spamalot } { of baby monitors and personal growth

[wildkingdom]

Stiles: [shows up to pick up Malia, grinning brightly and holding a greasy bag of cinnamon sugar mini donuts from the bakery in town] You ready for a shopping trip?

Malia: [there's a big grin as she snatches the doughnuts] I'm ready for doughnuts. [ shopping is just a necessary evil]

Stiles: [looks at the bag, but hey he already ate like 3 of them, so he won't be missing anything if she eats the rest of the bag] Alright then. Get on in. I already adjusted the seat for you. Do you need a back cushion or anything?

Malia: [shakes her head as she settles into the seat] We're not going to like ... LA or anything are we? Just the mall?

Stiles: Yeah, just to the mall. Best Buy first, and then Babies R Us.

Malia: [nods once, slowly, before ...] Best Buy?

Stiles: Yup. I'm going to be showing you all the latest in baby technology.

Malia: [a beat] Are we going to be turning my baby into a cyborg?

Stiles: No. We're going to make sure you have all the cool things that you need to be able to watch your baby and keep him or her safe.

Malia: You are aware that I'm a werewolf, right?

Stiles: [don't make him give you the hurt look, Malia] I... yeah, I think I am. But I mean, you may have a human babysitter who you want to have it for?

Malia: Okay, maybe. But ... I'm all for you showing me cool stuff, I'm just trying to be practical too.

Stiles: You're going to get all the baby clothing ever between Allison, Laura and Derek. So there's like nothing I can get you that you're not going to have in like, multiples. But this - this I'm an expert on. [that is his begging let me do this please face]

Malia: I am not saying no. Did I say I was saying no? I'm just saying I'm not going to let you go insane.

Stiles: I promise - no going insane. Just practical. [because yes, home installed baby cameras with cell phone apps to watch baby sleeping is very, very practical.]

Malia: [Stiles, no.] Good.

Stiles: [and off they go to best buy first] So how're you feeling anyway?

Malia: Some days are better than others. I've gotten past the "everything smells like fish and makes me want to hurl" phase, though.

Stiles: That's good. Also glad to know I don't smell like fish to you.

Malia: You do not. It was ... awful, not even Isaac was safe.

Stiles: [he takes that mental note down for the distant future] So I should avoid driving within a mile of any Red Lobsters?

Malia: [she makes a face before chomping down on another doughnut.] No, I should be okay.

Stiles: Alright. [thinks a minute] Oh hey, how's Sam doing?

Malia: Good! I haven't seen him much since I've been working from home, but good.

Stiles: That's good. So are you going to be opening maybe a local office down here for him to expand into LA once you have the baby?

Malia: Maybe. I think we're going to see how "baby" goes first and figure it out from there.

Stiles: Good plan.

Malia: I have a lot of time to think about it, so I'm not trying to rush it.

Stiles: [and look, they are at Best buy!] Alright, let's go look around.

Malia: [wheee Best Buy. Malia wanders after Stiles, looking at all the different toys] So how are you doing?

Stiles: I'm doing good. Work's been busy as word of mouth spreads about us down into LA, but I like being busy. [he's looking for something specific right now, and finally grabs it and holds it out to her]

Malia: [studies it and then squints back at him for a moment] ... I don't get it.

Stiles: Okay, so basically you put this under the crib pad, and the baby sleeps on it, and if the baby stops breathing or doesn't breath more than 8 breaths in a minute, it sets off an alarm to try and wake the baby, as well as waking you up. Because if you're asleep, you're not listening to see if the baby is breathing.

Malia: Oh. [okay, she can see the usefulness in that but at the same time she makes a face] This just all seems so Big Brother. I mean, I'm not saying it's not important, but ... I don't know.

Stiles: SIDS is a very dangerous thing that no one really knows what causes it. Better to be safe.

Malia: [sighs] Okay. [do not turn her into one of those super paranoid moms, Stiles, she was doing so well]

Stiles: [he was a super paranoid dad, Malia. You will benefit from him knowing what to get and what's not important to worry about] Okay, now onto baby monitors!

Malia: [turns and puts the pad in the cart - because they got a cart, she knows Stiles well - and follows his lead]

Stiles: [and off to baby monitor world] So basically I know you can hear what's going on, but sometimes when baby cries, you don't need to go in there and pick baby up. So you can look in with this and not let baby learn that crying equals someone picking me up.

Malia: So, wait, like cameras?

Stiles: Yup. One camera that you aim at the crib, and it lets you see what's happening. And it also acts like a walkie talkie so if you just want to say a few soothing words and lull baby back to sleep, you can do it without going in.

Malia: [makes a face - that one contradicts her maternal instincts right off the bat] Comfort doesn't work that way with wolves. It's not as easy as hearing my voice and thinking I'm there.

Stiles: Well, let me put it this way: If you and Isaac are busy making baby #2 when baby #1 cries.... do you want a way to be able to check on baby and see if you really need to stop?

Malia: [sighs] Stiles, I just want to get through this one - I'm not thinking that far ahead.

Stiles: I will leave you the receipt and you can return it if you don't think you'll end up using it, okay?

Malia: Alright, alright. Fine.

Stiles: [and then he's going to sigh] Two more things, okay?

Malia: Okay. [she's not deliberately trying to be difficult, she's just having so much baby stuff shoved at her, she doesn't want him wasting money on things she's not sure if she's going to actually get any use out of]

Stiles: [he walks her a bit further down the aisle and held this out at her.] Now this was a lifesaver for me that I got Allison one and she loved it too. Basically it helps you remember the last time you did all this stuff, and that way when you hand baby off to like, Peter or Talia to babysit, you just give this with baby and they know if they need to feed or nap baby.

Malia: [oh, this she likes] Perfect.

Stiles: [yes, finally something she is behind. He's beaming again because he's totally being helpful!]

Malia: [see? This is the kind of stuff she wants. Not the stuff that makes her feel like she's constantly hovering over her kid] Considering how many times this baby is probably going to change hands, we need something like this.

Stiles: Yeah, I mean, Dina was with me most of the time, but hell, I was so sleep deprived that thankfully the thing kept me from feeding her every ten minutes [pushing the cart towards the appliances section]

Malia: [nods and follows his lead reading over the box as they go]

Stiles: [and he stops her and grins, and pulls this off the shelf] And this is for you. [small smirk]

Malia: [glances up when the cart stops, looks at what's in his hand, and nods in agreement] Works for me.

Stiles: [she was going to need it for the next few months, and when they got to Babies R Us he would get her all the salts and lotions to go with it, but this was the best one on the market] See, that's it. Painless, right?

Malia: [she nods a bit] Yeah. Easier than I thought it'd be.

Stiles: I told you I wasn't going to be that bad. Now when I was the new time father? I was horrible. But I learned what you don't really need because of that, and you get to benefit from all my crappy purchase knowledge.

Malia: Think you can keep my husband from doing the same thing?

Stiles: Scott and I will try our best. But Isaac has, and always will be, a worry wart.

Malia: And werewolf instincts put that into overdrive.

Stiles: True. But hey, you knew that when you married him. And he's very pretty.

Malia: He is very pretty.

Stiles: And he's good to you, and he's pretty much been in love with you since the moment he met you. You two are such a stereotype.

Malia: [she laughs] Maybe we are. But I am not complaining.

Stiles: [and he's watching the girl ring up the four gifts, watching the math and trying to make sure the prices came up right] You shouldn't. I'm sure most women would be jealous for you having such a dedicated man in your life.

Malia: Probably. I don't really care. I just care that he's mine.

Stiles: [the girl behind the register smiles at Stiles in a flirtatious way, but he's totally blind to the fact and just pays for the baby stuff] I'm pretty sure you'd bite anyone who even tried to think about stealing him away.

Malia: [oh, she notices, but she's not going to draw Stiles' attention to it.] Absolutely. As, I'm pretty sure, would Cora. [hint hint, register girl, move along.] We tend to be a bit territorial.

Stiles: [laughs] Oh, I'm pretty sure Cora would do more than bite at this point, all things considered. [why is the check out girl pouting, Malia? He just gave her all the money she asked him for...]

Malia: [don't worry about it, Stiles. She'll just wait until they're headed to the car to continue] So you two are good then?

Stiles: Oh yeah, we're awesome. She kinda stole me for a long weekend to make me celebrate my birthday.

Malia: [eyebrow raise] She had to make you celebrate your birthday.

Stiles: Dina's is a few days before mine, so after she was born, we just always celebrated hers and made a big thing out of it.

Malia: So she wanted you to get some you time.

Stiles: Pretty much. We just went away for the weekend. It was nice. [it was very nice.]

Malia: Good. I'm really glad you two seem to be back on track.

Stiles: [nods] Did you hear about the apartment yet? I don't know who knows and who doesn't know anymore.

Malia: Yes! Scott told Isaac who told me.

Stiles: [grins] So yeah. Your dad helped us with the plans, and pretty sure the place is supposed to be done somewhere first week of June?

Malia: Good. That's really good, Stiles. [she means it. Look how far he's come in a year.]

Stiles: [and with the payment done, he's going to wheel the cart out to the parking lot to get the goodies loaded up] Thanks. I'm kinda excited, but scared at the same time. Just... it's a big step.

Malia: It is. But it's a good step.

Stiles: [nods.] You know, except for a few months when I first started at Google... I don't think I've really ever lived on my own. College really doesn't count, you know.

Malia: Is that a bad thing? I mean, aside from the obvious bad.

Stiles: No. I mean, it's not bad but I just... I've also never really been the head of a household either. [he knows now he never was in any kind of charge of his own family back then] It's kinda scary to think about that sometimes. Even being back here, everyone's kinda taken care of me and I uh... Part of me wonders if I actually know how to take care of myself.

Malia: You don't have to. [there's a beat] I mean, you do, to an extent, but it's not like you're some loser living in your dad's basement. You're in a healthy monogamous relationship, you're running a budding company, you're a father - those things are important too. And Cora isn't there just to look pretty, she's there to help you when you need it.

Stiles: [he rubs at his nose, leaning against the car after closing the trunk] I just.... I don't want to fuck this one up, you know.

Malia: Do you trust her?

Stiles: Cora? Of course I trust her. [but he trusted her before, all those years ago, and he had smothered her and fucked it all up, so that's still sitting in his psyche and probably always will]

Malia: Stiles, when did the issues with her start back then? [because if she remembers correctly, it was when he started talking about the very thing she's already agreed to]

Stiles: Senior year when we started talking about going to the same college.

Malia: True, but they really started when you started talking about moving in together. Right?

Stiles: [looking at his hands a moment, playing with his keys] Yeah. It was more about my being willing to give up a job at Google to go to Boston with her if she was set on going to MIT. She kept talking about me sacrificing things in my life for her.

Malia: [she sighs softly before nodding] Well, she's not wrong about that. You do too much to make other people happy, and it doesn't really leave much for you. She wanted you to have things for you, and to say something if what you wanted didn't mix with hers. Compromise is part of what a partnership is, and she didn't feel like your partner. She felt like your boss. [she pauses] Things are different now. You have Dina. You have your job. And, to put it in wolf terms - you marked her. She's basically yours, Stiles. Forever.

Stiles: Yeah [he rubs at his neck a moment] I mean, yeah, I know that. But I still do the same things I did back then. I mean, I always will put her needs first. And Dina. Why is it different now? I still don't get that.

Malia: Maybe now she feels like she's in a place where she can make sure that she can look out for yours.

Stiles: Well, she does that. [his birthday being an example]

Malia: Look, Cora wasn't really like us when we were kids. She didn't charge head first into things, she didn't know how to trust her gut. So no matter how much she loved you, I don't think there was a scenario where she wasn't going to have to step back and figure out what she wanted.

Stiles: Yeah, I know that. I just have insecurities, Malia. Bundle of nerves and a lot of insecurities make up the person you've got in front of you. [and yes, he's waving his hands in the air to indicate... well, all of him] I just worry.

Malia: Don't. Trust your gut. And if you can't do that, trust hers.

Stiles: [he licks his lips, then nods] Alright. [and time to change the subject] Hungry? I think we're due some lunch.

Malia: Starving. Let's eat.

Stiles: [grins. Successful diversion tactic] Restaurant or food court?

Malia: Restaurant. I don't want too many choices.

Stiles: Alright. And something with no fish. Buffalo Wild Wings work for you?

Malia: That should do it.

Stiles: [and he goes to open the door for her and then off they go!]