#018.

The thing was waking up.

Gavin's eyes were sharp-- bright, bright blue even in the near darkness of his bedroom. Having come home from university, the space was near-sterile, almost like a set display at a store than any real space to live in. The most he'd bothered to unpack was clothing and the gear he used for rock climbing; thank goodness, too, so he could keep this new creature bound.

For now there were ropes around its wrists and ankles. An old dog collar, belonging to the dog he suspected his sibling grew up with, was fastened over its neck and attached to a leash with a chain, effectively tying him to the bed. It wasn't much, but considering Gavin only had the night before to figure a rig out, there was some measure of pride in it. Some.

Earlier, Gavin had pulled a chair up from the kitchen, positioning it in front of the door so he could watch the thing in his bed. He'd only ever left the room to tend to his sibling-- the state they were in required their care to be provided at a meticulous, near hourly precision-- otherwise, here he sat. He'd been too excited to go to sleep, too curious and keyed up to pretend he'd relax at all. Quite delightedly, it occurred to him that the thing tied to his bed had stained his white sheets with the blood that was smeared over its front.

Whatever this is, it's been going on too long. Gambit's always been weird (come on, a guy whose whole schtick is blow up card tricks and a terrible accent?), but the way he looks now right after Deadpool's slid his blade through the last guy standing is... questionable. Maybe even a little stormily bisexual, which is something he doesn't recall Disney ever green-lighting when they said he could get his ragtag gang from the Void back.

"What?" he asks, because he's never been good at subtle. Abrasive, though, he can do, and incredibly blunt is certainly more than the best weed he could get in Saskatchewan.

"It's been a long time since I've held someone," Miguel says in turn, resisting the urge to clear his throat as his arm stays wrapped around Chris' middle. In his defence, he was never a cuddly person to begin with; the only person he'd ever held for hours on end had been his little brother back when they were little. But it hadn't felt right taking up Chris' bed in his little cabin when it looked like the man was going to fall apart, and it wasn't like Chris was going to allow the "more injured" of them to take the couch, even if it's been weeks now since Miguel fell from the sky.

Hence, this scenario. There's no way for them to fit side by side on Chris' single mattress, so some version of spooning is the best they can do. (All the while, Miguel wonders to himself how the hell it is his stupid little heart and its stupid compassion keep getting him into situations like this, Jesus. He isn't supposed to be this soft.)

"I hear it's supposed to help, though."

When he breathes, the exhaled air ruffles the hair on the back of Chris' head. Even in bed, the size difference couldn't be more stark.

               The Sheriff was looking more and more exhausted, the bags under his eyes seemed to take over and turn into black eyes, and he was pale and shaky. The entire department knew the man wasn’t sleeping, but they also know that as an elected official he was under constant scrutiny, so the deputies tried their best to help. They made the office Stiles friendly after a few incidents with seemingly innocuous objects, such as spoons, and all their office chairs were somewhat tethered to their desk when they left. They made a rotation of volunteer time even if they just sat in the station in civilian clothes and did paperwork, just in case the little guy had to sit for hours while his dad worked. They watched as the little family that accepted each and every one of them into their home, get pulled to their limits.

                  The Stilinski’s had an open door policy, every deputy had taken advantage of it. When Graeme found out she couldn’t have kids, it was Claudia who helped her through it, and when Graeme’s divorce finalized The Sheriff who at that time was still a deputy took a lot of her shifts so she wouldn’t fall apart in front of the other guys. It was hard enough being black and female on the force without adding taking off personal time to it, her superiors kept her under constant watch, enough as it was.

                  When Schultz lost his father it was the Stilinski’s who set him up for the trip home, helped him buy a suit, and cooked for him so he would remember to eat. He cried in Noahs arms and Claudia told him about heaven and how it’s a series of only the best memories played over and over. Little Stiles gave him a rock, the kid was three at the time, and still went by the most unpronounceable name, but swore that if he held the rock hard enough and thought long enough he would be able to feel his daddy, and he won’t be so lonely anymore. Schultz still has that rock and every so often he holds it tightly and as promised he doesn’t feel so lonely.

                  Morris was the only one who was helped by Stiles and Stiles only, the kid healed him, Morris tripped in the woods and broke his leg and a few ribs on the way down a cliff side, when Stiles came out of nowhere and healed him after asking him to not tell a soul even his father. Soon after getting his bearings back, two men came barreling through the trees yelling for Little Star, Morris still didn’t really know the kids name at the time so he assumed it was his nickname. Assessing the situation quickly, both men threatened to break every bone in his body if he ever mentions the incident to anyone. After promises and assurances Morris watched as the kid was swept up into their arms and checked over for injury. The four walked out of the preserve not really trusting each other but somewhere between the fall and his car the two men relaxed and let Morris leave without further threat and Morris never forgot that day, or that he owed Stiles his life.

                 Then there are all the minor incidents too, like needing a bit of money until the next month, and a hot meal for the younger recruits, and extra shifts taken by Noah when a family event happened or sickness struck, BBQ’s in the summer, and bonfires in the winter. So yes the Deputies owed a lot to the Stilinski’s, so now they tried to repay every small or large good deed that they provided over the years. Graeme was usually found babysitting Stiles when she could. Schultz would buy take away for the Stilinski men when they were both in the office. Morris who now has begun to take less and less shifts volunteered to take Stiles to see his mum and supervise the visit for as long as the kid wanted and those same two men, who he found out were Stile’s cousin , and a Hale, accepted him more and more.  The younger deputies who were no longer young took on more and more shifts and stayed the long hours to get all the paper work done to lessen the load on their beloved Sheriff. These were the women and men of the Beacon County Sherriff Department and they wore their Brown uniforms with pride. The Brown uniform represented more than their law enforcement status, it now made them feel like Family.