Let me start off by thanking everybody who reviewed, so my thanks to dreamer2322, Guest and colorful-POP. I would now like to say that 'Another State of Mind' is NOT a slash fic. I just thought I would clear that up. Also, I drew the cover picture for this fic. It took me forever, but it was worth it, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Chapter Two: Coming To

"How long as he been out?"

"A couple of hours, but that's normal considering the blood loss and lightning strike."

"G-d, what were the chances anyway?"

"It'd still like to know what they were both doing out there, and how he got that wound."

Shoot, shoot, shoot. I kept my eyes shut, and listened. I needed to think up something fast to say when all the questions started. Uh, why had I been in the middle of the woods at two a.m. with Derek Hale? Ok, think…. He was helping me study. No crummy answer. He was selling me drugs. That sounded more plausible, except I'm sure they wouldn't have found any. I couldn't sleep so I drove around and stopped in the woods, only to get attacked by a mountain lion. Derek happened to be in the neighborhood at the right moment, chased the cat off and then was helping bind my wound when the lightning hit. That sounded better but still pretty sketchy. Oh well, it would have to do.

I "woke up" then. And it was weird, because as I went through my groaning and opening my eyes not one person commented that I was coming to. Weird, and stranger still, there was nobody in the room. Had I imagined the voices, or were they in my head or something? I sat up quickly, noticing that my arm didn't hurt anymore. I looked down at my arm and blinked. G-d, this wasn't mine! My arm was sickly white with assorted freckles. This arm did not fit that description.

Quickly, I scanned the hands. Not mine! I ran the fingers all over my face. Not mine! There were high cheekbones and stubble and flared nostrils and eyebrows like caterpillars. Definitely not mine! I looked around for something reflective and found a metal tray with food stuff next to the bed. I flipped the tray over and stared wild eyed into the face gazing back at me. It was Derek.

Oh my G-d, I was Derek!

My pulse shot up as I stared at Derek's reflection and I tried not to panic. I mean, I've seen weirder things than just switching bodies… If that is what we'd done. I suddenly realized that he might still be in there with me. Derek? I asked, hoping I wouldn't get an answer.

There was none. Ok, good, so at least that negated the idea of a bipolar experience. Meaning he was probably living in my head now. Gross.

"Oh, you're awake."

I turned to see a nurse in the doorway. She was staring at me with sort of fear and awe mixed up together. Somebody was pounding something pretty hard in a repetitive rhythm.

"Um, I'll go get a doctor." The nurse faltered before leaving. No woman had ever acted that way around me before, it was kind of cool. As soon as she left the pounding stopped and then the whole thing clicked. I'd been hearing her heart beat.

Oh right, since I was Derek now, it only made sense that I should be a werewolf too. Awesome. Something else clicked too, the voices I'd heard before must have come from another room and I just overheard them with my super hearing.

I wondered how my body was getting along, so I tried to turn on my super hearing. I concentrated on my ears trying to find the 'on switch'. I squinted and the ears wiggled. Nothing happened. Ok, it wasn't the end of the world. I'd get Scott to show me how or something.

"Ah, Mister Hale, how are you feeling?" A balding doctor walked into the room.

I shrugged, "OK." It was weird talking in Derek's voice. It didn't sound the same as hearing it from the outside either.

He marked something down on his clip board. "Any headache or dizziness?"

"No."

"Nausea?"

"No."

"Are you experiencing a ringing in your ears?"

I checked, "nope, looks like I'm AOK doc."

He hummed, "it seems so, and you can leave after you sign this release form, but if you start experiencing any of those symptoms you should come back here, got it?"

"That's fine with me." I took the pen he offered and went to sign my name, I almost wrote Stiles, but I caught it in time. My handwriting came out kind of weird, but the doctor didn't notice.

"Mind if I have a word with him, Doc?"

It was my dad. I knew from the sound of his voice. He walked over to the bed and leaned over the end railing towards me. He looked pretty tired. There were bags under his eyes and his cheek was red from where he'd fallen asleep on his shoulder radio.

The doctor muttered something left. I didn't turn my eyes from my dad. He was starting at me with suspicion. "Derek,"

"Heya, Sheriff Stilinski." I almost slapped myself, that didn't sound very Derek-ish. Think Derek, I reminded myself, think Derek.

His frown deepened. "I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you,"

"Go right ahead," I rubbed the side of my jaw.

Dad nodded and got right down to it, "what were you doing out in the woods at two A.M?"

I had a Stiles answer prepared for this question, but now I had to throw it out and come up with something that would work for Derek. "I was walking."

"Where?"

"Around." Short secretive answers, that's all anyone ever got from Derek anyway.

The sheriff stood up and crossed his arms, obviously not interested in beating around the bush. "And you met Stiles?"

I nodded, "he was being attacked by a mountain lion. I drove it off, and I was helping him bind the wound when the lightning struck."

Dad mulled over this for a moment before sighing, "Ok, you can leave."

"Thanks," I stood up out of the bed somewhat clumsily because I wasn't used to being Derek yet. He's pretty tall, and it was different being a head taller than I was used to. I almost forgot Derek's jacket on my way to the door. I knew I should probably just leave, that would be the Derek thing to do, but I had to find out how my body was doing first. So I waited for my dad in the hallway.

"How's Stiles?" I asked.

The sheriff sighed, "He lost a lot of blood, the doctor's not sure when he'll come around."

I nodded and Dad left and went into one of the other rooms.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to stick around so that I could tell Derek in my body what was happening. On the other hand that would be extremely out of character. Plus I really wasn't sure what to do with myself. I mean, now that I was Derek I couldn't just go hang out at my house really. Derek would go to the Hale place, and it gave me the creeps.

Did Derek really need me to be around when he woke up? He would be mad when he realized what had happened, and I sure didn't want to be around then, even if I was the bigger one now. Then I got to thinking and realized, didn't Derek have that sweet car? I shifted through the leather jacket's pockets and found a set of keys. Hell yeah Derek had that sweet car! Grinning, I walked out of the hospital. This was going to be awesome.