I Want You Here

Grim Results

Derek waited anxiously outside the CAT scan room. He looked fearfully at Melissa as she came out the door.
"Is he-?" Derek asked, and Melissa shook her head. "We can only show the data to Stiles and his immediate family. That means it's only him and his father in the room with the doctor. I'm sorry, Derek. You're going to have to wait out here."
Melissa snatched a file out of a cabinet, and hurried back into the room, closing the door soundly behind her.
Derek checked his phone. He had several missed calls from almost all of the members of the pack. Scott, Lydia, Erica, even Jackson. Only Boyd hadn't called, and that might have been because he wasn't much of a talker. Erica talked enough for the both of them.
Derek leaned against the wall, and prepared himself to tell all of his pack what had happened. It wouldn't be easy, but it was his responsibility as the Alpha, and his wolf didn't give him a choice.
~
Stiles studied the screen. A good-sized section had been highlighted in red.
"See this section here? The red indicates shrinking. And, at the rate it's... decomposing, Stiles has maybe a few weeks left." The doctor said grimly, looking from Stiles to John.
"What occurred to cause this?" John asked.
The doctor scratched his head. "His mother had the genes. We believe that extreme strain on his frontal lobe- perhaps stress- activated its formulation. And when he blacked out and the tree fell on him, I would guess it accelerated the debilitation of cells."
Stiles found his voice, shaky though it was. "So, what you're saying is, my days are numbered?"
The doctor pursed his lips. "I'd give it a few weeks, tops. I'm sorry, Stiles. I wish we had caught this earlier, before permanent damage had been done."
Stiles bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes, and ran out the door- stumbling right into Derek.
"What are you doing? Why are you still here?" Stiles demanded in a scratchy voice.
Derek moistened his lips. "I told you, I care about you. I heard... everything."
Stiles scoffed. "Again, I say: why are you still here? What does it matter? I'm going to die."
Derek felt anger swell inside him. "That's exactly why it matters! You're going to die, Stiles! You're seventeen, and you're sentenced to death. I never wanted this for you. You were the human, you were supposed to survive. You were supposed to grow up and have kids, and have a somewhat normal life."
Stiles stared at Derek. Why was he saying these things?
"And, what's worse, I finally find my Luna and it doesn't even matter."
Stiles felt a flash of recognition at the word "Luna".
"Wait, Luna? As in, the Alpha's mate?" Stiles blurted out before he could think about it and stop himself.
Derek looked at him fearfully, and Stiles felt his heart sink.
"I'm your Luna. Aren't I?"
Derek didn't answer, he just stared at Stiles in remorse.
"Aren't I?"
"Yes." Derek muttered.
Stiles felt a twinge of irritation. "And you only told me this now?!"
Derek frowned. "I didn't notice anything was off until the moment I lifted that tree off of you. And Deaton explained what it was to me when you were unconscious. I didn't want to spring it on you immediately after you had woken up, and now this happened."
Stiles chewed on his lip, drawing Derek's eyes to his chapped lips.
Then, hesitantly, Stiles leaned forward and pecked Derek's lips.
Derek blinked, and then tentatively wrapped his arms around Stiles. His wolf growled in contentment. He leaned in and placed a soft, chaste kiss on his Luna's lips.
"After Kate, I thought I'd never find a mate. I'm glad it's you." Derek admitted in a whisper, leaning his forehead against Stiles'.
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to die, unless being a Luna has perks without getting bitten." Stiles said darkly.
"I'll check with Deaton. I'm not letting you die, Stiles. I'd never forgive myself." Derek looked into his Luna's whiskey eyes.
"Promise?" Stiles asked. "Promise."
Melissa approached them. "Stiles, you can go home now. Unless you want to just stay here?"
Stiles shook his head. "I want to go home."
Melissa looked at Derek. "He can't drive. And if he blacks out again, or does anything out of the ordinary, bring him in immediately." Derek nodded, and intertwined his fingers with Stiles'.
Melissa nodded. "Then you can go home. Make sure to get plenty of rest, Stiles."
They walked to Derek's car. "I'm driving." Stiles announced.
Derek chuckled. "Nice try."
Stiles pouted. "When you fix me, I get to drive your car. Don't even try to argue with me. I'll pull the 'I'm dying' card, so help me."
Derek rolled his eyes. "Sure, Stiles. Whatever you say."
Stiles kissed him to shut him up, which he had to admit was pretty effective. When Stiles pulled away, they were both smiling.