Gut Instinct (Teen Wolf)

1:10 You Don't Get The Right To

Warning: Yelling, mentions of trauma, mentions of death and killing, swearing, apple crushing, angst with fluff at the bottom, me improvising half this chapter.

In the morning, she woke up to something burning. She felt images run through her brain like a mouse running across the floor. Smoke. Choking. Blood. Skin on bones. She curled into herself and dug her nails into her palms. No, no, don't panic. Focus on the pain, focus on that. This is real, you're here, you're home. You're safe.

She blinked her tears away. She took a breath and sat up. She checked the clock on the landline. 6:28. Time to get up.

She put on her jacket, changed her sweatpants and grabbed the phone from the floor. She followed the smell of something burning to the kitchen, where a frying pan was on fire. Stiles was trying to beat out the flame with a spatula.

Vic put the phone back in its place on the charger. She opened one of the cabinates and pulled out the baking soda. She poured half of it into the pan, which put the fire out. She put the container on the counter and moved the pan off the burner, which was flipped off a second later.

The two looked at the mess that was now covered by baking soda. "What was it supposed to be?" she asked.

"Scrambled eggs," he answered. He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"How did you mess up scrambled eggs that badly?" she questioned him.

"Honestly, I don't even know," he answered.

"Well knowing you there's a back up plan, so what do you got?" she asked.

He put on oven mitts and opened up the oven. A second later he pulled out a baking sheet of bacon surrounded by bubbling grease. He closed the oven and placed the pan on the stove. He carefully put the bacon on a plate with a paper towel on it. He smiled when he didn't drop a piece.

"Hmm, well it looks edible," Vic remarked.

Stiles rolled his eyes at her.

"Are you trying to bribe me with breakfast so I'm not mad at you?" she asked him.

"Yes," he admitted. "Is it working?"

"Well I'm taking the bribe," she said. She took three pieces of bacon and grabbed an apple as well before faced her brother again. "But I'm still mad at you." She took a bit of the bacon and walked out of the kitchen.

Stiles gaped at her shock before he followed her into the dining room. "W-W- you can't do that," he protested.

"I just did," she replied.

He sighed and followed her as she was in the middle of the living room. "Okay, I get that you were worried-"

"No." Vic spun around, her usually cool eyes were bright with blue fire. They were angry and disappointed at the same time. "No, you don't get it. I was terrified, Stiles. I was terrified that someone from the Dealers had gotten out of jail and gotten to you to get to me. I was terrified that you had gotten in an accident and you were dying. I was terrified that I would pick up that phone to find out you were in the morgue. I was terrified that you had run away because you couldn't handle a stupid, ugly, traumatised little girl.

"And to find out that you had taken a prison van and held someone hostage? I was even more terrified. Because I realized I don't know the kid that was there when I woke up. I didn't know who drove me to school, who held me when I had my nightmares and gave me pepper spray. Because the Stiles I know, would never do that to someone. He would at least listen to the thirty voicemails I left him when I was going out of my mind worried about him."