"Brought you some coffee."

Noah looks up from his laptop, wiping the frustrated scowl off his face as he sees Melissa standing in the doorway. "Thought you went home," he says, a little surprised to see her.

"I did," she tells him, the corner of her mouth curling in amusement. "Last night. But I've got another shift in a few minutes, so I'm back."

He looks at the clock and realizes that it's almost nine in the morning. When did that happen? "Thanks," he says, taking the paper cup from her. It's hot, unlike the three partially full cups on the bedside tray.

"Should I even bother asking if you got any sleep?" she asks.

He answers with a grunt, taking a swig of the coffee and immediately scalding his tongue.

She takes the chair next to him, holding her own cup. "Any luck?"

He sighs, setting the cup down so it can cool and running a hand through his hair. "I've been staring at all of this for the last four days," he tells her, running his eyes over the report he has pulled up on his screen. "Other than both of them losing someone when the Oni attacked the hospital, I'm still not seeing any connections. You've got Tim, who was working on his master's, had a great job, just bought his first house, seemed to be living a pretty great life. And then there's Nicholas, son of a teen mom, never knew his dad. Aunt basically raised him, and she got full custody when his mom died from a drug overdose when he was five. From the looks of it, the aunt did the best she could, but he definitely didn't have an easy life. And then with her dying…"

"Geez," Melissa breathes, shaking her head sadly. "Poor kid."

"Yeah, it's no surprise he ran away," Noah agrees. "But unless he ran to Bluffton Creek, which I don't see why he would, it doesn't explain how he ended up out there. Or why the fae-fairy-whatever-the-hell-that-thing-was chose these two out of all the other victims' families. There's got to be something I'm missing. Something Stiles figured out. But I have no idea what it is, or how that's going to help him now."

Putting the laptop on the bedside table, he sits back and stretches his legs out in front of him, folding his hands over his stomach. He's going a little cross-eyed from staring at the screen all night, and it probably wouldn't hurt to take a break. Not like anything he's doing is even useful.

"How's he doing?" Melissa asks, nodding toward the boy on the bed.

Noah follows her gaze, though he already knows what he'll see. "No change."

Stiles hadn't moved all night, hadn't even twitched. It's eerie—he's never this still. Even with the heart monitor next to his bed, Noah has to keep checking to make sure he's still breathing, something he hasn't done since Stiles was a baby. Even then, he'd never slept long enough to really worry that anything was wrong.

Because, really, Stiles has always been a terrible sleeper. He went from a colicky baby to a toddler plagued by night terrors, and then the sleepwalking phase and the sleep talking that had never really gone away. Then after Claudia passed more nightmares and a downright refusal to sleep for days until he crashed, only to do it all over again. And, of course, more recently, all the stuff with the Nemeton and everything after.

Noah can't remember how many times in his life he's desperately prayed for the kid to just sleep. And now, he'd do anything for him to wake up.

"The doctor wants to do another MRI," Noah says, even though it's likely she already knows. "They're concerned with his recent history that maybe they missed something the last time. A tumor, or…" He swallows the lump in his throat. "They said it's also possible the blood loss caused brain damage, and that's why he's not waking up."

Melissa lays a hand on his arm. "Or it could be something else, like Deaton thinks. Something we can fix, like the last time."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well," he snorts bitterly, and, bless her, she doesn't try to give him any more platitudes.

It's not fair, he thinks as he watches the slight rise and fall of Stiles' chest. It's not fair to any of them. Scott, Lydia, Kira, Issac… Malia, too. None of them should have to deal with the things they're dealing with. But especially Stiles. The kid has been through too much. He just went through hell, barely made it out the other side, and now this?

But it's not random coincidence that this happened. Stiles went out to the woods for a reason. The question is, was that reason really to save Tim and Nicholas?

"I thought we were finally getting past it, you know?" Tears press at the back of Noah's eyes, all the fears that have been circling through his head all night spilling out into the open. He's too tired to stop himself from voicing them. "I thought he just needed some more time. But the more I look at these two victims, the more I'm convinced he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. And he just… Didn't care."

Melissa's lips press into a thin line, and he knows she's been thinking along the same lines. "Then I guess we'll just have to remind him that we care," she says.


Kira is starting to second-guess volunteering to go with Scott back to the animal clinic. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, because she really did want to be helpful and didn't know how she could possibly help Derek and Malia, who'd gone back out to the woods, or Lydia, who'd decided to go back to Stiles' house to look for clues. And, yes, maybe selfishly she just wanted to be around Scott, since it seems the only times they actually hang out are when they're trying to save everyone from imminent doom. But he barely seems to notice she's here, and if anything, she just feels like she's in the way.

Always in the way.

No, she has to stop thinking like that. Scott does like her, she knows he does. He's just worried about his best friend right now. It's fair that he's focused on Stiles and not her.

She just wishes she could be more useful. And not only to impress Scott by helping him get his friend back, but because she genuinely cares about Stiles, too. She might not know him as well as the others (he was possessed by an evil fox spirit for the majority of the time she's known him), but from what she knows about him, she thinks they'll be good friends.

Once he's better.

But first, they have to get him there.

Which is why they're in Deaton's office at the animal clinic with a stack of old books, looking for anything that might help them figure out how to break a fairy's magic.

"Here's another one called a Glaistig or," Scott stumbles over the pronunciation, "mai—maighdean uaine? The lady in green." He flips the book so that Deaton can see the picture. "It says in some myths she lures in men to drink their blood, but in others she protects children, and… Cattle? And then in others she just moves around furniture if people annoy her." He flips the book back toward him and frowns at the page.

"Yes," Deaton sighs. "This is the problem with the fairy myths. Most were passed along through campfire stories for so long that they've been hopelessly muddled, and true sightings are few and far between these days. Does that one say anything about the Glaistig taking other forms?"

Scott squints at the page, studying it for a moment before shaking his head. "No, nothing." He pushes the book away with a frustrated growl. "I feel like this is a waste of time."

"I know it's a lot of information, but if we can just find something to go off of, we'll have a better chance of breaking the fae's magic," Deaton says.

Kira tends to agree with Scott—it feels like they're looking for a needle in a haystack. She's not going to say so out loud, of course, but she thinks they need a different approach. Not that she has any ideas, it just seems that sitting here sifting through old books is getting them nowhere.

Based on what Derek told them, which wasn't a lot because it's Derek and never says a lot, it seems this fairy's identifying characteristic is that she disguises herself as a deceased woman important to whoever she's trying to lure in. Scott had agreed with this assessment, and while he hadn't said exactly why, it's pretty obvious he'd had his own encounter with the fairy and Kira doesn't have to wonder whose form she probably took.

The problem is, they haven't found any stories that talk about a fairy like that, which means they're no closer to figuring out what kind of spell she might have cast or how to stop it. So they can try other superstitions for getting rid of fairies in general, but it's like taking a shot in the dark at this point.

"What if I went into his mind again?" Scott says, clapping the book shut on his lap.

Kira sees the hesitation on Deaton's face immediately. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Scott."

"Why?" Scott argues. "It worked the last time."

"Yes, but besides the inherent risk of permanently paralyzing Stiles, that was an entirely different set of circumstances," Deaton says, wrinkling his nose. "And I think it was more luck than anything that it even worked then. If you were to try it now, I'm not convinced you would be able to guide him out. It's much more likely you would be affected by the same magic as he is. Essentially, you would be trapped with him." It seemed it hadn't escaped Deaton's notice about how Scott had probably been affected by the fairy before, too.

"I'm willing to risk it," Scott says.

Deaton's face softens sympathetically. "Yes, I know. But before you do, let's see if we can find another solution," he suggests quietly. "We still have some time here, Scott. We're all working on it. Let us try to figure out something with a little less risk."

Scott slumps unhappily in his chair.

"Scott, we're going to find something," Deaton says again.

He nods, but it's easy to see he doesn't believe it.

Deaton watches him for a moment longer, then gets up from his desk and grabs his jacket off the back of his chair. "I'm going to run home. I have a few more books there that may be useful." He drops a hand on Scott's shoulder as he passes, and looks over at Kira with raised eyebrows.

Wait, what did that look mean? Does he want her to do something? What could she possibly do?

She can't ask, because he's already gone, the bell on the door chiming as he exits. Great. She thinks she's starting to understand why they all say he's frustratingly ambiguous.

Although… Glancing over at Scott, she realizes he's probably just giving the two of them an opportunity to talk. Maybe he thought she could cheer Scott up a little bit. Not that she has any idea how. He has every right to be upset.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to try and give him a little hope. She hates seeing Scott this despondent. He's usually so full of optimism, even in the face of whatever horrible things are happening around him, but he seems so beaten down now…

She's trying to work up the nerve to say something, and trying to decide what exactly to say, when he beats her to it.

"I'm sorry, Kira."

Swallowing back her surprise, she frowns. "For what?"

His eyes flick over to her, and he plays with the edges of the book's pages, thumbing through them like a flip book. "Sorry about…" He sighs, readjusting in his chair. "I haven't really talked to you about… You know. Stuff. It's just been a lot, you know? To process it all. But it's not very fair to you."

"Oh," she says, shaking her head like it's not a big deal. "It's fine, I totally get it."

He makes a face, scrunching his nose up. "No, it's not fine. I… I keep meaning to talk to you, but… It's just hard." He looks over at her hesitantly, as if begging her to take over the conversation because he doesn't know what to say.

"Yeah," she admits. "It's a little weird for me, I guess. I mean, I—I didn't really know her all that well, but I know how important she was to you."

Scott's dark brown eyes find hers. "I still really like you, Kira. I just…"

She can't pretend it doesn't hurt. But it would be selfish of her not to let him grieve the loss of the first girl he loved, even if the two of them had broken up. And it's not like she hasn't been expecting this.

Still, she finds herself holding back tears as she smiles at him. "It's okay. We can just be friends for now, if that's what you need."

He reaches out for her, and she takes his hand, feeling the familiar soft warmth of it as he runs his thumb over the back of her always-cold hand. "I can't…" he starts, clearing his throat. "I can't ask you to wait for me. It's not fair. But right now, all I can think about is a way to save Stiles, and I can't… I just want to be honest with you. You deserve that." He forces a smile at her.

She squeezes his hand, pushing aside what she wants to say. About how she'll probably wait for him a lot longer than she should. About how she's never felt quite this way about anyone before. About how it's killing her to see him hurting, and all she wants is to see him happy.

But he doesn't need a conversation about the two of them right now. No, right now he's terrified that he's going to lose his best friend, after all they'd sacrificed to save him the last time. After he just lost someone else so close to him.

"He's gonna be okay, Scott," she says quietly, echoing Deaton.

"I know." Scott looks down at the closed book in his lap and bites his lip, his grip on her loosening a bit. "I just… I can't stop thinking…"

She waits, but he doesn't continue. But it feels like he wants to talk. Like he needs to get something off his chest. "Can't stop thinking…?" she gently probes.

He takes a shuddering breath, shaking his head. "Not that long before we met, we went on this lacrosse trip, and, well, a lot of shit went down on that trip, and it would take a while to explain it all… But the worst of it was that we had to stop at this hotel. And we didn't know it, but me and some of the other werewolves, Isaac, Ethan, Boyd, we all got dosed with wolfsbane. It… It's like poison. Makes you see things. Your worst fears, your biggest insecurities, whatever. It's… Not good."

Kira isn't sure where he's going with this story, but his hand is unconsciously tightening around hers, so she stays quiet and lets him talk.

"I… I don't know how it happened," he says, a slight tremor to his voice. "But I just couldn't… I couldn't stand the thought of living anymore. I thought… I thought everyone would be better off without me. It was almost like… Almost like being under a spell. I just didn't want to be here anymore. So… I took a can of gasoline and dumped it all over myself, and then—and then I lit a flare."

She can't quite suppress the gasp. Scott flicks his watery eyes at her, and she can see the sorrow in them.

His voice creaks as he continues. "They found me like that. Stiles and Lydia, and… I was just standing there, in the middle of the parking lot, ready to drop that flare." He swallows thickly. "I was ready to go up in flames. To end it all. And—and they were trying to talk me out of it. To say… to say it wasn't worth it. But I didn't… And then…"

He pulls in a shuddering breath, shaking his head. "And then Stiles, he—he told me if I was gonna do it, if I was gonna… then I'd have to take him with me. And he—he stepped into the gasoline. Just like that. He stepped in and he took the flare from me."

Scott looks over at her again, a tear skipping down his cheek. "That was one of the worst days of my life, Kira. I felt so alone. I was so lost, and if he hadn't… And I just keep wondering, what if—?" His voice breaks and more tears spill out of his eyes. "What if that's how he's been feeling? All alone. And I wasn't there…"

She doesn't know what to say. She's imagining the scene playing out, how terrifying it must have been. For all of them. How it would have been to see Scott—ever the optimist, always so strong—in a place where he was ready to give up. What could have possibly pushed him so close to the edge?

It's odd, but his story actually makes Kira feel a little better. Not that she's happy he's reliving such a horrible moment in his life, but this is a different side of Scott she hasn't seen before. A vulnerable side that she feels like he doesn't share with very many people. That story was incredibly personal, she doubts anyone knows it but the people who were there. The fact that he shared it with her…

It sparks an idea. And the confidence to say what she says next. "Maybe you need to take the flare."

His brows furrows. "What?"

"From Stiles," she explains, as if it's obvious. "Maybe you need to take the flare from him, like he did for you."

He still looks confused.

She bites her lip, second-guessing herself. "I mean, I don't know if it's a good idea, and according to Deaton maybe it isn't, but… We're not getting anywhere with this. And it's like you said, you're willing to risk it. Just like Stiles was willing to risk it when he stepped in to take the flare from you."

Her meaning clicks in Scott's eyes. "You think I should try going into his mind."

She shrugs. She doesn't love the idea, but it kind of makes sense, and they've got to do something. Clearly Scott wants to do it. And she trusts him. "I think if you don't and something happens, you'll regret it forever. And maybe what he needs is to know he's not alone."

Suddenly, Scott is standing and pulling her up into a hug, wrapping his strong arms around her. Her surprise only lasts a second before she melts into it, fitting herself under his chin and breathing him in. She'd missed this, so very much.

"Thank you, Kira," he whispers into her hair.

"For what?" she asks with a chuckle.

"For… Everything."

She smiles against his shoulder, closing her eyes and snaking her arms around his waist so she can hold him tighter.


This is a terrible plan.

Scott keeps thinking it the entire way to the hospital. Keeps thinking that he should just be patient, like Deaton said. That he's rushing into this because he feels useless, and because he's frustrated, and that those aren't good enough reasons to risk trying this.

He and Kira don't tell anyone where they're going or what he's going to do, because he knows they would all tell him it's a terrible plan. Talk him out of it. Derek didn't say anything to him about noticing how the fairy's magic affected him in the tunnel, but Scott knows he saw. And Lydia would only insist on coming, too, and while Scott isn't sure if the fairy's magic would work on her, he can't risk her getting trapped.

Because he's scared that the chance of him getting trapped under the fairy's magic might be pretty high.

But, the thing is, as much as terrible as this plan might be, Scott has to do it. He has to get through to Stiles somehow. He can't stand the thought of him fighting this battle, which he may not even know he's fighting, alone. He already did enough of that with the nogitsune, and, honestly, he barely came out on top of that one. Scott just knows, deep down, that he won't make it out of this one on his own.

And Scott is more than willing to step into a puddle of gasoline to save him.

Even though he doesn't want to pull in everyone else on his plan, Scott is glad Kira's with him. That she understood exactly why he needs to do this, and didn't try to talk him out of it. Hell, she practically talked him into it. Maybe part of it is because she wasn't there before and doesn't understand exactly what he's going to do or the risk involved, but either way, he's grateful for her support. And, practically speaking, it'll be easier to pull it off with her help.

Because while he can sneak by Deaton and Derek and Lydia and Malia pretty easily, it's going to be harder to get past his mom and the Sheriff, who are both at the hospital. And he's pretty confident neither of them are going to be fans of his idea.

Sure enough, the Sheriff is camped out in Stiles' room next to a pile of paper coffee cups. He's got his laptop out, but there's a thousand yard stare in his bloodshot eyes that proves he's not actually looking at the screen. A pang goes through Scott at the sight.

He blinks when Scott knocks on the open door, and something hopeful crosses his face just for the briefest of moments. "Hi, Scott," he says, the question lingering, unspoken.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Scott shakes his head in a small movement that quashes it. "Just checking in," he says. "Thought you could use a break. Maybe go down to the cafeteria and get some food?" Knowing the Sheriff, he probably hasn't eaten an actual meal since sometime yesterday.

He can see the internal debate in the Sheriff's eyes, but it's short lived. "Yeah, probably should," he sighs, running a hand over his face.

"We can sit with Stiles while you're gone," Kira offers a little too enthusiastically, but the Sheriff doesn't seem to notice that she's acting weird. To be fair, she kind of always acts that way.

The Sheriff gets up as they enter the room, taking a moment to brush Stiles' hair off his forehead and tell him he'll be right back. But before he makes it out the door, he turns back.

"Scott…" He puts a hand on the doorframe, looking thoughtful. "I just wanted to say thank you. You… You've always been there for him. You're a good friend."

If he was a good friend, none of this would have happened, but it would be useless to say that. Scott glances down at his shoes, the familiar guilt tugging at his stomach. "He's my best friend," he says simply.

The Sheriff gives him a sad smile, patting the doorframe and then walking away.

"Scott?" Kira asks. "You okay?"

Scott shakes himself, realizing he's still staring at the door. "Yeah," he says, flashing her the best smile he can muster. "Let's do this."

They carefully arrange Stiles on his side, facing away from Scott, so that he has better access to the back of his neck. "I don't really know how long this is gonna take," Scott admits, suddenly feeling nervous. "I'm not sure if my mom or Stiles' dad will be back before I'm done, so…"

"So I'll deal with them," Kira says, nodding. "And if someone else comes in, like a doctor…?"

Scott winces. He hadn't really thought of that. And what if something else goes wrong? This isn't a good plan.

Kira nods again, her eyes wide. "Okay, I'll figure that out, too." Her eyes skim over Stiles. "This is going to work, right?" she asks.

"It has to," Scott answers. Can't talk himself out of it now. Stiles needs him.

She smiles tightly at him, obviously just as anxious as he is. "Yeah, of course, you're right. It'll work."

It'll work. He chants it in his head, trying to believe it more than the voice in his head shouting at him that it won't. That this is all going to go horribly wrong.

Kira reaches across the bed, touching his shoulder and drawing his attention back to her. "Scott…" She doesn't finish the thought. Doesn't need to. Her dark eyes meet his, and in them he sees her unwavering trust and belief in him. He can do this.

"You know," he says hesitantly. "I meant what I said about you not waiting for me. Even after this, I don't know where I'll be… But, selfishly? I kinda hope you stick around."

Kira blinks and smiles at him, taking her hand back and playing with her hair shyly. "I mean, you guys are my only friends here, so I don't think you have to worry about me going anywhere."

Scott's dimples deepen as her cheeks go pink, and he feels something warm spread in the pit of his stomach. Yes, he can do this, because once he's found Stiles wherever he is in his mind, he has a reason to come back.

Taking a deep breath, Scott calls on the wolf, flicking out his claws and carefully lining them up on the back of Stiles' neck. "Here goes nothing," he mutters, and then plunges into Stiles' mind.


That's the end of part 2! Onto the good stuff. Remember, reviews are always appreciated!