A/N: Hello reader! If you bother reading this, I thank you for giving this little fic a chance. I planned to post this as a one-shot, but figured having the POV off all three Stilinskis in the same piece might get confusing, so you'll get 3 chapters instead. The rating for this chapter is T, but it might go up later just to be safe. There will also be separate warnings for each chapter as opposed to a single one, so be sure to check those below.
FYI, since the name of Sheriff Stilinski hasn't been mentioned once in all three (2.5?) seasons, I'm going with John. If I missed something and someone actually knows the character's name, please correct me. Also, there will most likely be hints of Sterek later on, but nothing explicit.
So enjoy and don't forget to review!
Chapter Warnings: Un-beta'ed, slight AU, sensitive themes. If you're an emotional person, you might want to have a tissue or two on hand while reading this.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you can recognize.
August, 2004
As far as "happiest days in life" go, this one definitely makes her Top 3 – after all, it's not every day that your oncologist gives you a clean bill of health. Especially not after weeks upon weeks of relentless battle with a fourth stage tumor. But that's exactly what happens now and Claudia finds that words are quite insufficient a tool to describe the emotions running through her weakened body. It's nothing short of a miracle and her doctor makes sure to repeat that word a dozen times just to make her understand how astonished he and his colleagues are by this sudden turn of events. She tunes out the speech regarding the unlikelihood of her current condition and how both of their names will make an imprint in the list of medical cases that cannot yet be explained. Instead, she concentrates on the fact that she made it. Hell, not just made it, she full out won – she fought against impossible odds and she came out victorious! The sudden realization that she is not going to leave her husband a widower and her son an orphan takes an immense weight off her chest. Finally, the nightmare that took away her beautiful chocolate tresses and dulled the amber in her eyes is over.
The very second John comes into her hospital room it's obvious he already knows; it's only one thirty in the afternoon and his wide smile is not at all dampened by the red around his eyes. She offers him a wide smile and a hug in return. John encircles her thin frame in his shaking yet still strong arms and for the first time in months Claudia feels like truly and genuinely laughing. So she wraps her arms around his middle, buries her face in his chest and does exactly that. For the next half an hour they don't say a word. They don't need to.
Stiles bursts into the room with tears in his eyes and the next thing she's aware of is a sobbing bundle in her arms. Claudia hugs her son close to her chest and throws a glance at the doorway, where John is standing looking both confused and sheepish. She immediately connects the dots and shakes her head in a good-natured way, soothingly running her fingers through Stiles' soft hair. Her little boy has always been smarter and more observant than most kids his age – undoubtedly, John's poor poker face and his lack of answers has sent the poor child's mind reeling in all the wrong directions. Claudia is quick to reassure and work her mother magic. She kisses his forehead, caresses his back, murmurs a few soft words and not two minutes later Stiles is busy wiping the last traces of tears from his big honey eyes. Claudia and John don't waste another minute to tell their son the big news.
Stiles doesn't say a single word until they both finish speaking, which is a bit worrisome given the fact that he usually finds it hard to concentrate for extended periods of time. But the quiet concern is immediately washed away by the smile he flashes at her afterwards and Claudia's throat closes up with unshed tears. That wide and innocent smile coupled by John's warm eyes has been her motivation to keep going, to keep fighting since the day she found out she had cancer. Seeing them for many more days to come is the best prize she could ever ask for.
Claudia spends that evening wedged between the two men she loves the most. When two days later she leaves the hospital for good, she does so with knowledge that there's still a long road of recovery ahead, both for her and her family. If John does his utmost to get more time off and treats her like she's made of glass, she tries to not let it get to her and works even harder on regaining her strength. And if Stiles' eyes look older than they should and the kid keeps talking about an angel with red eyes that saved her life, she chalks it down to the emotional trauma a child experiences after their first such close brush with the death of a loved one. He stops when she gets him a couple appointments with a child psychologist.
When weeks later Claudia asks him about the red-eyed angel, Stiles smiles and responds with a promise to tell her he loves her every day for the next ten years. She laughs, kisses the top of his head and thanks him. She never breaches the topic again.
She should have.