Word: Abecedarian

...

"I'm an abecedarian," Holly stated clearly and carefully, looking up at her father with big amber eyes.

"Hmm, and what's that?" Derek asked absent-mindedly, trying to get Missy into her clothes without either one of them ripping them.

Holly frowned slightly, wobbling her loose front tooth with her tongue as she thought about it. "I'm learning ABC's," she said finally, sounding a bit unsure.

"Very good, Missy. Why don't you get your Papa's dictionary and we'll tick that word off the list?" Derek suggested, smiling at her warmly.

Holly brightened up immediately, running off to get the dictionary from the library.

"Papa! I got it right! Daddy said I can tick it off the list!" Holly called.

Missy finally stopped squirming and let Derek dress her properly. Holly returned to the room, dictionary under one arm, and tugging her Papa along with the other. Derek raised an eyebrow, grinning at the sight of Stiles wearing his pyjama bottoms with a dress shirt and tie.

"Holly just couldn't wait until I finished getting changed before dragging me out. So, what's the big news, Holl?" Stiles asked with a grin.

Derek tried not to groan at yet another abbreviation - Mistletoe (don't ask; seriously) down to Missy, and Holliday to Holly down to Holl; where would it end?

"I'm an abecedarian," Holly repeated with a broad smile. "I'm learning the alphabet."

"Oh, nice work. Do you have your special highlighter?" Stiles asked.

Holly held the dictionary up for Stiles to hold, and as soon as it was in his hands, she ran out of the room to fetch her highlighter.

"At this rate, Holly's probably going to finish the book by the end of the year," Stiles said, grinning at Derek.

"Probably. Werewolves are fast learners; but I think she gets her studying habits from you," Derek said, picking Missy up and kissing Stiles.

"You're just saying that 'cause you want to get in my pants," Stiles said.

"Yep, nothing quite as sexy as flannel check pyjama pants," Derek deadpanned.

"Oh, I'm going to remember that later tonight when I - "

Stiles fell silent when Derek shook his head minutely, and Holly returned a few seconds later, a highlighter in each hand.

"You smell funny, Papa," Holly said, wrinkling her nose.

"That's because Papa hasn't finished changing his clothes yet, Holly," Derek said quickly, Stiles trying not to flush bright red beside him.

There was nothing quite like their four year old daughter picking up on a scent and bringing it to everyone's attention. Thankfully, they weren't at a dinner party with the Sheriff, Melissa, and the rest of the pack this time.

Holly seemed to accept Derek's excuse and sat on the floor. Stiles kneeled in front of her, placing the dictionary down so Holly could open it. She grinned brightly on seeing the words already highlighted, and carefully uncapped the yellow highlighter to highlight the word 'abecedarian' in the dictionary. The cap was then replaced and the green highlighter was opened so the meaning could be highlighted.

"Very proud of you, Holly. You're so smart," Stiles said, pulling her up and into a warm hug.

Derek bounced Missy on his hip gently, glad that she'd finally settled, and kissed Holly in Stiles' arms quickly. He ruffled her slightly-damp hair, making Holly growl at him lightly.

"I'm going to finish getting changed, okay?" Stiles said, giving Holly one more squeeze before he set her down.

Stiles kissed Missy's fine-haired head gently, murmuring words of love to their almost-one-year old daughter. He then kissed Derek as well, flicking his tongue against Derek's lips as a promise of things to come, and left for their bedroom.

"All right, Holly. Dictionary back in the library, and downstairs with you," Derek said, indicating to the door.

Holly nodded, grabbed the dictionary and went back downstairs. Derek shut the nursery room door with his foot and followed after her, moving Missy slightly so she was resting in the crook of his arm.

By the time Stiles came down dressed in the rest of his pyjamas (he'd stolen one of Derek's henley shirts again), Derek, Holly, and Missy were all lying on the lounge waiting for him to join them for movie night. Stiles snuggled up to Derek, their daughters settled between them, and Derek smiled contently. They weren't the world's most conventional pack, but Derek didn't care about conventional. They were his family, his small pack within a larger pack, and that meant more to him than anything else in the world.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading!

My brainspace, for those interested: Erica was the surrogate for both Holliday and Mistletoe. Their names came about because Stiles got to pick the names (Derek got to pick the colours of the nursery, and there was sex involved for Stiles to get his way - he's not above playing dirty). Holliday was born on a public holiday (the streets through Beacon Hills were hell on that day, never mind the fact they had a pregnant Erica in the back seat of Stiles' jeep wolfing out on the way to Deaton's); Mistletoe was born on the 26th of December, and her name was kind of said jokingly, but Derek had agreed (his hand had been literally crushed by Erica's grip and Deaton had given him something to numb the pain that made him a bit calmer than usual), so that's how their daughters ended up as Holly and Missy.

Holly has Stiles' eyes, but Derek's hair. Missy has both Derek's eyes and hair. But they'll both grow up to have Erica's backbone!