Chapter 5: You Don't Mess With The McCall's
The next morning, Mrs. McCall woke up a little earlier and made pancakes and a bowl of oatmeal for Isaac, knowing that he'd be hungry and he needed something wholesome to eat. She put everything on a tray, including some for Scott and went up to his room. But when she knocked on the door and opened it a crack, she stopped, feeling like she might intrude on something personal.
"Scott?" she called softly through the crack in the door. When there was no answer, she opened the door and her heartstrings pulled a little at what she saw. Scott was stretched out on his bed, turned towards Isaac who had his head buried against Scott's chest, arms entwined and obviously in a deep sleep. She smiled at her sons and went over to Scott's study table and placed the tray there. She tip-toed out of the room but before she closed the door, she heard Scott whisper softly, "M…um?"
She turned and looked at Scott who was squinting at her, head rising a little but she shushed him. "Go back to sleep, Scott," she whispered, "I'm going to work. There's breakfast there for you boys." She pointed at the study table then smiled at her son who nodded and went back to sleep, pressing himself more firmly against Isaac who automatically moved closer to him. Mrs. McCall closed the door and sighed, putting her forehead against the door for a moment.
Melissa McCall had been through a lot in her life. Scott's father walking out on them, raising Scott by herself while working and getting her nursing degree. It had been tough on the both of them, especially Scott while he was growing up, but she thought that she had brought him up right. He loved with a passion and she saw that for a fact. And she loved whatever he loved, so she would protect what he loved the way he protect her all these years.
She got ready for work but took a detour to Beacon Hills Police Station. When she got there, she asked to see the sheriff and was pleasantly surprised to find that he knew her. "Mrs. McCall right?" the sheriff said as she shook his hand. "Please, call me Melissa," she said with a smile and he nodded. "I'm Sheriff Stilinski," he said and offered her a seat in his office, "Could I get you anything, ma'am?" Mrs. McCall shook her head and he sat down behind his desk. "So what can I do for you?" he asked and she sighed at him. "Sheriff, do you know about Isaac Lahey?" she asked and she saw his smile falter for a moment before he looked down and twined his fingers together. "Everyone knows about Isaac, Melissa," he said, looking up at her at the same time. "Then could I ask you a favor?" she asked and he cocked an eyebrow in question.
"This got anything to do with your boy?" he asked and Mrs. McCall close her mouth that she was opening to say something. The sheriff smirked, "My son, Stiles, he's friends with Scott and he's known Isaac since childhood. He tried to help Isaac once, you know," he said and then swiveled his chair and got up. He made his way to a file cabinet, opened it and began searching for something. "He's a good kid, your son," he said and extracted a file from the cabinet as Mrs. McCall smiled to herself. "Yes he is," she said, pride filling her. The sheriff sat back down and put the file in front of him and looked at her, really looked at her. "Melissa, we're willing to protect Isaac and Scott, but you have to know that the risk of protecting that boy," he said and Mrs. McCall blinked at him.
"I never…" she began but he smiled and handed her the file. "I know that look," he said, "I had it once for Isaac too, but I wasn't able to do anything about it, that's why I worked so hard to become the sheriff, so that someone like you would come along and help him." Mrs. McCall grinned and shook her head. "It was all because of Scott," she said and the sheriff raised his eyebrows. "Well, thank Scott then," he said, "Stiles told me that they were close, but he didn't tell me how close. Isaac must trust Scott a lot to let him even come close to him." Mrs. McCall smiled wryly at the image of them together in bed and looked down at the file and her smiled slipped off her face. "Oh my god," she said and Sheriff Stilinski's face darkened.
"Mr. Lahey isn't someone you want to take lightly, Melissa," he said as Mrs. McCall looked at pictures of people battered and houses either burnt or smashed. "What… Is this?" she asked and looked up at the sheriff. "That is Lahey when he's angry," the sheriff said and looked at the upside-down pictures with a slight grimace, "No one has been able to arrest him properly because he always finds some way of weeding his way out from the law. And those people are victims of people that have tried to help Isaac over the years." Mrs. McCall looked away from the pictures, suddenly feeling sick. "I can't…" she said and looked at the sheriff, blinking away tears. "Sheriff Stilinski, Isaac Lahey needs help and Scott and I are going to provide that help. But I need your help to make sure that this his… father… doesn't get to him," she said.
The sheriff stood up and so did she. "Ma'am, you have the department's full cooperation," he said and shook her hand, but she was so grateful that she went around and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she said and let go of the sheriff who flushed slightly. "You're welcome, Mrs. McCall," he said suddenly formal and walked her to the front desk. He wrote down his personal number and handed it to her. "If you need anything," he said and she smiled and took it from him. "Thanks," she said and headed out of the police station. "Shut up," the sheriff said to his colleagues who were smirking at him.
When Mrs. McCall got into her car, she deflated, fear suddenly clutching at her. Those people that were in the file; their faces cut or bruised, their bodies cut and broken. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe evenly. If that man dared to touch Scott, he'd have Melissa McCall to deal with, and she wasn't someone you wanted to mess with when she was angry. She started her car and drove to the hospital where she worked.
Back at the McCall's residence, Isaac stirred a little which caused Scott to wake up. He looked at Isaac and smiled sleepily at him. "Mmmorning," he sighed and Isaac smiled and put an arm around Scott's back. "Morning," he said and closed his eyes in pain when he tried to move. Scott placed a hand on Isaac's hip, stilling him. "Don't," he said, "You're going to be sore for a while." Isaac grimaced and sighed after a moment. "I'm sorry, Scott," he said and looked up at Scott again, his eyes glistening with tears and Scott leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Don't apologize, Zac," he said and gently put a hand on Isaac's cheek, "You could never do anything to hurt me."
Isaac pushed his face into Scott's hand a little and Scott smiled; his heart swelling. "Hey you hungry?" he asked Isaac and Isaac stopped. He looked at Scott calculatingly and then he looked down. "I ate last night," he said, his voice suddenly monotonous. Scott's eyebrows knotted together and then he realized why. "Isaac," he said and slowly pushed Isaac's face up with his hand. Isaac looked up at him, eyes fearful and he said evenly, "Yes?" Scott leaned down and kissed Isaac on the lips, a chaste and warm kiss. "You don't ever have to work like that for your meals, you hear?" he said when he let go and looked Isaac in the eyes, "I'm going to take care of you, Isaac. I'm never going to stop."
Isaac just stared at him, thoughts of what his father had told him reeling through his mind. But then there was Scott pushing his fears aside. There was Scott reaching out and offering his hand to Isaac through all of the darkness that Isaac had lived through. Isaac leaned up and pressed his lips softly against Scott's. "I would like some breakfast," he said timidly when he pulled away and he swore he saw Scott light up like a Christmas tree. "Okay," he said and slowly got out of bed, careful not to jar it too much in case he caused Isaac pain.
He went over to the tray of food and brought it to the bed. Scott helped Isaac up into a semi-sitting position and when Isaac saw the plate that Scott put in front of him, pancakes and syrup and a whole bowl of oatmeal, he looked at Scott with his mouth slightly open. "I can't eat all of this," he said and Scott smirked at him. "Yes you can," he said and Isaac was completely surprised to find that what Scott said was through. He ploughed his way through the pancakes and practically drank the oatmeal down and once he was done, he sighed and leaned back against the pillows. "Woah," he said and Scott laughed. "Good huh?" he asked and Isaac nodded at him.
Scott smiled and set his own plate aside. "Okay, I'll go get these washed up then I'll get you washed up and me washed up and maybe we can watch a few movies?" he asked and Isaac blushed a little at him. Scott smirked and leaned in for a kiss. Isaac smiled and ducked his head shyly at him before he looked up slowly and they kissed. After a minute or two, Scott leaned up, breathing heavily. He pressed his forehead against Isaac and closed his eyes. "God, Isaac, you really need to know how you make me feel," he said and Isaac slowly put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "I think I do," he said and Scott pushed his head against Isaac's a little before he stood up, gathered the plates and left the room.
When he was alone, Isaac sighed and closed his eyes. He had forgotten what a bed felt like, what warmth and soft sheets felt like. But more importantly, he had forgotten what love felt like. All he had was the love in his memory of his mother, but now he had been shown a different kind of love from Scott and he would never let that go. It consumed him wholly and he loved the feeling.
"Having fun?" a voice came from beside him and Isaac froze. "No," he thought and opened his eyes. Because sitting by his beside was his father. "D-Dad…" he said Mr. Lahey smiled at him. "Gave me quite a scare there, boy," he said and he put a hand on Isaac's wrist… and squeezed. Isaac gasped and closed his eyes, the skin under the bandage on fire again. "You think you can hide here and everything will be fine?" he asked and the door opened, Scott coming in with two cups of what smelled like tea. "Isa-" he began with a smile but the cups fell and shattered when he saw Mr. Lahey in his room, holding Isaac who was in pain. "What the…" he began and in a flash, Mr. Lahey was out of the chair and coming straight for Scott.
Scott thanked his lucky stars that his mother's friend had taught him how to defend himself and when Mr. Lahey threw a punch, he parried it and aimed one for Mr. Lahey's gut. It connected and Mr. Lahey gave a satisfying grunt and he doubled over. Scott quickly ran to his room, grabbed his baseball bat that he kept handy for situations like this and held it up. "Get out of this house before I throw you out," he said to Mr. Lahey. Mr. Lahey stood up and growled at Scott before lunging at him again. This time, Scott made a stabbing gesture as Isaac shouted; "Scott!" and the bat buried itself in Mr. Lahey's face. He shouted and fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his nose.
Scott looked at Isaac and nodded to his hand phone next to the bed. "Isaac call the police and tell them that our house was broken in to," he said and Isaac looked at the phone and then back at Scott. "I-I don't know how to," he said, embarrassed by his words. Scott stopped and realization washed over him. "Okay," he said and went over to the phone. He dialed the number and gave it to Isaac. "Tell them," he said and went back to Mr. Lahey who lay moaning on the floor.
Ten minutes later, the police had arrived and Mr. Lahey was sitting in a police car, handcuffed and bleeding. Scott stood outside with Sheriff Stilinski and was talking to him when his mother's car swerved into view. She skidded to a halt and rushed out of the car to Scott. "Scott, oh my god," she said as she hugged him and Scott hugged her back. "I'm okay," he said and she let go of him. "Isaac?" she asked and he nodded to the door. She nodded and told Scott to go to Isaac. Scott nodded gratefully and shook the sheriff's hand. "Thank you," he said before he left and the sheriff nodded to him. "No, thank you," he said and Scott left, albeit a little confused as to why the sheriff was thanking him.
"Oh, god," Mrs. McCall said, putting a hand on her forehead and closing her eyes. "Don't worry, Melissa," Sheriff Stilinski said and put a hand on her shoulder, "Scott can obviously take care of himself and Isaac. It's apparent," he said and nodded towards the police car. Mrs. McCall looked at the care and she felt her worry being replaced by rage. "Is that him?" she said, her voice suddenly full of fire and poison and the sheriff, who was actually a little intimidated of her, nodded. Before he could protest, she was at the police car with the door open.
"You dare come into my house again and I'll break your neck myself, you hear?" she said to Mr. Lahey and he laughed at her. "Lady, you think you're gonna stop me?" he said sarcastically and Mrs. McCall slapped him on the face. "You touch my boys again and it'll be the last thing you do in your miserable life," she shouted and slammed the door shut on Mr. Lahey who had begun shouting curses at her.
"Well that felt good," she said as she walked back to the sheriff who was a little dumbstruck at her actions. "No one has ever stood up to him like that before," he said and Mrs. McCall laughed at that. "Really? Well I'm not no one," she said and he tipped his hat to her. "That you aren't, ma'am," he said and they smiled at each other.
"Alright, we'll set up surveillance around the house, day and night," he said and Mrs. McCall nodded gratefully. "Thank you," she said and he nodded. "Keep him safe," he told her and she nodded with a conviction. "I will," she said.
And that was the day Melissa McCall bought a handgun.