Stiles' vision zoomed in on the motionless figure, sending the rest of the room into a non-distinct blur. Letting go of Lydia he stumbled forwards towards the scene. Scott was kneeling next to the body, panic and fear pouring out of him. Stiles could actually smell it. Kira stepped out of the way, hand covering her mouth as she tried not to cry. Falling to his knees across the body from Scott, Stiles ran his hand through his hair. "No no no. How did this happen?" Looking up to his friend, Stiles saw nothing but sorrow and confusion there. "Scott? What happened?" Clearly in shock, the alpha found it impossible to respond, he simply stared at Stiles before looking down at the body once more. Before he could hassle him any further, Lydia spotted who was sprawled out on the cold stone floor.

Stiles could have sworn her heard her heart breaking. Turning just in time to see her face crack into a horrified sob, he felt absolutely helpless once more. Rushing forwards, she crashed to her knees, and Stiles hastily got out of her way. Tears falling from her face and onto the body she sobbed. Each breath hitched in her lungs, jolting her ribcage this way and that as she wailed in sorrow. Desperately she grabbed the shoulders, shaking them against the floor, trying to illicit a response. Doing his best not to break down, Stiles held out a hand, touching Lydia's shoulder gently. "Lydia, it's no use-"

Crazed, she turned to him, hair whipping around before falling over her tear stained face. Her eyes were wild, primal, tearing into him with no restraint. "I promised him!" she yelled, staring miserably at Stiles. "I promised him he wouldn't get hurt!" Turning back to the body, she took the hand, squeezing it with her own. "I'm so sorry, Liam I'm so so sorry. I should have been here, I should have protected you!" Looking up, she rounded on Scott. "Where were you? You should have saved him! What happened?" At the end of her sentence she broke into sobs once more, not caring that Scott was clearly hurt by her words.

Tripping over his response, Scott tried to explain. "I-I- I don't know. We were all fighting, I turned away for a second, just to hit one of them. Next thing I knew they were falling to the ground. Then I heard Malia scream, and I looked around and- and-"

Stepping in, Kira helped him finish, "And Liam was lying there. The control box was totally destroyed. He must have taken it out- but- but something went wrong and he- he..."

"Died." Stiles ended with a harrowing breath. Scott looked to his friend, pain clear in his eyes. This was the first and only werewolf he had created. Liam wasn't just his friend, they had a bond closer than family. What he was feeling right now was probably on par with how he felt with Alison, if not worse.

"No." Lydia shook her head slowly, denial setting in. "No he's not dead." Sniffing she looked up at the people around her, clinging to a desperate, foolish hope.

Quiet and gentle, Kira tried to console her, "Lydia, he's gone-"

"NO! He's not dead! I didn't scream, that means he can't be. Right? Right Stiles?" Turning to face him, she pleaded with him, begging him to tell her she was right. "STILES?!"

Jumping slightly, Stiles stammered out, "I-I don't know. I can't hear a heartbeat. Scott?" The boy looked to his childhood friend.

Eyes red and puffy, Scott stood up, "No. Nothing."

At that, Lydia let out another heart wrenching sob, falling across Liam's body. She held his face in her hands, apologising over and over for not protecting him. Lydia Martin, who was well composed and hid her emotions at all times, broke down. Sobbing and snorting and wailing until her throat ached she sat with Liam's body, refusing to be pulled away. Head resting on the boy's chest, she shook, sobs sending shuddering spasms down her body. She was about to apologise again, but then she heard something. A sound so faint and quiet that she thought she might've imagined it. Even so, it sent a spark of hope to her heart, silencing her at once.

Snapping upright, she stared at the boy in front of her. Barely a whisper, she addressed the group. "He's not dead."

Kira frowned, "What?"

Speaking more clearly now, Lydia stood up. "He isn't dead. I heard his heat beat."

Stepping closer, Kira shook her head, "Lydia you can't have, he's-"

"I heard it too." Stiles and Malia spoke in unison, before glancing at each other in shock. Malia gave him a small smile, which he gladly reciprocated. The coyote turned to Scott, question clear in her movements.

The Alpha stared at Liam for a moment before looking up, face blank, but with eyes that betrayed the hope that was bubbling up inside of him. Breaking into a smile he said, "I heard it too."

Hands flying to her mouth, Lydia sobbed once more, only this time with relief. Turning to Stiles she beamed at him, and he pulled her into a joyful hug. Head poking up out of their embrace, he addressed the group, "So uh, he's alive. Now what? How do we save him?"

They all looked at each other for a few minutes, exchanging concerned glances in the dark gloomy sewer space. In the background, a steady flow of water was dripping from a shattered machine, creating a slowly spreading pool that was inching towards them with each drop. Listening to the rhythmic tap tap tap of the water, Scott was struck with an idea. It was so obvious, he could have kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. "Deaton! We can take him to Deaton!" Nodding and agreeing eagerly, the group set about picking up the boy's body, Scott and Stiles supporting it between them.

Watching the antics from the sideline, Kira spoke up, "I hate to be a downer, but isn't Deaton out of town?"

Scott visibly deflated, "Oh, yeah."

Stiles however, refused to be discouraged, "Alright, but, come on there's got to be something there that can help, a book, some potion, something! Scott you have a key right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Butt's are for sitting on Scott, now get a move on so we can save Liam!" Stiles reprimanded his friend for being so hesitant, beginning to pull Liam towards the exit. Nodding quickly Scott followed, the pair of them dragging Liam towards the outside world. Kira walked up ahead, making sure the way was clear for Liam. This left the werecoyote and the banshee alone at the back of the group. After their fight earlier, they had been getting on much better. All of their tension and resentment towards each other had been aired and dealt with, allowing them to be friendly once more.

Back at Scott's house, Malia had told them all what had happened when she was with the doctors. After she had agreed to help them, Malia had been taken to a separate room, kept there until she was required. When her mother had walked in, she had been delighted, ready to have a heart to heart and catch up on 17 missing years of mother daughter relations. However, the Desert Wolf had other ideas. Closing the door behind her, she had rounded on Malia, eyes glowing with claws outstretched. Frantically the girl had called out for help, before trying to reason with her mom. Backing up into the corner, she had almost forgotten that she had supernatural abilities, that she could fight back. Before she could scream, or ask why her mother was trying to kill her, the Doctors had appeared around them. Grabbing the desert wolf, they injected her with some sort of toxin, which killed her almost instantly. The sound of her mother's body falling to the ground was something she wouldn't soon forget.

Lydia hadn't said anything at the time, partly because she was so shocked, and partly because she was too focused on helping Stiles to care. Now however, she spoke up, nudging the girl gently as they walked. "I'm sorry about your mom."

Malia looked at her, carefully constructing the appropriate answer. Finally she sighed, saying, "My mom died in a car crash when I was a little girl. The Desert Wolf was just some crazy woman who wanted to kill me. I know who my real family are." Looking across at Lydia she smiled, trying to show that she was okay.

Looking ahead, Lydia nodded, "I'm glad you're okay. I'm just so sorry about how we treated you when you got back. You needed someone to talk to after everything you'd been through, and we just abandoned you."

Laughing quietly Malia disagreed, "No, I deserved it. I did a horrible thing and I wish I could take it back. I'm gonna have to deal with that forever, but maybe I can make up some of the damage I caused. Try and do what Stiles said at the funeral, you know? Keep his light going."

Shocked, Lydia stopped, "You were at the funeral? I never saw you."

Coming to a halt as well, Malia faced her friend. "That's because I didn't want to be seen. Stiles probably didn't want me there, and I didn't want to cause a scene, just pay my respects, and say that I was sorry."

Heart breaking for what must have been the tenth time that day, Lydia pulled Malia into a warm hug. Surprise froze Malia, and she stiffened as soon as the girl hugged her. Refusing to be denied, Lydia spoke up, "I'm not letting go till you hug me back."

Easing up

Malia laughed, squeezing Lydia tightly before they both let go and continued walking. It didn't take the group long to reach the surface. Once they had all climbed out, Liam was carefully deposited inside of Lydia's car. Before getting in, Lydia looked at the group, "There isn't enough room for everyone, someone needs to walk. I would but I need to drive."

Slowly raising his hand, Stiles cleared his throat, "I think I'm gonna walk, get some fresh air after being in there for so long."

Scott looked up, speaking eagerly, "Yeah me too, I'll keep you company."

Frowning, Stiles stepped back, "Are you sure? I mean, don't you want to be there for Liam when they get to Deaton's?"

"Of course I do, but I want to walk back with you, if that's alright."

Shuffling his feet, Stiles murmured, "Yeah I guess, don't see why you'd want to, but that's fine." Not wanting to wait around in the awkward silence any longer, Stiles set off in the direction of home. Caught off guard, Scott had to jog to catch up to him.

"Stiles wait up." Slowing to a brisk walk he arrived at his friends side. "Stiles would you just wait a second?" Stiles pressed on in steadfast silence, ignoring his friends attempts to talk. Frustrated, Scott pulled on his shoulder, spinning him round to face him. "Stiles!"

"What?!" Shouting, Stiles hadn't even realised how angry he was. Everything he'd been through was to protect Scott, so why was he so mad at him now? It didn't make sense but he couldn't help it. Fuming, he glared at his friend, hands twitching slightly with unspent aggression. Taken aback, Scott retreated slightly, letting his hand drop to his side.

"I keep forgetting you're like me now. It's a full moon tonight, that's what's bothering you, right?"

Furious, Stiles yelled at him, "Oh yes! Because the only thing that could possibly be bothering me is the full moon! It's not like there's anything else wrong with me! All the crap we've been through, no, that doesn't bother me at all! Watching the pack just carry on like nothing happened after the shit I went through, watching you just carry on like it's fine, yeah no problems there!"

"Hit me." Scott stepped back.

Caught by surprise, Stiles froze mid rant, "What?"

Nodding, Scott encouraged him, "Hit me, it'll help."

"Scott I'm not gonna hit you."

"Come on, I know you want to. I deserve it, plus all that pent up aggression is just waiting to get ou-"

WHAM. Stiles punched Scott straight across the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Flexing his fingers, Stiles stared at his friend, "Sorry."

"You feel better though, right?" Scott rotated his jaw, looking at Stiles proudly.

Realising that he no longer felt so infuriated, Stiles blinked, "Yeah. When did you learn that one?"

"Round about when Isaac told me he liked Alison." Scott grinned at him, and the pair burst into laughter. It felt good to be laughing properly again. Neither of them had had the opportunity in weeks, and now that they were, it was almost impossible to stop. Sighing happily, Scott clapped Stiles on the back, "So, I guess you're a werewolf now huh?"

"It would appear so, yeah." The concept was still strange in Stiles' mind. Him, a werewolf? It just didn't seem to make sense, he couldn't process it. He felt as though life had just gotten a hundred times more complicated, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. Starting to move towards civilisation once more, the pair chatted about little meaningless things, making small talk. Finally, Stiles couldn't take it anymore, and he blurted out the question that had been nagging at him for weeks. "Are you gonna let me back in the pack? Like, where do we stand?"

"Stiles... I don't know..." Scott looked away and Stiles burst into a panic.

"What?! Come on Scott I-"

"I'm kidding!" Scott laughed at the stunned look on his friend's face. "Of course you're still a part of the pack. You always will be."

Mouthing silently for a moment, Stiles looked incredulously at him. Eventually he managed to clamp his jaw shut, squinting pointing accusingly at his friend. "I swear to god Scott, one of these days I'm gonna kill you." The smile on his face suggested otherwise.

Scott laughed, "Got your eyes on the alpha spot already? I'm quaking in my boots!"

Looking indignant, Stiles stood up slightly straighter, "And so you should be!" Then he remembered his previous conversation with Lydia. Stopping his friend, Stiles adopted a stern look, staring with mock accusation into his friend's eyes. "I have a bone to pick with you. What's this I hear about you telling people about the ten year plan?"

Scott's face jumped in shock, before breaking into a mischievous grin. Babbling out some sort of excuse, Scott looked off towards the town, "Oh wait, did you hear that? Someone's calling me. Gotta go!" And with that he raced off into the distance before Stiles had even registered his departure.

Shaking his head and laughing Stiles yelled after him, "Scott! I'll get you for this McCall!" And then he sped off after him, grin set on his face.