After Amanda hung up the extension, Meg and James discussed the situation involving her mom. With her visiting her sister for a few days, Meg felt a sense of relief, which James immediately sensed in her voice. But they also realized that it was a temporary lull, because eventually her mother would return home. Normally, James would have told her that they would handle the situation when it arose, but he realized that it was something that Meg must handle on her own. And even if he could get involved, there was very little that he could do, because of his size compared to Meg and her family. But he could support her emotionally, and that's what he would do.
Meg heard her father come home, and told James that she would call him later. So they said their goodbyes, and hung up. Meg had only one option to pursue, so she decided to do the only thing she could.
She exited her room and went out into the living room. Leo Daniels was sitting on the sofa, drink in hand, just staring at the note his wife left. Although she was only going to her sister’s for a few days, he looked lost. His wife had always been there to take care of the girls and to cook dinner. Now he was on his own for a couple of days, and he didn't know what to do.
He finally noticed Meg standing there, just looking at him. She smiled, and it seemed to relax her father. She sat down next to him, and asked if she could talk to him about something very important. Leo looked at her for a moment. Michelle Daniels handled all the talks with her daughters. The last thing he was prepared for was a conversation about women issues, because he had no clue how to deal with them.
His daughter asked him why he and her mom hated Betas. Leo gave a short laugh, and said that he really didn't hate Betas. He just felt that they were there to serve Alphas. He thought that they had a purpose in life, it was just to help people like them succeed. And as long as they were useful in that respect, he didn't really think about their well being. As for her mother, he couldn't really explain. It seemed that as she got older, something had changed. She was becoming more hostile to Betas, and he didn't know why. And more importantly, he didn't want to know why. As long as she took care of his daughters, it didn't bother him.
Meg decided to be totally honest and took his hand, and started to explain everything. She said that the boy, James Adams, whom she met on the first day of school, had become very special to her. But she noticed that the mention of the Adams name caused her father to look like he swallowed a lemon, but he let her continue. She further explained that he felt the same way about her. And it made her the happiest she had ever been, but that there was a problem. Leo expected his daughter to mention the size difference between her and the Beta, but he was surprised when she mentioned the incident with her mother from the other night. She had left nothing out.
Leo thought that she was being overly dramatic, but when Meg told him that Amanda witnessed the incident, he grew very quiet. And she expressed her suspicions that whenever any Beta boy liked her, her mom would chase them away by making their fathers so terrified, they would literally crap their pants, and she was afraid that the same thing would happen with James and his father. Leo remembered the scene the day before at the Adams House, and what Susan had told him. But for him, that was unimportant.
For the first time in his life, he had a look of concern on his face regarding the well being of one of his children. He had always known that once his kids took the formula, it was just a matter of time before they achieved greatness. But now, hearing what his wife almost did the night before concerned him. He and his wife had made a promise to each other the day they got married that if and when they had children, they would never raise a hand to them, never physically punish them. He looked at his daughter, his beautiful daughter who had tears running down her face as she went into detail about the incident with her mom, and wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea how. So he ended up just hugging her, and for the first time in his life, told her that he loved her, as a father to his daughter. Meg just cried in his arms for a good ten minutes. And when she was done, she told him that she would cook dinner, she just needed a few minutes in the bathroom to clean up. Leo looked at his daughter, and told her to take as long as she needed.
When Meg went into the bathroom, Leo knocked on Amanda’s door. Once inside her room, he asked her about the incident from the night before. Amanda told her father exactly what she saw. Meg had been telling the truth, and Amanda confirmed it. Leo felt anger growing towards his wife. Meg was telling the truth about the situation with all those Beta boys and their fathers. That was one thing. But this was different. It was his daughter that she threatened, and he resolved to take care of the situation as soon as he could.
Once Meg had composed herself enough, she went out into the kitchen. Looking through the fridge, freezer, and cabinets, she realized that the meal options were very limited. So she decided to make grilled cheese and soup for dinner. And while she ate dinner with her father and sister, she felt something was different. She looked at her father, who looked back at her as if to acknowledge that he sensed the same thing as his daughter. Without their mother present, the atmosphere and mood was happier, more relaxed. Meg never noticed it before, but it seemed that despite her mother appearing upbeat at times, there was an undercurrent of negativity and anger that would lurk, and it seemed to upset the mood more than Leo and Meg realized.
But the three of them enjoyed their meal, joking and laughing, something that very rarely happened. Meg and Amanda felt closer to their father than they ever had. He always seemed to be working, or, be too busy, to attend any of their school events. So they really enjoyed the time they were spending with him. He even made Meg blush when he asked her about James. She continued to be very honest, and explained everything that happened since the beginning of the school year.
Leo thought for a moment. And he tried to remember as hard as he could, but he couldn’t think of a time when Meg had very close, trustworthy friends. And as he listened to her describe this little Beta boy, he could see her eyes light up like lights on a Christmas Tree. The way she was describing James made him think that he would be perfect for her, if he was an Alpha. Hell, he thought that James sounded like the kind of son he would have wanted. But he just sat quietly, listening to his daughter get wrapped up in talking about the boy. He didn’t know what to think. He had a natural inclination to dismiss the boy due to him being a Beta, but he was also realizing that he was treating his daughter like the most important person in the world, and as a father, that’s all he could have hoped for. So he made himself promise to keep a somewhat open mind about Meg and her boyfriend.
He then turned and asked Amanda how she was doing. Amanda told him that school was going pretty good, and she was making friends, although there was only one Beta boy in her class. And how she was making sure that no one was picking on him. She was looking at Meg as she was saying that, which caused Meg to smile with pride. But she generally liked her classmates and teachers.
Once dinner was done, Meg and Amanda cleaned up, while their father sat on the sofa after pouring himself a drink. He thought about how the time with his daughters had turned out, and he found that he enjoyed it. He had never been truly sentimental when it came to his family. He was taught the “Daniels” way, keep your true emotions inside and concentrate on work. That’s why he loved Michelle. She didn’t mind taking care of the house and children while he worked, and it allowed him to secure a great job with phenomenal pay. But he also felt a little guilty. His daughters were growing up and he had missed a good deal of their childhood.
But he also thought about his wife, Michelle. The way Meg and Amanda had described her behavior from the night before, he wondered if he was neglecting her as well as his girls. He knew that he had a lot of vacation time built up. Maybe he would surprise her with a cruise to the tropics. He knew that she got her kicks imposing her will on the fathers of the Beta boys that liked Meg, but what if she was taking it too far. He probably wouldn't lose any sleep if she continued to do that. But threatening to hit Meg was a line that he couldn't ignore. He would try and take her on a trip, and see if that helped mellow her somewhat.
After the girls cleaned up, they joined their father in the living room and watched TV, another rare occurrence in the Daniels household. Meg never really watched TV, and didn't know what was on, but she didn't care. The talk she had with her father calmed her down, and she really appreciated him just sitting there and listening. She finally felt a closeness with him that had been missing for most of her life. She only hoped that he could help her with her mom. But soon it was time for Amanda to go to bed. Meg said that she was tired also. But before going into her room, she followed her sister into her’s and gave her a hug for being there for her. Amanda hugged her big sister back, and both said goodnight to each other.
Leo Daniels poured himself another drink, and sat back down on the sofa. The events of the last few hours were replaying over and over in his mind. He was surprised to admit to himself that this was the first time since Meg and Amanda were born that he felt more like a dad than a father. He rather enjoyed the feeling. He knew that he could never make up for lost time with his daughters, but he would be there for them going forward.
And then there was his wife, and mother of their children, Michelle. He thought about the day he met her. It was freshman year of highschool. He thought that she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen. He had asked her out several times, only for her to refuse his advances. It wasn't until the day it was pouring rain, and she was walking home from school. Neither one had an umbrella, but Leo caught up with her, and took off his jacket and held it over her head to protect her from the weather, while walking her home. It was then that she took an interest in him, and when he asked her out again, she couldn't say yes fast enough. And that was the start of their relationship. And things would go smoothly, until a certain point during every month when she would become ultra aggressive towards people. Leo figured it was what every girl went through. But no one he knew exhibited that type of behavior. But once she made it past that point, she went back to being a very pleasant person. But Leo knew to never push her when her feelings were running high.
And he decided that he would surprise her with a cruise trip. They needed to reconnect with each other, and hopefully that would help her out with her behavior towards Betas.