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Stiles let Luis hold his hand on the walk back to the Den. Peter stayed on alert until they were finally inside.
Stiles stood in the kitchen and looked around, blinking in the brighter lights.
Derek, who had been watching Jamie while they were at the Nemeton, came into the kitchen to see what was going on.
"I think we need a snack before we do anything," Peter declared. "How does hot cocoa and cookies sound?"
"Yay!" Luis cheered.
Derek helped prepare the hot cocoa as Peter got the cookies. Stiles appreciated the break, the sugar helping boost his energy. Even Luis looked brighter after eating the snack.
"What do you need?" Peter asked Stiles as he drank some cocoa, sounding worried.
Stiles was quiet for a moment. "A map. A paper map would be best," Stiles replied.
"It won't be current but I have something in the library," Peter said.
"Can I help?" Luis pleaded.
"Yup!" Stiles ruffled his hair. "I need you for this, too!"
"Who was that?" Luis asked.
"That was a Fae," Stiles replied. "It came in answer to our petition."
Luis' eyes went wide. "Really?"
Derek's eyes were wide, also.
Stiles nodded. "Really!"
"Whoa!"
"I'll share what I know about the Fae, but it's not a lot. They're rarely seen," Peter offered. "Tomorrow. It's pretty late already."
"And, it's something you can't tell anyone," Stiles warned. "Especially after what it said about you being... well, related."
Luis nodded. "Mama talk about cazadora and collectionista. Bad men who take people like us."
Stiles nodded. "We're protected here, and we have an arrangement with the Argent clan. So, we're pretty safe. But there are always bad men who might try to hurt us."
"Do you need me for anything?" Derek asked. "Jamie's asleep and I'll keep an ear out for him for the rest of the night. I can see you still have some things to do."
"We should be set," Stiles said. "Thanks!"
Derek bade them good night and went off to bed.
"Maps?" Stiles asked. "I don't want to wait on this. I know it's late but we should do this tonight."
"Okay," Peter nodded.
In the library, Peter dug through a file cabinet. "Where do you need a map of?"
"Southern California. If you have a LA city map, that would be even better," Stiles decided.
Peter dug through his collection and pulled out three. "Okay, this is what I have."
Stiles looked at the choices. There wasn't a map for LA but there was a map for Southern California with a small inset that had a map of LA. "Okay, this will have to do." He lay the map on the table and smoothed out the section with the LA inset.
"Okay, come over here." Stiles had Luis stand between his knees. "Put your hand on top of mine. Just let it rest there, don't try to force it but think of your mama. Does that make sense?"
Luis nodded.
"Okay. It may take a few minutes. Just breathe with it," Stiles directed. "Ready?"
Another nod.
Stiles held his hand out and Luis trustingly put his hand on top of Stiles'. Stiles closed his eyes and reached for the thread the Fae had given him. Knowing the power in names, Stiles focused on the phrase Maria Lopez, mother of Luis in the forefront of his thoughts.
Stiles opened his eyes and found his finger sitting on a section of LA.
"Somewhere there," Stiles said. "If we can get a better map, I might be able to get closer."
"Now that we have a general area, maybe we can print something off the internet?" Peter asked.
Stiles grinned. "Good idea."
They went to Google Maps and brought up the area of the city that Stiles had identified.
Stiles and Luis did the searching five more times, each time with a map further zoomed in.
"A convalescent home?" Stiles frowned when he read the name of the building where they had finally landed..
Peter shrugged. "I'll have it checked out tomorrow."
Luis yawned.
"Come on, kid, time for bed," Stiles said. "You did good."
"Did we find Mama?"
"I don't know," Stiles admitted. "But it gives us information we didn't have before. I don't want to promise something in case she's not there."
"Okay," Luis nodded, disappointed.
Stiles looked up at Peter, who was just as lost as he was.
"Come on, bedtime. If this doesn't work, we'll try something else," Stiles said firmly.
"Stay with me a bit?" Luis asked. "Until I fall asleep?"
"Sure!" Stiles leaned in and hugged Luis firmly. Luis clung to Stiles. "Okay, brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I'll be there in a minute."
Peter checked on Jamie before he went to bed and was still awake when Stiles finally crawled into their bed.
"He asleep?" Peter asked.
"Poor kid," Stiles sighed. "I needed him to do the search and I really, really hope his mom is there. He'll be heartbroken if we don't find her."
"We'll do what we can," Peter replied.
"I know, I know. It's just hard to be so close. And I never would have thought anything about Luis and his mother being part Fae."
"That was the surprising part. And that makes me think the aunt in Oregon is at least part Fae or another supernatural," Peter added. "They were fleeing Hunters or something that pushed them out of their home."
"I guess at his age, I wouldn't tell him a lot," Stiles agreed. "He's old enough to be told something but too much can be scary."
"Time for you to sleep," Peter said. "Come here..." He manhandled Stiles into their usual sleeping position, with Stiles half on Peter.
Stiles leaned in for a kiss. "Good night!"
In the morning, Peter sent the information they had found to his contacts in LA.
Luis moped over breakfast, so Stiles kept him out of school for the day while they waited for information. Stiles arranged to get Luis' assignments from school so that he wouldn't get behind. Doing homework would also provide some distraction.
Stiles and Luis were playing with Jamie when Peter came into the living room. He squatted down.
"We found her!" Peter said gently. "She's still very ill, but I'm having here brought here as soon as it can be arranged."
Luis threw himself at Peter and wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you!" he sobbed into Peter's shoulder. Peter picked him up and let the boy cry in relief.
"I'll know more by tonight," Peter said. "We should be able to transfer her to Beacon Hills Memorial, and then our people will help from there."
"What happened?" Stiles asked.
"I don't have all the details, but she's in what sounds like a fugue state. The hospital only had her listed as 'Maria' but no other information. Any identification she had must have been lost in the shuffle. Once they cured the infection she had originally, she lapsed into the fugue state. She was moved to the convalescent home once the hospital decided they couldn't do anything more for her. That combination made it harder to find her."
"How soon can she be moved here?" Stiles asked.
Peter shrugged. "I'm going to think a couple of days. The lawyers are doing the paperwork to verify her identity, settle the bills, and then we'll have her transported here."
It took three days to get Maria to Beacon Hills. Luis' emotions were all over during that time, running from giddy happiness to depression that it was taking so long. Three days were an eternity at his age.
Derek pitched in by helping to take care of Jamie, helping with meals, and keeping the boys entertained. Stiles and Luis set up one of the guest rooms for Maria. Luis gathered flowers and herbs from the garden for the room to brighten and freshen it in preparation for her arrival.
Stiles noticed that the flowers stayed fresh in their vase. He had to guess that Luis had unconciously performed a bit of magic to keep them that way. Something else to work on when they finally had some time.
It was early evening when Rob and Julie drove an ambulance onto the property. John followed in his cruiser.
"Just wanted to make sure there were no last minute problems getting her out of the hospital," John said as they unloaded the gurney from the back of the ambulance.
Luis climbed on the gurney to sit with his mother. He held her lax hand and babbled on in Spanish. Stiles knew enough to know Luis was telling his mother about Stiles and Peter and how they found him.
Stiles was appreciative of the werewolf contingent that was able to take Maria into the woods on a stretcher they had prepared. When they got to the Nemeton, Peter picked Maria up and carried her to the base of the Nemeton. He settled her on a blanket Stiles had put down and then moved away.
Stiles and Luis moved in as everyone took a few steps back. Stiles and Luis sat on either side of Maria.
"Ready?" Stiles asked.
Luis nodded eagerly.
Stiles reached over and pricked Luis' finger to allow the three drops of blood to fall on the tree.
"Mother Moon, we have brought the one who is lost," Stiles said.
"Mother Moon, Mama needs your help," Luis added. "Please help us."
Between one breath and the next, a Fae appeared. "Our cousin is gravely ill," the being said. It drifted closer to where they sat.
"Can you help her? Please!" Luis begged.
The Fae looked down at Luis. "I can save her but she will have a long recovery."
"We will take care of her," Stiles promised. "We will protect her and help her heal. Maria and Luis are welcome to stay with the Hale Pack. This is our land and they will become part of us."
The Fae held out a hand and a small mist moved over Maria.
"The word of the Guardian is accepted," the Fae breathed. "Come back when our cousin is well."
"We will do that," Stiles promised.
Between them, Maria stirred.
"Mama!" Luis cried.
Stiles glanced down at Maria and, when he looked back up, the Fae was gone.
Maria took a deep breath and looked around. She wrapped her arms around her son and looked warily at Stiles.
Stiles said gently, "You're safe here."
"Mama! These are good people! Stiles and Peter will take care of us," he said.
Peter came closer at that point. He dropped to one knee, to not loom over the others. "Senora Lopez, the Hale Pack invites you to stay with us until you are able to continue your journey." He flashed his red eyes at her.
"Alpha Hale," Marie said softly. "I thank you for your offer and appreciate your help."
"May I?" Peter asked. "I do not think you're ready to walk back to the Den."
Maria nodded as Peter picked her back up and carried her back to the stretcher.
"Introductions later," Stiles said. "Back home, please."
Luis walked next to the stretcher, holding his mother's hand with a beaming smile.
When they reached the Den, she slipped off the stretcher on her own but then would have fallen if Julie hadn't caught her.
"Not sure you're ready for much yet," Julie admonished her gently. "You've been sick for a long time and it will just take time to build yourself back up."
"We have a room for you!" Luis bounced in place. "Stiles let me pick flowers and we've made it pretty for you."
"I find I am in need of help," Maria admitted softly.
Julie wrapped an arm around Maria. "Lean on me and I'll help you get to your room." Julie didn't quite carry Maria but helped the woman to the room they had set up.
"Julie can help you get into bed and we'll bring you a light meal," Stiles said. They had broth and Derek was ready to make some scrambled eggs. They put it on a bed tray and brought it to Maria when Julie came out to let them know Maria was ready.
"You've been on intravenous feeding for a couple of weeks, so you're not going to be able to eat too much right away," Stiles said when he brought in the tray. "It's better to eat small meals every couple of hours. And you'll probably sleep a lot for the next few days." He looked over to Luis. "And I suspect Luis isn't going far for a while."
Luis nodded. "I'll help you Mama!"
"Are you going to school?" Maria asked.
"Yes," he admitted.
"I'll make sure he goes to school but I suspect he can afford to stay home one more day," Stiles said. "Okay?"
Luis sighed. "I guess."
"We can talk about it," Maria said.
"Call if you need anything," Stiles said.
Luis came over and hugged Stiles. "Thank you!"
Stiles hugged him back. "You're welcome!"