"Do you think they're okay? They've been gone longer than the others," Lydia asked worriedly as Stiles settled himself down beside her on the Nemeton. He groaned slightly as his tied muscles hit the solid wood.

"C'mon, it's Jackson and Theo. They'll be fine," he assured her, although he wasn't completely convinced that it was true. They sat in silence for awhile and watched Malia as she fussed over Scott. He growled and told her for the tenth time that he really was 'okay.' She pressed her palm to his forehead regardless.

"Are you still angry with me?" Stiles murmured cautiously after a while. Lydia wasn't exactly surprised. She already knew he felt guilty. It was sitting like a weight in the pit of her stomach.

"You already know the answer," she said tiredly. She was torn between fury and resentment when she looked at him but she leant back heavily against his shoulder anyway and cursed herself for smiling when she felt him press a kiss into her hair.

"Too tired to be angry?" he guessed and Lydia nodded silently.

"I feel like a jackass if that helps? You know after what happened with... well, you know." He gave her a pointed look and gestured to the tree stump beneath them. "I said I'd never let anything get inside my head again like that and yet there I was, walking into heavy fire. I was so sure it was the right thing to do. Even Scott thought it was the only plan we had." He shook his head.

"The Anuk-Ite got to all of us. I don't know if it genuinely didn't see all of this coming or if it thought maybe I'd kill everyone – maybe I have – we have no idea what's going on outside of this place."

He didn't know what to say to her. She was an enigma he didn't think he'd ever really understand. Even now, connected in the way they were, she was a complex web of infinite reactions and decisions. He wasn't sure he'd ever really understand what she was feeling, even if he could feel it for himself.

Maybe that was why he was surprised when she sighed heavily and said, "It doesn't feel how I thought it would. I thought it would be more..." she struggled for the right word, "intense."

"Yeah," Stiles replied simple.

"It sounds crazy," Lydia continued, "and obviously scientifically unfeasible but I suppose I thought I might be able to read your mind or see what you were doing when I'm not there. But really I feel like I'm still me... only more emotional. Which is actually terrifying because I'm, you know, not."

She took a breath like she might speak again but she didn't.

Stiles slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You are, you've just learnt not to be. And that's okay -" he gave her a squeeze - "because I need you to cry more so I don't look so bad doing it all the time."

Lydia let out a laugh in a huff and rolled her eyes. It didn't matter that he couldn't see it, she knew he could feel it.

"You don't cry all the time," she insisted.

She wasn't sure if he actually laughed at that or if she could only feel it in his soul. It was a hum that surged around her body in a way she'd never experience before. It was a wave of pure light, tickling at her nerves. She felt her lips pull unconscious at the corners.

Stiles shifted beneath her.

"Lydia, I cried when you left DC. I cried every time you nearly died or found a new boyfriend. Actually, I think that's pretty normal. Jesus, I nearly cried when we had sex last night and I think that's about as embarrassing as it gets."

She knew he was trying to make her smile again but she couldn't. She dropped her hand into Stiles lap and slipped her fingers through his, squeezing his hand until her knuckles turned white.

"I nearly cried too," she admitted quietly. She shot a glance at the Scott and Malia but they were either too busy waiting anxiously for Jackson and Theo to listen or they were just being polite.

"Now that's really is embarrassing," Stiles teased.

He yelped when Lydia's elbow connected with his ribs.

"I'm trying to tell you I love you," Lydia snapped but Stiles could feel her laughter against his chest.

He opened his mouth to tell her he loved her too, so much, but he was interrupted by Lydia scrambling to her feet as Jackson and Theo burst noisily onto the pristine white tiles. Theo crouched on his hands and knees as he caught his breath but seemed to be otherwise unharmed. Jackson however, was shaking violently and studying them all hurriedly like they might disappear at any moment.

Scott inspected them both with wide eyes before he helped Malia to her feet. She dusted off her legs and folded her arms, un-phased by the dramatic entrance in front of her.

"Everyone alright?" Scott asked cautiously as Theo straightened and stretched.

He shook his head in the hopes that it might banish the image of his bloody beating heart as his sister ripped it from his body.

Meanwhile Lydia placed a gentle hand on Jackson's elbow and flinched as he swatted her away.

"I'm fine," he spat and ran a hand through his hair roughly.

Lydia watched Malia as she eyed Theo apprehensively. Eventually she frowned and turned towards Lydia.

"We're not seriously going in there next, are we?"

Lydia shrugged and shot Stiles a nervous glance.

"I'm not sure we have a choice," she confirmed ominously. She slid her fingers unconsciously through Stiles' and felt him relax despite the anxious way his free hand was tapping against his thigh.

Something felt wrong to Lydia but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was like an uneasy twist in her stomach paired with a buzzing that reminded her strangely of bees in a honeycomb. She imagined thousands of tiny insects working together to build a bigger picture. The only problem was she just couldn't see it yet. It took her a moment to figure it out but then it hit her. She wasn't the one feeling anxious – Stiles was.

She turned around to find him standing almost completely still, his eyes flitting back and forth between the pack and the Nemeton.

"Stiles?" Lydia squeezed his hand in her own again.

"What did you guys see?" Stiles asked suddenly. He let go of Lydia's hand a took a step towards Jackson. "Did it talk to you?"

Theo exchanged a cautious look with Jackson and Jackson frowned in return.

"Did what talk to us? The Anuk-Ite?"

Stiles only nodded. Theo and Jackson both shook their heads slowly and Lydia felt the Stiles' shiver ripple up her arm.

"It's me," Stiles whispered quietly as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.

He swallowed thickly before raising his eyes to hold Lydia's gaze. Slowly, the bigger picture began to come into focus and Lydia rolled her lips together uneasily.

"The Anuk-Ite needed to break the pack apart. Stiles is your best friend, Scott. He's Malia's anchor. He's my soulmate -" she choked a little - "He's only here because we couldn't go to war without him. The trick isn't behind those doors, it's in here. We're all part of an illusion and it's all happening inside of Stiles' head."