Love you guys. ;)
Chapter 51
Isaac shot upright in bed. The late afternoon sun splayed across the carpet and the end of the bed. A green blanket tangled about his legs. He sunk back down onto the bed, relaxing on his elbows. He breathed easy, taking a second so his heart could slow from its thunderous hammering in his chest. His shirt was soaked through with sweat.
He looked around the room. It was his, he could feel it, but the pieces around here weren't. The dresser was elegantly carved and the vanity from Melanie's room sat catty corner off to the right. Even the comforter was different-a subtle moss green rather than the crème ones.
"Hey, sleepyhead. It's about time you woke up."
Isaac's head turned abruptly at the sound of Melanie's voice. She stood in the doorway. Her hair was up in its signature ponytail and flowed over one shoulder. She wore faded jeans with a deep orange t-shirt and a dark, forest green hoodie that hung over her fingers. It was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Derek went to see Scott at the clinic. He said he'd pick up Laura on the way back," she said, making her way over to him. The bed shifted as she knelt down and kissed him on the lips. "Stiles and Cora are coming over for dinner tonight."
The jasmine scent of her hair made his senses whir. He bore a lazy look, taking in her soft skin and smile to match.
"C'mon, get up," she chuckled.
"Or, you can lay down," he grumbled seductively. He pulled her down beside him. She squealed and laughed. The ring on her right hand. He stared at the silver piece for a second then kissed the wedding ring. "I love you," he whispered against her lips before kissing her again.
"I love you," she replied, cradling his cheek, "but you still have to get up."
He groaned childishly as she squirmed out of his hold. She sauntered out of the room. He got up and got dressed quickly then bounded downstairs. He stopped halfway, catching a glimpse of the downstairs. This wasn't their house.
The hardwood floor of the foyer and living room gleamed from sunlight streaming in through the front window. Persian rugs lined the hallway. He stepped down to the foyer and stopped altogether. The fireplace in the living room, the somber white walls; this was the Hale house.
He looked around in wonder.
"You always get that look," Melanie chuckled as she came down the hall from the kitchen. "Is it still so hard to believe that you and Derek rebuilt the place?"
"Rebuilt…" he trailed off, "yeah."
"I'm still thankful that Peter is locked away in Eichen. Lydia still assures me that as long as she runs the place, he's never getting out of that 'special' ward."
"Mommy!" came a gleeful shriek.
"Laura!" Melanie said with the same amount of excitement and open arms.
A small, brunette girl, her eyes shaped with such elegance and her skin a creamy ivory, ran into Melanie's arms. Melanie picked her up and spun her around. The girl squealed even more. She couldn't have been any older than five years old.
"Daddy!" She reached out for Isaac with her tiny hands. His eyebrows lifted quizzically.
"What?" he said confused. "This little girl can't possibly be mine!"
He snatched her from Melanie who laughed as he tipped Laura upside down.
"Can she?" he added, still playfully. She laughed.
"Daddy, you're going to make all the bwood rush to my head," she said.
"You're right." He tipped her upright. "Why are you so smart? Is your uncle teaching you smart things again? I've told him that he should just stick to the basics."
"Uncle Danny says I'm vewy smart for my age," she said, touching his nose with her index finger like it was a button. He grabbed it between his teeth and bit it playfully. She giggled some more.
"Hey, we don't eat our children anymore. That tradition was thrown out a long time ago," Derek chimed in. The front screen door thwacked loudly behind him.
"Not even a little?" Isaac said sulkily.
"No," Derek chuckled. "Give me the rugrat."
"Hey!" Laura said in protest.
Derek looked straight in her eyes.
"It's not your fault. You get it from your father," he told her, nodding in a playful manner.
"Hey!" Isaac said in the same volume of protest.
"Lemme down!" Laura said suddenly. She wiggled her legs, kicking Derek in the torso. "They're here! Gale is here!"
Derek feigned difficulty in putting her down. Melanie watched the struggle, amused by his antics. Her eyes lit up happily.
"C'mon!" Laura whined. Derek set her down. The screen door thwacked again as she ran outside.
"Did you just wake up?" Derek asked.
"No," Isaac lied.
Derek smirked and shook his head. He turned as Stiles and Cora entered the house. Stiles and Derek shared a hug, patting each other on the back like long lost friends. Stiles wrapped his arms around Melanie's neck next, shaking her until she punched him playfully in his sides. Cora cradled her stomach. It was ballooned to eight months. Her skin glowed that way a mother's does from ultimate joy and contentment. That or it was just the hormones that made her look pleasant. She hugged all three of them then went with Melanie to the kitchen.
"I can't believe it's over. How long has it been?" Stiles asked. "Nearly seven years? I still can't get over it."
"Any news of late?" Derek asked as the three of them settled in the living room.
Isaac sat in a comfy chair facing the wide window, which held a window seat that had a small bookshelf inlaid in the wall right below it. He could see Laura and Gale playing on the swing. The branch it was attached to bounced and shook as they took turns on the wooden plank.
"Parrish and I think that there might be a little activity up in L.A. but we're not sure if it's going to come here. We're waiting to see how close it comes before doing anything," Stiles replied.
"Dinner!" Melanie called.
"How's Scott?" Isaac asked as they followed the racing children into the kitchen. Derek moved just barely to avoid Gale who nearly ran straight into him.
"Busy. Omega's trickle in, and he's all about the guidance," Stiles said.
Derek smirked and nodded in agreement. The hint of agitation at the mention of the overindulgent alpha wasn't lost on Isaac. It made him laugh more often than not. Melanie handed them each plates and allowed them to grab their own food. She helped Cora and the kids then followed them out with her own plate.
They sat outside at the picnic table. Isaac sat beside Melanie and Derek on her other side. Laura sat beside Derek and across from Gale. The two kick their feet at one another as they spooned potato salad into their mouths.
After eating, Isaac did the dishes. He could hear everyone carrying on in the living room. The grin on Isaac's face hadn't faded yet. Stiles's disbelief that it had been years since anything serious happened still resonated in his mind. All of the nightmares were over. It was still shocking.
"Hey you," Melanie said from behind, her voice sultry. "I love it when you get all housewife."
"Do you?" he chuckled, rinsing his soapy hands.
She snaked her arms around him, laying her head against the center of his back.
"Mmmm, I do," she replied. "Laura begged for Gale to stay the night."
"There is going to come a day where that boy can't stay the night."
"And our daughter will climb out the window and go see him anyway," Melanie retorted.
"I don't look forward to those days," he said with disdain.
She giggled.
"We were worse if you recall."
Isaac scrunched his nose, hating that she was right. Did it count that they were emancipated?
Isaac spun in her arms and looked down at her with her knowing look. He gently rubbed along the bridge of her nose.
"Where are your glasses?" he asked, his eyebrows pressing together, curious.
"Locked away in a place where I will never have to see them," she joked. "You know I don't need them, and no I'm not putting them on for you."
She stood up on her tippy toes, leaning her full weight on him. He slid his fingers into her hair, leaning in and kissing her chastely. Her soft lips parted slowly and she hummed pleased as he deepened the kiss. This was no rush. Nobody was suffering. Nobody's lives were being threatened. And nobody was dying.
Yeah, he liked this.
"Do you think he is alright?" Lydia asked.
She sat in the chair beside Isaac's bed. Only the bright fluorescent above his head lit the room.
He laid still in the hospital bed. His blanket held him snuggly. He broke a sweat in his induced coma. The heart monitor beeped steadily. Melissa touched his forehead next then wiped it with a wash cloth from the bathroom
"I think he's in a lot of pain right now," she replied as she checked the IV.
"I filled out Melanie's college applications." Lydia blurted out. Her eyes still glimmered. "She just wanted me to look them over for her before she sent them. They were so terrible."
Lydia gurgled a laugh and wiped her eyes.
"She was filling out Ivy league applications and they were terrible. So I fixed them. I put all sorts of activities and community service on the applications. I lied. I don't know why. Maybe I felt bad for her. She was pretty pathetic at times." Lydia paused, her chest heaving painfully. "But, it was kind of funny that she was striving for such high goals. She doesn't even know I did it."
Lydia shrugged. Melissa looked down at the frumpled mess in the visitor's chair. She'd been coming here every day after school since prom night and sitting with him. It was unexpected. She and Isaac weren't close friends. Melissa touched her shoulder and gave it a light, sympathetic squeeze. With that comforting gesture, she realized it. Lydia didn't know what else to do. The others had come in to check on him from time to time. Danny was the only other one who visited as often.
Lydia was comforting Isaac, sitting here, in silence. She didn't touch him or even move her chair to sit next to his bed. She did her homework. Every once in a while, Melissa caught a snarky comment from the red head that was directed at him. Mostly she was just quiet. Why Lydia felt the obligation to do it was still a mystery.
