I don't own The Fosters and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Their daughter had been five weeks earlier, and Stef knew they desperately needed a break from the chaos of six kids at home. Lena wasn't exactly excited about the idea, though. "But we can't leave her."
Stef laughed. "Yes, we can. And you're going back to work soon, so you're going to have to leave her eventually. And we both need a break, Lena. Come on – it'll only be for an hour or so." She beamed at her wife.
Lena looked over at the bassinet holding a sleeping Seraphina and sighed. "You're right. We can do this." She hoped she could psych herself up to believe it. But they hadn't been without their youngest since the day she was born (after a long thirty-four hour labor, and by that point, she was completely over pregnancy, even if the end result was definitely worth it).
"Sera will be fine. Our kids are actually all in one place tonight and will alert us if there are any problems." Five teenagers and a newborn was more exhausting than Stef thought it would be, but neither she nor Lena minded much. Except when they were all causing drama at once (and unfortunately, that happened a lot).
Lena bit her lip, and Stef was suddenly reminded of the first time she left Brandon. Mike had been in her position then as they made a quick run to the grocery store. The break had actually been wonderful, and they had left their son in the capable hands of her mother a lot after that. "You're sure about this?"
She snorted. "I am sure, love. And those kids adore their little sister – they won't let anything happen to her."
Lena wasn't completely convinced, but what could it hurt? "Go ahead and make reservations. And now I need to go make up a list of instructions for the kids." She grinned at Stef and then headed to their kitchen.
Stef went over to check on Sera and proceeded to melt at the sight of the baby. She was so glad they had decided to have her – now they couldn't imagine their lives without their youngest. All six kids completed them. Callie, Jude, and Seraphina had joined them at exactly the right time. The baby stirred and she tensed at first before relaxing when Sera didn't wake up. "You are a much better newborn than Brandon was little one."
"Enjoying the view?" Lena looked delighted when Stef looked up.
She nodded. "Very much. And you're even more beautiful now for giving us Sera."
She scoffed. "I see right through you, Stef."
"What? You've always been beautiful, but pregnancy changed you for the better." Stef walked over to Lena and kissed her. They were still making out a few minutes later when their children stepped through the door.
"Again? I don't know why I'm not used to this," Jesus complained as he headed towards the living room.
Callie rolled her eyes at her brother. "I think it's cute. Tiring, but cute." She grinned at them and then went to go get a snack in the kitchen.
Mariana, Brandon, and Jude all said hello and then went to their rooms to get started on homework. While Lena took care of a suddenly upset Sera, Stef called their favorite restaurant to make reservations for the next day.
The following evening, Stef had a hard time getting Lena out of the house. "But what if something happens and we're not here to take care of it?"
"The kids will call 911 and they'll take care of it," Stef joked. She put her hands up in apology when Lena glared at her.
"Not funny."
"You're right and I'm sorry." Stef leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"We have your numbers and this isn't our first rodeo with Sera. We'll take care of her," Callie assured her mothers as she held her sleeping younger sister in her arms.
"You remember how much she likes to be rocked?" Logically, Lena knew that Callie did but she wasn't thinking rationally at the moment.
Callie's stare said it all. "I know how to rock her because I've done it before." And then she quietly cracked up so she didn't wake Sera up.
Stef turned around to face the other way so Lena wouldn't see her break. "Good luck tonight, Callie."
"Thanks." Callie handed Sera back over to Stef and hovered there impatiently, waiting to get the five week old back.
Stef gripped Sera's tiny little hand and sniffled, suddenly having issues herself about leaving her youngest. She had done it before because of work and hadn't had any problems (other than the first time she did it), so this was weird. Maybe Lena's worry and irrational fears had transferred over to her. "Sleep tight, love," she whispered before handing Sera back over to her wife.
"We love you." Lena sniffled and then kissed Sera's forehead.
Ready to go, Stef started heading out of the house but then turned back around when she realized Lena wasn't following. Thankful she had handed Sera back over to Callie; she grabbed Lena's shoulders and turned her around. "Time to go!"
Lena began protesting, but Stef ignored her. "We need to say goodbye some more!"
"No we don't!" Stef laughed at the look of outrage on her face and the two women got into the car.
Both of them tried to enjoy their first night out without the baby, but it wasn't easy. Surprisingly, it was Stef having issues instead of Lena. "You look tense," Lena observed of her wife.
"I'm fine," Stef lied. God, what if something had happened and the kids couldn't get ahold of them? Why was she the one freaking out?
"All this time you've been reassuring me that everything will be okay and now you're having some separation anxiety." Lena thought it was hilarious. She missed Sera like crazy, but she was surprisingly okay with being away from her daughter. They had both desperately needed this break.
Stef took a sip of her wine and tried not to play with her hands. "Why did I think this was a good idea?"
"Because it was. Stef, we have six kids at home. I'm surprised we didn't do this sooner." Lena was not going to let Stef's panic affect her. She could definitely do this.
Stef sighed and teared up. "I'm sorry – I'm ruining your evening out, and you so deserved this."
Lena reached across the table and squeezed Stef's hand to comfort her. "You're not ruining anything, Stef. And you deserved this too. We'll see the baby soon, I promise."
"You're right. I'll stop worrying." Stef wondered what had changed, but decided not to think about it.
When Stef and Lena got home, Mariana was watching TV with the volume on low while Callie cooed to a crying Sera. "She got a little mad that her mommies weren't home," Mariana explained.
"She's been pretty good all night, though," Callie told them as she stood up and handed her sister over to Stef.
"You two need to get out more. You both look like you want to cry," an amused Mariana told her mothers.
"It's been a long night," Stef tried, but she could tell their daughters didn't believe her.
Stef and Lena adored motherhood, and they'd get a lot more nights out without all of their kids. But spending time with all six of them? That was actually pretty fun and great.