a/n: hello and happy valentine's day!! before we hop into 4x11, i just wanted to give a reminder that on my page, you can find a story titled "february" which is a halemore valentine's day special! if you're jonesing for some halemore cuteness (more than what you'll be getting in this chapter, anyway), feel free to head on over there and transport yourself back to season two. otherwise, enjoy this episode!

—

When the "Previously On" segment ends, we watch as a wendigo intimidates a girl he's captured with intentions to eat, but he's apprehended by Deaton and the girl is saved. He is returned to Eichen House, and after a warning from Dr. Fenris (see bonus episode "Search for a Cure"), Deaton speaks about Derek to a man named Valak, who has a literal third eye nestled in a hole on his forehead.

Credits.

—

Melissa has found the Hale money that Scott has been keeping under his bed, insisting to him that he needs to return it to Derek. Scott promises that he's been meaning to, while also admitting that he's also been debating giving it to her and all his friends with financial troubles.

While flattered, Melissa deters him by handing him a stack of bills that's been turned red from the blood of whatever supernatural was killed in its proximity.

—

Mason and Liam play video games in Liam's room, and Liam all but begs Mason not to leave him alone. He moves to turn off his lamp and sleep, but casts a glance around his room before lying there riddled with anxiety and hearing growls and stomping.

He hallucinates a berserker once again, turning his lamp back on and looking around the room to ensure it's empty.

—

We see rain on the loft window, then Derek and Noel, lying in bed. Noel is asleep in a long-sleeved red shirt with thumb holes, and Derek is shirtless as usual, the two pressed together as Derek lies awake and looks off into the darkness.

Suddenly an alarm begins to sound, both of them sitting up and casting glances at a panel across the room with a flashing red light. Derek stares at the panel, saying "Noel, stay here. Braeden?"

"Yeah, yep," she acknowledges as she enters the room from down the hall, clad in a soft bralette and matching shorts with her gun in her hand.

Noel is sitting up in the bed now, ready to launch into the fray any minute should something start. Derek and Braeden move in perfect rhythm and sync throughout the loft, poised with their guns in their hands as they complete a lap through the space.

Shadows pass under the entrance to the loft, and Braeden gestures to it as Derek moves to slide it open. Noel's eyebrows quirk as he inhales, telling them sharply "Wait, stop, it's-"

Before he can finish, the door is thrown open and both humans raise their firearms, where it's revealed that Lydia was behind the intrusion. Before anyone can speak, she looks up at them, and unleashes a scream.

Blackout.

—

When we return, it's the next day, and Malia wakes Stiles up with a kiss. We then return to the loft, as Derek looks at the gym bag full of money and acknowledges it with a simple "Okay."

"Don't you wanna know why it took so long to return it?" Scott asks skeptically, Derek responding "How much do you make at the animal clinic?"

"Minimum wage," Scott answers, as Derek says with a shrug "That's why."

Noticing how confused Scott looks, Derek adds "Everyone can be tempted, Scott. Even a true alpha."

"You're not angry?" Scott questions in disbelief, as Derek reveals "It's not even mine, it belongs to Peter."

"Where's your money?" Scott asks, as Noel (now revealed to be sitting on the couch next to Derek) answers for his boyfriend "You're standing on it."

Scott looks down at the ground and takes a few seconds to process, eyes widening as he asks excitedly "There's another vault?!"

Derek gives a small laugh, explaining "I own the building. And I have my own bank accounts; All the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we'd actually be better off if the rest never came back."

He reaches out and closes the flap of the gym bag, looking to Scott to see if he needs anything else. Unprompted, Scott tells the two that he knows Lydia was there last night, and assures Derek that Deaton is still looking for an answer as to what Kate did to him.

"If anyone can find an answer, it's him," he promises, as Derek sits back down next to Noel and takes hold of his hand. Both seem at peace with Lydia's visit the previous night, making eye contact and squeezing hands as Deaton gasps awake in an unknown location (revealed later to be his own mind as Fenris inspects him).

—

Malia shows off to Lydia and Kira that she passed her test with a C-, complimenting Lydia's notes as she gets back another test on which she got an F.

Lydia gets distracted by net worth totals for historical people on the board, but Kira assures her that it's all over as we cut to the locker room with Liam and Mason.

—

Liam takes on more weight than he can handle after denying a spotter, struggling to overcome his berserker induced fears and nearly killing himself before Scott rushes in and saves him.

Noel comes in close behind with Mason, looking at the boy gratefully as Scott helps Liam sit up. Mason says his name worriedly, and when Liam dismisses him, Scott chides "If you don't wanna be with us that's okay, but don't push your friends away too."

"You lose good people that way. Trust me, I know. That's how I almost lost my cousin," Noel agrees, stooping down along with Scott.

Liam looks up at Mason who seems relieved but annoyed, as his focus shifts to another berserker hallucination.

—

Argent shares a scene with Peter, in which a berserker emerges from the shadows and Argent opens fire on it.

—

After a break, Scott and Kira enter the loft, as Kira says "Looks like Derek and Noel aren't home."

"They're not, I set them up with a date of their own," Scott says brightly. The rest of the scene between them remains unchanged and just as sweet as can be expected until the end.

Kate and a berserker break through the loft window, Kate in her shifted form and cocking her head as she looks at the couple on the couch.

—

The sheriff reveals that their Eichen House debt has been forgiven (due to Stiles and Lydia's near murder) as he insists he take Malia and Stiles out for dinner. We then see another couple on a date...

—

"This is nuts, there's no way Scott set this up just for us," Noel insists, arms wrapped around himself as he looks around. Derek walks backwards in front of him, saying reassuringly "He had a little help. Now please, stop freaking out and just enjoy it. Please?"

He then turns around and we see a pair of ice skates dangling over his shoulder, as he leads Noel to a bench and starts to put on his skates.

Noel makes a face and follows suit, and we jump cut to an era-appropriate song as Derek skillfully steps onto the empty ice and takes a lap. Noel watches from the step-off point, looking cold and nervous, until Derek glides over and skids to a stop in front of him.

"This is the part where you tell me you played hockey as a kid or something, isn't it?" Noel asks, as Derek shrugs and admits "I'm a man of many talents."

"And many pains in boyfriends' asses," Noel says, yelping as Derek takes his hands and pulls him out onto the ice. "If you break any part of me I'll kill you, I have a game tonight!" Noel yells as the two of them take off, accompanied by Derek's laugh.

The two glide and skate to the music in a small montage (and we get to watch as Noel goes from a practical newborn deer to being able to skate without hugging the perimeter) interlaced with stops for snacks, teasing one another, and plenty of kisses.

Eventually Derek laps Noel and stops in the middle of the ice, gesturing for Noel to come and meet him. Noel does carefully, crashing into Derek's chest as the man steadies him.

"Great. The wolf who needed balance lessons from a human," Noel grumbles, Derek laughing as he raises Noel's arm and gracefully turns him so they're back-to-chest. He doesn't lower Noel's arm, however, keeping it raised as he presses a kiss to his wrist.

Realizing what Derek is doing, Noel starts to laugh, looking up at Derek and saying "Oh my god, you did not just recreate the moment you bit me."

Derek looks mock offended, saying "Of course not, why would I ever?" He kisses Noel's wrist again, biting it gently as Noel laughs and snatches his hand back. He turns in Derek's arms and touches his forehead to Derek's lips, pleased when he receives a kiss. He raises a hand and settles it on Derek's upper back, between his shoulder blades, tracing the triskele over Derek's jacket.

Derek feels the touch and mirrors it on Noel's back, as Noel says softly after a few beats "It's... It's sad."

"Hm?" Derek questions, eyes closed as he traces the pattern again. Noel elaborates, explaining sorrowfully "It's just you and I left."

Derek's heart skips a beat as we see a brief shot from 2x03, of the newly formed Hale pack (Derek, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, and a freshly-bitten Noel) standing together on the ice rink and all touching one another as a casual affection. Derek pauses and drinks in the memory, sighing before saying "It's a good thing you've always had your foot in both worlds from the start, then, isn't it?"

Noel laughs and nods, kissing Derek once as Derek says "Come on, we've got an hour left in our session and I'm not leaving until you master a figure eight."

"Nooo," Noel whines as Derek pulls him away by the hand, and we jump to Argent back in the water treatment plant with Peter and the berserker.

—

Peter impales Argent and traps him in the plant, as Mason tosses a few video games onto Liam's bed and confronts him about whatever's upsetting him.

"If this has anything to do with my dumb crush on Noel, I swear to you, I'll stomp it into the ground forever if it means I get my best friend back" is one of his promises, and the heartfelt speech ends in the two agreeing to play a game together.

—

Kate and her berserker launch into a fight with Scott and Kira, ending with Kate demanding that Scott answer for the fact that he's the reason her family has fallen so far from grace.

Scott tells Kate to take him and not Kira, but Kate corrects that they're all "going to church" as she roars in his face.

—

Stiles, Noel,  and Liam walk into the locker room, Stiles assuring the other two that Scott texted him that morning explaining that he and Kira might be a little late to the game. Liam demands to know how late is late, since they're playing Devenford Prep again and they can't afford for the two to be late.

The coach overhears, asking who's going to be late, as Noel and Stiles shoot Liam a glare and the boy answers "Scott and Kira."

"They might be slightly late," Stiles says placatingly, the coach arguing that slightly late is still late. He asks what they're doing, Stiles pursing his lips and Liam looking off to the side as Noel answers "Uh, things, sir."

"What 'things' could be more important for Scott and Kira than being at this game," Coach asks, as Stiles chides "Aw, Coach" and we cut to the field.

—

The sheriff and Malia arrive at the game, and Malia says "Oh, hey, over there" as she points. We follow her point to where Derek sits in the stands, waving at them as the two join him. Mason sits on another set of bleachers, and we see a shot of Noel warming up on the field as Stiles and Liam have a heart to heart about Liam's full moon-related fears (despite the full moon not being for another 24-hours).

Stiles shoots Scott a text asking how late he'll be, and we watch a compilation of Stiles getting destroyed on the field.

—

Parrish finds Argent in the treatment plant, committing to saving him as we hop back to the lacrosse game. Beacon Hills is down at halftime, and Stiles announces that he's going to go out and look for Scott and Kira.

"Let me come with you," Noel insists, as Stiles says "No no no, no, Derek finally made a game, and right now you and Liam are basically the only chance this team has at not tipping well past the point of no return before I come back."

Liam is startled out of a trance by Coach ordering him to get on the field, and we watch as a hallucination causes Liam to freeze up.

He hallucinates Noel being chased down and stabbed from behind by a berserker in the middle of the field, falling down with blood gushing from his abdomen and mouth. Noel calls out Liam's name asking for help, several times, until Liam blinks rapidly and sees that Noel is perfectly fine and running toward him yelling his name. He grounds himself just as it becomes too late, and Devenford scores another point.

Coach is furious, as Noel runs over to Liam and sets a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

—

After the break, Derek tells Malia to not move, and that he'll be right back as he takes off to grab Noel a water. In his absence, Peter approaches Malia, asking her casually who's winning.

—

Lydia insists to Dr. Fenris that if she talks to a comatose Deaton, he'll hear her, as we return to the game. Liam is seemingly back in his groove, but a rough tackle by Brett lays him flat. Brett explains that he did it because he can smell Liam's fear from across the field, and goads him to get up. Liam does, and Peter and Malia discuss the Desert Wolf briefly before Peter asks Malia to kill Kate in exchange for meeting her birth mother.

—

Kira wakes up in a pile of bones, hearing growls and calling out Scott's name as she realizes she's locked in a cell.

—

After the game, Brett and Liam talk, and Brett compliments Scott as Liam wonders why he isn't there if he's so great.

—

Parrish manages to free Argent from the treatment plant as we go to the loft, where Derek, Braeden, and Noel stand looking at everything. The sheriff and Stiles come in as well, Stiles asking "What the hell happened?"

"It was supposed to be a date," Derek half explains, confirming to the sheriff that both Scott and Kira were there.

"And now they're both gone," Noel says, as Stiles' phone rings and he answers a call from Lydia. She informs him that Scott's been taken, but they have no idea where.

"Mexico," Deaton says, adding "and if you wanna save his life that's where you're going too."

—

We see Scott then to end the episode, strapped down as Kate attaches an animal skull to his head with intention to turn him into a berserker.

We end on his screams of terror, and watch as the skull is lowered onto his face.