A/N: My goal with this story is long chapters, way longer than most of my work. Definite triggers ahead.

"You sure you can go to school today, bud?" Stiles knelt down in front of Isaac. "I'm not blaming you for me coming to school. It's not your fault and I'm not expecting you to talk just because you think I won't love you any less. You are my son and I will love you no matter what. Okay?" Isaac nodded. "Alright." A knock came at the door, and Stiles opened it to reveal Scott and Skye.

"Sorry for the random drop-in but Skye wants to walk with Isaac. I think she has a little—" Scott feigned a blow to the stomach as Skye elbowed him.

Stiles looked down at Isaac, who smiled shyly and walked onto the sidewalk with the girl. Their fathers looked on fondly. "I'm so grateful Skye is there for him. Isaac's never really been good at making friends."

"Neither has she," Scott murmured. "Her abrasive tendencies stem from her mother. She left a few months ago, thank God." Scott tilted his head a little. "Heather could be a little... extreme. She never used to be. When Skye turned three, she was nothing but. The amount of pressure and abuse Heather put on Skye is why I think I have to show Social Services that I can care for her on my own."

Stiles listened intently and hated that he had to be that agent to check up on the McCalls. "Scott, I should tell you..." He sighed. "You're doing a bang-up job of raising her." Scott looked over at him with a warm smile. "I just want you to know that this was completely coincidental and I just found out yesterday that... I'm the Social Services agent you're waiting for."

"No shit?" Scott watched as Skye took Isaac's hand, talking his ear off as they walked towards the school. "To be honest, dude, I thought you were going to follow in your dad's footsteps and become a deputy or something."

Stiles shut the door behind him and crossed his arms. "I was but I was talked out of it. Remember Lydia Martin?" Scott nodded. "She's now Lydia Parrish and my boss at the office. Saw me working with some of the neglected kids and offered me the job." Matt had claimed that they wouldn't have enough quality time as a couple if he became a deputy. Little did Stiles know that the real reason Matt talked him out of becoming a deputy was the shady people he affiliated with.

"Stilinski!" Stiles looked up to see his higher-up (higher than Lydia) Laura Hale in the passenger seat of a black Camaro. "I need you to—" She stopped and from the other side appeared Jackson Whittemore.

"McCall." He nodded. "Stilinski, in the car!"

Giving Scott an apologetic smile, Stiles started to leave. "See you later, Scott." Walking to Jackson's side, he nudged the taller male in the shoulder. "Asshole." He waved to Scott and got into the back before Jackson moved the seat and got in. "You apparently still lack the thing called tact, Jackass."

"Don't you have some code of conduct like not flirting with the client?" Practically able to hear the smirk in Jackson's voice, Stiles resisted the urge to kick his seat like a petulant child.

"I was not flirting!" Stiles crossed his arms and Laura looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I wasn't! If this were professional, why would he be at where I live?" Laura seemed to accept this and reached for Jackson's hand. "You guys are gross. I don't know what you see in him."

Now at the stoplight before the office parking lot, Jackson took the chance to hit Stiles with the back of his chair. "I'm hot, Spazlinski, and I don't attract psychos." Laura smacked his shoulder hard. "Ow! Man..." Jackson pulled into his designated space and got out, rubbing his upper arm.

"Totally uncalled for, Jackson," Laura reprimanded as she—as always so gracefully—stepped out of the car. "You two are just like these kids. Apologize to Stiles."

"But—!" Laura gave him one of her famous looks. "Sorry, Stilinski."

Stiles got out on Jackson's side and clapped his aching shoulder. "It's okay. But that's your one time because you kicked his ass once. Next time, I'll hit you myself."

"You want me," Jackson muttered, shoving past Stiles on the way to the elevator.

"No. I tolerate your dumb ass, Jackson. Why I still put up with you, I'll never understand. I think you took one too many lacrosse balls to the head." Stiles pulled out his buzzing phone to see a restricted number. "Hold that thought." He walked off to one of the empty conference rooms and shut the door. "Hello?"

"Stiles." The black-haired man froze. "Don't hang up." His thumb hovered over the end call button. "You hang up on me and he," the color drained from Stiles' face when he heard Liam's cooing, "will never see his papa again."

Stiles tried to steady his breathing as he sunk to the floor. "What do you want? You're not going to hurt him. He's yours."

Matt chuckled. "You should really do a better job at background checks on your babysitters, Stiles." Stiles and Lydia had just hired—on outstanding references—a couple, Tracy and Josh, to watch Liam. "Tracy and Josh are my associates. If you had dropped them off this morning instead of Lydia's idiot husband, you'd be here too."

He knew better than to threaten Matt with the police. The one time he did resulted in one of the worst nights of Stiles' life and he didn't want to even begin to recall it. "What do you want?" He repeated calmly.

"I want a family reunion, Mieczyslaw. Me, you, Liam and Isaac." Matt's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "Josh is already on his way to pick up Isaac from school."

"He won't be able to. The only people with permission to take my son from school are myself, Lydia and Jordan. You will never lay a hand on Isaac again." Stiles got up and began heading down, using the stairs to avoid his colleagues.

Matt tsked. "Stiles. Stiles. Stiles. Don't you remember? I'm always one step ahead of you. Those days I took the boys out while you had to work? I swore them to secrecy but they met Tracy, Josh, Garrett and Violet. All four have been very good to them. The school won't know a thing." Stiles knew that Skye would keep Isaac safe. That girl would never let Isaac out of her sight. He looked around the parking lot.

"If you hurt my boys, I swear I..."

"You're not exactly in the position to be making threats, Stiles. I want to see you again. I have Garrett and Violet waiting for you in a van. Just cooperate and no one gets hurt." A van pulled up beside Stiles and the door opened to reveal a blond man and an African-American woman, both wearing small smirks. "Get in, Stiles."

Stiles sighed and willingly got in, only to be knocked unconscious as the door slammed.

The next thing Stiles knew, he was wet. He blinked and looked around at the warehouse. To his surprise, he wasn't bound to anything, just lying on an old mattress. Standing before him was Matt, Garrett and Violet; the female was holding a bucket.

"Stiles." Matt was grinning. "Always a pleasure to see you."

"Wish I could say the same." The grin vanished. "Where's my son, Matt?"

Matt stepped forward and grabbed Stiles by the front of the shirt, picking him up. "He's not yours, Stiles. He's mine and Lydia's. You had nothing to do with the creation process."

Stiles took the handling in stride but never once flinched, as he used to whenever Matt touched him. "But I love him like a son more than you ever will." He was slapped across the face. "If this is how you treat me, imagine how you treat the kids."

"You never know when to shut the fuck up, Stiles." Garrett had to pull Matt away before he struck Stiles again. "I left you alone for nine months. I counted the days before I could get my hands on you again. I wanted you to think you were safe."

"You did promise." Stiles cocked his head. "I spend every day wondering when you'd have the balls to come back."

The door opened and Tracy and Josh walked in. "Well?" Matt snarled. "Where's Isaac?" The two looked at each other and back at Matt. "For fuck's sake, he's eight years old! How could you not just grab him?"

"There was a girl with him. A very loud, annoying girl." Stiles thanked the heavens for Skye. "We tried the candy approach but then she started screaming about strangers. Had the teachers running over in a flash. The security guard may have taken down our license plate."

A bang filled the room and another man walked in, holding a gun and shooting both Tracy and Josh in the head. Both hit the floor in seconds. Stiles scrambled up against the wall, finally coming to the realization that if Matt was with these people, that's why the son of a bitch convinced him not to pursue police work.

"So you're..." The man twirled the gun in his hand. "Stiles Stilinski." Stiles nodded. "You don't remember me, do you?" Stiles shook his head. "I guess I look a little different since the fourth grade."

Stiles blinked and examined the man for a moment. "Theo?"

"Skye, what did the people look like?" Sheriff Stilinski bent in front of the two children in the school administration office. The security officer had alerted the police station as Tracy and Josh fled. "I just need a few identifying characteristics, like tattoos, piercings, anything to pull them out of a lineup."

Skye chewed on her lower lip. "The man had an earring, left ear only. And he had a buzzcut." She glanced at Isaac. "The lady was blonde, really pretty. Her hair was past her shoulders. And her bellybutton was pierced. They both seemed friendly with Isaac, like they knew him." Isaac was busy writing something down, which he handed to his grandfather.

Noah scanned it. "Their names are Tracy and Josh. Dad and Aunt Lydia hired them to be Liam's babysitters. Uncle Jordan dropped Liam off with them this morning. If they're trying to get me away, I think he's back." 'He's' was underlined several times, and Noah knew.

"You've been a big help, buddy." He ruffled Isaac's hair, which earned him a smile. "You two get to class and stay inside, okay?" The children nodded and ran back to the main building. "Shit."

The familiar fast-paced clacking of heels had Noah prepared for the impending explosion. "Where is my son?" Lydia demanded, storming through the office door, with Jordan on her heels. Noah calmly handed her Isaac's paper, which she quickly read. The expression on her face was indecipherable but the men quickly backed away. "He's fucking dead."

"Papa!" Stiles suddenly had an armful of excitable four-year-old. He held Liam close. "Daddy got me this!" The boy proudly held up a stuffed wolf. "I wanna be a wolf! Rawr!" Liam seemed unharmed and Stiles couldn't bear to part with him.

Matt sat down beside Stiles and played with Liam. Stiles glanced over at him and felt a twinge of something but then he remembered that he was being held captive and any sense of feeling towards the other disappeared.

"It didn't have to come to this, Stiles," Matt said softly. He was silent for a minute. "You haven't moved on, have you?"

"I can't," Stiles whispered. "Every time I think something will work out, I remember what you did to me, to them, and I can't let someone get hurt because I'm afraid of what you might do." Matt opened his mouth but Stiles cut him off. "We are not getting back together. Ever."

Matt chewed on his lower lip. "But— But I love you, Stiles. I'll never hurt you—"

"Don't. That stopped working a long time ago. Do you even comprehend the long-term consequences of your abuse?" Stiles pulled a now exhausted Liam to his chest and stroked his hair. "Isaac hasn't said a word in nine months. Nine months!"

"Zac?" Liam looked up at Stiles, blue eyes wide and on the verge of tears.

Stiles took a shuddering breath and cupped Liam's cheeks. "We'll see Zac soon, buddy. I promise." Liam hiccuped but rested his head against Stiles once more. "See what you're doing to him? He wants his big brother, and you're preventing that from happening."

"I can change, Stiles. Really."

"Like I haven't heard that one before either," Stiles muttered. "You've used just about every cliched 'I'm sorry' line in existence, and you never follow up on it. Maybe one day, two tops, of nice, seemingly stable Matt, and then poof! He's gone, and I'm back to getting punched in the face, or Isaac has a new bruise, or you left Liam by himself. Face it, Matt. You don't deserve to be a parent or a partner."

Matt hung his head. Three years ago, Stiles would have apologized profusely had he gone off as he just did. "And what the hell is Theo Raeken doing here? These people—this is why I couldn't be a deputy with my dad? Because you were scared I'd break up this little underground crime world you've involved in? Man, if you thought Lydia let you off easy nine months ago, you're practically dead now."

The door opened once more and Violet took the sleeping Liam from Stiles, much to his protests. Matt put a hand on Stiles' chest to keep him from fighting. "She's very well trained, Stiles. I wouldn't recommend it." The door closed, leaving them alone.

"So what are you waiting for?" Stiles shoved Matt away and pulled his knees to his chest. "You going to unleash all that pent-up rage you have and beat me senseless? Perhaps rape me? Wouldn't be the first time."

Matt stood up and looked down at his ex, his blue eyes darkening. He shook his head. "I tried to be nice." Stiles snorted. "Catch-up time is over." He unbuckled his belt and used it to hit Stiles across the face, knocking him onto his back. "You missed me, Sti. I missed you too."

"And we're back to Fifty Shades of Matt Daehler..." He said through a bleeding nose, and was then knocked out.