#but now i get to hear about overbearing parents from the employees' pov and it's like

[cute-chamomile]

May i never become so invested in my kids' hobbies that i try to become part of the hobby organization's boards and commitees, making myself an inextricable part of this activity and making the employees' lives a living hell in the process just because i couldnt get my own, separate hobby, amen.

[epcompletelyfictional]

Part Nine

Summary: As Portia starts Scandal and Ellen still entertains America, they are struggling with the idea of being empty nesters as Ethan is in and out of the house with his big boy company and working long hours and trying to figure out his feelings for his high school girl, best friend.

Disclaimer: This is all a work of complete fiction. I own absolutely nothing, but the plot. Big events are known in this story, but a lot of this story will focused around the family and their lives.

Note: It will go back and forth between the family’s POV in no particular order.

Portia’s POV

February 13, 2015 - 6:00pm

Watching your baby boy be completely and utterly sick post-chemo isn’t something that you thought you’d ever have to experience. Telling your family that the only nephew and grandson has cancer is never something you thought had to come out of your mouth. Your wife having to prepare a monologue about the health of your son because the tabloids are speculating that in fact your son has cancer is never something you thought you had to deal with. But, here you are, preparing dinner for your entire family, getting ready to tell them that Ethan has cancer. Your wife is sitting at the kitchen bar trying to figure out what to say in her monologue on Monday for Tuesday’s show, asking you for input, something else you never thought would happen.

“I don’t want to take this lightly and make a joke like I did when I was confronting the tabloids about us having any silent partnership with Daniel & DeGeneres Co. What should I say?” She asks with the laptop sitting in front of her.

“Maybe don’t address the tabloids directly,” you suggest. “Maybe address the fans’ concerns, you said it’s been popping up on Twitter a lot, right?” She nods. “Maybe just be honest with your fans. Be heartfelt, it’s just the monologue. You don’t have to be serious the whole show.”

“You’re right,” she mumbles. “You’re always right.”

You smile and reach across the counter and gently place your hand on her hand, “I love you.” You say.

“I love you too, baby.” She says.

“Thank you for loving our son so much to adopt him, to protect him, and to stand up for him.” You say with tears in your eyes. “I don’t think I could do life with anyone else, but you.”

She smiles, “You’re gonna make me cry,” she says.

You smile bigger and lean over to kiss her.

February 13, 2015 - 7:30pm

“So we did gather you all here for a reason,” Ellen says about thirty minutes into dinner.

She looks to you, you both agreed to tag team this, you look over at Ethan who has his arm around Riley’s chair and is stuffing food into his mouth, the most you’ve seen him eaten since before the biopsy and diagnosis, “We told you a couple of weeks ago about Ethan’s biopsy.” You say making him look up and sit up straighter. “Do you wanna tell them, baby boy?”

He nods and clears his throat, “I have Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” he says slowly making everyone that didn’t previously know gasp.

“Wh- what- what stage?” Your brother, who was sitting between his wife and your mother, asks.

He clears his throat again, “Stage 3,” he says. “So there’s still hope.”

“He started chemo last week,” Ellen says, “and I’m addressing the tabloids speculations on the show on Monday, but we wanted you to know from us.”

“How are you feeling?” Betty asks Ethan.

“Like I’ve bit hit and run over a truck about twenty times.” He admits. “But, these three take good care of me,” he adds gesturing to you, Ellen, and Riley.

“How’s it having to depend on people?” Vance asks knowing how the young man doesn’t like doing that.

Ethan chuckles, “It kinda sucks, but I’ll make it by.” He says.

You place a gentle hand on his upper back and softly rubbed it, “We just wanna take care of you, sweetheart,” Ellen says.

“How are you three doing?” Mike asks you, Ellen, and Riley.

“Okay,” you all say at once.

“And you are going to address the tabloids?” Casey asks Ellen.

Ellen nods, “Tuesday’s monologue.” She says simply. “I’m more addressing the fans concerns than the tabloids.” She adds wrapping an arm around you, “It was Portia’s idea.”

You smile and shrug a shoulder, “It’s the least I could do,” you say.

Ellen kisses your cheek, “It’s still a good idea,” she says softly. “I love you,” she whispers for only you to hear. You give her a soft kiss in response.

“Are you still working?” Joanne asks Ethan.

He nods, “More from home, but I still go into the office every once and awhile.” He says. “Just because I have cancer doesn’t man that I can’t continue to live. I’m not working as much though. I’m sleeping more than anything else.”

You place a gentle hand on your son’s shoulder and lovingly squeeze, you can feel Ellen looking over at him with a soft smile. You both know how hard it is for him to not be working so much, but you are definitely happy that he’s taking care of himself.

February 16, 2015 - 4:00pm

“Thank you all for being here,” Ellen says, “thank you,” she says again because the audience is excited to see her. “Have a seat,” she says. “Ahh thank you. Thank you so much, right back at you. Thank you all for being here. I take all that love and send it right back to you.” She takes a deep breath and looks over at you, you smile and nod, encouraging her to move forward. She then looks at Ethan who is sitting next to you who nods with a smile too. “I want to address something personal today,” she says. “I know you probably have heard about it and have been wondering why I haven’t addressed it yet and there’s a good factor of reasons, but just stick with me please.” She takes a deep breath, “I never thought I was ever going to have to address this because I never thought it would happen in my family, or at least, again,” she says looking over at Betty who is sitting in her usual seat. “However, I’m addressing it and not for the tabloids, but for you, for the fans.” She took another deep breath, “As a family, we don’t read the tabloids, we don’t allow that energy to come into our lives, but there’s a lot of false claims out there that I think is wise to clear up,” she takes a deep breath, “or actually, my son would like to clear up. Come up here sweetheart,” she says.

You smile as he slowly gets up, the two of them had decided that him clearing it up is a better idea, you could tell that he is in pain by how slow he’s walking. Your wife’s arm is waiting for him, he takes a deep breath as Ellen pulls a microphone out of her back pocket and hands it to him, “Hi,” he says. “I’m willing to bet everyone watching this knows who I am, or at least has an idea, if not, my name is Ethan DeGeneres and America’s sweetheart over here,” he gestures to your wife, “adopted me almost six years ago now.” You can tell that he’s leaning against your wife to stand up properly, he’s been so achy since chemo, “I have quite the privilege in calling her mama and that’s something that I don’t take for granted.” Ellen rubs her hand softly up and down his arm, “I’m up here on this stage today to clear up some rumors,” he takes a deep breath. “It is true, I do have cancer,” the audience gasps. “Stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” he says slowly. “What’s not true is that these two,” he gestures between you and your wife, “are arguing over what’s best for me.” He takes a breath, “They’re some of the best parents you could ask for. Yeah,” he let out a strained chuckle, “a little overbearing at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He takes a deep breath, “My employees, the staff on this show, and the cast of Scandal as well as Shonda have come around me, my girlfriend, and our families during this time.”

“This show will go on,” Ellen then says, “I will still host and bring happiness, laughter, and joy into this studio and your living rooms every single day, but we also ask as a family,” the camera is now on you before going back to your wife and son, “that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

“We understand all of your concerns,” Ethan says, “and in advance we appreciate the love and support, we as a family will get through this.”

Your wife looks over in your direction and gives you a soft smile, you smile back, she whispers something into Ethan’s ear, and he nods, “And now, my son is going to sit back down and I’ll get this show on the road with a dance.”

February 16, 2015 - 6:00pm

You and Ellen founds yourselves at Ethan’s house more than your own these days. None of the twenty-three year olds seemed to mind, but it made you and your wife feel better to have Ethan close.

You are watching Ellen and Ethan cuddle on the couch of the balcony of his room, listening to the sound of the ocean when you hear Riley stumbling into the room, you look over your shoulder and she mumbles, “Oh hi Portia, I’ll just leave.”

“Hey,” you say softly, reaching out for her, “it’s alright. You okay?”

“As okay as I can be,” she says. “I didn’t realize you and Ellen were here.”

You chuckle, “We practically live here now, sorry.” You say.

Riley runs her hand through her hair, “It’s fine,” she says with a strain in her voice.

“Hey,” you say pulling her into a hug, “what’s wrong honey?”

She begins to lightly cry into your chest, she’s become like a daughter to you over the years, especially over the last several months that she and Ethan had been together, “I’m so scared that he’ll die,” she says softly.

You nod understandingly, kissing her head, “I know, me too.” You let out.

She pulls herself together and then says, “I’m gonna go downstairs, give you three some family time.”

“He actually is having some serious mama time right now,” you say looking out the balcony door, “I’ll join you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” she says. “I can open that bottle of wine and start a fire.”

“I like the sound of that,” you say. “I’ll help you. You start the fire, I’ll get the wine.”

“Okay,” she says. You both walk out of the room and down the stairs, you go to the wine cooler in the kitchen, and open a bottle of wine that you know both you and Riley like and open it and pull two glasses down and carry it to the living room where she is starting a fire. Once she got it started she sat down next to you as your pour two glasses. You hand her one and then lift up your arm so that she could cuddle into you, similar of how you would do for Ethan, she cuddles into you and you wrap your arm tighter around her. “He’s gonna be okay, right?” She then mumbles out.

You shrug, “I’d like to think so.” You say, “But, I really don’t know.”

“He can’t die.” Riley then says. “No, no, no.”

“Hey, hey.” You say, rubbing your hand up and down her arm, “let’s not think like that, okay?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” she says. “When I’m with him and he’s sleeping, I find myself staring at him, terrified about a life without him.”

“Ellen does the same thing,” you say.

“She really fell in love with him, huh?” Riley asks.

You nod, “Yeah, when we got together, I told her that he came with the package and she vowed to love him as her own. I didn’t think that she would ever adopt him, but my heart grew four more sizes when she asked if it was okay.” You respond to her. “I want you to know that no matter what happens to Ethan that you, Connor, your family, are all still my and Ellen’s family.”

“Thanks Portia,” she mumbles. “Connor and I have seen you and Ellen as mother-like figures in our lives. We really do appreciate everything you both have done for us.”

You kiss the top of her head and leave you lips lingering there, “We love you,” you say softly. “We love that you make our boy so happy.”

“He makes me so happy,” she murmurs. “Like I’m the only girl in the world.”

“I think he learned that from Ellen,” you say. “He watched how she treated me.”

“Really?” She asks.

You nod, “Before Ellen I was really unhappy and when Ellen and I got together, she started treating me like a queen. I saw that he was watching. The way that she would hold me after a long day or how she would get up to make me tea. The little things.”

“He secretly hated it though,” she says making you confused.

“What?” You ask.

She takes a deep breath, “He doesn’t want you and Ellen to know, but when you two first got together he felt unneeded, replaced basically.” She says.

“Really?” You ask in shock.

She nods, “When you were sick, you always wanted him to cuddle with, and he felt needed, but when Ellen came into the picture, you didn’t need him in that way anymore.” She says. Your face fell into your free hand, she notices, “This isn’t to make you feel bad,” she then says, “just that you know that he didn’t always like Ellen. He hid it for your sake, but he loves her now. He can’t imagine his life without her in it.”

You nod your head and then take a sip of wine, pulling Riley as close to you as you would Ethan.

February 20, 2015 - 3:00pm

You are sitting next to Ethan in chemotherapy holding his hand, Ellen is sleeping in the corner, she hadn’t been sleeping much, you keep thinking about that conversation with Riley. “You okay, Ma?” He asks looking softly at you.

You nod, “I just never thought I’d have to see you in this situation.” You say honestly.

“Same here,” he says. “I’m sorry for putting you and Mama through this.”

“It’s not your fault,” you say. “Don’t apologize.”

“I just see the worried look in your and Mama’s eyes and I feel bad.” He says. “Mama isn’t sleeping, I feel worse because I know she has a busy schedule.”

You look over at your sleeping wife, she looks worried even in her sleep, the nurse had thrown a blanket over her about 30 minutes before, but you know how worried she is, “Mama just loves you so much that she just wants a lot more time with you.” You say.

“Do you two think I’m gonna die?” He asks softly.

“We don’t know what to think baby.” You say. “We’re worried.”

He looks over at Ellen and makes a sad face, “Is it bad that I just wanna cuddle with the both of you right now?” He asks softly.

“No, believe me, Mama isn’t gonna let you out of her grasp leaving here,” you say. “As much as I didn’t raise you to be a spoiled celebrity kid, you know Mama spoils you with cuddles and love. She hates seeing you like this.”

“I hate that I’m putting you two in this situation. I hate that I’m putting Riley, Connor, and their family in this situation. And our family.” He says.

“It’s not your fault baby,” you say.

“I know it’s not,” he says, “but I still hate that I’m putting you all through this. I hate that I have to rely on all of you for everything now.”

“You always want to take care of other people,” you say. “Always wanted to feel needed, huh?”

“What do you mean?” He asks.

You sigh, “Riley told me that when Mama and I first got together, you didn’t feel needed by me anymore.”  You say. “I could tell she didn’t want to tell me, but she’s been so emotional that it came out.”

His head fell a little, “It made me not like Mama at first, but she fell in love with me and became my mama. I don’t get what my 13 year old self was feeling, but I do know this, I love Mama now. So damn much. I’m not sure where I’d be without her.” Tears fall from his eyes, “I felt so bad for not liking her, but she took all of your time and I wanted to be needed by you too. And then I started needing you and I felt bad because that took your time away from her and I thought she hated me because of it. And then she asked if she could adopt me and now I’m trying to figure life out with cancer and she’s still here. She fell in love with me, became my mama, and spoils me rotten with her love.”

You wipe the tears from his eyes, “She really did fall in love with you.” You say. “She doesn’t know who she would be without you… or us.”

You look over at your wife and look at her lovingly, you couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone else.

February 20, 2015 - 7:00pm

You and Ellen are cuddling on Ethan’s couch, your son is sleeping in his bed and Riley is working on her laptop next to him. You’re enjoying the alone time with your love. You have your face buried into her neck, she’s playing with your hair, you’re both watching an episode of Scandal and it’s a scene with you in it and you know that your commentary isn’t wanted, so you busy your face into her neck, kissing it every once and awhile.

“I love this,” she whispers during a commercial break. “Watching a recorded episode of Scandal, holding you.”

“I love this too,” you say. “I’m sorry that we haven’t really. gotten us time lately.”

She shrugs, “Our baby boy is just as important.” She says. “But yeah, we gotta make more time for us.”

“I agree,” you say. “I miss us.”

She nods, “I miss us too,” she whispers. You look to see tears in her eyes and then gesture for her to lie on her back, you lie on top of her and begin to kiss her and as you feel the tears fall your kiss her tears. “I’m sorry,” she cries. “I can’t be strong anymore.”

“Let me be strong for you,” you say. “Let me hold you up like you hold me up. Let me in baby.”

“What if we lose him?” She says. “Can we make it through that?”

It’s a valid question and a conversation you two needed to have, “I’m not sure honey.” You say. “I want to say that we can, but I don’t actually know.”

“For the last ten years, I’ve watched him grow from that shy, awkward boy to this confident young man and I don’t know if I can go on if he doesn’t.” She says. “I’m afraid that I might withdraw so much that you’ll leave me.”

You grab her face and look at her straight in the eyes, “I won’t leave you, Ed. Not now, not ever.” You say seriously. “I fell in love with you as much as I did you. You took in my boy as the whole package. You became his mama. I’m not going anywhere. I need you to know that. Good times and bad, I’m here. I’m always here.” She begins to cry hard into your shoulder, “I love you, Ed.”

“I love you too, Portia.” She says.

“C’mon, I’ll let you spoon me,” you say. “I know that you need that right now. We’ll continue this conversation later, I promise.”

You two get in the position that you two have seemed to have perfected over the course of the decade. She’s holding you tight as it comes back from the commercial break, you both watch in silence for the entirety of the hour.

You know that the conversation will be had at a later time, right now, you just need to take care of your wife.