Stiles

"Daddy, I'm home from school!" Ben called from the living room as the door slammed shut behind him. It had been a few days since he went back to school, but he still wasn't happy about it. We had started a cycle though. He came home from school at around 3:15 everyday, and when he walked through the door, I had his snack ready. He ambled into the kitchen and crawled up onto the stool at the bar, then flopped his backpack down as he sighed. "I've got to write my numbers up to fifty for homework."

"Ah, hard day?" I asked, watching him bite into an apple slice with a weird face. "Wait, I forgot the peanut butter, didn't I?" I said, scrunching my eyebrows together and immediately grabbing the jar from the cabinet. Ben nodded slightly and smiled as I plopped a large amount on the side of his plate. "There," I mumbled, licking off the spoon. 

"Thank you," Ben replied, his eyes crinkling with his smile. He continued eating his apples and talking about his day. "It wasn't that bad," he said. "I didn't understand some of the words we were learning and- and we have to do a project on our family. . . I started it. Do you wanna see?" He set down his food and unzipped his bag, then dug through a few papers until he found the right one. He set the drawing down in front of me and then continued eating. I stared down at the shapes which resembled people. There was me, holding Ben's hand and smiling. Then above us, there was Derek, with wings like an angel. There was also my dad, on the other side of Ben, dressed up in his sheriff's uniform. "Do you like it, daddy?"

I grinned and walked around the counter to hug his shoulders. "I love it. It's perfect," I replied, kissing the top of his head. He returned the smile as he stuffed it back into his backpack. A few seconds after, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get that," I said softly, squeezing Ben's shoulder. "Be right back."

I walked through the apartment until I reached the front door and then cautiously pulled it open a crack. When I saw Kara's blonde curls, I opened it all the way and raised an eyebrow. "Stiles," she greeted, pushing past me to get inside. "I don't know how many times I've called and texted both of you. I mean, I get that you need some time to yourselves, but Derek told me one day and it's been over a week. You're both ignoring me and Scott, and everyone else. I love you guys, but you can't just-"

"Derek's dead," I cut her off before she could get any further. I felt my chest ache at just those words. I was trying to keep my voice down. I didn't need Ben hearing anything. I was looking at the ground, but when I looked up, I wished I hadn't. Kara's eyes were wide and she stared at me, clutching at her stomach, her face a little green. 

"W-What do you mean?" she stuttered, stumbling backwards slightly. I caught her arm and quickly dragged her into my room, closing the door behind me. Ben wasn't actually a werewolf yet, but he still had exceptional hearing. "Stiles, what the hell is going on?" she asked, her eyes watering. 

I sighed and fell back against the door. "It was Aaron," I whispered, closing my eyes and running a hand through my hair. "I didn't tell you because I wasn't ready. Ben and I, we needed time to heal a little. It hasn't been long enough. I can't go to sleep at night without seeing it. Aaron stabbing that sword through Derek's chest, Derek falling to the ground and his blood surrounding him. It's like everytime I close my eyes, I'm reliving his death. I coudln't do that to you unless I could be there to comfort you. I'm really sorry, Kara."

She bit down on her bottom lip as she shook her head. "Stiles, do not apologize to me. I'm not the one who lost the love of my life. I mean, this still hurts like hell, but you must be in agony," she rambled, then pulled me into a very tight embrace and buried her face in my neck. "I love you, Stiles. You're so important to me, and so was Derek. I wish I could've been here to help you." She sniffed and pulled me against her even tighter, slightly hurting me, but in the best way possible. I thought I was through crying during the day, but I couldn't hold it back now. I didn't have to either, because this was Kara and I trusted her. She didn't care that I was sobbing and getting tears all over her jacket. She just held me and tried to calm me down. 

"Thank you," I said eventually, after I had finally composed myself enough to stop crying. I pulled away from the hug and rubbed at my eyes. "I needed someone else to talk to about this. But you should go back to everyone else. Go back to Will. They all need you too. I have Ben and my dad. I'll be fine." 

Kara nodded softly, but looked guilty. "I don't want to leave you here, but I know you'll stay strong for Ben. And don't worry. You will see me again, okay? I promise I'll be back soon to check on you." She took a deep breath and hugged me again, but less tight so I was able to breathe. "Call if you or Ben need anything. And I mean anything, alright? I'll be here as fast as I can."

"I will," I promised, squeezing her for a few seconds before she pulled away and smiled a little. "Goodbye, Kara. I'll see you soon." She nodded again and pulled the door open. I walked her back to the front door and waved as she climbed back into her car and pulled away. I sighed after she was out of sight and pushed the door shut quietly. 

"Daddy?" Ben called, still sitting in the kitchen. I made my way back to where he was sitting and wrapped an arm around him when I did. He was working on his project, coloring in his people. He paused to look up at me. "Who was here?"

"Just a friend," I replied, ruffling his hair. "How about we go see grandpa?" I asked after a moment of silence. I hadn't seen my dad in over a week and I really needed to. Ben probably missed him too. I wasn't going to tell him about Derek, but I still wanted to see him. "Then maybe hot chocolate?"

Ben grinned wide and hopped off the stool, shoving his paper backinto his bag. "Sounds good," he replied, taking my hand and dragging me towards the door. He tried to open the door immediately and run outside, but I pulled him back into the apartment and laughed a little. 

"Excuse me, but I think you forgot that it's below freezing outside," I scolded, taking his jacket off the hook and handing it to him. He smiled sheepishly and shoved his arms through the right holes and then zipped it up on his own as I put on my own jacket and shoes. "Alright, now we can go." Ben grabbed ahold of my hand again and we walked down to the car together.

+++

"What a surprise!" my dad said, a genuine smile on his face as Ben stripped off his coat and then crawled up on the bed and threw his arms around his neck. "Oh, I missed you guys," he mumbled, squeezing Ben back with one arm. Ben smiled and settled down next to him. Dad wrapped an arm around him, eyes following me as I moved around his bed to sit in the single extra chair. 

"We needed to get out of the house," I explained, putting on my best fake smile. "And we missed you," I added, because I really did miss my dad. I propped my feet up on the edge of his bed and he teasingly grabbed my foot and shook it, a smile on his lips. 

"I'm glad you decided to see me," he replied sincerely, kissing Ben's head. "I'm getting out in a few days. Isn't that good news?" he told us, his face happier than it had been in a long time. It almost made the fake smile on my face feel real. 

"It's great news, dad," I responded, leaning forward to squeeze his hand. "How are you feeling?"

He took a large breath and then slowly let it out. "I've been better, but I've been worse too. I can actually get out of bed now. I've been taking short walks and the pain isn't bad. I can handle it. In a few days, the doctors said the drugs should kick in and start doing their job. I'll be healthy enough to take Ben out for our Saturday breakfasts," he shared, which made Ben smile really big. 

"Really?!" Ben asked, eyes wide with excitement. "I love Saturday breakfast!" He hugged dad's neck and kissed his cheek, which made me grin. I loved seeing them together. It made my heart happy, especially with so much heartache lately. 

"Me too, Ben," Dad said, patting his back to get him to settle down. Ben settled back down and sat still for awhile. Dad asked him about school and Ben talked for awhile about that, about some of his friends and his homework and his teachers. We talked about a lot of things and after awhile of talking, things started to feel normal. I started to think about something other than Derek, but the second silence settled in the room, his face burned in my mind again and I felt like crying all over again. 

After awhile, a nurse came into the room wheeling a cart with dad's food on it and his medicine. After his meal, he was supposed to sleep, so I figured it was time for Ben and I to leave. The nurse smiled at Ben and snuck him one of the extra puddings on the cart before leaving. I waited for him to finish the pudding before getting up and grabbing his coat. 

"We should get going if you still want that hot cocoa," I reminded him, which got him moving fast. 

"Bye Grandpa! I love you," he said, hugging him tight for a second. He climbed out of the bed and snatched the jacket from my hands. "Can we buy it to take home? I wanna watch Home Alone! All of them!" Ben grinned excitedly just at the thought of it, but it wasn't going to happen. He had school tomorrow. 

"We can watch the first one tonight and maybe tomorrow we can watch the other two," I offered, although it wasn't up for discussion. I slipped on my coat and then gave my dad a quick hug and an "I love you." I grabbed Ben's hand and led him out the door, through the hospital, and to the car, where I actually put him in the back this time. I wasn't always a bad parent. 

+++

We didn't have any hot chocolate at home already, so we had to go to the store. It was already six in the afternoon and by the time we got home, it would be 6:30. Ben's bed time was eight on school nights, so we needed to hurry. "Can we get soda?" Ben asked as he wrapped his small fingers around the end of the cart he was riding on. He was the only reason I ever used a cart, because he liked to stand on the end as I pushed him around. 

"No," I replied. "We're getting hot chocolate, Ben," I reminded him, to which he nodded in disappointment, because apparently he really wanted soda. But too bad, because I wasn't caving. "But you can pick out the good brand of marshmallows, even though it cost more."

Ben grinned and hopped off the end of the cart to run around to the next isle. "GOT 'EM!" he yelled and then ran back around to stuff them in the cart next to the milk. He jumped back onto the end of the cart and held on as I moved towards where the hot chocolate was. "Can we get the extra chocolaty one?" he asked, eyes wide and his lip starting to pop out. I wasn't going to be able to tell that face no, especially when the reason for it was chocolate. 

I shrugged. "Why not?"

"Yes! Thank you daddy!" he squealed, grabbing the biggest box of hot cocoa he saw that also had extra chocolate. He dropped it next to the marshmallows and smiled at me. "You're the best."

I rolled my eyes and started off towards the check out. "No, you're the best." Because that was true. I wouldn't be able to even get up on me feet if it weren't for Ben. He really was the best. The best thing in my life right now. 

+++

A wave of confusion settled over me as I pulled into the parking lot. Usually by six, the parking lot was empty. It was already dark, since it got dark earlier in the winter. I couldn't see who it was, but apparently Ben could, because before I even parked the car, Ben was unbuckled and as soon as the car shut off, he was leaping out of the car and running towards the person standing outside the door. 

"Ben, what are you doing!" I called after him. He couldn't just run at random strangers like that. It was odd, for one. "Ben!" I yelled again, jogging to try to catch up. 

"Dad!" Ben yelled, which only confused me further because he didn't call me dad. He only called Derek dad, but Derek wasn't- 

"Oh my God," I mumbled under my breath, stopping dead in my tracks as Ben was picked up in the man's arms. I suddenly couldn't breath and I was overwhelmed with tears of happiness. "Derek?" I shuffled forward, the bag in my hand falling to the ground as he stepped closer and I could see his face. "Oh my God," I repeated, my hands covering my face. This was. . . this was real? I regained my senses and realized I shouldn't have been standing there. I should've been in Derek's arms, kissing him. So that's exactly what I did. 

I ran to him and kissed him as his free arm wrapped around my waist. I ignored all of my tears and the cold, bitter wind. All I cared about in that moment was Derek. He wasn't dead. My life was complete again.