Chapter 5

Never Goodbye

Stiles went about his day waving to Scott when he saw him on campus. He had three lectures that day and then a shift at the station after. He had texted Malia after his psychology class but had yet to get a response. He'd waited until he was grabbing lunch after his second class before he tried to call her. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

At first he was angry, she knew better than to ignore him. But then the dread started setting in. He'd missed most of what the professor said in his Chemistry course as he kept checking his phone and eyeballing the time that seemed to slow down each time he looked. He shot Scott a text ten minutes before his class let out letting him know that he couldn't reach her. He also sent out a text to Kira and one to Lydia asking if either of the girls had heard from her. Who knows she might be on another "mad at Stiles" kicks and ignoring him.

When both girls had reported that the last they had heard from her had been the day before Stiles swore under his breath. Scott sent him a text that said he was stopping by the loft to see if she was there. Stiles prayed that she had just lost her phone or let it go dead but a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that something was amiss.

His phone chimed with another text from Lydia just as his class was dismissed. "Any word?"

He sighed and hit the picture of Lydia's smiling face and dialed her. He knew she was out of class and on her break. Knowing her she was on her way to the library or back in her dorm to study before her evening class. She picked up on the first ring. "Stiles, you okay?"

"I'm worried Lydia. She hasn't answered me all day. She doesn't ignore my calls. I think something happened." He answered as he jogged to the parking lot to his Jeep.

"Do you think it has anything to do with the ritual site at the nemeton?" She asked him slightly breathless.

"Well you know its Beacon Hills so I doubt it's a coincidence. You really think it's a ritual site then?" He asked her as he fumbled with the Jeep door and climbed inside.

"From what I've been reading faeries are very ritual based, the fact that it was done near the nemeton is what worries me. It would intensify whatever power they were trying to unleash or harness."

Stiles leaned his forehead on the Jeep and let out a shaky sigh. "I wish you were here Lyds." Tears sprung to his eyes as he realized how much he missed his Banshee.

"I wish I was too. If I have to Stiles I'll drive back. It's only a couple of hours." She said quietly.

"Lyds I couldn't ask you to do that. School is important." He admonished as he put the keys in the ignition but making no move to start it.

"Not as important as you and the baby." She whispered and he could hear the tears in her voice.

"I'll call you as soon as I find out anything okay?" He answered around the lump in his throat. He was overcome with emotion at her words.

"You better… and call if you just need someone to talk to. I'm here, no matter what Stiles." She said before they said their 'see you later'. They never said goodbye. It was never goodbye.

Stiles pulled into the Sheriff's station and was surprised to find Scott's bike sitting in the parking lot and the young alpha perched aside it waiting for him. Stiles jogged over to the bike with his heart in his throat.

Scott could sense the rising anxiety Stiles was emitting and put his hands up in an attempt to calm him down. "I didn't find her at the loft but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I tracked her scent into the preserve but I lost the trail. Mr. Tate hasn't seen or heard from her either." Scott said as the two made their way through the front doors to see the Sheriff.

"Lydia thinks the site we found was a faery ritual site Scott. I'm not sure what that means or what that has to do with Malia but I have a hunch that it's not a coincidence." Stiles said as he nodded at the officer on duty and made his way down the hall to tell his dad the news. He wasn't looking forward to it by any means.

His dad looked up as they approached the open door and one look at their faces told him that something was up. "What now boys?" He asked as he leaned back heavily in his chair.

"Malia's missing." Scott answered when Stiles couldn't seem to find his voice. "She isn't at the loft, Mr. Tate hasn't seen her, she isn't answering her phone and I lost her scent in the preserve somewhere."

The Sheriff sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Should we put out an official APB or is this something else?" The Sheriff asked as he leaned forward on to his desk.

"We think it might have something to do with the ritual site we found last night." Stiles finally spoke as he collapsed in the chair opposite his father.

"Ritual site?" His father questioned.

"Well we think it's a ritual site. Lydia and Stiles think they might be some sort of faeries though we can't be positive nor do we know if they are involved in Malia's disappearance." Scott said as he sat down next to Stiles.

"Faeries?" The Sheriff asked as his eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Like the tooth fairy?" He leaned back in his chair again with a look that was akin to amusement.

"Have you ever heard the original origin of the tooth fairy dad? If not you should Google it. Faeries weren't always wings and pixie dust; they have a long history as being harbingers of the dark, magical entities that were more demonic than heavenly. Catch my drift?" Stiles asked, defeat lacing his voice.

Scott and the Sheriff continued speaking while Stiles just stared into space. Malia was missing. His child was missing. And he was completely helpless to stop it.

His phone vibrated and he saw Lydia's face on the screen. He shakily accepted the call and placed it on his ear.

"Stiles? Stiles you there?" Lydia asked, she sounded breathless.

"Lydia are you okay?" Stiles asked and immediately the conversation between Scott and the Sheriff ceased.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm on the interstate. Stiles listen to me I think I found something. I was in the library reading up on faeries when I talked to you and I kept coming across something in the different mythology books. Changelings. Stiles I think they might want your baby. It's just a hunch but… I checked out a bunch of books. I should be there in a little more than hour."

Stiles was speechless for a moment. "Lydia you don't need to drive back here. You have class tomorrow."

"Stiles I don't have class until 10 its fine, besides how many times do I have to tell you that you are more important."

He shook his head in exasperation as he listened to her. When Lydia made up her mind about something there was no changing it. She was so infuriatingly stubborn. "Drive safe okay. I'll see you soon… and thanks Lydia." He answered his voice deep and gruff.

"I'll see you soon Stilinski." She ended the call with the beep but Stiles clung to his phone for a moment savoring the little bubble of calm he had from talking to her.

Eventually he put it down and faced the Sheriff. Scott had no doubt overheard Lydia's guess as to what was going on but his father hadn't.

"Changelings. Lydia thinks the faeries are after my son. Oh God…" He sank his head between his knees as the thought settled in. Faeries had taken Malia and they wanted to steal his son. He thought he might vomit. He felt rather than heard his father kneel beside him.

He vaguely heard him speaking, everything was muffled like someone had stuffed cotton in his ears. Eventually something clicked and he heard his father's voice clear again. "Stiles, son, can you hear me? You need to breathe." Stiles could hear the rapid and shallow breaths he'd been taking. Thoughts of a certain redhead floated in his mind and he drew in his breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out again effectively deescalating his panic.

"You okay?" Scott asked with his puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, lost myself there for a minute." Stiles said.

The Sheriff looked him over but seemed unwilling to distance himself from him just yet. Stiles felt his body slowly return to normal, thankfully he'd been able to pull himself from the panic attack. He couldn't afford to end up passed out in bed for the afternoon. He needed to find them.

"What do we do now?" Stiles asked as he shakily moved to his feet, his father kept his hand on his arm ready to brace him should he falter.

"Well, Lydia's on her way back. Let's head over to your house and see if we can find anything useful on Faeries and changelings. I'll call Liam and Kira. Might not hurt to stop by and make sure Peter is still locked up in Eichen too."

"I'll take care of that. You boys start working on the research. Keep in touch." The Sheriff said as he watched the two boys walk out the door into the evening air. "Please be safe." He'd whispered more to himself than anyone but Stiles paused and gave him a knowing look with a nod as he left.