NEVER STOP

Lena Adams & Stef Foster from 'The Fosters'

Lena sat in front of the television, biting the side of her fingernail. Today was the day. She'd find out if she could finally use that ring she had hidden in her closet to ask Stef to marry her.

The kids were home because they had the day off from school and Lena decided to 'work from home' while the teachers discussed some of the results the students had gotten, which also meant that Lena didn't have to be at school and therefor, she could watch the whole thing.

Jesus jogged off the stairs and went to sit next to his mother. "So, has anything been decided yet?" He wondered and Lena nodded.

"DOMA is gone, that is great." She said with a sigh. "Now, we only have to wait what they decide for Prop 8. If that disappears, Stef and I can get married here in California." She added.

Jesus nodded. "Great, hope they do that soon, so you and Mom can get married… and so I can play some videogames instead of watching this boring stuff." He said, only half joking and Lena rolled her eyes. Videogames, of course.

She just crossed her arms and waited.

Then she heard it. Proposition 8 was no more. The biggest grin spread across her face and yes, there might have been some moisture gathered in her eyes. Jesus glanced at his mother and laid his arm around his mother's shoulders tentatively. Lena turned to Jesus and smiled brightly.

"We can get married." She simply said and Jesus' face lit up.

"Yeah, you guys can get married now." He said and they hugged. "That's great." He added before he pulled back. "Go get the ring, mom and like, prepare a speech or something." He said before Lena nodded.

She got up and pretty much ran up the stairs. Mariana's door opened. "Why the hurry, mom?" She asked and Lena turned to her daughter.

"The court ruled and we can get married, Stef and I." She told her daughter whose eyes went big.

"That's awesome! Do you have a ring already?" She wondered and Lena nodded.

"I have had it for ages now." She said and Mariana clapped into her hands, excitedly.

"Can I see, mama?" She wondered and Lena nodded.

"Sure." She told her daughter. She quickly rummaged through some clothes and got out a red velvet box. She sat down on the bed and opened it. Mariana's eyes went big.

"It's beautiful, mom." She said and Lena smiled. It was a white golden ring with one bigger, white diamond in the middle and next to it, there were smaller diamonds. It had cost her a fortune but it was worth it. "That must have cost like… a lot."

Lena nodded with a chuckle. "It did. It was crazy expensive but then again, I had a long time to get all the money together." She told her daughter before she took a deep breath. "I don't know why I'm nervous… She'll say yes. Right?" She questioned as she turned to Mariana, who giggled.

"Mom, why wouldn't she? You guys have been talking about marrying since… forever." She told her mom as she laid her hand on her shoulder. "Why don't I get Jesus back upstairs when mama Stef arrives home and then you can ask her downstairs, when she walks in, without interruptions?" She suggested and Lena grinned.

"Great idea… It's still a few hours… I don't know how I'll survive those." She said. Mariana tilted her head as she thought of how to occupy her nervous mother.

"How about we make you look… even prettier than you already look. You know, do your hair and make-up and all that? Then she won't even dare to say no." Mariana told her mother with a chuckle and Lena chuckled right along.

"Fine, but don't make me look like a clown, alright?" She asked and Mariana faked shock.

"I wouldn't dare to!" She exclaimed before she giggled. "Come on, come to my room, there is all my make-up stuff." She said as she grabbed her mother's wrist and dragged her to her room. They entered and Callie looked up from her book.

"What's going on?" She asked as she saw the extremely happy faces.

"Moms are getting married." Mariana announced as she made her mother sit down on the bed. Lena noticed Callie's puzzled face and she smiled at her.

"When she comes home, I'm going to ask her and Mariana and I are about 99% sure that she'll say yes." She told Callie who nodded and smiled.

"That's awesome. I hope it all goes well." She said. "So… what are you guys doing here then?" She asked, curiously and Mariana turned to Callie.

"Well, mama has to look awesome when she asks mom so… I'm going to do her hair and make-up. And then we'll pick an outfit, of course. Wanna help?" She suggested and Callie shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. What can I do?" She wondered as she closed her book and then they heard another voice.

"Can I help, too?" Jude asked as he peaked into the room with those hopefully puppy dog eyes. Lena nodded with a big smile.

"Of course, Jude." She said simultaneously with Mariana. Callie looked a bit doubtful – it was still hard for her to let Jude act… girly. She was just scared for him. She didn't want him to get hurt… but now, inside, she guessed it was alright.

"Yeah, of course." Callie added softly with a small smile which was returned by Jude.

-L&S-

Lena looked into the mirror and grinned at herself. She looked quite good, even if she said so herself. She was wearing a suit again – which Stef loved – though it wasn't white this time, she had gone for a stylish, black one with a crispy white shirt. She had chosen high, red heels and because the girls and Jude hadn't been in the room when she changed, she had also changed into red underwear and suspenders because well, that was also something she knew her hopefully soon-to-be wife liked.

They had chosen to let her hair loose because Stef liked to run her hands through her curls and when Lena had said that, Mariana looked torn between being grossed out or finding it quite cute. She took a deep breath before she retrieved the ring out of her pocket looked at it for the nth time today. Yeah, she was almost completely sure: Stef would say yes and then they would get married.

A few more minutes and Stef would be home, so Lena decided to go downstairs to wait, in case Stef came home earlier. She put the ring in her pocket again and turned to walk out of the room.

"Whoa, you look pretty, mom." Brandon said, as he came out of his room. "Heard from Mariana that you're asking mom to marry you. You know she'll say yes, right?" He wondered as he noticed the obvious worry in his mother's eyes and Lena chuckled.

"Yeah, I know… at least, I really, really hope so." She told her son and Brandon hugged his mom with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry." He said before he let go of her. "We already got Jesus back upstairs so, the ground floor is all yours." He said and Lena grinned.

"Right, thanks." She said before she made her way downstairs. She sat down on one of the dining room chairs and then the waiting really began. She hated waiting.

The next ten minutes seemed to take ages but then, finally, she heard her lover's car pull up in the drive way and Lena's heart skipped a beat. She stood up before she clenched and unclenched her jaw. That helped sometimes, with her nerves but now, it didn't.

She walked to the hall and Stef opened the door. Lena grinned at her and Stef looked up at her wife and then had to look again. "Wow… you look…" Stef said and Lena giggled.

"Yeah, that's the look I was going for." She told her wife as she took her hand and pulled her further inside, and pushed the door close. Stef frowned a bit, obviously confused.

"Why are you…? Oh…" She said, as it all began to connect in her head. She had heard about the DOMA and Prop 8 ruling on the radio but she wasn't planning to propose to Lena so soon, but apparently her almost-fiancée had another idea.

Lena held up her hand. "No, don't say anything yet. I have a speech written in my head. It would be rude not to let me speak first but after I've said it, you can answer, okay?" She asked, her nervousness obvious in her voice. Stef smiled adoringly, already knowing that her answer would be yes but letting Lena go on anyway, apparently this was important to her.

"Okay, so…" Lena began after she had taken a deep breath. "We've been waiting for the laws to change for so long now. We've been together for so many wonderful years… I really can't imagine my life without you anymore and I don't want to either." She said as she felt herself tear up and she cleared her throat, happy to notice that she wasn't the only one getting emotional judging by her wife's eyes. "You've given me Brandon, and you let me help you raise him. And then a few years later, we decided to adopt Jesus and Mariana… they have given us both so much joy and I know that if I hadn't met you, I would have never been able to be their mother because I wouldn't have adopted them without you. You gave them to me, along with your love and I… I don't want anything other than spending the rest of my life with you." She said as she reached into her pocket.

She took out the red box and got down on one knee, making Stef chuckle and cover her mouth in disbelief. "Stefanie Marie Foster, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" She asked, a tear finally making her way down her cheek.

Stef felt one of her own travel down her face as she nodded. "Yes, yes, of course!" She said happily as she pulled Lena to her feet and kissed her deeply, both of them smiling like crazy. They heard people clapping on the background and looked at the staircase, where their five children were standing. They beamed at them and Brandon whistled before he resumed his clapping. Stef and Lena turned back to each other and grinned. They couldn't believe that finally, they'd be able to become each other's wife.

"Oh, your ring!" Lena said as the clapping died down. She pulled back a little – Stef's hands still on her waist – and took out the ring before she slipped it on Stef's finger. Stef beamed.

"That must have cost you a fortune, baby." Stef said, in awe of the beautiful ring and Lena shrugged.

"You're worth it." She told her before they kissed again.