"What do you have there?" he demanded, seeing Ellie shuffling notecards, hiding herself in the kitchen.

She turned to him looking a little guilty. "We're going to have a talk tonight," she informed him.

Alan narrowed his eyes warily. "What about?"

"The four of us have let everything go on long enough. We're running out of time, and no one else is going to bring anything up. Ethan and Hailey are just scared kids, and you'd bury your head in the sand longer than your dinosaur bones have been there if you could. So we're going to have a talk," Ellie declared.

On the one hand, Alan knew she was right. They were running out of time. Hailey was more than halfway through her pregnancy, and it was time for decisions to be made. Ellie liked to have a plan and liked to be productive and couldn't stand just waiting around for things. So of course she wanted to know what was going to happen and what she could do about it.

But on the other hand, forcing a conversation like this was a bad idea. What did she think they were going to do, sit in a circle and share their feelings and come to a rational solution? Maybe she did, but that was wishful thinking with two emotional and probably immature twenty-year-olds. But it wasn't like any twenty-year-old was really that mature. And Alan…

"I don't need to be a part of this," he tried to protest.

Ellie's sweet, pretty face turned into a fiery rage. "Of course you need to be a part of this!" she insisted, her voice getting a little heated. "Why would you think you aren't?"

"Well, Ethan's your son, and I'm no good at kids stuff." It was a weak argument, and Alan knew it. And based on how red Ellie's face was getting, she was about to blow a gasket.

"You can't keep using that excuse!" Ellie shouted. "Ethan is not a kid, and you are my husband!"

"Fiancé," Alan corrected.

"Close enough!" she cried. "Alan, you're supposed to be my partner, and if you can't be with me through this, what do you expect our lives to be from here on out?"

She was certainly loud enough to attract attention from the kids. He knew she was right, that Ethan and Hailey weren't actually kids anymore, but he'd never really be able to think of them any differently.

Alan needed to calm Ellie down somehow. She could get worked up over things, but she never really seemed to turn the anger on him. He didn't know what he was supposed to do about it.

"Look," he said calmly, trying to find his words quick enough to let them come out of his mouth properly. "I know we're partners. I want us to be. Jesus, Ellie, I've been in love with you for thirty years. But I don't ever want to overstep. I'm not shirking responsibility, I'm not abandoning you. I just don't want to put myself where I don't belong. The fact that you and I are together doesn't change the fact that I am not Ethan's father. He's got a great father, he doesn't need me stepping into Mark's shoes. That's all I'm saying." Hopefully that explanation would appease her.

And thankfully, Ellie's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah, okay. I get that. And I don't need you to replace Mark. Not as anything other than my husband. You are right about not being Ethan's dad, and I know that, but you gotta see how he looks up to you, how he listens to you and respects you?"

"Does he?" Alan asked in surprise. He and Ethan got along well, and maybe they were even friends, but Alan hadn't really considered how Ethan might view him.

Ellie finally put her notecards down on the kitchen counter and stepped forward to wrap her arms around Alan's middle. "He does. You're good for him. And you're good for me. You, Dr. Grant, are good," she said, tilting her head up to kiss him softly.

Alan returned her embrace and kissed her back. "As long as you think so," he murmured, smiling against her lips. But they were getting distracted. Alan would have been happy to distract her, but he knew better. She wouldn't be deterred from this. He pulled back and grabbed the cards off the counter. "So what are these?"

"Notes," Ellie said, snatching them back. "I was on campus today, getting ready for the semester to start next week, and I ran into my friend Cheryl. She teaches psychology and she's a clinical therapist, so I asked her how to facilitate the conversation."

He stared at her, slightly flabbergasted. "You consulted with a psychologist on how to talk to your family?"

"We should all probably be in therapy, but I know we're not going to do that, so this was the best I could come up with," she snapped.

Alan put up his hands in surrender. "Fine, you use your notecards and facilitate."

"I will," she answered with a slightly childish taunting tone.

Ellie walked past Alan out of the kitchen to the living room. He sighed, resigning himself to what was happening. Though maybe he could open another bottle of wine to ease the pain…

"Can you guys turn off the tv? I'd like us to all sit down and talk," Ellie said, standing in front of the sofa where the kids were sitting.

Alan gave a soft growl to himself. No time to open any more wine now.

It also did not escape Alan's notice that Ethan and Hailey were both on the couch but as far away as possible. She sat on one end with her feet propped up on a pillow on the coffee table. Ethan sat on the other side of the sofa with his legs spread out in front of him and his elbow resting on the armrest. Maybe it was good they have this talk now.

The tv went off and Ellie pulled a chair out of the dining room to sit in front of the coffee table, facing the kids. Alan went to his usual armchair. After three months living in the house all together, both Ethan and Hailey knew that was Alan's chair. He did wish he had a glass of wine though.

"Okay," Ellie began, "I want to start by creating a safe space. Every single person in this room loves each other. There is no judgement here. There is no disappointment here. There is only support and love and making the effort to do the best we can, okay?"

"Mom, why do you sound like a fortune cookie?" Ethan scoffed.

"Ethan," she warned.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." Ellie continued, "We are going to have an open conversation, all four of us, about what the future holds, what we all want, and how we feel. Is that okay?"

They all nodded weakly. No one wanted to speak up. Alan watched as Ellie shuffled through her cards.

She looked up and looked to her right. "Alan, why don't you start?"

"Me?!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, you," Ellie answered.

"Why?" Alan did mean it when he told her this wasn't about him. He'd do whatever she decided was best. He would do anything for her, now and always. Anything she wanted, that was fine with him.

Ellie looked at him with a softness that always reminded him how miraculous it was that she loved him. She said, "I want you to go first because your opinion matters. And I want to know what you think about the situation the four of us are facing."

Not having really any time to prepare any kind of response, Alan just started talking. "I want Ethan and Hailey to figure out what will be best for them. I think they should both finish school and live their lives and not sacrifice their futures for anything. School is important and being able to live a life you choose is important. But, there is a baby to consider. And I don't know anything about babies, but I do know that a child deserves to be loved and wanted. It's a lot of responsibility to raise a child, and if there's any doubt, I think there are probably people out there who want a baby to love and it wouldn't be hard to find them. But none of that is my decision. It's up to Hailey and Ethan to figure out what they want and need. Whatever the decision, I'll support that."

After he finished his little speech, Alan looked over to Ellie. She had such love in her eyes that Alan felt himself melt. Now was not the time to go over there and scoop her up into his arms and carry her upstairs to bed, but when she looked at him like that way, that's all he wanted to do. He loved her so much he sometimes felt he'd burst with it. And both these kids, her son and his pregnant girlfriend, they both meant the world to him, too.

Maybe that's what Ellie was getting at the whole time. As usual, she was right.