Jen pushed three distracted and rowdy people out the door to the garage 40 minutes later, two of which were carrying oversized backpacks and the other one was struggling to pull her suitcase through the door.

Jen rolled her eyes and blew her hair out of her face. They were running late and it stressed her out. They would have left on time, maybe even early, except Judy had to keep going back and get things from the guest house and the boys wouldn't stop arguing over some stupid shit.

Judy opened the hatch to the back and threw her suitcase in, pulling Jen's from her grasp and setting it alongside her own. The blonde climbed into the driver's seat and waited patiently for the brunette to slide in next to her. Judy bounded into the passenger's side, latched her seatbelt, and turned her head to smile at Jen like a puppy going to the dog park. Jen returned the smile before throwing the car in reverse and turning it onto the street and in the direction of the boys' school.

Noticing the way Jen was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, Judy tentatively placed her hand on Jen's thigh. She watched as the blonde set her jaw, not doubt trying to hold back some sort of emotion. Jen glanced at Judy from the corner of her eye before peeling her right hand from the steering wheel and finding Judy's left, intertwining their fingers. Judy gave a gentle squeeze, letting the other woman know that everything would be alright. Jen pulled her hand away too quickly and moved it back to the death grip on the steering wheel. Judy pretended not to be disappointed as she looked out the window and closed her eyes, attempting to control her feelings.

They drove that way for the next 15 minutes, the four of them lost in their own thoughts, until the car stopped in front of the school.

Jen turned around and looked at both boys, letting them know that she loved them and made sure they knew to call if there were any problems.

The boys started to walk towards the entrance of the school when Jen rolled down Judy's window and called after the oldest boy, "Char!"

Charlie stopped and backtracked the few feet to the car. "Watch your brother for me. Don't let Lorna try to brainwash him with some weird shit ok? We get enough of that at home with Judy's voodoo rituals."

"Hey!" Judy squeaked at the insult towards her "hippy time" as Jen would call it.

"I'm teasing," Jen said, nudging Judy playfully. "But seriously Charlie, watch your brother please."

"Will do, Mom. Can I go now?"

"Sure, get out of here. Go learn some shit."

Charlie saluted and turned on his heel, "Love you guys," he called casually.

Judy inhaled sharply and let her head fall against the seat. Charlie had never told Judy that he loved her. She already knew it from the way that he would ask for her advice and sit in her paintroom playing video games while she attacked her canvas with her paintbrush. And of course Henry had already said it, many times in fact. But Charlie was less comfortable with his feelings and didn't outright say them. Judy could feel tears in her eyes and squeezed them shut. Next to her she could hear Jen trying to control her breathing. This was big, the fact that Charlie expressed his love for Judy. It meant that she was accepted into their family, really accepted. Charlie told Judy he loved her faster than Jen did.

Judy cracked open her eyes and snuck a peak at Jen, who was staring back at her. The corners of the blonde's lips turned upward. They both knew what this moment meant.

"Ready?" Jen asked.

Judy nodded and swiped her thumb under her eyes, catching the few teardrops that managed to slip out.

Silence spread over the car as Jen drove through town and merged onto the 405, heading in the direction of Santa Barbara.

"He really does, you know." Judy had been staring out the window watching the trees fly by when Jen said it. She turned her head to look at Jen who was focused on the road.

"Charlie, h-he does love you." Jen swallowed the lump in her throat before she continued, feeling brown eyes on her skin. "He doesn't open up well to other people, even me. The only person he really shared anything with was...Ted." Tension pushed its way between the two of them at the mention of Ted, but after a beat, Jen kept going. "Anyway, he really cares about and respects you. I haven't seen him this way with anyone else."

"I have a feeling he isn't the only one."

Jen opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it again. The road rumbled beneath them and the scenery flew past as they drove down the highway.

Judy knew that Jen wasn't going to say anything but so much of her still wished and hoped that she would. Jen could talk about a lot of things with Judy, but the one thing she refused to talk about was their relationship, especially after Jen found out about Ted. Everything was complicated, which was a big reason why Judy suggested this trip. She wanted the chance to put everything in the past and move on, she hoped this was the way to do that.

Flashbacks of the past year, specifically the four months after Jen found out the truth and Steve was killed, danced in Judy's mind. She tried not to think about them too often because it hurt. There were a lot of things said between the two women during that period and a lot of getting used to each other again. Judy knew that Jen still held a piece of resentment towards her, even though she tried to say she didn't. There were times when Judy would catch Jen just staring off, jaw clenched, but then there were other times when she'd sneak out to the guesthouse and sit all night with Judy, just talking.

And then there was the touching. Jen used to lean in to Judy's touches like it was no problem, no second thought. But since everything, every time Judy touched her it was like Jen was fighting with herself not to enjoy it, but ended up relaxing into her anyway. Judy hated that she brought this tension into their relationship, but a sick part of her also knew that she never would have had Jen if it weren't for what she did, these were the things that kept her up at night.