Chapter Twenty-Five: Season Two: Epsideo Seven: Restraint

Are you high enough without the Mary Jane like me?

Do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me?

Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me?

Saying that you shouldn't waste your pretty face like me?

Halsey

On Sunday, Matt and I shuffle around our entire shift picking up after people. Nobody really talks to us, but it's comfortable. I'm grateful I don't have to interact with people like the waiters and waitresses.

On our break, Matt and I go outside in back with our plates of the restaurant food. I have a burger and fries, and they are delicious. Not to mention I took an entire cup of sliced pickles. I love pickles. I can write a sonett about pickles.

Matt goes to his car and gets his camera. It's an expensive appearing one, probably cost thousands of dollars. I wish I had one of those childhoods where I could have wasted months of hard work on a camera. Instead I'd been an idiot and wasted any money I made on drugs. This kid is lucky, I think. At least he is in this case. I still have no idea why Matt is in therapy; so I can't assume everything in his life is perfect.

He nibbles on fried chicken and mashed potatoes while taking pictures of me stuffing my face. They can't be flattering.

"Maybe you can take my baby photos when I start showing?" I suggest with a grin, because Matt is quite nice and I feel comfortable enough to let him take pictures of my future swollen stomach.

He beams. "I would love to. I haven't taken any professional type shoots yet, but that would be great for experience."

"I feel so cheesy just thinking about taking baby photos, and sending out invites to a baby shower. My ugh…" what do I call Derek? "My lover? My lover and I just bought a house together."

"Why does your lover sound more like a question?" he chuckles, toying with a setting on his camera. I peer over his shoulder to see a close up of my chocolate brown eyes; they don't look as sad as they used to anymore.

"Derek and I haven't defined a title to our relationship."

Matt grins. "You don't have a title, but you bought a house together?"

I chuckle. "Silly, right?"

He shrugs.

"Hes better than when I first met him, and he's trying to be there for me. He wants to be there for the baby, so, that's what counts. Right?"

"Yeah, sure," Matt agrees. "Kinda reminds me of this girl I like at school."

"Or really? How so?"

"She used to date this guy, well they say they are broken up. I'm not sure they are. It's confusing."

"Most relationships are."

"She's so beautiful. I don't know how anyone can not want her. If I was that guy, I would never let her go."

I smile. "Maybe you should ask her out."

"You think so?"

"I think you're a handsome fellow. You should ask her out. Worse case scenario? She says no. Then you can move on instead of pinning."

Matt stares idly down at the camera as he flicks through the images he took of me. "True…" he smiles warmly. "Thanks Halden."

I bump my shoulder against his. "No problem Matt. That's what I'm here for. Giving advice to the young-in's."

"There is actually this rave I heard about. Maybe I should invite her to that."

"Sounds very sketchy for Beacon Hills." A rave? Seriously?

"There are a lot of sketchy things in Beacon Hills…"

Derek. Yeah. Derek is pretty sketchy. With his werewolfiness.

I sigh dramatically. "Oh, I know."

When our break is over, we head back to work cracking jokes for the rest of our shift about the shitty costumers.

After work I decide I need a change. It all starts when I slam my car door shut and my hair gets stuck in the doorway when I go to start my car. It yanks my head and I yelp, because ouch.

Opening the door I let my hair loose. Then as I'm looking in my rearview mirror to back out of the parking space; I catch my almost blonde hair. The teal has faded so much I would hardly even call it blue at this point. I thought I just touched it up? I guess I've been showering a lot.

I go to the nearest, cheapest beauty saloon and chop off my hair. It's now a shoulder length graduated bob, and it looks a million times better than the frayed bleached ends from the faded teal hair. Then I drop off at a grocery store on my way home and buy a cheap dark chocolate brown hair dye; I make sure it is a similar color to my eyebrows. Also, I read that coloring your hair while pregnant can be bad for the baby because of the fumes - I buy a mask to cover my nose and mouth.

Then I go home and spend thirty minutes in the bathroom making my hair a natural color. I hardly recognize myself after I shower. I look like an older version of me from fifteen, which is the last year I had a natural hair color. It's been so many shades since then: teal, lavender, neon green, red, a very disgusting mixture of colors that almost reminded me of vomit.

I think I like it brown.

Scott comes home as I finish blow drying my hair. He stops abruptly where he's about to enter his room in the hall, stares at me with wide confused eyes as I exit the bathroom.

"Haldey?"

"Scott?" I say in the same questioning tone.

"Wow… you look… great!"

Sighing at the truthfulness behind his words (because he is so overjoyed he must have really thought the teal hair was awful), "Thanks."

"Why did you change it?" he asks.

"Felt like it was time."

Scott grins broadly. "Well, you look beautiful."

He moves to go into his bedroom and I make a noise of objection. Turning to me with a raised brow he waits for me to speak.

"Derek said that an omega without a pack will go crazy and kill people," I tell him.

Turning to face me directly, his eyes are as wide as saucers. "What?"

"I wanted to know what would happen to you if you didn't join a pack. Derek says you don't need them all to be wolves, but you have to join a pack…" My mouth twists unpleasantly. "Scott, I don't-I don't want you to die."

"I'm not…" He pauses as I release a sob. I'm crying? Oh god. I'm crying. I hold my palms over my eyes and try to prevent myself from the pitiful hormones releasing tears from my body. "Haldey!" Scott rushes over to me and wraps me in a warm hug. I cling to his shirt, fists tightening in the fabric hopelessly. "Haldey, I'm not going to die, okay? I promise."

I smack my hand on his chest. "Don't lie! Don't! You can promise stuff like that!"

"I promise." Scott squeezes me tightly. "I promise you."

"Please," I whimper. "I can't do this without you. You're everything, okay. I love you more than anyone. You're my brother."

Scott rests his chin atop my head as I nuzzle myself against his chest. "I love you too, Haldey."

On Monday I wake up at eight to get ready for work. I change into a black tee-shirt and faded jean shorts. Lisa said to dress in something I didn't mind getting dirty, and I'm sure this nearly skin-tight shirt won't be useful to me in the upcoming months. The baby bump is already visbale through the shirt.

Mom is already up. She is in Scott's bedroom frantically tearing apart. I stop in the doorway with my brow raised. At first she carries on muttering to herself not realizing I am there.

That's when I see her find his box of condoms. She flips the box upside down. Only one condom falls out. I wince. Not even I want to know that.

"Mom. What are you doing?" I ask.

She jumps. Placing a hand on her heart, she shrieks, "Dear lord! I didn't even know you were home. Don't you have work today? You changed your hair? It looks great, honey!"

I catch her deflecting and roll my eyes. Mom is as good of a liar/deflector as Scott. "Yeah, thanks. I start at nine. What are you doing?"

She sighs, throws her hands up defeatedly. "I don't know what's going on with him… I was just… I was just looking for something to explain this whole situation regarding Jackson and the odd behavior. He's been so different, so distant. I used to be his best friend." She rubs her temples. "Now he won't even talk to me. Did I do something wrong? Does this have something to do with your dad?"

Coming into Scott's room I shove a bunch of stuff piled on his bed to the floor. Mom rolls his computer chair around so she's facing where I sit on the edge of his bed.

"He's a teenager," I tell her. "He's going through teenage shit. Mom, he loves you. It has nothing to do with you."

Nothing, except his excessive need to keep you safe.

"And it definitely has nothing to do with Dad. I think all of us are better off without his influence."

With a sigh, she stands and begins to straighten the mess she made. Scott's not even that messy for a teenage boy, and she made his room look like a nightmare. "I can't believe he has a restraining order against another teenager."

"Sorry Mom."

"And… I'm sorry about… about how I reacted about Derek the other day." She scrunches up her nose. "You're right. Scott admitted to me he lied about seeing Derek at the school. He said he just blamed it on him because he thought Derek was chasing them since he called the cops on him the first time."

I don't want to add to her anger towards Scott by saying something stupid, making her seem like her lack of trust in him is valid. I understand why she feels that way, and if I were her I would feel that way too. Betrayed. Confused. Angry.

But it was for the best. Mom is innocent. She doesn't need to be caught up in this mess right now. If we can keep her out of it until things straighten themselves out, it'd be for the better.

"I still don't understand why Derek Hale had a dead girl buried in his backyard…" she says, pointedly looking at me.

"It was his sister," I admit. "She was murdered."

Mom holds a hand to her lips. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Poor guy," she mutters. "How did you meet him anyway?"

I smile. "I went for a walk and bumped into him. Then I kept bumping into him randomly. Once you bump into someone who looks like that, you start thinking about bumping something else."

She slaps her hands over her face. "Haldey…"

"What? I'm already pregnant, Mom."

"Well, now that the cats out of the bag, he needs to meet me soon. Since he's obviously not out of town on business."

My cheeks burn red at the prior lie I distinctly recall using on my mother. "Hah, yeah. I will invite him over whenever you're off work sometime soon."

"Did you…" she purses her lips. "Have you told your father? About the-"

"-No."

She frowns. "Are you going to? Or should I?"

I want to be a bratty teenager and tell my mother that she can talk to him. But I'm carrying another life inside of me, and I know I need to start confronting my problems rather than running away from them.

"I will tell him… eventually. Soon."

Mom nods with a soft grin. "You should head out. Don't wanna be late."

I stand and give her a hug. She kisses my cheek, and I nervously leave the safe confines of my home.

Work is okay. Fred is on duty instead of Lisa today. He's nice, but not nearly as loquacious as Lisa can be.

I don't see Matt after work. He called off because he got detention for being in a fight, which seems very un-Matt like from the conversations I have had with him. He doesn't really give off the violent vibe… although, there does seem to be something kinda off about him.

Immediately after work I head over to Derek's secret spidery train lair. He is alone doing push ups when I creep down the stairs. Pausing, he glances up at me with confused eyes.

"Your hair…" Derek pushes himself to his feet. He cups my right cheek, thumb grazing under my eye tenderly. His other hand tugs on a strand of my wavy brown locks. "You look so different."

"Good different I'm assuming?"

He kisses my lips.

"Where's your goons?" I question, they should be here by now. School is way past out.

"Erica has detention," he tells me. "Boyd and Isaac are scouting."

"Scouting?"

"Checking on the Argent's."

"Stalking, you mean," I correct with a wink.

Derek rolls his eyes.

"I came to cuddle."

This has him raising both his bushy brows in confusion. "What?"

"I'm hormonal. I want pickles, and I want a hug."

I don't have to say hug twice. The next second I'm wrapped up in his strong muscular arms, holding me loosely, but close, to his chest. He kisses my temple.

"We can go get you pickles," Derek says sweetly. "Any kinda you like."

"I want all the pickles."

"All of them?" he chuckles.

"All of them. With ice cream. I want to dunk my pickles in ice cream. Mint chocolate chip ice cream… with bananas and sprinkles."

Derek reels back to eye me with disgust.

I pat my tummy. "Are you going to deny baby Derek food and nourishment?"

"That sounds more like poison."

"It sounds like heaven."

Neither of us get to have my heaven. The sound of the steel door opening to the train cart rattles loudly. Then there are rushing footsteps down the stairs.

My eyes widen dramatically as Scott comes into view carrying a nearly unconscious Erica. Her golden hair is sweaty, sticking to her clamey skin.

"Derek!" Scott shouts. "She-I-Do something!"

Everything is a flash of movement. Derek leads Scott and Stiles into a train cart. Scott gracefully places Erica onto the floor and all of us hover around her. Derek orders Stiles to, "hold her up."

Stiles is shaking as he kneels with Erica in his arms. "Is she dying?" he asks in a distressed voice, smoothing hair from her forehead.

"She might…" he pauses as he grabs a hold of her arm. "Which is why this is gonna hurt." Then he twists it. I scream as the sound of bone cracking echoes loudly throughout the room. It draws me back to that awful moment while reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Sirius is pulling on Ron's leg and J.K. Rowling writes about the crack as his bone breaks. This is the exact sound I imagined reading that as a child. It's even more horrific in person.

"You broke her arm!" Stiles screams horrified.

"It'll trigger the healing process. I still gotta get the venom out. This is where it's really gonna hurt," Derek explains, he digs his claws into her pale skin. Blood oozes out, and Erica is crying out in painful screams.

I clench my hand over my abdomen, oh god.

After a few moments of screaming, a delusional Erica lifts her free arm to Stiles cheek. She rubs her thumb tenderly over the skin and she whispers in the sweetest voice, "Stiles - you make a good Batman."

Then she is unconscious.

I don't even realize I let myself fall into an empty seat until my fingers are numb with how hard I'm digging them into the plastic. It wasn't even me in pain, but my heart is thumping erratically in my chest.

"You know who it is," Scott mutters to Derek.

Derek nods. "Jackson."

Scott purses his lips. He looks torn. "You just wanted Erica to confirm it, didn't you?" It is confirmed by the expression on Derek's face. "I'm gonna help you stop him…" My brother eyes me with a defeated look. Like he knows what he says next is the end all, not the decision he wants to make. "As part of your pack. If you want me in, fine. But we'll do it on one condition. We're gonna catch him, not kill him"

Derek waits for the catch. When Scott doesn't immediately add anything else, he asks, "And?"

My brother clenches his hands fiercely. "And we do it my way."

A part of me hates so much that Derek (un)officially part of the pack. Mostly because it seems like everything following him being bitten was for this moment. The moment he submitted, agreed to do this. It felt more of a resign, like he has given up. Another part of me is grateful. If anything Derek said is true about being an omega, that is not the life I wish for my brother. I'd rather him being submitted to Derek than to have him roaming the streets eating people. Or getting shot in the head with an arrow by his ex(sohesays)girlfriend.

Carefully, Derek scoops up Erica and takes her to a train car where her makeshift bed is. I smile at the hot pink sleeping bag and zebra print pillow. For some reason, it just seems very Erica to have such obvious teenage things.

I sit on the floor beside Erica and ask Derek, "Do you have a rag or something? And water?"

Derek leaves to get the items. Stiles and Scott hover in the doorway while I gently pat down the sweat and blood from Erica.

Stiles taps his fingers anxiously on a metal bar. "What were you guys up to?"

"Ice cream, pickles, and cuddles," I say.

"Sounds fun…"

I glance over at Stiles, who is shrinking away from the scowl Derek is shooting at him. "Well, I wouldn't know because it never happened," I tell him sarcastically.

Stiles grimaces. "Oh, yeah."

Derek huffs.

"You coming home?" Scott questions.

"No. You guys can head on out. I'll probably stay here until Erica wakes up. Make sure she is okay, and if not… well, we will see."

"Call me if anything weird happens."

"Same to you."

"Will you be home tonight?" Derek directs this as Scott.

"Ugh." Scott scrunches his nose. "Yes?"

"I'll make sure Halden gets home safe, and then we will discuss the Kanima issue. As a pack."

Stiles groans and Scott elbows him. My brother sighs, "Yeah. Sure. See you guys later."

The duo quickly retreat up the cobwebbed stairs.

After I finish cleaning Erica, Derek and I go into his train cart and lay on his makeshift bed. My back is pressed against his chest, and his arm is wrapped around me so that his palm is flat against my tiny baby bump. The bed is not even slightly comfortable. I almost offer him my bed once more, but I think Isaac may be living with him.

"We will need to get Isaac a nice bed for the house," I tell him. Derek rubs his nose against the back of my neck. "He can also get first dibs on a bedroom."

Derek says, "That sounds like a great idea."

"Have you thought about names?"

He shifts behind me. "A little."

Turning my head to stare at him over my shoulder, I urge with a smile, "Tell me."

"Maybe Natalie for a girl… and Noah for a boy." Derek keeps his face stoic, but the way he says the name gives away to the intense meaning behind them.

"Why those names?"

He shrugs.

"No, no. Don't be all passive and shit. Use your words."

"My mom's name was Natalia, and everyone called her Talia for short. She always told me she would never name us after someone else, because we are our own person. I wouldn't want to steal my mothers name, but Natalie is similar enough…" Derek shrugs again, as if he didn't share one of the most personal thoughts ever. "My grandfather was named Noel, and he helped raise my sisters and I. My father died after my youngest sister Cora was born, and my mom was the alpha of an entire pack. It had been a struggle for her."

"Those are very beautiful names."

Derek kisses my cheek.

His entire body goes rigid behind me. "Isaac and Boyd are back."

We both exit the train car to meet with the two werewolves. They both sniff the air confusedly. Isaac srunches his nose, "I smell blood."

"Erica was attacked by the Kanima. She's sleeping now," Derek explains.

Boyd takes off into the train cart that Erica is sleeping in without a word. Hmmm. I wonder… that is definitely the most expressive I've ever seen the teens face before; filled with panic and concern.

"We didn't find anything," Isaac says after a moment of silence.

"Okay," Derek grunts.

I elbow Derek in the ribs. He looks down at me with a raised brow. I motion to Isaac and him with a stern frown. He just appears confused.

"Thank you Isaac, for checking on the Argent's to make sure we are all safe tonight," I say. "Derek thanks you too. Raised eyebrows, grunts, and all."

Isaac grins broadly, "Thanks Halden."

"No, thank you. You're helping make sure that this little guy-" I point to my stomach. "-is safe."

His eyes brighten. "It's a boy?"

I frown. "Oh, I don't know. I just didn't want to call it an it."

"How about you go rest?" Derek interrupts. "Boyd and you must be exhausted."

The teen shifts awkwardly under Derek's gaze. "Ugh, yeah…"

Isaac moves to make his retreat into a train cart, Derek grabs his shoulder lightly. He gives a firm nod and sincerely tells him, "Thanks."

As soon as Isaac is out of view, I pounce on Derek and provide him a big proud kiss.

ALRIGHT. So I'm going out of town for the next few days and won't have time to write, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know this and the next few are going to be more "filler" chapters, but there are pieces in here that are relevant to the story moving forward! Sorry if they aren't super exciting :p

Thanks to all: guest(s), Lucy Greenhill, Nanda21!

RenTenTen: THANKS again for going on A03 and leaving me that super sweet message! There were a bunch of guests spamming the story and writing awful things, and now since I stopped allowing guest comments on that site I've received nothing but nice ones! :)

megladon1616: I hope today was good! I'm glad you like the house. I need to figure out how to get a pictrue posted, nothing I ever post to my ff profile ever loads! :o #HAREK

Emmettluver2010: YOU SHALL SEE what Matt has in story for everyone! bahahhaaha.

tegram143: lmfao that's how I always feel when reading a Derek story. All the doom & gloom, but once there is Derek fluff it's like EHHH what happened before again? haha

Belladonna007: I'm so happy it gives you butterflies!

Micky-Moo: They do have so much to do! Hopefully they manage to get their stuff together in time to do it all.

meangirl8: i can't release any statement on Matt at this time, because SPOILERS o_o but a little spoiler, Matt does take a liking to Halden! Not gonna go into what kinda liking. I'll let this thought fester so you can overthink and panic on it because I'm totally evil that way.

Psychotic Demonic Angel: I want them to have babies already. I need to go back through the story and figure out how much longer she has until she has them. I ALWAYS FORGET. And I totally agree. Sometimes people get addicted to drugs because of means they can't always help, like a really bad car accident that gets them addicted to pain meds. It's terrifying, and sometimes people want help, but aren't sure where to turn to. It's disgusting how closed minded some people are!

dislarryting: you're allowed to cry whenever Derek does something cute & adorable!

saltysalsa: i agree, oh my castiel is so much better. i need to make more supernatural references in this story. Halden now officialy is going to have an obsession with castiel. lol. next chapter i need to slip in a cas reference. and if anyone doesn't understand the references, they really to not pull a cas and go ahead and watch the show. for cereal! hahaha. also, i'm so excited about how much you like the story! i totally write it for my own pleasure more than anything else, but i get so elated when people actually enjoy it too. especially because i've read some really great, and some really terrible, stories on here haha.

Guest: AND it might be me that youre finding that has started posted the story on A03? Is the username lovesavetheempty? that's what lste stands for, and is me haha! but if it's not under that, then we have an issue o_o