Abandoned But Loved

AUTHOR: DJDarkPixie

SHOW: "Teen Wolf"

TIMELINE: Let's just say… Future

RATING: M for mature. Parental discretion is advised. ;)

PREMISE: Sequel to "When Your Soul Cries Out", "Lucky Valentine", "Connecting To The Whole," same Universe, no Lydia or Allison. Derek and Stiles are engaged, Danny & Jackson are mated, Scott is mated with Ted. Its dying mother leaves a baby at the pack's doorstep. Jackson knows what it means to be adopted and they take it in. Trouble soon follows when they discover its true identity.

CATEGORIZATION: SLASH; M/M; Stiles/Derek "Sterek", and Danny/Jackson "Dax", Scott/Ted "Tott", humor, angst, romance, supernatural, spirituality, charity, death, dimensional travel.

DISCLAIMER: All references to the show "Teen Wolf" are owned by MTV and only this plot and alternate universe belongs to me, well, I inherited it from my partner in crime, Blooboy70.

AN: Thank you to everyone who alerted, reviewed, or commented. I got some really good reviews so please thank you for those – they make me smile and one made me laugh. You know who you are! ;) Updated now that we know Derek's mom's REAL NAME - Talia. Thanks, JD.

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Chapter 10

(Cont'. from Chapter 9: "Calm down, Derek, please. I'm here to answer all your questions," said the soft voice now fully solid in front of him now. "I… I've seen your face before," he stammered. "I don't remember where, but I have seen you before." She smiled at him and he felt his heart begin to slow. He felt warmth and love fill him, pushing aside the fear and the uncertainty. He recognized that smile. "Stiles' mom" he peeped, barely audible. His eyes were like saucers and his mouth hung open. Stella's eyes crinkled as she laughed. He knew immediately where Stiles got his laugh… got his smile. "That's right, Derek. I'm Stiles' mom. Stella Stilinski. Pleasure to finally meet you." She opened her arms and beamed at him, beckoning him toward her. Derek fell into her arms, tears starting anew. "Stiles… he…" "Shhhh….." she said softly. She held him in her arms, his face on her shoulder. She ran her hand down the back of his hair in comforting motions. "Shhhh…" she continued. "I know, Derek. Honey, I know," she said, again very softly, her voice catching in her throat.)

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Gregory and Beverly looked down on the scene with interest, holding each other tightly. Laura tucked her head into her mother Talia's shoulder. As the light from their realm shone brightly, it made tiny trails of twinkles down each of their faces. Beverly looked at Gregory beseechingly. "What's going to happen to him?" she asked softly. Gregory looked down at his mate and softly wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her forehead softly.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart." He drew her closer, squeezing her gently. She let out a soft growl of comfort and snuggled into him. Talia turned slightly at hearing the other wolf growl softly. She met Gregory's gaze, and gave him a soft smile. She saw the question in his eyes. She winked at him.

"Trust in the wisdom of the Creator young one. Watch." She gave a slight tilt of her head back at the scene where her son was sobbing into Stiles' mother's arms.

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Derek cried softly at first, but as he inhaled against Stella's shoulder, he was reminded of Stiles. His sobbing increased, as he softly spoke. "Stiles, I love you. I am sorry I wasn't able to save you. It's all my fault. God I love you." He choked a little, as his throat was tight. "I miss him Mrs. Stilinski." He did not look up or pull away.

Stella pushed him back slowly but firmly. "Now listen to me, Derek. None of that. Is that what Stiles would want? And please, call me Stella. After all, I am your mother-in-law."

Derek looked at her and saw that same smirk and look in her eyes that he knew so well from his mate. He looked at her and she winked. He chuckled at this, smiling. "Okay, Stella."

"There, that's better. You always did have a beautiful smile. I used to tell your mother you had such a nice smile." Derek's eyebrows rose at this information. "Yeah, I knew your mother. I knew your entire family. Before Stiles' father was sheriff, we came to Beacon Hills before Stiles was born. I was, like 15 months pregnant with him, and damn, it was a hot summer." Derek laughed at her exaggeration. "I'm serious. Even as a baby, Stiles was never still. I swear, if I had a nickel for every time he knocked something over telling me a story… You know how he does."

Derek pushed back a sniff, "Yeah, how he talks with his entire body." He chuckled, and his eyes welled up realizing he wouldn't see that again. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I met your mother at the bakery, the first time I went in there. She was buying a cake for a birthday. You were with her, so I knew it wasn't your birthday. Blue Velvet, man was that good… I could go for some now. With a cold glass of milk. Not that skim crap, but REAL milk. 2% would be okay, but..." She looked at him, realizing she was rambling. Derek was smiling. "Yeah, he got that from me, sorry." She blushed slightly. Derek nodded, smiling. "So, we spoke for a minute, your mother and I, and she introduced me to you. You were still tiny, and you came over and shook my hand. You said, I'll never forget it. It was plain as day. You said, 'It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Stilinski.' – you didn't even stammer with my last name – then you walked over and put your hand on my stomach and leaned forward. I didn't realize it at the time, but you sniffed me. You looked up and me and smiled and said, "What are you going to name him?" Derek's jaw just fell open. Stella laughed. "Exactly what I did. My jaw fell open. I looked at you, then at your mother, who was proud but I could tell she was waiting to see my reaction." She paused.

Derek looked at her expectantly. "…"

"Oh, sorry. I get sidetracked easily. Where was I?" Derek laughed reminding her. "Yes, sorry. He got that from me too. Anyway, I looked at you then at your mother then back at you. I smiled and said, 'That's nice of you to say sweetheart. I am going to name him Matthew. How did you know it was a boy?' Your face dropped; you realized what you had done." She looked at Derek, who was beginning to recall the memory.

"I looked at you and said, because you smell like cloves." Derek smiled on the inside as well, recalling the memory. "But I don't remember after that?"

Stella grinned wide. "I looked at you and said, 'That's right little wolf. Very good nose you have on you.'"

"Oh my God, I remember that! I can't believe I forgot that. Holy crap! That was you? That was…" he lost some of his energy "…Stiles?" Derek's face was an open book. Stella could see every emotion on his face, as plain as day.

"Wow," she remarked. "You should really do that more often. You have such an expressive face. Stiles was right – you would do to lose the sour wolf look more often." Derek cocked his eyebrow, making her chuckle.

"Wait… you knew?" His face was in shock now.

She laughed with her entire body now, just like her son. "Of course. Stiles never knew, but we did, his father and I. John's roommate in college was from the Johnson Pack in San Diego, and my best friend Jenna in high school was a wolf. She was killed by a hunter our senior year. Damned hunters."

"Whoa, I never knew any of this. You never told Stiles?" Derek was not judging just asking, surprised.

"His father and I were going to tell him about all of it when the time was right. When your family was killed…"

Derek interrupted her "Murdered you mean."

"Yes, when your family was murdered, we decided to wait even longer as we didn't want Stiles to know what cruelty was in the world. John didn't know it was murder until you and my son, well, started your adventures." She gave him a soft smile and squeezed his shoulder.

"Wait – again. What did my mom say to you? I don't recall seeing you after that, but I was little as you said."

She gave him a big grin and put her hand up to his cheek. "Your mother was… well, is, an angel. She looked at me and did that thing you and Laura do with your eyebrow. Yes, that's the one! Ha! Yes, so, she looked at me and I could see her tense and drew you closer to her. Alpha instinct I suppose." Derek nodded, with a sad smile. "I winked at her and she literally let her jaw fall open." She laughed again, as Derek's did the same thing without him realizing. "Exactly!" He snapped it closed, blushing. "Don't, you have such a pretty smile. So, I told her about my friend and about John's roommate. She just listened taking it all in and looked at me for a bit. I wasn't sure what she was going to do. Suddenly John walked up to the window and tapped on the glass beckoning me to come outside. I was about to tell her goodbye, when she grabbed my hand. I saw her eyes flash, and I whispered 'alpha' and she pulled away again. I guess I surprised her again. I put my hand on her arm, telling her I would never betray her confidence. Her family's secret was safe with my husband and me."

"What did she say to that?" Derek choked out softly, tears coming again.

She gently wiped a tear from his cheek. "She took my hand and pulled me to her in a hug. I knew she could tell I wasn't lying, and then she pulled back from me and said she was happy to have made a new friend and would I like to come over for dinner sometime. We became friends and we often went out together, just us girls, to the bakery, to the farmer's market, and we even joined a quilting bee. She was my best friend. After Stiles was born, naturally, I had less time and we didn't see each other as frequently, at least once a month. She was even there when my water broke and she helped me to the hospital because John was interviewing for the Sheriff's job. When he got word, finally, he ran to the hospital and she handed me over to his care. I thanked her and she said she would be outside waiting. John didn't get to really meet her as I was, shall we say, quite loud and it wasn't easy. Even being born, he didn't stay still for a minute." She laughed softly at the memory, unconsciously rubbing her stomach. "So, we were friends and when I got sick, it was about the time you became of age and she had to devote more time to your training so we didn't see each other as often." Derek looked down. "No, don't think that. It was fine. She was my best friend and even though we each had new responsibilities we got together as often as I could… until the end. She knew before I did, and she offered me the bite."

"What the fuck?" Derek yelled. Stella's eyes bugged and she pulled back. "Language young man. What would your mother think?" Before Derek could even look admonished, she started laughing. "You need to lighten up. Man." Still laughing, she continued. "I turned her down, of course, and she didn't pressure me. She was just my friend and loved me until the day I died. The last thing she said to me was, I remember it like it was yesterday, 'Stella Anne, I am proud to have known you. I am proud to have called you my friend. I will miss you sweetheart,' then I looked up at her and put my hand against hers, spreading apart our fingers into a v-shape and gave her my best line yet – 'I have been and always shall be, your friend.'"

Derek smiled and smirked. "Yes, yes, I know," Stella continued. "Where do you think Stiles got it? I was a Trekkie long before he was." Derek shook his head chuckling. "Sure it was dorky and I was on some serious morphine, but I meant it. She knew I did because she leaned forward and put her forehead against mine and said…" Stella's voice caught in her throat. It was Derek's turn to give her support. He put his hand on her shoulder silently urging her to continue. She cleared her throat and finished. "She looked me directly in the eye and told me that I had better save her the best spot on the softest cloud and to wait for her." A silent tear ran down her face, joined by the same on Derek.

Derek's face paled a bit then perked at realization. "I guess I didn't put it all together until just now. I remember her going into town to spend time with her friend Anne, I didn't realize that was you. Stiles said your name was Stella, I didn't put that together." He smiled at her, feeling warm and not so alone as before. "I'm glad my mom knew you; I know she missed you when you were gone. I just didn't know the whole truth." He lowered his head.

She put her fingers under his chin, pulling it back up. "Don't be sad, Derek. I saved your mom that spot. She's still my best friend."

Derek's eyes flew open and he pulled back in shock. "What? You mean…? You and she…? Is she here? Can I see her? Why isn't she here? Am I allowed to see her? Please tell me what's going on here!" He started looking around frantically, tears again filling his eyes.

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Laura looked at her mother, tears in her eyes. "Mama?"

Mrs. Hale looked at her daughter and at the group of people that had gathered around them, observing Derek and Mrs. Stilinski. She looked over at her husband and the rest of the family and over to Gregory and Beverly. Everyone grew silent as a soft feeling came over them all, filling them with joy and with love. Stella withdrew from the group walking a few steps and then stopped and turned around. They all knew the answer. She spoke softly, but they all could feel it as much as hear it, "Thank you. I love you." With no sound, she faded slowly away, each knowing she wasn't saying thank you to them.

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Talia Hale appeared behind her friend Stella. She put her hand on Stella's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. Stella let her go and stepped back. Talia stepped forward and waited silently. Derek froze, his eyes landing on his mother's smiling face. She raised her arms out to him, her wet eyes smiling too.

"Mama?" Derek's eyes rolled with tears at seeing his mother after so many years. "Is it really you?" His feet felt anchored to the ground. Talia nodded at him, flashing her eyes red at him as she had done when he was little. A sound like a whimper escaped from Derek's throat as he ran and fell into her open arms, sobbing hard and deep, his entire body shaking. From behind, crying could be heard and a sniffing.

Stella waited a few more minutes, letting Derek drink in his soul's fill of his mother. Her heart panged for the day when she could once again hold her little Matthew. She chuckled at the memory of him telling her he didn't like that name and wanted to be named something else. "What's wrong with your name? she asked. "Matthew Rupert Genim Stilinski? Come on mom. It has no style." "Oh really?" she asked, smiling. "And what sort of style do you want your name to have?" "I don't know," he replied. "Why can't it have more than one style?" "I suppose so," she replied looking at her little boy smiling at her. He was biting on his thumb deep in thought. Suddenly he looked up at her beaming. "That's it!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "Styles… you can call me Styles." He looked at the ceiling. "Only, with an 'i' instead of a 'y'." His mother raised a brow in question. "You know, so it goes with Stilinski, and has even more style." Stella chuckled to herself silently, recalling how they laughed and how he was at that age making sure everyone knew he was Stiles Stilinski. That was the same day he had met his friend Scott.

Stella spoke softly to her best friend. "Talia, have you got this?"

Talia had her arms around her youngest son again, after so many years, and was truly in Heaven. She nodded. "Thank you," she replied softly, her voice barely a whisper. She relaxed her grip on Derek giving him the signal to rise up. His eyes caught Stella's smiling face over his mother's shoulder.

"Um," he started, and then stopped, looking at his mom for, for what? Her okay? Sensing his feelings, she let him go and nodded. Derek stepped to Stella, and pulled her into a hug. "It was an honor to meet you, Stella. Thank you. I can see now why Stiles always speaks…" he stopped himself. "I can see now why Stiles always spoke so highly of you. I can never thank you enough."

She hugged him hard, ruffling his hair. "The honor was all mine, Derek. You have grown into a fine young man." She pulled away and walked backwards slowly as Derek felt his mother step forward to once again hold onto him. They waved at her as she began to fade away. "Oh, and Derek?" He looked at her, his eyebrows going up. "You were right the first time… it's speaks." She winked, smiling, and then she was gone.

Derek whirled looking at his mother; his unspoken question so clear on his face only shouting could make it clearer. His mother brought her hand up to his cheek, caressing it. "Yes, little one. Your mate is still alive." Derek's heart actually skipped a beat. Without missing a step, she continued. "So, let's see what we can do to get you back there, shall we?" She smiled that million-dollar smile. It matched the one on her youngest son's face.

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I hope you liked it. hides

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