For Stiles, the next few minutes seemed to pass in a blur of shuffling feet and fluorescent lights. He could hear Lydia stumbling along behind him, and the comfort of her presence was the only reason he hadn't collapsed with fear or exhaustion. He wasn't sure when he had started being so afraid of things, when his reckless bravado had shrunk into a quiet memory. But it had. And he was terrified. He wished he could be more like Lydia, angry and brave and fighting for them both, but that fear gripped at him, with one hand over his mouth and the other pinning his arms to his sides. He was helpless against it. Silently he let himself be dragged along the dingy corridor.

Somewhere in the blur they had entered a painfully bright room. Eyes narrowed against the harsh light, Stiles turned to look for Lydia. A small bubble of relief grew in his chest when he saw her a few feet away, flashing him a weak smile. That bubble was popped the moment he was forced down into a chair, and strapped in. Lydia was positioned in an identical chair directly opposite him, struggling against her bonds as soon as they were tied. Stiles didn't bother trying. "Lydia it's ok."

"No it's not, Stiles!" Her anger from before was quickly turning to panic, and he watched helplessly as she got more and more freaked out.

"Lydia stop." He sighed when she didn't listen. "Lydia- LYDIA." He didn't shout, but he spoke with enough force to catch her attention. "Lyds, there's no point. Let's just get this over with and we can both go home."

"Your boyfriend's smarter than he looks, Lyds!" The doctor clapped Stiles painfully on the back, sneering cruelly as he used her precious nickname.

Sometimes Stiles couldn't stop his sarcastic comments before they had escaped his mouth. "Smarter than you, that's for sure." He winced. He had no idea why he had said such a stupid thing. From experience, he knew it was a sure-fire way to get hit.

The doctor tightened his grip on Stiles' shoulder, sending bolts of pain up into his neck. "Is that so? Well then, do tell me Stiles- how is it that you are strapped in there, and I'm standing up here?"

"Cause you're too dumb to figure out how banshees work without me." Damnit. Stiles bit his tongue to stop any further snarky comments. To his surprise, the doctor didn't react with violence, in fact, he let go of Stiles' shoulder and brushed it off with a delicate hand. The boy eyed the doctor, trying to figure out what had caused this sudden shift in demeanour. Learning nothing from the Doctor's expression, Stiles glanced over at Lydia. She looked scared, and she shook her head ever so slightly.

Striding over to a table of nasty looking tools, the doctor cleared his throat, "Of course, your right Stiles. But if there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it's bad manners. Lydia knows this all too well. So, Mr Stilinski, I'd like you to apologise."

Eyes flicking over to Lydia again, Stiles saw her nod urgently. Swallowing his pride, he gave in. "Uh, I'm sorry."

"I don't believe you."

"What? I said I'm sorry!"

"Now that definitely didn't sound sincere." The doctor advanced towards Stiles, holding an unpleasantly large needle.

Stiles pulled away from him, moving as far as his restraints would let him. "Ok, I'm sorry," his voice was quiet with fear, "really, I am. I'm sorry. Don't!" He called out too late as the needle was stuck into his arm. He didn't wince, he just squirmed at the sensation. Voice shaking, he looked between the needle and the doctor. "What is that?"

Lydia spoke up, "It's a hallucinogenic."

"Not this time, banshee."

"What?" Stiles and Lydia spoke together.

"No. This time it's something a little more… potent. I couldn't risk damaging you Lydia, but Stiles on the other hand, is rather unextraordinary, and therefore, dispensable."

"Hey, I was a werewolf once! And I got possessed by an evil spirit. It was very evil!"

The doctor paused, thumb resting on the plunger of the needle. "Yes, and why was it that the Nogitsune decided to inhabit you, Stiles? Why not the budding alpha or the trained hunter? Why did it pick you? What's so special about Stiles Stilinski?"

Stumped, Stiles grasped for words, "I- um- I don't-"

"Because he's so smart," Lydia chipped in again, addressing the doctor but keeping eye contact with Stiles the whole time, "because- because everyone trusts him because he's so loyal to his friends. And, he's surprisingly strong and he always has a plan. Always."

Despite the situation, Stiles smiled.

"While all those things might be true, that's not why."

Shocked, Stiles focused entirely on the doctor. "What? Are you saying you know why- why it was me?"

Grinning, the man slid the needle back out of Stiles' arm. "To be honest, I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out yourself by now. Have you not realised you are always somehow in the epicentre of every supernatural occurrence in Beacon Hills? Why do you think Theo was so interested in you? Every pack needs someone like you."

"But I'm just a human."

"Not quite."

A small gasp fell from Lydia's lips, "You're an emissary."

Mouth hanging open, Stiles looked aghast. "Lydia, I think I would know if I was a druid."

"Evidently not. She's right. There's a spark in you and it draws the supernatural to you. Why do you think your girlfriend is a banshee, your ex is a werecoyote, your best friend is a werewolf, surely you didn't put all that down to coincidence."

Silence filled the room as Stiles absorbed all this new information. He felt a little spark of pride although he wasn't sure why. He supposed it was good to feel special, like maybe he could help his friends after all. Suddenly what Lydia had said before popped back into his head. He always has a plan. The hazy fog in his mind lifted and he began to feel like gears of his brain grinding back into action. Staring intently at Lydia he thought as hard as he could.

'Can you still hear my thoughts?'

Eyes widening, she nodded. The connection wasn't two way, but it was definitely enough. It had to be.

'Ok, here's the plan."

Scott and the remainder of the pack were all crushed into Stiles' Jeep, parked outside of the looming gates of Eichenhouse. They may not have a plan, but they had to do something. Scott was sat in the driver's seat with Isaac, Malia, Liam and Kira crammed into the back seat. He turned to smile apologetically at them before turning his gaze to the woman in the passenger seat. "Are you sure you're ready? It's not very pleasant in there."

Natalie Martin wore a confident mask, although her chemosignals revealed how scared she really was. However, her voice was steady when she replied. "All the more reason to go in and get them out. Let's go." Not waiting for a response she climbed elegantly out of the Jeep, reminding them all painfully of Lydia. The rest of them all scrambled out and hurried to catch up with Natalie's brisk pace.

Kira was trotting in between Natalie and Scott, looking between the two. "So remind me again how exactly this is going to work?"

"When Stiles' dad died, Natalie became his legal guardian, and obviously she's Lydia's mom. Stiles isn't of age yet, he's only seventeen so he's still in Natalie's custody. So she has the right to check him out of any care he may be committed to, even if he committed himself."

"And Lydia? Isn't she eighteen?" Isaac had his armed crossed still sceptical of the whole plan.

Natalie nodded, "Yes, but technically she never graduated high school, so she's still under my parental custody. Legally they have to let them both out if I say so." She pressed a manicured nail into the call button on the gates, and waited patiently. Moments later they were walking up the menacing steps towards the hellhole of a mental care facility.

Stiles was dazed from the scream Lydia had just let lose in the room, but he was aware enough to watch as she wriggled her unusually thin wrists out of the restraints on her chair. He let out a little whoop of joy when she finally got free, too excited to feel worried about the dead man lying on the floor. She had done it, and he couldn't feel prouder. Finally she seemed to have complete control over her abilities, and they had just saved both of their lives. She scurried over to him, hands working fast and freeing him from his bonds once more. First things first, he scrambled to his feet and pulled her into the tightest hug he could without hurting her. Holding her at arms length, he smiled, "Did I ever tell you I love you?"

She laughed, for the first time in far too long, "You maybe mentioned it once or twice."

The moment was interrupted by the two guards from before bursting through the door, "What happened- oh shit!" The pair stared in horror at the man lying dead on the ground, blood still trickling from his ears. Then, their eyes drifted over to Stiles and Lydia, who were still clinging to each other defensively.

Gulping down his fear, Stiles stepped forwards, "We're leaving. Now."

The first guard stared somewhere off in the distance, and the second shifted his gaze between the dead man and Lydia. Voice shaking he nodded, "I think that's a good idea." He stepped aside, gently pulling his friend with him. Completely shocked, Stiles and Lydia exchanged a glance before rushing out the door and down the maze of hallways to the exit.

"I can't believe it! I- We- We're free!" Lydia did a happy skip as she said it.

"All thanks to you."

"And you. I would have died in here if you hadn't come to get me."

"Well, I waited ten years for you to fall in love with me, I'm not going to let anything get in the way of it now that you have. Especially not some idiot like Theo."

Smiling, she grabbed his hand, "Let's go home."

Natalie was just arguing with the receptionist when Stiles and Lydia appeared hand in hand around one of the corners. The moment Lydia saw her mom, she dropped Stiles' hand and bolted towards her, stumbling in her weak state and practically falling into a tight embrace with her. "Mom! Oh mom, I thought I'd never see you again. Mom, mom I love you so much."

Shocked but impossibly relieved, Natalie froze for a second before gripping her daughter back with just as much force. "I love you too. I'm so sorry. How- I don't- how on earth did you get out?" They were both sobbing.

"Stiles. Stiles saved me."

Natalie looked up, staring at the boy over Lydia's shoulder. Stiles stood awkwardly where Lydia had left him, giving a slight nod. He was going to say something, but before he could, Scott had barrelled into him, wrapping him up in a hug so tight Stiles was sure he felt a few ribs groan. Laughing, Stiles clapped him on the back and hugged him back. "I missed you too, bro. Thanks for coming to get me."

"It's beginning to look like I didn't need to!" Scott's voice was light with joy as he looked between Stiles and Lydia. There was more he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words, so he settled for just smiling happily at them all.

A loud cough from the receptionist broke the moment, and they all turned to face her. "I'd like to remind you that Stiles and Lydia are still patients of Eichenhouse and this is entirely against the rules. Stiles, Lydia, if you would please return to your rooms at once. Otherwise I'll have to-" the phone rang, cutting her off rudely. She held up a stern finger, pausing their conversation as she picked up the receiver.

The muffled sounds of conversation echoed through, and Stiles looked at Scott, hoping he could hear what was going on. However, it was Isaac who broke the tension with a sudden laugh. "That's brilliant. I gotta say I didn't see that coming."

"What? Didn't see what coming. Isaac!" Stiles waved a hand spastically, leaning on Scott for support.

With another chuckle, he answered, "They're letting you go. Something about your delinquency being cured. To be honest it sounds like they're just shit scared of you both."

Lydia looked at Stiles with a weary amazement, no energy left to do anything but smile.

The receptionist hung up and with a very grumpy look on her face, returned their belongings and sent them on their way.

They were all together. They were free. And they had so much ahead of them.