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Stiles placed the pen he got from Elisabetha on the Nemeton. He then turned so he could sit at the base of the tree and be comfortable while they 'chatted.'
Stiles knew Peter would roam around the area of the tree during a session, appeasing his own need to keep Stiles safe. Stiles knew the tree would warn him of any dangers but it was nice to be taken care of.
Stiles opened his eyes a while later, breathing deeply of the night air.
"That took a while," Peter said.
"How long?"
"Almost two hours," Peter said. He handed Stiles a bottle of water. "Drink before you move too much."
Stiles plucked the pen from the tree. "Okay, don't want to leave this behind."
"That bad?"
Stiles shrugged. "Not bad, not good."
"Anything I can do?" Peter asked, leaning in for a kiss.
"Well, Maria and Luis are going to be staying for a while, no matter what they decide," Stiles said. "She's not ready to travel much of anywhere and Luis is settled into school. I'm guessing it'll be months before she should go too far."
Peter nodded. "I suspected as much. Do you want to make them Pack?"
"Luis is going to need training sooner than later, so that's a consideration," Stiles said as he stood. "If they do go anywhere, I'd like to make sure he has access to another magic user. If he stays, I'll be glad to teach him what I can and find resources to help him develop his skills."
"What about Maria?"
"The fact that the Fae stepped in on her behalf says a lot," Stiles admitted. "The final decision will be up to her. I would like to offer them a chance to be Pack, but not just yet. Luis is young enough to not really understand but Maria needs time to recover more and to have a chance to think about it."
"That's fair enough," Peter agreed. "It's late, let's go home."
When they got back to the house, Derek was still up. "Had to put Luis in bed a couple of times. He wanted to wait up for you but I know he has school tomorrow. Jamie's asleep, so he's been fine."
"Luis has also missed most of a week already, being with his mom," Stiles said. "He'll not want to go tomorrow but the first part of this discussion is for just his mom. I'll deal with him in the morning. Thanks!"
As expected, Luis wanted to know what they found out and didn't want to go to school.
"Listen," Stiles said to the pouting boy. "It's tough to be the kid, and I get it. But sometimes you have to trust the adults to do their thing. We need to talk to your mom first and you know it's too early to get her up. Knowing your mom, she'll talk to you as soon as she can, so we're not leaving you out. And it's time you went back to school."
Luis sighed and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I guess."
"Your friends will be glad to see you," Stiles said. "I suspect they've missed you."
"All right," Luis agreed.
"Come on, Derek will take you and he's already packed your lunch," Peter said.
Luis grinned. Evidently, Derek made great lunches. "All right, I'm going!" He gave Stiles a quick hug and went off with Derek.
Julie came by after breakfast. They figured it would be good to have another adult female in the house to make Maria more comfortable, especially since Luis had gone off to school.
"I can hear Maria moving around," Julie said. "I'll go and check on her."
A little while later, Julie called, "Stiles? Can you come up here?"
Stiles went up to the room.
"Maria would like to come downstairs, at least for a little while," Julie said. "Is that okay?"
"Sure," Stiles nodded. "You'll have to help her but, even for a bit, it'll be good for her to move around."
Julie pretty much carried Maria into the living room, setting her up on the couch with pillows and a blanket.
"I'll freshen up her room while you talk," Julie offered.
"Thank you," Peter said.
Peter took Maria tea and orange juice while Stiles made some scrambled eggs and toast. They settled into chairs, trying not to crowd her.
"What else can you tell us about Tia Elisabetha?" Stiles asked. "Or about your family?"
"I don't know a lot," Maria said softly. "I was so young when we left the ranch. My Madre never spoke about her family, or my Padre's. She moved us to the Nation and I met Joachim there.."
"Luis' father?" Stiles asked.
Maria nodded and dimpled prettily at some thought. "He was killed on a hunt when Luis was only a year old. Madre helped but then she got sick and I find myself alone with Luis. Joachim's family helped as best they could but we were outsiders. When White men came looking for us, I called the ranch and Elisabetha answered. She said to come there and she would help. We did not talk long, only enough for her to invite me there."
"I've... gathered some information that tells me that Elisabetha is the last of the Coven," Stiles said. "I have to think that the men searching for you were sent by Elisabetha."
Maria looked shocked.
"She needs to re-build her Coven," Stiles went on. "I suspect she's desperate for members and would take you, even if you don't have a lot of magic. She probably assumes your child is a daughter. The power of three is enough to get her started. That you're also Lopez family blood is perfect in her mind."
"I don't know anything about being in a Coven," Maria protested.
"That wouldn't matter," Stiles replied. "She just needs any power you can give to her. No offense, you wouldn't provide a lot. But Luis... if she'd ignore his gender, he'd be everything she needs."
"What do we do now?" Maria asked, pale.
"First of all, you're safe here," Peter said firmly. "You're not well enough to go anywhere and Luis needs some stability. We aren't making any long term promises but we'll do what we can to help."
"Gracias. Thank you!" Maria breathed.
"And Elisabetha didn't trip the town wards when she came to Beacon Hills," Stiles said. "So while she may not have the best intentions, she doesn't have really bad intentions."
Maria nodded. "That is good, I think."
"Tell me about Joachim's family," Stiles said.
Maria considered. "We met at an event for teens, sponsored by the Nation. He was there with an older brother but Joachim and I... he called on me and we married a year later. Then Luis came along and I thought life was perfect."
"What about his parents?"
"They were good people," Maria said. "But I was with Joachim for only three years and there was a lot of his family I never met. After Joachim died, his parents and I would visit, mostly so they could see Luis. But none of the rest of the family kept in touch."
"Well, Joachim had Fae in his lineage somewhere," Stiles said. "There was a Fae that came to Luis' request for help that claimed him to be family."
"No one ever said anything about that!" Maria was shocked.
"It most likely wasn't Joachim's immediate family," Stiles replied. "If it was a grandparent, distant aunt or uncle or something, Joachim's parents may not even know anything. But you may not have met some of the family since you were so new. And your little bits of magic might have been enough to allow the marriage to happen but not enough to let you in on family secrets. At least not until Luis was older."
"If I may ask, why is your name still Lopez? Did you not take Joachim's family name?" Peter asked.
Maria giggled. "That was part of the funny story, that Joachim was also a Lopez. So I didn't need to change my name when we married."
"Ah! Good to know!" Peter said. "Is there anyone we should contact to let them know you're safe?"
"Joachim's parents, if you could," Maria said.
Peter nodded. "I'll get you a phone so you can call them. Would that work?"
"Yes, if it is not too much trouble!" Maria nodded.
"No trouble at all," Peter agreed easily.
"Do you think you'd like to meet up with Elisabetha?" Stiles asked. "She's staying in town and it's probably simpler if you meet up."
"You would bring her here?" Maria asked.
"No, we'd take you to town," Stiles clarified. "We have a safe location in town to meet with, well, people we do not know."
"It probably would be best," Marie agreed. "What about Luis?"
"I think bringing him along will help convince her that you have nothing for her," Stiles said. "In my experience, witches who focus on their Covens don't see beyond that. Finding out that your child is male will be frustrating to her but should also be the end of the discussion."
"If you think it's safe for him," Marie frowned.
"I'll talk to him before we go," Stiles promised. "He'll be fine."
"Thank you for that," Maria replied. She gave a small yawn.
"Anything else right now?" Stiles asked. "I think you need to rest and I need to get back to Elisabetha. I told her I would probably get back to her yesterday, so I suspect she's getting impatient."
"When were you thinking?" Peter asked.
"Let's do after dinner tonight," Stiles said. "That will give me time to talk to Luis and to see who will be around for extra security. I don't think Elisabetha will try anything but just want to make sure."
"We can leave Derek here and get Rob and Julie to help," Peter said. "They can help with transporting Maria and provide extra security."
Stiles nodded. "Sounds good. I'll set everything else up."
Peter called for Julie and they helped Maria back to bed.
Stiles went to call Elisabetha.