Chapter 18: One Pack

*****Where We Left Off*****

"So this is Monroe," Buffy said, looking coldly at the attractive black woman.

"You can't hurt me," Monroe said. "I'm human."

"You think you can murder mothers and orphan kids and just get a free pass?" Buffy said. "Do you know who I am?"

Monroe nodded. "You're Buffy Summers, the strongest slayer," she said. "You don't hurt humans."

"Well, she doesn't have to," Faith said. "That's what I'm for." She moved so fast, most human eyes couldn't follow and stabbed the woman in the shoulder. The blow wouldn't kill her, but it caused her to cry out in pain, which had been Faith's intention.

Willow moved closer, eyeing the woman. "She has a soul and yet thought nothing of leading teenagers to become murderers," she said. "My friend Oz never harmed a human in his entire life—he's a true Alpha, and you killed his son's mother. You killed his son's grandparents. You are an evil monster."

"No one should be allowed to live with the power to do what wolves do," Monroe said, clutching her shoulder.

"Newsflash, lady, but there are a hell of a lot of things out there worse than wolves," Buffy said. "I'm a vampire slayer—do you know what those are? Demons who possess the body of the dead and feed off humans. The soul of the human is gone, and a monster—a real monster—takes its place. You have no idea what evil is. I was killed at sixteen by a master vampire, and I came back because a friend revived me. Werewolves don't often feed on humans. When they do kill, slayers or other wolves take care of them. Most can't help being a wolf anymore than I can help being short."

"It's not right," Monroe said weakly.

"So all lions and tigers should be slaughtered because they have the potential to kill humans? That's basically what you're saying," Willow pointed out.

Xander and Parrish came into the room after no one had ran outside. "I guess that was easier than we thought it'd be," Xander observed.

"They were totally outgunned," Liam told him.

"What's not right was the former mayor of my hometown," Buffy said, ignoring the interruption. "He was a human warlock who managed to ascend as a demon when we graduated high school. He killed dozens, including my principal when he transferred into a living demon—you don't know monsters. Your crusade to murder shapeshifters just for being different is specist and wrong."

"We need to make her pay," Liam said.

"Oh, she will," Willow said. "I think I'm going to send her to a very crappy hell dimension."

Derek, though, had other plans and swiped his claws across her throat. "There," he said. "Now she can go to hell the old-fashioned way."

"Derek!" Buffy scolded.

"I'm a wolf, Buffy. This was pack business, and Scott wouldn't have had the stomach to do that," Derek said flatly. "It had to be done."

"I agree," Xander said.

"The Sherriff won't like it," Parrish said, frowning.

"Are you going to arrest me?" Derek asked.

Instead of answering, Parrish moved and put his hand on Monroe's shoulder. His hand became flame and caught her body on fire.

"Willow, make sure the flame is hot enough to consume the body," Buffy told her.

She nodded and raised her hand. The flames burned hotter.

"What are we going to do with the rest of them?" Liam asked, gesturing to the dozen hunters that were beginning to stir.

"Giles said that we are to wipe their memories," Buffy said.

"You can do that?" Liam asked in surprise.

"No, Willow can," Buffy said.

Xander put handcuffs on one near him and handed Liam some zip ties. Jordan followed suit, and all of them were similarly bound.

"I can't do it today. I've used up too much energy," Willow. "It's normally a full day before I can recover from teleporting."

"We need to get them back to Beacon Hill," Buffy said.

"Why?" Derek asked. "This is a huge house. We can stand guard and capture anyone else who comes here. When Willow's ready, we can start with the wiping."

Buffy thought it was good plan and put Neveah and Grace on guard outside, and she'd rotate who kept watch.

Willow went to a room on the first floor to take a nap, so Buffy and Derek went to the kitchen to scavenge some grub.

"Are you pissed?" Derek asked her.

"About you killing Monroe?"

Derek nodded. "Yes," he said.

"Not pissed," Buffy said. "Just disturbed. I don't like that you can so easily take a human life."

"Who says it was easy?" Derek countered. "I just didn't want Willow carrying the burden of sending her to some hell dimension—that seemed crueler. What I did was an act of mercy."

"That's how you see it?" Buffy asked.

Derek nodded. "Don't you?"

"I'm not sure how I see it," Buffy said. "Slayers are responsible for killing things to protect humanity. Killing humans goes against everything in me because we safeguard humanity. But I know what kind of cancer Monroe was, so I'm not exactly angry. Maybe a little disturbed at seeing you take a life."

"You know how you are the natural enemy of vampires?" Derek said. Buffy nodded. "Well, wolves have a natural enemy, and it's hunters. Not only did they trap my family and set our home on fire when some weren't even wolves, but I've been hunted over and over. I've been tortured by them. Kate's been allowed to live and has wreaked havoc, so I can't say that I hesitate anymore when it comes to ending a threat to my life and the lives of people I care about. Letting a threat to the pack live will always come back to bite us—I learned that the hard way."

Buffy had never seen him so impassioned, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. "I love you, and I'm sorry," she said.

Derek felt relief as he held her a long moment, and then he kissed her. "I love you, too," he said when they separated.

He finally had a partner who accepted everything about him.

Life could sometimes be more than death and blood and violence.

It could be beautiful.

*****Beacon Hills*****

Stiles was home for Thanksgiving, and it was like he'd entered the Twilight Zone. Derek was smiling and Scott was getting his ass kicked by a beautiful dark-skinned woman, while Peter made out with some brunette he'd never seen.

Liam and Theo were chatting with an attractive teenager while the sofa was filled with redheads. His redhead was sitting with two others while a baby redhead stood and held onto the table.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked.

Lydia looked up and jumped to her feet. "Stiles!" she exclaimed.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up.

Neveah used Scott's distraction to put him down while Lydia ran to embrace Stiles.

Malia waited her turn to hug the first friend and boyfriend that she'd ever had after becoming a werecoyote.

Scott got up and pulled Stiles in for a hug. "Why didn't you call?" he asked.

"I was told by dad that Derek had rebuilt, and everyone hung out here," he said. He saw Parrish and Xander enter carrying pizzas.

"Yep, there's lots of room here," Scott said.

"You remember Willow?" Lydia introduced. "This is Oz and his son Will. Hunters killed his wife."

"I remember," Stiles said, smiling. "It's good to see you."

Derek was holding Buffy's hand as he put his other hand on Stiles' shoulder. "It's about time you came home," he said.

"Some of us actually made it to college on time," Stiles said, giving Lydia and Scott a pointed look.

"Hey, we're starting classes in January, so don't worry," Scott assured him.

"Everything is good here?" Stiles asked.

"Yes, we put down all the hunters. I worked with the slayers overseas to get the ones there," Scott said.

"Derek and I got the ones here," Buffy said.

"The pack is safe," Derek added.

"That's great," Stiles said. "I saw you smiling and thought it might be the end of the world."

Derek grabbed him in a headlock. "You're so not funny," he griped.

Stiles surprised him by twining his leg around Derek's and knocking him off his feet. Then he pounced on his chest, grinning. "Ha! My new FBI moves got you on your back!"

Of course, Derek moved quickly, reserving their positions.

"Remember, Stiles, Derek is taken, so keep those lips to yourself!" Buffy called out.

Both guys looked up at her in horror and separated like they were electrocuted.

Buffy giggled while the rest of the packed laughed in amusement.

Lydia, though, arched her eyebrow and looked intrigued. "They would make a very cute couple," she said.

"That's insane!" Stiles said with a shudder.

Derek smirked. "He would never be so lucky," he said.

"Too bad I don't like to share," Buffy said, giving Lydia a pointed look.

Lydia laughed. "Me either," she said. Then she kissed Stiles, effectively distracting him.

The pack went to the kitchen to eat, and Stiles enjoyed being with his family again.

The pack was changed, but it was still his pack, his family.

"Faith, get your tongue out of Peter's mouth and go get some ice!" Buffy called out.

"F—you," Faith said. "I don't do errands. That's what teenage boys are for." She gave Theo and Liam a look.

"I'll go," Liam said quickly, not wanting to earn the slayer's ire. Unlike Buffy, Faith was scary. Dawn wanted to go, too, so Theo insisted on going.

"So, Stiles, did Lydia tell you that Derek is coaching track at the high school?" Buffy said, grinning up at Derek, who glared at her.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"You should see him in his little track shorts," Buffy said, pulling out her phone.

"You have pictures?" Stiles asked, his eyes lighting up.

Derek grabbed her phone and held it over her head.

"No fair using your height," Buffy said. Then she slugged him in the stomach, so she could grab the phone back.

Stiles laughed. "I think I really like Derek's new girlfriend," he said to Scott and Lydia.

"She's amazing," Scott said, flashing her a fond smile as she scrolled through her phone. Derek, though, wrapped his arms around her. "She's transformed the atmosphere at the school. The entire town knows what we are, but they're not afraid. She's labeled us protectors, and the students adore her."

"Willow and Oz work at the school, too," Lydia added. "Oz works part-time as IT and is helping out the football team, so he's won over a lot of those jocks."

Stiles' phone beeped, and he pulled it out. Buffy had sent him a photo. "This is totally going to be my new screen saver!" he declared as he saw Derek's photo. "I didn't know white legs like that were allowed on school campus."

"Like yours aren't even whiter," Derek growled.

"Yes, well, I was never dumb enough to show them to anyone," Stile said, snickering.

"You try saying no to Buffy and see how well you do," Derek grumbled.

Buffy looked smug, but she still wrapped her arms around Derek's neck, drawing him down for a kiss.

Stiles laughed. "You are so whipped," he remarked. Naturally, Derek flipped him off.

It was great to be home and see his pack thriving. They had a lot to be thankful for.

"So did you hear about Malia's new job?" Lydia asked.

"No," Stiles said.

"She's going to train to be a watcher," Lydia said. "Me, too. Malia's going to take some classes at the junior college, and we're going to work with Mr. Giles in England next summer. They're so many slayers and hardly any watchers. Ethan and Jackson have already started working with him."

"That's great," Stiles said.

Buffy's phone rang, and she pulled away from Derek to answer it. "We'll be right there," she said before hanging up the phone. "Guys, there's trio of demons terrorizing the little league baseball team."

Faith jumped up. "I call dibs," she said. "I've not killed anything in days."

Peter chased after her while Stiles stood to follow.

"Where you going?" Lydia asked.

"To kill demons," Stiles said excitedly.

Lydia waved her hand. "They don't need help to kill three demons. Liam and Theo are probably already there since they went to get ice, and Faith gets really pissy if anyone takes away her fun," she said.

"That's true. I got a black eye last week for killing a vampire she called dibs on," Scott said, laughing. "We had just got back to town, and I hadn't even been introduced to her yet."

"Faith's one of a kind," Buffy said with a smirk. "But you should go and learn something—Malia, too. Knowing how a demon looks up close and in person is important. Those old books Giles will be forcing on you don't always have it right.

Stiles, Lydia, Scott, and Malia all headed to the car.

"I'm glad Stiles is home," Buffy said to Derek. "Now the pack is whole again."

Derek still had trouble believing how transformed the pack was by Buffy and her friends. Scott didn't feel overwhelmed anymore, and Derek could be back in his childhood home again. His uncle Peter had fallen for Faith after one glance. Xander was going to go with Derek on Friday to find a good deal on rings.

At Christmas, he was going to propose to Buffy and marry her in the spring. The Hale family might never be exactly what it once was, but he liked to think his mother was looking down with a smile.

Laughter rang inside her old home, and a child was growing up inside it already. Little Will brought joy to everyone. One day, Buffy would carry his child, and the pack would grow even more.

He didn't want to just be the slayer's wolf anymore—Derek wanted to be her husband.

"Derek, Mom wanted me to ask how early she can come over tomorrow to start the turkey?" Scott asked. Derek's house had the most room, so they were all coming to there for dinner. It would be a massive affair.

"You need to ask Willow since I don't actually live here," he said.

"We'll leave the front door unlocked," Willow said. "Tell her to come whenever she wants."

"Chris is bringing a ham," Scott said.

"We should get started on those pies," Buffy said.

"I've got a new spell to keep little thieves from trying to cut into them before dinner tomorrow," Willow said.

"Really? That's perfect," Buffy said. "You definitely wanna lock down the fridge."

Oz listened to them plan out his first Thanksgiving without his wife and pulled his son into his lap. He and his son had lost so much, but they'd gained even more. His hand reached for Willow's, who flashed him a warm smile as she described her new spell to Buffy. Just like in high school, Willow's touch soothed the beast inside him.

His new pack was amazing. Of course, they weren't exactly new. Xander had told him, "Once a Scooby, always a Scooby."

Being a Scooby was pretty cool.

"Da-da!" Will said.

Being a dad, though, was the best thing ever.

*****The End*****

I had written this has a one-shot over two years ago. The seventeen chapters I added, I hope made it worthwhile. I like to picture these two worlds together. I could've written more, but I decided to end it here. I hope it inspires others to write more Teen Wolf/BTVS stories. Thanks for reading and a special thanks for those that have taken time to review.