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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN; 18

Jackson tapped his dress shoes on the white tile floor, biting down on his chapped lips as he waited for the elevator to open. The back of his neck was burning, whether it being a side effect of dropping to the ground faster than ever possible when he saw blonde and strawberry blonde hair tangled together with blood or because the marks Derek inflicted on him were burning. All he wanted to do was see them. So, as soon as the door opened up, he walked out, his head whipping around to look for anyone that would give him answers.

"Where are they? Where is she?" Jackson shouted to no one in particular. Everyone seemed to direct their eyes to a room to the left of where he was standing. He turned his head to see that there were two girls laying side by side, looking as if they were dead. He went forward, wanting to see Lydia and Sage up close, but his body was pushed back and he was facing the Sheriff.

"Hey, hey! What the hell happened to those girls?" Sheriff snarled, pointing a finger at Jackson. Stiles' dad would be lying if he said his heart was pounding when he got a call saying two teenage girls were found unconscious and injured. He prayed that it wasn't anyone he knew, but he had a rude awakening when he got there to see Sage and Lydia being rolled off.

"I—I just... I went out look for them—" Jackson stuttered, trying to figure out a way to explain himself.

Sheriff wasn't having it. "What? You just happened to wander out in the middle of the field and you just found them there like that? Don't lie to me, son!"

"No, I—"

"What happened to her?" Sheriff growled, grabbing hold of the teenager to shove him into the wall. He was beyond livid at this point, mostly because he needed to find out who hurt the two girls in the room behind him. He hadn't even realized he said her instead of them.

"It's not my fault!"

"Lydia's your girlfriend! That's your responsibility!" Sheriff yelled.

"No, she is not, okay? She didn't go to the formal with me. Sage wasn't even with me!" Jackson pleaded, getting annoyed that all of the blame was being placed on him with he didn't do anything.

"Then who were they with?" Sheriff demanded, never loosing his grip on Jackson.

"Do you really want to know?" Jackson asked. Sheriff raised his eyebrows and Jackson sighed. "Lydia went with Stiles. She went to the dance with Stiles. And Sage was with him before she disappeared."

"What?"

"Stiles took her. Besides, I'm pretty sure Sage got into a fight with him right before she left."

Sheriff released Jackson, backing up as he tried to comprehend what the boy just told him. Turning towards the deputies that were flanking behind him, he muttered out the words. "Somebody needs to find my son."

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When her eyes shot open, all she could see was blaring lights. At first she thought she was still on the lacrosse field and no one had come to help them, but when she heard the familiar beeping of a heart monitor, she knew that she was in the hospital. Even in the building, she managed to hear a faint howl through the open window, and she picked up that it was Scott. There was an extreme pain all throughout her body, and she couldn't even manage to keep her eyes open. Taking a deep gulp of air, her hands gripped the sheets and she looked over to her left to see Lydia laying there, completely still while her mother smoothed her hair.

"Lydia," Sage croaked out, reaching her hand over to try and touch the girl. Lydia's mother's body whirled around, mouth going slack as she stared in shock. Mrs. Martin then rushed out the door without a word, no doubt going to get a doctor. Sage flinched when she moved her side the wrong way, another ripple of pain surfacing around the injury.

Walking into the room was most likely her doctor since he wore one of those professional white coats that make them look like marshmallows. Sage was more focused on who followed behind him. Sheriff Stilinski looked as if he were about to push the doctor out of the way just to get to her but he kept his cool, trailing silently behind.

"Miss Connelly, it's good to see you're awake. We weren't expecting you to be responsive so soon. How are you feeling? We've given you a few doses of pain medication. Ms. Martin and yourself took quite a beating," Her doctor announced. Sage bit down on her tongue to keep from telling him that the medication they gave her didn't work for shit because she still felt like she got ran over by a train a couple thousand times.

Looking back over at Lydia, completely forgetting her own health, she asked, "How is she? Is she okay?"

"Ms. Martin has yet to wake up. Right now, we're concerned about you and what happe—"

Sage sat up, holding her breath for a few seconds when she felt her head start to pound. "Where's Stiles?"

"We're looking for him now," Sheriff butted in. The doctor looked annoyed that the man interrupted him but gave Sage one last look before exiting, leaving the two alone. "Sage, I need you to tell me what happened. People are saying that you and Stiles had a fight right before this happened, and he took Lydia to the dance—"

"No, no, no," Sage denied, shaking her head but quickly regretting it. "He was trying to help us. I don't know what happened. And the fight was over something stupid, I was drunk— he didn't do anything. You've got to believe me."

"I bel—"

Sheriff's sentence dragged off when his eyes caught sight of Stiles emerging from the elevator. Sheriff quickly ran out of the room, grabbing hold of his son. Stiles opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes caught sight of Sage and Lydia lying there, and the situation got all the more real. Sheriff wasn't having it, pushing his son back so he couldn't get a clear view of them anymore.

"You know what? It's a good thing we're in a hospital because I am going to kill you!" Sheriff hissed, making sure his voice was hushed to a whisper so people around wouldn't hear him. Sage watched, wishing she could hear what they had to say. Her eyes darted over and she hadn't even realized Jackson was standing there staring at both her and Lydia. The side of his mouth twitched when he saw her look at him.

He looked traumatized.

"I—uh," Stiles gulped, "I'm sorry, I lost the keys to my jeep. I had to run all the way here."

"Stiles! I don't care!" Sheriff yelled, then immediately regretted it when he saw the loo on his son's face. Stiles stared defeated over his dad's shoulder, watching as Sage's face contorted in pain.

"Are they going to be okay?"

Sheriff sighed, glancing back as well. "They don't know. Sage just woke up. They lost a lot of blood, but there's something else going on aside from the replica of injuries."

"What? What do you mean?" Stiles demanded. He'd already suspected that they would be suspicious about how Lydia and Sage had the exact same wounds, he was more worried about how Peter managed to bite Lydia and if she would turn into a werewolf. More importantly, if that can be transferred onto Sage since her abilities are still trying to reboot.

"The doctors are saying it's like Lydia's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock, but the every single time that happens, Sage does the exact same. But the doctor's already confirmed that Sage isn't having the same reaction as Lydia. It's like... it's like Lydia is triggering Sage to do the same, if that makes sense. They said it's because they were both together at the accident," Sheriff explained, repeating what the girl's doctor told him just a few minutes prior to Stiles arriving.

"Wha.." Stiles' mind couldn't wrap around the news. He still wasn't an expert at all of this, and he definitely didn't know enough about what Sage was to be able to help. His father noticed his look of distress and took that as a sign to ask what he's been meaning to question him.

"Did you see anything? I mean, do you have any idea who or what attacked them?"

Stiles hesitated, wondering whether or not he should tell his dad about Peter. All he could think about though was the alpha ripping his father and the whole department to shreds. "No, no I have no idea."

"What about Scott?"

"What do you mean, 'what about him'?" Stiles persisted.

"Did he see anything?" Sheriff asked, raising his eyebrows. He tried to reach as many people he could, but most people didn't see anything involving Lydia or Sage.

Stiles eyes widened. "Is he not here?"

"What are you talking about? I've been calling him on his cellphone. I've gotten no response," Sheriff told, looking at his son like he was crazy. Stiles noticed Jackson was standing near the windows, his attention going from Lydia to their conversation. Giving a shrug, not sure what to do, Jackson shoved his hands into his pockets in defeat.

"Yeah, you're not going to get one."

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Sage sat up when Jackson stepped into the room. He walked over to the side of her bed, but not without sparing Lydia a glance. He grabbed a hold of the top of her bed, staring at her for a few seconds before his eyes drifted down to where her injury was. She knew that he was wondering what happened, and more importantly how she got hurt. Grabbing a hold of his jacket, she tugged him down so that no one else would be able to hear their conversation.

"Jackson, I need you to get me out of here."

Jackson stared at her like she was crazy. "You were almost killed, and you want to try and get killed again?"

"Yep, pretty much. Now will you help me? Because if you won't, I can get Stiles," Sage deadpanned, waiting for him to make the decision. As soon as he started to sigh, she knew that she had him.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Distract the doctor, find Stiles, and you two wait for me. Okay?"

"How are you going to get out of the IV—" Jackson watched as she expertly pulled the needle from her arm, acting as if she'd done it a million times before. To be honest, Jackson wouldn't be surprised if she had. The surface of her skin broke, and it started to bleed but Sage grabbed the end of her covers, putting pressure down on the wound. "Like that. Okay. That's disgusting."

"Man up, Whittemore," Sage hissed, kicking her leg out of the bed. Jackson watched in concern as she sucked in a deep breath before standing up. The way they were standing, the doctors wouldn't be able to see that she was actually up, they'd just see Jackson standing over her bed. "Give me your jacket."

Jackson pulled the jacket off his shoulders, handing it over to Sage. She put her hands through the holes one at a time, careful not to make any sudden movements that could injury her even further. When it was on her, completely covering up the hospital gown they put her in, she stood on her tip toes to try and see who all was outside.

Most of the people were deputies, only a few doctors were actually present in the hallway. The only good thing was that Sage knew her way about the hospital after visiting so many times. Looking over at Jackson, she gave a small nod and he walked out of the room, creating a diversion.

And she was able to sneak out of the room, taking a cut down a hallway, pulling her blonde hair even further in her face. Now she just needed to figure out where Stiles was. Sheriff refused to let him see her, dragging him away before he could make an attempt into the room. When she made another sharp turn, she took hard hit as she ran straight into another person.

When she saw the formal attire, she knew that it was either Jackson or Stiles. Raising her head, she breathed out in relief when she saw it was Stiles. "Oh, thank god."

Stiles gaped down at her with wide eyes, exactly like she'd imagined he would. Then without warning, he bent down to kiss her, grabbing her face and crushing their lips together. It hadn't been as warm or gentle as the times they normally found themselves in a situation like this. This time he was eager to let her know that he was pissed she nearly died, and pissed even more that he nearly lost her. Reluctantly, the brunette boy moved his hands off her cheeks and pulled himself away, still finding himself enraged at the girl for almost dying— even more so, he was enraged that he couldn't save her like he wanted to.

"Don't ever do that to me again. I thought you were doing to die!" Stiles hissed. Sage raised her eyebrows at him, wondering why he was yelling at her when she didn't intentially try to get herself nearly killed by Peter. His face softened when he saw her that she wasn't opting on arguing right then, and brought her into his chest. He hadn't even minded that his only sight was blonde hair. "You scared the shit out of me, you know?"

Sage put her face in the crook of his neck, feeling bad about what she had to say next. "Then, I suggest you don't kiss me again until all of this is over, because I'm going with you to find Scott. He's looking for Derek, isn't he? I heard the howls from our hospital room."

"He left the dance, but I didn't get a chance to ask him why. Peter is trying to track down Derek and Scott because he needs them to kill more people. But Sage, there's something you need to know about the Argent's. Kate, actually," Stiles filled her in, pulling away from her body as they stood in the hall near the wheelchairs.

"What? What happened?" Sage questioned, wondering how in the hell anything could even be relevant to that woman aside from how much of a psychotic bitch she was. The teenage boy went to speak but got cut off when Jackson rushed over, joining in the conversation as if he had been there the entire time. Stiles clacked his tongue in irritation, still not over the long-lasted feud the two of them shared, before grabbing a hold of Sage's waist, helping her walk through a door that led to yet another hallway. She still wasn't capable of standing, no matter how much determination and strength she believed she had.

"Where are you two going?" Jackson questioned, following behind them as Stiles started to pick up his pace. The last thing that he needed was the blonde next to him actually considering letting Jackson anywhere near their supernatural problems. He caused enough damage already just by simply knowing about it, which meant that if he actually got his hands dirty, all hell would break loose.

"To find Scott," Stiles responded, looking down at Sage when she winced in pain. The blonde gave a slight nod, letting him know she was okay to keep walking. She just hoped the stupid marks would heal and she could walk properly without fearing she would collapse and die.

"You don't have a car."

Stiles scowled. "I'm aware of that. Thank you."

"Hey, look. I'll drive," Jackson decided, putting a hand of Stiles' shoulder to get him to slow down. Stiles whipped his head around, coming to a complete stop as he glared at Jackson. Sage chewed on her lips, watching nervously as the two boys glared at each other.

"Look, just because you feel guilty doesn't make it okay, alright? Half of this," he motioned his hand over Sage's body. "is still your fault."

"I have a car and you don't. Do you want my help or not?"

Sage elbowed Stiles in the ribs, and he sighed. "Alright. Did you bring the Porsche?"

"Yeah," Jackson admitted, pulling the keys from his pocket. Stiles grabbed them with his free hand, wrapping his friends around them to secure the metal in his palm.

"Good. I'll drive."

They turned around, ready to leave the hospital when they saw Chris Argent standing there, a smile too cheerful for his intentions. He had two of his hunting friends behind him, dressed in the same amount of black as Argent was. "Boys, Sage, I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is."

"Scott McCall? Haven't seen him since the dance," Stiles said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. Never keeping his eyes off of Argent, he wrapped Sage even closer in his arm. "Sage? Jackson?"

"Nope. Haven't seen him since," Sage answered, flashing Argent a fake smile. "I've been a little tied down."

Jackson seemed to be the one having trouble coming up with a suitable answer. "Uh...I...um."

"For the love of god."

Argent dropped his smile, looking between the two huge guys behind him. In record time, Stiles' arm was ripped away from her and she struggled to balance while Jackson and Stiles were shoved into the closest, empty operation room. Argent grabbed a hold of her arm, dragging her inside and pushing her in the arms of one of the hunters. Jackson and Stiles looked up from the stretcher they had been thrown at, watching as Argent locked the door.

"Let's try this again. Where's Scott McCall?" Argent repeated. When no one was willing to answer, Argent took matters into his own hands by grabbing Stiles, pushing him up against one of the cabinets. "Let me ask you this, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"

"No, but I could put it on my 'To-Do' list if you just let me go," Stiles retorted, his jaw clenched tightly as he tried to bite back the sarcasm that was wishing to slip. Sage couldn't even try and break free of the hold the hunter had on her because of how much pain she was in. She honestly started to reconsider leaving the hospital bed.

"Well, I have, and the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you want to know what happened?" Argent asked, although it was a rhetorical question seeing as he was going to be telling Stiles anyways.

"Not really, no offense to your story telling skills," Stiles retorted, licking his lips as he leaned farther away from Argent.

Argent got even closer to the teenager's face. "He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head." He emphasized the word bullet, poking his finger on Stiles forehead. "The whole while that he laid there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to kill me like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you imagine that?"

"Maybe it's just because you're not a likable person," Sage spat through her teeth. Argent didn't even look back at her, slamming his hands down on the sides of the cabinet as he grew restless of the banter between them.

"Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon? Did you have to lock him up?" Argent yelled. Sage frowned, remembering back to the full moon. That was a night she didn't exactly prefer to remember.