AN: Sooooo... I haven't updated my other fics... but... Teen Wolf has taken over my life and after this past episode... well, I needed to get this out and in the open. This is my head canon for Stiles and the Sheriff. How the Sheriff just knew how to keep Stiles from freaking out even worse after waking up from a bad dream. One shot, drabble, etc. Enjoy.

It had been a week since Claudia Stilinski's death and the Sheriff was just sitting on the couch, wondering how he would be able to raise his nine year old son by himself. Placing a hand over his mouth, he held back a sob before reaching out to pick his glass that was filled with Jack up. Downing it in one gulp, the man grimaced before placing his head in his hands, tugging at the hair near his temples. God, how could he do anything without Claudia?

At that moment, a scream pierced the still air of the house and John's head snapped up. Rushing up the stairs, he heard a crash as he opened his son's door. There, the nine year old was flailing as broken glass from the lamp that used to be on his bed side table dug into his son's arms and face while he screamed, trickles of blood running down his arms and cheeks.

"MOM! MOMMY, DON'T GO! PLEASE!"

"Stiles!"

John yelled frantically as he rushed to his son and picked him up. Trying his best to keep the small boy from causing any more damage to himself, John just wrapped his arms around Stiles and rocked him back and forth while moving to the bed. Stiles turned around and sobbed into the crook of his dad's neck and wrapped his arms around the man.

"I… mama…"

Stiles croaked out brokenly while shaking, his little body wracked with too many emotions to properly form a sentence. At that moment, John felt helpless. He hadn't been able to help his wife and now his son was suffering and he didn't know what to do so he just held onto his child as he started to tear up.

"Hey, hey, shhh, it's okay… you're okay. I've got you."

Days later, the same thing happened and the Sheriff, used to the night terrors that plagued Stiles, just held his son tightly after bursting through the door. One of his arms was around Stiles' small chest while the other held his son's arms down to keep him from flailing and hurting himself. The second night that Stiles had had a nightmare, the Sheriff had been a few seconds too late and his son had rolled off the bed, cutting his forehead against the edge of the table next to his bed and he'd had to get stitches.

"I've got you… we'll get through this… It's going to be alright."

The sheriff mumbled while Stiles just sobbed uncontrollably, one of his small hands coming up to grip at his dad's forearm. The small brunette lay his head in the crook of his dad's arm while he just stared at nothing, tears rushing down his face. The comfort of his dad's arms calmed him enough so that he could go back to sleep after whispering a broken 'I love you daddy'.

Months later, Stiles would stop having nightmares but John would never forget those nights as he laid in bed, waiting to hear his boy's screams for his mother. It would take months more for the man to stop getting up at all hours of the night, listening out for any whimpers or sobs coming from his son's room.

Years later his son would be a teen and the Sheriff would seemingly forget about those nightmares that occurred until one night, as he lay in bed trying to piece together an unsolved murder (or what he believed was a murder), he would hear his son screaming and just like that, John would jump out of his bed. He would throw the covers off of his body and rush into his son's room and see his boy flailing, dealing with consequences that he shouldn't have to deal with. John would surge forward, not bothering to really take in the all too familiar sight of his child screaming and kicking his feet and just wrap his arms around Stiles like he did as a child after Claudia's death but until then, the Stilinski men would take one day at a time and just try to survive to the best of their abilities.

AN: And... that's all I got. Hope you didn't cry too much or feel too many feels. Good night... e.o