Another confrontation between Mr Stilinski and Derek is coming. It starts out somewhat awkward, but after a while it goes surprisingly well. Not great, but well. A call changes the whole scenario and Derek gets distracted. Allison and Scott are at the station to give their statement on what happened in the woods. Scott's answers starts a chain of events that ends up pretty bad.
When Isaac came back to the loft, it was empty and quiet. He entered his room, and then picked up his phone to discover that it was completely dead. He found the charger and plugged it in before he turned the phone on. Just as he was about to leave his room, he heard the sound of an incoming text. Puzzled by this, he went back and looked at it.
"Sry I havent kept in touch. :/ Need help. Erica left a few weeks ago 2 join Derek. Havent heard from her since. Tell me shes ok. Stupid me ws 2 proud 2 go back, but now I think I should. U think Derek will mind?"
It was from Boyd. It had been sent yesterday morning, which told Isaac that the guy had been alive and well only hours before his dead body was found. He wondered if things could have looked different if he'd gotten the text immediately. Isaac wondered if Boyd would still be alive if they had warned him about the Alphas.
He also wondered where Derek and Stiles could be. After the shit hit the fan last night, sheriff Stilinski could have come back and taken his son home. Isaac looked for something to eat as he pondered on calling Derek. He should probably tell the police about the text, but wanted to run it by Derek first.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Derek waited patiently outside the Stilinski house. He had no idea what would happen next, and it bothered him greatly. The events from this morning could turn everything upside down. As soon as the sheriff had digested Stiles' words, he'd insisted on taking him home. Allison and Lydia had silently withdrawn from the scene and left without a comment.
A couple of hours later, after being left alone in the loft, Derek got a text from Stiles. "He want's to talk to you, come over later." Not knowing what 'later' meant, he decided to just go, and now, he'd been sitting outside the house for almost two hours.
Ever so often, he'd exited the car and sniffed into the air. There were no indications that there were any werewolves nearby, so he got back in and tried to relax.
He was about to doze off when his phone rang. It was Isaac. When he learned the saddening news about Boyd, he tried to convince Isaac that it probably wouldn't have mattered. "According to the list, he was already a target. They planned to kill him. I'm sure they knew that he was heading back here before he sent that text."
Suddenly Derek realized that the list was still in his possession. He should give it back. The sheriff could get in trouble if evidence was missing. He dug it out of his pocket while he was still on the phone with Isaac. "It's not your fault, Isaac. Nothing you could have done would have changed this." Derek gave the boy a quick explanation on why he and Stiles wasn't there, which made Isaac even sadder. "Relax, Isaac. We'll figure it out. There are more important issues at hand."
As he looked up, Derek noticed that Stiles was standing by the window looking at him. He hurried to end the conversation with Isaac, and got out of the car. For a moment, they stared at each other before Stiles stepped away from the window. A few seconds later, the front door opened and Stiles came out. He smiled tentatively, and then he waved Derek over.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
If things had been awkward before, it reached a new level of awkward when Derek walked through the door. Stiles wanted to at least give him a hug, but with the sheriff sitting at the dining table watching, it felt weird.
"I was about to call you when I saw your car." Stiles tried his best to sound calm, but his insides were churning. "How long have you been sitting there?" He walked towards his dad, and gestured for Derek to follow.
When he pulled out a chair for Derek, the guy seemed reluctant to sit. A nod from the sheriff made him change his mind and as soon as he was seated, Stiles sat down also. Nobody volunteered to say anything. After several minutes of silence between the three of them, it became very uncomfortable.
Stiles swallowed hard before he cleared his throat. "I told him everything. Everything. I mean... everything I know." He drew his breath. "I mean about the werewolf stuff. He knows..."
Another round of awkward silence followed before his dad straightened himself up in his seat and stared at Derek. "What do you want with my son?" He scrunched his face as if he was in pain. "Are you guys..." The sheriff rubbed his forehead vigorously before he continued. "My son is not gay, you can't ..."
When Stiles realized that his dad was more concerned about his and Derek's relationship, he knew he had to intervene. "DAD! We can talk about that later. Can we concentrate on the fact that I'm threatened?"
Slowly, as if it was an instant replay, Stiles' dad looked at him before he again turned to Derek. "What do you want with my son?"
Stiles was about to intervene again, when Derek lifted his hand. "No Stiles, No!" He looked down for a second, before he lifted his head and sighed. "Stiles and I are kind of... we like each other, but we, he, we, it has nothing to do with the threat. He need's protection."
Stiles noticed that his dad got a little thrown off. The sheriff rubbed his forehead again. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut . "Are you two in a sexual relationship?" Stiles could see that Derek got startled by the direct question, but he managed to keep a straight face. He threw a glance at Stiles, and Stiles gave him the smallest head-shake he could manage, hoping Derek would get the point.
He squirmed in his seat. The embarrassment was almost unbearable. He had no idea what Derek would say, and got utterly surprised when he heard the guy's reply.
"No Sir. We are not. Maybe we will, but for now we're just... finding out." Derek seemed calm and collected as he looked down on his hands before he again turned to the sheriff. Stiles was in awe. That was the most convincing lie he'd ever heard. If he hadn't know any better, he'd easily have believed it himself. Derek continued. "But that does not matter, Stiles is in danger. He has to be protected. He's on the list, and he's defenseless without me, uh, us."
Stiles was pretty sure that his dad wanted to know more about this love-connection. After they arrived at the house, Stiles had done his best to avoid any questions about the particularities of the relationship. Every time the sheriff tried to bring it up, Stiles had effectively managed to avert the topic by revealing more and more about what really happened after the werwolves took Allison.
He'd also thrown in a few tidbits about the Argents and their involvement. That had been a wise choice, because for a moment, it had seemed like the sheriff had given up asking about Derek.
Shortly after that, his dad had rubbed his eyes and yawned before he got up. "This is a lot to digest. I need to... I'm tired." As he walked towards the stairs, the sheriff seemed like he was carrying a heavy burden. He'd turned his head slightly and stared at his son. "I can't deal with all this now, I need sleep. When I come back, you'll call Derek and get him over."
Stiles had sent the text, and had partially expected a reply. When that didn't happen, he pondered on calling, but as he sat down on the couch - phone in hand - he'd just fallen asleep.
When his dad eventually came downstairs, he'd repeated the demand. "Call Derek, now!" Stiles woke up instantly and had paced around for a bit to buy some time. He paused at the window as he found Derek's number on the phone. About to press 'call' he'd noticed the Camaro outside. Stiles watched Derek get out of the car before he ran to the door to let him in.
At the moment, Stiles could feel a headache coming on. He wanted to tell the truth, but knew it would be a bad idea. He felt that Derek was handling this well, and hoped that they could soon get back to talking about the rogue Alphas out there.
As Stiles got up from his seat to sit on the couch, the phone rang. Mr Stilinski hurried to grab it and while Stiles tried to get comfortable, he could see on his dad's face that he didn't get good news.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Scott and Allison got surprised when they discovered that Mr Stilinski wasn't at the station. They'd both hoped that he would be the one interviewing them. It didn't really matter. They knew what to say, and had perfected their story to make it more convincing.
Allison went in first and after giving her a quick hug, Scott found a seat and waited patiently. It took a surprisingly short time before she was back. She gave him a bright smile and and encouraging wink. "Easy, it was easy. I told them exactly what I saw, omitting the fact that Isaac and Stiles' dad were there."
It was true, she'd really come strolling through the woods when she stumbled on the body. That she was with Isaac, and the fact that Scott and Mr Stilinski was there already, had been easy to lie about.
They didn't get a chance to talk anymore before Scott was shown the way into the interview room. He was a little nervous. "Why were you out in the woods that late?" The officer went straight to business as soon as Scott's ass hit the seat.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under the stare, Scott shifted a little before he lifted his head. "Uh, I, we wanted some alone-time." After he'd taken a breath, he noticed that the police-officer gave him a smile. "Relax, I understand. Just continue."
He calmed down somewhat before he started ranting about his and Allison's relationship; how they broke up and got together again. He mentioned that their parents didn't approve and that they had to hide it somewhat.
After several minutes, he realized that the guy in front of him wasn't really interested in his love-life, but he was patiently waiting until Scott managed to shut up. "I see. And then you found the body, right?" He obviously tried to coach Scott back on track. "Uh, yeah. It was horrible. We wanted to run away."
The officer gave him another smile, and looked down on some papers in front of him. "And then, you called Mr Stilinski. Why not call 911?" Scott got a little thrown off by the smooth voice combined with a penetrating stare. "We, I, well, I know him. We freaked out. I don't know why. It was pure instinct."
The guy nodded and sat back. "Hm, did you notice anything about the body that you haven't mentioned yet? Anything odd or surprising?" He cocked his head and again, he had that ghost of a smile on his lips.
Scott had no idea what he was referring to. "No, I don't... except for the obvious mutilation... which was... I have no words." He covered his face with his hands. "And that I recognized him as Vernon Boyd... I don't know, can't think of anything else."
The officer collected his papers and was about to get up, making Scott sigh in relief. But then he scrunched his face and rubbed his chin. "You didn't happen to see a piece of paper?"
Scott furrowed his brows, and thought about it for a moment. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the scene. "Maybe..." He saw Boyd's body in his mind and recollected that he'd seen something white on the guy's chest. "There might have been. I'm not sure. I didn't get too close. I think, yeah, It could have been a piece of paper lying on his chest. Why?"
He didn't get an answer to the question. The officer looked sad as he again picked the papers up from the table. "Never mind. You can go now. We'll call you if we need more."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
As soon as the sheriff was off the phone, he walked straight to the liquor-cabinet and grabbed a bottle of Jack. He picked up two glasses and handed one of them to Derek. As he was about to pour the liquid into the glass, Derek covered it with his hand. "Thank you, Sir, but no, I'm driving."
The sheriff stared at him for a moment before he grabbed the glass again and filled it up. "Fuck that. You're drinking with me." He then filled the other glass and lifted it in a silent toast. "I screwed up. I'm off the investigation completely. I stole a piece of evidence."
Stiles had watched the two of them from his place on the couch. Now, he jumped up and stared at his dad. "You what?" He could still feel the lingering headache, but tried to ignore it as he stood up. "What piece of evidence?" Stiles watched as Derek got up an grabbed for something in his pocket. "This!" He threw an evidence bag on the table and sat down again.
Downing the drink in one gulp, the sheriff reached into his own pocket. "Yeah, and this." The slightly crumbled piece of paper landed on the table next to the other one. "I don't know why, I just, I just didn't want to involve Stiles. I didn't want them to know."
Derek looked up at Stiles with fondness mixed with concern. "He is involved regardless. It's my fault, but I will do my best to protect him."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Derek knew that getting drunk at this moment was not the best idea in the world. He tried to take it slow, but the sheriff kept urging him. Stiles was - for once - quiet and withdrawn. He was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and Derek had no problems understanding.
"So you and my son... but he's... he likes girls, doesn't he?" She sheriff's speech was a bit slurred after a few drinks. "I mean... he did." Derek had no idea what to say, he didn't know if the sheriff even expected any answers.
Derek cleared his throat, but before he got a chance to say anything, Mr Stilinski continued. "He is my son, my only son. He... I will love him regardless, it's just... weird." He lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip. "Maybe it's just a phase."
Derek noticed that Stiles had got up from the couch and now, he approached them. "Dad! You're making him uncomfortable. We are... we are exploring this option, and we..." Before Stiles could finish his dad slammed a hand on the table. "He should be uncomfortable. He' a werewolf, a predator. He's going after a young innocent boy. He should be ashamed."
At the word 'innocent', Derek noticed that Stiles blushed, but he didn't falter. "No, dad. He's a complete gentleman. He didn't lure me into anything. I... love him." Stiles' face turned pink again, and he looked away for a second. "When you get to know him, you'll see. He is a nice guy. The werewolf thing is just part of the package. He's a..." Derek could see that Stiles struggled not to laugh. "He's like a puppy."
Derek drew his breath and held it for a second as he let his gaze travel across the ceiling. He didn't know if he should be annoyed and angered by the comparison, or if he should just laugh it off. 'A puppy? Some nerve on that boy!' Derek decided to find an appropriate punishment for this later, when they were alone.
He had to chuckle a little to himself. It wouldn't surprise him if Stiles knew what he was doing when he used the word. The little smile on Stiles' face seemed to express that he was looking forward to this punishment with anticipation.
Suddenly the sheriff got up from his seat. "I need... We need some food." Derek and Stiles looked at each other. For a moment they had both forgotten about what was really the issue around the table. Clearly Mr Stilinski had forgotten too.
He stumbled towards the door, and Stiles was about to grab him. "You can't go out and get food now, you can't drive." The sheriff huffed. "I know! I just need some air. Order something." Stiles took a couple of steps back, and gave Derek a bright smile. "I think he'll come around," he whispered as he reached for the phone, "What do you want to eat?"
The sheriff fumbled a little with the lock before he flung the door open and stepped outside. In a split second Derek realized that he'd been too careless. He had let himself be numbed by the alcohol, abandoning his role as a guardian.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The guy moved towards the house, making sure he had the wind against him. He sniffed into the air as he leaned on the wall next to the door. The unmistakable smell of an Alpha was trickling into his nostrils. Derek Hale was clearly on the premises. The more the faint scent of a human reached his nose - and after concentrating hard - he determined that there were only two people in the house.
The guy knew that even if Stilinski was just a human, they still slightly outnumbered him; so he wanted to wait for the right opportunity before he made his move. Knowing that the Hale-guy could smell him if he wasn't careful he stepped away and hid between the bushes.
He could hear whispers from inside, but was too far away to distinguish the words. After a half hour, he heard footsteps and soon, the front door opened. The foliage was covering his view somewhat, but the human scent hit him in the face, making him take the chance.
He leaped up and dived towards the man in the doorway. He was soon on top of him and as he dug his claws into the guys flesh, he realized that he'd made a horrible mistake. This was not the Stilinski-boy. This was a middle-aged man. The plan had been to kill him swiftly, but the few seconds it took to get over this screw-up was enough to destroy that plan completely.
The man screamed in pain and within seconds, Derek Hale rushed through the door followed by a skinny character. Before the werewolf managed to react, he was punched in the face and as he landed, Derek's hand was on his throat. The young boy was hovering over them, and just before he got his throat ripped out he knew what had gone wrong.
Stiles Stilinski was so induced with the scent of his mate, that he barely emitted a scent of his own. That's why he could only detect two people. He never got a chance to tell anybody; moments later, he was forever silenced.