Perhaps the most unexpected detail that Jade discovered about life in Teen Wolf was the way that Chris and Victoria's relationship started. It wasn't an arranged marriage, per se, but… well.

One day Victoria's family rolled into town and came to their visit their house, and something about the whole ordeal felt like she was witnessing a tradesman come in to show off a rare, valuable piece of weaponry to Gerard in hopes that he might just buy it. Except it wasn't weaponry. It was Victoria.

Even at that age, Victoria still sported her iconic red pixie cut. It was longer back then though, and made her look more than a little like Pat Benatar. Her glittering blue-grey eyes matched the pretty light that twinkled in her chest, and little Jade sat mutely in her high chair and watched as the well dressed families droned back and forth about the inflated prices of… blah, blah, blah. Something related to artillery.

"It's so good to just gather around and share a meal," smiled a benign older woman. Jade thought she must be Victoria's mother—they shared the exact same shade of hair color. Her nails were sharp as talons and painted a classic red that gleamed under the light as she reached across the dining room table to dish out some more fresh fruit onto her plate. "I can't remember the last time we were all together during a time that wasn't…"

"Tempestuous," Victoria supplied. It took a moment for Jade to rifle far enough back in her seldomly used adult vocabulary to recall the definition of that word. By the time she had figured it out Gerard was busy cracking his first grin of the morning in response. To Jade, he looked rather like the Grinch.

Even Chris suppressed a smile, his dimple peeking out to wink at Victoria. It was like the adults were all sharing an inside joke, and Jade immediately confirmed that these strangers must be another hunter family.

"I'm sorry, remind me again what your college degree is in?" Gerard all but purred, sending a not-so-subtle look at Chris. His meaning was clearly conveyed. Pay attention, son. This is a woman to watch. I approve.

"Well, I don't have it yet," Victoria demurred as she stirred her tea. "But it will be in secondary education."

"Ohh, how commendable." Gerard settled back in his chair to smooth a napkin across his lap. "Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival." Jade wondered if that doubled as some veiled reference to their roles as hunters.

"Who said that? Originally, I mean. It sounded rather like you were quoting someone else." The older woman sitting across from Gerard tilted her head with interest.

"I was, actually. An American statistician who placed great value on the importance of knowledge and education. I won't bore you with a lecture just now, but..."

"Nonsense!" The woman hurried to assure. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. Besides, Victoria loves this sort of discussion. She's a history buff, like her father was."

"Ah." Gerard tilted his head back and glanced at Victoria in appreciation again. "Well, suffice to say that the man I quoted inadvertently helped forge an alliance between two great nations that still stands to this very day."

"Well," The woman nodded sagely. "He sounds like quite a remarkable man. But as my grandfather always said, there are no permanent alliances. Only permanent interests."

Gerard's eyes damn near twinkled. "Now, that sounds familiar, doesn't it? Our families have been friends for a long time," He said, drawing out the word 'long'. "Maybe the time has come for us to cultivate a more… vested interest in each other."

Chris sat back as though he'd finally found a missing puzzle piece. He looked between Gerard and the woman for a long moment, and then briefly at Victoria, who had gone conspicuously silent.

The older woman gestured to the French doors that led out to the garden in the back. "I noticed that you have quite a lovely expanse of gardenias back there. Would you mind if I go indulge a closer look while we discuss this matter further?"

Gerard stood and gestured widely for her to lead the way, a mirroring expression of great satisfaction on his face as well as hers, like a cat that just ate the canary. "I could hardly refuse an opportunity to show them off. Besides, it will give these two a chance to get to know each other. I have a feeling they will be seeing a lot more of one another in the very near future."

Victoria looked pleased by the news. She turned to Chris with a conspiratorial smile as soon as the heads of family took their leave, the doors clicking shut behind them. "I only ever hear her talk like she's filling the role of a duchess in an Edwardian novel when we come to visit your father."

Chris actually laughed. "I'm afraid my father talks like that all the time."

"Well, I think we can dial back the formality just a bit." The corner of her lips twitched. "Don't you?"

Jade tried to find any sign that Chris was only pretending. A laugh that went on for too long or a smile that looked just a little bit strained, some sort of indication that he hadn't already fully submitted to the role that Gerard cast for him in the matter of a single brunch. But there was nothing. Nothing that she could see.

Either Chris was a spectacular actor, or he truly did see the benefits of joining their families together. Or maybe he was just too attracted to Victoria to let something like independence stop him.

Jade blinked when she heard her name. Chris was smiling gently down at her and Victoria seemed to notice her for the first time.

"Oh," She gasped. "Her eyes."

Chris gazed at Victoria, inspecting her reaction carefully. "Unique, aren't they?"

Victoria's eyes fluttered as she forced a smile back onto her painted lips. "Well—yes. Extremely." Then she shook her head and almost seemed frustrated. "Oh, god, I can't believe how rude I've been!"

Jade looked at the hand that Victoria extended to her in mild shock. Did she really expect a toddler to know what to do with that?

But apparently she did. "Hello, little one. You know what you look like? I took a class in mythology last year, and we learned all about these mystical, omniscient beings called Seers. They were often told to have sacrificed their eyesight in exchange for their ability to see the future…" she paused her as though to let such an interesting thought soak into Jade's little mind, assuming that it might have been the first time the child had ever heard of such a thing.

"Or to gain otherwise unknowable insight on people, places and even to foretell the destruction of kingdoms."

"Maybe that explains why she cries every time Gerard turns on the news."

Victoria's intensity broke and she turned to Chris and lightly said, "Interesting—that you call your father Gerard, I mean."

Chris's smile wavered for a moment. "Yes, well, I think I mentioned he can be an extremely formal man. I didn't just mean in his speech. He…"

Victoria reached out to place a comforting hand over Chris's. "It's fine," She assured. "I shouldn't pry like that. We only just met. Let's talk about something else. What does Jade think of the Easter Bunny? My sources tell me that he'll be paying a visit to the mall in San Francisco this weekend."

A smile played at Chris's lips. "Your sources? Is that so?"

Chris's POV

"Tell me I'm wrong," Chris said, leaning over the map of Beacon Hills to look at Gerard. "Look me in the eye and tell me that I'm misconstruing the whole situation."

"Misconstruing?" Gerard raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Chris. Maybe you are."

"So this isn't some deal that you and her family have concocted. You don't plan to marry me off to Victoria so that you can use their political connections in California."

"Can you really stand there and deny that their support would benefit us greatly?" Gerard countered. "And besides, have you even given the woman a chance yet? How do you know you won't love her? I think she seems perfectly charming. You could certainly do worse."

"It's not—" Chris broke off. He turned away to take a deep breath and then came back. "It's not about that, Gerard. I don't really appreciate being made into a pawn like this."

"Oh." Gerard rolled his eyes and shook his head. "When did you get so melodramatic, son?"

"Right about the time I realized that my fate—my romantic future—has been predetermined for me! Did you really expect me to just swallow this with a smile?"

"If you would just settle down and think about it for a moment, you'll see that this arrangement has been carefully considered. By everyone involved." Gerard reached out to poke the table for emphasis. "Who—knows—their children—better than their parents?"

Chris frowned, but Gerard continued before he had the chance to respond.

"Whether you believe it or not, I know you better than you know yourself. I do have your interests in mind. Victoria is strong. She's smart. She's funny. She would make, if nothing else, a very good friend to have. And that's more than some people can say who have been trapped in a loveless marriage for decades. Trust me, you'll want to be friends with the person you're married to, Chris."

"Except I'm not!" Chris passionately insisted. "I'm not friends with her! I agree with what you're saying—the problem is that you don't see what I'm saying! I don't even know her. I'm not her friend, and I'm sure as hell not ready to propose to her!"

"All I'm asking is for you to give the woman a chance." Gerard levelled a heavy glare at his son. "If you do, and you decide that it's absolutely out of the question, then I will walk away. I'm always going to be completely honest with you. Especially when it concerns your own life. So I will confess to you that yes, having her family connections would make our work exponentially easier. But it isn't strictly necessary. There are other ways to forge a lasting alliance besides marriage. I will always find a way.

"What I'm asking from you is to spend some time with her. Really make an effort to get to know her. And then after that, if you can come to me and honestly say that it will never work, fine."

"And if I'm telling you now that it will never work?" Chris pressed.

A muscle in Gerard's jaw jumped. "Then I will say that you're being a fool and throwing away what might be the best thing that ever happened to you."

"You mean the best thing that ever happened to you," Chris snapped without thinking.

A moment passed and the two said nothing. Gerard, though his grey hair was starting to be nearly overtaken with white, stood taller than Chris in the dark basement.

In that moment, he looked the most dangerous that Chris had ever seen him when the two men were alone. He couldn't help but take a step back in surprise.

"I—I'm sorry," Chris muttered. "I didn't mean that."

"Consider your words more carefully," Gerard warned. "And you will do well to remember who you are talking to in the future."

Jade's POV

It was only a matter of months before the pair were officially engaged. To Jade, who came from the future when divorce rates were at an all-time high and people claimed they used dating apps to meet "friends", it was insane. But for the time period she found herself in now, their rush to marry seemed like the norm. At least, that was how the Argents treated it.

It also felt like she would never be old enough to be able to properly voice her opinions or express her concerns. She had this nagging suspicion that Chris must have more reservations to this arrangement than he let on, but there was no real way to know for sure. She wished she could just talk to him and let him know that there was someone in the family who worried that he was being forced into something he might not want. He was still so young, after all.

They had just lost their mother near the beginning of the year. It was almost Thanksgiving now, and Chris was already juggling wedding plans with doubling down on packs in Beacon Hills with Gerard.

Chris and Victoria seemed to use taking his younger siblings out for holiday events as their primary form of dating. It was fall now, so Victoria thought it would be a fun idea to take the children on a hayride and to pick out a few pumpkins to carve at a huge, expansive pumpkin patch.

Kate joined them this time, with a friend from class. Chris had tried to insist that it was supposed to be a strictly family-only outing, but Victoria was quick to assure her that Kate's friend was fine to tag along. She said it was good for Kate to make those memories, that she had many cherished memories of her own, running around the fields with her school friends and drinking apple cider at the orchard in the fall.

With Victoria's seal of approval, it was all over. Kate was quickly learning who she needed to appeal to in order to get her way.

"I don't know how your father can stand it," Victoria said to Chris as they pulled Jade along in a red wagon behind them. She reached down to pull out a piece of straw from Jade's hair. It must have somehow gotten there on the hayride.

"Stand what?" Chris asked.

"Raising his young, vulnerable children in Beacon Hills of all places."

Chris frowned. "What do you mean? What's wrong with Beacon Hills?"

"Well," Victoria glanced away. "Sorry, I shouldn't judge. I shouldn't have said that, just ignore me."

"No—"

"Chris!" Kate called, bounding up with her friend hot on her heels. "Can we go out further? There's huge ones way out in the back!"

"Yeah, probably because no one wants to walk all the way out there!" Her friend whined.

Kate completely ignored it. Her eyes remained glued to Chris, using her best puppy-dog gaze she could muster. The red glow bubbled happily in Kate's chest and Jade realized that despite Kate's narcissistic tendencies, she was still just a little girl having fun with her classmate.

"Stay in sight," Victoria warned. But that was permission enough, and the pair of girls were off—Kate like a rocket with her friend trailing more reluctantly behind, almost resigned to her fate to have to trek through the muddy field.

"Kate!" She called. "Wait up! Wait for me!"

"Hurry up, slow-poke!" Kate giggled loudly.

Victoria had a small smile on her face when Chris reached over to pull her attention. "Now, tell me what you meant."

"Isn't it obvious?" Victoria's face darkened as she remembered Beacon Hills again. "That place is a cesspool of…" She broke off and glanced down at Jade. "Criminals."

Chris turned away thoughtfully. He busied himself with unwrapping the small package of caramel-coated apple slices they'd bought back at the gift shop. Leaning down, he passed it to Jade with a smile. As she picked up one of the slices he reached over to pat her head.

Finally, he stood upright and grabbed the handle of the wagon to continue their trek forward. "They have one of the best school systems in the state," He said. "And there's a lot to be said for growing up in a small town community."

"Please," Victoria dismissed. "I actually did grow up in a small town. It gets boring, trust me."

"It's safer," Chris argued.

Victoria laughed. "Safer? It's—" She glanced once again at Jade. "It's no safer there than anywhere else in the United States. That's just a lie that small town communities tell themselves. 'Nothing bad could ever happen in Beacon Hills. We're not like those big cities.' They feel so secure that they think they can leave their doors unlocked at night until the first major tragedy strikes.

"Then their worlds are shattered and gun sales skyrocket. You must know what I mean, after all." She came to a stop and locked eyes with Chris. "I don't want to raise my children to be so naïve, so comfortable in their routine that they think they can hitchhike and catch a ride from a perfect stranger and still make it home in time for dinner."

Jade was stunned. She never expected Victoria to be so… ahead of her time. But then she thought of how Allison did exactly that decades later, taking Derek at his word that he was a friend of Scott's on the night of Lydia's party. She did accept a ride from a stranger, and she did make it home in time for dinner. Still, Victoria wasn't particularly wrong in what she said.

Chris smiled deferentially. "All right. If you feel so strongly about it, I'm sure I can adjust to life in a big city. Maybe even San Francisco."

A delighted grin stretched across Victoria's bright red lips. "My thoughts precisely."

They moved on, going closer to Kate and her friend on the outer edges of the field. After a long moment Chris spoke again.

"You know I'm not some small town hick, right?"

The question startled a laugh out of Jade. A hick? From California? The question itself was a paradox. She was so surprised she choked on her apple and Victoria rushed to make sure she was all right. Once she was settled, Victoria reclaimed her spot walking beside Chris.

"Chris, honestly. If I thought you were some small-minded hillbilly, would I really have wasted so much time and money preparing for a wedding in a couple of weeks?"

Jade frowned and held her breath, anticipating what Chris might say. Wondering if he would call out their families for practically deciding this marriage for them. "No," he eventually said instead. "Probably not."

Victoria nodded once. "All right, then. I'm glad that's settled."

"But I have a condition of my own. We moved around a lot when I was growing up. It made it… difficult to make friends. And I was an only child for most of my life; Kate didn't come along until I was already a teenager." Chris considered his next words carefully. "I don't want my child to have to go through that. I'm not saying that I never want to move. I just don't want to hop from country to country, city to city, always chasing…" He glanced at Jade. "Always moving."

Victoria nodded. "That's perfectly understandable. I'm sorry, Chris. That sounds lonely."

He shrugged a shoulder, but said nothing to that. "How many people can say they vacationed in the French countryside as a child?"

Victoria's eyes lit up with a thought. "Your family owns land there?"

"A bit," Chris humbly granted, the smile on his lips hinting that they owned more than a bit. "But I haven't been back there in years now. Before Jade was born."

"Enough to have that private honeymoon destination I've been talking about?"

"I would think so." Chris joined hands with Victoria as another family passed them with a friendly nod. "I'll make the arrangements."

Author's Note: Sorry this was shorter. I wanted to include Chris and Victoria's backstory here - none of this was explicitly stated to have occurred in canon. This is just my interpretation of what could have happened. When I watched the show, I always thought that the Argents seemed formal. And as one of my friends on here I was discussing this with pointed out, at the end when Chris had to kill Victoria, it seemed almost like he was going through the motions of his duties as a husband. I think an 'arranged' marriage makes sense for them. It's not that I think they were unhappy, just not particularly close in the way you might expect to see.

Next chapter we should finally see Derek for the first time! And some more explanation about Jade's sensory abilities.

Please let me know your thoughts in a review below. :)