Chapter 3
The hospital was eerily quite for once. The electricity lines had newer, stronger reinforcements and half of the hospital was rebuilt since the last supernatural attack.
Six whole months without a single animal attack wound, or Supernatural being, or Stiles on his eighth concussion. The hospital staff could have a moment of peace. All was well. Yeah. No.
"HELP!"
If they could there would've been a collective groan of all hospital staff.
Melissa ran up to Stiles with a cart ready to put him on, what she wasn't expecting to see was Malia carrying a bloodied up girl in her arms.
"What happened to her?" One of the doctors asked as she put pressure onto the wound Stiles recently was tending to.
"I'm not sure, she just knocked on my door and said some idiots shot her, then she passed out." Stiles explained.
"We can take it from here." And Hermione was wheeled off to the other end of the hospital.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Stiles contemplated calling Derek for over an hour. He was just staring at his phone at the contact name. What was he supposed to say?
'Hey murderous werewolf, you're presumably dead cousin who you'vebeen mourning for the past four months showed up at my door. Yeah she didnt die in the war, but she might die from the bullet that'slodged in her abdomen.'
He didnt think so. Just as he was about to call, the wolf himself called.
"You're late to the meeting."
"hey Derek." His voice was solemn and the complete opposite of his usual sarcastic manner.
"Stiles?"
"Ok, I'm here at the hospital with Malia. A girl named Hermione Granger knocked on my door. She had been shot."
'Way tolet it down easy Stiles. Frickin idiot'
"I'm on my way"
And then he hung up. Around seven minutes later Derek came bursting through the hospital doors almost knocking over Mrs. McCall and running towards the waiting area.
Where is she?" He asked and for the first time since he read the letter he showed a bit of emotion. It was desperation.
"She's just out of surgery now. The doctor told us to wait here and she would tell us when Hermione was awake." Malia informed him.
Derek wasn't paying attention to anything going on around him. He just kept thinking of Hermione.
'She is alive'
He repeated it like a mantra in his head hoping he would convince himself that it wasn't a joke.
He remembered the first time he shifted in front of Hermione.
(Flashback for the plots sake)
He had just learned how to control his wolf. He was sixteen years old and ready for his first basketball game of the season. Since Hermione was over for Halloween this year he wanted to make a good impression. Or at least a good enough one for his cousin. Hermione was far from cool. She had an arm full of books and hair that you could get lost in, but it was only her opinion that mattered to Derek.
At first it was Peter's. He wanted Peters validation for everything but Hermione told him to wise up. She was having a hard time at school with her bullies and he wanted to let her have a nice time tonight. Honestly he couldn't wait to show off his encyclopedia of a cousin to his friends. They all bragged about how smart their siblings were and how they were all sports, but Cora hated reading and Laura was in New York.
When the final whistle blew and beacon high won for the fifth time in a row, Derek ran straight over to Hermione who jumped up to give him a hug. As much as he loves Cora, and he does with all his heart, Hermione was his sister.
After the match, the winning team went out to eat. They would brag and eat. Now most people would say "why would any of these people be bragging about their younger siblings? Do they not despise them?" They do but they're all going on sports scholarships and someone brought up smarts one day, and so let the battle begin.
Most of them were saying how their younger siblings one first place in a science tournament or something of the sort. Then it was his turn.
"My cousin got accepted into a boarding school in the Scottish mountains where only the academically gifted go"
They all laughed at him, as if he told a funny joke.
"And what's the name of the Scottish boarding school?"
"Hogwarts" oh and the just laughed louder. He could feel the anger rush through his veins, but he took a few calming breaths.
"Why don't I just introduce her to you. Hey Hermione!"
He heard a few of them laugh presumably at her name but he just tried to block it out.
"Hey sourpuff. I'm assuming these are your team-mates? Good game today." She shook the hand of the person nearest to her.
"Wow that's a lot of hair. Ever heard of a comb?" The team snicked and Hermione's face went flushed with embarrassment, then, of course, anger.
"Ever heard of double dribbling? Because I caught you doing that three times on the court number fourteen"
Derek tried holding in a laugh but failed.
"Aren't you a smart little one. Cant believe you're related to this big oaf of a player."
Derek knew that he was joking, Hermione knows what bullying is, but Harry doesn't bully her. He wrecks her head, yes.
Player number fifty-nine, your comment is not appreciated" she sassed back.
"Oh calm yourself Buck tooth. Derek says your smart. How smart can you be exactly, you're here trying to verbally go up against a whole team of boys who are so many years older than you. Bad decision. Why don't you and your birds nest of hair, waddle on outside"
Derek got angrier and angrier with every word spoken from his team-mates mouth because with every word he could see Hermione shrink back into herself slowly.
Thalia must have heard something while she was outside because she quickly ran through the doors.
She could smell the hatred and unfiltered anger coming off of her youngest son and embarrassment off her niece.
Hey Derek why don't you bring Hermione back outside. I know she's dying to tell you about the new and easier way she found out to do quadratic equations."
Without further prompting both the youths ran outside, Derek running straight past them all and into the woods. Hermione, not knowing any better, ran right after him.
"Derek if you can hear me i just wanted to say in sorry for embarrassing you in front of your team"
It was dead silent and darker as she went further into the labyrinth of trees.
"Derek?"
She unsheathed her wand from her sleeve as a precaution, even though she wasn't allowed to use it yet.
A twig snapped behind her and she twisted back sharply.
"Derek?" The girl was uneasy and uncomfortable.
"Come on Hermione you faced a mountain troll last week, you can face a deer" she muttered to herself.
"You faced a what!" Derek huffed stepping out from behind a tree. He had fully shifted. In all truthfulness, Hermione should have been terrified. But here she was, barely twelve years old facing a monster.
He looked down ashamed of his bright blue eyes he was still uncomfortable wearing.
It was silent again, all you could here was the wildlife fluttering around the place.
Then she did something he didn't expect.
"Ppppfffttt you look like an angry puppy!" She said through her fits of laughter.
And that's when he knew it was ok.
(Extremely long and useless but cute flashback over)
"Family of Hermione Granger? She's waking up"
Derek snapped his head up and started to walk towards the doctor.
"Is she ok?" Derek was the first to get up. Relief was written on his face
"I'm assuming you're Derek Hale. I can legally discuss her medical side with you as you are her primary contact" the doctor stressed
"It's phenomenal. The bullet missed everything! The only way it could have done that was to precisely swerve inbetween each bone, organ and artery with precision."
"Yep. Hermione has always been the luckiest of unlucky people."
The doctor giggled.
"Do you know of any other medical issues that she may have had in the last year or so?"
"Not that i know of?" he frowned, then again he hadnt seen her in four years.
"She has multiple surgical like scars and burns on her body. But the scars are strange. It looked as if they were glued together rather than stitches which isnt typical for scars of this magnitute.." The doctor stressed.
Derek was taken aback. He knew his cousin would be fighting in a magical war and she wouldnt come out of it unscathed. But covered in scars? He didnt expect it.
"You can see her in around thirty minutes. Who ever brought her in made it just in time" she praised.
"Stiles brought her in. I think it's the first time in a year he's been here without an issue to do with himself." The doctor chuckled one last time before she left Derek at the room door.
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~
Stiles waited near the reception area, Malias head in his lap as she drooled and snored in her sleep. It still amazed him how fast she could fall asleep. Derek had only walked away with the doctor three minutes ago and in one minute she had her feet up and her head on his legs, by minute two she was out.
Derek came back and plopped beside Stiles with a sigh.
The teen sat up straight.
"How is she?" he asked quickly.
"The bullet missed everything important, I can see her in thirty minutes" the corners of his mouth twitched but he controlled it before the younger man saw it.
Stiles sunk back into his chair in relief, then was met by Malias animalistic growl.
"Growly Growly we get it" he scoffed and she growled again before relaxing again.
"How am i related to that?"
"Is that humour I hear Derek?" Stiles insinuated.
"I'll remove your throat... with my-"
"Teeth! called it" Stiles said smugly.
Both Derek and Malia growled at the same time, for different reasons but all the same, angry supernatural creatures.
"Oh mY god i'm surrounded. I dont even have my bodygaurds to protect me. Angry puppies," Stiles exclaimed.
Derek grumbled for another minute before settling down and grabbing the first magasine he saw, then promptly put it back making Stiles giggle quickly.
'tips for breast feeding and vaginal care after birth'
"Guys it's not your kind of magasine" Malia snorted
"Shut up"
As they waited, the minutes seeming more like hours as time went on, the rest of the pack slowly arrived and filled the remaining seats in the waiting room. Stiles was nervous. He'd already been told off twice for his consistent leg bouncing and finger tapping but he couldn't help it. A girl, Derek's presumably dead cousin, almost died on his porch.
His train of thought was broken however by the sound of the ward door opening. At at last,
"She's ready for visitors"