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Jess Ross and Noah Donelly

Jessica “Jess” Ross and Noah Michael Donelly met as neighbors in Baltimore in March 2038, began dating later that year, became engaged in August 2039, and later married. Jess took the legal name Jessica Lee Donelly after the marriage.

Overview

Jess and Noah built their relationship while Jess raised her adult son, Caleb Ross, and established a new household in Baltimore. Noah developed an independent relationship with Caleb rather than entering the family through a clinical role. His work as a pediatric neurologist gave him relevant medical knowledge, but another neurologist always managed Caleb’s care.

Origins

Jess and Caleb moved from Portland to the accessible suite attached to the Lee family home in early March 2038. Noah moved from Boston into a four-bedroom rowhouse across the street during the same period. Jess first knew him as a neighbor and later learned that he was a pediatric neurologist transferring to the Johns Hopkins medical system.

Noah never served as Caleb’s treating neurologist. His growing personal relationship with Jess and Caleb created a conflict of interest, so Caleb’s care remained with another physician.

Relationship Development

Jess and Noah’s friendship became romantic later in 2038. Several months after they began dating, Jess and Caleb moved from the Lee family’s suite into Noah’s rowhouse. The exact move date was not documented, but they shared the home before the August 2039 proposal. Noah gave Caleb a permanent bedroom rather than treating his presence as temporary.

Main article: Noah’s Proposal to Jess (2039) - Event

Before proposing, Noah asked Marisa Garcia for her blessing by phone and used drawings to ask Caleb for his. Caleb responded by calling Noah “Daaa,” the same speech approximation he used for his late biological father, Danny Ross. Noah proposed to Jess in the backyard of their shared home in August 2039, and she accepted.

Caleb remained asleep at the Lee family home through the proposal and the initial engagement calls. Marisa, Luis Garcia, and Mateo Garcia were together in Portland when Noah and Jess shared the news. Jess and Noah later married, after which Jess became Jessica Lee Donelly.

Dynamics and Communication

Jess and Noah communicated directly about caregiving, medical risk, household responsibilities, and the limits of Noah’s professional role. Noah respected Jess’s detailed knowledge of Caleb’s body, communication, routines, and seizure patterns. Jess relied on Noah’s practical follow-through without treating his medical credentials as authority over her experience.

Their relationship also made room for Jess’s continuing connection to Danny. Noah did not present himself as Danny’s replacement, and Caleb’s use of “Daaa” for both men remained part of the family’s understanding of his two fathers.

Domestic Life

Noah’s rowhouse stood across the street from the Lee family home. The four-bedroom layout included Noah’s office and music room, a permanent bedroom for Caleb, and enough space for Jess and Caleb’s equipment and daily routines. Their proximity to the Lees preserved the support network that had brought Jess and Caleb to Baltimore.

Health, Access, and Caregiving

Caleb was a nonspeaking AAC user with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and hypotonic cerebral palsy. He required extensive support with mobility, transfers, personal care, seizure management, communication access, and sleep equipment. Noah shared household and caregiving responsibilities with Jess while deferring to her as Caleb’s primary caregiver and most experienced interpreter.

Noah’s personal role remained separate from Caleb’s medical treatment. His family relationship did not replace Caleb’s neurologist or make Noah a member of the treatment team.

Parenting and Family Life

Noah became one of Caleb’s trusted adults and later his chosen father and stepfather. He addressed Caleb directly, used communication methods Caleb could access, and included him in the decision to propose to Jess. The family preserved photographs and stories of Danny alongside Noah’s growing paternal role.

Relationships Romantic Relationships Jess Ross Noah Donelly