Heartbeat // A Derek Hale Love Story (Teen Wolf)

For the Love of God, Which Twin Is That?

"It's just a scratch, I'm fine." Derek responded firmly, meeting me with his soft gaze.

"Derek—"

THUD

My attention was abruptly drawn away from the situation by the sound of a very heavy barbell hitting the floor, accompanied by the sharp cry of an animal. I spun around, scanning the gym for the source of the sound. I found it across the room, where Ziggy the dog was struggling on the floor, a barbell next to her.

The girl, who'd been lifting the barbell was standing in front of the fluffy, black creature, had eyes wide and jaw slack. Instead of waiting for someone to realise the dog needed help, I jogged across the room to them.

"Where did the weight hit her?" I asked immediately, crouching next to Ziggy, stroking her head in an effort to keep her calm. I answered my own question by setting my gaze on the dog's front leg, bleeding and bone visible as it broke the skin.

"Uh, her front paw I think--" The girl responded, her hand trembling.

"Okay, can you go grab Jean or Juline please? Don't make a big deal, just get them over here, I'm a vet." I explained, pushing my ponytail over my shoulder. "I need consent before I treat their dog. And get me a first aid kit."

"Okay-- yeah." She stammered, scampering off to the front of the gym.

"Hi, sweet girl!" I cooed, trying to keep Ziggy calm, and laying down, stroking her side. She wagged her tail, which thumped against the floor, her tongue lolling out happily, even though she was obviously in pain. "Don't get up, no, no." I whispered, smoothing the curls of dark fur around her face. "You'll hurt that leg more, sweetheart."

"Hey," Derek said softly from behind, dropping into a squat next to me, his calloused hand falling on my shoulder. He winced audibly, surely at the look of Ziggy's leg.

"Hi." I replied, sitting down cross-legged, still comforting Ziggy as I fought to ignore the warmth that hand sent through my body. The place where her bone protruded from her dark whorls of hair was even darker than her regular colour, oozing blood onto the rubber-coated floor.

"Is she okay?" Derek murmured, his green eyes fixed on the dog.

I decided against being snarky and just telling the truth, surprisingly. "I definitely need to take her to the clinic." I glanced over Derek's shoulder at the girl who'd dropped the weight, leading one of the Twins towards us. I couldn't tell them apart yet.

"Oh no, is she okay?!" She asked, crouching down by Ziggy's head, her waterfall of bronze hair swooshing as she dropped. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers at the sight of her dog's blood.

"She's hurt her leg." I stated the obvious, calmly, meeting her bronze gaze. "So I'd like to take her to the vet clinic I work at to get a better look."

"You're a vet?"

"Yeah." I confirmed. "I need your consent to treat Ziggy, too."

"Of course!" She gushed as her voice staggered, nodding vigorously. "Do whatever you need to do."

"I'd like someone to carry her, I don't want to risk her putting any weight on that leg." I said, looking back to Derek as I grabbed a long roll of gauze from the first aid kit the girl brought.

"I'll do it." He offered, dipping his head.

I raised my eyebrows, glancing over my shoulder to his injured arm which he was still covering with his hand, then back to his eyes dubiously. I tore the gauze, wrapping around the squirming Ziggy's leg. "You're wrapping that arm or you're not helping me. I don't want you bleeding all over Ziggy."

"Fine," Derek huffed, taking a moment before he quickly stood and took off before I had a chance to remind him the first aid kit was sitting in front of me.

"Right," I began, making eye contact with whichever one of the Twins was in front of me. I still wasn't sure which one she was, making my cheeks warm with the realisation. "When Derek gets back, I'll get him to hold Ziggy while I drive to the clinic. You can either come in my truck or drive there in your car. Is that cool?"

"Sure." said the Twin, distress completely obscuring her gaze.

"Hey," I said softly, my hand finding her forearm before I could think, the muscles beneath her skin hard. "Ziggy's going to be just fine. Her leg is broken and she's cut, but I can fix it, okay?"

She swallowed, her jaw relaxing. "Okay."

Derek swooped down beside me once more without warning, the only difference being the ivory cloth wrapped around his sinewy forearm, just below the crease of his elbow. It mustn't have been a deep cut, the cloth showed no traces of blood from the surface. "What do you need?"

"Do you think you can pick her up without touching her front legs? That's the important part."

"Mhm." Derek breathed, blinking slowly. "Where am I taking her?"

"My truck. You hold her while we drive to the clinic, please."

"Okay. Let's do it." Derek said, wrapping his powerful arms around Ziggy's middle, ever so gently, breathing tranquil murmurs in her ear. We didn't even speak, he didn't need any instruction, as we made haste towards my truck. Once the backseat door was open for them, Derek climbed in, settling Ziggy in his lap, stroking her spine.

The Twin knew where we were going, but I hesitated to twist my keys in the ignition before I made sure she was in her car, ready to follow us.

"Derek," I spun around in my seat, meeting his eyes. "For the love of God, which twin is that? I've been trying to figure it out for fifteen minutes."

Derek let out a deep, resonating laugh, tilting his head back as his body shook. I blinked slowly.

I had never heard him laugh like that before, or even laugh at all, really.

"What's so funny?" I managed as I started to giggle too, at the sound of his contagious one.

"Oh," Derek sighed, grinning like a fiend. "You."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Let me know in the comments!

- TAAF_