Stiles is recovering, but is still weak. Scott blames Derek for his friend getting seriously injured. When Derek is called to come to the hospital, it surprises him, but of course he goes. Fluff and love and painmedication.

The lights were still too bright. The second Stiles opened his eyes, it felt like someone was stabbing them with needles. He wanted to cover them up, but was not able to lift his hands. Squeezing them shut didn't seem like a good option either. When the muscles around his eye-sockets tightened, a lurking headache made him instantly nauseous.

Stiles tried to relax, and opened his eyes slightly. The room was not as well lit as he'd first thought. He had no idea were he was, but a few things in his line of view gave him a clue. He'd been in the hospital before, and he suspected that he was there now.

Trying to remember anything made the headache come back, so he settled for the memories that were easy to grasp. They were searching for Allison, Derek found her, and they all went to rescue her. Stiles could vaguely recall that he was at Dr Deaton's office, but he had no idea why. He remembered seeing Scott and Isaac enter a building. The foliage of some bushes covered the view somewhat.

Another vivid memory was of Derek tied to a chair. Fighting to keep the pain in his head away, he tried to recall if Derek ever came loose. A blurry picture of his own hands trying to cut Derek's ropes was disturbed by an image of a werewolf charging at them.

The sound of cough reached his ear, and he suddenly realized that he wasn't alone in the room. He tried to turn his head towards the sound, but doing so, the headache threatened to blind him. "Hmm. Who's there?" The sound of his own voice was almost scary and his throat felt sore.

Soon, he saw his dad's face in front of him. "How are you doing, son? I'm sorry, I fell asleep." The sheriff was in his uniform and Stiles wondered why. "I'm okay." He quacked out and tried to reach out for his dad's hand. It was impossible. It felt like his whole body was numb, and he worried that he was paralyzed. "I can't move. Why can I not move?"

A hand crawled under his head and lifted it up. "Have some water. It'll make it easier to talk." His dad held a cup to his lips and he drank eagerly.

When his head again rested on the pillow he dared to repeat the question. "Why can I not move?" Stiles tried to wiggle his toes and he felt that they actually moved. "I'm not paralyzed, am I?" A little chuckle escaped the sheriff's throat. "No, but they strapped you in. I guess they were afraid you'd fall out of bed or something."

Stiles let out a sigh in relief. "I don't remember, I can't remember anything." He tried to focus on his dad's face. "What happened?" There was no point in trying to move, so the only thing he could do to emphasize the question was to cock his brow.

"I don't know what happened, but you rescued Allison. You're the hero. You rescued her from the wolves." His dad gave him a smile and stroke his cheek. "I've been here the whole night so I don't know anything more, but according to Mrs McCall, you almost sacrificed yourself for the girl."

Stiles was very surprised by this information. "But Scott and Isaac were there." He wondered if his dad knew about the werewolves now, or if he was talking about real wolves. "Isaac? I don't know about Isaac, but Scott and Derek came and found you." His dad gave him a smile. "It was probably not the smartest thing you've done, but I'm proud of you."

If he'd been confused before, this new information confused him even more. "Scott and Derek? So Derek is alive?" He could almost not feel the lurking headache anymore. Derek was alive. "Where is he? Derek? Where is he?" He tried to contain the joy he felt inside, but he needed to know.

"Uh, Derek? I don't know. Home I guess." Stiles' dad cocked his head and stared at his son. "He was in the ambulance with you. He was at the hospital for a while, but now... I don't know."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Derek hadn't slept a wink. When the phone rang around seven in the morning, he dived over to grab it from the coffee table. "Mr Hale?" He didn't recognize the voice at first. "Yeah?" He answered somewhat tentatively. "This is Sheriff Stilinski. I'm sorry to disturb you so early but my son wants to see you."

How it was possible to stay calm in this situation was beyond him. He wanted to scream and shout. Stiles was alert and had told his dad that he wanted him to come. "Okay, I can come now. Or later." He didn't want to sound too eager and he tried to relax. "Honestly. I have been awake for more than twenty-six hours so if you could..." The sheriff sighed heavily on the other end. "I just don't want to leave him alone, so if you could come...?"

Derek didn't even have to think about it. "I'll be there in a few. I'll watch him." Keeping his calm was hard, but he was satisfied with the performance. "I understand. I'm his friend, I can do that." He wondered if he should fake that he needed a few minutes to get ready. Before he'd made a decision, he heard sheriff Stilinski's voice. "I would have asked Scott, but Stiles demanded that I call you."

There were no words to describe the happiness Derek felt at the moment. It was slightly disturbing, but wild horses couldn't keep him away. He had to chuckle a little as he was humming the Rolling Stones tune. It was true though. Nothing could keep him from going over to the hospital. "It's okay Mr. Stilinski. Stiles probably knows that Scott has to go to school today. I'll be there in a few. Your son will be in good hands."

-o-o-o-o-o-

The look on his mom's face told Scott that she did not believe that he and Allison had patiently waited for her with their hands folded. A quick peek at Allison flustered cheeks, and messy hair was all he needed to understand why. Later, he discovered that he himself had managed to put his t-shirt on inside out.

"News? About Stiles? Can we visit him?" Scott did his best to avert his mom's attention from what she obviously suspected had gone on in her house. "Will he be okay?" He noticed that Allison tried to fix her hair, even though she must have known it was too late.

"Stiles' injuries are not life-threatening, but he's somewhat immobilized." She put a couple of bags on the kitchen table and started to pick groceries out. "He was awake for a brief moment after surgery, and Dr Johnson is satisfied." She gestured for Scott to help her put away her purchases. "The concussion is serious though. He is heavily sedated and will probably sleep until tomorrow."

Scott put milk and cheese in the fridge. "When can we visit?" He wanted to talk with his friend. Not only because he was concerned about his well-being, but also because of the story they cooked together. His mom picked a box of cereal out of the bag and put it in the cupboard. "I'm working day-shift tomorrow and can find out, but he needs rest so..." She shrugged. "So far only his dad is allowed in there."

Scott looked at his mom disappointed. "This is the news? It's really not more than we knew already." He grunted and turned to Allison. "I just want to see for myself. I want to see him." He continued pulling items out of the bags, but felt slightly annoyed.

After they were done putting away the groceries, Melissa turned to Allison. "Are you staying for dinner? I'm making lasagna." Allison shook her head. "I should get home. Haven't been home since last night and..." She didn't get to finish before Scott's mom reached over and grabbed her hand. "Of course. I'm so sorry. I forgot. You were attacked too. How are you doing?"

Allison smiled and sighed. "I'm really fine. I'm happy that Stiles is doing good. I couldn't have lived with myself if he'd..." A tear ran down her face. "I should have been more careful, but I didn't know that there were... wolves..." She threw a quick peek at Scott before she turned back to his mom. "I guess you know, maybe..."

After Allison left, Scott's mom made dinner and they ate in silence. Scott felt antsy, and would have wanted to have Allison there. He went to bed early after sending a quick text to her. "Love you, good night." A few minutes later he got an answer. "Love you too. See you at school. Everything will be fine."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Scott had a hard time falling asleep. The happiness he felt from knowing that he and Allison were back together was clouded by the terror of realizing that Stiles had been so close to death. He couldn't help but blame Derek. If the guy had not been so entangled with his best friend, Stiles would not have been injured.

He knew that Stiles had partially gotten himself into this on his own, but Scott chose to hold Derek responsible. The fact that Stiles was there in the first place was mostly due to the twisted relationship the two of them had. Scott was pretty sure that Stiles would have stayed away from the scene if hadn't been in love with Derek.

That Stiles had incapacitated one of the wolves, making it possible for them to win the battle, escaped Scott's mind at the moment. He just knew that it had to stop. It had so be over. He didn't want this for his best friend. Stiles needed to get over Derek and move on.

The next morning, he went to school after making his mom promise to call as soon as there was any news about Stiles.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Derek walked up to the nurses station a little hesitantly. He didn't know what to say. The guy behind the counter looked at him curiously and was about to open his mouth when Sheriff Stilinski came towards them. He reached his hand out. "You're Derek Hale. I know you." He sounded surprised by the realization. "He's sleeping," he said as they shook hands. "You're not in his class? I thought... Never mind." He turned to the nurse. "Mr Hale will sit with my son. I'll take him to his room."

Walking behind Stiles' dad through the corridor felt weird. He knew for sure that this man would not easily accept that the relationship between him and Stiles wasn't solely platonic. The expression on the guys face when they met told him that he wasn't particularly comfortable with Derek even being there.

Derek suspected that the only reason for him to let him near his son was because Stiles had asked for it, and also the fact that Mr Stilinski had been awake for to long. "Excuse me, Mr Stilinski, but how is he doing? I'm sorry, but nobody ever told me."

The sheriff turned abruptly. "Who are you really? I mean... I know who you are, but you're not one of my son's friends. Why is he so adamant about you coming here?" The stare was scrutinizing and Derek didn't know how to answer "I'm worried about him, and I don't want to leave him alone. He asked for you, but I do not understand why."

Derek felt slightly embarrassed. He thought he knew why Stiles had asked for him, and it pleased him, but revealing it to Mr Stilinski was not an option. "I don't know, but I think it's because he saved my life." Derek had to turn away from the sheriff. "He passed out before he knew I was fine. I'm guessing he wants to see for himself."

With a shrug, Mr Stilinski pushed the door to Stiles' room open. "Okay. This does not make sense to me. He saved you?" Derek could see Stiles on the bed sleeping soundly. "I'm sorry. Yeah. He saved my life." Derek wasn't able to focus on Mr Stilinski anymore. The only thing he could see was Stiles lying there on the bed.

"You're son is a hero. You know that, right?" Derek had only brief knowledge about what Scott and Allison had told Stiles' dad, so he didn't want to overdo it, but he had to say something. "I'm not completely sure how it happened, I was somewhat incapacitated. You should ask Scott." The look on Sheriff Stilinski's face told Derek that he'd already said too much.

"Tell me what happened. Wolves, uh?" Stiles' dad cocked his brow slightly and stared at Derek. "Yeah, odd right. I can't, I really don't know too much." Derek twisted his hands while searching for words. He wished that he'd called Scott and asked him what they've said. A grunt from the bed made them both turn and rush towards Stiles.

Derek couldn't help himself. He grabbed the boy's hand and squeezed it gently. Stiles' eyelids trembled a little before he opened his eyes slightly. "Derek! Is that you?" His voice was weak and the words was not more than a whisper. It seemed like he had a hard time focusing, but then a ghost of a smile traveled over his lips. "It is you." His eyes fell shut and he clenched his fingers around Derek's hand. There were no strength in the grip. It felt more like a caress.

"I need to tell you something." Stiles turned his head a little but his eyes were still closed. "I, I'm, I mean I'm in, no I l..." Derek could guess what was coming and although it pleased him, he hurried to cover Stiles' mouth with his hand. "Later. You're dad is about to leave. You should rest."

Stiles' eyes flew open and for a moment, he looked terrified. Then his features relaxed, and an adorable shade of pink appeared on his cheeks. It was becoming. He'd looked too pale before, and Derek wondered if Stiles' dad would notice and comment on it.

He didn't. "Sorry, son. I need some sleep and a shower. I'll be back though." He stroke his son's cheek. "Your friend Derek will be here... for a while." He looked at Derek quickly before he continued. "He can call me when he wants to leave."

The Sheriff gave his son's cheek another stroke before he turned. When he walked towards the door, he appeared tired and had a slumped posture. He peeked over his shoulder and gave Derek a humorless smile before he exited.

As soon as the door closed behind Mr Stilinski, Derek could feel Stiles' fingers move over the back of his hand. "Hm, Derek." He sighed heavily. "I'm tired. I'm sorry." Stiles' eyes fell shut, and it seemed hard for him to open them again. Derek cocked his head and stared at the pained face in front of him. "Just sleep. I'll be here."

With great effort, Stiles lifted his head slightly and managed to open his eyes a crack. "I just need to... Derek, I love you." It seemed like uttering the words had taken all his strength, and with another sigh he relaxed his head onto the pillow again.

Derek felt a lump in his throat. He gave Stiles' hand a quick squeeze, but this time, the boy didn't try to reciprocate. Derek drew his breath and reached out to pull a chair closer to the bed. He got a little startled from the sound of the legs of the chair rubbing against the linoleum, and peeked at Stiles. There were no reaction.

When he sat down and tried to get comfortable, he grabbed Stiles' hand again. With a finger he traced a small uncovered scar on Stiles' wrist. Derek wasn't sure if the boy was sleeping already. He leaned over and kissed the pale cheek. Against the skin he whispered the words that he'd been holding back for too long already. "I love you, too."