Trust

"No. You don't get to make demands." The Alpha would not be intimidated. "You don't get to come in here and disrupt our lives. You are a guest here."

"I'm you fath-"

"No, you are a sperm donor for all I care about. You left. Now you have to earn the right to be my father again. And right now, I don't care what you want. I don't care what you think. This is my house, my family. And Stiles is my brother. All I know is that when I talked to Stiles before he was fine. And suddenly he's gone without talking to me? That's your fault. So what happened?"

Sighing, Rafael realized he may have screwed up big time. He hadn't even been back an hour and already they were at war. How did things get so out of control so fast? So much for starting over. "Look, we barely talked for five minutes. I can't help it if he decides to bolt."

"What the hell did you talk about? Because he was coming here to talk to me and he knew I needed to talk to him. So unless he got very upset or something incredibly important suddenly came up, he wouldn't just leave without telling me first. I've known him a hell of a lot longer than you and even I could see something was wrong. He looked pissed." Ok, maybe in truth it was his wolf senses that told him that Stiles had been angry and afraid. The scent still lingered in the house. The question was why Stiles was afraid. And the only logical answer was because of his father.

"You barely saw him for a moment and from a distance no less!"

"Stop stalling and tell me!" The Alpha barely contained his roar. Anger brimmed beneath the surface.

The FBI Agent glared at his son heatedly, the internal debate weighed his options and concluded if he had any chance of getting what he wanted he would have to give a little first. Releasing another heavy sigh, he acquiesced. "Fine. You want to know what we talked about? Truth is it was the same thing I asked you. I'm actually willing to bet that he knows equal if not more about what the hell is happening in this town as you. And since you weren't here I asked him."

Scott listened to the older man's heart beat and other than a momentary skip it was strong and steady. So either he was telling the truth, possibly a half truth or he was a really good liar. But then again, being an FBI Agent probably meant he was a good liar, they probably had classes on it. Still Scott had to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

After all it was no secret that his father didn't like Stiles for some strange reason and they often butted heads. Why would now be any different? But that didn't explain the fear his best friend felt. Problem was how to ask without having to explain how he knew Stiles had been afraid, which would ultimately lead to being a werewolf. Scott growled in frustration. "And that's all you talked about?"

"Yes!" This time however there was the tiniest increase in the man's heartbeat, barely noticeable, but he caught it. So, half truth. There was something more to their talk that upset his friend.

"Are you sure there was nothing else?" Scott pressed.

"What makes you think there was?" Rafael deflected. "This is Stiles we're talking about. Maybe he was tired. Maybe he was more upset about whatever the hell happened tonight than he led you to believe. Maybe he's had way too much Adderall and too little sleep. Maybe he just decided to leave. It's Stiles. You can never tell what's going through his head half the time."

While there was an element of truth in what his father said, Scott recognized a diversionary tactic when he saw one. Ironically enough it was Stiles who showed him that trick. He was not fooled, nor was he amused at the dig at his brother. "Don't talk about him like that. He may have his quirks but he is way more than you give him credit for. And that still doesn't explain why he left. So do you want to tell me what really happened or not?"

Exasperated by the repetitive question, Rafael groaned. "I already told you." But Scott's disbelieving scowl remained in place. "I swear, we really hadn't talked that long and the only definitive thing I got out of him was that the Dead pool was shut down."

Scott's eyes quickly widened before he schooled his reaction. As far as he knew, his father was aware of assassins in Beacon Hills but not exactly why and for whom. If Stiles had been distressed over the evening's events, it is possible he may have imparted that information on accident. He wondered how much more his father knew now. "Yeah. It's over," was all he offered.

"Mind elaborating more on exactly how that happened? Stiles was a little light on the details."

"Actually no. One, because you don't need to know right now and two, because I don't know the details! That was part of the reason I was meeting Stiles. And now that he's gone, I can't get that information, can I?"

"Then call him and ask." The agent reasoned aloud.

"I'm not calling him. I'll just meet him before school. Which I would like to get ready for since you already ruined any chance of doing what I wanted before I have to leave. Which is what you can do right now. And I know you already know how to let yourself out. Old habits die hard right?" Scott felt a slight pang of guilt at the spiteful remark, but this man deemed it his duty to mess with their already messed up lives. And he was sure he hurt Stiles somehow. And he was tired. And he was achy. And he had two tests today he hadn't studied for. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with his father anymore.

Rafael swallowed hard at that last comment. Then he steeled his emotions and shored up the walls he had lived behind for so long. "I did not come back for you to take pot shots at me. I came back because I'm sorry about leaving and I want to be a part of yours and your mother's lives again."

"But that's the problem. It's not just about mom and me anymore. If you want back into this family you have to accept all of us. And that means you have to make it right with all of us, including people you may not want to deal with. This house may just hold mom and me, but this family is a whole lot bigger." Scott spoke deliberately, knowing the man would get his meaning, "I have a brother, and a father." After the pregnant pause, he continued. "And I have other brothers and sisters and cousins and uncles. We are family." But what he really wanted to say was pack. Although in Scott's mind, they were one in the same word.

Rafael stood dumbfounded. It suddenly struck him exactly how long he had been absent in his son's life. This wasn't the little kid who stumbled over his own feet and cried when he scraped his knee. No this was a mature young man standing on the cusp of adulthood. He had missed the golden years when a young boy needed his father's guidance. His place would never be the one he imagined when he returned to Beacon Hills. No, he would have to find a new role and he didn't have a lot of options.

More importantly, he was the outsider, the intruder. They didn't need to adapt to his presence rather, he would have to adapt to their world. He would have to be the one to walk on eggshells, tread carefully, regain their trust, since he was the one to break it. Clearing his throat and standing up tall, Rafael accepted the challenge. "If that's what it takes, then I'll do it."

At Scott's slack jawed shock, Raf could feel the corners of his mouth turning up. His son obviously wasn't expecting him to say such a thing. But now that it was out in the open, he was glad of it. Because it was the truth. "I told you before Scott, I'm here to rebuild our relationship, make amends for my past. So if that means I have to work a little harder, then I'll do it."

Now it was Scott's turn to grin. "Thanks dad, you don't know how much that means to me."

"It means just as much to me too, son. I knew coming back to Beacon Hills wouldn't be easy. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be so hard either. But I see now, and I accept it. So what is it you want me to do?"

Taken aback by the question, the teen slowly sank down in one of the chairs to think for a moment. So much had happened over the past few weeks, hell the past year. So much his dad didn't know about. And yet, he still wasn't ready to dump all that on the man right now. Deciding on a course of action, he looked up at his father. "I want you to trust me. It's just too much to deal with and I don't know how well I can trust you. There's a lot more going on than you can even imagine. You aren't ready for it yet. And when it's time, you'll probably wish you didn't know. So just give it time, give us both time."

"Well, I'm not happy about it, but I think I understand. I want to be here for you Scott, and your mother. And I want you to trust me. I realize when I walked out that I broke that trust. It's not easy to get back once it's been broken. So if it's time you need, then ok." Rafael stood there watching his son, extending the proverbial olive branch. He just hoped it would be enough. Maybe there was more he could offer. "Is there anything else I can do now?"

Just then the buzzing of Scott's cell interrupted. Pulling it out like it was on fire, the teen read the text and sent a quick reply. It took another few heartbeats before the phone buzzed again. Sighing in relief, he leaned back in the chair. For those few moments, Scott forgot he wasn't alone. So when he looked up at the man hovering nearby, the conversation rushed back to him along with the last offer. Bouncing up, he announced, "Actually, yeah. I want you to apologize to Stiles."

Scoffing, Raf couldn't keep the hint of irritation from his voice. "Apologize? What for?"

"For whatever you said that upset him."

"Come on, now this is ridiculous. I shouldn't have to apologize."

"Why not? I know you two never got along but he's been through a lot recently. He doesn't need your issues piled onto his shoulders right now. And I told you, if you want to make amends, you need to do it with all of us, including Stiles."

"Look Scott, I'm not apologizing for trying to get the truth out of Stiles. It's for his own good."

"How can harassing him be for his own good?"

"This time, you're going to have to trust me. This is between Stiles and myself."

"If it involves Stiles, then it involves me. He's my best friend, my brother and I care about him."

"And you think I don't?"

Scott shrugged his shoulder and cautiously began, "Well, you two haven't had the best track record."

"I can't believe this," the agent muttered. "You know, just because Stiles and I don't get along doesn't mean I don't care." But at his son's still unconvinced expression, he began pulling out the evidence for his own defense. "I didn't have to go pull him from that coyote den when he was sleepwalking." Scott seemed to consider this, but held onto that doubt. Rafael would have to pull out the big guns if he had any hope of convincing his son. "If I didn't care, I wouldn't have saved him from that assassin!"

A look of horror washed over Scott's face and Raf knew immediately he had screwed up again. "What?!"

- TW – TW – TW – TW –

Well, this is exciting! With all the lovely feedback I got last chapter my muse was inspired to give you another this week in addition to PnD! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you everyone!

Quick shout out to C, Guest, Coerdange, Jj and Guest. Much love for you.

Keep those faves, alerts and reviews a-coming! Oh and I forgot to mention last week that I'm getting back in the digital world to connect again with people. I have been out of it for while. So feel free to look me up on FB and Twitter(see profile.) And if anyone is willing to teach an old dog new tricks, I would appreciate a crash course in twitter. As of now, I'm practically clueless. Lol.

If all goes well, I will try and post another chapter next Friday. Now, my daughter and I are off to see Maze Runner. Toddles, y'all.

~Ari ;D