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It was a favorite pastime for years, for adventurous teens and kids who were trying to impress someone. That small lake on the edge of town would freeze over when the temperatures dropped far enough. Not frozen solid, of course, just a nice thick layer to slide around on or lay down on it to take a selfie.
Stiles was an adventurous teen, and though it was not even a little bit necessary, he wanted to impress his boyfriend. Derek loved it when Stiles would do something with no plans and only a backpack were all they needed. It was almost a look of wonderment when Derek looked at Stiles in those moments.
However, for all the crazy history of his life, Derek was exceptionally opposed to what was going on that day. Most of the pack had taken their turn, snapped some photos, and stepped back onto solid ground. There was not a chance in hell that Derek would put his feet onto that frozen layer at the top of the lake. He loudly objected to Stiles going out there as well, but Stiles just kissed his forehead and said, “I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, babe. Promise, I’ll be fine.” Derek’s response was calling Stiles immature, and stupid and self-centered. “What would it do to your father if something happened, what would I do if you were gone? But you’ve already made up your mind, so I won’t stop you.” The others had moved away, uncomfortable hearing them argue. “Yeah, yeah, all right. See you again in a few minutes”, Stiles replied before stepping onto the ice.
No more than a minute had passed after Stiles had started walking from one side of the lake to the other, and all the weres could hear cracking sounds that were outside the hearing range of the humans. Derek’s and Scott’s eyes met and they both started screaming at him to get off the ice, but he couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying. Stiles yelled back, “Don’t get pissy just because you were too chickenshit to tr-”
And that was it. The piece of frozen lake under his left foot gave way, and Stiles was gone. As Derek, Scott and Isaac started running, Derek lamented that Stiles fell into the freezing water on the far side of the lake, making the precious little time they’d have to revive him and get help even shorter. Back where they’d all started, Allison called the Sheriff and explained what happened. “Please bring an ambulance”, she said, before quickly cutting off the call and ringing Melissa McCall. “The ambulance might get here before you do, but having someone he trusts here will help, I think.”
On the other side of the lake, the sound of three large bodies hitting the ice and going into the frigid water was heard by all. Normally, Stiles would have been able to hold his breath for a few minutes, but not under these conditions. Scott grabbed Stiles’ leg, pulled him up so that he could emerge from the water with Stiles in tow, and start the little bit of first aid that he knew. First things first - was there a pulse? A heartbeat? Breath? Scott was terrified for a moment because the sluggish pace of Stiles’ pulse and heart rate made him fear the worst, until he finally could hear that heartbeat and pulse.
After that, Derek growled at Scott. True Alpha or not, he knew better than to keep Derek from Stiles right then. He started CPR immediately, plainly hearing the break of at least two ribs. Which was fine, because Stiles alive and breathing was the priority here.
Just as the ambulance and the Sheriff arrived, Stiles’ head fell to the side and he started coughing up water; it was the best and most awful sound Derek had ever heard. Once he coughed up the water, Scott said, “Man, he felt like ice when I grabbed him. I wonder-”
At that point, the EMS crew ordered everyone to get the hell back, now. There was a quick step back as Melissa arrived. They all knew her son was best friends with this boy. The Sheriff had two deputies holding him back, reassuring him that there was nothing he could do but wait for the medical folks to do their job. They gave Stiles a mild sedative and placed him in the ambulance; Melissa riding with him so he would see a familiar face if he came to before they reached the hospital. And he did open his eyes to see Melissa’s reassuring expression, and then to yell “What the actual fuck is this? Did something happen to me and now I’m dead so I’m making up all this shit in my head?”
“You fell through the ice on the lake. Good thing you’ve got two ass cheeks, because you will get them both handed to you when your father and Derek catch up to us." As the memory slowly started to emerge, Stiles cringed. “Can you make a ‘no visitors’ sign for my room until they calm down?”
“Sorry, kiddo, but that’s not gonna happen”, Melissa replied. "These are thermal blankets, please keep them on”, advised Melissa. “we’ll need your body temperature to rise slowly. Do you still feel like there’s water inside of you that needs to come out?”
Stiles took a moment to catalog his pain. “Don’t think so”, then immediately went back to sleep.
There would be plenty of time later for his boyfriend and his father lecturing him about poor choices. Right now he just needed rest and observation. Melissa held his hand until he was admitted into his own hospital room, then went out to the waiting area to face the wrath of Stiles’ father and best friend and boyfriend with the news that there would be no visitation until at least tomorrow.