SECRETS
2x01 𖦹𖦹𖦹 OMEGA
For the past few days, Maddie had been practically living in the hospital. She refused to leave her sister's side. The only thing that could even get her to consider leaving was the fact that their mom called their father.
And he was nothing if not insufferable.
"Do you need help getting in the shower?" he asked, as Lydia made her way out of bed. "Maybe if I was four," Lydia said walking past him. "And still taking bubble baths."
Maddie smirked at the exasperated look on their dad's face. "She gets the attitude from you," he said, looking at her.
"And where do you think I get it from?" she asked him, setting down the magazine she had. "I'm going to grab a coffee," she said, not bothering to ask if he wanted something.
When she left the room she was surprised to see Stiles, asleep, in the most uncomfortable position ever on the hospital chairs.
She turned and got Melissa's attention who was looking through some files. "Has he been here all night?" she asked. Melissa laughed as she looked at him.
"He's been here all weekend."
"Of course" Maddie mumbled, thinking that at least someone was there for her. She couldn't help but think about Derek as she walked to the coffee machine.
She had absolutely no idea where he had been the last few days. He texted a few times, asking about Lydia but that was it. Maddie knew why he was upset and understood.
He said he needed space. But she hated the uncertainty that came along with it. Not knowing if he hated her or even wanted to be with her anymore.
She hated that he wasn't by her side as she tried to figure out if Lydia was indeed turning into...something.
Suddenly a piercing scream rang through the hospital halls and Maddie dropped her coffee on the floor. "Lydia!" she shouted, racing back to her sister's room.
Melissa, Stiles, and her dad all came rushing in at the same time, all of them shouting for Lydia. Maddie rushed into the bathroom, Stiles right behind her, but found it empty.
The water in the shower was still running and the bathtub was overflowing. She glanced at Stiles who was looking out the window and had the same thought.
Lydia climbed out the window. She was gone.
Stiles called his dad and Maddie called Tristan, both of them getting to the hospital in record time.
However, they were just as confused as everyone else.
"Naked? As in nude?" Sheriff Stilinski asked. "I'm pretty sure they mean the same thing but yes as far we know she left here clothing optional," Melissa said.
"All right, you checked the whole hospital right?" the sheriff asked.
"Every last corner."
"Nothing suspicious?"
"Nothing. She just took off."
The sheriff nodded before turning to Tristan. "All right, let's get an APB out on a 16-year-old redhead," he said before turning to Maddie. "Any other descriptors?"
Stiles interrupted before she could reply. "5'3'', green eyes, fair-skinned, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde," he said.
Maddie rolled her eyes and turned to Tristan as Stiles got dragged away by his dad. "Does this have something to do with her bite?" Tristan asked.
"It has too. There's no other reason she'd do this. But we have to find her!" she exclaimed, trying her best to stay strong.
"And we will. I already texted Willow to meet us here. If this is supernatural related we probably have a better chance of finding her than the sheriff" he said.
Maddie nodded and texted Derek to call her while they walked out to Willow's car. "Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. The woods maybe?" Maddie said and Willow nodded before heading in that direction.
"You need to talk to Derek. We're gonna need his help" Tristan said. "I know. But he's still not answering" Maddie sighed.
"What? What the hell do you mean not answering?! Lydia is missing!" Willow shouted. "I know. I just...can't think about him right now. Lydia is out there naked in the middle of the night. We need to find her."
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The three of them had been walking around the woods for over an hour. Finding nothing. "After you were bit. Did you feel the urge to go looking for something?" Tristan asked.
"No. Do you think she's looking for something?" Maddie asked. "Maybe she's looking for whoever bit her?" Willow offered.
"But Peter bit her. And he's dead" she reminded. "She could be looking for the next best thing," Tristan said.
"Yeah, well the next best thing isn't answering the phone right now" Maddie mumbled. She looked back at her two friends who looked like they wanted to say something but didn't.
Like they were hiding something. "What is it?" she asked them. Willow and Tristan looked at each other before looking at Maddie.
"What is what?" Willow asked. "You guys are hiding something and being very obvious about it. Just tell me" she said.
"Finding Lydia is more important. This can wait" Tristan said. "We can talk and walk at the same time. Now tell me!" Maddie said, practically demanding an answer.
Willow sighed and knew Maddie wouldn't let it go. She took her hand out of her pocket and instantly, Maddie could see the diamond ring glistening on her finger.
"Oh my god!"
Maddie quickly pulled Willow into a hug, never happier for her. "I can not believe you're getting married! When did this happen?" she asked.
"Last night. I was going to wait to tell you" Willow said, but Maddie shook her head. "No! No. You guys are my best friends and I'm so happy for you. Once we find Lydia and this is over I swear we'll start wedding planning immediately" she said.
When her phone started ringing she pulled it out hoping it was Derek but groaned seeing Stiles's name.
"I'm kind of busy, Stiles," she said as she answered.
"Have you found Lydia?" he asked.
"No. I'm out looking for her now."
"So am I. With Allison and Scott. He tracked her scent to the old Hale house but she's not here."
"Wait, the Hale house? Why would Lydia have gone there?" Maddie asked.
"I don't know. Has she ever been here before?"
"Once. When she was like nine but we were just dropping Derek off. She probably doesn't even remember."
"Okay well what does Derek think?" Stiles asked.
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? He's not with you?"
"No."
Stiles nearly blew out her phone speaker as he shouted. "Derek's not with you? Lydia is missing and he not helping look for her?! Where the hell is he??"
Maddie sighed, tired of everyone telling her things she already knew. "I know that! Look if you find anything call me okay?" she asked before hanging up.
"Look, without Derek we probably won't find her out here. Maybe she ran to your house?" Tristan offered.
Maddie knew he was right. And if Scott tracked her scent but lost it then who knows where she could be.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
When Maddie got home, Lydia wasn't there. Just her mom talking to another deputy about what to do next. When she got up to her room she was ready to just collapse into bed and cry.
Stopping her was Derek, sitting on her bed, waiting for her. "Derek?" she asked. "What are you doing here? Did you find Lydia?" she asked.
"No. I looked but didn't see her" he said, his voice void of emotion. Maddie swallowed the lump forming in her chest.
"Right. Well, thanks for looking" she said, the air awkward around them as she sat down. "So, um, where have you been staying?" she asked.
But Derek just answered her question with a question. "Has her bite healed at all?"
There was a beat of silence as she realized he still didn't want to talk. So she just shook her head. "Not yet. But Melissa said it's not infected or anything. It's healing like normal."
Derek nodded and stood up to leave. "I'll let you know if I find her."
"Wait!" Maddie called. "Are we ever going to talk about it?"
Derek looked at her before shaking his head. "Not right now," he said, before leaving her alone to wonder how everything had gone so wrong.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The next morning, Lydia still hadn't been found. And Tristan assured her they were working overtime to find her.
The temperature that night was supposed to drop to below freezing and everyone knew her chances of making out alive with no clothes on was slim to none.
Maddie didn't know what to do. She knew this had something to do with the bite but had no idea what. She didn't even know if Lydia was safe or even alive.
Derek still wasn't talking to her and all she could think about was how if she had killed Kate in high school maybe none of this would have happened.
Not to mention the fact that today was Kate's funeral. She had been officially charged with the fire at Derek's house and the entire town was predicting the funeral to be a media circus.
She and Willow only had to think for about two seconds if they should go. It was an immediate no. Maddie had mourned the loss of her friend a long time ago. Like Kate once told Maddie, her best friend died the night of the winter formal and was replaced by a monster.
Hearing someone walk into her office, Maddie assumed it would be Scott or Stiles since they both had a habit of not knocking. But looking up she was pleasantly surprised to see Derek.
"Oh, hey. I wasn't expecting you" she said, about to stand up but didn't when he took a seat across from her.
"Any updates on Lydia?" he asked, and Maddie recognized that he had a habit of getting to the point whenever he was upset.
"No. Tristan says most of the force is still out looking for her" she said. "Did he tell you about the missing body parts?" he asked.
"What? What missing body parts?"
"Last night, there was a grave robbery. A liver was taken."
Maddie was extremely confused.
"A liver? You think Lydia robbed a grave to take a liver? And do what, eat it?" she asked. Derek just shrugged. "I don't know if it was her but I also don't know who else it would be," he said.
Slowly, Maddie nodded, trying to digest this new information. "There's something else," he said and she looked up, wondering what else could be going on.
Derek shifted in his seat almost like he was uncomfortable telling him. "What is it? Whatever it is you can tell me" she said, shifting forward in an effort to get close to him.
After a beat of silence, Derek finally spoke up. "I think Jackson's dying."
Maddie looked at him, her face expressionless. "What do you mean you think he's dying?"
"The night I killed Peter. I gave him the bite. Today I saw black blood oozing from his ears."
Maddie shook her head, not believing him. "You gave Jackson the bite? Jackson Whittemore? The one person we decided deserved it the least?"
Derek glared at her and stood up. "I came her for help not for you to judge-"
Maddie cut him off by standing up herself. "I am not judging you. I just...look, it's been over a week since you bit him. If someone was going to die from the bite it would happen within hours right?" she asked.
Derek didn't say anything, he just nodded. "Then maybe...maybe he's not dying. Maybe whatever's happening to Lydia is happening to him too. He's turning into something we just don't know what."
"You think he's the one who took the liver?" he asked. "Maybe. But Derek...are you turning other people?" Maddie asked.
"I need to build my pack," he said, immediately going into defensive mode. "And I get that. If Jackson asked for it then whatever, I guess. I just don't want you to turn into Peter" she said, trying to get him to realize she was on his side.
"I'm not. I told you, he-"
"Tapped into his animal side too much. I know. But even if you're mad at me and decide you never want to talk to me again. I still care about you."
Derek sighed, not really knowing how to process his own emotions. Sure he had been mad, angry even, and learned to control it. But he had never been upset with her before.
Up until this, the most they had ever fought over was different paint colors.
"It's not that I don't want to talk to you again. I just need time" he said.
Maddie gave him a small smile, understanding where he was coming from. "I know. Whenever you're ready you know where to find me."
On her way home, Maddie got a text from Stiles that they found Lydia and were taking her back to the hospital. For a moment it felt like everything was finally turning around.
Little did she know someone else from her past was back in town and he was not happy. In fact, he was declaring war.
authors note
don't forget if you're interested in tvd to check my new damon salvatore fic!