RAIN POURED DOWN on Beacon Hills, soaking the teenagers as soon as they stepped out of the jeep.
Sierra attempted to cover her head with her jacket, eventually just giving up so she could focus on helping Scott and Stiles carry Derek inside the animal clinic.
The veterinarian cleared a spot for Derek on one of the medical tables, Scott laying him down gently. Actually seeing Derek's face shook Deaton, since he hadn't truly believed Scott on the phone. "Wow."
Alarmed, Stiles raised his eyebrows. "Wow? Wow what? Wow, like I've seen this before and I know exactly what to do kind of wow?
"'Cause that's the kind of wow we're hoping for."
Glancing back at Derek, unsure, Deaton stated, "I think you may be overestimating my abilities."
"Sierra?" A familiar voice called from the lobby, making their heads turn. "Are you in here?"
"Back here, Jemma!" Sierra raised her voice so her sister could hear. Within seconds, Jemma's face appeared in the doorway, flooding with relief.
"Thank God," she exclaimed, quickly joining her side. "You found him? You found Derek?"
Scott, who had his gaze locked on the observation table, replied, "Uh, sort of."
Not understanding, Jemma's forehead crinkled and she began to move towards Deaton. "What do you mean by-" She cut herself off, astonished by the sight before her. Her widened eyes analyzed every aspect of Derek's face, recognition flickering through her. "How...How is this possible?" She glanced up at Deaton, wanting answers.
"I'm not entirely sure," Deaton replied, just as baffled.
Jemma softened her gaze the longer she stared at Derek, drifting down to where his hand was laying motionless by his side. Being gentle, Jemma lightly pressed her fingers to his skin. "He's cold," she observed. "Really cold."
Deaton stepped up to her side, picking up his hand to feel for his pulse. "Do you think this is permanent?" Scott asked him, though once again Deaton didn't have the answers they craved.
Using a pen light, Deaton lifted up Derek's eyelids to see if his pupils were dialated. As he worked, he spoke, "I'm not sure a medical diagnosis is even adequate." Deaton met their questioning gazes. "This is well beyond any of my experience."
Sierra asked, standing beside Stiles, "So what are we supposed to do?"
"Until he wakes up, I'm afraid not much," Deaton replied honestly. "Though it might be best to leave him with me for the night. He'll be safe here."
"You mean from Kate?" Stiles brought up the werejaguar.
"If she's alive and is what you say she is, she won't be able to walk past that gate," Jemma informed him, scowling at the thought of the former hunter.
"Why do you think she would want to do this to him?"
"Knowing Kate, it's probably for a reason that won't be any good for anyone but herself," Deaton told Lydia.
"But bad for everyone else?"
Jemma piped up again, "Which is why I'm staying here with Deaton to watch him." She glanced over the teenagers, seeing her sister tiredly lean on Stiles's shoulder while a yawn escaped his mouth. "You guys need to go home; you've been fighting and travelling all weekend."
"Jemma is right," Deaton agreed after watching Scott blink repeatedly to keep himself awake. Lydia could barely hold herself up against the side of the table. "He doesn't look to be in any danger here, so maybe the rest of you can get some sleep?"
Sierra snorted, "Sleep? Never heard of it."
"Well, then you'll be introduced tonight," Jemma teased, but still kept her serious tone. "You all have school tomorrow."
Deaton advised, "You all need to start taking care of your own lives again. You can't let yourselves get burnt out."
"I still feel like someone else should stay with you two," Scott told his boss and Jemma, glancing at his friends.
"We'll be okay, Scott," Jemma assured him, feeling Derek unknowingly tighten his grip on her hand. "If he wakes up and freaks out, I'll be here to calm him down."
"She has a point," Lydia quietly said. "Remember? Derek was already good friends with her at this time in his life."
"I think you mean best friends."
Lydia smiled at Jemma, correcting herself, "My bad; they were best friends."
"I am so not okay with this," Sierra declared, causing her sister to roll her eyes.
"Sierra, go."
"Absolutely not."
Scott looked at Deaton, "Text us if you need anything."
"Nope," Sierra shook her head, even as Scott stepped away from Derek and the adults. "I'm still not okay with this."
"Stiles," Scott called his name and when his best friend looked over, nudged his head towards Sierra.
Stiles nodded. "On it."
"What are you doing?" Sierra asked him suspiciously as he neared her, squinting her eyes. "No! I'm not going anywhere!"
Lydia giggled as Stiles dramatially bent down to pick Sierra up, protests immediately falling from her mouth. He draped her body over his right shoulder, cheekily waving to Jemma before he started to follow Scott.
"Stiles, put me down!" she ordered, hitting his back lightly with her fists. "Don't make me use your real name! 'Cause I will say it!"
Stiles chuckled, continuing to walk out the front door as Lydia held it open for them. "String bean, you don't know how to spell my real name, much less pronounce it."
Sierra huffed, her body slouching against his back while she accepted her defeat, "Calling me out on a technicality? Not fair."
"Welcome to life," Scott announced, standing on the step of the jeep over the passenger door, a grin plastered on his lips. "Where nothing is ever fair!"
"Now, do I need to buckle you in myself or can you promise to be a good little empath?" Stiles teased, enjoying every moment of her frustration.
"I hate you both."
"Awe, we love you too, sweetheart."
*^*^*^*
"You know you can't ignore me forever."
Sierra sat straightfaced, clothed in shorts and an old T-shirt with her back against a pillow. Her eyes remained on the book in her hands, ignoring Stiles who had walked out of the bathroom.
Her joke to give him the silent treatment continued, not even acknowledging him as he took a seat on the bed by her feet. Since the unplanned trip to Mexico ruined her Saturday, Sierra was unable to complete her English assignment. Luckily, she actually enjoyed reading the Great Gatsby, but she had to finish one more chapter before she called it quits. The silent treatment was a blessing in disguise, that is, until he started pestering her.
Stiles crawled up beside where she laid, tucking one arm under his head while he stared up at her. "Sierra," he dragged out her name. "I don't like being ignored."
Sierra didn't let out a sound.
Stiles moved so he was under the blankets. He rested his head on her stomach and gave her half a hug by holding her thigh.
Sierra peeked her eyes over her book, saying nothing. As she went back to reading, her hand naturally found his hair and she started to run her fingers through it.
Stiles stayed still, the corners of his lips tugging down into a frown. A few minutes passed, Stiles becoming more drowsy the longer he laid beside her. But he didn't want to go to bed without hearing her voice.
So, he readjusted his position, now able to see her face. Then, he raised a finger and slowly inched his way to her cheek. "Boop."
Sierra fought back a smile at the gentle touch, trying to stay trained on the novel.
"Boop."
"Stiles," she finally spoke in warning, though the boy couldn't take her seriously since the corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "I swearâ"
"Swear what?" he interrupted, scooting closer to her. "Do you swear that you love me? Because I love you. A lot, actually."
Giving in, she turned her head towards his brown eyes, chuckling, "You're a dork. You know that?"
"But I'm your dork," he corrected her cheekily. "And that's a title I am proud to have."
His gaze flittered down to the book in her grasp and frowned. Not thinking twice, he snatched it out of her hands and tossed it onto the wooden floor.
"Stiles!" Sierra looked at him, offended. "I needed to finish reading!"
"We don't have English till after free period," he reminded her with a shrug. "That gives you plenty of time to finish. It's been a long weekend and we have to be up in a few hours; you need to rest."
"No, I needed to stay with Jemma, but you and Scott wouldn't let me," she turned the subject around.
Stiles sighed, "You know she can take care of herself, Sierra."
"I know she can but that doesn't automatically make me stop worrying about her," Sierra frowned, but melted into his side after he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I love seeing her happy, Stiles, and Derek makes her happy. What if we can't change him back?"
"We'll figure it out, we always do," he assured her quietly, his fatigue washing over him once he settled. Pressing a tired kiss to her hair, he whispered, "Now get some sleep."
"What about the lamp?" she asked. "You left it on."
"Unless it bugs you, just leave it on," Stiles told her. "You know Malia will wander in soon anyways."
"Good point."
It was silent for a moment, but even after Sierra closed her eyes sleep didn't come to her so easily. "Stiles?"
"Yes, string bean?"
"Do you think things will ever go back to the way they were?"
Confused at her words, Stiles opened his eyes and shifted his body so he could look at her. "What do you mean?"
"Remember the summer before sophomore year? Scott and I weren't changed yet, but it was the three of us all of the time. We did everything together."
"I do remember," Stiles nodded and then added, "I also remember us not knowing how to move forward. It's like we were scared to branch out. But now, even though we've been through some rough times, we've grown in way we couldn't have before. Does that make sense?"
Sierra let out a breath through her lips, "Yeah. I just wish it didn't hurt as much, you know? Talking about Allison earlier...I don't know, it still felt...fresh."
"And that's okay," Stiles tightened his grip on her slightly. "You have a right to still be upset. I mean, Allison was one of our best friends. But the best thing you can do is move on. And I don't mean by pushing those feelings away, I mean by acknowledging them and working through it."
"I'm terrible at emotions."
"Says the empath who can feel everyone else's feelings," Stiles joked, making Sierra chuckle. "But you know I'm here for you whenever you need me."
"I just wish there was a way to help Scott," she stated absentmindedly. "I know he's feeling the same way as me throughout all of this."
Stiles offered her a simple solution. "Just talk with him then. You know he'll be honest with you-- he always is. And if he's not ready to talk, just show him you're still there."
Sierra lifted his hand that she had been holding and pressed a gentle kiss to his skin. "Thank you, Stiles."
"Anytime, string bean, anytime."
*^*^*^*
Sierra hated being late, no matter if it was getting to class or even to meet up with Stiles. She knew how much she disliked when people were tardy, causing a guilt always washed over her when she scurried in past the designated time. And it definitely hit her as she finally made it into the library out of breath, apologies slipping from her mouth once she found Liam.
"I am so sorry," she gushed as she put her purse on the small table. "I woke up late this morning because my alarm didn't go off, and I tried to hurry because I know you have math second period--"
A laugh interrupted her and Sierra raised her head to see the fifteen year-old hiding his mouth behind his hand. "I swear, you're okay, Sierra," Liam assured, brightened by her appearance. "I just got here like five minutes ago."
"Well, that's a relief," Sierra smiled and took a seat across from him.
"So is your grandma okay?" Liam asked, watching her take out a notebook. "Your text to cancel Saturday was kind of sudden."
"She is perfectly fine," Sierra lied, remembering how she literally found out an hour before her study session that they were going to Mexico. "She just...slipped. In the shower. My sister and I flew for a quick trip to make sure she was alright, but we got home very late last night. I think that's why I missed my alarm."
"I'm glad she's alright." Liam then gulped nervously. "You, you look really pretty today."
"Awe, thank you," Sierra smiled warmly, fluttering up his heart. "Considering I rushed to get ready, I very much appreciate the compliment. But for now, let's focus on this quadratic formula. Did you do those practice problems I gave you?"
He nodded, opening a folder to take out his papers.
And for the next twenty minutes, Sierra helped him with algebra as best as she could, just like she did every time they met up. "Excellent! I wrote you some notes that have the formulas written in them. From my experience, if you know the formulas the rest is a piece of cake. When you get the test, it's best to write them down...."
From what Sierra knew about him, Liam transferred to Beacon Hills from a private school nearby. However, she didn't pry him about it since he seemed quite shy. Over time, he did open up to her and shared his love for lacrosse. And because Scott and Stiles played, forcing Sierra to go to games, she used it as a way to bond with the freshman. The first year of high school could be rough, and Sierra thought it never hurt to be friends with upperclassmen.
Liam, though he never told her, felt beyond grateful for more than the study sessions. His math and social studies's grades had improved immensely, but he was happy he had someone to talk to besides his best friend, Mason.
His curiosity got the better of him as Sierra checked her phone, rolling her eyes to reply to another text. "Is everything...okay?"
Sierra quickly put her phone down. "Yes, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Liam. It's just when I don't answer, my friends worry...like a lot."
"Are you guys a tight-knit group?"
"Kind of, yeah," a small smile appeared on her lips. "We've been through a lot of stuff together so we're all overprotective. Especially my best friend and my boyfriend."
Liam noticed how her face softened over the last two words, and asked, "Is your boyfriend the one texting you?"
"Funny enough, he is," Sierra confirmed with a laugh. "We usually ride to school together so when I didn't meet him he just got worried."
"Does he love you?"
Sierra raised her eyebrows, tilting her head and smirking at the boy, "Someone's interested in my love life."
"It's just dating sounds complicated in h-high school," Liam rushed out, Sierra pursing her lips to hide a grin. "And you know, some guys can be jerks."
"Some guys can be jerks," Sierra giggled in agreement. "But not him. To answer your question, yes, he does love me. He never lets me forget how much either. So, when you start dating, it's important to remind the ones you love, how much you care for them. Okay?"
"Okay," Liam nodded once, taking her words to heart.
"Now, that that's done," Sierra glanced at the wall, "Our time is up. The bell should ring in a few minutes and I don't want you to be late to Spanish. When's your next quiz in Algebra?"
Liam thought for a second and then replied, "Tomorrow, I think. Today she said we were just going to review."
"Well that's perfect! Use the notes I gave you and focus on the formulas," Sierra reminded, standing up to gather her things. "I know you will do great, Liam."
"Thanks, Sierra," Liam told her genuinely.
She smiled once more, patting him on the shoulder. "You're very welcome." Noticing someone beside them, she greeted, "Good morning, Mason! Perfect timing as always."
"I was beginning to think he wasn't coming to school today," Mason responded, chipper even in the school building.
Liam rolled his eyes, "Ha ha, very funny."
"Well, I hope you two have a wonderful day, and Liam, I will see you on Thursday!" With another charming grin and a wave, Sierra turned on her heel and left the library.
Liam stared after her, Mason having to nudge him out of his trance. "What?"
"Dude, your crush on her is ridiculous," Mason shook his head. "You're not even trying to hide it! Are you forgetting she is a junior? As in, completely out of your league?"
"Why try and hide something that doesn't exist? I don't have a crush on Sierra," Liam fired back, throwing his backpack over her shoulder. Lowering his voice, he grumbled, "Besides, she has a boyfriend."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But whoever he is, he is extremely lucky to be dating her."
*^*^*^*
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Stiles stifled a laugh, turning away from his locker to greet Sierra, who looked at him with eyes narrowed and arms crossed. He shoved his hands in his pockets, replying with a smirk, "You know you could start with a good morning."
"Good morning, honey," Sierra forced a smile in his direction and then hardened her voice once more. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Oh, there's the girl I'm in love with," Stiles teased, stepping forward to hug her.
Sierra groaned, but didn't try to fight his embrace and hugged him back as he pressed a kiss into her hair. "I'm being serious, Stiles! During the entire study session with Liam, you kept interrupting with your texts. I told you I'd be in the library before the bell rang. Didn't you get my note?"
"Of course I got it," Stiles scoffed. "You taped it to my forehead while I was still asleep."
"I didn't want to wake you!" Sierra defended herself but then cracked at the look he gave her. "But come on, that was pretty funny."
"I don't want funny, I want you waking up beside me," he told her, tucking her hair behind her pierced ears so he could truly see her eyes. "And you know, for getting only three hours of sleep, you look extremely beautiful today."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm," Stiles nodded, moving his hands to hold her shoulders while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Sierra couldn't help but smile. "Ironically, Liam told me I looked pretty today too."
Instantly, Stiles scowled. "How is it that I've never met him but I want to punch him in the face?"
"Oh stop, he was just being nice," Sierra rolled her eyes. "Besides, I'm kind of dating someone else right now."
"Really, who?"
Sierra didn't verbally answer but stood on her toes to properly kiss him on the lips, not minding the busy hallway.
It was just a peck but enough for Stiles to want to kiss her again. Unfortunately for him, Sierra knew they only had about a minute before they needed to be in class.
A pout formed but Sierra shook her head firmly, "Don't give me that look; we can't skip. You can kiss me after history."
Stiles groaned, but let her drag him towards Mr. Yukimura's classroom. "But that's like an entire hour from now!"
"Something tells me you'll survive."
History always intrigued Sierra, no matter what time. Due to recent events, she wouldn't be reading about World War Two anytime soon, but still paid attention as Mr. Yukimura went over how some of their greatest presidents still endured failure. Her notes weren't just for her anymore, they were fore Malia too.
The werecoyote was struggling in both history and math, since those required the most information. Sierra luckily had all of her notes from algebra in the past for her, but since they were in the same history class, Sierra made sure she caught everything Mr. Yukimura. Later she would polish the bullets, and give them to Malia to study.
Unfortunately because of their quick trip across the border, Sierra hadn't been able to go over the weekend's reading with Malia. Meaning, Malia held no clue as to who Abraham Lincoln was and why he was important.
And even with every other student raising their hand, Mr. Yukimura still called on her.
Malia froze at the sound of her name, panicked with a yellow highlighter in her mouth. She had been going through the book, highlighting what she knew and didn't know with a system Sierra taught her. She hadn't even been paying attention.
She met Sierra's eyes, who had turned in her seat to double-check on her, along with Scott and Stiles.
Mr. Yukimura waited patiently for her response, but spoke once he heard an alarm go off. "Sierra! Phones off."
Sierra smiled apologetically at him, and went to turn her phone off as instructed. But once her eyes caught sight of the message from her sister, Sierra knew she couldn't let it go.
"Malia?" Mr. Yukimura tried to help without blurting the answer. "One of our nation's greatest presidents? Gettysburg Address?"
Malia flipped through her notes, scanning them quickly, just as another alert sounded.
Getting frustrated, the teacher repeated, "Phones off! Everyone."
Sierra recognized the sound and turned to glance at Stiles, who discretely read the text. Processing the information, his eyes widened.
Simultaneously, the couple looked at Scott and Sierra mouthed, We need to go.
Giving up, Mr. Yukimura sighed. "Does anyone else know?"
Everyone raised their hands, aside from the trio and Malia, who sunk in her seat from embarrassment.
Sierra's face softened once she met Malia's gaze and whispered, "You're okay, Mal. You'll get it, I promise."
Malia nodded but didn't say anything, choosing to rest her head on her desk and stay quiet.
"I said phones off!" Mr. Yukimura stated for a third time at another ringtone, but Kira raised her hand from where she was in the back.
"Dad? That was yours."
"Oh."
Confused, Mr. Yukimura read his text aloud.
"Sierra, call Jemma."
*^*^*^*
"Something was wrong with him," Jemma explained to Sierra during free period, focusing on patching up the wound on Deaton's arm. Lydia stood beside her for assistance, while Scott and Stiles stood on either side of the true empath. "He should've recognized me, but he didn't."
Derek was missing once again, having fled the clinic after waking up. Jemma had tried to calm him down, but he didn't remember or acknowledge her presence.
"I still think he's younger in the mind though," Deaton informed them. "His senses most likely just overwhelmed him and he panicked. He looked completely scared out of his mind."
"So if you're a scared teenage werewolf, where do you go?" Sierra questioned aloud, moving her eyes to Scott, since he was more an expert on that certain subject.
"A wolf goes to his den," Scott said with a shrug, trying to sort it out. "But Derek lives in a loft."
"Not when he was a teenager," Jemma cut in. "Derek wouldn't have remembered the Hale House fire, not yet. So he's probably going there."
"Great, let's go--"
"Wait," Lydia caught their attention before they could run off. "Say you guys catch up to him, what're you going to say? That his whole family is dead?"
"I guess we don't really have a choice," Sierra replied, looking at the others nervously.
"Oh, good luck with that."
"Lydia's right," Jemma spoke up.
"What?"
Jemma sighed. "We don't know how to fix Derek yet, right? We just need to find him and I can tell him everything if we have to. But if I can spare him heartbreak, I'm going to do it."
"But won't he hear our heartbeats?" Sierra pointed out, confused. "I don't think any of us can lie to him, Jem."
"Sierra, we're empaths," Jemma reminded her. "And we're a lot more powerful and capable of lying to a teenage boy."
"When we find him, we're telling him the truth," Sierra decided, even though her sister disagreed. "Jemma, you can go to the Hale House to see if he's there."
Jemma withheld from saying anything else, not waiting to hear anymore. She left the clinic without another word or glance towards Sierra; she just wanted to find Derek.
Sierra's face fell at her exit, but then she regained focused and turned to everyone else. "Scott, we're gonna start driving around town, especially by the high school because he went to there, remember? Lydia, we can give you a lift if you need one."
"I'm good," Lydia smiled. "I drove here with my own car."
"Perfect." Sierra turned to Stiles, "I need you to text your dad."
"Why?"
"In case the police beats Jemma there to the Hale House. Because something tells me Derek won't be easy to handle."