Cut Out All the Ropes: Chapter 16
Derek rubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes as Chris continued to talk, writing notes from his translations on the rest of the beastiary as he went. Chris flipped back and forth between his notes, pointing at something as he pushed the notebook across the table to Derek.
"Have you heard of these? They identify as Witches, and focus mostly on virgins and unmated werewolves."
"Not off the top of my head," Derek mumbled, his eyes scanning the writing. "I can check my mom's and Peter's notes. Apparently Peter has moved all of our record to his computer."
"Is your phone vibrating again?" Chris asked, raising a brow as he took a sip of his coffee. Derek sighed, digging his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen, cursing under his breath at the number of missed calls and texts from Stiles. He thumbed through them, pushing play on the latest voicemail.
"Um, hi, Dr. Jeffers's has decided to admit me even though I'm not that far along. And so I really, really, really need you to get to the hospital and not pull your "I'm emotionally constipated" bullshit. Because I'm scared, and this is your fault. So get here. Now Derek."
Derek cursed again, flipping through the various text messages filled with Stiles cursing him and Jackson saying he was standing in until Derek could get there but that he needed to hurry.
"Stiles is in labor," Derek said, looking up at Chris with wide eyes. Chris raised a brow at him, swallowing a smirk as he nodded towards the door.
"Go. As of right now the only threat is my wife and the beastiary isn't going to help with her any. We can finish this any time."
"Thanks," Derek said, climbing to his feet, patting his pockets for his keys.
"Derek," Chris called, moving a pile of papers off the table and shaking Derek's keys at him. Derek sighed, reaching across the table, nodding his thanks. "Good luck!"
"How you feeling, Sweetie?" Melissa asked as she walked into the curtained area carrying a tray.
"Like a monster is clawing its way out of my body," Stiles whispered, his eyes clinched shut as he let his head fall back against the pillow.
"Well those monsters are your kids trying to make their way into the world," Melissa said, and Stiles groaned as she laughed. "Well you're not as dilated as we normally prefer, but Dr. Jeffers wants to admit you given all the other problems you've had. We just need to get an IV started and get some of the monitor hooked up and then we'll move you upstairs to your room."
"Are you going to do my IV?" he asked quietly and Melissa grinned, rolling her eyes.
"Of course," she said, pulling Stiles blankets and gown down as he maneuvered the fetal monitor around his stomach until both heart beats were found on the screen. She also stuck the heart monitors to his chest to track his own heartbeat. "I've given you every IV you've ever had except one. I'm not going to miss this one."
"How many have you had?" Jackson asked, watching with a brow raised as Melissa pulled his gown back up to cover his chest, letting the wires hang over his shoulder and out of the way.
"More than his fair share," Melissa said, laying out the supplies she'd need to do an IV. "My personal favorite happened when he was about nine. I had agreed to watch him for the weekend so the Sherriff and Meredith could go out of town for their anniversary. And while I thought the boys had played enough to actually go to sleep that night, instead they waited for me to fall asleep, climbed to the top of my garage with bath towels tied around their neck because they thought they were superheroes that could fly if they got the angle right."
"Oh, God. I forgot about that," Stiles said, a small smile on his face as Melissa laughed.
"Apparently Scott chickened out, so Stiles jumped first and managed to break his arm and bust his head open. I wake up to Scott screaming on the roof of the garage at 4 o'clock in the morning with Stiles laying in a heap on the driveway. I had to call an ambulance because I didn't want to risk Stiles having a broken neck and then coax Scott of the roof while we waited."
Stiles was grinning, watching with hooded eyes as Melissa pressed at his veins and finding the perfect one in his wrist. Jackson had a brow cocked as Melissa continued.
"I'm standing in the driveway with this one," she gestured at Stiles, "strapped to a back board screaming everything an EMT got close to him to start an IV, and Scott hanging off my leg screaming that Steve was going to arrest him because he let Stiles get hurt. Finally I had to do his IV while standing in my pajamas at 4 in the freaking morning."
"I got a pretty blue cast out of the deal, and I still have the scar behind my ear from the 10 stitches I had to get," Stiles said with a smile and Melissa sighed with a grin as she hooked the new IV to a bag that she hung on the bar of his bed.
"I'm pretty sure you took a good 10 years off my life that night."
"Which IV have I had that you didn't give me?" Stiles asked, poking that the tape on his hand.
"After the car accident," She said, pushing some buttons on the IV machine. They gave you that one in the field. But I've given you every other one from the getting your tonsils and your appendix out, the pneumonia you had when you were 13, when you re-broke your arm from your superman adventure and had to have surgery to reset it, and a couple months ago with Victoria. I'm pretty sure I could go it with my eyes shut at this point."
"That would be impressive," Stile mumbled, letting his head fall back again.
"Have you heard from Derek?" Melissa asked.
"Not yet. I've been calling and texting his phone and Jackson called his dad's office but apparently Derek didn't have to work today so I have no idea where he is."
"I'm sure he's on his way. Try to get some rest sweetie," Melissa said, running her fingers through Stiles hair as she stood up. She squeezed Jackson's shoulder after the removed her glozes, giving them both a small smile. "Someone will be in soon to move you upstairs."
Derek sped into the parking lot of the hospital, fishtailing slightly as he looked for an open spot. The car was barely stopped before he was jumping out and locking it, running to the sliding glass doors. He pressed the up button on the elevator repeatedly before it binged and opened for him. The Alpha pulled his phone out, looking for the room number again when the device buzzed in his hands again.
"I forgot something that's pretty important. I need to meet with you as soon as possible. I'll be waiting at the train depot.-CA" the message said, and Derek let out a frustrated groan as he read it. The elevator let out a bing again before sliding open. Derek could already hear Stiles' voice, probably yelling at Jackson, and he hurried down the hallway to the room. As he neared the door, Isaac slid out into the hallway looking pale.
"You're in trouble," his Beta said and Derek groaned, nodding his head.
"I need you to do me a favor."
"What's up?" Isaac asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"I was meeting with Argent this morning when I finally got Stiles' messages. Apparently he forgot to tell me something important that needs to be dealt with ASAP. He said he'll be waiting at the train depot. Can you go for me? Just figure out what he wants and if it's not something you can do, just come back here and we'll figure something out, okay?"
"Yeah, got it. You better get in there. Stiles is in a lot of pain and pissed."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Thanks, Isaac. Seriously."
Isaac waved him off, heading to the elevator while Derek took a deep breath. He pushed the door open, taking in Stiles angry face as he squeezed Jackson's hand tightly.
"Breath," Jackson mumbled, trying to move his hand as Stiles continued to squeeze. Finally the pain seemed to fade and Stiles let go of Jackson's hand before turning to glare at Derek.
"Where the hell have you been?" He hissed, his face red as he panted.
"I was working through things with Argent and I didn't hear my phone," Derek explained, crossing the room to sit in the open chair next to Stiles' bed. "I'm sorry. What's the doctor said so far?"
Stiles continued to glare at him as Jackson let out a small chuckle.
"He's only a couple centimeter dilated so he'll be here for a while. Contractions are like 25 minutes apart. His water hasn't broke yet. And they haven't given him drugs, hence why he's so pissy," the omega said, a small smile on his face.
"I'm not pissy!" Stiles yelled, glaring at both of them. "I'm in pain." Derek immediately stepped forward, pushing the blanket and hospital gown out of the way so he could place his palm on Stiles' bare skin. His veins instantly turned black as he started pulling some of the pain from his mate. Stiles let out a sigh, letting his eyes fall shut in relief.
"That's great and everything," Jackson said, watching the two of them, "but Stiles' has only been here four hours and he's only like 4 centimeters dilated. Under normal situations he wouldn't have even been admitted. So you trying to suck all the pain out for the next however long isn't going to work…"
"I can take it," Stiles mumbled, pushing Derek away. Derek sighed, pulling the blanket back up.
"I'm sorry," Derek whispered, running his hand through Stiles hand and pressing a kiss to his temple before Stiles pushed him away.
"I know," Stiles mumbled. "Did you figure things out with Allison's dad?"
"For the time being. We're finishing translating the bestiary. You know, the stuff Lydia couldn't get and trying to combine it with the information my mom and Peter had. It's still going to take some work. Isaac just went to meet with him 'cause he said he had something important that had to be talked about right now."
Stiles nodded, biting his lip. Finally the boy turned to Derek, studying his face.
"Can you ask the nurse if I can get up and walk around? I don't want to sit here anymore." Derek nodded, jumping up from his seat to find a nurse.
"Mr. Argent?" Isaac called as he followed the stair into the train depot. He could hear a heartbeat in the distance, and there was a smell that he vaguely recognized but couldn't place. Isaac swallowed thickly as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Mr. Argent, are you here?"
The Beta stumbled, glancing around for the sound of footsteps. A whistle filled the air, one that it took Isaac far too long to recognize before a arrow lodged itself just above Isaac's knee. Another arrow left the bow in the figure in the shadows hand, lodging in the joint of Isaac's shoulder. He moaned falling to the ground as his hand hovered over the arrow, trying to decide what to do with it. He looked up, his eyes golden as the sound of high heels filled his ears.
"Not quite the wolf I was hoping for," Victoria Argent said confidently as she looked down at Isaac's shaking body. "But I guess I'll just make do with what I have." She stuck her gloved hand in her pocket before pulling it back out still in a fist. She crouched down so she was closer to the teen before opening her hand and blowing the pile of purple powder in his face. "Rest well, little wolf. You're in for some great fun."
Sixteen hours later and Derek was helping Stiles' out of his bed for another walk around the hallway. His contractions were getting closer together but were still close to 15 minutes apart and he was still only 7 centimeters dilated. Dr. Jeffers' had given him more pain killers over the night so he could get some sleep, but they wouldn't start the epidural until he was 8 centimeters dilated.
Derek walked next to stiles, rolling the pole with his IV along between them. Stiles clung to the pole, his hand clinched in Derek's free hand, letting the wolf take away some of the pain.
"This is ridiculous," Stiles mumbled, trying to straighten his posture before bending at the waist slightly again. "It's been 20 hours and I'm nowhere closer to them being here. Why are they taking so long?"
"Technically, you are a little closer. You'll probably get an epidural before the hour is up," Derek said, squeezing Stiles hand again as they walked. "But apparently our kids are just as stubborn as you are and are taking their time."
"Stubborn? Really? You're the stubborn one!" Stiles squeaked, his voice cracking. Derek chuckled, pausing when Stiles stopped to breathe deeply as another contraction tore through him. Derek rubbed his back as Stiles rocked his hips back and forth trying to stop the pain. "Can we go back to the room? Please?" Stiles mumbled and Derek nodded, turning Stiles to lead him back. Stiles stopped again when he felt a gush of liquid burst and splash on the linoleum floor. He stopped, staring at Derek with wide eyes who raised a brow at him.
"Well, that might hurry things a long a little," Derek said with a snort before back tracking a few steps to call out to a nurse at the nurse's station. "Hi, yeah, he's water just broke. You might want someone to come clean this up." The nurse nodded gesturing them back to Stiles' room.
Isaac slowly woke, his head and vision fuzzy as he tried to figure out where he was. His hands were chained above his head and a gag shoved in his mouth. He tried to pull his hands free, letting out a loud whimper when the action sent of shock through his body.
"It's motion censored," a voice said behind him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Or at least it is at the moment. I can set it so it's constantly on, but it's more amusing to watch you try to stay still for me."
The red headed woman moved to stand in front of Isaac, a small smirk on her face. She ran the blade of the knife in her hand down his chest, causing Isaac to realize that he was naked. She pressed the blade in deeper over his heart before dragging it further down towards his belly button.
"Apparently," Victoria began, gently taping the handle of the knife against her palm. "Apparently Derek hasn't headed my warning. If he was smart, he would have gotten rid of those abominations before Stilinski got this far along. But for some reason that pack of his keeps growing. Don't think I don't know about that goalie. So I'm going to use you, dear wolf, to prove me point. We're going to have so much fun together, Isaac!" She clapped her hands together, causing the wolf to flinch which lead to the cuffs around his wrists shocking him again.
Victoria looked up, meeting Isaac's eyes before slamming the knife deep into Isaac's stomach. The boy screamed against the gag as the electricity coursed through his body.
"The electricity keeps you from using your freakish healing powers. If only I could bleed the wolf from you. I'm sure you were a great kid who just made some mistakes. You should never put your trust in Derek Hale. I'm sure you'll learn from that now."
Isaac let out another whimper as she pulled the knife from his stomach and rubbed a handful of wolfsbane in it. He withered against the pain, his eyes filled with tears.
"It's been a while since I've done this myself, so I'll have great fun getting back in practice. Are you ready for a great night?" Victoria asked, increasing the electricity running through the cuffs. Isaac closed his eyes, trying to close down his mind in the process.
Stiles thought he was going to blush out of his skin. His epidural was in place, and Melissa had been in to start a catheter.
"Does this have to be you?" he moaned as she skillfully inserted the tube. She also fitted him into a type of sling that kept his penis and balls out of the way during the birth. "I can never look you in the eye again!"
"Stiles, sweetheart. I changed your diaper. It's okay. You don't have to be embarrassed."
"Too late!" He yelped, grabbing and squeezing Derek's hand as another contraction tore through him, happening only five minutes after the last one.
"You're getting closer to pushing stage. Dr. Jeffers will be in soon to get everything started. Just try to keep calm. I'll be here with you the entire time, okay?" Stiles whimpered, nodding.
"Do you want me in here for this, kid?" Steve asked, his hands wrapped around the bar on Stiles' bed. Stiles hesitated before shaking his head no.
"I'd like to be able to look you in the eye after this at least," Steve snorted but nodded, placing a kiss to Stiles' temple.
"I'll go keep the pack company. Good luck kid, I love you."
"I love you, too," Stiles whispered as Steve left the room. Melissa and a few more nurses entered the room, getting things ready. "Wait, it's happening here?"
"Yup," Melissa said, pushing a button at the side of his bed that allowed the end of the bed to separate from the rest of it. She pulled the stirrups up from where they were folded up under the bed. "I'm pretty sure we've already talked about this, but labor, birth, and bonding all in the same room. It puts less stress on you."
"Right, see I wasn't listening then," Stiles said, and Melissa snorted shaking her head. "Hey wait, I think these wonderful drugs are working."
"Good," Melissa said, grinning at him as she helped him get his feet in the stirrups and sit up the head of his bed.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Dr. Jeffers said from the doorway, pulling on a pair of gloves. "How about we get started!"
AN: I graduated! And got a new laptop! So hopefully I'll update more. The babies will be here next chapter, but it's not going to be easy. I have a thing for angst, if you can't tell. I hope you like it and please review!