canon au } { post-303: fireflies

[impetere]

Stiles: Stiles. That's my name.

Cora: Right. [she's not big on strangers, but she's also not sure what to do with Peter at the moment. Part of her just wants to run to him but the other part doesn't really trust anything. So she'll just pull away from Isaac and try to stumble to the couch on her own though she's still pretty shaky on her feet]

Stiles: [and he’s the closest so when she stumbles he instantly moves forward to try and catch her]

Cora: [she feels him touch her and she snaps back and away from it, holding up an arm for some distance and looking back at him with a "don't do that" glare.] I'm fine.

Stiles: [his hands go up as well in the 'not trying to hurt you' position] Yeah, I can see the Hale resemblance now.

Cora: What the hell is that supposed to mean? [she's already on the defensive, agitated, and she starts to take another step forward when Boyd's voice behind her makes her stop]

Boyd: Cora. [he's worn out and exhausted, but there's enough meaning to make her stop.]

Cora: [continues to glare at Stiles for a moment, before shuffling over to the couch and dropping herself onto it gracelessly]

Peter: Stiles, make yourself useful and get them some water. I think there are protein bars in the cabinet. It'll help them fuel their healing.

Boyd: [will go to slump down next to her, and Cora inches closer, because Boyd is just about the only person she knows she can trust, and therefore the only person she's good with touching her. It's not overtly snuggling, but her shoulder stays pressed against his side as she tries not to pass out again. Boyd, however, just looks over at Isaac] You guys okay? We didn't ...

Isaac: Nah, you scared a couple of kids and may bring some zoo keepers to the preserve thinking wolves have returned to the city, but you're good. [nope, not telling them about Derek. he'll be back soon enough]

Boyd: [nods with a slow exhale] Good.

Cora: [still can pick up the scent of blood under her nails, so someone didn't make it out of there unscathed] Where's Derek?

Scott: He's.... taking care of Erica. [looking down at his feet]

Stiles: So she is...

Scott: [nods]

Cora: [her eyes dropped to her hands at that and she leans back into Boyd as he leans in to her. that day was a rough one for everyone involved]

Boyd: Her family should know. They've probably been worried about her.

Scott: Mr. Argent was going to call the cops and tell them he found the body in the preserve. They are just making sure she's safe until they get there.

Stiles: [goes to get those protein bars and water now, bringing them back for everyone]

Cora: [takes the water first, twisting off the top and swallowing down as much of it as she can]

Peter: Go slow, or you will just spit it back up. [he will hover a bit closer]

Cora: [eyes narrow] I'm fine.

Boyd: [reaches over and squeezes her arm gently, and she relaxes, but only a little]

Derek: [and a few minutes later, that will be the time he strides in. He's exhausted, still torn up and bloody, but he's just doing the silent brooding]

Stiles: ..... Whoa.

Cora: [her eyes glance to him and ... well, that explains the blood. Her eyes go back to her hands almost immediately, not really able to make eye contact]

Peter: [it doesn't take a genius to figure it out, and he sighs. Stupid, self-sacrificing nephew...] Now that everyone's back, I think it's best we all just take some time to rest and heal.

Stiles: Yeah, yeah I probably should go home before my dad realizes I'm not there. Scott...?

Scott: Yeah, Mom will be worried. Derek?

Derek: Go home. We're fine.

Scott: [nods, putting his hand on Stiles' shoulder]

Cora: [just keeps drinking her water, before shifting to pull away a bit] I need a shower. [she hasn't taken one in three months]

Boyd: [groans a bit] That actually sounds like a really awesome idea.

Derek: You guys do that. I think I have something you can change into, Boyd.

Peter: I'll find something for Cora.

Cora: [nods as she starts to get up again] Where is it?

Derek: There's one over there, and another upstairs with the rest of the bedrooms.

Cora: I'll go upstairs. [and she will slowly head off to go find it, leaving Boyd alone with Derek and her uncle]

Boyd: [sighs as he watches her go]

Derek: [looks over at Boyd] When did they find her?

Boyd: [shrugs] They had her before they had us.

Derek: [looks over at Peter] Did you know...?

Peter: I got her out of the house. After that, I kinda lose about six years of my life. I assumed that since she wasn't with you, she didn't make it.

Derek: We never knew she got out.

Boyd: [he shrugs] I don't know, man. All we know is that she was already in the vault when the alpha pack shoved me and Erica in there. She wasn't exactly forthcoming on the details. [there's a beat, though it's said a little more fondly than he would normally throw at Derek] Must be a family trait.

Cora: [has started the water, but she's listening from the doorway of the bathroom as she waits for the water to get hot]

Derek: [nods] I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough. We tried everything we could think of.

Isaac: Yeah, trust me, not all of it was pleasant either. [still side-eyeing you, Peter, as he rubs his neck]

Boyd: [he shrugs] I'm too tired to be pissed about it right now. Besides, Erica and I were the ones who left. [there's enough blame to go around, and he knows that he and Cora both feel like they could have done more to save Erica.]

Derek: [nods] Go shower and get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning.

Isaac: I'm going to go pass out in my room, unless you need me for anything?

Derek: [shakes his head] No, go. I need you to go to school tomorrow and make sure Scott and Stiles get there okay.

Isaac: Right. [and he's off to bed]

Boyd: [goes to do just that, and will probably just end up crashing on the couch once he's done]

Cora: [closes the door once everyone is dismissed and stays in the shower a long time, just soaking in the feel of the hot water against her skin and trying to scrub off as much of the last three months as she can. There's a moment of sagging relief and disappointment all at the same time that tears a slew of silent tears from her but she tries not to make any noise that will draw her brother or uncle's attention because she doesn't know how to handle any of it right then.]

Derek: [and he will go and shower once Boyd is done, and then crash on his bed.]

Peter: [is just going to wait outside the door for Cora, holding a set of clothing for her when she's ready]

Cora: [eventually she will emerge, wrapped in a towel, and watch him for a moment before taking the clothes] Thanks. [and then she'll disappear behind the door again to change]

Peter: [he's watching her just as much] Derek's already passed out. Get some sleep, and we can do the family reunion moment in the morning.

Cora: [snorts slightly] I think we've already missed our window on that one. [which hurts more than she's willing to let on about it at the moment. She pulls the shirt over her head and then emerges from behind the door again, wet hair hanging around her shoulders] Where can I sleep?

Peter: [he shows her to one of the two bedrooms that were still empty. Boyd and Erika had never been to the loft, but rooms had been left waiting for them to hopefully return.]

Cora: [nods as she moves past him towards the bed, which honestly looks like the most beautiful thing she's ever seen] Thanks.

Peter: You're welcome. [he hovers in the door a moment, and nods] If you need anything, just call out. I'll be up for a while. [and he will go off to go... just sit and read and make sure the pack is safe while they all heal]

Cora: [it's a nice offer but she's pretty much out as soon as her head hits the pillow]

Stiles: [and because he's Stiles, he's stopping by the loft on the way to school with a bag from Walmart. He eyeballed Cora's size, and well, he feels bad for her. Because it can't be easy and all. And he just goes to invite himself in because it's Derek's and no one actually knocks]

Boyd: [on his way out because he actually has to go to school today which sucks. He sees Stiles and his eyes narrow a bit] What are you doing here?

Stiles: Oh hey, I was just... I stopped at Walmart for breakfast and this stuff was on clearance and figured that Derek's sister... Cora right? She could maybe use some stuff.

Boyd: [tips his head back towards the stairs, listening for movement, but only hearing Isaac] She's still sleeping. She might be out for a while.

Stiles: I'll just leave it here. I mean, pretty sure no one will think it's for anyone but her. [totally two sports bras in there. Because he wasn't sure what her size was so that was the better solution]

Boyd: [nods as Isaac comes down] Okay. [and with that, they're gone as he goes home to deal with his parents who he really wants to see]

Isaac: Can I get a lift to school?

Stiles: Sure. [and he'll leave the bag on the desk, and off they go as well]

Cora: [won't actually be awake until a few hours later, when she'll wander downstairs to have a look around. When she doesn't see anyone in the common area, her eyes are drawn to the phone on the counter which she will go for to try and send a quick "Hi I'm alive" message to Dawn]

Derek: [is in the kitchen making coffee, and he comes around the corner] Calling someone?

Cora: [she startles, eyes snapping towards the sound of his voice, before shaking her head and clearing the screen] Just checking the time. [liar]

Derek: [one eyebrow went up because he can tell that without listening to her heartbeat] Coffee?

Cora: Yeah. [and she'll put the phone down and follow him back to the kitchen, her eyes catching the Walmart bag as she goes] What's that?

Derek: Stiles dropped it off for you. There's a few changes of clothes he grabbed at the store. [goes to hand her a cup of coffee]

Cora: [takes it and blinks, confused] Why would he do that?

Derek: He's an annoying piece of work, but he tries to be helpful.

Cora: Right. [she makes her way closer and actually peeks inside and raises an eyebrow at the sports bra] Definitely goes above and beyond.

Derek: You get used to him. He's part of the package when dealing with Scott McCall.

Cora: That was the short one, right?

Derek: Yes. He's.... something different.

Cora: What's that supposed to mean?

Derek: He doesn't want to be a part of the pack. He has his own going - mostly humans.

Cora: So why did he help with me and Boyd?

Derek: He's friends with Boyd. And he's the kind who does the right thing.

Cora: And here I thought those were just fairy tales.

Derek: Sometimes they are true. In Scott’s case, he's just a good kid.

Cora: Good to know. [sips her coffee, before making a face] Do you have more sugar?

Derek: [holds it out to her] So the person you were calling?

Cora: I wasn't calling anyone. [which isn't a lie! She was texting. But she takes the sugar]

Derek: So you didn't have someone to tell you were okay after being trapped for three months?

Cora: I didn't say that. [she tests her coffee again] I just wasn't calling them.

Derek: [nods] But there is someone who was taking care of you at least?

Cora: Yeah.

Derek: Good. [sips his coffee, not knowing what to say]

Cora: [doesn't really know either, there's a six year deficit at knowing how to deal with Derek]

Peter: [and to add to the awkwardness, he's going to return from having left this morning and coming back with his coffee and a small bag of muffins] Good, we're all awake. I brought muffins.

Cora: [she totally shouldn't be staring at that bag of muffins like a starved wolf but she's ... going to be staring at that bag of muffins like a starved wolf]

Derek: What did you hear?

Peter: Just that there was another victim in the long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks. Nothing about the events of the previous night beyond a few scared kids who saw the creature. Most reports link it to a big, black bear.

Cora: [is going to wait patiently for the muffins to be considered fair game for everyone to take and offer no comment]

Derek: At least we were able to get her back for her family.

Peter: There is that. [and he sees that look and goes to put the muffins on the table] Help yourself.

Cora: [and she darts for it as soon as it's on the table, pulling one of them out and ripping off a piece of the top. The first bite is like it's the best damn muffin she's ever had, but after three months of really crappy food, it probably is]

Derek: [both his and Peter's eyebrows go up]

Cora: [glances back to them halfway through the top and rolls her eyes] What, you think they were feeding us five star meals in that vault?

Peter: I should have gotten two dozen. [and he goes to wander off to the couch]

Derek: Do you want anything else?

Cora: [she shakes her head. she should probably have protein and stuff like that but right now she just wants to enjoy her muffin]

Derek: [he will buy her better food later. Right now he's going to just lean back on his desk and watch her a moment]

Cora: [there are tiny glances in his and Peter's direction every so often, trying not to squirm under his gaze as she finishes her food, but once she's done, she looks up at him head on] What?

Derek: I'm waiting for you to finish.

Cora: [and she will gesture to her empty muffin wrapper. See? Finished.]

Derek: Are you okay?

Cora: I keep saying I'm fine. [she's not. she's so far from fine. but she doesn't know what else to say. admitting weakness isn't really something she can do here]

Derek: I know, which is why I keep asking. Being locked up for who knows how long, losing control like that... no one would just be fine after that.

Cora: Yeah, well ... I've had a lot of practice. [at being fine, even when she's not] I'm alive. I'm fine.

Derek: [nods] Can I ask then where you've been the last six years?

Cora: [she looks up at him for a moment and her gaze wavers, not sure what she should say] Mexico.

Peter: I'm in another room and I can already tell that's a lie.

Derek: [looking over his shoulder to glare at him]

Cora: [rolls her eyes] I was safe, okay? What does it matter?

Derek: It matters because if Deucalion found you, he knows where you've been and those people may be in danger.

Cora: He didn't find me until I left them. I heard about your pack and I bailed and tried to get here and that's when he grabbed me. [a beat] Besides, they can take care of themselves. He would dumb to try and go up against them, demon wolf or not.

Derek: That so?

Cora: Yeah.

Peter: As far as I know, the Calaveras have taken out most of the supernatural community in Mexico. Unless you were with them, and then I would have serious concerns about why you're back here.

Cora: [grits her teeth] I wasn't with hunters.

Derek: So with another pack then?

Cora: Yeah. [sort of]

Derek: Did they know you were coming here?

Cora: Nope. And they'll probably be pretty pissed with me when they find out I did.

Derek: And they will be coming here to find themselves in the middle of all this?

Cora: I don't know. [actually, they're already here, but she doesn't know that yet]

Derek: [sighs and reaches for his phone, handing it to her] Call them.

Cora: [stares at his phone for a moment, before taking it and dialing .... Tara instead of Dawn, because it's a voice Derek and Peter won't recognize]

Tara: [answering] Kiki's Delivery Service.

Cora: Hey.

Tara: Cora?

Cora: Yeah.

Tara: Where the hell have you been?

Cora: In a vault, held prisoner by a psychopathic alpha in Beacon Hills.

Tara: Not your brother, I hope.

Cora: No. Someone else. I'm with him now though.

Tara: Has Dawn found him yet?

Cora: [damnit Tara. she's so not looking up right now] Not that I know of.

Derek: [yup, you can feel the look, and hear Peter joining]

Tara: Well, she is there trying to find you. You better call her.

Cora: Yeah, I'll do that. I'll text you my number once I get a new phone, okay?

Tara: Yeah, okay.

Cora: I'll talk to you later.

Tara: Be careful. [and hanging up]

Cora: [yep, her too, still not looking up]

Peter: I'm assuming this is Dawn Summers she was referring to.

Cora: [sighs] Yeah.

Derek: Which makes you the rogue Slayer she’s in town looking for.

Cora: [looks up] She's here? Is Buffy coming?

Derek: I believe so.

Peter: And that is my cue to get out of town...

Cora: [sighs, burying her face in her hands] She found me after the fire. It wasn't safe here, so they took me to Cleveland with them, and then to Scotland.

Derek: [looking over at Peter because why are you leaving]

Peter: That makes sense. I asked her to take care of you if anything happened. [gives Derek a look back]

Cora: [is equally confused at Peter leaving]

Peter: [because he's not about to face his ex-girlfriend knowing she's a slayer and everything that he's done in his insanity]

Derek: I'll call Dawn, let her know you're here and safe.

Cora: [nods as she passes him her phone back]

Derek: [and he's going to dial the newly added number in his phone, pushing away from the desk and heading into the kitchen for a coffee refill]

Dawn: [one ring two ring three ring] Yello.

Derek: I found your lost slayer.

Dawn: [uh-oh] Is she okay?

Derek: She is now, yes.

Dawn: [exhales slowly] Good. I'm glad.

Derek: Now of course, she doesn't look much like she did the last time I saw her.

Dawn: No. Six years will do that.

Derek: Mmhmm. And you didn't tell me it was her because of why exactly?

Dawn: [swallows] Because I didn't know for sure if she was here, and I didn't want to get your hopes up.

Derek: So if she wasn't here, you weren't going to tell me that my baby sister was alive.

Dawn: Not until I found her to make sure that she was actually still alive. [there's a beat] And because Buffy told me not to.

Derek: Mmhmm. Well, she's here now. [and he goes to hand the phone to Cora. Not a happy brother]

Cora: [looks up sheepishly and takes the phone from him and will just have a quiet conversation with Dawn, where they cover the basics - if she's okay, where she is, is she safe, and she agrees to come over and bring Cora some stuff, and she'll hand the phone back to Derek again]

Derek: Do you need the address?

Dawn: Yes, please. [so she doesn't look like a stalker]

Derek: [and he will give it to her] Is Buffy in town yet?

Dawn: Nope. Her flight gets in tonight.

Derek: Good. I guess I should prepare for you both then?

Peter: [and he's out the door. peace out all]

Dawn: Prepare?

Derek: If you're in town, I'm pretty sure you're going to be here at any point unannounced.

Dawn: [there's a beat] I ... no? Not unless you invited me. [there's another beat] This isn't like high school, Derek. I haven't seen you in six years.

Derek: I highly doubt much has changed with you two.

Dawn: Are we going to be friends again? I mean, I don't mean to be blunt about it but right now, I'm not sure what we are, so I wasn't about to assume and show up at your house just because.

Derek: I guess we'll see.

Dawn: Yeah, I guess so. [she sighs, running a hand through her hair] I'll be over in an hour with Cora's stuff.

Derek: See you then. [and hanging up]

Cora: [watching him, nervous about all of this, but it's mostly that he's upset with her and going to make her leave]

Derek: [he's not upset at her, just at life in general. But that's Derek Hale for you] I'm going to go check on the teacher at the high school and make sure she's okay and not going to tell anyone about us. I'll be back in an hour when Dawn's due to be here.

Cora: [nods] Okay. I'll be here.

Derek: [nods, and he goes to get his shoes and jacket]

Cora: [and she'll stay on the couch and he'll go and check on Jennifer and come back in time for this fight! Yay!]

Stiles: [and of course he and Scott are going to come over after school to check on them because Yesterday has been a day]

Cora: [it is true, and Derek is gone again dealing with alpha stuff and Cora has just finished cleaning up the giant pool of blood the alphas left in their wake, so Scott probably smells a ton of bleach]

Scott: What happened?!

Cora: Deucalion, Kali and Ennis dropped by. They wanted to make sure that they really had his attention so they drove a pipe through his chest and held it there until Deucalion was finished.

Stiles: Yeah, I'd say that would get his attention.

Scott: Is he okay?

Cora: Fine. He went to talk to Peter. [she gets up and goes back to the Walmart bag, before going to hand it back to Stiles] Dawn brought over some of my stuff, so you can get your money back if you want. [awkward beat] Thanks though.

Stiles: You sure? I mean, it was all on clearance, so if you liked any of it...

Cora: [she shakes her head] I'm sure. But like I said, thank you. [a beat] It was ... sweet.

Stiles: [he takes the bag] It was nothing. I mean, you didn't want to wear Derek's stuff. Kinda not your size and all.

Cora: [actually that she didn't mind. she was still learning her brother's scent and it felt like family] Well, I have my stuff now so I'm good. I don't really like new clothes anyway.

Scott: [giving Stiles a look. like you bought her clothes?]

Stiles: Alright.

Cora: [nods as she goes to move back to the couch again] So what are you guys doing here?

Scott: We just came to check up on you and Derek. I mean, we saw Boyd at school.

Stiles: Just making sure everyone's okay

Cora: We're fine. And Buffy is going to be getting here tonight so we'll have more muscle.

Stiles: What's a Buffy?

Cora: [her eyes narrow] Derek didn't tell you guys about Slayers?

Scott: No.

Stiles: Derek isn't big on sharing. Or talking.

Cora: [okay then] To counterpoint actual evil like vampires and demons, a bunch of stuffy old men took a girl and tied her essence to that of a demon to give her strength, speed, healing, all of that. They called her the vampire Slayer and she became the first in a long line of girls who fight and die against the forces of evil and when she dies the next Slayer is called - until Buffy. She decided that those odds were shit, so when she was going into a big battle she activated all the potential Slayers. Now there's an army of them, but when you're talking about the Slayer, you're always talking about Buffy Summers.

Scott: [just.... staring at her]

Stiles: [he followed most of that but] So... vampires are also real?

Cora: [slowly] Ye-eah?

Stiles: [nods] Seriously, we need to get a copy of that bestiary. We need to know these things, Scott.

Cora: They aren't really prominent in Beacon Hills. Haven't been for a really long time.

Stiles: Well, we only just learned about werewolves a year ago when your uncle bit Scott so...

Cora: [her eyebrows go up] Well, that makes sense. We don't walk around advertising that we're out there.

Scott: Yeah, and then it's like a dam opening once you learn about you can't not learn about everything out there.

Cora: [she nods] Ever heard about a town called Sunnydale?

Scott: [looks at Stiles, and then both shake their head]

Cora: Town south of here. Or it was. It was on what's called a Hellmouth and it got cratered in ... 2003, I think? Buffy and the Slayers came here after the town was destroyed. Dawn and Derek were best friends. [she's not going to get into Buffy and Peter. there's a beat] Dawn is Buffy's sister. She's not a Slayer.

Stiles: Oh, dude, I remember that. We had earthquake drills for like a month because some town sunk into itself.

Scott: Oh yeah. So... what's a Hellmouth?

Cora: Pretty much what it sounds like. A mouth to Hell? But it gives off this energy that draws evil supernatural creatures in to live on it. That's where most of the vampires went.

Buffy: [swings in the door] But I destroyed it, which is why we relocated here.

Cora: [sighs] Dawn promised Derek that you wouldn't be dropping by whenever.

Buffy: Dawn promised Derek Dawn wouldn't. She made no such promise for me. [goes and plops over on the couch next to her with a small smile] But I texted him so he knows I'm here. [and she glances back to Scott and Stiles] Hi.

Cora: [there's a beat before ...] Scott is in the pack. [another beat as she stares at Stiles] And that's Stiles.

Buffy: [nods] Hi. I'm Buffy.

Scott: Hi.

Stiles: [crosses his arms because yeah, totally on Derek's side] Hey.

Buffy: [leans back against the couch] So you were giving them Slayer 101.

Cora: Apparently Derek isn't a sharer. Who knew?

Buffy: [smirks] Some things never change.

Stiles: Yeah, well he's been having a rough time lately, people wanting to you know, kill him and all. Probably slipped his mind.

Buffy: [eyebrows go up at that] People try to kill me all the time. You get used to it.

Cora: [snorts]

Scott: I... that's not something I'd like to get used to?

Buffy: [she shrugs] In this world, you don't always get a choice in that.

Cora: Especially not if you're going to hang out with the Hales.

Scott: We don't really hang out with him.

Stiles: We just kinda get stuck with him. He really doesn't have a lot of friends and gets in trouble easily. [most of which is their doing but details]

Cora: [her eyes narrow as she looks at Scott] Aren't you in the pack?

Scott: No. I just offered to help him.

Cora: [head tips to the side, completely confused] Why would you choose to be an omega when you could have a pack?

Stiles: He has his own pack. [grins and puts his hand on Scott's shoulder]

Cora: [does not seem impressed and she looks like she's about to say something unkind, but Buffy's hand on her shoulder stops her and she closes her mouth before looking back at her]

Buffy: Things are different than it used to be. It's Scott's choice.

Cora: [slumps back into the couch, continuing to size up Scott] It's a dumb choice.

Stiles: Yeah, well Derek isn't really the alpha of the year.

Scott: Stiles... [shakes his head] I have my reasons.

Cora: [starts to surge forward at that and Buffy's hand is on her arm again]

Buffy: Okay. We need a less touchy subject.

Scott: Actually, we should probably go. [before Cora kills his best friend.] Good to see you're okay.

Cora: [scowls a bit before slumping back in her seat again] Yeah.

Buffy: [sighs] Nice meeting you both.

Scott: [and yup, dragging Stiles out of there, and there will be talking to him about baiting and being nice and Stiles insisting he is nice]

Cora: [and Buffy and Cora will stay on the couch and wait for Derek to get back]

Derek: [and he comes in, seeing Buffy and just sighing] Buffy.

Buffy: [looks up with a smile] Derek. [and she will get up and make her way over because there is going to be hugging, damnit] It's been a while.

Derek: [and he's going to be stiff because he's not a hugger any more. Plus he's still upset about Cora being gone so long] Yeah, it has.

Buffy: [yeah, she's expecting that. She's going to give him a good Slayer hug though, because he needs it, before pulling back with a smile] Aside from crazy psycho alphas, how've you been?

Derek: I'm surviving.

Buffy: Always a step up from not.

Derek: Why are you here?

Buffy: I wanted to make sure Cora was okay for myself. And I figured that if you're going to yell at me, I should give you the chance to do it now.

Derek: [and he’s not going to yell, but just cross his arms, one eyebrow going up]

Buffy: Oooh silent yelling. I haven't been on the wrong side of this in a while.

Derek: [unmoving]

Buffy: [she tips her head to the side as she watches him] I was protecting her, Derek. You get that, right?

Derek: [his jaw twitching is the only response]

Buffy: I was doing what Peter asked me to do. We didn't know who was out there, or who was coming at you, so I took her. It was the only way I knew she would be safe.

Derek: For six years.

Buffy: For six years. I didn't know where you guys were for most of them, and would you have preferred I sent her back when Gerard Argent was in town? Or Kate?

Derek: [scowling]

Buffy: Yeah, that's what I thought.

Cora: [also scowling] It wasn't your call to make.

Buffy: [sighs] You were a minor, I was your guardian, it was definitely my call to make. Not that it mattered because she took things into her own hands anyway and look how well that ended.

Cora: [her face flickers before her eyes drop to her hands again]

Derek: Maybe if we at least knew each other was alive, she wouldn't have felt that need to run off. I would have done the same thing if I heard she was alive.

Buffy: I never lied to her about you. [she just didn't let her see him]

Derek: Did Laura know?

Buffy: [she shakes her head] No.

Cora: Of course not.

Derek: [at least his sister hadn't lied to him - she hadn't known either] Well, what's done is done. But Cora's home now. [which is a not so subtle you can leave hint]

Buffy: [she hears that hint. She glances back over her shoulder] I'll see you later?

Cora: [she nods]

Buffy: Okay. [back to Derek] Nice seeing you again, Derek. [and she'll turn to head out] Tell Peter I said hi.

Derek: [nods, watching her leave over his shoulder, and then going to head over to his bedroom area and take off his jacket] What did Scott and Stiles want?

Cora: [she shrugs] Just checking on you. And me. Though I think Stiles was more worried about me in the sense that I'm an unknown and therefore not to be trusted.

Derek: [nods] Boyd come back yet from school?

Cora: [she shakes her head] I think he wanted to go see his parents first.

Derek: Isaac?

Cora: Haven't seen him.

Derek: He'll be back eventually. He usually takes his time.

Cora: [nods, pulling her legs in to sit crossed under her. she doesn't know what else to say, so she's just going to sit there and stare at her fingers, and eventually she will retreat up to her room to her separate corner]