Frozen In Time

01

"Seriously Stilinski, remind me why you enjoy freezing your ass off in the name of science?" Cooper Powell asks tiredly as he trudges through the snow alongside Stiles Stilinski, the two of them just ahead of the rest of the team. Cooper hugs his jacket closer to his body. Even with all the protective clothing he is wearing, he is still cold.

"Because, I've been interested in all things to do with ice and glaciers ever since I was young. I'm living my dream. I still cling onto the hope that I'll find something to change the world." Stiles chuckles in response, not really caring about the cold as he walks through the freezing blizzard.

"Ugh, you're 29 and still follow childish dreams. You never grew up, did you?" Cooper rolls his eyes in annoyance, regretting ever going on this expedition, even though it meant he'd receive a bigger pay check.

"Pfft, I grew up. Trust me." Stiles scoffs, waving his hand in dismissal, shaking his head a little at the older man walking next to him.

"What are you hoping to find?" Cooper asks with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know... Just something. No one else is doing anything to stop global warming or the melting of all the ice caps and glaciers, so I feel like I need to try and do something, you know? And I have found out a lot over the past few years. Besides, I do look into other interesting fields as well. This just happens to be my favorite." Stiles answers easily.

"Alright, alright. I guess that's fair enough." Cooper shrugs, sounding like he is surrendering, making Stiles feel smug and a bit victorious.

"Don't worry, we will only be going just a little bit further." Stiles reassures Cooper and the rest of the group over the roaring wind. They continue to trudge through the blizzard, all of them hugging their arms close to their bodies to preserve warmth. Stiles knows that it won't be long before that they will all have to turn back, for their safety. Stiles wants to keep going though, as he wants to get to the point he set in the map where he can do all sorts of testing and measurements with the ice. It's the perfect point and Stiles is too stubborn to change where he wants to go. He set out here with a goal in mind and nothing will distract him from it. Although, getting frostbite and dying out here with his team would obviously deter him from that goal forever, so Stiles knows that there are some limits he can't go past. That doesn't mean that he won't go right up to them though.

It's not like Stiles has got an incredible amount to lose. He doesn't have anyone waiting for him back in New York. He doesn't have any friends, unlike the rest of his team. Well, aside from Danny and Lydia, but they aren't really his friends and are more like acquaintances. Lydia barely even knows Stiles exists, so even an acquaintance is a stretch for those two. She only talks to him when they are collaborating on work together. They are two of the best scientists in New York and quite possibly the country, especially Lydia, so the two really do challenge each other when they work together. Stiles had a massive crush on her for a few years, but eventually it dwindled out when he realized that he had absolutely no chance with her, especially with her dating one of the biggest sports star of the country, Jackson Whittemore. Stiles hates Jackson. He thinks he's a complete and total douche. Not to mention he is an airhead. Stiles doesn't know why the super smart and beautiful Lydia Martin would be going out with someone as dumb as him. As for Danny, him and Stiles never hang out after work, though they do exchange a few conversations in the labs and sometimes eat lunch together. It's definitely not enough for a solid friendship, Stiles thinks.

Stiles also doesn't have any family to go back to either. He lost his mom when he was eight to frontotemporal dementia. He was there when she passed away in the hospital. That was one of the most painful experiences of Stiles' life. His dad wasn't even there. For a few years, he had panic attacks and nightmares over his mom's death, but eventually they started fading away. As for his dad and beautiful and lovely girlfriend Malia, they died in a car crash as they were on their way to Stiles' college graduation. Stiles was absolutely heartbroken by the incident and his colleagues don't think he's quite recovered from it. He just tries to repress the memories, not wanting to talk about it. However, losing his family has made him more determined to focus on his work and to achieve what he wants to achieve. He has no distractions. He wants to make his parents and Malia proud of him. He doesn't want to waste his life, knowing theirs were over all too quickly. He wants to make his life and work mean something, something that his parents and Malia could smile down proudly at him from above.

Stiles is pulled out of his thoughts when he feels someone shaking his shoulder. Stiles turns to see that it is Cooper, who looks concerned and curious.

"Stilinksi! Do you see that?" Cooper asks as he points to somewhere in the distance. Stiles glances over to where Powell is pointing and squints a little, trying to see better. It's hard to see through the blizzard, but Stiles does see a peculiar looking shape wedged between two large land areas of ice and snow, freezing water splashing up against the strange shape that Stiles can't quite see.

"Yeah, I do. Let's go have a look!" Stiles replies as he begins rushing over to the mysterious object, his team following behind him. Stiles slows and finally stops as he reaches the crevice between the ice and stares in shock and fascination at the thing that has been wedged into the crevice. It looks like a huge block of ice that must have melted off from somewhere and come floating all the way here where the waves slammed it into the land, but there is something different about this piece of ice. It almost looks like something is inside.

Cautiously, Stiles lifts a shaky hand out and begins rubbing at the ice, hoping to wipe away any excess snow and ice to get a better look at what is inside. He can almost feel the rest of his expedition team watching him from behind with immense curiosity. Of course, they don't want to get too close to the crevice, but they are happy to watch Stiles do it.

Eventually, after a minute or so of furious rubbing, Stiles gasps in horror as he gets a small glimpse of what is inside the ice.

"Holy shit..." Stiles mumbles under his breath. His vision is obviously not perfect, but he can definitely make out enough features that there is a person inside the ice. As far as he can tell, they have got dark brown, almost black hair, but that's all about he can tell right now. He can't even tell if it's a guy or a girl. Stiles' heart starts thumping rapidly. This is the biggest discovery he has ever made in his life. He can hear everyone starting to talk behind him, some sounding curious, others afraid, a few fascinated, but most of them are completely shocked at the discovery. Stiles eventually takes his hand off the ice and turns to face his team.

"We need to get this back to the lab in New York. This could be an amazing discovery." Stiles tells the team excitedly. Stiles didn't expect to come out here to find someone frozen in ice for god knows how long (though Stiles will definitely be finding that out), but it's definitely better than what he was originally coming here for. This could change everything for Stiles. This could lead to great things. This is why researching ice fascinates Stiles, and he can't wait to begin looking into this.

However, little does Stiles know that the discovery of this person frozen in a block of ice is going to change a hell of a lot more for him than he would have ever thought possible.