Red Riding Hood

Chapter Three

"Recovery begins from the darkest moment."

~John Major

The next morning Stiles found Derek a pair of clothes, took off the heavy collar, and drove him to the hospital. The bleeding had mostly stopped but Derek was now very pale and feverish.

Stiles stayed in the waiting room to hear the results for Derek. He knew he should probably just go back to the cabin, but the man was in pretty bad condition.

A doctor came out shortly and reported the news on Derek. "Derek lost a lot of blood so we started by giving him a blood transfusion. We stitched up the open wounds on his front and back. There was no internal bleeding so no surgery was needed. You did good Mr. Stilinski. He would have bled out if not for you. We don't know his last name yet but we have the police coming to scan his fingerprints through the system. We will alert Derek's family as soon as we know who they are."

Stiles nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What do you think made those wounds?"

The doctor sighed and looked down. "The big open ones were from some sort of a whip. Derek had a few minor burn patches that we think were also inflicted. We can't be sure if anything just yet, but when the police get here they will question him on his past experiences. We believe it will be a domestic violence case thought."

"Can I see him?" Stiles asked.

"I'm afraid not," the doctor answered. "Only family members are allowed in."

"But he doesn't have anyone," Stiles pushed.

"I know," the doctor said sadly. "I'll be sure to tell him that you are still here though."

Stiles nodded and took a seat. He wouldn't leave without seeing Derek. Without at least seeing if he was going to be okay.

+++

It took two days to track down one of Derek's family members. His last name was Hale and Stiles knew why it took so long for a family member to be found.

Stiles was in grade school when his father got called for an emergency. The Hale house was on fire, the whole family trapped within. Stiles remember his father working the case for over a month before it was solved. An Argent by the name of Kate had done it. Stiles remembered that only four people had lived. Three children and one adult. The adult, Stiles thinks that Peter was his name, was still currently at the Beacon Hills Long Term Care Ward. He had fallen into a coma and had yet to wake up. The two youngest children were cared by by the oldest who had just turned nineteen. Then Stiles remembers that a few years later the boy was kidnapped. They never found him, but they had never stopped looking.

Stiles gasped as he put the pieces together. If Derek was a Hale and he was a boy, then he was probably the one who was kidnapped all of those years ago. Stiles remembered how the town held a memorial service for the late family and he also remembered a young Derek. It had to be him.

Cora Hale came rushing through the hospital entrance. "I'm here to see Derek Hale!" she said in a rush to the lady at the front desk.

"Are you family?" the lady asked in a bored tone.

"Yes," Cora all but growled. She was led behind a set of doors and Stiles wished he could go back there.

+++

Laura arrived the next day with a husband and a line of three small children. She rushed back to see Derek while her husband got left with the children in the waiting room.

Stiles remembered seeing Cora come out crying the day before and get in her car to leave. She came back later that night and had been back there since. Now Laura was the one to come out sobbing. Her sister held her upright as she scanned the waiting room.

"Who's Stiles?," Laura asked in a hard voice.

Stiles stood up and feebly said, "I... I'm Stiles."

Laura sized him up and down before she approached him and grabbed his arm. Stiles winced when she squeezed it hard and obediently followed her to the back, past the hated double doors. She drug him to Derek's room and pushed him in following close behind.

Derek looked so small against the big white bed. He was severely malnourished. Derek looked up at Stiles with the same scared eyes he had a few nights before. There were wires going everywhere and tubes entering at random places. Stiles was sure that the places weren't actually random, though.

"Hey," he said lightly. He saw that Derek's skin now held color and Derek blushed when Stiles talked to him. "How are you doing?"

Derek looked unsurely towards his sister but made no reply. Laura sighed and left the room. Stiles frowned at this and Derek finally answered his question. "I'm felling better."

"What's wrong with your sister?"

"Mistress told me never to talk to old family members. But your not a family member and you helped me. So I'll talk to you." Derek looked up at Stiles with pleading eyes. They said, please talk back to me.

Stiles sighed. "Derek, you know she doesn't control you anymore. She's not here so you don't have to follow her rules. She was abusive and you never should have had to follow her rules to start with. Do you here me?" Derek nodded his head and Stiles looked down at his hands.

"Thank you for staying, Sir."

"My name is Stiles, Derek. Just Stiles."

Derek's eyes grew large and he looked down at his feet. "I'm truly sorry... Stiles."

"You're okay. I'm sorry if I scared you. Do you think that you can talk to your sisters now? They are really worried about you."

"Will you be here?" Derek asked.

"If you want me to."

Derek nodded and Stiles went to find his sisters. They were in the waiting room again, huddled together. When Cora saw Stiles she immediately stood and bombarded him with questions. Stiles shushed her and told Cora and Laura that Derek would talk to them as long as he was in there. Laura gave him a judging look as if Stiles had done something to Derek. But they both followed him anyway.

Derek talked to his sisters and Stiles say in the corner while the remains of a large and flourishing family had their own reunion. They talked about Derek's kidnapping and who did it. Derek always called her Mistress, never giving away the real name. They talked about Laura's new family and children and Derek cried over all he had missed. Because in reality, he had missed a lot.

After a doctor came and told the group that visiting hours where over and sent them back to the waiting room, Laura pulled Stiles aside. "I don't know why he's putting his trust in you but I swear to God, if you fuck this up anymore, I will personally hunt you down," Laura was now pushing on Stiles' chest with every word, "and I will kill you." With that, she turned away and rejoined with her family.

Stiles was frightened as he went to the nurse at the front desk. He handed her a slip of paper with his name and number on it for her to give to Derek later. She smiled and told him that she would personally deliver it to him in the morning.

Stiles left after that. On his way out the door he could feel the stares of the Hale family on his back. To them, he was just a mysterious stranger that Derek had decided to place his trust in. Not yet trustable but not someone to be afraid of.

Stiles went back to the cabin and cleaned up the mess that was still there. All he could think of was Derek for the rest of the night.