There was pain everywhere.

And darkness.

Something was holding him firmly in place. Only his head was free. However, he could feel something else on his face. All in all… he felt terrible.

He couldn't open his eyes.

His throat was dry as the desert.

And that awful pain…

"Stiles…"

He stopped his meager attempts to move at the sound of his name. It was so far away, but he heard it.

"Stiles… can you hear me? Are you able to open your eyes…? Stiles, you're in the hospital. Just relax and try opening your eyes."

He tried.

Bad idea.

The brightness that flooded in burned like fire. He let out a whimper and thrashed his head violently. The hospital!? Why!? Where was Daliah!? This had to be some sort of trick… Punishment… Scott!? Lydia!? God, why did he hurt so badly!?

There was a flurry of voices. Stiles forced his eyes open again. He tried to shout, to scream… but there was something in his throat. He panicked and gagged on the apparatus.

By now, Stiles was able to make out various people in white and blue smocks, running back and forth through his haze vision. They shouted things at him, but he couldn't understand them. All he knew was that he needed to get out of there.

Suddenly, however, something came over him. He felt cold and lethargy overtook his panic. The figures were able to successfully restrain him once again. Thankfully, they removed the tube from his throat.

"Stiles," said a closer, more familiar voice. He turned.

Only then, seeing his bandaged father next to him, his hand gently squeezing Stiles' ice cold one, did the reality of the situation come crashing down on him. He remembered everything; Daliah and his friends fighting, the bullets, stabbing that damned monster twice…

And now, with no more poison in his body, his emotions overwhelmed him. Tears fell down his temples as he was forced to feel everything once again. His father just continued to squeeze his hand.

"S… sorry…" Stiles managed to whisper.

"Shh, just rest," the sheriff said gently. "Just rest, son…"

Stiles succumbed to the sedative.

It was the beginning of a very long road.

OoooO

Scott stared at the calendar hopefully. Today was the day Stiles got to come home. He was ready. Stiles was ready. Everyone was ready. It was the final step in the teen's recovery. Daliah was gone and Stiles would be home, safe and sound.

The recovery had taken longer than anyone had expected. And, during that time, no one had been allowed to see him. Except the sheriff, of course. That was nearly three weeks ago.

"The, uh… detox has been hard," the sheriff had explained to the alpha. Scott understood why; Daliah's poison had nearly turned stiles against them all, a feat most would consider impossible. It made sense, then, that regaining himself, dealing with all of that emotional trauma… it was bound to take a heavy toll.

However, today… today, the last of Daliah's hold would fade and Stiles would be free of her forever.

"Not going to school today?" Melissa McCall asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm meeting the sheriff at the hospital," he informed her. "They're releasing Stiles in the morning so that he…" He stopped, realizing that his mother already knew. "Sorry… Just… really excited."

"I know," his mother said with a smile. "Which means you better leave now!"

"Oh, you're right!" the teen exclaimed. He grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.

It took him less than five minutes to speed to the hospital.

He almost didn't bother taking his helmet off as he jogged up the front steps, but quickly realized he had forgot and tore the headpiece off. In that moment, his phone dinged and he checked it mid-stride.

Processing took longer than expected. Be five minutes late. – Papa Stilinski

Scott shoved the phone in his pocket; he actually liked the idea of a little one-on-one time with Stiles. He slowed for the automatic doors. Blowing through them wouldn't have been the best idea, he figured. No matter how anxious he was.

However, once he entered the lobbed and looked around for a minute, he saw nothing of his friend. His heart sank a little.

"Scott…?"

The alpha turned to see Sitles approaching. He just stared at the other teen and took in his appearance. Only then did he finally see the fragile mortality of his friend and the harsh toll the entire ordeal had taken on him; he was still pale and sickly, though less so than the last time Scott saw him. There was a little more color in his cheek and he couldn't see any signs of Daliah's bites. However, there was just a tiny bit of light missing from his eyes… like a hint of death that the doctors had just not been able to recover.

"Jeeze, do I look that bad?" Stiles asked sheepishly.

Scott's face split with a wide grin. "No, man," he said, enveloping him in a crushing embrace. "You look great." Stiles returned the hug with as much strength as he could muster.

"Scott… I…"

The alpha broke away. "I know," he said simply. "Everyone knows."

"…but," the other teen said quietly, lowering his gaze. "What if…"

Scott gave Stiles' shoulder a gentle squeeze and looked towards the door where the sheriff was approaching. "We'll be there," he replied. Suddenly, Lydia, Allison, and the rest of the pack appeared as well. Scott smiled. "We'll all be there."

OoooO

That's it! Thank you so much everyone for sticking with me through this entire ordeal. It was an odd yet fun story to write and I can't wait to employ my procrastination skills in a post 3B fic! I've already started work on Chapter 1… Expect more Angst!Stiles, because that's what I'm good at. I hope to incorporate a little bit more use of OCs as well, but fret not! I would never take away from the goodness of the main cast!

Since it's been rough, I just wanna say again… Thanks! I hope you stick with me to the end!