Chapter Text
Stiles wakes up and is instantly aware of three things:
She’s not in her room.
She’s not a bed.
Her phone is somewhere in this room, ringing.
Also her head is fucking pounding.
So okay, make that four things.
She rolls over and actually falls off of… wait, where—
"Um. You were floating."
Stiles whips her head around to see Gina perched precariously on the bed next to her. She instantly regrets it because with such a sudden movement brings her awareness to just how sore she is. And in general pain.
"Jesus, what even—"
Gina draws in a shaky breath and says, “We were—we were fighting. battling a grafschender. Well, we were on our way to take care of it. And it attacked us. Your jeep. It was—ran off the road. The last I saw of it, it was in a ditch. But your friends they—they came at the end. I mean they like. They saw us trying to fight the ghoul, and we were doing okay. But then the ghoul…"
Gina closes her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts, but Stiles was remembering.
She remembers the spike that was driven through her abdomen. Remembers how Scott and Isaac and Derek had howled. She remembers taking the dagger hidden in her sleeve and shoving it into one of the grafschender’s eyes. It had dropped her, but Gina…
"Wait." Stiles says. “What—how are we here? The last thing I remember is stabbing that thing in the eye and then I fell and then—"
"I threw out a chard to catch your fall but something weird happened and you suddenly disappeared. I couldn’t see you. I—i got to the spot you were supposed to be, and fell in. "
"So…"
"So, somehow, with the chard that your vet guy gave us, one of us made a… portal? And I’m pretty sure it was use because I can pull off some tricks and stuff, but none of the shit you have ever done. And also, you were floating. Above the bed."
Stiles pulled herself up onto the vacant bed, the one that she had apparently been fucking floating over, and sat back. She looks at Gina and says, “Floating."
"Uh-huh."
"Floating?"
"Yeah."
"I was floating. I WAS FLOATING GINA. JUST—WHAT DOES THIS—"
Gina drew one of her hands down her face and held the other hand up as if to halt Stiles. “Dude, I have no idea. You’ve been asleep for like, four days."
Stiles damn near fell off the bed again. "I what?”
Gina nervously braids her hair and unbraids it. “Like. You’ve been asleep. For four days. This is the fifth day. We’ve been hiding out in this motel because every time I tried to move you you’d burn me or shock me or whatever. Like really, control yourself."
Stiles is silent. Gina is silent. The only noise around them is that of the various inn visitor moving about in their respective rooms.
And then stiles phone rings.
It’s playing the 90’s power rangers theme song so it’s Scott.
"Jesus Christ, everyone is probably freaking the fuck out right now. Holy shit, help me find my phone."
"Um, it’s on the floor somewhere, under some stuff, I don’t remember what." Gina says very unhelpfully, but moves to help stiles search.
"Seriously, why is everything everywhere!" Stiles exclaims, knocking various clothes and covers about.
"Well, you had a ghouly spike thing in your stomach, and I had to make sure you didn’t die, lest I bring down the wrath of a pack of hormonal teenage werewolves on my back. Also, we went through a lot of sheets and gauze and blah and stuff, so I expect to be paid back. Also, for this room because I am damn near depleted of my funds."
"Gina—focus.”
"Oh right. Sorry."
"Like seriously, there is gonna be such a fucking shit storm waiting for me when I get back home. And holy hell, where the fuck even are we?"
"Uh. I think the lady at the counter said we’re in Portland."
Stiles stops moving. “Portland."
"Uh."
"Portland—OREGON?"
"I… yes?"
“Jesusfuckingtapdancingchristonastick.”
Her phone stops ringing. And then starts up a moment later.
"CAN WE JUST FIND THIS PHONE ALREADY—aw shit, I have to piss like a fucking race horse."
Stiles is in the bathroom before Gina can say anything.
After flushing the toiler and washing her hands she stares at herself in the mirror.
She’s pale, and looks smaller than she remembers, and her hair is a mess and her clothes are still bloody, and when she moves she can feel aches and pains all over her body, most noticeably the one in her abs.
She lifts her shirt and sees that she is still very much injured and that somehow she has irritated the opening in her skin. It’s puckered, and sore, and when she grazes her fingers over it, it starts to bleed again.
The pain she feels is immediate.
“Fuck!" she cries out and slumps against the sink.
Gina opens the door then, pulling Stiles phone away from her ear. “Stiles, your friends are seriously—holy shit!”
"Fuck, Gina, please—"
"Oh my God oh my God—"
“Gina, please! Hang up the fucking phone and help me!”
"Uh—shit—fuck—" Gina, phone still in hand, bends down to help Stiles up and into the tub. "—look dude, uh. What’s your name—Right, Scott. uh listen, i have a situation here and we’ll have to call you back because I don’t know what Stiles did in here when all she was gonna do was take a piss, but she opened her wounds and shit and I gotta take care of it—hey don’t yell at me, she’s mostly okay—ugh, whatever." Gina holds the phone against Stiles’ ear. “Tell him something—anything."
"Stiles!" Scott yells in her ear. Stiles closes her eyes.
"Hey Scott. Look buddy, I have to call you back—" Gina tugs at her shirt. "—Gina what the fuck, that hurts! Everything hurts! Chill out, bro."
"Oh I’m sorry, I’m just trying to keep you alive here; don’t mind me."
"Stiles are you okay? Where are you? Jesus, everyone is flipping out because—"
"I’d imagine they were, but I’m… okay. I think. I will be. Don’t come looking for me, I’ll find you eventually. And please, don’t tell my Dad you talked to me. I’ll be home in like—I wanna say two days, but maybe three—"
"More like tomorrow because we have to check out of this place tonight. I have like, sixty bucks left for food and medicine and whatnot." Gina says, wandering out of the bathroom.
"Uh… okay so I’ll be back tomorrow maybe. It really just depends."
"On what?"
"Uh," Stiles says thoughtfully. “probably Deaton because I really, really, need to talk to him."
"What—Stiles, wait a second—"
Stiles does not wait a second. As a matter of fact she hangs up on Scott.
And then passes out in the tub, just as Gina comes back into the bathroom with a first aid kit.
"Well, I guess I can do this since you’re not floating anymore." she looks at the phone that’s laying on the tiles of the floor, abandoned. “Also, I really, really hope this Deaton guy is legit. Or else we’re fucked."