We Come from Different Places but Have the Same Name
Summary: Despite her son's best efforts, Melissa McCall knows about the supernatural. After all, she wasn't always a nurse. Maybe it's time to step out of retirement and show the puppies how a Pack really works.
\Line} Line {Line/
Chapter 2: Edelweiss and Tear-Stained Pages
Stiles Stilinski
\Line} Line {Line/
Somehow, in moving to Beacon Hills, Melissa acquired a second son.
Stiles Stilinski was a troublemaker with a capital T.
But he fit in so well with Scott that she didn't mind it.
Scott, who was so worried and nervous about going to a new school, was adopted by Stiles at first sight, helping him find a place to belong.
The two were as thick as thieves.
Melissa wasn't blind.
With a mother who teetered on the edge of insanity and a father who didn't know how to handle what was happening with his wife, Stiles was lonely.
He was just a kid, a very lonely kid who was struggling to find steady ground.
Melissa saw a lot of herself in the kid.
She remembered feeling unheard, knowing no one was listening. She remembered being jealous of her friends for their family, for how warm and loving their environment was when she was so used to being invisible at best and a punching bag at worst. She remembered a little girl hoping that someone, anyone at all, would reach out and see her.
Melissa saw that same need in Stiles, and she reached out to meet it.
She made sure he ate plenty, inviting him over for dinner until he was over at her house at least three nights a week. She picked him up from school when she picked up Scott and made the extra loop to Noah's to drop him off to school as well. She made sure Scott always had doubles of everything in his lunch so that he would have something to eat too, even the little notes wishing both of them a good day at school.
Stiles was such an incredibly sweet boy, and he was so smart.
Once he saw that he someone who would listen, who saw him, he rambled near constantly about anything and everything. Melissa had absolutely no problem picking up the slack, listening attentively and giving her own input.
That was a novel experience for him, but he loved it.
Stiles just fit into her little family, sliding smoothly into place with a click.
When his mother died, Melissa did what she'd always wanted someone to do for her. She was there, holding him tight and supporting him through his grief.
"A wise friend of mine once told me that the ones we love never truly leave us. She's in a better place now but she'll never truly leave you, Stiles," she promised, pulling him close as he began to shake against her. "And I'm always in your corner. You're one of mine now and we take care of each other. You're never alone."
"Promise?"
His whimper made her heart ache and she knew right then and there that this was a promise she would die trying to keep.
"I promise, kiddo."