Come What May

xxStilesxx

“Can I get anyone a drink before everything gets cluttered with dinner?” Alyssa asked as she came down the stairs.

“We can get our own drinks Mrs. Miner,” Lydia answered and Stiles’ eyes widened as he looked from Lydia to Alyssa to Scott.

“Please I insist. You’re guests here and this dinner is special for the five of you. For all of your help,” Alyssa said in response. It was silent for a moment before Danny spoke up.

“I’ll uh, have a water.”

“Okay, good, anyone else?”

“Do you have Coke?” Stiles asked.

“We do. Lydia, Allison? Anything for you two?”

“I’ll have a water too,” Lydia said and Stiles sighed in relief, covering it up quickly with a cough.

“I’m good,” Allison answered.

“So am I,” Scott said and Alyssa nodded.

“I’ll help you,” Jason said, practically jumping up from the couch and heading to the kitchen, followed by Alyssa. An uncomfortable silence filled the living room as Stiles and the others hoped that what was coming next was going to work and that Lydia had no clue. Lydia cleared her throat and Stiles almost jumped out of his chair.

“Dude, you alright?” Scott asked as Stiles composed himself and started bouncing his legs up and down.

“Yeah, fine,” Stiles answered, nodding his head and Lydia looked at him like he had five heads.

“Here we are,” Alyssa said, walking out into the living room and handing Stiles and Danny their glasses. Jason walked over to Lydia and handed her a glass of water that looked identical to Danny’s and Stiles hoped that they gave Danny the right one.

“Thank you,” Lydia said, taking the glass from Jason with a smile. Stiles pretended to be taking a sip of his Coke as he watched Lydia bring the glass up to her lips and swallow some of the hopefully spiked water. He took the smallest sip possible when she set the glass down before placing his on the coffee table. Everyone in the room was trying to see what was going to happen to Lydia while also trying to look like they were starting up conversation with the person next to them.

“Have there uh, been any developments?” Danny asked, his eyes sliding to Lydia as she took another sip of water.

“Nothing really. Derek called earlier and said they were going to narrow their search even more,” Alyssa said, her voice shaky.

“Lydia are you alright?” Scott asked suddenly and everyone turned to look at her. She was slouched in her chair and had her hands up to her temple.

“Yeah I just feel… dizzy,” she said and Alyssa stood.

“Maybe you need something to eat. Everything should be ready, we can move into the dining room,” she said, heading towards the kitchen, Danny and Allison going to help her.

“Stiles, would you mind?” Lydia asked, holding her hand out and Stiles repressed a scowl as he helped her out of the chair and into the dining room. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” he said before sitting across from her as the others joined them.

“Here Lydia,” Danny said, setting the bowl of mashed potatoes in front of her and handing her the spoon. She smiled up at him, a peaceful look on her face and Danny turned to Stiles raising his eyebrow. Lydia scooped potatoes onto her plate and laughed.

“Whoa,” she whispered, scooping another spoonful on and giggling at the sound it made.

“Uh Lydia, how do you feel?” Stiles asked and Lydia looked up at him wide eyed, a smile on her face before she changed, her muscles softening and a peaceful look overcame her.

“Stressed and unappreciated,” she said and Stiles noted a change in tone, almost robotic.

“Unappreciated by who?” he asked, standing from his chair to move closer to her, looking up at the others as they walked into the room, stopping when they saw what was happening.

“Gerard,” she said and instantly they heard a door open upstairs followed by footsteps as Derek made his way down.

xxDerekxx

“Thank God,” Derek said as he walked into the room turning Lydia’s chair so she was facing him.

“So how do we do this?” Allison asked, setting the bowl she had been carrying down.

“Just ask her questions. She’ll answer them truthfully. And the best part is that when she snaps out of it she won’t remember a damn thing,” Stiles said, a grin on his face as he crossed his arms and looked at Lydia.

“Lydia, why do you feel unappreciated by Gerard?” Derek asked, grabbing one of the empty chairs and sitting across from Lydia.

“I did so much for him,” she answered in her trance-like state.

“How so?”

“So much research. I knew where Hailey would be and when. I knew where her family would be and when. The same with you and all of her friends. I found out everything for him and he still pushes me around. We were supposed to be partners in this,” she said and Derek looked up at the others, a knowing look in his eyes.

“What is this anyway?”

“Revenge,” she said matter-of-factly. “For him because you couldn’t give him what he wanted the first time so he’s using the thing you love the most to try again. And for me because of what you did to Jackson.”

“Lydia, where is Hailey?” Derek asked, his heart racing. They were so close to finding her.

“1649 Easton Drive. In the basement. Gerard may or may not be there. There’s an alarm system.”

“What’s the code to the alarm?” Derek asked, his voice rushed.

“4253.”

“Hale,” Stiles whispered and Derek turned to him.

“What do you want?” he asked and Stiles shook his head.

“Nothing. The code, it spells Hale,” Stiles said and Derek turned back to Lydia, wanting to ask another question but itching to go to Hailey.

“Let’s go,” Derek said, rising from the chair and ushering Stiles and Scott out the door so Stiles could part the ash line.

“I’ll see if I can get anything else out of her,” Allison said and Derek nodded.

“Be careful,” Aaron said from the staircase and Derek looked up at him. Aaron looked scared, his fingers clutched the railing.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get her back,” Derek said and Aaron nodded. Jason walked past Derek and followed Scott down the front path. Derek rushed ahead and put his arm out stopping Jason.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jason asked, furrowing his brow at Derek.

“Stay here,” Derek said and Jason’s eyes widened.

“My daughter is literally ten minutes away and you want me to stay here?” he practically shouted but Derek didn’t flinch.

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so,” Jason said, starting to walk forward again but Derek grabbed the back of his jacket.

“You’re staying here. If we go there and Gerard is there do you really think you’ll be able to take him on with just your fists? I don’t know what happened to Gerard but whatever it is it turned him into something less than human. I’m not going to let you risk your life when Scott, Peter, Isaac, and I are more than enough to take him on.”

“What about Stiles then?” Jason asked gesturing to Stiles who stopped halfway through climbing into the Jeep when he heard his name.

“He’s staying too,” Derek said and Stiles shouted, jumping down and storming his way over.

“You’re joking right?”

“No,” Derek said and Stiles stood with his mouth open. “I’m going to call Peter and Isaac. The four of us are more than enough to handle this situation. You just stay here and be safe. We’ll bring her back. We have to bring her back.”

“I can’t believe this,” Stiles said and Jason nodded in agreement.

“Close the line behind me,” Derek said, heading toward the Camaro and pulling out his cell phone.

xxHaileyxx

Hailey didn’t bother looking up from the cot when she heard the basement door open again. It was just Gerard bringing her what he called dinner. He tossed the plastic bag across the room so it landed on the floor next to the cot.

“Enjoy,” he sneered and she listened as he climbed back up the stairs. But this time, instead of walking into the dining room and sliding a chair away from the table she heard him walk to the front of the house.

The front door opened and closed and she heard a car engine start. She sat up from the cot and reached for the flashlight. Every time Gerard left the house and she was alone she tried to do something to get out of there. Her fingers were raw from picking at the springs underneath the thin mattress, trying to unwind one enough to pick at the cuffs around her feet.

“Shit,” she whispered as she sliced along the length of her finger on the tip of one of the springs. Pulling her hand up she saw blood sliding down her palm towards her wrist. “Great.”

Hailey cradled her left hand to her chest as she attempted to rip fabric off of her shirt to tie around her finger. She pulled the bottom of her shirt up to her teeth and attempted to pull on the fabric but it wouldn’t budge. Her finger was throbbing and she let out a frustrated groan before finally deciding to just take her shirt off all together and wrap part of it around her finger. It was so unsanitary but there was nothing else for her to use.

Her head snapped up when she heard a car pulling up to the house. There’s no way Gerard could be back already and she pulled her knees to her chest attempting to cover herself the best she could. The last thing she wanted was for Gerard to see her in just her bra. She grabbed for the flashlight and shut it off, thrusting her into darkness again. Hurried footsteps sounded on the porch and her heart started to race.

“Derek?” she whispered when she heard a crash and the sound of breaking glass. She looked towards the ceiling when she heard some footsteps get farther away, then to the door when she heard it opening.

“Hailey!” Derek’s voice called and Hailey’s heart pounded in her chest.

“Oh my God,” she sobbed and Derek ran down the stairs towards her voice. It was too dark to see him but she stood from the cot and jumped into his arms and grabbed onto his jacket. She felt his arms slide around her back, his fingers slipping into her hair as he held her tightly.

“Where’s the light? I need to see if you’re okay,” he said, his voice muffled against her shoulder.

“Flashlight on the cot,” she said as he set her down, keeping one arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he reached towards the cot. He fumbled for a few seconds before switching it on and shining the light on her. She held her hand to her face at the brightness and he lowered it a bit so she could finally see his face.

“Hailey,” he said, a pained look on his face when he saw her standing half naked in front of him, the bloody shirt left forgotten on the floor. Her face was tear-stained, her hair slightly matted, her skin was dirty from being in the basement for the past few days. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice garbled from her crying. “Can you get these off?”

Derek looked down to where she was pointing and saw the cuffs for the first time. He growled slightly before extending his claws and bending down to pick at the locks. Hailey sighed in relief when she felt the freedom. She turned to the door when she heard more footsteps.

“Who’s that?”

“Scott, Peter, and Isaac,” he said as they started to go down the stairs.

“Um, Derek?” she said and he turned to her, she pointed at her chest and he quickly shrugged out of his jacket, placing it around her. She zipped it up just as Scott made it to the bottom of the stairs.

“Hailey!” he cried, running over and wrapping his arms tight around her shoulders.

“Hi!” she cried, more tears coming just when she thought she had stopped.

“Where’s Gerard?” Peter asked as Scott backed away and Isaac took his place.

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging against Isaac’s body. He stepped away and she looked at Peter. “He left like, five minutes before you guys got here. He’s normally here around this time. At least I think. I’ve been basing time by when he brings me food and I don’t even know if that’s at the same time every day.”

“Can we worry about him later please?” Derek asked. “We need to get Hailey home.”

“Come here,” Peter said, opening his arms and Hailey quickly stepped forward.

“You look exhausted,” she said, looking up at him before hugging him.

“He hasn’t slept since you were kidnapped,” Isaac said and Hailey looked up at him.

“Don’t look at me like I’m special,” Peter said, sneering at Isaac. “Hardly any of us have.”

“Can we talk about this in the car,” Derek said and Hailey noticed he was anxious.

“Let’s go,” she said, reaching for his hand. He led them all upstairs and outside to the car, opening the back door.

“Scott, you drive,” he said, tossing the keys to him and climbing in next to Hailey, followed by Isaac. He draped his arm across her shoulders and she leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. “So why are you bleeding?”

“I sliced my finger,” she said as he grabbed her hand, examining the injury.

“On what?” he asked, furrowing his brows and she watched as his veins turned black and her finger started to throb slightly less.

“Thanks. On one of the springs under the cot. I was trying to pry one apart to unwind and pick at the cuffs around my ankles.”

“Very smart,” he said and she smiled. “But dumb. I hope you don’t get an infection.”

“An infection is the last thing on my mind,” she said and he kissed the top of her head. “How did you find me?”

“Um… you’ll see when we get to the house,” he said.

“Shouldn’t we bring her to the hospital first?” Isaac asked and Hailey shook her head.

“My Mom has stuff at the house. I’ll be fine,” she said, anxious to see her family. Derek leaned closer to her, his face pressed against her hair. She felt his breath on her ear and she shivered.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered and once again she felt tears in her eyes. She turned to look at him and put her hand against his cheek, leaning up to kiss him.

“I knew you would find me,” she whispered against his lips before pulling away.

“You know that even though you’re whispering we’re all werewolves, right?” Peter asked from the front seat and Derek pushed against the back of the passenger seat with his foot. Peter chuckled and Derek rolled his eyes.

“Oh my God I missed this,” Hailey said with a sigh. “All of it. Hell you can even throw Peter against a wall later and threaten Stiles and all of it.”

“Speaking of,” Derek said, reaching for his cell phone.

“I wanna talk to him,” Hailey said as Derek called Stiles and held the phone up to his ear. He shook his head, a teasing smile on his face and she pouted.

“Yeah we found her,” he said and Hailey tried reaching for the phone but Derek grabbed her hand with his free one and laced his fingers with hers. “We’re three blocks away. Come outside, alone, and undo the line.”

Hailey huffed when Derek hung up and put the phone back in his pocket.

“Mean,” she grumbled and he rolled his eyes.

“You’re going to see him in five seconds,” he said as they pulled up to the house and she straightened up when she saw Stiles heading to the sidewalk. She tried to open the back door but it had the childproof locks on.

“Let me out!” she practically shouted to Scott who quickly hit the button, letting her free. Hailey jumped out of the car and ran towards Stiles who had stood back up just in time to catch her as she threw herself into his arms.

“Hails,” he sighed, wrapping his arms tight around her shoulders and she could feel tears on her neck coming from him. She squeezed tighter around his chest before pulling away. Hailey turned to Derek and he put his arm around her waist.

“They’re all inside,” he said and she reached up to kiss him real quick before running to the house and flinging the door open.

“Mom! Dad!” she called and she heard chairs scraping across the floor in the dining room and soon found herself flung backward a bit by the sudden impact of Aaron squeezing her tightly, his head pressed against her stomach.

“I mist rew,” he said, his voice muffled and she laughed through her crying.

She kissed the top of his head and looked up in time to see her parents before they both wrapped their arms tight around her. Alyssa pressed kiss after kiss against her temple and Jason smoothed his hand over her hair.

“Oh thank God you’re alright,” Alyssa whispered through her tears.

“Guys, I can’t breathe,” Hailey squeaked and her family soon released her a bit.

“Thank you,” Jason said, turning to Derek behind her. Instead of the handshake Hailey was expecting, her eyes widened as her father wrapped his arms around Derek. They got even wider when she saw Derek do it back.

“Hailey!” Allison exclaimed and Hailey turned to her, hugging her tightly.

“Hi Hailey,” Danny said, taking his turn to hug her.

“I can’t believe you’re all here,” she said, looking around the foyer at all of her friends and family.

“Of course we’re here,” Allison said.

“We’re your family,” Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders. Hailey smiled at him but quickly frowned when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror of the entryway.

“Oh my God I look like shit,” she whispered causing everyone to laugh. It quickly grew quiet when their attention was brought to a noise from the living room. “What was that?”

“Um,” Derek said and Hailey looked at him and then the others in turn as no one would answer her. She pushed past everyone and made her way into the living room, quickly stopping in her tracks when she saw Lydia on one of the couches.

“Lydia?” she gasped, looking towards her family, a confused expression on her face.

“I’ll explain later,” Derek said, walking over and leading her to the stairs. “Let your Mom take care of your finger, take a shower, and have something to eat. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

“What’s wrong with your finger?” Alyssa asked, stepping forward and Hailey held her bloodied hand up.

“I was trying to be MacGyver,” Hailey answered and Alyssa shook her head.

“I’ll get the first-aid kit. You go upstairs and wash your hands,” Alyssa said and Hailey nodded.

“What about Lydia?” she asked, turning to look behind her.

“We’ll take care of her,” Peter said and Hailey glared at him. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to kill her… unfortunately.”

“They’re not, I promise,” Derek said when she looked up at him. “Go upstairs. I’ll make you something to eat, whatever you want.”

“Mac ’n cheese!” she exclaimed and he laughed.

“I made a full on dinner and you want macaroni and cheese?” Alyssa asked, the first-aid kit tucked under her arm as she walked back into the foyer. Hailey shrugged with a smile and Alyssa shook her head with a laugh.

“Mac and cheese it is,” Derek said, kissing her before she and Alyssa walked upstairs.

Hailey walked into the bathroom and washed her hands, watching as the blood swirled down the drain. Her mother readied the kit on the edge of the tub and Hailey closed the lid of the toilet and sat on it. Alyssa kneeled in front of her with an alcohol swab in her hand.

“This is going to sting,” Alyssa said and Hailey nodded, wincing as the cool swab touched her finger. “God we missed you.”

“I missed you guys too,” Hailey said, smiling down at her mother as she got the suture kit ready. “What do you steal those from the hospital?”

“Sh,” Alyssa whispered with a wink. “I don’t have any numbing agent though.”

“Okay,” Hailey said through her teeth and Alyssa drove the needle into her skin. “Fuck!” she shouted, using her free hand to grab onto Derek’s jacket, her knuckles turning white. “Sorry Mom.”

“You swear all you want sweetheart,” she said, pinching Hailey’s skin together and threading the needle through again. It was silent for a minute as Alyssa concentrated before she looked up at Hailey.

“You have serious face,” Hailey said, using the term she had coined when she was a little and had gotten into trouble. Alyssa bit her lip and stilled her movement for a moment.

“Honey, did Gerard hurt you in any way?” Alyssa asked and Hailey quickly shook her head.

“No. I would have told you right away. I know he didn’t do anything when I was blacked out either, I would have noticed after,” she said and Alyssa let out a breath she had been holding and nodded.

“Thank goodness,” she said, returning to sewing up Hailey’s finger. Hailey cringed and gripped the jacket even tighter. “Almost done. Just a little more... there.”

“Holy shit that hurt,” Hailey said, looking down at her mother’s handiwork while Alyssa got some gauze and an Ace bandage to wrap around Hailey’s finger.

“Okay you’re all set. Just let me get some plastic wrap to go over that and then you can shower,” Alyssa said, standing up.

“Thanks Mom,” Hailey said, standing up and hugging her mother.

“Anything for you, honey,” Alyssa said, kissing her on the cheek before heading downstairs.

***

“Foooood,” Hailey groaned, walking through the living room into the kitchen, noting that Lydia wasn’t there anymore and pulling her freshly showered hair into a bun.

“Here,” Derek said, handing her a bowl full of macaroni and cheese.

“You’re an angel sent by God,” she said, taking the bowl and kissing his cheek.

“You’re delusional,” he said, though he couldn’t quite wipe the smile off his face.

“Okay,” Hailey said, placing the bowl on the counter and sliding onto one of the bar stools. “Spill.”

“We drugged Lydia,” Stiles said, shoving a forkful of the mashed potatoes from earlier in the night into his mouth. Hailey stopped mid-scoop and gaped at him.

“With a safe dosage given to us by Deaton,” Scott said, smacking the back of Stiles’ head.

“With what?” Hailey asked. “And why?”

“Scopolamine. It used to be used as a truth serum basically. But it was so powerful that it was dangerous so Deaton gave us a small enough dosage that would be safe to use on Lydia without killing her,” Derek explained. “Your parents slipped it into her drink and after ten or fifteen minutes she gave us answers to whatever we asked.”

“And the coolest part is that she won’t remember a thing about it,” Stiles said.

“What if Gerard finds out and kills her?” Hailey asked and Derek shrugged.

“Honestly I couldn’t care less,” he said and Hailey sighed, eating another spoonful.

“Whatever. I don’t care. I’m home. I’m with the people I love. And tonight I can actually sleep.”

“Oh crap, I have to call my Dad,” Stiles said, smacking his forehead. He grabbed his cellphone and went into the living room.

“What’s bothering you?” Derek asked, looking across the counter at Hailey. She bit her lip and played around with some macaroni at the bottom of her bowl.

“What about Gerard? What happens now?”

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Derek said softly and she nodded.

“I can deal with that. I think I’m gonna go to bed,” she said, standing up. Derek took her bowl and emptied it out before placing it in the dishwasher.

“We’ll come by after school tomorrow,” Allison said, walking over and giving Hailey a hug, followed by Scott and Danny.

“Yeah and bring you all the homework you missed,” Danny said and Hailey gritted her teeth.

“Yay. Homework. But seriously though it will be nice to do something normal.”

“Night Hailey,” Scott said as the three of them walked to the foyer.

“Dad said to tell you he’s glad you’re okay. He’s gonna stop by tomorrow. I told him in the afternoon since you’ll probably sleep in a bit,” Stiles said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. “It’s good to have you back Hails.”

“It’s good to be back,” she said, waving as he left with the others, closing the door behind them.

“Can I stay home from school tomorrow too?” Aaron asked, looking from Alyssa to Jason.

“I don’t think so,” Alyssa said and Aaron groaned.

“Dude, you live with me,” Hailey said with a laugh and Aaron pouted.

“Ugh, fine,” he said.

“Goodnight,” Hailey said, giving him a hug before he shuffled up the stairs.

“Goodnight you two,” Alyssa said, getting up to hug them both. She placed her hands on Derek’s chest and looked up at him. “I don’t know what we would have done without you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, smiling at her.

“Goodnight Daddy,” Hailey said, wrapping her arms around Jason.

“Goodnight baby girl,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

Hailey and Derek left the kitchen and headed upstairs into her room. Derek closed the door behind him and Hailey collapsed on top of the bed, relishing in the comfort. Derek kicked his shoes off and laid down next to her, turning his head to look at her.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi,” he whispered back. She turned onto her side, propping herself on her elbow and leaned down to kiss him, really kiss him. His hand slid up onto her hip, pulling her closer. She pulled away from the kiss and rested her forehead on his.

“I love you,” she murmured, resting her head on his chest, draping her arm across his stomach. He wrapped his arms around her and played with her hair.

“I love you, too,” he said, closing his eyes, listening to her heartbeat.

“I’m so tired,” she mumbled against his shirt.

“So go to sleep,” he said with a slight laugh.

“Mmmm, need to move up,” she groaned and Derek slowly sat them up, moving to the top of the bed. He lifted the comforter and draped it over her before walking back to the door. “Where are you going?”

“I figured you’d probably want the light off to sleep,” he said looking over at her and she nodded, a sleepy smile on her face.

“Yes, light bad. Need sleep,” she mumbled and he shut the light off before walking back over to the bed and climbing in next to her. She quickly rolled onto her side back into the position they were in before.

“Go to sleep. I’ll be right here,” he said as she snuggled against his chest. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you again.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know. But I can’t lose you like that again.”

“Good,” she said with a yawn. “You sleep too.”

“I will,” he said, pushing some hair behind her ear and kissing the top of her head. He listened to her breathing until it evened out and she had fallen into a deep sleep before he dared close his eyes. Soon he drifted off to sleep for the first time in he didn’t remember how long.