Teen Wolf: Not Mine

CHAPTER 8: Memory

Later that day, Rose returned to the Sherriff's office after work, looking for answers.

"Hi, again. I'm back," Rose said to Parrish. Lydia passed her on the way out, barely taking notice of Rose.

"Hey. Rosaura right?" Parrish said from behind his desk.

"You can call me Rose. I didn't catch your name this morning."

"Deputy Parrish. What can I help you with?"

Rose smiled politely. She had to word this properly.

"Does this have anything to do with your case?" Parrish asked before Rose could say a word.

"What do you mean?"

"I read your file, Rose. Your case was dropped per your request and it's still unsolved. Did you want to reopen it?"

"No!" Rose said, taken aback by his assumption. "That's not it at all!"

"The statute of limitations hasn't expired yet. We can help you close this case. It seems like you had a really traumatic experience at a young age. It must've left a mark in your life. We can help you find closure," he said.

"Look, I'm a clinical pharmacist over at Beacon Hills Memorial and I'm doing some research on some fatalities over the years related to the same cause of death. I was hoping you could help me and give me the files for the deceased. I don't want to reopen my case."

"Then why did you look at your file?"

"It's related to my research. That's all I'm doing - research for my job."

Parrish looked her up and down, making Rose's palms sweat. She knew that police officers had a knack for reading people.

"Are you sure there's no other reason? I can only help you if you're honest with me."

Is this guy serious? I don't have time for this.

"What do you know about how people store memories?" Rose asked, hoping to distract him.

He considered the question for a moment before answering. "I have some work to finish up here, but I'll be getting out of here in about two hours. Do you want to meet then?"

"Sure. And you'll have the files, right?"

"With confirmation from the hospital."

Rose groaned inwardly. "I think we both know this is an under-the-table research. You understand, don't you?"

"How about this. We meet up later, you tell me exactly what you're up to, and I'll decide if I should give you those files. Sound like a deal?"

Rose slightly glared at Parrish.

"Where do you want to meet?"

Stiles needed answers. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed the number he surreptitiously got from Scott's address book while he showered in the locker room after practice.

"Hey Rose, it's Stiles," he said when she picked up. "Do you have a few minutes to meet up? I feel really bad for drugging you at the hospital. Can I buy you some dessert?"

They agreed to meet at The Beacon of Sweets. Stiles had fond memories at the bakery from his childhood. Rose would take him and Scott for cupcakes and cookies occasionally when she babysat them. It was her favorite dessert place and he figured he could get her talking on favorable ground.

"Hey Stiles," she greeted him as he took a seat across from her.

"How's it going? Again, sorry for our last meeting. It was something I had to do," he said sheepishly.

"Consider it forgotten. I'm guessing Scott had other plans?"

"Yeah, he went to work right after practice."

He ordered a red velvet cheesecake cupcake for Rose and a peanut butter cookie for himself. They talked about college and lacrosse.

"I was really surprised to hear that you moved back to Beacon Hills," Stiles said.

"And I was really surprised to see you with Chris Argent doing God knows what," Rose replied.

Stiles smiled. He knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"Oh you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that..."

"Stiles..." Rose said expectantly.

"Look, I know you know about you-know-what. Just trust me and know that there's nothing to be worried about. Argent's not a bad guy. His daughter, Allison - "

"I know all about Allison," Rose said. She took a bite out of her cupcake. "But you have to remember that I've seen a side of the Argents you know nothing about."

"I can say the same thing," Stiles said.

Rose laughed. She had to hand it to the kid - he certainly had spunk.

At the bar of a Mexican restaurant, Rose sat on a stool at the corner, pondering over her conversation with Stiles. He had always been a curious kid, asking her questions on the ways of the world whenever she saw him. He had grown so much. She might not have recognized him had it not been for social media. When Scott had told her about him becoming a nogitsune, she couldn't believe it. She could only pray that the evil spirit would not return to its host.

Stiles spared no details. He had asked her why she decided to move back and what she had been doing in Seattle since leaving. When she questioned the events at the hospital, he had deflected them to the best of his ability, assuring her it was nothing.

A few minutes later, Parrish walked in and took the seat next to her.

"You look a lot different in street clothes," Rose commented, noticing his jeans and v-neck shirt.

"Well I can't conduct under-the-table business in my uniform. It wouldn't feel right," he responded. "Two beers, David," he said to the muscular bartender with a tiger tattoo on his arm.

"Rough day?" she asked conversationally, taking the beer bottle from the bartender. It was probably for the best that he would be having some alcohol if she was going to convince him to help her without telling him anything.

"Lots of weird things are going on," Parrish said. "Disappearances and murders over the past few weeks. It's a strange town. But I'm sure you already know that since you live here."

"I actually just moved back from Seattle."

"Why did you decide to come back?"

"To be closer to my family," Rose said. She drank her beer slowly, appreciating the flavor. "My little cousin and aunt live here. I've been away for awhile and decided that it was time to come home. Be part of their lives again."

Yes, gain Parrish's trust was what Rose must do. She had to be relatable, likeable. She needed those files.

Parrish took a long swig from his bottle. "And your parents?"

"My mother lives in Spain with my stepfather and I never met my father."

"My mom died when I was 13," Parrish said nonchalantly.

"That must've been tough to deal with." They silently drank their beer.

"Are you really researching something?" Parrish asked.

"Yes, I'm trying to find more effective treatments for aconite poisoning. I've noticed that residents in Beacon Hills seem to have this problem more than other towns in the area."

"What kind of poisoning?"

"Poisoning from wolfsbane."

"Wolfsbane? And that has something to do with your case? You also asked about memories."

"Yeah, I feel like I have some gaps in my memory about that night," she explained.

Parrish rubbed his chin. "Do you by any chance believe in psychics?"

Over at Scott's house, Lydia and Stiles sat in his room discussing the identity of the Benefactor.

"I talked to Parrish and he's going to research other patients in Eichen House who have similar characteristics as Meredith. There might be another banshee we don't know about and they're helping the Benefactor."

"That's a start," Scott said.

"There's also another possibility," Stiles said darkly.

"My grandmother," Lydia said. "She was a banshee like me, I know it."

"But isn't your grandmother...gone?" Scott asked.

"That's what we thought, but at the boathouse, my mom and I found her urn and inside was mountain ash. What if she's still alive?"

"But why would she want to help someone who wants to kill you?" Scott asked confused.

"We don't know anything for sure, but we'll find out," Stiles assured. "I also talked to Rose."

Scott looked at him disapprovingly, knowing he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"She wanted to move back because she missed home and you and your mom. Not sure I believe her though," Stiles continued.

"Well we are the only family she has left. It's not like she can go to Spain whenever she wants."

"Spain?" Lydia asked.

"That's where my Aunt Gloriana lives. She married a Spanish guy four years ago," Scott explained.

"I researched her earlier today, too. About her attempted suicide and what she did in college," Stiles said. "The articles say she was molested and she escaped her attacker and tried to kill herself. She told the media she felt damaged and that's why she wanted to die."

"But she didn't want to die," Scott said. "Kate shot her and that was her cover up."

"It makes sense," Lydia agreed. "Anything else?"

"Apparently she's really gifted in archery," Stiles said. "She's won several national awards when she was at University of Washington. She told me she was in the archery club in college for fun. I asked her how she got into it and she said she got the idea from the Argents. She wanted to fight them with their own weapons."

"So are you satisfied now?" Scott asked him. "You still think she's the Benefactor?"

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe not, but I still get the feeling she's hiding something."

"I don't know, I guess psychics exist," Rose said. "Why do you ask?"

"There's a girl I know. She's a psychic, at least I think she's one. Maybe she can help you remember."

"How accurate are our memories? Even if years have passed, do our memories really reflect what actually happened?"

"It's interesting how our minds work."

He went on to tell her about flashbulb memories, about how human emotions can alter memories, how memories can be wrong.

"Now I mention my psychic friend because she has an incredible gift. She actually helped me with a murder case. I think you're suffering from PTSD and that's why it's hard for you to remember what happened. She can help."

"I guess things would make more sense once I knew the whole story," Rose said.

"Exactly," Parrish said. "And how does all this relate to your research?"

"I reviewed my medical records and it said my blood had wolfsbane in it, but they later recalled that finding, stating it was a human error. They couldn't find any wolfsbane later on and I should've died if there really was any. I want to know if I had come into any contact with wolfsbane that night that could explain it."

"So you think there was wolfsbane at one point?"

Rose imagined Kate shooting her with a bullet laced with the poison.

"It's just a hunch."

By the end of the night, Parrish agreed to let Rose look through the files she asked for, and she silently celebrated as she said good night.

"Thanks, I really really appreciate this," she said.

"Sure thing. You're okay to go home?"

"Yeah, I just had that one beer," she assured.

"Okay, well come by the station and I'll get you those files," Parrish said. "Maybe we can grab another beer again sometime."

"Yeah," Rose said. "That'd be nice. I'll see you later."

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I can update quicker next time. I have lots in store for Scott and friends. Rose and Stiles also have an interesting chemistry that I'll go into later on.

Happy Sunday!