You pulled your jeep to a stop in front of the Argent house, turned off the engine and leaned your head back against your seat. You laid a hand against your definitely bruised ribs and sucked in an experimental breath. Pain flared through you causing you to grimace. Tonight was supposed to be a simple, relaxing night off from all the supernatural shit. The entire pack decided it was needed. Even Stiles had agreed to set aside the research for one night.

Unfortunately, someone forget to tell all the other supernatural crap in your town to behave. A walk in the woods—well, more like a perimeter patrol—turned into an unexpected fight. An omega had tagged you as easy prey. He didn't live long enough to regret his decision. But, he had caught you unaware. So, while most of the blood you wore belonged to the wolf, you were bruised and banged up. It wasn't anything you needed a real doctor for, but you did need someone to look you over and make sure you didn't miss anything that warranted further attention. Besides, hunter you may be, but you never wanted to be alone after a kill.

The pack needed their down time, so you left them to their movie nights and slumber parties or whatever else they were about. Derek Hale was your best friend but he needed the time off worse than anyone. He'd been grumpy lately. Peter would help you out but...well, it was Peter. No, the Argents were your best bet.

You chanced a glance in the mirror and snorted at your appearance. Anyone could take a look at you and see you'd been in a fight. Dirt and blood were smeared across your face. The doors were off your jeep so it was easy enough for you to slide out, though you grunted as your ribs were jarred. Damned, stupid ribs. You leaned against the side of your car for a moment and focused on breathing without pain.

The house was quiet, but lights were on and Chris and Allison's cars were in the drive. Relief flooded through you. A few years ago, you wouldn't have dreamed of coming to an Argent for help. Then, they'd still been too much like your father. Regimented. Unforgiving. Any super was a bad super. You'd grown up in this town and gone to high school with Derek. When your father had threatened to 'put you down' along with your werewolf friends, you'd moved in with the Hales. Until the fire anyway. Derek had fled town and you'd found your own space.

Now, everything was different. Derek was back and the Argents learned to see people not creatures. Well, Chris and Allison did anyway. Allison and you had liked each other from the moment you met, but had become near inseparable after you saved her from getting killed by an Oni. With Allison came a closer relationship with Lydia, Scott and Stiles. Chris had also taken it upon himself to check up on you frequently. He was just that kind of guy. It didn't mean anything special and certainly didn't mean he liked you even remotely the way you liked him.

Realizing you were avoiding the task at hand, you straightened and made your way to the door. They were going to want to check your ribs and it was going to hurt like a bitch. Always did. You rapped your knuckles against the door and waited, hoping your appearance didn't startle them too badly. It wasn't every day you showed up on their doorstep covered in blood, bruises and dirt. Though, this wasn't the first time it had happened and probably wouldn't be the last.

Chris opened the door with a smile that quickly faded as his gaze ran over you. Quick at first, his eyes moved slower on the second pass as he searched for obvious injury. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Omega thought I would be easy prey. I wasn't."

He grasped your arm and pulled you gently into the house, shutting and locking the door behind you. "And is he regretting that thought?" he asked.

"He didn't get a chance to," you responded.

The corner of his mouth kicked up into a smile. "That's my girl."

A thrill went through you that he'd called you his but it was short lived. He didn't mean it the way you wanted him to. You were Allison's friend. No more, no less.

"How bad are you hurt?" His gaze pierced through you, encouraging you to be nothing but completely honest.

"I'm pretty sure I busted a rib or two. Scratches, bruises. I'll be fine," you assured him.

"And where did you run into this omega?"

You swallowed past the lump in your throat. "On patrol."

He turned his head as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "You ran patrol alone?" The sharp edge of his voice made you wince.

"Everyone needs the time off, Chris. One day without dealing with this shit. I thought I could handle it. And I did."

"Damn it, Y/N." A muscle twitched in his jaw as he stared at you. "You should have asked someone to go with you. If you didn't want to get the kids involved, you could have called me."

At least he wasn't lumping you in with the high schoolers. You simply shrugged. If you told him you didn't want to be a bother he'd be furious so it was better if you didn't say anything. His sharp blue eyes looked you over once more. "What do you need?" he asked finally.

"A shower, a drink and a friend," you answered honestly.

"Allison's not here. She's staying at Lydia's."

You had already figured that was the case when she didn't make an appearance earlier. You worried your lip with your teeth as you looked at the floor. Finally deciding to just go for it, you glanced back up to meet his gaze. "I didn't come here to see Allison."

He sucked in a breath and his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. He took a small step in your direction. "I suppose I am the better option to make certain you aren't more seriously injured."

You hummed as if considering his words. "If that's all I was worried about, I could have gone to Melissa."

He smiled at that. "That's true." He took another step in your direction. "So why did you want to see me specifically, Y/N?" His low, rough voice pitched even lower and you bit back a groan. You were almost positive he'd done it on purpose.

You took a steadying breath. "Because you make me feel protected. I can let my guard down around you when I need to. You'll take care of me because it's in your nature to do it. And maybe, just maybe, because when I've had a really shitty day, I can pretend you're doing all of that because you care about me the way I care about you."

His gaze had darted between your eyes and your lips the entire time you talked. One of his hands found your hip and pulled you gently in his direction until the space between you was almost non-existent. "And just how is it exactly that you care for me?"

Your lips answered for you as you pressed them against his. There was no hesitation from him as he kissed you back. His tongue slid along your bottom lip requesting entry which you happily gave him. The fingers of one hand played with the hair at the nape of his neck. When you lifted the other hand with the intention of wrapping it around his neck to pull him closer, you crashed back to reality as pain shot through your side. You pulled away, your hand cradling your side as you hissed in a breath.

"Shit," Chris muttered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you said and gave him a weak smile. "Just forgot about that for a moment."

He kissed the top of your head. "Let's continue this discussion after we get you cleaned up and squared away, huh?"

Your grin widened. "I'd like that."

***

Chris and you didn't do much talking that night. You wished you could say it was because you'd been busy making out and making love, but the truth was you'd been too exhausted to do much of anything. You'd used his shower, put on a pair of his sweats and one of his shirts and drank a glass of bourbon while he looked over your injuries. Then the two of you had settled on the couch to watch a movie and you'd made it through about ten minutes before you were fast asleep.

Sunlight pouring through a window woke you the next morning. You blinked your eyes open. It took a moment for you to orient yourself. Once you had, you realized that you were in Chris's bed, laying on his chest with his arms wrapped around you. You were still in his t-shirt but the sweats had been lost somewhere along the way. A smile covered your face and you snuggled against him trying to get closer.

He chuckled, causing his chest to shake beneath you, before placing several kisses on the top of your head. "Good morning, sweetheart."

You hummed in contentment. "I could get used to this."

"You better," he answered.

You shifted your position so you could give him a real kiss without causing further injury to your side. Your morning make-out session was just getting heated when there was a knock at the bedroom door. Both of you froze. "Yes?" he called.

"Dad?" Allison's voice carried into the room from the other side of the door. "Have you seen Y/N? The jeep is here but I can't find her."

Chris smiled at you with a lifted brow. "She's in here. You can come in."

You didn't really want to hide anything from Allison but you certainly hadn't expected the morning to go quite like this. The door opened slowly and Allison peeked her head in. Her wide eyes took in the two of you snuggled up in bed. You gave her an awkward wave.

"Dad?" she asked again, turning her attention to Chris.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked.

She just continued to look between the two of you.

He pulled his arm out from under you and sat up in the bed. "Allison, I care about Y/N. A lot. But we won't do this if it makes you uncomfortable. Neither of us want that."

You nodded to show her that you felt the same way. Your stomach churned as you waited for her answer. She held your happiness in her hands but you swore to yourself you wouldn't hold it against her if she said she wasn't okay with this. What teenager would be? God, you were an idiot. You never should have come here.

You tossed back the blanket and started to get up. Chris grasped your hand in his and used it to hold you in place. Allison's eyes shifted to your joined hands and her lips twitched a little before she started to grin. "One condition," she said finally.

"Name it," Chris said instantly as he rubbed his thumb across your knuckles.

"I'm not calling her mom."