The Unexpected Journey- A Sterek Novella

9. Healing Wounds and New Beginnings

Derek grumbled for the hundredth time as Stiles tried to fluff the pillows behind his back, again.

                "Dammit Stiles! Leave it! I'm not helpless... I can take care of myself!"

                Derek sat with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face as Stiles rolled his eyes and walked away. He may or may not have grumbled something about ingrates and werewolves.

                "I heard that! Wolf hearing, remember?"

                Stiles threw a look over his shoulder that told Derek he knew exactly what he was saying and who could hear it.

                Nearly three weeks had passed since the night of "the incident that shall not be named" as Stiles put it, and Derek's recovery was proving to take a lot longer than anyone could have anticipated. Derek's spine was nearly severed by Chris's bullet, something Deaton hadn't thought much of until he realized the letharia vulpine was having some major long term effects on Derek's ability to heal the severe wound. Derek was none too happy when he realized he was practically an invalid and would have to depend on others until such time as his body decided to recover. Add to that, Stiles' guilt over the whole thing was tearing him up inside. Needless to say, their initial joy at having overcome the obstacle of the nogitsune and discovering their feelings for each other was short lived to say the least.

                Derek became more and more withdrawn as the days turned into weeks and he still couldn't take more than a few faltering steps on his own. He had never spent more than a few hours out of commission in his life and this new vulnerability was not doing wonders for his self-esteem. He'd spent years watching his uncle waste away in a wheel chair while waiting to see if he was ever going to recover and that had left a terrible taste in his mouth. It had done things to Peter's mind and Derek was scared of going down that same path. Besides, how was he supposed to take care of himself much less anyone else, especially Stiles, if he couldn't even stand on his own two feet for more than five minutes without shaking like a new born foal. There was no way he was going to saddle Stiles with having to take care of him if he didn't recover. This of course meant he had pulled back from Stiles almost instantly.

                Stiles of course, was devastated when he realized what was happening to Derek. His guilt weighed on him heavily because he knew it was going to be awful for Derek to have to depend on anyone for help and he wanted to be the one to be there for him. Stiles could be just as stubborn as Derek in his own right and no matter how many times Derek yelled at him or threw his pillows at him and told him to leave and go get a life, Stiles stayed. He had pretty much told his dad not to expect him home until Derek was back on his feet and after his dad stared at Stiles for a few minutes he never said a word and went about his day. Stiles sort of thought his dad was so happy to have him back, alive, and not a demon fox, he didn't much care anymore what Stiles did so long as he was around to do it and checked in every day at least twice.

                Stiles was currently busy making dinner for the two of them trying not to think about how happy he had been with Derek's arms wrapped around him while kissing him senseless only a few short weeks ago. He'd never felt so alive but from the moment Derek realized he was out of commission, he had been totally hands off. Stiles felt like he'd been shown a missing part of himself he hadn't even known was absent, making him understand for the first time what life and love was supposed to really feel like and then having it cruelly snatched away in some big cosmic joke on his soul. The joy he'd felt in those moments made the loss of it even more profound. He slammed a pot down on the stove as though such a feeble act could make it all better.

                Derek lay propped up in the bed, his own misery made worse by the sadness, hurt, and anger he could virtually taste coming off Stiles. He knew he was getting stronger but the process was so slow he had no idea how long it would take for him to be 100%. Derek's pride when it came to Stiles, who couldn't even stand still long enough for toast to pop, would not allow him to ask Stiles to wait for him. The whole idea of them had been a stupid one anyway he berated himself with for the hundredth time. He should have known there would be no happy ending for him, but for one brief shining moment he had dared to hope. Someone upstairs must really not like him. He wished he knew what he had done in a previous life to warrant such torture in this one so he could make amends and hopefully get on with this one. Preferably with a little happiness attached to it.