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Derek groaned, pushing his arms under his pillow and squirming until he found a comfortable position again. He feels himself start to drift off again before he feels what woke him up in the first place, a small finger poking his face repeatedly. He keeps his eyes closed but quickly snaps out his hand and snags his son laughing body to his own. Kissing the top of the mop of russet curls as he curls around him a bit and starts to doze off again but there go those fingers again, he snaps his jaws but he only hears more laughter.
“C’mon buddy it’s Saturday, let’s sleep in,” Derek mumbles as he loosens his arms allowing his kid to wiggle free but that only allows him to kneel on the bed and start bouncing and pushing at Derek’s body. Last night was the full moon and Eli has the energy of all his beta plus 5 extra, so to say Derek was tired from running in the preserve with the pack was an understatement. The hype behind being an Alpha is true but he still got tired, he wasn’t a god, just a wolf with a spazzy kid that he loved with everything he had, but still. Case in point, Eli trying to make him wake up before 9 am, Derek would bet his Camaro on it.
“Daaaaaaad c’mon! You promised. You said we could go back out into the preserve today!” Derek sometimes wondered if he was raising a banshee with the way Eli screamed-spoke sometimes. Rolling onto his back, he threw a hand over his eyes before, scrubbing his face and throwing his legs over the bed, the movement causing Eli to flail and almost fall to the ground had Derek not caught him by the arm. With a giggle, he watched Eli wiggle down from the bed and run out the room. “Get ready dad! I already got the food bag ready!” That made Derek chuckle because that was leftover Stiles plans, always have a bag of food when you go training, and it just stuck.
Blowing air out of his mouth he stood up from the bed, walking over to his dresser he picked up a shirt and a pair of pants before heading to his ensuite to get ready. Closing the door, he leaned on the sink and yawned hard enough to hear his jaw click. Looking up at himself in the mirror he sighed, he could almost hear Stiles.
“Derek, would you put in a water slide that connected to the window down to a pool? I know we’d have to extend the window down but imagine how fun that would be?”
A slide…he still didn’t see the logic in that but he didn’t get a chance to argue that suggestion since that was the last day he saw his husband in this room. He flashed his eyes and stared, he could feel his claws start to lengthen and all he wanted to do was punch the mirror. He hated seeing his red eyes, he hated seeing everyone look up to him, because he still hated himself for not biting Stiles sooner or convincing him it was the smart decision after marrying Derek. Shaking his head he finished getting ready before heading downstairs and calling out to Eli, “C’mon pup, let’s go.” Hearing Eli skid to a stop in front of the door before following Derek outside to the preserve.
-
They had been out there for the better half of the day when he smelled it, rouge wolves. He tilted his head and heard Eli approaching him, with his eyes staring into the expanse of the woods he grabbed Eli once he was close enough, “I want you to head home and call the pack, do not run, try not to make noise pup ok?” He said this in a quiet but authoritative voice because he couldn’t have his son arguing back right now but he thinks Eli understands because with wide eyes he nodded and started to head back, every so often looking back. Derek sighed before he started before but of course, that didn’t work because as soon as he started to walk he heard Eli’s howl and with a howl and snarl of his own he turned and ran to his son.
When he got there one of the wolves has Eli by his throat, another stood to the side and he felt the other three walking behind him. His eyes flashed red as he snarled at the wolf holding Eli, it made the other wolf smirk, his clawed hand digging deeper into Eli’s skin as he lifted the pup so that his feet were scrapping at the ground.
“Let my son go and we can talk,” Derek was never one to give many choices if any but with his pup hanging by another wolf's claws, he had to be smart. “What do you want?”
“What do we want? We want this land.” The wolf holding Eli said this with the sort of glee maniacs have in movies. Looking at the wolves, now that all 5 were in front of him, it looked like they were a family, all males. The other four wolves looked nervous, they might not be happy about the situation but the way they kept eyeing Derek, he could only guess that they thought they had it made, one Alpha against 5 wolves.
“That isn’t happening, so let my son ago. This is the last time I ask.” Derek said and he stared at Eli’s face turning blue, his legs scrambling, he was still learning to control his shift and this situation didn’t help him since fear made his shift hide, which is what they were working on today. Derek saw each of the wolves take a slight stance and he knew they were coming for him so he did the only thing he could think of. He faked left and when the wolves started for him he turned and ran headfirst into the wolf holding Eli, snagging a hand out to grab Eli and throw him safely to the side, making sure he was far enough away. He turned only to feel claws in his abdomen. Letting out a howl he swiped out with claws and caught the omega by the throat, pulling and ripping out their trachea.
Snarling he turned his head, hand over the wound that he felt was closing slowly, he fought the four coming for him. Slicing with his claws and using his teeth to rip into two more throats when he felt the first stab wound, making him burn from the inside out, it made him scream. Grabbing his side where he could already see black veins surrounding he shook his head and turned to see the last two wolves and with a smile he used two fingers to call them forward. They snarled and while he felt the knife stab him again, he leaned into the stab wound he felt in his stomach, grabbing the hand of the wolf and he smiled at the terror on his face before he bites through his throat until he was basically decapitated.
Derek went to turn but fell to his knees, he pulled the knife out of his stomach, feeling blood dribble out of his mouth, his whole body was on fire and he knew he was fading. He reached out and swiped with the knife, feeling the snagged feeling so he knew he got the wolf but he couldn’t see anything he just hoped. Dropping the knife wasn’t his idea but he couldn’t do anything except fall and he just hoped that the howl he was hearing would call his pack in time to save his pup. Fuck Stiles was going to kill him.
*-*-*
Derek whimpers as lights hit his face before, even with his eyes closed, he can see a shadow block it. Opening his eyes, he has to blink several times to make sure he’s seeing what he is. He can already feel the tears running down the sides of his face as he lifts his hands to cup a face that he hasn’t seen in years, “Stiles?” he whispers because this has to be a dream.
“Hey, Alpha,” Derek watches Stiles's face, how he smiles, the fact that he has light stubble and looks a bit older than the last time he was in Derek’s arms. Then he notices they’re in bed, Stiles leaning over him. Was this real?
“But- Wait is this real? Are you- But you died, was it a dream. Stiles what are you-,” he was cut off by a mouth crushing his before it softened, he missed those lips. Lifting his head he grabbed Stiles's face with both hands and deepened the kiss, licking at those lips before pulling back and looking at his face. His thumbs caressed Stiles’ jaw as he just stared.
“Der, babe you can’t be here.” Stiles's face was serious, hardened in a way Derek never remembers seeing, a single tear rolled down his cheek and using his thumb, Derek wiped it away. A million emotions were showing up on Stiles's face before, it seems, he closed himself off from Derek. Letting go of Stiles's face, a feat harder than anything, he pushed at the bed and scooted himself up into a sitting position. Once he was sitting he leaned over and dragged Stiles to him, until he was straddling his legs and with the surprise on Stiles's face, he wasn’t expecting that to happen.
“I’m still your Alpha, now tell me why I can’t be here?” Derek asked even though there was something almost poking him in the back of his mind. Something didn’t make sense and Derek suddenly couldn’t remember why he was so surprised to see Stiles, why wouldn’t he be used to seeing him? “Also where are we, did I hit my head and we’re on vacation?” Because the place was beautiful now that he looked around, with white bedding, he could see the ocean as well, and smell it through the open breeze that came through the balcony window. Wrapping his arms around Stiles he smiled and pulled him closer, kissing his cheek before nuzzling his neck, but his face scrunched up because he couldn’t smell his mate. Snapping his head back and looking at Stiles he let out a laugh, “Stiles what have you been doing? I can’t smell you at all.” He still had a confused face on when Stiles grabbed his face, mimicking the same way Derek had held his when he woke up.
“Der, this isn’t going to make sense okay, but I need you to listen to me,” Derek went to interrupt but Stiles stopped him, giving him a peck and expressing with his eyes, almost pleading and only continuing when Derek nodded, “Seeing your face is the happiest and most hurtful things I’ve seen in a while.” Stiles said this as tears fell from his eyes and Derek being Derek, not being able to see his mate cry, leaned in and Eskimo kissed him, cooing “shhh baby” but was interrupted as Stiles shook his head and lifted a hand, wiping his tears. “No Derek, Alpha it’s not your time, your brain doesn’t want to process what you so desperately want to remember, it feels like an itch you can’t scratch, right?” And when Derek nodded, his brow furrowing, Stiles continued leaning forward, touching his forehead to Derek’s, “You can’t leave Eli by himself, he’s only 11 Derek and you would never forgive yourself. I know you want to stay, because that’s why it’s so peaceful here right now but you can’t stay, you have to fight against this and go back.” Stiles's voice was firm but it also started to sound far away, Derek couldn’t explain it.
Derek felt like something had been opened and all of a sudden he remembered it. Going out into the woods with Eli and being attacked by that rogue pack, killing them but one of them had a knife with wolfsbane and why a wolf would have that he didn’t know but he knew the last thing he saw before being here was Eli crying above him and howling. He felt the desperation all of a sudden to get back to Eli but when his hands went to move what was holding him there he looked and saw it was Stiles and just like he remembered how he got here he remembered his mate and he felt his chest break, “No, please, Stiles please don’t..” he knew he was crying as his hands scrabbled up touching Stiles's face, arms, everything, because he felt like he was floating away even though he didn’t see anything moving, “Don’t make me leave you, come with me, come see Eli,” he whispered and he knew the answer because Stiles just smiled and kissed his forehead before leaning hugging him, wrapping his whole body around Derek and sobbing, “Please don’t make me leave you again, baby, I- I can’t. I barely survive as it is, I can’t know, I-.”
He felt Stiles kissing his shoulder, neck, head, and everywhere he could touch. “I love you Derek Hale but Alpha it’s not your time yet.” Pushing back so he was holding Derek’s face again, he kissed his tears away before gently leaving a fluttering kiss on his lips, “Not yet, Alpha. You can’t come back to me just yet.” It was almost like Stiles was trying to memorize his face the way his fingers ran along the curves of it, the feeling of it made Derek’s eyes close.
Opening his eyes he kept looking at Stiles, lifting his own hand to match Stiles’ face to match the movements, “You look different.” and he smiled when he saw Stiles mock him before sitting back and smiling.
“You do too Sourwolf.” the smile that Derek was given was sad and resigned. “Take care of our pup?” Stiles asked with a tilt of his head.
“Always baby, always.” Derek leaned to his kiss his mate one more time because he already heard Eli and Lydia’s voices filling his head, screaming his name.
‘Derek! Come back!’
‘Dad, please don’t leave me here, cmon dad fight!’
Taking a deep breath Derek stood, still not letting go of Stiles, hand running down until it found his mate's hand, grabbing it and staring down at it. “Sti-”
“Go through the door Derek, and when you get back, hug Eli for me yea?” Stiles said as Derek nodded and agreed and it was almost like with that nod he agreed that he wouldn’t stay and by saying he wasn’t staying he couldn’t keep Stiles because the hand he was holding wasn’t solid anymore and his mate was smiling at him but he could see through him until he wasn’t there anymore.
Derek stepped forward, his heart going a thousand miles a minute as he tried to look around but the room that was there was slowly fading away, and when he turned so was the door so he ran and the closer he ran, the louder he heard his son and his pack, screaming for him. Once he got to the door he hesitated and looked back hoping to see Stiles but he didn’t, he just saw darkness and with that, he opened the door back to the screaming world.
-*-*-
“DAD! I think he’s coming back Aunt Lydia! Dad, can you hear me? Cmon wake up, you’re healing already!” Derek heard Eli crying and with all the strength he could muster he opened his eyes, groaning as he felt wolfsbane being burned out of each stab wound that rogue wolf gave him. Seeing Eli’s face go from crying to crying harder but smiling before he got hugged harder than he thought his son had the strength for. Lifting up his own arms he wrapped them around his pup before looking around.
He saw Noah and Chris talking with Jordan while Boyd and Isaac were dragging bodies into what he thinks is a pick-up truck but he snapped his head back when he felt a slap on his arm. Looking up he saw Lydia, Marisol, and Erica, tears staining their faces, kneeling next to him. Marisol was holding the blow torch, he thinks she was the bravest one sometimes, being human, even if she was a druid, if Melissa wasn’t around she would always handle the wolves injuries and he’s pretty sure even he has swiped a clawed hand out at her and she never once flinched.
“I’m good kid, I’m not going anywhere.” Because that’s what you say to your kid when you’re revived, right? Derek sat up and felt Erica helping him lean against the tree they were sitting in front of. “What happened to the Rogues?” he asked although he could guess.
“We heard Eli howl, me and Boyd were on our way here already. Boyd got the last one but it seems like you took care of the other four yourself, big bad Alpha.” Erica was smiling as she recalled but he could see the tightness around her eyes and the way her eyes flashed gold a couple of times. Reaching out, he grabbed her shoulder and held her firmly until he felt her body sag a bit before she leaned against him and rest her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t know how they passed our borders, I’m sorry guys.” he said when he tracked Marisol’s face and his brow furrowed a bit. With a nod of his chin and tilt of his head, he got her to talk.
“I didn’t feel anything and even though everything feels calm, I want to go out and check the boundary spell but Derek, there’s no way they passed through here by themselves.” Derek nodded as he understood what she wasn’t saying. Someone with magic helped those Rogues cross over into Hale territory and if that was happening, things could get dangerous and that was one thing he didn’t want Eli to be a part of. He might have to send him away with Noah for a bit if this turned out to be a big problem.
“Alright well once Isaac is done, go with him and check the wards, take Jordan with you but for now let’s get inside.” He was still holding onto Eli and he didn’t think his son was letting go of him anytime soon so neither was he. Using the tree and Erica he stood up, he could feel his body was almost completely healed but he could use a few hours - read: days - of rest. Walking into the house he felt like he was forgetting something as he listened to Lydia and Marisol go into the kitchen to make food more than likely. He went upstairs with Eli attached to him, “Eli, pup, you gotta let it go, I gotta shower.” he felt his son shake his head and he sighed. Walking into his room, grabbed the basketball shorts on his dresser as he walked to the ensuite again for the day. Nudging Eli until he was sitting on the toilet, he kept a hand on his shoulder when he felt him try to get up, “Kid I know, but you can’t go in the shower with me, so just stay here and guard the door ok?” when he got a nod, he walked over to the shower, opening the door and closing it.
He was thankful he insisted on the private shower, the glass was frosted so no one could see through and it was angled so it was almost its own private corner. Taking off his clothes, he threw them over the door before turning on the water, as hot as it could go. He watched the dried blood wash off him and circle the drain before disappearing. He lifted his face up to the water, closing his eyes as he washed his face but almost fell back when all he saw was Stiles when he closed his eyes. His heart beat started going crazy and he heard Eli, scream his name, “I’m fine pup, just thought I saw a spider.” he called out, and once he heard him settle he quickly went through his shower routine but never closed his eyes for more than a blink again. Finishing up he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out, walking to the walk-through closet that had a door in the bathroom and curved so it had a door that lead to the bedroom as well. In there he dried and off and got dressed in the basketball shorts and nothing else. He was already at home, he wasn’t going to get dressed, and let’s tack on that he almost died.
Exiting back to the bathroom he stopped as he looked at Eli, he walked over and grabbed his face, turning him this way and that making sure he was okay. Eli stood and hugged him by the middle and Derek hugged back, feeling his throat get tight because anything happened to his son he was liable to go feral and kill anything in his path, “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them before getting to you pup.”
“Dad, dad that wasn’t your fault. You heard Titi Marisol, you can’t blame yourself.” He heard his son sniffle before he let go and looked up at him, “Just, if that ever happens again, promise me you’ll always fight to come back, ok?” he smiled when he saw Eli hold up his pinky finger. Hooking his own through he leaned down and kissed Eli’s forehead.
“I’ll always fight to come back to you pup. It’s you and me against the world right?” he said and smiled when he felt Eli nod. “Alright let’s go downstairs, I think I smell Marisol’s grilled cheese.” He held Eli’s hand and they walked down and low and behold, grilled cheese. They ate as a pack and once Chris, Noah and Jordan got back they sat in the den and watched some movie, probably The Notebook before everyone headed to their bedrooms if they were staying and the others headed home.
-
Derek lay in his bed, arm behind his head, staring up at the ceiling when he heard footsteps and then his door opening, with a quick inhale he knew it was Eli. “Pup you ok?” he called out but didn’t get an answer, instead his son crawled over his legs before snuggling next to him, wrapping himself to Derek like an octopus. Derek heard him mumble before he heard snores and just chuckled, he guess he should expect this for about week before Eli understands he wasn’t going anywhere. He ran his hands through the thick brown hair his pup had until he felt his eyes get heavy.
Derek felt a hand on his face which made him open his eyes because Eli probably needed to make sure he was alive, he smiled as he opened them but stopped when he saw Stiles staring at him. Stiles sitting on the bed, Eli still octupused around his side. Stiles in his house and in his room, touching his face and like a lightbulb turned on he remembered what happened when he was dying, “Stiles?”
“I’m going to get into so much trouble but I- I just had to make sure my boys were ok and you are.” he smiled down at Derek and Derek couldn’t breath, he felt a sob coming through but held it in because he didn’t want to wake Eli.
“Stiles are you real, am- am I going crazy?” he whispered and when he went to move an arm he found he couldn’t move, just his mouth and eyes. His eyes widened and Stiles seeing this let out a ‘shhh it’s okay big bad’ and rubbed at his chest while his other hand ran through Eli’s hair with the lightest of touches.
“Near death experiences make you dream of crazy things but you aren’t crazy Der.” Derek understood what was being said but how could this be a dream but when he inhaled, he couldn’t smell and he could almost believe it.
“I miss you baby, why don’t you visit my dreams like you visit Eli’s?” Derek asked, his eyes blinking slowly as he felt Stiles scratching softly at his beard.
“He told you about that huh, sneaky pup.” Derek watched Stiles lean down and kiss Eli’s cheek before leaning over and kissing his lips but he couldn’t reciprocate, “I would visit your dreams Der but I have a feeling you wouldn’t want to wake up. I saw how that goes, I couldn’t do that to you Alpha, you’re too aware.” and with that Stiles got up and walked over to Derek’s side, looking down at them, lifting his hand to Derek’s hair, leaning down and kissing his forehead. “Love you always, Alpha.”
“To the moon and back,” Derek woke with a gasp, it was like he heard himself speak but didn’t know why. Eli made a snuffling noise and he soothed him, rubbing a hand down his back while he rubbed his own face. Turning he saw the alarm clock read 3am, sighing he turned on his side, hugging Eli to his chest before succumbing back to sleep, feeling the calmest he has ever felt