My Isabella

by luvsbitca

Stiles is just about to graduate university when he finds about he's about to be a father. When the mother decides she wants nothing to do with the child Stiles steps up as a single dad with the help of his father and the pack. And especially Derek who might have ulterior motives about all the time he is spending with Stiles and his daughter, Isabella. Written for the TWBigBang.

Title: My Isabella
Author: luvsbitca (Moonbeam)
Artist: keyweegirlie
Type: kid!fic, slash, fluff, and boy being oblivious.
Word Count: 60 000ish
Rating: Teen
Characters/Pairings: Derek/Stiles, (background Allison/Scott, Jackson/Boyd, and Stiles/OFC)
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the way too many hours spent writing.
Thanks: HUGE, ENORMOUS THANKS to keyweegirlie who made such beautiful art. I want to jump into it and give them all hugs. So Amazing.
My beta – terp926, and my cheerleaders – Spaghetti Tacos and sassyfrowns. You are all so very amazing and helpful and I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with this if it wasn't for you all.
Summary: Stiles didn't tell anyone when Sophia first told him.

"I'm pregnant…it's yours."

Stiles is just about to graduate university when he finds about he's about to be a father. When the mother decides she wants nothing to do with the child Stiles steps up as a single dad with the help of his father and the pack. And especially Derek who might have ulterior motives about all the time he is spending with Stiles and his daughter, Isabella.

My Isabella
by Moonbeam

Stiles didn't tell anyone when Sophia first told him.

"I'm pregnant…it's yours."

He didn't really know what to say or who to tell.

He knew he needed to tell his father and Scott but it just didn't even feel like his life. He wasn't going to lie to anyone, he knew Sophia from one of his classes but the extent of their 'relationship' had been three days of sex before his first class of the week had rolled around and she had done a walk of shame back to her apartment. They smiled at one another in class and chatted occasionally but they didn't pretend it was anything more than it was. Stiles remembered it fondly, and occasionally used it as fodder for his 'special alone time'. Then two months after it happened, just as Stiles was working like a fool on a set of assignments he would ever have to hand in as a university student…ever, Sophia knocked on his door. She had obviously been crying and he'd pulled her into the room.

She had her back to him when she'd said it. "I'm pregnant." Then she had paused and her shoulders had tightened as though she was expecting Stiles to yell at her or something. "It's yours."

Stiles had been more shocked by those words than the first two. But, given she had come to tell him, it was obviously his. He didn't even plan to say anything but his mouth opened by itself. "Are you sure?"

Then she'd turned around and looked at him. "I've been to the campus doctor."

Stiles let out a breath. "What do you want to do?"

Sophia's face had crumbled. "I can't do that."

Stiles threw up his hands. "I'm not saying you should do anything."

Sophia glared at him. "Of course you were."

"Hey," Stiles said. "Don't make assumptions about me. I want to know what you want to do about it."

"If I could have gone through with it, I wouldn't have told you," Sophia said folding her arms. "It has fingers already."

Stiles let out a huff of breath and walked past her to sit on his bed. "Fingers?"

"Little webbed fingers," Sophia said. "There were these people outside of the clinic and…I couldn't."

"Okay. So, we're going to be parents."

Sophia shrugged. "I don't want a kid, but I couldn't do that."

Stiles had no idea what to say to that and Sophia didn't wait around for his reaction she simply turned and left his room.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles had to search her out in the end.

"I'm going to give it up for adoption." Sophia said as soon as he'd finally cornered her somewhere private. "I never want kids and I'm not going to let one mistake change my life. I'll have it, put it up for adoption, and then I'll go and become a reporter in New York like I always intended."

"What if I want it?" Stiles hadn't even really given it any serious thought but now that he'd said it he understood the way he had been feeling for the last week.

Sophia looked at him like he was insane. "What?"

"What if I want to keep the baby?"

"I don't want anything to do with it."

"I get that," Stiles was surer about this each time he said it. "You wouldn't have to be involved but if I wanted to keep the baby?"

"That's your choice."

"Do you have any objections?"

Sophia looked over his shoulder. "I don't care. I have class to get to."

"When is your next doctor's appointment?"

Sophia just shrugged and walked away.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

That afternoon he drove home. He arrived at a few minutes to midnight but his father was awake and was at the door in his pyjamas by the time Stiles had turned off his jeep.

"What's wrong?"

"I got a girl pregnant."

His father swore, once, viciously and then pulled Stiles into a hug. "Are you old enough to drink yet?"

Stiles let out a bark of laughter. "Yes, I'm going to be a father."

"Tell me."

They sat down on the couch, each with a small glass of whiskey. "Her name is Sophia. She's in one of my classes. We were at a party together and we were flirting and drinking and then she came back to my place and we had sex. It was a…umm…one night stand. She came to me about a week ago to tell me she was pregnant and that she had tried to have an abortion but couldn't. I was finally able to speak to her again today and she said she doesn't want kids and is going to give it up for adoption." Stiles was watching his dad closely as he spoke. His father was bent over his head in his hands. "I asked her what she would do if I wanted to keep the baby." His father turned to look at him. "I hadn't even thought about it really but I think I want to do this."

"Babies are a big responsibility."

"I don't think I could know that the baby was out there and never be allowed to see it or know it."

"This is the rest of your life."

"I know. What do you think I should do?"

Stiles' dad rubbed his hands down his face roughly and then sat back and threw his arm around Stiles' shoulder. "Whatever you think is right. I will support your decision whatever it is but…what about school?"

"She's only nine weeks along. I finish my final exam in seven weeks. I can finish and then sort out everything else. All I know, Dad, is that I drove all the way here and I am more sure about taking the baby now than I was when I said it to Sophia."

They sat in silence for a long time afterwards and Stiles realised his father hadn't finished his whiskey but was simply staring down into the amber liquid.

"If I'm going to do this," Stiles said finally. "I know it will be hard and I would need your help."

His father looked at him. "You will, it will be harder than you could even conceive right now but if this is something you want to do then I will help you. I think you should think about it for a little while before you make a decision. You have another two months of university left. If, when you are finished, this is still what you want to do then we will work out how to do it."

"That makes sense," Stiles said.

"Right," Stiles' dad said throwing the drink back and standing. "Bed, you have a class tomorrow, don't you?"

"I do."

"Go to bed and see if you are okay to drive there in the morning. I'll make you pancakes."

Stiles smiled and stood up. As he did he paused to yawn so widely his jaw cracked. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"For what?"

Stiles looked down and shrugged. "Everything."

His father pulled him into a tight hug. "Whatever you decide to do, you will never, ever, have to apologise for doing what you think is right."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

His father woke Stiles up the next morning at seven. Stiles would have complained but Sam handed him a cup of coffee and told him the pancakes would be ready in five minutes. Stiles sighed and dragged himself out of bed and towards the kitchen. They were halfway through eating when the door, that lead from the kitchen into the backyard, opened. Derek walked in and then froze.

"Stiles."

"Derek?"

Stiles looked from Derek to his father. Derek rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and took a step backwards. "I'll just go home."

"No, no," Stiles said. "You obviously came for a reason. Come in, sit down, have a pancake."

Derek stepped awkwardly further into the kitchen but his eyes were on Stiles' dad.

"Derek comes over for breakfast a couple of times a week," Stiles' dad said. "I thought you knew."

Stiles looked at Derek with surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Derek shrugged. "Never came up." Stiles frowned at Derek who looked at him, one of his eyebrows slowly lifting. "What are you doing home?"

Stiles looked down at his pancakes. "Something I needed to talk to Dad about."

Derek was looking at Stiles intensely when he looked up from his pancakes. "I can leave, Sam."

"No need," Stiles said. "I'll be off myself as soon as I've finished eating."

"Sit, Derek," Sam said, standing up. "I'll make you some pancakes."

Derek took a seat across from Stiles.

"Hey," Stiles said with half a mouthful of pancake in his mouth. "If you two have breakfast a couple of times a week, why have I never seen you before?"

"Don't come when you're in town," Derek said pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Stiles tried not to be offended but it didn't work. He ate the last of his breakfast quickly and then stood up. "I'll leave the two of you to it then. Bye, Dad."

"Stiles," his father caught up with Stiles in the hallway. "Everything okay?"

"Just have to get back to school."

"So, it's not about Derek?"

Stiles shrugged. "Why would Derek being here and hiding it from me be an issue?"

"Hiding it from you?"

"You never mentioned the two of you hang out so much."

The sheriff looked amused for a minute and then sighed. "We talk about you a lot. Drive safely, and call me when you get back to school."

"I will."

"And if you want to talk about anything else, call."

"Thank you, Dad. And listen," Stiles knew Derek would be able to hear this but he said it anyway. "Don't mention this to anyone. I want to tell people myself, when I'm ready."

"Of course," his father said and put a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "You could call your cousin, Rick, though. He has experience with this type of thing."

"I will, thanks, Dad."

"And make sure you focus on your schoolwork. Just get through the next seven weeks, okay?"

"Bye, Dad."

Stiles grabbed the few things he needed and went out to his car. As he was driving away he realised that Derek's Camaro was nowhere to be seen.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles struggled to focus on anything over the next few weeks. He went to see Sophia the day after he returned though.

"I was serious about wanting the option of keeping the baby when it's born."

"Fine," she folded her arms over her chest and stared at him. "I don't care."

"If you have to go to the doctor, or anything else, let me know and I'll come with you."

"Fine."

"Where are you going to have the baby?"

Sophia shrugged at him. "I'm not telling my mother about this, she'll lose her nut."

Stiles nodded. "If you need anything, call me."

Sophia looked at Stiles with a frown. "Why? Why do you even care?"

"Because, I can't imagine having a child and not knowing about them. I understand that you don't want the baby, but I do."

"I don't understand you at all."

Stiles shrugged. "Very few people do."

Stiles had listened to his father about waiting to make the final decision and he could understand what he had been saying. But a couple of weeks later, between the end of assignments and the start of exams it all changed. They went to an appointment with Sophia's doctor and the doctor took a photo of the baby. It was a smudge in a sea of smudges but it was a real thing and that was the end of Stiles even perhaps being able to change his mind. He had to work out how he was going to do this because he knew he had to do it.

He asked for a copy of the photo and mailed it to his dad. Three days later his father called him.

"You've made your decision?"

"I saw the baby."

"I know," his father said. "I've decided I want to be called Grandad."

"I did mean to wait."

"No, you didn't," his father said. "You'd made your decision before you even arrived here."

"I'm going to tell Scott but I'm not ready to discuss it yet. I still have my exams to get through."

"You do," his father said.

"Dad," Stiles said. "Is everything okay with Derek? He's called me about five times since I was in Beacon Hills. Normally when he calls it's for a specific reason but lately he never quite seems to know why he called or he's hiding something. Is something going on in town?"

"Nothing's going on in town. Quiet and mundane."

"Good," Stiles said. "Listen, dad. I am just about to walk into a class."

"Right, talk to you later."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Derek called again the next day. The howl from 'Werewolves of London' dragging Stiles' attention away from what he was studying.

"Hey, Derek."

"Stiles."

"What's up?"

"How are your studies going? You're almost done, aren't you?"

"Okay," Stiles said dropping his pen down onto the desk. "What's the deal? You never call unless you need information, or something is happening with the pack, and you've called me five times in the last month for no apparent reason. Is something wrong?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

"What?"

"I heard you and your father speaking. Something's wrong with you."

"Oh," Stiles let out a breath. "I'm not ready to talk about that yet."

"Right." Derek hung up on him.

Stiles let out a huff of breath. "But, I've quite enjoyed these little chats. Oh, really? You're worried about me? Why don't you just say something?"

"Who are you talking to?"

Stiles span around to see his roommate standing just inside the doorway. "No one." Stiles hung up his phone and went back to studying.

"Weirdo," his roommate muttered under his breath. Stiles couldn't really refute the comment.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Hey, Scott," Stiles said as soon as his friend answered. "I need to talk to you. I would do this in person but I can't spare the time to drive up there."

"What's wrong? Derek called me and told me there was something wrong with you but I told him he was talking crap because you wouldn't keep something that serious from me."

"Derek called you?"

"He sounded worried."

"Okay, listen, he overheard a conversation I had with my dad and that's what I'm calling you about."

"I can't believe you are dying and didn't tell me."

"What!" Stiles screeched.

"You're not dying?" Scott said a couple of long moments later.

"I'm going to be a dad."

"What?" Scott asked loudly making Stiles pull his phone away from his ear.

"You remember I told you about Sophia."

"Yeah, extended one night stand."

"She's pregnant. She doesn't want the baby so I'm going to raise it."

"Holy fuck," Scott breathed out.

"Yeah."

"Call Derek and tell him you're not dying."

"Really? That's what you've got to say?"

"You know how he gets when you're hurt."

"Yeah," Stiles said with a sigh. "Annoyed at me for getting hurt, growly and just generally pissy. Oh, and don't forget the fact he disappears as soon as I'm conscious. I don't know what you're worried about."

Scott let out an annoyed huff. "Just call him."

"Fine."

"Good. So…you're going to be a dad?"

"Yeah." Stiles was silent for several long minutes. "Scott, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm probably going to fuck this kid up."

"Then why?"

"Because it's mine and…it's family, you know."

"Yeah," Scott said quietly and Stiles knew that Scott understood, perhaps in a way no one else could because Scott had been there when Stiles lost his mum and Stiles had been there when Scott's dad walked out and they had become one another's family. They were both protective of the family they had left.

"You ready to be Uncle Scott?"

"Aww, dude, seriously?"

"Of course, they are going to need a favourite uncle and since you're going to be their only uncle you're a shoe-in."

"When?"

"November."

"Who have you told?"

"Dad and you. You are still planning on coming back to Beacon Hills, right? Because I am going to need you."

"I'll be there. God, another little Stilinski running around. My mum is going to be so excited."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah."

"I'm probably going to need her help as well. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing Scott and Sophia…it's weird. It's like she's pretending she isn't even pregnant and when she sees me she gets really closed off and at the doctor's appointment she wouldn't even look at the monitor."

"You've seen the baby?"

"Oh yeah," Stiles said. "It's like a little slightly darker section in a field of grey."

"Send me the picture."

"You can't scan them."

"You have a phone, take a picture."

Stiles took the picture and sent it to Scott. A minute later Scott disappeared in the middle of telling Stiles that he wanted to be there when Stiles told the rest of the pack…

"I don't know what I'm looking at but it's my niece or nephew. This is excellent…and screensaver. I'll take pictures…maybe video, so we can watch their reactions later."

"You know someone will see that and think you're about to be a dad."

"I'll just tell them about my brother who's having a baby and they will swoon at my sweetness and have sex with me."

"And we shall all hope that my son or daughter is the three percent failure rate of condoms for both of us."

"Damn straight."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles didn't really see the point but he had promised Scott so he called Derek after he and Scott hung up.

"Stiles."

"Hey, Derek."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just talking to Scott and he said that you had called him about me. I'm fine. I'm not dying or hurt or sick or anything. The conversation you overheard between my father and I wasn't anything bad."

"Okay."

"So if you were worried, you don't need to be."

Derek was silent.

"Not that you were worried, because you don't worry about me."

"I'm glad you're fine."

"Good, how's dad? I hope you're not letting him eat bacon at these breakfasts you two have."

"He's fine."

"Oh good, we're all fine."

"I like your dad."

Stiles frowned and let out a huff of breath. "I know. I'm glad you spend time with him. I'm glad someone is spending time with him when I can't. Not that it's because I'm not there…except you never come over when I am, so, maybe it is because I'm not there but because I'm not there for you not for my dad."

"What?"

"Do you only come when I'm not there because you don't want to see me?"

There was a long stretch of silence and Stiles checked to make sure that Derek hadn't hung up on him.

"He doesn't need me to visit when you are home. He's not lonely then."

"Oh, Derek. My dad's not like that, if he likes to see you when I'm at school, he would like to see you when I'm home, too."

"He was just being nice."

"He likes you," Stiles said. "Probably why he didn't just shoot you when he thought I was sneaking over to your house for sex when I was in high school."

"What?"

"Before he knew about the whole werewolf thing he thought I was…well, it was a bit strange. He found out I was sneaking over to your place to do research only he thought I was coming over for sex."

"Did he?"

"Oh yeah, confronted me about it and everything. It was the second most embarrassing…no, third, most embarrassing conversation we've ever had. First was the sex talk when he was going on about women and I told him I thought I was bisexual. He got so flustered. Second was when he walked in on me having sex. No, I am going to swap those, the second was worse."

"Stiles."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay! Well, I just called to let you know I'm fine."

"Then what's going on?"

Stiles bit his lip. He wanted to tell Derek but he wanted to do it in person. He wished he could have told Scott in person. It would have to wait. "I can't really tell you yet. But, I will when I'm home next."

"Good luck with your exams." Then Derek was gone.

Stiles never could quite work out what Derek's deal was. They had settled into a better rhythm as a pack after everything with the alpha pack was finished. Derek even let Stiles look at the computer with all of the good information. By the end of high school, for everyone but Derek, things had been really good. The pack was close and Lydia, Allison and Stiles were as much a part of it as the wolves. Then about halfway through the summer something changed and Derek just started pulling away again. No one knew what was going on but sometimes the way they looked at Stiles, especially the way Cora looked at Stiles, told him that they suspected something. Stiles hated not knowing things that other people had already worked out.

In the end, Stiles just assumed it was Derek's way of preparing himself for everyone leaving for university.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles wasn't sure how he managed to get through his exams. He hoped like hell he'd passed everything because he was definitely not in a position to come back and redo them now. As soon as his last exam was over he started packing his room up. He was halfway through boxing the few books that he hadn't sold at the second-hand bookstore when there was a knock on his door.

It was Sophia.

"Where do you come from?"

Stiles frowned at the odd question but answered anyway. "Beacon Hills."

She stared at him.

"Northern California."

"Fine," she said folding her arms over her chest. "I haven't started showing too badly so I'm going home for a couple of weeks and then I'm telling my mum I'm driving to New York. Give me your address; I'm staying with you until this baby is born."

Stiles' opened his mouth and stared at her for a second.

"You do still want it, right?"

"Yeah," Stiles said nodding. "Yeah, yeah. Right, of course, I'm going to be living with my dad but you can come and stay with us until the baby is born."

"Good, as soon as it's out I'll drive up to New York. Apparently there is something I can sign that makes sure you can't come back and dump the baby on me later."

"Sophia," Stiles started. "Have you talked to someone about this? You-"

"Listen," she said. "I don't want kids."

"But, maybe you should talk to someone anyway."

"As soon as it's born I'm going to forget I ever had it. Understood?"

"Yeah."

Sophia stared at him. "I need the address."

Stiles nodded and span back to his desk. He wrote down the address and his home number hurriedly and handed it back to Sophia.

"I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, sure, see you then."

Stiles sat down on his bed and called his father.

"Hi, Stiles."

"Hey, Dad."

"You all done packing yet?"

"Not yet, but I'll be done by the time you get here."

"Good. Then, why are you calling?"

"How do you feel about a house guest?"

"What?"

"Sophia isn't going to tell her mum about the pregnancy so she's going to stay with us until it's born."

Stiles listened to his dad's breathing for a couple of heartbeats. "That's fine."

"She just kind of sprung it on me. She has been avoiding the question for ages, she avoids all the questions, but she just appeared in my room and told me the plan."

"It's fine, Stiles. It's good, we can get everything ready and the baby will be born in Beacon Hills."

"Yeah."

"I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Okay, bye, Dad."

Stiles dropped the phone and slammed his hand into the wall above his bed. He was so sick of this. Sophia was acting strange and he couldn't do anything about it and he had no say in anything that was going on. He was happy to help her, he wanted the baby but he really would have liked to be asked. Stiles took a couple of deep breaths as he massaged his hand. Then he pushed all of that away and went back to packing. At least he tried to push it away but like when he had been studying thoughts of Sophia and his unborn child simply wouldn't be banished for long.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles had been home for a couple of days when one morning, at breakfast, the front doorbell rang. Stiles dragged himself, and his cup of coffee, out of the kitchen to answer the door. Derek was standing on the other side.

"Hey, Derek."

"Stiles."

"Here for breakfast?"

"I…"

"Who is it?" His father called out from the kitchen.

"Derek." Stiles said.

"Good, I'm just about finished with the porridge."

"Come on," Stiles said grabbing Derek's elbow. Derek followed him docilely. "I haven't seen you since I got back."

"No."

"Do I look different now that I'm a university graduate?"

Stiles looked back to find Derek staring at him intently. The look made Stiles pause and they stood still in the hallway until Stiles' dad called for them.

"You don't look different," Derek said quietly as he walked past Stiles.

Stiles shook off the strange moment and followed the alpha into the kitchen. When he made it into the room Derek was staring at his father warily while his dad was simply spooning porridge into three bowls as though he had been expecting Derek the whole time.

"Sit down, Derek."

Derek obeyed his father's instruction and Stiles smiled as he took his own seat across from Derek.

"See," Stiles said encouragingly. "I told you he'd still want to see you even if I was home."

Derek looked at him intensely for a long beat and then dropped his head to look at his porridge. Stiles turned to his dad to share a look of strange werewolf but his dad was biting his lip and looking down at his own breakfast. Stiles shrugged and started eating. They ate in almost complete silence and Stiles would have filled the spaces, as he normally did, but at the moment he was more interested in eating than he was in working out if their breakfasts were always this quiet.

Stiles waited until he and Derek had both finished eating before he pushed his chair back and looked at Derek. Derek met his eyes briefly.

"So," Stiles said dragging the word out. "Still want to know what Dad and I were talking about that day?"

Derek looked back up at Stiles sharply and Stiles could tell, from nothing but Derek's eyebrows, that he thought Stiles was an idiot for even bothering to ask.

"I'm going to be a father." Derek's face tightened and his eyes grew darker. "I accidently got a girl pregnant. I'm going to keep the baby because she wants nothing to do with it. I have no idea how I'm going to do that or afford it but I couldn't imagine having a kid and never knowing about it so…that's what's happening."

"Stiles." His father's voice was a reprimand but Stiles wasn't sure why.

"What?" Stiles turned to his father who was looking at him with…sympathy? "Derek wanted to know and I'm not going to keep it from the pack now that I'm home but I wanted to tell people in person."

"Who knows?" Derek asked gruffly.

"You, Dad, and Scott."

Derek nodded. "When is the baby due?"

"November."

"The pack will help."

"What?"

"That's what packs do, when one person has a baby everyone helps were they can."

"Like a village?"

Derek's eyebrows came together in a slight frown.

"You know…it takes a village to raise a child."

"Yes." Derek said. "I have to go, I have a thing."

"Derek," Stiles' voice stopped Derek from rising. "Don't tell anyone else, okay? I want to tell them. Sophia will be here in a couple of weeks but I'm going to tell everyone before that."

Derek nodded and stood, he left out of the back door.

"Stiles."

Stiles turned to his father.

"That wasn't the nicest way to tell him."

"What?"

"You could have been nicer about telling Derek the news."

"Why? He wanted to know."

Stiles' dad looked at him, really looked at him, like he was trying to puzzle something out and then finally he sat but with a laugh. "Never mind, now's really not the time for that discussion."

"What discussion? What's going on?"

"I need to be getting to work, clean up for me?"

"Clean up and then I'm going to go and see what jobs are around town."

"We have a backlog of data entry and records scanning for you," his father said. "I've been holding off on getting someone in. Any free time you have just come to the station and you can do it."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Oh, believe me," his father said. "You are going to need the money."

"I know."

"Talk to Mr James at the paper. I had a word to him about you helping him out."

"You didn't need to do that."

His dad shrugged. "It's my grandkid."

"Dad…do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

His father turned completely around and looked at Stiles. "All that matters is that you do."

"How are you so calm about this? I'm freaking out, I don't know what to do with a kid and I don't have a job and I'm twenty-two. This wasn't supposed to be my life."

"Nope." His father buried his hands into the pockets of his uniform. "It wasn't your plan for your life but this is your life so you need to make a new plan. You have until November to work out how we are going to do this. I've had a kid, and you're pretty decent, so ask me anything you want and I will help as much as I can. Talk to Melissa, she's smart and she will help you. Do research; it's what you're good at. You have two weeks before Sophia gets here to work some of this stuff out. Use it."

Stiles took a deep breath. He was terrified but something in his chest told him this was the right decision and he had trusted that feeling for a long time. "Okay, I can do that."

"And tell your friends, some of them just might surprise you by being helpful."

"I already told Scott he's now Uncle Scott."

"That's a start."

"If you need anything I'm at the station."

Stiles nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles waited until the pack was all together in the end. He thought about telling them one by one but he didn't feel like answering the same set of questions ten times. He waited until the first official get together, on the first Saturday after they all arrived home from school. Stiles had spent the morning baking chocolate chip and hazelnut biscuits. He left enough for his dad and then packed them all up to drive over to Derek's place early. As he drove up he thought he could hear power tools but by the time he had made it into the house Derek was in the laundry next to the kitchen washing his hands. His back was bare and Stiles could see the sweat making his tattoo glisten. Stiles turned away from the sight. Whatever stupid crush he'd had there had never been any chance of it coming to anything and that was even more certain now that Stiles was about to be a dad.

"I hope you have milk," Stiles said before he turned back to the kitchen. "I brought biscuits."

Derek walked into the laundry.

"Out for a run?"

Derek didn't answer but he didn't smell of the forest like he normally did after a run. Stiles could smell something though and he took a deep breath. It smelled like the house when Derek had been rebuilding it.

"What have you been doing?"

Derek looked at him and then stole a biscuit from the plate Stiles was unwrapping. "Running."

Stiles opened his mouth to speak but Derek simply walked past him out of the kitchen. "I'm having a shower."

Stiles wasted his time before everyone else arrived trying to work out what he was going to say. Derek came back down smelling of soap and he looked at Stiles who was moving a piece of furniture.

"I'm telling everyone today."

Derek nodded and walked out of the living room, leaving Stiles to fiddle with the furniture in the room. Stiles wasn't sure why he was doing it but it was something to do. Slowly, the rest of the pack filtered in and Stiles had no choice but to sink down into one of the chairs and listen to everyone talking about what they had been doing. When everyone was there Stiles stood up and walked in front of the television.

"Stiles?" Lydia asked.

"I have something to tell you all."

Scott sat up and looked at him with a questioning expression on his face. Stiles nodded.

"Hurry up, Stilinski," Jackson said. "We don't have all day for your drama."

Stiles glared at him and, not for the first time, wished that Jackson had never come back from his little visit to Europe.

"Shut up, Jackson," Derek said gruffly.

"What is it?" Isaac asked moving forward in his chair.

"I'm going to be a father."

There was no great swell of noise or barrage of questions, all that seemed to occur was that Scott kept his eyes on Stiles and everyone else looked away.

Lydia was the first to react. She turned back to him. "I think we need more information than that."

Stiles let out a breath.

"I think it's fairly obvious," Jackson said. "The idiot hasn't worked out how condoms work."

Stiles closed his eyes and Jackson let out a whine. Stiles opened his eyes to find Jackson wincing in pain.

"Sorry."

Stiles frowned at him.

"Go on," Derek said.

"We did use a condom. It was an after party thing and she got pregnant. She told me a couple of months ago. She doesn't want to keep the baby but I am going to."

Allison stood up and walked over to him. Stiles watched her but she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay?" She said into his neck. He nodded. She pulled away from him slowly.

Stiles smiled at Allison and stepped back. Stiles waited until she was sitting down again before he looked around. "Do you have any questions?"

"What's her name?" Lydia asked.

"Sophia. She is going to be here in a week or so, she's going to stay at my place until the baby is born."

"Then what?" Lydia asked.

"She said she's going to go to New York."

Lydia sat back and Stiles could tell she wanted to ask more but he didn't push.

"How are you going to do this?" Jackson asked. "You don't even have a job."

"I'm working on that," Stiles said biting his lip. "I'm going to live with Dad, obviously, and I've got some work lined up over the next few months but I have no idea. I just know that this is something I have to do."

"Why?" Isaac's voice was quiet. "Why do you have to look after the baby?"

"Because it will be mine," Stiles said. "It's my family and it's not something I could do, giving it up. I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl and I don't know anything else but it's family and you do what you have to, to protect family."

"We are Stiles' pack," Derek said quietly but even Stiles could hear the note, deep and authoritative, underneath every word that told everyone that they were listening to the alpha rather than simply listening to Derek. "Pack is family. When Stiles has the baby we will all be helping. Just like we will if any of the rest of you decide to have children in the future."

"Or you do," Stiles said, without thinking. Derek looked at him and shook his head.

"You will need to be supportive," Derek said, to the pack. Then his eyes fixed on Jackson. "All of you."

The pack nodded. Stiles looked around but no one spoke so he went to sit down.

"What if she changes her mind?" Lydia's voice was almost a whisper in his ear. "When she has the baby, what if she changes her mind about giving it up?"

Stiles felt his chest get suddenly tight and every breath he took felt harder than the one before. He didn't notice the way the wolves around him froze but he did feel the sudden hot hand on his back. "Breathe." Stiles took a shaky breath, and another until his head began to clear.

"I don't know," Stiles admitted. "She's told me she didn't want it from the moment I found out about the baby. She tried to have an abortion but couldn't and I never even thought about her changing her mind."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Lydia said, just as quietly.

"I think it might be too late for that." Stiles said attempting a smile.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Sophia arrived in Beacon Hills on a Tuesday. She was polite to Stiles' dad and thanked him for letting her stay with them. She took her bag up to their spare room and they didn't see her again until dinner.

"I didn't know you were the Sheriff, Mr Stilinski." Sophia said, over chicken and steamed vegetables.

"Call me Sam."

Sophia nodded.

"Tell me a bit about you?"

"I studied journalism. I'm planning to go to New York, I would love to work at a newspaper but I'm going to look at TV and online options too. I made some connections there when I spent last summer living in New Jersey with my aunt. I'm going to contact them all and see if I can get something."

"So we might see your by-line in the New York Times?"

Sophia shrugged. "If only."

Sam had smiled at her and they had eaten dinner in near silence.

Sophia kept to herself for the most part over the next couple of weeks. She didn't join them for breakfast and Derek had stopped dropping by after she arrived. In fact, Stiles didn't see much of the pack at all. He was at the paper every morning running errands, providing fact checking and proofing, then he'd go to the sheriff's department to deal with the backlog. He knew he was going to struggle when the baby came and he was saving every cent he could. He was also looking at what other jobs he could pick up around town. The supermarket needed someone to do night fill while their main person was out of town. It would mean he would never see Sophia or his dad but Stiles took the job without a thought.

Two weeks after Sophia arrived they had their first doctor's appointment in Beacon Hills for her twenty week check-up. They were scheduled to be having an ultrasound where they could find out the sex of the baby.

"Do you want to know?" Stiles asked when he was waiting for Sophia to pull on her shoes.

"Know what?"

"The sex of the baby."

Sophia turned back to him with a frown on her face. "I don't care. If you want to know find out."

Stiles could see his father watching them from the kitchen and Stiles caught the look on his face. It was a face of worry and confusion. Stiles shrugged at his dad as he followed Sophia out of the house.

At the doctor's Stiles asked to know the gender, and for a couple of extra ultrasound photos. They gave him a CD and Stiles wanted to look at the picture the whole way home. When they arrived Scott and Lydia were sitting on the couch waiting for him. Sophia smiled at them weakly.

"Sophia, this is Lydia."

"Hi." Sophia said.

"Hello." Lydia said with a smile. Her eyes flicked over to Stiles. "So?"

Stiles face broke out into a grin. "It's going to be a girl."

Lydia laughed and stood up. "Show me."

Stiles handed over the ultrasound photo while Scott walked over more slowly.

"Hi, Sophia." Scott said.

"Hi."

"How are you finding Beacon Hills?"

"Fine," she said.

"We were wondering if you want to come out with us all on Sunday. We're having dinner at Derek's."

"You should come." Stiles said encouragingly.

Sophia shook her head. "I'm not here to make friends. I just want to get through the next four months."

"Okay," Stiles said. "But if you change your mind."

"I won't. I'm going to go upstairs and read."

"Sure, see you at dinner," Stiles said, awkwardly.

They waited until Scott said she was upstairs before they said anything else.

"That's not healthy." Lydia commented.

Stiles shrugged. "I'm not sure if she just doesn't want to get involved because she plans to leave or if there is something more going on."

"She has no plans to get attached," Stiles' father said coming into the room. "It's perhaps not healthy but she's made her decision and she is doing what she thinks is right so that she can walk away at the end."

They were all silent for a few minutes.

"Well," Sam said finally. "Where is the photo of my grandchild?"

"Granddaughter," Stiles said. "It's a girl."

Stiles' dad stared at him and then his entire face lit up. "I'm going to have to see this."

Stiles pulled the photo out of Lydia's hands and gave it to his father. "That is your granddaughter."

Stiles watched as his father blinked a few times and his eyes started to glisten.

"Dad?"

His father looked up from the photo. "I'm allowed to get misty over my granddaughter. I hope this is my copy."

"Of course." Stiles said.

His dad started to walk towards the kitchen. "Oh, is everything else good?"

"Everything's great. They gave us November 20 for the due date."

"Good," his dad said. "I'll put my forms in for a week or so before that then."

Stiles smiled and when he turned back to Lydia she was looking at him carefully.

"What?"

Lydia stood up and hugged him. "I just hope that everything is going to be okay."

"It will," Stiles said. "It has to be."

"I want to see the picture," Scott said interrupting them. "This is my niece we're talking about."

Stiles pulled out another photo and they spent the next little while looking at every feature they could find.

"It's a good thing she doesn't look like you," Scott said. "In fact, I think she has my nose."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

The first time that Stiles got to see the whole pack after Sophia arrived was at Derek's birthday party. His actual birthday had been over a week before but this was their first chance to get together as a group. Stiles had to hurry his father out of the house. They had invited Sophia but she shook her head and settled down in the lounge room to watch a movie.

"How are you finding living with Sophia?" Stiles asked his dad.

"Can't really tell she's there most of the time. She obviously isn't too demanding."

"Thank you for letting her stay with us. I know you thought you might have gotten rid of me when I went off to university."

"Yes," his father said sarcastically. "I was so looking forward to living alone until I'm old and grey and have to move in with you and whomever you end up with."

"Well, it's a good thing I knocked some girl up then."

"The words every father longs to hear."

"I knew you'd feel like that."

They arrived at Derek's to find everyone outside the house, in the back garden where Derek had built the patio and had a gigantic barbecue. Everyone was there except for Derek. Stiles left his father talking to Melissa and made his way into the kitchen to find Derek pulling meat out of his fridge.

"Derek."

"Stiles."

"I'm not sure if someone else told you but…I'm having a daughter."

Derek turned around and looked at Stiles. "A girl?"

"Yeah, I was hoping I would get to tell you. Would you like to see a photo?"

Derek turned back to the fridge and finished pulling the meat out.

Stiles let out a sigh. "I'd forgotten how much a bunch of werewolves could eat."

"Show me the photo later." Derek said and walked straight past Stiles and outside. Stiles watched him go but he didn't follow. He let out a huff, he'd barely seen Derek since he had told the pack about the baby. Stiles missed the friendliness they had shared and he missed chatting to Derek…or at Derek, as the case might be. The worst part though seemed to be that Derek's distance and Stiles' busyness just didn't seem to be about the real problem. Stiles shook it off, now was definitely not the time even if maybe, once, he had thought it might be a possibility. He had been over this thing, he has been so sure he was but he had a photo of his unborn daughter in his pocket and the person he really wanted to share it with definitely wasn't interested.

Stiles shook his head and went outside.

Dinner was over and the wolves were either shifting and running around playing or sprawled out around the fire pit with the humans drinking and chatting when Derek sat down next to Stiles.

"You have a picture to show me."

Stiles looked at Derek and nodded. He pulled the ultrasound out of his wallet and handed it to Derek.

Derek's eyes turned red as he looked down at it so that he could see in the darkness. Stiles watched Derek as the alpha stared at the photo. A long while later Derek handed the image back.

"She has your nose."

Stiles didn't even need to look down at the image to picture it in his mind. "That would be great."

"How long until she is born?"

"A little under five months."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

The next two months were a blur.

Sophia started coming down to breakfast with them but that was one of the few times that Stiles even saw her.

She was getting bigger and one morning a few weeks after Derek's birthday they were eating breakfast and she froze. Her hand going to her rounded stomach. Stiles and his father's eyes were glued to her. They were worried but she simply told them the baby had moved. She let Stiles hand rest on her stomach but there was nothing he could feel. The websites he had consulted, and the books he had borrowed from the library, all said that the mother could feel them first but they also said she should have been feeling them before now. Stiles wouldn't admit it to anyone but he'd seen the timeline in the book and he'd been worried. That morning, even if he couldn't feel anything, allowed him to relax. She was fine, his little…he supposed he should seriously start thinking about a name.

Stiles kept working at the paper in the mornings, though the editor knew the guy who managed the paper in Lewis, a larger town south of Beacon Hills, also needed a part time fact checker. Stiles came to an arrangement with both papers where he would do all of the work out of Beacon Hills. The problem being that he'd work straight through lunch until he was done. Then he headed over to the sheriff's department. He was only about halfway through the backlog and Stiles was beginning to wonder if they were all just giving him work for the sake of it. He worked there until he had to leave to go to the supermarket because the job that was supposed to take a couple of weeks had turned into three months when the guy he was replacing broke his leg. Stiles wasn't going to complain about the work, well he did, a bit, but only to Scott.

Stiles was sure that weekends existed and he kept meaning to see his pack but all he ever managed was a few minutes here and there.

Sophia slowly grew bigger and just as they were sliding between trimesters two and three Stiles finally felt the baby move. Sophia offered him a smile but she didn't seem all that excited as Stiles sent a message to everyone he knew.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

His daughter could now dream. Stiles had read that when he woke up on his first full Sunday off in weeks. He did not want to get out of bed but his father had called him to breakfast twice already and Stiles knew he needed to drag himself down even if all he really wanted to do was sleep. He was about to throw the covers off when the door to his bedroom slammed open.

"Wake up, Stiles."

Stiles groaned at Lydia.

"Nope," she said. "The pack hasn't seen you in weeks so I've been sent to collect you."

"I need to stay here and help my dad."

"Already cleared it with him; the helping him tidy up his study thing was a lie so you wouldn't book something else."

"Mutiny!"

Lydia rolled her eyes at him. "You have one minute to get out of bed or I'll drag you."

"Fine," Stiles sat up and slowly got out of bed. He yanked a t-shirt off the back of his desk chair and pulled it over his head to follow.

"About time," his father said as soon as Stiles was seated at the table.

"Day off," Stiles said wistfully.

"No such thing if you're going to be a father," his dad said and put a plate of pancakes down in front of him.

Stiles grumbled but didn't bother to actually say anything as he began eating the stack of pancakes. His dad put a cup of coffee down next to his plate and patted him on the back. Stiles knew his father was proud of him. Stiles might never be home but his bank account was steadily rising every week and he had discussed working from home with both of the papers he was researching and fact checking for. They had a plan for when the baby was born and everything seemed like it was going to work. Stiles was terrified about what was going to happen when the baby actually came along but for now he had a plan, and he had his dad.

They ate and then Lydia pushed him up the stairs and into the shower.

"Why are you being such a nag?"

"I was supposed to have you at Derek's half an hour ago but your dad and I didn't really want to wake you up."

Stiles nodded and climbed into the shower. He rested his head against the cold tiles as the hot water turned his skin red and had happy, wanting, thoughts about his bed. He turned the water off before he was really ready to get out but he was clean and knew they needed to get going. Lydia was sitting on his bed next to a clean outfit and Stiles knew that she would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't wear what she had picked out for him. He dressed quickly and she dragged him out of the house and into her car.

The whole pack was there waiting for them. They had planned a day of movies and lunch and a run through the woods in the afternoon. Stiles sat down on the couch and Derek immediately slid into the spot on his left. Isaac and Cora had an elbow fight to get into the spot on Stiles' other side and he looked at Isaac strangely when he plastered himself to Stiles' side.

"As much as I like you, Isaac…"

"Your smell has been missing from the pack for too long," Derek said into his ear. "They all need to get your smell back. We all do."

Stiles nodded and allowed his body to be squashed tightly between Derek's, who was solid and immovable, and Isaac who seemed to curl into all of his empty spaces. Stiles fell asleep warm and comfortable halfway through the movie. He woke after it was over to find his head curled into Derek's neck and Boyd sitting silent and still on his other side. Another movie was playing on the screen in front of him.

"Sorry," Stiles said, trying to move so that he wasn't using Derek for a body pillow.

"Don't apologise." Derek said quietly. "You've been working hard."

"Mmmm," Stiles gave up trying to move off Derek since Boyd was immovable next to him. "It's paying off though."

"When are you going to do the nursery?"

"The baby is going to sleep with me for the first few months. Dad said it was the best idea; apparently I slept in their room for six months. I was, shockingly enough, a problem sleeper. When Sophia's gone we'll turn the room she's been sleeping in into the nursery since it's next to mine. I'm going to have to go and buy things soon. I started a list and it keeps getting longer…" Stiles trailed off when he realised that the rest of the pack was completely silent. He craned around to find them all staring at him. "What?"

"They are curious," Derek said and given the way Stiles was now sitting Derek's breath was sliding over Stiles' neck.

"You know you guys can ask me anything you want."

The movie was immediately turned off and Boyd slid just far enough away for Stiles to turn around and sit properly. He was still pressed into Derek from shoulder to knee.

"So…what do you want to know?"

"Have you felt the baby move?" Allison asked.

"Have you picked a name?" Isaac asked.

"Yes," Stiles said. "I've felt the baby move a couple of times and I have a few names in mind."

"Have you thought about getting a lawyer involved?" Lydia asked. "To make sure that your rights are protected and that everything goes smoothly after the birth."

"I don't have one yet but-"

"I have one," Derek interrupted. "I'll find out if he knows someone good who is involved in this type of law."

Stiles stared at him for a moment. "Thank you."

"Good," Lydia said. "There is apparently a good second hand baby store in Lewis, tell me when you next have a day off and we'll go shopping."

"Don't buy a bath though," Allison said with a smile. "I got you one."

"What?"

"We weren't sure if we could have a baby shower," Allison said. "Since the mother doesn't want to be part of her life but we've all got presents."

"We'll have a shower for Stiles," Derek said firmly. "And there will be no shopping trip until after the baby shower."

"Yes, sir," Stiles said with a grin. "But, you guys don't need to do that."

"They do," Derek said. "A new life in the pack is a monumental thing. It's in our nature to prepare for it even if we aren't the parents."

"She'll be pack?" Stiles asked quietly.

"Of course she will," Derek said, his voice low and rough. "She is yours."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

It wasn't until two weeks later that Stiles realised one slight problem. He was checking his list and realised he had forgotten to include a car seat. Then he thought about his jeep. His amazing, beautiful, wonderful jeep…which was probably wildly inappropriate for a man with a baby and a car seat.

"Dad," Stiles asked as he was pushing his mashed potato around his plate.

"What?"

"I've been thinking about my car. I've had the jeep forever but it's not really suitable anymore, is it?"

His dad looked at him with something like pride. "Probably not."

"I'll go down and see what I can do about trading her in." Stiles really didn't want to get rid of the jeep but he knew he needed to do it.

"Want me to come down with you?"

Stiles stretched out his shoulders. "I should probably go on my own."

His father shook his head. "Whatever you want."

"I'll go tomorrow, before I come to the station, just to see what they have."

His father nodded and went back to eating his dinner.

The next day when Stiles parked outside the car lot he couldn't decide if he was surprised to find his father's patrol car parked in front of him or not. He left his baby behind and walked over to his father who was resting against a tree and drinking from a bottle of water.

"Fancy seeing you here," Stiles said with a smirk.

His father looked at him and shrugged. "I was passing."

"You didn't have to come."

"And you can still ask me for help."

"I should do this stuff myself; I'm going to be a dad soon."

"You are," his father said. "And if there is anything having you taught me it's that it doesn't matter how old you are you still need help from your family."

"Right," Stiles said firmly and clapped his hands. "Let's see what options they have for something cheap and safe."

"Those are your only criteria?"

"It needs to be suitable for a car seat."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard."

It wasn't. There was a little red thing that hadn't been beaten up too badly that was newer than his jeep and relatively cheap. It would fit a car seat, having both back doors and a proper back seat. It would eat away at a little of what Stiles had saved but a bulk of the cost would be covered by the trade-in of his jeep which he had been keeping in perfect running condition for those times when you had to outrun a rabid alpha werewolf. His dad stepped in and negotiated the salesman down on price and organised for the car to be inspected before sale. Stiles shook the man's hand and he and his father had left. They would go back after the car had been given the once over and he was sure it was safe and working right.

"Thanks, Dad."

"I always enjoy haggling with a salesman." His father smiled and started moving towards his car.

"How long have you known I'd need to get rid of the jeep?"

"The whole time."

"And you never said anything?"

"I was waiting to see if you'd work it out. I figured if you still hadn't by the time we were in month eight I'd say something."

Stiles couldn't help but smile. He might not have worked it out straight away but he had, eventually, and before the baby was born. He just might manage to not completely stuff up this whole fatherhood thing.

Two weeks later he drove his jeep to the car lot with Scott in the car next to him. They had both gone to collect the car when Stiles' father had bought it for him. They had done a lot in this old blue jeep with the wrong coloured doors. Stiles couldn't help but be sad to never get to drive it again. He had started his crush on Derek in this car. He had kissed Lydia for the first time in it…it was also the last place they had kissed before they'd broken up. He and Scott had fled any number of supernatural beings in this car and it had seen more than most little cars.

"Perhaps this is a metaphor for my life," Stiles said as they sat outside of the car lot. "Leaving my young adulthood behind me as I embark on parenthood."

Scott looked at him, rolled his eyes and then shook his head. "Or, you are just melodramatic."

Stiles gasped. "Me? Melodramatic? How dare you, how, very dare you?"

"Let's do this thing," Scott said and Stiles drove the jeep the rest of the way into the lot.

They left the jeep behind and went into the sales office. Stiles signed the paperwork to sell the jeep and the paperwork to buy his new little red car. He reached into his wallet for the cash he had taken out of the bank but the salesman frowned at him.

"The balance has already been paid."

"I'm sorry?" Stiles asked.

"The balance was paid yesterday, by a…Mr Stilinski."

"I'm Mr Stilinski and I didn't pay for the car."

"The balance has been paid," the salesman said again. "It was processed by James, let me just go and get him and we'll sort this out."

James came over and looked at the paperwork. "The sheriff came yesterday and paid the balance on the car, we were simply waiting for the jeep to arrive before we could release it."

"The sheriff?" Stiles asked.

"Yes."

"Oh," Stiles said. "Well, then I'll talk to him then."

They handed Stiles the keys and everything else he would need. Stiles and Scott stood in front of the car for a moment simply looking at it.

"It's newer than the jeep," Scott said.

"Safer too," Stiles agreed. "I will be able to get a car seat in the back and-"

"You mean like the one already in there?" Scott interrupted.

"What?" Stiles walked around to the side of the car and peered into the window. There was a car seat in the backseat. It was the same one that Stiles had been researching online. "I can't believe him."

"Really?" Scott asked. "Because this seems exactly like your dad."

"But he shouldn't have, it's too much."

Scott punched Stiles in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"He is so excited about having a granddaughter," Scott said. "He calls my mum all the time to talk about it. They are both fairly certain you are going to lose your mind when you realise how hard it is but they believe you can do it. He is just out of his mind looking forward to having a granddaughter to spoil."

"I knew he was happy but I was fairly certain he was also disappointed."

"In what? You're not sixteen with your first girlfriend. This wasn't planned but…shit, Stiles. If any of us is capable of having a kid at this point it's you. Plus, you have all of us, I know you don't really get it yet but Derek is being very clear. This baby is pack and we will all help. You had an accident but you've done the right thing as far as you are concerned so he has nothing to be disappointed in."

Stiles pulled in a deep breath. "I just know this isn't what he was expecting. It's not what anyone was expecting. I always thought I was so careful."

"Ninety-seven percent. It even happened to Ross and Rachel."

Stiles looked at Scott incredulously. "Seriously?"

Scott shrugged. "Allison likes the show."

"Well," Stiles said with a shrug. "It is funny, but they are a couple on TV and that is the best you can come up with to comfort me?"

Scott shrugged.

"Come on," Stiles said unlocking the door and sliding behind the wheel of his new car.

When they made it back to Stiles' house Scott said his goodbyes and started off towards the woods. Stiles had plans to go and see the pack later and then he could show off his new car.

"Dad?" Stiles called out as soon as he'd made it into the house.

Sophia was sitting in the lounge room with a sandwich on her ever growing stomach. She turned around and said hello to Stiles before telling him that his father was out the back. Stiles asked her if she needed anything before he continued through the house and outside. He dad was stretched out on one of the chairs with a beer in hand.

"Dad," Stiles said.

"Pick up the car?"

"I did and the oddest thing happened," Stiles said coming to stand in front of his father. "I went to pay and they said that the Sheriff had taken care of it."

His dad smirked at him.

"Then I get to the car and there is a car seat in the back."

"It's a good one," was all his father said.

"I know. But, you didn't need to do that."

"Things are going to be hard enough," his father said. "I know you have the money and I know you would have paid for it and that would have been that but I wanted to do this for you. One thing to make everything a little easier."

"Thank you."

Stiles' dad smiled up at him. "You're welcome."

Stiles collapsed down into the chair next to the one his dad was in. "It was odd to leave the jeep behind."

"It was a good car."

"It stood up to evil alpha werewolves," Stiles said with a sigh. "It was a warrior car."

Sam let out a huff of disbelief. "Aren't you going to Derek's tonight?"

"Yes, I should get moving…wait, he only called me about that earlier. Have you two been having your super-secret chats again? Has he told you why he stopped coming for breakfast?"

Stiles' dad looked at him like Stiles was an idiot but didn't offer any explanation.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles' baby shower, he tried to stop Allison and Lydia calling it that but nothing would stop them, happened on a Sunday a month before the baby was due. Derek called him at an obscene time in the morning and asked him to come to Derek's place early. Stiles agreed and turned his phone onto silent before he collapsed back into his pillows and fell asleep.

He woke up again later, his father was reading the paper in the backyard and Sophia was lying on the couch asleep. She had been sleeping a lot lately but everything Stiles had read indicated that it was completely normal and the doctor said she was completely healthy and their daughter was developing normally. They had been to the doctor on Friday so Stiles had a new photo, in 3D, that was honestly a little strange looking, to show everyone today. She knew he was spending the day with the pack, though she just called them his friends. Stiles knew she had plans to watch television today since she would be alone in the house for most of the time. Stiles was as quiet as he could when he went into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. He explained to his father that he was going early and said he would see him later.

As soon as he turned his car off at Derek's house the alpha walked out of the large shed that was off to the side of the house. Stiles left the few bits and pieces in the car before walking over to meet him. The shed was where Derek kept his gigantic werewolf pack moving car and the flashy Camaro that Stiles still had fantasies about driving. It was also were Derek would disappear to work on his physique and where the rest of the pack would disappear off to when they needed time or to work something out. Half of the building held a workout mat and the small amount of equipment that werewolves wouldn't destroy. Then there was the last corner where Derek would go to and turn into a zen werewolf who liked to build things out of wood. Stiles had camped out one afternoon and watched as Derek had been building a table that later ended up in his father's dining room.

That last corner of the shed was where Derek led Stiles. Stiles froze when he saw it.

"What?"

Derek stood behind the cot and watched Stiles. "I made it for your daughter. Have you chosen a name yet?"

Stiles ducked his head. "I have but it's a secret."

"So you've told Scott." Stiles looked up but Derek's face was unreadable.

Stiles shook his head. "I haven't even told my dad. Just in case."

Derek's face hardened. "In case of what?"

"Something Lydia said. What if Sophia has the baby and changes her mind and can't give her up?"

"Do you think she might?"

Stiles shrugged and jammed his hands into his pockets. "Sophia isn't any more interested in the baby than she was when she first told me that I was going to be a father but it happens, doesn't it?"

Derek made a low, distressed sound that could almost sound like whine if Stiles had a death wish.

Stiles folded his arms over his chest and rolled his shoulders. "I try not to think about it but I'm not telling anyone the name until I know for sure that it's going to be hers."

"Have you been in touch with the lawyer?"

"Yeah," Stiles said. "Everything is as sorted out as it can be but until she is born nothing will be signed and even then she has time to change her mind. I mean, if she wants to know her that's great but I worry about Sophia taking her away."

"We won't let her." Derek said firmly.

Stiles looked up at him. He wasn't sure what was showing on his face but Derek's face hardened and he nodded. Stiles returned the nod and attempted a smile.

Derek placed his hands on the cot in front of him. "This is for her, regardless."

Stiles walked over towards Derek. The cot was a deep cherry colour and one of the sides was down lower than the other. When Stiles made it the whole way there Derek pulled it up making it the same height as the other side. Stiles ran his fingers over the smooth wood, at one end there was a carved wolf smiling down into the cot. Stiles ran a finger over the wolf's ears and down over the snout.

"An odd choice," Stiles said quietly. "But perfect for the newest member of your pack."

"It's a tradition," Derek said. His voice was low and deep and Stiles would happily listen to Derek read the Matrix code if he did it in that voice. "The wolf represents the protection that the baby is given by the pack. There is nothing that the baby would ever need to fear from a wolf so long as it is a member of my pack."

Stiles let his fingers continue trailing over the smoothed edges of the wolf. "She's already very lucky."

"You're her father," Derek said solemnly.

"Thank you for making this," Stiles said. He walked around the cot trailing his fingers along the sides. "It would have taken you ages."

Derek didn't say anything.

"I appreciate all of the work you did."

"This isn't everything," Derek said. He turned his back on Stiles and went behind a half wall. "I didn't know you weren't going to use a cot straight away so this isn't as detailed."

Stiles took two steps and looked around the wall. "A bassinette?"

"That's what you said you were using."

"But you…" Stiles looked up at Derek with shock. "You made one?" He looked at the bassinette and then back to the cot. "They match."

"They're both made of ash," Derek said. "The sides of the cot can come off when she is old enough to just use a bed and I can move the floor of the thing down as you need."

"Derek," Stiles said walking around the bassinette and grabbing onto Derek's wrists. The alpha looked down but made no move to get Stiles to let go. "It is so amazing that you've done all of this. Thank you, I…they are amazing."

Derek smiled and Stiles' stomach twisted.

"Wait," Stiles said. "Ash? As in mountain ash?" Derek nodded. "How is that even possible?"

"It is protection for her," Derek said. "I'm in her pack and mean her no harm so I will have no problem passing through the barrier if needed but if something else comes after her then she will be safe."

"You made her a cot of mountain ash with a wolf to watch over her? How do you feel about sharing godfather with Scott?"

Derek looked at Stiles strangely.

"Or not, you know, if you don't want-"

"Are you serious?" Derek interrupted.

"Yeah," Stiles said. "I was toying with the idea before, I wasn't really sure if you'd even be interested but…if you are, I'm serious."

"Then I would very much like to be her godfather."

"And this way Scott won't be able to make any horrible godfather jokes."

Derek lifted the bassinette and Stiles stepped back.

"I didn't see a wolf."

Derek paused but then kept moving. He placed the bassinette next to the cot and Stiles could see how matched they really were. The head and tail of the bed were both curved with slight detail but the main feature was the wolf and now that the bassinette was in the light Stiles could see the engraved wolf that was at one end of the bed section. Stiles smiled up at Derek who was watching him closely.

"I can't wait to show these to dad."

"I have a mattress for them both inside," Derek said. "If you don't like them you don't need to use them."

"Are you shitting me?" Stiles asked. "We need to get these into the house so everyone can just flail all over them."

Derek nodded. "I'll get one of the betas to help me as soon as they get here."

Stiles bit at his lip and inspected the two pieces.

"What's wrong, Stiles?"

"Can I take the bassinette but leave the cot here until after Sophia's gone. We don't really have space for it until we turn her bedroom into the nursery."

"Of course."

Stiles smiled and went back to just looking and touching the woodwork.

"Oh," Stiles said suddenly and turned on Derek. "New ultrasound."

Derek looked interested as Stiles pulled it out of his pocket and handed the picture to Derek. Stiles would put money on the fact that Derek's face softened as he looked down at the photo.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

The rest of the pack started arriving almost an hour after Stiles finally dragged himself away from the cot and bassinette. He had wondered, as they walked the short distance between the two buildings, when his life had come to the point when he was excited about a cot that Derek had built. Probably around the time that he realised he was really, honestly, going to have a daughter soon.

Isaac went out and helped Derek carry the cot and bassinette into the lounge room where Allison and Boyd were setting out some food. A lot of food really – the metabolism of a werewolf was mind boggling at times. Melissa was the last to arrive and Scott rushed out to relieve her of the giant hamper that she was pulling out of the boot of her car.

Stiles looked around the lounge room and towards one corner where there was a small mountain of wrapped items. "You've all overdone it."

"We really haven't," Melissa said watching her son lift the basket like it weighed nothing. "Is that the newest picture?"

Stiles was about to answer when his father nodded and pulled Melissa over to where the picture had been stuck to the wall with the rest of them. There was also a collage of them all as babies. Stiles went into the kitchen to help Allison but he ended up just leaning into the counter and watching her.

"What's wrong, Stiles?"

"I'm not sure what I should be doing. I normally am the one in here making stuff."

Allison smiled at him. "And that is the exact reason that I am. Go in there and sit down and just relax. You haven't been relaxed since you first told us about the baby."

"I'm relaxed."

Allison just sighed at him with disappointment. "You can't even see it but you are almost twisted around like a pretzel with worry."

"She's right," Derek said from the doorway making Stiles jump.

"What?"

"You're tense. Your heartbeat is always a little high and you're obviously stressed."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Sorry," Stiles said. "I'll just go and sit down then."

Derek grabbed his arm as Stiles was walking past. "It's normal, but you should know you're stressed. It can't surprise you between how hard you're working and the fact you're so close to the due date."

Stiles nodded. "I'm not prepared."

"But," Lydia said coming into the kitchen and grabbing his arm. "By the time you've opened the gifts you will be. Come on."

"Are we doing gifts?" Stiles asked. "Because everyone bought too much."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "As I have decided she will be my niece and she can never have too much, she's going to be spoilt."

"She already is," Stiles said. "Did you see the cot?"

Lydia smiled at him like he was not very bright and pulled him out of the kitchen and into the lounge room. She pushed him down into a chair and Scott slumped into the seat next to him and handed him a glass.

"What is this I hear about Derek being a godfather?" Scott asked.

The werewolves around them froze but Sam and Melissa continued to talk quietly in the corner.

"I was going to talk to you about that," Stiles said looking at Scott.

Scott looked over Stiles' shoulder at Jackson. When Stiles turned to follow his eye line, Jackson shrugged at him. "I heard you both talking when I came by to drop the buns off."

"And you felt the need to gossip about it?"

"Didn't know it was a big secret."

"It's not," Stiles said. "But, it was my news to tell."

"You're not that interesting, Stiles. Who cares if I told Scott, or you did?"

Stiles shook his head and turned back to Scott. "I wanted to ask you myself."

Scott's face shifted. "You were going to ask me too?"

Stiles nodded.

"But I'm the uncle."

"You can be both," Stiles pointed out.

"We're both men," Scott said in the same surprised voice.

"Wow," Jackson threw in. "I can see the money you spent on higher education was worth it."

Melissa clipped him around the ear and then went back to talking to Sam.

"Sorry," Jackson muttered to Melissa.

"Would you like to be a godparent," Stiles said. "Along with Derek."

Scott smiled. "Oh, I suppose."

"What about me?" Lydia asked. "Or Allison, you know strong, positive female role models for her."

"That's what Melissa is for," Stiles said with a sweet smile.

Lydia glared at him. "Just because Derek likes to kiss men doesn't mean he will be able to teach her all of the important things that she will need to know."

"What?" Stiles said. "Since when does Derek like to kiss men?"

The entire pack, including his father and Melissa, looked at him like they were questioning his ability to walk and speak at the same time given his lack of a brain.

Stiles swivelled around and looked at Derek. "How did I miss that?"

Derek shrugged and ignored everyone to walk towards Sam and Melissa.

Stiles turned back to Scott. "When and how did I miss that?"

"I don't know," Scott said with a shrug.

"Traditionally," Melissa said. "Children have three godparents."

"Yes," Lydia said. "But she's a girl and they have two godmothers and one godfather."

"And I'm just going to do what I want," Stiles said with a happy shrug.

"As you should, really," his father said. "Now, someone promised me lunch."

"Yes," Derek said. "Allison is just waiting for the last of it to come out of the oven but everyone should start eating."

They ate until they were stuffed full and then lazed around in the lounge room. Melissa and Stiles' father began telling him as many funny, and horrifying, stories about parenthood as they could. Then they started on the embarrassing stories about Stiles and Scott as they were growing up and Scott stood.

"I think it's time for gifts."

"But, I love hearing about you as a baby." Allison said, kissing him.

"It's all so interesting," Jackson said in a high voice that was obviously designed to mock Allison. "Ow, shit, Lydia!"

Lydia smiled at him sweetly. "I think it's time for presents."

Stiles looked over at the mound of gifts and sighed.

"Buck up," Melissa said, smiling at him. "Trust me when I say that you will come to appreciate everything you've been given."

"I already do."

"And you haven't even seen what we got yet," Lydia said. She went over and dug through the presents until she came out with a brightly wrapped pink present. "My cousin had a baby a year ago and I picked her brain for what you'd need."

"The rest of us simply asked Mum and your dad," Scott said. "It was much easier."

"We came up with a list," Allison said. "So there were no double ups but Derek had already started on the cot and bassinette."

"Open it." Lydia demanded.

Stiles obediently unwrapped her gift. Followed by Allison's, then Danny and Jackson's, Scott and his mother's, Boyd and Isaac's and Cora's. he looked down at the loot surrounding him and smiled up at his…family.

"Thank you."

There were nappies and wipes, a plastic bathtub, cloths, sheets and blankets – embroidered with little wolves, a stuffed lamb. A little blanket slash teddy bear with a soft satiny underside…two of them 'for when you need to wash one of them and she loses her mind,' Melissa had said with a sigh. Creams and lotions and bathwash, a little portable, foldable change mat/centre/carrier thing, bottles, and a sanitiser. And clothes, lots and lots of clothes.

"Shit," Stiles said, as Lydia and Allison sorted through all of the clothes. "You guys way over did it."

"They did," his father said sitting next to him. "But isn't it nice to be so loved?"

"Me or the kid?" Stiles asked.

His father looked thoughtful for a moment. "Probably my granddaughter."

"Probably."

"And," Scott said. "We had an idea for when she is born…what we are going to give her to celebrate. You are going to love it."

"No!"

"What?" Scott asked.

"You aren't allowed to buy anything else; you've already bought her too much."

Scott looked at him like he was speaking Russian. "Like we care what you say."

Stiles opened his mouth to speak and then shut it. He looked over at Derek who looked very smug and Stiles knew he was not going to win that particular argument.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles was working at the sheriff's department on a Wednesday when he received the call from Sophia.

"Stiles, I'm going into labour."

Stiles shot up from his seat and upended the last two hours' worth of work. "What? Okay, where are you?"

"Your dad is driving me to the hospital."

"Yes, good. I'll be there soon."

Stiles put the phone down and then almost strangled himself when he tried to step away from the desk.

"You okay, Stiles?" Meg, the lady who handled the front desk with something akin to inhuman efficiency, asked, looking at him strangely.

"Sophia is having the baby." Stiles sat down again but missed the chair he had pushed away in his previous effort and ended up on the floor. "Oh crap, I'm going to be a dad."

One of the deputies, Sarah, came to stand over him. "You are, but you're going to miss something if you don't calm down."

Stiles looked at her like she was an idiot. "But it's early. It's three weeks early. She isn't due for three weeks."

Sarah reached down and hauled him up. Stiles looked around to find every member of the sheriff's department staff standing and staring at him.

"My Grace was early," Scott, another deputy, said. "Happens. She'll be fine."

"But I'm not ready!" Stiles said.

"You're never ready," Meg said, walking over. She grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and manhandled him into it then handed him his keys and mobile. She made him check that he had his wallet and then grabbed his elbow and started walking him out of the building. She stopped when they reached his little red car with the car seat in the back and she grabbed his shoulders. "You are never, ever, ready for your baby to come. There will always be more you could do but for right this second I want you to listen. If you do the very best you can then it doesn't matter that you could do more. You will learn that one of the secrets of parenting is that you could always do better. Now, I want you to take a deep breath." Stiles obeyed. "Good, now drive slowly to the hospital and do not use your phone. Call us when she is born, understood?"

Stiles nodded and took another deep breath. He felt calmer as he reached into his pocket for his keys and slid behind the wheel. He drove away from the sheriff's department building concentrating very firmly on the road around him. It took him longer to get to the hospital than it should have but he made it there with both his body and, most, of his sanity intact.

He sent a quick message to Meg thanking her and then dialled Scott's number.

"Hey, Stiles."

"Scott, she's in labour and I'm at the hospital."

"Already?"

"Yeah," Stiles let out on a breath. "Already, let everyone know, okay?"

"Sure, good luck."

Stiles hung up and then called Derek.

"Stiles, you're at work."

"No," Stiles said. "I'm at the hospital."

"What's wrong?" Derek said urgently.

"Sophia's in labour and I'm about to be a father."

"That's great," Derek said. "Then why are you talking to me?"

"I wanted you to know," Stiles said. "I wanted to tell you myself."

There was a pause. "Thank you."

Stiles let out a groan. "I'm not ready yet."

"What needs to be done?"

"The download into my brain that is going to tell me how to be a dad."

"Doesn't exist."

"The fact I haven't set up her area in my room. I just thought I'd have more time and it's only been a week since the baby shower."

"I'll take care of it."

"Derek-"

"Anything else?" Derek said, cutting Stiles off.

"No," Stiles said. "I think that's it."

"Call me when she's born?"

Stiles opened his mouth to say yes and then realised what he was actually going to say was…come, come and be here, somehow that seemed like asking too much but he closed his eyes and did it anyway. "You know, they have a waiting room."

"I'll be there," Derek said and Stiles could hear the smile in his voice.

"I've got to go," Stiles said. "I'm going to be a dad."

"You are."

"Do I want to be called dad? Daddy? Papa? Pop? Shit."

"Probably she won't be calling you anything yet," Derek said. "So worry about it when she's born."

"Yes, good point." Stiles took a deep breath. "I have to go."

"Bye." Derek hung up and Stiles pulled himself out of the car and into the hospital. He found his way to Sophia's room and his father smiled at him from where he was sitting next to Sophia. She was resting back in the bed but he could see that she was tense.

"Everything okay?" Stiles asked.

"Just had a contraction," Sophia said. "They aren't fun."

Stiles smiled. "Sorry."

She shrugged at him. "They are getting me drugs."

"I'll leave you both to it," Sam said standing up. He walked over to Stiles and kissed him on the head. "Good luck."

There were many things about childbirth that television had prepared Stiles for. There was so many more that it hadn't. And then there were some things about it that he really, really, desperately wished he could unlearn.

At 7:20pm on November 3, Stiles couldn't have cared any less about his visual and emotional scarring because a nurse handed him his daughter. She was red and her head was faintly cone shaped, she didn't look very attractive and she was the most amazingly, beautiful, thing he had ever seen. He held her while the medical staff around him did medical things but he didn't stop simply looking down at his daughter who was staring back at him with wide blue eyes. She had soft blonde hair on her head and round cheeks. Stiles looked down at her and realised that he would be responsible for her for the rest of his life.

"Can I hold her?"

Stiles startled and looked up to find Sophia watching him.

"Yes, of course," he handed Sophia the baby and took a step away from the bed.

"Hello," Sophia said looking down at her. "She looks like you."

"Really?" Stiles asked.

"What are you going to call her?"

"Isabella."

Sophia smiled. "Hello, Isabella."

Then the room was silent.

Stiles didn't want to ask but he had to. "Have you changed your mind?"

Sophia looked down at Isabella and then shook her head. "She is amazing and I think I love her but this isn't what I want. She's yours, she has been the whole time. Whenever you're ready with the paperwork I'll sign."

"You don't have to rush."

Sophia shook her head and looked up at Stiles. "I'm not rushing. This isn't what I want, but you do."

"I do." Stiles confirmed, wanting her even more now than he had before.

Sophia nodded. "Can I have a minute though?"

"Of course," Stiles turned around and walked out of the room.

He walked down to the waiting room to find the entire pack sitting around. They were all looking at the door expectantly when Stiles walked in.

"She's a she," Stiles said and then collapsed into the chair next to Derek. "She's perfect and Sophia still wants to give her up but mainly she's perfect."

"Congratulations," Derek said next to Stiles. Stiles turned and smiled at him and the rest of the pack descended. He was pulled out of his chair and they surrounded him.

Finally, Stiles made it to his dad.

"Hey, Grandad," Stiles said with a smile just before his father pulled him into a hug.

"Take me back to meet her," Sam said.

Stiles smiled at them all before leading his father back to Sophia's room. He knocked on the door and Sophia called him in. She was sitting on the bed crying but she smiled when she saw Stiles.

"How are you, Sophia?" Sam asked.

"I feel better," she said. "This feels like the right decision. I thought it would be harder but it's right."

Stiles wasn't convinced as tears were still trickling down her cheeks but she held Isabella slightly away from her.

"Come take her."

Sam beat Stiles to be bed and lifted his granddaughter out of bed gently.

"Would you mind giving me some time?" Sophia asked.

"Of course," Stiles said. "I'll be out in the waiting room if you need anything."

Stiles and his father turned and left the room. Sam stopped a couple of steps down the hallway and turned to Stiles who reached out to touch her.

"What's she called?" Sam asked running his fingers over the downy hair on his granddaughter's head.

"Isabella Claudia Sophia Stilinski."

His father looked up at Stiles suddenly. "Claudia?"

"For mum, and Sophia because she should have a connection to her mother even if she doesn't see her."

"Hello, Isabella," Sam said looking back down at the baby in his arms. "I'm your Grandad."

"We should take her back," Stiles said a few minutes later. "To show everyone."

His father nodded and they walked back to the waiting room. Stiles had one eye on where he was going and the other on his daughter. When they walked into the waiting room all of the pack were standing around with eager looks on their faces. Stiles thought about seeing if he could find the Lion King music with his phone and holding her aloft. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Everyone," Stiles said instead. "This is my daughter, Isabella Claudia Sophia Stilinski."

Each of the wolves came over and touched her hair, her cheek but none of them made a move to take her from Sam who was holding her protectively. Just as Stiles was about to steal Isabella from his father and give her to Scott a nurse came into the waiting room and politely, but firmly, told them it was past visiting hours. The pack reluctantly said goodbye and they all touched her again as they filed out.

Then it was just Stiles and his father.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Sophia signed the papers relinquishing her parental rights the day after Isabella was born. Sophia couldn't leave the hospital yet but Isabella was completely healthy so that afternoon they sent her home with Stiles. The entire pack, and Melissa, were jammed into his living room when Stiles and his dad walked into the house with Isabella.

"What are you all doing here?" Stiles asked.

"We came to see the baby," Isaac said.

"To learn her smell," Scott said not hesitating to walk over and smile down at his niece. "Hello, Isabella, aren't you beautiful? I'm your Uncle Scott."

Scott scooped her out of Stiles' arms and held her in his arms comfortably. After a few minutes he pulled her up and rested his nose against her neck. His eyes ran amber and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes after. Scott held her for a few more minutes before passing her to Derek who seemed to take longer. His nose was pressed to her neck for a long time until he pulled back and smiled down at Isabella. Derek took longer holding her too, rocking his arms slightly and keeping her tucked in warm. Finally, reluctantly, he handed her to Isaac, then Boyd, Cora, Danny, and Jackson who all repeated the process. When they were done Allison and Lydia had a quiet argument over who got to hold her next.

"I had sex with him," Lydia said loudly. "I should get to hold his kid before you."

Stiles groaned.

Lydia won and pulled the baby into her body happily. "Oh," she said sweetly. "You are beautiful. And when you get older I am going to take you shopping because your dad has no fashion sense."

"Hey!" Stiles complained. "I'm fine."

"Not really," Allison said with an apologetic smile. "My turn."

Lydia sighed but handed Isabella to Allison who took her gently. "Stiles," she said quietly. "She's amazing."

"She is now," Melissa said. "Just wait until she needs to be changed or throws up or won't stop crying and then none of you will be as smitten with her."

"I will be," Stiles said quietly. "I…she's just…I will be."

Melissa walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "You're going to be a wonderful father, Stiles."

Stiles blinked back the wetness from his eyes. "I hope so."

Melissa pulled away and demanded the baby from Allison. Isabella fell asleep about two minutes after Melissa started holding her and Stiles collected his daughter to walk her upstairs for the very first nap in her bassinette. Stiles ran his fingers along the wolf carving at the top of the bassinette and smiled.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Sophia never came back to Stiles' house except to collect her things. She went and stayed at a hotel in town until she felt up to leaving. She didn't see Isabella again before she left – one week after she'd given birth.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

The first week of Isabella's life was not some of Stiles' most fabulous moments.

He loved her but he only had some experience with younger cousins and he honestly had no idea what he was doing. Melissa and his father were the only things that kept Stiles from hiding in a closet. They taught him what to do when she cried, the best way to change her, the way to feed her that made her swallow less air, the way to burp her.

Most of the week was a blur but he remembered a lot of crying – he wasn't above admitting that some of it was his own tears.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

By the second week he still felt like an utter idiot.

He had worked out the right temperature for her formula and how it felt against his wrist. And he hadn't had one of her nappies fall off for days. But she kept crying at him sometimes and he simply didn't know what to do. Then his father would come in and fix it.

"Oh she just needs a hug."

"She is probably a little tired."

"Isabella is just hungry."

"My Bella doesn't need to be burped she just wants some cuddles."

Stiles tried very hard not to hide in a corner and weep over the fact he was a terrible, useless father who didn't know his own daughter. He tried not to resent his father for so obviously being better at this than he was. Stiles tried not to look at Isabella sometimes and wonder why she didn't have a manual or think that he couldn't do this. If he couldn't work out when she was tired how was he ever going to raise her. Stiles loved her, he loved her so much it terrified him, but she also scared him a little…a lot. He didn't want to admit that to anyone though.

Stiles put her into bed one night, after he had finally worked out the way to support her when he was giving her a bath. He counted it as a win and managed a smile as he closed the door behind him.

As it turned out the feeling was a false sense of pride and accomplishment.

It was a Wednesday morning and Stiles wanted to crawl into the attic and hide from his eleven day old daughter.

"Stiles," his father said, walking into the house carrying some shopping. "Scott is..."

Stiles walked into the room holding Isabella and his father just stared at him.

"Whoa," Scott said, as soon as he stepped into the house. "Crazy eyes."

"I've tried everything," Stiles said, bouncing with Isabella tucked into his chest. "She doesn't want to eat or sleep. I've hugged and bounced and walked and sung. I checked her nappy and I've felt her forehead. She won't stop."

Stiles' father just looked at him.

"I don't think I can do this."

Stiles wasn't sure who started walking towards him first, his father or Scott. His father stopped in front him, his eyes crinkled with worry. Scott stood at his father's side and looked scared.

"You need to calm down." Sam said.

"You keep saying that to me," Stiles said…said, not whined. "But I don't know how to calm down."

His father sighed. "I know."

"Can I hold my goddaughter?" Scott asked.

Stiles nodded and handed her over.

Scott held her happily and started walking out of the room.

"Go and have a shower."

Stiles blinked at his father.

"Go and have a long, hot shower and calm down. She will be fine but you need to trust yourself. Have a break and just relax."

"Dad."

Sam rested his hands on Stiles' shoulders. "You can do this. Do you know how I know you can do this?"

Stiles shook his head.

"Because I was terrified when you were born. Your mother and I both were. You were tiny and completely dependent on us. You were terrifying. I loved you just as much as I do now but I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

"You always know what she needs."

Sam smiled at his son. "Because I had you, I know she won't fall apart and I'm calm."

"I know," Stiles said. "I just need to calm down."

"Easier said than done," Sam said, with a gentle smile.

Stiles' shoulders slumped.

"Go and have a shower, Scott is here to spend some time with her."

"She's mine and I don't know how to do this."

"You'll learn."

Stiles watched his father walk away from him carrying the shopping into the kitchen. He didn't feel any better than he did before his father got home.

How did you calm down when you were terrified?

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles wrapped his hands around the steering wheel and drove slowly up Derek's driveway. It wasn't the first time he had driven somewhere with Isabella but he still felt nervous with her in the back of the car. He knew Derek, and the rest of the pack, would know that he was on his way already. Stiles hadn't been out to Derek's since Isabella had been born. Mainly, it was just the pack coming to see him freaking out and then spending time with Isabella who seemed to love anyone who would hold her.

Stiles cleared the last of the trees and smiled when he saw Lydia and Derek standing on the porch. Lydia's hands on her hips as she waited – impatiently, to get her hands on Isabella. Stiles parked the car and slipped out of his seat. He almost expected Lydia to get to the car before he had even managed to turn the engine off. As he climbed out, though, she was standing on the porch and Derek was moving towards him.

"Hey, Derek."

"Stiles."

"Did you make the rest of the pack stay inside?" Stiles asked, with a smirk. He moved around the car and opened the door to pull Isabella out of her car seat.

"May I?"

Stiles nodded and handed Isabella to Derek. The alpha werewolf never failed to surprise Stiles. He kept assuming that Derek wouldn't want to hold Isabella or to spend time with her and yet Derek kept coming by the house – he had started coming for breakfast again just a couple of weeks after Isabella had been born. Stiles tried not to rely on Derek's presence too much but somehow he found himself slightly more relaxed when the werewolf was there. Honestly, the whole pack had been helpful in keeping Stiles from going nuts. But, Derek was the most supportive and Stiles knew it was a bad idea to get so attached to someone who would just end up hurting him but he couldn't stop himself at this point even if he wanted to.

Stiles watched Derek as he turned around and walked towards the house. Stiles leaned back into the car and grabbed Isabella's bag before he followed Derek and his daughter into the alpha's house. He watched Derek walk straight past Lydia's grabby fingers and into the house.

Stiles stopped next to the redhead rather than continuing inside. "Why didn't you grab her off him like you do to everyone else?"

Lydia's eyebrow rose and she glared at him.

"What?"

Lydia sighed and threaded her arm into his elbow. "It doesn't work like that with him."

Stiles laughed. "So, you can steal her off everyone else, including my dad, but not off Derek."

"No," Lydia said, sounding like he was the stupidest man she had ever met. It was an impressive tone given how stupid she thought most people were. "Derek is quite taken with your daughter."

"She's kind of amazing…when she's not crying."

Lydia laughed. "Is it getting any easier?"

"No," Stiles said, pathetically. "And yes. I don't even know. How do people do this with twins…or triplets…or god, I just don't get it. Except, then I look at her sometimes and I love her so much."

"I love her and she's not even mine. She is amazing. Though, I would have been happy if you'd had twins."

Stiles gaped at her in horror.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Dad!" Stiles called out. "Come here."

Sam walked into the room at a slight rush. "What?"

"She's smiling at me." Stiles turned slightly so that his father could see Isabella.

His father smiled but it wasn't a proper grin.

"What?"

His father grimaced slightly. "I think that's wind."

Stiles deflated. "But…"

His father shook his head. "You're right it's a smile. A very nice smile."

"Oh, sugar! I was excited."

"Sorry," his father said apologetically.

"I don't believe you," Stiles said, annoyed.

Sam laughed. "That's because I don't mean it."

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles woke up on a Monday knowing that his father was going back to work. He was not looking forward to it. As much as he knew he couldn't rely on his father forever the fact of it was that Stiles really wasn't sure that he could do this alone. He took a deep breath and pulled himself out of bed hearing Isabella moving around in her bassinette. Having her right there made things easier in the middle of the night but Stiles was always worried he might wake her accidently when he was moving around his room. He hoped it would be easier when she was in her own room next door. He sat up and as soon as he moved he knew he needed to get up and use the toilet.

Stiles slipped out of bed as quietly as he could but as soon as he had pulled the door almost closed behind him he could hear Isabella start to make proper, awake noises behind him. Stiles dropped his head and sighed as he went to the bathroom.

He was heading back to his room but when he made it to the door he stopped. There was silence inside, not even the sleepy noises she made when she was first waking up and Stiles was still right there in his own bed. He closed his eyes and debated going in to check on her and just staying outside when he heard his father downstairs. Stiles turned and walked down the stairs slowly. As he turned into the kitchen he found his father cradling Isabella and feeding her. She was looking up at him happily and drinking with the same gusto she did every morning.

"Hey, Dad," Stiles said, before dropping some toast into the toaster and smiling happily at the almost full coffee pot. He got himself a large mugful and then continued on to kiss his daughter on the head. He didn't move to take her out of his father's arms and she barely reacted to his kiss as she continued to drink happily.

"You all ready for a day alone?"

Stiles looked at his father whose face twisted into something like humour and then suddenly his eyes darkened.

"You look exactly like your mother did the first time I went back to work after you were born," he said quietly. "I'd forgotten about that."

"Dad…"

Sam shook his head. "She would have loved to see this."

Stiles smiled gently.

"Oh yeah, she would have liked more kids and…this would have made her happy."

"We will have to tell Isabella about her."

"Oh yes," Sam said, looking down at his granddaughter. "We'll tell Bella all about her Nana."

"Are you going to give her to me at some point?" Stiles asked, as he buttered his toast.

"When I absolutely have to leave," his father said, and carried Isabella out of the kitchen with him.

Stiles couldn't even think about his father actually leaving so he ate his breakfast slowly as he heard his father moving around the house and talking to Isabella.

He could do it, he'd been doing it for the last few weeks already but his father was always there. He had been thankful of his father's many untaken vacation days. That was all over now…well it wasn't because his father was a hermit and had an insane number of vacation days left but it was finally time for Stiles to stop relying on his father and do this himself.

For the next eight hours Stiles would be alone. He had been expecting this but it was still scary. He had gotten better over the last few weeks. They had a rhythm – suggested by Melissa and his father to give Izzy some structure and to save Stiles' sanity. Stiles knew he could do everything that needed to be done and he was looking forward to learning how to do this alone even if he was worried about it. The stupidest thing was that he did things alone all the time. His father had been making sure that he was alone at different times all over the place. Stiles knew it was mostly just him worrying for no real reason.

Stiles shook himself and stood. He could do this. He and Isabella were getting better together every day. He was having more moments where he knew what he was doing rather than those where he felt like the crappiest father that had ever lived. In fact, he was probably getting good at this father thing finally. He caught sight of his father and daughter in the lounge room and knew that they were going to have a good day.

Finally, it was that time and Stiles accepted Isabella with a smile. She looked up at him and Stiles felt his chest tighten – it would just be the two of them for the rest of the day.

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles opened the door without paying it much attention. He kept bouncing trying to sooth Isabella.

"Come on, baby girl," he said. "Please, just stop crying."

Stiles startled at the hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Derek standing in front of him.

"When did you get here?"

Derek frowned at him, then reached over and pulled Isabella out of Stiles' arms. Derek's eyes bled red for a moment and Stiles was reaching for his arm when Isabella stopped crying.

Stiles slumped back into the wall behind him. "She's been screaming since Dad left."

Derek pulled Isabella in closer to him and she let out a loud breath and then was silent.

"How did you do that?"

"Babies like the eyes, and the growling, and pulling the sideburns."

"Really?"

"It's like Santa."

Stiles started to laugh. Then found he couldn't stop.

"Stiles." Stiles looked up at Derek but couldn't stop laughing. "She's asleep."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Marry me?"

Derek looked at him silently.

Stiles shrugged. "Worth a try. I'll put her down."

"I'll do it," Derek said, and walked through the lounge room and up the stairs.

Stiles walked over to the couch and sunk down into the cushions. He heard Derek coming down the stairs behind him. "I'm not sure I can do this."

"Of course you can."

"It was the first time I've been completely alone with her. Dad's gone back to work and I couldn't even get her to stop screaming."

"You reek of nerves and anxiety."

"What?"

"She was tense because you're tense."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, next time just stop and breathe. It might help."

Stiles tried not to be annoyed that everyone, fucking everyone, kept telling him to calm down. As though it was easy to calm down when you were a new father.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Oh thank God," Stiles said, when he opened the door. He pushed Isabella into Jackson's arms and twisted around to sprint back into the kitchen.

"Stiles!" Jackson moaned loudly.

Stiles waved a hand over his head. "Dinner is burning. Just hold her a minute."

Jackson looked down at Isabella in his arms and made a pathetic noise. Isabella's face collapsed, scrunched into something angry and sad and then she began to cry. Jackson held her in front of him and walked into the house. He kicked the door closed behind him as Isabella continued to cry in his hands. He walked all the way to the kitchen, holding her under the arms while her legs kicked and she cried. Stiles put the hot dish down on the counter and then turned and laughed.

"You shouldn't hold her like that."

"I don't know how to hold her."

"And I thought I was bad at this." Stiles said, with a laugh. "Here, pull her into your chest, tuck your arm under her bottom and use the other hand to support her back and neck. Yeah, just like that."

Isabella continued to cry.

"Just rock a little," Stiles suggested, grabbing Jackson's shoulders to make him rock from side to side. "Okay, you need to calm down. You are so tense."

Jackson shook his head and held Isabella out to Stiles who took her happily and rocked her until she was happy again. He didn't think about the hypocrisy of what he'd said to Jackson…he made sure not to.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles drove back to his house slowly. It had been a long day at the paper – he had been mainly working at home since Isabella had been born but he still needed to go into the actual offices occasionally. Today was supposed to be a half day – just the morning but he had walked to his desk to find it covered in paper. The editor had looked apologetic but hopeful. Luckily for Stiles, and his boss, Sam had the day off so he happily agreed to look after his granddaughter while Stiles threw himself at all of the work he needed to do until it was all done. He just wanted a shower, and something to eat, and to give his daughter a hug. He rarely spent this much time away from her…in fact, he didn't think he had spent that much time away from Izzy since she had been born, nowhere close to a full day.

Stiles finally turned into his driveway and turned the car off. He dropped his head down onto the steering wheel and took a few deep breaths. He was looking forward to seeing Isabella but at the same time he was tired and he knew he had to be better than that for her. He took a few minutes to calm down before he opened the door and grabbed his work bag – full of the new work that he had been given just before he left the paper's offices, and headed inside.

The closer he got to the door he began to notice quiet cries that were coming through the wood. Stiles frowned and quickened his steps. He slid the key into the lock and opened the door to find Lydia standing in the living room holding a whimpering Isabella.

"Lydia?"

Lydia turned and walked to him immediately.

"Thank God you're here," she said with a sigh, Isabella was crying still but she was looking at Stiles, her arms reaching out. Stiles dumped his bag and stepped closer to pick Isabella up out of Lydia's arms.

"What's wrong, baby girl?"

"It's my fault," Lydia said, her voice week. "I didn't realise how close we were to the arm of the chair and I knocked her head. I didn't think it was that hard but she started to cry and she wouldn't stop. I'm so sorry, Stiles."

Stiles felt his stomach clench in immediate panic and held Isabella a little tighter. She gave a little whimpering sob and then sagged in his arms. He twisted down to look down at her. She was blinking at him but she was no longer crying.

"Did you freak out first or did she cry?" Stiles and Lydia both turned immediately for the doorway where Stiles' dad was standing holding a take-away bag.

The worried look on Lydia's face smoothed out a touch. "I think it might have been me."

"Then feel her head, Stiles. If she doesn't react to anything and you can't feel anything then she is probably just reacting to Lydia getting worried. Our little girl is very sensitive to other people's moods."

"She calmed right down as soon as Stiles had her."

"Of course she did," Sam said, walking into the kitchen and talking over his shoulder. "He's her dad."

Stiles bit down on his lip to hold in the smile as he felt his way around her head. There was nothing he could feel, or see, and Isabella was happily snuggled into his chest so Stiles unwrapped one of his arms from around Isabella and wrapped it around Lydia instead pulling her into his side.

"I don't think I've seen you ruffled about anything that badly since you found out you were a banshee."

Lydia petted the soft hair on the top of Isabella's head and dropped her own head down onto Stiles' shoulder. "I quite like your daughter."

Stiles smiled. "She's just that brilliant. It's a Stilinski thing."

Lydia nodded and Stiles could feel her about to say something else when the front door opened again.

"Sam, I was able to find…" Derek stopped when he saw Stiles, Lydia and Isabella standing there together.

"Hey, Derek." Stiles said, with a smile.

Lydia pulled away from him and smoothed down her hair. "I'm glad she's okay."

"What's wrong with Isabella?" Derek asked, stepping forward immediately.

"She bumped her head," Stiles said, turning her so she could see Derek. "But, she's just fine."

Derek stopped in front of Stiles and curled his hand around Isabella's head. She made a few happy noises at Derek and reached out a hand to curl around his thumb. Derek smiled widely down at Isabella and Stiles felt his stomach clench at the sight. It floored him, every damned time, when Derek made it so obvious that he loved Isabella as much as anyone else in the pack did. Derek had pushed everyone away for so long that it was amazing to watch him let Isabella in without a fight. Stiles didn't know what he would do without his friends and somehow Derek was the one who had flourished the most having Isabella in their life. Stiles would never have expected to one day walk in on Derek laying on the floor with Isabella and making her smile with stuffed, singing toys.

Stiles simply needed to keep reminding himself not to misinterpret Derek's affection for Isabella as being affection, beyond friendship, for Stiles.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles placed Isabella on her stomach on the mat and dropped down so that he was facing her.

"Do no throw up," he instructed, not that he honestly thought it would stop her from doing it.

She lifted her torso up onto her elbows and looked up at him.

The doorbell rang.

"Come in," Stiles called over his shoulder.

"You really are an idiot," Jackson said, moments later.

"I know it was one of you," Stiles said. "It's always one of you."

"I wouldn't have come but Derek needs your Dad's drill."

"Oh yeah," Stiles said. "I utterly forgot. Watch Izzy for me?"

Jackson looked hesitant and then sighed. "Okay. Just hurry up."

Stiles shook his head and hit Jackson on the shoulder as he walked past. "Don't be a baby, she's easy. Just put the froggy down in front of her and she'll be happy."

Stiles went out to the shed and found his father's drill. By the time he made it back inside Isabella was bawling at the top of her lungs and Stiles rushed back into the lounge room.

"What happened?"

"She started crying."

Stiles dropped the drill box and other things down onto the couch and sunk onto the floor in front of his daughter. Jackson moved back and away as quickly as he could – and without any of his usual grace. Stiles paid him no attention as he scooped Isabella up and pulled her close.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart, Daddy's here. Shhhh," Stiles rubbed circles on Isabella's back and bobbed up and down murmuring more against the soft, feathery hair behind her ear. "What happened?" Stiles asked as soon as Isabella quietened.

"You left and she started to cry. I tried the frog but she just bawled."

Stiles frowned and grabbed Isabella's bear blankie off the couch. She curled her arm around the material toy and was instantly silent.

"You're okay," Stiles said, to his daughter, "it's just Jackson, he's not so scary."

Jackson huffed and grabbed the drill. "I'm leaving."

"Bye," Stiles said, not bothering to show him to the door; focussing on Isabella instead.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles closed his eyes and took a fortifying breath before he started to undo Isabella's nappy. He gagged a little in the back of his throat and then powered through. As soon as the nappy was done he happily threw it away and smiled at his daughter as she grabbed for her toes, bending herself in half. Then she stopped and shoved one of her hands into her mouth, kicking her feet on the change mat.

"It's a good thing you're cute," Stiles said, with a smile.

He bent down and blew a raspberry on her stomach causing her to pull the fingers from her mouth and give him a drool-filled grin. He left her naked for a few more minutes of naked time hoping that she didn't pee on him again like she did last time. Stiles had spent half of his time without Isabella either working or reading up on parenting information. His father continued to say that he shouldn't be so concerned with what the books or websites were telling him were the best things for Isabella because she was unique and they had to learn her just like she had to fit into their lives. Stiles wasn't sure that she was fitting into his life so much as he was fairly certain she had taken one look at him after she was born and realised that he could be wrapped around her little finger with next to no effort. Stiles knew he was running around after her like the proverbial headless chicken but he still didn't feel like he had caught up – that he would never catch up. He felt like he would be playing catch up to his daughter for the rest of his life and it was a vaguely terrifying prospect. So, he read – he read books on parenting from the library and he read websites and he researched everything he could because all he wanted to do was do the very best he could for Isabella and so far he didn't even really feel like he knew which way was up some days.

Then others, like today, she woke up and smiled at him as he scooped her out of bed, she drank her bottle down happily and for the rest of the day he felt like the best father in the history of the world. He took her out with him while he hung the washing and she bounced in her pram gumming at the soft, cotton hand of the doll she had been given by Melissa. Isabella had fallen asleep when they went for a walk in the weak sunlight and by the time she had woken Stiles had managed to get his work done for the day and was all ready to make Isabella's bottle when she started to make noises in her pram. She had happily lain on the mat while he sat next to her and ate his own lunch. Stiles' father was due home soon and Stiles knew he should go and sort out something for dinner but he put his hands on either side of Isabella and loomed over her making faces until she wriggled and made the noise he had decided was definitely the beginnings of a giggle.

The door opened downstairs and Stiles quickly put a nappy on Isabella's backside even though she looked up at him sadly as her naked time was taken away.

"Stiles," Sam called, quietly up the stairs.

"Up here, Dad," Stiles called back, and handed Isabella back her doll.

Sam walked in still wearing his uniform and smiled at Isabella whose arms and legs started moving quickly in excitement. Sam bent down to kiss his granddaughter on the head.

"I'm going to go and have a quick shower," Sam said with a sigh. "Then I think it should be time for Grandad-Isabella time."

"And then I can cook dinner," Stiles said, pulling Isabella up and into his chest. "How was your day?"

"Long," Sam said with a sigh. "It's better now, having seen my Isabella."

Stiles bounced his daughter in his arms and smiled at his father. "That's good isn't it, Bella, making Grandad feel better about his day."

Sam smiled, tiredly, and shook his head at Stiles. "You don't like calling her Bella."

"But that is what you call her," Stiles said. "Go and shower and we'll be in the lounge room."

Stiles went down and put some music on before he settled down on the sofa and held Isabella close while they waited for Sam to come and claim his granddaughter for the night. This was often how their nights went. Sam would come home and declare it was Granddad-Isabella time and they would spend time together until it was bath time. If Sam was working in the evening Sam would spend at least an hour before work with her. It was something that Stiles enjoyed – a short break was always nice, and he loved seeing how much they enjoyed one another.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Dad!" Stiles said breathlessly, into the phone.

"Your dad's in the shower."

"Derek?"

"I came over to borrow your dad's drill."

"I should say something dirty there," Stiles said, "but, I'm stuck in goddamn Lewis. Some fucking idiot has parked and blocked me in. I can't get out and Dad has to go to work."

"Relax."

"How the hell am I supposed to relax when I can't get home? Dad has to go to work, and he has to because two of his deputies are sick and that leaves me with no one to look after Izzy."

"I'll look after her."

"But…"

"But," Derek interrupted. "I am her godfather – or would be if you got the christening organised, and she likes me. I will look after her until you are able to get home. Don't stress, don't rush, and don't worry."

Stiles took a deep breath and looked at his car and the fact that he would never get it out and he would be stuck waiting for the arsehole who didn't know how to park.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll see you later, Stiles. Is and I will have a great time."

"If anything goes wrong call me."

Derek scoffed and hung up on him.

Two hours later when Stiles finally, fucking finally, got home it was to find Derek watching television in the lounge room with Isabella asleep on his chest.

"She fell asleep after dinner," Derek said, smiling up at him. "I know it was too early."

Stiles shrugged and bent down to kiss Isabella on the head – the woodsy, cinnamon smell of Derek overtaking the smell of Isabella. "She will just have to wake Grandad up extra early in the morning."

"He's working nights," Derek pointed out. "Shouldn't he get to sleep in?"

Stiles smiled at Derek and shook his head. "He can't help himself and then falls asleep again when she is having her naps."

Derek twisted his head down to look at Isabella and Stiles wondered for a moment what it would be like to sleep on that chest with the heavy beat of the werewolf's heart under his ear. Stiles shook his thoughts off.

"I'll make some dinner. Do you want me to take her up to bed first?"

"No, she's comfortable," Derek said. "Unless you need some help."

"I've got it under control."

Yet, a few minutes later, Derek was standing in the kitchen door with Isabella still wrapped in his arm, the other tanned arm tucked under her backside.

"You can put her down."

Derek looked down and Stiles swore he could see the hints of a flush on his cheeks. "It's important that she knows the scents of pack and that her scent is as familiar to me as yours."

"My scent is that familiar to you?"

"As familiar as any member of the pack," Derek said, but his eyes didn't quite meet Stiles'.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Get your coat," Lydia said, when Stiles opened the door.

"What?" Stiles hid his yawn behind his hand and looked at Lydia with confusion.

"Get. Your. Coat."

Stiles shook his head and turned around, heading for the kitchen and the coffee. He figured if Lydia really wanted something she would follow him – he was right.

"Stiles, this does not look like you putting your coat on."

"Lydia, I love you, but I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"A coat is a piece of clothing normally worn in colder weather when the protection of clothing is needed to maintain peak body temperature. You have a number of them; there is a black one next to the door with a stuffed teddy bear the size of my fist in the left pocket. You need to put it on."

"Why?"

Lydia looked at him like he was stupid.

"Lydia," Stiles said, with sudden worry. "Did we have plans?"

"No," Lydia said slowly. "But if you would only put your coat on we could have plans."

"I'm wearing pyjamas," Stiles looked down at the red tartan pyjama pants. He had been wearing a shirt earlier but Isabella had been sick on the shoulder and he had never bothered to find another one.

"I know," Lydia said, with a wink. "And may I just say fatherhood has had some positive effects on your physique."

Stiles looked down at his chest – it was just as long and slim as it had always been. He was never going to fill out like Derek but he wasn't too shabby, so long as he wasn't shirtless next to any werewolves he was quite happy with his body.

"I wouldn't kick you out of bed," Lydia continued, winking at him.

"You kicked me out of bed four years ago."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you are still bitter about that."

Stiles sighed and sunk into a chair with his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. "Don't flirt with me this early in the morning. Izzy is sick; she couldn't sleep so I haven't slept. She is with Dad at the moment because if she lies down she vomits and he was giving me a break. I need to take over in about fifteen minutes so Dad can get some sleep before work."

"He called me," Lydia said. "Apparently you haven't slept in three nights."

"She just wasn't sleeping well before and then last night she started vomiting. I had to stay up with her."

"Of course you did," Lydia said. "But, he called me. He said to come and collect you so that you could get some sleep."

"He's going to work."

"He's called in." Stiles twisted around to look at his dad, Isabella wrapped in a soft green blanket and cradled to Sam's chest. "You haven't slept in three days and I know for a fact that you kept getting out of bed when I took her off you so that you could sleep."

"I…" Stiles drifted off when his father stared at him with silent judgement. "I kept thinking I was hearing her."

"I had her."

"I know," Stiles said. "But, she's my responsibility not yours and you shouldn't be missing out on sleep because of her."

Sam's entire face fell into something that was a twisted mass of pride and exasperation. "She is my granddaughter."

"I know," Stiles sighed and looked down at his hands. "I just know I've been taking advantage of you. Ever since she was born I have been taking advantage of everyone."

Sam shook his head and walked over to Stiles to slap his son on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot."

"Dad!"

"He's so right," Lydia said, harshly. "Stiles, you have never raised a baby before, of course you need to rely on your father – who has raised a child, thought apparently a stupid arse one, and your friends who are family even if we aren't blood. You are not taking advantage of anyone, we want to help. Isabella is amazing and we all love her. Now, stop being deliberately masochistic and accept that your father wants to help."

"Lydia," Sam said, looking at her with an indulgent smile. "You are always refreshingly blunt."

"Thank you," Lydia said, with a bright, wide smile.

Sam turned back to his son. "I told you, when you were talking about keeping Isabella and doing this alone that I would help you. Everything I am doing, and will do, is about helping you and Bella. I don't need you to worry about taking advantage of me but Izzy needs you to be at your best and if you don't get some sleep then you are going to be useless."

"So you called Lydia?"

"I thought about calling Derek but I didn't think you'd enjoy him throwing you over his shoulder and dragging you out of the house," Sam said, with a shrug.

Stiles blinked at his father slowly. "I…he wouldn't."

"He would," Lydia said. "If he needed to do it he would."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Is she sleeping?"

"She is," Sam said with a smile. "Now, go and put your coat on and go to Lydia's."

"I can't leave you here with her, she's sick."

"A couple of hours. Then come back in time for the doctor's appointment."

"What if she gets worse?"

"I'll call you."

"What if something happens?"

"I will call you."

"What if you need help?"

"I think he might call you," Lydia said, sarcastically.

Stiles glared at her.

"She will be fine – I think she's just got a little cold and lying down makes all of the rubbish in her stomach upset her."

"I thought that was right but she doesn't normally vomit like that."

"And that is why you are taking her to the doctor." Lydia pointed out. "Kiss your daughter on the head, then get your coat and some shoes."

"I can't leave her."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not capable of looking after her?" Sam asked, raising a greying eyebrow.

Stiles closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Stiles," Sam said, firmly. "I am your father. And I am going to try this parent card out again. You need to sleep or you are no good to Isabella."

Stiles nodded slowly, he knew his father was right. He was so tired his muscles felt almost useless and the coffee had stopped working sometime yesterday morning just before lunch. He knew he needed to sleep but he constantly felt like he was just taking advantage of his father. And he knew, logically, that his dad wanted to help and enjoyed his time with Isabella more than Stiles would have believed before she had been born. None of that changed the fact that Stiles found himself relying on his father, and his friends, more than he felt he should be. He should be better at this by now – he should be able to help his daughter but he couldn't do anything.

"You need to sleep, for Isabella as much as for you."

Stiles nodded slowly and suddenly Lydia was at his elbow towing him past Isabella – for a kiss and a deep breath of the comforting scent that clung to Isabella, though it was tarnished by the scent of vomit and wasn't as pleasing as normal. She pulled him to the front door and the jacket she held out for him and pointed at the shoes next to the door with a raised eyebrow. Stiles slipped his feet into the shoes and by the time he was sitting in the passenger side of her car he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open.

He woke up hours later in Lydia's bed but he couldn't remember how he got there.

In the end Sam was almost right, Isabella had a cold – and a little stomach bug that was making her vomit. The doctor told him that he didn't need to worry unless she still wasn't able to keep anything down in a day. Stiles heard what the doctor said about it being normal for babies to start picking up the odd illness at this age but that didn't really make anything better when she was still so tiny and sick.

/ \ / \ / \

"So…" Stiles said, smiling at the pack in Derek's lounge room.

Isabella was lying on her back on a mat playing with a stuffed wolf that Stiles had found in Isabella's little box of toys that seemed to grow all the time. He hadn't been sure why Derek had one at all but about a month after she was born it appeared in Derek's living room with a big soft blanket for the floor and a few toys. Sometimes, when Stiles and Isabella came over there would be something new in the box. Stiles had said something but Derek always ignored him and simply enticed Isabella with the toys. Now, Stiles had stopped bringing extra things with him when he was coming to Derek's. He never left the house without the spare blankie-bear though. Isabella loved her blankie-bear – a square of material, satin on one side and cotton on the other, with the head of a teddy bear in the middle.

"What?" Derek asked, his eyes coming back from staring out the window.

"I'm moving Isabella into her own room. Does anyone want to help me paint?"

"I thought you weren't going to paint." Scott said.

"I wasn't," Stiles said, with a roll of his eyes. "However, Grandad, thinks it would be nice to freshen the room up a bit for his granddaughter."

"I think it's a good idea," Derek said, seriously even while most of the rest of the pack were looking amused. "It's always best to start with something new. Maybe pink?"

"Dad suggested purple," Stiles said. "But…you think it's a good idea?"

"Of course."

"She's four months old."

"Four months and five days," Derek corrected automatically.

Stiles didn't even bother being surprised that Derek remembered Isabella's age to the exact day. "What I mean is that she really doesn't care what colour her bedroom walls are."

"Not right now," Lydia said, throwing her opinion in. "But eventually she will. Do you want to be painting then?"

"She can pick what colour she wants then."

"So you're just going to put her into a boring white room?" Derek asked.

"She's four months old." Stiles said again.

Lydia sighed at him. "What does it matter, don't you want to give her a lovely bedroom to sleep in."

Stiles shrugged. "It's not that I don't want to give her a nice bedroom I just don't think we need to stress out about painting it before she goes in. I went online and bought some of those wall stickers, a giant tree with different shaped 'fruit' hanging off it. I was going to put that on one wall and her cot on the other wall."

"Need to paint first," Derek said. "When she's not in the house. You'll have to come over here with her while we do it."

"Umm-" Stiles started, before Derek began talking over the top of him.

"Would need at least a day since it should be primed first. Has your father planned on what he's going to do with the furniture in the room?"

"He's getting rid of the bed, we won't need it for a while and it was just an old one. The chest of drawers will become Izzy's, she has more clothes every time I turn around. I think Dad might be buying things and then just putting them in her drawers."

"I do," Lydia said, with a bright smile.

Stiles rolled his eyes at her. "Of course you do. We'll have to clean the cupboard out since it's where we've been storing stuff over the years. I think there may even be some of Mum's stuff in there still."

Derek nodded at him. "We'll come and help."

"Will we?" Jackson asked.

"Yes," Derek said, firmly.

"You don't need to," Stiles said.

"I'll look after Isabella," Lydia offered.

"Thank you." Stiles said, beginning to resign himself to the fact that he would be painting Izzy's new bedroom.

A week later, on a Saturday, Stiles drove his daughter over to Lydia's house before going back to his place to find Derek and Scott carrying the old spare bed out and pretending that they were struggling a little with the weight. Jackson was up in the room pouting while he unscrewed the curtain rod with Danny at the other end helping. Stiles smirked and mixed up the plaster to fill in the few holes. He started on one side of the door while Derek and Scott moved the other items out of the room.

By the end of Sunday the room was pale purple with a new mutli-coloured rug that had come out of the back of Scott's car along with the cot from Derek's house. There were new curtains that Lydia had told him to buy as he 'had no taste'. Stiles had bought a mattress and some bright sheets not that he was sure if Isabella was really ready for the move to the cot from her bassinette. The move out of Stiles room was right though, she was sleeping for longer and he only had to get up for her once in the night most of the time now. According to the websites he didn't need to move her until she was about six months old, if then, but something about it all felt right and he would be happy to have his room back so he could stop creeping around in there like a guilty teenager.

Before Stiles went to pick Isabella up he closed the door up, he wouldn't move her into the room until the paint smell had gone completely and even then only for her naps to begin with.

"Thank you," Stiles said. "I thought about giving you all something but I didn't know what to do."

"Never make me decorate again," Jackson said.

Stiles smiled. "Deal."

"You don't need to do anything," Derek said. "I was happy to help."

"Me too," Scott said. "She's our goddaughter."

"That makes it sound like you two are involved," Isaac said, with a smirk.

Scott looked at Stiles instead of Derek. Stiles frowned at him.

"Of course not," Derek said, his voice full of disbelief. He turned back to Stiles. "Are you happy with it?"

Stiles thought about the room and nodded with a bright smile. "I think it's great. It's a good thing we did it."

Derek nodded sharply and everyone left so that Stiles could go and collect Isabella. He missed her after not seeing her much over the weekend.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles sang along to the CD as he measured out some of the formula and dropped it into the boiling water. He closed the lid and started to shake as he turned around and smiled at Isabella. She didn't look at him, her eyes locked onto the bottle in his hand. Stiles laughed and opened the bottle to top it up with cold water before giving it a final shake and offering it to Isabella who dragged it joyfully into her mouth. Her eyes lifted up to Stiles now that she had what she wanted.

"You are such a little glutton," Stiles said, bending down and kissing Isabella on the head. "Granddad's coming home for lunch today, what should we make him? How about nice ham rolls with lots of salad? You won't let him pick out the salad will you? In fact," Stiles said running his fingers through the lengthening hair on the side of his head, it had started to curl like his mother's had though it was light like Sophia's rather than Claudia's. "You, little girl, are perhaps the best thing to have ever happened to your Grandad's health; when he argues about no salt or what I cook I can just show him you and remind him that he wants to be around for as long as possible."

Isabella finished her bottle and looked at him like she wanted more. She didn't seem that interested in anything that Stiles had to say.

"It is beginning to worry me that I've basically just started talking to myself," Stiles said, with a sigh. "I should probably try to have more adult conversations. I am fairly certain I have been ignoring everyone since you were born…I'm still doing it."

The doorbell rang and Isabella tilted her head.

"Just a minute," he called out, and started pulling Isabella out of her chair. "I wonder who that could be, Grandad has a key and it's much too early for lunch."

Isabella dropped her head down onto Stiles' shoulder as they walked to the door. "Maybe it's Uncle Scott, though he never knocks does he, just terrifies me."

Stiles threw open the door and found Cora on the other side looking at him sheepishly.

"Cora?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked, even as he opened the door wider and motioned her in.

"I needed to talk to you."

"You're supposed to be up at school," Stiles pointed out.

"I know," Cora said, with a shuddering sigh and then she pushed past him so that she could throw herself down on the couch.

"Cora?" Stiles followed her and put Isabella down on the mat before he sat down next to Cora and pulled her into his side. "What's wrong?"

Cora didn't say anything but she curled into him and sobbed against his neck. Stiles frowned, Cora – like all Hales, didn't know how to be weak. She had come out of that bank vault fighting and had kept going ever since. He was worried about what could possibly make her cry and come to him – of all the people in their pack he didn't know why she would come here to him. He kept one eye on Isabella as he rubbed her shoulder as he held her. She didn't say anything for a long while but she stopped crying not long after she had started, she stayed close to him though.

"Are you ready to talk?" Stiles asked quietly. Cora shook her head. "How about some tea? That fruity one you love." Cora nodded and pulled slightly away from him.

Stiles scooped Isabella up and carried her into the kitchen with him. He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed through to Derek's number. He shook his head and put his phone back into his pocket before he put the kettle on and dug out the fruity, herbal tea that both Derek and Cora loved. He went upstairs to put Isabella down for her nap and by the time he'd made it back to the kitchen the kettle was boiled and he could make the drinks.

Cora was sitting on the couch with her sock covered feet tucked under her and she was staring down at her fingers as she picked at one of her cuticles. She attempted a smile as she took the tea from him but it was one of the most pathetic he had ever seen.

Stiles sat next to her and thought about what could possibly make the werewolf cry…and he had to remind himself that she was a werewolf and that he could discount a number of the terrifying options that came to mind.

"I think I might be pregnant," Cora said suddenly.

Stiles choked on his coffee.

"Have you taken a test?"

Cora's face twisted.

"I'll take that as a no."

Cora nodded sadly and stared down into her tea.

"Do you have one or do I need to go and buy one?"

"There is one in my bag. I bought it on the way."

"Why did you come to me and not your brother?"

"The um…the guy who is the father if I'm…you know, pregnant, cheated on me and Derek shouldn't kill him until there's a reason."

"Cheating on you is a fair reason for at least scaring the shit out of the guy."

"Derek wouldn't stop at just scaring him."

Stiles took a moment to think about it and then nodded. "Probably not."

"If he loves you there is no halfway with Derek. You know that."

Stiles nodded slowly. "I suppose that whole first year after Scott was bitten was proof of that."

Cora frowned at him.

"Can you pee?"

Cora frowned at him.

"For the test, can you pee?"

Cora took a moment to think about it and then shook her head.

"Then drink your tea."

"Where's Isabella?"

"Asleep, it's nap time."

"She's the reason I came here. I mean, I knew you would be supportive of anyone that you knew who came to you. It's the reason you made it past all of Derek's crap and into the pack."

"Wow, thanks."

Cora rolled her eyes. "You scared the hell out of him."

"What?"

"You are human and smart and involved. You were Scott's and you never, ever just did what you were told. You got under Derek's skin because he kept coming back to you and didn't just wipe you from his notice. You refused to just act like a human or to be scared."

"Your brother terrified me, he kept threatening to rip my heart out or kill me in some other viciously violent way. I kept expecting him to sneak into my room in the middle of the night and kill me rather than just ask me for help."

Cora smiled at him widely and for a moment the heaviness lifted off her face.

"But you never ran away. You refused to be ignored or subdued. You were always going to push him until he let you in and he knew it. That's what worried him."

Stiles shook his head. "I don't know what you mean."

Cora sighed. "I know." But she refused to say anything else. She simply began sipping her tea.

Eventually, she stood up.

"I'll be back."

"We can wait out the three minutes together."

Cora nodded but she turned and started to walk away. Then, she paused and turned around. "I knew you wouldn't judge me because I made a mistake."

"Of course not," Stiles said, quickly. "None of us would."

"But, you've always been different."

"Cora, I will always been here for you, regardless of what you need or what you've done."

"Do you know the stupidest part," she said with a sigh. "I never even really liked Thomas."

Stiles smiled weakly. "I know the feeling."

Cora nodded and turned around, leaving Stiles standing behind her.

Four minutes later, Cora stared down at the plastic in her hand and smiled. "Is it wrong to be happy about this?"

"No."

Cora rubbed her hand down her face. "I really don't want kids yet."

"Then it's a good thing that you aren't pregnant."

Cora beamed at him. "I'm not pregnant."

"No."

"Thank God."

Stiles plucked the plastic stick out of her hand and wrapped it in toilet paper before throwing it in the bin. He would have to take the bin out in case his father saw it. He didn't want to give his dad a heart attack. He washed his hand and then pulled Cora up.

"Come on, Dad is coming home for lunch and I need to make something. What do you feel like?"

"Oh you don't need to-"

Stiles waved a hand at her. "Don't be silly. You have to stay."

Stiles led Cora down to the kitchen where he started making lunch. She began picking at the food as he cut it – almost faster than he could cut it.

"You hungry?"

"I haven't eaten since I realised that I was late."

"I am making ham and salad but I can make you something more."

"No," Cora said, shoving more carrot into her mouth. "That's fine."

Stiles smiled at her and set himself to making her a sandwich to tide her over for a while longer. She took it and happily began eating. Stiles was always a little surprised by just how much werewolves could eat without it seeming to make any difference.

"Stiles, can I ask you something horrible?"

Stiles stopped and turned around to look at her. "Sure."

"Do you ever wish that Sophia hadn't gotten pregnant?"

Stiles froze.

"I'd never even thought about it before today."

"It's hard," Stiles admitted. "Every time I think it is going to get easier something new happens that I don't know how to do and leaves me feeling utterly useless. It would be easier, my life would be easier if I didn't have a daughter – I would just be doing the same things as other people who have just graduated university. I would be trying to find a job, moving out of Dad's house. The usual. But, I would never, ever go back and change anything. I wouldn't want any life that wasn't this one with Izzy, even if things would be easier. She is amazing and I never expected it was possible to love having someone in my life like this."

Cora face softened and for a fleeting moment he could see Derek in her face – the same soft look Derek would get around Isabella. Then Cora's face shifted again and Stiles knew she had more questions.

"What else?" Stiles asked.

"Do you worry that having Isabella will stop you finding someone to love? To share your life with?"

Stiles shrugged. "I couldn't love someone who couldn't love Izzy so I suppose I will just have to wait and see. Why?"

Cora looked down at the remains of the sandwich that she was pulling apart. "No reason."

"You have the same look Derek does when he wants to talk about something but he doesn't want to talk about it."

"Most of the werewolves I know are arseholes…and I wonder…"

"Ah," Stiles said, understanding suddenly. "You are an amazing woman, you'll find someone who is either already in the know about the supernatural and not an arsehole or you are going to find someone who will love you enough not to care."

Cora's face darkened.

"Not that you are worried about that of course. I swear, you Hales are such hard work. Eat your sandwich and remember that you deserve better so it's okay to wait for someone you actually like."

Cora glared and started eating her sandwich again, ignoring the ripped up bits on her plate.

"We all have our baggage," Stiles finished just as the front door opened.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Ow!" Isaac said. He turned to frown at Stiles. "Your daughter just bit me!"

"What?" Stiles said, with confusion. "Her tooth has finally come through?"

"Yes! And it hurt!" Isaac said standing up and giving Isabella back to Stiles. "I'm surprised she didn't break the skin."

"You're a werewolf," Jackson scoffed. "Don't whine."

Everyone turned to look at Jackson with incredulity.

"What?" Jackson asked.

Derek turned to Isaac. "Her teeth have to be sharp to break through her gums."

"My God," Jackson said. "Do you spend your nights reading baby developmental books or something?"

"He is a creepy stalker," Stiles said with a laugh. Derek looked at him darkly. "It was a joke. You're right though, they have to be sharp and then as the other teeth come in the sharpness is worn away through grinding like with ours."

"She almost cut my finger open," Isaac said again.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "She's a human baby, get over it. I can't believe you found her new tooth before I did."

"I wish you had," Isaac said, grumpily.

Stiles twisted Isabella around on his lap and smiled at his daughter. "Are you going to show me your new tooth?"

"Don't put your finger near her mouth," Isaac warned. "She just dragged mine in and bit me."

"Stop acting like Jackson," Lydia said, at almost a whisper that, of course, everyone in the room could hear.

"Hey," Jackson and Isaac said at the same moment.

Stiles tried to get Isabella to open her mouth so that he could see the offending tooth. She refused to oblige him. Finally, with a sigh, he slipped the tip of his finger into her mouth. She quickly, and happily, grabbed his finger and yanked it further into her mouth until it was pressing against the sore gum.

"Oh," Stiles said, looking up at Isaac. "That is sharp."

Lydia and Derek looked interested while Isaac simply looked vindicated.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles answered the phone with one eye on Isabella who was shoving the edge of her bear blankie into her mouth. "Hello?"

"Stiles."

"Sophia?"

"Yeah, hi."

"Hi," Stiles said, his stomach tightening as he stared at Isabella.

"I know you haven't heard from me in a while."

"Not since you let me know you had made it to New York. Is everything okay?"

Sophia was silent for a few long heartbeats and Stiles' stomach tightened more every second she didn't speak.

"Sophia?" Stiles dropped his head down and realised that the fear that had been hiding in the back of his mind and the pit of his stomach since the moment he had seen his daughter and fallen in love might have come to pass.

"I'm sorry, Stiles," she said, and she sounded distant from the phone. "I just…I've been thinking about her a lot lately. She's almost six months old and…I was wondering if you would send me a photo."

Stiles crawled down onto the floor and settled next to Isabella with one hand around her pudgy ankle. She looked at him and went back to drooling on her favourite toy. "Of course. Only, you said you didn't want any."

"I just want one. I don't want you to keep sending them or anything but I'd like just one photo."

"Sophia," Stiles swallowed heavily and closed his eyes. "Do you want to come down and see her?"

"No." Sophia said firmly. "I just want to know what she looks like."

Stiles sagged down onto the floor until he was lying curled up on Isabella's play mat. If he could have managed to make his body into a circle he would have completely encircled her. He wasn't sure how to take this request. He would do it, of course he would, but was this just the start…was Sophia beginning to change her mind.

"I know I made the right decision," Sophia continued, when Stiles had been silent for a few long moments. "I don't want to come there and take her off you or anything. I know I'm never going to make a good mum and I don't want to be one but I've been thinking lately and I would like to know what she looks like. I only just remember her and sometimes I forget what colour her eyes are. I know it's silly because I never wanted her, and I still don't want to have her with me, but I do like knowing she's out there and…I'd just like to know what she looks like so I don't forget."

Stiles licked his lips and blinked a few times. "Of course. I'll send you something straight away. Do you still use the same email address?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you don't want me to send something every-"

"No," Sophia said. "Just one photo of her."

Stiles wondered if he'd get another call from her in six months when she was close to a year old but he supposed the fact she hadn't changed her mind needed to be a positive sign or he would spend the rest of her life worried about Sophia coming and taking Isabella from him.

"I'll send it today."

"Thank you, Stiles. I should have asked. How is she? And how are you?"

"We're good," Stiles said, looking down at Isabella again. "She's got a couple of teeth but I am never the one who finds them she keeps biting people."

"Oh."

"No," Stiles said, smiling. "She's teething so her gums hurt and she will pull anything into her mouth to rub against them, it just happened to be Isaac and Derek's fingers. Luckily they are both tough and only Isaac complained about it. She's started lifting herself up on her hands and knees but she hasn't started crawling and she doesn't last very long when she does it anyway."

"You sound happy."

"It was hard," Stiles admitted. "Still is sometimes but I've never regretted taking her."

Sophia let out a large sigh. "That's so wonderful. I'm so glad. We did the right thing, didn't we? Well, send me that photo and I'll let you get on with your life. Bye, Stiles."

"Bye, Sophia."

Stiles didn't climb up off the floor for a good long while.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"What is she doing?" Boyd asked, with a frown.

Stiles swore as his finger slipped onto the hot metal of the oven tray and didn't bother turning around; if she was doing something dangerous Derek would have stopped her.

"It's normal," Derek said.

"She's going backwards." Boyd said.

"Seriously, dude," Scott said, sounding petulant. Stiles want to the turn around and see what the problem was but he needed to focus on the pie or it would fall apart…or he would burn himself again. "Why do you insist on making me look like the lazy, stupid godfather?"

"He doesn't need to try very hard," Lydia said. Stiles chuckled even as he poured the hot fillings in, followed by the custard mixture, and then laid the top piece of pastry. He twisted around to find all four of them standing at the other side of the kitchen looking down at Isabella who was happily shuffling backwards on her knees. He smiled and then turned back to the pie in front of him.

"No!" Scott complained. "I just don't spend all my time reading about baby development but it ends up making me look like the bad godparent."

"You don't look like a bad anything," Stiles said, finally finished and turning around. "Though…well, I suppose it does beg the question – why do you know so much about child development, Derek?"

Derek's face tightened and his eyes became flat and distant as they always did when he was asked something that he simply did not want to talk about. "Isabella is a member of my pack."

"You don't put that much effort into knowing about any of us." Lydia pointed out.

"You," Derek said firmly, "are all adults who are more than capable of knowing your own development."

"Yeah," Scott said, looking much more interested suddenly – like a dog with a cat to chase. "But, you seem awfully focussed on Izzy."

Derek shrugged. "She is the only baby in the pack." Derek looked down suddenly and ignored everyone to bend down and pick Isabella up when she bumped into his leg. She threw her body forward when she was close to Derek's chest and happily drooled on his black t-shirt. "And I like her, so of course I am interested in her development."

Stiles watched as Derek undid the wrapping around a hard rusk and gave it to Isabella to chew on. She shoved it straight into her mouth and to the left where her gum was obviously annoying her. He looked at the mulish expression on Derek's face and wondered why he was even pushing it. It was nice that Derek liked Izzy enough to actually learn about some of this stuff. Derek obviously didn't want to talk about his reasons for being so interested in Izzy and Stiles decided not to push it.

"It's time for her nap; can I put her down here?" Stiles asked.

Derek frowned at him. "That is why she has that folding cot thing."

"Would you like to do it?"

Derek didn't say a word, simply turned and left the room.

"I like that he is so good with her." Stiles said, a minute later.

"I don't think anyone is questioning that he is good with her and that he cares for her," Boyd said, quietly. "He cares about every member of the pack."

"He'll tell us why when he's ready." Stiles said. "Until then, I'm just happy she has so many people who love her."

Lydia sighed at him and left the kitchen. "Call me when the pie's ready. I can't handle any more stupid."

Stiles watched her go with confusion. Stiles shook his head and left the kitchen to go and kiss his daughter on the forehead before she fell asleep. Derek was just pulling the blanket up and over her when Stiles came to the door.

"I've never been a godfather before," Derek said, not turning around, leaving his back to Stiles. "I don't know anyone with kids. I don't even remember Cora as a little kid. You gave me responsibility and you had the first baby in this pack. I imagine more will come eventually but she's the first baby I've spent any time around and I-"

"You don't need to explain this to me. I like that you are so good with her and that you so obviously like her."

"I want her to like me when she gets older and I want her to like being in the pack. How else was I going to do that when I know nothing about kids?"

"Derek."

Derek turned and walked out of the room without looking at Stiles.

Stiles twisted to watch him walk away. "I'm so happy knowing she's part of the pack and that you care for her so much."

Derek paused for a beat and then nodded once and continued walking away.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"No." Jackson said firmly.

Stiles looked at him questioningly.

"I refuse."

"You refuse to hold Isabella?"

"She cries."

"Sometimes."

"No," Jackson said, firmly. "She always cries when I hold her."

"She does not," Stiles said. Then he looked around the room at the rest of the pack.

"She does."

"Come on," Stiles said. "She does not. No one else thinks she does."

Lydia laughed and walked over, collecting Isabella from Stiles' arms and placing her into Jackson's. Isabella started to cry and Jackson's face turned dark and…Stiles refrained from calling it pouty. Lydia dragged Isabella back up and into her arms.

"She cries whenever Jackson holds her," she said, and Stiles couldn't help but see the amusement on Lydia's face and hear it in her voice.

"You can't say that from one trial," Stiles said. "Jackson wasn't even holding her."

"Fine," Jackson said, and reached up to take Isabella from Lydia's arms.

Lydia shrugged and walked away while Isabella's face fell and she started to cry. Stiles shook his head and was about to step forward and take Isabella back when a black shape appeared silently in the corner of his eye and then Derek was swooping down and pulling Isabella into his arms. She had reached her arms up to him as soon he got close.

"I've got her," Derek said, bouncing Isabella into his chest. "You can't give her to Jackson, she cries when he holds her."

Stiles sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Derek nodded and turned around, before he sunk onto the floor in the middle of the room with Isabella in his arms.

"I told you," Jackson's words followed Stiles out of the room.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"It's the full moon on Tuesday," Derek said, at breakfast on a Friday. Sam was making pancakes while Stiles was feeding Isabella yoghurt mixed with baby cereal.

"Mmmm," Stiles said, scraping the plastic spoon along Isabella's bottom lip; scooping up left over breakfast.

"You haven't been to a full moon in over six months."

"Yeah," Stiles opened his mouth to show Isabella how to do it and tried to get the next spoonful in without so much mess.

There was silence while Stiles fed Isabella her next few bites and by the time someone spoke again Stiles had forgotten what they had been talking about.

"Wait until he's finished."

"It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't?" Stiles asked, putting the plate down onto the table. "Does that feel better? Being all full?"

Isabella looked around.

"No?" Stiles laughed. "You are such a little glutton. I suppose you can have some milk."

Isabella made grabby hands at him when she heard milk and Stiles laughed as he stood up to finish her bottle. He smiled at his dad as he poured out her formula and shook the bottle. He handed it to Isabella; he didn't need to hold the bottle anymore but he kept a guiding hand on the bottom while she sucked the formula down like she hadn't just eaten cereal.

"Stiles," Derek said, firmly as Stiles wiped Isabella's chin and put the empty bottle on the table.

"What?" Stiles asked, turning around. "What's wrong?"

"Stiles," his father said. "Derek has been trying to talk to you and you've been ignoring him."

"Have you?" Stiles asked. "I…I didn't realise."

"It's not a problem," Derek said, waving his hand looking down suddenly. "It isn't important."

Stiles frowned at Derek. "Are you sure?"

"He wants you to go to the full moon on Tuesday," Sam's voice was so heavy with exasperation that Stiles turned to him. "I am very proud of how well you have taken to being a single father but you need to stop focussing on Bella to the exclusion of others."

"I-"

"You have," Sam said. Stiles stopped and looked at his father.

"I…"

"It's normal," Derek said. "It's not important."

"It is," Stiles said. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

Derek accepted the plate of pancakes and dedicated himself to cutting a hole in the middle and pouring maple syrup into the area left behind. Stiles had never seen anyone do that before but he'd tried it and it was the best way of eating pancakes he had ever experienced.

"Derek," Stiles said, when it became obvious that Derek was not going to say anything to him. "What did you want to ask me?"

Derek shrugged and shovelled some food into his mouth. "No-in."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "It must have been something if Dad said something."

"You have new parent blinders," Sam said. "Completely normal but also quite rude most of the time."

"Oh." Stiles looked at Isabella and then at Derek.

"I don't mind," Derek said, pausing between quick bites.

Stiles pulled Isabella from her high chair after cleaning her off and put her on the thick blanket in the corner with her toys while the adults ate their breakfast. He accepted the plate from his dad and slid into the chair across from Derek. Stiles knew he would need to get to the bottom of what Derek had been trying to say to him – especially if he father had felt he needed to bring Stiles' attention to it.

As soon as Sam was finished eating, he scooped Isabella up and declared they were going to the park, slipping out of the house before Derek or Stiles were able to say anything.

"You are going to tell me what you were talking about?"

"It's nothing," Derek said, pushing the plate away from him with at least a quarter of his pancakes left on the plate.

"I know it has to be something," Stiles said, pointing at the plate. "You never leave food on your plate, ever. In fact there are another five pancakes on the bench waiting for your second plate so you're not getting away with 'it's nothing' right now."

Derek's face closed down even more, darkening around his eyes until Stiles was worried that Derek was simply going to stand up and walk out.

"I'm sorry that I was ignoring you."

Derek's eyes flicked to Isabella's high chair and his eyes relaxed before he looked back at Stiles. "She should be more important."

Stiles shook his head and then paused and smiled. "Yeah, she is more important than almost anything else in the world to me but that doesn't excuse me from treating others like they are less important. Dad said you were saying something about the full moon…I can't remember when it is."

"You always used to know."

"I think I still have them programmed into my phone," Stiles frowned and pulled out his phone, Izzy's bright face the first thing he saw as he pulled up the calendar. There was nothing in there but a reminder about the swimming class he was taking Izzy to, the days where he had to go into work, and…a reminder that the day after tomorrow would be Cora's birthday.

"It's Cora's birthday," Stiles said quietly.

"I know," Derek said, with a frown.

"But I didn't," Stiles said. "I would normally have a present for her by now and…I've become horribly self-absorbed."

"No, Isabella-absorbed."

"I don't think that makes it better."

"It makes it understandable."

Stiles rubbed his face.

"Stiles, do you honestly believe there is a single new parent in the world…well, the ones who are good parents, whose lives don't become centred around their child."

"What are you doing on the full moon?"

Derek's face showed his judgement.

"Well…obviously you'll all be running off your aggression and everything else and acting like a group of blood thirsty puppies but other than that."

"Blood thirsty puppies?"

"Yeah, you don't lose control anymore and you all get really friendly and want to play but there is also something dark about the way you look at each other and, to a lesser extent, us humans."

"I was simply asking if you wanted to come back to the full moon. Allison can't come but the whole werewolf pack with be there. She has to go to some work thing and since she isn't turned…" Derek trailed off.

"I don't think that Isabella's quite ready for all that howling."

"She's welcome, I would be able to hear her sleeping in the house from almost anywhere in the woods but I was thinking you could leave her with your dad."

"Leave her with Dad?"

"Yes."

"I haven't spent a night away from her. She's still not sleeping through the night. I don't know if I can ask that of him."

Derek nodded. "I understand."

"More pancakes?" Stiles asked, searching for something to say.

Derek looked hesitant.

"They are my Dad's pancakes."

Derek caved and pulled the plate back in front of him so that he could eat the rest of the pancakes.

"I do want to do more pack things," Stiles said. "And I will try to be better."

Derek shrugged. "I don't mind."

Stiles didn't believe him but of all the people in his life Derek would be the one most willing to ignore these bad manners, at least since Isabella had been born. Scott and Lydia would just call him on his crap but Derek had been different ever since Isabella. Derek finished his breakfast and disappeared out of the back door to…supposedly, run back to his place.

Stiles called Scott.

"Hey, man."

"Have I been ignoring everyone?"

"What?"

"Have I been ignoring everyone? And just focussing on Isabella to the exclusion of everyone else?"

"Oh yeah, most of the time. Except when we're there or make you focus on us."

"Oh, shit."

"Don't worry about it," Scott said. "I prefer Isabella to most of the pack too."

Stiles didn't feel any better about his actions for that comment. They talked for a few more minutes and Stiles thought about what to buy Cora for her birthday.

"Derek asked me to come to the full moon." Stiles finally said, just as the conversation was winding down.

"Would Isabella sleep through all that howling?"

"She wouldn't come."

"Oh," Scott said. "So you won't be coming either."

"I can't really ask Dad to have her all night so that I could go to the full moon."

"Of course you could," Sam said, startling Stiles into turning around to find his dad standing behind him with Isabella still strapping into her pram.

"Scott, I gotta-"

"I heard, talk later."

Scott hung up on him and Stiles shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Dad."

Sam rolled his eyes and started up the stairs. "Your daughter needs to be changed."

"Give her here."

Sam ignored him and started walking up the stairs. "I'm not working on Tuesday so I'll look after Bella."

"I can't ask you to give up your one night off to look after her."

"You didn't ask."

Stiles sighed and followed his father into Isabella's room. He didn't bother to go past the door though, just rested his shoulder against the jamb and watched Isabella squirm around on the changing mat. Stiles couldn't help but be pleased he wasn't the one that would have to wrangle her this time.

"You have to go, Stiles."

"I've never left her overnight before."

"Exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"She is the best baby in the universe and you are turning into the type of father I knew you could be but in the end you have to also find time for you. When was the last time you did anything that wasn't Isabella or work?"

Stiles shrugged, then frowned, and thought a bit harder. "It can't have been that long ago."

Sam finished pulling Isabella's pants up over her fresh nappy and then slid her down to the ground. Isabella giggled and started crawling towards Stiles who dropped down and pulled her up into his arms.

"It has been that long; it's a good idea for you to try and find time to do things that have nothing to do with her."

"Why?"

"Because it's healthy."

Stiles shrugged.

"Derek has been more patient than anybody has any right to ask for, even you."

Stiles frowned. "The pack have always come and gone according to life. We barely met up except for important meetings while we were at university. It's not like this is the first time that someone has disappeared for a while. It's just the first time that I haven't been the one that was always there. I can't be there all the time now. The pack understands that and Derek understands that."

Sam stopped in front of Stiles and shook his head. "He does understand that but that wasn't what I was talking about."

"Then I'm confused."

"Why does Derek like Isabella so much?"

"Because she is amazing," Stiles said, looking down at his daughter. "Who in the universe wouldn't love her?"

"True," Sam said slowly. "But, he knows her schedule as well as I do and-"

"Dad," Stiles interrupted. "The pack were picking on him about this too so I had a word to him. He's just enjoying being a godfather and having a baby in the pack again, I think he's been missing that aspect. The pack he grew up in was always one where there were children and babies, at least that's what I've been able to garner from the small amount of it that he will talk about. It's almost a good thing Peter is still around since even though you can't believe eighty percent of what he says at least you can get something out of him about the old Hale pack."

"He does like having Isabella in his pack."

"So maybe we'll just go down and see them for a little while before she needs to go to bed."

"Then I will bring her home and you can stay on to do whatever you lot do during the full moon."

"They do lots of silly full moon things. Then they collect together on a few huge blankets and just sleep the morning away."

The sheriff smirked at Stiles. "It sounds like it will be fun."

"Dad."

"You're going, if I have to call Derek myself and accept and then tie you to one of the trees out there. Bella and I will be fine for one night and it will be good for you."

Stiles nodded and then slumped down against the wall. "Fine, thanks."

Sam nodded once sharply and finally left the room to wash his hands.

Tuesday came around quickly and they bundled Isabella up in something warm before driving out to Derek's house. Stiles had spent the hour before they left making sure there was enough of everything and then double checking that everything was where it needed to be. Sam refrained from saying anything but he did stare at his son judgementally. Until Stiles had moved the can of formula three times.

"Do you remember when she was first born and you were always asking me what to do? Here we are a few months down the track and suddenly I've forgotten what the formula can looks like so obviously I need to have it placed on the bench…just in case."

Stiles looked at the line of clean bottles next to the formula can and flushed. "I just don't want you to have any problems tonight."

Sam looked down at Isabella who had a rusk shoved into the right side of her mouth. "She's not going to be a problem. Are you, Bella?"

Isabella looked up at him.

"See…no problems at all."

"Right, well I'm just going to go and pack her bag."

"I've done it," Sam said.

"Did you pack-"

"Yes," Sam interrupted. "And anything that I didn't remember we can do without. Derek has a room with stuff for her – she's not going to miss out on anything."

Stiles nodded. "Then I suppose we can get going."

Sam nodded and turned for the door, he grabbed her bag and his keys. "We'll meet you there."

"Are you sure you want to take her? I can."

Sam shook his head and headed for his cruiser, which he had installed a car seat in – against quite a few regulations – not that he cared at all. He buckled Isabella in and started off for Derek's knowing Stiles would be a complete mess until the pack took his attention.

Derek was out of the door before his car even stopped. The dark-haired werewolf was standing on the porch obviously holding himself back from bounding down the stairs for Isabella. Sam bit back his smile and climbed out of the car.

"Can you come grab her so I can take her bag?" Sam called out. Derek was next to him immediately, lifting Isabella out and hugging her to his chest with a bright smile.

Sam followed behind his happily babbling granddaughter and the man who would obviously like to be her step-father.

Stiles arrived moments later and Isabella happily threw herself at him, out of Derek's arms like she hadn't seen him in days rather than minutes. Moments later she was wriggling back out and trying to get to Derek again. Stiles put her on the floor and she happily made her way around the room between the wolves for the next half hour, each of the wolves picking her up and happily scenting her while she giggled and pulled at hair, squeezed noses and cheeks as her scent was joyfully shared around in the pack. Stiles couldn't smell it but he had a feeling she would have reeked of the whole pack by the end. They ate dinner together, the pack touching more than they normally did and Isabella never stayed in her chair; being passed around between the members of the pack constantly between bites of slightly more rare meat than either Stiles or his father liked though Boyd had been nice enough to cook their meat longer than anyone else's.

After dinner Isabella's happiness at being passed around to everyone, except Jackson who held her for as short a time as possible, morphed decidedly into displeasure. She started to fuss in Derek's arms and reached out pleadingly to Stiles. He pulled her into his arms ignoring the wounded expression on Derek's face and she curled into Stiles and gripped his shirt tightly. Stiles swayed with her until she became a dead weight in his arms, her little breath puffing against his neck. Stiles twisted down to look at her, checking that she was asleep.

"We should get home," Stiles' dad said, coming to stand behind Stiles. "Let you all get on with your happily wolfy full moon."

"You are so a Stilinski," Lydia said, shaking her head. "It always surprises me when you say things that Stiles would."

"I taught him everything I know," Sam puffed his chest out.

"Mum taught me a lot too," Stiles pointed out. "She was the one who believed in crazy Sundays."

Sam laughed. "Are you going to give Bella crazy Sundays?"

"'Course."

"Crazy Sundays?" Isaac asked.

Stiles smiled, his grin so wide his face ached. "Mum created crazy Sundays after I was diagnosed with ADHD, they were days when the fact I was hyperactive and couldn't concentrate didn't matter because we were supposed to just do anything that took our fancy. One Sunday we all drove to Los Angeles and went to the zoo."

"Seriously?" Boyd asked.

"His mum used to invite me," Scott said. "We made cakes of frosting one Sunday and let me tell you, they do not work!"

"It seemed like the best idea in the history of cake," Stiles defended.

"Claudia would have never let you do that on any other day."

"I know, just like I would never make an icing cake on a Tuesday with Izzy but on Sunday, anything goes."

"Right," Sam said, firmly. "Give me that granddaughter of mine."

"Are you sure?" Stiles said, hugging Isabella more tightly to him.

"Stiles," Lydia said, firmly. "Hand the baby over to your father."

"But, I've never spent the whole night away from her."

"Have to cut the strings eventually," Jackson said.

"Thank you for that wonderful perspective," Stiles said, sarcasm dripping off his words.

"Stiles," Derek said, quietly – dragging the room's attention to him. "If you don't want to stay then go with Isabella. Maybe we can do it next month."

Stiles silently turned back to his father and held Isabella out. Sam scooped her up and smiled at Stiles. Stiles knew his father was proud of him.

"If anything happens-"

Sam shook his head. "Don't. I'll see you tomorrow."

Stiles stooped down and kissed Isabella on the head before he took a step back – he really didn't want to watch her leave and he knew it was…insane. She would be ten minutes away, with his father, who knew her almost better than anyone but him. There was no chance that anything would go wrong and even if it did then he could be there so quickly and his father knew what he was doing. Stiles knew all of that, he knew it but at the same time he just wanted to snatch her back and hold her tight. It was ridiculous.

Stiles plastered a smile onto his face and stepped back. "I'll see you in the morning."

The pack stepped forward and very gently brushed their hands over her hair in goodbye. Sam nodded and left the house.

Scott walked up next to Stiles and shoved him over with his shoulder.

"What?" Stiles demanded and returned the move.

"You look like someone has been torturing you."

"I do not."

"You do, and it's pathetic," Lydia threw in. "She's at your house with your father, so just get over it."

"Or Derek is going to think you don't want to be here," Isaac said.

Stiles turned to the alpha who was watching him with dark eyes and a closed down expression. "Of course I want to be here."

"We need to go out and run," Derek said, turning around and slipping his shirt off. He threw the shirt over the stair's balustrade and threw the door open. Jackson and Boyd threw their shirts off happily and shifted before they had even made it out of the door. Isaac did so much more reluctantly and followed behind them until Stiles was left with no one but Scott and Lydia. Cora was up at school with a big test the next day and she hadn't been able to get back.

"Sometimes I am so pleased I'm not a werewolf," Stiles said, slapping Scott on the back. "I don't have to get shirtless to go running through the woods."

There was a loud howl outside and the three of them turned to look out the door.

"We should probably go," Scott said. "Haven't run with Stiles in a while, the pack is going to be so hyperactive."

"You're always hyperactive," Stiles said, walking out of the house. He could see flashes he knew to be werewolf eyes and started heading out into the darkness.

Stiles had forgotten how energetic the night of a full moon was. And he thought running around after a baby was hard work. As he had walked out of the house the wolves had run back towards him, circling around joyfully. The air was full of happy howling as Stiles allowed his body to be used as a scenting post – the werewolves happily sharing Stiles' scent while the full moon made everything more powerful for them. Stiles looked past the bodies to find Derek standing a few feet away, transformed and watching the pack intensely while he let out a low, long growl that even Stiles could hear. Stiles smiled at the older man and suddenly the group seemed to part around him – leaving enough space for the alpha to step into what amounted to a vertical puppy pile.

"I'm not happy about this," Lydia said.

Stiles twisted around to see her and someone's hand rubbed against his backside. "Hey!"

"Sorry," Jackson said, managing to sound, through his teeth, like Stiles should be the one apologising.

"You annoyed you're not getting groped by Jackson? Because, I could do without it."

"Like you could get anyone as hot as me."

Stiles looked Jackson up and down before scrunching up his nose. "Sorry, I really prefer my men a little more manly."

Jackson looked at Stiles with disgust.

"Tag!" Isaac called, and slapped Stiles on the back so hard he stumbled forward.

"Oh, for…" Stiles span and slapped Scott who was the only wolf not to have run off. He laughed and ran from the spot. He could see Derek watching him from the trees.

"You suck," Scott yelled out from behind Stiles.

"Isaac picked on the slow, weak human," Stiles called out. "I'm just paying it forward."

After that the forest was mostly silent except for the pack, the animals normally disappeared on nights when the wolves were out. While they were loud in the evenings when the pack was simply out after dark. Whoever thought wilderness was quiet hadn't spent much time in the actual woods. Stiles had never learned how to be silent when going through the forest not that it would have mattered against a pack of werewolves anyway, though Derek or Scott would always appear when Stiles was tagged to help him get the rest of the pack. Somehow, and Stiles had never been able to wrangle it from her, Lydia managed to avoid being tagged at all.

The game lasted until well after midnight. Stiles had forgotten how energetic the full moon made the werewolves. When he, and the other humans, didn't come the werewolves would run for hours through the woods and forests around the area until the sky started to turn. However, on nights like this when Stiles, or Lydia and Allison, came out and ran with them it was more like a night-time, moon lit evening of play.

The wolves were slightly more vicious with one another under the full moon, faster to growl and snarl as well as fighting amongst themselves but it never impacted on the humans – Derek would never allow them to release their moon caused tension on the human pack members. That was why Stiles knew bringing Isabella to the pack tonight had not been dangerous. He trusted his pack, with his life and with hers.

Stiles stopped and pressed his back into one of the trees breathing heavily. He could feel the bark pressing into his flesh even through his shirt and he wished he could lie down and curl around the base of the tree for a little nap.

Boyd stopped in front of Stiles. Stiles tried the puppy dog eyes and shook his head. Then Boyd cocked his head to the side and smirked before he ran off into the night. Stiles followed along behind to find Scott and Jackson circling each other with grins on their faces. Stiles shook his head and went to sit down next to Lydia where she was perched against a tree. Scott and Jackson ran at one another, fighting in a way that would have to be called play fighting here but would not be out of place in UFC match. Then suddenly they sprang apart and Scott ran over to Stiles pulling him to his feet and dragging him away into the forest.

"What?"

"Deer," Scott said.

Stiles sighed, he didn't care about deer but he knew that the pack would chase the animal for a while until one of them 'caught' the thing. Then they could brag for the rest of the month about being the best werewolf and Bambi could spend the month getting over the terror of having been chased by a predator – though it would still be alive so that was something.

Stiles ran with Scott, shifting direction with his friend since he couldn't sense the animal himself. When they passed the lake Stiles slowed down now that he could see the buck running in front of them. Stiles didn't need to chase the thing; now he could just sit back and watch them all get in touch with their inner animals. He much preferred the animal coming out on a deer rather than on himself.

Danny won, laughing at the pack around him before patting the deer quietly for a moment and letting it go to run and play.

Stiles yawned and stretched out, he hadn't been up this late since before Isabella had been born. He was normally safely in bed, exhausted, by ten each night. He would have been embarrassed about acting like an old person if it weren't for the fact he kept falling asleep on the couch if he didn't get enough sleep for Isabella's middle of the night wake up and her early morning 'I need food' crying. He walked the rest of the way to the large flat boulder that sat half in and out of the lake and stretched out on top of it. It would be nicer when it got to be high summer and the stone held the day's warmth while around Stiles wolves howled and played and ran.

Stiles could hear the crunch of leaves, the snap of twigs as one of the wolves ran towards him.

"Tired?" Derek's voice was gravelly around his transformed teeth and Stiles smiled but didn't bother to open his eyes.

"I'm not used to being up so late."

There was silence for a moment and then Derek spoke though Stiles knew the werewolf was not talking to him. "Jackson, shut up."

"Yes, Jackson," Stiles threw in, he didn't even need to ask to know it would have been a comment about him going to bed like one of the Golden Girls. For some reason, and Jackson would hide the reason to his grave, the blonde werewolf used the characters as his go to insult for half the pack. Everyone but Lydia, who had simply flipped her hair and told Jackson that she was going to be Sophia when she grew up. It had led to her coming to Stiles' place at university and a three day long marathon of the show until Stiles was a convert and decided that he was decidedly a Dorothy…though he wished he was Sophia – that was definitely Lydia's role. "And Golden Girls are more excellent than you."

"I worry about you," Derek said. "Do you want to go back up to the house?"

"I see a full moon," Stiles said, throwing his hand up. Seconds later a hot, rough hand wrapped around his wrist and moved his finger in another direction. "So I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you're all going to decide a water fight is an amazing idea in…about twenty minutes so I'm in the perfect position."

"Oh man," Scott said. "We haven't had a water fight in ages."

"See?"

Minutes later there was a lot of splashing, howling, and a steady rain of cold water hitting Stiles. He sighed, opened his eyes and threw himself down into the frigid water with the rest of the pack before one of them dragged him in.

As they were slowly walking out of the lake a long while later, the sky was lightening to the east. Stiles knew it was time to head back to the house, where they would all have very brief showers, eat the platter of sandwiches that were in the fridge and then curl up together in the lounge room and sleep the morning away. Stiles would have to make sure he was on the outer edges of the pile so that he could sneak out later to call his father. His mobile had been up as loud as possible on the porch the whole night but none of the wolves had heard anything and the distinct sound of Jonny Cash, which he had given to his father, would definitely have elicited a reaction.

Stiles yawned and found that he had to stop walking because he was so tired he could not possibly walk and yawn at the same time. Suddenly, an arm slid beneath one of Stiles' and then Lydia was dragging him towards the house through the steadily lightening forest. The pack seemed to close in around them as they walked back which took much less time than it had taken them to get out to the lake the night before.

Derek pushed Stiles into the bathroom as soon as they were inside. Stiles yanked his wet, cold clothes off and stood under the hot spray with his eyes closed while he tried to defrost. There was a knock on the door and then, almost instantly, the door opened.

"Have you fallen asleep in there?" Lydia asked.

"No," Stiles said. He washed himself quickly knowing she wasn't going anywhere and then opened the curtain only far enough to take the towel from her.

"Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Yes," Stiles said, stepping out with the towel wrapped around his hips. "But, also not something I'm planning on showing you again."

Lydia grabbed his cheek and kissed him. "I do love you, but you need to find someone to show it to."

"I don't."

"You might forget how."

"The last person I slept with gave me Izzy, can't top that."

"God, you disgust me."

"Thank you," Stiles kissed her on the forehead and then walked out of the bathroom to change in one of the spare rooms. He pulled on his warm, old sleep clothes and sunk down onto the couch. Seconds later there was a ham and cheese sandwich in front of him. Stiles was so tired he wasn't even hungry but he knew he'd wake up starving if he didn't eat now. He smiled his thanks up at Derek and grabbed the sandwich. Derek sat next to him on the couch, perhaps a bit closer than normal and the heat of his body caused the clean scent of Derek's skin to wrap around Stiles. Stiles hadn't been hungry and yet before he could remember taking a single bite the sandwich was gone.

"I can't believe I'm still awake."

"I'm pleased you came tonight."

"It was fun."

"You've been thinking about her all night."

Stiles shrugged and the plate in his hand disappeared for a moment only to come back heavy with food again. Stiles cracked an eye open to find a chicken sandwich on his plate. He didn't think Derek had moved but he didn't know who else would bother to get him food.

"You've been thinking about Is all night."

Stiles twisted around to look at Derek even as he started eating the second sandwich. "How did you know?"

"Because I know you."

"You really do," Stiles said with a smile. "I've just never left her before. I'll call Dad later to see how everything went."

"He sent me a message," Scott said, coming into the room. "Everything's fine. Tell him to stop worrying."

"He messaged you?" Stiles asked, digging his phone out and looking at the blank screen again. "Why didn't he message me?"

"Because you are insanely attached to your child," Jackson said, coming in still shirtless but obviously just out of the shower.

"Insanely?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah." Jackson nodded and grabbed his own sandwich.

"There is nothing insane about how attached I am to Izzy."

"No, but that explains Jackson's issues beautifully," Lydia said.

"I just meant that it was a smart idea not to message you, Stiles, because you were having enough trouble actually being here as it was, you just would have assumed it was something bad."

"You did spend a long time staring back at the house," Isaac said. "Though I don't think there is anything strange about how attached you are to Isabella."

"I told Dad he could contact me if something went wrong."

"What could have gone wrong? Especially with your dad watching her," Lydia asked, shoehorning herself into the space next to Stiles, on the opposite side to where Derek was plastered against his side.

"She could fall off something and hurt herself, or start vomiting, or cut herself, anything could happen."

"Or," Boyd pointed out. "She could be completely fine, don't be so negative."

Stiles nodded and yawned. "Can I go to bed now?"

"It's about that time." Derek stood up and looked down at the mound of blankets and pillows in the middle of the lounge room. They had tried this in a bed and all over the house but this seemed to be the best option – the lot of them on so many blankets it was basically a mattress with pillows around the place and the overwhelming heat of werewolves to keep them all warm.

Stiles slithered down off the couch and over to the blankets. He yanked one of the pillows over to him and shoved it under his head. He didn't bother to open his eyes again when someone used his lower back for a pillow or when someone pressed into his left side…and then there was nothing.

Stiles woke hours later, sandwiched between Derek, behind him, and Isaac, who was in turn curled around Lydia. There was very little sunlight passing through the window above them all but Stiles figured enough time had passed to call his dad.

"She's fine, he'll be here for lunch," Derek mumbled, his breath hot against Stiles' neck.

"My alarm," Stiles mumbled, but the warmth of the werewolf pile was dragging him back down to sleep.

"I turned it off and called him."

"I am not happy about that," Stiles said, but he allowed himself to fall back to sleep anyway.

The next time Stiles woke up it was to the sound of his daughter laughing. He opened his eyes to find Derek holding her though seconds later Isabella was placed on his chest and she looked at him happily while he hugged her close.

Stiles looked around the room as he pulled himself up and realised that he and Derek were the only members of the pack that were awake. Scott and Isaac seemed to be lying underneath Lydia and Boyd mostly sleeping alone except for a hand wrapped around Jackson's ankle, there was something vaguely possessive about the hold and Stiles resolved to try and work that out…later. Stiles stood up and walked over to his father and Derek.

"Was she all right?"

"Looked a little confused that I collected her this morning but it was all completely normal – exactly like it goes when you're home."

"That will make him think he's replaceable," Jackson mumbled from the floor. Stiles kicked him as he walked past to hand Isabella back to his father so that he could go to the bathroom.

"I'm a unique snowflake, Jackson," Stiles threw over his shoulder.

"Just like everyone else," his father said slowly.

Jackson's laugh followed Stiles out of the room but when he returned Isabella reached out for him joyfully and he just didn't care what Jackson said to him.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Sam kissed Isabella on the head when he left for work on a Friday night.

"Don't be too hard on your father," Sam said, into the soft hair on her head. "I know you're an awfully good little girl."

Isabella smiled up at her grandfather with a wide, gummy grin and Sam jostled her, kissed her on the forehead and then handed her to Stiles.

Stiles held Isabella and helped her wave goodbye to Sam.

"Stiles, you don't need to do this when I'm not here."

"I really do," Stiles said. "I need to do it tonight."

Sam looked at his son with something like pity but then his face cleared. He placed his hand on Stiles' shoulder. "You'll do an amazing job."

Stiles buried his nose in Isabella's hair and looked at his father disbelievingly.

Sam let out a sigh and left.

Stiles fed and bathed Isabella and then held her close to him in her bedroom.

"My Isabella," Stiles said quietly. "We are going to try something new tonight. I'm going to give you a hug and a kiss after your bottle and then I'm going to put you into bed and I'm going to leave. I want you to go to sleep, I want you to know that I am here and I love you even if I don't come when you cry."

Isabella sucked down her bottle with her usual gusto and burped happily into Stiles' shoulder. Then he kissed her on the head and put her into bed. She looked up at him with shock and confusion for a moment and then her bottom lip started to quiver. Stiles kissed her again and then rushed to the door and outside. He first cry made his stomach clench but he kept going down the stairs and into the lounge room.

He turned on the television. Then turned it off again when he couldn't hear anything but her cries. He went into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water and went back into the lounge room.

Her cries quietened for a moment and Stiles let out a sigh before she started again. Stiles dropped his head down into his hands as she continued to cry.

Stiles stood up and started for the stairs. When he cleared the top step Derek stepped in front of him. Stiles looked up from the expanse of stretched black cotton to Derek's grey-green eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"Where are you going?" Derek asked, instead of answering.

Stiles looked past Derek and towards the door to his daughter's room.

Derek stepped into Stiles' view. "That is what I'm doing here. You said you needed to teach her to self-settle."

"But she's crying," Stiles said.

"I can hear her."

Stiles folded his arms across his chest. "Right, I shouldn't go in there."

Derek shook his head.

"It's hard." Stiles admitted pitifully and twisted to sit on the top step.

Derek sat next to him.

"I only just got to the point where I didn't feel like I was screwing up all the time. Now she's crying and I'm ignoring her."

"You're not ignoring her."

"I am. I'm her dad; she should be able to rely on me and I'm just ignoring her."

"She's learning a valuable skill," Derek said. "As you said when you appeared at my house to tell me all the reasons you had for deciding to teach her to self-settle."

"They were crappy reasons," Stiles said. "I didn't know what I was saying."

"Something about having to wake up in the middle of the night to settle her."

"Yeah," Stiles turned his head at a momentary break in Isabella's whimpering cries. She was only quiet for a few heartbeats and then started again, more quietly.

"She's starting to settle," Derek said, and when Stiles looked at him Derek's eyes were red and his head was cocked back towards Isabella's room.

"Can you hear her?"

Derek nodded.

"Sometimes I wish I could hear like you do," Stiles said quietly.

Derek's lips quirked.

"Derek," Stiles asked, his voice getting quieter still as he leaned against the wall next to him. "Why are you here?"

"I knew you were starting tonight and I know your father's at work."

Stiles looked down the stairs, away from Derek. "I didn't want to fail in front of someone else."

"You aren't going to fail."

"That's because you've come," Stiles said, with a sigh. "If it was just me I would be in her room now holding her."

Derek shook his head. "You'd never have opened the door."

Stiles scoffed silently as he counted the beats between Isabella's snuffling cries.

"I could leave," Derek said. "Then you can prove it to yourself."

"No," Stiles said, and wrapped his hand around Derek's wrist.

They were silent, Derek's wrist hot and soft beneath Stiles' fingers.

"I never meant to imply I didn't think you could do this." Derek said quietly, when Isabella had completely stopped making noises that Stiles could hear.

Stiles flexed his fingers and pulled them away from Derek's wrist, he missed the steady thrum of Derek's heartbeat beneath his fingertips. "I know."

Derek pulled his hand back to into his lap and watched Stiles intensely.

"I appreciate you coming," Stiles said. "I didn't think I wanted anyone to be here."

Derek's head twisted around so that he was looking at Isabella's door. "She's asleep." He stood up. "I wouldn't have even come inside if you hadn't been rushing up the stairs."

"Were you outside sitting on the roof like a creeper?"

Derek started down the stairs.

"You can come inside any time you want," Stiles said. "Next time just knock on the door."

Derek shook his head.

"Do you want some hot chocolate?"

Derek stopped on the second last step. "I should go home."

"Why?" Stiles said. "I might need you to hold my hand again when she wakes up next time. I think I have little marshmallows."

Stiles walked past Derek who followed him into the kitchen.

/ \ / \ / \

"Wow," Scott said, walking into the kitchen. "That is a lot of mess."

"Izzy is feeding herself."

Scott watched her for a few minutes. "That doesn't seem like it was the best idea."

Stiles shrugged. "She's having a bath as soon as she's done."

"You might need to scrub her down."

Stiles barked out a laugh. "I'll just soak her for a while."

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles threw Isabella's bag over his shoulder and then pulled her out of her car seat, turning towards the library.

"Stiles!"

He turned around and smiled when he caught sight of Megan, walking up the stairs behind him with her son, Trevor, on her hip.

"We missed you last week," she said, smiling at him brightly.

"Izzy was grizzly, it just wasn't worth it. She had a nap instead…actually, we both did."

Megan smiled at him. "Are you coming for a coffee after?"

"Of course."

They walked into the library and through the bookshelves until they reached the children's section. Stiles put Isabella down on the floor, on one side of the butterfly printed rug that they always put out for rhyme time. She went straight for the board books and Stiles turned his back only to drop her backpack next to one of the stools that had been ringed around the area. He turned around to find Isabella about to shove a book into her mouth.

"No," he pulled the book back from her mouth and put it out of her reach giving him just enough time to pull his own blanket out of the bag and lay it on the floor before she had the book again.

"She's getting faster," Romilly, another of the mother's, said, putting her own daughter Selene down on the mat.

"I know," Stiles said, "eventually I'm not going to be able to put her down while I get organised."

He grabbed Isabella and sat her down on their blanket sitting down behind her. She used his legs to pull herself up until she was standing, holding herself upright against his chest.

A few mothers he didn't know walked into the area, hesitant.

"Hello," Stiles said, with a smile.

"Hi."

"I'm Stiles, and this is Izzy."

One of the mothers smiled at him with relief. "I'm Jane, and this is Sam, that's a he Sam."

Stiles laughed.

"Everyone gets confused."

"Have you been before?"

"No," she said, sitting down next to him, Sam happily lying on her legs.

"Well, we have a couple of different people who run the sessions and they're all good."

"You come a lot?"

Stiles nodded. "Generally every week, unless Izzy's sick. It's a nice way of meeting other parents and doing things with her."

Jane nodded. "That's what I read."

"Hello, everyone," the librarian said, coming into the area. Stiles bit back a smirk – she was young, not much older than he was but she was never-endingly perky, positive and downright excitable. Stiles spent half of the time at these sessions thinking up snarky things he could say to Lydia, and the rest noticing how much Isabella seemed to enjoy her personality. "If you haven't met me before I'm Cindy."

Cindy chatted around the room for a few minutes and then threw herself into the actual session, rhymes and songs, books and action activities, aimed at teaching the babies about the world and helping their language acquisition. Stiles had been turned onto rhyme time by yet another parenting website, not that he spent as much time on them anymore. It was nice though, he had walked in that first session not quite knowing what to expect and found a group of mainly women who were all older than him with their children. The first session he'd hung back and been quiet. It was only half an hour and he'd managed it, but by the second session he figured that he was going to be spending time with these people every week so he might as well just be himself. He had introduced himself to all of the other parents and some of them had obviously not really wanted to speak to him but he had made friends with a small group of mums. Ninety percent of the time he was the only dad at the sessions, and after the group found out his story, they had decided he should be adopted as a member of their mother's group. Stiles thought they needed a new name but he did like developing friendships with other people who were also going through the same things he was.

After the session he invited Jane along with them for their standard walk across the stretch of grass between the library and an outdoor café. She came along, their group moving over slowing and taking a large table in the shade, like they did every week.

They were sitting around with their coffees, chatting. Isabella, like most of the other babies was happily drinking her milk, or eating a snack.

"Stiles?"

Stiles twisted around, already smiling. "Hey, Lydia."

Lydia walked over to him, perching on his knee and smiling at the women at the table after she had kissed Isabella on the head.

"Everyone, this is Lydia."

"What are you doing here?" Lydia asked.

"Just had Rhyme Time," Stiles said.

"Oh, yeah, totally forget that was today, and did you enjoy yourself?" Lydia asked turning to Isabella. She smiled at Lydia and went back to gnawing on her teething ring.

"And now we're having coffee and chatting," Stiles continued.

"It's good that you're spending time with other parents," Lydia said. "None of us can help you there."

"We love Stiles," Hannah, an older mother in their group with twins.

"We only started getting together for coffee because of him." Megan added. "My husband gets this twitch in his eye every time I mention having coffee with an attractive younger man."

Hannah laughed. "God, I thought that was just my Eric."

Stiles flushed. "I…"

Kelly leaned around Lydia to pat him on the back. "It's nice to have someone male in the group."

"So you don't use me to make your husband jealous?"

She shook her head. "Of course I do."

Lydia started laughing so hard that she had to grab onto Stiles' knee. "I have to tell everyone about this."

"I wish you wouldn't."

/ \ / \ / \

Scott was lying on the floor with Isabella in front of him playing a werewolf versus baby tug of war with a small stuffed alphabet worm while Stiles sat at the table and worked his way frantically, and carefully, through the last minute mountain of work the newspaper had given him. The Lewis Gazette had called him, their other general dog's body was sick and they desperately needed Stiles to work through his backlog before the next issue.

But, the meeting the day before had brought up something else, something that was tugging at the back of Stiles' mind. He tried to ignore the proposal and focus on the work in front of him.

"Stiles," Scott called out.

Stiles finished the article he was on before he looked up. Isabella was gnawing on a teething ring and Scott was fiddling with the stuffed caterpillar. "Do you need to go? Because it's about time for her nap and I completely understand that I'm taking advantage of you."

"No," Scott waved him off. "I like hanging with my niece."

"And Allison has to work today."

"I would be here anyway."

Stiles smiled and Isabella pulled her teething ring out to look at it before shoving it back in.

"Then…" Stiles prompted.

"I'm going to be Isabella's godfather, right? I mean you keep mentioning it."

"Of course."

"Are you ever going to make it official though?"

"Official?"

"You know, a christening ceremony, me holding Izzy wearing a tie and someone doing something official. Probably with Derek there glaring at me because I'm getting to hold Izzy and not him."

"He might glare at you for that. He has taken to being her godfather. You both have. I suppose the whole pack has been amazing even if I haven't been very good at making time for most of you."

"Stiles, focus."

"Oh, right, well I will organise it. It just slipped my mind."

Scott smiled at him widely. "Good. Because she's eight months old and it's getting weird."

Stiles laughed. "Thanks."

"Also, I have some news."

Stiles dropped his pen completely and left his work behind to go and sit next to Scott. Isabella pulled herself up and holding onto the couch with one hand reached out for Stiles.

"She's getting better at that," Scott said, while Stiles held her hands allowing her to try and step towards him. She tried to balance on her feet for a moment and then landed heavily on her padded backside.

Stiles pulled her over and onto his lap. "So, news?"

"I'm going to ask Allison to marry me."

Stiles picked Izzy up and twisted her around. "Oh, Izzy, did you hear that! Uncle Scott is finally going to ask Aunty Allison to marry him." Stiles bounced Isabella up and down while she happily giggled. "We're so happy for you."

Scott laughed and pulled Isabella into his arms. "I remember once upon a time there was no baby in the celebrations. I think it's better now."

"And one day it might be your baby."

"Nope," Scott said. "Well, one day but you've convinced me it's better to wait a while."

Stiles frowned at him. "Are you implying that your goddaughter and very excellent niece has put you off having children?"

"No, she is the thing that would make me have them. You being bat-shit crazy about her put me off having kids just yet. And, it would probably be a good idea to be more than a year out of university before we have kids…I mean, obviously that's not…you know what I mean."

"I do." Stiles said. "And it's probably a good plan. It's not easy trying to be a single parent and I have a pack and Dad and Melissa to all help me. What the hell would I be doing if I didn't have the lot of you?"

"You aren't going to have to find out." Scott said. "Allison and I certainly aren't going anywhere and Derek wouldn't go anywhere either."

"He's been so amazing. I should get the christening organised." Isabella began to fuss in his arms. "Can you stay a while longer? I'm going to put her down and we can get organised."

"Allison is coming to get me later and we thought we'd make you cook us dinner."

"That seems fair, since I made you come here and look after Izzy."

"I figure I will just make you help when we have kids."

Stiles stood up and nodded before looking down at Isabella. "Do you think we should help your Uncle Scott one day? He seems pretty sure that Aunty Allison is going to agree to marry his hairy backside…do you think she is? She might find someone better."

Scott laughed behind his back. "She'll say yes."

"He's so very sure of himself." Stiles left Scott behind and started up the stairs to tuck Isabella into bed with her teddy.

Scott was standing next to the table, where Stiles had his work piled up.

"How are you going to propose?"

Scott turned and smiled. "I'm going to take her out to the woods, that cliff that overlooks town. I'm packing a picnic and I'm going to ask her at sunset."

Stiles chuckled. "You are such a romantic."

Scott smiled. "It won her back after everything that happened so I'm not at all worried about being a romantic." Scott frowned and trailed his fingers along the paper on the table. "Do you want me to go so you can get more work done?"

"Nah," Stiles shrugged. "I'll do them tonight when she is sleeping. Now…what the hell happens at a christening?"

Scott shrugged. "I leave and I'm Izzy's godfather beyond that I don't know. I'm thinking I'll grow a little mo' for the event and wear a tux – make you an offer you can't refuse."

"Oh God, save me from terrible Godfather impersonations."

"Terrible? It's brilliant not terrible."

"Allison has let you remain deluded for too long. What should I make you for dinner?"

Scott looked unsure for a moment, made a big deal out of scratching at his chin. "Well…I suppose if you felt really sorry for taking advantage of me today you could make that risotto you made the last time I came up to visit you at university."

Stiles nodded. "You're going to have to go and buy me some leek then."

"I can do that."

"Go do it now, and I will get a couple more articles out of the way while she's sleeping. Then we can find out what the hell we are supposed to do at a christening."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n." Scott saluted and then turned to leave.

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles drove up to Derek's house and turned the engine off. Derek walked out of the house and Stiles could see the frown on his face from inside his car.

"I'm sorry," Stiles said, climbing out of the car. "I should have called before I came."

"Why?"

"You look like I'm interrupting something."

"I was just surprised that you had come out, and that you'd left Is at home."

"I was hoping you and I could talk about something."

"Come in," Derek said, turning around and waking back into the house. "I was just about to have lunch."

Stiles followed Derek through the house and into the kitchen. Derek was already making them both sandwiches by the time Stiles came to stand next to him.

"Get yourself a drink."

Stiles went to the fridge and then sat at the table watching Derek put their lunch together. He didn't say much as he watched, trying to think about the best way to discuss what he'd been thinking about.

Derek placed the sandwich in front of him and sat down before he prodded Stiles for information. "Why did you come over?"

Stiles picked at the bread of his sandwich and looked down at the dark wood of the table. "I've had a job offer."

"Where?"

"The paper in Lewis."

"You have to move?"

Stiles looked up sharply. "I can't move, Dad's here, the pack's here. You're here. I'm not going anywhere."

Derek's shoulders de-tensed and he frowned. "Then why is it a bad thing?"

"They want me to write a column. About being a single dad just out of university."

Derek stared at him, obviously waiting for more.

"It would mean I'd have to write about everything, including the pack since you are such a large part of my life and Izzy's life. I will change all the names and hide as much as I can but it's a fairly small town in the end and someone might work out who's writing it."

"Okay."

"Obviously I would do everything I could to protect you all."

"From what?"

"Well…from people knowing I was writing about you in the paper."

"Okay."

"I talked to Dad and Scott about it the other night; Scott was looking after Izzy when I got the offer."

"And what did your father say?"

"He told me to think about it but that he wasn't going to tell me what to do."

"And, what do you think?" Derek asked.

"I think it's money, and I need money."

Derek stared at him fiercely for a moment. "You're struggling?"

Stiles sighed. "It's not too bad, I cover our expenses and I have a little bit to put away most weeks but for the most part I can't really work enough to make any more. I don't think I want to work more, I don't like being away from her and what we've been doing is working but she's going to get more expensive as she gets older, not less, so I'm going to have to do something."

"Then take the job."

"I think I need the pack's permission."

Derek shook his head. "You said it yourself, you're changing the names and it's in the Lewis paper not Beacon Hills. So, tell them – but you don't need to ask their permission."

Stiles rubbed at the back of his neck.

"I'm the alpha, as you keep reminding me, so take my word for it. Take the job."

Stiles nodded and started eating.

"What else is going on? Where's Is?"

"Lydia demanded an afternoon with her so she's with Lydia."

"If you ever want time off you can bring her here."

"I'm fairly certain I take enough advantage of you."

Derek frowned at him. "She's my goddaughter; it's not taking advantage of me. I'm free most of the time. If you need to get another job I could look after her if your dad was at work."

"Why?" Stiles asked, confused, before his mouth consulted his brain.

Derek's face closed down.

"No," Stiles said in response. "I don't mean, don't…thank you for the offer but if I can stretch it I would like to wait until after she turns one."

Derek nodded but Stiles could see that the alpha was still tense.

They sat in silence eating, well picking at, their food for a few minutes and then Stiles sighed.

"The thing is…the thing is, I don't want to rely on the pack because you all have lives, you all have these lives that are just starting, first job, just out of university, it's all possible and my life is different. It's not where I thought it would be and it's not what I thought it would be but I love it and I want the rest of the pack to find things they love."

Derek frowned at him fiercely.

"I don't think the pack is suddenly going to spread out and leave Beacon Hills, we all came back from university but I don't want to be the single dad cramping their style when you all have better things to do."

"Spending time with you and Is would be better than what I do most days."

Stiles stared at Derek with confusion. "I just don't…what can I say to that?"

"Why did you think I spent so much time with you both?"

Stiles smiled widely. "That's awesome. Though, it's a bit different hanging out with me and Izzy than you babysitting her for an entire day while I'm at work."

"You wouldn't be there but I'd like to spend time with her, and it's a better option than day care."

Stiles nodded. "It is a cheaper option, though…apparently it's a good idea to do it for socialisation. She isn't going to have siblings after all."

"She isn't?"

Stiles frowned at Derek. "Well…I'm not planning to knock someone else up. Isabella is amazing but honestly, if I have more kids I would like to do so with a partner."

"But, you would have more?"

"Oh yeah," Stiles smiled. "If I was in a relationship and preferably not just out of university and living with my dad. If I had an actual job or my partner did I would definitely like to have more kids. Izzy's just going to have to be a very big sister since I'm not going to go near dating for a while."

Derek's face seemed to darken for a moment but then it cleared again so quickly, Derek nodding at Stiles, that the human assumed he had imagined it. "That's good; I wouldn't like to see someone who isn't good enough around Is."

Stiles smiled at him widely. "I'm so pleased I asked you to be her godfather, you…you've just been amazing, so much more so than I ever expected. Honestly, I kind of thought you might not like kids or want to have them in the pack."

"I had younger cousins. Cora and I were the closest to them in age but I was always the one willing to play with them. Until…well, until I grew up a bit and didn't want to hang out with 'babies' and then Kate and there were no more kids in my life."

Stiles wanted to hug Derek but he knew if he hugged the werewolf he would end up doing something he regretted. It was hard enough to keep his wits about him during the full moon with all of the touching that occurred. Stiles reached out one hand and rested it on Derek's wrist instead. He could feel the steady thump of the alpha's pulse beneath his fingers and he couldn't help but find the rhythmic beat comforting. Derek dropped his head and smiled up at Stiles.

"I didn't expect children in this pack yet but I'm glad for Isabella."

"Oh, that reminds me. Scott asked about the christening."

Derek smiled. "You've decided to do something formal?"

"'Course, I just forgot all about it. I'm going to plan it with Dad. But, I thought I would mention that I am going to do it. I didn't offer to make you a godparent only to ignore the formal ceremony."

Derek shrugged. "I assumed you would get to it eventually."

Stiles smiled. "Want to come over to dinner on Saturday night? Dad's at work but you can come early and we'll have dinner with Izzy, she does love her three mashed veg followed by fruit and yoghurt. I will think of something better for you and I but…well, if you have a date or something," Stiles grinned at him, "I'll understand. I suppose I will have to get used to it just being me and Izzy on Fridays and Saturdays."

Derek's stare turned heavy and focussed. "I'm not seeing anyone."

"How? I mean…you've seen yourself. How do you not have dates every night? I've seen the way women in town look at you. I know Kate hurt you, and I know I don't know it all but…I thought we, the pack obviously not me and Izzy, had made things better and it might be time to actually have a go."

Derek shook his head.

"Why?"

"I dated after Kate," Derek said quietly, looking down at the table. "Laura always said it was me acting out after losing everyone. I became a bit of a…well she called me a whore but I could never tell if she was entirely serious. It didn't have anything to do with losing the rest of our family though. When I found out about Kate, who and what she was…what she had done to me…I wanted to…" Derek trailed off with a shrug as though that many words in one go had simply been too much.

"You were trying to prove that someone could want you for more that just their own nefarious purposes?"

Derek laughed, but it wasn't a joyous sound. "Didn't work."

"Did you actually date them though?"

Derek looked at Stiles and shook his head. "I didn't want to date, I was broken."

Stiles yanked Derek's arm closer to himself and realised with sudden horror that he had been holding onto Derek's wrist the whole time. "You deserve better than what she did to you. If you want something more, you need to go out and get it."

"I'm not sure I can have what I really want."

"What do you want?" Derek looked down at his wrist and Stiles pulled away. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly.

"I want something that's not on offer," Derek told him, his voice quiet, detached, but utterly convinced that he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry."

Derek shrugged. "Do you want to have the after christening party here?"

Stiles pulled back completely and slouched into his chair. "That would be cool. More room. More opportunity for the wolves to get in touch with their inner howler."

"We don't actually need to go out and run every time we get together."

"Well I know that," Stiles said. "But, it makes you all so happy and when the non-supernatural beings go then you can have fun. It makes Isabella laugh to see you all transform which is good since I don't want her to be scared of her werewolf godfathers."

"She's pack; of course she isn't scared of us."

Stiles smiled and then sobered. "But, what about when she's older? She isn't going to be able to hide the fact that she has uncles that turn into werewolves."

"The wonderful fact that people don't believe what they don't want to and by the time people start to think she is too old to be telling stories like that she will know not to talk about it and then it will be fine."

"I hope you're right."

Derek smiled. "It works in werewolf packs around the world. People simply don't believe anymore, not like they did once."

"Yeah, no more villagers chasing you with pitchforks."

"Pitchforks would never have done much to a werewolf, but an angry mob can be pretty resourceful."

"I bet."

Derek stood and carried their plates to the sink.

"So…" Stiles said, dragging the sound out. "Saturday?"

"Want me to bring anything?"

"I don't think you need to. Just come a little early and entertain Izzy while I cook. We can watch a movie or something when she goes to bed."

"Okay."

"Good," Stiles said, happily.

/ \ / \ / \

"Look what I found," Sam said, coming into the kitchen where Stiles was washing the dishes.

Stiles turned around and looked at his father. In his hands was a white ball of material.

"I don't know what that is."

Sam shook the material out and Stiles could see it was a dress now.

"It's a dress."

"It's a christening gown," his father said, shaking his head disbelievingly at Stiles. "It was your christening gown."

Stiles gaped at it for a moment. "I wore a dress."

"Christening gown," Sam corrected.

"Po-ta-to, po-tat-o," Stiles said, with a shrug.

"I thought it might be nice for Bella to wear the same gown as her dad, a tradition. Your grandmother made this for you."

"Cool. Nan made it?"

"As soon as you were born. Her friend did the embroidery. I will take it down tomorrow and get it cleaned then it'll be all ready for her."

"Thank you," Stiles walked over to Isabella and pointed to the dress. "Izzy, you are going to wear the same dress that I wore when I was little."

"It's a good thing that you ended up being a big baby and that we had to hold off your christening as well or you wouldn't be able to get Bella into the gown."

"I think that was Grandad calling you fat."

Sam laughed behind Stiles' back. "And your daddy is quite ridiculous."

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles fiddled with his tie and smiled down at his daughter. She waved her arms at him and then turned over and began crawling away from Stiles.

"I don't look that bad."

"No, you don't."

Stiles looked up sharply to find Derek standing in the doorway. Isabella stopped in front of him and used the material of his pant leg to pull herself up until she was standing, then she pulled at Derek's pants. Stiles allowed himself to have one moment where he pictured the pants giving to Isabella's baby muscles before Derek was bent in half and pulling Isabella up into his arms and then he settled her on his hip.

"Thanks," Stiles said, walking over. "She must have known you were coming." Stiles tickled his daughter until the chin. "There seems to be a little bit of werewolf in you too, isn't there?"

"No," Derek said, seriously.

Stiles rolled his eyes.

"She's not dressed."

"Please," Stiles said slowly. "Baby, white dress, important event, no fracking way. I will change her in the car before we go into church. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my goddaughter."

"The ceremony's not for another hour."

Derek shrugged.

Stiles laughed and walked towards the kitchen. "Tea?"

"Sure."

"You just hang with Izzy; she likes her Derek time almost as much as you do."

Stiles didn't need to see Derek's face to know he'd be smiling about that.

/ \ / \ / \

"You can sit up here in the adult seat," Stiles said. Derek ignored him and slipped into the backseat next to Isabella. "Do I smell?"

"Of the two of you," Derek said, "you always smell better…but she does have that amazing baby smell still."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment to my personal hygiene."

"You should."

Stiles laughed as he started the car and pulled away from the house. Melissa had sprained her ankle so his father had gone around to help her get to the christening since Scott and Allison were rushing back from San Francisco. One of Allison's friends from university had had her engagement party the night before and the couple were making the mad dash back up for the christening this morning. Thankfully, Scott still couldn't get drunk.

When they arrived at the church, the same one his parents had been married in, the one he had been christened in, the one Scott had been christened in, the rest of the pack were standing there in a group outside of the doors.

"They are ridiculous," Stiles said, while he parked.

"They are pack. You need to just accept this."

"I-"

"Nope," Derek said, sternly. "You need to think about this pack and how important you are to it and by extension how important Is is."

Stiles bit back the laugh about is is. He knew that Derek meant it, that Isabella was important to the pack, Stiles knew it, but it was still hard to believe sometimes. "I'll be over soon, I'm just going to change Izzy's outfit."

Derek frowned at him and then nodded and left Stiles to it. Stiles pulled Isabella out of her car seat and then quickly changed her, first her nappy for a new one and then the cute green outfit for the long, flowing christening gown.

"Is she ready yet?" Lydia asked.

Stiles pulled back, giving Lydia room to see.

"For a half gay man you are hopeless."

"The term is still bisexual, Lydia."

She shrugged and moved him out of the way so that she could get in and fiddle with Izzy's outfit and hair. Stiles watched, curious, but he couldn't really tell what she had done only that Isabella looked adorable, unnaturally adorable, as soon as she lifted her out of the car.

"What did you do?"

Lydia smiled at him brightly. "I made everything better. It's what I do."

Stiles nodded and leaned forward to kiss Lydia on the cheek. "Thank you."

"I can't have my niece looking shabby on her first big day. Sets a bad precedent."

"True. Izzy, do you want to stay with Aunty Lydia?"

Isabella looked up at Lydia and curled her hand around some of the red hair that was hanging over Lydia's shoulder.

"Okay, let's go."

Scott and Allison were late, their car turning into the car park a full ten minutes after they were supposed to be there with Scott stripping off in the middle of the car park and changing into his suit while the pack, and the priest, watched him. Scott paused after he'd pulled up his pants and waved at them. Allison shook her head in judgement.

"He needs to work on his confidence," Stiles commented.

"I don't think that's one of his problems," the priest said drolly, behind them.

Stiles laughed. "I'm so pleased that Izzy gets a cool priest to christen her."

"Why, thank you, Mr Stilinski."

"We're here," Scott said, rushing over.

"We know," Stiles said, shaking his head. "Let your fiancé fix your tie and then come inside."

"It's my fault," Allison said, tugging at her dress.

"It's not a problem," Stiles said. "The priest was happy to give us some time."

"I'm a terrible aunt," Allison said apologetically.

"You got changed in the back of your car," Lydia said, "I think you have suffered enough."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes," Lydia said. "Come on, I already fixed Isabella now I suppose I can fix you."

Allison followed Lydia into the church's dressing room.

"Shall we go inside?" The priest asked. "Until the rest of the party is ready."

Stiles handed Isabella to Derek. "Take her in, I'm just going to make her other godfather took presentable for the photos."

Derek smiled and turned for the church.

"What's wrong with me?" Scott asked, fiddling with his cuffs.

"You got dressed in a church car park."

"We were running late, Allison changed in the passenger seat but we couldn't really pull over, change drivers so that I could do the same. Especially since I think Allison might still be a little drunk."

Stiles laughed as he fiddled with Scott's collar and tie. "I didn't expect a full on suit."

"I'm about to be made a godfather, I'm taking this shit seriously."

"Thank you."

Scott shrugged. "If you have to thank me you don't realise how much I like being a godfather and uncle."

"I know how much you like it," Stiles said, fiddling with the tie and then stepping back. "Much better."

"Thanks."

"Let's go, we have a baby to introduce to Saint Peter."

Scott shook his head and walked past Stiles into the church.

The christening was over with quickly, the water and oil anointed, the blessings placed, and the protection of immortal life given. As soon as the formalities were over they picked one of the lovely windows as a backdrop for their photos. When that was all done with they headed back to Derek's house so that Isabella could have a nap while everyone else had a drink and something to eat.

Isabella woke up an hour later, marked by every werewolf in the room suddenly twisting, one ear towards Isabella's room. Stiles reminded himself not to call it that, it was a spare room, one of many at Derek's house, and even though it seemed to be dedicated to his daughter it was not her room.

"I'm assuming she's awake then."

"Yes," Derek said, looking back down at Stiles.

"Then her two new godfathers can fight over who gets to get her."

Derek won by sheer force of glare and when he came back Isabella was curled around him sucking her thumb. Stiles handed Derek her afternoon bottle and thus began the standard game of pass the baby between members of the pack, giving her hugs and sharing her scent among them. When she finally make her way back to Stiles she smiled at him happily, squeezing at his cheeks before she repeated the action she had been doing with the other people – she tucked her head into his neck.

"I'm not sure if I want her growing up thinking that scenting people is appropriate social behaviour."

"It is for us," Danny pointed out. "And she's pack."

"I'll bring you along when her teacher calls me to have a discussion about her sticking her nose in other people's necks then, shall I?"

Danny shrugged. "Blame the alpha."

"She will learn what is and isn't acceptable behaviour." Sam said.

"All kids do," Melissa threw in.

"I think it's time for gifts," Lydia said, putting a small red box down in front of Stiles.

"You shouldn't be buying us anything else."

"Well," Danny said, "we were thinking, she has a star."

"And we wanted to give her something cool for this as well." Isaac said.

"We have no ideas left for when she has another big present needing moment." Jackson threw in.

"What did you do?" Stiles asked, looking around the pack.

"We bought her a part of the moon," Boyd said, with as much excitement as he ever showed. "Plus, we all got little things for her too."

"Because it's pretty important to us and now she owns a part of it," Cora said.

"Or," Jackson said, "because it's kind of cool."

"But mainly because of how important the moon is to werewolves." Derek said, then placed a wrapped box on the coffee table. "I also got her this."

"You all need to stop spoiling her." Stiles said.

"Like you wouldn't be doing the exact same thing if one of us had a kid instead," Isaac said.

"Open the presents," Scott said, pushing his own wrapped box over.

Stiles glared at him.

"I'm her godfather and her uncle it's only fair to buy her two presents."

Stiles laughed, then he twisted Isabella around. "Shall we open your presents?"

Isabella sucked at her thumb and stared at him.

"Wow, such enthusiasm."

Stiles handed Isabella off to his father, in exchange for his own wrapped gift. Melissa handed him one as he walked past and when he returned to his place there were a selection of gifts on the table.

Derek had given her an intricate gold cross with white gold detailing. "Mainly for when she's older."

"It's beautiful, thank you."

Scott and Allison gave her an ID bracelet with her name engraved on it, and a little wolf's head charm attached to one of the links near the name plate. There was also a little enamel plated bee on each side of her name.

"You're ridiculous."

"Thank you," Allison said brightly.

Jackson and Boyd, Stiles had to work out what was going on there, had given Isabella a lovely porcelain doll. "This is amazing, and too nice for her."

Boyd shrugged. "Every little girl needs a doll."

Jackson nodded but helpfully didn't say anything.

Melissa gave him books to add to the ones he read to Isabella every night. Cora gave her two utterly adorable dresses and an offer to babysit when she was home in summer. Isaac got her three new toys.

Danny bought her a book of bible stories written for children. "She has just been christened." And a specially made bear named Bella Stilinski with light tan fur and a pink and purple dress, matched by the bow on its head. "And because she's a little kid."

"Thank you."

Lydia had given him a small card.

"What's this?"

"I thought it would be cute if you got some of those little kid photos so I bought you a session. You just need to call that number and set up a time. And if you say a single word about cost I will hurt you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The last gift Stiles opened was from his father. "You did something silly didn't you?"

"No."

Stiles glared at him but then he opened the gift to find a photobook inside. Stiles looked up at his father and ran his fingers over the title. Bella's Family.

"You had to call it Bella's?"

His father smirked at him. "That is what I call her."

"I know," Stiles looked down and began flipping through the book, a picture of his grandparents, young, then one on their wedding day, followed by his other grandparents, pictures of his mother and father growing up, their wedding day, Stiles the day he'd been born and a range of him growing up, until the photo of Isabella on the day she was born. "Dad."

"I thought I could make her another one for her first birthday."

"It's amazing, thank you."

Sam smiled down at his granddaughter. "That's because I am the best grandfather in the history of the world."

Isabella smiled at him, and continued to chew on her finger.

"Thank you all," Stiles said, looking at the gifts. Stiles stood up and took Isabella back. "You need to say thank you too, sweetie. You have the whole pack wrapped around your pinkie."

Isabella didn't react so he grabbed a rusk and swapped it for her red finger and then handed her to Derek.

"You're probably going to have to just assume drooling on you is her way of saying thank you."

"I'm okay with that," Derek said.

The rest of the pack happily welcomed her into their arms when Derek let her go.

/ \ / \ / \

"Why don't you do something about Derek?" Lydia asked.

They were sitting in the park on a warm afternoon, Isabella between Stiles and Lydia on a picnic blanket.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well," she said slowly. "You're in love with him so….are you going to do something about it?"

Stiles' face heated up and he dropped his head down to rest on his elbow.

"I'm not in love with him."

Lydia laughed at him.

"Okay, fine, I'm in love with him. I didn't intend to fall again."

"You never got over him," Lydia said plainly. "I know that, everyone knows that, you're in love with him. The only one unaware of it is Derek. So, back to my question, are you going to do something about it?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Well, there's Izzy."

"He loves Izzy."

"I know, he's been amazing but taking me on would be one thing. Dating me would be dating me with Isabella and if it all went to shit then Isabella might lose one of her favourite people. I don't even think he likes me like that. He's always been pretty distant, though Isabella has brought him closer."

"If you don't have a go you'll never know."

"Are you okay? That was rather sweet of you."

"I want you to be happy, if you don't have a go with Derek you'll spend the next six years pining after him like you have the last six."

"Thank you."

"Plus, you could do with a good fucking."

"Thanks."

"No really, it's kind of pathetic how obvious it is that you haven't had sex since Sophia. And I know Derek needs it too, it's not nice to think about how long it's been since that man had sex."

Stiles looked down at the blanket and began picking at a loose thread. "I don't think he's interested. Honestly. I asked him about his not dating and I think he's given up on the whole idea completely. Kate messed him up."

"No shit. But, he's going to have to get over it sometime. Maybe yours can be the magical healing cock of his salvation."

Stiles laughed so hard he couldn't think of anything to say to dissuade her further.

/ \ / \ / \

"So," Stiles said, calling Derek. "Full moon on Friday night, what's the plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Dad's working, but I was thinking that you might be okay with me bringing Izzy, running with you for a while and then going to bed, so that I could get up with her in the morning. I'm not sure I could do the whole night and get up with her but then I'll be there for most of it."

Derek was silent.

"Or, I could just skip it if yo-"

"No!" Derek said, fiercely. "You and Isabella should both come. It will be good."

"Okay," Stiles said, with a smile. "I'll see you on Friday."

Stiles and Isabella arrived at Derek's before the rest of the pack. They went into the backyard and Stiles took off Isabella's shoes so that she could hold onto his hands and walk around on the grass. She looked at him like she wasn't impressed, but then, she seemed to enjoy yanking grass up and eating it much more.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, watching Derek restlessly move around on the soft grass.

"Yeah, why?" Derek asked.

"You keep fidgeting."

"It's the full moon."

"You aren't normally so fidgety before the full moon. Do you want to go for a run? Should I not have come so early?"

"No, it's better with you here actually, focussing me, I'm not sure why it's worse this month."

"If I, or we, can do anything let me know."

Derek nodded and then twisted and dropped down so that he was looking Isabella in the eye. "Do you want to walk some more, Is?"

He held her hands while she stood up and smiled as she walked towards him on unstable legs.

"She's getting better isn't she," Stiles said.

"She's still pretty unsteady."

"I know, but she knows how to actually walk which is mind blowing for me. I know she isn't strong enough to do it yet but it's so cool."

Derek smiled at him. "It is."

"She's growing up so fast, too fast."

Derek walked Isabella over to Stiles and she collapsed forward onto his chest. "But she's not going anywhere so growing up is okay."

"I'm not convinced of that."

When the rest of the pack arrived Stiles left Isabella with them to be passed around while he took up his old job of cooking dinner. Allison came in to help him and they talked about the engagement party she and Scott were planning while they made enough food for three times the number of people that were actually in the lounge room.

"Hurry up," Cora said, appearing at the doorway. "We're hungry, and Derek's fidgety – I want him to run already."

"He's been like that all day."

"And he's being possessive with Isabella."

Stiles turned around and looked at her.

"Not weird just hogging her."

Allison laughs. "He always hogs her."

"Not like this."

"Should I go in there?"

"Nah," Cora said. "He just needs a good run."

Stiles nodded and turned back to cooking. When he went outside he could see what Cora had been talking about; Derek was sitting on the floor with Isabella in front of him but while another person would often migrate down to entertain Izzy – most of the wolves were unable to avoid her for long, there was a definite gap between Derek and the rest of the pack – like a moat. Stiles ignored the invisible barrier and dropped onto the other side of the mat from Derek.

"Dinner is ready, everyone but Derek," he said, with a smile.

Derek looked at him sharply.

"Scott, you want to take Izzy through?"

Scott stepped forward and pulled Isabella from between them and left with the rest of the pack.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked.

"You tell me. Cora said you were being possessive."

Derek's face hardened. "I would never-"

"Don't get all weird, I know you would never hurt her but you've been off since we got here."

"It started yesterday, it's like an itch between my shoulder blades, only everywhere and I can't shake it."

"Izzy helps?"

"Yes. You…all do, but she's the best."

"Okay. Do you think it will go with the full moon?"

"Probably."

"Then you'd best get in there before Lydia gets a hold of her and you can't get her back."

Derek didn't move.

"What?"

"I'm glad you're back."

Stiles frowned at him. "I don't understand."

"You disappeared from the pack, it was understandable but…I'm glad you're back."

Stiles smiled. "Me too."

Derek stood and left the room, by the time Stiles made it to the table Isabella was on his lap. She stayed there for the rest of the evening.

Stiles put Isabella to bed after dinner and the pack went out to run, they never strayed far from the house unlike normal, running and playing in the woods surrounding it, close enough to hear Isabella and keep her safe. Stiles could see the wolves freeze occasionally, heads cocked towards the house. Then one of them would mutter and they would resume their games. Stiles knew, from experience, that Isabella was not a quiet sleeper – he wondered if other babies were or the whole 'sleeping like a baby' thing was crap. After the third or fourth freeze he stopped even worrying about it. He did wonder, briefly, if it would have been better not to have brought her when she was obviously changing the pack's normal routine.

Just before midnight he left the pack to go inside and crawl into bed. He fell asleep listening to the gradually fading howls as the pack moved further away from the house.

When he woke up it was not because Isabella was making noise but because someone had just grabbed his leg. Stiles started and twisted, as much as he could with somebody plastered to his back breathing heavily in his ear. He craned his head up as much as he could and found that most of the pack was in bed with him. He wasn't even sure how they had managed it; it had never worked when they had tried before.

Stiles pulled himself out of the hold of werewolves and started out of the room. He found Boyd and Jackson lying together on the floor at the end of the bed. Stiles couldn't work out whether to mock Jackson about being the dog at the end of the bed or try to work out what the hell was going on between Boyd and Jackson. Probably, given Boyd's penchant for secrecy mocking Jackson wouldn't help Stiles get to the bottom of the question easily.

Stiles left the room and used the bathroom before going in to collect Isabella who was making noises from her room. Every time he walked into the room Derek had done something else. There were stickers on the wall now, hot air balloons curving up from the edges of her portable cot and around the room to the window. Stiles knew he needed to get Derek out into the dating scene again. He wanted to keep the alpha right where he was…well, he wouldn't mind moving him a little to the left, or the right, or wherever would get him to want to be in bed with Stiles on a night other than the full moon, but since that was obviously not an option Stiles needed to help Derek. Derek obviously loved Isabella, but he would obviously love to have more children in his pack and if Derek didn't put himself out there a bit and try then he might never meet someone. Stiles hadn't asked but if the way he had welcomed Isabella into the pack so enthusiastically was any indication then the alpha would like more children around. Stiles smiled down at Isabella and pulled her out of the cot. Stiles would have to look into it, if Derek honestly didn't want anything more than what he had Stiles would leave it alone but he honestly didn't think Derek wanted to be alone – he was just scared and in need of a push. And, if Derek honestly wanted something that he couldn't have then Stiles would just have to help him get it…unless that someone was already in a relationship and then he would have to help Derek find something new to want.

"Is she all right?"

Stiles turned around and looked at Derek, sleep messy and leaning on the door jamb. "She's fine, just awake and thirsty."

Derek nodded. "Want me to sort out her bottle while you change her?"

"You don't have to; you've only had a couple of hours' sleep."

Derek shrugged. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Stiles watched him walk away and then turned back to Isabella. When they made it into the kitchen her bottle was sitting next to her high chair and there was a steaming cup of coffee on the table near it.

"Do you feel better today?" Stiles asked.

Derek nodded.

"If we're going to keep you awake, or wake up the rest of the pack, we can go."

Derek turned from the fridge and shook his head sharply. "No, stay. I'd prefer it if you stayed."

"Okay," Stiles said. "But you don't have to stay up with us."

"I'll sleep later," Derek said, carrying ingredients to the bench and began to make what looked like the batter for pancakes.

"I didn't think you cooked."

"I took some classes while you were all off at university."

"You never said."

Derek shrugged.

"But, I suppose you never said a lot of stuff."

Derek looked at him sharply and then went back to cracking eggs.

"Do you have yoghurt?"

"In the fridge."

"Thanks, I meant to grab some before I left the house but-"

"I always have yoghurt; you don't need to bring your own. I've told you that."

Stiles smiled. "I know, but it's polite, isn't it?"

"You never worry about eating my food so why should you worry about Isabella doing it, when she eats much less."

Stiles opened his mouth to comment and then stopped, frowned, and shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's only taken me nine months to get you to realise that, I'll take it as a win."

Stiles laughed. "Why'd you learn to cook?"

"I didn't have you and Boyd here to do it for me anymore. I got hungry."

Stiles smiled and knocked into Derek's hip as he stirred cereal into yoghurt. "Good thing we all came back so that you could feed us for a change."

Derek shook his head. "Your dad gave me some tips but they aren't as good as yours."

"Okay, what are you doing? Maybe I can help."

"If Is doesn't get her breakfast she isn't going to be happy."

"Well no," Stiles said, pulling back, "and I'm sure your pancakes are great, Derek."

Derek smiled and pulled a book from above the fridge – a recipe book, Stiles smiled as he turned his back on the alpha and walked over to his daughter who was tracking him as he walked back to her.

The pancakes were good, Stiles didn't think they were as good as his but they were very nice regardless, and dragged more than one of the werewolves out of bed to steal off Stiles' plate and send Derek back to the stove. Then everyone but Derek, Stiles and Isabella crawled back towards bed and oblivion.

Stiles and Derek took Isabella out into the backyard and she ate more grass while Stiles tried to get her to practice her walking.

/ \ / \ / \

"Hey, Derek."

"Hi-"

"So," Stiles said quickly, not waiting for Derek to finish his greeting. "You know how I didn't want to take advantage of you?"

"Yeah."

"Are you busy? I have to go into Lewis, so fucking last minute, for a meeting about this column I've been writing because there's a problem or something. I couldn't completely understand the message and I can't speak to the editor because he's in a meeting with his boss and I have to be there in like an hour and Dad's at work and Lydia and Scott are working and…can you come and look after her?"

"I'll be there in five."

The phone against Stiles' ear went dead. "You live more than five minutes away," Stiles said to the handset. Then he looked at Isabella. "Okay, Derek's coming over." She ignored him to keep chewing on her rusk. Stiles grabbed her and took her up to the bathroom. He put her into the bath with some of her bath-time toys and took the world's fastest shower. As soon as he opened the bathroom door he found Derek standing on the other side.

"You're going to be late."

"How did you get here so quickly?"

Derek walked past him and scooped Isabella up. "You should hurry up."

"Right." Stiles rushed into his bedroom and got dressed quickly, rushing through the lounge room to grab keys, wallet, and phone.

"There's one of Isabella's socks attached to your pants."

"What?" Stiles twisted around to look at his pants.

Derek reached out and snatched something…a bright green sock, from the back of his knee. "You're good. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Stiles had begun to think the meeting would never end when it finally did, allowing him to stop at the bakery in Lewis for fresh bread and a really good quiche to thank Derek with before he drove home. He thought a lot on the drive about how the meeting would change things but he knew that in the grand scheme of things it wouldn't actually change anything.

Stiles let himself into the house and dropped everything in the kitchen before he found Derek and Isabella in the backyard. She turned around hearing the door close and her face grew bright and she beamed at him.

"Da!"

Stiles froze.

"Da!"

"Holy fuck! Derek, did you hear that?" Stiles rushed forward ignoring the pricking in his eyes and the fact every hair on his body was standing up. "She just said my name."

"I know."

"Oh my God," Stiles pulled Isabella up and to him, squeezing her tightly in a hug and spinning around. She laughed and held onto his shirt. "She said my name."

Stiles looked down at Derek who was smiling at him widely and Stiles reached down and yanked the werewolf up into the hug before he'd even thought about it. They sandwiched Isabella between them as Stiles grinned widely.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Stiles twisted, dragging Derek along until he could see his father standing at the back door. "I had to go into Lewis and Derek came to look after Izzy, then she said my name, she called me Da, which is my name, because I'm her dad and she said my name."

Sam's face dropped for a moment, then brightened and he grinned widely at Stiles. "She said your name?"

"She said my name!"

"I'm happy for you, son."

Stiles let go of Derek and then frowned. "Sorry, I think I hijacked you there. But, she said my name!"

"I heard," Derek said, "and I didn't mind."

Stiles looked down at his daughter and bounced her again. "Can you say it again? Da. Dad. Granddad wants to hear."

Isabella just looked at him.

"Dad. Daddy."

Isabella stared.

"I don't think she's going to do it on cue."

Stiles shrugged. "Oh, I don't care. I'm just glad I was here."

"Why did you have to go into Lewis?"

"The LA Times would like to pick up my Single Dad column," Stiles said, with a shrug.

Sam walked over and clapped Stiles on the back. "That is excellent, son."

"Yeah, means quite a bump in what I'm going to get paid to write it."

"You don't care at all, do you?"

"Not at the moment," Stiles said, grinning broadly.

/ \ / \ / \

"No."

Stiles frowned at the dress and turned to Lydia. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's the wrong colour for her complexion."

"It's green," Stiles pointed out, "she wears green all the time. You've bought her green."

"Yes, I've given her bluegreen but that is yellow green."

"I see." Stiles lied.

"Worse gay man ever."

"Still bisexual, and that is still judgemental and stereotyping."

Lydia shrugged.

"How about the one with a fairy on it?"

"Now who's being stereotypical?"

Stiles rolled his eyes and grabbed the lilac dress with the fairy on the skirt. "Right, I'm done. Let's go."

"You are no fun to shop with."

"Good," Stiles said, walking away. "Go shopping with Allison so that I can buy my daughter yellow green dresses with frogs on them."

/ \ / \ / \

Stiles leaned back into the couch slowly and carefully, Isabella propped up against his chest. His eyes hurt; he was so tired but he couldn't sleep. He froze when he was finally resting on the back of the couch but Isabella didn't stir in his arms. Stiles slowly let his body relax while he made sure that Isabella was still upright.

Stiles started and jerked, but something suddenly grabbed his elbow and kept him still.

"It's me."

Stiles relaxed instantly and turned his head. Derek was sitting next to him on the couch, one arm holding Stiles still. There was a wet patch on the shoulder of his shirt and Stiles realised with horror that it was definitely a drool stain. He could feel his face heating up.

"I came over to see if I could help. You were asleep but listing so I sat next to you. I knew you needed sleep, and Isabella did too."

"She has this terrible cough."

"I know."

"And she can't sleep. We've tried the humidifier and propping her up, steamy bathroom before bed and rubbing things on her chest. We have done everything we can, but that cold she had just won't go away."

"She can't cough it up yet."

Stiles shook his head. "She's only okay like this, and even then she doesn't sleep for long. How long have you been here?"

"About an hour."

"Wow," Stiles said with a smile, looking down at his daughter. "She's slept longer than she has since Monday."

"Can I do anything?"

Stiles shook his head. "Can I just keep leaning on you for a while? I'm so tired."

"You can go back to sleep if you want, if you can."

Stiles smiled at Derek and took a moment to wish he could. "I've already drooled on you enough."

Derek's shoulders moved a fraction of an inch and Stiles knew it was meant as a shrug. "I don't mind."

Stiles rested his head back on Derek's shoulder. "I'm not going to sleep; she'll probably wake up soon anyway. The coughing won't sto…"

Stiles woke up with his head turned into Derek's neck and one of Derek's arms curled around Isabella's back, keeping her in place.

"-erek?"

"You moved and she started to wake up."

"-ank you."

"Go back to sleep."

Stiles shook his head. "How long?"

"I'm not sure but she's sleeping so go back to sleep."

"I shouldn't…you've got a really comfortable shoulder."

"It's all yours."

Stiles smiled and closed his eyes again.

The next time Stiles woke up it was to the sound of Isabella coughing, her back jerking forcibly under his hand. He curled his arms a little tighter around her and bounced her but when he moved a hand to rub her back his hand ran into Derek's. Derek pulled away and Stiles turned to smile at him while he rubbed circles on Isabella's back until the coughing stopped.

"Thank you," Stiles said, "for staying here the whole time."

"You snore."

Stiles laughed. "Can you take her for a moment; I need to pee like you wouldn't believe."

"Of course," Derek pulled Isabella over to him. She managed to work up a beaming smile for him before another coughing fit hit her. "Go."

Stiles nodded. He walked up the stairs more slowly than he really intended to but the sleep against Derek's shoulder seemed to have made him more tired rather than less. He couldn't hear Isabella coughing as he leaned one hand on the wall above the toilet. It would probably make him both a terrible friend and a terrible father but he wanted nothing more than to go lie in the bath and sleep. He wouldn't even need his bed…too far away, if only he could close his eyes again. Stiles washed his hands and opened the door to find Derek standing on the other side holding Isabella on his chest.

"Go to bed."

"What?"

"Go to bed."

"But, Isabella?"

"Will stay with me, I can hold her and hopefully you can both get some more sleep."

"I shouldn't…but, my God, I can't tell you how much I want to hug you right now for even suggesting it."

Derek's smiled at him. "I'll come and get you if anything happens."

Stiles squeezed Derek's wrist and kissed Isabella. She started coughing again as he opened his door and he turned back, feeling bad, to find Derek walking towards the stairs. Stiles walked into his room and collapsed heavily on the bed. He closed his eyes and even though he was still so tired his body felt three times as heavy as normal he found himself straining to hear what was happening downstairs…could Isabella still be coughing? Derek would never come and get Stiles unless something big and bad happened. Stiles shook his head and turned over, fiddled with his pillow and closed his eyes again. Derek would come and get him and, really, Izzy was mostly fine now apart from the cough so he wasn't actually asking Derek to look after a sick baby…only one who had barely slept in days and who had a cough and was fussy. Stiles turned his head, was that Izzy crying? Coughing? He should go down and do the right thing.

Stiles' phone beeped in his pocket, he dragged it out. It was a message from Derek. I can hear you overthinking. Go to sleep, she is fine. Trust me.

I do. Stiles wrote back, trusting Derek had never, not once, been a problem. He trusted Derek with his life and with Isabella's.

Then go to sleep.

Okay.

Stiles closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. Twenty minutes later he climbed out of bed and stumbled downstairs.

"I kept thinking I could hear her," Stiles explained.

"Then sleep on the couch."

Stiles nodded and face planted onto the couch. He couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes again now, dragging one of the cushions under his head and sleeping.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

On a night of the Wolf's Moon, the pack, along with Melissa and Sam, gathered at Derek's for the most important full moon of the year. Most of the wolves were sitting around on the floor with Isabella in the middle, like the queen of all she surveyed. She crawled over to Sam and used his pants to climb up to her feet.

"Hello, gorgeous."

"Gra," Isabella said, which had joined the few words she said, a week or so after the first time she had called Stiles dad. She reached up until he pulled her up and into his lap. "In." Sam looked confused. "In."

"That's new," Stiles said, "and I think it means she wants her water."

"I always knew that my genes created super smart babies."

"How do you account for Stiles then?" Lydia asked.

"That, that right there, is why you weren't made a godparent. You're mean." Stiles said, finally finding Isabella's bottle and tossing it to his father. Isabella pulled it close and began drinking. When she was done she wriggled and squirmed off Sam's lap and then pulled herself back up to her feet. She looked at Stiles, who smiled back, and then let go of Sam's leg.

Stiles froze, Isabella standing all by herself, she looked at Stiles and then took a step, a tiny little uncoordinated step and then another and Stiles heart exploded in his chest as she fell over on her backside. Stiles wanted to rush over and scoop her up and twirl her around the room. He couldn't move though, just staring at her disbelievingly.

Sam pulled her back and stood her up. Stiles realised he was clapping his hands when Isabella took three steps, fell on her backside again and then twisted around to crawl over to Stiles.

"Stiles."

"Holy shit."

"Language," Scott said. "You keep telling us not to swear."

"She walked."

"We all saw," Jackson pointed out, just a hint of sarcasm.

"That is the very first time she has ever walked alone."

Stiles collected Isabella to his chest and held her tightly. "You are without a doubt the smartest baby that has ever existed."

Isabella wriggled to get away and then crawled over to Scott who was also smiling broadly.

Regardless of what they did she didn't walk again that night but she giggled happily when all of the werewolves in the room changed and allowed her to tug at their sideburns, making a little answering growl to them.

"-rek," she said, when Derek picked her up, she grabbed onto his sideburns and looked up into his red eyes happily. Derek made a low, rumbling growling noise before he nuzzled his nose against her shoulder. Isabella simply laughed and happily reached out for Stiles when her father stopped next to them.

"I'll put her down and come out."

Derek nodded and ran off into the night.

"Well, my Isabella, you certainly have an interesting family."

Stiles changed her into pyjamas while the sounds of the pack floated into the room. Melissa, Sam, Allison and Lydia would all be out there with the wolves already but Stiles gave Isabella her night time bottle and stopped to read her a book, the sounds of their pack adding to the story before he kissed her on the head and tucked her into bed.

"Dada," she said, as Stiles tucked her in.

"Goodnight, sweetheart, I'm just going to go and spend time with Uncle Scott."

She blinked up at him and tugger her teddy bear blanket closer. Stiles didn't close her door as he left, switching off the lights along the way until he was standing on the porch with his father.

"Do they always stick so close to the house?"

"No," Stiles said, "they are only staying so close because of Izzy. I offered to send her home but they all seemed quite opposed to the idea."

"But especially Derek."

Stiles laughed. "Toss-up between him and Scott really."

Sam smiled but there was something sad about his expression.

"You okay, Dad?"

Sam turned to his son and smiled. "Of course, do we actually have to run with them?"

"I tend to but I think you'll be fine just picking a spot to hang out."

"I have chairs," Melissa called out. "Too old for this running through the woods at night thing."

"No, you're not, Mum," Scott called back dutifully.

"Well, I want to be," she responded.

"I'm going to go and sit with Melissa," Sam said, stepping off the verandah. "I think I'm going to choose to be too old for this too. I'm a grandfather after all."

"Good point," Melissa said, "did you hear that, Scott?"

Allison laughed loudly from somewhere in the trees. "One day."

"You can take your time," Melissa called back, "just so long as Scott understands his obligations."

"Mum," Scott whined.

"I'm getting older Scott and Sam has shown me how much fun being a grandparent can be."

"Then you can be Izzy's grandmother and leave me alone."

"You can," Stiles said, "it only requires some babysitting duties."

Melissa looked at him with a wide smile. "That would be a much more sensible idea."

Stiles nodded, knowing that she was really only winding Scott up and that the werewolf knew it.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Derek," Stiles was folding Isabella's clothes. She was upstairs asleep and Derek was sitting across from him writing out Isabella's invites. Her first birthday was rapidly approaching and since Derek had the best writing in the pack Stiles has asked him to write on the invites Cora had made for Izzy. They were a collage of photos in the shape of a number one and they must have taken hours but she had simply shrugged and said that Isabella deserved it. There was something to the twinkle in her eye and the joy in her voice though that told Stiles it was more than that. Regardless, he loved them and had begged Derek to write the rest of the information on them.

"Yes?"

"Do you want children?"

Derek looked up sharply. "What?"

"Do you want children?"

Derek stared at him but didn't say anything, his pen hovering in air.

Stiles grimaced. "I wasn't sure how to bring this up. I love that you're so good with Izzy but I'm worried that you're going to miss out on what you want."

Derek shrugged.

"No, please don't dismiss this. You are so amazing with Izzy, you have been better with her than almost anyone but I need to make sure that you are happy too. I know Isabella is my life now but I'm watching the other members of the pack get engaged, and start relationships, and try out jobs, and quit jobs and try to find what makes them happy except for you. You aren't trying to make yourself happy."

"Who said I'm not happy?" Derek asked sharply.

Stiles looked at Derek for a few beats and then shrugged. "No one I suppose, you just…you don't seem to be happy. Content yes, we aren't hunted down weekly anymore and we're all home so I think you like that, I think you are content with your life as it stands but I want you to be happy. I see how you are with Izzy and I wonder if maybe you want that for yourself."

"If I want Isabella?"

Stiles shook his head. "No, if you want kids, if you want someone in your life, someone to love and who knows everything about you and still understands how lucky they are to have you in their life."

"You're not looking for that?"

"I have an eleven month old daughter, I don't need someone else in my life, I'm happy as it is. But one day, one day I'd like someone who loves me. I don't think I've had that since Lydia. Even then it wasn't enough."

"It wasn't?"

"We loved one another but we didn't love one another enough or in the right way, it was never going to last. I'm not about to go after something that's less than that now, I want more than that and I wouldn't risk Izzy unless I had it. But, that isn't what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about me, I just want to know; are you scared of someone hurting you or do you honestly not want anything more?"

Derek looked at Stiles for a long time, too long, long enough that Stiles wanted to squirm.

"It worries me that you might be holding yourself back from what you want."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you asking, why now?"

"I've been thinking about the pack more and more over the last few months. I can see them finding things. Whatever is happening between Boyd and Jackson, Lydia's job doing whatever it is she does – taking over the world probably, Scott and Allison getting engaged, Cora deciding to go to medical school, everyone is doing something more except for you."

Derek's face darkened.

"Shit," Stiles groaned. "That wasn't what I meant."

"I think I understand exactly what you mean, I can't simply be happy with what I have already?"

"I don't think you're happy."

"You don't know everything, Stiles."

"I know, I don't know what you want. All I'm trying to do is ask what you do want. I've done this all wrong."

"Yes, you have."

"Derek," Stiles licked his lips and moved to sit next to the alpha. "Is there something you want? Something that you don't have but that would make you happy? Or happier?"

Derek opened his mouth and then paused, cocked his head to the side and looked at the ceiling.

"She can wait."

Derek twisted around to look at Stiles.

"It always takes her a while to wake up, don't use her as an excuse to leave this conversation."

"Why are you pushing this? No one has cared about it."

"That's a lie, we all care about you, we all want you to be happy, more than anything we want you to get what you want from life. Which is what you want for everyone else in the pack."

"It is."

"Then what's wrong with us wanting that for you as well? You sent us all off to university against your instincts as alpha, you accepted Allison and have a truce with Chris, you let me into your pack, you've let us in against, I think, every natural instinct you have. Ever since I found out I was going to have Izzy you've been helping me and supporting me. You've been so amazing with her and the older she gets the more I think you want what I have, that you want children too. The way you talk about your pack when you were growing up I can tell you want that pack again."

"Scott and Allison will bring children into the pack, Cora and Isaac may, Boyd and Jackson probably won't but I want them to be happy so I don't mind. I don't need to have children."

"But you want them."

Derek looked cornered and then nodded before he shot out of his chair and started for the stairs.

Stiles slumped back down into the chair and sighed. He was disappointed with himself, he had handled that terribly. He'd been trying to work out how to bring the subject up to Derek for weeks and he had managed to pick the absolute worst way of doing it.

The doorbell rang and Stiles went to answer it knowing he wouldn't be seeing Derek or Isabella for a while.

"Megan?"

"Hi, Stiles."

"Hey, come in," Stiles pulled the door open further and high fived Trevor as they walked past.

"I need some help."

"What can I do?"

"You remember that sponge cake you made for Jane's birthday?"

"Yes," Stiles said, slowly, suspecting what was coming.

"My mother-in-law is coming to town and I'm a terrible baker. I need her to have a good weekend."

"I see."

Megan sighed. "Can you bake me one, please?"

Stiles laughed. "Was it that hard?"

"I like her but she has this idea stuck in her head that wives should be able to bake and cook and I'm just horrible at it."

Stiles shrugged. "Let me know when you need it."

"I…hello."

Stiles twisted around to find Derek standing in the doorway. "Hi Derek, this is Megan, one of the mums from rhyme time, and her son Trevor."

"This is Derek?" Megan asked, eyes lighting up.

Derek's eyes flickered to Stiles with surprise.

Stiles shrugged. "Of course I talk about you."

Isabella squirmed in Derek's arms until he put her down, she walked for a few steps and then stopped in front of Trevor who was sitting in the middle of Isabella's mat. She dropped onto her backside and grabbed the drum that Trevor was playing with.

"No, Izzy," Stiles knelt down onto the mat and pulled the drum back, giving it to Trevor. "You have to share."

Isabella looked at him sadly, her face screwing up.

"Oh God," Megan said, "I hate that face."

"I know," Stiles sighed. "I just want to cave…but no," Stiles stood up and turned to Megan. "When do you need the cake?"

"Saturday?"

"Okay."

Megan stepped forward and threw her arms around Stiles. "Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want some coffee?"

"Yes please, you go and make us coffee and I'll talk to Derek."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at Megan but she simply smiled at him sweetly. "Derek?"

Derek looked torn but Isabella was crawling towards him so he nodded. "I'll finish the invites."

"Invites?" Megan asked.

"For Izzy's birthday," Stiles said, "Derek'll show you."

Stiles left the room but he could still hear Megan. "Wow, they are amazing. Who made these?"

"My sister Cora."

Stiles smiled at the pride in Derek's voice while he made Megan coffee and Derek the tea he liked.

"It's an amazing invite, isn't it?" Stiles asked coming back in and handing them both their drinks. "I was so surprised when Cora gave them to me."

Megan smirked into her coffee cup and watched Stiles.

Derek's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket gratefully. He hung up moments later. "I need to go, I'll take the invites with me and drop them off when they're done." Derek scooped Isabella up and gave her a hug. "Bye, Is."

"Erek," Isabella said happily.

Derek's face lit up and he smiled so widely Stiles' breath caught. Derek hugged her again and then put her back down on the blanket before he grabbed the invites off the table.

"Bye, Stiles, it was nice to meet you, Megan," and then he was gone.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone that attractive in real life," Megan said, after the front door had closed.

"I know, right?"

"Please, please tell me you are involved with him."

"Why?"

"Because I'm married and boring and I want to hear something more interesting."

Stiles smiled at her. "I'm not that interesting."

"But you want him."

Stiles shrugged.

"Then why haven't you gone after that?"

"Because…" Stiles shrugged.

"You're scared."

"Terrified, if he rejected me I might lose him and he's such a big part of my life, such an important part of Izzy's."

"He wouldn't just cut you out, would he? Because, if he would then he isn't worth it."

"He wouldn't but how do you move past that? And he is worth it but…I so fucked up the conversation we had before you got here. He was hurt so badly and I don't think he's really into guys and…I'm scared."

Megan curled an arm over his shoulder and patted his arm. "Would suck it up be a helpful comment at this stage."

"No. And you're never allowed to spend time with Lydia."

"I always wanted a little brother."

"So that you could mock him?"

"Pretty much. What do your friends say?"

Stiles shrugged. "Most of them don't say anything."

"And Lydia?"

"Is meddlesome."

"I like her."

"He hasn't given me any reason to think he has feelings for me. He didn't like me when we met and then he needed my help, he put up with me and I was never all that sure how much he liked me but he's been amazing since Izzy was born. He really likes kids but he lost his whole family when he was a teenager. God, he's been so completely fucked over a number of times and I just want to hold him close sometimes and just hug the pain away."

"Oh God, you have it bad. You have to say something."

Stiles groaned and slumped back into the chair. "Just kill me now."

"We need to do some investigating," Megan said.

"I'm done investigating; I'm just going to grow old with Izzy until she leaves me."

Megan laughed and shook her head. "I refuse to accept that."

Stiles sighed with resignation.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles changed Isabella and opened the backdoor, letting her head outside while he grabbed their lunch. Moments later she let out a wail and Stiles ran from the house to find Isabella sitting on the bricks crying. Stiles dropped the things in his hand onto one of the chairs and then scooped her up. He held her tight and rocked her back and forth while she sobbed and he patted her down, feeling for anything that hurt. Then he got to her knee and she whimpered. He looked at the knee of her pants and saw that the material was scrapped.

"Oh my poor baby," Stiles kissed her on the head. "Did you scrap your knee?"

"Dadee," Isabella said, pathetically.

"I'm just have to give you kisses." Stiles pulled back to kiss all over Isabella's face and down to her shoulder until she stopped crying and was hiccupping into his neck instead. "That's better."

Stiles carefully sat down on the grass and pulled up her pant leg until he could see her knee, a layer of skin obviously scrapped off her knee but she wasn't bleeding.

Isabella looked down at him, and her knee, with wet eyelashes and Stiles leaned forward to kiss her on the nose and then down to kiss her on the knee.

"A kiss will make it all better."

Isabella didn't look like she believed him. "Bear?"

Stiles nodded and stood up, they went to her bedroom, pulled her blanket bear out of her cot and Isabella hugged the toy close, tucked into her elbow so that she was also able to suck her thumb and hold onto Stiles with the other arm. Stiles held her close as he went back outside and found a nice spot in the shade to sink down onto the grass and rest back with Isabella while she calmed down.

"What's this? I was promised lunch."

Stiles looked up at his father coming out of the back door.

"Isabella fell over and hurt her knee."

"Her first graze," Sam said, walking over.

"Anddad," Isabella said, reaching up.

"If you take her I'll go and get lunch. We can have a picnic."

Sam turned to leave his uniform belt on the outdoor table and then came back to take Isabella.

"Now, Bella, which knee have you hurt; so I can kiss it better?"

Isabella lifted her hurt knee and snuggled into Sam's hold while Stiles stood and went to get them lunch.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"So," David said, standing and walking out from behind his desk, "this is the little inspiration for the column that's so popular."

"It is," Stiles said, smiling and picking Izzy up, resting her on his hip. "Izzy, say hello to David."

"'lo, Dav," Isabella attempted.

Stiles smiled. "So, why did you ask me to bring her?"

"I just wanted to meet her, I've read so much."

"Understandably I suppose."

"How old is she now?"

"She'll be one in three days; we're having a party on Saturday."

"An interesting column, I'm sure."

Stiles smiled and he settled Isabella on his knee with a cheese sandwich to keep her entertained while they had their meeting.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"erek," Isabella said, excitedly, bouncing on the mat.

Stiles twisted around to find Derek hovering just inside the door – though he was looking at Isabella with something like longing.

"Your dad called me," Derek said. "You have a meeting tonight and he's just had some guy break into three houses in a row."

"What?"

Stiles' phone rang and he jammed his hand into his pocket knowing it was his father.

"Dad?"

"Is Derek there?"

"Yes."

"Good, I didn't want to call you until he was there so the two of you could stop avoiding one another."

"We're not avoiding one another." Stiles looked up at Derek to find the alpha on the floor with Isabella playing with her large wooden blocks – making something.

His father huffed at him. "Then I don't think you understand what avoiding actually means. We've had a rash of burglaries and I cannot leave. I know you have that meeting about your column so Derek's going to take Izzy back to his place for the night."

"Are you organising my life, Dad?"

"Would that I could. Derek is all set up to look after her and she will be fine, you were planning on staying after the meeting anyway."

Stiles thought about offering to not drink, he thought about offering to come home but then he thought about the look Derek had given him since they conversation a couple of weeks ago and bit his tongue. "That makes sense, thanks, Dad."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Stiles said his goodbyes and then turned to Derek. "Thank you."

Derek didn't look up at him. "I always told you that I would look after her any time you needed. After all, I have nothing in my life."

"Derek…"

"What does she need that I don't have?"

"Honestly," Stiles said, looking down, "I think you have all the things she needs. But, I'll put together some things in case."

Derek nodded and went back to playing with Izzy.

Stiles grabbed Isabella's backpack and started packing the things she would need, thinking about the items and food that he had left at Derek's as time passed. He froze standing in Isabella's room – collecting clothes and pyjamas, Derek had almost everything he would need to look after her. Stiles thumped his head against the wall. He's almost pushed Derek away because he didn't know how to keep his big mouth shut. He had heard what Megan had said and what Lydia had said but he had hated the last two weeks. He loathed being awkward with Derek and he hadn't been able to spend time with the alpha, and…well, he might be imagining it, but he was fairly certain Isabella was annoyed at him because they hadn't been seeing Derek as much. She'd asked about him a couple of days ago after her afternoon nap like she knew that he generally came over in the afternoon after they went to swimming. She hadn't been the only one who missed the surly man. Stiles resolved to fix the problem between them and then he would resolve to just let Derek do whatever he wanted and he would keep his mouth shut. Then it would be fine…he might not get everything he wanted but it would be worth it to keep Derek in his and Izzy's life.

Stiles put the last few things into the bag and turned around to go back downstairs. He found Isabella leading Derek out of the lounge room.

"Where are you going?"

Derek shrugged. "No idea."

Stiles watched him go and come back moment later holding Isabella's water bottle.

"I think you have most of what she needs," Stiles said, holding her bag awkwardly. "I'll get my keys so I can drive you."

"I swung past the station and I have a seat for her in my car."

"Oh, that's good."

"It'll be easier if we have to go out for any reason."

"Yeah," Stiles sighed and looked up at Derek. "I-"

"You're going to be late," Derek interrupted, "if you don't get going soon."

"Yeah," Stiles stepped over and picked Isabella up and gave her a tight hug. "Bye, Izzy. I'll see you in the morning." He pulled her back to look down at her. "You're going to be good for Derek, aren't you?"

"Erek," Isabella said happily. "Good."

"Yes," Stiles said, curling his hand around Isabella's head, stroking her hair. "He is, now you be good for him."

"She always is," Derek said, quietly. "We should go."

Stiles nodded and handed her back to Derek. "I'll call you when I'm coming back; it shouldn't be too late tomorrow morning."

"There's no rush."

"Of course not," Stiles smiled and held out the bag. "Thank you."

Derek pulled the bag over his shoulder, the pink and purple strap incongruous on his black shoulder, with his glare and the darkness that surrounded him at the moment. But then, Isabella, bright in red and white with her blonde curls was also against the picture that Derek painted.

"I know you're going to be fine but if anything happens just give me a call."

Derek nodded.

"Or Dad, I know things are busy at the station but if she's sick or something he will be able to help faster."

"Okay."

"I won't go through her routine or anything; you know it as well as I do. I'll walk you out."

Derek nodded and started for the door. Stiles dropped his head onto his chin and grimaced – he was such an idiot. Then he shook himself and followed Derek out of the house. Once Derek had Isabella in the car Stiles put his head in and kissed Isabella before he stepped back and watched Derek and Isabella drive away.

-)(-)(-

Derek drove back to his house slowly, listening to Isabella making noises from her seat. He hadn't expected Stiles to accept the change of plans so easily, he had been so reluctant to leave Isabella with anyone that wasn't his father. Short bursts were fine, she had spent a few hours alone with him, with Scott or Lydia, Cora or Allison, but Stiles had never left her alone overnight with anyone but Sam. For that matter this would only make the second time that Stiles had ever left her alone with anyone overnight.

They turned into Derek's driveway and he could see Isabella sucking on her thumb in the rear-view mirror. When they had finally made it to the house Derek put her things inside and then took her out the back, to the grassed area. He changed, to Isabella's delight and growled at her. She giggled at him and growled back before walking over to him on legs that were steadier than they looked.

"erek."

Derek dropped down to the grass and nuzzled his nose into her stomach. She laughed at him again and grabbed at his sideburns managing to jam her stomach into his face while she did it.

"Isabella," he said around his teeth.

Isabella tugged on his sideburns and then flopped back onto her bottom. Her fingers tugging roughly at some of Derek's hair but he ignored the pain. He let the wolf go and Isabella clapped, mouth wide as she looked at him. Derek could remember his cousins, when they had been babies, also being entertained by the change.

"What are we going to do tonight, Isabella?"

Isabella crawled over to him at the sound of her name and lifted herself up onto his shoulder flopping down onto his back and crawling her way over his shoulder and onto his back. Derek held himself still as she climbed down his back and then tumbled off his other side. Derek rolled over to find Isabella turning over as well.

They stayed outside, playing on the grass until the air began to chill and Derek picked Isabella up and rested her on his shoulder as he walked inside.

Derek made Isabella dinner; scrambled eggs and toast that she managed to eat while also covering herself with crumbs, gummed and chewed bread, bits of egg. Derek lifted her to stand in the kitchen sink so that he could brush her down. She grabbed onto his head and smeared it with her greasy fingers, laughing as his fingers brushed the crumbs away and obviously tickled her at the same time.

Derek pulled back and shook his head at her. "I didn't need any butter in my hair."

Isabella babbled nonsense at him.

"Time for baths?"

"Bath!" Isabella said, happily, clapping her hands together.

Derek felt a tendril of apprehension; he had helped Stiles bath Isabella a few times and he knew the pattern and rhythm of it but he had never done it himself. Derek took a deep breath and picked Isabella up to walk to the bathroom. Once the water was a reasonable temperature he slid Isabella in…about ten seconds later his shirt and the thighs of his pants were soaked through.

"How did you do that?"

Isabella continued to splash, laughing. Derek let her splash; at some point he simply couldn't get much wetter. When she was done, and washed, he wrapped her in his softest towel and took her in to be dried and dressed before he made up her bedtime bottle and sat her down to read a book.

He put her into bed with a kiss on the head.

He closed the door and she started to cry.

Derek stood outside of the door and waited her out but she continued to cry. He opened the door, strode back into the room and stopped when he was peering into her cot, she didn't stop crying.

"What's wrong?" He picked her up and patted her on the back walking around. She continued to cry. "I'm sorry your dad's not here."

Derek rubbed at her back until she calmed down, growing heavy in his arms. He placed her back in her cot and she looked up at him with sad eyes before she started to cry.

"Right," Derek said, picking her back up out of her cot. "Do not tell your father I can do this."

Isabella looked up at him through wet eyes.

"Hush, little baby, don't you cry.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass.
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat.
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull.
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
And if that dog named Rover won't bark
Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."

Derek stopped singing and looked down at Isabella who was looking up at him, blinking drowsily while she sucked on her thumb.

"More?"

Isabella didn't respond but he would continue to sing so long as she was happy and quiet. There was very little he wouldn't do to make her happy.

"You do have me wrapped around your little finger don't you, baby girl? Just like your dad." Derek trailed off and bent down to kiss her on the forehead. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him…but you, I always knew I was going to love you." Derek trailed his fingers through the hair on Isabella's head – blonde curls, nothing like Stiles' hair. "You are too precious not to adore."

Isabella continued to look up at him, her eyes looking brighter.

"But, it's past your bedtime. Another song?"

Isabella didn't respond…oddly enough, but Derek took it as an agreement and began to sing again. Remembering singing with his mother when he had been a boy.

"You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.
You make me happy,
When the skies are grey.
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you.
Oh, please don't take,
My sunshine away.

The other night dear,
While I lay sleeping.
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
But, when I awoke dear I was mistaken.
And I held my head and cried.

You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.
You make me happy,
When the skies are grey.
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you.
Oh, please don't take,
My sunshine away."

Derek looked down at her again to find her sleeping, mouth partially open and her thumb resting against her lip. Derek held her for a few more minutes, until he was sure she was deeply asleep before he tucked her into her cot and left, the door ajar. He went to make his own dinner, tried to watch TV but found his attention slipping away from what was happening on screen to the noises she was making as she slept. Noises he was familiar with, from full moons, from afternoons and evenings spent with Stiles.

In the end he had his shower, found a book and set himself up in the room Stiles generally used. The bed smelling faintly of pack, Stiles' smell stronger than theirs. He could still hear her but he was able to concentrate on the book where he hadn't been able to with the television. He got up once, to check the perimeter not willing to be complacent with her in the house, and then went to sleep; the soft sleep noises she made lulling him off.

Derek woke with a start the next morning, his phone ringing next to his ear. He answered it without looking.

"Stiles?"

There was a laugh at the other end. "No, Sam, I was going to call last night and then suddenly it was midnight. How'd everything go?"

"She had a little trouble getting to sleep but she's been asleep all night," Derek paused. "Still is in fact."

"Good. I'm going home for a couple of hours sleep. You still good with her?"

"Of course."

"Good, I thought as much. I'll see you later then."

"Did you catch them?"

"Not yet but we're getting there."

"Sleep well."

Then Sam was gone and Derek rested back against the pillows. He could hear Isabella sleeping in the next room and couldn't bring himself to get up yet though he would not fall back to sleep – he never did. Derek wondered how early Stiles would come back, he assumed the younger man would already be on the road; worried about Isabella. He would have liked to be able to take Isabella out into the woods, further than the soft grass. They had taken her in before and she had loved it. Derek couldn't wait until she was old enough to come out with them properly on full moons; when all of the pack were turned and he would be able to initiate her into the pack in the more traditional way…under a full moon.

Derek knew she would wake soon; she wasn't a late sleeper unlike her father. He thought about her morning routine, the one he had seen when he went over there for breakfast. He thought about it and dragged himself out of bed. He listened to her soft breathing before he turned and left the room going to the kitchen to begin preparing himself for Isabella to wake up. But she didn't. He went back to the door of her room…Stiles refused to call it that but he had given that room to her the moment she was born whether Stiles was willing to acknowledge it or not. She was still sleeping. Derek debated opening the door, but he didn't want to wake her…all of the books he had read had told him that he shouldn't wake a baby before they were ready.

Derek went back and grabbed his book before he sat in the lounge room and read, one ear on Isabella.

After breakfast, which ended up having two courses since most of the first attempt went down Isabella's chest, they went out into the backyard, venturing beyond the line of trees so that Isabella was able to stumble over fallen leaves and pick-up sticks, slapping them against trees and the ground. She walked on leaves then beamed and did it again. Derek was glad he had only wiped her off after her breakfast when she started digging at the black dirt beneath a flower that she had half chewed before Derek had been able to pull it out of her hand.

"Your father isn't going to be happy with me," Derek said, just as Isabella found a worm and held it up, smiling at him. "And please don't eat that."

Isabella squealed when the worm crawled back onto her finger and she let it go quickly.

"Erek."

"Yes?"

"Ink."

Derek frowned.

"Ink," Isabella said, more forcefully.

Derek thought back and then it came to him, suddenly, brightly, and he realised he had forgotten to fill a bottle before their little wilderness jaunt. Derek held his hand out to Isabella and she grabbed it to walk them out of the trees. He could hear her babbling to herself quietly as they walked back slowly. As soon as they made it into the kitchen Derek got her a bottle of water.

Derek twisted when he heard a door slam outside.

"I wonder who that could be..." Derek started for the door, he could hear Isabella walking slowly behind him.

Derek pulled his door open to find Stiles standing on the other side, he had a paper bag in his hand and was smiling tiredly. He was wearing a dark grey suit, the same one he had been wearing at Isabella's christening. Now though it was rumpled, his tie loosened and the top button of his shirt undone.

"I bought doughnuts."

Derek nodded and stepped back.

"And an apology. I should never have pushed like I did. I'm sorry."

Derek sighed and accepted that they would have to have this conversation "I am happy with my life and the pack as it stands."

"I should have just asked if you were, I didn't mean to accuse you of…well, anything. You've helped make me and Isabella so happy when I was struggling and you believed in me when I didn't. I just want you to be happy but I promise I will never again push the issue; you can wait until you're ready…or not."

"I-"

Stiles spoke before Derek could continue. "What happened to you?"

Derek turned around, finding Isabella walking very quickly towards them now, her clothes wet and dirty with grass stains. Stiles didn't sound annoyed, just amused. Then he scooped Isabella up and through the air, hugging her tightly.

"Did you have fun with Derek?"

"Erek."

"Has he been letting you eat worms too?"

"No."

Stiles laughed and turned around. "She ate one the other week with Dad, she did not look impressed by the taste."

"She did eat a flower though."

Stiles shrugged. "Anyone would think I didn't feed her or something."

"I was going to give her a bath before you got here."

"I'll do it, if you don't mind, I think we need to talk."

Derek nodded. "I'll leave you to it."

"Or, we can talk while I debug her."

"We don't need to talk."

Stiles looked at Derek with confusion. "We do. Because I hate us being so awkward with one another. I want to fix what I broke."

"I'll make her a snack."

Stiles sighed but nodded and turned for the bathroom. Derek could hear them in the bathroom while he stood at the sink in his kitchen and wished he didn't have to have this conversation; that he didn't have to be reminded, again, that he wasn't what Stiles wanted and that one day he was going to lose even the hint of hope he had now. It wasn't particularly pleasant to know that he was the saddest, most pathetic member of his pack or that they all felt sorry for him and his life that was stuck in a rut. Derek would have been happier to simply pretend that conversation had never happened, to get over the painful reminder that Stiles, and Isabella, would slip from his life before he was ready…not that he would ever be ready. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to ignore it all though; Stiles would never allow it.

He could hear the water draining away in the bathroom and he knew his time was almost up. Derek set himself to cutting up a banana for Isabella and set it on the table, stepping out of the kitchen door to sit outside.

Derek didn't expect to be alone for long and he was proven right when Stiles walked out of the door with Isabella, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk – full of banana. Stiles set her down on the ground with her bowl in front of her and came to sit next to Derek.

"Derek, are you happy?"

Derek paused and thought for a moment, allowed himself to think about his life; his rebuilt house, the large pack, his sister. He kept himself from thinking about what he had lost, his grieving finally done with years ago though the guilt never left. He thought about how his life would be better if things changed…just a little, just enough that Stiles and Isabella never went home, but he pushed that aside as well and thought only on what actually existed in his life and then he nodded. "I am."

"Could you be happier?"

"Couldn't everyone?"

"Could you do something, change something, to make yourself happier?"

"My pack is happy," Derek said, hedging. "Since I am alpha their happiness is a part of my own. But the only thing in my life I truly wish for is not in my control."

Stiles turned to Derek now. "What is it?"

Derek shook his head.

"Fine, okay, I won't push. But, well…if you tell us what or who we might be able to help."

Derek let out a huff of humourless laughter and shook his head again.

"This is how I should have had the last conversation with you. This is what I meant to do. I'm sorry. I don't think you are stuck, you've gone through enough change and growth and emotional upheaval to last you a lifetime and I'm so sorry if I implied something about your life I didn't mean. If you weren't here and if you weren't so helpful I don't know if I could have even made it to this point in my life."

"You're an amazing father," Derek said quietly. "And, you had just as much to do with the pack getting to this place as I did. I know that, I always knew it."

"Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," Derek said, around the dull throb in his chest.

"I feel like there is."

"You're still wearing your suit," Derek pointed out, changing the topic.

Stiles shrugged. "Spilt hot coffee all down my spare clothes."

"Why the tie?"

Stiles moved it out of the way and showed Derek the ink stain between two of the buttons on the shirt. "I didn't have a good co-ordination day yesterday."

Derek smiled. "You have clothes here…or, you can go of course, change."

Stiles bit at his lip and then looked at Derek hopefully. "Can I have a quick shower and change? Maybe we could do something with Izzy, they have that town fair, fete, whatever on at the park."

Derek thought about saying no, pulling away, protecting himself but in the end he tried to smile and nodded. "I'd like that."

Stiles beamed at him. "I won't be long."

Derek waited until he could hear the shower start before he went to sit in front of Isabella who was banging her empty plate on the ground and bouncing. She looked up at him when he sat and offered the plate.

"Thank you," Derek banged it a couple times and then sighed. "I'm an idiot, Is."

She looked up at him and he knew his heart was going to break into tiny pieces when she stopped being such a large part of his life.

/ \ / \ / \ / \

"Right," Cora said, slamming into Derek's room. "Why the hell is Isabella a year old already and still not my niece?"

"What?"

Cora sighed and threw herself onto the bed on top of Derek's clothes. "You're in love with Stiles, have been for yeeears, so long really that it's kind of pathetic. You sent him off to university, which was insane, and you waited for him. Then he came back with a pregnant…whatever Sophia was and you became the go to guy for everything Isabella related. You gave her a room and you learned everything there was to know. You created for her a place to rest protected by your wolf, and don't think I didn't remember that rite when I saw the cot. You have scented her as though she was your daughter so that any other werewolf would know that she was yours and you haven't told Stiles any of this."

"Can we talk about this later? Maybe when I'm dressed."

Cora rolled her eyes. "You're wearing underwear and we're werewolves I've seen you in less."

"Not the point."

Cora shrugged. "If I don't pin you down you'll just run off so I'm just going to sit here on your clothes…green shirt? How convenient that you should choose a shirt in Bella's favourite colour."

"Is."

"I'm going to call her Bella when she's my niece; just like Sam does."

"She's not going to be your niece."

"The government pulled their heads out of their arses and you can marry Stiles even if you both have penises."

Derek closed his eyes and massaged his forehead. "Cora."

"Stiles is not Kate."

Derek dropped his head.

"You can trust him with your heart. You already do, perhaps you need to trust him to know about it."

"Why are you pushing?"

Cora stood up and slapped him around the ear. "Because, you stupid dick, if you don't tell him then he might choose someone else."

"Maybe he should."

"Ugh," Cora screamed and threw herself back at the bed. "You are such an idiot. Why on earth does Stiles even want you?"

Derek froze.

"Oh God, that's what's stopping you? You don't think he wants you. Watch him. Today, at this party watch him. If you can't see it after spending five minutes actually looking at how he acts around you then I give up on you both."

Derek stared out of the window for a few seconds and then nodded. "If I agree you'll leave so I can finish getting dressed?"

Cora stood up and bounded over to him, kissing him on the cheek. "I love you, and I want you to be happy so go for it. And get dressed; we have a party to get to."

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Stiles had balloons attached to weights in the backyard. There was a tablecloth covered in red dots over the table against the wall of the house, all of the chairs were around the large padded picnic blanket Stiles had put all of the toys on. He'd invited the pack, and the few family members who lived close enough to make the drive, as well as people from his parenting group and rhyme time.

"Everything's ready," Sam said.

"I hope so."

"No," Sam said. "That was me telling you that everything is ready, so stop worrying about it."

Stiles rolled his eyes and threw himself down on one of the chairs. "I'm not used to holding parties."

"From what Derek's told me I think you have 'held' the get togethers at his place a number of times."

"They don't count."

"Of course they do," Cora said, "you're basically our social director."

Stiles quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I might have been watching reruns of The Love Boatwhen I was studying."

"You have terrible taste."

She beamed at him and stepped forward to hug him. "Where's Bella?"

"Asleep, she should wake up soon but I wanted her to enjoy as much of her first birthday as she can."

Cora looked at Derek but he stared at Stiles silently. She mentally rolled her eyes and then held up the plate in her hands. "We brought dip."

"Do you want me to put it in the fridge?" Stiles asked, tearing his eyes away from Derek.

"I'll do it," Sam said, walking past Stiles. "What type of dip did you make?"

Cora turned and followed him into the house.

"Hi," Stiles said, looking at Derek.

"Sorry we're early."

"You're never really early…I mean, you're always welcome."

"Thanks."

Stiles tried to smile but knew it looked uncomfortable on his face. "I really hoped it wouldn't be awkward."

Derek shrugged. "It's not."

"You seem like you're still annoyed at me."

Derek took a step back and shook his head. "Of course not."

Stiles squinted at him for a moment but Derek simply attempted a smile and stared at him.

"Where is my niece?" Scott asked, loudly, coming around the corner of the house. Stiles turned to look at Scott, Allison and Melissa walking over towards them.

"Asleep."

"Not good enough," Scott told him.

Then Derek and Scott perked up, twisting and looking towards the house.

"Seriously? Every time you react the same, why?"

"Pack," was all Scott said. "Can I go get her?"

"No," Stiles said, his tone implying you idiot.

Scott pouted at him.

"It's her first birthday, I'm going to go up there and put her in a dress before coming down so that she can enjoy herself."

Allison pushed Scott towards a seat. "Sit down and stop pouting."

"I never pout," Scott defended fiercely.

Stiles left them all to it and went to Isabella's room where she wasn't even completely awake yet. He sat down in the chair under her window and waited while she woke up properly, taking a break even as he heard more people arriving outside. He knew he shouldn't leave it to his father but he wanted these five minutes to think back over the last year. He had been thinking about that day in the hospital when Sophia had handed him Isabella and his entire world had changed.

"Dadee," Isabella called out, dragging his focus back to the bed where she was standing up and looking at him over the top of the cot.

"Hello," Stiles said, brightly. "Are you ready for the party?"

Isabella smiled at him.

"Uncle Scott's here and Derek and Cora."

"Erek! Sott!" Isabella said, happily.

"Exactly, should we wear the pretty green dress or the blue one?"

Isabella grabbed for the blue one in his hand and he decided that was definitely good enough. He pulled her out of her cot to change her nappy and then pulled the dress on. They went outside and Isabella let go of his hand to run to Sam before moving around the rest of the party.

-)(-)(-

Derek pulled Isabella up into his arms and buried his nose in her neck to pull her scent into his chest. She tugged on his ear and wriggled around in his lap until she was able to look out at the small group that was already there. The pack was there, except for Isaac, as were some of Stiles' friends from his activities with Charlotte. Derek didn't want to let her go but he handed her to Cora who had come back out to sit next to him.

Derek watched Stiles. He kept one part of his mind on Is but for the most part he watched Stiles.

He watched the human as he walked around the party and talked to the mothers and fathers that he had met at swimming and the library or the park and the parenting group that Stiles went to. He always introduced them to the pack, his father, the other people there and Derek watched their reactions. And he watched the way that Stiles introduced them to him, the way some of them reacted, and he thought back to the way that Megan had reacted when they had met.

Isabella walked over to him, grabbing the material covering his knees and looking up at him. "Up."

Derek swung her back up onto his lap and she stood there on his thighs, before she dropped forward and nuzzled his neck.

"That doesn't really work for you," he told her in a whisper.

"That is so cute," a short blonde woman whose name Derek couldn't remember said, as she sat next to him.

"I think she's a bit overwhelmed by all of these people."

The woman nodded and sat down next to him in a vacant chair. He wasn't sure what made him more approachable during this party than most of the ones he attended. Then he realised how long it had been since he had attended a party that involved more people than his immediate pack. Then Stiles was at his side, perching on the table and reaching for Isabella who squirmed out of his arm and into Stiles'.

"Do you think it's time for lunch?"

Derek assumed Stiles was talking to Isabella and yet when Derek looked up the human was staring at him and not his daughter. Derek froze for a moment and then nodded.

"Do you want some help?" Derek asked.

"No, it's okay," Stiles said, handing Isabella back to Derek after kissing her on the head. "It's just me asking Boyd to get the barbecue going. He's the most trustworthy with fire."

"I'm on it," Boyd called out, from the other side of the grass.

Derek turned to watch Boyd pull herself up from next to Jackson where they had been sitting on the grass and head for the barbecue.

"I thought I was cooking," Sam called out, heading for the barbecue as well.

"Dad, I love you but you overcook everything you put on the barbecue."

"I do not," Sam looked affronted.

"Sam," Melissa said, voice calm. "You really do, let Boyd cook."

Sam huffed so Derek stood up and handed him Isabella.

"Just because she is making me smile does not change the fact that I'm annoyed at all of you."

Derek followed Stiles into the house to get the meat from the fridge.

"I hope I got enough, I've also got a quiche from that bakery and cold meat and salads."

"Of course it'll be enough."

"For werewolves?" Stiles asked, voice quiet, as he handed things back to Derek.

Derek looked at the food in the fridge and shrugged, "Maybe not…"

Stiles sighed.

"I'm joking, seriously, it's enough food and they will wait for the humans to eat first."

Stiles smiled at Derek. "If we run out there is always cake. I bought cupcakes, I figure even Izzy will be okay eating a cupcake."

"Of course," Derek said.

"I haven't given her anything like it before, I hope she likes it. Can you get Boyd to cook the chicken and sausages first, they're for the kids."

Derek nodded and left the kitchen behind to give Boyd the meat. Once he had done as he was asked he turned around and headed back towards the house. He saw Cora smirking at him and Derek looked away, pushing through the door.

"What are you doing back?"

"I came to help."

"There really isn't anything left to do; I was up early this morning getting it all organised."

Derek opened his mouth to say something when Stiles paused in what he was doing and started talking again.

"I never thought this would be how I would spend a Saturday, up early to make food for my daughter's party. But, I'm happy with how this year has gone. Well…after the first few months when I was pretty neurotic."

"You weren't so bad."

Stiles laughed and turned to look at him, a soft, small smile on his face. "You're really not that good a liar, just so you know."

"Stiles…" Derek drifted off, not sure what he was going to say.

Stiles frowned at him. "What?"

"You've grown a lot in the last year, the whole pack has."

"I can't believe that Scott finally got the balls to ask Allison to marry him and I still don't know what is going on between Boyd and Jackson but it's definitely made Jackson nicer."

"They haven't said anything to me either. I can understand them wanting to wait; it's always tricky when you date within the pack. It can cause issues."

Stiles nodded and Derek watched his face carefully, noted the slightly forced expression on his face.

"But they can also be the best relationships because there are no secrets."

"It must be nicer not to have to hide who and what you are from the people you want to love."

Derek nodded. "It's better for the human members of the pack too, there is nothing you have to try and hide either. Remember how much you hated lying to your father?"

Stiles nodded. "It's a good thing I haven't got anyone else to lie too…but, God, I hope Izzy never feels she has to lie to me like that."

"You didn't lie to him for yourself."

"That doesn't really make it any better and it didn't make me feel better when he finally knew."

Derek cupped Stiles' shoulder, watching the human's face as his hand connected. "Is won't have to lie to you about that, after all, you already know about all the mystical creatures out there."

"Magic is kind of real, right? Can't we just keep her this age forever? Or maybe, I don't know, we could let her get to, say, four and then stop her."

Derek laughed. "I don't think you're going to have any luck there."

Stiles sighed and sagged, but didn't pull away from Derek's hand. "I know."

Stiles turned away and went back to cutting buns. Derek leaned his hip against the bench and watched Stiles working.

"If you're just going to stand there and stare at me you can take the butter and stuff out to the table."

Derek shrugged and grabbed the things to take them outside.

"So?" Cora asked, appearing at his side as soon as he stopped at the table.

"So what?"

"Have you worked it out yet?"

Derek looked at his sister for a few moments and then she smiled, beaming, the smile growing larger the longer she stared at him. He shook his head and turned around to go back inside and collect anything else Stiles wanted on the table.

"What are you smiling about?" Lydia asked Cora, when Derek's back was turned.

Derek sighed even as he opened the door so that he couldn't hear Cora's whispered answer.

"Anything on the bench can go out," Stiles said, "and please keep my father away from the barbecue."

"I will."

Stiles twisted and smiled before he went back to his work.

Derek put the last of the things on the table and sat down next to Sam, giving Isabella his hand to play with, while he thought. He had seen something different in Stiles, things he had never seen before but he couldn't really believe it, why would Stiles want him and how had he managed to hide it for so long?

"What's wrong, Derek?"

Derek started and looked over at Sam who was watching him carefully. "Nothing."

"I might not be my son but I know you well enough to know there is something on your mind."

Derek shrugged and looked down at Isabella.

"I can't believe she's one already," Derek said, attempting to change the topic.

"Neither can I," Sam said, but his voice told Derek how little the sheriff believed him. "I should go and help Boyd."

"Stiles told me to keep you away from him."

"I'll let you hold Bella."

Derek smiled. "It's not that easy."

"Of course it is," Sam said, handing her over.

"I'll keep him from actually doing anything," Melissa said, as she moved past him.

"So," Allison said, coming to sit next to Derek. "Why are you really so quiet?"

"I let him in on the secret of Stiles' feelings." Cora said, coming to stand in front of them. "I think he's a little shell shocked."

"You should go back to school." Derek said, defensively.

"As soon as you two sort yourselves out I will be gone, my ears and eyes cannot handle the fallout from all this repressed sexual-"

Derek's growl, too low to be heard by the humans, stopped her from talking. Derek froze when he realised that the children around him, and Isabella on his lap had all reacted to his growl; hearing things that their parents couldn't.

"Erek," Isabella said, squeezing his wrist. "'rowl."

"Yes, Is, Cora was being very rude."

Cora laughed at him. "You're my brother and it's time you went after what you want."

"Cora, just-"

"Nope," Allison said, laying a hand on Derek's wrist. "It's not just Cora."

Derek dropped his head down until his forehead rested against Isabella's ear.

Then, moments later, Stiles came out of the house, followed by Lydia and Scott, carrying the salads and other food. Derek went back to watching Stiles who looked over at him and smiled, walking the long way around the table so that he could curl his hand around Isabella's cheek before continuing on back into the house.

Derek continued to watch Stiles on his second trip out of the house, another smile for them even though Isabella had walked off to sit on the blanket and play with the other kids there. He watched him after Boyd placed all of the hot food on the table, and when all of the mothers or fathers swarmed the table to feed their children, he watched him after Allison slipped out of her chair and Stiles sat there himself with a plate in his hand that Isabella was feeding herself from. Derek watched him as he got his own plate, and Derek got one, Isabella off on the grass making her way between the other members of the pack scamming bits of sausage and bites of quiche.

"We should do presents before cake," Stiles said later. "Especially since Isabella keeps stealing everyone else's food."

"It's a pack thing."

"Everything," Stiles said, heavy with emphasis, "is a pack thing."

"We want to feed and nurture the youngest member of the pack. It's why I always have food when you all come over as well."

Stiles smiled. "I thought it was just so that they didn't leave carcasses on your back doorstep."

Derek barked out a laugh and shook his head. "You would think the dog jokes would've gotten old by now."

"Never."

Stiles stood up and left Derek, going to collect Isabella so that he could sit on the grass and open presents. Not that Isabella was that interested in doing anything but playing with the discarded wrapping paper. The other children, some smaller and some larger than Isabella, were all sitting in the middle of the wrapping paper playing until Stiles would drag Isabella back over to yank at the loosened paper on her gifts.

Derek wasn't sure how he had missed the fact that Stiles looked at him repeatedly, after he opened every gift. Derek grew tenser every time Stiles caught his eye. The pile of presents next to Stiles dwindled down to nothing and Sam disappeared into the house to collect the cupcakes but Derek was frozen in his seat watching Stiles as he finally realised that he could actually have everything he wanted. If he went over there and kissed Stiles he believed that he would be kissed back. If he told Stiles that Isabella's cot marked her out as being protected by his wolf, not just by the pack, then Stiles wouldn't run screaming for the hills and never allow him to see Is again. Though…Derek had to admit he might not have before either; he just might not have understood the implications.

But, this was the entirety of Derek's want, he didn't want anything more in his life but for Stiles to be right in the centre and while Stiles' interest was certainly clear now that it had been pointed out to him that didn't change the fact that he knew Stiles wasn't looking for anything serious at the moment – he was too focussed on Isabella for anything more. Derek now had the chance for what he wanted and yet he didn't think it would be a good idea to go after it. He wanted serious and Stiles had plainly told him that he was not ready for that since he had Isabella in his life.

"You need to have cake," Stiles said, a red velvet cupcake appearing in front of his face suddenly. "Or the kids will eat them all."

Derek looked up at the smile on Stiles' face and took the cake.

"Dada, cake," Isabella said.

Derek held his out.

"No," Stiles said, "I have one with a one on it for her."

Stiles sat back down next to Derek and pulled Isabella onto his lap, grabbing the plate from off Scott's knee where he was sitting on Stiles' other side.

"This one," Stiles said, unwrapping the cupcake, "is for Izzy."

Then Isabella shoved the cupcake into her mouth, managing to make a mess of herself. Derek handed her the part of his own cupcake that he hadn't eaten; he had never had that much of a sweet tooth and Isabella looked so incredibly happy to be eating cake that she deserved to try red velvet after her vanilla.

"You are so wrapped around her little finger."

Derek smiled but he knew it was a little off from the look on Stiles' face. "I know."

Stiles' answering smile was bright and then he looked down at Isabella. "I need to go and clean her up. I'll be back."

Derek nodded and watched them walk away.

"Why the hell are you resisting?" Cora asked, slumping into the chair next to Derek.

Derek turned and looked at his sister.

"He's standing right in front of you, why won't you just do something?"

Derek opened his mouth and then stopped. He closed his mouth and looked down trying to think of the answer. An answer that even Cora would accept but knew that she would just tell him that he was scared and even though it made Derek's stomach churn he also knew that it was true. He couldn't think of any other answer for her, or himself. Derek stood up and nodded once before walking towards the house.

-)(-)(-

"Stiles," Derek said, stepping into Isabella's room with him. She turned and smiled at Derek as Stiles pulled her dress off and threw it into the basket. Isabella reached her hands out to Derek and the alpha stepped closer.

"Not until you are clean," Stiles said, and grabbed a wipe to begin cleaning the sticky mess from Isabella's fingers.

"I'm in love with you," Derek said, behind Stiles and the human froze one hand wiping red icing from Isabella's arm.

"What?" Stiles asked swallowing thickly.

"I love you."

Stiles looked down at his daughter. "Do you think Daddy has started to hallucinate?"

"Dadee!" Isabella said happily. "Erek."

Stiles slowly, methodically, cleaned the rest of the mess from Isabella's arms, hands and face and then grabbed the green dress.

"Go find Grandad," Stiles said, handing her the top.

Isabella made it only as far as Derek before she reached up. "Erek."

"Go find Grandad, Izzy."

Isabella looked up at Derek unhappily and then toddled out calling for her grandfather.

"You're what?" Stiles asked, looking at Derek.

"You were wrong, before, when you said I needed to get out there because I'm in love with you and don't intend to go looking at all. You're right that I was scared though."

"Why?" Stiles asked, shoving his hands into his pockets roughly.

"You had Isabella, you were learning all of this. Why would you want me getting in the way? Why would you want me at all when you could have something better?"

Stiles stared at Derek like he was stupid. "In the way? What could be better?"

Derek shrugged at him. "You had a lot going on."

"And every step of the way you were there. You made her fucking cot, you stopped her from crying, you made her part of your pack, you were always there for me. It was all because you love me?" Stiles finished sounded both hopeful and incredulous.

"And her, I love her too," Derek said firmly.

"But you kept pulling away and you never came to breakfast when I was home and you always left when I got hurt."

Derek took a step closer to Stiles and then another when the younger man didn't make any move to stop him. "You were going off to university and you deserved something better than what I could give you. I didn't want to have you and then lose you when you realised how much more that you could have. if I could have even had you at all."

Stiles shook his head sadly. "Don't you understand? I told myself to stop thinking about you like that because you obviously we're interested and then you were always there and I wanted you so fucking much. All this time, I wanted you, and…I could have had you?"

Derek smiled, tiny and real and wistful and Stiles stepped forward, slipped his hand around Derek's neck and tugged until the alpha's body slammed into his and they were kissing. Derek tasted of potato salad and cake but under all of that was Derek and Stiles wanted more. He pulled Derek into him bodily until there was no room left and Derek's hands landed heavily on his hip and lower back.

A cleared throat pulled them apart and Stiles looked past Derek to his father.

"As happy as I am," Sam said, folding his arms across his chest and looking at both of them with affectionate exasperation. "That you have both stopped acting like idiots and worked this out…perhaps, Stiles, your daughter's room is not the place for your new relationship explorations."

Stiles pulled back from Derek completely and looked around the room with the tree wall sticker and the pictures that hung from it. The cot that Derek had made and the little pink pyjamas thrown over its side. Then he thought about what he had been thinking about doing to Derek and flushed.

"Of course," Derek said, and started out of Isabella's room.

The sheriff let him pass and then stepped over stopping Stiles from walking out of the room.

"Dad?"

"I like Derek," his father said slowly. "I'm glad for you. At the same time, don't rush into anything too fast. I don't want any of you to get hurt and Derek would be hurt."

Stiles gaped at his father. "Shouldn't you be having the 'don't hurt him' speech with Derek? You know, since I'm your son."

Sam smiled. "Oh, I will, but that talk will involve my gun."

Stiles stared at his father's smirk with confusion.

"Dad," Stiles started after a few seconds of silence between them. "I really care about him."

"Oh, I know," his father said. "Believe me, I know. And the way he would carefully not talk about you at our breakfasts until I mentioned you and then he would be an avid listener was a fairly good indication of his affections too but, you have a one year old daughter now and if something doesn't work out it's not just you who is going to get hurt."

Stiles thought about Isabella, who loved Derek and then thought about not having the werewolf in their lives and his entire body was cold with painful swiftness.

"I want this to work."

"Good," his father said. "Because I fully expect to call Derek my son-in-law sometime in the future."

"You think he'll make an honest woman of me?" Stiles asked.

His father rolled his eyes at Stiles. "If he can stand you for that long."

Sam turned and started walking down the stairs calling out as he went. "Derek, since you're listening, come and have a chat with me in my study."

The laughter of the pack drifted in from outside but as Stiles walked back out towards them and his daughter, he could see Derek walking into the study with his father.

/ \ / \ Epilogue / \ / \

"You look beautiful," Derek said, as he walked up the stairs and Isabella passed him on her way down.

"Thanks, Papa," Isabella said.

Derek froze looking at her carefully. Isabella responded with a smile and rushed on down the stairs. Derek frowned and turned back around to follow Isabella into the lounge room. She was tucking things into her pockets.

"Are you going somewhere special?" Derek asked.

"Movies," Isabella said, without turning around.

Derek narrowed his eyes at his eldest daughter; she was never that taciturn – taking after Stiles more than Derek.

"Hey," Stiles said, hand resting between Derek's shoulder blades as he walked into the room. Stiles continued on after the brief contact. "You leaving soon?"

"Yes, Dad," Isabella said, turning around to smile at Stiles.

"Is," Derek said, eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Papa?" Isabella said with too much innocence in her eyes.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing."

"I can still hear when you're not telling me the truth."

"Papa…" Isabella said, looking torn.

Sarah walked into the room with them. "Bella's lying about the fact she's going on a date."

"Sarah!" Isabella said loudly, turning around and glaring at her sister.

"You shouldn't have refused to take me to the party last weekend, should you?" Sarah said, with the viciousness only know to teenagers.

"Stop it, both of you." Derek demanded, turning around to look at his eldest daughter. "What do you mean you're going on a date?"

"Papa, it's…it's nothing, it's…"

"Who?"

Isabella turned to Stiles and looked at him plaintively. "Dad."

"You knew about this?" Derek asked.

"Of course I knew about this," Stiles said, with a shrug.

"And you weren't going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you as soon as they were far enough away that you couldn't turn and catch them." Stiles moved closer and kissed Derek on the cheek. "It was for your own good."

Derek growled at him.

Stiles kissed him again.

Derek glared at his husband and opened his mouth to speak when the doorbell rang.

Isabella rushed out and opened the door, looking at Adam who was standing on the other side.

"Hey, Izzy," he said, with a nervous smile. Then he looked over her shoulder and paled. "Hi, Mr Stilinski, Hi, Mr Hale," his voice cracked and his eyes caught on Derek's thunderous expression.

Isabella turned around to look at her father. Derek was glaring, arms folded, biceps flexing as he stared, unblinkingly, at Adam.

"Nice night," Adam attempted, voice weak.

Derek glared at him. "Where are you taking my daughter?" Stiles coughed. "Our daughter."

"We're going to see a movie-"

Isabella jumped in with the only adult movie she could think of that was playing.

Stiles reprimanded his daughter just as Adam spluttered.

"No, no, no, that's not what we're going to see…Disney, a Disney movie…cartoon," Adam spluttered.

Isabella grabbed her father's elbow and dragged him away from the door.

"Papa, why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"You like Adam," she said, "you like him, why are you being so mean to him? I knew you were going to be like this, it's why I didn't tell you."

"I don't like any teenage male."

"Thanks, Pop," Thomas said, as he walked past on his way to the kitchen.

Derek turned to look at the back of his son's head. "You're the exception…until you start dating; then you join the group."

"What?" Stiles asked, confused. "How does that work?"

Derek turned around to glare at his husband. "I'm not happy with you either."

"Maybe I should like…go?" Adam asked from the door.

"No," Stiles said, turning around to look at him with a smile. "Derek's just a little upset at the moment. You know how protective he is."

"Yeah," Adam said, eyes not leaving Derek.

"You and Izzy should go, enjoy your movie. We'll see you by 10:30."

"Nine," Derek grit out.

"Eleven," Stiles countered.

"Thanks, Dad," Isabella said, bounding over to kiss him and then sighed and kissed Derek on the cheek too. "I'll see you later, Papa."

Isabella grabbed Adam's hand and dragged him out of the door.

"Eleven?" Derek asked, as soon as the door was closed.

"Yep," Stiles said, "that's what you get."

"For what?"

"That's what you get for being…you."

"Thanks."

"No, that's what you get for being you and pretending that you don't like Adam and that you don't trust our daughter. You've known him since he was twelve. He has always, always treated our daughter well, been a good friend, been protective of her when she's needed it."

"He's never dated her before."

"Well no, but he's had a crush for about two years, as you well know."

"You should have told me about the date."

Stiles nodded. "I should have but…the first time she went to a dance you grilled her for twenty minutes about boys before she left. Every boy in her class was scared of girls. She was thirteen."

Derek glared.

"We should have been teasing her and taking photos of her tonight, we should have been enjoying this together, but you get so overprotective and worried. So instead of us scaring him you…scared him witless, but mainly we should have been the normal level of protective rather than thinking about going and hiding in the back of the cinema."

Derek's glare intensified.

"I knew it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I only found out by accident because Izzy was scared you would…do exactly what you did."

"I don't want to lose her."

Stiles walked over and slipped his arms around Derek's tense waist until he was hugging the werewolf. "You need to relax."

"She's vulnerable."

"She's strong and smart and she knows what's out there."

"But she's human."

"As am I, and you accepted that I could take care of myself years ago."

"You're…you…" Derek trailed off.

"And she is our daughter, she might be human but she knows how to defend herself which you know since you've been teaching her."

Derek's face turned mulish.

"You know I'm right."

"Oh man," Sarah said, coming out of the lounge room. "She's not even going to get in trouble for lying?"

"She will," Derek said, "and for the way you treated your sister you won't be going to the party this weekend either."

Sarah glared at them.

"She is family and pack, you shouldn't betray her trust," Derek said.

Sarah sighed and stomped out of the room.

Stiles groaned and dropped his head.

"Hey, Thomas, can we piss you off tonight?"

"No," he said, popping up from next to the stairs, "though I got photos."

"Thanks," Stiles said, with a sigh.

-)(-)(-

Isabella walked into the house at 10:25pm to find Derek and Stiles sitting in the lounge room watching television.

"Hi," she said, fighting valiantly to keep the broad smile off her face.

"Come in here," Derek said, moving over on the couch so there was space between them for her to sit.

"I'm sorry, Papa."

"Is," Derek started, "you never need to lie to me."

She nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I just…I was so excited, I've been waiting for him to ask me out forever and he finally did and…you just want me to be a little girl forever but I'm not going to be."

Derek looked horrified at the thought and then sighed. "I know. I just want you to be safe."

"It's Adam, I'm always safe with Adam."

Derek looked at her with silent disbelief.

"He was so worried I had to kiss him when the movie was over, he never would have done it."

Stiles laughed. "Not the right way to go."

"But, I don't like lying to you. You will let me go out with him again, won't you?"

Derek sighed. "I have no faith that I could stop you, you're Stiles' daughter."

"I'm yours too," Isabella said, wrapped her arms around him.

"That's not what I meant," Derek said, but he returned the hug.

"You forgive me, don't you, Papa?"

Stiles bit back the smile as Derek silently nodded and kissed Isabella on the head.

-)(-)(-

"Seventeen years later and you're still wrapped around her finger," Stiles said, once Isabella had gone upstairs to be giddily happy about her date alone in her room.

Derek didn't say a word. Stiles smiled and lifted his husband's arm so that he could curl under the limb.

"Have you forgiven me too?"

"No."

"Can I convince you?"

"No."

"I found out by accident too, she wasn't going to tell either of us. At least I don't think she was."

"And you still lied to me."

"I didn't tell you straight away. Just like you didn't tell me right away when that witch, a couple of years ago, cut you open and tried to play with your organs."

"You yelled at me for an hour over that. And are you ever going to stop bring it up to win a fight."

"Just giving you some perspective."

Derek froze and cocked his head.

"Eavesdropping is rude."

"Sarah went in to apologise to Is, now they're gossiping about the date."

Stiles smiled and snuggled in closer. "You'll have to let her go to the party since you forgave Izzy so quickly."

"I know," Derek said with a sigh. "But not until she's paid some penance."

Stiles twisted around to look up at Derek even though he understood. The pack, their family, was strong because they were together and they watched out for each other. To Derek, to the alpha, betraying the confidence of a family member was a more serious crime than hiding something from them.

"I won't avoid telling you about any of the kids dating from now on."

"That's very specific."

Stiles smiled and drew Derek down into a kiss. "That was the point."

"I don't forgive you."

"You will," Stiles said, kissing him again.

/ \ / \ The End / \ / \