Title: just call me pack mom
Words: 4677 words
Genre: Family/ Hurt/Comfort/ Angst
Summary: It isn't long before Melissa McCall resigns herself to the status of Mama Wolf.

1. Stiles

Scott meets Stiles at the age of five on the playground, and they've been inseparable ever since. Melissa still doesn't know whether forcing Scott to share his Power Rangers toys was the best or worst decision she ever had.

It's the worst decision because Stiles is a walking trouble machine who scares her by appearing at the house at night through the window and who soon shares his knack for breaking the rules with Scott. That much is obvious when Scott lies to her for the first time (and she can tell he's lying because her son, bless his precious heart, stutters and twitches and is the worst liar in the world, thank goodness) about not knowing where Stiles is after the Sheriff shows up on her doorstep (Stiles turns out to be in Scott's room, hiding from his father after a fight they had).

It's the best decision she's ever made because Scott smiles and laughs like the happy child he should be with Stiles around. The smiles that she lives for, smiles that had been absent since her husband left them all those months ago, start reappearing again as Stiles makes himself comfortable in their lives. Stiles makes sure that Scott is okay when Melissa isn't around. The boy wins her heart when he asks for another inhaler to keep with him just in case Scott forgets his.

And so, the good outweighs the bad, and forcing Scott to share his toys becomes the best decision she's ever made. Stiles Stilinski becomes her unofficial second son.

And then twelve years later, Scott asks her if it's okay for Isaac Lahey to live with them for a while, and Melissa McCall gains her third son.

2. Isaac

"Hey, Mom? You got a second?"

She looks up from the book she's reading, frowning when she sees the frown on his face, as though something was troubling him. Then again, he has been looking that way for the past few days. She knows it has something to do with werewolves and the supernatural, and she's still new to the whole concept, but she'll listen if it means lifting the load he seems to think he has on his shoulders. She nods at him, patting the empty space beside her and Scott sighs.

"What's wrong?"

She can tell from the way he's not looking at her that he's nervous. Scott is staring at the wall, ringing his hands as he tries to think of how he could possibly explain anything to her. She knows that look pretty darn well because until, he'd don that look every time he needed to explain to her why he was failing two or three of his classes. That puppy-eyed, 'please-don't-yell-at-me' look.

"Scott?" she says his name, and her voice seems to startle him from his staring match with the wall. Was what he was going to tell so bad? Was someone hurt? Did he need her to – ?

"Mom, calm down," he chuckles and Melissa looks at him, wondering how he knows because she's pretty sure she'd mastered the art of not panicking in front of her child years ago. Scott rolls his eyes affectionately and wraps his arms around her. "I could hear your heart race. I'm pretty sure Isaac heard it too."

She leans into him, because heck, her boy was growing up and it used to be the other way around.

"Wait, Isaac?" she pulls away from him, eyes raised and her son sheepishly smiles at her. He gives her that grin, the one that she should be running away from right then, but all she does instead is give him her best stern-mother look. She gets up from her bed, and trudges up the stairs, ignoring her sons' calls for her to slow down.

Her son's werewolf friend is sitting on the bed when she opens Scott's bedroom door, his hand around a duffel bag that probably contains everything he has. He stands up as she enters, slings his bag behind his shoulders, and gives her an uncertain smile. It's the smile that breaks her heart, because this teen, this child, has been through so much and now, he's in her house getting ready to be thrown out.

He looks at the ground as he speaks, his voice soft, "I just need a place to stay for one night, Mrs McCall. I'll be out of here tomorrow, I promise. I'll sleep on the floor so I won't disturb anyone."

She looks at Scott, and he's looking at her with a pleading expression. Scott had told her all about Isaac, from how much he was abused by his father to how he had stuck by Scott during the last phase of the Kanima attack last year to how Isaac had been kidnapped by a group of alphas. Not for the first time, she cursed the universe because damn it, they were just kids.

"Well, this just won't do," she firmly says and holds up her hand when Scott opens his mouth to protest. Isaac's shoulders are sagging and she thinks she can see the wheels turning in his head, thinking up alternative places he could sleep in. "It's a school night boys, and I expect the two of you to be in bed by ten. Isaac, why don't you change into something more comfortable?"

Isaac blinks at her, not seeming to believe that she had just asked him to stay. Scott, however, is looking at her as though she is the best mother in the world and she winks at him before leaving the room to set out pillows and a blanket for Isaac on her couch. She knows it's comfortable because she's slept on it once while waiting for Scott to return after he broke his curfew a while ago and she knows it beats sleeping on the floor.

When she's done making sure Isaac would be as comfortable as he possibly could, she turns and screeches when Isaac appears, clutching her chest as she pretends to glare to him. He gives her an apologetic smile, and then gestures to the couch.

"I don't want to be much trouble," he mutters and Melissa rolls her eyes. She walks away from the couch and towards the stairs, patting the teenager on his shoulders.

"You're not," she tries reassuring him and Isaac nods.

"I'll be gone by tomorrow, Mrs McCall," he promises and Melissa frowns. She hears Scott coming down the stairs but she ignores him, instead crossing her arms across her chest as she sternly regards Isaac. One teenager at a time.

"And where will you go?" she asks, blinking when he mummers something about old houses or park benches. She shakes her head at that, raising her voices as she practically orders him, "You'll come back here after school tomorrow, alright? We'll clear out Scott's old nursery for you, and you'll stay there until we can actually do something about your living arrangements. Clear?"

He nods again, his eyes on the floor and Melissa aches for the broken boy. She knows about his father, about the abuses. She knows about how Isaac was kidnapped, and she knows about how much he has helped Scott. She's not going to let this wonderful, vulnerable boy continue living like a fugitive.

"Thank you," he gives her a small, barely-there, smile. She can tell that he's exhausted, tired and that all his insecurities were surfacing. She was, after all, a mother, and she vows to confront Derek Hale for putting that jaded look into Isaac's eyes (even though the thought of going anywhere near the alpha made her heart beat faster in fear).

"Anytime."

"Hey, Mom?"

Scott slips into the room at about two a.m and she's immediately on alert. He assures her that nothing's wrong, that Isaac was sound asleep downstairs, and that he just wanted to talk. Melissa nods, because she can't sleep either.

"Do you think Isaac can stay here for as long as he wants to?" her son asks, and she looks at him, pondering. "It's just… He has nowhere else to go, Mom. He doesn't have a home."

He says that last sentence as though the thought of someone not having a home was an idea he would never be able to understand. Not for the first time, she feels the urgent need to shield him from the cruelties of the world, despite knowing that Scott too had already seen too much.

"Honey, it's not going to be easy," she runs a hand through her hair, and tries to reason with her son. "He's still a minor. I have to check with Social Services on his status."

"It's almost been a year," Scott argues, "If he did have a relative, then why haven't they come and take care of him?"

She doesn't answer him because she can't. The thought of someone not wanting to have anything to do with that sweet boy in her living room was an almost impossible thought to grasp.

She decides over a sleepless night that Isaac Lahey needed a place to stay, and that Scott's old nursery was almost empty anyway. And so, by the time the boys are home from school the next day, she has cleared out Scott's old nursery and has moved the pull-out couch into the room. Her back aches and her muscles are screaming, but the startled look Isaac gives her is totally worth it.

He looks around the room, eyes wide as he takes it in. She's suddenly nervous, afraid that a pull-out couch and a cupboard isn't enough for the boy. The nerves vanish though, when Isaac turns around and gives her the most genuine smile she's seen on his face. It's the smile that makes Scott chuckle and the one that makes her feel like she's finally doing something right for him.

"Did you do this yourself, Mrs McCall?"

"It's not much," she shrugs and, when Isaac just blinks at her, continues, "The cupboard was already in here and I used the trolley to move the couch from the basement. This room's still too bare, though. But we can go shopping for your other stuff over the weekend. I've taken Saturday off, so we can maybe get you a mirror, rugs, a study table and – "

"This is too much," Isaac says and Melissa shrugs again.

"Deal with it, kiddo," she grins, ruffles his hair and stands next to Scott, watching as Isaac looks around his new room in amazement, and her heart aches at how something so simple could make him look at her with such gratitude. He's still looking as though he's afraid that she was just kidding and so, she repeats herself, "We'll go shopping for your other things over the weekend."

He opens his mouth to argue, but when she raises her eyes at him in the do-not-argue-with-me look she has mastered, he shuts it, a sheepish grin on his handsome face. Scott laughs at their interaction, clapping his hand on Isaac's back, "You're learning fast, bro."

They go shopping for his study table, mirror and other things to complete his room over the weekend.

It takes Isaac about two months to adjust to living in the McCall house. For the first week, he's there every time she opens the door, ready to help with the groceries or whatever chores she may need help with. By the third week, he starts adopting certain Scott mannerisms, like leaving his clothes all around the floor and trying to get away with breaking curfew by flashing her his puppy dog smile. By the end of the first month, he realizes that she's practically immune to that grin and that breaking curfew was something she would not stand for.

It still breaks her heart the way his eyes widen and his shoulders lump when she mentions that he and Scott have to be punished for whatever crap they got themselves into. And when he just looks surprised and relieved that his punishment involves cleaning the house and the car for the next three months, she can't help but want to remind him that he's safe in her house, that neither she nor Scott is going to hurt him.

By the end of the second month, he calls her by her name, and no longer looks like the vulnerable kid he looked like the first few weeks he came in. instead, when he and Scott come through the front door most days after school, he looks as though he's at peace, as though he's finally home and Melissa likes to think she has a part to play in that.

She sees him as one of her own after she has been saved from being part of a sacrifice.

Melissa's been kidnapped by Scott's teacher who turns out to be kidnapping guardians as part of her sacrifice (at least, that's what she understands from what John Stilinski has told her) and as she struggles against her ropes, the adrenaline from earlier that night starts to wear off and she feels the exhaustion. In the past hours (days even), she has been held hostage by the creepiest bad guy ever, saved her son from being strangled by shocking twin alpha werewolves from each other and then was taken hostage again by the Darach.

She looks to the Sheriff for answers and hope but even he seems dejected. There's no mistaking the worry in Chris' eyes either. His werewolf device hadn't work and they're still trapped somewhere their kids would probably not know where to look. It is then that she leans her head onto the wall, praying as tears slid through her closed eyes that if she didn't get through this, her sons would be okay.

But then Allison and Isaac run through the doors and free them, and her heart bursts at the sight of Isaac. He goes to her as Allison goes to her father, making a quick work out of untying her. She can't help the tears as she pulled him towards her, hugging him as the last of the ropes fall away. He stiffens in her arms and just as she is about to pull away, suddenly aware that Isaac could still be a little uncomfortable with her, he hugs her back just as tightly. He lets go quickly though, his eyes wide as he gives her a shaky smile. He kisses her on her forehead and goes to untie the Sheriff's ropes next.

They get out alive, thanks to Stiles impeccable timing, and everyone part ways to go to their own houses. Allison fills them in on Rafe, her ex-husband, while Isaac squeezes Melissa's hand through the teenage girl's explanation. The familiar sense of anger and hurt seeps through her and she wills herself to keep calm. So, in front of all of them, she shrugs and waves it off because right then, all she wants is to get home and make sure that Scott is safe too.

He is, and when he barges through the doors, she flings herself into her son's arms and holds him tight. Behind them, she knows that Isaac is watching them, a smile on his face and so when she has made sure that Scott is okay, she drags Isaac into a group hug and just stands there, arms around her boys.

Her boys are safe, she is safe and all other problems (the re-appearance of her ex-husband, the missing body of Jennifer Blake and Deucalion being let go) can wait until the next day.

She wakes up to loud voices coming from the living room. Melissa grabs her robe, puts it on and walks out of the room. She gives Scott a questioning gaze when she sees him in his room but he just shrugs and shakes his head dejectedly. Her heart races as she recognizes Isaac and Rafe's voice. Her ex-husband's voice still makes her nervous.

"You're not even part of this family, kid, so back off," Rafe says and Isaac practically growls. Melissa sees red at his words because how dare he question Isaac's place in her family?

"And you," she drawls, irritated, "Need to leave before I call the Sheriff and have you locked away for harassing my boys."

"Mel," Rafe softly acknowledges her, his eyes darting across her body as he takes her in. She can see the sadness in his eyes, the regret that crosses his handsome face but she is too tired and too angry to care. It wasn't time to forgive him yet. He put them through too much.

"You need to leave," she repeats herself, and she sees Isaac smirk as Rafe's shoulders slump, delightfully taking in the man's pain. She was totally raising that kid's allowance.

"Not until I talk to Scott," Rafe crosses his hands across his chest. She scoffs because honestly, how stupid could this man be? Did he really think that she would let him anywhere near her son after he packed up and left all those years ago when they needed him the most? Did he really think that she would forgive him for making Scott the kid with the deadbeat dad?

Isaac stands in front of her then, and looks squarely at the FBI agent. "He doesn't want to talk to you. Go away."

Rafe's eyes widen in anger and he stands directly in front of the kid, a threatening move if she ever saw one. She sees the way Isaac curls his hands into fists and she knows he's trying to keep his past demons out.

"I don't know who you think you are, kid," Rafe hisses and Isaac just raises his eyebrow, unimpressed, "But I want to talk to my son."

Melissa pushes him away from Isaac and she plants her hands on her hips, glaring at Rafe, "Take a hint, Rafe. Scott has nothing to say to you but if you insist," she points towards the staircase while ignoring Isaac's protests. Rafe nods and starts walking up, but not before stopping at her next words. "If he slams the door in your face, you leave."

Scott does slam the door and from the staircase, Melissa cannot help the sad smile that spreads across her face. She never wanted for Scott to have such a damaged relationship with his father but that was Rafe's fault. Beside her, Isaac tenses and walks towards Rafe.

"Leave now," Isaac commands and for the first time since he arrived, Rafe obliges. He nods at Melissa before leaving, giving her the sad smile that was mirrored on her own face. His apologetic eyes causes a pang in her heart and she has to look away to stop herself from saying anything stupid.

She hears the front door slam and a squeeze on her shoulders. Melissa gives Isaac a watery smile at his concerned look.

"I'm fine," she tries assuring him, though the crack in her voice convinces them both that she is anything but. Isaac just shrugs, kisses her on the cheek and grabs his backpack. He yells to Scott that Rafe has left and shrugs again at her questioning glance.

When Scott comes down the stairs, he gives her a hug before grinning at Isaac, "Thanks, man."

Isaac nods and looks at her, "No offence, but you have terrible taste in men."

She and Scott laugh at his words and she can't help but feel happy despite Rafe's unwanted reappearance. One man may have left her, but she's got her boys and they are all that matter.

3. Aiden and Ethan

She hears about the twins, Ethan and Aiden, from both Scott and Isaac. She hears about how they'd attacked Isaac and how they had taken part in killing Boyd. She can't help the fear that spreads through her when she hears about these teenagers who were running wild and were alphas. She almost doesn't want to know how they became alphas.

But then she sees Ethan carrying a very sick Danny through the hospital doors, arms around the other boy as his eyes flash with worry. She can't help but give the terrified boy a comforting smile, and when he breathes in relief after she saves Danny, she knows that there is better in Ethan than he has shown. Or maybe it's just Danny that brings out the good in him. Either way, there is good in Ethan. And if there is good in Ethan, then there has to be good in Aiden.

She's at Deaton's clinic a month after the whole Darach debacle, waiting for Scott as both he and Deaton discuss werewolf business. She was supposed to be having dinner with her son, a dinner they'd both been planning since they realized the lack of time they had been spending together. Isaac was supposed to be joining them in an hour.

"Scott!"

"Five minutes Mom!"

She rolls her eyes and makes herself comfortable on one of the couches, picking through the magazines as she resigns herself to waiting for the next half an hour. She's reading about how dog jokes (because it feels really good to never run out of those) when the door of the animal clinic bursts open, and one of the twins and Isaac collapse in front of her, blood staining their faces and clothes as they pass out.

She screams for her son and Deaton and together, they bring Isaac and the twin (Aiden, Scott says his name is) into Deaton's consultation room. Deaton injects and revives them with herbs she's never seen before.

"Aiden!"

The other twin practically sprints to his brother less than ten minutes after they save Aiden. Ethan's eyes are moist and he keeps clutching his chest every time Aiden breathes through his mouth. And as they wait for the two of them to gain consciousness, Melissa doesn't miss the way Scott's eyes furrows in worry every time Isaac groans. She also doesn't miss the way he constantly checks up on the twins too, asking if Ethan was hurting and if Aiden needed anything. She contains her smile because holy shit, if anyone ever doubted Scott's ability as an alpha, they'd be so wrong. Her son was a leader of his own pack.

Allison, Stiles and Lydia arrive not long after and Isaac fills them in on what happened. Apparently, Deucalion had cornered Ethan in the warehouse Derek had previously lived in and wanted the alpha twins back into his pack. Ethan had refused, because, hello, Deucalion's a psychopath. Isaac had been there to ask Ethan about something and had been caught in the cross fire.

Melissa doesn't miss the way Allison squeezes Isaac's hands and smiles at him comfortingly. She also doesn't miss the pat Stiles gives Scott on the shoulder and the way Scott looks away from Isaac and Allison. She also observes the way Lydia inches towards Aiden, stroking his hair as she quietly reprimands him for pushing the demon wolf.

And then, she realized something she should have realized long moments ago.

"Wait, you're leaving in a warehouse?" she raises her eyes at the twins and when they shrug, she crosses her hands across her chest.

"We have nowhere else to go, Mrs McCall," Aiden groaned as he attempts to get up. Beside him, his brother supports him, nodding along.

She looks at Scott and Isaac and when they both just grin at her, as though they knew exactly what she was going to say, she tells the twins that the basement should be enough room for them. When they just look at her, confused, she rolls her eyes and repeats herself.

"You're moving in with us," she says slowly and when they start to say something, she raises her hand to stop them. "You're two teenagers living in a warehouse. No offense, but if Child Services got a hold of you, you'd be spending the next year miserable and apart."

"They're not going to –"

"Or you can let me handle the paperwork and live with us so you're not on the run. Great! So it's settled then," she claps her hand when they just stare at her. "You'll live in my basement for now. I'm sure your things are still at the warehouse?"

The twins nod and as she instructs the girls to get whatever belongings the twins possessed, she grabs Scott, Stiles and Ethan so that they can help her clean the basement. She tells Deaton to make sure that Isaac and Aiden are fully healed before he releases them. As they leave the animal clinic, she grins at the Aiden's incredulous conversation with Isaac.

"What the hell just happened?"

"She's taking you under her wing," Isaac chuckles. "Might as well get used to her being around, dude. You're both not omegas anymore."

The twins settle in faster than Isaac did.

Aiden and Ethan insist on paying her rent and when she demands a rent of 1 dollar per month, they just start chipping in the groceries, which do cost a lot since she is living with four teen wolves.

Aiden is, without a doubt, the messier and wilder twin. He chucks his bag aside the moment he reaches home from school and his half of their room is always in a mess. He's more outgoing, and he isn't afraid to speak his mind. More often than not, Melissa finds herself giving him a time-out because of his mouth. But his smartass mouth does rile Rafe up and when Aiden send her ex-husband away for the third day in a row, she gets him the new helmet he wanted.

Ethan is more sensitive in his thoughts and actions. He's the quieter twin and though he gets into trouble with his brother with all the shit Aiden pulls, Melissa observes how protective he is with the people he cares about. He's always at Aiden's side, changes Scott's motorcycle parts when he thinks no one's looking and shields Isaac from male authority figures whenever he can. His actions are subtle.

Pretty soon, she resigns herself to the status of Pack Mom or Mama Wolf when she wakes up to a house full of teenagers on a Sunday morning. In her living room, Stiles and Aiden are racing each other on the Xbox. Scott and Ethan are in the kitchen making breakfast and Isaac… was sneaking back into the house. She puts her hands on her hips, taking in his tussled hair and guilty smile, and merely raises her eye at him, perfecting her Mom look to a tee.

"I'm sorry I lost track of time?" he grins sheepishly and she can hear the other boys stopping whatever they're doing to listen to their conversation.

"You're grounded."

"Aww, c'mon Mama McCall," Isaac groans and Melissa resists the urge to smile because all those months ago, he wouldn't have even thought of protesting. She holds up her hand and he stops talking.

"You know how I feel about curfew so let this be a reminder to you and all the other boys in this house, including you, Stiles!"

"But I don't even live her."

"Considering you're in my house more than I am," Melissa dangerously walks towards him and feels a sense of satisfaction when Stiles just gulps. "You will abide by the curfew. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," he steps backwards.

As soon as she walks back into her room, she hears her boys arguing. She's not sure what they're arguing about but when she hears a vase break and complete horrified silence after that, she tries to control her laughter because she knows those teen wolves could hear her.

Oh, her boys were trouble, alright.

"He did it, Mom!"

A/N: So what do you guys think? Should I continue and do one for Derek and the girls? Do you like it? Please review and let me know! :)