Wisdom's Daughter

36

Tessa watched her friends while sitting on the counter. She'd been counting track of the hours. They should've been up and out of the water.

As soon as Scott, Stiles and Allison emerged from the water, she hopped down from the counter.

"I saw it," Allison said. "I know where it is."

Stiles climbed out of the tub and nodded. "We passed it. There's -- there's a stump, this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore. It was cut down. But it's still big though; very big."

Tessa glanced at Stiles as Scott said, "It was the night we were looking for the body."

Stiles turned to his friend. "Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter and the night Tessa returned to Beacon Hills."

"I was there too, in the car with my mother," Allison said. "We almost hit someone."

Scott's eyes widened. "It was me. You almost hit me."

He let out a gasp. "We can find it."

Tessa glanced at her phone and frowned, causing Allison to turn and ask, "What?"

Isaac looked at her phone. "You guys were out a long time."

"How long is a long time?" Stiles wondered.

"16 hours," Deaton and Tessa answered.

Scott turned to his boss. "We've been in the water for 16 hours?"

"And the full moon rises in less than four," Deaton informed.

Stiles noticed Scott's expression and narrowed his eyes. "No, dude, you are not going back with them."

Scott let out a sigh. "I made a deal with Deucalion."

Tessa crossed her arms and glared at him. "You're a dumbass."

"Less dumb. Less ass. I'm doing what I have to do."

"Don't quote my show to me. People have backed the wrong side and have died for it. So, excuse me if I'm not siding with you here."

Isaac frowned. "Why does it matter anyway?"

Scott sighed. "Because I still don't think that we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison looked to Deaton. "He trusts you more than anyone. Tell him he's wrong."

Deaton was silent for a moment. "I'm not so sure he is. Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies. Tessa, he's only doing what he thinks is right. Think of him as a spy."

Tessa pursed her lips. "I still don't like it."

Isaac scoffed. "So, we're gonna trust him, the guy that calls himself death, destroyer of worlds? We're gonna trust that guy?"

Deaton glanced to Isaac. "I wouldn't trust him, no. But you could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait."

A creak from the front door caught their attention and the bell rang. Deaton and Scott walked over and the rest of them soon followed.

Lydia frowned, seeing Ethan. "What do you want?"

"I need your help," he answered.

Stiles stood behind Tessa as he asked, "With what?"

"Stopping my brother and Kali... from killing Derek."

They left the clinic and Stiles drove himself and Tessa to his house while everyone else headed to Allison's apartment.

Stiles grabbed a pair of his dad's boxers. "How's this?"

Tessa grimaced. "Boxers? No one wants to smell those."

He ignored her and called his friend. "Scott, what do I grab? How about my dad's boxers?"

After a moment, Stiles suggested socks, and picked up a pair. "Come on."

The two of them hopped into his Jeep and the storm worsened around them. "Gods. Seriously; who pissed off my grandfather?"

Stiles glanced to Tessa. "Don't know. But we can't let this storm stop us."

"No, we can't. We have family to save."

"Come on." Something hit the Jeep from behind. "Whoa, sh -- Oh." A tree branch was in front of the Jeep and he hit it. "Whoa!"

Stiles tried protecting Tessa, but he hit his head on the dash and hers hit the passenger window. She saw black spots before her eyes closed.

When she woke up, she saw Melissa, and threw her arms around her.

The ceiling began caving in and stopped abruptly, and Tessa looked to see what happened. She saw that Stiles had placed a bat to stop the concrete.

Sheriff Stilinski smiled at his son. "I always said aluminum was better." He embraced his son.

Tessa heard crashing above them and Melissa made her way over to Tessa. "You're bleeding. Are you okay? Stiles; are you?"

Tessa smiled. "I'm okay, Aunt Melissa."

Stiles nodded and studied Tessa's head. "Do you need ambrosia or nectar?"

"How bad is it?"

"It looks like a pretty minor cut."

"Eh, I'll be fine."

Once everything quieted down, Allison asked, "Is it over?"

Stiles' phone began reading and he answered it. "Scott?"

Tessa hear Scott say from the other line, "Hey, are you okay? Where's Tessa? Is she there?"

Stiles nodded. "I'm okay. Tessa's here too. We're all okay. How about you; you okay?"

"Sort of," Scott said.

Tessa bit her lip. "Hey, uh, Scott? Mind doing us a favor?"

"Name it."

"Can you come get us?"

"'Course."

"Great, okay," Stiles answered. "Um, uh, bring a ladder." His comment caused a laugh from everyone.

As soon as they managed to get out of the Nemeton, Sheriff Stilinski walked over to Tessa. "Stiles told me what happened to your dad. If you ever need a place to get away, my door is open."

Tessa smiled. "Thanks, Sheriff. Will it get better?"

"In time, yes. There's always gonna be a hole in your heart, but it will get better."