Lydia listened closely to the fast beating of Stiles heart, the side of her head pressed against his chest and her arms wrapped around his body. She was struggling to stay awake, perfectly content with falling asleep snuggled against him. The only thing keeping her awake were the constant bumps in the road. Natalie had allowed Stiles to go home with Lydia and herself, due to Lydia's request. They sat in the backseat, cuddled closely together while Natalie drove.

"I'm so sorry we didn't get you out sooner." Stiles said, almost whispering. He sounded truly upset.

"There's nothing you could have done, Stiles. I'm here. I'm alive. I'm forever grateful for that. Please don't beat yourself up." Lydia said, looking up into his eyes. She could tell tears were threatening to fall, as she saw his eyes welling up slightly.

He blinked back the tears. "You're right." He said, as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He shot her a small smile, and continued to rub her back. She laid her head back down on his chest, closing her eyes. As she did, he stared at the gaping hole in the other side of her head. He felt like this was his fault. If only he had gotten to her sooner.

Natalie watched the two in the backseat, and couldn't help but feel terrible for threatening to never let Stiles see Lydia again. He had just risked his life for her. She noticed the trail of dry blood down his neck coming from his ear. She figured it was from Lydia's scream.

After a few more minutes of silent driving, the car finally pulled up at the Martin residence. Natalie parked the car in the driveway, and turned to face Stiles.

"I trust you can help get Lydia up to her bedroom?" Natalie asked.

"Of course." Stiles said, as he gently shifted Lydia off him.

"Okay. Here's the house key, just let yourselves in." She replied, holding the key out to Stiles.

"You're not coming with us?" He asked, a look of bewilderment on his face as he grabbed the key.

"Not right now. I have to go to the store and grab a bunch of meds for Lydia. I'll be about an hour because the only 24 hour pharmacy isn't very close. But I trust you will take care of her well for the time being." Natalie said, smiling warmly at Stiles.

"I'll do everything I can. I promise." Stiles said. Lydia's eyes slowly opened, and she instantly began shivering, missing the heat she was getting from being so close to Stiles.

"Hi sweetie. I need to go to the store to get some meds for you, but I'll be back as soon as I can." Natalie told her.

"Okay, me and Stiles will be alright." Lydia said, smiling as best she could.

"I know." She said, as she leant over and placed a kiss on Lydia's forehead.

Stiles opened the car door, and got out. He held his arms out to Lydia, who grabbed on and slowly got out of the car. As soon as she got to her feet, her knees almost gave in instantly. "Careful." Stiles said, as he caught her. She wrapped her arm around his waist. Stiles wrapped his around her shoulders, and held the other out in front of her ready to catch her just incase. They walked slowly up to the front porch. "You okay?" Stiles asked, as he helped her climb the few stairs.

"I'm doing okay, aren't I?" Lydia asked, trying to get Stiles to cheer up a little.

"You're doing great." Stiles said, as they reached the front door. "You're handling this a lot better than I am." He continued, as he unlocked the door with his free hand. He helped Lydia into the house, set the key down on the bench, and switched on some lights. "Let's get you cleaned up." He said, helping her climb the stairs into her bedroom.

When they reached her bedroom, Stiles began walking her into her ensuite bathroom.

"My head is killing me." Lydia said, her breath shaky from how cold she was.

"I know. I know it is Lydia." Stiles said sincerely, turning and pulling her into a tight hug. "But for now, we need to get you cleaned up and nice and warm. Okay?" He said gently. She would never get used to the sincerity and care in his voice.

Stiles got the water hot for Lydia, before turning to her. "Will you be okay by yourself for a little while?" He asked.

"If I need help with anything I'll call you" Lydia said gently, now realising how sore her throat was.

"Okay, I'll be just out here." He said, turning and closing the door behind him.

Lydia took her clothes off, and got in the shower. She washed herself thoroughly, and washed her hair, careful not to get any shampoo in the hole in her head. Even after she was cleaned, she stayed in the water for another 10 minutes taking in all the warmth it had to offer.

In her bedroom, Stiles had begun to worry. "Lydia? Are you okay in there?" He called out from outside the bathroom door.

"I'm okay! I'll be out in a minute Stiles." She replied, as she let the water fall over her just a moment longer before turning it off. She stepped out of the shower, only to realise she didn't have a towel anywhere. "Stiles?" She called out.

"Yeah? What is it?" Stiles asked, sounding a little panicked.

"I um, don't have a towel in here."

Of course. "Oh, um, alright. Where do you keep them? I'll grab one for you." He told her.

"In the linen cupboard in the hallway just outside my room." Lydia said, pointing to where it would be, before realising he couldn't see her.

Stiles ran out into the hall, and spotted the cupboard she told him of. He grabbed a pink towel, and quickly made his way back into her room.

"I have one." He said.

Lydia opened the door and stuck her head around, taking the towel he held out from his hand. "Thanks." She said, smiling.

"You're welcome." Stiles said. He took his place sitting on the edge of her bed again, waiting for her to finish up in the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Lydia came out, wearing pajama pants and a matching long sleeve button up shirt. She was wearing white socks, and her hair flowing naturally still a little damp. Stiles looked at her smiling.

"What?" Lydia asked, suddenly feeling nervous and embarrassed.

"Nothing. It's just, you look beautiful. As always." Stiles said, noticing the way her cheeks took on the slight shade of red. Even without makeup, without her hair done, and wearing pajamas, she was still the most gorgeous person he knew.

Lydia's heart was beating like crazy in her chest. Thank God Stiles didn't have super hearing like Scott or the others. Butterflies filled her stomach. "You're the only person who's ever called me beautiful." She said softly, smiling shyly. "And you've done it multiple times."

"Anyone who hasn't must be out of their minds." Stiles said, smirking. He noticed her eyes slightly glassy, as she smiled with her lips pursed together. He stood up from the edge of her bed, and walked over to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

Lydia wasn't sure how long they stood like that. Could have been minutes, felt like hours. She had her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. His long arms wrapped around her, one hand on the small of her back, and the other gently caressing her head. Stiles softly placed a kiss at the top of her forehead. When they finally broke apart, Stiles gazed into her eyes and smiled warmly. Lydia kept one of her hands holding onto his flannel.

"You need to eat something. Do you want to go downstairs and see what we can find?" Stiles asked, massaging the elbow of her arm which was still clutching onto his flannel.

"Okay." She replied, slipping her hand into his as they made their way down to the kitchen. She was still leaning heavily into him, and felt her head pounding like crazy. She was in a lot of pain, but she didn't want Stiles to worry too much. Besides, her mother would be home soon with the medicine she needed.

They carefully made their way down the stairs, with Stiles supporting Lydia since she didn't have the strength or energy to walk on her own right now. "You should probably just eat something light. Nothing too heavy, might make you sick." Stiles said, as he searched through the fridge. Lydia took a seat in one of the bar stools by the kitchen bench.

"I agree. Maybe just some toast for now?" Lydia said.

"Yeah, that should be fine. I'm gonna make you some tea, if you want it?" Stiles said, grabbing the bread, and some butter out of the fridge. He had spent so much time with Lydia at her house studying that he practically knew where everything was kept.

"Some tea would be great, actually. Thank you." She said, smiling.

"You are most welcome." Stiles said, smirking back at her as he put teabags into some cups and boiled the kettle.

Just then, a bright light shone through the living room window, and the sound of a car door could be heard closing.

"Mum must be back." Lydia said, turning the stool around as she was about to get up and let her in.

"Hey, no, no no. You stay there. I'll get the door." Stiles said, holding Lydia's shoulders. He made his way over to the door and let Natalie in.

Natalie walked into the home, and into the kitchen where Lydia sat. "Hi sweetie. How are you feeling?" She asked, placing the bag of medicine on the bench.

"A little better." Lydia said. While it wasn't a total lie, she still felt terrible. Her head ache had gotten worse, and it felt like her head was going to explode. She had aches and pains all over her body, and her throats was still very sore. But, she wasn't freezing cold anymore, or filthy. "The hot shower and getting cleaned up has helped. Just going to have some toast and some tea."

"Well that's good. After you eat, make sure you take these pills I got. They'll help with the pains, but they'll put you to sleep. So, probably a good idea to go to bed right after you take them." Natalie said.

"I don't think sleeping is going to be much of a problem." Lydia said, laughing softly.

Natalie smiled. "Okay, well I'm going to go to sleep. Make sure you take the medicine, and if anything is wrong, make sure you tell me. I don't care if what time it is, okay?"

"I will, mum."

"Okay, goodnight." Natalie said, giving Lydia a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, love you."

Stiles finished making the buttered toast, and added a little milk to the tea. Lydia ate the toast rather quickly, and then sat with Stiles drinking her tea with him.

"Thanks for doing all this." Lydia said, as she played with the tips of his fingers.

"You don't have to thank me. You almost died tonight, Lydia. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let something like that happen." Stiles said, as he entwined his fingers with hers.

Lydia stared deeply into Stiles eyes. She leaned closer to his face, and closed her eyes. Their faces were impossibly close, and Stiles closed the gap, gently pressing his lips to hers. It was a slow, lingering kiss, so soft and tender, unlike the last kiss they shared in the locker room. When Lydia finally pulled her lips away from his, she leaned her forehead against his, breathing heavily with her eyes still closed.

"I love you." She whispered to him. It took Stiles a moment to register what she said. Stiles rose his hand to her cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb.

"I love you too. So much." He whispered back.