NOTE: this post contains spoilers for A Million Little Things season 5 episode 7, "Spilled Milk."
Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) surprisingly manages to repair his relationship with a relative, who was part of his past. Living with Walter (Lou Beatty Jr.) continues to test Regina (Christina Moses) and Rome (Romany Malco), meanwhile, Eddie (David Giuntoli) welcomes his daughter into his home.
Gary regains a family member
Gary's father passing away means a reunion with his aunt, Inez, who he no longer speaks to. He insists he does not want Maggie (Allison Miller) or their son to meet the woman, wanting to give her the box from Javier and get rid of her, obviously still hurt over the fact she disappeared from his life after his parents got a divorce rather than acting as a maternal figure.
Inez doesn't hesitate to express how she's feeling, expressing disappointment she was not invited to her brother's funeral, but also that she is happy that Gary finally reached out to have her over. Gary makes it clear that was not his intention, leading to a much-needed conversation between the two about what actually happened to break the family apart. Inez and Javier had disagreed over Gary's name change and after being unable to get on board and support her nephew, she left.
When his son cries, he struggles to soothe him, and his aunt steps in, calming him down without issue. Gary shares his baby's name and it produces a beautiful moment, Inez saying how proud she is after revealing all of the regrets she has over losing her loved ones for so long.
Before she leaves, Inez gives her nephew a book for the baby, the same one she used to read to Gary when he was younger. Inez assures him that he doesn't need to know Spanish to be Mexican, adding that he can learn the language whenever he wants. It's definitely a sentiment that Gary needed to hear.
In the end, he invites her back to meet Maggie and it seems to be the start of rebuilding their relationship.
Charlie's visit and Eddie's new friendship
While Charlie (Halston Owen) stays with her father, Nicole (Rachel Nichols) steps up to try to help however she can. The younger girl forgets her stuffed toy after spending the day, so Eddie drives her and Theo (Tristan Byon) back to get it. Of course, Theo recognizes the apartment and Nicole from the craft store, leading to a bunch of questions about how the two know each other.
Nicole explains how she ended up in the apartment, commenting how she wishes she could find a way to pay his father back for everything he's done. Eddie knows she is still struggling with the guilt of putting him in a wheelchair and he insists that it's not necessary for her to keep doing things for him.
They both agree that they want to be real friends, Eddie promising that he's over how they met, even though Nicole is not, and that there is no debt. With that, it seems like the two can finally move on, or at least start to.
The next step for Walter
Calling Rome at work, Regina informs her husband that Walter is missing and so are her car keys. By some miracle, his father safely makes it to Rome's school, thinking he has to pick his sons up. One of his students, Maddox (Ash Spencer), comments that his father might have a UTI, which can lead to older people growing more confused.
It turns out Maddox is right, but Rome plays along for a moment, having a conversation about the difficulties he faced in this school when he was younger. Walter is soon brought back to reality, realizing his son now teaches there and saying how proud he is of Rome for trying to make a difference for other kids after his experience.
The family has dinner together, but afterward, it's impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. They can't watch him every minute of the day and to avoid anything happening to Walter, they decide that his living there isn't working and the next step is putting him in assisted living, even if it's hard.
New episodes of A Million Little Things premiere Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC and are available on-demand on Hulu the day after they air live.