Melissa had heard things as a nurse that would stay with her for the rest of her life. Wailing family members as they were informed that their loved one hadn't made it, babies abandoned in the emergency room, her young son struggling to breathe in the back of an ambulance. But hearing Stiles plead with nearly ear piercing shouts as he was pulled out of the freezing coyote den by her ex husband and put into her arms, his freezing skin against her hands, it cemented itself as yet another painful core memory.

"Stiles! Stiles!" She shouted over his screams, wrapping her arms around him to stop his flailing arms from hitting her or Rafael, "Stiles! You're okay! It's alright!" Her throat was starting to hurt by the time his screams stop, dissolving into harsh breaths and tears. "You're alright. Stiles, you're alright."

It was silent for a moment as she gently rubbed her hands up and down his arms, trying to generate some heat into him while Rafe went to go pull the van closer, until Stiles spoke softly, just above a whisper as his voice laced with confusion.

"I was bleeding before..."

"It was just a dream, honey," she assured him, trying to keep her nurse mode away until they got into the back of the van because what Stiles needed right now was comfort, "you're safe now."

"It felt so real."

The ground was illuminated by the headlights, along with Stiles' face; the moonlight made him look more pale then ever and she could have sworn that there was a bluish gray tint to his lips, but she shook it away long enough to help him to his feet and into the FBI van before closing the door. The van was almost stifling hot as Rafe started driving faster then he did on the way there. But Melissa stayed focused, draping her coat over Stiles' exposed arms and zipping it closed before grabbing Rafe's FBI jacket and wrapping it around his bare feet.

"Alright, baby. Just stay awake for me, okay?" She asked, brushing his slightly damp hair out of his eyes, "you can sleep at the hospital."

It would have been normal for Stiles to protest the trip and insist that he was fine, but she could see in his slightly glazed over eyes that he was still tired despite the tears. She had a strong feeling that the insomnia from a couple days before hadn't gotten any better, but right now, she had to warm him up and keep him awake.

"I...I was in a basement."

Melissa was about to correct him, but stopped herself. If she knew what he was seeing in his nightmares then maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to find a way to stop it.

"Stiles, what happened in the basement?"

"This guy, or thing. He was writing on the wall in chalk and speaking another language...maybe Japanese," she watched as he stopped to swallow, "he kept asking me riddles but there was one I can't figure out."

"What was the riddle, Stiles?"

"I can't figure it out..."

"Let me help you, honey," she offered, but instead of speaking, she watched as Stiles' eyes rolled into the back of his head before his body started to fall and would have if she hadn't caught him, "Raph, he just passed out."

"Is he breathing?"

Melissa paused, managing to hear his slightly strained breathing before pressing two fingers to the side of his cold neck, feeling the slow pulse, "Drive faster. And call Noah."