Chapter 9: Catch You Later

Sheriff Stilinski was late getting off his shift and didn't make it home until gone eight that evening. Stiles was waiting for him with a selection of his favourite take-out menus.

"Inside job," his father said as he slumped into a chair at the table. "Without a confession I doubt we'll get a conviction. There're no obvious forensics. But it was one of the staff. No doubt in my mind."

Stiles set down a mug of skinny hot chocolate in front of his father and slipped into a chair opposite.

"You'll break them down. They'll be squealing before you know it."

His father gave him a wry smile, "Something tells me you're not that interested in the theft from 'Stanley's Discount Warehouse'. This about you and Scott? He seemed a little 'off' yesterday. You two had a falling out?"

"Misunderstanding," Stiles corrected. "But we're good. Or we will be. No, I wanted to ask you about mom. You and mom."

"Okay, so not Scott. This is about Derek, right?"

"Yeah," Stiles focused closely on his index finger as he ran it slowly back and forth along the edge of the table. "How did you and mom know? That you, um, wanted to be together?"

The sheriff shook his head sadly. "I can't tell you, son. When you know, you just know. But I thought that you and Derek, well, that it was over before it got started?"

"I don't want it to be. And something Chris Argent said to me…."

"Argent?"

"Yeah, um, Scott was talking with Allison; Chris started talking to me," Stiles lied, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

"What did you talk about? Must have been pretty important."

"He said that sometimes things are worth fighting for. I think he's right."

"Stiles," his father sighed, "I can't tell you what to do. I don't know that there's a right answer anyway. All I can say is to do what you think is right. You've done a lot of hair-brained things over the years Stiles, and I'm sure I don't know the half of it. But I think your instincts are sound and you've never put a foot wrong on anything important. Hell, you're at UCI. That should tell you something."

Stiles smiled wanly at his father.

"And Stiles, you should know that, whatever you decide, I'll support you."

"Thanks, dad," Stiles mumbled.

"So, Chinese?" his father asked, a little too cheerily. "Scott said you were going to have pizza yesterday so I don't expect you want pizza again."

"No, actually, Italian would be great. You can never have too much pizza!" Stiles said smiling, knowing his father would prefer pizza and suddenly feeling very hungry himself.

"Spoken like a true Stilinski! You phone and I'll get the plates."


Later that evening, when Stiles was online trying his best not to Google anything wolf-related, he heard a noise, or thought he did, beyond his bedroom window. The initial flash of euphoria that he got at the thought that Derek was there was immediately doused when in the next instant he realised that he hadn't felt that prickling feeling that he always had when Derek was near.

So not Derek.

Scott then.

"It's open, Scott," he said quietly, knowing he would be heard.

Scott eased the window up and clambered over the sill, closing the window behind him.

"Hi. Guess I owe you an apology," Stiles told his friend remorsefully.

"No, you're alright. Allison told me. Nobody knew. I get that. You didn't want to deal." Scott hitched a shoulder dismissively.

"Nothing to deal. Turns out I'm Derek's wolf-mate but I'm not a wolf and I'm too young. So nothing was ever going to happen."

"But Allison says you both wanted, um, to be together?" Scott looked uncomfortable, pulling a face like someone had left off the sugar in his lemonade.

"I think so. Me? Yeah. More than anything. Still do. Him? I guess his actions speak louder than his words."

"Sorry, man."

"Thanks. I have to move on. Not that I haven't tried. Can we talk about something else? Sorry."

"No, of course. Subject closed. But if I see Derek I may just have to kick his alpha-arse on your behalf," Scott informed him in solidarity.

"No, it's okay. I don't want to have to feel guiltier about you than I already do. Besides he's not an alpha anymore."

"Dude! I can totally take him –wait! Derek's a beta now?"

"No. An omega. The penance for falling for a human kid," Stiles said unhappily.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. A pack in Europe let him in as an omega as a favour they owed his family."

Scott whistled.

"So, how's college been?" Stiles asked, signalling the end of that topic.

"Let's not go there either," Scott pulled a face. "So, how does it feel to be 21 tomorrow?"


The morning of his 21st birthday dawned brightly enough outside, but inside Stiles had the feeling that a cloud had descended to hover over him threateningly.

He had enjoyed catching up with Scott the previous evening, and putting their friendship back to where it had been before he had mouthed off in Deaton's clinic. But with the knowledge that his relationship with Scott was back on track, came the realisation that so was his non-relationship, or whatever it was, with Derek. He'd vented, but nothing had changed.

Stiles wanted to stay in bed, try to go back to sleep, and just not have to deal with the day. But he knew he couldn't. So he made a point of getting up early enough to spend some time with his father over breakfast.

He opened cards and allowed his father to fix his coffee in a change to the normal routine. He smiled and chatted and even laughed. But his heart wasn't in it and he thought his father noticed, although he didn't comment on it.

His phone was ringing with texts and calls from friends in Irvine and Beacon Hills and from his small dispersed family. He managed to sound cheerful and positive, thinking to himself that if ever a performance deserved an Oscar it was his this morning.

He wasn't looking forward to his party tonight. It was a surprise party that Lydia was organising for him. Officially, he didn't know about the party and he was telling everyone that his dad was treating him to a meal at The Old Barn, the up-market restaurant just out of town.

Unofficially, he had known about the party since Scott had first mentioned it by mistake, and then sworn him to secrecy, three months before. He suspected that Scott had actually forgotten he'd let the cat out of the bag because yesterday he'd asked him if he could bring him back a menu from The Old Barn because he was thinking of taking Allison there after her exams.

But before the party, Stiles had something important to do. The moment the sheriff left for the station, Stiles left the house. He had a strange feeling, which considering what he was about to do was hardly surprising. But he thought about Scott for some reason, like the feeling he'd had when Scott had been on his roof. He smiled, thinking he must just be reminiscing about the good time he'd shared with his best friend the evening before.

He shook his head to clear it, climbed into his Jeep and headed out.


Once inside the ruined Hale building, noting sadly how much more dilapidated the interior had become over the years, Stiles sat at the bottom of the staircase and shouted Derek's name.

He waited a few minutes and shouted again.

He was about to shout for a third time when he felt Derek's presence. He was surprised to find that he knew exactly where Derek had shown up outside the house; he could pinpoint precisely where on the periphery of the clearing the werewolf was standing.

"Derek," he said at normal volume, trying to keep his voice from wavering, "I know you're outside. I need to tell you something. Come in."

Then suddenly he became aware that Derek was now standing at the end of the passageway behind where he was sitting. He wouldn't be able to see him unless he turned around. He remained facing forwards.

"Derek, I've made a decision," Stiles said calmly, as if discussing the weather, "You won't like it, but I can't help that. I can't be responsible for your thoughts and actions, only my own.

"I have decided not to accept your kind offer of this house in exchange for assuaging your guilt at dumping me. If that's even the correct term for not starting anything with me in the first place."

Somehow Stiles knew that Derek was about to speak and anticipated him, "No, you'll listen to me. I was a kid then. I'm not now. Now I get to tell you how it will be.

"I have spent three unhappy years trying to pretend you don't exist. It didn't work and I can only assume that's because of some weird werewolf pairing hocus-pocus because it certainly wasn't for lack of effort on my part.

"Now, I could go back to Irvine in four weeks, take up my work placement and complete my studies, but I find I don't have the stomach for another minute of pretending that I'm not hopelessly in love with you.

"I know how bizarre that sounds; that I'm in love with someone who I don't really know, who I haven't seen in more than three years, who has done nothing but hurt me and who wants nothing to do with me. Oh, and who is a supernatural creature straight out of a comic book, or Grimm's fairy tales, or whatever.

"Logic says I should walk away. Except … I've tried that and I find that I can't.

"I know what I said before. But since then, well, something someone said to me made me think. And now I find I've had a change of heart. So…"

Stiles scrubbed his hands over his face before continuing, "This whole business started with you stalking me. So I've decided to return the favour.

"You may go back to Europe and try to hide from me. But I will track you down and become your second shadow like you were mine. I will haunt your peripheral vision, although admittedly not as surreptitiously as you managed, and I will dog your every step. No pun intended.

"I will spend the rest of my days tracking you down and following you. You know how good my research and internet skills are so don't doubt that I am capable of trailing you across continents.

"I hacked the Santa Barbara FBI office once, when I was still in high school, before I even knew about werewolves. The Feds never suspected that the file I placed in their records was a phoney until some intern queried the suspect's name. Maybe I should have gone with something less obvious, but I've always liked Wile E Coyote.

"Or perhaps it was the pet huskies, Lassie, Gus and Spencer, that I created for him that gave the game away. Seems even back then I had a weakness for members of the Canini tribe. There's a psych session in there somewhere, I don't doubt.

"Anyway, tracing a werewolf? Not a problem, believe me. I will become the monster to your Baron Frankenstein. I will be as tenacious as a Hobbit following a ring. A regular Sir Galahad on his quest for the Grail.

"You will always have the power to stop me. You just have to admit that you love me and agree to have me as your bond-mate. Because that is what I want and nothing else matters to me.

"So, now I'm giving you a head start. Lydia's organising a surprise party for me tonight. Yeah, yeah, not very surprisey if I know about it, but blame Scott for that. I'll act surprised so I don't spoil it for anyone.

"Tomorrow, I'll take it easy at first, then sort some stuff out – you know, let friends at UCI know that I won't be back. Sunday, I've promised to spend the day with dad.

"Then Monday morning, I'll come find you."

Stiles stood up, fighting the urge to turn and look at Derek. He took a deep breath and began to walk back out to his Jeep, calling over his shoulder, "Catch you later."