Ficlet: All Alone in the Danger Zone
Author: on_the_ground
Title: All Alone in the Danger Zone
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Stiles, Jackson, Derek, the sheriff, Zach (original male character/Stiles's partner), Kyle (original child character)
Summary: Derek meets Zach and they talk about his situation.
Content Notes: Fluff, nobody is dead, future fic.
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 979 words
Prompt: #231 - Spark
Author's Notes: The remaining 195 words will be added on AO3. It continues "An Atypical Client". This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You."
“Okay, I’m here… so, what did you have tell me?” Derek says when he arrives at the station.
Stiles and Jackson look at each other in that way that Derek knows so well by now. That way that means they know exactly what the other one is thinking.
“I think...You know, I think it’s better if you just meet him.” Jackson says.
“Meet him? Who do you want me to meet?”
“Well, actually, he’s a new client.”
“Your client?” Derek frowns his brow. Obviously that revelation has sparked his interest like Jackson expected.
“Zach and I arrested him this morning. He was selling drugs in the street. And Jackson offered to take his case.”
Jackson snorts. “I wouldn’t say that I exactly offered…”
“Well, I asked you and you accepted, which is pretty much the same,” Stiles says, waving both arms.
Jackson shakes his head and licks his lips but doesn’t say anything. Sometimes it’s pointless trying to argue with the way his husband sees things.
“Okay,” Derek says, still frowning. “And since when do you represent Stiles’s scumbags?”
“That’s why I want you to meet him he’s not a scumbag... Just come with me for a second. All you need to do is say hi, okay? That’s all.”
“Say hi?” Derek asks obviously confused.
“Yeah. That’s it. Just follow my lead.” It’s gonna be weird and he’ll have to lie to the kid but they have to do this.
“Okay, fine.” Derek shrugs. “Where is he?”
“In the interrogation room.”
Derek follows Jackson inside the room where Kyle is waiting and Jackson can easily see in Derek’s face that a dirty red-haired kid is about the last thing he was expecting.
“Hey Kyle, I just want you to meet my colleague Derek. He’s helping me with some stuff… so he wanted to say hi…” Jackson says.
“Yeah, hi… I…” Derek hesitates, looking at Jackson for a second before he shifts his gaze back to Kyle, “I’m helping Jackson with… you know… with your case.”
Jackson has to stop himself from smiling because Derek is so bad at this. He’s never been good at following other people’s lead. He always needs to be the Alpha, he can’t help it.
“So now I have two lawyers?” Kyle asks, frowning.
“No, I’m your lawyer. He’s just helping with the whole social services stuff.”
“Social services? You mean they’re here?” Kyle asks, getting suddenly very nervous, almost on alert.
“No, they’re not here. I don’t think they’re coming tonight. But they’ll at least phone and we’ll talk to them for sure. Now I need to talk to Derek about something so, I’m sorry to keep you waiting but it won’t take long. I promise. I’ll be right back,” Jackson says, before leaving the room with Derek.
*********************
“A wolf?” Derek raises his eyebrows and shakes his head with disbelief. “I mean, a born wolf?” Derek asks no-one in particular once they are reunited with Stiles, Zach and the sheriff. “Who is this kid? And where are his parents?”
“He’s an orphan,” Stiles says. “All we know is that he’s from LA where he was recruited by a drug dealer.”
“He says that his parents died when he was three,” Zach adds.
“So, he was in a foster home?” Derek frowns.
“Not exactly, in LA he fled every foster family he was sent to and then he was homeless for I don’t know how long… quite a long time I guess. Then here, the guy he was working for offered him his garage.”
“And what are social services saying? You’ve talked to them, right?”
“Yeah, well… we’ve talked to them on the phone. They’re trying to find him a group home unless we find him a guardian who could take care of him at least while we solve his legal situation and we take down everyone involved in the operation.”
“I hate to say this but I think he’s right…” Zach shrugs. “I feel like they just gave up on him. And of course, his record doesn’t help either. Kids his age don’t usually get adopted and have even less of a chance if they’re constantly breaking the law.”
“What are you thinking?” Jackson asks Derek, waving his right arm.
“I’m thinking that it’s pretty simple, actually.”
“Simple? How is any of this simple?” The sheriff asks confused. This situation is anything but simple.
“Simple as in he’s a lone wolf. Simple as in he’s always been alone and as a kid, it sucks but as a wolf, it’s…” Derek hesitates as he tries to find the right words. “It’s so much worse than that. Just imagine what turning the first time must have been like for him.. What it still must feel like. He must see it as a curse... I’m sure he hates and wishes he could stop it. He must have felt helpless since that moment and helpless people take desperate measures.”
“That’s why he’s never stayed with a family…” Stiles says.
“He had to be terrified that they would find out,” Jackson finishes for him.
“He’s been living in fear all his life. And getting arrested only made it worse,” Stiles continues.
“Yeah,” Derek nods. “Every wolf needs a pack… especially at his age. One thing is for sure, if he’s sent to a detention center, it’s going to be a huge mess… just imagine if he turns there, which is obviously going to happen since there’s no way he knows how to control it.”
“He panicked when he mentioned the possibility.” Zach explains.
“Yes, we can’t let him end up there,” the sheriff says.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Zach asks, looking at Derek.
“Well… I think the best for him would be to join my pack.”
“Really? That would be great.” Stiles smiles. “You could help him so much.”
Title: All Alone in the Danger Zone
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Stiles, Jackson, Derek, the sheriff, Zach (original male character/Stiles's partner), Kyle (original child character)
Summary: Derek meets Zach and they talk about his situation.
Content Notes: Fluff, nobody is dead, future fic.
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 979 words
Prompt: #231 - Spark
Author's Notes: The remaining 195 words will be added on AO3. It continues "An Atypical Client". This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You."
“Okay, I’m here… so, what did you have tell me?” Derek says when he arrives at the station.
Stiles and Jackson look at each other in that way that Derek knows so well by now. That way that means they know exactly what the other one is thinking.
“I think...You know, I think it’s better if you just meet him.” Jackson says.
“Meet him? Who do you want me to meet?”
“Well, actually, he’s a new client.”
“Your client?” Derek frowns his brow. Obviously that revelation has sparked his interest like Jackson expected.
“Zach and I arrested him this morning. He was selling drugs in the street. And Jackson offered to take his case.”
Jackson snorts. “I wouldn’t say that I exactly offered…”
“Well, I asked you and you accepted, which is pretty much the same,” Stiles says, waving both arms.
Jackson shakes his head and licks his lips but doesn’t say anything. Sometimes it’s pointless trying to argue with the way his husband sees things.
“Okay,” Derek says, still frowning. “And since when do you represent Stiles’s scumbags?”
“That’s why I want you to meet him he’s not a scumbag... Just come with me for a second. All you need to do is say hi, okay? That’s all.”
“Say hi?” Derek asks obviously confused.
“Yeah. That’s it. Just follow my lead.” It’s gonna be weird and he’ll have to lie to the kid but they have to do this.
“Okay, fine.” Derek shrugs. “Where is he?”
“In the interrogation room.”
Derek follows Jackson inside the room where Kyle is waiting and Jackson can easily see in Derek’s face that a dirty red-haired kid is about the last thing he was expecting.
“Hey Kyle, I just want you to meet my colleague Derek. He’s helping me with some stuff… so he wanted to say hi…” Jackson says.
“Yeah, hi… I…” Derek hesitates, looking at Jackson for a second before he shifts his gaze back to Kyle, “I’m helping Jackson with… you know… with your case.”
Jackson has to stop himself from smiling because Derek is so bad at this. He’s never been good at following other people’s lead. He always needs to be the Alpha, he can’t help it.
“So now I have two lawyers?” Kyle asks, frowning.
“No, I’m your lawyer. He’s just helping with the whole social services stuff.”
“Social services? You mean they’re here?” Kyle asks, getting suddenly very nervous, almost on alert.
“No, they’re not here. I don’t think they’re coming tonight. But they’ll at least phone and we’ll talk to them for sure. Now I need to talk to Derek about something so, I’m sorry to keep you waiting but it won’t take long. I promise. I’ll be right back,” Jackson says, before leaving the room with Derek.
*********************
“A wolf?” Derek raises his eyebrows and shakes his head with disbelief. “I mean, a born wolf?” Derek asks no-one in particular once they are reunited with Stiles, Zach and the sheriff. “Who is this kid? And where are his parents?”
“He’s an orphan,” Stiles says. “All we know is that he’s from LA where he was recruited by a drug dealer.”
“He says that his parents died when he was three,” Zach adds.
“So, he was in a foster home?” Derek frowns.
“Not exactly, in LA he fled every foster family he was sent to and then he was homeless for I don’t know how long… quite a long time I guess. Then here, the guy he was working for offered him his garage.”
“And what are social services saying? You’ve talked to them, right?”
“Yeah, well… we’ve talked to them on the phone. They’re trying to find him a group home unless we find him a guardian who could take care of him at least while we solve his legal situation and we take down everyone involved in the operation.”
“I hate to say this but I think he’s right…” Zach shrugs. “I feel like they just gave up on him. And of course, his record doesn’t help either. Kids his age don’t usually get adopted and have even less of a chance if they’re constantly breaking the law.”
“What are you thinking?” Jackson asks Derek, waving his right arm.
“I’m thinking that it’s pretty simple, actually.”
“Simple? How is any of this simple?” The sheriff asks confused. This situation is anything but simple.
“Simple as in he’s a lone wolf. Simple as in he’s always been alone and as a kid, it sucks but as a wolf, it’s…” Derek hesitates as he tries to find the right words. “It’s so much worse than that. Just imagine what turning the first time must have been like for him.. What it still must feel like. He must see it as a curse... I’m sure he hates and wishes he could stop it. He must have felt helpless since that moment and helpless people take desperate measures.”
“That’s why he’s never stayed with a family…” Stiles says.
“He had to be terrified that they would find out,” Jackson finishes for him.
“He’s been living in fear all his life. And getting arrested only made it worse,” Stiles continues.
“Yeah,” Derek nods. “Every wolf needs a pack… especially at his age. One thing is for sure, if he’s sent to a detention center, it’s going to be a huge mess… just imagine if he turns there, which is obviously going to happen since there’s no way he knows how to control it.”
“He panicked when he mentioned the possibility.” Zach explains.
“Yes, we can’t let him end up there,” the sheriff says.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Zach asks, looking at Derek.
“Well… I think the best for him would be to join my pack.”
“Really? That would be great.” Stiles smiles. “You could help him so much.”