canon au } { post-5a, of dealing blame and rough nights

[hereditare]

Laura: [once Parrish is out cold and things have calmed down a bit, Laura will sneak out of bed and step out so that she can call her uncle, because he's probably the only other one who will understand the gravity of this. ring ring ring Peter phone]

Peter: [and he's done getting Malia and Faith settled for the night and he sees the phone rining and goes off to answer it] Please tell me you're okay.

Laura: I'm fine. [she is probably one of the most fine out of everyone today, because all she's really aware of is her very confused boyfriend. she glances back over her shoulder and sighs] Jordan is a hellhound.

Peter: ... Well, I lost the mythical creature betting pool on that one. How did you figure that out?

Laura: ... Honestly? It just sorta came to me. We were talking about that story Mom used to tell me when I was little and ... black dogs made of fire that are guardians of the supernatural. All the signs fit.

Peter: [thinks a moment] The Wild Hunt. I remember. There are different kinds of "hell hounds" though.

Laura: I know. But I went through the family records and some of the notes about the nemeton mention it having a protector made of fire.

Peter: Well, the nematon was depowered by our reign. But yes, I remember our mother talking about it. [chuckles] And ironically, I believe it was the sheriff at the time who was the hound.

Laura: [there's a huff of a laugh, before she shakes her head] Yeah, well. Now it's my boyfriend.

Peter: You kids have a knack of finding really interesting significant others.

Laura: Says the guy dating the Slayer.

Peter: Or having had a child with a psychotic child killer. [rubs at his eyes] Who is apparently on her way back into town to finish the job.

Laura: The Desert Wolf is coming here?

Peter: Yeah, Faith got a message from Deaton and came to warn Malia and me. She heard Malia is alive and is coming to kill her

Laura: ..... Lovely.

Peter: Which, if you remember what she looks like, you're going to have the only warning sign we can get.

Laura: [pinches her eyes closed as she thinks] My height. Long black hair, olive skin, dark eyes. Beyond that ... Malia, but older.

Peter: Okay, we can work with that.

Laura: I'll keep an eye out for her and let you know if I see her in town. But Jordan and I are probably going to go up to the cabin and see if we can get man and hound on the same page.

Peter: The biggest part is going to come from accepting what he is. For someone like him who prides himself on his humanity, Laura... it's going to be hard.

Laura: I know. I already warned him that he's going to have to make some concessions. But now he's got a name for what he is, which I think is going to help. It was a lot harder when it was just a big question mark.

Peter: It was the same with Lydia. She may be able to help you. They are both connected to death.

Laura: Yeah, maybe. [because she hasn't heard the bad news yet either] I'll talk to her tomorrow.

Peter: [and neither has he] Good. I'll see what I can find maybe in the actual books and send you what I can find.

Laura: Good. Thank you.

Peter: Just.... be careful, okay?

Laura: I will. The hound ... trusts me. Or responds to me, at least. I think I'll be okay.

Peter: The hound probably can feel the human affection aimed at you. After all, most canine based creatures have an aspect of loyalty in them instinctually.

Laura: Well, he feels it towards me. So I'm going to see if I can use that to my advantage to help him.

Peter: That is a good idea.

Laura: [she sighs] Anyway. I figured you would get it more than the kids would so I figured I'd tell you first before the big family meeting tomorrow.

Peter: Yeah, I do. I will see what I can find for you in the meantime.

Laura: Thank you. [and if that's all, she's going to head back to bed and curl up under Parrish's arm again]

Peter: [and he will hang up and probably go look for things in the vault where he's stashed Malia and Faith since, you know, only Hales can get in here. Of course the front entrance was broken but the back entrance still works.]

Laura: [and she will try and drift off but not really manage it, still turning over the events of the day in her head]

Parrish: [and yup, he's having his dream again, just barely twitching in his sleep, but he's going to probably warm up a bit in response]

Laura: [that makes her tense, reaching over and rubbing his shoulder gently to see if she can try and rouse him] Jordan?

Parrish: [he's easily roused, his eyes glowing a moment before fading back to normal] Hey...

Laura: Hey. You were starting to feel a little warm.

Parrish: Sorry. [he shifts a bit] I don't really know how to control that.

Laura: It's okay. That's part of what we need to figure out. [she brushes a hand against the side of his face] Were you dreaming?

Parrish: [he sighs, shifting to pay on his side to look at her] Yeah, same one.

Laura: Exactly the same, every time?

Parrish: Yeah.

Laura: Recurring dreams like that ... maybe it's some kind of supernatural trigger.

Parrish: [closes his eyes] I really don't want to think about someone else dying.

Laura: [she shakes her head] I think people are done dying for the night. Maybe it's trying to tell you something else.

Parrish: Maybe it felt you were getting too cold.

Laura: [she smiles softly at that] Maybe.

Parrish: [sighs and looks around a moment] What time is it?

Laura: Late. [she doesn't know exactly what time it is, just that it's a time no person should be awake]

Parrish: I should text Lindsay... let her know I'm okay. [he doesn't really want to go back to sleep after the dream]

Laura: Okay. We have a "pack meeting" tomorrow morning at Scott's too.

Parrish: Should I be there?

Laura: I think so. I think it's pretty much to make sure everyone is on the same page information wise.

Parrish: Okay. I think I can do that. [and he's looking around and there's his phone. He's going to get up to go and text Lindsay a 'I'm okay. I will talk to you tomorrow' text]

Lindsay: [well that's a breath of relief and she texts back] Call Mills. Things were crazy tonight.

Parrish: Now? Or in the morning?

Lindsay: Now. She's probably still at the station.

Parrish: [crap] Okay. [he looks over at Laura] I have to call the station.

Laura: [she nods] Okay. I'll be here when you're done.

Parrish: [and he's going to go stand on the balcony to cool off as he calls the sheriff's office]

Jody: [is pretty much the only one there with the graveyard shift, so she grabs the phone while the other one is busy] Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department.

Parrish: Deputy Mills please. [because he's still learning her voice, and he doesn't want to obviously identify himself]

Jody: [she, on the other hand, knows that voice anywhere, and her eyes widen] Hold on. [and with that she will transfer the call to the sheriff's office and close the door before she pick it up again] Where the hell have you been?

Parrish: I don't think you really want to know the answer to that, ma'am.

Jody: [sighs heavily as she drops into a chair] Actually, I do, because today exploded into a shit storm so any reasonable explanations available would be helpful.

Parrish: [well, he knows she's "in the know" so he won't sound completely crazy] I'm the one taking the bodies. Laura thinks I'm some kind of hellhound that's protecting the supernatural by bringing them to this tree stump in the wood. I don't remember doing it, but that's all I’ve got.

Jody: A hellhound? [it's not like it's any hellhound she's ever heard of but she'll go with it for now] Well, while you were communing with nature, this Raeken kid and the Dread Doctors have been causing all kinds of trouble.

Parrish: Yeah, she says it's from some story she remembered... a Wild hunt? [he sighs] What happened?

Jody: Did you hear about the attack on the high school?

Parrish: No. Laura pretty much brought me somewhere safe and I passed out. I just woke up.

Jody: Well, we're working on the assumption that the Dread Doctors had a success because we traced a probably not all-human to the high school and he was strong enough to not only toss a cruiser, but rip up the Beacon Hills High School sign and throw it through the cafeteria. After that, a suspect who I'm told should be Theo Raeken attached the sheriff and left him for dead - he's in the hospital now, and I was appointed acting sheriff. Raeken also kidnapped Lydia Martin and attempted some kind of ritual on her involving claws in the back of her neck? Cora Hale says it's so that werewolves can share memories and he was trying to find out where the nemeton was so he could resurrect some of his dead chimera friends. [her voice softens a bit because she knows that Parrish and Lydia were close] Lydia's also in the hospital, but I don't think she's as likely to recover as the sheriff is. She's currently catatonic.

Parrish: [and his eyes just close because yeah, both the Sheriff and Lydia being hurt... that hurts. He wasn't there to help them] And the status of the perp?

Jody: In the wind, with five new super powered friends. They appointed me acting sheriff until Stilinski recovers, but as much as I would love to bring you in, that would involve having to explain the molten hole you left in my holding cell.

Parrish: I was hoping it would have held me. I'm sorry.

Jody: It's not your fault. You didn't know anymore than we did. But for right now? I think laying low is the best thing you can do. You were in there of your own volition to begin with so it's really just the damages we have to worry about. Not like you're a fugitive.

Parrish: No, I know. I just... [sighs] I think I need to go on leave for a while. Until I figure this out.

Jody: Fair enough. I'll send Lindsay home with the leave of absence paperwork, just fill that out and it should cover our butts.

Parrish: Thank you. But I will have my phone. If I can help...

Jody: I will let you know. Just be safe, Parrish. Right now it seems like anyone associated with the McCall pack is a walking target.

Parrish: I will. You be safe too, ma'am. Lately, being Sheriff is a dangerous job here.

Jody: What, all this? I could handle this in my sleep. You should see a bad day in Sioux Falls. [there's a smile in her tone and hopefully he can hear it] Just keep me posted. I'll try to keep you in the loop about if we find anything.

Parrish: Not sure if I want to if you think this is easy. [there's a hint of a tease there, hint of the old Parrish before his world fell apart on him] Thank you.

Jody: Of course. Stay safe. [and with that she will hang up and get the leave of absence paperwork together for Lindsay]

Parrish: [and he's going to just stand on the balcony for a bit, staring off into space, getting lost in his own head]

Laura: [and when she hears him stop talking she'll give him his space, but eventually she'll wander out to make sure he's okay]

Parrish: Sheriff and Lydia are in the hospital.

Laura: [her eyes widen] What? What happened?

Parrish: Theo Raeken. To both.

Laura: Now the pack meeting makes sense.

Parrish: Your sister told Deputy Mills that he resurrected some of the chimeras.

Laura: ... Damn.

Parrish: Can't even protect the damn dead kids.

Laura: Hey. [she reaches forwards, sliding her arms around her waist from behind and pressing a kiss against his shoulder] This is not your fault.

Parrish: Maybe not, but its just too much all at once.

Laura: I know.

Parrish: She also said it's probably better that I lay low. She’s going to send Lindsay paperwork for me to fill out to take a leave of absence. Right now she thinks anyone in Scott's pack has a target on their back.

Laura: [she nods] That's good. At least you'll be free and clear and we can work on this. [a beat as she thinks of how that sounds] Not good that the pack has a target on their back but good that she's letting you take the time off work.

Parrish: She's acting Sheriff while Stilinski is recovering.

Laura: Good choice.

Parrish: After this meeting, can we sing by the hospital. I want to check on them.

Laura: Of course.

Parrish: Thanks.

Laura: [she rubs a hand against his chest gently as she pulls him close] It'll be okay.

Parrish: I hope so.

Laura: It will. Optimism helps.

Parrish: Lately I've been finding it harder to be optimistic.

Laura: [she moves her hands to his sides, turning him around to face her] Keep trying. You need it.

Parrish: Maybe tomorrow.

Laura: [she nods, before pushing herself up on her toes to kiss him softly]

Parrish: [kisses her back, melting just a little bit from the stiff shoulders]

Laura: [relaxes into his arms, pulling him in closer and holding the kiss for as long as she can]

Parrish: [he will let her, just needing the moment of comfort and normalcy in his life]

Laura: [she hums into the kiss, pushing up a little bit further so that she's still close when she breaks the kiss] Back to bed?

Parrish: Sure. I'm not sure if I'll go back to sleep, but I can try.

Laura: [smirks] Well, I never said anything about sleeping.

Parrish: Oh. [he blinks because is this really an appropriate time?]

Laura: [probably not. but Laura's not exactly worried about propriety] We don't have to. But we can go to bed and pretend the word isn't a shit-awful place and for the most part doesn't exist.

Parrish: [snorts a bit] That part I think I can get behind.

Laura: [she grins and tugs at his hand pulling him back to the bedroom to shut themselves away for a while]

Parrish: [and he's happy to do that]