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" Never a dull moment when you're on the job, huh?"
" I'm not supposed to be on the job. I was half way through a bottle of the good stuff, and now here we are." Stiles groaned, climbing up the stairs to what looked to be an old building that never should have been lived in. He had his hands around one end of a gurney, his partner; Matt, holding onto the other, the bag of equipment over his back since Stiles was still trying to fight down that hangover.
" Don't worry, this is probably another college party gone wrong. Eight more floors to go."
" Jesus Christ."
Stiles was breathless, staggering slightly, bumping into a wall, then another, before he found his footing again, shook the lightheadedness away and continued down the noisy hall, seeking out the source of the call.
" Call out if you need help, the paramedics are here, just tell us where you are."
" Over here. Room 442."
" I'm pretty sure that's a new sex position I've seen in yesterday's porn."
" Shut up, Matt." Stiles rolled his eyes, giving a rather aggressive shove causing Matt to stumble slightly, as he put the gurney down, started putting on gloves, and searching the filthy surroundings for a patient.
" I'm Stiles Stilinski, this is my partner Matt Gerard, can you tell me what – "
" Stiles?" Stiles squinted against the flaring headache, blinked, before his eyes widened in sheer shock.
" Derek? Holy – is that really you? Wait, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?"
" No, uh, I'm okay. I – I live here. Not in this apartment, but two floors down. They were having another party and when I came up to tell them off about the noise, this girl tumbled down the stairs and passed out. Everyone scattered except for her drunk friends throwing up in the bathroom. She regained consciousness just now. You're an actual paramedic now? Certified and all?" Stiles willed himself to react despite his bewilderment, as he snorted, shook his head slightly.
" Don't act so surprised. We knew I had to be good for something."
" Stiles, if you don't mind, I could use a bit of help here." Matt tugged at his legs, as Stiles squatted to the ground, taking the girl's hand to check for her vitals and connect an IV that they looked to be needing more and more by the minute.
" Okay, what have we got?"
" Head trauma, spinal cord injury, leading to cervical dissociation, but we can't be sure without X-rays. We need to get moving."
" Shit, okay, what's your name, miss? I'm Stiles, can you tell me what your name is, huh? Can you do that for me?" Stiles' fingers were professionally poking where they needed to, inspecting, searching, something like a comforting smile across his lips.
" Paula."
" Great, you're doing great, Paula. Can you try moving your toes for me?" Her entire figure was convulsing, but she managed to put some force behind the twitching of her toes.
" Brilliant. You're doing so good. Now, squeeze my hand, slow and easy." Stiles was almost unseeing to the blood she smudged around his palms, as she attempted a squeeze that was barely there.
" Awesome, alright, same thing, other hand. Give it your best shot." This time, there was nothing at all. Her hand was limp in his, unresponsive. She tilted her head to the side, confused as to why she couldn't feel it, couldn't feel much of anything any more. Tears started falling against her cheeks, dissolving into all the pools of blood forming around them.
" Stiles." Derek said, from somewhere far, far away.
" No, no, don't cry, it's nothing to worry about, Paula. Trust me. We're going to take good care of you. Do you go to college near here?" She closed her eyes around more tears, nodding with a choked breath.
" Paula, you have to stay awake for me, okay? We'll talk for a while, I'll keep your company, just don't close your eyes. So, tell me, what do you study?"
" Criminology."
" No way! You know, my dad was the sheriff of our hometown, so I lived with that field my whole life. How many years do you have left?" He put the cervical collar around her neck, maintaining a calm and caring tone as to not startle her.
" Two more years. I don't want to die." She crumbled, her voice sounding raw, like it'd hurt her to keep it together for as long as she had.
" Hey, who said anything about dying? You're not going to die, Paula. We're not going to let you. Just stay with me, and we'll fix you right up." Stiles patted her hand comfortingly, nodding at Matt as they shifted her weight enough to move her onto their gurney.
" Ready?" Matt questioned, earning another firm nod from Stiles, as they each held onto an end of the gurney, rising to a standing position simultaneously.
" Eleven floors. We can do this." Stiles whispered under his breath, trying to encourage himself, as Matt started moving out the apartment, and he followed.
" To the people at the bathroom, drink some water, take two pills of any mild painkiller, and if you feel worse in a few hours, call an ambulance."
" What about me? Where do you want me?"
And – oh. Derek was still there, looking at Stiles with wide, expectant, eyes, hidden behind black, square glasses. Stiles tried really hard to shake away the hundreds of inappropriate answers to Derek's question, clearing his throat.
" Uh, we've got it from here. You can, go home, I don't know."
" I don't.. think I should leave her. Is it okay if I – if I come with?"
" I mean – "
" Stiles!"
" Fine, okay, fucking hell, you can come if you want to, but we need to get moving."
Stiles fastened his pace to keep up with Matt's, as they maneuvered their way down the stairs, trying not to stir Paula too much. Stiles tried to talk to her, keep her alert, but he was having trouble with the stairs and the breathlessness and the burning in pretty much all his muscles. So Derek tried to fill the silence if it stretched on, every time her eyes got closer to falling completely shut. Stiles had to remember to thank him for this some time.
" Stop, stop, stop." Stiles called out, somewhere between the fifth and fourth floors. He crashed his shoulder into the wall, tightening his grip around the gurney, as he tried to catch his breath.
" What? What is it?"
" Paula is trying to say something. She's been throwing a fit for the past three floors. What, Paula? We're almost there, are you okay?"
" I can't – you can't take me to the hospital. I can't afford it and – "
" Paula, there's nothing else we can do. We're paramedics, our job is to stabilize the patient enough to transfer them to the nearest hospital. Financials aren't our thing, I can't help you with that."
" I – I'm fine, something for the pain will help, I'll be okay, please, just – "
" No, no, that's not going to work. You're hurt. Pretty bad too. Painkillers aren't going to fix this, Paula. This is serious. You have to listen to me."
" You don't get it, I could get deported." Choking sounds started falling past her lips again, her figure trembling with resurfacing sobs.
" Calm down, Paula, please. What do you mean deported?"
" I'm here with a student visa but my family couldn't come here legally. They're all still back home and – they can't afford to pay for any medical bills. They're barely managing my college fees and – I have two more years to go. I can't go home yet, please, just – " Her eyes started rolling into the back of her head, her eyelids faltering. Stiles cursed, slowly put her down as Matt did the same from his end.
" Shit, fuck, she's crashing. We have to intubate."
Matt held her mouth open, as Stiles tried to intubate without harming her vocal cords. He wiped sweat away from his furrowed eyebrows, exhaling slowly, before retracting from her throat, announcing that he was in. Matt bagged her, pressing down once, to follow the movement of her chest, sighing out in relief when it was normally timed.
" What do you want to do?" Matt asked, noting Stiles' hands running down the length of his face, his shoulders hunched tiredly.
" It's not like we have an option here, Matt. It's our job, we have to get her to the hospital."
" Consent is part of it though. You can't help a patient that doesn't want to be helped."
" Does it look like she's in any condition to make a call here?" Stiles snapped, his jaw ticked in frustration. Matt startled, put both hands in the air in a sign of surrender, but he said nothing because he knew how much Stiles took it all to heart. He'd been working with him long enough to know how he got when he was overwhelmed, and it always came from a good place.
" Okay, so what do you think we should do?"
" Keep moving. I'll handle things when we get to the hospital."
" You sure?"
" Whatever happens, it's on me, okay? It was my call. Come on, let's go." Stiles stood, didn't wait for Matt. He didn't really have to, because they'd both fallen into this knowing process, they knew how to react to the other's actions, learned how to expect a thing or two.
So they climbed down the few floors they had left, Derek following closely behind. When they got back to the ambulance, Matt got in to drive and Derek rode in the back with Stiles and Paula. On the way over, Stiles made a few phone calls, trying to find a way around the lawful side of things. Once Matt stopped in front of the hospital, Stiles helped him carry the gurney out, pushing it into the ER and calling out what little information they had, excluding the information about her Visa and family situation. Matt followed suit, understanding where Stiles' mind was headed.
" You're heading out now?"
" No, I think I'm going to stick around for a while. See if there's anything I can do for her."
" Alright, man, well I'm still on shift so I have to keep moving. Hit me up if you need any back-up."
" Will do. Thanks, buddy." They shared a quick hug, and with a pat on Stiles' back, and a casual goodbye to Derek, Matt was off, leaving Stiles and Derek alone in the middle of the ER, feeling like years hadn't passed at all, like nothing had changed since werewolves and alphas and hunters.
" Come on, let's go for some air. She's probably going to be in surgery for a while." Stiles tipped his head towards one of the exits, already moving away from Derek and all the familiarity enveloping them both.
" Wait, just – slow down. This is.. crazy. It's been years, Stiles, how – why are you so calm right now?" Stiles chuckled weakly, but didn't seem to stop walking.
" Dude, this is as weird to me as it is to you. It's been what, ten, twelve years?"
" More or less."
" And I find you in LA, out of all the places in the world, this is where we both end up." Stiles shook his head minutely in disbelief, held the door open for Derek and waited. He waited until Derek's instinctively started following, chasing, nearing.
They made it onto the roof, with two water bottles and an energy bar to fight off the lingering hangover. Stiles' head was angled backwards, the veins of his neck apparent, protruding, pulsing beneath his skin. His eyes were peacefully closed, his chest rising and falling with the deep breaths he took in and released. Derek remembered this; remembered how it used to feel, how it still felt, how bewildered he was by how beautiful Stiles actually was.
Stiles smiled softly, like he could still sense Derek's eyes, every time they lingered too long, stared with something like longing, like an aching desire.
" So, what brought you to LA? What have you been doing since Beacon Hills?"
" Well, Cora and I travelled for a while, didn't stay in one place for too long. Then, she went to college, and I went back with her. She has her own gym now, they have all sorts of Marshall Arts classes and self-defense and whatnot. She loves it, but it's not in LA, it's in Iowa."
" Sounds like Cora to me." Stiles hummed, grinning in remembrance, fondness.
" So how come you're in LA and not Iowa?"
" Because of my son."
" Woah, you have a son? An actual little human being that needs to be taken care of and fed and all that?" Derek laughed, shaking his head to himself because Stiles was still everything he remembered him to be. Everything he'd loved and missed and tried to find almost everywhere.
" Yeah, can you believe I haven't killed it yet?"
" I actually can’t. I think I need a physical proof of life."
" Maybe I'll introduce you two then." Stiles lit up, brightened so intensely, so suddenly, it would have blinded Derek, if it wasn't so fucking endearing.
" Wait, but, where is he? What's his name? Oh my God, I can't believe you have an actual child. You're a dad, what the hell?"
" He's with his mum for the week." Stiles' face discreetly fell, confusion clouding his previous excitement.
" Mum, huh? That's.. nice. Are you, like, together, or, I don't know – "
" No, no. God, no. It was a one-night stand gone wrong. Or really fucking right, depending on how you look at it. She texted me months after that night, I was all the way to Rhode Island by then. But I came back, went to all the appointments with her, and five months later, I had Oliver in my arms and I just, I never wanted to let go. So I stayed. He stays with me most of the time, because his mother works and studies at the same time. He's three years old and four months now and he's the best."
" Do you have a picture? I'm really curious to see if he looks like you or Cora. Hopefully not Peter though." Derek nodded, proud, ecstatic, as he took the wallet out of his back-pocket, taking out two pictures he had of his son, one of him alone, and the other with his best friend.
" Holy shit, he's adorable. He has your eyes, Derek. Wow, that's incredible."
Stiles stared at the pictures for a few moments, smiling with adoration in his eyes, before handing the pictures back to Derek, refocusing his eyes onto the view. He thought of his head hitting against his steering wheel and Derek's limbs surrounding him in that pool. He thought of Derek's body sprawled across stairs and his claws going through Boyd's chest. He thought of the night they found Cora and how devastated Derek still was, because of Erica, even in his happiest moments.
" It's crazy how much you remind me of home."
" I know, right? It's like.. it feels different, but – not. Like we're those people again, we're always going to be those people when it comes to each other. I don't know how I feel about that." Derek huffed out something like a laugh.
" It's comforting. Nice. Things tend to change so fast, but at least that won't. That tiny bit of home."
" But you've always been good, Stiles. And you still are. Maybe even better than I remember you to be."
" And you still think too highly of me. And too little of yourself." Derek furrowed his eyebrows, denying the kind sentiment behind the statement.
" I don't know about that, I mean, you're a paramedic now, you save lives all the time, with no super healing or claws or – any of it."
" Dude, you saved a life tonight too. And you have a little life that you're preserving and nurturing, you have no idea how awesome that is." Derek shook his head humbly, looking away from Stiles, feeling the blush rising against his skin.
" He is pretty awesome, I'll give him that. You're still the better guy out of the two of us. Always have been." Stiles laughed, pushed his shoulder into Derek's jokingly.
" Whatever, give me those." He took Derek's glasses, putting them on, and letting the sound of Derek's laugh resonate in the empty cavities of his chest, bringing something to life that had been buried for years.
And when Derek squinted his eyes opened slightly, looked at Stiles mid-laugh, Stiles nodded, smiled back, marveling upon how easy it all was with him. Almost, too easy, it felt like nothing at all.
They started paging Stiles to tell him that Paula was out of surgery and waking up. He gave Derek back his glasses, guiding him towards the exit they used before. He brushed past a few nurses that seemed to recognize him, he respectfully greeted them, rushing past them before they could ask too many questions. He found Paula's room, looked at the charts to make sure everything went smoothly with the surgery, before he pulled a chair closer to her bed, and sat down. Derek imitated his movement, feeling awkward and slightly misplaced.
" So, uh, do you have someone? You know, seeing anyone?" Stiles tilted his head over his shoulder, smirking at Derek knowingly.
" Straight to the point, huh?" Derek shrugged, trying – and failing – to hide the heated blush intensifying across his cheeks.
" No, I'm not. I haven't had anything serious for a while now."
" Good to know."
" Is it now?" Stiles chuckled and Derek did too, and that was when Paula's breathing shifted, her eyelids flickering like she was trying to awake.
" Hey you, welcome back. Remember me?" Paula's eyes moved away from the hospital room and the tubes and machines, to Stiles. But when she blinked him into focus, her eyes started filling up with tears, as she remembered what had happened last.
" Hey, shh, it's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promised you, didn't I? We worked it all out for you."
" Wh – what do you mean? How?"
" The surgeon who worked on you is a family friend, basically, so he doesn't care about getting paid for his work. Which leaves us with the hospital fees, like the room and equipment and all that. And future fees for physiotherapy and medications excreta."
" I don't need it. I can go home now."
" No, you can't. And you won't have to. My dad, the sheriff I told you about, called a few favors in and ICE won't know anything about this. And the hospital fees are covered, my mother-in-law knows everybody here, and we'll pay whatever we can, on however long of a time period we need, it's fine. As for the physiotherapy, you and I are going to work out a schedule that works for both of us, and I'm going to personally do it with you. Whatever you need. Okay? That sounds good?" She cried even harder then, and Stiles didn't know what to do, until she opened her arms, started reaching out for him. So, he leaned down, holding himself to her without disheveling her too much.
" I don't know what to say. Thank you, so much. I owe you my life. Thank you, Stiles."
" Don't worry about it. It's okay, just rest up and feel better now." Stiles squeezed her one last time, before helping her ease back into a laying position. She nodded, her eyes taking too long to open every time she blinked.
" Thank you too, Derek."
" You know my name?"
" Everyone in the building knows your name. Oliver talks a lot about you."
" You know Oliver too?"
" That kid pops up everywhere. He's adorable, everybody loves him. Thank you for helping. And not leaving." Paula yawned, sinking her head further into her pillow.
" Of course, Paula. Get some rest." And she did, almost immediately.
" Guess for today, there's no better man between us."
" Guess not." Derek hummed, contemplative, thoughtful.
Stiles wrote down his name and number on a piece of paper, put it in Paula's good hand, in case she needed it. He told the nurses on shift to page him with any updates, as he started walking out of the hospital, followed by Derek that was trying to brace himself for – something.
" So, I guess – "
" Want to come to Oliver's best friend's birthday party next Sunday?" Derek said, all in one breath, like he had to force the words out.
" What? Like on a date?"
" It doesn't have to be a date. No, it's a kids' party, and I don't want to be alone there with all those parents. Plus, we said we'd introduce you to Oliver, even if as – "
" Because if it is a date, I better dress up. Bring my A-game." Stiles inched closer, face so close to Derek's, they could kiss. That was of course, if Derek wasn't so close to passing out.
" Yes. A date. Yes."
" Good." Stiles brought his lips right by Derek's, before moving them away, leaving a kiss on his cheek instead.
" See you Sunday. I'll bring my own beer." Stiles started walking down the road, hand in the air to wave goodbye.
" It's a birthday party for a three year old, Stiles!"
" I'll bring some juice too, Derek, I'm not completely useless." He called out, never once turning back to face Derek, who laughed and laughed, and wondered if he was ever going to be able to stop.
Knowing Stiles – and how stupidly in love he seemed to still be with him – he probably wouldn’t.
He didn't really mind that at all.