Hey guys! I decided to rewrite the chapter when I realised how terribly written it was... You guys deserve better than a half-assed chapter, so this is what I thought would be a huge improvement.
I hope you enjoy it!
When Scott called a pack meeting that morning, Theo had been very confused to find himself invited. He'd thought at first that the hunger and the exhaustion were playing tricks on him. He'd had to look at his phone for almost fifteen minutes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, trying to figure out why he was needed, when he hadn't heard from them in months, since the end of the war. The battery of his phone had dwindled to five percent as he tried making sense of the situation.
It was thanks to the prospect of a warm house that he convinced himself to drop his phone in the passenger seat and start the car.
He got there a half hour later, hunger brought to the back of his mind as he knocked hesitantly: Malia was opening the door as soon as his hand returned to his side, pulling him in by the collar and ripping his last clean shirt as she hauled him inside where the rest of the pack was already sitting in the living room.
Scott and Liam were the first to notice him, and while Scott gave him a hesitant nod, Liam frowned, looking at him in such a way that had him feeling self-conscious. He knew how he looked: haggard, to put it simply.
Theo knew he had lost weight, and not just a little. He was practically Stiles' build now, when before he'd had almost double the mass. The beta seemed to have noticed as his eyes roamed Theo's body, eyes narrowing at the too large clothes he had on.
He needed to concentrate, so he forced his eyes and thoughts to divert from Liam and smirked at the remainder of the pack. "I'm guessing this is not a social call?" He ran his hands through his hair, knowing that there was no way that the pack would willingly be in the same room as him. What was surprising though, was how hurt it made him feel. But after everything he'd done, he deserved to be alone.
"We need information." Malia said plainly. She still stood behind him, and it raised the hairs at the back of his skin to realise that he hadn't noticed. If that had happened with the Dread Doctors… Malia didn't seem to let him delve deeper into his memories, because she put a clawed hand on his neck, squeezing lightly to make sure that the threat was clear.
It certainly snapped him out of his head, but it didn't do much good in favour of calming him down in his already vulnerable position.
He was alone, in the presence of a whole pack.
Liam stood up, drawing attention to himself as he glared at the werecoyote. "Stop it, Malia. He'll help for this. There's no need to threaten him." His eyes flashed and he stepped forward a step. The beta made him want to smile; he may not be a friend, but he was certainly an ally.
He felt, more than saw, Malia scowl. "Fine." Her claws retracted and she reluctantly stepped back, not looking at all happy about him not even having small pinpricks from her claws on his neck. His 'thanks' to her was sarcastic, of course, but he couldn't help the small sense of satisfaction that he felt when he made her frown deepen.
Mason was the one that spoke next. "We need information on Ultra. A project-"
"I know what it is." He interrupted. His fists clenched as he felt his claws come out. "The question is, how do you know about it?" His teeth and eyes remained normal, but he was practically growling at Scott, who was looking at him strangely as he tried to figure out the reason for why the subject had gained such a strong reaction from the chimera.
Theo was not happy to admit that Ultra was a bit of a taboo topic for him.
Scott carried on. "We found a base in Colorado, not one in favour of Monroe, but not necessarily against either. The whole place acted more as a filing cabinet than anything else, storing information on anything supernatural and related to it. We had the place watched for weeks before we organised a raid with the help of the local pack." He gestured to the older Hale. "Peter went with them, and there was information on the Dread Doctors in there as well." It didn't go unnoticed that Theo's heart had started thundering in his chest. "There were files on Ultra. We thought you may have known the girl that gave life to patient X before being sold to the hunters that were staying at the base." Theo felt cold. He felt as if he'd been torn open. He felt raw and old, despite his strength and youth. He wanted to get away, to so desperately run and hide, to never have to face the pack after the conversation that he knew was about to happen.
Lydia clicked her tongue. "We want information on the baby chimera. Powers, strengths, weaknesses?" Lydia drawled at him. It wasn't necessary to be a genius to figure out that she still resented him for getting her sent to Eichen, not that he could blame her for it.
Still, he was not going give up information on something so close to him without a good reason. He turned to her in anger, eyes blazing and half-growling as he spoke. "Why? What do you want with her?" It was too late that he realised his mistake. They never mentioned the gender of the baby. Lydia smirked, even as she stood protected by Stiles, that had gotten in between the two when Theo started growling.
Corey, naïve Corey, decided it was a good idea to get involved in this discussion. "So you do know something." He looked almost excited to be having a conversation with the big boys.
Theo reigned his emotions as well as he could. "I don't know anything." He was firm in his assertion, making sure to keep his heart as steady as he could.
At this point, everyone knew not to trust what he said, and as he looked up at the doubting faces from the rest of the occupants in the room, he still couldn't help but feel a pang of something. Stiles was the first to scoff as his father oh-so-innocently cleared his throat. "Please. Spare us the lies. We've heard enough of those from you to last a lifetime." Theo bit back his scathing remark. He wanted to shout, to scream, ask Stiles if he really thought he'd do everything he did of his own free will, if he really thought he was pure evil. He tasted the familiar-and how disturbing that was-tang of blood in his mouth, as he realised that the only answer he was going to get from whom he had considered a best friend, a brother, in the past was certain 'yes'.
He wanted to laugh, to cry as the realisation that Stiles, whom he had played with, laughed with when he was young, would never look at him and not see a monster. Scott too, the boy he'd shared asthma with, he'd said that he was barely human. He wondered if they would forgive him if he ripped his own heart out, gave it to them; it had seemed to make Tara happy in hell.
He looked around him, noticing Melissa and Argent in the doorway to the kitchen, the new pack member Alec standing close to the couple. He was surrounded. "I'm not telling you anything." He kept his eyes trained on the floor as he struggled to get ahold of his breathing. A lump had formed in his throat in the meantime. He obviously couldn't even cover his chemosignals anymore if the shocked and concerned faces of those with heightened senses were anything to go by as he looked back up. "I'm leaving." He turned to go to the door when he heard a thump coming from the bedroom upstairs before light feet could be heard bounding down the corridor.
There were various whispers of 'What is she doing?' and 'I thought she agreed to stay in your room!' before a small body came stumbling down the stairs. They froze at the bottom of the stairs, eyes travelling to meet Theo's and he couldn't help the sharp intake of breath he took as emotion overcame his body completely.
"Daddy?" A small voice disrupted the silence, and Theo could do nothing more than take her in; all of her. The way her cheeks were still chubby, how her raven hair had gotten longer and her scent. Her scent was what hit him the hardest: she'd obviously learned how to mask it since he would have smelled her even from outside the house, but her scent, the scent that was so undeniably him, made his heart clench. Dean always smelled like pine and apple juice. He'd told him that on several occasions, and the hunter would always rebut by putting his nose on Theo's neck, breathing him in and telling him that he smelled like chocolate and raspberries, or right after they'd rolled around in bed for a while "God, Theo. You smell like goddamn cut grass, what is wrong with you? I stink!".
Those thoughts flew by in a moment before he was falling to his knees, arms lax by his sides as he ignored the concerned exclamation of 'Theo!' from Liam. "Alex." It was barely a whisper, but she heard him, and it was the last push she needed to launch herself at him, body hitting his with a loud thump as he managed to wrap his hands around her protectively.
He felt her sobbing before he heard her, loud hiccups sounding in the silent room. He buried his head in her neck, whispering that it was okay, that he was there. "They said you left." She was sobbing as she explained that they wouldn't let her see him. His heart thumped as Theo tried to comfort her.
He was still trying to process what he was seeing, what was happening as he whispered assurances into her neck. "I'm here baby. It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." He was past caring that there were people seeing him cry as he lifted her chin to look at him. Those eyes, the same eyes his mother had, the same eyes Tara had, the ones he did as well, stared into him. "I'm never letting anyone take you from me again, okay Bright-Eyes? Never again." He kissed her forehead gently as he cradled her to his chest and let her cry.
He didn't know how long he sat on the hard floor, though he really couldn't make himself care. All that mattered was right there in his arms, and he promised himself right then that he was never going to let her down again. "I'm so sorry, baby girl. I tried getting you back. I did everything they wanted." A shaky breath left him. He wasn't proud of what he'd done. "I should have tried harder." He looked at what was now her sleeping face, tear stains marking blotchy cheeks and he couldn't help but smile at her.
A hand fell on his shoulder and he suddenly reminded himself that he wasn't alone, that Scott's pack had seen everything. "Theo." Liam moved to kneel in front of him, hand still on his shoulder. Theo couldn't help but look up at him, seeing the complete disarray of emotion that lay behind those blue eyes.
Liam couldn't help but feel like the wind had been knocked out of him. The scene happening in front of him was captivating. It was a side of Theo he'd only seen a flash of at the hospital with Gabe. This, he thought. This is Theo.
There was so much he wanted to ask, so much he needed to ask that he didn't even know where to start. It was when Theo and him were staring at each other that Liam realised that what Theo needed at the moment, was a friend. He found himself asking the question before he'd even finished the thought. "Are you okay?" The words seemed to echo in the room.
He wasn't expecting Theo to chuckle, albeit bitterly, and seemingly, neither did the rest of the pack. Theo's eyes fell to who was apparently his daughter, before he gave an answer. "I haven't seen her in almost two years. How do you think I am?"
Liam didn't say anything. He could do the math, and apparently it added up to the time period in which Theo had come to Beacon Hills. He could do nothing more than glance at Melissa, who's chemosignals were worrying. She seemed to be fluctuating between misery and terror. "How old is she?" It seemed like an appropriate question to ask.
Theo smiled sadly. "Almost five. She was born when I was barely fifteen." There was a sharp intake of breath from the rest of the occupants in the room.
Liam looked at him sharply. "What about…"
Theo raised an eyebrow and smirked. "The other parent?" Well, not exactly the words Liam would have used, but essentially, yes. He nodded slowly, not wanting to seem prying. "Dead. It happened three weeks after Alex was born." He looked away from Liam, lost in thought for a couple of moments before he stood up slowly, back still to the pack. Liam stood with him. "I think I should go." Liam could do nothing more than grab his arm lightly, almost flinching at how thin he felt under his hand.
Liam took a breath. "Can we talk?" It was hesitant at best, and Theo looked about to refuse, when Liam continued. "Alone." He could only imagine what Theo was feeling right that second, but getting away, even if for only a while, from a pack that he didn't trust, seemed to be the best way to recuperate and get his bearings back.
Liam hesitantly pulled Theo towards the stairs, feeling Theo tense immediately. "You can leave her upstairs and then we can go for a drive." Theo seemed to agree, because he went up and came back down in only a few minutes: in those few minutes, Liam resolutely ignored the pack's questioning looks and shook his head, signalling that there would be no explanation coming from him.
As soon as Theo was back, Liam grabbed him from the wrist and dragged him outside, not surprised at how thin it was. They took Liam's car, driving for almost an hour before they ended up in front of the preserve. Liam killed the engine, leaning back into his chair, deciding how to best approach the subject.
"Are you really okay?" He finally asked. He looked at Theo who seemed to be about to answer. "Please don't lie to me. I'm not even considering the fact that you just got your daughter back."
Silence reigned once again before Theo took a breath. He looked out the window, eyes roaming the forest beyond. "You were looking at me strangely when I got to Scott's. I figured you noticed I haven't been eating a lot."
"It seems to me like you haven't been eating at all." He didn't mean for it to come out that way, to sound so accusatory. Liam winced at himself. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."
Theo ran his hands through his hair tiredly, turning to look at Liam. "Then how did you mean it, Liam?"
Liam opened his mouth again. "I know you well enough to know that you're not doing it on purpose." His voice came out soft, defeated, as he tried to understand what was happening with the older chimera. He wondered what had happened to Theo to render him the way he was. "Are you just not hungry? Please Theo, I need you to talk to me." He was desperate at this point: Theo had never really been one to show that something was affecting him, but the way he looked now…
Theo stared at him. He seemed to be searching for something in his expression, and whatever he found must have been good, because he sighed rubbing his face with his hands. When he dropped them, he didn't look at Liam, he seemed to be doing his best to avoid his eyes, and that was a sign that Liam knew meant that whatever he was going to hear was something he wasn't going to like. "I live in my truck." It was said quickly, but Liam understood: he understood that Theo was homeless, that Theo was alone in this world, that he had gone to hell and been presumed dead by the authorities when he stopped showing up at school. "I have no money and now that I have my daughter back…"
"When was the last time you ate?"
"Monday." Liam had the urge to laugh hysterically as he realised it was Saturday today.
"What did you eat?" He asked after a moment.
Theo smirked a little. "An apple." It made Liam feel sick to know that even after a week, the chimera was able to function normally. Well, as normally as people like them could be.
Liam was momentarily floored as he thought of how Alex's reappearance would worsen his currently already shitty situation. He took a deep breath. "You need help, Theo."
He wasn't expecting for the other boy to laugh. "Please, Liam." He stared when he had calmed down. "Who would help me?" The last word was said so hatefully, like Theo believed he was unworthy, like he felt that he couldn't be saved.
It only strengthened Liam's resolve. "I would." He didn't raise his voice, didn't sound forceful, but it made Theo tense, like he'd just been threatened.
"Don't be an idiot, Blue Eyes." He was smiling as he said that. "You already pulled me out of hell." His eyes looked shattered for a moment, like he was seeing something no one else could, before he cleared his throat. "I guess, if you really want to help…" Liam waited with baited breath as Theo tried to finish the sentence. "I guess it would be rude of me to decline." Now, that was the Theo whom he'd spent hours arguing with, the one that made him scoff his obnoxious character, and maybe, just maybe, made his heart beat just a little faster.