Loss

Pausing at the door to her mom's hospital room, Kali steadied herself with a deep breath and walked in. Tears filled her eyes as she slowly approached the bed, taking note of the machines and wires that were currently keeping her mom alive.

Sitting down in one of the chairs, Kali hesitantly wrapped her trembling hand around her moms and allowed the tears to fall. Hours seemed to pass, before the door opened and she looked up to see the doctor enter with the sheriff.

"You must be Kali," the doctor said as the sheriff put his hands on her shoulders, "I've been told by sheriff Stilinski that you understand your mother's situation, but please be assured that nothing will happen until you're ready..."

"She doesn't deserve to be kept like this," Kali mumbled, wiping her tears with her free hand and looking at the doctor as she continued, "She deserves to be at peace."

"We can give you some time, Kali... time to say goodbye and prepare yourself for what happens next," the doctor replied.

"I'm never going to be ready to let her go, but this isn't about me," Kali argued.

"Okay, is there anything that you need before we go ahead and switch off the machines?"

"Can you call Derek for me?" Kali asked the sheriff, knowing that she would need her alpha close and relaxing a little when the sheriff nodded, "Do you think that she can hear me?"

"The truth is that we don't know, but I like to believe they can and that hearing the voices of the people they love lets them know that it's okay to let go," the doctor told her with a sad smile, "I'm going to give you some time alone with her."

"Thank you," Kali stated, watching as the doctor left and turning her attention to her mother's still form, "I don't know if you can hear me, but... I just need you to know that I love you and I'm going to be fine. I have the pack to lean on and my godfather is the sheriff, so I'm in good hands."

"Derek's on his way," the sheriff announced as he rejoined her, taking a seat on the opposite side of her mum's bed and reaching over to hold Kali's hand, "I made your mom a promise when I agreed to be your godfather, I promised that I would always treat you as if you were my own and I just want you to know that that will never change."

"Do you think that she'd be okay with this decision?" Kali inquired, feeling the sheriff squeeze her hand and looking over at him.

"This isn't a decision that someone your age should have to make, but you're doing what is best for her and I know that she'd be okay with that," the sheriff replied, looking back up as the door opened and Derek walked in.

Getting up, Kali rushed over to where the alpha was standing and broke down as he wrapped his arms around her. It was another half an hour, before Kali was calm enough to call the doctor in and watched as he switched off the only thing anchoring her mom to life.

"What now?" Kali asked as the machine flatlined, tightening her grip on Derek's hand and taking a shaky deep breath.

"Why don't you head back to the house with Derek?" The sheriff suggested, kissing Kali's head and pulling her into a hug as they stepped out into the corridor, "You should be with the pack, I can handle any paperwork that needs filling in and I will check in with you tomorrow."

"Come on," Derek whispered, touching her cheek and wiping away a few stray tears, "Jackson and the pack are already at the house, they all wanted to be there for you."

Feeling Derek's hand on her shoulder, Kali took one final look at her mom through the window and then followed him out to the Camaro. The ride home was silent, but the grief that lay heavy on her heart eased a little in his presence and she allowed herself to crack under its weight.

Jackson was waiting on the porch steps of the Hale house as they pulled up, making his way over and wrapping her in the safety of his arms as soon as she climbed out. She was far from okay and it would take time for her to heal, but she drew strength from knowing that she wasn't alone in the darkness that surrounded her life right now. She had her pack... her family and with their help, she would gradually learn to live with the hole left behind by her mother's death.

Grief wasn't something that you could avoid, it was something that you had to go through and Kali would get through each day knowing that at the end of her darkest night... the sun would rise on a day filled with hope.