Author's Note: I do not own Teen Wolf or its characters. This is set in an alternate universe.
Darkest Before the Dawn
Halloween duty could be completely insane even when it didn't fall on a full moon. Even before Stiles had known about werewolves, he'd known that full moons brought out the crazies. He was a son of a law enforcement official and his best friend's mom was a nurse. He'd heard all the stories before he'd become a deputy himself and started collecting his own. However, Stiles also knew the importance of family, and when Deputy Westfall has asked to trade shifts so he could take his daughter trick or treating for the first time, Stiles had agreed.
So far the night hadn't been too bad, but Stiles was keeping his fingers crossed. He'd had a gaggle of teenagers intent on egging their teacher's house to break up, one case of a guy flashing trick or treaters to deal with, and a noise disturbance from a party. It was all pretty mundane. Stiles knew that Scott had most of the pack at his and Kira's place, having a Halloween party of their own. Stiles wasn't going to make it this year, but he was glad to know that the pack was safely out of harm's way if anything should happen.
When he got the call about someone spotting an unaccompanied child, Stiles wasn't surprised. There was always at least one kid who got separated from their parents or group. He didn't expect to end up with his arms full of a hysterical werewolf dressed like a renaissance princess.
"She took Papa! He told me to run, and the bad men shot at me! I want my Papa!"
Her glowing golden eyes and tiny fangs combined with her tears were more heartbreaking than anything else to Stiles. He'd only ever met one other werewolf child, and he had been quite a bit older. He'd also been the most heavily protected member of that pack even though they were in friendly territory. Stiles couldn't imagine her being out here on her own unless something had gone terribly wrong. He also didn't know of any other werewolves in town besides Scott's pack which begged the question of just where this little one had come from.
Stiles carefully rubbed her back. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're safe now. My name is Stiles, and I'm a police officer. Can you tell me what happened?"
She sniffled a little, her face shifting back to normal. "Papa was taking me trick or treating. And then we were going to go get ice cream as a special treat because I've been so good with the move and everything. We were crossing the street and this big car pulled up. A blond lady got out, and Papa told me to run. Then men got out of the car and started shooting at me!"
The little girl dissolved into tears again, tucking her face into his neck. Stiles continued to rub her back as he tried not to sigh. It sounded like she and her father had been ambushed by rogue hunters. No hunters were supposed to operate in Beacon Hills without Allison's knowledge, but the fact that she associated with werewolves on a regular basis meant that some hunters disregarded her authority of Beacon Hills and the surrounding area. And it looked like someone was challenging her again.
Unfortunately, it looked like two newcomers to Beacon Hills were the ones who had gotten caught in the middle of the latest power struggle. Stiles was just hoping that the little girl's father was still alive. If the hunters thought that he was part of the Beacon Hills pack, then he might still be alive. He situated the little girl a bit better on his hip and bit back a sigh. Stiles had the feeling that this was going to be a long night.
"All right, sweetheart. We're going to go see what we can do about finding your papa, okay? Have you ever gotten to ride in a police car before?"
The novelty of that seemed to distract her long enough for them to get back to the station. His dad looked up from his desk when Stiles carried her in.
"Who's this?"
Stiles realized that he hadn't gotten her name, but she just considered his dad thoughtfully before speaking.
"My name is Talia Caryn Claudia Hale. I'm four."
His dad's eyebrows lift, but he didn't say anything. Stiles made a quick decision.
"All right, Miss Talia. How about you stay with Sheriff Stilinski here for a moment? I'm going to make a quick phone call, and then I'll get to work on finding your papa."
Talia frowned at him and then buried her face in the crook of his neck again. After a moment, she looked at him again.
"Okay. But you have to promise to come right back."
Stiles nodded, "I promise."
Talia reluctantly transferred to the sheriff's lap, and Stiles ducked away before she could start to fuss. His dad was much better with kids than he was, and Stiles was pretty sure that by the time his dad would have gotten a fairly good witness statement out of Talia. He needed to check in with Scott though. Hopefully, he would have some idea who Talia's father was, and if he didn't then maybe Allison would know something about the hunters.
The fact that Talia's last name was Hale worried Stiles though. The last time they had dealt with a Hale, it had been the werewolf that had bitten Scott and started their whole relationship with the supernatural world. Peter Hale had murdered his niece Laura and then had gone on to bite Scott as well as several other people and commit a number of other murders. Stiles had managed to connect most of the murders with people who had been involved with the arson and cover up that was responsible for the deaths of almost the entire Hale family and had left Peter Hale badly burned.
By the time that they had stopped Peter, they had a whole pack of teenage werewolves to deal with. And that was only the beginning. By the time they had gotten out of high school, their pack had expanded to have a banshee and a kitsune, and they had dealt with everything from Japanese demons to psychotic hunters and revenge seeking druids. College had been just as crazy, though thankfully, things had finally started to calm down the past few years. Stiles had almost thought things had gone back to normal or at least stable.
It took several rings before Scott picked up the phone.
"Stiles? What's up?"
"Do you know anything about a new werewolf in the area or rogue hunters that might have moved in?"
He could hear the frown in Scott's voice. "No. Let me grab Ally though. She might know something."
Moments later he was on speaker phone with the two of them.
"Stiles? Scott said we might have a hunter problem?"
"That what it sounds like. I've got a little werewolf by the name of Talia Hale who says someone attacked her and her dad while they were trick or treating and took her dad. She can't be more than four or five years old though. Dad's getting a witness statement from her now."
Allison sighed. "I haven't heard about anyone active in the area lately, but I'll check around. Is the little girl okay?"
"She seems shaken more than anything else. I've got to go, but call me if either of you hear anything."
He hung up with a sigh. Time to see what his had had found out. He had barely reentered the room when Talia practically attacked him, clinging to his legs. His dad gave him a rueful smile.
"I believe Miss Talia feels safest with you."
Stiles scooped the little girl up, perching her on his hip once again. Talia immediately buried her face in the crook of his neck once again while Stiles made his way over to the sheriff's desk.
"What did you find out?"
His dad sighed. "We're looking for Derek Hale. He's the new children's librarian actually. I ran the background check on him a couple of weeks ago. He's supposed to be starting work next week."
He tugged out a picture and handed it Stiles. The man in the photo was not what Stiles would have expected a librarian to look like. Male model, lumberjack maybe, but not a librarian. Stiles sighed.
"Do we have any idea why someone might be interested in him?"
His father shook his head. "Nothing mundane. He is Peter Hale's nephew, but Talia is his only living family at this point. He's been living in New York since the fire, and this is the first time he's been back since then."
Stiles bit back another sigh. That was not a good sign. It meant that instead a nice clear cut criminal case, they were going to be stuck with one that meant hiding information and coming up with cover stories. Stiles might be an old pro at it by this point, but it still could be deeply frustrating. And there was the fact that there was a child involved. Stiles knew that he should probably be calling child services at this point, but putting a werewolf in the hands of people who had no clue what they were dealing with seemed like a recipe for disaster. Which meant that he was going to be responsible for her until they could get this sorted.
"Can you get me his address? I figure it can't hurt to check it out, and Talia probably needs some of her own things if she's going to stay with me."
John Stilinski nodded. "Sure. Take back up when you go though. Parrish is due back from patrol any minute now."
Stiles nodded. "All right."
Then he turned his attention back to Talia. "Well, Miss Talia, once Jordan gets here we're going to go check at your house to see if you dad made it home. If he didn't, you'll stay with me tonight, and we'll keep looking for your dad tomorrow. Okay?"
Talia wrinkled her nose at him. "Do we have to wait? Can't we go now?"
He smiled at her. "Nope. We need to wait for Jordan. That way if your dad needs extra help, we already have it."
Thankfully, Jordan arrived before Talia got too antsy. It didn't take long for the three of them to drive out to Derek and Talia's home. Stiles was rather impressed by the place. It wasn't exactly the sort of place he'd expect from a children's librarian. The house was large and modern looking with big windows and dark wood siding. It wasn't really decorated for Halloween, but there were two jack-o-lanterns on the front porch. Stiles sighed and turned to Talia who was in the back of the cruiser.
"I need you to wait here for us, Talia. I don't want you to get out of the car for any reason, okay? Even if there is something scary going on outside. Do you understand?"
The little girl nodded.
"Good. I'll be back as soon as I can."
There was no response when he and Jordan knocked on the door. The good news was that the hide-a-key was easy enough to find. That was always better than having to break into someone's place. Inside, there weren't any signs that Derek had made it home. There was the sort of clutter and chaos that came with a recent move and having a child. Half unpacked boxes were littered around the building and toys were scattered in just about all of the rooms. Stiles found a small clutch of photos hung on the living room wall, most of them featuring Derek and Talia from the time she was an infant until now. There was an older photo of Derek and a woman Stiles recognized as Laura Hale, and an even older one that featured a teenage Derek with the entire Hale family.
None of it gave any indication of why someone would go after the Hales which, unfortunately, meant this was almost certainly the work of hunters.
"Find anything?" he asked Jordan.
The other man shook his head. "Unfortunately no."
Stiles nodded. "I'm going to put together a bag for Talia, and then we can head out."
It didn't take long for Stiles to locate the little girl's room. It was actually all unpacked and decorated with a forest theme. He quickly scooped up several changes of clothes, a night gown, and a well-worn bunny rabbit stuffed animal before heading back to the car, locking the front door behind him. He found Talia huddled in the back seat of the cruiser, watching anxiously for him.
"Did you find Papa?"
Stiles had to shake his head. "No. He wasn't there. So, you're going to stay with me tonight, okay? I'm just going to stop by one of my friend's houses to ask him to help look for your Papa tomorrow."
And he wanted to check to see if Scott or Allison had come up with anything so far. He was hoping that they had some sort of lead because otherwise Stiles wasn't sure where to start. They hadn't had any trouble with rogue hunters in the past six months, so either these people were new or they had followed Derek and his daughter.
When they arrived at Scott's, however, Talia didn't want to let Stiles out of sight, so he ended up carrying her inside with him. He wasn't entirely sure how Talia was going to react to werewolves she didn't know, but it was better that leaving her alone in the car when she was liable to burst into tears when he got out of the car. Situating Talia on his hip, Stiles knocked on the door.
Talia did not react well to Scott. She flashed her eyes at him and growled while tightening her grip on Stiles' neck.
"Mine!"
Scott looked bemused. "You can keep Stiles. What can I do for you?"
"Just wanted to check in before we go home to see if you'd found anything. There was nothing at the house."
Scott frowned. "Come in and talk to Allison. She has some ideas."
Stiles nodded then turned his attention to Talia. "Okay. We're guests here, so please don't attack any of Scott's pack."
Talia frowned at him. "Only if they don't attack me."
Most of the pack was still around, but they left the three of them alone as Scott led them towards the kitchen. Only Kira came to join them, slipping her hand into to husband's. Allison was in the kitchen with a cell phone pressed to her ear and a frown on her face. She looked up when they walked in, her eyes zeroing in on Talia.
"Keep in touch, Bruce. I need to know what's going on." She hung up and looked at Stiles with a grim smile. "I have good news and bad news."
Stiles nodded. "All right. What do you have for me?"
"I know who's behind this. It's Kate. I think she might have some history with Mr. Hale. That's the good news. The bad news is that I haven't been able to get any info on how many men she might have or where she might be holed up." Allison grimaced. "She might try and contact me. Kate hasn't tried to get me back into her camp since I married Isaac, but you never know. After all, she tried after years of radio silence when I was in college."
Stiles sighed. He'd been the one who had put together that it had been Kate Argent behind the Hale fire. It looked like she was trying to finish her work.
"All right. I'm going to take Talia home for the night, but tomorrow, we need to find Derek. Can I count on your help?"
Both Scott and Allison nodded.
"Just let us know what you need, and you've got it," Scott told him.
"Good. All right, Miss Talia, let's head on home."
It wasn't until Stiles had gotten her back to his dad's house that he realized he really didn't know what to do with a four year old. He hadn't exactly done a lot of babysitting in high school, and none of the pack had kids yet, though both Kira and Scott and Erica and Boyd had been talking about it lately. Talia though seemed to know the routine. It was only after Talia had been tucked in with her bunny in the spare room that they ran into problems. Talia didn't want him to leave. In fact, the idea of him leaving sent her into near hysterics.
Stiles finally managed to get her to compromise in letting Stiles go put on his pajamas as long as he came right back. It was less than five minutes away from her, but clearly that was too much for the moment that Stiles returned, Talia latched onto him and wouldn't let go. Stiles resigned himself to spending the night with her. It took a little bit of shuffling around to get them both situated comfortably, but there was something nice about having Talia cuddled up close.
He woke to find his dad standing over them with an odd look on his face that Stiles couldn't quite place. Something like wistful and nostalgic but not quite.
"I figured you might need a wakeup call. Turn up any leads last night?"
Stiles nodded, carefully disentangling himself from the little girl. "Allison's connections came through for us. We're looking for Kate Argent. It looks like this is all going back to the Hale fire once again."
His dad just sighed. "I'll be downstairs getting breakfast started. We can discuss your plans over food. I figure pancakes should be fine. Hopefully, Talia won't mind them."
Getting Talia up turned out to be a bit of a chore. Clearly, the little girl was not a morning person. Stiles couldn't exactly blame her. He was a night owl by nature, and early mornings were mostly made bearable by coffee. Still, the promise of pancakes was some incentive it seemed, and he and Talia made it downstairs with her dressed in less than half an hour. Talia quickly wolfed down the pancakes and sausage provided with a happy enough demeanor. It was only when Stiles brought up what was going to happen that day that trouble came.
"So, Talia, I'm going to go look for your father today. I need you to stay with my dad at the station, all right? I'll be back as soon as I know something."
"No!" Talia's eye's flashed gold. "You can't leave me. You promised."
Stiles shot a panicked look at his dad. The older man just shrugged.
"Talia, I can't look for your dad and keep you safe at the same time. My dad will keep you safe. I thought you liked him."
Talia made a face at him. "He doesn't smell the same as you."
There were things Stiles didn't think he would ever understand about werewolves. His dad cleared his throat.
"What if Stiles checks in with us while he's out looking for you dad? He can radio in every hour, and you can talk to him."
Talia considered this. "Fine."
The three of them made it out the door and off to the station a little later than usual. The unexpected addition of Talia had slowed their regular routine a little. Still, they made it to the station without being too late, and it didn't take too long to get Talia set up in the Sheriff's office and saying his goodbyes before getting down to business.
Allison and Isaac were both waiting for him by his desk. Stiles nodded at them.
"Let's take this outside."
Allison unrolled a map across the hood of Stiles' cruiser. "I did some more checking around, and Isaac and Scott ran patrols this morning. More bad news, they're not in any of the usual haunts. Not a whiff of anything near the abandoned warehouses or the industrial district. I also doubled checked to see if there was any property's locally in the Argent family name. There's nothing besides Dad's house and mine."
Isaac sighed. "I don't have much better news. I've got whiffs of wolfsbane, but nothing solid enough to follow."
Stiles frowned. "All right. So what do we know about Kate?"
Allison sighed. "It's all questionable. I mean, I've known Kate all my life, but I don't know how much of what I know is real. Especially given all the evidence you found. Kate's very much my grandfather's favorite and is still close to them. Dad suspects that the plan to take out the Hale pack was originally his idea. She's the one responsible in part for me finding out about the family profession. When we moved here, she started dropping hints and making leading comments. She's always been pretty competitive, and she knows how to hold a grudge. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I know that would be of use."
Stiles bit his lip. "It almost sounds like this all goes back to the Hale fire. What's the chance that she might return to the scene of the crime?"
Isaac frowned. "Didn't the county bulldoze the house years ago?"
"Sort of." Stiles shrugged. "They didn't do anything to the foundations or the basement."
Allison looked grim. "All right. Let's call in the rest of the pack. I don't want to go in without a plan. Kate's got back up, and we probably only have one chance at this if she's there."
Stiles nodded. "Right. We have a little girl who needs to have her dad back. We can't afford to screw this one up."
Isaac frowned. "What are you going to do if we can't save Hale? As much as I hate to say it, we might not be able to save him."
He just sighed. "Then I'm going to have to figure out to be parent. I don't think Talia's going to accept anyone else. She was barely willing to stay with Dad today, and most kids take to much better than they take to me. But that's the worst case scenario."
It didn't take long for the pack to gather together. While there hadn't been a major issue in a while, all of them remembered high school when it seemed like Beacon Hills was constantly under siege. Of course, they were older and wiser now. And knew the value of making sure they had a real plan. Since Jordan was in the know, Stiles pulled him in as well. He figured if Kate thought she was just up against local law enforcement first, it might make her underestimate them.
The old Hale house was on the far edge of town, almost in the preserve. All that was left of the house were some broken foundations poking out of the ground, but Stiles knew there was also an extensive basement area that was still intact. Stiles and Parrish shared a look before climbing out of the cruiser. Stiles took the lead, heading straight for the ruins, eyes darting around to for any evidence that someone had been in the area. There wasn't much beyond a few deep tire tracks, but that was enough to make Stiles figure they were on the right track.
He walked right up to the bones of the building, keeping a careful eye out for anyone who might be lurking around. When there was no reaction to his presence or any sign of an attack, Stiles signaled Jordan that he was going in and carefully raised his meager magical defensives. There wasn't a lot that Stiles could really do with his spark, but at the very least he could be warned if something magical was being thrown at him.
As Stiles climbed down into what remained of the basement, it became evident that there had been someone here recently even if it was hard to tell how recently. Still, there was clear evidence that someone had been coming down here on a regular basis. Stiles eased his gun out of its holster. Turning the corner, he didn't find Kate or any of her minions lurking. He did find Derek Hale, however, but what he found wasn't good. Stiles wasn't sure if Derek was even conscious or not.
The older man was strung up from the ceiling by chains, arms pulled over his head. He was also hooked up to a car battery, and Stiles bit back a wince as he took in all of the man's injuries. The fact that he was without a shirt just made it apparently how badly Derek had been tortured. And there really wasn't any other word for what had been done to the man. The electricity running through him had kept his healing from fully working on the injuries, and Stiles was honestly afraid the man wouldn't be able to tell friend from foe when Stiles released him. Still, he couldn't leave Derek just hanging there, and hopefully, Talia's scent on Stiles would help.
He also didn't have any time for delicacy. He didn't know how long they had until Kate or her minions reappeared, and he wanted to get himself and Derek to safely. So getting Derek down wasn't going to be a gentle process. First things first though. And when Stiles broke the connection between the battery and Derek, he caught sight of a pair of hazel eyes flutter open.
"Hey there, Derek. I'm Deputy Stilinski, and I'm going to get you out of here. Talia is safe and sound and tucked away at the Sheriff's station under guard by the sheriff himself, so you needn't fret about her. I'm going to get you down now. It's probably going to hurt, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't maul me when I get you free."
He wasn't entirely sure if Derek was understanding what he was saying, but at least it was worth a try to make sure the guy knew he was being rescued. It helped that Stiles had come prepared for this sort of thing. Amongst other things he had on his belt was a pair of bolt cutters. It took a little sawing at the chains, but Stiles managed to cut through. Derek didn't collapse like Stiles had feared, but he swayed dangerously on his feet, and Stiles doubted it would take more than stiff breeze to topple Derek. They needed to get to the relative safety of the cruiser.
Their luck didn't hold out that long. Stiles had barely gotten Derek out of the basement (Parrish had tried to help, but Derek had snarled whenever he came close) when Kate appeared. She was armed with a shot gun and what looked like a tazer to Stiles' eyes hung from her hip. Parrish put himself in between the pair and Kate. A nearly sub-vocal growl came from Derek.
Kate smirked at them. "Now what are you up to, boys? Don't you know that this is private property?"
Parrish squared his shoulder. "We're conducting a missing persons investigation. And this is no longer private property. It reverted back to the county years ago."
"Well, I'm not sure what you expect to find here. Just me and my boyfriend indulging a little. I know what we do isn't exactly to everyone's tastes, but surely it's not illegal."
Stiles snorted. Her attempt to pass this off as BDSM was laughable.
"You're not fooling anyone, Kate," Stiles said.
"You're also under arrest for the kidnapping of Derek Hale," Parrish added.
Kate laughed. "Oh, honey, that's not going to happen."
Before she could even raise the shotgun, an arrow whizzed by her hand. Allison's voice echoed out of the trees.
"Yes, it is. Kate Argent, you are guilty of breaking the Hunter's Code multiple times over. You can either submit to the officers here or I will deal with you. And you won't like my version of justice."
Kate shook her head. "Oh, Allison. You had so much potential. Then you had to throw it away on these mongrels. You won't really shoot your family."
There was a flash of golden eyes from the trees.
"She might not," Erica's voice rang out. "But she's not alone. And your henchmen are a little tied up at the moment."
For a moment, Stiles thought that Kate was going to go quietly. Her shoulders slumped, and the grip she had on her gun seemed to loosen. Then she swung the shotgun up and aimed it directly at Derek. Stiles pushed the werewolf behind him even as a shot rang out. Kate fell and Jordan lowered his gun as the pack came out of the woods.
Scott nodded at Stiles. "Get him back to the station and his little girl. We'll take care of this."
Stiles nodded. He had the feeling that Derek wasn't going to calm down or allow anyone to take care of him until he had seen that his daughter was safe with own eyes.
"Will do, Scotty. Come on, big guy. Talia's waiting for you."
The drive back to the station was a little awkward, and Stiles as glad it was just him and Derek in the car. Derek clearly wasn't happy to be back in a confined space, and Stiles couldn't blame him. He also tended to start growling if Stiles moved too far away from him, and Stiles was trying not to read too much into that. Derek was both very good looking under all of his injuries and very much Stiles' type. And the fact that he seemed to want to drape himself all over Stiles was doing things to Stiles' libido.
The two of them had just gotten in through the door when Talia practically flew out of the sheriff's office.
"Papa!"
Derek staggered under his daughter's weight, but Stiles could see just how tightly his was holding on to the little girl. Both Stiles and his dad gave the pair a few moments to reconnect before the sheriff cleared his throat.
"I know that you two would probably like nothing more than to just go home, but I'm going to need a statement, and we probably should take Mr. Hale to the hospital unless those injuries are going to heal overnight."
Derek frowned. "Do you have someplace private we can talk? I'm guessing you want to know everything."
Stiles tried not to let his surprise at hearing the man talk in complete sentences show. His dad gestured to his office.
"Come on in. I'm sure Stiles can keep Talia entertained if you'd prefer little ears not to be present. He's the one who's been taking care of her while we searched for you."
Derek's eyes flickered over to Stiles, and he could see the other man hesitating. But Talia muttered something into Derek's neck, and he sighed.
"All right."
The man handed him Talia and then said. "If anything happens to her while I'm gone, I'll rip your throat out with my teeth."
He had to bite back a smile at that especially when Talia glared at her father.
"She's in good hands. I promise."
Talia wrapped her arms around Stiles' neck and buried her face against his shoulder while Stiles settled at his desk. He was glad the station was mostly empty; he wasn't sure he could really deal with fending off questions, especially when he didn't know what story they were going with this time. Obviously, some parts of the story couldn't be included, and the fact that it had been Jordan who shot Kate added a complication, but at least it wasn't their first time dealing with this sort of rodeo. Talia mumbled something unintelligible into his shoulder, and Stiles gently rubbed her back.
In the end, it was all rather anticlimactic. Derek did end up going to the hospital, and Kate's minions were charged as accessories. And once the paperwork was done, Stiles figured that was it. He might see Derek and Talia around town, but he figured that would be it. He hadn't really thought he would miss the little girl as much as he did. Despite only really knowing Talia for a short period of time, Stiles had grown quite fond of her and found he wanted to know how she was settling in to Beacon Hills. Stiles knew that Derek and Scott had at least spoken and come to some sort of agreement about the two packs sharing territory in Beacon Hills, but Stiles was still curious about the Hales.
He was rather surprised when he came back from patrol one afternoon to find a plate of brownies and a handmade card on his desk. Stiles blinked and reached for the card. On the front there was a drawing that was clearly supposed to be Stiles and beside him was a big black wolf. He flipped the card open to find childish scrawl that read: Thank you for taking care of me. Love, Talia Caryn Claudia Hale.
Stiles barely had time to process that before the door to his dad's office opened, and Talia came running out.
"Stiles!"
She nearly bowled him over with her hug. He looked up just in time to see Derek shaking his dad's hand and following after his daughter.
"Papa says that I was lucky to find you, and we owe you thanks, so he helped me make double chocolate chip brownies for you. They're my favorite. I wanted to make you come home with us and have dinner because Papa makes the best teriyaki chicken, but he said that kidnapping people who take care of you even to feed them isn't polite."
Stiles blinked, a little startled at just how much the girl had transformed from shy to gregarious now that she was no long missing her dad, and looked at the girl's father. Derek Hale clearly had red creeping up his neck and his ears and looked a little embarrassed. Stiles just smiled.
"Well, thank you, Miss Talia. You didn't need to do anything for me. I was just doing my job, but I appreciate the brownies." He gently ruffled her hair and then turned his attention to Derek. Stiles held out his hand. "Mr. Hale, I don't think we have a chance to be properly introduced before. I'm Stiles Stilinski."
Derek shook his hand with a firm grip. "Deputy Stilinski, I can't thank you enough for taking care of my daughter. It's good to know that if the worst had happened, she would have been in safe hands."
"It was my pleasure. I'm just glad we were able to have this one end with a happy ending. How are you two settling in?"
Derek shrugged. "Pretty well. Talia's been having some nightmares, but she seems to be liking Beacon Hills. It's been a good change for us from New York, even if it is a little strange for me. So much has changed since I left."
"Well, if you ever need someone to show you two around town, I'd be happy to volunteer."
Derek smiled at him. "I may take you up on that. We had better get going though. I've got an appointment to with my new boss."
"I'll see you around them."
The other man nodded then turned to his daughter. "Say goodbye, Talia."
Somehow, Stiles found that he was running into the Hales all over town. Not that he minded at all. In fact, Stiles rather looked forward to it. Talia already had him wrapped around her little finger, and her father wasn't far behind. The more Stiles got to know Derek Hale, the more he liked him. Yes the man could be rather abrupt and stand offish (especially if you were hitting on him), but he also had a dry sense of humor, was just as big a geek as Stiles, and was a very devoted father. So ending up doing things like going out for ice cream with Derek or Talia or coming to one of Derek's kids programs at the library and talking about what it was like to be a sheriff's deputy wasn't a hardship for him.
It came to a head when Stiles and his father ran into Talia and Derek at the diner and started chatting while they waited to be seated. When the waitress came to get them, Talia rolled her eyes at the sheriff.
"Can I eat dinner with you instead? Papa is pining again."
John laughed. "I would enjoy that, Miss Talia."
Stiles blinked as the two of them headed off to the free table. "I think we've just been set up by your daughter and my dad."
Derek laughed. "I can't say I mind. I've been wanting to ask you out for a while now, but finding a babysitter that I trust and Talia likes has been a challenge."
"I wouldn't have minding having her along a date."
Derek shrugged. "I know. But I'd like a chance to get to know you without worrying about little ears."
So the two of them ended up in a booth across the diner from Talia and the sheriff. Stiles had been nervous at first, but he quickly relaxed over curly fries and a friendly argument over comic books. By the time their burgers arrived, it felt more like a fifth date than a first date. They lingered over dessert, and Derek sighed softly.
"I didn't really believe you were real at first. I haven't had anyone to count on or watch my back since Laura died, and suddenly there you were leaping to the rescue and smelling like pack. It was too good to be true. And then you were also good with Talia, and she adores you." Derek shook his head. "You're everything I could have imagined if I tried to dream up the perfect guy, and so much more. I keep expecting this to come apart at the seams. But it hasn't yet."
Stiles grinned. "I think that's the first time that someone's thought I was too good to be true. I'm sure reality will set in soon enough, and you'll realize just how annoying I can be. But I'm happy to let you keep that illusion as long as you like."
That made Derek laugh. "So, you're not going to say no to a proper date then?"
"Definitely not. With the munchkin or without? We could go see the new animated movie."
"How about dinner first, and if that goes well, we'll take Talia to the movies next time around?"
"Sounds like a plan."
A date with a cute werewolf dad wasn't not the expected result from Halloween patrol duty, but he's say that this treat more than made up for the tricks of that night.