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"Ready?" Magnus asked.
"Will it be safe?" Stiles asked, jiggling nervously on his feet.
"Yes," Magnus nodded. "You know what you are doing. Now you simply have to do it."
"No pressure," Stiles muttered to himself.
"You're going for simple," Magnus said. Again. "Someplace you know. It's just across town. Focus and do it."
"Yeah." Stiles nodded and took a breath. He turned to the empty space in the yard and carefully waved his arm to draw the semi-circle of a portal.
A portal appeared. Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. It looked just like the portals he had seen Magnus create.
"Good!" Magnus nodded. "Ready to test it?"
Stiles nodded. He took a step toward the portal.
"Wait!" Derek called, moving closer. "I'm going with you."
"Derek!"
"You did this," Derek said, waving a hand at the portal. "But you shouldn't go anywhere alone."
"True," Magnus nodded. "Stiles?"
"But... what if it's wrong?" Stiles frowned.
"Does it feel wrong?" Magnus asked.
"No," Stiles shook his head.
"It feels good to me," Magnus agreed. "And, Derek is right. You shouldn't go anywhere alone."
"What if something goes wrong?" Stiles asked.
"Then you'll have Derek with you," Magnus said. "And you have a phone, you can call."
"True," Stiles replied.
"Call when you get there," Magnus said. "Eventually, I'll teach you about making portals with restrictions. But right now, this is a simple portal to another location."
Stiles thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I can see that."
"So, go and make sure it goes where you wanted it to go to," Magnus said.
Stiles held out a hand to Derek. "Together?" He grinned. "Ready for some adventure?"
"Together." Derek took Stiles's hand. They stepped through the portal to... the Preserve. The old Hale House.
"Is this where you planned to go?" Derek asked.
Stiles nodded. "Yup. It's an obvious landmark. And since it's in the Preserve, I figured it would be less likely that anyone would see me."
Derek nodded. "Call Magnus."
"Oh, right," Stiles nodded. He took out his phone and called. "Hey! It worked!" Stiles listened for a minute and nodded, blushing. "Yeah, we're in the Preserve." More nodding. "Yeah. We'll be right back."
Stiles put his phone away and then fist pumped. "Yeah! I did it!"
"You did good!" Derek beamed. "Now. Take us back to your house. That should be easier."
Stiles nodded. He took a breath and focused. He sketched the portal and it formed in the clearing.
He held out a hand to Derek. "Together."
Derek smiled softly. "Together."
They walked through the portal, ending up in the Stilinski backyard.
"There you go!" Magnus said. "Good job."
------
John heard Peter's low-key growling as background noise as Hallie told them about Stiles' status as sole heir to the Gajos family. She had called and asked them to visit her in the B&B she was staying in. She told them what Magnus had figured out.
"There is no one else?" John asked in dismay.
"There are some distant cousins," she admitted. "But, well, they are also not suitable."
"Not suitable, how?" John asked, curious.
"None of them have any magic, as a starter," Hallie sighed. "And they are fully human and are not even aware of the supernatural. If there was absolutely no one else, I would reach out to them and provide education and training."
"What kind of responsibilities does this place on Stiles?" John asked.
"Right now? None," Hallie replied firmly.
"You want him to sit on the Council," Peter said, suddenly.
"What Council?" John asked.
"Supernatural Council," Peter said.
"Is it that group Alec bitches about regularly?" John asked, rubbing his forehead.
"Yes," Peter nodded.
John turned back to face Hallie. "You sent Magnus and Alec here in hope to get Stiles to sit on Alec's Council."
"One can only hope," Hallie shrugged.
John stood. "I think we need to talk among ourselves."
Peter stood with him.
"You told Magnus you have legal paperwork prepared in case something happens to you," Peter said. "I think you should provide John with a copy of that."
"That is..." she started to protest.
Peter growled.
"Yes, I will," Hallie nodded.
In the car, John rubbed his forehead. "What a mess."
"The good news is that you have us," Peter said. "You and Stiles are Pack and that gives you a... a family to help you with all of this. And Magnus is invested in Stiles. That gives us a powerful ally."
"It's just so... overwhelming," John sighed. "Stiles is just a kid."
"A smart kid with abilities that will take him far," Peter countered. "But abilities that need training and support. Which we will help to provide. If we can't help him ourselves, between my contacts and Magnus's, we can find someone who can."
"It's been just the two of us for so long that I haven't had time to wrap my head around how many people are now part of our lives," John admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for it. We're both better for having all of you around."
"Come on, let's go home and talk this out," Peter said.