The Pack and The Tiny Stranger
It was the first time Derek had called for a pack meeting. He had attended plenty and had been the center of attention of too many for his taste -though they were more interventions than actual meetings. Derek drags his feet as he enter the Hale territory as he considers running away, giving some half-assed excuse and postpone the meeting until forever. (Move to some little farm -away from everything, raise his child and never mention any of this…) But at the same time his wolf needs the pack; the security and support that the pack means-and so will little Arty.
Derek stops at the sight of his childhood home, the house is uncharacteristically quiet, he can hear the hearths of his family members' and he knows that by then they had noticed that he is not coming alone.
It takes more willpower than it could be expressed for Derek not to run when he opens the front door of his old home to finds his whole family standing there with wide eyes. No one speaks, not even Peter who smirks while looking confused -it would be funny if it wasn't so weird-.
They move in silence to the big cozy living room, Derek takes the center of the room and pats Arty that grows more and more uncomfortable on the new setting, and the rest of his family scatters through the room but no one make themselves comfortable yet.
The thick silence is cut by Arty's cries, every werewolf on the room winces -and a few of humans as well.
"OMG is real!" Cora gasps, and just like that everyone starts to speak.
Derek could barely hear himself softly whine over all the questions fired at him. The Alpha orders calm, and the pack becomes reluctantly quite.
"The procedure still stands. Derek will explain his case, and only when he is done he will answer our questions."
Talia turns to her son, her expression slightly softer. "Derek, speak"
The baby was sucking on Derek's black t-shirt, he had learned that separating her would only mean a minimum of 20 -non-stop-crying minutes (she doesn't like her pacifier). So, her father lets her suck on his t-shirt.
"This is a baby." The people on the room shoot blank looks to the speaker. Derek had written down his explanation. He was suppose to first claim parenthood, present baby as 'Artemis Hale,' then re-cap about how terrible he is at dating and choosing lovers -maybe mention how 9 out 10 times his family had an intervention about him is to let him know that he is dating an abuse b #%- and of course how little time his job gives him anyways. So, and a 'convenient' relationship just happened...
Arty's little feisty fists remind him that he had stayed on silence after his first statement.
"She is Artemis Hale, and she is a month old." Derek nods towards his chest. "She has been living with me for a week and a half."
"Her mother wouldn't be around, I believe." Cora lets her head very slowly descend on her open palm. Derek could feel his cheeks grow hotter.
Derek nods to his Alpha to indicate that he is done.
Cora jumps out of the sofa she was sitting on, but Dawn speaks first.
"is she hungry?" Derek shakes his head.
"I feed her earlier...she just does that."
"WHO DID YOU SCREW?!"
Derek turns to Cora, and he felt like he had been punched in each lung. He didn't really know. 'Pixy' is not a real name, and they never exchange information -no address, work, phone-number, nothing (Derek is not even sure how she found him). They just go to the same coffee shop, they talk about nothing and if they feel on the mood...they just go to the near by the motel.
"It doesn't matter." Derek barks out.
"So, she just drops a kid-"
"She does not matter." It felt weird to say it out loud, but it was true. Derek liked to think of Pixy as a friend (an strange friend), but she left him with a baby on arms and a lousy explanation that Derek cannot even remember.
Arty starts crying.
Cora gives him a sad look and returns to her sofa.
Arty continues crying. Daisy, one his cousin's' wife, tries to calm Arty but the baby refuses to leave Derek's arms. After an hour of continuous crying, people start asking their questions over the baby's dislike.
Many 'how's' and 'when's' were asked, until they reach the 'now, what?'
"Are you going to take a leave of absence?" Laura asks quietly.
"No" Peter answers. "You can't."
Peter finally speaks, he had somehow contain himself, and he simply states that there is not another acceptable answer.
"Derek the company needs you. I don't care that you were able to get yourself pregnant and now a little demon is trying to eat your flesh." Derek hugs Arty a little tighter as to protect her from any mean words. "But your timing!"
Derek looks down on shame, he knows they are working on a schedule and that they can't afford setbacks.
"Three years of planning!" Peter emphasizes.
Four years ago their Alpha decided to step down from the presidency, and pointed Laura as the next CEO of Hale companies. Peter fought against it, he thought that he should be the president (if not the Alpha) but somehow everything was worked out. Instead, everyone stabilized the company for the change of leadership and ready themselves to break into Laura's choice of market.
Arty cries louder, inhumanly loud, and the everyone in the room including the Alpha and except for Derek who could not let go of the baby, cover their ears.
"I'll figure it out" Derek says as he walks out with Arty.