Summary: They didn't notice what was right infront of them. Peter Point of view. Chris/Peter, Allison/Scott, Stiles/Derek.

You know that moment where everything is perfect, where everything is going right, that moment just before everything falls apart and goes horribly wrong?

Well, this was our moment.

We'd decided to get every one together for Christmas and we were all having a grand time. Even Derek was laughing as he stood near Stiles, listening to the young man go on and on about the origins of Christmas trees and the traditions that had been adapted to the holiday.

Stiles had made it his personal mission this Christmas to get Derek to laugh and smile as often as he could for as long as he could and so far he had managed quite well.

The others were gathered around leaning on eachother, Scott and Allison, bickering with one another, Jackson and Lydia or just basking in the presence of the group, Isaac.

It was nice to have a calm Christmas, nice to not have to worry about something trying to kill us.

It was nice to have a moment where everything was going right, but then the moment was gone and Stiles began to cough and then he couldn't seem to stop.

He played it off and we all forgot about it, I forgot about it.

The cough persisted. Long after Christmas was over and the New Year bagun the cough remained and Stiles seems unconcerned, therefore none of us thought too much about it nor of the fact that Stiles came late meetings if he came at all.

I noticed he often looked tired and he went back to his old hair style where it was cropped close to his scalp but he made sure that he smiled more, that he made jokes to make the others laugh and he seemed to have picked up a new cologn that made the whole pack wrinkle their nose with disgust but he refused to stop wearing it.

I should have realised then that something was wrong but I was caught up in the fact that Christopher was speaking to me again in a friendly manor, something that had not happened since we were in college before he found out I was a werewolf and I found out he was an Argent.

We had agreed due to our feelings that we would pretend we;d never met and avoid one another if we ever saw each other again, it had been a compromise because I would never hurt him and he could not bring himself to kill me, we'd spent that night holding one another close and crying because our family loyalties would never allow us to be together and when dawn broke we parted ways and he didn't look back, but I did, I watched him leave because I knew he should have been mine as I was his.

But Stiles seemed to know and always paired us as a team when we split up grinning at us, he was trying to help in a way that wasn't obvious, it was so subtle that the others began doing it too until it was assumed that Chris and I were a team, I liked it, it made me happy and I told Stiles so.

He grinned at me so widely and demanded an invite to the wedding, I had rolled my eyes then and Chris had too when I told him about it.

Mother Moon, there had been so many signs that something was wrong with him and I feel so stupid for missing them, for missing the way Stiles always showered before coming to any pack function, how careful he was of the food he ate and the way he drank only bottled water. How he seemed to bruise easier and the way they appeared to last forever.

Then came the night that Stiles said goodbye.

It was just an ordinary pack movie night and dinner but Stiles had only stayed for one movie saying that he was too tired for another movie and though Derek offered him a room to sleep in Stiles insisted on going home and Stiles left with a grin and a wave, lauging at Scott who called him an old man as he got into his jeep.

And Stiles had disappeared down the road while we all went back inside to watch a few more movies.

Until we were being awoken by the shrill ringing of Derek's phone in the middle of the night. And then we were racing to the hospital where Sheriff Stilinski informed us that Stiles was dying and had been for almost a year and that now, now was the time to say our goodbyes.

We looked at each other and by some unanamous vote we dicided that Derek would go last and if the Sheriff allowed he would stay until Stiles was gone.

Chris took my hand and we entered the room silently.

"Hello, Stiles." Chris began.

"Hey." He whispered weakly.

"How are you feeling?" Chris asked and I winced.

"Like death." Stiles forced a chuckle, "I didn't want you guys here for this."

Chris took Stiles' hand and pressed a hand to his forehead, "Don't worry Stiles, we'll remember you making us laugh."

"Good." Stiles smiled, "What about you Creeper Wolf?"

"Are you in pain?" I blurted, dying people are usually in some kind of pain, right?

Stiles laughed, "Almost all the time, it's okay."

I took his too bony pale hand in mine and pulled gently at thhe waves of pain that were coursing through him.

"Better?" I asked.

He nodded, "Thanks."

"I'll tell the others, and give you two a moment." Chris said, and I knew that they were going to make sure Stiles wasn't in any more pain.

"I should have bit you when I had the chance." I muttered as my fingers rubbed his knuckles.

Stiles laughed, "Nah, can you imagine me as a werewolf?"

An image of a brilliant beta wolf, loyal to a fault with brown fur curled up tight to a black Alpha crossed my mind and I looked into sad almost regretful eyes and I lied.

"No, I can't say I can."

"I may not be able to hear your heartbeat, Creeper Wolf, but I know you're lying." Stiles smiled at me, "Thank you."

There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask him about that 'thank you', but mainly I wanted to know what he was thanking me for but Scott was standing at the door with Allison and he stepped over to take Stiles' hand as I stood up and walked to the door.

"Take care, Peter." Stiles grinned at me, "I still expect an invite."

"Alright." I told him and tried to ignore the prickle of tears in my eyes as I exited the room and went to the waiting room to sit with the others, my ears trained on the skip beat of Stiles' faltering heartbeat.

I leaned against Chris' shoulder when he pulled me down to lean on him sometime during the night, long after Derek and the Sheriff had entered Stiles' room but noe of us could bring ourselves to leave, it seemed like only moments later that Stiles' stuttering and weakening heartbeat came to a stop and a soft keen was heard as Derek mourned his mate and I had missed that too, how could I have missed so much that was right there for me to see?

And when Derek was finally pulled out of the room by the Sheriff I stood up and pulled him into my arms and held him as tight as I could as his legs gave out and we landed on the floor and the Sheriff settled his hand on Derek's shoulder and Derek grasped it tightly as the rest of the pack came and curled around them.

We drew comfort in each other for what seemed like hours before one of the nurse told us that we should probably go home.

I walked through the cemetary towards Stiles' grave. It had been almost four years since the boy died and I had finally decided that it was time to make an honest man out of Chris and he was adament that I keep the promise we'd made to Stiles.

I was glad that Derek had specific times that he came to visit Stiles and talk to him, I know what he was doing was probably unhealthy but I can't say that I wouldn't be doing the same thing if it had been Chris.

I sat down next to Stiles' grave and laid the flowers next to the ones that Derek had brought by when he came earlier.

"I brought your invitation." I said softly and placed the closed envelope next to the flowers. "I hope you come, just don't kill anything."

I wasn't sure if ghost or angels were real, I had never seen one in person but I suppose that that didn't mean that they didn't exist.

I sat there for a while and talk about the plans we had made for the wedding so far and maybe I shared a bit of the vows I planned to say to Chris. I talked until I saw Derek approaching and I said my goodbye.

"Derek is here, so, I'll leave you two alone, I promised Chris I'd make dinner tonight, Allison and Scott are coming, I think Scott may ask Chris if he can marry Allison." I confided to te silent stone. "I come around later, okay?"

I stood up and smiled at Derek as I passed him and I turned back to watch him sit next to the grave stone and for a moment I thought I saw a boy in a red hoodie sitting on the top of the stone grinning down at Derek and nodding along to what Derek said.

The boy looked up and made eye contact and gave me two thumbs up and wave the invitation briefly.

Then he was gone and Derek was standing up and walking towards me and I had to wonder if he could see Stiles sitting on the stone when he talk or if it had only been my desprate imagination.