Melissa woke as the sun brightened and spilled into the house. She'd caught some sleep in the lounge room after sending Morgran back to talk to Argent. It had been early morning then, around 5am, now it was well past dawn.
She sat up and looked at the clock on the wall, it was just after 8:30. She got up and made her way into the kitchen. It was empty, Stiles was still asleep in the guest bedroom and the others were out guarding the house.
She was still full from the meal Stiles had made so she got herself some water instead, she would go and check on Argent in a few minutes, right now she needed to relax. She wasn't exactly looking forward to having to see him again, he'd been aggravating the last few times she'd seen him.
Allison entered the kitchen, to Melissa's surprise she was holding some clean clothes "Scott went back to your house to get you some clean clothes" Allison told her holding out the clothes "go up and take a shower and start to feel a bit more human. I'll check on dad while you do"
Melissa took the clothes from Allison "can I take him anything to eat yet" Allison asked
Melissa hesitated "Not yet" she told Allison " let me check on him first and see how he's doing" she held up the clothes "thank Scott for me" she instructed Allison "and thank you for letting me use your shower"
Allison gave her a warm look "you helped save my dad's life" she pressed "it's the least I can do, make yourself at home while you're here" she turned to go and check on her father "when you're finished in the shower just leave your clothes in the laundry, I'll put them in the wash for you" she disappeared out the door of the kitchen.
Melissa finished her drink and made her way up to the bathroom, noticing for the first time how filthy she felt. Her clothes were stained with Argent's blood after she'd sutured his wounds and she smelt of old sweat, she'd be glad to have a shower.
When she had gotten out of the shower and into clean clothes she felt much better, she felt human again.
She decided to go for a quick visit to Scott before she went on check on Argent.
She went down the stairs and out the door. Scott was just outside the door again with Isaac "hey Scott" she greeted him "how are you going?"
"I'm fine mum" Scott answered, he looked at her "you got the clothes I brought" he pointed out
"Yeah, thank you for that" Melissa replied "I hadn't realised how gross I felt"
"You did kind of smell" Isaac muttered
Melissa narrowed her eyes at him "watch it bucko" she scolded him "my patience for the supernatural is not eternal"
She saw Scott grin as Isaac looked pointedly away "Sorry" he muttered, but a cheeky smile spread across his face.
"How's Argent?" Scott asked
"I don't know yet" Melissa replied "I am just about to check on him. I wanted to come and see my son first"
Scott grinned at her "thanks mum" he retorted "but we're fine"
Melissa gave him a pointed look "you may be supernatural but that doesn't mean I don't have to check on you" she gestured to him with her hand "you got that?'
Scott's grin widened as did Isaac's "yeah, we got it" he replied
"Good" Melissa told him. She glanced at Noah, who was a bit further down the driveway "any sign" she asked, serious again.
"Not yet" Scott answered "but Koyla would never show up in the daylight. If he's going to attack it'll be at night"
"Do you think he will be back?' Melissa asked
Scott exchanged a glance with Isaac "Yes" he replied "Koyla will do everything he can to get to Argent again, he's bent on revenge"
Melissa's gaze hardened "then you make sure that doesn't happen" she ordered
"We will" Scott promised
Melissa nodded to them "stay safe" she went on as she turned around "Koyla is dangerous and I don't want any of you getting hurt"
She walked back into the house and made her way up to Argent's room. She stopped just outside the door and took a deep breath before she entered.
Allison was still there, sitting beside her father on the bed, she greeted Melissa as she entered "hey Melissa, feel better"
"Yeah I do thank you" she replied
She looked at Argent, he was looking a little better now, he'd managed to sit up, he watched her as she approached.
"How are you feeling?' She asked him, ignoring his gaze
"Still in a lot of pain" he answered, wincing "but I'm starting to feel stronger"
Melissa returned his gaze, surprised that he'd told her how he was feeling so easily, last time he'd hesitated "hmm" she mused. She shooed Allison off the bed and sat in her place "how is your fever?' She asked. She could feel his gaze on her again.
"We'll I don't feel like I'm on fire anymore" he replied with an amused edge to his voice
"That's good" she told him "it means your wounds are no longer infected"
She lifted one of the bandages on his stomach, one of the worst wounds that had been badly infected.
It looked much better than it had last night, the swelling had almost disappeared and the stitches were no longer red and inflamed "it's starting to look a lot better" she told him "there is still infection, but it's mostly gone. It will be fine as long as you don't go trying to tear out your drip again"
She heard Allison give a soft laugh at that and couldn't stop a smile from teasing across her own face.
She felt Chris still watching her, she met his gaze irritably "are you going to say something or are you just creepily watching me for no reason?"
He grinned at her in response "thank you" he replied
She looked at him is disbelief, last night he'd been stubborn and now he was suddenly being nice to her?
"You're welcome" she replied carefully, narrowing her eyes in slight suspicion
Allison was watching the exchange with an amused expression "I'd better get back to the others" she announced. She gave her father a pointed look "try not to annoy your nurse further while I'm gone" she teased him. She turned and walked out
Melissa stood up and went to check the drip, noticing that someone had changed it while she'd been asleep.
"That was Stiles" Chris told her, obviously guessing her thoughts "he came in just before dawn. He thought I was asleep" he paused "that kid has gotten a lot more confidence since he was possessed by the nogitsune" he pointed out.
"Maybe he's sick of his friends nearly dying" Melissa retorted. She glanced at Argent "he helped save your life too" she told him "he set up your drip. It seems he cares about you, despite the fact that you have never really been his favourite person"
Chris grinned "he thinks I'm slightly terrifying" he replied in amusement
"We'll to be fair you are" Melissa agreed, grinning back "stubborn too"
"Yeah I guess I am" Chris agreed
Melissa shot him a half unimpressed look "you guess?" She retorted, half amused "ah huh, and I guess that my son is a little bit supernatural" she went on sarcastically.
"How did you sleep?" She asked him
"On and off" he told her "better once the Morphine kicked in"
"How is the pain?" She went on; she sat down beside him again and felt his pulse
"Bad, but a bit better than last night" he replied "it doesn't hurt as much to move now"
His pulse was steady now, much better than it had been last night "well try not to move too much" she retorted in her nurse demeanour. She met his gaze again "and don't try to get up, or you'll ruin all of it"
His amusement faded "I want to help" he admitted "I can't just sit here while the others fight to keep me safe"
"You can if it means you won't tear your stitches" Melissa replied pointedly. She saw defiance start to return to his gaze and went on "you may be able to get up and have a wash in a few hours" she told him "but you need to rest for a little while longer. Are you hungry?"
"A little" he replied "but I'm feeling nauseous"
"That's the morphine still in your system" she replied "it will pass the more that you rest"
She grinned "Stiles actually made something for you" she went on "he's a surprisingly good cook"
She saw him raise his eyebrow "Stiles Cooked?" He asked
She couldn't hold back a short laugh "yeah, amazing right?"
She stood up "I know you don't like it, but try to sleep for a few more hours. If you've improved, you can get up and have a shower. But I will decide that" she met his gaze with defiance of her own.
She turned to leave but felt him grab her arm gently, she turned back to him "I'm sorry" he said, surprising her "for last night, you didn't deserve what how I treated you. You were only trying to help"
Melissa stared at him, why was he suddenly being so nice? "That's okay" she replied slowly "you were in a lot of pain and you must have been angry at what happened"
He let go of her arm "I'm still angry and in pain" he admitted "but I realised that being rude to you wasn't helping. You saved my life and I didn't fully appreciate it"
"Well you're welcome anyway" Melissa retorted "now shut up and get some more sleep" she teased gently.
She walked out the door before he could respond
She met Stiles walking down the stairs "Good morning" she greeted him "feel better after a sleep too?" She asked
"Yeah a lot better" he replied "I had a shower too. I don't think a shower has felt so good" he grinned
"Thank you for changing Argent's drip" Melissa went on as they got to the bottom of the stairs
Stiles shrugged "I figured I might as well help Argent considering I can't help Scott and the others against Koyla" he looked upset at that
Melissa stopped him with a gentle touch to his arm "maybe not" she soothed "but you can help them remember to look after themselves too. You may only be human but you keep the pack together, you keep them human"
Stiles gave her a surprised look "really?' He asked
"Yeah" Melissa replied "you may be an annoying pain in the arse most of the time, but you have always managed to keep the peace between Scott and his pack. Even with Derek who you have always hated"
Stiles rolled his eyes "Derek has always been a dick though" he retorted
Melissa laughed "true" she agreed "but you always saved his arse, even when he didn't want you to. You might not think that you can help. But you can, more than you know"
"Thanks" Stiles grinned "it makes me feel a little less useless"
"Is Argent ready to have anything to eat?" He asked
"Not yet" Melissa replied "the morphine has to wear off first. But he should be able to get up and eat in a couple of hours"
"Okay, well just let me know and I'll get it ready for him" Stiles promised. He made his way to the front doors "I'm going to see Scott"
He opened the door and disappeared outside.
Melissa followed him out, she needed to see Allison. It was bitterly cold outside and more snow covered the ground, it had obviously snowed overnight.
This time Allison was just outside the front door with Noah. Scott and Isaac weren't in the driveway.
"Your father is resting again" Melissa told her "In a few hours, if he has improved by then, he may be able to get up and have a shower. After that, depending on how he is we can set him up in the lounge-room. But it's all dependant on how he's doing"
Allison was beginning to look a little happier "that's good" she said "will he need help taking a shower?"
Melissa thought for a moment "knowing him, he wouldn't want help" she replied carefully "but we will need to stay close in case something happens. I'll stay upstairs outside his room"
"Do you need me?" Allison asked her
"No, you stay here and help Noah and the others" Melissa told her "I'm going to set up a bed for him on the good lounge" she went on "where are your spare sheets and blankets?"
"The cupboard at the top of the stairs" Allison replied "you can light the fireplace if you want as well" she shivered "I know I'm going to need it when I change shifts"
Melissa nodded "yeah, me too" she admitted "I'll do that" she turned and went back inside.
The cupboard upstairs had plenty of sheets and blankets, so she grabbed s set and turned to go back down to the lounge-room.
"Do you want any help" Morgran's voice made her jump, she spun around "jeeze, you scared the hell out of me" she accused the wolf "don't sneak up on me like that!"
Morgran rolled her eyes "I wasn't sneaking" she said, her whiskers twitched in amusement "you just weren't paying any attention"
"What are you doing up here?" Melissa asked
Morgran flicked her tail towards the direction of the bathroom "I had a bath" she announced, and for the first time Melissa noticed that she was wet.
Morgran's amusement faded a little "I realised that I still had Argent's blood staining my fur" she flinched.
A thought suddenly appeared to Melissa as she looked at Morgran's wet fur "wait, how did you have a bath if you don't have hands to wash yourself?"
Sundari suddenly appeared, walking past them "don't ask" she muttered with an edge of amusement in her voice
Morgran shrugged, grinning "Sundari helped me" she said simply
Melissa gave her a puzzled look and she rolled her eyes "Sundari can shift into a human remember" she explained. Morgran grinned "she helped bath me"
Understanding hit Melissa "ah right" she laughed. She looked at Morgran as she remembered the wolf's wounds "how are your wounds?' She asked. She put down the sheets and gestured for Morgran to sit down so that she could examine them.
They were still red and inflamed, but Stiles had done a good job stitching them up "I'll give you some anti-inflamitories" she told Morgran
Morgran winced "that means a needle right?' She asked
"Yes, but it will make you feel better" Melissa replied "I gather you don't like needles" she asked
"No not particularly" she responded.
She stood up again "how is Argent" she asked
"Better" Melissa told her "I've told him to get a few more hours rest. Then he can get up and have a shower if he's strong enough"
She bent down to pick up the sheets and blankets again "after that I'm going to set him up in the lounge-room and he can have Stiles' food"
"That's good" Morgran responded "I'm glad he's doing better. Will he need help walking down the stairs" she paused "I know he won't want it" she clarified "but will he need it"
Melissa couldn't help but smile at Morgran's subtle hint "most likely" she told Morgran "he may be able to get up, but not for long. Any major movement could tear his stitches"
"Well knowing him, he won't want to accept help" Morgran went on "but he's going to have to deal with it"
She trotted around Melissa on her way back down the stairs "let me know if you need help with him" she whispered as she passed
Melissa nodded, amused "yeah I will" she agreed. She had a feeling that Morgran wouldn't take Argent's crap as easily as she did "thank you"
She followed Morgran down and quickly set up the lounge as a bed for Argent.
When it was done she lit the fireplace, enjoying the growing warmth for a few moments. She wanted to pick up some Anti-inflammatories for Argent and Morgran as well as antibiotics. She'd have to make a trip to the hospital.
She'd told her colleagues that it was a family emergency, that Scott had been in an accident. So she should be able to easily obtain the drugs she needed without too many questions...she hoped. She forced herself to leave the warm fire and walked back outside into the freezing air.
"I need to pick up some supplies for Argent" she told Noah and Allison as she passed "I'll be back soon"
Before anyone could protest she got into the ambulance and left.