"damnatio memoriae"

CASSIE WANTED TO SEE HER father, so much so, that the girl had begun standing outside of the hospital, telling herself over and over again that he was better off without her, that she was just a burden, but the words didn't take, and she still hadn't moved. Two hours, and she hadn't moved a muscle from the front of the hospital, listening to the doctors and nurses inside rushing around and doing their jobs, listening to the people in the parking lot, just listening, because she could now hear it all, no matter how much she tried to block it all out, they never stopped. She didn't know how to take it all in, it was overwhelming, and she honestly just wanted them to stop — she was stuck in her own head, when Theo came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and facing the hospital with her, standing close behind her that she could feel his breath on her neck. Theo saved her, she had to keep reminding herself, he brought her back to life, he was the only one there for her when everyone else had abandoned her; so no matter how much her body didn't enjoy him being this close to her, she had to constantly remind herself that he was her saviour. She owed him.

"I wasn't going in." Cassie was quick to reason with him, knowing that she wasn't allowed to go and see her father yet because Stiles was still in there, and Theo didn't want Stiles or Scott knowing his plans, yet. Granted, Cassie wouldn't say a single thing to either of them, but Theo told her that they were good at manipulating her, so the girl had to keep her guard up around them from now on. "I was just watching. Listening." She said, scared that Theo would punish her for going against his wishes.

Theo sighed, running his hand down her hair as the girl tried to refrain from cringing at the touch, the words 'he saved you' repeating over and over in her head to make this all okay. "I came here to tell you, that you can go and visit your dad." Theo revealed, the girls breath hitching in her throat at his words, not knowing why he was suddenly changing his mind about the girl going to see her father, she had been begging him since she had first woken up, and he had denied her request every single time, until now, that is. Theo spun her around so she was facing him, "Under one condition. You tell them nothing. You don't tell them about me, about what we're doing. Even if they do figure it out, you tell them nothing. Understand?" He asked her, keeping his hands on her shoulders so she couldn't move from facing him, that she couldn't look anywhere else but his face, seeing how serious he was about the girl not saying a single thing about him or what they were all up to.
Cassie nodded, unable to find her own voice as she just wanted to go and see her dad, to give him a hug and cry on his shoulder — she had been bottling it all in, unable to let out her feelings due to the fact that she couldn't let the others know, but she knew her dad wouldn't judge, and that's what she needed. Theo studied her face for a few seconds, before eventually nodding to himself, believing that his words had gotten through to Cassie and that she wasn't going to do anything he wouldn't like, slowly, he let his arms drop down her arms, before eventually letting go, "Okay. Go on then." He said, motioning his head towards the hospital.

Cassie didn't exactly know if he was teaching her a lesson or not, so she stayed out for a few seconds, watching as he eventually walked away from her, not caring about what she did from now on as he knew she wouldn't disobey him. The girl sighed, turning back around to face the hospital, her heart rate picking up as she knew she would finally get to see her dad; would he be happy to see her? Was he glad that she was gone? The questions flowing through her mind as she eventually made her feet move, walking into the hospital and heading for the elevator — she didn't need to ask around for her dads room, she knew where he was, as she had been watching, and she had already been here just to see if he was okay. The girl held her breath as the elevator doors opened to the level her dad was on, and she eventually had to step out when some other people got in, but she didn't move, she stared ahead for a few seconds, before eventually dragging her feet along the floor slowly, finally reaching his room. Cassie could only hear him inside of the room, meaning that Stiles wasn't here, and she couldn't tell if she was happy or sad about that, but either way, she made her feet move onwards to the open door, looking in at her father sitting in bed, on his laptop. He had this kind of look in his eyes, like he was there, but not really there, like he was completely broken, with no point of returning back to life.

When Cassie moved further into the room, Noah finally looked up, having sensed movement in the corner of his eye, and when he saw his daughter standing there, he didn't know what to think; was he hallucinating again? He had when he believed her to be standing by his hospital bed, when the girl had claimed she loved him; he thought that was a dream, that the drugs he had been put on had caused it, but here she was again, and Noah was off of the drugs, meaning that she had to be here.. "Cassie?" Noah dared ask, his voice breaking as he spoke up, Cassie feeling her heart clench at the sound — her dad was strong, the strongest man she knew, and here he was, breaking apart in front of her. "Are you really here?" He asked, pushing the laptop to the side as he began to stand up, cringing as he did so due to the pain still in his body.

Cassie couldn't say anything at first as her father slowly walked towards her, she felt the tears forming in her eyes and feeling them drop down, streaming down her face as he stood in front of her, afraid to reach out in case she was a part of his imagination. "It's me, dad. I'm really here." She eventually spoke up, her voice sounding quiet and completely broken, causing Noah to finally sob, reaching out to touch her cheek, and actually feeling her. She was real, she wasn't his imagination.

Noah didn't think twice before pulling the girl into his hold, Cassie finally letting out all of the emotions she had been holding in since she had been brought back to life. "You're real." Noah whispered, holding Cassie's head against his chest as he stroked her hair, giving her the fathers embrace that she had been desperately needing for days on end. "What- How?" He stuttered, pushing the girl back and holding her face in his hands, tears streaming down his own face as the girl looked the same.

"I can't say." Cassie told him truthfully, "Just know that I'm alive, and well, and I'm okay." She sobbed, hating that she couldn't tell het dad what had really happened and the fact that Theo had brought her back to life, and she was now apart of his pack, answering his beck and call. He would call her crazy for leaving Scott's, but she never believed that she was apart of his pack, she was just, there, and he had proved that when he refused to save her, when he refused to bite her when Liam had asked. Even if Liam had left her in the end, at least he tried, which is more than she could say about any of the others.. Even Lydia.

"Cassie?" A voice spoke up, causing the girl to turn around and see Stiles standing by the door with a coffee, looking like he was seeing a ghost standing in front of him. The girl didn't know what to say to him, or even think about him being here; she was so focused on her dad in front of her that she didn't even hear him coming into the room, which Theo would tell her off about for sure. He always said that they all need to keep their attention on their surroundings in case someone snuck up on them, and Cassie had already failed that first lesson by letting Stiles sneak up on her. "Dad?" He asked, looking at Noah in confusion, not knowing what he was currently looking at.

Noah smiled sadly, "She's really here, Stiles." He told his son, his arms reaching out for Cassie again, wanting to touch her to ensure that she was actually here still; surely Stiles wouldn't have the same hallucination?

Stiles didn't know what to think, his little sister was standing in front of her, alive, after being told by many people that she had died. Had she really died? "But.. Melissa said.. You died.." He stuttered, still not moving from the doorway in fear that he was, too, imagining the girl standing by their father.

"I did." Cassie revealed, both Noah and Stiles looking at her in complete confusion, wondering how she was here if she had died. "But I'm back, and you can't ask me how, because I can't tell you." She said, noticing the look on Stiles' face, the look the face when he was about to throw a bunch of questions in their face. Stiles finally moved away from the door, slowly approaching his sister, the girl looking up at him as she tried to hate him for not being there for her, but looking at the tears already streaming down her face, she just couldn't. This was her brother, and as much as Theo wanted her to shut him out, she didn't think she could. "You weren't there." She eventually spoke up, her voice quivering as she tried to hold in her sob, she knew why her dad wasn't there, but Stiles.. He just wasn't there for her whilst she was dying.

"I.. I didn't know." Stiles eventually said, after pausing in his steps noticing that Cassie had taken one step away from him, a look of utter distraught on her face. "I was looking for dad at the time, Cass. If I knew I would've come, you know that." He told her, hating the fact that she believed he wasn't there when she was dying because he didn't want to be; he didn't know, and he wouldn't been there in an instant if he knew what was happening to her.

Cassie shook her head, trying not to believe the words coming from his mouth as Theo had told her a completely different story. "No one was there for me. I was dying, and not even Scott stayed by my side. Everyone left me." She said, backing up again when Stiles attempted to pull her in for a hug.

"Cassie, what happened?" Noah asked, his heart breaking at the sight of his two children fighting. The sight of Cassie stepping away from Stiles in fear was something that was going to haunt him forever, he didn't know what it was about her, but she had changed, she wasn't the same little girl that she was before.

Cassie looked back at her dad, who looked like he was going to break down at the sight of her, and that, was why she shouldn't have come back. "It doesn't matter what happened, what matters is that I'm back, and I know everything." The girl explained, looking at Stiles as she spoke, the boy furrowing his brows in confusion at what she meant. "Whilst none of you were there for me, someone else was." She snarled, unable to keep her anger back at the fact that her family had just abandoned her, Theo's words replaying in her mind over and over, 'they left you' 'they don't care'..

Stiles stepped backwards when her eyes glowed a bright orange, a colour like he had never seen before, like whatever the dread doctors had done to her, had worked. "Cassie.." He sighed, not knowing what to say to her, it seemed that whoever had helped her had completely brainwashed her. The girl standing in front of her wasn't his sister anymore, and he was determined to get her back.

"Coming here was a mistake." Cassie said, her eyes dimming down until they were her normal colour again, she glanced at her dad, who actually seemed to fear her, and her heart ached at the sight, not wanting him to look at her like that. "I'm glad you're okay, dad. That's what I came to find out." She added, as she began to walk past Stiles and towards the door, sighing when Stiles spoke up again.

"We can help you, Cass. Whatever you feel like you can't tell us, you can, no matter what happens." Stiles said, knowing that he wasn't about to give up on her no matter how much she tried to push them away. She was still his sister, no matter how different she seemed — she acted hostile, even against them, like she was afraid of something, or someone, and he wasn't about to let her go without letting her know that they would always be there for her. The girl paused by the door, wanting nothing but to turn around and tell them that Theo had her under control, that she was in his pack and she couldn't go against him; she physically and mentally couldn't. Instead of turning around and telling them that, she left the room, leaving her brother and dad watching her leave even more confused than when she had first turned up, the two of them stood wondering what the hell had happened to her, and whom had her under control. Before Noah could say anything, Stiles turned to face him, "I'll find out what happened. You stay here and rest, you need it." He instructed Noah, who didn't like being bossed around by his son, but he couldn't exactly do anything when he was bed bound.

Noah nodded, gripping his sons shoulder, "Get our Cassie back."