The first thing Derek did upon arriving home was to take Sophie into his arms and snuffle her. She screamed her delight, having missed his presence. That was when he noticed the simple cubic zirconia studs in her ears.
When he looked to Stiles for an explanation all he said was, "Lydia and Erica."
"With his permission!" Erica walked down the stairs, going up to Derek, taking both him and Sophie into a hug.
Derek hugged her back, nudging his nose along her neck. If Stiles didn't know that it was a pack thing, he would have been jealous.
"Were you successful?" Stiles jumped on it.
"I have the scent of whoever attacked them, they were killed by the same person," Derek said, handing Sophie off to Erica, who took her upstairs with her.
Stiles walked into the living room and sat Derek down. "We think that it was Paul who killed them," He said.
Derek ran fingers through Stiles' hair, pulling him closer, "You're probably right, I just don't know why."
"We have an idea, we think that something happened to make Eliza run," Stiles said, lacing their fingers together as Derek's other hand rubbed along his shoulders and neck, "She took Sophie with her, sought asylum with the local pack and we think Paul went after her."
"Why would he kill the pack that helped her?" Derek asked.
"This is all just theory, but without Nathaniel to confirm or deny, we may never know. Just promise me that if it was Paul or anyone in his pack, tell me we'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe," Stiles all but begged. Derek had been reluctant to make such a promise a few days prior, but now it was different.
"We'll keep her safe," Derek promised, "Even if that means taking care of the pack." By taking care of, Stiles knew that he meant killing.
Stiles gave him a sweet kiss, "Thank you."
"I missed you," Derek said and Stiles melted.
"I missed you too," Stiles said, reaching to muss up the hair at the nape of Derek's neck.
It was comfortable and normal, holding each other. It didn't make Stiles as nervous as it would have just a few months previous. Derek laid down along the couch, pulling Stiles down with him. They held each other for as long as they could.
After a while, Isaac came in through the front door, turning immediately into the living room, looking for them. He found them like that, curled around each other. Isaac seemed to hesitate for only a moment before collapsing on top of them.
Stiles laughed at the pressure of being squished between them. He wrapped an arm around Isaac's shoulders though, pulling him close. It was a tight squeeze for two people, much less three, but Derek and Isaac sniffed at each other around Stiles.
"How was your day?" Derek finally asked.
Isaac smiled, "It was good. The most difficult part is learning where all the books go."
"Are they training you well?" Stiles asked, feeling like he hadn't seen Isaac in days.
"Yea, they're patient and helpful when I have questions," Isaac said.
"That's good," Stiles said, "How far are you into the series?"
"Harry Potter?" Isaac asked and Stiles nodded.
"I'm about one hundred pages into book three," Isaac said, "I'm starting to get a good idea of what you all were talking about."
"When you finish the series, we'll have to get you to take a sorting quiz." Stiles insisted, excited for all the things that happen in the rest of the books. What he wouldn't give to read those books for the first time again. The magic of it all.
"Do you think that witches actually exist?" Isaac asked.
Derek chuckled, "They do, but they're more like the witches in Supernatural. That show is spot-on about so many creatures that I wonder if one of the writers is a creature themselves."
"That's a good point," Stiles said.
Isaac looked curious, "What's Supernatural?"
Stiles balked at him, "That's another thing to add to the list of things to show you. It's a TV show about monster hunters."
"Oh," Isaac said simply. It really did break Stiles' heart knowing that Isaac had missed out on so much.
"Let's get up and I'll make us some lunch," Stiles said and at the mention of food, Isaac jumped up from the couch.
Stiles ended up making some chicken salad sandwiches, giving one to each of the pack before making one for himself. They had them with chips and soda. After they cleaned up, Stiles enlisted Derek to feed Sophie her bottle.
They all gathered around the table, filling Derek in on the happenings that occurred while he was gone. Sophie getting her ears pierced, Isaac having a successful first week at work, Stiles being offered to help on an info piece for the paper.
Derek nodded along to everything that was said to him, taking in the moment of the pack being together. Erica took particular joy in informing Derek that Sophie was an especially quick healer. He looked at Sophie's little earrings again, face exasperated.
"Was that really necessary?" Derek asked Stiles in particular.
Stiles just smiled, "They made a really compelling argument."
"Which was?" Derek raised an eyebrow.
"That she'd be too little to remember and that it would assure that everyone knew she was a girl," Stiles explained.
Derek looked at the little sunflower onesie, yellow leggings, white bow that Sophie wore in disbelief. He shook his head, knowing that it was a battle he'd already lost. Granted he could take the earrings out and the holes would heal over, but they were precious.
"They do suit her," Derek admitted though his face said differently.
Stiles laughed at that, reaching over to gently pinch Sophie's cheek, "She's an angel that's for sure." Sophie cooed at them, little hands clasping each other.
"Tell us more about it sweet girl," Stiles said, letting her take one of his fingers into her hand. She proceeded to babble long squealing sentences at them. Derek nodded at her as if he knew exactly what she was saying.
The flash of a picture being taken made Stiles flinch, and when he turned, Erica was smiling innocently. "It's a picture for her baby book," She said.
"What baby book?" Stiles asked.
"The one we're going to buy!" Erica said with a grin.
Stiles rolled his eyes fondly. He had been trying to keep from purchasing any long-term items for Sophie, to keep himself from getting so attached. That was his original plan, but now looking at her, it had gone out the window. It was too late.
They already loved her.
"Alright, it's time for a nap," Stiles said and Derek said that he'd take her up. Sophie truly was a good baby, who did well with the schedule they had her on. Even as Derek carried her out of the kitchen, she yawned widely, eyes sleepy.
They all dispersed to their different parts of the house and Stiles went to the living room to do more research for work.
From what he had looked into, the hospital had a worrisome history. It originally opened as a hospital for those with tuberculosis, and changed into a mental asylum at some point in the forties. Then, in the nineties it was made into a hospital for those with mental health issues and behavioral problems.
There had been disappearances spanning back into the forties, back when lobotomies were still considered the peak of medicine. It seemed that everything was alright back then, but now in modern times, someone was beginning to catch on that something wasn't quite right. In Stiles' opinion, it was very unlikely that so many people were 'healed' and walked away from their entire lives upon release.
Stiles just didn't know how he was going to get proof. He was just out of high school, and yes, his investigative skills were good, but he didn't know if they were that good. Without seeing a patient's chart, he didn't know if he would be able to find the information that Patricia was looking for.
That was when he came across an article from the sixties, describing a lobotomy gone wrong. A patient who had been lobotomized escaped the hospital and was found four streets over. The police had investigated, but since lobotomies were still legal, there were no charges to be filed.
Stiles scrolled through the article, finding that the patient had been given to the hospital and was later found to have died a couple weeks later. Elizabeth Bradshaw, Stiles scribbled down at the top of his notes. The article went dry after that, with no charges there was no conviction.
When he came to the end of the line, he put his laptop away, a little disappointed that he couldn't find more information. He planned to look further into the patient's history the next morning, to see if he could find out where she was buried and what she had been admitted for.
Derek came back down, freshly showered and in a pair of jeans and a black henley. Stiles eyed him as he stretched and sat down on the couch. He could smell the Irish Springs soap from here.
"What were you looking into?" Derek asked, taking the book on the side table.
"Just some stuff about the hospital over in Sonora," Stiles said and Derek hummed, "There have been a lot of disappearances that Patricia thinks are connected to the hospital."
"Sonora, I've never been there, it's a pretty small town isn't it?" Derek questioned, looking up from the book.
"Yea, it only has about five thousand residents," Stiles said.
"What makes her think that something is going on?" Derek wondered.
Stiles crossed his legs, making himself more comfortable, "The families of many patients claim that they didn't even know they were released from the hospital, because the patients never came home."
"How many?" Derek asked.
"At least twenty last year, and eleven this year so far," Stiles said, "Either they have the miracle cure for mental illness there or something is going on."
Derek nodded, "It could be, what can you do about it though?" That stumped Stiles.
"The only thing I can think of is to see their medical charts," Stiles said thoughtfully, "Though, they could have been forged."
"Just try not to stress yourself out, remember your integrity," Derek said and Stiles smiled at the thoughtfulness.
"I will," Stiles sighed, laying over and placing his head in Derek's lap. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he did.
Some time later, he was nudged awake and when he looked it was dark outside. "I need to get up to feed Sophie," Derek said, holding the baby monitor. Stiles nodded, sitting up and stretching. He hadn't even felt tired, but his body must have needed to sleep.
Stiles sat there in the warm glow of the lamp in the corner, feeling all the tension leave his body. It was good to have Derek home.
His stomach growled, so he went to the kitchen to find something to eat. He found a pasta bake on the counter and he wondered who had cooked it. Shrugging it off, he fixed himself a plate and warmed it up in the microwave.
Derek joined him as Stiles was sitting down at the table, "Do you want some too?"
Without waiting for an answer, he slid Derek his plate of food and went to make another plate. "Thank you," Derek called behind him.
"No problem," Stiles said, "Where's Sophie?"
"Lydia wanted her," Derek said as he took a first bite, blowing on it to cool it a bit first.
Stiles nodded at that, digging into his own food, "Come Friday, I'm having Lydia and Jackson take Sophie to her parents. To keep her out of harm's way until we know more."
"That's a good idea," Derek said.
Stiles sighed, "Are we supposed to feel this helpless?"
Derek met his eyes, "I don't know. I never got to ask my parents."
"Maybe I'll ask my dad, he would probably say yes," Stiles said with a sardonic grin.
"He probably would have been with you as a child," Derek joked and Stiles looked offended.
"Just who was it who got me involved with all your shenanigans, Mr. Sour Wolf?" Stiles said, watching a look of irritation come across Derek's face.
"If you had just listened to me in the beginning, you could be living a normal life right now," Derek said off puttingly.
Stiles rolled his eyes, "As true as that may be, I wouldn't give up you or the kids for the world."
Derek's expression melted into one of fondness, "Me either." Stiles smiled at him, accepting the hand at his throat, rubbing against the birthmark.
"Enough with the sappy stuff," Scott said as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a plate of his own.
"Where have you been?" Stiles said sarcastically.
"At Deaton's, Derek's back," Scott said needlessly, coming over to let Derek put his scent on him. After being suitably rubbed down, he sat on the other side of Stiles to eat. "This is really good."
"We didn't make it," Stiles said and Scott's eyes went wide.
"Who did?" Scott asked.
"Boyd," Derek said and Stiles raised his eyebrows.
"A bunch of chefs in this family," Scott said. Derek and Stiles met eyes, indeed.
