Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of it's characters, this story is just me showing my enjoyment of the show and the connection I have to it's characters, however, there are some OCs in here that I do claim. But who else is excited for June 3rd? My therapist convinced I have that date burned in my brain.

Also, I want to apologize ahead if there are any mistakes in this chapter. I reread, like twice, and edited as I went through but then I also started adding some stuff. Anyway, I feel like this chapter is all over the place because it came to me in short bursts so I fought for it to be at least a little consistent.

Anyway, enjoy...maybe.

"Are you sure your dad doesn't mind that you're coming with us, Stiles honey," Alana asked as Danny carried some things from Richard's SUV to put in the garage. "I know you don't see your dad much these days."

"No he's okay with it," Stiles was now offering Danny a hand that he didn't need. "He's just happy that I have friends to keep me out the house."

"Aww," Alana touched a hand to her heart, "was it bad...after your mom died I mean?" Danny shot his mom daggers, and Richard gave an exasperated sigh at this being the first thing he hears when he leaves the house.

"It wasn't easy," Stiles said somberly, "but you know, we found a new normal; Dad wanted to take some time off from his work but I wouldn't let him, he's saving lives and that's what mom would have wanted."

"What happened to your mother, if you don't mind me asking," Alana pried.

"Hey mom," Danny spoke up as he closed the trunk, "let's not do that, okay? Let's just...leave it alone."

"What? Was that a faux pas," she asked looking between the two boys; Danny with a serious look on his face that told her that now was not the time to ask questions like that, and Stiles who had downcast eyes as he remembered his mother. "Oh...well I'm sorry Stiles, I didn't mean to, um...I'm sorry."

Stiles nodded sadly as Danny gave his mom a glare that urged her to do something. "So Richard," she said brightly, "you should let me drive."

"No," the man said authoritatively, "you've been drinking again."

"Yeah, but I'm not drunk," she wasn't helping her case.

"Mom," Danny said looking at Stiles, "let dad drive, you know you'll end up on the phone anyway."

Alana looked from her husband to her son and sighed before looking at Stiles, "fine, I can't compete with the men in my life. Que sera sera," and with that she got in the passenger seat and closed the door promptly; Richard looked at his son with peeved sigh and got in the car.

"Do you still want to come with us, my mom gets a bit out of hand when it comes to shopping," Danny whispered to Stiles before getting in the car.

"I don't mind it," Stiles said quietly, "family drama I can deal with."

Scott let himself fall onto his bed in a huff; with everything that was going on he was exhausted; Jackson had asked him to go out and try to find Derek's scent, he was hoping that his connection with the alpha would make it easier to find him, but aside from the nightmares of Derek's torture there was no way that he could find him. Scott knew he should've just gotten up to go help Jackson but he really just did not feel like it; he was drained physically and emotionally, and going out there on a wild goose chase to find Derek just did not seem like something he felt like doing. Pulling himself up a little on the bed he put an arm under his pillow and scrunched his face up into his pillow; what he needed now was sleep. He exhaled and let sleep come to him slowly; just as he ws about to fall asleep his phone rang and he cracked open a tired eye and reached over to look at the screen. He pressed talk and put the phone to his ear with a sigh.

"Are you asleep," Jackson asked into the receiver. He was breathing hard, he had been running around trying in vain to find Derek; he was worried.

"No...no, I wasn't asleep," Scott tiredly breathed into the phone, "where are you?"

"Doing that thing that you should be doing: looking for Derek," Jackson leaned back and rested his head against the cool bark of a pine tree, and breathed in the marshy smell of the brooke that ran through the woods.

Scott scratched his head, "yeah, I know I should be there but...I'm just really tired, and I can barely imagine having to run around for what could be another disappointment. I just don't want to put what little energy I have left into something that won't work out in the end."

"Do you hear yourself," Jackson was aggravated with Scott's apathy towards this whole situation. "This is Derek! I know he's an asshole but he's been there for you more than me and you not being here just seems really insensitive. Do you think that Derek wouldn't be doing everything in his power to find you if you had been captured by some psychopath witch?"

"Yeah, but..." Scott started but was cut off by Jackson.

"No...No, there's no but! You should be here and you know it, but all you're doing is laying around playing with yourself. You need to get your lazy ass up and come help me look for Derek, whether we find him or not. McCall you really need to get your priorities in order; there's a time for rest and there's a time for work, and right now we need to work and look for Derek; he needs us, Scott, and we can't not be there for him."

"Jackson calm down," Scott sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

"I don't want to calm down! Everyone's always telling me to calm down but not now! We need Derek here, he's the only one I can think of that can help us and we...really need him here." Scott wasn't sure but he thought he heard a sob escape into the phone. "Scott...can you just get over here and help me?"

"Okay," Scott stood up and pulled a shirt on, "where are you?"

"I'm in the woods by Morgan's house. He was here when he was taken so this was the best place to start looking," Jackson pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, when had he started crying?

"Alright, I'll be right there...um, I'll howl when I'm halfway there," Scott squinted his eyes and shook his head at what he just said. He hung up his phone and pulled on his shoes, "so much for getting some rest."

Jackson pocketed his phone and looked around at the expanse of tall trees; he had to find Derek...he just had to. The smell of pine, the musk of the marsh and the crisp of the cool earth under his feet flooded his nostrils; the sound of birds chirping, and the distant seasonal rumble of cars danced around his ears but he could not find any trace of Derek. He began walking again; how long had he been walking, it felt like minutes but it was hours; he was up early, before the sun had risen and he thanked his wolven eyes for helping his see in the dusk before dawn. When he had got there he thought it would be easy to find Derek, his dreams were intense and he thought that maybe his connection would make finding Derek seem less like a chore and more like picking your cell phone up in the other room, but he was wrong. He had been wandering around for hours now and he still had no trace of Derek; not in scent, sound, or stone, it was as if Derek had been taken clean off the earth. He had even thought of maybe trying to find a trace of the hunters that had been there when Derek was taken but there was nothing...not a thing.

His stomach growled, he couldn't remember when he last ate but that wasn't important; Derek was being shocked and prodded as we speak and he doubted he's getting anything to eat. He couldn't worry about that now, he needed to find Derek, no matter how hungry he was it had to wait. He paused, a howl pierced through the still morning air; Scott was close...to his -he paused and listened again- his right, he started walking in that direction in order to meet Scott halfway.

"You have to make a left dear, there's the Saturday morning traffic of people who are too insane to stay home on the weekend," Alana said jutting her hand to the highway.

"Yes, but if I get on the expressway then I'll have to go past the market before I can get off," Richard was honking his horn at a driver that had missed when the light turned green.

"But you can't stay on the side streets, that'll take longer than just getting on the highway," Alana was now in her phone, her fingers flying over the touchscreen of her iPhone.

"Look at you," Richard said looking over at Alana. "We haven't even gotten anywhere and you're already on your phone."

"Oh hush," Alana pressed send on the text message she had just wrote, "you're just upset because I have friends and you spend too much time at the office."

Richard huffed, "oh please, if those people you talk to are your friends then I don't want any."

"Don't you dare Rich...you missed the highway," Alana leaned back in the chair and her phone pinged again. "Don't you dare talk about the ladies like that."

"Hmph, 'the ladies' she says; some ladies they are, the way they talk about people the way they do," Richard honked the horn again as someone cut him off.

Danny looked over; Stiles had a soft smile on his face that hinted at contentment, and Danny wasn't sure because it was hard to hear over his parents arguing but he thought he heard Stiles humming.

"Are you humming," Danny asked leaning over to Stiles as far as the seat belt would allow him.

"Hmmm? What," Stiles turned from where he had been gazing out the window. "Oh! Yeah, I guess I was."

"And you were smiling," Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Wow, I didn't realize I was...I'm just happy, I guess," Stiles offered with a shrug before going back to look out the window. Danny gave the boy a weird look but leaned back to his side of the seat and tapped his fingers along when Stiles started humming again.

Allison took an arrow from it's sheath and pointed her bow towards the ground, she nocked her arrow and pulled the string back until it was taut, pulling her bow up she leveled it with her eyes and exhaled slowly before releasing and letting the arrow fly true to the heart of the target. She smiled to herself and moved a stray piece of hair from her face; she was good and she knew it, but she also knew she wasn't happy; yeah she had Scott and yeah she had friends but this wasn't the life she wanted, she wanted normal.

She took another arrow from her sheath and placed it on the bow and aimed at the target. This isn't normal; coming from a family that hunts werewolves and then ending up dating a wereworlf, this was far from what any of the other girls in her class were doing but here she was, practicing her shot for if the need ever arose to have to actually kill a wolf...or something. She let the string go and the arrow landed in the same spot of the other arrow knocking it slightly to one side, she sighed and let the bow hang loosely at her side, she had to get out of here. She placed her bow back in it's case and went to dig her arrows from the target, she pulled down the target and looked at the small hole she had made in the bark of the tree and sighed again. Where was everyone, she thought to herself, after everything that happened over the last few days and everything that's supposed to happen you'd think they'd be in constant contact with each other but she hadn't heard from anyone since yesterday. She picked up her bag and started walking back to her car.

Jackson walked in the direction of where Scott's howl had come from; he was determined to meet Scott halfway and hopefully make some sense of this situation. He walked along tiredly, consumed in his thoughts, eyes downcast at the forest floor and ears perked for any signs of Scott. There was a rustling to his left and he turned to see a wolfed out Scott standing there and heaving from how fast he had run.

"Well it's nice to see you...I suppose," Jackson said with feigned annoyance but couldn't hide the sadness behind his words. "I haven't gotten anything new to tell you about Derek, and I'm starting to wonder why I even called you out here."

"Well I'm here," Scott walked over to Jackson as his human features started to take over once again. "And there's no reason for you to sound all mopey, we'll find him we just have to relax," Scott closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Jackson gave the other boy a look that said are-you-serious and sighed, "Scott please, save the Yoda garbage for someone else who doesn't know you're about as smart as a wet napkin. There's no time to relax when we're staring down the barrel of a witch loaded gun."

Scott sucked his teeth and squinted his eyes at Jackson, "you know, for someone who called me crying you aren't really appreciative of me being here. You wanted my help to find Derek, and now that I'm here you're acting like the jerk I know you're not, so just shove this whole wannabee cool boy attitude because I don't care." Jackson gave Scott a look that said everything from go-screw-yourself to I'm-sorry-I'm-acting-like-a-baby but just shook his head and crossed his arms. "I know you, Jackson, and I know that this isn't who you are. I know you're the same guy who was there with us through that whole Peter thing, and I know that you care a lot more than you let on, just be yourself Jackson." Scott looked at Jackson with pleading eyes but the other teen refused to make eye contact with him.

"Listen Scott, I'm sorry I made you come out here...I don't feel like looking for Derek anymore, I just want to get some sleep," Jackson still didn't make eye contact with the boy, instead he looked at the ground with clouded eyes. "I'm gonna go home...you can stay if you want, I just don't feel too up to it right now," Jackson began walking away but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm that turned him around to look at Scott.

"Jackson, I'm sorry, I can't imagine what you're going through. I never liked Peter so there wasn't a loss when we killed him, but you have Derek, and even though he has his faults he's a good guy at heart. This connection you guys have is strong, I can tell that much, and I know that him being gone like this is really hard for you. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just...I don't know. I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's fine," Jackson exhaled, "I know I'm acting like a brat but that's only because I really want Derek here...he's my alpha and I feel incomplete without him here." Scott nodded and let go of Jackson's arm. "So I just want to go home and get some rest," Jackson looked down as his stomach growled and looked up at Scott with abashed eyes, "and something to eat."

Scott nodded again and laughed a little, "fine, go ahead, I'll stay and try to see if I can pick up any signs of Derek." Jackson nodded and walked off into the woods leaving Scott to his lonesome.

"Get ready for the insanity that is my parents when it's time to go shopping," Danny whispered to Stiles after his parents had gotten out of the SUV.

"Given everything that's happened, I think I can take it," Stiles said throwing a smirk at Danny who blinked at the sly look on the other boy's face and stepped out.

"Are you sure, because my mom can get a little out of control when it comes to shopping. One time she tackled a lady for a pair of Manolos."

"And they were the last pair," Alana shouted back to where Danny and Stiles were whispering.

"She also had crazy good hearing."

"Only when someone mentions Manolos, honey." Stiles looked at Alana and then back to Danny and laughed, Danny ducked his head a little but couldn't help but laugh along with Stiles.

They kept walking behind Danny's parents, Stiles slowed down and put hand on Danny's arm to slow him down too. "What's wrong," Danny asked when he turned and saw how nervous Stiles looked.

"Danny, can I ask you something," Stiles looked the other boy in the eye and swallowed a lump that was in his throat.

"Sure Stiles, you know you can ask me anything," Danny said shaking his head. "Of course you can."

"Well," Stiles inhaled and exhaled slowly, "I was there when you told..." Stiles was cut off by Danny's father calling for the boys to catch up.

"Your mom's gone in without me and who knows when she'll resurface, I need you boys to help me look for her," Richard called back to where the boys had slowly started walking while Stiles tried to work up the nerve to say what it was he wanted to ask Danny about. He gave it up though, it would have to wait for another time.

"What did you want to ask me," Danny asked after they had caught up a little with his father but Stiles just shook his head.

"It wasn't important, it can wait," Stiles looked up at Danny with a small smile on his face, Danny gave the boy a look that asked if he was alright but decided not to press. They walked into the mall and into the whoosh of the temperature controlled building.

There was the smell of pretzels and cookies baking, the smell of perfume and the whirr of little devices that excited men and women were selling from little stands in the middle of the floor. Stiles licked his lips as his stomach grumbled for one of those big pretzels but was pulled back when Richard told him and Danny to look for Alana in all the stores on the first floor while he would look on the next one.

"Can't you just call her dad," Danny asked looking around at a few stores he wanted to hit.

"I tried that, but I keep getting sent to voicemail and something's telling me she's holding a conference call with the ladies of her group," Richard looked down at his phone while he pressed call one more time.

"Fine," Danny sounded less than excited to have to spend his day at the mall looking for his mother when all he really wanted to do was spend time with Stiles away from their friends, and maybe talk to him about what's going on with everything on a more comprehensive level. "We'll look around but I don't think she needs to be looked for, she's a grown woman who can handle her own."

Richard gave his son a tested glare, "yeah, and she's also the woman who maxed out a credit card in less that fifteen minutes in one store. Find her." And with that he made his way to the escalators and up to the second floor.

Stiles looked at Danny with an amused look on his face, "is this the kind of crazy you were telling me about?"

Danny sighed, "just help me look for her please." Stiles followed Danny into the first store but still kept a smile on his face.

"I don't think your mom would be in F.Y.E., Danny," Stils said as they walked into the record store and came face to face with a lifesized cut out of Justin Bieber.

"My mom likes music same as you," Danny said picking up an album from the new releases rack, "and it doesn't hurt that I'm looking for some new music anyway."

"But all of this is so...What happened to just getting the digital album," Stiles asked as he looked around the relatively empty store even though the mall was crowded today.

"I like to have the CD," Danny said placing the album he was looking at back. "Plus, record stores are a dying treasure."

"Aren't you all techy, I mean you can't have space for the amount of albums you have on your playlist," Stiles picked up a CD and looked at it, flipping it over in his hand.

"I do..well on my computer I do. All those albums you saw were either from family or friends, but my real treasures are in storage where they'll be safe," finding an album he liked Danny walked over to another rack. "I'm just not a fan of the whole digital movement when it comes to music, I feel like we lose the soul of an album when you can't have the experience of taking it out of it's case or it's jacket and putting it on. I might be romancing the music right now but that's just how I am."

Stiles nodded with raised eyebrows at what Danny had said, he understood completely where he was coming from and his passion on the matter was refreshing to say the least. "So Danny," Stiles pressed on as the other teen moved to a different rack with his chin resting on his fingers, "what else do you feel strongly about?"

Danny turned to look at Stiles from where he was bent over reading the labels of the CDs, "I don't like that my mom drinks as much as she does." He straightened up and sighed, "she's not an alcoholic but she does drink whenever she can. And it's not like she gets out of control or anything, she just gets a bit chatty and starts to say things that she really shouldn't."

"Does it bother you that much that your mother drinks like that," Stiles asked taking a step forward with concerned eyes trained on Danny.

"No, not really, it's just I'd rather her put the glass down every now and then," Danny looked down and began walking over to the counter.

"Then you should tell her," Stiles said keeping pace with Danny. "She loves you, I can tell by how well she treats you and the freedom she gives you. I think you owe it to yourself and to her to let her know that her drinking the way she does bothers you."

Danny placed the CD he had picked up on the counter and dug a hand in his pocket pulling out a twenty to hand to the cashier. "Stiles, I just don't want to bother her with this. I know she drinks to help with her being in the social sphere and that a lot of the times she ends up having a few drinks with her Ladies Who Lunch, but she never gets out of hand she just gets chatty, and I don't think that's a bad thing compared to how it coud be." Danny nodded his thanks to the woman behind the counter and picked up his blue bag.

Stiles followed Danny out of the store and came face to face with his mother; Alana turned to look at the two boys and the six bags she had on her arms swung when she turned. Her face lit up and a smile stretched across her face as she squealed, "Danny, Stiles! Where have you boys been? I've picked you both up some things that I think you'd like," she riffled through one of her bags and picked out a pink shirt and thrust it at Danny. "Oh honey! You would look perfect in this! And I picked you up something too Stiles," she picked up a similar shirt to Danny's except this one had a small flower on the bottom left by the hem. "I know it looks a bit garish but I thought you guys would look lovely in these. Danny you always look so good in pink and it makes me want to pinch your little cheeks. And Stiles honey, I figured you would look good in purple because of your fair skin but now that I hold it up to you...I'm having second thoughts. No problem, we'll just take it back, no big deal," she began walking back the way she came her heels inexplicably clinking on the carpeted floor.

"Is this what you meant by her getting chatty," Stiles asked nervously as they followed the woman turned whirlwind.

"Yeah, but I think she's just running on a vodka martini with a RedBull back. We better make sure we keep up with her, she has a couple credit cards stashed on her person." Danny looked at Stiles and grabbed the boy's had to pull him through the crowd and after his mother.

Stiles looked up at where Danny had turned to him and was pulling him after his mother as more people started to pour in through the mall entrance, and looked down at the tight grip he had on his hand. When had it gotten hot in here? Stiles let himself get pulled by Danny and into the store that his mother had just disappeared into; it was a little boutique out of the way of the crowds but the windows were full of mannequins wearing fabulous clothing that was a bit too posh for Stiles' liking. When Danny finally let go of his hand they were standing on a ridiculously shiny floor and the air was crisp with the scent of the flowers; the store looked relatively empy compared to the windows and only a few items could actually be seen on the floor. Stiles saw where Alana had gotten the shirts she had picked out for him and Danny and chuckled softly to himself, he walked over to check the tag of the purple shirt that was on the rack and audibly gulped.

Danny walked over to where Stiles still had the tag for the shirt in his hand and put a hand on his shoulder causing Stiles to look up at him, "I told you, my mom gets a little crazy. We just have to make sure she returns most of the stuff she bought."

"But that's almost $5OO dollars for a shirt. A shirt, Danny, do you know what I could do with that kind of money," Stiles said gesturing a little and making sure he kept his voice low, this didn't seem like the type of store that you raised your voice in no matter how overpriced the clothing was.

Danny laughed lightly at Stiles' reaction, "I know, but my parents work hard for their money, I just try to rein it in when they get a little out of control with it."

"Like now," Stiles asked pointing to where Alana was walking up to the counter where a pile of clothing was being bagged while she dug through her handbag for her wallet. Danny turned and saw his mother hand over the black card to the man behind the counter and ran over to take it from her but she pulled away before he could get to it.

"Mom," he pleaded, "you can't keep spending money like this. It's just not rational."

"Oh poo! Who cares about rational when it's Michael Kors," she said and handed the card over to the man behind the counter.

"Don't you swipe that card!"

They all turned to see Richard walk into the store and Stiles heard Danny's sigh from where he was still standing by the rediculously expensive shirts.

"She's not getting any of it," Richard said walking up to the man behind the counter.

"Oh Richard please," Alana said dismissively. "Go ahead and swipe it, dear."

"Hand over the card, son," Richard said to the man behind the counter who couldn't have been older that 25 and still had the fresh face of a college student hopeful of the economy. The poor boy looked confused to say the least as he went from staring at the stern face of the man in front of him and the eyes of the woman who was urging him to swipe the card.

"Just hand the card back," Stiles heard Danny say quietly to the man. The poor guy looked at Danny with eyes that pleaded for help. "She doesn't need it anyway, and you'll be helping her in the long run if you did," Danny gave the man a puppy dog look that Stiles had never seen before and the guy melted, he handed the card back to Richard and began to take the items out of the bags. Danny sighed and Richard seemed to shrink back a little, but Alana huffed clearly upset at what just happened.

"Thank you son, she'll be fine" Richard said to the man behind the counter and began to usher a fuming Alana out of the store.

"So is that the crazy you were talking about," Stiles whispered walking over to Danny and out of the store with his parents.

"Yeah, but this was a good day for her. I think it's because we have company that she didn't act like she usually would," Danny looked down at Stiles and nudged his shoulder with his. "I think I should keep you around more often," he said but then gulped back realizing how it sounded, a flush of red ghosting over his cheeks.

Stiles looked up and raised an eyebrow at Danny, flashing back to the conversation he over heard between Scott and Danny in the boys' bathroom the other day. "Danny, remember earlier, when I had wanted to ask you something?"

Danny looked over from where he had taken a step away from Stiles but were still in step while they followed his parents, "yeah, what did you want to know?"

"Um...can we, I don't know, talk in private somewhere," Stiles didn't understand why he was nervous again, it's not like he hadn't asked Danny way more random questions than this...not that this was random or anything. He thought he had better ask him again after hearing Danny say that he did feel something for Stiles to Scott, which by the way, he didn't understand why Scott hadn't known he was there.

"Uh sure..." Danny gave Stiles a weird look but pushed it aside. "Hey dad," he called over to where his parents were walking a few paces ahead of them, his father looked over the shoulder of the arm he had draped around his wife, "Stiles and I are gonna go look at a few stores, we'll meet you at the food court okay?" His father just waved a hand and continued to whisper in Alana's ears who pressed into him as they walked. "Well," Danny said looking over to Stiles, "where would you like to go?"

Morgan wandered through the occult section of the public library and scoffed as she ran her finger along the spines of the books on the shelves. She'd read most of these and knew some of the authors but she couldn't get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth that this all may be for naught. She knew all of this; she knew the truth from the fiction and the facts from the lies and still she knew that she didn't know anything. She couldn't hold a candle to her mother, that doubt had already set in, but the worry over all the people that now relied on her was heavier than anything she could imagine. She stopped and looked at a book on demonology, she hadn't seen it before but she recognized the name. She picked it up and flipped through it, she had gotten really good at scanning, it's kind of an important skill to have when you have to gather knowledge from several different books in a short amount of time. She closed it and put it back on the shelf, it was the same garbage she had read countless times before just reworded. What happened to originality, witchcraft is all about taking something that someone else has made and making it your own, and creating something when you can't find what you need. It's all about customization, but with the new age wave that's stricken society, that's slowly going out the window.

"Morgan, dear?"

She looked up and met the eyes of the librarian, a rickety old stitch of a woman but her fingers were strong and nimble, her hands sure and lithe. The woman greeted Morgan with a smile behind her thick rimmed glasses and messy hair, the wrinkles of her face growing taught as she reached out and patted Morgan's hand. "How have you been dear, it's been a while since I last saw you. Is everything alright," the woman asked with concerned eyes but she kept that smile.

"Oh Mrs. Shoemaker, I'm fine, thank you," Morgan gave the woman a smile that she hoped was sincere.

"Oh come now, I think I know when something's wrong with one of my favorite visitors," the woman gave Morgan a look over the rim of her glasses that warned against any lie that she could muster.

Sighing, Morgan let her shoulders fall as she clasped the woman's hands, "I'm just...preoccupied."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with that mother of yours would it? You know I don't like her...which is saying something seeing as how long you've been here."

Morgan smiled as her eyes fell to the ground, "it actually is about her. I don't know what to do, she's just...a lot."

"Now now," the woman's voice was warm and reassuring as she led Morgan to one of the tables by the window. "You know I've got nothing but time here. Everyone's gone digital with these damn ebooks," she looked around at the empty library, save for a man in the distant corner with a pile of law books. "So come now, tell me what's wrong...I'm a really good listener."

"Say something," Lydia looked across the hotel room at her mother who was busying herself with her needlepoint of a cat by the windows that opened to a bare sky. She was ragged and worn from not sleeping, she had been too busy worrying about her mother who came back upstairs at almost five in the morning. "Say something to me," she yelled again, she knows that this wouldn't help anything but she knew she had been heard when her mother missed a stitch and cussed under her breath.

"I have nothing to say to you," her mother's voice was calm and cool as she worked over the messed up stitch. Lydia breathed deeply as the sting of her mother's words hit her, it's one thing to have a parent disappointed in you but to have them not want to say anything at all to you is something she never thought she'd have to feel.

"Fine," Lydia said pulling herself up and squaring her chin with the floor, "I'll leave." She picked up the small luggade that she had brought with her and began to walk around the room gathering the few things she had and making it obvious that she wanted her mother to ask her to stay. "Well," she said looking at her mother who was still busying herself with her needlepoint and not making eye contact with her and dropped her bag on the floor a little fed up, "aren't you going to stop me?" Her mother just kept on going with her needlepoint. "Fine," Lydia said picking her bag off the floor, "I'm leaving." Lydia swung her bag over her shoulder and made her way to the door before her mother spoke up.

"Lydia get back here," Mrs. Martin placed her needlepoint down on her lap and looked at her sad, tired daughter, "you're not going anywhere and you know it."

"Yes I am," Lydia moved her now dull hair behind her shoulder and turned to face her mother.

"You don't have anywhere to go, and who'd take you in looking like that," Mrs. Martin gestured to her daughter standing up and pressed her skirt straight. "Put your bag down and take a nap, you're tired."

"I am not," Lydia stiffled a yawn, she knew she sounded like a little kid right now but she was upset and she just wanted to talk to someone and it was like everyone wanted nothing to do with her."I'm very awake, I had three cups of coffee."

"You don't drink coffee, Lydia," her mother took her glasses off and ropped them on the chair with her needlepoint.

"I did this morning while I sat up and worried about you." Lydia's eyes fell and she let the bag fall from her shoulder to the floor, "I'm sorry, mom, I don't know what happened. I don't know how any of this happened." Mrs. Martin walked over to her daughter as a tear fell from Lydia's face. Lydia looked up at her mother with tears swelling in her eyes, "I'm so tired. I haven't gotten a good sleep since the fire and it's like all of my friends are scared of me and I'm fighting...I'm fighting with myself all the time now. I don't want to fight anymore, mom. What happened last night, mom, I'm sorry."

Lydia let herself fall into her mother once she felt her warm arms around her, she really was tired; tired of fighting this thing inside of her, and tired of fighting a battle for friends who were fighting against her. She didn't know when she had started crying but her mother's blouse was soaked, her mother did nothing but stroke her hair and let her cry, cooing soothing words into her ear.

"So Danny," Stiles said once they had found a place in the quiet part of the mall by one of the less frequently used back entrances, "I uh...umm...I..." Danny never looked away from Stiles, he could tell something was on his mind and he wasn't going to push for him to get it out. "How are you doing," he didn't know when he had lost his nerve, or if he had ever had any, but he couldn't bring himself to ask the question he already knew the answer to.

"Stiles that's not what you really wanted to ask me, is it," Danny asked turning himself a bit more towards Stiles.

"Yes," he lied, "that's all I wanted to ask you." Stop lying Stiles, he thought to himself, this is one time when you shouldn't lie...least of all to Danny.

"Well you're lying, but I'm fine. How are you?"

Stiles' eyes widened and he had to admit that he was a little impressed at how quickly Danny could pick up when he was lying, it took Scott almost a year, Derek had the wolf ears and Morgan caught him on it the first time. "Oh you know, just dealing with crazed witches and a possessed teenage girl, no big deal," Stiles shrugged it off relieved at where this change of topic could lead them.

"Yeah," Danny laughed, "I hear that, not to mention a severly bitchy Jackson." That got Stiles to laugh and for the first time, for as long as he and Stiles had started to work on a friendship, Danny looked at Stiles and thought the boy might actually be okay despite everything he's been through.

"Yeah," Stiles said coming down from the high of his laugh and letting his eyes fall to the floor. "I'm just worried...about everything," Stiles breathed out, his shoulders suddenly felt tight. "I just feel like at any given moment something will go wrong, because it usually does, and then we'll end up at the hands of a crazy killer witch and a possessed omega. And now that Derek's been captured I feel for sure that something is going to go terribly wrong and I'm really just worried about all of you guys. When we had to deal with Peter before it was easier because, we had everyone we needed. People were there but now, important people are either missing or being controlled and I don't know what to do about it. And I'm scared," Stiles breathed heavily at the end of his spiel and looked aroud because he was sure someone would've overheard him.

"Stiles," Danny said leaning in a little, "you need to not worry so much. I know that things are really crazy right and yes, important people are out of the picture right now but you have to understand that you're not alone in this. There are people around you who care for you a lot and would never leave you alone, no matter how alone you feel, because they want the best for and at the end of the day they'd do anything to prove to you that you are not alone. Danny reached over and grabbed Stiles' hand., "so don't worry too much, you don't have to feel like you're carrying this all by yourself, because I can promise that as long as I can I'm going to be right here by your side until you decide that you don't want me here anymore."

Stiles looked down at where Danny was holding his hand and gulped a little, "umm Danny?"

Danny didn't realize that he had grabbed Stiles' hand, or when he had gotten so close to Stiles that their thighs were toucjing, but he pulled away and rubbed his palms on his jeans. "Umm...sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, it's fine," Stiles said cutting Danny off, "you don't have to apologize. And thank you, for being here I mean, it's good to know that I have people who care for me and than you for this," Stiles gestured loosely to the space around them, "it's always good to have a few moments when witches and wolves aren't running my life."

Danny gave a nervous laugh and stood up, "it's no problem...you have a way of making people want to be there for you. And I guess I just...I don't know." Stiles looked at Danny with eyes that wanted him to say exactly what he was thinking but wouldn't. "We should, um, probably get back," Danny said not making eye contact with Stiles. "I'm a little hungry, and judging my how your stomach is growling I'm guessing you are too."

Stiles looked down at his stomach and laughed a little, "I'm always hungry, but okay let's go."

"So who's this woman that you mentioned, this priestess of yours, can she help," the old woman asked folding her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, but she's the one that sent me here," Morgan shook her head and leaned back a little in her chair, her shoulders slumping a little. "I don't really think me asking her here for help with a test she sent me on is going to help me further myself," Morgan looked from the wrinkled face of the woman down at her hands in her lap. "And I don't want her to think I'm a failure because I can't handle this."

"Well see right there, you just admitted to yourself that you can't handle this, so why can't you just swallow your pride and ask her for help? It sounds like everyone else thinks it'll be a good idea, and you are here to protect them anyway, so why not let her help you?" The woman crossed her ankles and moved a little forward in her chair, "listen, I know what it feels like to be in over your head, but I also know when it's time to ask for help. And even though most people won't admit it, to themselves or anyone else, there's a quiet dignity when you know your limits and have to ask for help. I don't think your priestess would mind if told her what was going on and just asked for help."

Morgan shook her head and looked out the window concern and sadness etched across her face, "she's my mother though, and me asking the priestess here with all of the wrong my mother's done is basically signing her death warrant. I can't do that to her, yeah she is a royal bitch -excuse my language- she's still my mother and on some level I care for her and on some darker my reclusive lever I know she cares for me."

"Well then you're going to have to choose what it is you want to do; you can save the lives of your friends and countless others, or you can save the life of your mother and risk a whole town of innocent people, the choice is up to you," Mrs. Shoemaker got up and straighted out her skirt as she picked up some books that were sitting on the desk next to them to reshelve.

"Mrs. Shoemaker," Morgan said looking up and the older woman, "am I going to regret what I have to do?"

Mrs. Shoemaker gave the girl a warm smile the stretched the wrinkles on her face and the sun glinted off of the lenses of her glasses, "that's up to you, dear, but I trust that you'll do the right thing when the time comes. You're a smart girl, you give yourself far less credit than you deserve, and if these kids are willing to trust you then maybe you should trust yourself." Morgan watched as Mrs. Shoemaker walked off and disappeared behind a tall shelf lined with self help books. Sighing to herself she looked out the window again and rested her chin on her hand as the sun started to set across the skies of Beacon Hills. This was another day down and another night closer to facing her mother. And another hour closer to her vision coming true, she swallowed and wiped a tear from her eye with the sleeve of her sweater, she knew what she had to do.

Jackson looked up from where he had been lost in his thoughts at the darkening sky. The canopies of the trees had made it seem darker than it was but he was sure that it couldn't have been that late, he couldn't have been walking around the woods for that long...could he? He checked his watch and had to rub his eyes, he was sure it was just ten a.m. Where had the time gone? He looked around and picked a path back to his car...had he taken his car? He couldn't remember if he had taken his car and he couldn't remember if he had slept last night. He kept walking anyway to where he thought he would have parked his car if he had brought it. There was something different about the forest, maybe it was his wolf but he was more aware of the still of the air and the slow rising click of the night insects.

The regular hum of the forest life now seemed a bit more hohum, and he wasn't sure but he thought he could feel this ache deep in the pit of his stomach. Something felt wrong about everthing now; he had half a mind to call Scott but decided against it, he wanted to be alone for a bit. Besides, Scott and his uncouthed sense of justice was not something he wanted to have to deal with, not now.

He had lost his alpha, the only person in his life that he actually had to please was gone, and he was alone now. Yeah sure, he had Danny and Scott and the rest of them but they weren't Derek, they weren't his alpha. He had felt lost before -what with him not knowing his birth parents and all- but this was different, he had known Derek. He had connected with Derek, and even though he wasn't the warmest guy out there he brought some meaning back into Jackson's life and for that he felt like he owed the man something. He dragged his feet along and came to the clearing where his car had ought to have been and sighed, it wasn't there. He sighed again and remembered that in his fit of worry he had ran all the way to Morgan's house from his own, if there was ever a time he need the wolf it was now.

He rolled his shoulder and cracked his neck, here we go, he was going to call the wolf. He took a deep breath and started to call the wolf forward, Derek hadn't taught him much but following what happened at school with Scott he taught him how to control the wolf. He called the wolf forward and felt the exhaustion fall from his shoulders as if a the covers had been yanked off of him in bed. He looked at his fingernails that were now long and curved a bit, he felt his ears stretched and he felt the low ache as his k9s lengthened and sharped. He reared back and let out a howl that he knew Scott would hear and lowered to the ground in a crouch. His ears caught the pitch of a sky bird in the distance and the smell of the bakery over on Maple street wafted to his nose. He got into a runner's stance and took off in the direction of his home, intent to get there in time for the beef stew he could smell his mother cooking.

He jumped over the brooke and dashed across the field where a lot of the kids in school liked to throw parties in during the summer and ducked back into the thick of the woods. He stopped short when the wolf caught a trace of a familiar scent. He breathed deep trying to gather where it was he had smelled the scent before, his eyes searching in the dim light that filtered through the trees. The wolf began to follow it, it was leading him away from his familiar part of town but he didn't care, curiousity had caught the best of him and now he was following the scent at a full sprint deep into the woods. The world flashed by him in a blur of red and black but all he could focus on was the scent. It was so familiar and it bugged him that he couldn't place it. He was getting closer and he ran faster, the smell was getting stronger, he skidded to a stop behind a tree and looked at where the scent had been coming from. It was a woman, a tall woman, and she was with another woman and a man with gray hair. Something about her seemed so familiar but before he could get the nerve to do anything a small woman ran up to the three of them. She was carrying a gun on her belt and she wore the same kind of clothes that Allison's aunt had worn, his eyes widened as he realized that these people in front of him were hunters. The small woman spoke to them, it was hushed but he could hear.

"Amanda," Joanna said from where she had been kneeling down over a bag of menacing looking weapons, "I'd say it's nice to see you again but then I'd be lying."

"Calm down, Joanna," Aidyn said walking over and taking Amanda's hand. "How are you today Amanda, did you have a tough time getting away from your madam?"

"No," Amanda shook her head as she lookd down and moved a piece of hair from her face. "She was preoccupied with worrying about the witch and some confrontation they had had the other night." Aidyn looked over at Rebecca and nodded his head.

"Amanda," Rebecca said in a calm voice walking over to the girl, "is she okay, Victoria I mean?"

"Yeah, she's fine, you know she's tough as nails," Amanda turned to look at the woman with her dark red hair and her pale skin, Amanda couldn't help but think that she looked a bit like a doll she had seen once in an antique shop. "And she mentioned something about shooting the witch, but she was mostly talking to her husband about the whole thing. I'm not one to eavesdrop." Amanda didn't see it but Joanna rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"Well," Rebecca said looking at Amanda with a warm smile, " as long as she's fine."

"So she shot the witch," Joanna said impressed standing up and stepping over the bag of weapons. "Victoria was always a fighter, and to think, I thought her getting married and having a kid would have slowed her down," Joanna corssed her arms over he chest causing her leather jacket to squeak a little. "But then again she did marry Chris, who had that Kate for a sister, so I don't know why I thought her fight would leave her."

"Yes well," Aidyn said looking at Amanda with a smile, he haden't bothered to turn to look at Joanna as she spoke, "it looks like she hasn't changed all that much. Did you get a chance to speak to her?"

"No, she hasn't really spoken to any of us lately, and I don't think it would be proper to interrupt her when she's obviously worried about something." Amanda pulled her hands away from Aidyn and began to fidget nervously, she wasn't too comfortable being around the member's of the counsel. They intimidated her a bit with their intense eyes and serious disposition.

"She's worried," Rebecca asked cocking her head to the side as she looked at Amanda, "what could she be worried about?"

"Well apparently this witch has big plans for Beacon Hills and she doesn't care who gets in her way. She's already captured the alpha and from what I gather, she's after the younger beta. There are rumors with the other hunters that something big is about to happen and that no matter what we do we won't really matter at the end. But I try not to listen to it, it all sounds a bit too fantastical and I don't think having a negative attitude is going to help anyone at this point."

"This is no such talk for any of our hunters," Aidyn said in an authoritative tone. "We'll be able to handle this witch, and if she has plans on hurting innocents then we have no choice but to do whatever it takes to ensure she's stopped." Amanda nodded, Aidyn was the head of the counsel and anything he said was almost law. Yes, the Argent family had been the first hunters but once the counsel had been created it had become more of a republic, there were laws and rules set to make sure everyone was on the same page. Yes, there were the few who broke the code and went rogue but they were usually dealt with swiftly once their indiscretions had been found out.

"Amanda, thank you," Rebecca said with that same warm smile as she looked away from Aidyn. "Take care of yourself, and please, keep an eye out for Victoria for me." Amanda nodded and bowed slightly before stepping away from the three members of the counsel and walked off in the direction of where she had parked her car.

Rebecca watched the young huntress disappear into the woods but it was Joanna who spoke up, "it's a shame we'll have to kill her."

Aidyn turned back to where he had been busying himself with a crossbow and said with no interest, "we're not going to kill her, Joanna. I like her, and even though you can't see it, there's a fire in that girl."

"What," Joanna whined looking between Aidyn and Rebecca as she put a knife in her belt.

"He's right, Joanna," Rebecca was still watching where the girl had walked off even though she couldn't see her anymore. "She does have a fire in her eyes, it's low, but it's there."

"In fact, she reminds me a bit of you when you were younger," Aidyn said looking at Joanna with a smile.

"Ugh! Don't even, I was not that naive when I started out. She can barely hold a rifle," Joanna gestured in the vague direction of where Amanda had walked off with another knife before she place it in her belt.

"Not unlike you," Aidyn said as he loaded the bag into the back of the black SUV. "Don't think we haven't noticed that you prefer knives to rifles." Rebecca gave a breathy laugh as Aidyn tossed the keys to her, and Joanna glared at both of them. "Come on Joanna," Aidyn said laughing lightly to himself, " we've got to go."

Joanna huffed to herself and climbed in the back of the SUV, "next time we stop I want to sit in the front."

"Sure, we'll see," Aidyn laughed again as Rebecca turned and drove down the small path they had created through the trees.

Jackson pressed himself against the tree as the SUV drove past him. His wolf features had gone away while he was watching the hunters' conversation. When he was sure that the hunters wouldn't see him he walked into the clearing and looked after where the car had just pulled off. The familiar scent still hung heavily in the air and he was sure it had come from the woman with the knives. He didn't know why he had come all the way out here and now he was farther away from home than he had been before, he called the wolf out again and ran off in the direction of home as new questions found their way into his train of thought.

Allison pulled into the driveway of her home and parked behind her father's SUV. All the windows of the house were lit up and she sighed getting out of the car; she'd been gone all day and she was sure her mother would have something to say about it. She put her key in the lock but the door was pulled open and she looked up at her father, he caught her eye and put a finger to his lip telling her to be quiet. Her mother's voice came from the kitchen, she was on the phone.

"She's talking to some members of the counsel, apparently they thought they actually had to send some people down here." Allison looked up at her father but couldn't ask any questions because her mother walked into the foyer talking animatedly on the phone.

"I don't care! It's disrespectful for you to just send them down here! My family is here, we live here, you have to confer with us before anything happens over here...what...you sent who...No, that doesn't change anything." Allison saw the change in the expression on her mother's face but her voice was still as sure as ever. "I'll deal with this my way, you just need to make sure that Aidyn and the other two don't get in my way," Victoria hung up the phone and threw it across the room.

"They sent Aidyn," Mr. Argent asked looking over at his wife, Allison was sure she heard a waver in his voice but she wasn't too sure.

"Yeah, him and his other two cohorts, what are their names? Rebecca and Joanna," Voctoria rubbed to temples as she walked across the room and plopped herself down on the couch. She didn't need this right now; she didn't need Aidyn and his entitled attitude or Joanna and her quick fingers when it comes to her knives. And even though she missed her dear friend, she did not want to see Rebecca right now, not with everything that's going on under her family's watch.

"Who's Aidyn," Allison asked unsuredly.

"He's the head of the counsel, and Rebecca and Joanna are his left and right hand. They've been after us since the counsel was formed and now they're here to usurp our hold on Beacon County," Mr. Argent looked down at his daughter before walking over to kneel in front of his wife. "Victoria, we don't have to worry about them. They may be the counsel but we hold the monopoly on the hunters who are here."

"And how are you so sure that they don't already have someone on the inside? They're sneaky like that Chris, Aidyn isn't going to be here without having someone to watch us," she leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. "Why did they have to send them? You know, I bet they caught wind of that girl...the omega, but I'm sure they weren't expecting this witch...I'm sure they weren't."

"Can't you just...I don't know, question everyone and see if any of them know anything," Allison asked from where she was leaning on the frame of the doorway into the living room. Watching her mother in despair like this she flashed back to when she had told Kate that she didn't want to feel helpless anymore, but this time it was different, she knew she could do something."

"It's not that simple, they'll be aware of what's happening and what could happen to them if they disclosed any information about me," Victoria didn't open her eyes as she spoke to her daughter.

"And even if they did answer, they'd have protection by the counsel against anything we could decide to do about them," Chris looked over at Allison as he rubbed small circles on Victoria's thighs with his thumbs.

"That doesn't sound fair," Allison said walking over to sit on the arm of the couch.

"There's no fair or unfair when dealing with the counsel," Victoria opened her eyes to look at her daughter. "There's only just and unjust."

Allison started to form a plan, if her family couldn't do anything about the Counsel being here then she would. She wasn't going to sit around helpless while her family ws being threatened by some people who didn't know anything about them. Her parents may have had to be under the thumb of the Counsel but she could get around it, she'd find some way to make sure that her family was kept safe no matter ehat she had to do.

Scott made his way home, tired and sore from having been out all day and from his general lack of sleep lately. He had ran most of the way but now he was just too exhausted to even think about running. He took out his phone and went to call Stiles but stopped when he remembered that he and Danny were spending the day with Danny's parents. Stiles wouldn't have his Jeep and it might be a little rude to call and expect them to drop everything to pick him up. He wanted to call Allison but thought better of it, she might be just as tired as he is and asking her to pick him up would look really selfish, so instead he trudged on dragging his feet. When had he started to count on others so much? Had he always counted on people like this...no, he couldn't have, it wasn't until lately that he had friends that weren't Stiles. Stiles...had he counted on Stiles this much? Yeah, he was the only one he really counted on when he found out he was a wolf but who else could he have turned to? Derek seemed a little too psychotic to want to trust but he was there too, but it was Stiles who was always really there.

He had found his way back to the road and decided to follow it the rest of the way home, but he kept thinking about what happened back with Peter. Stiles had always had his back and he knew as much about werewolves as Scott did. Stiles did all the research and came up with ways to help him even, and all Scott had did was complain about not wanting to be a werewolf and whine over wanting to spend time with Allison.

He shook his head, he had to get rid of these thoughts and focus more on the problems at hand; namely Amara and the fact that she had Derek and was coming for him. He looked up in time to miss a car that was driving too close to the shoulder of the road. He was fast to get out of the way but he wasn't fast enough. It clipped his shoulder and he felt the bone get knocked out of it's socket. He fell to the ground in a howl of pain as the car skidded to a stop. He looked over from where he had rolled into the brush to see two hunters step out of the car. He scrambled to get to his feet but a flash arrow landed inches from his face and knocked him delirious. He got up and hoped to make what he thought was an escape but that dream, was crushed when he felt an aconite bullet find purchase in his shin.

"That was easy," he heard a male hunter say.

"Yeah, it's almost insulting that she sent us," this was a woman's voice. "Let's just get him in the back of the car...wait," the female hunter walked over and emptied a syringe into the space between his arm and shoulder. "That should slow down his healing and it'll knock him out too," the woman turned him over on his back but he couldn't see anything because the world had turned in to a gray amorphous blob and he passed out just as the man started to drag him over to the car.

Derek lifted his head and sniffed...it was Scott. He turned his head towards the door just as they swung open and Scott was tossed to the floor in a heap at Amara's feet.

"Well," she said looking down from where she had been expecting the bandage on her arm, "I didn't expect you to pick him up so easily."

"He's a beta, and an unexperienced beta at that, it was like picking up a sack of potatoes," the male hunter said giving Scott a kick.

"Yeah, he was just walking around all in the open. Poor thing, I almost feel bad for hitting him with the car...almost," she laughed and looked over at the male hunter who had a smirk on his face.

"Well he's here. Put him up on the wall with the other one, I want to look at my puppies," Amara waved a newly manicured hand over her shoulder to where Derek was hung up on the wall of wires.

Two of the men who had been standing guard by the door walked over and hung a very limp Scott on the wall in the shackles that were next to Derek.

"What did you do to him," Derek asked from his aconite induced haze.

"Oh nothing...just a bullet to the shin and some wolfsbane directly to the bloodstream," one of the hunters said answering Derek's question.

"Don't talk to him," Amara gave the hunter who spoke up a glare. "You've done your part, you can go."

"What about of monetary compensation," the male hunter spoke up.

"The only compensation you're getting is to keep your life. I'll pretect you from your madam, that was the only thing we agreed upon," Amara got up and walked over to Scott and ripped his shirt off. "And if I were you, I'd be careful from now on, there are members here from your counsel and I don't think they'd like it too much if they found out about your underhanded side projects." Amara started to place electrodes on Scott's bare chest and she admired his face, "you really are pretty."

"What about the boy's mother, she's going to be looking for him," the female hunter spoke up remembering that this kid isn't Derek, he has a family.

"Don't you worry about her, she'll be dealt with in due time," she lifted Scott's face and turned it side to side, "I see why that Argent girl fell for you."

"You're despicable," Derek spat at her, "I swear to God, once I get down from here I'm going to slit your throat."

"Don't make me any promises, baby," she had that sick grin of her's again. "It would be almost poetic if you did, don't you think, seeing as how that's how your uncle killed Kate...but I'm not as stupid as she was." Derek glared at her and went to lunge but she just held up a finger at him. "Those pretty little eyes of yours don't scare me, you're just a grouchy little puppy to me and no matter how much you growl or snap you won't affect me." Derek glared at her and went to speak but stopped when Scott started to come to.

"There...there are people looking for us," they looked over as Scott started to come out of his haze.

"Who? My daughter," Amara scoffed, "yeah right, she's such a threat."

"You roll your eyes, but she's an amazing person at her core," Scott said tiredly in defiance of Amara's sarcasm,

"At her core she's a coward who can't stand up for herself. I feel sorry for you and your little friends for putting so much faith in her," Amara stepped closer to Scott. "And if anyone ever did come looking for you it'll be to their death."

"When they come looking for us," Scott looked Amara right in the eyes as he said this, "it'll be you who ends up dead."

"Um, thanks for letting me hang out with your family today," Stiles said to Danny from where they were standing on his porch. "It was nice to not have to worry about crazy witches and lost werewolves for a few hours."

"Yeah," Danny said ducking his head slightly and rubbing his neck a little, "I'm just happy that you aren't tired of my family yet."

"Nah, don't be silly...there's always tomorrow," Stiles laughed nervously to himself but relaxed when he saw Danny was laughing as well.

"Well, I guess you're going home now," Danny looked over to where Sheriff Stilinski's cruiser was in the driveway behind Stiles' Jeep.

"Yeah," Stiles looked back at his house, "I should go check on dad, it's been a while since we had an actual conversation anyway."

Danny nodded, "well I hate to ruin the moment but, you know that we're going to have to deal with...everything, at some point."

"And I hate that you ruined the moment too but, you're right...we'll have to," Stiles shoved his fists in his pockets. "Listen, I wanted to say this earlier but I kind of chickened out," he took in a deep breath and looked Danny in the eyes, "so you find me attractive?"

Danny blinked and looked at Stiles like he had no clue what he was talking about, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"I heard you in the bathroom with Scott," Stiles nodded, "and I know I shouldn't have been eavesdropping but I was in there for other reasons when you guys walked in...I can't help that Scott has terrible hearing." Danny opened his mouth to say something three time but he still couldn't think of anything to say. "I know you said that you don't know what you feel but..." Stiles continued, "but maybe there could be something there for... for me," Stiles tilted his head to the side slightly and looked at Danny in a way that he never had before. He was waiting for an answer, maybe, something that would tell him that he isn't being a complete idiot right now.

Danny looked at Stiles but he still could not think of a single thing to say, which killed him because there was so much he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Stiles something, he wanted to be brave and say something just like Stiles had been but he just...he just kept drawing a blank. The words were on his tongue but it was like they were made of lead, they just sat there on his tongue and weighed down on his heart.

Stiles nodded, and taking Danny's silence for an answer said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I do that a lot...I say things when I shouldn't. I'm just gonna...go. Thanks though, for letting me hang out with your family...and I hope that things won't be weird now."

Danny watched as Stiles backed up before turning and walking away from him and the lump in his throat hurt like when he dry swallowed a pill. It was bitter, this pill, to watch Stiles walk away when he was the one who actually spoke up about what Danny was too scared to admit. He wanted to move forward and stop Stiles from walking away but his feet just wouldn't listen, he wanted to reach out and pull him back but it was as if his hands hand gone limp under the pressure of unspoken words. Why did it hurt, why was he so scared to tell Stiles what he felt, why was he such a coward? He was fighting with himself, he wanted to move forward and pull Stiles into an embrace and just spill everything that he had wanted to tell him ever since he and Stiles had agreed on trying to be friends, but nothing would work his body was betraying him in the worse way right now and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at his father, who just watched where Stiles had walked away with a serious look on his face.

"It'll be okay...I know you liked him but he'll come back to you."

"We weren't...aren't dating, dad. I was just too scared to tell him how I felt," Danny looked at the ground. "It's like...it's like I'm always scared to admit things like this to myself, but it was worse this time; he was okay with it, he wanted to talk to me about it and I was just...quiet. Is there something wrong with me, dad?"

"No, son, you're just a teenager. I sometimes forget that you're a kid because of how mature you are, but you're just as lost in love like the rest of us." Danny looked up at his dad and it was like this man that he had known his whole life was someone new. His father had never spoken to him like this, even with the other boys that Danny had dated, his father had never once spoken to him like he was anything other than a kid in lust. He felt his father pull him tino his side and he let his dad lead him in the house and off of the porch away from the cool of the night air.

Stiles put his key in the lock but stopped when he heard voices on the other side; it would usually be the tv but this was different, there were two distinct voices, his dad's and that of a woman. He turned his key in the lock and pushed the door open to find his father talking to a very worried Melissa. "Mrs. McCall," he said looking from his dad to Scott's mom.

"Stiles," Mrs. McCall stood from where she had been sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands, "have you seen Scott?"

"No," Stiles said but it sounded more like a question, "what's wrong?"

"He's been gone all day," Mr. Stilinski said and Stiles knew he was still in Sheriff mode. "We've called Allison but she hadn't heard from him, we were thinking that he might be with you but..."

"No," Stiles shook his head as he closed the door, "I was with Danny and his parents all day, I haven't heard from Scott since last night." Mrs. McCall went back to sitting in despair on the stairs and Mr. Stilinski rubbed his hand over his hair and stopping to scratch his neck. "Did you call Jackson, maybe he's heard from him?"

"Yeah, but he could only account for him being in the woods earlier, and that was aroundten in the morning. Melissa, I can't file a missing persons until it's been three days but, I can tell the guys down at the station to keep a look out. I'll send a car out to check for him in the woods where Jackson had mention, they've known Scott for a while so I know they won't mind, but I'm telling you that he might've just went out and lost track of time. I'm sure he'll be home any time now" this was all that Mr. Stilinski could offer but he knew it wasn't the comfort that Melissa was seeking.

"Thanks Sheriff," she said dejectedly, standing up as if on auto-pilot. "I told Scott to be careful, but he doesn't listen. I sometimes think that if his father was still around he wouldn't act as lost as he does, that maybe he's listen to me a bit more. I don't know..." she walked to the door and thanked Stiles when she passed him.

What happened at Scott's house the other night flashed in his head and he felt sick when he put together what must have happened. Exasperated he rushed through his mental list of what could be done but he stopped when he realized, "Mrs. McCall, does Scott have his phone with him?"

"He should," she said from where she stood by the open door tiredly, "but if he does then he's not answering it. Why?"

"No reason," Stiles shook his head and prayed that Scott's phone wasn't off.

Mrs. McCall gave a look that questioned Stiles sanity but he was used to her giving him that look. If she had wanted to say anything she didn't, she just walked out the door in silence.

"Uh, dad," Stiles said turning to his father, "I didn't see her car out there, maybe you should give her a ride home."

"Right," Mr. Stilinski pulled on his jacket and walked out the door saying, "Melissa, let me give you a ride home and I'll call the guys down at the station."

Stiles waited for the sound of the engine to start and the crawl of the tires down the street before he left the house and made a bee line for Danny's door. He knocked rapidly and took a step back when Danny opened the door.

"Stiles," Danny asked when he saw how worried Stiles looked, "what's the matter?" Danny's parents looked up from where they were busying themselves with things around the foyer when Stiles said the next two words.

"Scott's missing."

It was as if a switch had been hit in Danny, a switch that had been there all along but was behind 'break in case of missing Scott' glass, and he grabbed his jacket and pulled Stiles out of the house and into the cold of the night. "We're going to have to call everyone, get Morgan, call Allison, and make sure that Jackson gets over here. Is your dad home?" Stiles just shook his head and Danny made his way across the street to the Stilinski home, "tell them that we're going to meet at your house."

"Do you think you could do the cell phone tracking thing that you did when we had to find Derek last time," Stiles asked as the rushed across his lawn and into his house.

"Yeah, and if there's any hope left in the world we'll be able to find Derek too," Danny had his jaw set tight as he took the stairs three at a time. "But make sure you get Jackson here, if he has a connection with Derek then we'll really need him if Amara has anything up her sleeves."

To be continued...

A/N:I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Like I said before you started reading, it came to me in bursts so I reread before I added anything so it would have a little continuity.

How did you guys like my attempt at fluff? I wanted more Stanny(Diles?) feels in the chapter than when I thought I had finished it and most of what you get towards the end is the result of that.

Also, I forgot what I wanted to say, but thanks for reading and we're down to two chapters before I end this(?). And reviews are loved because I want to make sure you guys are getting what it is you want to see, and because it lets me know what I'm doing wrong or right in the story. It's almost over you guys, so you won't have to suffer through this much longer. Thanks.

(P.S. I started a fic based solely on Jackson. I posted a bit of it on Tumblr but I might put it here too, we'll see. Later.*rolls away and into ditch*