Hello, Goodbye

Everyone stared at the two men for a few silent seconds, before Alec stepped forward, Stiles watching his every movement cautiously. "Sally." Alec said after a heavy pause, his eyes travelling over the other man. "Long time. I'd heard you'd been through a change."

Henry Tate, who Stiles had seen speaking with Parrish before he'd left, stiffened at Alec's observations, his lips going into a thin like and his eyes focused and hard. "It's Henry now." He informed flatly. There was challenge in his gaze, as if wanting Alec to argue with him.

Alec's gaze travelled over the other man for another few seconds before he inclined his head. "You look good." He finally said, "Henry. It's good to see you." With that he stepped forward the last few feet and tugged Henry into a crushing hug, that Tate returned easily.

Stiles frowned, watching the interaction, his mind reeling. Pieces shifting into place. Then Alec drew back and turned to Finstock with a searching look, and Stiles brain short circuited.

"You've changed too," Alec laughed, looking the Coach up and down, poking at the man's gut, "Though not as drastically."

"Don't let this fool you," Finstock waved at his somewhat loose form, "I can still kick your arse, little brother." Finstock huffed, glowering at Alec for a moment before yanking him into a hug as well.

Stiles and Jackson's met each other's eyes with surprise, eyes bugging out of their heads. "Whoa. Whoa, Whoa, wait. Your – you're an X5?" Stiles gaped, eyes burning into the Coach.

Separating, the two men turned to stare at the teenager. Finstock's features unimpressed. "Who the hell else but family would turn a blind eye to all your weird crap." He shot a look at Stiles, who threw his hands up in the air with an extra dramatic huff and turned to look at his father. John stood there looking just as surprised and baffled as Stiles.

"My daughter?" Henry demanded, banishing the brief moment of light heartedness.

Alec folded his arms and met the man's frustrated glare. "She's fine. I left her with Joshua at this guy's house." He jerked his head in Derek's direction.

"Joshua?" Finstock gasped. "He's alive."

Alec nodded, slowly, a look of regret and sadness on his face. "It would be stupid to kill them both. They'd need leverage against Father."

"Both?" Stiles frowned, turning back, intrigued.

Ignoring Stiles question, Alec continued, "Father's coming."

"We know." Finstock replied. "We heard your message, that's how we knew you were here."

"Our only priority is making sure Manticore doesn't get Stiles and the others." Alec stated, briefly glancing at Stiles, "but it would be better if we had all the remaining families. Strength in numbers."

Finstock nodded, "We should round them up and move them to a secure location. Where they can be easily protected."

"There's still the issue of the Nemeton. We have no idea where it is." Henry sighed.

"Yes we do." Alec replied with a satisfied nod. He turned to stare at Derek over Stiles shoulder.

Instantly Derek straightened, suddenly on his guard, lips a thin line of control. Stiles turned, frowning up at him. "What's a Nemeton?" he asked, looking between Alec and his boyfriend.

No one said anything for a few seconds, then with a tired sigh Alec answered, "The only thing standing between humanity and destruction."

Stiles head snapped around to stare at his 'uncle', "Wow, way to be dramatic."

Alec shrugged nonchalantly, "It's the truth. – And it's in your boyfriend's basement."

"What?" Henry and Finstock gaped in unison, turning surprised eyes on the werewolf.

"Is it really that surprising." Derek grunted, "My ancestors were one of the founding families, and the few rebellious clans." He informed them coldly. "We've been protecting this town since its inception. – That's why my family were killed." He added bitterly.

"What?" Stiles gaped. "Wait, you knew about all this?" There was hurt in his voice. They'd shared so much, how could he have not told him about this tree thing? "How long?" he demanded, unable to keep the anger out of his tone.

"How long what?" Derek frowned.

"Have you known about Stheno and all this?" Stiles snapped, waving his hands wildly.

Meeting his harsh accusing gaze, Derek's jaw clenched as he spoke through his teeth. "I found out while looking for you. – How long have you known?" he shot back childishly.

Stiles stared at him, defiantly, "Alec told me everything on the way here." He defended, folding his arms over his chest.

"If you've finished with your lovers tiff, I think we should move this to your place." Alec interrupted with an amused grunt.

Stiles stood, still staring at Derek, more frustrated than irritated, when his dad's voice resounded behind him.

"What about the town?" He asked, curiously.

"What about it?" Alec replied dismissively.

"If we've got a damn army coming, shouldn't we evacuate everyone?"

There was a long, confused silence as Alec looked from John to Stiles, to his brothers. "Why would we do that?" he asked slowly, eyes fixed back on the older man.

John stared back, baffled. "So, they don't get caught in the crossfire."

Alec was silent for a few seconds, then scoffed, shaking his head, "Are you kidding?"

John crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "These people are my responsibility. I have a duty to protect them."

"He's your responsibility?" Alec stated, pointing to Stiles. "Manticore doesn't give a fuck about the town beyond the Nemeton and the founding families, like you. The rest…" He waved his hand in another dismissive gesture. "Our only priority, Sheriff, is stopping Stheno from getting free. The people of this town," he shrugged, "not our problem."

John glared; his features pinched with fury. He opened his mouth to angrily berate the stranger, only for a wet hacking cough to rip through him instead. His face turned an unappealing shade of crimson as he doubled over, one hand going for gripping Stiles arm.

"Dad? Dad, you okay? It's alright, just breathe." He advised, hand rubbing at his father's back, "Someone get him some water." Almost before he'd finished asking a glass appeared at the end of long familiar fingers. He smiled gratefully up at Derek and took the glass. "Here, dad. Just take a sip."

It took a few seconds before John stopped coughing his heart up. Stiles immediately dragged a chair closer and forced him to sit. "I – I'm fine, S-stiles." John reassured breathlessly. "It's just a b-bit of a cold."

"You don't look fine." Stiles scolded, "You haven't been looking after yourself."

"I've had more important things to do." John said, slowly regaining his breath, though his colouring was still off. He met his son's gaze meaningfully.

Stiles huffed, shaking his head. "Have you at least seen the doctor?"

"I don't need a doctor, Stiles. It's a cold."

Stiles glared down at him, "I'm getting you home and in bed, with soup, and then I'm calling Doctor Davies."

"We've got a bit of an emergency here, son." John reminded the teenager with a wheezy laugh that almost triggered a fresh bout of coughing. "A nationwide blackout and an army of super humans' intent on freeing an ancient goddess."

Stiles shook his head, "We'll deal with Manticore and Jordan can deal with the blackout." At the mention of Parrish, the room went still and heavy with tension. Stiles frowned, looking between everyone. – Then he remembered, "Shit, Parrish is one of ours." He said looking to Alec for confirmation.

"Which is why your dad has him locked up."

"What?" Stiles and Alec said in unison, looking from Henry to John.

"He's being held in connection with your kidnapping." John informed matter-of-factly.

"He was trying to help me find them." Henry snapped impatiently. "And you know it." He added challengingly at Derek, who sighed and moved to shove his hands into his pockets, only to remember he wasn't wearing his jacket, so settled on those of his borrowed pants instead.

"And the girl?" John pressed.

"Girl?" Alec frowned, looking between them all.

"She's one of you." Derek said.

"No, she's not." Harry replied coldly, the hatred crystal clear in his voice.

"Parrish seemed to disagree, considering he tried to help her escape from me." Derek scoffed.

Henry's features tightened, "That's because she was our only lead. If we wanted to find out where my daughter was, we needed her. We couldn't just have you getting your hands on her and letting her go free."

The bitterness in the man's voice had a shiver running down Stiles spine and he swallowed. Malia's dad could give Christopher Argent a run for his money in the intimidation stakes. He looked from the man to Finstock to Alec. They all seemed to share Stiles unease.

"Can Parrish be trusted?" Stiles asked, looking at Alec.

The man gave a sharp nod, "He was one of the escapees along with your mother and these two." He waved at his brothers.

"We're gonna need all the help we can get." Alec said, pushing away from the desk he'd been leaning his ass on, and took a step towards the Sheriff. "Keys, if you wouldn't mind. Sheriff."

"She kidnapped my son." John argued. "And your daughter." He shot a look to Tate, so looked at Alec.

"What you gonna do, put her on trial? I don't know if you've notice," Alec waved his hand around at the dimly lit office, "but the world practically ended."

"That doesn't mean we just give up on law and order."

Alec rolled his eyes and looked at Stiles, brow raised. Stiles exhaled a long breath and closed his eyes briefly, before holding out his hand to his dad. "He's right Dad. Our priority right now is Manticore and Stheno. We need Parrish, at least." He insisted, "So…" He wiggled his fingers for the keys, a pleading look in his eyes.

John stared up at him with a look of betrayal.

"Please, Dad. I just want to go home and take care of you." Stiles pleaded in a small voice.

Exhaling, John inclined his head and reached for his pocket. He tossed the keys at Alec, who caught them easily with a satisfied smirk.

"Come on, let's get you home." Stiles exhaled, relieved. He gripped John's arm and began tugging him out of the chair.

"Take him to your boyfriend's place." Alec said as he hurried towards the cells. "We need to stick together."

Stiles looked to Derek for permission, and found the man stepping closer and reaching for the Sheriff's arm. Together they hauled the older man off the chair, one arm over each of their shoulders.

"You two, wait for them." Derek said to his betas, lowering his voice, he added, "Don't let them out of your sight."

Jackson and Ethan both nodded, turning their attention to the corridors Alec, Finstock and Henry had vanished down.

_(*-*)_

Derek burst through the doors of the hospital with the Sheriff's unconscious body draped over his shoulder like one of Isaac's scarfs. They'd barely gotten to the end of Main Street before the man had collapsed. The whole building was running on emergency power, which explained the dimmed lights. "We need help here!" Stiles yelled frantically from Derek's left.

"Stiles?" Melissa came running forward, eyes wide with surprise. "You're home." She pulled him into a tight hug which he returned only briefly.

"Sorry Melissa, but the happy reunion has to wait." He waved a hand in the direction of Derek and his dad.

"John? What happened?" She demanded, panicked. She waved for them to follow her.

"He passed out." Derek informed her coldly.

"He's been sick apparently." Stiles added.

Derek didn't miss the accusatory tone in his boyfriend's voice, and it was justified. He should have taken better care of the Sheriff. Should have realised there was something wrong before now. What kind of Alpha didn't notice when a member of their pack was sick? He'd been so consumed by his own grief, he'd ignored his duties, and now the Sheriff, and Stiles, would suffer.

"This way." Melissa said, leading them off to a private room a few feet along the corridor.

Once inside the room, Derek lowered John onto the bed carefully, then stepped back to allow Melissa and Stiles to hurry to his side. Melissa instantly began to remove the Sheriff's jacket, Stiles stepping in to help when the older man swayed a little too far forward. Meanwhile, Derek stepped back, his hands awkwardly playing with the hem of his borrowed hoodie. He watched the pair work, feeling like an intruder. When the Sheriff's shirt was slid down the man's arm, leaving him only in his vest, which Melissa's hands went for, Derek cleared his throat. "I'll wait outside."

Stepping into the corridor, Derek slumped against the wall and closed his eyes, listening as Melissa tried her best to reassure Stiles that his dad was going to be alright. Stiles wasn't believing it though, Derek could tell. His heart rate is dangerously fast, and Derek was sure that he'll be having a panic attack soon enough.

_(*-*)_

This wasn't what Stiles had wanted to return home to, and it filled him with fear. His hands shook as he helped Melissa strip away the layers of uniform, eyes instinctively searching the man's flesh as it was revealed, looking for any signs of supernatural interference. – Unsure if he wanted to find something or not.

It didn't take them long to have him stretched out beneath the covers. While Melissa checked his vitals and jotted the results down on a chart, Stiles dragged a chair over to the side of the bed, wincing at the sound but not caring. He shrugged out of his thick winter jacket and took a seat, reaching for his father's hand he found it cold and clammy. Melissa tried to reassure him, but that was her job. He could see in her eyes that she was as concerned as him.

Every instinct in Stiles told him this wasn't a coincidence, though he had no idea how it tired into the cult.

"I'll be back in a few minutes with a doctor." She said eventually, setting the chart on the end of the bed and slipping her pen into the top pocket of her scrubs. "Do you need anything?"

Stiles shook his head, eyes never leaving the unconscious form of his father. He hadn't even gotten around to telling his dad everything yet.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes."

He barely registered the sound of the hospital room door opening and closing. "Dad? Dad, it's alright. You're gonna be okay." He whispered reassuringly. "You've got to be." Stiles voice cracked and he closed his eyes, swallowing thickly. A tear slowly rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry, Dad." He choked out, "I'm sorry for everything. I've been a terrible son."

He jumped when a hand landed on the back of his neck, his head snapping around to find Derek hovering over him with sympathy etched across his face. Derek gave his neck a little squeeze and Stiles couldn't hold it in any longer.

To his surprise, though he didn't know why, Derek took another step closer and hugged Stiles head to his stomach, allowing the teenager to cry into his borrowed hoody. Derek's fingers carding through the short hairs at the back of Stiles head. "It's okay." Derek whispered, "It'll be okay."

Stiles shook his head against Derek's abs, muttering into the thick fabric, all the while clinging to his father's fingers. "I can't lose him too. I can't lose my dad."

The door behind them opened again and Stiles looked up to watch a tired looking middle-aged man stroll in, Melissa at his heels. Stiles inhaled deeply, swiping at his face with the sleeve of his stollen jumper and leapt to his feet. Derek began to step away, but Stiles reached for his hand, desperate to remain connected to something.

"Hello, I'm Dr Hilliard." The man introduced, moving over to the side of the Sheriff's bed.

"Stiles. Is he going to be alright?"

The man looked from the Sheriff to Stiles and back again, "We need to find out what's wrong before I can make any promises." With that, he slipped his stethoscope into his ears and leant over the Sheriff's prone body.

While Dr Hillard ran off orders for test, each of which Melissa jotted down, Stiles stood gripping Derek's hand nervously, allowing the Alpha's strength to keep him centred. He'd been forced to let go of his father's hand and take a step back from the bed as the good doctor moved around it.

"It'll be okay." Derek whispered, his breath brushing his ear.

Stiles shook his head, "You don't know that?" Harsher than he intended. Derek stiffened momentarily, and Stiles instantly whispered. "I'm sorry. This isn't what I expected to come home to."

Letting go of his fingers, Derek slipped his arm around Stiles shoulders, tugging him closer. "I know." He muttered, pressing a kiss to the younger man's temple.

"Okay." Dr Hillard announced, stepping over to Stiles. "We're going to run a test. All the signs at the moment suggest he'd got an infection, but we can't be sure what kind of virus until the results get back. Which…" Hillard sighed, "I'm not going to lie to you, Stiles…." He said in his most sympathetic tone, "With this power cut our systems are running at half the capacity, it could be hours before we get any kind of answer. I'm going to start him of antibiotics and antivirals but, it's a waiting game now."

"A waiting game?" Stiles gasped angrily, "You mean he's going to die."

Hillard dropped his gaze and Stiles felt his world shatter around him. "He can't!" Stiles yelled, "He can't die!" he shoved past the doctor, "Come on Dad, you've got to wake up. I need you. Please."

There was a tense moment of sadness as the doctor, Melissa and Derek watched Stiles plead with his dad to wake up.

"I'll check back in a hour. Hopefully we'll have the results by then." It was a lie, Stiles knew, and he didn't even need super werewolf hearing. "Nurse McCall." The doctor nod so subtly indicated he wanted to talk to Melissa in private, and the pair left. Melissa promising to be back in a moment.

The second the door closed, Stiles turned away fron his dad and fixed derek with a determined look. "The bite." He announced , panicked, "give him the bite."

Derek's brows shot up, eyes wide, "Exc... What?"

"The bite will cure whatever is wrong with him. Like Scott's as-asthma, and Erica's epilepsy."

Derek stiffened, eyes flickering over to the unconscious man. He shook his head, "I can't."

"What? Why? " Stiles demanded, sounding suddenly panicked.

Derek's eyes snapped back to his boyfriend, "You know why, Stiles. I can't bite someone without their consent."

"Peter did. "

Derek narrowed his eyes, "I'm not Peter. - And even if i were willing," he seethed, " You know perfectly well that the older someone is, the less chance there is of the bite taking. "

"He's dying anyway. You know that!"

Derek's eyes grew cold and distant, "You've never seen what happens to someone who's body rejects the bite. You've never had to hold them as they die, body tearing itself to pieces. If you..." He swallowed thickly, meeting Stiles gaze with hard empty eyes, "If you had, you wouldn't be asking."

A thick tension settled between them, the pair never breaking eye contact. A silent change. Stiles couldn't think straight, couldn't see past the gut wrenching fear of losing his father. the moment was broken when the hospital room door opened and Melissa wandered back inside. She paused, looking between the pair, then cleared her throat.

"Everything alright here?"

" Fine. " Stiles replied through clenched teeth, Derek agreeing with a grunt.

"Okay." Melissa said, clearly not believing them. "Well...this may be unrelated but...Deputies Denning and Webber just brought in three members of the Talbot family with similar symptoms.

A/N: Firstly, I apologize that this chapter doesn't quite live up to my normal standard, but I hope it's at least passable. Secondly, Does Derek give the sheriff the bite? Honestly, I'm not sure yet so your feedback would be appreciated. What do we think of Finstock being an X5?

As always, if you notice any mistakes, please feel free to point them out (where and what they are. How to fix them. Educate me.) but please don't be a dick about it.