Alan's words were exactly what they needed. Ellie had wanted him to go first for that reason. She'd been pissed at him in the kitchen for trying to weasel his way out of it all, but once he explained, she knew what she'd always known about him: he was going to do whatever needed to be done to make sure everyone he loved was okay.

And that's what Ethan and Hailey needed to hear, too. Alan's honesty would get the ball rolling. That's what Cheryl had encouraged, having someone be open and vulnerable to set the tone. Alan did exactly that.

As much as Ellie wanted to just curl herself into Alan's lap and kiss him and thank him for being so wonderful, she instead steeled herself and turned her attention away from him.

"Hailey, do you want to go next or do you want Ethan to go before you?" Ellie asked softly.

She wasn't looking at anyone. She was fidgeting with the ends of her braids. Ellie had driven her to San Jose to get her box braids redone last week, and they looked fantastic, now with blue and blonde mixed in with the extensions. It was hard to see a young girl like this, so beautiful and smart and carefree and yet so terrified of her future.

It took a minute or so for Hailey to speak, but she eventually did. "I can go," she answered softly, still playing with her hair.

But then Hailey looked up and spoke directly to Ellie. Maybe it was easier when she wasn't confronted with Ethan right there. Maybe it was because she and Ellie had been able to bond over the last couple months and she saw Ellie as something of a mother. Maybe it was just because a woman was the only one who could really understand. Whatever it was, Ellie found herself locked onto Hailey's dark, worried eyes.

"I don't want this baby," was Hailey's blunt response. "I decided that a while ago. And I haven't changed my mind. I want to give birth and then go see my family for Christmas and then go back to school. And I don't want to ever have to see the baby I'm giving up. I want the baby to have a family and I don't want to be a part of it. It's not my baby."

"But it's my baby," Ethan interjected.

Ellie had been so fixated on Hailey and making sure she felt safe sharing that she momentarily forgot that Ethan was even there. And his contribution was anything but helpful. "Ethan, let Hailey finish," she instructed. She didn't want to nag or shut him down, but she didn't want him getting in Hailey's way.

"No, I'm done," Hailey answered. She shifted herself on the sofa, hand on her swollen belly. If Ellie had to guess, Hailey was pretty much done being vulnerable as well as being done speaking. This should be interesting.

Ellie turned back to Ethan. "Okay, sweetie, tell us what you're thinking about all of this."

Ethan—sweet, perfect, kind, quiet, wonderful Ethan—looked at his mother with such pain in his face. "I want to be a dad. When we found out Hailey was pregnant, we were both super freaked out, like…we're twenty, you know? But I was actually…I dunno, I was like excited, I guess? It was always Hailey's decision, and if she wanted an abortion, that's what we'd do, but since she didn't, and even when she said she didn't want the baby…I just can't imagine giving it up. Like that's my kid in there," he said, pointing to Hailey's stomach. "Don't you feel like that?" Ethan asked her.

"No," she answered curtly. "I feel like I'm pregnant and then it's gonna suck to give birth and then I won't be pregnant anymore and I can get back to my life. This is just like a blip on the radar. This is a thing that's happening, Ethan, this isn't my whole future."

Ellie could see how Ethan was sputtering a little bit and trying to find the words. She turned her head to Alan, silently asking for his help. This part wasn't in her notecards from Cheryl.

Alan, god love him, got the message. "Ethan," he said gently, "are you prepared for what it means to be a father? You say you want this baby and you want to be a dad, but do you know what that means? Because I'm three times your age, kid, and I sure don't know what it means. Hell, you're barely more than a kid yourself."

Well, Ellie wouldn't have put it exactly like that but that was probably what needed to be said.

And it focused Ethan. His brow furrowed in the determined little way it always did ever since he was little. He spoke right to Alan and said, "I can read stuff and figure out the details like how to change a diaper and how often to feed a baby and whatever. But I think…I think being a dad is really about being there for your kid and supporting them and taking care of them and loving them and stuff. That's what any parent's supposed to do, right? That's what Mom and Dad and you have always done for me and Charlie."

Alan was a little stunned by that, and Ellie nearly said 'I told you so' but refrained. She'd tell him later.

It was Hailey who interrupted the moment, however. "Ethan, don't be stupid. You're twenty, you don't have a job, you're living with your mom. How are you gonna raise a baby by yourself? Because I'm not gonna have anything to do with it."

"They'll stay here with us. He'll get a job when he finishes school. We'll figure it out."

Ellie and Ethan and Hailey all turned to Alan, stunned. He had said it so casually, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. For herself, Ellie assumed that Ethan would give up this idea of keeping the baby and they'd help Hailey through the adoption process and then they'd go back to Northwestern and this would just be, as Hailey said, a blip in all their lives.

But Ethan's words were sincere. He'd obviously thought about it. And so had Alan. And so had Ellie, in the back of her mind. Only now it was real.

Hailey looked from Alan to Ellie and finally to Ethan. "So that's it?" she asked him. "You're gonna raise this baby?"

"Yeah. And I guess you're not?" he asked in return.

She shook her head. "I can't, Ethan."

"I wouldn't want you to if you don't want to."

They all went quiet. Ellie let them all sit in it for a minute before she softly suggested they all get ready for bed. No one protested. She had a feeling Hailey and Ethan needed a little time alone. And she certainly wanted to talk all this over with Alan.

The two of them went upstairs after bidding goodnight to the kids. She took Alan's hand as they went up the stairs. As soon as they got to their room, she closed the door and turned around to hug him. He held her tight, soothingly rubbing her back.

"Thank you," she whispered into the collar of his shirt. She inhaled him deeply, taking in the comfort of him.

"You did great, honey," he told her. "I don't think there was any way that was gonna go good, but it went better than I could have. And I think we got to a resolution."

Ellie nodded and lifted her head to look at him. "Did you mean that? Having Ethan and the baby live with us?"

"Of course," he answered. "It's not ideal, but what other choice is there? We're gonna help him however we can. So you'd better start thinking about whether you're gonna let the baby call you grandma," Alan added teasingly.

She groaned at that. She was over fifty. Almost sixty. But that didn't mean she was ready to be a grandmother. "You can be Grandpa Alan and I'll be Nana Ellie, how about that?"

He protested, "How come I have to be Grandpa?"

"Because Papa Alan sounds like you should be a pimp in the seventies," she pointed out.

They both laughed, and Ellie fell back into his arms.

"Alan, I love you," she murmured. "I really, really do. Thank you for just…everything."

He kissed her temple. "I love you, too. And we're gonna get through whatever comes our way, and we're gonna do it together."

And in spite of everything that the future had in store for them, Ellie smiled.