Chapter 04: Discoveries
Derek, Stiles, Isaac and Lydia all waited with Emily while Peter was moved into a private room with Lydia offering to stay with Isaac and Stiles for the rest of the day. Isaac and Stiles agreed, they didn't mind spending the day with her and Isaac offered to teach Lydia sign language. Stiles raised his eyebrow at Isaac wondering what he was doing. Isaac rolled his eyes, if anyone wanted to be able to talk to Stiles when his hearing went completely it would be Lydia.
"Emily, Derek are the two of you okay with Peter for a little while?" Melissa questioned, looking at the two of them, Emily nodded as Derek wrapped Stiles in his arms.
"Yeah, we're good. I need quiet to talk to Peter," Emily smiled at Melissa, she was signing at the same time due to not having her hearing aid's in.
"She left them at home didn't she Derek?" Isaac asked, Derek nodded resting his head on Stiles' shoulder at the same time.
"I'll leave you with him, come find me before you leave," Melissa told them, Emily nodded before she looked back to Peter and sat in the chair beside him.
"Thanks Mel," Derek smiled at her, before they were all watching Melissa leave the room and closing the door behind her. "Melissa...how bad was the damage to his spine?" Derek asked moving quickly to the door as she hadn't said and Emily would need to know.
"He's paralysed from the chest down," Melissa answered, Derek nodded before Melissa was leaving to finish her rounds.
Emily smiled at Derek, Isaac and Stiles before the two young adults went to spend the rest of the day with Lydia. Before they left Isaac wrapped his sister in a hug and kissed her cheek, Stiles did the same before he was kissing Derek. Emily smiled at the two of them before signing that she and Derek would see them at home. Derek nodded before he ushered Stiles and Isaac out of the room, and thanked Lydia for spending the day with them.
'Peter, baby let me,' Emily spoke quietly to Peter as she placed her hand behind his head again, she didn't need to do it to communicate with him but she was finding it helped calm him.
'Emily...what happened?' Peter's voice was quiet as he turned around and Emily approached him in his subconscious.
'Do you remember how long you've been missing for?' Emily asked as she extended her hand to Peter and waited for him to take it. 'Peter?'
'Em...it's been...I don't know,' Peter answered taking Emily's hand and pulling her close.
Derek watched the action being half mimicked from where he was sitting observing. From Derek's view, Peter was hooked up to a few machines and covered in bandages while Emily sat with her hand behind his head and her eyes closed. Derek watched as Emily moved slightly so that she was hugging Peter.
'Baby, it's been almost a year,' Emily told him, as they started to walk and Peter's subconscious brought up a bench in their favourite park. 'The hunters...they did a lot to you,' Emily said as they sat down and she wrapped him in her arms.
'Em...I know...' Peter told her, though he still didn't know exactly what had happened to him. 'I can't feel anything,'
'Shh, Peter it's okay. This is going to be hard for you to take,' Emily said, holding his Peter closer and kissing the side of his head. 'You had detached retina's which is why you can't see, they blocked your cochlea's and sewed them shut to make you deaf, they also had to operate on your larynx so that you can talk, ' Emily paused taking a deep breath as she watched Peter's reaction as his body tensed. 'Peter, baby listen to me, the doctors have done what they could with surgery,'
'We won't know will we?' Peter questioned, Emily shook her head and hugged him tighter before he asked another question. 'What else...what else did they do?'
'They put you in a chastity belt on you, while your penis was erect and broke it multiple times...and you have a broken spine, you're paralysed from the chest down,' Emily spoke calmly as she felt Peter tensing beside her before she was taking his hands in hers. 'Baby, you're safe now. I promise,' Emily kissed the side of his head before she spoke again. 'I love you, you know that,'
'Don't leave,' Peter told her holding her hand tightly as he turned to face her. 'I know you have to go back to the living world...'
'Peter, you're not dead. You're very much alive, utilise your sense of smell and touch,' Emily told him, before she was kissing him both in his subconscious and reality.
Peter watched as Emily disappeared from his mind. Emily opened her eyes and looked down at Peter before she looked at Derek. Derek smiled at her, he wasn't sure what had happened inside Peter's mind but he'd been watching how his body reacted. Derek walked over to Peter and Emily and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Em, is he okay?" Derek signed, looking between the two of them before he was crouching down to her level.
"Honestly? I don't know. I told him everything," Emily answered signing at the same time before she pulled Derek into a hug.
When Friday rolled around, Derek was watching as Stiles reluctantly climbed into Emily's car with her so that she could take him to his appointment. Stiles had been trying to escape every five minutes since he'd woken up at 9AM and they still had to pick up Noah. Derek had basically strapped Stiles into the car in every way that he could think of to prevent his boyfriend from escaping. When they arrived at the Stilinski's, Noah was waiting on the front step for them talking with Chris Argent.
"Morning Sheriff, Mister Argent," Emily said, she'd made sure she had both hearing-aids in that morning as Noah wasn't caught up on the sign-language aspect as yet.
"Morning Emily, Stiles," Noah said after he approached the car and peered into the front seat. "Derek's doing?" Noah questioned after Chris bid farewell to the three of them.
"Yes, since Stiles has been trying to escape every five or so minutes since he woke up," Emily told him as Noah climbed in the back of the car and strapped himself in before clamping Stiles on the shoulder.
"I have not," Stiles stated indignantly to which both Emily and Noah laughed at. "Fine,"
'See,' Emily signed at Stiles before she stuck her tongue out at him. "I promise the doctor is nice, I've been seeing her since I was a child,"
Forty minutes later and they were pulling up at a small audiologist clinic. Once inside, Emily told the receptionist that Stiles was there for his 11:30 appointment. Stiles was sandwiched between Noah and Emily as they sat in the waiting room. Stiles was fidgeting nervously as he didn't want to go through with the appointment even though his headaches were getting worse.
"Mieczysław Stilinski," the nurse said as she opened the door, Stiles blinked he didn't know what to do no one had been able to pronounce his name since he was little.
"Come on," Emily smiled at Stiles pulling him to his feet as Noah stood up and followed the two of them into the room.
"I...I can't do it," Stiles mumbled, before he was putting one hand to his left ear.
"Stiles, come sit down," Emily said taking hold of Stiles' right hand as her doctor entered the room and introduced herself.
"I'm Doctor Addy Books, now Stiles, Emily tells me that you've been having headaches, ringing ears, anything else?" Doctor Books questioned, as Stiles looked at her and then at Emily for a little clarification.
"Stiles, son answer the doc," Noah said pausing before he introduced himself. "I'm Sheriff Noah Stilinski, Stiles' father,"
'Stiles, tell her everything,' Emily signed, as Stiles watched her hands she knew that he recognised some of the signs that she had given him.
"Conversations are...starting to be hard to follow," Stiles said after looking at Emily and then back at the doctor. "Especially group meetings..."
"Okay, well lets do some tests and we'll see what we can find," Doctor Books said, as she got out her testing equipment and began doing the testing.
After an hour and a half Doctor Books was giving Stiles his test results and booking him in to get fitted for hearing aids. Due to Stiles' proximity to Lydia's Banshee scream he'd developed moderate-severe Sensorineural Hearing Loss in both his ears. Emily promised Stiles that she'd go with him, while Noah worried about how they were going to pay for everything. Doctor Books assured him that everything was being looked after by Derek. Emily took Stiles back the following day as Noah had to work.
"Stiles, it's going to feel weird she'll be putting a goopy substance in your ears," Emily said as she sat with him in the waiting room.
"Goopy?" Stiles questioned, Emily nodded she hated the feeling of the goop in her ears but the end was worth it.
"Yeah, just do exactly what she says," Emily told him, Stiles nodded before he was being called into Doctor Books and she was sitting him down and telling him what was going to happen.
Stiles sat as still as he could before he started squirming when she was putting the otoblock in each of his ears before injecting the silicone mixture in them. Emily smiled at Stiles before she subtly put her hand behind his head and started to talk to him. 'Stiles, you need to relax,' Emily told him holding his hand and pausing for a moment as he realised she was talking to him. 'Open and close your mouth it helps,' Emily reassured him before Stiles was opening and closing his mouth while he waited for the goop to heal.
Two weeks later and they were taking off the bandaging from both Peters ears and eyes, though they wanted him to remain wearing patches over his eyes to stop any infections. Melissa was the only person that Peter let near him to do anything without him trying to claw at people. Emily had talked to Peter about the possibility of him never being able to hear again and the options – options that he had given her once upon a time. Stiles was also receiving his hearing-aid's and Doctor Books, made a special journey to Beacon Hills just for the occasion.
"Der, are you and Isaac right with Stiles? I'll go in with Peter," Emily said, she figured that it was better if she was in there as she'd been the only one to be able to really communicate with Peter.
"Yeah, we're right. Are you sure you'll be okay with Peter?" Derek questioned in reply, Emily nodded before kissing Derek on the cheek.
"Look after them," Emily smiled at Derek before she was sitting in with Peter and Melissa and they were taking the bandages away. 'Peter, Melissa's going to take the bandages off now,' Emily spoke quietly to Peter with her hand behind his head to calm him before she took her hand away.
"Emily, is he ready?" Melissa asked, Emily nodded taking Peter's hand and squeezing it as Melissa started to take them off.
Derek and Isaac went with Stiles, because that was the only way that he was letting the doctor anywhere near his ears. Stiles was still very uncertain of what was going to happen, both Isaac and Derek started to sign to him to reassure him that everything was okay. Derek telling him that it definitely didn't change how he felt about him. Isaac telling him that Emily would always be there if he couldn't handle it.
By the time Peter had been in Beacon Hills Memorial for six weeks, his vision slowly started to come back but not to what it used to be. Both eyes were healing differently, even with a little magical help from Emily. Peter's hearing it had been determined wasn't able to be fixed, he was pronounced profoundly deaf in his left ear and severely deaf in right ear. He was able to talk a little though he had no idea of the volume of his voice when he did so. Peter's spinal nerves were healing and he was regaining some feeling and movement in his legs but not enough that he could walk yet.
"Em, are you okay?" Stiles asked as the two of them sat in with Peter, Derek and Isaac had gone off to do some running around for Isaac's birthday.
"Yeah, I'm okay Stiles. Are you?" Emily replied looking at Stiles as she spoke as she knew that he was still getting used to his new hearing-aids.
"Getting there...how does Peter feel about all of this?" Stiles asked, Peter was currently asleep while they sat with him otherwise he would have tried signing to him.
"Frustrated, annoyed," Emily answered, running a hand through her hair before she looked back at Peter and sighed as his eyes fluttered open. "Stiles, can you keep an eye out for me?"
"Sure...but why?" Stiles questioned, before he watched as Emily closed her eyes and put her hand behind Peter's head.
'Peter, baby. How are you feeling?' Emily asked quietly as she poked around inside Peter's head.
'Darling...sore, aching...is this how it's going to be?' Peter answered, looking to Emily as she approached him. In his subconscious he could hear, see and walk the complete opposite to reality.
'Have you thought anymore about what I suggested? You'd be able to hear again,' Emily told him, they'd been talking about Peter getting a cochlear implant for his right ear. 'For a little while it will be,'
'Why haven't you done it?' Peter flipped the question back to her, he'd offered to pay for it three years earlier but she'd refused as she'd grown up without most of her hearing.
Emily sighed before she answered him. 'It's part of who I am, it always will be. You, you're different you grew up being able to hear and heal,' Emily knew that Peter would understand why she was asking and why she refused to get them. 'Peter, I need you to tell me what you can see...when I take my hand away try and sign okay?'
Peter nodded to Emily before she was taking her hand away from the back of Peter's head and standing before him. Emily waited for Peter to open his eyes and sign to her as that was what she had asked him. Peter looked around the room as his eyes started to adjust before they landed on Emily or what he assumed was Emily. Emily watched as Peter started to clumsily sign to her that he could see what he assumed was either her or Stiles in front of him. Emily smiled before she signed to him that he was right and wondered if he could see her signing.
'You are wearing the green dress I brought you,' Peter signed clumsily as his adjusted and he made out her blurred outline.
'I am, it's one of my favourites,' Emily signed back before she was taking his hand and squeezing it reassuringly. 'Tell me, do you know who else is with us?' Emily watched as Peter's head went around the room.
'Stiles?' Peter questioned it wasn't that he could see him he could smell the young human. 'In the corner?'
'Yes, baby that's right,' Emily signed smiling at him before she kissed him. "He can see our blurred outlines and colours," Emily said as she turned around to face Melissa and Stiles.
Melissa was standing beside Emily, so she was grateful for the young woman to be able to be able translate for her as her understanding of sign-language was still a little on the rusty side. Melissa nodded as she made a note for Doctor Geyer, he'd been leaving everything up to Melissa. Stiles started to scratch at his ear, for some reason one of his hearing-aids was making his left ear extremely itchy. Emily motioned for Stiles to move from where he was standing, which he did and stood beside her at Peter's bed.
"Stiles, have you been cleaning both of them like you were told?" Emily asked, Stiles nodded his head causing Emily too look at him and then at Melissa. "Show me?" Emily held her hand out for Stiles to put his left hearing-aid in so that she could have a look.
"Em?" Stiles raised his eyebrow as he watched Emily inspecting his hearing-aid before she was sighing. "What...what did I do?"
"See the discolouration? And the smell? You haven't been cleaning them properly and now it looks like you've got an ear infection," Emily stated, that statement caused Melissa to look at her and then at Stiles.
"Emily, how do you know that?" Melissa questioned, crouching down beside her and then looking at Stiles.
"I've had my fair share...I started going deaf before I was seven years old and have worn hearing-aids in both ears since I was fifteen," Emily answered, she'd lost count how many she'd had and they usually left her in bed fro a few days.
"Stiles, come with me. I'll get David to take a look at your ear and we'll be back," Melissa said extending her hand to Stiles as Emily handed his hearing-aid back to him. "And you can get Em to clean them properly for you later,"
"Go, we'll be fine,"