A/N: Not much to say, just keep me posted on what you all think of my story, mk?
Enjoy.
The Sheriff and Scott get back a while after the officers leave and Derek lets them know that they dropped by. Scott says that he and the other two did catch a scent and have it ingrained in their memory now. Isaac and Jackson said they saw two men and a female, all clad in black that smelled like poison and gun powder getting into one of the transportation vehicles but got back out quickly. They both have the scents as well as the figures imprinted in their memories.
"You all set to go, kiddo?" his father asks, his hand holding onto an IV stand with a fresh bag of liquid hooked to it.
Stiles nods because what else can he do?
"Good, I'm going to go find those officers you were just talking to and have a word with them while you get loaded up into the van. Derek and Scott will stay with you until I get back."
Derek and Scott nod in affirmation and his father leaves the room, pulling the IV with him as he goes.
"Your dad's going to take care of you Stiles, you don't have to worry." Scott says, his hand gently patting his foot over the blanket. "What did the officers want?"
"They wanted as much of a statement as they could get before Stiles was transported back to Beacon Hills." Derek answers for him, his voice dark and his jaw tense under Stiles' fingers.
"Oh. Was everything ok? They didn't push or anything, did they?"
"The guy didn't appropriately handle the situation, he just barged in here, made Stiles go into a state of panic."
Stiles shakes his head, "No."
They both turn to him.
"No? That's exactly what happened Stiles. He said he wanted to ask you…"
Stiles' nails dig into Derek's face before he can get the word out, even the suggestion of the word had him tensing up, fighting the automatic response of fear and panic that came with the association of the word. At least he recognized it so once he started the counseling he desperately needed he'd be able to work on it.
"T-trigger."
"Trigger?" Scott asks.
Derek sucks in a breath. "Trigger word, Scott. The officer said a word that triggered a flash back. It happens in trauma cases."
"Oh. What was the word?"
Stiles just knows that Scott is currently on the receiving end of Derek's bitch face but he thankfully doesn't say anything. They sit in silence until the door opens and he can feel Derek tense a split second before he sits up straighter.
"Hello, my name is Dr. O'Heare, I'm from the ATSS and I've decided, after looking over the case file, to look after Mr. Stilinski through the transport and will be assisting him in his home environment as well." The man has a distinct Irish accent that Stiles can't help but listen to.
There's a tense silence for a brief moment before Stiles feels Derek move.
"I'm Derek Hale, this is Scott McCall. We're close friends of both Stiles and his father, the Sheriff of Beacon Hills."
There's extra emphasis on the 'sheriff' part but Stiles can't find it in him to care. They're just looking out for him.
"It's nice to meet you both. Do you happen to know where his father is? I have some things to discuss with him before we take to the road."
"He's talking with a couple of officers who came in here a bit ago. He's down the hall and to the right." Scott answers.
"Thank you. I'll be seeing you later then."
There isn't a formal goodbye, just the sound of footsteps and the closing of the door before there's silence.
"That was unexpected." Scott mumbles.
"I think he was actually outside the door for a bit." Derek says and Stiles can hear Scott shift his body towards him.
"Why do you think that?"
"I could hear someone outside the door but I didn't realize that they were listening. Can you hear the Sheriff?"
"Sort of, if I focus."
"Focus on the doctor."
They're both silent. Stiles doesn't have that kind of range even though his ability to hear has practically doubled since he's lost his ability to see. Derek's jaw becomes more and more tense and Stiles doesn't doubt that Scott is having the same reaction.
"Oh." Scott says eventually and Derek heaves a small sigh.
"Yeah."
Stiles' fingers twitch on Derek's face and he turns his face back towards him.
"Don't worry Stiles, everything's fine."
This time the silence lasts for twenty minutes before the doctor who'd been taking care of him the last month or so opens the door followed by three nurses.
"Ok Mr. Stilinski, the transport van is ready so we'll be moving you now. We'll be giving you an extra dose of morphine to help with the pain of being moved. It won't be enough to put you under again so you might feel some discomfort, but if it becomes too much let us know."
Stiles nods and they start filing around him. There's a distinct loss in focus as soon as the extra morphine hits his system and he wants to panic but the drugs keep him in a perpetual state of relaxation and having Derek, Scott, and now his dad there helps keep him from letting that panic shut him down.
The transfer to the van is less than painless but it's far from painful. He has the sneaking suspicion that the 'wolves are doing their pain drain thing since their hands never leave him. The only time the doctor and nurses tried to remove them from him his eyes had shot open and his arm, even though it felt so, incredibly heavy, had darted out, his breath coming faster as he felt for Derek's familiar scruff or Scott's bitten down nails. Derek was immediately allowed back within touching distance and Stiles figured he probably looked a little ridiculous leaning over him enough to keep his face within touching distance, but he didn't seem to care. He just kept muttering reassurances that he was there, that he wasn't leaving, that he was safe.
The van is on as they load him up and it takes a bit for him to become accustom to the sound. Derek simply climbs in with him followed by his father and two nurses, one male, one female. It's a little cramped but the van was made for carrying multiple people and Stiles is insanely relieved that they're with him.
"Scott's going to drive my car back and Jackson's driving his car back. Erica and Boyd are with Scott, Isaac with Jackson." Derek says once everyone is situated in a seat.
"Ok, good. The officers have been informed of the situation and agree that this course of action, although a little unethical, might work and keep Stiles safe as we transfer back home. They're also aware of the two cars following them and the five people in them. The hospital has arranged to go into 'panic' mode as soon as we reach the state line. Hopefully the bastards get caught if they stick around to hear the news."
"This is the good IV then? Have you had the other one tested?"
"I sent the other bag out with the gurney they used to transfer Stiles in. They're going to run tests on it and figure out if they can identify the poison they were planning to use. They also did a quick sweep of the interior to make sure there was nothing else put into the van. The nurses who stocked the van confirmed that nothing seems to have been tampered with."
Then quietly, so only his father, and consequently Stiles, can hear, Derek says, "I'm going to do a sweep of my own."
Stiles opens his good eye to look at Derek who's seated right next to him and watches as he turns away from the nurses and his eyes go deep red. That's one thing he'd managed to keep from them, that Derek's still an Alpha. One secret that he didn't give up. Derek's gaze settles on him briefly and he's given a small, warm smile that eases something in Stiles that seemed to have pinched up he doesn't even know when.
Derek scans the room, his nose flaring and his head cocking slightly to the side. He goes over every inch of the van discreetly and after a solid twenty minutes he seems to be satisfied because his vaguely red eyes fade back into their original color, a color that Stiles can no longer see but knows to be an interesting mix of green and blue.
"There's nothing out of place that I can see. A camera would've had a glare and a microphone would've had static. There's no smell of poison anywhere either or gun powder or any other threat that I can detect that shouldn't be here."
His father blows out a breath of relief and claps Derek on the shoulder.
"Thanks son. Now we've got a good ten hours ahead of us. In about an hour and a half we'll be at West Wendover, Nevada where we'll be switching to a transportation van from Wells. That's when the hospital will be getting the call. The Salt Lake City police will be sending another officer down here but by the time they get here we'll already have been transferred and on our way. They'll write up a false report that, as soon as those bastards have been caught, will be used as evidence in this little scene."
"I'll do another sweep of the van sent to pick us up from Wells then, just to safe."
"That'll be much appreciated."
Stiles relaxes further, he's in good hands. He doesn't know when his father and Derek became so close but he figures it was sometime during their desperate search for him. It's good for them though, both of them, to have someone to lean on. He's just hoping that Derek kept his father out of the alcohol and he won't be going home to a house full of empty whiskey bottles. But his dad hadn't smelled or sounded of any alcohol since he'd arrived in Utah, so he figures that's a good thing.
The rest of the ride is fairly comfortable. There aren't any sharp turns or rough bumps in the road and Derek keeps his hand on Stiles, drawing out pain constantly despite the morphine and it leaves Stiles feeling like he's floating.
As soon as they reach the state line the nurses begin fiddling with his wires and moving about, getting things ready for the move. His father and Derek both tense and the next ten minutes are filled with a flurry of movement. Stiles' transport bed is taken directly from the back to the back of another van and slipped quickly inside. There's another police vehicle beside the van from a different part of Nevada and two officers seated in the front. There's no time for introductions so as soon as Stiles, Derek, his father, and the two nurses who came with the van are seated inside the van they're off again.
"That went rather smoothly. Are the others still with us?"
Derek pulls out his phone before answering, "Yeah, they're with us. They say the other police vehicle stayed behind and that the new one is now following us." The quieter, "I'm going to do a sweep now."
"Ok, that sounds good. Tell them to keep us posted and to stay vigilant of any vehicles that may be trailing us. This van should take us all the way back home."
Twenty minutes later and Derek confirms that there's nothing out of the ordinary here either.
"What about Dr. O'Heare? He's not part of the group following us out."
"He's going to meet us back home, said he feels better flying than driving such a long way. Saves on gas money too."
"What did you think of him? Do you think he's qualified?"
"His credentials were emailed to me about a week ago, along with a few others. It took a while before I decided to choose him. He's got the most extensive history with people who've been in this kind of situation and when I called him on the phone and spoke to him about it he was willing to take up residence in Beacon Hills for as long as he's needed."
"And you're sure about him?"
His father is quiet for beat before replying in a quieter voice, "He was referred to me by Deaton, not the hospital."
And that's all that needs to be said.
Stiles allows himself to fall into a state of relaxation but doesn't want to actually fall asleep. The van isn't exactly loud but it's unfamiliar and there are two people who are constantly talk whom he doesn't know. He doesn't want to fall asleep and wake up to unfamiliar voices and surroundings and freak out, so he stays focused on Derek's hand which never leaves his grasp.
It's a long trip, made longer by his constant vigilance, but it keeps him sane.
A/N: So, I'm coming up on the busy time in my schooling so I haven't been posting regularly, but, again, I only post when I feel like it, I hope you all understand. I WILL finish this though, I promise.
~hearts~