Hey guys! Welcome to the sequel to Shivers! If you haven't read that story, I would suggest doing so now (it's in my profile). If you have, then yay! Get excited! Cause Jamie Grant is back!
Chapter 1: Calm Before the Storm
"Hello?"
"And just where might you be, young lady?" Stiles said into the phone as he drove through Beacon Hills.
"A hello would be nice." Jamie replied, refusing to answer his question.
"Hello, darling face. Where are you?" he repeated.
"On Cora's couch, eating cereal and watching men's beach volleyball." she said. She turned to Cora, who was staring at her with one eyebrow perked in apparent offense that Jamie was one the phone. Jamie stuck her tongue out in response.
"Okay first of all, are Dalhausser and Rogers winning?" he asked.
"Barely but yes." she answered him. Cora rolled her eyes, going back to her bowl of cereal and the sports on the screen.
"Excellent. Second of all, finish your cereal quick, cause I'm picking you up and we're going to Allison's." he continued.
"But the match is only half over!" Jamie whined, while Cora once again looked offended.
"But her dad is letting us use the big guns today." Stiles said, making Jamie paused. She turned to Cora.
"Want to go shoot some big guns?" she asked. Cora narrowed her eyes.
"No thanks." she responded. Jamie elbowed her.
"C'mon, it'll be fun. Don't you like messing with weapons?" she asked, giving her a pointed look. Cora unleashed her claws.
"I've got them built in, thanks. Plus, I don't trust being around that spaz with semi-automatics." she stated.
"I mean Mr. Argent will keep him under control, he's been getting a lot better." Jamie said.
"Yea I'm still on the phone and can hear everything you're saying." Stiles deadpanned.
"Good." Jamie said into the phone, going back to Cora. "Okay fine, don't come hang out with us today. But you're still coming to the beach tomorrow, right?"
"Scott wouldn't let me miss it. Plus I'm counting on seeing Stilinski bite it in the waves." she said with a smile.
"He's cute, but coordination isn't always his strong suit." Jamie agreed.
"Still. Here." Stiles said again.
"Hey I said you were cute." Jamie pointed out.
"That almost makes up for it." Stiles muttered. "Anyway, I'll be there in like three minutes so prepare yourself."
"Okay I'll put my clothes back on and Cora and I will make out one more time." Jamie said.
"You keep making these references. I'm going to need proof one day." Stiles replied.
"But it is not this day!" Jamie said. "See you soon. Love you bye."
"Love you bye." he responded, hanging up the phone. Jamie turned to see Cora looking slightly disgusted.
"You know, one day you're actually going to have to admit that you like him." Jamie said. Cora grimaced.
"But that takes all the fun out of everything." she said.
"You don't mind if I go, right? I don't wanna ditch you." Jamie said suddenly, turning to her friend.
"No, don't worry about it." she said, waving her off. "I have to clean this place up anyways before Scott comes over tonight. Plus Derek would kill me if he saw the state of this place."
"He'd kill you if he knew Scott regularly spent the night here." Jamie reminded her.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Cora said with a shrug. Jamie laughed, getting up and pulling her shoes on.
"Is he still up in the wild blue yonder? Derek?" she asked, gathering her things.
"Yep. It's been nice having the place to myself for the past couple months." she answered, stretching out on the now empty couch.
"You don't miss your brother?" Jamie asked sarcastically, knowing that a quiet night without the twins being home was a dream come true.
"He's not the worst. He just thinks he's right all the time. It gets annoying, especially when he is right." Cora answered. "Anyway, have fun shooting stuff. Try not to hurt yourself. Or others."
"I make no promises." Jamie said, leaning over the couch to hug her friend. Cora hugged her back, long used to Jamie's affections. Jamie stood up and headed out the door, jogging down the stairs to the street level of the loft. True to his word, Stiles was waiting there in his Jeep for her. He was typing something on his phone, but stopped once he saw her, leaning over to unlock the passenger door.
"I was just about to call you." he said as she opened the door and hopped in. She leaned across the console, giving him a quick kiss before buckling up.
"Luckily my timing is impeccable." she said, turning to see him staring at her. "What? Something on my face?"
"No, you're just beautiful is all." he said, giving her a smile, his features soft. She blushed, looking down at her lap. Even after six months, his compliments still surprised her sometimes.
"And you're being cheesy." she said, scrunching her nose at him.
"Sorry not sorry." he said with a grin, pulling her close and kissing her again. "Now, let's go shoot some stuff."
"Hell yea." Jamie said as he put the Jeep into drive, pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards Allison's place.
"How was rehab today?" he asked as they drove along the road.
"Great! I got cleared to return to sport!" she said excitedly, her blue eyes shining.
"What? That's awesome!" Stiles said, giving her a high five.
"I mean technically I'm cleared to return to practice and then work my way up to games and stuff but still, that's like ninety percent clearance!" she added, bouncing in her seat a bit.
"Cause you're a champion." he said.
"Yea I am." she replied.
"So does this mean you're going to play the summer league with Bri?" he asked.
"Nah, I think I'll just train with them. Don't want to get too crazy, you know." she said with a shrug. He couldd tell that she probably wanted to play, but was being smart about her injury. It had only been about six months since she had gotten her ACL repaired, she wasn't going to tear it again if she could help it. Stiles reached over, taking her hand in his.
"That's a good idea. Then when the season starts, you're going to blow everyone away with how strong and fast and good at soccer you are." he said. She gave him a smile; it was nice to know her number one fan supported her.
"But at least now I can start some real combat training with Allison." she said.
"Oh no no no. It is definitely way too early for that." Stiles shook his head.
"What? No it's not! I can learn, like, basic maneuvers and such." she argued.
"The most basic. Like, so basic you're not even touching another person. You can fight ghosts. And strong winds. And those little mini leaf tornados that pop up every once in a while." he said pointedly. She groaned.
"But I'm already doing those!" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Well someone has to be responsible so that you don't get hurt." he retorted.
"You're being so grown up right now. What's next, are you gonna do my taxes? Change the oil on my car?" she questioned, smirking at him.
"Well this tax period doesn't end for another like seven months so that would be stupid, and the oil isn't due to be changed on your car for another two thousand miles." he said back, making a face at her.
"Do you really keep track of when my car needs an oil change?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Again, someone has to! You were a thousand miles over last time! Do you know what that does to your engine?" he exclaimed, making her laugh.
"You're such an old man. I love it." she said, still giggling as they pulled into Allison's driveway.
"Am not." he said, suddenly seeming very childlike.
"It's okay, I like when you take care of me." she said, putting a hand on his cheek.
"That's a damn lie. You just like when I take care of boring things for you." he said, licking her hand. She pulled it back, disgusted.
"C'mon we're going to be late." she said with a grin, effectively changing the subject before she got in trouble. She jumped out of the Jeep, ignoring his grumbling as he followed after her. Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, it swung open, revealing Chris and Allison holding large, suspicious looking black bags.
"Oh, you guys are here." Allison said, a little surprised.
"Are we late? Early? Unexpected?" Jamie asked, grimacing a bit.
"You guys are right on time. We were just loading up and getting ready to head out." Chris said, stepping around them and going to the back of his Suburban.
"I still don't get why I have to come too." Lydia said, coming out of the house behind the two Argents.
"Lydia, we've been through this." Allison said with a frustrated tone of voice. "You need to be able to protect yourself."
"Yes, I know. But I can protect myself with the handgun that you already got me. And taught me how to use." Lydia said pointedly. To be fair, Jamie thought, Lydia was probably the last person who needed to learn how to use an assault rifle.
"Well think of this as extra credit." Allison said, raising an eyebrow at her friend.
"Where are Scott and Isaac?" Stiles asked, tossing his backpack into the far back seat of the Suburban.
"They're meeting us there." Allison said lightly.
"And where exactly is 'there'?" Jamie asked as Chris gestured for them all to pile in. Stiles got in the far back, leaving the middle for Jamie and Lydia while Allison rode in the passenger's seat.
"Well Jamie when you shoot big guns, you gotta have a lot of space to do it." Mr. Argent said cryptically. Jamie stared at him for a moment.
"That didn't answer my question at all." she said, making him laugh. "Is this it? Are you finally taking us to the middle of the woods to kill us?"
"Ah, you've found out my plan." he said sarcastically, turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway. "I was hoping to keep it a surprise."
"I'm a very good guesser." Jamie replied, sitting back in her seat.
"There's a huge pasture outside the city." Allison explained, giving her dad a little shove on the shoulder. "It's got a tree line between it and the highway, so it's pretty optimal."
"Sounds like an optimal place for me to damage my shoes." Lydia muttered. Allison turned around in her seat to look at her best friend.
"Lydia, come on. It'll be fun, and you're going to learn a valuable skill." she tried to convince her further.
"I'll determine if it's valuable or not." Lydia responded, turning to look out the window. Allison rolled her eyes, turning back around. Usually Lydia was a little more compliant when it came to their outdoor adventures, but for some reason she was not feeling it today. Guns themselves made her a little nervous, even if she was more than capable of operating one. The idea of having to use a really big gun seemed very, very unnecessary.
The drive wasn't terribly long, but it was definitely longer than they expected. It wasn't until an hour later that Chris pulled off the main road and onto a dirt path, the gravel loud underneath the tires of the car. The trees were thick right off the road, but as he kept driving, they began to thin out. Eventually they opened up, showing a great green expanse of land. He pulled off the dirt road altogether, parking in the grass next to the field. Chris and Allison got out first, followed by Jamie, Lydia, and Stiles. The two Argents grabbed the gun bags from the back, as well as some box targets. Jamie and Stiles grabbed two more of the targets, following them out into the field.
"I feel like we just drove all the way to Middle Earth." Jamie said, looking at the bright green grass and the tall trees.
"You do eat like a hobbit." Stiles said.
"Do not! They eat like ten times a day. I eat at most seven times." she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Eh, round up." Stiles said with a shrug, grinning at her. She made a face at him, reaching out and knocking the big box out of his arms.
"Hey! That was uncalled for!" he said in fake admonishment.
"Gotcha!" Jamie replied, taking off in a run with the big box in her arms.
"Jamie! Stop!" Stiles called, picking up his box and chasing after her. "Jamie Katherine Grant! You stop running on this uneven surface right now!"
But Jamie had no problem running on the grass, even with the large target in her arms. She made it to the Argents with no mishap, besides almost killing Stiles with a heart attack. When he caught up to them, his face was red, and his heart was hammering.
"Someone needs to run more." Allison remarked with a grin. Stiles made a face at her, mocking her a bit.
"Whatever. I'm too old for all of your shenanigans." he muttered.
"You're too old?" Chris asked.
"I have an old soul, okay? Youth these days just don't understand." Stiles replied. Mr. Argent shook his head.
"Well then help me set up these targets while the youths pack the guns over there." he said. Stiles nodded, helping the man put up the various targets while Jamie and Allison moved the guns a solid distance away. Allison waited until Stiles and her dad were finished before showing them the ins and outs of the weapon. Their first weapon of choice was a twelve gauge shotgun, which was probably the most powerful weapon that the Argents had shown them. They had gotten good with pistols and smaller caliber rifles, but it was time to start with the big boys.
"Okay, you're going to want to make sure it tucked really hard into your shoulder, otherwise you're going to get a massive bruise. This will kick a lot more than the .22 rifles we shot the other day." Allison instructed Jamie, showing her where to place the butt of the gun. "Make sure the safety is off, chamber a round, and then line up the pin with the target, but don't shoot yet."
"Got it, boss." Jamie said, clicking the button to release the safety and pumping the gun to chamber a round. She lined the sight up with the target, pushing the butt of the gun as far into the crook of her shoulder as she could.
"Before you shoot, make sure your mouth is a little open." Allison said, slowly stepping back to where her dad and Stiles were waiting.
"What? Why?" Jamie asked, though she didn't move and actually obeyed.
"It'll help disperse the noise so you don't go deaf in that ear for a while." Allison explained. Jamie paused for a moment, then decided that this seemed to be a reasonable enough explanation. "Shoot when you're ready." Allison added. She let her lips barely fall apart, making sure the sight was lined up with the target. She was a little nervous, not quite knowing what to expect from the gun. She gave herself to the count of three before pulling the trigger.
Allison wasn't kidding when she said this gun would kick a lot harder than the other ones. If Jamie hadn't been hard core bracing for impact, the thing might just have knocked her over. A small pain shot through her shoulder, but it was gone within a few seconds. Even with her mouth open, her ear was still ringing slightly from the loud bang that the gun had made. She hadn't hit the center of the target, but instead there was a scatter of bullet holes in the upper left quadrant. Her muscles were buzzing with excitement at this new, powerful weapon. She turned to the Argents and Stiles, a big smile on her face.
"Did you see that?" she exclaimed, laughing. "That was awesome!"
"You did it perfect!" Allison said, smiling back.
"Except for the aiming, but details." Stiles said with a shrug and a smile. Jamie stuck her tongue out at him, then turned back to Allison.
"Do I give it another go?" she asked. Allison nodded.
"But this time, shoot the remaining three shells. You'll have to chamber a new round every time." Allison said, giving her the go-ahead. Jamie nodded, locking the butt of the gun into her shoulder again and chambering a round. She squeezed the trigger, trying to absorb the shock as she pumped the gun again to chamber another round. She squeezed the trigger again, the gun knocking into her shoulder a bit. She ignored the pain that bloomed across her chest, pulling the gun in tight against her to let the last round off. It only took a few seconds, but it felt like it had been much longer. The target was peppered across the middle and left quadrant with marks from the shots, showing how her aim had improved. She turned to see Allison smiling and clapping, and Stiles with his jaw dropped.
"What?" she asked, flipping on the safety and holding the shotgun with the barrel pointing downward.
"Uh, nothing." Stiles said, stuttering and shaking his head. "Just didn't realize I was dating the blonde Lara Croft is all."
Jamie gave him a look that said she didn't buy it. "Seriously? I'm no Lara Croft."
"Um, did you see yourself? You look ready to raid so many tombs." he insisted, giving her an award winning smile as she handed the gun off to Allison.
"So full of it." she said, though she was smiling in return.
"Stiles, you ready to give it a go?" Mr. Argent cut in, interrupting the flirting.
"Yea, let's do it." Stiles said, shaking his hands and arms out. Mr. Argent perked his eyebrows for a moment before leading him in front of the target. He showed Stiles how to load the gun, chamber a round, and turn the safety off before handing it over to him. He then stepped back to where the girls were watching, leaving Stiles to try. He took a deep breath, bringing the gun up and locking it in his shoulder the same way Chris had shown him to. He clicked the safety off, trying to ignore the churning in his stomach and pulling the trigger before he could think too hard about it. The recoil was definitely more than he was used to, but not more than he expected. In fact, he wasn't knocked back near as much as Jamie was. He attributed it to his massive manly muscles.
"Alright, now do the multiple shots." Mr. Argent said, interrupting his thoughts. Stiles nodded again, following Jamie's pattern and letting off three shots as fast as he could. This time the recoil got him a little bit, pushing him more onto his back foot. He was surprised how easily he maintained his balance though. Two years ago, there was no way in hell he could handle shooting a shot gun. Well, sure, he could if he had to, but he couldn't handle it in a recreational setting like this.
"Please tell me I looked at least half as hot as Jamie doing this." he said, turning to the group and pushing the safety back on.
"Eh, maybe." Allison said with a shrug, one corner of her mouth perking up in a grin.
"It's hard to be as hot as I am." Jamie said. Even if she meant it sarcastically, he legitimately agreed.
"Whatever. That felt freakin' awesome. Why weren't we allowed the big guns until now?" Stiles chattered, handing the gun off to Mr. Argent again.
"We started training like a month ago. Baby steps." Allison said, handing her dad some more shells. "Alright, Lydia, your turn."
"Absolutely not." Lydia said, shaking her head and crossing her arms.
"Lydia, come on." Allison perseverated, throwing her arm around Lydia's shoulders.
"No. I don't want to." Lydia retorted, not budging from her spot next to the gun bag.
"One shot? Give me just one shot." Allison said, giving Lydia a pleading look.
"If I shoot it once, will you leave me alone?" Lydia finally snapped, glaring at her friend. Allison smiled in response to her hostility.
"Yes I will." she said with a grin, letting go of her and grabbing the shotgun. She loaded one shell into it, taking Lydia by the hand and placing her in front of the target. She opened her mouth to give the same shpiel Jamie and Stiles had received, but Lydia held up her hand.
"I've got the instructions." she said. She didn't know why she was in such a cranky mood, but she didn't look too far into it. She did not want to be outside shooting guns today, end of story.
"Okay then. Give it a try." Allison said, backing away. The gun felt awkward in Lydia's hands. She was smart, yes. Knowing in her head what to do was one thing, but actually getting her body to follow the instructions didn't always work. She had become relatively proficient with pistols, but this shotgun was a whole other animal. She kept the muzzle down, looking until she found the safety and clicking it off. She chambered the round, holding it up and looking towards the target. The gun was heavy, but she was getting stronger. With an extra surge of determination, she locked the butt of the gun in her shoulder and squeezed the trigger, her ears buzzing after the shot rang out. A burst of adrenaline shot through her, making her muscles buzz with excitement. This gun was more fun than she thought it would be.
However, she couldn't give Allison the satisfaction, so she pulled the corners of her mouth back to neutral and put the safety on, turning back to the group. "There. Done." she said, handing it off to her friend. Allison gave her a knowing smile, but accepted the gun anyways.
"Just one shot, Lydia?" Scott called, walking out of the trees with Isaac. Lydia gave him a sarcastic smile.
"That's all you need when you're perfect." she replied, crossing her arms again.
"How did the tracking go?" Mr. Argent asked.
"Tracking? What tracking?" Stiles asked. Were they tracking something without him? What was it? Everything had been quiet for the past few months - what could they possibly be tracking?
"Well we found you, didn't we?" Scott answered with a wry grin. Oh, so he was tracking them.
"Doesn't mean it was easy." Mr. Argent said, smiling back.
"Oh it certainly wasn't easy. Particularly with all the bridges you crossed. And the fact that there's a house downwind of you that apparently grows mass amounts of rosemary and lavender." Isaac said, a little salty that it had taken them so long to arrive.
"But we found them, and we're better for it." Scott said, ever the optimist. He clapped Isaac on the back. "Now, what do you say we try some of these?"
"I'm good, thanks." Isaac said, going to stand next to Allison.
"Suit yourself." Scott said with a shrug, going to Mr. Argent to get instructions.
"Wait a minute, why did you make me shoot it, but you're not making Isaac?" Lydia asked, whirling on Allison.
"Because you don't have huge claws and teeth and werewolf healing powers." Allison replied lightly, winking at her best friend. Lydia rolled her eyes - she was done with today.
Unfortunately, the rest of the group was not done with the day. They spent the next hour or so trying different rifles and shotguns - big ones. After a while, Stiles and Jamie's shoulders were a bit too sore to continue, though their excuse was the dent they had made in Mr. Argent's ammo supply. As the sun touched the tree line in its descent, they packed up the guns and targets, loading up the Suburban. This time Scott and Isaac rode back with them, getting a nice break from the long run they had earlier.
They made it back to the Argent house, helping Mr. Argent unload all the stuff from the trunk. Stiles tried not to be surprised at the amount of firepower in their basement, but it shocked him every time he saw it. Racks upon racks of guns, all lined up as if a war was coming. A sudden thought occurred to him - did Argent know something they didn't?
"Stiles, come on." Jamie called, waiting at the doorway with Mr. Argent. His hand was on the light switch, an easy smile on his face. No, he was just being paranoid.
"Sorry." Stiles said, shaking his head to clear his paranoid thoughts. The Darkness in his heart had been cleared by the serum Deaton had developed to counteract the injection Dr. Basil O'Henry had given him. He had tried to kill Jamie (and wanted to kill every subsequent person that entered the room before Deaton's antidote), the Darkness exploding out and taking over him until it was eradicated. Now he was free from its clutches on his heart, but he still felt some residual side effects. He was still waiting for disaster around every corner, and his mind still went to the worst possible outcome.
"You okay?" Jamie asked, slipping her hand in his as they walked out of the house. Thank goodness for Jamie, always there to keep him grounded. Any time he found himself slipping away into his dark thoughts, she was there to bring him back. She was his night in shining armor.
"Yea, just thinking." he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, laying a kiss on her head.
"Well don't hurt yourself." she said, her arm slipping around his waist as they walked to the Jeep. He opened her door for her, walking around to his side as she climbed in. He jumped in, buckling up and looking over to her. Her blonde hair was a mess from being out in the wind, her mascara leaving light smudges under her eyes. The skin of her shoulder was tanned and freckled, a little red from being in the sun so long. And so help him, he thought she was beautiful.
"Hey. Love you." he said, leaning over the console to give her a sweet kiss on the lips. She returned the kiss, a smile forming.
"Love you too." she said softly. He smiled, settling back in the driver's seat.
"Where to, my lady?" he asked, starting up the engine.
"Wherever you please, my fair chariot driver." she replied, pointing off in the distance.
"Chariot driver? That's all I am to you?" he asked, pretending to be appalled.
"But of course. I'm too lazy to drive myself, that's why I have you." she replied, patting his shoulder.
"You are the actual worst." he said, shaking his head and pulling out onto the street towards his house.
"Ah, but you love me." she said, settling into the passenger's seat.
"So help me, I do." he responded. She smiled, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. "Any chance I can, ah, spend the night tonight?"
"Alas, you cannot." she said sadly. "The twins are leaving for camp in the morning, so I have to help mom get them all ready and stuff. But we can definitely have some fun at the beach tomorrow."
"And just what do you mean by 'fun'?" he asked in a seductive manner.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure something out." she said, throwing a wink at him.
"You slay me, good woman." he said, pulling the Jeep onto her street.
"That's usually my goal." she replied, pulling his hand up and kissing the back of it. "You can come in for dinner, though. I think mom is making fajitas."
"Oh, my favorite!" Stiles said, parking in front of his house.
"I take it that means you're down?" she asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Absolutely." he said, also unbuckling. They got out of the Jeep, heading up the sidewalk and into the Stilinski house.
"Where's your dad at?" she asked, kicking her shoes off by the door and going into the living room.
"I don't know. Running some errands I guess." he said, following her lead and collapsing on the couch next to her. "I suppose that means we have the house to ourselves."
"Do we now?" she asked, perking an eyebrow.
"So it would seem." he said, giving her a Cheshire grin. She scooted closer to him on the couch, coming up and straddling him.
"And just what should we do to entertain ourselves?" she questioned, her arms going around his shoulders while his came to rest on her lower back.
"I'm sure we can find something to do." he responded, just as she leaned down to kiss him softly. He kissed her again, deeper this time, pulling her towards him so that they were chest to chest. His hands moved up and down her back as her fingers tangled in his hair. Her lips were soft, and warm, and oh so delightful as he continued to kiss her, their tongues occasionally touching against each other. She moved her hips against his, both of them letting out a sigh at the contact. Stiles response was definitely palpable at this point, and his hands moved from her back to her behind, gripping her.
That's when they heard the key in the lock.
Jamie sprung off Stiles as if he had electrocuted her, settling on the couch next to him. Stiles, startled, looked for an escape. His arousal was very obvious at this point, and in a panic he grabbed the couch pillow and put it over his lap. Jamie bit her lip, trying to keep her laugh in.
"You two decent?" the Sheriff called, tossing his keys on the table.
"Of course!" Jamie called back.
"Hey, you are here. I was hoping to see you." he said, coming into the living room.
"Yea! And guess what? My PT cleared me for full return to activities today!" she said, hopping off the couch and bounding over to him.
"That's my girl!" the Sheriff said, picking her up in a hug and spinning her around. "I knew this day would come soon. Proud of you, Jam."
"Thanks, Sheriff." she said as he put her down, an arm still around her shoulders.
"Dad, stop liking my girlfriend more than me." Stiles said with a groan.
"Never." he replied, leading Jamie towards the kitchen. "I think this calls for some ice cream, what do you think?"
"You know I'll never say no to ice cream." she said, going with him. Stiles smiled as he heard their chatter from the kitchen. Even if the Sheriff clearly favored her over him, it was great to see his girlfriend getting along so well with his father. He couldn't help but think that everything was finally as it should be.
Ah, yes. This is the life.
Aw yay! Nice fluffly beginning! Trust me, it's not going to last long.
Leave me a review if you please! Let me know what you think! I know there wasn't a lot of stuff going on in this chapter, but trust me, this one is going to pick up a lot faster than Shivers!
Love y'all!
-XM