Not even a Lannisters Send their Regards

[fadingspark]

The thing about winter is that the sun still sets early, leaving a person to leave their job in darkness. The parking lot outside of Stilinski Designs was lit only by one street lamp. Stiles, having worked later than normal, was jiggling his keys as he stood with Bill and Lyle for 20 minutes, working out a coding problem they were having before he finally left the office for his car.

"Of course the day we have code issues is the first Monday of the year," he muttered, shaking his keys as he tried to find the right one for the jeep. Just as he finds it, there is a shadow from the light that falls over him, making him look up.

Someone stood there, all in black down to the mouth-less ski mask. The gun aimed at him made Stiles gulp, and he went to raise his hands. "Okay, just take it easy... I'm not going to..."

The gunshot rang out, and Stiles shut his eyes a moment before he felt the impact in his stomach. Time seemed to slow down as his keys slipped from his fingers, and then he fell to his knees He looked back up at the masked person, and they just watched a moment.

"What... not witty line?" Not even a Lannisters send their regards. The masked person just walked away moments before the door to the building opened and Billy and Lyle came running out. Stiles tried to call to them, but he instead looked down at where one of his hands had gone to touch the sore part of his stomach and it came back red.

"Stiles?" Billy took a few steps forward, looking to see if there was anyone else there but the parking lot was now empty. "Stiles!" At that, they both ran to him, and Billy pulled Stiles into him as they knelt beside him, hands going to press into the bleeding wound. "Come on, buddy, stay with us."

Lyle was calling 911, and then while he was talking to them on headset, his fingers were playing on his phone and he knelt down to show Billy the wiki-how on treating gunshot wounds. Billy nodded, going through the checklist and doing his best to keep Stiles conscious and talking to him.

But as the pain started to overcome him, even as he heard the sirens approaching, Stiles gripped Billy's arm. "Tell Dina... and Cora..."

"Nuh uh, you're going to tell them anything themselves," Billy said as he nodded for Lyle to wave the ambulance down. "Just hang on, Stiles."

"Tell them... I love them..." he said, and then he just passed out to the pain.

-------------

Once they were at the hospital, Billy and Lyle were on their phones calling the others. But first, they make the calls to the emergency contacts: Sheriff Stilinski, and Talia Hale. They are both told the same thing: Stiles was shot. Stomach. Didn't see who did it. He's in surgery. Doctors won't tell them anything more. Santa Clarita Midtown Hospital. The cops are coming to talk to them, so they will wait.

And the two will wait, shaken to their bones as they wait for someone to arrive who can get more news.

They had all thought this was over. Was it? Or was it just Stiles being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Comments

[impetere]

She laughs a bit at that, before getting to her feet. "I'll go with you. Give them some time by themselves."

She could use the time to stretch her legs anyway.

[fadingspark]

That's fine. Stiles will sit there and listen to his daughter tell him all about everything she learned at preschool and playing fetch with the twins and Grandpa trying to cook and Grandma needing to help him.

Scott sighed as he led Cora down the hall. "He's doing much better now."

[impetere]

"Yeah, he is," she nods as she follows him, hands sliding into her pockets. "Being in here is going to drive him crazy, but he looks a lot better."

[fadingspark]

"Well, Jason told my mom that he would need to be in for two weeks to heal. Seeing that he's basically slept through one week, we only have to keep him sane for about ten days." Scott fished out the plastic bag he had filled with quarters at this point for the vending machines.

"If we can bring him his computer, it'll help."

[impetere]

"It probably will, yeah." She comes to a stop in front of it and scans her choices. "I can stay too. I have the sick time to use."

[fadingspark]

"You sure you want to do that? He's going to get used to you being there every day, and it'll make it hard when you go back to your life after he's back at your mom's."

[impetere]

"Maybe. But I don't really want to be away from him right now. I'm still not entirely sure the threat is gone." It's that instinctive need to protect her mate, to be there for him and help him heal, and she can deal with whatever complications come with it later.

[fadingspark]

Scott looked over at her, then chuckled and handed her the quarter bag as he went to grab his bag of Cheetos. No, he got it, but it was just so odd, and yet so right, to see it all again in them.

"You know, I seem to remember a few years back, a girl very angry that a boy wanted to make all his life decisions based around the needs of a girl he loved more than he needed to breathe. Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to her."

[impetere]

Cora's head ducks a bit at that, hair falling in front of her face for a moment before she tucks it back behind her ear. She knows he's just teasing her a little, but she can't help the way that it sinks into her stomach a bit.

"She grew up." There's a beat. "And she also wasn't recovering from a gunshot wound in the hospital at the time."

[fadingspark]

"True." He got his drink next, getting something for Dina as well. "And if it means anything - I like the way you two are now better. I don't like what you two went through to get here, but yeah. For what it's worth, anyway."

[impetere]

"I think we needed it." She pauses for a moment before shaking her head. "Not everything he went through, but ... the space. I don't think we were ready then. I know I wasn't."

[fadingspark]

"He was," Scott had to point it out. "But Stiles has always had that ability to know what he wants. I think he forgets we don't think the same way he does."

[impetere]

She nods a bit as she steps up to take her turn at the vending machine, punching in her choice before turning back to him. "I was always jealous of that. And I wanted more than anything to be sure of this, of him, but I wasn't. I knew it wouldn't be fair to him if I kept trying to fake it."

[fadingspark]

Scott was quiet a moment, wondering something that he had often told himself. "Do you blame yourself for what happened to him? I mean, I know I do. Blame myself, not me blaming you."

[impetere]

She's quiet for a moment as she watches the bag of chips drop to the bottom of the machine, before nodding. "He doesn't want me to. He says that he got himself into it, and he made the choices, but I can't help but think that if I handled it better or knew what I wanted then or just ... stayed, even if I didn't think I should, things would be different for him."

[fadingspark]

Scott opened the soda slowly. "Sometimes I think I should have known. He was my best friend, you know. I know him better than I know myself most of the time. So I look back and I keep thinking when he started to withdraw from us all, that something was wrong. That I should have gone out there and brought him home sooner."

He looked over at Cora a moment. "There a part of me that wonders if he didn't really want out of it. And with bad things like this still happening to him..."

Scott didn't know how to say what he was thinking. He knew Cora wouldn't hurt Stiles, but he was worried that Stiles would try and eventually sabotage himself and what he had. That the willingness to take on so much pain, to be able to just shut himself off... it had to come from somewhere and Scott didn't want this to bring it all back.

[impetere]

She watches Scott for a moment, somehow figuring out what he's thinking without him actually having to say it. She purses her lips for a moment, before nodding.

"I'm not letting him go this time. If he starts to shut down on me, I'll fight tooth and nail to bring him back. He says he gave up on me and that's how he wound up there in the first place." She still doesn't really understand what he means by that, when she was the one who let him go, but that isn't the point. "I'm not giving up on him."

There's a pause.

"And I'm not really sure your wife will let him."

[fadingspark]

"Or me, or Lydia, Malia or Isaac." Scott nods softly. "Just... if he starts acting different or pushing you away or just - something not him? Let me help?"

[impetere]

She nods. "I'll tell you."

[fadingspark]

Scott nodded, looking a bit relieved. "I don't like being here with him like that. I don't know how you do it."

[impetere]

She stoops to pick up the bag from the machine before shrugging. "I guess I just don't want him to wake up alone."

[fadingspark]

He nods a moment, and then his ears caught the noise of a tiny child squealing down the hall. "I think we may need to rescue him from his daughter..."

[impetere]

She smirks a bit at that before nodding. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

[fadingspark]

By the time they get back to the room, they find Dina having climbed into her father's arms with a book and they were reading, and she was making hand motions and laughing at Stiles' attempts at voices. Her legs were carefully draped over his side to not be on his stomach, but every now and then she would bounce and he was doing his best not to wince.

Yeah, Scott forgot his job was to keep Dina reeled in. Sorry Stiles. "Hey Dina, I got you a grape soda that I'm sure your dad doesn't want you to have..."

Storytime was forgotten as she wiggled herself free and hopped off the bed to hug her uncle and get the soda. Stiles leaned back against his pillows, taking a long breath. "Hey, you're the one who has to deal with the caffeine high later, not me."

[impetere]

Cora moves around them, moving to the edge of the bed and giving his hand a soft squeeze. "You okay?"