pointing to each deputy as he spoke to them. "It's the coldest night of the year so far. So if he is out there barefoot in just a t-shirt, he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast."

Meilani followed after Noah when he jerked his head towards his office and leant against the front of Noah's desk while he shut the door behind the three of them. She picked anxiously at the skin around her fingernails and jumped slightly when Isaac wrapped his hand around hers to stop her from doing so. 

"Sweetheart, is there anything that you need to tell me that I can't tell anyone out there?" Noah asked, his voice gentle as he looked at her sympathetically. He knew how strongly and deeply the McCall girl and his son felt towards each other. It was no secret that the two teens were in love and were that couple where everyone just waited for Stiles to get down on one knee and propose to the girl.

"Lydia also knew Stiles was missing," Meilani responded quietly, tearing her gaze from her fingers over to Noah. "She's working on helping us look for him right now. I had Isaac call Derek and Allison for help on the ride over."

"Can either of you find him by scent?" Noah questioned, eyes bouncing between the two teen wolves. "Meilani, you're an alpha, right? Your senses are a lot stronger?"

Before Meilani could open her mouth to reply, Parrish knocked on the door and he stuck his head into the office. "Sir, we found it. We got the Jeep."

It didn't take long for Noah, a few deputies and Isaac and Meilani to show up at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital where Roscoe had been spotted. Meilani barely had her leg off Scott's bike before she was slamming her feet into the pavement to run up to the Jeep that Noah already stood next to, inspecting the inside. Her heart dropped to her stomach when he turned to her with a grave expression.

"Meilani, it's dead. He must have left his lights on."

"Why would he come here?" Meilani mumbled, freezing when she caught a certain scent from above her. She nodded for Noah to go on ahead inside without her while she dragged Isaac by the wrist up to the roof where she saw Derek stood in the middle, eyes scanning around slowly.

"He's not here, Mei. Not anymore."

Meilani let out a sound of anger and kicked the closest thing to her, which just so happened to be a gate that kept people out from whatever machine was placed inside of it. "The whole building? Are you sure?"

"Gone," Derek replied, keeping his back to Meilani and Isaac. 

"I'll go tell Noah," Isaac offered, going to take a step back towards the door when Meilani gripped onto his wrist again. "Lans?"

"See if you can find Allison, too. She stopped answering her phone," Meilani instructed, letting go of the blue eyed wolf's wrist and walking over to join Derek in the middle of the roof. She could smell Stiles' usual cologne and Roscoe lingering around the roof. It meant that the boy had been up there at some point during the night.

"Notice how strong the scent is right here? Ever hear of chemo signals?" Derek inquired, glancing to Meilani who nodded in response. "Chemical signals that communicate emotion. Just our sweat can give off anger, fear or disgust. Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel."

Meilani sighed and closed her eyes, deciding to appease to Derek because he probably had a reason behind giving her a lesson on something she already knew about. She took a deep breath in through her nose and picked up the usual sour smell that came with stress or anxiety. The same exact scent that Meilani had smelt coming off Stiles in waves for weeks. "Stress and anxiety. What was he doing up here, Der?"

Derek frowned and shook his head, feeling awful that he couldn't do more for Meilani in the moment. "I don't know. There was definitely some kind of struggle, though."

Meilani scanned the area and didn't see any sort of blood or broken fences on the roof. It looked like it normally did with its miscellaneous leaves or dirt spots that had yet to be power hosed away. "With who?"

"Himself."

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Meilani had met back up with Noah when he got a call from Lydia about knowing for a fact that Stiles was at some mental institution in town called Eichen House. What Stiles was even doing there in the first place was beyond Meilani and Noah, but they sped over to the place. Derek had already left for the high school by that point and Meilani had sent him a quick text to let him know where they found Stiles to be.

Meilani had been right behind the squad car the whole time and clutched the handlebars so hard she was shocked she didn't snap her brother's handlebars in half. The time seemed to slow around her and she felt like the distance to Eichen House was way longer than it actually was. Then again, anxiety tended to do that to you and Meilani just wanted to find her boyfriend and never let him go once she did.

"Lydia," Noah said, approaching the strawberry blonde flanked by  two deputies and Meilani. "I don't want to say are you sure about this but . . . "

"No. Stiles is here. I swear to God he's here."

Noah didn't have to be told twice as he pushed open the massive iron gate with the words EICHEN HOUSE spelled along the arch of the fence, the deputies, Lydia and Meilani not too far behind him. He ran through the double front doors and into the spacious foyer area where a nurse receptionist sat in the small station in the corner. "I need access to all basement rooms in this facility."

The nurse was slightly spooked by the determination and sternness to Noah's voice, but he buzzed the group through and motioned for them to go through the gate to his left.

Lydia lead the way through the gate and through the looping hallways until they came across a darkened area, with a large white door at the end that more than likely lead to the basement. She stopped for a second as she glanced around the area as if something would pop out before she lead the group down the rest of the way to the large door at the end.

Noah clutched the flashlight in his hand and reared back, kicking his foot forward to open up the basement door. He pounded down the wooden steps as they creaked beneath the weight of Noah, the two deputies, Lydia and Meilani.

"Sti?" Meilani yelled out into the darkness of the dusty and filthy smelling basement of the mental facility. She used her wolf senses to see her way through the dark better than the flashlights ever could. Multiple generators lined in a row were to the group's right and other miscellaneous machines and items were sporadically placed around the room, some covered by dust encrusted white sheets. 

Meilani tried to single out Stiles' scent, but she couldn't smell him anywhere in the basement. Cue her anxiety spiking once again that night as she walked up to Lydia who stood in the middle of the basement. "Lydia? Anything?"

Lydia's chest heaved slightly as frustration came off her strongly, her eyes frantically scanning the entirety of the basement. "I don't get it! This has to be it"

Noah breathed in harshly through his nose and Meilani frowned at the anger that slowly began to seep into his features. "Then where is he, huh? Where is he? Where is he?!" He sobered up once he saw Lydia stumble away from her at his harsh tone. "Lydia, I - I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you."

Meilani wiped at her face as she felt the tears well back up in her eyes at the thought of Stiles not being here. They didn't know where he was or where he possibly could be. The longer they took to find Stiles, the less of a chance they had at finding him alive. She couldn't handle losing Stiles. She just couldn't.

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Just when Meilani thought all hope was lost, she had gotten a call from Melissa that her and Rafe found Stiles. She didn't even let her mom tell her where or why she was with Rafe, just begged her mom to tell her where they were. Her and Rafe had apparently taken Stiles to the hospital to get checked out since it had been so cold and he was just in a dark blue t-shirt and dark blue plaid pajama pants. 

The minute Meilani and Lydia got to the hospital with Noah, Meilani rushed right into her mother's arms and let out all the tears she'd been holding back the whole time they'd been looking for Stiles. Lydia had stepped away for a minute to call Isaac and had Derek and Aiden come back to the hospital to see if they could jump start Stiles' Jeep so he could drive it home whenever they let him go.

Meilani wasn't sure how long she'd been in Melissa's arms. She just knew she had cried herself dry and the only thing keeping her sane was the soothing circles Melissa rubbed into her back and the fact that Stiles was okay. He was breathing and he was somewhere in one of the hospital rooms. He was okay. 

"He's sleeping now," Noah announced as he walked over to the McCalls and Lydia who all stood up the second Noah approached them. "He's just fine. He doesn't remember much. It's a bit like a dream to him." He glanced over to Melissa and Rafe who both wore equal looks of relief that the Stilinski boy was truly okay. "Thank you."

"It was that repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out. I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it over the phone," Rafe waved off, referring to how he had seen the call log between Meilani and Stiles and had put two and two together. Guess he earned himself a point in the dad department.

"No, it was more than that. Thank you."

"It was a lucky connection."

"McCall, can you shut up please and accept my sincerest gratitude," Noah huffed, holding out his hand for Rafe to shake.

Meilani's red rimmed eyes trailed from her father and over to the man that had quickly become like her second father once her real one left. She just wanted the two to get along - or at least try to - because Noah, much like Stiles, was a big part of her life. It would be real awkward if her father couldn't even get along with her boyfriend's father.

"Accepted," Rafe replied, clasping Noah's hand and shaking it with a small smile. 

"Alright, you two, you got school in less than six hours. Go home and get some sleep."

"Wait, I wanna see Stiles, Mom!" Meilani argued, flinching at the stern look she got from Rafe at her outburst.

Noah nodded his head in the direction of Stiles' room. "You can see him before you leave, Meilani. Thank you for caring enough about my son to run around for the past two hours for him."

Meilani walked into Noah's open arms and buried her face into his chest, relaxing slightly when he squeezed her tightly. Something that he always did with her, teasing that he was going to squeeze all the love out of her. "Anything for my favorite Stilinski boys."

"Lani, I'll wait for you outside with Aiden. We can follow you home to make sure you get there okay," Lydia stated, rubbing the McCall girl's arm as she passed her by to walk on ahead without the girl. 

Meilani let out a shaky breath and quietly pushed open the door to Stiles' room, the room dark and the boy's head turned away from Meilani as soft snores escaped past his lips. She closed the door behind her and walked over to Stiles's bed, clutching his hand into hers as a small whimper escaped and she pressed her forehead to his chest. The steady beat of his heart wasn't even enough to settle down Meilani's racing one. 

"God, you big idiot," Meilani whimpered brokenly, clutching Stiles' hand harder but not enough her wolf strength would kick in. She wished he could be awake and hold her in his arms, pressing kisses to her hair as he mumbled to her that it would be alright. However, he was put to sleep with a sedative and wouldn't be able to do that at all. She didn't even know if she'd believe him if he were even awake to do that. 

"You need to stop scaring me like this, Stiles. I can't handle watching you like this or handle you being taken. Not when these stupid Onis are out there trying to find someone to be their evil freaking god. You have no idea how worried I've been the past two hours and just the thought of you being dead . . . " Meilani broke off as another sob escaped and she lifted her head from her boyfriend's chest, wiping furiously at her soaked face for the second time that night. "I can't handle losing you, babe. I just can't. I - I'm petrified of losing you and I don't know what I'd do if I did."

Meilani sniffled and grabbed a nearby tissue to blow her nose, tossing the tissue into the small circular bin that rested next to Stiles' bedside table. She closed her eyes for a minute and willed her heart to relax now that she saw Stiles and could see he was truly okay now. He was breathing and alive and wasn't six feet under right now. She bent down to press a soft kiss to Stiles' cheek, brushing back his fluffy brown hair that fell limply instead of it's usual pushed back style from his face.

"I love you, Stiles. Don't give up on me," Meilani mumbled into his skin, slowly pushing away from him and turning away from him. No matter how hard it was to do just that.

⏤⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤⏤

The next morning, Meilani and Isaac had informed Scott on everything that had happened while he was asleep. He was pretty upset neither one of the wolves had decided to wake him up while his best friend was missing. However, Meilani told him that they had had enough hands on deck to search for Stiles and that Allison also had been asleep the whole time. Her phone had been turned off for whatever reason and had gotten strange voice mails in Japanese. 

It didn't really make Scott feel any better about not being involved, but he did let it go and hugged Meilani when he noticed how distant and exhausted she was. The girl had tossed all night and didn't sleep at all after she had gotten home from the hospital. Her mind raced with worry over Stiles and over the whole Nogitsune threat that now lingered over the town of Beacon Hills. It could go after anyone and Meilani couldn't even begin to imagine just who could harbor the evil spirit.

School kind of dragged for Meilani as she trudged throughout the school in between her classes. Scott and Isaac tried to keep her upbeat, but nothing they did worked. She was numb to all emotion at the moment and would just rather be curled up in Stiles' side instead of in a building where she could barely even concentrate.

Lydia had stuck to Meilani's side for most of the day, especially with them having most of the same classes. She had been abnormally quiet and looked just as distant and out of it as Meilani did. Meilani had noticed it even more when Lydia walked up to Meilani's locker with her and stared ahead of her with confused and scared look on her face.

"Lydia, seriously. Are you okay?" Meilani asked, placing her books into her locker that she no longer needed for the day. She took out her final two notebooks for the day and tilted her head when she noticed Lydia flinch at the sound of a locker being shut down the hall.

"I'm just a little hyper-sensitive to loud sounds today," Lydia replied, jumping when another locker closed nearby.

Meilani frowned, but decided to leave Lydia be for the time being since she had more things on her mind, especially with Deaton still looking into stuff for her. "Um, they're doing tests on Stiles all afternoon. I was going to go over there around six to visit. You wanna come hang out with me?"

"I should probably just go home," Lydia whispered, flinching once again at another locker sound.

However, this sound Meilani didn't hear and glanced around her to see that it was just her and Lydia in the hallway now. No one was around to make any sort of sound and Meilani wasn't making much of a sound at all as she placed books into her bag. "Lyd, are you sure you're okay? You can talk to me, you know that. We're best friends."

"I know. I'll text you later, Mei," Lydia said, turning and walking away from the true alpha who watched the Martin girl in confusion.

Was everyone going crazy now?

⏤⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤⏤

Meilani couldn't get to the hospital fast enough with Scott and all but threw herself at Stiles when she saw him up and awake. He had clutched onto his girlfriend when she wrapped her arms around him, kissing the side of her head and mumbling to her that he was okay. He didn't look or sound okay and she had called him out on his bullshit. It had gotten a small laugh out of the boy and he hadn't let go of his girlfriend until the doctor came in to tell Stiles it was time for his MRI scan where Noah, Scott and Melissa both waited for him in the bright, white room.

"Okay, I'm not sure how to pronounce this or if it's not actually a misspelling," the doctor said, tilting his head at Stiles' real name on the file.

"Just call him Stiles," Noah told the doctor.

"Stiles," the doctor said, earning the boy's attention from where he sat on the bed for the MRI machine. Meilani was sat next to him, cuddled into his side while they waited for it was time for him to go under the small space of the MRI machine. "Just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. Uh, if you want we can get you earplugs or headphones."

"Oh, no, no, I don't need anything," Stiles quietly responded, his hand absentmindedly drawing soft shapes into Meilani's side as she clutched his other hand in hers.

"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window, okay?" Noah informed his son, running a hand over Stiles' hair before he exited the room with Melissa. 

Stiles exhaled heavily and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Meilani's head, holding her closer to him as his eyes trailed over to a nervously fidgeting Scott who stood before the couple. "You guys know what they're looking for, right? It's called Frontotemporal Dementia. Areas of your brain begin to shrink. It's what my mom had.  It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers and there's no cure."

Meilani squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away but it was too late as some fell down her cheek and onto Stiles' hand that she clutched in her hands. She blinked her eyes open and glanced over to Scott who stared sympathetically at his twin, knowing how much pain she's been going through lately. Especially now if they found out Stiles had what his mother had. 

"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something," Scott promised his best friend, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Stiles and Meilani.

Meilani sniffled quietly and sat up straight, keeping her hand clutched around Stiles'. She offered him a weak smile that looked more like a grimace than anything else. "I'll do something. I won't be getting rid of you that easily." 

Stiles glanced between the twins and slowly nodded after a moment, allowing Meilani to bring him into her shoulder as she hugged her boyfriend tightly to her. The two allowed their tears to shed and clung onto each other as if their life depended on it. "I love you, baby. So much."

"I love you, too," Meilani whispered, relaxing a bit when Stiles pressed a tender kiss to the side of her neck. 

"Hey, what about me?"