Stiles smiled softly to himself as he ran a brush through Karolina's blonde waves. She wanted her hair in a braid that morning. Stiles, for all his uncoordination, had gotten quite good at braiding hair over the previous few years. Of course, he had plenty of help from Allison and Lydia at first, but that was all in the details. Karolina was contented to sit there, singing to herself as her daddy did her hair. "Will Erica make us breakfast this morning?" Karolina asked when Stiles was about half-way finished with her hair.

"Nope," answered Stiles with a slight shake of his head as he finished off the braid with Karolina's favorite red hair tie. "Erica has the day off. She and Boyd are out house hunting today. Isaac's in the kitchen this morning."

"Isaac!" Karolina could not keep the bright smile off of her face at that news. She loved Erica sure enough, but Isaac was probably one of her favorites. He was so sweet and soft-spoken like she was, when she was with new people. They bonded over books and kittens. It was their thing; and, they almost had Scott convinced to adopt another kitten so the first would not get lonely.

"Alright, Kaja, finished. Go brush your teeth so we can go." Stiles patted the top of his daughter's head before she hopped off of the stool she had been sitting on so that she could go do that. "You got your homework done?"

Stiles smiled faintly to himself as he listened to his daughter call back in the affirmative as he replaced the stool at the kitchen island. He had known that she had finished it already; but, that was a subtle way of reminding her to grab the simple color by number sheet that she had brought home. Stiles continued to tidy up the apartment as Karolina finished getting ready; and, by the time she was, Stiles knew that they had only a short while to eat breakfast together before he had to run her up to the school. "Speedy breakfast this morning, Princess," Stiles said as they left the apartment and he locked up behind them. "Otherwise, you'll be late!"

The look of absolute horror on Karolina's face at that statement made Stiles wish that he had a camera to capture it. He chuckled softly as she took his hand and pulled on it as she said, "C'mon, Daddy, let's go!"

Breakfast that morning was a simple one, but Stiles made sure to compliment Isaac on it, causing the curly-haired young man to blush profusely as he ducked back into the kitchen, stating that he had food to watch. Stiles could not keep from smiling as he tugged on his jacket so that he and Karolina could head to the school. He was glad that Scott had found Isaac; they were good for one another, almost too cute sometimes, but that was okay.

Once at the school, Stiles parked the car and unlocked the doors while Karolina unbuckled her seat belt. "Isaac's going to pick you up this evening, okay?" Stiles said as watched her grab her backpack off the floor. "I've got a party coming in that I can't step away from, but I'll see you when I get home."

"Isaac's gonna stay over for a while?" Karolina asked excitedly. She very much enjoyed the days that she got to spend time with one of her aunts or uncles. She enjoyed afternoons in the kitchen with her daddy even more, but the others were definitely a close second.

Stiles nodded with a smile, turning in his seat to face his daughter more, draping one arm over the steering wheel. "Yep. He promises your favorite movies and snacks, too."

Karolina giggled with a smile, nodding a few times before she pressed a kiss to her father's cheek. "Bye, Daddy!" she exclaimed before opening her door and climbing out of the car.

Stiles watched her as she walked the short distance to the front doors, where she met her teacher. Derek was apparently watching the hallway that morning, and was all smiles as he greeted Karolina. He took a drink from the coffee cup in his hand as she went inside, looking forward to where Stiles was still sitting. Their locked gazes caused Stiles to almost jerk forward again to face away and actually drive away instead of sitting there staring like a weirdo. He was just glad that at that distance, there was no way the teacher would have noticed his blush.

He did not notice that as he drove away, Lydia came up to Derek's side and stole his cup of coffee only to take a drink before handing it back. "Don't you just hate Monday mornings?" she said with a slight grumble. She would much rather be back at her apartment, where she'd left a sleeping deputy after Laura showed up half-way through the night as she did on those nights when sleep was a little more difficult.

"They'd be better if you weren't actively stealing my coffee," commented Derek, lifting an eyebrow slightly before he took another sip. He then smiled and welcomed in another student that was just dropped off, Lydia smiling at the kid from her class.

"Yes, well, I didn't make any this morning." Lydia frowned a little at that. She had not made any, as she had not wanted to risk possibly waking Laura up. Laura was not needed at work until the afternoon, so Lydia had wanted her to be able to sleep for as long as possible.

"I'll buy you some at lunch."

Lydia smiled then, turning to face Derek with an honest, bright smile. "Now I remember why you're my best friend." Lydia then patted Derek on his shoulder before she started to walk back inside, only to pause after one step, looking back at him. "Oh, by the way. Stiles isn't seeing anyone, and he's most definitely interested. You're welcome." Lydia flashed one of her terrifyingly charming smiles then, and continued into the building, ignoring Derek's flabbergasted expression with a toss of her hair.

"I promised Laura we'd pick her up something," Lydia explained as she pushed her way in through the front door at Authenticity. The dining room was busy, almost packed; but, most of the noise seemed to be coming from the private room off to the left side. There was someone Lydia did not know manning the bar, and Allison was flitting around the main room fulfilling her duty as front of house manager by making sure that everything was going smoothly. Scott was waiting that evening, specifically for the private party; and, Lydia was sure she had seen Jackson disappear into the back.

"I've never been here," stated Derek as he put his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He was not sure why Lydia insisted on them going there to get Laura some dinner, especially with how crowded the place seemed. One thing was sure, though, the food smelled wonderful.

Lydia offered no response, just gestured for Derek to follow her as she crossed the dining room to the opening that lead to the hallway which contained doors to the kitchen, bathrooms, break room, and office. She turned to the first door on her left, the kitchen, and led Derek inside. It was busy in there, lots of movement and slightly raised voices to be heard over the food cooking. Derek barely managed to step out of the way before being knocked with one of the trays that Jackson balanced and took out to the private room. "Where are my enchiladas, rice, no beans?" Derek heard a familiar voice call over the din of the kitchen, pulling his attention to where Stiles Stilinski stood dishing out a meal onto one of several plates sitting on one of the counters. His face was slightly red from the heat of the kitchen, and the sleeves of his white shirt were pushed up past his elbows in a fruitless effort to keep cool.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest, and forced his gaze over to Lydia as she cleared her throat and said, "Hey, Stilinski!"

Stiles looked over his shoulder to Lydia and smiled at her. "Hiya, Lyds," he said, nodding slightly at Derek in greeting. "Mr. Hale."

"Derek," the teacher corrected yet again, smiling slightly when Stiles laughed, mostly at himself.

"Right. Derek." Stiles nodded a little and placed the plates he was working on into the window that opened up into the bar before hitting the bell on the counter. He then turned to face the two of them, wiping his hands off on the front of the apron that was tied around his waist. "I'm guessing you two are here for Laura?"

Lydia nodded as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yes, please. She requests one of the Baja burgers," Lydia stated. "And don't skimp on the curly fries." She added the last statement with a wink.

Stiles chuckled as he crossed the room to the flat-top, nudging the line cook to another area with a quiet direction. "Never. That's sacrilege," Stiles replied to Lydia as he got to work on making a burger for Laura to her liking. "What about you two? Can I get you anything?"

"That depends." Lydia pursed her lips slightly with a faint hum as she glanced over to the desserts station, eying the night's options.

Not even looking at her, Stiles smirked slightly to himself, knowing what she was looking for. "Your favorite is over there tonight, my queen."

"Then, yes. We'll have three of those," Lydia insisted, leaving Derek no room to argue.

"Sweet action!" Stiles grinned yet again as he continued working, and offered no more words as he finished the order to add to one of the Styrofoam go-boxes used to house any orders placed to go. It was more common around the lunch hour, but they often had people leave with leftovers, too. Stiles handed the large box with Laura's dinner to Lydia, and the three small boxes containing one slice of cake each to Derek. If his fingers brushed against the other man's hand a bit too much to be subtle, then it was totally an accident; at least, that was what Stiles told himself. "Here ya go."

"How much?" Derek asked after a second, clearing his throat a little in order to actually get the words out.

Stiles shook his head, holding his hands up with a smile. "Nope. On me. You guys go. Give Laura a hug for me, would ya, Lyds?"

"Of course," replied Lydia as she stepped forward to give Stiles as good of a one-armed hug as she could manage with Laura's food in her other arm, smiling when he kissed her cheek. "Have fun with this rush, Stiles."

"Always."

Derek waved slightly, and Stiles smiled in return with a nod of his head, before the two of them left the kitchen and made their way back through the busy restaurant. Derek had not seen a small town restaurant do that well in ages; it was kind of nice, and not just because it was Stiles' place. There were too many corporation chains everywhere. Of course, Stiles may be the reason he would have to find an excuse to go back to Authenticity, not that he was dumb enough to even think of mentioning that to Lydia.

With the sheriff's station being only a few blocks away, Lydia suggested they simply walk the food down to Laura instead of driving. It was a waste of gas, after all. Derek did not mind. He enjoyed the warm night air and the few stars that could be seen in the sky within city limits. They were only a block away from the restaurant when Lydia started to say, "So..."

"No," Derek interrupted with a shake of his head, shifting his careful grip on the cartons in his hands. "We're not talking about it; I'm not talking about it. Different subject."

"I was just going to say that it's awfully warm for this time of year." Lydia flashed Derek one of her most innocent smiles, but Derek narrowed his eyes at her, not buying it for a moment. "And maybe that I agree with your sister; it's time to start dating again. Plus, you like him. I could tell."

"I don't like him. I don't even know him. He's just another parent," Derek argued, keeping his gaze fixed firmly ahead of him.

Lydia rolled her eyes at that. "You're attracted to him, at least; and, you could know him, if you'd give yourself the chance to." She fixed Derek with a pointed look, stopping outside the front door to the sheriff's station. She said nothing else on the subject, however, and opened the door so that they could go inside.

Laura all but groaned with appreciation when she saw Derek and Lydia approaching her desk with the familiar white cartons that she knew so well. "Tell Stiles that he is a godsend," Laura said as she took the carton from Lydia, pressing a quick kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "Hey, you."

"Hi," replied Lydia with a bright smile as she sat down on the edge of Laura's desk, grabbing one of the smaller cartons from Derek to hand to Laura as well. "He sends cake and hugs as well."

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd leave you for his cooking," Laura said in all seriousness as she opened the container to grab one of the curly fries. Lydia rolled her eyes with a fond shake of her head at her girlfriend before glancing over to Derek. "We'd love to stay and chat, but I'm stealing your brother for the night. We've got to make some plans."

Laura's eyes narrowed as she took a bite of her burger, gaze flicking between the other two. Only after wiping her mouth with a napkin did she say, "You better not be talking about..."

Lydia cut her off with a quick kiss and a smile before hopping off the desk. "I'll see you later!" Lydia called, ignoring Laura's protests as she led Derek back out of the station. They both knew that Laura hated when they tag-teamed ideas for her birthday, which was drawing very near. It was their favorite thing to do, if only to irritate Laura. Though, they all knew she secretly loved it, because it was always something thoughtful from the two people who meant the most to her.

Derek and Lydia made their way back to Lydia's car, neither one really saying anything. The drive to her apartment was rather quiet as well, and once they got there, Derek took a shower and changed into some of the clothes he left there before Lydia showered and changed as well. Once they were both comfortable, they sat on her couch and munched on the slices of cake they had while going over what they already had planned for Laura's birthday that year. "Stiles is a really good cook," Lydia said as she sat the empty container aside, quickly tying her hair back with an elastic band. "Maybe we could get him to do the cake. I'm sure he would love to."

"Yeah, that's fine," replied Derek with a slight shrug. He knew what Lydia was doing; he knew she was purposely bringing up the other man. She and Laura were alike in many ways, and trying to subtly force his thinking to one way was one of the many traits they had in common. Derek knew they meant well, but he was still not sure that he was ready to actually try dating again. After Jennifer... well, Derek was still a bit shaken up. For that reason, he refused to even draw attention to the fact that he knew what Lydia was doing. He did not want to talk about it. Besides, they were there to plan something for Laura, not for him.

By the time Stiles had Authenticity cleaned up and ready for the next day, he was exhausted and felt ready to drop. Isaac smiled when Stiles came into the apartment and the two of them talked quietly for a few minutes before Isaac left to head to the apartment he shared with Scott. Karolina was already asleep, but Stiles stopped to check on her anyway. He smiled faintly in the doorway when he saw her sleeping well in her bed. He walked in quietly and ducked down enough to press a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, Princess," he whispered before straightening up, and walking back toward the door.

He paused only for a moment when he heard his daughter mumble, "Love you, too, Daddy." He glanced over at her with a smile as she turned over on her bed to get more comfortable, settling right back into sleep.