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Dating Derek has its ups and downs. The guy is working through a lot of emotional traumas, which Scott completely understands, and it’s difficult. One day Derek is happy and all smiles, the next he’s curled up in a corner brooding. Scott does whatever he can to help Derek, but there are times when even he has no idea what to do.
The last couple of weeks have been like that. Derek’s been moping around the loft and he won’t tell Scott what’s wrong. It’s horrible seeing Derek like that, but it’s even more horrible when Scott has to leave Derek. Scott almost wishes he could drop out of college just to help Derek, but he knows that’s not responsible.
It all comes to a low point when Scott gets a text from Deaton.
‘Derek here. Needs you.’
Scott doesn’t think twice and drops everything to hurry over to Deaton’s clinic. He doesn’t wait for Deaton to come to him, but immediately makes his way to the back, where he can hear Derek.
Derek’s sitting in a corner, crying. It’s the first time Scott’s actually seen him cry and it startles him. He’s so used to seeing Derek all stoic, this is completely different. He kneels in front of Derek.
“Hey,” he whispers.
Derek curls up even tighter at his voice. “What are you doing here?” Derek asks.
“Deaton said you need me,” Scott explains.
“What did he say?! He wasn’t supposed to tell you anything!” Derek snaps.
Scott reaches out to hold Derek’s hand, desperate to calm him down. “He didn’t say anything, okay? He only said that you need me. Nothing more. So I came to support you.”
“So, you don’t know?” Derek asks, sounding small and scared.
“I have no clue what I even could know, Der. I swear, all I know is that you need me and that you’re upset about something.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Derek says.
“Okay. You don’t have to.” Scott shuffles around a little to make himself comfortable. “I’m just going to be here until you feel better.”
Derek doesn’t say anything, which Scott expected. He knows Derek well enough to know that it’s not going to help if Scott pushes him to talk. The best he can do is stay silent, just like Derek.
It takes fifteen minutes, but the silent method works.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here?” Derek asks softly.
Scott shakes his head. “I figured I’d just wait until you’re ready to tell me.”
“People usually ask,” Derek says.
“And you usually don’t answer. My method works best, Der. I know you, remember?”
Derek sighs and nods. “I want to tell you, but I also don’t,” he says. “It’s difficult.”
“I get it. Just know that I love you and I’ll always support you,” Scott says.
“That’s the problem. I don’t want you to feel obligated. I’m… I don’t want to ruin your life. That’s why I’m here, but then I couldn’t do it and now I’m this mess and Deaton had to get you to calm me down. I can’t even do one thing right.”
“You do plenty right, Derek. This doesn’t matter. We all have bad days or bad moments. I’ll help you through this, okay? Just tell me what I need to do.”
Derek stays silent for a couple of minutes before speaking again. “I came to get an abortion,” he whispers.
Scott freezes. He has no idea what to say or think. “Why?” he asks.
“Because I don’t want to ruin your life. You’re 19, Scott!” Derek says.
“Did you… um… did you do it?” Scott asks, scared of the answer. He couldn’t live with himself if Derek had an abortion, just because he thought Scott would want it.
Derek shakes his head. “I couldn’t.”
Scott lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank god.” He hits Derek’s arm. “Don’t you ever do something like that again without talking to me first, okay?! Why do you think I’d even want you to do that? Babe... I love you and I want you to be happy.”
“But you’re in college, bringing a baby into that life…”
“Is going to be difficult, but thankfully I have my lovely boyfriend who’s going to help me take care of our wonderful, beautiful, amazing baby,” Scott says before Derek can finish his sentence.
Derek looks up hopefully. “You mean that?”
“Dude, of course I mean that! I’d love to have a baby with you!” Scott says.
Derek smiles softly. “I promise to take all the midnight feedings and change diapers. This baby won’t make your life harder. You’re going to finish college and become a vet, like you want.”
“We’ll share responsibility,” Scott says sternly. “I want to be there for my baby. I’m not going to be like my dad.”
“I doubt you could be like your dad, even if you tried,” Derek says. “You’re too kind and you’re so good at looking after people.”
Scott blushes a little. “I’m trying to cheer you up, you shouldn’t be giving me compliments.”
Derek nods. “Are you sure you’re not doing this for me? I don’t want to force you into this.”
“Derek, I would hate myself for the rest of my life if I made you have an abortion. I want children. Sure, I didn’t imagine having kids this soon in life, but things happen. Now I just need to deal,” Scott says. He sits down next to Derek and wraps an arm around his shoulders. “Are you happy you’re having a baby?”
“Yes,” Derek whispers. “Very happy, but…”
“Then there’s no need for buts,” Scott tells him. “Promise me you’ll never make such a big life altering decision without me?”
“I promise, Scott.” Derek wipes away his tears.
“Thank you.” He presses a kiss to Derek’s cheek. “I love you, babe, and I love our baby.”
Derek lets out a sigh and relaxes against Scott. He smiles softly as he lets his hand fall down to rest on his stomach. “I’m going to have a family again,” he whispers.
Scott rests his hand on top of Derek’s, lacing their fingers together. “The start of a new generation of Hales.”
“Don’t you mean McCall?” Derek asks.
Scott shakes his head. “There’s no way I’m passing my father’s name along to my children. This child is a Hale and hopefully I will be too in the future.”
When Derek realizes what Scott means, his smile grows. “You’ll be the best Hale, for sure. Just don’t tell Cora I said that, she’ll kill me.”
Scott laughs. “I promise, it’ll be our secret.”
Derek stays in Scott’s embrace for a few more moments before he gets up off the floor. “We should buy a house soon, it’ll be better for the baby. A house with a yard so the baby can play outside when they’re older,” Derek says.
“We need a tree with a swing,” Scott says. “A house isn’t complete without one.” He gets up and immediately wraps an arm around Derek’s waist. “And when we get a house I’m so going to rescue a lot of older dogs. They never get adopted and it’s so sad. Oh, and Deaton recently rescued this dog with only three legs, we need to give him a home, Derek. He’s the sweetest thing ever.”
Derek chuckles. “We can’t get too many dogs, okay? But we can get a few. Definitely the three legged one.”
“We could take him home now…” Scott says, sounding hopeful. “He had surgery the other day, but he’s doing so much better now and I’m sure he’d love a home.”
“How long are you going to pout if I say no?” Derek asks.
“Hours! Maybe even days, Derek,” Scott says, already showing off his best pout. “He’s the cutest, Der. I named him Lucky when he came in.”
Derek rolls his eyes. “Fine, you can bring him home.”
“Yes!” Scott kisses Derek’s cheek. He thanks Derek and rushes off to get Lucky.
While Scott’s gone, Derek takes a moment to collect his thoughts. This was not how he’d expected this day to go, and he needs a moment to take it all in. He’s going to have a baby, and about a million dogs, knowing Scott. It’s the best future he can imagine for himself and he knows, he’s the luckiest man alive.