new york wolves } { of picture preferences and photo albums

[hereditare]

Stiles: But you can't lose digital pictures. Especially now if you keep them in the cloud.

Laura: And that's great Stiles, but it's not like I'm deleting the digital files once I get them printed.

Stiles: Yeah, but I mean, you could just like, wait and make a photo book later or something.

Laura: And what if I want to put pictures on the mantle?

Stiles: Digital photo albums. You can put a bunch and it will automatically change at a speed you want it to.

Laura: [squints at him] What if I don't want it to change at all? What if I just want the one picture, in a frame, on my mantle. Or one of those frames with different parts so I can put many different pictures.

Stiles: [shrugs] I guess. If you want to.

Peter: [chuckling] Pups.

Laura: Look, I get what you're saying, and I'm not saying they're no useful. It's not like I'm all "No, they must be on film if they're not real pictures." But we still have albums from when Cora was a baby. Having them printed is just as good.

Stiles: The albums were in that trunk Derek found?

Laura: Yep. And they're all perfectly fine.

Stiles: Can I see them? [smiles]

Laura: Sure. They're in the cabinet next to the bookcase.

Cora: [picks her head up at that, distracted from baby nephew] What is he looking at?

Derek: Baby pictures.

Stiles: [gets up and goes to get them and oh look, one for each of them. He's totally bringing all three back to the couch to sit down and start to flip through. Espo will lean over his shoulder too]

Laura: [will go back to cooking while Cora sits and tries to remember what was in her album. And dice say that Derek's was on top so enjoy a tiny boy with a basketball]

Stiles: Oh, look at tiny Derek.

Derek: [groans]

Laura: There are some good ones in that one.

Stiles: Oh really?

Laura: [grins] Yep. [it's not a good grin. it's a Derek is going to hate me grin]

Stiles: [and there is a baby Derek chewing on his foot] Kate, you have to come look at these.

Derek: [eyes begging her not to]

Beckett: [weighs the pros and cons and nope, totally going to check that out]

Stiles: .... Is that, oh Derek you are an adorable baby sheep.

Beckett: [looks up with a grin] You are an adorable baby sheep. A very grumpy sheep but adorable nonetheless.

Esposito: Can I take that one to the office? I think that needs to go on a wall or something.

Derek: You really want to get shot again?

Beckett: It doesn't need to be in the office.

Esposito: Flack can put it on his desk like a kid photo.

Beckett: No, Espo.

Esposito: You two are no fun.

Beckett: Keep flipping Stiles.

Stiles: [and a bunch of baby Derek with basketballs and on Peter's shoulders trying to shoot]

Beckett: [still adorable until Kate catches sight of something very brightly colored in the corner of one of them] What's that?

Stiles: [leans closer] I dunno. What are you looking at?

Beckett: [gestures with one hand for him to flip again] Next page.

Stiles: [he flips the page for her]

Derek: [getting up, curious now]

Beckett: [and there, is a very tiny Derek, all dressed up and having tea with a little girl that is obviously Laura. Emphasis on the "dress"]

Stiles & Espo: [start laughing their heads off]

Derek: [looks over] Oh man, she kept that?

Laura: [frowns] Kept what?

Derek: Tea party. [and he's reaching for the book from Stiles] I think that's enough of my childhood

Laura: [blinks and then it dawns on her and she cringes apologetically] In his defense, he was two. And Peter refused to play with me.

Peter: The dress wasn't my size. [smirks]

Beckett: [glances over at her fiancé with a smile] You do make a very adorable princess.

Derek: Uh huh. Stiles, give me the book.

Stiles: Not done yet. [flips page and Derek in the bathtub covered in bubbles]

Beckett: [and she will reach forward and pull the book from him] Sorry Stiles. I think you're done.

Stiles: [sighs] I'll just finish it one day when he's at work.

Derek: Can we lock these up?

Peter: Why do you think mine isn't on the shelves?

Beckett: [and she will just retreat back to her chair because she said Stiles was done, but she didn't say she was done]

Cora: Don't worry, soon she'll replace it with albums of Thomas and everyone will forget they ever existed.

Derek: [lets Kate settle back beside him, reaching for the book]

Stiles: So who's next... oh look, Laura.

Laura: [rolls her eyes and goes back to cooking]

Beckett: [pulls it out of his grasp, quietly] I'm not done.

Stiles: ... Who's the teenager?

Peter: Me.

Stiles: Seriously?

Laura: Yep. Peter was like ... thirteen when I was born? Maybe twelve?

Peter: Something like that.

Stiles: So you went from being a kid to an uncle.

Peter: Not as uncommon in a pack as you'd think.

Laura: It could have happened with me and Cora, if things hadn't happened.

Stiles: Still just... weird. I thought you were a lot older.

Peter: [look]

Cora: [makes faces at Thomas which makes him laugh and says in a dramatic talking to baby voice:] Personally I'm glad she waited. I'm just saying.

Stiles: Well, it's not something I have to worry about. We don't have a lot of family. [and he busts out laughing at Laura in 80's glam]

Laura: [to her husband] What is he laughing at?

Esposito: I think it's the amount of hairspray in your hair.

Laura: [she laughs] Ah. Fair enough.

Stiles: [flipping pages] Wow, there are a lot more photos in yours than there were in Derek's.

Laura: I was the first child. My dad might have overdid it.

Stiles: So does that mean like, Cora has no pics?

Laura: [she shakes her head] No, she's got a lot too. Bonus of being a surprise baby.

Stiles: Well, it's lucky your mom had these someplace safe. [hands Laura's to Espo, and he goes to open Cora's]

Cora: [and there are lots of Cora with Thomas, because Derek had Peter and Laura had her mother. From when she was very tiny to when she started to be toddler shaped and a little more engaged]

Stiles: [and he's not going to comment because Cora is just adorable]

Cora: [and eventually he'll get to maybe her second or third Christmas where she got to meet Santa. She's sitting on her dad's lap, looking up with a pleased, thrilled expression on her face as Santa (Peter) stands across from her and is talking to her]

Stiles: [squints] So Peter wouldn't dress up as a princess, but he'll do Santa.

Laura: He was older then. And Cora was the actual baby.

Peter: What Cora wants, Talia made sure we gave her. [smiles] Not that any of us were really not going to anyway.

Cora: [scoops up Thomas to keep him from scrambling off before moving to sit on the couch next to Stiles, and then makes an apologetic face at Peter] I don't even remember this.

Peter: You specifically wanted to ask Santa for a pony and brownies.

Cora: [she sighs] I did not get the pony.

Peter: You got a stuffed pony. And a box of brownies that you kept in your room and ate so slowly that you ended up with two pet mice one night.

Cora: [pauses as she considers] Yeah, I still don't remember it.

Laura: I remember. [makes a face]

Stiles: And look at this with Cora in a tiny ladybug costume!

Cora: [pinches her eyes closed] Don't remember that either.

Stiles: You were like, a baby in this. But I can tell it's yours. I see your nose.

Cora: You know me by my nose.

Stiles: I've got every inch of you memorized.

Peter: [just happens to be walking by and hits Stiles upside the head]

Cora: [but she's just going to smile at him because that's sweet, even if her uncle is causing him pain for it]

Stiles: [smiles back at her as he rubs his head.] Ow?

Peter: We have company.

Cora: [pushes up a bit to kiss it and make it better]

Stiles: [grins at that] You were an adorable baby.

Cora: Thank you. Hales often make adorable babies.

Stiles: Well, I was a funny looking baby, so hopefully your genes will trump mine.

Cora: I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Peter: Do we want to know how funny looking?

Stiles: Big ears.

Cora: Big ears aren't such a bad thing. You grew into them.

Stiles: Yeah, but Dad called me Yoda for a while.

Cora: Aww. Now the Star Wars obsession makes sense.

Stiles: [laughs] My dad saw it in theatres and he showed them to me.

Cora: [she nods] Makes sense. [and then she'll shift a bit to settle against him, with Thomas resting against her chest]

Stiles: Too bad I don't have any pictures to show you.

Cora: Maybe next time your dad visits he can bring them.

Stiles: ... I don't know how many he could find. [he looks at the book a moment before looking up at Cora] Mom... when she was having one of her episodes... she burned almost every picture of me, including the baby book she had started.

Cora: [her face softens a bit] I'm sorry.

Stiles: Didn't have digital photos back then.

Cora: [she nods, but that wasn't what she was sorry about. she'll just shift a bit to press her face into his arm a bit]

Stiles: [and back to Cora's pics] Was that your kindergarten graduation?

Cora: [turns to look at the pictures with a frown and smirks] Yeah, that looks about right.

Stiles: Look at those pigtails.

Cora: [makes a face] Those I remember. And hated.

Stiles: Why? You look adorable in them.

Cora: One of the boys in the class used to pull them all the time.

Stiles: It wasn't me.

Cora: No, it wasn't. I don't think you were in my class.

Stiles: No, but we were in the same school. Dad says your mom and mine were on the PTA together.

Cora: Well, you weren't pulling my pigtails, which I appreciate.

Stiles: [and he will flip a page and it was a picture of a school holiday pageant. And while the photo was of Cora dressed as a snowflake... right behind here were the unmistakable faces of Stiles and Scott] Oh my god.

Cora: [turns and looks] What?

Stiles: I don't remember this school play, but look. [he points at her with candy cane Scott and Stiles standing right behind her on the side of the stage]

Cora: [she shifts to look more and grins] Hey. Look at that.

Stiles: This is probably our first picture together.

Cora: Too bad we don't remember it.

Stiles: No, but by the time we have kids we can fabricate a story about how we fell in love back then. [evil laughter]

Cora: [she laughs] I'm sure.

Derek: [and his phone goes off, making him groan] Seriously?

Beckett: [glances down and sighs] I'll save a plate for you.

Derek: Yeah, you and your new fancy position, not having to go off and miss dinner.

Esposito: [and there goes his phone] Make that two plates.

Laura: [frowns] We'll save presents for when you guys get home.

Esposito: Well, you can let the big kids open theirs. Just save the ones from me to Tommy, ok?

Laura: [she nods as she goes over to kiss him goodbye] Be careful.

Esposito: Always am. If something happens, it's Derek's fault.

Derek: [putting on his jacket] Bullshit.

Laura: Both of you be careful.

Derek: Yes, Mom. [and out they go]

Peter: Well, I'm going to go check on the turkey.

Laura: Should be almost done.

Peter: Then why don't we get ready to eat. Stiles, come help me with the table.

Stiles: [and he will get up, kissing Cora and handing her the baby album before heading off to set the table and help Peter]

Cora: [and she will hand Thomas off to Kate before collecting both albums to put them away while Kate looks a little apprehensive to be holding a baby]

Derek: [good thing he isn't there to see that]

Beckett: [look, she's not a baby person, okay! but she'll figure it out. and then they will have dinner and work the crime scene and they need to wait for CSI to do their thing and Lanie to do the autopsy before they can do anything else so they will wander back in in the evening for reheated dinner, dessert and presents!]