Chapter Text
Melissa was the first to exit the room when the screen faded to black. She went straight to her room, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.
She couldn’t believe what she just witnessed. First Scott had been pointed a gun at and threatened to be shot. She was furious with the hunter and felt she would never forgive but four long episodes made her focus on new things. She saw how good a person her son was. Scott showed his humanity repeatedly, even if he was beaten for it. He saved Isaac and Erika and somehow didn’t beat up Jackson, even if he seemed close to it. Scott wanted to find a way to end a monster and what did he get? A stab wound.
Yes, she was furious with Chris but what he did, was nowhere close to Gerard’s crime. When Chris attacked, he did it because he was an angry dad. It was a quick, stupid decision for which he at least showed some remorse. In some fucked up way you could say he did it so Scott would stay away from them and from especially Gerard, or Victoria who wasn’t so much better. She had some serious problems in her head if she was capable of hurting herself just for answers.
But now everything has changed in just the last five minutes. Everything else that happened before wasn’t important. The old man wasn’t an innocent soul, they all knew it before but he truly showed his true even sicker side in the end. His attack wasn’t to scare but to hurt, to torture. He killed because of disgust and hatred and not because he wanted to protect the innocents. That he made clear when he blackmailed Scott with her.
Melissa knew he had to speak with Chris. To know which side he was on. He couldn’t prolong the decisions. They almost caught up with the present. Now they had to make plans for the future.
Chris stayed in his seat. They all needed space and by then it was a silent decision about who would go where.
He hated watching himself. He hated how the actions he deemed necessary at the moment looked. He hated how Allison looked at him.
He did everything for her safety. He wanted her to keep in the dark so she didn’t have to get involved. Allison somehow walked straight into it. He chased Scott away, trying to save what he could. Allison started to resent him even more and just became sneakier. He wanted to teach her. He managed to do it in a way that helped nothing.
Chris wanted the best for his daughter but everything backfired. He was slowly losing her but had no idea what to do.
Or maybe he did.
Maybe he knew exactly what to do but didn’t know if he could.
Allison chose her side, she chose her friends and he wouldn’t be able to change that now.
He can’t get Allison back at their side, he can only join hers, but could he do it? Could he sacrifice everything he ever believed in?
Chris thought at the others. Melissa, who was always ready to fight for her son. David and Alice, who excused everything Jackson did out of blind love. Noah, who was always proud of his son. Natalie, who always helped Lydia in a way she could.
Gerard didn’t act how a hunter should have. He didn’t want to save others. He didn’t look haunted by a murder he never wanted to commit.
The man enjoyed killing. He enjoyed making people fear for his life.
Chris didn’t know when he started calling the creatures people instead of monsters, but he didn’t want to stop.
Maybe he didn’t have to betray the other hunters. They betrayed their cause a long ago. He wanted to do nothing with Gerard and his men.
His only goal now was to help his daughter.
The Whittemore couple sat down in the kitchen. They knew that they had to talk before they ate.
“We have to accept the fact that the Kanima might be Jackson,” David sighed
His wife stayed quiet for a while.
“Let’s say we accept it. Then what?” she shrugged “What will we do? Scott didn’t hurt anybody, it was easy for Melissa but Jackson,” she choked up “Why did he think it was a good idea?”
David couldn’t answer. Maybe they were too absent. Maybe they didn’t show him enough that they loved him. Maybe they didn’t say they were proud of him enough. Maybe they pushed him too far. Maybe they pampered him too much.
Maybe…
They didn’t know their son anymore.
And whose fault is that?
“We messed up, but we aren’t the only ones to blame,” David shook his head “He decided to bully, maybe we set him on that path by giving him too much but he decided to walk on it.”
“He’s stupid and scared.” Alice said “This doesn’t excuse his behavior but… when he thought he was dying he was scared. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
She saw him coughing up black goo. He wanted to be strong, to be fast, to be cool, to be enough… Bullying was stupid and his fault but all of this? He was manipulated. Derek should have never allowed him to get turned. He should have known better. Jackson was a stupid kid who didn’t understand what the consequences were. Why should be his first consequence death?
“If anything happens…” Alice looked up “We save our son first.”
David nodded.
The sheriff was walking around aimlessly in his room. He couldn’t sit down. Stiles got himself in trouble again. He had to watch somebody die. It was horrible that he couldn’t be there for his son.
Of course, he lied. That’s what he was doing constantly in the last weeks. Stiles was always in danger without the strength or accelerated healing factors that Scott had. He was always in danger.
Noah was terrified of losing his son. He was always scared that a criminal would get revenge on him by hurting Stiles but this was entirely different. If a monster would kill Stiles, he wouldn’t even know. He would have to live his life alone, thinking he failed to find the killer while the killer wasn’t even a man.
Stiles almost drowned because of his golden heart. While Noah doesn’t necessarily want Derek to die, he wouldn’t mind it if that meant his son would be unharmed. But no, Stiles would save anybody.
He was incredibly proud but he would rather be disappointed with a living son for not making the right decisions than be proud of a dead son for making it. Was it even the right decision if it put his life in danger? Maybe he was selfish for wanting his son to live but he didn’t care. He couldn’t lose his last family member.
The only thought that calmed him was that Stiles wouldn’t be attacked by the hunters since he was a human. He was half-sure Gerard was just scaring Scott with the threat of hurting Melissa. She was a human and that hunter didn’t want them dead. There isn’t a reason for him to hurt Stiles.
Maybe he was making excuses because he couldn’t handle acknowledging that Stiles could have been even in more danger than before. He didn’t care.
Somebody knocked on the door. He sighed.
“Come in!”
It didn’t surprise him that Melissa walked through the door. She closed it quietly and turned to him.
“We need to talk,” she said in a serious tone
“Look I don’t blame Scott,” he shook his head
He wasn’t sure if that was a lie or not. He understood Scott’s situation and acknowledged he was scared and didn’t think that Stiles would be in real danger but he still couldn’t entirely accept what happened. He knew he was biased and tried to tell himself he would be angry at Stiles if he did the same like Scott then but truth to be told, he would make up an excuse.
He didn’t have to hear the woman’s thoughts on it because she waved him off.
“Not about that, about Chris,” she sat down
Noah did the same and waited for her to gather her thoughts.
“I want him on our side,” she started “He wants the best for Allison, we want the best for our kids and they want the best for each other. We are all on the same side here,” she explained
“Look, he’d done worse things to Scott than to Stiles. It pisses me off too. Don’t think I will ignore his antics just because Scott is not mine but in the end, it’s your decision if you want him on our side.”
Melissa looked conflicted.
“He would be useful and I can see he hates Gerard and…” she sighed “He doesn’t hate Scott that much anymore. He seemed like he was actually remorseful, he doesn’t want Scott gone.”
“You hate this don’t you,” Noah looked at her
She pursed her lips.
“I hate Gerard, he hates Gerard. We have a common enemy and if he’s ready to change his behavior then we can work together.”
Noah nodded and smiled.
“Together.”
Natalie was pacing in the kitchen. The Whittemore couple was eating quietly their meal and pretended they didn’t see her freak out.
She was so happy Lydia was safe. She didn’t like watching the boys get into danger, she was quite fond of them but her most important priority would always be Lydia. She was happy that she finally figured out what happened the day Lydia was hurt but she still barely knew about the aftermath. Why was she in the middle of the forest? Why did she hurt herself? Why didn’t she remember?
At least now she understood her traumas but not the situation. She was quite sure Lydia wasn’t the kamina but then what? Did something change in her? Something must have or she wouldn’t hallucinate in every scene. They looked so scary.
Natalie hoped the boy could at least help her with something. She was quite angry that the boys didn’t care about Lydia enough. It was part of their fault she was caught in the middle of it. At least Allison was there but her hands were also tied. Maybe Lydia needed new people in her life, somebody who had normal traumas and not supernatural related.
She stopped when she saw that the others entered the kitchen. Melissa and Noah came from the rooms, they were talking with each other. It didn’t surprise Natalie, Scott and Stiles’ situation was similar.
Chris emerged from the theatre room too. They all sat down to eat silently. Everybody stopped talking but the silence was still deafening.
Natalie saw how Alice and David glanced at them and each other from time to time. As if they were their own team, distancing themselves from the others. It wasn’t anything new, but it was still unusually weird for Natalie.
The hunter and the nurse glanced at each other too, always when the other wasn’t looking. At least the woman could understand that. They needed to talk.
When everybody finished they still didn’t say anything. The Whittemore couple were ready to leave, they stayed because of courtesy. The sheriff waited for Melissa to start while she started at the hunter.
Natalie finally had enough.
“Oh, for the love of God, somebody say something!” she sighed
The others finally looked like they got out of their trance.
“I think we need to talk about our place in this story,” Melissa looked at the others “Scott, Stiles, and Allison a team. We don’t know a lot about Lydia at the moment but I’m sure that will change and somehow she will get closer to the others,” she nodded at Natalie
She made the same gesture. While the Whittemore couple glanced at each other again.
“We don’t have foolproof evidence of the identity of the Kanima but we have our guesses,” she continued
“I’m sure the next episodes will confirm the real identity,” Alice said
“Yes, and what I’m trying to say here, is that the children will help whoever is the kanima, so if I have to guess, I would say we should all be on the same side here right?”
Natalie was sure of her place. If Scott and Stiles would help Lydia then she would be with Melissa and Noah.
The Whittemore couple nodded maybe too quickly.
Now every eye was on Chris.
“We, as the hunters stood for something. Now I don’t see the cause I pledged my alliance to,” he looked at the others “I will help you against Gerard. He’s not the person I want close to Allison..”
The others made a sign of agreement.
“Then shall we go to sleep?” Natalie asked and the others said yes
As everybody went to their room, she found herself wondering what would happen to the Kanima if it ever hurt Allison. What would the hunter do? What would its parents do?
They made their promises but how long would that last?