Emily was doing her level best to give Alex the space that she needed to figure things out. Or, at least, she wanted to give her space, had the best of intentions to give her space. But then Ethan came down with the flu...

And, seeing as Emily was the only person who wasn't absolutely crucial to the running of the ranch, she was tasked with looking after Ethan so the others didn't get sick as well. Which meant she was constantly bugging Alex with updates and questions.

At that particular moment, Emily had Ethan all bundled up in sweaters and blankets and settled on the couch in front of the TV in the hopes that he would finally fall asleep and get some much needed rest after having been awake most of the night.

"Miss Emily, will you sit with me?" he asked, face a pitiful pleading expression.

Emily glanced down at her watch and decided she had enough time before his next dose of Motrin that she could sit down for a few minutes...well aware that if she did, she ran the risk of falling asleep as well. But she decided to take the risk anyway.

Settling next to him on the couch, she paused to feel his forehead, feeling reassured when his fever seemed to have gone down slightly. "How do you feel, kiddo?" she asked with a soft smile.

He shrugged, quickly changed the subject to declare, "You're a good mom, even if you don't have a kid..."

Emily blinked in surprise for a few moments. "Oh, umm...th-thank you," she stammered, a little dumbfounded by his candor.

"Why don't you have a kid?" he pressed with the curiosity and lack of social boundaries that only a child could have.

"Well, I guess I just haven't found the right person to have a child with," she said delicately.

He cocked his head, studying her with intensity. "But you wanna, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'd love to have a child someday."

He nodded once, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "Good." He was silent then, his attention apparently going back to The Grinch. Then, without looking at her, he said, "I'd like it if you were my mom too."

"Ex-excuse me?" she stuttered, completely and utterly taken aback. She wanted to believe she'd misheard him, but knew that she hadn't.

"I think Mom would like it too," he continued on as if she hadn't interrupted. "I think she gets sad that she's all alone."

"She's not alone, she has you," Emily said, hoping to direct the conversation to safer territory.

He rolled his eyes. "I mean 'cause she's the only grown up," he corrected. He was really too young to remember much about when his father was around or he would have known that even then, she hadn't been all that happy...

Emily struggled for a few moments, trying to come up with a child-appropriate response to his insistence that she and his mother should be together.

When she didn't immediately respond, he continued, "When you and Mom get married, you can be my mom for real and maybe I'll have a brother."

"Oh, well, sweetie...I don't really know if... I mean, I'm not sure..." she started, then trailed off several times as she attempted to start a sentence. "I don't know if your mom and I are going to get married." (Which was the appropriate way to say, I'm pretty sure there's no chance in hell...)

"But you love her," he said as if it were obvious.

And, rather than try to argue the finer points of love with a seven year old, she simply said, "I don't think your mom is all that fond of me." (Which was the appropriate way to say, She hates my fucking guts...)

He just shook his head, sighed dramatically, as if adults were thoroughly exhausting.

Before he could try to convince her further, she tousled his hair and insisted, "I think it's time for you to try to get some rest, Buddy, so you can get better really fast and be up to your shenanigans in no time." She plastered on a smile and tucked the blankets in around him tighter.

She then made a hasty exit from the living room before he could inquire any further into her motivations and desires when it came to marriage and parenthood...only to run, quite literally, into Alex.

The two women stumbled back, both looking rather surprised by the other's presence, both not seeming quite certain how to approach the other after the previous day's spat.

It was Emily who managed to find her words first, asking, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," she answered vaguely. "I'm sorry, by the way..."

"For what?"

She sighed. "For Ethan. I don't know where he's gotten this idea that the two of us are going to get married, but I certainly hope he's not making you feel pressured or anything. I certainly don't expect..."

Emily cut her off with a dismissive wave and an insistence of, "It's fine. Kids get a little crazy around Christmas."

Alex nodded, but didn't quite seem convinced.

"Regardless," she continued, "I'll talk to him and set him straight."

"It's fine," Emily tried again. "I don't want you to crush his hopes or anything..." She paused, seeming to realize how that sounded. She rephrased, "It doesn't hurt anyone to let him dream, you know?"

Alex studied her for a moment, then said, "If you're sure."

She nodded. "He's a good kid. I'd hate to be the one who crushed his hopes."

There were several moments of silence then.

At length, Alex said, almost quiet enough that Emily couldn't be certain she'd heard correctly, "He's right about one thing, though..."

"What's that?" Emily asked.

"You'd make an excellent mother."

"Oh, I don't know..." she started to deny

Alex shook her head. "I do. You wouldn't be devoting this much care to looking after him if you weren't someone who would make a wonderful parent one day to some very lucky child."