Days pass by, and every single member in the Hale pack spends them biting their nails in worry. Stiles has not woken up yet, pale and unmoving on the king bed he usually shares with his alpha every night. They have moved him to the Hale House so he can be treated in a safe familiar space. The master bedroom is now a makeshift hospital room, facilitated with IVs, a heart monitor, and other medical equipment.

Deaton and Melissa have put the pregnant human into a sleep induced coma, it was the best option at the time. The fetus was unharmed, yet restless in the mother's womb, an after-effect of the electrical stimulation. Since the baby couldn't shift in such young state, it let its annoyance out by turning and kicking.

The unusual movements had left the human mother in distress. His already injured body had taken its toll and fell into shock. The baby's heartbeat was strong, yet Stiles was getting weaker and weaker. They had to put him on life support not only to avoid internal organ shutdown, but also give his body the opportunity to heal.

That was five days ago, and it has been a total train wreck of fear and despair for Derek ever since.

The Alpha barely eats, barely sleeps, spending days and restless nights lying next to Stiles, holding his mate's lifeless form in his embrace. Hands spread on his mate's round stomach as black tendrils run along his arms, constantly keeping the baby calm and accelerating his mate's healing. Chapped lips lay butterfly kisses on pale skin, murmuring soft words and love, begging for any sign of life.

"Son," his father-in law would watch him from the door and say every other day, with sad yet understanding eyes. "Just take a break for a while. Take a shower; get something to eat, and some fresh air. I'll call you if something comes up, I swear."

"I won't leave him," Derek said locking his attention only on his mate, "not again."

"Son, it's not your fault," John insisted, "I can't stand seeing you like this, hell, if Stiles saw you right now slowly killing yourself, believe me he would be up and kickin' your ass."

"Well, he can't now, can he!?" Derek yelled out of frustration.

Bloodshot eyes looked up and stared at the man he's failing again, so much for promising his son would be safe with him. With a broken weary tone, he said, "Please Sir, I just- I need this."

The Sheriff just sighed in defeat and finally left him to focus back on his mate again. He softly kissed the pale delicate fingers he held so dearly in his rough hand, a stray tear out of a deep pit of despair in his heart trickling down his face as he whispered, "Baby please, I need you."

Stiles can feel his consciousness arise. The first thing he's aware of is that he feels like shit. Holy crap, he wonders if he's been run over by a semi-truck. All his muscles feel like jelly.

But what comes second is this intense protective warmth around him, which Stiles welcomes with a content sigh and snuggling closer to the heat source. Whatever it is, it's his new pillow from now on and forever, he decided. His new pillow smells really amazing too, so he dives into it, rubbing his head into the soft garment of it.

It's like his new pillow understands his need of comfort at the moment, because it moves to wrap around him. So warm, Stiles thinks.

It rubs his heavily pregnant belly so lovingly. Pillows can do this kind of stuff now? Not that he minds though, he is in heaven. Stiles can't help but make a quite embarrassing needy whine.

Suddenly, it cups his cheek and says, "Stiles? Baby...?"

Wait, what?

He blinks his eyes open to see no other than Derek's worried green ones looking back at him.

"D'rek..?"

"Stiles, oh God.." Derek sounds extremely relieved and Stiles immediately feels trembling hands and lips all over him.

At first, Stiles tries to figure out what the hell happened, but as his brain is stirring up along with his consciousness, the memory of the night of horror and so much pain that he and his unborn baby suffered comes back to him. And just like that, his need of his mate suffocates him.

"D'rek," He whined desperately, sore throat weakening his voice, "Der—"

He grasps Derek's shirt and pulls him in with his uninjured arm, since the other one is bandaged and still too hurt to move too much due to the bullet wound, though it's just a graze. Derek doesn't wait, he opens his arms and the next second they're full of Stiles sobbing.

"Sshh.. Sshh.. I'm here."

Derek's warmth is a constant presence, caressing Stiles' hair, arms, and back. The man just holds Stiles close and lets him cry his heart out and leave a wet spot on the man's chest.

"Der, w's so scared," Stiles cried.

"Sshh.. You're safe now, I won't let anyone hurt you again," the Alpha promised.

It takes a while before Stiles holds himself together. Derek gets a glass of water from the bedside table and helps Stiles drink some, before helping him lay back and they just hold each other again. And Stiles is thankful for that, because he doesn't think he's ready to get out of Derek's arms yet.

Stiles is all snot and tears when he finally gathers his courage to look up at his mate, "Isaac's okay?"

"Like new."

Stiles sobs in relief, "oh thank God," and flashes a weak grin at Derek, but it falters fast as he sees Derek's expression does not share the mood.

Stiles clears his throat and waits for Derek to say something, but the werewolf just holds him and burns a hole on Stiles' face with his deep gaze. Oh well, he's not Stiles if he can endure intense silence for more than thirty seconds.

He hesitantly asked, "how angry are you with me, exactly..?"

Derek sighs heavily and starts tenderly wiping the track of tears on Stiles wet cheeks with his thumb.

"Feral," he answered, yet his voice is soft and patient.

"Oh," Stiles looks down in shame and plays with the loose garment of his mate's shirt, "that's bad."

"Yeah," Derek agreed, "but it's nothing to compared to the fear."

And here comes the guilt eating Stiles from the inside. He is so ashamed of what he has put himself and the others into that he doesn't dare to look up at Derek while the man speaks. Scolds him, to be exact, hence the raising voice.

"I had Lydia beat me into consciousness, just to be told about how my pregnant mate made this grand scheme yet she still hadn't got the coordinates until Danny called."

Oh. Oh. So that's why the cavalry didn't come at the planned time. He should have texted Lydia the coordinates right after it was given by the hunters and Lydia would take off with his dad and his officers.

"I kind of forgot about that little–" He would kick his own ass for that error, but receiving the end of Derek's glare as he speaks is also a fair punishment, "detail." Stiles gulped.

"I can't believe–!" Derek's voice rose for a second before he stops himself and takes a long deep breath, "is this just some kind of game to you? Do you enjoy seeing me breaking?"

Stiles whimpers, "no, Der, of course not."

"Did you even think of how I would feel when you decided to pull off this mad stunt? For God's sake, you're pregnant, Stiles. With our child."

"Derek, I'm so sorry–"

"I heard you screaming in pain, heard you calling out my name. I ran so fast, I didn't even care if I would burn my lungs. But when I finally got there, I saw you–" Derek's voice breaks and he tightens his arms around Stiles, pulling his mate in like the man wants to hide him from the world, their unborn baby tucked safely between them, "I was so terrified, I thought I lost both of you," the werewolf whispered before he fell into silence.

Stiles suddenly feels something wet in his hair. He gasps and pulls back to look. And what he sees breaks his heart into pieces. Tears fall from his mate's gorgeous eyes, but the Alpha doesn't make any sound while he cries. He looks away from Stiles, like he tries to hide it, like he's sure that Stiles will see it as some weakness.

Stiles whimpers, feeling tears coming back in his eyes too. How could he do this to the man he loves so much, he is the worst mate in werewolf history.

"No, stop," Stiles begged. Now it's his turn to cup his mate's face and wipe the tears away, "Derek, please, I'm sorry."

"I don't know how to make you understand, if I lost this," Derek cups Stiles' round stomach where their baby sleeps in, "if I lost us, I'd rather just die with you. Because I can't, not this time, not after all the bullshit that fates thrown at me in the past. And yet you still–"

"And yet I'm still an idiot, I know. Baby, I'm so sorry."

He drops kisses on Derek's face, jaws, neck, anywhere he can reach. He runs his fingers through the Alpha's ebony hair, encouraging the man to look at him.

"Will you forgive me..?" Stiles asked, his fingers tracing Derek's sideburns, and Derek leans into his touch.

"Already did." Derek whispered.

The love Derek hides in those two words makes Stiles' heart swells. "You're too easy on me, Babe," he teased with a smile.

Derek sighs in misery, "I know. I hate myself for that sometimes."

Stiles softly chuckles and leans in to lay a kiss on the Alpha's lips, a kiss that hopefully will chase away all his Alpha's sadness if any still remains.

"Promise me," Derek asked of him.

"Anything," Stiles answered right away. Hell, if Derek wants Stiles to chain himself to the wall, he will.

"Please listen to me when I try to keep you safe."

Stiles kisses him short and sweet, "I promise."

"Even when you think you can handle the dangerous situation yourself."

Kisses him again, "Yes."

"And just let the pack deal with any threat coming."

One more kiss, "Sure."

Derek raises his eyebrows, "Sure as in you're gonna listen but argue about it or…?"

Stiles rolls his eyes, "Sure as in I do what you ask me to do to keep myself from getting hurt, does that cover it?"

"Yes, perfectly. Sorry, it's just you agreed so easily this time, it's quite hard to believe."

Stiles gasps in pretend shock and weakly shoves his mate in a playful manner, as much as his little energy can muster, "hey! I can follow orders just fine!"

Derek's lips finally twitch into a smile, to Stiles' relief.

"You see, right now there's no one in this world that wants me to be safe more than myself," Stiles assured.

"Oh really?"

"Absolutely! What's with this not-trusting-Stiles-vibe you have?"

"What can I say, your behavior nowadays is not very convincing."

"Ugh, fine."

But then Derek pecks him sweetly on his lips, so he can't really feel any heat in any word the man said. He feels like one happy and in love glob of mush, if anything.

"I love you, so much," Stiles whispered before kissing the wolf again, passionately.

Derek's warm arms tighten around him, "Love you too."

Derek's smile finally reaches his eyes, though it also makes Stiles aware of bags under them. After that, more things become apparent to him, like how sickly pale Derek is, or how the Alpha looks thinner and unkempt.

Stiles frowns as he cups his Alpha's cheek. "Babe? Have you eaten? Did you sleep at all?"

"It doesn't matter," Derek answered nonchalantly.

Of-fucking-course Derek the man-pain extraordinaire will starve and tire himself to death.

Stiles fumes, "Like hell it doesn't!"

"The most important thing is you just focusing on getting better."

"I will, now just go downstairs and grab some food for yourself."

"Stiles-"

"Now." Stiles glared, "You eat, or I won't."

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Derek sighs and steals one last kiss from him, lips soft and melting, "Your dad is right outside the door anyway, already dying to come in and see you," Derek whispered before sniffing the air again, "and he's not very happy with you, not that I can blame the man."

"Oh shit," Stiles hides his face in Derek's neck.

Derek just hums in agreement.

Stiles looks up at his mate, "Derek, can you just tell him I hit my head very hard and suffer some kind of memory loss? Tell him I can't recall what happened and the reasoning behind my decision making. You will do that for me, won't you?" Stiles bats his long eyelashes and pulls out his brown bambi eyes.

Derek raises his eyebrows, not impressed.

"Please, Babe? Sugar honey? Sweety pie? My baby daddy?"

Derek just leaves him begging on the bed as the man gets up and walks towards the door.

"Derek, I thought you loved me!"

Derek turns from where he grabs the door handle and coyly coos at his pouting mate, "with all my heart, my Baby Boo," before he opens the door grinning at his future father-in-law in greeting, "hey Sir, come on in, Stiles can't wait to see you."

Stiles gapes helplessly, because seriously Stiles wants to throttle the love of his life sometimes.

The Sheriff pats Derek's shoulder in such familiarity when the man passes by him, which is good to know, that the two most important men in Stiles' life have bonded so greatly while he's been out. But it means they've probably already formed an alliance to get their way over him.

If so, then Stiles is so screwed.

"Good luck, Babe." Derek, the meanie ass fiancé that he is, closes the door behind him, leaving Stiles alone with his father who is now looking at him with a deadly cold expression.

Stiles is not curling into a ball and hiding under his blanket.

Stiles' talk with his dad is not pretty, his dad speaks like Stiles hasn't learnt his lessons in the most painful way.

He got it, ok? He's pregnant and he's being irresponsible of both his and his unborn child's safety and he makes everybody worried.

Especially Derek. If only he could've seen how devastated and broken Derek was, his dad has said. That punch hurts Stiles the most.

It isn't until after a couple of yells from his father, a couple of tears shed from himself, – pregnancy's hormones, in Stiles' defense – and one manly hug that the conversation is over with.

"You promise to let us take care of you from now on?"

Stiles sighed and nodded on his dad's shoulder, "I promise."

His dad pulls away and kisses him on the hair. He looks down at Stiles' baby bump and smiles softly.

"How about my little champ over here, they kickin'?"

Stiles rubs his own belly and his baby kicks softly in answer. "The baby is okay, Dad, I guess."

"We will find out for sure, Deaton and Melissa are on their way to come and check you out. Now you just rest and take it easy, okay?"

Stiles lays back down with his dad's help.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Sure, Kiddo."

His dad gets up and makes his move to get out of the room and let his son rest. But Stiles has another inner call from his Alpha's mate's instinct.

"Wait, Dad, can you get the pack for me?" he asked.

As if on cue, there's a whining coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Stiles' face lights up and gestures his dad to hurry and open the door for him. The Sheriff rolls his eyes and opens the door as wide as he can.

Since he knows there will be a teenage herd through it. And herd, they do.

Stiles laughs, lifting his uninjured arm and calling out in want, "puppies!"

Derek's betas jump on the bed in a race, except Peter who just leans at the doorframe and snorts in amusement at the silly sight in front of him. Everyone trying to get the closer to Stiles than the others, pushing and pulling each other in the process. Isaac wins, he snuggles aggressively on Stiles' side and whimpers all puppy eyed and Stiles melts because it's Isaac.

"It's all my fault."

"Hush, hey now, no more man pain, I get that enough from your Alpha on daily basis already."

"But.."

"Hey, I'm okay, and you're okay," Stiles pulls away and grabs Isaac's head to get a better look at him, "you're okay, right? 'Cause I swear if those bastards lied to me– "

Isaac nods, "I'm okay."

"And the hunters are already dead, Mom," Jackson sassed but not so subtly rubbed his head to Stiles' baby bump and it was adorable.

But then someone slaps the back of his head, someone who has a small hand yet very sharp nails.

"Ow– "

"Lydia," Peter warned.

Stiles looks at the strawberry blonde. Lydia looks pissed, but she also looks like she's on the edge of crying.

"Aw, Lyds, c'mere," Stiles opens his arm offering comfort and just starts to open his mouth to apologize before he has the young woman's palm shut him up.

"Shut up. Just," she closes her eyes, calms herself down in grace, grasps the collar of Stiles' shirt with her perfectly manicured hand, and hisses so low it sends chills up Stiles' spine, "if you ever be that stupid and mess up again, I will castrate you, and run away with your child, you hear me?"

Stiles gulped, "crystal clear, My Queen."

In the following weeks after the incident with the hunters, the pack is hogging the pregnant pack mom like nobody's business. Stiles spends his days resting and healing, mostly on Derek's bed, mostly in puppy piles.

Derek literally growls and is all red eyes when Stiles' dad mention about Stiles going back to their house. Stiles can't say the feeling isn't mutual, he's restless without Derek nearby. He's being clingy, he knows, but he just can't help this urge to bury himself in Derek's protective bubble. If he knew any better, he would say his baby craves his daddy's attention and he swore their baby seems to know when Derek is around and kicks a little harder.

The situation leads to the point that Derek and Stiles decide that maybe it's time for them to start living together.

When they tell his father over a nice dinner – always deliver big news over a nice dinner – the Sheriff just sips at his glass of motherfucking expensive wine and says, "about time."

So that's how Stiles officially moves in to the Hale house, where they will raise their baby with love.

That night, the Alpha and his pregnant mate are warm and safe in their bed. Derek holds Stiles' round stomach, whispering sweet words to their baby.

"Daddy can't wait to meet you."

Stiles smiles so wide, his cheeks hurt. He lovingly runs his fingers through the Alpha's hair.

"And I can't wait to see you become a dad."

Derek looks at him, adoration in his green eyes. The man moves up to kiss him.

"You're giving me this," Derek said in gratitude, "I thought I'd never have this again. A home. Family."

Stiles shrugs, "Well, I guess it's inevitable. We love each other. You're hot. I'm horny. We have lots of sex. Why not making army of adorable chubby babies while we're at it—"

Derek chuckles and kisses his silly mate to shut him up.