Ethan seemed to be doing much better the next day, but just to be certain, Alex had booked him an appointment with the pediatrician. Which meant that Emily was responsible for taking him to the appointment. (Not necessarily the biggest ask, but she felt like she was in way over her head all the same...)

The town's doctor was a young woman who had been lured from the big city with promises of a lucrative rural doctor bonus to replace Dr. Gideon, the town's long-time doctor (well known for his increasingly odd and erratic behaviour).

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lewis," she announced, coming into the exam room with Ethan's chart in her hands. She extended a hand for Emily to shake, then looked up from the file, a surprised expression crossing her face. "Oh! You're not his mother..." she said.

"No!" Emily quickly insisted. "I'm..."

The doctor interrupted her explanation, "I know who you are..." A knowing look crossing her face. "You're Joe's daughter." A beat. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Emily smiled her thanks, then tried to explain her presence, "I'm here because..."

The doctor once again cut her off, "No need to explain – I've heard the gossip."

Emily blinked a few times, stunned. "Gossip?" she repeated, voice more of a squeak than anything else. What could anyone possibly be gossiping about that explained her presence in a pediatrician's office? It wasn't like she was Ethan's mother... A beat. Oh...

She nodded, smirking to herself as she began examining Ethan. "The whole town is buzzing," she continued after a moment. "The three of you were so cute together at the Christmas market. Everyone agrees that you make a lovely little family."

"We're not..." Emily stammered, "I mean, Alex and I aren't..."

The doctor, clearly ignoring her protestations, continued, "It's about time Alex found someone who makes her happy. She's been on her own for too long."

Emily clearly would have liked to further argue the matter, but by the time she found her voice, Dr. Lewis was thoroughly preoccupied by Ethan's examination. So, she had no choice but to swallow down all her explanations and clarifications and let her – and the rest of the town, apparently – to continue thinking whatever conclusion it was they'd apparently jumped to...

(That didn't mean, though, that Emily had to be happy about it. Her mind was reeling with the revelation that the entire town seemed to be rooting for her and Alex to be together, just as Ethan clearly was.)

Having given Ethan a (relatively) clean bill of health (and a lollipop) and Emily a lot to think about, Dr. Lewis sent them on their way. Emily wasn't ready to go back to the ranch just yet, though, needing to make sense of her swirling thoughts before she came face to face with Alex... So, they stopped to get lunch at the diner (possibly not the best of ideas when Ethan wasn't quite at one hundred percent health, but Emily had never been the most responsible person anyway).

Emily was lost in thought while Ethan attacked his french fries with gusto when JJ joined them, sliding into the booth wordlessly and waiting for Emily to notice her...which took decidedly longer than it really should have. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" JJ said by way of announcing her presence when Emily failed to comment.

Emily looked up sharply. "What are you doing here?" she asked, perhaps a little rudely. The last thing she wanted and/or needed was JJ confusing her already muddled thought process with her opinion which she already knew to also be of that that Emily should be with Alex.

"It's a diner and it's lunch time. I'm a human being who occasionally requires food to continue existing," JJ said sarcastically, "Need I go on?"

Rolling her eyes, Emily said nothing, knowing it was mostly rhetorical anyway. She pushed her food around her plate for a few moments, then suddenly declared, "I hate this town."

JJ raised a brow. "Do I want to know the source of this sudden grinchy attitude?"

"Why does everyone insist on sticking their noses into other peoples' business?" Emily said by way of answering. "I mean, I know it's a small town, but get a hobby that isn't my personal life," she snapped.

"Ah," JJ said knowingly, things becoming very clear.

"What?" Emily demanded, narrowing her eyes.

JJ just shook her head, sighing at Emily's combativeness. "You always do this, you know?"

"Do what?"

JJ's expression was pointed then. "Whenever you let someone get close to you, as soon as you realize things are becoming serious, you get scared and flighty and do your best to push that person away. You're so scared of someone getting close to you because that means that they can hurt you and you're so fucking terrified of being vulnerable so you always make sure you're the one who does the leaving..."

For a few moments, Emily sputtered as she struggled to find a reply that was something more than flat out denial.

Apparently taking that lack of reply as a win, JJ continued on, "I get it, you've been hurt before, but if you never give anyone the chance to get close, you're going to be alone and miserable forever."

"I'm not miserable," she insisted.

"Aren't you?" JJ retorted. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you're pretty damn unhappy."

Huffing, Emily said, "I'm not having this conversation."

JJ shrugged, knowing there was no winning when Emily got like this. What she did say, though, was, "You have to think of someone other than yourself this time..." She nodded towards Ethan (who had his headphones on and hadn't heard a word of their spat) in a pointed indication that Emily needed to consider what her leaving would do to the boy...

She was right and Emily knew it...but that didn't make it any easier. She'd never had this before, had never had anyone other than herself to worry about...