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The first time Theo got scolded by Jenna, they couldn’t find him for hours.
Jenna had every right to be upset. The pair were out way too early for comfort, leaving when it was still dark, and not returning until brunch. When prompted why, Theo gave a less than satisfactory response. In Liam’s eyes, his remark wasn’t that snarky, but something about it sent his parents over the edge. A kid had been shot a week prior, in the very same woods in which they claimed to be. When reminded of this, Theo snapped that being there had been assigned to them, and that he’d always keep Liam safe, but his tone was harsh. At that, Liam could understand why his parents were upset. As a kid, they always made him promise not to go running headfirst into danger. But, they also warned him not to hang out with mysterious, older kids. Both of those rules, he breaks on the daily.
His parents love Theo, of course. They’ve invited him into their home and are making great strides with the boy who has no experience in domestic life, but there are still challenges. Like this one.
As soon as Jenna’s voice raised and she pointed an angry finger towards the door, he flinched . For two minutes, she then raged about the dangers of which she thought he was well aware, and for those two minutes, determined to make it stick how they both should be more careful, she neglected to notice the way the boy seemed to sink inside himself. His usual bold and somewhat audacious exterior melted and his lip trembled with unease. When Jenna finished, she sighed deeply and turned away. Soft “okay”s spilled from both boys, and Liam went to sit down in the nearest chair. Theo, however, disappeared. In the fraction of a second that no one was looking, he was gone.
At first, they assumed he’d gone upstairs. Jenna urged her son to give him some room, but when he never returned downstairs, and his scent seemed to have gone stale from the house altogether, Liam got worried. His truck was still in the driveway, assuring his mom he was still somewhere in the house, but Liam wasn’t so sure. He could distinguish his scent to an extent , but it wasn’t as fresh and prominent as it usually was. Worry quickly turned into a full blown panic attack, and as soon as David got his son to more or less settle, they went out looking for him.
Liam wasn’t sure if he was more pissed off or anxious at Theo for just disappearing like an uncollared dog. He remembered helping his elderly neighbor look for her little yorkie several times before they both passed. This felt similar, aside from the fact it was his boyfriend missing this time.
As the sun began to set, Jenna brought them all back home, assuring them they’ll try calling his phone again. He hadn’t answered any of them, but it was getting too dark to keep exploring the county that’s become rather dangerous.
“He knows where we live,” she reminded, “he’ll come back.”
And he did. But not the same way he left.
The first thing Liam noticed after the family heard him tiptoe back into the house was the smell . It was putrid, like something old and rotten, and he was covered in it. As soon as Liam hugged him, he hit him in the shoulder, angry and disgusted.
“What the fuck , Theo?! Where’ve you been? What is that smell?”
The boy’s tightly clenched jaw told Liam he wasn’t going to get an answer. He looked over to Jenna, apologized, and then went upstairs. The sound of the running shower a few moments later was a relief, but it didn’t answer any of their questions. Even his parents could smell the nauseating stench, but neither could place it.
When the chimera came to the living room, after a light meal and a gentle prodding from Jenna, he didn’t take his usual spot on the couch beside Liam, and opted instead to sit on the floor. Liam made several grabs for him, trying to pull him up by the arms, but that resulted in joining him on the carpeted ground.
“What’s wrong with you?” He asked carefully.
Theo kissed the side of his head but still, said nothing.
By morning, he was back to normal. And in a couple weeks, the family would more or less forget about the incident.
That is, until it repeats every time Theo gets in trouble.
It’s happened three times now. Jenna will, rightfully upset, scold the older boy, who then disappears instantly, only to return with that same smell. Every time, Jenna curses softly, but she stands by her words. She means well. She’s only looking out for them. Both are so thickheaded and stubborn, sometimes they need a reminder to be safe. Her scolding isn’t always harsh, either. Sometimes, it’s a gentle nudge, but Theo proves sensitive to both. As soon as he’s gone, even when Jenna’s exterior remains calm, she fills with anxiety.
“I thought that was okay.”
“It was,” her husband assures. “Baby, you did nothing wrong. I think he’s just a sensitive kid.”
Beside them, Liam frowns, then buries his head in his hands. Theo’s slipped past him three times, and he still has no idea where he goes. He does, however, spend less time out than he did the first. The first incident, he was gone all day, and wasn’t back until past dinner. The second, he was unheard of for about six hours. The third, it was closer to four. Today, Liam’s really hoping he’ll cut that time in at least half.
“I wish I knew where he goes,” Jenna whines. “I wish he knew he’s safe here.”
Liam’s heart breaks, and David collects his now-crying wife in his arms.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. I think he does, I just think he might not know how to handle reprimand. He’ll be back.”
“It’s dangerous out there.”
“Something tells me he knows where he’s going. He’s not out there, just, running.” David glances at Liam, whose leg is bouncing so much the whole table is shaking. “He’ll be okay.”
Two hours later, they are still waiting for his return.
Liam makes a nervous joke to his mom. “Can you, like, fake scold him another time so I can follow where he goes?”
Jenna chuckles, wiping her dry face. She’d stopped crying earlier, but her eyes hurt now. “Maybe we’ll have to. Can you catch up with him?”
Liam frowns. “He can full-shift into a small, sneaky black wolf. Odds aren’t in my favor.”
She embraces her son in a hug. “We’ll talk to him, okay? See what’s going on.”
Theo comes back after four total hours of disappearing. The sun has just set but the sky still has faint streaks of orange within its dark blue. He takes a deep breath before creaking open the door to the Dunbar-Geyer house, cringing at the sound. David says all the time how urgently he needs to get it fixed, but now he wonders if he’s leaving it loud on purpose. This is four times now that Theo’s disappeared. Four times he’s disappointed Jenna. Four times he’s put Liam in danger. Four times he’s punished himself the way he deserves .
Like a dog in a cage. The way he was raised.
Like clockwork, Liam rushes to grab him. He hugs him close, burying his nose in his chest, only to resurface coughing at the smell. Theo barely recognizes the smell, hasn’t in years. He doesn’t notice the difference until he’s back in the clean, organized house that Jenna works so hard to maintain. Then he curses himself for spoiling the scent of fresh lavender with the harsh odor that carries on his skin and clothes. He lets Liam hug him, hit him, and then he turns to Jenna, heart heavy with apology.
“Mrs. Geyer, I’m sorry-”
“I’m just glad you’re home safe, baby.” He can smell the relief on her, and the worry that lingers underneath. She smiles. A question forms on her tongue, but she doesn’t ask, afraid to push him away further.
He nods, then heads up for a shower.
Liam’s lip trembles and he goes to his mom for comfort. David’s nose wrinkles, something familiar mixing in with the strong scent that intrudes his nostrils.
“Something…” he pauses, unsure.
“What’s that?” Jenna pulls her lips away from the top of her son’s head to ask.
“I caught a whiff of something almost… sterile.”
“Sterile? I thought the general consensus was that it was something dead .”
“Oh, there’s definitely death there, but something else that I’ve caught, but just now placed. Like medical equipment. Cleaning solutions. Surgical-grade stuff.”
Liam’s eyes narrow, then widen. “The Dread Doctors.”
His parents’ hearts sink to their toes. Every time, the name alone wracks them with anxiety.
“What about them, Li?”
“That’s how they always smelled. Like something rotting, but also something clean. It was always strong and heavy. Theo never smelled of it because he knew how to cover his scent, but that was then, when he was still with them… he doesn’t do that much anymore…”
“So what are you saying?” Jenna asks, fear in her voice. “Are they back?”
“I don’t know, they can’t be. We watched them die. They dissipated . Their throats were ripped out and then they literally turned into flakes, like freaking Mother Gothel, because they were so old.”
“So how, after all this time, does Theo smell like them?” His dad prompts.
Liam considers this. “The tunnels. That’s where he must be going. It makes perfect sense. The tunnels are safe to someone who knows them, and Theo definitely knows them. The Doctors lived in the tunnels. That’s where they experimented.”
“Why would he go back down there? I thought- thought he trusted us. I thought they hurt him. Why would he go back?”
“Jenna-”
“Mom-”
They say at the same time, hearts breaking for the woman now blaming herself.
“He’s learning-” David starts.
“He’s scared,” Liam manages to dominate, “I think. The Doctors, as much as they tried to be, weren’t real parental figures. They were his kidnappers, and his abusers, and he’s never had any normalcy in the last ten years. I think he’s so scared of disappointing you that he just needs to… I don’t know, disappear, for a while, maybe.”
Tears pour from Jenna’s eyes but she holds in her cries. It’s a skill she learned ten years ago herself, when she was abused at the hands of a dangerous man. “But why- why-?” She stops. Why go back to danger when you know you’re safe? Why flee back to what hurts you after even the most subtle discrepancies?
Because it’s familiar. That’s why she stayed with him for so long.
It wasn’t until she learned he also put his hands on Liam that she finally found the strength to make a change, to kick him out of their lives.
Theo does feel safe, that’s why he always returns after some time. But in the moment, when he’s frightened and unsure, he goes back to the hurt because it’s what he knows .
“I need to talk to him,” she decides. The shower shuts off as soon as she says it. Jenna wipes her tears and sniffles. “Liam?”
He nods, understanding, urging. Talking to Theo can sometimes be like walking on eggshells. But it isn’t that he’s explosive, he’s calm . Words can make or break him. He’s sensitive, fragile, and he knows it, but if he ever heard himself described that way, he’d become unreachable. Jenna gets it. A cold front is necessary to survive harsh conditions. Softness is weakness in the wrong person’s hands.
“I’ll be back.”
She creeps up the stairs, careful not to sneak up on him, nor scare him away. She walks on tender feet, avoids the edges where the steps creak, takes a deep breath to steady her heart. The door is open and the boy is on his bed, hands buried in his wet hair. Jenna makes a clicking sound with her tongue to announce her presence, then curses herself for it. It’s the sound she uses for Liam’s attention, not to spook him - the sound you use to announce your presence to a horse, not to spook them - but just because Liam’s used to it, doesn’t mean Theo is. Luckily, he turns his head, expression curious.
“Sorry,” she blurts out, “I should’ve knocked.”
“It’s okay.”
“Can I come in?”
He nods once. “Sure.”
She does, and Theo swings his legs to sit on the edge of the bed, inviting her beside him. A good sign.
“I’m sorry for the way I reacted earlier,” she apologies, joining him. Her hands are clasped in her lap, but she wishes she could offer a comforting touch.
“You have every right to react that way,” he counters.
She nods. “I know, but I know you understand. I don’t need to tell you to be careful, especially when Liam’s involved. I know you protect him.”
“I should do better.”
“You do better than you give yourself credit for. Liam running headfirst into danger is not your fault. I shouldn’t have scolded you for his impulsiveness.” She scolded both of them, but Liam brushes it off more easily. Theo opens his mouth to respond, but Jenna continues before he can. “You know you’re safe here, right? I’m not upset with you, I’m just worried for your safety. Both of you. I don’t ever want you to feel unsafe, or like you have to run away.”
Theo swallows hard. “I do… feel safe.”
She nods. “Do you- is that-” She pauses. “Is it Liam that makes you feel safe, or do you genuinely find comfort here, with us? I’m only asking because I care. I want this to be an environment in which you feel safe, okay? I want this to be a home because you feel like you’re at home. Like,” Jenna frustrates herself. She’s not sure she’s making any sense. “I know you trust Liam, but do you trust me, too?”
“I trust you. All three of you, not just Liam.” As if to emphasize his point, he lays down on his back and sighs, throat exposed. Jenna loses the war against herself and cards a hand through his quickly-drying hair.
“C’mere.” She pats her lap, encouraging him to rest his head against her. “Talk to me.”
He obliges, and she doesn’t miss the subtle sign of tension leaving his body, his shoulders relaxing and body getting heavier.
“I don’t know how much Liam’s told you,” she starts, “but his biological father wasn’t a nice man.” The way Theo still tells Jenna her son doesn’t mention him much. “He was unapologetically angry and brought us a lot of pain. It was hard to get rid of him, and even harder to recover from the trauma he imposed on us. For the longest time, I blamed myself for Liam’s I.E.D., because I didn’t recognize that he was hurting him until it was too late. Every time I’d push him away, I’d run back to him, because he was safe . Years of therapy, though, made me realize he was never safe, he was familiar , and those aren’t the same thing. Therapy also taught me it wasn’t my fault. That his anger was his anger, and that that load was never mine to carry. Theo, I know you’ve shared about your past, and I’ll never understand the full extent of your pain, but I need you to know it’s not your fault. Whatever they did to you, put you through, you didn’t deserve. And wherever you go when you’re in pain, I hope you only go because it’s familiar , because I want you to be safe here .”
The boy has tears in his eyes. Jenna only notices when she looks down at him after finishing her bit. She frowns and wipes them away with her thumb pads, careful to keep her nails from nearing his eyes. “ Oh, sweetie. ” She cradles his face in her palm, the other hand still resting in his hair. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” Jenna gives him such a tender kiss on the forehead, it only makes him cry more. It’s been years, decades, since he’s been treated with such gentleness from a parent. Really, though, Liam’s the only other one who’s been soft with him since when he still had his sister.
Jenna lets him cry while she holds him. A couple minutes pass, and while she’s glad he’s letting his guard down, she still wants answers, too, about where he goes. She reopens the conversation carefully, with bated breath, but she has a feeling Theo already knows somewhat of what she wants to ask.
“So… Liam mentioned the doctors… how they lived in the tunnels. Is that where you go? I just want to know you’re okay, wherever you’re going. That you’re not going somewhere the hunters could find you?”
He gives a cautious nod, half agreeing and half burying his face into her shirt, out of sight.
“Okay, and do you just… stay there? Do you shift? Is there a specific room, or hallway, or somewhere you go?”
Theo takes a deep inhale of her scent then nods again before pulling his face away from her.
“Okay, and is this a room where you would feel safe when you were still with them?” He shrugs. Jenna’s face contorts. “What is it, sweet? What brings you back there when you’re upset? I’m listening.”
Theo fights a battle within himself, to tell or not to tell . The truth is so heavy , it weighs on his chest. He wants to put it down, and yet, it’s so tragic , he can’t bear to put that on another person.
“C’mon,” she prompts further, “you can tell me.”
She’s so gentle and patient , the words dance on the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill out. Threaten to break her heart.
“They had cages,” he mutters.
“Cages?”
“When I was still learning how to shift completely, sometimes I’d get stuck. If I couldn’t figure it out in five minutes, they’d put me in a cage, saying if I was gonna look like a dog, they were gonna treat me like one. But even after I could control it, they’d put me in every time I disobeyed or disappointed them. It became - I don’t know - muscle memory to go back every time I messed up.” He pauses, hating the word choice, but not being able to take it back. “They didn’t use them as much as I got older; they started experimenting again, so they always had someone else in the cages. They also let me out more frequently. I had to make appearances throughout the day, go to school, act like I wasn’t their pet .” He makes the mistake of looking up at Jenna. A tear falls from her face, quiet cries returning. “I didn’t mean to go back. I was just going to run it off, but I ended up there , and I don’t even know how. I guess the muscle memory fell back into place. I disappointed you; I needed to be punished for it.”
“No,” Jenna says instantly, softly. “You didn’t need to be punished, and I was only worried, not disappointed. You have never disappointed me.”
“I put Liam in danger.”
“Liam puts himself in danger. And recently, he’s told me that you usually try to run from it, and he’s the one pushing you towards it, so that argument is void.” She chuckles, noticing the small smile on his lips. “But even if you did, I understand. Liam doesn’t disappoint me whenever he signs up to patrol the dangerous areas. Extremely worried? Of course. But not upset. In fact, I’m proud of him for being brave enough to do that.” Jenna’s finger catches on a knot in his hair, which she works out gently. “I’m proud of him for everything he’s conquered that he didn’t think he’d survive. His father, his I.E.D., his whole werewolf thing - which I found out way before he told me, by the way.” Theo chuckles. “He’s not subtle.”
“No, he’s not,” the older boy agrees.
“And I’m proud of you, too. First of all, for telling us what happened, trusting us with that information. For surviving it in the first place, for surviving Hell, for surviving Liam and his nonstop talking as he refuses to get his license.” She makes a joke to see him smile. It works. “I don’t care what mistakes you’ve made in the past. I don’t care if you ‘paid for them’ or not. All I care about is what you do now, and who I see you as is a sweet boy trying his best in an unrelenting world. Under my roof, you’ve done nothing wrong. You adore my son and you’re respectful to us.” She ruffles his hair more. “Those doctors are lucky they died when they did. Otherwise, I’d be coming for their necks.” He smiles wider now, eyes crinkling at the corners. “I understand if you go back, if something happens again. I know from my own past, the comfort in returning somewhere familiar, even if that place, or person, wronged you.”
Theo nods. His fingertips curl around her shirt again, finding child-like comfort in the woman that’s become the most parental figure he’s ever had. “I won’t,” he finally says. “At least, I’ll try not to.”
“Would you let Liam go with you? If there is a next time? For comfort, or protection, or to help pull you out of that mental rut?”
The boy freezes. The thought of letting Liam see where he goes, what he does to himself: trespassing back into the old operating theater to the cages in the back, wiggling past the door into a space about the size of a dog kennel, curling his shifted self into a ball like he used to, with his paws covering his ears and legs tucked cautiously into his body. Chemicals are all around, both on the shelves and on the ground, those on the ground having been knocked down by some accident. A greenish glob that used to bubble in the corner is finally at peace, though the stain and the smell still linger. A trail of thick, membranous blood clots travel to the other corner, where someone no older than him once died from the cruelty of the science done to him. For a newcomer, the smell would suffocate, but to Theo, it’s second nature.
The cage Liam was held in, that time he was kidnapped, was nothing compared to those in the operating theater. That’s where you went after your surgery, after you’ve survived the poking and prodding. That’s where you went to see if you could also survive what they’d done to you, to determine if you’re a success. Theo’s cage was in the middle of the action. It was where he went when he fought or cried, and they couldn’t bother to carry him out of the room. It was where he served punishment for not controlling the “gifts” they’d given him. He had a clear view of the operating table to see everything they would do. If someone on the table lost the strength to survive, they were put in those cages until they fully passed.
The thought of Liam seeing something so horrifying, of taking in that smell, that sight, of trying to talk him out of the mental rut while Theo curls up within himself and sits with his guilt makes his heart drop. The boy’s seen enough of the Dread Doctors’ lairs, he doesn’t need to witness any more. The pain, the guilt, it would eat him alive.
“It’s okay,” Jenna soothes, sensing his discomfort, “we can scratch that idea. I just don’t want you to be alone and vulnerable somewhere. You know that, right?”
Theo nods, appreciative of her understanding.
Downstairs, they can hear Liam shuffling. He’s done a pretty good job of not intruding thus far, it must be taking everything in him plus his dad to keep him still.
“He’s getting nervous,” Jenna comments. “I’ve stolen you too long.” Both giggle at that. Theo finally lifts his head off her lap and turns his body to face her, legs crossed.
“Thank you.”
“Of course, sweet. Do you think, whenever you’re ready, if you’re ready, and if you want to talk, would you open up to me a little more about some of these things you’ve faced? I understand therapy is a difficult option for supernaturals and Beacon Hills’ residents alike, but could you talk to me? I think putting some of that weight down would really help. You can’t carry it forever.”
He hesitates, but she’s right. And he doesn’t exactly want to tell Liam all the gruesome details, again, it would eat him alive. Maybe later, when he’s a little older and less traumatized by his own high school experience, but now, Theo still wants to protect him from as much of that stuff as he can.
“Okay,” he mutters, twirling a piece of loose blanket string around his finger.
“Okay.” Jenna smiles. She stands up and kisses the side of his head. “Ready?”
Liam and David are patiently (impatiently) waiting for their return at the table.
“Everything good?” The latter asks as soon as he spots them.
“Mhm,” the woman responds, rather chipper.
“I talked Liam’s ear off so he couldn’t eavesdrop.”
The boy in question suddenly collides with Theo’s chest, hugging him so tightly, face buried in his chest, that he can barely breathe.
“Li-”
“Thank you,” Jenna whispers in her husband’s ear. She kisses his cheek before heading to the fridge to find something for dinner. “Do you guys want salmon, or-” She turns, but they’re halfway out the kitchen already. Liam has Theo by the arm and is tugging him towards the couch. He corrals the older boy until he pretty much falls onto the leather, then moves up and around, cuddling him, while also trapping him beneath his body. Liam nuzzles into his neck, leaving a few kisses and licks, and gently bites into his shoulder when his parents aren’t looking.
“Are you okay?” He double-checks, just in case, just between them.
“Mhm,” he mutters, eyes fluttering with exhaustion. His heart is steady, scent is sweet.
“Good.”
Jenna and David turn their gazes away from the (rather clingy) pair and smile to themselves.
“Salmon sounds good, honey.”