Chapter 4

As the week continued, Sharon and Dana continued running the Adams Foster household the way only grandmothers could. All of the children had adhered to the rule of not calling their mothers. Dana had sent a text just to assure Stef and Lena that everything was fine, but other than that there had been no contact.

One evening, Dana made her way upstairs to Stef and Lena's bedroom to find Sharon sitting in the chair reading a magazine. They had been sharing the space.

"Is everyone settled in?" Sharon asked without looking up.

"Yes," Dana said as she sat on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. "I think Brandon might still be working on some music, but everyone else is asleep."

Sharon smiled. "I'm so proud of him. I hope he becomes rich and famous one day."

"Where does he get his musical talent?" Dana asked.

Sharon huffed. "Certainly not from me. I think Mike had an uncle who played the guitar."

Dana's mind wandered to what Sharon had told her about Stef and Lena adopting Ana's baby. She didn't think it was a good idea and she debated whether or not she should discuss it with Lena.

"Ana has been spending a lot of time with her parents this week," Dana said. "Is that normal?"

"I'm not really sure," Sharon answered as she looked up from her magazine. "It is a little crowded around here these days. Maybe she just wants to give everyone some space."

Dana nodded, but she wasn't so sure.

The week seemed to pass quickly, but Stef and Lena had taken every opportunity they could to just be together. Lena still had lectures and workshops to attend and she was secretly giddy when she had managed to talk Stef into attending a lecture with her about violence in schools. Stef had met some of the other administrators and listened proudly as her wife debated intelligently about the topics at hand.

Stef would join Lena for lunch each day and they had even managed to spend some time shopping and enjoying L.A. By the time the weekend rolled around, most of their time was spent in their hotel room, talking, listening and reaffirming their love for one another.

One evening, Stef walked out of the bathroom to see her wife dressed in the hotel robe, the sash tied loosely around her waist. She was standing in front of her suitcase with a pair of underwear in her hand.

"No need for those," Stef said casually with a smirk as she made her way over to the bed.

Lena grinned as she dropped them back into her suitcase and turned around to see Stef's robe falling to the floor, revealing her wonderfully naked body. Immediately, she felt heat spreading through her own body at the sight and went to join her wife.

Stef crawled across the bed and knelt to pull Lena into a kiss. "This week has been wonderful," she said as her kisses trailed down.

Lena tilted her head to give Stef better access as she felt her lips and tongue caressing her collar bone. She could only moan her agreement as she enjoyed her wife's touch.

Stef pushed the robe off Lena's shoulders to expose soft, bronze skin, fresh and fragrant from their shower. Her kisses moved lower to Lena's breast and she wasted no time in capturing a pert nipple, lavishing it before moving on to the other.

Lena panted as she buried her fingers into blonde hair. "Stef…" She felt herself being pulled onto the bed and fell against the pillows as she enjoyed the weight of her wife's body against her own.

They kissed and kissed, hands roaming slowly, kneading and caressing as they savored their precious time alone. Eventually, Stef slid her thigh between Lena's and their hips rocked together slowly and deliberately when their need had built too much to ignore.

Stef buried her face in her wife's neck and hair as the sounds of their heavy breathing filled the room. "Lena…" she moaned as her climax quickly approached. She felt Lena's hands gripping her and forcing their hips together tightly as their movements became more frantic.

Lena groaned as her pleasure reached its peak and held onto her wife tightly as the waves coursed through her hips. She heard Stef's cry of pleasure above her and a slow smile came to her lips as she continued to hold her.

As their bodies calmed and their breathing slowed to normal, Stef rolled them until they lay facing each other. She sighed deeply and smiled at Lena before leaning in to give her lazy kisses.

"I love you," Lena whispered as she returned the kisses, her hand caressing Stef's back.

"I love you, too," Stef said.

Lena watched as her wife's eyes fell closed. "This week has been like a dream," she said softly, smiling when Stef nodded sleepily.

"Do you realize how long it's been since we've been able to sleep naked?" Stef asked. "The kids are cramping our style."

Lena giggled. "Well we better enjoy it while we can. When we get back home, it's back to pajamas."

Sunday came quickly and Stef and Lena had made it home by lunchtime, happily greeted by their family, including Ana.

Lena hugged and kissed her mother who smiled and fussed with her curls before her look turned firm. "You and I need to have a talk," she said. Lena's face fell as she watched her mother move to greet Stef.

"You guys must be tired from your trip," Sharon said as she hooked her arm through Lena's. "There's plenty to eat for lunch."

Everyone gathered in the kitchen and Stef and Lena sat next to each other, happy as their children rambled on excitedly about their week.

"Brandon said he would teach us how to drive," Mariana said with a grin.

Dana shook her head at Mariana's relentlessness.

"I said no such thing," Brandon argued. Jude laughed.

"So how was your trip?" Callie asked.

"It was wonderful," Stef said as she looked at her wife adoringly. "Mama and I really needed to spend some time together." Lena smiled.

"Yeah, it was like another extended baby moon," Mariana said. Callie rolled her eyes.

Lena glanced at her mother who looked at her sternly and it suddenly dawned on her what their conversation was going to be about.

"Speaking of the baby, how is everything, Ana?" Stef asked looking at the reserved woman. She and Lena had talked extensively about what they should do about Ana. Lena had recalled her conversation with Timothy about integrity and they eventually decided that they needed to honor their word.

But the decision hadn't been made solely out of obligation. They talked a lot about Frankie and it had helped tremendously in the healing process for both of them. In the end, they both came to the decision that they still had room in their hearts to love and care for this new child.

"Everything is fine," Ana smiled. "Dana was nice enough to take me to my doctor's appointment."

Lena looked a little shocked at the fact.

Dana kept a straight face. To be honest, her act had been done out of nosiness more so than kindness.

"Um…I actually have some news," Ana began as everyone gave her their attention. She was suddenly nervous. "I've been spending a lot of time with my parents lately and getting to know them again."

Lena looked at Stef worriedly. Neither of them were aware that Ana even had a relationship with her parents. She glanced at the twins who looked especially pensive.

"I've been thinking that maybe I should keep the baby after all," she said quietly, glancing around the table nervously. She continued when no one said anything. "Stef, Lena…I'm so grateful to you both for everything you've done for me and for taking care of Mariana and Jesus when I was too selfish to do so." Her eyes welled with tears. "But I think that its way past time for me to stop being selfish and take more control of my life," she said, wiping her eyes. "I don't want to give up on this baby. I don't want to make the same mistake again. My parents want to help me and I think I should let them." She looked at the twins. Mariana's face was wet with tears and Jesus stared at a spot on the table.

"If your moms allow it, I'd still like you to be a part of this baby's life and get to know your grandparents better," she said with a watery smile. She sighed and stood from the table. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking to Lena and Stef who sat expressionless.

Shortly after her announcement, Ana had gathered the few belongings she owned and took a cab to her parents' house. Everyone else had scattered to process the news.

Stef and Lena watched carefully as Mariana and Jesus walked her out. When they came back in Mariana had run upstairs to her room, tears pouring down her face. Jesus approached them nervously and ended up telling them everything that happened. How Mariana had approached their grandparents and how they wanted to adopt Ana's baby and help her. Too shocked to deal with the confession, they had sent him to his room.

Stef quietly grabbed Lena's hand and led her out into the quiet of the backyard. "Tell me what you're thinking, love?" she said, concerned about her wife's state of mind.

Lena sighed and shook her head. "To be honest, I don't really know what to think," she said softly as she sat down on the steps of the deck. "All I know right now is that there's nothing we can do about it. No papers have been signed. She can legally do whatever she wants."

Stef sat next to her wife and sighed. "The twins looked devastated, but I don't know if it's because they're upset that Ana changed her mind or because all of this has gotten so messy."

"I feel horrible for saying this," Lena said as she looked at Stef, "But as hard as this is, I think it's better that it's happening now rather than later." She tried to blink away the tears that were forming in her eyes. "It was hard enough losing Frankie," she explained. "I don't think I could take it if we had fallen in love with Ana's baby, only to have her taken from us in the end."

Stef wrapped an arm around Lena, pulling her closer, fighting her own tears.

Dana and Sharon stood in the kitchen, watching their daughters from the window.

"The nerve of that woman," Dana said angry as she took a seat at the table.

"I know," Sharon whispered. "And after all they've done to help her." She sat a cup of coffee down in front of Dana and joined her at the table.

"This was a horrible idea. They should have never agreed to adopt that baby in the first place," Dana ranted. She knew how horribly it had hurt her daughter to lose Frankie. In her opinion, it was just too soon to try adopting already.

Sharon listened quietly. She would be lying if she said she didn't agree. She remembered the reservations she had about them adopting Callie and Jude, but she had also been wrong. Callie and Jude were wonderful children and she was proud to be their grandmother.

"If I had known they were even thinking about it…" Dana said.

"Will you keep your voice down?" Sharon hissed as Dana continued to fuss. "It's not our decision to make."

Dana gave Sharon a hard look before turning away. "I'm tired of seeing them hurt," she said quietly.

Sharon's heart broke as she detected a tremor in her voice and she placed her hand on top of Dana's. "I know," she said. "But our girls have big hearts and we can't fault them for that."

Later that evening, after everyone had calmed down, Stef and Lena called a family meeting. They sat together in the middle of the sofa, Sharon and Dana on either side of them. All of the children were gathered around.

"Mama and I just wanted to talk to you all and make sure everyone is okay," Stef began. "I know Ana's news was probably hard for everyone." She looked at Mariana, but the girl refused to make eye contact.

"Can she really just change her mind like that?" Brandon asked.

"Well, everything happened kind of fast," Stef answered. "We didn't have any official paperwork yet so Ana is free to do whatever she thinks is best."

"Mom and I know that there has been a lot going on lately," Lena said, "but we all need to start being more honest with each other. No more secrets or lies. We're a family and if any one of us has a problem then we need to be honest about it. All of our decisions affect each other."

Everyone nodded.

"Okay. I think everyone should get some sleep," Lena said. "We can talk about it some more in the morning." She glanced over at her mother who was uncharacteristically quiet.

Everyone went upstairs to prepare for bed. Jude and Jesus had agreed to camp out in the living room so their grandmas could use their room.

Stef and Lena made their way into the kitchen for a cup of tea. "Can you believe we came back from a blissful week to all of this?" Stef said as she filled the kettle with water.

"I know," Lena sighed as she rested her chin in her hand. She sat up when she saw Mariana and Jesus enter the kitchen dressed in their pajamas. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Jesus took a seat at the table and Mariana stood quietly next to him. "We just wanted to apologize for not telling you that we had been in contact with our grandparents," Jesus said.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Lena asked. Mariana had a habit of sneaking behind their backs and Jesus was always there to cover for her.

Mariana shrugged and looked away. Jesus sighed. "We didn't know that you guys had changed your minds about adopting the baby. We thought if we could talk to our grandparents that maybe they would want to," he explained.

Lena sighed. "This is why we can't keep secrets from each other," she told them. "Everyone ends up getting hurt when the truth comes out."

"Why don't you guys go on to bed," Stef said. "We'll talk more in the morning."

Mariana hesitated. "Ana said that she wanted to us to be a part of the baby's life. I want that," she said softly.

"Honey, your mom and I would never stop you from getting to know your family," Lena said. Mariana nodded and made her way out of the kitchen.

Stef rubbed Lena's back and pulled her into an embrace. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"I am. Are you?"

Stef closed her eyes and held her wife tighter. "As long as I have you, I'm okay."

The End.