thanksgiving is, after all, a word of action [set on 11/26]

[triskehale]

Thanksgivings in the Hale house used to be quite the big deal. Feeding over a dozen werewolves, many of them teenagers was no easy feat. Derek loved all the chaos, and he helped out in the kitchen since he was old enough to stand on a step stool and reach the counter.

The first year after everyone died, he and Laura each got a rotisserie chicken and some biscuits, trying to hang on to some semblance of tradition, but the food tasted like ash. Laura went to bed early, and Derek pretended not to hear her cry. They stopped trying to do anything for the holiday after that.

It's been almost a decade since that disastrous attempt, and a few months ago Derek decided that he wanted to try again. While Laura and the rest of his family will always be the cause of this gnawing ache in his heart, Derek has a new family here in Darrow. He has so many people that matter to him, and care about him. It's more than Derek deserves, or ever thought that he would get, but he's grateful. He's thankful.

So he decides that he's going to do his best to put on a Thanksgiving of his own, and invite his new ragtag sort of pack. His new family.

The invitations go out and on the big day, Derek arrives at Semele's just after dawn. He puts two giant turkeys in the oven and quickly sets up the long table and chairs in the middle of the bar. With each chair he places, Derek marvels over just how many people he has in his life. It's astounding to him, and it's the perfect day to show his gratitude.

And then, all that's left to do is cook. And cook, and cook some more. If he's lucky, he'll have time to go shower and put on something nice before all his guests arrive.


[Hale pack Thanksgiving! Treat this as a gathering post. Tag in, tag around, give thanks! ♥]

Comments

[everyonetakes]

"She's okay sometimes," Kate answers, waving it off again when he apologizes. "Dude, don't. I'd much rather people ask questions than just make stupid assumptions. I don't know all the answers, of course, I don't know all the really personal stuff for her, but most of it..." She shrugs. "I don't know, people suck, you know? They said a lot of stupid shit to me over the years, so I'd rather have someone ask me what it's like to my face."

But was Tara happy? That's a question Kate's struggled with a lot over the years. "For a long time I thought my parents were both miserable," she admits. "They didn't seem to like each other very much, they didn't seem to like us, but I think it was just the stress when things got really bad. Mostly yeah, she's happy. She's just also totally crazy."

[puckandpie]

It makes perfect sense, of course. Even if I can't imagine how Kate's mom felt herself or how Kate felt to live with her, I understand what stress can do to a family. Of course, with my own family, it was usually stress regarding dad's latest coaching job upending our living situation or my skating competitions getting in the way of other scheduled plans than anything like mental health, I definitely remember more than a few arguments in our house.

Things always got worked out though, at least. Even if it took some time.

"I suppose that's what really matters in the end," I tell her, glad she hasn't found any of my questions horribly rude or invasive. She's definitely been nothing but totally forthcoming and honest. "That she was still happy. And you guys, too. It certainly sounds like you love her a lot. You must miss her terribly."

[everyonetakes]

"Sometimes," Kate says. "I mean, yeah, she's my mom, of course I miss her, but a lot of the time I used to hide behind all her bullshit. Like, there was always a reason not to do something, because my mom was crazy. Best reason ever, right? I'm pretty sure you could get out of being enlisted in war with that sort of excuse."

And not having that excuse hanging over her means she can't use it anymore.

"I've actually done stuff since I left home," she explains. "A lot of stuff. Stuff I never would have done back in Kansas because I spent all my time acting like my mom being crazy meant that I didn't have to do anything or become anything. Being away from her shit has been a good thing."