Telling John about werewolves, his breakdown at the house, and now he had to tell John what had really happened with Kate. Derek's stay in Beacon Hills got worse by the minute.
But John's second interrogation wasn't as bad as the first. Derek could tell that the man truly cared, it was in his scent and in all the little things that got lost in a video call. It made things easier.
Derek could talk freely now and didn't have to be careful what he said. With knowing the full story John had a better chance of finding Kate and he promised to take her down. Not once did he blame Derek for anything, quite the opposite which was still not easy to process. Derek might have to hear it a few more times until he believed it.
Derek left John's office exhausted but feeling lighter.
Derek still slipped into his fur afterward. He stayed like that for the better part of the week. At first, he was worried what Stiles might think of it but they took it in stride. At times they seemed to completely forget that Derek was not in his human form. With them it didn't matter, Stiles understood him no matter the form.
"Right back at you," Stiles said when he mentioned it to them. "You understand me as well. No matter the form."
In the end, Derek felt even comfortable enough around John to have a little fun with him. The man most likely needed brain bleach when Derek flashed him but John still made sure that Derek knew that he would always be welcomed in his house.
The journey back home was long and Derek was just happy when he finally arrived home. He wanted to see Laura.
He didn't even make it through the door before she jumped him.
"Missed you," she mumbled into his chest.
"Missed you too." He closed his arms around her.
"You have to tell me everything." She dragged him far enough into the hallway to close the door. "Are you hungry? How was your flight?"
Derek followed her into the kitchen. She must have been waiting for him with dinner for a while, the kitchen was already cleaned up and spotless.
"You have to tell me about your week as well." Derek made a point of taking a sniff. As the alpha Laura's scent was dominant but Derek's imprint had faded over the week he'd been gone. However, there were other scents as well. Kira had spent quite some time here and he caught traces of Erica and Boyd. It would take a day or two to cover those up with his own, to mix his with Laura's until everything around here smelled like pack again.
It was getting late but Derek was too wired to go to sleep just yet. So he ate while he told Laura about the convention and his visit to Beacon Hills. He'd told her about cluing in the sheriff but she didn't know how well the man had reacted. They had an ally in him.
Laura on the other hand had spent quite some time with Kira and Erica. Partly all three of them together and partly with them individually.
"What do you think of Erica?" Derek asked because he was not in the mood to discuss Laura's love life.
"I would like to offer her the bite," Laura said. "If that's okay with you."
They had talked about this before and her decision didn't come as a surprise but now that they were actually doing this, Derek wasn't so sure any longer.
They had lost their whole family, their pack. They needed to rebuild, he knew that, but it still felt like they were betraying them.
"I'm not trying to replace them." Laura seemed to read his mind. She had probably thought about this all week. "They won't be forgotten."
"Still feels strange."
"Yeah," Laura made.
They slept as wolves in Laura's bed and in the morning Derek had to hurry to get to work on time.
Even Stiles was in before him and that meant something.
"Was about to call you." Stiles greeted him with a kiss and a much-needed cup of coffee. "Thought you overslept."
"Almost." Derek burned his tongue on the hot liquid. "Stayed up way too late."
"Let me guess, she wanted to know everything but with you, it was like pulling teeth?" Stiles grinned at him over the rim of their cup.
"Partly," Derek admitted while he had a look around to see where Isaac was. He was already busy at his desk and Coach's door was closed as well. He still lowered his voice for his next words.
"Laura wants to offer Erica the bite," he said. "She wants to talk to her next weekend."
"That's awesome!" Stiles put their whole body behind that statement. Derek had to snatch the cup out of their hands before they could spill coffee all over him in their excitement.
"It is awesome, isn't it?" Stiles noticed his lack of enthusiasm.
"It is," Derek assured them. And it was. With another beta, their pack would become stronger and more stable. It would be a new start. "It's just a strange feeling. We, Laura and I, we move on and …" He didn't know how to put his feelings in words.
"… and they're dead," Stiles finished the sentence for him. "I know that feeling. How can we have Christmas when Mom is dead? How can I have fun when Mom is dead? How can I be happy when Mom is dead?" Stiles said, a distant look on their face. "How can I live when she's dead?"
That one hit close to home. Derek had asked himself the same question.
"But you know what?" Stiles blinked that distant look away. "I know that she loves me and that she wants me to have a Christmas and to have fun and be happy. She wants me to live a long and happy life. And I think that your mom wants the same for you."
Great, now he had to blink against the tears. Derek tried to mask it by taking another sip of his coffee.
"Speaking of expanding your pack," Stiles changed the topic. "I meant it when I told Dad that I want to join your pack. What do I have to do? Do I file an application?" They laughed awkwardly.
Usually, it would be a formal thing. Derek would introduce his partner to the alpha and ask for a place in the pack for them but with just him and Laura?
"Come over for dinner," Derek decided. "Laura would like to see you anyway, we can do it today."
"You're not going to pull my leg with some weird initiation rites, are you?" Stiles narrowed their eyes on him, trying to figure him out.
"Now you're giving me ideas." Derek turned and started to walk over to his desk.
"Derek!" Stiles called after him. "You're not going to leave me like this."
Derek sat down at his desk.
"He left me like this. Unbelievable," Stiles muttered but loud enough that Derek didn't even have to strain his ears to catch it.
"Trouble in paradise?" Isaac leaned back in his chair to look over to where Stiles was still grumbling into their coffee.
"Na, we're good." Derek waved him off. They were more than good. Stiles wanted to join his pack. If Derek had a tail right now he would wag it.
"If you say so, cute gamer." Isaac winked at him.
"Not you too," Derek groaned. He'd seen the stuff online and he was not looking forward to diving into their social media. In their group chat Isaac, Boyd, and Erica still hadn't grown tired of that topic. Now with Stiles chiming in as well. It did take their minds off other things, he guessed. Especially Erica needed some simple fun right now, he got it and if he was honest, he was fine with being the butt of the joke here.
"Just be careful." Isaac became more serious. "You have no idea how many people have called to find you. And don't get me started on the stuff we get on Twitter."
It was just a matter of time until it would die down, Derek knew that, but at the moment it just sucked. He couldn't help but think of Kate.
Right on cue, Finstock called him into his office. The man was aware of the problem and held a little speech about how in his company they were very careful with personal information.
Derek didn't tell him why but he did mention that there were people out there he did not want to find out where he was. At that Finstock swore to protect his information with his life. Derek was pretty sure that it was a quote from a movie.
In the end, Derek left his office with the advice to use Boyd's account for now.
"You can hardly stay anonymous if you sign emails with your name," Finstock said. He had a point there.
Going back to work after a week off was always a bit weird but today Derek did not only have to catch up with what had been piling up on his desk for a week now, he had to deal with people looking for him specifically as well. Some messages were downright disturbing but there were also nice messages for him. He wasn't sure which ones bothered him more.
However, Finstock had dealt with the brunt of it over the week so all in all, it wasn't that bad.
Over lunch Isaac brought them up to date about Erica, he'd seen her twice that week.
"On Saturday she kicked me out, though." Isaac made a face. "For a LAN party with your sister and her girlfriend. Who does LAN parties these days?"
"Right?" Stiles piped up.
"You're just still mad that you didn't get invited," Derek reminded them but Isaac looked as if he would have liked to join them as well.
"I can qualify for a girls' night." Stiles pouted. "And why girls only? We should have a LAN party with the whole office."
"While we still can," Isaac added with a shadow on his face.
"Yeah," Stiles made but they threw a glance at Derek. There was another option.
Laura wanted to talk to Erica on the weekend, however, today was about Stiles. The afternoon dragged on forever and at the same time, it flew by way too quickly. With the pressure of a deadline gone, they were able to leave on time. Derek and Stiles said goodbye to Isaac and then Derek drove them over to his place.
"I'm kind of nervous," Stiles admitted, rubbing their hands on their thighs. Their anxiety filled the car but Derek wasn't any better. Stiles was about to become pack.
"It's kind of meeting the parents," Stiles said. "Except that Laura is your sister and I already know her. She was shipping us before we even realized that we might be more than just friends." They were rambling now. "But she's the alpha and I'm about to join her pack. This is serious. It's like marrying into the family." They paused at that thought. "Is this like marrying into the family? Did you propose to me by asking me to join your pack? Are we about to get werewolf married?"
"You were the one who said that you want to be with me in every way possible," Derek reminded them. "If anything you proposed to me."
"That does not answer the question." Their voice squeaked over the words. "I would not mind …"
Out of the corner of his eye, Derek noticed them studying him. This conversation had taken an unexpected turn and Derek had no idea what to think of this.
"… but I would like to know beforehand if I'm about to get married tonight."
"We're not getting married tonight." Derek glared at them, the idea alone was ridiculous. "Werewolf or otherwise."
"That's good." Stiles sank back into the seat. "I think."
"As my partner, you have a place in the pack," Derek explained. "If the alpha is not totally against you. But I think you don't have to worry about that with Laura. If you're pack or not has nothing to do with our relationship. You could become pack without being with me and you don't have to become pack to be with me." He needed Stiles to understand this.
"I want to be with you," Stiles assured him. "I want to be part of your life and your pack is a big part of your life. Let's do this."