Scott couldn't breathe. He was hunched over and wheezing, almost as if he was having an asthma attack. But he knew it wasn't the asthma. He was having a panic attack as a result of watching the most important person in his life get shot right in front of him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and refused to open them. He couldn't look at the sight in front of him.

"S-Scotty?" Scott's head snapped up to find Stiles looking at him through cloudy eyes. The bullet seemed to have pierced Stiles's abdomen and blood was gushing out of the wound. Scott didn't even know that humans had that much blood.

Suddenly it was too much for Scott and he turned away and vomited all over the floor.

"Dude, gross." Stiles tried to laugh, which ended in a coughing fit and blood dribbling down his chin.

"Shh, Stiles, don't talk. We'll get you out of here. I'll think of something. I promise." Scott's rambling was cut off by a sob escaping his throat. One sob turned into two, which turned into a whole flood of tears. In a rush of adrenaline Scott ripped his arms out of the chains, not even noticing that he broke four of his fingers in the process.

"Scotty, y-you're bleeding." Stiles was looking pointedly at Scott's hands as he rushed over to the mountain ash barrier.

"I'm already healing, you knucklehead. Unlike you." Scott sat on the floor and tried to reach across the barrier, to no avail. "Damn it!" He cursed, slamming his newly healed hand against the concrete floor.

"It's o-okay S-Scott, really, it's b-been one-" Stiles paused to take a labored breath, "one hell of a r-ride."

Scott could see the light beginning to fade from Stiles's eyes.

"Hey buddy, hang on okay? We aren't done yet. We have so much left to do together! How am I supposed to save the world if you aren't there with me? Huh? Remember? Me and you, Batman and Robin. I need you, Stiles, okay? I need you."

Stiles smiled softly at him. "You're my b-best f-friend Scott. M-my brother. Y-you've always b-been the Batman in t-this relationship." Scott shook his head furiously and was about to protest when Stiles continued. "You don't n-need me. You've n-never needed me. Y-you're Scott freaking McCall." Stiles coughed, expelling more blood from both his mouth and his wound.

Scott's tears were still flowing freely down his dirt-stained face. "You don't get it Stiles." He gasped. "When I lost Allison, it was so hard, because she was the first girl I ever loved, but when I saw you walk out of that building alive, I knew I would be okay, because even though I lost her, I still had you. Allison might have been my first romantic love, but Stiles, you were the first person I ever chose to love. Besides my mom, you were the only person who ever made me feel like I could be myself and that I could do anything I wanted to. You always believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself, and THAT is what has kept me going all of these years. YOU are the reason why I'm still alive. I physically can't do this without you, Stiles. Don't make me do this without you."

Stiles reached out a shaky hand and, with all the strength he could muster, swiped away some of the mountain ash keeping them apart.

Scott was by his side in an instant. He grabbed Stiles's arm and hissed at the pain he felt radiating from it. He started leeching away as much pain as possible, but Stiles weakly pulled his hand out of Scott's.

"P-please. Don't. It's h-harder to s-stay awake when y-you do that."

Scott pulled a shivering Stiles into his arms and cradled him like a baby, pressing hard on the wound to try and keep some blood inside of his friend.

"Stiles, do you think you could maybe swipe away some of the mountain ash that's keeping us from actually leaving? You did great breaking the bit that was separating us, but I would love to take you to a hospital right now." Scott asked softly.

It was obvious that Stiles was struggling to keep his eyes open. "C-can't f-feel m-my b-body."

Scott could tell Stiles wouldn't last much longer in the condition he was in and decided that it would be better to die in the presence of a friend than by himself. He reached down and began slowly taking some of Stiles's pain.

Scott kissed his forehead. "It's okay buddy, you can sleep now. I've got you."

He stroked Stiles's hair and focused all of his attention on the sluggish heartbeat of the fragile human in his arms. The pack had a tendency to forget how vulnerable Stiles is as a human, but from that moment on, Scott vowed to never forget it again. He was going to protect his pack until his last breath. He was going to kill Ajordan and his whole damn alpha pack. He wasn't afraid of dying anymore, if death meant he would be able to see Allison again…

and Stiles.

Scott froze when he realized he was no longer listening to the steady beat of Stiles's heart. He put his ear right against his chest. Nothing.

Scott felt empty. Numb. His world was crashing down around him and he couldn't move or breathe or think.

This numbness didn't last very long, however, and all at once the emotions came crashing over him in waves.

He was never going to get to spend another night playing video games at Stiles's house. He would never see his friend's eyes light up at the sight of Lydia in the hallways. He would never again find himself on the floor, laughing so hard at something Stiles said or did that he couldn't breathe. He would never help Stiles through another panic attack or remind him to take his Adderall or go on crazy adventures together. Stiles was gone and Scott didn't know how to be Scott without him.

Scott's chest felt so tight he thought he was going to explode. He let out a loud, mournful howl and clutched Stiles's limp body to his own, sobbing uncontrollably into his hair.