Archive of Our Own ^beta

Third Time's the Charm

By: Lalaith Quetzalli

When the choice was Lydia's to make, she chose to give him up. Stiles, he's not the kind to give up, not ever, especially not on the one he loves… Some people might be willing to sacrifice him, or to sacrifice Derek, but Stiles? He refuses. They've fought, and lost, and sacrificed enough! This time… this time they're gonna win! It's time that a fox learns not to mess with one Stiles Stilinski-… Hale!

Everything happens fast, almost too fast. One moment he and Eli are talking (some might say arguing) about his skill at lacrosse which, Derek's convinced his son's better than he believes. Really, he might be a bit clumsy at times, but who isn't? Stiles was way worse back when he was a teenager, but that didn't stop him from being a pretty good player when he made an effort. In any case, his attempts to convince his son of this, and of embracing his werewolf heritage and hopefully healing himself are interrupted when he picks up the unmistakable sound of an arrow being notched on a bow. It might have been years, but he'll never forget that sound…

The most important thing is to keep Eli safe! Stiles will never forgive him, nor will he ever forgive himself, if something happens to Eli! Once his son is out of the line of fire Derek can focus on the fight. The last thing he expects, is to find none other than Allison Argent trying to kill him! Except, that's not possible is it? Because, well, she's dead! And he knows that people tend to not stay dead in Beacon Hills, but still!

His wolf instincts keep pushing at him to fight back, to not just depend himself but attack, to kill the hunter trying to kill him, but he cannot bring himself to do it, because even though there's a part of him that cannot quite believe that that's Allison standing there, the part that's not sure that it's not, refuses to be the cause she dies… again. Which is how he ends up deciding to run. Which doesn't work very well.

The bolt that slices through his jugular… it's not good. He knows it's not gonna kill him; or he hopes, at least… his husband is liable to do something stupid if that happens! At that… he can almost believe he's hearing his husband's heartbeat, kinda hard to be sure, to truly heart it over the beating of his own, and the way he's starting to lose blood faster and faster… And he cannot die here! What's Stiles going to do if he dies? And Eli?!

When he realizes there's no way that dragging himself will amount to anything, Derek cannot help but twist onto his back. He can see her then, the Huntress, walking towards him, bow drawn, arrow notched. There's a part of him, whispering on the back of his mind, that she doesn't smell at all like Allison. Not like lilies, and silver and wolfsbane but instead… she smell like dirt and metal and… and something else he cannot put his finger on, though he knows he's smelled it before, if only his mind were clear enough…

The arrow is shot, only it never hits him. Hitting instead a translucent shield that's suddenly there, in between him and her. The shield doesn't entirely stop the arrow, just deflecting it, making so it ends up embedded in a wall.

"Don't You Dare Touch Him!"

Derek exhales. His husband has arrived.

"Sorry I'm late, got waylaid by a few Oni." Stiles says in an almost conversational tone as he walks down the hall towards them. "But don't worry, I'm ready to deal with you now."

He steps past Derek without saying a word, barely even glancing at the downed werewolf, though Derek can feel in their bond the worry, the stress, the pain his husband is refusing to show. Because he knows that he needs to focus on the enemy first, because he knows if he takes his eyes off her, they might all die. So he focuses on the Huntress, who draws a new arrow, pointing it straight at Stiles.

The amber eyed man starts running at about the same time the arrow is shot, twisting just slightly, right in the nick of time for the arrow to fly past him. To an untrained eye it might seem like the arrow managed to nick him in the arm, or almost; but Derek knows that's not what happened at all. That if the arrow truly managed to touch the sleeve of Stiles's jacket, it must have bounced off. Really, the jackets they wear nowadays are as good as armor, thanks to Stiles's magic (it's just his luck that the arrow slashes his neck, just above the neckline of his own jacket).

The Huntress drops her bow when realizing that it won't work. Grabbing her ring-daggers once again. Only for Stiles to stop his mad dash just out of her reach, pulling out a gun and shooting her straight in the chest several times before she can process the change in tactics. Really, if Derek weren't so badly injured, bleeding heavily, his life at risk in that moment, he might actually enjoy watching his husband fight, take an opponent so completely by surprise. It's his specialty, really. Being unpredictable: a true wild-card. Derek's half convinced that Stiles himself doesn't know what he's gonna do next half the time.

"Allison! NO!"

So the cavalry's arrived…

Stiles pays no mind to whoever's calling, he has a mission to finish. He slips a hand under the back of his jacket, where he keeps a dagger, horizontal, in a sheathe secured to his belt. It's a special blade, carbon steel, with a core of quicksilver (liquid mercury), it was forged by a mage-blacksmith, and blood-bonded to Stiles so as to ensure it'd worked well with his magic, and that it could never be used against him.

A part of Stiles cannot help but notice that the… the thing wearing Allison Argent's face is healing already, fast… far too fast. Doesn't matter. Just like the people coming behind him don't matter. He has a plan, for himself, for his husband, for their son, their family, their pack… he's sticking to it. So with that in mind he draws the dagger out with his right hand, running it across the open palm of his left one swiftly, just enough to make himself bleed, for fresh blood to stick to the edge of the blade. In the next second he's made it to the Huntress's side and he's dropping on one knee, completing the motion with a thrust of his arm, thrusting the dagger into her chest, from bellow her rib-cage and in an angle such that it'll reach her heart… or whatever that thing possesses that passes for one.

The shriek the thing lets out as its stabbed is almost loud enough to block the scream that comes from behind him, almost but not quite.

"ALLISON!"

What happens next it… it all happens really fast. Stiles sees the attack coming from the corner of his eye and only manages to half brace before finding himself being half-shoved, half-thrown away from the Huntress with enough force that he slams against the corridor's wall.

"Stiles!" Malia cries out, clearly shocked.

Derek himself looks like he'd be calling out to his husband as well, if it weren't for the cut still bleeding on the side of his neck.

"I'm fine," Stiles waves a hand dismissively as he forces himself onto his knees, then pulls himself to his wolf. "Hey Big Guy…"

"St… Stiles…" It takes a huge effort for Derek to say just his name. "Eli…"

"He's alright," Stiles hurries to reassure him. "Well, not alright, he's worried sick for you. But he's as alright as can be. Saw him on my way in. He promised to get into your car and stay there until we came out. We're all gonna be alright."

Derek opens his mouth again, then coughs a bit, blood staining his teeth and dripping off the edge of his lips.

"Okay, baby, you know I hate hurting you…" but it's the only way to get his healing going.

Derek tries to swallow, tries and fails, and then just nods.

Taking a deep breath, and hating himself just a little, Stiles snaps his fingers, a flame manifesting on it, which he then presses against the side of his husband's neck. The roar that comes from him echoes throughout the corridor, glass shuddering and almost cracking with how loud it is. But it works. Right before Derek passes out, the wound on the side of his neck starts to heal…

xXx

"It's all his fault!"

It's been at least an hour, they've all moved to the Hale-Stilinski house. Oh, Scott tried to get everyone to his mom's place, but Malia knew better than to ignore Stiles when he gave the order that they go to their home. Which seemed to shock Scott enough to derail his rant for at least a few minutes. For some reason he appeared to have a hard time grasping the fact that Stiles lived in Beacon Hills, was married to Derek, had been for years. As if him being an FBI Agent meant that he had to be far away or something!

Once there Stiles decided to only activate the most basic wards on the house as a whole; even though it rankled a bit. But he knew himself, if he went any higher a few people were liable to find themselves unable to set foot inside the house and while, being entirely honest, Stiles probably wouldn't mind much, it would certainly make an already messy situation, even worse. Still, the wards on the actual bedrooms are on 'war-footing' level; though only their bedroom is currently occupied, Eli curled up on his dad's uninjured side. Offering and seeking comfort and protection at the same time. Stiles for his part is sitting, crossed-legged, at the foot of the bed, every so often rubbing the ankle of either his husband or his son in soothing motions.

"Are we sure he's not possessed again?"

A sound comes from the back of Eli's throat, the closest he can get to a growl, while remaining completely human.

"My fail-beta still going at it?"

Eli jumps, just slightly, while Stiles himself doesn't react at all. He might not have heard Peter coming, but he most certainly sensed him, especially considering the way he chose to get into the house, entirely bypassing the ground-floor, where Scott is still ranting.

"Fail-beta…?" Eli parrots a moment later, confused. "Wait, isn't Scott McCall an alpha?"

"Only because someone hasn't…" Peter begins in a drawl.

"Peter!" Stiles cuts him off sharply. "Enough."

Surprisingly enough, Peter does quiet.

"Did you finish the patrol?" Stiles asks next.

"I did." The older werewolf nods. "There were a few Oni left, not many, nothing Kira and I couldn't handle. She's working on finding the kitsune whose tail was used to summon them. Jordan handled one while he and some others were investigating the most recent arson. Noah's injured, it's not serious, he'll be better in a few days."

"I can always…" Stiles begins.

"Something tells me you're going to need to be at the top of your game if you wanna be able to deal with that fucking fox once and for all." Peter interrupts him.

Stiles hates to admit that Peter is right but well, he is.

"He's a murderer!" Scott's voice seems to hit a higher pitch than before.

It's enough to make Derek shift, just slightly; not to wake him up, but it's close. Eli curls up a bit more, at the same time he throws a baleful look at the door.

"You should go deal with that." Peter points out, then before Stiles can complain, adds: "I'll stay here, stand guard over them both."

Stiles takes a moment to breathe deeply as he considers things, then nods. And really, if anyone had told eighteen-year-old him that one day he'd be willing to trust Peter Hale with two of the people he loves most (and the third is in close contact with him on a regular basis!), that version of Stiles would have thought that person nuts, or possessed… or maybe evil.

Stiles makes it to the bottom step of the staircase in time to hear Scott reach the next high on his, seemingly endless, rant:

"He murdered Allison!"

"No, I did not." Stiles states evenly.

He takes a moment to look for his dad, directing a nod of acknowledgment to him, they'll talk later; though Stiles has no doubt that Peter will have told him already why Stiles didn't go to him, to help with the fire investigation, as planned, but instead sent Peter and Kira while he himself went to Beacon High. Stiles for his part turns to the others and starts talking before Scott can start ranting at him directly:

"See, murder implies two things: premeditation, and unlawfulness, neither of which apply here." Stiles announces. "The killing of that creature was neither premeditated, nor unlawful. Also, for it to be murder it'd need to be a person…"

"She was a person!" Scott snarls.

"No, she wasn't." Stiles replies evenly. "That…"

"That was Allison and you murdered her!" Scott roars. "You're a killer Stiles!"

"Here we go again…" Stiles mutters under his breath, before forcing himself to keep calm. "I'm not a murderer. And that wasn't Allison."

It looks like Scott's about to yell, again, when Chris cuts in:

"What did you just say?" The Hunter asks.

He looks… well, awful. Stiles cannot imagine what all he must be going through. All the same he cannot believe that he, that all of them have been so stupid…

"That thing, that wasn't Allison," Stiles states. "It was a Homunculus."

"That's… it's impossible…" Lydia breathes out in shock.

"Not impossible, just really hard to do." Stiles corrects.

"But a Homunculus… you'd need a… a template, and… the five elements… and a hell of a lot of magic." Lydia starts enlisting.

"And it had all that." Stiles points out calmly. "Starting with the fact that you were at the freaking Nemeton which has more than enough magic! Earth in the dirt of the place where Allison died, water in the blood left on the sword that killed her, which also served as template for the creation of the body, air in the breath of the banshee that spoke as it all happened…"

"And what about fire?" Scott demands. "There was no fire!"

"No f…" Stiles almost swallows his tongue in disbelief, Scott cannot be that oblivious, can he?! "Scott, have you looked around you since you arrived to Beacon Hills?"

"We've been having trouble, serious trouble, with an arsonist." Noah points out. "Chemical fires, time and again in the last few days. We get a new one almost as soon as we manage to extinguish the previous one. No cool down period. Thus far it's only affected the preserve, and specific areas at that, but I fear it might only be a matter of time."

"It cannot be that bad…" Scott begins.

At that everyone looks at him in disbelief.

"Not that bad!" Stiles scoffs. "It's bad enough to have called the attention of the FBI!"

"What…?" Scott turns to look at him again. "How do you know that?"

"Hello! You do you remember I work for the FBI, don't you?" Stiles doesn't even know what to do with Scott anymore.

"But… you said you live here in Beacon Hills, that you're married to… and…" Scott babbles.

"And?" Stiles asks in a challenging tone. "What does that have to do with anything? I am a Senior FBI Agent, I am married to Derek, I live here in Beacon Hills. Yes, sometimes I have to travel to other places due to my job, but a lot of people have jobs like that, and Derek and Eli both understand if I cannot be home as much as I might like. Derek has a standing offer to join my team once Eli is in college."

"Why did you never tell me any of this?" Scott asks.

"Why…?" Stiles begins, then shakes his head. "Are you seriously asking me that? When was I supposed to tell you anything Scott? You left Beacon Hills all those years ago, and you never came back, not even for a visit! You never call, not even e-mail! I mean, I talk more to Liam and he lives in Japan! And even before that, you were barely around. How many times did we have to fight Monroe and her sycophants on our own because you couldn't be bothered to be here?! Have Chris and Melissa ever told you how close they came to getting killed? And my dad! Nevermind the rest of us. But you couldn't be bothered. You decided you hated Beacon Hills, and that you no longer cared if the town burnt down!"

"Of course I care!" Scott is clearly offended.

For a moment it looks like Stiles is going to reply to that, but in the end he just exhales and shakes his head. He just doesn't see the point anymore. Truth is some times he looks at Scott and wonders where his once best-friend, his brother, has gone. The Scott standing before him… he's not the little, awkward boy who offered to share his lunch with Stiles when his mom forgot to pack him his own. Who yelled at the kids that bullied Stiles about the death of his mom (even if afterwards he had an asthma attack and Stiles had to help him!). At the same time, Stiles knows this change isn't something new; it's been going, in small ways at first, then bigger and bigger; he just refused to see it for the longest time.

"Like I was saying before, that wasn't Allison." Stiles goes back to the original point of their conversation. "It was a Homunculus."

He looks straight at Chris as he says this. Needing the Hunter to understand, to accept the truth. It looks like the man… like he wants to believe him, and at the same time not. Stiles cannot imagine how hard it must be. To want a loved one back, and at the same time know, deep down, that the implications of them being back are so awful… it wouldn't be worth it.

"Are you sure?" Melissa asks, when Chris seems incapable of asking the question himself.

"Completely." Stiles nods solemnly. "For a variety of reasons. First of all, the thing turned to dirt and ashes the moment I stabbed it, broke the magic keeping the form together."

It had, which was about the time when Scott started really ranting at him. Almost attacked him in fact, probably would have if Liam and Hikari hadn't arrived right then and distracted him. And he knows it wasn't just his paranoia, Malia certainly picked up enough on it to stand guard over him.

"But the most important is that magic has… a shit-ton of rules that I'm not gonna go into right now." Stiles continues. "But at the most basic level is what in science is known as the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Which basically means that to get something you have to give something of equal value."

"A life for a life…" Lydia breathes out in understanding.

"Basically." Stiles nods. "Homunculi aren't real people, they're just, essentially puppets. Sort of like Golems, only more refined, and with a certain level of independent action, just following a specific order, put on a specific task, like, you know, hunting down the Beacon Hills Pack, starting with Derek Hale!"

"Why Allison?" Chris asks quietly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Surprisingly it's Jackson who speaks up, voice a drawl. "Precisely for what already happened. You've all been twisting yourselves into knots, looking to help 'her'. Can you imagine how much fun the fox must be having? It got you to work for him!"

"Hey! You helped us too!" Scott points out.

"I helped you piece together a puzzle." Jackson points out. "I never told you what to do with that. And if I'd known about any of this I'd have told you what a bad idea it was! Trying to bring someone back from the dead? Have you learned nothing?"

"Peter came back!" Scott snarls at him.

"So did Derek." Lydia adds, quietly glancing briefly at Stiles and almost wincing. "And… and even you Jackson."

"Hey, I was barely dead!" Jackson snaps, affronted, then adds: "Either time!"

It's almost funny. In a way that nobody laughs. But the first time was less about him dying and more about his kanima-self evolving; and the second was a… a sort-of reset, to allow him to become a wolf, once and for all (even though he still remains part kanima).

"In each of those cases they were extraordinary circumstances." Stiles points out.

"Yeah?" Scott turns to Stiles, challenging. "Why can they come back and not her?!"

"Because she died a Warrior's Death!" Stiles snaps.

It's clear they can all hear the emphasis, even if they don't understand what it means.

"Oh…" All but Chris.

"What…?!" Scott snaps to look at him immediately.

"You know what I'm talking about." Stiles nods at the Hunter.

"I've read some things but… they're supposed to be legends…" Chris murmurs quietly.

"What? Like werewolves? And kanima? And magic?!" Stiles snorts.

"What does that mean?" Melissa finally asks. "A Warrior's Death?"

"It's… the specific details depend on the culture but… basically it means that she was a Warrior, she fought for the light, against evil." Stiles does his best to explain. "She lost her life in battle. Which earned her entrance into Paradise."

"Like Valhalla?" Lydia asks, brow arched.

"Valhalla, Heaven, Elysium, Eden, Avalon, whatever you wish to call it." Stiles enlists. "The fact remains that a Warrior who loses their life in battle, working for the light, against evil, they're guaranteed Paradise. And contrary to what Buffy might have you believe, you cannot just recite a spell and pull someone out of Heaven. It's just not possible. Also, what kind of Exchange do you think magic would demand of you for something like that? A life for a life is one thing. And that's bad enough. Something like this, it's about paradise, about souls… it's just not done. Even all of you, all of us working together, even the fucking fox at its most powerful, wouldn't be able to pull off something like that."

Unless there was a serious unbalance in the magics of the world… which would essentially mean they'd be at the End of Days already, so…

It's as if the whole room just… exhales, in that moment.

"I… I knew it couldn't be her." Chris murmurs, so quietly he can barely be heard about the sound of the rainstorm outside. "I knew it was next to impossible, and yet…"

And yet a part of him couldn't help but want…

"I…" Stiles begins, then cuts himself off, breathes deeply and speaks: "I was gonna say I wished it were true. But I'd be lying. I'd never wish that. Because while Allison and I might not have seen eye to eye all the time. I'd never wish for her to have spent the last… too many years in limbo. Or worse. She deserves her rest. She deserves paradise. She's earned it!"

Saying that they 'didn't see eye to eye' is putting it kindly, actually; but Stiles would rather not rehash old arguments. There's no point, really.

"Now what?" Malia asks, when no one else seems to be willing to ask the question.

"No you all go back to… wherever you came from, and I go deal with a fucking fox, once and for all." Stiles mutters, more to himself than to the others.

"We can help you!" Scott says right away.

"Really?" Stiles challenges. "And when It takes her shape, when it tells you that if you just do as it says you can have her back? What will you do then Scottie?"

Everyone knows what he'll do. It's happened before. More than once. Much as he might hate to admit it, even to himself. Stiles knows he cannot trust Scott at his back.

"I'll deal with this." Stiles says simply.

"We'll deal with this."

Stiles seems to be the only one not surprised when Derek's suddenly standing right there, less than a handful of steps behind him, right at the foot of the stairs. Eli and Peter at his back.

Stiles makes to leave, only to turn back in the last moment, as if only just remembering something. Everyone's more than a little surprised when his eyes go straight to Deaton:

"You should explain to Scott what's going to happen." Is all he says, and then leaves.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asks, very confused, looking at the departing Stiles, and then turning to his old mentor. "What's he talking about?"

Deaton just looks at Scott and exhales.

xXx

It's soon made clear just why the Nogitsune chose to possess Stiles all those years ago… Because the fox isn't stupid, it'd rather not have to fight the spark! Derek can still remember him and Aiden talking about it, back when they first started to realize what was going on exactly:

"You think Stiles, skinny, defenseless, Stiles, is the Nogitsune, a powerful dark spirit?"

"I'm not the only one thinking it. I'm just the only one saying it."

"This thing wants to possess someone and chooses Stiles? Why wouldn't it take someone bigger? Stronger? Someone with a little more… Power?"

Back then only Derek and Aiden seemed to realize the power inside Stiles, a power that had nothing to do with his spark, and everything to do with him, with his humanity, his will. In that moment, as they stand under the rain, among the trees circling the clearing where the Nemeton stands, as they watch Stiles setting up a ritual that might allow them to defeat the Void Fox once and for all, they can all see it. None of them really know what he's doing exactly, not Kira and Hikari, who're actually assisting him; Derek and Eli, who stand guard on opposite sides of the Nemeton; not even Deaton, who has some power himself. The druid hates to admit it, but his meager power is nothing compared to the younger man's. In fact, all those years ago, when he first knew Stiles, he felt affronted that the boy, with no experience, no lineage, no nothing, could have so much power inside. He was petty and didn't give Stiles the answers he sought, didn't explain to the young man what he actually was, the potential that lay inside him. Of course, Stiles Stilinski has never been one to need anyone else to become all he can and is meant to be. It might have taken him longer than it'd have otherwise, but he's made it. He is who he is: Spark, Mage, Emissary, and soon: Alpha Mate… he is Stiles Stilinski-Hale!

It takes everyone by surprise when Stiles and the two kitsune finish setting up, and yet before they start the ritual, Stiles pulls a fistful of something out of his jacket pocket, throwing it into the air, and suddenly all non-Hale weres find themselves in separate circles of mountain ash. Deaton reacts automatically, reaching out to break the circle trapping Scott, though before he can make it he finds a gun pressed against his back.

"You move a single millimeter closer to that ash line and I shoot." Noah informs him in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Sheriff!" Scott cries out in shock. "You have to…"

"I have to…?" Noah scoffs. "It just happens that I don't have to do anything you say Scott. See, you're not my Alpha. You never were."

Scott finds himself at a loss at that. Not knowing how he's supposed to respond to that. It's not that he's ever seen the sheriff as part of his pack, not really. But well, humans aren't really pack, are they? It's funny, how after so many years he still hasn't been able to understand. That that very thing is at the core of at least half his issues, of his failings. The fact that that mindset lead to him never really seeing Stiles as part of his pack. It's not even a matter of him having lost Stiles, but rather, Scott never had him (never wanted him, not really). And only now he's beginning to understand that… maybe… hopefully.

It's… as if some kind of switch were flipped. The moment Stiles, kneeling on the center of the Nemeton, bloody palms (after cutting them open on his husband's claws) pressed against the surface of the dark stump, starts reciting his call to Mother Earth, Mother Moon, and Hecate (in her status as Goddess of the Crossroads), things start happening really fast.

The place starts filling with what looks like mist, it's as if the temperature has gone down several degrees in a matter of seconds, and when someone absentmindedly turns in the direction of the sky, they cannot help but notice that they can no longer see the moon, even though they're pretty sure it should be almost full in that moment.

The Hales (all of them, even Malia) stand in a circle around the Nemeton, following their instincts to press a bloody hand against the outer edges of the tree. There's power, so much power, it keeps growing, from the edges of the sacred tree, towards its middle, towards Stiles.

Deaton himself cannot help but shiver. Even with how limited his own perception is, he knows that what's happening is big, really big. Bigger by several accounts of magnitude from the ritual with which he once tried to gain a better connection himself to the tree, to improve his own power levels. More than once he's wondered if it wasn't that, which caused so much of what went wrong back then, if it might have been his fault. Yet he never wonders for long, he cannot stand the mere thought of it.

And then it begins, the counterattack:

"Hello! Hello! Is anyone there?!" It sounds so much like…

"Ally…?" Scott gasps, loudly. "Allison?!"

"Scott?!" The voice calls back. "Scott, is that you? Where are you?!"

"Allison!" Scott yells, trying and failing at getting out of the mountain ash circle.

He doesn't understand what's going on, he's been able to break such circles before. He did it when he ascended to True Alpha!

"Let me go!" He yells at anyone who might hear him. "Let me go. Aren't you listening?! It's Allison! She needs our help!"

"There's no one there Scott." Jackson tells him bluntly.

"It's just an illusion." Lydia adds quietly, arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if to hold herself back. "It's the Nogitsune."

But Scott just refuses to listen to reason and keeps screaming: "ALLISON!"

"Dad?! Daddy?!" The Nogitsune switches tactics then, seemingly realizing Scott will be of no use. "Daddy help me please! I'm lost! I need help! Please!"

Chris says nothing, though anyone who were to look at him would see the tortured expression on his face, the cold sweat on his forehead and the back of his neck. He's practically shaking, and it's only Melissa, holding onto his arm, keeping him tethered and giving him comfort, all at the same time, that allows him to stay where he is, to not go running into the mists, looking for his dead daughter. He's also grateful that he listened to her when she insisted that he leave all his weapons behind, she's the one carrying a single gun for emergencies, he knew he could trust her with that, with the safety of the both of them. Melissa is such a strong woman, and Chris will never stop believing himself incredibly lucky to have her in his life. After all the things he's done, good and bad, after all the terrible things that have happened, he'll never forget that Melissa being with him is one of the very best.

It takes what seems like forever, but finally the Nogitsune seems to accept that its tricks aren't going to work. The mists do not disappear, but the voice stops ringing around the clearing. Scott drops to his knees in shock, seemingly only then realizing Allison isn't there and never was. One moment it looks like Jackson's about to ask something, until he hears Lydia's sharp intake of breath, and then he knows something's most definitely happening!

He's right. Three silhouettes seem to take shape, not truly tangible, barely little more than ghosts, they stand on the edges of the Nemeton, in between the hands pressed there by Derek, Eli and Peter. They stand in a half circle, behind and to the sides of Stiles. Three women, all dressed in elaborate gowns, one of greens and browns (like the earth), the other in shades of the darkest blues and purples, adorned with starlight-silver (like the nightsky) and the last, so dark it seems to be part of the shadows themselves, yet at the same time, not. They're the Goddesses. The very same that Stiles was calling for…

"It's time for this to end, Void." Stiles calls, voice calm, so calm.

In her spot, Lydia cannot help but shiver at the utter serenity in Stiles's voice, it's nothing like him. Or at least, nothing like the Stiles she used to know… And that's just it. He isn't that Stiles anymore, he's not Her Stiles anymore, is he?

"I'm a thousand years old, you can't kill me!" Nogitsune's voice seems to come from all around the clearing, and nowhere at the same time.

Lydia flinches, still able to remember the last time she heard those words. She can also remember what she said back then, though she somehow doesn't think that will cut it, not this time.

"And they, they're eternal." Stiles points out, referring to the goddesses. "You might be a very powerful creature, but you're not a god. Never have been, never will be."

"You cannot defeat me!" From one moment to the next Void is suddenly there, not looking like Stiles, as he did back then, but rather in its old shape, dressed in old, loose clothes and face covered in bandages.

"I can…" Stiles tilts his head to the side, then revises. "We can, and we will. For we are the Hale Pack, and this is our land. You're not welcome here!"

As if he'd just pronounced some big spell, Stiles's words have a clear effect. Void seems to freeze in the spot, just for a second, then the figure seizes sharply, in a way that looks almost painful. It's all over in an instant, as the figure seems to shatter into pieces, leaving nothing but a fly floating in the middle. A second passes, two, three, there's a buzz, as the fly-like creature seems to gain awareness, makes an attempt to leave, only for a translucent hand to wrap around it before it has a chance to really move.

It's so strange, dizzying, because no one really sees Hecate move, but they know it's her hand, and a moment later she's cradling the same hand, still closed, against her chest. The goddess turns in Stiles's direction then and… it almost looks like she's talking, like she's saying something, but no one can really hear her… no one other than Stiles.

And then it's all over. Just like that. The Goddesses are gone. And so is the Void Fox. Following some kind of unknown instinct Derek jumps onto the Nemeton, settling into a crouch, face to face with his mate, he raises his hand to the clear nightsky, to the moon shining bright above them, and he howls… loud. Around him, his pack hear the call and echo it. All of them. Not just Peter, Malia, and Eli (who shifts for the first time in his life), but Jackson, Liam, Corey; Kira raises a hand, lightning shooting into the sky, while fire envelopes Hikari briefly both of their figures wreathed in their kitsune auras; Parrish lets some fire surround both his hands; Lydia wails for the first time in years; Mason lets out the closest human approximation to a howl, and surprisingly enough, so does the Sheriff.

And Scott… he just remains where he is, kneeling on the mossy ground, watching everything around him, in shock. He's not the alpha anymore, he knows it, can feel it in his very core. Also, Deaton warned him, about what was going to happen. Even if they didn't know for sure if Derek would need to claim the Alpha Spark in order for the ritual to work, the druid had no doubt that he'd be doing exactly that before the end of the day. And Scott. He wouldn't listen. He refused to believe it was possible, both that Derek could become an alpha, just like that, and that it'd mean him losing his own status. Because such a thing couldn't happen. He's Scott McCall! The True Alpha! He can't just… just lose it all. Only, can he really call himself an alpha when he has no pack? When he abandoned them all those years ago? The bonds existed, of course, it was all that kept them (all of them, himself included) from becoming Omegas, but still. He always said Derek was a shitty alpha, truth is, he was no better (he might have even been worse!).

"We should go back to LA." Deaton says quietly.

And really, what else can either of them do? They left Beacon Hills fifteen years ago, wanting nothing to do with the place and now… now it'd seem the place wants nothing to do with them.

xXx

The Hale Pack (all of them) spend the whole morning sleeping. Understandable when one considers they were awake more than half the night, dealing with the Nogitsune. Deaton and Scott are gone already. They slept a few hours at Melissa's place and then left pretty much at first light, not so much as saying goodbye to anyone other than Melissa and Chris (not that any of the others were too interested, but Peter did comment that it showed a remarkable lack of respect, not informing the local Alpha, or at least the Emissary, of their departure).

Chris at least understands enough of how things work to have requested he be allowed to stay in the territory as soon as the shift in power was official, he's staying with Melissa, for good this time (no more going around the world whenever the itch gets to him, going on hunts, telling himself that he's doing what his daughter would have wanted… he can understand now that Allison, above all else, would want him to live, to be happy, so that's what he's going to do). Liam and Hikari, while officially part of their pack, are going back to Japan at least for the time being, they have lives there, they're happy. Kira's part of Stiles's team at the FBI (was transferred a few months ago) and is interested in moving back to Beacon Hills. Jackson promises to find a way to tell Ethan that things have changed in Beacon Hills (hopefully without having to explain the risk he put himself in, what with the Nogitsune having been involved); it's not that there's anything wrong with London, but Jackson likes the idea of having pack close. They even get a call from Cora, who's been traveling around the world and who, after yelling at her brother and brother-in-law for at least five minutes straights for not calling her in, tells them that she's taking the first plane to Beacon Hills, and they better all still be in one piece when she arrives!

Lydia… she has hardly said a word since the end of the ritual. She accepted Stiles's invitation to spend the night in their guest-bedroom, noticing when the little family all went to sleep in the master-bedroom, but saying not a word about it. She knows it's a wolf thing. She's probably the first one up in the morning, decides to just make herself some coffee, used to having only that for breakfast most days, cooking has never really been her forte, and she doesn't feel comfortable taking anything from the Hale kitchen. She's a bit surprised when, shortly before noon Peter and the Sheriff show up with several bags of groceries. Even more when Stiles comes down the stairs at almost the same time, gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips and a blue henley clearly too big to be his. He just pushes the sleeves up a bit before taking the groceries and getting to work on some brunch (apple pancakes, his mom's own recipe). Derek and Eli join them shortly afterwards, each of them in dark sweatpants and tank tops, white and green respectively; Derek going straight to the eggs and bacon, while Eli turns on the coffee-pot, he also puts some water to boil for those who prefer tea (like his papa, Peter, and himself).

"How ya doing kiddo?" Noah asks the teenager softly.

The simple question reminds Lydia that the teenager shifted into a werewolf for apparently the first time just the night before.

"Good, good." Eli nods a bit absently.

"He's still running a bit hot, but that's normal." Derek adds for good measure. "His body needs to adapt to his new status, it won't take long."

Noah nods, satisfied with that.

"Is my wayward daughter joining us this fine morning?" Peter asks, somewhat dramatically.

"Probably." Derek shrugs.

"You know it's not actually morning anymore, right Uncle P?" Eli asks cheekily.

Peter says nothing, just rolls his eyes.

"Her not-boyfriend is probably coming as well." Stiles adds in a perfectly blasé tone as he finishes making the batter and actually starts on the pancakes.

Peter does a spit-take.

"Stiles…" Derek begins in a warning tone.

"What?" His husband asks, fake-innocent tone. "I'm not meddling. She's not even here yet!"

Malia does in fact arrive in time for breakfast, as does Parrish. They arrive separately, but smelling enough for each other that the wolves don't really understand why the two of them keep trying to pretend it's not happening, or that no one knows.

Breakfast goes well enough. After the ritual Noah, Jordan and Mason had gone back to the Station, since they were technically still on duty. That was when the surprises began: When they found Deputy Ishida at his desk, filling some paperwork. The surprise the three men felt was enough for all of them to reach for their guns. Ishida for his part was quite shocked himself. As it turned out, he doesn't remember anything odd happening, nothing aside from spending the whole shift filling paperwork, only leaving his desk every so often to get coffee, a couple of cookies, and some water. He certainly doesn't remember dying. And it wasn't just him.

"It'd seem no one actually died last night." Noah concludes. "Or if they did, they certainly didn't stay that way."

"How's that possible?" Lydia asks. "What you said last night? The Equivalent Exchange…"

"That's only valid when it's us mere mortals doing magic." He reminds her.

"The Goddesses…" The banshee realizes.

"Hecate, to be precise." Stiles specifies. "She's the goddess of the crossroads, after all."

He doesn't tell her what she said to him. That there was in fact a price to be paid. That a part of it might have been the Nogitsune itself, Hecate liked being able to take the creature with her, something and interesting after eons of the same. The other part… it was connected with Derek being the Alpha, with Stiles being the Alpha Mate and Emissary, with them as individuals, and the Hale Pack as a whole committing to serve as Guardians of Beacon County, and of the Nemeton. Too many people have abused of the sacred grove and of its power in the past. No more. In any case, those are things Lydia doesn't need to know. It's not really her business, not anymore. And that was her choice…

Actually, one person did die. One person who… none of them really knew. Only knew that he was connected in some way to Adrian Harris, Stiles and co's high-school chemistry teacher, who was killed by the darach during her five-fold-knot, as one of the warriors. A lover, or a spouse, or something. Whichever the case, the connection had to have been strong, for the man to be so obsessed with destroying the pack. He was the one to cause the fires, he was also the one to track Liam all the way to Japan and take the jar holding the Nogitsune. He used Harris's old formula to cause the fires, burning nothing but rowan trees… except for the fifth fire, which happened pretty close to the Nemeton, which they believe was related to the creation of the Homunculus. Whatever his plan might have been regarding him only burning rowan trees… well, clearly he wanted to use the ash, but what for, none of them knew. A neighbor reported an awful smell and the man in question was found, burned to death. They also found several containers full of mountain ash, which Noah appropriated and intends to deliver to his son as soon as they manage to fully close the case. Officially there was an accident of some kind, or the man made a mistake while preparing for his next fire and it resulted in him burning instead (they couldn't exactly say it was 'divine justice' so…).

At least it's over. The Nogitsune is gone, for good. The arsonist is dead. The territory is secure. The Hale Pack is on the rise once again. Everything can only get better from here!

xXx

"Eli is your son."

Eli, Derek and Peter are in the preserve, the two older wolves working on teaching the younger one everything he needs to know. Noah decided to go into the Station, just for a little while, to make sure everything is alright (afterwards he's taking several days off to recover after the mess with the Nogitsune, maybe going on vacation with Peter or something!), Jordan went with him. Malia offered to run a quick patrol around the edges of their territory to help, with Kira likely to join her. Which leaves Stiles and Lydia alone in the Hale living room, their third (or fourth) cup of coffee/tea in their hands.

"Well of course," Stiles shrugs. "Derek and I have been married for years now, after all."

"No, I mean he is yours." Lydia emphasizes.

Stiles says nothing, though his hold on his mug tightens briefly as he stares at Lydia through his eyelashes, waiting to see if she's truly saying what he thinks she's saying…

"Scott said something, last night," Lydia murmurs, apropos of nothing. "He said, that if Eli weren't a wolf, he'd think the boy to be yours."

"Oh Scottie boy…" Stiles does his best to scoff, make the words sound derisive, but he's not quite sure he manages.

"He's not wrong," Lydia presses. "The pale skin, the upturned nose, the moles, his hair even looks more like yours nowadays."

And still Stiles says nothing, it's not like he's unaware of all of that. And it's not all. Eli also has Derek's jawline, his body-build and his (gorgeous, in Stiles's personal opinion) eyes.

"I don't understand," Lydia finally admits. "How?"

"I don't know what you expect me to tell you Lydia." Stiles shrugs. "I hope you're not going to tell me you believe I cheated on you…"

"No, I, I don't think that." She states, and while it doesn't sound like a lie, there's something in her tone that Stiles cannot fully parse. "I don't understand…"

It takes several seconds, but eventually Stiles makes up his mind. Decides to be honest with her, she deserves that much. So he sits up, bracing his hands on his knees, mug of tea still cradled in between them, though he hasn't drank in several minutes now and it's probably getting cold.

"Do you know when Eli was born?" He asks her softly.

"I… it was during the summer, wasn't it?" Lydia's clearly taken aback by the question, though she makes an effort to think back. "That… that summer, after our big fight with Monroe."

"Yeah… right when the war was getting to its worst point." Stiles shakes his head, remembering that awful, terrifying time.

"You left so quickly, said you had things to do, back at Quantico…"

"It was true. The mess I made of that operation… it was bad. However, that was when I found out that the FBI were more aware of the supernatural than I expected. Not the guys I was with at first, in that internship. But there are others, mainly at the BAU and Special Ops, who do know, their teams tend to be filled half with humans in the know, half with actual supernaturals. Apparently after the operation blew they realized what was actually going on, who Kate really was, and Derek. When I returned to Quantico I was called to the office of one of the higher-ups. I was given an offer: I could walk away, they'd officially drop me from the program, claim it was due to poor performance in the Op; or I could join their Shadow Division."

"Shadow Division?"

"It's what… well, it's not what it's actually called, but it's what we all call it. I of course chose the latter. I went through a hell of a debriefing, both in relation to the op, and to Monroe. On the former, they were investigating what was going on, wanting to find out how exactly Kate managed to get so deeply into the FBI with no one finding her out. Which in turn lead to them finding out the veritable spiderweb of people either paid, blackmailed or threatened by the Argents, who'd ensured that no one ever connected all their crimes. Not just Kate's, but Gerard's as well. That was an absolute clusterfuck, let me tell you. Took years to even start solving it. On the latter… they decided to create a new unit, tasked with investigating rogue hunters, and going after them if necessary. Monroe and her minions were the very first mission." He exhales. "After the debriefing I was given a break. See, as far as the human side of the FBI was concerned, I'd been dropped out of the program entirely. So they'd see me pack my things, leave, and as far as they'd be concerned, that was that. Then I'd have a bit of a break, before having to report to my new superiors in the San Francisco Office."

"So close…"

"Yeah, it had to be close. With Monroe having started in Beacon Hills, and so hell-bent on destroying the Beacon Hills Pack. I was told to extend an invitation to the rest of the pack. But see, when I tried to bring it up with all of you, you were busy with grad-school, Kira was still with the skinwalkers, the minis had just finished high-school and most of them wanted to actually go to college, and Scott… he didn't want to hear a thing about it. He seemed to go back and forth between trying to send me away and berating me for 'abandoning everyone', it was a bit nauseating actually, and hell'a confusing! I mean, someone cannot want me to go, and stay, at the same time; you cannot have it both ways!"

"He… he what?!" Lydia clearly doesn't understand.

Stiles just shrugs a bit, it's not like he understands it either. And besides: Scott, he's not that important, not anymore (some might argue he never was). While there are some things Stiles might wish he'd gotten the chance to say, to hash out with him, in the end it wouldn't have changed anything. Things are what they are. They've all moved on. It's better that way. Both for Scott himself, and their pack.

"I don't know if you remember, but I actually offered to spend some time with you in Boston, but you turned me down, said you were too busy with schoolwork." Stiles ignores Lydia's wince, just telling it as it is. "So I stayed here, technically I was staying home, but I spent a lot of time with Derek, at times I'd even end up falling asleep at his place. Especially when I knew Peter was visiting my dad!" He chuckles. "And then there was that attack on the Nemeton."

"Attack… an attack on the Nemeton?!" The banshee's horrified by the idea.

"Yeah, it was that bad." The spark knows the woman understands the implications. "Derek and I, the tree pulled at us both, we barely managed to make it there on time. In the end I needed to work a hell of a lot of magic, really fast to make it work."

"Was that when…"

"Was that when what?"

"When you became a mage?"

"I don't know what you'd define as me becoming a mage. What I am… it isn't like with the wolves, with the whole beta, alpha, omega. It's not so… specific. If you want to get technical, I'm a spark. Mage is what some people call me, others call me by other names, I have no particular preference, don't think it really makes a difference. I am what I am, what I've always been. You must remember Lydia, the first time I used mountain ash, it was back when the kanima was still a danger to everyone. That was… we were still in sophomore year back then!"

"But you did so little back then…"

"Because there was no one around who knew. Or at least, no one who knew and was willing to teach me, to help me realize I could do more, a hell of a lot more, than just manipulate mountain ash." Fucking Deaton… "All that changed when I made it to GWU. You know how I am about knowing well… everything I possibly can. I joined a lot of clubs, including a few about the supernatural, folklore, and the occult. The majority were entertaining, but not really that useful. A couple of them though… One of the supernatural clubs was lead by an actual Watcher who, after getting to know me, allowed me access to her library, even gave me permission to digitize a lot of her books, on the condition that they'd just be used by me and my pack. One of the occult clubs, on the other hand, was lead by the High Witch of North America. She… well at first she seemed shocked when she met me, then she was horrified, then furious, then pretty insistent that I needed to learn what I was actually capable of before I ended up trying to light a candle only to end up blowing myself up instead, or something. Not an exaggeration either!" He shakes his head. "Two years later, when that fight happened, and I was spending my vacation in Beacon Hills… I won't say I was a master, because, of course not. But I was good enough to manage what the Nemeton required of me. Or most of it."

"Most of it?"

"One thing the Nemeton required of me, of us both, it was… I guess you could call it security. The guarantee that there would be someone to guard it, going forward. Because really, who was there to serve as guardian, for the tree, or the territory? Most of us weren't even in Beacon Hills most of the time anymore! That includes the minis. And there was no new generation. No new pack-members, either by birth, or anything else. So the Nemeton decided to give us, and itself, that security."

"By giving you Eli…"

"Exactly. A new member of the pack. Someone who was supposed to be the start of a new generation. A bit wolf, a bit magical…"

"Half you, half Derek…"

"Yeah…"

"Then… then why…?"

"Why what?" Stiles doesn't understand. "Lydia…?"

"Why come back? Why stay with me? It's… I know you've been in love with Derek since we were still in high-school…"

"And I'd been in love with you since I was in elementary. What's the point?"

"You could have just…"

"What? Left you?"

"It would have been easier, wouldn't it?"

"Compared to what?" Stiles shakes his head harshly before Lydia can reply. "No, don't try to turn this on me Lydia. What was between us… I wasn't the one who broke it. That was you. You're the one who left! Not me, never me. I'd have never done that. I'd have never left you. I made promises to you and I intended to keep them."

"I know Stiles, I… I love you…"

"I loved you…" The qualifier is almost enough to make the woman flinch. "I loved you so much Lydia… but in the end. You're the one who decided that love wasn't enough."

"It wasn't… it wasn't like that…"

"It was…"

"I was trying to save your life!"

"What? By giving up on me?!" Stiles scoffs.

"You know what I remember most of those days? Those last days? I remember those dreams. So clearly… It's almost… I almost feel like I'm still seeing it all: the pavement, broken glass all around. The broken windshield. I'm crawling on the pavement. I'm trying to… to reach you. I know there was a crash. We were thrown from the car. Both of us. Except… except you're not moving… you're not blinking… you're not breathing. And I cannot stop seeing your eyes, your wide, usually so expressive amber eyes… completely empty. Do you know what it's like, dreaming the death of the person you love most, again and again, night after night? You don't know! You cannot know!"

The thing is, he can, he does. But he's not sure how to make her understand that.

"I know you think you did what was right." He does his best to be polite. "But the thing is, you didn't give me a choice Lyds. You made up your mind, all on your own, without letting me make a decision for myself. I had that right."

"I did it to protect you." Lydia insists.

"Remind me how happy you were back when we were in high-school and we all kept hiding the supernatural from you?"

"That has nothing to do with this…"

"It has everything to do with it! We were trying to keep you safe."

"It was the wrong thing to do. It was my choice to make!"

"Yes, we were wrong. And yes, it was your choice. That's exactly my point! Staying with you, that should have been my choice. I should have been allowed to decide whether I was willing to risk my life to stay with you. And you know what? I'd have done it. I loved you enough for that."

"I loved you too much for that. Too much to risk you dying."

"No, truth is, you didn't love me enough to fight for me, to fight for us."

"And who was I supposed to fight? My own premonition?!"

"Your premonition about my death? You mean like the 'premonitions' you and Scott and Chris had about Allison? About her impossible return."

That seems to truly throw Lydia because… Stiles isn't wrong, is he? And she doesn't know what to say to that. All the things she's said and done, the life… the broken life she's been living for all these years, always telling herself that it was the right thing to do, that it was for him… what was the point? She left him to protect him, but did she truly do that? It's not, he's in Beacon Hills. And when he's not, he's with the FBI, hunting down Rogue Hunters! So how safe did she expect him to be even without her in his life?

The most painful thing to her perhaps, is the way he keeps saying 'loved'. He loved her, but no more. It's… she wasn't lying, when she said she knew he loved Derek, had since they were still in high-school. But like he said, even knowing that, even with Eli in the picture, he still chose to stay with her. He Chose Her. And she… she gave him up…

Also, the things he seems to be implying, that all along her dreams about him weren't really a premonition but… but a trap, an attack from the fox. That's not possible? Is it? No! No it's not! Because she knows the truth, the truth he's not aware of. That he already died once!

"I was wondering if you'd be bringing that up." Stiles murmurs, voice quiet, even, a sense of… it almost seems like satisfaction, in his tone.

It's only then that Lydia realizes she's apparently been talking out loud. She still doesn't understand. She hates not understanding!

"You think this is your second chance, the second round at this." Stiles explains quietly. "And okay, for you, it might be that. But the thing is, this is not the second go at things, not for this world. No, this is the third."

"The third…" Lydia parrots, at a loss.

Really, she has to be misunderstanding, because Stiles cannot be implying what she thinks he is… It's not possible! Not at all… Only, she's here, isn't she? She's been going through it all herself, for a second time. Only it apparently isn't the second. Or is the second only to herself?

"Everything went wrong the first time, didn't it?" He asks her quietly.

There's so much compassion in his voice, so much… and Lydia just cannot help herself. She bursts into tears.

"So much, so much wrong!" She sobs. "You died Stiles! You died, and everything went wrong. The Fox… we killed it, and still, that wasn't winning, not with you gone. It… it wasn't fair, it wasn't right… That wasn't victory, not without you!"

"Not without Derek either." Stiles admits quietly.

It takes a moment for the banshee to parse what he's just said. The implications of it.

"You…" She trails off, still shocked by it all.

"Me." Stiles confirms simply. "See, the first time around, I don't actually have any memories of what happened then, though you and… another, told me enough. I know we were together in that life. Up until the day that we came back to Beacon Hills to help fight the fucking Fox. And then I died. I don't know how it happened exactly, and I won't ask. But I know enough. I also know it was the Nemeton that sent you back."

"It did. I… I don't know why. But… but it said that everything was wrong. Things weren't supposed to be like that. You weren't supposed to die and… That's… that's why I broke up with you. I… I knew if we stayed together, it was just a matter of time. Even if the crash never happened, you would have died. I did it to save your life Stiles!" She swallows. "And now… now I don't know. You… you're here. And you're alive. And Nogitsune's dead, for good! Everything worked out so… I…"

She doesn't understand. And the more that happens the more she hates it.

"Wait, you said… you said this wasn't the second round, that it was the third…" Her eyes go very wide as she realizes the implications. "Something went wrong the second time, didn't it? Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know that it was you that did anything wrong, exactly. Whatever my feelings might be regarding some of your choices… in the end you made your decisions, as did I." Stiles exhales. "The second time around, I wasn't here when everything went down with the Fox. I was on a case, pretty time-sensitive, a bunch of terrible fires, in the Amazonia, some of Monroe's last minions, bunch of kids who didn't even know what it was all truly about, had never met Monroe, they were just in it for a chance to cause destruction. I didn't know anything was going on here until… until it was too late."

This time… this time he called in a lot of favors, gave Hotch's team all the information they needed to handle that mission, and got on a plane to California the moment he knew it was all starting to go down.

"Oh no…" She knows what he means by that. "Who died?"

"D… Derek." He admits, so very quietly, voice broken. "He died… burned to death… in front of Eli… My husband! Burned to death! In front of our son!"

He's the one to start crying then. Lydia… she doesn't know what to do, doesn't know if she even has the right, still, to do anything; so in the end she does nothing, just watching, and waiting. Eventually Stiles calms down. He brings the mug of tea up to his lips, taking a sip, grimacing at how cold it is, before taking a deep breath and tightening his hold on the mug. A second passes, then two, and then Lydia can see the vapor coming off the newly reheated liquid.

"Oh…" Lydia breathes out in surprise.

"Do you want me to…?" Stiles offers, extending one hand.

Lydia seems to think it over for a moment before holding her own cup out to him. Stiles presses his palm to the underside, just for a couple of seconds, when he takes it off Lydia's own coffee is as hot as if it had just been poured.

"It's not exactly a use of magic my old teachers would approve of but…" He shrugs.

And really, it's not like he's ever been one to follow the rules, not unless they fit in with his plans.

"So… you died, and that was a mistake… and Derek died, and that was a mistake too." Lydia concludes quietly. "That's why we were sent back…"

"It is… but it's not that simple Lyds." Stiles tries his best to explain it to her. "It's not… it's not about us specifically. It's the fact that there was no one else that could do the kind of things we were supposed to do. For the Nemeton, and for the territory. It's… in that first life, you were my wife, my greatest love. So the Nemeton sent you back, believing you'd be able to make the right changes. But while you did change things. It just wasn't enough, things still went wrong, we still failed in the end. But since at least I was still alive then, I was the one sent back this time. And well… here we are."

Lydia doesn't really say anything for a minute or so, she just does her best to relax on the couch, sipping at her newly reheated coffee (which tastes pretty good, nothing at all like coffee does when it's reheated in the microwave!).

"Why didn't you tell me?" She finally asks, after what seems like forever. "About this? About you going back?"

For a moment Stiles considers turning the question on her. It's not like she told him either. In the end though he holds back on that, and forces himself to focus on what he thinks is the true issue.

"When was I supposed to tell you Lyds?" He asks her softly. "In between killing the Homunculus and dealing with the Fox? When I was in the East Coast following a mission a couple of years ago and invited you out for lunch and a chat, and you told me you were too busy? When I sent you that e-mail that Derek and I were getting married and you refused to come? Cora came all the way back from Singapore, where she was at the time, and you couldn't make a little time…" He shakes his head, it's not important, not anymore. "Or maybe when you told me you were breaking up with me? That what we had… that it was no good anymore and we'd do better going our own separate ways. When you told me it was to be expected, after all 'everyone knows high-school sweethearts never really last anyway'?!"

Lydia inhales sharply.

"I tried the first time, you know…" He says out-of-the-blue. "Or well, my first-time around, I guess I should say. When you first broke up with me. I tried to make you change your mind. To convince you to give me another chance… I'd bring you flowers, and chocolates, and all sorts of trinkets. Dropped by your office whenever I had a free day, inviting you on dates… I thought that maybe that had been my mistake. That I was so invested in my job with the Shadow Division that I wasn't paying enough attention to you. So I even requested some leave, planned to surprise you with a romantic getaway, a tour to the Empire State Building, dinners in 5-star restaurants, and of course, a VIP visit to the MoMath… and you said no. You turned me down, refused my gifts, time and time again. I… I thought there had to be something wrong with me! When you refused the romantic getaway… I canceled everything and took the first flight I could find to California. It… it was Derek who pulled me out of my funk. Him and Eli. They made me see that there were still people who liked me, who loved me for me. And so I let you go."

Tears fall silently down Lydia's face, but she says not a word.

"The second time around… I decided there was no point." Stiles continues. "Why insist? I'm not going to say that it was a matter of dignity… it was more self-preservation… self-love. I decided that I loved myself enough to stop. It didn't mean that I didn't love you. I still loved you, there's probably a part of me that still does… but I love myself more, and I love Derek. I love him, and our son, so very, very much." He takes a deep breath. "You gave up on me Lydia, gave up on us. I That was your choice, not mine. It's not a choice I'd have ever made. But it's one that in the end I had to accept. I moved on. And here we are."

And here they are. He with someone else, someone he loves, whom he refused to give up on, against all odds, even death itself. Stiles refused to give up and in the end… in the end he won. And she? She lost… more than she ever knew.

"I hope you'll be happy Lyds." Stiles tells her, a small smile beginning to take shape on his face. "I truly, wholly, hope you'll find something, perhaps even someone, that makes you truly happy. That you'll have the life you want, the life you deserve."

But that life's no longer with him. And that was her own choice.

xXx

By the time Derek and Eli return from their 'training session' (Peter having gone his own way already) Lydia's gone. Eli seems a bit surprised, having wanted to ask her for her version of some of his dad and papa's old stories. Derek doesn't seem surprised. He walks straight to his husband, burying his nose in his hair and pressing his lips against the younger man's temple.

In the past few hours the wolf could feel the roller-coaster of emotions his mate went through, and it was only the fact that he was warned ahead of time about the difficult conversation Stiles expected to have with Lydia, that kept him from bolting back to the house in an attempt to protect his beloved from any and all hurts.

"Are you at peace?" He asks Stiles softly.

He doesn't ask if he's happy, because Derek's not the kind to ask pointless questions, not when his nose is already telling him the answer. And it's not… he's no longer so insecure as to believe that any and all hurts of those he loves are his fault, or that all he can do to help them is sacrifice himself (Stiles has made it more than clear what he thinks about, what he calls, his 'martyr tendencies'). He's also secure enough in his mate's love for him not to doubt it, or him, his choices, both in that moment, and in the past.

"I am." Stiles nods. "This wasn't easy. I never wanted to hurt Lydia. But… there was so much I needed to tell her. That she needed to know. I feel… I fear she's been holding herself back, keeping herself in limbo all this time, believing that it's something she needs to do. But it's not. She made her choice, and whatever I might think about it, however I might have felt about it when it first happened, I've moved on, and it's time she does as well." He turns to look straight at Derek, his husband, his mate. "I'm happy, Happier than I ever thought I could be. And it's all thanks to you sourwolf…"

And to their son, and their pack…

Derek says nothing, just moves his head, drawing his nose down Stiles's ear, nipping at his earlobe before burying his face into his mate's neck. Stiles reacts instinctively, tilting his head to the side, baring his neck to his mate, the smallest of groans escaping his mouth when Derek's fangs tease the spot where his neck meets his shoulder, where a scar, a mating scar, lays…

"Augh… there you go again!" Eli complains dramatically, as expected of a teenager. "And it's even worse this time! All these smells! Goddess, why did I have to be a werewolf?!" He shakes his head vehemently. "I don't need to see this! Or smell it! Goddess! I'm going to the shop to see Aunt Mal!"

Stiles and Derek hold their position until they hear the front door slamming closed, then they snicker a bit, looking at each other.

"What do you think his reaction will be when he arrives to the shop and smells what Malia gets up to there?" Stiles asks with the ghost of a smirk.

That just makes Derek laugh. Their poor son! He has no idea! He'd feel bad for the boy, but he's been subjected to him all these years! And before that, he had to live through his papa's own high-school and college years; and after that, after his break-up with Lydia and before they finally got their heads out of their asses and got together (Cora's words, not theirs)!

It's almost funny in a sense. All the things Derek's gone through: the good, and the bad, and the worse… all the times he almost died, when he was sure he ought to be dead (the times he wished he were…). All the time he spent ignoring his own attraction to Stiles, first because he saw him as being too young, then because it was so strong it actually scared him, then he was afraid of somehow holding the younger man back. And then… then when he was finally ready, Stiles was with Lydia, and he'd been in love with her for so long. Derek thought that was it, he'd missed his chance. Even when Eli came into his life, when the Nemeton gave him, gave them, that amazing, incredible gift, he thought things would never be more than they were in that moment. That the most he could expect would be for them to perhaps co-parent the boy, to a degree. And who knew? Perhaps once Stiles had other children, with Lydia, he'd forget all about the one he somehow, magically, had with Derek. Except that never happened.

Derek honestly has no idea how Lydia did it. How she gave him up. It's… he knows what happened, the two first times. Knows how bad things got. He even understands, to a point, that Lydia did what she did, believing it was for the best. And as much as he's always been one to be willing to sacrifice himself for others. He just doesn't think he could give up Stiles. No matter what. To the end of the world. He'd fight, he'd put his life on the line, to stay with him, never to leave him… Which is, really, what Stiles himself has done. Choosing him.

It's that level of love, that kind of devotion, that used to terrify Derek. It doesn't anymore. Nowadays it gives him strength, it motivates him. It gives him a reason to get up every morning. To keep going. In the simple, easy ways, like working at the auto-shop, and taking Eli to school, and learning to cook for those days when they're tired of take-out and Stiles is away due to his job. And the harder, more complicated ways, like when he has to 'consult' for the Sheriff's Station, and wait for his husband to come back from whatever mission he might be on (some far more dangerous than others, some so secret than even he can know nothing about until it's all said and done), fight whatever omegas, and hunters, and any other enemy that might come around believing that they might be easy pickings because they no longer have an alpha… Except that's not the case anymore. They have an alpha once more. He's the Alpha. He's Alpha Hale. The Hale Pack is back. Their territory is safe. Everything is just as it should be.

What do you know? Maybe that old saying was right after all: third time's the charm.