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“When do you finish at the surgery?” Stiles asked, frowning through the windshield of his car as he caught flashing hazard lights up ahead on the mostly empty street he was currently driving down.
“Deaton asked me to work late, maybe two more hours?”
“Too late to go for a reasonable drink then,” Stiles huffed out a laugh and Scott, on the other end of the line, laughed too.
“We’ll get there one day, bro, it’s gotta happen soon.”
“One day,” Stiles agreed. “Listen, it looks like there’s been an accident; I’m gonna check it out and make sure everyone’s okay. Catch you later dude.”
“Go on and save the day again,” Scott laughed and they hung up simultaneously. Stiles pulled his car up behind the flashing lights. He grabbed his flashlight from his glove compartment and got out, flicking it on, assessing the area as he approached the nearest windows.
“Hello?” he called out, craning his neck to try and catch a look inside. “Is anyone inside? Hello?”
No one responded but Stiles heard whimpering and frowning, he stepped closer and moved his flashlight to illuminate the backseat through its window, his eyes widening at the sight of a baby sat in a well strapped up car seat. It had a few scrapes on her forehead and cheeks but otherwise seemed fine. He wrenched the door open quickly and leaned in to check her over, gasping when he saw a woman in the drivers seat, slumped over unconscious, blood all over what he could see of her face. He gave the baby one last check over before moving towards the front and assessing the woman. “Hey there,” he said even though she was unconscious. “My name’s Stiles, don’t worry, I’m a doctor. You hear that baby?” he said louder, talking to the infant as he checked the woman over. “I’m a professional. You’re both gonna be just fine.” When he was satisfied her pulse was strong enough for him to slip away and get his emergency kit from his car, he jogged away, checking back every other step until he was back at the damaged car, collar and bag along with phone all in his hands.
As he dialed 911, he carefully fitted the spinal collar to the woman’s neck. The EMT’s were dispatched within seconds of his call and he set about attempting to dress some of the more severe wounds that had the higher risks of infection. When he was done, the EMTs still weren’t there so he reached over and picked up the purse that had been sitting on the passenger seat. Rifling through it he found her wallet and thus, her ID.
“You’re a Hale,” he groaned and ran a gloved hand over his face - which he belatedly realised was covered in her blood. “Fantastic,” he muttered and pulled his phone out again, dialing his dad’s number.
“I thought you were on your way home, Stiles? Mel told me you left the hospital an hour ago.”
“I did,” Stiles sighed. “I caught a crash on the side of the road heading out towards mine.”
“Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”
“No, but I’d wager if I was it’d be less paperwork than whatever actually happened will more than likely cause you.”
“I’m lost,” he heard his dad moving around, probably getting himself ready to leave the house.
“Didn’t you tell me Laura Hale just had a baby recently?” his dad was silent and Stiles snorted. “Yeah, I know. The kid’s fine, a few scratches. Laura is unconscious but I’ve collared her and dressed open wounds. You should probably call Talia and James Hale, head off any more trouble.”
“The baby’s okay though, yeah?” yep, that was the door closing behind his dad.
“Baby Hale is fine. I don’t think you need to call CPS, the Hale’s are all pretty tight knit, right? They can take care of her...”
“Do me a favour and take her to the hospital to get checked over just in case?”
“Already on it. I’ll see you there soon.” They said their goodbyes and as he hung up, the ambulance arrived, taking over the situation instantly, the fire department not far behind. Stiles took the kid, car seat and all and told the EMTs he’d follow, he told the police his dad was already aware of everything.
Walking back into the hospital he’d left not even two hours before made him groan but one look from Danny sat behind the admin desk made him snort.
“Dude, you were supposed to be home three hours ago,” he said, taking the empty paperwork from Danny’s outstretched hand.
“Don’t even,” Danny grumbled and Stiles left, taking baby Hale towards the pediatric cubicles of the ER. Once behind a curtain, he unclipped the baby from the car seat and set her down on the cot.
“Danny!” he called out. “Can I get some formula for the kid when you have a minute?” he heard a faint sure and an order being barked at what was probably a very tired intern and smiled down at the surprisingly calm face of the child. “Hello baby... I wish I knew your name. I can’t keep calling you baby Hale now, can I? How about I name you LJ? Laura Junior? That sound good?” the child cooed and he took it as a good sign so he nodded and started taking her clothes off so he could examine her better. “Good stuff. Well LJ, like I said before, my name is Stiles, I’m a pretty big thing around here, so you’re in great hands,” he winked and LJ giggled, clapping her hands together when they were free of her vest. “That’s not just me tooting my own horn either, I’ve had commendations to prove it. Everyone’s jealous of me, because I’m so awesome so really, there’s probably only one person who you would be more safe with than me, and that’s Moma McCall. She’s like... the greatest of all the nurses, she is you know,” as he talked, he gently cleaned the scrapes and cuts that were visible and checked her over for bruises, broken bones, internal injuries, anything that he could decipher by a thorough examination, talking through it all to keep her mind on his voice rather than his hands which may or may not cause discomfort.
“Doctor Stilinski?” a timid voice called out before the curtain was drawn back and a petite, young first year intern was stood there looking slightly frazzled but still awake, holding a baby’s bottle out for him to take. “I’ve tested the temperature and unless she likes it extremely hot or ice cold, it’s pretty spot on. I put about 2 thirds an average meal portion in there because I don’t know when she last ate and I don’t want to cause her anymore problems. With any luck it’ll send her to sleep, with the excitement of what’s happened and all...”
“Doctor Jensen?” he interrupted her rambling, lips twitching as he took the bottle from her. “You have a baby?”
“Yes, sir,” she flushed. “Sorry-”
“Don’t be sorry for showing initiative and forethought with regards to a patient’s care, even one this tiny. The parents will always thank you and appreciate your actions, unless they’re bad parents in which case you just ignore them,” he winked and she smiled at him thankfully. “Thank you for this, LJ will be very happy.”
“Okay, sir, thank you sir,” she bobbed her head up and down, waving towards LJ, who had been staring at her curiously - or the bottle, which Stiles thought was infinitely more likely - and left, closing the curtain behind her.
“So, LJ, you want sustenance?” he waved the bottle just out of LJ’s reach and watched with interest as she reached out chubby arms in an effort to grab at it. He finally acquiesced and gave her the bottle, something he was glad about because when he looked back up at her wounds, he gasped and the bottle dropped into her secure grasp completely.
The cuts and grazes he’d been cleaning earlier were gone , only smears of blood remaining. He cleaned off any and all blood trace, looking to find the wounds but nothing was there. Her skin was blemish free. and he stared down at her, her wide, almost golden brown eyes staring back at him showing signs of tiredness but also showing stubbornness to remain awake and not miss anything. Babies, he rolled his eyes as he redressed her in a hospital standard onesie. Leaving her to it, he bagged her things up and passed the time by filling in the bits of the paperwork he could. When he was done, he picked her, the bag and the chart up and opened the curtain, his eyes instantly finding his dad, who was stood in front of who he assumed to be Talia and James Hale as well as another guy, he looked too much like James to be anything other than Laura’s brother so Stiles went with that.
“Stiles,” his dad sighed, relieved when he saw Stiles appearing. “He wouldn’t let us through,” he gestured to Danny, who shrugged.
“It’s his job,” Stiles gently took the bottle from LJ and set it, now empty, on the desk before lifting the baby up onto his shoulder so he could burp her. He saw the Hale’s watching anxiously, cautiously, protectively, all of them itching to get her back but he wasn’t ready to give her up yet. He had questions.
“I thought you said she had a few scrapes?” his dad eyed her when she was visible again and Stiles shook his head.
“It was dark,” he reasoned, eyes flicking towards the Hale’s, who were tensing up slowly. “It must have been Laura’s blood that splashed through to the back. I cleaned her up though so it’s fine.”
“You sure? Nothing internal?”
“There’s a reason those car seats are rigorously tested before they’re allowed to be sold, dad,” he rolled his eyes and his dad just gave him a look. “How’s Laura Hale doing?” he asked Danny, who sighed.
“She doesn’t need surgery, but she’s being admitted. Her X-Ray was clear and CT showed mild swelling consistent with a concussion. She’ll be kept for two or three days, Isaac offered to take the case.”
“Of course he did,” Stiles rolled his eyes fondly.
“What can I say? He’s like a puppy, can’t really say no to those eyes and those curls, can you?”
“What floor?” the Sheriff asked and Danny gave him a look.
“Danny...” Stiles groaned. pressing his hand up against LJ’s ears. “I’m not refereeing another pissing match with you two I swear to God.”
“We don’t fight, we joust, totally different,” Danny protested, smiling winningly and the Sheriff chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, she’s up on 3. And yes, we’ve been advised by anyone and everyone to keep nurse Argent away for obvious reasons.”
“Allison has nothing to do with-”
“Procedure,” Stiles interrupted his dad and turned to the waiting Hale’s. “Sorry about that,” he greeted. “I need one of you to finish filling out this paperwork for LJ here-”
“LJ?” Talia Hale frowned.
“I... didn’t know her name so I called her Laura Junior?” Stiles shrugged as much as he could with a now sleeping LJ pressed up against his chest. “Well, if one of you can fill it out, including the name part, that’d be great. I also need to speak with one or all of you privately about her care.”
“You just said she had no marks on her,” the brother grunted, eyes never leaving LJ.
“Which one of us is her doctor right now?” Stiles raised an eyebrow, unaffected by the glare suddenly directed his way.
“Family room’s empty,” Danny announced. “Sheriff, Isaac’s waiting for you up on 3.”
“I’ll go up with the Sheriff, dear,” James said to Talia. “Why don’t you and Derek stay here and speak with Doctor Stilinski about Emma?” A name! Stiles crowed mentally, glancing down at Emma’s head smiling.
Everyone agreed and they all parted ways, Stiles choosing to very much ignore the fist pump shared by Danny and his dad. No. He was not going there. Never.
“I’m quite afraid I have no idea why you’d need to see us Doctor Stilinski,” Talia started. “You said yourself that Emma was fine...”
“Can I take her?” Derek asked but Stiles shook his head.
“I told my dad to not call CPS because I knew you were a very close family, but I still want answers. Don’t try talk your way around it by quoting me back what I said, I said that to protect Emma and you both know it. So I want to know why first of all, this baby doesn’t have the cuts I know she had an hour ago, and second of all, why the hell there was a lethal plant in Laura’s purse.”
They just stared at him for the longest minute of his life before Talia shifted her stance, straightening. She wasn’t physically taller but she stood taller, her presence turning authoritative in the space of five seconds, like she was a born leader. Derek took up a position at her side but made sure to stay behind her slightly at all times.
“Doctor Stilinski,” she said, voice strong and firm. “Thank you for all you’ve done for my family, but I’m quite certain that you really don’t want to know what you think you want to know. It would only put you and your family in danger.”
“Mrs Hale, your daughter was carrying wolfsbane; which is lethal to humans. That alone would have CPS asking questions-” Derek cut him off with a growl but he glared him into silence. “I’m here because I’m concerned about Emma. I don’t for one second think Laura would put her at risk, but I can’t ignore what I saw. Nor can I ignore the fact that Emma healed from quite prominent cuts within an hour of getting them. Now, you can talk to me or you can talk to my father, I don’t really care which, but I think I can guess which one you’d prefer.”
Emma shifted in his arms and he looked down to see her blinking up at him. When he saw her eyes start to brighten visibly to a point where they weren’t just bright, they were glowing , he made a point of not reacting physically in any way that might make Emma frightened. He could feel his heart start beating faster but he continued to hold her close until she smiled gummily at him and settled down again.
When he looked back up at the two Hale’s, they looked resigned to their fate.
“So,” he began slowly. “Wanna tell me why your littlest Hale has eyes that glow?”
“This is not happening,” Derek muttered and before anyone could utter another word, there was a knock at the door. Stiles allowed himself to be moved further into the room as Talia went and opened the door.
“Allison,” Stiles smiled and his friend gave the two Hale’s wary looks. “Yeah, probably not the best time,” he joked.
“Sorry,” she bit her lip, looking distressed. “Your dad said you were here with Mrs Hale?” she looked at Talia, who nodded. “Look,” she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “I have no idea what’s going on, why this stupid feud is still happening, why my family hate your family or whatever. I have no idea. I left Beacon Hills when I was 14 and only came back here to work. I haven’t talked to my Grandpa in nearly 15 years, but he just called me and asked me if any of the Hale’s had been admitted to the morgue...” she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there and Stiles felt for her. “I hung up, and I told your dad,” she looked at Stiles. “But I’ve no idea what to do if they call again. Any of them. I just... thought you should know what he said?” she looked at Talia, who was frowning at her - but not unkindly. Derek remained stoic and not outright hostile while Stiles just smiled tiredly.
“Thanks Allison,” he said. “What I can suggest is, if they contact you again, come to me and I’ll talk to my dad. At worst he may want to talk to you about it personally. For your safety I’d say keep away from not only your family but the Hale’s too, at least for now.”
“Are you sure? I mean... if could tell you if-” she was looking at Talia, who actually smiled as she shook her head.
“Thank you for telling me this, Miss Argent, I appreciate your honesty but Doctor Stilinski is correct. For your own safety I believe it would be best to go through him before anyone else. I’m certain he will let us know if there’s something that needs to be reported to us.”
“Of course,” Stiles said after a moment, pretty sure he hadn’t agreed to that before but had somehow been coerced into agreeing to it anyway. Damn Hales. “Thanks again, Ally.”
When she left the room, he sighed.
“I totally didn’t want to be sucked into your fued with the Argents. I have enough horror stories of my own working here...”
“You asked to know everything,” Derek pointed out.
“Is it gonna get me killed?”
“No,” Talia said instantly while Derek said “Maybe.” Stiles just rolled his eyes.
“You’ll be marginally more in their sights as you were already being the Sheriff’s son,” Talia amended. “But we’re pretty good at protecting ourselves and our friends.”
“I’ll not mention the elephant in the room...” he murmured.
“This isn’t the time or the place to have this conversation,” Derek huffed, stood close to Stiles, hovering.
“Stop being twitchy. You’re making me nervous,” Stiles glared at the man, who glared right back. Talia chuckled form across the room.
“Lift her up to your nose and smell her,” she instructed. “Just around her belly.” Frowning, Stiles did, and quickly pulled away, settling her down again.
“Kid, you smell like my scrubs,” he groused.
“Exactly,” Derek huffed again and Stiles stared at him carefully.
“No, not the right time or place at all.” He looked back down at the kid and she blinked up at him, very obviously tired but fighting it. “Just go to sleep,” he murmured. “Nothing’s gonna happen, you’re not gonna miss anything.” Her face crumpled slightly and he readied himself for a wail but she just seemed to... huff , then almost fall against him, rubbing her face into the skin of his neck before stilling, her arms clutching at his jacket tightly.
“Dammit,” he heard Derek mutter as the other man turned away, throwing his hands up in the air as if defeated. Talia looked amused and fond at the display and Stiles was getting whiplash.
“I’m not keen on the prospect of giving my dad more cause to worry about me than he already has,” Stiles said carefully. “But this is something... this kid is something I can’t ignore, especially considering someone tried to kill her and her mom.” He ran a hand gently over the baby’s head when she started to fuss.
“So you think you have the right to just inject yourself into my family?” Derek growled from across the room and Talia sent him a sharp look that he either didn’t notice or just ignored.
“I don’t think you can grasp what I’m offering here,” Stiles said slowly, quietly but remained firm. “I saw cuts and abrasions on her skin,” he went on. “I saw them, I felt them, I saw them leaking blood. And then, when I examined her in the ER, they were healed. I saw her eyes glow... gold , and I’m still here, holding her, not freaking out because although she looks human I know for a fact she’s at least half something else entirely and I’m not freaking out. Which means, from your perspective I either A, already know about whatever it is your family is into or B, I’m just more open minded than your average surgeon. That said, what I’m offering here is my help, like I helped tonight with her by covering up - because I don’t think the medical board would just forget a baby who can heal within 30 minutes from those kinds of cuts, and I don’t think they’ll forget about Laura’s undoubted recovery tomorrow morning without some influence from me , her attending physician.”
“You’re offering to keep our secret, to help us,” Talia stated rather than asked. “Why?”
“Because I’m a little of A and a lot of B,” he said after a long, silent moment before sighing. “Look, I don’t really want to inject myself into a war, and I get that that’s what this will probably be, I don’t like posturing, I don’t care who’s in charge - I’m a doctor. If I’m treating someone I’m in charge and that’s final. I always win my arguments and I never back down from someone in need.”
“You would be risking your career,” Derek continued and Stiles shot him a look.
“Yeah well, wouldn’t be the first time.”
“The accident,” Talia stepped forward. “Did you come across it going to work or going home?”
“Going home,” Stiles replied with a small frown. “Why?”
“It just means you’re free right now so we can go elsewhere to talk,” she smiled. “Now, could I please hold my grandchild?”
“If you can pry her off me, you can hold her,” Stiles snorted softly.
As it turned out, prying her hands from his clothes proved to be somewhat impossible and they were stuck with her becoming increasingly uncomfortable with each attempt to remove her until they eventually gave up.
“What’s your ‘a little of A’, then?” Derek asked when they were on their way, Stiles assumed, to the Hale’s home. Derek was driving Stiles’ car, because the baby still hadn’t released him and he’d been relegated to the back seat for safety.
“Met someone during my residency,” Stiles replied after a few minutes. “Had my obligatory freak out moment, then watched him pull the knife out of his own chest. Went to examine the wound further and it just... knitted together. I watched a gaping wound, directly over the heart, gushing blood like it was nobodies business and it just... healed, right in front of my eyes. Course, then I looked up and saw his face was a little hairier than it was a few seconds before, he teeth, ears... the red eyes were a dead giveaway.”
“It was an-”
“An alpha,” Stiles snorted. “Yeah. He was nice, pleasant guy, quit the program though.”
“And what do you know about us?” he asked.
“Nothing bar your obvious and very public feud with the Argents and the impressive level of healing the kid has done... To be honest, before tonight I had no idea, I didn’t even think we had anything like that in Beacon. We’re so small here!”
“You’d think that,” Derek snorted. “Why do you want the full story? Why not just go back to ignorance?”
“Because this way I won’t be surprised when one of you walks through the doors of the ER and asks for me because I’m familiar with the family history. Although, I’m thinking sometimes you might wanna see Deaton instead of me,” he grinned at his own joke, ignoring the glare from the rear view mirror.
“How do you know Deaton?”
“My best friend works for him, he’s a good guy. Very intense. And... you seem to already know him. Why am I not surprised by this?”
“What can I say?” Derek stopped the car outside the Hale house with a sharp stab at the breaks. “We’re a little human, a little animal.” and then he got out of the car.
“That was a terrible line,” Stiles pointed out, gently maneuvering himself out of the car, taking care to keep Ellie covered up as best he could. “You could have gone with, ‘we’re a little from A, a little from B’, that would have given this entire conversation some symmetry!”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m about as sane as you are right now,” Stiles grumbled.
“Like I said...”
“I hope you know my dad totally knows I’m here right now.” Derek just smirked at him, waiting patiently for him to walk towards the house, falling into step with him as he did so. “Dude’s the Sheriff.”
“We’re not going to kill you, Doctor Stilinski,” Derek snorted.
“You’ll perhaps forgive me if I keep the kid latched on to prevent that.”
“I wish you would stop trying to scare potential allies, Derek,” Talia’s voice rang out when the front door opened.
“I was joking ! Eesh!” Derek rolled his eyes, gesturing for Stiles to head inside.