Old Scars, Future Hearts

31

Stiles, Marika and Dmitri met up with Scott.

The sheriff turned to the teens. "Boys, Marika, give us a second. He lookdf at his son. "These are definitely sacrifices, right?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, it's the one Deaton mentioned. Healers."

"What about Danny? He threw up mistletoe. That's not a coincidence, and if he hadn't been with Ethan, he probably would've died. Danny's not a healer. I..."

"Can you hear that?"

Scott turned around. "They found a body."

In Chemistry, Ms. Blake walked in. "Good morning. As you all know, Mr. Harris is still missing... I mean, sick. Anyway, I'm filling in while we all hope and pray for a more qualified substitute to take my place. Okay, so let's get started, shall we?"

Stiles, who was seated next to Scott at the table in front of Marika, glances between them and Dmitri. "Hey, my dad said that the ER attending wasn't strangled but did die from asphyxiation. They just don't know how."

Scott glanced to Stiles. "Do you think the on-call doctor could still be alive?"

"I don't know... But, Scott, there's got to be at least 20 other doctors in that hospital... at least, you know? Any one of them could be next."

Scott got a call from someone and leaned down towards the ground to answer quietly. "Hey, doc. Sorry, I'm in class right now. Can I call you back later?"

After a moment, Scott said, "Doc, doc, doc, doc? What's happening?"

Scott rushed off and Marika turned to Stiles. "Call your dad. We need to head to the clinic. Dima, let's go."

Stiles called his father as the three drive to the Animal Clinic. When they got there, Scott and Sheriff Stilinski were in the operating room. Stiles stood to Scott's left, crossing his arms, and Marika leaned against the counter, next to her brother who was standing, the sheriff doing the same. "All right, we're doing everything we can. Right now, the best thing you can do is go back to school."

Scott motioned silently for his to follow him. They made their way to the Cat Clinic.

Scott looked at his best friend. "We have to tell him."

Stiles jerked his head forward slightly. "You mean, like, tell him tell him, or tell him something else that isn't telling him what I think you want to tell him."

"You know what I mean."

Stiles placed one hand on one of the cages. "You remember how your mom reacted? She didn't look you in the eyes for, like, a week."

"And she got over it, and... and it actually made us closer."

Stiles continued staring at his father through the tiny window. "I don't know, dude. I mean, look at him. Come on, he's completely overwhelmed as it is."

Marika noticed Sheriff Stilinski rubbing his eyes and said gently, "Because he has no idea what's happening, Stiles."

Scott continued. "He's got people dying in this town, the town that he's supposed to protect, and it's not his fault that he doesn't know what's happening. He's gonna find out sooner or later."

Stiles let out a sigh. "Yeah, but is now really the right time?"

"What if not telling him now get someone else killed?"

Stiles' voice took on a more desperate tone. "What if telling him gets him killed, huh? I mean, okay, look, I get that Deaton's been like a father to you. I get that, okay? But this is m... Scott, Marika, Dmitri, this is my actual father. I can't lose both of my parents, alright? Not both of them."