3rd Person POV

The upcoming battle with Deucalion now terrified everyone with Stiles officially out of the picture. His powers had cancelled each other out, and now he was back to singularly being the brains of the pack.

The S Pack was due to return any day, and Stiles waited anxiously for them to arrive. He wasn't as worried about the affect of him being human would have on his old pack, but his new pack was something to be restless about. They had never been there with him as a human, with the exception of Maddie. What if they only dealt with him because of his powers? What if they find him too weak to be around? What if being human isn't good enough for them, and they leave him in Beacon Hills forever? Would he go back to being lame old Stiles, who claimed to only be a nerd because Scott dragged him down into being a 'dork by association'?

He was honestly beyond fearful of going back to the old Stiles. That was the Stiles that was used to being ignored by everyone he cared about: Scott, Lydia, even Derek. He was pushed around like a mortal ragdoll. And he didn't want to go back to that dark time where he was constantly feeling used and left out. They would go on expeditions without him, yet they demand immediate answers when they find themselves stuck. That was a time that Stiles felt most insecure about himself, even if there wasn't any physical proof of those feelings. He never felt the need to pick up a blade, or resort to a drunk or high stimulator because he knew that those solutions were only temporary.

It was like breaking your ankle and taking pain relievers for it. You could take the pain medicine to ease the pain, but in the end, your ankle was still broken. Well, that ankle seemed to be Stiles' heart. So he seemed to be using crutches to hold himself up. The pain relievers weren't working though, but he wasn't the type to wallow in self pity.

So when he was kicked out of the pack, it was like the crutches he was so dependent on gave out on him, and he fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. He tried to stand, but the broken ankle gave out on him, so he called for help. Maddie was his help. Maddie picked him up after Scott, Derek, and the rest of the pack kicked the crutches out from under him.

He didn't want to fall back into that. He knew a relapse into depression and anxiety wouldn't be healthy, but he had a feeling that was what was going to happen. Everything was fine now, but once everything got to be chaotic again with Deucalion, he would be left behind for his 'safety'. It was weird how Deucalion was after Stiles himself, but Stiles wouldn't be allowed to attend. The simple thought made him anxious because Nate showed Stiles what he saw, and that vision was enough to cause Stiles many sleepless nights.

Stiles found himself pacing in his living room, waiting for the brownies to finish in the oven. Now, Stiles isn't exactly good in the kitchen, but he found the different smells soothing in times of stress. It reminded him of those many times with him mother, when they would cook for every charity event and party they would attend. Stiles' mother, Claudia, could have easily been a professional chef. She was gifted in the food works, and Stiles would always carefully study how she would work. He misses working with her, but he cooks when he feels the need to be closer to his mother. It made his heart hurt with longing as he thought about her.

But nothing could change what happened to her. What's done is done, and Stiles now despises frontotemporal dementia with a burning passion.

Stiles was in such deep thought that when the doorbell rang, Stiles fell over the coffee table and landed on his right wrist. He hissed in pain as he stood and ran for the door, cradling his wrist while doing so. He looks through the little peephole and almost screams in happiness at the sight of his pack on the doorstep. Well, Maddie and Emily are stood on the steps, but Connor and Nate are playing tag in the front lawn.

Without hesitation, Stiles wrenches the door open and envelopes Maddie in a hug. She hugs him back tightly but then pulls back with a scrunched nose. She stands in suspicion before her eyes turn a blood red color. Within a split second, Stiles is shoved against the wall with Maddie's iron grip cutting off his air supply.

"What the hell, Maddie?" Emily shouts as Stiles gasps for air. Connor and Nate are there within a second with wide eyes.

Maddie just narrows her eyes and tightens her grip. Stiles' face begins to lose color as he feebly pulls at her hand to loosen her grip, but not avail. "This isn't Stiles. It doesn't smell like him, and it doesn't look like him," she growls, directing her words toward the remainder of The S Pack. Then, she spits in Stiles' direction, "Who are you?"

Stiles frantically gestures to her hand, in a way of saying 'I can't really talk when I don't have any oxygen in my lungs'. Maddie rolls her eyes and drops her hand, but Emily immediately surrounds him in an electrical barrier. The young man drops to the ground with a hand on his chest as if that was going to bring the air back into his lungs any faster. Connor is quick to throw air into his body, replenishing the oxygen Stiles was deprived of.

He stands up and throws a swollen hand in front of him. "It's me, I swear. It's Stiles," Stiles rushes while his other hand is gripping the neckline of his t shirt. "I have some explaining to do."

Emily doesn't lower her guard, but Stiles couldn't really blame her. Witches could take the shape and scent of a human as well. So Stiles could potentially just be a witch right now. Maddie glares at him with distrust, and Connor follows her lead. Nate on the other hand, seems a little skeptical. He seems conflicted between running and hugging Stiles or taking the defensive stance with the rest of them.

Stiles sighs in defeat because he couldn't do anything anymore. He was only human. So he took a seat with his legs crossed Indian style while nursing his throbbing wrist. "So I was going to tell you guys when I figured it out, but I didn't want to alarm you before you went to confront the Miles pack," he begins, taking a breath to keep the pain out of his voice. He was pretty sure his wrist wasn't okay, but there wasn't anything he could do while stuck in this electrical fence with more megawatts than a power plant.

"What are you talking about?" Connor demands with his hands raised, ready to call on an element as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

"I knew that I needed the bite to survive, and so I paid a visit to Deaton. He agreed with my theory and gave me three possible outcomes of getting the bite: intense power, death, or the cancellation of powers. My powers cancelled themselves out, and so I'm human again," Stiles continues while wincing as he accidentally leans back on his hands.

Maddie's glare doesn't soften, and Stiles couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in his chest. He trained these people to be where they are today, holding him hostage and not giving in easily. Sure, he never expected to be in this situation, but it's a pretty good way to see how solid his pack's defense is. "How do we know that it's actually you, Stiles?"

He stands with a pounding heart and looks straight into Maddie's eyes. "Mads, our first date was to the amusement park, and I asked you to be my girlfriend right before we dropped on that one ride. You didn't answer me until the ride was over because you were screaming like a baby the entire time," Stiles laughs, and he notices the slight soften in his girlfriend's eyes. "Em, when we found you, you were tied to a tree in the middle of the coldest night of the year in nothing but a t shirt and shorts because your mother found out about your powers and exiled you. Nate, you came to us after you saw Lauren die. And Con, you're fatally allergic to bees, and I had to heal you one time that Nate accidentally shoved you into a tree with a beehive. Does anyone else know about those things?" Everyone visibly winced at the mention of Lauren, but that just proved Stiles' point even more.

Lauren was a young girl, probably fifteen, that was adopted into the pack with extraordinary powers. She could manipulate time. But that didn't help her when she ventured out on her own, and our pack found her the next morning mauled almost to the point past recognition. She was murdered because of her father's actions. It was a traumatic experience that Nate tried to prevent, but he was too late. She had been in our pack for months before that happened.

Emily dropped the barrier, and Maddie tackled Stiles into a hug. She had tears in her eyes as she searched the other's caramel colored orbs.

"So... What do we do now?"