Lena thought she heard the occasional whispered oath from the kitchen, but she definitely heard the occasional paper being crumpled and she did not mistake a pen being thrown across the room as anything else. Her beloved partner had been sitting at the table for hours, only once making a walkthrough for some missing papers and aspirin. Downing two of them and water like she was taking a shot, she had made eye contact with her audience.

"Hello domestic partner in finances and life," she said with a nod to Lena. "Dependents." She gave the twins an equally formal nod.

"You're so weird Mommy," said Jesús.

"Very true," sighed Stef, the moment of levity siphoning the last of her reserves.

Seated on one of the kitchen chairs that she was beginning to loathe, Stef shoved her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she glared at the forms in front of her, then pawed through a pile of papers that sat beside her. Not finding what she wanted, she sighed in aggravation and leaned back into her chair. "Hon?" she called towards the living room.

"Yes?" Lena called back sweetly where childish giggling could be heard.

"Where is the receipt from the new fridge? We can take it off this year and I told you to put it in the file. Remember?"

"I did," replied Lena patiently.

"No you didn't," responded Stef, "because it's not here."

"Babe, I promise you I did," Lena said, her voice never losing its calm tone.

"Sweetheart, I'm looking through the envelope. If you had, it would be here and I've looked twice and still not-". There was a pause.

"Stef?" asked Lena knowingly.

"Found it." Stef called back.

Lena smiled at her children, "Mommy's so funny when she's doing taxes," she told them.

Jesús looked at her seriously, putting a hand on her knee, "Mama, can't you do this taxes this year?"

"No baby, this is an odd year. Mommy does it on the odd years and I do them on the even years. We have an agreement about it."

"Pleease?" begged Jesús.

"Why hon?"

"Mommy said we'd play basketball together but now we'll never do it," said Jesus in a disappointment-laden tone.

Lena cupped his chin in her hand. "Yes she will sweetheart." There was a clatter from the kitchen and Stef's vehement expression of disgust. Lena winced, "just not now," she amended.

"Leave her alone Jesús," commanded Mariana looking from their mama to the kitchen with a worried expression as a strangled expletive was muttered. "She doesn't want to play with that stupid old basketball anyway."

"Yes she does," said Jesús, looking injured. "She said she wanted too." He slumped his head onto his hands. "She said it would be fun," he mumbled into his hands.

"She was just being nice," said Mariana.

"Which you should be too," said Lena, giving her daughter a frown. "Please apologize to Jesús for being unkind."

"Sorry," Mariana sighed, a trifle insincerely as Jesús peeked out from under his long bangs.

Lena narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry," said Mariana hastily, her tone sounding more genuine. She glanced towards the kitchen again. "Mommy's mad."

"No sweetheart, she's just a little stressed," Lena said, picking up the little girl's hand and squeezing it.

Mariana sighed. "She didn't say "Morning Miss Thing today when I woke up. She just said morning Mariana." Mariana's free hand tangled in her hair as she twisted it.

"Just give her some time, sweetheart,"

"I think we should go give Mommy hugs, like when you guys give us a Mama Sandwich. I always feel better. So do Brandon and Jesús."

Lena hesitated.

"Pleeeease?" said Jesús looking up, his ramp forgotten. "I wanna make Mommy feel better too."

A break certainly wouldn't hurt Stef. It might even break the cycle of sigh-curse-grumble-calculate that had been going on for the last ten minutes. Smiling, Lena tousled his hair. "Okay babies. Let's go hug Mommy."

Not so stealthily the twins tumbled into the kitchen; their combined apprehensiveness and desire to please making them acutely clumsy. However it mattered little. In seconds Mariana was ensconced in Stef's lap while Jesús stood hugging her around her neck as he stood leaning into her back. Lena took a minute to enjoy the baby sandwich they made.

Stef leaned back in her chair, basking in the warmth of her children's little bodies enfolding her, her face relaxing for the first time in hours.

"Don't be upset Mommy," Mariana declared timorously but with feeling. "You can do it." This frequent encouragement was a much-loved phrase in the Adams-Foster house. She wasn't sure what all was involved in "taxes" but she was sure her mom could handle it.

"You can do anything," Jesús said loyally, giving Stef's neck a harder squeeze.

"Thank you babies," Stef said quietly, cupping the back of Jesús' head and bringing it forward for her to kiss, then kissed Mariana's hair.

"What's going on?" Brandon asked casually as he walked through the back door after spending the morning at Aiden's house.

"Mommy's doing taxes," Jesús said, still clinging steadily.

"That's nice," said Brandon doing an abrupt about-face.

"You're hilarious," said Stef dryly as Lena laughed and snatched the back of his shirt, hauling him to her until he was on her lap as she sat them across from Stef and the twins.

He leaned back, his head tucked comfortably under her chin as his mama crossed her arms around his stomach. Serious eyes met Stef's. "Is everything ok Mommy?"

"It's fine baby," she assured him, pulling Jesús around so he was no longer strangling her and settling him besides Mariana. "This is just a…frustrating time for me."

"'Cause of money," Brandon observed frankly.

"No," Stef lied unconvincingly. Since the other four sets eyes were looking at her with unbelievability she amended herself. "Maybe." She sighed. She looked at the worried faces of her children. She hated that doing the taxes made her so crazy. It had made her dad crazy too. That's when he and her mom would have some of their worst fights. Him bitching about how much she spent, her complaining that he was a tightwad. Most of the time she would hightail it out of the house and spend hours wandering the neighborhood until the streetlights went on. Even then she'd sometimes stay out later, risking a scolding when she got back for being out too long. She didn't want to do that to her kids and she absolutely refused to do that to Lena.

"Well," said Lena breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I have a great idea."

The children looked at her hopefully. "I'm going to take you three to the Fremont Theater," she said, naming the older theater that showed discounted second-run movies. It was the closest thing to the nearly kids-only theaters her parents had gone to on long summer days.

"Really?" Jesús began bouncing on Stef's lap.

She pushed him off. "Mommy's not a trampoline, bub."

"Yup," Lena said. "They're doing a double feature of 101 Dalmatians and Hocus Pocus."

Jesús lit up. "Really?" he asked again.

Both boys looked at their sister. She smiled bravely at them. "I'm not gonna be scared of the mean lady or the witches anymore." She looked down at her hands a moment, "as long as you guys are there too."

"Sure," said Jesús, giving her hug.

"Of course," Brandon nodded.

"Excellent," said Lena, allowing Brandon to slide from her lap and standing. "I want you guys to get ready. Go use the bathroom, brush your hair, wash faces, get presentable."

"Can we get popcorn?" asked Jesús, heading for the stairs.

"Sure," said Lena.

"Can we sneak candy into the theater?" asked Brandon, deciding to perform his ablations at the kitchen sink.

"What? No!" said Lena, giving her oldest a look.

"Mommy lets us," Jesús tattled, his feet already on the stairs.

Lena turned to Stef and raised an eyebrow at her. "Your mom, the cop, lets you sneak candy into the theater?"

Stef spluttered a moment. "Have you seen those prices? And don't get me started on that do not bring outside food and drinks. That's not actually a law you know."

Lena put her hands on her hips.

"It's not!"

"What if we had an allergy like Christa?" Mariana asked gravely. "She can't eat hardly anything but what her mom gives her. Could she bring food to the theater?"

"Yeah, Mama. What about her?" Brandon grinned.

"None of you have allergies," Lena said firmly. "No candy. You guys don't need the sugar anyway."

There were muffled moans of protest, but no more than that. When their Mama laid down the law, it was just best to go along with it.

In a few minutes, the three children presented themselves sans the dirt and other such minutia that had been clinging upon their persons throughout the day.

Without needing prompting, the kids went to their mother and buried her in enthusiastic hugs

Stef let her arms creep around her children; squeezing them, her love for them pulling her briefly out of her frustration loop. "Bye monkeys. Be good. Jesús, Mariana, remember Brandon's in charge."

"And being in charge is not the same as being bossy, okay?" Lena reminded Brandon, putting her chin on his shoulder and making the circle complete.

"Okay Mama."

The house was quiet after they left which was better for Stef's concentration but at the same time made her feel more isolated from her family. She shook her head at herself. "Get it together Foster." She had gotten the section about extra income done, when Lena walked through the door. Stef looked at her, puzzled. "I-I thought you were going to go out?"

"Just to drop the kids off." Lena deposited her purse and keys on the island and headed for Stef with a singular intent. She sat in Stef's lap, cupped her partner's face in her hands and began to smooth away the worry lines. "How's it going babe?"

Stef leaned into the touch. "I think we're going to end up owing and with the twin's dental bills last month our cushion is going to be almost completely gone."

There was frustration but mostly defeat in Stef's voice and Lena hated to hear it. Being financially stable wasn't just a luxury; it was a necessity to Stef. Her family had struggled when she was growing up and the worry of the same constantly nipped at her thoughts. She was constantly reminded that they were making ends meet but not much else. It was worrisome for Lena too but not at the gut level that it bothered Stef.

"Then we've got Brandon's music lessons, Jesús's psychiatrist…" Stef trailed off. "Argh, it just makes my stomach knot."

Lena continued stroking Stef's face. "Let's look at the budget again hon. I bet there's something we can cut to make our payments this month. Then we can start replenishing our emergency cushion."

"Yeah." But the worry didn't leave Stef's face as she looked at the stacks of papers on the table once again.

Lena followed her gaze. "Let's play a game," she suggested.

Stef gave her a look, barely refraining from rolling her eyes. "Love, I know you're trying to distract me but-"

"For every section of the taxes you get done, I'll take something off," Lena finished, ignoring Stef's interruption expertly.

Her lover's pupils dilated and Stef's breath caught. "What?"

Lena traced Stef's lip with one long finger. "You heard what I said."

Stef reached underneath to grab Lena's ass and pulled her closer. "Little section of the taxes or big section?"

Leaning forward to give her a deep kiss Lena finished with, "any section you like baby."

Laughter sparkled in Stef's eyes; that indomitable spark of love and humor and life that Lena so adored. "Do I get to choose what you take off?"
"Uh-uh," Lena shook her head in negation. "But I'll tell you what, because you've already been working on them, I'll take something off now."

Stef managed to release her hold enough to allow Lena some movement. The woman bent down, as graceful as a ballet dancer, and slowly removed one sock after another. This might have been disappointing had she not stretched her long legs luxuriously, her toes squirming in unabashed enjoyment of their freedom and her arms rising bringing her breasts with them as she stretched her body like a particularly magnificent cat.

Stef felt her own chest rise and fall as she breathed in deeply. They leaned in to kiss again. When they separated, Stef looked at her beloved partner. "Are you going to stay on my lap while I do the taxes, because, not that I'm complaining, I might not actually get anything done and we have-"

"About five hours," Lena said.

"What?"

"Double feature babe. And I gave them money to play video games. We've got…five…hours." Each word was punctuated by a kiss.

"I love you," said Stef with great feeling.

"I know." It was hard for Lena not to sound smug, but she managed. Smoothly standing, she padded around the table in bare feet.

"Wait-what?" Stef looked like she had been deprived of her favorite toy.

Lena nodded towards the taxes. "Big section or little section, love. Get started."

Stef started to pout but then Lena added, "then we can get started."

Grabbing the papers like they were a lifeline, Stef bent towards her task.

Watching her partner walking around their kitchen, one piece less of clothing at a time, in broad daylight, was a kind of sweet torture. She was wearing a V-neck shirt with two buttons unbuttoned so she was constantly playing peek-a-boo with a lacy, crème colored bra. Most of the time, Lena's underwear was covered by the shirt, but once and a while she'd stretch to put something away and the French-cut panties would make their appearance once again. It was a distraction but one Stef endured happily. She slammed her pen down a little too eagerly and it skidded across the table coming to rest upon crumpled papers. "Done!" said Stef eagerly.

Turning only her head, Lena grinned over her shoulder. "You sound like the kids finishing their homework."

"Don't toy with me woman," growled Stef.

Lena sauntered over to her, just out of grabbing range. Her hands went to the buttons of her shirt. The small pearly buttons disappeared and reappeared under nimble fingertips as they were finally freed. Lena's shirt draped open leaving a glorious expanse of skin and toned abs. Lena let the shirt fall to her shoulders and they both watched as it slid to the floor.

Quicker then expected, Stef leaned over and grabbed Lena, pulling her until she was once again seated on her lap. Lena chuckled then squealed when Stef buried her mouth against the v of her breasts, kissing every inch of flesh as it passed by her lips. She was only halted when Lena gently grabbed the back of her head by her hair, pulling her mouth to her own. Stef's hands skimmed the edges of Lena's brassiere before her lover's hands covered hers.

"Uh-uh. No cheating," Lena murmured.

"Not cheating," Stef protested, a little breathless. "I'm just touching. I haven't taken a single thing off you tonight." But it didn't pay to test Lena. Obediently, her fingers danced away from their appealing position, brushing against silky skin to cup Lena's ass.

Lena sighed and let her head roll on Stef's shoulder as she mouthed kisses up her neck. She could feel her lover trembling and she allowed her teeth to come forward, giving her a tiny nip.

Stef yelped and drew away from her. "Did you just bite me?"

"No," Lena said, her fingers lightly tracing the skin. "Just playing."

Stef's eyes narrowed. "Lena Elizabeth Adams, you better not have left a hickey on me again in plain sight. Do you remember what trouble that was for me at work?"

Lena hid her smile in Stef's neck. A couple of years ago, one of Stef's coworkers had gotten a little flirty on the job. Stef made the good decision, or mistake as she would later say, of telling her lover about it. Lena had maybe gotten a little aggressive that night and left a mark indicating that Stefanie Marie Foster, was claimed. "Just a little one," she said, making her voice light and innocent. "You can cover it up."

Stef growled deep in her throat, which changed to a whimper when Lena let her head fall back, offering her own neck as sacrifice. She licked at the skin there, then suckled gently.

Lena disengaged herself after several minutes of this and lifted herself a little shakily from the chair and Stef. "Next section," said, her voice rough.

Okay, this was fun and everything but enough was enough. Stef refused to let go of her hands. "Lena," she said urgently.

Lena pulled firmly until her hands were freed, shaking her head. "Next section," she repeated, her voice still carrying that husk of want.

As always, Stef gave into Lena's desires, taking deep breaths to calm herself. It didn't work. She looked at her beloved as she walked around the kitchen in nothing but panties and a bra and her need overwhelmed her making the blood rush to her head and pound in her ears. She later realized she made a noise, because Lena looked at her quizzically. Stef shook her head and looked at the papers. They were blurry so she scrubbed at her eyes. Okay. Better. She got to work.

Watching, Lena let her hands skim down her own body. She hadn't stopped trembling and she could feel the muscles in her stomach contract as her hands passed over them. It wouldn't be in the spirit of the game to…release some tension by herself…so she breathed deeply and thrust herself in her own work.

When Stef felt she was at the point where she wouldn't combust looking at her lover, she glanced over, then grinned. Games Lena Adams might play, but as the mothers of three and school VP, she was taking the time to review…work stuff. Unfortunately the combinations of Lena's "work face" standing in the kitchen in only bra and panties caused Stef's libido to rise again and she turned away forcibly. "If I make a mistake on these taxes because I was busy dreaming about getting lucky, we're going to be in trouble," she announced.

Lena chuckled. "Imagine the trouble if you were to get lucky on top of the tax forms," she pointed out.

Stef needed no imagination for the tone, her mouth dried as she gazed at the papers. "Dammit Lena…"

After the clock ticked for an interminable amount of time, Stef laid the pen to one side, and stealthily crept towards her lover, who had turned away from her a while ago to prevent her own distraction, presenting her tantalizing backside. Stef moved on soft feet until she was directly behind Lena. She gently moved Lena's curls to the left and breathed on the back of her neck. She watched as Lena shivered, a whole body shiver. She pressed her lips to the place she breathed, just staying there, not kissing, but absorbing the warmth of her body into her lips.

"Stef…"

Stef moved in pressing her body against Lena's, her lover's panty-clad backside pressing into the apex of her jeans. Her hands went to Lena's breasts, kneading them through the bra, feeling the cloth scrape her partner's nipples. "My turn," she whispered, and unclasped Lena's bra, letting it fall carelessly to the ground.

Stef's hands had always been incredibly strong, her work demanded it, and as Lena felt them knead her breasts, turning her knees to jelly, she let her head fall back on her partner's shoulder. Stef turned her forcefully, pulling them down to the floor to their knees where her mouth replaced her hands. She knelt in front of Lena, bending her head in supplication as she kissed her breasts and let them rest briefly on the nipples before suckling them.

Lena moaned and let her hands tangle in her lover's hair, drawing her closer. After a while she managed to pull Stef's face to her own as they kissed and kissed and kissed again. Stef was just beginning to lower her all the way to the floor when Lena protested. She grabbed Stef's shoulders. "Hon."

Stef looked at her, eyes dilated, breathing deeply as if there weren't air enough in the room.

"Stef." This time Lena shook her shoulders a little.

"What?"

Gesturing down to her underwear Lena said, "Still something left."

"I'll take care of them," Stef assured her, creeping down her body like molasses in the summer.

Lena grabbed her shirt before she could get further. "Are the taxes done?"

Stef stared at her. Blinked. Opened her mouth. Blinked again. "Nooo." This whine could have come from any one of their children.

"Almost though," said Lena in the same tones she would encourage Jesús to do his homework, Brandon to try baseball, and Mariana to perform a speech in front of her class.

Stef's lip was creeping unconsciously forward in a pout so Lena knew she would have to cement the promise quickly or risk ha! her wife ravishing her on the kitchen floor before the taxes were done. She pulled Stef's head to her mouth and whispered, the air from her breath warming her ear as it turned red. Stef looked at her. "I promise," Lena confirmed.

Stef breathed deeply, then bounded to her feet, pulling Lena to hers so quickly that for a minute she felt dizzy. They stood there, pressed together, until Stef forced herself away, her eyes still dark with lust. "Soon."

She threw herself back to the kitchen table, her hands working furiously at the forms, not daring to glance up and the woman who stood, slightly dazed, with kissed-bruised lips.

Lena stood indecisively. She could go make the bedroom romantic, but at this point did it really matter? By the time Stef was done they were probably only going to have enough willpower to throw each other on the most inviting surface. Lena looked around the kitchen. Not the kitchen though. The last time that had happened they had spent several hours disinfecting everything. They did prepare food and eat there after all. To prevent this occurrence, Lena wandered into the living room as she thought. She sighed as she noticed the spread of Legos on the ground and bent down to pick them up. Unfortunately this took awhile because it seemed that their children had dumped out every Lego they owned. The bedroom probably would be best she decided as she stood; Legos blessedly trapped in their containers. She didn't have to decorate or anything, their bed had plenty of bounce and that's pretty much all they needed at this point. Of course, her hand brushed against the couch. How often did they have a chance to get laid in other parts of the house? At this rate they'd have to wait until the kids were teenagers for such an opportunity. However…she also recalled her promise to Stef. There was something she would need from the bedroom… Her musings were interrupted as she was tackled to the couch cushions by her ardent lover.

Their eyes met and a smile spread across Stef's face. "All done," she whispered wickedly.

That night, after the kitchen table had been cleared of all tax debris and pizza had been consumed, Stef looked around at her family as they played Monopoly. Her loud protestations that she couldn't deal with any more financial matters had been drowned by her children's begging. Lena was helping Mariana count out some money for the little girl had called banker before her brothers and was basking in the opportunity to lord it over them. Jesús was looking around shiftily while Brandon regarded him with deep suspicion. To distract them, Stef rolled a bit wildly. As usual, Brandon began counting her spaces to see where she would land and he began spluttering with laughter.

Lena and Mariana glanced up.

"What? What?" Jesus demanded.

"Mommy, you landed on Income Tax!" Brandon finally managed.

The twins looked at her with round eyes, waiting to see how she'd react.

Stef moved her token, the hat, of course because she was Mom and always had last pick, and paid the $200 without hesitation. "You know what babies? Today I found out that taxes aren't so bad after all."

Lena eventually had to leave the table because she was laughing so hard.