Chapter 4

Sheriff Stilinksi was damn good at his job. He could be tough when he had to be but his deputies always felt that they could go to him whenever they needed to; he was a good man and they respected him

As a young boy Stiles had thought his dad seemed so tall in his uniform. With his gun on his hip, his hat on his head and his shiny badge, Stiles had been convinced he was a superhero; he had always been so proud to be the sheriff's son.

Now as he sat in the hospital room holding his fathers hand watching him lying there hooked up to so many machines, Stiles can't see the tall commanding Sheriff any more, just his dad seeming smaller and less invincible than a child's superhero. But he was still alive and he was still fighting and Stiles was still proud to be his dad's son.

When his father's heart had stopped Stiles thought his would stop too, the sound of the screaming heart monitor filling his head until it was all he could hear. It had seemed like an eternity passed before the doctors finally managed to get a rhythm again; that jumping blip had been the sweetest sight he had ever seen and even now he couldn't keep his eyes from constantly flicking over to watch it jump up and down with each beat of his dad's stubborn heart. They had managed to get his heart going again but he had slipped into a coma and now needed another machine to help him breathe.

God Stiles felt so helpless!

He griped his father's hand tighter and clenched his jaw adding an edge to his words, "I'm so sorry Dad. I knew there was something off about Theo and I should have been there for you, I should have tried harder to convince people, to figure out what he was up to." Stiles' eyes dart over to look out the window and his brow furrows as his shoulders sag. When he turns back to his father his voice is quieter and even though his dad's eyes are closed he can't bring himself to look him in the face and bows his head, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Donovan … I know I should have but I just couldn't … I called like I was supposed to but then I freaked and when I got the guts to go back he was gone so I wasn't even sure it had really happened, I, I didn't want to believe it so I tried not to…

"All this stuff, the secrets and the danger and everything, it's got me so turned around and all I want to do is help save my friends and protect you and now it's all messed up." Stiles takes a breath calming his voice, "I'm not making excuses, there is no excuse for what I did Dad, and I'm so sorry. I know that I let you down and that I have to face the consequences of what I've done but I just hope that you can forgive me." As he looks at his sleeping father the tears that have been threatening while he spoke silently start to fall down his cheeks. "Please keep fighting and come back to me. Whatever it takes I'm gonna fix this ok pops."

Stiles wipes the tears from his eyes and when he opens them again the room is slightly different, blurry as though he is still looking through his tears. With a blink of his eyes everything comes sharply back in to focus, the constant noise of machines still hangs in the air but his dad doesn't look right, something is off …

"Mum?"

Instead of the sleeping figure of the sheriff, Stiles' mother lies in the hospital bed in front of him, her chest slowly rising and falling as she rests and all of a sudden he feels like he is 10 years old again. Stiles looks down at the peaceful face of his mother, his breath catches in his throat and he can feel his heart being squeezed in his chest, she's going to die, don't let her die!

"Mum! Mum, please wake up, please don't leave me."

At Stiles' words Claudia stirs, her eyes gently fluttering open. It takes her a moment to wake up, a faint smile touching the corners of her mouth, but as soon as her eyes focus on Stiles they widen and fill with panic, any sign of a smile disappearing in an instant. She jerks her hand out of his grip and scoots away from him pushing her back up against the wall at the head of the bed, "Don't touch me! Get away from me!"

"Mum it's me, Stiles." He reaches his hand timidly towards her but it causes her to panic more and raise her voice louder practically screaming, "No! Monster! You're a monster! Get away from me you monster!"

In his hurt and surprise Stiles quickly pushes himself away from his frightened mother and stumbles back catching his chair and falling to the floor with a jolt. He is disoriented for a moment then the familiar beeping of the heart monitor and steady whoosh of the ventilator bring him back in touch with his surroundings and he finds himself sitting where he has fallen on the floor of his fathers hospital room, his father lying in the hospital bed, his chest rising and falling to the mechanical beat.