/ / / Sheriff \ \ \

Samuel raised his eyebrow at Derek.

"Derek lied to Stiles about the fact Stiles had told him how he felt the morning of the explosion and Stiles remembered the other week and that is why he's been depressed. Derek is trying to explain himself."

Samuel took a second to let that sink in before he walked over to Derek. "Are you really that stupid?"

Derek nodded and looked like he was trying to sink into the carpet.

Samuel looked at his son who was reading the whiteboards laid out on the couch with intense focus. He walked over and read them over Stiles' shoulder, Stiles jumped when he put his hand on his son's shoulder but after turning and seeing who it was he smiled and went back to his study of the notes. Samuel read them, then read them again. There was a folded sheet of paper in Stiles' hand and he assumed that held more information but Stiles seemed to be hiding it, unfolding it to read and then folding it again quickly. That was the important one then.

Samuel turned and looked at Derek who looked terrified and hopeful as he looked at Stiles. Underneath it all was the same love he'd been seeing on Derek's face for the last couple of months.

"You are an idiot son," Samuel walked back out of the room snagging Scott and Lydia as he went. He smiled at Danny who followed willingly while the other two argued the whole way. He pushed them into the kitchen. "You're right, he shouldn't have done it and I knew that the fact he's emotionally stunted would cause Stiles pain but for a man who doesn't talk about feelings and who doesn't show anyone what is going on he just laid himself bare. Now Stiles gets to decide what he wants to do."

"Stiles is going to forgive him," Lydia said throwing her hands up and sitting on one of the kitchen stools.

"Yes he is," Samuel agreed as he turned the kettle on to make some tea. "But that is his decision and hopefully Derek has learned his lesson."

"And if he hasn't I'll rip out his spine and wear it as a scarf," Scott said with vicious glee as he picked up the bottle of Jacks and took a big swig.

"Why is there alcohol out?"

"Oh," Lydia said. "When we got here Stiles was so depressed he was half drunk."

Samuel rubbed a hand down his face and reminded himself that his son was an adult and he loved Derek and that Stiles could take care of himself and was more than capable of exacting swift and vicious revenge if he needed to. It didn't make him worry any less and it didn't make him feel any better but he repeated it again hoping that it would sink in at some point.