For the Love of Chaos

Coma

Derek stood stiffly by the door while Deaton checked Stiles over. The rest of the pack sat around the room. No one said anything. No one knew what to say.

"He's overstressed his magic. He's in a depleted coma. He should come out of it in a few hours, but blood magic is dangerous. There will be side effects to what he did," Deaton spoke calmly setting aside the stethoscope he had around his neck.

"What kind of side effects?" Derek asked. His tone was full of anger and concern at the same time.

"It's hard to say. It can vary by person. He won't just be physical though. I'd be prepared to account for psychological side effects."

"Psychological?" Scott frowned.

"Anger outbursts, hallucinations, confusion, memory issues."

"Great, that sounds..." Scott pressed his fingers to his temples.

"What do we do to fix him?" Isaac piped in then, his tone calm despite his worry.

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer for that. I'm not as well versed in blood magic. I do know that after a certain point it's not longer reversible. And I don't know if Stiles has reached that point," Deaton wore a sympathetic look as he spoke.

The room fell silent. No one knew what to say. Everyone hoped that Stiles wasn't past that point, but no one knew for sure and they didn't know how to find out.

"So what now?" Boyd looked to Derek.

"Take him home. Wait til he wakes. And I wouldn't leave him alone, just in case," Deaton suggested handing Derek a book. "This is everything I have on different magic types. There's not much on blood magic but..."

Derek took the book a with a nod. He would do whatever he had to in order to help Stiles.

-

Back at Derek's loft, Derek laid Stiles on his bed. The rest of the pack tended to the wounds they had now that they knew Stiles would live.

The alpha settled in a chair near the bed with Deaton's book in hand.

He spent the next hour flipping through it and reading anything he could find on blood magic.

"Damn it, Stiles," Derek snapped closing the book harshly. He wasn't finding anything that would help. "You promised. How could you do this?"

Stiles remained unmoving on Derek's bed.

"You don't even know what you do to me," Derek scrubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "You make me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. I don't want to feel these things. Don't you get that? And then you go and pull a stunt like this and..." he trailed off, his eyes looking at Stiles' pale lips.

Derek didn't know what to do and it was eating him alive. He didn't want to lose anyone and though Deaton had assured him he wouldn't lose Stiles, Derek couldn't help but feel like he was.

"I couldn't say this before, because I so badly didn't want it to be true, but I...I love you," Derek slid his hand through his hair and gripped harshly. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath.

He hadn't intended to feel this way towards Stiles. He'd tried so hard to keep it from happening and yet here he was admitting I out loud for the first time.

The alpha stood up then, he needed air.

"Scott, you're up," Derek spoke stiffly as he stepped into the living room where the pack had gathered around books and computers, trying to find something on blood magic.

The shocked looks he received from the betas told Derek they'd heard his confession. Thankfully, no one said anything as Scott scooped up his book and stepped past Derek.

"No change?" Boyd finally asked, hoping to dismiss the growing tension.

"No," Derek growled as he took Scott's seat on the sofa. "Anything useful?"

"Not really, but I found a site with some legit info. There's a way to contact someone. Her name is Bonnie," Isaac gestured to the computer on his lap.

"Bonnie," Derek perked up then. "The witch, Stiles was learning from. Maybe she can help."

"Do you think it's the same one?" Isaac turned the computer so Derek could see.

"There's only one way to find out."

Within fifteen minutes Derek had managed to confirm that this was the same witch and had gotten her number.

The phone barely got through the first ring when a velvety voice answered. "Derek?"

"Yes. Bonnie I presume?" Derek had merely explained to her that Stiles was in a magical coma and needed help.

"Is Stiles going to be alright? What happened?" The woman's voice sounded genuinely concerned.

"We went up against a pack of alpha's and he used blood magic."

"No," Bonnie practically pleaded. "I told him it was dangerous. How much did he use? It had to have been a lot to put him in a coma."

"He killed one of them."

The line was silent.

"Hello?" Derek checked to make sure they didn't get disconnected.

"Killing someone takes an obscene amount of blood magic to do that. He really shouldn't have," Bonnie's tone sounded very worried which did nothing to ease Derek's own anxieties.

"A druid friend said he'd wake, but that there might be side effects. He didn't know how irreversible those side effects would be."

"A lot of times, they aren't but that's usually for long term users. He's only been using magic for a little while so that's hopeful, but he did kill someone using blood magic, that's not promising. I have some sources I can look through. Let me call you back in an hour or so and I'll see what I can't find out. Keep me posted on when he wakes up and what symptoms he shows. Make sure he doesn't wake alone. He'll need to be grounded by friends or family or a pack member, someone he's close to. It'll help keep his mind grounded."

"Okay, thank you. I don't know why you're helping, but thank you," Derek wanted to be suspicious, but he was desperate for any help he could get.

"I'm helping because I care. People as powerful as Stiles need a guide. Without a support group and a guide that's how villains are made. I strive to prevent that. I'll call you soon."

Derek set his phone down once she hung up. He didn't feel any less anxious, but he did feel hopeful that they had someone with the knowledge to combat this.

"Are we trusting her?" Erica crossed her arms over her chest when Derek hung up.

"Yes," Derek nodded sternly.

"Why?"

"Because Stiles trusted her."

That seemed to be answer enough because Erica only nodded, not bothering to argue any further.