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Stiles Stilinski was hyper aware of his surroundings. Every rustle of leaves had his ears jumping, his body jerking around at every whistle of blowing air and mysterious crackle of sound he couldn’t locate the source of. He pulled his car to a stop where the woods began, his eyes scanning the area ahead of him, illuminated only by his headlights under the shadow of night.
“Did they go in!?” A panicked voice from beside him asked.
Stiles flinched at the sudden sound, having been so incredibly focused on the quiet in the distance. He’d almost forgotten that his son was with him.
Stiles had no definitive answer for Cole and he wasn’t about to disappoint him now. Instead, he decided not to answer as he returned to scanning the woods, lowering his window to pop his head out. He couldn’t help but wonder how their night had gotten so far out of hand. It began so normally, Lydia getting home from work with a bag full of DVD’s for the night. She was marginally let down when she found out the kids already had their own plans and were currently at the movies with their other friends. To cheer her up, he’d curled up on the sofa with her, the new movies, and a giant bowl of popcorn. Their peace didn’t last, as Claudia and Cole came bursting through the front door at the most climatic part of the movie.
Lydia’s anger at her children for chipping the door didn’t last long, because as soon as she saw the stricken looks on their faces she knew something was not right. A man in front of the theater had a heart attack, and moments before he did… a scream bubbled out of Claudia. They were all very aware of her inheritance of Lydia’s banshee abilities, but for a majority of the girl’s life were able to keep it a secret within the pack. Hunters recognized the shrill familiarity of a banshee’s call, and they targeted the siblings, assuming they were both banshees. They were chased all the way home.
Stiles barely had time to call Scott before the hunters caught up with them. A haze of fear overtook his being, but it was nothing compared to his determination to keep his family safe. Working on pure adrenaline, he and his family fought back, but somewhere during the struggle they were separated and forced to run. Lydia and Claudia had gone one way while Stiles and Cole had gone the other. After running for a short distance, Stiles told his son to stop when he realized they weren’t being chased. The hunters must’ve realized that only Lydia and Claudia were banshees and gone straight for them.
Now they were driving around, following any sound that hinted at their location.
“Dad?” Cole called, waving a hand in front of his distracted father’s face.
Stiles swallowed hard. He was letting his worry get the best of him and his family needed him to be strong. A scream that very obviously belonged to Lydia echoed in the distance. “Let’s go.” He launched himself out of the car, Cole following suit.
His grip on his ax tightened, his heart pattering painfully in his chest as he thought about the strong possibility that he’d have to take a human life tonight. It didn’t matter though, not if it meant his wife and kids would be okay. They were sixteen and eighteen years old, and hell would freeze over before he ever let anything happen to them.
Cole’s eyes dilated as they adjusted to the night, stepping carefully across particularly crunchy looking leaves that he’d normally go out of his way to smush on any average day. Today was not like most days, and he needed to be careful. Even with every step he took along the dirt, his father’s eyes would quickly cast backwards to identify the source of the noise and make sure his son was still with him. It was difficult to hear, as crickets were overshadowing any other noise. He knew his dad was freaking out and trying to hide it. He wasn’t as hard to decipher as he thought he was, but he wasn’t going to tell him that. If thinking he was comforting Cole was comforting Stiles, then Cole was glad his dad didn’t realize it was only making him more worried. His mom… His strong, smart, hilarious mother could be dead; his annoying, snobby, beautiful older sister.
He couldn’t take it anymore. “MOM! CLAUDIA!”
Stiles grabbed his son by his shirt, a glint of anger sparking in his eyes. “Quiet!” He shook him slightly to silence him. “Do you want them to come to us?”
“If it gets them away from mom and Clauds then YES!” Cole was just as defiant as his father, taking a step forward to tell him he wasn’t going to back down. Stiles was being a moron because of his need to protect Cole, and he wasn’t about to let the rest of his family get hurt for his own sake.
“We can’t give away our location, Cole! Hasn’t your uncle taught you anything about targeting!?” Stiles snapped, his panic making him impatient.
“Where is Uncle Scott?” Cole wondered suddenly. If they had any real chance of surviving this night, their uncle would be the one to save them. Not his human father and virtually powerless mother; unless you could include high-pitched screaming and horrifying hallucinations as useful abilities.
Stiles was growing restless as they explored the woods, his hand jittering anxiously at his side. He casted a sideways glance at his son before giving in, “Oh screw it.” He inhaled deeply. “Lydia! Claudia!” He screamed, cupping his hands over his mouth to increase the strength of his voice. Cole joined in a moment later, screaming right along with him.
“Wait, shhh!” Stiles demanded suddenly, his jaw tightened and locked in place. “What is that?” There was a rustling in the bushes ahead of them. Stiles extended an arm in front of his son to keep him back, prepared to protect him with his life.
“Dad!” Claudia cried, running from the bushes with Lydia in tow. Lydia was completely soaked in blood.
Stiles was quick to react, running at the pair with Cole beside him. “Where are you hurt?” he inquired shakily, tilting Lydia’s chin upwards to admire her skin. “Clauds?” He turned to his daughter.
“It isn’t ours,” Lydia disclosed, her hand tightening around the knife in her hand. It was only then that Stiles noticed it. “I killed them.” She finally looked into Stiles’ eyes, damaged by the concern she found there. Her eyes were watering. “I killed…”
“She had to,” Claudia defended her mother fiercely; “It wasn’t her fault! They were going to kill us.”
“You’re right it’s not,” Stiles told her calmly, agreeing with her. Claudia nodded, pleased with his response and that she wasn’t going to have to argue her mom’s case. They were human but they were demons; willing to kill completely innocent and harmless banshees, one only a teenager. “Let’s get you two home.”
“What about the bod-…” Cole stopped himself short. “ - The hunters?”
“I’ll get Scott and Kira on it,” Stiles mumbled, wrapping an arm around his wife, who was still in shock. He began to lead her back toward the car, the shining of headlights in the distance the only clue that they were going the right way. “Look after your sister,” he commanded.
Cole glanced toward his older sister, taking a sheepish step toward her. They fought more than they spoke like normal siblings, making comforting her a challenge. He awkwardly bumped his fist against her shoulder. “How ‘ya doin’ there squirt?”
“I’m older than you,” she growled back, reaching forward to grab his earlobe, “and if you ever call me that again, I’m going to banshee-scream into your ear.”
Cole froze, “Message received, never ever again.” He saluted at her. She rolled her eyes.
It was some time later that Lydia had gotten herself cleaned up and the family of four was situated in the living room, processing the events of the night together while they waited for Scott to call them back. He said he would take care of everything and even scolded Lydia for blaming herself. She had no choice but to fight back and any one of them would have done the same.
Stiles and Lydia were sharing a blanket and a warm mug of cocoa on the couch, while Claudia and Cole sat closer to the heated fireplace with their own cups and sweaters. The fire crackled against the wood, causing it to shift in its place. It only seemed to amplify the silence of the room.
It was too quiet, so Cole decided to say something. “Not gonna lie, that was pretty badass, mom.”
“Cole,” Stiles warned sharply, the muscles of his chest twitching against Lydia’s spine.
“No, it’s okay.” Lydia placed a hand on Stiles’ arm. “I am pretty tough,” she joked, cracking a smile. She didn’t have the best mentality right now, but the kids didn’t need to worry more than was necessary. She was going to be okay, and she had to make that clear right now. It was just a large bump in the road that was their lives. Existing in the supernatural limelight sometimes had its downfalls, but at this point in her life she wouldn’t give her power up for the world.
Stiles was amazed by his wife’s ability to shrug off even the biggest disasters. She dealt with pain in her own time, she always had. “Not brave like me, though,” he challenged, waggling his eyebrows at his children with a laugh.
“At least I,” Claudia chimed in, “get to be brave, tough and beautiful. I’m a triple threat.” She tossed her hair behind her elegantly.
“The only thing that’s threatening about you is your high-strung personality,” her brother objected, realizing his error when he saw the look she gave him, remembering her earlier threat to scream in his ear. She wouldn’treally do it though, right?
“Okay, let’s not start a fight over it,” Lydia reprimanded, running her fingers gently along Stiles’ wrist.
“You know your mom and I used to do stuff like this all the time.”
“Kill assholes?” Claudia asked in disbelief.
“Well,” he exchanged glances with his wife. “Kind of.”
“But they weren’t human,” Lydia said under her breath.
Stiles squeezed her hands. “But they were evil.” He chewed on his lower lip, “Had that in common.”
“We were always getting in to trouble,” Lydia explained with a delicate laugh. “Your dad and Uncle Scott were usually the ones getting us into it, but I didn’t mind. It was nice finally belonging somewhere.”
“Remember that time birds attacked Ms. Blake’s – or should I say Darach’s classroom?” Stiles reminded her, smiling at her nod.
“You shielded me from them,” she reminisced happily. “Remember when we crashed your jeep into that river and it was destroyed?”
Stiles’ eyes darkened in remorse. “God, did you have to bring that up?”
“Aw, sorry.” Lydia couldn’t help but crack a smile anyway. His attachment to his old car still remained, even years after its destruction. He spoke about it like a person.
“You crashed your jeep into a river!?” Now this was a story Cole wanted to hear.
At that moment, Scott began to ring Stiles. “That’s a tale for another time,” he told his kids, sharing a knowing smile with Lydia before picking up the phone.
“When you’re both much older and the embarrassment of that day is finally put behind me.” Lydia tossed the blanket off her body as she watched Stiles walk into the next room with his phone. “You two better get some sleep; you’re babysitting Malia’s little ones tomorrow.”
“So they can shape-shift while we’re at the grocery store again?” Claudia scoffed, shaking her head briskly.
“I thought that was funny,” Cole said with a shrug. “Did you see that old lady’s face?”
“Yeah,” Claudia uttered sarcastically, “It was real funny right before she keeled over.”
“Pfft,” Cole tossed his hand nonchalantly. “She survived.”
“Bed,” Lydia emphasized, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the pair. Who would’ve thought a young version of Lydia and Stiles would make such a funny pair of siblings? Of course, they got along like brothers and sisters usually did. It was nights like tonight, where they truly showed that they cared about each other, that kept Lydia smiling. She took two human lives tonight, but they weren’t innocent. They were going to hurt her and her children and their lives were worth nothing compared to what Lydia and Stiles thought of Claudia and Cole. She did what she had to do, and she knew it.
She watched the teenagers disappear up the stairs, sniping at each other over who got to use the bathroom first. Stiles appeared from around the corner, shoving his cell phone into his pocket. He stared at her until she noticed him.
“They going to sleep?” She could hear the exhaustion in her husband’s question. The yawn that came after was only a confirmation.
“Yeah, you ready for bed?” Lydia climbed off the couch and stood in front of her husband, a warmth curling in her stomach as he winded his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him.
“Only if you’re coming up with me,” Stiles mumbled tiredly, leaning downward to rub the tip of his nose against hers sweetly.
“Did Scott take care of it?”
He nodded against her, planting a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Because they are.” She glanced toward the stairs. “Anything could have happened tonight,” she reminded him with a shake of her head.
“Everything turned out the way it was supposed to. You’re here, I’m here, they’re still pains in our asses.”
Lydia laughs against his chest as he hugs her. “I love you.”
“I love you too, my tough little banshee.”