Summary: It takes him awhile to get his pack back together. He gets Malia back in three hours, Liam in two weeks and Lydia in three. Kira comes back a month later. It takes so much longer to get Stiles back.

A/N: So the summer finale of Teen Wolf screwed me up so bad. I cannot wait for Scott to get his pack back and kick Theo and the Dread Doctors out of Beacon Hills. And so, while we wait, this is how we deal. Enjoy the fic guys! This will be a five chapter fic :)

"Can I sit here?"

Mason looks up from his homework, not looking surprised when Scott takes a seat beside him. He shrugs at the alpha, and turns back to his work. The two of them sit in silence for a while, occupied with their tasks when Scott hears the racing of a heartbeat, eyes widening when he realizes it is Mason's.

He is about to ask the younger boy if everything was alright when he looks at Mason and sees him staring at something across from them. He follows Mason's line of sight and his own heart skips a beat.

It is not something that has made Mason's heartbeat increase, but rather someone. Scott's beta stands at the entrance of the library, gaze on his best friend before it shifts to him. As expected, Liam's eyes narrow at him, rage and hatred burning, as he storms out of the library. Scott sighs and turns to Mason.

"How long have you guys not spoken for?"

"What?"

He gives Mason a pointed look and the younger boy shrugs before answering, "Five days."

"So since he tried to kill me then?" Scott asks casually and he watches as Mason's hand start shaking. He takes Mason's hand in his, and squeezes it, satisfied when the shaking stopped after a while. "I know it can be scary."

"How can you be talking about this so casually? He's your beta, and he tried to kill you," Mason looks at him, horror on his face. "He would not stop Scott. He would have killed you for real if I had not stepped in. He's a monster."

"And what am I?" Scott chuckles humorlessly, and put his hand up to stop Mason from interrupting him. "We knew about Liam's anger issues. We were waiting for it to happen."

Mason shakes his head, disbelief clouding his features. "So that excuses everything?"

"No, it doesn't. It's something that he will have to work on but he'd just lost Hayden," his voice goes softer as he smiles sadly. "I know what it's like to lose your first love. Add his sorrow to his anger, and the forces pushing him to lose control, especially on a supermoon. There was no way he was not going to lose control."

He watches as Mason comprehends what he says, gradual understanding crossing the boy's features. Mason's shoulders are tensed as he regards Scott, and slowly, he nods.

Scott shrugs, "I know being in the inner circle is not as cool now but you're his best friend. Don't give up on him just yet."

His eyes gave to his phone as he advises Mason, feeling a painful tug at his heart when he looks at the picture on his lock screen. It is a picture of him and Stiles with his mother and Stiles' father from Christmas the year before. He closes his eyes, suppressing the happy memory because he knows it will just make him sad again after. Instead, he gives Mason an approving grin when the younger boy packs his bag.

Mason pats him on his shoulder, giving him a boyish smile as he makes to leave. Once again, Scott is reminded of how young he was, and how much innocence he had lost just by being the best friend of a young werewolf.

Heat creeps through his face though when Mason thanks him and leaves him with, "You really are a True Alpha, Scott McCall."

He smiles to himself when he notices his beta with his best friend walking side by side in the hallway two days later. There's still a distance between the two, one that was not present a week before, but Mason is talking to Liam animatedly about something while Liam gives him a small smile. Scott catches his beat's eyes and gives him an unsure one when the smile Liam was sporting slips off his face.

His beta turns away from him and Scott dejectedly turns away, cursing internally when he bumps into someone, the books the person was holding crashing to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes immediately, grabbing as many books as he can. A familiar scent pauses his movements though, and he mentally prepares himself to look up and face his best friend.

Stiles is looking at him, frozen in his spot, eyes wide as he takes his books from Scott. An awkward silence creeps between them and Scott feels like locking himself in the locker room to cry. Once upon a time, the idea of an awkward silence between him and Stiles was laughable. Now though, it was anything but funny.

Stiles is the first one to break the silence. "Uh, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

He makes to walk away and Scott opens his mouth to say something, desperate for any kind of contact with his best friend.

"How's your dad?"

He counts it as progress when his best friend – God, can he even still call Stiles that? – turns around and gives him a shrug.

"He was discharged two days ago. He's already back to work," Stiles informs him and Scott nods, though the information is not new. He'd visited the Sheriff during his free period the day before. "But you know that, don't you? He told me you came."

"Err – "

"I'll see you later. I have to talk to Malia about something," Stiles hastily mumbles as he walks away. Scott sighs, reaching for his inhaler when he feels his breaths hitching. He has not had an asthma attack since the day Theo tried to kill him but every time he felt out of breath, he had put the inhaler in his mouth and pressed. Better safe than sorry.

"That's the first time we've talked since our fight. I miss him, you know?" he speaks and takes her hand, eyes clouding with moisture when she just stares blankly at the wall. "Liam's still mad at me but I think I managed to get Mason to talk to him. He's still torn up about Hayden but that's to be expected, right? They loved each other."

As it had been since they found her in the woods, eyes wide and blank, silence reigns. She does not give him an exasperated smirk, nor does she give a witty retort to his updates. Lydia just stares.

He pushes her hair away from her face, heart aching. He knew that there was no point in blaming himself, that they had all been played by Theo and the Dread Doctors. Still, there was a part of him that knew he would always feel guilty for everything that had happened. He should have done better, should have been better.

He wipes the lone tear that streams down his face, squeezing her hand when she turns to look at him. He does not get his hope up though. She may have been looking at him but Scott was almost certain that nothing had clicked for her. She was still in a catatonic shock. Instead, he squeezes her hand gently.

"We need you, okay, Lydia? We love you and we need you. So please, just," his breath hitches and he kisses her hand. "Just come back."

"Please tell me you see them too," Malia pleads and he nods. His fists clench as Theo walks past them with a group of five teenagers, a smug smirk on his face. There was no doubt who the leader of their gang was. Scott digs his fingers into his palm, struggling to keep his reign his anger, turning into his locker to hide his face.

"Scott?"

He brought them back. Theo had brought the chimeras back. And they were all walking the halls as though mercury had not spilled from their bodies.

"Scott!"

He turns to Malia, and she points to someone over his shoulders. He growls as he turns around, and feels his anger dissipate when he sees Liam just staring after Theo's new pack, absolute shock marring his young face.

"Get Stiles. Tell him to meet us in the locker room," he more or less orders her and she nods.

He goes to his beta then, puts his hands on Liam's shoulders comfortingly, and guides him to the locker room. It's a testament to how shock Liam is that he follows without a word, only snapping out of it when Scott forces him to sit on the bench.

"Liam, lis –"

"She's alive," Liam mumbles and Scott nods.

"She is."

"But I saw her die. She wasn't breathing when I held her or when Parrish took her," he shakes his head and looks at Scott pleadingly. "Tell me this is not a dream."

Scott kneels on the ground, and puts his hands on Liam's shoulder before promising gently, "You're not dreaming. I promise."

And just like that, the younger werewolf snaps out of his trance. He glares at Scott and the alpha takes that as a cue to stand up and be further away. Liam scoffs, "Yeah, because your promises actually mean something to me."

Scott sighs. It was not as though he had not been expecting that. Still, hearing those words hurt.

"Yeah, well, he's right anyway," an annoyed voice chimes in and Scott internally sighs in relief. Stiles does not look at him though, and just regards Liam. "Theo wanted his own pack. Looks like that bastard got it."

"But that's good, right? I mean, Hayden's alive," the beta finally grins.

Scott shakes his head, "Liam –"

"I really do not want to listen to you," Liam cuts him off and looks to Stiles and Malia. Scott pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on when Stiles jumps in.

"Well, too bad. He's still your alpha, you ungrateful pup," he drones and Scott moves to place himself between the two when Liam literally growls at his best friend. He ignores the somersaults his heart was making at his best friend defending him, even if it was against his beta. Progress.

"Look, until we know how and why they're alive, you cannot talk to Hayden," Malia says. "We don't know if it's safe."

Scott resists the urge to groan because really? Telling a fifteen-year-old that he was not allowed to see his first love was probably not a good idea. His sentiments prove to be right when Liam rolls his eyes at Malia.

"You're kidding right?" he scowls.

"Look, Liam. If you want to talk to Hayden, I'm not going to stop you," Scott tiredly tells him and the three other occupants look at him in surprise.

"You aren't?" Malia asks.

"No, I am not. If anything, you can find out better than any of us can but please," he all but begs, "Be careful. Be alert. Try to talk to her when she's alone if you can, away from the others. But you do not go alone. Bring back up."

"I won't need back up. It's Hayden."

"Humor me."

"I don't want you there," Liam stubbornly insists.

When Stiles opens his mouth to say something that Scott is sure will anger the younger teen, he tells Liam, "Then bring Malia or Brett with you. Just to be safe."

Liam looks at him suspiciously, and Scott counts it as a victory when Liam nods, finally accepting his terms. The youngest teen mutters something about being late for math and practically runs out, leaving Scott with Stiles and Malia.

"Keep an eye on him," he says to Malia and she nods. He looks at Stiles then. "Any idea how they're still alive?"

Stiles shakes his head and Scott tiredly rubs his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to call Chris later and ask him if he knows anything that might help. Stiles, you ask your dad if there have been any murder cases around. Malia, you and Mason try to gather anything you can about the different beings the chimeras are made up of and what the antidotes to their bites or poisons are."

"Okay and now, I'm going to leave you two to talk because you practically reek of guilt," Malia pecks Stiles on the cheek and leaves.

The two of them stand awkwardly, looking anywhere but each other, and once again, Scott wants to cry that he has used the word 'awkward' to describe anything between him and Stiles.

"I'm sorry," he starts and when Stiles looks at him blankly, he sighs and sits, "I'm sorry that I listened to Theo and not you. I'm sorry that you felt the need to hide the truth about Donovan from me. God, Stiles, I'm sorry."

Stiles leans against the locker, his hands in his pockets as he shakes his head.

"It's my fault too," he says so softly that Scott knows he would not have heard it if it were not for his werewolf senses. "I shouldn't have kept it from you."

"I'm ready, you know." When Stiles looks at him questioningly, he uncertainly continues, "If you want to tell me what really happened. The proper details, and not the load of shit that Theo told me. I'm ready to listen."

"I'm not," Stiles' voice wavers at his admission and Scott feels nauseas when Stiles gives him a broken look.

"Stiles –"

"How is she? Lydia?" Stiles interrupts him and Scott's shoulders slump, knowing that he needed to drop the topic. Stiles was not ready to talk to him, to forgive him for his betrayal, and he would wait.

"Still the same," Scott tells him and he resists the urge to wrap his arms around Stiles when the other boy stills at what he says. "No one knows what happened and she's still in a state of shock."

He watches his best friend lean his head on the locker, closing his eyes as he absorbs what Scott has just told him. Scott waits. He knows how much Lydia means to Stiles, and how he had practically collapsed when he first saw her after he had admitted his dad to the hospital. Malia had also told him about how Stiles has not visited Lydia since.

"We'll find out what happened to her, Stiles," he promises as he slings his backpack across his shoulder. Hesitantly, he puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder, cringing when Stiles stiffens at his touch. "I promise."

His best friend looks at him and nods, and Scott leaves, not before hearing the words, "I'm holding you to that."

When he asks Liam about Hayden three days later, he is surprised to find that his beta was trying to lie to him. Telling his alpha that he had decided not to pursue Hayden because she had practically ignored him since her return, Liam had hastily walked away, and Scott had felt the overwhelming need to rip his hair out.

"He went to see Hayden last night," he tells Malia and Stiles in the cafeteria that day and they look at him in confusion. "They're 'secretly' dating."

He hand quotes when he says 'secretly' and Malia raises her eyes at him.

"First of all, I do not know what that gesture means," she tells him and he grins at Stiles when he gives him a pointed look. "Secondly, how do you even know that? Were you spying on him?"

He would not exactly call it spying. He had just been observing his beta in school, suppressing a knowing grin every time Liam and Hayden looked at each other, only to avert their eyes a moment later. He had witnessed their secretive smiles, and Liam's chapped lips during practice. He had also seen the way Mason had discreetly bumped into Hayden, passing a small piece of crumpled paper to her before continuing on.

"I, uh, just do," he blushes. Memories of stuffing secret notes in lockers to tell a beautiful girl he loved her, of make out sessions in empty classrooms and sneaking in and out of her bedroom come rushing back. He shakes his head when he feels the usual heartache at the thought of his first love and Stiles suddenly gives him a sad, knowing smile.

"I'm sorry," he says and he nods at him appreciatively. Progress.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Malia promises.

"Please. But try to be discreet. He doesn't trust us but we need to keep him safe."

"Got it."

He has taken to spending his evenings at the Eichen House for at least an hour. He spends it with Lydia, telling her about his day and updating her on everything that was going on, never leaving a single detail out in hopes that it will trigger a response from her. It hasn't worked since he first came, and nothing he has said has triggered anything from her that day either.

His phone rings when he outside of Eichen House. A heavy feeling settles in his chest when he sees who it is that is calling.

"What do you want?"

"I don't think that's a way to greet an old friend," the pompous voice on the other end of the line drawls and Scott feels his blood boil.

"What the fuck do you want?" he growls into the phone.

"Your beta wants to talk to you," Theo cackles and Scott stills when he hears Liam breathing heavily on the other end of the line. "He seems too breathless though. Must be the broken ribs."

"If you hurt him – "

"What, Scott? What will the alpha without a pack do?" he can hear the smugness in Theo's voice and he resists the urge to throw his phone in anger. "Well, I just called to let him say goodbye to you. You know, for old times sake. But it looks like he can't."

Hatred burns through his veins as he listens to his beta whimper on the other end of the line. Angry tears spill as fear grips him. Not Liam. He cannot lose Liam too.

"Let him go, please," he closes his eyes as he begs. He can practically see Theo's smirk and he swallows his pride. "Whatever you need, Theo. I'll give it to you."

"See, that's the thing, Scott," the other alpha chuckles and Scott shivers at the venom in his voice. "I don't need anything from you. Not anymore."

He hangs up.

He does not know how long he stares at the phone, nor does he know how long it takes for him to come back to his senses. What he does know is that the moment he comes back to reality, he calls Malia, putting on his helmet as he mounts his bike.

"Scott, she's hurt," his best friend sounds scared when he answers and Scott curses the day he met Theo Raeken again. "I'm at the clinic. I don't know what to do."

"Stiles, I need you to breathe, okay? I'll call my mom and get her there."

"This can't be happening. Not to her too."

"Stiles, stay with me."

"Scott, she's not healing. I can't –"

"STILES!" Scott practically screams and when he hears a strangled sob on the other end of the line, his heart breaks for the millionth time. Gently, he coaxes, "Stiles, listen to me. Just stay by her side, okay? She's not going anywhere. She'll be fine. I'm going to call my mom and she will help, alright?"

"Scott, she's –"

"I know, Stiles," he softly says. "I'll be there as soon as I get Liam. My mom will help Malia. You need to be there for her when she wakes up, okay?"

"Okay."

Stiles hangs up and Scott calls his mother immediately. He is about to use the app that Stiles showed him a while back, the one that would be able to locate Liam's phone when he hears it. A loud roar, one he has heard before. This time though, it makes him lose control of his bike and he groans as he skids on the road, crying out as his skin grazes the rough road.

He clutches his arms as he struggles to stand up, taking out his helmet.

And then, he runs.

He runs through the woods, trying to listen for any clues that might lead him to Liam. He is still running around aimlessly when he hears it, a faint banging, different from the ones he knows come from the animals.

He stops and listens, and when he realizes that the banging came from the ground, he looks down, and his heart stops for a while when he sees that he is standing above a buried ditch.

Desperately he claws through the dirt, the constant banging the only assurance he had that he was doing the right thing. He scratches and digs till his nails meet solid wood instead of dirt. His breath hitches when the banging stops. He desperately drags the wooden box out, and just as he was about to break it open, it practically bursts, splints of wood flying in all directions.

He heart bursts at the sight of his beta, and tears cloud his eyes. Liam is still gasping for breath, clutching his chest as he heaves. When the younger teen has finally gained control of his breathing, he throws himself at Scott, wrapping his arms tightly around his alpha, thanking him over again and again.

"Thank you," Liam mumbles into his chest and Scott hugs him back just as tightly. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

That night, when they were still waiting for Malia to heal, Liam finds Scott on the couch outside, wringing his hands. Malia had already shown signs of healing when they arrived, and she was currently resting with Stiles by her side. He had not moved from her side since, assisting Melissa while she attended to Malia's wounds.

The two of them sat in silence, though for the first time in a while, it was not an awkward one. It was Liam who broke it first.

"I'm sorry," he doesn't look at Scott as he apologizes. Instead, his gaze is on the wall opposite them. Scott, however, does turn to him.

"You have nothing to – "

"Yes, I do," Liam insists. "Scott, I tried to kill you. I was just so angry that you wouldn't give her the bite."

"I couldn't risk –"

"I know that now. I should have trusted you. I should have realized that you were trying to do everything you could to save her," the young werewolf gives him a small apologetic smile. "You were trying to do everything you could to save all of us."

He wants so badly to tell Liam how sorry he is that he was not doing a very good job. Lydia was in Eichen House. Malia was still hurting and Liam had almost been buried alive. He is about to when Liam turns to him.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you. I'm sorry I didn't realize how lucky I was to have you," Liam blushes as he says that and Scott chuckles shyly, squeezing his hand.

"We'll work on your anger management, alright?" Scott promises and Liam nods, grinning cheekily.

"You afraid I'm going to kick your ass again?"

A startled laugh escapes him and for the first time since the whole ordeal with the Dread Doctors, Scott feels a weight lift from his shoulders. He ruffles Liam's hair, telling his beta to get some rest. They had a long battle ahead, but Scott was glad he now had Liam by his side again.

A/N: What do you guys think? Too long?