Once in a Lifetime

36

She sighed. "Lydia, Stiles, I'm getting concerned about your mental health."

"I'm fine," Stiles said. "So is Lydia. I heard a voice that sounded like someone I knew. No one else heard it."

Ms. Martin frowned. "Well, if Micah is not hearing ghosts, maybe it's because he's not crazy."

"Tabitha isn't a ghost."

"Stiles, Tabitha doesn't exist."

Lydia glared at her mom. "Stiles and I aren't crazy. We were trying to find something Tabitha left behind. We were looking for a relic."

"Did you?"

Stiles shook his head. "No. Micah made us leave before we could find anything."

"Probably because you were tearing his wallpaper; one his wife picked out. Oh, sweetheart, Stiles. I've known Micah since high school. I trust him."

Lydia nodded. "Do you know what a confirmation bias is? The tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms a existing preconception."

Ms. Martin nodded. "Yes. It's a biased preconception."

"You're looking for proof to support what you already believe is true."

"Because you two want it to be true," Ms. Martin replied, turning back to the blonde.

Stiles frowned. "Tabitha is real."

"But do you believe there's a possibility she's not?"

Lydia looked to her mother. "Stiles believes she's real, and so do I."

Stiles nodded. "Just like the dusted Avengers, we're getting her back. She's the Bucky to my Steve."

The three of them headed to the hospital and explained to Melissa why they were there.

Melissa frowned. "You want what? You want what?"

"Robin's medical records," Stiles replied. "Just for a minute. Please. We know it's a lot to ask."

"It's up there. It's way up there."

Ms. Martin smiled a little. "As the more recently enlightened of the three of us, trust me. There are lives at stake."

Melissa sighed. "Letting the three of you look at private medical records is completely and utterly against hospital regulations. So, we better make this fast."

She looked up Robin's records on the computer. "Sorry, guys. According to her medical records, Robin and Micah had children."

"Well, but how did she..." Lydia began.

"Frontotemporal dementia," Melissa finished. "There must be a mistake."

Stiles frowned. "No, that's wrong. Robin never had that. She and Micah are happily married with a daughter."

They looked at the records and Ms. Martin frowned. "Ten years ago she died. She and Micah were never able to have children."

Argent was wheeled in and Melissa left. They rushed out and saw Scott and Malia.

Melissa frowned. "He has blunt force trauma to his temporal bone, three broken ribs, and multiple surface lacerations which see to be from whip marks? What he needs is a lot of rest."

"What happened?" Lydia and Stiles wondered.

Malia raised her eyebrows. "The Ghost Riders took everyone. We barely even slowed them down."

Scott turned to Stiles and Lydia. "Tell us you found something."

Stiles let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, we found out that Robin never had children, so Tabitha can't be her daughter."

"What about a relic?" Malia asked as Lydia and Stiles shook their heads. "There never was a Tabitha, was there?"

"It doesn't even seem possible," Scott mumbled.

Lydia glanced at Stiles before she spoke. "We have to keep looking. Check the school records again. Or call Scott's dad..."

Malia shook her head. "We're fighting the wrong battle."

Stiles sighed. "We're trying to get Tabitha back. She's real. I'm not giving up on this. On her. Not when she means so much to me. Not when... Not when I love her." He stared at the ground solemnly.

Malia looked between them. "The Ghost Riders came back. We have no way of stopping them. And whatever they are, they're real. We can't keep chasing someone who isn't."

"She didn't leave anything behind," Scott said.

Stiles looked up and said quietly, "Just us."