Hey guys! Sorry this is late today, I overslept this morning and had to rush to work before I could post. Okay last chapter... Hope you enjoy how I ended it, let me know what you think :) Thanks to DrewSb and Shadow-Wolf78 for commenting so often- it means so much, and thanks to every reader who took the time to read this whole thing, as well as all the people who took even more time to write to me what you thought. It means a lot to get feedback, negative or positive :) RTP1995- Thanks for changing your view I'm glad you liked how I portrayed him. I was actually thinking of doing another story in 3b but would have to wait until I get a good idea for it. Maybe in a few weeks/ a month or so. Keep a look out :) Anyways, hope you all enjoy!

CHAPTER 26

A few days later, Stiles was released from the hospital. Stiles had begged to be released the next morning after he woke up, claiming that not only was he bored, but also felt bad that he was racking up 'unnecessary' bills. To which of course his father essentially told him to shut up and stop thinking about that. After all, Stiles had come into the hospital and had been comatose for 12 days, followed immediately by a heavy nose bleed, a seizure, and cardiac arrest- essentially dying for over four minutes. There was absolutely no way the hospital was releasing him after one night, and no way his father was in any hurry to get his son out of the hospital before making sure he was in absolute top shape.

When he was finally let out, it was on the condition that he were to stay home and take it easy for another week, resting up as he caught up on school work and make sure his heart was left to recuperate. During that week, the whole pack continuously visited him, especially Scott, who practically moved in. The first night he was home, Scott had come over to check on him, and they'd caught up on everything he'd missed out on. They'd both fallen asleep talking, and the sheriff had burst into the room the next morning with Scotts mother, who scolded him on not letting her know he wasn't coming home the night before. Stiles was snickering as he was scolded, which lead to a small scolding of his own.

Lydia had visited him a couple times, but they were all brief, and she'd always seemed uncomfortable. He had a feeling it revolved around what she'd been a witness to in his mind. Malia hadn't visited him in the hospital anymore after the first night, but on the second night he was home, she snuck into his room through the window. Scott was passed out on the desk chair again, and Malia had crawled onto Stiles' bed and sat next to him, legged crossed as she watched him sleep. As if he could feel the eyes on him, Stiles had woken about ten minutes later. He looked behind him to see a shadowy figure above him and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Holy-! Malia you almost gave me a heart attack!" He whispered loudly, trying not to wake Scott, who was now lightly snoring on the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry!" she whispered quickly with worry, putting her hands up as if to check Stiles' heart. "Are you alright? Should I get your dad?"

"No I'm fine, it was metaphorical. I hope." He said, breathing hard as his heart slowed down.

"That's not funny Stiles."

"Neither is being woken up at-" He checked the clock, "just past two in the morning. Malia what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up I was just checking in on you. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"You know you could have just come during the day." Stiles said, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Malia looked away.

"I wasn't sure you'd want to see me. We never did really resolve things after the break up but- after what happened… I was worried about you." Stiles let out a breath. She was right- with everything that was going on at the time, they'd both just brushed what had happened under the rug. Once everything was solved, they hadn't really spoken about anything. They didn't really know the rules. He understood why she came at night. That had always been their thing. She'd sneak into his room, and they'd spend the night together. Old habits die hard, he thought. He was glad she was there though. He hadn't seen her since the night he'd woken up in the hospital and had been starting to worry she was angry at him. Even if they weren't together, he still wanted her to be a part of his life. After all, they'd been through a lot together. He put his hand on her back.

"Malia I- I'm sorry if I made you feel like I didn't want you here. You're still a part of my life and I'll always care about you." Malia looked up to meet his eyes and nodded before leaning forward and letting him hold her and rub her arm in comfort.

"I thought I was going to lose you."

"Nahhhh I'm fine. I've survived worse." Malia laughed softly. Suddenly, Stiles thought of something.

"Malia? When I woke up, you didn't seem to have any intention of waking me up."

"Yeah, I was checking up on you, I didn't want to wake you up." She said, sitting back up and looking at Stiles.

"Malia… how often have you been doing this?"

"Every night since the hospital." Stiles eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Malia you didn't have to do that- I'm fine."

"Yeah, now" she said, frustrated. "But Stiles, I watched you die. I heard your heart stop. What if your heart is weakened now? What if it stops in the middle of the night and no one is awake to hear it?" She asked, voice rising as she went on.

"Shhh! Scott's sleeping." They glanced over at the other boy in the room just in time for Scott to snort in his sleep and turn over in his chair.

"Ops." Malia whispered.

"Malia, the doctor said my heart was normal. He's only having me on bed rest as an extra precaution, but I'm not going to just drop dead okay? You can't just sneak into my room and watch me sleep."

"Why not? I used to do it all the time." she asked, confused.

Stiles looked at her like she was insane. "Because it's creepy, Malia."

Malia raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging and staring at him as she bit her lip, unsure. He knew her enough to know that expression by heart. She'd stop checking in on him for the most part, but would still occasionally stop by and check in on him until she herself, felt that he was okay. Stiles sighed and Malia got up, walking to the window and opening it. "Malia stop. It's late and you live across town. I'll take the floor- you should sleep here tonight."

"No Stiles, you're hurt- you take the bed."

"Malia this is ridiculous I'm fine I'll take the flo-"

"Stiles. I'm not letting you sleep on the floor." She gave him a hard glare, eyes glowing the softest shade of blue. Stiles swallowed and complied. "Besides, I can take care of myself, I can just go home."

"You walked here didn't you." It wasn't a question. Malia gave Stiles a defiant look and Stiles rolled his eyes as he nodded. "You're not going back out there in this whack job town alone at this time of night. I'll get you a pillow and some blankets." He said, walking out of the room. Malia stayed up another hour on the floor while Stiles fell back asleep, listening to his heart. But with her lack of sleep from spying on Stiles every night, she soon fell asleep. Though Scott had a good amount of questions in the morning, Stiles and Malia were once again on good terms. Malia promised to stop sneaking in his room at night, and instead the two hung out a couple times in his room over the next few days, getting reacquainted as they built their relationship from dating status to simply friends.

Stiles noticed that Scott avoided talking about what had happened in his mind. Neither one was exactly sure of how much the other had seen or remembered, and both of them seemed reluctant to bring it up first. It became an unspoken rule, but it also lead to a sort of tension between the two, and there was only so long it could hold out before it came to a head. As much as he tried to bury it, every time his dad left to work and his friends to school, his mind went back to what he'd seen. It was one thing to live through those memories one by one, with time between them to process what had happened. It was another to live through all of them for a second time like a loop in his head, one thing occurring right after another.

If he was being honest, he wasn't okay- not in the slightest. He hadn't really let himself think on how much more crap he'd had to deal with the last couple of years. How many times he'd almost died. Hell, some of them he hadn't even known he'd remembered. He'd repressed the memory of his mother attacking him, and he'd barely remembered the night his mother died. Emotional trauma or something like that. There were others that now haunted him- the first panic attack he'd gotten after his mother died where his dad had called the paramedics in panic. The time when he was three that his parents sat him down with tears in their eyes and told him that his baby sister he'd been so excited for had passed away in his mother's belly. The mother's day a few months after his mom died where he'd had a meltdown at recess and stormed inside the school and had started throwing anything he could get his hands on until his teacher had caught him and calmed him down. The day not so long ago that he thought he was going to lose his father when the chimera attacked him. The night he thought he was about to lose his best friend to suicide in the parking lot of a creepy hotel. The list went on and on, and the worst part was that he had no idea how much of them Lydia and Scott had seen. He'd been so wrapped up in the memories plaguing him he had no idea when they'd joined him. He remembered seeing them for a split second here or there, but they'd disappeared to his eyes so quickly it was like they hadn't been there at all.

It was for this reason he was so grateful for Scott not wanting to leave most nights, he didn't have time to think. But by the end of his week at home, Stiles couldn't stand the quiet of the house that left his mind to wander to places he didn't want to go. He had to get out. So Stiles got dressed, and started walking. He knew it would be easier to drive his jeep, but the memory of crashing it, or being inside as it was flipped, and of Donovans attack kept running through his mind like fresh wounds, and he couldn't bring himself to drive it right then. And so he walked. He tried to think or something other than what he'd relived. He counted the trees he past, read every street sign, road sign, and house number he passed. And when his mind started to wander back, he stared at the ground and watched his feet move. Right, left, right, left- he began counting his footsteps and could eventually look back at the town surrounding him as he passed a bridge over running water. He took in the sights of his small town, and let himself breathe, just trying to enjoy the day out, and see all the beauty his home town held.

Something he hadn't done since his mother had died.

Claudia Stilinski used to always remind her son that everything was important. "Everything has a purpose Stiles." She'd say as they had 'adventures' in the woods behind their house. "The sun helps the earth, the bugs sustained life, the trees gave us oxygen, and the people help us grow." She'd always say. Stiles remembered this as he walked, and smiled. She'd always wanted him to see the beauty in the world, but taking those adventures and walking those trails had seemed pointless if she wasn't there to share it with. So he'd stopped. But as the memories had plagued his mind the last week, it was all he could think of doing. If there was one good thing that had come out of Theo's attack, it was his mother. They may have been awful memories of her, but she was still there- in his memory. And for that he was thankful. He'd almost forgotten her smile, her voice, her laugh, how her hand had felt in his, how it had felt to have her hold him in her arms. And in those precious seconds before he'd been taken back to reality with Lydia's ear splitting scream, he'd gotten to see that again. He'd gotten to say goodbye. And for that, he would always be thankful to Theo.

He still fully believed Theo was a dick, but for once in his life, he had done something that had actually benefited someone else, even if he hadn't realized it. Out of all the hell he'd been through, he'd do it again for that last moment with his mother. But that didn't stop his brain from shifting back to the nightmarish memories that lay just beneath the surface. He didn't want people worrying about him, but what was he supposed to say? Who would understand that living through all of his fear driven memories as if it were happening all over again haunted him? They didn't know how it felt to not only relive those memories one after another, but to remember some that he hadn't even remembered he'd had.

Before he knew it he was there. He'd been so concentrated on distracting himself that he hadn't realized that he'd completed the hours walk that would have simply taken 15 minutes to drive to. The park was the same as he remembered it. Metal slide with a red ladder, turtle sandbox that hadn't yet been opened for the spring, the dome climber, monkey bars, and his personal favorite, the swings. He'd always loved the feeling like he was flying; had always begged his parents for just one more underdog swing before heading home. So Stiles made his way over, and sat down on the middle swing- his childhood favorite.

The playground was empty, sun setting on the horizon as Stiles gently pushed himself back and forth on the swing, feet never leaving the ground. It was here he was able to remember his dream from the hospital. Except it hadn't fully been a dream. He remembered the many times he'd come here with Heather. They'd always competed on who could go highest, who's mom could push them higher to the sky. After Heathers mother had died, Stiles' mother had brought them both there a couple of times so that Heather would remember her own mom with fondness instead of sadness. But not long after her own heath started to become an issue, and Claudia had to stop bringing the kids to the park to play. Stiles and Heather had still been friends, but became distanced as they later went off to different middle schools and high schools. It was times like this when Stiles realized how much he missed her. How much he'd lost.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there when the headlights passed over him before the car they were attached to backed up in the middle of the street and swerved into the parking lot of the park. Stiles blinked in surprise and looked around, realizing it had gotten dark. The stars were shining brightly in the sky, and Stiles immediately sought out the big dipper like he always did, before turning his head back to the car. The engine cut and both the driver and passenger doors opened and shut quickly. Footsteps approached quickly and Stiles tried to make out the shadows approaching him. He'd been daydreaming so long he felt slightly out of it, and didn't seem to realize he should be cautious. But in the end, he didn't need to.

"Stiles!" He heard a split second before Lydia ran into his arms, hugging him tightly. He unintentionally let out an "Omf!" sound as she crashed into him.

"Lydia?" He said in surprise, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back to see a worried look on her face. "What happened? Who died?"

"No one." Scott said from behind her. "Stiles where have you been? Everyone is worried sick."

Stiles looked at him in surprise "Why, did something happen?"

"Dude you disappeared! Your jeep was in the driveway when your dad got home, but you were just- gone. You weren't answering your phone, everyone was worried something happened to you! Everyone's out looking for you; the pack, your dad, my mom, hell even Argent in case someone took you." Stiles took out his phone from his pocket. It was dead.

"Ops." He said, looking up at his friends. "My phone must have died on the walk here. What's with the search party though? I've gone out before, hell I'm with you fighting supernatural creatures every other month." He said sarcastically.

"Stiles, you clearly weren't with Scott- he got to your house right after your dad did. You can't just disappear like that. Not so soon after-"

"After what? Theo? Guys I've been in dangerous situations before, it's not something new. I'm fine, I just took a walk."

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Lydia scolded as Scott took out his phone and started texting what Stiles assumed was everyone looking for him.

"I've been 'resting' for a week and a half. I just needed to get out. I needed to stop thinking for a while."

"What do you mean? What did you need to stop thinking about?" Scott asked, coming back over to the swing set.

Stiles looked him square in the eyes. "You know what I needed to stop thinking about Scott. Did you think all of that just went away because none of us brought it up? Can you even imagine what it's like to relive every bad day all at once, one after another?"

Scott paused before making his way over to the swing next to him. Lydia sat on his other side, rocking herself on the swing as she avoided looking at Stiles.

"How much did you see?" He asked simply, looking over at Scott. Scott cleared his throat, uncomfortable- but he wasn't going to lie to Stiles.

"We got there when your mom attacked you on the hospital roof. You looked about ten. Her dementia made her think you were trying to-"

"Kill her. I remember." Stiles said quietly. So they hadn't seen everything; but they'd seen enough.

"Stiles… I'm so sorry." Scott said, looking at Stiles with guilt on his face.

"For what? She couldn't help it. It wasn't her fault- she was sick." He said, automatically growing defensive of his mother.

"No- not for that, I know she was sick. I mean for everything you've been through. I didn't know about most of that stuff that happened. Not really. I mean I didn't know how bad your mom got, or how many times the nogitsune haunted you in sleep and while you were awake. And I'm sorry I didn't know how much you get in the crossfires of our battles. How much you get hurt- how many times you've almost died because of me. And how many times I didn't know, or didn't care to ask. I'm sorry you had to deal with so much on your own, and I'm sorry I haven't been there nearly as much as I should have."

Stiles was quiet for a minute. He never wanted Scotts pity, and he certainly hated that Scott knew so much more personal things about his life. He hated that he'd seen Stiles so weak and helpless, and not just once, but over and over again. But none of it was Scotts fault.

"Scott none of that is on you. Shitty things happen, and with the town we live in, there's bound to be danger. We've all been there."

"Yeah, but Stiles- everything you went through alone: The nogitsune basically torturing you and threatening Malia, the chemist almost shooting you point blank in the head, your night terrors, getting electrocuted by Kira, getting kidnapped by Peter, Gerard, and Theo, crashing the jeep, finding Heathers body, the list goes on. Stiles you went through all of that alone, and didn't even tell me more than the basics. But all of that has had a major effect on you. You can't just brush it off like it doesn't matter, and you can't tell us you're fine. Stiles you have to let us in- you have to let me be there for you man."

"Scott none of that mattered. There were bigger things going on at the time. You had bigger things to worry about." Stiles said, looking almost confused on why it was such a big deal.

"That doesn't mean what you go through is any less important." Scott said defiantly.

"Stiles, we saw what happened in the ambulance with Cora, and the guidance counselors office with Miss Morrell." Lydia said. "You felt like you were drowning, and none of us knew. How many times has that happened?" Stiles shrugged nonchalantly.

"So much for confidentiality." He muttered.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Stiles you need to let us know what's going on with you. Stop acting like it's not important, or that you're fine. Talk to us- that's what friends do okay? That's what we're there for. If you keep hiding everything, or keeping it to yourself, you're not helping anyone. Please, just- just talk to us." Stiles was quiet for a while before he nodded.

The three of them sat on the swings for a long time after that, talking about what they'd seen, and letting Stiles tell his side of the story. All of it. He did keep some things to himself though. He didn't tell them about the dreams he'd had in the hospital, or the last words his mother whispered in his ear. Those were just for him, and they were private. A last goodbye from his mother. One last I love you as she whispered his true name in his ear. She'd always been the only person he'd allowed to call him that. Most people didn't even know his real name- he didn't even think Scott did. It belonged in the past with his mother's memory. And he would keep it that way.

The three of them sat there for hours, finally combing through everything they'd seen in Stiles mind, and letting him talk about whatever he wanted. When they'd finally gotten everything out in the open, all three went quiet and they just sat there, looking at the stars above as they swung on the swings like children. After a while of quiet, Stiles unknowingly began to hum. Scott immediately recognized it as the tune his mother sang to him multiple times in the memories he'd seen.

"What is that?" Scott asked curiously.

Stiles stopped, realizing with embarrassment that he'd been humming again. The song had been stuck in his head since he'd woken in the hospital. He'd often found himself humming it over the last week whenever he was alone. Unknown by even him, his father had come home early one day to check on him and heard him humming the tune. The sheriff had sat down outside of his sons door quietly and just listened. He hadn't heard that tune in a long time, and he let the memory of his wife wash over him.

"It's nothing. Just something my mom used to sing to me. I didn't even realize I was humming." He said as his cheeks flamed.

"I know I heard her- what song is it?"

Stiles cleared his throat uncomfortably. "It's from that kids movie Dumbo, when the elephant was rocking Dumbo from inside her prison. It was my mom's favorite movie. We used to watch it together."

"I knew I recognized it!" Lydia exclaimed. They lapsed back into silence, until finally, Scott cleared his throat.

"We should probably get you back. I told everyone we found you and would bring you back soon, but your dad is probably still waiting for you."

Stiles nodded, and stood up from the swing. Lydia walked over to him and grabbed his hand as they walked to her car. It was her way of saying how much he meant to her. How much she cared for him, and how much she was glad that he was okay. He squeezed her hand before letting go as they got into the car. Scott drove, and both Stiles and Lydia sat in the back seat. By the time they pulled up to the Stilinski house 15 minutes later, both of them were asleep. Lydias head rested on Stiles shoulder, and his head lay on top of hers. Scott smiled as he saw their hands clasped together on the seat and took a deep breath. His brother was okay. He'd be fine. They all would.

...

A/N Hey Guys. Hope you liked my story, it was a lot of fun to write! Actually kinda sad it's over :( I'm debating writing a bonus chapter on what exactly the three talked about on the swing set from Stiles mind but I'm not sure if I'll write it yet or not. Otherwise, this isn't the last of me. As an aspiring writer, I'll continue to write and post fanfictions of other varieties including teen wolf, as well as anything else that comes to mind regarding t.v shows like Supernatural, the Librarians, Miraculous Ladybug, Gravity Falls, Izombie, Daredevil, and the list goes on (I may be a t.v./movie/book junkie...) But you'll definitely see more of me. Thanks for sticking with me and reading my work. I truly hope you enjoyed it.