Just an idea that hit me.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, SADLY.

"Be good. Don't cause any trouble for these people; the dad was just promoted to Sherriff. And they're going through some rough times." Laura sighs as she pulls up in front of the Stilinski home.

"Will you relax? I've got this covered. I don't need you breathing down my neck."

"Derek, you've handled babies and teenagers. You've never dealt with a seven year old. And one with ADHD? You're in for a long night."

"I'll be fine. Just go to where ever it is you're going."

"...thanks baby bro." Laura sighs with a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. I need the money anyway. Besides, it's not like the job will be hard. I'll turn on the TV, feed him, and put him to bed. Isn't his curfew like eight or something?"

"Nine. And don't forget that he's allergic to dairy. And that he's not supposed to have sugar. Give him his medicine before he goes to bed and make sure he goes to the bathroom before you tuck him in. And Derek, if he asks you for something, don't be mean. I've met this kid, he's adorable." Laura sighs. "And don't expect him to be too talkative; he's still in shock about what happened."

"What happened exactly?" Derek asks as he unbuckles his seat belt and grabs his back pack from the back seat.

"His mom passed away. Don't you remember Mom talking about-"

"The cancer lady." Derek nods suddenly.

"Don't call her that!" Laura growls. "Her name was Lisa and she was Dad's friend in high school. Be considerate."

"Sorry." Derek mutters.

"Go. The sheriff's shift starts in half an hour."

"How do you know that?"

"I listen. Now go. I'll be around to pick you up at midnight."

"That's when his shift ends?"

"No, that'll be around the time Melissa McCall will come over. She'll get Stiles and he'll spend the weekend at her house."

"Alright. Whatever." Derek sighs before getting out of the car and walking towards the front door.

It's still light outside. Around 4:30 on a Friday in December. It's freezing and Derek shoves his hands into his hoodie pockets after ringing the doorbell.

"Stiles, the baby sitter's here!" a voice calls before the door opens to reveal a frowning man. "You must be Laura's brother."

"Yeah. Derek." he states as he sticks out his right hand.

"John. Come on in. Stiles just went upstairs, he should be down in a few minutes. I gave him lunch when he got out of school. He'll be hungry around seven. He'll ask." Derek nods and follows the man into the kitchen.

"Anything I need to worry about?" Derek asks softly and watches the sheriff rush around the room.

"Um...he can't have dairy. If he asks for Mac-n-Cheese, don't give it to him. It's a trick. Milk, yogurt, ice cream, all that. It's him trying to get too sick to go to Melissa's."

"Does he do that a lot?" Derek asks in utter shock. He'd never heard of a kid making themselves sick on purpose.

"He tries it with every baby sitter. He tricked Laura on her first day. It was a nightmare. His bed time is nine. Don't let him nap before then; he won't sleep at night if he does. He'll resort to that if he really doesn't want to go to Melissa's. Don't let him drag a chair anywhere near the cabinets. He's trying to get to the sugar. If he manages to get a sugar rush somehow, just turn on the Disney Channel. If it's eight, he'll watch whatever movie is on, no problem."

"Got it."

"He hates to miss that movie. He'll come sit in front of the TV right after dinner. He won't say anything, but that'll be your clue to turn on the channel. If he misses even the opening credits, he'll shut himself in his room for the rest of the night. Oh...before he goes to be...he's supposed to take one of these." the sheriff holds up an orange bottle before placing it in a shelf.

"Okay..."

"Stiles! I'm leaving." John calls out towards the stairs as he walks to the front door.

Derek watches in shock as the sound of a door slamming open shakes the house before a little boy is rushing down the stairs.

"Do you have to go?" the boy whimpers after launching himself up into the man's arms.

"I'll come for you tomorrow morning. We'll have breakfast together."

"...promise?" the little boy asks as he's set back on his feet.

"Cross my heart. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." John kisses the little boy's head before leaving.

And when the door shuts...the little boy rushes back up the stairs without glancing over at Derek.

"Uh...I'm Derek!" the teen calls after the boy right before a door slams shut. "And I'm alone. Great."

When Stiles creeps down the stairs, Derek's sitting at the kitchen table.

The high school freshman watches from his spot as Stiles plays silently with two hot wheel cars and a small tub of playdoh.

After thirty minutes of complete silence, Derek manages to go back to his work.

"What are you doing?" Derek jumps and looks up from his geometry homework to find the little boy standing at the opposite end of the round table, his hands playing with his ball of yellow playdoh.

"...homework. You hungry?" Derek sighs before standing.

"Mm-hm. Can I have Mac-n-Cheese?" he asks and follows Derek to the stove.

"...no." Derek murmurs carefully.

"...why not?" Stiles asks with a frown.

"You can't have dairy."

"It's not dairy." the little boy mutters darkly before moving away form the stove.

"It's cheese."

"Exactly. Not dairy. I don't even know what dairy is."

"...you know you never told me your name." Derek states as he looks through the cabinet, even though he knows well what the kid's name is.

"...I know."

Derek turns around with a sigh and stares in complete and utter shock at the sight in front of him.

The boy is lugging a gallon of milk from the fridge over to the table along with a package of Nesquik powder mix.

"What are you doing?" Derek demands when the boy sets the galling on the table and walks over to grab a cup.

"Making chocolate milk."

"You can't have dairy!" Derek states with wide eyes before grabbing the milk and shoving it back into the fridge.

"...then what can I have?" Stiles demands as he crosses his arms and looks up at the older boy.

"...juice." Derek states and grabs the plastic pitcher of red liquid from the fridge.

"Gross." Stiles wrinkles his nose as Derek pours him a glass

"Gross? How is this gross? It's juice."

"Why don't you taste it?" Stiles demands with a raised eyebrow that honestly makes Derek want to laugh.

"Fine." Derek takes a big gulp before freezing.

Kool-Aid. Cherry. No Sugar.

It was the worst thing Derek had ever had.

"Swallow." Stiles demands with a glare.

"Mm-hm." Derek mutters before gulping and forcing himself not to make a face. "Delicious."

"No way."

"...look, you have to eat something. And I'm not falling for the dairy thing."

Derek stares at him with a frown and sighs in relief when Stiles' shoulders sag.

"I'm hungry." he whines softly.

"I thought so. Come on. Let's see what you have."

In the end, Derek ends up baking Stiles chicken nuggets.

He didn't use the microwave after Stiles gave him a ten minute lecture on how the nuggets taste gross if they were cooked in the oven.

And after watching the kid gulp down half a glass of juice with a pout, Derek gave in and mixed in a bit of sugar into the glass.

"...I'm not allowed to have sugar." Stiles mumbles while Derek mixes in the white grains.

"What your dad doesn't know...won't hurt him. Or us. Here, taste this."

Derek smiles when Stiles takes a sip and beams up at him.

"Thanks...Derek."

After Dinner, Stiles pretty much drags Derek out into the living room to wait twenty minutes for his movie to come on. He's got that ball of playdoh again and he messes with is non-stop.

"They're playing Don't Look Under The Bed tonight." Stiles had mumbled after Derek flipped to the channel.

"I remember this movie." Derek chuckles and settles in to watch the movie.

Mid way through, Derek sighs and turns the movie off.

"Hey!" Stiles gasps before looking up at Derek.

"It's nine o' clock. Come on." Derek states as he walks towards the stairs.

"Couldn't we just finish the movie?" Stiles demands with a glare.

"Get ready for bed. Come on, PJs, teeth, all that stuff."

"How come you don't have to go to sleep so early?" Stiles demands as he shoves his playdoh into a little white tub.

"Because I'm fifteen and you're seven." Derek states with a smile as he walks to the kitchen to grab the orange bottle with Stiles' medicine.

"That's not fair." Stiles mutters.

Derek can only chuckle and watch the kid.

He doesn't look anything like the sheriff. With his big honey colored eyes and his pale skin. His hair is darker, almost black. And he's skinny. almost too skinny.

When Stiles settles in for bed, he has a stuffed animal clutched to his chest and he's wearing Batman PJs. He's babbling on and on about how the dark knight is the best superhero ever as Derek flicks on his night light.

"Derek?" Stiles mumbles after Derek tucks him in.

"Hm?"

"...what happened to Laura?"

"She had some stuff to do."

"...will you be here instead of her now?"

"...I don't think so. I mean, this is a one time thing."

"Can you be here instead of her now?"

"I don't think my sister would like that." Derek chuckles.

"She's nice...but you're fun. And you let me have sugar and you listen to me. Laura always microwaves my chicken nuggets and she never gives me sugar. She gives me water because I don't like juice."

"...yeah she's not very fun." Derek smiles. "...I'll see what I can do, alright?"

"Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"...I don't want to go to Melissa's house."

"Why not?"

"Because...I want my mom to be here. It's not fair that Scott has one and I don't."

"...Stiles..." Derek sighs before running a hand through the boy's hair.

"Good night Derek." Stiles whispers and Derek glances over to find the kid already dozing off.

"Good night, Stiles."

two hours later, a set of head lights shine light onto the house.

Derek carries Stiles down stairs and into Melissa's car.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." he whispers when Stiles wakes up and clings to him half way down the stairs.

"I don't want to go." Stiles mumbles sleepily.

"You're going to be fine. Your dad will pick you up in the morning. Alright?" Derek whispers gently.

Stiles goes into the car easily enough.

"You're amazing with him." Melissa sighs with a small smile.

"It's nothing-"

"No, really. He's never this calm. He's usually kicking and screaming against his baby sitters. Most of the time he's still up when I come to get him. Here, John gave me this to give to you."

Derek takes the bills from the woman and smiles slightly.

"Thank you." It's at that time that Laura decides to pull up.

"That must be your ride." Melissa smiles.

"Yeah. It was nice to meet you." Derek smiles back and watches her pull away with Stiles before turning back to the house and moving to get his stuff.

"How was it?" Laura asks once he's in the car.

"You reek." Derek mutters when the putrid smell hits him.

"Yeah, the party was a total bust. Puke and alcohol everywhere." Laura sighs as they drive.

"He was a cool kid." Derek mumbles.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't mind covering for you again." Derek shrugs.

"Really?" Laura asks with wide eyes.

"Really." Derek chuckles.

"...thanks baby bro."

"Don't mention it." Derek sighs before reaching into his pocket to grab his money.

"This is because you made good money, isn't it?" Laura demands with a scoff.


"Derek!" the werewolf is snapped out of his memories by the sound of an impatient voice. "Hello?"

"Sorry." Derek sighs and smiles up at the owner of the voice. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Just about this experience I had as a kid."

"What experience?"

"...when I was fifteen, I covered for my sister and babysat this kid. His name was...Steels or something." Derek sighs, forcing away a grin.

"Yeah? Sounds like a freak."

Derek lets out a laugh and pulls his boyfriend of two years close.

"He wasn't actually. He was quiet, and sneaky, and he said I was fun."

"Yeah?"

Derek looks up at Stiles from his place on the teens bed and nods.

He's not a little kid anymore. He's tall, lean, and beautiful.

He still has those honey colored eyes and dark hair though.

"Derek." Stiles sighs and he leans down to catch the Alpha's lips in a kiss.

"Who would've thought." Derek whispers softly. "Eight years later I'd be dating that kid."

"Who would've thought, indeed." Stiles grins.

"It's almost eight, Stiles."

"...they're showing Don't Look Under The Bed tonight." Stiles chuckles softly before leaning forward to kiss his boyfriend senseless.

"The movie can wait." Derek chuckles back.