Okay, I know I'm late. But 1) this is the last chapter, and I made it just a little bit longer, and 2) I didn't want it to end!

I just really wanna thank you guys so much for being so supportive of this story, and of me! I appreciate every review, follow, and favorite. I love you all so much!

I don't own Teen Wolf

"Stiles."

He groaned, pulling the covers up over his head.

"Stiles!"

A hand shook him and he groaned again.

"What?" he asked, pushing off the comforter to his waist.

Scott was standing in front of him, a smile on his face. "Up and at 'em."

Stiles just glared at him through bleary eyes.

"I've got your assignments," Scott continued.

"That's supposed to make me get out of bed?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.

Scott shrugged. "No. But, uh, maybe playing Halo with your best friend might."

Stiles pretended to consider it before throwing the covers off. "Halo will always get me out of bed."

"Your assignments are on your desk," Scott said as they went down the stairs.

"You went to school?" Stiles asked. "After getting, like, two hours of sleep?"

"I've gone on less," Scott replied.

Stiles nodded. This was true. Stiles had gone on less before, as well. But he was thankful when his dad offered him an out, because he was bone-tired after everything that had happened last night, and probably would've passed out if he tried to go to school.

"So where'd Lydia go?" Scott asked, waiting for the game to load.

"She went home," he replied simply.

"Wow," Scott said. "After this past week, I thought she'd never leave you alone. And after last night, I was sure she wouldn't leave you alone."

Stiles started fiddling with the controller as he set up the game. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?" Scott asked. "You know, after last night?"

Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He focused on the game as it started, but after a minute, it paused. He looked over at Scott, who was staring at him with worry.

"What?" he asked. "I'm fine."

"Dude," Scott said, raising an eyebrow. "You told me you were 'fine' right before this whole thing started."

Stiles looked down at his controller. "I don't know what to tell you, man."

"How about the truth," Scott prodded.

Stiles shrugged. "I…I don't know. I mean, it's not taunting me anymore, and I don't feel…suffocated anymore. But, it's still there, just…not as bad."

Scott nodded. "That's honest. I'm your best friend, you don't have to hide it from me."

"I know," Stiles said, "I just thought that I could handle it on my own. Obviously, I couldn't."

"But that's the thing," Scott replied, putting a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "You don't' have to, with anything."

Stiles took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I'm just used to, you know, burying everything down, especially the last couple of years. There's always something going on that's more important, so I just ignore whatever I'm feeling to take care of what's going on. I think we all do that to a point."

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "But when it's something like that, you can't keep it to yourself. No threat of situation is more important than my brother."

"Thanks, buddy," Stiles said. "Now, uh, let's kick some ass."

He un-paused the game and they started playing.

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Lydia knocked on the door, tapping her foot impatiently.

Mr. Argent opened the door while he pulled on his jacket.

"Lydia," he said with a small smile. "I wasn't expecting you today."

"Why not?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

He shrugged. "I just thought you would be sleeping after last night."

Lydia sighed. "I got all the sleep I'm going to get." And that was the truth.

After her mother had grilled her when she got home, she barely slept. She told herself it was because her mother wound her up. But in reality, the short time she did actually sleep, she had a nightmare that Stiles didn't make it out.

She wasn't sleeping after that.

"Okay," Mr. Argent said. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "I've been better, but I'll get better. I always do."

"That's the spirit," he said. "Allison's in her room, and I have a meeting." He let her in and went to leave. "Bye, Lydia."

"Bye, Mr. Argent," she replied as he closed the door. She went to Allison's room and walked through the open door.

"Hey," Allison greeted from her desk.

"Hey," Lydia said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's up?" Allison asked.

Lydia smiled and leaned back. "I need a shopping partner, and who better than my best friend?"

Allison looked at her pointedly. "You want to go shopping?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's therapeutic, and I need a new outfit."

"Shouldn't you be resting?" her best friend asked. "You could've died last night."

Lydia shot her a disbelieving glare. "Last time I checked, you actually did die, and not even ten minutes after you came back to life, you were going a hundred miles a minute."

Nodding in agreement, Allison pulled boots on and stood up. "Fair enough, let's go."

As they rode the elevator down, Allison looked at her curiously.

"What?" Lydia asked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You still look tired."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I got all the sleep I need."

"No, you didn't," Allison argued.

"I got all the sleep I could get," Lydia corrected with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" Allison asked as they walked through the lobby.

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep after a certain point."

They got in Lydia's car and made their way to the mall

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Allison said after a minute.

Lydia looked at her quickly before focusing on the road. "I…I dreamt that Stiles…didn't…wake up."

"Lydia," her best friend said, putting a comforting hand on her arm.

"I'm fine," she replied, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile. "I mean, it was just a dream."

Allison shook her head. "That doesn't mean anything."

Lydia glanced at her, curiosity peaking.

"Speaking of dreams," she started. "What kind of dreams have you been having?"

Allison looked at her with narrow eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You know full well what I mean," Lydia replied with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm dreaming about my dead, psycho aunt," Allison said. "That's weird."

Lydia turned into the mall parking lot. "While that's weird – and somewhat creepy – there is so much more to tell judging by the blush you had when you told Deaton. And the one you have now!"

She was in fact blushing, looking out the windshield and avoiding eye contact with Lydia.

"You missed, like, two good parking spots," she finally said.

"Oh, no," Lydia argued. "Don't try to change the subject."

Finally looking at her, Allison laughed in disbelief. "I'm trying to change the subject? We were talking about your dream."

"I never said I didn't change the subject," Lydia admitted, pulling into a parking spot. "I just happen to be better at doing it, and better at not letting it happen."

Sighing loudly, Allison grabbed her purse and put a hand on the door handle. "Look, how about we not talk about weird dreams and focus on shopping."

Lydia smiled at her best friend before grabbing her own purse. "Deal."

They got out, walking towards the mall.

"I know you don't need a reason to shop," Allison said, "but I feel like there's one for this trip besides being therapeutic."

"Well," Lydia said slowly. "I might or might not have a date tomorrow night."

Allison gasped. "You mean with-"

"Uh-huh."

"You two are actually-"

"Yup."

"Really?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, why is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, it's not," Allison said as they stepped on an escalator. "I mean last year, yeah, it would've been completely unbelievable. But now, especially after the past week, not so much. I'm just excited for you guys!"

Lydia shook her head at her best friend.

"So where are you guys going?" Allison asked.

"I don't know," Lydia shrugged.

"You don't know?" Allison raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged again. "I told him to surprise me."

They had started walking towards the dresses at Macy's, but Allison stopped dead and turned to look at Lydia.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You told Stiles to surprise you?"

"Yeah," Lydia said, nodding slowly.

"You realize it's probably going to end up being a Star War's marathon," she stated.

Lydia rolled her eyes and went to the dress tacks. "I doubt that. He may be a total fanboy, but he does have a streak of romance in him."

"I guess that's true," Allison said. "Even if it is cheesy sometimes."

"What?" Lydia asked, her hand freezing on a dress. "Cheesy?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought. He had never really been that cheesy with her. Except…

"You eavesdropped on us yesterday?" she gasped. God, was it only yesterday?

"Is it eavesdropping when you're with two boys with impeccable hearing and the two lovebirds aren't really trying to be quiet?" Allison asked.

Blushing furiously, Lydia focused on the dresses. "Yes, it still constitutes as eavesdropping!"

"Okay," Allison said. "I'm sorry. But it was just so sweet!"

Lydia smiled. "Yeah, it was."

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Stiles paced his room while Scott sat on the desk chair, watching Stiles with amusement.

"Dude, just calm down," Scott told him for the millionth time.

"I am calm," Stiles replied. "I'm just…jumpy."

They had been like this for almost an hour. Stiles pacing, not being able to come up with anything, and Scott trying to help him.

But Stiles couldn't help it. He had to figure what he was going to do on his date with Lydia.

"You know," Scott mused. "Her saying 'surprise me' doesn't actually mean you have to surprise her. It's basically just 'you pick the place.'"

Stiles stopped pacing and looked at his best friend. "I know that."

"Then why are you freaking out so much?" Scott asked.

"I don't know!" Stiles answered, sitting down on the bed. "I just…want to actually surprise her. I want to do something special that she wouldn't expect."

Stiles' legs bounced as they sat in silence, trying to think of something that would surprise Lydia.

He couldn't take her to a nice restaurant and a night on the town. She was used to that. No, it had to be something different. Something simple yet romantic, something from the heart. Something she would love, but no one had ever done for her…

"You guys sure are thinking hard," his dad said from the doorway. "What's this about?"

"We're trying to figure out how to surprise Lydia for their date tomorrow," Scott explained.

"Date?" his dad asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Stiles replied with a smile of his own. "I asked her out before she left this morning, and she said yes. I want to surprise her, but I don't know how."

"Hmmm…" his dad said. "She's probably used to fancy stuff, right?"

Both of the boys nodded in response.

"So," his dad continued, tapping his foot, "do something simple. Something from the heart."

Stiles' mind went a million miles a minute as he thought, and then it clicked. He knew exactly what he was gonna do.

"I got it," he said, jumping up quickly. "But I'm gonna need some help."

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Lydia sat at her vanity, trying to decide on what to do with her hair. Her date was in two hours, and the only thing she knew was which dress she was wearing.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in,' she said.

The door opened and her mother peeked in. "How's it going?"

Lydia didn't look at her, instead focusing on her reflection. "Fine."

"Do you need some help?" her mother asked, stepping in.

With a roll of her eyes, Lydia turned around and looked at her mother. They hadn't talked since yesterday, and Lydia was still mad at her for what she had assumed about Stiles.

"Now why would you help me get ready for a boy you can't stand?" Lydia asked, an edge to her voice.

Her mom sighed, and crossed her arms. "Lydia, it's not that I can't stand him. From what little time I've spent around him, he seems to be a sweet boy."

"Then why were you so quick to judge him like you did?" she asked.

"I don't know," her mom said, shaking her head. "I jumped to conclusions, and I was still freaking out from finding your stuff gone, so I just assumed the worst about everything, including Stiles. I'm sorry."

Lydia just looked at her mom. At first she thought her mom was just telling her what she wanted to hear so they could move on. But looking at her, Lydia knew that she was being sincere.

"So you'll give Stiles a chance?" she said cautiously.

"Yes," her mother nodded.

"And you won't make any more snap judgments?" she continued.

"No more snap judgments," her mom assured.

Lydia bit her lip, trying to reign in her excitement. She was going to date Stiles either way, but her mom not blatantly disapproving meant a lot to her.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" her mom asked.

Lydia thought a minute as she looked back in the mirror. "I could use some help figuring out what to do with my hair."

Her mom came and sat down next to her, running her hands through Lydia's hair as she talked about the different ways she could style it.

By the time they were done, Lydia's hair was in a waterfall braid, her curls cascading down her back. She was wearing a simple, sleeveless dress with a black under-slip, and a green lace overlay that stopped right above her knees. She slipped on a pair of black strappy heels as the doorbell tang.

"I'll get it," her mom said. She stopped at the doorway, looking back at Lydia. "You look so beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thank you," Lydia replied.

As her mom went and answered the door, Lydia double-checked her lipstick. She knew Stiles could care less, but it didn't stop her from wanting to look her best for him.

She heard mutterings of polite conversation as she made her way downstairs. When she stepped into the foyer, Stiles smiled at her, his eyes sparkling as he took her in.

"You look…breathtaking," he said.

"Thank you," she replied, a small smile forming on her face.

He was wearing black jeans and a royal purple plaid button down, the sleeves rolled up neatly to his elbows. The purple complimented his eyes so well, she could've sworn they were molten gold. She felt her heart skip a beat, and was glad that no one there could hear it.

"You, uh, ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded and headed towards the front door.

"Bye, Mrs. Martin," he said.

"Bye," her mom replied. "Love you!" she called to Lydia.

Before Lydia could respond, Stiles called back, "love you, too!" before closing the door.

He froze with his hand on the door and closed his eyes in embarrassment as he realized what he'd done.

"Did you just-"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I did."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "Reflex? Oh my God, I'm an idiot!"

"It's okay," Lydia laughed. She put her hand over Stiles' on the doorknob and slowly pulled his hand off of it. She opened the door and peek in, finding her mother still in the foyer with an extremely confused look on her face.

"Love you, Mom," she said with a smile.

"Love you," her mom said slowly. "Did he really-"

"Yeah," Lydia said. "See you later."

She closed the door and saw that Stiles had moved to the edge of the porch, waiting patiently for her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the Jeep.

"So," she asked when they were in the Jeep. "Where are we going?"

"You told me to surprise you," he replied. "So I'm surprising you."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's a surprise?"

He nodded as he started driving. "Yeah."

"Okay," she said, settling into the seat. "Can you atleast give me a hint?"

"Nope," he answered simply.

"Is it south of the border, or across the pond?"

He shook his head. "Not saying anything definite."

She glared at him. "I don't like surprises."

"I think you'll like this one."

Finally, they pulled up to Stiles' house. "The surprise is your house?"

"Sort of," he answered vaguely as he got out. He went around and had her door open before she could do it herself. When she got out, Stiles stood behind her and put his hand over her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just trust me," he said. So she did.

He led her to wherever it was, and she knew they were still outside because she could still feel the slight breeze.

"Okay, you ready?" he asked her. She nodded.

He moved his hands away from her face, and she gasped in awe.

They were in Stiles' backyard on the patio, but it looked so much different. The table was adorned with a white tablecloth with a bouquet of roses and candles, and the patio roof was covered in white Christmas lights, making it look like bright, twinkling stars. It was absolutely stunning.

Speechless, she let him lead her to the table and sat down in the chair that he pulled out for her.

"Did you really do all this for me?" she finally asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I mean, Scott, Isaac, and my dad helped, obviously, but I wanted to surprise you, and this is what I came up with."

She rolled her lip and smiled at him, not knowing what to say.

"I'll be right back," he said. "I'm gonna go get the food."

He went inside and Lydia looked around. The twinkling lights gave everything a glow that was almost magical.

She was definitely surprised. No one had ever put this much time and effort into doing something for her. Jackson never had much of a romantic side, but even when he did do something special, it was usually dinner at a nice restaurant, a movie, and atleast a make-out session. With Aiden, they were lucky enough to keep their hands and lips off of each other long enough to even have a real conversation, much less a date.

But Stiles had wanted to surprise her, and he put so much time and effort into it, that it made her heart swell. She didn't think that she would ever get used to it, and if she was being honest, she never wanted to.

She noticed that the silverware was already on the table, wrapped up in a cloth napkin. There was even a piece of paper to secure it like at a restaurant, and she saw that her paper was wider than his. Out of curiosity, she pulled the paper off and unfurled it, finding words inside.

You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known –
and even that is an understatement. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

She grinned as tears sprang to her eyes. That little detail said so much about Stiles that she already knew, and it was one of the many things she loved about him.

It felt like her heart was caught in her throat and her stomach dropped, but she knew it wasn't from what she was feeling right now.

No, she knew what it was, and it wasn't good.

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Stiles was plating the Primavera, trying to hurry. His dad came in, wearing his uniform

"Hey," he said. "I'm about to head in. How's it going so far?"

"Pretty good," Stiles replied. "She seemed to like the decoration, so hopefully she'll like the food."

"If you followed the recipe, it should be amazing," his dad encouraged. "Your mom never made anything sub-par."

Stiles smiled. He was using his mom's recipes for everything tonight, including dessert. "You're right. Thanks, Dad."

"Alright, I'm off," his dad said. "Love ya."

But before his dad could even turn around, they heard an ear-splitting scream from outside. Lydia.

The Stilinskis looked at each other quickly before racing after the sound. Stiles barreled through the back door right as she stopped screaming, and he saw her taking gasping breaths as she tried to calm herself down. He leaned down beside her as his dad caught up with him.

"What's wrong?" his dad asked, his gun in his hands. "What happened?"

"I-I," Lydia started. "There's a body somewhere."

"Okay," Stiles said. "It's okay. Let's get in the jeep, and I'll let you drive so we can find it, okay?" She nodded slowly, standing up. "Dad, follow us?"

"Yeah," his dad replied, still confused. Stiles had told him about Lydia's gift, but he had never seen it in action. Neither had Stiles for that matter, but they had to stay calm for Lydia.

They got in the Jeep and drove for a while until Lydia – stuck in a trance – stopped on the shoulder of the road near the preserve. About ten yards into the surrounding forest, there was the body. It looked like it had been attacked by an animal, but when Scoot got there, he said that it didn't look like a werewolf.

There was something new in Beacon Hills.

Stiles' dad sent them all home, but not before asking Lydia if she was okay and comforting her with a hug.

Stiles and Lydia went back to his house, date all but forgotten. He made her sit down on the couch as he grabbed dessert, probably the only thing still good, and brought an extra-large piece for Lydia.

"You made brownies?" she asked when he gave the plate to her.

"Yeah," he answered. "My mom's recipe."

She took a bite and closed her eyes in delight. "Just how I remember them."

"You've had my mom's brownies?" he said, confused.

Lydia nodded. "She would always make them for the bake sales and they were always my favorite."

Stiles smiled as he sat back on the couch, and Lydia curled up next to him.

"So if it's not a werewolf," she asked. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "But we should get with Allison tomorrow and check the Bestiary."

Lydia sat forward. "What about now? The sooner we find out what it is, the better." She had her phone out and texting Allison as she talked.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Stiles asked her, putting a hand on her arm. She looked tired, and he wasn't really surprised. A scream like that would wear anyone out.

"I can't," she said, looking at her phone as it lit up. "Allison's up. We can meet her at her apartment now."

She stood up and pulled her jacket back on. Stiles stood up and followed her out the door.

As the pored over the Bestiary, Lydia translating it, and Stiles and Allison comparing the beasts to what little evidence the body and crime scene provided. Stiles kept an eye on Lydia, making sure she was okay.

He realized that this was their life now, all of theirs.

He thought maybe things would slow down at some point. After killing Peter. After Matt and Gerard and the Kanima. After defeating the Alpha pack and the Darach. After defeating the Darkness.

But it was never going to slow down. There was always going to be something, especially now that the Nemeton was active again. And he would always be here, doing the research, trying to figure it out. Always trying to survive. When he looked at Allison and Lydia, he knew they were always going to be right here with him. Atleast, he hoped they would.

Lydia grabbed his hand as he was reading, and he looked up to see her smiling at him before continuing her translations.

He smiled back and kept a grip on her hand.

He decided that he was okay with that. He would take whatever came, and he would do it with a True Alpha best friend, and a beautiful, fantastic Banshee by his side.

The End.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, or when. But I will totally take requests and prompts! Just message me on here, or my tumblr. (my url is the same as my username on here.)

Again, thank you so much! And tell me what you think, I always love it!