Please, Stay- A Stydia AU

Hold Your Breath

Lydia followed Scott into the hospital, her head buzzing. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Yeah. My mom told me."

Lydia bit her lip and hesitated for a second before following."is he gonna be okay?" Nothing. "Scott!" The silence Sheriff Stilinski worrying.

"I don't know." Scott led her into a hallway. Stiles got to his feet as they came around the corner. "Is he okay?"

Stiles pursed his lips and looked away. "I don't know yet. I guess so. For now."

"For now?" lydia asked. Stiles turned to her, his eyes widening slightly as if he was seeing her for the first time. She reached out, intertwined her fingers with his. "Stiles?" She prompted gently.

"It... It doesn't look good overall. It's not good." His voice cracked.

Scott paled. "Surgery?"

"We might have to."

Lydia looked between them. "A heart attack doesn't usually lead to surgery. What am I missing?"

Stiles pursed his lips and looked at the floor. "You need to say it out loud," Scott said quietly.

"My dad... My dad..."

Melissa McCall came down the hallway. Stiles immediately moved into action, going to meet her. His arms went around her and his face went into the crook of her neck, his body shaking as he broke down.

"I know sweetheart," she whispered, rubbing his back. "We can fix this. It still isn't a death sentence. It just means the preventative measures didn't work as well as we'd hoped..."

Lydia looked at Scott. "What is going on?" She asked quietly.

Scott hesitated. "Stiles really needs to tell you."

"He doesn't want to tell me Scott."

"That's the point."

"This is the second one, Melissa," Stiles whispered as he slowly released Scott's mom. "The second one. That's not good... That's a bad sign actually." His voice was shaking.

"I know hon. I know. But we can handle this. We can make it work. I promise. Go get some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Stiles," she said, the Mom tone radiating in her voice. "Go. You need a breather." She caught Lydia's eye and nodded.

Lydia may not have known Melissa too well but she liked her. And she knew that Melissa knew how close she and Stiles had become.

She went to Stiles and slipped her hand
Back into his. "Come on," she said gently. "Let's go." She pulled on his arm gently, leading him down the hall. He didn't move at first, his gaze going from Melissa to the closed door that had to lead to his father's room.

"Stiles," she whispered. He looked at her, eyes wide and slowly nodded. She led him down the hall. "How about ice cream?"

"Sure." His voice was flat, expressionless.

"Stiles?" She looked up at him. "Do you need to talk?"

Stiles shook his head then pursed his lips as they walked. Then he stopped walking, his grip on her hand forcing her to walk as well. "Lydia."

She turned to him. "Stiles...?" She stepped closer.

His brown eyes were tortured, pained, reflecting pools of unshed tears. "My dad is sick."

"I know... He'll be okay," she said gently.

"No. He's sick. He has Coronary artery disease. We tried eating better, exercise, every medicine they threw at him... Obviously nothing has worked. Now... They're talking about bypass surgery."

Lydia stared at him. "I... Stiles..."

"And I know. At least it's not cancer. But... I already watched one parent die. I can't do this again. Is there something wrong with me? Am I doing something to send them to early deaths? Am I too much trouble? Am... Am I killing them?" He choked on the words.

"No... Stiles..." Her hand went through his hair, gently pushing it back. "Stiles... Why would you think that?"

"Maybe it's true. Maybe she was right. Maybe I killed her."

Something has changed in his face. It was almost like she could see him check out of the conversation. He stared around the hospital and pointed. "Right there... She and I were right there and she said... She said..."

"Stiles?" Lydia could feel her heartbeat rise with panic.

"She said she would leave me. She said she and my dad would stay. She said... Lydia she said..." His knees buckled and he went crashing to the ground, legs spreading around him as he gasped for air.

Lydia's eyes widened and she dropped beside him. "Stiles. Oh my gosh. Stiles."

His eyes widened with realization. "I'm having a panic attack."

Lydia touched his cheek with her fingertips. "What do I do? Stiles? What do I do?"

He shook his head, his hand turning into a fist as he bit the knuckle of his thumb.

She gently put her hand on his and guided it from his mouth. "Stiles. Please. Breathe. One..."

"I can't," he gasped out.

"Stiles..." And then she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him.

It lasted only a few seconds but it was the most colorful and bright moment of her life. She melted into it and she could feel the very second that he did as well, falling into the emotions and away from the shock and fear.

When she finally broke the kiss, it took her several moments to open her eyes. When she did, Stiles was staring at her with wide eyes.

"How did you do that?" He whispered.

"I read that holding your breath can stop a panic attack... And... When I kissed you, you held your breath..."

"I did?"

"Yeah... You did..."

Stiles stared at her. "That... That was really smart... Thank you..." He fell back on his back.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm completely exhausted now," he said quietly. "And I'm still scared. Just not..."

"Panicking?"

"Yeah... Not much better though..."

"I am so sorry..."

"Me too..."

There were footsteps and then Melissa came into view. "Stiles," she said gently. "You can see your dad now."