The doorbell chimed cheerfully, surprising Lena in the quiet kitchen. The knife she was using to chop broccoli slipped and nicked her finger. "Coming!" she called, sure that whomever was behind the door couldn't hear her, but reassuring them anyway. She wrapped a paper towel around her bleeding hand and rushed to the front hall. The door opened to reveal a large stack of bags and boxes, possibly one containing her wife behind it.
"Hey love," Stef said, her voice muffled from the gifts. "Sorry I rang, I couldn't get my keys out of my pockets."
"How did you even manage to close the car door?" Lena inquired with a smirk, relieving her partner of a few packages.
"I kicked it shut," Stef admitted, pulling the door shut behind her and knocking the slush off her boots. "Where are the kids?"
"Mariana's at the mall, Jude's at Connor's, and Jesús is in his room." Lena rattled off the list as she carried Stef's boxes upstairs. She dumped them on the bed and peeled the towel off her sliced hand.
"Love, what happened?" Stef asked, concern rampant in her voice.
"Just nicked myself on the veggie knife while I was cooking," Lena assured her. "The doorbell surprised me. I've got to finish dinner," she added, kissing her wife on the cheek and dashing back downstairs before the pasta burned.
As Lena resumed cutting up the vegetables, the doorbell rang again, determined to amputate her entire left hand. Lena dropped the knife and ran to the door again, and Stef did the same. Both women opened the door together, and there on the porch stood their two oldest children.
"Hi moms!" Brandon said enthusiastically, pulling his rolling suitcase over the threshold. "Nice of you to pick us up at the airport," he joked, hugging first Stef and then Lena.
"I'm sure the cab was more comfortable than our car anyway," Stef returned, kissing her son's cheek. "Did you two find each other in the airport alright?"
"It was fine," Callie said, stepping inside as well. "Hi Mama," she said, accepting Lena's kiss. Lena grinned. It had been over two years since they'd adopted Callie and Jude, but being called Mama by them still felt special to her.
"When's dinner?" Brandon asked. "I'm starved."
"Mama's making pasta," Stef answered, closing the door heavily. "Why don't you two go up and unpack? Mariana and Jude should be home soon, and then we can eat."
After another hour, the family sat around the kitchen table, whole again. Jesús spilled his soda, Mariana complained that her hair was frizzing, Jude told a story about Connor's new Gameboy, Callie joked about her college boyfriend, Brandon talked about his new piano teacher, and Stef and Lena sat quietly, drinking it all in. Despite still having three teenagers in the house, they felt empty a lot of the time, and having all of their babies back made them feel full, finally.
"How's it feel to be home?" Jesús asked his older siblings.
"Wonderful," Brandon and Callie said in unison, before cracking up.
"Dorm food isn't half this good," Brandon added, smiling at Lena appreciatively.
"Say that a hundred more times," Lena begged, "and get this one to stop his gratuitous condiment usage." She pointed her fork at Jesús, who shrugged and stuck out his tongue.
"What are we doing after dinner?" Jude hastily interrupted the exchange.
"What do you want to do, little man?" Brandon ruffled his youngest brother's hair.
"Monopoly?" Jude said hopefully.
"Last time we played Monopoly, Mom threatened to kill us all if we bought any of the blue ones. I don't think so," Callie said, laughing. Stef pretended to pout.
"How about a movie?" Mariana suggested.
"What movie?" Jesús asked warily.
"A Christmas Story!" Jude shouted.
"Alright, voices down, everyone," Stef reminded. "A Christmas Story would be lovely." All that mattered to her was that everyone was home for the holidays.