spamalot } { of first meetings and love at first sight

[littlebitscary]

[They arrive in New York, Liam disappears to hang out with Gabe, and there’s a bit of small talk before … ]

Leah: [and once the kids are gone ...] So. Do you want to meet her?

Derek: [looks over at Fiona, then nods] Yeah.

Leah: [gets up and gestures for them to follow her. She leads the way to one of the guest bedrooms, pushing open the door quietly. Lucy is awake, kicking her legs and waving her arms in the air, and Maggie is standing next to the crib watching her. When she hears the door she jerks away, crossing her arms in front of her chest on instinct. Leah just gives her a warm smile] Hey, Maggie. This is Derek and Fiona. They're here to see Lucy.

Maggie: [nods a bit, taking a step back to give them room to see the baby]

Derek: [looks at Maggie first, giving her a small smile] You doing okay, Maggie?

Maggie: [she shrugs. She's not really sure there's an answer to that question so she just chooses not to answer] She just woke up.

Derek: [he nods, wanting to make sure she wasn't too uncomfortable in their presence. He took a step closer to the crib.] Lucy is a beautiful name. Why did you choose it?

Maggie: [she smirks a bit] After the show? I Love Lucy? My mom used to watch it with me all the time when I was little. Lucille Ball was her favorite.

Derek: [he grins at that] Well, hopefully she won't get into nearly as much trouble as her namesake.

Maggie: [she laughs] Yeah. Hope not.

Derek: [he looks into the crib at the smiling baby, his face softening just a bit] She's even prettier than the pictures. I think she has your nose.

Maggie: [the smile falls a bit, because she's back to focusing a little too much on why they're here, but it's a good thing. She hopes.]

Leah: [moves to stand next to the crib, before looking over at Derek] You wanna hold her?

Derek: [looks down at the baby, chuckling] I do, but I'm worried I'm going to break her. Big hands...

Leah: [she gives him a bit of a look before nodding to the rocking chair] Go sit.

Derek: [it's a valid concern, Leah, but he goes over to the chair and sits, looking up at Fiona to join him]

Leah: [Fiona's coming. She's just going to give her sister some room to work. Leah scoops up the baby easily, having had plenty of practice with her own, before making her way over to Derek and easing her over carefully] Use this arm to support her. [she nudges the shoulder she means before starting to lower the baby down] Be careful with her head.

Derek: [he does as she says. He's held babies before, but not newborns. It was the head thing - he knew that babies’ heads were very delicate and could be injured easily and he had always been worried he would hurt the kids, so he waited until they could at least hold their own heads up before he held them. That or he just sat and had the baby in his lap in that pillow thing to do all the supporting]

Leah: That's it. [she waits until he's steady with her before she pulls her hands back, and then it's just him and Lucy, with her staring up at him as she chews on her fist]

Derek: [and he's nervous because oh god he's doing this alone... but he looks down and looks into those blue eyes and it's just... a smile slowly breaks over his face and he looks down at her and it's love at first sight]

Fiona: [smiles a bit as she hangs back with her sister, just watching him looking at her. Lucy just stares back up at him, before she makes a small keeeeeeee noise and kicks a leg out at him]

Derek: [chuckles and leans back a bit more into the chair] You're a little kicker there, aren't you Lucy?

Maggie: [yeah, that gets him a smile and she wriggles slightly, babbling a bit around her fist] She likes it when you talk to her.

Derek: [he looks up at Maggie a moment] My sister used to get mad at me for using baby talk when her first baby was born. She said that I needed to make sure I used real words otherwise she wouldn't develop a proper vocabulary. [he looked at the baby] But you're already pretty smart, aren't you?

Maggie: [she shrugs a bit] She just wants to hear your voice, I think.

Derek: Well, I don't mind that. Maybe she'll be the first person to actually listen to me when I talk? [smirks and so not looking up]

Fiona: I listen. [yeah, she's making a face at you right now, husband] I just don't always obey.

Derek: [gives Maggie a grin before looking back at Lucy] You're going to hear her tell you a lot of stories about me that aren't true. So let's make a deal now that you never believe them.

Fiona: [her mouth drops just slightly] Are you implying that I would lie to a child?

Derek: [looks up, all innocent] No, but you are prone to exaggeration.

Fiona: Uh-huh.

Derek: I love you.

Fiona: Uh-huh.

Derek: [ back to Lucy] Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight.

Lucy: [just grins and babbles back at him]

Leah: [smirks a bit, leaning on Fiona's shoulders] Looks like we have a winner.

Derek: Is that so? You're totally taking her side on this, aren't you? [yeah, he's in love, his attention fully on the baby]

Fiona: [just leans back into Leah in response and smiles at the picture feeling her chest tighten a bit in response] Of course she is. Girls stick together.

Derek: [chuckles, his hand supporting her head moves his thumb along her forehead a bit] She's just so tiny. So perfect. [ he looks up at Fiona] You want to hold her, Fi?

Fiona: [she raises an eyebrow] You sure you wanna part with her?

Derek: We're making this choice together. You should have some time to hold her too.

Fiona: [she nods as she pulls away from Leah and moves closer] Okay.

Derek: [he carefully stands up, cradling the baby protectively so that she would be able to take the seat]

Fiona: [moves to take his spot in the rocking chair before holding out her arms to take the baby from him]

Derek: [and he's careful and gentle and making sure he doesn't let go of the head too early. He does learn fast, after all] Got her?

Fiona: [she nods, letting her arms settle comfortably against her with the baby, leaning back into the rocking chair as she does] Hi there.

Derek: [and he's going to just stand there next to the chair, watching the two of them]

Fiona: [Lucy settles just as comfortably with her as she did with Derek, and Fiona smiles as well, holding up one finger to her so that Lucy can wrap a tiny hand around it.]

Derek: [no, this is exactly what he had been wanting so much in the last few years, and he smiles when Fiona does before looking over at Leah and nodding.]

Leah: [nods a bit in agreement] I'll draw up the paperwork.

Derek: [to Leah] Thank you. [and to Maggie] And thank you, Maggie. You're a brave young lady.

Maggie: [waits until Leah leaves the room, before turning back to Derek again] You're a Hale, right?

Derek: [nods] I am. My mother's the alpha.

Maggie: [she nods a bit] So she'll be safe? She'll have a good pack?

Derek: She will. She will already have cousins a little bit older than her from my sister Laura, and one of my packmates is actually due to have their second child any day now, so she'll have someone her own age in the pack too. We all live in the same town, and we own and maintain the nature preserve so she will have a lot of room to play and grow up in. We all take care of each other.

Maggie: [okay. okay, that's good] I just want her to have a good pack. They're harder to find than you think.

Derek: [he leaves Fiona and crouches down a bit to be eye level with Maggie] I know. But you found two of them with the Krisanovs and with us. That's why our families are close now. And Lucy will have the love and protection of both.

Maggie: [she shifts a bit under his stare, before crossing her arms in front of her chest again] And I want ... [she takes a breath] ... don't let her think I didn't want her. Or that I didn't love her.

Derek: I won't. Because I know you do love her. But you want to do the right thing for her and give her a better life, right? There's nothing wrong with that, and the fact you're willing to give her to us for that shows just how much you do love her. I'll never let her think different, okay?

Maggie: [nods a bit, understanding, and there's a bit of gratitude in her gaze] Thank you.

Derek: And there was something about making sure to send you pictures too, right?

Maggie: [she nods] I can give you an email address.

Derek: I'll make sure you have ours too.

Maggie: Okay.

Derek: [he would make sure she knew she would always have a safe harbor in Beacon Hills too, but that would come if and when she ever asked. She was a smart girl, after all] Thank you, Maggie. You don't know how much this means to me.

Maggie: [she gives him a small smile] I just want her to be happy.

Derek: We'll make sure that happens. In spades.

Maggie: Good. [she nods again] Good.

Derek: [with her arms crossed, he wasn't going to touch her, so he just stood back up and went back to the chair, and then knelt down beside Fiona, looking up at her] So... you okay with this?

Fiona: [glances back at him with a smile and nods] Yeah. I'm good.

Derek: [smiles and leans up to kiss her, so very, very happy]

Fiona: [kisses him back softly, smiling a bit into it before pulling back] You want her back?

Derek: I'm pretty sure that I'm going to do my fair share of holding her. If you want a couple more minutes, I'll be fine.

Fiona: Okay. [and she'll go back to the little girl, rocking gently in the chair as she does]