Disclaimer: I hold no claim to any of the characters or places in this story, only to the way they are presented.

look after you/chapter four

8:45 p.m.

Liam was pretty sure the sigh of relief he had just taken was able to be heard around the world. After all, it was the first one he'd been able to take all day. As he settled into the backseat of the blue Tundra, he pondered over the fact that he wasn't sure if there was a word in existence that would describe how grateful he had felt when help had finally come to rescue him and Hayden. It was a little questionable that the help had come in the form of Theo Raeken and not his alpha, but when Theo hurriedly ushered them outside of where they were being held and into his car, he figured beggars couldn't be choosers. Besides, all he really cared about was the fact that the girl next to him was safe and out of harm's way for the time being. He looked to his left at the dark haired girl who had just been through just about everything with him. The tiredness in her face was something he had expected to see as they'd both simultaneously been put through hell. Being forced into such a traumatic situation with someone was not exactly how he'd expected the past twenty four hours to go. Yet, since it happened, he was glad it happened with Hayden.

It was needless to say that an ordeal like the one they had just been through would require them to band together and depend on on another. However, considering how there was basically no space between them in the back of Theo's truck, Liam assumed it was safe to say that they were still doing so. If he was being completely honest, he didn't want her to leave his side for even a second. Not just for her sake, but for his too. He liked to think that she felt just the same in regards to him. He wasn't completely sure it was due to them being worried about each other's safety if it was because of something that he was beginning to feel on a much larger scale. It would make everything much easier if he could just chalk everything up to having a high level of concern for other, but he knew that didn't cover it. What he was feeling towards Hayden was something deeply rooted in redemption, admiration, and infatuation. He just wasn't sure if it was the right time to worry about such a thing with everything going on.

In a perfect world, the whole situation would have been fine and settled considering that Theo had just rescued them. Yet, Liam knew that everything was far from finished. They were still going to come after Hayden and he had no idea what it was that could done to prevent that. It was almost inevitable that madness would once again ensue and he could hope that neither him or Hayden would be on the receiving end. He was still reeling off of everything that had just happened, Just momentarily thinking of it had certain events of the day popping back into his head right when Theo begun to crank the truck up.

7:56 p.m.

The silence settling down on the room was the type that seemed as if it could be felt. Or it least it did to Liam. His eyes wandered to the girl clutching his arm and saw the obvious fear in her eyes. They had just witnessed the Dread Doctors come to collect Zack because he was apparently a failure. The scene was a painful one to watch and judging by the fate of Tracy, Lucas and others combined with the way that Zack had gone out kicking and screaming, Liam could guess that his fate was certainly not a good one. However, as bad as it seemed to him, he knew it seemed at least ten times worse to Hayden.

As he listened to her breathing quicken and her heartbeat pound out of her chest, it became quite obvious to him that she was terrified. He couldn't blame her either. If he was in her position, he would be pretty alarmed also. She was suddenly thrust into this supernatural world without a choice and now she had to deal with the fact that she might be branded as a failure after becoming something that wasn't even her choice.

"Liam..." She broke the silence with a shaky voice. "What if that happens to me? What if I'm a failure too?" Her eyes swimming with doubt, met his.

"Listen to me, nothing like that is going to happen you." He responded. He searched his brain for things to follow the statement up with but none of them seemed as if they would work at the time.

"You don't know that!" She retorted with a yell, the tone of her voice louder than ever, which very much surprised Liam. He knew it was due to her being nervous and a bit on edge, yet he was still a little bit thrown off by her sudden change of mood.

"You're right." He whispered quietly, not wanting to anger her anymore. "But I can hope."

The time after seemed like the longest in his life as her waited for her to response. Though, he guessed that the longer it took for her say something meant that there was a better chance of her cooling off. He hated seeing Hayden in pain, but he absolutely hated seeing her angry as it never meant anything good in regards to him.

"God, I'm sorry. I'm just...scared and this all is just a lot to take in." She mumbled out quickly after what seemed like forever, covering her face in her hands.

Liam wasn't sure what it was that possessed him with the bravery to act, but he found his hands covering hers and pulling them away from her face. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

He watched as a smile covered her face for just a second as a result of his words and felt the need to continue on.

"Besides, we wouldn't be us if you didn't yell at me every once in a while." He spoke in an attempt to make light of the situation. He assumed that it worked well when she responded with a light chuckle. She didn't respond afterwards but Liam knew that she appreciated the gesture.

Their moment, however, was interrupted by the sound of footsteps outside the room. The sudden relief was quickly transformed into panic as they shared a look of worry.

Of course, at the time, they hadn't known that the footsteps belonged to Theo Raeken who had actually come to save them. It served for quite a pleasant surprise. Liam had been a little suspicious of Theo at first, but when it counted, they boy in question always seemed to come through, so he couldn't really fault him.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the unexpected gasp next to him. His eyes once again found Hayden, who was clutching onto onto her side for dear life. It wouldn't have brought up a red flag with Liam if it hadn't been the spot where the doctors had 'operated' on her which resulted in an almost completely black spot on Hayden's body. He had assumed that the spot would be well on it's way to completely healed by now. However, they obvious pain that made itself known by the look on Hayden's face let him know otherwise.

"It still hurts?" He inquired worriedly. If she was still in pain, then he really wondered what all the doctors had done to her. He always wondered what it was they were pumping into him, but that was a concern for another time. Right then, his focus was Hayden.

"Everywhere." She stated with a sigh."I'm not healing. Not like I did before." The words were exactly what Liam did not want to hear. He wanted her to proclaim that she was fine and that everything was going to be fine. It just wasn't that simple. Liam had to think about what that meant for her. He knew that she was second herself and sinking back into the doubts she had been having earlier. If he was being honest, he was becoming just as uncertain as her and that was scaring him.

"It means I'm a failure, doesn't it?" The question brought Liam out of his thoughts and just about punched him in the face in the process. NO! He wanted to scream his response immediately. He wanted to grab her up in his arms and tell her that she was going to be completely fine. He wanted so badly for her to believe every comforting thing that he had been telling her for the past couple of days. He was running out of things to say and even if there was something, he wasn't sure it would work.

He then realized that it wasn't about what he said anymore, but instead, what he did and at that moment, there seemed to be only one thing that made sense. Without a second thought, he urged himself forward before he could chicken out, closing the minuscule space that was actually between him and Hayden. It was a quick action, but it seemed much longer to Liam before his lips made contact with hers. His eyes slammed shut, not wanting to ruin the moment. Everything seemed to fade into the background once it happened. He forgot all about Theo. He forgot that they had just been put through some of the most trying times of their lives. All that mattered was the fact that he was kissing the girl whom he was feeling such strong things towards. It occurred to him that she might have been having similar feelings when he felt her kiss him back. Feeling as though, he'd made his point, he pulled away. Yet, his mind still lingered on the kiss. It was a great kiss.

"It's gone. The pain is gone." His eyes opened at Hayden's words. "How did you do that?"

His thoughts wandered back to earlier when he had attempted to do the same thing and failed miserably. He had been so discouraged at not being able to take away her pain and now he had done it without even intending to. He wanted to wonder how, but he was too relieved to know that he was finally able to help her. His eyes found hers. "I don't know."

He didn't know if it was her smile that followed or his eagerness that made him do it, but he found his lips on hers for the second time. Not because he intended to take away more of her pain, but simply because he liked kissing her.

By the time they pulled into Scott's driveway, Hayden had safely burrowed herself into Liam's side. Though, he didn't mind one bit. Liam watched as Theo got out and came around to the backseat to help them out of the car and into the house. Liam sighed as he stepped out onto the pavement. It was so nice to be back somewhere in comfort. He turned around to look at Hayden, who seemed just as relieved as him. Without giving it much thought, he grabbed her hand as he begun to follow Theo into the house.

Once inside, he immediately noticed that Scott was nowhere to be found, which seemed a little off. He didn't have time to think about it before Lydia was up and bounding towards him and Hayden to envelope them both in a warm hug.

"Thank God!" She exclaimed. "Scott is going to be so relieved." She added and Liam found it to be the perfect time to inquire about his alpha.

"Uh...where is Scott?" He asked.

"He's out with Malia and Mason. They were looking for you guys." Theo cut in. His answer put Liam at ease. Yet, considering that Scott was an alpha and Theo wasn't, it seemed kind of weird that Theo was the one who got to them first.

"Oh." He responded simply.

"You guys should lay down while we wait for Scott to get back. You must be so tired." Lydia stated, looking them over. Liam saw a small smile tug at her lips when her eyes came to their interlocked hands. He knew a interrogation session with the pack was soon to follow.

Lydia ushered them over to the couch, before sitting down a little further away to give them space. Once Liam sat, he realized just how exhausted he was. He looked over to Hayden, who had settled down right next to him once again and saw that the case was similar for her as she was already drifting. He smiled at the sight. He didn't know how long it was guaranteed, but for the time being she was safe and that gave him more comfort than he had expected,

He draped his arm over her, drawing her closer and placed a kiss to the top of her head before leaning back and letting sleep overtake him.

A/N: Hello guys! I wanted to update earlier this week but I've been a little sidetracked because I go back to school tomorrow and there was so much to do. I'll try my best to get a little schedule worked out so that I can continue updating regularly. But anyways, how cute were these two in 5x08? I'm so excited for the rest of 5A! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns in the reviews! :)