AN: whoops, lmfao been forgetting to update here so here's a chapter spammm

P.S. We're, as in me, dragging around some angst so heads up

Autumn - September

The sound of rain dancing around on their rooftop was all Ellie could hear as she mindlessly scribbled her thoughts into her journal. Not Dina or even JJ during most nights, just the sound of her hollow thoughts. Truth be told, JJ wasn't even here tonight since he was having a sleepover at Robin's but she missed her restless potato. By the time she finished writing down her last coherent thought, she shut her journal before setting it down on her lap and glancing at her fiancé.

Dina's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she stirred around with a soft groan. She then twitched before reaching out with her hand. After a second, she touched Ellie's thigh with her knee before mumbling something and scooching closer, nuzzling against her side. Her action only made Ellie sigh silently before brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She comforted Dina with affectionate pats until she stopped grunting. When Dina was finally sleeping peacefully, Ellie opened her journal again. She started sketching Dina's sleeping face, focusing on her gentle features and freckled face, pushing away the negative thoughts haunting her mind.

Morning came before she knew it.

Later that day, Ellie found herself hesitating to bleed out a hare. She managed to hunt it just fine with her bow and arrow but the second it was in her hand, she couldn't stop shaking. The walk home had been mundane and cold despite the cool weather and once she was behind their house where they prepared animals, her vision tunneled. She tried steadying herself but that didn't work. She even closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose.

"You're fine Ellie…"

She jerked her face away when she remembered the sensation of his aggression and cold body.

"Fuck…" Ellie huffed before opening her eyes and staring at the lifeless animal in front of her. "Don't be pathetic… You've done this before…"

She took a heavy breath before picking up her carving knife and bringing it to the hare's neck. She breathed in and out a few times before finally pressing the knife against its neck but right when she was about to cut into its flesh, Dina called out to her.

"El, everything alright? You need some help?"

The knife immediately dropped from her hand and she lowered the hare before turning her face. She saw Dina pop around the corner with a gentle face.

"Uh…"

Dina silently read the situation before walking over. "Here, let me do that. Can you hang up the rest of the laundry for me?

Ellie swallowed back the bile in her mouth before responding. "Y-Yeah. I can do that." Appreciating the subtle exchange, she couldn't look at the lifeless hare again as she walked away.

Her weird funk didn't let up for the rest of the day.

By the next morning, the two of them made their way back to Jackson to pick up their son. Dina led the way on Shimmer with Ellie saddled right behind her. She was quiet the entire time and it wasn't until they made a pit stop at Eugene's place that Ellie smiled slightly after remembering the warm memory they shared here. She faced Dina before asking:

"You think this is enough?" Ellie asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

Dina spared her a glance before placing the last bag of weed into her backpack. "Yeah? I mean… I know Johnny is going to buy two." She then vaguely counted the ziplock bags in her bag. "Then there's Hunter, Sammy, Joe, and Fred."

Snorting lightly, Ellie shook her head softly before attempting to crack a joke. "Who would've thought we'd basically drop out of college and make a living by selling your uncle's weed." She paused for a second before adding, "And sheep by-products I guess."

Her fiancé shrugged at that comment. "Hey, it's good business. Besides,' I'm pretty sure Uncle Eugene wouldn't want it to go to waste and it's not like we can smoke it all." She then took a big whiff of a bag before sighing deeply. "God, I miss smoking weed."

Ellie chuckled at that before lightly kissing Dina's neck. "And so do I…" She then went behind Dina and wrapped her hands around her waist, pulling her into a loose hug, before kissing her neck again. "Just a little longer until he's just only on solid baby food. We can get high as shit as a celebration."

Groaning from anticipation, Dina turned her face and kissed Ellie's shoulder. "Ugh, that sounds so good."

Smiling warmly, Ellie leaned in and peppered affectionate kisses onto her neck before lightly biting her skin. That made Dina let out a soft hum and Ellie only kissed her more playfully until Dina finally swatted her away.

"Okay, that's enough. We're not having sex here again El."

Ellie only hugged her tighter before giving her a big obnoxious kiss. "Aw, why not?"

Dina coaked an eyebrow. "Because for one, we're not high as fuck like last time and can do better than that. And two, no offense to Uncle Eugene but I don't want to know what has happened here with VHS tapes named 'Dong of the Wolf' and 'Smash Brandi's Cootch.' And three, we have a schedule to keep."

"You're no fun."

"Someone needs to be responsible."

"Hey, I am responsible."

"Says the one who basically said, 'Hold my baby while I go break someone's fingers?' Yeah, sure. Definitely responsible." Dina joked with a teasing smile.

Ellie rolled her eyes at that. "I hate you. Besides, he had it coming."

Grinning widely, Dina blew her a small kiss. "He did and love you too, now c'mon." She zipped up her backpack before tapping Ellie's ass. "Let's hurry into town, we gotta sell these before we meet up with our family."

Scrunching her nose, Ellie sighed. "Right, Maria would flip if she knew what we were doing."

Her fiancé shrugged at that. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"True."

Dina smiled at her before nodding her head toward the exit. Once they were outside, they went to the stable before hopping on Shimmer's saddle and heading to Jackson. It was just a short ride away and once they were through the main gates, they quickly settled in before making their rounds. It wasn't hard finding their patrons and after a little under an hour, they sold all their bags, making more than they thought.

So, having finished earlier than expected, they went downtown to kill some time before meeting up with their family. The first thought that crossed their mind was buying new clothes for JJ. He was growing up so fast that his certain clothes hardly fit him. Thankfully… the thought of JJ seemed to bring back Ellie's normality.

"Ellie, are you ever going to choose a onesie without dinosaurs or astronauts?" Dina couldn't help but notice as she saw her fiancé grab a onesie from afar.

Having been caught red-handed, Ellie froze but slowly turned around with a slight pout. "Uhhh… no?" When Dina shot her 'the look,' she shrugged before gushing, "What? It's cute. You know JJ is freaking adorable in these!" To prove her point, she flashed her a super cute onesie with a mini T-Rex pattern on it.

"Duh, of course, he's cute. He's my flesh and blood, babe. He'll look adorable as shit in everything." Dina playfully rolled her eyes before adding, "But he could use classy clothes too, just saying." She then held up this neat, baby blue colored onesie.

"Hey, astronauts are classy!" Ellie quickly argued back before flashing another onesie that looked like their uniforms minus the NASA print on the right-hand side.

Snorting at that, Dina just held up another onesie that was forest green in color. "We need to start getting him something a little more warm since winter is right around the corner." She added one to her chosen clothes pile. "Maybe a new beanie too."

That's when Ellie gasped out of the blue.

"What? What's wrong?" Dina quickly turned around and saw Ellie holding another piece of clothing.

"Babe. We need this."

Dina was about make a comment but the second she saw what Ellie was holding, a mini red fucking flannel, her mouth responded for her. "Grab two. They got any other colors?"

Ellie quickly snatched two flannels off the shelf before searching around for other colors. "Uhh they got… blue, green, and tan."

"Two of each," Dina repeated before smiling to herself. "We are so matching with our baby one day."

"Oh god… when were we those types of parents?"

"Hey, you're the one who basically suggested it."

"No, I didn't." Ellie loosely argued back before adding, "I just found the adorable flannels."

"Same shit El." Dina shook her head with a smile before taking another look at the beanies. She picked a few up, testing the thickness and stretchiness before Ellie spoke up.

"Mmh… I think this should be enough for now." Ellie proclaimed as she walked by and grabbed Dina's pile. "We should swing by old Martin's to snag more polaroids though" She then placed the onesies on the counter before pulling out some money.

"Hey, who said I was done?" Dina loosely whined as she walked over and added a beanie onto the counter.

"Wellllll, I miss our Munchkin and if we don't stop now, we'll never leave."

Dina let out a sigh with a light eye roll. "Fine."

They ended up leaving the store with two bags of clothes and the second Ellie's side of the family saw them, they all shot them a look.

"Ellie, what in the name…" Joel dared to suggest as he glanced at the bags.

"Clothes." She nonchalantly answered while raising one of the bags in her hands. "For JJ."

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "Doesn't he already have enough?"

Both Ellie and Dina responded at the same time. "No."

"Alright alright, is one of you two going to grab your son or not?" Maria announced as she walked into the living room with a very restless JJ squirming in her arms. He was very quick to notice the presence of his parents before babbling at them cheerfully.

"Aww, did my baby miss me?" Dina was quick to ditch her fiancé and walked to Maria before grabbing JJ from her. She then gave him a big old kiss before bouncing him softly. "Yeah, I missed you too JJ!"

"Hey! He missed me more," Ellie exclaimed before walking in and setting down their bags off the side.

JJ saw Ellie and brightened up, kicking around excitedly, before seemingly hesitating since he just looked back and forth with a confused face between the two. His mouth was wide open and he looked confused (which was the most adorable thing on the planet!) and Dina noticed before smiling and suggesting.

"Mmh, it's okay JJ. You can miss Mommy too. Just not more than me." Dina winked at him before looking Ellie straight in the eyes and when her fiancé rolled her eyes at her comment, she chuckled before kissing JJ's face one last time.

Rolling her eyes again, Ellie walked over and pulled Dina in by her hips. She then held onto her firmly, keeping her trapped as she glanced down at her neck, snickering at the faint hickey that Dina wasn't aware existed, before kissing JJ's cheek. "Don't worry JJ…" She started in a somewhat serious-sounding voice before looking Dina right in the eyes with a smug smile. "I like Mama the most too."

Dina quickly smiled at her sweet comment before shaking her head and leaning in to kiss Ellie's cheek. Ellie immediately smiled before twitching when Joel finally cleared his throat to get their attention. Her eyes widened and she pulled away from Dina with warm cheeks. She tried to play it off by coughing but none of her family members were buying it. They all had those ready-to-embarrass-inducing smiles on their faces, happy to humiliate Ellie at any given second. By some miracle, and as always, Maria came in with the clutch to save her niece.

"Alright alright, leave the two love birds alone. They're, or well, one of them is gonna explode if you tease them further."

Ellie twitched at that pen name with a pink face while Tommy chucked.

"Hey, we didn't say anything." Tommy retorted before shooting Joel this look. "Yet."

Compared to her fiancé, Dina was living for every second of whatever this was. "Mmh, don't mind me. Please, carry on."

"Hey! I'm right here!" Ellie scoffed in offense. "And aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"I am on your side." Dina quickly quipped before smiling playfully. "Team embarrassing Ellie that is."

Tommy burst out laughing while Maria couldn't hide her smile. Even Joel looked like he was trying to suppress his laughter as his lips thinned out into a crooked line. Better yet, JJ was laughing along with them and clapping his hands as if he was laughing at his Mommy too.

Sporting a full-on pout, Ellie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What kind of family is this!"

"The fun kind obviously." Dina sneered back with a smug smile.

"Wha— why you, just wait till we're back home! I'm gonna—"

"Alright alright!" Joel finally announced out of the blue. "Why don't you kids take JJ on a small walk? He's been a little restless from being cooped up all morning."

Dina faced Joel as she adjusted her hold on JJ, bouncing him up slightly so that he was hugging her shoulders and was seated on her forearm. She held eye contact, having this weird suspicion but shrugging it off. "Sure." She then turned to face her fiancé, "Wanna join El?"

"Anything to get away from these brutes."

"Hey."

Ellie completely ignored Joel as she grabbed Dina's free hand. "C'mon, let's go, babe."

As fast as they came, they were out the door in record time. They made their way down the block, still hand in hand and Dina couldn't help but chuckle at Ellie's grumbling.

"You're such a wimp."

Ellie's eyes narrowed in on Dina before she asked in an offended tone. "What's so fun about taking their side?"

Dina looked up toward the sky, pretending to think of a good reason while humming. "Let's see… Well for starters, it's always fun bullying you." She teased while ignoring her fiancé's side-eye. "But… to be honest, the main reason is because you're cute when you're flustered."

"They were messing with the both of us though." Ellie quickly pointed out while gently squeezing her hand. "Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"Being with you? No. Never. I don't think I'll ever be embarrassed being with you. If anything I'll be embarrassed for you."

Ignoring her growing blush, Ellie wasn't sure what to say. "Uh… thanks?"

Dina just shrugged. "Anyways, you want to head over to—"

Ellie cut her off by quickly pulling her off to the side, holding her by her waist, and shielding her from an oncoming person who almost ran into them. "Watch where you're going R-tard!" She yelled in an angry voice, "You almost ran into them asshole."

That guy looked like he was in a rush because he didn't even bother turning around. "Sorry!"

The scowl on Ellie's face was still prominent as she watched him turn the corner. Once he was out of sight, she finally untensed her body before looking at her fiancé. "You alright?"

JJ's nose scrunched before he started crying. Dina's eyes widened before she started bouncing and shushing him. "Hey hey, it's okay buddy." She made some kissy noises before making eye contact with Ellie. "I'm fine, looks like JJ got spooked though."

Frowning at that, Ellie raised her hands to grab him from Dina's hands. "Aw, I'm sorry spud." She kissed his forehead. "I didn't mean to scare ya." She pecked his head again before resting him against her chest and patting his back.

JJ sniffled and whined before settling down and grabbing onto Ellie's shirt. He made some more whiney noises before swinging his feet back and forth. Ellie just sighed before coddling him affectionately.

"What were you saying Dina?"

"Hm?"

"Earlier, before that guy almost ran into you."

"Ah, I was just going to say we should swing by that new cafe. What was it called again…" Dina grabbed her chin before snapping her fingers. "Right, the Flying Dutchman or something like that."

Ellie immediately snorted at that. "The 'Flying Dutchman?' What kind of cafe name is that?"

Dina just shrugged. "No idea but Becca was saying it's good."

"Sure, I guess. Not like we got anything better to do anyway. They better have some epic pirate boat decor though or I'll be upset."

"An 'epic pirate boat decor?'" Dina repeated with an amused smile.

"Yeah." Ellie didn't miss a beat. "And the waiter's better look like Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

"The what a who now?" Dina inquired with an amused smile.

"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy." She repeated before adding, "From the Spongebob Squarepants." When her fiancé shot her a blank face, she scoffed. "Babe, you don't know Spongebob Squarepants? You know, the one who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

"No…? Should I?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "How are we living together when you don't know the most basic, classic cartoons out there?"

Dina pretended to think before joking. "The sex and my cute baby?"

She scoffed again before looking into JJ's eyes and complaining to him as if he knew. "Unbelievable. Are you hearin' this JJ? Your mama doesn't know Spongebob freaking Squarepants!"

"Hey, just cause I'm not a nerd like you doesn't mean I won't appreciate a pirate-themed cafe. That'd be weird but epic."

"It would be pretty epic huh?

"Yup." She popped the 'p' before grabbing Ellie's arm and pulling her along. "C'mon, let's find out if there are pirates or not."

"Aye aye, captain!"

It wasn't exactly a surprise when they got there that the cafe wasn't pirate-themed but still disappointing, to say the least. The outside of the cafe sort of looked like a boat but if one were to simplify it to a word, a tavern would sum that up and that was nothing special here in Jackson. Most establishments were made of wood and beams.

"My hopes and dreams have been shattered babe."

Dina started laughing out loud at Ellie's over-dramatic reaction. "Maybe we should start a pirate-themed cafe."

"Oh hell yeah, we can add some space to it too and make it a space pirate cafe."

Rolling her eyes playfully at that, Dina reached forward to wipe away some drool coming out of JJ's mouth. "You're ridiculous."

"What, you know it's a good idea."

"Mmh, sure it is."

Ellie shot her the stink eye. "Don't bring it up if you're not a believer!"

Dina immediately grinned before opening the door for her fiancé and son. "C'mon, maybe the inside is different and I want to let's see what they got."

When they both stepped inside, Ellie's face flattened. "It's even blander in here."

A snort came out of Dina's lips as she slapped Ellie's arm. "Hey, play nice. Maybe their food is good." She then glanced at the menu with a hum. "You want anything specific?"

Ellie's eyes flicked up toward the menu and she skimmed it before shrugging. "Whatever is fine." JJ's face scrunched and he started whining which widened Ellie's face. "Oh— hey, what's wrong buddy?"

JJ started squirming around before abruptly crying louder. That made his moms flinch before Ellie noticed that all eyes were on them.

"Uh… I'm a take him outside." Ellie announced before patting JJ's back.

"Okay, I'll meet you…" Dina glanced outside the window. "By that table?"

"Sure." Ellie made some kissy noises before heading outside. "It's okay buddy. Don't cry."

The last thing Dina saw as her fiancé and son left the cafe was Ellie making weird faces and noises at him. She smiled endearingly before turning around to place an order. By the time she was out the door, she had two drinks and a muffin to share between them; however, before she could make it far, someone came out to her.

"Dina? Is that you?"

She turned around at the sound of her name before squinting at the person who called her out.

"Claire…?"

"Oh my god, it is you, Dina!"

"Oh shit," Dina laughed before asking, "What are you doing in Jackson?"

Ah yes, Claire. One of her classmates and friends from school. They had most of their engineering classes together and were each other's go-to lab partners in class. The only quirk about her though, was her filter, or rather lack of, when it came to personal raunchy topics such as sex.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Claire gave her a big warm smile before pulling her into a side hug. "How have you been? I got worried since you stopped showing and whatnot. I heard that you left due to personal reasons?"

Dina just shrugged with a curt smile. "You can say that." She then glanced over and made eye contact with Ellie before mouthing her some words. Her fiancé took the hint before turning away to give them room. Dina then turned her attention back to Claire. "Long story short, some shit happened so I'm…" She paused and took a breath before admitting out loud for the first time. "Dropping out of school."

"Oh, sweetie…"

Claire gave her that pitiful look that Dina braced herself to receive. She didn't like it but she knew it would come regardless of reason or person. The only good part of it was that Claire was great at reading the atmosphere and her eyes lit up when she looked down before switching topics.

"Oh my gosh… Dina is that… are you married?!"

It took a second to process since Dina had gotten used to the feeling of a ring on her finger a long time ago. It was quite nice having someone notice actually. She remembered feeling giddy most of the time during the first few weeks and she couldn't stop fiddling with it but now it was practically one with her body.

"Not yet…" Dina excused before glancing toward Ellie. Naturally, Claire's eyes followed her line of sight as she added, "I still need to propose to her. I got this special ring on order but it won't be ready until the end of the year, hopefully. I pulled in a favor for this special metal and—"

Claire let out a small gasp before snapping her head toward Dina. "Wait— are you… oh my god! You're engaged to Ellie? Ellie as in your best friend Ellie Williams?"

The bubbly smile on Dina's face grew. "Yes."

Her eyebrows only furrow deeper from curiosity. "And who's that baby she's holding?"

Her smile was still shining bright and proud. "Our son, JJ."

This time, her eyes popped open. "Shut the front door!" A huge ass smile grew on Claire's face as well. "You two have a son?! He's so cute! Since when did you start a family? How old is he?"

Dina couldn't help but gush. "He's two months and two weeks old, the cutest nugget you'll see in Jackson right now."

Claire started laughing happily. "Oh my gosh, look at you Dee! Congrats on having a baby boy and a cute fiancé!"

Dina just smiled again as they watched the two mess around in the distance. A second passed before her friend couldn't help it and started:

"But wow oh wow. Dee Dee, I never knew you were into Williams." She practically teased as she wiggled her eyebrows and eyed Ellie with a playful look. "So, what's it like?"

Humming softly at Claire's comment, Dina looked at her before raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Claire only chuckled as she leaned in closer before snarking, "You know what I mean…" When Dina gave her the 'look,' she rolled her eyes before continuing. "The sex babe. How. Is. Williams. In. Bed?"

A wide smile immediately grew on Dina's face as she shook her head and licked her upper lip. She then glanced at her fiancé before looking back at her with a shit-eating grin. "The best I've had."

"Shut up!" She quickly remarked before getting even closer with that teasing yet gossip-eating smile of hers. "Is it because it's lesbian sex or because it's Williams?"

Humming playfully at that, Dina pretended to ponder a little before shrugging. "Because of both?"

"Well, I be damned." Claire then looked at Ellie again, who was lightly tossing JJ up and catching him.

Dina noticed that before frowning and shouting at her. "Ellie, you better not drop him!"

Her fiancé turned to face her before shouting back. "I won't!" She then blew a raspberry into his tummy, "Right buddy? I'm not going to drop you, you're too precious for that!" She then held him up again before playfully swinging him around as if he were an airplane.

That made Claire whistle. "Damn, your wife is hot." Her comment made Dina turn to look at her but with a slight blush at the compliment. "Was she always that strong? Like shit, I tried doing that to my nephew but he was heavy as shit. Her arms must be killer."

Snorting at that, Dina laughed before glancing back at Ellie. "I mean, she has always been pretty toned. She just doesn't look like it because she looks like a twig and wears loose clothes most of the time but she's stronger than she looks."

Claire clicked her tongue playfully. "You dirty dog."

Dina rolled her eyes with a smile. "Oh shut up."

Laughing at their banter, Claire breathed in before huffing. "Alright, I should probably let you go now." However, right before she said her goodbyes, she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Do you have internet where you live?"

"I mean…" Dina looked up at the sky before shrugging. "We barely got a landline and working radio reception. The internet isn't impossible but we do sort of live far away from town in a barn house."

The smug look on Claire's face only deepened.

Dina already knew where she was going. "Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

Claire raised her hands in innocence. "Anyways… as I was trying to say and not imply, you should try posting videos of your family on a platform like Myspace or YouTube or something. That way we can keep in touch and keep track of your cute baby."

"Mmh… I'll think about it."

"Tch," She snapped her fingers with a wink. "Darn, here I was hoping for clips of your gay farm life."

Dina shook her head with a smile. "Get out of here."

Claire laughed with a playful grin before hugging Dina one last time. "All jokes aside, I was worried since we lost contact but I'm glad you're okay. You look happy."

"I am." Her smile was genuine. "Don't be a stranger if you come and visit Jackson for whatever reason. It won't be hard to find me since most people here know people who know where we're at."

"Oh brother, you and your small towns." She gave Dina one last smile before patting her shoulder. "Take care okay? You, Ellie, and your cute baby."

"We will." Dina nodded before awkwardly waving Claire off. Once she was on her way, Dina caught up to Ellie's side. "Sorry to keep you waiting, she was an old classmate."

"I figured." Ellie shifted JJ over to one arm before grabbing her drink from Dina. She took a sip before humming. "It's good."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm," Ellie then offered Dina a sip which she took.

Her face scrunched in disappointment. "Mmh, it tastes alright."

Ellie shrugged before taking another sip. "It's good to me."

"You think everything tastes good." Dina playfully argued back before adding, "Even those burnt eggs you made the other morning."

"Hey, if it's edible, it's good."

Dina rolled her eyes. "You're just drinking milk tea minus the tea babe." She licked her lips before raising the muffin in her hand to Ellie's mouth. "You this decent-looking muffin is good?"

"Obviously," Ellie answered before taking a bite. Her facial expression didn't change and she took a sip of her drink before confirming, "Mmh, yeah, it's good."

Cocking an eyebrow at that, Dina took a bite before frowning. "El, it's the dryest muffin out there."

"The flavor is there," she retorted with a light shrug, "I can tell that it's a banana walnut muffin."

"Babe. I can make you a better one," Dina deadpanned as she shifted her weight to one side.

JJ started whining before turning around and wrapping his arms around Ellie's shoulders. He wiggled his feet back and forth before turning back and facing Dina. He then babbled mindlessly while reaching out to grab something before swinging his hand around.

Ellie smiled at Dina with hopeful eyes before asking in a teasing tone. "Is that your way of saying you'll make some for me?"

"If you want," Dina's lips curled upward as she poked JJ's cheek.

"Cool," Ellie grinned happily before turning her attention back to JJ when he let out a loud "Bah!"

"Mmh?" Dina brought the muffin up to Ellie's lips before practically shoving it into her mouth. Once Ellie had a hold of it, she let go before grabbing JJ from her arms. "Is my little Goober hungry?"

Scrunching her face, Ellie grabbed the muffin as she grumbled while eating it before sipping her drink. She casually checked out Dina's ass when she turned around before following her when they started making their way back home. She was about halfway done with the muffin now when her curiosity grew at the undrunken drink in Dina's hand.

"You want me to hold your drink?"

Dina glanced at Ellie before smiling. "I got it." She then made some kissy noises at JJ before adjusting her hold on him, bouncing him up, and getting him to giggle. She finally took a sip of her drink before offering her fiancé some. "Want some? It tastes more than just milk." She teased with a playful smile.

Scoffing at her fiancé, Ellie shot her a look. "It's not my fault it tastes like milk!" She couldn't take her eyes off Dina and the way she was scrunching that cute nose of hers.

"You're lost then El."

"Wait—" Ellie scarfed down the rest of the muffin before puckering her lips at Dina.

"Knew you wanted some." Dina chuckled before offering Ellie some of her drink. When she did, JJ started whining louder. "Oh, baby…" She laughed before bouncing JJ around. "I'm sorry Bubba, I'll feed you when we get home okay?" JJ wailed some more before pawing at Dina's shirt. He grabbed onto Dina's chest before nibbling on her shirt needingly. "I'm sorry, I know I know."

"So, what do you think they're up to?" Ellie asked as they spotted Tommy's house down the block.

Humming softly, Dina tried getting JJ's attention with funny faces. "Maybe they're finally disowning you and adopting me instead."

Ellie snorted at that. "Maybe."

"Hey, you have to admit, Dina Miller sounds better than Ellie Miller."

"That's not even my name!"

Dina just ignored her before explaining, "Too many Ls in your name. Doesn't roll off the tongue that well."

She rolled her eyes. "What a dick."

Her teasing smile never left as Dina shrugged. "You love it."

"Do I now?"

"Hey, you made a choice." She then wiggled her ring finger to emphasize her point. "No takebacks, you're mine now."

Ellie shook her head. "That's not how that works, wouldn't it be the opposite?"

Dina tsk-ed at Ellie. "Not for us." She then patted JJ's butt soothingly when he squirmed again. "Not if you want to raise the cutest baby in Jackson with me."

A smile immediately melted onto her face. "Shit, when you put it that way."

"Hey," Dina covered JJ's ears before expanding, "No cursing in front of my baby."

"Your baby? I thought you said he was ours."

"If you admit you're mine."

Ellie rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're the worst." Dina shot her a look but Ellie dragged on with her words. "Butttt, if it's for the cutest baby alive, I'll admit it." She leaned in and pecked Dina's lips. "I'm yours."

Dina smiled smugly. "See? That wasn't hard."

"Shut up."

"Language."

"Go suck a lemon."

Not missing a beat, Dina wiggled her eyebrows. "Only if we can get zesty together."

"Oh my god, language!" Ellie quickly covered JJ's eyes and he looked just confused, staring at his parents with his bright and innocent eyes. "We don't need a horny ass kid this early on. He can't even walk yet!"

"Love you."

"I don't."

"But you love JJ."

"... I do."

"Which means you love me since he's carrying half my DNA."

Ellie scoffed with a shaky smile. "Agree to disagree."

"I love you."

She let out a sigh. "Love you too."

"Knew it."

"Oh shut it." Ellie lightly tapped Dina's arm and in response, her fiancé only puckered her lips and blew her a kiss.

By the time they made it back to Tommy's place, Dina went inside first before sitting down on the couch. Joel and Tommy walked away to give her some space after a quick explanation and once she was settled, she unbuttoned her shirt before guiding JJ to her breast. He was quick to latch onto her nipple and started hungrily sucking away as if he had been starved for days. Ellie walked over with a small privacy blanket and covered her fiancé's chest before turning around to face Maria.

"So…" Ellie started as she raised an eyebrow, eyeing her family suspiciously. "What are you guys up to?"

Joel froze before glancing at his brother and sister-in-law. "What do you mean kiddo?"

Dina just eyed their exchange curiously as she rubbed her son's chubby leg affectionately.

"We have eyes," Ellie explained as she fanned her hand between Dina and herself. "We know you're up to something."

Her adoptive father only checked his throat before eyeing Maria. Ellie caught that before looking at her as well and starting with squinted eyes.

"Maria…"

She glanced up and looked between the two kids before sighing. "Fine, fine, you win. I wanted it to be a surprise when you head back home but…" She paused and eyed them before smiling, "I wanted to give you two another horse, Japan specifically."

Dina's eyes lit up at the sound of her favorite horse. "Japan?" She practically beamed, "What's the occasion?"

Maria smiled warmly before shrugging. "Truth was, we wanted to give you two horses when you moved out but we didn't have enough horses at the time but now we do." She then tapped Tommy's arm, "Tommy here managed to find a seller so we have new ones at the stables."

Ellie frowned slightly. "Maria… you don't have to, this is too much." Dina, on the other hand, looked like a happy child about to open their present on Christmas Day.

She just shook her head while bringing up her hand. "It isn't. You're both family now and we want you girls to have everything you may possibly need out there. One day, JJ's going to get big and the three of you won't be able to ride one horse."

"But still…" Ellie looked away feeling guilty. She knew Maria was right but that didn't change the guilt eating away inside of her of being a burden and being the cause of trouble. Not anymore. She didn't want to bother others after what happened to Jesse. She wanted a quiet life void of trouble with Dina. She couldn't accept it but she knew that Maria wouldn't back down either. Ellie picked at her fingers in an anxious tick

Then, as if Dina read her mind, she smoothed out the situation. "Well… I'm not complaining, Japan is just a sweet boy. I'm sure Shimmer could use the company too, El." She looked at her fiancé with a smile. "What's another mouth to feed right?"

Ellie rubbed her ring and pinky fingers before turning away from the others and facing Dina. Her fiancé only gave her a soft smile and nod. She then breathed in before facing their general direction.

"Fine. We'll take him."

"Aw hell yeah!"

They all turned to face Dina before speaking at the same time.

"Language."

Dina just scoffed before tsk-ing at them. "Hey, I covered his ears."

Everyone took her word for it with the slight shake of the head but Ellie had the privilege of confirming that. She was staring right at Dina's chest and yes, she had in fact covered them. Not like it mattered in the first place since JJ was still focused on his meal.

The little sucker did enjoy his meal times.