Only a Few Hours

Only a Few Hours

Things like this really shouldn't surprise him anymore. the fact that his life is just that screwed up that this should be a normal occurrence isn't what freezes Derek's feet in place.

It's that voice.

"Derek?"

The Pack is frozen around him. Scott's in charge since Derek gave up his power to save Cora and he hasn't run across another Alpha that was out of control. He was just fine being a Beta. But this... he can feel their eyes on him. Especially Stiles' eyes.

"Derek, what's going on?" the woman asks again. Her long, dark hair falling gently down her back.

"Who's that?" Scott asks, voice only partially quiet.

There's silence for a few moments before a wounded, wretched sound rips it's way free from Derek's throat and his whole body shakes. "M-mom?" his voice isn't much more than a pained whimper.

The woman; Derek's mother, moves forward and catches him as his limbs fail him and he collapses. "Shh," she soothes, long fingers carding through short hair.

Derek's hands move around her, spasming as he tries to decide if he should hug her, or push her away. It has to be a trick. She... "Can't be here," he murmurs.

"Dude, what's going on?" Scott demands, voice louder. Stiles hits him upside the head. Hard.

"Shut up, Scott," Stiles hisses as he pulls the pack back away from Derek.

"Just tell me what the hell is going on," Scott insists as he digs his heels in.

"Can't you tell?" Stiles demands as he points. "Derek's mother. Talia. The one that died in the fire Kate set."

Derek whimpers again as he leans into the embrace and his hands settle into the curve of the lithe woman before him. "Mom..."

Talia gives a soft smile and rests her head on Derek's. "I'm here. Just breathe," she murmurs. "Though only for a few hours."

"How?" Derek's voice cracks as he manages to look up and tear tracks are clearly evident on his face.

"The Nameton, the Full Moon, and All Hallow's Eve," she replies simply. "Perfect convergence."

"So...?"

"As long as the Moon is full, I'll be here," she finishes.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Scott demands, trying to figure everything out and failing in his usual brash manner. He start to take a step forward and his held back by a strong arm and a familiar face.

"No. You're going home. Now," Stiles replies harshly, tone leaving no room for argument. "And I don't want to hear any arguments about it."

"But..." Scott tries.

"I will personally castrate you if you intrupt this. He never got a chance to say goodbye. Imagine never getting to see your mom again and thinking that it was somehow your fault for years? Then, by some miracle, she's back for a bit but your friends try and intrupt," Stiles practically growled. He shoved Scott back with angry; human, strength and the other moved easily. "I would kill for a chance to see my mother again. So, by proxy, Derek gets that."

Scott's mouth is open and he's frozen for a second as everything processes. "Yeah, right... no. You're right," he says finally as his head bobs. "You're staying...?"

"Yeah. Someone's gotta watch out for SourWolf, yeah?" Stiles replies.

"Okay. Call if you need anything," Scott says after another moment of thought. "And ... you know... tell him I'm sorry. Too much weird crap, right? Just... I just forgot that sometimes... yeah... see you tomorrow?"

Stiles nods and pats his friend on the back before turning back to keep an eye on Derek. He feels; more than sees, the Pack leaving and sits on a fallen log. His eyes burn as he thinks about what he'd do if he had the chance to see his mother again.

Talia looks over towards the human that's chosen to watch over her son. She can clearly hear everything that is going on and silently thanks him for his actions. She looks down at her son and pets his hair again. "What can I do?" she asks, voice gentle.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, mom. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't know,' he whimpers into her chest even as sobs shake his whole body and he takes in her scent again. "I didn't know what she was planning. I thought..."

Talia shushes him softly. "It's okay. You didn't know. If it wasn't you.. she would have found another way. Kate Argent was a deeply disturbed individual. You did your best. I'm proud of you."

Derek shook his head. "I couldn't save Laura. I failed Peter and had to kill him... I made a lousy Alpha. I got people killed. How could you be proud of me?" Derek asked, voice filled genuine surprise that she could forgive him so easily. All his guilt welled up. Everything he'd ever failed at. He knows Stiles is watching but he couldn't stop the torrent of words from spilling. He trusts Stiles to not use any of it against him. "I turned kids. And they died. I ..."

Talia shushes him again and places a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Honey, you were never meant to be an Alpha. If anyone is to blame ... it's me. For not seeing this coming. But you did your best. You gave the Bite like the Gift it was. You tried make their lives better. It's not your fault things went the way they did. You couldn't know. All we can do with our time on Earth is try." She strokes his hair again. "Who's that?"

Derek shakes his head and laughs. The sound is still broken, still sad. "Stiles," he says finally.

"Can he come over? I'd like to see this person you've trusted your heart with," Tailia asks, voice quite and gentle, and all mom.

Derek bobs his head uncertainly. He locks eyes with Stiles and jerks his head towards his mom. "Get over her, Stiles," he calls, trying to sound like his normal self, but the sound is still rough and raw.

Stiles stumbles to his feet and he takes a few stuttering steps beofre his mind makes him think better. "I dunno... you sure?"

Talia smiles and holds Derek with one arm as she offers the other to Stiles. "Come here, Stiles."

Though he doesn't know why... Stiles practically runs and falls over himself to accept the embrace. He wraps one arm around Derek and the other around Talia's narrow waist.

"Thank you," Talia says softly as she pets Stile's hair.

Stiles makes the same broken sound Derek had earlier. "Why? What did I do?"

"You saved my son's heart," she whispers into his ear. "And he will save yours."

Derek looks up in shock before looking over at Stiles with a soft smile. "It's true."

"Dude, is your mom hooking us up?" Stiles asks as he looks up, his face tear streaked as well. "That's so... bad ass."

Talia smiles softly and simply holds the two boys until the moon sinks below the horizon and she stands. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Take care of each other."

Derek nods, eyes dry because he simply doesn't have any tears left. Stiles nods and wipes at his eyes. "Thanks, Mrs. Hale," he says feeling formal but better. He lets an arm drift around Derek's waist as the two of them lean against each other for support. "We'll take care of each other." Derek nods emphatically.

Talia smiles as the sun starts to rise and her form starts to become transparent. "I know you will."

And as broken as the two young men are as the sun rises and Talia disappears from sight, they know they'll be okay.

The End