Chapter Seven:
"Explain. Now." Melissa McCall was looking at an unconscious, bloodied teenager lying on her couch. An unconscious, bloodied teenager that her son had brought in. An unconscious, bloodied teenager that she just so happened to think of as a second son.
"Look, mum- I'll explain everything, I promise. But right now Stiles needs help and I know that ever since you found out about the werewolf thing…you've kept an extensive medical kit here at home. So please." She couldn't argue with that…not when her son looked so frantic, so stricken and certainly not when it was pretty obvious that Stiles was bleeding out on her couch.
"Okay- Scott, you go get my medical kit from the kitchen. Isaac, go fill up a large bowl of warm water and get me some towels." Melissa commanded, reaching up to tie her long hair up into a tight bun.
"The rest of you- stand back and stay out of my way."
First she tore off the teen's pants, then, after telling everyone to turn around (Peter didn't) for Stiles' modesty, she removed his boxers and set to work on the wounds.
There was a lot of cleaning involved, like, massive amounts. First and foremost, Stiles had bled out a lot and the wounds on his leg weren't knife-precise, they were tears in the flesh, and by the pattern, obviously teeth marks.
The black goo that seemed to be flooding the wound didn't help things either and by the time she'd managed to clear up most of it, she was down several of her towels and already through three large bowls of water.
After loading Stiles' leg up with anaesthetic (just in case the boy woke up), she moved on to what ended out being the hardest part.
As a nurse, and especially a Beacon Hills nurse, she'd learned that bite wounds were very difficult to sew up- due to both the multiple punctures and the fact that the flesh wasn't evenly sliced…it was torn to shreds.
During the sewing, which took her hours Boyd had left three times to go empty his stomach, although the third time he probably didn't have any food left to cough up- so he was probably just dry- retching. She had warned him to look away- it was his fault he didn't listen.
When she'd put on fresh bandages, and gifted the boy with a fresh pair of underwear, she took a deep sigh in relief, exhausted from working so hard.
"Done." Melissa declared, looking around the room to see the anxious faces whilst wiping her hands free of blood.
"Now you're all gonna tell me what the Hell happened to my God-son." She demanded, glaring at Scott in particular- knowing he would be the first one she could get to crack.
"I- a ghoul bit him…" Scott said awkwardly, not looking his mother in the eyes. She stayed silent though- indicating she would need more information than that to satisfy her.
"In the cemetery. A ghoul bit him in the cemetery. We thought- well we thought they'd stay close together…so we left him alone while we went and killed two of them….but, err- there was a third?" Melissa, as his mother, could tell Scott was deeply ashamed at what had happened.
"It's okay honey- he'll be fine. The bite will take a while to heal and it may hurt for him to walk- but other than that there really isn't anything wrong." She reassured her son, but her words seemed to hold nothing for him as his expression didn't change.
"It's not only that." Derek, a man she knew her son didn't trust, sighed.
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow and tried her hardest to come off as disapproving- but her voice wavered. What else could be wrong?
"The bite- a ghouls bite has a toxin…we won't see the effects until he wakes up- but Stiles is going to be in a lot of pain until his body pushes it out."
"But he won't die right?" Melissa held her breath for the answer.
"No. He won't die." Derek confirmed, and she felt a wave of relief rush over her.
"What do we tell John though?" She asked suddenly, knowing her friend would be completely worried when he woke up to find his son missing.
"…I don't think we should tell him." Derek sounded awkward just saying it- as if he knew what Melissa's reaction was going to be.
"Oh absolutely not! He knows about all this werewolf shit. There is no reason not to keep him informed about his only son's well-being."
It had truly been a relief when John had found out…She finally had someone to talk to about this craziness- someone who wasn't a teenager that is. She could share her worries with him, set up parental surveillance to make sure their sons weren't sneaking off in the middle of the night to fight some mythical- creature…that had obviously worked well.
"Well…if, if we told him- he'd come to see Stiles." Derek answered awkwardly.
"So?!" Melissa had had enough with this vague bullshit.
"Well- you see…it wouldn't really be good- or actually beneficial for anyone- for the Sheriff to see what kind of pain Stiles is going to be in. Stiles will be fine…but for now the Sheriff should have to watch his son suffer."
That…actually made sense.
"I-I'll speak with him then. Make him understand that Stiles is going to be away for…what? A few days?...and that he's just fine but the Sheriff can't know why."
Scott started chuckling, "Do you really thing he's gonna fall for that? The dude is more stubborn that Stiles!"
"He'll just have to accept it. Besides- he knows I only have Stiles' best interest at heart."
Derek nodded, seemingly content with her decision- though Scott still looked a bit sceptical.
"He'll stay at the loft with us." Derek announced and Scott immediately disagreed.
"What?! Why can't he stay here with me and Mum?"
"Because, Scott, you have school remember? Besides, both Peter and I know a heck of a lot more about the effects of the bite than you do." He talked with smug confidence in his tone…smirking at Scott, knowing that his point made more sense.
"Fine- but I'll come over with you and help him settle in." Scott demanded, looking down at his newly bandaged, unconscious friend, protectively.
"No- no you will not mister. Both you and Isaac are going to sleep right now. You have school in the morning. That goes for you too Vernon." She looked over to Boyd with a stern face, "You get home before your parents notice- and I will hear no arguments. Understood?"
The teenage boys nodded, heads bowed ashamedly.
It was great to be a mother sometimes.
