'Mama, come here. Approach. Appear.'
Losing Claudia Stilinski was a huge blow to everyone she knew, even though it had been inevitable, as she had been diagnosed with frontaltemprol dementia eight years prior, a terminal illness that slowly and painfully took over her brain, it was still extremely saddening.
However, the two people that were the most affected were her husband, Noah Stilinski and her nine year old son, Stiles.
Stiles had been there when he saw his mother leave this world, and everyone knew he wouldn't be the same after that, so when he started having panic attacks, no one was surprised. It didn't help that he had also been diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD, constantly forgetting to take his medication for his ADHD and only making his anxiety worse. But he had a best friend, which helped a little bit.
Scott McCall.
The two boys had met when they were four years old at preschool, and despite being nine months apart, the two became inseparable.
Scott didn't have the best life ever either, with his dad walking out on him and his mom when he was seven, not being the smartest person in class, and being diagnosed with asthma at five. But it could have been worse.
While they were best friends, probably what made them practically brothers was when Stiles had to live with Melissa and Scott for a little over a year.
'Daddy, I'm alone. Cause this house doesn't feel like home.'
Melissa suspected things were wrong when Stiles started coming with Scott to the hospital to wait for her to get off of work, when he would normally head to the station where his dad was.
"Hey boys." She smiled warmly, giving Scott a hug. "Does your dad know you're here, Stiles?"
Stiles responded by shrugging and going back to his homework, sending off another warning in her head, as Stiles would normally go on a long explanation, and soon a simple question would turn into the long version of "what did you do today?"
Scott, however, had a answer, which scared Melissa pretty badly, for both Noah and Stiles' wellbeing.
"No one knows where his dad is, Mom."
Melissa grabbed her cellphone out of her pocket, immediately dialing Noah's number, pressing it to her ear, but received no response, leading her to make another call, this time, to the station.
"Beacon Hills Sheriff Station, this is Deputy Tara speaking. Can I help you?"
"It's Melissa McCall, I need you to put Stilinski on the phone, NOW."
"He hasn't been here since his wife died. I've been in charge for about a month now."
"He told me he went back to work last week!" Melissa yelled, causing her to get some strange looks from the patients and coworkers. She lowered her voice. "No one knows where he is, Tara. I've had Stiles come into the hospital with Scott waiting for me to get off of work for three days now."
She heard the jangle of keys from the ring, and the sliding of a coat on someone's shoulders, as it was getting colder with the season change from fall to winter.
"I'm gonna go look for him now. Just keep Stiles with you till then."
Then the line went dead, and Melissa hung up her phone, going back to the nine year old boys, who were quietly working on homework together.
"Boys. After I get off of work, I'm gonna take you both to get some food, Kay?" The two looked up from their homework to nod excitedly nod, much to Melissa's relief.
"Kay, you two agree on a place to eat. I've gotta get back to work." She told them, kissing Scott's forehead before grabbing her chart off of the counter and going down the hall to her next patient.
...
After taking the two boys to McDonald's that night, both of them ecstatic when Melissa had gotten them Happy Meals, she had brought them back to her house, and set them up on the couch with Scott's dog, Chip, watching Cars, when a knock sounded at her door.
"Coming!" She yelled, coming to the door and opening it to see who she assumed was the deputy that she had talked to on the phone just hours earlier.
"I need to have a conversation with you." She insisted, before looking at the two boys on the couch, playing air guitar to Life Is A Highway. "It may be best if they didn't hear about this."
"Come in. We can talk in the dining room." Melissa told her, letting Tara in the house, closing the door behind her.
"Tara!" Stiles yelled, running up and hugging her, smiling happily. "Did you find my dad?" The smile turned to seriousness in a instant when he asked and she responded by running her hand through his hair, causing the wide grin to come back.
"Yes, I did. But I need to talk to Melissa for a few minutes about adult stuff, so go back to watching your movie, okay, bud?"
"Okay!" Stiles ran back to the couch, almost tripping over his feet before climbing back to his spot beside Scott, with Chip moving to lay on both of their laps.
The two women went into the dining room, sitting down at the table after Melissa had closed the door to the dining room, not wanting the boys to hear anything.
"I found Stilinski in the next town over, wandering through the streets and in a daze. When I did a sobriety test on him, he was extremely drunk, and when I got him to the hospital, he had twice the legal alcohol limit in his blood. I had one of our officers take him back home, but I'd figure that I'd tell you what's most likely gonna happen to Stiles."
"It was only once, right?" Melissa questioned, trying to get her friend out of trouble.
"Melissa, your own husband was a alcoholic, you know what that is like. My boss left his nine year old son who just lost his mother last month to go drink in Davenford. I think you know what we have to do, for Stiles' safety."
"I can't believe you wanna put him in the system..." Melissa sighed, biting her lip softly, hearing the boys laugh at jokes they didn't understand.
"It's what's best for him, till his father gets some help." Tara insisted, opening the door to leave when Melissa had a idea.
"Wait. What if I take him in?"
"Melissa, you are not a foster parent. Not to mention, you can barley manage you and your son."
"You can't rip him from everything he knows, Tara. He just lost his mom, just got diagnosed with ADHD, panic attacks, anxiety, and if he is gonna be taken away from his dad, at least let him live with Scott and I. I'm a nurse, I know how to take care of all that. Don't just drop him off with someone who can't." The nurse pleaded, as she had grown to love the nine year old as a son in the past five years she had known him.
"Fine. I'll set up a meeting for you with someone who works with these kinds of these situations, but if they don't see it fit for him to stay here, he will be put in the system. Understood?"
"I understand." Melissa slightly chocked on her words, keeping a tear from running down her face, before opening the door for the deputy.
"I'll see you soon." Tara smiled at Stiles and Melissa, since Scott and Chip had fallen asleep on the couch. "Goodnight, Melissa."
"Night." Melissa told her, closing the door behind her before turning to the nine year old who had pulled at the scrubs she had yet again forgotten to change out of.
"When can I go home?"
Melissa bit her lip nervously, before lifting the light nine year old in her arms while he yawned.
"You're gonna stay here for awhile, like a big sleepover."
Before he could protest, he laid his head on her shoulder, falling asleep, causing the nurse to shake her head playfully, lifting her son into her other arm, carrying the both of them up the stairs.
...
Melissa was allowed to keep Stiles, which was a huge relief to her, but now she had to tell the boys, and she had a sinking feeling it would end with the older of the two nine year olds in tears.
"Scott! Stiles! Can you come here?!" She called up the stairs, and around two minutes later, the two boys ran down, almost tripping over their feet, Chip right behind them, barking loudly.
"Quiet, Chip." Her son told the dog, who licked his face in response, making the boy laugh loudly before Melissa ushered the two boys into the dining room, and sat them down.
"Whats going on, Mom?" Scott asked, glancing at Stiles, who was trying to keep his attention on Melissa, but was drumming his fingers on the table and slightly twitching.
Melissa sighed softly, before finally giving a explanation.
"Stiles, you're gonna stay here for longer then I expected."
"H-how long?" He asked, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes welling up with tears just about to let them spill over down his cheeks.
"I don't know that yet. Your dad is going through a lot of things, and until he's better, you get to stay with Scott and I." Melissa smiled, trying to keep him from crying, but that immediately failed when he started sobbing. "Oh, baby..." She sighed, lifting him into her arms, letting him cry on her shoulder. "Scott, go wait in the living room, alright?"
"Alright, mom." He slid out of the chair, sending a saddened glance towards her and his sobbing friend before leaving the room.
"I-is he ever g-gonna get b-better?" Stiles asked, stuttering on his tears, causing Melissa to get a lump in her throat, knowing that the nine year old was thinking that he was gonna lose his dad as well.
"He will, bud. I just don't know when. As soon as he gets better, you get to go home, okay?" She questioned, running a hand through his dark brown messy hair.
The boy nodded, wiping his tears on his sleeve before resting his head on her shoulder, a occasional sob making his whole body shudder.
"Hey, I'm gonna get you your medicine, then you can go play, alright?" She told him, setting him in his chair before grabbing his Adderal, and handing him the pills as well as a glass of water.
He quickly downed the pills and water, then left the room, and when she went into the living room to talk to her son, she saw Chip chasing Stiles up the stairs, and after hearing the boy laugh, she let out a sigh of relief, before sitting down on the couch with Scott.
"Is Stiles gonna be okay?"
"Stiles will be fine, but he's gonna stay here for awhile, okay?" Melissa was hoping for a quick confirmation, but the question her son responded with immediately sent her back two years.
"His dad is drinking, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is." Melissa told him truthfully, not wanting to lie to him. "Don't think about that though. Just think about the fact that Stiles is living with us for awhile, okay?"
"Okay, mom." He smiled, before running up the stairs hearing Stiles yell at Chip to stop barking at him.
...
'Hold on. Hold on. Hold onto me.'
The first month went normally. The boys would go to school together, Melissa would go to work, they would come to the hospital and work on their homework till she got off, then she would turn on a movie for them while taking Chip out, and when she got back, they would be asleep.
Then it went sour for Stiles.
It started off as sleepwalking. Melissa would be just going to bed when she heard slow, small footsteps descended down the stairs. When she went to go see what it was, she would see Stiles stumbling down them, his eyes completely closed, and she would simply pick him up, and hold him against her chest till he stopped moving, then she would take him back to bed, and go to sleep herself.
Then it escalated.
Melissa was on the phone with Tara, getting a update on Noah, who was slowly getting better, but it was still unfit for the nine year old to return home.
A piercing scream filled the entire house, causing Melissa to throw the phone, and run into Scott's room, where Scott was starting to wake up, and Chip, who normally slept by Scott's feet, was running for protection from the noise.
Stiles was thrashing and screaming while sitting up, completely awake, but unable to comprehend fiction and reality.
Melissa sat on the bed, wrapping her arms around his so he couldn't hurt himself, as she whispered.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. You're alright."
Stiles let out a strangled sob before starting to calm down in her arms, shaking against her body.
"Come on, bud. Let's go downstairs." She told him, standing up while holding him.
"Is he gonna be okay, Mom?" Scott asked, and slightly freaked out would be a understatement to describe the boy and his dog, who was starting to inch out from under the bed.
"I think so. Go back to sleep, Scott." She told him softly, still trying to sooth the sobs coming from the older of the two.
"Okay. Can you leave the door open, Mom?"
"Sure." She smiled at her son before taking Stiles down to the kitchen, and sitting him on the counter, before wiping his tears with her thumbs. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
"I-I think so." He sniffed, wiping his tears on his sleeve before looking back into her eyes.
"Tell me what happened, bud."
"I-I had a d-dream where I-I...lost m-my dad." He admitted, starting to cry again. "A-a...evil m-monster got him."
"Oh baby." She sighed, pulling him against her chest, his body wracking with sobs.
"C-can I please c-call him? I-I wanna s-see if he's okay." He insisted, lifting his head out of her now tear and snot stained shirt.
"I don't think that's a good idea, bud." She told him, handing him a tissue, then a idea popped into her head. "How about I ask Tara though?"
"OK." He smiled softly, wiping his eyes and nose, before yawning. "Can you ask tomorrow?"
Melissa chuckled slightly, while lifting the nine year old back into her arms, and started going up the stairs. "Sure, bud."
"Also... Can I sleep with you? I'm scared of the monster still."
"Yes, you can, sweetheart." She smiled, walking past Scott's room and smiling when she saw him asleep again, the dog under his arm. She walked into her room, laying Stiles down in the bed, getting in herself. Running her hand through his hair, she whispered. "Go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay, Mom." Stiles responded, more then half asleep, causing Melissa to get choked up, before she kissed her forehead, and turned off the lamp, whispering.
"You're welcome."
'Cause I'm a little unsteady.'
...
Two months later, Stiles was racing to grab at the cell phone in Melissa's hands to talk to his dad again.
It had been four months since his dad had disappeared, and he just wanted to hear his voice again so badly.
"In a minute, baby. Tara's getting him." Scott's mom insisted, running her hand through his hair before handing him the phone.
After a few seconds of a static filled silence, a voice finally spoke on the other line.
"Hey, Stiles."
"Hi dad!" Stiles exclaimed happily, holding the phone closer.
"Are you behaving for Melissa?"
"Yep! Actually, I didn't eat my vegetables last night, but other than that, I am."
"Good. How's school? You're still doing a good job?"
"Yeah, I am. I've gotten A's on all my papers except one time when I got a B."
"Awesome kiddo. I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks Dad." Stiles beamed, before asking. "Are you feeling better? Scott's mom said you weren't feeling good, and that's why I'm staying with her."
"Yeah, bud. I'm feeling better." He insisted, before sighing. "Alright, I gotta go. Keep behaving for Melissa."
"I will."
"And Stiles?"
"Yeah, dad?"
"I love you, and you're not gonna lose me too."
"Love you too, dad." Stiles sniffed, about to cry, before the line went dead.
'If you love me, don't let go.'
The nurse watched the nine year old walk up the stairs, slouching and wiping his face on his sleeve, before he disappeared up the stairs, the door closing to the room the boys now shared. Her response was to hang up the phone, and follow him, knocking softly on the door.
"Y-yes?" A voice stuttered, clearly crying, but trying to conceal it.
"It's me, sweetheart. You wanna let me in?" She questioned gently, and she didn't receive a response. Instead, the door flung open.
Melissa slowly walked in, only to feel her heart break when she saw Stiles trying to conceal his tears falling down his cheeks.
"I-I'm not c-crying..."
Melissa lifted him into her arms, gently holding him against her shoulder, rubbing soft circles on his back. "It's okay to cry, baby." She insisted.
And then he lost it.
He started heavily sobbing on her, almost wailing, and just repeating over and over.
"I miss my dad." And " I wanna go home."
The exact reason Tara didn't want Stiles to talk to Noah for a few months, especially since in the short period they had taken Stiles away, Noah had drank heavily again, even though he kept insisting against it.
"I know, baby. I know." Melissa whispered, trying to sooth the nine year old, who eventually calmed down enough to stop crying. "I've got a idea. Since Scott's at a sleepover with Danny, do you want to go get some dinner together, then watch a movie?"
"Sure." Stiles smiled slightly, grabbing his coat for the cold January weather, while Melissa left the room to grab hers.
Ten minutes later, the now happy nine year old ran down completely dressed to go, while Melissa was finishing up texting Tara about Stiles and Noah.
"Hey, can I start the car?"
"Stiles, that's ridiculous. No, you can't start the car, you could get hurt." Melissa told him, glancing up from her phone screen to see him pulling the puppy dog eyes on her.
"Dad lets me start the car..."
Melissa sighed, and just as she was gonna insist it was a bad idea, she remembered she lived in a safe neighborhood, and that no one would hit a kid in her driveway. She handed the keys to him, muttering quietly so he couldn't hear.
"You're making me let you do everything..."
"Thanks mom!" He exclaimed, running out the door, causing Melissa to jump, realizing that she had just been called Mom by someone who wasn't her kid. But she wasn't mad. She sent a final text before getting to the car, smiling the whole time.
'Stiles is gonna be fine'.
...
Melissa had Stiles in her care for nine months now, and other then the occasional night terror, he was happy, cracking jokes and despite still being homesick, and occasionally begging to let her see his dad, he was okay.
Then the bullying started.
The nurse didn't know when it had started, but she was about ninety nine percent sure when it went from verbal to physical.
Melissa had just gotten back from a shift at the hospital and was washing the dishes when she heard the door opening.
"Hey boys!" She greeted from the sink. "I'm in the kitchen!"
"Mom?!" Her son yelled as he ran into the kitchen at full speed, leading her to immediately turn off the water and start drying her hands.
"What's wrong? Where is Stiles?"
"That's... what's wrong." He insisted, gasping for air. "He's in the...living room."
"Scott, baby." She told him, kneeling down to his shoulders, grabbing his inhaler. "Just breathe."
Scott took the inhaler from her, shaking it, placing his mouth, pumping it before inhaling. He repeated the process again but after that he was able to breathe clearly again.
"Good. Now, let's go check on Stiles, Kay?" She suggested, leading him into the living room, and what she saw caused her to get a huge lump in his throat.
Stiles was laying on the couch, Chip licking his hand. The boy had tear stains covering his face, with a black right eye, busted lip, a cut above his left eyebrow, and Melissa had no idea was what was under his jacket, but she had a sinking feeling that the injuries she could see were the tip of the iceberg.
"M-Melissa?" He whimpered with a hoarse voice before wrapping his small hand around his neck, indicating that something must've happened to his throat as well.
She ran to the couch, and despite her motherly instinct telling her to cuddle him, she knew that if he had more bruises or worse that it was a bad idea, as it could hurt him more.
"What happened, kiddo?" She questioned, running a hand through his hair, feeling her heart shatter.
"Jackson happened." Her son seethed through his gritted teeth, shocking her. "You know, if I was allowed to, I would've punched him back."
"He punched you?" Melissa asked the beat up child, who whimpered in pain at her soft, gentle touch.
"I-it's not t-that bad." The ten year old managed so quietly she could barely hear him.
"Stiles, that is not what I asked. Did he punch you, yes or no?" Melissa demanded with force in her voice, praying to get a answer from the boy.
He nodded slowly, fresh tears threatening to spill over and if that was pain or having to admit someone had messed with him, something Melissa noticed he didn't like doing from even before he had started living with her.
"Alright, let's get you fixed up. Scott, can you go upstairs and get the first aid kit?"
"Sure, mom." The nine year old smiled slightly before bolting up the stairs, Chip at his heels the entire time.
Melissa quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed some ice packs, before coming back, asking.
"What hurts, bud?"
"E-everything, but m-mostly my t-throat and my left s-shoulder."
Melissa pressed her lips together in a fine line, before reaching over, and slowly taking off the boy's thin jacket in order not to hurt him.
She was about to push up his short sleeve in order to get a good look at his shoulder just as she heard Scott and Chip barreling down the stairs.
"Here you go, mom." He told her, handing her the kit while Chip disappeared into the dining room.
"Thanks, bud. I can take it from here."
Melissa watched her son smile slightly at Stiles, before going into the dining room where his dog was, and disappearing from her view.
After cleaning most of the cuts on his arms, placing the ice packs on the bruises and him insisting that it was just his face and arms, the nurse gently pushed his sleeve up, gently wrapping her hands around his shoulder. She heard the ten year old gasp and looked up to see his eyes shut tightly.
"Alright, I'm pretty sure your shoulder is dislocated." She sighed, taking her hands off of him to run her hand through his hair. "That cut above your eyebrow doesn't look too hot either, and since I have no idea what I can do for your throat, I'm gonna have to take you to the hospital, sweetheart." She told him, which made him immediately go into panic attack mode.
"P-please don't. It's s-scary t-there."
"Honey, you go there after school to wait for me." Melissa tried to reason, in order to slow his breathing down. "No one is gonna hurt you."
"I k-know, but what a-about my mom? She died t-there. It s-scares me s-still." He managed, hyperventilating more and more with every breath.
"Stiles, breathe. It's okay. You're not gonna die. Alright? You'll be just fine." Melissa insisted, sitting him up so he was leaning against the back of the couch. "Shh... Tell you what. After we go to the hospital, we'll call your dad, and tell him how brave you were. Sounds good?"
"O-okay." He whimpered, starting to calm down, just as Scott came back, a tennis ball in his hand, Chip jumping up to reach it.
"Mom, what's going on?" He asked, before throwing the ball into the dining room.
Melissa winced watching the ball fly out of her sight, before lifting the ten year old into her arms.
"Stop playing ball in the house. I'm taking Stiles to the ER. Put on some shoes and get in the car." She insisted, watching the nine year old run over to the door, and putting on his shoes.
She slipped on her shoes, grabbed the keys, Stiles' jacket and shoes, before Scott opened the door and the three of them went to the car.
...
Three hours later, they had returned to the house, and Stiles was happily talking to his dad on the phone.
He was in a sling and had stitches above his eyebrow, but surprisingly, he wasn't in that much pain. However, he was exhausted.
So when he was falling asleep on the couch, holding the phone, Melissa smiled, kissing his forehead before taking the phone out of his hands.
She walked into the kitchen, Noah's voice being replaced by Tara's.
"He's doing much better. He's gonna start working again next month, and I think in three months, Stiles can come home."
"That's great." Melissa forced a smile, because even though she was happy that her friend was gonna get custody over his son once again, she had basically raised him for the past year, but she also remembered that she barely got to keep him in the beginning.
"Is it gonna be weird having only one boy around?" The deputy asked, making Melissa jump, but she also remembered she and Tara had become friends throughout this year.
"Yeah, it's been a interesting year having two boys around. If Raphael and I hadn't divorced, I would suggest having a second kid, but Scott is enough of a handful, we have a dog, and after my miscarriage right before he left, it just wouldn't be a good idea. It was nice having two boys around though."
"I'm pretty sure at this point you could say they were brothers."
"They definitely act like it. Stiles actually called me mom a few times." Melissa was on the verge of tears at this point, finally about to break.
"I get it, Melissa. When Stiles was seven, eight and nine, he would come in, waiting for his dad after spending a long day at the hospital with his mom, and just sit there and do his homework. I used to be a middle school teacher in Davenford, so I would help him with it, and in return, he would help me with police cases, even if he wasn't allowed to. He's a good kid, and he may have never called me mom, he called me his Aunt Tara, and that would make me just wanna keep him. Then his dad would take him home."
"Well, I better go. I'll talk to you later, Tara."
"Goodnight." Tara told her before Melissa hung up, rubbing the tears off her cheek before standing up.
She walked into the living room, picked up the asleep ten year old, and ushered the nine year old and dog to bed.
...
"Dad!" He watched his son run out of the car and towards him, so he dropped down to ground to wrap his arms around his son tightly. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, bud." He ran a hand through his son's hair, kissing the side of his head before looking up, seeing Melissa glance at him from her car, smiling. "Hey, why don't you go get settled? I need to talk to Melissa."
"Okay." Stiles smiled, going into the house while Noah walked up to the car.
"Thanks for keeping him out of the system, Melissa."
"You're welcome, but I swear to god, if you ever do anything like that again, I will-" she warned him, raising her arms angrily
"I won't, promise." He insisted, wrapping his large hands around hers. "You wanna come in?"
"No, I don't. I've got Scott and Chip in the car. I just came to drop Stiles off. I already kept him longer then what Tara said I should've."
"If you think I'm mad, I'm not." Noah insisted, gently placing his hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it off.
"I have to go." She told him, about to get back in the car, before Stiles ran out of the house and into her arms, whispering. "Bye, mom."
Melissa glanced at Noah before wrapping her arms around Stiles tightly.
"Bye, kiddo."
'Little Unsteady. I'm a little Unsteady.'
Wow. It's been two years since I joined this site. It's been a blur to me how long it's been, and it's been the craziest and best ride of my life. And now, the sappy part where I shoutout my friends.
EmeraldTulip: God, can you believe it's been two years since you became my first friend and reviewer? I know you probably won't read this, as you aren't in the Teen Wolf fandom, but I can't thank you enough for all you have done for me as a internet older sibling. Thanks for putting up with me being boy crazy all the time, I really appreciate it, and I hope our friendship continues to grow in 2018.
Stardust16: man, no matter how far we drift, or if we get in a fight, or don't even like the same fandoms, I have a feeling our friendship will last forever. We met cause you gave me constructive critism on one of my first Lab Rats books (thank you for that, I NEEDED IT) and now look, we are best friends. Thanks for always being there for me. I really need it sometimes.
Aliqueen16: gosh, where do I begin? You have seen me at my best, and at my WORST. I always can count on you to help me with my issues, and understand when I have to rant. I love you so much, and I always will.
TheEliteWriter: my internet older brother. You are my biggest inspiration, someone I love so much and would protect with my life. You have been there for me when I needed you and I'm sorry I haven't always been there for you half the time.
SenseiGrace: most people know you as a fairly new Glee writer. I know you as my big sister who cried when she saw me in the hospital after I was born. We have been through the thickest and thinnest since we fell in love with Ninjago (yep, flashing back to THOSE Fridays) then Pokémon, then Flash and now Glee. I just wanna thank you for being a freaking trooper, and always reminding me that things could be worse.
Thanks to everyone for giving me the best two years of my life. I hope to give everyone something to laugh at, or love with all their hearts in 2018, and I hope you will come with me.
Over and out
Brentinator/Susz/Susz13