"So, you guys are all set?" Gilbert asked from the door. Fred had texted him about them waiting only for a final check up by the doctor to be released, but that it was already a sure thing and they were packing. And once they went, they weren't sure of when would be the next time they would meet, considering Fred was now on paternity leave and the restrictions didn't seem to loosen up. It would probably be the first time in ten years he went longer than a couple of weeks without seeing Fred.

"All set, Gilbert," Ella said from the couch where she was sitting, nursing Alicia.

"She's been nursing better now, hasn't she?" he asked, going there. Ella smiled and nodded.

"We'll see how it goes once I'm home alone with only Fred," she replied, chuckling, but Gilbert could tell she was indeed worried.

"Where is he, come to that?" Gilbert asked.

"I think he went to the washroom? His office? I don't know," she said, unconcerned. Gilbert could see how much more relaxed she was, now that leaving the hospital was finally a reality. "Sit, don't stay there. I want to be with you before I can't until god knows when. Again."

"It's going to be weird having you both so far," he confessed, sitting on the couch next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder. "You know you can always call me, right? And Anne. She has even more experience than I have with babies, I only knew Delly after all."

"Anne?"

"Yes, Anne," Gilbert replied. Ella turned to look at him, confused. "She interacted a lot with babies and newborns before going to the Cuthberts. I know it isn't her favorite time in life, but she has been telling me that for all she hates thinking back on her childhood, she's not going to let that knowledge go to waste. So call her," he insisted, nudging her.

"I'll call her. I still can't do the burrito thing you and the nurses do," she confessed.

"You'll manage in no time, Ella," Gilbert reassured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And we're always just a phone call away." They stayed in silence for a few minutes. Alicia continued nursing, making soft noises from time to time.

"I'm so afraid of being a terrible mother," she confessed, her voice low. "And then Freddie is so convinced I'll be great, and I feel like I'll disappoint him, and…"

"Ella, you are not going to disappoint anyone," he said. "We're all learning as we go, so don't be hard on yourself. And you care , that's about the one thing you need to set yourself up for success. You care enough to pay attention and to try something different when something isn't working."

"But what if I keep making mistakes?"

"And you think you're the first mom who makes mistakes?" he countered. "Ella, no parent is perfect. We all know that. We just do the best we can, and when we're lost, we call for help. And you know we're all here for you and Fred."

"His parents are so perfect," she muttered.

"They aren't. They just love their kids a lot," Gilbert said, "just like you love little Alicia. And you're biased."

"I'm not. And it's just so overwhelming," Ella muttered. "I know we'll manage at some point, but right now I'm thinking about so many things I don't even know where to start. And I'm so tired, Gilbert. So tired. Like the mother of all workouts, giving birth to Alicia, and then I haven't slept well."

"Which is why you'll try to rest as much as you can. Ella, you and Fred don't have to keep everything around the house perfect these days. I know you both enough to imagine you're going to try and keep everything as you did before Alicia came," he said, making Ella chuckle as it was evident that if anyone knew about how the Wrights lived, it was Gilbert. It still felt like yesterday living with them.

"Well you know I don't like clutter!" she countered, closing her nursing bra and adjusting her shirt after passing the baby to Gilbert, who burped her.

"And I know Fred doesn't like it either! But for the first couple of weeks try to be easy on yourselves. Yes, tidy, but be realistic and rest as much as you can, Ella. It's what you need most right now. The house can wait a couple of weeks and then maybe everything is better and I can go over with Anne and we can help you both put it back in shape. She can watch over the baby and I can clean while you rest a bit with Fred or something."

"You would really do that?"

"I almost feel offended," Gilbert replied, looking at her pointedly.

"I just…" Ella said, her eyes watering. "Damn, all I do is cry these days," she muttered, not able to stop the tears from coming.

"It's ok, honestly," Gilbert replied, comforting her. He knew it was normal, with the hormones organizing themselves after the birth, but it still made his chest tighten to see her distressed and anxious. He hoped it was just a case of baby blues and nothing else. And well, she was going to have Fred watching her daily, so he would surely notice if there was anything more concerning. "Ella, be easy on yourself this first couple of weeks, please?" Gilbert insisted, once she was calmer. The door opened before she could reply and they both looked up. Fred was there, a backpack in his hand.

"Might as well catch up if I get the chance," he said, when Gilbert looked at the bag. "You're ok, love?"

"I am… You know it's… I can't help it," she explained, eyes watery. Fred frowned slightly, but nodded and got closer to give her a kiss on the head. Gilbert exchanged a look with him and knew that Fred was indeed as watchful as he had imagined. Ella stood up and went for a tissue. As she blew her nose Gilbert focused on Fred again.

"You know you're supposed to be on leave, right?"

"Of course, but I plan on staying up with Alicia here so Ella sleeps, I might as well read," Fred shrugged. "Has the doctor come, love?" he asked Ella.

"No, still waiting for her," Ella replied, coming back from the restroom and sitting where she had been. Fred sat on a chair next to them.

"We're going to miss you, Blythe," he said. "Please give a hug to Anne from us?"

"Of course I will. She's been itching to come for days. We're picking up a car for her this weekend, so she at least has some mobility once the restrictions ease a bit. And so she can go for groceries or to the bookstore or wherever she pleases," he says smiling.

"She really is a bit lonely in that house in the middle of the forest. Perfect for fairy Anne though," Fred chuckled.

"Well, that's one of the assets of the house, mind you," Gilbert replied. "But we really should have gotten a car for her once we moved, there's no public transport around there anywhere and that bike is perfect for summer, but not useful when pregnant in the winter."

"That's a good point," Ella said. "So what are you guys getting?"

"I don't know. She wants something small and cute. I don't mind as long as it's on the newer side, or new. I'll send you both a photo once we have something," he rubbed his eyes under the glasses. There was a knock on the door. "So, that might be your exit ticket. Please stay in touch? For anything?"

"We will, Gilbert," Ella reassured him as the doctors entered.

"And call us if you guys need anything, you know we're here for you both," he added, as he stood up and handed the baby to Fred. "Hopefully everything will be better in a couple of weeks and we can celebrate Anne's birthday."

"We will celebrate it, even if it is on zoom," Fred reassured him. "And we will talk to you. I'll call you tonight." Gilbert nodded and, after greeting the team that had just got into the room, left.

The days went by slowly for Anne. The Wrights had made a video call after going home and Anne had been finally able to at least see the baby, waiting impatiently for the restrictions to be lifted so she could visit and help Ella and Fred. They were, by her own admission, completely lost with a newborn. It only helped some that Fred was a doctor and so they didn't freak out as much as they otherwise would. Anne and Fred's mother had tried helping over video and calls, but without being able to actually show (and Anne had tried on a stuffed animal) there was only so much they could do.

Long facetime calls while they cooked or did something became the norm around those days, and it helped Anne and both the Wrights feel less isolated. Even with that, when the news of the loosening of some restrictions broke around the middle of February, Anne couldn't help but be giddy.

She had welcomed Gilbert and started talking about how they could invite Cole and Roy and the Wrights for her birthday and maybe they could spend the weekend and she would be able to see everyone and meet little Alicia and finally show Ella the massage that she had been trying to show her for Alicia. Modeling on a stuffed beaver clearly wasn't working. Gilbert had laughed at how the words poured out of her and agreed about her birthday plans, before asking her if she had given Fred and Ella a call. For all she knew, she could go and visit them during the days before her birthday, which was still some weeks away.

And so, after talking to Ella and making a stop at the supermarket to save Fred a trip there, she was on her way to see them, using her car almost for the first time. She had agreed about needing some independence for her own peace of mind, and the little car she had picked was perfect for just that. She didn't need anything big or flashy, and she was quite happy driving to the Wright's through the snowy streets.

Bear was the first to greet her when she rang the bell, peering through the window and waving his tail. Fred appeared shortly after, wearing Alicia with a wrap close to his chest. Anne could only peek a bit of the blond hair of the baby snuggled against her father's chest. He had some bags under his eyes, but looked otherwise like himself, or so she thought at the moment.

"Cordelia!" he greeted warmly, "so good to see you! And look at that cute bump you have already!"

"So good to see you too, Fred!" Anne replied, her smile huge. She felt like she hadn't seen him in person in months, and over zoom it was never the same. His hair did look shaggier in person, and now she understood why he had been saying he was very close just to shave the whole thing if barbers didn't open soon. Probably he had already booked an appointment, now that they were open with the lifted lockdown. "Oh and tiny Alicia!"

"She's asleep right now, but…" Anne looked at where Fed was showing her. "There you go. Peacefully asleep, let's see how long it lasts. Here, let me help you with this," Fred said, as if suddenly realizing she was carrying bags, reaching to take them from Anne's hands.

"Thank you… Give me just a second, I have a couple of things more in the car," she said. Fred nodded and waited by the door as Anne went to retrieve a couple of casseroles. "I thought you might appreciate a hand for a couple of dinners," she explained, making him laugh. "How's Ella?"

"Asleep. Thankfully. She couldn't sleep at all last night, Alicia was very fuzzy and she wanted to be only with her. She asked me to wake her once you arrived, but…"

"We can always wake her up in a bit, let her get some rest for now, you know?"

"Exactly, thank you," Fred said, looking relieved. "Do you want some tea? Something different?" he asked as they walked to the kitchen. Anne started helping him put the groceries away.

"Tea is fine, really. And I can make it, take a seat if you want… You look exhausted as well," she said. "I'm here to help, honestly, not just to visit."

"Oh, but I do hope you get some visiting in there, Anne," Fred insisted, but let go of the teapot he was holding as Anne reached for it.

"Sit, honestly. You'll help me when it's my turn," she insisted. "How's everything going? Need a hand with anything else? Laundry? Folding something? Cooking?" she asked, remembering full well how a house went from perfectly organized to a whole mess after the arrival of a baby. She had been the one cleaning up the mess for people she didn't love for years when she was just a kid. She was much more than happy to do it again for people she considered family. And the second trimester had felt like a holiday after all the nausea and worry of the first one. Now entering into the third one, she didn't want to lose momentum. Every check up was only giving them good news and she felt, for once, full of energy. "Sit."

"Honestly, Anne, you don't have to do any of that," Fred said, reluctantly following her instructions and going to a stool.

"Of course I don't have to, but just humor me," she insisted. "Tea for you?"

"Please. And ok, there is laundry to be done and folded and… well you do enjoy cooking. Maybe we can tackle it together?" he proposed, rubbing his face. Anne looked for the cups and the tea and made some for the two of them and gave him a cup.

"Just drink that and I'll get some stuff started around here," she said. "We can talk while I cook and you can just rest a bit. How is everything really going? You look way more exhausted in person than on camera."

"And you are way fuller of energy than what I thought possible. It's going… well enough, I suppose. Good days and bad days, as could be expected. Alicia is doing well, growing steadily…"

They talked while Fred drank his tea and she cooked. Anne put in a load to wash and the fresh cloth diapers in the dryer (Ella had been very insistent on that point, and Fred wasn't going to argue), and brought the basket full of clothes to fold to the living room, where Fred was organizing a little. They continued talking while they folded clothes and when Alicia woke up, Anne took her over from Fred, changed her and soothed her as best she could, considering she was already showing signs of hunger. She was finally going back to sleep when Ella went, groggy eyes and yawning, to the living room, finding piles of neatly folded clothes, a calm baby and Anne and Fred talking.

Anne stayed with them for hours that day, feeling better for having been able to help the two new parents as much as she had wanted to since they had gotten back home. When she arrived at her own home she felt tired but good as she sat in front of her computer to write for a bit. After being with the Wrights and Bear, who seemed to want to protect Alicia's every move, it felt oddly silent and lonely to be there. She wanted to talk with Gilbert, who would be coming from work at any time, about how the baby was already so happy and calm, just like her parents, and how both looked so tired and overwhelmed. Ella's mood, as Fred had told her, had been improving slowly day by day, which along with other things was taking a weight off his shoulders. But still, they were new parents in a very isolated situation and it was taking a toll on both of them, much as they wanted to deal with everything as well as they could.

"I just wish we could help them more than just by going for a few hours, you know?" she explained to Gilbert. "Talking with Fred, he's so concerned about how Ella is going to manage once he's back to work and I don't really know what to tell him."

"Well we can be there for them, Anne-girl, but we can't impose anything either," Gilbert replied. "I propose we continue as we've been doing, visit them and help as often as we can without being invasive, and see what else we can do. He still has three weeks, I think, and many things can happen during that time. There's still time for them to figure out a routine or something, and we can always go over and help if needed."

"You're right, Gil," she replied, kissing him, "I just want to be there for them as much as they've been here for us, you know? They're family."

"That, they are," he agreed, caressing her hair and feeling as his insides warmed. That Anne considered them family was more than he had hoped for, but looking back, they both were all about found families. It made sense, same as it had made all the sense living with Fred and Ella for years. He knew it was something Ella had never let completely go, not understanding Gilbert's need to take a step back and try to refocus his life.

A couple of weeks later, Anne threw herself over at Cole and Roy, as much as her pregnant belly allowed. They were seeing each other for the first time in months, and, since she knew they were as secluded as she was, she didn't hesitate to hug them. "I can't believe you're finally here!"

"Nana! Look at you!" Cole said. "I say we make some maternity portraits? Please let me draw you."

"I say you come in before we freeze and we decide later, I'm just so happy you both are here!" she replied, interrupting his pondering look. She knew that too well and she wasn't going to wait for him to go out of his stupor while in the cold.

It was Friday afternoon, Gilbert was still at the hospital, and they were staying for the weekend. She had been planning the sleepover as best she could for a couple of weeks, since she initially told Gilbert when the loosening of the restrictions was announced. She was obsessed with daily cases, trying to force them down, or at the very least keep them stable, out of sheer will. She knew logically it didn't work that way, but she would still try everything.

Ella and Fred would go the following day for a lazy lunch and an afternoon of board games and she almost couldn't wait for that either. It would be Alicia's second venture out, the first being going to visit Fred's parents so they could finally meet their granddaughter and spending a weekend there being pampered by Fred's mom. She had been seeing them on and off since that first time (Fred had indeed gotten a haircut by her second visit). Gilbert had gone with her sometimes, helping around as he had first said while Anne spent time with the baby and Ella and Fred cooked something for all. The times they were there it felt like everything was easier for the Wrights, and Anne always felt a tinge of longing when they were pulling away. She was waiting anxiously to have them over the following day.

But right now? She was with Roy and Cole and she couldn't be happier. She took them to the room she had prepared for them, the guest room she hoped would receive more and more visitors as the pandemic eased in the future, and then gave them a tour of the house. The nursery she had been doing little by little and was nowhere close to finished, the studio where she did her crafts and her writing and Gilbert worked when he was home, bookshelves with a mesh of both their books. The kitchen and living room that felt so much like home, with some old Green Gables pieces and many new, timeless ones she had picked with Gilbert.

"I have to say, Nan, seeing it in a video call doesn't compare to seeing it in person. I'm so glad you have a place you can finally call your own," Roy said.

"It screams Gilbert and you as well, it's perfect," Cole added. "A perfect mix of you two."

"I know! I'm so happy with how it's turning out to be. Still a work in progress, but we're getting closer every day," she beamed. "So, what do you guys want to drink? Some tea, something stronger?"

"What do you have?" Cole asked curiously.

"Well, we have a bar cabinet… but you both know I don't drink much, so…" she guided them and opened the cabinet. "I'm very glad to provide glasses, ice and anything you want," she smiled. Cole browsed and took a couple of bottles, passing one to Roy who nodded appreciatively. He took some glasses as well.

"What are you drinking?"

"Oh, just some herbal tea," she explained. Soon they were settled in the comfy sofas of the living room, Cole in an armchair with his sketch block on his lap, drawing as they talked about everything and nothing, occasionally asking Anne to change something in her position.

"So everything is going well with your kids, Roy?" Anne asked him, "I know the distance teaching was a sore point."

"Don't even remind me. It still is," Roy said. "Honestly, I do everything I can, but we're talking about kids spending hours in front of a computer… As much as I squeeze activities or stuff it's never quite the same, you know? Tell us more about how you're doing, please. I really don't want to revisit distance schooling because it's driving me mental."

"Ok, I won't mention it again," Anne chuckled, as she took a hand to her belly when she felt the baby kick.

"Is the baby…" Cole asked, eyes wide. Anne looked at him and nodded, realizing that of course, she hadn't seen them in weeks and the baby hadn't kicked yet when they had last met. "Can I…?"

"Of course! Come here!" she said, smiling. "The baby is all jumpy, I suppose it feels the excitement of the day?" Cole and Roy went close to her and tentatively, shyly, put their hands on Anne's belly. Nothing happened for a few seconds and then a strong kick.

"Fuck! I actually felt that!" Cole exclaimed, surprised, making the other two laugh. "And you feel that all day long? Aren't you sore, Nana?"

"It varies… The baby is super excited right now," she explained. The baby kicked again, making Roy smile, and soon they were all snuggled in the big sofa. "It's not like this all day long. It varies depending on what I eat, or what I'm doing… But mostly it's bearable. I suppose it'll get harder when the baby is bigger, but we'll see then."

"And aren't you nervous? You seem so… content and peaceful. I'd be freaking out, even if it was something I had been looking for," Roy said. Anne bit her lip, thinking about how to give an honest answer.

"Well… I am freaking out. Especially since I'm seeing a preview of how it can be like, with Ella and Fred. But I'm still talking with dr. Patel every week and we've been going over coping strategies and what might be worrisome and… We'll, we agreed it would be better for me to continue seeing him until the baby is at least a couple of months old."

"I didn't know you were still talking with him," Roy said.

"Well, yes. It's… It's a process, I suppose," Anne explained. "And honestly, being pregnant and seeing Alicia is bringing out a ton of things I didn't remember from when I was in foster care, and we've been going through that. I think it might actually be better, and like I'm finally cleaning all the dirt from under the carpet, if you know what I mean?" she said, not sure of how to explain. Cole nodded and Roy agreed. "Gil has been super helpful with that as well. Mainly patient when I'm in a funk after talking with the doctor or when I wake up because of a nightmare."

"You're still having them?" Cole asked, concerned.

"Well we are stirring everything up," she explained. "But they're less often and I kind of know how to manage them most of the time. I'm sure it's for the best in the long run, and they will stop at some point... But… It's not like going to therapy is a quick fix and done and over in two months, you know? Once I started last year it was clear that it was going to be a process."

"Well, I'm just glad you're finally going, Nan," Roy said, squeezing her arm gently. He had insisted for years on her going, since he had seen everything with Lincoln unfold, but she had never agreed.

By the time Gilbert arrived later that evening, the three of them were giggling about something as Anne and Cole told old highschool stories to Roy, who clearly was trying to maintain some semblance of his solemn appearance but was thoroughly failing. They were all in the kitchen preparing dinner, homemade pizzas Cole had suggested as something they could all do and was simple enough.

"Hey everyone," Gilbert said from the door as he kicked his shoes.

"Gilbert! You're just in time!" Cole greeted him. Anne walked from the kitchen rolling her eyes, a smile on her face, and gave him a kiss.

"What's he talking about?" Gilbert asked her in a low voice.

"Oh, you're in time for dinner… And post-dinner activities," she explained, winking playfully. "Come! You still get a say on what goes on one of the pizzas," she explained as she took one of his hands, dragging him to the kitchen.

Gilbert was with them for a few minutes and, when Roy went to fix him a drink, he went to the living room to light the fireplace. He was sure Anne would appreciate it, and it was always nice to have a fire running in the house. Soon enough, he realized that their idea of post-dinner plans (and the whole evening, really) included facemasks he reluctantly agreed to (it was three against him, really), movies and a very classic idea of sleepover, that maybe was just lacking a fort and was including sleeping in grown-up beds since it was better for everyone's backs.

The following morning included pancakes, laughs and generally seeing Anne more relaxed than what she had been in weeks. Seeing her friends for just a day did make a world of difference, and Gilbert couldn't blame her. She had started relaxing once she had been able to see the Wrights, but he could tell she was feeling isolated and lonely on a daily basis. As much as he wanted to help, he felt a little clueless as to how to do it. They visited the Wrights often, made video calls with the LaCroix, the Baynards and in general the gang. However, she confessed that as much as the calls were uplifting, they didn't really compare to seeing everyone in person. And then she felt guilty about wishing that, considering how covid was still raging the region and really, most of the world, so she felt torn about how to manage it. He was sure the winter weather was at least a small part of her mood, even if she was insisting on going for walks on the snow covered trails, as the lockdown continued, and he could only wait for the spring to come.

The Wrights arrived in the late morning, the whole idea to have a lazy day of cooking and enjoying together. Cole, who had never had much experience around babies, looked warily at Alicia before Fred managed to get his nerves down. Shortly, the house felt even more alive than before, full of laughter and warmth and love. Ella was happy about letting everyone have Alicia, wanting her daughter to get used as much as possible to be held by other people, so she snuggled with Anne in front of the went to the kitchen with Roy and Cole to prepare something they apparently had been discussing for days and Gilbert went with them holding Alicia.

"So how are you doing?" Anne asked Ella. The first couple of weeks she had been very worried, but now Ella seemed more and more like herself. Overwhelmed, yes, but with the calm and decision that had always characterized her. Nowadays, it wasn't very often that they were alone together, more often with Fred or Gilbert.

"So much better," Ella said, smiling. "It's… so much work, you know? And I feel I haven't slept in a month. And then there are days when Alicia won't stop crying. But… I'm still so happy under all that, Anne," she explained, and then added, barely a whisper, "I'm a mom."

"You are," Anne said, smiling at her. "What happened the first couple of weeks, then?"

"Fred says it was just baby blues? A hormone crash? I think I read something about that months ago, but didn't think much of that. But then I finally felt I was staying on top of things, kind of, a couple of weeks in. Not that I'm not worried now, mind you, but it surely doesn't feel like the end of the world."

"What are you worried about?" Anne asked. She could think of ten different things every new parent worried about, but she wasn't sure what Ella could be concerned with. There were too many options.

"Being in that house alone with Alicia and Bear," Ella laughed. Anne looked at her. "No, but seriously, I am, Anne. Like I spent days working from home alone with Bear, and that was ok. I spoke to him and it was a bit odd, but now I will be speaking to a dog and a baby. I will go nuts and start talking just gibberish in no time, you wait and see. And then well, the fact of being alone the whole day and trying to keep that house in shape."

"It's not like Fred won't help you," Anne said. At least that's what she believed. And had seen. And Gilbert had told her.

"No, of course! And he will still cook and everything. I don't know. I think it's the prospect of being home alone with a baby and not working… I don't know. I can't explain it. Sometimes I hate it's just Fred and I in there with Alicia, you know? Not that I don't love him, because he's the only one I want to be with… It's just…" she trailed off as she seemed to collect her thoughts. "How to put it into words?"

"Like you live in such a big old house just to be alone in there, when before there was all this community and family and…" she said. But maybe that was just what she was feeling.

"Yes! And I don't mean I want my family here. My god, they can stay up north forever, for all I know. But yes, like… Before women had all this net of support and now I'm supposed to do it all on my own in a pandemic? I know you're helping, but I still feel bad, and then you'll have your baby too and how are we supposed to help each other once both Fred and Gilbert are working? It's not like either of us has more family or anyone here. It's mental."

"It is. And it's not very realistic either to expect Fred and Gilbert will be here all the time. They do have to go back to work, as I'm sure you will at some point, and what I do is just so all over the place I can be flexible."

"Exactly! It's just… Lonely, you know?" Ella said. "It's so lonely to be a new mom in 2021 and then there's all these expectations…"

"You know you can just ignore them, right?" Anne replied, not wanting to think of her own longing for a community. She had always prided herself on being self-sufficient and creative enough to go through everything and make her own company. But now she was starting to long for more, for something else, and while she had tried to explain to Gilbert what she meant by that, she wasn't even sure herself. She just wanted more people to share life with on a daily basis, and that didn't mean their love wasn't enough or that something wasn't working within them. It was because everything was so well with them, and she was healing so much, that she dared dream for more.

"Oh, we ignore most of them. I'm married to Fred, after all. Questioning stuff is his second nature," she chuckled. "I just wish there was a different solution. I miss so much living with Gilbert and having coffee early in the morning… It's the small things, you know? Not just the coffee, that's one example. It was like having a whole different kind of family, and it worked so well. I'm sure it would have been even better with you. If he had not left, we would know. Maybe."

"I can imagine how well it worked. Sometimes a found family can work so well… I mean, I remember when I lived with Jerry and the Cuthberts, and then the few months I spent with Jerry and Diana after Marilla's death. It's… not something most people understand," Anne said, furrowing, feeling longing for those days where the house was never alone and everything just seemed to flow. Not like her house now, even if it was as full of love as those ones. It was a different matter.

"Well I wouldn't say most people. Just… people with very traditional views on family, maybe?" Ella suggested. "It is not the most normal arrangement, if we're being honest. Most people wouldn't even live with their parents, and why risk a perfectly good friendship by living together? Why would you live with your friends, is your partner not enough or is something more going on? Oh, I totally imagine all the judgement," she shook her head, as if trying to cast away some thought. "It's like nuclear families are all that is accepted, and… makes me mental. Family is a much more flexible term."

"It's ridiculous," Anne said. "People should be able to live as they please and it is better for them at any time in life, and others having a narrow-minded view of the world shouldn't interfere. Or judge. Or make assumptions. It's normal that needs and dreams and families change, that doesn't make them any less valid," she said firmly. They stayed in silence, thinking, watching the fire. Anne was feeling a thought form in her head as Ella talked again.

"Did Gilbert ever tell you the story of when we came to live in Hamilton and everyone assumed him and Fred were a couple just because they lived together?" Ella asked after a moment.

"Oh, he did. And I can't believe you did that," Anne replied, smiling mischievously at her.

"I can't, either, looking back. But it worked, I believe," she shrugged, chuckling. "Anyway, we should probably check on them… I have the feeling Alicia will be hungry soon."

"Let's go there then," she said, dismissing what she had been thinking. It was probably a bit mental, and no one would agree to that. Or well, maybe they would? Ella would, most likely.