Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Derek Morgan had been with the FBI for over ten years.

This – however – was not something he had any experience with.

“Put your hands on your head, sir” he says, aiming the gun at the man’s head. He looks young, even from behind, which surprises him.

“Can you give me another second?” he asks, the voice sounds familiar but he can’t quite place it.

“I have a gun aimed at your head, you sure you want to take another second?” he asks, the man sighs deeply, his back still directed towards Morgan.

“How about this? I put my hands on my head, but I finish talking. Words aren’t weapons – well – not towards you” he says, “And I will not move an inch, I swear.”

“You are currently holding a man hostage, and you are negotiating with me while I have a gun aimed at you?” he asks incredulously, “Are you kidding me?”

“In case you didn’t notice, Derek Morgan” he says, making it a point to call the man by name – showing he has an advantage - , “I do not have this man tied up in any way. The only thing holding him is a drawing on the floor. No rope, no weapons, nothing but my words.”

“It’s at your own risk” Morgan warns – although he wouldn’t really be able to justify shooting an unarmed man because he’s speaking. If that were the case, there’d be a lot more dead politicians.

“I’ll take that risk” he says, before continuing, “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,…”

He doesn’t hear the rest, because he’s too preoccupied looking at the man in the circle, and the cloud of black smoke shooting from his mouth.

The stranger stops talking, and the man in the circle drops to his knees, coughing loudly.

“Holy crap” Morgan looks at the hostage, gasping for air, and the stranger kneeling down and asking if he’s okay.

“Yeah” he replies, a shaky voice as he throws his arms around the stranger – his kidnapper? – and starts thanking him profusely.

“It’s okay, man” he smiles, “I’ll handle this. They can’t touch me.”

“And why is that?” Morgan asks, raising his arms again and pointing the gun at the man who is now slowly turning around.

“Cause, I’m one of them” he says, a smug grin on his face and a badge pinned to his belt, “Officer Stiles Stilinski, long time no see.”

[...]

“So - the kid from Beacon Hills, right?” Garcia asks as she types in the guy’s name, “You know that his story checked out, right?”

“Yeah, but - just to put my mind at ease” he explains, “It’s been driving me crazy.”

“Sure” she smiles, typing away at her computer, “Stiles is a nickname, right?”

“It is, but I assume it’s on file” he reassures her, “Besides, how many Stilinskis can there possibly be, right?”

She hums in agreement as several windows flash open on her screen.

“OKay, let’s see what we got here” she says, “Age twenty four. Engaged to Malia Tate. He - wow, impressive - he just made detective. Youngest in LAPD history. He worked as a sheriff in his hometown, replacing his dad because he was shot. That was only a temporary thing, though. Did some cases as a PI before taking a job at the LAPD, immediately on a fast track to become a detective. Six months after starting there he broke a major case, and that pretty much sealed the deal for his promotion.”

“Engaged to Malia Tate, have you got anything on her?” he asks, she nods, once again typing away.

“Malia Tate, age twenty four. She was in a car crash when she was nine, lost her sister and mother. She survived but - wow - she, they only found her when she was sixteen. So she survived in the woods, on her own, for almost seven years. She and Stiles bought a house together at college.”

“At college? How did she afford that?” he asks, peering at the screen.

“Ow - her biological father killed her adoptive father about two years after she came back. She sold her dad’s house to buy the place. Oh, get this. Stilinski and a girl named Lydia Martin were with her when she found her dad” she nods towards the screen, showing him a picture of the three people in question, “But there’s nothing iffy there, Derek.”

“You’re sure?” he asks, she nods.

“Yeah - even his former bosses and teachers say that, even though he can be an annoying little shit, he’s the best at what he does” she shrugs, “What were you expecting to find?”

“I’m not sure” he sighs, “Something you wouldn’t be able to explain?”

“There’s only one thing like that” she says, pulling up another file, “When he was seventeen he was diagnoses with dementia. The special kind that affects kids, apparently the same kind that killed his mom when he was eight? Well - he was cleared of it completely. He was in an institution for a while, at the same time as his girlfriend.”

“So he healed from a disease you can’t heal from?” he asks, she nods and he frowns, “Interesting.”

“I don’t know, man” she concludes, “He seemed like a nice guy when we met him. You’re probably just imagining things.”

“Yeah - probably” he says, “I just feel like I am missing something from last night.”

“Missing something like what?” she asks, he shakes his head.

“Something like memories.”

Chapter Text

“We’ll be working with the LAPD for this case” Hotchner informs them, “Wheels up in twenty.”

_

“Welcome to our lovely precinct” the man welcomes them with a smile, “I left the latest crime scene intact for you guys. Couldn’t keep the others, it was starting to smell.”

“What have you got so far?” Spencer asks, taking the file the man is handing out, “Any suspects, or leads?”

“I have a guy going through security footage” he says, “And a few suspects, but none that match completely. The current theory is that there’s two of them - working as a team or something.”

“Interesting” Spencer looks at the file, “Can we talk to your forensic?”

“Sure” he smiles, pulling out his phone and dialing a number - putting the conversation on speaker. It takes about two rings before the person picks up.

“Lyds, BAU is here” he says, the woman on the other side of the line sighs deeply, “I told you they were coming, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah” she replies, “Give me a second to make some room, okay? I’m working on a deadline here.”

“Any progress?” he asks, she snorts.

“Nothing you would understand, Stiles” she replies, there’s some shuffling on the background, “Oh, before I forget. Breaden and Derek are coming through town again, he tried contacting you guys but the line was busy.”

“Right, Malia had a little mix up with the business” he explains, “I’ll let her know… does he know yet about you and Jordan?”

“Doubt he cares, Stiles” she sighs, “We broke up three years ago. Anyways, let’s stop discussing this while you have me on speaker, and send them down here.”

“Got it” he grins and hangs up, “Queen Lydia will see you now.”

“Thanks” Spencer and Alex exchange a look, “Where exactly is it?”

“Sorry, I’ll have someone - ,“ he looks around for a second, “Reno, show ‘em to Lydia’s dungeon, will ya?”

“Sure thing, Stiles” the man replies, walking over to them and nodding towards the two cops.

“I assume agent Stilinski and Lydia know each other outside of work?” Alex asks, the man snorts and nods.

“They go way back” he explains, “But I should warn you. You better call her miss Martin, Stiles is the only one who gets away with calling her Lydia.”

“Yet everyone seems to call him Stiles” Spencer observes.

“When he asks you to call him Stilinski, shit’s about to go down” he smiles, opening the door for them, “This way.”

[...]

Hotchner and Morgan visit the crime scene as Garcia - who travelled with them - settles into their computer hub office.

“Nice lay out you got” she says, admiring the office, “Impressive.”

“Thanks” he smiles, “I brought in a few contacts, got a friend who graduated at MIT. Well, a few actually. They set me up.”

“Well, give them my gratitude” she says, stretching her fingers as she sits down, “I will get to work immediately.”

_

Morgan can’t help but listen in as he waits outside Stilinski’s office. He’s in deep discussion with a man roughly his own age, hunched over pictures and gesturing wildly with his hands.

“No - I’m telling you, Scott” he says, “It’s not! The Wesley pack passed through weeks before it happened, so it can’t be them. Chris says he’s tracking a loose alpha, closing in on him. But it’s not an alpha doing this, I’m certain.”

“Well, it’s not wild animals either” Scott - probably - argues, “They’re not indigenous to the area, and the wounds don’t match. So, what can it be?”

“I got Lydia going through the bestiary, so that’s something” he says, “But it can be just about anything. Maybe just a type of were’ we haven’t seen yet? I’m running DNA on the hairs we found, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Okay, let’s continue this later” Scott says, “I got to go operate on a cat, and someone’s waiting to speak to you.”

[...]

“Well - that was brave” Morgan comments, “Stupid, but brave.”

“Shut up” Stiles groans, trying to sit up in the hospital bed, “I saved your ass.”

“Yes you did” he comments, “thanks. But it was still stupid, we had the guy surrounded.”

“He set up a trap, remember” he shakes his head, “So they couldn’t even come barging in.”

“I know” he pats his back, “It’s good to have you back.”

“Uh oh” his eyes widen, “How long was I out?”

“Two days” he replies, frowning.

“Aw, fuck” he sighs deeply, slumping down in the bed, “Fuck, fuck, fuck. She is going to kill me.”

“Who is?” Morgan asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I may have missed my own wedding” he says, “Again.”

“I’m sure your fiancé will understand” he says, glancing towards the hallway where a woman is pacing back and forth.

“Oh, it’s not Malia I’m worried about” he says, “It’s Lydia. She planned the wedding. She is the one that’s going to kill me.”

“Ow - well, good luck with that” he gets up, “I’ll let you talk to your girl.”

“Thanks” he smiles, “Tell your guys I said hi, okay?”

“You can tell them yourself later, they said they’d drop by after closing the case officially” he says, “See you later.”

_

“Guys, this is my fiancé, Malia” he introduces her to the rest of the BAU, “You met her a few years back, when you were handling a case in Beacon Hills. And then you have Scott, Kira, Derek, and Breaden.”

“I don’t think I’ve met Breaden” Spencer comments, giving her a smile in greeting. She’s a pretty girl, with a scar across her neck from some kind of animal attack.

“I’m new” she says matter of fact, she’s standing close to Derek and - even though they’re not touching - they’re clearly intimate with each other. She’s checking her clock and then turns towards the man next to her, “I have to go” she says, Stiles just nods and she gives Derek a quick kiss before taking off.

“You should probably go with her” Scott says, “She’s tracking someone for Chris, might need some back-up.”

Derek nods, then turns and leaves as well.

“So - feeling better?” Alex asks after a moment, Stiles nods.

“Much” he says, “I just hope Lydia isn’t too angry at me.”

“Parrish will talk to her” Scott says, “And Lydia is very understanding in that part, remember? She’s just - a bit busy at the moment.”

“Right working on a deadline” Kira adds, “When is it again?”

“Nominees will be announced next month, so she’ll have to finish by the end of the week to be considered” Stiles says, “Trust me, I am well aware.”

“What’s next month?” Hotchner asks, Kira is the one to answer.

“Field medal nominees” she says, “Lydia is a math genius, she has been working on this for two years now. I’d tell you what it was about if I actually understood, but I don’t.”

“And she still has time to do forensics for you?” Spencer asks slightly surprised.

“I only call her in on the weird cases” Stiles informs them, “I got another one working full time, but Lyds sees special connections, and when I’m out of my debt, I call her in.”

“I see” Alex smiles, “Well, she certainly proved her worth.”

[...]

Chapter Text

The next time Derek Morgan sees Stiles Stilinski is on a holiday. He’s off hiking in a preserve in the woods, and of all places, he runs into the kid and his friends there.

Who are - is that girl carrying a blade on her back? The redhead Lydia is holding a bat, Breaden is packing guns, as is Stiles. The others are surprisingly unarmed.

“Are you following us again?” Stiles asks, studying him, “Cause, it is starting to look that way, you know?”

“How about I just go this way, huh?” he suggest, sighing, “I’m on a break, this is my holiday, so I’m going to go this way.”

“You aren’t” Scott says, he sounds surprisingly authoritative.

“Excuse me?” he frowns, pulling up his bag and regretting not going for a beach holiday.

“Sorry, dude” Stiles shakes his head, “We’re not here on a holiday. If you value your life, you are sticking with us.”

“Care to elaborate?” he asks, watching Scott straighten up and turn around as if he heard something.

“Rogue omega” he says, “Been stuck in wolf form for some years, starting to go feral. Tracking him down to change him back. Sadly, we’re not the only ones looking for him.”

“You’re hunting a wolf?” he asks, trying to figure out if he should call for help - maybe a few therapists.

“A werewolf” Stiles informs him, “So, it’s a bit more complicated.”

“A werewolf, sure” he snorts, “Got any other monsters you’re hunting? Maybe a banshee?”

“Hey, what did I ever do to you?” Lydia asks, crossing her arms in dismay, “And werewolves aren’t monsters.”

“Not all of them, at least” Stiles says, “I know some cool werewolves.”

“How did you ever make detective?” Morgan asks, “How the fuck did you pass a psych evaluation?”

“He’s not insane” Malia says, “We’ve just seen more.”

“A lot more” Stiles adds, to which Malia flashed her eyes bright blue and Scott crouches down, both looking to their left.

“We caught a scent” Scott says, “Kira, you stick with Stiles. Malia, tag Morgan and Lydia, you’re with me.”

The kids nod in reply and take off in different directions, Malia standing firmly by his side.

“So - werewolf huh?” he asks, trying to sound casual.

“I’m actually a werecoyote” she says, “That’s why I lived in the woods for nine years, I was stuck in coyote form.”

“Okay” he rolls his eyes and she grins.

“You still think we’re crazy, don’t you?” she asks.

“No, of course not” he replies, she snorts again and shakes her head.

“You do” she smiles, “I can hear your heartbeat accelerate when you lie. I can smell a slight hint of fear on you. But that’s okay, you know.I mean, Stiles said we could trust you. The only reason he wiped your memory last time was because I asked him to do so.”

“Wiped my memory?” he follows her instinctively when she starts walking again, “How the hell - wait - is that why I couldn’t remember exactly what happened?”

“Probably” she says, turning towards him, “And you won’t be able to not believe anymore now.”

“Oh yeah?” he sighs, “And why is that?”

She doesn’t say anything, instead her entire face shifts. Her eyes brighten, her ears go pointy, her face scrunches up and she grows fangs.

“OKay, maybe you aren’t crazy” he relents, following her as she runs off.

[...]

They decide not to wipe him after their encounter in the woods. They decide it’s practical to have an inside man on the FBI, someone they can contact if a case turns out to be their kind of business.

Morgan freaks out for a bit, but in the end he reacts surprisingly well. He asks a lot of questions, puts their phone numbers in his cell phone and they stay in touch. He’s invited to Stiles and Malia’s wedding, which finally happens on their third attempt. After working another case together, Stiles starts calling him Denzel. He calls Stiles Beaconboy when he finds out what exactly Stiles is.

[...]

Chapter Text

They work another case together a few years later.

“Amanda was taken while on her way to school” Hotchner says, projecting her picture on the wall, “Twelve years old, single dad reported her missing as soon as the school called to ask about her absence.”

Stiles is sitting at the end of the table, fidgeting with his phone as Hotchner presents the case to them.

“She is the third one to be taken in the last month” he continues, “First one to disappear was Amelie, age ten and Julia, age thirteen.”

“All girls” Spencer observes, “Although they are close in age they are clearly very different in appearance.”

The door opens and a woman walks in, a gloomy look on her face, “We just got a call” she says, “They’ve found a body matching Amelie’s description.”

_

They arrive at the scene twenty minutes later, Stiles goes pale when he sees the girl lying by the side of the river.

“I - I think I’m gonna puke” he says, turning around and bolting to empty his stomach.

JJ approaches him, “You okay?” she asks, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah” he swallows, “Just - need to call my wife for a second.”

“Okay” she smiles, “Cases like this tend to get a little too close to home, huh?”

“Yeah” he agrees, pulling out his phone and taking a few steps away from the crime scene.

“Hi there babe” he sighs, “Sorry, we found Amelie. Right.”

He leans against a tree, rubbing through his eyes with his hand, “Just - checking in, you know? Got me thinking about - you know” he pauses, “Yeah, I know. You okay? Feeling better? Okay, remember I’m only a phonecall away, right? Is Lydia still there? Can you give her for a second?”

There’s another pause as he waits for Lydia to take the phone.

“Hi there Lyds” he sighs, “I know we normally don’t get - exactly. Find me what I need, will you? Thanks for staying with Malia, by the way. I appreciate it.”

There’s another pause and he ends the conversation, returning to the scene right after. He takes a few notes, asks some questions and gets the uniformed cops to work, gathering evidence and doing bag and tag.

“JJ and Blake, you go interview the parents” Hotchner delegates, “Spencer, you call Garcia and start tracking her last movements. Morgan and I will be going back to the precinct with Stiles to go over the evidence again.”

His team nods and then they take off.

_

They hit a dead end, and although some decide to go over the evidence together, Stilinski chooses to go home for the evening.

“If it was any other day I’d stick around” he says, “But I haven’t seen my wife in three days and I kind of miss her.”

“Of course” Hotchner nods, “You go home, we’ll call you if we find something.”

“Okay” he smiles, “And I got the casefiles on my computer, so I’ll probably be going over them at home too.”

He returns the next day early morning, right after an anonymous tip about Julia comes in.

“Good morning” he’s carrying a tray of coffee cups and places them on the table in their meeting room, “No worries, Juan is right behind me with breakfast.”

“Thanks” Morgan says, taking a cup of coffee and smiling appreciative at him.

“Heard we got a tip?” he asks, sitting down and taking his own coffee, “We looking into it?”

“Spencer and Blake are following up as we speak” Morgan says, “You get some sleep?”

“Not at all” he smiles, “Well, a little bit. But never enough, you know.”

“I know” he replies, his phone dings and he checks it, “They’re bringing in a suspect.”

Stilinski is good at interrogation. Morgan had assumed, since he became a detective soon - he was only twenty six right now - but he’d never seen him in action. He gets the information they need and Morgan and Spencer go out to arrest their second suspect.

“I’m dead on my feet” Stilinski says, “Going into the field like this only puts myself and you guys in danger.”

“I agree” Hotchner says, “We’ll stay in and look into our suspect’s background, see if we can find a trigger.”

They’re about halfway through when a woman walks into the office carrying a lunch bag and a grin. She is also quite clearly pregnant.

Stilinski smiles at her, then frowns as she hands him the bag and he looks at it, “Holy - my dad put you up to this, didn’t he?” he asks, the woman smiles sweetly.

“He said, and I quote, that now you’re going to be a dad, you’ll need to change your eating habits so you’ll be around for a very long time” she says, “Nobody says no to the sheriff, remember?”

“I do” Stiles shakes his head and gives her a quick kiss, “How did you get here?”

“Breaden gave me a ride” she says, “She had to be here for a case anyways, so it wasn’t a problem.”

“She got a new case?” he asks, “Already? I thought she only just closed the Murphy case.”

“You know her, not the one to sit still” Malia says, “Speaking off, I need to sit down.”

“Right” he leads her to a chair, “Oh, right. Agent Hotchner, this is my wife, Malia. Malia, this is Hotchner.”

“From the BAU” she nods, “I remember. He was there when you missed our wedding the first time.”

“First time?” Hotchner asks, “There were more than one?”

“Regrettably, yes” he replies, “We don’t mention it.”

“Which reminds me, Lydia says you should call her” she says, “She found an artefact and needs your help to check if it’s the real deal.”

“I’ll give her a call as soon as possible” he nods, and she glances over at the files, a protective hand on her belly.

“Any extra leads?” she asks, he nods.

“We’ll find them. Both, alive” he says, “You know I will.”

“I do” she smiles, a soft knock on the door.

“I’m finished, ready to go?” another woman - probably Breaden - asks, Malia nods and gives Stiles another quick kiss before following her outside.

“Sorry about that” Stilinski says once she leaves, “It’s just that - well.”

“NO worries” Hotchner replies, “How far along is she?”

“Any day now” he says, scratching the back of his head, “It’s - uhm - we told as little people as possible, high risk.”

Hotchner nods in understanding, he starts saying something, but is interrupted by Stiles’ phone.

“I - uhm” he holds up his phone and then answers it, turning his back towards Hotchner to get a little privacy, “What do you mean, just now? She was here, just now! Okay! I’ll come, I got a bag in my trunk, so don’t worry. Yeah - see you soon.”

“Everything okay?” Hotchner asks, Stiles turns back towards him, a little startled for a second before nodding.

“Yea, I got to go” he says, “My wife - yeah” he sticks his head out the door, calling for a colleague who walks in immediately.

“Tina, you can take over for me” he says, turning towards Hotchner again, “She knows the case inside and out, and she thinks the same as I do. Call me with, no, text me with updates. Call me when you find her!”

“Sure thing, Stiles” Tina smiles, “I got this, you go!”

He smiles at her, kissing her cheek, “Thanks” he says, before taking off.

[...]

Stiles picks up his phone as soon as it rings, glancing at Malia who is currently holding their newborn daughter.

“Stilinski” he says, “You found her? Bringing her to the hospital as we speak? Okay!”

“They found her?” Malia asks as Stiles takes their daughter into his arms, “Is she okay?”

“They both are” he informs her, “They’re bringing her to the hopsital as we speak, so they might stop by.”

“Maybe after the pack visits” she says, “You know I don’t like the smell of hospitals.”

“I’ll send a message to Hotchner” he says, “He’s got a kid of his own, according to our background check. So does JJ, by the way.”

“I know” she says after a moment, “Did you call everyone?”

“I called Lydia and told her to spread the message” he informs her, “much more effective.”

“True” she says, watching her husband pace back and forth holding their daughter in his arms, “We should probably agree on a name, huh?”

“Probably” he says, “I was thinking – after my mom? Claudia?”

“Yeah – that’s cool” she says, “Middle name?”

“Allison” he says, “Honor the fallen.”

“Claudia Allison Stilinski” she says, “It’s sound good.”

“Or – we call her Allison Claudia, AC for short” he says, “I mean – I want to call her after my mom. But it seems – I’d hurt too much to call her that, I think.”

“AC” she says, “Lacey?”

“Yeah – Lacey Allison Claudia Stilinski” he says, “It looks like we finally agreed on a name.”

“About time, I guess” she says.

“She has your eyes” he says, “And your monthly temper, it seems.”

“You can tell?” she asks, frowning slightly since she hadn’t been able to tell herself yet.

“I draw supernatural creatures to myself, remember? So I – it’s hard to explain” he thinks about it for a moment, trying to find the right words, “It’s like I can sense the energy inside her? The potential, I guess.”

“I suppose that makes sense” she muses, taking the child into her arms again, “She’s tired.”

“So are you” he notes, she smiles and gives a nod, “I’ll put her in the crib. Let you two sleep, and then I will pay the BAU guys a quick visit.”

“Okay” she says, handing him the baby and watching Stiles put her into her crib, “Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams, babe” he says, planting a kiss on her forehead.

[…]

“Stilinski” Spencer is the first one to spot him, “Where did you run off to?”

“Family emergency” he says, it’s a go to phrase – most people are afraid to ask what exactly happened and usually respond with –

“I hope everything’s okay?” Spencer says, Stiles smiles and nods.

“It is, got there just in time” he explains, although Hotchner is the only one who knows what he means by that. Even Morgan doesn’t know about the baby – their priority was making sure she was safe, mostly from surrounding packs who felt easily threatened by the expansion of a stable pack like the McCall’s. Even if it was just a baby. Werewolves were sometimes completely bonkers, you know!

“So – enough chit chat. Please tell me we got them” he says, glancing through the door at the two little girls. They’re sharing adjoining rooms, both accompanied by their parents sitting by their bedside.

“We did” JJ says, “Morgan and Blake are on the scene, helping to collect evidence. Your appointed replacement proved very valuable.”

“I only work with valuable people” he responds, “Well – except for that one guy, but we booted him out.”

“You have a special insight into these cases” Spencer says suddenly, “I’ve studied your closed cases, you seem to notice things a lot of others seem to miss.”

“That’s what makes me the boss, I guess” he grins, “Well, mostly. I make the boss look good, as you all know.”

“Not into politics?” JJ asks, Stiles snorts.

“Hell no” he says, “I’d never be home. Besides, I don’t need the politics to help people. Why do you think I worked as a PI for a few months, first.”

“Why is that?” Hotchner asks curiously, “You did that after taking a temporary job as a sheriff, right? You had a lot of job offers after that, but you got a PI license instead.”

“I was working a case” he says, “I got (worked against) sabotaged by the bureaucracy, so I decided to handle the case on my own. I cracked it, too. Turned out that the guy at the top of the bureaucracy, the assface working against me, was the one I was looking for.”

“I read something about that” Spencer says, “But your name was kept out of the press.”

“Yeah, he had a network” he explained, “I didn’t want to risk them coming after me and my family. But enough about that, let’s go close this case.”

[…]

Chapter Text

“Beacon boy” Morgan says when Stilinski finally picks up the phone, “I got a case that I think might be your thing. An old friend sent me the file, asked if I had any special insight. I’m forwarding them to you, if you don’t mind taking a look.”

He checks out the file, and it’s definitely his kind of case. It is also eerily familiar, although he doesn’t quite know why. Part of it reminds him of the Mute, and for the rest he can’t quite put his finger on it.

It’s extremely frustrating.

“I’m looking into it” he says, somehow ending up with his answering machine, “Definitely our kind of thing, I’ll let you know as soon as I got something for you! For now, stay away. The MO reminds me of a gun for hire I dealt with once. He’s like a ghost, be careful!”

“Morgan! God, I hope you get this in time. Don’t go in. I swear, if you go in you’ll. Just wait, okay? I’m on my way, I’ll be right there and-,” he sighs heavily, stopping halfway and pausing at the door, “– who am I kidding. Of course you’re already inside. There’s lives at stake. Just – be careful, okay?”

He starts running again, trying to find his car in the parking lot – not sure why he always forgets where he parks him, and deep down knowing he won’t get the message in time, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’ll fix it. I swear to god! Just, don’t get shot. From what I’ve read these assholes poison their bullets, don’t.”

He hangs up after that, when he gets to the place it’s flooded with cops, and ambulances. He sees Morgan being loaded into an ambulance, one of his BAU colleagues – he thinks her name is Garcia – sitting by his side and looking worried.

Morgan – somehow still conscious – spots him and gives him a weak smile and a nod, Stiles nods back.

It’s an understanding – he’ll be okay.

Everything will be okay.