canon au } { post-s4, of first appointments and geek bonding

[likeababyduck]

Sweets: [is behind his desk, grading some papers while he waits. It's been a while since he's had an actual patient, but the call from Dawn wasn't an unwelcome one. He's dressed a little more casually than he would at the Jeffersonian - jeans and a button down as opposed to the suits - so it makes him look a little younger than he'd like, but since most of the time he's dealing with college students, it can help.]

Peter: [no, he had gotten lost in the school. Not going to tell any of them that, but it happens. Still, he finally finds the door for Dr. Lance Sweets. He knocked, but he could smell the human inside]

Sweets: [glances up] It's open!

Peter: [and he opens the door, stepping in. He had been pre-warned that the man looked a lot younger than his education and title, but still] Good afternoon, I believe I have an appointment.

Sweets: [and there's that beaming smile as he gets up to shake his hand] Peter, right? Doctor Lance Sweets. Nice to meet you.

Peter: [he shakes the hand back, nodding] That would be me. It's a pleasure. [though not really, but the formality still stood, and he knew he needed it. Didn't mean he was excited about it]

Sweets: [smirks a bit at that, because he can tell, but most people are resistant when they first get started. He's not going to call him out on it] Have a seat, please. Sorry about the clutter, but it's midterm season. [and he'll move behind Peter to shut the door, gesturing for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.]

Peter: [does so, opting for the comfy chair over the couch because nope, not going there. That would be too much for him.] Dawn speaks very highly of you.

Sweets: Glad to hear it. We go back a long time. [he puts up his "IN SESSION" sign in front of the door so they're not disturbed by students, before going and making his way back around to his desk] So, I'd like to think of this session as more of a "getting to know you" sort of session. I want to ask you some questions to try and evaluate where the best place to start would be, and I think it's only fair that you get to ask me a few in return. [plus, seeing what Peter wants to know about him first is just as telling as whatever questions Peter could ask him] So any concerns or ... curiosities you want to bring up before we get started, now's the time to ask them.

Peter: Well, as I have been told you're aware of my species, I'm curious how much you've studied up on the differences in mentality between species?

Sweets: ... As much as is afforded to me. A lot of has been through practical experience - I've worked with your niece in the past and I learned a lot about things like pack dynamics and the mentalities therein, but ... I haven't encountered a case as ... violent as yours. With Cora we were mostly trying to talk through her post-traumatic stress after the fires. Nightmares and panic attacks aren't really in the same league, but I've worked with more serious cases on the human side as well. [a beat] And for the record, Cora gave me permission to talk about our time together with you, I'm not just throwing it out there. Everything between us will be kept confidential unless you give me permission otherwise.

Peter: [nods, not even batting an eye at the mention of his violent past.] While I appreciate it, I don't think I need to inquire about her sessions with you unless you feel that it's a correlation that you want to discuss.

Sweets: Fair enough. [Cora was never a patient in the official capacity that Peter was, but she needed someone to talk to. He was available.]

Peter: It was also mentioned to be that you were in conjunction with the FBI once?

Sweets: I did. I worked for the FBI for six years - a majority of my work was internal - evaluating agents and determining whether or not they were fit for duty, but I also was pulled in to provide profiles in conjunction with the Jeffersonian.

Peter: [nods] So I'm sure you already have a basic profile in mind for me at this point. I mean, it's not as if I'm not expecting it.

Sweets: I'm still evaluating. Hearing things about a person is different than actually meeting them in person - it's always colored by the person who's talking. They say that a book can tell more about an author than it does about it's subjects, and the same can be true with second hand stories. How people view you doesn't necessarily mean that's who you are or how you behave. I try not to form judgements without evidence.

Peter: [nods. In his opinion, that is a "yes, but still forming my opinion" kind of answer.] That's all I have for now.

Sweets: [he nods. okay then] So what are you looking to get out of these sessions?

Peter: Well, what I'm not expecting is a miracle cure, if that takes some pressure off your shoulder. To be frank, I'm not sure. I don't know if this will even help, but I have been told that it is better for me to talk to someone about my thoughts who is impartial than to hold them back in my head and stew on it since that didn't really work well for me last time.

Sweets: [nods] So you're looking for ... healthy catharsis.

Peter: Primarily, yes. Other benefits may come from it, but that is the main objective.

Sweets: That's not a bad thing. It's good to have an objective place to put things out there.

Peter: I'm usually good for thinking things more long term.

Sweets: [he nods] Good, because I have a feeling this is going to be a long term situation.

Peter: Well, until I'm able to reacquire a car, I'm going to be dependent on the good graces of my nephew getting me here.

Sweets: Well, I could always come to you. I've never been to Beacon Hills, it could be ... educational.

Peter: Or that. I'm pretty sure the high school is in need of a new guidance counselor. I believe the previous one has taken a job at the local Institute for troubled minds.

Sweets: Oh, I don't do teenagers. I'm good where I am, but I can make house calls if you need me to.

Peter: We can play it by ear. I mean, there is a chance after today, you may kick me out and never want to speak to me again. [small smirk]

Sweets: Don't sell yourself short. I like a challenge.

Peter: [laughs] Now I know why you agreed to this.

Sweets: [he smiles widely] I did it because Dawn and Cora are friends. And it's good to keep things interesting.

Peter: You have no idea what you're in for, do you?

Sweets: Probably not as much as I should.

Peter: I guess I should ask what you have been told about me then, so that I know what you do and don't know.

Sweets: I know that there were some murders. And I know that there was a very complicated psychic procedure involved to ... flip on your remorse switch, so to speak.

Peter: I'm hoping they told you that I was also in a coma for six years before all of this started

Sweets: They mentioned that too. From what I can tell it seems to be what triggered the sociopathic episode.

Peter: Have you interviewed many coma patients before, Dr. Sweets?

Sweets: I have, actually. A close friend of mine spent some time in a coma, and we had sessions afterwards.

Peter: [nods] Well, mine was self-induced because my family had been murdered by a family of hunters and I believed I was the only survivor, and was healing from third degree burns over three fourths of my entire body.

Sweets: Why a coma?

Peter: Because it's hard for a lone wolf to heal on his own, so I felt I would save the agony of being able to feel my nerve endings while my body worked to heal itself. I just wasn't expecting it to take as long as it did, or be as hard to come back out of.

Sweets: How long do you feel it lasted?

Peter: A lifetime. At least the part where I had no awareness of the world. I came back in stages. No just wake up one day and I was all batter.

Sweets: What was stage one?

Peter: That is the one I don't remember much of, but my nurse told me. Your basic werewolf stuff - rising at the full moon and sleepwalking into the woods while shifted. No control, no real acknowledgement of my surroundings. The other 27 days a cycle I was unconscious still.

Sweets: And I take it Stage Two happened after you became an alpha?

Peter: I became aware afterwards, yes. But I still had to heal, which was... advanced by the extra power. It still took some time for me to move while in human form as I tried to figure out how to heal my human side. My wolf side, however, was strong, and so it was easier to let myself find the ability to think and move in that form.

Sweets: Why was it easier to think?

Peter: It's easier to deal with stimuli instinctually than it is with the human mind. You do what your nature tells you to do, not what society does.

Sweets: And what did your nature tell you to do?

Peter: To hunt.

Sweets: Hunt for what?

Peter: Just to hunt. Though I will admit, I was a little angry when I came aware, so my thoughts were a bit more than just dinner.

Sweets: So you found the people who hurt your family.

Peter: I did, and I killed them. One, by one, as my energy allowed me to.

Sweets: And how did that feel?

Peter: Satisfied.

Sweets: Your wolf, or you?

Peter: At that point, I was both.

Sweets: There was no difference between you?

Peter: Not when I was shifted. Not right away. Not until I got my first beta.

Sweets: Your beta, that was Scott?

Peter: Yes, Scott McCall, the little werewolf that could. He was in the forest, looking for my niece’s body. I may have taken her alpha, but the Argents took her body and cut her in half in an attempt to draw me and my nephew out of hiding.

Sweets: Why Scott?

Peter: Wrong place, wrong time. As I told Stiles, it could have easily been him. I knew I needed more power to finish healing, and a new beta would provide that. Teenagers are easier to change, better odds at surviving the process.

Sweets: So it was a strategic happenstance.

Peter: Precisely.

Sweets: How do you feel about it now?

Peter: Well, seeing that he's now a true alpha, I obviously made a good choice in target.

Sweets: So you're proud that your beta surpassed you.

Peter: I'm not proud that he surpassed me, but I am proud to see what he was able to make of his life from the gift I gave him.

Sweets: Do you think he sees it as a gift?

Peter: I think he's learned to embrace it from what I've witnessed.

Sweets: Do you think that Stiles would have been the better choice for your purposes?

Peter: [thinks] Well, he is way more intelligent than Scott. Probably just as loyal, but I don't think that Stiles would be able to have the same aptitude for being a true alpha. Stiles would probably have succumb to his urges a lot more, especially with Scott distracted by his hunter girlfriend.

Sweets: And for the alpha you were then, would that have been better or worse?

Peter: Then - it would have been a lot easier. It was Scott's sense of morals that kept him from doing what he needed to for me.

Sweets: And you don't think Stiles would have the same issue. [there's a beat] Stiles, who's currently dating your niece.

Peter: Do you know many people who would go by the name Stiles? [eyebrow raise]

Sweets: I just think that makes things a little complicated, don't you?

Peter: It was before Cora came back. At least a year.

Sweets: So if things had been different, they may not have happened.

Peter: It things had been different, Derek probably wouldn't have killed me and I would still be an alpha.

Sweets: Do you want things to be different?

Peter: You're asking me if I want to be an alpha still.

Sweets: [nods]

Peter: Want, yes. That's not something I'm never going to not want. It's my heritage. A legacy. For as far back as histories go, the Hales have always had an alpha, have always been protectors of this town, and have always been a force to reckon with. We're more powerful than other werewolves, and as the eldest it's my birthright. [he leaned forward] But I wasn't going to kill my family to get it. We’ve already lost enough.

Sweets: You already did kill your family to get it.

Peter: That I had no control over. Do you think I like knowing I killed my niece to take her power? Instinct wanted the power, but that's where my human side would have stopped it. Laura was family, my sister's child and all that's left of her. [there's a flash of anger there, his cool exterior cracking a bit]

Sweets: Does absolving yourself of control for it make it better? Does it make it better for Laura?

Peter: Laura won't see me, so I have no idea what would make her feel better. [he leans back in his chair, taking a deep breath to calm himself back down]

Sweets: You didn't answer the first question.

Peter: Of course it doesn't make it better. But it makes it make sense.

Sweets: Does it? Or does it simply sound better than you wanted that power, and you wanted to punish the family that abandoned you.

Peter: We're done here. [and he goes to stand up]

Sweets: Do you not like the question or the answer? [his head tips to the side, curious] From what I know about pack dynamics, what Laura did goes against every instinct you have. There had to be some part of you that was angry. [if you didn't expect hard questions, you should have gone to a priest, not a shrink]

Peter: [and nope, he's just going to head to the door and walk out]

Sweets: Ignoring the truth isn't going to help you stay sane, Peter. It's not going to help you deal with this. [he stands, letting his hands rest on his desk, but not coming any closer] It may not be a question you want to answer, but eventually you're going to have to. If not to me, then to her.

Peter: [and slamming the door behind him, walking down the hall, around the corner, and then he just stops, takes a deep breath, and then there is a chair flying down the hall to break against a wall somewhere short of Sweet's office]

Sweets: [... that's going to cost him. But hey, at least Peter isn't committing violence against people.]

Peter: [and he will just be waiting somewhere on campus with a coffee and a newspaper about an hour later]

Cora: [and Stiles is in his interview so she's just going to wander over and sit down next to him, not saying anything right off the bat]

Peter: [holds out the entertainment section to her, not taking his eyes off the sports section. He's waiting to see what she says]

Cora: [she takes it, studying it for a moment, before taking a breath] Sweets told me to tell you he wasn't really fond of that chair anyway. [which was Sweets for no hard feelings for destroying my furniture]

Peter: Then I did the boy a favor. [goes to sip his coffee]

Cora: [sighs] So the first session went well.

Peter: [he just makes a small, non-committal noise and turns the page]

Cora: [she draws her legs up Indian style under her, leaning into his shoulder a bit] He doesn't pull his punches. I probably should've warned you.

Peter: I actually admire that. Doesn't mean I plan to go back.

Cora: So that's it, then?

Peter: [sips his coffee, trying not to scowl]

Cora: [she sighs] Did you really think it was going to be easy?

Peter: [still silent]

Cora: This kind of stuff ... it's not meant to be.

Peter: No, it's not. That's a side effect of not being human.

Cora: But he can help.

Peter: I'm sure he can. I just don't believe I'm ready for that.

Cora: How do you know?

Peter: I believe the chair is my witness

Cora: If you're not ready now, then when?

Peter: I don't know.

Cora: He used to tell me that if wasn't making me mad he wasn't doing his job right.

Peter: You realize that we're supposed to avoid making me angry, right?

Cora: Sometimes you have to get angry to figure out how to avoid it.

Peter: [just scowls]

Cora: [sighs as she leans back in the seat] What are you so scared of?

Peter: [nope, sipping his coffee again]

Cora: [there's a look at that, because yep, that's not denying anything]

Peter: [sighs] Maybe I don't want to deal with parts of it just yet.

Cora: [she nods] I get that.

Peter: Laura being one of those things.

Cora: ... Ah.

Peter: I'll talk about my actions with the Argents, against Derek, against Scott, but I don't even have full cognitive understanding of what I did to Laura, and I'm not about to allow some human to look across a desk and try to force me to form meaning from flashes of memories that I barely understand.

Cora: He's not trying to force you. He's trying to help you make sense of them.

Peter: What I already believe makes sense. I don't need that broken down and analyzed.

Cora: Then what do you need?

Peter: [works his jaw, then shakes his head] I don't know.

Cora: Was what he asked you about Laura an invalid question? [she's not trying to figure out what it is, she's just trying to figure out why it upset him so much]

Peter: I just don't want to talk about it.

Cora: [there's a pause] You're going to have to talk about it eventually.

Peter: Eventually. But I don't have to talk about it today

Cora: So tell him that. He usually just goes where things lead him, if you tell him to back off he'll change the subject. [a beat] Unless he thinks you really need to, but for the first session, he would have changed the subject.

Peter: Didn't deter him to try and get me to stay.

Cora: He's also really good at getting when you need to walk away. Also I don't think he wanted to be a chair.

Peter: I'll buy him a new chair.

Cora: Fine.

Peter: [of course he's a bit agitated again, trying not to let it show] I'm going to go for a walk.

Cora: Okay. [she'll just sigh a bit and stay where she is] Just ... don't give up on it right away. It's always hard for anyone to start.

Peter: [he stops for a moment, listening, and then just walks off]

Sweets: [and Cora will just sit there and wait for Stiles to get out of his interview and maybe get joined by the shrink in question eventually, so as Stiles approaches he might catch the tail end of ...] How did you fall asleep?

Stiles: [and he is going to wander over all dressed up still]........ Why do I think I've walked in on a very interesting conversation?

Cora: [smiles over at him] Sweets can't believe I fell asleep during Lord of the Rings.

Sweets: Seriously, you're killin' me, smalls. Those movies are masterpieces.

Cora: They're way too long and really slow. Just like the books.

Stiles: [points at Sweets] Oh, I like you. She's just lucky that she looks adorable when she's sleeping that I forgave her. [sits down next to Cora]

Sweets: Yeah, I have no such weakness. I am just going to sit here and judge you. [sticks a hand across to him] Lance Sweets. You must be Stiles.

Stiles: That's me. [shakes] But hey, at least she indulges me. My own best friend still hasn't even seen Star Wars.

Sweets: And you haven't tied him down and forced him to watch it yet? I think that's a bigger crime, personally, than Lord of the Rings, but that's me speaking as a guy who has his own lightsaber.

Stiles: Oh, I've tried. But when he's pretty much twice as strong as you and more concerned about his girlfriend and saving the world, makes it hard to find time for movies. [pause] What color?

Sweets: Green. If Mace Windu had been around at the time, I totally would have gone for purple, but Luke Skywalker was my hero as a kid.

Stiles: Yeah, no that's perfect. I'd totally want green for mine. Or blue. But not red.

Sweets: If you wanted red, I would worry about the status of this relationship.

Cora: [there's a look at that] You're not in this relationship.

Sweets: I wouldn't want you dating a Sith, Cora. That's bad.

Stiles: No, the color of the lightsaber comes from the crystal that they choose when they are making the saber. It's all about location and what you have on hand as materials. Red being a Sith color is very racist, man. [smirking though]

Sweets: So the fact that most bad guys have red is just a startling coincidence. Kind of how all those sad dead people on Star Trek just happen to be wearing red shirts.

Stiles: Well, that's because the eye is drawn to the color red first, so of course that's who people are going to aim at. It's totally a conspiracy with Starfleet to be able to weed out the weak from the ranks.

Sweets: So the Federation was out to get them.

Stiles: Yup. And if they survived, they rose up the ranks to gold and instantly safer.

Sweets: [he laughs] Whatever you say, man.

Cora: [is just sitting there watching them talk, totally clueless.]

Stiles: [grins and looks at Cora, and then rubs his neck] Sorry, I forgot you're not fluent in geek yet.

Sweets: Not for my lack of trying.

Cora: We mostly did video games, not movies. Video games are easier to do long distance.

Stiles: World of Warcraft?

Sweets: Nah, mostly first person shooters. We went for the classics when we were together, though.

Cora: I kicked his ass at Mario Kart.

Stiles: You like Mario Kart? Why didn't you tell me that? I loved that game when I had my Nintendo 64. I can get us a new one?

Cora: [she shrugs] It was more of an us thing. [she gestures between her and Sweets. It wasn't anything personal to Stiles, but ... that was how they therapied.]

Stiles: Oh. [he blinked] Sorry.

Sweets: [he shakes his head] It's not your fault, dude. You didn't know. [there's a beat] I have a class to teach, but I'll check with Dawn after and make sure we're still on for dinner?

Cora: [glances back to him with a smile, while her hand wanders over to squeeze Stiles' gently] Yeah. We'll see you later.

Stiles: [he waved his hand in departure] See you, man.

Sweets: [nods as he wanders off]

Cora: [turns to Stiles after he goes] I didn't mean ... [to upset him]

Stiles: No, no it's fine. I mean, it's a thing with you and him. I get that. [he's not upset. He's... jealous. Yeah, jealous is the right feeling and he didn't think he was going to ever feel that when it came to Cora and he was and wow he really was jealous]

Cora: [yeah, she can pick up on that, and she looks down at her hands] I met Sweets after the fire. Dawn wanted me to have someone to talk to, and he wasn't a psychologist yet, but they were friends and she thought he could help me. Video games was how he broke the ice. So playing it wasn't really about playing the games.

Stiles: It was about talking and connecting to someone.

Cora: [she nods] I mean, it wasn't perfect. You remember how I was when I got here. But it was something. [she plays with his fingers a bit as she talks]

Stiles: [smiles and plays with her fingers a bit as well] Well, you're getting a lot better at talking. In fact, I bet you're becoming the most well-adjusted Hale of the whole pack.

Cora: [she laughs a bit at that] You helped a lot with that too.

Stiles: Well, you seem to have this draw to talking to geeks, it seems.

Cora: I guess they're just really easy to talk to. [Sweets is like ... almost thirty, though. So it's not even close to what it is with Stiles]

Stiles: Well, we also like to listen. Especially since most hot girls aren't fond of talking to geeks.

Cora: Well, I'm not fond of all geeks. Just really specific ones. [her free hand wanders up to tug at his shirt and pull him closer]

Stiles: [ he grins and leans in] Well, I'll admit I’m very okay with that.

Cora: Good. [and she'll just kiss him because she can]

Stiles: [he's good with the kissing, cupping her cheek a moment before pulling back a bit] Hi.

Cora: Hi. [she plays with his shirt a bit] How was the interview?

Stiles: It went really well. Well, I mean they didn't fall asleep on me. Or give me the look like 'why the hell are we interviewing this kid' either. But I did kinda talk a lot so it could still go one way or another.

Cora: [she smirks a bit] When's Professor Hathaway taking you to meet the head of the department?

Stiles: Four. So I have... [looks at his watch - an actual watch] Um, an hour?

Cora: [she nods] What do you want to do?

Stiles: I just need to get a coffee and maybe not think about how nervous I really am.

Cora: I know a great place for coffee. [she unfolds her legs from in front of her and takes his hand, pulling him towards the student center]

Stiles: Awesome. [links his fingers with hers] Oh hey, I should probably tell you because I haven't thought to mention it with all the things going on, but my birthday is in a few weeks. The big one eight.

Cora: [she glances up and she smiles] Do you want to do something?

Stiles: Well, I was thinking huge party myself.

Cora: That could be fun.

Stiles: I don't think we have a lacrosse game that night. We had one last year and school the next day so wasn't really worth doing anything.

Cora: [she leads them down the stairs to the second floor, where there's a coffee stand attached to a bakery-type place] But this is a big birthday too. So we should do something.

Stiles: Well, it's on a Friday. So we got the whole weekend.

Cora: Where do you want to throw it?

Stiles: I dunno. Maybe we could just have a camping party out on the preserve?

Cora: [she nods a bit] Sure. Sounds good.

Stiles: And then you know, you and me, tent out in the woods...

Cora: [she laughs a bit, stepping in closer to him as they wait in line] Uh-huh. It can't be group camping if we're going to be doing that.

Stiles: Well, they don't have to stay. Or you know, we just do it all weekend. Or maybe see if Lydia... we could use the lake house...

Cora: Do you think her mom will let us? I thought they were supposed to be selling it.

Stiles: Well, I um... I was actually going to um... talk to Peter about that. [lip bite]

Cora: [bites her lip back, a bit more confused] What do you mean?

Stiles: Well... I mean the whole deadpool was partially his fault. And now that we found all his money... I thought he could pay for the repairs to the property at least for them to be able to sell it.

Cora: Xander covered that.

Stiles: And... maybe he could help them out a bit. After all, I know some of the reason they're having issues is after a lot of Lydia's medical bills.

Cora: [takes a bit of a breath before nodding] Okay. It might be worth a shot.

Stiles: I figured if nothing else, it was Lydia and I know he has some kind of weird bond to her, and maybe if he knew he could be willing to, that's all. She won't ask, obviously, but she shouldn't have to suffer, you know.

Cora: No, I know. You're right. It's worth mentioning.

Stiles: How did it go with him anyway?

Cora: Sweets didn't pull his punches and he smashed a chair.

Stiles: [winces] That good, huh?

Cora: Yeah. He's ... reevaluating. I don't know what he's going to do.

Stiles: [squeezes her hand] But he's not going to go back to old habits, right?

Cora: [shakes her head] I don't think so.

Stiles: Then we just give him time, right?

Cora: [she nods as they finally reach the counter] That's all we really can do.

Stiles: [he lets her order the coffees since she knows what's good and what he likes.] So are we getting a hotel room tonight, or are we staying with Derek and Dawn overnight?

Cora: Actually, Peter and Buffy are taking the guest room so we're probably going to just crash in my dorm.

Stiles: Is Tara still there?

Cora: Nope. She went home to see her parents this weekend.

Stiles: Oh, well okay then.

Cora: [and the coffees arrive and she leads him to one of the tables] So we'll have it to ourselves.

Stiles: Good. I like this plan. We're still all regrouping for dinner though, right?

Cora: [she nods] But it's with Sweets so Peter and Buffy might skip. But I think that'll be okay.

Stiles: [chuckles] I'm really amused that Peter is scared of Sweets.

Cora: Not scared. He just really pissed him off.

Stiles: Do you even know what happened?

Cora: They were talking about Laura.

Stiles: ... Oh.

Cora: Yeah.

Stiles: That probably wasn't a great topic for the first meeting.

Cora: Not really, no. But Sweets tends to go where the patient leads.

Stiles: [shrugs as he takes his coffee] Guess we'll just have to wait and see where Peter leads all of us. Which normally I wouldn't be all that comfortable with.

Cora: I think this time we need to give him that leeway.

Stiles: [nods, but there is a part of him, old habit, just worried that this may all be a new game of Peter's. He hopes it isn't]

Cora: [so does Cora] But dinner should be fun. Sweets and Dawn in the same room and ... it's always entertaining.

Stiles: Should we bring Derek a gift of beer?

Cora: Lots of beer.

Stiles: So we hit the store on our way to their place.

Cora: ... Do you have a fake ID?

Stiles: Of course I have a fake ID. I'm a teenager.

Cora: Or we could just ask Dawn to get it so you don't get arrested when you're trying to get in here.

Stiles: That's probably a better plan [nods]

Cora: [nods] Just a little.

Stiles: So any words of advice for this next meeting?

Cora: The head of the department is in the know. So just be yourself. She'll take to you pretty easily, regardless.