Sorry this chapter took a little while. Both my beta and I have been busy with school plus I've been sick. But it's here now so enjoy.
And another big thank you to my beta Lessienamandil
More notes at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: Teen wolf and its characters are not owned by me. I will not take credit for it. It belongs to it's rightful owners.
Derek wasn't quite sure how long he just sat in Stiles' hospital room. He vaguely acknowledged that the nurses and doctors had been in and out several times, checking on him. He hadn't awoken, but his body still refused to shut down enough for him to start healing properly.
He hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was awoken by the slight shift in Stiles' breathing and heart rate. His eyes flew open and went straight over to where Stiles was laying in the bed.
Stiles' eyes glanced around the room once before settling on Derek, a slight smile on his face.
"Hey there sleepyhead." Stiles chuckled softly.
Derek refrained himself from getting up swiftly by digging his claws deeper into the arms of the chair.
"Hey there yourself." He replied, his body slightly tense.
Stiles pushed himself into a slight sitting position, wincing against the pain. Derek again had to force himself to fight the urge to leap from his seat.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I was ran over by a bus multiple times, then dragged across the road by my leg. Followed by being tortured day after day by an emotionally unstable alpha werewolf who gets off on causing others pain. I think that covers it."
Derek's eyes narrowed at the mention of the alpha and their colouring went to a slight red. If Stiles noticed, he didn't mention it.
"The doctor said that your body is too hyped up to shut itself down to the point where it can begin healing. Because you were constantly under threat with that…..alpha….it won't endanger you by putting you into a coma. That's why you only keep fainting." He explained through clenched teeth.
"There's more….isn't there? I can tell from the way you're acting. Derek, please, just tell me the truth."
Derek let out a soft growl before glancing away.
"The doctors doubt that you'll live through the next 48 hours because your body is so full of adrenaline. They're monitoring you…..but they don't have high hopes for your survival." He explained, his claws ripping through the fabric of the chair.
Stiles didn't speak after that, instead going silent as he glanced down. He stayed quiet for quite a while before finally muttering, knowing that Derek would hear him no matter how quiet he was.
"I'm sorry…."
"Don't be. It's my fault this happened. I asked you to try and find Jackson."
Stiles stared at him, shaking his head slightly.
"This isn't your fault Derek. You didn't make my car crash. You didn't tie me up and torture me. But you did lead the pack here. You kept them level headed and you saved me. Sure….I'm stuck here with the doctors not knowing if I'm gonna make it. But it's thanks to you that I'm actually here in the hospital. I could still be stuck in that abandoned shed, tied up and bleeding out slowly.
So don't blame yourself for this. I chose to go find Jackson without someone from the pack. I chose to not tell Scott the truth over the phone until it was too late. And I chose to not give the alpha pack information regarding you guys. It was my choices that lead me to where I am now. Not your's." He answered, giving Derek a look.
Derek sighed before he removed his claws from the chair to reach over and place a hand over his.
"I can help you if you want. But it means that you'll go into a coma and I can't guarantee that you'll wake up." He said, glancing over Stiles' injuries again before looking at his face.
"You can do that?"
"Scott told you about how he can take away animals pain, right? Well, I can do the same, but with humans. I could do it for you. It would calm your body enough that it'd calm down and send you into a coma. It'd take a bit of time but it'd work." He explained.
"I…." Stiles paused, seeming to be a little unsure.
Derek didn't say anything, letting Stiles decide for himself. Finally, Stiles answered.
"Do it. I don't want to keep waking up to this. I keep expecting to wake up in that abandoned place with an alpha werewolf waiting to give me a new set of wounds."
Derek growled softly and he gripped Stiles' hand tightly, although not hard enough to hurt him.
"Are you sure? There's a chance that you could die. This could be the last time you see anyone. Are you definitely sure you want to risk that?"
"I could die anyway right? And isn't there a larger chance of me dying while stuck like this? Please Derek, I don't want to be stuck like this. If I die, then so be it. At least I got to come home. Wasn't the way I was planning it but I'm not complaining."
He shook his head, not knowing how Stiles could be so upbeat while facing possible death. Smiling slightly he looked up at Stiles.
"Alright. If you want me to do it, then I won't say no. It'll take a little while to take affect though. You'll notice the lack of pain immediately, but it'll take longer for you to slip into a coma." He explained as he loosened his grip on Stiles' arm.
"That's fine. I….just, promise you'll stay? Until I've slipped into the coma that is."
Derek looked at Stiles as he requested that. It felt like his heart was being crushed as he looked at the almost scared look on Stiles' face. Taking a deep breath, he nodded.
"I can do that. I'll stay, alright?" He told him, smiling slightly.
Stiles' almost scared look seemed to vanish and he smiled back.
"Thank you."
Derek nodded again and focused on taking away Stiles' pain. His veins on his arm showed up black as he slowly took it. He could see it was looking as the pained look in Stiles' eyes ebbed away.
"Thank you so much Derek. I really owe you." He muttered, already looking drowsy and ready to drop off.
Derek smiled genuinely at him as he got drowsier and drowsier. He waited for at least thirty minutes as Stiles finally slipped away into a coma.
"You're welcome Stiles." He muttered before letting his head drop and his body become tense and rigid as he finally lost it.
…..:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::..…
Isaac lifted his head from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed, Jackson pressed against one side and Lydia the other. Scott was curled up with Allison on the other bed. So far he hadn't moved.
"Isaac?"
He ignored Lydia, glancing at Jackson and knowing that he'd understand what was going on. Jackson gave a slight nod, confirming that he felt it too.
"Jackson! What's going on?" Lydia asked, her voice already starting to sound impatient.
Jackson glanced at her before turned back to Isaac, who was watching Scott. The other werewolf had finally sat up and was staring at them with wide, upset eyes.
"Derek's finally lost it. You can't tell…but we can. We can feel it. Every fibre inside of us can feel it." Jackson explained, just as Scott let out a loud howl.
Isaac joined him shortly after, both their howls ringing loudly through the air. The girls leaned away from them, not expecting their howls to be so loud, or for Scott's to sound half like a roar.
Jackson stayed quiet, listening as the other two finally quietened down. Not long after they stopped, a far off howl replied to them. It sounded half forced and didn't sound at all like it normally did.
"Allison, Lydia, keep an eye on these two. I have to go find Derek. Oh and I hate to ask this, but Allison, could you call your father and get someone up there to watch Stiles. Preferably someone who will win against an alpha werewolf." He asked as he stood up.
"I think I can arrange something. If no other hunter works, I'll see if Dad will come up himself. He may not like the pack, but he's not gonna break the code just because Stiles is affiliated with werewolves." She replied.
Jackson nodded and kissed Lydia once before he left, darting through the door and to the outskirts around the motel. Shifting to his beta form, he raced off straight towards the forest. If there was anywhere that Derek would be, it'd be there.
Jackson knew he'd lost it but he also knew that Derek wasn't stupid. He wouldn't risk getting himself killed just yet. So he'd be avoiding detection.
Once he was at the edge of the forest, Jackson paused to scent out his alpha. It didn't take long for him to catch Derek's scent and to start chasing after it.
He followed it to about the centre of the forest. There he found the alpha, curled up in his beta form.
"Derek?" He asked cautiously.
The alpha didn't even move, although Jackson knew that he heard him. He moved to Derek's side and bent down. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tightened his grip slightly when Derek flinched.
Instead of speaking for a second time, he nuzzled against Derek's neck. That got a response from the alpha. He instantly leant towards Jackson. The beta moved so that Derek could nuzzle against his neck, letting the alpha find comfort in being near him.
"Derek, what happened?" He asked cautiously.
Derek let out an unusual whimper from where he was pressed against Jackson.
"I took away a large amount of his pain. And….he's finally gone into a coma." Derek muttered.
Jackson smiled slightly before shaking his head.
"At least he can't feel the pain as much right now." He said, as he stood up and pulled Derek up with him.
It was then that he noticed the large scratches down both of Derek's arms. They were deep and weren't healing. Grabbing his wrists, Jackson pulled the scratches into view.
"What'd you do?!" He growled slightly, concerned that the alpha had somehow managed to use wolfsbane.
"Clawed my arms. They're not healing because I'm not letting them." He answered simply.
Jackson growled again before letting go of one wrist, using the other to practically drag the alpha out of the forest. He let go once he was sure Derek was going to follow him.
They kept quiet on the walk back to the hotel. Jackson could hear Derek behind him so he didn't need to turn around or check. Instead, he focused on keeping an ear out for any howls from the other members of the pack.
"Why'd you come back anyway?" Derek asked, although he was still quiet.
That was a good question. One Jackson didn't really have an answer for. To be honest, he didn't really know. He'd hated Stiles and Scott for as long as he could remember. Suddenly, he's a werewolf and he feels closer to the two of them. That's one of the reasons why he left in the first place.
"You guys were driving yourselves insane with trying to find both me and Stiles. I never wanted to be found, and yet Stiles somehow managed to follow my trail and end up here. In a way, it's my fault he was here in the first place. I figured I'd do everyone a favour and lead you guys to him.
I found him about a day after he was captured. But I knew better than to barge in there myself. He was being held captive by a pack of alphas. I was just an omega. As you can tell, the odds weren't in my favor.
As for why I stayed…I don't really know. I mean, yeah I'm glad I got to see Lydia again...but I left to get away from my old life." He shrugged and continued walking.
Derek grew silent behind him again. Jackson sighed and finally glanced back.
"This wasn't what I expected out of life as a werewolf. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. I just wanted to have what Scott did."
Derek didn't reply and the two stayed silent for the rest of the trip back to the motel. Jackson moved inside, his hearing telling him that Derek was still following.
He knocked on their door before entering. He was greeted with what could only be described as absolute chaos.
The motel room was trashed. Pillows and sheets had been ripped, leaving torn bits all over the floor. Some sort of glass had been smashed and was scattered everywhere. Simply put, it looked like two werewolf betas had lost it and gone on a rampage through the room.
"What happened?" He asked, glancing over at the girls who weren't having the best of luck calming the two betas down.
"They lost it. They could tell Derek was upset and had assumed the worst. Scott started it. He started tearing around the motel, ripping anything he could get a hold of. The two got into a little scuffle when Isaac tried to calm him down." Allison explained from where she was holding Scott.
The two whimpered and glanced at Derek where he stood behind Jackson. The alpha wasn't even looking at them. Instead his face was turned down to the ground.
Jackson sighed before leaving Derek standing there. He went over to Scott and nuzzled against his neck, instantly calming the other wolf. He lifted his head slightly so that Scott could do the same before he went over to Isaac and did the same thing.
"Stiles isn't dead. He's just gone into a coma. Derek only lost it because he couldn't keep himself calm any longer. He tried to stay strong for the rest of the pack but he had to eventually break." He explained as he bent down and took over for the two girls, letting Scott and Isaac curl up on either side of him.
Derek still stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. It wasn't right that Jackson was keeping calm enough to help the pack while he was slowly losing it. His unhealed arms were proof of that.
He glanced to his left as Allison stopped by him and gently grabbed one of his arms.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly, gently touching the area around the wound.
He nodded slightly.
"I just chose not to let them heal yet." He answered softly.
She nodded and let go so that he could let his arm drop.
"Is Stiles really alright?"
Derek shrugged as he glanced at the three pack members.
"Truthfully? I don't know for sure. I helped him as much as I could….but there's still no guarantee that he'll survive. At least he's in a coma now so his body can heal. The rest is in fate's hands."
I tried to give a wider view for this one...but it didn't really work the way I wanted it to. Oh well.
As usual, a big thanks to everyone who favourited or followed this story.
Lenail125, vampqueen440, Banhan & flamealchemist103: Thank you for your reviews and I'm glad you liked the previous chapter.
Kat4543 & AGirlNamedDale: In regards with the puppies, all I shall say for now is that Allison called a friend to care for them while she spends time with Stiles and the pack. You shall find out who that is soon enough.