A/N- For those who have read this since the beginning: I changed the 1st chapter to be more cannon compliant.

Also, please forgive any mistakes. I wrote part of this chapter while sick.


Derek's words didn't register to Stiles at first. Then he blushed and tried to pull Derek up off the ground.

"Oh my gosh, Derek, get off the parking lot."

Derek stood up and stared at Stiles in slight confusion. "Does that mean no?"

"No, Derek." Stiles dramatically rolled his eyes. "It means proposing in the middle of a parking lot wasn't the best idea."

Derek's confusion grew.

"Yes. Derek, yes I'll marry you. No need to get worried. And it took you long enough to ask."

Derek smiled sheepishly. He opened the small box and took out the ring inside. It was a white gold band inlaid with a strip of black diamonds around the middle. When Derek held it out, Stiles could see a triskelion engraved on the underside of the ring. Stiles took it and slipped it onto his finger.

"Ugh." Stiles pulled Derek into a hug after giving him a big sloppy kiss on the lips. "Why are you so perfect all the time?"

The other man laughed and said, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

They finally made it to Derek's car.

"I guess I have to tell my dad this, along with all the other stuff that happen last night."

"Maybe I already asked your dad about proposing to you. And I just realized I don't know your father's first name either." Derek stopped at the red light and look over to Stiles. He was looking at the ring on his finger.

"Just be glad he allowed you to move past the 'Sheriff' stage." Stiles looked up at Derek. "What about all the other stuff?"

"Supposedly Melissa told your dad about Isaac's situation and about the Hunter this morning."

"Oh, I didn't know they met for breakfast this morning."

"They didn't. She spent the night with your father."

Stiles shifted in the passenger seat to face directly towards Derek. "What? When did that happen. Why did anyone feel like he or she shouldn't inform me that Scott's mom and my dad are now apparently together? And how do you know this?"

"It's been going on for a few weeks now, but this is the first time Melissa stayed the night. And I'm not the only one that knows about them, Stiles. Scott and Allison knew before me." Derek smiled at Stiles's flustered state. "No one wanted to bother you while you were trying to finish school."

Stiles turned back around in his seat. He told everyone to give him a little space the last half of the final semester of college. Stiles couldn't complain about no one telling about him Melissa and his dad, they did what he asked him to.

"Do you mind taking me back to the loft before you get groceries. I need to have a little talk with my father."

"Sure. Whatever you want, Stiles."

Derek dropped Stiles off at the front of the building that contained the loft. He promised to pick up a bottle of nice wine and reeses cups to celebrate the engagement (along with some Derek-and-Stiles personal time). Stiles knew he deserved it after Derek had skipped out on his birthday the day before.

Stiles could hear muffled banging coming from somewhere inside the loft when he first opened the door. Next, he saw all the electronics that had been in the game room on the table in the kitchen. Finally, Stiles saw Isaac laying across one of the many couches in the area dedicated to pack meetings and watching TV. Isaac was lying on his back without a shirt: his eyes were closed, his head was propped up on the arm of the couch, and his feet dangled off the other end. Ava, wearing only a tiny white diaper, was on top of Isaac's chest sound asleep.

Isaac opened one of his eyes when Stiles plopped down on another couch.

Stiles whispered, "What's with all the semi-nudity?"

"Allison said skin-to-skin contact was good for babies and young werewolves," Isaac replied in Stiles's same whispered tone.

"You mean werebabies?"

Isaac rolled his eyes at Stiles. "Yes, it's good for werebabies too. It helps human babies to calm down easier and cry less. For werewolves, it helps to establish familial bonds and promote scenting when older."

Stiles nodded. "Nice to know."

He'd heard most of that before, but the part about werebabies was new. Stiles was sure there was some strange science behind, but science wasn't Stiles's favorite subject in school. It was Lydia's. Along with just about everything else.

Stiles mimicked Isaac's posture (save being shirtless and having a baby), and closed his own eyes. A loud bang and indistinct voices filtered over to Isaac and Stiles.

Stiles saw Isaac wince at another bang; however, Ava still remained asleep.

"Allison and Lydia are decorating the nursery as a 'baby shower' present. You will not believe how much baby stuff they bought for me. Lydia decided to buy enough clothes for Ava to last until she's in high school."

Stiles laughed quietly. "I can believe that. It sounds exactly what Lydia, and Allison, would do."

"They won't let me see the room until they're finished. They also said I wasn't supposed to leave this couch until they were done either. I don't mind that part. It's nice to have a little quiet time with Ava."

"Yeah, I bet it is."

Just when the loft quieted down again, Ava thought it would be the best time to wake up and demand a bottle. Isaac sat up planning to make a bottle, but Stiles stopped him.

"I got it."

Isaac smiled at Stiles. "Thanks."

He leaned back against the cushions, brought his legs up and sat criss-crossed on the couch. Isaac still held Ava against his bare chest. The skin-to-skin contact did seem to help in quieting her crys. Soon her crying turned half hearted and (to no surprise) stopped when Stiles brought Isaac a perfectly warmed bottle.

Stiles saw Isaac eye the ring on his finger.

"I see Derek proposed. And I guessed you said yes." He smirked.

"No, I told Derek I would never marry him, but I kept the ring to mock him." Stiles flopped back in his seat from before. "How did you know about Derek's proposal?"

Isaac looked up from Ava. "I helped him pick out the ring."

"Oh, yes. Of course you did."

"Hey, Derek asked for my help and who am I to deny the big bad Alpha?"

Stiles fiddled with the ring on his finger. "Whatever. You guys picked well. It clearly says 'Belongs to Derek Hale. Do not touch.'"

The other man smiled brightly. Just on the verge of laughing.

Isaac looked like that a lot now. The lit up face shining when someone complimented him, or like now with Stiles, on the edge of laughing at a joke made about Derek. That type of smile had rarely surfaced during high school. The pack was just glad to see it often now.

Finished with her bottle, Isaac leaned Ava against his shoulder. He placed a hand on her back and supporting her head. Isaac murmured unrecognizable words to his daughter. Stiles could tell how happy Isaac was doing something so domestic. Stiles was glad Isaac had found his little slice of happiness.

Stiles was quiet for a moment longer before asking Isaac about appointed earlier that morning.

"Well the nurse certainly thought Ava was the more adorable thing to grace the planet. They said everything was. Beautiful blue eyes. I hope they stay like that."

"Sounds like pretty soon you'll have a little heartbreaker on your hands."

Isaac's eyes flashed with slight panic. "Oh God, what did I get myself into."

Stiles laughed softly. "Relax. Any boy Ava wants to bring home will have to go through me and then Derek before she even brings him to you."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be doing the same for Boyd and Es-"

"No Stiles," he interjected. "Thank you for saving her life. I don't...I would have killed me if she died."

He believed him. Losing Ava would have killed everyone.

Stiles nodded in agreement. "I would have killed me too."

The two men moved into an easier topic. They walked about Ava's sleeping schedules and feeding habits and her crying. Basicly, she was the total opposite of Allison and Scott's son. He was a nightmare when first born. So compared to Harrison, Ava was the perfect baby that only existed in fiction. Isaac and Stiles fell into a comfortable silence until the sounds of Allison and Lydia's shoes came bounding into the open area of the loft.

Allison held her son on her hip and both women were smiling broadly.

Lydia spoke first. "Boyd just called. It's time."

"Then why are we still here?" Stiles shot off the couch.

Isaac didn't stand up. "I think I'll stay here. I've had enough excitement for the last twelve hours to last me the rest of the day."

"I can hang back too." said Allison. She sat down in Stiles's previous spot. "It's time for Harrison's nap. I'll also make sure Isaac doesn't try to look at the nursery."

Stiles turned towards Lydia. "Let's take my car."

Stiles drummed his fingers on his jeep's steering wheel, the ring making a dull clinking sound. Lydia glanced and his hand then his profile. She didn't comment, but a faint smirk spread across her lips. Stiles would glance back at her every few minutes. The relatively short car ride seeming to stretch on forever. At times like this, Stiles really was glad that he was only good friends with Lydia.

"When do you go back to school?"

The drumming stopped. "I have to leave tomorrow. If I didn't have less than a semester of school left I would think about staying here for a few days, but I can't. I'm so close to the end."

Lydia nodded, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Stiles pulled up to the hospital and parked. He spotted Derek's camaro a few spaces over.

"Hey, still going for that Fields Medal?"

"Not at the moment. I actually just got offered a job to work at a genetics lab not too far from here. They read my thesis paper and were impressed by my theory."

Lydia and Stiles were met by Ethan in the hallway. They followed him back to the waiting room. Stiles noticed a distinct lack of pack in the waiting area, though now it was filled by other random people.

"Where is everyone?" asked Stiles. He plopped down next to Danny.

Danny tilted his head up in concentration. "Boyd was close to having a slight meltdown, so Derek told Scott to take him outside to calm down. Derek's in the room with Esther- so is Melissa."

"Why is Derek in the delivery room?" Stiles looked to Danny then Ethan.

"He got put on hand holding duty until Boyd was able to control himself." Ethan smiled. Suddenly he turned his head to the side and listened to something down the ward's hallway. "I should be any minute now."

Stiles stood and started to pace. "I'm really surprised Derek wasn't the one to freak out."

The group chuckled. Just then a dark shape ran past the waiting room. Everyone one knew it was Boyd. A minute later Scott joined them. Lydia filled the men in on what had happened in the previous hours at the loft.

When Derek walked in, Stiles almost didn't recognize him due the the dorkiest smile every.

"Her name's Charlotte. Charlotte Erica."

Stiles rolled into bed and dragged Derek down with him. He was not excited about driving back to school in less than eight hours.

Derek wrapped his strong arms around Stiles's waist and torso, nuzzling his face into Stiles's grown out hair.

Stiles voiced softly, "I hope Esther didn't hurt your hand too badly."

"She didn't." huffed out Derek against his neck.

When Derek remained quiet and his breathing slowed, Stiles thought he fell asleep. But just as Stiles was drifting off, Derek spoke again.

"I'm scared."

"About what?"

"In the last twenty-four hours my pack has increased not by one, but by two. And Harrison is still young. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect them."

Stiles rolled over onto his other side. Even though it was too dark to see Derek, Stiles knew he could see him.

"If you don't stop talking like that, I'm going to slap you. And we won't have sex for a month. How many times have I told you that you never have to do anything alone. I'll always be with you, so will Scott and Isaac and Boyd. You might be the Alpha, but we protect pack as a pack. Now go to sleep. I want to wake up early and see Esther and Boyd before I have to leave in the morning."

Derek and Stiles fell asleep in a tangle of limbs and sheets.