Chapter 1- Figure it Out
After watching Malia's retreating back Stiles allowed his forehead to rest on the steering wheel of his jeep. Even though a passerby might assume he was asleep his mind was running at a million miles an hour, question after question, scenario after scenario played out behind his eyelids.
A whole lot of uncertainty lay before him. He had carefully carved out a path for himself. College at the University of California with Scott to become a forensic investigator, visit his Dad, finally sweep Lydia Martin off her feet. Yea there was still that one. Even though he'd been having his fling with Malia for a while they both knew that it wasn't serious. Just fun.
Now it looked like he was about to become a father in less than six months. Malia wanted nothing to do with the baby… like mother like daughter he guessed. Stiles picked up his head and put the Jeep in drive. He drove around Beacon Hills trying to clear his head and confusion, the shock and disbelief finally giving way to grim determination and some sort of halfcocked plan.
He managed to find himself at the bluff overlooking Beacon Hills. The lights of the city seemed inviting and familiar to him from here. It made him calm down some. Whatever happened he still had Scott and his father to help him through. Melissa too and hopefully he could count on the rest of the pack to help him through this.
After a few hours he drove back down the meandering road back to town. He shot Scott a text message and asked if they could meet later to talk. Scott and Kira were out on the town living it up, he had been planning on doing the same but events out of his control and had changed that.
Of course Scott sensed something was off and told him he'd meet him at his house in a few minutes. Stiles drove the remainder of the trip taking slow even breaths trying to quell the terror that kept rising in his throat. He was going to be a dad. His baby might even be a were coyote. How was this his life?
Stiles pulled in behind Scott's motorcycle, Scott was just removing his helmet as he put the Jeep in park. "Hey man what's going on?" Scott said as he walked toward Stiles.
"So Malia told me something tonight," he scratched the back of his neck nervously as he began to pace in front of Scott "I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to say it she told she's pregnant Scott."
Scott sat there dumbfounded mouth slightly agape, "are you serious? Is it… you know yours?"
"Pretty darn." Stiles said as he breathed out slowly, "I don't know what the hell I'm going to do."
Scott walked toward Stiles and gave him a comforting squeeze on his shoulder "it will be okay you guys will figure out. I know you're young but you're smart it will work out."
"That's the thing Scott; Malia told me she doesn't want the baby." When Scott gave him a shocked expression Stiles quickly explained. "I don't think she'd get rid of it. She's too far along anyway and I told her I didn't want her eating some damn plant to get rid of it as a coyote either."
Scott clamped his mouth shut obviously relieved to hear that she wasn't planning on aborting the baby. "Wait! Just how far along is she Stiles?"
Stiles paused in his frantic pacing "12 weeks give or take. She is just going to leave me the baby; just like her mother left her I know it. And what if it's a were-coyote like she is? I can't put it up for adoption! Not to mention I don't think I could stand not knowing where it was or if it was okay."
Scott was silent for a moment before spewing forth even more optimism. "Stiles if Malia doesn't want it you can take care of it. We can all help. The pack is here. You'll have my mom and your dad too."
Stiles knelt to the ground before collapsing on to his ass. "Scott I'm eighteen frigging years old. What the hell am I going to do?"
"Have you told anyone else yet?" Scott asked as he sat down next to Stiles and flopped back onto the yard to stare at the night sky.
Stiles mirrored Scott and flopped back. He felt like the two of them had done this a hundred times over the years. He was suddenly hit with a pang of nostalgia. Things used to be simpler back then, before Scott had gotten bit and they had entered into the whole supernatural side of things.
"Nah. I came here first thing. God how the hell am I going to tell my Dad? He is going to kill me. Literally kill me Scott. Forget dying by some supernatural bad ass my own father is going to kill me!"
Scott smiled as he said "Nah. He will be pissed though. But dude! Imagine telling my mom!" Scott laughed to himself.
"So not helping Scott!" Stiles admonished as he blanched at the thought of telling Melissa the news.
"You going to tell him now?" Scott asked after he quit laughing. "I'll go with you if you want."
"I'll tell him tomorrow. No need to ruin a perfectly good night for him. He didn't even think I'd live to see graduation so he's celebrating. In fact, I should probably get back home to make sure he doesn't celebrate too much." Stiles said as he stood and brushed himself off. "If you don't hear from by noon tomorrow please come and find me. Either he has me locked up in the basement or he's murdered me." Stiles said without much humor.
The thought of telling his dad scared him more than the impending baby did. He didn't want to see the look of disappointment on his father's face.
He drove home and did his best to act normal around his father. They popped in a movie and his father fell asleep in the first twenty minutes. Stiles went up to his room and when his insomnia kept him from sleeping he researched.
By the end of the night he'd read the What to Expect books, hundreds of Wikipedia pages and everything else he could think of. He'd watched how to videos on Youtube on how to change diapers, feed babies and everything he could think of. He hadn't even held a baby; he was in way over his head.
At least he had six months to figure it all out. Like how he was going to support the baby and go to school. Who would watch it? Where would they live? He hadn't slept when he heard his father get up. He quickly flipped his laptop shut and jumped into his bed and under the covers stretching like he was just waking up himself just as his dad poked his head in.
"What do you say kiddo? Pancakes?" His dad said with a big Stilinski grin.
"Sure." Stiles said. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll be right down."
His dad nodded and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Food was the last thing on Stiles's mind as he headed to the bathroom to shower and dress. The whole time he was in the shower he thought about how to bring up the baby and by the time his dad yelled that breakfast was ready he was no closer to figuring it out.
He came down to a pile of steaming pancakes on his plate and his dad just setting down a plate of turkey bacon next to the juice.
"Wow dad this looks good." He sat down opposite his father and watched as his dad began to eat.
"Aren't you hungry?" His dad asked around his mouthful of pancake.
"Actually, no." Stiles said as he frowned down at his favorite breakfast.
His dad sensed something was off and swallowed his bite and pushed his plate ahead to rest his elbows on the table. "What's going on kiddo?"
"Well," he began as a lump formed in his throat making words near impossible. He began to pick at the faded table cloth not looking his father, "Malia's pregnant."
The words seemed to echo in the small room. Stiles chanced a peek at his father who sat much like Scott did with his mouth agape.
"Are you sure? Is it…" His father seemed to turn white and that worried Stiles.
"Yes, well she is at least. And yes it's mine." He held up his hand to stall his father who looked like he was about to launch into the lecture of the century. "And before you berate me for not using protection we did… it just failed."
His father closed his mouth and now his face was becoming red. "What are you going to do?" He asked deceptively calm.
"She doesn't want to keep it but she's too far along to you know… I can't put it up for adoption. I mean look what happened to Malia for God's sake. So I guess I'm just going to have to step up."
"Step up? Christ Stiles this isn't a lacrosse game this a child for goodness sake! Do you have any idea how much responsibility that is? How much money they cost?"
Stiles felt like crying, like putting his head in his hands and sobbing. Life was so unfair. He could feel the telltale signs of the tears pricking in his eyes and he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold them back. When they came it was like a damn had broken and he sobbed brokenly into his plate of pancakes. The stress finally got the better of him and he broke completely down.
After a moment he heard the scrape of his father's chair and assumed the man was giving him space until he felt is father kneel next to him and pull him into his chest. "It'll be okay son, we'll figure it out."
Stiles hiccupped at the comforting words and chanced a glance at his father. "You think so? I don't know anything about babies or what the heck I'm going to do. I've been up all night trying to figure something out."
His father pushed him back to look at him. "First of all you are going to eat something then you are going back upstairs to get some rest. After that you will call Malia and have her come over so we can discuss this like adults." His father stood and returned to his seat and resumed eating his pancakes.
"Thanks Dad. " Stiles said gratefully as he started to eat his pancakes. He'd do anything his father asked of him at the moment. He'd expected to be screamed at or thrown out of the house. He never expected his father to help him figure it out.