fadingspark | (no subject)

(no subject)

Sam assured Stiles that with the Order of Protection in place, Suzanna couldn't just come into Beacon Hills and approach him and Dina without repercussions. They had served her with divorce papers, well aware they would have to travel the 3 hours back to Santa Clara county for all their court hearings since Stiles had only been back in Beacon County for less than six months.

Because of his status as a victim of domestic violence, his address was able to be kept off the court documents. Not that it did any good since Suzanna already knew where he came from and had been to the family home.

He was trying to have faith in the system. Malia and his father were big believers in it, and he was taking comfort in their certainty that he was safe. Which was why he had no problem being the elected babysitter for the afternoon for Ryan as they sat in the backyard of his house. Melissa and his dad were at work, and the kids were having fun running around with huge bubble wands.

"Hey, Stiles."

Looking up, the color drained out of his face as he saw two men walking around the side of the house towards him. He knew they were Graysons from their blonde hair, blue eyes and the typical features that most of Suzanna's family shared. He quickly stood up, going to intercept them.

"You guys can't be here. You need to leave."

They looked at each other, and then the taller one took a step closer and punched Stiles in the stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs. "Actually, we're here to pick up our niece." He grabbed Stiles' hair, bending his head back. "Your wife sends her regards." And he threw Stiles against the railing for the porch, and then proceeded to attack him with a flury of punches.

The shorter of the two crossed the yard, going right for the little girl who hadn't noticed what was going on in her playing. "Hey, little one, remember your uncle Chuck?"

"No..." she shook her head. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"We're not strangers, sweetie. We're family. And your mommy really misses you and wants you to come home."

"I am home." She choose that moment to look over at her father, seeing a punch land on her daddy's face that took him to the ground. "What are you doing to my daddy?" She went to run for him, but Chuck grabbed her around the middle and lifted her up, kicking and screaming.

Ryan ran over, going to hit Chuck in the leg. "Let go of my friend."

"Can it squirt," Chuck said, easily tossing Ryan a few feet away to the hard ground. "Ray, I got her. Let's go."

One more kick to Stiles' ribs to keep him down, Ray leaned in. "Hope you learned a lesson in this, Stilinski. Don't mess with our family."

They carried the screaming girl out to the front of the house while Ryan ran across the yard to where Stiles was curled up on his side in pain and bleeding. And that was when the little boy started to yell for his daddy at the top of his lungs.

Around the city, werewolf ears perked up. Derek heard the scream in his classroom and while he couldn't just run out of the room, he told the kids to read the next chapter on their own and went into the hallway, pulling out his cellphone and texting Fiona that Ryan was screaming somewhere in the residential area of town.

Peter was in the preserve in the library when he heard it. Shutting his laptop, he was out of the house in an instant, listening for the sounds and then texting Scott. He howled back, a sound to reassure his nephew that help was on the way.

Scott was at work with Deaton but instantly stopped and looked at the door. Deaton knew that look, and told Scott to go, and the father was out the door in an instant, running at top speed to find his child.

Isaac was sitting in the passenger seat next to Sheriff Stilinski and sat up straight as he heard the scream. "Ryan."

John blinked. "They're at my house." And the lights went on as they took off back home. He had a very bad feeling sinking in his gut at this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sam texts her back with a list of things that she needs to make sure to collect from the medics and mentions he would be there in the morning.

Scott is standing back and sees his mom coming, going to intercept her. "Mom, hold up a second." He knows Stiles doesn't look good, but this is the first time any of them had seen just how bad Stiles' life had been, and it was starting to shake even Scott, and he needed to warn his mom.

Jason was finishing his exam as Stiles groaned, turning his head a bit. "Stiles?" Jason asked softly, trying to get his attention. "Stiles, you're at the hospital. It's Jason. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Eyes fluttered, and then the one not sporting the darkening bruise cracked open a bit. He coughed, then went to grip his stomach in pain, but Jason eased him back.

"It's okay, Stiles, you're safe. I've got you."

"Dina...?" he croaked out.

"Dina's fine, sweetie," Melissa doesn't try and move past Scott, but she's close enough to hear what Stiles is asking. "Allison took her and Ryan to the preserve. She's safe."

Malia nods and makes the notes, lingering outside the room as she waits, letting the worry gnaw in the pit of her stomach. She knows she's probably not going to be moving for the rest of the night. She just has to make sure Stiles is okay first.

"Stiles, I need you to tell me where you're hurting so I can try and make it better, okay?" Jason said softly.

Knowing that his daughter was safe, he tried to work with Jason and listed off the pain he was feeling. His ribs, stomach, shoulder, arm and face in turn. He went to touch the back of his head and Jason noticed the dried blood and his jaw set.

"Okay, Stiles. You may have a concussion, but we're going to get a few tests to make sure."

"Jason, before you do that, should Malia take photos of him? For his lawyer?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, go get her. Tell the nurse she's his legal representative." Scott nodded and went to the waiting room.

Melissa moves closer, taking Stiles's hand in hers. What she's seeing isn't easy (this is her kid, at least emotionally if nothing else), but she can suck it up. She's been working in the hospital a long time. She's gotten good at it.

Malia looks up when Scott comes back, eyes worried as she stands. "What's happening? Is he okay?"

Scott has his hands in his pockets, nodding. "He's awake. He's hurting really bad, but he's awake. I asked Jason if you should come in and take pictures for your boss and he said it was a good idea. Come on."

Feeling his hand being touched, Stiles looked up at Melissa and he swallowed. "I'm sorry, Melissa..."

"Oh, no, don't even start that." She gives his hand a soft squeeze as one hand comes up to brush through his hair. "This is not your fault. You just relax and let us take care of you, okay?"

Malia nods as she grabs her cell phone and turns to follow him. "Yep. I can get them really quick and send it to Sam."

Stiles closed his eyes, tears leaking out. "Okay," he said, nodding. He knew in his head it wasn't his fault, but it was his habit to take the blame.

Jason noted with the social worker the list of injuries he could pull off the surface, and waved both Scott and Malia over as he saw them reenter. He kept them close though, his voice low to not upset Melissa or Stiles. "Take the photos quickly. I need to get him up to the CT scan. He's got a laceration on the back of his head and it could just be a simple cut, but I want to make sure first."

Malia nods in agreement, before making her way closer and stepping into Stiles's eye line. She gives him a small smile, her hand taking the one Melissa isn't.

"Hey, Stiles. I just want to take some pictures really quick, okay? So we have them for the case."

He nods a bit. "Don't think I have a good side right now." Trying to joke through the pain, relying on sarcasm to keep people from looking at him with pity.

Scott chuckled from his spot. "You never had one to begin with," he teased gently.

Jason looked up at Melissa and smiled. The ability to joke was a very good sign.

"I'm kinda with Scott on this one," she teases, using her camera to take the shots quickly, including the laceration on the back of his head, talking as she does.

"Dina's at the preserve with my aunt and Peter. I'm pretty sure he won't be leaving her side for anything right now." She steps closer and lowers her voice. "She also might think he's my dog, but I figure we can cross that hurdle when we get to it."

Because they didn't need to expose Dina to more strangers right now. But Malia said Peter was a nice dog and he was safe to pet, so nice dogs are okay.

"You just worry about getting better, okay?"

"I think I have a concussion. You just said my daughter thinks your father is a dog."

But she's right. Peter isn't going to leave Dina and Ryan's side until he's certain that there's enough people at the house to defend them properly. And then because you know, his clothes are still at his house.

Jason waited for Malia to finish. "Once we're done with the tests, I'm sure one of the deputies will be over to question all of you. May as well go downstairs and get something to eat, and I'm sure Melissa can find us a nice, private room to meet back up in."

Malia squeezes his hand gently, before smirking. "I'll explain when you're done being Jason's test subject."

Peter becoming a coyote is apparently one of the things Stiles has missed while he was away.

She then takes a step back and nods. "Sam's going to come by to talk to him in the morning? Do you think you'll need to keep him overnight, or can we take him back to the Hale House?"

Because sorry, sheriff, but your house isn't really safe right now.

"We'll have to see what the tests say, but I'm probably going to want to keep him overnight for observation." He started to prep the bed to be moved.

Stiles groaned. "I hate hospitals. And hospital food."

Melissa smirks slightly at that, before giving his hand one last squeeze. She and Malia then took a step back to give the doctors room to work. "When we get out of here, I'll grab you a bag of curly fries on the way home. How does that sound?"

"sounds good."

Jason shook his head and chuckled, and he wheeled Stiles away. About an hour and a half later, Jason went to the waiting room to find the group as well as John waiting and brought them all to an office to sit.

"So, right now he's got a concussion, a busted rib, a separated shoulder, a minor fracture to his jaw, and about ten stitches on the back of his head. He got very lucky, and the bruising is going to make look at lot worse. But there's no internal bleeding or trauma that really would make me want to keep him overnight. And as long as Isaac or John take on the responsibilities of being the police protective detail he needs until the two assholes who did this to him are booked, you can take him to Talia's." He looked at John and Melissa. "There's no guarantee that they won't try again, so your house isn't safe. I think you both know that now. If he doesn't want to stay with Talia, Peter will probably take him in too."

He handed Malia a copy of the report. "For your boss." He then turned to John. "He just needs to rest and keep his arm in a sling so the shoulder can heal. You'll just have to make sure he doesn't pick Dina up for the next week. I'll check up on him in a few days and keep following up with his recovery. As his next of kin of adult age, I need you to sign his release forms."

Melissa gives John's hand a soft squeeze before pulling back from the rest of the group. "You guys figure out the legal stuff. I'll go talk to Stiles." She turns to head back into Stiles's room, reaching over to give his hand a small squeeze.

"Hey there. How're you feeling?"

Malia waits until she's gone before turning back to John and Isaac. "If you guys are going to put a detail on the house it might be better if it's Isaac. That way we don't have to worry about hiding the wolf stuff too much."

Looking a bit more cleaned up, sitting up with his shoulder in a sling, Stiles gave Melissa a dopey grin that didn't match the bruised face. "Jason gave me good drugs."

John looked at the paperwork and sighed as he signed it. "Isaac's working on the paperwork as the arresting officer, but if he's willing to work the detail I'll give it to him."

She nods, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "I'll tell Sam to come by the house tomorrow instead of the hospital. That way we don't have to move Stiles too much." She reaches over after a moment and places a hand on John's arm. "We'll take care of him. I promise."

Melissa laughs a bit at that before nodding. "It appears he did. Your dad is signing the paperwork to get you out of here, and then we're going to take you up to Talia's, alright? You're going to stay with her for a bit."

John nodded. "I know you will. Just... it's hard when you're the one responsible for protecting your entire town, and you can't even protect your son."

"I still get my curly fries, right?"

"Hey, a deal is a deal. We'll pick them up on the way there."

Malia nods a bit, understanding how that goes. "You can't predict everything. We should have been better prepared - it's not all on you."

"Sometimes I just think if I had told him not to marry her... he wouldn't be in this mess."

Scott went over the rubbed John's arm. "He wouldn't have listened to any of us. He was so desperate to be happy at that point. We'll just have to find ways to make him realize he can move past this and find a better way to be happy."

Stiles smiled, then reached up for his jaw. "Did my dad shoot my brother in laws?"

Malia nods in agreement with Scott. "I think the only person who could have stopped him didn't know enough of what was going on to try." Cora probably thought that she was doing the right thing by Stiles, once upon a time. Malia can't help but think that if she was a little more selfish, things might have turned out differently.

"No. But Malia nearly broke one of their jaws, and Allison knifed the other one in the shoulder pretty good."

"Good. Finally get a little payback." It's said softly, his smile fading away.

John nodded, handing the paperwork back to Jason. "I'll let Malia and Scott take him up, and I'll follow with his and Dina's stuff tonight once they're settled." He chuckled. "It's like the time with that alpha pack all over again."

Malia laughs softly at that, before nodding. "Just like old times. Only this time the threats are a little more human."

Melissa watches him for a moment, before leaning in closer and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "You are going to get to keep that beautiful little girl. That's all the payback you're going to need."

Stiles closed his eyes and leaned into her a bit. "That's the only thing that's making this worth it, Melissa. We sent a clear message that Dina's my daughter, and we're not going to let the Grayson's have any part of her life."

John laughed softly. "You make that sound so reassuring."

"Good," she says softly, before pulling back slowly to help him out of the bed. "Come on. Let's get you home."

Malia smirks a bit. "No rituals or magic or supernatural shenanigans. Just stupid humans doing stupid things. After all we've been through it's almost like a walk in the park."

John nodded. "At least this I can handle with him." John stands up. "Let's get him back to his daughter."

Stiles nodded and went to stand up, wincing as he stood and his ribs shifted a bit under the pressure wrapping. "Don't forget the pain drugs. I'm a big fan of the pain drugs."

"Don't worry. I will get you your drugs." And with that, she'll walk him out the door to where Malia and John are waiting for him.

Malia nods in agreement, turning as the doors open and giving him a small smile. "Ready to go home?"

Stiles looked at his dad and John nodded. "The Hale house was just as much of a home to you then. You'll be fine there until this is over."

That something that tugged at him when thinking of the past took the edge off the pain he was feeling in the present. He looked at Malia and nodded. "Let's go home."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only