For lucianowriter in AO3, as part of the Sterek Exchange Valentines 2023. I got a number of prompts, chose one, and this is what came out. Probably not what my recipient was picturing when the prompt was made, but this is what my muse decided to go with, and I think it worked out pretty well. I also like how the fanarts came out.
Hope you enjoy!
Diana
By: Lalaith Quetzalli
Neither Stiles nor Derek like Valentine's Day much, and they have pretty good reasons for it. Still, it's kinda hard to hate a day, when it's the day your daughter is born… After so many years, so many trials and dangers overcome, this is it. This is the beginning of the rest of their lives. And it starts with this, the birth of this perfect mix of the both of them, their little miracle, their goddess: Diana…
Stiles hasn't been a fan of Valentine's day for a while now, years, not since the time his dad arrived home, with the customary bouquet of roses and a white and pink gift bag (the contents of which he'd rather not think about, ever) and his mom shrieked at him. Actually shrieked, cussing at him, in English and Polish, accusing him of wanting to take advantage of her… As it turns out, she'd forgotten about him, the same way she'd sometimes forget about Stiles. It was just for a short time, but still pretty traumatic, for all of them. By the next month she was being checked into the hospital, at her own insistence; and she was gone long before Christmas, much less the next Valentine's Day. Stiles knows his dad still buys roses every Valentine's Day, brings them to her grave, knows because he's seen them. He's pretty sure he'll never love another woman the way he loved Claudia…
Derek outright hated Valentine's Day. It started when he was young, hormones could be bad in normal days, everything related to lust and the like; on Valentine's Day it always seemed to be exponentially worse. The way teenage lust just seemed to stink the whole place up, all places. It was impossible to go somewhere and not smell it. And it wasn't just the lust, but the nervousness and anxiety, the hope, and at times the embarrassment, anger, or outright depression that followed when there was a rejection of some kind. It was just awful. Also… he remembers being sixteen years old, with a sexy girlfriend, and thinking that perhaps he might get to enjoy one Valentine's Day… only for that same 'sexy girlfriend' to burn his home to the ground, with almost his whole family inside, three weeks before that day.
Bottom-line, neither Stiles nor Derek like Valentine's Day much, and they have plenty of reasons for it. Still, it's kinda hard to hate a day, when it's the day your daughter is born…
They don't actually realize what day it is, at first. The pack knows that their Alpha Pair don't like Valentine's Day, even if most of them might not know why (and considering all the kinds of things they've each gone through, they know better than to ask); in any case, it's for that reason that they never mention the day, or any celebrations the couples in the pack might be planning. With Derek and Stiles having their own business as PIs, and every-once-in-a-while assisting the Sheriff's Station as consultants (usually when the case happens to be connected in any way to the supernatural) they don't really have to keep track of days, or shifts, or anything like that. It's not like they work normal hours, or days. Sometimes they might have days, even a week or two with nothing to do; while others a case might get pretty intense and keep them moving for hours or even days on end (when the case is particularly time-sensitive and/or bad, neither of them will even sleep, and they barely eat, until they're done). That also helped when Stiles realized that his recent cravings, exhaustion, abrupt changes in mood, the way his magic sometimes wouldn't work right, and the new reactions to certain smells and foods weren't some unknown sickness or magical curse, but that he was, in fact, pregnant.
It's not… it was never that Stiles didn't want it, or that he regretted it. He just never imagined such a thing could happen. Then again, that was true for most of his life nowadays. When Derek left Beacon Hills for what most of them believed would be the last time (even if, in the end, it wasn't, not by a long shot), and then when he finally had his chance with Lydia and… and he learned that fantasies are well and good but most of them just cannot be sustained in real life. It's not that he doesn't love Lydia anymore, he does, very much, he just isn't in love with her, probably never was. Derek… he will never know for sure how that one happened. In his most romantic (corniest, lets call it what it is) moments he might get a tad poetic and claim he was halfway there before he knew he'd begun… and while he might cringe a bit himself at how cheesy that sounds, even to himself, it's no less true. He loves Derek Hale, enough to have given up on his chance to join the FBI, bullying his way into a top-secret op, which he then blew in order to save the sourwolf (the only reason he didn't get in a hell of a lot of trouble was because he managed to prove that Kate Argent was a murderer several dozen times over and the one the FBI should be going after, instead of him, though still, they refused to allow him to join the agency). He doesn't regret returning to Beacon Hills, honestly believes that what he's done as a PI the last few years is by far better than anything he might have been able to achieve with the FBI. Even with there being people in the know, he'd always have had to contend with others giving the orders, with having to wait for permission to act; all the while knowing the wait could get someone killed…
The big deal with being pregnant, with any of it, is that neither Stiles nor Derek ever thought it could happen. That they would ever get the chance to build the life they have now. Not just the two of them, but their family: Cora's back from South America now, for good; Peter is back for good as well, spending time with his daughter Malia, and with the rest of them, finally settled, content. In fact, all the Hales seem to be doing much better since the final death of the Argents who were the cause of so much pain. Stiles's dad is doing well, starting to consider the possibility of retiring, slowly but surely preparing Parrish to one day take his place (things in Beacon Hills go much better when the sheriff is in the know, they've found out). Lydia too, is happy, she's probably way overqualified for the job she has as local math teacher, but everyone knows that's just what she does to keep busy and break the monotony of the time she spends in her own lab, working on some new amazing thing or another, and slowly but surely working towards solving one of the Millennium Problems.
It's not all perfect, of course not. There are people who have gone, who will never come back. Some were lost to tragedy, didn't get a choice in the matters. Others… others chose to walk away, to give up on them, and Stiles will never forgive them for that.
"Easy sourwolf…" Stiles murmurs to his husband and mate. "Everything will be alright."
The spark is laying on the Nemeton, shifting every so often, unable to get comfortable; which is unsurprising really; while the wolf keeps pacing around the tree, going one way, then another, never really leaving Stiles's field of vision, but still. The worst part though, is the way he keeps shifting, human, beta, time and again, without seemingly noticing. It serves to show just how tense he truly is.
Stiles knows what it is Derek fears. The wolf might not have said it, out of fear that admitting his fears out loud would somehow make them come to pass. But Stiles knows him, and what's more, he understands. His beloved has lost so much, so much he'll never get back. And now they're in a good place, excellent really, and the mere possibility of losing it… it's beyond terrifying!
But that's why they're doing what they're doing now. This ritual, this giving of blood, of pain and love and commitment, it will heal the Nemeton, the land, will bring security and safety not just for them but for their child, their pack, their future! Deaton said it couldn't be done, that nothing short of death could be strong enough… but see, one thing is as strong as death: life, and the giving of it… bringing life into the world, as a product of love, of commitment, as a reflection of the union of a couple, of a family (a pack) nothing can or will ever be stronger than that… In the end, Love truly is the strongest force in the world.
"Stiles…" Derek murmurs, voice a little thready.
"It's okay Derek, you can do it, I know you can." His husband tells him softly.
He's talking about receiving their child. Because, due to both the ritual, and how possessive wolves (particularly alphas) can be, especially with their mates and children, there's no way they can have someone else there to assist with the birth. Which is why Lydia pushed and cajoled Derek into taking midwifery classes with her. Derek passed, he knows what he'll be doing, that doesn't mean he isn't very nervous.
Stiles has this to say about childbirth: it's painful. Very. He's been smacked, slapped, beaten, even shot (all of them more than once!), and nothing was ever as painful as giving birth… then again, nothing has ever been so worth it either. Derek takes just enough pain to take the edge off, and to feel it. Because it's part of the ritual, the pain and their willingness to feel it, to work through it.
The moment their baby comes into the world… there's an absolute silence, almost like not only their pack, but the preserve, the Earth itself, is holding its breath and then… a cry… Stiles and Derek just stare at each other and at the baby for a moment.
"It's a girl…" Derek whispers, his throat almost closing with emotion.
"Diana…" They both whisper at the same time the name they'd agreed on previously, should their baby be a girl.
"She's beautiful…" Stiles adds, quietly.
The baby's covered in blood and other fluids, which should be all kinds of awful, yet the two fathers cannot help but think her the most beautiful baby girl they've ever seen. She's tiny, with a few strands of dark hair (looks almost as dark as Derek's own), and when she opens her eyes for the first time, they're the same hazel as him as well; she also seems to have inherited Stiles's alabaster skin and his moles. The two men cannot help but be completely enthralled by the sight of her, drinking in each and every detail they can in the few seconds they get before they need to move forward with the ritual.
"Alphas…" Lydia breaks the moment quietly. "It's time."
Because they're not alone in the clearing. Their whole pack is there; having each of them arrived on their own, at some point during Derek's pacing and Stiles's labor. Most of them are standing in a loose circle among the trees on the edge of the clearing that holds the Nemeton. While Stiles himself is still laying on top of the stump, where he just gave birth. Derek, who was kneeling at his feet during the actual birth to receive their baby, moves to lay beside him, placing their baby girl in between them.
"We're ready." They tell Lydia.
Lydia stands beside the stump, long white dress, her red (redder than it was during her teenage years) hair loose, cascading down her back, bare feet touching the mossy ground and the peeking roots of the mostly dead tree. Nowadays she's not just a banshee (though even on that, she's considered one of the most powerful ever born), she's also a witch, and the Emmisary of the reborn Hale Pack.
"Alphas Derek and Mieczyslaw Hale, swear do you, by the Moon, to lead your pack, to guide your betas, protect them, from now until the day comes for your spark to pass on to your heiress?" Lydia questions, voice loud and clear and with a cadence that makes obvious each and every word is drenched in magic.
"By the Moon, we so swear." Derek and Stiles reply in unison.
"Swear do you, by the Earth, to guard this land, your territory, to protect the innocent and fight the evil, to the best of your abilities?" Comes the next question.
"By the Earth, we so swear." Again the same kind of response.
"Swear do you, by the Moon and the Earth, to always remain true, to the light, to the good, to the safety of the Shadow World?" Lydia's voice rings through the clearing.
"By the Moon and the Earth, we so swear." The Alphas call in unison.
"Hale Pack," The next oath is different. "Swear do you, by the Old Gods, to follow your alphas, in peace and in war, to listen to them, to support them, to walk the path they lead you on?"
"By the Old Gods, we so swear." The response comes from all around, not just from the weres and other supernaturals in their pack, but also from the humans.
It's what makes their pack so odd, so special, so extraordinary. How different they all are, and how seamlessly they work together: wolves, coyotes, kitsune, banshee, hellhound, witch, spark, humans… all together in harmony.
"Swear do you, by the New Gods, to guard this land, this territory that has been claimed in the Hale name, to protect the innocent, fight the evil, as best you each can?"
"By the New Gods, we so swear."
"Swear do you, by the Old Gods and the New, to always remain true, to the light, to the good, to the safety of the Shadow World?"
"By the Old Gods and the New, we so swear."
"By the Moon, by the Earth, by the Old Gods and the New, these are our oaths." Lydia recites. "The oaths of the Hale Pack. So mote it be!"
"So mote it be!" Derek and Stiles repeat, voice strong enough to each through the night.
"So mote it be!" Everyone else echoes in a similar manner.
There's a bright flash of light, almost as if the moon were shining right there in that clearing. It vanishes almost as quickly as it appears and when it does, when it does there's no blood left on the Nemeton, the afterbirth is all gone, and the blood and other fluids that were under Stiles, and on the baby… the Nemeton has absorbed it all. Which means it has accepted their ritual, their oaths and offerings. And that, that gives them hope, true hope, for the first time in so long…
xXx
Back in the loft Stiles takes a long, relaxing bath, using some healing magic on himself to lessen his recovery time. He was offered painkillers, but magic just works so much better! Once he's finished he lets Derek give their baby her first bath, while Stiles himself sits on the bathroom counter, enveloped in the fluffiest towel ever. He'd have offered to help, but knows Derek needs to have this moment with their newborn. It allows him to feel useful, and also for all his senses to slowly but surely become attuned to the baby girl, imprinting the sight, sound, scent, touch, and even taste of her in his mind.
When Derek nips one of Diana's feet playfully (just with his lips, no teeth involved), the baby lets out a brief but loud shriek of laughter at the same time she waves her hands, smacking him on the nose by accident; Derek blinks, clearly not having expected that, and smiles; Stiles for his part cackles in laughter, just for a moment, until a rush of pain to his lower belly area reminds him why that's a bad idea. Healing magic might be awesome, but it's not immediate which means he's still tender and more than a little sore, and will be for a few days.
When they're all completely clean, smelling of nothing but themselves (no more blood, or fluids, or the preserve, or even the pack on them) the Alpha starts purring, satisfied. It's clear that all the other scents had been keeping him on edge. Stiles isn't surprised, on the one hand, they have unscented shampoo, shower gels and other toiletries for a reason, on the other: Cora warned him:
"My dad used to tell us a story." She told him one day, she'd made a point to spend some time with him every other day ever since his pregnancy became obvious enough for him to no longer be able to pass his thickening waist off as him 'eating too much recently', thus making him decide to just stay home for the most part. "When Derek was born, she wouldn't let anyone but dad touch him, or her, for the first week. It's… I'm not entirely sure if it's a wolf-thing, a shifter-thing, or a matter of being Alpha."
"Maybe it was a bit of everything." Stiles suggested.
"Maybe." Cora shrugged, that wasn't really the point. "I'm telling you this so you're aware. This… it probably won't be exactly the same. He's not the one giving birth, you are. Chances are he'll be extremely over protective over both of you."
"We'll need to warn the pack."
"Done. I told Lydia, she'll handle telling everyone else. Explaining it in a way that won't make the others, especially the humans, think that Derek's gone nuts or something for refusing to let anyone so much as touch either of you."
"Out of curiosity, how long do you think it'll take him to calm down?"
"No idea. I mean, mom, with him it was about a week, with me it was only three days or so, and after the first one she let the other pack at least into the same room we were, at least that's what everyone used to say."
"And Laura?" Because Laura had been the first-born, the heiress, like their child would be.
"Oh, much longer!" Cora cackles. "Then again, from what I've been told, when Laura was born, the first day, mom wouldn't let even dad touch her!"
Stiles let his head drop. It was going to be insane…
It isn't quite as bad. The pack isn't allowed in, they aren't even in the loft, and Stiles made sure that their bedroom smelled of no one but the two of them beforehand. Lydia, the one who made sure to fill their fridge and pantry with enough food to last them a couple of weeks if necessary, also made sure to erase her scent as much as possible so Derek's alpha instincts wouldn't flare up. And yet, before leaving the Nemeton the pack exchanged a few words, Stiles even had a chance to talk a bit with his dad, show him his granddaughter (he kept his distance, same as everyone else, having heard Lydia's explanation of things).
Seemingly unable to make up his mind who to move first, or just deciding he didn't like either option, Derek places Diana, enveloped in her own fluffy towel, in Stiles's lap, before scooping him up in his arms, baby and all, carrying them out of the en-suite bathroom and straight into the bedroom. Once there Derek helps Stiles get into a pair of his own sweatpants. For Diana they have a blanket, it's bright red in color (they're both sure it's supposed to be a call-back to Stiles's old red hoodies, and the 'little red' nickname some people used to call him); they have no idea where their pack got it, but it's the softest blanket either of them has ever felt. It was washed enough times to eliminate any foreign scents and then placed on their bed for the last month or so of Stiles's pregnancy to ensure it'd absorb the scent of the two of them; to ensure their baby would be enveloped not just by the softest blanket ever, but by the scent of her parents.
Derek only leaves his mate and child briefly, after they've all taken a nap, when the persistent growling of their stomachs pushes him into going looking for food. He finds two trays of pierogi (Stiles's recipe, though he has no idea who made them) in the oven; one for the actual meal, the other for dessert. This according to the note left on a wooden tray on the counter, which also holds indications for what drinks will go well with the pierogi; beside that there's a small vase with two red roses and a white one, and what looks like it was a Valentine's Day Card, except the word 'Valentine' has been covered by a beautiful picture of a moon, with the silhouette of a baby on top; the inside has little notes seemingly from every member of the pack: t heir best wishes. Derek cannot help but feel a tightening in his heart at the thoughtful gesture.
The pierogi are still warm (which the wolf isn't sure if it has more to do with the oven, or Lydia's magic, as he's fairly certain no one came into the loft while they were sleeping, so the pierogi cannot have been made, or even delivered, too recently), so after serving them and placing the plates on the tray, he pulls out a couple of bottles of sparkling water and places them on the tray, which he then picks up and carries to the bedroom.
When he arrives he finds Stiles standing, holding his weight on the edge of the big crib, using a single finger to trace the edges of Diana's face, almost but not quite touching her half the time; the most interesting is perhaps the way the baby girl keeps staring at him, like she's as fascinated with her daddy as he's with her…
Stiles only seems to notice his return when Derek places the tray on the bed.
"Oh food!" He says with a wide smile. "Good, I'm starving!"
Derek says nothing, just shakes his head as he goes to pick up his husband, ignoring his half-formed complaints and comments of how 'he can walk to the bed himself!', he places him on his side of the bed, gently, stealing a quick kiss before letting go of him and going to scoop their baby girl out of the crib and laying her in the middle of the bed, finally going to lay on the other side of the bed himself, so baby and tray of food are in between them.
It's as if, the moment they take the first bite, their whole body reminds them just how hungry they truly are, how long it's been since they last ate anything. Nothing since last night, as it happens; labor went through the night, with the birth happening some time before dawn, and they fell asleep shortly after the bath, not even having the energy to do more than feed Diana, drink something themselves and place the baby in the crib before checking out.
Derek got up once to feed the baby, letting Stiles keep sleeping to recover, and Diana doesn't start fussing and demanding sustenance until right around the time they finish with the first plate of pierogi (the ones filled with meats, vegetables and the like). Derek helps Stiles sit up so he can feed Diana, every so often feeding him one of the sweet pierogi. It's a perfect moment, the most perfect Derek has ever known, and could have never dreamt of: with his mate holding their baby and feeding her, the two of them in the wolf's own arms.
When Diana's finished feeding and has been burped, and the pierogi are all gone Derek takes the tray off the bed, to avoid any possible accidents. It's then that he remembers:
"Did you know it's Valentine's Day?" He asks.
Stiles raises his head from where he's been entirely focused on their baby, who's slowly but surely falling back asleep. His eyes immediately going to the card Derek's holding.
"Oh…" He breathes out.
He says nothing else, and Derek understands. It's… they love their pack, no doubt about it, but it still surprises them when they have such gestures. The way they can be so chaotic and like a bunch of immature teenagers (despite all of them being adults already) most of the time, and still they manage to have such details sometimes… reminding Derek and Stiles just why they love all of them so much. They're family… pack.
xXx
By the next day, Derek's still quite territorial regarding the loft and refusing to allow anyone in, but Stiles convinces him that a video-call will be just fine. And it is. He manages to make two short calls, one to his dad and the other to Cora, just long enough for reassurances that they're all fine, and for Noah and Cora to get the chance to look at their granddaughter/niece.
This keeps happening until the fourth day, when Stiles manages to convince Derek to have a family dinner. Only their immediate family, as their scent s have just enough similarities, despite them not living together, that Derek doesn't go nuts at them being in his 'den'. It still takes until the end of the week for Derek's wolf to relax enough for the res t of their pack to be able to visit them. Noah gets to be the first to hold baby Diana, and from the moment she's placed in his arms, he's absolutely enthralled with her.
It takes them all by surprise when the man starts crooning a song quietly, it's not in English, which means that most of them don't actually know what he's even saying but…
"Stiles…?" Derek murmurs, worriedly, as he smells the salt of his mate's tears.
"It's the lullaby my mom used to sing to me when I was little." He explains quietly, voice a bit rough with the tears.
"Oh…" They all understand then.
No one says anything else, not even thinking about interrupting, until Noah finishes the song.
"You did good kid," He tells Stiles softly as he keeps rocking Diana slightly. "Your mom would be so, so proud…"
"She'd have loved Diana," Stiles says with a slightly teary smile.
"She'd have." Noah agrees. "Would have spoiled her rotten."
Stiles's laughter, when it comes, is a little choked, but no less heartfelt.
"Don't worry, that's what we're here for." Lydia announces with a smile. "Now, let me hold my goddaughter, please."
"Who says you'll be godmother?" Cora demands, arms crossed.
"Please! You're already her aunt, I have a right to be godmother." Lydia states in her fake, socialité, voice. "Besides, I've known Stiles the longest!"
Derek and Stiles just turn to look at each other. They haven't actually talked about godparents just yet. It's not something that packs do, they already have the pack after all; which actually makes Derek wonder about Cora's insistence to argue on the matter. Stiles knows he has godparents, or had them, friends of his parents; they moved away from Beacon Hills at some point before his mom even died. At first they'd visit, once or twice a year, but as time passed the visits lessened more and more until they stopped completely at some point. Stiles cannot even remember when he saw them last. Also, strictly speaking, they're none of them exactly religious, at least not in the kind of religions that have the tradition of godparents, so… There will be time for them to think about that.
As the hours pass, and what started as lunch eventually turns into an early dinner, the alpha wolf's tension slowly dissolves. He's no less protective of his mate and child than he was when the day started, or than he has been since Diana was born (and even before that), but seeing his pack with her. The way they each hold her when given the chance, with so much care, like she's something fragile and so very precious… Derek realizes that that's exactly it, Diana is precious, not just to him (and Stiles) but to everyone in the pack. They love the little girl almost as much as her parents to, they'll never hurt her, what's more, they'll take care of her, protect her. Because she's pack. That, that's what finally makes him relax, feel at peace.
xXx
On the night of the next full moon Derek and Stiles lead their pack through the preserve and all the way to the Nemeton. Diana is too young to shift yet, though her scent alone tells Derek that she's most definitely a wolf and… more… I f it weren't impossible he'd say that she's inherited Stiles's spark as well (though, what is impossible when it comes to Beacon Hills, to the Hale Pack? As far as most of them seem to be concerned impossible just means try again!). Still, she's wolf enough to feel the full moon as it crosses the night sky, and to be wide awake despite it being the middle of the night. Derek holds her in his arms as he and his mate run side by side. Things are quiet enough in Beacon Hills that the alpha doesn't feel the need to be on full alert and ready to fight, he can just enjoy his run, with his baby in his arms.
When they finally make it to the clearing, they're all left breathless, because the place looks nothing like it did the night Diana was born. Gone is the huge blackened half-dead tree-stump that used to sit in the middle of the clearing, and in its place a new tree has begun to rise. It's still relatively small, young, compared to the old tree, but it's green, full of life; the pack has no doubt that with time it will become just as grand and imposing as the old oak used to be (before it was cut down). It's perhaps the clearest sign any of them have seen that things are changing. That the ritual truly did something to the land, to the power in it.
The clearest, though far from the only one. They've all seen it: there have been less violent crimes committed in the past month than at any point in the last decade, probably longer. There have also been less accidents, both in the preserve and in the town itself. People seem to be arriving, some passing through, some tourists, and even a few seeking a new place to live. There are rumors of some interested in buying buildings in the old industrial sector, perhaps finally finishing some of those projects that had to be canceled when things start going wrong in their town. According to some studies, pollution levels seem to be going down too. And in the most basic level, people just seem: healthier, calmer, happier…
Stiles approaches the new Nemeton with slow but sure steps, not hesitating in the slightest as he raises a hand, pressing his open palm against the tree's bark. He can feel as his own spark connects with the tree, the touch of the energy inside it, the link to the Earth… it's a rush. It's also so much better than it ever was with the Old Nemeton.
Around them their pack runs, playing together, basically… frolicking (and there's no way Stiles can ever say that out-loud, if he even considers it Lydia is liable to kill him). Derek for his part goes to stand beside his mate, their daughter in his arms. And that's when the surprise comes, as Diana doesn't hesitate in the slightest either before extending her hand fearlessly, placing it on the tree, right beside her daddy's own… for a moment, just an instant, the two fathers could swear they see something: a glow (a spark) go from their daughter's hand and into the tree. But no, that's impossible, just… impossible, right?
There's a sound in the wind, almost like the tinkling of bells… or giggles. As if the Earth and the Moon, the Gods both Old and New were laughing at them…
This is the first time I write Mpreg, not because I have a problem with it, but I'd avoided it thus far because I know some people won't read it, and it hadn't been really necessary for any of my fics thus far. I surprised myself by picking this from the prompts available, but truth is that while I started out planning to use a different one, this one kept whispering in the back of my head, until I just decided to listen and write it. I left a few things in the air, mostly so as not to make things more complicated than entirely necessary, wanted to focus on the family feels, fluff, and a bit on the stress that comes with being a new parent, especially someone in Stiles and Derek's positions.
All these feels are making me feel all warm and fuzzy, and I hope the rest of you as well! Thanks for reading and hope to see you around!
P.S. Full sized cover, and wallpaper to match can be found in my DA account, where I go by Princess-Lalaith.