Just Breathe

Chapter 8

Derek dropped her arm out of his mouth, her hand hitting the floor with a thud. Everything went silent, everyone waiting. Everyone turned when Isaac walked in, the doors creaking loudly. He helped Erica up before making their way over, joining the rest of the group. Everyone sat still and held their breath, hoping and praying she would wake up.

They watched as Emma's chest stopped moving, her body going limp. Stiles let out a whimper, his whole body shaking. Tears were now in Derek's eyes as he watched his child hood nightmare play out in front of him again. He watched a teen hold his dying love in his arms. Stiles leaned in and kissed her forehead, a tear dripping down onto her cheek from Stiles' face. "I'm sorry" Stiles whispered, laying her gently down on the floor.

They sat in silence trying to figure out how they were going to go on without Emma. She had only been here for a few months but in the mean time had met her soul mate, made three best friends, and influenced everyone else for the better Scott took Stiles into his arms as Stiles let out a heart wrenching sob, clinging to his friend.

Ten minutes past, no one making the first move as it was too hard to leave her. If they left her, it would be official. She would be gone, forever. Stiles would never get to apologize and make it up to her. They would never have a future. "We should probably go soon" Erica said quietly, everyone nodding slowly. Stiles was going to have to call his dad.

"Wait" Isaac grabbed her arm as she stood to stand up. "Do you hear that?" Isaac asked after a few minutes of silence. Scott, Erica and Derek looked up, their faces morphing in confusion. Derek looked around confused as Scott cocked his head tuning into a level of hearing no human could hear.

"An eighth heart beat" Derek whispered, the room becoming filled with an eerie silence. Everyone looked at each other and than back at Emma.

Emma jerked up, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her eyes were wide open, her eyes a bright, shinning green. Her scream died out, her eyes closing as she fell back to the ground, still. Everyone's hearts stopped in their chest, Derek pressing his fingers to her throat.

"She's alive" he smiled, breathing a laugh. Stiles grinned ear to ear, wiping away the tears. She was alive. Scott breathed a sigh of relief, patting Stiles' back.

"Is no one else going to say it?" Erica asked, interrupting the celebration. "What the fuck was that? No were wolves' eyes are that color. And neither is Lydia's so she's not a banshee" Erica pointed out. "So what the hell is she?" she asked. Everyone went silent, remembering the way her eyes had shone bright green.

" I don't know" Derek admitted quietly. "When she wakes up we'll have to figure it out. Did you guys get the bestiary?" he asked Scott and Allison, Allison smirking as she pulled out her phone

"Yeah, I figured out it was on a flash drive as apposed to in an actual book. I downloaded it onto my phone" Allison explained, everyone nodding, happy that they won one battle. Stiles stared at Emma, running his hand through her hair.

"How long do you think Emma will be out for?" Stiles asked, pulling her back into his arms, as if to protect her.

"At least a day, maybe a few days. Honestly there's no sure way to tell" Derek replied, shrugging. Stiles groaned, closing his eyes.

"My dad's gonna freak out when I take her home" Stiles complained, rubbing his temples as a stress head ache bloomed.

"She can uh stay in my loft" Derek offered, everyone turning to him in shock. "I'm not in school so I can watch over her during the day. You guys can visit her and stuff" Derek explained to the ground. Everyone looked up surprised, a silence falling over them.

"You are volunteering to take care of her?" Scott clarified, clearly confused. Derek shrugged, pressing his lips into a tight line. He had a feeling about this girl. And no matter what she was, she was part of his pack now and to him, that meant a lot.

"Why should we trust you?" Stiles asked, looking down at Emma. He wasn't so sure he wanted to let Emma out of his sight after almost loosing her like that. Derek let out a frustrated sigh, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's part of my pack now and I know how much you care about her. Plus if the Kanima comes around again I'll be able to protect her. She'll be perfectly safe with me" Derek rebutted, dead panning.

"Kanima?" Erica asked, Derek nodding.

"Yeah, that was a kanima. The creature doesn't know what it is explaining how confused it was at the mirror. And for the fear of water, it must come from what's controlling him, or who is. Someone is controlling the kanima and that's really what we need to focus on" Derek explained, everyone nodding in agreement. Stiles studied Emma, his heart still racing. He lifted her blood stained shirt to check the wounds, a gasp escaping him.

"Derek look" Stiles whispered, Derek leaning over to check them. Emma's wounds were completely healed, as if she was never hurt. Everyone went quiet again, their heads spinning in confusion. Derek rubbed his head, suddenly exhausted.

"Lets just get her home and rested" Derek sighed, getting to his feet. Derek walked over, bending to take her from Stiles. Stiles went to object but decided that Derek was stronger, so he watched as Derek lifted her from his arms, into his own.

Stiles, Scott, Lydia, and Allison followed Derek to the loft, justing wanting to confirm that she was okay. When they got there Derek put Emma on the bed, going to the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands. Lydia and Allison collapsed on the couch, utterly exhausted, not to mention Lydia's confusion to the fact that she was now a banshee.

Stiles sat down on the bed next to Emma, brushing the hair out of Emma's face. He pulled the comforter over Emma, tucking her in. Emma lay peacefully in a deep sleep, even snoring softly. Derek and Scott watched over them, Scott smiling up at Derek. "You really saved him today" Scott muttered to Derek. Derek chuckled, shaking his head.

"Are you kidding? That kid kept me afloat for almost two hours. And then Emma saved both of us from drowning" Derek explained to Scott what had really happened.

"No, I mean you really saved Stiles. If he lost one more person he loved, I don't know if he would never be able to live through it" Scott explained, looking over at Stiles who was sitting next to Emma pressing a hand to her forehead. Derek nodded, not sure what to say to that. A comfortable silence fell over them as they relaxed.

"Well I think we are going to get going if she is going to be okay" Allison announced as her and Lydia stood up, her eyes glancing over to the clock as it was getting pretty late. Stiles nodded at them, offering a small smile.

"I should get going to" Scott yawned. "Got lacrosse practice tomorrow" he smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow Stiles" Scott shut the door behind him as he left the loft, leaving the three of them in silence.

"So how much longer are you going to be staying?" Derek asked quietly, Stiles staying still as he watched Emma carefully.

"Thank you" Stiles whispered, Derek jumping at the serious tone of his voice. It was one that he rarely heard.

"It was nothing" Derek shrugged, embarrassed for being thanked. For doing something right. He wasn't used to being the good guy.

"You saved her" Stiles paused. "And me" he added softly. Derek made a serious face and nodded, not sure what else to say without sounding like an idiot. Stiles checked his watch with a sigh as it was almost one in the morning. " I guess I'll um get going" Stiles shifted awkwardly, getting to his feet. Derek put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Hey, she's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to her. Promise" Derek smiled. Stiles nodded, a small yawn escaping. "I'll text you if anything happens. Just come over after school okay?" Stiles nodded not in the mood for words. He leaned down and kissed Emma's forehead before walking past Derek and giving him a half hearted smile. Stiles walked to the door of the loft, turning and taking one last look at Emma before closing the door behind him.

Derek sighed as he walked over to the bed, sitting down softly next to her. "What are we going to do with you?" Derek asked, completely and utterly exhausted.