Day 9

For once, John wasn't waiting for his deputies to come back and report to him, he was standing behind a cruiser at a road block, itching to be part of the team that stopped the rest of the people holding Scott. He needed to do something and Stile's wasn't sharing information about what areas they were searching. The four teams he assigned grid searches around the ambush site reported nothing that led to the missing boy.

His attention was drawn to the three SUVs speeding down the road toward them. "Look sharp, here they come." The Sheriff pulled his standard issue weapon and picked up the microphone on the car's megaphone. "This is the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department. Stop your vehicle and remove the keys from the ignition."

Myers watched the lead car pick up speed. "I don't think they are stopping, Boss." He raised his shot gun to his shoulder, finding the grill in his sites.

"Put one in the engine block." John snarled as the cars aimed for the road block. Myers followed the order instinctively and watched with satisfaction as the SUV swerved out of control, clipping the second car and knocking both onto the shoulder. Unfortunately, the third car blew through the road block before Myers could reload. "Jones, get me that car!" John's attention returned to the men cautiously approaching the disabled vehicles, but he heard two of the reserve cruisers start in pursuit of the third car.

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Stiles had been driving to every abandoned cabin in Beacon County, crossing them off the map one by one for the last two hundred hours. He was starting to lose all hope of ever finding his friend when his ever silent companion barked out an order to stop. He didn't hesitate to throw the car in park as Derek hopped out, practically ripping the door from its hinges. "Do you smell something?"

Instead of answering, Derek took off from the road into the woods, barely acknowledging Stiles pulling the old Jeep down the dirt path behind him. The smell led him to a old barn house a couple miles off the road and he immediately raced inside the building calling Scott's name. When nothing came, Derek tracked the foul stench into the basement and snarled at the sight. Scott had never transition to full wolf, never allowed the beast enough control, but the sick and injured timber wolf curled in the stench of its own waste was definitely Scott. Carefully, he sniffed at the wounds, angry to find the animal wrapped in wolfsbane soaked ropes. Scott let out a weak snarl as he reached for the ropes, but a reassuring chuff from Derek silenced the warning. The toxic oil stung his hand as he pulled the knots free and released the trembling animal.

"Derek? Is that," Stiles couldn't seem to finish his question.

"Yes." Something registered in the wolf's eyes and he whined, trying to scratch his way toward Stiles. "Get over here." Derek held Scott still until Stiles crouched down, gently placing his hand on the ebony head. The wolf took several heavy sniffs, as if to reassure himself of the scents around him before dropping to the floor with a pained yelp. With a whimper, the alpha wrapped the body in a tarp and lifted it in his arms, burying his nose in the blood stained fur under the wolf's chin. "I've got you. You're safe now."

Stiles took a look around the room, flinching at the rusted cage, suspended restraints and blood stained floor before following Derek back up the stairs. He was never going to get this image out of his nightmares and he'd only been here for five minutes. A sharp throb in his heart came with the realization that after nine days of captivity Scott might never make it back mentally.

Carefully the alpha set the wolf into the back of the Jeep, pillowed on the sleeping bags the smelled so heavily of his best friend and one time pack mate. Derek rubbed his hand over the fur, checking for an immediate threats or injuries before he slumped into the passenger seat. "Get to the clinic."

Stiles nodded, his throat closing in sadness. "Will he ever, I mean can he change back?" He jumped when Derek put a fist through his dashboard. "I'll take that as a no."

Derek growled, glancing over his shoulder at wolf whining pitifully in the back. "It's possible, but the damage they did to him will take a while to get past. It took the other person I knew years. Scott shut down to survive the pain and now he doesn't know how to be human anymore."

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Melissa hissed at the sting of pain as she finally bit her nail down to the quick. Her free hand hesitated over the door to Scott's room but she couldn't make her body open the door, even if the police told her it was alright. Her baby had been stolen from this room, his blood spilt and body broken. She wasn't sure what would be worse, never knowing what happened to Scott or the finality of his death. At the moment she was leaning toward a complete and utter lack of information leaving her in a panicked limbo. With a stunted sob, she opened the door and felt her knees collapse under her. Scott's once safe and comfortable room looked like someone tried to cage a wild animal. She had a terrible urge to curl up in the middle of his bed and give up, but the man responsible was in custody and she just had to hold on to the hope that John would find him. She felt like she should be doing something more, be out searching like Stiles, but her legs were chained to the floor of the house, not allowing her to pass through the threshold for fear of killing Gerard Argent before he could tell them where Scott was hidden. Instead, she gave the room a determined look and steeled her spine. She was not about to let Scott come home to this shrine of destruction. Slowly, she picked up his trash can and started picking up the larger debris.

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Chris studied the child sleeping on the bed across the room. He didn't really want to be here when she woke up, but there was no one else that could prevent her from doing something monumentally stupid, like walking up to a feral wolf and expecting him to wag his tail. He scowled and threw his bag on the other bed.

Allison was never going to forgive him, but the only way he could see getting her away from the town of Beacon Hills, even out of the hotel parking lot was to sedate her and drag her along for the ride. There was an all points bulletin on anyone with the Argent name and he needed to get them out of town. Victoria had called an hour ago saying that she was on her way to meet them in Seattle to regroup. He wasn't sure what sort of reception his wife was expecting from their daughter, but he was sure admiration and thanksgiving would not be among them. He debated hiding Allison's weapons, but something in his soul said Victoria was so far in the wrong that he wouldn't fault Allison for attacking her mother, his wife. He crashed heavily into his chair and wondered how it was they went from being the monster hunters to the monsters.

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Deacon was waiting with the back door open and the operating room prepped when Stiles pulled behind the building. Derek had the wolf out of the back seat and on the operating table before Stiles even had his seatbelt off and the whole thing was going smoothly until the vet walked into the room. Scott went ballistic, barking and snapping, frothing at the jowls in anger.

Looking stunned, the doctor took a step back out of the room. "I'm going to have to sedate him. Hold him down."

Derek was immediately on the wolf, trying to hold him still with his body weight without causing anymore harm. His large hand dug into the bloody fur and he growled reassurances to the wolf that he was safe, that his alpha was there. Scott kept snarling at the doctor as he felt the needle in his flank but didn't have the strength to push the bulky werewolf off his body. Soon the body succumbed to the drugs, slipping into a blissful trance, but he could still hear Derek grumbling in his ear, smell Stiles holding is head gently. He whimpered, panicked by the loss of control, wanting desperately to break for the door and run to freedom.

"Hang in there, Scott. Doc's going to get you all patched up and we're going to get you home." Stiles rubbed the matted fur as the rest of the anesthesia was pumped into an IV and his best friend was pulled under.

"We can't take him home." Derek sighed heavily and sat back on a stool, observing Deacon carefully. "He's too feral. He'll end up hurting his mother without realizing it."

"But he feels safe there. He might change back faster." Stiles felt his hand grasp desperately at the fur.

"I'm afraid Derek is right, Stiles." Deacon shot the wolf a sad glance before turning to prepare the x-ray machine to uncover all the wounds the werewolf's body was too malnourished to repair. "He was taken from the house by someone he considered a friend. He won't feel safe there and post traumatic stress disorder will present even more catastrophically in this state. It's a very real possibility that he will attack his mother just as he tried to do to me." His heart flickered with agony. He spent four years mentoring Scott, moving him from a volunteer to an employee as soon as the boy was old enough to obtain a work permit. To see Scott this broken, so far from human was gut wrenching. If Gerard Argent hadn't been arrested, Allen would have hunted him down and killed him.

"Well, we can't just desert him." Stiles glared at the older man.

"He's coming with me." Derek geared up for Stiles' inevitable protest. "He's feral. He's going to act like a wolf and the only way to control him, to make him feel safe is for him to be with an alpha."

Stiles scowled, crowding Derek. "Tell me this isn't about another soldier for your war against the Argents."

The alpha growled back. "I'm going to forget you said that." His hands curled into Stiles shirt and lifted him. "You're human Stiles, you'll never understand the need for a pack." Derek forced himself to calm and release his hostage. "I'm not letting him go again, not after this."

Even human, Stiles could practically smell the guilt coming off Derek in waves and settled down, reassured. "You didn't do this to him, Derek."

"Peter dragged him into the middle of this, it makes him my responsibility." Watching as Derek ran his hand over Scott's muzzle with controlled gentleness, it was obvious to Stiles that the alpha's concern for his friend wasn't just obligation.

"If you two are done, I could use some help here." Deacon held an x-ray up to the light box. "We have several bones to set, two stab wounds and what looks like lacerations from a whip across his back."

Stiles could feel tears well in his eyes as he took in the laundry list of injuries. "I'm sorry." He rested his forehead against the wolf's. "I'm sorry it took us so long to find you." He only moved back when Dr. Deacon approached with the surgical instruments. "What do you need me to do?"

"Have a seat in the waiting room. I'll let you know when I'm done." He placed a reassuring hand on Stiles' shoulder.

"No." Derek's posture made it obvious he wasn't moving beyond the table.

"Derek," the vet sighed and prepared for battle.

"If the anesthesia wears off you aren't strong enough to restrain him." His words bordered on snarls and the vet relented.

"At least sit over there. You're in my way."

Derek scowled, but moved to sit in the chair in the corner of the room. Stiles immediately followed him and crashed down on the floor, allowing his head to rest against a cabinet as exhaustion over took him.

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"Where is Scott McCall?"

Hickory stared at the Sheriff with bored contempt. "Don't know what you are talking about."

John sneered at the redneck as he threw a worn leather wallet on the table. "You like taking souvenirs, Frank?" He gestured to the smiling picture of Scott on his license. "Tell me where he is."

"I think I'll wait for my lawyer if it's all the same to you." Hickory's smug look almost drove John to homicide.

"You do that." He stood up, grabbing the evidence. "And when the DNA comes back on that little box of toys in your car your lawyer can explain the likelihood of you breathing free air again in this millennium." He turned and left the room before he gave in to the urge to pull his gun.

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Day 10

"Stiles, wake up." The teen snapped his eyes open to meet the soft gaze of the vet. "Everything is finished. Scott should be healed by tomorrow morning, physically anyway." He smiled and held his hand out to help the boy up.

"Where's Derek?" He was sure the alpha wasn't leaving the wolf's side for anything.

"I sent him for a shower. The wolfsbane that transferred from Scott was starting to do some damage." He stepped back and gave Stiles the first glimpse of his friend. Scott's ebony coat was stripped with ivory. The majority of his torso and all four paws were wrapped in bandages, some spotted with crimson. His coat was wet from the attempt to clean off the filth and prevent injuries making his look even more pathetic. "He's been on intravenous nutrition for a few hours but when he wakes up he'll be hungry. It was enough to jump start his healing but he's going to need a lot of calories for the next few days. I would suggest beef." He shot him a warning look. "No dog food."

Stiles frowned at the healer. "Not exactly time for jokes." He rubbed Scott's fuzzy ear. "Is Derek right? Is he going to be stuck like this?"

"I've only seen two cases where hunters tortured a werewolf to the point they lost their humanity. One made it back and the other one didn't." Deacon rested his hands on the table by Scott's ear. "I know how reluctant you and Scott were to join Derek's pack, but Derek is right. He's going to need an alpha. The one that made it back was Derek's cousin. She was practically glued to his father's shadow for two years before she finally felt safe enough to turn back. The other one was an omega. He was rescued with Natalie, but he refused Derek's father's offer to join his pack. He found a den in the reserve and refused to leave it for any reason for fear of the hunters. He died of starvation after a few weeks." Deacon turned sad eyes back to Stiles. "Derek remembers what his cousin went through. If anyone could, he'll be able to help Scott find his way back. You trusted him to help you find Scott, trust him now."

Stiles sighed heavily and nodded. "For Scott."

Derek allowed a small smile to touch his lips from his hiding spot in the hallway. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and walked back into the room, ending the conversation. "Let's get him to the depot before his wakes up."

Stiles nodded and pulled his keys from his pocket. "Then what?"

"You go home and sleep. You've been running on fumes for a week and a half." Stiles started to protest but Derek held up a hand to stop him. "I'm going to crash too and Scott will probably sleep through the healing. Get eight hours, let your father know that you're alive and head back over tomorrow morning."

Stiles growled but nodded his head. "I'll have to tell his mom something tomorrow. I can't just keep letting her think he's missing."

"I would suggest telling her the truth." Deacon went over to a cabinet behind the reception desk and pulled out a file. "This is Scott's file. We've been documenting everything since he was bitten."

Derek opened the file and his lips pulled back in a snarl when he found injuries that he was unaware of written on the forms. "When did these happen?"

Stiles peeked over his shoulder and looked at the entry in question. He grimaced and snatched the file. "There was an altercation between Gerard Argent and Scott outside the hospital?" Stiles shoved the file in the pocket of his hoodie and started for the door. "I'm sure he was going to tell you about it. I'll just pull the car around."

Derek's claws bit into his palms and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Sincere eyes turned to the vet and he fought to push the words out he needed to say. "Thank you, for taking care of him when I didn't." He turned away in angry shame and started back for the injured wolf.

"Derek?" Deacon waited for the alpha to turn around. "Scott has always wanted to trust you, the betrayal with Peter colored a lot of your relationship, but that is gone now." He shot another grieving look at the wolf. "I suggest you use this as a fresh start. Be the alpha Scott always hoped you would be."

"I will." The gruff words were the last spoken as Derek carefully scooped up the wolf and carried him back out to the Jeep.

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Isaac and Erica watched silently as Derek walked into the depot with an injured wolf in his arms. He disappeared into his rail car for fifteen minutes before finally emerging. "Where's Boyd?"

"Home. His sister called a few hours ago." Isaac stood and walked over to alpha, feeling the rage and helplessness pouring off the elder. "Where have you been?" There were enough rumors flying around school about Scott McCall's kidnapping and the absence of Stiles for them to put two and two together but they were hoping Derek would fill in the blanks after all but demanding that they hide out in the depot for over a week.

"Hunting Argents." He rubbed his eyes and fought off the exhaustion for a few more minutes. "The hunters have been taken care of for now. It's safe for you to come out of hiding, at least as long as Jackson and Gerard are in jail."

"Did Jackson really take Scott?"

"Yes. He gave him to Gerard." Derek snarled and abruptly walked away signaling the end of the conversation. "I'm getting some sleep. Call Boyd and fill him in."

Erica frowned at her alpha. Although she wasn't as in tune with his moods as Isaac, she could tell something was bothering him and it had something to do with the wolf he just hid in his den. She shook off the feeling and turned to Isaac. "I'll stop at Boyd's on my way home. See what you can get out of him." She pointed to the darkened car.

Isaac snorted at the Herculean task. "We're not getting anything out of him until he's ready."

"Fine, I'll ask him." She huffed and walked into the car despite knowing Derek didn't want to be disturbed. "Derek."

Derek managed to get the wolf settled in his subway car before he woke from the surgeries, but Scott freaked out again when Erica got too close to the nest they created next to the alpha's pallet. "Back off!" Derek was immediately between Erica and Scott, his back to the Beta and his eyes boring into the wolf trying feebly to stand despite his injuries. "Erica, back out of here, now." Derek moved over to the wolf, rumbling growls sounded from his throat, soothing Scott. "Easy, you're not up for a fight and she's pack." Slowly, his hand tangled in the fur at the nape of his next. "Easy." He helped Scott settle back down, careful of the injuries. "Idiot. Just rest. You're safe here." He heard Erica dash out of the depot but didn't turn his eyes from Scott. Instead, he sat next to the injured animal and ran a soothing hand over his flank. "Isaac, go to the store and grab a cooler, ice and ten pounds of chuck roast." He watched the teen nod through the window, ignoring the warning growl from Scott. When Isaac's car was gone, he stretched out on his pallet and draped an arm over his eyes. "They're both gone now. You can go to sleep." Scott whimpered in pain before burrowing his nose under the pile of towels and t-shirts Derek turned into his bed. He fell into a pained sleep and soon after, Derek fell from consciousness. The alpha never explained where the injured wolf came from, but his pack would understand that the animal was sacred and not to be harmed in any way. He knew that it wouldn't be long before Isaac figured out that the wolf was Scott and told the others, but until then he was more worried about keeping Scott from killing the rest of the pack.

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Stiles sighed when he walked in the door of his house. Not wanting to leave his friend, Stiles was tempted not to go back home, but he'd been hiding out with Derek for over a week while they looked for Scott and his father deserved to know that he was still alive. He wasn't sure how he was going to make amends for the words said in his office, angry remarks meant to inflict as much pain as Stiles was feeling at the time. As far as he was concerned Scott was as good as blood and the adults in their lives, the ones they were supposed to trust had failed them. "Dad?"

The sheriff launched off his chair and pulled Stiles into a hug, one shyly returned. "I've been worried sick about you. Where have you been?"

"Looking for Scott."

His father flinched and pulled away, half expecting to see the same hatred in his sons eyes, instead there was a resigned weariness. "No luck?"

"We found him."

The fact that Stiles wasn't more excited brought all sorts of horrid images of bodies in ravines to the veteran police officer. "Is he alive?"

"In a matter of speaking." Stiles sank down in the chair. "He's not human anymore."

"Did you take him to the hospital?"

Stiles shook his head emphatically. "No, we took him to the clinic. I mean it, he's not human anymore. He shifted and now he's stuck."

"Stiles what are you talking about?" Anger started to curl in his gut with every cryptic answer.

"You saw the photos from the video store, the animal attacks, heard the howling, you telling me you didn't put two and two together and figure out werewolves were involved?" Stiles snorted tiredly and dropped Deacon's file on the coffee table. "The man responsible for all the Hale revenge murders was Derek's uncle. He turned Scott."

"And you didn't think I needed to know any of this?"

His son's normal sheepish expression was missing as he shot his father a hard glare. "We tried to tell you but you were too busy reading us a restraining order." Stiles stood heading for the back of the house. "Look, Scott's alive, but stuck as a wolf, possibly for years until he calms down enough to turn back. Derek said he shut down his human brain to deal with the torture."

"Torture?" John knew from the tools in Hickory's trunk that Scott's treatment wasn't stellar, but he was hanging on to that last shred of hope that they would find Scott relatively unharmed.

Ignoring his father's horrified whisper, Stiles pushed on. "And now I have to figure out whether to tell Scott's mom that he's alive when she won't be able to see him. He won't let any other humans within ten feet of him without taking a limb. Even Dr. Deacon was almost flayed and Scott loves him."

Stiles looked over his shoulder at his father, seeing the defeat in the set of his shoulders. He seemed to gather some energy before looking at Stiles. "I know it doesn't make it right, but Jackson Whittmore and Gerard Argent are in custody. Jackson's not going anywhere for a very long time, but I don't think we have enough to hold Argent, especially if Scott can't testify. The guys we picked up this morning are covering for him."

"Chris and Victoria?"

"In the wind." John snarled and tightened his grip on the phone in his hand as if willing it to ring.

"There's a barn six miles south east of the preservation by Hixon bluff. That's where we found Scott." Stiles turned without looking at his father as he walked up the stairs. He was asleep before he even hit his pillow. For now his enemies were in jail or on the run, his best friend was alive and his father would figure out how to deal with Scott's mom. The poor woman hadn't slept in over a week and Stiles wasn't sure what condition she would be in other than broken. Based on the desperate texts he received on the hour to see if he had news about Scott, Stiles knew that she wasn't going to take the news well. Derek was pretty sure that Scott wouldn't be turning back any time soon, but he had faith in his best friend. Scott would fight his way back. He had to for them.

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Melissa felt her heart stop when she opened the door to see John standing next to a nervous Stiles. Scott was nowhere in sight and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know what they came to tell her. "You found him?"

Stiles nodded reluctantly, wishing his father hadn't dragged him out of his unconscious stupor a mere three hours after he fell asleep. "More or less."

Her knees weakened and she felt her body collapse against John. "Is he dead?"

John wrapped her in his arms. "No. He's alive."

"I want to see him."

Stiles flinched at the request. "You can't."

She wrenched her body from the supportive hold and glared at her son's best friend. "What do you mean I can't? Take me to my baby now, Stiles."

"There's something we need to tell you about Scott and Peter Hale." He rubbed at the fuzz on his head nervously. "Scott's not human anymore. He was bitten by a werewolf."

"This isn't time for jokes, Stiles!" She fought the urge to smack him upside the head.

"He's not joking, Mel." John held out the medical file from Doctor Deacon as well as the file from the Hale murders. "Scott was turned the day before school."

She fought the urge to slam the door in John's face, angry that he would be making up these ridiculous stories at a time like this, but his eyes were sincere and haunted. "What are you talking about?" She snatched the files out of his hand. Opening the top one, she found a picture of Scott in is Beta transformation as well as a photo of an injured wolf. "What is this?"

"I know this is hard to believe, but Scott really is a werewolf." Stiles shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing that this message had been Derek's to give, but he was the best friend, not the alpha and this was all he could do for Scott at the moment. "The Argents are werewolf hunters that have been trying to kill Scott since they arrived in town. It got worse after Allison's mom found out he was dating her daughter and she started to get obsessed. They are the ones that had Scott."

"What did they do to him?" Tears ran down her face as she read the medical reports and learned how many times her son had been injured without her knowledge.

"The short answer? He was tortured for information about his alpha, Derek Hale." Stiles ushered her over to the rocking chair on the porch and helped her sit down. "Derek said that it was too much for Scott's mind to handle and he gave in to the wolf." Stiles pointed to the photo of the black wolf. "Dr. Deacon said the transformation helped him stay alive until we found him, but he's stuck like that now. He won't change back until he feels safe and after everything he's been through that could take years."

Melissa looked up when she heard the devastation in Stiles voice and that more than anything convinced her that what he was saying was real. Her arms reached out, drawing him into a hug as they cried out their anger together. "Why can't I see him?"

Stiles whimpered. "He's feral. He's attacking any human within a hundred yards of him. Deacon said it was like PTSD but worse because he's a wolf." He shivered. "He almost killed Deacon last night when he came into the operating room and you know how much Scott loves him." He looked awkwardly at the ground. "I think the only reason Scott lets me near him is because I was with Derek when he found him."

Melissa gasped and felt her nails bite into palms as the tears continued to flow. "So I won't ever be able to see him?"

"We think in a few weeks, after Derek has a chance to help him calm down that maybe we can try to bring him home. But not yet." He felt his chest tighten at the pain in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry we didn't find him faster."

Fierce brown eyes shot to his. "Don't you dare, Stiles. You found him. You brought Scott home alive, so don't you even think about apologizing. If I have to wait, then I will." She faltered. "At least now I know he's alive and safe."

Stiles dove back in for a hug, overwhelmed by the forgiveness of his guilt. "We'll get him home. We're not giving up on him."

"I know you won't." She gave him a watery smile and held him tightly. Shifting her eyes upward, she caught John's glance and saw he too was crying. When the distraught father whispered a relieved thank you she just nodded and allowed them all a moment to grieve the innocent boy her son was before he was taken.