A Family Dinner Out (Collins Family)

Isaac put his arm around Quinn, hugging her gently. He knew that she meant what she was saying to her children. She had always desperately cared about what happened to them, like any good mother would. Sometimes it didn't come out well, and it seemed like she was meddling or being a bitch, but he knew that wasn't it at all. She just wanted her children safe, happy and healthy. He just wished that they could see this, and understand she only had their best interests in mind.

His heart broke that Mari had decided not to come back with him, and that she wouldn't be eating dinner with the rest of the family, but she was an adult, and he wasn't going to force her to do something that she didn't want to do. He did want her to try to mend her relationship with her mother, and hopefully one day she would, but he thought that he really shouldn't be holding his breath waiting for something that might not happen. He was glad that he'd been given a second chance with his eldest, but he felt so bad for Quinn that she wasn't as of yet. She didn't know it, it seemed, but Marisol really was more like her mother than she realized. Maybe it was the reason that they were always fighting, and why they had always been so reluctant to admit that they were almost mirrors of each other.

His wife's words reminded him of the things that they had been talking about before the mini blow up and resultant walk-outs. He hadn't known that Parker had a girlfriend, but was happy to hear it. He thought that his son was good looking and had been wondering how long it would be before someone captured his heart. It looked as if it had happened and he wanted to hear more about it, but when Quinn turned to Kennidee and brought up what she'd done earlier, he thought about what her possible punishment should be. His beloved was right though, it could wait until they got home. Right now, he wanted to hear more about his son's girlfriend, and have dinner. He found that he was looking at the door hopefully, looking for Mari, and turned his full attention to Parker, picking up the menu to order when he had learned what his son was ready to tell the family.

"I don't think that you were keeping her from us, just that you were nervous about what we would think of you having a girlfriend. I can tell you that I'm happy with it, especially if she makes you happy."

Parker felt like his family was in a whirlwind of emotions right now, and he was stuck right in the middle, not knowing how to get out, or who he could turn to for safety. He didn't always see eye to eye with his father, though he loved the man dearly. And his mother was almost bi-polar, in his opinion. Most of the time she was calm and sweet, but then there were other times when they really had to walk on eggshells around her or she would blow up at them. It was quite exhausting. And Marisol...well she was another thing altogether. They often discussed the issues their parents had and how they would never grow up to be like them. Usually Mari would treat him to some kind of illegal drink and they would just...talk. He was hoping to do that at some point tonight, but now with all this drama, he wasn't sure if it would happen.

He looked down at his hand, and the necklace that lay there. What the hell? Mari had given him some random trinket to give to Ava? He wasn't sure what to think of it...was she showing her support for Ava, or was there something else behind this whole thing? He did know for sure that he wanted to go find his sister and knock some sense into her. Sure, their mum was being a bit of a bitch, but did that mean Mari should just walk away? Well...their mother had walked away first...but she always came back. And now Kennidee had to suffer through a dinner without her whole family there. She was young, she should at least have one opportunity to know what family togetherness felt like. Park would definitely be speaking to his older sister about that later.

For now, he was busy texting Ava, trying to figure out whether she was coming or not. He had barely registered his mother coming back and speaking. And he hadn't been paying attention to his father either. He just smirked at a rather interesting text message and sent something somewhat risque in return. He continually smiled and blushed, his phone hiding halfway under the table. He wasn't sure what his dad would do if he read the texts, but his mum would confiscate the phone. He just had to keep it from them and he would be fine. But he realized a little too late that his father had been talking to him, and he hadn't heard a word of what was said. He looked up and quickly pocketed the phone.

"Huh? What? Sorry, I uh...I didn't hear that. Aren't we eating yet? I'm starving."

She had made it through another one, another full moon. But Ava knew that soon another one would be coming up. Merlin, she doubted that she would ever get used to such a thing. Even with Professor Black and Snape helping her it would never stop hurting. But at least she had a beloved boyfriend that cared about her and knew her secret. So when she went to see him he wouldn't be surprised to see that she had several cuts on her face and arms...his parents however were another story. And she was terrified that they would think her parents beat her or something. No one knew she was a werewolf outside of her immediate family and Ava wanted to keep it that way. She had sworn Parker to secrecy and if she found that he even told his family she would be mortified.

Walking into the Leaky Cauldron she waved politely to Tom before continuing to the table he said belonged to the Collins. She slowly approached, gently placed a hand on Parker's shoulder. He looked so handsome to her, but Parker could have been naked and she would have found him handsome, among other things. Grinning weakly she reached down and took his hand.

"I'm sorry I'm late Parker," she said softly. "Something...something came up..."

Of course she knew her love would know what she was talking about, and turning gently she blushed as she met the face of Mr. Collins and Mrs. Collins. She supposed Marisol hadn't arrived yet, or she had and left early. That was okay...Ava was a little scared of Marisol.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Collins," she smiled gently. "I...it's very nice to meet you...I'm Ava Spencer...Parker's girlfriend..."

Ava

Parker smiled warmly at his girlfriend and he stood to pull her into his arms for a hug. She was so tiny, and he always had to be very careful not to snap her in his embrace. It was strange to think that she was strong enough during the full moon to kill him...if she wanted to. He was grateful she didn't. He hoped that she knew that he would walk through fire for her. And he would stay with her through her transformations, even if it meant getting a bite of his own. He had a feeling his family wouldn't appreciate the danger he was putting himself in, but he knew they would still love Ava. Who couldn't? Her heart was beautiful and he loved her with all of his.

"Hello, gorgeous. I missed you."

He kissed her softly on the lips, not long enough to get himself into any trouble, but definitely long enough to make it count. He still couldn't believe he was lucky enough to be with someone as fantastic as Ava. And as long as she would let him, he would show her how incredible she was. Yes, he knew that for her entire life, she would have to overcome very difficult and complicated obstacles. But he also knew that she would never, ever have to do it alone.

"This is my dad, Isaac Collins. And my mum, Quinn," he said, gesturing to his parents. Then he turned and grinned at his little sister.

"And this is my little sister, Kennidee. Isn't she beautiful?"

He kissed the top of his sister's head and then ruffled her hair, something he knew she hated.

"And Marisol was here, but...apparently she has better things to do. Something I plan on discussing with her later. You can come if you like, but I can guarantee a screaming match."

He grabbed his dad's drink and tipped it back once more, then winked at him. Merlin, it was fun pushing those boundaries. But he really needed the buzz if he was going to go tell off Mari after dinner.

Isaac was slightly shocked that Parker had the gaul to reach over and grab his drink again, this time in view of his baby sister, but he was more surprised that his only son had kissed his girlfriend right in front of them all. Surprised, but not upset. In fact, he felt it was wonderful that Parker was so comfortable with this lovely young lady that he would be so bold to do a thing such as that. It had taken Isaac months to get up the nerve to kiss Quinn, and that had been in private. And even then, he'd been so nervous about it, he'd clashed their teeth together.

He cleared his throat and stood, holding out his hand to Ava.

"I'm Isaac, please. You don't have to be so formal with me. Anyone that makes my son happy is more than welcome." He gestured for them to sit, smiling warmly at his son's girlfriend.

"I am sorry that Mari left, but I'm sure that you'll meet her soon." He winked at Park, then gave him a look that said not to push his luck with the drinking, especially since Kennidee was there. He didn't want her to get any ideas from her idol.

"So, Ava, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? Nothing embarrassing of course, like your parents taking pictures of you on a rug when you were a baby. Just more along the lines of your family, and how long you've known Parker?"

Ava blushed, knowing her father he did have some picture of her naked on a rug somewhere. Smiling gently she tried to think of what she could tell them. She couldn't reveal too much about herself, she did not want Parker's family figuring out her disease. She really liked keeping that to only a few people outside of her family. She supposed she could tell them what her father and mother did for a living, as well as the names of her sisters and one kid brother. But she wasn't too open with things that pertained to herself...the tiniest slip of the tongue could condemn her forever.

"Umm," she said gingerly adjusting herself into the seat. "Well my father is a talent scout and he has made quite a title for him in the states...my mother is a healer that works at the maternity ward in St. Mungo's, and my one sister works at Club 87 as a waitress...the rest of my siblings are students at Hogwarts or still children."

She paused, taking a chance to take a breath and hold Parker's hand under the table.

"Parker and I have been friends since our first year at Hogwarts," she said gently. "We only started dating this year because he was helping me pick out clothes..."

Grinning gently she squeezed his hand.

"But there really isn't too much to tell about myself," she said, her fingers trailing over a particularly nasty cut in her hand. "I"m just a normal teen, I suppose."

Kennidee had sat quietly throughout most of the evening. She was sad that her sister had just left them like they didn't matter. And she was not looking forward to the conversation she was going to have with her mummy and daddy when she got home. But even though she was nervous about that, she was intrigued with the new person at their table. Part of her was very happy to see that Parker was happy, and that Ava seemed very nice. But she didn't know if she liked that her brother was paying so much attention to this girl. She would have to think about that for a bit.

She leaned over and sipped some of her cherry soda, eyeing Ava with her curious gaze. She saw scrapes and bruises all over her arms and even some on her face. Or maybe they were something different, but Kennidee had gotten enough owies to know what they looked like. She got to the bottom of her drink and slurped the last bit of the drink.

"Where did you get all those owies? Did you fall down or something? I fall down on my bike all the time, but I don't think I've ever gotten hurt THAT many times. How do you find all the bandaids?"

She stirred her ice around with her straw and began making an awful racket when the ice rattled against the glass. But she wasn't one to worry about whether she was making noise. Her mother had told her time and time again that curiosity killed the cat, but Kennidee figured that she'd rather be a dead cat than not have the answers to all of her questions.

"I have an owie too, see?" She held up her elbow and showed Ava her Hello Kitty bandaid.

"Daddy fixed it," she grinned.

Ava blushed and looked away. That was such an awkward question for her and she really didn't know how to answer it. Most people saw the scratches but they didn't ask. Typically Ava assumed that other people thought she was being abused at home, but she wasn't willing to argue with them about it. Mostly because if people knew she was a werewolf it would just complicate her life more than what it already was. Ava had friends, but she knew that if they figured out what her ailment was they wouldn't want to be friends with her anymore. She was too dangerous to be around people; and she was terrified that if Parker's parents found out she was a werewolf they would make her break up with them. People always said they wouldn't be that way, but as soon as her secret came out she knew that they would go back on their word. Danger made everyone nervous, Ava knew that much.

"Umm..." she stuttered, rubbing her hand over her bare arm. "I'm just a real accident prone person..."

Her cheeks were bright red and she knew that Parker's parents would see straight through her, Kennidee...probably not so much. Children were easily deceived, so she was sure her answer would satisfy the little girl...and if it didn't Ava would have to get Parker to change the subject or something.

"Thank you for letting me come to dinner Mr. and Mrs. Collins...it's been a while since I have been out to eat."

Quinn was in shock at the questions her daughter had asked Ava. They were innocent and sweet questions, but she was sure it was none of their business what had happened to Parker's girlfriend, even though she was slightly intrigued herself. But she could tell that Ava didn't want to talk about it, so she turned to Kennidee and shook her head slightly.

"Honey, those questions are rather personal. Why don't we let Parker and Ava talk to each other for a bit."

She smiled, trying to reassure her daughter that she wasn't mad. Maybe that had been the problem with Marisol. Maybe she just had not ever been soft enough. It was a shame, all of the moments she had missed to be a good mother. Well, it was more than a shame. It was a tragedy. And now all she could do was try to fix her mistakes by being a better mother to Parker and Kennidee. But what did that mean for Marisol? She was just stuck with a mother who was a bitch to her, but an angel to her other children? That was certainly unfair. She needed to fix this. Parker shouldn't have been the one to talk to her tonight. Quinn was the one that had broken everything this evening. She sighed and rested her head on her husband's shoulder.

"I think I'll go talk to Marisol tonight, honey," she said softly. "There has to be something I can do to make things better. What do you think?"

Isaac turned his head and gave his beloved a tender kiss. He knew she was upset about Marisol walking out of their family dinner and thought that she was the cause of it. He didn't know if she was the only cause, he still didn't know if his own relationship with their daughter had been mended as of yet.

"Baby, you do whatever makes you feel better. If that is to go talk to Mari, then do that."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, cuddling her tightly to him as he watched Parker and Ava. They looked so happy with each other, and he hoped that his son was thinking of how lucky he was to have someone to love. He wondered if Mari had someone in her life. She'd not said.

"Quinn? If you do talk to Mari, find out if she's got a boy she's not told us about." He winked good naturedly and kissed her again, now more content than he'd been all day.