At the end of his shift, Ethan went to Leanne's office, but she wasn't there. Since he knew she had already spent some time with Jesse, he guessed she would be with Jose. As he approached the morgue, he heard Leanne laugh and tell someone, "Just because they're not blood, doesn't mean they're not brothers."

Ethan peeked around the corner to see who Leanne was talking to and was surprised to see that it was Ariel. He quickly ducked out of sight in order to give them some semblance of privacy while he eavesdropped.

*** CB ***

Leanne laughed as she told Ariel, "Just because they're not blood, doesn't mean they're not brothers."

"It's not the same."

"Is that what you think? Love isn't enough to make a family?"

"I'm just your friend. You can kick me out whenever you want, so…," Ariel trailed off as she started to walk away.

"Hey! Hey, hey. Look at me," Leanne called her back. "Ariel, I made a mistake earlier when I told you that it was okay to refer to me as your friend. I don't want you to think," Leanne began, but stopped abruptly when she saw Ariel roll her eyes. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then tried again. "It's been a long time since you were shown what a family is, hasn't it? Well, a family is home. And I don't just mean a roof over your head. I mean it's that feeling that you get when you know someone cares about you. Truly cares. It's knowing that you're safe, that no matter what you say, no matter what you do, you belong to someone and they belong to you." Leanne cupped Ariel's chin and stated emphatically, "Ariel, you are home. Right here, right now, and for the rest of your life. You are home with me." Stroking Ariel's hair, she asked, "Do you understand me?"

While Leanne was talking, Ariel struggled not to cry, but, once Leanne was finished, Ariel flung herself into her foster mother's arms and didn't bother to hide her tears.

*** CB ***

When Ethan could no longer hear Leanne and Ariel, he stepped out of his hiding place. He walked over to them and, without hesitation, wrapped his arms around their shoulders. Ariel didn't seem to notice him, but Leanne tensed briefly before she relaxed into his embrace and slid her arm around his waist to pull him even closer.

The three of them held onto each other until Ariel pulled away. As she wiped away her tears, she sniffled, "Can we go home now?"

"Sure," Ethan readily agreed. "Want to pick up dinner on the way?"

"Yes," Leanne and Ariel replied in unison.

*** CB ***

Later that night, Ethan sat at one end of Leanne's couch with her curled up next to him. Ariel was laying across the rest of the couch with her head resting on Leanne's lap. They were watching a movie that Ariel had chosen before dinner, but the teen drama was not enough to hold Ethan's interest.

It didn't take long for Leanne to notice that Ethan wasn't paying attention and ask, "What are you thinking about?" Ethan didn't answer or give any indication that he'd even heard her, so Leanne elbowed him in the side. When he grunted, she repeated, "What are you thinking about?"

"Jesse and Jose."

"Oh?"

"I know a little bit about what Jesse is feeling right now."

"We all do. We've all lost people. You, me, Ariel, and, now, Jesse."

"Mhmm. I was also thinking about that time you told me that we were all a family even though we're damaged and mismatched."

"What about it?"

"You were wrong. We're not mismatched. We're a perfect match because we are all broken in the same way."

With a huff of annoyance, Ariel sat up to scowl at Ethan and Leanne. "You're also both talking through the best part of the movie."

"Sorry."

"We'll be quiet," Leanne promised.

Ariel wasn't entirely convinced, but laid back down and eventually fell asleep with her head still resting on Leanne's thigh.