canon au } { post-6a, of boston witches and infant parenting

[ooglyboogleys]

Stiles: [but anyway, he'll be on the bed and looking a lot more himself as the Skype noise comes up on her laptop]

Dawn: [has been trying to get Joy to go down for a nap before Stiles called but Joy just doesn't wanna so when she answers the call, it's her plus his almost four month old daughter in the frame, gnawing on the meat of her hand. Dawn looks a little exasperated] Hey, Stiles.

Stiles: Holy shit what are you feeding her she's huge?!

Dawn: [laughs] Babies actually double their birth weight within a month of coming home from the hospital. So she's just a healthy growing girl.

Joy: [grins at him and slams her hands near the laptop] Mah!

Stiles: Her mother was a runt and I'm a beanpole. I doubt she gets that baby chub from either of us. [but he's smiling seeing her] How are you guys doing?

Dawn: Oh, we're just fine. She's already rebelling against naps though, so I'm predicting some struggles ahead.

Stiles: Try playing 80's power ballads. Worked for me.

Dawn: I'll keep that in mind. So what are you up to?

Stiles: I'm up in Salem at the moment. Massachusetts. You ever hear of the Bishop family?

Dawn: Yes. Vaguely. I know of them but I haven't met them.

Stiles: Well, I'm staying in their guest room at the moment. Oh my god, Dawn, you would love these guys. They have so many crazy stories.

Dawn: [she laughs] I don't doubt it. They've been around a long time and have run into a lot of Watchers.

Stiles: Well, Diana's a historian. And a witch. But Matthew is like, this old, old school vampire. Like 700's. He has Crusades stories, Dawn. The Crusades!

Dawn: Yeah, and so do the Slayers. They're pretty old too.

Stiles: Yeah, but are they alive right now? No. You're talking about books, I'm talking about a living, breathing person.

Dawn: [wrinkles her nose] Technically Buffy is a continuation of their power but okay. Whatever.

Stiles: But anyway, I wanted to call to see how you guys were doing, but also to see if by chance if you knew if my school records at Berkley have ever been recovered?

Dawn: Yes! You were added back onto my class lists. So you are officially a Berkeley student again.

Stiles: Awesome. Think I could do the rest of it in like, a distance format?

Dawn: Maybe. You'd have to talk to the school. What did you have left?

Stiles: Two years, I think?

Dawn: Okay, some classes you might have to be on campus for. They might not have online counterparts.

Stiles: I don't know if I'm going to be back anytime soon.

Dawn: Well, I think your dad had it set up so that you're currently on sabbatical, so you can take your time with coming back.

Stiles: Awesome. Diana's aunt Sarah is teaching me some things. She says it gives her a real reason to drink. [smirks]

Dawn: [she laughs] I can see that.

Stiles: I haven't even told you what she's teaching me yet!

Dawn: I was your teacher once, remember?

Stiles: Yeah, but you weren't teaching me how to do magic.

Dawn: Stiles, some things about you are universal.

Stiles: I love you too, Dawn.

Dawn: Is she teaching you cool stuff?

Stiles: Well, right now we're working on control. I either can't get it going or I end up exploding all the lightbulbs in the house.

Dawn: That sounds familiar. Did Bonnie Bennett help you at all?

Stiles: Yeah, she did. [bright smile, one they haven't really seen in a while] We got the residual nogitsune energy out of me.

Dawn: Good! You definitely seem better.

Stiles: I feel better. I feel like myself again, like not that I wasn't myself before but like all the way back to how I was before the nogitsune self.

Dawn: That's great, Stiles. I'm glad. [a tentative beat] Have you talked to Cora?

Stiles: Not recently. I'm trying to give her that distance. I've texted her a few times though.

Dawn: [she nods] She seems to be doing better too. I think vampire hunting is doing her some good, oddly enough.

Marcus: [off screen] You didn't tell us your girlfriend was a vampire hunter.

Stiles: No, not your kind of vampire. Bad vampires in Scotland trying to kill people. You don't kill people.

Marcus: Not people who don't deserve it, anyway.

Dawn: [squints and leans closer to the screen] Does he know that her future aunt/former guardian is Buffy Summers? Because I don't want to put a kink in your plans but that might be kind of important.

Marcus: [and he's going to just come on screen and hi Dawn, meet surfer dude looking vampire] Oh, we know about the Slayer. The Watchers and the Knights have had an agreement since their inceptions.

Dawn: Oh good. Did you make the same deal with the new Watchers because the old ones kinda went boom.

Marcus: Yeah, out group also kinda went boom a few years ago so we redid all those agreements. New age of creatures and all that.

Dawn: Good. Then we're all set!

Marcus: Pretty much. Oh, my apologies, Marcus Whitmore. You must be the wonderful Dawn Summers that Stiles has talked about.

Dawn: That I am. [shifts Joy up a bit from trying to reach for something on the floor] And this is Joy.

Marcus:]smiles] Hello, Joy. And you're right, she looks nothing like you, Stiles.

Stiles: Thanks, Marcus.

Joy: [happy babbling and a smile, hi new person]

Marcus: Well, I just came up here to let you know dinner is ready. Goodnight, beautiful ladies. [and he will wink and head off]

Stiles: [rubs at his face]

Dawn: He's charming.

Stiles: And he knows it. He's also a professor at both Oxford and Yale, among other things that make you wonder about just how low standards are these days.

Dawn: Hey, charm can get you far.

Stiles: I'm pretty sure that's how Scott is still alive sometimes.

Dawn: I don't think it's charm. I think it's more dumb luck. No offense intended to Scott.

Stiles: You speak the truth. Now remember that, Joy - be charming and you will go very far.

Joy: Bah.

Stiles: That's my girl. You being good for your mommy and daddy?

Joy: [there's a keening noise as she grins around her hand at him]

Dawn: She's been great. When she decides she wants to sleep, which is something she's taken after you a little too early on. [there's a beat] Though funny that you mention Salem ...

Stiles: Eh, give her to my dad. He'll put her out fast. So what about Salem?

Dawn: I actually have a conference in Boston in a couple weeks. If you're going to be sticking around, I could bring Joy with me.

Stiles: What about Derek?

Dawn: He wasn't going to come, but he could come too if you want.

Stiles: I'm just thinking who is going to watch her while you're at lectures if you're out here and don't have him.

Dawn: [and just looks at him meaningfully]

Stiles: Dude, I don't know how to take care of a baby!

Dawn: It's very easy. You feed her when she's hungry, you hold her when she cries and you change her when she's smelly. I can even make you a list. You wouldn't have to take her overnight or anything - you wouldn't even have to leave my hotel room. But if you wanted to get some time with her, I could make that happen.

Stiles: [and his fingers tap on the laptop] How long is a couple of weeks?

Dawn: It's over Memorial Day weekend.

Stiles: Yeah, yeah I think I'll still be here then. I can totally do it in theory.

Dawn: Would you like to do it in practice?

Stiles: Sure.

Dawn: Okay. We'll talk closer to the day with the details.

Stiles: Cool. Hopefully I'll be able to share a trick or two when you get here and not plunge the hotel into darkness.

Dawn: Fingers crossed. That would not go well for the conference.

Stiles: Not unless they like glow sticks. Alright, I should get going and get dinner before the others eat it.

Dawn: Okay. It was good talking to you. I'll email you soon with the details, okay?

Stiles: Alright. Tell Derek I said hey.

Dawn: Will do. Have a good dinner.

Stiles: Will do. [and he will hang up and head down for dinner]

Dawn: Okay, Joybug. Let's try naptime take two. [and off she'll go to try and put her daughter down which will work sort of and lead to her collapsing on the couch while Joy sleeps, but while Joy's not out as long as she hoped, she doesn't wake her mother right away, just stares at the ceiling and plays with her feet]

Derek: [and he will come home and see that Dawn is asleep so he won't wake her because naps are very, very important these days. But he can hear Joy moving around and will smile, quickly putting the groceries on the table and slipping in to see his daughter] Hey cutie. Are you waiting for me?

Joy: [DADDY!!!!! there are smiles and wriggling when she sees him]

Derek: [grins and reaches in the pick her up, nuzzling her cheek and then checking on her to see if she needs anything changed] Did you have a good nap?

Joy: [just going to lean forward so that her mouth rests against his shoulder, gnawing lightly on his shirt as she mumbles around it]

Derek: [chuckles and rubs her back] Someone's hungry, I think. Let's go see if mommy left a bottle in the fridge for me to warm up.

Joy: [probably, Dawn is the prepared type. personally, she just likes you and she likes the texture of your shirt, but she wouldn't say no to a bottle either]

Derek: [and he will sneak into the kitchen and look for a bottle and put it in the bottle warmer, and then hunt through the living room for the little feeding sling they have so that they can do stuff while feeding her] Where did mommy hide the sling, Joy?

Joy: [why do you expect her to know? she doesn't have object permanence yet]

Derek: [and he will finally find it next to a pile of books and carefully free it all while trying not to topple the books or baby]

Dawn: Need a hand?

Derek: [sighs] I was trying not to wake you up.

Dawn: You didn't. I woke up all on my own. [and she will make her way over to steady the books]

Derek: Okay. [and he will grab the sling and put it over his neck] I was going to give her a bottle since she was trying to eat my shirt.

Dawn: Probably a good idea, it's been a while since lunch.

Derek: It'll also let me put the groceries away since they are still on the table.

Dawn: I can do that if you want some quality time?

Derek: You sure?

Dawn: Yeah. I got it.

Derek: Thank you. [and he will swap out the sling to sit up on the couch cross legged to go and feed Joy once he has the bottle from the kitchen] So how was your day?

Dawn: Good. Busy. [a beat] I talked to Stiles.

Derek: Oh? He's finally reemerged from the black hole he disappeared into?

Dawn: He was working on getting rid of the last of the nogitsune influence, and seems to have succeeded. He's hanging out in Salem with the Bishop family while they teach him a few things.

Derek: The Bishop family? You mean one of the oldest witch family lines in the US Bishops?

Dawn: That would be the one. I think the only one that outranks them is the Bennetts.

Derek: Why do I have a feeling we're going to be in for a treat when he gets back with all this old world witch training he has going on?

Dawn: Because he's going to be a massive show off about it?

Derek: We're doomed. May as well get all the humans out of town now.

Dawn: [she laughs] Anyway. Since he is in Salem, I told him about my conference Memorial Day weekend and asked if he would like me to bring Joy out so he could get some time with her, and he said yes.

Derek: Oh. Huh, well that could be good for him. Do you want me to come too just in case he ends up having to bail at the last minute?

Dawn: If you want? I just didn't want it to feel like we needed someone there to babysit him.

Derek: Nah, I'd go explore the city or something if he's there. I just don't want you stuck unable to go see things.

Dawn: Okay then. [she finishes up the groceries as she comes back around with a smile] Family vacation. You could come see me present my paper.

Derek: I could put it on Facebook for your sister so she can brag about you later.

Dawn: Oh, she'll totally brag. I have a feeling it'll be something along the lines of "Look at my sister talking nerdy."

Derek: and then she will make up her own interpretation of what you're saying like she is doing her own mystery science theatre episode.

Dawn: She actually does know quite a bit, she just wouldn't use those words exactly. So it'll basically be the Buffy translation.

Derek: While Peter and Giles actually try to pay attention.

Dawn: Pretty much.

Derek: Well, I could go... or I could always and have a surprise trip to visit Cora.

Dawn: That is entirely up to you. It is your potentially baby-free time.

Derek: Yeah, but it means I'm apart from you too.

Dawn: I think we can manage. So long as you don't disappear and never return, we will be fine.

Derek: Well, it is Scotland.

Dawn: I am trusting your sister to keep you safe.

Derek: And your sister.

Dawn: Yeah, you'll be fine.

Derek: Alright, let me text her and see if she wants a brother for a weekend.

Dawn: Good. Sounds like a plan.

Derek: [and he will look at Joy as she's eating, smiling down at her] That yummy?

Joy: [OM NOM NOM NOM NOM]

Derek: She is totally into this bottle.

Dawn: Well, it's got the good stuff.

Derek: I don't think I've ever been this into something before. I mean, beyond you, that is. [smirks]

Dawn: [she laughs, as she goes to sit on the couch next to him] Well, she's only four months old. She doesn't really know that there are better things out there than food and naps yet.

Derek: And snuggles.

Dawn: Yes, those are good too. She'll be more discerning as she gets older.

Derek: So I was thinking of giving her back to Stiles and Cora when she hit those teenage years. [smirks, but totally doesn't mean it]

Dawn: So we get all the fun stuff and they get to deal with all the drama?

Derek: Exactly.

Dawn: I think that will just create even more drama.

Derek: Yes, but not for us.

Dawn: [she laughs] I think we'll manage just fine, even with the teenage drama.

Derek: Good thing we have thirteen years to prepare.

Dawn: [she nods] Besides. You'd miss her if she went away.

Derek: Yeah, I would. [leans back and smiles down at Joy] She’s going to totally be a daddy's girl, I think.

Dawn: [shifts and rests her chin on his shoulder] Good.

Derek: [turns his head to kiss her]

Dawn: [kisses him back with a smile]

Derek: [and he will probably keep doing that until Joy demands his attention]

Joy: [hopefully he's paying some attention, because she's not so good at the eating/breathing/swallowing part yet, so there might be a little bit of a choke if he doesn't pull the bottle back]

Derek: Oh shit. [yeah, breaking free from his wife's lips as he hears that] Sorry, baby.

Dawn: [she will reach over to straighten her up and pat her back until she spits it all up and is breathing normally again] Sorry kiddo. We got distracted.

Derek: [didn't need that shirt anyway.]

Joy: [wibbly face because wow that didn't feel cool]

Derek: [and he will make hushy noises and snuggle her a bit, not giving her back the bottle right away]

Joy: [that's fine, she doesn't want it anymore and is just going to burrow into her dad's arm because rude, bottle. very rude]


Derek: [and he is going to rock her and kiss her forehead] You're okay now, I promise.

Joy: [and the crankiness will fade and she will eventually pass out against his arm for the nap she should have taken earlier]

Derek: [smiles] I think she's really ready for that nap now.

Dawn: Finally.

Derek: I'll go put her down. And then find a new shirt.

Dawn: Good plan. I'll start making dinner.

Derek: [and he will go to put joy down, leaning over the edge of the crib and swaddling her before petting her cheek gently]

Dawn: [and she will start cooking, and eventually the smell of the ... frozen pizza she has in the oven will be too good to resist.]

Derek: [and he will slip out of the room at that point, coming to join her] you made pizza by hand? [playful kissing on her neck]

Dawn: [smiles a bit] If "by hand" you mean used my hands to take it from the cardboard box, placed it on a pan and put it the oven, then yes. That's exactly what I did.

Derek: Totally what I meant. [and he will playfully nip at her neck]

Dawn: [shivers a bit at that] Yes. I am a fancy chef with mad pizza skills.

Derek: How did I get lucky to find a girl like you.

Dawn: A high pain tolerance and healing factor.

Derek: And no survival instincts whatsoever.

Dawn: Apparently not.

Derek: Yeah, we make quite a pair.

Dawn: We do. But it all worked out for the best, I think.

Derek: I don't just think, I know. [kisses her as he reaches over her for the plates]

Dawn: Good thing I trust you.

Derek: Oh?

Dawn: I have no trouble taking your word for it.

Derek: [smiles] Good. [and he will go to set the table]

Dawn: [And she will retrieve the pizza and slice it up before bringing it to the table]

Derek: [and he will go to text his sister while he's eating] Hey, how you doing?

Cora: [and there is no response because she is sleeping, Derek]

Derek: [and he will go and eat pizza and catch up with his wife on their day]

Dawn: [and they will probably go to bed if Joy doesn't try and interrupt things]

Derek: [and depending on how tired Dawn may be will depend on if he gets handsy in bed]

Dawn: [today actually wasn't that bad a day, so she may respond well to the getting handsy]

Derek: [then he is going to totally try and get lucky]

Dawn: [which she is totally down for, because her husband is pretty and good with said hands]

Derek: [and those hands are going to work to remove her clothes because they are young and married and should just sleep naked]

Dawn: [they totally could. their child isn't old enough to walk in on them yet]

Derek: [so totally couple make out sexy times a go]

Dawn: [yep, lots of fun sexy times that leaves Dawn flopping back against the bed, nice and sweaty and sated]

Derek: [and him over her, sweaty and smiling] Yeah, we need to do this more often.

Dawn: [she laughs] I definitely agree there.

Derek: Are we going to become the couple that has to schedule sex?

Dawn: For right now, it might be the only way to guarantee it happens.

Derek: Alright. I'll get us a calendar for the bedroom tomorrow we can write it down on.

Dawn: [she laughs] Duly noted. But right now, I think I need a nap.

Derek: Yes, a nap would be good. I say we don't wake up until Joy calls for us.

Dawn: [nods] Solid plan.

Derek: [and he will snuggle up with Dawn, yawning as he settles down to sleep] I love you.

Dawn: I love you too. [And she will close her eyes and off she drifts]

Derek: [and he will sleep until his ears pick up the noise of a baby waking up]

Joy: [DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD IT'S DARK WHERE ARE YOU DON'T YOU LOVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE]

Derek: [groans and slides out of bed, zombie walking towards the door... remembering to put pants on... and then to the nursery where Joy was] Baby, do you know what time it is?

Joy: [I DON'T CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE]

Derek: [and he will reach in and pick her up, change her, and then walk her into the kitchen where he will finally look at the oven for the time because omg what time is it?]

Joy: [an hour which normal people should probably not be awake, let's be honest. And Joy will just curl up against his shoulder and snuggle him, this is much better]

Cora: [but if you're in Scotland it's actually awake time, so here have a text from your sister] It's going. Been keeping busy.

Derek: [he will grab a bottle and put it into the warmer, and then his phone vibrates somewhere in the kitchen where he left it because of sexy times and he will reach over to it. He smiles at it and texts back] Doing anything fun at all?

Cora: Mostly a lot of hunting. But it's nice being with my Scotland friends again.

Derek: Happy to hear that. Real happy.

Cora: Yeah. I'm starting to feel like me again.

Derek: Well, I was going to see if you wanted some big brother time. I have a free weekend coming up I could come out there.

Cora: Yeah? That would be great.

Derek: [smiles at that. He will carry the phone, Joy, and the bottle to the couch where he will take up his normal feeding position to use one hand to feed her, and the other to do voice typing softly not to wake dawn] Good. I'll e-mail you the details. But it'll be the same time Dawn's in Boston at a conference.

Cora: [there's a bit of a pause before] What about the baby?

Derek: Going with Dawn.

Cora: So it's just you?

Derek: Just me. Laura can arrange her own sibling time.

Cora: Okay. Just let me know when you'll be here and I'll meet you at the airport.

Derek: Will do. Want me to bring you anything from home?

Cora: Nope. Just you.

Derek: I'll see you in a few weeks then.

Cora: Good. See you then.

Derek: Love you.

Cora: Love you too.

Derek: [and he will go back to focusing just on Joy and feeding her, and when she is done they can snuggle up on the couch]

Joy: [Yay dad time. She is good with that and will eventually pass back out again]

Derek: [and then so will he, holding her gently on his chest so she won't fall as they sleep]

Dawn: [which Dawn will totally take a picture of to send out for blackmail later, before scooping up Joy to put her back in her crib so she can sleep more safely]

Derek: [and the moving of the baby will make him stir, and he will be sitting up by the time she slips back out]

Dawn: Hey. Have good baby time?

Derek: Well, she split the time with her Aunt Cora.

Dawn: She texted you back?

Derek: Yeah. She's doing good over there.

Dawn: Good. I'm sure she had a lot of people who were happy to see her.

Derek: Yeah. They were her pack long before Stiles and Scott.

Dawn: Yeah, they were. But she didn't necessarily think of them as pack.

Derek: Pack and Family are synonyms.

Dawn: Yeah. But she didn't think of them as family. She was too busy wishing for the one she already had.

Derek: One she didn't know if we lived or not.

Dawn: More or less.

Derek: But I talked to her about going out there, and she said she would like it.

Dawn: Good! That way we don't let them forget where they came from.

Derek: [raises an eyebrow at his wife] I haven't had coffee enough to interpret Summers speak.

Dawn: [smirks as she goes to curl up next to him] It's too easy for them to get comfortable and forget to take the next big step of coming home.

Derek: Stiles and Cora?

Dawn: Yep.

Derek: Well, Stiles we know has certain return date - his father's wedding day.

Dawn: Maybe you could find out if your sister got an invitation for that too.

Derek: She should have. I gave the Sheriff the address for the castle.

Dawn: Then maybe that's something you should talk to her about.

Derek: That's going to be her choice, Dawn. But I'll see if she will at least make a trip home for it. I mean, she's pretty much married to that family.

Dawn: She is. She just might be Cora about it and try to take what she wants out of the equation and convince herself that the sheriff inviting her was a formality, so don't let her do that.

Derek: I will make sure she remembers

Dawn: Good.

Derek: [yawns] It's still dark and the baby is asleep again.

Dawn: We should try and go back to bed.

Derek: Yeah, because otherwise I will want coffee and then I won't go back to sleep.

Dawn: [nods as she shifts to stretch out] The couch is big enough for two.

Derek: Well, then let me shift a bit and make room.

Dawn: [nods as she pulls back to let him settle]

Derek: [and with a yawn and wrapping his arm around her gently, he will drift back off again]

Dawn: [And off she goes to sleep and we will fade on them for a bit]