Derek kept himself busy in the kitchen as he waited for Stiles and Isaac to finish up in the bathroom. He made it a point not to eavesdrop on whatever they were saying, if they were talking at all. It might be expecting too much to think Isaac would open up to anyone, but he had to admit that Stiles was the most likely to put him at ease. He was just so Stiles, for lack of a better description. That should've been an adjective itself.

Derek decided to make himself at home, since this is where he'd be for the foreseeable future. If Isaac was still small by the time the sheriff came back, he'd figure something else out, but that was a problem for another time. He rummaged around in the fridge, bypassing the random health food that was displayed front and center. A six year old wasn't going to eat leafy greens and tofu. At least not one that he was taking care of. Derek grabbed the cheese and bread and got to work.

"What's all this?" Stiles asked a few minutes later as he walked into the room. Isaac was hiding behind his legs, holding onto the back of Stiles' pants. He was wearing one of Stiles tees and a pair of shorts, with everything being held up with a belt. It didn't fit at all, but it was better than teenage Isaac's giant clothes.

"I'm making lunch. Grilled cheese sandwiches okay?" Derek replied, trying to keep his voice light. He glanced down at Isaac, but the boy tucked himself further away. Derek knew that the normal Isaac loved grilled cheeses and could take out a whole stack of them if given an opportunity.

"How nice of you. Suspicious, but nice," Stiles said, giving him a look that made it clear that Derek was still on his shit list. "So Isaac, how does a grilled cheese sound? I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Isaac still didn't make any attempt to move away from his protected position. Derek had to do something. The idea of a little kid being so afraid of him was making him sick.

"Hey pal, can I talk to you for a second? I need to apologize for earlier," Derek said, kneeling down so he was eye level with Isaac. "I'm sorry for raising my voice at you. I wasn't mad at you, I was mad at myself for not taking better care of you. But I promise I'll do my best to not lose my temper again. I might still make mistakes, but no one here is going to hurt you. Do you think you can give me another chance?"

Isaac looked apprehensive. He'd probably heard versions of that same spiel before, only for the person to go back on their word. But Derek wasn't going to be one of those people. He didn't hurt Isaac as a teenager and he wasn't going to while he was a child. That broken arm during training didn't count.

Isaac didn't say anything, but the grip on Stiles' leg got a little looser, so Derek considered that progress. Stiles walked him over to the table and helped him up into a chair. He was barely tall enough to see over the top.

"Wow, who knew you could cook?" Stiles teased, propping his chin onto his fist after he sat down next to Isaac at the table.

"I can cook," Derek scoffed. He just didn't feel like it most of the time.

"You know, Derek doesn't cook for just anyone. That must mean he really likes you," Stiles said to Isaac with a bright smile. Isaac still looked apprehensive, but he also didn't look like he was about to cry at any moment, so Derek counted that as a win.

"Lunch is served," Derek announced, setting a sandwich and a glass of milk in front of Isaac. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out, but Derek stopped him with a quick shout. "Wait!"

"I'm sorry!" Isaac squeaked, thrusting his hands back under the table and closing his eyes.

"No, I'm sorry. I just- it's still hot. I don't want you to hurt yourself," Derek said soothingly, picking up the sandwich and blowing on it. Stiles started rubbing Isaac's back, helping to calm him down. Derek set the sandwich down when he determined it was sufficiently cool. "I didn't mean to startle you." Isaac hesitantly reached for the sandwich again, moving slowly as if he was waiting for Derek to stop him again. Derek decided to make it easier on him and got up from the table, moving back to the stove to make more sandwiches.

"You making me one too, big guy?" Stiles asked, shooting him a thumbs up as soon as Isaac took his first bite.

"Make it yourself," Derek grunted, right before sliding over a sandwich for Stiles. He looked at it suspiciously, poking it like he was expecting it to come alive and attack him. "Where's Scott?"

"Just finishing up some chores," Stiles shrugged, glancing down at Isaac. They didn't need to bring up the dirty sheets and make him upset.

"So, how was it?" Derek asked, noting with surprise that Isaac had practically shoveled down his sandwich. "Would you like another?"

"I can have more?" Isaac asked quietly, looking up at him in awe.

"Of course. I don't want you to be hungry."

"Here, have mine," Stiles offered, sliding over the sandwich he hadn't started eating yet. "It's already cool."

"Thank you," Isaac whispered, poking it gently the same way Stiles had. Stiles stifled a giggle, leaning toward Isaac conspiratorially.

"I think it's safe." Isaac took that as his cue to dig into the second sandwich, finally showing a bit more of the teenager Derek knew. Derek got up to make more, just in case Isaac was still hungry after this. He wasn't sure how much kids ate, but he was serious about Isaac not going hungry. Teenage Isaac was a bit slim, but child Isaac was downright tiny.

"Oh hey, this is nice," Scott said as he walked into the room and took in the scene. Scott gave him a nod of approval before joining Stiles and Isaac at the table. It was starting to feel way too domestic.

"Derek is making everyone lunch. He takes care of us so well," Stiles grinned.

"Wow, thank you Derek!" Scott replied excitedly. They were being so far over the top that it was making Derek nauseous. But he was going to let it slide if it made Isaac more comfortable. When this was all said and done and the normal Isaac was back, he was going to kick all their asses.

"What should we do after lunch?" Stiles wondered, scratching his chin. Derek's plan had been to stick Isaac in front of the TV for the rest of the day and maybe sneak away to break his knuckles on a tree. "I think I have some new comic books I haven't read yet. Does anyone else here like comic books?"

"I do," Scott said brightly. They both looked up at him expectantly and Derek had to hold back a growl.

"I love comic books," Derek grunted, sitting down at the table.

"What do you think, Isaac? Want to look at some cool comic books?" Stiles asked, tipping his head down toward the boy. For someone who seemed annoyed about being saddled with a kid earlier, Stiles was sure taking to it like a natural. Derek wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"I can't," Isaac said softly, shaking his head.

"Oh, you don't like them? That's okay."

"I do, but dad says I'm not allowed," Isaac whispered, tensing ever so slightly at the mention of his father.

"Well, I'm sure I can find some that aren't scary," Stiles offered.

"I'm on punishment." Derek and Scott's eyes snapped to each other at that. They were probably both thinking of their trip to the Lahey basement.

"That's- you don't have to worry about that here," Stiles insisted, flicking his eyes toward Derek's, as if asking him to help. But Derek would only make things worse.

"Why not?"

"Um, because we make the rules. And the number one rule is to have fun," Stiles shrugged.

"But when my dad comes back, he'll know. And then my mom won't come home," Isaac whimpered, dragging his hands across his cheeks. "Is- is that why my dad and Cam aren't here? Did I mess up again?"

"What? Isaac, no."

"I don't know what I did, but I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Isaac cried, ducking his head down to his chest. Derek suddenly felt a hand on his and he looked over at Scott in confusion. Scott nodded down at their joined hands and that's when he realized that his claws had come out and he was digging them into his palms. Derek pulled them under the table and out of sight, wiping the blood off on his jeans.

"Isaac, your dad is-"

"On a business trip!" Scott blurted out, causing Isaac to startle and look up. "And your brother is at summer camp."

"Y-yeah. And you're staying with us because we wanted to take care of you," Stiles added.

"Why?"

"Jump in anytime now, Derek," Stiles mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Isaac, sometimes family is complicated. You think you have the best thing in the world and then it changes and you don't know what to do. So you run because you've lost everything, but all you want is what you used to have. And then you finally try to create something new and you mess it up and then you're scrambling to fix your mistakes, but sometimes you can't. And you end up dragging everyone else around you down and-"

"Okay… I think what Derek is trying to say is that your dad had to go on a trip to learn how to make better choices," Stiles interrupted, giving him a curious look. Derek snapped his jaw shut, trying to figure out where all that came from. This was not the time or place to purge all the crap that he had simmering below the surface. "You know how we go to school to learn math and science and reading?"

"Yeah," Isaac replied apprehensively.

"Well, sometimes grown-ups have to go back to school to learn how to be better parents. That's where your dad is and that's why you'll be here with us for a while."

"Is that where my mom went too?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure," Stiles said, glancing over at him. Derek shrugged. Isaac had never mentioned his mother before, so he had no idea what the story was. He hadn't even known about his brother until Scott told them what Matt said at the sheriff's station the night he died.

"She's a good mom. Dad said she left because of me, but if I was good enough, she might come back," Isaac sniffled. "Will you tell my dad that I was good, so he can tell my mom?"

"Yeah, of course. And you know the best way to make your mom happy?" Stiles asked, dipping his head down to Isaac's level.

"How?"

"You being happy and having fun. You want to try?"

"Okay," Isaac agreed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

"Great! How about you go with Scott up to my room while Derek and I clean up lunch?" Stiles suggested, pulling Scott out of his chair. "He knows where I keep all my favorite comic books."

"Let me show you my favorite Spiderman comic," Scott said excitedly, holding out his hand for Isaac to take. He did so after a few moments, letting Scott lead him out of the room. As soon as they were gone, Derek threw his head back and closed his eyes.

"So, that was rough," Stiles mumbled. Sort of an understatement. Derek's eyes snapped open again when he felt Stiles tug at his arm and he jerked away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking your hands. Don't think I didn't notice the blood," Stiles scoffed, holding his hand out expectantly.

"It's fine," Derek grunted.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Stiles insisted, snapping his fingers. Derek raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "You've activated the caretaker side of me and that doesn't only apply to Isaac. So stop giving me that look and do what I say." Derek was caught off-guard by his statement that he ended up setting his hands palms up on the table. Besides a bit of smeared blood, they were healed.

"Told you they were okay," Derek huffed. But before he could pull them back, Stiles wrapped his fingers around one of his wrists and gave it a squeeze. "What are you-"

"I know this is a lot, but I think you're doing a good job," Stiles said sincerely.

"No, I'm not. And I really don't need you to lie to me about it," Derek said tightly.

"The fact that you're still sitting here and trying proves that you're doing a good job. Giving a damn is more important than being perfect. So cut yourself some slack." Derek wasn't sure what to say to that. It sounded too friendly for the two of them. He just nodded once, hopefully signaling the end of that line of conversation. "Do you know what happened to Isaac's mom?"

"He never mentioned her and I never asked. Some Alpha I am," Derek snorted.

"Well, maybe when everything is back to normal, you can try to get to know Isaac better. Maybe that was the lesson in all this," Stiles sighed. "We've all seen what happens if we try to handle things alone." This whole mess started because he couldn't keep his pack together.

"If things go back to normal," Derek muttered. "What if Isaac never changes back?"

"Then we'll deal with it. But I doubt that will happen. Things like this always get fixed after a while."

"What the hell are you talking about? When has this ever happened before?"

"On TV. No one ever stays a kid for good after they've been deaged."

"Oh, well I guess I don't need to worry," Derek deadpanned.

"That's the spirit! Just go with the flow and it'll all work out," Stiles grinned.

"Going with the flow isn't really my style."

"Well, clawing your way out of this one isn't going to work, so I guess you'll have to take my advice."

"We're all screwed."

"I know you're only saying that because you care," Stiles chuckled.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Derek grunted, finally snatching his arm back from where Stiles had been latched on all this time. "You should go up with them while I clean this mess."

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping," Stiles offered.

"We don't need to wash dishes together like an old married couple," Derek grumbled, waving Stiles away.

"As if I'd marry you. I need a gentle husband. I mean wife! I mean, shut up!" Stiles spluttered, crossing his arms in embarrassment.

"Goodbye Stiles," Derek smirked, grabbing the empty plates and taking them to the sink. Stiles grumbled under his breath as he left the room about being great spouse material. Derek wasn't so sure about that, since he felt like killing Stiles whenever he was left alone with him for too long, but at least he was proving his worth in this instance. And he wouldn't admit it, but maybe Derek needed to start taking some cues from Stiles when it came to dealing with Isaac like this. He seemed to be doing a good enough job with him, to Derek's surprise. But Derek had gotten a little better, at least at some points. Hopefully he wouldn't mess things up too badly before they could get Isaac back to how he was supposed to be.