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It was late afternoon of the next day that Deaton returned to the clinic. Erica and Boyd had been staking it out all night and cornered him before he even made it to the door.
“You need to come with us, now.” Erica said menacingly.
“I do?” He asked.
“Yeah, now.” Erica said again.
“I think your sentence is missing the words ‘will you please’ and is very much without an explanation. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my years working with werewolves it’s don’t go jumping into their problems without knowing what you’re up against. I assume something has gone wrong?”
Erica just kind of stared at him and Boyd rolled his eyes. “It’s Isaac. He’s in the hospital and we don’t know if he’s healing. We think he’s been poisoned.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“If we knew that we wouldn’t be here with you, would we?” Erica snapped and Boyd rolled his eyes again.
“Scott found him in the woods passed out.”
“Was he attacked?” Deaton asked with a crinkle in his brow.
The two looked at one another, not really knowing the answer.
“We… I mean we don’t think so, there was no blood and he’s not healing himself so if he had been I’m sure we would have seen the scars.” Boyd said.
Deaton nodded, thinking.
“They think it’s an infection.” Erica said again.
“He went straight into a coma.”
“Can you take me to him?” Deaton asked.
Both of them nodded and they were out as soon as possible.
Derek had been at the hospital for most of the day, desperately trying to think it through. They had scoured the forest for something that could have done this and found nothing.
Something didn’t sit right but there was no evidence of what had happened. Scott stayed along with him, and Jackson showed up later with Lydia and Allison in tow.
Allison looked quite pale, clearly she has spent too much time sitting by hospital beds. Derek could smell the feeling in the air that this wouldn’t end well but he refused to think that another person would die on his watch.
Deaton was on his way and as much as he tried to ignore the thought that he was their last hope, it kept creeping its way back in.
Derek knows a lot about what he is and his history but the things he doesn’t know numbered a lot more.
Stiles arrived not long after the others. He and Derek exchanged hostile glances before he settled next to Lydia on the opposite side of the room.
“Deaton’s on his way.” She whispered.
Derek and Scott were whispering to one another and clearly Jackson was listening in too.
“You ever find it rude when they do that?” Stiles muttered to Lydia and Derek’s face darkened.
“I honestly don’t care. It’s not like I understand any of it anyway.” She shrugged.
Suddenly Derek stood and pulled back the curtain as Erica, Boyd and Deaton walked down the ward towards them.
He pulled the curtain all the way back around to shroud them from view.
“You don’t think he’s healing?” Deaton asked immediately, walking over to Isaac’s side.
“He shouldn’t have been out this long. If he was healing properly he wouldn’t be here.” Derek stated, watching as Deaton pulled his own stethoscope out of his bag and held it against Isaac’s chest.
They were all staring very intently at him as he pressed his fingers into Isaac’s chest and ribs, and then to his stomach. He felt around the glands of his neck and leant in close to listen to his breathing.
Derek was absolutely itching to bark his questions at Deaton but he kept a lid on his control.
“Have they taken any blood samples?” He asked.
“Yeah, before they put in his IV.” Scott said.
“And they’ve established it as an infection?” Deaton asked as he rummaged through his bag.
“I think they’ve seen a few cases recently, yeah.” Scott answered.
Deaton pulled out a small knife in a sheath and took Isaac’s unwired arm in his hand. Derek had his wrist in his hand in an instant.
“You do anything to him you run it by me first.” He said, eyes glowing.
Deaton put up an apologetic hand. “Forgive me Derek; I’m merely trying to test his healing. You know I would do nothing to intentionally hurt him.”
Derek looked him up and down and let go, giving him a begrudgingly approving nod.
Deaton took Isaac’s arm in his hand and pressed the blade against it. He pulled it back slowly, spilling a little blood in the process. He dabbed at it with some tissue from his bag and pulled away to observe.
Almost everyone in the room held their breath as they watched the tiny cut slowly draw back to a little speck.
“What is that? Is that good?” Stiles asked.
“Well, he’s healing, but slowly.” Deaton said. “My guess is that he’s having… well; call it an allergic reaction I suppose. His body has shut itself down so that he can fight it but he is healing and that’s a good sign.”
“Do you have any idea what did this?” Derek asked.
Deaton sighed. “I’ll have to look at his blood work and look him over more carefully but right now I can only tell you that he is healing. Hopefully he’ll be conscious within the next few days.” The group let out a collective sigh and Deaton put the blood soaked tissue in a zip lock bag and deposited it carefully in his case. “I’ll keep checking up on him every few hours, just to be sure. I don’t recognise this so I’ll have to do some tests but I promise you I will find out exactly what happened here.”
Derek gave him a nod and mouthed a silent ‘yep’ before giving an exhausted sigh and offering to walk out with him. Deaton gave him a smile and the two of them headed out of the ward silently to avoid prying ears of the werewolves in the room.
Scott sat down beside Isaac’s bed and put his hand on his arm, dropping his head with the relief that Deaton had given them. Boyd put his hand on his shoulder.
Allison started brushing back Isaac’s hair as a comfort and Erica gave Jackson a smile.
The news that he would pull through had caused tensions to drop almost immediately. The pack was feeling whole again. An hour ago they had thought Isaac was as good as dead and now they were confident that he would pull through.
“I’m going to try and catch Deaton.” Stiles said before pushing past Jackson and walking briskly down the corridor and out to the stairs.
He knew Derek was with him but he was hoping that they would be done by the time he found him. He ran down to the lobby just in time to see Deaton walking out the door alone.
“Dr Deaton!” He called.
He turned around and stopped when he saw Stiles loping towards him. “You know you probably shouldn’t call me that here because this is a hospital and I’m just a vet.” He smiled.
Stiles snorted. “Good one doc.” He said. “Look I just wanted to see if you needed any help with things. I’m pretty good at searching through books or notes or whatever you’ve got really.”
“I thought it would be you to come to me about this. You’re welcome to help but I don’t have anywhere to start yet.”
“That is no problem, I will sift through all your files if I have to, I just need something else to think about.” Stiles said.
“Something other than…?”
Stiles sighed. “I have alpha issues.”
Deaton nodded, “yes well Derek isn’t exactly in the best of moods right now, is he?”
“You seriously have no idea.”
He laughed. “I’ve worked with Derek’s family for a long time; trust me when I say the apple doesn’t fall far from the Hale tree. Talia was a level headed woman but if her family was in danger you wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.”
Stiles nodded, forgetting that Deaton had a lot more history with the Beacon Hills werewolves than any of them really knew.
That afternoon Stiles went back to the clinic with Deaton who pulled out a few books full of information. After the initial shock at how much the seemingly simple vet actually knew, Stiles knuckled down and lost himself in the books. There were ingredients and procedures and werewolf anatomy drawings; basically it was like a supernatural treasure trove.
He spent most of the evening down there too while Deaton inspected Isaac’s blood. He sent the occasional text to Scott who had stayed at the hospital waiting for some kind of change.
So far there was nothing to report.
“Hey, what about this?” Stiles said as Deaton walked into the back of the clinic.
“Are you still working Stiles? Your father is probably wondering where you are.”
Stiles shook his head. “I sent him a text telling him about Isaac so he probably thinks I’m in the hospital visiting him.”
Deaton sighed. “Well, I’m going to head home soon so you probably should too. What have you found?”
“This is supposedly poisonous to werewolves, I mean it says only when ingested but maybe someone could have used it on him.” Stiles moved aside to let him see.
“Mistletoe.” Deaton said.
“It seems kind of strange for a poison but it says-”
“I’ve seen what mistletoe can do and this is far from it. It’s a terrible poison but it would never have put Isaac into a coma. No, I think you’re on the right track but I’m beginning to think that this is someone’s doing. I think this poison came from some kind of creature, not some kind of herb. It was in his bloodstream that means that it started there. No herbs that I’ve heard of would do that but if it was another supernatural being then there is no doubt that the poison would originate in the blood.”
Stiles’ brain hurt. This was going to take a lot more work than just one afternoon.
“The problem is trying to figure it out without any information.” Deaton rubbed his head in frustration and Stiles began packing up to leave.
“Do you have any books on… other creatures?” Stiles asked a little nervously, werewolves were bad enough.
“Unfortunately, no. I’ve never really had to deal with anything else but I do know of a few that exist. I’ll see if I can find anything if you want to lend a hand tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’ll be here.” Stiles said before standing up and stretching, his bones creaking.
Deaton clapped a hand on his shoulder and walked with him out to his jeep.
Stiles felt drained, exhausted. At least he could sleep tonight knowing that Isaac was getting better, slowly, but he was. Derek was a whole other story.
Stiles was still pissed at him for getting angry and placing all the blame on him. How could he blame him when clearly it wasn’t his fault? It didn’t matter anyway, you get one step closer to Derek and he takes three steps back.
He was glad to see his bed when he got home. He collapsed in a heap and sighed. Why couldn’t they have a normal few months for once? As he lay in the sheets and sighed he heard a tapping on his window.
“Not interested Derek.” He said without looking up.
Derek stood at the window trying to hide the guilt in his eyes. He hadn’t meant to blame Stiles for it all, his emotions had been on a high that he couldn’t control. A pack member was in trouble and he knew that it was his fault first and foremost.
He knocked again and Stiles just scoffed. “Seriously Derek, you can’t just be an asshole one minute and then come over here with that broody smoulder and expect me to just forgive you.”
“Can you let me in?” Derek asked, his voice muffled through the window.
“Fuck off.” Stiles said.
Derek sighed and extended a claw on his index finger and unlocked the window. Usually if Stiles locks the window he just leaves because he knows that he probably just wants to be alone but not tonight. He had to explain himself and he knew it.
He pushed it up and climbed through.
“Seriously Derek, I am not in the mood for your shit.” Stiles sat up shaking his head and turned away from him.
“Stiles-”
“No! I’m not going to let you make me take the blame for something that I couldn’t have stopped. Do you just like making me feel like shit? Is that it?” Stiles stood up, still not looking at him.
“Stiles-” Derek tried again but was cut off.
“I’m serious Derek. You can't just shove me around and make me feel one thing and then hate me the next second. I mean come on, it’s like… I mean I thought you might… argh! I’m not in the mood for your crap so just fuck off for once okay?”
“Stiles, I’m sorry.”
“Oh, and another thing why do you always – what?” Stiles turned around to see Derek in all his vulnerability and let his mouth hang a little as he looked over at him.
“Being the alpha means I feel the pain of the pack even more than the others and when one of us is sick… when one of us is in the same situation as Isaac it can make us lose our rationality. I never should have taken it out on you. I’m sorry.” Derek knew that it was him, and him alone that was responsible for what happened to Isaac.
He was the alpha, it was his pack. He needed to make sure he was there to protect his pack and Stiles wasn’t to blame for turning off his phone. Derek actually liked that he had done something assertive for once.
Derek wasn’t always an alpha, in fact once he had liked someone strong to oppose him and challenge him. He had forgotten what that was like until he met Stiles, until he had really gotten into this relationship. He reminded him of Paige a little in that way, she had never let him push her around and so often she would take control of the situation and oppose him. He liked that Stiles wasn’t scared of him, he more than liked it in fact.
Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, you know what you shouldn’t have, and I’m not just going to accept that apology and let you do whatever the hell you want to me. You might mean it now but wait until something else happens, you’ll just do exactly the same thing.”
Derek dropped his eyes and Stiles felt his stomach go queasy. He knew that Derek was trying but he still couldn’t quite say exactly what he meant or what he felt. He knew how hard it was for him after everything he had been through but he had to do what was best for him this time.
“Face it Derek, you react before you have time to think it through sometimes.”
“I know.” He said softly.
“I can't keep standing here being your punching bag. You might be an alpha but you’re not mine and I don’t want you to be.” Stiles sighed, looking over at Derek who was still not meeting his eyes.
“I know.” He said again.
“Derek…” Stiles said with exhaustion laden in his voice.
As Derek looked up his eyes betrayed the fear inside him. He nodded to Stiles and sighed again, this time rougher than the last. Neither of them moved for a while, they just shuffled awkwardly about on their feet.
“Do you want me to leave?” Derek said.
Stiles licked his bottom lip and exhaled heavily, closing his eyes for a moment. “No.”
Derek stepped forward slightly but Stiles remained in place, shoving his hands into his pockets. Derek’s eyes dropped as he put his hand on Stiles’ waist and pulled himself in, his other hand gently caressing his cheek.
“Stiles…” He whispered.
“Derek.”
He leant in to peck his lips fleetingly before he closed his eyes tightly and began to pull away. Stiles removed his hands from his pockets and crushed himself into Derek’s chest. He couldn’t let him leave when he clearly needed to be with someone.
Isaac was going to be okay and after one sleepless, self-hating, guilt-ridden, agonising night alone he needed Stiles to just be there, and Stiles knew it. He could tell from the way he nuzzled into his neck that he was tired of being alone and that the pain of possibly losing Isaac had been eating away at him.
Of all the members in his pack he was closest to Isaac. Dealing with the loss of a pack member would be just another burden for him to bear. He had lost enough already.
“Come on.” Stiles whispered, taking Derek’s hand and leading him to the bed.
They took off their shoes and climbed under the covers where Derek rested his head on Stiles chest. His arm lay over his stomach and Stiles’ fingers traced comforting circles on Derek’s arm.
“You know… you know I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Derek mumbled.
“I know. I just don’t know if it would be different if Deaton had given Isaac another diagnosis.” Stiles said.
Derek closed his eyes and listened to the slow steady beat of Stiles’ heart, unwavering.
“I can't make you understand it.” Derek said.
“I know.” Stiles said and Derek felt his eyes sting at the coldness to his voice tonight.
He was hurt far worse than he was letting on, but he knew that Derek was holding onto even more so he held it in. Derek knew it and wished it could be different.
But it wasn’t.
He propped himself up on his elbow and looked up at Stiles who brushed away the damp edge in his eyes and Derek pretended not to notice. He brushed his cheek with his thumb and wiped away what was left of a tear under his eye.
“I’m sorry I ruined the weekend for you.” He murmured.
Stiles nodded before gently kissing his lips. His grip on Derek’s arm tightened and when they released one another from their kiss they rolled onto the side and Stiles moulded his body into Derek’s back, pulling the covers up around them.
Usually being pressed against Derek made him feel so secure and safe and he would fall asleep in an instant but his mind ticked over and over with his thoughts. After a long time he sighed and softly stroked Derek’s hair as he kissed the back of his shoulder.
“You have got to be the most frustrating person I have ever met. I don’t know what to do anymore Derek.” He whispered, knowing that Derek was asleep. “You can't help reacting the way you do, I know that. I know that you just want me to be safe. You drive me crazy and make me angry and I just don’t get how you can kiss me and make me forget about all of that in the moment. We are probably the worst pair you could imagine… but damn it if I don’t love you Derek… I love you…” He barely breathed the last part, and with a sigh he rested his head firmly on the pillow and closed his eyes trying to find a way to turn off his mind.
And that was never easy.
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A/N: Also, I know you must have noticed the new cover, what do you guys think?
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