A/N Sorry, I had to skip last week's update. Work and Camp April are killing me right now but we'll be back to our usual schedule next weekend.
With Derek around, Stiles was in no danger of oversleeping. There was a reason they kept him around, they thought with a smile that turned into a yawn. It was way too early to be awake.
But Derek was not a friend of the snooze button and had been out of bed at the first alarm. Which was fine with Stiles who did like the snooze button because by the time they were kind of ready to crawl out of bed, Derek was done in the bathroom and on his way to the kitchen to get some much-needed coffee going. They even had time to sit down for breakfast before they had to leave for work.
"I could get used to this," Stiles admitted. They had just quick toast with jam for breakfast but they did have a real breakfast. And Derek was sitting with them at the table.
Derek grumbled something into his toast, he was not a talker in the morning but when was he ever? But he looked content. Which got Stiles thinking. They liked this and Derek spent a lot of time here. By now his toothbrush had a place in Stiles' bathroom and they had found two pieces of clothes that did not belong to them in the laundry the other day.
For a moment Stiles dreamed about Derek moving in. If Laura were just his sister Stiles would ask him to move in with them right now but Laura was not just his sister. She was his alpha, she was pack and Stiles was not. Stiles couldn't ask him to choose. It wouldn't be fair.
Could Derek even live apart from his alpha without becoming an omega? Stiles' mind was swirling with questions while they were chewing their toast.
"Hey." Derek snapped his fingers in front of their face. "No sleeping, we need to get going."
"Hmm?" Stiles made but when they checked the time, they stuffed the rest of the toast into their mouth, washed it down with the by now lukewarm coffee, and then they were ready to go.
When they came into the office, Isaac was already at his desk and Finstock was in anyway but Boyd's and Erica's places were painfully empty.
"Any news?" Stiles asked but Isaac shook his head.
They got fresh coffee and then they went to work. Derek did the same, he used Boyd's Tardis mug, and then he sat down at Erica's desk. He'd used Boyd's computer a few times as well yesterday but Erica's place had somehow become Derek's in just a day.
It's only temporary, Stiles reminded themself and fired up their own computer.
Derek was in charge of the coffee maker and around noon he would get them lunch. Stiles had to admit even little things like that helped.
Stiles and Isaac threw all the little things at Derek. The stuff that didn't require special skills but did eat up time they didn't have. And Derek was a fast learner. He hadn't lied when he'd said that he knew his way around a computer and the basics were the same in every program. He was not a developer or a programmer but he was able to do some basics.
With Derek helping out, Stiles felt the pressure easing off. They might be able to pull this off and be ready for the convention. Which was less than two weeks away, Stiles realized. They glanced over to Erica's desk. She was the one supposed to go. Finstock as the boss would go, of course, but Erica had taken over the social media part and had somehow become their PR person on the side. They were all all-rounders, doing a bit of everything in addition to their main job but Erica was their most people person. She was the one, giving out statements and she was the one supposed to give interviews at the convention. Stiles threw a worried look at where they could see Finstock pacing up and down in his office, talking to what looked like himself. They hoped that he had somebody on speaker. Most likely not.
Coach was a good boss, the best, but he was not the one who should be the face of their little studio. Thinking about him giving interviews made Stiles shudder. They needed to talk to Isaac about this but first, they wanted to know how things were with Erica. Who knew? She might be back tomorrow.
Today they all dared to take fifteen minutes to have a real lunch break for which they came together at Isaac's desk.
There was still no news so Stiles used the chance to text Boyd, asking for an update. And to ask if it was okay for them to come by after work.
Stiles set the phone aside, they didn't expect a quick answer, and dug into the sandwich Derek had gotten from that place again. He'd gotten one for Finstock as well who was eating in his office. Derek might have gained some points there. They would love to tease him about feeding the pack, even if nobody here was pack, but with Isaac sitting right next to them, Stiles bit back the comment. But it did make them wonder how much of this was just Derek being the nice person he was and how much was his wolf nature that wanted to provide for the people he cared for. And how quickly the office and the people coming with it got included in that.
Their phone buzzed with a message.
"It's from Boyd," Stiles informed the others.
"No shit, Sherlock." Isaac rolled his eyes at them. "What's he saying?"
It was a long message written in Boyd's typical short sentences.
"Brain tumor." Stiles blurted out the words when they read them.
"Shit." Isaac stood, he needed to get rid of some energy. Stiles was twitching to do the same but first, they had to finish reading. Then they could pace.
"It's treatable, right?" Derek asked.
"They are thinking about options," Stiles said but Boyd didn't sound optimistic. He didn't outright say it but Stiles got the feeling that there was not much hope.
He ended with Erica's room number and that she would like to see them.
"We'll see how she's doing when we visit her later." Derek was the one who stayed rational.
Derek was right, a text message was one thing, they would know more once they had spoken with Boyd and Erica in person. It still didn't sound good.
"I'm not paying you for sitting around." Finstock was standing in the door.
"Erica has a tumor in her brain," Isaac told him. "Did you know that?"
Finstock's face softened, he hadn't known.
"Boyd just said that it was something serious." Finstock let out a breath but then he straightened up. "But there's nothing we can do about it now and we're running out of time. Back to work, all of you. Don't make me get my whistle."
Grumbling they balled up the wrappers, brushed off the crumbs, and then Stiles and Derek got up to return to their desks.
"Boytoy, you go and get a Get Well Soon card." With that, Finstock shut the door.
"Boytoy?" Stiles repeated in disbelief.
"I have no idea." Derek squeaked, his face a deep shade of crimson. He knocked into Boyd's desk in his hasty retreat and then he bolted out of the door, presumably to get that card.
"Boytoy," Isaac spluttered and wiped his eyes.
"He's older than me," Stiles muttered but they couldn't help but chuckle. It was too absurd. Which was most likely why Finstock had said it, to lighten the mood.
Shaking their head, Stiles sat down at their desk, they had work to do.
Isaac sobered up quickly but when Derek came back into the office, he did make suffocating noises again. Derek glared at him and Stiles just knew that he would like to snap his fangs at him. But the werewolf had excellent control over himself, Stiles had no idea why they had ever worried about that.
They did get some work done that afternoon but since they wanted to see Erica, they didn't stay too long. Finstock did sign the card but he stayed in his office when the three of them left.
Derek drove them over. From his previous job, he knew the best way to the hospital and where the entrance for visitors was.
Stiles didn't know what they had expected. Hollywood had conditioned them to think of cancer patients as pale and thin, without hair, and looking close to death. Maybe on oxygen or with a feeding tube up their nose.
What they didn't expect was a normal hospital room. Erica was a bit pale and she had shadows under her eyes but otherwise, she looked the same as ever. Boyd had been sitting in a chair next to her bed but when they came in, he stood to greet them.
Without a word, Isaac had him in a tight hug. Stiles squeezed Boyd's shoulder in passing but their focus was on Erica.
"Hey," they said.
"Hey." She smiled at them but a second later she broke and tears filled her eyes. It answered the unspoken question.
"C'mere." Stiles drew her into a hug and then she just clung to them. Stiles threw a helpless glance at Derek who was standing lost at the door but then their attention was on Erica again. They stroked her hair and held her close for as long as she needed it.
Boyd and Isaac were quietly talking in the corner, about her condition and options Stiles had no doubt but they didn't want to hear that. Not now. Later they would want to know everything.
"I don't want to die," Erica whispered into their chest. The words came out between little sobs, almost too low for Stiles to catch.
They wanted to tell her that she would not die, that the doctors could fix this but all they could do, was to hold her.
At one point they switched places with Isaac who sat down on the edge of the bed while Stiles stepped aside to get some information out of Boyd. If Boyd was surprised that Derek had joined them, he didn't show it. Stiles guessed that he was too tired and wrung out to care. The man looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks and he kept throwing worried glances towards Erica as if he feared that she would be gone in the blink of an eye.
"How long?" Stiles asked the only important question. They had known that they were talking about a tumor in the brain here and it was clear that they couldn't just cut it out. There was nothing the doctors could do. Stiles had been here before. It hadn't been a tumor with their mom but same difference.
"They don't know." Boyd shook his head. "Weeks, maybe. With luck a few months. But it could happen anytime." His voice broke over the last words and he had to press a fist against his mouth to keep the sobs in.
"Does her family know?" Derek spoke up to which Boyd shook his head again.
"She's not on speaking terms with them," he said and took a breath to compose himself.
Stiles hadn't known that but thinking about it, Erica had never mentioned her parents or family in general.
"They're still running some tests," Boyd continued. "But they say that she can come home in a day or two."
"That's good." If there wasn't anything the doctors could do anyway, Erica would be more comfortable at home.
They didn't stay long, it was getting late and they all wanted to give Boyd and Erica some privacy. But they promised to come by again once she was home.
"Well, fuck," Isaac said with his hands deep in his pockets.
"I need a drink," Stiles decided. It probably was the worst idea, they had work tomorrow, but Stiles needed a drink right now.
Derek was the voice of reason but he got outvoted by Stiles and Isaac so grumbling he drove them to the nearest bar.
One drink turned into two and then three. Stiles and Isaac were sharing stories about Erica while Derek was just quietly listening. He didn't know her which was a shame.
In the end, Derek had to carry their drunken ass to bed. Stiles was mostly asleep when something occurred to them.
"Can you do something?"