Old Scars, Future Hearts

50

Dmitri frowned, staring at the younger Derek Hale. "Uh, maybe we should take him to Scott's boss."

Scott glanced at him and nodded. "Good idea."

When they reached the Animal Clinic, Deaton took one look at Derek and his eyes widened. "Wow."

"Wow?" Stiles questioned. "Wow as in, "I've seen this before and I know exactly what to do" kind of wow? 'Cause that's the kind of wow we were hoping for."

Marika studied Deaton's expression. "I'm pretty sure it's the other kind of wow."

Deaton turned to Stiles. "I think you might be overestimating my abilities."

Lydia took Derek's hand. "He's cold. Really cold."

Scott looked up at his boss. "Do you think this is permanent?"

Deaton shrugged. "I'm not sure a medical diagnosis is even adequate. This is well beyond my experience."

While staring at Derek, Marika asked, "Okay, what are we going to do with him?"

"Until he wakes up, probably not much. It might be best to leave him with me. He'll be safe here."

"You mean from Kate?" Stiles questioned.

Deaton glanced at Stiles. "If she's alive and she is what you say she is, she won't be able to walk past that gate."

Lydia frowned. "Why would she want to do this to him?"

Dmitri scoffed. "Knowing how Kate was, it's good for her and bad for us."

Deaton looked between them. "You guys should probably go home. He doesn't look to be in any danger. So maybe the rest of you should get some sleep. It's a school night... And you all need to start taking care of your own lives again."

Scott looked up at the druid. "Someone should stay with you."

Lydia glanced down at Derek who was still holding her hand. "I'll stay. My grades are fine... Despite missing a few classes."

Dmitri frowned. "I don't like that idea."

Lydia looked at him as she said, "Guys, go."

Dmitri narrowed his eyes. "No."

Scott dragged him out and said, "Text us if anything happens."

Dmitri glared at Scott and the earth began rumbling.

Marika put her hands on her brother's shoulders. "Dima, Lydia can take care of herself. She'll be fine."

"What if he tries something?" Dmitri asked.

"Deaton is there and you know as well as I that Lydia is quite capable of handling herself."

He glanced back at the clinic with a frown and nodded slowly. "Okay."

---

Scott snuck inside and knocked into something, causing it to crash and he picked up a toolbox.

"Scott?" Agent McCall asked.

Scott gave his dad an awkward smile. "Hey, Dad. What's with the tools?"

He sighed. "Oh, I was just, uh... getting started on a list of repairs you guys need done. What time is it?"

"It's um... Midnight," Scott lied, glancing at the clock.

Agent McCall sighed once again. "We were supposed to have dinner. We had a deal. When your mom has a night shift, we eat dinner."

Scott nodded apologetically. "Sorry, I totally forgot about it. When we got back from the camping trip, I had to go straight to the Animal Clinic to finish up work."