by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Characters: Issac Lahey, Allison Argent, Scott McCall, Melissa McCall
Words: 3,296
Tags: AU, Episode 5x10, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Warnings: Blood & Injuries, Canon Temporary Character Death
Author's Notes:
~ Originally posted to AO3 and SquidgeWorld on 2025/02/12.
~ Written for the Scottuary Bingo event on tumblr for the prompt "Canon Divergence". Title is from the song "Love From The Other Side" by Fall Out Boy.
~ Basically, in this version of events, Allison didn't die and Isaac didn't leave for France. Technically my second 5x10/5x11 fic for this event, but writing that first one made me realize how badly I wanted Scott to get some comfort in the aftermath of the library fight. So Isaac and Allison to the rescue.
The library was mostly dark when they burst through the doors. The pale light of the supermoon streamed through the massive window, creating stark shadows and reflecting off the tabletops.
Isaac’s eyes were immediately drawn to the figures at the base of the steps. There were no shadows there, the moonlight throwing the scene into horrifying detail.
He saw Mason look up, gaze lost and hands shaking. There was a shattered look in the younger teen’s eyes as he glanced between their group and the figure stretched out beside him. Blood shimmered on his hands, dark and glistening in the moonlight.
No, absolutely not. No, no, no.
This couldn’t really be happening.
From somewhere beside him, Melissa let out a broken sob and ran to Scott’s other side. She was shouting his name and there was no response. No flicker of movement.
This couldn’t be real.
He was on his knees beside Scott’s bod- beside Scott without realizing he’d even moved. He must have pushed Mason out of the way, but he didn’t remember doing it. Mason didn’t seem to mind. He sensed more than saw Allison drop down next to him.
“One, two, three, four, five…”
Melissa breathed for her son. His chest moved and then stilled. Isaac couldn’t wrap his mind around any of it.
“What are you doing?” Mason asked helplessly.
“One, two, three, four, five…”
Isaac’s eyes didn’t leave Scott’s chest. Didn’t stop tracking the way it rose with each breath Melissa forced into it before falling still again. When he blinked, his vision was filled with the horrible gash marks.
“What are you doing?” Mason asked again.
“Bringing him back.”
It was so matter of fact. So simple. He wanted to believe she could do it — wanted to believe she could fix this the same way she sat with them in the kitchen after a bad day and listened to their problems until it didn’t hurt as much.
He could taste the anger on the air, the leftover emotions from the fight he’d been too late to stop. It was both mocking and accusatory at once. Why wasn’t I here?
Mason was shaking his head, his hands trembling as bad as his voice. “But his- his heart… He hasn’t had a pulse in over fifteen minutes.”
This couldn’t really be happening. Isaac remembered Scott tossing him a bagel on his way out the door this morning, reminding him to eat breakfast because he still sometimes forgot that there was no punishment for taking extra food in the McCall household. How had they gone from a bagel to this in only fifteen hours?
“You can’t bring someone back that’s—”
Melissa didn’t pause as she responded, voice firm if not steady, “He’s not someone. He’s my son. And he’s an alpha.”
My alpha, Isaac acknowledged silently, something deep inside snapping in two. The strong tether that had formed between them even before Scott was officially his alpha was silent. He couldn’t feel that spark of power that always burned so big and bright at the other end.
“He’s too strong to die like this,” Melissa said. She sounded so sure of it. The terror in her eyes and on her scent contradicted the certainty of her words.
Isaac shifted closer, reaching out to lay a hand on Scott’s arm. It was still warm to the touch. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend they were anywhere else and that Scott was staring back at him with that look of his that just radiated sunshine and safety and home — instead of lying broken on the library floor.
He remembered Scott’s scent as being a pleasant mix of his shampoo, his favorite jacket, the oil from his dirt bike, and that mysterious woody scent that Isaac was pretty sure non-werewolves couldn’t smell. He wasn’t able to detect any of that now. Blood filled his nose and flooded his senses.
“What happened?” someone managed to ask. Allison, he was pretty sure.
Mason’s voice was choked, like he’d forgotten how to breathe. “Theo.”
A growl built in Isaac’s throat, rumbling through the grief-soaked air around them. He could feel his claws and fangs emerging and didn’t try to hold them back.
Pain keeps us human. Strange then, that he barely felt human now.
A hand came to rest over his, squeezing gently. He laced their fingers together automatically, squeezing back, but didn’t try to get his shift under control. He needed his anger. It was the only thing keeping him functioning.
Finally tearing his eyes away from Scott’s unmoving chest, he looked at Allison, meeting her gaze evenly. “I’m going to kill him,” he snarled.
Scott wouldn’t approve, he knew. But then, Scott wouldn’t be here to stop him, either.
Allison nodded, tears dropping steadily down her face. There was no judgement in her eyes. “We’ll deal with everything else later,” she promised. “We’re not leaving Scott.”
Her voice cracked on his name, and Isaac was pretty sure his heart did the same.
But she was right. He couldn’t leave now. They couldn’t abandon Scott. It was bad enough that he’d died almost completely alone, the least they could do was be here now. He never would have abandoned any of them.
“Come on,” Melissa begged, the words strained now that the continued CPR was sapping her strength.
Isaac wished he knew how to do it so he could take over for a little while — so he could take a little of that burden out of her hands.
“Open your eyes and look at me, okay? Come on. Breathe, baby. Breathe.”
His throat closed and his shoulders shook as his own tears finally broke free. The anger had kept him from shutting down, but something new and worse was starting to claw its way to the surface. It made him want to hurt everyone at once. It hollowed out his chest and looked a lot like that freezer in the basement.
“Melissa,” Mason said, and Isaac wanted to make him stop because he knew exactly what he was going to say. And Mason probably wasn’t wrong, but saying it made it real. “Melissa, it’s—”
“Shut up!” she snapped at him. “He’s too strong to die like this.” Her tone shifted back to a softer plea as she started the next set of compressions. “Come on. You can do this. You’re an alpha.”
Come on, Scott. You can’t leave us. You’re our alpha.
“Come on, Scott. Roar. Come on.”
Please, Scott.
“Come on!”
Every part of the building around them shook with the familiar roar. Isaac’s gold eyes flashed in response. The air itself seemed to crackle with electricity as that spark of alpha power was reignited. Isaac latched onto their bond — that bright tether that was finally awake again — and held on tight. He knew alphas drew their power from their betas, and he hoped Scott could use that now to pull his way back to life.
The last echoes of his roar faded and the previously deceased alpha collapsed back against the floorboards. Melissa pressed her ear to his chest, listening as Scott’s heart and lungs took back over from her. She sat back with a watery smile.
Her smile seemed to give them all permission to accept what they were afraid to hope for. Mason tipped his head back and let out a sharp laugh that was too rough around the edges. Allison deflated against Isaac’s side, a stuttered breath passing as she tried to gather herself. For his part, Isaac kept his eyes firmly locked on the chest that was now moving on its own.
The drive home was unbearable. The combined chemosignals were equal parts grief and stunned relief. Allison and Isaac were in the back with Scott carefully sandwiched between them. The air was heavy with the smell of death and it made Isaac want to crawl out the window.
Thankfully, it wasn’t far to the McCall house. Scott was half unconscious when they arrived, so Isaac helped him up the stairs to his room.
He was determined never to let Scott out of his sight again. But Allison was watching Melissa, and she must have seen something in the woman’s eyes, because she gently tugged him away from the bed and out of the room.
They ended up going down the hall to Isaac’s room to change out of their bloody clothes.
All of his clothes were way too big for Allison, but she found one of Scott’s hoodies in the closet and pulled that on. Isaac stared at the shirt in his hand — at the bloodstains coating it. He wanted to burn it, but knew they couldn’t afford to waste things. The idea of ever wearing it again made him want to throw up. Reluctantly, he set it on top of the clothes hamper to be dealt with later.
A faint choking sound drew his attention away from the bloodstains. Allison was staring out the window, her shoulders shaking.
He came up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Hey.” His voice broke on the single syllable and whatever he’d been trying to say was lost. It didn’t matter, since he had no idea what he could say that would make any of this better.
She turned around to face him. Tears glittered in the light from the bedside lamp. “I’m sorry,” she gasped out, trying to brush them away.
No matter how many times Scott had reassured her that crying was not something she ever had to apologize for, she’d still been raised by a family of hunters. Some lessons were harder to unlearn than others. Isaac knew that too well.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. “Then I guess I’m sorry, too,” he joked half-heartedly as his own tears began to fall again. He was surprised he had any left.
The warmth of her against him, the solidness and realness of her presence, helped to hold off the rising panic he’d been feeling since they left Scott’s room. Isaac closed his eyes and focused on listening to Scott’s heartbeat across the hall. It wasn’t as solid a sound as it usually was, but it was steady.
“He died,” Allison choked out. “He was almost just… gone.”
There wasn’t anything he could say to that. The idea of it terrified him. They’d arrived at the library too late to do anything. If Melissa hadn’t been able to revive Scott…
“I can’t stop thinking about the last time I saw him today,” Allison said. “I don’t even remember what I said to him. And it could have been the last chance I had to say anything to him.”
He tried to think back and realized he couldn’t remember his own last conversation with Scott. He was sure it hadn’t been anything special, probably discussing the situation with the Dread Doctors. There’d been a few text exchanges throughout the day as well. He remembered Scott teasing him over something and Isaac had responded with a joking ‘I hate you’. He didn’t dare look at his phone in fear that that was the last text sent.
The faint murmur of conversation from Scott’s room died out. It was a good thing, too, because Isaac suddenly needed to be near him again, and the guilt of interrupting wasn’t strong enough to make him wait any longer.
Scott was a lot more coherent when they returned. He was halfway sitting up in bed, collapsed back against the headboard. Melissa was sitting at the edge of the bed and the taste of salt in the air told Isaac that they’d been crying. That knowledge did nothing to ease the urge to hunt down Theo.
“I have to call the hospital,” Melissa said. “My shift is supposed to start in a half hour and I don’t even know who I’ll get to cover it this last minute—”
“Mom, it’s okay,” Scott told her. “I’ll be fine.”
Which was a ridiculous statement, given the fact that he’d been dead less than an hour ago. Isaac didn’t say anything, because he knew any comment he made would only upset Scott and make himself feel worse.
Allison spoke up instead. “We’ll be here, Mrs McCall. I can text if… anything comes up.”
Melissa still looked torn, but eventually agreed. Isaac knew she wouldn’t even be considering it if not for their tight finances. A missed work shift meant another bill unpaid. Even with his and Scott’s after school jobs, money seemed to be a permanent problem for them.
After she left, Allison wiped the drying tear tracks from her face and took charge of the situation. “Alright, we need to get you cleaned up. Do you think you’ll be okay standing up for a few minutes?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Scott told her. “I’m fi—”
“Scott, please don’t say you’re fine,” Isaac begged softly. The panic was starting to build in his chest again. Scott must have sensed it because he looked genuinely apologetic, which really wasn’t much better. “Just… please let us help you?”
He needed this. Maybe it was selfish, but he wasn’t there when Scott had been attacked and murdered, so he needed to do something to ease the guilt. And if Scott was allowed to be selfish about not acknowledging what happened, then Isaac probably deserved to be a little selfish, too.
Scott was able to pull himself to his feet with a little assistance. Isaac dragged one of Scott’s arms across his shoulders and Allison pressed up against his other side to provide additional support. It was a little awkward getting through the narrow bathroom door, but they managed it. Isaac eased him down to sit on the edge of the tub while Allison retrieved the first aid kit.
“It’s okay, I’ll heal,” Scott said.
Allison opened the kit anyway. “And until you do, we can still clean the cuts.”
Unlike Isaac’s shirt, Scott’s was beyond salvaging. They cut it off of him and stuffed it into a plastic bag to dispose of later. Scott looked more devastated by the waste of clothing than he did over dying. Isaac kind of understood that, but it still made him want to hit someone. Preferably Theo.
With the shirt gone, the situation went from concerning to terrifying pretty fast. A massive gaping wound in his chest was still actively bleeding, which shouldn’t be the case with werewolf healing. About a million other cuts and bruises littered his skin, some beginning to heal and others definitely not. The stench of blood and death clung to every part of Scott. Isaac was pretty sure he was going to go crazy if they didn’t get it off him right now.
Allison took a shaky breath as she wet a washcloth and began carefully cleaning around the cuts. Isaac sat down on the tub beside Scott and grabbed his hand, drawing off some of the pain. Even seeing the injuries, he hadn’t expected the pain to be so much. He struggled to resist taking more than he could handle — though only because he knew Scott would never forgive himself if Isaac was hurt trying to help him.
While they worked, they managed to coax the full story out of him. Everything about Theo’s betrayal, the fight with Stiles, Hayden’s death, Liam ambushing him at the library. Isaac wanted to be angry at Liam and Stiles, but it seemed Theo had managed to get the best of all of them. He’d manipulated everyone perfectly.
“I’m sorry,” Scott whispered as Allison taped a massive piece of gauze over the shredded flesh on his chest.
“Don’t apologize,” Isaac snapped, maybe a little harsher than was warranted. Putting effort into softening his tone, he tried again, “You don’t have to apologize for any of this.”
“I should’ve— This shouldn’t have happened.”
“You’re right, it shouldn’t. We all should have been there with you. If we hadn’t all been so caught up in our own stuff the last few weeks, if we’d been a real pack when you needed it, you wouldn’t have needed to trust Theo at all.”
“This isn’t on you,” Scott said. “I’m the one who chose to trust Theo.”
“We all did. If you aren’t going to be mad at us, it’d be kind of hypocritical for us to blame you for any of this. So, I guess we can’t hate you unless you also agree to hate us.”
An exhausted smile broke across Scott’s face and he exhaled a noise that might have been close to a laugh.
Allison shot Isaac a grateful smile as she finished cleaning the last of his cuts. Grabbing another washcloth, she began gently scrubbing away the blood from the rest of his skin. Pink-tinged water dripped down into the tub. Isaac focused on Allison’s hands so he wouldn’t see it.
Scott relaxed further and further into Isaac’s grip as the blood slowly disappeared. His head dropped against Isaac’s shoulder with a tired sigh.
A flash of hurt shot through Isaac as he wondered how long it had been since Scott felt safe and cared for enough to relax like this. They’d all been so busy and disjointed the last few months. Had any of them even thought to check in on him? He remembered so many recent moments of Scott trying to make sure they were all okay, despite the distance that had been growing between them all. Had any of them done the same for him?
Allison wet her hands and ran her fingers through Scott's hair, carefully cleaning out the blood that had matted up there. Once she was done, she rinsed out the tub and washcloths. The coppery odor in the air was much fainter, and Isaac finally felt like he could breathe again. Scott smelled a lot more like himself now, though the wound in his chest still stank of rot.
They worked together to bandage up the cuts that hadn’t healed over yet.
“You don’t have to,” Scott murmured, eyes half-lidded. “They’ll heal.”
“Just until they do,” Allison whispered back.
They were done in no time. He still looked exhausted and barely alive, but he was clean now and the injuries were safely hidden away. They helped him into a zip up hoodie that was soft enough to hopefully not irritate his wounds.
Allison closed up the first aid kit. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you settled.”
Scott was barely able to keep his eyes open by the time they made it back to his bed. His body was putting all of its energy reserves into healing.
They got him settled into the bed before he started to drift off. Isaac lay down beside him, pulling Scott half onto him and wrapping his arms around him. He hated how much colder Scott felt compared to normal and hoped the shared body heat would help warm him up. And maybe there was also still an edge of panic squeezing his insides and being able to touch Scott helped ease it a little.
He must not be the only one feeling that way. Allison kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed on the other side. She tucked herself in against Scott’s side, careful not to press on any of his injuries, and pulled up the blanket to cover the three of them. She reached across under the covers to grab onto Isaac’s hand — whether to offer comfort or seek it out, he wasn’t sure. Probably both.
“You don’t need to stay,” Scott mumbled tiredly, eyes already closed.
“Yes, we do,” Allison told him simply. She pressed a kiss against his jaw. “Just rest and focus on healing.”
“We’ll be here when you wake up,” Isaac said. “Promise.”
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