Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunday morning.

The gentle fog and chill clings to Henry's skin as he trudges his way through the forest surrounding the Hale House. He knew Laura was around somewhere, probably skinny dipping in the lake like a freak. Henry was all for swimming and cooling off during the summer heat, but taking a naked dip in the lake at three in the morning just seemed too much for his poor human body to handle. Not to mention the fact that much like their werewolf father, and werewolves in general, Laura didn't even bat an eyelid before she would start stripping off her clothes and go frolicking off into the woods. He had seen far too much of his sister that he was pretty sure that he would never be able to look at any women without the his sister's smirk and snarky comments of him being a prude flash before his eyes.

That's not to say that Henry didn't find women attractive, but unfortunately for him, he had inherited what his grandfather called the 'Stilinski curse'. Once a Stilinski man falls for someone, they fall hard or not at all. He had had crushes in his life but nothing that seemed to come close to what his parents had or what Laura and Isaac had.

Laura and Isaac.

That was still strange for him to think about. He had known Isaac all his life and so had Laura but whereas he had always seen Isaac as an big brother, clearly Laura had felt something completely different. He didn't understand it. Why would you go through so much pain when there was never any guarantee that the relationship would last?

He had asked his dad this and a soft smile and painful look had flashed in his eyes before he turned to look at Henry.

"When it's real, we don't mind being hurt."

Henry didn't quite understand what that meant and he wanted to ask his dad to explain but he felt that if he pressed the issue his Dad would get one of those far away looks, that were becoming far too common over the last few months, that he decided he would just mull over those words himself.

He wished his father were still around. At the thought Henry's shoulders sagged and his feet felt heavier as he made his way through the forest. It was almost winter, the trees were quite bare already, and there was that ever present chill in the air that seemed to cut into your bones. Still, it was his favourite time of the year, well it used to be.

This was the one time of the year when his dad, his werewolf dad that is, used to take Henry out into the forest to chop wood and show him how to properly set up a campfire. This was all before Laura was born, and it was just the three of them, his time travelling father, his werewolf dad and Henry the time travelling magical prodigy - you know you're typical supernatural family in Beacon Hills.

Derek would carry Henry on his shoulders and carry him through the forest, stopping every time Henry pointed out something. He would jump and climb trees, and show Henry birds nests and point out wild animals to him. His Dad taught him basic survival skills and they would laugh at his human dad tripping over himself in the woods on those days they all went out as a family.

At night, they would set up a campfire on the hill that overlooked the town and toast marshmallows as his Dad told him stories about wolves, elves and other magical creatures. Memories of falling asleep on his Dad's chest and being carried back home the whispering voices of his parents lulling into sleep.

Henry felt a heavy weight rest in his chest and he stopped to look up at the bleak wintry sky.

He closed his eyes and just listened to the soothing sound of the forest, the rustling of the leaves as the wind passed through the branches of the tall trees surrounding his home.

His home.

The forest was just as much a part of his life as his family. He had grown up in these woods, had learnt to swim in the lake, learnt how to climb trees, to fight and defend himself here. Explored its caves and caught tadpoles in its creeks...he was home here and he liked to be alone here as much as he could ever since...

Ever since his father had died.

Henry took a shaky breathe of the crisp, clean air of the forest and allowed the soothing sounds of the birds and winds calm his heavy heart.

Not a day passed that he didn't replay the events of one year ago.

Not a day that he didn't question every thought, every action, doubted every move he made. He didn't want to make the same mistakes, couldn't lose another person he loved because of his damned pride and confidence.

Yes, his Dads had taught him to defend himself, pushed him to test his time travelling abilities but the result was a false sense of security and confidence. All that confidence had been his downfall and now one year later, the guilt and pain still cut at him. Like a wound that never healed it dug deeper and deeper inside his heart. Henry didn't know how to stop it hurting, if he was even allowed to let himself stop hurting or if this was what atonement was supposed to feel like.

Henry's body tensed as a cool breeze touched the nape of his neck.

His eyes opened and he stared ahead of him.

There it was again. He stared into the dark green eyes of the ghostly animal.

About six months ago he had been sitting on the creek bank when that now familiar cold breeze surrounded him and when he looked up from the history book in his lap he saw the snow white wolf standing across from him. He felt an immediate pull towards the animal and he was reaching towards the creature before he had even realised what he was doing. Only when the book he had been reading fell to the ground did the cold breeze shift around him taking the ghostly white wolf away with it. He didn't know what to make of the encounter and he wondered if it had just all been in his mind.

Weeks passed before he saw the creature again.

That time he had run out of the house after another argument with his Dad about going back to the past and trying to save his father from dying. He knew it was wrong, there were fixed points in time, events that were meant to happen no matter what you did to avoid them. But it was his Dad, his Dad who had tucked him into bed at night, read him stories about the Roman Centurions and Marco Polo, the same man who would transform into his full wolf form just to let his son ride on his back as they ran through the forest as Henry pretended to be riding into some glorious battle with his Dad by his side. He could remember gripping the soft fur of his dad's back as they chased down invisible enemies, his human Dad watching them from the porch swing and laughing as Henry and his Dad growled and attacked an unknown foe.

How could he just give up on the hope that there was some way to save his Dad? He had said almost as much to his Dad and though he regretted the words the instant they left his mouth and felt his chest rip open at the devastated look on his father's face. He wanted to reverse time and take the words back but it was too late even for a time traveller like him, instead he had turned and ran out of the house, out into the forest ignoring Laura's yells for him to stop, to come back home.

He couldn't be home anymore. Couldn't be in that house that used to be filled with so much love and happiness and knowing that he had played a part, a major part in tearing apart the foundation of their family.

He didn't know how far he had run or why he had even run away but as he lay exhausted on the forest floor, his ragged breathing and rapidly rising chest the only noises he heard. He turned and lay on his back staring up at the night sky, rubbing the large tears falling down his face.

Again that cold breeze brushed past him, drying the tears on his face and when he rolled over and looked behind him there it was again. The white wolf but it was so much closer now, he could see the large black paws and could see its chest rise and fall as it's deep green eyes watched him.

"What are you?" Henry said breathlessly.

The wolf made not a sound just titled it's head and looked past him at the sound of Laura approaching them.

He turned in time to move out of the way of Laura's kick which would have hit him straight in the chest.

"You asshole Henry!" Laura had said pulling him up by his shirt, "Don't ever walk out on your family like that again!"

She was shaking and glaring at him with her amber beta eyes but Henry was struggling against her hold to search for the wolf. It had disappeared.

"Hey you listening to me dork?"

Henry huffed and turned to his little sister.

"Sorry," he said, the all too familiar words falling from his mouth like a reflex action and Laura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Get back to the house this instant and apologise to Dad," Laura said pushing him back towards the house.

"Alright, jeez, who died and made you Alpha -" Henry's stopped mid-step.

"Fuck! You're a moron," Laura said in response punching him on arm as she walked past, "What is wrong with you? Were you born with no brain to mouth filter?"

"Get's that from me, I'm afraid."

Henry looked up to find his Dad standing a few meters in front of them with a torch in his hand.

"You coming home son?" his Dad asked him.

There was a moment of silence as he stared at his father, which was only interrupted by his sister.

"Move it loser, I still have homework to do tonight," Laura was now standing arms folding watching him expectantly.

Henry snorted and quickly ran over to his sister and Dad.

"Sorry about -"

"Already forgotten," his Dad cut him off, "We're in this together Henry, it's natural for all of us to get angry and - we all say things we don't mean in the heat of the moment."

"I just miss him," Henry said softly, so softly that he wasn't even sure his Dad had heard him because he didn't say anything for a long time.

"...I know," his Dad finally said but his face was turned away from and even with the torch it was hard to see what kind of expression was on his Dad's face.

"No one blames you Henry," His Dad said as they reached the porch.

Henry's dropped his head and stared at his feet instead of his father.

"No one but you, son," His Dad said squeezing his shoulder and leading him back inside their home.

Now, back in the forest, the wolf continued to watch him. It never made a noise or left any tracks behind but in every other respects it seemed like an ordinary wolf, maybe a bit larger than an ordinary wolf - if he had to compare it to anything he would say it resembled his father's -

Henry eyes instantly returned to the wolf's features, his dark green eyes and dark black patches around its eyes and paws.

No.

He didn't dare to even think it. For one, it looked nothing like his father's wolf form. Derek's wolf had been entirely black but this one was white and...but still he couldn't shake the familiar calming sensation he had always felt around his father.

Henry stared at the animal and it continued to watch him.

Could it be possible?

Could this be....

*thwump!*

Henry tripped over as something heavy hit him in the back. He face-planted into the dirt and spat out twigs as he turned around to find Amber sitting on top of him.

"Hey Hale," she greeted with her sharp teethed smile.

Henry sighed and rested his face on the ground, the wolf of course had disappeared as it always did whenever someone else appeared.

"As always, a pleasure to see you Amber," Henry's voice was muffled by the ground but he knew she could hear him, knew she could hear much better than any human could. Elves. They had become just as much a part of the forest as any other woodland creature ever since the battle one year ago. In exchange for their assistance, the Stilinski-Hales had promised them free reign of the forest surrounding the town so long as they didn't kill any humans. That was a deal breaker, well it would have to be, not only because it was horrifying enough finding the odd dead homeless person ripped to shreds by a passing supernatural creature, but his Dad was also the Sheriff. Stiles said he didn't want to deal with the paperwork but everyone knew that if any of the elves stepped over that line, the full force of the Stilinski-Hale pack would be on them before they could even finish eating their victim. Even if they were powerful, he was pretty sure elves didn't want to go up against a pack of werewolves, hunters and magical demi-gods.

The elves seemed to have a high regard for his Dad. Didn't really understand it, but he supposed it probably had something to do with the demi-god thing, maybe they thought his dad or Henry had connections with Chronos and the other gods and none of them wanted to be smite'd or what not.

Although Amber never seemed to care about any of that. She ignored the rigid structures of social interaction that her elven brethren seemed to adopt whenever a Stilinski-Hale was in their presence. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that she had been friends with his Dad back in New York, or maybe she just never cared about the formalities her family seemed so keen on. Either way, ever since they had moved into the forest, she had made a habit of following him around - he would use the word stalking but that carried implications of predator and prey and he just wasn't comfortable with that. Especially not since he came across the dead carcass of a baby dear one summer evening.

"Bambi?" he had said in distraught looking down at the little woodland creature staring at him with fear filled eyes, his mouth hanging loosely and pink tongue hanging outside its mouth.

"Bambi was delicious," Amber had said in response, her face covered in Bambi's blood as she waved at him with one of the creatures legs.

Whenever they had steak or other meat dishes for dinner, Amber would invite herself and after the first few times of her complimenting them on how they prepared Bambi, Henry had almost shoved the plate away and swore that he was going to be a vegan.

She did it to spite him he knew it. He was just as much a meat eater as the rest of his family, and two of them were werwolves for pete's sake. He was used to seeing Laura and his Dad acting like...well like animals when it came to food but still the way Amber smiled as she ate her meat felt too much like she was mocking him. It was for that reason that he would stare her down and chew on his steak with barely a winch. He wasn't going to let some elf get the better of him. Stilinski-Hales never backed down from a challenge.

"Saw you at Deaton's yesterday," Amber said finally jumping off his back allowing him to get back up.

"Yeah, strange how I visit my teacher on days when I have lessons with him," Henry said brushing himself off, "Also, I thought I told you stop following me around..."

He would have added 'stalker', to that comment but he had to satisfy himself with a glowering look in Amber's direction.

"You were there for a long time," Amber continued walking along side him when he started to make his way home again.

"Oh yeah that," he said trailing off and remaining silent for the rest of the walk home despite Amber's piercing grey-blue eyes practically burning holes in the side of his face.

"Hey kid," Amber grabbed his arm just as they reached the Hale House, "I promised your Dad I would take care of you alright, make sure you're not doing anything stupid."

"Whatever," Henry shook his head at the elf and walked off. He didn't need another parent, he just needed the one he lost to come back but the chances of that happening were looking grim with each passing day.

He dropped his school bag onto the floor and walked towards the kitchen, passing under Laura who was walking along the stair banister above him talking on her phone with her boyfriend probably.

"Werewolves," he muttered under his breath.

"Humans," Laura replied instantly, pulling her phone away from her face for a second to greet him, "How was Deaton?"

"Fine," he said opening the fridge and pulling out the large tub of milk.

He unscrewed the cap and was just about to drink the cold milk when Laura's voice interrupted him.

"Unless you're planning on taking a shower in that milk, it better be going in a cup - No, not you Isaac, Henry's just being a boy again."

Henry rolled his eyes and promptly made as much noise as he could as he grabbed a cup from the cupboard to pour himself a glass.

He walked back up the stairs, walking past Laura to get to his room.

"You're girlfriend's loves bossing people around Isaac," Henry leaned over to say as he walked past Laura.

Laura spun and aimed a kick in his direction but he easily avoided it by his usual time shifts. He smirked at her and his sister stuck out her tongue at him.

"Real mature," Henry said in response, "I can see why you like her Isaac."

He quickly made his way to his room and closed the door just as Laura turned and growled angrily at him.

The smile slipped from his face and he threw himself onto his bed. He checked his phone for messages and after kicking off his shoes pulled out the old and weatherworn copy of Dad's old journals.

"Henry..."

"Hmmm?" Henry said still half-asleep as he turned his head to his side.

"Wake up son..."

"mph...tired..." he managed to say wiping droll off his face with his sleeve.

At the familiar warm laugh Henry instantly sat up in bed.

"Dad?"

Henry blinked at the dark room, and quickly clicked on the bedside lamp. Light flooded the room, he saw his dirty clothes strewn across the floor, papers and books falling off the side of his desk, family pictures on his bookshelf and old CD's stacked on the floor.

"Dad?" Henry said again.

There was a clatter before his door opened.

"Henry, I bough pizza for - did you sleep in those clothes?"

Henry blinked at his Dad standing in his doorway, looking every bit the Sheriff, with his arms folded and still in uniform sans boots.

Henry swallowed and wiped the sweat from his brow.

He stared around his room once more dazed and confused.

Was it all a dream?

"You alright kiddo?" his Dad asked, disapproval at the state of Henry's room and clothes giving away to concern, "Henry?"

"Yeah Dad," Henry said getting up from the bed, "I hate taking naps in the middle of the day..."

"I know what you mean, this one time I dreamt I was a rainbow coloured half unicorn, half dragon type creature..."

"That's messed up," Henry quirked an eyebrow at his Dad.

Something in Henry's expression must have caught Stiles off guard because he suddenly stopped describing the unicorn-dragon creature and gaped at his son.

"Dad?" it was Henry's turn to be concerned.

"Nothing, it's nothing," His Dad said quickly, "For a second there you looked like - no, it's nothing, come on, Laura's promised to wait for us before she starts eating but you know how werewolves are."

"I can hear you!" Laura said from somewhere downstairs.

"Don't touch the pepperoni pizza's then," his Dad shouted back before turning Henry and saying, "Go wash your face and come help me fend off the werewolves."

Henry smiled briefly before heading to the bathroom, he had learnt to stop pointing out the moments when his Dad would still accidentally refer to werwolves as though his other Dad were still around, and he definitely didn't say anything or tried not to react when he and Laura caught him saying Derek's name.

'That's right,' Henry reminded himself as he wiped the water from his face and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His father was gone, and he was never coming back.

Chapter Text

Henry was staring at the tub of ice-cream in his hand and cursing his massive headache. After the funeral, he had been slowly weaning himself off of his magic. It hadn’t been easy, because unlike his father, he had been aware of his abilities since birth and his powers had become almost like an extension of his body, an additional limb. Whereas his father had to learn how to use magic and control his time travelling abilities, Henry, had since birth an innate sense of time and the supernatural. There were still times when he would use his powers without realising, like slowing time to catch a cup he had accidentally tipped to the floor, or to avoid a collision with another car.

The ill effects of essentially taking a butter knife to his magical limb was that he had started to feel a pulsing headache every few hours. He had read about this illness in his father’s journal, it was the side-effects of not using up the excess magical abilities that came with time travelling. In his father’s case, he had increased his use and practice of magic to offset the time-travelling but for Henry, he didn’t want to time travel anymore. It was far too painful to go back into the past, to see his Dad alive and well and know what was to come for him and for all of them.

Which all came back to this darn headache and ice-cream. He had unfortunately recruited Laura into his plan to stop himself from time-travelling and though she was vehemently against it because of the ill side-effects on Henry, she eventually agreed, only because she felt she could help monitor his health if she was involved in the process. So what had been Laura’s ingenious plan?

As with so many things involving his sister, her plan was to embarrass him as publicly and as often as possible. If he so much as slowed time to avoid literally stop spilling milk, she would miraculously appear beside him with a list of embarrassing tasks for him to fulfil. Which was how Henry had ended up standing in the middle of the frozen food section of a crowded grocery store with a basket full of feminine hygiene products, no condoms - thank every God and creature in existence, a large bag of peanut butter cookies and a tub of peppermint ice cream.

Henry sighed and placed the ice-cream into the basket just as someone called out his name. Henry looked up and smiled at Rachel Boyd walking over to him. Her lacrosse uniform fitting nicely to her tall athletic figure. Her long black hair framing her angular face which was smiling at him. Rachel was one of his best friends, they were born only a month apart and had been practically inseparable since birth. It was she who he used to go to when he needed to get away from all the crazy that existed in the Stilinski-Hale household.

Rachel was much like her father, a realist and calm influence on anyone who was around her.

Henry felt something tense inside him as his close friend stood in front of him, her quick eyes assessing him. He really should have said that they had been close, before the events of last year, but as the days turned into months, into now almost a year since his father’s death, Henry had found whether consciously or not drifting away from those closest to him.

"How have your college applications been going?" Rachel asked him.

Henry felt relief wash over him. He didn’t know why he had been fearful that she would bring up the looming event that had everyone in his house on edge for the last week.

"Fine," Henry replied wiping his hand on his jeans and turning to look at the stupidly ridiculous list Laura had given him.

Rachel stood beside him quietly for a moment.

After a while Henry turned to move and she followed beside him as he explained that he had already received the acceptance letter from his University of choice in New York city. He didn’t need to explain to Rachel why he had chosen New York. That city seemed linked to his family in one way or another. Both his parents had gone to New York to study after high school and the elves which now lived on the Hale property had a large extended family still living in Central Park. More than that though, he had been feeling suffocated by the history and pain that was tied to his home town but not entirely ready to sever all ties with his family completely. New York seemed the logical choice, he hadn’t told anyone about his plans yet as he wasn’t entirely sure how his family or friends would react. Rachel was the first he had told and only because he didn’t want her to ask him any questions about his family right now.

Rachel stood beside his jeep and watched him with careful eyes.

"I’ll miss you," she said as he jumped into the drivers seat.

Henry stilled and stared at the steering wheel. She didn’t wait for a reply before turning and walking off to her own car.

He knew what she was saying. He had missed her too, they were best friends after all and he had cut her off without a word. It wasn’t that he had wanted to but he just couldn’t hold onto people in his life anymore…he didn’t know if he could deal with losing another person in his life. By pre-empting them, by cutting off people in his life, by moving across the country he was exerting control over the situation. The only control he had felt in his life since that horrible day almost a year ago.

Henry pulled out of the parking lot and drove the quiet lonely journey home.

Another headache scratched at the inside of his skull and he winced at the pain, rubbing at his temples as he waited at the pedestrian crossing. He glanced around at the town that he would soon be leaving behind.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to miss this town, his friends and family but he needed time to deal with everything that had happened. While Laura had learnt to mask her pain in taking on a parenting role for both Henry and their sole surviving parent, she also had Isaac to support her. Henry didn’t know how to deal, couldn’t and didn’t know if he could ever deal with what had happened. Everyone told him it wasn’t his fault, events were fixed. The God’s after all loved messing with demi-gods, and they somehow thought that casting him in the role of Macbeth would be a hilarious turn of events.

It wasn’t funny though. Had his entire life been planned out as a cosmic joke that led straight to the death of his father? If so, he was pretty sure he could tell those damned Gods where they could stick their cosmic jokes.

Henry pulled into the Stilinski-Hale property and as the old jeep made its ways through the familiar woods Henry wondered if he would ever be able reconcile himself to the guilt. It had been hard those first few months, seeing his only surviving parent break down when someone, often his Dad himself, inadvertently referred to something his father had done or said. Henry remembered coming home from his usual lessons with Deaton to find Laura sitting on the swing on the lawn.

He stopped and sat on the swing beside her.

"He’s crying again," Laura had said softly.

Henry turned to look back at the house.

"Was he talking to himself this time?" Henry asked his sister.

Laura nodded her head in response.

Those first few months, their Dad had still been walking around and talking as though their other Dad were still around. It was only when Henry and Laura had made an appointment for them all to see a family therapist that their father had stopped talking out loud to himself. But even still, there would be moments like last month when they were having dinner and his Dad had started laughing as he was telling them all a joke.

"…oh, I forget how it ends, Derek you’re better at telling th -" Their Dad had cut himself off mid-sentence and stared across at the empty seat which would have been occupied by his husband and their Dad.

"Dad?" Laura said in concern placing a hand on their Dad’s.

He had swallowed and sort-of laughed before saying he had some paperwork to finish before quickly leaving the room.

Henry and Laura had just stared at each other before finishing their dinner’s in silence.

Yet, even after all that, his Dad never blamed him, in fact the had blamed himself for what had happened.

Henry parked his car in front of his home and got out of his car. He noticed Laura sitting on the roof of the house. He climbed the stairs of their home, and crawled out his bedroom window to climb up onto the roof to sit beside his baby sister.

"Your ice-cream," he said settling down beside her.

He held out a plastic spoon to her and Laura shuffled closer to him, before resting her head on his shoulder. They ate the ice-cream as they watched the sky darken around them and the stars appear. He heard Laura take a deep breath beside him.

"You smell like Dad," Laura said softly taking another spoonful of ice-cream, "Does the Adderall help"

Henry shrugged.

"A little, but I still get these really bad headaches."

"Dad told me he likes the smell…"

Henry didn’t need to ask which parent she was referring to, there was only one person she could be referring to, who liked the mix of adderall, and the strange mix of smells that clung to his father’s skin.

"What’s it smell like?" Henry asked curiously.

Laura took another deep breath.

"It’s sort of metallic smell but then it mixes with the natural smells of your skin and your emotional state to give off this ocean and pine sort-of smell."

After a moment of silence, Henry asked his sister what their father had smelt like.

"Like the earth after rain," Laura said softly a faraway look taking over her face as she closed her eyes as though she were picture their father in her mind, "fresh, earthy, but warm and comforting like a warm fire on a cold winter’s night."

He heard his sister begin to choke up and he hugged her close to his chest as she began to sob.

"I can’t smell him anymore," she cried into his chest, "His scent is slowly fading from the house, from his clothes…I don’t want to wake up one day and not remember what our Dad smelt like, what it felt like to be hugged by him, how safe I felt in his arms…"

Henry couldn’t say anything, what could he say to comfort his sister right now, she was struggling to deal with their father’s death in a very werewolf manner and he didn’t know how to help her.

"Everyday I wake up and for a single moment I forget that he’s gone," Laura said in a hoarse voice, "And then I remember and it feels like he’s died all over again…and I can’t…"

Henry held his sister close to him.

"I know," Henry repeated, unable to say anything else, because there was nothing else that could be said.

Nothing he could say would change the fact that their father was gone.

Nothing could change the fact that the days would continue on moving and tomorrow would be the day that they had all been dreading but none of them had admitted out loud. No, they had all put on brave faces and forcing smiles all week but underneath it all they were all on edge.

Laura suddenly sat up and tilted her head.

"Dad’s home," she said before standing up, she stretched and easily stepped off the roof. He heard her make a soft landing on the ground beneath them leaving him alone with his thoughts for a moment.

When he heard his Dad call his name he crawled back inside his room and went to have dinner with his family.

Henry found himself wandering the woods later that night. He knew his Dad and Laura wouldn’t worry about him wondering off, mostly because everyone in their family had the tendency to wander off at odd hours for one reason or another and unless there were signs of a struggle the other members of the family wouldn’t really feel any great alarm at your disappearance for at least a few hours. When two members of the family were werewolves, one of which was an - or rather had been an Alpha, and the other members were magical time travellers there was very little that could really harm them especially not within the Hale property. Or at least, they had thought so one year ago.

Henry found himself walking more often at night over the last few days.

He couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t even like he was experiencing nightmares but rather the opposite. He had been having dreams or rather reliving old memories. Memories of his long since gone father. Henry shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and kicked a rock at his feet into the lake. The mist from his warm breath fogged up his glasses and he pulled them off to clear the mist.

'Henry.'

Henry started at the sound.

He quickly returned the glasses to his face and searched the surrounding area. He heard nocturnal animals moving, a few owls, even an odd elf jumping through some trees but no other humans. Henry rubbed his aching head, pulling out the small bottle of painkillers in his pocket and rolling the bottle around his hand.

He didn’t like the effect the medication was having on his body but these headaches were getting worse. He lifted his shaking hand to his face and pressed his fingers to his temple, for one moment wishing he had his Dad’s or Laura’s abilities to take away pain.

'Henry…'

Henry dropped his hand to his side and looked up as a warm light appeared in the distance. The wolf was standing on the pier watching him. Henry’s eyes locked with the wolf’s and he felt the physical and mental pull towards the animal. He felt his body move without even realising he was doing so, his eyes never leaving the creatures.

'Henry…' the voice called once more, so soothing and so, oh so very familiar.

Henry reached out his hand to touch the creature only to have it disappear from before his eyes.

Henry blinked at the empty space where the wolf had just been standing on the icy lake.

"Henry!"

Henry spun around at the sound of someone calling his name just as a deafening cracking sound filled the air. He only had time to register Laura’s horrified face before cold empty darkness surrounded him.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Henry opened his eyes and stared at his surroundings in confusion.

He was in the forest.

He felt a shiver run up his spine and he pulled his hoodie tighter around him. The sun looked like it was shining but he felt like he was suffering from a fever. He took a shaky step but he quickly realised that something was wrong. There was no sound. He couldn’t hear a single bird, insects, no elves…something was wrong here. Henry looked up, taking a shallow shaky breath.

He coughed.

He felt his entire body being to shake as though he were standing in a snow storm, his skin felt cold to the touch and his bones ached. He looked down at his clothes. They looked dry but he felt cold and damp.

Henry looked around him once more trying to piece together the events that led him here.

"Where am I?" he said finally, before shaking his fuzzy head hoping to clear the muggy feeling he seemed to be drowning in.

That was a bad idea. He suddenly felt dizzy and began swaying.

"What -" Henry grabbed his head and doubled over as he felt his entire body drain of strength and energy, "Wh - wha…"

Henry’s felt his teeth begin to chatter as his vision began to blur.

This felt wrong. This wasn’t -

A wolf howled in the distance. He recognised the sound, it was a distress call.

Another rustle near him and then a shadow ran past him.

Henry lifted his heavy head and tried to keep his vision focused. What was that?

In the distance he saw a figure running. Running through the trees of this strange forest.

Gripping the ground, he forced himself up until he was standing. With shaking legs and chattering teeth he staggered forwards. That person was the only living creature in this forest beside him. He had to find out what happened. How he had ended up in this strange and yet oddly familiar place.

He made it a few paces before he tripped, he was able to steady himself with a nearby tree. The instant his fingers touched the tree he felt a warm sensation return to his body but although his body craved the warmth there was a another part of him screaming at him to run as fast as he could away from this forest.

This place was…wrong.

Another howl and Henry pushed himself away from the tree and staggered towards the sound and the shadow he had seen.

He felt exhausted though he hadn’t seemed to have moved at all. He had been trained to run marathons, why did his body feel so heavy and so drained?

He wanted to stop and think things through. Wanted to question everything, but there was that familiar feeling again, that push inside his mind, telling him to keep going, keep moving. It was almost as though, his mind was preventing him from figuring this all out as though, the answer would be just as dangerous.

He coughed, and struggled to breathe but just as he was about to collapse in exhaustion he saw a figure standing just ahead of him.

He breathed heavily.

"Ex - Excuse me," he said between breaths, "Can you tell me where I am?"

The figure didn’t move. Whatever the guy was staring at had him riveted and as Henry moved closer he realised he recognised this place. He was near the lake.

The lake.

A sudden shock ran through Henry’s body as though someone had just struck him with lightening. He convulsed and grabbed his body in pain.

"Help -" he reached out at the figure ahead of him.

"Henry!"

Henry looked around him at Laura’s voice calling him.

"HENRY!"

"Laura?" he said turning around in confusion, "Where are you?"

"Henry come back!" his sister’s voice sounded distraught and he felt panic rise within him.

What was wrong with Laura?

Was she lost here as well?

Where was here?

He turned back to the figure standing in front of him just as a shadowy image flickered on the ground near him.

"Henry!"

The shadowy image morphed into Laura. Laura was…she was dragging his body out of the lake. Henry stepped forward past the stranger and towards his sister.

"Laura?"

"Oh Gods!" Laura sobbed as she shook the pale and unconscious body next to her, "Henry!"

Laura began shaking Henry furiously.

"Wh - what do I do?" Laura said desperately looking around her, her face wet from tears and her body drenched from jumping in the lake after her brother.

That’s right.

The memory flashed before his eyes.

He had been on the lake. He had followed the wolf onto the lake…he had - Oh God. Was he dead?

He saw the man walk past him and knell down next to the panicking Laura.

"Calm down," the man said reaching out to touch Laura on the shoulder, and he saw Laura’s body instantly relax, "Take Henry to the hospital, then call your Dad."

Henry watched as Laura almost instantly grabbed his unconscious body, swung him over her shoulders and ran off in the direction of the hospital. He had never seen his sister run so fast but as she disappeared he felt his own strength begin to weaken.

He didn’t care about that though because the man had now stood up and turned to look at him.

Henry’s eyes widened and he gaped at the man in front of him.

The man smiled at him but it was a sad smile. He recognised those eyes, that face, and he wondered why it had taken him so long to realise.

 

"D -" Henry swallowed and stepped towards the man, "Dad?"

He reached out to touch his father standing in front of him but a sudden pain shot through his chest. He groaned in pain but he still struggled to reach out to his father.

"Dad!"

He saw his father open his mouth and speak to him but Henry couldn’t hear his words.

"I can’t - " another stab of pain to his chest, "I can’t hear you!"

His father reached out and Henry thought he was going to grab his hand but instead his Dad pushed him. And with that push he felt his body being pulled backwards, the ground and trees rushing away from him.

"Dad!" he screamed trying desperately to reach his father, "DAD!"

Chapter Text

Henry stared at the grey ceiling above him.

The faint smell of antiseptic and the whirring noises of electrical equipment. He felt the familar ache in his bones.

He was in the hospital.

This was not his first time in this place. He hated it here. Not only because of the sterile surroundings and the constant coldness of the place but because every time he awoke here he would awaken to find one of his Dads staring down at him, a look of concern etched on their face. He hated doing that to them but he wasn’t a werewolf and he wasn’t as adept as his father at shielding spells.

He rolled his head to the side and noticed with some relief that his Dad wasn’t here yet. That would give him some time to sift through everything he had seen. But just as he was beginning to wake completely from his unconscious state, the door opened and in walked Tessa Mccall.

'Shit!' his mind cursed at the furious look on her face.

"Stilinski," Tessa said kicking the door closed behind her and that was bad, no witnesses.

He opened his mouth to speak but when she raised her hand to silence him he opted for a smile, though he winced a little as he tried to sit up in the bed.

"Look at you," Tessa said putting her hands on her hips and looking at him completely unimpressed, "Honestly, all that training from my mother and you still make regular visits to the hospital. Your Dad should just donate money to the hospital, name a wing in your name or something. God knows your family has enough money."

Tessa moved around to check on his charts. Tessa didn’t just inherit her mother’s hunter skills but also her father’s medical knowledge. What Scott Mccall applied to saving animals, Tessa had decided long since to apply her intelligence to helping people. Just as Henry was a regular patient at the hospital, Tessa was a regular volunteer at the hospital. Reading to the elderly patients, playing with the kids in the paediatric ward, or just handling paperwork for the nurses, she was pretty popular around here. Which was also why she also always seemed to manage to get him a private hospital room every time he showed up in this place.

She snapped the files back in place and moved over to stand beside him once more.

"What’s the diagnosis?" Henry asked wincing slightly as he shifted his body to look at Tessa.

"You had a slight concussion, they think you hit your head on some rocks when you fell into the lake. You’re lucky Laura was able to keep you body temperature steady with her abnormal werewolf body heat until she got you to the emergency room."

Laura.

"Is she alright?" he asked before coughing at the pain in his throat.

Tessa moved over to the side of the bed and poured him some water, she placed a straw into the cup before handing offering him the cup. Henry took a few sips to soothe his throat and listened as Tessa explained what happened.

"She’s fine," Tessa said pushing some hair out of his face, "Werewolf constitution and all that."

Henry nodded his head though he was still concerned about his sister.

"Don’t make that face," Tessa said, causing Henry to turn back to look at the girl beside him, "I would beat your ass for being so stupid as to walk on a barely frozen lake."

Henry smiled at the girl, she wasn’t lying, ever since the were kids she would always smack him over the head when he did something reckless. She was like a sister to him, most of the McCall siblings were like extended family to him and Laura. Whereas Rachel would stand by his side in silent support, Tessa would physically threaten him if he did anything stupid. He looked at the girl beside him to find her looking back at him with her usual exasperated and unimpressed expression.

"If you didn’t look so pathetic in that hospital gown, I’d probably kick you upside the head but considering that you have been unconscious for the past few days, I’m not sure I would have the heart."

"How long have I been here?" Henry’s eyes widened in alarm at Tessa’s words.

"Two days -"

"Two days!" Henry said in alarm sitting up suddenly bringing about another coughing fit.

"Calm down," Tessa said, handing him some more water and patting him on the back, "You didn’t miss it."

Henry looked up at surprise at Tessa. He hadn’t expected her to remember what Friday was, everyone had stopped talking about it months ago. It had felt like it was only his family who were still living under its shadow.

The thought made him remember what he had seen in that strange forest. Was that heaven?

Henry quickly dismissed the idea. No. If it was heaven then why did he see Laura, and his Dad had even been able to communicate on some strange level with his sister. He made a mental note to question Laura as soon as he saw her. Had she been hearing their Dad’s voice this whole time as well?

For the past year he had been hearing someone calling his name in his dreams. He had never put much stock in it because well…he had always had weird dreams, even as a kid. He was pretty sure it wasn’t normal to have dreams of dead people, demons and monsters only to have those same monsters appear in real life. His Dads had even brought him to Deaton to discuss everything he had see in his dreams, but Deaton was with so many things involving Henry, just as clueless as anyone else. His Dads had always argued about how to deal with not only Henry’s powers, whether he needed special training or if it was best to suppress the abilities he had. His father, had opted to suppress his time-travelling ability but it was easier for Dad to chose that option. He was a late user of magic, but Henry, Henry had always had magic in his life, he didn’t know if he could survive without it.

In the end his parents had just decided to train him themselves. His Dads pushing him to use his abilities to defend himself and others. Eventhouth they helped him he knew that neither of his parents were comfortable with the power they knew he possessed. He was a time-traveller like his Dad but it was much more complicated than that. He could slow and speed up time, as well as travel through the timelines. When Laura had asked him what it was like, he had explained that it was like he was walking through a library, row upon row of events shelved like books. Henry had the ability to pick up a book and peruse the through the events at his leisure. Not that the power didn’t come at a cost. Much like anything else in life, using it in excess would drain his body of energy, never to the point of losing consciousness like his father but enough to bring on symptoms similar to a cold or simple hay-fever.

But even with his powers and everything he had learnt from Deaton he still couldn’t understand what he had experienced. Where had he been, what was his father doing there, and how was that wolf connect to it all?

Tessa snapped her fingers in front of his face and Henry looked up at the girl.

"Don’t zone out on me Stilinski," she said looking at him with fond exasperation, "What am I going to do with you."

Henry offered the girl a smile.

"Sorry for always bothering you like this," Henry said squeezing her hand, "You’re a good friend."

Tessa frowned at him just as Laura walked into the room.

"You’re awake," Laura said rushing over to his side and hugging him.

"Sorry sis," Henry said returning his sister’s hug, "Didn’t mean to freak you out like that."

Laura stepped back before punching him on the arm.

"Ow," Henry said rubbing his arm, "You’re lucky I’m still not one hundred percent or I would have dodged that."

"You are such an idiot," his sister chided him.

"I’ll leave you guys to it," Tessa said jumping off the bed.

"Thanks Tessa," Henry said earning him a small smile from the girl.

Tessa squeezed Laura’s shoulder as she passed her friend and he thought he saw the girl whisper something but Laura didn’t react all so maybe it had been a trick of the light. Henry turned back to look at his sister’s angry face. He sighed and dropped his head back on the bed.

"Are you alright?" his sister’s voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to look at her concerned face.

"Laura I saw you."

"What?" Laura stared at him confusion.

"When you pulled me out of the lake, I saw you," Henry clarified, he needed to know if Laura had seen their Dad.

"Henry what are you talk -"

The door slammed open and Henry saw someone slip before picking themselves quickly up from the floor as they ran into the room.

"Laura!" Isaac ran into the room and grabbed Henry’s sister by the shoulders before looking her over, "Stiles said you were in the hospital. Are you alright?"

Isaac’s hair looked messy and windswept like he had run the distance from the University where he worked all the way back to Beacon Hills. His shirt was dishevelled and hadn’t been buttoned up properly. He was also only wearing one sock and mismatched shoes.

"Isaac, what are you doing here?" Laura said in surprise looking at her boyfriend’s distraught face.

"Are you hurt, why aren’t you in a hospital bed?" Isaac said in alarm looking around as though prepared to shout at any nurses or doctors nearby for not taking care of his girlfriend properly.

"Calm down," Laura said, grabbing Isaac’s face and turning it back to look at her, "I’m fine."

Laura patted down Isaac’s messy hair and cupped his check.

"You didn’t have to come all the way back here -"

"Your Dad said you were in the hospital -"

"I had to bring Henry here, he fell in the lake," Laura explained.

At that Isaac looked behind Laura at Henry, as though only just realising Henry was there.

"I’m fine, thanks for asking," Henry said taking another sip of water.

Isaac’s visible relaxed.

"Silly wolf," Laura laughed at her boyfriend.

Isaac actually blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I’m glad you’re here either way," Laura said after a moment.

Isaac smiled at her.

"I’ve missed you," Isaac said.

"It’s been a month," Laura said with a smile.

"And you’ve grown so -"

"Please for the love of god do not finish that sentence!" Henry cut Isaac off, "I’m a patient, I do not need to hear or witness this sickening display of puppy love."

"Dog jokes, really?" Laura rolled her eyes at him.

"Sorry," Isaac said looking at Henry sheepishly, "Are you alright?"

"Like you care," Henry snorted, "Get out of here and go make out in a supply closet or something."

"Henry!" Laura said her face growing red.

"Like you weren’t thinking about doing that anyway," Henry said before dry retching, "Just don’t do it in here in front of people with eyes. I happen to like my eyes thank you very much and would rather not gouge them out with this spork."

Henry lifted the said spork in his hand before using it to scoop up some jello and shoving the entire contents into his mouth.

"Ugh," Laura made a disgusted face at him.

"What?" Henry smiled at his sister with a mouth full of red jello earning him another eyeroll from Laura.

"Isaac, we should probably let Henry rest," Laura turned to her boyfriend after punching Henry on the arm once more.

"I’m sure it’s my health you’re concerned about and not getting into -"

Laura suddenly clamped a hand over Henry’s mouth to silence him and though Isaac had been holding Laura just seconds before, he was now standing in the far corner of the room staring at the emergency first aid poster on the wall.

A moment later, his Dad walked into the room. Laura dropped her hand and moved to stand near the window, as far as possible away from Isaac as possible. Henry couldn’t help but laugh at that.

"Glad you find this so funny kid," his Dad said as he walked over and hugged him tightly.

"Sorry Dad," Henry felt the familiar guilt gnaw at him everytime he did something reckless and injuring himself.

"You’ve got to stop doing this Henry," His Dad sighed, "I’m not sure I can take the stress everytime I get a call from the hospital."

Henry dropped his head and stared at the bed.

"I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…it was an accident…" Henry trailed off, should he tell his Dad the truth?

"You sure do have a knack for getting into trouble," his Dad continued squeezing his shoulder.

"Didn’t you walk into the forest in the middle of the night to find a dead body?" Isaac asked his Dad.

His Dad turned to look at Isaac and Isaac immediately turned away and looked intently at the poster on CPR. His Dad just shook his head and looked back at Henry.

"How you feeling?"

"A little stiff but not too bad," Henry said.

His Dad nodded his head.

"I was able to do a few healing spells on you but I didn’t want to overdo it, wanted your body to try to heal itself." he explained to Henry, "Scott and Laura helped too, using their werewolf magic fingers."

'Please stop calling it that.'

Henry started and looked around him. That voice had sounded like -

"Henry?" his Dad said, "What is it? What’s wrong?"

After a moment he looked back at his Dad.

"Nothing, it was - nothing."

"Well alright," His Dad said slowly, "I have to go talk to the Doctor, see when we can take you home."

Henry nodded his head and forced a smile as his Dad walked away.

"Isaac, go home," his Dad said as he walked past the werewolf, "You look like you skydived here."

"Yeah I’ll just -" Isaac glanced at Laura earning a raised eyebrow from Henry’s Dad, "Yeah, I’ll just go home."

Laura shook her head as Isaac and their Dad left the room.

"Do you think he will ever stop being scared of Dad?" Henry asked his sister.

"He’s not scared," Laura said defensively, "Just…respectful."

Henry snorted at that.

"Oh don’t you start," his sister said grabbing a pillow and smacking him in the face.

Henry let the pillow drop to the bed before looking at his sister seriously.

"Laura I need to talk to you about what happened at the lake."

"Henry, what’s wrong?" Laura said moving over to stand next to the bed, his expression and tone clearly disconcerting her.

"I saw Dad."

There was a long silence where Laura searched his eyes and he knew she was listening carefully to his heartbeat. Then like a light-switch she smiled at him once more.

"Yeah of course you did, we both did."

Henry’s heart jumped at his sister’s words.

"You saw him?" he grabbed his sisters hand and though she resisted his grasp for a moment that smile still remained on her face.

"Of course dummy, he’s outside with Isaac filling out paperwork to have you discharged from the hospital."

"That’s not what I meant Laura," Henry frowned at his sister.

"Henry," Laura said in a warning voice but Henry ignored her.

"Something happened to me in that lake, I don’t know what," He explained, "But one moment I was drowning and the next I was in a strange forest and Dad was there."

Henry looked up to see Laura’s smile had completely disappeared and she was staring at him in concern.

"And I saw you Laura, I saw you drag me out of the lake and Dad - Dad he walked over to you -"

"Henry -"

"And he told you to calm down and he -"

"Henry! Stop!" Laura shouted ripping her hand out of his grip and stepping away from him with a horrified look, "Stop, don’t do this."

"Laura…what -"

Laura gripped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes tightly rather than look directly at him.

"Don’t do this Henry. I can’t do this again."

"Laura what are you talking about?" Henry moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his body still ached but Laura looked so distraught that he needed to make sure she was okay. He reached out to touch her but she pushed him away.

"You weren’t there Henry," Laura all but sobbed, "You disappeared after Dad died and I was all alone. I was all alone and Dad had locked himself in his room, babbling on about bringing Dad back from the dead and barely eating. He didn’t even recognise me when I would go and check on him, bring him food and make sure that he hadn’t killed himself…"

Henry stared at his sister in shock. He hadn’t realised that things in those first few months had been so hard on Laura but he didn’t know why he had been so surprised. He had disappeared for days, he couldn’t be around anyone for those first few months. Couldn’t stand to be around anything or anyone that reminded of his Dad. Looking at his sister in front of him he felt shame wash over him, he had abandoned his little sister when she needed him the most. God, he was such an asshole. He had been so wrapped up in his own pain he didn’t even realise that his little sister had been hurting the most. Ever since they’re Dad had died she had been the stable figure in the family, holding them all together, he never even considered how much that had cost her.

"Laura…"

"I was alone for months, you were barely there and I had to do everything on my own. Then Dad started talking to himself, walking around the house acting like Dad was still there. I was so scared Henry, scared that I was going to lose the only parent we had left. But now," Laura looked up at him, her face wet from crying, "Now that everything is finally starting to feel okay again, now that I’m finally starting to feel okay again, you nearly die and now you tell me that you saw our dead Dad?”

Henry couldn’t bear that heartbroken expression on his sister face. He dropped his eyes and stared at the hospital floor.

"I didn’t say anything when you started talking in your sleep and I am sure as hell am not going to tell our only surviving parent that you saw our dead Dad when you almost died… "

Henry’s eyes snapped back up at Laura. He hadn’t told anyone about his dreams.

"I’m not a time traveller Henry, I don’t have magic," Laura continued, "For me, time travels in one direction and I can’t - I won’t go back to that time when everything was so fucked up. When Dad would cry himself to sleep, you were barely talking and I was all alone…I just won’t."

"Laura," Henry swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Laura."

They both turned to see Isaac standing in the doorway looking at Laura in deep concern.

"Laura, why didn’t you ever tell me what you were going through?" Isaac asked his sister, "Whenever I called you, you just kept saying that you were fine, that you were happy."

"I didn’t want you to worry," Laura sighed turning to Isaac, "You had just started your new job, I didn’t want you to come rushing back to Beacon Hills everytime I was lonely."

Isaac shook his head at Laura before walking over and hugging her tightly.

"Silly girl," Isaac said softly, "I love you, of course I would have come back if you needed me. It’s just a job, but you, you’re the most important thing in my life. I will always drop everything and come to your side if you need me."

"I’m not so weak as to need my boyfriend to come rescue me 24/7."

"It’s not weakness to accept help Laura," Isaac sighed before he whispered something into Laura’s ears.

Henry turned his face away, feeling as though he were intruding on a private moment between the two. He only heard Laura’s soft sobs and Isaac’s voice, but they were speaking so softly that only werewolves would have been able to hear. Henry looked down at his hands.

He had been so determined to figure all this out. He was sure that his Dad was still alive somehow and he had wanted Laura to help him figure it out, to tell their Dad and for them all to find a way to bring back their dead father. But he couldn’t do that if it meant hurting the only family he had left, he couldn’t do that to them, not again.

"Henry," Laura had walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He slowly looked up into his sister’s face.

"I won’t tell Dad."

Laura nodded at him grimly before leaning over and hugging him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It’s a miracle," Laura pulled back when their Dad walked into the room, "You guys aren’t even fighting."

Henry forced a smile but their Dad knew them both better than that.

"What’s wrong?" he said slowly looking from Henry to Laura.

"Nothing," Laura and Henry said simultaneously.

"Uh-huh," their Dad said looking at them sceptically, "Well whatever it is, you know I’ll get it out of you eventually, I am the Sheriff after all."

Isaac snorted at this and their Dad turned to look at him.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Dad!" Laura said walking over to stand between Isaac and their Dad, "Be nice."

"I am being nice," their Dad said folding his arms and looking at Isaac, "Aren’t I, Lahey?"

Isaac just laughed nervously.

"I should go," Isaac said quickly, "Hope you feel better Henry. I’ll call you later Laura."

With that, Isaac practically ran from the room.

"Daddy!"

"Don’t ‘Daddy' me,” their Dad said before turning to look at Henry, “Ready to go home kid?”

"You have no idea."

Chapter Text

"You’re checking out then?"

Henry looks up from where he sits in the hospital hallway. His Dad was currently talking to a nurse and signing some paperwork to let him go home. Unsuprisingly however his mind had drifted to what he had seen before he had almost drowned.

He turns at the sound of the voice and sees Tess in her volunteer uniform standing next to him. She smiles and takes a seat next to him, straightening her skirt before turning to look at him.

"You okay, Stilinski?" she asks, her piercing brown eyes scanning his face.

He shrugs. He glances over at his father still talking to the nurse and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"I have a lot on my mind."

Tessa nods her head at him.

"But you promised Laura that you weren't going to talk about it."

Henry raises an eyebrow at her.

"What? I have six siblings, you think I haven't mastered the art of eavesdropping by now?"

"It's complicated,' Henry says rubbing a hand over his face, he was tired. Now that he thought about it, he had been tired for the last year."

Tessa doesn’t say anything but he feels her hand squeeze his free on on his lap.

"I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Tess."

"Ready to go kiddo? Hello, Tessa."

"Hi Sheriff," Tessa says.

Henry stands and nods his head at Tessa before following his Dad out of the hospital. His Dad reaches up and ruffles his hair, the familiar Stilinski brown hair. The thought cut deep. There had been times in the past when he had wished that he had inherited something from his father, not that he envied Laura's werewolf abilities, he was his own person but there were times when he wished he saw his father in his reflection. Something, anything to remind him who he was. To remind him of the father he had gotten killed. The father who loved him enough to sacrifice his own life for his child, his son. Henry feels the weight of his Dad's arm over his shoulder fall heavier than usual as he walked out of the hospital with his sole remaining parent. Henry tries to push these dark thoughts to the back of his mind, the ability to compartmentalise his emotions had allowed him to get through so many dark days, months and probably would serve him in the years to come. Henry gets into the passenger seat and buckles his seatbelt all the while avoiding his Dad’s eyes. The annoying thing about parents, especially his, they always knew when he had something to hide. He wished he was like Laura, she always seemed to keep her secrets so well hidden. I mean, she was dating Isaac for months before any of them found out.

He doesn’t dare look across at his Dad and instead turns his head to stare out the window. He can still see his Dad’s reflection in the window and it makes his stomach twist.

"You gonna tell me what's going on with you?"

Henry starts at the sound of his Dad’s voice but he quickly covers it up with a shrug.

"What do you mean?"

"Henry," his Dad replies with an unimpressed look but when Henry schools his face and returns his father's gaze, his dad simply sighs and says, "Fine."

"Let's talk about something else then shall we," his Dad says as they turn out of the hospital and drive through town, "Like what's going on with you and Tess?"

Henry tenses at the words.

"Dad, come on," Henry says pulling his shoulders in and glaring at his reflection in the window.

"I see the way she looks at you," his dad replies.

Henry doesn’t say anything. He was never interested in dating anyone, ever. He doesn’t know why, it was just never an aspect of teenage life that interested in, far too absorbed in testing his powers and his family. That niggling feeling that always cut into him whenever he thought about allowing anyone close enough to see the person he really was came clawing out from the dark places of Henry’s mind. He knew what that feeling was, he knew it was the part of him that he struggled with, had always struggled with. The part of himself that he found the hardest to control. There were days where he felt it was unbearable but he remembered his family. They always brought him out of that darkness. But now, with his Dad…with everything so messed up, Henry felt that control slipping and it terrified him.

"You like her don't you?" He heard his Dad's voice and forced himself back to the present.

"She's a good kid," Henry replies, he doesn't add 'too good for someone like me' but his father knows him too well because he says in response,

"And you're not?"

"Can we drop this," Henry sighs.

The car descends into silence which is fine for Henry, but he knows his Dad too well and he practically can count down the seconds before his dad speaks again. But what his dad says surprises him.

"So much like your father."

Henry turns and stares at his Dad.

They rarely spoke of his father, mostly because it was too painful for them all and by the look on his Dad’s face it was still too raw, too fresh and yet he was the one who brought it up.

"Strong, silent types," his dad continues a fond smile on his face despite the pain reflected in his eyes.

The look in his Dad’s eyes causes a sharp hot pain rip through Henry’s chest and he turns away to stare out the window once more. They turn into the Beacon Hills preserve that surrounds their home.

"I don't want you kids to think…" his Dad takes a shaky breath before continuing, "I know after…I was kinda of a mess but I'm okay now…well, I'm better now. So, I don't want you kids to think you can't talk to me about what you're going through. That you can't tell me what it is that's bothering you."

His Dads words makes Henry think that maybe, just maybe he could tell his Dad what he saw, could explain the spark of hope he had been keeping hidden for so long. That his father may still be alive and that Henry actually saw him. But as he turns to look at his Dad, Laura’s face swims before his eyes and he bites down on his lip. He promised her and he can’t break anymore promises. Not after everything he had put her through, everything he had done.

It was that part of him, the part that loved his sister, the part of him that was still terrified of the power he had, the darkness that that power brought out in him that made him clench his fists and shove that spark of hope to the back of his mind.

"It's nothing, Dad, really," he lies, lies far too easily. He avoids his Dad gaze and knows that his father knows that he is lying but neither of them speak after that and the remainder of their trip home continues in silence.

When his Dad parks the cruiser in front of their house, Henry practically bolts for the door, he spares only one glance at his Dad who is still still sitting in the car watching Henry enter the house. The familiar twist in his gut as he sees the disappointment in his Dads face.

'I’m sorry,' he says as he turns and walks inside.

Laura isn’t home.

Probably out with Isaac, they see each other every other weekend, but that’s how couples are, Henry thinks as he pours himself a glass of water and leans against the sink to stare out into the night. He wonders what that must be like. To be so in love with a person, that being without them, even for a moment, feels like agony. He see’s the way his Dad hurts everyday, and sees the way Laura’s face lights up every time Isaac calls her, he wonders if that something is wrong with him. Because he has never felt that before, whatever that feeling is, that makes a person feel hollow inside without another person.

His thoughts drift to Tessa, and the conversation with his Dad. He gulps down the entire glass of water, washes and dries the cup before heading back up to this room. He walks past his Dad’s study and sees the light under the door. Another late night for the Sheriff, Henry thinks to himself before walking towards his room. He closes the door with a soft click and leans against the door for a moment. He allows his eyes to adjust before kicking off his shoes and collapsing in his bed.

After everything that has happened the past few days, Henry doesn’t expect to sleep at all but the instant his head hits the bed he feels the darkness surround him.

His eyes snap open. He doesn’t know what has awoken him, but years of training has taught him to be prepared for anything. His fingers tighten around the dagger beneath his pillow. He schools his features and calms his breathing. He looks around the room and sees a face staring in through the window at him. He rolls his eyes and walks across the room. He leans down and looks at the frozen face of the elf in front of him. He must have used his powers the instant he awoke, because everything including the elf crouching in front of his window is frozen. He considers for a moment what to do before taking a deep breath and allowing time to return to normal.

The elf jumps back when she sees him in front of her a muffled squeak escaping her mouth before she regains her footing and motions for him to open his window. He glances at his clock. He shakes his head at her before closing the curtains and falling back into bed.

'I know you saw Derek,' the elf's muffled voice says through the window and Henry almost rips the window from its hinges.

The elf smirks at him.

'What did you say?' Henry says in barely a whisper.

'I know you saw your Dad,' she says, 'Now let me in.'

Henry grits his teeth, considers the elf for a moment before opening the window and allowing the elf inside.

"What do you know?"

The elf moved and sat down on his desk chair. She took her time swivelling on the chair, if he didn't know who or what she was he would have been amused by the eleven year old looking girl in his desk chair. She pulled out a lollipop, unwrapped it and promptly popped it into her mouth. Henry eye twitched but he had learnt to control his emotions. Even though he wasn't a werewolf, his father didn't differentiate between training Laura and Henry.

'Control your emotions, the instant you allow your anger to take control - then you lose.' He heard his father's distant voice whisper in his ear and he relaxed his shoulders and sat down on his bed watching the elf in front of him.

"Talk or get out," Henry said briskly as though he had not been desperate to have this conversation with someone - anyone, ever since he saw his dead father in the woods.

The little elf smirked and folded her legs on his chair and watched him.

"So much like your father," she looked at him almost fondly, but elves didn't do fond, they did eat now or eat later.

He stared at her blank faced and she finally sighed and dropped her arms to the side.

"Fine, if you're going to be all grumpy about it," she began, "I heard what you said, that you saw your father while you were unconscious, that you still think he's a live somewhere."

Henry ignored the part where she admitted that she had been following him around and listening in on his conversations. It was definitely not okay, but he put that annoying thought aside, to consider more important matters. The way she was speaking it was almost as though she knew what he was planning and that was not good. No one, not even Deaton knew what he was planning, had been planning for months now, it was only his encounter with father that had spurred his determination to go through with his plan.

"I can help you," his thoughts were drawn back to the present by the elfs voice, "I can take you to see someone, someone who can tell you once and for all whether Derek is still of this earth."

"What are you suggesting, exactly?"

A few more spins on his chair before the girl turned round to look at him.

"I can take you to the veil."

Henry's head instantly filled with mythology and lore on the veil. The line between the living and the dead. He looked up at the elf and instantly Laura's face flashed before his eyes.

He had promised her he would let this go, that he would try as she had done to move on. But could he do that when this elf was offering to give exactly what he wanted. What he needed.

Henry's eyes drifted to the picture frame on the bookshelf. The pictures of his family, of his dads and him at their first ever baseball game together.

He closed his eyes and though he felt the hot searing pain inside him telling him to follow his gut, he couldn't - he wouldn't, not when he promised Laura.

"Thank you for the information," Henry said looking up at the elf, "Now please leave, unlike my werewolf sister, it takes me much longer to heal from physical injuries."

"We both know you are more powerful than that," the elf looked him straight in the eye as she stood up and walked over to him, "You may fooled the others but I see your true powers Henry Stilinski-Hale and I'm not the only one."

Henry felt his fingers twitch ready to turn into fists to fight this elf off, but as always he heard his father's calming voice in his head.

"Thank you for your concern," Henry replied through gritted teeth.

They stared at each other for a long moment before the elf finally broke eye contact and swiftly jumped out the window into the darkness beyond.

Henry moved to close the window before standing up and staring at his hands, his eyes slowly moving to stare out into the night.

"What do I do, Dad?" Henry whispered into the dark.

Chapter Text

Henry couldn't sleep.

Once he was discharged from the hospital and when his dad stopped smothering him with blankets and bringing him bowls of soup, he just ended up staring at the wall opposite his bed. The wall that his father, his other father, had put up a shelf for Henry to place all his most treasured items. His long distance running trophy, the baseball cap his dads had bought for him when they took him to watch his first ever baseball game, he couldn't remember who won, he just remembered sitting between his parents, eating junk food and wearing a cap that was two sizes to big for his small head. If he closed his eyes tight enough he could almost hear the roar of the crowd and the feel of his dads hand as they ruffled Henry's dark hair. The image of his Dad smiling down at him the last image in his mind before he sighed and sat up in his bed.

The early morning light moved slowly across the room, but not yet touching the final treasure piece on Henry's shelf. A family portrait taken two years previously. They were all just sitting on the porch, eating lunch and Laura had whipped out her phone and took a picture of all of them. Henry, his mouth stuffed with chips, Laura, hair perfect and eyes closed to make sure her werewolf eyes didn't ruin the photo. But it was his dads that really made the picture complete. They were both sitting on the swing, while Henry sat on the windowsill next to them and Laura stood slightly in front of them. His dad had a smirk on his face as his other dad retold a story from before Henry and Laura were born. It was his eyes. His dads would often argue with each other, loudly, but there was always an undercurrent of deep affection and love between them. It was not uncommon for arguments to end with one of them storming off and shouting angrily at the other,

"Fuck this! I'm leaving before I have the urge to throw something at you!"

"Fine! Like I care."

"No, you leave, I have an early start tomorrow and I'm going to bed now - so you leave!"

"Jesus, fine!" Derek storms past Stiles and rummages around the door before shouting back from the foyer, "Where are my fucking keys, you always move them, I told you to stop moving them. I got a key bowl for keys, that's why it's called a key-bowl. God, you are so fucking infuriating sometimes."

"No one calls it that! And I don't move the keys you're the one always putting them in your pocket and forgetting to put them in the fucking key-bowl. The key-bowl that you bought!"

Derek grabs his jacket and finds the offending keys.

"I'm leaving," Derek opens the door, pauses, sighs, "I love you, you stupid idiot."

"I love you too....bastard."

The door closes and Stiles drops down onto the couch. He runs a tired hand across his face and without looking up says,

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," Henry replied walking slowly over to his dad before taking a seat on the coffee table.

"There's a chair right there," his dad scolded him, "I know I didn't raise you in a barn."

Henry rolled his eyes and scooted over to the armchair next to the fireplace to stare at his dad.

"You guys argue a lot," Henry says finally.

His dad's head falls back as he laughs at Henry.

The smile fades from Henry's face as the memory fades from his mind and he remembers where he is and everything that he has lost since that time.

'Get up,' he hears his father's voice in his head, 'Get up and keep going.'

Henry was tired. So tired of everything. And he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and forget what day it was. But no matter how much power he had, he couldn't stop this day from happening.

Henry found himself standing, pulling on a hoodie and walking downstairs. It was early. Early by human standards that was. For Laura who was currently tiptoeing across the lawn towards the house, he guessed it was very very late.

He folded his arms and watched his sisters progress across the yard. She froze suddenly and he knew she must have sensed his presence because she stood up and after a moments thought walked towards him. She slipped through the french doors and accepted the cup of coffee he held out towards her.

"Dad awake?" she questioned sipping the coffee, placing her heels on the floor and sliding onto the kitchen stool.

Henry shrugged his shoulders.

Laura pursed her lips and her eyes glazed over momentarily before she looked back at him.

"Sleeping in the study again," she frowned at him, "You could have tried to get him to sleep in his bed, you know."

He didn't want to say that he had been avoiding his Dad so instead he flipped the conversation back on his little sister.

"And how was I supposed to answer if he asked why you weren't home yet?"

Laura made a dissatisfied sound and drank her coffee.

Henry just continued to stare at her but she didn't return his gaze so instead he moved to the sink to pour his coffee down the drain. He felt a headache coming on and coffee didn't help.

He felt Laura's eyes on him.

"What are we supposed to do today?" she said softly.

They had all been avoiding this topic and that now that the day had finally arrived none of them knew what to do.

Henry looked over at his baby sister then down at the cup in his hands. The soap dripped down the cup into the dirty sink. The seconds passed slowly, a thousand thoughts running through Henry's head. Finally he rinsed the cup and placed it on the sink to dry.

Turning he looked over at his sister. She watched him expectantly, her face so scared, so - vulnerable. He didn't like the look on her. His sister was supposed to be tough, a force to be reckoned with but because of him, she was broken, just like he was, just like they all were.

He walked over and held his sister in his arms. She didn't return it, but she didn't push him away, just laid her head on his shoulder.

"What do we do, Henry?" her muffled voice asked him.

Henry took a deep breath.

"We should probably, go...visit the grave," he replied taking a step back to look at Laura.

Her face was downcast before she suddenly jumped up from the seat.

"I forgot to order flowers!" Laura said turning towards the door as though she was going to run out and get flowers at five in the morning.

Henry grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"It doesn't matter -"

"No!" she cut him off, "We have to have flowers - we h-have to..."

She broke off and started crying.

"We - we can't not have flowers for him..." she sobbed.

"Dad never liked cut flowers," Henry tried to soothe his sister as she hiccuped and wiped the tears from her face.

He pulled her into another hug and this time she wrapped her arms around him. Henry felt that tightness in his chest return. He could fix this. He had to fix this.

He wanted to say something sensible. That he would go out and get the flowers or that he would buy a potted plant for the grave, instead he said,

"I want to tell Dad what I saw."

Laura froze before pushing him away from her.

"What?" she hissed at him.

Henry bit his lip as he looked at his sister.

"I think I can bring Dad back."

Laura slapped him across the face before turning and storming out of the house. Henry watched her dumbstruck for a moment before he following his sister outside.

"Laura -"

"No."

"Why?" he said in frustration, "I can fix this, I will do everything in my power to fix this, why won't you even let me try?"

"Let you -" Laura spun around and her eyes glowed gold as she glared at him, "Do you know with absolute certainty that you can 'fix it'? That whatever foolhardy plan you have will actually work?"

"I -"

"Because remember the last plan you had?" Laura continued ignoring him, jabbing him in the chest with an accusatory finger, "Remember last time you thought you were so clever, so smart and you would fix everything? What happened that time, huh?"

Henry gritted his teeth.

"Why won't you even let me try?" Henry said in desperation, "I know I fucked up but I can at least try to fix this -"

"No, you can't" Laura said looking at him and he watched her shoulders slowly sag before she continued, "Sometimes in life you fuck up and there's nothing you can do to fix it. You just have to accept the mistakes and move on."

"I..." Henry took a deep breath and looked back at Laura, "I can't."

"He's dead, he's dead!" Laura said shakily her voice breaking, tears brimming her eyes, "He's dead and he's not coming back -"

A sudden crash made them both turn to find their Dad standing on the porch watching them. A broken cup at his feet.

Laura gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as though she could somehow make the words go back inside her body. But they couldn't and their Dad had heard everything.

Henry saw the broken expression on his Dad's face and stepped towards him when a sudden sound behind him made him turn in time to see his sister disappear into the forest.

He moved to run after her but his Dad stopped him.

"Let her go," his Dad's voice said. Henry turned to see his Dad crouching on the floor picking up the pieces of the broken cup.

Henry clenched his fists tightly.

He couldn't take this anymore.

He turned and ran.

He wasn't sure how far or how long he ran only that when he stopped he stood on the cliff overlooking the town. The town he had been born and raised in. The town that he had been raised to protect. It was his responsibility to take care of the people of this town. Could he still do that though? Could someone who made mistake after mistake still be capable of protecting the lives of so many?

Should he even be responsible for the lives of so many when he couldn't even protect the life of someone who had meant so much to him.

Henry fell to his knees, his hands digging into the wet leaves and dirt on the ground. He clenched his fists and hit them against the ground, screaming out his frustrations.

What good was it to have these powers, to be raised his whole life with the sole goal of saving others when all he had done in his short life was to kill his own father.

He felt the hot angry tears drip down his face as he sat back and screamed and cursed at the world.

'Give me back my father!' he wanted to scream, 'Give him back to me!'

He closed his eyes and dropped his head in defeat.

He sat like that for a long time. When he opened them once more he saw the snow-white wolf sitting in front of him. The semi-transparent animal sat watching him curiously.

He stared back at the wolf.

Slowly he reached across in an attempt to touch the creature, but his hand passed through it. It cocked it head to one side.

He opened his mouth to speak to it but then the wolf suddenly turned to the left, Henry followed his gaze and saw Amber walking towards him. When he turned back the wolf was gone.

He could have frozen time, could have escaped her watchful gaze, her questions and badgering but he didn't, he couldn't muster the energy. Not today.

She stopped a few metres away from him. He could see her from the corner of his eyes, she stood, one hand on her hip just watching him.

He sighed heavily before finally speaking.

"What do we have to do?" he said, turning in time to see her looking at him grimly.

"You will have to die, Henry."

Chapter Text

Laura walked arm in arm with her Dad through the cemetery. The chilly morning air brushing stray strands of hair across her face causing her to hug her father's arm closer to her as they make the quiet walk to the grave. She looked around at the woods surrounding the cemetery and thought that her Dad would probably like it here. He, like she, loved the outdoors and the woods. She recalled memories of her and her father running through the forest hunting deer and other animals, sometimes for food, sometimes for the thrill of the chase. She learnt a lot from her father simply from observing him, the way he moved when he was hunting. His body crouched low, his breathing and heartbeat steady but eyes focused.

That connection she had with her father, it was something special and though she loved her Dad, it just wasn't the same. He was a part of her, she was a Hale, would she be the last one day? The thought saddened her. Wolves had a pack mentality and she just didn't know if she could survive alone. Her thoughts turned to Isaac, technically he was part of the Hale pack but the relationship she had with Isaac was different. Maybe someday, far in the future, they would become closer, become family but it would never come close to tie she felt to her father. Her werewolf father. She felt her shoulders slump as she and her Dad trudged through the still wet grass towards the gravesite.

As they approached the grave, she felt a spark of anger surge through her. Henry wasn't here. When she had returned from her run, she found her Dad standing in the kitchen staring into space. He still wore his pyjama's and she smelt blood on him from when he had cut himself when he had picked up his broken coffee cup. His hair was flattened on one side, which was quite common these days. He still slept on his side of the bed, and had adopted the habit of hugging her father's pillow in his sleep. Her father's scent had long since disappeared from the pillow but she guessed that it was still a source of comfort to her Dad to hug the pillow to him every night, pretending it was his husband and not just a pillow in his arms.

There were still traces of her father's smell around the house. Usually in books in the library. Laura had discovered this one Sunday morning six months after her father had died. The house was quiet, Henry busy studying, her Dad called into some accident in town. So Laura was left on her own. She didn't want to bother Isaac, he had been sounding more exhausted than usual on the phone, marking papers and preparing lesson plans for his lectures. She found herself in the library, her family loved reading almost as much as they enjoyed watching movies together. When her father was still alive, it wasn't uncommon for them all to spend an entire day reading in each others company then spending dinner discussing whatever they had read that day.

Henry usually discussing some new history book he had found with her father while she would discuss the latests fantasy book she had bought with her Dad. She remembered those days fondly. That had surprised her most over the past year, the things she missed the most were the quiet days when they were all just together.

Nowadays it was far too quiet in their house.

Which was how, she had found herself that day in the library browsing the books, randomly choosing a well-worn copy of North and South and snuggling up in her favourite armchair to read. The instant she opened the book however she felt the tears spring to her eyes instantly. The smell of her father was so strong she could have sworn her father had appeared from the pages of the book and held her in his arms once more. And for that one brief moment she had thought he was with her, then she remembered.

She had spent the rest of the day sobbing as she hugged the book closely to her body. Slowly, as the days and months passed her father's smell had vanished but they seemed to cling to the pages of the books in the library longer than anywhere else in their house. She had wondered whether to tell Henry and her Dad but then, what good would that do? Neither of them were werewolves, their senses too dull to pick up on the scent that lingered in the books in the library. So she had hoarded them. Not telling anyone but spending more and more time secluded in the library.

It was only when Isaac had visited her one weekend that he had discovered her secret. She had just finished getting ready for their date and was walking down the stairs to find him when she sensed she caught the familiar scent of her father. She slammed the doors of library open and found Isaac staring down at the book in his hands in shock. He looked up at her and backed away when she ripped the book from his fingers to hug possessively to her chest.

He had looked at her in wide-eyed surprise as the anger radiated off her in waves. Anger that he had invaded this space. This secret place that she could still feel connected to her father. Anger that he had stolen a piece of her father that was hers and hers alone. She saw his face soften and he reached out to wipe the tears she hadn't realised had fallen down her face. When he looked back at her with sadness not pity, with understanding not judgment, Laura broke down and collapsed to the floor in tears.

"What the hell, Lahey?!" she heard her Dad say from the doorway before adding, "Henry! Grab the wolfsbane, Isaac made Laura cry."

Henry arrived in the room within an instant.

"You're a dead man Lahey," Henry said but he spoke the words with such remorse as though he were actually saying, 'I'm sorry Isaac, I was really rooting for you, man.'

The anger on her Dads face as her gripped the gun at his side, and Henry gripping the bat in his hands as though both ready to beat Isaac to a pulp suddenly caused Laura to laugh hysterically.

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise.

"You broke her, Isaac," Henry said accusingly.

This only made Laura laugh even harder.

Isaac sighed ignoring the death threats her Dad was shouting at him and knelled on the floor beside her.

"Do you want to tell them?" he spoke to her so softly that only she could hear him.

She took one hand off the book that was she still had pressed tightly to her chest to wrap around Isaac. She leaned her against his shoulder and looked up at her Dad and Henry.

She looked at them both knowing still that they couldn't smell her father even if they wanted to but she realised it had been selfish of her to keep this to herself when being in this room had helped her through so many bad times. She took a deep breath and looked at her Dad. Slowly she raised the book for him to take. He looked confused but reached out for the book, when he tried to take the book she realised that she still had a deathly grip on the book and with a shaky breath she released her hold on the book.

She thought her Dad would ask her why she had been crying over a book but when he looked down at the cover she saw pain flash across his features. After a long time he looked back at her.

"You can still smell him can't you?"

Laura nodded her head.

Her Dad nodded his head then moved to sit on the sofa and flipped the book open. He touched the pages reverently and slowly a smile formed on his lips.

She realised that it had been foolish of her to think that her Dad didn't understand things just because he wasn't a werewolf, he had married one, his best friend was one, and he had raised one as a daughter.

He looked up at her then and smiled widely.

"Come here, silly girl."

Laura gave Isaac a squeeze before running over to hug her Dad. They stayed like that for a long time and it was only later that night as she was preparing for bed did she realise that at some point Henry had disappeared.

When she saw him the next morning he gave no indication where or what he had spent the night doing. Although she smelt the metallic smell on his skin that lingered on both him and her Dad whenever they time-travelled.

She wanted to ask him where he went, whether he had visited their father in the past but Henry was reading the newspaper and munching on his toast so she shelved that conversation for another day.

As she and her Dad stood at the grave of her father she wished she had questioned Henry more, she wished she had noticed the distance growing between them. More than anything, she wished he was here with them now.

How could he not be here?

Her Dad bent over and brushed some dry leaves off the grave. He knelt down and placed the little apple blossom potted plant on the grave, he touched the little leaf on the tiny plant before looking up at the grave.

'Here lies Derek Stilinski-Hale, beloved husband, father and friend.'

She read the words to herself as her Dad's fingers lingered over her father's name.

She heard her Dad take a deep breath before his head dropped.

"I miss you...Sourwolf," he said softly before turning his head away so she couldn't see the tears fall down his face, even though she could smell them in the wind.

Laura roughly brushed her own tears aside and knelt down on the soft grass to touch the headstone.

"Hi, Daddy," she said attempting a shaky smile, "I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while..."

Laura sniffed and felt her throat tighten, the words refusing to leave her lips but she took a deep breath and continued.

"I'll...I'll t-try harder in the future. I don't want y-you to be lonely here - on - on your own..."

She broke down and cried into her hands. She felt her Dad's go around her and she felt his body shaking as he cried with her.

"I - m-miss you, Daddy..." she sobbed hugging her Dad close to her.

They stayed there for it seemed like hours, just crying and holding onto each other. Cursing everyone and everything for allowing this to happen. For taking her father from her.

They were both quiet on the drive back home.

Laura had angrily turned off the radio soon after leaving the cemetery, when the songs being played either reminded her of her Dad or were about love and happiness. She felt like it was an insult. How dare they, how dare anyone be happy today of all days.

When they reached the house, her Dad stopped the car so abruptly that she thought had almost hit an animal but when she looked up she found all their friends and family standing on the porch, arms full of what smelt like food.

She looked at her Dad and his face was a mix of emotions. She reached over and squeezed his hand and he looked over at her. Without speaking he nodded his head at her and she reached over to straighten his tie.

They both took a deep breath and walked towards the house.

Uncle Scott gave her Dad a long hug and she let her grandfather pull her into a hug before she unlocked the door and let them all inside the house.

"Where's Henry?" she heard someone whisper and she was just about to angrily tell them that Henry had abandoned them when they needed him most but when she turned around everyone's faces were frozen in shock at the sight of Henry standing in front of them his shirt soaked in blood.

They were all standing in the foyer of the house, Henry in the middle of them all. He stumbled slightly, steadying himself against the wall with one hand, the other held tightly to his stomach.

Blood.

All the werewolves reacted to the smell instantly.

"Dad -" Henry managed to whimper, reaching towards their Dad, and Stiles reached out ready to catch his son when Henry disappeared into nothingness, leaving a trail of blood on the walls and floor in his wake.

She stared at the blood staining the floors, Henry's blood. She looked over at her Dad, his arms still outstretched ready to catch his son. There was a moment of disbelief and shock before the entire room burst into noise and activity.

"Sheriff Stilinski here, give me a report on what's happening in the town...Yes, I know what day it is, and I am asking - No, ordering you to tell me about what's going on in my town, I don't care if it's a burglary, a break in or someone jaywalking, tell me what's going on right now!"

"Tessa, are you still at the hospital?...Check the records for Henry's name, I can't explain right now just do it -"

"Dad, don't worry about bringing the casserole over, I need you to check your contacts, for anything going on - Henry's - something's happened to Henry."

Laura turned to see Erica, Boyd and Isaac all watching her.

"What?"

"What do we do?" Isaac asked her.

"Why are you asking me?" she said in angry disbelief.

Isaac placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Your the daughter of our Alpha," Isaac explained, "You have seniority."

"What?" she said in confusion.

"Laura -" Erica began but her Dad was instantly at her side, the phone still with him as he called his deputy for reports around town he looked at the beta's angrily.

"Don't put this on her, this is no time for your stupid werewolf politics -" but she cut him off.

She looked at them each in turn. She understood this. She could handle this. She was her father's daughter.

"Dad, it's okay," she said looking at him before adding, "Really, it is okay, I'll deal with them, you do what you can on your side."

Her Dad clenched his jaw but he nodded his head before turning away to continue talking to his deputies.

Laura looked back at Erica, Boyd and Isaac. She had been telling the truth, she understood what she had to do, why they were looking to her for leadership. This was what her father had been teaching her since the day she was born, this was something her Dad couldn't understand but she did.

"Isaac," Laura turned to her boyfriend, "Call Neave and ask her to do whatever she can to locate Henry. Erica, get a hold of Lydia, I know she's overseas working but -"

"No," Erica said quickly, "She said she would be flying in this afternoon, said she wasn't going to be anywhere but here today."

Laura nodded her head, a rush of affection for her godmother warmed her heart before she turned back to their current predicament.

"Okay, well see if you can reach her and when she gets here, ask her to use whatever abilities she can to figure out what happened to Henry."

"Boyd," she turned to werewolf, her cuddly werewolf Uncle, "Can you and the rest of your family search the town, I know my Dad's check with his deputies but there are things only werewolves can pick upon."

Boyd nodded silent, gathered his daughters and left the house within an instant. Rachel giving Laura one last glance before her father out the door. Erica was on the phone trying to get through to Lydia and Isaac was doing the same with -

Laura turned to find her Dad and Uncle Scott carrying down the chest of magical ingredients down the stairs.

"I'm going to try to summon some..." Her dad trailed off, "creatures that owe me a favour or two."

Laura nodded her head. Gave the room full of her closest family and friends one last look before jumping up the stairs and running to Henry's room. She knew that he had been up to something. But whatever foolhardy plan he had, it had gotten him kil - No. she stopped that train of thought instantly. She wasn't even going to let that thought enter her mind. She had lost enough people she loved. She wasn't going to lose her idiot of a brother as well.

"Dammit Henry," she said searching through his books, "What the hell did you do?"

There was a soft knock on the door, it was just a formality since she already it was Isaac coming to check on her. She looked up to see him watching her with concern. He slipped inside and she sighed before moving over on the bed to allowing him room to sit down beside her. He took the book from her lap and flipped through the pages.

"Is this what he's been working on?" Isaac asked her.

She was silent for a moment, her hands clenched in front of her. He reached over and squeezed her hands, she relaxed slightly and leaned against his shoulder.

"I don't understand any of it," she said defeatedly glancing around the room, "Henry was the smart one when it came to this kind of stuff."

She waved her hand around to all books and notes scattered on the bed and floor.

"He was always good at all this magical stuff, him and Dad...I - I can't understand any of it," she said defeatedly, "The language in these books, it's beyond me..."

She picked up some notes off the floor and looked through them, shaking her head at the strange runes and scribbled notes.

"Well," Isaac took the notes from her and placed them onto the bed before reaching over and putting an arm around her shoulders in comfort, "I'll have Neave and her friends check through all this stuff when she gets here. In the meantime, Deaton just arrived..."

Both Isaac and Laura turned towards the direction of the front of the house, both sensing the veterinarian entering the house.

"We'll see if he can make heads of tails of this stuff."

Laura nodded but her brow was still furrowed in concern.

If they didn't figure this out...

Isaac placed a hand under her chin so that she was looking up at him.

"I'm here," he said softly, so softly that only she and she alone would be able to hear him, "I will always be here."

Laura felt the tears she had holding back begin to well up and threaten to fall.

"I can't lose him too," she said in a hoarse voice.

"I know," he said pulling her into a tight hug.

Laura buried her race into her boyfriends shoulder, the mixture of anger, frustration, concern and fear was overwhelming her. It was happening all over again. Another person she loved, another person she had said harsh words too before they disappeared from her life. She felt Isaac pull her closer to him and she allowed herself to flood of tears and emotions rush forth.

"We'll find him," Isaac said into her hair, and she nodded her head because she had to believe it was true. She couldn't - wouldn't allow herself to entertain the idea that she would lose another person in her life. Not today. Not again.

She pulled back from Isaac and gratefully took the handkerchief he handed her. She wiped the tears from her face and stood up from the bed, still holding hands with Isaac she led him back downstairs.

They had work to do.

 

---

Tessa shoved her jacket into her bag and ran out the hospital doors. She had checked the records, the ER and even Henry's typical private hospital room but nothing. She had no idea where the older Stilinski-Hale sibling could be. She felt the tightness in her chest and clenched and unclenched her fists out of nervous habit.

Damnit, that stupid boy was going to be the death of her.

She tried her Dad's phone but it was busy. She hung up, grabbed the keys from her bag and hurried to her car. She had to get to the Hale preserve. Whatever was happening, it was serious. She needed to be with Laura. Laura was her best friend and Henry...Henry was - Henry.

She had just reached her car when she heard a thump and someone groaned as they collapsed across the hood of her car.

"Henry!" Tessa cried, dropping her bag and rushing over to the boy struggling to stand in front of her car. He had one hand pressed to his stomach, and another on her car to steady himself. There was blood and cuts across his face, "God! What happened?"

She reached towards him to try to help towards the hospital but he pulled back from her.

"Tess," he said through clenched teeth as though every breath was painful.

"Henry, we have to -"

He cut her off by reaching across and holding her face in his bloody hands. She could feel the slick blood on his fingers as he looked down into her face. She furrowed her brow and stared up into his amber eyes.

Before she question him he dropped his head to her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"I'm sorry, so - so sorry..."

She looked up at him in confusion when he stepped back.

"Henry, I -"

He cut her off once more with a quick chaste kiss. When she opened her eyes, he was gone.

She stood alone in the carpark of the hospital, blood on her hands and the lingering feeling of Henry's lips on hers.

---