"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Derek commented as he tied on his shoes in the living room of the apartment that he shared with his sister. It was late Sunday afternoon, and according to Lydia, everyone was beginning to gather over at Authenticity. They would miss out on some of the best conversation if they showed up late, or so Lydia insisted.

Lydia's brow rose as she checked her lipstick in a compact, not even sparing her friend a glance. "Those shoes with that shirt? You're right. Terrible idea," she replied, nodding a little with a faint smirk as Derek glared at her in response. "Oh, come on, Derek. It won't kill you to go! Everyone would love for you to join us. You're not crashing. You're invited."

Derek sighed softly, dropping his foot from where it was propped up on the coffee table back onto the floor. He was not entirely sure how he ended up getting himself talked into going (but, then he remembered running into Stiles on Friday downtown and being asked if he was going to be there on Sunday, to which he answered 'yes' without thinking), but it was probably much too late to back out if the look on Lydia's face was anything to go by. So, Derek decided it was better to not even attempt to argue with Lydia as he got up from the couch. The only good thing about the evening, he guessed as he grabbed his jacket and they made their way to the front door, was that Laura would not be there to tease him the entire night. It did suck that they could not get her out of working that night. It was either her or the Sheriff, and Laura had insisted that he be at the family dinner.

Several minutes later, Derek was heading up the walkway to the front door of Authenticity, reading a sign in the door that stated the place was closed and that everyone should have a great Sunday. Behind the glass door, Derek could catch glimpses of Karolina running around with a bright grin on her face as Boyd play-chased after her around the dining room. "Come on, Derek," Lydia insisted, grabbing Derek's arm and pulling him into the restaurant after her.

"Aunt Lydia!" Karolina exclaimed with a bright smile when she caught sight of the red-head, dashing across the room to nearly throw herself at the teacher with a hug.

Lydia let go of Derek's arm to hug her gently and play with her curled hair, avoiding the flower crown that sat on the top of her head. "You look beautiful, Kaja! Who helped you with your hair today?" she asked, smiling softly at the little girl.

"Gramma and Uncle Scott!" The smile on Karolina's face only seemed to grow when she noticed Derek standing near the door. "Mr. Hale! You came!"

"Yeah, well, I couldn't pass up the invitation," replied Derek with a nod and a smile. "Glad to see you're feeling better again."

"Oh, yes. I can actually breathe today." Karolina smiled brightly once again before tugging on Lydia's hand, insisting that she had to show her aunt something that she and Erica had done.

John Stilinski walked over to the young teacher then, clapping the man on the shoulder with a grin. "Welcome to the madhouse," John stated with a laugh, smiling when someone shouted an indignant hey! across the room. "Mel and Stiles are in the kitchen. Mind checking in on them? We leave them alone too long and dangerous things have been known to happen."

"Uh, yeah, sure, okay," replied Derek with a nod before making his way back over to where the door to the kitchen was, glancing over to watch the sheriff as he joined several others in coloring with Karolina. Derek smiled a little to himself and looked forward again as he entered the kitchen.

Almost immediately, he found himself blinking several times in surprise as there was suddenly a hand in front of his face holding onto a small piece of what appeared to be bread. "Try this. Is it too sweet?" Stiles asked, using his other hand to rearrange something on a plate that Derek could not quite see.

"Uh..." the teacher said dumbly, making Stiles look over to see who he was speaking to, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Shit, sorry. I thought you were Scott." Stiles dropped his hand as a smile spread across his face, getting past the initial shock that it was not his best friend that had come into the room. "You came. I'm glad. I wasn't sure... There's always more than enough, though, so..."

Stiles smiled again with a nod, opening his mouth to say something else only to stop when Melissa walked over and too the piece of bread from him to try for herself. She nodded resolutely, speaking around the bit in her mouth as she said, "It's good, Szczęsny; not too sweet this time."

"Mama," he groaned, running a hand over his face with a slight wince at the sound of his first name. Melissa simply beamed at him in response, pressing a kiss to her step-son's cheek before heading out of the kitchen stating she would be back when she got some wine. "Want to help? I'm almost done."

"Uh, yeah, sure. What're you making?" Derek replied, nodding as he stepped farther to the kitchen.

Stiles gestured to the plate he had been working at moments before as he stepped away from it, and said, "That's paska bread; it's a sweet bread. Kaja loves it, so..." He spoke as he walked over to the stove, where there were a few things that seemed to be almost finished. "Then, there's Halushki; it's... well, just trust me, it's good even if it doesn't sound it." There were a few other small random dishes for those that did not like what they were serving, including a cheese ravioli that Allison adored.

"I'll take your word on it." Derek nodded a little, his eyes focusing more on Stiles than on the dishes that were cooking. "So... how can I help?"

"Oh! Yes, right. Can you finish putting everything in those four bowls on that counter together?" Stiles nodded absentmindedly, turning off one of the burners and moving the pan onto a different counter while using his other hand to sprinkle some salt across the top. Neither of the men said much after that, finding instead that they rather enjoyed one another's quiet company.

"I was seventeen when she was born," Stiles told Derek, leaning back against one of the tables at the side of the room while he watched Karolina help John gather the plates to take to the kitchen. Everyone was sitting around talking and laughing, enjoying their time together. There was a nice, calm feeling in the air and Stiles loved it. He was not sure why he was sharing his history with Derek, however; but, it felt like the right time to bring it up. He took a sip of his wine before looking back to Derek. "Her mother didn't want the responsibility, but the moment I held her, that was it. She's had me wrapped around her finger ever since. I couldn't just... let her go. My dad was a big help, gave us a place to stay until I could get one for us and he was the best baby sitter when he could when I was going to school. All of these guys helped when things got rough, and, I mean, it was hard, but... definitely worth it. I can't imagine my life without her."

"Well, she absolutely adores you," commented Derek with a nod, switching his own glass of wine from one hand to the other. "There's no one she talks about more at school."

Stiles could not help but smile at that, the expression only growing as Kaja started talking and laughing excitedly in the kitchen with his father. "Well, maybe so, but you've got me beat at home. You're her favorite teacher ever, according to her. She's always talking about things you've done or things you said. She's actually excited about the science fair." Stiles nodded to himself, idly swirling the wine in his glass around once before looking from it to Derek. "Are you going to come back next week?"

Derek glanced over at the others at the question, watching as they all sat around talking and laughing. Lydia was talking excitedly about nursery colors for Allison and Jackson's baby with Melissa. Isaac was leaning against Scott, Scott's arm around his shoulder, though he was talking to Allison about something that he could not quite hear. Allison, Scott, Erica, and Boyd all seemed to be in a friendly debate about something. It was chaotic, but oddly calming and just... nice. He had not felt like an outsider simply sitting there like he had thought they would. He just fit right in to the group, which was definitely unexpected. With a small smile, Derek looked back to Stiles and said, "If you'll have me."

Stiles straightened up slightly, smiling a little more at that as he said, "Of course. You're always welcome here." Stiles seemed to be on the verge of saying something else when he was cut off by the sounds of everyone beginning to get up with comments of needing to get home and long days the next day. Instead, he smiled and finished the last of his wine before holding his other hand out for Derek's glass. "I guess that's the cue of everyone having enough of family bonding this week."

"Daddy, we got all the dishes finished!" Karolina exclaimed as she came rushing over to her father's side, the front of her dress a bit wet from where soap and water had splashed on it.

"Thank you, Princess. Go get your jacket, yeah? We'll head home soon." Stiles nodded as Karolina did before she rushed off to the back office. "I'm glad you joined us today, Mr. Hale."

"Derek," the teacher corrected with a small smile, actually handing his glass over to Stiles, who smiled in return with a nod.

"Derek. I'm glad you joined us today, Derek."

Whatever Stiles was going to say next was cut off by Lydia walking over and linking her arm with Derek's as she said, "C'mon, you're my ride home; and, we should take some of this to Laura. Dinner was perfect, Stiles, thank you."

"Anytime, Lydia," replied Stiles with a smile, pressing a kiss to Lydia's cheek before stepping back from the two of them. "Have a great evening, guys."

"Bye, Stiles!" Lydia's good-bye drowned out Derek's quiet one, but Stiles smiled at him all the same before heading back to take the wine glasses to the kitchen. Lydia smiled and tugged on Derek's arm with her own, careful of the go-box of food in her hand. "C'mon, Romeo, let's go." Derek rolled his eyes, but offered no complaints as he followed Lydia to the exit, both of them calling their good-byes to everyone else that was gathering jackets and purses (in Allison, Melissa, and Erica's cases). It was when they were almost to Derek's car that Lydia asked, "So, are you glad you came?"

Derek glanced over his shoulder and into the restaurant behind him, smiling a little when he caught sight of Stiles hugging Melissa with a smile as he pulled away and she patted his face while Karolina went around and hugged everyone else before they headed to the door as a group. Derek looked forward again with a nod, smiling a little more as he said, "Yeah, I am."

"Will Mr. Hale be there next week?" Karolina asked around a yawn as she sat in front of Stiles on the couch, facing one of the arms instead of forward so that he could run a comb through her tangled, wet hair.

"I don't know," replied Stiles with a shake of his head that she could not see. "I hope so." Derek had said that he would, but that did not mean it would always happen. The man could have just been being overly polite, after all. Stiles hoped not, though, finding that he really did enjoy just talking to the guy. It was nice to know someone he could banter with and they both keep smiles on their faces. It had been a long time since he had smiled like he had that night.

"Me, too." Karolina shifted how she was sitting in an attempt to get more comfortable without pulling away from the comb going through her hair, yawning again.

Stiles chuckled and gently squeezed her arm as he sat the comb aside. "There, finished; and, I think it's time for someone to head to bed."

"But I'm not sleepy!" insisted Karolina with a devastated look upon her face, though they were both quite aware the lie in those words.

"Sleepy or not, you've got school tomorrow. So, come on, bedtime." Stiles nodded once and smiled as Karolina got up from the bed with a heavy sigh. "Sleep well, Princess. I love you."

"Daddy, love you more." Karolina's words were quiet as she made her way back toward her bedroom, but they made him smile all the same.

Stiles got up to put away the comb he had been using, then, and continued on to the kitchen to do some quiet cleaning in there, listening to some movie on a quiet volume setting as he worked. All the while, he had a small smile on his face, thinking over the events of the day and finding that it had been a better day than he had expected.