"School's ending soon. I'm so excited to be done!" Hannah exclaimed, a smile on her face. Ethan nodded in agreement. It was Saturday morning and Hannah and Ethan were in the kitchen. Lex was still fast asleep, despite Bailey trying to wake her up.

"So am I. It's going to be bittersweet, but I know we're going to have fun this summer," Ethan agreed. Hannah smiled. "But right now, it's a Saturday and Lex is finally sleeping."

"It's noon," Hannah noted.

"And that's ok. I have to do some grading soon, though," He said.

"I have a little bit of work. But I can't wait to be free from Ms. Winters!" She exclaimed, starting on her book once again.

After about an hour, Hannah broke the silence. "It's one. Do you think we should wake up Lex?" Hannah asked Ethan.

"On it," Ethan said, abandoning his papers. Bailey perked up from her bed and followed Ethan upstairs.

Ethan and Bailey made it to Lex's room at the same time. "Sit," he told Bailey. Obediently, she sat down as Ethan opened the door. Lex was still sleeping peacefully. It hurt him to do this, but he didn't need her staying up until three in the morning. "Good morning, Lex."

"No," Lex groaned, covering herself with her comforter.

"It's one in the afternoon. If you don't wake up, I'll have Bailey jump," he said. Bailey, having heard her name and jump, jumped onto Lex's bed.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Lex exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She yawned. "It can't be one right now."

"Sorry to break it to you, babe, but it's one in the afternoon. Come on, Hannah and I are downstairs," Ethan said, leaving the room. Lex put on her glasses and glanced at her phone. She didn't have any pressing notifications, so she quickly made her bed and went downstairs.

"Good afternoon!" Hannah exclaimed cheerily. Before Lex could say anything, Ethan pressed a cup of coffee into her hands. She looked down and smiled at him before taking a sip.

"Good morning," Lex replied with a smile.

"It's one in the afternoon. Are you hungry?" Ethan asked his girlfriend, who had sat down. She shook her head.

"No. I just want to sleep. I also have tomorrow off," she said.

"I know, it's the weekend. We also have to figure out what summer plans are," Ethan said. Lex perked up.

"That sounds fun. Let me finish this and then we can get going and organize everything," she said, downing her coffee.

"Lex?" Hannah asked, a little concerned. Lex took a deep breath.

"It's okay. I just burnt my throat a little bit," Lex smiled, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Okay. I'll get the big calendar and my ideal list, Lex get yours, and Hannah, get your list," Ethan said. The three sprung into action. A minute later— if not less— they all had their desired plans and four months printed on large paper. Lex crossed out the days Hannah and Ethan were at school; they had to be there those days.

"Here's your summer," Lex said. She took the red marker. "I have to be here for these adoption events with Bailey."

"Tom mentioned that he'd like us to be able to hang out these weeks," Ethan added, making a note on the calendar. Hannah seized the marker.

"I have the dentist on this day and we have to schedule something with my pediatrician so I can get my forms signed for school," Hannah said. Lex shared a quick glance with Ethan. He mouthed We'll figure it out later when she's not here. Lex responded with a curt nod. Their funds were still tight and they didn't know if they could afford it.

"Okay, I'll put that on my to-do list. Are there any camps or activities you wanna do, Banana?" Lex asked Hannah. She nodded and started getting multiple forms out. Lex's mind, meanwhile, was running like crazy. Her mom probably could spare some money, right? There had to be some that wasn't wasted on her alcohol addiction...right?

"Okay. I'll get started on these soon and figure out which ones you can do. Do you want to do something with Tim or Diane? They both miss you," Lex said. Hannah nodded.

"Can I do some homework with Tim?" She asked. Lex nodded in return.

"I'll make sure of that," Lex said, heading upstairs to call Tom in privacy.

"Lex! What's up?" Tom asked.

"Can Hannah do homework with Tim at your place today because I need to see if Mom has money squirreled away for Hannah's pediatrician and dentist because our funds are still low," Lex said, all in one breath.

"Yeah, of course. And if you can't get the forms, Becky can do it at our place or the hospital for a reduced fee or even for free," Tom said.

"We'll be sure to contact you if that's the case. Can I bring her in ten minutes?" Lex asked.

"Of course. See you then," he said, hanging up. Lex smiled and headed downstairs to where Hannah and Ethan were.

"Tom is good with you doing homework with Tim and we can go now. Ready?" Lex asked Hannah, who nodded eagerly. Ethan accompanied them while Bailey went in the backseat with Hannah.

"I'll see you later, Lex!" Hannah exclaimed, hugging everyone goodbye while Tom and Tim nodded in acknowledgment. Lex and Ethan left the house and got back into the car.

"What's the plan, babe?" Ethan asked Lex as she took a deep breath and started on the drive to the rehab facility.

"I'm going to see if she has any money. I'll go in first, but I'll keep a text with a thumbs down emoji written to you. If I send it, come with Bailey," Lex said. She took another quivering breath.

"Hey, don't worry. The worst is that she doesn't have any money and—"

"—We can't do anything else."

"I was going to say Becky could do the doctor's thing and I can pick up a summer job to cover her dentist appointment," Ethan said, taking Lex's hand over the gear shift. She smiled at him when they hit the red light.

After ten minutes (though it seemed like longer), Lex and Ethan made it to the rehab center. Ethan waited for Lex outside the center with Bailey on a leash.

"Hi, I'm here to see Evelyn Foster," Lex said, typing the thumbs down emoji before turning her phone off.

"What's your name?"

"Alexandria Foster. I'm her daughter," she said.

"She's in room 319. Third floor, first door on the right," the receptionist said. Lex nodded and went on her way. The elevator played some sort of kid-friendly music and it just made her more nervous. At long last, she arrived on the third floor and was looking at room 319. Taking a deep breath, Lex knocked on the door. It was opened by a kind-looking lady in a uniform and apron.

"Hello. You must be Alexandria," the lady said, beckoning for Lex to come in, "I'm Charlotte Brown and I'm taking care of your mother."

"Char, who's here?" Lex heard a voice ask. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. After a few seconds, the voice had an owner. Lex's mother.

"Um, hi," Lex said.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Evelyn asked.

"Hannah. I need to know if you have any money to pay for her dentist appointment or the one with her pediatrician," Lex said, "I've been working regularly and so has Ethan, but our funds are still tight."

"How are they?" Evelyn asked.

"Cut the crap," Lex snapped, "I need to know if you have any money for Hannah."

"I might. Let me check," Evelyn said, disappearing into the next room. Lex turned her phone on and sent the text to Ethan. She added the room number and waited. It wouldn't be long.

After an excruciatingly long two minutes, a knock sounded on the door. Lex ran to the door and opened it, revealing a worried Ethan and obedient Bailey. "Thank you," Lex gasped, flinging a hug onto Ethan.

"No problem," Ethan replied as Evelyn emerged.

"Turns out there's only a few dollars which I have to use for my prescription. Sorry," Evelyn said. Lex took a good look at her mom's face. She looked...younger. It was definitely promising for a step towards combating her addiction.

"Don't worry. We can get through it," Lex said. She lowered her voice to prevent it from breaking, "I hope."

"When did you get a dog?" Evelyn asked, gesturing towards Bailey. Lex looked up at Ethan and took the leash.

"This is Bailey. We fostered her in February and adopted her a month later. I'm training her to be a therapy dog. For Hannah, mainly," Lex said. Evelyn looked at her daughter.

"Thank you," Evelyn said. Against all her better judgement, Lex hugged her mother.

"Bye, Mom," Lex said as she left with Ethan.

"I'm proud of you, babe," Ethan said, giving Lex a quick kiss in the elevator. She offered a slight smile and then her face fell.

"We have to figure out how to get the money. Before we give up our entire summers to extra work, I have to talk to my dad," Lex said. She winced visibly.

"I believe in you," Ethan said, taking Lex's hand over the gear shift.

"I'm doing it now and putting him on speaker. Please be quiet," Lex said, pressing the call button.

"Hello?" The voice asked.

"Hi, Dad. This is Lex. I was wondering if you had any money to pay for Hannah's dentist and pediatrician. Mom used all of it up," Lex said.

"Well, I don't have any so I'm sorry," he said. Lex gagged from hatred.

"Okaythankyoubye," Lex said, hanging up the phone. She deleted the number.

"It's okay we can figure something out," Ethan said, parking in front of the house.

"I guess. I'll call Becky," Lex said, getting out of the car, Bailey in tow. Ethan sat in the car, sensing that Lex needed some time alone. He couldn't blame her. It had been a hard day.

Fifteen minutes later, Ethan entered the house and opened his laptop. It was time to go on a job search. Despite the doctor appointment being iffy, the dentist was a whole different manner. The only jobs didn't seem to be enough to pay for anything, really. Lex appeared in the room five minutes later.

"I'm going to go pick up Hannah. Becky's there, so I'm hoping I can ask her about it," Lex said. She sighed. "Tomorrow I'm going to call work and ask about overtime, which can hopefully tide us over."

"Okay. I'm coming with you, though," Ethan said, taking the car keys from the peg on the wall that Lex kept them on.

"Alright," she agreed, too tired to argue.

When they arrived at Tom's house, Ethan and Lex walked to the door together, Bailey following them. The door opened a few seconds after their knock to reveal Becky. She wrapped them all in a hug. "I'm sorry and I can do the doctor thing at your house," she said.

"Thank you," Lex whispered.

"No problem. Let me know the date ASAP and I can do it that week," Becky smiled, leading Lex and Ethan into the main area. Hannah was there, talking to Tom and Tim about what Bailey could do tricks-wise.

"Hey!" Tom exclaimed, getting up to hug Lex and then Ethan.

"Hi. We're here to bring Hannah home and then pick up a pizza. We've earned one," Lex said. Ethan nodded in agreement. "Come on, Banana. Also, thank you for letting her come."

"It's nothing. You guys are family to us," Tom said, hugging them goodbye. Tim copied the motion.

"Thank you for helping me," Tim said to Hannah.

"No problem! Good luck during finals!" Hannah told Tim as goodbye hugs were shared among everyone.

WC: 2001

Hi, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Can you believe that this is the halfway point of this book? That's kinda crazy.

Anyways, has anyone seen the Hamilton movie? I did and I really liked it. The cinematography was exceptional and I didn't know about the whole John Laurens thing after "Dear Theodosia." I thought it was really good. I don't have much else to add, so stay safe and have an awesome week!

--Luna :D