CHAPTER TWENTY THREE:
CODE BREAKER, PART ONE
Brooke fell in and out of consciousness a few times. The first time she came to, she saw Jackson's frantic eyes in front of her face. She tried to tell him to leave her, to just get Lydia. Brooke would heal.
Her eyes rolled back into her head before she got the words out. When she woke up again, a soft humming was coming from her right. Brooke opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the bright lights around her.
Turning her head to the right, Brooke saw the familiar figure of Melissa McCall holding a clipboard in one hand and checking the machine beside her with another.
"Ms. McCall?" Brooke asked groggily. She tried to push herself up onto her elbows, but a stinging in her shoulder made her wince. The sound caught Melissa's attention and she instantly went to the young girl's side.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Melissa said. Brooke shook her head. She knew the bite would be gone within a few hours. She tried to sit up again. This time she was successful, despite Melissa's warning and the pain covering the left side of her body.
"Where's Lydia?" Brooke immediately asked. Melissa diverted her eyes. "Where's Lydia?"
"You two were attacked by an animal," Melissa said. "Unfortunately, her wounds are much deeper than yours. She's... in a coma of sorts. Her body isn't reacting to any of the medicine we're giving her."
"I need to see her," Brooke said immediately. She began pushing the blankets off her legs, but Melissa's warm hands stopped her.
"No, Brooke you need to rest," Melissa said. "You'll be able to see her later. I don't think her condition is going to change anytime soon."
"But—" Brooke began to protest but shouting from the hallways interrupted her.
"What happened to them?!" Sheriff Stilinski's angry voice rang through the hospital.
"This isn't my fault!" Jackson yelled back. Brooke made a move to go the hallway again, but Melissa stopped her. Brooke begged Melissa with her eyes, but the nurse just shook her heard.
Brooke heard Jackson tell the sheriff who they went to the formal with, and hearing Stiles' name instantly sent her into a panic.
He had left with Peter! There was no way to know that he was safe. Brooke knew she couldn't trust Peter not to hurt him, she had clearly learned her lesson with her best friend laying in a hospital bed.
Brooke turned to Melissa. "Can you tell Jackson to come in here?"
"You really should get your rest, Brooke," Melissa sighed. Brooke begged her with her eyes, willing her to understand how important it was. Melissa sighed again. "Fine, but I'm only giving you a few minutes."
Jackson stormed in the room a few minutes later, eyes desperately looking over Brooke's body for injuries. "Brooke, I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I..."
"Jackson, it's okay. I'm okay," Brooke said. Her eyes glanced towards the open door and she shifted herself closer to him, lowering her voice. "I need you to do me a favor. Go to my house, and grab me some clothes, okay? Something I can run in."
Jackson looked at her in confusion. "What, why?"
"I can't stay here, Jackson," Brooke said. "This bite will be gone in a few hours, and I'd rather not explain to a hospital of nurses and doctors how it healed so quickly."
Jackson nodded and went to leave. When he was a few feet from the door he turned back around. "Is Lydia's going to heal, too?"
Brooke looked at him helplessly. "I don't know. Not everyone survives the bite."
******
About ten minutes had come and gone since Jackson left. Brooke was now fully sitting up in bed, one leg hanging off the edge as it bounced up and down.
She was feeling antsy, just sitting there not knowing how Lydia was doing or where Stiles was. Heck, she didn't even know where Scott was. Just as Brooke decided Jackson was taking too long and she began to reach for her IV, Melissa McCall walked in carrying a black purse.
"This is yours," Melissa said, holding up the small object. "Someone must have dropped it off once they heard where you are."
Brooke to the purse from her. "Thanks," she said softly. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She had approximately thirty texts from different classmates, but she frowned seeing that none of them were from Stiles or Scott.
"I called your dad," Melissa said.
"What?" Brooke asked, snapping her head immediately to the nurse in front of her.
"Yeah, since I had his number from sending him the formal pictures," Melissa said, clearly not seeing the worry on Brooke's face. "He told me he was getting on the first flight he could."
Brooke tried not to groan out loud. Of course, she wasn't planning on hiding her stay in the hospital from her dad, but she knew he'd be freaking out if anyone besides herself called him.
"I'm going to try and give him a call," Brooke said. "Maybe he's still at the airport."
Melissa nodded and took her cue, quickly leaving the room but leaving the door cracked. Brooke immediately dialed her dad's number and he picked up after only a few rings.
"Brooke, honey?" Brian asked frantically. "Are you okay? Melissa McCall told me you were in the hospital?!"
"Dad, calm down. I'm okay," Brooke said. "It's nothing I can't heal from. I'll be fine by tomorrow."
Bryan let out a sigh. "I'm still coming home," he said. Brooke went to protest, but Bryan kept talking. "I know you're okay, but that doesn't mean you're safe. If you got injured in the first place, that mean's something's going on. I get back to California around seven p.m. your time tomorrow."
"Okay," Brooke sighed. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Bryan responded. "Stay safe."
Seconds after Brooke hung up the phone, a large howl rippled through the air. She grasped her head as the sound echoed in her skull. A sharp pain went through her head, and when she opened her eyes there was no longer a hospital room in front of her. Instead, she saw a dark room. It was made mostly of wood and there were cobwebs covering everything.
Derek, Brooke instantly realized. But where was he? She urged him to look around so she could see more of his surroundings. As if he heard her wishes, her vision turned side to side as she saw more of the room. Brooke gasped loudly, the basement!
She tried to stand out of her bed, but the pounding in her head didn't let her. The beeping on the machine next to her increased and Melissa McCall came rushing back in the room. "I told you to rest," Melissa said.
"No," Brooke shook her head. "I'm fine, it's just a headache. I need to—"
"You need to lay back down," Melissa finished for her. She gently guided the blonde back to a laying position, and before Brooke could argue, she fell back asleep.
******
The second time Brooke woke up in the hospital, it was to yelling.
"It's a good thing we're in a hospital, because I am going to kill you!" she heard Sheriff Stilinski yell.
"I'm sorry, I lost the keys to my jeep. I had to run all the way here," a familiar voice said. Brooke's head was still groggy, but her heart still skipped a beat at the sound.
"Stiles, I don't care!" the sheriff yelled back. "What happened? Why weren't you with one of them?"
Brooke sat up quickly, desperate to make sure Stiles was safe and uninjured. She winced as she slid the IV out of her hand and unclipped the heart beat monitor from her finger. She left her room quickly, ignoring the fact that she was only wearing a hospital gown.
"Are they going to be okay?" Stiles asked.
Sheriff Stilinski sighed. "Brooke woke up, but we're not sure about Lydia."
Brooke appeared into the hallway as the sheriff spoke her name, and Stiles instantly noticed her over his shoulder.
"Brooke!" Stiles yelled. He quickly pushed past his dad and engulfed her in a hug. She returned the hug just as tightly, burying her face into his neck. They stood there for a second, ignoring everyone else and reveling in each other's safety.
They pulled back and Stiles' hands went to Brooke's face. "You're okay," he breathed. She nodded breathlessly and he dipped his head to kiss her forehead.
"What about you?" Brooke asked. "Did Peter hurt you?"
Stiles shook his head. "No," he said, trying to keep his heartbeat even. He didn't want to tell her that he almost took the bite from Peter. "I'm fine."
Brooke threw her arms around him again, but pulled away quickly and looked towards the sheriff. "Is Lydia going to be okay?" She asked.
The sheriff's eyes lingered between the two's proximity for a second before moving his eyes and answering Brooke's question.
"They don't know," he answered honestly. Brooke felt her heart deflated. Stiles grabbed her hand in his, trying to comfort her. "Partially because they don't know what happened. She lost a lot of blood but there's something else going on with her."
"What do you mean?" Brooke asked. The sheriff looked around the hallway nervously.
"You shouldn't be out of your room, Brooke," he tried to convince her. She stood her ground, her determined expression never wavering. "The doctor's say it's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock."
Brooke's stance wavered a bit and she fell against Stiles' chest. The sheriff told him to take her back to her room, and he followed his orders. They had put Brooke back into her bed, but she stared in front of her, not acknowledging them and trying to hold back tears.
"Brooke?" The sheriff asked gently. She looked up. "What happened? Did you see anything?"
She looked at Stiles and then looked down. "Uh, no. I don't remember. Sorry."
The sheriff nodded. "Stiles?"
He shook his head. "No, I have no idea."
"What about Scott?" the sheriff asked. Brooke looked up.
"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.
"Do you know if he saw anything?"
Stiles looked at Brooke in surprise. "He's not here?"
Brooke shook her head. The sheriff told them he'd been calling non-stop with no response. Stiles sighed and explained how he lost his phone.
Before the sheriff could respond, Jackson walked into the room with a bag in his hands. The sheriff excused himself, but not before warning the boys to not take long since Brooke needed her rest. They nodded in response, knowing nothing of the sort was going to happen.
"I'm going to change real quick," she told the boys. "Then we need to get out of here."
Stiles quickly left to talk to his dad, but Jackson lingered in her room for a second.
"Yes?" Brooke asked.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen," he said, eyes looking everywhere but at her.
"I know," she responded, a sad smile on her face. He left quickly after, leaving her to get dressed. She pulled out the clothes he brought for her and was pleasantly surprised. Turns out Jackson doesn't have bad taste when it came to women's clothing.
Brooke was in the middle of pulling a tank top over her head when Stiles came running into her room. He instantly blushed at the sight of her without a shirt on, but his eyes quickly focused on the prominent bite mark on her shoulder.
"Why hasn't it healed yet?" Stiles asked softly.
Brooke shrugged on the jacket Jackson packed for her, not meeting his gaze. "It's from an Alpha. It will take longer."
Stiles shook his head, remembering what he came into to tell her originally. "Kate started the Hale house fire."
Brooke lowered her gaze as she pulled her hair out of the up-do it was in.
"You already knew?" Stiles asked. "And you never told me? After everything?"
"I had a feeling," she answered quietly. "I wasn't one hundred percent sure. Derek and I decided to keep it quiet."
Stiles nodded his head, still clearly upset. Brooke sighed and quickly pulled on a pair of boots. When she was done, she walked to Stiles and grabbed the hand he was dragging over his head.
"Stiles," Brooke said softly. He met her gaze. "I trust you. This has nothing to do with that, okay?"
Stiles nodded his head. Brooke heaved a sigh in relief. "Derek's at the Hale house," Stiles told her.
"I know," Brooke said. "Scott's there too. We have to leave. Now."
The two left the room quickly, sneaking past the nurses so Brooke wouldn't be stopped. Somehow, they made it past the nurses, but they didn't make it past Jackson.
"Where are you two going?" He asked as he followed them down the hall.
"To help Scott," Stiles answered quickly. He pulled on Brooke's hand to make them go faster.
"You don't have a car," Jackson reminded them. "Here, I'll drive. Come on."
He put a hand on Brooke's shoulder to slow them down, and Stiles instantly knocked it off. "Just because you feel guilty all of a sudden doesn't make it okay, alright? Half of this is still your fault."
Brooke tightened her grip on his hand. "Stiles," Brooke warned. "He does have a car."
Stiles and Brooke had a silent debate, and eventually Stiles rolled his eyes. "Did you bring the Porsche?" Jackson held up the keys. "Good, I'll drive."
Jackson didn't get the chance to argue. Brooke turned to see Chris Argent and two other hunters blocking their path.
"Boys. Brooke," Chris Argent greeted them. A glimmer of realization flashed through his eyes as they fell on Brooke. "I was wondering if you can tell me where Scott McCall is."
"Scott McCall?" Stiles asked. "I haven't seen him since the dance. Brooke?"
She shrugged. "No idea. Sorry, Mr. Argent."
"Hmm," the hunter responded. He turned his attention to Jackson with a raise eyebrow.
"Jackson, you?" Brooke asked.
His eyes flickered between each of the hunters. "Uh... I, um," Jackson stuttered, not able to come up with a lie.
Brooke and Stiles exchanged a look, the former rolling her eyes.
"Oh, for the love of God."
******
the last episode of the season.... can you believe???
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