Stiles felt someone jostling his shoulder and heard a distant voice accompanying the motion. He couldn't understand what they were saying at first, but then he tried focusing, and he could make out Scott's voice.
"Wake up dude," Scott said again, and Stiles slowly opened his eyes. He gave Scott a perplexed look, and then looked up at the sky. The first thing his eyes focused on was how bright the moon was tonight.
With a simple smile, Stiles said wearily, "Look, shiny."
"Oh thank god," Scott said as he helped prop Stiles up on himself, hugging him from behind. "I thought you were dead. Stiles, quit scaring the shit out of me. It's not cool." Stiles reached up to pat Scott's hand, trying to comfort him instinctively. He couldn't quite maneuver his limbs with great accuracy yet, and instead he just sat his hand on Scott's.
"Baby," Stiles said, his eyes narrowed as he looked around. He could see figures a few feet away, moving, but they were blurry. He squinted at them. "Scott, where's the baby."
Scott moved to give his friend space as Stiles regained his ability to hold himself up, moving to look over his shoulder at Scott. His vision was slowly returning. "Where's the baby." He demanded, then started to stand, albeit wobbly. "Baby, did someone take the baby?"
"Stiles, they took the baby somewhere. The baby's safe, she's okay. She looked a bit weird but she's okay. That old woman took her." Scott stood up immediately, trying to help Stiles balance. Stiles reached up to hold his head, trying to make the dizziness go away by steadying himself.
"Okay, but the family?" He asked, wincing as he looked at Scott. "The family's okay." Scott looked over towards the figures and then nodded.
"They're sad about the house burning but Stiles, everyone got out. Everyone's alive, don't worry. But the ambulance is going to be awhile, there's a barricade like a tree fell on both the roads here. They got the firetruck over before the trees came down. It's weird, it's a nice night. But yeah, they're fine. Here, let's go sit on that log over there, come on." He helped Stiles limp over to the log, and then sat him down and sat right next to him, rubbing his back. "Look, I thought you were dead, dude. Your face was so damn pale. Then Derek's mom came over and she like, did something, I don't know. Meditated or something over you. You started breathing again." Stiles glanced over at Scott, frowning as he studied his friend's face. Obviously the moment had been extremely traumatic for Scott, because his voice was strained and his eyes looked like he had cried. Stiles attempted a cockeyed smile, then nudged Scott.
"Can't get rid of me, Scott. You're stuck with me." Stiles' eyes wandered towards the house. It obviously sustained a bit of damage, but firefighters were spraying the flames down. The flames were almost completely extinguished. He heard someone come up behind them, and then a hand fell on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
Stiles turned his head as Derek sat next to him on the log, watching the firefighters.
"Fine," Stiles lied, and then pointed at the house. "I'm sorry." Derek gave him a sideways glance, and then looked back at the house.
"I'm not. Everyone's out." He paused before he added, "Even my daughter. Thanks to you."
"It's nothing," Stiles said shortly, but Derek looked back at him, and their eyes connected. In that moment, he felt like he understood how appreciative Derek really was. His eyes darted away quickly, and he looked over to Scott. "Scott, can you give us a moment?"
"...you sure?" Scott questioned, but after Stiles nodded he slowly got up and moved away towards a tree nearby. Stiles looked at Derek again, but this time he frowned.
"I'm not going to pretend that was an accident." He said as he motioned towards the house. "What the hell is going on, Derek. If I'm stuck with you weirdos, I want to know what I'm stuck with. And who I should be avoiding. This type of paranoia might be normal for you people, but it's not for me. I'd like to get back to that normalcy of feeling safe instead of fearing someone's going to do that," He motioned to the house again, "To harm people around me." Derek sighed as he looked at his own hands.
"I'm not allowed to tell you. But my mom can." Derek stood up, and walked off. Stiles stared at him from afar, watching him talk to his mother and then gesture in Stiles direction. Even in the dim house burning light, he could see neither Talia or Peter were pleased with what Derek was saying. Peter gestured at Stiles angrily and looked at Talia, and Talia shook her head at Derek. Cora walked over and then pointed at Stiles as well, and Derek seemed furious as he started talking again.
"Scott," Stiles said loudly, and Scott turned to look at him as he ambled back over to the log. Stiles pointed at the huddled Hales. "Can you hear what they're talking about? My ears are still ringing." Scott squinted and then shook his head.
"Not a word. But Derek looks pissed." Scott observed, then sat down. "Look, they got the fire to go out." He hesitated, and then added, "Are you going to tell me what you talked about?"
"Not much, I asked him to tell me what's going on. Apparently this is some sort of hive-mind situation, and he has to get clearance from his mother to share what's going on," Stiles explained, and then pointed at the Hales. "I think Talia and Peter hate me, and Derek and Cora are telling them I'm okay. I'm not sure how this is going to pan out but look at everyone fighting over me. You save a baby and suddenly you have all this respect, I should have done this years ago."
Scott laughed, but it was cut short as the Hales all looked in unison at Stiles. Stiles bit his lower lip, then looked at Scott. "...they heard me." He could see Peter saying something heatedly again, and he let out a breath of relief. "Okay, they didn't hear me, maybe they were talking about something else." Suddenly Derek moved from the group, and pulled a jingling pair of keys out of his pocket. The teens could see the group wasn't pleased with Derek, and Talia took a few steps after him before stopping in her tracks. He approached Stiles and tossed the keys at him.
"I need a place to stay a few days with Luna," He began, and then looked away. "We don't have a lot of people we can trust right now. Can I stay at your place with her?"
"Well, uh...you'd have to ask my dad. I mean, it's not my house." Stiles stalled, but the look on Derek's face unnerved him. "I'm sure he'd not say no. I mean, I don't know if I'm even going to be there, I'm pretty sure I might need to go to the emergency room tonight."
"Stiles, she's a one year old without a house." Derek said, and then added, "You want her to sleep in a motel with the rest of my family until this place is renovated?" Stiles contemplated it, but he could tell Derek was judging him the longer it took him to respond.
"Fine, I'll tell my dad you're staying for awhile. You know, he's done it before. I think probably around a hundred of people have slept under our roof and I don't even know when they're coming or going. Mostly kids, this is probably the first time a single dad has, but I'm not going to judge you for that." Stiles stood up, and almost fell. Derek reached out and caught him. Scott reached over and picked up Stiles' keys, and then motioned to the car.
"Let's get him to the car. I'll drive, you go get the baby or whatever," Scott walked over and opened the jeep door on the passenger side. Derek held on to Stiles as the other climbed into the vehicle, and then he reached for his seat belt before Stiles could move for it.
Stiles glared, and Derek gave him a questioning look as he reached over his lap and plugged the belt into buckle. "You don't drive without seat belts, I know." He closed the door, smiling to himself as Stiles looked on. Derek disappeared towards one of the cars parked a ways from the house.
Scott got in and buckled himself in, and then put the key in the ignition. He stared at the wheel for a moment, and then let out a great heaving exhale. Stiles looked at Scott, and then at the wheel.
"...you haven't driven since the test have you?" Stiles asked, and Scott responded, "Well..."
"Scott, I can't believe you haven't gone anywhere in a vehicle since the test. Can you handle a night drive?"
"...I'm pretty sure...I mean, you just stay on the road." He said as he started the car, and he put it in drive. "Let's wait for them though, we have to get the baby."
"Well if we're going to get the baby, we have to put the car back into park, because right now you're rolling. Unless you want Derek to have to jump into a moving car with a baby carrier." Stiles said, and pointed at the gears. Scott's hands went up in the air as he swore, and then shifted the car back into park.
"I thought when you start the car you put it in drive," Scott said as he rested his hands on the wheel.
"You do, but you put it in park when you're waiting. Or you put your foot on the brake," Stiles explained, trying to mute his worry in order for Scott to feel more confident driving so they didn't end up in a ditch. He looked out the window and spotted the single dad walking to the car with the baby carrier, and then went down to unlock the doors. The doors clicked and Derek opened the back seat, putting the baby in and then climbed in himself.
"There's a tree down on the way we usually go but you can drive around it in this car." Derek said as Scott put the jeep in drive. The jeep crawled at 5 mph as he inched out of the drive, turning the car. Derek looked at Scott skeptically and then said, "Can you drive?"
"Yes, I have my licenses," Scott said irately, and then started pressing the gas, but still was only going ten as he headed down the path.
Derek was quiet for a bit until he took out his phone, and then said, "My uncle wants to tell you to hurry up. They'd like to get to the motel before the end of next week."
Scott glared at the rear view mirror, and then slammed the gas. The car jerked into motion, and the baby carrier slid. Derek swore out loud as he grabbed the handle.
"Maybe the guy who almost suffocated on smoke should drive," Derek said out loud, glaring at Scott. "You're going too fast!"
"Scott, he's right," Stiles warned, watching Scott easing up on the gas. "Scott, brake. Scott. Scott, brake!" He yelled as he reached over and yanked the wheel to the left. They barely missed the tree in the road, and Scott straightened the wheel out as they rolled on past it, getting back on the road. "Scott!"
"What! I'm fine now, thanks," Scott said as he slowed back down to his twenty mph, and edged along the road. Derek looked at the baby carrier, petting the baby's forehead as he held onto the handle. Stiles smiled slightly at the scene in the mirror, and he looked back at the road.
They drove in silence for awhile, until Peter's car sped up behind them. Scott cursed as Peter tailgated him for a few minutes and then sped past the jeep. "That guy is douchebag," Stiles mumbled, and then said to Derek, "No offense."
"None taken," Derek said plainly. Obviously he thought Peter could be a douchebag.
"Derek, I have to ask. Who's Gramma?" Stiles asked, looking over his shoulder at the other.
"My grandmother." He said.
"Isn't it supposed to be Grandma? With a d?" Scott asked curiously, and Derek shrugged.
"It's a joke," Derek said, "One that stuck." They sat in silence again until Scott slowly drove through a red light.
"That was red, Scott. Okay, what's the joke. Gramma?" Stiles asked, and Derek shrugged again.
"It's an inside joke." He explained, and Stiles rolled his eyes.
They continued to Stiles' house, and everyone exited the car. Derek held the carrier close, a frayed blanket placed delicately over the top. As Stiles dug in his pocket for keys to the house, Scott stood close to him, looking at the carrier that Derek held.
"Is she asleep?" Scott asked, and Derek looked down at the carrier.
"...yeah." He replied. Stiles finally found the keys, so he opened the door and stepped inside. His phone started beeping with messages that finally went through after they had gotten out of the no signal zone of Beacon Hills.
"Okay, do whatever, I've got to call my dad," Stiles said, walking into the kitchen as he started checking all the windows and doors and securing them with one hand and the phone in the other. "Hey, yeah. Parrish, is it? Okay, can you tell my dad that I'm okay? I was at the Hale fire. I don't know if he knew about it, there was a police car there...no, I'm fine. I went in, but I'm okay. ...I think I'd know if I was okay or not." He lifted the curtain off a window in the bathroom as he walked in, making sure it was locked. "Can you just tell him I'm at home and we have a visitor? Who? Um...Derek Hale. Derek Hale and his baby. Her name is Luna. No, I'm not being held hostage. Do I need anyone to come here? ...yeah, my dad, when he comes home. I think I'm okay, Parrish." Stiles walked out of the bathroom, finding Derek in front of him with the baby wrapped in a blanket. The other gave him a look before Stiles walked around him. "So when is he coming home? It's already like four in the morning...what do you mean he's on call? On call to where? ...oh. ...did you just find him asleep on his desk again? Yeah, I figured. Okay, look, when he's up, tell him I'm at home tonight. Yeah. Thanks. You have a good night too." He hit end call as he turned, looking for Derek. He was gone again.
"I literally just turned for a second." He said out loud as he looked in the living room, finding Scott surfing away on his phone.
"My mom said she might come over before work to check on you," Scott said as Stiles walked by his chair, and Stiles nodded.
"Yeah, that's good, but what happened to Derek. I have to set up the guest room...I mean, it's not...baby friendly. Come help me."
"I don't know what babies do." Scott said as he followed Stiles upstairs, and they walked into the guest room. Stiles looked at the bed, which had a ton of paperwork on it. "...um, okay, let's just put this all in my room. My dad uses this place as a study because...yeah, we don't get visitors a lot anymore." He started shoving the paperwork in a pile, then handed it to Scott to carry into Stiles' room. After relocating the paperwork, Stiles grabbed another blanket and threw it on the queen sized bed.
"Scott, could you help me move this dresser in front of the outlet so the baby can't finger it? I mean, you know, put her finger in it and get zapped." Scott pushed the dresser on the wooden floor, making Stiles scowl. "Scott! This floor is real wood!"
"Sorry! Look, it's moved. What else?"
"I don't know, um...I think it's good," Stiles said as he observed the room.
"I put her diaper in the washer," Derek said from the doorway, making Stiles jump.
When what Derek said processed in his mind, Stiles said with a very dismayed and disgusted look, "...you put what in the washer?"
"Cloth diaper." Derek said, pointing to the baby still wrapped in the blanket.
"But...is she naked now?" Stiles said, then tried looking at her face. Derek kept turning to keep him from looking at her. With a glare, Stiles looked at the other skeptically.
"Don't look at her," Derek stated icily.
"Why? Okay, whatever. I want to sleep. Scott, let's go sleep in my room. Derek, do whatever. I don't care." He waved his hands in the air as he walked out of the room, and then Scott followed. They ambled into Stiles' room a ways down the hall, and then Stiles fell face first on his bed. "Scott. It's Sunday. It's Sunday morning and tomorrow we have to go to school."
"Why did you have to bring that up," Scott protested, grabbing Scott's quilt from where it fell on the floor. He threw it on the floor and then laid on top of it. Scott threw his Star Wars body pillow at Scott, and then curled up under his sheets.
"Because I'm a masochist, I'm sorry," Stiles muttered, and then looked over the edge of the bed. "Can you lock my bedroom door?"
Scott crawled over to the door, locked it, and then flipped off the light and crawled back to his pile on the floor. "Night Stiles."
"Night Scott." He laid awake for awhile, watching Scott drift off to sleep. After what seemed like a half an hour, he heard noises in the hall. "Scott...Scott, wake up." He reached out and poked Scott, but his friend snored in response. He listened for a minute, hearing something scurry on the floor, and then a loud growling noise at footsteps. Then Derek's voice. It wasn't threatening, but more stern, like he was disciplining something in the hallway. Stiles looked at the ceiling, waiting for them to close their door again. It closed after awhile, but left Stiles to think about what could have scurried on the floor. A giant cockroach? His mind briefly drifted to the thing he saw in the Walcott's freezer room.
"Goodbye, sleep," He muttered to himself, and then continued to stare at the ceiling.