𝕭𝖆𝖉 𝖗𝖊𝖕𝖚𝖙𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓
Eight - 1X03
Pack Mentality (part two)

"YOU KNOW, YOU'RE REALLY KILLING MY MOOD, RIGHT NOW," NAT MOCKINGLY POUTS, "WHY THE LONG FACE, SHERIFF?"

Noah merely rolls his eyes at her in response, not even glancing at her as he climbs out of the car. 

Nat follows him out with a huff, watching as Noah bends down into the back of the car, "Oh, come on, dude-!"

"Don't call me 'dude'. I get enough of that from Stiles." Noah interrupts, his face scrunching up in disgust as he steps away from the car, a dog lead in his hand. He whistles a short high-pitched tune, and the dog comes bounding out of the car- his back leg wobbles, making Noah reach out to support him-
but, that doesn't seem to stop the dog from barking happily up at the man.

"Your acting like we're taking this dog to it's funeral!" she finishes, ignoring his comment. Noah walks around the car towards her, the dog at his heels. At Nat's words, he sighs, turning towards the dog. The dog immediately sits beside him, his head tilting up in curiosity at the pair, his tail wagging excitedly.

"He doesn't seem to care." Noah decides after a beat, turning back to Nat with a nonchalant shrug.

Nat furrows her eyebrows, crouching down next to the dog and cooing softly, "You do care don't you, buddy?" Nat reaches out to scratch behind his ears, the dog letting out a happy bark at the attention he's receiving, "Sheriff, look at him!" she beams, smiling up at Noah widely.

Noah reluctantly looks down at them, a small
(involuntary) smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Hey! Did you see that?" Nat asks the dog with a grin, patting him softly on his head, "We got a smile; oh, yes we did! That means he likes you!"

She gives him one last pat on the head, before standing back up next to the Sherriff, "Can we keep him?"

"No," he immediately replies, stepping past Nat and pushing open the door to the Beacon Hill's vets, "You're enough trouble as it is."

"Ouch." Nat mutters, watching as the dog, who Nat is now dubbing as 'Buddy' (since she gained a happy little pant the first time she called him that), quickly limps after Noah, eager not to be left behind.

"Hey, I see somebody's ready to get their stitches out!" Deaton exclaims with a smile, as Noah gently ushers Buddy towards the vet.

"Scotty!" Nat greets with a wide smile, happy to see her friend (who's part of the reason she had practically begged Noah to let her come with him to the vets, in the first place- the other reason, being that she's a sucker for anything small and cute).

"Hey there, Scott. You staying out of trouble?" Noah smiles, turning his attention away from Buddy for a second to speak to Scott.

"Yeah..." Scott trails, stunned by their sudden appearance. Nat, seeing his dazed state, nudges him gently with her elbow, a playful glare in her eyes. She walks over to Buddy, watching as Deaton slowly unwraps his little bandage that encases his back left leg.

"Dr. Deaton." Nat acknowledges, nodding her head towards him in greeting. Deaton's always been nice- kind? Civil?- to her- or maybe he hates her?

Nat can never tell with him...

"Natalia." his monotonous voice replies, giving her no indication to how her appearance makes him feels. She's just going to go with amazed.

"How's our little patient?" She questions, giving Buddy a little scratch underneath his chin.

"His wound seems to be healing quickly, and once these stiches are out, he'll be as good as new." he informs her, patting the dog softly on his head. Buddy lifts his head, sniffing at Deaton's hand in mild interest.

"You hear that, Buddy? You're gonna be out of here in no time!"

The dog wags his tail in response, his tongue flopping out of his mouth as he pants happily. Nat snorts at the sight, wondering if he has any clue at all what she's actually saying, or if he's just happy because she seems to be looking in his general direction.

"Hey, listen-," Noah starts, pulling out a file from a briefcase- that Nat has no memory of him bringing in, at all- to give to Deaton. Nat immediately perks up, eager to get a glimpse at the file, "Sacramento still can't determine an animal."

"I'm not exactly an expert..." Deaton trails, hesitantly.

Nat furrows her eyebrows. Isn't he a vet? He kind of has to be an expert, doesn't he?

"Oh, this is the guy who was attacked in the bus?" he asks, turning the file towards the Sheriff for confirmation, which allows Nat a quick glimpse at it.

The file holds a photo of Garrison Myers' arm, a clear bite mark engraved in it, just above his elbow. Nat tilts her head in curiosity, absently stroking the dog's head, as she turns to Scott, who stands staring at the photo in shock.

Stilinski nods, "Yeah. And, we found wolf hairs on Laura Hale's body."

"A wolf?" Scott probes, faltering when all head turn to look at him, "Um...I mean, I think I read somewhere that wolves haven't been in California for, like, sixty years..." Scott stutters out nervously.

Nat gives him a thumbs up as she mouths 'nice save' sarcastically. She turns away from Scott's piercing glare, just in time to catch Deaton's intrigued expression at Scott's reaction. Through narrowed eyes, she watches him closely as he looks back down at the file in his hands, nodding his head in agreement.

"True enough, but wolves are highly migratory. They could have wandered in from another state, driven by impulse or strong enough memory."

"So your saying these killings could be over? I mean, the 'wolf' could've moved to the next county by now, right?" Nat ponders aloud.

"Not necessarily. While wolves are very likely to move on quickly, there is still a rare chance they'll stay longer, they might stay because the hunting ground is good, or even because of a certain territory..." Deaton trials, inspecting the photo closely.

"Wait...Wolves have memories?" Scott frowns.

"Longer-term memories, yes- if associated with a primal drive. See this one here?" he turns the photo towards them, pointing at the most prominent wounds on the bus driver, "Those are claw marks. A wolf would have gone for the throat or the spinal cord with its teeth."

"So, what do you think, it's a mountain lion?" Stilinski guesses.

"I don't know...A wolf could chase down its prey, hobbling it by tearing at the ankles and then the throat..."

Nat cringes at the morbid picture Deaton paints, before softly patting the dog, that now lies peacefully asleep on the metal table, undisturbed by the human's surrounding him.

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"JUST GO IN THERE...AND DON'T LOOK WEAK! SHE'LL BE ABLE TO SMELL YOUR FEAR FROM A MILE OFF!" NAT WHISPER-YELLS TO SCOTT AS HE APPROCHES MELLISA WITH A BAG OF FOOD IN AN ATTEMPT TO BRIBE HER FOR THE CAR.

"Is my beautiful, talented, and wonderful son actually bringing me dinner?" Melissa chirps.

Scott leans against the desk with a smile, "Thought you wouldn't mind skipping the cafeteria tonight..."

"You are the most thoughtful, loving...most conniving little con-artist ever, aren't you, Natalia?" Melissa grins, leaning back in her chair as Nat trudges out from behind the wall.

"It was all Scott's idea. I'm simply an innocent bystander, Ma'am," Nat confesses with a solemn face.

Melissa scoffs a laugh, "You? innocent?" Scott laughs at her words, making Melissa turn to him sharply, "And, you are so not getting the car tomorrow night."

Scott's smile falls, as he immediately begins to protest, "Mom!"

"What? There's a curfew- no car," Melissa scoffs again, clicking her tongue before reaching for the bag of food, "But, I will take this. Love you!"

Scott sighs in disappointment, murmuring a small, "Love you, too..."

"Love you!" Nat grins, turning away from Melissa and following Scott as he disappears down the hallway of the hospital.

Melissa laughs, sending her a wave, "Goodbye, Nat! Stay out of trouble- both of you!"

Scott stops suddenly a few metres away from Melissa, his head tilting in interest as he throws a hand out in front of Natalia to halt her movements.

"Scott? You okay?"

Scott turns around to grab her wrist- not even bothering to answer her silent question. He pulls her towards a hospital room, hesitating for only a second before dragging Nat in with him.

Nat's eyes widen as she spots the occupant of the room, Garrison Myers.

The man lies silently in his bed, the only sign that he is alive, being the machines that beep obnoxiously around him. His head is wrapped in gauze, as he breathes heavily through an oxygen mask.

"Mr. Myers...?" Scott inquires, slowly walking towards the man. Nat follows- mainly because Scott's hold on her wrist has yet to weaken.

Myers begins to stir, prompting Scott to continue, "Are you okay?"

Myers' stops for a moment, heavily blinking away his sleep. As soon as his eyes lose their sleepy glaze, he jumps, an accusing finger stretching out towards Scott. His mouth gapes like a fish, as he struggles to form words. His heart-rate monitor sky rocketing, with each desperate gasp of breath he inhales.

Nat shakes her hand- the one Scott still tightly grips-, trying to indicate to him that they should leave, when Myers' reaches forward grabbing onto Scott's sleeve, and trying to pull him closer. Scott desperately tries to pull his arm away from the man, who only grips tighter, reluctant to let go

Myers' screams loudly, alerting Melissa, who runs into the room, her eyes wide in panic, "What the hell are you two doing in here?"

Melissa's sudden appearance is what jolts Nat out of her frozen panic. She leans forward, roughly ripping Scott's sleeve out of the man's hold, before pushing him behind her in an attempt to put some distance between them.

Melissa pushes them both out the of door, her expression furious, "Get out! Now! Go! Go, go!"

Myers' hysterical yells echo down the hallway, following them, as they retreat away from the room.

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"AND WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?" NAT QUESTIONS, LOOKING UP AT THE SCHOOL IN DISTASTE.

"'Cause Derek said I had to go back to remember what happened that night." Scott answers, pushing open the car door with determination. Nat and Stiles both share a look, before joining him outside.

"Hey, no- just me. Someone needs to keep watch." Scott declares, putting a hand out to stop his two friends.

Stiles scoffs, "How come I'm always the guy keeping watch?"

"Hey, I'm here too, asshole." Nat glares. Stiles ignores both of them, stepping forward towards the fence that separates them from the school buses.

Scott pulls Stiles away, lightly pushing him back into Nat, "Because I need to do this alone!"

"Okay, why's it starting to feel like you're Batman, I'm Robin, and Nat's the Joker?" Stiles whines, making Scott send him an exasperated look, "I don't want to be Robin all the time!"

"Well, personally, I'm fine with being the Joker." Nat shrugs, turning away from them to look up at the School.

"Nobody's Batman, Robin, or the Joker, any of the time!" Scott argues.

"Seriously?" Nat questions with an exaggerated disappointed tone, mocking Stiles who flinches back in offence.

"Not even some of the time?" Stiles asks.

"Just stay here. Both of you," Scott sighs.

Stiles groans, looking at Nat for help. Nat just shrugs, silently wishing Scott will hurry up already, so that they can get out of here.

"Oh, my God! Fine" Stiles relents, returning to his Jeep in annoyance.

"Be careful." Nat warns Scott, before turning and following Stiles back to the Jeep.

It was a total of one minute and twenty seconds, before Stiles started to talk again. Nat knows, she counted- and, she's seriously impressed! It's a new record for him (one, he'll probably never beat...)!

"Do you think he's okay?"

Nat sighs, looking at him as though just by him talking to her, he'd annoyed her- which it has.

"Stiles, I know just as much as you do...," Nat replies, before adding quickly, with a nonchalant flick of her wrist, "I'm sure, he's fine."

"...You know what? Maybe I should just go and check on him" he concludes with a firm nod, reaching over to open his door.

Click.

Stiles furrows his eyebrows, tugging roughly on his door, "What the hell?"

"Are you even trying?" Nat taunts with a grin.

He turns to Nat with a scowl, a string of insults ready on his tongue but before he can voice any of them, he spots his Jeep's keys dangling innocently between her fingers.

"Nat, how the hell did you get those?!" Stiles yells, reaching forward for the keys. Nat pulls them just out of him reach, her grin widening in amusement, "Nat! give me the keys!"

"No."

"What?"

Nat shakes her head, "No. Scott wants to do this alone. Let him have this."

"What if he's in trouble, huh?" Stiles counters.

"He's probably not..." Nat shrugs, trying not to show her own worry for her friend on her face.

If she freaks out, Stiles definitely will.

"Nat-!" Stiles yelps.

"No!"

"No- Nat, look!" Stiles cries, pointing to a set of car lights that rapidly approach them from the woods.

Nat yelps, launching the keys towards Stiles, who struggles to catch them. He rushes to push the keys into the ignition, pressing frantically on his horn as he does so.

"Come on! Come on!" Stiles murmurs, anxiously tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

Nat jumps once she spots Scott, pointing towards him with a loud cheer. She opens the door, diving into the backseat, just as Scott jumps into the jeep, chanting, "Go! Go! Go!"

Stiles does just that, slamming his foot on the accelerator and taking off down the road. He waits until he deems them far enough away from the school, before turning to Scott, "Did it work? Did you remember?"

"Yeah, I was there last night. And the blood? A lot of it was mine." Scott confirms.

"So, you did attack him?"

Nat's eyes widen as she leans forward, resting her arms on the back of their seats, "Scott, we don't have to tell anyone. We can keep this a secret between us...and Derek. But, if he tries to talk, we could always....you know..." she mimes slicing a finger against her throat.

"Nat- No! We're not killing anyone! I-I-I saw glowing eyes in the bus, but they weren't mine-," Scott begins, frowning deeply, "It was Derek."

"What about the driver?" Stiles inquires.

"I think I was actually trying to protect him."

"But why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?" Nat inquires, shaking her head, "That doesn't make any sense."

"That's what I don't get." Scott answers.

"It's gotta be a pack thing," Stiles guesses.

"What do you mean?"

"Like an initiation. You do the kill together."

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience?"

"You'd be surprised." Nat mumbles.

"Yeah, but you didn't do it! Which means you're not a killer! And it also means that-" Stiles begins with a bright smile

"I can go out with Allison!" Scott finishes with an excited grin.

"Wow, thanks, Scott. Nice to see we're appreciated too." Nat retorts, rolling her eyes fondly at the boy.

"Yeah, I was actually gonna say it means you won't kill me or Nat..."

"Oh, yeah. That, too," Scott amends with a sheepish smile.

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NAT LEANS AGAINST THE WALL OUTSIDE OF THE NURSE'S STATION, PATIENTLY WAITING FOR MELISSA TO COME OUT WITH HER STUFF.

Melissa jumps as soon as she walks out of the room, surprised to see Natalia there, "Nat!" she yells, putting a hand to her heart in shock, "Are you trying to make me a patient?"

Nat snorts, reaching forward to take Melissa's bag from her hand, "The Sheriff let me off early, so I thought I'd come see my favourite nurse."

So, technically, Noah hadn't let her off early, but Nat, seeing how busy the Sheriff's department was, dismissed herself as a way of relieving the pressure put on the hard-working officers (aka, Natalia was having the time of her life watching the officers as they struggled to keep up with their work, but as soon as Noah had asked her to help Tara out at reception, she had made a swift exit).

"You know I'm quite capable of carrying my own things." Melissa sighs, but makes no move to retake her items, knowing Nat won't let her.

"Yeah, I know," Nat replies, pulling the bag onto her shoulder and titling her head towards the entrance of the hospital, "You ready?"

Melissa sends her a tired smile. Nat watches her in sympathy- she knows the woman must have had a bad day, especially because of the little stunt her and Scott had pulled with Myers a few hours ago.

An alarm blares loudly in the hospital, causing Melissa to tense, her eyes widening in surprise. Nat opens her mouth to ask what's happening, but Melissa cuts her off , turning to the woman at reception and yelling, "Rose, call a code! Room one-thirty-seven!"

Melissa runs down the hall, all thoughts of home abandoned as she falls back into the web of her job. Natalia drops Mellisa's bag off at reception, sending the woman- Rose- a small smile, before taking off after her. She frowns once she reaches the hospital room Melissa had gone into, she knows this room.

Why does she-?

Myers!

Her eyes widen in recognition, it has to be!

By the time Nat makes it into the room, Myers is dead, his heart-monitor falling silent.

Melissa turns to Nat when she enters, her face solemn. Nat sighs, pulling out her phone from her back pocket, before muttering, "Seems like I'm going back to work already."

Nat moves away from the door and into the hallway, dialling Noah's number, as more nurses run into the room.

"Hayes, you missing us that much?" Noah chuckles, not sounding at all surprised that she left the station.

"Myers is dead." She says bluntly into the phone.

"I'm on my way."

Nat sits outside the room for what felt like hours, holding Melissa's bag tightly in her hands (after five minutes of waiting, she had gotten board, and decided to go back and collect Melissa's stuff for her for when she returned).

"Hayes." Noah greets, causing Nat to lift her head.

"He's in there. Melissa found him." Nat replies simply, gesturing with her head towards the door behind Noah.

Noah nods, giving her shoulder a firm squeeze before declaring softly, "You should go home. I'll have to ask you some questions tomorrow, though."

"No- I'm...I'll wait for Melissa. I came to take her home, anyway," Nat dismisses with a shrug.

He nods once again, "Alright, it'll only take a few minutes."

Noah walks into the room, closing the door after him, Melissa returning in his place mere minutes later.

Nat jumps to her feet as soon as she sees Melissa, "Are you okay?"

Melissa nods, sending Nat a small, sad smile, "I'm okay."

"You ready to go this time?" Nat questions, gesturing towards the direction of the exit with her head. Melissa nods once again, sending one last look towards Myers' room before continuing down the hall.

"You know, you didn't have to come back here just to walk me to my car, Natalia. It's not even that far from the hospital!"

"I know," Nat smiles, "But I wanted to."

"...You're a good kid, Nat. I'm sorry, you had to see that." Melissa murmurs, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"I've seen worse...," Nat admits, biting her lip hesitantly, before gently declaring, "And, you know crying over Myers' death wont make you a bad nurse, right?"

Melissa freezes at her words, her head tilting down towards the pavement. Nat winces, wondering if she'a gone too far, before she mentally shrugs (Fuck it. She's already said it now- she might as well go all the way!). She opens up her arms, waiting for Melissa to either deny or accept her hug (she secretly hopes it's the latter, but she won't fault her either way).

Melissa hesitantly walks closer to Nat, wrapping her own arms around the girl. She starts to sob quietly, curling her fingers into Nat's jacket. Nat's arms tighten around Melissa protectively as a cold wind washes over them, making her shiver.

They don't move until Melissa stops crying- and even then, they stay intertwined for a little while longer, relishing in the other's presence.

Melissa pulls away from Nat with a small, self-conscious laugh, whipping her eyes harshly with her palms, "Ah! I'm so sorry, now your jacket's all wet-!"

"Melissa," Nat places a hand on Melissa's shoulder, waiting until the woman looks up at her before continuing softly, "It's okay," Natalia doesn't wait for her to respond, pushing a hand out towards Melissa expectantly, "Keys?" Melissa looks unsure as she opens her mouth- surely to reject her offer- making Natalia rush to say, "You shouldn't drive like this...I promise, I won't wreck your car, okay?" The 'especially not with you in it' goes unsaid, but is heard all the same.

Melissa sighs, dropping her keys into Nat's hands, "So, what brought on this sudden change to escort me home?"

Nat's quiet for a moment as they both enter the car. She turns the key in the ignition, answering bluntly,
"The murders."

"Oh...and you think the mountain lions would come after me, specifically?" Melissa asks, a hint of amusement lighting up her face.

"They're smart creatures." Nat mutters defensively, making Melissa turn away from her to hide the smile that grows on her face at the young girl's words.

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"I'M HOME NOW, NATALIA. YOU DONT HAVE TO SHADOW MY EVERY STEP, YOU KNOW? THE MOUNTAIN LIONS MAY BE 'SMART CREATURES', BUT I DONT THINK THEY CAN UNLOCK A DOOR, JUST YET."

Nat hums distractedly as she walks around the McCall house, checking all the doors and windows are locked shut.

Melissa rolls her eyes at her behaviour, deciding to go upstairs, while Nat continues to inspect every inch of the house, scrutinising every minor detail.

After looking around the house, Nat collapses into the living room chair, her eyes closing in exhaustion, as she waits patiently for Melissa to come back downstairs.

She was planning on waiting with the woman, until Scott came home from his 'group date'. Nat grins at the thought of Scott's 'date', a small chuckle escaping her mouth.

Her peaceful demeanour doesn't last very long, however, as a loud thud sounds from upstairs.

Nat instinctively jumps to her feet, scaling the steps two at a time in her haste. And, by the time Nat makes it to the source of the sound, Melissa is already advancing on it, a baseball bat in her hands.

Melissa turns to look at her with wide eyes, her hands shaking around the handle of the bat. Nat gently eases the bat from her white-knuckled grip, before taking it into her own, and nodding firmly behind her, in a gesture for Melissa to stay back.

She stalks towards Scott's bedroom- where the noise had originated from- before Melissa can argue.

As she walks closer, she spots a figure on the bed, lying in wait.

She lunges forward, swinging back the bat as though she's going to hit the figure, before stopping abruptly, only mere centimetres away, as the person screams out, "Whoa!"

"Stiles!? What the hell?" Nat yells in irritation, pulling the bat down to her side as both Melissa and Stiles scream at each other.

"Stiles, what are you doing here?" Melisa asks, panting heavily.

"What am I doing? God, do either of you even play baseball?" Stiles' voice screeches as he doubles over, breathing deeply, "What is with you and trying to kill me at Scott's house, Nat?"

Nat rolls her eyes, passing the bat back to Melissa, who stands confused at Stiles' words, "What?"

Before anyone can answer her, the lights flicker on, all eyes turning towards Scott, who stands staring at the trio with an amused grin.

"Can you please tell your friends to use the front door?" Melissa scowls.

"But we lock the front door. They wouldn't be able to get in."

"Yeah, exactly," Melissa murmurs, "And, by the way, do any of you care that there's a police-enforced curfew?"

"No." they all answer in sync.

"No," Melissa sighs, throwing the bat onto Scott's bed in exasperation, "All right, then. Well, you know what? That's about enough parenting for me for one night, so...Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Scott calls, smiling sweetly at his mother as she walks down the hall.

"Night, Mrs McCall!" Nat yells after her, shutting Scott's door behind her.

"What?" Scott questions, looking at them in confusion at he spots the set of worn down expressions on their faces.

"Nat called my dad earlier...he left for the hospital fifteen minutes ago...It's the bus driver." Stiles starts.

"He succumbed to his wounds." Nat finishes regretfully.

"'Succumbed?'" Scott inquires hesitantly.

"Scott, he's dead."

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(4007 words)
Written - 09/07/2022
Edited - 04/09/2022
Edited - 08/01/2024

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