So, here we are: the first episode to write Ellen into. I'm really excited, I'm also slightly overwhelmed, but I'm just throwing it all out there. I'm gonna stop rambling so you can enjoy the episode. ENJOY! This is for you, cafe80s on Wattpad.

Ellen walked in through the back door. "Hey, Alex," she greeted.

"Hey, Ellen," Alex walked over to her and kissed her cheek. He turned back to his parents. "Looks great, but the junior class is having a welcome back breakfast."

"How about you, Jen?" Steven asked. "What's it going to be? Eggs? Pancakes?"

"I ate already, Dad," Jennifer said. "I've been up for three hours."

"I see," Steven said, sounding disappointed.

Mallory walked into the kitchen.

"Mallory, how about some pancakes?" Steven suggested.

"Please, Dad. If I even look at food today, I'm gonna be sick," Mallory said.

"This worked out nicely," Steven said to himself.

"I'll take a pancake, Mr. Keaton," Ellen said.

Steven smiled, holding out the platter for her. "See? You picked a good one, Alex. Someone who actually appreciates my cooking."

"Jennifer, Andy's ready for you," Mallory told Jennifer. "He just needs his hair brushed."

"Isn't that cute?" Jennifer mused as she left the room. "His first day of preschool."

"Yeah. Mallory, uh, you sure you don't want some breakfast?" Steven asked.

"No, Dad," Mallory answered. "It's my first day of college. I'm very nervous."

"Mal, you got nothing to worry about," Alex said. "I mean, it's not like you're going to a real college."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "You know, that was almost reassuring. I'm gonna say, 'Good job, honey.'"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mallory asked.

Ellen sighed, knowing where this was heading.

"Oh, come on. How can you get nervous about going to a college that advertises in Hot Rod magazine?" Alex asked.

"That's not true, Alex," Mallory said.

"Oh, come on, Mal. I saw the ad," Alex said. "'Grant College introductory offer, buy one semester, get the rest free.' Then there's that radio spot: 'At Grant College, we have a modern library, fully qualified professors, and thick, juicy steaks cooked just the way you like them.'"

"Alex, I'm sorry, but I've gotta take your sister's side," Ellen said. "Sure, their way of reaching out to potential students is not very traditional, but Grant College is a very fine school."

"Yeah," Mallory argued. "It's very hard to get in."

Just then, Skippy walked in through the back door. "Hello, fellow Grant College freshman!" he greeted excitedly.

"Okay, I take it back, I agree with Alex," Ellen walked back her previous statement.

"Yeah, looks like it's even harder to stay out," Alex quipped.

"Skip, how about some breakfast on your first day at Grant College?" Steven suggested.

"No, thank you, Mr. Keaton," Skippy declined. "I'm saving my appetite for those thick, juicy steaks."

Alex grinned smugly at Mallory. Jennifer came back into the kitchen, this time with Andy, who was dressed in a little suit that matched Alex's.

"Does this tie go, Alex?" Andy asked.

"'Does this tie go?'" Alex repeated, lifting his little brother up to sit him on the kitchen island. "You look like a million bucks."

"Tax-free," Andy added.

"Is it too late to take Andy into the woods and have him raised by wolves?" Steven asked.

"Come on, you know how long I had to wait to have a little brother?" Alex asked. "What I had to endure? I'm just excited, that's all."

"You look amazing, Andy," Ellen complimented.. "Though, a little overdressed," she added, looking at Alex.

"It's his first day of preschool," Alex reasoned. "And you only get one chance to make a good first impression."

"And you want that impression to be that he's somehow better than all the other kids?" Ellen asked.

"Yes," Alex answered blankly.

"Come on, Andy. Do you want to wave goodbye to your sister on her first day of college?" Mallory asked.

"It's not a real college," Andy said.

"Gee, I wonder where he could've picked that up," Ellen said.

Alex practically rushed through the front door, with Ellen trailing behind. Jennifer was at the table, doing her homework.

"Where's Andy?" he asked.

"He's upstairs taking a nap," Jennifer told him.

"Aw. I wanted to find out how his first day of preschool was."

"He called three times," Ellen added.

"And every time I called, they said it was nap time," Alex said.

"Well, he's upstairs taking another nap now," Jennifer said.

"I gotta talk to this kid. He's sleeping his life away," Alex said, beginning to head upstairs as Mallory and Skippy came in.

"Hi."

"Guys, how was your first day of college?" Jennifer asked.

"Jennifer, it was so exciting," Mallory gushed, all the nerves from this previous completely gone. "It's so different from high school. I'm taking this amazing philosophy course. We talked about life and death, the nature of reality, and the existence of being and non-being. I mean... this could change the whole way I dress."

A beat passed.

"So, how was your first day, Skip?" Alex asked.

"Not quite as good, due to a computer error," Skippy replied. "I spent the whole day at the registrar trying to prove that I'm not a laboratory rat."

Ellen couldn't help but let a snort out, earning an offended glare from Skippy. She straightened herself out. "Did you convince them?" she asked.

"I have to go back tomorrow with my birth certificate," Skippy told them, taking a seat on the sofa.

Mallory sat down. "You know, Jennifer. I think philosophy may be my true calling. There are just so many interesting questions. Today, the professor asked, what proof do I have that I really exist."

"Show him your phone bill," Alex said, chuckling.

"Laugh if you want, Alex, but I have started my first paper," Mallory handed what she had so far to Jennifer. Ellen looked over Jennifer's shoulder to read it.

"'I shop, therefore I am,'" Ellen read aloud. She looked back at Mallory, who looked pretty impressed with herself.

"It's only a first draft, too."

"Well, let's go to the mall and do some research on the paper," Jennifer said.

"That's a good idea, Jen. You're gonna do really well in college," Mallory said.

The two girls had just closed the door as Steven and Elyse walked down the stairs.

"Oh, hey. Is Andy awake yet?" Alex asked. "'Cause I want to ask him-"

"Oh, he is out like a light, honey," Elyse told him. "He's had a very full day."

"I'm a little sleepy myself," Skippy chimed in, standing up. "I've got a big day on campus tomorrow. I have to run through a maze and ring a bell to get a piece of Swiss cheese."

"You crazy college kids," Steven quipped before Skippy left.

"So, how did Andy do today?" Ellen asked.

"Oh, he loves preschool," Elyse said.

"Great. Tell us all about it," Alex requested.

"Well, he was a little nervous at first," Steven said.

"Well, that's alright," Alex cut in. "I mean, that's to be expected."

"Yeah," Ellen agreed. "When I started preschool, I cried for half an hour my first day."

"But after a couple of minutes, he started to enjoy himself," Steven continued.

"Well, what were his favorite subjects?" Alex asked. "Finger painting, blocks, supply-side economics?"

"I think he said that the part he liked best was sharing time," Elyse replied.

"Oh," Alex stopped. "Sharing time? What's that?"

"One of the objectives of the school is to teach kids that sharing is fun," Elyse explained. "So, everything is shared equally. All the toys in the room belong to the group, and they're considered communal property."

"That sounds nice," Ellen said.

"'Nice'?" Alex repeated in indignation. "What is this, the Karl Marx Preschool?"

"The Harper School program teaches kids to support each other, to feel good about themselves," Elyse said.

"They even have this method of encouraging the children who are a little shy," Steven added. "They give them patches to wear that say, 'I know how to say goodbye,' or 'I know how to nap,' or 'I know how to speak in sentences.'"

"Sounds like an insane asylum," Alex said. "Preschool is supposed to prepare Andy for real life. In a couple years, he's gonna be out there in the dog-eat-dog world of kindergarten. He's got to be ready. He's got to build his character, sharpen his menal skills, improve his physical endurance."

"What do you want him to do? Find the biggest toddler at his school and knock the poor kid out?" Ellen asked sarcastically.

"Thank you, babe, your support means a lot," Alex hugged her. After pulling away from his girlfriend, he continued. "I just don't want to see Andy on the street twenty years from now with a patch that says, 'I know how to say goodbye.'"

"Well, that might be helpful at job interviews," Ellen joked.

"I'm not gonna do it," Ellen argued as she, Alex, Andy, and Jennifer walked down the stairs with Jennifer's old dollhouse.

Alex ignored her. "Mallory, do you have to work here? We could really use the space."

"Oh, no. You can't stop us now, Alex," Skippy said. "See, Mallory is going to prove I exist."

"That could get a little messy," Alex said. "Why don't you do that in the kitchen?"

"Alright," Mallory agreed. She gathered her things and made her way towards the kitchen with Skippy. "Okay, a couple of questions, Skippy. First of all, what would you say distinguishes you from an inanimate object?"

"My allergies?" Skippy suggested.

Alex and Jennifer sat down on the sofa, with Alex placing the dollhouse on the coffee table. Ellen was sitting on the ottoman, with Andy sitting on her lap.

"Alex, I'm kinda on Ellen's side for this one," Jennifer said. "This is crazy. Don't you think Mom and Dad are gonna find out that Andy isn't in preschool?"

"Yeah, well, I can't worry about that now," Alex said. "The important thing is to deprogram Andy before anything he learned in preschool sinks in."

"You're making it sound like you rescued him from captivity by enemy soldiers," Ellen said.

"Same thing," Alex said. "So, we're gonna play house. I'm gonna be the father, and Ellen is supposed to be the mother."

"I'm not," Ellen said.

A beat.

"Change of plans, Jennifer is gonna be the mother," Alex said, handing the doll to Jennifer. "We're gonna show Andy how a normal family functions. Are you watching, Andy?"

"Yes, sir," Andy answered.

"Good," Alex said, holding up his doll. "Honey, I'm home."

"Hi there, dear," Jennifer said through her doll.

"What did you do today while I was out working hard to support you?"

Ellen rolled her eyes.

"I had an affair with the milkman," Jennifer said, earning a laugh from Ellen.

"Okay, I changed my mind, this was a great idea," Ellen backtracked.

Alex tried to stay in character. "That's very funny, dear. Does that mean you didn't make any dinner for you husband, even though I was slaving away at the office?"

"At least you get paid!" Jennifer had her doll snap. "Housework is just as tough as your job, and I don't get a dime. I want a divorce!"

"Alright, Jennifer," Alex put down his doll, giving up. "If you can't play nicely, let's not play at all, okay?"

Jennifer didn't care, walking away.

"That's alright, Andy, we don't need her."

"Are you sure? Because that was a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be," Ellen said with a teasing smile as Steven and Elyse came in.

"Hey, Alex," Steven greeted. "Hey, there's my guy."

"Hi, sweetie," Elyse greeted.

"Hey, what's this patch?" Steven asked.

"Oh, that's nothing," Alex tried to cover up before his father read it aloud.

"'I know how to itemize deductions.' Boy, they're really moving ahead quickly there."

"Mom, Dad, sit down."

"Something very bad is going to happen now," Steven predicted.

"Just hear me out before you say anything, okay?" Alex requested.

"This is worse than we thought."

"Andy withdrew from preschool today," Alex said.

"What?"

"And I want to tell you something. I admire him for it."

Ellen shook her head. "Just keep digging yourself deeper, hon."

"Okay, alright, alright, Andy didn't withdraw. I withdrew him," Alex confessed. "But that preschool wasn't for him. He was picking up a lot of bad habits there."

"Alex, the Harper Preschool is one of the best in the area," Steven pointed out. "It's a humanistic approach to childcare based on affection, mutual understanding, and respect. Granted, you have no regard for these things, but other members of our species, such as Ellen, cling blindly to them."

"And I told him that this was a stupid idea," Ellen added. "But he didn't listen. The only good thing that came out of this was that I got to watch a pretty good show."

Elyse sighed. "I'm gonna call Mrs. Kluger. There's no way she could've taken any of this seriously."

"Alright. Look, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did," Alex began. "But you have to understand one thing. I only did what I did because I thought it was best for Andy. I love that kid. I'd never do anything to hurt him."

"Alright, Alex, but you have to understand one thing," Steven said. "We're his parents, and this is our decision."

"Yeah, I mean, if they do something like this when we have kids, how would you feel?" Ellen asked.

"You're both right" Alex relented. "Wait a minute, you've got Mallory. You've got Jennifer. You've got carte blanche on them. Do whatever you want. I'll even throw in Skippy if you want. But Andrew... Andrew's mine."

"You really want to use Skippy as a bargaining chip?" Ellen asked.

"I'm grasping at straws here," Alex said before he walked up the stairs.

Ellen sighed.

"Well, if he throws in Skippy..." Steven considered.

Ellen, Alex, and Andy walked into the classroom and were greeted by Mrs. Kluger.

"Good morning, Andrew," Mrs. Kluger greeted. "Good morning, Alex."

"Good morning, Mrs. Kluger," both of the brothers greeted in unison, earning a fond laugh from Ellen.

"And who's this?" Mrs. Kluger asked.

"Oh, this is my girlfriend, Ellen Reed," Alex introduced.

The two women shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Ellen," Mrs. Kluger said.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Kluger," Ellen said.

"It's nice to see you back at school, Andy," Mrs. Kluger addressed her student. "I think Mrs. Kaufman's waiting for you."

"Go ahead, Andy, be strong," Alex said as Andy made his way to the group. He turned to Mrs. Kluger. "Mrs. Kluger, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I was way out of line and I shouldn't have told you how to run your school. I get a little emotional when it comes to Andy."

"Well, would you two like to stay and watch him play for a while?" Mrs. Kluger suggested.

"We'd love to, but we have to get to our classes," Ellen said.

"But thanks, anyway," Alex added.

"Alright. Have a nice day," Mrs. Kluger said before she went back work.

Alex and Ellen did end up staying for a little while, though, when Alex got caught up in one of the activities that Andy's class was doing. Ellen enjoyed watching him interact with the other kids, remembering when they had just met and she saw him playing with Andy.

When they finally did leave, Alex stopped for a minute. "Did you mean what you said yesterday?"

"What?" Ellen asked.

"About having kids with me?" Alex said.

"Yeah," Ellen answered with a smile. "I love you, Alex, and... seeing you with Andy and, even today with these kids, it makes me excited to think of what you'd be like with your own kid."

Alex smiled. "I love you too, Ellen... and I'd love to start a family with you... someday."

"But, when we have kids, we have to actually talk to each other about whatever disagreements we may have," Ellen said. "We can't just act the way you did yesterday."

"I promise, Ellen," Alex said honestly, kissing her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said.

So, I got the first episode down! I feel proud of myself for finally jotting it all down. I'll try to get the next episode out as soon as possible, but I have a lot going on right now. My anxiety's been acting up a lot, Christmas is over so seasonal depression is 'round the corner, and just generally everything.

Also, today is my birthday! So, this is also kind of my birthday present to myself that I'm just sharing with my fellow Ellex shippers.

See you next time, lovelies!

~Marissa