. But he watches them. And he reads the subtitles because his Spanish is for shit." Jackson was silent for a moment. "Now he's going into the cellar. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"How close are you?" Derek asked, already unfairly alert after just having been woken up.

"Not too close. My better half is resisting but I have no idea why. He can tell you when he gets back."

"He should tell you first, maybe through a text or something," Stiles said. "Don't pout, everything is an opportunity for you to get to know each other better."

Jackson paused again. "Fine. You're probably right. Wait a second."

While Scalyboy was working on telling Jackson what the problem was, Stiles flopped back onto his pillow and groaned. "How high are the chances that this will end in a disaster?" he whined.

Derek snorted. "With our luck? I wouldn't be shocked if it came to yet another hair-raising adventure in the near future."

Jackson came back on and said, "Listen up, losers, other me says that he's literally feeling repelled from the house despite the stealth rune. As in, there's a shit ton of magic surrounding that hovel in a wide circle and it feels really bad. Cruel even. Other me says that normally he'd like that, but he's with you now so he dislikes it on principle."

"Aw, he's such a good bro," Stiles cooed.

"Shut it, Stilinksi, or I'll tell him to leave you a dead rat next," Jackson sniped back.

Stiles cackled. "He'd do it, too, the little shit."

"Can we get back on track, please?" Derek huffed and allowed his eyes to glow with his exasperation. "Good. Thanks. Since I don't believe that Deaton would impersonate Finstock, and other magic users with malicious intent have a hard time entering the city now, I think we can safely assume that it's Baccari doing this."

"Which just takes the cake because what is our life?" Stiles complained.

"Seriously, what? Why the hell would she take Finstock's face?" Jackson demanded. "Why would anyone want to do that? I don't get it."

"Well, he's been at the school for a long time. His access to the student records alone would be worth something," Derek said, sounding like he thought they were a bit dim for not thinking of it immediately.

Stiles couldn't really blame him but then again he had been run a bit ragged these last few weeks. Still, he was present now and his brain was gearing up to get with it.

"Plus, chances were high that all of us would meet her in class sooner or later," he said and snapped his fingers. "But Jackson's right in that Finstock's not the easiest person to impersonate. Coach is a lot of things but boring or predictable isn't one of them, so why choose him of all people for a long-term con?"

Jackson hummed a little and then said, "Maybe she noticed that he was the most annoying of the lot and decided to sacrifice him as some kind of public service act later or something. I mean, she wouldn't exactly be wrong."

"Jackson," Stiles admonished even as he smirked.

"Or maybe she's simply out to cause more trouble," Derek interjected before Jackson and Stiles could start another snarky squabble. He rolled over and starfished over Stiles, squishing him a little. That Lou retaliated by spreading all over him and squishing him back didn't appear to disturb him at all. "She used Kali's face last time. Who knows what sort of chaos she's planning on inflicting on us with this?"

Stiles sucked in a breath in sudden realization. "She does thrive on chaos, doesn't she? What if the school is her new playground and she's gearing up on making it as chaotic as possible? Finstock already is a wacko, people wouldn't ask too many questions if someone with his face on did questionable things. And if they did, it'd be too late to do something about it."

"That … sounds far too plausible to dismiss outright," Derek admitted. "Fuck."

"I guess we should keep watch then," Jackson said with a put-upon sigh. "And maybe rescue the Coach while we're at it. He's crazy but he shouldn't be made responsible for The Bitch's crimes."

"Yes, Jackson. Maybe we should rescue him." Derek's voice was bone dry. "Soonish, even."

"Not tonight, though," Stiles said firmly. "I'm not gonna greenlight a hare-brained rescue scheme without thinking it through first."

"What if Finstock dies in the meantime?" Jackson asked, actually sounding anxious.

"That's just it," Stiles replied. "First, we'll need to check out whether Finstock is even still alive. The Bitch impersonated Kali well enough even after Kali's death, so it's really fucking questionable whether the impersonatee needs to be alive for her to use their faces."

"Impersonatee," Jackson echoed, unimpressed.

"Hey, if there are impersonators it follows that there must be impersonatees," Stiles argued. "Anyway, this is a job for Peter, he's got the best senses out of all of us and he's the least likely to trip Baccari's wards."

"So we've decided that this is Baccari, then?" Jackson asked. "I'm not doubting the reasoning, it's just …"

"I know," Stiles agreed. "It sucks big time." He brightened a little. "On the other hand, if it indeed turns out to be The Bitch we didn't have to look for her for long! Yay us."

"Small favours," Derek sighed. "I'll call Peter. Jackson, would you mind staying put for the time being?"

"I'm already here, might as well wait for Hale to show up," Jackson said. "But I'd like to talk about overtime pay when this is over."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Stiles snorted a laugh. "We can do that, dude. Honestly, you deserve it."

Jackson was quiet for a moment, but then he said, "So do you, Stilinski," and hung up.

As Derek was talking to his uncle, Stiles stared at the ceiling and mulled over this newest bit of information. It was true that there was no guarantee that Finstock was still alive. However, giving up hope wasn't something he did - for better or for worse - and so he played with the mountain ash teeming around on his skin, feeding it his thoughts on the matter.

After a few minutes, Derek's nudge pulled Stiles back to the here and now and he raised an inquiring eyebrow at the werewolf.

"Peter and Isaac are on their way to Finstock's house and Danny knows to follow them via security cameras. He'll also keep Jackson company," Derek reported. "We are to stay put and wait for their call. Peter will take care of informing your father."

"Playing the waiting game is the worst," Stiles complained even as a good portion of his mountain ash left him to relate his nebulous intentions to its patrolling comrades.

"I'd say go back to sleep, but I know you won't be able to do that." Derek got up and held out his hand to Stiles. "Come on, let's do something productive while we wait for news."

"Thank god it's the weekend," Stiles groaned but followed Derek downstairs readily enough. It was a good thing Lou helped him coordinate because tripping and taking a nasty fall would've been definitely in the cards at this time of the night, had he still been a normal human. "I think I'll work on the bind rune for the werelocusts. The change blocker for Jackson is a good starting point, but I need to boost it since those guys aren't my betas."

"Good idea," Derek told him and caught Stiles when he tripped down the last few stairs. "I'll get you something to write in a moment."

In the kitchen, they were joined by Stiles' yawning dad, who promptly denied Stiles his much-desired cup of coffee and prepared a pot of green tea for all of them.

"You're close enough to crashing as it is," he admonished his son. "I won't let you harm yourself further with unnecessary stimulants, kiddo. It's not negotiable."

"He's right," Derek said and ran a hand over Stiles' slumped shoulders. "We share intense pack bonds, we know how exhausted you are. Take it as easy as you can, please. Make it easier for Lou to support you."

The sheriff sighed as he heavily sat down across from Stiles. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have so many scruples but I'll admit that Peter's resolve to kill scores of people is relieving me as much as it's giving me fits. This can't go on, you honestly look dead on your feet, Stiles."

"I'm working on it," Stiles said and waved at the writing utensils Derek placed in front of him. "I'll have a rune to muzzle them soon."

"And they have a magician on their side that might be able to dispel that rune," the sheriff countered. "Not that having that rune won't be a good thing! I'm just thinking how much better it'd be if you could just … de-wolf everyone and get things back to normal."

Derek stared at him with wide eyes.

"Not the born werewolves, obviously," Stiles' father hastened to say in the face of Derek's frozen shock, "but those new ones that pose a problem. It's not fair that almost everything rests on Stiles' shoulders. And, well, it'd be permanent, wouldn't it?"

"Dad, we actually discussed it and decided that it'd be too-"

"No, Stiles," Derek interrupted him. "He's got the right idea. I know that we cautioned you against making it known that you can do this but compared to killing them all off before you die of exhaustion … it's not a contest."

"But the Council …"

Derek shook his head. "The Council doesn't matter, Stiles. You matter. Your peace of mind matters. Killing should always be a last resort, even if it is sometimes necessary."

"I don't even know if I can do this again," Stiles whispered, hunching his shoulders and knotting his fingers in his lap. "Never mind so many times. And I won't risk our pack. I can't. I just found you all and I love you so much. Even Jackson, which is so stupid I can't even, but he's mine now and I won't give any of you up."

Within his mind, Lou was curling protectively around Stiles and fought off the chills the thought of losing it all to The Council's idea of judgement were trying to give him.

We'll bite them all if they try, the wolf spark rumbled. We'll eat them if they dare to threaten our pack. Ash will absorb their sparks. Then no one can come after us. Certainly not the stupid Council.

"Whoa, let's keep this for our last resort, buddy," Stiles blurted. Silently, he added, I mean it, let's not challenge the stupid Council to their faces, please. I'd like to grow old enough to legally get busy with Peter and have a beer in a bar, please.

"Stiles?" Derek asked, worried. "What did Lou say?"

"You don't want to know and I won't repeat it."

Derek's lips quirked into a resigned smile. "That bad?"

"It's probably worse than you're thinking and that's all I'm gonna say about it." Stiles felt his eyes go hot. "But I'll agree to talk the de-wolfing thing over with all of you later."

Taking wolves away will hurt but bad humans will live, Lou argued, his growl echoing in Stiles' mind. It's more than they deserve, just like The Failure.

"There won't be much to talk about," Derek predicted. "They'll ask for reassurance that you don't mean any of them any harm and that'll be that."

"Jackson might want to try it," Stiles muttered.

Under the table, his father knocked his naked foot against Stiles' ankle. "And he might surprise you. Don't think I don't know how much Scalyboy likes your little games. And I think Jackson is warming up to them as well, considering the amount of stuff he's dragged in here these last few weeks."

The Stuff had its own little shelf in Stiles' room and proudly displayed all the little trashy things Jackson had tasked his other half to bring to Stiles. The best thing ever was a genuine silver fork from the beginning of the last century that Jackson had bent and shaped into a sort of napkin ring sculpture with Scalyboy's strength.

"I'm surprised that he hasn't asked for more information about his form, now that he's so involved in our business," Derek said. The kettle shut itself off and he busied himself with rinsing the teapot before refilling it with hot water. "He was so impatient in the beginning."

"Dude's got some faults but he never minded working for what he wants," Stiles admitted.

"No? He seemed pretty interested in getting the bite."

"But that's just it, Sourwolf," Stiles said. "He realized pretty quickly that becoming a werewolf wasn't all roses and sunshine after all. If that alpha douchebag hadn't bitten him he'd have been content to get by on his own merits."

"Still, he seems rather invested in his new circumstances," his father said with an encouraging smile. "Unlike Scott, he does seem to appreciate his new abilities, even if he doesn't know everything about them yet."

"He might've come to enjoy discovering them in his own time," Derek agreed. He added the strainer with the green tea leaves and gently set it in the steaming water. "Don't worry about Jackson just yet. We'll have that talk and then we'll deal with whatever comes next together, as a pack."

"Promise?" Stiles asked and felt only a little pathetic at how grateful he was for Derek's soothing hand on his shoulder.

Not too much later, Peter called and brought the devastatingly relieving news that he'd been able to hear two heartbeats in Finstock's house. Better yet, the heartbeat was strong enough to support the supposition that Finstock was in relatively good health. Even better, it didn't appear as if the darach had any inclination to sacrifice him soon.

"She's probably saving him for later, though," Isaac said. "I wish we could get him right now. This place stinks of decay."

"On that uplifting note, I'll get back to bed," Stiles said and abruptly got up. He ignored the wetness in his eyes and the ache in his chest. "The rune can wait until tomorrow. I'm beat. Night, you guys."

"Sleep well, Stiles," Peter replied warmly. "See you tomorrow."

The line went dead and their nightly vigil was officially over.

On his way out, Stiles' father snagged his son's wrist and reeled him in for a long, consoling hug.

"Finstock's alive and will remain so for the foreseeable future," he murmured as he cupped Stiles' head with a warm hand. "Your ash will tell you if that changes, right?"

"God, I hope so, dad."

"Then that's enough for tonight. Finstock would agree. Whatever is going on in that brain of his, he takes your kids' safety seriously."

Stiles laughed wetly. "He'd probably mark us down for a botched rescue attempt. What do you think? Would it make for a nice econ essay? I like the ring of 'The Calamities Of Misbudgeted And/Or Misused Economic Ressources For Rescue Attempts Throughout The History Of Mankind'."

"Well, the old civilisations will have a lot of first-hand experience with that," the sheriff snorted. "Off with you now, and take your cuddle wolf with you."

Derek didn't even blush at the nickname. "Only if you get back to bed as well, sir."

"Yeah, yeah, jeez. Everyone's a mother hen now."

oOo

The breakfast meeting that Saturday took place at Peter's and everyone was there. Even Lydia's mother had come although Stiles probably shouldn't have been so surprised about this. She was working for the school, after all, if in a somewhat remote fashion.

"Thank you all for coming today," Peter said when everyone had settled and what little small talk had come up had died down. "As you probably already know, we've discovered that the dark druid-"

"Commonly known as The Bitch," Isaac supplied helpfully.

"-has taken over Coach Finstock's life to be close to the students and, we must assume, to the pack." Peter glanced fondly at Isaac. Julia Baccari is, in fact, an utter bitch, although she has, as yet, refrained from killing Finstock. We think that she'd prefer to continue with the healer cycle of the five-fold knot to boost her resistance against Stiles' attacks but that is in no way a given."

The sheriff cleared his throat. "No, it is not. In fact, she might switch to teachers purely for the convenience of it. You all know what the alpha pack is up to, and you all know how divided Stiles' attention has been this last week. Right now, healthcare professionals are better protected than teachers, not because Stiles hasn't had his mountain ash ward their work and living spaces to hell and back, but because of proximity alone. She already has managed to kidnap Finstock, she might decide that it'd be easier to nab two other teachers than wait for a chance at grabbing some doctors or nurses."

"So we get Finstock out," Natalie Martin said as if it should be obvious. "What's your plan and how can we help?"

Peter took back the reins of the conversation. "According to Jackson, Finstock's house is strongly warded. We won't get in as long as the darach is inside."

"Nevermind that she'd probably kill him just to spite us," Stiles added. He wished that he could be by Peter's side and hold his hand because merely sitting around and talking instead of doing something was making him antsy.

"Which means that we'll have to wait until she's gone to try," Boyd said, practical as ever. "Our best option would be during school hours."

"But Finstock might not have that long," Jackson said. "If she turns to teachers, he'd be the first to bite the dust."

"Jackson," his mother scolded.

"What? I'm just saying what everyone's thinking."

"And what are they thinking?" Zia challenged.

Jackson had no scruples laying it out. "That the Bitch is not the type to waste time. If there isn't an opening for her to snatch a healer soon, she'll do it. It's only Saturday morning, people are out and doing things. Stiles can't actively protect everyone, that's just insane."

"Doesn't mean I'm not working on it," Stiles muttered. A surge of spitefulness made his fingers itch. Beside him, Isaac surrendered his notebook and a pen and Stiles took the offering with almost feverish alacrity. "We've got the ward stones and the individual runes all over the city. She's destroying them as she goes, but it slows her down a lot."

"Believe it or not, until the situation with the gang werewolves started, Stiles had the darach pretty much in a stalemate," Peter said. "If it weren't for the alpha pack's intervention, the siege would've gone on for a while. I believe strongly that with Stiles' help, we'd have been able to neutralise Baccari fairly safely."

"But not anymore," Danny's mother said sorrowfully. "Because Stiles is being pulled in so many different directions."

"It's a war of attrition," the sheriff said baldly. "It needs to end, now, or this whole situation will implode on us. My kid is not Superman, no matter how great he's doing, and we shouldn't expect him to hold out indefinitely."

"Do you have an idea how we can make it end?" Erica's mother asked anxiously. "Short of buying a gun and shooting everyone, I can't think of anything."

"We do have several, actually, but all of the possible solutions come with a hefty price." Peter sighed. "It's so hefty that I need those of you who are not officially pack to give a vow of secrecy. Only then can we discuss it as a pack."

"Without knowing what it is?" Lydia's mother asked archly. "I'm not sure I can do that."

"You can, mom," Lydia said, face hard. "You have to."

"We'll do it, of course," Jackson's parents said, quickly followed by Erica's parents.

Danny's father rose and looked from Peter to Stiles. "As the sheriff and my wife already said, it's not right that one so young should shoulder so much of the burden. We'll vow secrecy as well. But before we get to that, I'd like to speak of something else."

"What is it?" Stiles asked warily. Kaleo's threat against Peter was still fresh in his mind and another round was the furthest thing on his agenda right now.

"I haven't known you and your father long, but I can feel a change in both of you. May I assume that the sheriff has joined you in your exclusive pack circle?" Kaleo asked.

"We did it yesterday," the sheriff answered him. "Derek was lonely and suffering from it and I know that it hasn't been easy for Stiles, either. I couldn't let that stand. My kid might have dragged Derek in by the scruff of the neck but he's ours now. Stiles will have to learn to share me again after Scott made his exit from our lives."

"It's a good life lesson, or so I heard," Danny said and grinned. "I'd like to help with it. Can I, mom, dad?"

Leilani blinked and turned to have a wordless conversation with her husband.

Kaleo stood strong for only a moment before sighing, rubbing his forehead, and saying, "Well, it's not a turning bite so I suppose it's alright. But Stiles, be careful. Despite all appearances, Danny is not fully human."

Stiles gaped at Danny. "Wha … really? You wanna take that risk?"

Danny shrugged. "It's a pretty small risk, especially with your mojo."

"And the ridiculously tight togetherness is not a turn-off?" Stiles pressed. "It'd spread the burden further but dude, werewolves are magically needy like whoa. Family-oriented is too weak an expression for it."

"Nah, it won't bother me. You already know that I live in a large family home. I love being part of a community, plus I think you and yours are good people. So, can I join you?"

"Wait, why are you talking about this with Danny of all people?" Jackson asked sulkily. "You don't even know him that well. You should've asked me first."

"I very honestly didn't think you'd even consider it," Stiles said, nonplussed about Jackson's sudden outburst. "I mean, it's us, Jackson. Cats and dogs have nothing on us, remember?"

Jackson crossed his arms in front of his chest and stubbornly set his jaw. "Well, things have changed. Danny's not getting in before I've gotten in." His eyes flashed yellow and scales started growing on his temples and down his neck, startling his parents and not a few of the others as well.

"Is that … a tail?" Erica squeaked.

Jackson swivelled around in shock, slashing his tail like a whip and taking out both Derek and Isaac with one tiny scratch of the tip. Stiles' father escaped their fate only by instinctually sacrificing his coffee mug to ward off the hit. It shattered in his hands and sloshed hot coffee all over him.

Both werewolves dropped like stones, shards flew everywhere, and pandemonium broke loose.

End of chapter 97