CHASING PHANTOMS // TEEN WOLF [bxb]

BROKEN IN BODY AND HEART

***

       They had decided that the McCall house was the best place to seek shelter because the Sheriff wouldn't be home for a while and neither would Melissa with the mess at the hospital. In the end, Derek showed up at the clinic with the twins in tow while Allison and Lydia went ahead to prep the house for their arrival since Allison knew where the spare key was.

        After Deaton declared her concussion-free, Ethan drove Kira home before her parents could grow suspicious. That left Derek to carry a still unconscious Stiles, Aiden to heavily assist Jake to the car, and Scott following somewhat unsteadily on his own.

       Allison opened the door as soon as the headlights shined through the window while Lydia stood in the middle of the living room to guide them to their carefully constructed set up.

       Lydia pushed Scott down into the big armchair to rest despite his protests, pointed at the couch for Derek to lay Stiles on, and finally directed Aiden to practically carry Jake to the second couch.

       The girls produced towels for all three of them to wrap around their still damp bodies, including Derek and Aiden who had been briefly caught in the rain.

       Allison took the liberty of draping the towel around Scott in order to check if his injuries had healed without looking him over in detail. "You should have left him at the hospital," she reprimanded unhappily since that was the only factor that had been in his control.

       She wasn't sure if she was more upset that Scott involved Jake because Kira insisted or because he should have known it would be dangerous even if the Nogitsune hadn't taken them by surprise. Allison had to accept that it was likely a mix of both.

        "I know," Scott replied defeatedly, his tone exhausted in more ways than one. He was lucky he could heal and lucky Kira wasn't hurt and even luckier that Deaton rescued them. Stiles might be himself for now but Scott put him in a position where he could torture the two people closest to him and worsen Jake's already fragile condition.

       He had suggested bringing him to the hospital on their way back to his house but Jake had refused despite being half-conscious, and truthfully Scott was too tired and strung out to force him. It would be hypocritical to penalize him for preferring to stay with Stiles when Scott intended to do the same.

       Allison had opened her mouth to complain about the link between self-righteousness and the supernatural but stopped at his sullen response. 

       He didn't defend his actions, nor excuse them, which was so typically Scott that it was frustrating. His sense of responsibility used to be one of the things she loved about him but it also drove her crazy. Instead, she nodded and refocused on the task at hand.

       Lydia raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her best friend when they swapped places and received an annoyed look in response. She dropped it with a smirk and sat on the coffee table in front of Scott to check him over properly.

       Allison knew her look conveyed the request to talk about it later, which she did not intend to do either. In the meantime, she grabbed Melissa's stocked spare medical bag off the kitchen counter and made her way to Jake.

       Derek stood protectively near the three injured parties while Aiden took place at the window to keep an eye outside just in case, the silence thick until it was broken.

       "Can someone clean the blood off his hands, please?" Jake requested in a small tone. 

       He had gotten the wet sweatshirt off by some grace of god and now held the towel around him as tightly as he could with his weak grip, his body visibly trembling from shock, pain, guilt, and grief. The last thing he wanted was for Stiles to wake up and see his blood on his hands.