A/N: TW is still not mine but I hope you enjoy my take on it! And please tell me what you think! :)

Prompt: Lydia and the Sheriffs reunion with Stiles after he comes out of the school

Aftermath

It was over. The news spread like a wildfire through the mass of people that were waiting outside of school. It was followed by a collective sigh by all the parents and siblings and friends of those held in quarantine in the school.

Of course the news that the danger had passed reached the Sheriff, and with him, Lydia as one of the first. They were also one of the first in the school, alongside Agent McCall. It took Lydia a moment to find her mom but when she saw her standing in the hallway relief washed over her like a wave.

The reunion wasn't long even so it was heartfelt but Lydia had to find her friends and her mother wanted to help some more.

She needed to find them. She needed to make sure that they were ok. Of course it wasn't hard to guess that this wasn't just some spontaneous outbreak of something. It surely had been an attack on the supernatural population of Beacon Hills. Especially on Scott and his pack.

The first one she saw was Malia. The girl stormed out of the school without a glance at Lydia or her Dad who was waiting for her. He looked a bit startled as she brushed past him but then he quickly turned around and followed her. Lydia looked after her for a moment as she tore off the jacket she was wearing and threw it at her father. He caught it and Lydia frowned. That was definitively not Malias. It looked more like something Stiles had worn a couple of times.

Next she found Kira. The Kitsune was still looking a bit pale but she was hugging her Dad tightly and even though her eyes were filled with tears she smiled at Lydia. Lydia smiled back at her before she went deeper into the school.

Scott was standing with his Dad in an empty hallway. They were discussing in hushed voices sending glances towards an open classroom door from time to time. They stopped when Lydia walked towards them and Scott gave her a relieved smile.

"Are you ok?" he asked as she stopped next to them and Lydia had to smile.

"You are asking me?" she shook her head. "You were the one under lockdown in the school with a potential deadly biohazard."

Scott scratched the back of his neck as he looked at her with his big puppy eyes and a little smile as Rafael huffed lightly.

"Ah, you know…" he started but Lydia interrupted him: "I'm fine, Scott. I'm glad that you're ok." She flung her arms around his neck in a sudden rush of relief and pulled him in for a hug. Scott quickly gave into it and hugged her back while she already looked around searching for Stiles. It was a given that wherever Scott was when danger was around Stiles was close by too but she couldn't see him.

"Where is Stiles?" she asked when she let go of him. She couldn't quite hide the concern in her voice and Scott picked it up, along with the slight flutter of her heartbeat. His eyes sparkled with glee for a moment. The same glee she had seen in Allisons eyes when they were buying dresses for the Winter formal in Sophomore year when she had set up Lydia with Stiles. However that look vanished from his eyes as quickly as it came and was replaced by worry. He looked over to the classroom again and Lydia easily guessed that Stiles was in there.

"Is he ok?" she asked then looking over too.

"I don't know" Scott shrugged helplessly and bit his lip. "He didn't say much before his Dad ushered him away."

"I'm going to check on him" Lydia said as her concern suddenly ten folded. She brushed a hand over Scotts upper arm before she walked over to the classroom. There she found Stiles and his Dad.

Stiles was sitting on one of the desks, his head bend as he stared at his hands that were folded in his lap. His Dad stood in front of him one hand resting on Stiles shoulder. In the other he held a small bottle of water.

Lydia knocked on the doorframe lightly to get their attention but only the Sheriff looked at her. He smiled slightly as he saw her and she took that as an invitation to get closer.

"Hey Lydia" the Sheriff said when she had almost reached them. Stiles glanced up with a blank expression before his look moved back towards his hands.

"Did you find your mother?" Sheriff Stilinski continued trying to sound casual. Lydia nodded her head even though she couldn't take her eyes of Stiles. The side of his face she was seeing was splattered with blood as was the front of his t-shirt and the zip-up hoodie he was wearing.

"What happened?" she asked as she turned towards the Sheriff. Stiles visible shrank back as he heard that and his father squeezed his shoulder in comfort before he let it slid off as he walked away taking Lydia with him.

"There was another assassin" he said quietly when they were on the other end of the classroom. "He tried to kill Scott, Kira and Malia with some kind of virus. Apparently they managed to hide in the Hale vault while Stiles tried to find the cause.

Naturally the guy wasn't happy that he couldn't find them because he needed their bodies as proof to collect the money. He caught up with Stiles and…" The Sheriff hesitated and glanced back to his son who hadn't moved a bit. "… and… he threatened him at gunpoint to get to know their whereabouts." Lydia couldn't suppress the gasp at that. "McCall shot him before he could pull the trigger."

"So, it's not his blood?" Lydia asked careful as she looked towards Stiles too.

"No… no it's not. But the assassin stood right in front of him as he was holding the gun to his forehead counting to three when McCall shot him in the head" he sounded grateful and worried at the same time.

"He's in shock then?" Lydia bit her lip concerned as the Sheriff nodded.

"Probably" he sighed wearily and rubbed one hand over his face.

"Could you do me favour?" he asked then. "Could you stay with him for a while? I have to appoint a substitute before I can get Stiles out of here."

Lydia nodded her head. "Of course, Sheriff"

He smiled gratefully at her before he walked back to his son.

"I've to go back for a bit" he said to him then and Stiles nodded slightly. "I'll try to make it quick"

He squeezed Stiles shoulder once more before he turned to Lydia who had followed him back.

"Thank you" he smiled at her and handed her the bottle of water. "He hasn't recovered yet, unlike the rest and he really needs to drink something with a fever like this."

Lydia nodded once more and took the water. Hesitantly the Sheriff walked away then but he sent a final look back to them as he'd reached the door before he left, quietly closing it behind himself.

Lydia waited for a moment before she squeezed herself next to Stiles on the desk. He slid over a bit to make more room for her to sit but Lydia still made sure to press her whole frame against him to offer some more comfort even though she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Stiles?" she asked quietly when he didn't say anything. "How are you?"

He was silent for a long time, just staring at his hands and chewing his lip before he leant a bit into Lydias embrace

"I- I don't know" he said equally quiet. "Oh god Lydia…. Scott could have… they all could have died."

She bit her lip to refrain herself from saying that he had been even closer. That he was the one with the weapon held to his forehead. Even though she couldn't explain how he survived. The way the Sheriff had described it Stiles should have been dead too. Killed by the same bullet, fired by Scotts Dad, that had killed the chemist.

"But they didn't" she said instead. She wrapped her arm tighter around him. "You saved them."

"But what if I would have been too slow? What if Scotts Dad wouldn't have made it in time? What if… what if…"

"Ssshh, Stiles..." Lydia hushed him. He stopped and let out a breath that almost sounded like a sob. "You weren't too slow, Scotts Dad made it in time. Stop thinking about the things that didn't happen.

You saved them and that is what counts."

She could feel him trembling against her but she wasn't sure if it was because of the fever he still had or the shock.

"You should drink something" she said then and offered him the water. Hesitantly he took it and held it in his hands. With her now free hand she brushed over his hair. "Drinking, Stiles, not just holding the bottle" she reprimanded him gentle. He turned his head into her caress and closed his eyes, ignoring her demand.

There was a knock on the door before it opened slowly. Stiles opened his eyes again and looked over like Lydia. Scott poked his head in and smiled one of his sweet puppy smiles before he opened the door wider to step through. Behind him Kira followed a bit more insecure.

"How are you doing?" Scott asked gentle as he had reached them. Lydia let her hand slid down and rested it on Stiles arm instead where she drew small circles with her thumb.

"I'm fine" Stiles said weakly as he avoided his eyes.

Scott only sighed deeply. He was used to Stiles pretending that everything was fine but it wasn't a reason to let it slide.

"The truth, please" he said then with a slight alpha rumble in his voice. Stiles only pressed his lips together and turned his head away as Scott stepped into his line of view again. Though, he could only turn his head so far and when Scott kneeled down in front of him to catch his gaze he let out a sigh. "Please, Stiles"

Stiles only chewed on his lips so Lydia took the matter in her hands: "He's still running a fever."

At the same time Scott brushed a hand over Stiles hand and black tendrils crawled up his arm.

"You're in pain too."

"Yeah, I guess I'm not feeling so well" Stiles finally admitted.

"It's probably because you haven't rested like all the others and your body is still fighting off the infection" Kira said with an equally worried look like Scott and Lydia.

"There is a couch in Coaches office" Scott suddenly said. "You could lay down there."

"No, Scott. I…" Stiles begun to argue but Lydia interrupted him as she pushed away from the desk: "Brilliant idea! Let's go!"

"But I don't…" Stiles tried again but Lydia didn't allow any arguments.

"Up" she simply said as she wrapped her hand around his upper arm. Scott got up from the ground and did the same on Stiles other side while Stiles slid from the desk with a half-heartedly protesting noise. His knees almost buckled underneath him but Scott took most of his weight and held him up. They had to wait a moment till Stiles had his legs under control again before they could continue.

Kira stood off to the side and just watched them, especially Stiles, intently. When they finally got him moving again she excused herself with a quick "I'll be back" before she walked away in the opposite direction and vanished around a corner.

It wasn't far to Coaches office though they needed longer than normal as Stiles shuffled along between them. More than once they had to stop as he had to catch his breath or wait out a dizzy spell.

When they'd finally reached the office Stiles sank down on the couch with an almost grateful sigh. Scott stayed in front of him looking down on his friend while Lydia sat down next to Stiles. She offered him the water again but he only shook his head.

"I'll get you a change of clothes" Scott said then. He put his hand on Stiles shoulder for a moment, draining some more pain and squeezing it in comfort, before he left.

Stiles was the first who broke the silence that followed then.

"She hates me" he said quietly and rubbed a hand over his face though he stopped when he felt the dried blood flake away.

"Who?" Lydia asked gentle brushing her hand over his shoulder in hope to offer some comfort.

"Malia, she hates me now" he said again.

"Why?" she asked as she put her arm around his shoulders again as she moved closer.

"She saw the list with her name on it" he said before he turned his head to look at Lydia. "And you know what is worse? I don't even feel bad about it."

"Stiles" she tried but he continued: "I know that I should feel sad or heartbroken or something. But honestly I don't feel anything."

Lydia had to bite her lip to keep a smile from blooming on her face at the thought that Stiles might not be in love with Malia anymore. Even so it probably was just the shock that left him feeling numb for now. He turned away from her again looking back down on his hands while she struggled to find words of comfort she could offer him but she didn't know what to say that didn't make her sound relieved about the possible break-up.

Luckily she was saved by Kira who joined them again. She walked over to them with quick strides holding a wet looking towel in one hand and in the other a folded up blanket.

"I told your Mom where we are" she said as she stopped in front of them. "She'll let the Sheriff know too."

She looked unsure what to do next as Lydia thanked her and she almost seemed relieved when the Banshee took the towel from her.

"Stiles, I'm going to clean you up a bit, okay?" Lydia voice was soft as she took his chin in her hand and turned his face slowly towards her again. His eyes seemed dazed as he looked more through her than at her and she could feel the heat radiating from him. A shiver ran through him as the towel touched his skin even though Lydia felt that Kira had made the effort to use warm water to make it feel less cold.

She carefully dabbed at the blood on his forehead, it wasn't much anymore. The most was smeared on the sleeves of his hoodie as he must have tried to whip it away at some point. But what was left had already dried and she had to go over it multiple times to clean it away.

As she begun to wipe over his cheeks he let out an exhausted sigh and Lydia had to hold up his head a bit more as he closed his eyes. There wasn't any blood there but she had a feeling it would make him feel a bit better; most of all because of the cooling effect but also because of the feeling of being cleaned with some water.

Lydia was almost done cleaning Stiles throat too when Scott came back again.

"I'm sorry it took so long" he apologized and then he added almost sheepish: "I had to try more than one locker to find something fitting."

Lydia finished the cleaning and put the towel away as Scott held out the shirt, he had found, for Stiles to take. But his best friend didn't react at all as he just stared at a point in front of Scotts feet. Lydia huffed lightly before she took Stiles arm and easily guided him through the sleeve. Kira reacted quickly and did the same on Stiles other side before she took the hoodie and stepped away. Scott then took hold of Stiles shirt and together with Lydia he pulled it over Stiles head.

Not even the fact that he was half naked in front of his long time crush roused Stiles out of his stupor. He only flinched because of the cold when Lydia quickly wiped over his chest and back with the towel before they put the shirt on him. All the while Scott sent worried glances towards Lydia who only could shrug helplessly.

"You should rest a bit, bro" Scott suggested then and Lydia readily agreed but when she made a move to get up Stiles looked up at her and said: "Please, stay"

There was a slight tinge of desperation in his voice and a hopeless look in his eyes that Lydia couldn't resist. She gave him a small smile before she sat down at the end of the couch again.

Scott then pushed Stiles down slightly till his head came to rest on Lydias lap. She immediately put her arm around him again. Her fingertips rested on his collarbone as she drew small circles with her thumb while she brushed through his hair with the other. His eyes fell close in seconds and Kira spread the blanket over him carefully tucking it around him too. Scott grinned as he saw how much care she put into the action and she blushed slightly. The red colour on her cheeks got even darker when Scott mouthed a thank you before he sat down in front of the couch. He pulled Stiles arm out from under the blanket and took Stiles hand in his drawing out some more pain. Kira sat down next to him, their shoulders brushing lightly as she watched the black tendrils crawling up Scotts arm.

That's how the Sheriff found them a while later. Of course he hadn't had the chance to leave immediately as everyone wanted something from him and when he saw his son sleeping on the couch surrounded by his friends he only smiled, grabbed a chair and joined them in their vigil over Stiles.

~Fin~