Thanks to my wonderful Beta Stetson Black

Leave out all the rest

May 13 – 4.07

Lessons ended ten minutes ago. Stiles and Scott were sitting on the school's steps, discussing their plans for the weekend.

"Hey, what's he doing?" Stiles asked suddenly, pointing somewhere into the crowd of teenagers.

Scott followed his finger to find Isaac inches away and talking with no one but Aiden, the same guy who wanted to kick Stiles' ass just for a joke few days before.

"He's going to drive you crazy!" Stiles commented, amusement in his voice. Even after two years he still wasn't entirely used to the fact that Isaac had become something of a brother to Scott. Melissa had adopted Isaac after his father's death and he and Scott had become very close. Stiles simply thought it had happened too fast, even if he liked the new Isaac more. He was less shy and sometimes kind of witty. And it was always funny to see how many ways he could make Scott angry, even by just talking to a classmate, especially this classmate.

Scott groaned at the sight of Isaac and one of the twins. Why was it he always sought out the trouble? "I'd better take him home," he said, resigned. "See you tomorrow, Stiles."

So Scott left Stiles alone, drawing Isaac's attention and forcing him to abandon his conversation with Aiden.

"What's wrong with you? Are you looking for a fight?" Scott asked in a light tone as he approached the two. He just wanted to avoid danger; Isaac seemed to search for it.

"I was only asking him about his brother," Isaac answered as Aiden left.

"Yeah, he wasn't at school today," Scott acknowledged, still not really understanding.

"He was sick yesterday. That's why I went home so late. I was just helping them out with stuff. For school."

Scott thought Isaac looked worried, but his brother wasn't saying anything more. So he dropped the subject for now. "Well, we'd better get going. Come on."

May 13 – 4.43

"It's my brother, damn it! Just let me see him!" Scott nervously ran his hands through his hair, pacing the hallway.

The nurse gave him a sympathetic look that only made him feel worse.

"I'm sorry buddy, but you're underage. You'd better call your parents .."

Scott was now ready to explode: "I just said my mom works here! So if you could just-–"

"Scott? What are you doing here?"

Scott turned at the familiar sound of his mother's voice, but he was at a loss for words.

Melissa could instantly tell he was upset. "What happened, Scott?" she asked, having to repeat the question. She gripped his wrists to try to calm him, steady him. He was shaking violently, crying so bad that he couldn't answer.

Desperately trying to keep calm, Melissa directed her attention to the woman standing behind her: "Melissa, I'm so sorry, I didn't know they were your kids."

And suddenly Melissa realized the woman had said 'kids', as in both of them. "Where's Isaac?"

"Mom …" Scott's voice sounded small and thin. "I don't really know how it happened … I just don't know …"

"What? What happened Scott?" Melissa asked, letting Scott's wrists go and placing a hand on the door handle, ready to see for herself what was going on.

"Melissa, I don't think you should!" the nurse warned, but Melissa ignored her, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

And all she could do was stand there, her eyes fixed on Isaac and the two doctors working on his motionless form. He had an IV in his arm and a nasal cannula to help him breathe. Melissa tried to be rational. Maybe it was just a precaution and it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

She changed her mind when she saw a bone-an actual bone-sticking out of her son's leg.

As fast as she could, she fled, fighting back the tears. "Scott, what the hell happened?" she asked again, her voice barely audible.

"I don't know, mom. We were talking and crossing the road and … I don't know how it happened."

Melissa sighed. Isaac was in surgery. Doctor Parker said he was lucky, that things could have been a lot worse.

Melissa hadn't yet had a chance to talk to her son, because Isaac was rarely conscious or aware. Else she would have explained to him what was happening, told him that everything was going to be okay. But she couldn't.

Scott was sitting next to her, his right leg rhythmically ticking up and down against the floor, his fingers nervously crossing. He was absorbed in his thought, trying to fight back the idea that it could have been himself instead of Isaac. His mom had reassured him that it was just a broken leg, but Scott couldn't stop his heart from pounding.

"Scott, just stop! You're making me feel nervous!" Melissa said, rubbing her sweaty hands on her pants.

But Scott didn't really listen. All he could hear was Isaac cheerfully telling him to "stop drooling for Allison." It was the last thing he had said before...

A few minutes later Melissa concluded that it was impossible to just idly sit there, so she stood and started to walk the hallways, waiting for the time to pass.

When she arrived in front of room 205 she decided to knock on the door. "Hi!" she whispered.

"Hi, Melissa!" answered a voice from inside.

Melissa walked across the room, stopping beside the bed, a sad smile on her face. "How's he doing?" she asked Aiden as they both watched the sleeping figure on the bed.

Aiden tried to smile back and set his book on the bedside. "He's scared."

"Anyone would be," Melissa answered in a maternal tone, her hand running across Ethan's hair.

The day before Isaac's injury she had received a phone call from Aiden, and even if she hadn't been working that day, she would have gotten to the hospital as soon as she could.

She had always been very professional, but with the twins it was different. She'd always felt a little maternal when it came to them, ever since she'd met them here at the hospital seven years ago. She'd given them her number back then, though she doubted she'd ever receive a call from one of them. And then Aiden had called yesterday, crying and barely getting out that they were in the emergency room.

"What about the analysis?"

Aiden shook his head without a word. Ethan had to do other exams and maybe in the next few days they would know more. But until then the doctors were unsure.

"Mom and dad?" she tried again.

"Working," he said simply.

Melissa bit her lower lip, knowing their parents were a touchy subject ever since the first time Ethan had arrived in the hospital, when he was only nine years old. Aiden spent the nights and days with him. Their parents showed up just to sign the paperwork, give consent for new therapies or treatments… They didn't bother staying. Ever. And they didn't have to. Aiden and Ethan's uncle was the chief of medicine at the hospital, and they made sure the rules didn't apply to them.

The result was that the kids faced everything by themselves.

And she suddenly realized she couldn't do the same to her own children. She couldn't leave them all alone. "Aiden, I just wanted to inform you that there's another patient you and your brother will be sharing the room with."

At Aiden's disappointed look Melissa quickly replied, "I know you prefer to be alone, but it's not my decision!" She wanted to add that it was her son joining him but maybe it wasn't appropriate. She said goodbye and headed back to Scott and Isaac.

"Scott, it'll be ok," she soothed, though not completely confident, as she sat beside him and hugged him.

For the first time she was on the other side, and just then she understood why people always asked for information, even if she was just a nurse. In that moment she fully understood how hard it was to simply wait.