A couple of days later, Sky finds herself sitting by the kitchen after a long day, happily munching away on a bowl of cereal, not bothered about the fact it was nighttime. She's just about to shovel another spoonful into her mouth when she hears the sound of her mom cursing to herself upstairs, accompanied by shuffling.

It doesn't seem like anything urgent is happening, the sound of her Mom swearing isn't exactly new, but she almost regrets not going up to check where she had been when Melissa eventually makes her way downstairs, saying nothing as she stares right back at Sky, whose heart thuds in her chest when a bag full of money is placed onto the counter with a thump.

Sky keeps her face neutral, glancing between the bag and her mother's stern gaze until she clears her throat lightly.

"Wow, what's that?" she asks innocently.

Melissa narrows her eyes at her daughter, then reaches into the bag and pulls a few stacks of money out, raising a questioning brow.

"That's a lot of money," Sky comments idly.

"Yes, it is," Melissa finally speaks her voice raising incredulously. "I'm just wondering where the hell my kids got it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, so Scott would have the same answer?"

Sky hesitates, "What were you doing snooping around in his room anyway?" she asks defensively.

Melissa lifts a victorious finger and points it at her, "How did you know it was in Scott's room?"

"Well . . ." Sky pauses, mind blank, though she's saved from answering straight away as the front door opens and Scott comes in, smiling at them in greeting. "Scott! Great timing."

Scott shoots her a confused look, but brushes it off as her usual behaviour, "Hey, sorry I'm back so late," he tells their Mom. "I was closing up at the animal clinic. I got more hours to earn a little extra. . . " he trails off, finally noticing the bag. "Money."

"How much more did you need?" Melissa asks.

Scott steps towards her nervously, "This is payment from the Deadpool. I found it in Garrett's locker," he tells her honestly.

"This belongs to Derek?" Melissa asks. She lets out a breath. "So, you're just keeping it safe for him in a gym bag underneath your bed?" When neither of them answers, she shakes her head, "How long have you had it?"

Scott sighs, "Too long."

"You know you have to give it back," their Mom says firmly.

Scott nods, "I was going to. . ."

"Do I want to know why you haven't?"

Scott and Sky share a look, "Because of you." Scott hesitantly answers.

"Me?"

"Mom," Sky says softly. "You think we haven't noticed?"

Melissa sighs, "You mean because we've been struggling a little?"

Scott sends her a look, "Mom, we're struggling a lot."

"Guys, you can save people's lives, but you cannot save them from life," Melissa lectures them. "Life is full of struggle."

"Preach." Sky mutters.

"But it doesn't have to be!" Scott argues.

"Honey --"

Scott cuts her off as he pulls some of the money out of the bag, "Do you know what just one of these can do? This gets us a new roof," he lifts another, then another. "And this pays for Stiles' MRI. This pays for Eichen House. And this one means you don't have to work the double shift at the hospital and come home totally exhausted."

Their Mom reaches into the bag and pulls another stack of money out, except this one is stained with blood, "What about this one?" she asks, leaving them in silence.

Sky can't help but speak up after a moment, "Uh, therapy?" She tries.

"Oh, please," Melissa scoffs. "Like we'd be able to drag you to therapy."

Sky scratches the back of her head awkwardly, "I meant for you."

"We're not keeping it," Scott finally says, sending their Mom a smile.

"Fine, but you're giving it back to Derek," Sky sighs, pointing to Scott. "And I guess I can get a job over summer."

***

"Lydia?" Malia calls out quietly. "Lydia."

The next morning, Sky glances up from her desk during class at the girl's words, confused as to why Malia looks excited, then understands when the teacher passes, placing her own test on her desk, stating she was graded an 'A-.'

With a grin, she turns to Ariel behind her and waves the paper excitedly, grinning wider when she sends her a proud smile.

"Did you hear me?" Malia continues until Lydia finally pays attention to her. "Look! I passed!"

Lydia squints at her paper, "C-minus."

Malia smiles, oblivious to how Lydia is unimpressed, "Your notes are great when they're not written in code," She says, but her smile drops when Coach passes and places her most recent test on her desk, an F.

Coach shakes his head, "Disappointed, Malia -- profoundly disappointed."

Lydia winces, "I'll send you my notes," she tells Malia, before her gaze drifts back to the front of the classroom, seeming to zone out.

"Or even better," Sky inputs with a wink. "I'll lend you Ariel's notes. I swear they're magical. She's the reason I'm not failing anymore."

Ariel rolls her eyes, "Don't give me too much credit, it'll go to my head." She mutters, then pauses, eyeing Lydia. "Hey, Lyds. You okay?"

"It's over," Kira assures from behind Malia, guessing where her mind had gone. "The computers are off. No more assassins. No more murders. No one's dying."

"Not yet," Lydia replies.

Sky stills, "Are you saying that as a Banshee or a pessimist?" She asks, sighing when Lydia just sends her an ominous glance.

"Okay, I'll just assume the latter then."

The bell eventually rings, signalling the end of class and the girls pack up. It's not until they leave the room within the crowds of students that Sky suddenly stops as if the fact nothing was going wrong for once just occurred to her.

"Wait a damn minute."

The girls frown and look at her in confusion, "What?"

"Oh, my God," Sky blinks, then smiles, facing Kira. "Kira, you are absolutely right."

"I am?" Kira says in surprise.

"Yes. It is over," Sky replies, and without any further explanation, she turns to Ariel and promptly picks her up over her shoulder, ignoring the girls startled noise as she spins around and jogs hastily towards the exit. No one tries to stop her.

"Skylar McCall!"  Ariel grumbles from where she hangs. "What do you think you're doing?"

Without letting her down, Sky taps her backside as she slows to a walk, "We have two free periods, so we are going on an ice cream date!" she declares, triumphant and determined. "And then we're gonna make out in the back of my car just like a normal couple. With no dead people ruining the mood. If Scott and Kira can find time for a date, so can we."

Ariel pauses at the appealing idea, before frowning again, "And why do I have to be over your shoulder to do that?"

Sky smirks, "It's the best view," she says, then squeaks when she feels a pinch in her side. "Hey!"

***

"Am I late? I lost track of time," Sky wonders as she rushes into the locker room a few hours later. She smiles, pleased when she sees she'd arrived just after Stiles and Liam. "Oh, I'm right on time. Awesome."

"Where have you been?" Stiles questions, narrowing his eyes at her in the suspicious way he does every time she disappears -- it never meant anything good.

Sky lips automatically turn up with a grin, "Well --"

"Wait!" Stiles stops her, holding a hand up to keep her from carrying on. "I don't need to know actually."

Sky scoffs, knowing exactly what he meant, "Oh relax, we weren't doing anything that exciting for your little teenage boy mind."

From beside them, Liam shakes his head, looking worried, "Stiles --" he starts.

"Everything's fine," Stiles assures him firmly. "I got a text from Scott this morning, and he said he might be a little late."

"Late isn't an uncommon thing for Scott, that's lesson number two," Sky tells the boy.

Stiles is momentarily distracted as he frowns at her in confusion, "What's lesson number one?"

"An apple a day will keep anyone away if you throw it hard enough."

"Guys," Liam stresses, frustration accompanying his worry. "How late is late? We're playing Devenford Prep again, and this time it's an actual game. He shouldn't be late!"

"Who shouldn't be late?" Coach asks, overhearing him. Sky levels Liam with a look, receiving a  sheepish one in reply as they turn to face Coach.

Stiles scratches his neck awkwardly, "Scott and Kira," he answers. "They might be slightly late."

"Slightly late is still late. What are they doing?"

The boys share a glance, "They're doing something that's going to make them slightly late." Stiles says.

"Gross." Sky whispers, lifting an exasperated hand to her face.

Coach still doesn't understand, "What could Scott and Kira be doing right now that's more important than playing in the first game?" he asks.

"Oh, Coach."

"I am going to --" Sky steps back and points to the door. "Go and get changed, and avoid any more horrifying awkwardness."

Stiles sighs, nodding, "Yeah," he mutters.

***

"They're still not here."

Sky groans, turning away from the field to face Liam as everyone sets up for the game, "Since when do you not have confidence in your own ability to play lacrosse?"

"It's not that --"

"Okay," Stiles turns to Liam. "What's really going on? Are you nervous about the full moon? It's not for another twenty-four hours." he tells him "Liam, you're gonna be fine. Okay? Just try not to rage out on anyone."

"Well," Sky drawls. "Maybe letting out a little rage on the opposition would be okay."

"No rage!" Stiles exclaims firmly.

"You're not worried?" Liam asks them.

Sky pauses, not sure whether to lie or not but Stiles beats her to it, "I'm mildly concerned," he relents. "Mildly."

Liam groans, "We're gonna lose without him."

"Ouch," Sky sends him an offended look. "Hit me where it hurts, why don't you?"

"We're not!" Stiles says with a matching look of offence. "We can be just as good without Scott, okay? I've been practising. Let me tell you something, I'm getting good -- really good." he declares.

Sky stares at him, "Can you run for more than twenty seconds now?"  

Stiles pauses, "Yeah, I'm gonna call Scott again." he sighs, reaching for his phone, trying to call both Scott and Kira. He frowns when neither picks up. "All right. Neither of them are answering. I gotta go see what's going on."

Hearing their conversation, Ariel steps down from where she had been sitting at the bleachers with Malia, "You mean 'we.'" she announces, appearing behind them.

Sky nods, "What she said."

Liam glances between them all, "You're leaving?" he asks incredulously. "What are you going to tell Coach?"

"Uh, you don't tell him anything, okay?" Stiles says, moving to leave, though stops for a moment and turns back to Liam. "Liam, you're gonna be okay," he assures.

"Possibly."

Ariel smacks Sky's shoulder and pulls her along, "You will be!" she calls back as they leave.

***

"Oh, no," Sky whispers once they reach Derek's loft. She steps in slowly as the others follow, ignoring Derek and Braedon, who are already there, as she takes in the room. The place is a mess, what she assumed was supposed to be a romantic scene with dozens of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, was ruined. Now, half of the lights are broken, and there's debris scattered across the floor -- clear signs of a fight. There's only a little comfort seeing that they obviously didn't go easily.

Ariel steps next to her, sliding a hand into Sky's, "This was a lot prettier when I helped him set this up," she says sadly. "I promised them a proper first date."

Sky glances at her confusion, "When did you have time for that?" she asks quietly.

"I'm a busy girl."

"What the hell happened?" Stiles breathes.

Derek looks around the loft, "It was supposed to be a date," he sighs.

 "And they were both here?" Stilinski checks as he also takes in the mess.

Braedon nods, "And they're both gone."

Stiles pauses when his phone rings, and he lifts it to his ear, answering quickly when he sees it's Lydia calling, "Hey --"

"Scott's been taken," Lydia says straight away, urgent.

Ariel and Sky still, looking grimly at the phone, Lydia's confirmation making it more real, "Scott and Kira." Stiles tells her. "We just don't know where."

"Mexico," Deaton's voice says over the phone. "And, if you want to save his life, that's where you're going, too."

Clenching her jaw, Sky looks between them, "We need a plan."

***

Whilst Derek and Braedon are working on their end, Stiles drags the rest of them to Sky and Scott's house so they can rummage through Scott's belongings

"Here, try that," Stiles tries, holding out a piece of clothing.

Malia sniffs it, then shakes her head, "Fabric softener."

"This is stupid," Sky scoffs angrily. "I don't need my brother's scent! I live with him."

"But Malia does," Stiles argues. "Remember, Scott's life is on the line," he pauses, nodding when Malia grabs a pillow from Scott's bed. "Yeah, that works, too."

With a roll of her eyes, Sky walks out of the room, heading down the stairs and ignoring Stiles's sigh as he follows, Ariel quiet as she sticks close. When she strides into the living room, Sky narrows her eyes when she sees Liam standing there.

"Liam," Ariel says disapprovingly before Sky can say anything she'll regret. "What are you doing here?"

Before the boy can reply, Stiles shakes his head, "Go home, Liam. You're not coming with us."

Liam frowns, "Why not?"

"Because it's a full moon, and I don't feel like driving all the way down to Mexico just to have you rip my throat out."

"Maybe I will," Sky mutters grumpily.

"You can lock me up, right?" Liam asks hopefully. "Chain me down to the backseat or something?"

"You tore through the last chains, remember?" Malia points out.

"Yeah," Stiles nods. "We would have to freeze you in carbonite to get you down there."

"Okay, then where do we get carbonite?" Liam asks them, oblivious to the Star Wars reference.

"Seriously?" Stiles says in disbelief. "You haven't seen it, either?"

"C'mon," Sky says impatiently, "I'm not standing around here talking about your nerd obsession whilst Scott's out there."

"Wait! What if we put me in the trunk?" Liam suggests.

Malia shakes her head, "You'd get out of that, too."

"Liam," Stiles says quietly, but seriously. "You've been a Werewolf all of five minutes. You don't have to do this."

"I know I don't, but I want to. There's gotta be bigger chains, a bigger trunk, or something!" Liam stresses, desperate to go. "There has to be."

"You really want to come?" Ariel double-checks, sharing a look with Sky and Stiles.

"Yes!"

Stiles glances to the side, an idea coming to mind, "Then maybe there is."