Stand Your Ground

Chapter 23: It's Christmas Time

Chapter 23: It's Christmas Time

Everyone watched as the three skinwalkers talked all the while with Kira looking almost apologetically at Scott. Kira hadn't known what had gone on since she had left them to continue training with the skinwalkers. Scott motioned for her to follow him as Elizabeth walked back to Derek and wrapped her arms around him and then around Theo and Liam.

"I get that you made a deal with them, but no one ever thought that my aunt would be the one to help Theo out," Scott said as he hugged her, turning his face away as she moved to kiss him. "It's been two years Kira...Things are different now,"

"Scott, how has he changed tell me that?" Kira sighed, she wanted to kiss him but the fact that he turned his face from hers and was looking towards Malia made her realise something. "It's Malia isn't it?"

"I'm sorry," Scott offered her a smile, before he went on to explain how things were different with Theo. "Ace adopted Theo, it was made official last year before that she was his legal guardian. It all happened after Liam brought him back,"

"Okay, and what's the go with Liam and Theo?" Kira questioned, she had noticed that Liam hadn't let go of the older boys hand since she had arrived. "And Ace and Derek?"

"Ace and Derek got married like two weeks ago, and Theo and Liam are together," Scott answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look Theo's changed – he hasn't tried to kill anyone, he and Liam protected my mom and Ace trust's him and he trusts her," Scott rambled pausing to catch his breath again before he continued. "He helped us with the Ghost Riders and the Wild Hunt, he's genuinely trying to change," Kira looked behind them to where she noticed that Elizabeth was still standing with her arms around both Derek and Theo. "Ace will hurt anyone who hurts him,"

"Liam, what did I tell you last week?" Elizabeth questioned, as she pulled Liam's hand towards her and pried his fingers away from his palm.

"How did you?" Liam questioned, looking at Elizabeth before sheepishly looking away from her and from Theo. "That you weren't letting anyone take him,"

"Relax," Elizabeth smiled at him and then shot a little spark into his palm as it bled. "Theo, why don't you two get back in the car,"

"Did you get anything out of them?" Argent questioned as the rest of the group joined Derek and Elizabeth.

"Do you mean before or after I stripped them of their powers?" Elizabeth motioned towards the three skinwalkers who were desperately trying to disappear again. "They think that he hasn't changed but we know that he has...They don't get their powers back until they call off the dream demons – they didn't say why they sent them after Corey as well,"

"I have a theory about that," Mason said as he wrapped an arm around Corey and pulled him close. "What if they sent them after a chimera but didn't give more details they wouldn't have known that we had two chimera's,"

When the skinwalkers had finished talking between themselves Elizabeth and Scott took Mason with them and allowed him to do the talking to let him tell them the mistake he believed that they made. Mason made his case and when the skinwalkers heard what he had to say they realised that by sending a dream demon after a chimera they had made a mistake. Scott admonished them for doing it saying that creatures as old as they should have known better. Elizabeth undid the spell on the condition that they call off the dream demons and stop going after them. The skinwalkers called off the dream demons but told them there would be residual effects but neglected to say how long for.

A few days later and Theo and Corey had, had more nightmares – Theo deciding that Liam shouldn't stay while he was having them because he didn't know what he would do. Liam didn't care, he just wanted to protect him. Corey and Mason camped out in the living room of Elizabeth's apartment, as Corey's nightmares had him disappearing in his sleep and not being able to snap out of it.