You've got the love I need to see me through - Baby in the Pack

7

Billie may be human, it is clear as day that she was born in a wolf pack. With her nine months old she's too young to really put it to the test, but Derek wouldn't be surprised if she's inherited some of the heightened senses of her werewolf mother. She seems to have a keen sense for smell, for one, especially around food. When he came home with groceries yesterday she nearly catapulted herself from her high chair into the grocery bag he put on the floor next to it. Isaac had to catch her from making a dive. She kept making a fuss until he took the strawberries from the bag and washed some for her. They were in a brown paper bag, so she couldn't have seen them.
She made a mess with the juicy fruit, so much that Derek was happy he'd had the foresight to strip her of her overshirt before putting the strawberries in front of her. He felt even better when Stiles came into the room, freshly showered, and told him it was 'good thinking', because red fruit stains can be a pain to remove.
When Cora arrived Billie refused to be near her until Cora was thoroughly scented by the other pack members. Derek guesses the stench of airport and stranger was not to Billie's liking. The girl is showing to be as hard headed as her father. Though she also shows his enthusiasm, laughing freely when 'auntie Cora' plays a game of peek-a-boo with her, hiding her face behind her hands time after time.
Billie is also incredibly tactile and predisposed to being around pack. She hates sleeping alone. At night she and Stiles sleep in the same bed, but her dad tries to put her down in her crib for her naps during the day. It doesn't always work, yet Stiles is determined to make it work.

Today is one of those days when it doesn't work.

They've been out for a hike in the Preserve, with Billie in the baby carrier on Stiles' back for the first part and on Derek's back for the walk back home. They thought she'd fall asleep in the carrier, but the little girl was much too excited about all the sights and sounds around her to even think about sleep. Stiles blamed it on the moon, with the full moon only a few days away. With Billie having werewolf genes, however latent they might be, it is plausible. Derek has vague memories of his parents saying that the babies in the pack were extra fussy around the full moon. Whatever the cause, they returned home with a super tired - and therefore super cranky - baby girl.

Isaac and Stiles had been discussing the merits of Marvel comics over the movies, or something like it that Derek had equal little interest in, with the result that Stiles was determined to prove Isaac wrong as soon as he had put his daughter to bed. "Just you wait, Lahey!" he'd threatened, before disappearing upstairs with Billie.

That had been 45 minutes ago. Isaac is long since immersed in some game on his phone, probably no longer thinking about the silly argument with his packmate. Derek is in the laundry room, hanging up a load of baby clothes. Some of the items are new and never worn before: Stiles wants them washed before dressing his daughter in them. The other items have fallen victim to Billie's strong drooling game. She has a new tooth coming in, Stiles discovered the tiny white dot on her gums the other day.

The Alpha has a pink tutu in his hands when he hears it: "Oh my god, I'm never getting out of here." The words are just on the edge of his hearing, he isn't even sure he hears them right. He listens for a minute, standing stock still with the poofy skirt half on its way to its place on the drying rack. There is nothing at first, but then he hears something that sounds suspiciously like a muffled curse. A baby-proof curse: "Crab apples." Derek puts the rest of the laundry up to dry, snickering quietly to the increasingly desperate - but still quiet - sounds that reach him from upstairs. It isn't until he puts the last shirt on the drying rack that there is a distinct call for help - still mostly whispered. "Derek? Derek? I need your help."

He calmly walks upstairs, imagining the scene he will find when he gets there.

It's better than he imagined. Stiles and Billie are both in her crib, Stiles' long legs sticking up awkwardly over the sides. Billie is using her daddy as a mattress, lying mostly on top of him. She's in her sleeping bag, the grey one with tiny white sheep.