Isaac and Alex do a little 'construction' of their own. Melissa and Mr Stilinski's have dinner date. Scott is moving furniture, and the house starts looking like a home. Stiles helps Alex with the food for his and Scott's birthday party. Mr Stilinski has news about Alex' mom. Scott and Allison get a surprise.

The fact that Allison didn't want to tell her dad about the pregnancy yet became a problem for Alex and Isaac. After they learned the truth, Alex wanted to fix up the room next to hers and Scott's. It wasn't easy without Chris finding out, so they had to wait until he left the house before they could get anything done.

Without telling anybody, they'd acquired paint and wallpaper, hiding the cost in the food budget. They knew that Derek would find out eventually, but hopefully they'd be done by then. They weren't even sure if they could actually pull it off, but they had learned a few tricks from watching Chris.

The painting was done in one night; they'd decided on a light green color for the bottom part of the room. Isaac turned out to be quite the artist, and he'd spent the next night painting flowers here and there. The wallpaper was a bit more of a struggle. It was sky blue with white clouds, and Alex was almost in tears when he realized that they had to align those little clouds to make it look good. It took a few trials and fails before they got the hang of it, and for a while they weren't sure if they had enough wallpaper.

When it was done, they soon discovered that they'd need something to divide the walls horizontally to cover up the division between the blue sky and the green meadow below. The floor was also an issue. It was practically finished, but the work on it had been abandoned a couple of weeks ago, in favor of the rooms that needed to be done first.

Derek had decided that the two small bedrooms upstairs could wait; they could easily fix them up after they'd moved in.

Scratching their heads in frustration, they finally decided to let Derek in on their little secret. It wasn't easy to catch him alone, but with a little white lie, Isaac managed to get him to come upstairs while Alex served the others lunch. Knowing that they weren't too skilled, he hoped that Derek wouldn't be mad at them for taking this matter into their own hands.

Derek seemed baffled, but he was definitely not angry. He pointed out a few minor mistakes, but all in all he seemed thrilled by what they had accomplished.

When Derek decided to stay behind that evening, Stiles was the only one who questioned it. Isaac didn't know what Derek told him, but he'd left with a smile on his face, and a promise to bring breakfast in the morning.

"I told him that we were working on a surprise for Scott and Allison. He was very curious, but I promised to show him tomorrow." Derek rolled his eyes. "It means that we have a lot of work to do tonight."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The dinner-date went much better than the other two attempts. When Melissa revealed that Allison was pregnant, Mr Stilinski had almost swerved off the road. He'd wondered how the rest of the evening would go with this hanging over her head.

It turned out that it wasn't a problem. After swearing him to secrecy she'd told him the whole story, and after that, the conversation went like a breeze. She was clearly concerned about this, but she'd told him that she was happy to be able to share her worries with somebody.

Knowing that this was not going to be a concern for him in the near future – maybe not ever – Mr Stilinski discovered that it made him a little sad. Should he never experience the joy of being a grandparent, or was this gay thing Stiles had going on just a phase? He decided not to think about it. Stiles was still young, and so was Derek.

On Friday, they were both invited to Stiles and Scott's little birthday dinner. Mr Stilinski was excited about meeting Melissa again. He really liked her; there was a real friendship in the making, but he didn't know if anything more was going to evolve from that.

It wasn't like he was desperate or anything. Ever since his wife died, he'd dived into his work. Taking care of Stiles had been his main objective, besides that. Even if he'd been on a few dates over the years, he was never really interested.

Things looked different now. Stiles was growing up. The last couple of weeks he'd discovered new sides of his son. He seemed to have matured significantly lately. Mr Stilinski also suspected that Stiles had stopped taking his medicine, but he was still less hyper than ever.

It could of course be a misconception. He hadn't spent a lot of time with Stiles over the summer, and it could be that all the hard work at the house had mellowed him somewhat. Regardless of that, he had to admit that Derek seemed to have a positive impact on Stiles.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Scott had borrowed Dr Deaton's truck to move furniture. They weren't going to move in right now, but little by little the house started to look like a home. They'd practically emptied the loft. Derek wasn't too keen on keeping the old couch, but for the time being it'd have to do.

The old table they found in the Argent's basement got painted white, and it fit perfectly in the kitchen. It wasn't big enough for a dinner party, but he and Derek were going to pick up a brand-new table and chairs for the dining room. It was big enough to fit ten people.

During the week, they had all been around looking for old things they could use. Thrift shops were visited and friends were asked, and at the moment, Scott had a truck full of all sorts of nicknacks: Several pictures and paintings, a little shelf for the hall and a multitude of throw rugs and lamps. There were also a few things for the kitchen that Alex had picked out.

Lydia's parents had invited them over to check out their basement, and it turned out to be a goldmine. The Martins had told hem that they could take whatever they wanted, and when Derek tried to pay them, they'd just laughed it off.

The bookshelf and the big wardrobe had to wait until they had another vehicle. Deaton's truck wasn't big enough, but Scott and Derek were going there later to pick up as much as they could of the other things they'd found there.

Derek could possibly have furnished the house with only brand new things; they all knew he had the money, but there had been consensus among the others to not let him do that. They wanted to put their own mark on it, and with limited funds, second hand was the only way to go.

It was nice having this chore. It took a lot of time and Scott was happy to be kept busy with it. Every waking moment he thought about the baby growing in Allison's belly; their baby. As soon as he slowed down, worries about the future was threatening to take over.

Part of him was extremely happy about it, but he couldn't help thinking about the poor timing. He would become a father before High-school was over, and he could see the plans for further education flying out the window.

He would have to get a steady job in order to provide for his little family, and even if they had cheap living quarters – Derek would not accept any rent – there would still be expenses connected with having a baby that he couldn't expect anyone else to pay for.

Allison was the smart one. Scott felt that it would be better if she could pursue a college degree. Being a kept man wasn't in his plans for the future either, but he had to face the facts and be realistic.

When he came to the house, Chris met him in the front yard to help him unload the truck. Scott wondered how this man would deal with the fact that he was going to become a grandfather. Allison hadn't told him yet, and Scott feared the worst. That his mom knew already was another issue. He'd avoided her for the last couple of days, and as far as he could tell from the short messages on the phone, she didn't know that Allison had told him about the pregnancy.

It couldn't be easy for her either, and it scared him to have to talk to her about it. The birthday dinner that he'd looked forward to since he and Stiles agreed on doing it this way, didn't seem so appealing anymore.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They had added a couple more guests. They couldn't just not invite Chris; he'd been working on the house more than anyone else, and it would be rude not to include him. Lydia and Allison were back to being BFFs, so it was natural to invite her also.

A few hints from Alex about making this an even bigger event got turned down. Both Stiles and Scott was adamant about keeping it small. Scott had even suggested that they'd cancel the whole thing; he was extremely worried that someone would slip up and reveal the little secret that was growing inside Allison's uterus.

Knowing that almost all the attendees were informed already made it a legitimate concern, but Stiles had managed to calm him down. Allison had called Melissa to make sure that she'd keep a straight face, and Lydia had also promised to pretend that she was clueless.

Alex was sure that it would work out. The only person he didn't fully trust was himself, so he decided to try to avoid getting into a conversation with anybody.

He was a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to show Scott and Allison the nursery tonight, but the time would come. In the Martin's basement Derek had found an old crib, and with Lydia's help they had managed to get it to the house secretly. During the night, Isaac had fixed it up and painted it before they moved it into the room.

Stiles had offered to help him with the food, and even if he thought it wouldn't be fair to the birthday boy, Alex had excepted. The hopes of opening his own little restaurant sometime in the future seemed less like a pipe-dream when Stiles showed so much interest in this.

He knew that Derek would give Stiles anything he wanted, and if Alex could get Stiles excited about the concept, it could happen. He felt bad for having these thoughts. Going behind Derek's back in this conniving way didn't sit well with him. He wanted to be honest and sincere now. Life on the streets was over, and he didn't have to pretend anymore.

He decided to come clean about it shortly, but until they were in the house living like a family, he didn't really believe his own luck. He'd never thought he'd find true love. He'd never thought that he would ever see his mother again either, but that was also about to happen.

That he had a sister had still not sunk in properly, but as days went by, he'd learned to embrace that too. Maybe he'd never get to know her, but the resentment he felt towards her in the beginning had vanished. She was just an innocent pawn in whatever game her parents had played.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Everything was set, and Stiles was excited. He'd volunteered to help out with the food to avoid having to deal with the furniture. During the hours he spent with Alex in the kitchen, he'd gotten a real feel for it though. He didn't see himself as chef-material, but it was fun working with Alex.

He knew that the guy had a dream about opening a restaurant. 'A little Italian place', if Stiles didn't remember it incorrectly. With the skills he had, it didn't seem impossible, even if Alex himself kept saying that his cooking wasn't restaurant quality.

He'd need funding of course, and possibly somebody who had business-school, but Stiles could actually see it happen sometime in the future.

As he tried his best to follow Alex' instructions, his thoughts drifted towards Allison and Scott. There was nothing shocking about teen-pregnancies; Allison wasn't the first in their school, but this hit extremely close to home.

Stiles had never really thought about what happened with the couple of girls he'd heard rumors about before. He didn't know them, but his own take on it had been that they were careless. He felt bad for it now. Those girls hadn't done it alone. The guys they'd been with never got targeted, even if they too had to have been equally careless.

That his friends had gotten themselves into this situation was surprising. Stiles knew that they took precautions; Scott had told him that. When they got back together after the little hiatus this spring, Allison had started on the pill, but something must have gone wrong. Stiles was pretty sure that they hadn't done it on purpose.

Part of him was excited about it, but he wondered how their life would be with a baby in the house. Allison's and Scott's plans for the future would definitely change. It would possibly impact the rest of them also, but not in the same way.

Indulged in his own thoughts, he suddenly got a hard rap on his shoulder. "Don't forget to stir, and please turn down the heat. It's boiling too hard." Alex shook his head and sighed. "It'll be okay. You were far away for a moment, weren't you?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Mr Stilinski came to the dinner-party with news about Alex mom. There wasn't going to be a trial. Her state appointed defense lawyer had gone out on a limb for her, and managed to turn the murder charge into voluntary manslaughter.

That she'd done it to save her own daughter was the main factor, but she'd also showed remorse and been very forthcoming during the interviews. She received a ten year sentence, and had been transferred to another prison where she would serve her time.

He offered to come with Alex to visit her; he'd already sent in the paperwork, and they could go there as soon as next week. He'd also made some inquiries into his sister's whereabouts, and through different contacts, he'd managed to organize a meeting with her also.

Allison was extremely happy about the news. Not so much for Alex' sake, but this meant that they'd have something to talk about during dinner that didn't involve her and Scott. She felt instantly bad for thinking like that, but after a short conversation with Alex, she discovered that he shared her point of view. He'd been worried that he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut, so this was a gift for him as well.

That he wasn't sure what to do about it, was another issue, but Allison tried to encourage him to go through with both meetings.

Her worries weren't completely stilled by this, but it turned out that she didn't have anything to worry about. Everybody managed to shy away from any 'dangerous' subjects, and her dad left the party just as clueless as he was before. He'd excused himself before dessert, because he had a late business meeting.

Allison didn't completely relax; Mr Stilinski didn't need to know either, so she hoped that everybody would still avoid mentioning anything.

As Lydia helped Alex and Isaac clear the table, Melissa came over. "Did you tell him yet?" She whispered as she threw a quick peek at Scott. Allison nodded. "They all know. I decided, uh, we decided that they deserved to know."

Melissa sighed. "Good. So everybody here is informed. Good." She was about to walk over to Scott, but Allison stopped her. "Mr Stilinski, he..." She didn't continue. Melissa grabbed both her hands and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I had to... I needed someone to confide in, so I told him over dinner the other day."

Allison shifted her gaze between the two adults. It really didn't bother her much that Stiles' dad knew; she was more curious about how it happened. "Dinner? When did the two of you start having dinner together?" The blush on Melissa's face told her that she wasn't the only one who'd been carrying a secret. "Good for you. I won't say anything." She smiled and gave Melissa a wink just as Derek came over.

"We have a surprise for you. I mean, eh, Isaac and Alex have." He grabbed Allison's hand and puller her towards the stairs. "Scott! Come on." He gestured for Scott to follow. Isaac and Alex was standing half way up already and seemed a little impatient.

As soon ass they were all upstairs, Isaac presented a key, and stuck it in the lock of the room next to hers and Scott's. "Ta-da!" He flung the door open and stepped aside letting them look into the room. What she saw brought tears to her eyes, and as she stepped inside, it all became very real.

The fetus inside her wasn't really a person yet, but staring at the crib and the white clouds on the walls, it suddenly hit her. In a few months time they'd have a baby. A little person that would depend on them for everything. A live, breathing human being who'd eventually sleep in this room, staring at those same clouds.

Allison could hear the chatter behind her, and she could feel Scott's hand in hers, but the emotions that ran though her canceled out everything else. She started crying. She didn't know if it was happy tears or not, but it felt good to just let go. It was probably about time.

Scott wrapped his arms around her, and she put her head on his shoulder. It didn't take long before she felt other hands caressing her and soon, she was the center of group hug. Others were sniffling a little also, and it threatened to be too much for her to handle, but then most of them let go and left the room.

With Scott's arm over her shoulder they walked over to the crib. It was empty; there wasn't even a mattress in there, but it didn't matter. Scott sighed heavily and threw a quick peek at her. "It's scary, isn't it?" He drew his breath again. "But you know, with friends like this, we can handle anything."