i don't know for certain, but i feel like i've nearly had sex on your bed.

[ 6.03 — 6.04 ]

Derek Hale did not want to be cooped up in the Beacon Hills high school library. But he also didn't have much of a choice as he stuck with Scott and the others to try to find all they could about the Ghost Riders and their only solid hint — Stiles. Because Willow was a name, a common name, it didn't really give Derek a starting point for him to try and find her.

Even so, Lydia explained that her name wouldn't be left behind in any records, not even at the hospital if she'd ever been a patient there. It was a miracle they even had the name Willow to begin with.

At a table, Scott and Lydia were looking at an online dictionary while Derek sat across from them, glaring at anyone that shot him a questioning look when they passed. He certainly didn't pass for a high schooler, but no one was making him leave, either.

"'Stile'," Scott read off the bright screen. "An arrangement of steps that allows people, but not animals, to climb over a fence."

Scott then turned to Lydia, who had a doubtful look on her face. Derek just rolled his eyes, also thinking it was useless.

"Yeah, somehow, I don't think these are the 'Stiles' we're looking for," Lydia muttered.

"Ya think?" Derek asked snarkily.

"Okay," Scott said calmly, "Maybe Malia has found something."

"No. She's been taking a test all morning," Lydia reminded him. Her grades had been dropping a lot the last three months. "She's in my mom's office."

"This is pointless," Derek said, nodding to the computer while he stood up. "This isn't something the internet is going to solve."

"Look, Derek, we're doing the best we can with what we've got," Scott told him.

"But it's still not good enough," he grumbled before getting up from the table.

Derek didn't leave the library altogether but he did leave the area the other two were sitting. Neither Scott nor Lydia chased after him, knowing he needed to cool down. Since returning to Beacon Hills — presumably, since losing this Willow — he'd been snappier and much less pleasant.

Not that Derek had ever been pleasant to begin with.

To blow off steam and think away from the other two, Derek began to aimlessly wander around. This library was different from the one he used when he went here — it was built after Jackson tore up the old one as the Kanima. But they did use the old shelves, just moving them into the nicer library.

It took some searching, but once Derek reached the second floor, he found the shelf he was looking for. He had to crouch down to find his own set of initials, the 'DH' scrawled in faded black marker, smiling at the memory.

But there was something else there, causing his smile to fade into a look of confusion. Next to his initials, in fairly-fresh pink ink was a neat little heart. Derek ran his thumb over the symbol, unsure of where it came from or who put it there — Paige was long dead by the time he added this, and not long after, Kate was burning his family alive, and he had to flee town with Laura.

Deep down, he knew who wrote the heart even if he couldn't picture the hands that did it, the smile on her lips as she sought out his mark on the shelf. But knowing and actually remembering weren't the same thing, and that made it hurt so much worse.

"I'll remember you," he whispered to himself. Whispered to her, wherever she was. "I promise."

Then just as Derek rose back to his full height, the sound of a coyote howling echoed through the school so loud that even the humans could hear. When he focused on his senses, he could practically smell the anxiety coming off Malia in waves.

Derek took off after her, as did Scott and Lydia. The first place they went was Natalie's office, who quickly explained that Malia shifted fully and ran off. And because there was a coyote running up and down the halls in the middle of the school day, someone saw and called the sheriff's department, meaning Noah was there within minutes as well.

It didn't take long for Derek and Scott to sniff Malia out, going down to the boiler room of the school. The others came down after them, hesitating a bit when they heard Malia's growl. She was hiding behind the storage shelves.

"Malia, it's okay. You're safe," Scott said in a calm tone, slowly inching forward. Malia took a few steps closer but kept growling aggressively. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Upon hearing Scott's voice, Malia seemed to settle down a little. Or at the very least, she stopped growling.

"She's calming down," Derek said, watching her body language. Given he was the only other one that could fully shift, he could recognize the signs easier.

"Maybe you should growl back?" Noah suggested uneasily, not quite as certain as Derek that it was working. Malia only growled again, this time right at him. "Scott, you're the alpha. Can you just make her a little more docile?"

While Scott turned back to Malia to growl lowly, Lydia sighed and thought of a compromise. "She's not the problem. We are. This is her territory. We need to get out of here."

When Malia started barking, the others figured she was right. "Yeah, c'mon," Derek said, leading Noah and Natalie away.

Though Derek did look back at his cousin and his eyes ended up looking past her, in the far corner of the supply area. He could remember standing there that night they freed Cora and Boyd from the Alpha Pack, having to lead them there to keep them from killing people. Derek nearly died that night, so why, when they were finished, did he make a point to go to the corner of the boiler room, away from the exit? Even better, why had he gone down into the boiler room to begin with?

"Malia came here to get through the full moons," Lydia explained when they were several feet away. Derek only half paid attention. "Then we started using the lake house."

Natalie looked at her daughter, confused. "I thought you said a wild animal got in the lake house."

"Just be happy for the things I don't tell you," Lydia quipped.

"She is a wild animal, technically," Derek added, shrugging. Natalie wasn't amused as she cut her eyes to the younger man.

Before she could ask him why the hell he was even at the school to begin with, they heard a shuffling sound from the spot Malia was hiding in. Finally, she walked out while transforming back into her human self. Scott, Derek, and Noah all cringed and turned away while Natalie rushed to her side to give her some clothes.

"It's alright. I'm okay," Malia muttered, feeling a little embarrassed by losing control.

"Any idea what made her shift?" Noah asked the others, all of them turning and giving Malia the privacy to change.

"She's under a lot of pressure," Scott said, looking at Lydia. "School, her life after graduation."

"Her mom trying to kill her," Lydia added under her breath.

"That shouldn't make her shift," Scott then said with a frown.

"She doesn't have an anchor," Derek spoke up. "Or she did but lost it."

Scott and Lydia shared a concerned look with him, realizing what he was insinuating. "You think it could be connected to Stiles?" Scott questioned.

Derek simply shrugged, but Lydia didn't look convinced simply because they lacked more information. "Hard to tell since we don't know what a Stiles is," she said.

"It's a he," Noah suddenly said, seemingly pretty familiar with the name. The other three looked at him, intrigued.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"Stiles. It's a family nickname," Noah explained. "I never used it, but, uh, my father did."

☽

Derek Hale didn't know it, but he'd been in the Stilinski house before. But walking through the front door felt odd as he did so, having no memory of the slightly-ugly yellow wallpaper and simple furniture. He, along with Scott and Lydia, sat on a couch in the living room while Noah and his wife sat across from them.

Claudia Stilinksi was the one to fetch an old box from the very back of the hall closet, handing it to Noah.

"Thanks, honey," he told her as she took her seat. Then he began explaining about his father to those that wanted to know. In doing so, he passed around a faded photo of the unfamiliar man. "He was an army engineer. He ended the war one bridge at a time."

"He went by Stiles?" Scott asked him before glancing over at Lydia.

Noah nodded. "So what's this got to do with the Wild Hunt?"

It was quiet for a moment as they decided what to tell him. In the end, Derek was the one to speak up, crossing his arms defensively.

"We think that some people were taken from us," Derek explained. "Someone so important that I had to leave New York to find out."

"Any idea who?" Noah questioned.

Scott sighed and hesitated for a moment. "Uh, the Ghost Riders would have erased our memories," he said.

"Well, that's convenient," he muttered.

"We found some clues," Lydia chimed in. "A cat. The word 'stiles' and a willow tree."

Claudia sighed, hearing her father-in-law's name. "And that's why you wanna talk to Elias?"

Scott looked at them determinedly. "Maybe he could help us figure it out. Maybe he knows who we're looking for."

It was evident Noah was still reluctant. "Now this is someone of your age?" he asked.

"Yeah, I - I think he was my friend. Maybe he was my best friend," Scott said sadly. Then he looked to his left at Derek, who was staring at his hands. "And the other... I don't know what she was to us, but she's everything to Derek."

But despite Scott's claims and how much the sheriff was trying to understand, he just couldn't let them talk to his father off a hunch that barely made sense. While speaking, he got to his feet and retrieved the photo of his father. "I guarantee my father can't help you."

"Can we try?" Scott asked, trying to reason with him.

"Scott, he lives in a nursing house three towns over," he revealed. "He hasn't had a visitor in years."

No one noticed how Lydia was staring off into space, seeing someone that no one else could. They couldn't hear the confusing train sounds that she could either.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Lydia asked as the woman she was watching walked through the house and to the hallway.

"Sure," Claudia said, nodding in the direction it was. No one spared the banshee a second glance as she wandered off.

"Sheriff," Derek said, standing along with Scott. "Surely, it couldn't hurt just to meet with him. Maybe Lydia could get a read off of him."

"Absolutely not," Noah denied, shaking his head. "It's out of the question. Now, I'm sorry that you think someone is missing—"

"I don't think. I know," he interrupted, clenching his fist tight. "And if your father is the way to get her back, then I don't give a damn what kind of state he's in—"

"Derek," Scott said under his breath, smelling the blood from where Derek was digging his claws into his palms to keep calm. "Back off."

He had to take in a deep breath, but even that wasn't enough. So, before Scott could say anything else, Derek stormed out of the Stilinski house angrily. He stood on the driveway, breathing heavily as he tried to control his rage, not wanting to turn just as Malia had at the school.

As he sought out anything to pull his attention, he looked at the exterior of the house. Before he even realized, his breathing evened out and his feet moved all on their own, taking him to a window.

Derek peered inside, barely managing to see through the thin curtains. It was a bedroom — a guest room that was empty of practically everything. The bed wasn't even made as the Stilinksis weren't expecting any guests.

Slowly, Derek's hands began to lift the windowsill up, the weight of it feeling familiar in his hands. He knew just how much pressure to use to make sure it didn't make a sound. And should he step through, he knew which floorboards to avoid to keep them from creaking—

"Derek!" Lydia snapped. He dropped the window and whirled around, seeing Lydia and Scott on the front porch and watching him. "I don't think breaking and entering will get us any brownie points with the Stilinskis."

"Right," he muttered, backing away from the window while shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm just out of it. Have been for a while."

"Yeah, we noticed," Scott mumbled, watching him warily. "Let's just go and think of a new plan."

"I have a plan," Derek declared, walking toward his car. He'd driven them all. "I'm gonna go pick up Malia and then meet this Stiles. You're free to come with me if you'd like. Or don't. I don't care."

☽

Derek was surprised when Liam hugged him in the hallway of the high school. He was even more surprised when he found himself hugging the younger boy back.

"Hey, kid," he greeted with a small, confused smile.

"I'm so glad you're back, Derek," Liam said, pulling back. Then his smile faltered a little. "Why am I glad you're back?"

Derek was also questioning the warm and fuzzy feelings he had for the sixteen-year-old, not recalling any fond memories he shared with him. Nevertheless, they were happy to see each other. For whatever reason, Liam looked up to Derek in the same way he looked up to Scott and even his stepfather.

The two boys stuck by each other's sides as they followed Scott to Malia's locker. They didn't even have to say much before she was guessing what happened.

"Stilinski said no, didn't he?" she asked while putting her books away in her locker.

"Yeah," Scott sighed.

"But we're going anyway?"

"Obviously," Derek said, crossing his arms.

As Malia finished at her locker, Liam glanced across the hall at his friends. They were watching over a girl who'd seen the Ghost Riders, which meant they'd be coming for her soon. "Or you could stay here and help me convince Gwen she's in danger."

"It's not your job to convince her," Scott told him firmly. "It's your job to keep her safe."

Then the four of them began walking to the school exit, Scott and Malia planning to ditch the rest of the day.

"Just kidnap her," Malia said to Liam, thinking nothing was wrong with her idea.

Both Scott and Derek shot her disapproving looks — granted, it was so something Derek would've done three years ago. "Do not kidnap her," Scott instructed. "We'll be back tonight after we talk to Stilinski's dad."

"Do we really need to do this?" Malia asked, doubting that the old man could help them. Despite how proof kept popping up, she remained skeptical of it all.

"He's our only lead," Derek reminded her. Then he thought back on the cat that'd been following him — he was back at Derek's loft at the moment but had a horrible habit of breaking out and showing up wherever he went. "Our only lead that can talk."

Clearly, Liam was worried about his ability to handle a plan all on his own without the alpha's help. "Okay, what if the Ghost Riders show up?"

Scott looked him in the eyes, stopping at the door. "Then you handle it, Liam. You're not alone. You've got Mason and Corey and Hayden. Okay? Just find a safe place for Gwen and keep her there."

"Any suggestions?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter as long as she's safe," he told him before walking out of the skin.

Derek nudged Liam's shoulder and managed a small, comforting look. "You can handle it, Liam. He wouldn't be leaving you alone if you couldn't."

Liam let out the anxious breath he'd been holding and nodded in thanks as Derek left with Scott. Yet again, he didn't understand why he thought he disliked Derek so much after such a nice interaction with him.

Malia moved to follow them but quickly faced Liam and whispered to him. "Kidnap her."

Of course, the two wolves outside heard her disastrous plan.

"Malia!" Derek snapped.

"Do not kidnap her!" Scott yelled.

Malia shrugged sheepishly and left without saying another word to Liam. Both Derek and Scott were waiting for her, shaking their heads like a pair of disapproving dads.

"You act like this pack doesn't frequently kidnap people in a crisis," Malia muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," Derek said, letting out a huff, "and it always goes to shit afterward."

☽

Derek eyed the faded sign for Goldwater Assisted Living. Though he wanted to hear what this Elias had to say, even he had to admit he wasn't as enthusiastic as the others. Because whoever this man was, he was tied to Stiles, not Willow.

"I can't believe we're about to break into a nursing home," Scott muttered.

"After the orderlies at Eichen House, pretty sure we can handle some nurses," Malia said while stalking into the building.

Derek looked between the younger ones, realizing they'd never actually been to a nursing home. "We don't have to break in. We just sign the visitor's log — Jesus, Malia!"

While Derek was talking, Malia ignored him and walked pointedly to the front desk where a nurse was working the station. He was on a call but hung up when he noticed them.

"Hi, over there. What can I do—"

Malia grabbed the man's head and slammed it on the welcome desk, smashing his nose.

"Oh, mother fucker!" he cried out while falling to the ground from the impact.

Then Malia moved around the desk and began to drag his body into a closet as he lost consciousness. She locked him up in there, making sure he couldn't get out and stop them.

Derek looked at his cousin in disbelief. "Why the hell did you do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So we can go see Elias," Malia said with a shrug, looking at him like he was an idiot.

Now he looked at her like she was an idiot. "This isn't fucking Eichen. You're allowed to visit whoever you want! There was literally no reason for that!" he snapped. Then he groaned and looked at the closet. "Make this quick before he wakes up."

"At least he can't get out," Malia said with a smug smile.

With the Hale cousins bickering with each step behind them, Lydia and Scott searched the directory of names and found the room where Elias Stilinski was staying. They walked to the back portion of the small establishment.

"I'll watch the door," Derek offered while the others went in. He'd be able to hear what was said, and since it wasn't related to Willow directly, he didn't need to speak with the older man himself.

"Why do you need to watch the door?" Malia asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Maybe because a dumbass assaulted a worker and shoved his body in a closet!" he snapped quietly. "Scott, take her. I can't look at her right now or I'll kill her."

Scott rolled his eyes at Derek's short temper and pulled Malia into the room with Lydia. Two Hales missing their anchors and struggling to control their rage was the last thing they needed in a time like this.

Derek remained just outside while the others approached Elias to talk to him. He sounded frail and tired as he questioned if it was time for his medicine. They asked him about his nickname in the army, but all hope disappeared when Malia asked if he knew any of them.

"Of course, I do. How could I forget my own son?" Elias asked, his eyes fixed on Scott.

Derek didn't need to hear more to know what was going on. He figured out instantly why Noah kept insisting that Elias would be no help in their search for Willow and Stiles and the Ghost Riders.

Elias Stilinski had dementia.

As time went on, the younger pack members kept asking Elias questions that he didn't know the answers to. And any time he insisted upon something incorrect — like Scott being Noah — they would argue with him, which only made him more upset.

"Scott," Derek whispered, knowing the alpha would pick up on it. "It's better to just go along with what he thinks or you risk upsetting him more. We can't have him yelling."

And Scott did take Derek's advice, beginning to nod along with Elias and agree that he was his son. That it was the seventies and Noah had yet to become the sheriff.

But then Malia intervened. Fuck, Derek was ready to kill Malia.

She grew impatient and wanted Scott to use his claws to dig through Elias' memories, thinking it'd be quicker. When he silently refused, she whipped out her own claws and glared at the older man. Scott had to pull her back before she could attack him.

"No. We're not hurting him," he insisted.

As Scott released Malia, Elias looked at Malia's hands, quite startled. "Young lady, you need to clip those nails," he instructed snidely.

Then Elias began to get more agitated with their continued presence. His words were more threatening and frantic, seeming to get more confused as well, refusing to talk to them. Scott looked to Lydia for help, who explained what the process of sundowning was.

As he continued to freak out, Malia got more aggressive, and Scott panicked over what to do while Lydia tried to think of something. Derek was debating dragging them all out of there, knowing this plan was quickly derailing.

Lydia was the one to save their asses, pulling out her notebook of class notes from her tote bag. Everyone watched in disbelief as she got Elias to not only calm down and focus on the math equations, but solve them as well.

Derek couldn't help but nosily peek around the corner. "What's with math?" he asked loud enough for Lydia to hear.

"It helps their concentration," she quickly explained before pointing to another problem. "And this one?"

"That's, um, conditional probability."

"Let's find the moment of inertia," Lydia instructed. But those in the room could see something shift in Elias after a few moments. He sat strainer and his eyes were clearer. "Elias?"

"That's Mr. Stilinski," he snapped, now glaring at Lydia. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

When he heard his harsh tone, Derek abandoned his spot and moved into the room. He didn't sound nearly as pleasant as he did before, and Derek didn't want the others alone with him in case he was actually connected to the Wild Hunt in some way.

"You know Scott isn't your son?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow up at him since he was walking around now.

"Of course, I know that. The brains are getting smaller with the skirts," Elias muttered while looking down on the two women in the room.

Malia began growling at Elias, wanting to attack him. But Derek was there, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder while also squeezing it, silently telling her to keep her anger contained.

"Malia. It's okay," Scott whispered to her.

Then Elias turned to Scott with a look of curiosity and familiarity that wasn't there before. "So you're that McCall kid?"

All of them looked at him in surprise, Scott's eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "You know me?"

"I know your dad," he clarified, growing a mocking smirk. "He couldn't hold his liquor and he certainly couldn't keep that wedding ring on his finger. A pretty young thing would walk by and poof — that ring just disappeared like magic."

Scott had never heard about those particular problems in his parents' marriage but he also wasn't sure if he could take Elias' word for it.

Malia started to growl again in defense of her alpha, but Lydia spoke up and covered the sound. "Do you know all of us?"

Elias smiled, but it wasn't a warm one, and chucked, studying Lydia's features. "You're Natalie Martin's girl. Am I right? You look like her. She was pretty once too."

Malia's eyes started glowing blue, and even Derek let out a low growl. Scott was beginning to frantically look between them, knowing he needed the Hales under control.

"Stop talking," Malia ordered.

"Hey, hey. Malia," Scott whispered, holding her back.

"She also liked to talk like she was the smartest person in her room," Elias snapped at Lydia condescendingly.

"Alright," Derek said gruffly, stepping forward. "I think it's time you—"

"Oh, I see we've got ourselves a Hale," Elias said with a scoff. Derek took a step back, surprised he had knowledge of his family as well. But he did look like both of his parents. "That husband of Talia's was a fool— always letting her boss him around like a useless bitch. So useless he couldn't even keep his family from cookin' alive."

That was the last straw for both the Hales. Both Derek and Malia's eyes were glowing blue as they stomped toward Elias, their claws out. Scott quickly threw himself in front of them.

"Malia! Derek!"

"Enough!"

Hearing Noah shouting at them was enough to break Derek and Malia's anger as they all turned to look at the Sheriff. He was furious and next to the equally-angry nurse who did manage to free himself from the closet.

So much for Derek keeping watch.

"Sheriff," Scott said, trying to regain his composure and explain what they were doing. "We—"

"I explicitly told you not to come here," Noah interrupted, clearly upset with them all. "And who attacked a staff member?"

The nurse pointed at Malia, who was still growling under her breath. "That's her."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Noah asked, looking at Derek, who was the adult among them. "Seriously?"

"Noah," Elias said, his anger seeming to fade as his mind regressed, "we were just having a nice conversation."

He blatantly ignored his father while continuing to glare at the four trespassers. "The four of you, out. Now!"

Scott, Lydia, and Malia all scurried out of the room with the nurse following them. Derek kept his head down while going as well, knowing the Sheriff expected better of him.

"Noah..." Elias said when he saw his son walking away as well, not even bothering to greet him. He grew angry at being ignored and began to shout. "That's right! Act like I'm not even here. Go crawling back to your dead wife and your loser son and that little orphan!"

The sheriff paused and turned to his father, a confused and angry look on his face. Derek stopped as well, not understanding what Elias was trying to say. The Stilinskis didn't have a son, much less an adopted child.

"What did you say?" Noah asked.

But Elias' face dropped and that same, initial confusion washed over his face. He was as useless as he was to begin with. "Is it... time for my medicine?"

☽

After a trip to the police station that ended with Natalie Martin yelling at all of them — Derek included, who was trying not to roll his eyes and scoff childishly the whole time — Scott went home, getting a ride from Derek. Liam was waiting for them to report on how protecting Gwen went.

Somehow, to protect Gwen, Liam and his friends threw a huge party at Scott's house, ending with it absolutely trashed. The Ghost Riders did come to the party, and it didn't turn out at all like they planned. Now, Scott was looking around his ruined living room while Derek leaned against the broken stairwell, both staring down a guilty-looking Liam.

"You said to find a safe place. So, we brought the party here," Liam said in response to Scott asking why they did all this.

"Who said to throw a party at all?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you should've kidnapped her."

Liam looked at him sheepishly, wishing he'd have asked for Scott's permission for this. But at least he had some good news. "At least we saved Gwen."

Scott studied Liam's face while also looking at the wreckage. "But you saw one of the Ghost Riders?" he asked almost knowingly.

He nodded hesitantly. "Corey made him visible so we could fight him," he explained.

Derek grew concerned then, moving to stand by Scott. "But doesn't the book say that if you see the Wild Hunt, you'll be taken too?"

"Everyone at the party saw him," Liam then admitted with a frown. Derek cursed under his breath while Scott just looked shocked, all of them realizing the dreaded truth. "Does that mean..."

Scott finished the thought he couldn't stomach. "They're all gonna be taken."

☽

Did Derek want to help Scott clean up his house after the party? No. But also, none of the younger pack members actually responsible for the mess stayed behind to do it. So, he was using his old basketball skills to throw crushed cups into the trash bag by the door of Scott's bedroom — the party hadn't even stayed on the first floor, which meant every room was wrecked.

"Thanks, by the way," Scott mumbled to Derek appreciatively.

"Nothin' better to do," Derek shrugged. "Literally."

"Still, I owe you one."

"Oh, definitely," he said with a scoff. "This is worse than cleaning up after that Halloween party you threw in my loft."

"I mean, technically, Ethan and Aiden threw that party, not me," Scott clarified with a small chuckle. "God, you were so pissed about that night."

Of course, neither man remembered the real reason that Derek was so angry any time he thought about that night. He couldn't remember seeing his girl covered in paint put there by somewhere else but he could remember the seething rage that was coursing through him from the jealousy.

"I guess I can get over it," Derek mused, glancing at Scott's bed. An odd feeling washed over him. "I don't know for certain, but I feel like I've nearly had sex on your bed."

Scott cringed and glanced at his bed as well. "Suddenly, I'm not so sure I want this Willow back," he joked. Derek rolled his eyes and threw a half-empty cup of beer at Scott, not caring how it splashed in his face. Scott laughed and put his hands up in defense. "I'm just messing with you. Of course, we're gonna get her back."

After that, the two werewolves continued cleaning up after the party, just making small conversation every now and then. For the most part, they were too concerned with worrying about everyone that saw the Ghost Riders to talk about much else.

Derek didn't even think to mention the odd things Elias shouted at Noah after the others left the room.

The house wasn't halfway clean when Noah arrived out of uniform, surprising both of the men with his presence. And Noah was surprised by the mess.

"Looks like a hell of a party," the sheriff said after knocking on Scott's bedroom door, which was already open.

"Yeah," Scott said with a defeated sigh. "Hopefully, we can get it all cleaned before my mom comes home."

"I'll help," Noah offered, picking up the trash bag that Derek had been making shots in. After the way he got onto them for going to the nursing home, they didn't expect him to offer his help. And that just made Scott feel even guiltier.

"Hey, Sheriff. I'm really sorry. We never should have gone there to see your father," Scott apologized.

"Nah. It's okay," he shrugged him off. "I should've been clear about who he is. Maybe a part of me just didn't wanna have to, uh, admit it."

"Admit what?" Derek questioned, raising an eyebrow. "That he's an asshole."

Noah gave him a pointed look, not verbally disagreeing with him. Then he pulled the collar of his shirt down, showing off a thick scar on his left shoulder. "This is my dad, boys. He pushed me through a glass table while going after my mom. There still are pieces of glass in here. The doctor told my mother that they'd probably be in there for the rest of my life working their way out. It was a small price to keep away from her — that time."

Now Derek felt horrible for his sarcastic comment, wishing the ground would swallow him whole. It was times like these he really wished he had better control over his anger and mouth — but that control was lost so long as this Willow person was too.

As Scott and Derek continued to pick up trash, Noah ended up sitting on the edge of Scott's bed, still thinking deeply.

"You know, something you said has been buggin' me all day. Something about memories," he ended up saying.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked him, setting his trash bag down.

"Have you had a dream that is so real, you thought it was a memory?" Noah questioned.

Derek looked down, silently thinking it over. Dreams like that were part of the reason he came back to Beacon Hills in the first place. His unconscious mind was swimming with vague, blurry dreams that he couldn't quite recall when he woke up. He knew they must've been memories of Willow that were locked away.

"Okay, in this dream, I lay in the bed with Claudia, it's a couple weeks before we graduate from college, and we're talking about the future — kids, what we'll call them," Noah explained to them. "And I tell her, if we have a son, I wanna name him after her father. And she laughs at me and says, 'Why would you wanna saddle some poor kid with a name like that?'"

Noah chuckled at his wife's hatred of the name. "And I told her, 'Because he's a great father. The kind of father I wish I had. The kind I - I hoped to be.' At that point in the dream, she smiles, kisses me, and says, 'Okay. We'll name him that, but it won't matter. He'll just be called Stiles anyway.'"

Derek wanted to bring up what Elias said but couldn't bring himself to do it. Your dead wife and loser son. If Stiles was real, if Noah had a son, then wouldn't that mean his wife was supposed to be dead? The Wild Hunt could take people, but surely, they couldn't bring people back to life.

Claudia Stilinski couldn't be dead, could she?

☽

A day later, there was already a new break in the case. Thanks to Corey and Liam teaming up, they managed to find something that was left behind after a person was taken from the Ghost Riders in the library.

None of them remembered Jake Sullivan despite having several classes with him. But when Liam, Corey, and Mason found a blank library card and swiped it on the computer, all his information appeared in the system, and they regained some of their memories of him. His photo and name also reappeared on the card as well.

Lydia was the one to leave school early and bring the ID with her to the Sheriff's Station. She met with Noah and also called Derek to show up as well so that they could both be filled in. Both men eyed the library card with interest as she explained how it was the only thing left behind of him. And because of that, she was determined to find a relic connected to Stiles.

"You wanna search my house?" Noah asked, peering at Lydia like she was crazy.

She leaned forward on the desk. "People are leaving things behind. So, if Stiles left anything—"

"Why would it be there?" he interrupted, unconvinced.

"You can't just erase people. They leave things behind," she said desperately.

With every day that passed, Derek felt more and more like he was the one left behind.

The Sheriff looked at Jake's ID for a moment longer, thinking it all over. He didn't believe Lydia but he didn't not believe either. "I couldn't sleep last night so, um, I got up, figured I'd do some paperwork. The files were in the back of my car, so I got to the garage and some junk had fallen off a shelf, and I stubbed my toe on an old baseball bat. Without thinking I yelled a name..."

Derek and Lydia both looked at him, already knowing what he did yell, as he'd yelled it a thousand times in annoyance before.

"Stiles."

☽

While Noah couldn't leave work to help Lydia and Derek search for a relic, he did at least give them permission. So, the unlikely pair made their way to the Stilinski house for the second day in a row.

Nothing seemed out of place in the living room. There were countless pictures on the walls and over the fireplace of just Noah and Claudia looking happy together as a small family of two. Everything looked like it belonged.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Claudia asked, watching them from a few feet back as they scanned the living room.

"No," Lydia said, turning to face her. The woman made the banshee feel quite uneasy. "Thank you, Mrs. Stilinski."

"Well, good luck. I'll leave you to it," she said. Then Claudia looked toward Derek on the other side of the room, a small smile on her lips. "And you chose a perfect time to drop by. I was just about to get Noah to call you and have you come over."

"Why would you need me to come over?" Derek asked her with a confused frown. He'd only met the woman twenty-four hours ago.

"I believe I have something of yours," she said while nodding her head to the side. Then Claudia turned and started walking down a hallway, and Derek curiously followed. She was leading him to the laundry room. "Somehow, this little guy made his way into our guest room."

Derek didn't even have to see the 'little guy' she was referring to. The cat had a knack for getting in and out of buildings to follow Derek around. And if he wasn't following Derek, he was following Scott or Liam.

This time, though, the black cat took himself on a walk to the Stilinski residence.

"It took a lot of snacks to lure him into the laundry room. Figured he'd do the least amount of damage there," Claudia went on, opening the door.

As soon as the door was cracked, the cat darted out and into the hallway, running right to Derek. He sighed down at the animal for a moment before picking him up.

"I'm so sorry about him, Mrs. Stilinski," Derek told her while the cat nuzzled against his chest. "I'm kind of stuck with him and have no clue how to take care of him."

"So, he's one of the things you're looking for? He's a relic?" Claudia asked, tilting her head.

"I guess so," he said softly, looking down at the cat with a sad smile. "He got left behind."

"Well, does this relic have a name?" Claudia asked while trying to scratch behind the cat's ear. He didn't like that as he swiped his paw at her, curling even closer to Derek, who apologized for it.

"No, I guess not," he said, pausing to think it over. A bit awkwardly, Derek held the cat out at arm's length, examining it. The cat wriggled in his grip, trying to free himself or get back to the other position that wouldn't end with him being dropped. "I think his name is... Wriggles."

"Wriggles?" Claudia questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Derek, Wriggles is not a name."

Derek shrugged and held Wriggles properly once more. "I think I remember thinking he had a stupid name, so Wriggles makes sense."

Claudie decided not to argue with him on it, figuring it was his cat for now. "Well, it was nice to meet Wriggles, but do try to keep a tighter leash on him from now on. You don't want him wandering around town so freely."

"I'll try," he muttered, not actually having an idea on how to control the cat. Despite her use of the phrase, people didn't put cats on leashes, either. "I've got my relic. Guess I should see if Lydia has found any more."

Together, Derek, Claudia, and Wriggles went back to the living room, but Lydia was already gone, having moved on to a different part of the house. Not wanting a girl she hardly knew walking around alone, Claudia began searching for her.

And neither of them expected to find Lydia in the hallway, picking at the wallpaper, trying to peel it off. Claudia rushed to her side and snatched her wrist rightly, keeping her from damaging her home even more.

"What are you doing?" Claudia asked, shouting at her.

There were tears in Lydia's eyes, who was still coming off of a banshee trance. "You're hurting me," she whispered. Claudia released her and began pressing the wallpaper back down, hoping the glue would keep it up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"I think that's something we can agree on," she snapped harshly.

"We'll be going now," Derek said, grabbing Lydia's forearm to pull her out of the house. "Thanks for catching Wriggles!"

It wasn't until they were outside and in Derek's car that Lydia calmed down enough to look at him and the cat sitting in between their seats questioningly. "Wriggles?"

"That's his name," Derek said matter-of-factly.

Lydia scoffed and shook her head. "His name is not Wriggles."

"You don't know."

"Neither do you, but it's certainly not Wriggles. Honestly, Derek, be so serious."

☽

It took a few minutes for a very ashamed Lydia to tell Derek where to drive her. She ended up asking him to take her to the high school to meet her mother there — no doubt, Claudia would be telling Natalie all about this wallpaper fiasco.

Derek accompanied the girl to her mother's office, hoping to defend her a little bit. The werewolf didn't know why he felt so protective of the banshee — it was the same closeness he felt with Liam while also having no memories of being close with the two. And Lydia didn't voice it, but for some reason, she saw Derek as an older brother figure despite how most of her memories of him were unpleasant.

Even with Willow gone from their memories, their love for her brought even the most unlikely of them closer together.

Their assumption was correct, as Natalie was already on the phone when they arrived. With a grimace, Lydia sat in her desk chair, searching up something on the computer, while Derek just leaned against it. He did sigh in annoyance when Wriggles trailed after them, not bothering to stay in the car alone.

"It'll be fine," Derek told her. Lydia just looked at him doubtfully.

It was then that Natalie came back in, already looking at her daughter in disapproval. "Were you tearing Claudia Stilinski's wallpaper off her wall?"

"Maybe it won't be fine," Derek muttered under his breath.

"No," Lydia mumbled halfheartedly. Natalie stared her down, letting her know she couldn't escape this discussion and had to tell the truth. "Maybe. Yes."

"She's worried about your mental health."

"I saw someone in the hallway. Someone that Mrs. Stilinski didn't see," she explained.

"Well, if Claudia's not seeing ghosts, maybe it's because she's not a banshee," Natalie suggested lightly.

"I think he was trying to help me find something Stiles left behind. A relic," Lydia went on.

"Did you?" she asked curiously.

"No. Mrs. Stilinski asked me to leave before I could find anything."

Natalie couldn't help but laugh sarcastically. "Probably because you were tearing her wallpaper."

It was then that Natalie came a little closer and looked at the illuminated computer screen. Lydia had pulled up Claudia's past student information, clearly looking into her.

"Oh, honey," Natalie sighed. "I've known Claudia since high school. I trust her."

Lydia groaned lightly and leaned her head back against the headrest in exasperation. Her mother just studied her cautiously.

"Do you know what a confirmation bias is?"

Lydia replied back instantly while Derek tilted his head in confusion. "The tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms an existing preconception."

"Yes," she confirmed. "It's a biased perspective. You're looking for proof to support what you believe is true. Because you want it to be true."

Lydia looked at her mother seriously and leaned in. "Stiles is real. So is Willow. I know it."

Natalie glanced between the two, a little concerned. "Do you believe there's a possibility they're not?"

Both gave her a look as if to say, 'No, I don't.' At least Lydia and Derek were a united front even if all their other packmates were doubting things more and more.

"They're as real as Wriggles," Derek said, nodding to the cat at his side.

Natalie squinted at him, a bit confused. "Wriggles is not a name."

Lydia sighed and waved a hand. "Just... just ignore him."

"Okay," Natalie said slowly, moving on from the cat. "Tell me everything you know. I'll be your unbiased perspective."

☽

After only twenty minutes, Natalie's unbiased stance became quite biased. She knew her daughter wasn't stupid, and Derek wouldn't have brought himself back to Beacon Hills for nothing. Everything kept stacking onto everything else — Wriggles, the Stilinski family name, Elias' mindless claims about a son, Noah shouting out Stiles' name in exasperation despite him never existing.

No, Natalie still didn't think the appropriate response was to knock out nursing home employees and peel off wallpaper. But just getting one more person to believe them was a right step forward for Lydia and Derek.

And it was Natalie who suggested looking deeper into Claudia. She wasn't suspicious of the woman, but clearly, Lydia's banshee abilities were trying to tell her something about the woman. So, Derek accompanied the two Martin women to the hospital, hoping to find more clues.

"You want what?" Melissa shouted, looking at the three of them in shock from behind the ER desk. Then she looked around at all the people who heard her and lowered her voice. "You want what?

"Claudia's medical records," Lydia again stated quietly. "Just for a minute. We know it's a lot to ask."

Melissa shook her head. "It's up there. It's way up there."

"It's not up there," Derek said, crossing his arms. "You have broken a hundred rules worse than that since finding out about Scott."

"You're on thin ice, Hale!" she snapped. Then she narrowed her eyes at the cat in his arms. "You can't bring a cat into a hospital!"

Derek glared at her and held Wriggles a little closer — long gone was his hatred for the animal, as it was the only thing left of Willow to cling to. He was her relic.

Natalie sighed and got Melissa's attention. "As the more recently enlightened of the two of us, just trust me. There are lives at stake."

"Letting the three of you look at private medical records is completely and utterly against hospital regulations," Melissa insisted. Derek rolled his eyes while Lydia and her mother shared a defeated look. But then Melissa's lips quirked up. "So, we better make this fast."

Melissa led the three down to the basement level of the hospital. There were rows and rows of file cabinets, and Derek was ready to complain about potentially having to search through them. But then thankfully, Melissa sat at an ancient, boxy computer and looked up Claudia's name.

They all peered at the information that contained things like her birthday, past visits, allergies, and address. It also included pregnancies — of which there were zero.

"Sorry, guys," Melissa said to those standing behind her. "According to her medical records, Claudia never had children."

Lydia and Claudia shared a disheartened look. But then she glanced at the screen and pointed a few lines down from the pregnancy line. "Well, but she had—"

"—Frontotemporal dementia," Melissa read with a deep frown. "There must be a mistake."

"How long ago?" Natalie asked. "She seems fine now."

"Ten years," she replied in disbelief.

"What is that?" Derek asked, unfamiliar with the medical term.

"A form of dementia that you can't recover from," Lydia said, her eyebrows drawn in. Claudia certainly didn't act like someone with the disease. "And to be as normal as she is after ten years? It's medically unheard of."

"I'm surprised she's still alive, honestly," Melissa admitted with a shake of her head. "It's a miracle."

Derek and Lydia shared a look, silently wondering if it was something else — something supernatural rather than a miracle — that seemingly healed the woman.

After going through the rest of Claudia's files — there weren't a lot, which was surprising given her dementia diagnosis — the four of them all went back up to the main floor of the hospital. It was a good thing, too, as a half-dead Chris Argent was brought in on a stretcher. Scott and Malia came in with him.

"Is he okay?" Scott asked his mother, who was looking over Chris' injuries.

"He has blunt force trauma to his temporal bone, three broken ribs, and multiple surface lacerations, which seem to be from... whip marks?" she said, the question in her tone clear. But Scott didn't have the time to explain it all. "What he needs is a lot of rest."

After that, Melissa wheeled Chris away while Scott and Malia stayed in the waiting room. They were soon joined by Lydia and Derek. He frowned when he saw the bruise on his cousin's eye.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked her.

"And what happened?" Lydia added, crossing her arms.

"The Ghost Riders took everyone," Malia explained. She'd wasted her night in the tunnels leading to the Argent bunker for nothing. "We barely slowed them down."

Scott looked at Lydia and Derek hopefully. "Tell us you found something."

"I found out Claudia never had children. So, Stiles can't be her son," Lydia said sadly, her eyes on the floor.

"What about a relic?" Malia asked. Lydia could only shake her head. Her shoulders sank, losing all hope that these things actually meant something. "There never was a Stiles, was there?"

"It doesn't even sound like a real name," Scott mumbled, feeling stupid.

"We have to keep looking," Lydia said, not giving up. "Check the school records again, or call Scott's dad—"

"We're fighting the wrong battle," Malia interrupted. She'd just come from the battle, and that's what they needed to be focusing on.

"We're trying to bring Willow and Stiles back," Derek argued, glaring at them.

"The Ghost Riders came back. We still have no way of stopping them. And whatever they are, they're real. We can't keep chasing people who aren't," Malia snapped.

"And we don't know for certain that this cat is a relic either," Scott added with a sad expression. "They didn't leave anything behind."

Lydia and Derek shared a crestfallen look, unable to believe the others were so ready to give up. "Just us."