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It’s not that Derek doesn’t love being a father. He does. He adores Marianne with all his heart, has never regretted spending most of his life savings on going through the surrogate process.
She’s his world.
It’s just sometimes it’s really difficult. Especially around the holiday season. Derek doesn’t make much as a high school history teacher, and kids need… well they just need so much. He only has one, but it’s stretched thin for the two of them on his salary, and Marianne needs new clothes and shoes every year, and she’s eight now and it’s almost Christmas.
Derek had splurged for her birthday a few months ago, got her that puppy she really wanted but Peanut Butter the rescue dog had countless vet bills and they also had to move out of their no-pets apartment.
So that’s why they’re back in Beacon Hills. It’s nice, and a lot less expensive than New York, and Derek can afford a small two-bedroom condo that has a little yard for Peanut Butter to run around in, and they’re close to Cora too, who’s getting her doctorate at BHU twenty minutes away.
Yeah, Derek doesn’t regret paying for Cora’s college either.
He wants to give what family he has left everything he can, and while Cora chuckled and patted his head when he said he couldn’t give her a Christmas gift this year, he expects it’s going to be a lot more difficult with his daughter.
Derek sits her down when she gets home from school, fixes her favorite snack of apples and peanut butter, and tries to let her down easy.
“Oh, that’s okay, Daddy,” Marianne says brightly. “Auntie Cora helped me with something, it’s going to be an awesome surprise!”
“Auntie Cora…” Derek says, confused. His younger sister, even with his help with her undergrad tuition, still had student loans and lived pretty much hand-to-mouth with her minimal salary as a teacher’s assistant and graduate student research grant.
“It’s a surprise,” Marianne says, narrowing her eyes, and that’s the last of the information Derek gets out of her.
He calls Cora up and she laughs at him. “It’s just Shop With a Cop,” she explains, which isn’t an explanation at all.
Derek huffs at her.
“It’s a cool thing the Sheriff’s Department does every year, no need to worry about it,” she says. “They raised a bunch of money this year too for it, I just thought it would be neat for Marianne to pick out presents and like, the spirit of the thing is giving, for her to pick out presents for another family too, so it’ll be great.”
Well, he guesses it isn’t so bad. He feels a bit guilty at not being able to afford the presents himself but Cora assures him that it’s the point of the program-- all the students getting free lunch at the elementary school are eligible, and it’s more focused on them picking out presents for the families at the local homeless shelter than getting gifts for their own family. He likes that it also gets Marianne involved too.
Okay, maybe Derek is okay with it until Marianne keeps coming home with more and more stories about Mr. Officer Stiles. And yes, he told her that one title was enough, this— Stiles— was either a Mr. or an Officer or a Deputy but calling him all of those things was redundant.
“He likes it,” Marianne insists. “He’s the bestest and funniest of all the cops. He let me wear his hat when he came to after school today, and he came back and helped Mr. Scott with decorating the classroom.”
“I thought this shopping program was only for Saturday,” Derek says.
Marianne gasps.
“Cora told me,” Derek says.
“Okay but the presents are going to be a secret! I’m not going to let Mr. Officer Stiles tell you either!”
Mr. Officer Stiles has come by Marianne’s classroom before, and Derek remembers snippets from earlier in the fall, like Marianne bouncing and saying “I got to wear a deputy badge today!” and “Police dogs are so nice. Can’t we have a puppy?”
Apparently this Stiles character keeps dropping by the afterschool program and help Mr. Scott out, which Derek understands; it’s mostly kids from low-income families who can’t be picked up from school right away, and it runs mostly on the goodwill of one third-grade teacher—Mr. Scott— and whatever volunteers he can wrangle. Derek relies on the program a lot; especially since the high school doesn’t let out until an hour after and it’s all the way across town.
But now the talking about Mr. Officer Stiles is nonstop. It’s like Marianne got really obsessed with Batman and wanted to watch all the animated series, read comics, and thought he was the best hero ever. Except that Mr. Officer Stiles is a real person, and “Did you know he stopped two bad guys at a robbery today, Daddy?” and “Did you know Mr. Officer Stiles and Mr. Scott are best friends, and one time Mr. Scott rescued Mr. Officer Stiles when he was stuck in a tree?” Derek doesn’t even know the context of that conversation, except it started with Mr. Officer Stiles trying to rescue someone’s cat.
“Let me guess, Mr. Officer Stiles is your partner for the Shop with a Cop thing,” Derek says dryly.
Marianne nods. “I got to pick first! Isn’t that awesome? He’s the best.”
Derek is not jealous of his daughter’s newest hero. He’s not. Just because this guy wears a uniform and knows a bunch of weird punny jokes that she happens to like.
Saturday rolls around and Derek finds himself at the pretzel shop at the mall, sitting down and not eating his pretzel, trying to look inconspicuous. Cora had picked up Marianne an hour ago, said they were meeting Mr. Officer Stiles and she’d let him know when they were done. It’s been an hour. That’s more than enough time to pick out presents for another family right?
Derek takes a sip of his coffee. The cup is empty, but he pretends to drink anyway.
“You’re not fooling anyone, bro,” Cora says, plopping down in the seat next to him with a number of shopping bags. “Cora!” Derek startles, sitting upright. “Where are—”
“Chill, they were taking their sweet time walking, and Marianne wanted a piggyback ride. I spotted you lurking so I just wanted to say hey. We’re almost done.” Cora yawns. “There they are.”
Derek isn’t sure what he was expecting; he knows Scott pretty well and knows he’s the kind of person who can make friends with anyone, a “best friend” could be someone of any age. For some reason Derek had this idea in his head of an elderly grandfatherly type who liked to tell silly jokes, read stories to kids in classrooms and let them wear his badge.
Stiles is, for lack of a better word, hot.
Derek can feel his mouth drop open a little bit, watching the man stride forward, warm brown eyes twinkling merrily. He’s in uniform, the green and khaki outfit looking far better than it should.
Marianne is wearing his hat, laughing, her arms wrapped around his chest as Stiles carries her forward. Something new and domestic stirs within Derek’s heart. He’s never dated much, Marianne never took to anyone he’s tried introducing her to before, but it’s clear to see how much she adores Stiles.
“Daddy!” Marianne yells, seeing Derek, her face lighting up with happiness.
Stiles lets her down and Marianne runs forward, grinning with delight.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“Just.. wanted a pretzel,” Derek says awkwardly. He stands up. “Uh, hello, I’m Derek Hale, Marianne’s father.”
“Stiles Stilinski,” is the cheerful answer, and that handshake is firm, too. Wow.
Cora snorts.
Marianne tugs on Derek’s pants leg. “We aren’t done yet. We got all the presents for the Michelby family and I found something nice for Auntie Cora and she picked out something for me, but we haven’t gotten your present yet.”
“Ah, that’s okay, you don’t have to get me anything,” Derek says, belatedly letting go of Stiles’ hand, still staring at him. His mouth is really pretty. There are a number of moles dotting his jawline and going down his neck, and for some reason Derek really wants to know if they continue.
Derek shakes himself off the fantasy and tries to focus. “Thanks for shopping with my daughter, Mr. Officer Stiles.”
Cora starts giggling for a few moments and Stiles’ face breaks into a wide grin before Derek realizes what he’s said. “That’s what she’s been calling you, I um, I just—” Derek blushes, trailing off.
“It’s cool, dude,” Stiles says, and he tilts his head back when he laughs.
Cora whispers something to Marianne that makes her giggle and pluck something off a wrapped package in one of the shopping bags. “I have an idea,” Marianne says mischievously, and then sticks a bright red bow on Stiles’ chest.
Stiles looks down at the bow, turning bright red and then up at Derek. “I, ah...um, thanks for the thought, I mean, I am a gift to the universe—”
“No, for my dad,” Marianne says. “Auntie Cora says he’s making the face he makes when he likes someone.”
“Oh, really?” Stiles says, amused. “Well, is the presence of my company a gift enough?”
Marianne bursts out laughing.
“I’m not really good with the puns, but she loves them,” Derek says. “Um, and I’m sure she was joking about the gifting you thing…”
Marianne shakes her head no, but Stiles just laughs. “Do you want to have coffee with me?”
Derek nods.
Years later, it’s a Stilinski-Hale tradition for at some point during the season Stiles to end up with a bright red bow on him, and then Derek will laugh and pluck it off, pulling him in for a kiss.