Chapter 2: Cold
Stiles Stilinski sat across from his father at the dinner table with a dubious expression. "So she's in the clear."
"Yes, Stiles, for the fifth time, Daphne McKnight is not a supernatural being. You shouldn't even be asking me about this anyway." Sheriff Stilinski eyed his son with disapproval.
"I don't know, Dad. I've just got this feeling. Parrish seemed so insistent that he be the only one to see her. Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?"
The Sheriff looked unamused. "Stiles, look at the file. She's an attractive, young woman. You're reading way too much into this."
"Hey, maybe you're right. But maybe I'm right. And trust me, I'm going to find out." He got up to leave the room, and the Sheriff groaned.
"Stiles, don't meddle."
"You know me, Dad. I never meddle," he called out from the hall.
"Never meddle, my behind…" The Sheriff scowled and went back to his dinner.
Parrish arrived at the hospital later than he'd planned the next afternoon. Turns out the paperwork couldn't wait after all, but Daphne beamed when he opened the door, and that eased his thoughts.
"You made it! And you brought… a present?" She raised an eyebrow.
He laughed lightly and pulled the partly obscured book from his pocket. "Not exactly a present. I borrowed it from a friend. Do you know what a bestiary is?"
Daphne inhaled in surprise. "I mean, I'm an anthropology major. I've heard of cultures having them." She peered at him suspiciously for a moment but then laughed, "You're going to show me the entry about hellhounds, aren't you? That's how you knew so many specific details about them."
"Yeah," he answered automatically, taking a seat beside her. It was certainly better if she thought that. "I thought you'd find it interesting."
He handed her the book, and she opened to the bookmarked page on hellhounds.
The hellhound, also known as Garmr, Cerberus, the Black Dog, or Bearer of Death is an amortal spirit said to serve as guardian of the supernatural world...
At first she smiled reading the page, but the more she read, the more it felt like a realistic account and less like legend.
… The vessel of a hellhound often has no conscious recollection of a hellhound's behaviors, as the hellhound is a creature of night, and will act of its own accord while the host body sleeps...
"Daphne, are you all right?"
...if not expelled, the hellhound may consume the vessel body, gaining full control until the host no longer exists…
"Daphne. Daphne, are you… crying?" Parrish sat back in his chair, momentarily stymied.
"What? No." She forced an uneasy chuckle. "I just have an active imagination. I know it's not real." She handed him the book, projecting an air of amicable ease. She honestly had no idea why she had started crying. It was just a book after all. "I promise, I'm fine. I do it when I get really into movies too."
Jordan grabbed the book, brushing against her fingers as he did so, but at that moment Daphne gasped so loudly that he nearly dropped it.
"What's wrong? Do you need a nurse?"
She stared at him with wide eyes. "No, I just, nevermind." Warmth had electrified her body in the moment his skin touched hers. Could it really have been hormones or chemical attraction, or was there was something about Jordan Parrish?
"Are you sure?" He looked troubled.
"I was thinking about something I read in the book." Not entirely a lie. "It said the hellhound could completely consume its host body, and I was thinking about how awful it would be if that happened to someone… someone like you."
Shock settled on his features. "You were crying… for me?"
"I know it's stupid." She stared at her blanket-covered feet in the hospital bed. "I told you, I have an active imagination."
He scooted his seat closer to the bed, holding the book purposefully. "Even if every creature in this book was real, you'd know I'm still me."
Her lips upturned slightly. "Oh really… How so?"
He grinned, opening the book to the black fiery dog etched on the page. "Look at this guy, so serious. He's got no sense of humor."
"Not to undermine your point, Deputy, but I don't know that you have much of one either." She giggled, and the deputy rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding. I know you're you."
He was suppressing a grin as he listened to her laughter peal across the room. She was beautiful. The door opened then, and he straightened immediately.
"Melissa!"
"Miss McKnight, I have to say, it is endearing to have a patient so excited to see me." She turned to Jordan with a bemused smirk. "However, I didn't expect to see you here today, Deputy."
"Right," Jordan suddenly felt unsure. "I should probably get going."
"Don't go on my account. I just have to take a few vitals, and then I'll be on my way."
They sat awkwardly while Melissa tested Daphne's blood pressure.
"Miss McKnight, the good news is that you'll almost certainly be cleared to leave in the morning. It was a pleasure being your nurse these past few days. Buzz me if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you."
Daphne turned to Jordan with a myriad of unfinished thoughts swirling within the recesses of her consciousness. "I suppose this is probably the last time we're going to see each other then."
"I could give you a ride to the tow lot tomorrow."
"It's been totaled. No point. I'll just go to the bus stop tomorrow and head back to school."
"That doesn't sound like much of a Spring Break."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I ought to stay in Beacon Hills a little longer?"
Parrish flushed slightly and grinned. "I don't have to go in tomorrow. I'd be happy to show you around."
She paused, appraising him curiously. "I'd like that."
"Great. It's a date."
Stiles and Scott sat down the hall, whispering in hushed tones.
"Okay, what are they saying?"
Scott rolled his eyes. "They're talking about hanging out tomorrow. Stiles, are you sure about this?"
"Have I ever been wrong?"
"Do you really want me to answer that question?"
"Not really now that you mention it, but come on, Scott. You and I both know that some perfectly normal girl from out of town did not just miraculously appear and fall for Parrish. That's not the way it works around here. Beacon Hills is literally a beacon for supernatural creatures."
"I know that. I do. But Parrish can take care of himself."
"Boys, what are you doing here?"
Stiles blanched. "Mrs. McCall! We were just- ah- leaving. Yeah, leaving."
"Mm Hm, Good call. And bring me dinner next time you plan on trying to eavesdrop on patients."
"Will do…" Stiles stared at the ground.
Scott shook his head as they exited the hospital. "There was nothing about that conversation that seemed off to me."
"We only caught the last 2 minutes before your mom caught us."
"And I'm glad she did. We're not in high school anymore, Stiles. We can't stick our nose in every supernatural creature's business."
"You know what, Scott. You're right. Parrish is an adult; he can take care of himself. I shouldn't have come to you with this."
"Thank you."
Stiles offered a saccharine smile as he plotted silently. No. He shouldn't have gone to Scott - he should have gone to someone else.
Scott sat with his mother the next morning, eating their breakfast in silence.
"All right, spill. Why were you and Stiles spying on Jordan Parrish yesterday?"
"It's nothing."
"Scott, I am your mother. I know when it's not nothing."
"I mean, it could be nothing. Stiles is suspicious of the girl from the car accident."
"You mean Daphne? She seems like a sweet girl."
"I don't know. Sometimes Stiles just gets-"
"Fixated?"
"Yeah." Scott looked up at his mom. "Fixated, exactly. But she didn't say anything suspicious, so I told Stiles to back off."
"Hm."
"What?"
"It's probably nothing," she looked up with a concerned expression. "But there was something she said right after she woke up. She said Parrish had felt warm and that she'd never felt warmth like that before."
"You think the hellhound made that happen?"
"I don't know. Like I said, she's seems like a nice girl. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know."
Scott felt appeased. "Thanks, Mom."
Parrish arrived at the hospital just after 9 in the morning, feeling good about the day's plans. But that good feeling faded when he saw the cleaning staff leave Daphne's room, which was now spotless and completely empty.
He approached a nurse at the front desk.
"I'm looking for Daphne McKnight. Has she switched rooms?"
"Let me check. Oh, honey, no, she signed out just before 6 a.m. You might want to try her cell, dear."
Parrish's stomach sank. He hadn't thought to ask for her number.
"You look like you lost a puppy," a voice called from a few feet away.
He turned, swelling with relief at the sight of her. "You're still here."
"I signed out early, so I wouldn't get billed an extra day. Getting your only car totaled kind of forces practicality on a person."
"So… do you want to get some breakfast?"
She beamed. "That sounds great."
Stiles and Malia watched the couple exit the hospital from the jeep.
"Okay, here they come."
"Oh wow, Stiles, she's kind of hot. Can you really blame Parrish?"
"First of all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Secondly, it doesn't matter. Even if she was a supermodel, if she's interested in Parrish, she's a suspect until proven innocent."
"Isn't stalking illegal, especially when it's a cop?"
"Malia, Jordan Parrish is not a cop. I mean he is a cop, but not just a cop. He's our friend, and we're looking out for him."
"And Scott's okay with this?"
"Not exactly. But… we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
"Stiles."
"Shh. Come on." The engine roared to life, and the two of them followed from a reasonable distance.
They watched the pair park, go into a diner, and order breakfast.
"It's almost 75 degrees. Why is she wearing a heavy coat?" Stiles frowned.
Malia shrugged, "Diners get cold."
"Or maybe she's a werecoyote like you, and she feels cold, because she recently shifted back to her human form."
"No. I would have sensed it."
"Not if she can mask her scent the way Satomi's pack could."
"Stiles, this is stupid." Malia wrenched open the passenger door and stepped out onto the curb. "I'm done with this."
"But I need your super werecoyote hearing!"
"Goodbye, Stiles!" She grinned and walked away.
Stiles groaned. Lydia was still at MIT, Derek was off in Mexico somewhere, Liam and Mason were away for Spring Break, and Alec was too new and too young to involve in something like this. He'd have to take matters into his own hands.
An hour later Daphne and Jordan stood at the base of a hiking trail.
"Are you sure you don't want to leave the coat in car? It's pretty bulky."
She shrugged off the coat and immediately shivered, sliding it back on. "No... yeah, I think I'll leave it on."
"You sure? You'll work up a sweat."
"And when the wind blows on the sweat, I'll feel even colder!" She scrunched her nose. "I'll be fine."
"If you say so," he smiled effortlessly, and they started up the trail.
True to her word she never took off the coat, and even shivered a few more times. It was an endearing - if not odd - quality about her. And it was cute to see the way her eyes would light up as she looked around the higher they climbed.
"This is beautiful. Thank you for this."
"You didn't get a Spring Break. It was the least I could do."
"I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't have done this much."
"I'll tell you a secret," he grinned. "I'm not most people."
"Right," she laughed. "The mysterious guardian of the supernatural. How could I forget?"
Part of him wanted to tell her it was true, but that was completely irrational, and he suppressed the urge.
As they neared a scenic overlook at the top of the trail, Daphne tripped on a rock and began to fall. With his hellhound reflexes Parrish caught her easily in his arms, and she gasped at the contact.
"Are you all right?"
She said nothing for several seconds, her eyes not leaving his. "You… feel warm."
"Sorry." He stepped back immediately. Had his hellhound senses been getting out of hand?
"No." She stared at the ground in confusion before slowly slipping off the coat. "It felt good." She stepped closer to him until they were nearly touching. Then she reached up her hand and tentatively touched his face. "Really good."
The hellhound within him was keenly aware of the current interaction, more so than usual. This surprised Parrish. Since he had merged with the hellhound, it was very much a live-and-let-live situation, but something was different now.
He glanced down at Daphne's lips, and the hellhound's thoughts were in perfect sync with his own in that moment. Every part of him wanted to kiss her.
He leaned down to close the gap when the sound of a nearby twig snapping made Daphne jump.
"What was that?" She clutched Parrish's side, scanning the surrounding forest apprehensively.
Parrish homed in on the nearby surroundings with his hellhound senses and glowered subtly. "Stiles, what are you doing here?"
Stiles emerged from a nearby trunk holding his baseball bat. "Oh, heh, hey Parrish. Didn't know you were going to be here. I was just taking a stroll in the woods, but I can see you're busy, so I'm going to go now."
Stiles scurried down the trail, and Parrish glared after him.
"Someone you know?" Daphne looked confused.
"Stiles is the one who let me borrow the bestiary. He tends to get paranoid about strangers."
"Enough to bring a bat with him?" she wondered aloud.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Besides, we should probably head down and get some lunch."
"And then to the bus depot and back to reality."
Parrish couldn't help but feel disheartened at the thought. They started down the trail, but he was pleasantly surprised when she reached for his hand and held it as they walked. She clutched the coat in her other arm, not shivering once on the way down.
