Allison is thinking about what is going on inside her, and decides that she needs to tell somebody. It's not going to be Scott's mom. Melissa and Mr Stilinski's 'date' goes down the drain. Stiles thinks about what will happen when the moon is full, and he believes that he can handle the transition without restraints. He also discovers that his wishes for the future includes something that he barely dares to wish for. Derek and Isaac have a surprise for Alex and Periwinkle. Allison takes Derek on a little ride, and they have a long and serious conversation about the future of the pack.
What is life? A string of more or less memorable moments interrupted by an occasional decent into oblivion. We want it all to be exciting and unforgettable, but looking back, you realize that the moments you cherish the most are those quiet times when you are with your loved ones sharing a meal or a laugh, and sometimes a good cry. The memories of great adventures and thrilling excitement are just like the drizzle of herbs on your spaghetti dish. It looks good, tastes good, but it can't still the hunger. They add some flavor, and lift a otherwise boring meal into an excellent dish, but they are not crucial for our survival.
Allison lied in bed staring into the ceiling. She was beginning to realize that everything that had happened lately were just small drops in an ocean of trivialities. What she was facing at the moment meant so much more, and was so life-changing that a weaker person could possibly cave under the burden. The past was the past, and the future held something that she'd never even thought about before.
Okay, so she had thought about it, but not as something that would happen in the foreseeable future. She didn't go to the hospital last night. It wasn't necessary. The look on Mrs McCall's face when she held her hand in Derek's living room was an eyeopener. Allison knew exactly what kind of 'poison' that ran through her veins.
She felt extremely stupid for not realizing this earlier. If she'd done that, she would never have shared her concerns with anybody. She knew she had to do some damage control to make sure that they didn't pursue this any further.
She'd halfway expected a call from Melissa, but so far it hadn't happened. Scott had briefly asked how she was doing, and had easily accepted it when she told him that she was fine. Derek and the others had obviously not told him about the conversation at the loft. He was luckily too busy at the clinic to actually have time to spend with her at the moment.
Her dad didn't even know about the problems she'd had. She wanted to keep it that way, but worried that sooner or later Derek – or one of the others – would feel a need to air their concerns and blurt it out accidentally.
She knew that she needed to talk to Derek. The pack-leading-trivialities would definitely get second chair to this. The two of them had had issues int the past, and they hadn't exactly been best friends, but recent events had changed that. At the moment, she felt that he was the only one she could trust with this. He was the only one who could possibly give her sane advice.
Melissa could probably do that too, but Allison really didn't want to face her at the moment. She prided herself in being bold and fearless for the most part, but meeting Scott's mom right now terrified her.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
If the breakfast they'd shared had been awkward, the lunch yesterday had topped that big time. Her master-plan had failed completely. It was not Mr Stilinski's fault, and she could definitely not blame the food. The location had not been the problem either. Being in the park had actually saved her from total embarrassment.
Melissa had been unable to participate much in any conversation the man had tried to engage her in. Her mind had constantly wandered off. She was thinking about Allison's delicate little problem. If she was right – she was pretty sure she was – this would not go away any time soon.
During the lunch, she'd pondered on sharing her worries with Mr Stilinski. Partly because she felt a need to talk to another adult about it, but also to try to save this sorry excuse for a date. After almost an hour, she knew that an attempt to salvage it was futile. Mr Stilinski had done his best. He'd told her about Alex' mom, and she'd tried to seem interested. It was a sad and disturbing story, but she'd only managed to throw in a few words here and there.
Packing up the leftovers – it was a lot – she'd apologized to him for her absentmindedness. She'd given him a lame excuse about a problem at work. She knew he didn't believe her, but he was a gentleman and didn't question it.
She didn't know what she felt about him, but he was handsome and funny, and she really liked to spend time with him. Getting to know him without their kids around had been nice, and she'd been open to see where this was going. Now, she'd probably ruined that, and it was kind of sad.
They parted with a quick hug, but with no plans for another meeting.
She'd expected Allison to come by the hospital later, but that had not happened. Melissa didn't want to call her, but knew she needed to talk with the girl soon. For once, she'd actually hoped that Allison would spend the night at their house, but when she got home from work, Scott was alone in his room.
-o-o-o-o-o-
There was still a couple of days left till the full moon. Stiles had felt an itch in his gums and a pressure under the fingernails for a while already. He knew that excitement and anger could force he wolf out ahead of time, but there hadn't really been much of it lately. When he reached a climax during sex, he could feel even more, but Derek had done his best to talk him down gingerly.
When Derek, or Scott, or anybody else for that matter, hadn't said anything about how to deal with the upcoming event, Stiles was not going to remind them. He felt almost completely in control of himself; he was not even close to having the struggles Scott had been going through before his first full moon.
Stiles was sure that Derek would know what to do, and that he would be able to subdue him without the chains and the cuffs. It wasn't like he was going to attack anybody. The others were way stronger than him, so it would probably be okay.
They had been at the house and put in some hours, and as long as Derek and Dave didn't work in any close proximity of one another, it all went fine. Derek had basically stayed outside, trying to finish the outside paneling, while Dave, for the most part, had kept his ass inside.
Alex and Isaac had been painting; Chris and Allison worked on her and Scott's room, while Stiles helped out wherever he was needed. Scott had also chipped in, mostly acting as Mouth's handyman.
The 'investigation' into Allison's problems had fallen apart. She'd explained to Derek that it was probably just a stomach flu. Stiles remembered what Derek had said about werewolves getting sick, and he did question it. "I guess it's rare, but you know..." Derek's reply had been suspicious, but Allison had looked fine for the last couple of days, so it wasn't really an issue anymore.
Stiles had been quite curious when Derek left to take a ride with Allison the other night, but he hadn't asked so much about it. He was pretty sure it had to do with the leadership of the pack, and he just had to hope that the two of them would come to an agreement that suited everybody.
It wasn't like him to let things just slide by like this. The old Stiles would have done his own research and pursued it till the end. He realized that he'd been extremely self-adsorbed lately. He didn't really blame himself; the bite would change his life significantly, but he was still Stiles.
The feeling of loneliness hadn't left him, but it was easier to handle now. His body and mind were adjusting to this new reality, and he could feel that he was slowly getting himself back. That Scott was too busy to come by was a problem. Stiles really missed his friend, but he knew that Scott's reasons were legitimate. The clinic was packed at the moment.
Being a werewolf wasn't so different from being a human. He could do the same things; he could hang with his friends and have fun the same way as before. As a bonus, he also knew that the others would look at him as a real pack-member. They had all accepted him earlier, but now he was one of them for real.
When he found Alex' ring on the counter that morning, it occurred to him that he hadn't even congratulated Isaac and Alex properly after what could be perceived as an engagement. He'd almost forgotten what happened during the last few hours of the party. He'd been quite drunk, and with the head trauma he suffered when Troy threw him towards that tree, the end of that evening was a little blurry.
He looked at the ring again. Alex had obviously taken it off while he was cooking and forgot to put it back on. Stiles suddenly remembered how he'd felt when he saw the two of them cuddled up together by the fire. For the first time since he and Derek got together, Stiles had realized that he wanted that. He wanted a real commitment; not only a vague promise and a knowledge that Derek was in it for the long haul.
He knew that Derek didn't fully trust that their relationship would last a lifetime; humans didn't necessarily mate for life, but werewolves did. That shouldn't be an issue anymore. Stiles had felt the bond strengthen over these almost two weeks. What Derek and he shared was now solid and unbreakable; a commitment stronger than any ring or legal documents could provide.
Maybe he was old fashioned, maybe he was a hopeless romantic; it didn't matter. Regardless of this invisible bond, Stiles wanted more. He wanted proposal and confetti. He wanted to celebrate their bond one way or another.
He could of course just ask. He could take matters into his own hands and pop the question himself, but it didn't sit well with him. He was a little afraid that Derek would blow him off and repeat that they were together for life regardless, but the main reason for his hesitance was that he wanted Derek to initiate this.
"You're such a girl!" He uttered loudly to himself, but felt instantly that it was kind of sexist to even think like that. Traditionally, it was the man who asked, but in this modern society it shouldn't matter. If they were two men, it should definitely not matter.
Even so; Stiles wanted pomp and circumstance, he wanted sappy promises, and he wanted Derek to step up to the plate. Thinking about the future, he could actually see himself staring into Derek's eyes uttering the magic words: 'I do'.
Maybe not next week; not even this year, but sometime in the foreseeable future, he wanted the celebration that came with the commitment he and Derek shared.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Isaac was very excited when Alex came back to the house with lunch for them all. He and Derek had pulled the almost finished doghouse from the backyard as surprise for him. It didn't go as planned. Alex didn't seem the least bit happy about it.
"A doghouse? So what you're saying is that Peri has to sleep outside?" Alex stared at Derek angrily. "I'm not sure I want to move in here." He sat down on the porch and nuzzled his face into the dogs fur. "Poor thing. Uncle Derek is being mean."
Derek rolled his eyes. "That's not what this means. I thought you'd be happy." He came over and bent down to pat Periwinkle. "It was meant as a nice gesture. A little shelter for when he is outside." Alex looked up at him. "Oh, so it's not..? You didn't mean..?"
Isaac had to laugh, earning a small frown from Alex. "Exactly! We...uh, well I didn't do too much, but this is just... Derek doesn't want Peri to actually live in it."
Alex looked at the doghouse again. "So what you're saying is that... Uh, it's just a shelter?" He slowly turned his head and threw a peek at Derek. Derek nodded. "It was just a fun thing to do. Look at it."
Again Alex turned his gaze towards the tiny building. Isaac could see that his mate's eyes lit up as he assessed it. "Oh, it's so cute. I'm sorry. It's very nice. I'm so sorry that I... It's beautiful."
Beautiful was probably not the right word to use. The little house was not particularly pretty, but from a distance, it had it's charm.
The last couple of days, whenever Alex was at the loft to cook for them, Isaac and Derek had used the scrap material to construct a small replica of the Hale-house. The scale wasn't particularly accurate, and the windows were only painted on, but with a bit of imagination, it was possible to see the resemblance.
It was Isaac's idea, but Derek had done most of the work. As soon as the outside paneling was done, he had to have something to occupy himself with outside the house. It was a well known fact the he and Dave didn't get along very well.
Derek had eagerly embraced the task because he wanted to be there and oversee the progress without having to go inside. The work had been kind of sloppy, but Isaac prided himself with the meticulous paintwork that made it come out pretty good.
The little doghouse wasn't completely waterproof when they decided to drag it out from the backyard to show Alex, but Derek had promised to fix the roof as soon as possible.
Alex walked over and sat the dog down in front of it. Peri stuck his nose inside, but didn't enter. He paced a little back and forth in front of it sniffing it before he lifted his leg and peed on the corner of it. "I guess he'd claiming it." Alex chuckled and tried to guide the dog towards the entrance again.
It took a while before Periwinkle actually went inside. They could see him walk around in there. When his head appeared in the opening again he emitted a small yap, before he just slumped down with half his body on the outside.
"I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to be so unappreciative." Alex came over to Isaac and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I think he likes it." He looked at Derek before he darted over and hugged him. "Sorry, Derek. I like it. Periwinkle likes it. It's all good, right?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
When Allison called the morning after she'd been there and asked if he wanted to take a ride with her, Derek had been sure that she wanted to talk about the pack. He'd made an effort to make everybody believe that he was fine with the current situation, and that the ball was in Allison's corner now.
It wasn't quite true. His opinion mattered. If he wanted to fight tooth and nail to keep his position in the pack, there was a possibility, but the outcome wasn't set in stone. If the pack had been left without a leader when he chose to spend his powers on easing Stiles' pains, he would have become an Alpha again, by default. Maybe not easily, but it would have happened.
The way Allison handled the situation that night made her rise up and claim the position as a natural. She would have to step down if Derek wanted it back, unless he decided to fight her for it. Derek did not see that happen. He didn't want this to go sour, but deep down he really wanted her to give up the pack.
On the phone, she'd mentioned that she was feeling fine and that she didn't want them to check for poison. She also wanted him to promise not to tell Scott any of this. "Just make sure Stiles doesn't say anything."
What she'd told him while she drove around Beacon Hills that evening with Derek riding shotgun, wiped every other concern of the map for a moment. The fact that she hadn't been poisoned was relieving though. When tears started to run down her cheeks, she pulled over and rubbed her eyes. "Can I do this?" She peeked at Derek through her fingers as she sniffled a little.
Derek didn't really know what to say. Part of him was happy about this, but he didn't know if Allison was, so he tried to keep a straight face. "Of course you can. You're strong. I'm sure you can handle anything, and this is not the end of the world."
She shrugged as she did her best to not smear the mascara anymore than she'd done already. "I don't want to... How can I lead this pack now. I don't think I want to." Her voice was steadier now, but she still seemed a little emotional. Derek new that these news shouldn't necessarily prevent her from being a good leader, but he didn't want to mention it. "I can do it. I should step up."
Allison looked at him curiously. "How? I'm sorry to say this, but you seem to get weaker. How can you..." She shook her head. "If you say so. I guess you know more about this than me." With a huff she turned the ignition key and got the car back on the road. "If there's no other way, I'll be there for the pack, but if..."
Derek put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Where there's a will there is a way. I don't know what will happen, but if you're sure you want to step down..." He cocked his head and looked at her. Allison kept her eyes on the road; she seemed to be thinking hard. "I want to. I don't think I can handle all of this. I am a strong leader; I can help you, but... It's your pack."
After a few minutes of silence, she turned to Derek briefly. "You're weakness is increasing. I can feel it. How is this going to work?" They were back at the loft now, and Allison parked. Derek grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. "We'll just have to wait and see. My heritage is powerful. The bloodline is strong. It has to work."
With a promise of not telling anybody about the conversation, Derek gave her a quick hug before he exited the car. "I'll just tell them that you're fine now, and that we've ruled out poison." He shrugged. "I'll come up with something."
Allison had seemingly been back to her normal self again after that. With the knowledge he had, he could still sense her concerns, but for the last couple of days she'd managed to smile and laugh probably fooling everybody else to think that nothing was bothering her.
They both knew that this secret couldn't be kept forever, but Derek was not going to push her. For the time being he decided to act like a friend or a big brother, and just support her as best as he could.