Chapter Text
“Hey,” Cam says as he walks over to stand next to Derek, bumping their shoulders together briefly, “what’s with the face?”
“I have made a grave mistake,” Derek says, watching with horror as the consequences of his hubris unfold before him.
Cam makes a small confused noise. “What do you—” he cuts off as he follows Derek’s line of sight. “Oh.” He hisses in sympathy and gives Derek a firm pat on the shoulder. “Yikes. Yeah. Sorry, buddy, but I think you’re doomed.”
Derek sighs heavily. “Yeah. Figured as much.” He’d hoped Cora would get along with everyone on the team, but he hadn’t expected them to get along this well. And now she and Vala are sitting close and snickering with each other as they plot out a prank campaign against him. He’ll never know another moment’s peace, he’s fairly certain.
Cam nods grimly. “My condolences. Hey, but, it could be worse, y’know. At least it’s just the two of them—” he stops abruptly again as Stiles walks over to join the scheming. “Ah crap.”
Derek throws his hands up in despair, then thwacks Cam’s arm with the back of his hand. “You jinxed it. Thanks a lot.”
Cam tries and fails to hide a laugh by faking a coughing fit. “Sorry! I’m sorry. This totally isn’t funny. I am definitely not laughing at you.”
Derek drops his head into his hands with a groan. “I have the worst friends ever,” he laments. “That’s it—I’m moving to the Pegasus Galaxy. Goodbye forever, my life here is over.”
“That is unfortunate to hear,” Teal’c says as he walks over to join them, standing at Derek’s other side. He raises an eyebrow and hums thoughtfully as he watches the schemers. “Though, given the circumstances, it may be the wisest course of action.”
Cam crosses his arms and tilts his head skeptically. “I dunno, man, are you sure Pegasus is far enough? Maybe you should try another universe.”
Derek scrubs both hands down his face and exhales slowly. “They torment me because they love me,” he reminds himself through gritted teeth.
Cam snorts and claps him on the back. “That’s the spirit, buddy.”
Derek casts his eyes beseechingly up at the sky as he huffs another breath, then decides to abandon his efforts to pretend he doesn’t actually love every second of this. Because, sure, the combined mischief of Cora, Stiles, and Vala will be a nigh-unstoppable force that may rip holes in the fabric of reality, but he knows it’s all in good fun. This won’t be like the prank wars Peter had inflicted on them when they were young, so often resulting in actual bodily harm or permanent psychological trauma. These three will torment him without mercy, but they’ll never hurt him just to please themselves. They’ll pull the types of pranks that will leave him laughing, not the ones that would make him cry. And besides, the very fact that Cora is here to pull these pranks on him makes it all worthwhile.
Derek takes another breath to brace himself, straightens up a little, and crosses his arms defiantly. “So, how much trouble am I in for leaving you all like that?”
Cam waves a hand in dismissal. “Don’t even worry about it. We get it, and we were all totally fine. And Landry’s cleared all our schedules for the next few days—we’re at your disposal. Anything you need, just let us know.”
Derek uncrosses his arms and briefly flicks his gaze over to Stiles. “Actually, we have the names of the rest of the people involved in this. If you could help us take down their network so we never have to go through all this again—”
“Absolutely,” Cam agrees enthusiastically. “We are on it.” He perks up as he looks across the yard, then gives Derek a friendly clap on the back. “Starting tomorrow, though, because I need in on that second round of burgers coming off the grill, and I’m sure I’ll have a hell of a food coma to recover from tonight.” He grins at Derek and heads off toward the grill, where the Sheriff is already swarmed with eager teens waiting to be fed.
Derek casts a curious glance over at Teal’c. “You aren’t going to join?”
“I shall wait for the crowd to subside,” Teal’c says, voice low, watching the rowdy group of teens with a wary eye. “I need not do battle with these young warriors for food when supplies are so plentiful.”
“Understandable,” Derek concedes with a nod—Derek had similar thoughts for himself, after all—and the conversation lulls into companionable silence for a few moments. But, eventually, he does feel like he has to say something. “Hey—thanks,” he says quietly, “for coming out here. I hope Rya’c wasn’t too upset about you cutting your visit short.” Unlike the rest of the team, Teal’c hadn’t been on their last mission—he’d been offworld visiting his son. But, still, he’d rushed back to Earth when he’d heard what happened and followed the team out to Beacon Hills, only half a day behind.
Teal’c inclines his head in acknowledgement. “Rya’c understands,” he says. “You are family, as well, Derek Hale, and I am honored to now officially be part of your pack.”
Derek looks back over at Cora, now trailing slightly behind Vala and Stiles as they make their way over to the grill. “You’ve already saved her life once,” he tells Teal’c softly, and the older man raises a curious eyebrow at him. “Indirectly, but still. She was shot with a wolfsbane bullet, and she entered a deep state of Kelno’reem to slow the poisoning until she could be healed. So, thank you, for giving us the tools we need to help keep her safe.”
Teal’c turns his gaze onto Cora, watching her with interest. “She is an impressive young woman. I am beginning to understand how she has managed to assemble such a devoted following, even despite all your differences.”
“She loves us all and asks for nothing in return,” Derek says. “Of course we’d do anything for her, if only she’d let us.”
Teal’c tilts his head thoughtfully. “I believe that may be one of the most defining differences between a leader and a ruler. Too often, those who seek power will attempt to rule through fear or force. But true leadership requires humility and a generosity of spirit that those who seek power will never understand, much less achieve. Your sister yearns for peace, not power, and in so doing, she has inspired exactly the type of devotion that most rulers would kill for.”
Derek watches Cora—his last living blood relative, but no longer the last of his family—and knows that everything Teal’c has said about her is true. “She’s so much like our father,” he says softly, “and if everyone in the Littlefield line of inheritance has been like this, then I think I understand why this conspiracy fought so hard to destroy us. They were afraid; they couldn’t believe that anyone in power would not eventually turn around and abuse it—the concept is just incomprehensible to them.”
“We are quite fortunate, then,” Teal’c says, “to still have her with us.”
Derek shakes his head. “It wasn’t fortune that brought her back to us. She fought to get back, because this is where she belongs.”
Teal’c raises an eyebrow in interest. “Indeed.”
The crowd around the grill has started to disperse, so Derek nudges Teal’c in the side with an elbow. “C’mon, before the kids all come back for thirds and leave us with nothing.” Teal’c inclines his head in agreement and follows Derek over, both to get more food and to rescue the poor beleaguered Sheriff from the gaggle of teens still lingering around waiting for more.
Derek knows he’s only speculating on the motives of the conspiracy—he never did get a straight answer out of Deaton, and after what Stiles had done to the man, he doubts he ever will—but maybe it doesn’t matter anymore. The rest of their organization will be dismantled in short order, and Cora will outlast them all.