Maggie, with a soft groan, got up from her hospital bed. She glanced around to make sure no one was around to stop her, her brother especially, and slipped on her shoes.
She left the hospital and made her way to Scott's, as she figured he'd be the best person to persuade to let her go.
Stiles, seeing Maggie suddenly next to him, asked, "What the hell are you doing here? Where's Caleb? Does he know you're here?"
"Helping," she replied simply. "Around. No he doesn't know."
"Go back to the hospital."
"Cute that you think you can tell me what to do."
"No, that's not it. You got hurt, Maggie. And now you want to see her?!"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons."
"What reasons?"
"Reasons."
"Ugh, fine."
Maggie smiled victoriously. "Great. Let's get Scott and Caleb."
Scott opened his door to see Maggie and Stiles. "Yeah?"
"I want to talk to Derek about Ms. Blake, and you're coming," Stiles said. "Maggie insisted on going, which I'm not okay with, but persuading her otherwise would prove useless. I already tried."
They got Caleb who had some pretty colorful language for his sister.
---
Stiles drove them to Derek's loft and said, "Ms. Blake, Jennifer, is the Darach. She took my dad. She's gonna try to tell you she's not, but we saw her. Well, not Maggie, maybe Caleb, but Scott and I saw her. She hurt Maggie and Scott."
"She's the one killing people," Scott added.
Derek pursed his lips and nodded. "Find somewhere to hide. Someone's coming."
The boys ducked into a dark corner and Tabitha hid in another corner. Jennifer entered the loft. "Derek? Derek, where are you?"
He stepped out from the shadows. "Right here."
She hugged him. "Thank God. Something happened at the recital. At the school. Okay, I need to tell you before you hear it, before you hear it from any of them."
Derek decided to play innocent. "From who?"
"Scott, Caleb and Stiles. They're gonna tell you things. Things you can't believe. You have to trust me, okay? You have to trust me."
Derek frowned. "What is it?"
Jennifer began kissing Derek. "Promise you'll listen to me."
From Maggie and Caleb's corner, their lips curled in disgust and worry.
Derek said, "I promise."
Jennifer pulled away from him. "They're already here, aren't they? So... they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people."
The boys stepped out of the shadows and Scott said, "We told him you're the one killing people."
Jennifer let out a scoff. "Oh, that's right. Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way, I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."
Maggie heard a break in Stiles' voice as he asked, "Where's my dad? Why did you hurt Maggie?"
"How should I know? Derek, tell me you don't believe this."
Derek crossed his arms. "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"
"No."
"Ask her why she almost killed Lydia and why she hurt Maggie."
"Lydia Martin? Maggie Hawthorne? I don't know anything about that."
Maggie stepped out from her corner and stood behind Stiles, followed by her brother who stood next to her. "Yeah you do. You know, I'm half-tempted to spell you now. Would that be okay, mother?"
Stiles and Scott shared a confused look.
Derek shook his head and turned to Jennifer. "What do you know?"
"I know that these boys and this young lady, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story. And one they can't prove, by the way," Jennifer said.
"What if we can?" Scott asked.
He held up a powdery substance and Jennifer's eyes narrowed. "What is that?"
"My boss told me it's a poison and a cure... which means you can use it... and it can be used against you."
"Mistletoe?" Jennifer questioned.
Scott threw the powder onto her and her disguise disappeared, to reveal a badly scarred, bald figure. She shifted back to her normal disguise.
She tried to leave, and Derek grabbed her neck. "Derek, wait, wait! You need me."
"What are you?" Derek asked angrily.
"The only person who can save your sister. Call Peter. Call him!"
He dialed Peter's number and said after a moment, "Mistletoe."
He hung up the phone and tightened his grip around Jennifer's neck. "Derek," Scott said. "Derek, what are you doing?"
"Her life... it's in my hands!" Jennifer managed.
"Stop. Derek, stop!" Stiles cried, walking closer to them.
Jennifer turned to him. "Stilinski, you'll never find him."
"Derek, Derek!" Scott and Caleb yelled.
He threw Jennifer to the floor and she took a moment to recover. "That's right. You need me. All of you."
While Derek drove in his car, the teens followed in Stiles' Jeep. They neared the hospital, and the rain was pouring.
After an awkward silence, Stiles said, "I don't know, something feels wrong about this. You know, we proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan. You saw it, didn't you? Maggie, Caleb, you saw it, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I saw it, Stiles."
Once they reached the hospital, they got out of the car. Stiles grabbed something from his trunk.
"What's that?" Scott wondered.
Scott turned to him. "Well, you got claws, Maggie and Caleb have got super cool witch/warlock powers. I got a bat."
They walked into the hospital and Derek placed a hand on Jennifer's arm to prevent her from leaving. They followed after them until a voice stopped them. "Scott! Scott! What are you doing here? The hospital's evacuating."
"We're here for Cora," Scott told his mom.
"What, all of you? Why does Stiles have my bat?"
"Mo, just trust me on this. You need to get out of here. Right now."
"The building is supposed to be clear in 30 minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back. One's ten minutes out, the other's 20. Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."
Scott nodded. "Got it."
"Okay."
They made their way towards the elevator and Derek still had a death grip on Jennifer's arm. "You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help."
She saw Scott glaring at her from her left. Stiles was standing to her right holding the baseball bat menacingly. Caleb was making little purple sparks in the air and facing the group while threatening his and Maggie's birth mother with the magic.
They got to their floor and exited the elevator as soon as the door opened. The lights flickered as they entered Cora's room and soon stopped. Cora was nowhere to be seen.
Scott noticed something on the ground. "Derek."
They heard fighting and the door opened. Peter slid towards them. "We got a problem. A big problem."
There was a loud growl and Derek rushed a giant werewolf. His punches weren't doing anything, and he was knocked against the wall. Scott went after the giant werewolf.
Stiles noticed Cora and knelt next to Peter. "Help me."
Stiles grabbed Maggie's arm and pulled her away before she could do anything.
"What in the hell, Stiles?!" Maggie cried.
"Cora's unconscious, and all I have is a bat," Stiles told her. "You have magic, and we're gonna need that."
Maggie turned back to see Scott and Caleb being held by their necks against the wall.
She frowned. "But Scott and Caleb-"
"Is a werewolf and a warlock. Maggie, please. Human, unconscious werewolf. Kickass witch power would be great. Please?"
Maggie huffed. "Fine. But if Scott or my brother get hurt, that's on you."
"Understood."
"Ethan, Aiden, stop! You don't know what you're doing," Scott told them.
In a distorted voice, the twins said, "All we want is her."
Maggie and Caleb noticed the Darach in the elevator and blasted the door, attempting to stop it, but failed.
Stiles fell back due to the sounds and Maggie and Caleb shared a look, trying to figure out her next plans. Derek yelled, "Stiles! Maggie! Caleb!"
The giant werewolf appeared and Stiles snuck behind them. Maggie and Caleb snuck around behind them and knocked them down with a silent spell. Stiles hit them in the back of the head and broke Melissa's bat.
The werewolves growled at them. Stiles backed against the wall and pulled Maggie with him. Caleb followed. They ran to the opposite side of the room to where Derek and Scott were.
Scott saw a light and jumped up, knocking it towards the werewolves. They took the opportunity to run into an operating room.
"Where's the big guy?" Stiles wondered.
"He's close," Derek replied as Peter closed the doors.
"What about our teacher?" Maggie asked in a shaky voice. "We can't let her get away."
Scott hesitated at her words, and Stiles asked in an annoyed tone, "What do you mean? What does that mean? Like, she's gone? Scott, are you kidding me?"
"Shh, quiet," Derek ordered.
Stiles narrowed his eyes at him. "Me be quiet? Me, huh? Are you telling me what to do now? When your psychotic, mass-murdering girlfriend... the second one you've dated, by the way... has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?"
"Stiles, they're still out there," Scott warned.
Maggie glanced at Stiles and placed a hand on his arm. "We'll find him."
He sighed and nodded before turning back to Scott. "And... and they want her, right? Which means now we don't have her either, so my dad and Cora are both dead!"
Scott shook his head. "Not yet." He turned to Cora. "Is she really dying?"
Peter let out a sigh. "She's definitely not getting any better."
Calen glanced at Cora. "She's our biggest priority. We need to get her out of here and avoid a giant alpha. Sounds easy enough."
Jennifer's eyes narrowed. "You can't. Only I can. I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you... but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."
Derek lunged at her and Scott cried, "Derek, wait!"
He turned to Scott. "She was trying to get out."
"I was trying to keep from getting killed," Jennifer answered. "You can't blame me for that."
Stiles let out a sigh. "If you want to show you're one of the good guys, then heal her."
"Not until I'm safe."
Maggie glared at her mother. "Heal the werewolf!"
Jennifer shook her head. "Not yet. If you want her healed so badly, how about you do it? Or are you and your brother too weak?"
"We're not weak. But if you wanted some redemptive points, you'll do that."
Peter raised a hand into the air. "I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion. Let's torture her."
Derek nodded. "Works for me."
The PA system caught their attention as Melissa's voice came through. "Um, can I have your attention? Mr. Deucalion... excuse me, just Deucalion... Requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes."
Jennifer said, "He's not gonna hurt you."
"Shut up," Derek retorted.
"He won't! Scott, you know why. Tell them it's true."
They turned to Scott and Derek asked, "What does she mean?"
Jennifer smirked. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack."
She continued after seeing the confused looks they were giving her. "Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha pack. He wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of alphas to his ranks."
"A true Alpha," Peter said.
"What's that?" Stiles asked.
Peter turned to him. "The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another. One that can rise by the force of its own will. Our little Scott."
Scott shrugged off Peter's words. "It doesn't matter. We still need to get her out of here."
"Scott, your mom..." Stiles and Caleb warned.
Scott turned to Stiles. "My mom said there's one more ambulance coming in 20 minutes. And I don't think we've been here that long, so if we get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, we can get out of here."
Derek frowned. "The twins aren't gonna just let us walk out."
"I'll distract them," Scott replied.
"You mean fight them."
"Whatever I have to do."
"I'll help you. Maggie, Caleb, go with Stiles and Cora. They need someone who can protect them."
"Um, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you. Derek," Jennifer said.
Peter rolled his eyes. "I'll do it. But I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage."
Stiles frowned. "An advantage like what? You mean like a weapon?"
"Something better than a baseball bat."
"Hey, wait." Stiles picked up defibrillator pads. "What about these?"
Caleb glanced at him. "Do you know how to use those?"
"Well, no," he admitted.
"Put 'em down," Derek ordered.
"Epinephrine?" Scott questioned, holding a 50 mL syringe.
Derek sighed. "That's only gonna make him stronger."
"How strong?" Peter asked, taking the needle and sticking it into his heart.
He pulled it out and said, "All right, boys. Let's rumble."
Peter and Scott's eyes shifted and the Alpha twins came towards them.
Scott said to Maggie and Caleb, "Protect Stiles and Cora."
Maggie and Caleb nodded and followed Stiles and Cora to the garage. The four piled into an ambulance.
The boys placed Cora on the gurney and Stiles began rambling nervously. "Okay, okay, okay. We're okay. We're all right. You okay? How you doing? Wh -- why do you look like you're not breathing? Because you aren't breathing, are you? Oh, no. Oh, God. Oh, no, no, no, no. Why are you not breathing? Come on. Okay, okay, okay. You can do this. Here we go, tilt the head. Fingers on the chin. Clear the throat. Great, nothing. I see nothing. Okay, all right, so, uh... just pinch the nose and blow." He did so a couple times. "Oh, come on, Cora. Come on, Cora."
He continued trying to get her to breathe. "Come on. Oh, come on, Cora. Cora. Come on, breathe. Come on, Cora, breathe." She gasped and coughed. "You know, the next time I put my lips to your mouth, you better be awake."
Stiles glanced at Maggie to see that she looked annoyed. "You know I don't really want to kiss her, right?"
She nodded. "Sure."
"I don't."
"I get it."
Nothing was happening, and Maggie began counting medical supplies to ease her boredom. Stiles sat next to her and said to Cora, "You just hold on a little longer, okay? Trust me, if anyone's gonna get out of this, it's Scott. Can't believe I just said that. You know, I actually used to be the one with the plan. Well, or at least plan B. Now, I don't know. Now I'm thinking maybe you were right. You know, maybe... maybe we are pretty much useless. Maybe all we really do is show up and find the bodies. I don't want to find my father's body. You know, you're a lot easier to talk to when you're completely unconscious."
Calen noticed the Alpha twins walking past the ambulance at the opposite end. "Uh, Stiles? Maggie? We got a problem."
Stiles and Maggie glanced outside and muttered, "Great."
Someone pounding on the doors made Maggie jump and a voice yelled, "Stiles! Maggie! Caleb! Stiles, open up the door!"
Scott appeared in the window and they opened the door. "Sorry," Stiles apologized.
"Help me get him in," Scott told them.
They pulled Peter in and Caleb frowned. "Where are Derek and our... teacher?"
"I have to go back for them and my mom."
Stiles said, "Okay, two problems. Kali's got the keys to this thing, and we just saw the twins, like, 30 seconds ago."
"Stay here," Scott instructed.
Isaac appeared and Stiles and Peter got Cora into the SUV, since the ambulance was no longer an option. "All right, come one, come on, come on!"
"I got her," Peter said. "Okay, get the door."
Isaac turned to Stiles. "Stiles, let's go! Stiles!"
Maggie leapt from the ambulance and saw Stiles staring at something. He pointed to the 'Signature Parent or Guardian' line.
They shared a look, realizing what the Darach was after.
The two of them run back into the hospital, ignoring Isaac's calls.
"Mom," Scott said.
"Scott!" Stiles and Caleb cried. "Scott, wait!"
He paused to see Derek in the elevator.
"Mom! Mom!" Scott yelled.
The teens climbed to the roof and saw Deucalion.
"Scott," Stiles said as his friend moved towards the older werewolf. "Scott, don't do this. Don't go with him."
Maggie shook her head. "Scott, if you go with him, you're betraying your friends."
Scott shook his head. "I'm sorry, Maggie. This is the best choice I can think of."
"The best choice?!"
Stiles continued trying to reason with him. "No, there's g... Scott, there's got to be something else, okay? We always... we always have a plan B."
"Not this time," Scott replied sadly.
"Scott."
Scott turned to Stiles. "I'm gonna find your dad. I promise."
He followed Deucalion and Stiles called out after him. "Scott!"
Maggie glared after her friend then said, "We need to get Derek."
"Wait," Stiles said. "Is Ms. Blake really Caleb's and your mom?"
She nodded. "Birth mom who abandoned us."
"Kinda hate her," Caleb added. "Come on, let's find Derek."