The drive to Stiles' house was easy, thank goodness. Isaac was nodding off almost as soon as he was buckled. Derek wondered as he drove if he'd be able to get away with taking off and leaving Isaac in the care of Stiles and Scott. He had the legitimate excuse of needing to find the witch who did this.

Derek hadn't been prepared to take care of someone like this when he started his pack. They'd all had parents when he bit them, but now that Isaac's dad was gone, he was stuck with a teenager. And he felt like kind of a dick for being annoyed by it, but it was true. Isaac was always there, no matter what. He didn't have a job anymore or friends really, besides Scott, but they weren't close enough to hang out.

Part of him was a little pleased to have a Beta who was loyal to him only. It was selfish, but having someone who would follow your command was nice. Derek probably wasn't going to send him off to kill anyone again, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances popped up. Although he could hardly count on a six year old to do that.

What was he supposed to do with a kid? There weren't really any scenarios where Isaac wouldn't be more of a burden like this than anything else. Derek just didn't have any use for a kid at this point and probably never would.

"Hey pal, we're here," Derek said, pulling his car in alongside Stiles' jeep. Stiles was nowhere to be seen, but Scott was hovering on the walkway. Isaac tensed up when he looked up at the house and if this had been teenage Isaac, Derek would've joked that there wasn't a basement for him to worry about. He really hoped child Isaac wouldn't understand that reference.

Derek made his way around the car, glancing around to see if there were any nosy neighbors lurking about. He'd already been a murder suspect in this town and he didn't need any other rumors tacked on.

"Where's Stiles?" Derek asked as he lifted Isaac out of the passenger's seat. They really needed to find properly fitting clothes for him.

"He's inside changing his sheets or something," Scott shrugged, waving him forward to lead him inside.

"I know where Stiles' room is. I don't need an escort," Derek scoffed.

"Oh yeah, Stiles told me about that," Scott smirked. "Miguel." Derek rolled his eyes, suppressing his urge to snap back at him. He really needed to go into the woods and work out some of this stress, preferably with claws.

"Funny," Derek said tightly, readjusting Isaac as his head tipped forward as he dozed. Scott didn't say anything else, just walked into the house ahead of him. It felt weird planning on staying in the sheriff's house for an undetermined amount of time, but hopefully this would be figured out sooner rather than later. If he came home from his vacation to find his son playing house with Derek and a kid, that wouldn't be fun.

"Bring him in here!" Stiles called out as soon as the door shut behind them. Derek followed his voice, pausing in the doorway when he took in the sight in front of him. Stiles had scrounged up some childish looking bedspread with trucks and put it on his bed. There was also a night light plugged into the outlet by the nightstand. Although, this could be how Stiles usually slept.

Derek carefully set Isaac down on the bed and cringed as the newly little boy sniffled a little before settling again. He couldn't deal with more crying. This was a crazy situation and he could appreciate that, but was it too much to ask for Isaac to just roll with the punches? Being a kid wasn't that bad.

As soon as Isaac was out, Derek left the room. There was no need for him to stay in the room and watch him sleep. Stiles trailed after him, hesitating with one last look back at the sleeping pile of kid. The three of them converged in the kitchen and Derek wished there was some sort of alcohol he could partake in.

"Maybe he'll wake up normal sized?" Stiles wondered, leaning against the counter.

"I doubt it'll be that easy," Scott muttered. "Have you had many encounters with witches?"

"Yeah, and why didn't we know they existed before this? Probably would've been helpful information to have," Stiles added.

"I try not to mess with witches, which is why I never mentioned them. Knowing your track record, you'd probably seek one out out of curiosity and get us all killed," Derek grunted, looking pointedly at Stiles.

"Couldn't do worse than you," Stiles shot back.

"Is this really helping?" Scott sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Instead of fighting, we should figure out what we're going to do."

"I need to go find that witch."

"Oh, you are not leaving us here to take care of Isaac!" Stiles argued.

"You guys are kids too, so you'll be able to relate to him better."

"We're closer to your age than his, grandpa. And aren't adults supposed to take care of kids anyway?"

"As if you've ever listened to a word I've told you before," Derek scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"And I'm definitely not listening now when you're telling us that you're gonna abandon Isaac here. Is there a supernatural CPS I can call?"

"Are you guys finished yet?" Scott asked, looking at both of them in annoyance. "We're all here and none of us is going anywhere. Well, except when I have to go to work tomorrow."

"No way," Derek argued.

"The more I can help Deaton with vet stuff, the more he's free to do research for you," Scott pointed out. Derek growled, but he knew he couldn't dispute that. They really needed Deaton to come through for them with some information.

"So what am I supposed to do with him? Isaac never needed me to do anything for him." Times like these made Derek really appreciate that Isaac rarely verbalized his needs, as bad as that sounded. He took whatever food Derek threw at him and slept in the corner he pointed toward. That was all that could be expected of him, since Derek had never signed up to be a parent. The universe sure was laughing at him right now.

"At the risk of sounding insensitive and bringing up hard memories, what would you do with your younger family members? How would you want them taken care of?" Stiles asked carefully. Derek bristled, tensing up like he always did when someone mentioned the people he'd lost. It felt like all the good memories had burned away with them in that fire.

"I'll be out back," Derek muttered, stalking out the back door and tucking himself away where the neighbors couldn't see him. He could hear Scott and Stiles whispering to each other about him, but he tuned them out. It wasn't like they were going to say anything useful.

He stood out there for what had to be hours, trying to come up with some sort of plan. The witch could be anywhere in the world by now, so there was little hope that he'd actually be able to find her. He'd only been able to find her in the first place because she'd let him. Derek had to hope that she'd stick around town for a while just to enjoy watching him suffer.

He was just about to throw his hands up and walk away, regardless of the repercussions, when the sound of something caught his ear. Was that crying? Instincts that he didn't want to examine too closely had him dashing up the stairs, seeking out the source of the tears. Stiles and Scott, who had been lounging around the living room, were hot on his heels. Derek barged into Stiles' room, finding a weeping Isaac standing in the middle of it.

"What happened?" Derek asked, looking around the room to make sure there was no one else inside. He didn't see anything, but he did smell something. "Is that pee?"

"I'm sorry!" Isaac sobbed, his chest puffing in and out uncontrollably. Sure enough, there was a wet spot on Stiles' bed and on the oversized clothes Isaac still had on.

"What the hell? You're six, not a baby," Derek growled, clenching his jaw in frustration.

"I didn't mean to!" Isaac cried, covering his head with his arms. Stiles had seen enough and with a strength that surprised them all, he grabbed Derek by the collar and yanked him out of the room. The back of Derek's head thudded against the wall as Stiles gave him the most threatening look he could muster. And then a second later, Stiles' face smoothed out and he carefully made his way back into the room, leaving him in the hallway with Scott.

"Hey buddy, you had a little accident?" Stiles asked calmly, keeping every bit of anger out of his voice.

"I'll clean it up, I swear," Isaac choked out. "Please don't tell my dad." Derek didn't think he'd ever hated himself more.

"I promise I won't. And you're not in trouble," Stiles insisted. "How about we get you cleaned up and then I'll make you something to eat? I'll make you anything you want." Isaac must've agreed, because his cries got quieter as Stiles led him into the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

"Come on. Let's get the sheets off the bed and into the washer," Scott said, walking back into the bedroom. Derek leaned against the doorway, trying his hardest not to shove his claws through the drywall.

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Scott sighed, tossing the soiled blankets into a pile on the floor as he worked on pulling off the other layers.

"No, I can't. I can't even keep my normal pack together, what makes you think I can take care of a kid?" Derek snapped, running a hand down his face. "I need to find him a new Alpha."

"You can't be serious!" Scott hissed, whirling around to face him.

"Why not? He'd be better off."

"So you're just going to get rid of him and give him another disappointing parental figure?" Scott challenged, looking over at him in complete disappointment.

"I'm not good at this."

"You have to try!"

"I am trying!"

"Well, try harder! Because if you're already giving up, maybe you shouldn't be anyone's Alpha. And you never should've been one in the first place!" Scott spat.

"Watch it," Derek growled. Scott was hitting too close to home, but Derek didn't want to be confronted with those facts right now.

"You know everything that Isaac went through. Hell, you made it a point to show me. So maybe take this rare opportunity to show Isaac a childhood that isn't full of abuse and fear," Scott said firmly. Derek looked away, hating that he could be compared at all to Isaac's father. Scott must've noticed his inner turmoil, because his face softened and he lowered his voice. "I know that you don't really mean to be as aggressive as you are sometimes, especially now. But you've got to get a handle on it. Isaac doesn't deserve your anger or frustration."

"I know," Derek sighed. Since when was he accepting getting lectured by Scott McCall? If he saw that witch again, he was going to rip her to pieces.

"Why don't you go downstairs and take a minute? I'll finish up in here," Scott offered. Derek nodded, making his way back into the kitchen. His mother would be so disappointed in him if she could see him now. She'd always been passionate about the meaning of family and pack. She would know exactly what to do in this situation.

Derek's heart had hardened over the past few years after losing everything, but that didn't mean he had to lose his humanity as well. He wasn't going to turn into Peter. Isaac was his responsibility and he had to do better. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

Author's Note: I promise that Derek isn't going to be a dick for the whole story, he just has to work through his shit a little bit.