Chapter Text
Stiles likes the forest. It’s dark, but he has a flashlight that his dad gave him in case he ever had to hide somewhere dark or if the power went out or if something else happened and he needed it, and he has his Spiderman comic, and he doesn’t want to be in his house because his mom can’t remember him and it makes her sad and scared and he doesn’t want to do that so he’s in the forest because then she won’t have to see him and not know.
And it’s not like he hasn’t spent lots of time in the forest, because he likes dirt and trees and worms and there are werewolves there but he’s never seen a werewolf because nobody’s allowed there during the full moon and he would sneak out with Scott but Scott has asthma and that would be bad because Scott can’t run away not that you’re supposed to run away from werewolves when they’re being werewolfy because then they might chase and bite and if they bite unless they’re Mrs. Hale then you’ll just bleed and die and it’ll be bad.
His dad told him that. His mom told him that too, but that was a long time ago. She also told him not to be scared of the werewolves because they’re nice people when they’re not being all grr-y. Grr-y means be still, not grr-y means be nice.
He finds a log to sit on, which is kind of gross because it’s wet and there’s green moss—mold?—on it, but he has his flashlight and his Spiderman and it’s only a little cold and it’s not too bad. And he’ll go back home in the morning before anyone is awake and nobody will notice that he’s not there.
He reads for a while, even though it’s slow because he keeps getting distracted. It’s hard to concentrate, sometimes, and then he has to keep rereading the same things because he forgets what he read or if he read it and then he goes back but it’s okay because he likes Spiderman and if he reads it twice then it’s just twice as much Spiderman.
But then there’s light in the distance, and the sound of shouting, and he puts Spiderman in his backpack that he’s carrying to carry Spiderman and he points the flashlight towards the light because there’s not enough light to see the ground and he starts running towards it because it’s orange and orange means fire and fire is bad in the forest and he’s probably supposed to run away from fire in the forest but he needs to see if it’s something he can put out because if it is then he’ll put it out because otherwise the whole forest will be on fire and then it might hit houses and then people would die.
But when he sees the fire it’s not from trees but from a house and he’s seen pictures of that house because it’s the Hale house and it’s bad when houses are on fire and so he starts running towards it but then there are people there, people outside the fire, and they’re laughing, and they’re not supposed to be laughing because it’s on fire.
“There’s a fire,” he shouts at them, because maybe they’re blind and so they don’t know that it’s on fire, and one of them turns and looks at him and says something that his dad said on the phone once and then told him not to say because it’s a thing you’re not allowed to say. And he thinks that maybe they’re not blind and they know there’s a fire and they’re bad, especially because one of them points a gun at him.
Stiles knows what a gun is because his dad has a gun and his dad showed him the gun and said that this is a gun and you shouldn’t touch it because it’s like those words where only adults are allowed to have it and only sometimes and only if they’re good and Stiles could hurt someone if he touches it and he doesn’t want to touch it because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
And the fire is really hot next to him and there’s smoke and he’s coughing, but there’s also a gun and if he runs away then the guy can hurt him with the gun because guns can shoot really far because he looked up guns in the Encyclopedia Britannica under G, except his mom said that it was also under F and that was confusing so he runs towards the person instead and the person says another one of the words you’re not supposed to say and then Stiles runs into them and they fall over and the gun goes off and there’s a loud noise and Stiles can’t hear out of one of his ears but he pushes the gun away because this person isn’t good and so his dad wouldn’t let him have a gun but his dad’s not here so Stiles has to do it.
And the guy tries to grab him but Stiles is fast because sometimes Jackson tries to beat up Scott and Stiles has to be fast enough for both of them because Scott can’t always be fast because he can’t breathe right and Stiles looked that up in the encyclopedia too.
The house is screaming or maybe there are people in the house, and so Stiles runs towards the house and there is a muffled noise like the gun noise again but he can’t hear right but it doesn’t hit him, and he pulls open the door and screams because the doorknob is like fire.
And there are people inside, but they’re not moving, and Stiles is coughing and maybe it’s the dust so he kicks some of the dust away and then they’re moving and one of them picks him up and another one roars and Stiles knows you’re supposed to be still when werewolves are grr-y so he goes still and people are saying something and he’s coughing and his hands hurt and he’s crying.
There are more loud gun noises and the person holding him falls over and he tucks and rolls like he learned to do on couches. And then Stiles sees a lady with a gun and there is a gun near Stiles and it is from the man who Stiles ran into and he saw pictures of how to use a gun and he’s not allowed to use a gun but the lady is bad and she shouldn’t be allowed to use a gun either and so he picks up the gun and pulls the trigger and his hands hurt and he’s crying and the lady falls over and it’s hot and Stiles is scared and he doesn’t know what to do so he stands up and runs over to the trees and curls up against a tree on the ground and cries.
Things happen for a while, and there are lots of people and howling and yellow eyes and red and one set of blue and blue is bad he thinks but he’s not sure and they’re all blurry anyway so maybe he imagined it. He doesn’t want to move, even though his hands hurt, because things are scary and the forest isn’t going to catch on fire so he can stay in the forest and it won’t catch fire.
Police people come and EMTs and there are lights and people are running around and he doesn’t see his dad and he doesn’t know why he doesn’t see his dad and he wants to go ask but he knows he’s not supposed to be there because he’s not supposed to go to the forest at night so he doesn’t go over.
Instead, he looks at his hands. He only touched the doorknob with one of his hands, and that one looks like black and red and pain and terrifying, but the other one has splinters and blood and he doesn’t know where his flashlight is but he still has his backpack and he pulls it into his lap and curls up around it and tries not to touch anything with his hands.
The fire goes out finally, and the house is still there, only black-ish, and it starts to get light, and he’s not crying anymore but he both can’t feel his hands and can feel them too much. But it’s light enough that he can walk back home, so he stands up and puts his backpack back on his back and starts walking. And he’s slower this time, and he thinks he’s dripping blood, and he starts crying again because his leg hurts and he doesn’t remember hurting it and he’s hungry and thirsty and needs to pee but he’ll do that when he gets home.
But when he gets home, there are more police people there and ambulances and caution tape and reporters, and he doesn’t know what’s going on so he pushes through, and he’s bleeding and scared and his heart is beating really fast and he can’t breathe and he’s shouting for his dad and his mom, over and over, and then one of the people who works with his dad grabs him and tucks him against their chest and starts saying things, over and over, and he doesn’t know what they’re saying and everything hurts and he just wants his mom and dad.
--
They bring him to the hospital and won’t tell him where his parents are and someone bandages his hand and lets him go pee and then they sit him in a hospital room with police people outside.
He doesn’t want to just sit there, and he’s tired from not sleeping but he doesn’t want to sleep without knowing what happened to his mom and dad so he starts walking around in circles around the hospital room. He does that for a while, even though his leg hurts, and then the door is pushed open and a puppy walks in. He crouches down in front of it, and it pads over to him slowly. His hands hurt, but he scratches it behind the ears with his less-hurt hand.
The puppy doesn’t move except to breathe on him, so he says, “You’re not a dog, are you?” The puppy shakes its head, which isn’t something a puppy does, he doesn’t think. “Are you a werewolf?” It woofs softly. “Are you a Hale?” There’s another woof.
Stiles doesn’t want to get up, so he sits down on the floor and the puppy sits in his lap, except it’s not a puppy, it’s a werewolf, and it’s big, but he always thinks of dogs as puppies and wolves as puppies and so it’s a puppy. “Is your family okay? There was a fire and I tried to make there not be a fire and the people had guns and I didn’t know what to do and I don’t know if I fixed it and I’m sorry.”
The puppy woofs again and then drops down on him and starts growling and it vibrates through him and he starts vibrating too and he doesn’t want to get up because there’s a puppy on him and he’s tired and his hands hurt and he curls up around the puppy and falls asleep.
He’s in a hospital bed when he wakes up, and Scott’s mom is on one side of him and Mrs. Hale is on the other side and they both look sad and he wants his mom and his dad.
Scott’s mom touches his shoulder and asks, “How are you feeling?”
“Where are my mom and dad?”
She touches her mouth then sits down in the chair next to the bed. She moves like she’s going to grab one of Stiles’s hands, then stops. “I’m sorry, Stiles.”
“What are you—what do you mean?” He tries to sit up but Scott’s mom pushes down a little on his shoulder and he stops moving.
“Both of them were killed last night.”
That doesn’t make any sense. That doesn’t—his dad has a gun and is good at shooting people and wouldn’t let anybody hurt his mom. His dad is invincible. He can’t—that doesn’t—
“Stiles.” Scott’s mom stands and leans over him, putting hands on either side of his face. Things go darker. “Stiles, I need you to breathe for me. I know it’s scary right now, and it hurts, but what I want you to do is just breathe right now.”
“How—how did they—”
“Someone shot both of them.” She brushes hair out of his face. “Stiles, Mrs. Hale wants to talk to you. Are you okay with that?”
Stiles nods, and Scott’s mom moves back so Stiles can see Mrs. Hale. “Is your family okay? There were fires and guns and I tried to stop it but I don’t know if I did and there was a werewolf in here but they were a puppy and so I couldn’t tell what they were saying.”
Mrs. Hale smiles at him. “My family is fine, thank you. Thanks to you. Did you know that I knew your parents?”
Stiles shakes his head, then stops. They talked about Mrs. Hale a few times. He nods. “I think so.”
“Well I did, and you met my daughter Laura earlier. She was the…puppy. What your parents probably didn’t tell you is that they spoke to me about taking you in if anything happened to them. I know you don’t know me or my family that well, and that the idea is probably scary because much of my family is werewolves.”
Stiles shakes his head. “My mom said that werewolves aren’t scary unless they’re being all…werewolfy, and if they are you’re just not supposed to run away because then they’ll think you’re prey and chase you and bite you and you might die. And Laura was nice when she was a puppy and she just sat on me and was warm.”
“Your mother was a very smart woman.”
“And then she started forgetting everyone.”
Mrs. Hale’s eyes narrow, and then she smiles. “Would you be okay with living with me and my family, Stiles? It’s in your parents’ will, but if you don’t want to live with us, we can find you somewhere else to live. We would understand.”
Stiles shrugs. “I’m not scared of you.”
“That’s because you’re really brave, Stiles. Some of my kids want to meet you because you’ll be living with us. Are you feeling up for that?”
Stiles doesn’t know what he’s feeling, other than that his hands hurt, so he shrugs. “Okay.”
“They’ll probably climb all over you. You can just kick them out or yell at them if you want them to leave you alone.” She looks at the door, then says, “Derek, Laura, come in, please.”
The door opens and a man and a woman—or teenagers, maybe, he thinks, but he’s not sure—walk in. The man is tall, taller, but Stiles thinks he’s younger. Stiles doesn’t know. He’s not sure what he knows. His hands really hurt. He lifts his hand that hurts less and waves. “Hi. I’m Stiles.”
The woman walks over to him and sits down on the edge of the bed. She beams at him. “I met you earlier, though I was a bit…fluffier then. I’m Laura. And you’re going to be living with us, right? I always wanted another younger brother.”
“Because you’re so nice to the one you have,” the man says, and he walks over to the end of the bed, sitting cross-legged on it. He puts his hand on Stiles’s ankle through the thin sheet, and his hand is hot. “I’m Derek.”
Stiles waves at him, the winces when his hand hurts. Derek pulls up the sheet and puts his hand on Stiles’s bare ankle. The pain fades from his hands. “How did you do that?”
Mrs. Hale smiles at him, putting a hand on the back of Derek’s neck. Derek looks over at her, looking like his dad does when his mom finds the laundry still in the dryer because his dad forgot to take it out. “It’s a gift that werewolves have, one that they’re not supposed to use in public.”
“Sorry, mom.”
Scott’s mom says, “I’ll just pretend I’m not here. I’m going to want to change your bandages soon, and I thought it would be best if I stayed here for the moment, so I’ll just sit in the corner.”
Mrs. Hale nods. “Thank you for this, Melissa.”
“Of course.” Scott’s mom walks over and sits down in a chair in the corner of the room.
The woman touches Stiles’s cheek, and it feels weird, and he squirms away. She pokes him, and Mrs. Hale says, “Laura.”
“Sorry.” She smiles at him. “You saved us last night. You, little you, by yourself, you saved us. You’re a good little kid.”
Stiles doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just flails his hands. “There was a fire and dad said fire in the forest is bad and I just didn’t want there to be fire in the forest and bad people had guns and I didn’t know what to do and I think I shot someone. Did I shoot someone?”
Scott’s mom stands up. “Okay, I think that’s enough of this right now.”
Stiles looks over at her. “Did I shoot someone? I’m not supposed to shoot anyone. Dad told me I’m not supposed to touch guns because I could hurt someone and I don’t want to hurt someone and I’m sorry.”
Laura shrugs. “If it makes you feel any better, she was trying to kill all of us.”
“Laura,” Mrs. Hale says again, and she sounds like Stiles’s mom, or like she used to sound, and to Stiles’s horror he starts crying again, and Derek makes an alarmed noise and Laura gives him a hug and he starts crying even harder.