It should be noted that I have exactly a teaspoon and a half of legal knowledge. Also, I know nothing about Lydia's family, Scott's extended family, and who may or may not be a lawyer. So just, you know, bear with me, and keep in mind that a lot of the legal proceedings are going to be almost completely fabricated. Also, I'm going to try and update more often. Sorry for the recent delays.

Also, forgive me if I portray Lydia and Jackson as being less... I dunno, less rude in this story. I happen to be incredibly fond of both of them, so I'm trying to put on a positive light.

"Great," Derek said, sitting back and contemplating the situation. "Before you call whoever it is, though, I need you to tell me everything. When it started. How often. Anything you can tell me."

Honestly, Stiles was thankful for the way Derek was treating the situation. He didn't want the man's pity. He really did get why Scott had gone to him, and he wasn't angry over it, but if there had been another way to go, he'd rather not have Derek involved at all. That being said, he was the perfect person for this.

He cared enough to help, but not enough to be afraid of breaking him.

The only person Stiles thought he could take that from and know it wasn't the least bit condescending was Scott. From him, Stiles knew it came out of a place of worry and of guilt. So he would gratefully accept Scott's care and concern, as well as Derek's blunt but ultimately helpful questions.

"It started, uh, the night Scott got bit," Stiles admitted slowly, not meeting Derek's eyes but rather looking at the wall next to his head.

"What?" Scott interjected. "No, that can't be right. I remember that night! I remember every second of it, I would have noticed if... If he'd... I would have noticed!"

Derek shot him a warning look and Scott quickly fell silent, glancing apologetically next to him at Stiles.

"It's fine, you couldn't have known. It was after... Um, after dad caught me and you ran and then we were back at my car and he... He just... No one was around and he started yelling at me for wasting his time and getting in the way and putting myself in danger and then he just... Uh, he just slapped me. Out of nowhere. I never saw it coming, and after he apologised about a billion times and we went home and I... forgot about it. Didn't even leave a mark."

Scott heard the unspoken 'that time' tacked on to the end of that sentence, and it added to the nauseous feeling that hadn't left him since the locker room the day before. He bumped his knee against Stiles's, their shoulders already touching, a reminder that he was there, and that he wasn't going to let anyone hurt him again. Stiles gave him a smile in return, but it was weak and halfhearted.

"And it escalated from there?" Derek prompted, wanting to get this conversation over with as soon as possible. He disliked personal conversations as a general rule, especially when it came to people he didn't really know all that well, but in this case it was necessary.

"Right. Uh, yeah, it did. At first it was just... Uh, just little things. I'd just get a slap here and there, when I'd been, um, especially difficult. But then it got bigger and he stopped... He stopped apologising. He drinks all the time and he just gets so angry." Stiles shrugged, jostling Scott slightly. "I guess I kind of deserved it. I mean, I-"

"No," Scott interrupted, voice steady and slightly sad. Stiles turned eyes that were stinging with tears he refused to shed towards his best friend. "Whatever you thought you did to... To deserve what he did to you, it was nothing. He is the one at fault here. He is the one to blame. No one ever deserves to be hit."

"Scott's right," Derek said, expression not betraying whatever he was feeling.

Feeling the weight of their gaze on him, Stiles dipped his head and sniffed silently, willing the moisture in his eyes to stay where it was.

"So," Derek redirected. "About this person you think could help with the legal side of getting you out of there?"

Stiles shot him a confused look. "Out of there?"

"You're not staying in that house," Scott said firmly. "You can't."

"Where am I gonna go, then?"

"Here. You can stay here. My mom won't have a problem with it, in fact, she'll probably be the first person to sign the papers."

Derek nodded. "See? So, who are you going to call?"

"Someone who knows how to keep her mouth shut about things."

The phone call came out of the blue, and it was quite honestly the last thing Lydia had been expecting. She had heard from one of Jackson's team mates about what had happened with Stiles in the locker room (she was actually rather surprised that the gossip hadn't come from Jackson himself, but he was weird like that sometimes) but to have Stiles call her about the matter was a shock.

"Hey, Lydia."

"Stiles! I heard about what happened yesterday. Are you alright?"

"I'm... Uh... So I've got a question. Do you know anything about the legal system?"

"My aunt, both my uncles, and two of my cousins are lawyers. Yeah, I'd say I know quite a bit. Why?" she tacked on as an afterthought. Stiles' evasion of her question hadn't escaped her notice.

"I...We need your help. Look, can you just... Can you just come over here, please?"

The tone of his voice was worrying, the urgency circumventing any snark that might have usually been the reply to that. "Sure. Just give me the address and I'll be there as soon as I can. And Stiles, are you... are you alright?"

There was a click as the phone disconnected.