Chapter 33 - All In My Head

With a gasp, Avery opened her eyes, seeing that she was in a hallway again like last time she was in Teagan's mind, only this time –there was more than one door. There were several on either side of her, going all the way down the hall and every single one was open.

"Bitch is not making this easy on me." Avery softly said, as she took a few steps down the hall; glancing in each door she passed and wondered how she was going to figure out which door was the right door.

She passed a few more doors, then paused as she turned to look at the door on her left. She couldn't explain it, but she felt drawn to the door. Thinking maybe it was the right one; she began to walk closer to it and peeked inside.

She didn't know why, but she felt like she should walk inside. Without another thought, she stepped over the threshold and paused when she saw a set of stairs in front of her, a very familiar set of stairs.

She took a few steps forward, slowly circling around as she glanced around, realizing she was in a house. One that she had been in several times before after it was set on fire, but now it was back to its former glory –she was inside the Hale house, but had no idea how she got there.

While she was facing the front door, she heard someone coming down the stairs causing her to spin around, expecting to see Lisa, but was surprised when she realized it was Derek.

"Derek?" She questioned, with a confused look on her face.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Derek teased, as he stepped off the last step, standing in front of her.

"What are you-what are you doing here?" Avery asked.

"What am I doing here? You mean here, in our home, where we both live?" Derek continued to joke.

"We-we live here?" Avery stuttered.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked back, with a worried look. "If you're too tired we don't have to go out. We can just stay here."

"What? No, I'm not-I'm okay." Avery answered, as she rubbed her forehead.

"You sure?" Derek questioned, as he stepped closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as he added, "Because now that I think about, I think I like the idea of staying in." He pressed his lips against hers for a tender kiss, as he continued, "Yeah, I'm really liking this idea."

Avery smiled at his words and laid her hands on his chest, running them up to wrap her arms around his neck. He began to kiss her again, as he backed her up until her back hit the wall.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair, tilting her head to the side as he placed his lips against the side of her neck, nibbling and sucking on her skin. Avery groaned as she dug her fingers into his shoulders, feeling that familiar flutter that she use to get when they kissed –but when she closed her eyes she saw a quick flash of green eyes, causing her eyes to snap open.

"Wait, stop." Avery breathed out, as she laid her hands on Derek's chest and lightly pushed him back.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked, with a confused look.

"This isn't right." Avery said, as she stepped away from the wall. She shook her head, as she said, "This isn't- we're not together anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Derek questioned.

"We're not good together, Derek. Not anymore and I-I.."

"You what?" He asked, when she paused.

"I moved on." Avery quietly said. "This isn't my dream anymore, this isn't real. This is a distraction." She stated, as she realized what was going on. Lisa was trying to stop her from closing the door.

With that thought in mind, she quickly turned around, running to the front door and threw it open before running out, finding herself back in the hall she was in earlier.

She bent over, placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. At one point, being with Derek in a normal relationship was all she wanted and for a moment she slipped up. For a moment she wanted to stay in that life until she saw them, the flash of green eyes that belonged to Parrish. She wasn't all sure what exactly that meant, but right now, she didn't have time to think about it. She had to find that door and fast.

She went to take a step down the hallway, until she heard a whimpering noise coming from behind her. She turned around with a confused look, listening out for more, but heard nothing. She turned back around and took a small step, then heard the noise again.

She turned back around and began to walk down the hall trying to follow the noise. She heard it louder as she passed by a door on the right. Like before, she couldn't stop herself from walking inside the room.

But this door didn't lead her to the Hale house, this door took her to a small room inside Eichen house. She would recognize a room from there anywhere, it was something she could never forget but what surprised her inside the room was seeing Teagan strapped to the bed, a piece of tape covering her mouth.

At seeing her best friend, Teagan tried to yell out to her, her voice muffed against the tape, as she wiggled around, trying to get free.

"T, what are you doing here?" Avery questioned, as she rushed across the room, carefully taking the tape from her mouth.

"I-I don't know." Teagan cried out. "I think we did something wrong this time. All I know is I woke up strapped to this bed in Eichen House. Avery, you have to get me out of here."

"Okay, hold on." Avery said. She looked down at the straps trying to figure out how to undo them.

Once she figured it out, she quickly undid them and helped Teagan to sit up. She saw Teagan bend over, trying to catch her breath after struggling to get out for a while.

"Are you okay?" Avery asked her. When she nodded her head, she continued, "Good, cause we have to go."

"Is something wrong?" Teagan asked, as she lifted her head.

"No... At least I don't think so, but I don't know how much time we have before your mom shows up." Avery explained. "Plus the longer I am in your head, the more it hurts you."

"And what about you? How are you feeling?" Teagan asked.

"I'm okay." Avery lied.

"Avery..."

"I'm feeling weak." Avery finally admitted with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" Teagan asked, as she stood up from the bed.

"I don't know, but it can't be good… so let's go." Avery said, as she grabbed her arm and began to lead her out of the room.

The two girls made their way out in to the hall, this time there was only one door. The door they needed to close.

"Is that it?" Teagan questioned.

"Yeah." Avery answered, as she tightened her grip on her arm. "Come on." She added, as the two friends began to run down the hallway.

Avery grabbed the door and tried shut it, then lowered her eyebrows in confusion when it wouldn't even budge. She pulled on it a few more times and then let out a frustrated groan.

"What's wrong?" Teagan questioned.

"I don't know." Avery said. She looked around the door frame, trying to figure out what was keeping it from shutting.

"May-maybe you should step inside. Try to shut it from that way." Teagan suggested.

"Maybe." Avery mumbled, as she kept looking at the door. She thought about what Teagan said, then added, "Maybe if you push while I pull we can get it unstuck, then we can close it."

"What if you get stuck on the other side?" Teagan questioned. When she didn't answer, Teagan called out her name, getting her attention.

"Then you go on, T. You go and have your full life with Isaac…your dad and with your friends." Avery said, as she turned around to face her. "You go on, Teagan. You go and you live for the both of us."

"Avery..." She cried out.

Avery ignored her, as she turned back around to face the door. "I mean it, T. If I don't come back, don't fight to save me."

"Okay." Teagan stated with sadness in her eyes.

Avery lowered her eyebrows in confusion. The voice sounded like Teagan, but she knew it wasn't her best friend. She quickly turned around, laying an arm across her throat, as she backed her up until her back slammed against the wall.

"You're not Teagan." Avery asserted, seeing her best friend transform into her mother, Lisa, before her eyes.

"What gave it away?" Lisa asked, as she tilted her head to the side. "I've known my daughter all her life, I thought I played her very well."

"Teagan would never agree that easily. She would fight me on this. We would go back and forth a few times, before she'll finally come around, but she wouldn't be happy about it."

"Right. Because my daughter is an idiot who would risk her own life for someone like you." Lisa spat out, as she looked over Avery like she was a disgusting bug she just stepped on.

Avery shook her head in disbelief, as she asked, "Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to your own daughter?"

"I'm trying to save my daughter." Lisa snapped, as she pushed Avery away from her and stepped away from the wall.

"By making her kill the ones she loves the most." Avery snapped back. She took a step back, as Lisa walked toward her, the two circling around each other. "Do you know what that would do to her if she killed her friends? If she killed me or Isaac? If she lost Isaac she would never be the same. She would literally lose her mind, and if she was the one who did it. She would never get over that. The guilt would kill her. Is that what you want?"

"I just want the poison out of her life. She'll be better in time, she'll even thank me." Lisa said, actually believing her own words. She honestly thought what she was doing was for the best.

"You really are crazy. If you really believe that, you are crazy as hell." Avery yelled out. When Lisa didn't say anything, she let out a bitter chuckle, as she continued, "You know it's sad. At one point I looked at you as a second mother. Especially after I lost my mom… you were always so sweet and caring to me. I use to envy Teagan when I saw you two together. The two of you were so close and god, she loved you so much and now... now you're nothing but a monster."

"No, Avery, that is you. You are the monster. You are the one that will be the death of all your friends. Just like your mother was the death of me." Lisa flashed her an evil grin as she added, "They will all die and it's going to be your fault. All of it, is your fault!"

The two were now standing still, after circling around each other a few times while they argued. Avery glanced over Lisa's shoulders for a quick second, noticing that she was now standing at the open door. All it would take was one push and Lisa would be back inside the door.

Avery balled her hands in fist down by her side, trying to ignore the words Lisa shouted at her. She couldn't lose focus, not now, not after she was so close to saving her best friend.

She shook her head, as she locked eyes with Lisa, seeing the hatred in her eyes. It was a shame that the woman use to be so loving and so warm and now she was so hateful and vengeful. It wasn't the version she wanted Teagan to remember, but she had a feeling her best friend would never forget. She was having her own problems remember how loving her own mother was after having to battle her.

Avery blew out a breath trying to pretend the words earlier didn't bother her, as she flashed Lisa a smile, then said, "Yeah, well, whatever happens… you won't here to see it."

"You can't stop-"

Before Lisa could finish her sentence, Avery raised her leg and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fly backwards and into the open doorway. She quickly ran over to the door, slamming it shut, then leaned back against the door.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. It was over, she'd really done it. The door was closed in Teagan's mind and her mother was gone. Things could get back to normal for her, things were going to be okay.

Avery laid her head back against the door, trying to catch her breath. She blew out a breath, feeling tears fill her eyes as she heard Lisa's words from earlier, telling her she would be the death of her friends.

She closed her eyes, feeling a tear slide down her face, when Lisa's voice and her mother's voice began to overlap each other, both telling her she'll be the death of everyone. That she was going to lose everything.

~()~

While Avery had been battling Lisa, back at the clinic, Isaac and Deaton stood on either side of the table as they carefully watched both girls. Isaac felt his heart speed up every time Teagan made a noise and he saw her face scrunch up in pain.

He laid his hands on the table near where Teagan was sitting, fighting the urge to grab her and make the pain stop. He quickly looked over at Avery when she let out a painful groan, his eyes widen when he saw blood coming out of her nose.

"Something's wrong. We should stop this." Isaac stated.

"No, wait." Deaton said, stopping Isaac from reaching out and shaking Teagan. He stood in front of Avery, looking over the younger girl; her eyes were squeezed shut as if she was in pain, but he could tell she was concentrating hard to find the door. She was trying as hard as she could to shut that door and save her friend.

He placed his hand over hers, the one holding on to the herbs as he said, "You can do this, Avery. You have to keep going, you have to find that door. Do not give up; whatever she is telling you, you have to keep going."

Isaac watched Avery closely, waiting to see what happened next. He quickly turned his head to look at Teagan when he heard her gasp, his eyes widen when he saw blood dripping out of her ears.

"Teagan..." Isaac began to say nervously, terrified about what would happen next. When he saw her falling backward, he yelled at her name, then reached out to catch her before she fell from the table. He held her in his arms, her body limp, as he went down to his knees on the floor.

He glanced up for a moment, watching Deaton catching Avery, and carefully lowering her out on to the table. They watched as one of her arms hung off the table, her hand opening and the herbs falling out and hitting the floor.

Deaton glanced back over at the young girl, her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. He shook his head, as he laid a hand on her arm then stated, "She's cold."

"She is too." Isaac said, referring to Teagan, as he held her close to his body, hoping to warm her up. The last time he'd felt her this cold was after the ice bath.

He looked back down at his girlfriend, brushing her hair from her face, as he stroked her cheek. Tears filled his eyes, as he whispered,"Come back, babe. You got to come back to me. You always come back."

"Teagan, please." He pleaded, as he leaned forward to leave a tender kiss on her forehead. He moved his lips over to her ear as he whispered, "It's you and me. It's always you and me."

Isaac didn't know how long he sat there, holding her, waiting for her to wake up. It was longer than it should have been but he wasn't giving up hope that she was coming back. He had to hold on to that hope. He couldn't lose her.

Several minutes later, he quickly pulled back when he heard her finally take a deep breath and her heart rate began to pick up, returning to normal. He breathed out a sigh of relief when her eyelids fluttered opened, her bright brown eyes staring right into his blue ones.

"Isaac..." Teagan breathed out. She reached up, laying her hand on the side of his face, as tears filled her eyes –happy to see him again.

Isaac softly smiled, as he helped her sit up but kept her in his lap, as he pulled her toward him, holding her in his arms. She buried her face in his shirt, catching his scent and feeling herself relax.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breathed, then slowly released it when she realized she was okay. She felt sane, she felt normal, she felt like her self. Her thoughts were now her own. There were no whispery words, no shouting, no horrible images, nothing at all from her mother. Things were quiet in her mind, things were better. Avery did it, she shut the door.

As her best friend crossed her mind, she softly gasped and pulled back, then glanced over at the table, seeing a very still Avery lying on the table.

"A..." Teagan said, as she tried to stand up but felt a wave of dizziness hit her. Having Avery poke around in her head was draining and she felt like she had no energy.

Isaac knew she needed to rest, get her strength back, but he also knew she wouldn't just sit there and do that if there was something wrong with Avery. He knew she wanted to be there for her best friend and there would be no stopping her.

"Come on." He softly said, as he kept a hold on her and the two stood up from the floor. He kept her pressed against him, as the they slowly made their way toward the table.

Teagan leaned against the table, reaching out to grab one of Avery's hands as she said, "Come on, A. You have to wake up, you have to come back."

"You have to! We-we have plans, remember?" Teagan began to say, as tears fill down her face. "We're going to graduate together. You're going to throw me the best and the most kickass bachelorette party ever. No one else can do that, A, just you. Who else is going to be my maid of honor? When that day comes I have to have my best friend standing by my side. You have to wake up, you have to!"

Teagan choked by a sob, turning to bury her face in Isaac's shirt again. She couldn't lose her best friend. As happy as she was to be back in control in her own mind, she wished she would have fought harder to talk Avery out of doing it. This was all her fault.

"What can we do?" Isaac asked, as he looked over at Deaton.

Deaton looked down at the blonde on the table. Unfortunately there wasn't much they could do to bring her back and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she didn't want to come back. He saw the look in her eyes before the whole thing started, she was determined but she was broken down. She knew she could do it, she had that much hope, but no hope for herself.

"All we can do is talk to her." Deaton said, then added, "Give her a reason to come back."

Isaac kept a tight hold on Teagan, then reached out with his other hand, as he laid it on Avery's arm, giving it a squeeze as he said, "Avery, you have to keep fighting. You cannot give up. You are Avery Dukate, the girl who sat down at lunch with a loner loser and demanded he came to you party. That day you told me we were friends now and honestly, I thought it was all a trick." He paused for a moment, resting his head against Teagan's when he heard her sniffing. "I thought there was no way that the Avery Dukate would want to be my friend, but you did. Along the way we became close friends, you've been there for me, giving me advice and helping me. And we're going to help you." He continued, referring to himself and Teagan. "We're not going to give up. We're going to pull you back, somehow, we will pull you back."

Teagan pulled back, as she nodded her head agreeing with him, then turned her head to look at her best friend. She grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze, as she continued, "We can't go on without you, A. We need you."

Deaton laid a hand on Avery's forehead, then sighed before saying, "She's getting colder." He looked up at the two teens across the table, as he asked, "Is there anyone else that could get through to her. Anyone we can call?"

"Teagan's her closest connection." Isaac pointed out, as he held on tight to her.

Teagan nodded her head in agreement, then stopped as a thought hit her. "Wait, there might be someone else." She stated.

"Who, Scott?" Isaac questioned, knowing the two had an alpha/emissary bond.

"He might be able to help, but I'm thinking of someone else. Someone I recently saw her getting closer to and you know Avery. She doesn't get too close with many people, but I think he can help." Teagan explain. "I just need her phone." She continued, as she tried to take a step planning to walk across the room where Avery's jacket was laying, but before she could move she felt herself falling toward the floor. She was still very weak from everything.

Isaac quickly caught her, as the two went down to the floor. He pulled her into his lap, then looked over at Deaton, as he nodded toward Avery's jacket asking him to grab it for them.

After getting the jacket from Deaton, Teagan reached into the pocket, pulling out Avery's cell phone, then scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for.

He picked up within a couple of rings, wondering why Avery would be calling him and worried something was wrong with her.

"Hello?" Parrish asked, as he answered the phone.

"Deputy Parrish? We've talked before, it's Teagan, Avery's best friend." She said.

"Is Avery okay?" Deputy Parrish questioned.

Teagan glanced over at the table, where her best friend was laying, feeling tears fill her eyes, as she said, "You should come to the animal clinic." She reached up, wiping a tear from her cheek, as she whispered, "She needs you."

After hanging up the phone, Parrish looked straight ahead, surprised by the phone call and worried about what could be wrong. He had just arrived home from work, planning to crash for a few hours before his next shift but after that phone call, there was no way he could sleep. He had to go to her.

He quickly cranked the car, then backed out of his driveway to drive to the clinic. He didn't know what would be waiting on him when he got there, but nothing had prepared him to see Avery lying out on a table, dried blood on her face, and her breathing shallow.

Parrish glanced off to the side, seeing Teagan sitting in Isaac's lap, in the time it took him to get there she had fallen asleep, feeling completely worn out.

"What happened?" Parrish questioned, as he looked at Isaac then over at Deaton.

"She's uh, she's..."

"She's not responding. Perhaps you can reach her." Deaton spoke up when he noticed Isaac was having a hard time speaking.

"Or maybe we should be calling an ambulance for her." Parrish stated, as he walked closer to the table.

"Trust me, there is nothing they can do." Deaton said back.

"What makes you think I can?" Parrish questioned. He knew he probably shouldn't, but he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and brushing her hair from her forehead, his fingertips lightly grazing her skin.

Isaac quickly raised his head when he heard Avery's heart rate pick up. Before then it was barely beating, but just one touch from Parrish caused a reaction on her.

He smiled, as he looked over to the young deputy and said, "She'll listen to you."

"What do I say?" Parrish asked, as he looked over at Isaac, then turned his head to look at Deaton, who was standing on the other side of the table.

"Just whatever comes to you." Deaton said, as he smiled at him encouraging him to try. He looked over at Isaac, as nodded his head toward the doorway, suggesting they leave them alone.

Isaac stood up from the floor, holding a sleeping Teagan in his arms, as he walked along behind Deaton to leave the room. Deaton let him go to his office, where he had a couch to lay Teagan on. He sat on the couch with her, keeping her pressed against him –he had no plans of letting her go any time soon.

Once the others were out of the room, Parrish turned back to the table watching Avery slowly breathing. He didn't know what happened to her, the others didn't explain.

After finding her in other strange situations, he knew there was something about her; something that made her different, but he didn't know what that was yet.

All he did know was tha he wanted to find out. Even if he knew it was wrong, he wanted to be in her life, he wanted to help her, but first he needed her to wake up.

He wasn't sure what to do or what to say, but the others were convinced he would do it.

Swallowing hard he stepped closer to the table and cautiously reached out, pausing for a moment, then continued to move his hand toward her hand.

He picked up her smaller hand folding both of his bigger ones over it, as he looked down at her, softly saying her name. He paused for a moment, wishing she would just open her eyes. But when nothing happened, he lowered his head for a moment resting his forehead against their joined hands.

He was silent for a few minutes before lifting his head back up, his eyes landing on her as he began to say, "Avery... It's Jordan. I don't know if you can hear me and I don't understand what's happening..."

He cleared his throat, before continuing, "But I do know you have been in the middle of other things before, a lot of strange things and I don't understand any of those either, but one thing I do know is that I have seen your strength. I have seen you overcome things and I know you can come out of this."

"Your best friend called me, Teagan... She's worried about you and from the looks on the other two faces, they are worried too." He paused for a moment, watching her face –searching for any kind of reaction.

He lowered his eyebrows in concern when he caught sight of the blood on her face again. He glanced around the room, seeing a sink against the wall and walked over to it.

He found a clean rag beside the sink and ran it under the warm water, before walking back over to her. He carefully wiped the dried blood from under her nose and any other place it had run down.

He lightly touched her cheek, before softly admitting, "Frankly, I'm worried about you too." He moved his hand up, touching the side of her head as he continued, "Whatever is happening in your mind right now, you need to fight it! You need to wake up, Avery."

"Your friends need you. They need you to fight, they need you to wake up." He paused, realizing there was someone else who needed her to wake up.

Someone else who couldn't stand the thought of losing her. "I-I need you to wake up." He quietly admitted.

He let out a sigh and dropped his head in defeat. He didn't know why her friends thought he would be able to wake her up. Maybe he should have just went with his original thought and called an ambulance for her.

With that thought in mind he grabbed her hands giving them a small rub before folding them across her chest. He turned around, reaching into his pants pocket to pull out his phone to make a call to someone who could actually help her.

Before he could pull his phone out, he heard a noise coming from behind him, he quickly spun around his eyes widening when he saw her take a deep breath.

"Avery?" Parrish questioned, as he walked back over to the table.

Avery slowly opened her eyes, staring in to a pair of green eyes. The eyes she saw when she was in Teagan's mind, the eyes that belonged to Jordan Parrish.

"Jordan?" Avery whispered.

"Yeah, I'm here." He said, as he flashed her a small smile.

Avery breathed out a small chuckle, as she softly said, "Deputy Parrish to my rescue."

"I have a feeling you don't need to be rescued often, Miss Dukate." Parrish said with a soft smile. "But I'm happy to be of service."

Her lip twitched, wanting to smile but she was too weak to do so. She rolled her head to the side, seeing his hand on the table, then reached out, laying her hand on his, as she whispered, "I'm happy you're here."

She rolled her head back, looking up at the ceiling as she quietly added, "Even if it is only a dream."

She had a hard time believing he would come to her aid. He was one of the nicest men she had ever met, but the last thing he needed to do was get tangled up in her mess. But if she was going to dream of someone, she was glad it was him.

As her eyelids fluttered shut, Deputy Parrish squeezed her hand, as he said, "It's not a dream, Avery. I'm really here."

"You can't be. You're too good for me." She said so low he couldn't hear.

"Just rest, Avery." Parrish said, as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, relieved to feel her skin was warming up. She was too cold earlier when he arrived. "Just rest… everything will be okay." He quietly added, as he leaned down. He paused for a moment, his forehead inches from hers before he finally rested his against her and blew out a breath, as he whispered, "You're okay."

~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~

A/N- Thank you all for reading. We hope you liked the chapter, it was certainly an emotional one for us to write! As much as we love Teagan/Isaac and Avery/Parrish, the story is really about Teagan and Avery and their friendship… it's always so great to get a chance to show the lengths they'd go to for one another. ^_^