Chapter Text
One Year Later
Derek looked around and smiled. Kids from Mila’s daycare were running around screaming their heads off and just enjoying themselves. Jackson had hooked up one of his many speakers and was playing Mila’s favorite songs. Lydia had really come through and not only got a princess themed bouncy house that the kids and even some of the younger adults were enjoying, but she also out did herself with the types of finger foods that were all arranged nicely on princess themed platters. It was turning out to be a wonderful third birthday party. Now if only Mila was enjoying herself. Derek spotted her pouting and pacing along the back porch.
“Hey Princess, what’s wrong?”
“Papa’s not here.”
Derek tried not to laugh. It was cute to see how Mila was attached to Stiles. More often than not, if Derek couldn’t find Mila, it was because she was curled up in his lap while he was doing schoolwork. If Mila couldn’t sit on Stiles’ lap, then she was nearby and she would whine anytime she couldn’t be with him. He loved how close they were. And the fact that Stiles wasn’t there was upsetting his poor princess.
“Papa’s on his way. I promise. He just texted me a few minutes ago and said that he ran into a bit of traffic, but he’d be here soon.”
Stiles had also told Mila almost the same thing this morning before he left for his therapy appointment. He told her that he was going to be there for her party but he might be a bit late.
“I want him now.”
“I know you do, Princess. But what did we talk about patience?” Derek had been working on getting her to have a lot more patience with things and to understand that she couldn’t always get what she wanted. It reminded him so much of Laura. He assumed that she inherited her inability to have patience when Mila was in the womb.
Mila pouted. “That people like it when we are patient.”
“And?” Derek prodded.
“Patient Princesses get goodies.”
“Right. Do you want goodies?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Okay, then we need to be a Patient Princess. Can you do that for me?”
Mila nodded.
Derek kissed her cheek. “Let's get you changed into your bathing suit and you can go play on the Slip N Slide with auntie Lydia.”
“Okay!” Mila seemed to perk up at that.
Twenty minutes later, Mila was screeching at the top of her lungs as Jackson would constantly throw her down the Slip N Slide. The other kids soon joined in and soon everyone was screaming and laughing. As soon as it was Mila’s turn again, her nose wrinkled and then she took off running in the opposite direction. Derek started to call to her when he too caught the scent of his mate.
“Where’s she going?” Noah asked.
“Stiles.” Derek said.
“PAPA!!!!” Mila screamed, running into Stiles and nearly knocking him off his feet.
“Well hello to you too, Sweetheart. Are you having fun?”
Mila pouted, shaking her head. “You weren’t here.”
Stiles knelt down and kissed her head. “I told you I had an appointment, Sweetheart.”
“But I misseded you, Papa,” Mila clung to Stiles’ shirt as he walked over to Derek and his father.
“I missed you too. Hey dad, hey Derek.” Stiles kissed Derek on the mouth and hugged his father before turning back to Mila. “Were you a Patient Princess even though you missed me?”
Mila nodded her head vigorously. “I was a very Patient Princess, Papa.”
“Oh, really?” Stiles looked to Derek for confirmation.
“Yes, she was.”
“Well then, I guess I can give you goodies. And if you can be a little more patient until it's time for gifts, then I have an extra special birthday present for you.”
Derek raised an eyebrow and Stiles just waggled his. Mila grinned, nodding her head before grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the pool.
“Papa has to change first, okay?”
***
Later that afternoon, after nearly all the food and cake was devoured, and all the presents opened, played with and put away, and after the party had been cleaned up and all the guests left, all that was left was the pack sitting around the living room drinking tea or hot chocolate. Well, everyone but Stiles. Stiles was out back doing something and he told everyone to keep their hearing and noses to themselves. This made Derek extremely nervous. There were only so many things that he could be doing. Stiles was out there only for a few minutes and when he came back in, he had his coat on and zipped up to his chin. Derek pursed his lips. That could only spell trouble.
“Stiles…”
Stiles ignored him as he went to where Mila was sitting. “Hey Sweetheart, are you ready for your extra special birthday present?”
Mila, along with the rest of the pack, perked up and nodded her head. “Yes, Papa. Daddy said I was a very good Patient Princess today.”
Stiles glanced at Derek and smiled. “Daddy is always right. You are doing a great job learning how to be patient. Daddy and I are so proud of you.” He slowly unzipped his jacket and as soon as it hit the halfway mark, Mila gasped. Hidden inside Stiles’ jacket was a puppy.
“PUPPY!!”
“Inside voice, Princess.”
“Puppy,” Mila whisper-yelled.
“Seriously, Stiles?” Derek raised an eyebrow.
Stiles pulled the black and white Border Collie puppy out of his jacket. “Why not? She’s been talking about wanting a puppy for the past two years.”
Mila made grabby hands toward the puppy and Stiles chuckled as he handed the puppy to her. He went and sat next to Derek and gave him a nudge.
“Where did you find it?” Derek asked.
“Him. And I picked him up from the pet rescue. Mila, you wanna give him a name?”
Jackson snorted. “You really expect a three year old to come up with a good name for a puppy?”
Stiles shrugged. “Why not?”
“Panda!” Mila said happily.
Derek groaned and Stiles chuckled. “Well, to be fair, he does look like a panda. Panda is an excellent name.”
Noah laughed. “It's a step from that fish you had. When Stiles was younger, he had a fish and he named it Stan Lee.”
“To be fair, I was on a Stan Lee kick,” Stiles shrugged.
“Yup. She certainly takes after you, Stilinski.”
“A puppy, Stiles?” Derek shook his head. “You do realize, we’ll be taking care of it more than she will, right?”
“Only until she learns and Mila is a quick learner. She needs a companion, Derek. She’s an only child.”
Derek had thought about that. Mila hadn’t seem to be worried or upset but that’s because she has her friends from daycare, but what happens when she’s home and her friends can’t come over? It's not like Stiles could give him another pup, and none of the other pack members seemed to be interested in having children at the moment. Which, to be fair, is a good choice, Derek thought. Just, Mila needed to have more interaction.
“I just wish you would’ve talked to me about it first.”
Stiles nodded. “I understand, and I’m sorry. I was just so excited. But next time, if there is a next time, I will make sure to talk to you first.”
Derek nuzzled his mate. “Thank you. We’ll go to the store later. Panda is going to need quite a bit of stuff.”
“Good luck,” Noah laughed.
Melissa chuckled. “Derek is going to lose his mind, five minutes in.”
Stiles glared at his father and Melissa, while resisting the urge to flip them both off. They made it sound like shopping with a child was difficult. It really wasn’t.
Correction. It was.
Later that afternoon when Derek and Stiles took Mila to the local pet store, Mila gave them a run for their money. Immediately, as soon as they stepped foot inside, Mila ran around screaming like a chicken with her head cut off.
“She’s just excited to see all the different animals,” Stiles told Derek.
But it didn’t stop there. Mila wanted to run around and touch. EVERYTHING! She kept disappearing every five minutes causing both Stiles and Derek to very nearly freak out. Only reason they didn’t is because Derek was able to find her by her scent. She then treated it like a game and would laugh every time her father would find her. Stiles quickly put a stop to that as he picked Mila up and carried her on his back until they got to the aisles they wanted.
“Okay Mila, we’re going to pick up some stuff for Panda, okay?”
Mila nodded. “Okay, Papa.”
Easier said than done. As soon as Stiles set Mila down she ran up and down the aisle grabbing everything. Okay, so maybe she didn’t grab everything, but anything that was pink and sparkly. By the time they were nearly done, Derek was about to lose it. He growled something at Stiles, handed him his credit card, and picked Mila up and headed outside. Stiles chuckled to himself as he sorted through everything that was in their cart, made sure they had the necessities, and headed to the checkout.
“Rambunctious little one you have,” The clerk smiled.
“Yeah. It was her birthday today so she’s still a little hyper off the sugar. Plus this is her very first pet and she’s excited.”
“Well good luck.”
Stiles thanked the clerk before grabbing the bags and headed to the car. He froze a few steps in to see Derek and Mila running laps around the parking lot.
“Derek?” Stiles approached.
Derek stopped and looked up. He gave Stiles a sheepish grin. “She was way too hyper. Had to burn it off somehow.”
“By running her around the parking lot? People are going to think you’re crazy.”
Derek just shrugged and took the bags from Stiles. Stiles sighed and picked up Mila and got her settled into the car seat.
“Why is she so hyper? I mean, I get she’s still reeling from the sugar from the party, but…is it the full moon or something?”
“Full moon is tomorrow so that could be it? She’s never reacted this way to the full moon before. But then again, between the birthday party and the new puppy…” Derek shrugged again.
“I was going to stay,” Stiles started as he slid in the passenger seat. “That usually, she’s more cuddly around the full moon.”
Derek nodded as he got behind the wheel and started the car. “Exactly. So maybe it is the sugar rush. I think we should probably let her and Panda run around in the backyard while we get everything set up for Panda.”
Stiles nodded his agreement as he glanced at Mila. “Did you have a good day, Sweetheart?”
“Bestest day, Papa! We have party tomorrow?”
Both Derek and Stiles laughed. “Not tomorrow, Princess. We’re going to do something else tomorrow.”
“Mmm…okay!” Mila giggled, kicking her feet back and forth.
“Are you being a silly wolf?” Stiles laughed.
Mila nodded. “I siwy woof!”
***
Derek smiled as he watched Mila curled up to Panda in her big girl bed. He couldn’t believe it's been three years.
“What are you thinking about?” Stiles sidled up to him and handed him a cup of coffee.
Derek kissed Stiles, but said nothing until he pulled his mate onto the couch and settled Stiles into his lap. “Just thinking about how much time has passed. I can’t believe it's been three years. I wonder if Laura would be proud.”
Stiles leaned his head on Derek’s shoulder. “I have no doubt that she would be proud of you. You’ve been doing a great job raising Mila, the pack is more stable and functioning, and you’ve got a mate. I think not only Laura would be proud, but all of your family would be proud. Especially for someone who has never done this type of thing before.”
Derek sipped his coffee before looking at his mate. “Yeah?”
“Of course. I mean, I’m proud of you. I’m proud of how far you’ve come.”
“You’ve come a long way too, Stiles.” Derek kissed him. “I’m proud of us.”
Stiles giggled. “I’m proud of us too.”