A/N: Alright, here's the dinner scene. Enjoy!

Kim's been reeling at the idea of a formal 'meet-the-parents' since Jared asked her about a few days ago. Now, she only has hours to get herself under control. It isn't like she's never met Jared's family before, but this is the first time she'll be going over there with the express purpose of meeting them.

Kim's currently in the kitchen, trying to whip up some brownies to bring over. She snickers quietly to herself: literal brownie points. God, Jared's really starting to rub off on her. Kim shakes her head, forcing herself to focus. The recipe is one of Emily's, her pretty handwriting curling on a small index card. She'd promised this was one of her easier recipes.

"Even Sam can handle this one," she'd said. "And he's sort of a disaster in the kitchen."

Admittedly, it's not hard. It's even sort of fun, measuring and mixing until it actually starts to resemble brownie batter. Kim greases a pan just like Emily showed her, loads up the batter, and slides it into the oven. With that, she sets the ancient chicken-shaped timer and flops down into one of the kitchen chairs.

"Smells good, baby," her mom says, finally emerging from her marathon shower. Now that it's summer, she'd been much busier at work, hosting event, running contests, and covering concerts. Kim's thrilled for her, but she still misses her. She leans down to press a quick kiss to Kim's hair, wrinkling her nose a little.

"You're going to shower after this, right?" she teases, taking a seat opposite her daughter. Kim flushes, sticking her tongue out.

"As if there's any hot water left." At that her mom winces, offering Kim a sheepish smile.

"Sorry chickadee might want to wait an hour," she says. "So, when are you headed over to Shelley's?"

"Jared's picking me up at seven," she says. "You were friends with her in high school, right? What's she like?"

"She's a good lady, you'll like her," her mom says. "We used to be on the same soccer team together."

"Okay, but will she like me?" Kim presses, worry creeping into her voice. Her mom gives her a stern look.

"Listen, kid, you're a goddamn delight," she says, completely straight-faced. "If she doesn't like you, then she's got the problem, but I really think she will." Kim ducks her head, embarrassed at the candor and praise.

"She's going to love you and those amazing smelling brownies," her mom carries on. "Are you planning on leaving any for the house?"

"I'll save you a couple," Kim promises, laughing. Her mom laughs, crossing over to ruffle Kim's hair.

"Go pick out your outfit, that'll kill some time," she says. "I want you home before midnight, alright?"

"Sure thing," Kim promises, hoping up to wrap her mom in a quick hug. She grabs the timer, bringing it upstairs with her. Predictably, her mom is right because Kim has absolutely no clue where to even begin. Already antsy, she grabs the phone, dialing Laura's number. Thankfully, Laura answers.

"Hey, it's Laura," she answers breezily."

"Hey, it's Kim," she replies, almost terse. "So, you know how I'm supposed to have dinner with Jared's family—"

"You're freaking out and need rescued?" Laura guesses. Kim grins in relief, agreeing. "I'll be over in fifteen."

Kim kills a little more time by digging out her makeup from below the sink and arranging it nicely on her vanity. She knows how to use the mascara and lip gloss, but the rest is a mystery.

Thankfully, Laura gets there just before Kim is about to start experimenting.

"Hey girl!" she says brightly. It's a rare sunny day, so clearly, Laura spent all her time soaking up the sun. Her skin is a little red over the bridge of her nose.

"Thanks for coming to rescue me," Kim says, gathering her in a quick hug.

"Let's go see what we're working with," Laura says. Together, they scurry upstairs, beelining for Kim's room. She flops on the bed, letting Laura dig through her closet as she wants.

"So, what did you do today?" Kim asks, propping her chin on her hand.

"Spent all day hiding from my parents," she says, examining a pretty green blouse. "Too mom-ish."

"What's up with them?" Personally, Kim likes the blouse, but Laura's right. In all technicality, it belongs to her mom.

"School literally just got out and they're already hounding me about college," she says, discarding a pale purple V-neck. "Like, my dad dumped a bunch of brochures on my desk this morning, telling me I needed to go through them and pick out programs

"That sucks," Kim says sympathetically. The timer goes off then and Laura waves her off, intent on creating the perfect look. Kim hurries to get the brownies out, sticking them on a cooling rack. She grabs a couple of sodas on her way up, popping the tab to one of them and taking a deep drink.

"Here," Laura says as Kim comes in. "What do you think?" Laid out on the bed is Kim's best pair of black pants and a navy-blue blouse that Kim had totally forgotten she owned.

"It's perfect," she says, grinning as she hands over Laura's soda.

"I know," she says smugly. "Now, go take a shower, you look like you need it." Kim ignores the teasing, grabbing her robe and her shower things. She moves fast, scrubbing hard. Fifteen minutes later, her skin in slathered in lotion and her hair is brushed through.

"So, what's the deal with the early start on the college front?" Kim asks as she comes back in. She takes a seat at her vanity, pinning her hair back. Laura, who'd been flicking through an old Catwoman comic, abandons it to come help.

"Well, you know my cousins, right? The twins?" Indeed, Laura's cousins, Rachel and Rebecca Black used to be the talk of the town. Rachel was crazy intelligent, and she'd founded the debate team at their school. Rebecca was one of the best athletes the school produced, setting countless track records. "Well, you know how Rachel got that full ride to U of W, right? My parents are expecting me to do the same thing."

Kim cringes in sympathy. The twins are a tough act to follow, but people still talk about that scholarship. Their kid brother, Jacob is at the high school now, and Kim can only imagine what he's going through. Laura rolls her eyes, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Instead, she picks up Kim's foundation skin, smearing a little on her fingers before rubbing it gently all over Kim's face.

Together, they finish getting her ready and when Kim looks in the mirror, her breath catches a little. She looks totally grown up. The pants hug her perfectly, making it look like she actually has curves. The top looks fantastic, the collar sitting just low enough to be interesting without being provocative. As a thank you, Kim sends Laura home with an extra-large brownie piece.

She cuts up the rest, making sure to leave a few for her mom and Eric, before arranging them as neatly as possible in a plastic container. Brownies taken care of, the plops herself on the couch, flicking the TV on to calm her nerves before Jared gets here.

Fifteen minutes into some mindless game show, the doorbell rings and Kim hops up, both relieved that he's here and buzzing with nerves. She calls out a quick 'bye', promising she'll stick to her curfew.

"Hey," Kim says breathlessly as she opens the door. Jared grins at her, stepping close to kiss her. Kim breaks it off with a smile, a warm blush heating her cheeks.

"Ready to go?" he asks, slipping his hand into her free one. She nods and he leads to his truck, getting the door for her. He had a little wolf trouble in here a while ago, but Jared and Paul have been working hard to get it back to normal. It looks good, and when Kim tells him so, he just about glows with pride.

The drive is quick and just being with Jared makes her feel better. This is Jared's family; if he loves her as much as he does, surely his family will like her at least. Inside, Jared leads her past the living room where Parker is sprawled on the couch, drawing. Kim barely has time to say hi before she's whisked inside the kitchen.

"Oh, you're here!" Mrs. Cameron says with a smile. "Jared, she's just as pretty as you said, honey."

Kim flushes at the compliment, shyly thanking her. Mrs. Cameron wraps her in a quick hug before instructing Jared to set the table. Kim offers her help too, and just like that, she's put to work grabbing the rolls from the oven and putting the roast veggies in a dish. It's nice, almost like being at home, and Mrs. Cameron talks enough to make up for her awkward silences.

Finally, when dinner's on the table, Mrs. Cameron calls down Carey and Parker. Soon enough, the five of them are seated, dishes being passed around and plates being filled. Before she knows it, Kim finds her plate full of helpings of everything, the meatloaf, the veggie, the mashed potatoes, and a roll, balanced precariously on the edge of her plate. Jared's already inhaling his dinner, close to polishing off the plate.

"So, Kim," Mrs. Cameron says over the din of Carey and Jared fighting over rolls. "Tell me about yourself, what do you like to do?"

"Um," Kim takes a sip of water before answering. "I really like reading, and sometimes I write. Nothing much, just some short story ideas."

"How fun!" she says, snatching the last roll from the pair and plonking it on Parker's plate. Carey laughs, conceding. "Come on, you going to snatch that from your own son?"

"Hey, I got to eat to take care of him," she reasons, running a hand through Parker's hair affectionately. "So, you like English, Kim?"

She nods, feeling a little bit like a kindergartener beguiling adults about her school life. Jared emerges from his first round of scarfing and fills his plate, giving Kim a proud look.

"Kim's pretty much a genius at every subject," he says. "I was pretty much failing calc and she brought me up to a solid B."

"That's damn impressive," Mrs. Cameron says. "I love the kid, but he can be a pain in the ass to teach. Now, his father? There was a man with patience. He could've taught Jared."

Kim's torn between her curiosity and the way Jared's smile goes tight at the mention of his father, but thankfully, Carey makes that decision for her.

"Dad was great at actually teaching stuff," Carey says with a fond smile. "The summer I got my license, he took me out every day before the test and never yelled once. Mom would've been screaming the second I started the car." They all laugh, and the tension eases a little, including Jared.

"So, are you thinking about college?" Mrs. Cameron asks Kim after a minute. Kim deliberates, unsure how to answer.

"I mean, I'd really like to go, but I don't know where and for what," she explains. K

"Well, Carey did communications and she has a job on the local news," Mrs. Cameron offers. "She went to community college, then transferred up to U of W. It's a pretty good school."

"They have a great English department," Carey adds in. "I had a few friends in it."

"Maybe," Kim says. "I'll have to check it out."

The rest of the dinner goes really well, and Kim finds that she really likes Jared's family. Mrs. Cameron is super vibrant, talkative and fun. Kim mentions her mom and she gushes about the radio show, and how cool it is that one of her old school friends is a local celebrity.

"Listen, next time we do this, get your mom to come," she says, loading dishes into the dishwasher. "Don't you have a brother about Parker's age? That could be fun."

"I'll let her know," Kim says, helping to clear up the last of the dishes. Carey's got Parker loading up the garbage while she packs away the leftovers. Jared rinses the dishes to hand to his mom.

Carey's really cool too, self-assured and confident in a way that Kim wishes she could be. She clearly loves her family, doting on Parker and being playful with Jared. Kim hopes she and Eric will be like that for a long time, too.

Parker's pretty quiet, but he seems really sweet. Out of everyone, Kim understands being trapped in your own shell. He'll be really cool when he gains a little confidence.

They eat brownies in the living room, while Mrs. Cameron and Carey sip mugs of tea. Kim basks in the compliments of her non-existent baking skills, but Jared shoots her a knowing wink. Kim thanks them profusely, assuring them dinner was great and promising to ask her mom along next time.

Jared drives her home, and the two of them linger in the cab of the truck, trading kisses for as long as Kim can get away with it. She can no longer pretend she can't see Eric pressed against the windows, she pulls away offering Jared a rueful smile. He pulls her in for one last kiss before he lets her go. All in all, it's a pretty successful night.

A/N: Let me know what you thought!