fadingspark | Homecoming for the Omega

Scott's car was silent as they drive back from Mountain View. Dina was fast asleep in the booster seat that belonged to her cousin, his tiny plush dragon clutched in her hands. It was raining as they got over the mountains, and as they passed the sign welcoming them to Beacon Hills, Stiles just sighed.

"You know, I wasn't really planning on ever coming back here," he admitted to Scott.

Scott looked over and gave him a half smile. "Yeah, we all knew. But it's your home too, bro. You belong here."

"I don't know where I belong anymore."

Google had gone through a new cycle of employees, and Stiles found himself with the pink slip he had feared was coming. Things at home hadn't been good, and his focus had suffered because of it. The daycare hadn't asked why Stiles was picking his daughter up early that day, but he didn't want to have a fight when he got home, and Suzanna at least didn't like to fight in front of their daughter. It was his one saving grace.

But today was different, and even Dina's crying from her room wasn't enough to stop the screaming from his wife about just how worthless he had become, how he couldn't even hold down a job anymore, and why couldn't he see what he was doing to the family. And then came the bombshell - she was leaving him. His lack of attention had made her look to another, and he at least knew how to treat her.

She started for the stairs and it was there that Stiles found his strength to fight back. "Fine, leave if you want, but like hell I'm letting you take Dina with you."

The hand slapped across his face, hard enough to snap his jaw. "Claudia is my daughter, and she's coming with me."

It was a raw look in his eyes that made Suzanna step back as his fingers gripped the railings for all his worth. "She's my daughter. You barely spend any time with her since she stopped being a baby. You can have whatever you want, but you're not taking her from me."

He was given until morning to get out. Scott had been there in three hours with the SUV to help. Boxes with clothes, toys and a computer were packed and secured. A Google Bike - last year's office christmas present - was strapped to the roof and the three of them disappeared into the night leaving Mountain View behind.

"I just wanted to be happy, Scott." Stiles touched his cheek at the bruise forming there. "Why is it I can't ever get what I want?"

Scott looked in the rear view mirror. "You did, Stiles. You got one thing."

Turning to look into the back seat, Stiles smiled at his little girl sleeping, then resettled back in his seat. "Yeah. She's enough."

They arrived at the Stilinski house just after one in the morning, and the family came outside as Stiles and Scott exited the car. Carefully, Stiles carried his daughter inside and Melissa showed him where she could sleep in the den in a pile of pillows and a tent made from sheets. Once his arms were free, his father pulled him into a hug, then looked at his face and shook his head. "You okay, son?"

Stiles shook his head. "No. But I'll get there."

*~*

It took him a few weeks to get things in order, but he finally got a small home business up and running in Beacon Hills providing help for small businesses looking for web presence as well as app building. It was easy to work from home, but with Melissa and his father watching Dina, he could get away and focus at a coffee house or in the park for a few hours.

Scott had warned him that he had told the Hales of his return. All but Cora, who was out in Boston, which was a relief in a way. It would make readjusting to the town easier. But he was expecting the slow manifestation of friends he hadn't been able to see in the last three years as Suzanna's control had kept him close to home. Only now, far from her and that life, did he see what had been happening and he was angry that he had let it all happen.

But that was his past. He was working on making a future for himself and Dina, and that was all that mattered now.

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Malia shakes her head. "Not married. But Nadia's living there when they're not traveling so even if they're not married they're ... set." After everything his dad's been through, it's worth it to see him this happy. It's pretty much everything she's ever wanted for her dad.

"That's good. Real good. And Derek?"

"He's still teaching at the school," Scott chimed in.

"History and English. Boy always liked to have options. Now if he'd just finish that darn book of his." Thomas chuckled.

Malia grins. "And Fiona is still doing the emissary thing. They actually are fostering a kid from one of her jobs - poor kid's parents got killed by hunters. And Bob is still Bob, he's just a bit older than he used to be."

"Dina has to meet Bob too!" Ryan declares from his seat as he reaches for the small fork his mom was holding out for him. He then turns to Stiles with a very earnest look because he's starting to catch on. "He's a dog, he doesn't count as a stranger, right?"

Stiles smiled at the little boy. "Nice doggies aren't strangers as long as they have someone who says you can pet them first. You don't pet a dog you don't know until you know it's okay. And Bob is a very nice doggie."

"You know, half these rules you give, I don't think either of us ever followed," Scott stated.

"Yeah, and you remember half the problems we got ourselves into that we should have listened to our moms?"

Malia laughs a bit at that. "If you guys had followed those rules, you never would have met us." Which, to Malia, is clearly a benefit that outweighs the risks. She then pauses, before turning to Dina. "But your dad is makes them because he loves you, so you should listen to him."

Stiles chuckles as well, but there were times a few years back he had cursed and wished he never had met the Hales. He was past that now, but he knew that things would be different for him. Scott would have still met Allison. The Hales would have still saved Isaac. And who knew what would have happened to him.

"I always listen to daddy. It keeps mommy from yelling at him."

Thomas looked at Talia, then just pet Dina's hair silently.

"Excuse me for a moment," Stiles said softly, getting up and leaving the table to go back onto the porch so he could breathe before the panic took him over. His daughter had never said that before, and the fact she knew...

Malia's eyes soften slightly as she looks at Dina, then glances back to Stiles as he leaves. She starts to get up, and Talia shakes her head at first. She lets them eat for a moment, giving Stiles some time to compose himself, before nodding. Malia's on her feet in an instant, making her way to the porch and just hanging in the doorway.

"You okay?"

He's sitting on the floor at that point, arms around knees and focusing on his breathing. "She's never said anything like that before. I had hoped she just never noticed."

Looking up at Malia, she'd see that his eyes were red and he swiped a hand across his face. "This wasn't supposed to be my life, Malia. How did I let this happened?"

"You didn't let this happen." She moves closer, shifting so that she's sitting cross-legged on the floor across from him. "These things ... they're not your fault. Don't blame yourself from them. But you can choose to make things better for you and for Dina. Meeting with Sam tomorrow is the first step to getting your life back."

"It didn't have to be. I worked too much. I thought I was providing for them, but it was making it worse. Maybe if I had been there more..."

But he nods, wiping at his eyes again. "If I can at least give Dina the life Peter gave you... that's all I want right now."

"You can. You will." She shifts around to sit next to him, sliding her hand in his, linking their fingers together. "And just remember that she's the one who left you and abandoned Dina. She started this. She hurt you. You're just doing what you need to do to protect your little girl."

She glances down to their hands and nods. "And you've got me. And Isaac and Scott and Allison and Talia and ... " She pauses, catching herself before she says the next name. " ... and your dad and Melissa. You're not alone anymore. We've got your back."

Stiles nods, and he goes to say something, but he can't. So he just leans onto Malia's shoulder, squeezing her hand tightly. "I'm scared," he finally says.

"That's normal. This is scary."

Really scary. She can't even begin to imagine what he's going through right now, even though she's worked with cases like it before. But she's here to help him, no matter what.

"But no matter how scary it gets, or how bad it gets? Remember that you're doing this for Dina. That's all the motivation you need."

"She's all I have left." He curled into Malia more. "I'll do anything."

"Good," she says with a nod, sliding her arms around him and pulling him close. "Then put on your helmet, kid. Because this is going to be a bumpy ride."

He let himself get pulled into the hug, burying his eyes against her shoulder. He tried not to cry, but he lets a few tears slip out.

But he could do it. He had to. For Dina if nothing else, and he would do do whatever he had to for that little girl - even go to war against her mother.

Homecoming for the Omega

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