Chapter 10

Stiles felt woozy, either from lack of food or from the ebb of the adrenaline from the coyote encounter he wasn't sure. He hadn't looked at the wound on his arm, choosing instead to keep his eyes covered with his good arm while Lydia worked. He had closed his eyes immediately when she had pulled the remnants of his favorite red hoodie over his head, he didn't want to see it. Things were bad enough in their situation without adding this to it.

Wait until Scott finds out, he thought, and Stiles giggled a little at the amusement that was sure to be had by all when they found out what he had been attacked by, the irony was just a bit much. "Stiles?" Lydia asked uncertainly, "Are you okay?" His arm and leg were cold as she dumped melted snow water on his wounds in effort to flush out bacteria.

"I'm just imagining Scott's reaction to this when they find us. It's just a bit ironic don't you think?"

Instead of responding to his question she simply stated, "Take a deep breath, this might sting but I need to pat your leg dry to put some antiseptic on it." He did as she instructed and blew it out noisily as she worked on drying it off. "Good boy." She smiled at him as he peeked from under his arm.

"I'm not a dog you know." Stiles gave her a trembling smirk.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "You never know Stiles you did just get bit by a coyote, you might turn into one."

Stiles burst into laughter at her comment and she followed suit. It felt good to laugh again. "Okay now breathe and don't move this is going to burn." She uttered as she dabbed his leg with an antiseptic from her small first aid kit.

And holy God did it burn. He figured this is probably what Scott's arm felt like when Derek took a blow torch to it in order to reveal his tattoo. "Shhh… deep breaths, I don't need you to pass out on me." She admonished. She didn't have a bandage big enough so she pulled one of her tank tops out and tied it as tightly as she could on the wound causing Stiles to cry out. "All done with that one babe. Let's get a sip of water into you and take a minute okay?"

He just nodded shakily as she helped him sit up piling his pack and her bag behind him in a make shift pillow. She brought a half a bottle of water over to his lips and batted is arm away when he tried to hold the bottle himself, instead opting to bring it to his mouth for him. He took several long pulls from the bottle effectively emptying before laying his head back exhausted. "How you holding up?" She asked him. He paused to think about it. His leg throbbed but it wasn't horrible, his arm however burned now that it was open to the air.

"How bad is it?" He asked her and was surprised by how tired he sounded.

Lydia chewed her lip nervously as he looked at her, "Honestly, as long as you don't get infection I think your leg will be okay, it's not bleeding badly. Your arm though… it's pretty rough. You definitely are going to the ER when they find us." She smiled at him and leaned forward on her knees putting both of her hands on his face as he began to tremble fighting to hold back tears. "Shhh." She said as she closed the distance kissing his lips softly. "It'll be okay Stiles. You can let it out you know. You don't have to hide tears from me. Besides I think you're really beautiful when you cry."

At the sound of his own words being tossed back at him he laughed and cried at the same time, warm tears slid down his cheeks. Her soft thumbs brushed them away before she kissed him this time more deeply. After he had collected himself she let go of his hands to tend his arm. He laid his head back and threw his good arm over his eyes once more.

"I'm going to try some antiseptic on here as best I can, just try and keep still but if you need me to stop just say so okay." He simply nodded without looking at her.

"Let's just get this over with." He mumbled.

She dabbed a little here and a little there, his whole arm felt heavy and on fire. He breathed deeply and loudly but was determined to get through the cleaning without having to stop. It was better just to get it over with. Finally just when the room started to spin beneath him just stopped dabbing. "That's the best I can do with what I have." She declared as she added the gauze and antiseptic wipes to the burning fire. "Let's give it a moment to dry and I'll find something to wrap it in. You hanging in there?" She asked him.

"I'm just so tired Lyd." He said finally looking at her.

"I know babe. Let's get your arm bandaged and I'll fix up the fire and get some snow to melt and take care of the fish and get you something to eat." She tried to keep a smile on her face but it started to slip and he could see her chin quiver.

"Lydia, it's okay. You have to be exhausted to why don't you just rest for a while?" He asked her as he nodded to the spot next to him.

She smiled, "You always were more concerned about everyone else instead of your own well-being." She said as she added a few more logs to the fire. His eyes tracked her every move until she stood behind him and knelt unzipping her bag and pulling out another tank top. She circled back around and sat on her knees gracefully, Stiles effectively looked away as she tied the shirt around it as tight as she could and cinched it into a knot. She took his hoodie and ripped a longer piece tying it to his wrist and motioned for him to sit up. "A sling. So you won't be tempted to move it. The bleeding has slowed down and I don't need you to reopen it." She said back to her businesslike tone.

She finished her work and for the first time Stiles took a chance and looked at his arm. He couldn't see much of it. The bandage was bulky with a small spot of blood forming through parts of it staining Lydia's shirt. "I'm just going to scoop some more snow into our bottles, I'll be right back."

"Lydia, I don't think that's such a good idea." Stiles said as he struggled to sit up and climb to his feet. She put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him back.

"I'm only going to open the door and stick my arm out, you'll be able to see me the whole time and I'll be careful I promise." She said as she kissed him softly. She was on her feet and leaning out the door wary for any threats before he could question her.

She popped back in after a moment with three snow filled bottles and sat them close enough to the fire to melt the water without melting the plastic. She wiped Stile's knife off on a piece of his shirt that lay tattered on the floor. "Now… how do I fix these fish so we can cook them?" She asked brandishing the knife.

He looked at her with a goofy smile on his face. "Why do I find that so hot?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him, "Because you're getting delirious from hunger on my Stilinski."

He laughed and then proceeded to talk her through how to clean the kills and then she laid them on the stone next to the fire. She cleaned her hands as best she could with some snow before giving Stiles another drink. "Can I get you anything? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I'll be better once I eat." He answered her groggily as she moved to sit beside him and cradled his head in her lap.

"Good then you're okay enough to deserve this." She gave him a swift smack in his good arm.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" He asked in mock pain.

"For going on all heroic on me out there! Seriously what were you thinking? You could have been killed! And I reserve the right to hit you again after we are safe and sound and you are feeling better."

"Aw it's okay Lyd. I had to act I didn't have time to think it out." Stiles was slightly annoyed.

"But what would I have.. have done if they had finished you… off." She started to cry in earnest. She'd been holding it in while she tended him but now she couldn't any longer. Stiles wrapped his good arm around her neck and pulled her down to him. He brushed her tears and kissed her lips while mumbling his apology.

"I'm so sorry Lydia. But I had to do something. Thank you for rescuing me." She smirked at that and brushed her tears before she maneuvered out from under him to check the fish.

"You're not the only one who can play the hero Stiles."

A/N: We are winding down to Christmas. I'm not sure which I'm more nervous about, Christmas and getting my shopping done or finishing this fic on time. LOL. First world problems I guess. Hope you guys enjoy this Chapter. I will post the remainder of the fic tomorrow… I'm not sure whether it will be one or two chapters… but that is my goal at least. Thanks again for all the love! Chasechick!