Don't Give Up on Me

16

"Does anyone wanna try not being completely predictable?" Derek asked as his betas kept using the same fighting tactics.

As he sat and watched his betas train, Erica sat on his lap and kissed him.

Derek pushed her off and said, "That's the last time you do that."

"Why?" she retorted with a smirk. "Because I'm a beta?"

"No, because I have someone else in mind for you. And I already have a mate."

Erica rolled her eyes and glared at Nora who had come by to see what Derek was doing. Nora frowned at Erica, noticing her son's face contort into a wail and went to tend to him.

"Are we done?" Isaac asked impatiently. "I got about a hundred bones that need a few hours to heal."

"Come here," Derek ordered, breaking another bone. "A hundred and one. You think I'm teaching you how to fight? Huh? Look at me! I'm teaching you how to survive!"

Ania walked in with a frown. "Don't make me arrest you, Hale."

"I need to prove-"

"Derek! They are children! I don't care if they're supernatural beings."

He sighed and nodded. "You're right. Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Taking a personal day. Told Dad, he understands."

"If they wanted us dead, why aren't they coming for us now?" Isaac asked.

Derek shook his head. "I don't know. But they're planning something. And you, especially, know that's not our only problem. Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, I think it killed someone else last night. Until you find out what it is, you all need to learn everything that I know. As fast as I can teach you."

Isaac pointed at Ania. "How come you don't have to teach her how to fight?"

"Because she can already fight in her own way and I'll do my best to keep her safe no matter what."

Erica and Isaac soon left and Derek followed Ania to the other side of the room. He sat next to her as she brought her legs to her chest and laid her head on her knees.

"You okay?" Derek asked.

Ania nodded. "Yeah, just dying over here."

"Anything I can do?"

"Afraid not. Just one of those things I got to deal with."

He nodded. "Okay. I've got to go, but call for anything. And I do mean anything."

"Sure. Be good, Derek."

He gave her a small smile and nodded again.

---

Later that night, during the lacrosse game, Derek made his way to the school. He met up with Stiles in the pool.

"Stiles," Derek acknowledged.

"Derek," he replied in the same tone.

"What did you see at the mechanics garage?"

"Uh, several alarming EPA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting. Holy God!"

Derek shifted and growled at him. "Let's try that again."

Stiles sighed. "All right, the thing was pretty sick looking. Um, skin was dark. Kind of patterned. Uh, I think I actually saw scales. Is that enough? Okay, because I've somebody I really need to talk to -- hrr." Erica and Derek threatened him. "All right, fine, eyes. Eyes are, um, yellowish. And slitted. Um, has a lot of teeth. Oh. And it's got a tail, too. Are we good? What? Wait, have you see it? You have this look on your faces like you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Stiles was right. He did know exactly what he was talking about. The creature was right above him.

"Run!" Derek cried.

"Derek, your neck!" Stiles warned as Derek suddenly lost all feeling. "Hey, come on. Where is it? Can you see it?"

"I can smell it. Please hurry. Call Scott! Stiles, ah-"

"Where did it go? Do you see it?"

"No," Derek hissed.

"Okay, maybe it took off."

"Maybe not."

Stiles managed to get the werewolf in the water.

"You get us out of here before we drown," Derek said in an irritated tone.

"You're worried about drowning?" Stiles shot back. "Did you notice the thing out there with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth?"

"Did you notice I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water?"

Stiles looked around the pool area. "Okay. I don't see it."

"Wait, wait, wait, stop, stop," he said, noticing something.

"What's it waiting for?" The creature dipped its toe in the water and jerked it back. "Wait, did you see that? I don't think it can swim."

After a moment, Stiles said, "Okay. Okay, I don't think I can do this much longer."

Derek realized he was slipping and said, "No, no, no. Don't even think about it."

"Would you just trust me this once?"

"No."

"I'm the one keeping you alive, okay, have you noticed that?"

"Yeah. And when the paralysis wears off, who is gonna be able to fight that thing, you or us? You don't trust me, I don't trust you. You need me to survive, which is why you are not letting me go." He let me go and Derek cried, "Stiles!"

Stiles picked up the phone. "Scott!"

"Tell me you got him."

"I can't stay up any longer. I need something to hold onto."

He let Derek fall into the water.

Derek's eyes closed as he sunk to the bottom of the pool. A short while later, he was pulled up. The paralysis had worn off. Derek noticed Scott had arrived.

"How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is?" Scott asked.

"It's called a kanima," Derek replied.

"You knew the whole time," Stiles said angrily.

Derek shook his head. "No. Only when it was confused by its own reflection."

"It doesn't know what it is," Scott noted. "Or who."

"What else do you know?" Stiles asked.

"Just stories, rumors," Derek answered.

"But it's like us?" Scott wondered.

He nodded. "A shapeshifter, yes, but it's, it's not right. It's like a-"

"An abomination," Stiles interrupted.

"Derek?" Scott called. "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents."

"You trust them?" Derek questioned suspiciously.

"Nobody trusts anyone!" Scott yelled. "That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger, and faster than any of us, and it's killing people and we still don't even know anything about it."

As he walked away, Derek said, "I know one thing. When I find it, I'm gonna kill it."