Come What May

“So either she somehow found out what the plan was and took the notebook out and left it at home or something, replacing it with the decoy,” Stiles said to everyone as they gathered at Hailey’s on Sunday afternoon.

“Or maybe she writes in it with invisible ink,” Danny said and Hailey shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” she said, carefully watching Derek as he paced in front of the window in her bedroom, his brows pulled tight together in thought. “When she wrote in it at the coffee shop I could definitely see ink.”

“Was there anything else in the bag that might be a clue to something?” Isaac asked and Allison shook her head.

“I searched every corner of that damn bag,” she said. “Everything else in it was normal.”

“What do you think it means?” Hailey asked, her eyes fixed on Derek. Her question seemed general to everyone but she was really asking only him.

“We need a new plan,” Peter said from where he was leaning against Hailey’s doorframe. “Another one that is.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head as he went into a deep thought.

“I wish we could just… take it,” Stiles said, holding his hands out in front of him in mime of grabbing something.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wring Lydia’s neck?” Scott asked with a laugh.

“That too,” Stiles said, lowering his hands and shrugging. “But seriously, there could be anything in there. I mean, it’s no coincidence that two times Hailey saw her writing in it was after she talked to her.”

“I’d love to stay and theorize some more but I have to go to work. I’m closing tonight, yay,” Hailey said, rolling her eyes and grabbing her nametag from her desk. “You guys can stay here, my parents don’t care.”

“Bye Hails,” Stiles called as Hailey walked past Peter to the stairs, not surprised when Derek was suddenly behind her.

“You don’t have to come with me,” she said as he moved in front of her to open the door.

“Hailey,” he sighed.

“Derek I’m going to work at Beacon Coffee & Tea and in case you’ve never noticed, it’s a pretty popular place. If Lydia or anyone were going to attack me I don’t think they’d do it there,” she said as she stepped outside.

“Why can’t you ever just humor me?” he asked.

“Because it’s not who I am and you love me for it,” she said, lifting her shoulder and tilting her head, flashing a smile.

“Exactly. I love you and want to keep you safe but sometimes I feel like you won’t let me,” he said, leaning up against her car and Hailey sighed.

“I’m sorry that it feels that way,” she said softly. “I love knowing that if I’m in danger you’ll be there to protect me but sometimes you have to let me go. Especially when it’s when I’m just going to work or school.”

“It scares me,” he finally said after a few seconds of silence. He lifted his gaze from the ground to look at her and she put her hand on his cheek. “I can’t lose another person I love.”

“Derek,” she whispered, leaning up to kiss him, waiting until he placed his hands on her hips to pull her lips away. “You’ll always have me. Now will you promise me that you won’t follow me to work?”

“No,” he admitted truthfully. “But I’ll try to stay away, because you’re so stubborn.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking into his green eyes. She leaned up to kiss him again, this time a little longer. “I’ll be home by 10 at the latest, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded, stepping back onto her lawn as she closed the line before getting into her car.

****

“Do you need any help finishing up?” Jenna asked, taking her apron off and hanging it up in the back room as Hailey refilled the sugar dispensers on the tables.

“No I’ve got it. You were here before me, go home and get some sleep,” Hailey said with a smile, waiting until Jenna got in her car and drove away before setting the sugar down and locking the front door and turning the sign over to say closed.

She turned the radio on as she continued to fill the sugar dispensers. When she was done she re-filled the napkin dispensers, swept and mopped the floor, and re-stocked the clean dishes. Once she was satisfied that everything was done for the night she shut the front lights and the radio off and went into the back room. As she lifted her apron over her head the lights in the back room went out.

“Shit,” she muttered, grabbing her phone from her pocket and opening her flashlight app.

She hung her apron up and walked over to the fuse box to check the circuit breakers. All of them were switched the right way. As she closed the door to the box she swore she heard a noise behind her.

“Hello?” she asked, her voice breaking as she swept her phone across the messy stockpiles that hadn’t been unpacked yet, scanning the shelves.

Her heart started to pound in her chest when she noticed that the door connecting the back room to the counter was shut. She walked over to it and twisted the knob but it was locked. Whipping around she walked past the employee bathroom to the only other door leading outside and started to panic when she couldn’t open it. There was something blocking it on the outside. She heard another noise coming from behind her and again looked around, shining the light from her phone in every direction.

“Oh God,” she choked, dialing Derek to try and call him even though she barely had one bar of reception. Even as it rang the connection was choppy. She heard a click. The call was dropped. She tried 911, nothing.

Her eyes widened when she remembered the window in the employee bathroom was big enough for her to climb out of. She started walking over to the bathroom when all of a sudden a figure was in front of her and swung something, hitting her, hard, in the face knocking her out cold.

****

Derek’s POV

“Hailey?” Derek asked as he answered the phone. All he heard was a loud beeping meaning whoever had been there wasn’t anymore.

“What’s wrong?” Isaac asked when Derek stood up from the semi-burnt couch in the living room of the Hale house. The two of them, Peter, and Scott were trying to figure out what buildings they would check the next day for Gerard when Derek’s phone had started ringing.

“Something,” he said gravely, grabbing his car keys.

“Where are you going?” Scott asked, following him outside.

“The coffee shop,” Derek said, opening the door to the Camaro. Scott didn’t hesitate as he ran to the passenger side and climbed in beside him.

“Do you want me to drive?” Scott asked as Derek sharply turned onto the road and floored it.

“No,” Derek said, clenching his jaw as he sped toward the coffee shop. As he pulled into the lot he parked the car and climbed out, leaving the door open as he ran to the door and burst it open.

“Derek,” Scott called, running in behind him and seeing him wolfed out.

“Hailey!” Derek shouted even though he already knew. He didn’t hear her. As soon as he stepped out of the car he knew. She wasn’t there.

“Her car’s still here,” Scott said, pointing to the small blue car parked right in front of the window.

Derek ignored him as he walked over to the door to the break room, ramming his shoulder against it, bursting it open. He looked around and saw another door in the back leading outside. As he walked over to the door he stepped over a fire extinguisher just lying on the floor. He stopped and bent down to pick it up, turning it over in his hands and saw blood on it. He sniffed the canister and could smell her.

“There are two sets of tire tracks back here,” Scott said, walking in through the back door, his claws extended, eyes glowing.

“She’s bleeding,” Derek said, holding up the fire extinguisher as his breath came rapidly.

“I can’t smell her outside except for where the tracks end right here by the door,” he said, pointing at the ground. “They disappear at the road.”

Derek’s fingers tightened around the canister, his claws scratching at the metal surface. He released the canister before he caused any damage to the area and it dropped with a loud thud on the floor. Derek stayed in a crouched position on the floor, breathing deeply, a growl coming out with each breath. Scott stayed back, knowing it would be best to leave Derek be. Derek turned his head to the ceiling, inhaled deeply, and let out the loudest howl Scott had heard from him.

Ten minutes later Sheriff Stilinski, Carl the deputy, two other deputies, Stiles, Isaac, Peter, Danny, Allison, and Hailey’s parents and brother were gathered in the main area of the coffee shop, surrounding Derek and Scott. Derek sat on the floor against the counter, still wolfed out with his head in his hands. Jason had his arms wrapped tight around Alyssa’s shoulders as she cried into his chest. Aaron stood six feet away from Derek, his eyes wide as he just watched him. Stiles came up behind Aaron and put a hand on Aaron’s shoulder and Aaron looked up to see a tear trailing down Stiles’ cheek.

“Derek, the only way we can help is if you talk to me,” the Sheriff said, crouching down about two feet away from Derek.

Derek snarled and clenched his fists tighter to his head, his claws scratching at the surface of his scalp. Allison looked up when she heard Derek growl and slowly walked over. Scott reached out to stop her but she looked him in the eye and nodded her head. She got close to Derek and knelt on the floor next to him, reaching out a shaking hand before pulling it back.

“Derek,” she whispered and Derek’s arm slightly twitched. “Derek I know you’re scared and I know you’re angry. I am too. But since you have no way of tracking Hailey right now you need to tell the Sheriff everything you can. For Hailey. Think of Hailey, just… breathe.”

As Derek listened to Allison his heartbeat started to slow down and his breathing evened out. His claws retracted and he could already feel his scalp start to heal. He wiped the excess blood away that was running down the side of his head and turned to look at Allison, his eyes misty.

“Thank you,” he said softly and she nodded and Derek turned to the Sheriff. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright. Are you ready to talk?” Sheriff Stilinski asked as he and Derek stood. Derek nodded and walked over to one of the tables, taking the chairs off and setting them on the floor. “Now, how did you know something was wrong?”

“I was home and got a phone call from Hailey. When I answered all I heard was a dial tone,” Derek said as the Sheriff was writing things down in a notebook.

“Things like that are very common.”

“You of all people should know that someone like me wouldn’t take something like that lightly with my background,” Derek said and the Sheriff nodded in understanding.

“Of course. Then what?”

“I got into my car, Scott climbed in the passenger seat, and I drove here. All of the lights were off, Hailey’s car was parked there,” Derek said, motioning towards the window where the car still sat outside. “I knew from the moment I stepped out of the car that she wasn’t here.”

“How?”

“I couldn’t smell her. I broke the front doors down and came in. Then I slammed against that door behind the counter and went into the back room. The door leading out back was open and when I was walking over I saw a fire extinguisher on the floor. With Hailey’s blood on it,” Derek said, grinding his teeth.

“Was there any blood on the floor?” the Sheriff asked solemnly.

“Just a few drops. I don’t think I ruined them.”

“What about the person, or people, who attacked Hailey? Did you catch another scent?” he asked and Derek’s eyebrows pulled together.

“I… no,” he said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Hailey’s scent stopped just outside the door where the tire tracks start. Either they have something in their car to throw the scent or…”

“Or what?” the Sheriff asked, his eyes on the notebook as he wrote furiously. When Derek didn’t answer he looked up to see Derek’s eyes glowing red. “Derek?”

“Gerard,” Derek growled.

“Who’s Gerard?”

“My Grandfather,” Allison said, stepping forward as the Sheriff looked up at her.

“Is he a werewolf?”

“We don’t know what he is,” Stiles said, his voice breaking. “Derek was forced into biting him last year by Scott, hoping it would kill him because Scott switched his medications with capsules filled with mountain ash. He spewed this disgusting black goo and then disappeared. It was the same night Jackson turned from Kanima to werewolf.”

“When we were visiting Alyssa’s parents in New York we met Gerard, he was one of my father-in-laws friends,” Jason picked up. “Derek flew out once Hailey told him and he explained Gerard’s past. Derek wasn’t able to catch a scent off of him or a heartbeat. And Gerard up and left the retirement home and now we have reason to believe he may be here. For revenge.”

“But you don’t know for sure?” the Sheriff asked and everyone shook their heads.

“He’s impossible to track,” Scott said.

“Are there any other leads we should check on?”

“Lydia,” Allison said and the Sheriff wrote it down. “It could also be for revenge because of what happened with Jackson.”

“We’ll definitely bring her in for questioning,” he said and Stiles’ head shot up and he stepped forward.

“Dad, that’s perfect,” Stiles exclaimed and Derek looked at Stiles.

“What for?” Derek asked.

“If he comes into school and pulls Lydia out to bring her to the station she’ll bring all of her things with her. Including the notebook, well, assuming the notebook. And when she’s in questioning her things will just be there at the station for a free for all for us!”

“What if she’s not carrying it with her?” Scott asked.

“Then someone will just have to check her locker. And someone can go to her house and search her room since obviously she won’t be there to catch them. Guys, it’s perfect,” he said, running a hand through his hair and smiling for the first time in an hour.

“What’s in this notebook that’s so important?” the Sheriff asked his son.

“We don’t know,” Allison said, shrugging her shoulders. “Hailey noticed that Lydia would write in it constantly. A majority of the time it was whenever the two of them had just talked. She and I had a sleepover last night so Hailey and I could get the notebook to see what she was writing but she must have known because the one we found was blank.”

“Whatever’s in that could possibly lead us to Hailey, Dad,” Stiles croaked and the Sheriff nodded.

“Okay, who will be going where when we bring her in?” he asked.

“I’ll go to her house,” Isaac volunteered.

“So will I,” Peter said, raising a finger.

“We’ll obviously be at the school,” Scott said pointing at himself, Danny, Allison, and Stiles.

“And I’ll be at the station,” Derek said stiffly.

“Do you think it’s possible she’ll have mountain ash around her house?” Jason asked and some of them groaned.

“I could always go with Isaac and Peter,” Stiles said and his father shook his head.

“You need to be at school so everything aside from Hailey being missing is as normal as possible to Lydia. And you can’t just up and leave the school and no, I will not write a note letting you out,” the Sheriff said and Stiles groaned.

“I can go,” Aaron said, speaking for the first time since they all arrived at the coffee shop and every head turned to him.

“Sweetie,” Alyssa said, letting go of her husband and putting her hands on Aaron’s shoulders.

“Mom I don’t want to go to school tomorrow and I think they’ll be okay with that since my sister is missing. I know I’m only nine but I want to help find her and this is the only way I know how. Besides I’ll be with two werewolves who will keep me safe,” he said, looking over at Isaac and Peter. Peter nodded at him and Aaron turned back to his mother.

“What if there isn’t any mountain ash?” she asked, barely above a whisper.

“I can still help,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m a lot smaller than them and can look in spots they probably wouldn’t even think of looking.”

“It really would help,” Peter said gently and Alyssa looked at him. “We’ll take good care of him.”

“Absolutely,” Isaac said and Alyssa nodded, turning back to Aaron and kissing his forehead.

“You’re growing up much faster than you should,” she whispered before standing up straight again.

“Now that we have all that we can get, it’s time for everyone to go home,” the Sheriff said, signaling to one of the deputies who pulled out a roll of caution tape and went outside, setting up a perimeter around the building. Everyone slowly filed out and got in their cars to head home. Stiles stopped outside the door to hug Alyssa.

“She’s going to be okay,” he said to her as he pulled away, shaking Jason’s hand.

“I don’t know what we’d do without you, Stiles,” he said and Stiles smirked.

“I’ll make sure you know everything as soon as I find out,” he said, heading over to his Jeep and mussing up Aaron’s hair before climbing in.

Derek walked outside and stood beside Hailey’s parents. Alyssa turned her head to look at him and cautiously reached her hand out. He looked down but didn’t move away and she slowly grasped onto his hand and squeezed it.

“I’m not going to stop until I find her,” he said turning to look at both of them. “I promise.”

“At least come to the house tonight and get some rest,” Alyssa said and he gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting go and shaking his head.

“I can’t,” he said and Jason put a hand on his shoulder.

“Derek, you have no way of tracking her right now. You only have one lead whose whereabouts you know of but let the Sheriff take care of that tomorrow. Just wait and see if they get that notebook tomorrow before you do something stupid,” Jason said and Derek’s jaw clenched tight. “It’s what Hailey would want.”

“I need to be by myself for a little bit. Half an hour. And then I’ll come over,” he said finally and Jason nodded.

“I’ll keep Aaron entertained.”

“I’m wide awake Dad,” Aaron said walking over. “Don’t worry.”

“Alright then, let’s go home,” Jason said, leading Alyssa to the car.

“You promise you’re not going to hurt anyone tonight, right?” Aaron asked, looking up at Derek. Derek’s face grew soft and he bent down closer to Aaron’s level.

“I promise,” he said nodding. “I’m going to find her Aaron.”

“I know you are,” Aaron said, nodding. “You saved my life twice. You’re like a superhero.”

“Even superhero’s have their weaknesses,” Derek said and Aaron nodded in agreement.

“But they always overcome them in the end and win,” Aaron said before walking over to the car.

Derek stood and waited until the Miner’s drove away to wolf out. He took off, running until he reached the woods and then he just ran. Faster and faster, he ran before coming to a cliff and skidding to a stop. He looked to the sky and once again, let out a blood-curdling howl.