puppy love } of little girls and big uncontrollable power

[fadingspark]

Hope: [little girls are not normally a thing present in the main headquarters of CONTROL, especially not one this visibly upset. She's sitting on a chair by Hayley's desk, fingers gripped tightly on the edges of the chair and tears running down her cheeks. She's watching through the window as her mother fights with the chief over a lot of things, probably including whether or not she should be there, but she NEEDS to see her aunt. And she needs to see her NOW]

Stiles: [yeah, he's not all that sure he likes seeing Hayley being disciplined either. He's passing her office, planning on intervening when he sees Hope in her mother's office, and decides that distracting the crying child is probably better at the moment. So he steps into the room.] You must be Hope. I'm Stiles, your mom's partner. She talks about you all the time.

Hope: [looks up at him and shakes her head, trying to inch back into her chair] You shouldn't be in here. My mom likes you. [and she doesn't want to hurt her mom's very human partner. The pressure in her chest continues to build and she tries to push it behind her towards the wall behind her, rather than out and away where it will come in contact with Stiles, and as a result Hayley's computer keyboard sparks and smokes as the lights flicker]

Stiles: [and he's heard enough about Hope that he knows a little of her being special, but not everything. And he's Stiles so he's going to come closer and crouch down in front of her, staying calm] I know, and I like her too. And I'm not scared of you, sweetie. I know you're upset and I can see it's making your gift a little hyper right now, so i think we need to close our eyes and breathe a bit, okay? Can you do that for me, Hope?

Hope: [she'll try. boy does she try. but Hayley doesn't help matters by coming out with both barrels blazing]

Hayley: This was not part of our deal. I gave them to you to keep them safe not for you to lord them over me like some kind of trophy.

Hope: Did he say yes? Can I see Aunt Freya?

Stiles: I think they are still discussing it. [he'll log that for later] You miss your Aunt Freya?

Hope: I need her. I can't do this.

Chief: There are protocols that need to be followed here. Each of those coffins contains a supernatural creature that is incredibly dangerous, and ...

Hope: [oh, she knows what that means. She knows what that means well and while a normal seven year-old would probably burst into tears, but instead Hope's face drops into almost a snarl - one she inherited from her father] She's my aunt. And if you don't let me see her, I'll find her myself.

Chief: [sighs as he turns to the little girl and bends down slightly to meet her eyes] Sweetheart, I'm sorry ...

Hope: Don't. Call. Me. Sweetheart.

Hayley: Hope, no ... [but that protest is cut off as almost a seismic wave of magic slams out into the bullpen, knocking over both the chief and her mother and exploding any large electronics in the immediate vicinity. And once her path is cleared, Hope takes off and heads further into CONTROL, using an instinctive locator spell to find where her aunts and uncles are being held]

Stiles: Shit. [thankfully Hope managed to push it out away from him, so he's still fully functional. He's going to trust his partner to check on the Chief and instead takes off to follow the little girl, making sure anyone who gets in their path moves the fuck out of the way. They are going to come up to a door though that keeps them out, built specifically to withstand intrusion from human and non-human intrusion, including magic. He will jog up behind her] Hope. You can't go into that room, I'm sorry.

Hope: Yes, I can. I have to. I can't control it and I need her to help me. [the anger is gone now, and it's back to distress again, running at the door and pounding on it with her fists] Let me in! Please let me in! I'm too far away, I can't talk to her here.

Stiles: Hope, do you trust me? I know we just met, but I need to trust me, okay?

Hope: [she'll try, Stiles, but eventually she wears herself out with the pounding and slumps down against the floor to do some more crying]

Stiles: If I let you in like this - what's going to happen is I'll be fired, and so will your mom and they won't let you see them again. But if you can stay here and keep calm for a few minutes, I'm going to get you in and make sure your mom doesn't lose her job so you don't lose your family, okay?

Hope: [and that's a very dark stare] They're not taking my mom anywhere.

Stiles: That's something we both agree on. Now please, trust me and stay calm. [and kneels down to look her in the eye] I know what it's like to be really angry, and it gets people hurt. And I can see you're really, really angry. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, right?

Hope: [pauses, considering the words for a moment, before shaking her head. She knows what happens if she kills someone, even on accident, and she doesn't want that to happen]

Stiles: Good. [and he hears footsteps echoing down the hall and he hopes it's Hayley and the Chief] now whatever happens right now, stay calm. Your mom chose me to be her partner for a reason, after all. [gives her a small smile, one that hints at being a bit of a rebel himself and that they are a team right now before he stands up and puts himself between Hope and whoever is coming around the corner]

Hayley: [yep, it's her mom, with a keycard in her hand because she's faster than the chief on foot.] Move. [is the one word response Stiles gets so Hayley can get to the keypad and the door slides open behind them. Inside, evenly spaced across the floor are four coffins. Hope scrambles to her feet once the door is open and runs for one of the ones in the middle, her fingers briefly brushing over the top of one, before opening the other, revealing a slim, blond woman who could almost be said to be dead, if not for the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. Hope pushes herself up over the edge of the coffin, shifts and settles so that she's resting her head against the woman's chest and closes her eyes. It doesn't take long before she goes completely limp in the coffin, entering an almost comatose state herself. Hayley exhales slowly, before running a hand through her hair] Thank you, for making sure she didn't fry the entire electrical grid.

Stiles: No problem. [looks into the room with the coffins] What's happening to her?

Hayley: [sighs heavily] She's the unholy trifecta. Part werewolf, part vampire and part witch. She inherited both her father and her mother's tempers and most days she takes more after her dad than me, which is terrifying enough, but because she's part vampire, she got the enhanced healing and senses, but with that also comes enhanced emotional states, which most normal kids barely know how to control, let alone someone whose magic is mostly triggered by emotions at this age. And if that wasn't bad enough, she's a firstborn witch of the Mikaelson line which means she is inheriting a crap ton more power than most witches would be able to handle, let alone a seven year-old girl who barely understands what her magic really means.

Stiles: Yikes, and I thought just inheriting my grandfather's name was a horrible thing for a child to deal with. [trying to lighten up the mood] Let me guess - Aunt Freya is the eldest and the family witch then.

Hayley: [nods with a small smile] She is. And their magic is similar enough that when they're close enough, Hope can tap into the linked consciousness spell she set up to keep them together while I figure out how to fix them, don't ask me how. But usually after talking to Freya she feels better.

Stiles: So in order to prevent stuff like that from happening anywhere at anytime, she needs to have access to her aunt.

Hayley: [takes a deep breath and nods, before grimacing] I'm so close to a cure for Freya. At it's base, the poison is something they already have an antidote for, but there's a supernatural element that means vampire blood won't work to fix her like it would most poisons. I just don't know what will counteract that.

Stiles: [nods] Well, right now let's focus on keeping Hope from becoming a time bomb that makes CONTROL put her in one of those coffins. [he thinks a moment, then nods] Stay with her. I think it's time I use the skill set you picked me for.

Hayley: [waves a hand for him to go] By all means. [she's ... going to have some alone time with Elijah]

Stiles: [and yup, that is going to be Stiles going off to have a talk with the chief]

Chief: [surveying the damage in the control room and rubbing his head a bit, waiting for Bruce and Lloyd to tell him the full scope of it]

Stiles: Chief, can we talk a sec?

Chief: [sighs as he turns to face him] I hate the supernatural. It's easier when we're dealing with bad men with supernatural powers, and now, it's tiny children.

Stiles: Technically, the supernatural are just like us, just with the superpowers. Doesn't make them bad, just means you have to think differently when dealing with them. [very pointed]

Chief: [and Stiles gets a very pointed look back] Three of the most terrifying vampires that have ever existed are in that room. Never mind the fact that one of them is cursed to become an uncontrollable killing machine. Those people are dangerous, and I have every right to quarantine them the way I did.

Stiles: And I understand that. Don't even blame you for that. But they didn't want to go in there to wake them up. Hope has a connection where she can talk to the one called Freya while she is still unconscious. To help her get control before SHE explodes like this because she's seven and is can't control the power in her sometimes. So what's worse - tiny kid who is trying to protect people by taking a nap on her comatose aunt, or keeping them apart and letting this happen?

Chief: [huffs because he's not sure he likes this] And what if her powers wake them up somehow? And three Original vampires who haven't eaten in five years decide to make the rest of us lunch?

Stiles: Then you trust your employee to take care of it. You made it so that door can't be opened by them on either side. Hayley will be in there with her daughter. She knows better, and you know that she does. But if you don't show her you trust her... then it'll be on you and not them.

Chief: [huffs for a moment, before turning to head after the nerds] I'll consider it.

Hope: [and, from somewhere behind him] It's okay. Aunt Freya let me take Uncle Kol with me. [and when he turns around, she'll be wearing a blue crystal pendant that she wasn't wearing before]

Stiles: [deep breath, rubbing at his forehead a moment before turning around to look at Hope, almost waiting to see another person with her. When he doesn't...] Is he a ghost?

Hope: [holds up the pendant] His spirit is in here. She couldn't come with me because hers needs to stay in her body in order to keep Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Elijah together and safe, but Uncle Kol is almost as good with magic as she is - [there's a soft giggle as Kol probably had some kind of commentary about being "almost" as good as Aunt Freya] - so I can talk to him and he can help me channel.

Stiles: [crouches down] Good. But if you get to a point again where even Uncle Kol can't help, we'll get you back to your aunt. We just have to promise not to wake them up just yet, ok?

Hope: [nods in agreement] No, we can't do that. Aunt Freya, Uncle Elijah and Uncle Kol will die and Aunt Rebekah ... [her eyes widen comically] That's not a good idea.

Stiles: So we're in agreement then? [holds out his hand to seal the deal]

Hope: [nods in agreement and shakes his hand] Deal.

Stiles: [grins and gets up] Let's go find your mom, and I think we could use a long lunch break. What do you think?

Hope: Yes, I'm starving.

Stiles: Awesome. Have you had Five Guys yet?

Hope: No. What's Five Guys?

Stiles: Probably the best burger and fries outside of California's In and Out burger.

Hope: I've had In and Out! But it was a long time ago.

Stiles: Well this is just as good. Come on, I'll even treat!

Hope: Okay! [glances over her shoulder] Mom, Stiles wants to go to Five Guys, can I go?

Hayley: [glances to Stiles and raises her eyebrows] Is he?

Stiles: Come on, everyone loves having Five Guys for lunch. [ba bum chink]

Hayley: [she snorts] Alright. Fine. So long as you promise to be good.

Stiles: You're welcome to join us.

Hayley: Nice how she conveniently left that part out.

Hope: [giant innocent smile she also got from her father]

Stiles: Well, i haven't been on a date for a while, but Hope, honey, you're a bit too young and it's illegal in all 50 states.

Hope: Ew, I didn't mean it like that.

Stiles: [laughs, gently pulling his hand on Hope's shoulder] So what do you say, partner?

Hayley: Alright. Let's do this.

Stiles: [and off they go to burger and fries heaven]

Hope: [yay!]