Family Dinner

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

Loosely based off Pentatonix song "Just For Now".

Sorry it's late, I meant to have it out on Christmas Eve, but I was so busy with family matters it didn't get done. I'm sorry.

AU: Alpha/Beta/Omega, Hybrid, Yhprum's Law

"They've what?" Martin asked loudly, startling Milo out of his daydream of his Mistletoe kiss the night before.

"Amanda has invited us to my family's Christmas party." Bridgette repeated patiently.

Martin sighed through his nose as the back door fell off the hinges and Milo reached for his drill to go fix it. "Leave it, Milo, I'll fix it after breakfast." The elder Murphy said. "Go get ready while Mom and I talk about this."

"Okay, Dad." Milo replied, jumping off his chair and heading upstairs.

MML~MML~MML

A few hours later, Milo and his family where down the road of December 24, heading to a different part of Danville to see Milo's Mom's family.

On the way, they picked up Zak, who'd been requested to come by Milo's parents, though neither Milo nor Zak knew why.

"Thanks for letting me come with, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy." Zak smiled at them from the back seat and Bridgette smiled back.

"Oh, it's no big deal, Zak. This is the least we can do, after all."

Zak knew better. The Murphy's could've done less. They'd already done it, they'd invited her to dinner and on their family vacations, they'd even paid for her to go out to the movies with them. She knew that they've done it with Melissa before, but she also knew that every time they see each other, Milo's eyes light up like it's Christmas and she knows that Mrs. Murphy's smile brightens every time she sees Milo so happy and Mr. Murphy's eyes would roam over Milo's face and he'd give Zak a warm smile every time he saw how excited Milo was.

Sara, in fact, had told him how she misses spending so much time with Milo, but spending less time with her little brother was worth it to see how happy he was and how excited he'd get and how he'd come home talking miles a minute.

Zak turned to look at Milo, who grinned at her and began talking about how excited he was that he was getting to meet his other Aunt, Karen, and his cousins, Dexter, Samantha, and Andy and see his Aunt Amanda again. Zak smiled and offered her input from time to time, when Milo would let her get a word in.

"Where'd Sara go?" Zak asked after a while, noticing the lack of the peppy blonde in the car.

"Oh, she wanted to stay home to go to Neil's for a party. She's meeting us there later." Milo replied.

Zak nodded. "Alright."

The car delved into silence and Christmas music.

Milo eventually fell asleep and his body drifted down to lay across the seat. His head landed on Zak's legs and he cuddled closer. Zak froze and glanced up at the front. Mr. Murphy smiled. "He didn't get to sleep until, what three this morning? I think that dance wore him out. Best to let him sleep."

Zak breathed out a sigh of relief and gently ran her fingers through Milo's hair, chuckling when he purred softly and pushed his head into the contact. Her boyfriend was apparently a kitten.

MML~MML~MML

Sara did meet them at the Yhprum's home, and walked right into the middle of an argument.

Amanda Raymond and Edith Yhprum where yelling at each other while Bridgette stood with her family off to the side and pinched the bridge of her nose.

A young lady with black hair and blue eyes opened the door. "Hey, you must be Sara. I'm Samantha, nice to meet you." The young lady said.

"Hi, nice to meet you too." Sara replied, going to stand with her brother, his Mate, and their parents.

"What's going on here?" She whispered to her mother as both Milo and Martin looked very close to a break down (1).

"They're having an argument because my Mother, the one in silver and green, apparently didn't know we were coming despite the fact that Amanda, the blonde one with the green eyes, told her weeks ago that she was inviting us." Bridgette replied.

"Can you shut up about it? They're here now and it doesn't matter!" Shouted the blonde girl, Aunt Amanda.

"Oh, but you shouldn't have invited them here in the first place Amanda! Now there are two of those Murphy's here!" Snarled the grey headed lady in silver and green.

Milo flinched back and Martin's eyes flashed. Sara didn't think she'd ever seen her father this upset, nor her brother this panicked.

She saw Zak pull Milo closer and Bridgette set a hand on Martin's shoulder and decided enough was enough.

"Hey!" She snapped, her eyes flickering to rose pink and glowing. Her wings flared out behind her and the room quieted.

"Thank you." Sara sighed, her wings folding back to rest along her back. "Now I think it's important to know that there are not just three Alphas and..." Sara took a moment to scent the air, the three Alphas where an easy spot, Betas where a bit harder, "seven Betas. There are four Omegas here too." She gestured behind her to the two behind her, the one across the living room that was playing a video game, and finally to the fourth in the kitchen who was shaking violently.

Amanda gasped and heading for the boy in the living room, apologies falling from her lips as she pulled her son into a hug.

Edith, the grey haired lady snarled at Bridgette and Sara and then went to speak with her own Omega, apologizing, but sounding insincere.

Sara sighed. "I'm not sure I'd like to stay." She murmured to herself.

"You and me both." Zak mumbled back.

MML~MML~MML

Milo was still a little on edge when he and his cousin, Andy went out into the backyard to get some more firewood.

"So, I'm guessing you're Milo?" Andy asked, flicking blonde bangs away from his eyes.

"Yeah! Nice to meet you, Andy." Milo replied, holding out a hand.

Andy shook it and smiled slowly. "Nice to meet you too."

Milo's smile brightens as he turns to get more wood, thankful that his many adventures had made his hands immune to poking and pinches.

"I like your eyes, Andy." He said after a while as they carried their arm loads into the house.

"Really?" Andy asked, looking at Milo surprised.

"Yeah! I have a friend whose eyes are like that. I mean, they're blue and brown, but it's the same concept, right?"

Andy grins. "Yeah. Thanks, Milo."

"Sure thing!" Milo smiled back as he handed some of his load off the Zak, while Sara came to help Andy out.

Andy smiled a little wider and decided that maybe his Aunt and Grandmother were wrong about the Murphys and Aunt Bridgette.

MML~MML~MML

Zak could've written the book on discomfort and exasperation as they all sat down to eat dinner.

She finally understood why she'd been asked to come with the Murphys and why her parents had said yes so readily.

Not only had there been an argument when they'd gotten there, but there at also been several more arguments from Milo's Aunt Karen and grandmother, not to mention Dexter, who seemed to take on his mother's attitude about the Murphy family.

Zak didn't even want to think about Dexter.

To make matters worse, anything the Murphy Omegas said was consistently challenged and questioned and nothing Amanda, Samantha, Andy, or George (Sara's and Milo's grandfather) could say would make them stop.

The main problems lay with Edith and Karen. Edith didn't treat Omegas right anyhow, seemingly stuck in older times when Omega where treated as property rather than people deserving of respect, as they should be. Karen had been born in a different time and knew exactly how to treat an Omega right, as proven with how she acted and spoke to Andy. However, Mr. Murphy was treated like absolute trash and Milo wasn't any better off.

There were multiple times when Martin and/or Milo would need to go outside and calm down. There were also times when Bridgette and/or Zak would snap and need to be restrained.

Zak sighed, bit her tongue. She took a deep breath and counted to ten. Significantly less likely to commit murder on Mrs. Murphy's family, she pulled a chair for Milo to sit in and proceeded to sit down herself, grasping his hand under the table and pointedly ignoring the awful look thrown to her by Edith Yhprum.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could take all this.

MML~MML~MML

Bridgette didn't know how much longer she'd be able to stand watching her family, the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally, deliberately disrespect her Mate and kids.

She asked her mother and older sister multiple times to stop, even going so far as to threaten them when she'd lost control and Amanda and Noah had to drag her outside.

But, they hadn't listened and now she was so close to going completely insane again, watching her oldest nephew, Dexter, continuously "pretend" to slip and be clumsy while he was spilling things all over her youngest child.

Her boys got the brunt of all the discrimination, both being not just Murphys but also Omegas.

She was completely and totally on board with Zak's plan if her mother didn't stop this.

Zak had come up and whispered when Milo was out collecting firewood with Andy and Martin was looking over some blueprints for Noah (they'd hit it off immediately thankfully, both being safety inspectors).

"I get that they're your family, but if this doesn't stop, I may be forced to do something drastic." She warned.

Bridgette had smiled. "I'm in, what were you thinking?"

"Can you stop, please?" Milo asked softly as another spoonful of peas landed on his head.

Bridgette's mother looked at him and snapped off a line about how Omegas shouldn't speak out of turn as Zak started picking the peas out of Milo's hair and placing them on a napkin to be thrown away later.

"And why are you helping him, missy? Why are you even here?" Karen snapped to Zak.

"He's mine." Was all Zak snarled back, gently turning Milo's face with a hand under his chin to make sure she'd gotten everything. "I'll ask you again to leave him alone." She snapped when Dexter looked to throw more food, but never once did she take her eyes away from Milo.

Dexter finally seemed to take the hint and began to actually eat.

"Your what?" Edith laughed, and Bridgette set her head in her hands with a sigh. Of course her mother would bring up Zak's designation too. "Your pet? Your plaything? What is he?"

"Mom, that's enough." Bridgette snapped as Amanda looked up with a sharp cry of, "Mother!"

"What is he, young lady?" Edith pushed, eyes narrowed and Zak opened her mouth for an icy reply.

"Stop it!" Shouted a new voice that definitely wasn't Zak, nor Bridgette, Samantha, Sara, or Andy.

Bridgette looked at Martin confused, but he shook his head and gestured to Milo.

Milo, to everyone's surprise, was standing, his chair knocked back and eyes glowing blue. His pure white wings flared and if Bridgette didn't know any better, she'd swear Milo had slipped into the feral part of Headspace.

"Milo?" Sara whispered.

His eyes flickered and his wings relaxed. He breathed unsteadily. "You can insult me all you'd like, Grandmother." He spoke in a deadly clear voice that no one had ever heard from him before. "But don't you dare assume anything about her. She's a better Alpha than you could ever hope to be."

"Now, see here, young man-!" Karen started only to be cut off when Milo's razor sharp glare landed on her.

"Don't start. Don't think I haven't seen how you treat us. We're not toys for you to manipulate, Aunt Karen." Milo snapped. "I'm ashamed to call you family and hurt to think you'd treat anyone like you treated us."

He turned to Dexter, who coward back, nearly knocking over his chair, but all Milo did was lean down and whisper in his ear before turning to look at Zak, all fight and anger gone from his face and body, replaced by pain and hurt.

"Get me out of here." He pleaded.

Zak nodded, placing a hand around Milo's shoulders as she led him outside to the car.

MML~MML~MML

George Yhprum, in his 73 years of life had never seen an Omega stand up for an Alpha like he'd just witnessed.

As his daughter Karen looked at Dexter and demanded to know what he'd been told by Milo, George stood and began walking outside.

"And where are you going?" Edith asked.

"Wherever I please, Edith. It's a free country now and I'm not your doormat." He replied.

Bridgette and Martin had left the table, as had their daughter Sara, all three disappearing down the hallway to gather what few things they'd brought with them.

George, however, turned and snagged his coat, walking out the door.

He closed the door behind him and followed the footprints in the fresh snow to find Milo and Milo's Mate.

The crying helped a lot.

"Milo, it's alright, you were just protecting me, and it's okay!" Zak murmured to the smaller boy, holding him by the waist and the back of his head as he sobbed into her shoulder.

George took in the shaking body of the Omega, the way he was clutching desperately to the back of the Alpha's dark brown jacket and buried his nose into the junction between the Alpha's neck and shoulder, where most Omegas would hide to calm themselves down.

George decided it was high time he stood up for him family the way this Omega stood up for his Alpha.

He cleared his throat softly and the Alpha glanced up, looking him over, then nodding to herself and gently getting Milo's attention. "We have company." She whispered.

Milo looked up and sniffled, saw George and stepped back to wipe away his tears. Zak gave Milo a few moments to compose himself, then pulled her sleeve over her mitten and wiped away the last of his tears. She pecked his lips, and then murmured, "I'm just going to help your parents pack up. If you need me, come find me," and she was gone, giving George a smile as she passed.

"Hi, Grandpa George." Milo murmured.

"Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry for what your Grandmother said. She's a pain in the rear, ain't she?" George asked, tilting his head. "I'd like to apologize to you, Milo. You shouldn't have had to go through that. Your grandmother never did learn how to rightly treat people and I suppose you were just her next victim." George sighed.

"It's not your fault." Milo replied.

"Oh, but it is. I saw how you stood up for your Dad and Mate in there. I never could do that when my family was concerned Milo. I let Edith kick your mother out of the house when Bridgette came home with Martin. I let Karen ridicule her when she came home to pack up her things. I let both of them hurt the five of you today. I'm the Omega, yes son, but that doesn't excuse me for anything. I'm sorry Milo." George told him.

Milo smiled, eyes watering, and jumped into George's surprised arms. "I forgive you, Grandpa George. It's okay." He whispered.

George smiled and hugged Milo back, resolving that his Alpha would learn that Omegas, especially those in her family, weren't doormats for her to walk all over.

MML~MML~MML

After saying goodbye to those in the family that actually cared, meaning Amanda and her family, Samantha, and Grandpa George, and exchanging numbers, the Murphy's where on their way. Sara drove Milo and Zak back, seeing that her mom and dad needed the alone time.

"Did you have any fun?" Sara asked curiously, looking in her rear-view mirror to check on her brother.

Milo grinned. "Yeah, Andy showed me how to play Minecraft, which was pretty cool, and Samantha said something about coming up this summer to go to the beach."

Sara smiled, watching Zak gently tug on Milo's arm and tell him to sleep. That Just Getting Started had a rehearsal late in the afternoon and he needed the energy.

Milo, for all the excitement he'd had, easily curled up and went to sleep with his head in Zak's lap and Zak's fingers in his hair.

Maybe the Family Dinner wasn't such a bad idea after all, Sara thought.

She focused back on the road, and smiled.

(1) In unfamiliar places where an Omega can tell their unwelcome, they sometimes get panicky.

Edith Yhprum: grey hair, ice blue eyes, Alpha, Non-Hybrid, married George, has three kids (Bridgette Murphy, Karen Cage, and Amanda Raymond), and five grand-kids (Samantha, Sara, Dexter, Andy, and Milo)

George Yhprum: grey hair, brown eyes, Omega, Non-Hybrid, married to Edith, has three kids (Bridgette Murphy, Karen Cage, and Amanda Raymond), and five grand-kids (Samantha, Sara, Dexter, Andy, and Milo)

Karen Cage: black hair, green eyes, Beta, Anteater Hybrid, married to John, has two sisters (Bridgette and Amanda) and two kids (Samantha and Dexter)

Jonathon "Jon" Cage: blond hair, blue eyes, Beta, Non-Hybrid, married Karen, has two kids (Samantha and Dexter).

Amanda Raymond: Blonde hair, green eyes, Beta, Badger Hybrid, married to Noah, has two sisters (Bridgette and Karen), and one kid (Andy)

Noah Raymond: brown hair, grey eyes, Beta, Non-Hybrid, married Amanda, and has one child (Andy)

Samantha Cage: black hair, blue eyes, Beta, Caribou Hybrid, has one brother (Dexter), and three cousins (Sara, Andy, and Milo)

Dexter Cage: blonde hair, green eyes, Beta, Non-Hybrid, has one sister (Samantha), and three cousins (Sara, Andy, and Milo)

Andy Raymond: blond hair, one green eye and one grey eye, Omega, Coyote Hybrid, has four cousins (Samantha, Sara, Dexter, and Milo)