Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 2 - Stitches

The Tate farm was located in the outskirts of Beacon Hills, close to the Preserve. It was well maintained, with a wide front porch painted white and blue. It was a quiet house, home to Henry Tate and his son Jamie. Although welcoming, the house sometimes seemed engulfed in a cloud of sorrow. Ever so often you could witness its occupants standing on the front porch, looking in the distance as if waiting for someone to come back home. After a few minutes, their features would fall and a grieved expression would cover their faces.

This night, the front porch was empty. While Stiles was being escorted out of the woods and Scott was running away from a predator, Jamie was soundly asleep. He was dreaming the kind of dream he would forget the second his eyes opened. The young man had always been a heavy sleeper, so when a knocking sound was heard, he didn't move. The sound was heard again, this time louder. Loud enough to wake the teenager up. Letting out a sigh, Jamie sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. His dark blond hair was in a mess, not that he would ever bother to try and tame it. Begrudgingly, he got up. He looked through his window only to jump back in surprise. 

He had seen a head. A very familiar-looking head.

"Scott?" Jamie whispered angrily, opening his window and making room for his friend anyway. "Scott, what the hell are you doing here?"

"You know that body Stiles told you about? We went and I found it, but then-" Scott started, climbing inside.

"Wait, what?" Jamie interrupted, not believing his ears. "You actually went?"

"Of course we did!" Scott answered before sitting on the side of the bed and launching himself into a lengthy description of what had transpired throughout the night. His friend occasionally nodded, but mostly yawned his way through the explanation. He hated it when people woke him up, it made him feel like his head was floating in clouds. The sounds seemed distant, and he couldn't focus. 

Seeing that his friend was falling back asleep, Scott did something cruel, something he knew he would regret. He turned on the light. Jamie groaned and covered his eyes with his hands, cursing his almost-brother for his actions. Scott was soon back to talking, but Jamie interrupted him the moment his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Scott, what is that?" he said, eyes wide and pointing at the blood on Scott's shirt.

"Yeah I was getting to that, something bit me!"

"Why- Wh- Scott, lead with that!" the unhurt teen stuttered. The wound looked deep, vicious even. Concerned for his puppy-eyed friend, Jamie quickly got up, his tiredness momentarily forgotten. He went to the small bathroom connected to his room and got all he needed to dress the wound on Scott's side.

He wanted to become a doctor and had started working at the hospital to gain experience. Although he was only working at the reception desk, being surrounded by doctors and nurses allowed him to observe and learn from them. Melissa McCall, Scott's mother, also worked at the hospital; she was a nurse. When she had a few minutes to spare she would always answer his questions or teach him basic techniques that all medical personnel was trained in. In return, he would bring her lunch or coffee when she seemed to need it. Since he started working, she had taught him a lot of things, including how to stitch wounds. This skill was about to prove useful.

"Come on, let me see," Jamie instructed, medical supplies in his hands. Scott lifted his shirt, uncovering his side while his friend got to work. Squinting his eyes, he started cleaning the wound. Scott winced occasionally but that didn't prevent him from talking.

"It was dark, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf." 

That made Jamie frown. He kept treating the bite, while asking, "A wolf? You sure?"

"I heard a wolf howling," Scott claimed.

"Huh. Weird," Jamie stated, still frowning. "I don't think that's possible. California doesn't have wolves. Are you positive it was a wolf? It could have been a coyote, we have lots of those in the Preserve."

Scott pondered for a moment, but then shook his head. "It was too big to be a coyote."

That made Jamie take a closer look at the bite mark. Something about it was off. It was very wide, and he could clearly see smaller areas where the wound was deeper. Whatever bit Scott had fangs, and piercing ones at that. Wolves had fangs, sure, but could a wolf leave a mark that wide? 

It should have been narrower; something didn't add up. As he finished stitching the injury, Jamie looked back at his friend. He didn't doubt his sincerity, but the whole situation was intriguing to say the least. Not wanting to worry Scott, Jamie didn't share his concerns. He placed a large bandage on the wound so the stitches wouldn't be ripped off and so the wound wouldn't get infected.

"Okay Scott, it's done. You should get back home, Melissa's gonna worry if you're not there by morning," Jamie said, getting up to wash his hands and put away the medical supplies.

Scott nodded. "Will you drive me?" he asked using his best pleading look. That made Jamie sigh. His hands now clean, he grabbed his car keys and gestured for Scott to follow him downstairs. He carefully opened his bedroom's door, dreading that it would squeak. His father had always been slightly paranoid of intruders, although most of the times it was just small animals trying to get into their house. 

Still, he didn't want to wake or scare the older Tate. Tiptoeing down the corridor, he and Scott passed in front of two doors that Scott had never seen opened. He suspected they lead to the bedrooms of Jamie's late sisters, but he knew better than to ask. The Tate family had a painful history and Scott didn't want to upset his friend by mentioning it.

The teenagers reached the bottom of the stairs without making a sound. Scott was reaching for the door when a loud bark was heard, making him jump in surprise. It was Apollo. For some reason, the dog had never liked Scott. Jamie quickly shushed him, petting his head. The dog calmed down and the teens finally got out of the house. They got inside Jamie's old Toyota, both of them lost in thought. The drive was silent and to Scott's relief, uneventful -- he was growing tired of random animals attacking him. They reached the McCall residence and Scott got out of the car, thanking his friend for the ride.

He took a few steps, exhausted. He reached the front door just as Jamie was driving away. He climbed the stairs leading to his room, careful not to wake his mother. He opened the door to his bedroom and crashed on his bed, not bothering to even take off his shoes. 

He could finally go to sleep.