work_inprogress | Is it gone, tell me what went wrong / 'Cause baby I'm not that strong

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Is it gone, tell me what went wrong / 'Cause baby I'm not that strong

It wasn't that Peter wanted to leave Scott behind, by any means, but he'd rushed back in there and the Alpha twins--who'd flipped sides just like he'd said they would--were right behind them and Cora had already stopped breathing once. So, he snarled at Isaac who could see the twins behind them and knew, if nothing else, he had a duty to his pack--of which Peter and Cora were a major part.

He floored it.

The epinephrine had burned off a little too fast, which had been embarrassing, but the adrenaline was still pumping--possibly the only thing keeping him upright, honestly. That and needing to take care of his pack...Cora hadn't regained consciousness, and he could only hope someone had found Derek.

Isaac didn't know where Scott was, didn't know if he'd gotten out, and he was shaking, but he got them back to the loft safely. Sure, the pack knew where it was, but they knew where all of them lived and where else were they going to go? Better somewhere they could sort of defend. They didn't have Ms. Blake, anyway, so why would they come after them?

When they got to the loft, Peter got Cora out of the car, lifting her with a pained wince, but when Isaac tried to take her, he snarled at the boy until he ran ahead, getting doors instead, letting them all into the loft and skidding to a bit of a halt at finding Lydia and Hayley sitting there.

Peter noticed the girls, but didn't process, moving across to get Cora on the table, somewhere they could work on her more easily than the sofa. After he got her there, he just leaned against it, head hanging down, breathing a little too hard.

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"Peter, you're going to hurt yourself." Lydia protested weakly as she leaned against him, looking down as he started to towel her off.

Cora nodded her head, glancing towards the clock on her bedside stand before she was groaning. "This waiting is going to take forever." And she was already feeling restless.

He flashed her a look, appreciating the care at the same time he didn't need his ability to take care of her questioned, injured or not. His pride was wounded enough at being told to stay behind. "Let me do this for you."

Hayley sighed and leaned back against the window. "It really is..." She wasn't used to waiting. Didn't like it at all.

It was tempting to argue but the look silenced her as she realized why he needed to do it. Managing a small smile then, she ran a hand through his hair, slicking his locks back with a tender touch. "Okay." She then added for his benefit. "I probably would have fell over if I had done it myself."

"What are we supposed to be doing?" Cora frowned. "Are they going to come back here when they're done? Or call?"

He was pretty sure she was indulging him, but he'd take it right now. He swallowed back any winces he might have felt like making, breathing as best he could until they were both dry.

He tugged his jeans back on, leaving his shirt off, but it wasn't like they were in his home, and there was no way he was going to sleep, even if laying down was necessary.

"I think just...making sure none of us dies while they're away," Hayley said dryly. "Sweet of them to make it like we were all taking care of each other so we don't feel completely useless." She shrugged. "I'd assume they're coming back here since here is where we were told to wait."

Finding her clothes, Lydia eased them on as well as she didn't really have a pair of pajamas to wear and it wasn't like they would be resting for long. Looking over at him, she silently held out her hand before leading him back to the guest room that she had claimed.

"Right." Cora muttered dryly, wondering what they could really do if the Darach or the Alpha pack showed up. They were two injured betas, a pregnant werewolf and a possible...something. "Yeah it was sweet." She muttered. "At least Elijah wasn't so bad about it."

Peter followed her back to the room and collapsed on the bed with a groan that got a bit louder involuntarily when he landed wrong on his ribs. "Fuck..." And so not in the good way. "Ok. I need an Alpha to kill. You think one of the vampires would knock one out and bring it back?"

No way Derek was getting him an Alpha of his very own to kill.

Hayley gave her a wry smile. "Elijah's pretty good at negotiating around egos. All of his siblings were pretty...volatile."

Lydia was right there when he landed wrong, the blood draining from her face as she bit her bottom lip hard enough to nearly draw blood. She didn't say anything though. She just reached out to slide her hand over his back until he shifted into a more comfortable position. Then she shrugged. "Maybe if we ask the one in the suit? Or his brother." Because Klaus didn't seem like he would care what Derek thought.

"How many are there?" Cora asked, arching a brow.

Peter was trembling, even as he shifted, because fuck that hurt, like sharp pain shooting through him and he hadn't expected it and he wanted he epinephrine back, though his body was trying to help. "Maybe. The brother--Hayley's baby's father. He might do it just to spite Derek."

And Peter was so not above using that.

"Used to be five..." Hayley's head turned sharply at Peter's yelp of pain. "Um...should we check on him?"

Lydia couldn't believe that she was sitting there talking about killing another person to make Peter stronger but that seemed mild compared to everything else in her life. Kneeling beside him, she brushed her fingers lightly over his forehead, trying to soothe him.

Cora was sitting straighter when she heard the yelp of pain, wanting to race to check on him as well, but then she was shaking her head slowly. "No." She knew it would hurt his pride if they did. "Lydia isn't yelling for us. We should only go if she does call out."

The Alphas needed to go. Peter saw no reason he shouldn't profit from that. He took some slow breaths, closing his eyes and letting her touches soothe. He shifted more carefully, rolling onto his less damaged side and held out a hand for her as far as he could. "You need to lay down, too," he said quietly.

Hayley didn't look convinced, but she sort of thought male pride was sometimes a little ridiculous, but she took Cora's word for knowing better and shifted back to the earlier question. "Um..ok. So. There were five of them. Five siblings. But two of their brothers were killed last years, so now it's just Klaus and Elijah and their sister Rebekah."

Lydia wanted to tell him that she was worried about hurting him but the urge to curl up next to him, to be close to him, was too overwhelming. So she scooted closer as she reached out to take his hand, her fingers linking with his as she laid on her side facing him. "Please heal." She murmured softly then, her eyes flickering over his face. "Or tell me if there's some kind of banshee thing I can do." She was feeling completely useless.

Cora fought back the urge to go downstairs as well, shifting uncomfortably on her bed while trying to focus on Hayley's words. "Elijah and Klaus seem so different. What is their sister like?" She wondered if this mysterious vampire was volatile like Klaus or calm like Elijah.

Peter brushed a kiss over her hair. "I will, sweetheart. I should be fine by morning, I promise." He hoped. "There's nothing you can do, but stay close." He couldn't quite get his arm around her, but having her warmth against him, his hand around hers helped. It also let him not worry about her as much. Though on that note... "Grab my phone off the nightstand?"

Hayley considered. "She's more like Klaus in temperament than Elijah. She's got a temper. But she's also the only girl and has been the baby for a thousand years. She was about your age when they were turned. So...she's sometimes a mix of spoiled and like they've dismissed her all her life. You know how guys can be when they think they're doing shit for your own good, and you're a girl and they have to take care of you and they know better and all that patriarchal shit? Klaus and Elijah are the worst at it. I mean, you can kind of understand--for most of their lives that's how the world's been. But that means, she's a thousand years old, and they've indulged a lot of her whims, but also--made nearly every decision for her, and tried to rule her life for a thousand years...'for her own good.'" Hayley made a face. "She defied them recently, though. Refused to come to New Orleans with us, and...good for her, honestly. But...I don't know her really well, you know? Just...observed the few times we met."

Lydia nodded again, shifting to roll over so he could grab his phone before moving to hand it over. "Going to try to get ahold of Derek?"

"So you're basically saying that Elijah is the only calm one out of them." Cora chuckled faintly but then she nodded. "I get it though. I'm the little sister too with an older brother and an older sister who acted like Alphas even when they were betas. Add in Uncle Peter and..." She shrugged a bit. "But I was only with them for about seven years..."

"So now you get to be a part of the vampires family." She continued on, not wanting to think of her own family. "That's got to be all kinds of weirdness."

Peter shook his head. "No. I don't want to distract him if they're fighting. He'll call when he knows something." What he did do was set his alarm for two hours. "I don't expect we'll sleep easily, but...if we do...you still had a really hard hit on the head tonight."

"Pretty much," Hayley said with a wry smile, coming over and finally dropping down to sit on the end of Cora's bed. She gave her a look and wanted to press, but they were sharing more in their dancing around things, so she didn't want to ruin it. "And yeah, I guess I am. That's what Elijah says, at least. There were these witches and they wanted to hold me to keep a hold on Klaus, threatened to kill me if he stepped out of line. Elijah took me away from them. Told them that the baby was his family and that meant I was now his family, too, and..."

She smiled a little. "They were all talking about needing a hold over Klaus, over this other vampire, Marcel. They're terrified of both of them, right? And so, this witch tells Elijah that if Klaus deviates from the plan, they'll kill me and the baby. And Elijah just...walks up to her, calm as can be, and he says, 'I give you my word: if any harm comes to Hayley or her baby, you won't have to be afraid of Klaus or Marcel or anyone else in the world so much as me.' I have...never seen anyone so scared in my life. Klaus may be the single most physically powerful creature on the planet, and he may have a temper and he may be unpredictable and kill you in a fit of temper, but...Elijah is way more deadly when crossed. Because of the calm, you know? That whole...revenge is a dish best served cold, saying? That's Elijah. You'll weather the rage of Klaus and his ilk and then, when you least expect it...Elijah will destroy your whole world and make you beg to die before he lets you."

She shivered a little, but her eyes were glowing and there was a definite savage pleasure in that idea.

"And you have busted ribs and possible internal bleeding." Lydia countered. "So if anyone needs to rest, it's you. I'll test later." Because, at this point in time, she fully intended to watch over him while he slept.

Cora nodded, the same dangerous glint in her gaze. "I got that sense the day I showed him to the Argents and the Alpha pack. I should have followed his lead and let him handed the twin." As much as she hated to admit it.

Then she looked at Hayley again. "So what does it mean for my brother? You bring a part of their family."

"I'm resting," he murmured in protest, really not wanting to sleep until everyone was home and things were sorted. "I just...if we fall asleep, I need to be sure that you'll wake." He lifted her fingers to brush a kiss over them.

"Yeah, probably," Hayley agreed. "But I get wanting to do something yourself, after what they did."

She tucked her hair back behind her ear and shrugged. "I...don't know," she admitted. "I mean...it's only been a few weeks, you know? We haven't really talked about what the future looks like. There's been too much bad shit to just...get through. But, he wants me here, now, and I'm not leaving. And Elijah seems to get that, at least. Otherwise, they'd have just taken me and gone." She shrugged a little, gave Cora a wry smile. "Best case scenario? Vampires as inlaws?"

"How can you make sure I'll wake if you're sleeping?" She asked with a small smile, brushing her thumb lightly over the bottom of his lip as she watched him with a quiet and tender gaze. Really, the idea that she could have lost him scared her still even if she knew he was safe at the moment.

Cora didn't smile though because she was wondering how that would work, especially since one of the vampire-in-laws would be the father of the baby that would be running around. "Do you think Derek and Klaus will get along one day?"

Peter held up the phone with an eyebrow arch and a small smile. "Alarm," he murmured, before pressing a kiss to her thumb. He wanted to touch her, but his arm didn't want to move, so he just nibbled at her thumb. "I just don't want you to get worse..."

Hayley sighed and shrugged a little. "I don't know. Maybe? Klaus really doesn't give much of a damn about what I do when he's thinking straight. I think...honestly? I think it's wolf instincts and he doesn't know how to deal with them, or get past the instinct to rationality." She shrugged. "He's new at this."

Knowing she was beat at the moment, she rolled her eyes with a bit of amusement. "Fine, I'll rest." But she was moving even as she agreed, sliding over his legs so she was behind him which was exactly where she stayed pressed against his back. "Now will you rest?"

Cora nodded her head. "So they're both going alpha mate on you?"

Peter twisted just a bit--though it still made him grunt--and gave her a small smile. "All right..." He shifted back, and reached for her hand to keep a hold of her. "Hopefully they'll be back soon."

He didn't think he'd sleep, but he did close his eyes, thinking it would help him heal.

Hayley nodded. "That seems like it, yeah. It's kind of crazy frustrating."

Linking their fingers, she pressed a kiss to his shoulder before settling into place, her breath warm against his spine as she nodded slightly. "Hopefully." She didn't want to think about all the way things could go wrong because she was sure they couldn't stand to lose any more people. She also worried about what would happen to Stiles and Scott if they lost their parents.

Letting her eyes drift closed, she tried to quiet her mind just enough that she could get some sleep.

"But does some part of you enjoy it?" Cora asked softly.

She was warm at his back and her breathing soft and steady. Quieting his mind wasn't going well, but he at least let his body start to relax. His mind kept going over the problem of how to keep this from happening again. He needed to be stronger, to be able to protect her, to be who he wanted to be. The weakling of the pack was certainly not that.

Hayley gave her a look, arching an eyebrow and started to protest, then fell quiet for a while. "I don't know. Maybe a little. No one's ever really wanted me before for more than a hook up. Not even my parents. My birth parents gave me away and my adopted parents kicked me out when they found out I was a wolf. Left me to fend for myself...by choice." She knew there were kids on their own because of circumstances beyond anyone's control, but....they'd said they loved her and then kicked her out because of something she couldn't control. It hurt. "So...yeah, I guess. It's kind of nice. But it won't be if it goes on for any real length of time."

"Stop." Lydia murmured softly, her lips brushing lightly against the back of his neck. "I can practically hear you thinking. You need to...think good thoughts. Think about healing." Her mind went back to when Scott hadn't let himself heal after Derek had nearly been killed.

Cora didn't seem surprised by the truth because she had been expecting it but she could appreciate Hayley being honest about it as well. Especially when she heard her reasons why. "I get it, I was alone for awhile too but now I'm back and I don't want to see my brother get hurt. Okay?" She wasn't threatening or arguing, she was just stating it plainly.

"I'm thinking about how much I really want to kill Aiden," he murmured. "That's happy?" At least for him. He really wanted to be an Alpha again.

Hayley nodded a little and met the girl's eyes. "Elijah's not going to let Klaus fly off the handle and hurt him physically. I can't promise I won't ever hurt him any more than he can promise he'll never hurt me. It's too soon for us to know where this is going, and caring about someone always carries a chance of getting hurt. But I do care about him, Cora. I'll never deliberately hurt him, and I can promise that if I ever do, it won't be because I chose Klaus over him."

Lydia made a soft noise not unlike a chuckle, as though he weren't talking about killing someone for power, and she brushed her hand over his chest lightly. "I guess it is."

Cora nodded her head again. "Okay." It put her mind at ease but not completely. She would just have to wait and see what was going to happen between everyone.

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