Hi everyone, I didn't forget about this story! I am back at school now so maybe things will get back to normal before I start my new classes next week. To all of you who have reviewed thank you so much! Please read and review! I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 10
The rest of the week pasted in relative calm. Erica and Boyd continued to heal, Boyd a bit more slowly due to his injuries being more severe but they are healing which makes everyone sleep a little better at night. The whole pack was at the house everyday but Stiles, Scott and Jackson all had to make appearances at home each day and Scott was spending as much time as possible with Allison who was still not too welcome at the "pack pad" as Stiles had dubbed it. Lydia had gone to school on Monday and arranged to take all of her exams early after explaining to the principal that she already knew all of the material and she ready needed to be at home with her new baby to insure both her "recovery" and his health. The principal sputtered and stared at her holding Jacob affectionately, his mouth hanging open for a few moments before agreeing to contact her teachers and arrange for her to complete the semester a month early, so currently she did not have to return to school until after Christmas break. As Lydia walked out of the school, carrying Jacob in his carrier she felt accomplished. Opening the door with a patented Lydia Martin hair flip, she turned more than a few heads in the student body as she marched to the car, never stopping to explain the baby. As Lydia was locking in Jacob's car seat she was shocked to hear Erica behind her, "Hey Lydia, where are you going?" The blonde asked a bit timidly.
"I just needed to arrange some stuff with Principal James now baby Jake and I are heading to see Dr. Deaton for his one week checkup." Lydia explained with a smile. Erica nodded and stood there a bit reluctantly. Over the past few days Erica and Lydia had grown closer but the blonde continued to be a bit awkward and shy around Lydia, as if she never quiet knew her role with Lydia, offering the wolf a smile, Lydia continued, "How about you?"
"Well, I just have study hall and gym left and I can't participate in gym right now so, I am pretty much just hanging out in the library," the girl fiddled with her jacket. Nodding Lydia opened her door to climb into the car, "Well, if you want, you can come with us, maybe we can go shopping afterward?"
Making eye contact for the first time Erica smiled, "Really? You don't mind?"
"Of course not, get in," she gestured to the passenger door. Erica climbed in quickly and the two girls made their way to the vet's office. Type A personality that she is Lydia had called ahead and made sure that Dr. Deaton knew that they were coming so the office was cleared out of any humans who could ask questions that she didn't want to answer—like why she was bringing her one week old to a vet instead of a pediatrician. And over the past week she had begin to think of him as hers, she had not used the "s" word yet, calling him her son now was too scary and set her up for too big of a loss if they did find his birth family or if some sad werewolf mommy showed up to reclaim him, but every time that Lydia looked into his wide innocent eyes, she fell just a little more in love with the tiny charmer.
Speaking of charmers, she did not expect to see Derek Hale looming when she walked into the vet's office, he shot Erica a glare that said they would talk later about her ducking out of school but he followed Lydia into the exam room without a word. Lydia tried to deny the flutter of her heart when she saw him, she knew that it was futile and that he had heard her heart's reaction to him, but she hope that he would write it off as shock. Spending everyday with the mercurial Alpha had made Lydia's opinion of him change—well that wasn't completely true, she didn't really have an opinion on him before all of this had blown up. Before the night that she resurrected Peter she had only had a few encounters with Derek and they all left her with the same impression—Damn he's hot but cranky; cranky and hot and completely out of her league. However there was always a heavy air of sadness and tension surrounding Derek that nearly overwhelmed everything else about him, however over the last week she had seen the darkness ebb at moments.
Those moments were scarce but they were becoming more common—the moments when he tussled with Boyd in the backyard, or made dinner for everyone while Erica, Boyd, Isaac and whoever else had stopped by did homework or played Halo in the living room. The calmest Lydia ever saw Derek however was late at night when he held Jacob while the baby slept on his chest, over his heart or when he watched Lydia feeding the baby, both of them half asleep while the baby ate. Lydia had let Derek's moments of calm infect her, finding herself sharing smiles with him during these times, finding reasons to touch him or brush against him—little things like brushing lint from his shirt or rubbing his shoulder in thanks. Lydia had to admit, she was drawn to him in a way that she had never been drawn to anyone else. Typically people were pulled into her orbit; they needed something from her so they followed her around like baby ducks. Derek was not a baby duck. In fact, he was not like anyone that she had ever met and so she was intrigued. He broke her out of her thoughts by reaching over to take the carrier from her, "Hi little guy," he smiled at Jacob, "You ready to get checked out?"
Lydia smiled at Dr. Deaton as Derek lifted the baby from the carrier, "So doc, what are you checking today anyway?" Lydia asked, trying not to sound like a scared mom. The kindly vet smiled back at her, his face showed that he was reading much more into the scene than they may want him too as he glanced between the Alpha and the priestess. "Well Ms. Martin, today we are going to weight and measure this little guy and then check his vitals and reflexes—just a typical check up. Have you noticed anything strange or concerning?"
"Uh, no he seems pretty normal, I mean he doesn't do much but eat and sleep," Derek offers as he hands the baby over to Dr. Deaton.
"That is good, now how is his appetite?" Deaton spares Lydia a look as he asks the question, "He eats pretty regularly, typically every two to three hours and then he usually falls asleep for a few hours after that."
"That is good, that is very good, often preemies have a hard time getting on a schedule to feed or need some convincing to eat," He explains as he conducts his exam.
"He totally doesn't need encouragement, he is always willing to let everyone know if he is hungry," Derek chuckles as he watches the baby intently, Lydia giggles her response, "Very true."
"Okay, everything here looks great, he is reactive and his development is actually a little bit ahead of where he should be as a preemie. He has gained 7 ounces and that is wonderful. Now when did his navel stump fall off?" The vet quirked an eyebrow as he continued his exam, "This morning," Lydia offered, "Is that okay?" she seemed nervous.
Smiling Dr. Deaton lifted Jacob, wrapping him back in his blanket, "It is great, perfectly normal. Lydia you are doing a wonderful job taking care of him," he gently rubs her arm as he hands to baby back. "Thank you," she whispers grateful for the complement but also a bit overwhelmed by the emotions that filled her at his words. Looking down at the baby she smiled, snuggling him close to her, "You hear that Jacob, you are growing and perfect just like I said you were." As she moved to redress the baby, Deaton looked shocked, looking to Derek he asked, "Jacob?"
Nodding awkwardly, Derek responded, "Yeah, we figured that we needed to give him a name so we decided on Jacob, after my dad." Smiling, Deaton nodded, "He would have liked that," moving to his desk, he picked up some paperwork "That is really good, and it helps with this," he hands the paperwork to Lydia. Her brow wrinkles as she reads the papers, "Um, a birth certificate?"
"Well even though he is a little unique he still needs a birth certificate, just in case there are any legal questions or if you need to prove who he is, this way you can provide legal paperwork proving that he is your son and he will have a legal name and birth date for later in his life." While everything that Dr. Deaton is saying is completely logical, there is something terrifying about seeing her name beside the word 'mother'. Derek must have noticed her unease because he whispered, "Lydia, you don't have to do this, I mean if you are not okay with putting your name on that, no one will blame you."
Looking at him, Lydia lifted her hand to cup his cheek for a moment before smiling, "No, it's okay, I mean everyone already thinks he is my son, what difference does the paperwork make. He is my responsibility and this is not going to somehow change that." Reading over it, she writes her name in the appropriate space. Reviewing the form, she looks to Deaton, "Okay, so what else do we need to fill out?"
Crossing to the others, Deaton places himself on the opposite side of the table from them, laying the paperwork out on the table itself, he walks them through the forms, "Okay, this form is a declaration of birth, stating that he was born on this date, alive and in Beacon Hills. Now I went ahead and listed him as a homebirth so no one questions why he was not born in a hospital, and a midwife friend of mine is going to files these once you fill them out," they both nodded, "Now, you need to fill out the place of residence, full legal name for the baby, your birth date, and," he paused looking up at them, "well are you planning on listing a father or," the two looked at one another for a moment and Lydia asked, "Does it make a difference? I mean if I just list him as my child? It is not like we know how his biological dad is."
"Well it doesn't really affect anything unless something was to happen to you Lydia, then if there is no father listed and no family to take him, he will go into the system." At that thought her eyes widened.
"Um, I don't want that to happen but I already promised Jackson that I wouldn't put his name on anything so I guess I don't have a choice," Lydia looked a little helpless.
"Well, you could list me as the father," Derek offered.
"No," Lydia said curtly and then seeing the look of hurt that flash across his face, she continued, "I told you that my mom is a bitch and she will be on the warpath once she sobers up enough to get mad. If she pulls his birth certificate and sees you listed as his father, she will press charges and raise way to much attention. No, it is better if he is just listed as mine for now and then maybe later we can change it if things change." Lydia surmises. Derek relaxes a little bit at her explanation and nods, "Okay."
"Now one more thing, his name," Dr. Deaton points to the space, "I know that you have decided to call him Jacob, but are you going to give him a middle name and what last name are you using?"
"I guess Martin if I am not listing a father, at least my mother can't argue with that, and middle name," She looks quickly to Derek who shrugs, "I picked out his first name, that was pretty much all I had," he admits. Giggling at him Lydia is struck by an idea, "Isaac," she says.
Confused, Derek lifts his eyebrows, "What about him?"
"No the name, I want to give Jacob his name because he is practically his uncle or big brother and he has been so helpful, so what do you think, Jacob Isaac Martin?" Lydia's face is almost glowing in excitement as she proposed the name and Derek smiles, "It is perfect," he agrees. Smiling at the two as he takes the paperwork back after Lydia had filled it in and signed it, Dr. Deaton agrees, "It is a good strong name Lydia." Smiling her thanks at the man, she snuggled the baby closer.
"Thank you Dr. Deaton," she offers warmly, "And thank you for everything that you have done to help us. I am very grateful." Smiling his omniscient smile Deaton nods, "Of course, I am always here to help."
"Well, I am glad to hear that because I am about to ask for some more help. I think you know more about this priestess thing than you let on the other night and I don't blame you, I don't trust Peter and far as Jacob can throw him, but I am going to need some guidance in understanding this if I am going to understand and fulfill my role as priestess," Lydia explains her reasons for asking quickly so that he doesn't misread her intentions in asking. For his part, Deaton had already intended to help the girl; and had pulled several books on the topic, but he was impressed with her observation that Peter was a cause for reservation and that Deaton did not trust him at all. "Okay Lydia, I will help you. I pulled a few informational texts that you can start with and I will contact you once I know more okay?" He states, retrieving the books from his office he hands them to her before saying his goodbyes so that he can go into surgery for a poodle with a bad hip.
Turning to the small redhead Derek asks, "So you want to know more about this priestess thing why?"
"Derek I need to understand my role in this pack in order to be a good member of it. It is my job to protect you and Jackson and Jacob as a priestess but it is my job to protect all of them as a member of the pack and I need as much information as possible to do that." He nods, understanding that there is something that she is leaving out, crossing to her he runs his hand down her arm from her elbow to her hand, "And," he prompts.
Sighing, "And I want to know as much as possible about my abilities to negate Peter's fucking superior, smug attitude every time we need to know something. Derek he has already used my ability against me once and I will be damned if he does it again," Her eyes were intense as she answered him, grounding herself in the feel of his fingers on hers to restrain her building rage at Peter. Picking up on her anger, Jacob starts to whimper, bringing both of the adult's attention down to the baby in her arms, "Oh, Jacob baby I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Lydia bounced him a bit trying to calm him. Derek reached over and placed his hand on the baby's head running his thumb long his forehead, the baby quickly quieting down. "Are you going home now?" He asks.
"No, Erica and I are going to go shopping for a little while before we head home," she answered. Nodding he asks, "Yeah and why is she not at school?" he quirked an eyebrow.
"She met me in the parking lot when I was leaving the school; she only had gym and study hall left so I just took her with me." At his look of consternation, she continued, "Derek I know what it is like to come back to school and have everyone treat you differently, she just needed a break," she argued. His face was stoic for a moment, considering her words before nodding, "I get it, but she doesn't need to miss anymore school, I don't want her to fall behind," He says, his concern clear.
"Thanks Dad," Erica scoffed from the door, "Trust me the teachers are used to me missing time because of my epilepsy so they email me my assignments if I am not at school. I have all of my work caught up I just needed to get out of that building so when I smelled Lydia I found her. I didn't mean to cause problems." The blonde looked down, scared that they were going to be mad at her. Derek relented, "Okay, I understand, just don't fall behind I don't want your grades to drop. The last thing we need is some nosey school official investigating or some shit." Erica nods, "Okay, I will stop skipping and keep up my grades, I promise." Derek feels like they have at least reached a compromise and he is slightly shocked that it was so easy because Erica typically put up more of a fight. He looks to Lydia and knows that she had something to do with making this deal before he ever addressed the issue. Smirking he offers, "If you are going shopping do you want me to take Jacob home with me?"
"No," Lydia smiles, "We will take him with us just in case he gets hungry. Don't worry we will be home soon. If you want you could go ahead start dinner, I would love spaghetti," She offers.
"Oh really I can do that huh?" He chuckles and Erica crosses to where Lydia was strapping Jacob into his seat, "Yep." She pops the 'p' and Erica giggles, "I agree," she smiles playing with the baby, "Baby Jake agrees too." She explains, her eyes wide and innocent.
"Well how can I argue with baby Jake?" He smirks, bidding them goodbye and promising them spaghetti for dinner. The girls head to the mall, mostly window shopping but stopping to buy a few things for each of them and then heading to the baby stores to look at clothes and things for Jacob. As they look at teddy bears, Lydia decides to broach the subject that she had wanted to bring up for a few days, "Erica, I am going to ask you something but I don't want you to be mad or think that I am taking anyone else's side but do you think that you can ever forgive Allison for what she did. I am not saying forget, but just move past it and be able to work with her?"
Shock registers on Erica's face for a moment before she really starts to consider the question, looking down she sighs before locking eyes with Lydia, "Honestly, I don't know. Lydia, she was never my friend and a lot of that is on me, but what she did to me, to Boyd, I don't know if I can trust her again."
"Okay," Lydia nods, at Erica's 'that's it' eyebrow quirk, she continues, "I just wanted you to think about it, I am not going to try to convince you of anything." The redhead acknowledges as she continues shopping as if they were talking about nail colors.
"Thank you Lydia, for respecting my view and my issues with her. I will try to forgive her, but I will not forget what she did. I don't know if I can ever trust her again and I can't have someone I don't trust as pack." Lydia nods again, reaching over and taking Erica's hand in support as they leave the shop. Their moment of was broken by a shrill voice as they exited the store, still holding hands, Jacob tucked safely in a baby wrap against Lydia's chest, "Dear God, not only are you parading around with that thing, you are holding hands with slutty girls in public now Lydia? Did you run though the entire male population?" Mrs. Martin barked in a low voice, scoffing she added, "I guess I shouldn't complain, if you are a lesbian you can't get pregnant again."
"Look bitch," Erica started, only to have Lydia cut her off, "Erica don't. Trust me, she is not worth it." With that Lydia grabbed Erica's hand again and marched past her mother, pulling Erica along to the parking lot and after loading Jacob in his carseat she drove them the short way home in silence.
"So," Erica said awkwardly, trying to break the ill ease in the car, "That was your mom."
Nodding absently, Lydia answered, "Yeah, she wasn't too happy about Jacob. She kicked me out after disowning me."
"Oh," Erica answered, understanding from the trimmer in Lydia's voice and the pounding of her heart that Lydia was fighting tears and didn't want to talk about it. Once they arrived at the house, Lydia jumped out of the car and grabbed Jacob's carrier. Walking into the house without getting their bags or speaking she handed Jacob to a confused Isaac before running up the stairs. Getting to her room just in time, she eased the door shut and slid down it, pulling her knees to her chest and pressing her face into them before letting out her first sob.