A/N: Sorry for the crappy chapter title. I was listening to the Sing soundtrack and it kinda just sounded right for the chapter.

Chapter 9:

Everybody's Got To Face The Music

"Stiles?"

He looked up from where he was fitting fresh sheets to his bed to see Scott stood in the doorway with a face that looked like Stiles had slapped him with a wet fish. "Hey bro." he said innocently. Of course he knew exactly what was putting that look on his best friends face and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear because of it.

Scott didn't step any further into the room. Hovering in the doorway like there was an invisible barrier of mountain ash keeping him at bay. "I thought you weren't goin to see Derek again?" he asked. His voice almost angry and unimpressed.

Stiles shrugged. "He came by, we talked…"

Scott scoffed. "Yeah, I can't…tell." he said wrinkling his nose.

"Everything's good. Really good." Stiles grinned smugly.

Scott groaned. "Too much information dude. - What about the woman and baby?"

Stiles looked over at his friend. "He says it's not going to change anything."

"Of course it's going to change things." Scott quickly argued.

"Not between us. He still wants me."

Scott pressed his shoulder again the door jam; an unconvinced look on his face. "And you're okay with it? Him having a kid with some woman."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Stiles argued; his eyes hard. "We'd probably have kids eventually anyway."

"Yeah, in a few years time. Together. - This isn't that though, is it? This is him having a kid with his ex-girlfriend. That's gonna be weird Stiles. - And you said yourself she looked like she wanted him back."

"Well she can't having him can she. I'm his mate!" Stiles stated sharply. "He was mine first."

Scott sighed sadly. "I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here man. I don't want you to get hurt. - Again."

"I know, but it'll be fine. She can't make Derek want her. Sure she's going to have his kid, but that doesn't mean anything. It's not going to change things between us."

"Except she's going to be in your lives forever. - Stiles you know you…don't have to accept this. You can refuse the match. No-one will blame you. Not now."

Stiles gaped at him for a long moment, before dropping down on the end of the bed and staring down at his feet. "What if…I can't?"

"What?" Scott frowned.

"What if it's already too late?"

"Too late?"

Stiles sighed; rubbing at his temples. Sometimes he wished his friends wasn't such a dumb-ass. "What if I've already fallen for him?"

Scott exhaled and slumped against the frame. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Stiles murmured sadly. "I…why don't I get to be happy for a change?"

Scott inhaled slowly and took a step over the threshold; falling into the desk chair and swivelling to watch his friend. "You know I'll be with you all the way man. I just don't want you getting hurt. - But if you're sure you can deal with this, then I'm here for you. - But don't look for me to help baby-sit." he forced a smile.

Stiles looked up at him with watery eyes. "You're so baby-sitting." he cleared his throat. "It's in the bro-code."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Can we please get out of here; I can't hold my breath forever."

A bust of laughter escaped Stiles as he climbed back to his feet and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Sure, buddy. Just…when you and Allison start getting all jiggy, don't expect me to listen to you wax-poetic about her. Friendships a two way street my friend."

"Hey, I'm listening to you talk about Derek. Even though I can't stand the guy."

"You spent like five seconds standing awkwardly in a room with him."

"He screwed with you man."

"Oh, he soooo did." Stiles chuckled; winking at Scott as they rushed along the corridor.

"Awe man. Seriously stop talking about…that." he slapped Stiles lightly on the back.

"Jealous much."

"Not even slightly."

"Don't worry Scottie-kins, someday you're princess will come."

"Yeah." Scott sighed.

"Or maybe it'll be a prince?" Stiles smirked as they climbed into his jeep with no real destination in mind.

"I'm not gay." Scott argued.

"Neither was Derek until he met me."

Scott rolled his eyes. "We'll I'm not."

Stiles started the engine with a laugh. "Oh really?" he looked at him sideways. "Don't think I didn't notice you checking out Danny in the locker room my friend. And the sniffing during practice."

Scott glared at him furiously. "That was sophomore year and we agreed never to mention it again."

Stiles smirked. "Actually you told me never to tell another living soul, you didn't mention me not throwing it back at ya. - Besides bro, it's all okay man. Everyone has their little same-sex crushes. I'm sure it was just a one off."

The jeep rattled as a growl echoed off the metal and glass. "Just drive Stiles."

"Where we going?" Stiles asked; even as he pulled out of the drive.

"Diner. Food will shut you up."

"Really?" Stiles looked at him with a raised brow. "You know that's totally not true, bro. I've skilfully accomplished the ability to talk with my mouth full. - Just ask Derek. - Ow!"

~~~Samhain: Scent of Moonlight~~~

"So. You really have…a…" Jennifer staggered back to her seat. "I didn't know you were…gay?" she said it like it was acid on her tongue. Her face a mix of horrified white and furious red.

"I'm not." Derek defended. "I guess you could say I'm bisexual." though he really did preferred Laura's description of Stilesexual. Cause he couldn't imagine being with another guy. Ever.

Jennifer stared at him. "I…don't understand what's going on here. You said you were being forced to marry…"

"I never said I was being forced. I said it was an arranged marriage. That was the only way I could explain it."

Jennifer shook her head disbelievingly. "I don't understand? Derek this is insane. You can't be gay." she said loudly. Pleading with him. "If you're just going along with this to make your mom happy for…whatever reason, just tell her the truth. You can't fake this forever Derek!"

He inhaled slowly. Watching her practically beg him to call things off and go back to her.

"What about sex Derek? Are you really going to have sex with a man?" her nose wrinkling in disgust.

Derek straightened his spine. "I already have." he lied. Partly. They'd been intimate enough for him to know that it wasn't going to be a problem in the future. In fact it had easily been the best sex of his life. He'd never had an orgasm like that before.

Jennifer looked like she was going to be sick. Her head shaking vigorously. As if refusing to believe him.

"Look Jennifer, I'm sorry. I should never have started a relationship with you…"

"Then why did you!" she yelled. "If you knew you were going to….why?"

Derek dropped his gaze guilty. "I…" what could he say. He couldn't tell her about what Laura had done. At least not yet. He'd made that promise to Cora and he wasn't willing to break it. "I was in denial." he finally confessed. "I was trying to pretend it wasn't going to happen. That if I found someone my family would be satisfied with that." and strangely it wasn't a lie.

"You have!" she leapt to her feet; rushing at him. "You have me. And we're having a baby. They can't expect you to…"

Derek held her at arms length. "Jennifer, please listen to me. I'm not doing this to make my mom happy; I'm doing this to make me happy. Stiles is a great guy…"

"Kid. Derek. He's a child."

Derek glared at her. "He's not a child."

Jennifer scoffed. "He's not long been one." she snipped harshly.

"He's eighteen." he lied.

"Derek, come to your senses." Jennifer pleaded. "Do you love him?" she asked; her voice so quite. Like if she said it any louder all her dreams would be shattered.

Derek's heart skipped at the question. He'd only known him a few weeks, yet something in him said the answer was yes. "I…" he nodded.

Jennifer ripped herself out of his grasp. Her pleading, broken demeanour transforming into cold detachment. "Well. What about the baby?"

"I want to be involved. You know I've always wanted a family."

Jennifer locked icy eyes on him. "Yes. And your boyfriend isn't going to be able to give you one." she spat. Saying boyfriend like it was an expletive only used by the foulest people.

Derek clenched his jaw. "It's the twenty-first century, Jennifer. If we want kids there are ways."

"And he wants kids?"

"Yes."

"Well I'm not sure I want this kid around my child."

Derek narrowed his eyes at her. "Jennifer."

"You can't seriously expect me to trust some teenager I've never met, who your parents picked for you."

"Firstly: I picked him, not my parents. Secondly: I expect you to trust me to…"

"Trust you." Jennifer interrupted with a laugh. "You've spent the past three months making me think we had a future together."

Derek clenched his jaw. "I never made you promises." he snapped; growing tired of his ex's behaviour.

"Didn't you?"

"No. I never told you I loved you. I never mentioned marriage or starting a family with you."

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him. "You never said that we were casual either."

Derek sighed; dragging his hand through his hair. "Jennifer, I know you're hurt right now. I understand. I really do. - But you're carrying my child and nothing is going to keep me out of its life. I'll fight you all the way to the high court if I have to."

She glared at him furiously; her face turning an almost impossible shade of red. He waited for her to start shouting. Yelling. Screaming. Instead she simply turned on her heels and walked out of the kitchen. He listened to her feet rushing up the stairs.

Derek pulled out the nearest chair and dropped down onto it. His head falling into his hands with a weary sigh. When had his life become so complicated? Why hadn't he seen this coming? "I never wanted this." he said hearing his mother enter. "Everything so messed up."

Talia dragged her fingers through his hair. "I know. - It'll be okay though." she whispered.

Derek looked up at her doubtfully. "Will it?"

Talia pulled out the chair next to him and sat; her hand still reassuringly on her son's neck. "Yes. You've made you decision, Derek and you're happy, right?"

Derek nodded shyly.

"This thing with Jennifer. The baby, we'll deal with that. If she wants a fight, then we fight. - In the meantime, just…live your life."

~~~Samhain: Scent of Moonlight~~~

Cora stared at the diner window unsure whether to enter. She watched and listened as Scott and Stiles chucked away about something or other. Usually she'd just waltz inside and sit down. - Who was she kidding, no she wouldn't. She had to remain aloof. Distant. She had a rep to protect. But that had gone out of the window the second she'd confessed to Stiles that she'd always liked him. God only knew why? He was a pain in the ass. He talked too much and too fast at times. Sure he was cute but she had guys with more muscle chasing after her at school. What the hell had she ever seen in Stiles Stilinski?

She stared at his profile for an intense second asking herself that question over and over. What did she see in Stiles? Well he was funny. Usually when he wasn't intending to be. He was smart. Really smart. - Smarter than her. He was kind and caring and sweet. He was loyal to a fault and didn't take any shit from anyone. He took Jackson and his cronies' insults like water off a ducks back. He was a pretty awesome guy through and through. So why the hell hadn't she claimed him.

She'd had every intention to. She'd gone out into the woods determined to find him, and she had. And that's when it all fell to pieces. She was there. He was there. They were staring at each other. It was the perfect moment. - But there wasn't…anything. No deep rooted connection. No intense pull. No need to touch or smell or mark. There was just Stiles. The guy she knew from school. Who she'd grown up with. Who had never given her so much as a second look.

That when she knew all those stories her mom and grandparents had told her growing up about 'mates' and 'allies' and the 'sanctity of Samhain' weren't just bullshit. It was all true. It had hurt like a son of a bitch to know that she'd have no control over her own destiny, and yet at the same time had been a little freeing. She wouldn't have to worry about find the right guy because her wolf. Her instincts would find him for her. - Eventually.

Of course acknowledging that to herself had been one thing. Keeping to it when Derek stood before her stinking to high heaven of Stiles. Seeing her brother's mark on the guy she'd spent years coveting, that was quite another. It hurt to know that Derek had gotten the prize and didn't even want it. So she'd acted typically; lashing out. Physically. Verbally. - And when that hadn't hurt him enough, she'd told hinted that she'd steal Stiles away. Because while he didn't want Stiles, she did.

It wasn't a lie. It wasn't just spite. She actually had attempted to win Stiles over. To get him to choose her. That's why she'd visited all though his recovery. Going so far as skipping classes. - That's why she'd confessed to him about her feeling, then watched and listened as he stared at her in shock. But it hadn't taken five seconds to realize she didn't have a chance in hell. That as pissed as Stiles was at her brother, rightly so, he was completely smitten. After that she conceded, to herself at least, it was a loosing battle. - Of course that hadn't stopped her rubbing Derek up the wrong way. Fawning over Stiles at every opportunity. Mixing their scents.

That's when she realized that he actually was into Stiles. That he felt something. It had been there in her brother's heartbeat. In the growl he'd levelled at her. In the way the pair spared verbally. It was all written on the wall.

And that's when she forgave him. In that second her heart was wrapped in Band Aids, and left to heal. When she'd seen Malia snuggling up to Stiles, surprisingly she was pissed and possessive on Derek's behalf. She's had a nice quiet word with her long-lost cousin when Stiles had left. Making it very clear that she was risking broken bones and maybe even a loss of limbs. - It had railed her when Malia stared her down defiantly. They'd almost come to blow in the den. Peter had dragged his daughter away quickly enough.

Sadly she couldn't give the same threat to Jennifer. Because she was human, and ergo off limits. It didn't mean she hadn't been tempted into sneaking into Derek's bedroom the previous night and scaring the living Jesus out of her. But fear of reprisals, especially with the Argents in town, had held her back. She was only thankful that Derek wasn't going to make the same mistake again, and trust an outsider.

"Are you gonna stand out there all day like your creeper brother?"

Cora jumped slightly at the sound of Stiles voice. Distant and distorted. Her eyes quickly came back into focus to find both Scott and Stiles staring at her through the window of the diner. The pair laughing. Flipping them the bird she marched determinedly towards the diner door.

Inside she headed directly for them. Dropping down in the booth next to Stiles and snatched a curly fry off his plate. Ignoring his protest.

"Are you stalking me now?" Stiles demanded.

"You wish Stilinski." Cora grunted; slouching against the faux leather seat. "I needed to escape." she sighed; looking over at Scott. "What you doing here, anyway? Are you two usually hulled up playing video games or whatever?"

"I needed to escape too." Scott replied; shooting Stiles a meaningful looked.

Cora looked between the boys. Noting Stiles flushed red face and bright goofy smile. "Right." she huffed; wrinkling her nose. "I feel your pain, bro." she smiled sympathetically at Scott. "Because despite what Derek might believe, there is no amount of shower gel and deodorant that can hide that stink."

Scott nodded. Sharing another understanding look with Cora.

"So you…saw Derek?" Stiles asked; not looking at Cora.

Cora met Scott eyes again and together they rolled them. Shaking their heads. "Yeah. Caught him as he was heading into the house."

"Oh." Stiles nodded; playing with his fries. "Cool."

Cora groaned. It was kinda pathetic really. Even for Stiles, and she'd had to witness the Lydia fiasco. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's kicking her to the curb as we speak." she huffed; snagging another fry. This time without a sound from Stiles. - Which meant he was seriously worried. "Look. He'd made his choice." she said softly. "There's nothing she can do to change that, okay."

Stiles glanced side long at her. Unconvinced. "She's giving him a baby." he pointed out.

Cora shrugged. "Maybe. - Personally I think its all a little convenient, you know. Her turning up pregnant a little over a week after D dumps her ass. - Stinks worse than the pair of you." she wrinkled her nose once more at Stiles.

"You think she's lying?" Scott asked intrigued.

Cora shrugged once more. "Can't tell yet. - I'd say that was another convenience but she doesn't know we're werewolves so… - But yeah. Something about her just makes me….twitchy. She probably figured she'd swoop in, tell Derek she was pregnant and save him from his 'forced' engagement."

"Forced?" Stiles frowned.

"Yeah. Apparently she thinks Mom's forcing Derek into this. - Derek told her it's an arranged marriage." she snorted. "So she figured she'd tell Mom, Derek knocked her up, then she'd let him out of his 'arranged marriage'and they could head back to New York together. - I don't think she's considered he might actually want to marry the loud mouth, high school nerd." Cora smirked. "Or possibly this is about tricking D and not our parents. Maybe she thinks he'll marry her instead if she tells him she's pregnant."

"Won't it become rather obvious she's lying?" Scott frowned; chewing on his burger.

"Not if she can get knocked up straight away. - And if Derek won't do the deed, there's always a turkey basted."

"Aw." Scott gagged; spitting out his burger.

"It works on TV." she stated matter-of-factly.

Stiles snorted next to her. "In trashy soaps." he shook his head. "This is real life."

Cora turned to meet her future brother-in-law's gaze. "In which a quarter of this town are werewolves. Seriously, you think a turkey basted baby is weird?" she chuckled. "Besides, I don't' bitch about your crappy on-line games, don't trash-talk my shows."

"My games aren't crappy." Stiles pouted.

Cora snorted. "Right." Stealing yet another fry.

~~~Samhain: Scent of Moonlight~~~

An hour after Cora's arrival, Stiles phone began to buzzed in his pocket. He smiled goofily down at the screen the second he saw Derek's name flash. "Hey Wolfie." he answered warmly.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Wendy's with Scott and your sister. Where are you?"

"Driving through town. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

"You're coming here?"

"You don't want me to?"

"No…I mean, yeah. You want me to order something for you?"

"Coffee. I'll be there soon." The line went dead a second later. Stiles stared down at the screen with a sigh.

"Derek?"

"How'd you guess?" Stiles laughed; turning in his seat to wave down a waitress. "Can I have a coffee please."

The mug was being placed on the table when the door of the dinner opened and Derek marched into the building. Stiles turned to watch him approach with a warm smile. Cora glanced up and rolled her eyes; slipping out of the booth and changing side to sit beside Scott. Derek seamlessly sliding into her abandoned seat and leant in to kiss Stiles, his arm resting naturally on the back of the booth. Stiles glanced at his friends; grinning from ear to ear.

"God, its enough to make you wanna puke, ain't it?" Cora gagged lightly.

Scott nodded.

"Shut up." Derek murmured; tossing a cold discarded fry at his sister's head.

Stiles looked between them; relaxing at the ease the pair were showing towards one another finally. "So…" he turned his body slightly to face Derek. "How'd it go?"

"As expected." Derek replied after taking a large gulp of his coffee. "She's pissed."

Stiles looked at his empty plate. "What happened?"

"Not much." Derek shrugged. "I explained that I'm with you of my own free will and that I want to be in my child's life, but not as her husband."

"Wow. I bet that went down like the Titanic."

"Pretty much." Derek nodded regretfully. "Same amount of ice."

"So what is she gonna do now?" Cora asked causally; though her heart raced nervously.

Derek met his sister's gaze. "I don't know. - She pretty much escaped to my room the second I made it clear I wasn't going back to her." he sighed.

"So you just left her there with mom?" Cora smirked.

"What was I meant to do?" Derek murmured: his fingers brushing Stiles neck absently. "Anyway, can we forget about Jennifer. Have you guy been here all afternoon? I would have expected you to be making the most of Black Friday?"

"Do we looked like 'sales' kind of people to you?" Stiles scoffed. "You didn't get your butt out of my bed until eleven this morning." Stiles pointed out with a laugh, then quickly blushed as Derek hushed him. "Whoops."

"Shit." Scott suddenly announced; his eyes wide with panic at he tugged out his phone. "I have to meet Allison." he looked at Cora; his eyes telling her to move.

"I can't believe you're dating that bit…"

"Hey." Scott cut Cora off with a growl. He looked between the siblings. "Look I know her aunt did something terrible but she's not her. Allison's nice."

Cora snorted. "Too nice. That's the problem. Kate was nice too."

Scott glared at her.

"You should probably go. Don't want to be late for your study date." Stiles interrupted quickly. Praying it was enough to derail the fight he was sure was about to break out.

"Yeah."

Cora shuffled out of the booth. "Just be careful, Scott."

"I'll see you later." he looked past Derek to Stiles. "Call of Duty tomorrow?"

"Yeah. - Have a great time."

As Scott marched out of the dinner Stiles glared at Cora. "Seriously?"

"What. I was just saying." Cora shrugged.

"Look, I know you guys have problems with the Argents and I get it. You have every right to. - But he's right, you can't blame Allison for what her aunt did. She was a kid for god's sake."

Derek looked at him intensely. "Its just hard to trust any of them."

"Yeah. They're hunters. They're whole mission is to wipe us out." Cora agreed angrily.

"They're mission is to wipe out werewolves that don't hold to the rules. They have a code."

Derek stiffened beside him and Stiles hated it.

"I'm just saying, okay. Don't give Scott a hard time. - If Allison is bad, he'll find out eventually."

The table fell silent. Stiles fiddling with his straw while Cora and Derek seemed to have a conversation using just their eyebrows. Finally Cora cleared her throat. "Okay. I'll be going." she got to her feet quickly. "See you Monday, Stilinski."

"Actually you'll see him Sunday. Mom's inviting him for dinner." Derek said. Looking up at his sister.

"You sure that's a good idea." Cora smirked. "This time he might actually wind up in a full body cast." she laughed.

Derek glared at her, but his lip was curled at the corner. "Don't you have homework to be getting home to?"

"Don't worry D. I know when I'm not wanted." her gaze flickered to Stiles sadly. "See ya, guys."

Cora left them alone but that didn't mean they spoke or that the tension was any easier. Stiles stared at his milkshake; swirling the straw around and around. His lip between his teeth. A waitress waltzed over causally and asked cheerfully if they want anything else.

"No thanks." Stiles smiled. "Just the check."

"I'll get that." Derek said reaching for the check, only for Stiles to snatch it first.

"I can buy my own lunch."

Derek stared at his teenage mate. "Fine. I was just being nice." he said shapely.

Stiles looked at him regretfully. "Sorry. I didn't meant to snap. I just….don't want to be caught between you and my best friend. I don't want to have to spend the rest of my life defending you to each other."

"I don't have a problem with Scott." Derek insisted.

"Just his girlfriend, who for all I know he could end up marrying." Stiles huffed.

Derek narrowed his eyes. "Is she his mate?"

"No, but that doesn't mean anything. You dated before me. - Hell you would have probably married Jennifer if you hadn't have come back for Samhain this year."

Derek lowered his gaze. That was probably very true. He'd been thinking about it. "I can't help the way I feel. She almost killed my fami…"

"No! Kate! Kate almost killed your family!" he interrupted loudly. "Allison was just a kid. She didn't do anything."

Derek met Stiles hard, unforgiving gaze. Guilt rolling over him. He knew Stiles was right. He couldn't blame the girl for the crimes of her insane relatives. "Maybe….we can go out?"

"What?" Stiles startled.

"You said you wanted to double date." Derek murmured; slipping out of the booth and heading towards the cashier.

Stiles rushing after him. "Actually I said I wasn't gonna double date." he corrected.

Derek turned and looked at him blankly. "So you don't want a date?"

Stiles smirked at him. "I didn't say that. - But I'd rather our first date was not crashed by my best friend."

"It's not our first date." Derek corrected; taking his change from the waitress. Her smile wide and bright as she looked between the pair. He was surprised that Stiles hadn't even seem to notice that's he'd paid.

"Huh? I hope you aren't counting The Run as our first date. Cause I'm telling you now, that was not a date." Stiles scolded; lightly punching the werewolf's shoulder. "And don't think I don't know what you just did?" he narrowed his eyes accusingly at him.

Derek's eyes flickered between his shoulder and his mate. "No. - I was counting me making you dinner." he corrected; nodding a goodbye to the waitress then turning to leave.

Stiles smiled at the woman; rolling his eyes. "See what I have to put up with?" he said to her before racing to catch up with Derek. "So where you taking me?" he called.

Derek didn't answer until they'd reached Stiles jeep. "Who says I'm taking you anywhere? Didn't you just say you could pay for yourself?"

Stiles pouted dramatically. "And yet you still paid. Besides, lunch isn't a date. - And you asked me."

Derek folded his arms over his chest; leaning back against the jeep. "I said we could go out with your friends."

Stiles sauntered closer. "Fine, you win. No date." he sighed. "Of course…" he leant forward slightly. "If there's no date, there's no good night kiss." he smirked; stepping away from Derek and reaching for the door of the jeep. He barely had it open before Derek was tugging him closer and stealing the kiss Stiles had taunted him with.

The blast of a car horn had the pair reluctantly pulling apart. Both breathing heavily.

"You wanna come back to my place?" Stiles asked between heavy breaths. "We could watch a movie. Relax."

Derek smirked down at him. "What about your dad?"

"He's at work." Stiles murmured.

"In that case…" he gave Stiles shoulder a small shove. "I'll follow."

Stiles gave a wide grin; climbing into the jeep.

~~~Samhain: Scent of Moonlight~~~

Derek was pulling up outside the Stilinski house when his phone began to ring. His heart leapt into his throat. He couldn't help but fear it was Jennifer again. Claiming out of the car he pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down at the screen. Sighing with relief. "Yeah Mom?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Stiles. Why?"

"So you intend to just leave me to deal with this woman?" she asked calmly. Too calmly.

Derek winced. "You were the one that insisted that she stay there." he argument petulantly.

There was a low growl emitted through the receiver and Derek couldn't' practically see his mom's eye glowing at him.

"What am I meant to do, Mom? - There's nothing more I can say to her." he leant back against the Camaro; pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know, but maybe you need to have another talk. Find out what she plans to do now. - Derek, as much as I'm glad you and Stiles are spending time together, I really think you need to sort things out with Jennifer as soon as possible. Then you boys can get on with you're lives."

Derek inhaled; his gaze flickering to Stiles who was stood watching him with concern.

"Alright Mom. - But can it wait till tomorrow? I just need to…."

"Tomorrow Derek." Talia agreed firmly. "Say hello to Stiles for me, and remember to invite him and his dad for dinner on Sunday."

"Already have."

"Good."

The line went dead and Derek took a deep lungful of winter air.

"Everything okay?"

"Not really. - Mom wants me to talk to Jennifer again. Find out what she plans to do."

"Oh. - Now?"

Derek shook his head. "Nah. Tomorrow." he lifted his gaze to Stiles with a small smile; pushing himself off the car. "So what are we gonna watch?"

A/N: The later half of this chapter is mostly filler if I'm honest, I had to rewrite it when I discovered that somehow I accidentally deleted a whole scene with Derek and Jennifer. On the upside I think this is a better way to go. On the downside everything I've already written for chapter 10 needs to be rehashed. I'm sorry this chapters a lot shorter than my usual chapters.

As always THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND FAVOURITES. I'm sorry I can't reply to every message, but I promise I do appreciate them immensely. They help work though plot point, keep me on track and shows me I'm going the right way. So again THANK YOU!