The sheriff is responding to the treatment. Derek is missing. You will learn where he is, but not why he's not answering his phone. I will try to udate soon. This chapter doesn't really bring much news.
After Mr Argent had told them all he knew, they had wanted to go to the hospital and be with Stiles. Chris didn't think that was a good idea, and after Scott received a call from his mom, they resigned. Melissa had told him that both she and Derek were there, and that Stiles was taken care of so there was no need to make more drama by showing up.
Chris made a decision for all of them. "None of you should have to be alone tonight. You can all stay. We are stronger in numbers." Lydia wasn't sure if she could, but she eventually called home to ask her parents if it was okay if she spent the night in the Argent house.
It had ended up with all of them bunked up in Allison's room. Chris tried to make an argument that the boys could stay in the guest room, but he hadn't even finished a sentence before Allison broke him off. "Seriously? What do you think we're gonna do? Get drunk and have an orgy?"
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to slap his daughter, but then he gave out a humorless chuckle. "Okay, Okay! I see your point, but please keep it down and try to get some sleep."
They did manage to keep it down somewhat, but they didn't fall asleep until the morning sun sent it's rays over the rooftops.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The night in the hospital had been traumatic, but there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. When Melissa came back from her little research round, she could tell them that the surgery was over, and the sheriff was currently in the ICU. She'd told them to keep the hope alive, but that Mr Stilinski wasn't completely out of the woods.
Eventually, a nurse came to tell them that Stiles could see him, and she didn't even blink when both Derek and Melissa tagged along.
Stiles almost collapsed when he saw his dad in the hospital bed. Tubes and cords were sticking out from everywhere, and he had an oxygen mask covering most of his face. Derek did his best to keep Stiles on his feet, and managed to move him over to a chair next to the bed.
While Melissa and Derek were watching, Stiles grabbed his dad's hand and stared at the motionless figure on the bed. "I'm here. Please don't die. I need you." He squeezed his dad's fingers as to urge him to wake up. When there was no response, he leaned his head on the bed and cried silently.
It was a long night. Melissa had managed to find a couple more chairs so she and Derek could sit. It could seem like Stiles was about to doze off, but ever so often, he sniffled a little. He also lifted his head from time to time to look at his dad's face.
The heart-monitor emitted a steady beep, and the respirator was huffing in the corner. Ever so often, a nurse or a doctor came to check on the sheriff, but none of them exchanged a single word with his visitors. Melissa had snuck out at one time to get something to drink and to use the restroom.
The window was covered with blinds, but a thin ray from the morning sun managed to make it's way through a small crack. Stiles sat up and sighed heavily. "I don't want to leave him, but I need to pee." He struggled to his feet and Derek rushed over to help him. He wiped his eyes and leaned into Derek's chest. "Can you watch him for me? Just for a moment."
Derek nodded and gave Stiles a kiss on the forehead. "Of Course." Stiles took a couple of steps towards the door, but had to grab on to the foot of the bed to keep himself upright. Melissa hurried to assist him. She turned to Derek briefly. "I got this." Then she wrapped her arm around Stiles. "I'll show you the way."
A few seconds after Stiles and Melissa had left, Derek heard a moan from the bed. He watched as the sheriff's eyelids trembled a little before he opened his eyes a crack. He looked confused and he tried to lift his hand to his face. His jaw moved a little as if he was trying to speak, so Derek lifted the oxygen mask, before he leaned in to listen.
"Stiles? Where is..." Mr Stilinski's voice was barely audible, and he was clearly exhausted from the couple of words he managed to get out. Derek tried to catch his eyes. "Stiles is fine. He'll be here in a few minutes." The sheriff opened his eyes wider and stared at Derek. "You? Are you...? Please protect him." It looked like he was about to pass out again, but then he focused on Derek's face once more. "At any cost, protect him from harm."
Derek drew his breath. "I promise." The sheriff didn't respond, and it seemed like he was out again. He waited to see if the guy would make another attempt to speak before he lowered the mask again. Moments later, Stiles and Melissa came back.
He wasn't sure if he should tell them that Mr Stilinski had been awake for a few seconds. Stiles would be so disappointed and sad when he realized he'd missed it, so Derek decided to share it with Melissa – or another nurse – later.
Stiles was seated in the chair again, clenching his dad's hand. Derek and Melissa assumed their previous spots by the door. For another couple of hours, nothing happened. Well, something happened. The doctors' visit happened. They seemed to be pleased with the situation and they asked if Mr Stilinski had been awake at any time. Derek decided not to say anything yet. He got up and scooted backwards. "I need to, uh..." He gestured towards the door hoping that Stiles would think he needed to use the restroom.
After pacing a little outside the room he made a decision. Digging through his pockets to find the phone, he wasn't sure if it was doing the right thing, but he had to try. He noticed a missed call from Chris, but disregarded it. It was made almost twelve hours ago, so a few more wouldn't matter.
He dialed Hester's number and waited for her to pick up. He pretty much knew how she'd respond, but the main goal now was to protect his mate, regardless. Derek was even willing to let Stiles go if it could save his life.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
They all woke up from Scott's phone ringing. He had forgot where he was and he reached his hand out to grab it from where he normally would find a nightstand. Suddenly, he got a pair of pants thrown in his face. "It's in your pocket." Isaac sounded annoyed, and he then covered his head with the pillow.
Scott dug out the phone, and answered without looking at who was calling. He sat up abruptly when he realized it was his mom. "Mom, what's going on? How's Stiles?" The three other teenagers in the room peeked up and stared at him curiously. They were clearly just as eager to know as well.
"Stiles is... fine. We need to get him out of here. He haven't slept all night." Melissa sighed and continued. "I have to start my shift, and Derek volunteered to be here with the sheriff."
Scott wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh, eh, what about you? Did you get any sleep?" He threw it out as he thought about how to keep Stiles safe and with his sanity intact. "No Dear, not much, but it'll be okay." Melissa actually yawned on the other end. "Can you come and get him? Derek claims you are the only one that can possibly protect Stiles."
He was already up and about to find his clothes, before he hung up. "I have to go to the hospital and get Stiles. Can you take me?" He looked at Allison as he buttoned his pants, and reached for the shirt. She reacted instantly and jumped out of bed.
Lydia and Isaac looked at each other. "What about us?" Lydia frowned a little. "We..." She threw another glance at Isaac. "We want to help out too."
Wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, Scott looked at the both of them. "Hang in there, I'll call, we'll call. Maybe we can all go over to Stiles and keep him company. I'll find out." He didn't wait for them to respond, he just grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her out of the room.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles didn't want to leave, but he could understand Melissa and Derek's point of view. He knew he needed sleep, and would have been fine dozing off in a chair. When Derek promised to call with any and all news, he started to really miss a bed.
As soon as he was inside the door at home, he went straight to his room. He knew that Scott would stay and he didn't care if Allison did too. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He didn't know what time it was when he woke up, but he felt surprisingly rested. He could hear faint whispers from downstairs. Lying there listening, he wished he had wolf-hearing. Not that he wanted to be a werewolf; he was just curious about who was there.
He wondered what went on at the hospital also, and decided to get up anyway so he could get to his dad as soon as possible. In the hall, he could hear Isaac's voice together with Lydia's high pitch giggle. Surprised by this fact he leaned over the banister. "Hey, who's there? Where's Scott?"
Within a split second, Scott stood at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm here, I was in the kitchen. How are you doing? You want to go to the hospital now?" Stiles stared at Scott for a moment, then he cocked his brow. "Seriously?! Of course I want to go! But first, I really, really, really need a shower!"
Less than twenty minutes later, he and Scott left in Allison's car, making Issac promise to keep the girls safe. Allison responded with a frown – which was expected.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Chris was actually satisfied with telling everything to the kids. Well, he hadn't told them everything, but enough to feel that there were no significant secrets hidden. He had tried to not mention the list, but unfortunately, Isaac already knew about it. Chris had been somewhat surprised when the boy suddenly asked about it. As it turned out, he didn't know anything about the second list and there was no need to mention it now.
They had all decided to meet up the next evening to make a plan on how to protect everybody. In the mean time, they all needed to sleep and to pray for Mr Stilinski to survive.
He woke up early, and didn't want to wake the teenagers. He'd tried to call Derek once more without success. When Scott and Allison left to get Stiles, they agreed that the two of them should stay at the Stilinski house as long as Stiles was there.
Eventually, Isaac and Lydia left and shortly after that, Derek finally called back. "I'm at the hospital. The sheriff is still not in the clear, but there is hope." He took a deep breath. "Mrs McCall can probably explain it better."
Chris was happy that Mr Stilinski had made it through the night, which probably was a good thing. "Is Stiles there now? Or Scott?" He hadn't heard a word from the youngsters since they left. Derek was about to say something "They...", he seemed to hold his breath for a moment. "I think... it was nothing. I thought he was waking up." After a few seconds of silence, Derek continued. "Scott and Stiles are on their way and I have to leave for a little while." He paused for a second. "I think I have to get hold of someone. It looks like..." He gasped, "Mr Stilinski!"
The line went dead, and Chris hoped it was a positive event that caused it. He hurried to send a text. "Keep me posted."
It took almost an hour before he got a reply. "No change in the sheriff's condition. I have to leave town for a few hours. I'll call later."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles was not prepared for what happened at the hospital. As he and Scott approached the room his dad was in, a couple of people passed them and ran into the room. Seconds later, Derek came out and as soon as he saw them, he gestured for Stiles to relax. "It's okay. He is... sort of awake."
Stiles tried to reach the door, but Derek held him back. "Let them check on him. He is not very lucid. Give them a minute." He gave Scott a quick nod. "I have to go. I..." Stiles put a finger to Derek's lips. "I see. You've been here for a long time. I appreciate it. If you need to go home and sleep or something. I understand. Scott is here. We'll be fine." He drew his breath quickly. "Just come back soon. Now, I have my phone. Call me."
Stiles knew perfectly well that he was ranting, but he was a little nervous; thinking back, he couldn't remember taking his medication. He wrapped his arms around Derek and held on for a moment. "Thank you. So much." When he felt Derek's soothing hand on his back, Stiles could have stayed like that forever.
Derek pulled back a little and looked at him with his head cocked. He seemed sad, and Stiles wondered if he knew more than he'd said. "It's okay, right? He... it's not bad? I mean, what's going on in there." Stiles nodded towards the room. Derek shook his head. It looked like he tried to smile, but it was clearly fake. "I don't know more than you." Suddenly, he pulled Stiles back in and squeezed him tight. "I have to go." He whispered as he planted a quick kiss on Stiles' temple.
Watching Derek walk away down the hall, Stiles wondered a little. Derek had behaved rather odd. He didn't get a chance to contemplate on it, before a nurse came out of the room to fill them in.
"He is responding to the treatment, but it's still to early to say how it will go. We don't know if he suffered any brain-damage, but we think not. He is talking, but it's hard to make sense of it at the moment." She drew her breath quickly. "One thing is clear though. He's asking for Stiles, I guess that's you."
-o-o-o-o-
Chris called Derek again, but the guy still didn't pick up. The phone was not dead or anything, because it kept ringing, so Derek must have left it somewhere or lost it. Eventually he would probably be back to check on Stiles and the sheriff, but it had been five hours since he left, so Chris started to worry a little.
They were going to have a meeting on how to proceed, and Derek could have some new information. He had mentioned that he believed there were another Alpha running the show, and maybe he had an idea who it could be.
Stiles didn't want to leave his dad's bedside, so Melissa had organized for them to use a small meeting-room at the hospital. Standing in the hall next to the main entrance with Isaac and Allison, Chris tried to call Derek once more.
He didn't want to show the teenagers that he was concerned so he stepped away, as he for the sixth time waited for Derek to pick up.
Was it possible that the guy had just taken off? Could he have been fed up with it all, and decided to go back to being sort of a recluse. The moment the thought entered his mind, Chris shook his head. Derek was too involved in this to just skip town. And if it was true that he had a special connection with Stiles, he wouldn't just leave.
There were of course other scenarios he could think of. Derek could be dead. He could have been attacked and mauled. After staying awake for more than 24 hours, he could have been weakened and less alert.
If Derek didn't show up soon, Chris would have to find some excuse for it. He didn't want anybody else to start worrying. Later, he could try to track him himself. If his phone was still on, it should be possible to find his location. Chris had a few tricks up his sleeve.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The trip took about an hour, and Derek figured that if this worked out to his advantage, he'd be back with Stiles before nightfall.
He didn't have high hopes, but knew he had to try. If Hester could help them track those Alphas, the threat would be out of the way, and everybody could live happily ever after. Her pack was strong. The two betas were young, but had been in training since they were toddlers.
The boys were more unpredictable. Derek didn't know them too well. They hadn't been werewolves for that long; they hadn't been born into this like him and Hester.
It had been a while since he'd been at her house. Calling it a house didn't really do it justice; it was more like a mansion. He parked his car next to a Mercedes convertible, and stopped for a moment to admire the vehicle.
As he walked up to the door, Derek heard voices from the side of the house. He knew it had a big patio on that side, and figured that the residents were outside enjoying the nice weather. Hester knew he was on his way, so instead of ringing the doorbell, he just rounded the corner to see if she was there.