Peter wanted to check in with John to find out what he had on the hunters so after they finished their coffee, they walked out to where Stiles had parked his car.

"I need my car here as well," Peter said when they reached Stiles' new jeep.

"I think it survived the fire." Stiles tried to remember if Peter's car was one of the unlucky ones that had been damaged but he didn't think so. Where it was now, he didn't know either. Then another thought occurred to him, making him grin.

"Do you take bets on how often I have to drive you back to your car because you forgot the time and Derek had to come and get you?"

It got him a glare from Peter.

"How long do I have?" Peter asked once they were on the road. "Until Derek comes for me?"

"It's not an exact science," Stiles admitted. They had talked about this before but back then it had been more of academic interest for Peter. Stiles had been the bug under the microscope Peter wanted to understand. Now it had turned into something that was defining Peter's life.

"You were not fully healed, that shortens the time you have." Stiles chewed on his bottom lip, trying to find the right words to explain to Peter what was just natural for him. "The longer you stay with Derek beforehand, the longer you can stay away from him. I think I can stay away longer now than in the beginning. Not sure about that one, the first years were kind of a mess and I didn't really keep track of time."

Peter filed that information away with a thoughtful nod.

They had just passed the Beacon Hills welcome sign when Peter told him to change directions. Instead of driving straight to the station, he wanted to have a look at the house first.

Stiles didn't comment on it and just changed directions.

"Pamela is already planning her gardening for next year," Stiles said when the silence between them became too heavy. Peter was deep in thoughts, looking out of the window, and just hmmed to that.

At the house, Stiles parked the car but let Peter get out first. Through the window, he watched him as he walked up to the burned shell of his home.

Stiles couldn't see his face but Peter stood there, rigid and with his fists at his side. If Stiles was not mistaken, there was blood dripping out of his clenched fists.

Stiles sighed and got out of the car as well.

It was not the house, not only the house. It had been Peter's home for all his life, his den, his safe place he could always come back to. It was the place Peter had sworn to keep safe. It was not about the house, that was just a symbol. It was about the people who lived here. His pack.

"The Hales have rebuild before." Stiles stepped up behind Peter, his fingers twitching with the urge to touch him and after a second of hesitation, he put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "They are all safe and sound. Even Emily, she has you to thank for that."

"Heard it was more you," Peter said. "And Derek.

"You pulled a Steve Rogers and saved her from the grenade," Stiles reminded him. "Even burned half to death you dragged her out into the hallway. I wouldn't have found you in time if you hadn't made it that far."

"Still." Stiles heard him swallow thickly. "You saved us. All of us. Thank you."

"Talia was bad enough with her thank you speech," Stiles muttered but gave Peter's shoulder a squeeze to show him that they were good. "Besides, you paid a high price."

Peter didn't say anything to that and when he stepped forward to have a closer look at the house, Stiles stayed back to give him some privacy.

Peter even ducked under the yellow tape blocking the busted front door and disappeared inside. He didn't come back out for long minutes, long enough for Stiles to wonder if he should go after him. When he did come back out, he had a few books in his hands.

"A few might be salvageable," he said with a thoughtful look at the books. Stiles had his doubts, the four books were water-damaged and at least one had been touched by the fire but Stiles was not an expert on this so he kept his mouth shut.

"At least now I have all the time in the world to build up a new collection," Peter said with bitterness in his voice.

They stored the books in the jeep for now and then Stiles drove them over to the station. During the ride, Peter stayed quiet and for once Stiles didn't push to get a conversation going.

Derek's mugshot was gone.

"Looks like Parrish has given up on that wild goose chase," Stiles commented with a grin. Since they were here, they should check up on the deputy as well. By now he had time to sleep over it, he was either freaking out right now or bursting with questions.

"Peter." John stopped on his way back to his office, a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. "You look good."

This was not the kind of conversation they wanted to have out here so John made an inviting gesture towards his office.

"Coffee?" He asked, raising his mug.

"We're set, thank you." Peter declined politely while Stiles opened his mouth to tell him exactly how not drinkable the stuff here at the station was. They should have gotten some on the way.

"Cut it out." John shut him down before he could even start with his rant. "I know the roast you brew on that ancient stove of yours. This …" He set his mug on the table. "… is at least not giving me ulcers."

"You're not insulting my coffee." Stiles took a seat in a huff and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I heard you have somebody in custody." Peter interrupted before the banter could get out of hand. "And that Chris Argent is cooperating with you? How did you get him to even talk to you?"

"That one." John pointed at Stiles. "Threatened to unleash Derek on Chris and his whole family, his daughter in France included."

The look Peter was giving him now was pure lust and Stiles had no doubt that Peter would kiss him if they weren't sitting in front of the sheriff right now. Blushing Stiles sank deeper into his seat.

"You two." John let out a long-suffering groan.

"Anyway." Peter tore his eyes off Stiles. "What did I miss?"

Half an hour later John's desk was full with files, the mugshots of every hunter they knew of on top of the respective file. While Stiles and Peter had been under, John and the whole department had been busy. They had names and faces of the suspects and were currently busy with digging up everything that was to find about them. They were going through phone calls and bank accounts, talking to known friends and accomplices. Their faces had been all over the news and the phone was constantly ringing with people reporting in on them. Most of those calls turned out to be not helpful but it had become clear how well-liked the Hales were, everybody wanted to help.

Forensics had turned in the first results as well but so far that hadn't gotten them anywhere.

"Honestly?" John sat back in his chair. "I think they're long gone. We're doing the groundwork here, gathering as much evidence and leads as we can but I'm waiting for the FBI to take over any second now."

"You think they will catch them?" Peter mimicked his position.

"Beacon Hills is a small town but this has made some big news." John made a face. "They won't get away with this."

"Heard Derek will come after them if you can't bring them to justice."

"Don't know why he's suddenly so eager to go after somebody and I don't like it," Stiles said. He hadn't seen this side of Derek ever before and he didn't like it. He was not against the killing per se, he was more worried about what it would do to Derek afterward. He'd never liked to kill and every time he had been forced to drown somebody, he'd been withdrawn for weeks.

This time, however, it was not his nature. This time Derek wanted to kill these hunters out of his own free will but Stiles was still worried about how that would affect him.

"I could ask Derek to take me with him," Peter suggested, showing a hint of canine. "He wouldn't have to get his hands dirty."

Stiles had to admit that he kind of liked the idea. He wasn't worried about Peter's consciousness. They had met over a dead body after all.

"You can't just say stuff like that," John hissed. "I'm still the sheriff."

"I'll make sure to do it outside your jurisdiction."

Stiles couldn't help a chuckle while John just glared at the two of them.

They had avoided that topic but now John brought up the possibility that Kate had used somebody from the pack to gain information.

"We think inner core," Stiles cringed when he said it. "You probably want to have a look at the men in the house. My best guess is Isaac, she could have gotten to him at school."

Peter didn't like that thought, that much was obvious, but Stiles could tell that the wheels were already turning in his head.

They were interrupted by Parrish.

"I don't want to bother …," the deputy said sheepishly, eyes everywhere but Stiles and Peter.

"Parrish, come in." John gave Peter a stern look before his attention was on the deputy. "What can I do for you?"

The deputy made sure to close the door properly before he stepped forward.

"I was thinking about what you told me yesterday." He glanced over to Stiles but still avoided Peter. Stiles got the feeling that this was more than just the fact that Peter was a werewolf.

"You and Cora, are you together?" Parrish asked to which Stiles just wanted to punch Peter for starting that stupid rumor.

"No," Stiles said louder than intended. "We are not together. We never have been together and we never will be together. It's just a stupid rumor Peter started that refuses to die. We are not together!"

"So Peter did not put you in Cora's class to seduce her?" Now Parrish looked very uncomfortable.

"I beg your pardon?" Peter asked while Stiles was still trying to make sense out of what Parrish had just said.

"Why would I seduce Cora?" Stiles asked. "Why would Peter want somebody to seduce his own niece? What the fuck? He put me in Cora's class to keep an eye on her. To keep her safe. And to have an eye on Kate Argent, of course."

"Why are you asking this?" John asked calmly.

"Well …" Parrish shifted from one foot to the other. "When Stiles and the others were abducted, I interviewed his teachers. One of them, Mr. Harris …"

"That guy hates me," Stiles interrupted. "Don't believe a word he says about me."

"Yeah, he hasn't spoken too kindly of you." Parrish smiled but sobered up instantly. "Anyway, he and Kate Argent got along quite well. She appreciated his work and was interested in chemistry. Harris was very pleased that he found somebody who would listen to his explanations."

"Now that email makes sense." Peter nodded in realization. "He told her how to make those grenades."

Stiles had no idea what email he was talking about but he was pretty sure that his chemistry teacher had just earned himself a spot on Peter's hit list.

"That's the working theory, yes," John confirmed.

"What has that to do with me seducing Cora?" Stiles brought them back to the main topic.

"Kate complained about you. A lot," Parrish continued. "That you're chasing after Cora, that you just want to get into her pants. According to Kate, you're not good enough for her, that you're trying to cut her off from her friends, things like that." Parrish cleared his throat. "Back then I thought it was just teenage drama but now …" He made a helpless gesture. "Kate knew that Cora is a … werewolf." He still hesitated at the word, it was kind of adorable. "She has most likely become a teacher because of that. So why was she so obsessed with that? Why did she care so much about Cora's affairs?"

Next to Stiles Peter had half-risen out of his seat, his face pale.

"I'm so stupid."