The Things We Learn

1

Derek took a deep breath in, smelling the air around him. It was a beautiful day out. The sky was blue, only a couple white clouds around. The trees were a vibrant green, swaying in the slight breeze. The sound of laughter and families was heard all around the park. 

Derek smiled at it all, before starting off at a jog down the running path. He ran for a little ways, looping over to the other end of the forest, before he finally stopped to catch his breath. He held his arms above his head, stretching as he did. 

"Dad!" Derek looked up as a little girl cried out. No one else was around this side of the park, but Derek remembers seeing people a little ways back up the path. He stepped closer to the girl, crouching so he was closer to her height. 

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" She looked a little scared, but so far no tears. 

"I-I can't find my daddy." 

"Okay. Where'd you see him last?" 

"I don't know. W-we were having a picnic, and I wanted to explore. I don't where he is." Aaand tears were starting to show. 

"Okay, sweetie, it's okay. I can help you find him. My name's Derek, what's yours?" 

"Jenna." 

"Okay Jenna, I'm going to help you find your dad. Is that okay?" She nodded, reaching out for Derek's hand. Derek allowed her to, her little hand almost being swallowed by his. Derek walked back in the direction he came from, back towards where he saw the people. He tried to use scent to track her dad, but there were so many scents on the little girl alone, Derek didn't know which one to follow. 

"So how old are you?" 

"I'm six. How old are you?" Derek smirked. 

"I'm thirty-seven." Jenna nodded, swaying their joined hands back and forth. 

"How was your picnic going?" 

"Good. Daddy packed oreos and caprisuns!" 

"Is that so?" 

"Mmhm, and he knows those are my favorite. I can't wait to get some." Derek smiled. He kept up the small talk as they walked, wanting to keep her mind off of things. It worked. Derek was relieved when they got to the little clearing where he remembered seeing a family or two. He was sure Jenna's dad was going out of his mind at this point. 

"Alright Jenna, does this look familiar?" She looked around, her eyes squinting. 

"I don't know... Everything's green." Derek chuckled. 

"Ya. Um, do you see your dad?" 

"No."

"What's your dad's name?" 

"Stiles." Derek didn't comment, just lifted an eyebrow. 

"Alright. Maybe we can try calling him." 

"Okay." Derek nodded, looking around. 

"Stiles!" A couple people looked up, but no one answered. Derek decided to look around the park, walking away from the path. 

"Stiles!" 

"Daddy!" They called a couple more times before Derek sighed. 

"I don't think he's over here." Jenna's shoulders sagged, her bottom lip starting to tremble. 

"Are we gonna find him?" Derek knelt down in front of her, grabbing both of her hands in his. 

"Of course we are, sweetie. Do you know his phone number, maybe we ca-" 

"Jen!" Derek looked up as Jenna's name was called out. 

"Daddy!" A man came running over to them, scooping Jenna up in his arms. Derek was almost certain that Jenna lost all access to oxygen in that moment. 

"Bożena Claudia Stilinski, don't you ever do that to me again! I thought I lost you! Do you know how worried I was? I almost called Dziadek to bring out the dogs and swat team." 

"I'm sorry, Tatuś. I didn't mean to scare you. But Derek helped me find you, and I'm okay." Jenna's father looked up at Derek from where he was crouching, almost as if he just realized Derek was there. He stood up, still holding Jenna in his arms. 

"You helped her?" Derek nodded, his voice suddenly not working. Stiles was beautiful. 

"Thank you." Derek shrugged. 

"I was just trying to help." 

"Still. I'm Stiles Stilinski." Derek shook Stiles' offered hand. 

"Derek Hale." Stiles just looked at him for a moment, before looking over to Jenna. 

"I think this was enough excitement for one day, kiddo. Let's say you and I head home, huh?" Jenna pouted a little but didn't argue. Stiles pressed a kiss to her head, and Derek noticed his hands were still shaking. Derek took a step back, wanting to give them their time. He can tell that Stiles is still sort of panicking and just needs to hold his daughter for a while. 

"I should get going." Stiles looked at him, giving him a polite smile. 

"Thanks again, Derek." Derek smiled back, stepping farther away. 

"Sure." 

"Bye Derek." She waved at him, her head resting on her father's shoulder. 

"Bye Jenna." He gave another nod, before heading back to the running path. He looked back one more time before leaving though. Stiles was holding Jenna close, obviously trying to calm his breathing. Derek sighed, continuing his run. He cut it a little shorter than usual though, not really in the mood for a run anymore.