Rated T. A/B/O Dynamics. Drama/Humor.

An awkward doctor's visit - because no other sort exist - and the beginning of the Tanner family holidays!

The Tanner Clan Cometh

Dr. Ngo was a narc.

A remorseless narc who was currently explaining how knots worked to his mother. His mother!

"So, outside of a sexual context, it's essentially a long-term erection." His mother had just used the word erection in his presence.

His mother!

Why couldn't Dr. Ngo's office come with a hole to swallow him up?

Jackson attempted to tune them out. They'd been discussing this for half an hour now and really, there's only so much embarrassment he can take. He really didn't care about how alpha lines were theorized to start or what knots signified in a sociocultural context.

"Is there anyway we could stop having this conversation?" Jackson raised his voice above theirs as he stared up at the ceiling from the exam table. The paper crinkled when he sat up, "Literally any other part of my anatomy at this point."

His mom at least had the decency to blush and look a little guilty. Dr. Ngo just shrugged, "I assume you've been able to find a way to deal with the knots so they're no longer interfering with your life?"

"Sure." Jackson let the room descend into an awkward silence as Ngo waited for him to elaborate.

There was a zero percent chance of Jackson telling either of them that Ramona had been holding him through the knots. He certainly wasn't going to admit he'd stopped asking for her help when he realized he was developing romantically adjacent feelings. Or that he thought she might be afraid of him. The whole Ramona thing was a no-fly zone entirely as far as he was concerned.

"Did you want to know what sex toy I bought or something?" Jackson drawled out when Ngo continued to look at him expectantly. His mother was looking pointedly at her magazine now.

Ha! Revenge!

"That won't be necessary," Dr. Ngo sounded unconvinced as he wrote something down.

Technically, it wasn't a lie. He had bought some weird specially designed sex toy at a skeevy alpha shop. And it did work. It just wasn't as comforting as Ramona running her fingers through his hair.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss today?"

What's an omega shift?

Jackson did not ask that question, though he certainly thought it. Loudly.

Ngo turned to DJ, "Would you give us a minute, Ms. Fuller? I'd like to ask Jackson some questions he'd probably be more comfortable answering without you in the room."

His mother raised a brow. Ngo had asked some seriously intrusive questions with her in the room before. She left though.

Ngo looked at Jackson now. The burnt sugar scent that Jackson associated with the other alpha turned up a few degrees.

"What?" Jackson maintained eye contact. He did a small happy dance internally when Ngo blinked first. He'd been an alpha four months now, maybe he was finally getting the hang of it.

"Tell me how you've been dealing with the knots, Jackson." Ngo set the clipboard down. Jackson stared at the thing. "You've faced massive amounts of changes these last few months and you'll likely face more before you see me again."

This was true. The holidays were coming, school was already out for winter break. He wouldn't see the doc till the new year.

"Jackson?"

"Ramona was helping me."

Ngo raised an eyebrow at Jackson's confession.

"She'd just hold me and it would go away."

The eyebrow lowered and Ngo nodded, "The scentmarking is a type of bonding. While I don't recommend -"

"She doesn't anymore." Jackson's eyes dropped to Ngo's shoes. The loafers were just as shiny as they'd been on his first visit. "Or, I don't ask her anymore anyway."

Ngo actually took a seat, "That's probably a smart decision. Strengthening your bond with an omega you're not mated to can be fraught with complications."

"Like an omega shift?" Jackson glanced back up in time to see Ngo's eyes widened. "That's bad right? The internet made it sound like some creepy breeding thing."

"That's not wholly accurate," Ngo pursed his lips. "Omega shifts are a heightened period of fertilization outside of a heat. Mated omegas often have to control them to avoid pregnancy." He raised a brow at Jackson.

Jackson's whole body warmed, "Yeah, no. Not an issue."

"If Ramona is experiencing them-" "Just the one." "-then she needs to confer with her doctor about a regiment."

"Even if I've stopped asking for her help?"

Ngo sighed, heavily, and leaned back in his chair, "I'm not an expert in omegas, Mr. Fuller." Jackson blinked and Ngo quickly produced a few more pamphlets for him. "If your bond continues to strengthen or you have any complications, call my office and we'll schedule something immediately."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. Ngo's eyes bored into his. "Okay."

-.-.-

"Happy Holidays!" Uncle Jesse's voice carried up from the living room as the man burst into the house. Grandpa and Aunt Becky's voice echoed his.

Jackson spun his desk chair around with a grin. It took less than two strides to leave his room, effectively cutting Max off as his younger brothers stampeded towards the visitors.

Tommy was the first downstairs and Max gave Jackson a sour look as the kindergartner monopolized the attention for a few minutes.

"Hey bud!" Jessie enveloped Jackson into a hug, swaying slightly as a soothing musky scent swirled around him. Motor oil and cedar, it was a wholly unexpected attack on his nostrils. But not unwelcome.

"How ya holdin' up?" Becky grinned at him, arms full of a sleeping Pamela, as Jessie released his hold. Jessie kept one arm swung over Jackson's shoulder.

Jackson shrugged, fidgeted a bit, "Not bad." The adults all traded looks and Jackson tried not to be embarrassed. He found it much easier as Uncle Jessie's scent continued to zip around like a lazy fog.

"So." The door opened with a sudden burst. A blonde with heels like skyscrapers and a layered fringe stepped down from the landing. "I hear I'm not the only alpha in the fam now." A smile spread across the woman's face as a burst of squeals signalled the oncoming attack.

"Michelle!" A shewolf howl followed them as DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy sprang from the kitchen to envelop their youngest member in a group glomp that produced further howls and some giggling. Michelle met them with open arms and her own, slightly off-key, howl.

Jackson blinked as he watched it all unfold.

"It's been way too long since I've been home." Michelle's smile widened even as her eyes moved downward. She leaned into the hug that Danny pulled her into as soon as the she-wolf pack had released her. Jackson met her eyes over his shoulder. "Way too long."

A scent pushed through Jessie's as Michelle moved to hug him next. It was faint, a light timber of burning firewood and… salt? It was the weakest alpha scent he'd ever encountered. And the only one that didn't have his shoulders tensing.

"You must be Tommy." Michelle crouched down to bring herself eye level with the youngest Fuller. Tommy's fist tightened in Jackson's jeans as she held out a hand. "Last I saw you, you were a reddish tinged slug in a blue bundle."

Tommy giggled and shook her hand slowly. Michelle smiled again, her lips trembled. Jackson watched her straighten up in her heels unassisted - he was fairly positive this counted as witchcraft - and slapped her thighs.

"Alright, where're the Gladstones? We have a holiday to celebrate!" As Michelle raised her arms to lead a cheer, which the Tanner Clan jumped on like…well…themselves, Jackson caught the scent of salt again.

Stronger.

And mixed with the unfortunately familiar scent of cherries.

Michelle caught his eye again. Her lips twitched downward for just a second before she shook herself. The grin she sported widened.

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