Getting home to find the house still empty Jess and Derek quickly headed upstairs and locked themselves in their room.
Jess put her old laptop and it's charger in a drawer of her desk and set the new laptop on the top of the desk. Opening the bag of school supplies that she hadn't had to use yet Jess pulled out a folder and pulling the fundraiser notes out of her bag she placed them all in the folder before putting the folder back into her bag.
Meanwhile Derek had laid on his stomach on the bed and was sorting through all the flashcards he had bought. He was opening the sets one at a time and sorting them into three piles infront of him after he had showed each one to Anne.
Sitting down beside Derek Jess laid her hand on his back and absent-mindedly started rubbing slow circles along his back with her hand while watching him sort the cards. "Explain your sorting criteria?" Jess asked. Not able to see any rhyme or reason for the way he was sorting out the flashcards.
Smirking Derek continued his weird sorting process while he explained. "The first pile is things that she has a word for, or can express to me, doesn't matter if it is an object, action, or place, if she can say it then it goes in the first pile. The second pile is things she says she recognizes or understands but that she doesn't have a word for. Things that are more complicated or just don't come up in normal dog day to day life. She understands what they are and will be able to identify them to use them in a silent conversations by touching the pictures if we put them up where she can touch them. I thought we could tape them to the walls in the hallway maybe? The third pile is stuff that she just can not identify or say. Things too far beyond her intelligence that she has no need of being able to say."
Looking down Jess saw that the third pile was very small so far money, board games, and cousins. The first and second pile were about even. Still not convinced Jess dug though the 1st pile a d picking a card at random she called the dog to her and showed her the card, very careful to be sure that Derek couldn't see it. A strange sound from Derek had Anne come over and look intently at the card again before turning and whining to Derek.
"You showed her a picture of a car." Derek said with a smirk.
Flipping rapidly through the stack Jess showed the dog another picture. Again the whines passed between Derek and Anne and Anne looked hard at the picture before whining unhappily and reaching up she pawed at her own nose.
Frowning at the dog Derek whined back and watched as the dog repeated her action of pawing at her nose, this time she also sneezed and shook her head while whining. Suddenly smiling Derek turned to Jess. "A goat. She doesn't have a word for goat, but she said loud, strong smelled, horns on head, plant eating crier. I will admit that if I hadn't looked through the flashcards I might not have known what she meant by that one. She had to repeat it a few times for me." Derek said with a lazy shrug, laying his head down on the bed.
Reaching over Jess started scratching his back lightly, smiling when he moaned and squirmed a bit before he suddenly reached over his head and grabbing his shirt he ripped it off and threw it across the room before squirming closer to Jess. Taking her sling off Jess started using both hands to stroke, massage, and scratch all over Derek's back. Chuckling at the all the little sounds he made in reaction to what she did she listened to him get quieter and quieter before finally he stopped reacting to anything she was doing. Keeping one hand on his back rubbing slow circles Jess reached for a heavy blanket with the other and pulled it up over the sleeping man's back. Taking the second of the three stacks of cards and a roll of tape Jess started sorting the cards. The ones most likely to be needed in a conversation she started taping up around the room at nose height for the dog. When she finished taping up the entire stack some areas had several rows of the cards to get them all to fit. Picking up the first stack Jess set them on the desk. Later she would ask Melissa if it was OK to put the cards up along the upstairs hallway. A few she planned to ask to hang downstairs. Cards like outside, eat, drink, play, and drive would be a big help in letting the dog let people know what she wanted. Jess picked up the third stack and placed it in a drawer of her desk. Checking that everything was put away Jess stepped into the bathroom expecting to find a massive mess and make a start on cleaning it. Instead she found the bathroom spotless. A pile of fresh large towels were sitting on the vanity countertop with a note.
So proud of how you handled things last night. Didn't want you having to clean up the mess the boys caused Derek to make in here so I cleaned it after you two left for your meeting.
With nothing to clean in the bathroom Jess wandered back into the bedroom and looked around for something to do. Seeing her new laptop on the desk Jess sat and opening her laptop she started checking and answering her emails and reading the articles her friends had sent her. A few quiet hours passed this way before a knocking at her door had Jess closing her laptop and rushing to try to open the door before the knocking woke Derek. Yanking open the door Jess hissed. "Shhhhh" While glancing over her shoulder towards the bed. Looking to see who had been knocking Jess paled when she saw it was the Sheriff holding a cloth bag and a sheath of papers and looking very serious. Melissa stood behind him smiling. "Sorry, but Derek is asleep and I didn't want the knocking to wake him." Jess apologized speaking as quietly as she could.
"He is going to need to be awake for this." The Sheriff said in a slightly louder then normal tone of voice as he stepped towards the doorway.
Shifting so that her body blocked the doorway Jess scowled and asked quietly. "What exactly is THIS?" She demanded still more then a little annoyed with the Sheriff for his behavior the night before.
Smiling from her place behind the Sheriff Melissa called loudly. "It's OK honey. It is a surprise for Derek. A nice surprise."
Hearing grumbling and soft swearing coming from the bed behind her and realizing that they had already woke up the man anyways Jess sighed and turning she stalked across the room to her desk chair and flopped into it. Ignoring the two adults who hesitated before slowly entering the room.
On the bed Derek had rolled over and sat up when he woke up. Seeing the Sheriff and Melissa enter the room he stood effortlessly and snatching a shirt from his bag he pulled it over his head. The Sheriff unsettled him slightly. He had a very strong presence in a room that was impossible to ignore. Taking a few long steps Derek came to stand directly behind the desk chair that Jess had sat in and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. Tilting his head slightly to one side he quirked an eyebrow at the bag and papers. "Did I hear someone mention a surprise of some kind? Not sure what I did to deserve one." Derek said loudly before leaning forwards slightly and whispering under his breath to Jess. "Unless you count not beating the stuffing out of a pair of idiot."
Snorting loudly and reaching up to slap at Derek's hand Jess whispered back. "Behave."
Clearing his throat awkwardly the Sheriff suddenly held the bag and the papers out towards Derek. "This, is for you. Melissa and I spoke a lot last night and this morning about everything that happened and about what we knew about you and your circumstances and your actions and we realized that this could be a big help to you. Make your life easier and maybe help a bit with some of your PTSD and Anxiety issues."
Frowning at the bag and papers Derek made no move to take them. "What is it? I don't need help. I am fine. As long as idiots don't roofy me." Derek said firmly.
Frowning at the young man who had been sleeping in the middle of the day and still had deep bags under his eyes the Sheriff lowered the items and raised an eyebrow. "Oh you're fine are you? So does that mean you are ready to come move into the spare room at my house and stop sleeping here in Jess's bed every night? Ready to stop driving her to and from school every, single day?" He asked. "Well, that is great to hear!" Handing the bag and papers to Melissa the Sheriff gestured to Derek's duffel bag. "We can move you and your stuff over to my place right now then." Stepping towards Derek's bag he continued. "You can just say goodbye to Jess while I get your stuff." Reaching for the bag the Sheriff suddenly found it snatched up and swung out of his reach. Turning he saw the bag come to settle on Derek's shoulder as the young man placed himself back behind Jess's chair, head lowered and glaring fiercely at the Sheriff. Shooting suspicious looks at Melissa, he crowded as close as possible to Jess chair, reaching down with one hand to grab a hold of the girls shirt, his breathing visibly speeding up.
"Fuck off! Stop being a bully!" Jess yelled. Surging to her feet she pushing the chair roughly to one side and stepped close to Derek. Glaring fiercely at the Sheriff Jess reaching up and placed a hand on Derek's chest. Feeling his heart pounding wildly and seeing his eyes shifting back and forth between Melissa and the Sheriff uneasily she sighed loudly and started rubbing soothing circles on Derek's chest.
The Sheriff sighed and moved to take a step closer looking contrite. "This is what I mean..." He began to say as he approached.
Jess held up her hand palm towards him in the universal signal for stop. "Stop! Give him a minute!" Under her other hand she could feel the slight vibrating caused by a growl too low for human ears to hear. "Shhh, we're OK."
On her dog bed in the corner Anne heard the growling. Lowering her head she whined once before slinking across the room and pressing herself up against Derek's leg whining again and reaching up to nuzzle at his clentched fist.
Glancing down at the dog in surprise Derek slowly unclentched his fist and sunk his fingers into the dogs fur. A soft smile slowly appearing on his face as he stared down at the dog trying to comfort him.
Pointing at the dog and suddenly beaming happily the Sheriff continued talking. "That. That is what we mean. There are things that can help to manage the symptoms of PTSD that you are struggling with." The Sheriff said motioning at the things Melissa held and stepping closer.
Glaring angrily Derek stepped closer to Jess and pulled her tightly against his chest with one arm. "Just leave us the fuck alone and I won't have so many symptoms." Derek snapped head hanging low. "I don't want or need your help." Curling his fingers into Anne's fur he breathed in and out slowly through his nose. Still watching both the Sheriff and Melissa warily as he pet the dog at his side repeatedly.
Smiling softly the Sheriff pointed to Anne. "She helps doesn't she? Having that dog close to you when you find yourself in a stressful situation?"
Glancing down at Anne confusedly Derek looked back at the smiling Sheriff and Melissa and nodded slowly. "Yes, I guess that having Anne around helps keep me centered when I am dealing with idiots. What does that have to do with anything?"
Slowly walking the remaining distance to the young man, the Sheriff moved carefully as he raised a hand and gently placed it on the young man's shoulder. Wincing when he felt him still trembling slightly he shot a Melissaa guilty look. "It's alright son. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." The Sheriff spoke softly to the young man feeling his muscles tensing under his hand. "Easy now. No one is going to take you anywhere you don't want to go. You can put that down now." Glancing at the deep bags under the young man's eyes the Sheriff winced. "I know your tired." Closing his hand over the strap from the duffel bag the Sheriff started to try to lift it off the young man's shoulder.
Releasing Jess Derek spun around under the Sheriff's hand and brought the hand that had been petting Anne, up to clasp the arm holding his bag at the wrist. Eyes blazing and a snarl on his lips, the last thing Derek expected was for the Sheriff to release the strap of the bag and to slide his hand up and grasped the back of Derek's neck firmly.
Stepping closer the Sheriff raised his second arm and set it on the snarling man's other shoulder. Holding Derek firmly by the back of the neck and one shoulder the Sheriff leaned towards him slightly. "You're safe. No one here is going to hurt you. Or take you anywhere you don't want to go. Just breathe son." Taking a big exaggerated breath and letting it out slowly the Sheriff stared hard into the young man's eyes as he continued to take deep breaths in and out. Occasionally squeezing the man's shoulder and calmly telling him to breath. "Breathe Derek. You're OK now. Just breathe."
A few steps away Melissa had dropped the things on the desk and taken a hold of Jess's arm and was asking her to just wait a moment and see if the Sheriff could calm him. "You won't always be able to be there for him. The more of us who he trusts to calm down around the better it will be for him in the long run. Just wait."
By now Derek had stopped snarling and his glare had disappeared. He looked lost as he locked eyes with the Sheriff and fought the urge to match his breathing with the man's exaggerated deep breaths. The man's already strong presence was even stronger when you were clutched in his hands and staring into his eyes. Feeling his heartbeat start to slow and the tension in the room start to ease Derek finally gave in and started matching his breaths with the Sheriff's. Maybe if he gave in the man would let him go and give him some bloody space so he could think. He was so damn tired he couldn't think straight.
Suddenly the Sheriff closed the remaining distance between them. The hand on Derek's shoulder moved and curled around Derek's back and the hand on his neck pulled his head towards the Sheriff's shoulder. Derek's one arm was pinned between the men's chests and he flailed his other arm ready to use it to fight his way free, the duffel bag hanging from it falling and hitting the ground with a soft thud. Suddenly the hand on his neck shifted up into his hair and blunt fingernails started scratching soft slow trails along his scalp. Fighting against the overpowering urge to go limp that a gently scratched scalp always seemed to bring on Derek gave a desperate whine and shifted against the hands holding him.
"Shhhh son, it's alright. I've got you. You're safe here. It's alright. Just relax." The Sheriff chanted. Continuing to scratch his scalp gently he started to move his other hand in gentle circles as low on the young man's back as he could reach when the young man whined softly and shifted against him. "Everything is going to be alright son. Relax. I know your tired. I've got you. You're both safe here. You can relax." When the young man still didn't relax the Sheriff glanced over to the women and gestured with his hand towards Jess.
Pulling away from Melissa Jess rushed across the room. Taking a deep breath she moved to stand just behind the Sheriff so that Derek could see her from where his head was held to the Sheriff shoulder. Blinking back tears at the lost and confused look in Derek's eyes Jess gave him a gently smile and started to croon reassurances. "It's OK puppy. You can let them help you. It's OK to let more grown up, grown ups help sometimes." Leaning in so her lips were nearly touching his face Jess cupped her hand and whispered as softly as she possibly could. "It's OK to relax in the strength of a good, man. Even if he isn't pack. He is part of our circle, he can help protect us when you need a break if you let him. Accept a bit of help, a bit of shared strength. If you don't like how it makes you feel then don't do it again. But at least try it once. Go ahead puppy. I know you're tired. Just relax." Smirking slightly at the way the words could have been taken in a dirty way Jess stepped back and watched to see what Derek would do.
Unable to hear most of what Jess whispered the Sheriff was surprised when Derek took a deep shuddering breath and suddenly went completely limp in his arms leaning heavily into the hug. Adjusting his hold and his stance to better manage to hold the young man up the Sheriff gave him a gentle squeeze and swayed gently. "Shhhh son, I've got you." Shifting around so he could lean back and sit against the edge of the desk he let the young man lean heavily against him. Gently scratching at his scalp like he had seen Jess doing to him the night before he smiled when he felt the hand caught between them slowly clench his shirt. "There now. Are you feeling ready to talk now son?" Feeling the man immediately begin to tense again and pull away he hurriedly reassured him. "I know, I know, no doctor's, no drugs! You don't want that kind of help." Slowly releasing the young man the Sheriff pointed at the dog still hanging around near their feet. "But what about Anne? You admitted that she helps. What if you could take her with you everywhere you went?"
Standing in front of the Sheriff, Derek's head tilted to one side in confussion. Today had been too confusing. Too many strong confusing emotions from people that he was being strongly encouraged to play nicely with by his packmate. Derek was tired, he was still feeling off from everything that had happened yesterday. And he had just been cuddled by a grown man. Derek was hating the fact that a large part of his instincts had seemed to encourage him to allow the man to comfort him. Too much was happening, he couldn't think. "Huh!"
Smiling softly at the confused and clearly exhausted man Melissa pulled a Service Dog vest out of the bag on the desk. "We talked to Dr. Deaton and he said he could do an official public access test with Anne on Monday but that he is 100% sure she will pass it. That plus what we have just seen with her calming you as a task, and your PTSD, we will get a dog trainer to sign off on her as well later if we have to. For now just remember she needs her vest on if you go somewhere dogs normally aren't allowed and if a store employee, or someone official asks, you say she grounds you during PTSD episodes." Stepping forwards Melissa handed Derek the vest. "There is a bunch of info on different trainers who could sign off on her training in those papers and some more gear in the bag. There are also some papers on things she could be trained to do that might help you." Grabbing the Sheriff's arm Melissa pulled him towards the door. "We will leave you guys alone to rest and to look everything over when you feel up to it." Melissa said dragging the Sheriff out of the room and closing the door behind them.
Gathering the stuff Jess brought it to the bed and sitting down began to flip through it. Looking up at the still dazed looking Derek she chuckled. "Papa Stilinsky gives a damn good hug doesn't he?" Jess said quietly.
Nodding slowly Derek wandered over to the bed still holding the vest in his hand. "What the hell just happened?"
"You got Stilinskied." Jess said sagely. Nodding at the shell-shocked look on Derek's face. "The morning you were arrested I attacked him, then hid in my truck. Then came out expecting a beating for it and instead got offered a hanky." Nodding wisely Jess said. "It surprised me as well but it turns out the man is a hugger. He got me on the first day of school when I used my Dramatic Powers to cry in a crowded office to get back at the witchy secretary. Hugged the hissy fit right out of me. Other then the Sheriff hugging you until you turned from a growly guard dog into a confused puppy, not much just happened. Anne got a promotion. From beloved pet to Service Dog. Now we definitely need to bring her to pick new dog food. That kind of promotion deserves a raise." Giggling Jess took the vest and calling Anne over she put it on the dog and adjusted it. "We can let her get used to wearing it for the afternoon. Then tomorrow we can bring her with us shopping." Jess said brightly.
Looking from the vested dog to the bag of stuff and stack of papers Derek sighed. "I can't deal with this right now." Lying down Derek laid on his belly and buried his nose in a pillow. "Wake me when the world makes sense again. Or in the morning. I have a bad feeling that I know which of those things will come first."
"Yeah, yeah." Jess muttered reading through papers. "I'll wake you in the morning."