Derek made his way out of Stiles' house, trying not to feel too guilty about leaving him. Derek hopped into his Camaro and started the car, pulling out from the driveway. He saw the Sheriff's car on the sidewalk and shook his head. No one had seen the Sheriff since the day before last, and Derek was feeling really uneasy.

It was time to talk to Chris. With the omega running around, it was dangerous for people to be out alone, especially when incapacitated. Derek was worried for the Sheriff.

He pulled up at the Argent's house about five minutes later. He walked to the door and knocked, barely getting to the second knock before the door opened.

"Well, if it isn't my little Derek, all grown up!" said Kate, grinning maliciously. Derek growled and felt his canines extend.

"Kate," snarled Derek, trying to compose himself. "Where's Chris. I need to talk to him."

Kate chuckled, opening the door wider. "Such a warm welcome back from an old friend," she said. "Well, I wouldn't expect much more from your kind. Especially you, you never did like to talk much, did you?"

Derek snarled. He heard an arrow being secured into place, and turned to see Chris.

"Derek," he said, calm as ever. "Please don't growl at my sister. I'd hate to have to end our truce."

Derek nodded, closing his eyes. He felt his claws and fangs retract, and when he opened his eyes, the crossbow was gone.

"What do you want, Derek?" asked Chris, not trying to hide his disapproval of the seemingly unnecessary intrusion.

"Sheriff's missing," said Derek. He wasn't one to beat around the bush. "Stiles said he hasn't seen him for at least a day."

Chris' face grew sombre and grim. "And when did you find that out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This morning. Scott called me to say Stiles wasn't feeling to well, so I went over to check on him," said Derek. He saw Kate's face stretch into a grin.

Chris nodded. "Alright," he said. "We'll put a search party in the woods, and we'll try to find the Sheriff as soon as possible. I'm assuming you believe the omega is responsible?"

Derek nodded. Chris sighed, pulling out his phone. "I'll call my hunters now, you can go," Chris said. Derek nodded, understanding his cue to leave.

He reached the door, but before he could exit, the door was slammed shut by Kate.

Derek inhaled deeply, trying to maintain his composure. "Move," he said.

Kate smirked. "Now, why would I give up my chance to have a reunion with my favourite little beta?" she said, reaching out and grabbing Derek's arm. "We had such fun, didn't we?"

Derek remained silent and unreactive. "Move," he said, gritting his teeth, "or I will move you."

Kate laughed. "Oh, you could try, big boy," she said, stepping backwards. "You could try."

Derek stormed out of the house, picking up his pace. He needed to get away from there, and he needed the damn taste of ash to get out of his mouth.

At least now he could be a little less worried about the Sheriff. Though he despised hunters, they were efficient trackers and the Sheriff would be in safe hands.

Derek drove home and threw himself onto his bed. He was pretty exhausted, but if he went to bed now, he'd never sleep later. He put his dirty clothes in the hamper and went for a shower. He let the warm water rush over him as he scrubbed his body.

Derek felt like if he scrubbed his body hard enough, the memory of the smoke and the ash and the flames would be destroyed. So he scrubbed and scrubbed, and nearly took off his skin in several places.

When he exited the shower, he gargled mouthwash to try and lessen the taste of ash and make his mouth feel less like something died in it. After getting changed, he went downstairs and found Lydia and Allison chatting together, sipping coffees. Derek groaned; he had a feeling that this would soon turn into a gossip session, and Derek wasn't sure he could handle it.

He tried to retreat back up the stairs, but was called back by Lydia.

"Derek! Come sit, we can talk," said Lydia, gesturing to the couch across from where the two girls were seated.

Derek sighed, but obeyed. He sat on the leather couch opposite the girls and braced himself for the conversation that was to come.

"So, Derek," began Lydia after a good five minutes of silence. "What's the situation with you and Stiles?"

Derek sighed. Of course this was about Stiles.

"Well, he's my boyfriend," said Derek. Lydia squealed, clasping her hands and making 'aw' sounds with Allison. "What else is there to know?"

Lydia shot Allison a look. "Uh, like, a lot," she said, pursing her lips. "How far have you two been?"

Derek scrunched his nose up and Allison laughed. "Lydia, seriously? This is like, twelve year-old girl sleepover stuff. There are things I could be doing, like adult things-"

"Ooh, adult things," said Lydia, wiggling her eyebrows. "Like Stiles?"

Derek rolled his eyes while Allison grinned maliciously. "No, Lydia," he sighed. "Like laundry."

Lydia groaned and threw an arm over her forehead. "Why must you ruin the fun, Derek," she groaned.

Derek's phone rang, so he excused himself from the company of the two girls.

"Hello?" said Derek.

"Derek, you should come and see this," said Chris. He gave Derek a location in the woods to meet him at. Derek frowned, walking over to grab his keys.

"On my way," said Derek. He rushed out the door, spouting goodbyes to the girls as he made his way out.

He drove at maximum legal speed and may have exceeded the limit more than a few times. He exited the car and jogged over to the group of hunters, trying to dampen his disdain.

"Chris, what'd you need me for?" Derek asked.

Chris stepped back, revealing a rocky outcrop covered in blood.

"I assume you're thinking this is the Sheriff's blood," said Derek, trying to maintain the appearance of composure.

Chris nodded, his face devoid of emotion. "That's the general theory, yes. You've met the Sheriff before, yes?" Chris said.

"Yeah, a few times," said Derek.

"So would you be able to identify his scent?" asked Chris.

Derek looked at his surroundings. There was heavy foliage behind him, a small hill in front of him and mountains on either side. There hadn't been rain in the last few days, so the scent should still be there. Derek sniffed, trying to identify the smell that was the Sheriff. It was quite like Stiles', a mixture of cinnamon and pine leaves, but the Sheriff had an undertone of cigars and scotch that came with too many nights bitterly drinking and smoking to forget. He could just make it out, though he had to search for it.

"Yeah, I got it," said Derek. "Faint, but I could probably follow it for a while."

Chris nodded, stepping back and gesturing for Derek to begin his search. He turned around, knowing that generally, wolves liked protection, which meant cover. The Sheriff's scent led that way, so Derek shifted and began to follow the trail. He opted for wolf speed, dropping onto all fours and letting his wolf instincts take over following the trail. His surroundings blurred, the path of scent leading him through the thick greenery covering the forest floor. He arrived at a pond and stopped, the scent of the omega wolf hitting him with the strength of a truck.

Derek came to a complete stop, rising to his legs and whipping his head around. The scent of the omega was so strong Derek was nearly choking on it. He couldn't hear anyone, though, so the omega must've only just left. The scent of the Sheriff was nearly entirely masked by the omega's scent, and Derek struggled to regain the scent. He found it and set off at a jog, knowing the Sheriff would be nearby. If the wolf had him, dead or alive, he wouldn't be too far away.

Sure enough, about five minutes east of the pond, the Sheriff was in a cave concealed by some well-placed rocks. Derek heaved them away and the smell of the Sheriff's blood hit him like a slap in the face. He could hear a heartbeat, though, so at least he was alive. The slow beat of his heart calmed Derek down. Unconscious was better than dead, Derek reminded himself.

He carried the Sheriff on his back all the way to Chris, who had already called an ambulance. While they waited, Derek told Chris about the pond and two hunters were sent to check it out.

"The omega was there recently," said Derek. Chris nodded and warned his hunters to be vigilant.

Why was Derek helping them? It's not like they'd been kind to him in the past.

Derek was shaken out of his reverie by Chris.

"Do you think you should call Stiles? I mean, it's his dad, after all," said Chris.

Derek shook his head. "He's been through a lot the past week," said Derek. "I'll wait until the Sheriff's stable in the hospital, and I'll let Stiles get a good night's rest. I mean, he wouldn't have been able to stay, anyway. The amount of blood the Sheriff lost… Let's just say, he's a lucky man."

Chris looked unsure, but sighed and said, "I'll leave it up to you. You know the kid better than I do."

Derek took that as a farewell and left, eager to get the sight of the Sheriff covered in his own blood out of his head. While he was running, he'd lost track of time, and it was about seven. From what Derek could guess, he'd left for the woods at about three.

Lydia was going to be pissed.

He took the scenic route home, passing the library and café on his way home. Laura had always loved to come here when she got time off from Alpha training duties, Derek remembered with a sigh. She'd buy a pastry and a large coffee before heading over to the library to kill some time and pretend to be normal for a while. Derek had met Kate in the library; she'd been employed there when they'd met.

Derek shook off the nostalgia. Fond memories tended to lead to bad ones in his experience, so he drove past the library and the café and cast thoughts of the past from his mind. He arrived home to the scent of stir-fry and prepared himself for Lydia's wrath, which was as brutal as he had expected. She yelled at him at length about the irresponsibility of taking of for four freaking hours, Derek and that he should make a motherfucking call, so Lydia wouldn't have to sit around worrying about you pretty little ass.

After Lydia was satisfied that she'd made her point, she served Derek dinner and left him to his own devices. Derek appreciated that Lydia gave him space, because otherwise he probably would have killed her by now. Clingy people and Derek just don't mix.

Derek checked his phone and sent Scott a text asking how Stiles was, to which the reply never came. He showered, slipped into his pyjamas and passed out nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Guys I am actually so sorry about the lack of updates, I've had the biggest writer's block known to man for the past three days, so it's been hard to write. I'll try to update again tomorrow, but no promises from me, so don't hold me to that.

As always, reviews are appreciated, constructive criticism is accepted and thank you for reading