Summary: Lydia comforts Stiles when he finds out that Lydia already knows about Donovan.
Author's note: Written for megamaraudersfan on tumblr, and it's a prompt that I've been wanting to write for a while. I intended on writing it following the events of 5x05, but as it doesn't make much sense anymore, I'm writing it after Stiles got Lydia out of Eichen. I don't think it's as emotional as I would have written it then, it's just different. It feels more comforting this way, I think.
Happy holidays, everyone 🎁🎄
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It's just another day of Stiles watching over Lydia, so he wasn't counting on their conversation to go where it ends up going. In truth, he wasn't even expecting her to be awake because every time he's been visiting her for the past few days, Lydia is either heavily drugged with pain medication - and, because of it, mostly incoherent - or she's asleep, so it's a surprise that he's only been sitting on the armchair beside her hospital bed for an hour and twenty minutes when she starts stirring awake.
It's a surprise to her too, since she's been dying to see him but all she can remember are blurred images from when she knows he had stopped by. According to Mrs. McCall, Stiles has been there ever since she was admitted to the hospital nine days ago, only Lydia hadn't been in the best of shapes to talk to him. And finally, after over a week of pure torture, Lydia can see him clearly.
He's holding her left hand, she notices, and has fallen asleep next to her probably out of tiredness. Lydia glances out the window to see that it's night already, and so she lets him sleep for a little more, the bags under his eyes worrying her.
He's sleeping soundly, it seems, and doesn't wake up until half an hour later. Lydia waits patiently while lying on her side to numb her pain some, her thumb brushing across his knuckles constantly. When his eyes pop open, Stiles sits up promptly, excited and surprised at the same time that Lydia is looking back at him with a small smile on her lips.
He doesn't let go of her hand when he realizes he'd fallen asleep holding hers.
She doesn't pull away either.
"Hi," he murmurs, voice still laced with sleep.
Her voice comes out hoarse from little use in the last few days. "Hi."
"I'm so glad you're awake." Stiles leans forward on his seat. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. I've been resting too much," she complains, tired of not being able to get out of bed much.
"Hey, if you need it, you have to rest, alright?" Stiles squeezes her hand, refraining from brushing her hair out of her face. "Doctor's orders, at least until you're all better."
She's been in the hospital ever since he rescued her from Eichen House just over a week ago, but the reason she's still at the hospital is only for precaution by now.
Lydia smiles warmly. "Well, the Doctor said I can be out in two days."
"Really?" He sounds suspicious at that. "Is he sure you're ready? I mean, are you okay?"
Lydia purses her lips. "As okay as I can be, I guess."
"Are you sure? Maybe you should stay here longer-"
"I'm okay, Stiles, I promise," she murmurs, squeezing his hand back. "I'm just impatient to get out of here. I'm starting not to like hospitals at all."
Understandably.
He feels the same way. "I know. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. I'm just glad that you got me out of... There..."
