Barely Human (But Getting There)

Chapter 6

"He took Gabe's pain as well, you know."

Mason spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence that had befallen the clinic since Theo walked out the door. It took everyone a moment before they realised he was referring to the absent chimera. "Earlier, at the hospital, before Gabe...before he..." He pressed tightly on the bandage Deaton was wrapping around Peter's arm, addressing no one in particular. You can't take pain if you don't care. His own voice echoed in his head, filled with enough spite to make himself cringe. It had been a pretty shitty thing to say, and since seeing the brief look of hurt that passed on Theo's face that day, he'd been feeling a little guilty. Since witnessing the scene at the hospital that completely turned his words on their head, they had niggled at the back of his mind nonstop. Since watching Theo save his best friend's life no less than three times that night, and then also siphon his pain on top of that, well...it had been a knife to his gut.

"Who's Gabe again?" Stiles asked.

"Monroe recruited him as a hunter," Corey supplied, "but he's someone from school. He's also on the lacrosse team. Or...he was."

Stiles narrowed his eyes, "So basically someone Theo had no reason to be nice to. That's...suspicious."

"You know I told him before, when he tried to take my pain back at the tunnels the other day. I said 'you can't do it if you don't care', and now..." Mason trailed off yet again, the usually eloquent teen seemed unable to finish his thoughts aloud.

"Hey, don't feel bad, it's Theo."

"He took a bullet for me today too. Apologised. Said he owed me." Malia added gruffly from the other side of the room, making them all whip around to face her in shock.

"He said that? Explicitly?" Stiles pressed.

"No. Coyote communication. I could tell." The staring continued and she wrinkled her nose, "What? I still hate him. It was weird."

"Guys, cut him some slack." Liam's voice joined the conversation. He was already looking considerably better, the colour back in his cheeks. "He's been fighting on our side since the Ghost Riders. He's still annoying and I'm not saying everything he's done in the past can just be forgiven but... I just think he's been a bit different since he came back. I-I hate to admit it but lately, when I probably would've been totally freaking out if I'd been on my own, he's been with me and he's been a really good distraction. Like kind of a...a reassuring presence." Liam craned his neck to peer out the window. "He's also kind of risked himself to save me more times than I can count, and I've given him nothing in return. I mean, I don't even know where's he's gone back to right now...I –" He suddenly bit his lip in the middle of what had turned into inadvertent thought vomit.

I haven't cared. Not enough.

"Okay...? So it sounds like either Theodore here has got some crazy, self-sacrificial, repentance complex since he unzombiefied, or this is another really convoluted and unnecessarily masochistic plan of his."

Stiles' comment threw the room into another thoughtful silence.

Liam didn't blame the older boy's scepticism, not at all. In fact, it was the only thing that made sense at the moment. So why the hell did he feel so compelled to stick up for Theo?

Because he's changed, and you know it.

"We've ended up working with Peter again on more than one occasion, and he's so much worse." He blurted.

Creases drew up on Peter's forehead. "Oh come on, let a man sit here and regret his decision to help a bunch of ungrateful whine-babies in peace."

"Isn't this Theo guy the one who tried to take over the pack?" Derek spoke up hastily, like he'd already had enough of Peter's voice for the night.