"Red. His eyes were red." Scott told Deaton over the phone. "But they weren't a normal alpha red. It was like a deeper red."

"Hmmm. That's what I thought. I'll be over later tonight. I have some other leads to look into. Oh, and one more thing, keep an eye on him will you? He should probably begin waking up soon, and he'll need you there when he does. See you soon Scott." And with that Deaton hung up.

"So?" Stiles pressed. "What's going on?"

"I don't know yet. But I think Deaton might. He's coming over tomorrow night. He's busy looking into some other leads on this."

"Fan-freaking-tastic." Stiles grumbled. "So...what do we do now?"

"I dunno." Scott answered as he looked at his watch. "It's almost 5 in the morning. And I still don't feel like sleeping."

"Me neither." Stiles agreed.

"Well….we could just wait in here." Scott stated with a shrug. "Deaton said Derek's probably gonna wake up soon. And we're gonna need to be here when he does."

"Great." Stiles grumbled as he sat down in the chair that was positioned in the corner of the room. "So….you're an alpha huh?" Stiles asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Deaton says I'm something called a True Alpha."

"Cool!" Stiles declared.

"Yeah, I guess."

"What'dya mean, 'I guess'.?" Stiles asked.

"Well I mean, I got a lot of responsibility with school, and lacrosse, and you guys. How will I fit being an alpha into my schedule? And besides, I don't feel like I belong in charge. Especially of a pack. I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility. You know?"

"Yeah, I can see where you going with it. But you'll be a great alpha Scott. The world needs a little optimism. Leave the serious thinking and grumpy faces to sourwolf over there," Stiles said as he nodded towards the bed. "Trust me, he's a master at scowling."

Scott and Stiles both started laughing, then suddenly stopped as they both heard Derek groan. They both looked over to the bed in near synchronization, watching as his breathing picked up and he began to move.

"Hey, hey!" Scott shouted to no one in particular as he jumped off his chair and moved over to the bed with Stiles close behind.

"What do we do?" Stiles panicked as Derek began to literally roll off the bed.

"Help me keep him still!" Scott yelled. Stiles rushed to keep him from falling off the bed. Isaac came bursting into the room, took one look at Derek, and ran over to help.

When Derek started gagging, Scott realized what was happening.

"Roll him over!" He yelled. Isaac and Stiles just looked at each other, then obediently rolled Derek onto his side. As soon as they turned him, Derek's stomach flexed and blood came rushing out of his mouth, mixed with a black liquid. Just then, Melissa and Allison rushed into the room, rubbing their eyes.

'What's going on?" Melissa asked quickly as she rushed over to Derek's side. She took one look at the liquid on the floor, then ordered Allison to hurry and grab some towels.

As soon as it had started, it was over. Derek gasped as he opened his eyes for the first time since falling unconscious. Scott and Stiles gasped when they saw the color of his eyes. They no longer were the deep red they had witnessed earlier. They were glowing a deep purple. Derek's face screwed up in pain as he awoke fully. He looked over to Scott, who looked down at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity from his place near the bed.

"Hey buddy, you with us?" Scott asked in a gentle tone. Derek's gaze drifted from Ms. McCall, who was trying to clean up the mess of liquid on the floor, to Allison, who stood nearby, a worried expression plastered on her face. Then Stiles, who stood next to Scott like the loyal friend he was, to Isaac, who looked a mixture of sad, regretful, worried, and guilty. He let his gaze focus back on Scott, who was trying desperately to get any kind of response from him.

"M'here." He managed to mumble past his dry lips. Try as he might, he couldn't get his eyes to focus. And every sound and smell was amplified to the point where it was almost unbearable. His chest began to heave as he tried to catch a breath. As the effects of sleep began to wear off, he started to feel everything. The smooth sheets underneath him, the gentleness of the hands restraining him. However, the pain was also ignited. But he wasn't ready for it. He screwed his eyes shut as let out an unrestrained cry of agony.

"Derek!" Ms. McCall shouted. "Look at me!" He turned his head towards her, his chest still heaving, the pain coming in waves. "Breathe," she said softly. He nodded his head and began trying to slow down his heart rate and breathe even. He was hit with another wave of pain so severe that he could no longer control his breathing nor his body. His back arched off the bed, driving his head into the headboard of the bed. Isaac and Scott rushed to hold him still, as his stitches already popped from the movement. As they held his body down, he beat his head down on the bed repeatedly, willing himself to control his movements. The effort it took to remain still caused a single tear to leak out of his closed eye. They all froze as Derek labored to get his breathing under control. He sucked air through his mouth and let it out through his nose. Melissa came over and sat on the bed lengthwise next to him, stroking his head, lifting his sweat soaked hair away from his eyes. "Shh, shh. It's alright baby. It's alright." She began to run her hand lovingly through his thick hair, softly humming a melody both Scott and Stiles recognized as the lullaby Ms. McCall had used to put them to sleep.

Carry on my wayward son

There'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest

Don't you cry no more

The group looked on in surprise as Derek squeezed his eyes shut, and curled his head to rest on Ms. McCall's thigh. Melissa continued on with the lullabye, stroking his head, occasionally murmuring that it was group watched with wide eyed astonishment. Scott turned towards Stiles, who had tears making a watery trail down his cheeks. Scott put a comforting arm around his friend, who patted his shoulder in return. Scott knew that this song was also the song that Stiles's mother used to calm him from his nightmares. After what seemed like hours, it looked as if Derek had finally drifted off to a merciful sleep.

"Whew, that was close." Allison whispered as Melissa tried to roll out of the bed. But she stopped suddenly as Derek began to stir with a small whimper. She leaned her back against the headboard, fixing to settle in to stay at least a little while. She couldn't resist mothering the suffering young man. For crying out loud, he was only 22. And at 22 years of age, he had the weight of the world already on his shoulders; the death of his first love, the murder of his entire family, the responsibility of leading a pack, and the duty to see that his betas were brought up right. He had picked these kids for a reason. He saw suffering teens, teens with nothing much for parents, and crap for lives. He did his best to ease their suffering by offering them to join his pack. If only they could see all of the sacrifices Derek had made for them. But after Erica's death, and killing Boyd, Isaac seemed to think that Derek didn't care. She was pulled from her musings as Allison spoke.

"What time is it?"

Melissa looked at her watch.

"It's almost 7:30 A.M." She replied with a sigh.

"So….what now?" Stiles asked.

"Right now I think you guys should clean up a little bit. When your done, come on back in." Melissa instructed. "Now go," she shooed.

After about 45 minutes, everyone was back in the room. They were all freshly showered with clean clothes.

"Ok, it's my turn. Can someone come here and sit with him?" Ms. McCall asked quietly.

"I will," Allison piped up.

"Ok, good. Come here. As soon as I get up, you sit right where I was, OK?" She questioned.

"Yeah."

"On three. One, two, three," Melissa then moved so that Allison could take her place. Allison slipped into the spot Ms. McCall previously occupied, letting Derek's head rest against her thigh. She jumped slightly as he moved, but then relaxed as he yet again went still.

"I'll be back with breakfast," Ms. McCall assured as she exited the room.

Scott looked over at Stiles with concern written plainly on his face.

"Stiles, what's wrong man?" Scott asked quietly.

"Dude, Derek doesn't have a mom anymore. He doesn't even have a dad like I do. He's got nobody. And when he tried to build a family of his own, that was taken away from him too." Stiles replied in a hushed tone. Scott looked over at Derek, who was sleeping restlessly against Allison's leg. He then realized just how young Derek looked with his eyes closed. Especially after he had shaved the stubble on his face recently.

"I know. Have you ever noticed how young Derek looks when he's sleeping?" Scott asked as he turned to Stiles.

"No," Stiles replied strongly. "None of us have ever actually seen him sleeping. I never knew he actually did sleep. But now that you mention it, he does look really young. You know, my dad used to say that your true age is reflected in your eyes."

"Yeah, I never really thought about that before." Scott answered. "It's kinda cool."

"Dude, did you see Derek's eyes? They were red before, then they were purple. What does purple even mean?" Stiles questioned suddenly.

"I don't know. But I think Deaton might."

Both Stiles and Scott looked up as Ms. McCall entered the room bearing a tray full of a vast assortment of fruits and sliced bread.

"Anybody hungry?" She asked as she set the tray down at the bedside table.

"Definitely," Stiles replied as he jumped from his seated position.

"So….what's Deaton think so far?" Melissa asked as she sat down next to her son.

"He doesn't know yet. But he'll be over later sometime. He thinks he's on the verge of figuring this out, but he's not sure." Scott replied with his attention still glued to the restless Derek.

"Do you think he's gonna be ok?" Scott suddenly asked.

"Of course he is sweetheart." Ms. McCall assured her son.

"I hope so."