Derek stood back while Stiles laid out blankets and pillows in front of the fireplace for the pack pile. Currently, Stiles was the only one with opposable thumbs. Boyd and Erica tried to help but ended in a tuck-o-war over a blanket. They were romping around like puppies, enjoying their new form. They still hadn't grasped their new strength and hadn't quite adjusted to the different proportions of their wolf bodies, a fact Stiles just got reminded of when Boyd accidentally knocked him off his feet but that only added to the wholesomeness of the scene.

Stiles came back up laughing and hip-checked Boyd until he got his paws off the pillow Stiles wanted. At first, it looked like Stiles intended to put it down somewhere but then he changed his mind and smacked Boyd over the head with it.

Now the game was on.

Stiles didn't stand a chance against the two wolves but he made good use of the pillow.

It almost hurt to see the members of his pack playing around like this. Derek felt his chest tighten and a low whine escaped his throat. He missed his family.

"I know." Laura stepped up behind him. She'd been upstairs to get ready for the night and hadn't changed back to her wolf form yet.

Derek pressed himself against her leg and let out another whine when she started to scratch him behind the ear.

"I know," she repeated, her voice barely a whisper. "I wish they were here, too. I miss them so much." She choked on the words and her sadness hit Derek in bitter waves. He licked her fingertips to assure her that he was here, that he would stay here.

"But this is good." She nodded to herself. "We have a good pack."

Done with talking and most likely with thinking as well she shifted and fell to her paws. Pressing her body against Derek's flank she put her head on his neck. Derek gave her the support she needed while at the same time her weight on him grounded him.

"Do you just want to stand there and feel sorry for yourself or are you going to join us?" Stiles called out to them. Derek hadn't even noticed that the others had calmed down and that Stiles was now sitting on the floor with the two wolves at his side.

It took some twisting and turning but in the end, everybody found a place and they went to sleep in a pile. Derek fell asleep with his head on Stiles' chest but he wasn't sure who was using him as a pillow. It felt right.

Derek woke up in a tangle of limbs. He blinked his eyes open just to find a human leg across his snout. Just because it was right there Derek flicked his tongue over the hollow of the knee. Erica made a disapproving noise but it did the trick and she took her leg off his face.

Somebody had their face buried in his hip while they were cuddling his hind leg. His best guess was Stiles, they did turn into an octopus in their sleep, but from this angle, it was hard to tell.

Derek huffed but lowered his head to his paws, it was too early to deal with this. Boyd and Erica had switched back to their human form over the night and things would get awkward once they woke up, humans were weird like that, but for now, Derek was content with just lying here for a few minutes longer.

Boyd was the first to wake up but his hectic attempt to disentangle himself from the rest of the pile woke up the rest of them. Covering himself with a pillow, Boyd fled upstairs in search of some pants.

"He's worse than Stiles," Laura said. She'd shifted but didn't seem to be quite ready to get up either. Instead, she slung her arms around Derek's neck and snuggled into the fur between his shoulder blades.

"I wasn't prepared to wake up with you sitting naked right next to me," Stiles said from somewhere behind him. So it was them who was using his hip as a pillow. "I'm still not ready to wake up with your boobs right there."

"Don't look if it bothers you," Laura said and tightened her arms around his neck.

"I have to say, this is the weirdest morning since that one orgy in college," Erica spoke up. She was sitting cross-legged with a blanket drawn over her lap but didn't seem bothered by her naked upper body. She was watching them with interest.

Derek locked eyes with her before he shifted. Laura just rolled with it and adjusted her position to lie comfortably on his human back but Stiles got caught off guard. They yelped when the body under their head suddenly changed. Derek didn't know how but Stiles managed to dip their nose in the cleft of his ass before they found their equilibrium and came up to a sitting position.

"You asshole!"

"I thought the butt-sniffing was a dog thing," Erica commented.

"Har har." Stiles glared at her and rubbed their nose.

Erica just grinned at them.

"I'm going to check on Boyd," she said, and with the blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape, she went in search of her boyfriend. It was the cue for the rest of them to get up and ready for the day as well.

They took turns in the bathroom and not much later they were all sitting at the kitchen table, fully dressed, and with steaming mugs of coffee in front of them.

Werewolves were hearty eaters in general but as freshly bitten werewolves Boyd and Erica were still getting used to their new metabolism. Erica's body was most likely still dealing with the tumor in her head, she needed some extra calories for that.

Knowing the needs of her pack, Laura went all out with breakfast. In one pan she had bacon and sausages, pancakes in another, and somewhere in between, she managed to make enough scrambled eggs to feed an army. Or one hungry pack of werewolves.

"We have to ask Coach for a raise if we need this much food on a daily basis," Erica said around half a slice of toast while she stole a sausage from Boyd's plate.

"It will slow down once your bodies have adjusted to being a werewolf," Derek said and put an arm around his plate to prevent Erica from stealing his food as well.

"Give it a few days and your appetite won't be much different from what you're used to," Laura said. "However, you brought up an important point."

She paused for a moment and it was palpable when she switched to speaking as their alpha.

"We are pack," she said with a hint of red in her eyes. "I'm your alpha and I care about you. I care for you. If you need anything, you can come to me. Whatever you need. A hot meal, a couch to crash on, or just a hug and an open ear. You come to me. To a degree you need to be close to me, don't deny yourself that." She looked from one to the other and even included Stiles. They weren't a werewolf but they were pack. They had the same needs and Laura would care for them in just the same way.

"This was different when it was just a hypothetical idea," Boyd admitted. "This is a bit much."

"You're all still independent individuals, that hasn't changed," Laura assured him. "It's just that now you'll always have people around you who're there for you."

"You can feel it. In here." Stiles tapped their temple. "It was weird at first but now it's just comforting. Like a warm blanket."

They had talked about this before but now Boyd and Erica truly understood what it meant to be in a pack. Derek couldn't even comprehend what it was like to not be in a pack, to him that meant omega, but he guessed that this was quite a change for them.

"You don't expect us to move in with you, do you?" Erica asked. It might be a bit late for that question but before the focus had been more on the not dying part.

"In Beacon Hills, we had a big house where we all lived together." Laura's expression softened at the memory. "It was loud and chaotic but that's pack, that's family." She looked over to Derek. He felt his throat working and he couldn't hold her gaze. He lowered his head but not a second later Stiles reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I would like that again," Laura continued but Derek still felt her eyes on him. "But not right away. We all have to get used to being pack, we have to get to know each other, and grow together as a pack. And even if we live together at some point, we all have our individual lives, that won't change."

"We'll have to think about it," Erica said with a warm smile at Boyd. "But we have time."

"We have time." Boyd laced their fingers together as if he needed to make sure that Erica was right there. "The rest doesn't matter, we have time."

Derek was choking on emotions and even Stiles gently rubbing his back didn't help. He needed to move, he needed to run.

"We're in the middle of nowhere." Derek cleared his throat. "We should make good use of that."

Half an hour later Derek was running through the woods. The other wolves were close but for the moment Derek just needed to run. He did circle back to where Stiles was hiking along an overgrown path but he only stayed at their side long enough to assure them that he hadn't forgotten about them before he took off again. The others did the same, chasing each other but always returning to Stiles to nip at their heels or running circles around them before they ran ahead again.

Mossy ground under his paws and fresh air in his lungs, Derek ran with his pack.

They returned to the cabin in the afternoon. By now Stiles was complaining that their feet hurt and that they were sweaty and thirsty and whatnot. Derek tuned them out.

The wolves turned back to their human form and by now nobody cared about their nakedness any longer. They had missed lunch so while Stiles was in the shower, Laura heated up tomato soup which they ate with thick slices of buttered bread.

They had to leave soon, at least Stiles and Derek had to get up early for work tomorrow, so they didn't waste too much time with the food.

"Kira's going to cook dinner for us," Laura told them after she'd checked her phone. "She wants to know how many people to expect."

Stiles would be there but Boyd and Erica declined, they wanted to spend the evening alone. They had a lot to talk about, Derek guessed.

They finished their meal, tidied up, and then it was already time to leave. Boyd and Erica had their own car and left first but not without a long round of hugs. They would see each other again tomorrow but they were still reluctant to separate from their alpha.

Derek watched the car until it disappeared between the trees.

"What a weekend." Laura slung her arm around his middle.

"You did well." Derek kissed her temple and hugged her close. "We have a good pack with a good alpha."

"If you say so." She didn't sound convinced.

"You're the best alpha I ever had," Stiles piped up.

"That's a low bar." Laura rolled her eyes at them but it did the trick and lightened the mood. "We should get going, Kira's waiting."

"You let her cook dinner for us in our kitchen while we're not even in New York?" Derek couldn't help but ask. "You're more serious than I thought."

"Shut up." Laura slapped his shoulder. "And get in the car."

"Am I missing something?" Stiles asked.

"He's exaggerating." Laura made a shooing motion to get him going but Derek just threw her a knowing smile. He was her little brother after all.

"I don't know," Derek said. "Letting somebody into the den, letting her cook for us, that's pretty serious."

Laura squirmed under his gaze and now she was blushing.

"Will you get in the damn car?" She snapped at him.

"Hey, Derek," Stiles yelled from the back seat. "Since they sabotaged our last bet how about a new one? How long until Kira is pack?"

"Will you shut up? Both of you?" Laura glared at them. "Derek, get your butt in the car. Now!" She flashed her eyes at him.

"Uh, touchy." Stiles had way too much fun with this.

Somehow they made it back to New York without bloodshed.