"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Melissa is the one addressing Lydia. "You look a little flushed."
If Lydia could dig up her grave right then and there, she would. Allison breaks out laughing and Scott follows. Stiles is just looking at his feet.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute. I think it's all the fresh air." That seems to do it for Melissa but certainly not for Allison, who is now just laughing harder, almost to the point of not breathing. Great, Lydia.
"What's so funny?" The voice comes from behind and sounds familiar, so Lydia turns around. There are a lot of people behind them, like a lot of people. Isaac is the one who spoke.
"Hi, Isaac. Allison is the one who won't stop laughing so I wouldn't know," Lydia remarks innocently.
"Well, maybe I should share," the brunette snarls back at Lydia, amused. Lydia can see the game in her eyes. It's like she's in college all over again. God, how she'd missed it.
Lydia turns to the others, a smirk on her face. "Weren't you gonna introduce us, Allison?"
"Oh right." Allison recomposes herself, biting her lower lip so that she can control better her need to laugh. She clears her throat. "Everyone, assemble."
And quickly everyone starts moving around and Lydia doesn't understand what's happening. Until she does. They are getting together for what she assumes is each respective family. It seems that all the boys that were playing on the field are now here and children came running from the playground to join them. A little scared about the sudden chaos, Ariel gets closer to Lydia.
Everyone is smiling. They probably enjoy this. Once all of them seem to be in their rightful places, Allison speaks up. "Okay so everyone, this is Lydia. She's an old friend of mine and just moved here last week. And that is her little girl Ariel." Allison smiles at Lydia and goes stand by her side, putting her arm around Lydia's waist. "They are family now."
Lydia returns the smile and embraces her too. She really missed Allison. Aside from her mom, she's the only person she knew who made her feel like she was home. Allison starts the introductions, from the left to right.
"Okay so Braeden is married to Derek." Derek nods at Lydia, a smile hiding on his lips. Lydia blushes. "And those are the brats." The kids make a face at Allison, laughing nervously. "Carter is their only boy, he's 8. Then there's Charlotte, 6, and Chloe. She's 3." The kids wave at Lydia and Ariel and they smile. "Then we have Cora and Isaac, you already met them. Cora is Derek's sister."
"That I didn't know."
"Then we have Danny. He's with Ethan," Allison gestures in their direction. "They just adopted little Noah. And at Ethan's left is Aiden, his twin brother."
"I figured as much, Allison." They all laugh.
"Well you already know us. Scott and I are married and have Eric and Claudia. Then there's Stiles." She pauses, glancing briefly at Lydia, then continuing. "John and Melissa are Scott and Stiles' parents and adopted Emma. And the only two left are Liam and Mason." They younger boys wave.
A whistle blows behind the group, startling everyone. "And what about me? Am I not a part of your little clique?"
Everyone laughs loudly. Scott pats the older man on the back and brings him up front. "Lydia, this is Coach. We played lacrosse on his team when he teached high school. Now he's finally gone pro and teaches college. Liam and Mason play on his team there. He's a part of our family too."
"I was always a pro, McCall."
Allison finishes. "Well I think that's everyone. At least from who is present. You have nothing to worry about, Lydia. You two will fit right in."
xxxxxxxxxx
They do. After all introductions were made, the boys resumed the game and the kids led Ariel by the hand to the playground. Lydia sat at the table with Allison, joining the others who were there before. Danny is the only one who left, now walking around the park with Noah.
"Some family you got here," Lydia says, turning to John and Melissa. "Did you always want a big family?" The older couple exchanges a sad look that makes Lydia feel a little uncomfortable, like maybe she said the wrong thing. "Oh, I shouldn't have..."
"Oh honey it's fine, don't worry. You won't know if no one tells you, right?" Melissa smiles at Lydia and moves on her seat so that she's facing her. "So my husband left me when Scott was just a kid, and Stiles' mom..." She glances at John, putting her hand above his and squeezing softly. "She passed away when he was little too. And Scott and Stiles are best friends, always were. Like brothers, really. They are inseparable, so inevitably all of us spent a lot of time together. Around the time the guys were in high school, John and I started dating and got married after their graduation. And not too long ago we decided to adopt this little girl. I guess it was about time, you know?"
John continues. "What she's trying to say is that yes, we wanted a big family, but life happened and things got in the way. But we're getting the hang of it now. And our family is so much more than blood." He looks around. "It's more than we could have asked for." He returns his gaze to Melissa and they kiss, and it's a kiss so full of love that Lydia almost looks away. It's not something she sees every day, unfortunately.
She turns to Braeden. "And why three C's? Carter, Charlotte and Chloe, right?"
Braeden laughs. "It's kind of stupid actually. Derek and I were out the night I found out I was pregnant with Carter and we'd had a little too much to drink, so somehow we agreed that as my name started with a B and his with a D, it was logical that our kids should have names that start with C. We chose a lot of names that night and some just wouldn't get out of our heads the next day, so we stuck with it."
"Well, they are adorable."
"Oh just wait." Allison retorts. "They don't stop, like ever. They are always running around."
"Well they are kids, Allison. Not all of them can be shy and quiet like Eric."
Lydia intervenes. "Eric didn't look so shy. Not with Ariel, anyway. Just a little at first, maybe..."
"Well I think he likes her. They are so cute together!"
Everyone turns to the playground, happiness on their faces as they see their kids.
"You sound like Stiles. He said the same this morning," Lydia points out.
Allison lowers her voice. "So we are talking about Stiles now, is it?"
Lydia gets defensive. "No, I just meant..."
"You and I are going for a walk. There's a lot we have to catch up on." Allison doesn't even let Lydia answer, just grabs her by the arm. "Braeden, would you please keep an eye on the kids? Since obviously Cora's mind is somewhere else."
At the sound of her name, Cora turns to the girls. She's been sitting on the table with them the whole time but it's like she's not even there. "What?"
"Let me guess. Daydreaming of Isaac again?"
"Can you blame me? He's hot and he's gonna marry me. And have you seen him running? God, is it hot in here?"
The girls laugh. Allison starts leading Lydia away taking Claudia with them on her arms, only turning around to mutter to the others "We might take a while."
xxxxxxxxxx
On the field, the boys take a water break. They are just playing for the fun of it but Coach likes to keep them in their place. Or he likes to pretend he still has some kind of power over them, which he does not - at all - but they love him so they let him.
"Maybe you should step up your game, Stiles." Scott figures a little teasing can't hurt much.
"Dude, what now?"
"You're a great player, man. Actually you're the best player we've got, so maybe you should put on a show, you know, let her know how good you are..."
"Is this about Lydia? Because I swear to god Scott, you and Allison will be the death of me. Just please let it go..."
"Stiles..."
"Scott, I can take care of myself, thank you very much. We had coffee and we talked, okay, and we kind of had a thing, but... Scott, she's a twelve out of a ten, minimum, are you kidding me? And I'm an eight, tops." Scott snorts. "Okay, more like a six and a half. I will probably never talk to her again anyway..."
Scott interrupts him. "I seriously doubt that."
"Dude, either you just found out you trust me way more than I thought you did or you hit your head pretty hard. Or you're delusional," Stiles rambles, taking a sip of his water.
Scott smiles. "Neither. She's coming here." Stiles almost chokes.
xxxxxxxxxx
The girls start walking on a trail that goes around the entire clearing. They walk slowly, a little nervous that they are by themselves for the first time; it's been years. Lydia speaks first.
"Can I ask something?" Allison nods. "Would you mind if I picked up Claudia for a little while?" Lydia is blushing as she asks. "I haven't held a baby since Ariel, and Claudia is looking at me like that and I really wanna hold her."
Allison laughs. "Of course." She passes Claudia to Lydia. "She does give us the look, right?"
Lydia smiles, delighted. "It's amazing, Ally. What you have here, your family. It's just... Amazing."
"I meant it, you know. When I left, back in college? I told you I'd be waiting for you when you were ready. I'm just a little sad it took so long..." Allison confesses, grabbing Lydia's arm and holding tight.
"I'm sorry," Lydia whispers. "You know I had too much to lose. I couldn't risk my parent's good name or my degree. I worked so hard for it..." She pauses. "We got married right after you left, did you know? He almost didn't give me time to tell anyone. Jackson was just waiting for you to leave. He actually blamed you more than once, said you were the one holding me back."
"Bastard," Allison mutters, shrugging her shoulders. "But I actually was, so maybe he wasn't as stupid as I thought he was." She glances at Lydia with concern now. "Did things get better?"
"Not really, no. More of the same." Lydia blushes, ashamed. Allison knew Jackson would beat her up sometimes, aside from the constant shouting and arguing and all the threats. But the complaint had to come from Lydia or it wouldn't follow, so Allison would give Lydia the support she would take. "But it wasn't for long, not after you left. I got out as soon as I found out about Ariel. I am not willing to risk her."
"I'm glad you're safe now. And your parents?"
"Got divorced, as expected. I stayed with my mom after I left him."
"She was so much fun. I miss her."
"Oh she'll come by soon. She'll love to see you."
Allison smiles. "How is she taking you being so far away?"
"She's managing, I guess. But it's only been over a week and she already wants to come and visit, so maybe not that well." Lydia smiles back. "And your dad, how is he?"
"Perfect, as always. Lots of hunting trips. He's not around much, been travelling a lot. But he's happy. I'll make sure to let him know you're here."
They walk for a little while in silence with Lydia playing with Claudia all the time. "I can't begin to tell you how much I missed having a baby in my arms." Lydia murmurs, smiling wide. "When Ariel was born, we moved a lot. I was terrified that Jackson would show up. Guess I never really enjoyed my time with her in the beginning."
"Well, no worries, my friend. Lots of babies around here."
"I noticed. And I meant it. Your family is amazing. After all that your mom put you through, being as demanding as she was... I'm proud of you, Ally."
"Aww," Allison catches a tear that's about to fall. "You'll make me cry," she says laughing.
"I love you. I missed saying that." She hugs the brunette.
"I love you too. And you're a part of this family now. I'm not letting you go anywhere."
They smile and keep walking while talking to little Claudia, who's now playing with Lydia's necklace. They haven't noticed they were so close to the soccer field, so Scott's shout startles them.
"Hey Allison, Lydia. Come here."
The girls exchange a glance and start heading towards them. He's with Stiles near one of the benches, far away just enough for Allison to strike again before they get there.
"So, what's up with you and Stiles?"
"What do you mean?" Lydia tries to sound uninterested, but even to her ears it didn't sound convincing.
Allison smirks. "You can't tell me that there's nothing there."
It really is like they are back in college. They would do this to the other all the time. Lydia smiles, a mischievous look on her face. "Then I'm not saying anything."
They both laugh.
"Going for a walk?" Scott asks.
"Yeah, Lydia needed some fresh air." Allison mocks.
Lydia elbows her, dismissing her answer. "Yes, Scott. We were just catching up. She should know better than to make fun of someone who's currently holding her baby daughter, though." Scott smiles. Lydia looks at Claudia and kisses her forehead, then holds the cord of her necklace so that Claudia can play with the pendant.
Allison and Scott start talking about something else when Stiles steps closer to Lydia. "You shouldn't let her do that." He gently grabs the pendant from Claudia and returns it to Lydia's hands, ignoring yet again that warm feeling that comes from touching the redhead. "She usually breaks the necklaces or tries to strangle someone. She's pretty strong." He chuckles, turning his attention to the baby. "You are a little demon, aren't you?" He's playful and the baby must think he said something interesting because she's laughing like he's the funniest guy in the world.
Stiles didn't even do anything, really. He just stepped closer and touched Lydia's hand again, and now he's playing with a baby. Totally ordinary, right? No, because for some reason Lydia's heart is now racing and he's really close and she doesn't know what to do.
Claudia reaches her arms to him. "Oh sweetie, I can't hold you," he whispers to the baby, a grin on his face, cupping the baby girl's cheeks. "I'm all sweaty."
Great, like I needed a reminder. Lydia bites her lower lip.
Allison breaks the moment right when Lydia lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Well, Coach will be coming for you guys soon if you don't resume the game, so we're gonna keep going."
Stiles took a step back as soon as Allison spoke. For a minute he forgot there were other people there aside from Lydia and Claudia.
Allison continues. "And I don't wanna be rude but right now I want Lydia all to myself," she says grinning.
Stiles is about to say something but Allison doesn't let him finish. "Don't worry, you can have her later." She takes Lydia by the arm again turning around quickly, so neither Stiles nor Lydia see the other's face, now completely red.