Author's Note: I've given up apologizing for cliff-hangers.

That being said, I love you guys and sincerely hope none of you wish death upon me for this one.

"Derek?"

Sighing his frustration, Derek pulled his eyes away from the outline of Stiles and Lydia, silhouetted in the loft's window. They hadn't left the table for nearly three hours, heads bowed together in quiet conversation as they bickered over translations. Derek didn't listen in, mostly because he couldn't bring himself to. He was too afraid of what he might hear, that maybe this was just another dead end and not the cure they were searching for.

Turning his head toward the sound of his name, Derek found Scott lingering in the doorway, hands in his pockets and an awkward air about him. Scott toed at the concrete under their feet, jaw working determinedly, like he was chewing on his words, grinding them to dust between his teeth.

"Don't hurt yourself, Scott." Derek rolled his eyes, though even to his own ears, his voice sounded affectionate.

"Screw you, man." Scott chuffed a laugh, a crooked smile quirking his lips as the tension leaked out of his shoulders. "Like you're any better at this."

Derek arched a brow, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall of the balcony. "Better at what, exactly?" he questioned, mostly just to watch Scott squirm. "Lurking in dark corners, or admitting when I'm an asshole?"

"Nah, dude, it's still daylight. Besides, you've definitely got me beat on the lurking." Scott snorted, crossing the balcony to lean beside Derek. "No one does creeper like Derek Hale does creeper."

Derek shrugged, having no real argument against that.

"I was, though." Scott said, squinting off into the distance. "An asshole. I shouldn't have said what I did. I know that what happened with Stiles, it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry."

Staring hard down at his feet, Derek clenched his teeth. He didn't think Scott owed him an apology, not when they both understood why he reacted the way he had. Even after Stiles absolved Derek of his guilt, it lingered. Besides, Scott's anger was understandable. It didn't feel right to accept an apology for something he wasn't sure needed to be apologized for.

Scott hesitated, eyeballing Derek from the corner of his eye. Blowing out a breath, he scratched at the lopsided edge of his jaw. "When Isaac got hit, I... I kind of lost it." he admitted haltingly. "I wasn't there, you know? I couldn't stop it from happening, couldn't keep him safe. Seeing him like that, it reminded me that, even though he's a wolf, I can still lose him. Hell, I could lose both of them. All it would take is a well-aimed bullet, or one misstep during a fight, and-"

Scott's scent spiked with pain and sour fear, and Derek shifted closer. He let his instincts guide him and pressed his shoulder into Scott's, all too familiar with the thoughts choking him. Scott leaned into the touch, took a steadying breath.

"My point is, I know how you felt, not being able to stop what happened." Scott told him, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. "Not just because I almost lost Isaac, but because of what happened while you were gone. I just- I saw you carrying Stiles and all the fear came rushing back. All I could think about was seeing him that day, bleeding out in the middle of that field. I was right there and I still couldn't do anything to protect him. I don't know if you guys have ever talked about it or whatever, but watching him all but die? It seriously screwed with my head."

"He's alive, Scott." Derek reminded him. "They both are. Stiles and Isaac, they're too stubborn to go out that easily."

"I know that." Scott sighed. "At least, part of me does. The other part of me just kind of stands there and snarls threateningly at everything."

Derek gave a hoarse laugh at that, knowing from experience that Scott was speaking literally. His own wolf had been known to snap and snarl with even the slightest perceived threat to Stiles' safety.

"It's worse, in a way, with Stiles." Scott continued, clearing his throat and looking away again. "I know it's not fair, but I still feel like I need to protect him. Stiles and I have been attached at the hip since the day we met, Derek. I look at him and I see the clumsy, breakable kid I grew up with. When he's hurt or in pain, I don't see the wolf, I see the devastated little boy with tears pouring down his face at his mother's funeral. That image... It's burned into my brain. I don't care what he is; human, werewolf, abominable snowman... He's always going to be Stiles to me, and my first instinct will always be to make sure that I never see that look on his face, ever again."

"Believe me when I tell you, I understand." Derek held up a hand to stop Scott's interrupting. "I may not have been a part of his life when Claudia died, Scott, and I may not have been here when everything went down with the Catoblepas, but I am here now. I've lost people, too. I know how much it hurts, how it breaks you apart and scatters the pieces. Stiles is... He's stronger than any of us, always has been. Even when he was human, he was so much stronger. You think he's fragile, but Stiles is made of solid fucking steel, Scott."

"I don't think he's fragile." Scott argued, keeping his voice low. "I know how tough he is. But, you cannot stand there and tell me that you can look at him and not see his face after Gerard beat the hell out of him, or remember the way he looked after the nogitsune, how broken and fragmented he was. You can't lie to me and say it doesn't scare the shit out of you."

"Of course it does!" Derek bit out on a harsh whisper. "I'm in love with him, Scott, I'm fucking terrified! But, we both need accept the fact that he's a wolf now. He's not nearly as breakable as he used to be, and it's not fair for us to treat him like he is."

Scott blinked at Derek, mouth slack, brain whirring behind his eyes like it was struggling to process that information.

"You... You're in love with him?" It came out almost silently, as though Scott were afraid that if he raised his voice above a whisper he'd scare it away.

Derek shoved away from the wall, thrust his hands through his hair and laughed a little hysterically. "How is that even a question anymore, Scott?" he demanded, incredulous. "Since the minute I got back, I've spent every second of every day just trying to fix things between us. Hell, he's three-quarters of the reason I even came back at all!"

"I didn't know you-" Scott shook his head, somehow completely blindsided. "I mean, obviously I knew you guys were together, you know? And, you're his anchor and everything, but... I don't know. I guess hearing it put like that... I just wasn't expecting it."

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to say it, so I guess we're even." Derek snorted, suddenly feeling overexposed under Scott's attention.

"Does he know?" Scott asked, brows drawn together.

Derek's head dropped back, eyes toward the sky as he remembered the scent of panic clouding around Stiles when Derek hinted at wanting to know how he felt about him. He recalled the tightness in Stiles' shoulders when he climbed over Derek to get out of bed, saying only that he didn't want to talk about it right then.

"I don't- I thought it was better to wait."

"For what?!" Scott balked, taking a step closer.

Derek rolled his eyes, but Scott could see the confusion in his face, could smell the snarl of emotions coming off of him. They were all muddled together, such a jumbled mess that Scott couldn't even pick out one from the others.

"It's only been a few days, Scott." Derek grumbled, dragging a hand over his face. "The Bond is enough, for now. With everything else going on-"

"Wait, what?" Scott guffawed, jaw dropped wide open. "You're bonded? I'm gonna kill him!"

Derek couldn't help the offended expression that twisted his features.

"Oh! No, dude, not what I meant." Scott said quickly. "It's... He didn't tell me, is all. Which, I know, things have been a little crazy, so I can't really hold it against him."

"Well, seeing as how he almost died." Derek snapped.

Scott didn't take it personally. He knew Derek tended to get surly when he had to talk about emotions and feelings for too long.

Derek headed for the door back into the loft, clearly having reached his limit. Scott called out to stop him, figuring that this would probably be his only chance to put in his own two cents. When Derek turned around, a deep scowl carved into his face, Scott had to bite back a laugh.

Leave it to Derek to look pissed off about being in love.

"Look, I know you didn't ask for it, but I'm going to give you a little bit of advice." Derek's glare intensified, but Scott just rolled his eyes and continued, "Stiles doesn't do anything half-assed. Seriously, he pours everything he's got into everything he does. Sometimes, he gives more than he should to the wrong people and he ends up hurt. You are not the wrong people, Derek."

Derek looked away, fighting to stop the color crawling up the back of his neck.

"If you're waiting to tell him because you're afraid-"

Scott ignored Derek's warning growl, smiling wider. He was probably enjoying this more than he should, but Derek was fucking adorable, trying to act like the big bad wolf when he had hearts in his eyes.

"If you're afraid, don't be." Scott said seriously, trying to convey his sincerity. Derek eyed him warily, but he was still listening. "Trust me, Derek. If Stiles didn't care about you, he wouldn't have been so angry with you for leaving. He would have brushed it off and welcomed you back without a word. And, there is no way in hell he would have accepted a Bond."

Uncertainty clouded Derek's eyes, but Scott smiled reassuringly.

"Tell him you're in love with him. I can't guarantee he'll say it back, because the two of you truly are the most emotionally inept people I have ever met, but I can promise you one thing; I have seen Stiles love, and I have seen him truly be in love. You are the only person I have ever seen on the receiving end of both."

Eyes skirting back to the window, Derek watched Stiles lean over Lydia's shoulder to read whatever it was she was writing. Scott followed his gaze, giving a tiny huff of what Derek thought was supposed to be something like annoyed understanding.

"You know that's not a thing anymore, right?" Scott queried, making it sound as though Derek were being deliberately dense. "Hasn't been for a long time, now. Stiles loves Lydia, but he was only ever in love with who he thought she was. She's one of his best friends, and he'll always worship the ground she walks on, but that's not something you need to worry about."

"I know that." Derek agreed, surprised to find he actually believed it. "Have to admit, though, it helps to hear it from you." he added after a moment.

"Why, because I'm their Alpha?"

Derek caught a shadow move beyond the window, recognized it and made to open the door, only stopping to turn back to Scott and say with a smile, "No, because you're his brother."

Scott's smile would have been blinding had they been standing in the dark. As it were, Derek could only shake his head fondly and pull the door open, revealing a stone-faced Chris Argent on the other side.

Derek thought he should have figured the quiet couldn't last long, was resigned to it when Chris opened his mouth and the first words out of it were, "You guys can smell C-4, right?"

"This isn't fair, Scott!" Stiles fumed, eyes burning Gold as he glared hard at his Alpha and paced the length of Chris Argent's living room.

His Alpha; not his best friend, not his brother. Standing there, rigid and unmoved, Scott was every bit the one in control, the one giving orders. Even Derek and Parrish didn't try to intervene when Stiles sent them pleading looks.

Arms crossed over his chest and eyes flashing Red, Scott repeated the command, careful to keep his tone firm, "You need to stay here. This isn't negotiable, Stiles. If Carrick or his people find you-"

"It's the full moon, though!" Stiles argued, voice raised and shaking with anger. "I don't care that I can't shift, I still need to be outside. You cannot seriously expect me to hide out here while the pack goes out!"

"You make it sound like we're going for a run, Stiles." Scott snapped, gesturing widely. "We're searching for a bomb, for Christ's sake! You and Isaac are both sitting this one out, so quit bitching and Stay. Here."

Stiles' growl would have probably been more intimidating had it belonged to his wolf. Instead, it was weak and human, and Scott winced at the sound of it.

"I know how much you hate this." he sighed, reaching out to cup a hand around Stiles' nape. "And, I know you want to help, but you have to trust me. We can't let innocent people get hurt because of us, Stiles. Just... Stay here, please? Finish the translation and let us handle this."

"I swear to God, if you idiots get yourselves killed-"

Derek was the one to cut Stiles off, speaking up from behind him. "No one is getting killed, Stiles. Parrish is an expert when it comes to diffusing bombs, remember? All the rest of us are doing is finding it."

"What if it's a trap?" Stiles questioned, anger giving way to worry, to fear for his pack. "Argent got the info from Lochlann, right? Maybe he heard about Sean and this is him trying to-"

"Maybe it is a trap." Scott agreed, giving Stiles' neck squeeze before releasing him. "But, we're prepared for that, too. Don't worry about us, dude. Just figure out how to counteract those bullets so that you and Isaac can get your wolves back."

Stiles glanced across the room, eyeballing Isaac where he sat on Chris' sofa, looking resigned to staying out of everything but not at all pleased about it.

"Okay, fine." Stiles bit out, scowling at Scott, Derek, and Parrish. "But, you guys owe me so hard. I'm not even kidding. And, next full moon, I'm not even looking at pants for three whole days."

"That should go over well." Parrish chuckled, while Derek smiled fondly and Scott looked relieved.

"Fine with me." Derek said, moving forward to catch Stiles' lips in a kiss before he could start ranting again. "We'll be back before you know it." he promised, voice low so it stayed between them. "I'll call you as soon as we find it."

"My dad-"

"Will be with me and Parrish." Derek quickly assured. "I'll keep him safe, I promise."

Stiles nodded, fingers twisting in the hem of Derek's jacket before he could pull away. "Okay. I trust you."

One side of Derek's mouth quirked up. "I sure as hell hope so."

"Alright, go." Stiles huffed, fighting to release Derek as he said the words. "Before I change my mind."

"Don't worry, Stiles." Scott called across the room, pulling away from Isaac, whose face was creased with a frown. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Right." Stiles griped, watching the three of them shuffle toward the door, Derek casting looks over his shoulder as they went. "Because, that has ever been true."

Finding the bomb turned out to be the easy part, oddly enough. Derek was with Parrish and the Sheriff, searching downtown for any trace of explosives floating on the air, when the call came in.

It only took about ten minutes for them to get to the other side of town, mostly thanks to John flipping on the lights and siren before he peeled off into the night with Derek in the passenger seat and Parrish behind them in his department SUV. Derek debated whether or not to call Stiles on the way, but figured it would be better to wait until they'd disarmed the bomb and everyone was safe. At least then he could save Stiles the unnecessary worry and anxiety of actively having to wait for the threat to be neutralized.

"What have we got?" Parrish called as he climbed out of his vehicle and headed for the back hatch.

They were in the Town Square, the area cordoned off by a two fire trucks, a pair of emergency response vehicles, and a handful of police cruisers. The fountain in the Square's center was illuminated by a few floodlights aimed right at it, casting it in artificial brightness and sharp relief. The fountain was pretty simply designed, from what Derek remembered of it from throwing coins into in as a child. It had four tiers, tapering up toward the top where the water fanned out and cascaded down to collect in the stone pool at its base.

Derek looked around warily, uncomfortable with the amount of civilians pressing in along the barriers the Sheriff's department set up, apparently undeterred by the fact that there was a potentially fatal situation unfolding before their eyes.

It was Chris who responded, face pale and drawn in the shadowed darkness. "The device is under the fountain." he explained while Parrish donned his protective armor.

Not that the blast would actually kill him should it go off before he got a chance to disarm the bomb, but it'd definitely hurt like hell. Plus, with the crowd gathered around it would look beyond suspicious if their bomb-tech approached the blast zone without protective gear.

"From what I could see without actually touching anything, looks like it's on a timer. There's enough c-4 rigged to that thing to wipe out about two blocks in all directions." Argent said gravely, eyes meeting the Sheriff's gaze with hard edges.

"We've got to get these people back." John spoke into his radio, commanding his men. "I want a six block perimeter in the next five minutes. Commercial or residential, evacuate every building inside the blast zone. Now!"

The scene lurched into barely controlled chaos at the Sheriff's orders, and Derek watched while the onlookers were herded away. He caught sight of Scott arguing with Allison on the opposite end of the square and had to smile. Even without allowing himself to listen in, he knew that Scott was trying to get Allison to leave the scene and she was having none of it.

"There's more." Chris warned, catching Parrish by the elbow before he could slip on his helmet and head toward the fountain. "I am by no means an expert in whatever the Kearney's have done with those bullets. However, I am an expert hunter who specialized in werewolves for most of my life. Which is how I know that that fountain is full of wolfsbane, and its tiers are brimming with metal."

"Iron?" Derek questioned, brows furrowed as he eyed the fountain.

"Silver, too, I'd wager." Argent nodded, mouth a hard line. "Carrick is going for maximum damage. Human, werewolf; it doesn't matter at this point."

"Well, then I'd better get to work." Parrish determinedly dipped his chin, sliding his helmet over his head.

"Jesus." John sighed gruffly, scrubbing a hand across his mouth as they hung back and watched Parrish approach the fountain. "Maybe you all should clear out, too."

Derek lifted heavy brows at him. John snorted a little bitterly, like he'd known exactly what response he was courting with that suggestion.

"My son will never forgive me if I let you get hurt on my watch." John sighed, leaning heavily back against the side of Parrish's truck.

Derek turned his attention away from where Allison and Scott were heading their way, apparently having reached an understanding if the pout Scott was wearing said anything. The rest of the pack was trailing behind them. They all gave the fountain a wide berth, skirting along the edges of the barrier as they crossed the Square.

Giving his full attention to the Sheriff, Derek shrugged. "He's already threatened to hand me my ass if you get so much as a paper-"

Derek felt it a second before it happened. There was a shift in the atmosphere that had his hair standing on end as it rolled over him, and he stiffened. The ground rumbled under his feet and Derek had just enough time to throw himself bodily over Stiles' father before everything went bright and the world erupted in noise.