willow | d. hale [on hold]

30 | count with me

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay," Noah said, keeping him still. "You're okay."

It took several moments for him to stop screaming, and even then, he couldn't stop shaking. Willow sat in front of him on the bed and placed her hands on his cheeks softly. Noah nodded to her, signaling for her to go on.

Willow sent calming waves of affection toward Stiles, just enough to even out his breathing and ease him out of the panic attack. Once he could breathe properly and move on his own, Noah slowly let him go.

"You're okay," Willow whispered to Stiles. The soft pink glow of her eyes brought Stiles a familiar type of comfort — comfort he had been clinging to for the past week and a half. "You're okay."

"I - I'm okay," he repeated, taking more deep breaths. "Just - just a nightmare."

It took some convincing to get Noah to go back to bed, but only after Stiles agreed to let Willow stay with him through the rest of the night did he retire to his room. As Willow laid next to Stiles under the blanket, she studied the terrified look on his face.

She knew exactly what he was thinking as the only one he chose to confide in about not always knowing when he was awake or asleep.

"Count your fingers, Sti," Willow told him gently.

She took both his hands that had been laying on the comforter and held them up. Just as Derek counted stars with Willow, she counted fingers with Stiles. And when he reached the tenth and final one, Willow squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"You're awake," Willow whispered.

Stiles nodded, not taking his eyes off her. "I'm awake."

☽︎

When morning came, Willow was reluctant to even leave Stiles just to get ready for the day. But she let him have some time to himself while she showered and got dressed for school.

As Noah passed her open door, he smile seeing her pick out a pink headband to match her skirt. Then he knocked on the doorframe quietly to get her attention.

"Morning, Sheriff Stilinski," she greeted, grabbing her backpack that already had her homework from the day before tucked neatly inside.

"How many times have I said to call me Noah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll work on it," Willow said, managing a smile. "And I put the water bill payment with the morning paper if you haven't seen it yet."

"I've got it. Don't worry."

Given Willow's abundance of family money that had all been transferred to her, she insisted on helping out financially around the house. However, Noah put up quite a fight, not thinking it should be her responsibility.

Willow hadn't won her arguments about why she should help with the grocery budget or the electricity bill or even just a flat rate rent payment. But after Noah realized she took a morning and night shower — incredibly long ones compared to him and Stiles who were both in and out — he caved and let her shell out money for the water bill.

It helped Willow feel like she was contributing to the household and not just living under his roof as an orphan that burdened him financially.

"I wanted to say thank you for staying with him last night," Noah told Willow, thinking back on Stiles' fit that happened only a handful of hours earlier. "He always seems to go back to sleep a little quicker when it's you instead of me."

"I don't mind. I just want him to get a good night of rest. He's been so exhausted," Willow said. She frowned as she thought of the dark purple bruises that had begun to appear under his eyes.