Stiles chases after Derek through the woods with Scott by his side. Derek had, in fact, picked up Isaac's scent. The bad news about that is that he smelled blood about three miles into the forest, not far from Isaac's house.

Where isn't there forest in Beacon Hills? Honestly, the town's like fifty percent forest.

Stiles slides to a stop behind where Derek is standing, managing to not collide with the older – younger? – man. Scott isn't as lucky and he smacks into Derek's shoulder. Derek doesn't even look back.

In front of them is a large river, one that Stiles had no idea ran through the forest.

"The scent stops here. Maybe the kid was smart enough to try and use the river to throw off his scent."

"But it's a Werewolf. An Alpha at that. Can't you still pick up his scent?"

"No, I can't. I'm not a bloodhound, Stiles." Derek snaps, his eyes glowing blue.

"No, you're supposed to be better than one." Stiles glares, a little miffed that he's the only one whose breathing is even a little bit out of sorts.

"You want to track this kid?"

"No. I can't track this kid. That's why I brought two Werewolves."

"Oh my god, guys stop fighting." Scott interrupts, sounding younger than he is.

Stiles rolls his eyes, but looks at Derek.

"So he crossed the river, right?"

"Yeah." Derek nods, obviously holding back a comment or two.

Stiles decides that if Derek's willing to try and not fight, he can do the same.

"So we just need to cross the river so you can pick up his scent again, right?"

"That could work." Derek sighs.

They find a shallower part of the river before crossing.

"Stiles, this river is freezing!" Scott complains, being the last to get through the thigh-high river.

"I'll make you something warm when we get home, I promise." Stiles rolls his eyes as Scott shakes his pant legs, trying to rid himself of at least some water.

At least he's not full-body shaking like a dog, so Stiles counts himself lucky.

Stiles cheats a little by using his Fay powers to push some of the water down, and he's semi-dry already when Scott notices that exact fact.

He's about to complain when Derek comes back to them, having gone to pick up the scent again.

"This way."

And they're off through the woods again. Just as Stiles is about to ask for them to take a break – he may run as a pastime, but this is ridiculous; they don't run this far in cross-country – Derek skids to a stop. Stiles manages to grab Scott before he collides into Derek again.

Derek inhales deeply and mutters, "I knew this was a bad idea."

"What's going on?"

"The Alpha's been here recently. Very Recently."

Stiles quickly reaches out with his light and casts it over their immediate vicinity. He doesn't feel an Alpha, but he does feel a human-esque person.

"This way!" Stiles quickly darts off towards where he knows that person is.

When he gets there, there is no person, only more trees.

"Stiles! Didn't you hear me?" Derek snaps, grabbing his shirt and spinning the Fay to look at him.

"Someone is here, but I don't think it's the Alpha." Stiles looks around some more.

"How do you know?"

"I can sense them. With my light."

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?!" Derek snaps.

"Because I get like half a mile radius at max and it takes serious effort for like three seconds," Stiles snaps.

"Can you do it again?" Scott asks, interrupting Derek's more-than-likely snarky response.

"I could, but…" Stiles trails off.

This was where he'd felt them. He was sure of it. He maneuvers around a few trees, looking for Isaac.

"I can smell him. Your friend or whatever. He's got to be close by."

"I know that," Stiles mutters, trying to figure out where he could be.

"Hate the rain on the parade, but maybe the Alpha killed him and buried him?" Scott suggests, looking incredibly reluctant to even offer the idea.

"No, I'd smell more blood," Derek comments.

Stiles throws his hands up in frustration before running them through his hair and looking at the sky.

"Oh," Stiles breathes out.

"What? Did you think of something?"

"Oh Isaac, you smart bastard." Stiles points up, towards the top of the nearest tree where Isaac is sitting on one of the branches, fast asleep.

"Why didn't the Alpha get him?" Scott asks.

"Not all wolves can climb trees. Well, wolves can't really climb trees so maybe the better example would be not all humans can climb trees, so maybe not all Werewolves can climb trees. Maybe it's like something you have to be accustomed to?" Stiles offers.

"I've seen wolves in trees." Scott counters.

Stiles waves Derek over to the trees' base.

"Wolves can't actually climb trees like humans can. They can jump from something high enough to a branch within their reach, but they can't actually climb trees." He looks at Derek, "You okay with me standing on your shoulders so I can reach the branch?" Stiles points at the lowest hanging branch.

"Not really, but sure." Derek kneels and Stiles stands on his shoulders.

Derek stands when Stiles gives him the go ahead. Even on his tip toes – on Derek's shoulders – Stiles' can't reach the lowest branch.

"I'm gonna jump, just a warning."

"Stiles, don't! That's a stu-"

Stiles jumps anyway. He manages to reach the branch and pull himself up. From here, he's actually got an easy path to get to Isaac.

"If you had to jump off of Derek's shoulders to get to the lowest branch, how'd Isaac get up there?" Scott asks from the ground where he's nervously watching Stiles climb the large – insanely large – tree.

"He's got a good point." Derek scowls, following Stiles from his position on the ground.

Stiles realizes Derek's following him in case he falls. Aw, how sweet.

"He must have found a lower hanging branch on another tree and crossed over. Derek?"

Derek is instantly tense. "What's wrong?"

Stiles smiles down at him, "Stop following me, you're making me nervous."

"You could fall, Stiles. I'm trying to make sure you don't break your neck," Derek gripes and doesn't stop following Stiles.

When Stiles reaches Isaac he's at least a hundred feet off the ground. If Derek's willing to catch him from this height, he's crazy. He gently grabs Isaac's arm while standing on the branch just beneath and to the side of the one Isaac is sitting on.

"Isaac," He whispers.

Isaac has a lot of blood on his sleeve, but no wound anywhere Stiles can see.

"Isaac," He calls a bit louder.

The teen jerks awake and flails, trying to get away from Stiles.

"Isaac! Isaac! Calm down! We're here to help you!"

"Get away!" Isaac calls, struggling.

It happens in slow motion to Stiles. Isaac pulls back, tipping Stiles forwards

"ISAAC! NO!" Stiles grabs a firm grip on Isaac's arm as the boy falls.

Stiles' gut smacks into the branch Isaac was sitting on, and Stiles quickly grabs the branch as he flips over it. And really, Stiles tried to hold on, but when three hundred pounds gains momentum, there's no way Stiles could stop it. Which means he and Isaac are falling down the tree from at least a hundred feet up and Stiles can just hear the reprimand he's going to get from his mother if he lives.

Sometime during their fall Stiles let go of Isaac, who happens to land on a branch near the bottom while Stiles just so happens to miss every fucking opportunity to break his fall.

He's expecting hard forest floor, maybe with a large tree root breaking his back, but instead he hits a not-as-hard person.

When Stiles finally catches his breath, he opens his eyes to see Derek, who is lying on the floor because he was an idiot and tried to catch Stiles.

"Shit, Derek, are you okay?" Stiles lifts himself off of Derek and quickly checks him over.

Nothing looks nastily broken, but there could be internal damage from Stiles – a hundred and forty pound Stiles – falling on top of Derek from one hundred feet up. Derek groans, eyes closed tight, but he's responding so Stiles knows he's not dead.

Behind him, he hears Scott call out to Isaac, trying to convince the curly haired boy to come out of the tree. Isaac, however, is adamant that he's staying up in the tree where nothing can get him.

"Derek?" Stiles asks again, trying to get an actual response from the Were.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Derek groans.

Stiles sighs with his whole body and smiles, relieved that Derek's alright.

"Anything broken?"

"I don't think so." Derek raises his hands and pats his chest a few times.

"I'm gonna go corral Isaac, alright?"

Derek nods, so Stiles gets up and makes his way over to where Scott's standing, but he keeps an ear open just in case.

"Isaac! It's Stiles! From school!"

Isaac looks around the forest, not really paying them much attention.

"You guys shouldn't be here!" Isaac calls down, righting himself on the branch so he's straddling it.

"We came here looking for you!" Scott tells him, looking worried.

"That was a bad idea!"

"I told you." Derek stands up and makes his way over to Stiles and Scott.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"No." Derek's voice is so dry the Mojave Desert would look refreshing in comparison.

"Isaac, we know about the thing that came after you!"

"No, you don't." Isaac shakes, looking petrified.

"We know what it is, and we can get you out of the forest. Safely."

Isaac laughs at him, "You think you can get me out of here safely?"

"If you're gonna be an ungrateful ass, we can leave you here for it to come back and get you."

Isaac hesitates, looking around.

"I'm not catching him if he falls." Derek scowls directly at Stiles.

"I'm sorry I fell on you, okay? It wasn't my fault."

"Yes it is, we could have done something not as deadly."

"Like what?" Stiles glares at Derek.

Derek opens his mouth to retort but quickly closes it again, having no response apparently.

Scott nudges Stiles' arm when Isaac starts climbing down the tree on his own. It's a slow process and Scott looks insanely worried when he makes the final jump from the lowest branch to the forest floor.

Isaac lands on his feet, looking shocked that he hasn't broken something.

Stiles walks over to Isaac, holding his hands up to the frightened teen.

"I'm gonna check you over, see if you're okay."

"He got me. He cut my arm open really bad, I swear."

"He?" Derek asks, looking concerned.

"He knocked on our door, didn't say anything, just attacked me. I turned and ran. I left through the back. I didn't even stop for-" Isaac tears up as Stiles rolls his sleeve up, revealing no wound.

"He got me, I swear!" Isaac is trying not to cry but he's breathing like he's on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Did he bite you?" Scott asks in a calming voice.

"No, but the dog he sent after me…this huge thing, it bit my leg." He gestures down to his shredded pant leg.

"They got me, I'm serious! I'm not lying!"

"We believe you, Isaac." Stiles grabs Isaac's hands.

"I'm not crazy, they got my dad!"

"We know, Isaac. He's dead, I'm sorry."

Isaac looks torn, like he shouldn't be happy that his abusive father is gone.

"Should we tell him?" Derek asks, quietly.

"You just told me that my father is dead! What else could you tell me?"

"The man who attacked you and the dog that attacked you are the same person. It was an Alpha Werewolf, and it bit you. That's why you don't have any wounds. You healed."

Isaac looks disbelieving, so Derek steps forward, "Scott and I are Werewolves, too. Do you want me to prove it?"

It takes Isaac a moment to nod, and when he does nod, he does so slowly.

Derek shifts, wearing his full on Beta face, glowing eyes, fangs and all. Isaac jumps, but other than that, he just stands there staring. Eventually, he turns to look at Scott, who does the same.

"Was I safer up in the tree?" He asks Stiles.

"No. Derek and Scott aren't going to hurt you. We're going to head back to my Jeep and we're going to call the cops who are looking for you, okay?"

Isaac nods.

"We're not telling them you're all – we're all – Werewolves, are we?"

"No, and we're not all Werewolves. I'm not." Stiles leads Isaac back the way they came with Derek in the lead with his normal face back.

"So…you're human and decided to get involved in this?"

"No, I'm Fay."

Isaac just looks at him blankly, "After I get some decent sleep, I'd like a full explanation, please."

"Not a problem." Stiles grins at the curly haired teen.