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

She Found Me

Remembering her smile, her laugh, did little to lift the weight from my chest. The weight that crashed into me the way Ophelia's hooves had crushed Lillian. The weight of how close she'd come to death.

The concept of her being happy again seemed strangely foreign as I watched her in the hospital bed, discomfort tainting her features and body language. She was still under the thick blanket of morphine, but it didn't make her any more happy to be there. All the drugs did was sedate her body, her mind was still on one thing: getting out as fast as she could.

I didn't remember the last time I'd been to a real hospital, other than to visit my uncle. With the speed at which my body healed, I had never been given reason to go to one. Neither had the rest of my family, before they burned to death.

I closed my eyes, shutting out the images as Alaric walked in, his white lab coat fanning out behind him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, dad. I want to go home," she said, her words lacking their usual bite.

"I would like you to stay at least until the morning," Alaric said. "Moving you now is not going to happen."

Lillian's face turned indignant for a breath. "It is the morning."

"I know you don't want to be here," her father replied. "But this is the safest place for you right now. There is no one at home who can take care of you."

"I don't need anyone. You can help me change the dressings on the incision when you come home and I'll just stay in bed until I'm better."

"Lillian," Alaric's voice gained a stern edge. "I want to make sure you're alright. I cannot make exceptions for you because you are my daughter."

"I'm an adult, dad. I can make my own choices."

"Please, Lillian," Alaric said, desperation creeping into his tone. "I want you to stay until we know you are okay. It shouldn't be too long, truly."

"Can you just knock me out until then?" she asked.

"No." Alaric's voice was firm. He wouldn't yield. "You can control how much morphine you get, within reason. Please do not turn it all the way up unless your pain is excruciating. It could make you ill and I know you throwing up with your stomach the way it is will not be pleasant."

He stepped around to the side of the bed I was sitting on, extending a muffin to me. I blinked. Right, he went to get me food.

"Thanks," I managed, unwrapping and sinking my teeth into it, the outside of the baked good like a shell which told me how old it was. I didn't even care.

"I will be back in a few hours, before I go home. I'm sorry this happened, Lillian." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head before making for the door.

"I'll just be here," she called. "Trying not to die."

"You are far less likely to die here than at home." Then he was gone.

For a few minutes, neither of us said anything, but she turned up her dose of morphine.

I couldn't tell if I was glad that Alaric wouldn't let her leave. I knew he was right in wanting her to stay. If anything went wrong, it would be significantly worse than if something happened here. I just couldn't stand seeing her so unhappy.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, glancing at me.

"Am I okay?" I scoffed. "I think the real question is 'Are you okay?'"

"We already know how I'm doing," she huffed.

"I'm fine," I said, not quite a lie. I had definitely been significantly less fine before she had woken.

"I'm sorry about all this," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" I scoffed. "Sorry for what? I should be the one that's sorry."

"What for?"

Ophelia's terrified neigh echoed in my ears, the violent rear of her head as she threw Lillian off flashed across my mind. All because of me.

I couldn't tell her the real reason, that Ophelia was scared of me because I was a werewolf. No matter how important she was to me, I couldn't tell her that.

"If I hadn't been there, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault," she said. "I don't know why Ophelia is so scared of you, but I'll figure it out. It's fine."

Something chilled in my gut at the innocence of the expression 'I'll figure it out.' She didn't want to figure it out.

"Okay," I said softly, silently urging her to move to a different topic. "You tired?"

"Yeah," she murmured, tilting her head against the pillow to face me better. "I think I'll try to get some more sleep. Looking at you is pretty nice but this fluorescent hospital lighting isn't doing much for you."

I laughed, warmth blooming in place of the ice that had sunk into my gut like claws.

"Plus, I don't know how you'll feel about me staring at you all night." A tiny grin.

"You can stare at me all you like," I murmured, stoking her hand, leaning closer.

"I'd like to," she whispered. "But I wish the backdrop was my bedroom and not a room at the hospital. So I'm going to close my eyes."

I chuckled. "Alright," I breathed, kissing the back of her hand.

She let out a sound that bordered a giggle, breathy and sleepy. "That tickles."

I smiled, noting that her change in attitude was likely a result of the increased morphine.

"Mhm," I hummed, resting my head on the mattress, her hand still in mine. "Goodnight."

The warmth of her hand was as soothing as a blanket, smoothing the trepidation of the night. I fell asleep there, the slow, steady beeps of the monitor gently reverberating in my ears, my bones.

A/N: So Lillian isn't dead. Were any of you worried? I had way too much fun writing these last chapters. I hope everyone had fun reading them.

Cheers, 

- TAAF_