ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ °Stiles Stilinski° Teen Wolf

∇ɴᴏᴛ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ᴡᴇʟʟ∇

⭕Loralie⭕

I open my eyes, hearing the steady beat of a heart monitor. I gaze around the hospital room until my eyes find Derek gazing down at me with a content smile on his face. "Hey," I say sleepily as I push myself up into a sitting position, groaning as my bullet wounds throb painfully. "Hi."

"How long have I been here?"

"Just a few hours."

"When can I leave?" He chuckles and that's when the door opens. I look over and see Melissa peek her head inside. She sees I'm awake and opens the door fully. "How's our patient feeling?"

"Like I got shot three times," I say not feeling well at all. "Grumpy," Derek says playfully and I give him a look. "How soon will I be released?" I ask Melissa and she looks down at her clipboard. "Um, well we want to keep you for observation and I know you're... Supernatural but the best I can do is tonight."

"Tonight?"

"That's the best I could do. They wanted to keep you here for far longer. If you want to leave any earlier you'll have to sign a form."

"Okay, I'll sign. Thanks, Melissa," I say rubbing at my eye. "No problem. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." She nods and dismisses herself. "Derek, can I use your phone?" He nods and reaches into his pocket and pulls it out. I take it from him and dial Melody's number. I hold it up to my ear and listen to it ring.

Sadly all I get is her voicemail. I sigh and leave a message before hanging up. "She must be busy," I say but I can't help but feel she's still avoiding me. "She's probably just in class."

"Yeah." I pull strands of hair behind my ear and look around the hospital room. Suddenly I remember Ellie and my heart wrenches. "Derek, do you know what happened to Ellie?" I stare down at my hands as I clasp them together.

"I took care of her," he said with sadness in his voice and it was all the answer I needed. Eventually my eyes are drawn back towards Derek who's still staring at me. "What?" I ask and he rubs his chin thoughtfully, the light in his eyes dimming slightly. "I was worried." Is all he says and I stare at him for a moment.

I take my hand away from my stomach and hold it out to him. He glances down at it before slipping his hand into mine. "They're gonna have to try harder in order to take me away from you and Melody. A lot harder. So, don't worry, Der-Der." His eyes widen slightly before a warm smile appears on his face.

"I haven't heard you call me that since ninth grade."

"Well, you always claimed that you weren't a child anymore so..."

"Doing it in front of my friends didn't help either," he says, chuckling with amusement and I smile. I remember how mean his friends could be and how they liked to tease him. Especially when he started seeing Paige.

I look up into his hazel eyes seeing the happiness in them. He was such an exuberant child that it was a surprise when I came back one month to see the cocky teen he had turned into at the beginning of high school. I wasn't all that worried he was still sweet and kind. But after what happened to Paige I saw his smile less and less.

Then after the fire he had completely closed himself off. I wish I could say I had been there for him, but after the funeral service I had to go back to Portland. I wasn't there to comfort him when he needed me. My thoughts are derailed when I feel Derek's hand cupping my face, his thumb stroking my cheek.

I focus back on him and could tell my eyes betrayed my thoughts. "Derek-" He cuts me off by pressing his lips against mine in a short kiss, his stubble brushing against my skin. He pulls away and gazes lovingly into my eyes. "Whatever it is I couldn't care less. Past mistakes are exactly where they should be. In the past. All I care about is the future." I smile and press my forehead against his.