"That seemed way too easy," Stiles said as he watched Zalac and Dala leave, "and why didn't you just break the chains?"

"I, um, I thought that it wouldn't really matter. No one really cares anyway, I'm alone. I realised that after they brought me outside; there was no point in fighting back." Scott looked down, "And I'm an omega, I'm too weak."

"What about Kira?"

"When she left, she also left my Pack, and, well, me. And since I'm no longer an alpha, I can't make a new Pack."

"And your mom?" Stiles raised an eyebrow, challenging.

"I, urm. I didn't really think about her. I was a dick to her, too, so I just thought..."

"Huh, well, you're an idiot." Stiles cuffed Scott over the back of the head, "just because you think no one cares doesn't mean you should just let people kidnap you."

"I don't think that's the only reason I'm an idiot." Scott rubbed at the back of his head, still refusing to look Stiles or Derek in the eye.

"Well, no shit. What made you finally realise that?" Stiles asked.

When Scott glanced up, still not fully meeting their gaze, Derek growled low in his throat and flashed his eyes red. Stiles didn't stop him, just took his hand in his own. He could feel Scott's eyes fall to their hands but ignored it in favour of prompting him to talk.

"I had been thinking about it for a little while but after Kira left... Well I had a lot of free time to think and her leaving made me sort of understand that I was alone in what I had done and, well, I know just saying sorry isn't enough but I want to try to fix things. No matter how long it takes." He sat down on a fallen tree by the lake and finally looked up at Stiles and Derek. "I lost my alpha power completely after Kira left, too. I had felt it dwindling but I chose to ignore it, I thought that I was just adjusting to having such a small Pack."

"You're right, a 'sorry' won't be enough. But I came here to give you a second chance, not because you deserve one but because that's what we do. And because I don't think I could rest knowing that you threw away years of friendship just like that; with no remorse." Stiles said.

"Stiles, I know this doesn't make what I did better, but part of the reason I did it was because I was scared. I was scared of losing Isaac and I was angry that you weren't human any more. That, and the fact that you didn't tell me."

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid of losing you. You and The Pack. None of them reacted like this, Derek walked in on me drinking blood and he still stayed. Liam was your beta and he stayed." After a little persuasion, Stiles thought but didn't say. "Jackson doesn't even really like me and he stayed. They stayed and they helped me become human again because that is what real friends do: stick by you and help you when they can. They do not run when you need them the most." Stiles took a deep breath, allowed Derek to wrap an arm around his waist and let the slow rise and fall of his chest calm him.

Scott let his head fall into his hands, hid his tears and choked on a sob before he finally managed to speak again, "I know. I fucked up and I don't know how or if I can fix it, but I want to go home. I want to see my mom and I want to talk to Isaac and The Pack. I want to try to make up for everything even if that takes years." He hiccuped, pushed his hair out of his face and looked up at them. He looked so innocent, so broken and hurt by what he had done, his eyes puffy, red-rimmed and imploring, lip trembling, hands shaking even where they clung to his sides, arms wrapped around himself.

Scott looked lost in himself, so truly regretful and pained by the way he had acted it almost didn't seem right. Like an act. There was no way that in the short amount of time that had passed since they last saw each other Scott had changed his perspective on what he had done, right? "Scott, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that what you did was a mistake, tell me that you're sorry and mean it." He gave Derek a significant look and got a nod in response.

Scott stood up and walked closer, stopped in front of Stiles and looked him directly in the eyes, gaze not wavering for a moment, "I am sorry. I am so sorry, I want to fix everything. I want to make up for all of my mistakes, will you let me try?"

Stiles looked over at Derek to see if what Scott had said was a lie. It wasn't. Scott had told the truth. He wanted to fix things, too. "Yes, I will, but I want to make sure you are clear on a few things first: you are not to approach Isaac, you will wait for him to talk to you, you will not get in the way of him and Danny, you will, if you meant what you said, work to be forgiven – me taking you back home is by no means an acceptance of your apology – and you will talk to your mom, apologise to her as soon as we get back. This is your chance to fix things, do not waste it. Do you understand?"

"I do, and I will do all of that. Thank you, for everything."

Stiles nodded, turned and the three of them walked out of the forest and back to Scott's house. This was not over, by any means, but it was a start.

*****

On the way back home, Stiles asked, "What did you mean when you said that you were 'angry because I'm not human anymore'? Because I thought you were angry because I killed a girl despite it not being my fault. You called me a murderer, a monster." He tried, and failed, to suppress a shiver at the thought. Derek's hand came to rest just above his knee, thumb rubbing slow circles to help keep him calm.

"I did. I did and I was wrong. So wrong, Stiles, you've done so much for The Pack, and you stuck by me through so much. The last time you weren't human, it scared me." Scott's eyes met his in the rearview mirror then flicked away.

"You said 'angry' not 'scared'."

"Yeah, I was angry that you, of all people, would become something that had even less control over themselves than werewolves do. You had been through so much already, you didn't deserve that too. You already held so much guilt, and I hadn't helped you with any of that, and now you held this, too. It wasn't fair, I got angry, I took it out on you." Hearing that, thinking about everything that Scott had said, everything that he had done, the fact that he'd had a chance to fix it before and had turned it down, Stiles wasn't sure if it all fit together.

"And Isaac?"

"I don't have an answer for that. Not really. I was scared of losing him like I did Allison. I still love him, I think I do, maybe I always will, but I won't try to get him back because I don't deserve him. I don't deserve anyone."

Derek snorted, rolled his eyes, "And what about when Lydia called you?"

"I was still angry, I thought it was at Stiles but I was wrong, again." He sighed, "God, I've been wrong so much. I don't even know why you bothered to come pick me up, do you still need me for the ritual thing?"

"No, I'm human now." Stiles replied, "And I've already told you, you're getting a second chance because it just didn't make sense; the way you acted was wrong, out of place... At least it seemed like that. But thinking about it now, maybe I was wrong." Scott had brushed him off often, ignored his advice, chosen Theo over him, among other, smaller, things. But he'd also kept Stiles alive during his possession and, despite the torment it brought him, especially on bad days, he was grateful that Scott had found another way. But that didn't make up for everything Scott had done, that would take time... a lot of time.

"Maybe you were." Scott agreed.

*****

They talked a lot on the way home. They talked until Derek fell asleep in the passenger seat and Scott began to run out of ways to say "I'm so sorry". Stiles dropped him off outside his home, waited until he had taken his things from the trunk, and then drove off.

Derek yawned, looked around before asking, "We home?" A slight flutter ran through Stiles' chest when he realised that Derek had referred to the Stilinski house as his home. He smiled, nodded and got out of the car. "Good." Derek joined him, they both headed inside. "Did you and Scott finish talking?" Derek's voice was still sleep rough and weary, it was endearing and had Stiles planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"Yeah, I'm still pissed at him but I feel... I don't know, different, I guess, after bringing him home. It feels like the right thing to do, and I think he and Melissa have a lot to talk about, too."

Derek nodded, stretched and reached for Stiles' hand, "We need dinner, should we just order today, or is your dad coming home soon?"

Stiles checked his phone, "He'll be back in twenty minutes but I think we could all do with a treat, let's order take out."

=====

Noah was glad that Stiles was talking to Scott, in a way. But in many other ways, he was not. Scott was an ass, a complete and utter ass and Noah was okay with admitting that even if the guy was barely eighteen. He had hurt Stiles, Noah's son, he had a right to be mad at him, no matter his age.

But Scott was learning and, if he took Stiles up on his overly generous offer to allow him to make it up to The Pack, then he was heading in the right direction. Everyone made mistakes, especially when they were only just an adult. Granted they didn't usually involve ruining a near life-long friendship because their friend had become a vampire, or cheating on an already vulnerable kid with major trust issues. But then again not everyone became a werewolf at sixteen and had to deal with the repercussions of that either. Scott had had to deal with a lot a kid his age shouldn't have to deal with and so had most, if not all, of The Pack, so Noah understood that he would not be perfect or anywhere near that.

Still, nothing excused what he did. That much he was sure of. That and the fact that he would protect Stiles with everything he had, so if Scott made one wrong move, he would be out of town faster than Stiles could even think up a plan to stop it from happening. Because he had raised a good kid – one that would most likely give Scott another chance for Melissa's sake – not that he could take all the credit. Stiles was the kind of good, the kind of strong, that came from deep-rooted understanding, from a painful past that ran longer than just the past few years.

Noah had regrets, too. From after Claudia had died, how he had handled it, how he had left Stiles to raise himself for months. Stiles had forgiven him quickly and he'd vowed to never let himself do that to his son again. But Stiles had grown so much in those months, taught himself to take care of everything that Noah had been incapable of – too grief-stricken to think straight – and to deal with his emotions in ways Noah was yet to understand. He wished with every part of himself, that he could go back and fix that, but he couldn't, so instead he pressed forward. Made sure that he supported Stiles no matter what, so long as it was safe. So long as Stiles was safe.

So, if he wanted to bring Scott back, Noah was all for it. Until Scott messed up, until he gave Noah a reason to kick him out again, he would help Stiles bring back the old Scott, the good Scott.

And he would thank any and every supernatural force out there for Derek. Derek Hale, his kid's boyfriend and the guy that was there for Stiles when he couldn't be, the guy that looked at Stiles like he was the most valuable being on this planet, exactly how he deserved to be treated. He trusted Derek to look after Stiles, and knew that it went both ways for them. That Stiles was as good for Derek as Derek was for Stiles. He was glad that he had the privilege of seeing his kid, his boy, become the man he had always been while still helping those he loved. Because Stiles would never give up on his loved ones.

And that was the kid he raised, that was the son of Claudia Stilinski. He knew, for a fact, that she would be proud of him and everything he stood for.