Chapter Text
The grief was all consuming not to him for Peter wasn’t the sort to be weakened by grief unlike his mate who wasn’t as strong as him even if Chris was a hunter. The grief that had settled with the sudden death of their daughter Allison was slowly draining Chris’ will to liv and Peter feared that his mate would soon follow their daughter to an early grave, Peter could not lose his mate too and so he began the troublesome attempt to bring back their daughter but all that was achieved were these violent twitches and then her body began to decay twice as fast as it would do under normal circumstances, in the end Peter was forced to scout for a replacement child that would be good enough for both him and Christopher which was not an easy task for Allison had been a glorious little girl of whom both her parents had been so dreadfully fond and proud of.
Peter searches and searches until one day he sees a little girl who he thinks would be perfect for him and Chris, he watches her and follows her learns just enough about the girl to convince himself she would be perfect, but to be certain of his choice Peter brings the one person who’s opinion truly matters with him to the playground where the little girl seemed to frequent at fairly often.
It’s a warm autumn Saturday when Peter finally manages to get Chris out of bed and the house and all the way to playground where their future daughter, they sit down on one of the cleaner benches near the playground when Peter is certain the child is there. Peter expects Chris to have the same reaction he’d had when he found the almost perfect child for them but all his mate did was sit there with a completely blank expression on his gaunt face, not even when Peter took it upon himself to direct his husbands attention towards the reason why they were at the playground did anything change in Chris’ behavior and Peter was searching for anything to give him the greenlight to put the wheels in motion to bring her home, Chris gaze however remained empty and detached; Peter decides to give the man he loves the time he needs to see their daughter, and so he takes out his book and begins to read.
Suddenly there’s a little voice next to Chris and Peter glances away from his book and watches as Chris looks less gone to the world.
`Mistel, can you elp me? ´ a little boy with the widest pair of bright brown eyes asks, and Chris nods which causes the little boy to beam up at him with such joy that you’d though Chris had suddenly told the child that he was going to get everything he could ever want, and Peter honestly couldn’t deny that the child was adorable.
The little boy dressed in a bright red jacket and a little hat that looked like the head of that odd-blue little alien called Stitch, nothing about the garments the boy was wearing matched or even fit properly the hat kept slipping down over his eyes but none of it seemed to bother the little boy, the little boy raises a little juice-box to Chris who takes it knowingly both Peter and Chris had dealt with juice-boxes for years which made it easy for Chris to slip the straw through the little somewhat resistant hole before holding it towards the little mouth.
`Take a few sips so that that you don’t end-up with a messy little jacket.´ Peter nearly stops breathing because there it was that softness and tenderness in Chris’ voice, a voice that had ever and only been reserved for their daughter and it was a voice Peter had thought but a moment ago he would never again hear. There was even a return of that heartwarming softness that had appeared on Chris’ face the very second he’d held their baby girl in his arms, and not only did Chris seem once more happy but his scent was ripe with joy as well as deep rooted affection this was all enough to causes Peter to focus on the child just a little bit more and yes indeed the child was rather adorable but that alone wasn’t enough for Peter.
The little boy huffs sounding almost affronted by what Chris had said, `I may be almost this many,´ the little boy holds up four colorful gloved fingers, and now Peter is interested because this boy does look no older than three or four but he seems older somehow, `But I’m not stupid . Mama says I very smart.´
`Are you now?´ Peter laughs after Chris softly apologizes to the little boy who immediately leans in to take the straw between his pretty little lips but pauses immediately and gives Peter a sharp look, a defiant glare if you will and that is just an invitation for Peter to humiliate the child.
`Yes.´ the little boy says and he sounds so sure and defiant, `I very smart, I can read and write.´
`Really?´ Peter hums and the child nods, and Chris gives Peter that look that tells him to stop but Peter needs to know if the child indeed is as bright as he says he is, Peter opens a page randomly from his book knowing very well the child wouldn’t be able to read it, `Prove it.´
Defiantly the boy moves towards the open book.
`Pick a line and read it.´ Peter says smirking a little as he waits for the child to fail, he expects it, but his smirk dies down quickly as the boy begins to read with a fairly good Russian a familiar line devoted to the glory of the bond between mates it’s almost poetic even now when the little boy reads it, and when Peter looks over at Chris the hunter looks very much like the proud parent he’d once been and might become again.
`That was, ´ Peter isn’t certain what to say because the word good just wasn’t sufficient enough because this child was not only the sweetest little boy he’d ever seen but he was brave, defiant, and above all bright. Peter’s wolf seemed as eager too about this little boy, which seemed to be enough to confirm Peter that this little boy was it because the girl hadn’t caused his wolf to declare that the boy was perfect and theirs.
`Such a clever boy.´ Chris said before hugging the child and planting a quick kiss on the top of the child who goes absolutely rigid in his arms before pushing Chris away, and running off leaving his juice behind.
`Peter.´ Chris says voice once more sorrowful and broken, lost. His hand reached out for Peter’s and desperate eyes locked in on Peter’s own and indeed Chris looked like someone had ripped their child from them as the child ran from them, `Peter.´
`It’s alright love.´ Peter says while quickly gathering their things and Chris, hurrying towards the parking lot and it’s only once they are inside the car that Chris finally says the words Peter had sensed were coming, `Peter, I want him. I want my son.´
~*~
It takes time, in Chris’ opinion too much time before Peter can pick-up their son. But there was much to be done before they could bring their son home and much to learn before Peter could pick him up, their child lived with a Sheriff which made things a little bit more complicated as Peter had to make certain that once he’d picked-up their son no one would come knocking at their door in an attempt to take their son away; and frankly Peter and Chris needed to make sure that their house was prepared for the time it would take for their child to settle down, and they had to make sure they had all the medication their son would need too because just a little mistake could ruin their happy little family.
It was but a week from Christmas when Peter made the all-important move the Sheriff wasn’t home and there was a promise of a snowstorm that would help cover their tracks. Peter had made sure that the Stilinski’s neighbors wouldn’t be around for the pick-up, one family had magically won a weeklong trip to Disney World another had to move out because of sever water damage and so on, Peter had been creative with the removal of the neighbors without killing a single one of them; there would hopefully be only one death that night and it was a necessary one in order to make sure it took the Sheriff awhile longer before realizing that Peter had collected his and Chris’ son.
Peter slips into the Stilinski house easily enough with Mrs. Stilinski always forgetting to lock the doors and windows of the simple two bedroom house, if only the Sheriff knew how careless his wife was with her own safety as well as Peter and Chris’ son. The fairly comfortable home with its walls covered with books or framed photographs of the sheriff as well as his fairly beautiful wife and the child the two had created for Peter and Chris; the werewolf had admired these captured images during his short visits to the house, visits that had educated him on the needs of his son.
The house was dimly lit, the dishwasher was on and yet there were still a few dishes soaking in the sink waiting for the new day and Mrs. Stilinski’s attention. Peter makes his way upstairs to where Peter Hale knew he would find Mrs. Stilinski soaking in her bath as she did every evening before retiring for the night and while she soaked in her precious bath his son slept in the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski, Peter had learned that on the nights when the good Sheriff had to work late his son would sleep in the same bed as Mrs. Stilinski; and yes indeed when Peter slipped into the master bedroom which reeked of the married couple that had so kindly created the perfect son for Peter and his mate, Peter finds the little boy curled up on the bed Claudia Stilinski had been wise enough to place pillows and blankets around the boy to make sure that his son didn’t roll off of the bed.
Peter checks on the child first as he should, his son was a deep sleeper and so he could without worry reach down and gently run his hand over his little ones back as well as comb his fingers through the soft strands of feather soft brown hair. He can’t wait for this child to be with him and his mate, for him and Chris to have many more moments like this. Peter is so enthralled by his son who snuffles a little in his sleep but does not wake that he doesn’t notice how Mrs. Stilinski had left her bath and entered the bedroom he was unaware of the woman who’d given birth to his and Chris’ son until the moment she gasps.
Peter curses himself a little, he’d planned on disposing the woman in the bathroom instead of right there so close to his son, but there’s nothing he can do about that now.
`What – what are you doing in my house?´ the woman asked voice a little bit louder than necessary but thankfully his son was a heavy sleeper and so continues sleeping. Mrs. Stilinski was a fairly beautiful woman with pale skin which she’d passed down to Peter’s son much like she’d done with her hair and eyes, frankly Peter was glad to see so very little of the Sheriff in his son because it would be a reminder to both him and Chris that neither one of them had fathered the child.
Her eyes widen when she suddenly recalls she and he are not alone in the room, the fear in her brown orbs intensify and she seeks out her son with her gaze before speaking.
`Just – just take what you want, okay.´ she says voice full of fear, `Just – just don’t hurt my baby.´
`Oh dear heart, ´ Peter says softly approaching the frightened woman slowly, `I have no intention of harming my son.´
Mrs. Stilinski’s eyes widen twice their normal size and she scrambles for words finally resorting to just a short but respectable form of questioning Peter’s meaning as well as the situation.
`W-what? ´
Peter can’t help the small but none the less predatory grin that appears on his face because although he’s already told her what he’s therefor she does not get it, and he knows if he gave her more time Mrs. Stilinski would understand why he’s standing there in her bedroom right between her and his son. But Peter has no time to waste on this woman before him because Chris has been waiting for their child for months now without biting Peter’s head-off.
Without a desire to torture his mate further Peter shifts revealing the beast he is at heart, flashing his crimson eyes at the woman who opens her mouth to scream but he rips her throat out before a sound can leave her. Mrs. Stiles Stilinski is still alive when Peter shifts back to his human form and turns around to retrieve his son, Peter feels the dying woman make a weak attempt at grasping at his leg in an order to stop him but he shakes her off.
Peter can’t help the way his heart swells with love as he gazes down at his little boy, if he was perfectly honest he had been somewhat disappointed when their first-born child was a girl but he’d grown to love Allison regardless of her sex. Gently he wraps his son in blankets to keep him warm enough for the trek to the car waiting for them.
Mrs. Stilinski is still alive when Peter turns to leave, his son safely tucked in blankets while cradled safely in Peter’s arms, his son continues to sleep peacefully even the woman that had carried him for nine months clawed at Peter’s leg. Peter kicks her off of him before snarling down at her viciously, `Stop that. I’m just here for what’s mine, bitch.´