My Seizure Dog Derek
Stiles is proud to admit that he is a People's Dog. In that, he likes other humans besides just his immediate pack and their allied packs. It's in his breed, really, he's always loved other humans, and for the most part, he's always loved other dogs. Stiles is just that way.
So Stiles really, really enjoys when Matron McCall's new mate the Sheriff takes him, Erica, Boyd, and Isaac with him to the hospital ever few weeks. Stiles knows that it is where humans go when they are sick, when they are not-right, broken sometimes, like that one time when Scott had tripped down the stairs and broken his arm. But he's not scared of the place, despite how weird and artificial and tangy it smells there, because it is where Matron McCall goes to work. She smells like it when she comes to visit sometimes, and Scott says that is where his Matron met her new mate. The Sheriff does something called volunteering while there, even if Stiles isn't sure exactly what the man's volunteering, and some of the patients at the human vet's office like dogs. Especially the children, which is probably how he got Alpha Scott's permission to take Stiles with him in the first place. That and Stiles ridiculously energetic demands to go as well, practically vibrating at the door where he'd already gathered his leash and was waiting.
The thing is, Derek doesn't get to go with them. At least, not the first few times Stiles goes, and not the few times after that Isaac finally gets to come along. The Sheriff makes Derek stay home, even if he wants to go -he doesn't really- because he is too big, too scary. It's mostly Stiles who wants him to go though, because they've been inseparable for quite some time now, and the thought of leaving Derek home alone while the rest of his pack goes out into the human world does something to Stiles' insides he's not very comfortable with. It makes him nervous, unhappy. Doggy Married, Matron Allison says when she waddles by them and into the near-by kitchen when they lay together on their favorite rug, side by side, bodies touching. Happily Doggy Married, even if dogs don't really know what married means. (Derek explains that it is a concept a lot like mates, but not as permanent. Sometimes they leave one another. Stiles isn't sure he likes the word married so much.) But if it means that Stiles never has to live another day without Derek, then he will gladly accept it.
He's not sure what he'd do if Derek ever left.
That's why, when Stiles and the rest of the pack get to go play with the sick humans at the hospital, he always feels a bit sad. Derek would be great with the human children, because he is nothing but calm, patient, and kind. Sure, he's very large, and maybe if you didn't know him, you'd think he could be dangerous. But Derek would never hurt anyone unless they were going to hurt him or his pack first, and he would never hurt children. Stiles is beyond certain of it.
When it's time to go to the hospital the next time, Stiles isn't ready to go like he always is. In fact, he's not even gotten up from his spot at Derek's side, head tucked into his massive front legs. He doesn't get up when he's called, despite Derek's inquisitive looks, and he doesn't get up when Alpha Scott comes to find him. Not for treats, or promises of trips to the park, or rides in the car. Not for belly rubs or promises of extended time with the nursing staff. Stiles won't go without Derek, not even if Derek is insisting he go without him. That week, Stiles doesn't go.
He knows that Alpha Scott is worried about him, worried that he's sick, that he's falling back into a sort of dog depression. Stiles isn't, but he can't really explain that without actually going to see Dr. Deaton. He hopes that next week they understand why he didn't go and that they'll let Derek go.
Next week is much like the week before that, and no one asks if Derek wants to go. So Stiles doesn't get up when they ask him again, not for all the treats and promises of park trips in the world. He won't go without Derek. Erica, Boyd, and Isaac will just have to go and do an extra special job without him. Stiles knows that they can, because he believes in them. They'll be great.
The week after that, someone finally understands why Stiles suddenly doesn't want to go to the hospital anymore. That someone, ironically, is Allison's sire, Alpha Chris Argent.
They didn't see too much of him and his mate, for obvious reasons, but when they did it was always a tense affair, before the Agreement. Stiles spent most of that time huddled tightly by Derek's side in the living room, on their rug, out of the way when they visited. He didn't like to get up when the Argents were there, it drew too much attention, and the Alpha Argent wouldn't come anywhere near him if he was close to Derek's side. It was a good system, and it staid that way for many months after Stiles came back to den. Derek never threatened the Argents, just stayed and comforted Stiles, a calming and secure presence that meant the world. But one day, Alpha Argent came into the house, through the kitchen, and into the living room, which he'd never done, and slowly approached Stiles and Derek. When Stiles had buried his head into Derek's side, Derek's own head perked up off the floor, ears up and alert, eyes calm and waiting. Alpha Argent had then dropped down into a crouch a few feet away, hands out in human submission, before he started to apologize to Stiles.
It had been a lengthy apology, filled with words that Derek later had to clarify for Stiles, but it was heartfelt and truly sincere. The man hadn't meant to be as cruel and hurtful to Stiles as he had been, and that he understood that Stiles had been protecting himself from a perceived threat, and their taunting feline Kate. (Derek will explain the rambling story about them catching Kate in the act of bating other animals, of doing vicious cat things, much later when the Argents are gone.) They'd come to an understanding then, a truce really, where all past transgressions were put aside for the mutual benefit of their two packs. And Stiles, despite still being sort of terrified of both Chris Argent and his mate, decided that they were okay for humans after all. Even if they were cat people.
The two packs had formed an allied bond, and Stiles was proud. So he made an effort when the Argents came over to visit now, always walking to the door to welcome them into his den, and sometimes even allowing them to pet his head or scratch behind his ears. Then he'd trot back over to Derek's side where the remainder of his time was spent happy and fairly relaxed.
But Stiles didn't really bother to get up today from his nap beside Derek, didn't really bother to do his pack duties when they arrived for Sunday dinner, and subsequently raised some alarm. (Both with the Argents as well as the McCalls. Sunday dinners were somewhat large affairs.) He didn't hear Alpha Argent ask Alpha Scott and Sheriff Stilinski what was wrong with him, and he didn't hear Alpha Scott's response that Stiles had been feeling a bit down the last few weeks. That he'd stopped going on trips to town, and that he'd sort of lost interest in trips away from the house that didn't include the entire family. And he most definitely didn't hear hear when his Alpha told the other two Alphas about his sudden lack of interest in the hospital visits.
He did, however, hear when Alpha Argent walked into the living room and sat on the chair closest to Derek and Stiles' rug. The very same chair that his daughter often occupied while she sat with them in the afternoons. Stiles was confused what was going on, but not alarmed. He just quirked his head to the side, watching the man calmly, while Alpha Argent sat there and studied him and Derek. They sat in silence for almost thirty minutes before Alpha Argent suddenly got back up and left, never saying a word to either him or Derek.
"Take Derek with you when you go to the hospital next." He didn't leave room for argument with his tone, but Stiles realized that Alpha Argent had recognized the problem. Just from sitting with him and Derek. In silence. "Stiles doesn't want to leave him here at home. It's Derek, not Stiles. Take Derek and everything will go back to how it was."
Stiles' tail could be heard thumping the floor all the way from the kitchen.
Finally, the next time it came to visit the hospital, Stiles was ready at the door, and so was Derek, both of their leashes in paw. Stiles was wiggling almost uncontrollably, body shifting around at Derek's heels, while the much larger dog just sat there patiently. When Sheriff Stilinski finally arrived, both easily hopped in to the cab of his cruiser along side Boyd, Erica, and Isaac. All five dogs easily molded against one another to get comfortable, the widows cracks just far enough down so that the larger dogs could stick their heads out, but so that Stiles couldn't jump out. (Seriously, it'd happened once! Once!) Erica and Boyd were happily leaning against one another, while Isaac had wedged himself between them and Derek, Stiles easily moving around between each of them. If he could have gotten up front to say hello to the Sheriff, he probably would have been there and back twice already.
"Hey Stiles, nice to see you so eager!" The man was always jovial, face split into a grin. "It's good to have you back."
Stiles more than happily agreed.
Once at the hospital, it was customary for all the dogs to be fitted with brightly colored vests that proclaimed "Therapy Dog!" on either side. Stiles didn't really care to wear the purple monstrosity, but it meant that he got free reign all over the hospital, so he gladly submitted to wearing it, even wagging his tail happily while the Sheriff did up the snaps and buckles. All the other dogs had already been wearing theirs, so it was only Derek and Stiles left to get fitted up. And when it came time for Derek to be fitted, the much larger dog submitted with little hassle. The Sheriff only smiled and patted Derek gently on the haunch, reassuring Stiles that Derek was just as welcome as he was in their little volunteering group.
Inside, each of the dogs got their own nurse to walk with, but Stiles insisted to be kept with Derek, and after the Sheriff told the nurses not to separate them, they were off. First was the Geriatric Department, the elderly couples and older humans in wheelchairs happy to see and pet them. Stiles was a crowd favorite, he knew, but most of them shied away from Derek and his massive bulk, leaving him to stand quietly at the outside of the circle. Each time Stiles strayed over to check on him, Derek would only huff and nudge him back towards the patients. Stiles would grin and nip at his heels in thanks, running back to the laughing patrons with renewed vigor.
It was much that way in all the rest of the departments as well, all the patients doting and giving their love to Stiles, but shying away from Derek who was now sitting at the Sheriff's side diligently watching the scene. He would scan the room every few minutes, making sure Stiles was okay, as well as the other humans crowded around the dogs. When he was content he would just continue to watch on, never moving, never making too much noise, and occasionally allowing the Sheriff to run his hand across the top of his massive head.
After a while, Stiles was beginning to feel a little less like himself, worried and sad that Derek wasn't able to participate like he was. He'd made all that fuss to get Derek involved and able to come, but once he was here, no one was paying any attention to him! They liked Stiles, but not Derek. It confused Stiles.
"Why won't they play with you like they play with me?" He finally asked Derek as they walked to their last stop, the children's wing. "Don't they like you?"
"They're scared of me, Stiles. I'm a very large dog, not to mention I'm a half-breed. they're afraid of what I look like." Derek explains quietly, but almost sadly, his ears down and tucked back. "They don't want to play with me like they want to play with you."
"That's just not fair! You're a Good Dog, Derek! They should love to play with you." Stiles says crossly, ears tucking back too. "The children will play with you! They were a little afraid of Erica and Boyd too, at first, but they warmed right up. It'll be easy, you'll see!"
But it went much like the others had, the children shying away from Derek's lupine like body and features and more towards Stiles' smaller form. Derek was just as calm and as quiet as he had been before, standing patiently and just watching. Stiles noticed that his gaze would often stray to a little boy sitting at the outside of the gathering of children, his eyes narrowing before quickly resuming their steady sweep. It happened several times that Stiles could see, each time his gaze would linger longer than the last, and curious, Stiles wandered over to the boy.
He smelt strange, human with that cloying, clinging smell of chemicals lacing his skin tightly, but something else too. Something vaguely familiar but at the same time complete alien, strange. The little boy didn't want to play with him anyways, so Stiles sighed and left him alone.
Not ten minutes later, Stiles caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Derek was trotting over to the little boy, big body sort of loping in and around the darting children, dodging them with a sort of practiced ease that came from living with Stiles. The boy himself only seemed vaguely interested in Derek, little face trained on the wolf-dog's own. But each of them remained where they were, sitting next to one another in a companionable silence while Stiles was once more swept away in a roar of playful children.
Until a sharp cry followed by shouting started.
Stiles, fearing the worst for Derek, whipped his body around, making his way to where Derek had last been standing. But Stiles couldn't see Derek through the throng of nurses and people crowding around someone, not until he forced his way through a pair of legs. What he came face to face with was startling but beautiful. Beautiful and so heart wrenchingly touching that Stiles felt his own heart stutter in his chest wildly.
Derek was at the center of the commotion, his large body laying lengthwise along the floor, his large head atop the little boy's chest where he was tucked against him, the same child from earlier. The little boy himself was shaking violently against the floor, his limbs stiff and jerky as they moved. His tiny body was held as still as possible against Derek's own, Derek's head providing a stable and soft space for the child to ride out his convulsions. Stiles realized that the boy was having a seizure, just like Erica did, and that Derek must have recognized whatever symptoms the boy had been showing. When he'd started to seize, Derek had moved into action, pulling him close to protect him from his own body, tucking him tightly there until help could arrive.
When the child's seizure ended, he sat up from his spot against Derek and looked around wearily, eyes catching on Derek and where his fur was held tightly in a small human grip. The boy looked like he was going to cry, Stiles thought, but instead of screaming and trying to scramble away from Derek, he instead lunged forwards and wrapped his arms tightly around Derek's neck. His crying could be heard throughout the room as nurses sprung into action, leaving the rest of the children to Stiles for corralling. He quickly did his part to distract them, pulling them away with a small game of fetch tag, while Derek tended the sobbing boy still clinging snottily to his fur. Because despite Derek's lumbering movements and hulking size, he was just as gentle with human children as Stiles was.
And now, everyone knew it.
Later, when Stiles asks Derek where he learned how to realize a seizure before it happened, Derek would just smirk and tuck his head close to Stiles ear and whisper light the secrets on the subject. Whisper how he had learned for Erica's sake, how to tend to her, how to know when she was about to have a fit, when it was safe for her to travel, when it wasn't. He would whisper how scared he'd been when it had first happened to her in his company, when he'd found her laying abandoned in the back street gutters, how he didn't have a clue what to do for her, and how he'd had to learn or risk her life. And Stiles would lay there with him in stillness and silence, taking Derek's secrets as his own, smiling just as gently as Derek was whispering the entire time.