Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters

Chapter 10

"Charlotte!" Stiles exclaimed and widened his eyes in surprise. Charlotte turned around, startled by his voice and almost dropped the dress she was holding.

"Stiles," Charlotte grabbed onto her chest and took a deep breath. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at the clock. "What are you doing here? I thought for sure you would be at work."

"I came home for my lunch break," Stiles explained.

"Oh," Charlotte nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked.

"I'm picking up a few dresses," Charlotte said.

"Why?" Stiles asked.

"I'm going back to work tomorrow," Charlotte said. "My vacation time is up."

"Surely they understand you weren't just hiding away on a beach somewhere," Stiles raised an eyebrow.

"They do," Charlotte nodded. "They said I could have more time but I wanted to go back to work."

"Is that a good idea?" Stiles asked.

"Stiles," Charlotte sighed and then held the few dresses she was holding close to her chest.

"Are you ready?" Stiles asked. He looked her over and could see that the bruising on her face was almost completely gone but she still had the splint on.

"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "I'm going crazy just sitting around and doing nothing."

"When do you get the brace off?" Stiles asked.

"I go for a checkup in two days," Charlotte said.

"I could go with you," Stiles suggested. "I could be there with you."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Charlotte shook her head. She had to look away because the look of defeat on his face was almost too much for her heart to handle. She gestured towards the door and started to walk that way. "I should go."

"Wait," Stiles said and held out a hand. Charlotte raised an eyebrow and stopped in her tracks. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay," Charlotte nodded.

"It's about your kidnapping," Stiles hesitantly said. Charlotte swallowed hard and shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"What about it?" Charlotte asked, her voice tense.

"Was there more than one person there?" Stiles asked. "Was there someone other than the guy who took you there?"

"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "There was the guy who was warning him about you and Scott."

"Did you ever get a good look at him?" Stiles asked. "Would you know who he was if you saw him again?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Charlotte asked.

"Someone reached out to me," Stiles said. "Some I knew from high school said he knows about the guy who took you. He knows how to find him."

"Who?" Charlotte asked. She felt chills fill her body and she suddenly felt really cold. "Who is he?"

"His name is Peter," Stiles said. "Peter Hale."

"I've never heard that name before," Charlotte shook her head. "I don't know anyone by the name of Peter."

"Would you recognize his voice if you heard it?" Stiles asked.

"Stiles stop," Charlotte pleaded. "Please stop this."

"I want to help you," Stiles said. "I want to find this guy who did this to you."

"Don't you think I want that to? Don't you think I want the guy who hurt me and killed my parents to be brought to justice?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm sorry," Stiles said and shook his head. "I shouldn't have pushed."

"I should go," Charlotte said before turning to leave the bedroom.

"You can have the house," Stiles said.

"What?" Charlotte asked, stopping and turning around to face him.

"You can stay here. I'll go somewhere else," Stiles said. He hated being in the house without her. It filled him with an emptiness that he longed to get rid of.

"That's okay," Charlotte shook her head. "Staying here would be too hard without you."

"Charlotte," Stiles whispered but she turned and left the house before he could finish his sentence.

. . .

"Why should I trust you?" Stiles asked.

"Because I'm the only chance you have at catching this guy," Peter said in a bored tone.

"Why do you want to help us?" Scott chimed in.

"Eric is a loose cannon. He has no control over his emotions and all he can see his revenge. He needs to be stopped before he gets tons of people killed," Peter explained.

"Well where do you think he is?" Stiles asked. "Where should we look?"

"We don't go to him," Peter said. "He will come to us."

"And how do you intend for that to happen?" Stiles asked. "Are you just going to send him a text and say to meet you here?"

"Patience," Peter rolled his eyes.

"I'm running out of patience!" Stiles snapped. Scott rested a hand on his best friend's shoulder and forced him to sit down.

"How do you plan on getting him here?" Scott asked, taking a much calmer tone.

"I will offer him the one thing he wants most," Peter said.

"You don't mean," Scott shook his head.

"I will offer him Charlotte," Peter said.

"You have lost your mind!" Stiles exclaimed and jumped up from where he was sitting. "We are not going to just hand over Charlotte. We are not using her as bait. This guy has tortured her enough."

"I am not going to actually give him Charlotte," Peter rolled his eyes. "I am going to make him think she is here and then he will have no choice but to show up."

"How do we know you're not just going to turn on us?" Stiles asked. "How do we know you aren't playing some trick on us?"

"You don't," Peter said. "You are just going to have to take my word this time and go along with my plan. It's the only shot you've got."

. . .

"Do you think we can trust him?" Lydia asked.

"I don't think we have a choice," Scott sighed. He sat down on the couch in Stiles living room and looked around at his friends. "This may be our only chance to catch Eric before he gets to her again."

"What does Charlotte think?" Kira asked.

"I haven't told her," Stiles said. "I tried to talk about it this morning but she wanted no part in the conversation."

"You two are talking again?" Malia asked. It had been a little over a week since their break-up and everyone knew that the communication between the two was almost non-existent.

"Barely," Stiles sighed. "She came by this morning to get a dress for work."

"She's going back to work already?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She said she's going antsy just sitting around and doing nothing," Stiles said.

"Argent told me that he's started teaching her the history on hunting," Scott said.

"I still can't believe she's a hunter," Malia shook her head. "She just seemed so normal."

"She still is normal," Stiles insisted.

"You know what I mean," Malia rolled her eyes. "I didn't think it was possible for her to have anything to do with this world."

"I guess you just never know," Kira shrugged.

"You still working to get her back?" Scott asked.

"I'm trying," Stiles nodded. "It's just a lot harder than I thought."

"Just be there for her," Lydia said. "Don't let her get away. She'll come around eventually."

"I hope so," Stiles sighed. "I really do."

. . .

Charlotte sat at her desk and took a deep breath. She was finally done with her first day back and she was completely exhausted. Her wrist ached and she was ready to get home to nap. She sighed to herself because home wasn't really home. In her heart, home was wherever Stiles was. She felt completely comfortable at the Argent house but it just didn't feel the same. It constantly felt like something was missing to her. It felt like she was living someone else's life.

She loved getting to know her uncle though. He was extremely kind and patient with her. He told her all about her family's history and what her parents were like. One night she even got him to tell her a little bit about Allison and what she was like. Charlotte could see the love for his daughter in his eyes and knew that she was still incredibly special to him. She wished she would have gotten the chance to meet her because she felt like she would have really liked her. She thought that the two of them would have gotten along really well.

Charlotte stuffed a few books into her bag and then stood up. She looked around the classroom and was satisfied with how clean it was. She walked towards the door and turned off the light switch before walking down the hall. Students smiled at her and she smiled kindly in return. She slowly walked down the stairs towards her car and looked into her purse for her keys. She fidgeted around and then dropped one of her bags. She let out a frustrated groan as she bent down to pick it up.

When she looked up, Charlotte felt like her heart stopped. She saw Eric lingering behind a tree and he was snarling. She quickly rushed towards her car and tried to get the door open. The keys kept slipping from her hand and she started to breath really heavy. Her entire body was sweating and she heard herself start to hyperventilate. She felt her eyes well with tears and she grabbed onto the car for support. She rested her other hand on her chest but nothing seemed to be calming her down.

"Charlotte," a hand rested on her arm and she jumped. She quickly turned to face the voice and saw Stiles looking at her, his eyes full of concern.

"He's there," Charlotte lifted up a shaky hand and pointed at the trees.

"Who is?" Stiles asked, his eyes following to where she pointed.

"Eric," Charlotte said and she could hear the tremor in her own voice. "He's right there!"

"No one is there Charlotte," Stiles shook his head and then looked at her. He could see the tears on her face and the sweat all over her body. He knew exactly what was happening. She was having a panic attack.

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked. She looked over in that direction again and this time only saw a tree. "He was there."

"Charlotte," Stiles whispered.

"I'm not crazy," Charlotte shook her head and felt a few tears start to slip down her face. "I saw him."

"I know," Stiles nodded. "But no one's there."

"What's wrong with me?" Charlotte asked. "What's happening to me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Stiles insisted.

"I'm scared Stiles," Charlotte whispered. "I'm so scared."

"I know," Stiles said. He pulled her into his arms and held her close to him. Charlotte hesitated at first but ultimately wrapped her arms around his waist. She held onto him tight and buried her face in his chest. It was the first time in weeks that she felt safe. For just a moment, Charlotte felt like everything might actually be okay.

. . .

"Are you feeling better?" Stiles asked. He watched as she took another sip of her coffee and pulled his sweatshirt closer around her body. It looked like she was trying to warm herself up.

"I used to get panic attacks all the time," Charlotte admitted.

"You did?" Stiles asked. Charlotte looked around the relatively empty coffee shop and then nodded at him.

"Growing up I did," Charlotte said. "I would have horrible nightmares about my parents. A lot of the time it would feel like I was in the car with them and I couldn't stop the accident from happening. Other times it would feel like I was the one causing the accident."

"How did you stop the panic attacks?" Stiles asked.

"I would curl up in a ball and wait for it to pass," Charlotte admitted. "Sometimes I would press my nails really hard into my hands and the pain would snap me out of it. I didn't even realize I was doing it."

"I used to have panic attacks too," Stiles admitted.

"Really?" Charlotte asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "After my mom died. They were so unbearable sometimes. I felt like there was no one else in the world that really understood what I was going through."

"Me too," Charlotte said. "I felt like the weird foster kid. Everyone would just watch and do nothing about it."

"You are really strong, Charlotte. One of the strongest people I've ever met," Stiles said. Charlotte shyly smiled and then took another sip of her coffee.

"How come you were at the school today?" Charlotte asked.

"I wanted to check on you," Stiles admitted. "I know you said you needed your space but I had to make sure you were okay."

"I'm glad you were there," Charlotte said.

"I'm always here," Stiles promised. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. Charlotte looked up at him and smiled softly. Maybe things could work out for the better between them. Maybe there was a chance that they could work through their issues.