Chapter 7: Testing the Waters

*****The Next Day*****

Buffy and Derek arrived at Derrick's family home after picking up Xander and Willow.

"So Willow says this house is going to be where we all can stay?" Xander asked.

"Yes, Derek says we can use it since he doesn't want to stay in it," Buffy said.

"Why not?" Xander asked.

"It's the house my family was killed in," Derek answered.

Xander winced. "Sorry," he said.

"It's okay. Kate Argent set the house on fire after trapping them in it," he said. "It's been completely redone."

"So no ghosts haunting it or anything?" Xander asked.

"No ghost," Derek said.

"Are we going to meet your uncle today?" Willow asked.

"If you're unlucky," Derek said.

"Is he evil?" Willow wondered.

Derek shrugged. "He was burned up in the fire, and I thought he was catatonic," he said. "But he was faking it, and killed my older sister, who became the alpha after Mom died. Then he terrorized the town, biting Scott. I killed him, and he managed to come back from the dead."

"Seriously?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Derek said. "Now, though, he's mostly helpful to the pack, especially if his daughter Malia is in danger. Scott said he helped them against the Ghost Riders."

"So he killed your sister, and you still hang around him?" Willow asked.

Derek shrugged. "He says the trauma of the fire and losing his alpha drove him insane. He claims he regrets it," he said.

"Do you believe him?" Buffy asked.

"I want to, but I can't afford to trust him completely, so I advise you not to either," Derek said. "But he is crafty and powerful. Use him if you need to."

"Good to know," Buffy said.

Derek pulled up and saw that Lydia's car was already there. Scott pulled up behind them on his motorcycle, Malia with him.

Lydia stepped onto the porch.

"How did you get inside?" Buffy asked, knowing Derek locked it.

She grinned. "I picked the lock," admitted.

"Stiles?" Derek asked.

"Who else?" she replied with a smug grin.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Xander asked. "You totally have to teach me! Spike taught Dawn, but no one has taught me. I hate not knowing something Spike knows."

"Another time," Buffy said.

"I can't believe you rebuilt this place and didn't say anything, Derek," Scott said, looking at it in awe.

"It's pretty amazing. Wait until you see the inside," Lydia said.

They were exploring the new house as Liam pulled up with Mason, Corey, and Theo.

Mason was pissed that Liam picked up Theo. "I just don't think we need to be forgetting that Theo tried to kill all of us and framed Stiles for murder, remember? He worked for the Dread Doctors," Mason reminded him.

Derek and Buffy were outside, not needing to explore the house, and heard the argument.

"Scott isn't mad at him and says we need him, so he's here," Liam said.

"Hey," Buffy said, getting their attention. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Liam said. "Mason just doesn't like Theo. I told him that he doesn't have to like him."

"No one likes me, yet here I am," Peter Hale said, stepping out from behind a tree.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," Derek said.

"You rebuilt our home and made new friends," Peter said. "Of course, I'm going to be here."

"Peter, this is Buffy Summers," Derek introduced.

"Hello," Buffy said, looking at the man curiously. He was younger than she expected, attractive.

"So my nephew is dating the longest-lived vampire slayer," Peter said. "Impressive."

"You know who I am?" Buffy asked.

"Most supernatural creatures that know anything know who Buffy Summers is," Peter said.

"I don't," Liam said.

"As I said," Peter said with pointed look.

Scott and Malia came back outside. "Dad? I didn't know you were coming," she said.

"Just wanted to see what your new friends were up to," Peter said. "You still leaving for Europe?"

Malia nodded. "In a few days," she said. "Scott's going to go with me since he is delaying his start until the spring semester."

"That's good," he said. "I didn't like you traveling alone."

"Lydia is going with us, too" Malia added.

"Safety in numbers," Peter remarked.

"We're going to work with Buffy's overseas slayers and track the hunters in Europe while sightseeing," Scott shared.

"That's a good plan," Peter said, happy to know that they were on the offensive for once.

"This house is incredible, Derek," Lydia said, stepping off the porch. Willow and Xander were with her.

"Thanks," he said. "Buffy's friends will be staying here."

"Shouldn't you have asked me if that was okay?" Peter asked, annoyed.

"It was my mother's house," Derek said.

"It was my sister's house," Peter replied.

"My family was killed in this house," Derek said.

"So was mine, and I was left with eighty percent of my body burned," Peter said flatly.

"You murdered my sister, so you no longer get a say," Derek said grimly.

"See if Peter is allowed in the pack, there's no reason not to allow me," Theo said to Mason.

"Good point," Liam said.

Mason didn't like it, but he didn't argue.

"No one is perfect," Willow said.

"Speak for yourself," Xander said with a grin. "I am pretty perfect!"

"Okay, so most people aren't," Willow acknowledged, making everyone smile.

"It's going to take a lot of stuff to fill a house that big," Lydia said.

"I love shopping," Buffy remarked.

"Me, too!" Lydia said with a grin.

"Shopping tomorrow and school on Monday," Buffy said.

"Works for me!" Lydia said.

"Are we going to do something or talk furniture?" Malia said impatiently.

Peter grinned, amused by his daughter. "Yes, what is the point of this gathering?" he asked.

"I'm leaving for a few weeks and then I'll be gone for school," Scott said. "Buffy and her friends have been fighting evil and monsters even longer than we have. She'll be around to make sure what happened with Monroe and the hunters doesn't happen again."

"I'll be working at the school as a counselor," Buffy added.

"You know counselors at our school tend to be psychotic," Mason said.

"Yea, well, I'm about to break that mold," Buffy said with a smile. "Willow will be around, too, as a substitute teacher."

"And you might see Oz sometimes as he's going to be doing some IT for the school district," Willow added.

"Cool," Liam said. "Things were really bad the first few weeks of school. Never thought I'd be the victim of a lynch mob."

"And seeing teachers stand there and do nothing was really messed up," Mason said.

"That just pisses me off, so how about we not talk about it?" Buffy suggested. "I promise you that will not happen again. Not while I'm around."

"So we should probably go to the back of the house," Derek said.

They followed Derek to the back of the house and saw an open field. "This is great," Buffy said. "So much room."

"I've not got any landscaping done yet," Derek said.

"Why don't we start with the high school kids?" Buffy suggested. "Xander spar with Mason, so we can see what he can do."

"Oh, I don't fight," Mason said quickly. "I run and hide behind Liam."

"Or I make him invisible," Corey added.

"You can do that?" Willow asked.

Corey nodded.

"That's so cool!" Xander said. "Show me."

Corey did, and Xander cheered.

"Can you show us how you make Mason invisible?" Buffy asked.

Mason grabbed his boyfriend's hand, and Corey made disappear.

"Now that is one cool gift," Xander said. He held out his hand. "Do me! Do me!"

The teens started laughing. "You know I already have a boyfriend," Corey said with a smirk.

"That would be me," Mason said, grinning.

Everyone laughed as Xander crossed his arms. "I don't hit on children. I just wanna be invisible," he said with a pout.

"We had a girl at our school turn invisible because everyone ignored her, but she couldn't make herself visible," Willow shared.

"Your school sounds worse than ours," Liam said.

"It was on a hellmouth," Buffy said. "That's a gateway to a hell dimension, and we believe that one is starting to form here in Beacon Hills."

"Seriously? We so need to move," Mason complained.

"If you move, who will be here to keep the regular people safe?" Buffy pointed out.

"So let's see what you can do," Derek said. "Enough wasting time." He didn't know all of Scott's pack and was interested in learning more about them.

"If Mason doesn't fight and Corey just hides, we'll work on training them at a later time," Buffy said. "Everyone has to know how to fight and defend themselves."

"The hunters are the least of the problems this town will start having as the dark energy from the hellmouth builds," Willow said.

"So Theo or Liam?" Xander said. "Who's going to kick my ass first?"

The boys both grinned, liking the man instantly. "I will," Theo said.

Everyone formed a circle as the two men faced each other. "Now take it easy on me since I only have one eye," Xander said.

Theo stopped circling him and turned to Buffy. "Should he be doing this? I don't want to hurt him," he said.

"Hey," Xander said. Theo turned and Xander sucker punched him.

"Nice!" Mason cheered.

"That was kind of funny—if rude," Corey said.

"So that's how you wanna be?" Theo said, rubbing his jaw.

"Never underestimate your opponent," Xander said with a wide grin.

Theo narrowed his eyes and charged Xander, who side stepped him and then tripped him.

Theo jumped up quickly, getting angry. The one-eyed human was making him look ridiculous.

"Xander's used to fighting vampires, so he's pretty tough," Buffy said to Scott. "But he's had very little formal training."

It was apparent to Derek that Xander was really good at dodging hits. Every time Theo tried to hit him, he dodged and popped off some smart aleck remark.

"I can tell he's your friend," Derek said to Buffy.

"His quips are lame. I'm so quippier," Buffy scoffed.

"Okay, I give up," Theo announced. "He jumps around like a jumping jack. I can't hit him."

"I'm all about the evasive defense," Xander said proudly. "I survived twenty-two years on a hellmouth. Only got a broken arm or two and one gouged out eye."

Lydia groaned. "That's what happened to your eye? Someone poked it out?" she asked.

"That's what happens when mere mortals like myself don't run when their slayer best friend gets thrown around like a rag dog," Xander said.

"Xander isn't our smartest friend," Buffy said, giving him a fond look. "But he's the bravest."

Xander gave Mason and Corey a serious look. "It's good that you don't fight when you know you won't win," he said. "Keep doing that. But Mason, if you're ever away from Corey and can't go invisible, learn to be quick on your feet."

"My girls and I will teach you that," Buffy said.

"I think I'm going to join the track team this year," Mason said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Derek, how about you spar with Liam?" Scott said with a grin.

Derek shrugged. "Okay," he said. He took off his leather jacket.

Liam didn't know much about the former alpha except that Scott looked up to the man immensely. "Is it true that you can turn into a full wolf?" Liam asked as they circled each other.

"Yes," Derek said.

"Wow, that's so cool! I didn't know that was actually possible," Liam said.

Derek moved so quickly that Liam didn't have time to react, but his head swung back as Derek hit him hard in the face.

Liam's eyes glowed yellow as anger built, and he attacked Derek with claws, ripping into his shirt. Buffy was about to jump in, but Scott held up his hand.

"Derek can handle Liam," Scott said confidently.

Derek's blue eyes flashed as hit Liam hard in the face, following his right hook with a left. Then he kicked him in the stomach, knocking him several feet back.

Liam jumped up and was about to charge him when Buffy stepped in front of him. "That's enough," she said coldly. "You need to control yourself, before you get slapped around by a girl."

Malia snickered. "I'd like to see that," she said.

Scott walked up to Liam and put his hand behind his neck. "Take a deep breath," he said quietly. "Get control. You can do this."

"This is good," Xander said. "Liam needs to learn how to control his temper and his wolf ability."

"Yes, he does," Buffy said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Liam said.

"Don't apologize," Derek said. "It's very hard for a wolf to keep control during any type of fight. That's why I never approved of Scott playing lacrosse."

"I play lacrosse," Liam said.

"Of course, you do," Derek said, rolling his eyes. Then he gave Scott a disgusted look. Although he did know Liam played, it still pissed him off. The guys were so short-sighted, taking unnecessary risks.

Scott just laughed. "What can we say, Derek? There's more supernaturals on the field than not," he said.

"Okay, it's my turn!" Malia said. "I want to slap someone around. Derek? Up for another round?"

Peter laughed at his daughter's obviously blood thirsty bent. "Just when I think we're nothing alike," he remarked.

"How about you and I go?" Buffy said. "Then we'll have Lydia show us what she can do."

"How about you show them how to fight without losing control?" Scott said to his girlfriend.

"Of course," Malia said confidently.

Buffy watched her as they circled one another. "You're not a wolf, right?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm a werecoyote," she said.

"Malia spent eight years trapped in that form," Scott shared. "So she's a bit wild."

"That's his way of saying I don't care about the dumb shit he and other kids my age do," Malia said. Then she sprung at Buffy without telegraphing her move.

Buffy was impressed at the girl's flawless execution as they traded hits. The girl's reflexes were equal to a slayer, and she didn't hesitate. "You remind me a lot of this slayer I used to know," Buffy said as she dodged another hit. "Her name was Kendra."

"Oh yeah?" Malia said, not caring but being polite. Because of this woman's presence, Scott was willing to go away with her. Malia was prepared to let the woman get in a few hits just to make her feel good about herself. However, the little blonde was slippery.

"She was relentless, focused, and driven like you are," Buffy said. She grabbed Malia's fist when she tried to hit her. Malia frowned, not expecting that move and tried to pull her hand back. When Buffy didn't release her, she hit Buffy with her other hand. Buffy, though, grabbed the other hand, too.

"What's your deal?" Malia asked, getting annoyed. "Let me go."

"Make me," Buffy said, holding her hands immobile.

Malia tried brute strength and was surprised to discover that Buffy was stronger than her. "You're much stronger than you look," Malia said.

"Yes, I know," Buffy said with a smirk.

Malia wasn't as much like Kendra as Buffy thought, however. She pulled her head back and slammed hers into Buffy's and brought her knee hard into Buffy's stomach, knocking herself lose.

Buffy let go and stepped back, grinning. "I was wrong," she said. "You are better than Kendra. That was fantastic!"

Buffy looked at Liam. "Did you see that? She was annoyed and frustrated with me, but she never lost her cool. She found a way to get out of my hold without losing control," Buffy said. She looked back at Malia. "Well done."

Malia wasn't used to people complimenting her or looking at her in admiration, so she blushed. Scott put his arm around her. "Nice work, babe," he said.

"That's my girl," Peter said, clapping. He turned to Buffy. "But I know you were holding back."

"Of course, I was," Buffy said. "This is a teaching moment, not a fight."

Malia, though, was outraged. "That totally wasn't a teaching moment! I don't need a teacher!" she insisted.

"No, you probably don't," Buffy said. "But the others don't have your experience."

Malia was mollified and remained quiet.

"I want to see what a slayer can do," Peter said. "Fight me. I've been dead before. I can take it."

"Oh, so you're a member of the dead and buried club, too?" Buffy said with a grin. "Fine. Let's go." She knew exactly how messed up this guy was and how much he'd hurt Derek. However, the man wasn't a soulless monster, though, so Derek couldn't do much to him. Buffy, however, could definitely make the man hurt.

Malia soon realized that Buffy wasn't exaggerating, and she most definitely had been holding back. The teenagers and the Beacon Hill adults watched as the very small slayer not only held her own with Peter Hale, but she punished him.

Derek had an idea that his girl was an incredible fighter as he knew what a slayer was by reputation. But watching her fight Peter without hesitating, trading him blow for blow and knocking him back several feet with her hits was startling. More than once she jumped high in order to come down hard on Peter with a powerful blow.

Buffy was having a blast. It'd been a while since she'd been able to let loose like this. Since she knew that Peter had accelerated healing even faster than her own, she didn't feel bad for breaking his arm. When he responded by slashing her leg with his claws, the audience gasped.

"Shouldn't you stop this?" Scott asked Derek in concern.

"I don't think getting in front of Buffy is a good idea," he said. He looked at Willow.

"It's fine. Buffy's not trying to kill him," Willow said, not worried.

"You can't say the same for Peter, though," Scott said.

Finally, though, Peter slashed Buffy's shirt off, and she stopped, grabbing it before she could expose herself to the teenagers. "Hey! Keep it PG!" she complained.

"Sorry," Peter said, breathing hard. He straightened his broken arm with a groan. Damn, she was tough.

Buffy put on Derek's jacket, zipping to cover herself. Then she went to Peter, getting up close to him. "If you pull any of your bullshit while I'm around, I will rip out your heart, and Willow will make sure that you don't rise again. Do you understand me?" she told him.

Malia growled, not liking anyone threatening her family even if she personally detested the man. Scott grabbed her hand. "Easy," he whispered. "This has to happen."

Malia glared at him, but she didn't speak.

Peter straightened up, giving her a genuine smile. "You are everything I expected," he said.

"Are you going to be a member of the team or play that lone wolf bullshit that does no one any good?" Buffy said.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Peter pointed out.

Buffy nodded. "Good. Don't kill anyone before running it by me, got it?" she asked. Peter nodded.

"She's okay with some killing?" Mason whispered to Corey.

Buffy, though, heard and turned. "Normally, the answer is no," she said. "I don't kill humans. But the hunters are playing a new game. Our friend Oz's entire pack was slaughtered, including his wife. Only he and his baby survived. He's a great guy, who is suffering because of Ms. Monroe. People who orphan children aren't going to get my normal consideration, but you, Mason, and Liam, Corey, and Theo, are still kids. I don't want you to carry the burden of taking a life on your shoulders—even if it's a deserving life."

"Some of us have already done that," Mason said, giving Theo a look.

"It doesn't matter," Buffy said. "The monsters that are out there will be coming to Beacon Hill as the dark energy from this town attracts them. They'll be plenty of things for you guys to kill that aren't human."

"So what exactly do you do?" Xander asked Lydia. "We've never met a banshee."

"I mostly just freak people out when I see things that aren't here or scream extremely loudly," Lydia said with a shrug.

"That's not all she can do," Scott said. "Parrish has been working with her."

"Where is the hellhound? I haven't met him yet," Buffy said. "I'm excited to meet one that's not a crossbreed like the disgusting ones we had in Sunnydale that attacked our prom."

"Parrish is quite pretty," Lydia said.

"A total hunk," Malia added.

Scott frowned.

"I can't wait to meet him," Buffy said.

Now, it was Derek's turn to frown.

"He had to work," Xander said.

"So what can you do? What has Parrish been working with you on?" Buffy asked Lydia.

Lydia used her voice to knock Buffy off her feet, stunning the Scoobies.

"Oh. My. God!" Willow said in awe. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"She's like the Black Canary!" Xander gushed. He stood in front of Lydia and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

When Willow slapped his shoulder, he was unrepentant. "She's like you and Buffy in one person. A redheaded genius who has superpowers! She has to be mine!" he proclaimed.

Lydia laughed at the goofy one-eyed man. "I do have a fondness for dweebs and geeks," she said, looking down at him. "But my heart is already spoke for by another dweeb."

"All the good ones are taken," Xander complained, standing up.

"She's also barely legal, Xan," Buffy pointed out.

"So how exactly does that work?" Willow asked Lydia, totally fascinated.

Buffy leaned against Derek as Willow and Lydia chattered away. "I think this will work out," she said to him.

"Your friends are pretty cool," Derek said. Xander reminded him a lot of Stiles but not as annoying. He looked forward to texting Stiles about Lydia's marriage proposal later.

"Yes, they are," Buffy agreed.

"You even managed to impress my uncle," Derek said. "No small feat."

"He's not so bad," Buffy said. "Everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Even him."

Derek watched his cousin pretend indifference as Peter showed her his battle wounds. Buffy might actually be able to do what not even Malia could do completely.

Make his uncle a part of the pack.

*****Chapter End*****

This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. Review please! Thanks!