Soulmates | Derek Hale - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Unlike his wife, Derek couldn't sleep after the long few days they'd had. Jennifer, Maeve going into labour, his dad... the whole of it couldn't get out of his head.
Maeve had briefly seen Seth before falling back to sleep out of pure exhaustion, and even then she wondered if she were hallucinating. Derek wished she was.
Derek lay Freddie down in the crib beside his sister, his son had been restless for hours and Derek had finally realised he just wanted to be next to his sister.
Freddie scrunched up his nose looking like he was about to cry at the top of his tiny lungs, Derek held in a breath expecting the noise but relaxed as Freddie yawned and fell back to sleep.
Like her mother, Florence hadn't moved since she fell asleep earlier.
The exhaustion finally hit Derek as he lay down beside Maeve, his wife rolling over to cuddle against his side.
"Derek?" She mumbled sleepily, "Are you okay?"
Derek sighed, glancing down at Maeve who looked up at him sympathetically, "I don't know. He's just took me by surprise, showing up out of the blue like that."
"What what did you feel seeing him again?" Maeve sat up slightly, Derek smiled slightly at her messy hair.
"Angry, at first," Derek shrugged, "Really wanted to punch him - almost did. I'm sure I saw your nan following him out of the loft looking suspicious, maybe she's done it for me."
Then again, Lorraine was on a high from seeing her great grandchildren, Derek had never seen the woman smile so bright - he was quite concerned, actually.
Maeve rolled her eyes, "And then what?"
"It made me," Derek began, pulling Maeve closer, "It made me miss Lu. I don't like her being so far away without us, I don't want her to think we don't want her here-"
"Derek," Maeve interrupted sharply, turning around in his arms to face him properly, "Why would she think that? Why do you think that?"
Derek avoided her fiery gaze, "I told her I'd never leave her again and we just shipped her away. I'm no better than him."
Maeve cradled his face in her hands, "Derek, you're not your dad! Luna loves you more than anyone on the planet. How can you think you're a bad dad? You haven't slept since we left the hospital cause you were looking after the twins when I couldn't."
Derek looked over to the twins with a sigh, "I'm never leaving them."
"Derek," Maeve smiled sadly, "You don't need to tell me that, I know. Stop hating yourself for leaving us, you left so you didn't hurt us - that makes you a way better father than willingly putting your child through pain."
Derek nodded slowly, pulling Maeve into a desperate hug, holding her like he never wanted to let go, "I love you."
Maeve kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder, "I love you too, now go to sleep!"
—
Maeve was greeted by the sugary smell of pancakes as she entered the kitchen, looking up to Isaac in surprise as he smiled sheepishly.
"I, uh, made breakfast," Isaac explained, motioning to the food on the island, "I thought you would be tired, so-"
Maeve smiled gratefully, holding Florence tighter as she wiggled in her arms, "Thank you, Isaac, that's really sweet."
Isaac awkwardly shuffled back to the cooker, flipping a pancake, "That man who was here last nights back."
Maeve huffed, glaring at the closed door, "He's Dereks dad."
Isaac almost dropped the spatula, turning back to look at Maeve in confusion, "His dad?"
"It's a long story," Maeve grumbled, placing Florence into her rocker on the table, "Would you mind watching her whilst I talk to him?"
Isaac nodded, placing a pancake on one of Luna's hand painted plates before passing it to Maeve, "Of course."
Maeve grinned as she took the pancake from him, taking a bite as she walked out to find Seth. She spotted him sat on the couch, Luna's cat suspiciously walking across the back of the chair.
"Kieran hasn't seen you, then?" Maeve assumed, sitting back into the pink armchair that Derek absolutely detested.
Seth blinked in confusion, "What makes you say that?"
"You're not bleeding," Maeve stated, smiling mischievously at him, "I'd say you're worrying about the wrong sons temper, Derek's much calmer these days."
Well, sort of, Maeve wondered.
"I suppose you have your own things you want to say to me?" Seth sighed.
Maeve rolled her eyes, "Oh, plenty. But my hormones are out of whack and I'm more likely to cry than to hurt you. So, all I'm going to say is that if you ever make Derek feel like a bad father, I'll pull a Peter and make you very sorry."
Taking another bite, Maeve stood up and walked back into the kitchen without another word leaving Seth incredibly puzzled.
Unfortunately for him, Kieran walked through the door.
Seth cautiously stood to greet his son, but Kieran took one look at his father, clenched his fist and punched him in the face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Kieran growled.
Derek paused on the stairs hearing the commotion, glancing down at Freddie in his arms, debating if he should expose his son already to the dramatics of his family.
"Sorry, Buddy, there's no escaping it," Derek whispered, walking down into the living room.
"I've been released," Seth answered.
Kieran laughed loudly, "Well, obviously! What made you think it was a good idea to come here? Don't tell me you were looking for Dean like you should be cause that would be a fat lie."
Seth's face fell at the mention of Dean, "Where is Dean? With his mother?"
Derek glared at his father, "Deans mother, not that you could call her that, abandoned him too."
Seth stepped back, eyes wide in shock, "She left? Who's looked after him?"
"I did," Derek answered proudly, "Maeve and I raised your son for the past six years."
Like Maeve, Derek barley paid Seth a second glance before leaving for kitchen, if it weren't for his son in his arms Derek was certain he would've punched something.
Seth, most likely.
—
With Seth finally gone from the loft, a broken plant pot ( and plant ) thanks to Kieran and an rant from Maeve over said broken plant, the family finally sat down for breakfast.
Kieran munched on his pancake with bloody fists, making faces at the twins in their little chair, which was quite a sight.
Isaac laughed with Maeve as they chucked tiny pieces of strawberry at Derek until he woke up, but he remained fast asleep in his chair.
The slam of the front door cause him to jump awake, pieces of strawberry falling from his hair onto his lap. Maeve and Isaac dropped the strawberry's innocently as Derek glared at them.
Peter strolled into the kitchen, smiling widely, he paused as he passed the twins, staring down at the babies in confusion.
Looking to Maeve's smaller stomach and the snoozing babies, Peter chuckled, "Well I'm obviously the last one to the party."
Maeve sipped her coffee, raising her brows, "Care to tell us how your almost 72 hour date went?"
"You went on a date?" Kieran choked on his pancake.
Peter looked to his nephew in offence, "I've been going on dates longer than you've been alive, Kieran Peter."
Kieran rolled his eyes, "You also spent half of it pretending to be in a coma."
"I was not pretending!" Peter protested.
Maeve and Derek shared a look of amusement, Maeve kicked out one of the chairs for Peter to sit.
"Who was so important that you missed the birth of your great niece and nephew?" Derek questioned.
Peter smirked, sitting back in his chair, "Ah, my dear Jasmine."
"You better not mean my jasmine," Maeve threw her fork down onto the table like a toddler, growling under her breath as Peter smiled, "No! You cannot date one of my best friends! That's not okay!"
Peter crossed his arms, raising his brows mockingly, "And why not?"
"It's not right," Maeve huffed, "I have to deal with you daily, you shouldn't torture my friends with your presence."
The remaining men in the room watched the argument intently, even the twins had woken from their nap.
"Jasmine has no complains," Peter argued.
"Jazz has two children, Peter," Maeve reminded, "How did you go from eternal bachelor to step daddy overnight."
"I have met said children," Peter smirked, "We get along just fine, Luna has little Suzie trained well."
Maeve looked about ready to throw her plate at him, "Don't bring Lu into this! Peter, you can't just mess around when there's kids involved-"
Peter stood from his chair, sighing in defeat, "I love Jasmine, is that enough?"
Maeve sat gaping like a fish, the rest of the room fell into silence as they watched Peter leave. Kieran froze with his fork mid air, looking to Derek who looked like he was ready to pass out.
"I thought it was just a date?" Isaac spoke up tentatively, "Surely he doesn't love her already?"
"He's been going on dates for the past few weeks," Maeve replied suspiciously.
Isaac nodded slowly, frowning at the sight of the frozen Hales, "Then why are you so surprised?"
"Peters never loved anyone," Derek sighed, "Ever."
"Oh," Isaac whispered.
—
Luna shot out of the house like a rocket, practically knocking Laura over as they raced to greet Maeve and Derek. Maeve looked over her shoulder with a laugh as she lifted out the twins car seats, watching Luna tackle Derek.
Derek scooped Luna up before she could run any further, crushing her into a hug, "Hi Lu."
"Dad - can't breathe!" Luna giggled, squeezing him back.
"Where's my hug?" Maeve called over, Luna smiled up at her mother but gasped at the car seats.
"You had them without me!" Luna exclaimed, hurrying over to peer down into the car seats, "You promised they wouldn't come yet!"
Maeve rolled her eyes, kissing the top of Luna's head, her daughter gently saying hello to her siblings, "Sometimes you can't help it, Lu. The babies decided they wanted to see you sooner."
"Well," Luna pursed her lips, sharing a look with her parents, "I suppose that's okay..."
Derek laughed in disbelief, shaking his head. Laura and Cora swept up the car seats despite Luna's protective glare over them.
"Oh don't growl little wolfie, you'll get your chance to hold them," Laura laughed.
"They're my siblings," Luna grumbled following after her aunts as they cooed over the twins.
"Don't you think I won't be holding my grandchildren first, girls," Talia's voice rang out from inside.
"Mum!"
"Gran!"
Maeve smiled lazily up at Derek, wrapping her arms around his waist as they walked up to the house, "Welcome home, Derek."
Derek smiled genuinely at Maeve, listening into the excited chatter from inside, even the sight of the cat trotting up to the house didn't seem to phase him. He was home.
—
Talia stared at Seth from the top of the patio steps, a cold glare on her face, "I have nothing to say to you."
Introductions over and it was only a matter of time before Seth arrived. Cora had spotted him from the window and promptly walked in the opposite direction, Laura had decided sleep was far more essential than seeing her father again, leaving Talia to face her ex husband alone.
Over the years, dealing with all of the issues that came with Seth, Talia was never surprised, but hearing how he'd changed after her death had truly shocked her and she needed to know why. Talia had no love for Seth left, but he was still the father of her children, her husband for over ten years,
"Can't imagine you do," Seth said, slowly approached the steps, "I'm glad to see you're well... and alive."
Talia crossed her arms, eyeing hun suspiciously, "You could've seen a lot sooner if you weren't trapped behind bars."
"I'm sure the kids filled you in on all my faults over the years," Seth sighed in defeat.
Turning on her heels, Talia motioned Seth inside, "And you can fill me in on why the hell you've done each and every one."
Seth was reminded of his old home as he entered Maeve and Dereks house, the Hale house was always buzzing with activity and it appeared here it did too.
In a replica stance of her grandmother, Luna watched Seth suspiciously from the hallway, brushing her freshly cut bangs away from her eyes, "Who are you?"
"He's your grandfather Seth, Luna," Talia introduced, "Your father told me you were little the last time you saw him, you won't of remembered."
Luna didn't like the thought of a family member around that her parents didn't like, Maeve and Dereks opinion was far more important than a random man claiming to be her grandfather.
"I have a grandad," Luna squinted at Seth, "He's not you."
"Noah is your mums father, Seth is your dads," Talia explained.
Nodding slowly, Luna looked her grandfather up and down before strolling into the living room, "I will take it into consideration."
"She's-" Seth blinked in surprise, "Very curious."
Talia chuckled, "I believe the words your searching for are scarily intelligent."
"Or devil child," Dean chimed, walking down the staircase, falling still as he spotted Seth stood in front of him, "Oh, it's you."
Dean hadn't seen his father once since he was locked away, and he was glad for it. Life with Derek, Maeve and his siblings was far more stable than it ever had been with Seth.
"Dean," Seth greeted gruffly, "It's been a while."
Rolling his eyes, Dean ignored his dad and walked straight out the door, slamming it behind him, "Who's fault is that?"
Like his brother, Derek appeared out of nowhere but had apparently seen the whole thing, "I'll talk to him."
Derek sighed under his breath, it was only a matter of time before Seth came and rained on their happiness.
Seth watched Derek follow after his brother, turning to Talia, "Derek really raised him?"
"I wasn't here to see it," Talia answered with a shrug, "But Derek cares for that boy like one of his own."
Derek walked down the steps of their patio leading out onto the beach, sitting down beside Dean at the shoreline. Dean looked ahead, running his hands in the water trying to conceal his anger.
Derek stayed silent, waiting for his brother to speak first, unsure how Dean would react to something like this.
Dean broke the awkward silence, "This is weird, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Derek chuckled, "Its weird. Are you alright?"
"I guess. You know," Dean said quietly, "You and Maeve have been better parents to me than mine ever have."
Derek looked to his little brother in surprise as Dean continued, "You were just- you were always there, you know? When he wasn't. You always are there, even with your own family to take care of."
The one thing about Dean that everyone knew was that he was never one to say how he was feeling, he would brush it under the rug until it was unavoidable and most commonly dealt with it with anger.
"Course I am," Derek smiled, "You're my little brother, I'm gonna always take care of you."
"Are you gonna talk to Seth?" Dean wondered, "I don't know what to do."
Derek sighed, running his hands through the sand, "I don't know, Dean. I really don't. I hate him, but-"
"He's dad?" Dean guessed.
Derek nodded, "Yeah. It makes me hate him more in a way."
"Why?" Dean frowned, "You've hated him for as long as I've been alive. Why is it different now?"
"I'm a dad," Derek answered simply, "I have three kids, I love them more than anything and I love my wife. Seth had four kids and a wife that loved him and he still went and destroyed it. I can't hate him for doing it since we have you in our lives now, but I can't understand why he would do it."
Dean listened carefully, knowing this was his brother had been holding onto for a long time, "When I left Maeve and Lu, it all but tore me apart but I had to do it. But he walks around like he had never done it, like he doesn't care. Then he does it again and leaves you."
Dean frowned, "I'm not mad that he did, I'm glad you and Maeve raised me instead of him."
"You are?" Derek turned to him, eyes wide.
Dean smiled, "Yeah, I am."
—
Talia smiled weakly as she watched Derek glare at Seth before walking back into the kitchen, from the offside open dining room, Talia and Seth watched him start dinner.
Luna came running to help after checking her siblings, being a very responsible sister like she claimed. Maeve was certain at some point she would have to remind Luna that they were her children, but she couldn't complain about the extra help.
"Peter!" Maeve's voice rang out from the hallway, moments later Peter emerged with Maeve slung over his shoulder.
"Put her down for Christ sakes, Peter, she's just given birth. She's fragile!" Talia scolded.
Peter set Maeve down on one of the island chairs, mockingly patting her head, "I just saved the fragile one from crying as she tried to walk down the stairs."
Maeve rolled her eyes, picking up Florence who seemed to whine as soon as her mother entered the room. Peter slid down on the seat opposite, Maeve and him were still in their argument over Jazz and both were too stubborn to back down. Hence the staring match the duo were holding.
Talia chuckled as she spotted her ex husband sat at the dining table beside her, looking over to the kitchen with a brooding expression that all her children seemed to share.
Talia followed his gaze into the kitchen, on Derek and Luna specifically, "You're surprised."
"Should I not be?" Seth questioned.
Talia eyed him suspiciously, "Maeve told me you'd only met Luna once."
Seth went to protest but Talia interrupted, holding up her hand to silence him.
"I'm not here to interrupt you, I just want to know why," She added.
"You want to know why I'm surprised?" Seth started, "In the last seven years I've seen Derek three times, the second I can't even remember. The first was almost a year after the fire when Luna was born, I found him sat beside her crib staring down at her looking absolutely terrified. We might not of been close as he grew older but I know when he was broken and scared but I just walked away, I didn't comfort him or tell him it would be alright."
Talia nodded slowly, "The third?"
"Before my trial, he and Maeve had just split up. God, he was a mess alright. I didn't comfort him, or tell him it would be alright," Seth watched Derek help Luna put on an apron, protesting loudly as she tried to give him one too.
"What did you do?" Talia questioned.
"I riled him up, I made him angry. I saw myself in him and I hated it," Seth admitted, "I thought if he hated himself for turning out like me, he might go back to his family."
"He did," Talia reminded, "But I'm sure he would've without you reminding him of his mistakes."
"Seeing him now," Seth shook his head in disbelief, "Seeing him dote on his wife like i'd never done for you, seeing how he loves his kids with his whole heart. The last I saw him, Maeve hated his guts and now they're somehow more in love."
"You thought he'd be a bad father? A bad husband?" Talia summarised.
"Well, he didn't have a good example, did he?" Seth scoffed, "Course I thought he would be.
They looked back into the kitchen, Talia watched the scenes she would see almost everyday, but Seth watched his son act like a person he had never seen before.
Luna giggled as Derek playfully swiped at her nose with some of the pasta sauce, standing on her tiptoes on the stool to help him mix the pasta.
Derek now held Freddie on his shoulder as the newborn snoozed. Maeve and Peter were still silently arguing, but Florence had become a shield between them both.
Luna rushed over to the table they were sat up, slowly and cautiously picking up her cookbook, not taking her eyes off Seth as she backed away into the kitchen. Talia held back her laugh but Seth chuckled.
He had a lot to learn about his ever growing family, even if he wasn't considered a part of it.
4 months later
The Hales had settled into a normalcy that they hadn't had in years, despite the lingering presence of Seth, everything was suspiciously normal - not that they'd complain about that.
Freddie and Florence's arrival in the family brought a new comfort, the twins were growing leaps and bounds and their parents wanted them to say little.
"Ma!" Freddie squeaked.
He and Florence couldn't quite speak yet, Florence had a far wider vocabulary of little words and never seemed to shut up, whilst Freddie stuck with ma - driving Derek mad, but hearing Florence say da made it all forgotten about.
Freddie tugged on Maeve's hair as she reached down to grab her phone, rocking the pushchair with her foot whilst Florence snoozed away obliviously.
"Maeve!"
Maeve winced at the volume of her brothers voice, "Stiles? Is everything alright?"
With Maeve now living in Malibu which was only half an hour away from Beacon Hills, Stiles had seen less of his sister but his daily facetimes with the twins and Luna kept his presence around the house.
Cora and Deans bickering sounded loudly through the playground, showing Maeve that they weren't the best suited to watch over now eight year old Luna, who had already reached the top of the climbing frame.
Luna had had her own little growth spurt, at the age of eight she decided she was suddenly an adult and had no problems acting like it, much to Maeve and Derek's frustration. Despite still being a clone of her mother, her once platinum baby hair had darkened considerably over the months and Derek was proud to say he finally saw himself in her.
"What do you know about turning werecoyotes back to human?"
Blinking slowly, Maeve asked, "What the hell are you on about? Please tell me you're not running around trying to free wild coyotes. Don't you think you give dad and I enough work as it is?"
"I won't tell you then."
"Stiles!" Maeve whisper shouted, glancing at her youngest daughter cautiously to check she hadn't woken, "Are you stupid? What do you mean you want to turn a coyote into a human? Do you want me to drive up to Beacon Hills? Don't answer that, I'm coming home."
Freddie looked up to his mum with a gummy smile, clapping his tiny hands at the sound of his uncle. The twins were obviously werewolves, but unlike their sister their traits had appeared younger than usual - their hearing coming first, and they heard everything - making it impossible for Derek and Maeve to try and get the twins to sleep in the nursery, it was like they knew when they were leaving the room ( which they did )
Stiles sighed in defeat on the other end, "Okay!"
"Hey, Stiles?" Maeve mumbled, adjusting the blanket protecting Florence from the sun on the pram.
"Yeah?"
Maeve frowned at the thought of her husband, "You haven't seen Derek, have you?"
"WHAT-"
"Calm down! I just haven't seen him in a few days and he's not picking up, he's not done a runner!" Maeve defended.
Derek had been very content over the summer, if it were up to him they'd never have to go back to Beacon Hills - but the other night he and Peter went back to the loft to check things over and they hadn't been home since.
"And how do you know that?"
"Peters with him," Maeve sighed.
"Oh yeah, that makes it so much better."
"I just don't know where he is, that's all," Maeve quickly changed the subject before Stiles went off on a rant, "Who's this coyote you're trying to free anyways?"
"Malia Tate."
Maeve froze, clutching the phone tighter, "Malia Tate? You're certain?"
She hadn't heard that name in years, and when she did plan on hearing it, it wasn't over her little brother trying to turn her to a human from a coyote.
Especially when she was supposed to be dead.
"Yeah, we're certain. Did you know her or something?"
"I've got to go," Maeve hung up, dropping her phone to the table as she took a deep breath.
Malia couldn't be alive
Just as Maeve came to the realisation that Malia could be alive, the thought of telling Peter about her hit. How could they tell Peter, who was finally getting into a good place, that they lied to him about having a child?
Talia carried over a basket with their picnic, unpacking it on the table as she looked to Maeve in concern, "What's wrong?"
"It's Malia," Maeve answered shakily.
Talia dropped the tub of biscuits, quickly sitting down, "Peter's Malia?"
"She's alive," Maeve confirmed, burying her face in her hands as she took a deep breath, "She's been trapped as a were-coyote for all these years, Stiles and Scott are trying to free her."
Talia blinked in shock, "How the hell are we gonna tell him?"