Jo smoothed down a little bit of Maxine's hair before she straightened up and approached Ted. She was trying to read his take on all of this. She just hoped that this wasn't going to be one of those things that sent him packing. She didn't think it would be, but some guys got very squeamish at the thought of kids. Granted, Ted had kids of his own, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't freak out if he thought Jo was somehow angling for them or... something.
She reached Ted and pulled him into a hug before kissing him on the cheek.
"Maxine showed up in the City a few days. Her parents are here and she didn't have anywhere else to go," she said in a voice that was hopefully low enough to avoid the five year old's ears.
She raised her voice enough so that both of them could hear.
"There's soy ice cream in the freezer," she said to Maxine more than anything. "You hungry?"