Ethan hadn't expected everyone to be there.
He had brought Isabelle to Mark's family home so she could meet the people who had become his family over the years. He hadn't known that Mark, Elara, and Kaela would be there too after whatever they had gotten up to.
For once, the atmosphere was almost peaceful.
He could smell the warm meal that had been prepared, and hear the conversations and laughter bouncing around the house.
'This is exactly what I needed.'
After the day he had just had, it didn't get better than clearing his mind alongside his loved ones.
He stepped inside with Isabelle beside him.
"Everyone, I've got someone I'd like you to meet."
Clarissa Reed looked up first.
At close to fifty, she had the same warm, practical presence Ethan remembered. She had taken him in without hesitation when he had needed somewhere to belong, and despite everything that had happened since, she still treated him like one of her own.
