"Morning." Liam blinked his eyes open at Theo's far too cheerful voice, a groan passing his lips the moment the light pouring through the window tried to blind him.

"Wha-" Liam bit off his words as bile crept up his throat. He forced himself to swallow it with a grimace.

"How's the hangover?" Theo asked. The smile that stretched across his face was brighter than the evil sun. Liam let out an unintelligible whine that he hoped conveyed just how close to death he was. "Perfect."

"I'm dying."

"Remember how you laughed at me when I threw up."

"Theo ple-"

"Guns!" Theo bellowed, a pointless move as she was already shouldering her way into the room, a speaker clutched in her hands that started blaring music loud enough Liam was fairly sure his ears would bleed even without a hangover. "Eric." Theo whistled. Eric followed in Guns' footsteps, only instead of music he held two pans.

"No-" Eric ignored his plead and crashed them together.

"Saraaa"

"Stop." Liam begged. Sara ignored him strutting in with what had to be the most coffee smelling coffee to ever coffee and a plate of what Liam was fairly sure was just blue cheese, the smell immediately made Liam's stomach roll again.

"Please sto-"

"Moe-" Moe walked in calmly, turning the lid to a bottle of Dodo's rum and letting the smell permeate the air.

"How's it feel pumpkin?! Let's go for a run-" Theo hollered only to cut off as a livid looking Sammy stepped into the room, the noise stopped. Sara sipped her coffee nervously.

"You all trying to get grounded?"

"We were just-" Eric started.

"Torturing my house guest?" She scoffed. "I realized. Now you three-" she jabbed a finger between Moe, Eric and Guns. "-Take Dodo home i'm pretty sure he's still too drunk to drive. You-" A jab towards Sara. "-Go to work. And you-" She spun to Theo who's eyes widened like saucers, the manic grin falling off of his face. "-If you want to have a boyfriend by the end of the day I suggest you stop being an asshole and pick which one of my little shits you're spending the day with because Liam's not taking visitors right now."

"You got told offff" Eric sung.

"Well Eric, looks like you'll be babysitting Theo since you're so eager to talk to him. Now come on out, out, out-" Sammy shooed them from the room like she was getting rid of some overly large pigeons.

Liam burrowed back into the bed, tugging the cover over his head and trying to control his breathing as he listened to the deafening hustle of the group preparing to leave. He was positive that they were all, minus Sammy, being louder than they needed to be. Either that or Moe had had a stroke in the night and could no longer remember how to walk through a room without tipping at least four things over.

Each crash or honking laugh left Liam's already throbbing head feel worse and his stomach churn as if the noise was vibrating through him and sending his tummy spiraling like a washer on a spin cycle.

By the time Liam heard the front door click shut and the house turn blessedly silent with the rumble of a car taking the chatting assholes away, Liam had swallowed down a warm mouthful of vomit twice and felt a third wave running up his throat as Sammy's footsteps echoed back down the hall towards his room.

"Hey." Sammy whispered, peaking around the door. "I'm sorry about them, you ok-"

"I think I'm gonna-" Sammy was already moving over, small plastic bin in hand, dangling it under Liam's nose just in time for him to keel over. Before Liam knew it his hair was being yanked up into a quick ponytail to keep it away from his face, a glass of water seemed to magically appear on the bedside table the moment he stopped throwing up. A hand rubbed softly at his back, Sammy cooing soft encouragements like he was going through labor.

"You're like superwoman." Liam said, spitting bile.

"Alright, you're okay." Sammy hummed, leading Liam to flop back against the mattress and shifting the puke bin further away. He let out a groan as his head hit the pillow again, grimacing against the smell now permeating the room. Sammy pushed the few strands of hair that had escaped the speed ponytail away from his sweaty forehead, her hand felt like ice, soothing away the headache as black veins crept up her wrist. "Get some more sleep. I'll wake you for breakfast in a couple of hours."

"No food." Liam whined.

"Yes food. It will help."

"Eating will kill me." Liam said seriously. Sammy's lips twitched in a smile that she quickly bit down.

"Liam, Trust me. Dad taught me a lot, one of the things that will always stick with me is how to deal with a hangover. Now sleep." Liam sighed, giving a small nod, he could argue against being murdered by food later, after a nap. "I'll get you a new bin." Sammy said, grabbing his bin and making her way to the door.

"Sammy?" Liam called causing her to freeze at the door. "Please don't tell Theo I threw up." He begged. Sammy's eyes lit up, a laugh breaking past her lips.

"It's our secret." She chuckled. "Get some sleep Choir Boy."

"S'Pumpkin." Liam mumbled, burrowing his sweaty face into a pillow that smelt like the soft tang of citrus.

*

"Eat the toast, Liam."

"I can't."

"Just a small bite."

"Please don't make me do this."

"It will make you feel better. Just nibble on it okay?"

"I feel better." Liam lied.

"Then why won't you eat the toast?"

"Because just looking at it is making my stomach churn." Liam admitted, glowering at the dry stack of toast Sammy had piled up.

"It will settle your stomach as long as you eat it slowly." Sammy tried, Liam shook his head, feeling like a toddler, he worried it was only a matter of time before Sammy tried 'here comes the choo-choo train'.

"I feel fine if I don't move." Liam croaked. The alpha let out a sigh, moving the plate of toast out of sight.

"Well, then why don't you sleep again until you can eat the toast." Sammy offered. Liam shook his head only to regret it a moment later.

"Can't sleep anymore. It's boring."

"Well how about a movie? You could bring the blankets to the lounge and-"

"Please don't make me move."

"You're being pathetic." Sammy said bluntly.

"You should've seen Theo."

"If you don't want to eat, sleep or leave the room what do you want to do?" Sammy asked.

"Do you have farcry?"

"Sweetie, I don't even know what that is." she snorted, eyes flickering around the room. "alright, eat-" Liam groaned. "-ONE bite of toast while I go and find something for us to do. I'm sure I have some board games around here." Sammy shoved the toast back under his nose leaving no room for arguments.

Liam nibbled the edge of a slice, glaring daggers at Sammy's back as she left the room. The glare fell the second he was swallowing the first small bite and his stomach was giving a happy flutter of relief at being fed. By the time Sammy returned with a box in her arms he'd managed to scoff down a slice and a half of the toast and drink almost a full glass of water.

"Better?"

"No." Liam lied, eyeing the toast again wishing he hadn't stopped for water. The water sloshed in his stomach in a way that made bile threaten to creep up his throat every few seconds but the toast, god, Liam was fairly sure she really was superwoman and it was magical toast or something because dry toast shouldn't taste so good.

"Alright." Sammy said, emptying the box on the bed by Liam's knees and then crawling on to sit opposite him, legs crossed like they were having a gossip at a sleepover. "I always end up with the last scraps of the kid's arts and crafts from the full moon." Liam peered at the mismatched pile of beads, material and what looked like googly eyes as she picked up one of the few intact packets. "So, how would you like to make some keychains?"

"Um-"

"Would you like the butterfly or the ladybird?"

"Butterfly, I guess?" Liam said. Sammy grinned, tossing him one packet of craft supplies and ripping open her own with her teeth. After a moment Liam ripped his own open seeing nothing better to do. At least he wouldn't have to move much, and maybe he'd be able to give it to someone as a souvenir.

"So, What was your favorite ride at Disney World?" Sammy asked as they begun their projects.

Sammy, Like the rest of the pack, had an air about her that made it easy to feel like you fit. Even when the conversation would dwindle it didn't feel awkward, just..calm. She spoke quietly, voice like a melody doing it's best to sooth Liam's still throbbing head. It was safe to say Liam never thought his first real hangover would be spent making different little arts and crafts projects with somebody's mother but he couldn't say it was a bad way to spend a few hours. His and Sammy's creations slowly filled the bedside tables as the pile of things between them dwindled.

"Are you looking forward to going home?" Sammy asked, biting her tongue as she sculpted a small play dough snowman methodically. Liam stilled when he went to stick another felt scale onto the fish he'd been working on.

"...Yeah."

"That sounded believable." Sammy snorted.

"I am." Liam huffed. "It'll be great to see Mason and everyone."

"But-"

"But.." Liam trailed off, giving a small shrug. "I'm just trying not to think about it."

"You not one for homesickness?"

"Beacon Hills it's...I guess I forgot what feeling safe felt like, it'll be weird to go back to the whole-" He waved a hand to encompass 'hell mouth that beacon hills had turned into'. "And it's just gonna get harder. I mean, I'm meant to be all Alpha when I get back and I don't...I've always had Scott to fall back on. Me, Mason and Corey. We can handle a lot, we have handled a lot but we've always had them around, you know? We've always had a real alpha, a true alpha. I'm not....I'm not an Alpha. I don't know how to be one, I don't have the power to be one and now I'm gonna be the only thing protecting everyone and-"

"Liam," Sammy said, stopping Liam's rant with a soft voice. "Dodo was the Alpha for years while I learned how to take care of the pack, he's never had the powers a normal Alpha has, or the eye color, but he had the trust and respect of the pack and their best interests at heart. Your eye color and your powers don't define you, Liam." Liam let out a small scoff of disagreement. Sammy's lips pulled into a tilted smile, her eyes glimmering empathetically, play dough wolf laying forgotten on the bed.

"Even Scott couldn't save everyone." Liam whispered. "How am I meant to if I don't even have half his power?"

"From what I've heard your pack has been through a lot but that's not how it's meant to be. Werewolves aren't always on the front lines. We're not meant to be warriors that keep the balance between good and evil. We're human. A pack is a family. It's not a militia. Passing the torch to you, becoming an Alpha. It's not only about taking down the bad guys. An alpha isn't always the strongest or the fastest, we're not even always the smartest in the pack. Lord knows if we were I'd never have been able to step up." She grinned, picking up the wolf again and turning her attention back to molding its hind legs. "An alpha is the glue that holds the family together. It's someone who will do what's best for the pack. It's someone for the others to lean on, someone to break up arguments. Doubting yourself is a good sign. No one is perfect, least of all Alpha's. Doubting you will be good enough, that you can keep everyone safe, That just proves that you understand the true role of an Alpha."

"I ran away from my pack to take a holiday with someone they all hated." Liam said. "That doesn't sound very Alpha like."

"If you had gotten a message when you were back on the east coast saying your pack needed help what would you have done?"

"I would have stolen the truck again and went to help them."

"Again?" Sammy asked. Scooping two googly eyes from the bedspread.

"It was only for like an hour."

"You're telling me about that later." Sammy said. "But Liam, you're a child. You're allowed to be selfish, you're allowed to say 'I'm on holiday, go fuck yourself and your responsibility, I'm getting a tan with my boyfriend'." Liam let out a small laugh. "-But you wouldn't. You wouldn't even consider it, would you?"

"Of course not, if my friends are in trouble then-"

"That feeling. The protectiveness, that willingness to put the pack before your personal gain is what it means to be an alpha. You don't need to be ready to face everything alone because you have your pack and they have you."

"But any of my friends would do that."

"And still Scott chose you. There's a reason for that. If you can't trust in yourself then trust him. He wouldn't leave if he didn't think you couldn't handle it. And you won't be alone, your pack will be by your side. Fighting with you. And, if you need it, we will too. I know a half dozen members of my pack who'd happily come fight some evil for you."

"You'd do that?"

"Believe it or not my kids don't like a lot of people and they love both you and Theo. If you need someone we'll be there. Don't focus on the negatives, you can think about them when they happen. For now, enjoy it." At least, he thought, he had something to look forward to about going home, he'd be able to see his family, his friends, his pack. He'd get to go back to School, which, though not exactly exciting meant he could get the grades to get out of Beacon Hills with everyone else once he graduated. College wasn't running. It was just having his own life. Even Werewolves needed to pay bills. Unless he wanted to end up...well, like Theo.

Liam picked at a piece of string, twirling it around his fingers as he thought of Theo. If he was nervous about going home Theo should be a wreck. He was going back to nothing, well, almost nothing. He had Liam but otherwise he was alone.

The thought drew a bitter laugh out of his throat. Theo was giving up Sammy and everyone for him. The 'heartless bastard' giving up everything he'd ever wanted because of Liam and his 'magic dick'. For someone so smart Theo sure was a dumbass.

"Take care of him." Sammy said, as if she were reading Liam's mind. "I know he's done a lot of wrong but the boy I've met deserve a good life."

"I know." Liam said, uncurling the string, eyes running over the beads dotted around the sheets. "I am, I will." He refused to look up, terrified Sammy would see the guilt in his eyes. The Lie. Because he wasn't taking care of Theo, Theo was taking care of him. But, like Sammy said, he was a kid, he was allowed to be selfish.

Liam picked up a bead, sliding it onto the string.

He was allowed to be selfish, just this once.

*

Sammy left him once all of the craft supplies had been used in some way, scuttling off with an armful of tacky keychains, bracelets and playdough animals. No sooner than Liam had settled down for a nap in hopes of staving off the nausea that was making an annoying reappearance did he hear the clatter of footsteps and the slam of the front door as excited voices echoed through the halls. They were home.

It wasn't even a full minute later that the bedroom door was tossed open and Theo ducked into the room.

"How you feeling?"

"Surprised you care after you tried to kill me earlier." Liam mumbled. Theo let out a soft huff of laughter. Dropping back to lean against the wall by the door.

"Oh, I don't." He said casually. "But Sammy said if we didn't all apologize for being 'Giant Dicks'-" Theo said, with corresponding air quotes and a smirk on his face like he found the whole thing hilarious. "-Then she wouldn't let any of us back in the house. I'm the representative for that lot-" he jabbed a thumb in the direction of the living room where Liam could hear quiet voices. "-So, they say they're genuinely sorry and they shouldn't have tried to torture their guest. "

"Okay..and from you?"

"Well, from me you should know I'm just doing this for the home cooked meal but-"

"That's a terrible start to an apology.

-"But!" Theo continued, ignoring Liam and ducking out of the room, he was back a moment later, marching toward the bed with a teddy clutched under his arm. "-I'm sorry. For being a giant dick. However funny it may have been."

"I'm not even surprised that your apology ended worse than it started."

"You gonna accept the apology or-"

"Did you bring me Anakin?"

"Wasn't going to risk you crying over him being lonely again." Theo said balancing Anakin on the bedside table.

"I didn't cry." Liam scoffed.

"You basically cried." Theo said smugly. "So...I can see you had a fun day." He hummed, scooping up the butterfly keychain with an arched brow.

"Me and Sammy hung out." Liam muttered, snatching the keychain.

"With four-year-olds?" Theo scoffed, shoving Liam over and flopping down onto the bed next to him with no care to how much he was jostling it.

"Sammy's right. You're a giant dick."

"Yeah well. You're the one dumb enough to date me." Theo said. "Seriously, hows the hangover?"

"It was doing great until you caused an earthquake sitting down. So thanks for that."

"You're welcome." Theo grinned. "Foods almost ready, you gonna be able to eat?"

"Yeah, as long as it's not hot dogs...How long until it's ready?"

"Sammy said twenty minutes but Sara warned me that you should add at least ten minutes onto what Sammy says." Theo said, Liam let out a small sigh of relief at the knowledge he wouldn't have to try and stand for a while.

"You wanna go sit with everyone or-The hell are you doing?" Theo asked as Liam shifted enough to drop his head onto Theo's chest, effectively headbutting him in the chin.

"Hand holding prevents nightmares. Cuddling cures hangovers." Liam decided.

"Is that scientific fact?"

"Yes."

"Really, okay, let me look it up-" Theo hummed, hand shifting for his pocket. Liam slapped it back down.

"Fine, it's a theory. My theory. But if it works I'll win like a biology Nobel prize or something so shut up and help my experiment or I won't share my prize money with you."

"You're an idiot." Theo scoffed, but he made no move to shove Liam away so he was going to count it as a win. The two laid silent, Theo's fingers picking at the barely intact ponytail still clinging to life in Liam's hair, letting Liam relax against his chest. Liam could hear the others, out in the house chatting and laughing and knew Theo could too but it seemed they were both content to just lay there.

"I don't know if I can date a guy with a top knot." Theo said eventually, after long enough that his voice held a soft croak from disuse.

"Wasn't my choice. Sammy did it."

"You have Sammy do your nails too?"

"I threw up while you were out." Liam admitted softly. He felt Theo's lips brushing against his forehead, curled in a smile. "You're meant to be sympathetic, Asshole."

"If you really thought I'd be sympathetic you don't know me at all." Liam let out a soft scoff, eyes rolling hard enough it made his head pound again.

"Boys! Dinner!" Sammy called.

"You hungry?"

"Starving." Liam admitted. "Don't know if I can move though." Theo chuckled.

"You might wanna work it out quickly. I will definitely eat yours."

"You wanna carry me to the table?"

"No." Theo said.

"I helped you when you were hungover."