See Chapter 1 for warnings
Stiles Stella Stilinski (Or Finding Out Who You Really Are)
37
Warm and safe I stretch out and try to wiggle closer to Peter. He grunts slightly as I wrap my arm over his stomach and squeeze him. We're at a weird angle, almost upright, it's not that comfortable. A smooth rumble is all around us and I open my eye in protest at the noise.
I'm in a car.
Correction I'm in a car with Peter, who is curled next me, Derek, who is in the front passenger seat, and Mr Argent, who is driving. Why the hell am I in a car with them? I ache all over, especially my legs, I'm so hungry, I'm thirsty and my head is pounding.
Peter moves slightly and I glance at him, he's so close, his eyes are so very Peter, meaning snarky and amused at the same time, "Welcome back to the land of wakefulness," he smiles at me.
Oh god, I remember.
I ran away.
I ran away and apparently Peter, Derek, and Chris came to find me.
My dad isn't here, Mel isn't here, none of the rest of the Pack is here, though really Isaac and Boyd could be having issues with their eyes, so Erika could also be with them.
"Easy Stiles Stella," Peter murmurs, "Calm down, no more panic attacks please, they're unpleasant for you and us. Try not to think too much. Here put your head back on my shoulder, you're exhausted."
I can't put my head on his shoulder, Chris is here, he dislikes werewolves at the best of times, he won't hesitate to hurt Peter if he thinks the Code has been broken. And I think I recall something to do with Peter being shot.
Moving away from Peter I look down and the blood had dried completed on his shirt, though the bullet holes through the cloth are quite noticeable, "You're hurt."
"No, I'm fine now, I was hurt, but werewolf, remember?" Peter teases me and encourages me to lean into him. "Try and rest, it's going to be another long day."
Slumping into him I nod and wonder what kind of damage has been done. Maybe if I talk fast enough I can get them to let me go, they'll realise they're better off without me, and they can dump me back in the woods to rot.
Derek twists in his seat, "I can hear your heartbeat Stiles, calm down," he grumbles it at me, but it's his caring grumble.
"We're here," Chris says and I finally pay attention to realise he's pulled up outside my house. Also parked up nearby is Derek's soccer mom's car, dad's cruiser, Mel's car, and Jackson's Porsche.
Oh god.
"Stiles," Peter's curled around me, "I'm here, we're here, Pack is here."
Except Jackson's going to get Peter thrown in jail, he'll be gone. And my family will suffer because of me. I thought the panic attack was over but it's threatening to hit again. "Stiles!" Derek is suddenly behind me and both he and Peter are murmuring, trying to get me to breathe with them. They catch it in time and I manage to pull out of it, though I'm left shaking and drained.
"I still think we could leave," Peter says quietly as I breathe as calmly as I can. "Pesky kidnapping charges aside, think of the road trip we could do, I've heard Canada is nice this time of year."
"No," Derek rumbles, "That's last resort only, besides you don't like the snow."
"I could adapt, Isaac's addicted to scarves anyway, think of accessories I could design," Peter pauses for a second, "If you roll your eyes any harder they'll fall out."
The only reply he gets is a very put upon sigh.
For a few minutes I wonder just how long I can put off going in the house, but it won't be long, not really, I still have to face reality, I still have to face my dad. Maybe it's like a band aid, the faster I rip it off the easier it will be. Wiggling in their arms I have to take two attempts to leave the car, my legs have tightened up, my body is protesting any movements, and then the pain just drains away.
Glancing around I can see lines of black snaking up both Peter and Derek's arms, they're taking my pain for me. "Thanks."
Derek nods but Peter says, "You're welcome, but be aware, it only masks the pain, it doesn't heal the damage. Don't over do it."
"I won't," I promise, not intending to keep it, if I have to run again, I will. They both glare at me, having caught me in a lie, and then they both escort me to the front door. I really don't want to go in there. I wanted to remember my dad being happy with me, loving me, not being disappointed that I'm what I am. I'm almost glad my mom died before all of this happened, at least she'll never know that I'm not as normal as other people.
Chris opens the front door and walks in, "We're here," he calls out and vanishes inside.
Okay I can do this.
I stand there a bit longer just staring at the open door. I've totally got this, I have my plan for when dad kicks me out, okay I'm going to need some supplies first, like a container for drinking water, but I've got this. The two werewolves crowd me and start trying to sooth me again. It spurs me forward, time to get this over with.
Step by slow step I walk to my doom. I've read other kids' stories, the chance of this ending well is very low. Yes dad is extremely tolerant, yes he believes anyone in the LGBT is human and therefore deserves to be treated equally, but it's different when your child is the one that's different, when its right in your face, and you're the one that has to accept someone you love is not the normal that the media portray all the time.
The hall stretches in front of me and Chris is leaning on the wall by the living room. He stands up when he sees me and gives me a sort of friendly smile. That freaks me right out and I freeze in place. Oh god, how bad is it that Chris is trying to be friendly? Or maybe he's just so glad to get Allison back in Beacon Hills. I have to make myself start walking again.
Shaking even harder I have to wrap my arms around my middle to hold myself together. Reaching the threshold of the living room I pause and struggle with my breath for a bit. Then I step as boldly as I can to face whoever's in there.
I get the impression that there's a lot of people in there, but my eyes are drawn to my dad who's standing there with Mel, and Scott, and they're both hugging him.
Oh god.
I've lost him, I've lost him. I've finally lost him.
Letting my eyes drop to the floor I stare as resolutely at the carpet as I can. No one says anything. It's silent. There's not one sound and I doubt they can hear my heart ripping out of my chest.
"Stiles!" Dad's voice is loud and I flinch at the volume, he must be so mad at me, only he doesn't sound mad. Flicking my eyes up I see him charge towards me, slamming them shut again, I hunch and wait for the first fist to land. "God, Stiles, you're home, you're home," and arms around me are not what I'm expecting.
"Dad?" I stand there baffled and unable to stop myself leaning into him.
"God, Stiles, when they told me you'd gone missing," his hands tighten on me. "When no one could find you," he sort of sobs, "I thought I'd lost you, I was so worried."
Worming my arms out from where they're trapped, my fingers sort of cling to his sides, "Daddy?" I whimper.
"I'm here Stiles, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Okay. I'm not going anywhere," He sounds so sure. "Jesus Stiles, I couldn't find you, you were gone and I couldn't find you. I couldn't find you," he's getting upset again.
I have no idea what I'm supposed to say, the point of me running away was so no one could find me, so they'd be safe.
Resting my head on his shoulder I stand there and bask in the fact that he's hugging me. It can only mean he doesn't know yet. My arms snake around me and I hold him as hard as I can, he grunts slightly and then his arms tighten. God I can't believe I got to have at least one more hug from him before he rejects me.
"You're okay, you're safe, you're home," He mutters and one of his hands rubs a circle on my back. "You're home, you're safe, you're here." And then dad's the one that's shaking slightly, "You're okay, you're okay."
I still don't know what I'm supposed to say, he's clearly happy and relieved to see me, he still loves me right now, but soon he's going to start digging and it'll all be over. Jackson wasn't quiet in school, at the very least Ms Morrell and Mr Harris both know about me, it's only a matter of time now.
Holding my dad I try and memorise this moment, to commit it to my brain so I can play it back, just like I do with the treasured memories of my mom. These moments are so damn fragile and fleeting but they mean so much.
Suddenly someone else is pressing up against my side and their arms go around me and my dad. Dad's head jerks around and he grumpily asks, "Hale? What are you doing?"
I lift my head up to see who it is. It's Peter, Peter's hugging us.
"Well, it looked like a family moment, dad, so I'm joining in," And that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
"Don't call me that," Dad uses his quietly angry voice, the one that means bad things for other people.
"But Sheriff, when your darling child is finally eighteen, I'm going to be around, unchaperoned, and eventually there will be marriage, probably after college. So let's just skip ahead and drop the formalities, dad," Oh my god, did Peter really just say that?
"Let me make myself clear, Hale," Dad is furious, "I know what you did, I know what you're capable of. You're a murderer, a liar, a master manipulator, you're nothing more than a villain playing at being something else. So get it through your werewolf skull, I have wolfsbane bullets, and the next time I shoot you it'll be with those. You're never going to date, marry, touch, or molest my daughter, because if you ever touch her again, I'll take your hand off, at the shoulder, before I kill you."
"Sheriff," Peter protests, "You forget I'm the only werewolf here that was capable of tracking Stiles, someone meddled with the scent trail, none of the others could follow it, only me. And I found Stiles. I succeeded where you failed, and now Stiles is home, safe and sound. So I'd suggest that you start getting used to the idea of your child, not only dating me, marrying me, touching me, and never being molested by me, as soon as possible."
Oh god. Dad really does know about Peter and I.
And then I re-run the conversation through my head, did dad call me his daughter?
"Back off Hale," Dad's arms tighten and then I'm being pulled towards one side, away from Peter. "My daughter is seventeen, you don't get to be anything but gone to her. Or I could obey the law and get you thrown in jail." NO, Peter can't go to jail, I struggle a bit in dad's arms and soothes me, "Shh, it's okay, it's okay."
Snorting Peter lets me go, "For now, dad," he twists the word sardonically, "But I can almost guarantee I'll be over for dinner, and supervised visits, with Stiles in a week, two tops. Good luck trying to separate us without causing Stiles irreparable harm, it's too late now, the undeniable power of human love is impossible to defeat. Your child is in love with me, I'm in love with your child, we're both consenting, we both choose this. You're stuck with me."
A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, I've tried to catch those I could, but I'm only human.
Sorry I was going to make this chapter longer, but I've had to bring work home a lot so I've not had time. Plus I spent most of Saturday trying on bridesmaid dresses and I have a few to choose from now (cackles and does a victory dance), I looked totally awesome in most of them it's going to be tough to choose. Hehehe.