Court hearing in this chapter! :O By the way, I have no clue how court works so I'm going off what I've seen in tv programmes and movies, no hate please :)

Shout out to:

*Serena Sterling: Exactly! But yes, it's his job to threaten Stiles a little bit ;) Here's the court case now!

*TheHungryRainbow: I always like your reviews, sweet and simple :) Well, we'll just have to see what happens, won't we? :P

*Guest/Bre x2: Of course I remember you, from my other account, you're one of my most loyal readers, silly! Those fics are on hiatus right now, and I responded to yor review on that fic, you just have to catch up to the chapters :) Cool, I hope you like the new fics on this account, I think they're alot better both plot-wise and because my writing got better, but that's just my opinion of course :)

..

Stiles walks into his house, locking the front door behind him. He glances around, hating how empty the house feels without his Dad here. At least the doctor says he'll be okay, they just have to watch and moniter him for now. And the Sheriff firmly told Stiles to stay home and not at the hospital, knowing his son hates hospitals after he watched his mother die in one. Stiles sighs before walking up the stairs to his own room.

His phone buzzes in his pocket and he brings it out, sitting on his bed in the darkness.

How's your knee? -Jess

Stiles smiles to himself, feeling abit better, when he sees who the message is from.

Dying :( -Stiles

I'm sorry, I didn't think they'd come downstairs -Jess

No, it's ok. Did u talk 2 Derek? -Stiles

Yeh. He's ok with us, I think -Jess

That's good. I'm tired, I mite turn in. Nite babe x -Stiles

Stiles sends that message nervously, unsure if he's crossing a line. But Jessie said they were seeing each other, Stiles is sure that means dating. So..he can call her 'babe', right?

Laying in bed, Jessie just stares at her phone screen. 'Babe'? 'x'? Oh, god. But, she smiles contently, typing back a reply.

Goodnight Stiles x

Stiles lets out the breath he was holding when she finally does reply. He smiles a little bit more and rests his elbows on his knees, wondering how he managed to get a Hale to send him kisses through text.

Stiles puts his phone on his bedside table and reaches for his lamp. His long fingers find the switch, turning it on.

"Jesus Christ?!" He shrieks before Derek's hand comes over his mouth, shutting up his frightened yelp.

Derek puts a finger to his own lips, Stiles' yelp ringing in his wolf ears. Derek takes his hand away from Stiles' mouth, staring the younger man dead in the eye.

"Oh, shit." Stiles says, frowning. "You're gonna kill me, right? Jesus..I-I didn't do anything to her, Derek. Nothing bad, I swear." He rambles, growing more and more nervous in the alpha's presence.

"Shut up." Derek says. Stiles goes to open his mouth again though. "Ah, stop talking." He warns, flashing his eyes red at the younger man.

Stiles decides to listen, nodding quickly, shutting his mouth.

"Listen to me closely, Stiles." He says, leaning closer to the boy. "Jessie's an adult, I can't help who she sees. But, I promise you, if you hurt her, I will kill you." He threatens him. "You hurt her, you so much as upset her, and it won't matter if you're helpful, it won't matter if you're Scott's best friend, it won't matter if you're like Ash's little brother, none of it will matter. Because I will still kill you." Derek assures him firmly.

Stiles swallows loudly, trying not to show him how scared he actually is. By the way, he's doing a terrible job of it.

"I'll make you watch as I tear the skin from your scrawny human body, do you understand me?" He asks him, shining alpha red eyes and showing bared k-nines for emphasis.

Stiles just nods, wide-eyed, because, even for Derek, that was a pretty morbid threat. But this is Jessie, Derek's little baby sister.

"Say it."

"Yeah, I-I understand." Stiles says, his heart still racing in his chest. This is definitely not what he expected to come home too.

"Good." Derek says, leaning back and walking over to Stiles' window.

"What now?" Stiles asks him. Derek turns back around to look at him.

"Nothing. As long as she's happy, you'll be fine." Derek says. Derek, as much as he hates to admit it, feels a little bad because it's clear as day he's scared the almightly hell out of Stiles. Derek's got his point across, he definitely has.

"Listen, if you can make her happy, then you and I aren't going to have a problem." Derek says, drawing back his fangs and letting his eyes become human green again. Stiles does relax at little to see no traces of Derek's wolf poking out anymore.

"But." Derek says, because he doesn't want Stiles to think he's not being dead serious, because he is. "I'll stick to my word, Stiles. You know that." He reminds him.

With that, Derek opens Stiles' window and starts to climb out. But Stiles speaks up again.

"I appreciate this, Derek, I really do. I'd do the exact same thing if it were Ash and some guy I didn't know whether I could trust her with." Stiles says.

Derek glances back over at him, a little guilt in his gut because that's exactly what's going on, and Stiles has no idea, none of them do, except Peter.

"But you don't have to worry, I'm not going to hurt her, you'll see." He says. "I..I really like her." He admits with a dorkish smile. "I just..I've never met anyone like her, you know?"

Derek just looks at the younger male with an awkward cringe, not sure what to say back to that.

"You'll see, Derek. She's gonna be just fine with me." Stiles assures him.

"I guess I will have to see." Derek nods.

Derek leaves after that, and Stiles gets into bed.

..

The next morning

"Are you ready for this?" Scott asks Ash.

"What did you find out last night?" Ash asks him, ingoring his question.

"No, just for now, we're not talking about the pack, alright?" Scott says, holding her shoulders. "Are you ready for this?" He asks her again.

"I..I think so." She says. "Yeah..I am." She nods.

"Miss McCall, they're ready for you." An officer informs her, poking his head into their waiting room. Only Scott, Hailey, Jeff and Jade are allowed in here with her, them being immediate family. The pack is already in the stands, waiting. Ash nods to the officer, giving him a small smile.

"Okay, you can do this, Ash." Hailey says. She got here on time, with Jeff and Jade.

"Yeah." Ash nods. "Okay." She says, blowing out a nervous breath. She takes Jade from Hailey's arms and into her own. "I'm gonna bring you home, baby." She promises Jade, kissing her head. She looks back up at her Aunt. "Take her to Jessie, she's good at handling her and I know she's missed Jade." Ash tell Hailey.

"That's Derek's sister, right?" Hailey asks.

"Yeah." Ash nods.

"Okay, remember, you can do this." Hailey says, squeezing her arm and taking Jade back. Jeff kisses her head and the two adults leave the room with Jade.

"Kick some ass." Scott says, pulling her into a hug. Ash nods, hugging him back tightly.

They walk out together, Ash going over to her designated seat and Scott going over to the pack.

Hailey, as requested, hands Jade to Jessie. Jessie smiles at her and sits Jade on her knee, bouncing her gently, happy to have the toddler with her again because she really did miss the little bundle of mischief.

Stiles smiles, looking to his left at Jessie. Jessie looks at him, smiling back at him, taking his hand into her's and threading their fingers together. Derek, at Jessie's left, glances at the two and right away again, still adjusting to this news of them being an item.

Ash takes her seat at the desk, taking deep breathes in and out, trying to keep herself as level-headed as possible. Ash glances over at where her father and Danielle sit at the other desk.

"Guardian application #37745091, in session." The judge says before banging his gavel. Ash can feel her heart racing in her chest, she's never been in this kind of situation before, not unless she was in trouble with the law herself. She's beyond nervous. "The request for full-custody and guardianship of Jade McCall from the party of Rafael McCall and Danielle King versus the application from the party of Ash McCall for the guardianship change is be declined." He says.

The judge clears his throat, looking at the papers in his hand, ones from both Rafael and Ash, before speaking again.

"Miss McCall has filed a petition to terminate Mr McCall's parental rights." Judge Meyers says.

"Yes, your honor." Ash nods.

"Are you prepared to assume custody if that were to come to pass?" He asks her.

"Yes, I plan too. I can provide stabilty and a safe environment for my sister as well as my brother, something I don't think their father can provide." Ash says. "I have cash assests and a long-term rental agreement with my landlord." Ash says, handing the papers to the free lawyer provided to her who occupies the space beside her.

Ash quickly spoke with Derek earlier this morning, and of course he signed off on the agreement without hesitation, knowing it will help bring Jade home for good.

"Your brother, Scott, he testified about your father's many month-long absences." The judge tells Ash.

She turns and looks at Scott quickly, she didn't know he did that. Scott nods to her, he wanted to help any way he could. Ash turns back to the judge.

"Did his disappearances upset the household?" Meyers asks her.

"Yes, you honor, alot." Ash says. She bits her lip before speaking again, the dirty laundry she kept in all those years ago needs to spill out a little bit now. But the only ones in the whole court are her father and Danielle, the pack and her family, and lawyers. "I was forced to leave college at 18 so I could take care of my family. I had three, sometimes four, jobs at one time, so I could provide for my mother once she was unfit to continue working due to her third pregnancy." Ash tells him.

The pack frown. They know how devoted Ash is to her family but this? They had no idea..

"And your father?" He asks, glancing at Rafael and back to Ash again.

"He left 2 months into the pregnancy, he only showed up again not that long ago." Ash says.

"So, you're saying his hiatus was approxiamtely 2 years long, when your family needed him the most?" Meyers asks her. Ash looks over at her father and nods.

"Yeah, when we really needed a father." She says, meeting his eyes with malice before looking back to the judge.

"Permisson to bring forth one Scott McCall?" The judge requests.

The pack all look to Scott. Ash turns and looks at him as well.

"Only if you want too." Ash tells him, knowing it might be too personal and emotional for him, especially in front of the pack.

But Scott nods and stands up anyway, wanting to help Ash. The steps through the small door and sits in the chair the lawyer pulls up for him, nodding his thanks.

"In your own words, how would you describe your father?" Meyers asks Scott.

"Um..a coward, your honor, a selfish coward." Scott says honestly. Meyers' eyebrows raise a little bit. "What my sister says is true, he walked out when we needed a father the most, when our mother needed him the most. He uh..he was never really around to begin with. He cared more about a bottle than his family-"

The pack knew something was broken in the McCall family but hearing Scott talk this way, they didn't understand how bad it really was.

"Hey, hey, Scott." Ash settles him when he starts to get mad. "It's okay." Ash says quietly, taking his hand in her's, squeezing it gently.

"A very strong opinion, Mr McCall." Meyers says, still looking at Scott.

"Yes, your honor, I apologise." He says, realising that probably wasn't very formal of him.

"You have very special children, Mr McCall." Meyers says, now looking at Rafael.

"Yes." Rafael nods. Ash represses the urge to roll her eyes. "That's why I had to leave. I couldn't stand to see them live through my battle with my work and my increasing drinking problem." Rafael says.

Ash frowns, she didn't think he's say something like that. But Rafael is smart, he knows how to play a judge, he works in a similiar field. He can play the loving father that thought he was doing right by his family. He can admit some things that won't hurt his career, and keep some things to himself.

"So, you left your family?" Meyers asks.

"Yes, to seek help." Rafael says. "And it did help. My partner helped alot too." He says, looking at Danielle with a soft smile. "I hoped to get help, become sober like I am now, and then try to reconcile with my family. Then I meet Danielle and we wanted a family of our own. And when Melissa passed..I thought it would be best we take Jade, seeing as her brother and sister were mourning, becoming upset to a point where I was worried about their mental health." Rafael says.

Ash's eyes widen. She didn't think he's play so..dirty. So duplicitous. Scott frowns, looking at Ash with worry. Ash just shakes her head at him, because she knows words aren't going to win this fight..well, she really hopes not.

"What about your other two children?" Meyers asks him.

"Ash is old enough to take care of herself, and Scott is almost there. And, as you can see, they're both strong and responsible, I didn't think I had to worry about them." Rafael says. Ash glares at him, hating how this is turning out.

"That's bullshit-" Ash says, unable to hold it back.

"Miss McCall, you're out of order." Meyers says.

"Your honor, if I may." Rafael says, taking the floor again. "Ash is my oldest, she's seen too much and been hurt too many times by my behaviour to believe I've changed. That's my fault, not her's." Rafael says.

"Shit." Stiles sighs, running his hand through his hair. He sees what Rafael's doing, he can see exactly the kind of game he's trying to play, the alcoholic father that's turned his life around for the sake of his children. They'll eat that right up. Jessie's frowning, worried, as she places her hand on Stiles' arm, seeing he's stressing out.

Hailey holds Jeff's hand tightly, watching on with worried eyes.

Derek's eyes flick between Ash, Scott, the judge and Rafael, watching and waiting for this to swing another way, for them to call Rafael out on his bullshit.

"Ash has been the one to keep things going when I haven't been around, and I'll forever be grateful for that." Rafael says as sincerely as his cheap cop get-up will let him. "I'm not the perfect parent, but I am now their only parent. I love my kids, they mean the world to me. I just want to make sure Jade is raised to be the kind of adult my other two children have blossomed into." Rafael says.

Ash sighs, rubbing her hand down her face when she sees the way Meyers' eyes soften at the kind sentimant.

"Miss McCall, would you please tell me why your father should be declared unfit and declined the guardianship?" Meyers asks, looking to her now. Ash nods, wiping her eyes quickly. She looks to Scott and she can see the hope he had earlier is fading from his eyes.

"I'm gonna fix this." Ash promises Scott, squeezing his knee. She stands up, only facing the judge, not daring look at her family or the pack behind her. She knows what she has to do.

"Miss McCall?" The judge says when she doesn't say anything. "Your appeal." He says.

"Yes, your honor." She says. She knows this truth is going to hurt Scott, maybe even the pack, the ones that don't know. But, she has to do this here and now, in court, in front of witnesses and a judge, it's the only way Ash is going to sway the judge back into her favour. If Ash had told Scott any other way, one of them would have killed Rafael. And while that solves this guardianship problem to an extent, that's not how Ash wanted to do it. She wouldn't stoop to Rafael's level and resort to violence, not again, not like she did with Danielle.

Ash takes a deep breath and exhales.

"Under the Care of Children Act 2004, under section 18, relating to a father becoming the guardian of his child; it states that if the other parent is deceased, they can become sole guardian." Ash says knowingly, having read over those sections a thousand times last night, just in case.

"Yes, this is in fact true." The judge says, mostly for the records.

"It also states that even that parent can be denied guardianship due to criminal records, more precisely, domestic abuse." Ash says, refusing to look anywhere other than at the judge, scared to look at her brother, at her father, at Danielle, at the pack. And she certainly isn't looking at Jade, who's sitting in Jessie's lap.

"What are you doing?" Rafael asks, looking at Ash.

"Order." The judge says, pointing to Rafael. Most of the pack look at Ash in confusion, especially Scott. "Yes, by the Domestic Violence Act, 1995." The judge says, looking back at Ash. "But Miss McCall, you understand that neither Mr McCall, nor Ms King, has ever been convicted of domestic violence, or any kind of violence. In fact,-" The judge says, bringing up Ash's file because he has to have all 3 of the trialers files on hand in case of something like this. "-you are the only one with a track record." He says, studying the younger woman in front of him.

"Yes, I understand." Ash nods. "I also understand that none of those convictions were even close to the harm of a child-"

"But, they're still there." Judge Meyers points out.

"Yes, your honor. I'm not making excuses, I know what I've done is wrong, and foolish." Ash nods.

"Then would you like to explain to the court why you have brought this to our attention?" He asks her.

"Yes." Ash nods. She looks down, swallowing.

The judge notices her hesitance, he notices how she frowns, how she's nervous.

Ash looks back up. She finally glances at her father. His face falls when he realises what she's going to do.

"5 days ago, I was attacked." Ash says, looking back at the judge. She holds up her cast for a moment and motions to her face.

Scott looks at Stiles with a frown, wondering what she's doing. Stiles shrugs, looking back to the girl. Derek's eyes widen a little as he realises where Ash is taking this. And now Derek realises what Ash was reading up about last night when she went home.

"A police report was never documented." Rafael speaks up, glaring over at her.

"Mr McCall, quiet." The judge says. "You will have your time." He says firmly. Rafael leans back in his chair.

"It's okay, baby. She can't prove anything." Danielle whispers, rubbing Rafael's arm. Ash was right, she is a despicable woman.

"Miss McCall, please proceed." Meyers says.

"For the protection of myself and my family, and so I had peace of mind that the file wouldn't be tampered with, I didn't file a report-"

"Ash." Rafael warns her.

"Order!" Judge Meyers says loudly, banging his gavel. "Keep this up and you'll be spending the night in a jail cell." He says to Rafael. "Miss McCall." He says, getting fed up with giving her the floor over and over again.

The in the dark members of the pack, everyone but Derek, are beyond confused now, having no idea of where Ash is taking this.

"Ash..what are you doing?" Scott asks her. But she ignores him, he'll have the truth soon enough.

"I lied and told everyone that I was jumped." Ash admits. She feels the eyes of the pack burning into her at the word 'lied'.

"Can you tell the court what really happened?" The judge asks, piecing the puzzle together slowly, seeing where this is headed. Ash nods.

Rafael shoots her a warning look but Ash has already made her decision. Her family is too important for her to blow this off any longer. She doesn't care about the threats or the backlash of it all anymore.

"I was at my mother's home, and I heard something downstairs. Someone." She says, looking over at Rafael with a frown. The judge looks over at Rafael.

"Mr McCall?" He asks her.

"Yes." Ash nods. "He was going into our safe-"

"Objection." Rafael says.

"Over-ruled." Meyers shuts him down. "Let Miss McCall finish." He says.

"He was going into our safe, trying to take my Mom's money." Ash says.

"No, I wasn't-" Rafael tries.

"And when I tried to call the police.." Ash says over him. It falls quiet, every person in the room waiting for her to finish.

"What did he do, Miss McCall?" Meyers asks her, already knowing the answer.

"He..he beat me, he's the one that did this to me." Ash admits, a huge weight lifting from her shoulders as she finally gets to come clean without fear of the aftermath.

Scott's face falls, along with the rest of the pack's.

"And he threatened to take Jade and Scott away from me, to never let me see them, if I told anyone, it's part of the reason why I didn't report it. I was scared. He said if I left it alone, I'd be allowed occansional visitation, so you understand why I didn't speak up about it right away." Ash says.

Rafael starts yelling but the judge bangs his gavel, ordering his silence.

Ash just blows out a breath and sits back down, she's got nothing else to say.

Scott stands up, unable to sit here anymore and listen to this. He can't process this. His father, hurting his sister? No.

Ash watches Scott walk out, but she understands.

Derek sees him and stands up too. Ash meets his eyes sadly. Derek gives her a proud nod before following Scott out so he can calm him down, help keep his wolf back before Scott shifts and loses it.

Stiles leans over the railing dividing the audience and the stands. He rests his hand on Ash's shoulder, squeezing gently, still trying to process the news himself. She reaches up and squeezes his hand, her eyes filling with tears.

"A full investigation will be conducted then will be brought to trial again as soon as possible. Until then, Jade May McCall stays as is." Meyers decides, slamming down the gavel.

"C'mon, Ash. Let's get you out of here." Jessie says, standing up. Ash looks at the judge and he gestures to her to come over.

"I'll meet you outside." Ash says. "Make sure Scott's okay." She says, looking to Stiles. Stiles nods. Ash goes over to Jessie, kissing Jade's head. "Thank you for looking after her." Ash says, looking up at Jessie.

Jessie nods, frowning at the tear that manages to escape, slipping down Ash's cheek. Ash sniffs, quickly wiping it away before turning around and walking over to the judge.

"Scott?" Derek says, seeing the younger man stop outside, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his hands down his face. He walks over to stand in front of him. Scott opens his eyes and they're watery.

"Just.." Scott says. Derek looks at Scott solumely, he knows he must feel wrong with this sudden news. He knows Scott must be hurting too. Scott's always tried to protect his sister, he just..he couldn't this time. "I just don't understand." Scott says sadly. "How could he do that to Ash?" Scott asks Derek, his eyes filling with tears.

He knew Rafael was a low-life, that he was a drunk, that he was a coward but this..it's alot harder to swallow.

"How could he do that to his own daughter?" As the tears start to fall down Scott's face, Derek pulls him into an embrace, even if it is completely out of his comfort zone but he can see Scott really needs it.

Scott grips the alpha tightly without a second thought, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

"How could he hurt her like that?" Scott asks, beginning to cry properly now.

Derek pats his back, trying to help comfort him the best he can, seeing the rest of the pack coming out of the building now.

Stiles sees Derek's struggling a little bit so he takes over. Derek lets Scott go, letting Stiles comfort him instead.

"I'm sorry, Scott, I'm so sorry." Stiles says quietly, hugging his best friend tightly.

Derek goes back over to Jessie. He looks at Jessie and then down at Jade, touching her hair gently, trying to ignore how much Scott's sobs actually get to him, how much this whole thing gets to him.

"She was really brave doing that." Jessie says, looking at Derek.

"Yeah." Derek nods in agreement. "She was." He feels pride in his chest for her doing what she did, but there's alot of bad emotions too because it's now a very real reality, that that really did happen, that Ash's own father almost beat her to death.

Ash followed the judge into his back office, he wanted to take the time out to talk to her privately. He brought the officer in, to get her statement on what happened at the house.

"Your brother and sister are very fortunate to have you." Judge Meyers tells her.

"Thank you." Ash smiles a little.

"From all appearances, your father's a liar." Meyers says.

"Yes. He actually only met Jade for the first time right before my Mom passed." Ash says. "He's not good for her, he's not good for Scott. Even if you don't believe he hurt me, please..this isn't about me, it's about them." She says.

"I believe you." He says. "But this needs to be done by the books, this officer will take your statement once we're done." He tells her. Ash nods.

"So if the cops can prove he did this to me, what happens then?" Ash asks. "Does Jade stay with me?"

"If it's proven then he will be denied guardianship and he'll spend time in prison. Then, you can apply, and if everything goes well in court then yes, Jade will come under your guardianship." Meyers tells her.

"Okay." Ash nods.

"If it goes the way I'm hoping, your sister will stay with you." He says.

"Thank you." Ash says.

"I'll turn you over to Officer Dayton, he'll take your statement." Meyers says, standing up. "I'll see you soon, Miss McCall." He says. Ash nods her thanks and throws him a smile before he leaves.

"Ash, is it?" The officer asks, they're not as formal as the judge had to be. Ash nods. "Okay, just tell me what happened." He says.

"Okay." Ash nods. "Like I said, I went to my mother's house, I wanted to be..where I felt close to her." She admits, knowing it sounds strange. But it's not Dayton's job to judge her. "It was maybe an hour and a half before the sun went down. I caught him about to go into the safe. I said I was calling the Sheriff, and he attacked me. I did hit him back, but it was self-defense. I got in maybe 1 or 2 hits, it's how he got that black eye..then the rest was him." Ash says, looking at her hands in her lap. "There's only 3 people who have the keys to my Mom's place. Me, John, and my father, and John's still in hospital. I remember locking the door once I was inside, he had to have used the key to get in. And only me, my Mom and my father have the combination to the safe." She tells him. "I uh..I passed out in the driveway, trying to get away from the house to find help. My brother and his friends had been looking for me, and luckily, they found me and then took me to the hospital." She tells him the rest.

"Okay, this is very helpful, Ash." Dayton says, flipping his notepad closed once she stops speaking. "We can run fingerprints, check his alibis, check out the house..we'll get to the truth." He tells her.

"Thank you." Ash says, looking up at him now. She stands and they walk towards the door. Dayton opens the door for her, letting her pass through first. "Thanks again." She says before Ash heads out the door and he goes back to his own quarters.

She hesitates as she reaches the main doors. She knows the pack will be waiting outside. She doesn't want to be questioned or anything, she just wants to go home. But they know that, they've come to know what she's like.

Scott stands up from where he was sitting on the steps when he hears that heartbeat come through the doors.

Ash looks down at the ground because she knows they'll all now looking at her.

Scott walks up to her and Ash forces herself to look at him from under her lashes. Scott pulls her into a whole-hearted hug.

Ash sighs shakily, hugging him back, gripping the back of his shirt tightly.

"I am so sorry, Ash." Scott whispers, brushing his hand down her head.

Ash doesn't say anything, she just hugs him tighter. Ash shuts her eyes, hiding her face in Scott's shoulder.

..

..

Finally, finally, the truth about Rafael comes out! And, of course, I loved writing some protective Derek in the beginning! Favourite, follow and review!