First off, I want to apologize to you all – I know it's been so long (literally years) since this last chapter was released. Life became crazy and I had so many changes that I just couldn't keep up with real life and this story. Somehow, the story has been brimming in my mind the last few months, and I wanted to give writing another shot. Thank you all for being so patient. Without further ado, here is the next installment of "Howl":

Favorite Line:

"She couldn't help but think, not even in their best days did her ex-husband ever look at her with that much love."

Isaac was no stranger to hospitals. He had spent plenty of late nights at the emergency room, nursing a sprained wrist or a dislocated shoulder while dodging the nosy questions from the nurses that saw right through his father's feeble excuses. Deep in the locked memories that he rarely, if ever, wished to revisit, was the memory of waiting in an uncomfortable, rigid chair – so similar to the one he was sitting in now – listening to his mother's doctor apologize and say that there was nothing more that they could do to save her.

Wincing at the memory, Isaac lowered his head into his hands, gripping to his curly hair tightly as he tried to shut out those thoughts. The metallic smell of blood on his shirt – usually not a scent that bothered him – made him nearly sick to his stomach. Knowing just where that blood had come from, he shook his head, pushing it back up and resting it on his knuckles. His knee shook anxiously as he waited for news from anyone that worked at this goddamn hospital.

Thinking back to why he was here in the first place, he tried to comprehend what had even happened. One minute, he was elated at having found Jane and being able to finally bring her home. Then, she was shoving him away and a gunshot rang out through the musty basement that she had been held in against her will. Then blood, so much blood, from the monster that had tried to kill her – Isaac had smashed his head against the concrete floor as soon as it registered what had happened – and also from Jane herself. She had passed out before she had even hit the floor, blood gushing from her shoulder.

Then, it was all instincts – Isaac took her in his arms, trying to get her to wake up as he bolted from the basement and back to Derek's Camaro. He vaguely remembered cradling her in his arms as he sprinted from the car and into the hospital's emergency room, struggling to explain to the nurses what had even happened, as they barked at him for more details. How was he supposed to know?! Even after what felt like ages since the gunshot rang on, it still couldn't even click in his head what had happened.

Isaac's eyes, for what felt like the millionth time, glanced back at the swinging doors where Jane had vanished through with a team of nurses and doctors. He tried not to imagine them operating on her – all those shiny tools, doctors in masks hovering over her – and closed his eyes. And opened them once more when he heard the doors to the emergency room open and several familiar faces filed in.

Sheriff Stilinksi, Scott, and Stiles all blurred in the background – Isaac's eyes instantly went to Derek's face, which was pale as he stared directly back at Isaac…slowly his eyes trailed down to Isaac's shirt, stained with blood. And instantly Isaac knew that Derek understood just where that blood came from.

"She's okay," Isaac vaguely heard himself say, surprising himself that his voice could even still work. "She's alive, she's safe."

Even though instant relief filtered across the faces of the Sheriff, Scott, and Stiles, it didn't seem to reach Derek. He started storming through the swinging doors that led to the operating rooms. Isaac's legs seemed to work on their own and he lodged himself in Derek's path, stopping him.

"You can't go back there," Isaac tried to reason. "They won't let you. They're taking care of her."

"I don't care," snarled Derek. "She's in there, I'm not going to just sit here and wait—"

"Yes, you are," snapped Isaac, surprising himself and Derek both. "We need to wait to hear back from the surgeon before you can see her – you can't take on a whole hospital."

At the word "surgeon", Derek paled again, and somehow managed to sink into one of the hospital chairs. The Sheriff, having silently watched the exchange, took a step forward.

"What happened, Isaac?" asked the Sheriff evenly, as though he wasn't asking Isaac why he was standing there with his niece's blood splattered on his shirt.

Uncomfortably, Isaac's eyes avoided Derek's as he quietly recounted just what happened – how he had noticed the strange man – "White," Jane had called him – leaving Jane's apartment complex with her backpack, how Isaac had followed him to an abandoned office complex, how he had found Jane tied up in the basement of the building, the man minutes from killing her. Once Isaac got to the point where the man had pulled a gun on them as they tried to leave, and Jane shoved him out of the way and took the bullet, he heard Derek suck in his breath. The question was burning in his eyes – what the hell was she even thinking?! Obviously Isaac could take a regular bullet – he would heal instantly. She, on the other hand, had put herself in danger, for no reason. It was a question that had been racing through his brain countless times as he sat in the waiting room. He still couldn't figure that part out.

Finally, Isaac explained how he had knocked the man out, leaving him locked in the basement. He gave the Sheriff the address to the office complex, who relayed the information to his officers shortly afterwards.

A short time later, Isaac sat, watching as the group slowly separated themselves. The Sheriff and Stiles sat together, the Sheriff's hand soothingly squeezing Stiles' shoulder, even though the anguish on the Sheriff's face was painfully evident. Scott sat on Stiles' other side, silent, clearly at a loss of what to say to his best friend.

Derek, on the other hand, was like a restless animal in a cage. He would get up every few minutes from his seat, pacing around, furiously watching the doors and freezing every time a nurse or doctor would emerge, only to have no news on Jane. Isaac wished that he had some sage advice for him, some way to get him to remain calm. But he was at a loss as well – what could you say to a man when he had no idea if the love of his life was even alive?

An elderly couple arrived, startling Isaac out of his thoughts. He watched as they approached the Sheriff, who instantly stood and strode over to them. Isaac's mind was racing too much to comprehend what the Sheriff was saying but he caught a small, feminine gasp. Looking up, he noticed the woman staring at him, her hand to her chest, her eyes in horror at the blood on his shirt.

Before Isaac could even form a thought of what to do next, the Sheriff led the elderly couple over to him, holding the woman's hand tightly in his. Dread fills Isaac's stomach, unsure of what they could possibly want with him.

"Isaac," the Sheriff began, glancing at the elderly couple, "this is Tom and Beverly Brown, Jane's grandparents." Isaac nodded at them, warily watching the Sheriff as he finished. "I told them what happened and they wanted to—"

"We wanted to thank you," Beverly interrupted, abruptly releasing the Sheriff's hand and grasping both of Isaac's hands in hers. They were trembling, but so warm, so soothing, like nothing he had ever felt before. "Thank you, for saving our granddaughter. She's our world and if anything had happened to her—"

Her voice broke, tears glittering in her eyes. Knots twisted in Isaac's stomach, unsure of how to comfort this kind elderly woman. He remembered what Derek had told him, how Jane's parents were gone, and thought of how these people had already lost so much. Emotion clogging his throat, he nodded.

"You don't need to thank me," he managed to croak out. He glanced over at Derek, who was watching the exchange. He opened his mouth, to explain that it was really Derek who had saved her, who had pushed for the Police to realize that she was missing, who had probably lost ten years off his life after all the grief he went through looking for their granddaughter.

But something in Derek's face stopped him – he subtly shook his head. Isaac hesitated, and looked back at Tom and Beverly.

"Excuse me?" a doctor, deep circles under his gray eyes, approached them. "Are you Jane Brown's family?"

"Yes, we are," said Tom, speaking for the first time. His face was tight, clearly preparing himself for the worst that this doctor could have for his family.

"Can we speak privately?" said the doctor, glancing around at all the faces staring at him.

Tom, Beverly, and the Sheriff excused themselves and stepped a distance away. Isaac listened closely, allowing his supernatural senses to give him an assist once more.

"She's okay," the doctor instantly said when they were a safe distance away. "The bullet shattered in her shoulder, but we were able to remove all of the shards during surgery. It was successful and she should be back on her feet in no time. We got her just in time."

Happy tears poured down both Tom and Beverly's faces, and Isaac heard the heavy sigh of relief that filtered from the Sheriff. He glanced back at Scott and Stiles, the former informing the latter of what he had overheard. Isaac's gaze turned to Derek, who had sunk back into the seat, his eyes closed, his face looking the most at peace that Isaac had seen since Jane had vanished. Relief finally spread through Isaac, knowing that she was safe. She was okay. They had saved her.

"Isaac."

Isaac jumped, startled as he looked at Derek, who was now staring at him, forest green eyes never faltering.

"Thank you," said Derek quietly, so softly that Isaac could have missed it if he didn't have such strong senses.

Isaac gave him a small smile, nodding.

"Isaac?" came a different voice, startling Isaac again. He looked up and saw Jane's grandparents and the Sheriff had returned and were looking straight at him.

"The doctor said that we could go see Jane. She's sleeping, but we can at least see her," explained Beverly. "Would you like to come with us? Since you saved her, it seems only fitting that you would be with us."

"Well," Isaac started, glancing at Derek. Wouldn't he want to see her first? He had been trying to find her for so long now, he must be desperate to see her now.

But to Isaac's surprise, Derek shook his head, ever so slightly. Isaac's eyes returned back to Jane's grandparents and dumbly nodded. They beamed at him, and turned to talk to the Sheriff once more.

Isaac turned back to Derek, who rose to his feet. "Go," said Derek. He put a hand on Isaac's shoulder, the most affection that Isaac had ever seen from the older man. "I have something to take care of."

And, before Isaac could say anything else, Derek vanished from the waiting room without another word.

Melissa McCall stood at the nurse's desk, massaging her sore, aching neck. It had been such a long day, she thought to herself as she popped an Aleve. Such a horrible day. She was just ready to get home, pop open a bottle of wine, turn one the latest trash TV that didn't make her think, and fall asleep on her couch. That was the dream that she wanted at this very moment.

As Melissa glanced around, preparing to clock out for the night, her eyes drifted to the window in front of one patient's room, a room that she had caught herself glancing at various times throughout the night.

Jane had gone through hell and back, Melissa thought to herself, her heart aching for the sweet girl. She had heard the rumors about what she had gone through the last few days, what that man had done to her father, to all of those other women….just at the thought, she shuddered. And she wasn't a squeamish woman – she had worked as a nurse for so many years and had seen the most gruesome injuries. And the thought of that man made her sick to her stomach.

The surgeon had told her that, as long as there weren't any complications with her recovery, she should be home within several days. Melissa winced as she remembered peeking in on Jane as she slept, seeing the purple bruises on her face, her arms, her legs, the thick, white gauze wrapped around her wrists. One of the other nurses had said that the cuts on her wrists from her bindings had been so deep that they would most definitely scar. Those won't be the only scars she has, Melissa had thought to herself then, and now.

Melissa crossed her arms across her chest, thinking about that man again. The police still had not apprehended the man – by the time they had arrived at the building that Isaac Lahey had directed them to, he had vanished. Just the thought of that man still at large was enough to make her shudder, and relieved that she had her son waiting at home for her, instead of returning home to an empty house.

Sighing to herself, Melissa pushed herself away from the desk and started walking down the hallway, glancing over at Jane's room once more. And froze as she saw that she was not alone.

A man with jet black hair, a dark stubble creeping over his jaw, and forest green eyes stood next to Jane's bed, watching as she slept. Frozen, Melissa watched as he slowly took a step closer to her bed, settling into a chair. He gingerly took her hand in his, bringing her knuckles to his lips and kissing them. He kept her fingers to his face, closing his eyes and heaving a deep sigh.

As she watched him silently, it clicked in Melissa's head – this was Derek Hale. She remembered seeing his photograph on the news when he had been a murder suspect months before, as well as when he was younger and still living with his family in Beacon Hills. Her heart had ached after news of the fire that destroyed his family had reached her, for him and his sister. She had never known that he and Jane had even known each other – however, looking at the way he gazed down at her, they clearly were more than acquaintances.

She continued to watch as Derek reached up and tucked a piece of stray hair behind Jane's ear, gently brushing his fingertips against her cheek. Melissa didn't need to be in the same room to feel the raw emotion emanating off the man; she couldn't help but think, not even in their best days did her ex-husband ever look at her with that much love.

Melissa glanced at the clock, realizing that visiting hours were certainly over. But…she couldn't bring herself to take him away from Jane, especially after what she had been through. She would need as much of that love that shown in Derek's eyes as she could get in these coming days.

Finally sensing her gaze, Derek glanced up and caught Melissa watching them. Conflicted, knowing deep down that she should be telling him that visiting hours are over, that he needed to let Jane rest…but she didn't. She nodded at him, a silent understanding flowing between them that she would leave them be. For just a bit longer. They had been apart for so long…it was time for them to catch up.

And here we are, my first chapter in years. Give me a little break, I may be a bit rusty with writing! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!