A/N: I thought about waiting to post this chapter to give a little more of a break in between but I couldn't resist. I love how this one turned out. Did anyone see the clip of season 3B? It did give a bit of a hint that Stiles may face possession in this season…. January seems so far away! So for now… enjoy!

Chapter 9

Fight For Me

They waited in tense silence for the others to arrive. Besides the occasional dog or cat mewling in the back kennels the silence was only permeated by Stiles restlessly trying to find a more comfortable position to rest in. He was starting to realize the couch might not have been the best idea but he didn't want to seem like an invalid or a corpse on the table just yet.

Allison, Isaac and Mr. Argent were the first to arrive and the noise increased dramatically as they all tried to find out what Allison had found. "I'd rather just wait until everyone is here and we can go over it once." Allison said as she shrugged out of her coat. She looked for a place to toss it but the room was so small that she ended up folding it over her arm to hang on to.

"Stiles, I think we should go in the other room. There will be more room for everyone so we can get an idea of what's going on. Unless you'd rather wait in here?" Lydia asked him.

He shook his head defiantly. He did not want to be left behind and out of the loop. He needed to be a part of this; a part of the solution or his hysteria would overcome him. He winced as he sat up, his back had grown stiff but he stood with little assistance and began the painful shuffle of someone in their eighties. He was thankful that Melissa had gone on to set up shop in the other room and Allison and Isaac had gone along to help her. Mr. Argent gave him a small smile and followed behind him ready to help him should he need more assistance than Lydia's petite frame might offer.

Thankfully Deaton's office wasn't far from the exam room and Stiles made it before his strength wore out. The room was sterile and cold and Stiles shivered involuntarily as he made his way over to sit in a metal chair. Melissa gave him a look that clearly said she'd wanted him on the table but she kept silent and let him continue on. The room, as cold and clinical as it was, was the only semi open room with enough space to accommodate their growing group.

Not long after Stiles had eased himself down on the cold metal of the chair Scott and Deaton made their arrival but judging by their expressions they were none too thrilled with whatever they discovered. Deaton was just about to begin their impromptu meeting when the door burst open again and in waltzed Derek and Cora, both with matching expressions of apathy, as if they were strolling into the supermarket and not the Vet's office to discuss demonic activity.

"Derek, Cora, nice to see you." Deaton glossed over their arrival and began the meeting. "Okay, we were able to get a feel on the doctor; he's definitely being compelled by someone to do their bidding. And that someone has a lot of power and control over him. I couldn't break it right there. I could try again to break the control with something a little more complex and get him to treat you but there still poses the problem of putting you under Stiles, so I think that's still off the table."

Everyone looked to Stiles to see his reaction and he simply gave a shrug forgetting his shoulder had been only just been located to its rightful position and gave him a smarting pain. He grimaced and tried to play it off coolly but was thankful when he could feel Lydia's warm hand begin to rub his neck softly in comfort. He relaxed the weight of his head against her hip and hand and listened as they described his fate.

"Now what did you find out in your books Allison?" Deaton gave the floor to her and Allison stood and nervously bit her lip as she looked to her father who nodded for her to take the reins.

"Well we found some mention of a demon that particularly likes to burn people. He also is drawn to those that have known great loss in their lives and chooses them most often as a host. His name is Tulath." Allison nervously pushed her hair behind her ear and looked around at everyone but Stiles, like she couldn't bring her eyes to his because of the news she was carrying. "From what we can tell the only way to halt or expel him would be an exorcism ritual. This particular ritual again would involve putting Stiles into a trance and stopping his heart entirely. It is then up to the individual to fight the demon off from behind the veil. A second participant is required to enter into the realm beyond the veil to find the subject and pull them both back to the living." When Allison looked up she had tears falling down her cheeks when she finally met Stiles's eyes.

He swallowed thickly as he tried to process her words. He'd have to die, again. The first time had been a gateway to possession, what would a second time bring? It was up to him to fight off a demon once he passed into that terrifying abyss again, how the hell was he supposed to fight off a demon, especially one that had power to reach out and hurt him or anyone he cared about? Someone wanted this demon and they could be bearing down on them right now. His brain rapid fired until he couldn't complete a single thought, it was all too much. But one thought rang out more clearly than all the rest; someone would have to come in after him.

"Stiles! Stiles!" His name sounded far away but he tried to turn his head to find the source of the sound. His head lay against something soft and warm… Lydia! He nearly jumped at the thought but his body didn't move. "Stay with me Stiles. I'm right here. Look at me, breathe in with me and then out. Breathe with me." She placed her arm around his head and hugged him to her. As his blurry vision came slowly back into focus and his ragged breathing and began to at least come regularly he realized that only Lydia, Stiles and Melissa remained in the room and Melissa was attempting to give them a fair amount of privacy. She stood guarding the door where she must have pushed the others when he fell apart.

"I'm sorry." He whispered brokenly. "I'm not strong enough for all this. There isn't any way for me to fight off this Tulath. Lydia I can't do it." And he let the tears and worries seep out with his tears as he cried against her. She ran her fingers through his hair and rocked him gently and kept whispering to him. And for probably the hundredth time that night he was thankful his father was elsewhere trying to protect the town and not watching him lose it entirely. He doubted his father would have allowed him to die a second time, even if it was their only solution.

"You are so strong Stiles, you are. I know you don't think it but I can't imagine what you've gone through and you're still here. Don't give up yet. Don't give up on me." She whispered to him. Stiles pulled out of her reach and looked at her eyes that were wet and he brushed the tear tracks off her cheeks with the pad of his thumb wishing he had two hands to cup her beautiful face.

"Lydia, I would never give up on you." He whispered hoarsely.

"Then fight him Stiles. Fight for me." She answered back her eyes blazed with fierce determination. She was fighting for him. He had to fight if even there was a chance it meant they could have a chance together.

"Lydia I…" They gravitated toward one another; he couldn't pull his eyes from her lips as she licked them nervously. When they came together the touch was soft and gentle as their lips ghosted over one another. When the delicate kiss ended a more desperate one took its place more passionate and needy than the one before. Stiles could feel the burn, as if he could be consumed by this feeling. They continued on for a while before Stiles realized it wasn't just the intensity of the kiss causing him to feel the heat.

"Stiles you're really hot." Lydia spouted as they broke the kiss and as much as Stiles wanted to believe she meant it as a compliment he knew she was only commenting on his body temperature.

"Stiles?" Melissa had reappeared; he had forgotten she had been there at all. A brush of her cool hand on his forehead and she quickly retrieved a thermometer to take his temperature. "103, dear God. Deaton I need you in here." She shouted.

Scott and Deaton both pushed into the room and before Stiles could figure out what was going on Scott had effortlessly lifted him onto the cold examining table and laid him down. Deaton had grabbed ice from the freezer and dumped the entire bag over his fully clothed body. The ice pelting him should have hurt his injuries, but all he could fee was relief. He could see the steam rise off of his body.

"What the hell was that?" Scott asked looking to everyone in the room.

Stiles looked to Lydia but she was looking at Deaton who returned her gaze curiously. "I think we just figured out how we're going to fight that demon Scott." Deaton answered as he started to grin.

It took Stiles's overcooked brain a moment to register what he meant. "No. No way." It came out shakier and weaker than he wanted. "I will not have Lydia be put in any more danger for this." Lydia glared down at him but Stiles was adamant. "I can't lose you Lydia and I won't see you hurt, I won't."

"And I can say the same thing about you Stiles, I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not… I can't lose you." And with that all his willpower to fight against her went right out the window.

He sighed in defeat. "Okay, what do we do?"