canon au } { post-514: the sword and the spirit

[wildkingdom]

Malia: [still currently bleeding, dragging Deaton out away from La Bete and Faith close on her heels] Peter! [and there night be a well-placed kick to the ribs because they don't have time for this right now. If he has something to heal from that should neutralize the kanima stuff, right?]

Peter: Ow.

Malia: [is just going to keep moving for the car]

Faith: [ducks down to haul Peter to his feet] Can you walk? Or ... I don't know, be something other than dead weight?

Peter: You don't think I'm not trying. Kanima venom to the spine isn't fun.

Faith: Well, work harder. If Buffy sees you not-mobile, Beastie eating us might have been the better option.

Peter: I will assure her it wasn't your fault. She can blame me because I didn't rip Theo's head off when I had the chance.

Faith: Yeah. Me and that kid are gonna have words. [a beat] Meaning I'm gonna have words and he's going to get his teeth kicked in.

Malia: [from ahead of them] Get in line!

Peter: Head on a pike.

Deaton: How about right now we simply settle for not being eaten? [as he and Malia reach the car and the two of them slide into the back seat. they can hear the frustrated growls of La Bete from the distance]

Peter: [and he will wait to be shoved into a seat and he's trying to get feeling back in his pinky but it's not happening]

Faith: [he'll get shoved into the front passenger seat while Malia and Deaton slide into the back, and Faith gets in the driver's seat.] Get his seatbelt.

Malia: [reaches forward to do as Faith asks but she can't help the hiss of pain from the shot gun wound that still isn't healing. All those stupid pieces stuck in her gut]

Peter: [makes his little snarly face because he can smell her blood and not happy daddy] So Deaton, I have to ask - how long have you known about that little revelation. [because he was paralyzed, not dead. and there's two things you can guess he's talking about in particular]

Deaton: [helps Malia get the seat belt on him before going to inspect her side and very deliberately ... does not answer the right question] About La Bete? I have been out of the country for several months, Peter.

Peter: About the desert wolf's power.

Malia: [to Deaton] Get it out.

Deaton: Faith, do you have a first aid kit?

Faith: Check under the driver's seat.

Deaton: [goes to do that, ignoring Peter in favor of doctoring, la la la]

Peter: [growls because he is not patient] Your silence almost got her killed.

Deaton: [finds the tweezers and reaches to hit the cabin light of the car so he can very delicately fish out the pieces of shot gun out of Malia] Do you really want to have this conversation while I'm trying to treat your daughter, Peter? Because considering that the car is shaking enough as it is, and I myself am dehydrated and possibly concussed, I'd assume you'd want my focus in a more ... productive direction.

Peter: Would you rather wait to answer when I'm capable of moving my limbs?

Malia: [growls in Peter's direction] Fix me. Ignore him.

Deaton: The patient has spoken. [And yep, back to doctoring he goes, her claws digging holes in Faith's seats as he does]

Peter: [and all he can do is growl from the seat.]

Malia: [and a few minutes later she exhales as the healing finally starts as the last bit is removed and she slumps back against the seat] Thanks.

Deaton: [nods as he goes to peel off the gloves he used and finally speaks] To answer your question, Peter, who do you think arranged the adoption?

Peter: [and his eyes are going to just look at Deaton in the mirror] Care to fill us in on why Talia took her?

Deaton: Because we knew what would happen when Corrine realized the cost of having a child as a werecoyote. And considering that when eight years later, she found her and murdered her adoptive mother and sister trying to kill Malia, our assumptions were unfortunately correct.

Peter: Still doesn't explain why you both took her from me. [because that was his daughter]

Deaton: [and he'll just go back to being quiet again because YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE HIS ANSWER, PETER]

Peter: [he just gives a frustrated huff and shifts his eyes. Because over the last year he's really hated the fact he didn't get to have a family of his own.]

Deaton: [some more silence, la la la] You asked her to.

Peter: What?

Deaton: We all knew what Corrine would do. We also all knew the first place she would go looking for her daughter, especially since she knew Talia took her. The less you knew the better and if you couldn't remember the relationship at all, even better. You knew you wouldn't be able to keep her if you wanted to keep her safe.

Peter: [and that silences him, closing his eyes and just sighing]

Deaton: [another beat and ...] It wasn't something she relished. But it was necessary.

Peter: I see.

Deaton: I doubt this is the last we'll see of her either.

Malia: I'm still alive, so I'm going to go with no.

Peter: She probably won't leave town. She's just going to wait for the right time to strike, and use Theo's pack to help.

Faith: We'll keep an eye on it.

Peter: Until then, Malia you should not be alone.

Malia: I can't have you lurking around my dad's house.

Peter: No, but you should be with your pack. They can help.

Malia: [and silence.]

Peter: [looks in the mirror] You don't have to tell them, but they care about you. They wouldn't want you getting hurt, and they can protect you.

Malia: Scott already knows. [because Scott is way better at people than Malia is. He has to know] I don't want them to get hurt protecting me.

Peter: Which they will if they don't know what is coming.

Malia: [huffs. but she doesn't say she won't either. it's complicated being Malia Tate] Are you going to tell Buffy?

Peter: Yes. Because if she will use people to get at you...

Malia: Buffy will do what? Because last I checked she was vulnerable to guns.

Faith: Yeah, but she also has a really hard time staying dead too.

Peter: And Buffy knows how to handle powerful creatures.

Malia: [and back to silence again. She doesn't really have anything else to say but she'll just focus on her healing for right now]

Peter: [as will he, and everything revealed]

Malia: [and eventually they'll get back to the clinic and someone will call Scott and Malia will slip outside and sit on the steps while Scott has his moment with his not!dad, not wanting to be in the way]

Peter: [and eventually he will have movement again and he will go to stand against the wall near her. He wants to talk, but he doesn't know what to say]

Malia: [doesn't really know what to say either. She also knows that she's probably going to have to talk to Scott and she doesn't want Peter hovering there when she does it] You should go find Buffy.

Peter: Are you going to be okay?

Malia: I'm fine.

Peter: Then I'll go. [what else does he have to say]

Malia: [just nods and pulls her knees into her chest because she's not sure what she's supposed to say either. words are dumb and all the questions she wants to ask him he doesn't have the answers to]

Peter: [he looked down at her, and he just followed his instinct and knelt down in front of her, his eyes soft and just held his arms out a bit, an invitation if she wanted it]

Malia: [she looks up at him and she can see the invitation for what it is, but she can't take it. She's barely keeping it all together as it is. If she were a coyote, this would be different, is all she can keep thinking. Kill and be killed is an essential part of what being a coyote is. But doing this as a girl comes with all kinds of complicated emotions that she doesn't want Peter to see. As far as they've come, she still doesn't trust him enough to be that vulnerable in front of him. So she just takes a breath and swallows] I'm okay. Really.

Peter: [he nodded and stood back up] Call if you need me. [and he will just turn and... go. Hands in his pockets, feeling useless]

Malia: [and she will just curl up on herself some more, waiting quietly for Scott. Part of her feels bad because she knows how that came off but she can't focus on that right now]

Scott: [and yup, he's got his fill of hugs and is going to sit next to her, staying quiet]

Malia: [she's quiet for a moment, before blurting out:] I think Lydia saved me.

Scott: ... Lydia?

Malia: I think I heard her scream.

Scott: Yeah, she did. A few times. I sent Liam down to check on it. [and to get something for him]

Malia: [she nods slowly. There's another quiet pause before she finds the words again. She's bad at talking but she needs to. and she knows Scott will listen] The Desert Wolf wants to kill me.

Scott: Because you tried to kill her?

Malia: [she shakes her head] She tried to kill me when I was eight. That's why the accident happened. [there's a beat] Apparently I stole her power.

Scott: [confused puppy] How did you do that?

Malia: I think it might be something werecoyotes do? When they have kids, their power transfers to their children? [she shrugs, and there's a bit of a waver to it because this is not what she expected when she went looking for her mother. This isn't what she wanted. She wanted something better than Peter, not worse]

Scott: … And killing you she can steal that power back.

Malia: [she nods slowly] Deaton said it has to be during a full moon but that might just have been a stall tactic.

Scott: Or not. But it doesn't matter - we're not going to let her hurt you.

Malia: [her eyes start to cloud a bit as she looks down and she shakes her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face a bit] She's dangerous, Scott. And she doesn't care who gets hurt.

Scott: I know. But you're part of the pack, Malia. You don't have to go through this alone. We're here for you. And we don't want to see you hurt either.

Malia: She's not gonna stop until one of us is dead. [which is why she didn't want you in this in the first place. Because she knows how you feel about killing and while she doesn't care she doesn't want to put him in that position]

Scott: Well, I'd hope not, but if that's how it has to end... we'll figure it out.

Malia: [she knows that's how it's going to end. It's the way coyotes are, and why they're always alone. But Malia isn't alone, Malia has a pack and she has something she wants to protect fiercely. At the same time, there's something broken inside of her that has to admit:] This isn't what I wanted. [she wanted a mother. She wanted her mother [back]. She should have known with a father like Peter, a real mother wasn't in the cards]

Scott: I know. Lately it seems everything we try to do on our own doesn't go the way we hoped. But just because it went that way, doesn't mean we can't find a way to resolve it.

Malia: [she pauses for a moment, before tipping into him and letting her head rest against his shoulder a bit. She's not usually one for physical affection or talking or feelings but unlike Peter, Scott is the one she feels like she can be vulnerable around and it's not a weakness. She can show her belly and Scott won't claw into it]

Scott: [and he will rest his head on top of hers, one hand wrapping around her shoulder and just giving her comfort without saying anything]

Malia: [she exhales slowly, accepting it for what it is, before she looks up at him again] We need to get Lydia out.

Scott: That's our next plan. Want to join us?

Malia: [she glances up at him and then she nods. If Lydia saved her life, then she wants to return the favor]

Scott: Then I think we need to get to our plotting session. [he moves to stand, and then holds his hand out to her. He's smiling, not going to judge her. she's pack, and that's what matters]

Malia: [she pauses for a moment, before nodding and reaching for his hand to let him help her up]

Scott: [and off they go to do their version of Ocean's 11 once Liam brings in the security log]

Malia: [yep, it's prison break time. and in the meantime Peter can have Buffy if he wants?]

Peter: [he's still going to be a bit stiff when he gets back to his place, going to head right for the shower]

Buffy: [and she will probably be coming back in from patrol looking for La Bete (ha ha) and hear the shower and will just wait for him to come out while changing into comfy clothes]

Peter: [and he's going to come out, wearing only his sweats as he rubs his neck where he had been kanima slashed. Luckily it was healed but it was still tender] Buffy?

Buffy: Living room. [she's cross-legged on the couch with popcorn, her post-patrol snack of choice]

Peter: [he will wander in, exhausted mentally and physically. He smells the popcorn and his stomach will remind him he hasn't eaten in a few hours] Is there any pizza left in the fridge?

Buffy: [she nods] Should be a couple slices. Knock yourself out.

Peter: [and he will go and heat it up, and then join her. He's quiet as he eats. too quiet]

Buffy: [yep, she knows that quiet. that's never a good quiet] What happened?

Peter: I asked Talia to do it.

Buffy: [frowns] Do what?

Peter: To put Malia up for adoption and take my memories.

Buffy: ... Oh. [there's a beat] Why?

Peter: The Desert Wolf is a werecoyote. When Malia was born, Malia took her power. Deaton says that I made the choice because it was the only way to protect the baby if she disappeared and I didn't remember her existence at all.

Buffy: [her face softens a bit at that] I'm sorry, Peter.

Peter: I gave my own daughter away, Buffy. I removed her from my memories, and left her alone to face everything.

Buffy: You did it to protect her, Peter. You didn't do it to abandon her.

Peter: I know. But still, all the pain it's caused her... it was easier to be angry at Talia.

Buffy: [she pauses for a moment, before reaching for his hand] How would you have protected her by remembering her? Would it have been better if you actually were her father the Desert Wolf killed you to get to her?

Peter: I don't know. I don't even know the reasoning I had, or the argument, or anything.

Buffy: [she nods once] Well, the past is the past. You can't change it. What you can do is be there for Malia now.

Peter: [runs his fingers along hers] If she'll let me.

Buffy: Trust takes time.

Peter: I know, and I've already broken it once.

Buffy: Exactly. She'll come to you when she's ready.

Peter: I don't know if this news is going to make her do that or not.

Buffy: Hard to say. She can be really pragmatic when she wants to be. Emphasis on the "when she wants to be." And she's got a lot going on right now. So let's ... wait it out and see what happens. Don't jump to any conclusions right now.

Peter: [rubs his hands over his face in frustration as he leans forward. He's just taking it hard, not having the memories to even confirm if it was true or not. It felt true though - more than his sister doing all of this maliciously]

Buffy: [she sighs as she inches closer, letting her hand rest against his back gently] This is one of those things that needs time. Just give her time and you two will figure it out.

Peter: [he nods, but it hurts. It hurts to know he gave his child away and removed her from his life even if it was to keep her safe. Family was the biggest Hale instinct and he went against that.]

Buffy: [she knows that none of this can be easy for him, so she just stays close, letting him work it out as he goes. contrary to popular belief, Buffy does know how to be quiet when she needs to be.]

Peter: [finally he's just going to silently lean into her for comfort, not knowing how to verbalize his feelings]

Buffy: [it's okay, they don't have to talk it out. She'll just shift slightly so that his head can rest against her shoulder, fingers coming up gently to card through his hair]

Peter: [and he's going to just rest there, his head continuing it's spinning as he tries to shut it up and force on her fingers]

Buffy: [she keeps that soft contact, whether it's her fingers in his hair or dropping down lower to trail against the line of his spine, never breaking away long enough to allow him to distract himself elsewhere]

Peter: Thank you.

Buffy: [shifts to press a kiss to his forehead] Anytime.

Peter: If we ever decide to have a kid, I promise I'll do better by them.

Buffy: [deep breath] Well, that's ... in the distant future if it does happen.

Peter: I know.

Buffy: It's just ... not something I've ever really thought about for me.

Peter: I wasn't asking... I saw just saying...

Buffy: Right. We probably ... shouldn't have this conversation right now.

Peter: No. Why don't we just go to bed?

Buffy: Yes. Bed. Bed is a good plan. It's been a long day all around.

Peter: And you weren't attacked by a kanima.

Buffy: [she winces] Yikes.

Peter: Yeah. So I'm done with today.

Buffy: [she nods, and shifts to get up into a standing position before taking his hand] That settles it then. To bed with us.

Peter: [and he will let her take him]

Buffy: [and they will snuggle up in bed while we skip?]