A/N: So this time it didn't take as long to write. Thank goodness. As soon as I finished the last chapter the story seemed to take off again. There are shmoopy feels in this chapter.

Also, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited so far. I'm still a ways from being done with this fic but it makes me soooo happy to see that people are actually reading what I write. Every review is read and I'd respond to each and every one of them if I wasn't such a coward (which I totally am. A huge coward.)

WARNING: Graphic descriptions of self-harm and gay sexual situations.

DISCLAIMER: I own all of it! It's all mine! Except for the characters. And Teen Wolf. That ain't mine.

ENJOY!

Chapter 15

The next day at school was hard to go through. Stiles felt washed out and miserable. He took a lot of notes during every class since he knew that none of what the teachers were saying was sinking in. The pain had successfully sunken under his skin and he was constantly scratching at his arms to try and relieve the pressure of that pain yet there was no relief. By the time that he got home he felt as if his skin was buzzing while his insides were dead.

Once he was inside of his house with the door locked behind him he trudged up the stairs and let his backpack slide off of his shoulder right outside his door and walked straight to the bathroom. Digging around underneath the sink he managed to unearth the unopened package of extra razors kept for his shaving razor. It was easy to take apart and he held the small blade in the palm of his hand as he slumped against the wall.

Holding the razor made him think of his promise to Derek so before he put the razor to use he dug the phone out of his pocket and dialed Derek's number. It rang and rang in his ear and by the time the automated voicemail system sounded in his ears he was already crying. He didn't leave a message and just hung up. He sent a short message of: Derek, I need your help. He waited another thirty minutes before the pain and aching became too great and he put the phone down and uncurled his hand from around the blade.

Picking up the dainty metal he put the sharp edge against the unblemished skin of his right arm above the scars of his wrist. The familiar drag of warm metal across his skin and the sharp bite after it left his flesh was like soothing water over the fire of pain in his veins. It took several more tracks across his skin before the pain had dulled enough to where he could breathe again. The bright red of his blood against his pale skin made him shiver and remember the way it had painted Derek's bathroom. The memory set off another wave of pain that had him dragging the edge through his skin twice more before he was done.

His mind was pleasantly blank after that. A smile even graced his wrist as he washed the blood down the drain and covered the fresh marks with ointment, gauze and bandages. He wrapped the blade in a wad of toilet paper and held onto it tightly as he left the bathroom. When he got back to his room the sun was dipping low in the sky, bathing his room in a soft orange light and turning the clouds outside cotton candy pink. He shoved the blade into the bottom of the outer pocket of his backpack and felt a bit of relief knowing it was there.

There were no texts or calls that night or in the morning after he woke from a frightening dream. His dad was already gone by the time he managed to pull himself downstairs with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. That meant he didn't have to pretend and simply drove to school without eating anything. Once there he caught sight of Scott and Isaac having a heated discussion about something over by the bike racks and simply kept walking instead of talking to them.

When lunch time rolled around he'd still had no messages or calls, not that he cared anymore. He was simply doodling on the notes page he'd carried out of his last class without putting in his bag when Scott and Isaac found him.

"Hey man, you find anything new about the bodies?" Scott asked as soon as his tray hit the table top.

"Nah, nothin' man. You?" Stiles didn't look up when he spoke.

"Yeah, Derek confirmed that it was the same scent from the previous murder. When I told him what you'd found he got all frowny. I don't know why but for some reason that really pissed him off."

Stiles nodded and continued drawing his ridiculous stick man army.

"You feeling ok Stiles?" Isaac asked which finally made Stiles look up.

"Yeah, I'm totally good. I had a freaky dream last night so I'm just a little tired." Which technically wasn't a lie.

"Me too. Ever since that whole Zduhać thing went down I keep getting nightmares about it."

Stiles made a noncommittal sound of agreement and concentrated on giving his army guys a couple of poorly drawn tanks. Scott and Isaac continued to talk amongst themselves leaving Stiles to finish his drawing before packing it up into his bag. His wrist caught the edge of his backpack and he barely managed to hold in his hiss of pain but the others had stopped their conversation and were looking at him with curiosity.

"Stiles did you get hurt? I smell blood." Scott said worry dancing in his eyes as he stared intently at Stiles.

Stiles grimaced before giving a wide smile that seemed to kill him inside. "Yeah man, I was washing the dishes last night and dropped one and a piece got me real good in the arm. I'll be fine though, just a scratch."

Technically only a little bit was a lie. That did in fact happen but that was weeks ago and it was his finger. It'd been the thing that'd started his cutting in the first place. But there was no way in Hell that he was going to tell Scott or Isaac that. Even Derek didn't know how it started. Scott and Isaac were giving him twin looks of concern that quickly melted away as soon as Isaac brought up the newest gun mod for the game they'd been playing avidly for the past week. Stiles didn't want to hear about how much fun they had without him and stood, leaving them to talk about their games. They didn't even notice and if they did they ignored him.

Friday came quickly but not soon enough for Stiles. Classes with Scott or Isaac were torture. He never knew if they'd talk to him or ignore him and he hated having to act like he was cheerful and talkative like he used to be. Once the bell rang he took off towards his Jeep. Halfway there Scott fell into step with him and he let out a little sigh that was lost on Scott.

"Stiles, dude, the killer's left another body out by the highway. Derek said it was definitely the same guy who's been killing people. This makes the third body."

The mention of Derek's name ripped at Stiles' heart, or whatever was controlling things these days. Pain spread through him and he could only put one foot in front of the other until they got to his Jeep and the pain subsided a bit.

"Was there anything particular about this body at all? Did they have anything strange on them or around them?" Stiles asked because the sooner he figured this out the sooner they would leave him alone.

"Don't know. The police were already there by the time that Derek got there. This thing doesn't leave any sort of trail to follow. It's like it just disappears."

Stiles nodded as he fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He slung his backpack into the passenger seat and climbed into the driver's seat.

"I'll do some more research in the bestiary that Lydia's translated for me. Keep me updated." He said and slammed the door before Scott had a chance to reply.

Stiles drove home quickly, wanting to start researching immediately to distract himself from thoughts of Derek that had sprung up at the conversation with Scott. All things Derek had become taboo in his mind since his unquestionable rejection of Stiles. The pain and loss had left him in more pain than before the storm and he wished he could have his hollowness back since that didn't hurt as much as this, whatever it is.

Once he was home he quickly dashed up to his room without pausing to look around him. He slammed his door shut out of habit and had just sat down at his computer when there was a knock on his door. It startled him so much his flailing arms knocked a pile of paper to the floor.

"Wh-who is it?" he called our, cursing the tremor that made it into his voice.

"It's the boogeyman Stiles." His father's voice immediately soothed the panic within him.

He got up and opened his door to reveal his father's stressed figure. "Hey dad, what's wrong?"

"I'm sure you've heard already but there's been a string of unexplained deaths lately. I came to ask if you knew anything about them."

Stiles shrugged and moved away from the door to sit on the edge of his bed. "I've been looking into it since the second one about a week ago. Then there was the one today. Were you the one to find it?"

Papa Stilinski shook his head and stepped a little into the room. "No, Deputy Miller was the one to find it. He…"

Stiles had been staring at a hole in his jeans he hadn't noticed before when his father stopped talking. His eyes immediately shot to his father's face to see what was wrong but he wasn't looking at him. Stiles followed his dad's gaze to the papers strewn across the floor by his desk.

"What? Dad, what is it?" he asked quickly, not knowing why his dad's face was growing more and more horrified.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing towards the pile.

"Get what?" Stiles kicked out at the papers, looking for whatever his dad was looking at.

"The number Stiles! The number! Where did you get it?!" his dad yelled at him and pointed at the card with the number 5 written on it at the edge of the pile.

"Oh, it was in a package on the passenger side of my Jeep. I found it when I got back from Derek's house but it'd been stepped on numerous times so it was probably there since before the storm. Why? What's wrong with it?" Stiles picked it up and held it in his hand, turning it over and over. "It's just a number."

"Stiles, we found the numbers 1-3 on the current bodies we have in the morgue." His father said quietly, his horror now confirmed.

It took a brief second before the horror dawned on Stiles and then the true meaning of the number settled onto him.

"Oh. I'm number 5." He said quietly.

"No. No no no. I will not let them get you." Papa Stilinski said vehemently now looking angry instead of horror stricken. "I'm going to grab my gun and coat. Be downstairs in 5 minutes with the card and package it came it. Bring a jacket. The office can get cold sometimes."

Stiles moved woodenly, shoving his phone into his pocket after taking it off its charger and grabbing his backpack before grabbing the things his father had told him to grab. He was downstairs in 4 minutes flat, his dad already at the door still looking angry.

They were at the station in record time, the Sherriff having blared his siren to bypass all the lights and cars on the road. Once they were they jumped out of the car and Stiles was shoved to his father's office. Stiles was seated in a chair facing his father's desk and told not to move while his dad started yelling for all of his deputies to gather and bring evidence bags. Soon the office was filled and surrounded by the police force of Beacon Hills.

"Son, can you please tell them what you told me about how you got the card?" the Sherriff requested and Stiles held up the card and saw several gazes narrow at it.

"This card was in this package," he held up the package, "and left in the passenger side of my Jeep while I was most likely at school. I'm the only one beside the person who put it there who's touched it."

His dad held open two evidence bags and Stiles put the card in one and the package in the other.

"Now, I want this bastard caught. He's targeting my son now. Put out a notice all over town telling anyone who has one of these cards to get here immediately. There's at least one more person out there who's being targeted if he sticks with his number system. Who knows how many others there are…" Papa Stilinski trailed off but everyone understood without him completing that sentence.

Stiles sat and watched as the bags were taken off to be examined but he knew that if nothing had been found on the other number cards that nothing would be found with his package. The room emptied leaving only his dad and him.

"I don't want you leaving this office for anything unless it's urgent and you'll be accompanied by an officer. Even to the restroom Stiles, got it?" Papa Stilinski waited for Stiles' acknowledging nod before nodding himself. "Good, good. I just…I can't have anything happen to you." He paused and looked around as if the very thought pained him. "I can't lose you." He whispered.

"Dad," Stiles stood and put a hand on his father's shoulder, "I'll be ok. I've got you and the entire police force of Beacon Hills protecting me. Not to mention I have some very supernatural fr… contacts."

"That's a good idea. You should have them here as extra protection. Call up Scott and Derek while I go help my deputies."

Stiles had no time to protest before the door was slamming in his face and a deputy was instructed to stand in front of the door. Stiles sighed and slumped back into his seat. He dug out his cell phone and powered it on, waiting a couple of minutes just in case any messages or missed call notifications came in but his screen stayed blank. He was past dwelling on his lonely screen and pulled up his contacts, jabbing his thumb against the picture of a wolf cupcake and put it to his ear before it started ringing.

It rang and rang before the automated message sounded hollowly in his ear and he immediately hung up and tried again. When he still couldn't get ahold of Derek he left him a message telling him to 'answer your damn phone you dickbag' before he called Scott. Again he got the voicemail but the second time he called he finally got Scott's lazy voice on the other end.

"Y'ello?"

"I'm one of his targets." Stiles jumped right into it.

"What? One of whose targets? Are you playing a game and called for help or something? I'm in the middle of something man, can I call you back?"

"No, Scott, I'm one of the killer's targets. The 5th one."

"What?" Scott's voice was suddenly more attentive. "How do you know this?"

"Evidently he has a calling card. Literally."

"Where are you?"

"At the station. My dad specifically asked for all of my supernatural contact's assistance which means you need to get Derek to stop ignoring me and get his furry ass over here right now. Also bring Isaac 'cause I'm sure my father will want him here. Though, I'm sure you guys can leave as soon as you've checked in."

"I'll be there in 20 minutes."

The line went dead and Stiles pressed the end button with a heavy thumb. He really didn't want to see Derek and if Derek kept up this avoidance at all costs thing he's been doing then he wouldn't have to, no matter what predicament he was in.

The 20 minutes it took Scott to get there was spent doing his homework since he figured his teachers wouldn't accept 'serial killer's target' as an excuse to not do the work. When he finally did burst in through the door Stiles noticed that one Sourwolf was pleasantly absent. Isaac trailed in after Scott and they both waited until the door was closed again before they were bombarding him with questions.

"What happened?"

"How do you know you're the next target?"

"Did you do something to make him target you?"

"Have you found anything else out about him?"

Stiles sat and waited for them to quiet down and sit down before shaking his head and starting to answer. "No, I don't know who he is or what he is but I know he's not human from what you've told me Scott. Each victim had a numbered card and I got number 5 on mine which means that number 4, whoever that is, is being targeted next. And no Scott, I didn't do anything to make him target me. I think the choosing was done all at the same time and it's completely random."

"So this guy is like…playing?" Scott and Stiles both looked at Isaac with questioning looks. "Well, you said that he's raping them until they're dead and nobody's chosen specifically and…well…" Isaac shrugged. "Just a thought."

"No, yeah, that's actually probably a good thing to look at. It does sound like a thing a psychopath, which this guy definitely is, would do." Stiles agreed.

The door burst open and a chagrinned Derek stood in the doorway glaring at the three of them until those angry eyes settled on Scott. "What was with that message? You said that someone was dying."

"No, I said someone might die and it's true! Stiles is being targeted by the killer." Scott quickly defended himself, pointing at Stiles who was pointedly staring at his homework and not at Derek.

Stiles could practically feel the glare Derek turned onto him but he kept staring at the Econ question like it was the most interesting thing in the world even though he couldn't even see the words he read over and over. Scott quickly filled Derek in on what was going on and by the time that he was completely caught up he'd taken the last seat next to Stiles.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Stiles ignored the question since he figured Derek was still just talking to Scott but then there was a hot hand wrapped around his bicep and jerking him away from the desk to look at him. Stiles simply stared blankly at Derek's face for a second before softly pushing Derek's fingers off.

"I called you multiple times and left you messages and they were all greeted with silence. Flattering by the way." He said snidely but there was no emotion in his voice.

Stiles looked away from the face that hurt to look at and ignored the fact that Derek was still glaring at him. He picked up his pencil and started doodling again since it kept his hands and eyes busy. There was silence in the room again before Isaac coughed and mentioned that he needed some water.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go talk to the Sherriff and see what he wants us to do." Scott mumbled and they quickly left.

Once the door had slammed closed again Stiles set down his pencil and stared blankly down at his hands as they clasped together in his lap. Derek didn't say anything for long, tension filled minutes. Finally his gruff voice filled the silence around them.

"Tell me what happened."

Stiles looked up from his hands to stare out the window at the bustling officers. "What can I say that you haven't already heard? I found the package on the floor of my Jeep and the card was in it."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." There was some rustling of fabric and suddenly Derek was seated in front of him, his hazel green eyes staring intensely into his before Stiles jerked his head to the side and looked at the gray wall with paper stuck to it.

"Nothing happened." He mumbled.

"Even if I couldn't hear your heart I'd know you were lying. It just shocks me that Scott hasn't realized it yet."

"So you haven't told him yet? With how easy it seems for you to talk to him I'd thought you might have." Stiles put as much bitterness into those words as he could.

The pain inside him was flaring up grotesquely. He wanted to run from the room or crawl under the desk or in a hole, anywhere where Derek wasn't.

"Stiles." Derek growled and Stiles felt those hot fingers touch his arm again but he jerked it back, rubbing viciously at the sensation left behind.

"Just…leave me alone. I can't…I just can't deal with this right now." Stiles said quietly, trying his best to keep the pain from his voice.

Derek's voice was strained the next time he spoke. "Stiles. I…I just…" he sighed loudly and Stiles could practically see the angry eyebrow dance his face was surely doing. "I just don't know what to do. Scott had said that you were doing fine every time I asked. I didn't know what to say to you so I put your messages and calls onto ignore. I figured if it was important Scott would tell me."

Stiles stiffened and tried to keep his face blank but it was just so hard. He didn't even want to respond to that. There was nothing he could say that would make it right and he knew beyond a doubt that Derek would simply write him off again. So he just shook his head and pulled his legs up to wrap his arms around.

"Stiles, what happened after you went home? Did things get bad again? I thought Scott was talking to you again. And Isaac." Stiles just shook his head before resting his head on his knees. "Your dad?" Stiles shook his head again, gripping his legs tighter. "Shit."

Again there was silence since Stiles did not want to talk to Derek.

"Stiles…did you…hurt yourself again?"

Stiles flinched unintentionally at the whispered words but otherwise didn't move. Derek had already seen the movement though which answered his question plenty.

He sighed long and loud. "Oh Stiles. I don't know what I'm doing." He groaned.

"Can you just go away now?" Stiles said his voice stuffy from trying not to cry.

"No."

The vehement refusal to his request startled Stiles enough to lift his head to look at Derek with wide eyes. Derek was staring at him with hard, angry eyes. Immediately he averted his eyes but Derek growled low in his chest making him look at him again.

"I look away for one second and you're already being targeted by something that wants to kill you. I'm not going anywhere."

Stiles should have felt better at those words but instead he just felt pain at having to deal with more of Derek and sighed, putting his head back against his knees. The door opened a couple of minutes later and Stiles looked up to see Isaac holding a few juice boxes and looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Um, I got everyone juice. I didn't know what everyone wanted so I just grabbed a couple of all of them."

"Thanks." Stiles mumbled, giving Isaac a meek smile and clearing away his homework so he could put them down.

Scott came in not two minutes later holding a pink box which promised sugary pastries. "Deputy Ingham is so nice!" he said loudly as he set the box down next to the juice boxes.

Scott and Isaac munched away at the donuts while Stiles pulled out his phone and distracted himself with a few games of solitaire and Derek sat in brooding silence. After about an hour of boredom the door opened again and his dad came in, closing the door behind him.

"Ok, here's the deal. One of you three are always to be within arm's reach of Stiles at all times no matter what. If he's taking a shower one of you is sitting on the other side of the door. If he's sleeping one of you is awake near him. I don't care what he's doing, one of you are always going to be next to him until we catch this psycho." He said his finger dancing between the three werewolves.

Stiles looked between the wolves and his father and was slightly pleased to see all of them nodding in agreement to the plan. He could see that no one really had a choice in this.

"Does that mean that I get to go home and I don't have to spend night after night here?" Stiles asked.

Papa Stilinski nodded. "I was discussing it with Deputy Miller, the same who discovered the latest body, and he said that it could be a long time before the psycho strikes again and it'll take us a long time to track him down, though I hope not too long, so I finally agreed that it'd be a good idea to just let you stay at home. There are rules though. No going out on your own. No opening the door to anyone. One of them will open the door." He said pointing to the other three. "If you need something and must leave the house, first you'll call me first so I know where you are at all times."

Stiles nodded as soon as he was done. All of that seemed acceptable since he never went anywhere anyways. At least his internet wasn't getting cut off like it normally would when he was grounded.

"Sounds good. When are we leaving?" Scott asked quickly.

"Just as soon as the car comes around."

Stiles quickly gathered all of his things and was out the door right behind Scott who was still munching on the last donut. Isaac trailed behind him and Derek brought up the rear. There was an SUV police car waiting for them when they exited the station and Isaac climbed in the backseat with him since he'd ridden with Scott and Derek had come in his Camaro.

The trip back to his house was quiet and uneventful. Scott and Derek were following them home and once the car had pulled into the driveway all three of them were there surrounding him. Stiles pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door, letting them all in and locking it behind him. Isaac reached past him and put the ball and chain lock up as well.

"You know you all don't have to be here right? My dad said only one of you has to be with me at all times."

"We need to set up shifts for everyone." Derek said and made his way into the living room, making himself at home on the couch.

They all followed him since it would be weird not to and somehow they all managed to sit themselves so they still surrounded Stiles. Stiles just let it go and turned to face the room instead of one of them.

"Scott you have to work at the veterinary's office Monday's through Friday's right?" Scott nodded, "And Isaac, what do you do Monday through Friday?"

"I picked up a job at the burger restaurant next to the school on Wednesday's through Sunday's."

Derek nodded and though for a second. "I don't know if we have to worry about the school since he's always surrounded by other people but after school on Monday's and Tuesday's Isaac you'll watch him. Scott you watch him on Saturday's and Sunday's. I'll watch him Wednesday's through Friday's."

Stiles grimaced slightly that Derek would be with him more than Scott or Isaac but he didn't say anything since it was a good schedule. Scott and Isaac seemed to agree with no protests at all.

"Let me call my dad and let him know. I also need his work schedule as well so I know if I can let one of you," his eyes strayed to Derek, "off of Stiles watch duty."

He left the room but stayed in the hall since he couldn't go out of their eyesight. He just wanted the illusion of some privacy since he'd be getting precious little in the next weeks to come. All of this sucked since all he wanted was to be alone. He quickly punched his dad's speed dial and waited for his dad to pick up. It only took one and a half rings.

"Hey dad, I made it home fine and the three of them hashed out a Stiles watch schedule." He quickly relayed the schedule to him. "Are you going to be working overtime every day?"

"Probably. I want to catch this son of a bitch as quickly as I can and I can't do that from home. I trust the three of them to watch over you. And I have a unit posted outside of the house so I'll know if someone gets within a block of the house."

Stiles didn't know whether to laugh or groan so he just kept quiet.

"Are they all going to stay tonight?"

"I think so. Since they're all here instead of at their jobs I think it's safe to assume they called off for the day."

There was a groan from the living room and it seemed that the assumption was wrong and Isaac's pay was most likely going to be docked for the upcoming weeks.

"Ok well, you kids be safe. I'll be home sometime after midnight, so don't wait up for me. Have fun, but not too much fun." His father joked with an undertone of seriousness.

"Got it dad. I'll let you get back to chasing the bad guy. Stay safe!"

"Alright. I love you son."

"Love you too dad."

As soon as the call was ended Stiles padded back into the living room and sat back down in his previous spot on the ottoman between the couches.

"Everything's set. If you want to start the schedule tomorrow you can all leave. There's a unit outside so I'm plenty safe." Stiles said, making a small shooing motion towards the door.

"Well, like you said earlier we're already here so we might as well just hang out. Unless…Derek you want to leave?" Scott asked.

Derek frowned at him and shook his head. Eloquent.

Stiles just shrugged and stood, leaving room without looking back to see if anyone followed, and went up to his room. All three wolves shuffled in after him making his normally moderately sized room seem absolutely oppressing.

"I'm serious you guys. If you want to leave just do it. I won't even tell. I'm pretty boring at home now a days with all the homework I've needed to get done."

Nobody so much as moved so he just sighed and ignored them, instead pulling his backpack to the bed and opened it, pulling out the History essay he needed to get done for Monday next week. Eventually the wolves settled onto the floor, except Derek who claimed his desk chair, and talked amongst themselves, again with Derek not joining them.

Stiles got lost in the essay, writing down everything he found relevant to the subject from the text book in his own words so it wasn't plagiarism. He didn't even notice that seven 'o clock had turned into ten 'o clock edging towards eleven. He peered over the edge of his bed and wasn't surprised to see Scott lying sprawled on the floor with Isaac half draped across his midriff. Derek was still awake and staring at him so at least he knew he'd be safe when Derek was babysitting him.

Derek saw him looking and focused more intently on him. "Are you going to tell me what happened yet?"

Stiles was startled by the quiet but intense question. "Do I have to answer that now?" he asked, gesturing towards the sleeping duo on the floor.

"Better than never, which I know would happen if you got your way. I need to know Stiles."

Stiles just shook his head. "There's nothing to tell. You ignored me when I asked for help which tells me plenty."

"I wanted you to try and get better on your own. You've always managed to pick yourself up and after the updates with Scott I thought you were doing just fine." Derek tries to explain.

Stiles shuts his textbook with his essay papers still inside and puts everything onto the floor next to his bed. After he's gathered his thoughts and isn't in danger of crying he looks at Derek again.

"You thought wrong." He says simply and pulls the blankets out from under him and covers himself completely.

There was silence for a long time and Stiles hoped that Derek had finally dropped the conversation. Talking about it actually hurt almost as bad as ignoring it. He didn't want to hear all the excuses Derek was making. He'd abandon him. That was it.

The lights turned out and he shuddered at the darkness that closed in around him. A sudden dip in the bed startled Stiles and he quickly uncovered his head to tell Derek to fuck off but Derek's body was under the blankets and traveling up towards him with every sway and dip in the mattress.

"Derek! What the hell! Get off my bed!" he stage whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping two on the ground.

"There has obviously been a miscommunication and that's probably all been my fault." As he spoke he sidled up close next to Stiles and put one hand on either side of Stiles' body so he had no choice but to look at him. "I shouldn't have ignored you, I shouldn't have left you alone, I shouldn't have dodged your messages, I shouldn't have let you go, and I'm…" Derek's face grew constipated and Stiles frowned too, wondering what the heck was going on in his mind. "…sorry."

Stiles almost missed that last whisper and it took a bit to register and even longer to believe it actually came out of Derek's mouth. Stiles felt pain at his words but with it there was some relief.

His hand darted out and connected with Derek's jaw although he could've easily avoided it but he left his hand up there, gripping the back of Derek's neck like he never wanted to let go.

"You asshole! You can't even begin to know how much it hurt when you ignored me. Don't you ever fucking leave me again." Stiles' voice cracked twice trying to hold back his tears but he just couldn't.

Derek's hand came up to cup Stiles' cheek and thumb away a tear, scowling down at him but without the usual malice.

"Ok."

That's all he said but Stiles' heart inflated with relief. "You better not be lying. I can't take you abandoning me again. I think I'd die." He whispered the last part so quietly it almost wasn't there. Almost.

Derek leaned down and pressed his lips ever so lightly against Stiles' like a silent promise then scooted over so that he was lying on his side next to Stiles. Stiles followed his body movement until they were facing each other and kept his hand pressed against Derek's neck, taking comfort in his warmth and in being able to feel the pulse of life beneath his palm as proof that he wasn't hallucinating him. Derek's hand was still resting beneath his head, thumb still tracing away tear tracks.

"Will you be here in the morning?" he whispered.

Derek nodded and Stiles pressed even closer to Derek's body, reveling in the warmth he'd missed for so long. Derek turned his head slightly to press into the bandages of Stiles' wrist, kissing them slightly.

"I should have been there." He whispered gruffly against the rough bandages.

Stiles nodded and draped his arm across Derek's waist so their fronts were pressed together. It was completely non-sexual and brought him immeasurable comfort that soothed his stressed mind.

"You should sleep. It doesn't look like you've gotten much." Derek said and his thumb traced the dark circles underneath his eye which he could clearly see even in this darkness. "How the Hell did Scott think that you were alright? He and Isaac both are idiots."

Stiles shrugged. "They haven't really seen me lately and I hate them worrying so…well. I don't exactly make it public news."

Derek just nods and drapes his arm over Stiles' waist like Stiles had his and held him tight. Stiles yawned wide and slightly painfully. He didn't want to sleep for a number of reasons but mostly because he was afraid that Derek would disappear if he did. When his eyes slid shut he constantly jerked them back open. Soon he was nodding off only to jerk back awake with a whine of fear but Derek was still there, shushing him and holding him tight.

"Don't leave me." He whispered before he finally fell dead asleep.

A/N: Awww! Derek's stopped being such a dickbag! Hurray! There's still a lot of to develop between those two and maaaaaaaaaybe between Isaac and Scott. Maybe.

Gah! I keep on spelling Scott, Scoot! It's the double letter, it throws me every time. I can't even count how many times I've gone back and read Scoot instead of Scott. It's so frustrating!

I just so happened to write two chapters at the same time so the next one should be coming really soon! Yays! I'm not a total loser!...oh wait…yes I am.

Let me know what you think! I love reading every word you give to me! ~hearts~