Alex and Mr Stilinski venture out on a road-trip that could possibly change Alex' life. It's Almost a week after the birthday party, and Derek has still not given Stiles the real gift, but it's time. The night before, Stiles and his dad have gone through his old room. An old memory changes Stiles' view on himself. Alex meets family, and it's both good and bad. Derek brings Stiles to the loft for some one-on-one time.

The processing time for being allowed to visit a prisoner, was normally much longer. Mr Stilinski's position and his long list of acquaintances in the police, prison, and the court system had decreased that time significantly.

Without Alex' knowledge he'd contacted the warden – a former classmate from the police academy – to make sure that Sonya actually wanted to see her son.

Pulling strings in all directions, filling out forms on Alex' behalf, and spending countless hours on the phone had finally payed off. The only thing Alex had to do to be able to meet his mother was to provide his signature and a valid ID.

Locating and arranging a meeting with his sister had been a tad easier, but there were a few hitches there as well. The girl knew that she had a brother, but she seemed to believe that he was dead. Mr Stilinski also didn't know if Alex actually wanted to see her, so the inquiries had been a little conditioned by that.

Another little tug of war was fought before the case worker agreed to let Mr Stilinski and Alex meet the little girl. It would happen in a park, and the girl was not going to be told beforehand. Alex got thorough instructions on how to behave when they met her, an he was perfectly fine with keeping his identity hidden. They still didn't know if he could actually have a relationship with her.

It was a strange and unusual road trip they ventured out on. Mr Stilinski didn't really know Alex that well, but he seemed like a nice fellow. Spending so much time with him alone could still be a challenge.

It turned out to be an unnecessary worry. There was no awkward silence. Alex was very open an honest about himself, and most of the almost four hour drive to their first stop, he'd kept the conversation going. He wasn't ranting or anything. In between the little tidbits he shared, he was quiet for a while, or he just hummed quietly to an occasional song on the radio. He also answered Mr Stilinski's few questions, and sometimes he threw in a joke or two.

He was clearly a little nervous, but he managed to keep himself composed the whole way.

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

Derek was still a little embarrassed about the gift. He'd made plans for something totally different, and up to the last minute before the dinner party, he'd had been quite determined. As the guests arrived, he realized that he had to postpone that. He wanted to be alone with Stiles for that specific present. He was happy that he had something else lined up, and decided to wait until they had moved in.

Even if Stiles seemed happy about the new game-console and the couple of games to go with it, it sill felt like a cop-out. With Mr Stilinski and Chris' help, he'd created a kind of game-room upstairs. The hall widened out between the two biggest bedrooms where they had initially planned to have a sort of library. It was still doable, but Derek thought it would be nice to have a place to play video-games.

Chris had built a shelf to fit the TV and all the games. Derek had smuggled the old consoles and the rest of the gaming gear over from the loft, and set it up. Stiles' dad had been asking about what to get his son; there was no wish-list, and was happy when Derek suggested a TV for gaming.

It was a tough sell after they had showed Scott and Allison the nursery; everybody got quite emotional, and it took a while before Stiles was even interested in opening any of his presents.

As the soon-to-be parents eventually came downstairs, Alex had saved the day by putting out snack-foods and served umbrella drinks. "No alcohol for the mama." He handed Allison a drink. "Just a virgin Margarita for you."

Scott was still a little out of it, and didn't really manage to show much enjoyment for his gifts. He'd already got a few on his actual birthday, so there weren't so many for him there; everybody seemed to understand that he had other things on his mind.

It was clear that Stiles had expected something else from Derek, but he was excited and wanted to try it all out immediately. When everybody approved, he managed to get Scott and Isaac with him to play. The rest of the party watched for a little while, but then they'd retracted downstairs again.

All in all, it had been a nice party. The food was excellent – as usual – and everybody was satisfied, except for Derek.

Ever since then, Derek had had this creepy feeling of not measuring up. There had not been any mention of it; it wasn't like the others knew what went on in his mind, but there was something intangible in the atmosphere.

The last few days, they had all been busy moving in furniture; decorating the house, and working on a few details here and there to complete it. Alex had pulled out the sewing machine to hem some curtains, but had to abandon it for a couple of days to go visit his mom. Everybody was of course extremely curious about how that would go, but the move kept them occupied.

School would start next week, and they wanted to be settled by then. Attempting to enroll Alex had not gone so well; he had never attended high-school, and would need some kind of assessment test before he could start. Dr Deaton's sister worked part time as a guidance counselor, and promised to look into it.

Trying to keep himself busy with all these things, Derek managed to push all the negative thoughts away for a while. It worked only partially, but Allison was the only one who'd picked up on it. She'd pulled him aside at one point and asked him how he was doing. He didn't really want to tell her; it was just too hard to put into words.

"Just show them that you can be a leader. I'll back you up." She'd patted his back and given him a smile before she walked away again. Without him saying a word she'd guessed what he was struggling with, and he knew she was right.

He had to step up and show them that he wasn't afraid of the commitment it entailed to be a strong leader. He had to be bolder and braver than ever before; he had to put his heart on the line.

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

Stiles looked forward to a calm and quiet evening. He'd spent last night with his dad, packing up his room at the Stilinski house. Most of the furniture would still be there, but he needed the rest of his clothes and a few other private belongings.

It had been nice. His dad had taken all this quite well, and they'd had actually had fun digging through the stuff. Memorabilia from his childhood came to light, and some of it had been somewhat embarrassing.

A little notebook from first grade with love poems dedicated to Lydia gave them both a good laugh. The calendar from 2007 with half naked male models was not as fun to find with his dad hovering over him. He'd totally forgotten about it, but as soon as he saw it, the memory of how and why he acquired it came back.

He'd been at a friend's house to do homework, and while snooping around in the living room alone, he'd found it in the bottom of a pile of magazines. The friend – Aaron or something like that – had an older sister, and it belonged to her. It was obviously a present. On the front page someone had written: 'Happy birthday, Angelica.'

Stiles had gotten a strange feeling as he looked at the pictures. When Aaron came back he'd hurried to stuff it in his backpack, so his friend wouldn't catch him with it. He'd never intended to steal it, but he didn't get a chance to put it back.

He'd flipped through it a few times, but guilt and embarrassment had forced him to hide in the back of his closet for years.

In hindsight, Stiles realized that if he'd been more perceptive of his own feelings back then, a lot of questions would have been answered. It wasn't until Derek showed up that those same reactions came back. When he hid that calendar never to look at it again, he'd tucked away his gayness at the same time.

Today, his dad had left to go with Alex. They wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and in the meantime, the rest of the housemates tried to make the new house a home. Derek had rented a U-haul to get the rest of the furniture, and in Alex' absence, Melissa had volunteered to come over to cook for them.

Isaac and Alex' room was done already, so Isaac helped Allison and Scott, while Stiles fixed up his and Derek's room.

He ripped he front page off the calendar before he pinned it to the wall. He wasn't quite sure if Derek would like it, but for Stiles, it was a memento worth keeping. Not so much for the picture per se, but for him, it was a reminder that he wasn't only gay for Derek. It was a token to show himself – and everybody else for that matter – that he'd always been like this, and that he was finally living it out in the open.

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

The meeting with his mom had not been particularly pleasant. Alex had tried to go in there with an open mind, but anger took over when he sat down in front of the glass wall. He wanted to know how she could just literally abandon him; leaving him to his own fate.

Unable to come up with a good answer, she'd kept apologizing, but Alex wasn't interested in that. He wanted explanations.

"I wanted you to come back, but he... he was nicer. He didn't hit me anymore after you left, and then I got pregnant." She'd cried and tried to make her actions – or lack thereof – excusable, but Alex didn't fall for it. "You could have left him." He remembered their conversations and text messages on the phone shortly after he'd taken off. "You could have chosen me."

Alex hadn't been aware of the fact that his mom got an occasional beating from the guy also, but it didn't change much. "I'm your son. I'm your own flesh and blood." He'd pretty much given up on her when she changed the subject. "Take care of your sister. When I learned that you were still alive and in a good home, I signed over custody to you. Be a better parent that I am."

Alex had been a bit taken aback by the statement, but he never got a chance address it. She'd waved at the officer standing behind her, and got up from the chair. "I have no excuse, but Alessa can have a better life." She was gone before Alex got his senses back, and he exited the room with another set of disturbing thoughts on his mind.

"Alessa!" His sisters name hadn't been mentioned in any of the papers he got from Mr Stilinski. Alessa was a short form of Alessandra – or Alexandra – and Alex realized that she could have been named after him. It didn't change his feelings towards his mother, but he got a new view on the girl.

If he was right, if she'd actually had been named after him, she'd lived in his shadow her whole life. That their mom chose this name for her, told him that he was never really forgotten, and that this little innocent girl carried the burden of her mothers love for her – believed to be dead – brother with her.

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

Derek was twirling the tumbler in his hand. The whiskey tasted good after a hard days work. Stiles, Scott, and Isaac were upstairs playing games, and Allison was in the kitchen with Mrs McCall.

The living room still looked kind of barren. The new dining table and old couch didn't fill the room. For Derek it was fine; he liked the open space, and would fight tooth and nail to keep it. The TV was placed in the nook under the stairs, and he had the stereo-system within reach. He knew that they had to get a bigger couch, but there would still be plenty of room in there.

Dave and Mouth would come tomorrow to fix a few minor things, but all in all, the house were done. This was the first night for them all living together, and it was a little sad that Alex was missing for the event.

What a weird and twisted gang they were. Derek and Isaac didn't have any parents; Stiles and Allison had lost their mothers; Scott was from a broken home, and had barely seen his father in years; Alex – with an incarcerated mother and a dad he'd never met – was pretty much an orphan.

Derek was still perfectly sure that it would work out nicely. The only thing lacking now was a committed pack-leader. He could feel in his bones that Allison was just that, and she'd told him that she'd act as such until his time came.

There were no guaranties that his plan would work out, but Derek had done his research. His temporary weakness was obviously due to the fact that he'd failed to make any promises. His fear of commitment had struck him down before, but he was ready to make amends.

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

Scott walked away from the game, and looked into the nursery. He was going to become a dad, and he had no idea how to deal with it.

He knew that Allison's worries probably superseded his own – she was actually carrying the baby – but it didn't prevent him from freaking out a little bit on his own.

He'd never really wanted to join a pack; he didn't feel it necessary, but he got drawn into it by invisible forces. It felt right though. The bond they shared was very comforting. He knew that even if this baby was his and Allison's, he could always count on the others to be there for them. They were a family in a deeper sense of the word.

It wasn't that he'd never felt it before. He and his mom were very close, and the bond they shared were unbreakable. It was still very different, but Scott knew that his new family would be there for him for eternity.

That Stiles was one of them had a lot to do with it. He knew that his best friend didn't want the bite, but when it happened, it was really a blessing. Before that, they hadn't been a real pack; just soon to be housemates.

Scott knew that it had everything to do with Allison stepping up, but she'd recently told him that she didn't want to be a leader.

-o-o-

Their first night together in their new home and Derek wanted to take him away. Stiles was pretty much ready for bed when Derek asked him to come with him. Allison and Scott had turned in early, pretty excited about their new digs, and their own private bathroom.

Stiles had heard them whisper as he passed their room, and he wondered a little about the soundproofing until he discovered that the door wasn't completely closed. He gave it a quick knock and waited a few seconds.

Scott was all smiles when he opened it. Allison was sitting in bed behind him with a book in her lap. "I just, uh, the door wasn't closed." Stiles felt a little embarrassed disturbing their privacy, but Scott just laughed and stepped aside for Stiles to enter. "I was just on my way downstairs to get a couple of glasses. Did you check out our room?"

There was no need for him to see it right now. "It's nice, but you can show me in the morning." He waved to Allison. "Goodnight, hope you'll sleep well."

Isaac was sitting in the living room watching TV with Peri on his lap. He looked rather lonely in the corner of the couch, and Stiles felt sorry for him. "Alex will be back in the morning. Hang in there buddy." Isaac shook his head and smiled. "It's okay. I miss him, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm completely fine." He lifted his hand with the phone. "He's right here if I need him."

That's when Derek came and told Stiles to put shoes on. "We're going on a little ride. You don't need to get dressed."

He'd been curious, but he put his bare feet in the sneakers and followed Derek to the Camaro. With only pajama pants and a T-shirt on, he hoped that Derek wouldn't take him anywhere public.

When they came to the loft, Stiles got even more curious. "What the hell are we doing here. We can't spend the night, there is no furniture left up there." He still stepped out of the car and walked over to the front door. Derek was right behind him. "We're not going to spend the night. I just wanted a last look at the place."

If the apartment had looked like a warehouse before, it seemed more so now. The few things they didn't bring with them were piled up by the wall; the only light was the glow from the lamp above the oven, and that made it look even more gloomy.

"Danny asked if he could rent it." Derek grabbed Stiles' hand and pulled him toward the window. "I thought about selling it, but... maybe I'll wait." In the light from a waning moon, they stared out on the rooftops. "Did you like your present?"

Stiles found this extremely weird, and he looked at his boyfriend. "Yeah, I told you. I loved it." He shook his head. "Is this some kind of goodbye? Goodbye Loft! We had fun here, but now we're leaving." Stiles chuckled a little as he uttered the words. Then he turned to Derek. "Seriously?!"

It took a little while before Derek said anything, but then he turned to Stiles again and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know that this... what we have is for life, right? He removed the hand and looked down, but didn't wait for Stiles to say anything. "The bond we share will keep us together forever." Derek swallowed, and Stiles rolled his eyes. Derek was going to explain why there never had to be any sappy promises and proclamation of undying love. Werewolves mated for life, and that was it.

"This bond is created from us being werewolves, but we still have our humanity. We can strengthen this bond even more." Stiles noticed that Derek kept staring at his own hand. He rarely ever wore any jewelery, but now there was a ring on his finger. Derek kept turning it. It looked like it was made of silver and it had a square black stone with a mother-of-pearl inlay showing the triskelion.

"We are family now, and you, uh, are... I mean, you can become a Hale." He pulled the ring of his finger and grabbed Stiles' hand. "I don't know if it will fit." It didn't fit, it was a tad to big for the ring-finger anyway, so Stiles switched it over to the middle finger instead. "It can be taken in, right?" He noticed a tremble in his own voice, and he looked at the ring more closely before he felt composed enough to say anything else.

Derek was just standing there, and finally Stiles lifted his head and met Derek's eyes. "Is this... is this some kind of proposal?" It could sound like it if one had a bit of imagination, and Stiles had plenty. Derek shrugged and emitted a small chuckle. "I guess it is." Then he sighed heavily before he straightened himself up and gave Stiles a crocked smile. "Yes, it is. It is a proposal, and I want an answer."