It was supposed to be a victory day

[fadingspark]

It was a closed courtroom that had the final hearing on the Stilinski-Grayson divorce. The evidence against the Grayson family as a whole was damning from the photographs of the attempted kidnapping, the assault charges, the history of abuse... it wasn't hard for the judge to grant the divorce.

It was the terms that shocked Stiles the most: Permanent No Contact order of Protection for him and Dina against the Graysons and any family member or agent on their behalf. Any contact moving forward for Stiles or Dina would be done through the Law Office of Samuel Winchester. Suzanna's parental rights over Claudia Marie were terminated, no visitation by anyone in the family or agents acting on their behalf, and Stiles was given sole custody of his daughter with an order to change her birth certificate to remove the Grayson part of her name and Suzanna from her records.

And then the big one: in order to protect the Stilinski family, alimony and child support would be established as a single lump-sum payment based on the financials of the Grayson family and taking into consideration the medical needs Stiles would continue to face both physical and emotionally at present and in the future, and to support Dina for all her present and future medical and educational needs.

Two Million Dollars. Half kept in trust for Dina until her 18th birthday or graduation from high school, whichever came first. The other half in account for Stiles to use as he deemed necessary to provide for his family. Plus all of Sam's legal fees were paid by the Grayson's.

And that was that. Stiles stood, partially in shock as the team of lawyers left with Suzanna and her father, and then he just turned and hugged Sam tightly. The taller man smiled at Malia, nodding at a job well done, and hugged his client back. "You did it, Stiles. You got your daughter the safety you wanted for her. Now it's time for you both to build a better life."



A plumbing issue had kept Stiles from moving into Allison's father's place right away, so he was still at the Hale house. Things had gotten a bit easier with the anger finally out in the air. But after a long day at court, Stiles was ready to join his daughter for naptime before dinner.

John hadn't wanted to worry Stiles, but the Grayson brothers had made bail and weren't in custody any longer. He warned Talia, but with the protective orders in place, putting a detail on the house wasn't possible without a real threat in the air.

No one realized that out in the desert, deals had been made between the family patriarch and another patriarch - Gerard Argent. Knowing that the Hales were protecting the granddaughter of his good friend, it was easy to help equip the two sons with a chip on their shoulder with the right weapons, and a team of hand picked hunters, to help them give one last message that no one could walk away from the Grayson family and expect to win.

Comments

[impetere]

Nadia laughs softly at that, before nodding and heading back to Peter's. After a quick shower to wash away the blood and a change of clothes she'll make her way back, heading down to the basement and curling up against his back.

"Maybe not. We can't say for sure." If there were hunters helping, they're not going to buy the line about animal attacks, and they'll have to make preparations for that, but that isn't the important thing. "But you won't have to do it alone anymore."

[fadingspark]

Peter doesn't wake up, but his sixth sense of knowing his mate is there makes him relax in her hold, a small whine in his breathing to acknowledge her as his body just shifts to fit against her better. She'd be able to feel the pain that was fading as his body healed, but her being there made a big difference.


He nodded, and his face turned apologetic. "I'm so sorry for all the things I've said about the pack. You know I didn't really mean it, right? I just... I'm used to pushing people away to keep them away from me so they stay safe. It was the only thing I could think of."

[impetere]

Nadia smiles softly at that, tipping her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder, closing her eyes and just relaxing against him. She's not sleeping, not quite, but she does relax considerably from where she was before.

"I know." One hand comes up and brushes against his forehead gently, and she gives him a small smile. "Family does that sometimes. And family forgives for it too."

[fadingspark]

Stiles took a deep breath. He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Talia, I need help. I need help finding me again. I don't want to be this way anymore. I want to get back to who I used to be. I liked me a lot better then."

[impetere]

Talia nods for a moment. "Well, there's Laura. She does do this sort of thing professionally. But I'm sure that all of us will help you however we can."

[fadingspark]

Stiles sniffed, rubbing his hand over his face a moment. He nodded. "You think she has time to schedule me in?" Four kids and a full time job as well as learning to be the next alpha had to be hard on the eldest Hale sibling.

[impetere]

Talia nods in agreement, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his temple. "I think she'll make it work."

[fadingspark]

Stiles leaned into the affection - for the first time in a long time. That feeling of being safe with Talia was coming back. Something in his head had clicked over in protecting her that made it easy for him not to flinch back.

"You know, you have a bad habit of taking in kids with emotional problems, right?" He chuckled a bit.

[impetere]

She laughs softly at that, before nodding. "Well, my daughter usually has good instincts about these things. I try and trust her - most of the time."

Maybe not others. Maybe ones she should listen to more when it comes to herself. But when it comes to taking care of other people, she's usually right on the mark.

[fadingspark]

The mention of Cora made him sigh, but he didn't withdraw. "I need to fix things between her and me. I just don't know how I can."

[impetere]

Talia is quiet for a moment, one hand rubbing his shoulders gently, before tipping her head back to him in consideration.

"Before, she was telling you a lot about Tyler. Next time, make her talk about Cora." Cora has a habit of using other people as a buffer. It's about time she stopped that.

[fadingspark]

Stiles nodded. He had been doing the same thing, using Dina as his. "Is she okay? I saw Lydia carrying her in... that's why I locked them in and went outside to help. They hurt her because of me."

Which was just slightly below someone hurting Dina in his mind as being worst fear ever.

[impetere]

Talia's face sobers for a moment, a bit of worry creeping in, as there always is when there's wolfsbane involved. "There was wolfsbane in the bullets. Fiona was working on her, though, and it was quickly after it happened, so I'm sure she'll be fine."

[fadingspark]

"Wolfsbane?" Now he was confused. "But, I never told anyone that you were wolves. I mean, I haven't even told Dina yet still." Which he was going to have to do really soon. "How would they have known to contact hunters in the first place?"

[impetere]

"I don't know. That's what we're going to have to find out." And it probably won't be an easy process, but none of these things ever are. "But for right now, it's over. We just need to focus on recovering."

[fadingspark]

Stiles nodded, his heartbeat coming back to a normal level finally. The fear was gone, and a slow resolve was taking it's place. "We should go back. I don't know what to do, but I guess I need to call my dad. And my lawyer."

[impetere]

"Nadia and Derek have already taken care of the first part. He's probably here by now." She nods as she helps them both to their feet. "But yes, you should probably call Sam."

[fadingspark]

He nodded, going to stand up and then held a hand down to her. "Talia... thank you. Just.. for everything. Especially for not giving up on me." He knows how horrible he's been to be around the last few weeks.

[impetere]

She nods a bit in agreement as she takes the hand, getting to her feet and then sliding an arm around his shoulders to keep him close.

"Always."

[fadingspark]

He leaned into her, smiling a bit to himself as they walked. He was far from being back to who he was, but for whatever it was worth, he was able to breathe easier as they walked back to the Hale house, and he felt just a bit more right inside his skin.

John looked up as he saw them approaching, and he smiled a bit seeing Stiles. He could tell something had changed in his son, and he went over and pulled his son into a tight hug. Stiles hugged him back just as hard. "I'm okay, Dad. For the first time, I actually am really okay."

"I see," he said, pulling back to look at Stiles, and then gave him a stern look. "Though you want to explain to me where you got a gun?"

Stiles blinked, then gave a half smile. "Would you believe that I just found it?"


Derek moved over to his mother's side, an eyebrow raised as he held out the shotgun shell he had found. "The Sheriff's called Chris to come look at the scene, but I found these scattered in the hunter's guns."

[impetere]

Talia hangs back, lets the Stilinskis have their moment, before turning to her son. When she takes the shell from his hands, she stares at it for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Well, well. My old friend Gerard."

Only they're not friends, at all really.

[fadingspark]

Derek kept his voice low to not worry the humans. The last thing the Stilinskis needed right now was Gerard getting involved with the Graysons. "He's Chris and Kate's father, right?" Derek was getting a very good education in being the next second in command. "Why would he get involved in this - especially with his granddaughter and great-grandson a part of the pack?"


John gave his son a look, then shook his head. "Just no guns around my granddaughter, got it?"

"Oh trust me, not happening. But I um... I need to go call Sam. About... this."

"You mean about the savage animal attack. Probably a good idea."

Stiles blinked, because that was a very big cover-up they were going to be trying to attempt. But no, he wasn't even going to get himself involved on the technical end of this pack business. "You're not mad at me, right?"

"Stiles, you did the exact same thing I would have done. I couldn't be more prouder. Just next time, go hide in the basement when someone tells you to hide in the basement."

"Yeah, not happening." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck. "I've got a family to help protect. But I think I'm going to go back to my baseball bat instead."

"Good plan."

[impetere]

"Because Gerard is a psychopath. And I doubt he was very happy about his werewolf-loving granddaughter rewriting the code as the head of his family." She sighs softly before closing her hand around the shell. "We'll wait for Chris to get here and discuss it then."