Stiles

Scott stood staring at Stiles not knowing quite what to do. The witch had disappeared when Scott had dashed towards Stiles, terrified when the spell hit him that he would finally be injured beyond repair. Of course, when he reached Stiles, he didn't know whether his fears had been justified or not. Standing where Stiles had been was a tiny toddler version of Stiles with big, wide brown eyes, messy brown hair, and a tiny body hidden inside the clothes he'd been wearing before which now swam on him.

"Stiles?" Scott asked tentatively, and the little boy in front of him gave a big wide grin and giggled.

"Skdt!" Stiles exclaimed, making grabby hands at him, and Scott grinned. Yeah this was definitely Stiles. Scott looked around again, searching for any sign of the witch, but when he saw none, he picked Stiles up with a sigh. The pants stayed on the ground, the t-shirt hanging off one shoulder. The little boy automatically shivered and Scott cuddled him closer.

"Next time, we're bringing back up little buddy." Scott told him, and Stiles just grinned in return.

"Skdt blaq tdsl hme?"

"Yeah buddy, I'm taking you home."

Scott was sitting on the couch of the Stilinski residence with Stiles running around in his lacrosse sweater and sheriff Stilinski sitting in his armchair watching him in shock.

"Stiles was turned into a toddler by a witch?" the sheriff asked, and Scott nodded, watching Stiles playing with the stuffed cat his dad had pulled out of a box in a closet for him. Stiles was laughing as he rolled around with the cat, meowing in it's place and scampering around pretending he too was a cat. "Do we know why she turned him into a toddler?" Scott shrugged. That was still something he was trying to figure out.

"No idea. Stiles decided he wanted to go looking for her-"

"Of course he did." the sheriff muttered, but it was fond.

"And we ended up finding her, but then poof." he waved his hand in Stiles' direction and the toddler toddled over, handing him his kitty.

"Ba." he said with a smile, and Scott smiled at him.

"Thanks, Stiles." Stiles gave a big wide grin and then ran off, grabbing a pillow off the floor and bringing it over.

"Ba."

"Thank you." Scott repeated, and again Stiles grinned, running off again. Soon, Scott had a stuffed cat, a pillow, a plate, a spoon, and a dry piece of macaroni that Stiles seemed to have found on the floor. His dad snorted out a laugh and Stiles ran over to his dad then, crawling up onto his lap and reaching for the sunglasses perched on his head. With clumsy hands he pulled them onto his face, grinning ridiculously, and then scrambled off his Dad's lap, ending up sprawled on the carpet, soft snores filling the room.

"I called Derek. He was out of town for the day doing research, but he's on his way here. He said we'd figure it out." the sheriff just nodded, smiling down at the young version of his son sprawled on the carpet. He looked just as he had the first time around, and he acted the exact same way. It was adorable to see Stiles sprawled there, the too big glasses skewed on his face, and the sheriff felt a pang in his chest, missing the time his son had lived a safe and innocent life. Then he stood.

"Alright Scott, I've got to get back to the station, but keep me updated." he said, clapping Scott on the shoulder before he moved to pick Stiles up, cuddling him for a moment before putting him on the couch next to Scott.

"Do you think he remembers anything?" the sheriff asked right before he left, and Scott shrugged.

"I'm not sure. He recognized me, but I guess we'll know when Derek gets here. If he recognizes Derek it'll be proof he at least remembers some things." the sheriff nodded and left, now feeling a twist of anxiety. If his son unconsciously remembered things, what would his young innocent mind make of the nightmares that chased him in his sleep? He winced, and hoped that maybe for once his son would be lucky and such things wouldn't happen.

When Stiles woke up, Scott gave him cheerios because it was the only thing he knew toddlers could eat (hopefully) without dying. He was watching, relieved, as Stiles munched on the cheerios in front of the TV watching Star Wars (another sign that he remembered some things) when Derek showed up. When the knock on the door came, Stiles perked up, looking over at Scott where he sat on the floor, still in his lacrosse sweater.

"Skdt walr roto?" he asked, and Scott stood, ruffling his hair.

"Don't worry, Stiles. It's just Derek." he said as he went to answer the door, and was surprised when he heard Stiles creep after him, stopping in the doorway and only peaking out from behind the frame. Scott opened the door, relieved to see Derek, and let him in.

"Hey Derek, Stiles is in the living room. I really need help, dude. I have no idea what to feed him without killing him or something. So all he's had is cheerios." they both heard the pitter patter of little feet as Stiles ran further into the living room and then back to the doorway, bowl of dry cheerios in hand, peaking out at Derek. Then he was running forward, a cheerio in his hand, offering it to Derek. Derek blinked down at the toddler before he crouched down at Stiles' level, accepting the cheerio with a surprisingly soft smile.

"Thanks, Stiles." Stiles just giggled before running and hiding behind Scott, peaking out at Derek from behind Scott's leg before giggling again. Then he was tugging on Scott's leg, making grabby motions to be picked up. When Scott obliged, he whispered loudly into his ear as if whispering meant Derek wouldn't hear him.

"Durw smo bipa." he whispered, and Scott laughed while Derek watched in disbelief.

"You understand him?" Derek asked, and Scott frowned.

"You don't?" Derek made an unimpressed face at him but Scott ignored him for more of Stiles' whispering.

"Yeah, he is a werewolf. That's right Stiles." then Scott was laughing and Derek staring in disbelief. Scott turned to Derek, laughter still clear in his expression. "He says you smell good." Stiles gave an indignant squawk and Scott just barely managed to set him down gently before he was running off, cheerios now scattered all over the hall, pulling a blanket over himself to hide on the couch. Scott and Derek followed, Derek with a bemused smile and Scott looking guilty as he knelt down beside where Stiles was 'hiding'.

"Stiles, buddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Derek doesn't mind that you think he smells good." Scott managed awkwardly, and Derek snorted a laugh behind him. Stiles peaked out from under the blanket then, big brown eyes looking between them both with a shrewd expression.

"Durw culu fyly?" he asked, and Scott gave a relieved smile.

"Yeah, Derek can cook you food." Stiles pushed the blanket off then and sat up, looking at them both. Right then, Stiles stomach rumbled, and his face scrunched up unhappily.

"Hul falg bek na?" he asked, and Scott looked at Derek.

"Can you make scrambled eggs?" Derek just rolled his eyes before wandering into the kitchen. Unfortunately, there were no eggs in the fridge. He headed back towards the door, because something about that tiny toddler Stiles just made him want to make him happy.

"I'm just going to run over to the store. I'll be back in a minute." he said, walking out the door, and didn't see Stiles scramble to follow, watching him walk out the door. Scott just watched, curious, as Stiles sat down in front of the door, wiggling his toes as he waited for Derek to get back.

When Derek got back only five minutes later, he opened the door to find a resistance behind it.

"Scott?" he called out, and then seconds later Scott appeared, a sleepy Stiles in his arms.

"Sorry, Stiles fell asleep in front of the door waiting for you." Derek stared in surprise, and next thing he knew, Scott was handing him Stiles.

"I've gotta run though. Dr. Deaton called me, I've got to go meet him. Are you okay with Stiles?" before he could even answer, Stiles had wrapped his little arms around Derek's neck, face pressed against his skin.

"Yeah. I got him." Derek said, hoping his voice didn't sound rough, because the truth was, he missed the little kids that had run around the Hale house, he missed playing with them, and helping his family take care of them, and this small, affectionate, toddler Stiles reminded him of them.

"Great. Thanks Derek." Scott said, and like that he was off, leaving Derek alone with a toddler and a carton of eggs. Luckily, Derek knew more about children than Scott did.

Soon, Derek had Stiles set up at the table with a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him and was carefully helping him guide the fork to his mouth.

"Durw wuld Skdt?" It hadn't taken him long to figure out that 'Durw' was himself, since it was one of the few things that Stiles had repeated, and luckily, 'Skdt' sounded kind of like Scott.

"Scott?" he asked anyways, and when he got a big nod, he continued. "Scott had to go see Dr. Deaton." he said, and Stiles made a humming sound, scooping up eggs with his little fist and shoving them in his mouth. As Derek watched him, he wondered if he could teach him his name.

"Hey Stiles, say Derek."

Stiles blinked up at him.

"Durw." Derek rolled his eyes and tried again.

"Derek."

"Durw."

"Der-ek."

"Ek!" Stiles exclaimed, and Derek just gave a snort.

"No, Der. Der-ek."

"Der." Stiles said, and Derek relented.

"Close enough. That's me. Der." Stiles just beamed at him before doing something that had Derek gaping in shock. The little toddler pointed at Derek, and then made little fangs with his fingers.

"Woof!" Stiles exclaimed, and Derek just stared, remembering how Scott had said earlier that yes, he was a werewolf. Did that mean Stiles remembered?

"Yeah, I'm a werewolf." the little boy's eyes lit up excitedly and again he made little fangs.

"Woof!" he repeated, and Derek rolled his eyes.

"You want me to show you?" Stiles nodded emphatically, sliding out of his chair and toddling over to where Derek sat, staring up at him, waiting. With a sigh, Derek complied, letting himself change, and heard the surprised gasp as Stiles watched. He felt the tug and looked to see Stiles make the grabby motions that meant he wanted to be picked up, and so he complied, carefully, letting him stand on his thigh. He was surprised when the little hands reached out to touch his face, tentatively tracing it before he was suddenly hugging him again, little cheek rubbing against Derek's. Derek's initial reaction was to stiffen, but instead he relaxed. This was what pack was, and if Stiles was anything, it was pack.

"Stiles, you've been taking little naps all day. Do you want to go to bed?" he asked, and he felt Stiles vigorously shake his head no. "What about a movie?" he asked, and there was a hesitant nod.

"Der?" he asked in a questioning voice, and Derek assumed it meant was Derek going to come too.

"Yeah, I'm going to watch it too." Stiles leaned back and beamed at him, pointing at the ground to be set down and then reaching for Derek's hand, pulling him back to the living room. Derek fell asleep watching Star Wars with Stiles fast asleep curled up on his chest, and when the Sheriff got home, he just shook his head and covered them with a blanket.

The next day, after receiving a frantic apology from Scott (who Derek was beginning to assume was actually afraid of children), Derek decided it was time to get Stiles some age appropriate things. For one, Stiles needed a toy that wasn't a cat because somehow that offended Derek greatly, and the second thing was some foods he could eat without much hassle. Of course, the moment Derek took Stiles out to get these things, he realized he couldn't go anywhere with Stiles without a car seat. So the first thing he actually did, was call Peter. Having told Peter that he'd meet him at his loft with the item in question, Derek took Stiles on a long walking trip, which ended up being a trip during which Stiles ended up on Derek's shoulders laughing and giggling and combing his fingers through Derek's hair for grip while he talked in his nonsensical language about everything he saw. When they reached the loft, they were both thirsty, and Derek helped Stiles drink from a regular cup and added non breakable glasses to his list of needs. Of course, Stiles was so pleased to be using a regular cup that he almost didn't bother, but Derek knew one incident could end up with injuries so it was better not to push it. Stiles was jumping on his couch when he turned his back to refill the water glass and the moment Derek saw him, he gave a shout of surprise. Of course, the shout sent Stiles off balance and Derek was practically flying across the room, catching Stiles before he could hit the ground. The glass Derek had been filling shattered, and at the sound, Stiles burst into tears, twisting around so he could wrap his little arms around Derek, tears staining the collar of his shirt. Derek's immediate reaction was to soothe, and before either of them realized it, Stiles had stopped crying and was just cuddling into him. Though he was now loathe to put the tiny Stiles down, Derek did so carefully because he knew he couldn't leave the broken glass on the floor. He had the passing thought that maybe it was him who needed the plastic dishes, but it amused him more than it irritated him.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." he apologized, and Stiles nodded. Then he did the last thing Derek expected him to do; he leaned forward and pecked a kiss against the tip of Derek's nose before giving a beaming grin as he climbed to his feet again. Watching Derek, he gave an experimental jump, and Derek laughed. This was definitely Stiles. He nodded and the boy beamed, going back to his leaping while Derek cleaned up the glass. He was just dumping the glass in the garbage when he heard the door to his loft open and Peter's voice float to greet him.

"I have what you asked for, dear nephew. Pray tell, which of the little wolves got themselves de-aged?" Peter asked, and Derek knew the moment Peter saw Stiles, because he laughed. "Of course it was you." Peter was saying, and then, out of the blue, Stiles let out a little shriek. Derek was moving in an instant. Was he hurt? Had Peter scared him? The little toddler practically leapt off the couch and into his arms in front of a shocked Peter. Peter watched the whole scene in shock and fascination; Not only did Derek act in immediate defence of the boy, but the boy actively searched to be close to Derek. Of course, when the miniature Stiles was safely in Derek's arm, Peter watched him lift his little face tucked under Derek's chin to give Peter an impish smile before he hid his face again. Peter burst out laughing, oh yes, this was definitely Stiles, as always doing his best to be near Derek.

"He certainly is fond of you." Peter noted, amused, and Derek shrugged, though he too, Peter noticed, was surprisingly attached to the boy as well.

"Probably because I'm whose been taking care of him." Derek said, and Peter wanted to roll his eyes. His nephew was so dense sometimes. With a shrug, he waved at the box by the door that contained the car seat.

"There you are then. Enjoy your time with the little imp while he stays this way. I'm sure you won't enjoy the boy around nearly as much when he's back to his regular self."

Derek opened his mouth to snap back a reply but then he realized doing so would only give his uncle more ammunition. He knew his uncle was wrong because it was one of the reasons Derek had been so willing to take care of the tiny Stiles; he cared about the human, and he wanted to see him safe. The fact that he was now able to fit curled up in one arm was merely another thing that melted Derek's heart.

"Thanks for bringing it." he said instead, moving to pick up the box in one arm and carry Stiles in the other. Peter watched his nephew walk out the door, arms full with child and accessory, and grinned from ear to ear, pulling out his phone and turning on the camera. He planned to have photographic evidence of this.

By the time Derek had managed to install the car seat and get Stiles in it, he was exhausted, but he still had to take the boy out for age appropriate food. That was how he ended up pushing a grocery cart around the store, Stiles sitting in the front, little legs swinging as he chattered away happily, tiny hands playing with where Derek's held the cart.

"Coo!" Stiles shouted at one point, tugging at Derek's hand and pointing down an aisle. "Coo bal nek!" he shouted, and though Derek didn't understand, he moved down that aisle anyways. When they made their way through the vegetable aisle, Derek watched Stiles carefully, watching the boy frown and point at the lettuce. Derek was struck then by how many times the boy had arrived smelling of fresh greens, and saying he'd just been preparing his father dinner. He knew from experience that the boy himself was not a healthy eater, so was this a memory from his older self? Derek passed him a head of lettuce and watched as Stiles ripped off a tiny piece experimentally and stick it in his mouth. He chewed for about 5 seconds before he was making a face, pushing the lettuce away. Derek smirked, putting it in a bag in the cart before continuing on. He hadn't thought the boy would like it.

"How about oatmeal, do you like oatmeal? Everyone likes that one with the dinosaurs, right?" Derek asked, and when Stiles just cocked his head at him, once more spewing words that made no sense to Derek whatsoever, he continued shopping on those hunches.

When they were finally done, Derek took Stiles back to his place where Peter had remained, now sprawled across the couch, book in hand.

"Welcome back, nephew. I see our dear Stiles is still in the body of a toddler." of course, Stiles chose that moment to warm up to Peter as well. The second Derek set him down, Stiles was rummaging through the bags, mumbling to himself in his odd little language until he came up with the oatmeal cookies. Derek remembered having mentioned in passing that they were for Peter when he'd tossed them in the cart, and now watched, amazed, as Stiles rushed them over to Peter with a huge grin on his face, offering them up to Derek's uncle.

"Ba!" he exclaimed, and Peter took the box, the smirk softening ever so slightly. As if Derek were no longer there, Peter scooped the boy up, settling him down on his lap and opening the box.

"I suppose we should have a snack, shouldn't we? After all, grocery shopping must have been hard work." Peter said solemnly, and Derek watched, amused, as Stiles gave a solemn nod.

"Der bao duy nylos warg." Stiles informed Peter with that same solemn expression, and Peter nodded as if he understood perfectly.

"Yes, we musn't get in the way while Derek unpacks." he ripped through the plastic and handed Stiles a cookie, watching him light up in excitement, immediately beginning to gnaw on the treat. Peter took one out for himself as well, and as he bit into it he finally looked up at Derek, that softness not leaving his expression. Derek was once again reminded that there had been a day where Peter had been a father, and he knew better than Derek did how to take care of a child.

"He's going to need a nap soon." Derek noted, and watched Peter lift a brow. "If you want to help, you can put him down for it while I unpack everything." though Peter made a show of rolling his eyes as if he were hard done by, the second Stiles was done the cookie he swept the boy into his arms, cuddling him expertly against his chest.

"I'll take care of it." Peter said flippantly, but his touch was soft as his fingers carded through Stiles' hair. Then he moved away, and Derek just barely made out Peter's next words. "Come on, little one, let's get you to sleep." Derek didn't wait around, moving to unpack the groceries, and thinking maybe he'd have time for a nap too before Stiles woke up.

Leaving Derek to unpack the groceries, Peter cradled the boy carefully in his arms, gratified when the boy curled easily in towards him. He would never admit it out loud, but he missed his children, and he missed his nieces and nephews.

"Where would you like to sleep today, hmm? In Derek's room perhaps?" Peter asked, wandering in that direction. "After all, you do see to have taken a shine to him. I wonder if that's because of he's been taking care of you in your days as a toddler, or if it's because you feel this way about him normally and just don't have the ability to hide it as a toddler." Peter mused, and Stiles leaned back, watching him with big, owl-like eyes.

"Wuv Der." though normally Peter would've smirked at the revelation, now his smile was ever so soft, and he gave a hum, leaning forward to rub his nose against the boy's scalp as the boy cuddled back in.

"Me too, little one. I am so very glad he was not hurt during my madness." he wondered briefly if Derek could hear him despite his soft tones, and knew that even if he could, he wouldn't say anything. When he reached Derek's room, he made to put the boy down, but the boy balked, clinging to him tighter. "You have to take a nap, Stiles. You need rest." in reply, Stiles just clung tighter, and Peter found it endearing. "I will stay with you." at the words, Stiles released his death grip, flopping back onto the bed and then making grabby motions at Peter. Rolling his eyes, Peter lied down next to him, smiling once again when the little boy immediately curled up against him. Lying on his side, Peter curled around the boy, and within seconds, they were both asleep.

After unpacking the groceries, Derek decided a nap really was in order and climbed the stairs to his room ready to rest. Upon reaching his room though, he stood frozen in the doorway. Though it was clear from the rumpled covers that they had not started out like this, Peter and Stiles were sprawled across his bed – or, Peter was sprawled across the bed, though his limbs were curled ever so slightly around the boy, and the boy had one hand fisted in Peter's shirt, the rest of his limbs splayed out like a star. Though he would have been annoyed any other time, the sight reminded him of his youth; of days when the whole pack would curl up in one space, limbs tangled, just taking comfort in each others existence. Thinking of that, Derek made no move to wake either previous occupants of his bed, instead he just climbed in as well, reaching out a hand so he could reach the boy. Seconds later, he too was asleep.

Both wolves woke up to the feeling of Stiles shaking between them, his quiet whimpers of "Ma," meeting their ears. Derek reacted first, a soft growl sounding in reaction to the child's fear, pulling Stiles in against his chest as he woke up. Even being held didn't soothe the boy though, and when his eyes opened, tears blurred the soft brown. Unsure of what to do, Derek looked over at Peter who was already reaching for the phone Derek had left on the bedside table.

"He misses his mother. This will be a good chance to test young Ms. Reyes instincts with other pack members." Derek didn't bother to argue that Stiles was indeed pack, because there was no question, and so he nodded, listening as Peter dialled, Erica answered, then agreed with Peter to come to the loft. He also didn't miss how Peter left out just why they were calling Erica.

Erica arrived with Boyd within 15 minutes, and though Stiles had been silent the whole time, the tears hadn't stopped. Both wolves froze the moment their eyes fell on the toddler, and then they moved forward together, stopping in front of where Derek sat on the couch, holding Stiles carefully against him, Peter watching from the door.

"Scott really wasn't lying." Erica said, and at the sound of her voice, Stiles looked up, big brown eyes staring at her sadly. It seemed Peter had nothing to worry about, because the instant Stiles had looked at her, she'd melted. "Oh you poor thing." she reached for him and he reached right back, letting her pull him into her arms, cuddling up against her. They all watched as she acted to soothe, rubbing her nose against his temple, fingers carding gently through his hair.

"Shh, you're okay, Stiles. We've got you." his tears slowed and he sniffled, little hands reaching up to play with the ends of Erica's hair. His watery voice mumbled in his nonsensical language, until Derek recognized 'Skdt', and he reached for his phone, eyes never leaving Erica who was cooing over Stiles, Boyd now standing very close, reaching out to touch the boy as well. When Scott answered the phone, Derek was smiling at his beta's treatment of the toddler.

"Hey Scott, you should get over here. Stiles is asking about you."

Scott arrived with Isaac, and upon seeing them, Stiles gave a bright peel of laughter.

"Skdt!" the toddler exclaimed, rushing over as fast as his unsteady legs could carry him. Scott crouched down to his level, grinning widely, and accepted the hug the child offered. "Kwa si mer jas boot hwa." Stiles said excitedly, and nobody could help but be amazed that Scott seemed to actually understand as he gave Erica a beaming grin.

"Yeah, Erica is pretty nice, isn't she? And I'm sure it makes her very happy to know you think she has beautiful hair." Stiles turned to beam at Erica, pleased that Scott had passed along his message, before he turned back to his best friend. "Der wa Pwa da yiki hum fidu!" the boy said happily next, and Scott's grin softened as he reached out to ruffle his de-aged friends hair. "Wuv kem."

"I'm sure they love you too, buddy. They did help you with your nightmare after all." Stiles went quiet at that, but none of them missed the blush that tipped his ears, or the small smile that graced his tiny face. Then he was looking past Scott to Isaac.

"Skdt?" he asked, pointing at the newcomer, and Isaac just stared at him, clearly deciding what he thought of this miniature version of Stiles.

"That's Isaac, Stiles. Don't you remember him?" Everyone watched Stiles frown a moment before his eyes lit up. Then, much as he'd done with Derek, he looked at Isaac and made little fangs with his fingers in front of his mouth. The sight had Scott and Erica laughing, Peter smirking, and Boyd and Derek giving serene smiles, as if this little boy was the cutest thing they'd ever seen. Isaac, however, narrowed his eyes at the boy. His appearance changed then, and Stiles gave a yelp of surprise, wobbling back a few steps. More surprising than Isaac's attempt to scare him however, was how the room erupted with growls, all protective of Stiles. Isaac's appearance shifted back instantly and Stiles gave a little laugh as he fell back onto his back, positively beaming.

"Wuv kem." he repeated, and once again, Scott laughed, the tense atmosphere fading.

"Yeah, it looks like they definitely feel the same way."

Despite the rough start with Isaac, things progressed smoothly from there, until it was Isaac who volunteered to help Stiles eat, soft smile on his face the whole time. When it was time for Stiles to go to bed, everyone was reluctant for Stiles to leave, all wanting to be able to spend the night all together and with the boy, but Derek was forced to point out that he actually had to take Stiles home to his father, and despite their disappointment, no one argued. That was how Derek found himself once again laying on the Stilinski couch, watching the old Star Trek TV show, with Stiles falling asleep on his chest. As soon as the boy's breathing and heart rate evened out, Derek was soon to follow into sleep.