Sterek

Chapter 13

I woke and was confused as to where I was until I realised that I was in my own bedroom. Derek must have brought me back here after Deaton was done with the IV and everything. I felt groggy but much better than I had before. I looked around my room and realised that I was alone. I dragged myself out of bed and downstairs where I heard my Dad and Derek talking.
'Is he okay?' I heard my Dad ask.
'I had a doctor friend look him over, he's just exhausted, he thinks that it was some kind of bug or something that just made him feel drained. He gave him some pain meds and an IV and prescribed some rest. He's absolutely fine Sheriff. I promise, he called me when he felt ill in school so I took him out, I'm sorry about that but I figured it was better than him staying there when he was sick.' Derek was spinning a tale effortlessly, using as much of the truth as he could and being polite as well as reassuring my dad as he went along. Damn that man has charm.
'So there's nothing seriously wrong with him?' Dad asked.
'No. He's fine. Just needs rest. I promise.' Derek reiterated.
I walked in at that point. 'Look I'm up and about. I'm fine. Just tired.' I assured my dad before hugging him. As I looked at Derek over his shoulder I mouthed a thank you to him. He nodded in reply.
'Doc said to make sure you ate. I made enough food for all of us. There's a plate for you in the microwave.' Derek said. 'I can heat it up for you if you like?' He offered.
'That'd be great Sourwolf.' He got up from his seat and gestured for me to take it. I moved over and sat in the seat he had vacated. My dad looked at me quizzically. 'What?'
'Nothing it's just- Sourwolf?' He smiled a little at me. I blushed slightly.
'It was a random thing at the time and it kind of stuck. Sort of an inside joke.' I explained.
'I honestly kind of like it. It's been a long while since I've been close enough to anyone to actually have a nickname so it's kind of nice.' Derek commented as he placed a plate in front of me. There was some chicken with a sauce and some veg on the side.
I turned to Derek with one eyebrow raised. He chuckled. 'My mother expected all her children to be able to cook. She said it was not only so we could fend for ourselves but so that we could cook for our future partners. At the time I didn't really understand why I was learning but considering the path I've taken it has certainly served me well.' He replied. I simply nodded with a smile before beginning to eat.
'She taught you well.' I could sense my father looking at us oddly so I looked up at him in confusion.
'You didn't even have to ask a question.' He stated with surprise in his eyes. He was surprised Derek could read me so well.
'Derek's a little like me- he's good at reading people. Something which is always much easier if you know someone like how I find you and Scott the easiest people to read. With Derek close behind that because of a unique ability that makes it really easy to read people that are similar to yourself. If you recognise a part of yourself within someone else it makes it that much easier to read them, because it's like reading yourself.' I explained, in between bites of food.
Both Derek and my father were looking at me with wide eyes. 'But what is it that you identify with in Derek?' My father asked.
'That's not something that is really mine to tell.' I replied evenly and then pushed a message to Derek through our link.
It's pain. Loneliness. The need for pack. That sense of not belonging.
Derek's eyes went blank for a second as he received the message and then they were full of sorrow. The wave of emotion hit next and I had to grip the table to keep from falling off my chair. I bit back a groan as the room began to spin.
'Derek.' I warned and he understood immediately the pain stopping as his emotions changed again.
'Sorry.' He murmured back. Dad was watching us but seemed to decide not to comment. 'Are you tired?' Derek asked.
'Yeah, I'm still feeling pretty beat.' I replied. He was watching me with concerned eyes.
'I'll do the dishes. You boys go to bed.' Dad ordered. I mockingly saluted him, as I stood up from my chair and left the room. Tossing a goodnight over my shoulder as I went. By the time I got to the stairs it was beginning to get hard to stay on my feet. So with Derek being Derek, he effortlessly lifted me into his arms and carried me to my room where he deposited me on my bed.
'Well that was interesting.' I said.
'Indeed it was.' Derek replied as he lay down beside me.
'You're quite the charmer Mr Hale, managing to craft the tale the way you did.'
'Well it serves me well to be able to talk my way out of things. But what you said earlier... Stiles that was pretty intense.' He sounded pained.
'And yet entirely true. I've always felt that way, I mean I had Scott but it was never enough, I needed more of a connection, I feel like now that's possible. That now I'll finally find the place I belong, the people I belong with. I'm not explaining this right, here.' I grabbed his hand and opened my mind to him, allowing him to see and feel what I was trying to explain but keeping everything else guarded behind my wall. Eventually I felt his mind leave and so I let go and returned to what was happening in real time. 'Do you understand now, Sourwolf?' I said softly.
He looked at me and his eyes were glazed with unshed tears. 'Are you always in so much pain?' He asked me.
'I guess, I usually just shove it to the back of my mind as much as I can really. But it's okay, it's really not that bad Sourwolf.' I reassured him.
He shook his head. 'That's not really great Stiles. But you'll definitely stop feeling like that soon, as our pack gets bigger it'll feel like everything you've ever dreamed of, I can show you.' He said and he placed his hand on my temple.
Suddenly I was in front of the Hale house and there was a Barbeque going and a bonfire. Kids were running around and the adults were all talking to each other, laughter filled the air and the smell of summer filled my senses. Looking around I smiled fondly as I saw someone who I knew was Laura and then Cora as a little girl came flying towards me and I caught her as she leaped at me.
'Der-bear.' She gigged and I grinned. An overwhelming sense of peace and wholeness filling my entire being, the feeling that only pack could bring. I glanced up and caught the eyes of my mom who smiled knowingly at me. Then everything faded and the last thing I saw was Talia Hale's smile as I was brought back into my own mind.
I realised that Derek had tears falling silently down his face and a soft sad smile on his face. I ran my thumbs under his eyes to erase the tears that had fallen. I could feel how much he missed his family and I missed my mom just like that. I moved and pulled Derek to my chest in a comforting hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, instinctively. I felt the shuddering breath he took as he struggled to fight the sobs. I held him tighter as he cried, stroking my hand through his hair as I held him.
'I'm right here Sourwolf, and I'm not going anywhere.' I assured him. Feeling both of our emotions was hard but I focused on Derek and soothed him for as long as he needed me to.