A.N So I have newly discovered a love of this fandom and couldn't resist writing a story of my own. I haven't actually watched the series yet, the DVD should be coming tomorrow XD

1.

The first time Sheriff Stilinski sees Derek Hale again properly after arresting him he and Mellissa are being asked to sit down by their serious faced son's at the old Hale place where they had been driven. Stiles' lip is bust open, there is a bruise on his cheek bone that looks as though it would make it painful to blink never mind move, and one over his eye. The others don't seem to be hurt, but there is a tiredness in their eyes that says something big had happened, they can see that even passed the stoic blank look on Derek Hale's face.

So they find themselves being sat down in side by side chairs with Stiles, Scott and Derek standing in front of them and Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Jackson, Lydia and Allison curled up together on sofa's behind them. And then they are told. Werewolves are real, everyone but Stiles, Allison and Lydia are werewolves, but through lack of trying apparently with Lydia, Allison is a hunter - and so are the Argents by the way - and Stiles has been incredibly busy running between all these werewolves and helping them out.

Then they are told everything else, everything else that has been happening in Beacon Hills in the last two years, and if it weren't for the fact that they can tell their sons are being completely serious here they would have thought that this was just one very big joke that they had pulled their friends - and does that make Derek Hale his son's friend? - into. But they are serious, and so are the others, and there is just something in the way that they are acting that stop the two parents from saying anything that they are pretty sure could ruin their relationships with their sons for the rest of their lives, because it more than clear to them that this is a really big thing, for them to be told.

And they were there at the police station, they have seen the weird things that have been happening around town, the deaths and injuries, the attacks on houses, and they have both talked extensively over what is going on with their sons, even down to one very late night discussion as to whether their sons could be on drugs before they had quickly dismissed it. But then to seal the deal when they had asked for proof Derek Hale's face had changed and yup, no denying that!

And through all this, through the explanation and hey werewolves are real! Through trying to let this sink in and the million and one questions that he and Mellisa have for the kids about everything that has been going on, who they are to each other, how the hell all this happened, what does pack mean exactly, what does alpha and beta mean, can humans even be part of a werewolf pack, what about the Argents, does he need to do some major covering up to stop his son and his friends -his pack - from going to prison, through all these questions and their answers the Sheriff notices one very curious thing, Derek Hale's body language. Or more importantly Derek Hale's body language around his son.

Because while the thee of them have gone from standing opposite them, to Stiles and Scott sitting on folding chairs and Derek still hovering, Derek Hale has only been an inch away from his son the entire time. When they were being told the initial story Derek had been standing a little behind Stiles and clearly closer to him than Scott, and now that they are sitting Derek is standing mostly behind Stiles' chair.

And if there is one thing that has stopped the Sheriff from grabbing his son, his very human son who has been risking his life the last two years without him knowing it, and god if there isn't a part of him wishing it was drugs or something as simple as that and not freaking werewolves - the only thing from stopping him from locking his son away, is Derek Hale's body language when he is hovering by Stiles, because it is screaming protect, his eyes sharp and yet so careful whenever Stiles winces a little. He made several aborted movements towards Stiles during the moments Stiles grit his teeth and clenched his eyes in a way his father knew meant he was really sore and trying to hide it.

There is something in the way that Derek Hale looks at his son, his eyes so intense and sharp and focussed, and yet at the same time when he looks at Stiles they gentle, something eases in them and the haunted look that lingers there seems to fade slightly.

And even though Stiles isn't even aware of what he managed to change in Derek, unaware of the pull that he had with the other man, unaware of the fact that the older man…werewolf was hovering protectively for him. But as he watched Stiles would glance to Derek, to reassure himself that he was there, to check the older man…werewolf was ok when they were talking about his family, during the times that they were discussing the things that Stiles had been getting up to, when he admitted the dangerous situations that he had been in he would take an unconscious step closer to Derek. When the pain would flair he would sway slightly closer to Derek as though for comfort. And Stiles' eyes would warm with concern when they looked at Derek.

There was something going on between them, something more than this whole pack, something more than this whole business. There was something going on that he wouldn't be able to separate Stiles from, something going on that meant no matter the attempts he made he would fail and he would be making his son miserable until he failed. He was going to have to suck it up and learn to deal. And apparently he was gaining six more teenagers and a twenty two year old in his life.