When Stiles woke up, he was surrounded by a steady beeping sound and a lot of sights that were unfamiliar to him, at least at first. A couple of more seconds led him to the realization that he was in a hospital room, and a huge wave of relief washed over him. He was safe.

"Hey, Stiles?" his father leaned over the bed, looking at his son practically the instant his eyes opened.

"Dad?"

"Oh my god, come here." His father pulled him into a gentle hug, being careful not to hurt him, though even Stiles in his slightly bleary state could tell that there was a lot of emotion coming from the older man. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm right here." Stiles gulped, trying not to cry. He had spent so much time down there thinking about his dad, about how alone he would be if Stiles died. They had had some rough patches, but Stiles loved his dad and he knew that the man loved him too. "I'm not going to leave you, it's just us, we Stilinski men, we gotta stick together."

"I'm just so glad that you're alright." Finally, he pulled away, looking down at his son. "When Scott told me you'd called and asked him to pick you up, I didn't know what was going on. He said that you were badly hurt and in the hospital, I just…do you remember at all what happened?"

"I'm sorry." Stiles shook his head. He remembered every last second of it, but it was going to be easier to let Scott paint the story that he wanted to tell if Stiles didn't get in there and muddle it up. "I don't."

"Scott says from the best he can tell you were being held somewhere and managed to escape. He said you called him and sounded really scared and that he came and got you right away, and thank god he did…though I wish he had called be sooner than he did."

"Dad." Stiles looked up at his father from where he lay on the bed. "Can you be a dad right now and not…not a sheriff?"

"Okay." The Sheriff smiled at his son and took a seat right next to the bed. "I'm sorry, it's just…you're the only person I've got left and knowing that something happened to you, that you could have been killed, really worries me."

"I'll be fine," Stiles said softly. "Whatever pain meds they're giving me are wonderful." He smiled, always the joker. He knew that he must be on something, because while he was full of dull aches, nothing was too awful, and he was hooked up to about 3 machines and an IV.

"Very funny." His dad rolled his eyes, though he smiled at his son. Stiles was always trying to lighten the mood and he was impressed that, even in the hospital with some very serious injuries, he was still trying to make jokes.

"So, what's the damage?" Stiles asked, looking down at his body, bandages all over him.

"You've got two shattered bones in your leg, three broken ribs, a concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises, namely really deep scratches on your chest."

"Oh." Stiles gulped, trying to hide that he remembered exactly how and when each of those wounds had come to be.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," his father said softly. "But I've already got the best physical therapist in town on the line and she's ready to see you when you're out of the hospital, and the doctor's said that-"

"Dad." Stiles grabbed his father's arm, shaking his head. "Not right now, just be here for me, okay?" The teen felt tears welling in his eyes. He had been so scared, but so brave and now that he was safe and lying to his father, all that he wanted to do was curl up into a little ball and cry, but he had to stay strong for his dad because he knew that, after losing his mom, his dad wasn't as strong as he pretended to be.

"Of course, I'm sorry. I'm trying."

"I know." Stiles nodded. "I know, dad, and trying is good enough, okay?"

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, trying to blink back tears, but when he opened them again, he was surprised to see a shape in the corner of the room. He turned his head and saw Danny, curled up in a chair, sleeping.

"Dad?" Stiles pointed. "What's he doing here?"

"Danny hasn't left your side since they brought you in. He told them he was your cousin or something to get staying rights."

"How long have I been out?" Stiles asked.

"About 15 hours," his father admitted. "Scott and Allison were here for awhile, but they got kicked out when visiting hours ended. Danny and I have been taking turns sleeping so that you wouldn't have to be alone when you woke up."

"Oh." Stiles could hardly believe it. Danny had been sleeping in an uncomfortable plastic chair…for him? It didn't make sense. His father he understood. His dad was too worried about losing the only family he had left to abandon Stiles in the hospital but Danny could have opted to go home with the rest of his friends, go sleep in a real bed and instead he was here.

"He's a good friend." His father smiled. "You don't have a lot of friends, but the ones that you do have, they're keepers, son. I mean Danny, willing to stay here all night just to make sure that you don't have to wake up alone, and Scott driving out into the middle of god knows where at god knows what time to pick you up? You made good choices."

"I know." Stiles gulped, still trying to fight back tears.

It was fighting with Scott in the first place that had gotten him into this situation, it was Scott's carelessness about who Derek might go after that had brought this all on, but that didn't matter anymore. Instead of letting Stiles die at the hands of his enemy, Scott had fought for him, and now he was alive, safe, and Derek was dead. He didn't know the details yet, but he was sure that, as soon as his father was gone, someone would tell him what was going on.

"You should wake him up, tell him that he can go home," Stiles said softly. He wanted Danny to be comfortable, and nothing was going to happen to Stiles in the hospital. He didn't need to be watched over by his friends 24/7.

"I tried." He shrugged. "It really didn't sound like he was going anywhere, but I'll give it another shot, see if now that you're up and clearly alive, he'll be able to let himself go home and get some real sleep."

"Thanks." Stiles pushed a button on the bed, helping it rise so that he was sitting up more than laying down.

"Hey." Sheriff Stilinski shook Danny.

"What, is something happening?" Danny asked, waking up instantly.

"He woke up." The sheriff smiled. "He's asking you to go home and get some real sleep."

"Not gonna happen." Danny shot out of the chair and was by the bedside in seconds. "Hey, are you alright?" He looked at Stiles, biting his lip. He didn't want to give too much away in one glance, but Stiles was too drugged up to read anything into anyways.

"I'm fine." Stiles smiled. "Well, you know, not fine, but I will be." He wanted Danny to explain to him what had happened, he wanted to know what was going on, but he knew that none of this could be explained with his father in the room. "Hey, dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"Do you think…do you think maybe you could go get me some ice cream? I'd go get it myself, but…" he gestured to the cast on his leg and the bandages all over him.

"Of course, Danny, do you want some?"

"No thanks." Danny shook his head, taking the seat that the sheriff had been occupying next to the bed. Stiles waited for his dad to leave, shutting the door to the private room before he turned to Danny, ready to get the full low down.

"So, what happened?"

A/N AAAAND we're back. Sorry that took so long, I got sick!

Question: What song do you think best encompasses your personality?