Chapter 3- Pack Dynamics
Stiles thought that the baked chicken he'd had for dinner a few hours early was going to reappear at his feet at any given moment. He was sitting on the McCall's back porch waiting for the rest of the pack to arrive so he could give them the news. He alternated between bouncing his knees with frightening speed and cracking his knuckles, he was always in motion, especially when he was nervous.
Malia sat inside going over details with Melissa. Melissa though sympathetic to their current predicament was still disappointed in them. She'd spent the afternoon trying to talk Malia out of her decision to leave after the birth of the baby. Kira was in the backyard tossing a lacrosse ball back and forth with Scott laughing with youthful joy. Stiles heart panged with a surge of jealousy. Kira was young and free and though she had the weight of the supernatural following her she didn't have the responsibility that now burdened Stiles's young shoulders.
And then Lydia arrived. Stiles caught and held his breath as he took in her appearance. Her long tresses were styled into a neat bun with a few errant curls framing her face. Her makeup was light and flawless. Her short white dress accentuated the tan of her legs nicely. She wore a floral tank top and a cropped jean jacket over it. She smiled nicely at him, even if the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
She waved to Scott and Kira before taking a seat next to Stiles at the umbrella covered table. Stiles was about to start up some sort of babble when he was saved by Scott calling the meeting to order as Deaton, Parrish, Mason and Liam filed out onto the porch from somewhere within the house. Lydia turned her attention to Scott and Stiles started to breathe again. He hadn't even realized that he had been holding his breath.
"So um… Stiles and Malia are the main reason I called this meeting. I just want to keep everyone on the same page. No secrets." Scott started nervously as he stepped back giving the floor to Stiles.
"Right… um…" Stiles said as he stood up feeling a little faint. Malia stepped out of the glass door with Melissa behind her and came to stand near him. She gave him a small smile and laced her fingers with his giving them a quick squeeze before pulling them back.
"Stiles and I are pregnant." Malia stated. There was a collective group of gasps as the news sunk in. Malia waited for a moment before continuing. "We've decided that the baby will be born. Stiles wants to keep it and I am moving on. We're due around Thanksgiving."
With that bomb dropped she gave Stiles a hug and whispered a quiet "See you later," in his ear before disappearing. Stiles heard the sound of the front door shutting a few seconds later. He couldn't blame her for wanting space. He could see them all judging her decision as soon as she'd voiced it. Malia had never been one for group interaction on a good day.
"What does this mean?" He heard Parrish ask Lydia.
"Will the baby be born a coyote?" He heard Kira ask Scott.
Stiles finally drew his gaze up from where he'd been starring at his shoes as he felt the weight of Lydia's gaze on him. Were her eyes watering?
Scott began to talk and the side conversations dwindled until all the attention was focused on him. "For the time being Malia is going to stay in Derek's loft though she might move in the spare room at the Stilinski's place later for safety reasons. As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong doc, there is a 50/50 chance the baby will be entirely human, and more than likely we won't know that until it goes through puberty." Deaton nodded his head in agreement at Scott's words.
Stiles couldn't move his eyes from Lydia. She still hadn't said a word and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Eventually the group filtered out talking amongst themselves leaving Lydia and him alone on deck.
"So…" he said clapping his hands together nervously as he moved towards her.
"So," she mimicked pressing her lips together making her expression hard to read. "How's this going to go for you Stiles? I mean I'm assuming by the sounds of things Malia is pretty set on leaving."
He nodded as he listened to her. "She and I aren't really in a committed relationship. She doesn't want the baby… and I could never get rid of it… and adoption is obviously out…" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he leaned against the rail next to her chair.
"What about college? Crime scene forensics and all your plans? What about those?" She asked her voice finally betraying her emotion.
He let out a large breathe. "I don't really know… I'm so overwhelmed by it all. For now I'm going to go to the community college and get what I can accomplished before the baby is born. After that?" He shrugged his shoulders in defeat.
"Diaper duty?" She smiled at him trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"It's okay Stiles. You don't have to have it all figured out today. And you have the whole pack to help." She stood slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"The whole pack? Does that include you?" He asked her his eyes locking onto hers in all seriousness.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course it does Stiles. Berkley isn't that far away. This doesn't change anything between us." She said placing her hand into his giving it a friendly squeeze before making her exit.
Stiles sat there for a while contemplating how the meeting had went, how people had taken the news of his impending fatherhood. Trying to decode and analyze Lydia's answers to see if he could glean any hidden any hidden meanings from them. He jumped when Scott placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't do that to me Scott! You about gave me a heart attack." Stiles admonished him half-heartedly.
Scott, as usual, had a big smile on his face. "Sorry dude. You okay? I mean I think that went pretty well."
Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."
"So what are you going to do now?" Scott asked him as he started cleaning up the left over napkins and soda cans that had been left on the table. Stiles automatically began helping tidy the space.
"Well I got a job down at the station, mostly janitorial stuff but some filing and other odd jobs. I need to start saving some money. I might look for a second one for the summer. I'm switching my enrollment to Beacon Hills Community for September. I'm hoping I can get through the first semester before it's born. Other than that… I have no friggin clue." Stiles plopped down in one of the chairs abandoning the pile of garbage he'd collected, he was suddenly exhausted.
"Hey calm down dude your heart rate is all over the place. You'll be alright. Maybe I should stay in town too… I mean Beacon Community is a good option. In all honesty with Derek gone an alpha should remain here. Not to mention it would save me a ton of money."
"Scott I couldn't ask you to do that for me." Stiles began.
Scott held up a hand to interrupt him. "Honestly it's not just because of you. I was going to go to the community college but I wanted to follow through with our plans we made before all the crazy came into our lives. This honestly would benefit me and mom and the pack just as much as it would you. "
Stiles nodded at Scott. "Whatever you want to do Scottie," he gave Scott a small smile.
"You have plans tonight?" Scott asked as he started for the kitchen to dispose of the junk.
"Nah I don't start work until tomorrow morning." Stiles said as he followed him inside.
"Mario kart?" Scott asked him over his shoulder.
A smile spread across Stiles's face, the first time since his life had been irrevocably changed a day ago. "I call Yoshi!" Stiles said making a beeline for Scott's room as he heard Scott dump the trash and bound behind him.
As they settled into their familiar positions in front of the TV Stiles couldn't help as another wave of nostalgia came over him. They'd done this a thousand times over the years growing up. Now they were done with school and moving on to the real world. He was about to be a single father… his plans sure had been altered, but for now, now he was going to kick Scott's butt at Mario Kart.