A/N And here is the sequel.
"Do you guys remember this one?" Lena asked her kids as they looked through an album of family pictures.
"How could I forget? I broke my arm jumping off of my bed… Jesus hadn't been here very long, right?"
"It was the first weekend that they stayed with us, your bed was brand new. You said you were trying to catch the ceiling fan. I had told both of you earlier to stop. If your arm hadn't been broken you would have been in big trouble with me."
"So, Mama, if I had broken my arm instead of the window last week would I have not been in so much trouble? I thought we were more precious than anything." Jesus said laughing and ducking out of the way of the pillow Lena lightly threw at him.
"I think my arm was worse than any of the trouble I have been in. I couldn't go swimming and it itched all the time. I couldn't even play my piano very well. It was terrible." Brandon tried to explain.
Mariana snuggled into Lena's side a little more. "Did you know then, Mama?"
"Did I know what, Mari?"
"Did you know that we were going to be a family?"
"I guess I sort of did. Mom found you two and the first weekend was crazy, but I knew by the end that you were mine." She gave Mariana a kiss on her cheek and turned the page. "Ah, your first day of preschool. It is too bad we didn't any happy pictures of you that day seeing as you seriously cried all day."
"I look great, though… Except you and Mom made Brandon and I wear matching outfits that were incredibly dorky. I mean really, who wears things like that?" Jesus asked speaking up again.
"You looked adorable." Lena said touching the little Jesus in the album. "Those clothes looked great five years ago. I don't make you dress like that now, although when I picked out your clothes…"
"We matched often." Callie finished for her mother with a smirk. "I remember so many first days of school that we all matched. I think the last time was when Jude started school. You didn't want him to feel left out."
"I kind of like it when we all match." Jude said quietly from Lena's lap. "Mama picks out the best clothes."
The other four groaned and rolled their eyes. "At least one of my babies still loves me."
Just then they heard the front door open. "Hello, Babies, I am home!" Stef called.
Jude quickly escaped from Lena's lap to go greet Stef. Jesus followed behind slowly. The others figured she would come greet them and didn't move. "Mommy! Guess what! We have no school on Friday because you get to go talk to our teachers!"
"That sounds exciting, Little Man! What is your teacher going to say about you?" Stef asked giving the little boy a hug and a kiss.
"She will say that I am a delight to have in class. She says I am much different than my brother and my sister. She would like to have a whole room full of Judes."
"I believe that. I am going to check with your Mama, but I think we are going to go Thursday right after school to all the conferences because I already have off Friday just to spend with my babies. How about you, Jesus? What is your teacher going to say?"
Jesus tried to slink out of the room, but Stef grabbed him back and dragged him toward her. "I guess you should wait and see." He squeaked out.
Stef continued holding him in a half headlock and kissed the top of his head. "Hmmm…. I haven't gotten as many phone calls about you this year. Your last spelling test was better. I thought things were going well." She released him.
"Yeah..." Jesus said unconvincingly.
"Stef, did Jesus give you the note yet? I told him he had to give it to you as soon as you came home." Lena said loudly from the family room.
"There is a note?" Stef asked.
Jesus sighed and dug the note out of his pocket. "I was trying to participate in class, Mom. For real. I don't know why my teacher sent the note home. We were learning about insects and it reminded me of that time we went to the beach last summer and…"
"And according to the note, you jumped out of your chair and loudly interrupted class with a story about learning to surf and your brother losing his swim suit. That is not participating in class; that is disrupting. We have discussed the difference between the two several times. What is happening at school as a result?"
"I had to bring home the assignment for homework since I had to sit in the hallway and I have to have this note signed. Sitting in the hall gave me lots of time to think. Mama already made me do the work. You just need to sign the note." Jesus offered hopefully.
"I bet that you will have even better time to think without your video games for the rest of the week. What do you think, Bud?"
Jesus hung his head and then looked back up with a few tears in his eyes. "But Mom, I just got them back yesterday. It's not fair!"
"I think you teacher thought it wasn't fair that you disrupted class." Stef put an arm around Jesus and walked with him into the family room. "Now that I have hopefully handled the worst of today's issues, how is the rest of my family doing?"
Callie sort of reached up from her perch on the arm of the couch for a hug and kiss. Stef leaned over her to also greet Mariana. Brandon stood up and walked over for a quick hug, but tried his best to avoid the kiss. Then Lena moved Mariana enough so she could stand up and the two women shared a tight hug and a passionate kiss.
"Moms!" Callie said throwing a pillow their direction. "There are kids in the room!"
They broke it off laughing. "Yes, our kids. Kids that need to know that even nearly six years into our marriage that we still love each other very much." Stef answered for the two of them.
"So, since Mom is home now, you all need to sit back down because we have some news for you. There is a reason we have been looking through family pictures…" Lena started as the kids sat back down.
"I think it's because we are moving." Jesus interrupted hopping up much like he had in class. "I saw a picture of a house one time that was really big and had lots of bedrooms…."
"I don't want to move! I love this house, Mama. I like my room and my toys…" Jude said worriedly.
"That's because you don't have to share a room. Jesus is always in my stuff." Brandon complained. "Last week I had to rebuild my Lego Hogwarts three times because he kept destroying it."
"Focus, guys! We did not say we were moving. Jesus, this is how you get in trouble with your teacher. When you interrupt it gets everyone else off track. Have a seat and listen, please." Stef said sort of guiding him back to sitting.
"No, our actual news is that we heard from Bill this week. If all goes according to our plan we are all going to take off from school one day next week for court because Jesus and Mariana are going to be part of our family permanently." Lena announced thinking the kids would cheer. Instead they all just looked at her.
"Did you guys not hear your mama? There will be cake and a day off from school. Plus, you know, the adoption going through it going to feel pretty great, right?"
"There wasn't cake last time we went to court." Jude finally answered.
"When you say if everything goes according to the plan do you mean that it might not really work out again?" Callie asked. "Last time Ana was given three more months to 'show improvement.'"
"Yes, but now the three months have passed and Bill says she has still not completed any of the requirements to even have visitation reinstated. So, he doesn't think there is any way that her parental rights won't be terminated this time."
"You said that last time, Mama." Brandon said. "And the time before. We have been waiting for years. Literally."
Lena noticed that neither Mariana nor Jesus had said anything on the topic yet. "I sort of thought you would all be happy. What about you Jesus, what do you think?"
"I thought you said that the paper didn't matter. Now it does again? I thought I was your kid forever already." He said standing up and leaving the room. Mariana quickly followed him.
"Jesus, Mariana, come back in here, please! I think we need to talk to you a little more…" Stef called after them.
"Honey, I think we are going to have to go upstairs. They are obviously full of emotions that we will need to talk through with them. No matter how long we have had them or how much we love them Ana will always have a place in their hearts. It has been hard with her fighting for them in some ways, but terminating her rights seems pretty final. It is like mourning a loss."
"But I was adopted and I don't feel that way about my birth mother." Callie said reminding the women again that they were not alone. "Ana wasn't a good mom and doesn't even get to see them anymore. I think Jesus is just upset because it hasn't worked out yet. Same as us."
"Callie, your adoption was much different. Your mother was very young. For your first few months of life she was trying to take care of you alone. She realized she couldn't do it and actually took you to social services and signed over her rights. It took a little while, but I was able to adopt you without going to court every few months for five years. You were tiny the last time you saw your birth mother, the twins lived with their mother until they were three and a half. We have been through visitation multiple times and even when they didn't have visitation they still sometimes had to see her in court. You never had to do that."
"I know, but they have all of us now. We are their family. You said we were." Callie continued protesting.
"And that is why we are working so hard to make it official. We want them to be with us forever and we want to not have to think about Ana anymore." Stef said only receiving a few looks from Lena.
"How about you three go get out the ingredients I will need to make spaghetti while Mom and I go talk to your brother and sister? Then I will come back downstairs to cook with you."
"I want to make the garlic bread!" Jude volunteered. He really hadn't understood quite all the rest of the conversation, but he had learned to sit quietly. This quality served him well and allowed him to listen to more adult conversations than any of the other four.
Stef and Lena made their way up the stairs hand-in-hand. They figured the twins would be in the girls' room together and they were right. "Okay, Babies, come sit down with us, please. I think we need to talk."
Lena sat down on Mariana's bed and Stef sat on Callie's. Both kids sat in the middle on the floor. "I think you could come a little closer. I mean, I didn't shower after work, but I don't think I smell bad…."
Lena cleared her throat to start the conversation. "I know that it is hard for you two to understand all of this stuff with Ana. It is okay for you to miss her. She was a big part of your life for many years."
"I don't miss, Ana. Yes, she was my first mom, but seriously, Mama, why would we miss her? I don't even remember living anywhere else really. You guys are my moms. You are the ones who take away my video games when I mess up and the ones who take me to soccer practice. It just bugs me that you say that I am your son and you don't need any papers to say so, but when adoption comes back up you act like it will change things." Jesus explained reasonably.
Lena looked surprised that Callie's assessment had been more correct. "Adoption is sort of complicated because it does change things. I don't need a piece of paper saying that you are my son. I know you are. I see bits of your mom and me when I see you. However, in the eyes of the government and other people, until you are adopted you can't belong to us officially. When your adoption happens next week or in the future, your name will be changed forever. I know you have been writing Adams Foster as your last name for a while now, but this will make it true."
"So, even if it doesn't work this time either, I am still going to be yours?" Mariana asked quietly. "But if it does I will for real be Mariana Elizabeth Adams Foster and have your middle name forever, Mama?"
"Exactly, Love."
Mariana then got up and got onto Lena's lap. Even though she was small for nine, she was obviously too big to sit on her mama's lap much. She leaned over and kissed Lena on the cheek. "I can't wait."
XXXXX
"I planned our conferences oldest to youngest. That way we will start and end on a high note and find out whatever we do along the way." Lena explained when she met Stef in the entrance of the school. Brandon's conferences always seemed to turn out well. He was a good student and didn't cause much trouble. Callie's were always sort of mixed. She always had good grades, but sometimes had a difficult time in class. Mariana struggled some with any subject that required her to talk in class. Jesus had many behavior issues associated with his ADHD and sometimes didn't follow through with his schoolwork well. Jude was the joy to anyone who ever taught him. Brenda always made the comment that she would have taught the last Adams Foster more than one year in a row if she had the chance.
"That sounds good. So, we go to Brandon's first. Mike said he wasn't going to be able to make it today, so it will just be the two of us." Mike had attended the early conferences with Brandon, but had long since determined that most of that was better left to Stef and Lena.
The two women stood outside Brandon's classroom looking at the work hanging in the hallway. "That's odd, I don't see anything of Brandon's out here." Lena said looking carefully at each one.
"Wait, this might be his…" Stef said pointing at a particularly badly done piece of work. "I can't really read the name on it, so at least it is possible, right?"
"No, Brandon has always done better work than that, it couldn't possibly be his… Although that does look a little like a picture that he drew last week. We should talk to him about his handwriting."
The door opened, another parent walked out, and the teacher invited them in. "It is good to see you both again. I guess we should start with Brandon's grades. As you can see here most of them have dropped to the B range with a low B currently in reading."
"That seems strange to me. What is going on?" Stef said looking over the progress report.
"Brandon hasn't been completing his homework. Instead he has been rushing at the last minute before school to fill in some answers. It is beginning to catch up with him. I sent you a note about this last week, didn't you get it?"
"No, I can't say that we did." Lena sighed. "I assure you that this will stop. Since his grades have always been good and he has shown responsibility, I stopped going through his back pack with him every night a few years ago. We will start it again this weekend, though."
"I guess that would also explain his work in the hallway… Did he bring the note back?" Stef asked.
"Yes." His teacher fished out the note with Lena's name scrolled across the bottom fairly well done. "I guess I didn't mention it to you here at school because I thought you got the note."
"I can see why you might think that. We will add forging signatures to his list of offenses. Feel free to come to my office anytime to talk about Brandon's schoolwork. I should have caught this from the office earlier, I just had no idea that I needed to be monitoring his grades."
"Here is my cell phone number in case you didn't have it before. Next time his homework is not finished when he arrives at school, call me. We expect more of him than this. Are there other issues we need to know about?"
XXXX
"Callie is doing very well in every class. She has almost made her reading goal already and she does her work."
"I sense a however coming." Stef said.
"No, not really. She has not been in trouble in class. She has been a little distracted in class recently. She has seemed very concerned about something. Do you have anything unusual going on at home by any chance?"
"Well, it looks like the twins' adoption is going to go through next week. I am not sure why that would bother her except it has been a long process." Lena offered.
"Hmmm… Unless… Have you sent anything home to be signed recently that was returned with Lena's signature, by any chance?"
"Yes, her field trip permission form, why?"
"Let me look at it for a moment." The teacher handed Stef the permission form with that same Lena signature on it.
"I thought it was odd that neither of you were going, but I thought since both fifth grade classes were going that you signed up to go with Brandon's class."
"No, I knew about this field trip, but Callie and Brandon both told me that you weren't looking for parents to go and there was no permission form. As the vice principal, I should have certainly known better. I think Stef and I will both be going. Stef will attend with Callie and I will be with Brandon. When I sign something from now on, I will always sign in purple ink. If it is any other color, please bring it to me immediately."
XXXX
"Jesus is really doing okay. Last week on his spelling test he only needed one word repeated which is impressive. He does have a lot of energy, but for the most part he is using it productively. He did have a very disruptive day a few days ago, but since then he has been on his best behavior. No real issues. His grades are not great, but he has no D's or F's. I do want to continue the reading tutoring that he has been in other years just to make sure he stays on track."
"That all sounds good. You will let us know if anything changes, right?" Stef asked.
"Absolutely. I may not call you often, but I do talk to Lena almost daily. If I see a real problem I would call. I do want to tell you that I have noticed that Jesus has a very nice heart. Last week he gave one of his new pencils to a boy in class who said he didn't have one. Another day he shared part of his sandwich at lunch. You have a good one with Jesus."
XXX
"I know you said Mariana was extremely shy, but I think she is changing some. I actually had to move her desk because she was talking in class. Not only is she friends with Lexie, but she also has several other girls that she is actively trying to talk to. I have also noticed, though, that she seems to be trying to buy friendship with presents."
"Hmmm, that would explain why she needed more beads for her necklace and bracelet making. I guess that is what she is giving them?" Lena asked.
"Yes, that would be it. The beads are a little bit of a problem in class since those bracelets seem to come apart constantly. I have asked her to not bring anymore beads to school."
"And did she stop?" Stef asked.
"The beads did, but it is also other little things. I think she could make friends other ways."
"Yes, I will take this information to her counselor. She still sees one every month or so, this seems like just the information she was looking for in our last session."
XXX
"Jude is a delight to have in class. He is helpful and friendly to all of the other students. I rarely see him unhappy and he tries very hard on all of his work. As you can see from his reading assessment he is right on target."
"Yes, this does all look good." Lena beamed. She had practiced just as much with him in reading as the others, but was still waiting for him to really take off. On target, though, was good.
"I would like, though, to start keeping Jude at least one afternoon a week to work on some math skills. He seems to be struggling a little with a few concepts. I think if I work with him a little more one-on-one it would go a long way."
"Well, you know I am here every day after school, so it really is no big deal for him to stay with you. I noticed at home that his math was a little frustrating. We will keep working with him also."