Peter hadn't known how badly he wanted to be a father until the option was taken away.
But now, with every beat of his long lost heart, he felt it swell with love and adoration for his long lost daughter.
Perhaps the most alarming thing was that from the moment they pulled away from Beacon Hills, a sense of calm rested over them, the supernatural sides of their brains so content to bask in their reunion.
The drive south was smooth. Malia allowing him to turn down the music and ramble about the days before the fire. She nodded quietly as he explained about their family; the house he was raised in. She smiled warmly when he described his father; the stoic Alpha, taken before his time. Her smile growing as he reminised his sister's rise to power; stepping into their father's shoes and becoming a mother to their pack and to a baby girl in the same week. She giggled when he spoke fondly about his nieces and nephew, of the close bond he shared with the latter.
Her giggles turned to a laugh as he rambled about Derek as an awkward teen, head over heels and desperate to do anything to be with Paige for life. A disappointed noise slipping past her lips as he told of Paige's demise.
Her brow furrowed when he talked about the Desert Wolf; about their connection; about how their love had burned bright, consuming all around them until it had all erupted at a pack meeting and Corrine had announced that she would not be continuing with the pregnancy. Peter didn't pretend not to notice the release of her shoulders as he told her how he wanted her. How he had prepared a nursery only to have that dream ripped from him as easy as the death threats that spewed from the Coyote's mouth.
What they didn't speak about, as they crossed the Mexican border, was that the Desert Wolf was now a permanent resident of the closed ward of Eichen House, stripped of all of her powers but now twice as angry as ever. Instead, Malia filled him in on everything she could remember before the accident of her life with her adopted parents. Peter was happy to listen as she rambled on about life after returning to human and how Stiles had helped her and how there was no real hard feelings about how both of her relationships had ended. That one day she was going to find someone who looked at her the way that Stiles looked at her cousin and Scott looked at Isaac.
It was when they were deep into Mexico and feeling relaxed and content with the relationship they were building when they got the text message.
000
Like three little moons or the emergency number for Australia.
Cora was in trouble.
Derek leaned on the counter in Stiles' tiny apartment, phone pressed to his ear as he watched Stiles move restlessly around the kitchen.
"You're sure?" Derek asked.
Stiles quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly, but Derek shook his head.
"Very sure," Argent replied. "It's coming from several different sources, all very reliable, people I would trust with my life, and I'm sure you know how rare those are."
"Okay, so what's the next step?" Derek asked. "We go after her?"
"Her?" Stiles asked, snuggling under Derek's arm and doing his best to get inside the purple woolen jumper he was wearing. "He found a lead on Monroe?"
Derek held up a hand, pushing on Stiles head to hold back the barrage of questions he could sense coming and the younger man from stretching out his favourite sweater while listening intently to what Argent had to say.
"Alright, see you soon," Derek agreed, hanging up the phone.
"So?" Stiles demanded, trying again to join Derek in the warmth of his jumper, surely they could share thumb holes and it would be completely practical.
"We have a lead," Derek explained holding Stiles tightly in his arms to restrain him. "Argent is coming to collect me in half an hour and we're gonna go check it out."
"What about me?" Stiles pouted giving up his struggle in favour of focusing his puppy dog eyes.
"You're going with McCall," Derek said, giving him an exasperated look. "You're helping him with the investigation, remember? It's the only way to keep you in the program. You have to follow the official lines."
"While you get to go play bad cop with Argent," Stiles complained, crossing his arms and levelling Derek with a scowl. Derek just shook his head, smiling at him.
"You'll be fine without me for a bit," he said softly, cutting right to what he knew was the heart of the issue. "Will it make you feel better if I leave this jumper here?"
"Of course I will, and yes please." Stiles snapped, pulling at the purple wool. "I'm a strong independent man."
"That you are," Derek agreed, moving closer.
"I know what you're doing," Stiles pointed out archly.
"Agreeing that you're a big strong sexy man?" Derek asked, smile widening as he reached for Stiles.
"You just want to kiss me so that I forget what we were arguing about," Stiles growled.
"Arguing?" Derek asked, biting his lip, looking at Stiles through his lashes. "Were we arguing?"
"Yes," Stiles insisted weakly, eyes dropping to Derek's lips.
"How horrible of me," Derek purred. "I should make it up to you."
"Well," Stiles said, mollified. "You definitely should."
"And we have half an hour," Derek reminded him, hands settling on his hips, pulling him flush against body.
"Yes," Stiles whispered as Derek dipped down to kiss him.
And if Argent had to wait a little longer, and Derek's shirt was untucked and hair messy, completely unable to hide the silly grin on his face, well, Argent didn't say anything about it, and they were on their way, so what was the harm?
"Eighteen huh?" Nolan asked Brett when he met him in the parking lot after school.
"Hello to you too," Brett rolled his eyes, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to his cheek. It had been lonely at school without Nolan, and he hoped that his boyfriend's ire had passed over the day, because all he wanted to do was to go home and have at least 57 million cuddles with him.
"I'm curious," Nolan said, accepting the kiss with an aggrieved air. "I mean, eighteen is a big deal I guess, but Lori seems to be pulling all the stops."
"Yeah," Brett said, smiling faintly. He pulled Nolan close, hiding his face in his neck and sighing in relief as Nolan cuddled into him. "It's because I can apply for Lori's legal guardianship now. We can't be separated if something goes wrong. With Satomi gone, it was always a risk."
"Oh," Nolan said quietly, wrapping his arms more firmly around him. "That makes sense."
Brett held him tight, the tension leaving his body as he breathed in his boyfriend's scent, his wolf calming immediately. "I missed you today," he whispered into Nolan's hair.
"Me too," Nolan admitted. "Was school okay?"
"Nothing worth mentioning," Brett shrugged. "Just long and boring and lonely."
"Aww, you poor thing," Nolan teased, pulling back to look at him, eyes twinkling.
"Yes," Brett agreed. "Poor me. You must now cuddle me for at least an hour to make it up to me."
"Right," Nolan said sceptically.
"It's the rule," Brett assured him.
"Come on you sook," Nolan laughed, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the car. "Let's go home."
Liam unlocked the door to the loft, letting himself in. He'd had lacrosse practice so Theo had gone home straight after school to catch up on his assignments. Mason and Corey had dropped him off.
I should go get my car, Liam thought idly as he placed his keys in the bowl by the front door.
"Theo?" He called, dropping his bag onto the floor and stepping into the room. He'd expected to see him with his laptop on the table.
"Here," Theo called. His voice sounded weird, and Liam frowned as he walked over to the kitchen, ducking his head inside.
"Hey, what's- oh," Liam trailed off. "Lydia, what are you doing here?"
There, standing in front of the oven was Lydia, stirring something in a pot with a wooden spoon. It smelt amazing, and Liam took a deep breath, letting the strong scent of garlic and tomatoes wash over him. It was almost enough to distract him from observing her movements, which were automatic, almost robotic.
"She won't answer you," Theo said. He was leaning against the bench, watching her with a concerned expression on his face. "I've been trying since I got home."
"That was hours ago," Liam said in a hushed voice, moving over to him and brushing a hand over his arm. Theo relaxed, some of the tension leaving his body. He was getting more used to accepting Liam's touch now, melting into it rather than stiffening up.
"Yeah," Theo sighed. "I don't want to hurt her. I thought about calling Deaton."
"Might be a good idea," Liam agreed, pulling out his phone.
He dialled Deaton's number and he picked up after a few rings. Liam explained what had happened quickly. Deaton assured him that he would be there as soon as he could close up the clinic.
"Do we leave her in here?" Theo asked, looking from Lydia to the pot.
"What if we turn the stove off?" Liam suggested, moving closer to the banshee, looking down at the pot over her shoulder, wary for any sudden movements.
"You can try," Theo agreed dubiously, watching as Liam reached around Lydia to turn off the oven.
Lydia turned her head, glaring at him, although her eyes were still vacant. Slowly, Liam pulled his hand away, leaving the oven on and Lydia returned to staring at the wall.
"Creepy," Liam shuddered.
"That's nothing," Theo said. "You should see how much food is in our fridge. She must have been here all day."
Liam pulled the fridge open, mouth dropping open at the vast amount of plastic containers that filled the fridge with meal after meal.
"How are we supposed to eat all that?" Liam asked incredulously. "Where did she even get all of this food from? Did she buy it?"
"Must have," Theo shrugged.
Liam shook his head, perplexed. Why would Lydia drive all the way here from her college just to cook enough food to feed a small army? Especially when she was in a trance? It didn't make any sense.
He wandered back into the main room, dropping onto the couch and resting his head in his hands. Theo followed him, cautiously sitting beside him, his shoulder brushing against Liam's.
"This is too stressful," Liam complained. "I hate being the leader."
"You're doing fine," Theo soothed him. "We'll figure it out."
"I guess," Liam sighed, leaning down to rest his head on Theo's shoulder as they waited for Deaton.
When Deaton arrived, he wasn't alone. Hot on the heels of the good doctor was Parrish, who made a beeline directly for the banshee now boxing up the soup she had made.
Like sleeping beauty being woken from her trance, all it took was a soft word and a gentle touch from the hellhound and Lydia was blinking around the kitchen at them.
"Oh." She said softly, looking up Parrish. "I finally made it to Beacon Hills this time."
And then she collapsed.
"What do you think she meant?" Liam asked a while later. Lydia had been moved to their couch and after a quick check from the vet, Parrish had moved in to fawn over her.
"With this one, who even knows?" The hellhound murmured, adjusting the cool face washer he had placed on her forehead.
"Would we also like to talk about how you turned up without being called, Deputy?" Deaton asked, looking through his bag and pulling out a small pouch.
"I've never pretended to understand any of this." Parrish said, eyes focusing on the girl in front of him as the vet moved closer, pulling out a pinch of whatever was in the bag and holding it under Lydia's nose. Her next breath had her sneezing and awake, and practically scrambling into Parrish's arms.
"Lydia, what brought you back to Beacon Hills?" Deaton asked, his voice level and calm.
"I dont know." Lydia sniffed, pulling her face away from Parrish's neck. "I keep waking up on the highway here, I don't know what is drawing me back." Her eyes filled with tears as she clung tighter to the hellhound.
"Lydia, have you seen something?" Deaton asked, a worried look on his face. "Have you had a vision? Is something evil coming?"
"No." Lydia whispered, blinking away her tears and steeling herself. "Evil is already here."