Soulmates | Derek Hale - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Derek growled under his breath as he tugged on the handcuffs, "I could easily get out of these, you know."
"So could I," Chris agreed, "You may be familiar with it, but I'm not interested in being a fugitive from the law."
Waking up that morning Maeve didn't expect to see her husband and uncle get arrested, she was still baffled, actually. The house was full when the deputies came knocking on the door, Dean and Luna had laughed so hard they'd cried. Poor Malia had no idea what was going on whilst Isaac held Maeve back from attacking the cops and getting herself arrested too.
Derek scoffed, "Well, I'm not interested in being a victim to a 17-year-old possessed by a psychotic fox."
"Just give me a few more minutes," Chris asked, sighing as Derek tugged on the cuffs again, "Derek!"
"Okay, fine. If something happens, don't expect me to risk my life trying to save yours," Derek stated in defeat.
Derek glanced across the room, feeling at ease as he spotted Maeve hurrying about, a stack of folders in her arms. She'd quickly gone from his biggest defender to happily letting him sit handcuffed to the bench once she realised the humour of it all.
She and Noah walked side by side through the station, Noah nodded over at Derek and Chris, "It's a little bit unprofessional having your son in law under arrest, isn't it?"
"Well it wouldn't be the first time," Maeve chuckled, "These lot gossip all day, I wouldn't worry about them. Derek being arrested will be old news soon enough."
"I hope so," Noah laughed, "You're taking this surprisingly well."
Maeve shrugged, "Nothing much surprises me anymore."
—
Derek and Chris looked around in confusion as those in the station rushed around in a panic whilst the parcel with Maeve's name on it sat peacefully on Noah's desk.
Maeve walked out of the integration rooms, glancing around at her flustered coworkers. She shared an alarmed look with Archie beside her.
"What's happening?" Chris asked a deputy who rushed over, unlocking their cuffs.
Derek listened through the shouting, momentarily distracted by Maeve's voice, sitting up quickly as he picked up on a distorted noise.
Chris' shouts going unnoticed, "What's happening?"
Derek turned to look inside Noah's office, spotting the bomb hidden inside the box.
"Get down!" Derek shouted, grabbing into Chris, pulling him down to hide under the bench.
It was only as Maeve started to sprint across the station to unlock their cuffs when the bomb exploded, the force alone knocking them to the ground. Maeve coughed at the impact of a wooden blind hitting her legs as the windows exploded, glass shards falling to the floor all around her.
—
"Get me an ambulance here, at the sheriff's station. We've got an explosion. We got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down. We need an ambulance A.S.A.P. On the double!"
Scott and Stiles hurried inside, looking around in shock. Stiles spotted Maeve on the floor, sprinting over in a panic.
"Maeve? Maeve!" Stiles exclaimed, helping her up, his eyes wide at the blood on her legs - but thankfully he could tell the cuts had started to heal.
"I'm fine," Maeve gasped, leaning on her brother as she stood up, looking around the station, "What the hell happened."
"I sent a bomb here," Stiles mumbled.
Maeve whirled around to face him, "What? No- stiles, it's not you doing these things. He's controlling you."
Maeve watched Stiles in concern as he ignored her words, hurrying across the station.
Stiles knelt down beside a bleeding officer, calling over to his best friend, "Scott? Scott?"
As the boys attended to the officer Maeve ran over to Derek and Chris, gasping at the glass shards digging into Dereks back.
"Derek? Derek," Chris helped him up off the floor, Maeve moving to help them stand.
Derek breathed heavily, nodding at Maeve assuringly "I'm okay."
Maeve shakily moved to look at his back, discreetly picking away the shards before anyone saw. As her husband winced she rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, tossing the glass shards into a fallen bin.
"You saved my life," Chris mumbled.
Derek groaned as Maeve pulled a large shard, Maeve winced, "Sorry!"
Chris eyed them in concern, "You'll be alright?"
"He'll be fine," Maeve assured him, "You're not a stranger to injuries, are you love?"
Derek rolled his eyes, his growing list of injuries had only seemed to get worse.
With the station slightly less chaotic, clean up was underway. Maeve stood in her fathers office, staring at the remains of the bomb parcel. She held the note with her name on with trembling hands.
The office door opened, Maeve looked up with a frown as her bosses entered the room, closing the door behind them.
Maeve tossed the paper into the bin, "Whats going on?"
"We've heard about what's been happening lately," Agent Queen told her, "We're concerned, especially after today. We're putting you on paid leave effective immediately."
Maeve went to protest, agent Daniels adding, "You've been through a traumatic event, two, even. It's a risk to have you on any cases."
"But im fine!" Maeve argued, "I can't just abandon everything going on, I'm directly involved. No one else in our department knows Beacon Hills like I do!"
"Mrs Hale," Agent queen interrupted, smiling sympathetically, "Take the time off. You need it."
Maeve nodded defeatedly, dropping her badge onto her fathers desk before storming out of the office.
—
The drive to Eichen House was a quiet one, Stiles sat in the backseat silently staring down at the ground - Maeve and Noah looking at him with concerned glances every now and then. Maeve hated sending him there, she was against it completely - but it was what Stiles wanted, and she couldn't fight that.
As they parked, Scott's bike pulled up beside them, hurrying over, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because we wanted to avoid something like this," Noah answered with a sigh.
"It's only 72 hours," Stiles added optimistically.
"This is the same place where Barrow came from. The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies," Scott frowned turning to Noah, "You don't know everything yet."
"I know enough," Noah argued, "Nogitsunes, Kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they're called."
Stiles and Maeve blinked in surprise, "Wow, that was actually all surprisingly correct."
"Scott, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's. And it terrifies me. I'm headed down to L.A. tomorrow to talk to a specialist," Noah informed him.
Stiles look down, Maeve reached out and clutched his hand, smiling sadly.
"Then why are you putting him in here?" Scott worried.
"He's not. It was my decision," Stiles defended.
Maeve and Noah walked away to give the teens a moment alone, Maeve linked her arm through her fathers, "Its gonna be okay, dad."
"I hope so," he mumbled.
"Stiles, I can't help you if you're in here," Scott reminded.
"And I can't hurt you. Deaton's got some ideas. Argent's calling people. We're gonna find something. And if we can't..." Scott stressed.
"If you can't... If you can't, then you have to do something for me, okay? Make sure I never get out," Stiles told him in a whisper.
Noah and Maeve walked with Stiles to the gate, the family of three's nerves equally as heightened. Maeve was ready to drag Stiles out of there spotting a patient glowering up at them through some bars.
"Mr. Stilinski? This way please."
—
"First 72 hours there's no phone calls, no e-mails, no visitors. We will be taking you from here to a brief physical. In the morning you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist," the nurse explained as Noah filled in the paperwork, "Speak to a social worker and attend group therapy."
Noah looked around apprehensively, "I feel like we're forgetting something."
"You will be wearing these, Stiles. No laces allowed. You don't have a belt, do you? And please empty your pockets in here," The nurse passed Stiles a try.
"Your pillow," Noah muttered, "Your pillow. We forgot your pillow."
"Dad, it's okay," Stiles placated.
"No, no. You're never going to be able to fall asleep. We..." Noah got up to leave, "We got to go back."
"It's fine, Dad. I don't need it," Stiles comforted.
"I can't believe I forgot it," Noah stammered, "I mean, every time that we've ever stayed in a hotel, the first thing you pack is your pillow."
Maeve forced a smile, "I can bring it tomorrow, Dad. He can manage one night."
"It's all right," Stiles agreed, glancing at his sister gratefully, "I'll be fine."
Noah looked on the verge of a panic attack, looking to Maeve for support but she'd sided with Stiles.
Noah slammed his hands on the table, standing up, "Okay, you know what? Stop. Stop. Enough. Stiles, get your stuff. I'm not checking you in here if you're not gonna get one good night's sleep."
"Dad. I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks," Stiles reminded, pulling his dad into a hug.
Maeve hugged her father was they watched Stiles be led away, the both of them were tearful, but they knew they would get through this as a family.
The house was in its usual chaos when Maeve arrived home, all she wanted was to go to bed but that seemed unlikely.
The kids crowded around the table in the living room, shouting protests at each other in what seems like a game of monopoly. Kieran sat at the top of the table, both twins asleep on his lap.
"Who's cheating?" Maeve called over knowingly, kicking off her shoes.
Cora looked furious as she slammed her money onto the board, "Dean!"
If the Hales were anything, it was competitive.
"I'm not even banker!" Dean argued, tossing his cards onto the board.
Malia frowned at the board, "I think I am? I don't even know how to play..."
From beside her isaac leant over and started to whisper how to play the game, Malia nodded in understanding, grinning once she realised she was the one beating Cora.
Malia was settling in with the pack well, she was steadily gaining control and trusting the pack and Maeve hoped she could bring Peter into Malia's life soon enough.
Maeve joined them at the table, smiling in amusement as she picked up Florence from Kieran's lap, the toddler waking up at her mother's voice.
"Is monopoly a good idea-" Maeve pointed out, glancing at the clock, "At 11 pm?"
"We wanted to wait for you to get home," Isaac informed her, "Is Derek coming home?"
Florence looked around the room, blinking in confusion, "Da?"
"Still in jail," Maeve sighed, twirling one of Florence's black curls around her finger, "I'm on leave so he's on his own."
Cora snorted, "Should've known Derek would've ended up in jail."
"Please, we were all betting on Kieran," Dean pointed out.
Kieran looked up from where he was staring intently at his cards, "Hey! We were betting on you actually."
—
Maeve couldn't sleep, she'd stared up at the ceiling for hours longing for Derek to be beside her. The twins had made their way into Derek's side of the bed, the both of them missing their father.
Maeve smiled down at them, Florence had her little hand clutched on Freddie's arm whilst Freddie lay on his stomach with a stuffed wolf from Stiles curled up under his arm.
Maeve looked up at the quiet knock on her door, blinking in surprise as Allison pushed it open, smiling sheepishly as she held up Maeve's spare house keys.
"The apartment doesn't feel the same without dad," Allison admitted, "Can I stay here?"
Maeve nodded, patting the bed, "I can't sleep either."
"Luna's handling this okay?" Allison questioned, nodding at the restless twins as she sat down beside Maeve.
"Luna will sit and brood until he gets back then give him a piece of her mind," Maeve said amusedly, "She takes pride in getting a full nights sleep."
Allison smiled as Florence yawned, blinking awake momentarily before falling back to sleep, "I can't believe you have kids."
"Well, it's only been almost nine years," Maeve pointed out with a laugh, "Though, I guess it was a shock for you to meet Lu after all those years."
"I wish dad and I could've been there for you," Allison frowned, "You were always there for us, taking care of me."
Maeve smiled sadly, "Me too. You know, everytime your dad went on a hunt you'd come and sleep in my room. You didn't know he was out on a hunt yet you were still scared he wouldn't come back."
"I think a part of me knew something wasn't right," Allison admitted, "dad, Gerard, Kate and my mom were always on edge... aunt Liz always seemed strangely relaxed. Maybe I should've seen then."
"Even if mum was involved with hunting, she's probably be just as relaxed as she is now," Maeve figured.
"And stiles is your brother," Allison added slowly.
"That one was blatantly obvious," Maeve laughed loudly, "How that was kept a secret for so long I'll never know."
"Any other family secrets I'm missing out on?" Allison joked.
"Pretty sure nan killed Gerard," Maeve replied bluntly.
Allison coughed on a gasp, looking at Maeve with wide eyes, "What?!"
—
Despite her temporary leave, Maeve snook into the station to at least attempt to get Derek and Chris out of jail.
Maeve held up the transfer sheet as the entered the holding rooms, "You were right. They're moving all the evidence. My boss is trying to clear you both, but it might take some time."
Derek and Chris looked up from their individual cells, Chris asking, "Was there anything about the murder itself? Any other details?"
"Just about putting Katashi's things in a Federal Lockup," Maeve shrugged, "They're too busy gossiping about dad being gone for the day."
"You know, if all of this is true, people are dead because of Stiles," Derek wondered.
Maeve sat down on the bench in front of the cells with a frown, her mind was so clouded with thoughts that she could barely process Stiles' involvement with all of this.
"But is it really Stiles?" Chris hinted, "Remember, we've had this problem before."
"But we got lucky with Jackson," Derek reminded, "What happens when you don't get lucky?"
"I guess it depends on how much or how little of Stiles is left. You ever heard of the Berserkers?" Chris questioned.
"Germanic warriors. They wore the skins of bears to channel their ferocity," Derek recalled.
"They didn't just wear them. They became them," Chris pointed out darkly, "You know, a couple of years ago, a family came to us for help with their son. This group of teenagers, they were doing all sorts of rituals with animal skins. Somehow they tapped into it. But with Berserkers, the human side doesn't last long. They're not tempered by the moon."
Derek looked up worriedly, "He killed people?"
"He tore them apart," Maeve answered in a whisper, eyes wide.
"Eventually, I had to tell the family their son was gone. It took three of us to take him down. Almost every bullet we had. And when it was over, I felt no remorse. None. I knew that kid was long gone," Chris sighed.
Derek looked to Maeve hesitantly before asking, Maeve gulped - knowing what he was going to ask, "Would you feel any remorse putting Stiles down?"
"Stiles, yes. But not a Nogitsune."
—
"Luna!" Maeve shouted across the station in frustration.
Luna's hand shot out from the inside of the vending machine, a packet of reeces in her hand as she smiled innocently, "Stiles taught me."
Maeve rolled her eyes, beckoning her over. Derek and Chris were finally being released and it couldn't come soon enough.
"Sorry, but I can't let you walk out with this. It's way above the legal voltage limit," Jordan held onto Chris' taser tightly.
"I only use it for hunting," Chris defended, glaring at the officer in annoyance.
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure you could use it to jump-start a 747," Jordan argued.
Derek shook his head in disbelief, once and Argent always an Argent - even Maeve kept a gun under their bed that she thought he didn't know about.
"This property belongs to me and the charges were dropped. Although, I'm not exactly sure who's responsible for that," Chris whirled around hearing Maeve's snort.
Luna shot across the room, jumping into Derek's arms, "Dad!"
Derek smiled down at her, hugging her close, "Hi, Lu."
"We are. I'll take care of this, Parrish," Noah took the taster form Jordan, placing it far out of Luna's reach as she eyed it curiously.
"Sheriff, I'm not kidding. This thing's a few watts from being a lightsaber," Jordan pointed out.
Maeve and Derek turned to Chris, who looked away innocently. When they finally left the station, Chris and Maeve had argued all the way home until she made the adult decision and tossed the taser out of the car window.
"The specialist I saw in LA told me the thing that every doctor says when he's trying to avoid a lawsuit. 'We can't say for sure.' And then I spoke with Melissa," Noah explained, handing over the scans, "These are brain scans. My wife's and Stiles'. I knew they were similar. But those are the same. Exactly the same."
It was lunch at the Hale house, Maeve had gone full mother hen on Chris and Derek who had been living off prison food and she was certain her father wasn't eating properly.
Elizabeth sat down beside Noah, "Can't we have a normal lunch? One that involves eating and no brain scans?"
Elizabeths plea went unnoticed. Maeve chuckled as she finally wrangled Freddie into his high chair, her son immediately reached out for the food.
"And I'm guessing this isn't possible?" Derek questioned, wrapping his arm around the back of Maeve's chair as she sat beside him.
"Not even remotely," Noah replied.
"So the trickster is still playing tricks," Chris sighed.
Maeve stared down at the scans, "But why this trick?"
"When I was in the Army, an officer told me, 'If you want to defeat your enemy, you don't take away their courage. You take away their hope.'" Noah informed them.
"You don't look like a man who gives up hope easily," Chris pointed out.
Noah looked down nervously, "But Stiles might. If this thing inside him, if it's using his mother's disease as some sort of psychological trick, then this isn't just a fight for his body. It's also a fight for his mind. Right?"
"You know, he's left people severely injured," Chris reminded.
Derek looked at Chris pointedly, "And others severely dead."
"That's why I need the three of you. I need people who are experienced in this kind of thing. I need you to help me stop him," Noah asked.
"And by stop him, you mean trap him."
—
The group walked into Chris' office, Maeve wanted to laugh at the selection of weapons on the table. Derek knew he shouldn't of been surprise, but the display of weapons was much more than he imagined.
"This is everything non-lethal I could find," Allison told them.
"Take all of it," Chris picked up a bag, placing some weapons inside.
"What's the plan here?" Noah questioned.
"Our best shot right now is for Derek or Maeve to try to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House. Especially if he went through something stressful there," Chris instructed.
Noah looked hesitant, "Should all four of us be going to the same place?"
"Where else has Stiles been showing up?" Chris asked.
"School, the hospital," Allison recited.
Derek shook his head, "Okay, hold on. We did this already. He disappeared. We started looking for him. Then walked right into a trap at the hospital."
"He's getting us to repeat the same moves," Chris realised.
Allison looked to him with a frown, "So, what do we do? Wait for him to come to us?"
"We can't," Derek argued, "Not if the oni find him when the sun goes down."
"Scott's working on them right now, with Kira," Noah informed them.
"That's the problem. We're all trying to outfox the fox," Chris sighed.
"Listen. I'll understand if anyone wants to back out," Noah told them.
Maeve shook her head, exclaimed, "Are you mad? This is Stiles. They're gonna help!"
"I wouldn't be the first wolf to run from a fox," Derek agreed.
Chris nodded picking up the taser, "Apparently I'm carrying the lightsaber."
"Dad, you, Maeve and Derek hit Eichen House. Sheriff, it's you and me in the hospital. We all meet in the school," Allison informed them, hurrying out of the office with Noah.
Derek rolled his eyes as Chris picked up another gun up from out of a draw, "Making sure you have a few lethal options just in case?"
"I like to prepare for the worst," Chris pointed out grimly.
Maeve looked out the window, gripping onto the desk as a wave of dizziness hit. Derek glanced in her direction noticing her stumble, quickly hurrying over.
"Maeve?"
Maeve clutched at her ears, wincing as screams silenced her hearing - a familiar dark laugh ringing through her ears.
"What's going on?" Chris asked in alarm, "is she alright?"
"She's been having aftershocks since she woke up," Derek explained, holding Maeve close as she leant against him, "Maeve. What did you hear this time?"
Maeve blinked slowly, suddenly feeling very sick, "Stiles screaming."
"What is all this? What are these sticky notes for?"
They gathered around the chessboard in Stiles' room, staring down at the only lead they had.
"This is what Stiles used to try and help explain to me about all of you," Noah informed them, "We eventually ran out of chess pieces."
"Maybe it's a message from Stiles. The real Stiles," Allison suggested.
Maeve stared nervously sat the floor, hearing Stiles screaming earlier...she was certain that was the real message from their Stiles.
Derek spotted his chess piece on the board, Maeve's not close behind, "You think there's any reason my name's on the king?"
"Well, you're heavily guarded," Noah shrugged, "Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate."
Maeve blinked nervously as she stared at Derek's chess piece. Checkmate.
"It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the nogitsune. He's at the loft. That's what he's trying to tell us. And he wants us to come there," Allison realised.
Maeve and Derek shared a look of alarm. Cora and Elizabeth were watching the kids at the loft today.
"What? What's wrong?" Chris asked, hurrying after them as Derek and Maeve ran out of the room.
"The kids are at the loft with mom!" Maeve shouted back, not waiting for them to follow as they ran.