spark

Chapter 7 : Haunted

Pulling open the glass door, Stiles marched his way through the dark precinct lobby until he came face to face with Nolan and presumably his training officer. The woman was of African-American descent, her curly hair was tied back into a tight bun, while her face seemed to be pulled into a permanent scowl. Her tag read Harper, though Stiles was confused about the detective's shield on her uniform.

"Hey, John, what's the emergency?" Stiles asks, looking to his fellow rookie as Stiles tucked his keys into his pocket, coming to a stop a few feet away from the two.

"A kid came into the precinct today, just entered and sat down in one of the lobby's chairs. The desk jockeys left him alone for a while, but when the lobby hours ended, he was still there." John explained, guiding Stiles through the Mid-Wilshire Precinct as they came upon the bullpen, where the three could look inside and see a young boy with chestnut hair that was kept short, combed to his left. He sat at one of the tables in the front of the bullpen, drawing in the pages of a coloring book John no doubt provided him with. "When we asked where his parents were, he demanded to see you, gave us your full name."

"Did he give you his? I've never seen this kid before." Stiles questioned, his eyes refusing to leave the young boy's figure.

"Alexander Hale-Stilinski. Though he asked us to call him Alex." Harper responds, instantly causing Stiles' head snap to the detective.

"Wait, his name is Hale? Did he say anything about who his father was?"

"Yeah, he said it was you." Nolan states, confusion crossing Stiles' features. "We were just as confused, so when we asked about his mother, he told us that her name is Malia."

"Malia? That doesn't make any—" Stiles froze mid-sentence, thinking about the possible point at which Malia could've possibly had this kid. "Oh my god, she is such a hypocrite."

"Excuse me?" Harper demanded, while Stiles was rubbing his hand over his face.

"Malia was my first serious relationship. We met under some unsavory circumstances, hooked up, but I didn't see her again until months later when we actually started dating. While we were dating, I found out Malia was adopted, and kept it from her. Now, I guess she was keeping Alex a secret from me." Stiles elaborated, sighing as he kept his eyes on the boy. "Did he say he was 10?"

"9, though he did say that he was going to be 1o next month." John replied, placing a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "Hey, look at the silver lining, you get to join the Dad Club."

"John, I will actually punch you if you do not remove your hand." Stiles growled, the older man recoiling his hand as Stiles looked back at Alex, a sigh escaping him. "Did he say what happened to Malia?"

"Wouldn't say a peep, Alec wanted to tell you personally. Social services will probably give you a visit in the morning, so brace yourself." Harper answered, walking forward and opening the door as the trio entered the bullpen, Alex looking up at them with a curious look on his face. "Alex, hey, this is—"

"Dad!" Alex nearly yells, bounding out of his chair and hugging Stiles around the waist. The air was knocked from Stiles' chest, the human rather surprised by the greeting. "It's so great to meet you!"

"Heh, it's-it's great to meet you too, Alex." Stiles stammered, glancing at John for a moment as he too held a surprised expression. "Hey, Alex, do you have everything you need? I was thinking of grabbing some food on the way home if you're up for it?"

"Yeah! Mom always had us pack light so we could travel easier!" Alec beamed, running back over to the table and returning with a backpack that was bigger than his torso. "Can we get curly fries?"