A/N:

I have no excuse for how long it's taken me to finally post this update - even my lack of photoshop inspiration to make gifs for the story. Since I have decided to quit those for now, updates will be speedier. I truly am sorry and I understand if lots of people dropped this fanfic. But for those who are actually still around, thank you so very much :'D

Stiles, Scott, the Sheriff, and Agent McCall were standing at the edge of the clearing that held the camp – the bodies were already taken, the evidence being collected. Eva refused to let the baby go, and stole glances towards her standing by one of the squad cars, giving her testament to Parrish as she rocked the baby in her arms.

"So what exactly were you three doing in the reserve at this hour?" The Sheriff demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. Stiles glanced at his father, before he turned to Scott, and nodded once; they had no other option but honesty if they were going to help Malia at all.

"We were…we found evidence that prove Malia is still out there." Stiles muttered, "We found a…den, and it had her clothes and her toy." Stiles started explaining, before Rafael interrupted, "How do you know that what you found were Malia's belongings?" He lifted a brow, giving Stiles a pointed look. Stiles swallowed nervously, not really knowing how to lie his way through to cover for his father.

"I…might have left some case files at home, where they could be easily found." The Sheriff started quickly, "But that's not important right now, what's important is you three might have gotten hurt." The Sheriff said seriously as he turned to the two boys and he gestured back to Eva, "I don't know why that man didn't shoot her, and I'm glad you two were smart enough not to surprise him, but from now on the reserve is off limits to any minor without supervision."

"I'm not a minor." Eva whispered, and the Sheriff turned back to look at her as she walked towards them with the sleeping baby in her arms. Stiles' lips fell slack, before he turned to Scott again and frowned. "What's going to happen to her now?" Eva asked, frowned as she rested her cheek against the top of the baby's head.

"We're going to search for any living relatives she has." The Sheriff started, "She's going to stay in our custody till then." He explained, his gaze softening somewhat when he saw the concern in Eva's eyes, "And if she doesn't have any?" Eva asked again.

"Then she gets into the system until a foster home takes her in." He sighed solemnly, and Eva nodded slowly before she looked down at her again. "You should give her to one of our deputies, Eva. She'll be okay." He tried to reassure her, his hand moving to press against her shoulder gently. Eva turned back to see Parrish holding his arms out, and Eva reluctantly handed him the baby.

"You should go home." The Sheriff finally said, then he turned to Stiles to glare at him, "And you, I'm going to talk to you tonight."

"Don't you want to see Malia's den?" Stiles asked hurriedly, and his father shook his head once, "You are going to explain to me all of that when we get home." The Sheriff told him sternly, before he turned to leave, and Stiles sighed heavily.

"Come on. Let's just leave." Scott muttered, his eyes flickering sideways to settle on Eva, whose eyes were glued to the ground underneath her. "Eva?" Scott started, and she looked up at him, before she nodded slowly. Scott and Stiles shared concerned stares before Stiles reached to take Eva's hand, "Come on, I'll take you home." Stiles mumbled as they moved through the outskirts of the reserve instead of through it back to where they had left the jeep. Scott bid them goodbye before he left with one of the squad cars, and the two watched him leave before Eva took a deep breath and turned to Stiles, "I don't want to go home. Can we go back to the station and check on the baby?"

"Eva," Stiles started, "She's not your responsibility. I'm sure she'll be fine." He tried to reassure her, but Eva shook her head, "That girl is an orphan. I could have done something, anything. Flung that gun out of his hand….Something." Eva whispered and started shaking her head as she looked up at Stiles, "Don't you dare say I couldn't have done something, because I could have."

Stiles watched as she turned away from him, her hands curled into fists at her sides, "If I hadn't been so reluctant to learn, I could have done something. But…I wasted weeks…" Eva shook her head slowly, her eyes welling up as the self-loathing and guilt burned through her veins. Stiles' eyes flickered around them when the soft breeze turned into intense gushes of wind. "Eva…" Stiles started, but she shut her eyes tightly and let the tears trail down her cheeks.

"You can't blame yourself for this" He started as he stepped towards her, trying to find the right words to make her feel better. "You couldn't have known. Anything either of us would have tried would have been dangerous. You saved a baby's life when you talked that man down. You couldn't have known he would do that." Stiles pleaded with her as he reached out to touch her wrist, "And the man killed his own wife….That baby is probably better off without him."

"He didn't do it on purpose." Eva whispered as she turned back to Stiles, "Did you hear what he was saying? Before he..." Eva took a deep breath and stared at him. Stiles frowned, "Yeah I did. He wasn't making any sense, Eva. He was probably out of his mind."

"No, no he wasn't." Eva shook her head slowly, "He was saying riddles. He kept whispering them over and over…Like the boy in Eichen House." Eva looked up at Stiles again, who lifted both brows, "All the more reason why I definitely believe he probably snapped." Stiles protested, and Eva shook her head. "There's definitely something about it…"

"You're overthinking this." Stiles started as his hands moved to the tops of her arms, "You're tired, and you're recovering from a concussion, and you just witnessed something no one ever should witness in their normal lives." Stiles whispered, "Let me just take you home, okay?"

"I don't want to go home." Eva shook her head in defeat, her head beginning to hurt from all the things that didn't make sense. "Can I stay over at your place?"

Stiles blinked, surprised, before he nodded slowly. His lips fell slack when he tried to answer her, and he let out a heavy breath before he started nodding quickly, reaching to scratch the back of his head with his hand, "Y-yeah, of course you can."

Eva waited out Stiles' reaction to her offer, and even smiled as she watched the blush spread on his cheeks. Eventually Stiles managed to go back to his not so normal self, and held the door open for her. The ride home was silent, and even when Eva had wanted desperately to tell Stiles all about Eichen House and what happened there and on afterwards, she just realized that she was barely even capable of keeping her lids up.

Eva was texting her father when they parked in front of the Stilinski household. She got out of the car, meeting Stiles in front of the hood to take his hand. Her father sent her an obviously angry text about how she should have told him earlier and how this was not okay, but Eva had to sigh, and she chose not to reply and just shut her phone.

"I think I have something lying around that you could sleep in." Stiles started once they walked into his room, and he started towards the wardrobe, going through the hangers and folded clothes. Eva shrugged off her jacket and stretched onto the tips of her toes to hang it behind the door, then turned back to see Stiles seemingly have such a hard time pick out something for her. "I can just sleep in what I'm wearing, Stiles." She started, but Stiles had immediately pulled out of the wardrobe, holding a shirt and a pair of shorts in both hands, hoisting them above his head in triumph. Eva laughed and shook her head as she reached for the clothes, "Thank you."

Eva held the clothes close to her chest, and pursed her lips as her eyes met Stiles', and she waited. Stiles seemed to stare back at her, before the realization dawned on him, and his eyes widened as he flushed, "Oh, yeah, I have to – God, I'm so sorry! I'm going to, yeah, okay." He rambled on as he hurried out of the room. Once he closed the door, he covered his face and shook his head slowly, "You're such an idiot." He whispered before he let his hands down to his sides and took a deep breath. He glanced around, before deciding they probably ought to eat something before they slept.

Stiles had little experience in the kitchen – two men living in one house was not easy, and they each learned their fair share of cook books. But given the time and the lack of grocery shopping, Stiles settled for two grilled cheese sandwiches and water, and also a memo that they needed groceries. He held up the glasses and the plates, each duo on either hand, as he made his way upstairs carefully. He stopped in front of the door, still closed, and he sighed, before he leaned forward to hit his forehead against the door twice.

Eva swung the door open, lifting both brows when she saw the visible red spot on his forehead, "The door isn't soundproof, you know." Eva laughed as she reached to take one of the plates and glasses from him, "You really didn't have to. I'm not hungry."

"Well, you're going to eat anyways." Stiles commented as he followed her inside, and let his eyes trail over his clothes that were now on her body. He felt a small smile stretch on his lips – the shorts were almost down to her ankles, and the shirt made her look so much tinier, and he couldn't help it. When Eva turned around after she sat on the edge of his bed and saw the way he was looking at her, she felt the apples of her cheeks redden, "I know I look ridiculous."

"You look adorable." Stiles corrected as he went down to sit beside her, "So…" He started quietly as he picked up his grilled cheese sandwich. "Is this our first date?"

Eva held her own sandwich close to her lips and she pulled her brows into a frown, before she let her eyes widen, "We never had a first date?" She asked, horrified.

"Unless you could the Valentine's Day a date, then nope, we haven't." Stiles shook his head once, "As a matter of fact." Stiles pulled out his phone and swiped through the application till he found the candle application, and he set the phone on the mattress beside them, "This is officially our first date."

Eva laughed a little and shook her head as she took a bite out of her sandwich, then looked down. "We've been through so much." Eva whispered before she looked up at Stiles again, "I…" She started, recalling the conversation they'd had earlier that night, "I'm sorry, Stiles. About what happened the other night, about what happened, and about-"

"Do I need to kiss you so you would shut up again?" Stiles pointed out, and Eva bit onto her lower lip guiltily. Stiles sighed and set his sandwich down, "I didn't say all those things to make you feel guilty, or guilt you into not breaking up with me, because I can be pathetic like that."

"You didn't." Eva shook her head quickly, "You know I was trying to do that to protect you, but it was killing me."

"I know." Stiles breathed out, "I said those things because I wanted you to know how I felt." Stiles mumbled and shrugged once, "I wanted to share with you, and I wanted you to share with me. I don't want us to drift apart because of all this. It tore Allison and Scott apart and I don't want that for us." Stiles whispered, his voice full of resolve. Eva smiled and nodded slowly, before her eyes flickered down to her sandwich again and she took another bite.

After a moment of silence, both of them busy with their sandwiches, Stiles set the empty plates on the nightstand. "I'm gonna go change." He told her as he took his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Eva glanced around, before she picked up the plates and glasses and headed downstairs.

When Stiles had walked back into the room, his jaw dropped as he stared at the candles literally floating in the air, all lit. Eva stood by his bed, her arms tucked behind her back as she smiled broadly, "Don't worry; none of them are close to your desk, or the wall, or any flammables in the room." Eva assured him before she glanced around at the candles, and she looked back at him, "And I'll make sure they don't drop wax on your floor." Eva added before she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"You're doing that?" Stiles gestured around them as he stepped towards her, and lifted both brows. Eva nodded slowly, "I mean, I'm still learning and that's nothing, but…yeah…You were right. Tonight was too much to handle. And I'm going to try this time, try harder to share how I feel, and you said do what feels right, right?" Eva rambled, "And it felt like this is our first date. And I'm cheesy, I know, but-" Eva continued, but Stiles had closed the distance between them, pressing his lips down to hers as his hands rested on the curve of her waist.

He pulled away to look down at her, a loop-sided smile spreading on his lips as he gazed down at her in awe, "You know what?" He muttered, as he brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, "I like cheese."

Eva laughed a little, "Good." She whispered before she leaned up on the tips of her toes to press her lips to his again. Stiles wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, their bodies pressed flush against each other's. And just before they toppled back onto the bed, Eva flicked her wrist, and the candles went out as they dropped to the ground.

It had been a total of three days since the accident in the reserve – and it had been four days since Eva had been to Eichen House. After what happened, Eva was completely uneasy about going back. As a matter of fact, she barely even thought about happened at Eichen House anymore, or even what happened in the woods – even when she asked about the baby girl. Eva had a more important matter at hand, a matter so important and dangerous that it completely occupied her mind.

Going back to school.

Eva was the town's new talk – sure it had been almost a month since she'd been to school, but she knew that once she walked down those halls again, she'd become news of the moment again, and she didn't want to.

"The most important thing to remember is to always keep your head held high. You went through a near death experience and you survived, you should be proud of that." Lydia rambled on as she looked between Allison and Eva's seats, "And you lost like seven pounds, so people are going to stare at you anyways. You look better than ever, Eva Davis."

Allison glanced sideways at Eva and smiled, "You'll be fine." The girl told her, giving her a warm smile before she turned her attention back to the road, "It's not easy, but it'll get better." Allison reassured her, and Eva nodded slowly before she took a deep breath. In the past three days, they'd all been doing their best to help Eva catch up – she didn't want to be terribly behind, and she didn't miss much because gratefully she'd already studied the novel back in Maine and she had a good head on her shoulders when it came to everything else.

"Okay…" Eva breathed out as they parked in the school's parking lot, and Eva slowly stepped out. Her eyes flickered across the building before she glanced sideways at Allison and Lydia. "Eva!" She looked back to see Kira running up to them, and she wrapped her friend in a hug, squeezing her tightly, "I'm so glad you're back!" Kira chirped, before she turned to the other two girls. "The bell's about to ring, come on."

The girls walked through the hall, and everyone made way for them – the group had history. Allison with her psychotic aunt and her 'mentally ill' mother, Lydia with running around the woods for two days, naked, and Eva, well, with everything that had happened to her lately. Kira seemed to be the only semi-normal girl in the group of four. Eva could feel the eyes burn into the back of her head as she passed, but no one dared to look her right in the eye, except this one girl who lingered by the door to chemistry lab. She even smiled at Eva, and Eva blinked, tilting her head before she managed to reciprocate in what little time was left before they passed.

Eventually they split, each girl heading to her locker. "You guys looked like Mean Girls." Stiles commented as he leaned against the lockers, and grinned as Eva glared at him, "I think the situation is completely the opposite." Eva whispered nervously before she pulled out the history text book from the locker and turned to Stiles, "It was like they were digging holes into my skin."

Stiles sighed, his attempt at a joke failing miserably to cheer her up. He reached out and took her hand, "Just ignore it. Ignore the whispers and the stares, mostly because I'm weak and if I punch one of those girls now," Stiles poked his thumb over his shoulder at the girls who were having a go in whispers over at Eva's situation, before he whispered as well, "Their boyfriends will probably break my neck." Stiles joked again, and Eva let her lips stretch into a weak smile, "I'll try."

"In all seriousness, though." Stiles started, "I can totally punch anyone for you. I would." Eva shook her head as she chuckled, "Let's just get to class."

"You're Eva, right?" The girl Eva had made eye contact with earlier walked up to her and smiled, "I'm Scarlet. I'm new, but I heard about what happened." She started, "But I wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss, and you're really brave. And you should probably ignore everything being said about you, I know it's not true."

Eva smiled, and almost thanked the girl, before she frowned, "Wait, everything being said about me?" Eva asked, shaking her head slowly before she looked up at Stiles, "What's being said about me?"

Stiles' eyes widened as he looked down and scratched the back of his head, "Well about the whole you being a jinx." Scarlet explained as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, "You know, that camp site you guys found a few days ago, and the patient at the hospital and his dad. "

"People think they're dead because of me…" Eva breathed out, her face losing color, and Scarlet frowned, "Oh…crap, I thought you knew. When I overheard him say you should ignore the whispers, I thought you knew." She stepped back slowly, "I am…so sorry." Scarlet's eyes quickly drifted to the ground as she hurried away from them, the bell ringing too. Eva drew in a deep breath, pulling her hand out of Stiles' hold, "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"Because I knew that you would think it might be true." Stiles sighed as he looked down at her, "Eva, if you could see the look on your face right now, you would understand, just-"

"Stop." Eva whispered, but not because she wanted him to shut up, it was because she could hear something. "Eva-" She turned to glared at him, and then faced forward again, her eyes flickering across the empty hallway again. It slowly started getting louder, and when Eva recognized what it was; she realized it was the same humming that she'd heard in the reserve three days ago. The sickening child's lullaby that was being hummed, and now was echoing inside the school.

Eva didn't hesitate – she took off in a sprint after the source. Whatever was happening, she wasn't about to let it. She heard Stiles call after her, but Eva couldn't stop – until she turned into a hallway and saw Lydia standing in front of her, "You hear it." Lydia whispered, "The humming."

"I do." Eva gulped, before their eyes drifted down to the ground, and Eva recognized the object that was on the floor just as Stiles came to a stop behind her. "Is that…"

"That's the doll. Malia's sister. That her sister's doll." Stiles finished, and just as he did, they heard the growls behind them. Stiles stepped back, and pulled Eva behind him to shield her as their eyes laid on the werecoyote standing by the entrance, her teeth bared and her eyes glowing. "Eva…" Lydia whispered, and when Eva turned to her, she saw Lydia peering inside the chemistry class' door, "There's someone in there…" Lydia whispered, and she frowned, "She's…she's making something."

"I don't think someone messing around in chemistry class is important right now, Lydia." Stiles whispered, his voice shaking somewhat as he still held his arms in front of Eva, both of them watching as the animal seemingly glared at them then walked past them.

"It should be because she's making a bomb!" Lydia whisper shouted, and her statement dragged Eva and Stiles' attention back to her, "What?! Are you sure?!"

"Yes, I am!" Lydia shot him a glare before she pressed her hand against the door knob slowly, "Hello…hey…"

The animal was still walking towards the doll, and Lydia was right in front of it, if not moving towards it as she tried to talk to the person inside the chemistry lab. "She's not listening to me." Lydia shook her head, "She's saying something but it doesn't make any sense." Eva frowned, her eyes flickering nervously between the werecoyote and Lydia, "What is she saying?"

"Does it matter?!" Stiles whispered incredulously, and Eva shot her elbow against his side as she ducked out of his hold to look at Lydia, "What she saying, Lydia?"

"At night I come without being fetched, at day I leave without being stolen." Lydia looked up at Eva, shaking her head slowly, "Lydia step back." Eva started as she ran towards her, her eyes falling on the werecoyote who standing almost directly in front of the lab's door, "Step back!" Eva screamed as she skidded to the ground, her arms wrapped around the animal's torso as she barreled into her with all the might Eva had to push her out of the way. She heard Stiles yell in the background, but it all happened so fast, because the explosion blew the glass on the door, and the windows inside the class room.

Eva felt the coyote move underneath her, and she opened her eyes, trying to move away from her quickly but her head was spinning. The fire alarm had went off, apparently, but Eva couldn't hear it – the only sound she could hear was the deafening, painful ringing in her ears. Her eyes finally focused, and within the cloud of dust and smoke around her, she saw the pair of blue glows stare into her eyes, before she felt the wetness against her cheek as the werecoyote licked it, then she picked up the doll, and sprinted away.

Eva blinked, before she looked around, "Stiles!" She coughed as the water from the sprinklers started to clear out her vision and the hallway. She saw silhouettes in the hallways, students flooding out of the school, but she called out again, "Stiles! Lydia!"

She felt someone grab her arm and looked back, saw Scott, his lips were moving but she couldn't hear him. "I can't…I can't hear you…" She whispered, "Stiles, I can't find him, and Lydia…They were here…" Scott frowned as he turned away from her, then she saw his eyes glow red. Scott moved his hands holding Eva's as he guided her through the debris, and they found Lydia curled behind a row of lockers. "What about Stiles?!" Eva yelled, even though she couldn't hear herself, she knew she was yelling.

Scott leaned down beside Lydia, and his eyes saw the blood trailing from her ears, before he picked her up on her feet slowly – however, his heart was still pounding against his check. He knew Stiles' scent, he caught it– it was strong. Too strong. So strong that Scott knew his friend had gotten hurt.

Scott saw Eva move away just as Kira and Allison appeared, both of them helping Lydia up on her feet, "What happened?" Allison asked, and Scott shook his head, "I have no idea! I came out when the alarm went off!"

Allison's eyes flickered down at Lydia, "I have to get her out of here, where are Stiles and Eva?"

"They were…Eva was just here, and Stiles, I don't know where he is." Scott whispered, his voice beginning to shake as the concern took the better of him.

"He's there, I can see him." Kira whispered, her eyes glowing their bright orange, and Scott looked back, using his enhanced vision too to see Eva hunched on the ground over someone, and not just anyone.

Stiles.