Lena was a single woman unlucky is love and thinking she will never find the one or have the family she always wanted. Stef has a son from her marriage but is unhappy and knows something needs to change . My story will start with how these two amazing woman met and started to blend their families. Will the family continue to grow? Stay tuned and find out. Enjoy feedback is appreciated and if there is interest I will certainly post more. This is NOT the sequel to my other story The Foster Rules.

Chapter 1 – Introducing Lena

Unlucky in love. Lena Adams thought that was her destiny after her last relationship with Gretchen ended. They had been together for 18 months and Lena honestly wasn't sure how it ever lasted that long. The first few months were very exciting; Gretchen was a socialite and traveled in well known circles. They traveled a lot, got to see the world and rub elbows with the rich and famous. However, Lena wanted more than just a whirlwind romance. As much as she enjoyed being care free and traveling at the drop of a hat she wanted more stability and commitment. Gay marriage wasn't legal but they could still make a commitment to each other, something Gretchen often scuffed at. Lena also wanted to have a family and while Gretchen wouldn't oppose her partners desire to have a family she also took no action to help it either.

Unbeknownst to Gretchen, Lena had applied to be a foster parent and started getting her affairs in order so she would have no problems starting the adoption process if everything worked out. She thought for sure Gretchen would come around when she told her about the fostering idea; after all she was mildly interested in a family when Lena had brought it up before. However, before Lena could even break the news about filing paper work and getting the process started she discovered Gretchen was interested in things other than family….like cheating on her with her best friend.

Lena was a patient person and very willing to put everything she had in a relationship to make it work. There were a few things she had zero tolerance for and cheating was one of them. Lena ended things the night she found out Gretchen had spelt with her best friend although it took the better part of a month before a break was truly made. The two women just wanted different things in life and being together anymore just was not going to work.

So unlucky in love, Lena thought she was going to be unlucky in life. That was until she got a phone call from a social worker she had been working with for the fostering program. It was a phone call that would change her life forever.

"Hello."

"Is Lena Adams available?"

"Speaking," Lena said trying to place the voice.

"Hello Lena it's Bill from Child Protective Services."

"Oh hi Bill, how are you?"

"I am good. I am calling to see if you were still interested in the fostering program."

"Yes, I haven't heard anything recently but I think I have all the documentation in."

"You do, I was just reviewing your file. I have a special case I am really in a jam with. I have a little girl 3 years old that needs a place to go. We usually try and place kids in a two parent home but she is deathly afraid of any male figures...her father beat her repeatedly."

Lena's heart broke. How could any adult beat a child? What could a 3 year old have done to warrant such a reaction? They were young and filled with innocence and should never be subject to such abuse.

"And the mother?"

"Suffered abuse herself and is in no state to care for a child. She is going to need a lot of time to try and get herself better."

"Ok, so how does this work?"

"Well, first I would like you to come down to meet her. If everything goes well we can come back to your house and I will inspect everything to make sure she will be taken care of in the right environment and then she will be staying with you. I will check in monthly and of course if anything comes up you can call anytime."

Right after getting off the phone with Bill, Lena headed to the closest store to pick up a few things that she might need to get through the next few days. She already had the guest room set up for visitors but grabbed a small pink quilt just for her new guest. She also grabbed a couple toys and a few basic clothes just in case. She had never been so nervous than when she was walking into the CPS building. Her leg bounced in anticipation as she waited for Bill to call her back.

"She is in the play room. First we are going to go into the observation room so you can see her and we can go over her file and then I will have Samantha take you in. I would do it, but it would only upset her."

The second Lena laid eyes on the dark haired beauty sitting in the corner of the room playing with her doll she was in love. Her heart broke seeing the physical signs of abuse this beautiful little girl had to endure no more than 72 hours ago.

"Callie Jacobs, 3 years old, physical abuse victim by the father no signs of sexual assault," Bill read the file like they were stats from a sports game.

Lena was having a hard time wrapping her brain around everything Bill was saying after the words sexual assault left his mouth. No, Callie was not sexually assaulted but the thought that any parent could do that to their child was unfathomable. Why some people even had kids was beyond her.

"We have it set up for her to see a child psychologist once a week to help her deal with the abuse and her fear of male figures. Would you be willing to assist in her recovery?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"You ready to meet her."

"As I will ever be," Lena said with a smile.

Lena walked into the room and she noticed when the door opened Callie froze sitting still as a statue until the door was closed again. The small child seemed to relax a little once she assessed who was in the room with her. Samantha talked to the little girl for a few minutes before making the introduction.

"Hi Sweetie," Lena said sitting in a small chair next to Callie.

Callie only responded by looking up at her clearly trying to figure out what was going on.

"My name is Lena. That is a beautiful baby you have there…does she have a name?"

"Sophie," she said proudly.

"That is a very beautiful name. I bet your name is even more beautiful…could you tell me your name."

"Callie."

"I was right a beautiful name for a very beautiful girl. How old is Sophie," Lena asked hoping to get the trust of the little girl in a very short amount of time.

"She is 3 like me."

"You're 3? No way…you're such a big girl you're at least 10. How many fingers is 3," Lena asked?

Callie looked at her hand contemplating the question before showing Lena 3 fingers. Lena flashed her a big smiled which was returned when the girl knew she did something right.

"You're right sweetie…so smart."

Callie put her doll down for a minute and walked over to stand in front of Lena. She put her tiny hands on both Lena's legs and stood up on her tippy toes trying to see her necklace better. Lena leaned down to help the girl get a better view.

"Pretty," Callie whispered totally mesmerized.

"You like my necklace," Lena asked?

"Pretty," Callie said again pointing to the blue gems.

"Maybe we can go shopping one day and get you a pretty necklace too. Would you like that?"

Callie just nodded her head yes. Just than the door opened and Bill was standing there. Lena almost fell backward when Callie threw herself at her trying to crawl into her skin almost. She was hysterical in seconds.

"I just wanted you to know what you were getting yourself into. I am going to go and Samantha is going follow you back to your house to finalize everything."

Lena nodded her head ok hoping Bill would leave. Once the door was shut Lena focused her attention back to the girl in her arms who had wrapped herself up into a ball.

"Shhh sweetie I got you," Lena said gently rocking her until the tears subsided.

That was where the bond was formed; the trust was created. Often times Lena heard her friends say how they instantly fell in love with their child after just seconds of holding them….Lena never knew that type of love and never knew how that was possible until this moment. In this moment she completely fell in love with Callie and her heart was so full it was ready to burst. Lena took the little girl home with her that day and less than a year later Callie was officially adopted.