Lex stood outside with Bailey at their second adoption event. The last half hour couldn't come quick enough. They had been there for an hour and a half. Lex talked all about the benefits of fostering and adopting a dog, which she loved, but it got boring after a while. Most people were already done looking for the day, but Lex had to stay until her shift was over. "Are you thirsty, girl?" Lex asked Bailey, who stood up and walked in a circle, sitting patiently in front of Lex. "Hey, I know. I'm getting it for you."

Lex filled up her retractable bowl with water, which Bailey eagerly drank. Lex didn't try to get Bailey to sit when she finished her water. The time was passing slowly until familiar voices found their way to Lex. "Can I ask you some questions?"

Lex looked up. "Emma! Paul! How are you guys?" She eagerly hugged them both, which got Bailey to sit up. "And yeah."

"We're all doing well. I love Diane to the ends of the earth and back, but I was wondering how fostering is," Emma said, bringing Diane to the ground.

"Well, fostering is a great way to spend time with dogs without the long-term commitment if you're not sure how ready you are. There are some things to keep in mind. For example, you're preparing the dogs to be adopted at one point, so getting them on a regular schedule of eating and going to the bathroom is something you're going to have to establish. Teaching them basic commands like 'sit' or 'stay' are really good, too. It's definitely a time commitment. I got lucky with Bailey because I take her to work, but if you work 9-5, you have to make an effort to carve out that time in order to be able to be a great foster," Lex said.

"That's quite a bit," Paul commented, a hand on Emma's shoulder, "CCRP doesn't allow pets, which sucks ass."

"Okay, they only allow service animals. But Hatchetfield community college allows all pets. They allow babies, which eventually started to include fur babies, i.e, pets. I already take Diane every day. If we get a foster, I can work on the training and such," Emma smiled. Paul looked at her uncertainly. "I can do it, Paul."

"Then go on ahead," Paul said with a smile, brandishing his arm.

"I still have some things to figure out, but I know I'm going to foster," Emma said.

"Take as much time as you need," Lex said with a smile.

At long last, Lex's shift ended. Ethan and Hannah were there to pick her up. "How was today?" Ethan asked Lex, sneaking a quick kiss.

"It was hot, but Paul and Emma came, making the last half hour great," she said.

"Speaking of them, we have a party at their place to celebrate the fourth tomorrow," he said.

"Shiiiiiit," Lex groaned, "I forgot about that and I don't know if we need to bring anything."

"Just chips and a dip of some sort," Hannah piped up.

"That's not bad I can get it done today," Lex said, relief spreading across her face. They all drove home in a peaceful silence.

"Lex, babe, why don't you sleep for a bit before doing anything? You need sleep," Ethan said as they got home and Lex kept nodding off.

"Only because I'm too tired to care, I'll take a little nap then do some web surfing on Pintrest™," Lex said, following her statement with a yawn. Once she entered the house, she barely made it to her room without passing out right then and there.

Hannah sat with Bailey outside. After Ethan made sure Lex was okay, he went outside to check on Hannah and Bailey. "Are you good, Banana?" Ethan asked. Hannah turned around and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm just worried about Lex," she said.

"Tell me about it," Ethan agreed, sitting next to Hannah.

"I just think she's taking on too much at a time. She needs breaks. Overtime is killing her. I wish I could help, but I can't even stay home alone legally," she said.

"If it makes you feel better, I found a way to help. Well, it's Lex's idea, but I'm carrying it through," he said. Hannah looked up, her eyes demanding an explanation. "Tutoring. Math is something people tend to struggle with, but it just clicks with me. I've been told that I'm good at explaining, so I decided to see if anyone wanted summer help. I've had some calls from people willing to come to the library. I'm meeting them next week. In addition, I was thinking of doing some in the hospital. Becky said lots of kids are learning math with internet videos, but some of them need to learn it in different ways."

"Ethan, that's really cool," Hannah said.

"Glad you think, so, Banana," Ethan said, ruffling Hannah's hair gently. They spent the rest of the day in silence, with the exception of Ethan answering calls from potential clients.

The next day, the Foster/Green household was ready for the fourth of July party. Lex had managed to whip together a basic dip for the tortilla chips she had bought the day before.

"Do you think the president might do a national announcement? He did in December, and it's been a little over six months with no indication of anything," Hannah said. Ethan exchanged a quick glance with Lex.

"I'm not sure, Banana. We'll see what happens. We haven't gotten any news, but maybe others have. If he's going to make an announcement, today's a really appropriate day to do it," Lex explained.

"I can't believe it hasn't been that long. So much has changed, Ethan has two really good jobs, you're living your dream, Lex. And we got Bailey," Hannah said, giving the dog a hug.

"It's been crazy," Ethan agreed, stopping and looking around before continuing.

"You're going to want to turn right at the next four-way stop by the way," Lex told Ethan.

"Thank you," he responded.

They arrived at Paul and Emma's house. It was a quaint one-story tall place. After their meeting at Beanie's turning into meetings multiple times a week outside of Beanie's, they finally made the step to finally move in together.

"Ready?" Ethan asked everyone. They nodded in unison. Lex grabbed the chips and her dip while Hannah clipped a leash onto Bailey. They all got out and walked to the front door where Ethan rang the doorbell. Standing back, they waited for the door to be opened. It was a minute before Paul opened it.

"Sorry it took so long, Emma had to finish clipping Diane's nails and it's a two-person job," Paul said, waving all of them in.

"Don't worry about it," Ethan replied.

"I brought chips and dip. Is there somewhere I can set them down?" Lex asked. Paul took them from her.

"I'll go set them down," Paul said. He left the room as Emma came in, Diane on her heels.

"Hi!" Emma exclaimed, giving them all hugs.

"Hi! Thank you so much for having us over," Lex said, returning the hug.

"Emma, can Bailey come off of the leash? She's straining to say hi to Diane," Hannah said, pulling Bailey back.

"Of course, let the friends be," Emma smiled, "How has this summer been so far?"

"I've been having so much free time!" Hannah exclaimed.

"And what do you plan on doing?" Paul asked, emerging.

"Well, I have summer reading, but we'll see what happens. I've been reading, but I need a break sometimes," Hannah said. The doorbell rang once more.

"Oh! That must be the last trio!" Emma exclaimed, running across the room to open the door. Becky, Tim, and Tom entered.

"Hi!" Becky exclaimed, hugging everyone in the room in turn. Tim held up a box.

"We brought Capri Suns," Tim said awkwardly. Paul took the box.

"I'll get this for you," he said, taking the box to where the food undoubtedly was.

"How has everything been?" Emma asked Becky as they sat down together.

"Just the usual. Work picked up a bit since the kids get time outside," she said, "How are things with you and Paul?"

"Just the usual. He has work and I have school and also work with lighter hours. Nora and Zoey were out on Black Friday and realized that customers were also nearly breaking down the door to Beanie's, so I have such a flexible schedule now. I'm working only weekends and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons," Emma said.

"That's amazing!" Lex exclaimed, sitting down next to Becky, "Thank you for doing all the forms for us."

"No problem!" Becky exclaimed.

"What are you doing with all your free time, Em?" Lex asked Emma.

"I'm spending more time on myself. My biology professor also wants to meet Paul, so that's next week. I'm going to spend my free time 'till then de-stressing," the barista said.

"Forgive me for asking, but why your biology professor?" Becky asked Emma.

"He gives more shits than both of my parents combined. I bring him groceries and we can get caught up talking," she replied.

"That'll be fun," Lex said. Her mom had only really met Ethan as her best friend, not anything else. Her dad...he was a different story and truly couldn't give a shit about Lex or Hannah. There was no point in introducing him to Ethan.

"I hope so. My professor is kind of like a dad to me which is kinda weird," Emma explained. Lex laughed, in spite of her own little pity party. Becky had noticed Lex's pity party.

"Lex, you have a father figure who has met Ethan. It's happened unknowingly, but it's happened," Becky said. Lex returned with a questioning look. "It's Tom. He wouldn't let anyone hurt you. Remember that weirdo with the knife?"

Lex nodded. "Huh," she replied, "How's everyone's week been?"

Emma could sense that Lex needed to change the subject, so she pitched in. "We've been planning all week for this. You are both great at hosting and I decided it was finally my turn. Well, our turn," she said with a smile.

"Working out how to balance work and life. It's really hard, but I can't imagine what those families must be going through. We've been attaching IVs to stands so the kids can spend some time outside," Becky added. The older women both looked at Lex. Becky spoke up. "Your week?"

"Just an adoption event. I've had work, so it hasn't really been eventful or anything. It's just been really slow," Lex said.

"This is your last full month with Ethan and Hannah. Enjoy your time with them," Emma advised Lex, who shrugged.

"It'll be hard to find that time. Ethan's first week of summer work starts tomorrow," she said.

"Are you guys okay with everything? Because we can always help," Becky said. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Well, before we were okay, I told Ethan a potential job was tutoring. He's amazing at math and now I guess he wanted to work, so he's starting," Lex explained.

"Well, that's amazing," Emma said. Paul entered the room.

"I finished lunch," Paul said, waving them all outside. The house was quickly vacant with everyone coming outside. Lex clipped on Bailey's leash.

"Go take a nap, girlie. You've earned it," Lex said to Bailey with a scratch behind her ears. Everyone took their seats at the table with a drink, whether it was an ice cold beer, a cold Capri Sun, or even water.

A few hours later, everyone had got caught up talking. Paul had grilled some hot dogs he had. At some point, Lex went with Becky and Emma to get more drinks, chips, dip, and some fruit.

It was dark when they realized just how late it was. Emma ran inside and returned with some blankets and towels that she proceeded to lay on the ground. "Take a seat, let's watch the fireworks," Paul said, gesturing to the various blankets and towels. Becky and Tom took their own blanket, as did Paul and Emma. Lex and Ethan shrugged and invited Hannah and Tim to sit with them.

"This has been one for the books," Ethan leaned over to Lex and whispered to her. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss.

WC: 2063

Hi, everyone! I trust that you've heard the good news, which is that Joey and Lauren are engaged after dating for eight entire years! That's crazy that they managed to keep it a secret. That's all I have for this week, so have an amazing week!

--Luna :D