Disclaimer: Teen Wolf is not mine.

CHAPTER 12: Medicine

There was no trace of Scott and Kira in the loft. Stiles bit his thumbnail, knowing something was wrong. It was evident that a fight had taken place. His father, Derek, and Braeden were all discussing what could have happened to the couple.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out with clumsy hands, hoping it was Scott returning his calls. It turned out to be Lydia.

"It's me and Dr. Deaton. We know where Scott and Kira are," Lydia said.

"Kate took them to Mexico," Deaton said. "They're in La Iglesia. You have to go there if you want to save his life."

"Dammit. Mexico again?" Stiles hung up the phone and started to formulate a plan in his head.

"What's going on here?" Rose had walked through the open door. "I saw the cop car and broken glass outside. What happened? Where's Scott?"

Derek decided he was the best one to break it to her. "Scott and Kira are gone," he told his friend. "Kate took them to Mexico."

Rose shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "No."

Stiles put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them, I promise..."

To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight.

"We'll find them," Stiles said with confidence. He was determined to get Scott and Kira back by any means.

Rose packed her archery equipment. It was early morning and they were going to leave for Mexico in a few hours. The night had been rough and she could barely sleep. She hated Kate even more for taking Scott. Knowing her, she would probably torture him like the crazy, soulless demon she was before killing him. Rose couldn't let that happen.

She picked up Allison's arrow and put it in her quiver along with her other arrows, thinking about the other archer's message. If she came face-to-face with Kate, she was going to use the arrow to stop her. She was sure Allison had meant for her to shoot the arrow at Kate and Rose was happy to oblige. It would be payback for Kate shooting her all those years ago and for burning the Hales alive. Her phone rang and Morrell's name lit up the screen.

"Marin?" Rose answered.

They had spent the previous night testing out her blood. Morrell tok multiple samples from Rose and experimented with different ingredients, looking for the right combination that would help Derek. Rose searched through Morrell's library that was filled with books about the supernatural, reading about different remedies using wolfsbane and keeping her eyes open for anything that could explain what Parrish was.

"Can you come by? I need your help. I may have found something that could really help Derek. I also talked to my brother and he knows what Kate did," Morrell said in a hurry.

"I can't," Rose lamented. "Scott's in danger and I have to help the others find him. I'm leaving for Mexico soon."

"I know you're worried about Scott," Morrell said. "But the others can take care of it. You, on the hand, are the only one who can help Derek and time is running out. He may not make it back from Mexico alive. You can bring him back and restore him."

Rose didn't know what to do. She wanted to find Scott and stop Kate, but she also wanted Derek to survive.

Stiles, Liam, and Malia arrived at the rendezvous point, ready to leave. Stiles felt slightly guilty for disobeying his father but there was no time to waste - Scott needed them now. He had touched base with Argent and Parrish who would be meeting them later after Argent was discharged from the hospital. They needed all the help they could get.

Derek arrived with Peter and Stiles defensively stood in front of Malia. "You're bringing him? After everything he's done?" he said to Derek.

"You're bringing him? He can't control his shift yet," Derek retorted, nodding at Liam.

"I'll control it this time," Liam said. He was determined to not mess things up and be useful. For the first time, he was glad he was a werewolf. He wanted to be strong and help Scott and he wanted to show the others that he could be one of them.

Derek went back to his car and took out the triskelion medallion given to him by his mother out of the glove compartment. He had kept it ever since the night Kate had tricked his teenage self to open the Hale Vault.

Braeden drove up in a white prisoner transport van. Upon seeing her, Peter decided to hurry the group along.

"Time to go. Everyone in their cars," he instructed.

"We can't leave yet," Stiles said. "Lydia and Rose aren't here yet."

"We have to leave now before the full moon," Peter said. "Kate might do the same thing she did to Derek. Do you really want that to happen?"

"She wants to make him younger?" Liam asked.

"Or take them back to when he wasn't a werewolf." Derek said. "Where's Rose and Lydia?"

"Lydia went to school to get something of Kira's and I don't know where - " Stiles paused and quickly answered his ringing phone. "Where are you?" Stiles asked.

"Something came up," Rose said on the other line. "I can't go to Mexico with you."

"What about Scott?"

"I'll explain later but I have to stay and take care of something. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't absolutely necessary," Rose said.

"Rose, you're the worst cousin/sister in the world!" Stiles berated.

"I know! Just bring Scott and Kira home and be careful," she said. "And Stiles, if something happens to Derek, you must call me immediately. Can you do that for me?"

Stiles agreed. Rose asked to speak to Derek and he handed the phone to him. He wondered what was more important than going to Mexico.

"Derek," Rose said. "Be careful, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"You don't think I'll make it back, do you," Derek said.

"Whatever happens, I'll find a way to save your life."

Rose rushed to Morrell's house, hoping she wasn't making a huge mistake. Allison had said to use her arrow when the time was right. What if that time was in Mexico and she missed her chance?

When she arrived, Morrell immediately drew her blood. Her arm was already bruised by all the times the needle went through it and she was starting to feel weak from the loss of blood, but she ignored her complaints. If Derek was going to live through this, then these small pains were well worth it.

She had talked to Parrish on her way over and gave him the same instructions as Stiles - to call her if Derek was in trouble.

"Kate performed an ancient ritual that took away Derek's abilities and one of the key ingredients was wolfsbane," Morrell explained as she worked. "According to the legend, you can take a werewolf's essence away by wrapping him with wet cloth and wolfsbane and leaving him in a place with high supernatural energy overnight during the new moon. It symbolizes rebirth. However, Kate modified the ritual and brought Derek back to a time when he was still learning, when his abilities weren't fully developed. That caused his body to slowly regress until he no longer had anything left - his powers were that of a baby werewolf.

I've been working all night on a medicine that will resurrect Derek when he dies. And when he does, I expect we have six to twelve hours to bring him back. If it works, it should also restore his abilities - all of them."

"So what can I do to help?" Rose asked.

"There's wolfsbane in the cupboard. You were infused with the blue species, so take the blue petals and crush them into a fine powder. We need a mixture of your blood and the actual flower to make this work - fresh blood. From what I've seen, fresh blood reacts most closely like the real wolfsbane. I'll work on getting your blood to the right consistency to mix smoothly with the powder."

Rose did as she was told and started to crush the petals with a mortar and pestle. "So how do you know this remedy will work?"

"I don't," Morrell answered. Rose wished the emissary could be more positive.

"I'm going off purely on experience, instinct, and luck," Morrell said, stirring Rose's blood in a metal bowl over a fire. Rose thought she looked like a witch brewing a potion. "Go and eat something and take some iron pills. You'll need your strength."

"And you really think my blood will help heal him?" Rose asked, reaching for an energy bar.

"You're blood is incredible, I've never seen anything like it," Morrell replied, dropping herbs and liquids in glass vials into the bowl of blood. "It's like the wolfsbane is thriving. You're the perfect host for it. I expect its properties are enhanced at least ten fold to actual wolfsbane. And the fact that your blood is type O will make it easier to enter Derek's blood and heal him."

"I hope you're right," Rose said thoughtfully. "Because Derek has to live."

Derek grunted in pain and leaned back against a large rock. The wound where the berserker had stabbed him burned painfully. It felt like a hot knife had cut through him, tearing through the flesh and leaving it raw. He had felt excruciating pain before, but never like this. By now, his werewolf healing would have been repairing the wound, but all he felt was himself getting weaker. He knew this was the moment Lydia had known would come.

"I'm fine, go and find them," he told the others.

Braeden leaned over and examined the wound carefully. Blood gushed out of the deep cut.

"How bad is it?" Peter asked.

She looked back at the group and didn't say anything.

"Just go!" Derek pleaded.

Peter ran towards the door of the church. Malia and Liam soon followed, but Stiles stood there, not wanting to leave Derek behind. After a moment, he ran after them but stopped and turned back to his friend. He wasn't sure he would get another chance to see him.

Inside the church, Stiles pulled out his phone and called Rose.

"It's Derek," he said when she picked up. "He's hurt. Bad."

"Someone needs to bring him back to Beacon Hills," Rose instructed. "Where's Jordan?"

"I don't know."

"I'll call him. Thanks Stiles and be careful!"

Outside the church, Kate arrived with her team of berserkers shortly followed by the Calaveras hunters. Sounds of gunfire shook the night sky as Braeden and the Calaveras shot repeatedly at the berserkers, trying to bring the human beasts down.

Derk slumped awkwardly on his side, clutching his wound, panting for air. The fight raged on behind him.

"Derek!" Braeden cried. She ran to him and helped him sit upright against the large rock. He looked down at himself and saw blood seeping through his shirt, his hands stained bright red. Braeden was frantically speaking to him, but he understood nothing she said.

On the other side of the battlefield, Parrish arrived with Argent. "Sir, I need to bring Derek back. Rose has a medicine for him. Will you be okay?"

Argent nodded. "Good luck, kid."

Parrish gave him one of his guns and a large box of bullets. He waited until the ex-hunter took cover behind a ruined building before driving around the backside of the old church. He hit the brakes when he got close enough to Braeden and Derek.

"Help me get him inside!" he yelled at Braeden over the sounds of gunfire.

Without question, she did as she was told and together, they secured Derek in the backseat of the SUV.

"I'll stay and make sure no one follows you. Where are you taking him?" Braeden asked.

"Beacon Hills. I have to go," Parrish said hurriedly. He drove away from the fight and floored his car, hitting two of the berserkers in his path.

"Hang in there, Derek," Parrish told him. He sped quickly on the dirt road back to Beacon Hills. "Marin and Rose are gonna fix you up. We're going to meet them now. Just stay with me."

Derek was only partially aware of Parrish's presence and the fact that he was in a moving vehicle taking him to God knows where. As he could feel himself gasping for air, the pain unbearable, he thought of the many times when he stared death in the face. This would be the last time. At least he could be with his mother again. He closed his eyes and let the pain win, feeling at peace. In the last moments of consciousness, he thought he heard the howl of a wolf echoing far in the distance.

"Scott, listen to me!" Liam pleaded as Scott held him around his neck against a stone pillar. "You're not a monster, you're a werewolf like me!" It was the same thing Scott had told him on his first full moon. He hoped Scott would recognize his own words and remember who he really was.

Liam saw something change in Scott's eyes. The animal in him was shifting back to humanity. To Liam's relief, Scott put him down. The alpha stepped away from the others and began removing his bone armor, piece-by-piece. Lastly, he placed both palms against the skull around his head and broke the bone with ease, releasing himself from Kate's nefarious spell.

"You!" Scott shouted at Peter. Everyone turned to look at the older werewolf. "You're the only one who knows as much about Berserkers as Argent. You helped Kate."

"I helped my family," Peter retorted angrily, standing tall. "I'm the head of the Hales, the Alpha is supposed to be mine. For years, the Hale Pack has always been the strongest on the West Coast. You've made the pack weak, a punk kid who won't even kill even though it's justified. And now I'm going to take back what's rightfully mine and make my pack strong again. Remember Scott, I was the first Alpha. My bite made you and my bite can kill you."

Both werewolves transformed and charged at each other.

Rose sped down the empty highway, heading south. Parrish had informed her that he was on the way back and that Derek was gone. She prayed that their medicine would work, that Marin was right and whatever her blood could do would heal him.

"Once we get to Derek, we'll start out with a small dose and see how his body reacts. If it accepts your blood, we can increase the dosage accordingly," Morrell said beside her.

"But he should accept it, right?" Rose asked nervously.

"The blue species is best for healing, so his body should recognize your blood as blue wolfsbane and react well to it," Marin said. "Unfortunately, it's most effective with fresh blood so we'll have to work fast."

Rose looked at the time. The trip would take about seven and a half hours, but since they were meeting Parrish somewhere in the middle, she hoped it would only take three hours. Morrell had said they needed six to twelve hours to revive Derek. Rose wasn't sure how long it would take the medicine to take affect and how much blood she would have to donate. She had already lost a lot of blood from the experimenting phase but was determined to give as much as she can, even if it meant putting herself at risk.

When they finally reached Parrish, they climbed in the backseat of his car and went to work. Rose ignored her grief at seeing her friend dead and drew her blood while Morrell took out a vial she had prepared with the rest of the ingredients inside. Morrell took a third of a cup of the blood and poured it inside the vial. She shook it vigorously to mix everything together, then pulled out a cigarette lighter and lit the bottom of the vial.

"Cut his shirt open," she told Parrish and he ripped Derek's shirt, revealing the bloody wound. Rose stared. She had never seen Derek look so human, so fragile and mortal.

Once it was ready, Morrell took a needle and syringe and drew the medicine with careful, gloved hands. She leaned over Derek's still body and injected the blood into his chest. She told Rose to keep the time.

After a few minutes, Morrell looked at the injection site for any abnormalities.

"Is it working?" Rose asked, worry etched on her face.

"It's too early to tell, but his body isn't rejecting your blood," she said. "It's a good sign." She administered the rest of the medicine. "We'll give him a dose every hour for now."

They took off into the night towards Beacon Hills, leaving Rose's car behind. Parrish drove quickly while Marin stayed with Derek in the back, monitoring him.

"Are you okay?" Parrish asked Rose who sat in the passenger seat. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Rose said. "I just need to eat." She took an energy bar out of her bag along with the iron pills Morrell had given her. No matter how much she ate, she always felt hungry. As she chewed away, she told Parrish about her blood's ability to act like a medicine or a weapon and what Kate had done to Derek. Parrish recounted what he saw in Mexico and how he found Argent in the sewer.

"Argent said Peter was helping Kate," Parrish said.

"But they hate each other," Rose said. "Wait, if he and Kate were working together, that means he must have been in on the plan to take Scott to Mexico!" She fumed at the realization. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Calm down Rose," Morrell said from the backseat. "Take some more iron. Every time we administer the medicine, you have to replenish your blood with iron. You need to stay healthy if you're going to give Derek your blood."

A few hours later, they arrived in Beacon Hills. Morrell instructed Parrish to go to the woods. It was already mid-morning.

"We need to take him to the Nemeton," she said. "It's spiritual energy will help bring Derek back."

They parked inside the preserve as far as the trees would allow. Parrish carried Derek on his back and Morrell led the way to the three-mile hike to the Nemeton.

"You okay?" Rose asked Parrish when they stopped to give Derek another dose of medicine.

"I'm good," Parrish said.

Morrell checked for a pulse but found none.

"Parrish! Rose!" Lydia called out, running towards them.

"How did you find us?" Parrish asked in amazement.

Lydia didn't answer and only looked at Derek's still body. She knelt down and two tears escaped her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said to him. It was times like this when she wished she wasn't a banshee - she hated knowing when someone would die, especially a friend.

"It's okay Lydia," Morrell said to the banshee. "We have medicine that will bring him back." She and Rose packed up their equipment and Lydia helped Parrish get Derek on his back.

"I thought you went to Mexico," Rose said to Lydia.

Lydia told them how a berserker tracked her down at school, distracting her. Rose asked her if she could sense that Scott was dead or not. The banshee reassured her that he was alright.

They hiked along in silence, going as fast as they could. Beams of sunlight shined on them through the tree branches. Parrish felt fatigue weakening him but he refused to stop until they got there. He noticed Rose trailing in the back and hoped she was strong enough to make it through.

"It's up ahead," Morrell said and she ran forward.

Rose, Lydia, and Parrish followed behind. "No!" they heard Morrell say. When they reached her, they saw the problem.

A huge boulder sat on top of the Nemeton's trunk. How it got there was anyone's guess.

Parrish kneeled down and Rose and Lydia helped him get Derek off his back. "I'll move it," he said.

"How?" Rose asked. She touched Derek's face. His body was cold and was starting to feel stiff. She sent a silent prayer up above, pleading for help.

"I'm a supernatural, remember?" Parrish said as he walked up to the boulder. With all the strength he could muster, he started to push against the boulder. Morrell and Lydia joined him and the three of them pushed.

"Let me help," Rose offered but Morrell waved her back.

"Just stay with Derek," she said, knowing that her blood loss had weakened Rose.

They pushed again and this time, the boulder inched forward. After twenty minutes of pushing, the boulder was about to topple off the tree trunk.

"I got this," Parrish said, wiping his sweaty face. With a loud cry, he mustered every bit of strength left in him and pushed the boulder off. With a loud crash that sent the birds to the sky, the boulder slid off the Nemeton and rolled a foot away.

Parrish panted and breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. He noticed Morrell staring at him. "What is it?"

"Your eyes," she said so that only he could hear. "They were glowing."

"Help me get Derek on the Nemeton!" Rose called.

Parrish went back for Derek, dismissing Morrell's observation for the moment. He would ask her about it later.

They laid Derek on top of the Nemeton's trunk.

"Lydia, go to the animal clinic and see if Dr. Deaton is there. Tell him I need him here," Morrell said. "We also need more supplies." She recited a list of ingredients for the medicine.

"I'll go with her," Parrish said. "And I'll pick up some food and water."

Once they were gone, Rose drew her blood once more. "Thanks," she told Morrell. "I don't want her to see this."

"It's best if no one else knows about this. Let's just keep this between you, me, Parrish, and Alan," she replied. She looked down at her watch. It had been almost eight hours since Derek died. She estimated they only had four hours left to bring him back. If he was still dead by then, he would be gone for good.

"Rose, after all this is over, you have to promise to not do any more experiments on your blood," Morrell said.

"Why not?" Rose asked. "My blood could make Scott stronger. I have to see what it can do."

"It's not advisable," Morrell said firmly. "An experiment gone wrong could kill him."

Rose looked down at Derek's body and imagined accidentally killing Scott. She wanted to know everything about her blood, but Morrell had a point. She would never forgive herself if Scott died because of her thirst for knowledge. She cupped Derek's face with the palm of her hand. "Fine. I won't do any experiments."

Braeden raced forward in the prison transport van with Peter subdued in the back. She had to get back to Beacon Hills as quickly as possible and see if Derek was okay. Scott and Stiles guarded Peter, making sure he wouldn't wake up.

As they passed an abandoned car on the side of the highway, Scott urged Braeden to stop. She pulled over and Scott got out and ran towards the vehicle. "It's Rose's car," he said, recognizing it.

Kira pulled over in Derek's car and rolled the windows down.

"What's wrong Scott?" Malia asked from the passenger side.

"Rose was here with someone else. She was worried about something," Scott said, smelling the anxiety from the car. "I think she went with Parrish and Derek. Stiles, drive the car back and try to call Rose. If she doesn't answer, try Parrish again. I'll stay with Peter."

Stiles reached his hand through the open crack of the passenger side window and unlocked the car. As expected, there was no key to be found. He was ready to hotwire the car when Kira and Malia showed up.

"I'll turn it on for you," Kira said. She popped the hood open and placed her hand over the engine. She blasted electricity inside and the car roared to life.

"Awesome!" Stiles whooped. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Kira said modestly. "Just a new trick I learned."

Malia got in next to Stiles and the three cars headed back home. Stiles tried calling Parrish and Rose but both went straight to voicemail. He got another idea and called Lydia.

"Stiles! Are you guys okay? Did you find Scott and Kira?" Lydia's frantic voice said over the speakerphone.

"Yeah, we're all okay. What about Derek? Have you seen him?"

"He's in Beacon Hills. Parrish, Rose, Morrell, and I are at the Nemeton. They have some medicine for Derek. Come here as quickly as you can."

"But how is he?" Malia asked.

"He's dead," Lydia said. "But Rose and Morrell are trying to bring him back alive."

"Can she do that?" Malia said.

"I'm not sure, but they're trying," Lydia responded.

Stiles looked at Malia in shock. He couldn't believe Derek was dead - he always saw Derek as a formidable force, almost immortal. Malia reached for his hand which he took. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand soothingly. "We're almost there."

Thank you for reading! We're nearing the end people but every ending has a new beginning. I will be posting the first chapter of the sequel to "Survive" right after the end.

The next chapter will be the very last chapter so I wanted to ask if anyone saw a pattern throughout all the chapters. I decided to challenge myself and for every chapter, I did something that a very observant reader could see. Can anyone tell me what I did? Please leave a review telling me what each chapter has in common.

***HINT***

I open at the close. (Yes, I enjoy Harry Potter too.)