Hayden's condition worsened almost instantaneously.

The moment we all clambered into Argent's SUV she started to whimper and moan in agony from the backseat. I was desperate to get her to the clinic, to a place of safety, but the curtains of rain that poured over us, and Theo's truck that led the way, made me refrain from doing so. I didn't want to risk an accident at the speed I was traveling on wet roads, especially with such precious cargo.

When we arrive at our destination, Theo and I park in random areas of the back lot before clambering out of our respective vehicles. He and Liam rush to open the doors while I tend to Hayden. I don't bother to force her to support herself against me any longer, and make the decision to simply carry her, since it was what I was practically doing anyway. 

Hayden lets out a surprised grunt as I take her into my arms bridal style, kicking the door to the SUV shut behind us.

"Are you really strong or am I just light?" she asks jokingly, making me grin despite our situation due to her poorly timed humor. It was refreshing, even now. 

Liam and Theo hold the double doors open as we pass through, following behind Hayden and I after we enter. I take her into the examination room and gently place her on the observational table. It was the only flat surface she could lay on besides the floor, and I didn't want to have Hayden rest on dirty tiles.

She shivers as she touches the surface of the table with flat hands. She already felt like she was freezing when I held her, so I doubted that the cool metal soothed her. Her body temperature was also dropping, which betrayed her appearance because of how drenched in sweat she was.  

Theo comes forward when Hayden's eyes start to droop.

"I don't think it's a good idea for her to fall asleep," he warns.

When it dawns on me that he's right, I swiftly start to shake Hayden's shoulder.

"Hayden, you have to stay up," I demand. 

She groans in response and tries to push my hand away.

"I'm tired," she counters sleepily, her head lulling to the side.

I reach beneath her upper back, forcing her to sit up. She whines in protest but accepts the new position anyway. I keep my hands behind her for support and don't mind having to stay here all night, but when Liam catches my eyes and gestures for us to have a private moment, I ask Theo to take my place. He does so without argument, which I'm grateful for, but it's unsettling that Hayden hardly notices the switch as her senses aren't what they used to be.

Liam guides me to the doorway between the exam room and the lobby desk, keeping his voice hushed.

"Jac, what are we doing here?" he asks. 

I stare at him oddly, thinking it was obvious.

"Scott said to come to the clinic," I state blankly.

"Exactly. Hasn't he already proven he can't help us?" Liam retorts, his tone laced with annoyance. It's not directed at me, but at his Alpha.

I refrain from adding to that, keeping my vexed opinions of Scott to myself. I may have been frustrated with him but with the supermoon upon us, and all the terrors that came with it, I had to find a way to control my temper, especially if Liam couldn't.

He meant the world to me, but I was under no illusions that I could pull him out of his bloodlust with the might of our next lunar phase.

"We can still cross the border," Liam says.

"Not with her like this," I lecture him, tilting my head at Hayden.

She was beyond worse for wear. There was no telling what would happen now that she had been injected with mercury. Our circumstances had shifted drastically, and I doubted that even Argent would be able to help us fix that.

"Guys," Theo says to get out attention, approaching us. He stops at my side, looking between Liam and I with nervous anticipation.

"What's the plan?"

Liam stares at me, his unspoken way of saying he wanted to know, too.

"We're staying here and we're waiting for Scott," I decide. Liam doesn't seem thrilled over it, but he accepts it anyway.

"And after that?" Theo presses.

I remain silent, as does Liam. Neither of us exactly planned past that as all of this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. We thought we would have been crossing the border by now, not waiting for Scott in the back room of Deaton's clinic.

Theo looks between us with mild impatience as our silence stretches too far.

"I hate to state the obvious, but she's dying."

"She can also hear you talking about her," Hayden grunts from behind him.

We all turn, finding her watching us from the edge of the observation table, her legs dangling off the side. I push past Theo to return to her, instantly taking hold of her upper arm to keep her from slipping when I notice her unsteady posture. I wouldn't be able to handle all of this ending with her falling from the counter's height and accidentally cracking her head open.

"It's okay," she mutters to me as I stand beside her. I look into her eyes, finding a mixture of grief and agony. "You don't have to pretend. I know."

I nod in acceptance of her words, glancing back to Theo and Liam. If Hayden wanted to be a part of the discussion of her fate, then she would be.

"What do we do?" I ask them.

"I don't know. When it's wolfsbane poisoning, you burn it out, but I don't know anything about mercury. Especially a kind that's probably been altered by them," Theo says bluntly.

"Can she still heal?" Liam wonders.

"She could barely heal before," I reply grimly.

It had taken days for Hayden's gash from the Dread Doctors to disappear. Because of that, we had no way of knowing how long internal damage would take, or if her enhanced abilities could combat it at all.

"I don't suppose hunters have a cure-all for this type of stuff, do they?" Hayden asks me, obviously kidding. I laugh quietly in return for it, but Theo and Liam don't seem to match our amusement.

"Not hunters," Theo acknowledges seriously. 

Liam's face sobers with realization at his statement. 

"The bite," he breathes out.

"What?" Hayden asks, confused.

"You're not a real werewolf, but what if we could turn you into one?" Liam responds, his eyes filled with hope. I wish to relish in that with him, but his suggestion was far from a miracle.

"Liam, we can't. We're not Alphas," Theo reminds him plainly.

"But Scott is," he counters promptly, his eyes finding mine. "What if he could change her? She'd heal."

Hayden turns at me, too, her stare glimmering with futile optimism.

"Would I?" she asks. 

I want to avert my gaze from both of them, their hope becoming suffocating. 

Over the years, I'd seen more than my fair share of bites gone wrong. Not only Gerard or Kate, but other hunters who were bitten in the line of duty. They all committed suicide to refrain from becoming what they killed, and their deaths were meaningless after the code was broken. 

Then, there was Paige. We may not have been there, but we knew the story of what happened to Derek's first love and how the bite was nothing but a plague to her. I wasn't as strong as him, I wouldn't be able to do what he did if the bite didn't take. I didn't even know if I could handle simply losing anyone more at all. 

Death had been following me since I was a child, and I couldn't bear to watch it take anything else that I cared for.

"Maybe, but the bite isn't magic, Hayden. It has its own set of rules and consequences. If it doesn't change you, it'll kill you," I tell her honestly.

Despite my warnings, she doesn't waiver.

"I understand the risks, and I don't care, Jac," she admits. Her hand comes up from her lap to rest over mine which still grips her arm.

"I'm dying anyway," she adds with a terrified whisper.

I want to recoil at her words, hating the truth of them. Tears sting my eyes but I blink them away, not wanting to draw any of the attention away from Hayden. I lift my head again to take in the sight of her, and slowly nod.

"Okay," I say softly, accepting whatever may come.

A gently heartbroken smile takes over Hayden's face.

"No matter what, right?" she whispers.

"No matter what," I agree without hesitation. 

The door to the clinic opening draws our attention away from each other. 

Scott reveals himself in the doorway of the exam room, water pooling at his feet. He's completely soaked as if he had been standing outside in the rain for minutes. He doesn't acknowledge us, his numb expression aimed downward. It's disconcerting, as Scott typically wore that expression only in times of great strife.

My contempt for him dwindles as my worry rises.

"Scott, are you okay?" I ask him softly.

He finally looks up at the sound of my voice, but then his eyes travel to Liam who stands at my side, and his troubled features harden.

"How is she?" he asks about Hayden, ignoring my original question.

I swallow my embarrassment over that, suppressing the urge to lash out as my emotions conflict inside of me. I wanted to be sure Scott was okay, but also felt the urge to wrap my hands around his neck.

"We're pretty sure she's dying," Theo tells him.

Hayden grimaces as he speaks, sending him a judgmental side-eye.

"Okay, what's his problem?" she murmurs under her breath, irritated with the wolf's repeated references to her near-fatal condition.

Liam steps forward, forcing Scott to look at him for longer than a second.

"We think you should give her the bite," he says sternly, portraying strength against his Alpha. "If she's a real werewolf, we can actually help her."

We all wait for Scott's response, Hayden the most anxious. Her hand remains on top of mine and it starts to grip my fingers too tightly for her to pretend she's not agitated. Though, I soon feel her grasp fall slack when Scott stops our entire world from spinning with one word.

"No."

We all stare at him, uncontrollable shock more than evident.

"What?" Hayden whimpers in disbelief.

"Hayden, you're too weak, it'll kill you," he attempts to reason.

Hayden doesn't listen to him any further. She glances at me, her face begging for me to say anything that would make Scott take his decision back.

I let go of her arm and take a step toward the Alpha in our presence.

"Scott, you saw them inject her with mercury, it's only a matter of time before everything catches up," I say in an even tone. He processes my words with a stiff jaw, his eyes yet to properly meet mine since he arrived.

"We talked about it, and she understands what could happen," I continue.

Scott doesn't even take a second to think it over before shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't," he says.

"Why not?" I ask heatedly, unable to help it. The fire in my tone finally connects my eyes with his.

"There has to be a different option," he tells me adamantly.

"Well, there isn't. This is our only choice."

"There's always another choice," Scott instantly replies.

I scoff at his words, almost exhausted that even after all this time Scott didn't get it; he would never get it. He had been through a lot, but he was never faced with an impossible decision where there was no other way out. One of us had always been there to take that burden for him, or to figure out another way.

Now that I needed him to do the same, he wouldn't.

"You promised you'd help her," I say desperately.

Scott's eyes twitch into a subtle glare as we observe each other.

"I'm not the only one who promised things," he shoots back.

There's a tense moment of silence between Scott and I, as if we're both wondering if this is really happening; if we're turning on each other. This isn't some run-of-the-mill argument that we typically have, this is life and death. There weren't supposed to be opposing sides to this yet here we were, standing on either side of a well-drawn line.

A soft yet bitter laugh leaves me as I accept that Scott wasn't going to change his mind, his resistance to our plan going deeper than just his displayed concern for Hayden.

"That's what this is about?" I ask him wryly.

Scott dips his head momentarily to avoid my accusing stare. I refuse to allow him to hide away and approach him until there's less than a foot of air keeping us apart. He looks back up at me with shameful brown eyes.

"I get that you're mad, but that's between us," I demand sternly, containing my tempting aggression. "I don't care if you want to yell at me or hit me, I'll let you do it if it makes you feel better, but you leave her out of this."

Scott flinches at my suggestions but doesn't make any effort to undo his claims.

It makes my desperation grow, wishing for everything to be as it was, but I knew that was impossible. None of this would ever be the same, and all I could do now was protect whatever I had left.

"She's my best friend, Scott. What would you do if this were Stiles?" I plead for his mercy.

Whatever remorse Scott seemed to have quickly evaporated when I mentioned the Stilinski boy. I had thought that bringing up his best friend for the sake of mine would help, but if anything, it only makes things worse.

Scott's eyes narrow and his lips draw into a thin line.

"This isn't about him," he grits out with a heavy breath. 

He continues to have a sporadic rise and fall of his chest, and soon his breathing grows shallow as he tries to speak further.

"We... we can figure something else out, we..."

Scott's hand goes to his throat out of reflex, and it's only then do I understand what's happening. My mind starts to determine how quickly I could get an inhaler when Theo's voice interrupts my thinking.

"Scott," he calls out from behind me.

I step aside, watching as he tosses an inhaler from his pocket toward Scott. He catches it with ease, and though he's thrown off by Theo having that item, he presses it to his lips anyway, allowing his lungs to function normally once more.

When his uneven breathing settles, he offers me a blank stare.

"We can figure something else out to help Hayden. There's still a chance we can heal her without the bite," he pants out, holding firm in his decision.

I want to argue for Hayden's life but not if it meant pushing him into another asthma attack. I settle for saying nothing more, figuring that was the best decision for all of us, and return to Hayden's side. She's clearly shaken by Scott's refusal and needs as much support as I can offer.

She moves to lie back down, her eyes vacantly watching the ceiling tiles above her. I lay my hand on her shoulder, hating that I can't undo any of this for her.

"I'll call my mom, tell her to come here," Scott adds.

"No offense, Scott, but she's not exactly trained in this kind of healing," Theo replies tentatively.

Scott shrugs as he makes his way toward the waiting room, not wanting to loiter in our company.

"We'll figure something else out if we have to, but I'm making the call," he says dismissively, disappearing into the other room.

I wanted to snap at him, lash out and make him see our point of view, but when I catch sight of Liam, that all vanished. He glares at the spot where Scott had stood, and his body shakes as anger starts to course through him. My arguing with Scott had done more than cause a rift between just him and I.

"Liam," I say sharply, making him look at me.

His eyes instantly come to mine, his expression alert and on edge. It softens when he remembers he's not dealing with Scott, only me.

I separate myself from Hayden, reaching to take his hand in mine.

"Remember what I said," I whisper lowly, begging for him to remain in control.

His face flashes with recognition, thinking back to the other morning on the roof. He nods afterward, and the tension within him thankfully fades.

"Why don't you go get Hayden a blanket? Deaton keeps them in his office," I request, suggesting that so he can have a moment to collect himself.

Liam offers a soft agreement in exchange before parting from me, venturing into the back rooms of the clinic. When he's out of earshot, as much as a werewolf could be, Theo speaks.

"With the supermoon coming, they'll be at each other's necks," he says warningly, referring to the Alpha and Beta in our midst.

I sigh at his words, closing my eyes as I try to swallow all of this down. None of this was helping our situation and only added to the stress we had to endure.

The pain in my head grows with each passing second, and I find myself reaching for the back of my skull again. I press into the skin there, hoping the pressure would soothe the ache, but it only continues to fester like every other nuisance in my life.

"Your head any better?" Theo questions me lightly.

"What do you think?" I snap, opening my eyes to leer at him.

He takes a step back, holding up his hands in mock defense. I wince sheepishly for it, guilty for my untempered reaction to him simply caring.

"I'm sorry," I mutter.

"You're worried about them, you don't have to apologize for that," he replies. I'm grateful that he actually seems to mean it, and isn't only saying that to make me feel like less of a jerk.

"If something happens tomorrow with the full moon, I want you to know I'll do whatever it takes to help," Theo vows.

His words are entirely serious, but despite that, I can't help but let out a bit of laughter. His apparent dedication was too amusing.

"Whatever it takes?" I echo, humored.

Theo flashes me his usual smirk, not at all offended. He brushes off my teasing and approaches the doorway to the waiting room, and by default, Scott.

"You guys stay in here, I'll keep him in there. Distance will probably help."

"And I'll tell him to ask Melissa for some painkillers. I don't think you want to take the same meds as a golden retriever," he jokes playfully.

I chuckle along with him, finding that the pain in my skull dims with our laughter. I'm beyond grateful for it, and for everything Theo's done. He's been there time and time again, and now, he was even willing to give his word to put aside his own urges on a supermoon just to safeguard all that I cared for.

He had given so much for us, yet I couldn't remember if I had ever properly thanked him for any of it. Before he fully steps out of the examination room, I decided now was as good of a time as any to do so.

"Theo," I say gently, the name feeling foreign in my mouth.

He stills in the threshold between rooms, surprised as I am by what I've done.

I had thought saying it would haunt me, remind me of the brutal death my father endured at the hands of a Demon Wolf, but it doesn't. All that hits me now are the wondrous memories I have of him, and the surprising moments of peace I've felt with the boy before me who shares his name. My grief isn't miraculously cured, but for a moment, it's not all that I am in the shadow of what I've loved.

Theo faces me with an unreadable expression, waiting for me to continue.

"Thank you," I tell him. "For everything."

A subtle smirk works its way onto his lips and a glint of joy dances in his gaze. 

"Careful, Jac. Almost sounds like you trust me," he teases.

"Maybe I do," I joke along with him, making his smirk widen into a smile. He wears it freely as he starts to resume his journey to the waiting room. 

"I'll make sure you don't regret it," he promises before walking away.

I watch him with a smile of his own as he goes, grateful that not all of my friendships had been weathered by the storm upon us.

~

||| A/N |||

it's still wednesday my time, BUT THE TEEN WOLF MOVIE IS OUT PEOPLE!!

I'm watching it tomorrow :)

<3