So, this is it. For real this time. I can't believe this story is actually over. It took me so so long to finish, and I'm so sorry if I've kept you guys waiting, but also, if you've stuck with me since the beginning, thank you so much 3 I don't know if I'll be jumping into another multi-chaptered fic anytime soon, but I'm definitely planning some more one shots when I'm done with my exams.
I'm not sure whether or not epilogues are supposed to be short, but if they are, then I've failed miserably. I really hope you like this anyway. It could work as a standalone oneshot tbh, but this is the ending I planned from the very first day so I hope it's up to your liking. As always, a huge thank you to my beta/light-of-my-life/biggest-asshole-I-know/soulmate Sarah.
Anyway, I'll stop dragging now. I really hope you guys like it!
Oh, wait. One more thing. If your name's Bartholomew, I'm sorry.
"Stiles, I swear to god if you don't get your ass to the hospital right now, you are sleeping on the couch tonight!" Lydia scream-whispers into her phone trying not to scare the other six people in the waiting room - and failing. "Melissa has been in labor for the past six hours, and neither you nor Scott have shown up, and I don't know what the hell your excuse for not being here or answering your phone is, but if it's anything less than a heart attack, I am going to kill you."
She stops to sigh in frustration, her messy hair piled on top of her head. She ran out of the house like it was on fire when she got the call at five in the morning, having been asleep in last night's clothes only for a few hours. She didn't even stop to look in the mirror, which she probably should've, seeing as Allison's bachelorette was the night before and things went a little more out of hand than they thought they would. Turns out they all really, really, really needed a night out, and Lydia stopped counting the shots after her sixth. She feels her stomach revolt at the thought of alcohol, her nose crinkling up in disgust, but she manages to keep down the nachos they munched on at two in the morning with great difficulty.
"Don't forget that you need to pick up your sister from Mr. Argent's place in thirty minutes, so you better not keep Skye waiting, Stiles!" She groans into her phone again, her frustration reaching new heights. "Ughh, call me when you get this."
She hangs up the phone before taking a seat and resting her head back against the wall. It feels like there's an out-of-tune orchestra banging against her temple and she's half-tempted to hit her head against the wall and just be done with it.
She's been feeling like this ever since she woke up, the hangover crippling her almost entirely. The only good thing is that she somehow thankfully managed to keep it all down. Allison wasn't so lucky. She's been in and out of the bathroom every fifteen minutes for the past three hours, throwing up every chance she gets. Cora's with her right now, probably holding her hair back. Lydia feels like a shitty friend for not being in there with them, but she's too hungover to handle it. Besides, Cora didn't have a drink the night before, her tiny baby bump the only explanation needed, so she's more fit to deal with hungover brides-to-be than Lydia is right now.
Lydia can't stop the smile that creeps upon her face when she thinks about her two best friends, one of them getting married in less than a month, the other pregnant with her first child.
It took Allison and Scott a while to get it together, having to deal with a ton of hurdles from going to separate universities to finding a rhythm that would allow them both to still be a werewolf hunter and the Alpha of a pack, but they finally did and Scott proposed to her on her graduation day, almost two years ago. They waited for him to finish his own university (he missed a couple of semesters due to some unforeseen werewolf problems, but he eventually went back and got his degree) before they started planning the wedding. Chris wasn't too fond of the idea until he realized his daughter couldn't do any better.
Cora and Isaac, on the other hand, never looked back after that day on the Lacrosse field. They've been together ever since, having moved in together right after high school to Derek's complete displeasure. Lydia's actually surprised they managed to keep from getting pregnant until now seeing as they went at it any chance they got on any surface imaginable. But they're happy and more in love than ever, and Lydia knows that their kid couldn't be luckier. The kid will be spoiled to death, with a whole pack at their service.
"Okay, I have a question," Lydia hears Allison's voice snap her out of her thoughts and she looks up to see her best friend coming towards her, Cora right by her side. "Did I imagine it, or were Danny and Ethan giving us lap dances at one point?"
Lydia's eyes widen before she gets flashes of them with the two boys grinding on some dance floor.
"That would be correct," Cora answers.
"Were we at the Jungle?" Lydia asks, confusing shaping her face and she tries to put bits and pieces of the night before together.
"Correct again," Cora continues. "Funnily enough, that's where we ran into your fiancé, Allison."
"Weren't Stiles and Isaac with him though?"
"Yes they were, and Derek too, looking rather less than impressed," Cora explains. "Apparently, the supposed strippers Scott's old roommate hired turned out to be hookers, and the boys decided the best idea was to leave them to head over to a gay club. Don't ask me to explain, because I can't."
Lydia bristles at the thought of another girl throwing herself at Stiles. She isn't a particularly jealous person, but she kind of wants to gauge the eyeballs of any girl who so much as looks at Stiles. It doesn't help that he's completely clueless as to his hotness level, and ridiculously blind to any girl who tries to hit on him. It's probably because he's never had eyes for anyone other than Lydia, but she isn't about to take any chances, especially not after that whole Malia debacle. Lydia was devastated enough to be going to a different university than Stiles, but when she learned that this girl basically followed him into the communal shower and tried to get him to "join" her, Lydia had to do something about it. So like any normal girlfriend would, Lydia flew for six hours to visit Stiles and stayed with him for the entire week, until she was sure that the girl had gotten the message loud and clear. Sometimes so loud that the entire floor got the message too, but it wasn't really Lydia's fault if Stiles knew exactly how to make her scream. Of course, she was less than thrilled when less than a month later, Stiles showed up with the girl on Lydia's doorstep because she was a mythical creature of the night too. But she made sure Malia was fully aware that Lydia's figurative claws were sharper than any real ones would ever be. They took her over to Scott and he taught her a thing or two about controlling her urges, but she was too wild and unpredictable to really settle in with the pack, and eventually she took off. Cora was even less enamored with her than Lydia was, so she was especially happy when Malia packed her bags and moved out of their lives.
That was almost six years ago. A lot's happened since then. Like the Sheriff and Melissa finally making it official. And having a baby together. And getting pregnant again.
Lydia can't help the smile that creeps up her face when she thinks of Skye. That little girl just kicked her way out of Melissa's belly and into their hearts, almost pushing everyone out of the way completely and taking a permanent residence there. Lydia never thought she would care so much about a kid that wasn't hers, but she also hadn't thought about what would happen when Melissa and the sheriff had a kid together. A little baby that's both a little bit of Scott and a little bit of Stiles, a girl who won over their collective hearts the day she opened her big brown eyes and looked at them like she'd known them forever.
It was that much harder for them to leave Beacon Hills and go back to college after that. And it was even harder the years after, when Skye actually starting recognizing them.
She remembers the way Skye's face would light up and she would automatically outstretch her tiny chubby arms to reach for Stiles whenever he walked into the room. Or the way she giggled whenever Scott tickled her mercilessly. Or the way she held on to both Lydia and Allison's hands when they took her to the park. Or the way she'd run over to Isaac and hug his leg as soon as he walked into the house. She even managed to break down Derek's barrier, using him as pillow more often than not. He pretends he hates it, but Lydia's seen the way he kisses her hair when he thinks no one's looking, or the way he holds her a little tighter when someone who's not pack is nearby.
"Okay wait, but why were we at the Jungle?" Allison asks, pulling Lydia out of her thoughts once again.
"You wanted to see 'enough guys to last you a lifetime' - that's a direct quote, by the way - and so Lydia thought that the that would be the ideal place to go. Ethan and Danny ended up stripping for us, and I'm not sure we enjoyed it as much as the guys did."
"Well, Scott always had a thing for Danny's glistening chest," Allison murmurs, rubbing her temple.
"Oh my god," Lydia snorts before she lets out a giggle and Cora and Allison join her after a second.
"Any news on Melissa?" Cora asks.
"She's not fully dilated yet," Lydia explains.
"What about the boys?" Cora says just as Lydia's phone buzzes.
"They're not dilated either," Allison says, rolling her eyes and Cora lets out a surprised snort.
"Speak of the devil," Lydia mutters when she sees Stiles's goofy face on her screen. "You better be dying or dead," she answers, holding the phone to her ear.
"Fortunately I am neither of those things, but I do have Skye and Scott and we are on our way to the hospital," Stiles says hurriedly and Lydia feels relief flood through her when she hears his voice.
"I don't believe you."
"Skye, tell Lydia where we're going," she hears Stiles say after a few seconds.
"I got mom flowers and dad Mr. Snuffles so he wouldn't feel scared anymore," Lydia hears Skye say into the phone and she feels her heart swell at the little girl she loves so much.
"Hold on to those tight, baby girl, and make sure to make as much noise as you want in the car and yell as loud as you can until you get here."
"But Scotty said his head hurt so I can't talk very loud," Skye answers innocently and Lydia's tempted to reach through the phone and just hug her already.
"He doesn't know what's best for him, Skye. Yell as loud as you can, Scott and Stiles will feel so much better."
"Stiles..."
"Stiiiiles, are you okay? Wake up, wake up."
"Stiles, it's Skye, don't you wanna play with me?"
That last one's the one that does it. Stiles finally opens his eyes to find himself lying in a room that's not his own, Skye straddling him, her tiny hands carefully patting at his face.
"Morning baby girl," he manages to get out, smiling slightly, and his voice is so thick with sleep he almost doesn't recognize it as his own.
His head feels heavy, too heavy, and the buzzing in his ears is nearly crippling.
"Good morning," Skye says in her cheery voice and Stiles can't help but smile at his little sister, even when the urge to wince at her loud voice is somewhat overwhelming.
He's always loved kids, even when he was one himself, but he never imagined how much he craved having a little sibling to take care of, and he definitely never imagined loving said sibling so much. He would do anything for this little girl. Literally anything.
"Where are we?" Stiles asks, looking around the room that looks so familiar yet somehow so foreign at the same time, like he hasn't been here in a long time.
"Ally's room," Skye answers happily at the same time Stiles catches sight of the photo frame on the bedside table with Lydia and Allison's picture in it.
That explains it. The last time he slept in this room was over two years ago.
"What time did we get here?" Stiles asks, groaning as he straightens up, Skye settled on his lap like she weighs nothing.
"I don't know," Skye says, pouting slightly and patting at Stiles' hair affectionately, the way she always does. "You were here when daddy dropped me off this morning."
"Wait..." Stiles mutters finally starting to realize something weird's going on. "Why are you here, Skyebear? And where's Scott?"
"Daddy dropped me off this morning because he and mommy are going to take the baby out of mommy's belly," she explains to him with a concentrated look, like she's trying to remember exactly what she was told. "And Scotty's been in the bathroom for a really long time. I think his tummy hurts."
"WHAT?" Stiles straightens up, finally registering everything, reaching out for his phone immediately. He has eight missed messages and six voicemails. His first message, at seven in the morning is from Lydia.
Been trying to reach you for the past hour. Get your ass to the hospital, Melissa's in labor. You also need to pick Skye up from Mr. Argent's at noon.
8:15 - Where are you?
9:02- Stilinski, get your ass to the hospital right now.
9:34- Stiles, I swear to god, if you're not here in the next twenty seconds, we are over.
9:35 - And bring coffee. Alot of it.
"Oh fuck," Stiles mutters under his breath throwing away his phone, not bothering to read the rest of the messages.
"You said the f-word!" Skye exclaims, her eyes wide as saucers, pointing at him with one hand and hiding her mouth behind the other.
"Stiles, you know you're not supposed to say the f-word," Scott mumbles, walking into the room looking like death.
"Melissa's in labor," Stiles says, moving to get out of bed.
"Oh fuck," Scott sobers up, his eyes bulging out of his head.
"You said the f-word too!" Skye exclaims giddily, moving off her brother's lap to allow him to get up.
"What time is it? And why are we here?" Stiles asks as he pulls his shirt over his head.
"11:45am, and you came here at 4am because Scott here wanted to tell me how lucky he was that he was marrying my daughter, and you geniuses thought it was a good idea," Chris explains, coming into the room, his tone somewhere between frustrated and bored. "The rest of your party is passed out in my guest room."
"Oh shit," Scott says, wincing immediately because this is not something he should say in front of his future father-in-law or his baby sister. "Crap- fu- ughhh," he finally groans in frustration as he tries to pull his pants up and Stiles can't help but snort at his antics. "I hope you're still going to let me marry your daughter anyway," Scott says semi-seriously, looking hopefully at Mr. Argent.
"We'll see about that," Chris says amusedly, enjoying the mortified look on Scott's face far too much. "Come on, Skye, let's make sure you've packed up all your toys," he switches to loving parent mode in a split second, holding his hand out for the toddler.
"Yes and I need to pack Mr. Snuffles for daddy and the flowers I picked for mommy so that they let me see the new baby," Skye says excitedly, jumping off the bed and hurrying to take Chris' hand and walk out with him.
"Smooth, dude," Stiles mutters as he walks into the bathroom, barely able to hide his smile. He opens the cabinet where they used to keep the spare toothbrushes they left here for when they slept over. He's almost tempted to laugh when he finds them still there. Red for Allison, blue for Scott, yellow for Lydia, and green for him. He picks up the toothbrush and squirts some toothpaste on it before shoving the thing in his mouth.
"Shut up," he hears Scott say as he follows him in and picks his own toothbrush from the cabinet.
"No, I'm just saying, this is how you win over your father-in-law," Stiles spurts, mouth full of toothpaste foam, looking at Scott in the mirror and nodding exaggeratedly.
"Speaking of which, have you asked Lydia yet?" Scott asks a few minutes later, after the both of them have rinsed their mouths and moved back to the bedroom to pull their shoes on.
"I don't know if I should go for over-the-top or understated," Stiles groans in frustration. "Asking the girl you love to marry you should not be so stress-inducing."
"Exactly," Scott agrees. "So go with your gut."
"My gut says understated."
"So does mine," Scott says, smiling. "Besides, it's not like she's ever gonna say no."
"How do you know?" Stiles asks, getting up and moving to grab his jacket before following Scott out of the room.
"You do realize that this is the same girl who nearly got herself killed to save you from a crazed alpha, threatened a were-coyote because she thought she was getting too close to you, and turned down Jackson all three times he came back to Beacon Hills, right?" Scott asks incredulously, raising his eyebrows.
"She could still say no," Stiles mutters.
"And I'm not a werewolf," Scott deadpans as they make it down the stairs.
"I'm ready!" Skye yells as she comes hurdling towards them, purple backpack securely in place, raising her arms when she's in front of Stiles.
"Not so loud, Skyebear," Scott says, wincing at his sister's voice.
"Wow, you're getting heavy," Stiles teases Skye as he pulls her up and props her up on his waist.
She rests her hands on his shoulders, smiling adoringly at her older brother.
"No I'm not," she argues patting Stiles' hair. "Mom says I am the perfect weight for my age."
"And she's right," Chris agrees, coming up to them and handing each of them a fresh cup of coffee and Scott a bouquet of hand-picked flowers, probably Skye's.
"You are a god," Stiles mutters before taking a huge gulp out of his cup.
"Seriously, best father-in-law award goes to you," Scott says, taking a swallow out of his own cup.
"And you better remember it," Chris orders, pointing at Scott, and if Stiles wasn't so busy making farting noises and weird faces at his sister, he would probably laugh at Scott's terrified face.
As it just so happens, Stiles hasn't properly seen Skye since he got here three days ago, and he missed her more than he can believe. Add to that the enormous giggle she just let out and the overly affectionate hug she just gave him that make it so he can't focus on anything other than making sure he doesn't trip on anything and returning his sister's hug. He only lets go of her to get her in the car, jumping in the backseat with her, and Scott gets into the driver's seat without asking any questions, throwing the flowers on the seat next to him and securing both his and Stiles' coffee in the cup holders.
Skye scoots very close to Stiles as soon as he's in the car, snuggling under his arm and resting her tiny converse-clad feet on his knee. He looks down at her and smiles before pretending to attack her. She lets out a high-pitched giggle at which Scott groans, before ducking her head to escape Stiles' teeth. As the sheriff's son, he should probably let go of his sister and tuck her into her seatbelt, but he's never really cared for things he's supposed to do, and she looks far too happy right now tapping at his cheeks while he blows raspberries at her for him to let her go.
Scott's just turned on the ignition when Stiles pulls out his phone to call Lydia.
"Are you calling Lydia? Because I wanna talk to her, please, please, please, pretty please?" Skye asks excitedly as soon as she sees Stiles dialing.
"Skye, we're gonna see her in less than ten minutes."
"I knooow, but I wanna talk to her in the phone."
"Alright, okay, you will talk to her," he replies, trying to calm her down. "And it's on the phone."
"I wanna talk to her on the phone," she repeats after him, her eyes pleading, and he can't help but kiss her hair.
"Just let me talk to her first."
"Alright," she says, deflating a little, and she looks so much like Scott with her frustrated pout.
Everyone keeps insisting that she looks like Stiles with her upturned nose and big brown eyes, but Stiles can't see it. The only thing he can focus on is her unruly dark curls, so much like Melissa, and her pout, so much like Scott. She's got their coloring too, her tan skin a stark contrast to Stiles' own pale color, and he thinks he loves her so much more for it. His sister's going to break alot of hearts someday and he and Scott will be wolfing out on any boy - or girl, because really, she can choose to be whatever she wants to be - who so much as looks at her. And yes, he will be wolfing out too, because when it comes to Skye, he's twenty times more viciously protective of her than he is of anyone else. Except maybe Lydia.
The only thing that he will proudly admit Skye got from him are her street smarts. Even at four years old, the girl can manipulate any situation to her favor.
He snaps out of it when he hears the dial tone on the other end of the line, and before he has time to register anything, Lydia's already answered.
"You better be dying or dead," she greets him with, and despite the less than warm welcome, Stiles feels his heart skip a beat at the sound of her voice. Even after all these years.
"Fortunately I am neither of those things, but I do have Skye and Scott and we are on our way to the hospital," he replies, going for the most reassuring voice he can muster.
"I don't believe you."
She sounds like she's pouting and he misses her.
"Skye, tell Lydia where we're going," he says, handing the phone to his little sister who looks like he just handed her a million bucks.
"I got mom flowers and dad Mr. Snuffles so he wouldn't feel scared anymore," she says as soon as the phone's with her, completely blowing Stiles off, and he's tempted to laugh.
She listens carefully to what Lydia's saying on the other line, a giddy sort of look lighting up her face.
"But Scotty said his head hurts so I can't talk very loud," Skye answers and Stiles chuckles.
She listens closely to Lydia again, the smile on her face growing bigger with each passing second. He loves how much his sister loves Lydia. And he loves how much Lydia loves his sister.
"Okay!" She finally yells and Stiles sees Scott wince in the rearview mirror.
"Not so loud, Skyebear," Scott pleads with her.
"I'll see you in a little while, Lydia," Skye says just as loud before handing the phone back to Stiles.
"What have you done?" Stiles asks as he moves the phone to his ear.
"Don't go accusing me of doing things," Lydia says innocently. "You know I'm not that smart."
"Uh-huh, yes, and I'm secretly a girl," Stiles mutters, rolling his eyes.
"That makes me a lesbian then," Lydia states matter-of-factly. "Kira will be happy to know. And stop rolling your eyes at me."
"Okay, first of all, that thing you do where you know what I'm doing with my face without actually seeing my face is actually really scary," he says in one breath, and Skye giggles next to him as she toys with the stuffed wolf Lydia gave her all those years before. "Second, you know you've lost all chances you've ever had with Kira. She's been all over Caitlin's area since they met at that party last month."
"Ew Stiles," Lydia shivers on the other end of the line. "Could you maybe not talk about Caitlin's area or the fact that Kira's all over it in front of your sister?"
"She knows Caitlin's into girls," Stiles says matter-of-factly.
"Yes but neither she - nor I for that matter - need to know who's up in her area."
"Yeah, okay," Stiles mumbles trying to get back on track. "How's it going on the baby front?"
"Melissa's not fully dilated yet, but she's almost there so it shouldn't be much longer. And your dad's panicking is no worse than the last time."
"Alright," Stiles says, and he feels Skye pull something out of his pocket. He looks down to find the small dark velvet box in her hand.
"What's that?" Skye asks, turning the box over in her hands to examine it.
"Okay, well, we're almost there, so hang tight til we get there," he says into his phone, his eyes wide as he watches Skye examine the box.
"Alright. I'll see you, soon. Love you."
"Love you, too," he replies before shutting the phone and quickly taking the box from Skye's prying hands. "Skye, I told you not to pick people's pockets," Stiles says, turning his attention to his sister.
"I didn't pick it, I promise," she replies hurriedly, a worried look creeping up her face. "It was almost out of your pocket like it was falling. I saved it."
"Thank you, then," Stiles says as he chuckles lightly.
"What is it?" Skye asks, her curiosity getting the better of her again.
Stiles hesitates for a second, but then he opens the box to show his sister the ring, a simple gold band with a round-shaped diamond at the center, surrounded by two tiny rubies on each side. The diamond is encased in intricate old detailing, the same color as the gold band.
"It's a gift for a very special friend," Stiles answers simply, unable to lie to his sister, but also worried about all the questions the entire truth might entail.
"It's so pretty," Skye marvels as she looks at the ring, her eyes alight with wonder.
"I'm glad you think so," Stiles says honestly, happy to have his sister's blessing.
"Your friend must be very special," Skye states, sounding much older than she really is, and Stiles can't help but laugh at the truth her words carry.
"She is," he mutters under his breath, his heart skipping a beat when he thinks of Lydia. "Hey Skyebear, can you do something for me?" He watches her nod wholeheartedly at him. "Can you keep this safe with you until the end of the day?" He says, closing the box and handing it to his sister. "But you can't tell anybody about this. It has to be our little secret."
"Okay," Skye whispers, carefully taking the box out of his hands and pulling her bag of her back to hide the box in it. "I promise," she says, holding out her pinkie for him.
Stiles smiles before holding her pinkie with his. He presses a kiss to her hair before looking up to find himself in the hospital parking. He can already see Lydia standing near the main doors, and his heart skips another beat. She looks tired, her clothes rumpled and her strawberry blonde hair messily done, and he still doesn't think anyone could ever look as beautiful as her.
He jumps out of the car before helping Skye get out, and she's barely on the ground before she sprints across the car park and towards Lydia who greets her with open arms.
"Dude, you just gave Lydia's engagement ring to a 4-year-old," Scott says as he moves to walk next to him, handing him his coffee cup.
"She keeps that backpack no farther than two feet from her at all times," Stiles states simply. "There's no one I trust more than her to keep it safe."
He catches Lydia's gaze and the smile she sends him does things to him. This is the woman he wants to be with forever. Not that he ever thought otherwise, but it boggles him how he feels exactly the same after all these years. No, actually, not the same, because somehow, he manages to fall more in love with her every day that passes.
She feels her heart grow ten times when she spots Stiles' Jeep.
She sees Scott park the car, and Stiles get out before helping his sister out. Her feet have barely touched the ground before she sprints her way, and Lydia doesn't hesitate for a second, kneeling and opening her arms for Skye. The little girl hugs her with all her might, like she hasn't seen her in a really long time - she saw her just the day before -, and Lydia keeps her arms locked tight around Skye before she lifts her off the ground.
"Wow, you're getting heavy," Lydia mumbles when she feels herself almost lose her balance, and Skye pulls away to look at her with a big smile on her face. "What?"
"That's what Stiles said," Skye exclaims giddily.
"Oh, yeah?" Lydia teases, tickling Skye and causing her laughter to fill the open car park.
Lydia stops when she catches Stiles looking at her, and she sends him the biggest smile she can muster. She's missed him. Like legit, wish-you-were-here, I-need-you-all-the-time missed him. She'll blame it on the fact that they haven't spent a night apart since they moved in together three months ago.
Stiles had already gotten his degree in History from Stanford - with a minor in Gender Studies - when he showed up on Lydia's doorstep a week after his graduation and announced that he was sick of them being apart and he was going to look for a job in Boston. His impressive GPA scored him an interview with one of the area's most famed history professors, and he's been working as his assistant ever since.
Of course, by the time he showed up on her doorstep, Lydia'd already earned her degrees in both Molecular Biology and Applied Mathematics. She's working on earning her PhD for both, starting with Molecular Bio, and she's also got the whole Languages minor going to brush up on her eight languages. Stiles has also found them an awesome genetics program to join where no one makes fun of him for pretending to be Professor X and not one person bats an eye whenever Lydia tells him she might have found something that could help them trace the lineage of werewolves.
So they moved in together and nothing changed except that the hole in Lydia's heart grew a little smaller and her world became a little brighter.
Bottom line is they haven't spent the night together in two days and Lydia misses her boyfriend. So when Scott comes and plants a kiss to her cheek before pulling Skye out of her arms and walking inside the hospital ahead of them, Lydia doesn't object. And when Stiles puts his coffee cup on a nearby bench and steps closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist before pulling her to him and burying his head in her shoulder, she doesn't resist. And when he pulls away slightly to steal a kiss, she returns it happily.
"Hi," he whispers, pulling back to smile at her.
"Hi," she returns his greeting, the smile nearly breaking her face in half.
"I thought you wanted to kill me," he teases, fingers tracing shapes on her lower back, and she can't help the shiver that runs through her body at the sensation.
"Oh I do," she confirms, a serious look crossing her features. "But I also kinda missed you," she continues, her voice softening as she quirks her head to the side, fiddling with the hairs on the back of his neck.
"Yeah?" He asks, and she wants to laugh because if he still doesn't know how much she needs him after all these years, then they've got a really big problem.
"Yeah," she says, nodding her head and pulling herself slowly closer, until their lips meet again in a slow kiss.
It still amazes her after all this time how something as simple as kissing Stiles can make her feel so many things. How it can make her feel alive and protected and excited and afraid and wanted and small and loved all the same time. How it can make her heart beat so fast that she worries it won't ever slow back to a human rhythm. How his lips fit so well with hers, and how she still feels like she's being properly kissed for the first time whenever she feels him pull her lower lip between his teeth, or slide his tongue across her lips until she can't help but open her mouth wider to let him in, or suck on her lower lip like it's the best thing he'll ever taste.
She hears herself moan when his fingers tease the skin on her waist where her shirt has lifted, and she pulls herself away abruptly.
"No, no no, Stiles, no- we can't, not here. Not when Melissa's in labor," she mumbles, leaning into his touch when he brushes a stray hair off her cheek, resting her hands on his chest.
He feels strong and firm under her fingers. He doesn't say anything, smiling instead and leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead before pulling away. He doesn't completely let go, though, keeping one arm around her as they make their way into the hospital.
"This is mine now," she states as she picks up Stiles' coffee from the bench on their way in. His smile is the only sign he hears her.
"Exactly how hungover are you?" he asks as they wait for the elevator.
"Beethoven's-symphony-number-nine-playing-backwards-on-drums hungover."
"Ouch," Stiles mutters as they make their way into the elevator before Lydia presses the button to their floor.
"Yep," she agrees. "I think I even got a little high at one point," she continues, squinting at the memory.
"Two puffs barely constitute as getting high," Stiles says, rolling his eyes.
"You were there?" Lydia asks, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.
"We snuck out to the back alley of the Jungle to make out and we found Parrish getting high there," Stiles explains.
"Parrish? Deputy Parrish? Getting high?"
"Yep," Stiles confirms. "And you told him you'd tell on him if he didn't share."
"I threatened a deputy for some weed?" Lydia asks incredulously. She's pretty sure her eyebrows have disappeared in her hairline, her eyes wide in shock. "The last time I got high was when Jackson left for London."
"Yeah, I know," Stiles remembers. "Scott's brilliant idea to help you forget was to bake brownies to get you baked."
"Wait, Parrish's gay?" Lydia asks suddenly.
"He's a little gay," Stiles says as they get out of the elevator.
"Didn't he ask Malia out that one time she was at the station?"
"So?"
"Nothing, I mean whatever floats his boat. The whole thing just feels like a bad sitcom."
"Yeah well, last night did feel like a bad sitcom," Stiles mutters as they make their way towards the waiting room. "Anyway, how far along is she?"
"Eight centimeters," Lydia says as they approach the rest of their group, a look of bewilderment still etched on her face.
"Nine actually," Cora corrects before leaning in to give Stiles a hug.
"I meant Melissa, not you," Stiles teases pointing at Cora's tiny protruding bump and Lydia rolls her eyes with a smile on her face.
"Asshole," Cora mutters under her breath but she's barely able to hide her amused smirk. "I'm serious, though. Your dad just ran out freaking out about how she's almost there."
"Lydia come sit next to me!" Lydia hears Skye say and she looks at her to see her perched on Allison's lap.
She does as she's told, pulling Skye into her own lap when she's seated.
"I'm going to have a little baby brother soon," Skye announces once she's settled.
"I thought they were keeping the baby's gender a surprise," Lydia asks Stiles when he takes a seat next to her.
"They are," he confirms, turning to look at Skye with a raised eyebrow. "Skyebear, who told you it's gonna be a boy?"
"The baby told me," Skye answers simply, fiddling with the stuffed wolf in her lap.
"The baby told you?" Scott asks, both he and Allison turning to look at his sister.
"I asked him when I was with mommy last week," she explains like it's so obvious, continuing to play with the stuffed animal. "I told him to kick once if he was a girl and twice if he was a boy. He kicked twice."
"Makes sense," Stiles shrugs.
Lydia can't help but hold Skye closer to her. She wraps her arms tighter around the little girl in her lap, pressing a kiss to her hair. She turns to look at Stiles only to find him looking at them with a smile on his face.
To think that she nearly lost him so many times. They still wake up every day wondering if today's gonna be the day Deucalion's bite takes effect on him. But it never does. And Lydia's never been more thankful for anything, so she stopped asking how they got so lucky a long time ago. She's learned that as long as her pack's okay, she doesn't need to question anything.
So when he reaches for her hand, she doesn't hesitate before linking her fingers with his.
It all happens so fast after that. A nurse comes out to tell them the baby's on his way, and not twenty minutes later, the sheriff comes out to tell them they have a little brother. Stiles is by his father's side before Lydia has time to say anything, and she can't help but smile when Stiles pulls his father in for a hug. Skye runs to wiggle her way between them and they can't seem to stop laughing at her antics before the sheriff picks her up and starts kissing her. Scott joins them soon after, and then everyone follows to congratulate them.
Scott, Stiles and Skye get to go in a few minutes before the rest of them, until one of Melissa's nurses - friends - decides to throw all caution to the wind and let the rest of the pack inside the room. Lydia rushes to Melissa's side as soon as she's there.
"I'm fine," Melissa whispers when Lydia presses a kiss to her hair, an answer to the unspoken question.
Lydia never knew how much she craved having a mother who actually spoke to her beyond telling her to lose weight or make sure her grades stayed up, until she met Melissa McCall. She'll never act like an ungrateful child and deny the fact that she had a good childhood and financial security, but sometimes she wishes her parents made her feel more like their daughter and less like their responsibility. It's like they got so busy trying to ensure that she had everything she physically needed that they forgot she had emotional needs too. Emotional needs that were left unanswered until she met Melissa and Sheriff Stilinski. They have been more her parents the past six years than any blood relatives could ever be, and for that she'll be forever grateful.
She's pulled out of her thoughts when she feels Melissa squeeze her hand, a tired but peaceful look on her face. She slowly turns to look at the little bundle in Melissa's arms, and she can't help but gasp when she feels her heart somehow stretch wider, the little boy in the woman's arms marching right into it and settling into the newly acquired space.
It's sort of ridiculous to compare her heart to a piece of real estate, but it does feel like that sometimes, like a raw piece of land where people seem to randomly rent space, only to never leave.
The baby is barely an hour old, so it would be ridiculous to say he looks like Stiles, but Lydia doesn't miss the little mole right by his lower lip. He looks so peaceful in his mother's arms, and Lydia's taken by surprise when Melissa moves the baby quietly away from her chest and towards Lydia.
"Melissa, no-" she starts to object.
"Be quiet and hold your brother," Melissa orders softly and Lydia feels her eyes well up, but she manages to contain the tears.
Melissa places the baby gently in Lydia's arms, and he whimpers lightly before snuggling into Lydia's chest. She can barely speak she's so emotional, but she feels Stiles come up to stand beside her, one arm around her shoulder, the other protectively on his baby brother's head.
She gets the urge to cry again when she feels Stiles press a kiss to her temple, an image of them holding a baby of their own somehow clearer than the usual.
Melissa reaches her hand towards Stiles and squeezes his own with a smile on her face before pulling away.
"Have you decided what to name him yet?" Allison asks, stepping closer to Lydia and smiling at the baby in her arms.
"Oh god," Stiles mutters, straightening up and looking at Melissa. "Please, don't let my dad choose his name, or he's gonna end up called Bartholomew and then he's gonna have to call himself Biles and Biles is not an attractive name!"
"Calm down Stiles, before you give yourself an aneurism," Cora mutters and Isaac snorts next to her.
"Um, we were actually thinking Avery," Melissa announces softly, trying to hide her smile.
"Avery," Stiles repeats after her, a smile forming on his face, before he turns to look at his little brother again. "Avery," he repeats, as if testing the name.
"Yes and I got to choose his middle name," Skye says excitedly, and the Sheriff kisses her before placing her on the bed next to her mother.
"Oh yeah?" Cora asks. "What is it then?"
"Jasper," Skye says, snuggling into her mother's side and Melissa smiles proudly at her daughter.
"Like that boy you like," Allison teases and Skye nods happily.
"What? No- who- what boy that she likes? Scott stutters, perking up with a frown on his face.
"Yeah, my sister's too young to date," Stiles agrees and Lydia snorts at their seriousness.
"Relax boys," Cora interferes. "I've already handled this," she announces and everybody turns to look at her with a questioning look. "Skye, what do we do when a boy is bothering us?" She asks the little girl.
"We kick him in his special place," Skye answers proudly
There's a collective snort heard around the room and the sheriff's eyes seem to have gone out of their sockets.
"Oh my god," Stiles mutters, rolling his eyes. "You've turned my sister into you."
"And you should be proud," Cora says, laughing.
"Yes, you should," Skye agrees and Lydia lets out a surprised chuckle.
They're ushered out of the room after a while because Melissa might be their pack mom, but she's their pack mom who just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, so she understandably needs her rest.
Lydia's sitting in the waiting room with Skye, waiting for Scott and Stiles to finish talking to the sheriff when she sees it. Skye's riffling through her backpack, looking for something in there, when she pulls out a small dark purple velvet box, breathing a sigh of relief when she finds it. Lydia's eyes widen, trying to make sense of what she's seeing.
"Skye, what's this?" She asks, pointing at the box in her hand.
"I'm not supposed to say," Skye says, looking guiltily at Lydia. "Stiles told me to keep in a secret," she explains. "But he likes you a lot so I think I'm allowed to show you," she continues after a second, opening the box and handing it to Lydia. "He said it's for a very special friend."
She takes the box from the little girl's hand, and Lydia feels her heart actually stop. In it sits the most beautiful ring, an elegant mix of gold and diamond and rubies. And unless Stiles has another very special friend that he's not telling her about, then this ring is hers.
She takes a deep breath, trying to keep from getting emotional. She spots Stiles and Scott at the end of the hallway, but they're too busy talking to notice them.
She closes the box and hides it in her fist.
"Hey Skye, can I keep this for a few minutes?" Lydia asks gently. "I'll give it back when we're in the car."
"But what if Stiles gets mad?" Skye whispers, and she looks so worried Lydia almost gives her the ring back.
"He won't," she reassures instead, running her fingers through Skye's hair. "I won't let him."
"Okay," Skye concedes. "But don't lose it."
"I won't," Lydia promises quietly just as Stiles and Scott reach them.
"Are you guys ready?" Scott asks.
"Scotty why can't we stay with mommy too?" Skye asks, reaching her tired little arms towards Scott who pulls her up and holds her to him.
"Because mommy and the baby need to rest and they can't rest if we're here," Scott explains, leading the way for them. Lydia smiles at Stiles when he wraps an arm around her and starts leading her out. "But you get to spend the night with me and Stiles and Lydia and Allison."
"Can Cora and Isaac and Derek come too?"
"They're right outside waiting for us," Scott reassures Skye and she hugs him tighter and rests her head on his shoulder.
They've just walked outside the hospital and into the parking lot when Lydia stops in her tracks. She doesn't plan to do, doesn't think about. She just stops walking. Stiles stops a few feet ahead of her and turns to look at her. Skye and Scott are looking at her just a few feet behind him.
"Lydia?" Stiles asks, a worried look on his face.
"Will you marry me?"
He feels his heart stop for one, two, three seconds before it kickstarts back into life. Did he hear her right? Did she just propose to him?
"Wh- What?" He stutters, turning back to look at Scott, only to find him standing there with Skye in his arms, eyes wide as saucers, the hint of a smile on his face.
"Oh go- shit," Lydia mumbles, a frustrated air to her. "God," she continues, holding her hand to her forehead. "I just ruined this for you."
"How- How do you," he mutters, trying to think back to a time where he might've let his plans slip. "How do you know?"
Lydia doesn't say anything, holding up a tiny purple velvet box in her hand instead. Of course.
"Don't be mad at her," Lydia says as she starts to walk towards him. "I made her show me."
"I'm not mad at her," Stiles argues, shaking his head. Of course he's not mad at her. He can never be mad at Skye. "I'm just- this is not how I wanted it to happen."
"How did you want it to happen then?" Lydia asks, stopping when she's close enough that he can see the freckles on her nose.
"Well for starters, I'm meant to be the one who pops the question," he teases, a smile lighting his face.
"Is that so," Lydia asks unable to contain her chuckle.
"Yep," he confirms, reaching out to take her hand. "
"And?"
"I was gonna take you to School."
"School?" She asks, a surprised look on her face.
"It's where we met," he explains.
"But I was horrible to you when we were in school," Lydia argues.
"No you weren't."
She doesn't say anything, just looks at him with a raised eyebrow, a no bullshit look on her face.
"Okay, you were a little horrible to me when we were in school," he admits and it earns him a laugh from her. "But my selective memory dictates that I only remember the good times."
"The good times," she echoes, nodding with a skeptical look on her face. "Like?"
"The first time you went to formal with me."
"Then blew you off to go find Jackson," she counters and Stiles feels frustration make its way to the surface.
"Fine then," he continues with a sigh. "The first time you cheered at a Lacrosse game for me."
"Then went to cry on your shoulder because of Jackson."
"Jesus, Lyds, are you trying to get me to not propose to you?" He asks, irritation getting the best of him, but Lydia doesn't seem remotely affected by his attitude.
"Will it ever work?"
"No," he admits, reaching out for the box she's still holding.
"So, you were gonna take me to school, and?" She continues, getting the conversation back on track.
"I don't know, just ask you?"
"Just ask me?" She repeat, an incredulous look on her face. "Wow, please don't put so much effort into it!"
"What did you want me to do?" Stiles asks, flailing a little. "I figured you'd like something simple!"
"I do like something simple," Lydia confirms, "but at least, like, make a small speech or something."
"A speech?"
"Yes, a speech!"
"What, like tell you how I've loved you since before I can even remember?" He nearly shouts, taking a second to breathe before jumping into words again. "Literally, okay, because I lost my memory and I know I've loved you since before that," he continues. "Lydia," he says, breathing deeply and holding her gaze. "Lyds, I don't know how I got so lucky. I really don't. I woke up one day with no recollection of anything, and this beautiful, smart, amazing girl was waiting for me by my bedside. And I was horrible to her. I pushed her away and then gave her hope only to push her away again. But she wouldn't let me push her away. You didn't let me push you away, Lyds. You didn't give up on me. And for some crazy reason, you chose me, out of all of the guys who were literally dying to be with you. You picked me. And you're still with me now, and I can't imagine ever not wanting to be with you. And I don't know if I say it enough, but I love you. And I don't know how I got so lucky," he repeats, and he chokes a little on his words. He loves her so much and she's just so beautiful.
For a minute or so, she doesn't say anything. She just stands there, staring at him, her breathing shallow, her eyes glistening in the dark, the streetlights reflecting in them.
"That's a pretty good speech," she finally whispers, a small smile gracing her lips, and Stiles feels himself let out a breath he doesn't know he's holding.
He stands there for a second, wondering whether or not to get down on that one knee. It's too cliché, he knows, but this whole proposal is anything but cliché, so he might as well give her the down-on-one-knee bit.
"I was, um," he hesitates before going down on one knee, reaching one hand into his pant pocket. "I was gonna give you this first," he mumbles, pulling out a thin red string tied into a circle. "I don't know if you remember," he continues, a little bit unsure, "but that day we were in my room-"
"I was tying a red string around my finger," she interrupts, picking up where he left off. "It's like the tale of the lovers tied by the red string."
"Right," Stiles says, laughing a little. "I forget that you're the smartest person alive sometimes. Why did I ever doubt that you'd get the reference," he questions himself and Lydia laughs along with him, a tear making its way down her cheek. "Lydia Martin," Stiles asks regaining his composure and looking up at her. "Will you marry me?"
She doesn't say anything for a while, the smile on her face the only sign that she's still alive. But then she starts nodding frantically, and she manages to let out a small "yes" and it's all the invitation Stiles needs. He slips the red string onto her finger and then the ring, before jumping on onto his feet and moving to kiss her. Her lips taste salty from the tears and she's sniffling a little and Stiles has never felt so happy.
"It's about damn time!" He hears someone yell in the background and they both turn around to find that Cora, Isaac, Allison and Derek have joined Scott and Skye, and they're all wearing big smiles on their faces.
Stiles looks at them for a second longer, before turning his gaze back Lydia. She's looking at him like he's the most important thing in the world, and he realizes that to her, he is. She doesn't say anything, leaning in to kiss him one more time, before she links her fingers with his and guides him back to their pack.
