I hope you all enjoy!
In addition to all of the things Isaac needed to buy for his bundle of joy, he really needed to start investing in getting his own car. He was so tired of having to constantly hitch a ride on the back of Scott's motorbike, holding onto the true alpha like he was his girlfriend. It was either that or having Faith drive him in her truck. And while Isaac loved the girl to death, he would be the first to tell her that her truck was a death trap. Much like Stiles's jeep. It was not suitable to drive whatsoever, let alone with a newborn child.
So, yeah, a new car was in order here.
Isaac stressed over this as he was getting ready to leave the apartment so he could head over to Scott's and they with Stiles could go to Derek's loft. Well, Isaac had been ready for almost twenty minutes. Now he was just killing time by counting the tips he's made so far while working at the diner. It wasn't a whole lot yet, but it was definitely a lot more than what Isaac had before. And he was determined to make enough to overflow the box he kept on top his dresser, labeled Baby McGregor-Lahey. As he closed the lid on the box after putting the money in, Chris knocked lightly on the door.
"Hey."
"Hey," Isaac echoed, "What's up?"
"I know you have to leave in a few," Chris said, "but do you mind if I talk with you for a second?"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Everything alright? Am I in trouble or something?"
"No, not at all. Um, here, let's sit down real quick." And they did at the end of Isaac's bed. Chris sighed. "So you know I wasn't exactly too happy about the idea of you having a kid at your age."
"I think I remember you dropping your coffee mug and calling me an idiot the day I told you Faith was pregnant," Isaac recalled with a quirked eyebrow.
Chris cringed at the memory. "Yeah. Well, while I still think it's not the smartest decision, I can see how much you've been maturing over the past couple months. And I admire how responsible you've been about it with getting a job and being there for Faith. You're becoming a real man… and I'm proud of you for it."
To some, hearing someone say that they are proud of them may have not been a big deal. However to Isaac, growing up without being told that, it meant a whole lot more that he would be embarrassed to admit. A small lump formed in his throat, to be honest.
He covered it up with a chuckle. "You're not gonna start crying on me now, are you?"
The hunter rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not. But I wanna give you your gift for your new journey now."
"But the baby's not due until August."
"I know. I just figured it would be better if you start using it now."
After instructing Isaac to hold his hand out, Chris dropped a key in his palm. Not just any key though. A car key. One that looked pretty familiar. When it finally started to dawn on Isaac, he looked up at Chris with sorrowful eyes.
"Is this…"
Nodding, Chris confirmed, "I couldn't bring myself to sell Allison's car after she died. It's been sitting in storage ever since we went to France. I'd rather you have it than some guy off of Craigslist."
As if Isaac wasn't close to getting teary eyed already. He shook his head. "Chris, I can't take this."
"Yes, you can. Allison would want you to have it." The beta continued to stare down at the key as Chris watched on mournfully. "She would want you to live a happy life with Faith and your child. Just like we all do."
Shit. There goes that tear rolling down Isaac's face. But he wiped it away before Chris could point it out. "I… I really don't know what to say… thank you." Isaac's fingers curled around the key. "I promise to take real good care of it."
"I know you will," Chris said.
The air was starting to become too thick for both men so Isaac chose to be the one to break it off. He stood up and tucked the key in his back pocket. "I gotta go meet up with Scott and Stiles. I'll see you later, Chris."
"See you, Isaac."
Right as the beta entered the parking garage, he was met with the sight of Allison's car, almost like it was waiting for him. It kind of felt like seeing an old friend again, as pathetic as that sounded. Isaac unlocked the car and slid in the driver's seat.
Her former floral scent still lingered, but not as much as it used to. While it did make Isaac miss her slightly, it was way different now. There was still love for her and Isaac was sure there always will be. But he could say wholeheartedly that the love was more friendly than romantic like it was before. Isaac was grateful that he had what he did with Allison in the past. Having this car was giving him the closure he needed to move on, like Allison was giving him the 'okay' to do so. His blue eyes looked up to the ceiling of the car.
"Thanks, Allison."
Isaac stuck the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. Then he drove out of the parking garage. As soon as he hit the streets, his phone rang. He pulled out his phone and smiled as he saw Faith's picture light up the screen. Speaking of moving on…
He answered the call and put Faith on speaker. "Hey."
"What if the baby comes out with two heads?"
Okay… not the greeting Isaac was expecting. "What?"
"Or I guess specifically it's a set of twins that share the same body," Faith rambled, "It's not impossible, you know. Yeah, right here it says there's a one in a million chance. But what if our baby is that one?"
"Are you watching all those medical shows again?" Isaac asked.
"No…" Faith answered slowly, "I just decided to spend my morning reading up on what the birthing process will be like and what could go wrong. By the way, not a good idea while eating. I almost threw up my bacon when I accidentally stumbled upon on of those birthing videos from the eighties."
Laughing, Isaac said, "Faith, you gotta stop Googling shit. All that does is make your head spin and lead you down a rabbit hole you can't get out of. And watching those videos can't be good for your anxiety either."
"Well, I gotta start thinking about these things. I'm officially fifteen weeks along and according to my app, the baby's about the size of an apple. An apple, Isaac! Can you imagine how big the baby will be at forty weeks? My vagina's gonna be ripped to shreds!"
"That's not going to happen, Faith," Isaac assured, "I really don't think it'll be that bad."
Faith snorted. "Says the one that doesn't have to shove a watermelon-sized human out of them."
"You and your vagina are both going to be fine, don't be so dramatic."
"Maybe you should be the one watching these videos. Then you'll feel some sympathy for me."
"I'll make that the next thing on my list for baby planning." Isaac pulled up behind Stiles's jeep. "Hey, I just got to Scott's house. I'll see you later tonight?"
"Okay, yeah, sounds good," Faith said, "Try to avoid any demons and rabid animals!"
Isaac rolled his eyes and said a quick goodbye before hanging up. He still kept that smile on his face that just kept getting bigger every time he talked or saw his baby's mother. And it remained that way as Isaac got out of the car and walked up to the house. When he went inside, he saw Melissa sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop and Scott and Stiles standing behind her.
Melissa didn't even look up from her typing when she heard the beta come in. "Hi, Isaac. Come over here for a second. There's something I wanna show you boys."
"What's going on?" Isaac asked in suspicion.
"I want you three to watch this video about the miracle of childbirth," Melissa told them, "The good and the bad parts of it all."
Crap. The devil works fast but Faith works faster.
"Mom, come on, is this really necessary?" Scott whined, "We took a health class. We already know all this stuff."
"Not well enough, it seems like," Melissa said as she typed, "If you boys want to be dumb and have sex- no offense, Isaac- then you should learn that everything that comes with it. Including having a kid. So gather around, boys."
"I hope you know that this is all your fault," Stiles jabbed at Isaac as he came around to stand behind Melissa as well.
"Shut up, Stiles."
After hushing the boys, Melissa clicked on the first video on the page and sat back as it began. It talked about things like what to expect in the delivery room and if the mother chooses to use epidural or not to make the process less painful. Pretty tame so far.
Until it drastically cut to where a woman was laying in the hospital bed, screaming like a maniac. Her legs were splayed out, revealing parts that you would expect to be blurred out. But nope, everything was all out there in the open. By the time she started to push, all three of the boys were staring at the screen in horror. And it was when the baby's head started to come out was when they yelled and cringed.
"What the hell?!" Stiles hollered, "How is that thing gonna fit through there?!"
"I didn't even know those could stretch that wide!" Scott said in bewilderment.
Meanwhile Isaac was completely speechless. If it was that gruesome onscreen, he could only predict just how intense it was going to be right in front of him. Not to mention on Faith's end… boy, did he owe her an apology.
"Okay, I think we've seen enough," Scott said hurriedly as soon as the baby was fully out in the video and covered with all sorts of bodily goo, "Let's get out of here." He pushed Stiles and Isaac towards the door. "Bye, Mom!"
"Remember this the next time you boys even think about not wanting to use protection!" Melissa called after them.
As soon as Scott shut the door, the three boys let out collective sighs of relief.
"Man, I am never having kids," Stiles shuddered, "I don't even think I wanna have sex again!"
"Yeah, good luck on getting Malia to agree with that, Stilinski," Isaac said, clapping the twitchy teen on the back before walking down the steps of the porch. Stiles rolled his eyes but followed the werewolves.
Scott stared down at his phone. "Hey, have any of you guys heard from Derek today? I've called him, like, five times and he hasn't answered."
"No, I've never gotten any calls from him either," Isaac said, "I've messaged him a couple times but nothing."
Sighing, Stiles placed his hand on his hips and shook his head. "I swear, if he's managed to get himself kidnapped again, we're chaining him up the next full moon."
Sunshine shot through the window of the bedroom, causing Derek to stir awake from his deep slumber. He let out a small groan as he rolled over on his back and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, he took in his surroundings, being burgundy painted walls accompanied by a couple black dressers and black bedsheets. There were some photos on top one of the dressers that contained a happy family, something Derek hadn't experienced in years. To complete the bedroom were a couple of guitars, one electric and the other acoustic.
The spot next to Derek was empty and cool, indicating that he had been alone in bed for a bit. But he could hear the sound of the refrigerator opening and closing and the beep of a coffee maker so there was still someone in the apartment. Figuring that he might as well join the other person, Derek sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He slid on his boxers followed by his jeans. His shirt was nowhere to be found, so what he had on would have to do. It all made sense when Derek walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.
Stevie stood there with her back turned to the werewolf and didn't even hear him walk in. Which gave him the chance to gaze at her with sex-crazed hair and his maroon Henley that fit like a dress on her. She poured two cups of coffee, one of which Derek assumed was his. Only when Stevie set the coffee pot down did he sneak up and wrap his arms around her from behind. The music teacher easily settled into his touch like this wasn't anything new for them.
"Morning," Derek greeted, voice rough from sleep.
"Good morning," Stevie smiled, "Someone slept well last night."
"Can you blame me?" Derek chuckled, "You kinda wore me out pretty good."
"I don't even know my own strength sometimes," Stevie joked. The werewolf rolled his eyes playfully.
She turned around but remained in Derek's arms, wrapping her own around his neck. He couldn't help but get lost in those hazel eyes of hers. They were so beautiful, just like she was. It kind of scared the shit out of him.
But he still found himself saying, "I had a great time with you last night. It's been a really long time since I've gone on a date with anyone. I forgot how nice it can be."
"Me too," Stevie said softly, "To both last night and the dating thing."
Cupping her cheek, Derek lowered his head so he could meet Stevie in a tender yet passionate kiss. He allowed himself to get lost in the moment and forget about anything that could possibly go wrong in getting too close with this woman.
"Are you hungry?" Stevie asked in between kisses, "I could whip up some breakfast for us."
"Maybe in a bit," Derek said breathlessly, "I was thinking about working up an appetite first."
He brought Stevie in for another kiss which she happily obliged. Picking her up from the back of her thighs, Derek lifted her onto the kitchen counter and fit himself in between her legs. The kiss heated up quickly and they both started to get handsy. It came to a brief end when Derek went to grab Stevie's hip from underneath the shirt and felt the raised skin right her stomach. What made him stop was when Stevie flinched at the sudden contact.
Breaking the kiss, Derek grabbed the hem of the Henley. "May I?" he asked.
Stevie nodded, letting Derek lift the shirt slightly to reveal a nasty scar running down underneath her left breast to her bellybutton.
"I know," Stevie sighed, "It's not the prettiest looking thing."
"To be honest, I noticed it last night but I didn't want to say anything," Derek admitted, "Figured it was none of my business."
"No, no, it's okay," Stevie promised, "It was a conversation I knew I was going to have with you at some point. I didn't think it would be this soon though." She tugged on the collar of the shirt that was hiding another scar along her shoulder.
Derek was a little bewildered by this discovery. "How many of these do you have?"
"Quite a lot, actually. Luckily my tattoos cover most of them." Stevie smiled sadly. "My ex wasn't a very nice guy."
Oh…
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Not really. But you deserve to know." Stevie sighed. "I was working as a bartender while I was in college in Boston. Carter's band would play at the bar regularly. I always had a thing for bad boys and I fell for him right away. He proposed after only six months of dating. People thought I was crazy for getting engaged so fast but I didn't care. I thought I was in love."
"Then what happened?" Derek asked.
"Carter started to let the idea of becoming a rockstar get into his head. He slept all day and partied all night… started to drink more… got angrier… got violent." Stevie looked down at her hands in shame. "I came home from class one night to find another girl in our bed. The lead singer of his band, actually. I tried to kick him out but he wouldn't leave. He was stronger than me so he pinned me down and beat me so bad that I thought I was going to die. If my neighbor didn't call 911 I probably would have. Carter got arrested and my parents had me come home so I could recover just in time for graduation. Never heard about him since."
Hearing all this filled Derek with a feeling he had a hard time putting in words. Disbelief, pity, anger- that last one a more common emotion for him. For a man put their hands on a woman like that was sickening and they deserved to rot in hell. Anyone who takes advantage of another person did… just like Kate and Jennifer.
Well, shit. Maybe Derek and Stevie weren't as different as he originally thought.
"I'm sorry," was all he could say.
"Don't be," Stevie said, "I'm in a much better place now thanks to my family. They've always been my rock. And if it didn't happened, I wouldn't have found that teaching job and moved out here." She laced her fingers with Derek's. "I never would've met you."
The way the woman looked up at Derek with such adoration in her eyes was so fucking weird for him. How does he even respond to that?
So he just kissed Stevie again. His lips then went to her neck and down to her collarbone. Getting on his knees, Derek lifted the shirt up once again and kissed all along the scar, showing it the care that it deserved. Stevie's head tipped back and she threaded her fingers through Derek's black hair as she let out soft moans.
Then his lips continued to travel lower… lower…
At the McGregor home, Drew sat at the dining table reading the newspaper and drinking his coffee, still in his pajamas. Just another lazy Saturday for him. Or that's what he was hoping for when there was a knock on the door. Drew set down his paper with a yawn and sauntered over to the door. When he opened it, he was met with a 5'4" strawberry blonde girl wearing a pout on her face.
"Hello," Drew said, "Can I help you?"
"Is Faith here?" Lydia asked, "I'm a friend from school."
Drew turned his head. "Faith, it's for you!" He stepped to the side. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Lydia smiled politely as she entered the house.
"Who is it?" Faith asked as she descended down the stairs. Also in her pajamas. Her movements slowed when she saw who was there. "Lydia? What are you doing here?"
"Got any plans today before work?" Lydia asked.
Faith looked down at her attire. "This."
"Well, change those plans," Lydia told her, "I'm taking you to mall so we can get you some maternity clothes."
Uh oh.
Faith faked a yawn. "You know, I've had a long shift last night at the diner and the morning sickness is pretty bad right now so I think I'm gonna have to politely decline."
Obviously Lydia wasn't buying it. "Nice try. I've been given clear instructions to take you to the mall and shop until you have a whole new wardrobe."
Isaac Lahey was a fucking dead man.
"Now hurry up and get dressed," Lydia ordered, shooing Faith back upstairs, "We have an hour until the mall opens and I wanna get some good deals."
Whining like a child, Faith stomped back upstairs so she could look presentable enough to Lydia's liking. Drew stared at his daughter's new friend with wide eyes.
"Should I be afraid of you?"
Shrugging, the banshee smirked. "Just a bit."
An hour later, the girls found themselves inside a Forever 21 at the mall. Faith had worn a beige sweatshirt with leggings and tennis shoes, one of the only combinations she was comfortable in with her growing belly. Lydia wasn't too pleased with it, but decided to let it slide this time. She was hoping that by the end of the day, the mother-to-be will accept that Lydia knew what she was doing and apply her advice to her every day life from now on.
Judging the look on Faith's face, they had a long way to go still.
"This isn't the kind of store I had in mind when I think of maternity clothes," she said.
"Don't shoot it down just yet," Lydia told her as she inspected some ankle boots from the shelf, "I know not all of it is practical, but I can sew some elastic on any pants and add some extra fabric to the tops. Those should do the trick in adjusting them to your new body."
"You know how to sew?" Faith asked.
"Yep. I taught myself when I was ten."
Of course she did. "Is there anything you can't do?"
Lydia pretended to think it over. "Very little. Oh!" She pulled a blue ruffled blouse off the rack. "This would be cute on you."
"It's not really my style," Faith said, "If I'm gonna be honest, I don't really know what my style is."
"That's why I'm here. I'm gonna find all of the things that highlights your best features and makes you feel good at the same time. I won't lead you astray, don't worry."
There was no reason for Faith to not trust Lydia, no matter how skeptical she was about the whole thing. As the resident fashionista of Beacon Hills, Lydia knew what she was. Faith, on the other hand, did not. And frankly, she didn't want to be seen as the frumpy girl anymore. She wanted to feel beautiful for once. Mainly for herself.
If other people thought she was beautiful as well, more specifically Isaac… then why not let Lydia work her magic?
Said banshee could see that Faith was still hesitant. "Why don't you pick out some clothes? Something you've always wanted to try but have always been scared to wear. And then we can go from there."
"Okay," Faith finally agreed, "Yeah, I can do that."
"Great. Pick out whatever you like and I'll meet you at the fitting rooms in twenty." Lydia flashed a dazzling smile then left the other girl to roam around.
So… now what? Where did Faith even begin with her shopping journey? She always bought her clothes at a Target or Walmart, hardly ever the mall. Not to mention a trendy store like this. Which section should she go to first? All Faith knew was that standing around wasn't going to get her anywhere so she better start looking.
Throughout those twenty minutes, Faith had managed to find a good armful of tops, pants, skirts, and even dresses to try on. Even Lydia was impressed, which was a huge relief. Disappointing her would be like disappointing a parent, and Faith didn't want to put herself through that.
She took the clothes into the fitting room the attendant brought her to. She set the clothes on the little bench and began to strip out of the ones she was wearing. When Faith was left in just her bra and underwear, she took a long look at herself in the mirror. A lot of the times, she didn't like looking at her reflection as she spent most of the time pointing out every single thing she didn't like about herself. Wondering what it would be like to be as gorgeous as girls like Lydia or even Allison. It was damaging, Faith knew that. But there would always be that annoying voice inside her head nagging at her for not being pretty enough.
This time, however, Faith wasn't even looking for all of her imperfections. Her sole focus was on her swollen belly. It was becoming rounder and tighter, more evident that Faith was pregnant. How surreal it all was. It should've freaked Faith out. And it kind of did. Yet when she placed her hands on her belly, an overwhelming force of emotion washed over her. Enough to make her eyes water a little. Her son or daughter was growing inside her. Knowing that trumped anything bad Faith could have ever said about herself.
Trying on the clothes wasn't as stressful as she expected given her circumstance. Yes, some items fit more snug than others, but Faith tried not to be too hard on herself. A tiny human being was growing inside her, after all. She couldn't be mad at that. And there were some clothes she liked and some that she didn't. It was just all part of the process. There was this one dress though. Nothing super fancy, just a white sundress with yellow flowers that hit just right above the knee. The dress was sleeveless, two thick straps holding it in place. For once, Faith didn't mind her arms showing. She actually felt quite pretty in this. Hell, she couldn't stop staring at her reflection!
Faith caressed her belly. "What do you think, baby? You think Daddy will like it?" She knew the baby couldn't move just yet, but she did feel a little flutter within that acted as confirmation for her. "Yeah, I think he will too."
Both girls grew hungry a couple hours into their shopping so they decided to grab some lunch at the food court. Under Lydia's supervision, or technically Isaac's since he's the one who said something to the banshee, meaning that Faith's options were limited to, like, two places. Which is how the girl ended up stabbing at her burrito bowl with a fork. What is even a burrito bowl without any freaking tortillas?
Did Faith mention that she was going to kill Isaac later?
Lydia took a sip of her iced tea. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer at three o'clock."
Faith's eyebrows furrowed at this. "What? No way."
But Lydia just cocked her head in the direction she mentioned. Slightly curious, Faith discreetly looked over by the Mediterranean food stand to see that there was, in fact, a boy about their age peering in their direction. His eyes were a light shade of green and his light brown hair was perfectly coiffed. He seemed incredibly fit, evidently an athlete. And tall, at least six feet.
He was pretty. Way too pretty to be giving Faith any kind of attention.
"How do you know he's not looking at you?" Faith asked Lydia.
"Trust me, Faith," she said, "He's looking at you." The other girl still didn't believe it. "I think I remember seeing him from one of the lacrosse games last year. He's cute."
"I guess," Faith said nonchalantly, eyes on her lunch. She could still feel the boy's eyes on her.
"You should go talk to him," Lydia suggested.
Ha! Faith could laugh. "And say what? 'Hi! My friend told me to go introduce myself even though I have an anxiety disorder and feel like I have to puke. Oh, and let's not forget that I'm fifteen weeks pregnant with my best friend's baby!' Yeah, that's not happening. I'm not even interested in dating anyone."
"Maybe he'd be okay with you being pregnant."
"No teenage boy on earth would be okay with dating a girl who's pregnant, let alone by someone else."
"You never know," Lydia sing-songed.
"Well, what about you?" Faith questioned, dying to get the conversation off of her, "Why aren't you dating anyone?"
She almost regretted asking that when Lydia's face slightly fell. "My ex boyfriend last year was a homicidal lizard that eventually became a werewolf and moved to London. Then last guy I dated was killed by Japanese demons right after Allison died. Dating isn't exactly on my mind now either." It grew silent between them as Lydia took a bite of her salad.
"I'm sorry," Faith said sincerely, "I didn't mean to pry."
"You didn't know," Lydia shrugged, "But I told myself that I was done with teenage boys. I would have to find someone that's on my level. Until then, I'm staying single."
It looked like the banshee wanted to say something else, but kept her mouth shut. Faith decided to do the same and continue eating her food.
As soon as Faith came into work later on that night, she clocked in the system and went in the back to get herself ready. Isaac was scheduled to come in earlier to fix the air conditioner in the kitchen so it wouldn't overheat when the dinner rush hit. Which is why he was slightly sweaty when he came up to Faith as she tied her apron around her waist. God, was this boy never not attractive?
"So how was girls day?" Isaac asked with a grin.
His baby's mother, however, was not as amused. "You're the literal worst, you know that, right?"
"Hey, I only asked Lydia to take you shopping," Isaac defended, "You had Melissa scar me, Scott, and Stiles for life."
"I'm just preparing you for the real thing," Faith told him, "Just be glad you don't have to go through it yourself."
"Come on, you can't tell me that shopping with Lydia was that bad."
After staying quiet, Faith finally admitted, "No… it was actually kinda nice."
"See? You should be thanking me," Isaac said smugly, "Maybe with a little fashion show?"
"Well, I was going to show you everything I got and thank you in my own… special way," Faith said, "But now that you're being so damn cocky about it, I've decided to not reward that kind of behavior." With her own devilish smirk, she patted Isaac's cheek. "Good luck taking care of your little problem now."
She left Isaac standing to go take her first table's order, that smile never leaving her face. He bit his bottom lip as he watched Faith walk away. Thank God Isaac's own apron was long enough to cover up his 'situation' from imagining what Faith could have gotten from her shopping spree. Now he was going to have to figure out a way to go through the rest of his shift with an aching hard-on while his best friend teased him from afar.
Yeah, he deserved this punishment.
Review, favorite, and follow! Also, we find out the baby's gender real soon! Are you team boy or team girl?
I'll be sure to update soon! Xoxo, Maddie
