Disclaimer: "I do not own Teen Wolf. The show, the characters, and any quotes from the show belong to Jeff Davis and his amazing team of writers. I only own Nixie, and anything I make her do or say."

Chapter 3: Episode 4x3

As Nixie walks with Scott and Stiles towards the lacrosse field, she points to Stiles in agreement when he says, "Scott, of course you're still the team captain. You got your grades up, just like Coach told you to. Plus, he probably considers the act of removing you from that position, as a form of suicide." Scott tilts his head curiously at that, to which Stiles just points at Nixie in response. She shrugs and says, "Well, I'm certainly not gonna be happy if he doesn't let you keep your position."

Scott grins at her, but then sighs and says, "I'm glad you guys are confident in that. But Coach never actually told me that I was back on the team. He just told me to show up for tryouts today."

Nixie slings an arm around him and says, "Scott, that's because you can't be on the team, at all, if you're not at tryouts. Even the seniors who basically already know they're on the team, have to show up for the tryouts, or they don't actually make it. Well… unless they have a doctor's note or something. But considering you heal rapidly and can't catch any infectious diseases, you can't get one of those. So, you have to show up if you want to be on the team. And Coach knows that, which is why he demanded you show up."

Scott grins down at her again, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Sighing, he says, "You do always know what to say." "Maybe in the grand scheme of things, that's my super power. You have claws and fangs. Stiles has sarcasm and a bat. I have daggers and the amazing ability to always know what to say." Stiles gives her a look and says, "We share the sarcasm bit." "True, but I concede that it was yours before it was mine. You are just an exceptionally good teacher."

He grins too, and then says, "Aside from the fact that Nixie's right about all of that, we have bigger things to worry about anyway, besides lacrosse teams. Now, Scott, did you tell Argent about Kate yet?" Scott nods and says, "Yeah, I texted him. But he hasn't gotten back to me."

Stiles freezes in his step and turns towards Scott. Nixie is just shaking her head, ducking to hide her silent laughter, as Stiles asks, "You told Argent that his sister, Kate, came back from the dead… over a text?" Scott looks between both of them, and then exclaims, "I didn't have the money to call France!"

Nixie pats him on the back and says, "Don't stress Scott. I'll work on talking to him some more when I have a minute." He nods his appreciation, and then they look at Stiles when he sighs and says, "And you think you got money problems? Try paying or an MRI and a visit to Eichen House."

Scott gives him a sympathetic look and asks, "Another notice?" "Yeah. And this one said 'Final'." Stiles then looks at Nixie, and he shifts a little before saying, "I… I know we got a lot going on right now. But do you think…" Nixie waves a hand at him in a carefree motion and says, "I can't promise anything on the Eichen House matter. I'll have to delve a little deeper into the insurance policy your dad has with the station. But your MRI? That should definitely be covered. I'll figure out what's wrong there and have it sorted. A week tops. Well… two if some other catastrophe happens between now and then."

Stiles chuckles and then kisses the top of her head before saying, "You are, literally, the best thing that's ever happened to me." Nixie rolls her eyes and says, "Don't exaggerate. Besides, I thought that was Lydia." Stiles shakes his head and says, "Even the fair Lydia, and my Malia, could not hope to surpass you." Grinning, Nixie says, "Just go out there and practice."

But as Scott nods at her, Stiles sighs again and says, "Should we though? I mean, seriously. Let's think about this. What are we even doing here right now? We have like, literally, one-hundred-seventeen million problems… and worrying about our status on the lacrosse team shouldn't be one of them." Nixie nods in agreement, but then glances at Scott when he says, "It is now though."

And they all look out at the goal on the field, watching the new kid catch, literally, ever single ball that is thrown at him. Making an impressed sound in the back of her throat, Nixie says, "He's good." Stiles and Scott both look at her, to which she says, "I didn't say he was better than you guys. Just that he's good. It takes more than good to be captain. Don't worry Scott. Just keep your head, go out there and have fun. The rest will take care of itself."

As her boys take off across the field to practice before tryouts later, Nixie looks at the new kid again. She'd heard another guy on the field call him Liam.

Scott and Stiles were a bit intimidated by him and his skill. And yeah… it was an impressive show. One that Nixie is sure has the wheels in Stiles' head spinning rapidly with theories about how he could be that impressive as a freshman.

But as Nixie looks at him… she decides she likes him. And hey, given the school's past record with lacrosse players… they could use a few more good ones.

And with that, she walks off the field, dialing Chris' number as she goes. Scott's excuse about not being able to call France was valid and reasonable. But seriously? Someone needed to actually talk to the man concerning his dead sister… who apparently wasn't so dead.

Yeah. That was something that required vocal communication. Nixie doesn't care how much it costs.

Stiles catches up to Nixie in the hall later, heading to math class, when they spot Malia in the doorway of the room. And as she begins slowly retreating, Stiles sighs and says, "Come on. We're gonna have to drag her in again."

And while Stiles called it dragging, and if it was just him, he definitely would've been dragging… Nixie just took Malia's hand and guided her back inside. Huffing in aggravation, Malia says, "I hate math. It's pointless!" Stiles shakes his head, and as he takes the seat behind Malia, he says, "It's school. School is important. Math… essential." Malia turns to him and asks, "To what?!" "Knowing how much to tip at restaurants."

Taking the seat behind Lydia, Nixie laughs when Lydia adds, "And less important things. Like medicine, economics, engineering…" Giving Lydia's shoulder a squeeze, Nixie says, "Yeah. So much less important than tipping." Stiles gives them both a look, and then looks forward with everyone else as Ms. Fleming says, "Alright. Volunteers to the board."

Looking around at everyone, she calls out, "Lydia, Diego, and Malia." Malia's head snaps up, and she quickly says, "I didn't volunteer." But Ms. Fleming just replies, "You did now. To the board."

Stiles gives her a smile, but Malia just growls in response before moving to stand at the board.

Nixie watches her for a moment, sees the tremor enter her hand in fear. Malia didn't actually care what people thought of her. But she also didn't want to hear anyone whisper or talk about how little she knew compared to all of them. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't been here to learn with the rest of them in younger years.

Malia was still staring at the problem, slightly shaking, when she hears Nixie whisper, "Malia. Just breathe. Deep breath in. Deep breath out."

She listens, and though Lydia raises an eyebrow when Malia so visibly tries to calm down, she then glances back at Nixie, watching as her lips move slightly without actually making sound. She was whispering so only Malia could hear.

Nodding, Nixie says, "Good. Now, step to your right just a tiny bit." Malia listens again, and then Nixie scans over the problem with her eyes really quick, before answering, "Alright. 'X' equals twenty-five. Write that down, and then you can come back and sit." Malia nods, writes it down, and then hurries back to her seat.

When Lydia comes back afterwards, she turns and says gently to Nixie, "Cheating isn't helping her." "Yeah, well, neither is having her stand at the board to answer a question she isn't ready to answer. Ms. Fleming should know better."

Then Nixie hears Stiles' phone go off, and as his lips draw down in a tight frown, Nixie grabs his attention and asks, "What?" He just shakes his head and says, "Later."

And when they finally meet up with Kira and Scott in the hall later, Stiles explains about the news alert on his phone. Kira's eyes widen as she asks, "An ax murderer?" Stiles nods and adds, "A family-murdering ax murderer."

Nixie frowns, deep in thought, until she hears Scott say, "I… already heard about it." Stiles flails slightly as he asks, "What? You did? How?!" "My mom called me. She knew we'd see it on the news." And Scott doesn't argue with the light slap that hits the back of his head. Crossing her arms, Nixie asks, "And why didn't she tell me?" "Because I asked her not to." "Scott…" "No, Nixie, I get it. Keep you informed. And I was going to. But I didn't want you or Stiles to jump at this. From the sound of things… it's not a supernatural thing we have to deal with."

Stiles' mouth drops open as he stares at Scott, but then his eyes bug out when Nixie sighs and says, "Yeah. I guess so." Stiles gapes at all three of them, and then says, "Seriously! You guys want to stay in school! Did you not understand the part about there being a 'family-murdering ax murderer'?" Nixie gives him a look and says, "Stiles. Your dad is the sheriff. And on any matter relating to the supernatural, I will gladly help you veto his decision to try and keep us out of the loop on things."

Looking up at Scott, Nixie concedes, "But… Scott's right. It doesn't sound like a 'supernatural' disaster." Scott nods and adds, "And they want us to stay out of it." Stiles snaps his gaze between both of them rapidly and asks, "Are you guys kidding me? There's a family-murdering ax murderer… and we're not going to do anything about it?!" Kira says gently, "Maybe, this time, we should let the adults handle it."

Stiles gapes at her, and then leans back and says, "So you three… you just want to stay here, in school, go to class…" Kira and Scott nod, to which Stiles says, "I've never heard of anything so irresponsible in my life."

Nixie laughs as Stiles starts walking off, giving Scott a rough wave when Scott says, "See you at tryouts." Patting Scott on the back, Nixie says, "I've got him." And then she winks a bit at Kira, before hurrying off to catch up with Stiles.

Wrapping an arm around him, she asks, "So… what are we going to do about this?" He turns to her, and then grins and asks, "Ditch school and look for clues?" Nixie gives him a look, to which he pouts. Chuckling, Nixie says, "At least wait until after tryouts today Stiles. You won't even be on the lacrosse team if you're not there. Then we'll worry about how we're going to corner your father into letting us in on the investigation." "Done. I love you." "Yeah, I love you too. Now get out of here."

Grinning as he runs off, much giddier now, Nixie then takes a moment to just stand in the hall and relax for a moment.

But as she walks into her next class, where Lydia is also supposed to be. She notices that Lydia is missing. Frowning, she asks herself quietly, "Where are you Lydia?"

When tryouts finally roll around, Nixie still hasn't seen Lydia anywhere else the rest of the day. Sighing, she stands and is about to leave, when Malia sits up straighter and asks, "What's wrong with you?"

Seeing that Malia is looking at Kira, Nixie moves to sit on Kira's other side. Kira just says, "Me? Nothing!" Malia rolls her eyes, "You wreak of anxiety. And it's distracting." Nixie grins at Malia. Her tone of voice didn't exactly convey a whole lot of sympathy. But… the very fact that she was asking what was wrong with Kira was proof that she was making progress. She did care; at least about those in the pack. And if that's all Malia ever learned to care about, that was fine by Nixie.

Nudging Kira's shoulder, Nixie asks gently, "What's going on?" Kira glances between the two of them, and then finally spits out in a ramble, "Scott and I sort of had this thing happen. But, it wasn't much of a thing. And now… I'm starting to think it never was anything at all." Malia shrugs a little while asking, "What do you want it to be?"

Kira takes a second to think about that, and then sighs and says, "More." Nixie smiles gently, and then says, "Kira… just be patient. Scott is into you. I believe Lydia told you the same thing." "But…" Nixie gives her a look, and then says, "He's not a person who always understands that, sometimes, his actions seem bigger to you than they do to him. Not because they mean less to him or don't seem big. But because, for him, some of those things are already obvious in his mind. And, sometimes, he forgets that it might not already be obvious to you."

Kira nods, but asks in confusion, "So… we do have a thing?" Nixie grins and says, "Be patient. Scott will catch up pretty soon. I promise." Then she stands and says, "Now… I'm going to see if I can locate Lydia. If Scott or Stiles ask…"

But then, Scott shoots for the goal and hits the pole edge. Teammates laugh and one boy shouts, "Hey, McCall! Nice shot!" Nixie recognizes him from earlier… and she most certainly doesn't like him. Then she hears Stiles shouts, "Hey Garrett! Shut up!"

Everyone just laughs again… but then the field slowly begins going silent. Those few freshmen here who don't know her yet, whisper amongst themselves, wondering what's happening.

Nixie makes her way onto the field, and if it had been anybody else, Coach would've been screaming profanities at them until Christmas. But it was her, so he looked down at his clipboard for a moment, taking inventory.

Danny is in goal right now, and he turns when Nixie walks up to him. Removing his helmet, he says, "Hey Nix." "Hello, Danny boy." Grinning, he asks, "Can I help you?" "I think you can. You know the one named Garrett?" "Yeah." "Think you can give him an exceptionally hard time for me?"

Danny grins again and says, "I will do my utmost for you." "I greatly appreciate it." Liam, who is beyond confused, watches as Danny kisses the top of this girl's head before she begins making her way towards them. And when several players back off instantly, he fears a little what might be coming.

Scott and Stiles, he notices, remain where they are. And Scott, who had been looking rather dismal and disappointed before, is grinning as she approaches.

When she gets to them, Nixie says, "Garrett's going to have an exceptionally hard time making any other goals today. Along with anything else Danny can do to give him a hard time." Stiles smirks and says, "Maybe we should ask if you can be the Coach's assistant." "Not a good idea. I think I'd have choked Coach by now."

They all laugh, and then Nixie squeezes their shoulders and says, "Have fun. Remember that. I'm going to find Lydia." Frowning, Stiles asks, "What's wrong? Is she…" "Nothing is wrong yet. Take a breath, Stiles. Geez. I just haven't seen her in a couple of hours, and she isn't answering my texts. So, I'm going to find her. And if she's with a boy, I'm going to ring his neck."

Scott kisses the top of her head and says, "Be safe. You did drive your bike today, right?" "Yep. Good thing too. Because if I hadn't, I'm not above hotwiring Stiles' car to go find her." She grins at Stiles falsely offended look, and then finally turns to leave.

That's when she stops at Liam. Half the kids behind him shot back, and Liam actually gulped a bit when she looked him over. But then, to his bafflement, she simply said, "You're good." He nods his thanks, but then freezes again when Nixie leans closer and whispers, "Keep it in check, Liam. Just… do me a favor, and try to keep it in check."

And then she takes off, waving at Malia and Kira before she takes off to get on her bike and head out for Lydia.

Jordan was sitting out front of the house in the police cruiser. Noah had said he didn't want anyone inside… but that didn't mean someone didn't still need to watch the house, and that's what Jordan intended to do. He was looking over photos of the brutal crime. Three murdered, the parents and the older brother. Leaving behind their youngest; Sean.

Noah had said don't blame him for the nightmares, and Jordan wouldn't. But… they were gruesome. Maybe not as gruesome as some of the things he'd seen while in the army… but still, this was one of the worst things he'd seen in his time on the force so far.

He was just glancing up at the house, making sure it was still and quiet… when he saw a figure dart between the two curtains hanging at the window of the front door. Pulling out his gun as he steps out of the car, carefully approaching the house, he wonders who on earth would be walking around so freely in the house with a cop car so visible outside on the street. Surely the killer wasn't that stupid… although it would be convenient if he or she were.

Opening the door as quietly as possible, he steps inside, not entirely sure what to expect.

In the midst of this, Nixie had come in from the back of the house. It was the faster path, in this case. And once she'd figured out where exactly Lydia was, via the GPS location of her phone, Nixie decided the fastest route was definitely the best.

She'd run through the entire upstairs first, looking for Lydia. That's where Sean's room was sure to be, and for some reason, Nixie thought to start there. In hindsight though, she realizes that wasn't really the best place to start. Lydia's a banshee. And banshees don't follow paths leading towards the living. They're drawn to death.

Regardless, Lydia wasn't anywhere upstairs, and Nixie was darting around the ground floor of the house now, trying to find her.

That's when the front door opens, and Jordan's voice says clearly, "Beacon County Sheriff's Department! This is a crime scene. Show yourself." Closing her eyes and sighing, Nixie mutters, "Of course, it would be him." As Jordan rounds the corner of the stairs, he finds Nixie standing there in the hall, eyes still darting around. She doesn't move though, except to turn her head to look at him.

After a moment of stunned silence on his part, Nixie raises an eyebrow and asks, "So… are you going to shoot me?" Jordan huffs and rolls his eyes, pocketing his gun while asking, "What the hell are you doing here?" "Well, I assure you, I have a good reason." Holding up her phone, which is still signaling to this location, Nixie says, "I'm looking for Lydia."

Raising an eyebrow, Jordan asks, "And she's here?" "Obviously. Or… at least, her cell phone is here." Sighing as she continues looking around, Nixie adds, "And if her phone is here and she's not, we're going to need to have a very long discussion about why her phone isn't where it's supposed to be, which is with her. On her person. At all times."

Jordan follows her down the hall, noting in relief that, though she was definitely trespassing on a crime scene, she wasn't contaminating anything. In fact, she was going out of her way to not touch anything more than necessary, even using the sleeve of her jacket to open doors. From behind her, he asks, "Why at all times?"

Nixie turns to look at him, and says in a tone that clearly implies, 'duh', "So I can find her when I need to. Obviously." Jordan raises an eyebrow again, following her back towards the main entrance. Sighing, he says, "Look, Nixie, you really shouldn't…" "If Lydia weren't here, I wouldn't be here. And I will leave, freely and willingly. Just as soon as I have her."

And Jordan might've tried to argue the point further… except that he could sense that Nixie was growing more agitated by the second. She'd clearly already been here a while, long before he saw her from the street, and she still hadn't found Lydia.

As if on cue though, Lydia finally comes out of the furthest room up the hall. Sighing in relief, Nixie says, "Thank God. I've been looking everywhere for you." Lydia glances at her… but Nixie can tell that Lydia isn't actually seeing her yet. She's caught up in her confusion about where she is, how she got here… and why on earth she'd need to be here. The deaths already happened. The house was empty. There was no one else left to die here. Even Sean, when he was released, wouldn't be coming back here, to this place where so much suffering had occurred.

Jordan is about to point and ask what Lydia's doing here, but pauses when he sees the deep concern suddenly etched into Nixie's face. Moving past him for now, Nixie walks up to Lydia, moving to stand in front of her.

Lydia just stands there for a minute, uncertainty the only thing Nixie is positive she sees on her friend's face. Then Lydia's eyes finally focus on Nixie's. Softly, she asks, "How'd you get here?"

Lydia's voice was so soft… so frightened sounding that, to be honest, Jordan was certain Nixie's tone would match it. So he blinked in surprise when Nixie simply answered, "I drove my bike. Come on Lydia. You know that?"

Lydia does actually relax when she talks like that... as though everything was still normal. Then she says, "You know what I mean. How did you know I was here?" "I tracked your phone." "You tracked my phone?" "And for some reason, you actually sound surprised. This is not the first time I've done this." "Nixie, why did you track my phone?" "Because you missed AP World History."

Relaxing even more, cocking her head to the side, Lydia asks, "I missed one class and you decided to hunt me down?" "Hey, I gave you to the end of the school day to show up again. You didn't. So I went about finding you. Again, none of this should be strange to you by now."

And Lydia finally grins and says, "Not strange. Just… you." "Yeah. All part of my natural charm." Grinning back, Nixie opens her arms when Lydia steps closer. Wrapping around Nixie, sighing in relief, Lydia says, "Thanks." "Of course."

Nixie can feel Jordan watching them from down the hall, so after a minute, Nixie whispers, "We also have the sheriff's deputy with us." Leaning back, Lydia looks over at Jordan, and then smiles and says, "Hey Parrish." Jordan waves a bit, and then asks, "So… do I get to ask why she's here?"

Nixie shrugs and asks, "Lydia? You know why you're here?" She shakes her head in response, so Nixie turns back to Jordan and says, "Not yet. Maybe in five minutes." Jordan gives her a look, but she can see the corner of his mouth turning up slightly, though he was trying very hard not to grin at her.

Walking back down the hall towards him, Lydia nods in greeting, and then says, "You and Nixie can stay here and talk. I'll…" But when both sets of eyes look at her like she's crazy, she rolls hers and says, "Fine. Just… follow, I guess." Jordan watches after her, and then looks down at Nixie and says, "I should be making you guys leave."

Nixie looks up at him, and then grins and asks, "Oh, Parrish. Where's your sense of adventure?" "Back at the car." "Well, you can go get it, if you like. We'll wait here for you." He narrows his eyes at her, but can't hide his grin this time. Nixie laughs a bit, and then says, "Besides. You kick us out, and you won't be able to report the interesting find." "What find?" "Whatever it is that Lydia's going to find."

Raising an eyebrow as he follows after Nixie, who follows Lydia, he asks, "And how are you so certain she's going to find something?" Lydia glances at them, and then says, "I would try to explain it, but… I've never gotten a satisfactory explanation myself."

Jordan looks at both of them, and then asks coyly, "Right. You just happen to have an unusual habit of showing up at places where people have been brutally murdered?" Nixie gives him a look and says, "Nice segue. Cause that wasn't obvious." He shrugs indifferently, smirking down at her. Lydia can't help but grin at the two of them for a moment. It was a light kind of flirting going on between them. Very different from any approach Lydia would've taken, which was more direct. But… it suited them. Because even if they couldn't see the connection that was growing between them; Lydia could.

Then she straightens her face and asks, "Are you saying I have a reputation?" Jordan glances at her and says, "I'm saying both of you do." Lydia looks to Nixie worriedly for a moment, as though afraid that she were dragging Nixie along with her. But Nixie is already waving away the comment carelessly, saying, "I've had a reputation there ever since I first met Noah. That's not new."

Jordan chuckles at her, and then says, "True. But, since whenever Lydia shows up, you show up too… now you both have that shared reputation as well. A highly unusual one, at that." Nixie shrugs again and says, "Mine was already unusual to begin with. Really, people shouldn't be so surprised. I mean… hello! It's me. I'm a highly unusual character." "Yes, well that, I'm very much aware of."

Nixie snaps her gaze over to him, her mouth popping open a little in a falsely offended way. But then she grins and says, "Whatever." Jordan grins back at her, and then turns to Lydia and says, "But since Nixie appears to just be following you… maybe you're just psychic. You think?"

Lydia can't help it. She scoffs a tiny bit and asks, "Don't tell me you believe all that?"

And it nearly makes a smile burst onto her face when Nixie, in her own way, comes to Jordan's rescue by saying, "I don't know. Could be a thing. You never know." Then she adds, for sarcastic affect, "Of course, I'm the highly unusual character here. If one of us was going to be psychic, I think it should be me. And if it's not, then I'm highly offended."

Lydia just laughs finally, while Jordan shakes his head at Nixie, a smile playing at his lips. It occurs to him that he should've led these two out of here long ago. But he also finds himself not minding that they're all still standing here.

And that was all Nixie. They were invading a crime scene. It could be seen as a rather high crime, punishable by jail time for most. And yet, here they were standing, looking around for something unknown, and actually laughing while they were doing it.

Still looking at Nixie, Jordan answers Lydia's prior question by saying, "I'd like to say I don't believe in anything. But… I do keep an open mind." Nixie, who had been watching Lydia become more focused in her search, glances back at Jordan. Smiling a little, she says sincerely, "Wise decision, that."

He glances over at Lydia for a moment, and then steps closer to Nixie and says, "But… if she's looking for dead bodies, I think she's a little late." Nixie tilts her head as she looks up at him, and then she says, "Now Parrish. Where is that 'open mind', you were just talking about?"

Then they both hear the hiss of a sealed door opening. Lydia had finally found it. She pushed in on a particular panel of wood, and a door opened that had been hidden in the wall. And Lydia was about to pull it open, about to walk in, when Nixie says, "Lydia."

Stopping, she turns to them, and then says, "Um… I… I need to…" Nixie moves over to her. Grabbing her shoulders, pulling her gently to the side, Nixie says, "Alright. I get it. But you stay behind me."

Pulling the door open after Lydia has agreed, Nixie then prepares to step inside, when a hand gently stops her by gripping her shoulder. Taking his gun out again, Jordan glances at her and asks, "Stay here?" "Oh, yeah. Because that's something you actually think is gonna happen."

He gives her a look, and then sighs before saying, "Then you stay behind me." She doesn't look like she really approves of that plan either, but she doesn't argue as he goes down first. The brick tunnel beneath the house is dark and damp, and it's exceptionally cold down here. Nixie feels fine, but she knows Lydia is probably freezing. Taking off her jacket, leaving herself in a V-neck shirt with elbow-length sleeves, and a tank top underneath, Nixie says, "Put it on." "Aren't you cold, Nix?" "Always. I'm fine. Just put it on."

When Jordan finally reaches the end of the hall, pushing through some hanging flaps before a doorway, he takes a minute to shine his light all the way around. Then, finding a light switch, he cuts on the power, lighting up the room full of giant, frozen bags hanging from the ceiling.

Holstering his gun once more, Jordan says, "It looks like a game locker. You know? Like venison. And… hunting's legal in some parts of the state, but…" Nixie nods and says, "Not deer in this county. They're too scarce here." Jordan nods approvingly at her knowledge, and then turns back to the bags.

While he moves towards the left, Nixie stays on the right. Curiously, she pulls down one of the zippers on one of the bags. And the second the top of the object inside is revealed, she freezes altogether in horror.

Jordan actually shivers as the temperature of the room seems to drop a few more degrees all of a sudden. Perhaps the room had a system hooked up to keep it a specific temperature and was activating to make it cooler again. But before he can look into that, he hears Lydia gasp.

Turning back to them, joining them at the bag they're standing at, he gapes at the human corpse that is hanging inside the bag. Which, though it didn't need to be said aloud by any of them, meant that every single bag hanging in this room… had a dead person in it.

Jordan turns back towards them again, about to usher them out and get them the hell out of this nightmare. He should've never let them down here in the first place. God, this was…

But before he can tell them to head back upstairs, Nixie turns her eyes towards the terrified Lydia. And honestly, it looks as though Lydia is about pass out. Gripping her shoulders, forcing Lydia to meet her own gaze, Nixie simply stares back into her eyes for a moment.

Jordan has no idea how she does it. Nixie doesn't speak. She doesn't move. For all intents and purposes, she does nothing, except stand there staring at Lydia. But sure enough, Lydia is slowly able to let out a slow and shaky breath of air. Then she does it again. And then again. Finally, Nixie nods and says, "Keep breathing. Walk with me."

Nixie glances up at Jordan and says, "I've got her." Then she leads Lydia out of the room, while Jordan watches after them for a second before getting on the radio to report what they've found.

Outside the house, Nixie sets Lydia down on the front stairs. As she begins gasping and struggling to breathe again, Nixie says, "Hey, it's alright, Lydia. Focus on me. Focus on my voice. Drown the rest of it out for now. Focus on me. Just me."

As Jordan makes his way back out of the house, he looks down at them. And he could feel the certainty in her words when Nixie says, "I have you, Lydia. Understand? I've got you." Lydia nods shakily, clinging to Nixie. Sighing, Lydia says, "And so long as you can help it, nothing's gonna happen to me." "Damn straight."

Nixie would really love for them to be able to get out of here already. She'd love to get Lydia somewhere safe and warm. She needs to warn Scott that Sean, and maybe his entire family, were apparently murderers themselves.

No. Worse than murderers. Cannibals.

But they can't leave yet. As other cops roll in to reprocess the scene, another asking them questions about what they'd seen, Nixie can't even manage to get out her phone to call anybody about this.

When Natalie Martin finally pulls up at the house, hand over her mouth in worry about what her daughter had found, she immediately helps Nixie get Lydia into the car. Glaring at the next officer that tries to approach Lydia, sending him immediately heading in the other direction, Nixie says to Natalie, "She needs rest." Natalie nods, and then to Nixie's surprise, wraps her up in a tight hug. Sighing, Natalie says, "I don't know how she ends up always finding these places. I don't know why she always ends up here or how she finds these… these… things. But thank you, Nixie. Thank you for always finding her."

Hugging Natalie back, Nixie says, "Of course." Then, as Natalie prepares to leave, Nixie bends down closer to Lydia. Gently squeezing Lydia's shoulder, who has definitely calmed down considerably since this started, Nixie says, "Try to call Scott and Stiles. Someone needs to tell them." "You aren't?" "I am. But I have to be away from these guys first. Just… both of us need to try. As soon as we can." Lydia nods and says, "I'm on it. And Nixie… thank you." "Lydia, of course. Get some rest as soon as you can."

Nixie watches after them as they drive away, and then glances back at the house.

Cannibals. People who ate people. People who fed on human flesh. Nixie could handle all sorts of pain. She could take on alpha packs and deranged hunters, and she'd even take on berserkers and Kate, who was apparently a were-jaguar.

But cannibals? The idea… the thought of it…

Nixie realizes with annoying clarity that she's about to be sick. So regardless of any other cops that might be trying to talk to her, Nixie powerwalks away from the scene and down the street. Her stomach was churning in disgust and horror. She felt truly ill.

She manages to keep it together until she rounds the next corner on the street, and then drops to her knees by a ditch. And whatever lunch she'd eaten, which she honestly can't remember… she throws back up onto the ground below. Hands clutching her stomach, she gasps in a breath and then hurls again.

Sitting there, staying very still, trying to avoid another episode of puking, she jumps when she feels hands suddenly drawing her hair back from her face. Her stomach twists again as she tries to stand and get away, but then she hears Jordan's voice say gently, "It's alright. Just calm down now. I've got you. Take it easy."

She throws up again into the ditch, and then gasps in a breath of air. Wincing at the terrible aftertaste in her mouth, she lets out a moan of disgust.

Hands are still holding her hair, fingers moving in gentle circles against her head to soothe her. Glancing over at Jordan, who is bent down next to her left side, she says, "You can go now." Jordan looks briefly offended, but then stares at her in surprise when she says, "I look hideous. No need for you to stay. I'm fine." "Nixie, don't be ridiculous."

She gives him a look and says, "I'm serious." "So am I." Brushing more hair from her face, Jordan smiles gently and says, "See? Still beautiful as ever." Nixie's eyes snap up to his face, and though there is a slight blush to his cheeks now, Jordan makes no move to take back what he said. Instead, he tenderly strokes her temple with his thumb before asking, "You wanna try standing again?"

Nodding, Nixie lets him help her to her feet. Then, after a moment of wondering if she'd just fall down again, she nods that she's fine and sighs in relief. Jordan reaches into his front shirt pocket for a handkerchief and hands it over to her. Taking it, nodding her appreciation, Nixie wipes at her mouth and cringes again at the aftertaste left behind.

Sighing, Nixie then says, "This is so stupid." Jordan can't help it. He chuckles at her. At her slightly peeved look, he holds his hands up in surrender and asks, "What's so stupid at this point?" "Me. Throwing up right now." "We were just in a room full of dead corpses. I'm surprised you didn't throw up sooner." "Exactly. Which is what is so stupid."

When Jordan gives her a confused look, she huffs and says, "If I was going to be sick, it should've been right away. Not forty minutes later, after I've had time to get over what I just saw." Jordan smiles gently at her, and then says, "Perhaps. But I wouldn't call it stupid." "Then what would you call it?" "Prioritizing. Which, you seem to always be able to do, no matter what."

Now Nixie is the one that's confused, so Jordan says, "Your friends come first. Always. And up until a few minutes ago, Lydia needed you to be her rock. So you became that for her." Shrugging, he adds, "Now she's gone, and you get to fall apart, just a little bit." "I did not fall apart."

Jordan tilts his head slightly, but then says, "No, I suppose you didn't. But you did finally let yourself go a little bit. You let everything finally sink in." Nixie stares at him for a moment, and then smiles ever so slightly before wiping at her mouth again. Jordan's eyes take inventory of everything about her at this point. She was standing on her own two feet, but she still looked shaky, despite the determined look in her eyes. And her skin, which was usually an even Caucasian color, was now exceptionally pale compared to normal.

Sighing, Nixie turns to look at him again, watching his eyes roam over her in concern. Grinning a bit, she asks, "Do I pass inspection?" Jordan finally stops his gaze so it stays steady with hers. He smiles gently, but then shakes his head honestly and says, "No, if you want the truth." "Well, the truth is always preferred, even if it's not exactly to my liking. I'm fine." "You're pale." "It'll pass. I just threw up most of my lunch and breakfast. I just need to eat and I'll be fine."

Jordan gives her a look for a moment, but then says, "You're probably right. But I can't leave you here like this. Let me drive you back to the station." "I can't leave my bike here." "Where is it?" "Back of the house." "I'll have someone bring it to the station." "Parrish, I need to…"

But he takes a step closer to her and says, "Nixie, please don't make me threaten to arrest you. Technically, you did still break into a crime scene." Her eyes widen slightly, and she leans back from him. Jordan doesn't miss the distinctly hurt look in her eyes, but her tone is still attempting to be light when she says, "You wouldn't."

They stare at each other for a moment, and then Jordan concedes, "No. No, I wouldn't." He feels relief when she relaxes again, and then he says, "But I can't let you drive right now." "But…" "Nixie, please trust me on this. You need to take a minute, take a breath, and just let yourself be 'not okay' right now. Even if it's just for five minutes. Even if it's just long enough for me to drive you to the station."

Nixie's deep blue eyes meet his hazel ones for a moment more after that, and then Jordan feels a slight sense of triumph when she nods and says, "Fine. But if anyone messes up my bike…" "I'm sure the sheriff will see to it that they make the repairs personally." Grinning, she lets him walk her back to his cruiser. He opens the door for her and then shuts it gently behind her when she's settled inside.

On their way to the station, Jordan asks, "So… why were you looking for Lydia?" "She missed a class that we share together. After that, I didn't see her anymore today. So I figured it was time to try and find her." Nodding, Jordan then asks, "But why?" "What do you mean, why?" "Why would you need to find her? What if she'd been with someone?"

Nixie glances at him, eyes slightly narrowed, but no real heat behind them. He was fishing a little; that was obvious. But she couldn't really blame him. Given what had just happened, Nixie knows that the only reason no one else was asking more questions was because Nixie had glared at them when they'd tried.

Jordan was the only one who seemed, at least part of the time, to be immune to her glare. In fact, he might be completely immune, and just picks and chooses which times he's going to argue, and which times he's going to give in. Hard to say.

And given that he could've just as well arrested her and Lydia for trespassing… Nixie decides to at least give him a little something. What can she say? She likes him. And besides, he already thinks Lydia is psychic.

Raising an eyebrow, Nixie says, "First of all, Lydia knows the rule. If I'm calling her, she needs to answer. I don't care how indisposed she happens to be, or who she's with. She answers. Or, I'm coming to find her. We've discussed this. She knows better.

Jordan actually chuckles at that, but then straightens up when Nixie asks seriously, "And… you realize she's always showing up at these crime scenes, right? With the dead bodies, and the blood, and the carnage, and… well, everything." He nods in answer, and then turns to look at her when Nixie simply says, "She should never have to stand there and see all of that alone. And if I can help it, she never will again."

Nodding again, Jordan then says gently, "You're a good friend." "Well, I do try, you know." Grinning, he says, "I'm pretty sure your friends think you're the definition of what 'good friend' means." "Don't exaggerate, Parrish." "I'm not."

They look at each other, and then Nixie laughs softly before leaning her head back against the seat. And she laughs again when Jordan asks, "By the way… how on earth do you know how to track other peoples' cell phones? I'm pretty sure you need a lot more personal information than most people would have access to." Turning her head to see him, Nixie says, "Ah, my dear deputy. I am going to have to insist that, that bit of information, is entirely confidential."

Closing her eyes, she says gently, "But suffice it to say, a friend from school knows about these things, and showed me enough so I can always find the people I need to find, when I need to find them." Nodding, Jordan asks, "And on a regular basis, how often do you need to find them?" "Depends. Does it feel like the world is about to end today?"

He gives her a look, but grins all the same and says, "No." "Then this one time today will probably suffice for… maybe the remainder of the week. Hard to say though. Tomorrow, we might feel like the apocalypse is upon us. In which case, I'm probably gonna run out of gas trying to find all my people." Jordan shakes his head gently and says, "Heaven forbid."

Her burst of laughter makes him smile, and then they sit in comfortable silence the rest of the ride to the station.

Nixie's not going to lie. She enjoys being around him. She really does. It's why, even though there hadn't been any crises over the summer, she'd still spent an exorbitant amount of time at the station. And if she admits it… more than her usual time there.

But right now, while sitting in the station on the couch next to his desk… she does wish Jordan Parrish would leave her alone. Just for about three minutes. She's sure that, by now at least, Lydia had informed Scot of the cannibal that's in the hospital. Consequently, the same place Melissa is. But to be safe, Nixie would still really like to take the time to call him and make sure that Scott, his mom, and anyone else that might have gone near the cannibal, is okay.

It has to wait though. And much as she'd rather it not wait… she's honestly glad that Jordan comes back as fast as he did. He'd gone to get her a cup of coffee, leaving her to put the final touches on her statement before he'd release her to go home.

That's when Haigh spotted her. The man had a very odd sort of love and hate relationship for Nixie. One that seemed to continuously flip back and forth in his mind. He'd called her heartless last year when she'd been strong during Alison's death. But following that incident, she found that if she did get pulled over anymore for speeding, Haigh was the one pulling her over. Taking way too long to give her a ticket, getting way too close into her personal bubble. It didn't matter how many times she scared him off after he finally pushed too far… he always tried to do it again the next time.

The man has a death wish. That's what Nixie has decided. And she's quite certain that, if he'd actually made it to her today, she would've probably tried to actually choke him to death.

He was two desks back still, smirking as he made his way closer, when Jordan came back in. The man, quite honestly, could sometimes appear out of nowhere. And looking at his face, you wouldn't think Jordan had a care in the world. You certainly wouldn't think that his placing the coffee directly in Nixie's hand, was a sign of anything, other than the fact that he wanted her to drink it.

But when he looked back at Haigh, Nixie didn't miss how the other deputy suddenly paused, and then backtracked to his own desk. When Jordan turns back around to her, he takes her statement from her to look over it one last time himself. He pauses though when Nixie say gently, "Thanks, Parrish."

Smiling up at her, he says, "Just remember. I would hate to have to arrest you for assaulting an officer." "Well, then it's good you made it so I don't have to. Otherwise, it would've been a long night for both of us." Chuckling, Jordan looks over her statement one final time, and then nods and says, "Everything looks good."

Back up to her, he looks her over for a moment, and then nods and adds, "And so do you." "Gee, thanks." "You know what I mean." Laughing, Nixie nods, and then asks, "So… I'm good to go home?" "Yeah. Your bike's outside."

He walks her out to her bike, which she walks around once to make sure it's still in the same condition it was when she left it. Nodding, she says, "Thanks." "Anytime, Nixie." She lifts her gaze up to his at that, and then smiles. It was such a simple thing to say, really. To others, it might not mean much. And if Jordan said it to anyone else… he probably didn't mean it the same way.

But Nixie… she could somehow feel it. He meant it. From him, 'anytime, Nixie', meant exactly that. If she needed him again, he would come. He didn't promise not to argue with her. He didn't promise to agree with her, altogether. But… it was a promise to be there, if she needed him.

It made her heart swell in a way that Nixie didn't recognize. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to look into this more later.

First thing Nixie had done when she got onto the road, was call Scott. And yes, Lydia had already managed to contact him.

As Scott relays the story of what happened at the hospital… how Sean Walcott had attacked Melissa, and then how Scott had chased him to the roof. And then how an ax wielding, mouthless man, had killed Sean and then just… walked off.

Rubbing at her temple as she hops off her bike in the parking lot, Nixie says, "Alright. Just… tell me you're okay. And Melissa? You're both okay?" Scott nods and says, "Yeah. Yeah, we're fine. We're good. Both of us are totally okay. Yep. Everything is okay."

Nixie pauses for a moment, narrowing her eyes. In spite of the fact that the cannibal was now dead… Scott sounded edgy still. "Scott? Are you sure everything's alright?"

Scott closes his eyes for a moment, trying to decide how to tell her what else happened. But he can't. Not yet. He… he's not sure how exactly you go about explaining that there was no other choice. He had to bite Liam in order to save him and keep him alive. And now… either the kid was going to die, or he was going to turn into a werewolf.

And Liam had no choice in the matter. Scott knows that he and Nixie always agreed on that point. Being a werewolf, if you weren't already born this way… it should be your own choice. And he'd taken that from Liam. He'd had no choice himself. It was either that, or Liam would've died. But… he'd still stolen Liam's humanity away. Or his life… if he didn't survive the bite in the first place.

No… no, he's not ready to explain that to her yet. So he nods and says, "Everything's fine Nixie. I'm just… glad you found Lydia when you did. I can't imagine what I'd have done if I'd found that freezer all by myself." Nodding, Nixie says, "Yeah, well, that actually makes two of us for once."

When Nixie hangs up, she sighs and prepares to go to bed for the night. There was really nothing else to do at this point. She'd have to figure out with Stiles, tomorrow, where exactly they were going to start on this hunt for a mouthless, ax wielding, murderer. And until then, she needed to sleep.

She's about to lay down, when a pounding comes on her door. Frowning and looking out the peep hole, she rolls her eyes before opening it to reveal the landlord standing there. In all his pudginess and false sense of authority, arms crossed as he looks at her, he asks, "You got my note?" "Yep." "Then you know the insurance thing doesn't cover the rent anymore." "Obviously."

He narrows his eyes at her, but they have no effect on Nixie. She lost all respect for the man a long time ago. In fact, it takes her a moment to realize that she does actually know his name. It's Marcus. But she doesn't know his last name. Hence her never actually calling him by name. She didn't like him. Not one bit.

Leaning closer, still stern, he says, "End of the week, next month's rent is due." "I'm aware of how it works." "Cash up front, or you'll have to get out of the room." Nixie tilts her head and says, "Again. I am well aware of how it works." He glares at her again and says, "Just because you're supposed to be my ward, don't think I won't kick you out." Laughing, Nixie says, "I have also always been aware that, when the money stopped, you would no longer welcome me here. Why my mother thought you would react any differently is beyond me. But… I'm sure she had a lot of other things on her mind at the time."

Yeah. Like the fact that she was losing her mind. Yeah, that might've been a little distracting.

Shrugging, Nixie says, "End of the week is three days away. So, until then, leave me the hell alone." He narrows his eyes at her again… but can't really argue. Technically, she still had three paid days left in the room. Then she'd need to pay him.

Which, as he finally leaves her alone, she knows she won't be able to do. She'd managed to work in a couple of days recently at the diner that let her come in whenever she wanted… but nowhere near enough to pay the rent that would be due.

Her plan B was going to have to be put into effect. Not that she minded. It's not like the apartment held anything that really mattered to her anyway. Not anymore.

Still, as Nixie finally manages to fall asleep tonight, there's the distinct sound of rain falling on the roof. A sound that eventually managed to lull her to sleep.

Lydia wakes up in the middle of the night. No real reason behind it, and no banshee premonition behind it either. She just needs a glass of water. After she'd called Scott and after she'd figured out that he ended up okay, she'd gone immediately to bed.

She's getting a glass of water from her bathroom sink, when she looks at herself in the mirror and smiles. She was still wearing Nixie's jacket. She hadn't taken it off since Nixie had told her to put it on. Lydia couldn't explain it exactly… but wearing it made her feel that much safer. Like she somehow had a layer of pure Nixie wrapped around her, even though Nixie wasn't here herself.

Taking it off now, planning to hang it up outside the door, she pauses for a moment and then brings it back under the light.

Lydia was the fashion connoisseur, if ever there was one. She could spot which designer you were wearing from across the hall. Now, Nixie's jacket was not made by any designer that Lydia knew of. She knows Alison and Chris had it specially made for Nixie by a professional of leather designs. And the coat was a durable, and yet flexible, leather material.

Which meant it took a lot to break through the barrier of fabric. At least… to the normal and general public, it took a lot. But in the realm of supernatural disasters that they seemed to constantly get pulled into… well, Lydia wouldn't be surprised that some creature could manage to cut into the jacket.

The more shocking part for Lydia was that someone obviously had. There were patch jobs in a series of places on the coat. Good patch jobs, but not professional. Lydia could spot the slightly different color in the fabric, where the newer material was used for the patch while the rest of the older material was kept and stitched around it.

As Lydia continues to inspect the jacket, finding all the places where a claw, a blade, or something had gone through, she gasps as it finally hits her that, if something had gone through the jacket; then something had also gone through Nixie. And to Lydia's knowledge, Nixie had never told them about any injuries. In fact… Nixie was the only one who seemed to never get severely hurt.

But as that thought goes through Lydia's mind, she immediately closes her eyes and curses herself for the stupidity behind it. Nixie was the fiercest of them when it came to fighting… at least when it meant protecting the people that mattered to her. Which meant that, out of all of them, Nixie was the most likely… hell, she was the most probable for being the one to receive injuries.

Werewolves healed. When they got hurt, people were concerned for a time, but eventually they let it go, because werewolves healed and there was no trace left behind. But Nixie… Nixie was not a werewolf. And if she'd been hurt; that meant there had to have been stitches, bandages, gauze, blood, and a considerably longer recovery period.

As Lydia thinks about it more, she realizes that, whenever Nixie isn't wearing the jacket, she's taken to wearing slightly longer sleeves. Her tank tops had never been skimpy in the first place, but she rarely ever just wore a tank top anymore. Which no one really thought about as meaning something, because Nixie did not care about fashion. She dressed nicely, but she also dressed for comfort and mobility. Jeans, nice t-shirts, those were her style. Any other fashionable clothes she wore were because Lydia managed to find something she actually liked that looked nicer, or because Lydia insisted she wear something a little nicer, and Nixie finally caved.

Bottom line… hiding her injuries from them, would be an easy thing for Nixie to do. And as Lydia thinks about it more and more… she realizes that it is, incredibly so, a very 'Nixie' thing to do. Her focus was always on them. Always. And if she could help it, she never let their attention remain on her any longer than she felt was necessary. So yes, Nixie hiding injuries from them was, in actuality, an obvious thing.

Which is why Lydia feels so incredibly stupid for not having seen or thought of it before. Nixie was her best friend. Nixie had been Lydia's first real friend. Even when Lydia had been fake and false, Nixie had seen what she could be inside, and had liked it enough to make Lydia her friend.

And Nixie was in pain. Or, at the very least, she had been in pain. And Lydia had never known. Never suspected. Not until now.

Clutching the material tighter in her hands, a tear falling from her eye and onto the black leather, Lydia asks softly, "Oh Nixie. What have you been doing?"

Chapter 3! Yay! Hope you're enjoying this rendition of it so far.

And also, I think I forgot to mention this sooner, but if you see any mistakes in the writing that I somehow missed, please let me know. Or you know, you don't have to, obviously. But if it bothers you as much as it would bother me, let me know, and I will work on fixing it as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for reading! :)