Fic: Welcome Home
Title: Welcome Home
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Friendship, Family
Word Count: 2,660
Characters/Pairings: Madison, Ben, Hannah, Eli, Thomas, Grace, Jamie (Madison/Ben, Hannah/Eli, Thomas/Grace)
A/N: Really excited to post this fic :333
In the middle of November, Madison drops down beside Ben on the couch, and reaches for his left hand. He's engrossed in the book he's reading, and barely notices as she ties something around his ring finger.
"Marry me."
Ben doesn't reply right away, and then a slow frown creases his brow as what she just said sinks in.
"Wait, what?" he says, looking up at her.
"I want you to marry me."
Ben closes his book and shifts to face her, still frowning. "Don't get me wrong, Maddie, if you want to get married, I am more than happy to do it, but this is like, really sudden and random. What brought it on?"
Madison shrugs. "It's not really that sudden. I mean, I didn't just now think about it, it's been on my mind for a while, but, I don't know, now just seemed like a good time."
"But do you really want to get married again? I figured after Theo -"
"I married Theo because I was running away from something," Madison interjects softly. "I never wanted to get married because I thought I would feel trapped, and I didn't think there was anybody on this entire planet that I could stand to be married to. I never thought I could just settle with one person for the rest of my life, and be happy about it. But now there's you, and there's only been you for the past year and a half, and I'm happy. I mean, yeah, I look at other people, and I know you do too, but there's nobody else I want to be with other than you."
Madison shrugs again. "It's not really necessary for us to be married; I don't really see anything changing about our relationship. I don't plan to change my name or anything like that, we don't even have to get like, traditional rings, or have a big huge ceremony, but I just... this is how much I love you. After everything we've been through this year, with the abortion and you getting your vasectomy for me, and everything we've been through overall, I know I love you, and I know you love me, and I know that you're the only person I ever want to be with, for the rest of my life."
Ben's smiling when she finishes, and he leans forward to kiss her, his hand rising to her hair.
"If you want to get married, baby, then let's get married."
Madison smiles broadly and nods, kissing him again.
"I want rings, though," he says when they pull apart. "Can we get rings?"
She laughs. "Yeah, we can get rings."
He grins, and then looks down at his hand, remembering suddenly that she put something on his finger.
"Baby, is this the twist tie from the bread bag?"
Madison giggles, and Ben shakes his head, grinning again as he leans forward to kiss her once more.
A couple of weeks later, the first Saturday in December, Hannah opens the door to Madison's knock, and ushers her inside.
"Okay, what is this big news you had to tell me?"
"Come over here, you better sit down," Madison says, grinning as she takes Hannah's hand and leads her over to the couch.
They sit down, and Madison watches an array of emotions flicker across Hannah's face, and then her eyes suddenly widen.
"No, I'm not pregnant again," Madison says quickly, correctly interpreting Hannah's expression. "Ben got snipped, remember? And I wouldn't be smiling if that was what I needed to tell you."
"Okay, okay, so just tell me already."
Madison takes a breath, and then grins again. "Ben and I are getting married."
Hannah's eyes widen again, and then she squeals loudly, throwing her arms around Madison's neck. Madison laughs and hugs her back, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Oh, this is so great," Hannah says when she pulls away, swiping her hands over her eyes. "Like, it's so important, because I know what this means, and I'm just - I'm so happy you're so happy, and I love you so much, and oh, Maddie."
Hannah hugs her again, and Madison laughs, squeezing her tightly.
"Now, before you go getting too many ideas of fancy white dresses and all of that, we're not doing that." Hannah pouts a little, her shoulders slumping, and Madison grins. "Sorry, but we just don't want all of that. We've already got our marriage license, and we have an appointment with the celebrant next Saturday to make it all official and stuff, and we really want you and Eli there."
"Yes, of course we'll be there. At least tell me you guys have rings."
"Yeah, actually, I'm wearing mine now," Madison says, bringing her hand up to show Hannah her ring. "The day we decided to do this, we went out and picked out rings. Mine came in yesterday."
"Oh, Lexie, that's gorgeous," Hannah murmurs.
The ring is simple, a large oval sapphire with a circle of small diamonds surrounding it, and the band is split as it moves from the stone, more diamonds on the split sides as they taper into the single band.
"I fell in love with it when I saw it," Madison says, smiling as she moves her hand to let the ring catch the light. "I didn't feel the need to have the big fancy engagement ring and all of that. I mean, what you and Kari have are beautiful, but I just didn't want that for me."
"I think this is perfect for you. What does Ben's look like?"
"He just got a plain white gold band, he didn't want anything fancy."
Hannah nods, and then smiles again as she shakes her head.
"I'm so happy for you guys. I really am. I know you wouldn't do this again if Ben wasn't really special to you, and I just love seeing you so happy."
"It feels really good being this happy. That's why I wanted to marry Ben. I mean, I never thought I'd feel like this with anybody, but the thought of spending the rest of my life with him makes me feel really happy, really... secure. I like feeling like this."
"Being in love is a really good feeling," Hannah says, a knowing smile curving her lips.
"It is. Never thought I'd agree with that, but it really is."
Hannah laughs softly, and then leans forward to hug Madison again, the two of them slumping together on the couch a moment later with their arms still around each other.
A beat passes, and then Hannah says, "You at least have to wear a nice dress, okay? And let Eli and me take you guys out after the ceremony."
Madison laughs and nods. "Okay."
The following Saturday, Hannah and Eli leave Nicholas and Rachel with David and Juliet, and then go to meet Ben and Madison at the celebrant's office.
"Okay, I know this won't take that long, but everybody take off your coats," Hannah says. "I want this to look as nice as it can."
Madison snorts, and they all shrug off their coats. Hannah pulls her camera from her bag, and as Ben and Madison go through their brief ceremony, she snaps several pictures.
"Han -" Madison murmurs.
"Maddie, shut up, this is a very special day, I want there to be a record of it."
Madison smiles fondly as she shakes her head, and soon, the celebrant declares her and Ben married.
Madison takes Ben's face in her hands and pulls him to her for a kiss, smiling as his arms go around her waist to pull her against him. Hannah snaps several pictures of the kiss, grinning broadly as tears roll down her cheeks, and Madison is crying too when she and Ben pull apart.
"Happy tears, right?" Ben murmurs, the corner of his mouth rising.
"Definitely. I love you."
"I love you too," Ben replies, leaning in for another kiss.
Once the marriage certificate is signed, Hannah gets the celebrant to snap a couple of pictures of the four of them, and as soon as they're outside, Hannah squeals, throwing her arms around Madison.
"I can't believe you guys are married now!"
"You're more excited than we are," Madison says, laughing as she hugs Hannah back.
"And we're plenty excited," Ben adds, grinning as he pulls out of a hug with Eli.
"I'm just so happy to see Madison so happy, okay?" Hannah says as she and Madison pull apart. "I've waited almost 20 years to see her this happy."
"Fair enough," Ben murmurs, smiling as he pulls Hannah into a hug at the same time as Eli does the same with Madison.
"Okay," Eli says, sweeping his hand over Madison's back as they break apart. "It's cold out here, and I'm hungry, let's go eat."
A short while later, they're settled at a table at a restaurant close to Ben and Madison's apartment, one of their favorites.
"I can't get over it," Hannah murmurs as she reaches for her drink. "I mean, not that you guys need to be married to be happy or anything like that, but I really love that you are. It just means so much."
Madison smiles and nods, sliding her hand over Ben's where it rests on the table.
"So, do we call you Mr. and Mrs. Sutton now?" Eli asks.
Madison snorts. "No. I am still Madison Cartwright. Everything is literally the same as it was before, except that Ben and I are legally married, and we wear rings to prove it. That's it."
Hannah grins. "So are you going on a honeymoon or anything?"
"I don't know," Madison says, glancing over at Ben. "It's almost time for us to head out to California for Christmas. Maybe we'll take a trip somewhere when we get back."
Hannah nods. "Well, Dad told me to tell you that he and Jules want to throw you guys a party to celebrate. He said you can invite whoever you want, and it doesn't have to be anything huge, but they're excited too."
Madison laughs. "I think that'd be fine. We don't really want to make a super huge deal out of this, but it would be nice to celebrate with the people we care about here. So I guess you guys and the kids, David and Juliet, and Chris and Kari and the twins."
Hannah smiles, and nods again. "Nice and simple. I guess we'll have to do it after you guys get back, you leave next week, right?"
"Yeah," Madison says. "We'll be back for New Year's, like usual."
Hannah smirks. "Does your Dad know you guys got married?"
"Nope," Madison replies cheerfully. "I figure it'll be a nice surprise."
"Hopefully Thomas won't be too opposed to having a new son-in-law," Ben says with a grin.
Madison rolls her eyes. "Dad loves you, you know that."
"Yeah, I know. Can't wait to see their faces though."
They all laugh, and Madison nods. "Yeah, that'll be fun."
There's a beat of silence, and then Eli lifts his glass. "To Ben and Maddie, and finding true love, and true happiness."
"Here, here," Hannah murmurs, smiling as she leans over to kiss Eli.
"True love," Ben says as he looks over at Madison and reaches for her hand. "I guess that's what we have."
"Yeah, I'd say so," Madison replies with a soft smile that widens as Ben kisses her knuckles, and then leans forward to kiss her lips.
"So," Madison says later that night, the lingering remnants of her last orgasm still tingling between her legs. "What do married couples usually do on their wedding night?"
"Have a lot of sex," Ben replies, grinning over at her.
"Oh, right. Well, then cross that off the list."
They both laugh, and she scoots closer to him, tossing her hair over her shoulder before resting her head on his chest.
"Are you happy?" she asks softly, rubbing her fingers over his chest, staring at the ring on her finger.
"I am," he murmurs, his fingers combing through her hair. "Are you?"
"I've really never been happier. I keep thinking... you're my husband now, and I really like the way that makes me feel."
Ben grins. "Well, I like thinking that you're my wife now."
"How badly did you want to get married?" she asks.
Ben shrugs. "It was always kind of like my thoughts on kids, if it happened, then great, and if it didn't happen, then still great. It wasn't ever a huge dream of mine, but it was a nice thought sometimes."
"So you're okay being married and not having kids?"
"Definitely. All I want is you, Mads. Married or not, kids or not, as long as I have you, I'm the happiest, luckiest man in the world."
Madison smiles as she pushes up to look at him, and he smiles back, his hand falling from her hair to her shoulder. She looks over at it, her eyes on his wedding ring as he sweeps his thumb over her skin, and her smile widens as she looks back at his face.
"I love you."
"I love you too," he says, his hand sliding to her neck as he pulls her to him for a kiss.
The following weekend, they arrive in California, happily greeting Thomas, Grace, Jamie, and Brianna when they see them waiting for them at the arrivals gate.
A short while later, they're in the kitchen, starting to get things together for dinner, when Madison glances over at Ben, a small smirk on her lips.
"We have some news for you guys," she says, eyes on the tomato she's cutting up.
"Oh, yeah?" Thomas says. "What is it?"
"Ben and I are married."
Silence follows this announcement, and Madison looks up to see Thomas, Grace, and Jamie all staring at her and Ben with wide eyes.
"Wait, really?" Jamie finally says.
"Yeah. I hope you're all happy having a new in-law."
"Of course we are," Thomas says, laughing as he moves around the counter to hug Madison, and then Ben. Grace and Jamie follow suit, and Thomas shakes his head.
"When did you do this?"
"Last weekend," Madison replies, smiling as she shows Grace her ring. "It wasn't anything huge, basically just a courthouse wedding. Han and Eli were the only ones actually there."
"I'm both surprised and unsurprised by this turn of events," Thomas says, laughing again. "But it's very fitting for you guys, and I'm happy that you're happy. Congratulations, and welcome to the family, Ben. Officially, anyway, you've been a part of the family for a while now."
Ben grins. "Thanks. Maddie doesn't want to change her name, so I'll just be the outlier in the family."
"Or you could become a Cartwright too," Jamie suggests with a shrug.
Ben laughs. "I don't know about that, but who knows."
"Well, no matter if your last name is Sutton or Cartwright, you're still part of the family, sweetheart," Grace says, pressing a kiss to Ben's cheek.
"Thanks," Ben says again, smiling over at her. "I love you all, and I love being a part of this family, so much. I've had this sort of weird, nomadic existence ever since graduating high school, but being with Maddie, and finding a family, not just in you guys, but in everybody back in Arlington too... I like feeling like I belong somewhere. Like I finally have a home."
Everybody smiles at that, and Madison shuffles over to stand in front of Ben, wrapping her arms around him and pressing against his chest.
"Welcome home," she whispers into his shirt, and he smiles, tears unexpectedly stinging the corners of his eyes as his arms go around her.
"Thank you, baby," he whispers back, his hands clasped at the small of her back, and drops a kiss to the top of her head, closing his eyes as he holds her.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Friendship, Family
Word Count: 2,660
Characters/Pairings: Madison, Ben, Hannah, Eli, Thomas, Grace, Jamie (Madison/Ben, Hannah/Eli, Thomas/Grace)
A/N: Really excited to post this fic :333
In the middle of November, Madison drops down beside Ben on the couch, and reaches for his left hand. He's engrossed in the book he's reading, and barely notices as she ties something around his ring finger.
"Marry me."
Ben doesn't reply right away, and then a slow frown creases his brow as what she just said sinks in.
"Wait, what?" he says, looking up at her.
"I want you to marry me."
Ben closes his book and shifts to face her, still frowning. "Don't get me wrong, Maddie, if you want to get married, I am more than happy to do it, but this is like, really sudden and random. What brought it on?"
Madison shrugs. "It's not really that sudden. I mean, I didn't just now think about it, it's been on my mind for a while, but, I don't know, now just seemed like a good time."
"But do you really want to get married again? I figured after Theo -"
"I married Theo because I was running away from something," Madison interjects softly. "I never wanted to get married because I thought I would feel trapped, and I didn't think there was anybody on this entire planet that I could stand to be married to. I never thought I could just settle with one person for the rest of my life, and be happy about it. But now there's you, and there's only been you for the past year and a half, and I'm happy. I mean, yeah, I look at other people, and I know you do too, but there's nobody else I want to be with other than you."
Madison shrugs again. "It's not really necessary for us to be married; I don't really see anything changing about our relationship. I don't plan to change my name or anything like that, we don't even have to get like, traditional rings, or have a big huge ceremony, but I just... this is how much I love you. After everything we've been through this year, with the abortion and you getting your vasectomy for me, and everything we've been through overall, I know I love you, and I know you love me, and I know that you're the only person I ever want to be with, for the rest of my life."
Ben's smiling when she finishes, and he leans forward to kiss her, his hand rising to her hair.
"If you want to get married, baby, then let's get married."
Madison smiles broadly and nods, kissing him again.
"I want rings, though," he says when they pull apart. "Can we get rings?"
She laughs. "Yeah, we can get rings."
He grins, and then looks down at his hand, remembering suddenly that she put something on his finger.
"Baby, is this the twist tie from the bread bag?"
Madison giggles, and Ben shakes his head, grinning again as he leans forward to kiss her once more.
A couple of weeks later, the first Saturday in December, Hannah opens the door to Madison's knock, and ushers her inside.
"Okay, what is this big news you had to tell me?"
"Come over here, you better sit down," Madison says, grinning as she takes Hannah's hand and leads her over to the couch.
They sit down, and Madison watches an array of emotions flicker across Hannah's face, and then her eyes suddenly widen.
"No, I'm not pregnant again," Madison says quickly, correctly interpreting Hannah's expression. "Ben got snipped, remember? And I wouldn't be smiling if that was what I needed to tell you."
"Okay, okay, so just tell me already."
Madison takes a breath, and then grins again. "Ben and I are getting married."
Hannah's eyes widen again, and then she squeals loudly, throwing her arms around Madison's neck. Madison laughs and hugs her back, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Oh, this is so great," Hannah says when she pulls away, swiping her hands over her eyes. "Like, it's so important, because I know what this means, and I'm just - I'm so happy you're so happy, and I love you so much, and oh, Maddie."
Hannah hugs her again, and Madison laughs, squeezing her tightly.
"Now, before you go getting too many ideas of fancy white dresses and all of that, we're not doing that." Hannah pouts a little, her shoulders slumping, and Madison grins. "Sorry, but we just don't want all of that. We've already got our marriage license, and we have an appointment with the celebrant next Saturday to make it all official and stuff, and we really want you and Eli there."
"Yes, of course we'll be there. At least tell me you guys have rings."
"Yeah, actually, I'm wearing mine now," Madison says, bringing her hand up to show Hannah her ring. "The day we decided to do this, we went out and picked out rings. Mine came in yesterday."
"Oh, Lexie, that's gorgeous," Hannah murmurs.
The ring is simple, a large oval sapphire with a circle of small diamonds surrounding it, and the band is split as it moves from the stone, more diamonds on the split sides as they taper into the single band.
"I fell in love with it when I saw it," Madison says, smiling as she moves her hand to let the ring catch the light. "I didn't feel the need to have the big fancy engagement ring and all of that. I mean, what you and Kari have are beautiful, but I just didn't want that for me."
"I think this is perfect for you. What does Ben's look like?"
"He just got a plain white gold band, he didn't want anything fancy."
Hannah nods, and then smiles again as she shakes her head.
"I'm so happy for you guys. I really am. I know you wouldn't do this again if Ben wasn't really special to you, and I just love seeing you so happy."
"It feels really good being this happy. That's why I wanted to marry Ben. I mean, I never thought I'd feel like this with anybody, but the thought of spending the rest of my life with him makes me feel really happy, really... secure. I like feeling like this."
"Being in love is a really good feeling," Hannah says, a knowing smile curving her lips.
"It is. Never thought I'd agree with that, but it really is."
Hannah laughs softly, and then leans forward to hug Madison again, the two of them slumping together on the couch a moment later with their arms still around each other.
A beat passes, and then Hannah says, "You at least have to wear a nice dress, okay? And let Eli and me take you guys out after the ceremony."
Madison laughs and nods. "Okay."
The following Saturday, Hannah and Eli leave Nicholas and Rachel with David and Juliet, and then go to meet Ben and Madison at the celebrant's office.
"Okay, I know this won't take that long, but everybody take off your coats," Hannah says. "I want this to look as nice as it can."
Madison snorts, and they all shrug off their coats. Hannah pulls her camera from her bag, and as Ben and Madison go through their brief ceremony, she snaps several pictures.
"Han -" Madison murmurs.
"Maddie, shut up, this is a very special day, I want there to be a record of it."
Madison smiles fondly as she shakes her head, and soon, the celebrant declares her and Ben married.
Madison takes Ben's face in her hands and pulls him to her for a kiss, smiling as his arms go around her waist to pull her against him. Hannah snaps several pictures of the kiss, grinning broadly as tears roll down her cheeks, and Madison is crying too when she and Ben pull apart.
"Happy tears, right?" Ben murmurs, the corner of his mouth rising.
"Definitely. I love you."
"I love you too," Ben replies, leaning in for another kiss.
Once the marriage certificate is signed, Hannah gets the celebrant to snap a couple of pictures of the four of them, and as soon as they're outside, Hannah squeals, throwing her arms around Madison.
"I can't believe you guys are married now!"
"You're more excited than we are," Madison says, laughing as she hugs Hannah back.
"And we're plenty excited," Ben adds, grinning as he pulls out of a hug with Eli.
"I'm just so happy to see Madison so happy, okay?" Hannah says as she and Madison pull apart. "I've waited almost 20 years to see her this happy."
"Fair enough," Ben murmurs, smiling as he pulls Hannah into a hug at the same time as Eli does the same with Madison.
"Okay," Eli says, sweeping his hand over Madison's back as they break apart. "It's cold out here, and I'm hungry, let's go eat."
A short while later, they're settled at a table at a restaurant close to Ben and Madison's apartment, one of their favorites.
"I can't get over it," Hannah murmurs as she reaches for her drink. "I mean, not that you guys need to be married to be happy or anything like that, but I really love that you are. It just means so much."
Madison smiles and nods, sliding her hand over Ben's where it rests on the table.
"So, do we call you Mr. and Mrs. Sutton now?" Eli asks.
Madison snorts. "No. I am still Madison Cartwright. Everything is literally the same as it was before, except that Ben and I are legally married, and we wear rings to prove it. That's it."
Hannah grins. "So are you going on a honeymoon or anything?"
"I don't know," Madison says, glancing over at Ben. "It's almost time for us to head out to California for Christmas. Maybe we'll take a trip somewhere when we get back."
Hannah nods. "Well, Dad told me to tell you that he and Jules want to throw you guys a party to celebrate. He said you can invite whoever you want, and it doesn't have to be anything huge, but they're excited too."
Madison laughs. "I think that'd be fine. We don't really want to make a super huge deal out of this, but it would be nice to celebrate with the people we care about here. So I guess you guys and the kids, David and Juliet, and Chris and Kari and the twins."
Hannah smiles, and nods again. "Nice and simple. I guess we'll have to do it after you guys get back, you leave next week, right?"
"Yeah," Madison says. "We'll be back for New Year's, like usual."
Hannah smirks. "Does your Dad know you guys got married?"
"Nope," Madison replies cheerfully. "I figure it'll be a nice surprise."
"Hopefully Thomas won't be too opposed to having a new son-in-law," Ben says with a grin.
Madison rolls her eyes. "Dad loves you, you know that."
"Yeah, I know. Can't wait to see their faces though."
They all laugh, and Madison nods. "Yeah, that'll be fun."
There's a beat of silence, and then Eli lifts his glass. "To Ben and Maddie, and finding true love, and true happiness."
"Here, here," Hannah murmurs, smiling as she leans over to kiss Eli.
"True love," Ben says as he looks over at Madison and reaches for her hand. "I guess that's what we have."
"Yeah, I'd say so," Madison replies with a soft smile that widens as Ben kisses her knuckles, and then leans forward to kiss her lips.
"So," Madison says later that night, the lingering remnants of her last orgasm still tingling between her legs. "What do married couples usually do on their wedding night?"
"Have a lot of sex," Ben replies, grinning over at her.
"Oh, right. Well, then cross that off the list."
They both laugh, and she scoots closer to him, tossing her hair over her shoulder before resting her head on his chest.
"Are you happy?" she asks softly, rubbing her fingers over his chest, staring at the ring on her finger.
"I am," he murmurs, his fingers combing through her hair. "Are you?"
"I've really never been happier. I keep thinking... you're my husband now, and I really like the way that makes me feel."
Ben grins. "Well, I like thinking that you're my wife now."
"How badly did you want to get married?" she asks.
Ben shrugs. "It was always kind of like my thoughts on kids, if it happened, then great, and if it didn't happen, then still great. It wasn't ever a huge dream of mine, but it was a nice thought sometimes."
"So you're okay being married and not having kids?"
"Definitely. All I want is you, Mads. Married or not, kids or not, as long as I have you, I'm the happiest, luckiest man in the world."
Madison smiles as she pushes up to look at him, and he smiles back, his hand falling from her hair to her shoulder. She looks over at it, her eyes on his wedding ring as he sweeps his thumb over her skin, and her smile widens as she looks back at his face.
"I love you."
"I love you too," he says, his hand sliding to her neck as he pulls her to him for a kiss.
The following weekend, they arrive in California, happily greeting Thomas, Grace, Jamie, and Brianna when they see them waiting for them at the arrivals gate.
A short while later, they're in the kitchen, starting to get things together for dinner, when Madison glances over at Ben, a small smirk on her lips.
"We have some news for you guys," she says, eyes on the tomato she's cutting up.
"Oh, yeah?" Thomas says. "What is it?"
"Ben and I are married."
Silence follows this announcement, and Madison looks up to see Thomas, Grace, and Jamie all staring at her and Ben with wide eyes.
"Wait, really?" Jamie finally says.
"Yeah. I hope you're all happy having a new in-law."
"Of course we are," Thomas says, laughing as he moves around the counter to hug Madison, and then Ben. Grace and Jamie follow suit, and Thomas shakes his head.
"When did you do this?"
"Last weekend," Madison replies, smiling as she shows Grace her ring. "It wasn't anything huge, basically just a courthouse wedding. Han and Eli were the only ones actually there."
"I'm both surprised and unsurprised by this turn of events," Thomas says, laughing again. "But it's very fitting for you guys, and I'm happy that you're happy. Congratulations, and welcome to the family, Ben. Officially, anyway, you've been a part of the family for a while now."
Ben grins. "Thanks. Maddie doesn't want to change her name, so I'll just be the outlier in the family."
"Or you could become a Cartwright too," Jamie suggests with a shrug.
Ben laughs. "I don't know about that, but who knows."
"Well, no matter if your last name is Sutton or Cartwright, you're still part of the family, sweetheart," Grace says, pressing a kiss to Ben's cheek.
"Thanks," Ben says again, smiling over at her. "I love you all, and I love being a part of this family, so much. I've had this sort of weird, nomadic existence ever since graduating high school, but being with Maddie, and finding a family, not just in you guys, but in everybody back in Arlington too... I like feeling like I belong somewhere. Like I finally have a home."
Everybody smiles at that, and Madison shuffles over to stand in front of Ben, wrapping her arms around him and pressing against his chest.
"Welcome home," she whispers into his shirt, and he smiles, tears unexpectedly stinging the corners of his eyes as his arms go around her.
"Thank you, baby," he whispers back, his hands clasped at the small of her back, and drops a kiss to the top of her head, closing his eyes as he holds her.