A little more Stiles/Madison in this chapter but just a reminder it is a slow burn so it will still be a little before they actually get together. It will be worth the wait, I promise!

Chapter 6

The ride to the hospital felt like it was taking hours though Madison was sure Stiles wasn't bothering with trivial things like speed limits at the moment. Even at the high speeds he couldn't help to keep glancing over to Madison every few seconds. She was sitting so still he wasn't sure if she was even still breathing.

"Are you still with me, Maddie?"

It took her a moment but she eventually gave a quick nod. "Body, Stiles. They said body."

He reached over taking her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze because words were failing him. He knew that they would have reported it differently if she had been alive but at the same time there was no way of knowing it was one hundred percent sure it was Rory that they found.

Parking haphazardly in front of the hospital, Stiles jumped right out of the Jeep expecting Madison to be right behind him but he stopped short when she sat motionless in the front seat. He carefully opened her door and gave her the time he knew she needed.

"This is it," she whispered but he heard her and nodded. "What do I do if it actually is Rory?"

Stiles didn't even hesitate, "We get through it together."

Madison took a deep breath and finally got out of the Jeep; it was now or never. Stiles led her into the hospital with a hand on the small of her back. They silently waited for the elevator, ignoring the chaos of the emergency room around them. The ride to the third floor felt like an eternity and Stiles could feel her trembling beneath his hand. The door to the elevator opened and she had barely taken two steps before seeing the body covered with a sheet. She knew instantly who it was but refused to believe it.

"Mads," Melissa tried to stop her from going any further.

Madison fought against her mom with everything that she had finally breaking through to get to her best friend. She reached up with a shaky hand and gently pulled the sheet back. Rory's lifeless body laid in front of her, a huge bite mark on her shoulder that looked like had gotten beyond infected.

"No," the whisper fell from her lips before she screamed out in agony, dropping to her knees beside the gurney, Stiles catching her before she hit the floor.

He held on to her as if her life depended on it and in that moment it did. She buried her face in the crook of his arm and he rested his head on top of hers. They were seventeen years old. They had gotten their drivers' licenses. They had their dresses picked out for the formal. They had grown up together, going from water guns and popcorn fights to cars and dates. She was her best friend, her confidant, and the other half of her soul.

And now she was gone.

Melissa pulled the sheet back over Rory's face but otherwise kept quiet knowing anything she would say would fall on deaf ears. She had given her as much time as she could, but the body needed to get down to the morgue.

"What happened?" Madison pleaded through shaky breath.

Melissa swallowed hard, still agreeing with Scott that it was safer if she didn't know about werewolves. "We don't know yet. It's still under investigation but she was found at the edge of the woods."

It was there for only half a second but Madison picked up on it and she wasn't sure why her mom wouldn't tell her the truth but the only thing she knew was that her mom had just lied to her face.

"I called your brother; he'll be here soon. I can leave if you need me to."

Under any other circumstance Madison would have loved to have been selfish in that moment and say yes, to have her mom there in their own house comforting her but she couldn't get the thought out of her mind that she was lying.

She shook her head and clung to Stiles, "No."

"You sure? We can stop and get some Rocky Road with all the toppings."

Madison pawed at the tears on her face, she had just lost the one person outside of her family that meant the world to her and ice cream wasn't going to fix it. Scott came in the room a few minutes later. She held her hand out to her brother who easily helped her off the floor before wrapping her arms around him needing comfort from the person that usually fought away her nightmares.

"I'm so sorry, Maddie," Scott hugged his sister, sharing a heartbroken look with Stiles who had his own tears he was trying to blink back. "I've got you. I'm here."

Madison shook in his arms, "This isn't real. This can't be real."

Melissa cleared her throat, "Why don't you two take her home. I'll handle everything here."

Scott agreed to leave his bike at the hospital for the time being, not wanting Madison on the back of it but wanting to stay with her. The ride in the Jeep was silent except for the occasional hiccup from Madison in the backseat, still trying to get a handle on her emotions. It didn't feel real. It had to be some horrible dream that she was going to wake up from at any moment but the harder she dug her nails into the palm of her hands the more she hated that she was awake.

"Scotty," Madison sniffled, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand as she waited for his full attention. "What would do something like that?"

He shared an uncomfortable look with Stiles who shifted in his seat. "I don't know."

"None of this makes sense."

Scott reached his arm back, taking her hand in his own, "It'll be okay."

As much as she needed the comfort, she pulled her hand out of his grasp. "No. It won't. She's dead and I don't even know what happened to her."

X-X-X

Madison stood next to Rory's grave site, tears streaming down her face. How was she supposed to say goodbye? A part of her still thought that this was all some horrible nightmare and she'd wake up at any second and she would laugh at the absurdity of it all. She gripped the stem of the rose she was holding hard enough that the thorn broke the skin on her palm, reminding her that this wasn't a dream, this was real, and this was a pain she would have to learn to live with before it suffocated her.

The service ended and people started to disperse but she couldn't move. She stared at the hole that Rory would forever be buried in. Melissa tried to get her to move but she refused, not tearing her eyes away from the dirt.

"I'll stay until she is ready," Scott promised his mother who sighed in response giving one last look in Madison's direction before heading to the car.

Stiles, Lydia, Allison, and Isaac stood back giving the siblings time but not wanting to leave until Madison did, giving whatever support they could.

Scott came up behind his sister and put his arm around her. She was too tired to try and pull away and the little bit of comfort he gave her was enough for her to break down her walls yet again, heart-wrenching sobs filling the cemetery.

Isaac felt himself get more and more angry wanting to kill whoever did this to Rory, whoever did this to cause Madison so much pain. His eyes flashed yellow and Stiles picked up on it, trying to calm him down.

"Not here," Stiles tried as he turned him away from Madison in case Isaac couldn't control it. "She's burying her best friend she doesn't need to see you wolf out right now. Get it together, Lahey."

Isaac fought hard against the urge but the sobs coming from Madison was enough to pull him back from the edge. He took a deep breath and nodded at Stiles letting him know he was okay.

X-X-X

The scream that woke Scott from his peaceful slumber had him shooting out of bed and racing down the hall into his sister's room. He had almost expected to see her getting attacked by the way she was screaming but he found her room empty besides her thrashing around in the bed. Isaac stumbled into the room right after him ready to fight but left when he realized she was having a nightmare not wanting her to feel overwhelmed with both of them there.

"Mads," Scott called out, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Mads, wake up."

Madison blinked the dream to the back of her mind as she realized she was safe at home in bed with Scott staring at her concerned. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, what's going on?"

She shifted in the bed so she was sitting up and pulled her knees to her chest, shaking her head. "Every time I close my eyes I see her but it's not how I want to remember her. All I see is her dead body." He went to comfort her but she stopped him, "I'm scared, Scotty. What if whatever happened to Rory happens to me, or you, or mom…Stiles, or Isaac, Allison, Lydia, Danny…?"

"I'd never let that happen," he promised and although she nodded he could tell by her heartbeat that she didn't believe him.

"I can't lose anyone else."

X-X-X

Scott had always worried about his sister but now that Rory was dead he couldn't help but wonder which of the Alphas had bit her and if this was the consequence they had warned him about if he hadn't joined the pack.

Stiles snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Are you even listening to me?"

The attention of his group at the lunch table was all on him and he wondered what he had missed.

"How's Madison doing?" Allison questioned, knowing exactly why he was spacing out.

He shrugged and took a deep breath, "She's scared that the werewolf that killed Rory could come after her."

"It's not fair to her that you are keeping such a huge secret from her," Lydia stated, taking a sip of water.

"I agree," Stiles chimed in because he had been after Scott to tell her since he got bit in the woods and someone else finally agreed with him.

Isaac picked at the sandwich in front of him, "I do too."

"I didn't realize this was up for a vote," Scott snapped, his eyes flashing before he was able to get himself under control.

"Don't you think she would feel safer if she knew," Stiles tried again, not willing to back down on this especially now that he knew the rest of their so called pack agreed with him. As much as Scott was his best friend that extended to Madison as well and while he initially agreed to keep it all a secret that was before. "I'm serious. Maybe you don't tell her all of it at once but if she knows you're an Alpha maybe she won't be so scared knowing not only that you can protect yourself but her too."

He shook his head, "No."

"You're being selfish," Lydia simply stated and when she received a glare in return she sighed and clarified. "It no longer matters what you want. Whether you want to admit it or not she will figure this out. Wouldn't you rather be the one to tell her than her find out when she is all alone and possibly in danger because she went looking somewhere she wasn't supposed to."

While Lydia was right he didn't want her finding out from anyone else he didn't want to put more stress on her either. "Right now, keep your opinions to yourself. She's barely sleeping as it is."

X-X-X

"Hey," Aiden greeted her at her locker very much like the first day he talked to her. "Are you doing okay?"

Madison slammed her locker shut, the circles under her eyes so dark that not even make-up could help. "If you want to be a distraction I'm all for that but if you want to sit and talk about my feelings then go make an appointment with the guidance counselor."

He answered by grabbing her hand and leading her down the hallway into the supply closet. The second the door shut he was on her, his lips trailing every inch of her neck. His hands went to her waist and lifted her up on a stack of boxes so he could stand between her legs, his lips moving from her neck up to her lips, his tongue demanding dominance that she easily let him have.

The bell rang and when he started to pull away she grabbed him by the beltloops of his jeans and pulled him in for another kiss that would have to get her through the rest of the day.

"Any time you need a distraction, I am more than willing to offer up my services," he whispered in her ear before lightly taking it between his teeth causing goosebumps to litter arms.

He left the supply closet first and she took a minute to fix her lipstick before heading to French class. Madison made a point to sit towards the back of the class and right next to Isaac who seemed to have been ignoring her recently.

"Hey," she forced a half smile. He nodded in response but otherwise kept quiet and it infuriated her. "I need to ask you a favor."

Isaac internally groaned. He'd been trying to keep his distance from her because he wasn't sure he would be able to keep his secret forever. "What's that?"

"I need you to help me figure out what happened to Rory. There was no way it was an animal attack and worst of all I think my mom and Scott know what happened and they aren't telling me for whatever reason."

She was definitely a lot more observant than the rest of the McCalls wanted to give her credit for and now he was stuck trying to keep their secret. "Maybe they are trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection, I need answers, and I am going to do this with or without your help. I just needed a friend that wasn't going to judge me."

Isaac went to answer but the teacher scolded them for talking and he sighed.