"Rachel?"

It was only one voice, but it felt as though it was coming from every direction. It took a few seconds for Rachel to come around, her eyes shutting tighter as she took notice of the fluorescent lights overhead. God, she hated those. It didn't occur to her for about a minute that she couldn't recall owning any fluorescent lights, but when it did, the brunette's eyes shot open.

"Son of a bitch." She hissed, lifting a hand up to shield her eyes. As she did so, she was startled by the fact that there was a needle in the back of it, seeming to transfuse a clear liquid— presumably saline — into her vein. Two pieces of surgical tape held the tube & needle in place. "Uh.."

"You're in the hospital." Derek was quick to notice her confusion. "Do you remember what happened?"

Rachel thought back to the events of yesterday as she picked at the tape on her hand— why did they put tape over needles? She could recall coming to visit Stiles before his MRI, and talking to Kira in the parking lot.. there was also a live wire flying around at some point, but things were a bit jumbled up. It felt like trying to remember what happened the day after drinking an entire bottle of vodka, hangover included.

There were a lot of sparks, and she could vaguely remember the feeling of power; the sound of water was also a ghost in her mind. She had all the puzzle pieces, but she was definitely going to need some assistance putting it together— hopefully Derek would be willing to provide that, before he kicked into older brother mode and began lecturing her for the poor life choices that led to her ending up here.

"You were electrocuted." Derek spoke in a soft voice, the chimera staring at him with raised brows; he didn't look angry, or upset with her for doing something stupid enough to land herself in the hospital. He looked relieved.

"Oh." Rachel answered quietly, her eyes falling back down to the hospital bed she was laying on. She glanced down at her hands, further examining the various medical devices she was hooked up to— there was a grey clip on her index finger, a red light illuminating her finger from the inside of it. The wire connected back to a machine displaying a bunch of numbers; she didn't know exactly what each number meant, but she recalled the device to be called a pulse oxidizer. She'd seen it before in a book; they used them to measure the blood's oxygen level.

There was also a heart monitor alongside that, the steady beeps emitting from it mimicking her heart. The wires connecting to it stemmed back to her, disappearing beneath the neck of her hospital gown— as soon as she moved, she could feel the electrodes stuck to her skin. Monitoring the electrical activity of an electrocution victim's heart was standard procedure, but being that she was now awake and able to heal whatever damage the electrocution had caused, Rachel deemed them an unnecessary nuisance.

Derek, already catching onto what she was going to do began to protest but it fell on deaf ears. "Rachel—"

She grabbed the wires together in a bunch and pulled them, the electrodes feeling like bandaids being removed. Her skin stung faintly, but she paid little mind to it as she tossed the wires aside. She tore the tape off her hand & pulled the needle out, tossing it on the floor before the saline drip could spill on her. The took the pulse oxidizer off her finger & set it aside on the table, before looking up at her brother. "I can go now, right?"

The steady beep from the heart monitor drew attention quickly, and before either teen could answer her question Melissa McCall entered the room in a panic. She quickly relaxed upon seeing the brunette awake & not in the midst of a third flatline. She hurried over and hit a few buttons on the machine, silencing it before it could draw any further attention.

"Can I go now?" Rachel looked up at her, hopeful she could slip away unnoticed by Derek.

"You're in the ICU." Nurse McCall responded.

"Why? I don't need intensive care." The chimera furrowed her brows. "I got knocked out by a shock. I'm fine." She shrugged.

Melissa paused for a moment, unsure of exactly how to tell the girl it wasn't quite that simple. Both the werewolf and the nurse very much wished it had been, but sadly the aftermath had been much more severe than simple unconsciousness. "There's a little more to it."

"What more?"

"Cardiac arrest."

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but fell silent. Again? She wanted to say, but something about the look on the nurse's face said there was still more to the story. She felt as though her brother was resisting the urge to aggressively demand all the information she knew regarding her abilities, but it didn't show.

"The shock stopped your heart." Derek reiterated in more specific terms, as if the chimera were unable to comprehend the two words. The blank stare on her face was so indecipherable, he wasn't sure if he should wait or continue on; he chose the latter. "You died. It took them seven minutes to get your heart beating, only for you to flatline again ten minutes later."

"How long have I been here?"

"Two days."

"What?" Rachel gaped, eyes wide. She'd been unconscious for two whole days? It felt like it'd been no more than a few hours since she was standing in the parking lot, watching a severed wire flying wildly towards her & Kira. "Where's everyone?"

"Allison's asleep in the waiting room, Scott's at home.. Stiles is still missing." Derek explained, leaving someone out. He purposely mentioned that Stiles was still missing last, in hopes it would distract her from asking about something she definitely did not need to know in her current condition.

"What do you mean still missing?" The brunette narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously; Stiles hadn't been missing when she visited him here two days ago. He was getting an MRI to either diagnose or rule out frontotemporal dementia. How could he possibly go missing again?

"No one's seen him since Friday night." The older Hale elaborated, hesitating before continuing. "After the power surge, from the electrical wire he cut on the roof."

"What?" The single word that fell from her lips was ever so quiet, but conveyed a tsunami of horror within it. She felt a cold pang in her chest, her heart rate speeding as she sat upright. "What do you mean the wire he cut? Why would Stiles randomly cut a wire on the hospital roof?"

"Stiles wouldn't, but the nogitsune possessing him.."

Rachel felt another pang in her chest, this time accompanied by a chill down her spine. She could vividly recall the conversation with Katashi, in which he explained that the Oni were in search of someone possessed by a dark spirit known as a nogitsune. She could also recall that Stiles had not yet been marked by them— he had, however, been sleepwalking. Disappearing. Having nightmares..

"Up until the incident with Barrow at the substation, Stiles was only having nightmares. He didn't start sleep walking or losing time until then." The werewolf elucidated. "We think Barrow used Kira's foxfire to jumpstart the nogitsune's power inside him."

Her best friend was possessed. How was she supposed to react to that? Did she scream? Did she cry? Did she pass out? Did she continue to stare blankly at the clock on the wall, watching as time slowly ticked by? Rachel procrastinated choosing so much, she ended up inadvertently choosing the latter and watching time waste away for a few minutes, unsure of just how she was supposed to come to terms with everything.

Her best friend was possessed.

Was there even a way to react to that? If there was, no one who knew of the possession had discovered it yet. The chimera was one of many left in awe by the news of a dark kitsune taking control of Stiles, and one of two who almost refused to believe it. Why Stiles, of all people? Why the comedic relief, the only normal human in their mismatched pack? Why?

"I want to go home." Rachel stated firmly, glancing up at her brother and then over to Nurse McCall.

"You're scheduled for an echocardiogram at 8, a CT at 10, and a lab tech's going to stop by around 7 for a blood sample." Melissa listed off all the tests the doctors had scheduled; technically the echo had yet to be scheduled, but being that the department wasn't particularly busy the doctor had requested that a time be allotted in hopes the girl would wake up.

Rachel paused for a moment, before responding. "My blood turns silver and I have a drill bit sized hole in my skull." Full of hell knows what, created by pseudoscientists who experimented on me for hell knows why. Fun times.

"I'll go get the release forms."

—

It was 6am by the time Rachel had managed to escape the hospital, which apparently had been just in the nick of time. She'd caught sight of a young woman in a white lab coat pushing along a small cart filled with small vials making her rounds early just as she was on her way out— Rachel wasn't entirely sure of what she was at the moment, but she wasn't about to take her chances.

She especially was not going to take her chances with the CT scan, even if it was a brain scan more so than anything else (as far as she understood). It was bad enough that she'd had to admit it to Derek. Surprisingly enough, he didn't grill her for answers or even question it. She was thankful, but also confused as well as concerned; Derek wasn't one to remain quiet, or wait until later to question something.

He'd even wordlessly complied when she asked him to take her to Scott's house, after they stopped at the loft to get a change of clothes. It was so unlike him that she didn't want to question it, in fear he would ask all the questions she believed him to be holding back. She had the answers, but now wasn't the time in which she could deliver them in the way they needed to be delivered. She couldn't explain everything, not when every thought she had was interrupted by her mind going back to Stiles.

Derek didn't stay at Scott's house when he dropped her off. He still seemed off, no doubt he'd be lurking somewhere nearby to ensure she stayed out of trouble, but something about it bothered Rachel. Why wasn't he questioning her? Why wasn't he being his usual self, grilling her for answers and being angry she nearly got herself killed?

Rachel didn't dwell on the topic for long as she stood on the doorstep of the McCall house, knocking softly on the door. Melissa McCall's car was in the driveway, as expected— her shift at the hospital had ended at 6. The door opened, the aforementioned nurse standing in its place; she looked overtired, but still put on a smile. "Come in out of the cold."

The chimera didn't protest, stepping inside the warm house. "Are Scott & Isaac up? I don't want to wake them if they're not, I just wanted to let them know I'm fine, and see how Scott is.."

Melissa hesitated for a moment, before responding. "Scott's alarm went off a few minutes ago, he should be up; if not, please wake him." She laughed softly.

"Will do." Rachel nodded & forced a smile, heading upstairs.

She stepped lightly down the hall, pausing in front of Scott's closed door but found herself staring down the hall towards the spare room. The door was wide open. Rachel furrowed her brows, walking down the hallway. Upon arrival, she found the room to be empty, which wasn't exactly strange, but something just didn't seem right. It felt colder, emptier— it felt more like a spare room, than a place where anyone had been staying, and the bed was made.. sort of.

It was no secret that Rachel did not know how to properly make a bed; she just pulled the comforter over everything, pillows & all. Isaac, however, actually knew how to make things look good; Rachel may or may not have made fun of him for fluffing the decorative pillows she flattened, and he may or may not have made fun of her for not knowing how to make a bed. He also might've laughed hysterically when she called the fitted sheet a nest blanket and proceeded to explain how when she was younger, she would put all the blankets inside the fitted sheet and sleep in the nest of blankets because she could never get it on the mattress.

Typically, it was him who made the bed each morning— decorative pillows, and all. Mostly because Rachel climbed out the window & went back to the loft before sunrise, but she hadn't done that on Friday. She clearly remembered bring her backpack, the same one that'd been at the hospital with her. She slept through three alarms, and on the fourth, Isaac threatened to pour a glass of cold water on her head if she didn't get up.

He nearly followed through on that threat, and as soon as she saw the glass of water in his hand she rolled out of bed and onto the floor. After stopping to laugh at her, he went downstairs for breakfast with Scott whilst she got ready for school. She lazily threw the comforter over the bed, and mindlessly left the door wide open.

Two days later, it seemed not a single thing had changed.

The chimera's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement from down the hall; from Scott's room, specifically. The door was now slightly ajar, a telltale sign that the teen was finally out of bed. Rachel took a few steps down to the doorway, knocking lightly on the frame. The door soon swung open, Scott in the midst of putting on a shirt standing in its place.

"Morning." Rachel forced a small smile at his surprise. Scott seemed to make an attempt at reciprocating it, but struggled— he was happy to see Rachel awake, let alone out of the hospital, but everything else still weighed heavily on him. "I wanted to stop by and see how you're doing.. Derek told me about Stiles."

"I'm okay." Scott nodded softly. "When did you wake up?"

"Like three hours ago." The Hale girl shrugged nonchalantly. "They were going to run some tests, all of which would've had some pretty supernatural results.. your mom got me out. Don't ask me how— did you know I was apparently in a coma?"

"Yeah." Scott couldn't help but laugh lightly at how she spoke in an almost comical way, just as Stiles would. She was in such a good mood, given the circumstances; it didn't make sense to him, but he wasn't going to question or even mention it in fear of ruining it. "Was Allison still at the hospital when you left?"

"Yeah, uh, she was asleep in the waiting room. I didn't want to wake her that early, I'll probably text her in another few minutes to let her know I'm out." Rachel had been rather surprised to see Allison actually asleep in the waiting room, as Derek had said she was. It wasn't like she was dying or anything, it was just a minor coma. Allison could've gone home for the night, as Scott did. "By the way, where's Isaac? I didn't see him out there with Alli so I figured he was here."

Scott froze. She didn't know.

"What?" Rachel furrowed her brows, noticing the blank stare on Scott's face. He'd gone from seemingly okay to distant in a matter of seconds, and when it came to Scott McCall, that was unheard of. "Scott, are you okay?"

"Do you remember what happened right before you passed out?"

The chimera thought for a moment. She wanted to lie, but she couldn't, not to Scott. Hesitantly, she nodded, biting her lip as she found the words. "I was standing in the water, but I wasn't being electrocuted. I saw Kira, holding the wire before I blacked out, she was absorbing the electricity.. I don't think I was doing that. I know it's hard to believe, but whatever I was— the electricity wasn't hurting me, it was making me stronger. I don't know how to explain it any other way.. it was like gasoline fuelling a fire. I wanted more.

"And I know the hospital said I was electrocuted, and that's why I flatlined, but it's not. I wasn't electrocuted. Electricity can't hurt me anymore, I'm not sure anything can. Whatever I was when I stepped into the water, I didn't become that willingly; it was an involuntary reflex. It was like something inside of me knew I was about to die, and changed to prevent it."

The look of horror on Rachel's face as realization slowly began to dawn upon her only made it harder for Scott to tell her the truth. All this time, she'd believed her demise would be the insane pseudoscientists returning for her, or one of the many enemies that threatened her friends and family— but she'd been wrong. So wrong.

"Do you remember what else happened?"

Her mind was racing a mile a minute. The wheels in her head were turning so quickly, she could barely comprehend her own thoughts in that moment, let alone provide a coherent answer to Scott's question. If she was right.. if her abilities had really saved her.. God, she couldn't even think of it. She couldn't think of anything. The only intelligible thought she could focus on wasn't really a thought at all, it was two words, repeating over and over again in a voice she knew all too well. Condition improves.

Scott bit his bottom lip nervously. He couldn't tell her, not now. Rachel needed someone to listen to her, someone to explain everything to, not someone to talk over her, and change the topic. She was hurting, hell, she looked on the verge of crying and telling her would only hurt her more. But she'd hate him if he didn't.

"I can't remember anymore." Rachel finally found the words, staring down at the wooden floorboards. She was digging her nails into her palms trying to slow the tsunami of thoughts in her head. It wasn't helping. "Allison and Isaac showed up, Alli was running towards the water but she didn't step in it, Isaac stopped her.. there is nothing else, is there?"

"He stopped her, but he didn't move in time."

Scott's words took a few seconds to fully sink in and be comprehended. Isaac had been electrocuted. Her mind cleared of thoughts regarding her own problems in an instant. Rachel felt a sharp pain in her chest as her mind now began filling with possibilities, all of which were dire, but dug her nails deeper into her palms and remained calm. "He's okay though, right? Werewolves get electrocuted all the time— the Argents fried my brother a bunch of times and he's fine. Scott?"

He need to didn't answer. The grim look on his face said it all.

—

UNEDITED

lol whoops

i'm so excited for the next chapter, ive been planning it for so long. i've been planning this entire episode for so long, tbh. i can't believe i'm over halfway through 3B already. we're closer to the end than we are to the beginning.

also can we talk about how unspoken is nearing 500k reads? 447k. 53k away from half a freaking million. i'm more shook than i was after i watched next week's promo. i cried. i ran through my house screaming and had a celebratory slice of cake (even though i was dieting at the time) at 10k. if it ever hits a million, y'all can bet i'm buying myself the huge ass ice cream cake from superstore. even if it takes 10 years. even if it's my broke ass's last $20. i truly cannot fathom how my late night fanfiction has amassed this many reads. i love you all. thank you.

ps. can we talk about the promo for next week's episode.. i tear up every time i mention it. i cried. i screamed. i'm so excited. this ship is literally the only reason i'm still watching.