Author's Notes: Sorry this has taken me so long to get out to you, but I'm back with my new laptop and all remnants of hurricane Sandy are gone. Stiles is going to continue to be a bit bitchy, because, I don't know about you, but when I don't feel well, I get quite bitchy. Anyway, I take such joy writing Stiles (I like his head space). Also, introducing Erica's POV in this chapter; hope it's not dreadful. Well, here we go. I don't own Teen Wolf, but I sure wish I owned Stiles; what a cutie. ;)

Stiles/Derek/Lydia/Erica *Stiles is getting some lovin' in this story* (Romance/Humor/Angst)

Synopsis: When Scott notices Stiles has the smell of death upon him, everyone must pull together...some to save him and others to love him. After Season 2 Finale.

Warning: Language & eventual sexy fun times. Mature.

Multi-POV

Stiles POV:

I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'll be damn sure to find out. Wrath Stiles is out of the can when I get my hands on Derek.

All week, Stiles hadn't even been able to take a piss without someone breathing down his neck. Sometimes physically breathing down my neck. It was getting damn annoying, and not one of my so-called friends and pack members would tell me why they were acting this way.

One of the only up sides had been that Lydia wasn't treating him like a non-human anymore, so that was a plus. Although, the reasoning why she was being congenial to him, and everyone else being so vigilant at being a constant at his side, was eluding him.

Had he secretly won the lottery, and somehow been knocked unconscious with excitement and mentally blocked winning, so everyone was trying to capitalize on that fact? Had he slipped into a parallel dimension where his friends, plus extended pack members, dared to grace him with their presence without the preamble of them wanting him to do research, or let's say, save their asses from impending doom of some sort; a world where he, Stiles Stilinski, was on one, Lydia Martin's radar. Psshhh, Nah. Could he be unknowingly possessed, and that's why everyone keeps giving him strange, dismayed looks?

Although, that last theory wouldn't account for all the random touching. It suggested that the pack had come down with the 'not knowing Stiles's personal boundary's' fetish that Scott and Derek had been inflicted with a day earlier that everyone else. Guess they never learned that if you're touching in a place you're supposed to ask to touch first, you probably shouldn't be touching there. Or petting there. Shudder.

Even if those speculations were not the case, something extremely fishy was going on, and as head analyst for all things that go bump in the night for the group, he would uncover what was happening sooner or later.

This had all been occurring the whole week without a single word from Scott or Derek. They had been expertly avoiding him, thus evading answering Stiles's questions about the night of "Stiles Smell Extravaganza." With it being Thursday and pack meetings being on Friday evening, they weren't going to be able to hold out on him for very much longer.

Derek POV:

Jealousy. How the hell did this happen? Oh, yeah, he caused this to happen. It was his stupid idea to have everyone in the pack surround Stiles all week….with one little exception, himself (Scott, too). Derek has had to avoid the human the whole week, and it has been excruciating not being able to be around him, scent him, and get his own dose of pure Stiles aroma. Sure, he had lurked outside his bedroom, taking the night watch so that everyone could get some sleep; also, so he could fixate without anyone catching him doing so. Although, he figured the pack was beginning to catch on to his Stiles obsession.

He'll admit, sometimes he liberated himself from being relegated outside, behind the window of the human's room, to being in the human's bedroom watching Stiles in his fitful rest. He'd murmur pitiful moans, as if even in sleep he was in pain. And when hearing him do this, Derek became distressed and impatient.

They hadn't gotten much of anywhere on the front of how he was getting ill or who would do such a thing to, frankly, an innocent Stiles. 'Cause that's what he really was…innocent.

It killed Derek to think that he could be the cause for Stiles getting sick. What if someone's doing this to him for helping the pack, or for merely hanging around werewolves? This is what would run through his head every night as he stood as protector. He really didn't want to be the cause for another person he cared for to be hurt or killed.

Scott had been the only other person to feel this way, and they were probably in the same way of thought because they were the only pack members that couldn't be near Stiles. Over the past couple of days, Scott had been around Derek, just for the sake of being around him. The lack of Stiles had had one positive outcome. In their mutual sadness and loneliness, it solidified their relationship as people who cared for Stiles. Both of them wanting to be there for Stiles, but in order to safeguard him couldn't, not until they had some kind of lead. Leaning on each other was the best they could do for now.

Erica POV:

"Are you going to be rubbing on me in the cafeteria, too, because I just sent Scott packing after pulling that shit in such a public place. I mean, it's not like I don't get picked on enough by the assholes in this place for being a smart ass." That's what he hisses at her as she walks up to Stiles at their usual table. Erica's seen the evolving frustration in Stiles as the pack's gotten even less subtle with their scenting when they had noticed him getting weaker and stumbling more often as the week passed. She wished they could just tell him their reasoning for smothering him, but she doesn't think that will help much with him randomly going into screaming fits with as much coddling as they do now.

Being with Stiles was no longer a chore, well, it is because Erica's having to keep watch of him, but now that he's sick, she realizes she'd been taking him for granted. He's just a mere human, yes; he's also the glue to their pack. He does the research necessary to keep the pack safe, he's repeatedly saved not only her life, but the life of their Alpha, and last but not least, he's always treated them, the pack, as family. Sure, the werewolves would argue and fight with him, but anytime the pack ever needed him, he was always there to help bail them out of trouble.

She had been so angry with him and resented him for so long, because he had never seen her in the same light she had seen him all these years.

Erica realized now, that he hadn't ignored her affections for all those years because of her epilepsy, but because he didn't know she had feelings for him; although, those feelings had turned from ones of only attraction to ones of attraction, affection, and familial affection, which made her feel very uncertain.

After the pack meeting, and the outing of Stiles's illness, Erica began to see her Alpha's tendency to be affected by the human; or to put it simply, show concern toward and indulge Stiles, when the Alpha rarely showed anything but anger, loathing (both to others and in himself), and resentment. She had begun to think he was broken inside after the death of his family, but Stiles clearly made him less insufferable.

"No, Stiles, I'm not going to smother you with werewolf cuddles, at least not in a place that's quite this public. I do have an image to uphold now that I'm a smokin' hot werewolf and cuddling would defeat that." She winked at him.

He seemed satisfied when she sat down without getting too close into his personal space. She looked down at his lunch plate. "Why did you order so much food?"

"This is how much I generally eat. I guess, I'm just not that hungry. Damn headaches must be making me loose my appetite too. Thinking about it, I can't really remember the last time I did eat. Oh well." If she wasn't worried enough, now they had a new symptom to add to his debilitating state. Derek was not going to be delighted when he hears of this current development.

"Want to go outside and get some air? Maybe you'll feel better." He looked at her incredulously. "Or we can sit here and sulk." She wished he didn't look so pained.

"You haven't even gotten to your food yet."

"It's alright. This would have been my fourth meal already today. Werewolf metabolism remember." It was a lie, but the lunches served at school were lackluster, so she didn't care either way.

"Fine, as long as you mind yourself and keep an arm's length away you can come." He smirked and she smirked right back at him.

"Here, I'll get your tray for you, so you can walk behind me and check out my fine ass in my leather mini skirt. Maybe that will cheer you up." She hoped that comment would make him not question why she didn't want him to burden himself with anything more physical than what he already dealt with, because he appeared like he was going to topple over with how weak and fatigued he looked. She picked up both their uneaten lunches, tossing them in the trash as they made their way out of the cafeteria.

They hadn't said anything to one another in the ten minutes they had been outside, which was strange being around Stiles and having him be silent. Loquacious was Stiles's middle name. It was definitely disturbing, and a testament to how much he had deteriorated within just the last few days.

As they continued walking at a greater distance away from the school and its occupants, Erica started feeling uneven. She looked down at her hand and it was shaking slightly. She ceased walking immediately; Stiles stopping too once he noticed she wasn't still at his side. As he turned to face her, presumably to say something sarcastic, she felt her legs collapse under her, her whole body starting to spasm. No, this can't be happening. This can't happen anymore. The bite cured me. I'm cured, damn it.

Stiles dropped down to hold her from hitting herself too hard on the rough ground, and then she heard him yelling at someone on his phone to come help.

She must have gone unconscious for a minute because Stiles was now off the phone, whispering words of comfort to her as he endeavored to keep her body as stationary as one could possibly get a person who was having an epileptic fit.

She looked up into his exquisite brown eyes, seeing them filled with panic. That was the final thing she remembered before blacking out completely.

This was a hard chapter to write. I know where I want the story to go, but this chapter was being difficult in letting me get there. The story should start picking up pace from here.

***Chapter Music Playlist: "I Can't Find You" – SolarSolar, "All I Need" - Radiohead, "The lightning Strike: What If This Storm Ends?" - Snow Patrol, "Swim Until You Can't See Land (Frightened Rabbit cover) - Benjamin Francis Leftwich, "My Body Is A Cage" - Arcade Fire