"So Gramma, if you need anything, I'll be right downstairs. Like, I don't have any of those panic buttons they have advertised on TV for the elderly but if you call I'll just be a stairway away, okay?" Stiles said, a bit concerned about having her stay there. She might have been a bad ass grandma who could morph into a wolf; but hearing that she was sick with something he didn't know, it made him worried. She gave him a humored smile, and then sat on the guest bed. She patted the quilt next to her.
"Come here, Stiles." She said with a relaxed tone, and Stiles glanced over his shoulder. Derek was downstairs with Luna, waiting for him to come back down. With only a moment of hesitation, he stepped over to where she was on the bed and sat next to her. She put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing gently with her thumb as she looked at him, eyes locked. "I like you. You remind me of my granddaughter in law, Paige. She's gone now, but I see a similar spark in your eyes as I did in hers. I think that's why that child downstairs loves you so much. You are a living memory for her. And regardless of what you might decide to do in the future, I have endless respect for you because you brought a smile back to my grandson's face and my great granddaughter's. That is a task that few could do."
Stiles squinted his eyes as he looked at the floor, trying not to interrupt the old woman even though he had plenty of questions brewing inside of him. She moved her hand off of his shoulder. "I may look frail, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. So I don't want you to worry needlessly over me. Let me rest."
The short demand made the warm fuzzy moment that he had sensed earlier end abruptly. He got up off the bed and pursed his lips shut, and then closed the door behind him as he left. Wow, he thought as he mused over the incident in his head, almost jogging down the steps. The entire Hale family had the same straightforward approach. It really shouldn't have taken him by surprise by now, but the abrasiveness still took some getting used to.
His eyes fell on Derek in the living room, where he sat with Luna. She was playing with a bunch of large legos, sticking them together and then pulling them apart. Stiles walked over and sat down, only giving a brief glance at Derek. Suspiciously, Derek tilted his head.
"What, did Gramma say something?" He inquired, and Stiles merely shrugged off the inquiry.
"No, she's tired," Somehow he automatically assumed anything regarding Paige he should probably keep low key around Derek. "Are you going now?"
"Trying to shove me out the door so you can play with my daughter, huh?" Derek said as he pushed himself effortlessly off the floor, looking at Luna. She looked up at him with an air of innocence, her eyes wide as she hugged a blue block to her chest. "Now, we discussed what she shouldn't do while I'm gone. We're really trying to break her of her habit of biting. If she bites you, call me. It won't hurt you because she's not an alpha, but it'll still hurt like a son of a bitch."
"Wait, alpha-hold on, I don't have your number. I also...I think my phone is out in my jeep." He got up and put up a hand for Derek to hold his thought, and then grabbed the keys from the key rack and went out to his jeep. It was in his gym bag in the back, where he had been sticking it for awhile during classes so he didn't get in trouble for it ringing. "Okay," He muttered, retrieving it and walking inside. "It's like at 5% battery but give me your number." Derek grabbed the phone once Stiles had unlocked it, and plugged in his contact information before handing it back.
"Alpha. Alpha is the pack leader. Our pack has two alphas, Gramma and my mom. If you're bit by an alpha, you change in a werewolf. Betas are the rest of the pack, and being bit by a beta won't turn you. But her teeth are extremely sharp. Make sure she doesn't get startled- she's very sensitive to loud sounds." He motioned to her playing with the blocks. "She's pretty quiet though. Like I was."
"Okay, well, I think I can handle playing with blocks. You should probably get out of here before your family wonders if you skipped out on them." Stiles said as he sat down on the floor, looking at his phone. Scott had texted him a lot of times, and left a bunch of voicemails.
"Stiles." Derek insisted, and Stiles looked up at him with a questioning glance. "Luna can move pretty fast so you probably shouldn't spend a lot of time on your phone."
"Okay, jeez, I was just checking where Scott went." He said with a scoff. "There's a few unknown numbers too, the hospital is probably trying to reach me on updates about my dad. Look, I can handle this baby, okay? She's fine. She's been great all the other times I watched her. We've got a bond, okay?"
Derek grimaced, as if he really didn't believe that their bond was solid enough for the baby not to go completely wild the minute her father left the house. He finally sighed, and then headed towards the door. "If you need something, text me, okay? Don't call, because we'll be in a meeting. And don't let her watch too much TV, it makes her moody." Stiles waved Derek's requests away as he left, and let out a breath of relief.
"Your dad was all over my ass, Luna," Stiles said to the baby, and she looked up, eyes full of wonderment. He looked contemplative for a moment before he reached over for a block. "Actually, I'm really glad you don't understand the language yet because that could've been taken more than one way." She slowly put a block in her mouth, sucking on it as she listened to Stiles, watching him with peaked curiosity. He looked at her for a moment, then started building with the blocks a tiny house.
"Look at it! It's cute, right?" He said with forced enthusiasm, and she observed the house with vague interest. Taking the moment to look at his phone again, he got up and walked over to the kitchen to plug it in. On his way, he glanced up at the wall where the iron rod had been embedded during the encounter with Derek - someone had patched it with white puddy. "Huh. Wow, I wonder who did that." With mild wonder, he walked with the phone as he sent Scott a message, "Baby watching. Long story. Come over? I'm okay." As he stuck the cord in the bottom of the phone, he heard a loud crash. A surge of panic rushed through him as he practically flew into the living room again.
"Luna!" He exclaimed as he looked at the blocks, which were all over the room. She was sitting there with a mystified look on her face, even though she clearly decimated the block house Stiles had made. One of the blocks had knocked over a picture and it had fallen off the table onto a metal floor vent.
"What did you do?" He asked as he walked over, picking up the picture and setting it face down on the table again. He bent down to pick her up, and then looked at her with an inquisitive gaze. "You're like the shehulk, aren't you? Like destroying stuff, huh?" He bounced her a few times as she smiled in response, and then gripped his shirt with her tiny hands. "My little charmer. Okay, let's go play some games. I think you'll like kirby. He's a little pink ball of love. Kind of like you." He puffed out his cheeks looking at her, and her eyes got wide. "And he looks like this," He said with his puffed out cheeks, walking with her. She giggled, then patted his cheek as he deflated with an exhale.
Setting her down on the couch, he grabbed his Wii mote, put in the game and sat down next to her. "Wait until you see this. Dad's not here to supervise so what harm will a little TV do, huh? Video games don't count. Kids love video games. Video games are good for you." He looked at the TV, waiting for it to load. As the intro loaded, he had forgotten to adjust the volume and the theme song blasted from the speakers. He felt a shuffle next to him, and he glanced down to see an extremely hairy baby frozen in place looking absolutely petrified.
"What-no! Don't," He said as he put down the controller. He grabbed the TV remote and turned the sound down, and then looked at her and couldn't help but laugh. Her ears were now pointed like an elf's, and her hair just so...poofy. Even her hands had tiny little claws that she was digging into the furniture. Was this supposed to be terrifying? Why did Derek think this was scary? "No, no, it's not scary, Luna," He coaxed as he tried prying her claws off the fabric. "It's a video game. Look, it's a cute pink thing. It inhales stuff. Like you and napkins." As the music opening rift kept repeating, Luna started a low guttural growl. He grabbed the remote and put it on mute. Getting down on his knees in front of the couch, he looked at her with his head tilted.
"How do I get you off this couch? You're like velcro. I have a permanent velcro baby now." He reached over and pet her head, and her lip quivered. "Aww...I feel so bad, I ruined kirby for you. I'm sorry. Let me get you off this cushion, okay? We can snuggle a little." She slowly eased up her grip, those little clawed hands reaching up speedily towards him as he stood. Leaning down and picking her up carefully, he sat back on the couch. He cradled her in his arms, rubbing her back comfortingly. "I'm sorry, I should have remembered to turn it down." He reached over and got the remote, setting her facing towards the TV on his lap. "Look, we won't turn on the sound."
She watched, still furry as ever as he went through the opening. Stiles was convinced that this was the perfect baby game as she watched with almost sinful fascination as he went through a level. "See, it's great." He said out loud, moving through the level. She reached out her clawed hand to bat at the band that was flopping around needlessly, since Stiles didn't like having the Wii mote attached to his wrist. "Yeah, see, you even like the controller. Look, look at that thing! Oh, I totally got it, did you see that?" She turned to look at his face, but his eyes were glued on the screen. They stayed that way for thirty minutes as he climbed through the levels. Finally she let out a huff and he looked down at her, finding she was no longer furry.
"Oh, you de-wolfed. I kind of was attached to you with all that fur." He chuckled as he put down the Wii mote, and then pet her head. She gave him a sleepy look, and fell lazily against his arm. As she rested there limply, he thought of his phone and wondered if Scott had responded. That and he wanted to know if the hospital had updates on his father.
"Hmm..." He moved her off of his lap, and then put a pillow under her head as she snuggled up to the corner of the armrest. "You just wait a second, okay? I'll be back." He rose to his feet and strode into the other room, looking at his phone.
"Coming over in hour, job paper crap, hide napkins," He read out loud, and then laughed as he typed back a response. "She's sleeping. Napkins are a no-issue. See you in a bit." He put the phone down, grinning as he shook his head. "Never going to let him live that one down." After listening to a few voicemails from his dad, he finally came to the conclusion his dad was okay, but it'd be another two hours before they let him go home. That, and he left a loaded gun in his hospital room and his dad assured him they were going to talk about gun safety when he got home. Fantastic. Abandoning the phone on the counter, he walked back into the living room and looked at the couch.
No baby.
"...wait, what," He said as he walked over, and looked under the pillow like she was small enough to hide under there. "Luna?" He glanced towards the windows, noticing how dark it was already. Oh god, he thought as he rushed around the room, lifting objects. I lost the baby when it's getting dark. Even in his dismay he remembered Gramma was upstairs, and he didn't want to disturb her. "Luna? Luna, come here," he said as he searched, looking under the chair. "Luna? I have cookies, you like cookies, don't you? Fuck, I've lost the baby. How does someone lose a whole baby? This is karma. Karma for laughing at Scott for losing the baby."
He stared around the room, then tried going around the entire downstairs. He had scouted through the first level of the house before he realized she must have climbed the steps. "How the hell did she climb the steps in that amount of time," He muttered as he crept upstairs, sneaking past the closed door of the guest room. He checked the bathroom, then his father's room before he looked towards his own room. The door had been left ajar. If she wasn't in there, she was outside.
"If she's outside I am so dead," He said to himself as he walked through the door, looking inside.
There on his bed was a tiny little figure staring out the window at the rising moon. She had her little neck craned as she stared, her hands kneading one of Stiles' blankets mindlessly. Not wanting to disturb her, he slowly entered, shutting the door behind him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked at her. Her green eyes shined almost mesmerized as she stared out at the sky, watching it change. Her little dark curls framed her face, her back hunched slightly. She hadn't even noticed him sitting so close. "Hey," He said quietly, petting the blanket near her but not her directly. She didn't respond.
"You're really a wolf, huh? Staring at the moon?" He said softly, almost sympathetically as he smiled. There was something just adorable about this child so in tune with nature. He glanced towards the window, enjoying the view of hazy pink and orange from his window. The moon was bright, but the sun was still setting. "It's pretty isn't it?" He looked back at her, and she hadn't moved an inch. "You know you're going to get a neck cramp, Luna," he advised worriedly, his hand finally moving to touch her cheek gently.
And that's when it happened. She turned and bit right into his wrist, clamping down like a bear trap. The pain surged through his body and he yelped in shock, trying to shake her mouth off as he yanked his hand away. She looked at him, slightly dazed. "What the- Luna, wha-" He held his injured hand in his other, shaking as he looked at the amount of blood exiting the wound. "You bit me! You just bit me! Luna, that hurt like hell! Bad baby! Bad, bad baby!" She whined as she watched him stand up, frantically searching for cloth. He grabbed a shirt and wrapped his hand in it, watching as the blood drenched the shirt in a second. "Oh my god, I'm going to die," he panicked. He almost went out the door, but he noticed Luna's eyes were watering as she stared at him, clearly afraid.
"Why are you crying? You bit me!" He almost yelled, and she whimpered in response. Grabbing her in his non-maimed arm, he ran down the steps with her, getting blood on the wall as he ran his hand along it to balance. "I can't believe you bit me. You bit me and you're crying. I should be crying but I'm in shock." He rushed to the kitchen, set her down on the table and then grabbed his phone. With his free hand, he punched in a text to the number Derek had left him. "baby bit. help. bleeding. lots." he sent it, and then tightened his grip on the shirt, watching as Luna sniffled on the table.
"I feel that way," He said grumpily, lightheaded feeling setting in. "Great. I should've gotten Gramma on the way down. I'm going to pass out and you'll probably eat me when I'm KO'ed on the floor, right? Biting is bad, Luna," He scolded her, looking at the phone. Why wasn't Derek responding? His wolf spawn just bit him and he was out having a joyride with his family. Angrily he shot another text at Derek. "bleeding is severe asshole help" He sent it, gritting his teeth as he tried to remain standing. Now he was leaning on the counter for support. The blood was tacky on the shirt, but fresh stuff was still spilling out underneath. As he tried to manage it by moving to a non-bloodied part of the shirt over the wound, he heard a ping.
"What...'i can't help with your asshole without consent but the bleeding I can'? I'm fucking bleeding out and your dad is making jokes about my lack of a comma. What a fucking asshole!"
He looked at Luna, who had slumped over in a defeated heap on the table, looking at him pitifully. With a frown, Stiles moved to her, suddenly feeling guilty she looked so dejected. "No, it's not your fault, you didn't know it was a vital vein location," He attempted at comforting her, sitting down at the table. "I'll be okay, all right? Don't look at me like that. You look like a sad little puppy. Wait, you are a sad little puppy. Come on now, just smile."
She gazed at him with those large green eyes, then moved to where his maimed hand was resting on the table. She laid flat on her stomach as she put her head on the bloody shirt. He would've objected for sanitary reasons if he hadn't been so dizzy from blood loss. "What are you doing, you crazy little creature?" It didn't occur to him that as she laid there, his pain was lifting even though the blood was still seeping. He heard the front door open and he heard the person walk evenly into the kitchen where he was.
"I told you she bit, what did you do?" Derek asked as he moved Luna off of Stiles arm, and then looked at it. "I'm going to have to do something to stop the bleeding."
"What are you going to do, cauterize the wound?" Stiles said skeptically, and Derek moved to grab a kitchen towel and pressed it on the wound. Extremely hard.
"No, I'm going to stop it with a towel. Do I look like I walk around with a cauterizing iron?" He asked, raising his eyebrow as he looked at Stiles. "You look like shit."
"I'm sorry, my blood loss diet isn't doing anything for my self image," Stiles said scathingly, looking at Luna as she looked at Derek with a frown. Derek stared at her with an authoritative presence, and she didn't dare move a muscle.
"She's usually better then this. I can't believe she went for a vein," He said with an almost baffled look on his face as he tied the kitchen rag around Stiles' wrist extremely tight. "It's letting up, but leave that on there. I'll go get Gramma, she'll be able to help more."
"Well she was looking out the window," He said tiredly as he stood up slowly, and then motioned to the nearby back door. "At the moon or something."
"Oh. You interrupted that. Yeah, I probably should have mentioned she has a thing," Derek said as he lifted Luna off the table, kissing the top of her head as she curled into his embrace. Stiles stared at Derek with a dead set stare.
"...what thing."
"Well, this thing where she likes moon gazing. You're not supposed to interrupt it, she'll eventually come out of it. It's like a baby trance."
"You left me with a werewolf baby and you didn't mention I'm not supposed to poke her when she's moon gazing?" Stiles remarked loudly, his voice tense. "You left that giant part out? Instead of telling me she gets moody with TV you failed to mention, 'oh by the way, my baby will tear your hand off if you interrupt her moon gazing'?"
Derek shrugged, giving an inconspicuous shrug. "Didn't think of it. It was light out when I left her."
"Oh. It wasn't light out. I get it. Next time, give me a damn manual, okay?" Stiles said as he started following Derek out of the room after he motioned him to move. Obviously he had detected Stiles wouldn't stop complaining, but obviously wanted him to see Gramma before he passed out. "Because apparently your definition of vital information wildly differs from my version. Because I probably wouldn't have left out the one thing that could've killed the babysitter tonight," He gripped the railing as they went up, his other hand to his chest.
"You're alive," Derek offered as some sort of optimistic gesture. Stiles glared at Derek's back.
"Barely. Asshole."