Chapter 19: Working it Out

The ride back to Stiles' house was quiet and tense. For the moment everything was still in limbo. They didn't know if Michelle was going to make it through the night or of Scott's condition. They made it this far but now came the task of trying to find a way of defeating Jackson. There was nothing stopping him from biting everyone he came in contact with to grow his pack and become all powerful. "So you said there's some kind of fair going on?" Taylor asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah, some sort of Halloween carnival I guess." Derek sighed but didn't further the conversation.

Taylor glanced at Stiles with a worried expression. "You don't think Jackson is going to be there recruiting potential pack members do you?"

"Its possible," Stiles mumbled but jumped in his seat staring up ahead in the road.

Taylor turned her head and slammed on the breaks. In front of them stood Jackson in the middle of the street with two pack members on either side of him. "Taylor stay in the car." Derek commanded opening his car door.

Stiles was quick to fall behind, glancing at his girlfriend before shutting the door. "So you think taking Scott and Michelle is going to stop me?" Jackson laughed.

"What do you even want?" Stiles questioned. "Are you just gonna bite everyone until you're satisfied?"

"Now Stiles, nice to see you standing up right again by the way, I can't tell you my whole plan." Jackson sighed, stuffing his hands in his leather jacket pockets. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Come by the carnival tomorrow night and you'll see. And if you don't show up just know that Sheriff Stilinski, Melissa McCall, everyone else you love will be there. It will be in your best interest to show up."

Stiles and Derek glanced at each other for a split second but when they turned back Jackson was gone. The street was empty but off in the distance they heard a howl. "I need to see Michelle." Derek broke the silence turning around to head back to the car.

He was in a bed, a soft cushy bed that seemed somewhat familiar. Scott opened his eyes and much to his relief he was out of the basement. Turning his head he saw a picture of a younger Stiles sitting on a woman's lap, Scott recognized her as Stiles' mother. "Oh thank God," Lynne sighed sitting on the bed beside him. "Hey you, you sure know how to scare a girl."

"I'm just trying to make our relationship interesting," Scott chuckled weakly.

"Yeah well after this I think we can afford some downtime." She giggled. "I hope the Sheriff doesn't mind you resting in his bed. I wasn't even going to attempt to take you upstairs to Stiles' room."

"Where is Stiles? And everyone else?"

"He is with Taylor and Derek, they should be on their way. Allison is in the living room with Michelle."

"What is she doing here?" Scott asked, the anger he held for his ex-girlfriend slowly bubbling to the surface.

"Scott, she helped us. Without her you would still be held hostage and Michelle would probably be dead." Lynne explained.

"She's still alive?"

Lynne gave a slow nod. "For the moment. Before I came to check on you I was sitting with her in the living room. Allison is keeping cold compresses on her head to try to keep the fever down. We'll know more when Derek gets here."

Right on cue the couple heard Allison announce the others had made it back safely. "Here, I'll help you up." Lynne said gently grabbing Scott's arm to ease him out of bed.

As they walked into the living room Derek bust through the front door. "Where is she?"

"Over here," Lynne directed, holding Scott up as they went.

Allison stood up from her spot beside Michelle's side. "Her fever isn't as bad as it was but she won't wake up."

Derek's hands ghosted over Michelle's face. Slowly he turned her head to look at her ears. Everyone watched as Derek sighed in relief. "What is it?" Taylor asked, her and Stiles now stood in the doorway. Scott was shocked to see his best friend standing up on two feet again.

"Her body isn't rejecting the bite. It just looks like its trying to heel itself from the trauma the bite placed on her."

"But she's ok?" Lynne asked helping Scott sit in an armchair.

"She should be. Bites can have a different effect on people. With Scott it caused him to change immediately, with Michelle it looks like its just taking longer to process."

"So we just wait until she wakes up?" Allison questioned.

"That's all we can do. Its up to her now." Derek sighed.

"But what about Jackson? He expects us to go to the carnival tonight otherwise he's going to kill my dad and Scott's mom and dozens of others."

Scott's head shot up to see the serious look on Stiles' face. How long had he been asleep? "Wait what?"

Stiles frowned. "We ran into him on the way here. He said we go to the carnival tomorrow night or else."

"Then we go," Scott said.

"Scott, you can barely walk." Lynne protested.

"I'm healing myself as we speak. Its just taking longer because I lost all my energy down there but I'll be fine by tomorrow night."

"What about Michelle? How are we going to explain this to her parents? And what about when she wakes up?" Lynne exclaimed.

"She'll come to stay with me," Derek answered. "When she wakes up she's probably going to shift and someone, who knows how to handle it, needs to be there to talk her down."

"And I'll call her parents to tell them she's staying with me," Taylor said.

"Then its settled, but I'm going to need someone to drive me back to my house."

"I will," Allison volunteered.

"And I'll take Scott home." Lynne said helping Scott to his feet. "So tonight we all agree just to lay low?"

"Yeah and then tomorrow we'll meet at the carnival at six." Stiles sighed. "Everyone keep in contact though, let someone know when you get home safely."

After everyone agreed they left the house leaving Stiles and Taylor alone. Neither spoke, both were trying to process the day they just experienced. Finally Taylor took a deep breath. "I can't believe at one point I thought our biggest concern this year was going to be what colleges we were going to next year."

Stiles let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, I haven't even had the chance to think about that."

"I have," Taylor frowned sitting down on the couch. "When you were in the hospital I was thinking about it."

"Well..." He said taking a seat beside her, taking her hand in one his. "What did you decide?"

"I don't want to stay in Beacon Hills, I don't even want to be close to this town after everything that's happened." She explained. "That's why I've been thinking about going to school in Montana."

"Wait, wow...that's really far away."

"I know but hear me out, we can go together. We can leave all this behind and start fresh somewhere new. Where no werewolves or any other supernatural creatures can hurt us."

"I can't, I can't just leave my dad."

"I know, I know and I'm not asking you to decide right now just please, please think about it." She whispered taking his face in her hands.

"I'll think about it." He promised.

Nodding Taylor leaned over to kiss his lips. What started as an innocent kiss soon turned more passionate. "Stiles...wait," She breathed as he pulled her close to straddle his lap. "You're still recovering."

"Trust me, I'm fine," He smiled. "This is exactly what I need right now. I just need you close to me for a little while."

Both smiled as Stiles leaned in to seize her lips with his. His hands moved up and down her back before resting on her hips. "Want to go upstairs?" He asked breaking the kiss.

Nodding Taylor carefully stood up and waited for him to get to his feet. She couldn't help but smile seeing him stand up with ease. Once he was standing up right he pulled her close, leaning down to kiss her neck. "What about your dad?" She asked pulling away slightly.

"He won't be home for a few hours." He told her as he gently pulled her towards the stairs. "Are you ok with this? We don't have to...because I...like I don't want to push you." Now he was just babbling.

"No, I want to, trust me." She smiled taking the lead and guiding him to his bedroom.

Scott kept falling in and out of consciousness during the drive to his house. His dreams consisted of fighting Jackson on the lacrosse field, his mom and Lynne being the only ones in the stands cheering him on. Just when Scott thinks he's getting the upper hand Jackson's strength seems to double as faceless pack members surround the field. Lynne and Melissa's cheers suddenly go silent as the lights go out. Suddenly all he can hear are their screams but he cannot determine where they are. Every time he opens his mouth to call out to them no sound comes out. For the first time in so long Scott feels totally helpless. The two people he loves most are depending on him and he can't do anything.

When Lynne goes over a speed bump Scott wakes up with a jolt. Taking a deep breath he reaches over to take Lynne's hand, just to know she's there and not going anywhere. "You ok?" She asked, running her thumb over his.

"Yeah, yeah, I just have a lot on my mind." He sighed.

"I know you do," Lynne frowned. "I wish I could do more to help you."

"Trust me, just you being here is help enough."

Scott hadn't even noticed they had arrived at his house. The sun had already set a dusk had settled in but no lights were on inside. "I guess my mom had to work late." He sighed.

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

"You don't have to."

"I want to." Lynne said quickly, unbuckling her seat belt before he could protest.

Scott felt steadier on his feet, he was still sore but it was more manageable than before. His body was healing itself faster than he thought. He believed he should feel as good as new by morning. "Are you hungry or anything?" Lynne asked as they walked into the kitchen.

"Uh, a little I guess," Scott said taking a seat at the table. "I think there's some cereal or something in the pantry."

Sitting back in his chair he watched as Lynne grabbed a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, two bowls, and two spoons. She had been at his house so many times she knew where everything was without him having to tell her anything. Every time they were at his house it felt oddly comfortable. Lynne got along great with Melissa, just like he got along just fine with her family. He just hoped at some point they would be able to have a relatively normal relationship.

"Scott, hey, you still in there?" Lynne asked, running her hand up and down his arm.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry, I just zoned out."

"Well you definitely have enough to think about. Anything I can help you with?"

Scott sighed, reaching over he took her hands in his. "Just...I just want us to be ok after all this."

"Scott, of course we will. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah, you're not right now, but what if one day you realize you want someone normal? Someone without so much drama? Someone who doesn't shape shift into a werewolf every full moon."

"Well I hate to break it to you but you're not gonna get rid of me that easily." Lynne smiled making Scott laugh. "Scott listen to me, if I wanted someone normal I would have found one a long time ago. I'm sticking by your side no matter what. I didn't leave when I found out you were a werewolf and I'm not leaving you now when you need me most."

"I don't deserve you."

"Yes you do, just like you deserve to be happy. You deserve to have the best life possible because you, Scott McCall, are one of the best people I have ever met in my life. And we are going to figure all this out, we are going to beat Jackson."

"And then what?"

"And then we decide where we want to go to college like regular seniors."

"If I have the grades to get into college."

"Don't worry, I'll help you there but for right now eat your cereal. I know you're getting your energy back but you still need food in your system."

"Yes ma'am." Scott chuckled taking a big bite of cereal. It had already turned to mush but his hunger won in the end and then he finished the rest of the box.

Derek sat by Michelle's bedside. His arms crossed, his eyes never leaving her face. The process was taking too long but there was nothing he could do to stop it. His enhanced eyesight noticed every small movement. Her fingers had began to twitch with no sign of any claws just yet. When he saw her eyelids flutter open Derek jumped to his feet. "Michelle?" He whispered.

He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest until she finally spoke. "Derek." She sighed in relief. "Where am I?"

"My house, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck...a truck being driven by Jackson Whittemore."

Reaching over Derek lifted the hem of her shirt. "The wound is healed, that's a good sign."

"Wound? What happened to me?" She demanded as she tried to sit up.

Without hesitated Derek told her everything. "Jackson bit you, in hopes you would join his pack. He wanted you and Scott to be on his side."

Michelle shot up. "He...he can't do that can he? I can't possibly help him!" Her panic was starting to rise, Derek noticed her normally hazel eyes turn to a familiar gold.

"You won't, not if I have any say about it."

"But the alpha controls the betas right? That's how he's been controlling those kids, can he do that to me? Will that happen to me?!" Suddenly it felt like her head was being split in half. "Oh my God, what's happening to me?"

"Michelle calm down, your emotions affect the change."

"I can't control anything!" She screamed, her hands gripping her hair. "Please, make it stop!"

"I can't," Derek cringed, seeing her in this much pain was too much to bear. "Only you can control it, just focus your breathing."

"I'm trying," Michelle cried. Her tongue ran over her teeth, a new pair of canines almost caused her tongue to bleed.

"I know its hard, I know it feels like you have no control but you do. Jackson is not in control of you."

Opening her eyes again he was relieved to see they returned to their normal color. Her teeth shrunk back to size and her claws disappeared completely. "Oh my God..." She breathed hurling herself into his arms.

Derek was shocked until he felt her wet tears soak into his shirt. Instinctively his arms wrapped around her. "Hey, hey, shh." He whispered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"But what if I can't control it?" She whimpered. "What if I hurt you? Or my family? Or anyone else?"

"You won't."

"You don't know that." She snapped pulling away from the hug.

"Yes I do, I saw the way you brought yourself back just now. You need an anchor, something to bring you back when it feels like its too much."

Michelle slowly nodded her head. "Do you have one?"

"I was born like this, its different for those who were bitten. I learned how to control it at an early age, its like second nature to me at this point."

"Well that's reassuring."

"Hey, I'm not giving up on you."

"You may have to." She frowned. Before he could protest she continued. "If I lose control, if I hurt someone...you do whatever you can to stop me."

"Michelle I..."

"No, promise me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt...if I kill someone. Just please, promise me you'll stop me."

He couldn't possibly agree to this. There was no way he could possibly hurt her. "I can't..."

"If you don't someone will. I would rather be dead than be Jackson's minion. Please Derek, it has to be you."

"You're not gonna lose control. If its the last thing I do I won't let anything happen to you."

It wasn't what Michelle wanted to hear but it was better than nothing. Pulling him close she cuddled into his side and slowly began to process everything he had told her. She was a werewolf, this couldn't possibly be happening but now she had a new reality to adjust to. She felt like she could throw up, break down, but at the moment all she wanted to do was sleep. She could face it all in the morning.

When Michelle's breathing evened out Derek slowly reached down at the end of the bed to grab a blanket. Covering them both he began to relax. Michelle didn't believe it but she had controlled the shift. She had more control than Scott when he was bitten. He knew she would be ok, she could handle this life, she just needed to believe in herself and trust him.

It was the first time in weeks Stiles truly got to bask in the quiet. Laying in bed, with his girlfriend by his side, he felt like nothing was going wrong. They were just a regular teenage couple but he knew this couldn't last. Jackson was still out there and could kill so many people without even batting an eye. His dad was in trouble along with Scott's mom and the rest of the town. How could they possibly stop this?

"I just thought of something," Taylor whispered, her head resting on his chest. "How are we going to explain to your dad your leg and all your other injuries just magically healed?"

Stiles' eyes widened. "Oh my God, I haven't even thought about that."

"I guess we can say the doctor misdiagnosed or something."

"Yeah and all the x-rays were wrong. He will totally believe that."

"Do you think you will ever tell him the truth, about Scott, I mean?"

"I don't want to get him involved. The less he know the better."

"But the more he knows the better chance he has of protecting himself."

"He wouldn't believe me anyway." Stiles said, his tone of voice made her heart break.

Cuddling closer to him she sighed. "It doesn't hurt to try."

"I guess...I'll think about."

It was the best she could do. Looking over his body Taylor saw the digital clock on his nightstand. "As much as I would love to lay here all night I need to get home. My parents will kill me if I miss curfew again."

Reluctantly Stiles untangled his arms from her body. Sitting up slightly he watched as she dressed. As she was pulling her on her shoes both heard the ding of Stiles' cell phone. "Its Derek," He announced. "He said Michelle shifted but she's ok."

"So she controlled it?"

"I guess so, but the real challenge will be the full moon." His eyes widened. "Which is tomorrow night."

Taylor scoffed. "This is what Jackson was planning on. I never thought pretty boy Jackson would be this mastermind evil genius."

"Maybe not," Stiles said, so many thoughts were running through his head. "I think Jackson was betting on Michelle to lose control during the full moon but he doesn't seem to remember most of his pack are new werewolves as well."

"So the majority of his pack will be experiencing the full moon for the first time."

"And they won't be able to control it. With so many of them there's no way Jackson is going to be able to handle them all."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't know, he's a new alpha on a power trip, he's not really considering everything that goes along with it."

"We'll need to talk this over with Derek in the morning."

"Yeah, I'll go. Come on, I'll walk you out." He said reaching for a pair of basketball shorts on the floor.

"Let me know how it goes with your dad." She sighed as they reached the front door.

"I will, and you call me when you get home." He smiled pulling her in for a hug. "Please be careful."

Stiles stood at the front door and watched until she was gone. When the taillights faded off in the distance he was about to turn and walk back inside when he heard a car door slam. To his surprise he saw his dad walk around his squad car with a distracted look on his face until he saw his son standing on the front porch. "What the hell are you doing?" Mr. Stilinski exclaimed.

"Uh...standing?"

"I can see that what I meant was how the hell are you doing that?"

"Yeah I was meaning to talk to you about that," Stiles mumbled, running a hand over his head.

"Well I can't wait to hear this, inside, now."

Without saying a word Stiles turned around and walked inside, dreading the upcoming conversation. 'Please have an open mind,' Stiles thought as they headed into the living room.

The next morning Melissa felt dead on her feet as she arrived home after the graveyard shift. This was nothing new, she would come home in the wee hours of the morning just as Scott was waking up. They would usually eat a small breakfast together before he would head off to school and she rest for a few hours. "Scott?" She called through the house but no answer.

After taking off her jacket Melissa headed upstairs, her feet dragging with each step. Her bed was calling her name but at the moment she was ignoring it, she could at least tell her son good morning before she fell asleep for twelve hours. To her surprise Scott's door was cracked making her believe he had already left the house which she quickly realized wasn't the case since she heard the familiar soft snore coming from the bed. Peaking inside she smiled softly seeing her son sound asleep but to her surprise she spotted another body laying in the bed. Then she recognized Lynne's dark splayed out on the white pillow.

Any other time Melissa would bust in and yell at them both. They were far too young to be sleeping over together but she was much too exhausted to yell or even speak for that matter. She wouldn't forget this but for the moment she would let them sleep and she would soon follow. Closing the door all the way she crept down the hall and collapsed on her bed, being an angry mom could wait until she was properly rested.

The sound of the door closing alerted Scott's enhanced hearing making him open his eyes. He was wide awake in a split second prepared to fight anyone that snuck into his bedroom. Much to his relief he found his room to be empty except for the body sleeping next to him. His arm was draped over Lynne's stomach, the exact way he fell asleep the night before. Both were so exhausted they hadn't even moved, nor separated, their bodies were pressed up against each other. He couldn't help but think both needed the comfort of each other's touch after the day they had.

Slowly Scott removed his arm from his girlfriend and stood up from the bed. His body was no longer sore, he felt no pain at all. The previous day was just a memory but the reality of what they were going to face weighed heavy on his mind. They had to stop Jackson, somehow.

He was still staring out the window when he heard stirring from his bed. Glancing over he smiled seeing Lynne slowly begin to wake up. "G'morning," She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." He sighed sitting down right beside her.

"How are you feeling?" Lynne asked reaching up to rub her hand over his hair.

"Great, like nothing ever happened. I woke up this morning feeling amazing, I had you here, my best friend is better but then I remembered what we have to do tonight."

Lynne rested her chin on his shoulder. "Yeah, we're high school seniors, we should be thinking about what we're gonna do next year not worrying about our werewolf classmate killing our whole town."

"Yeah, that," Scott frowned. "I just hope he knows what he's getting himself into. This will be the majority of his pack's first full moon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well during my first full moon I almost lost it. I wasn't myself, Stiles handcuffed me in my bedroom trying to help and I was a complete dick to him. And then it was like I didn't have control of my body and all I wanted to do was to find...Allison."

Lynne frowned but soon she gathered what Scott was explaining. "So you're saying Jackson's pack won't be able to control themselves?"

"Yeah, I mean they should listen to Jackson but with so many new werewolves I don't know how it will go."

"So tonight could be even more awful than we thought. Not only would they be after us, but if Jackson can't control them they could hurt so many people at the carnival."

"Maybe even worse."

Lynne sighed, crossing her arms she said. "Well my anxiety just went through the roof."

Scott wished he could say something to make her feel better but he wasn't about to make promises he couldn't keep. For the moment he just took her in his arms and held her, the rest of the world could wait a little longer.

When Derek woke up that morning the first thing he realized was he was alone in his bed. Raising up he saw the spot where Michelle fell asleep the night before was empty. Hopping up he called her name with no answer. He could hear no one else in the house. She was gone and he had no idea when she had left or where she had gone. "Shit," He snapped grabbing his phone. 'Michelle is gone, we need to find her before anyone else does.' He typed a group message to Scott and Stiles, hitting send he walked around his house hoping she would just appear.

With no such luck he took a seat in the living room. Running his hands over his face he tried to think where she could be. She wouldn't go to her house, knowing how freaked out she was at the thought of hurting someone she wouldn't risk her parent's safety nor her friends.

Derek couldn't sit by and wait for a reply from the others. Grabbing his jacket and keys he walked to his car. He needed to find his girlfriend and he wasn't going to rest until she was safe.