General POV

Lena woke to see her partner sitting at the edge of the bed. It was obvious to her that she was crying. Instinctively, she moved closer so that she could see the woman's face but Stef made it difficult for her to do that by covering it with her hand. She was trying so hard not to make a sound and it was now that she was beginning to regret not getting up to do this in the bathroom.

"What's wrong, baby," she asked while putting her hand on Stef's back in an attempt to soothe her devastated lover. At her touch, she felt Stef relaxed a bit.

The blonde removed her hand from her face and began to speak, "I miss her Lena. I miss her so much. It has been 16 years since the last time I saw her, and today is just…more of a reminder that she's not with us. And that maybe she will never be." Stef stopped talking and shrugged her shoulders. "I can't take not knowing what happened to her anymore."

It was obvious to Lena that she'd been crying the whole time, probably ever since she awoke. Lena allowed Stef to lay her face on her shoulder so that she could feel the bit of comfort that she so desperately needed.

How can people be so merciless and cause others so much pain, Stef thought. And why did it have to be her daughter?

Lena just sat there, holding her partner, like she'd been doing for the past nine years. Allowing her to cry out all of the pain that she had felt for so many years, and each year it just got worse and worse. But on this day it became something of the ordinary for Stef.

"Everything is going to be alright. We will find her, baby. And we will bring her back sooner or later...Okay?" Lena said. "But she will find her way back somehow." My partner is falling apart in front of my eyes and pouring out all her fears. But how do I make her fears go away when I have uncertainties of my own… that maybe we will never find that piece we missed. Though I cannot let Stef know that I've been thinking this way. It would devastate her. I have to be the strong one for the both of us, Lena thought.

Lena's POV

After some time spent of just sitting together at the edge of our bed and letting Stef cry, I decided to bring Stef closer toward the pillows, so she could get some rest. After all, it was the middle of the night and both of us could use the sleep. I pulled the covers over us and I cuddled with Stef, making sure to kiss the top of her forehead as she rested her head on my chest.

"I love you," I said

"I love you too, my love."

A couple of minutes later, I noticed that Stef's breathing had settled down, meaning that she had finally fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. Wow, I loved this woman more than my life. Seeing her so fragile and in so much pain and not being able to make it go away was killing me on the inside. Minutes had passed since Stef had fallen asleep, and the only thing I wanted to do was hold her in my arms and never let go.

And I did just that. I laid right beside her and wrapped her in my arms, whilst drawing circles on her back, allowing sleep to take over the both of us like it was almost contagious.

General POV

Morning came too soon for Stef. She saw that is was barely 6:00 in the morning. And after the long night that she had, all she wanted to do was get up and get her morning coffee to get the day started. She got out of the bed as slow as she could because she did not want to wake Lena. When she was down the stairs, the first thing she did was put the coffee maker to brew. Afterward, she filled a coffee cup. And as she started drinking the hot liquid, a great sensation was felt as it touched her lips and passed through her entire body.

She really needed that.

Next, she had to make the batter for the pancakes, because today was a special day for one of her babies. And she was going to make the best of it no matter her feelings. He shouldn't have to suffer.

After half an hour Lena joined her in the kitchen when she finished waking up the twins. Stef was almost done with what was known as the breakfast-cake.

When it was somebody's birthday, she'd make him or her a pile of pancakes with syrup, whipped cream, and fresh fruits on top. It was a tradition she had started when she met Lena.

And her partner had woken the twins first because they were going to sing happy birthday to Brandon in his room. When the twins joined both moms outside of it, the entire family barged in and began singing happy birthday.

After all of the commotion of Brandon's birthday and after breakfast was served and eaten, everybody headed to their respective things that they had to do for the day. Lena and the kids headed to school. Stef, on the other hand, headed to work, dreading the day ahead since she knew that it was going to be a long one.

Stef's POV

If my day could not get any worse, Captain Roberts called me into her office, saying that she needed to talk to me. And that always leads to good news right…

As I got inside, I saw my ex-husband, sitting behind the captain's desk. All I could think was, What is he doing here and what did I just walk in to?

"What's going on? Why is Mike here?" I asked the captain while pointing to him.

"Well, Mike, here, has asked to be your new partner. And since you do not have one, I have agreed to his request," Captain Roberts informed me.

I stood there in shock, not believing what I just heard. I just froze as I tried to take in all the information I was just delivered. All I could think was, Is she crazy? This must be a joke. She cannot be serious. Putting mike and I in the same car? As partners? Not an idea of a sane person...

As I opened my mouth to protest, Captain Roberts put her hand up. "This is not up for discussion, Foster. This is my final decision. And if you hate it, then deal with it outside of work. Am I clear?" she said before putting her hand down.

"Yes Captain."

And after that, she escorted us out her office, letting both of us know that our talk was essentially over.

As I left her office, I couldn't help but be frustrated while watching Mike walking towards his desk. Just the sight of him after what just happened was making me even angrier than I already was.

But I knew I had to cool down. After all, today was Brandon's audition, and I was not going to allow Mike to put me in a worse mood. Hopefully, Brandon ends up giving some light into this dark day that I've been having.

After another moment, I walked toward Mike's desk because I had to talk to him about today. "Hey, Mike. Are you going to be able to make it to Brandon's audition today?" I start to try to make casual conversation. I knew I had to work with him so talking was inevitable. "…This is important for him, and I'm sure he would appreciate if you were there," I said with an obvious hint of annoyance in my tone.

"Sorry Stef. I'm not going to be able to go. I couldn't get out of my second shift but…I will be able to make it to the finals. It's going to be held tomorrow, right?"

"Yes Mike. If he makes it, it will be held tomorrow," I voiced in frustration. "Did you at least call to wish him a happy birthday?"

"I was going to call him after school to say best of luck and do just that. Who knows? Maybe luck will be on his side today, right?" he said with a small sarcastic laugh.

I made one of the angriest faces I have ever made and stared him down, thinking, Did he forget what today is? Is he serious?

I tried to play it cool and not let my anger show "Right…" I said in a more irritated tone than I should have, "So I will see you tomorrow at my house? You're meeting us there, so don't be late."

"Okay," Mike nodded as he glanced at his ex-wife and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. But he just assumed it was because she was upset about the two of them being partners. She'll get over it, he thought to himself as he began to shuffle through his drawer for his car keys.

To be continued…

I would love to say thank you to Freakgreeneyes for all the help I got with this story couldn't post it without you.