Nature and Nurture: Finding the Perfect Blend

Chapter 2: The Hospital

Notes:

Warning: This chapter includes listing of injuries sustained through torture. Not intended to be medically correct.

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Stiles may not be dead because he hears the beeping of hospital machines. He wakes up a little more when he feels someone touching his arm. The fact that he can feel his arm is shocking to him and the beeping noise speeds up.

"Stiles?!" It's his dad's voice, filled with relief and expectation. "Oh, thank God. Stiles? Wake up, son. Please, wake up now."

He tries to, he wants to.

But he's still so tired.

***

Stiles can't seem to progress from a state of continuing to wake up. He's constantly opening his eyes to different faces; his dad, his friends, nurses, doctors. But then he's pulled back under again and everything falls away.

He remembers waking up, then waking up, then waking up.

He has a time when Lydia grips his hand and he wants to weep for joy because he can feel it and he was sure his hands were gone.

He wakes to Scott staring at him and then yelling for someone because Stiles had opened his eyes.

One time, Derek moves back from being in his personal space as he comes to, but that is definitely a dream. Stiles doesn't even know where Derek is, let alone the reason why he'd be by Stiles' bedside.

When he finally manages to keep his eyes open and not fall back asleep almost immediately, he's alone and the room he's in is dark and quiet apart from the machines he's hooked up to. He can feel every part of his body and relishes the fact, even though he's incredibly sore and, he finds as he tries to shift just a fraction, also incredibly weak.

The door opens and the welcome form of Melissa comes into view. "Oh, honey," she says quietly and with relief, "there you are."

Stiles looks into her eyes and there's only compassion and love looking back. He starts to cry silently, tears that flow easily and quickly like a tap has been turned on.

Melissa holds his hand and places her other one on the side of his face. "I know, Stiles, I know," she whispers, wiping his tears with her thumb. She calls for another nurse to find the Sheriff and tell him his son is finally fully awake.

Stiles doesn't even have a chance to stop his tears before his dad is rushing into the room. Then they're both crying and he's being hugged too hard. His dad sits on the hospital bed and just leans into Stiles. It hurts everywhere his dad is touching but all he wants is for his dad to just keep hugging him and never let go. He rests his head up against his dad's shoulder, hating that he's too weak to give a proper hug back.

When his dad moves away, Stiles wants to hold him, keep the hug going, and feels almost desolate when it's over. His chest starts hurting and the monitors beep faster. He wants to talk but his throat is stinging and he can't reach to pull at the metal band around his neck.

His dad catches his fluttering fingers where they're rasping against the bed sheets and holds them gently.

Stiles makes a distressed whining noise that makes his throat burn. He tries to swallow but his throat is too dry and it keeps hurting as his breathing starts to get shallow.

He's staring at the ceiling when his dad holds an ice chip to his mouth. It melts quickly and he only has to open his lips slightly for the wonderful wetness to sooth the pain. As the burn lessons, Stiles calms and his head clears. The monitors slow down and his chest no longer feels like it wants to explode.