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Peter knew the pack was attempting to save someone's life, but someone else's life had been in jeopardy who he cared about a lot more than some random teacher. He'd been hanging out in the corner of Cora's room, watching her and Derek, waiting for her to wake up. When he noted Derek's eyes drooping, he said he was going to get them coffee and would be right back.

Moving through the halls, he avoided the nurses's station, not wanting a run in with Melissa McCall. He did the same on the way back and was almost back to the room when he heard a scream that ricocheted through him, plucking hard at his eardrums, though not close enough to drop him to the ground.

He did drop the coffee, though, because he knew that scream. He'd heard it in his dreams, elicited it from her more than once last year.

Lydia.

Ignoring the splash of the hot coffee on the floor and not bothering to return to Derek and Cora, Peter took off at a run. He heard his name distantly shouted, but he didn't stop for it. He didn't stop for anything.

When he hit the school, he closed his eyes and felt for her, feeling the edges of her mind, seeing what she saw. He'd gone to school here; he knew it well, and the images he got from her helped him pinpoint her location. Students, parents and teachers were spilling out of the auditorium doors, though, screaming in a way that made him grateful he even could feel her--that she was still alive.

The crowd made going in problematic, so he went around, twisting toward the hall of classrooms where she was. Scanning rooms as he went by, he caught sight of something that about made his heart stop: Lydia, tied to a chair, a garrotte around her neck, and some woman moving toward the fallen sheriff. He couldn't see Lydia moving, didn't know if she was all right, but there was blood in the air--hers, Scott's, Sheriff Stilinski's.

Peter's eyes glowed blue and his claws and fangs extended as he growled. With a running leap he threw himself through the windows, knocking into the woman and sending her farther away from Lydia. He snarled, almost fully wolfed out, noting the others at the door. He wanted the woman, wanted her blood, but how much and how hard depending on how hurt Lydia was, so he spun to her, moving to kneel in front of her chair, senses trained on the woman for any sudden moves.

By the time he reached Lydia, his features were normal again, though his eyes were still glowing bright blue and the claws of his right hand were still extended. He slashed through the bindings holding her, careful not to nick her skin, then reached to pluck the garrotte away, eyeing the marks on her throat with a fury that had him growling again.

Another crash from behind him startled him enough to look and see the girl and the sheriff disappear. Whatever. He had her scent. He could hunt her down. His attention focused back on Lydia.

"Are you badly hurt?" She obviously wasn't all right, but he needed the physical damage report first.

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Stirring at the sound of Peter's voice calling her back, she struggled to open her eyes, annoyed at the way her head felt like it was filled with cotton but she managed to look at the doctor a moment later. Then she frowned a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

She had forgotten, for a moment, that she acutally hadn't seen a doctor yet.

"I'm sorry you had to wait," the doctor said, still half to Peter. "We had a lot of traumas come in tonight and we're understaffed." And Lydia's symptoms hadn't presented as life-threatening, once her CT Scan was clear.

He consulted the chart. "You were..." He looked startled at the mention of a garotte.

"Surely you've heard about the serial killer loose in town?" Peter said, almost a bit sarcastically. "Lydia was attacked tonight, though the sheriff arrived in time to save her, thankfully. I don't think she wants to talk about it, so if you'd just check out her wounds and see what they need so she can rest..."

The doctor looked like he was going to protest the tone, but he looked at Lydia and nodded slightly. "Can you sit up?"

Really, Lydia didn't have much patience for answering questions most of the time and her patience was severely lacking at the moment. She felt rubbed raw and exposed, leaving her wanting to be alone with only Peter for company. So she was rather content to let him handle the doctor even if she felt a tiny bit bad for the man. Kind of. Not really.

Nodding, she sat up, figuring he would guess she was silent because of the angry red marks around her neck.

Still watching Peter a little warily, the doctor leaned in and examined the marks, frowning at their redness.

"Was it metal?"

Since Peter had been the one to toss it away, he answered. "Yes. Metal wire of some sort."

The doctor nodded. "It's unlikely to be an issue, with wire, but I'd like to get some antibiotic cream on that, and to keep it bandaged for a few days, at least. I assume your tetanus shot is up to date?" Since she was in school--it was usually a requirement.

Lifting her chin so the doctor could examine her neck, she glanced at Peter as he answered again and a shiver rushed through her at the memory of the wire wrapping around her throat. Not once but twice.

Realizing then she had been asked a question, she nodded. "Yes."

"All right. I'm going to send Melissa back in to clean and dress that..." He went back to her chart, pulling out the CT results to examine them. "It doesn't look like you have any swelling or bleeding in the brain, which is positive, but I want to check for any problems not showing up on the scan..."

He checked her pupils first, light shining into her eyes, looking for dilation and unevenness. Then he ran her through a series of tests for her memory and cognition. He was careful with his questions not to poke too much at the trauma, though he did ask if she knew what she was hit with, if she'd lost consciousness, about dizziness, fogginess and headache now. Frowning softly, he had her get up--which had Peter shooting to his feet since he hadn't let her stand on her own since he'd gotten to her, honestly--and checked her reflexes, strength, balance and coordination, not letting Peter help her.

Peter didn't like it, but he knew the doctor needed a full picture of what was going on.

When the doctor had what he needed, he frowned a little. "I'm going to prescribe something for the pain over the next few days. There are a few options..." He looked back up, glanced at the two men in the room uncomfortably, but any suggestion they leave--when Lydia wasn't acting like they should--seemed...unwise. Looking back at the girl, he asked, "Is there any chance you're pregnant?"

Lydia nodded her head ever so slightly as she listened, hoping that anything they used for the gash on her head or on her neck was something she could work with. She still had to be somewhat fashionable, after all.

When he started running her through the tests, it really couldn't be any surprise to anyone that she answered everything correctly though there was a time or two when she hesitated just a second or two longer before replying. The physical tests were a little harder for her as she was feeling a little dizzy and weak in the knees. Still, it was a lot better than they could hope for and a lot better than being dead.

Settling back on the bed, she nibbled over her lip...only to stop dead at the question of whether she could be pregnant or not. Her eyes darted to Peter and then back as she thought about it then. Yes, she was on the pill but even she knew that the pill wouldn't prevent her from getting pregnant in the end. It wasn't a hundred percent effective though, especially when added in with how often they had sex and how often they did so without a condom. Which was all the time.

Derek sat up a bit straighter then too, looking at Peter and Lydia as she sat there without answering. Then he clenched his jaw and shot his uncle a look behind the Doctor's back.

The doctor caught Lydia's look to Peter, but didn't think much of it besides that the girl might be embarrassed to answer in front of a friend of her parents'. Peter caught it, too, and looked away when she did, just to catch Derek looking at him which made him roll his eyes.

Thankfully, focused on Lydia, the doctor missed that.

"Miss Martin?" He prodded, voice gentle. "If you want to go talk somewhere private, we can. Technically, we should't be having this discussion in here with others anyway, unless you're certain you want them here."

Derek arched a brow at Peter when the other werewolf looked at him, silently asking if it was possible that Lydia could be pregnant. Of course, having sex with anyone at any time always meant there was a chance but still clearly he was going to have to ask.

At the question, Lydia made a bit of a face. "I'm not but you can do a test if you need to."

Peter arched an eyebrow right back with a bit of a shrug, because, hello, he hadn't made any secret of the fact that he was sleeping with Lydia and abstinence was the only sure-fire way to prevent pregnancy.

The doctor still missed the byplay of the two wolves, just nodding. "No need for that, if you don't think it's likely. I'm going to give you some Percocet just for the next couple of days to help with the pain. Only use it if it gets bad, as it could rebound. Use Advil if you can, all right?"

"Fine, I can do that." Lydia nodded her head, tucking some hair back from her face. She answered a couple more questions when he asked them before finally looking relieved when he left the room.

And not a second later after the doctor left, a croaky voice sounded from the other bed. "Peter knocked up the redhead?" Cora blinked, having only caught bits and pieces of the conversation.

"I don't know but clearly he missed the sex talk about protection." Derek replied dryly.

Peter gave them both a withering look. "Peter didn't miss anything and the redhead is on the pill." He gave Lydia a flicker of concerned look that somehow their sex life was now his niece and nephew's conversation point, before turning the glare back on the two of them. "But everything has a chance of failure."

"Please tell me you're taking my precaution than her being on the pill." Derek grumbled a little bit.

Cora frowned a bit, looking to Lydia who looked a bit annoyed as well as Peter glared at the two younger Hales for focusing on the fact that Peter and her were having sex. "Will everyone relax? I'm not pregnant."

"Werewolves are notorious for being fertile." Cora stated weakly.

"I really don't see how this is anyone's business," Peter all but snapped. "We have far bigger concerns right now than precautions during sex."

Condoms killed sensation and required lube and that just...wasn't natural in Peter's mind. He had them, used them for sex before Lydia because most women insisted these days with the spread of disease, and he wasn't going to try and explain why he wasn't going to catch or transmit anything. But he didn't like them. Who did, really?

"You say that now but what if she ends up pregnant? That will become a concern." Derek told him with a bit of a frown. He knew firsthand exactly what that was like even if Hayley wasn't pregnant with his baby. She was pregnant and he cared about her, that was enough.

"What would you even do with a baby?" Cora asked, her voice slurring just a bit.

Lydia listened, finding it to be a surreal situation at the moment. Discussing their sex life as though they were the kids and the other two were the parents or elders. Never mind that she was actually the youngest in the room but she'd been given the sex talk already.

Peter closed his eyes and tried to find strength--before he said something he'd regret.

"If she gets pregnant, then everyone can be concerned. But I imagine we would do with a baby what everyone else does," he said, because Cora was sick and snapping at her wasn't going to help. "The same as Derek's setting himself up to do with Hayley's. Love it. Protect it. Try and not fuck it up too much."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Last time I checked, using the pill counted as using birth control. They even call it that, shockingly. We could use absolutely everything they make for not getting people pregnant and she might still wind up pregnant. It's an inherent risk of sex. And I, for one, like sex and don't intend to stop having it."

God, he was glad Melissa and Allison were no longer in the room.

Derek stayed quiet while Peter was speaking, watching his face while listening to his heart beat. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but he nodded when Peter reassured them both on what he would do if Lydia ever ended up pregnant. Another sign that, yes, Peter had taken Lydia as his mate and that it meant more than just casually sleeping with her.

So when Peter was done, he simply nodded. "Okay."

"Fine." Cora let her eyes drift closed and Derek focused on her again, holding her hand.

When Peter finally turned back to Lydia, he would find her watching him with an inscrutable gaze but there was no time to delve into it as the doctor was suddenly returning with her medicine and a prescription for more. Focusing on him, she tilted her head. "Can I go home if there's nothing to worry about?"

Peter leaned back in his chair, pretty sure he had a headache now, but glad they'd shut up about babies for now. He wasn't sure what to make of Lydia's gaze, and his own flicked away after holding it for a moment, distracted by the doctor.

"I'd prefer that you stayed here overnight for observation," the doctor said with a bit of a frown. "But I can't keep you here if you're set on going. You need to make sure you're not alone, though. It's important you be woken up every two hours to make sure you don't lapse into a coma."

Peter straightened a little at that, a flicker of something not happy in his face for a moment. Six years basically catatonic would do that to you.

Lydia saw the way Peter instantly sat up a bit more at the mention of a coma but she ignored it for now. She knew why was worried but she wasn't going to be deterred.

"I'd rather go home, thank you. Here is...too public." Let them think that she was nervous to be there after being attacked because that worked just fine for her. "I'll sign whatever form I need to."

The doctor frowned. "Technically, your parents..."

"Her parents are out of town," Peter interjected, even if it was technically a lie. "I'll take responsibility for her i you need someone to do so. After the attack...I think she needs the comfort of the familiar."

The doctor looked at him, then back at her, then at him again. "She needs to not be alone."

Peter cursed slightly for the parents being out of town lie and then blithely added another to it. "She's staying with my family. Someone will be with her all night."

If the doctor had kept up with all the details and wasn't overworked and understaffed, he might have noticed how they didn't add up, but he wasn't, and Peter was doing his utterly charming and sincere, responsible adult thing--the one that had so charmed Melissa and actually didn't seem the least bit creepy or untrustworthy, so the doctor just glanced at Lydia one more time. "You'd prefer that?"

"Yes." Lydia replied just as smoothly as Peter did. "Even if my parents rushed back here after hearing I was attacked, it would still take them a couple days at least. I just want to be somewhere I feel safe and Peter here will see to that."

Derek arched a brow across the room as he listened to the two of them but he didn't bother exposing their lie. Especially when he knew that Lydia's parents were divorced and one of them had to be nearby.

The doctor looked like he wanted to protest, but he couldn't hold the girl against her will and the cops weren't coming, given they were all out looking for the sheriff.

Peter was mostly ridiculously pleased at how well she backed him up. "I promise--I'll bring her back at the first sign of anything getting worse." And that was utterly sincere and the truth. He'd have her here in a heartbeat.

"All right. I'll have one of the nurses bring you the discharge paperwork."

For a moment, she thought protesting was exactly what the doctor was going to do and she was grateful when he decided to drop it. "Thank you."

Watching him until he left, she looked at Peter then with a little frown. "You're going to wake me up every two hours, aren't you?"

"Uh, obviously," Peter said, giving her a look. "You will be following all of the doctor's orders, to the letter."

Lydia only rolled her eyes at him then, leaning back against the pillows as she waited for the nurse to return.

"Are you taking her back to her place or yours?" Derek glanced over at them again.