Lydia was in a daze. Twigs cracked beneath her bare feet, scratching at her skin until it was bleeding on the leaves as she walked.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, flying out of the tree it was perched in, it swooped right by the Banshee's head, yet she didn't react.

Silent tears spilled down her cheeks as she stumbled around in the darkness, suddenly she came to a halt, bumping into something that snapped her out of her daze altogether.

"What the-" the strawberry blonde couldn't even finish her sentence, instinctively her arms wrapped round her body as she shivered against the cold. The flare of pain in her feet hit her, and she let out a whine, sinking to the ground she leant on the object that had caused her to stop.

A concrete slab, big letters engraved 'Here lies Allison Argent. Daughter, Friend, Hero'
Lydia closed her eyes as a few more tears squeezed out from between her lashes and dripped down her face. Sighing, the girl fell asleep, exhausted.

…

"Stiles seriously can you and Scott just get to school?" The Sherriff pleaded, rifling through his desk drawer "I've got work to do"

"Can you at least promise to look into it?" the teen countered, toying with the straps of his backpack as he gently shrugged off the hand his best friend had placed on his arm to lead him away.

"Sure whatever, throat ripping, recent werewolf attacks in Beacon Hills" Mr Stilinski muttered, shoving a pen between his teeth in order to use both hands to search.

"You still haven't promised" Stiles pointed out, stumbling back as his Father snapped his neck up to glare at him. But before he could begin his rant, the door out front slammed and a woman's shrill yelling could be heard.

"HELP, SOMEONE HELP ME!"

The Sherriff frowned, pushing his way past the teens in his office he crashed straight into Natalie Martin…Lydia's Mom.

"Natalie? What's wrong?" Mr Stilinski questioned, holding her steady by the shoulders
"It's my baby girl, my Lydia, she's gone!"

Stiles felt his stomach plummet to his shoes at her words. Missing? For how long? Where would she go? Why would she go? Was she taken?

He felt Scott nudge him gently and the teen looked up to see his friend frowning as he continued to listen to Mrs Martin speak.

"When did you last see her?" The Sherriff was asking, pulling out a notebook and pen
"Last night, after dinner she shut herself away in her room. She's been doing that a lot lately since Allison-"

Scott tensed slightly at the mention of his late girlfriend's name.

"-but she wouldn't run away, she wouldn't! Oh John what if she's done something stupid?"

"Like what?" Stiles interrupted in a panicked tone
"I know what you're thinking Natalie" The Sherriff said quietly "But you and I both know that Lydia's a smart girl, she wouldn't hurt herself, not on purpose"

"Suicide!" Stiles cried "You think she'd try and kill herself! No way! Not Lydia!" his fists were balled at his sides as he began to shake, fury drowning him.

"You two get to school" His Father insisted through gritted teeth, nodding at Scott to drag Stiles out as Natalie stood sobbing in the doorway.

Scott quickly ushered his friend out of the Sherriff station and over to the jeep the pair had arrived in.

Once they had both clambered in, Stiles thumped the steering wheel before flinging himself back against his seat, breathing heavily.

"Where is she Scott?" he asked eventually, his voice quiet
"I don't know" the other boy admitted sadly "But we're gonna find her" he promised
"How?" Stiles laughed coldly "I doubt she'll just stroll into school"
"What makes you think we're going to school?"

The pair shared a knowing look before Stiles turned the key and slammed on the accelerator, skidding out of the carpark at ridiculously illegal speeds.

…

"Can you smell anything?" Stiles asked desperately, pushing himself off of the jeep where he was leaning.

Scott crinkled his nose, dropping the scarf they'd taken from Lydia's room through the open jeep window before turning back to face the trees.

As he turned, the boy froze, sniffing the air before narrowing his eyes at the woods in front of them.
"What is it?" Stiles demanded, appearing at Scott's side "D'you smell her scent?"
"I…I think so"
"Well then let's go!"

Scott took off running, and groaning Stiles took a deep breath and charged after him, dodging through the shrubs as he went.

"LYDIA!" he screamed above the wind "LYDS CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

No reply came and the boy was thankful for his hoodie as the wind stung his face
"Dude if she's been out here since last night she'll be frozen!" Stiles exclaimed
"I know" Scott replied, trying to focus
"Well then can you amp up the old wolfitude?"

Scott rolled his eyes, sprinting off through the trees again.

After a solid 10 minutes of running he skidded to a halt atop a hill, Stiles crashing into him shortly after.

"Dude what the hell?" the teen panted, doubling over to regain breath
"There" Scott murmured.

Stiles followed his friends gaze down the hill, the view spanned out the entire Beacon Hills cemetery, and the boys were pretty sure they knew the majority of occupants considering the fatalities that had occurred over the past few years.

By one grave in particular, amongst the wilting flowers and fading teddy bear, a hunched up form was huddled beside the headstone.

Stiles felt his heart soar at the sight of a familiar shock of strawberry blonde hair blowing in the breeze. But then it fell again as apart from the aid of the wind, he could see no other movement.

"Scott…" he began in a pained tone
"I'm on it" the wolf assured him, breaking into a light jog down the hill towards their friend.

…

Lydia was cold, freezing in fact. Her pyjama t-shirt was short sleeved and goosebumps covered her skin. She was unaware of her surroundings, barely conscious due to exhaustion and the cold.

The boys slowed somewhat as they approached her, not wanting to scare the girl.

"Lyd?" Stiles called gently "Lyd you hear me?"
She frowned to herself, slowly turning her head until her eyes met the brown ones that were held wide and full of worry.

"Stiles" her voice cracked as she spoke "Scott"
As their familiarity washed over her, so did the emotion from the past 24 hours, and soon sobs wracked Lydia's whole body as she sat shivering beside Allison's grave.

The two boys were there instantly. Scott pulled off his jacket and hung it over her shoulders as Stiles gasped when he reached out to take the icicle that had become her arm.

"Jesus Lydia you're freezing!" he exclaimed, tentatively reaching out and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Coldest night of the year last night" she informed them tiredly, a glazed look in her eyes as she felt the tears drip down her cheeks.

Scott looked at the girl worriedly, his hand resting on her back as he crouched beside her.
"We need to take you to the hospital Lyd" he said softly "Get you checked out"
"I'm fine" she sniffed, wiping her eyes with her forearm.

As she went to stretch out, she let out a hiss of pain, and Stiles instinctively grabbed hold of her
"What? What is it?" he panicked, his eyes flickering over her, checking for injuries
"My feet" she said in surprise, looking down.

The boys followed her gaze, and both winced at the sight of her bloodstained feet.
"Alright we're taking you to the hospital now" Scott said decidedly, getting to his feet
"He's right Lydia, you might need stitches" Stiles flustered, hooking his arm round hers to pull her up.

"NO!" She suddenly yelled, yanking herself out of his grip "I'M STAYING WITH ALLISON!"

The girl knelt down in front of Allison's grave, slowly reaching out her hand she stroked her fingers down the cool, rough concrete slab.

Stiles looked at Scott in exasperation, and the boy sighed.
"Go back to the jeep, we'll meet you there" he muttered, averting his gaze back to Lydia
"What? No way!" Stiles protested "I'm not leaving her!"
"Stiles…Go"

With one last look at Lydia, the teen began wandering back up the hill towards the woods they'd run through.

…

Scott sat down beside the Banshee, and silently leant over to pull the jacket back over her shoulder where it had slipped down during her outburst.

"I miss her too" he admitted quietly "Every day"

Lydia turned to look at him, nibbling on her lower lip anxiously
"I let her down"

Scott frowned "Don't you ever think that, Allison loved you, what happened wasn't your fault!"
"I'm a Banshee, Scott I should've felt it before it happened, I should have saved her!"
The boy simply shook his head, trying hard to conceal his own tears as he wiped Lydia's away.

"We should go" he mumbled after a while "Get you in the warm…plus I'm pretty sure if we leave him any longer Stiles is gonna have a full on spaz attack"

Lydia gave him a weak laugh, slowly getting to her feet and allowing Scott to wrap an arm round her waist to steady her as she swayed uneasily after standing up for the first time in hours.

As they began to walk back up the hill, Lydia stopped briefly and looked back, smiling softly as she caught sight of Allison's grave.

"She loved you too you know?" the girl whispered, turning back to Scott "More than anyone"

Next thing Lydia knew, Scott had pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly.

"Thankyou" he mumbled into her hair
"No problem" she replied

He lifted her up into his arms bridal style once they reached the wood clearing, in order to protect her feet.

"Hold tight" he smirked before breaking into a run through the trees.

…

Scott and Stiles sat impatiently in the waiting room Melissa had directed them to shortly after they'd arrived with Lydia.

"How much longer?" Stiles moaned, shifting his feet along the floor so that his trainers squeaked
"I don't know" Scott answered wearily "She's having stitches in her feet"
"Well how long does that take?"
"I don't know" the boy repeated "She's safe, will you relax?"

Stiles huffed and folded his arms across his chest "Your Mom said she was gonna ring my Dad…he's still at the station with Natalie…Man he's gonna kill us for not going to school"

"Or he'll thank us for finding Lydia" Scott countered fairly "I doubt Mrs Martin will be mad at us for skipping school if it means we found her daughter"

After a while Stiles turned to his friend "Why was she out there Scott?" he asked quietly "All night, spent in a graveyard…anything could've happened to her!"

"I know, but she's okay, we found her, she's safe"

As Stiles opened his mouth to reply, the door swung open and Melissa was stood there looking at the pair with raised eyebrows.

"Lydia's fine" she made clear, holding out her hands to stop Stiles as he jumped from his chair in eagerness to see the girl. "I don't know how it came to her spending the coldest night of the year in a graveyard…All I'll say is that it's a good job you found her when you did, any longer and she'd have caught pneumonia…But if you skip school again-"

Scott bowed his head ashamed, while Stiles just continuously bounced on his toes, waiting to be let out.

"-Forget it" Melissa sighed "Down the hall 4th door on the right"

Stiles shot off instantly, leaving Scott behind to peck his mother on the cheek before following.

…

Lydia was sat up in bed, wrapped in a silver blanket that people are given when their cars break down and they have to stand by the side of the road.

She jumped as Stiles crashed through the door panting, but a smile pulled at her lips.

"You're okay" he stated with a sigh of relief
"Stiles you saw me 20 minutes ago" she pointed out amusedly "I'm fine"
"Lydia, going for walks overnight in the freezing cold wearing only pyjamas is not fine" he told her softly.

The girl looked down, focusing all her attention on the covers, until Scott came through the door.
"Mom said you're alright" he told her brightly
"Tell Stiles that" she grumbled, deliberately avoiding their gazes, yet she heard him groan at her stubbornness.

"Do you realise how terrifying it is to hear you've gone missing!" he cried "When your Mom came into the station this morning in the state she was in I thought you had died or something! D'you remember what I said to you? What I said would happen if you died?"

Scott glanced between the two in confusion as Lydia spoke.

"You'd go out of your mind" the girl muttered, letting her fingers graze over the covers as she shifted uncomfortably under the blanket.

"And I meant every word Lyd" Stiles said softly "I can't lose you, not now, not ever, okay?"

The strawberry blonde felt her cheeks flare at his words, and so she bowed her head so her hair hid it from their view.

Scott smirked to himself as he watched the exchange. But he quickly smothered it, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Was it sleepwalking or what?" he asked worriedly
"I don't know, I guess so…last thing I remembered before you two finding me was last night, after dinner I-"

"-locked yourself in your room" Stiles murmured, his eyebrows dipped into a frown that emitted concern and pain for the girl. "Your Mom said this morning…"

"Oh" Lydia whispered "Yeah…she came up to talk after dinner but I didn't want to, I fell asleep looking at pictures of me and Allison"

The name caught in her throat, and she thought she was going to cry again.

"Hey" Scott's voice interrupted her thoughts "It's okay, if you fell asleep thinking about her, that's probably why you ended up where you did"

"So I'm not crazy" Lydia smiled
"Oh no you're totally crazy" Stiles told her
Lydia's jaw dropped, watching as he pushed off the wall and wandered over to her other side
"Yeah" Scott agreed "But we wouldn't have it any other way, would we Stiles?"
"Nah of course not Scotty" he smirked and they both turned to the girl, grinning.

Lydia shook her head "I hate you" she chuckled
"Yeah we love you too" Stiles smiled
"Now get in here" Scott held open his arms and pulled them in for a hug.

The three sat there in that position for a while, only breaking apart as the door opened again, and Lydia's Mom rushed in, crying as she flung herself upon her daughter.

Scott and Stiles looked on, smiling at the reunion as they backed out of the room, leaving them to it.

"So I say go to school, but you hear, go out and look for a missing Banshee?"

The pair turned round sheepishly, coming face to face with their parents.
"Hey Dad" Stiles greeted "We found Lydia"
"I gathered" he replied dryly "So at least your day skipping school had a positive outcome"

Melissa was nodding along in agreement, her hand rested on her hip
"You boys can't help it can you?" she sighed "Not even when you know the police are on it"
"She's family" Scott stated firmly "And there's no way we were leaving her out there"

Melissa and John shared an amused look, before hugging their respective sons.

"What was that for?" Stiles asked in confusion "You were literally just yelling at us!"
"It's because you two are too caring for your own good" Melissa chuckled, releasing Scott

The boys looked at each other and smiled "Yeah well, I guess it comes with the new supernatural life, kinda hard to be cold hearted when there's a daily possibility of death"

Stiles snorted "Not totally Scotty…Have you met Derek?"

The four stood laughing when Lydia's Mom came out dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
She pulled the boys into a tight hug "Thankyou" she whispered "Thankyou for looking after her"

"Always" Stiles promised seriously
"Yeah, we're always gonna protect her Mrs M" Scott vowed with a warm smile.

The woman squeezed their arms before letting go and wandering off with Melissa to grab a coffee.

"You two go home, get something to eat and get some sleep" Sherriff Stilinski instructed
"Dad" Stiles began to argue
"Hey, you're gonna need at least some sleep if you're gonna come back and sit with her tonight…you are planning on doing that I suppose?" the man sighed.

Scott laughed as Stiles threw himself on his Dad in a quick hug
"I love you pops" he said in his ear
"Yeah I know, now get outta here, I'll ring you when she wakes up from her nap"

The boys nodded, both shooting one last look through the window to check the Banshee was peacefully sleeping, before turning and walking out of the hospital, knowing they'd left Lydia in good hands until they were back.

I wanted there to be a nice Stiles/Lydia/Scott friendship fic because I love any scenes the three of them have together on the show, and I'm hoping there'll be more in season 5. Of course some aspects of this story could be seen as stydia because I ship it hard haha, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyways! Protective Scott and Stiles are my favourite, especially when Lydia's involved ;)