I previously said that Joe is entering sixth grade…I've changed my mind: he'll be entering seventh grade, which makes him 12. I don't even know if that'll matter in the grand scheme of the story, but just in case…Oh! And the following schools all exist and, as far as I know, any and everything said about them is factual. Just sayin'.

Abby felt Kerry's soft, smooth legs intertwined with hers and strong, weathered hands in her own; it was a physically close, intimate position and it was going to be a hell of a one to get out of. Especially if she didn't want to disturb her counterpart. She slowly extracted her hands from Kerry's and stilled completely when the older woman stirred. She waited until she was sure the redhead's breathing was even before she began pulling her legs away.

Abby could practically feel Kerry's eyes flash open.

"Wha-" her voice was groggy but startled; an interesting mix, Abby thought.

"Shhh…" Abby said, turning around so she was semi facing Kerry. "I need to go back to the guest room before the boys are up…"

The lids of Kerry's eyes were heavy and she took a long blink. "What time is it?"

Abby squinted at the digital clock over Kerry's shoulder. "Six twenty three."

Kerry half moaned, half groaned and pulled gently on Abby's arm. "They're both basically teenagers…we could stay in bed until nine and neither one of them would have any earthly idea."

A short, soft laugh escaped Abby and she gently brushed a stray red hair from Kerry's face. She leaned in and planted a slow kiss on Kerry's forehead before retreating. "I don't want to take any chances…there are better ways to find out that your mother is sleeping with her houseguest than seeing her come out of the master bedroom wearing nothing but a nightshirt." She whispered, covering her naked form with an oversized, blue colored button down blouse.

Kerry sighed and pulled her own discarded pajama top over her head. "Henry's easy going, but I don't think that'd fly smoothly."

Abby smirked and bent over Kerry once more, her brunette tresses falling as a veil over Kerry's face. She took Kerry's bottom lip between her teeth delicately before pulling away slowly. "I'll see you soon…"

Kerry nodded and watched as the brunette walked away; how the tails of her blouse went down to her thighs and her hair was mussed and ruffled, a true example of sex hair, and with good reason, she thought. The younger woman gave one more fleeting look at Kerry, paired it with a soft smile, then left the room, reclosing the door as she went.

Kerry rolled onto her back again, her eyes set on the blackness of the room's ceiling; her exhaustion from the previous nights' activities held her captive and she soon fell back to sleep.

Three hours later, as Kerry had foreseen, Joe moseyed into the kitchen, his basketball shorts hanging low on his thing hips and a navy tee shirt reading 'The Advent School' sitting comfortably on his torso. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Kerry watched from where she sat at the island, slightly amused at the boy's zombie-like walk. He silently took a seat next to her at the counter and cupped his chin in his hands. "Happy 4th of July." He said, his eyes opening fully.

Kerry chuckled. "You too…did you sleep well?"

A wicked smile crept across Joe's face and he nodded. "The only good thing about Henry's nose is that he doesn't snore…" He said, secreting laughter.

Kerry set down the journal she held in her hands and smiled. "I guess that is a plus." She replied as she eyed Joe's shirt. "Is that where you go to school?"

Joe gave her a confused look before he saw where her eyes were trained. He nodded. "I did…" he explained. "I'm going to Latin next year…for seventh grade and everything."

Kerry's eyebrows arched. "Boston Latin?"

The young boy nodded, unfazed by Kerry's surprise. "I wanted to go to a regular, easy school…but Mom and Dad said that Latin's the best."

Kerry nodded in agreement with Abby and Luka. "It is."

Joe nodded again. "Except I can't play any sports there until I'm in ninth grade…at least not for the school."

The words rang familiar, from the short conversation she and Joe had shared on the first night of his and Abby's visit, but Kerry was still shocked that this boy, who was quite obviously bright, cared more about playing sports at the prestigious school than he did the actual academic side of it all. She realized, however, as a second thought, that that really shouldn't surprise her; Henry had been the same way when he was accepted to the Latin School of Chicago for eighth grade; he wanted to know which sports he could play and when he could play them. Kerry refocused her eyes on Joe. "Do you play for a club?"

Joe nodded and a smile reappeared. "In the fall, winter, and spring." He explained. "It's fun, but a lot of my teammates aren't going to Latin so they'll be able to play for school next year."

Kerry nodded; she was, much to her own surprise, relatively interested in Joe's soccer stories. It had taken a lot of explanation on both Carlos' and Henry's- when he was old enough to understand the rules himself- parts for her to appreciate the general idea of the game, and by the time Henry had started playing for Latin, she could actually witness a whole game without having to ask more than a handful of questions afterwards. In that time, she had also grasped the concepts of baseball and, Sandy's very favorite, hockey. "Do you play any other sports?"

Joe shook his head. "I used to play baseball but I didn't like it…not enough running." He explained. "It's still fun to watch, though."

Kerry chuckled and nodded before she took hold of her coffee mug and brought it to her lips, taking a long sip. At once, after the talk of schools and the coming year, the thought of if Joe really would be attending Boston Latin the coming year crossed her mind; she wasn't set on U-Hauling with Abby just yet, but the younger woman herself had said that she didn't particularly like Boston and had no intention of staying there. The hot liquid slid down her throat and her attention was brought back to reality.

Abby appeared in the doorway, dressed in cropped boyfriend jeans and a loose blouse. Her hair was still noticeably damp from her shower and her face had a fresh, glowing look to it. Kerry had to tear her eyes away as she slid off her seat. She discarded her mug in the sink then headed out of the kitchen, "I'm going to go wake up sleeping beauty then hop in the shower…"

Abby nodded and watched as Kerry fled.

Kerry knocked gently on Henry's bedroom door before pushing it open. The medium sized room had a few rays of light seeping in through the curtain and Kerry headed straight for the bed, praying to God she wouldn't trip over any of the boys' things. She made it safely and sat down on the edge of Henry's bed, her hand finding his bony hip. She shook him gently at first, murmuring his name, then added more force and volume when he didn't respond. She finally elicited a groan from the teenager, which brought a chuckle from her own throat. "Come on, Henry…you still want to go to the tournament, right? See your friends, cousins…see Sawyer?"

As Kerry had hoped, the mention of Sawyer woke Henry right up. Now sitting up in bed, he eyed his mother with a look of both panic and curiosity strewn across his face. "How do you know about Sawyer?" He demanded.

Kerry smiled and patted his knee. "She called yesterday afternoon and wanted to know if you were going to be going to the games today…" she answered, "I told her you would be."

Henry attempted to hide the blush that was devouring his ears but failed, settling on a secreted smile. "Thanks…"

Kerry smiled and nodded once. "I'm going to take a shower…we're leaving around eleven, eleven thirty, alright?" Henry nodded and Kerry pushed herself off the bed, heading out the door and towards her bathroom.

At eleven fifteen on the dot, Henry, dressed in plaid shorts and his baseball team's jersey, and Joe, wearing a similar outfit minus the jersey, slid into the backseat of Kerry's Jetta and the four were off to Dunham Park.

"So Henry," Abby began, talking to the fourteen year old from over her shoulder, "who's Sawyer?"

Henry instantly looked up at the rearview mirror, catching his mother's eye. Kerry shrugged. "I didn't tell her a thing…" she promised.

Abby grinned and turned around slightly. "I was the one who answered the phone when she called."

Henry sighed and did the well-known baseball hat move; he slipped it off and held it while he ran the same hand through his hair. Abby wasn't sure what good it did because every guy she'd seen do it ended up with just as messy of a hairstyle as before. And, in Henry's case, the style was pretty messy.

"She's a friend…" Henry said, pulling the brim of his hat back down. "from school."

Abby snorted a laugh and answered sardonically. "Now we're getting somewhere."

Henry rolled his eyes but smiled at the remark. "She's my age…um, we had Algebra together last year?" He shrugged. "I don't know…"

Kerry smiled to herself and glanced quickly at Abby, who had the remnants of a smile on her face, as well. They drove the rest of the short ten minutes in silence, Henry gladly basking in the cease of the embarrassment.

When the four arrived at the park, which was abuzz with families of teenagers, parents, toddlers, grandparents and everyone in between, Kerry pulled into the first, and only, open spot she saw and they filed out. Henry instantly pulled out his phone and a small grin graced his lips before he started violently thumbing away in response to whatever text message he had just gotten.

Kerry pretended not to notice Henry's giddiness and focused on finding the Lopez family. She stood slightly on her tiptoes, eyes searching, until she spotted the familiar 5'9" man wearing the familiar number nine baseball jersey. Henry spotted him, too, and headed over, Joe at his side with Abby and Kerry a few paces behind.

"Hey Chico," Carlos, Henry's youngest and closest uncle, said when he spotted his nephew walking towards the dugout. They greeted in a 'bro-hug' before taking a step back. "Your mom told me no baseball, eh? Had to go and break your nose on us…" He mock-scolded.

Henry rolled his eyes and played along. "Having a concussion doesn't give me much ammo to fight back with, either."

Carlos laughed and flicked the brim of his nephew's hat before glancing over his shoulder where, only about three feet away, Joe stood. He looked back at Henry and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Henry gave him a confused look before his eyes lit up and he spun to the side. "Right! Carlos, this is Mom's friends', Abby and Luka's, son, Joe; Joe, this is my Uncle Carlos."

Carlos grinned and held out his hand. Joe did the same and gave a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, Joe." He said. "Abby…and...Luka…" he repeated the names slowly out loud. "Kovac?"

Joe nodded, not completely sure how this man knew his parents.

"That's why you're so tall." Carlos said straightforwardly, a smile spread across his face.

That put Joe at ease and he nodded. "5'3" and 6'4"…." He recited his parents' height, "hoping I really get my dad's height."

Carlos chuckled before looking in between the boys. His eyes set on Kerry and Abby, who were meandering their way over, Carlos put his hands on either of the boys' shoulders. "I'll talk to you guys later."

Henry nodded before venturing further into the dugout, saying hello and introducing Joe to all of his friends and teammates.

Carlos left the dugout and adjusted his hat, pulling the brim a bit further down. He weaved through a small cluster of his teams' parents before he was standing in front of who he consider his sister-in-law and her friend. A smile instantly found its way to Kerry's face when she saw him and she wrapped her arms around the younger man's neck in a mutually initiated hug. Abby stood back, a tad bit in awe at how friendly and, well, family-like Kerry and Carlos were. She smiled, as well, happy to see Kerry happy.

Carlos gave one last, lingering squeeze before letting the older woman go back onto the flats of her feet. "You do know Henry's our first string catcher, right?" He asked. "His helmet has a facemask and everything."

Kerry rolled her eyes and patted Carlos' shoulder. "Dream on." She said before turning towards Abby. "Carlos, you know Abby, right? She worked at County for a while…"

The thirty seven year old smiled and nodded, holding out his hand to the brunette. "Nice to see you again."

Abby smiled. "You too."

A boy with the teams' hat over his shaggy blonde hair appeared next to Carlos and tapped him on the shoulder, gesturing towards the dugout. Though no words were exchanged, Carlos nodded and the boy retreated. "Gotta' go…you guys are coming to the cookout, right?"

Kerry tilted her head side to side once. "We'll see." She replied.

Carlos rolled his eyes and turned to leave. "See you after the game, Ker." He said, giving a quick upwards nod towards Abby.

Once Carlos left, Kerry and Abby found seats on the lower end of the metal bleachers. Abby so badly wanted to reach over and thread her fingers through Kerry's by knew she had to restrain; nothing says 'we're sleeping with each other' like two grown women holding hands at a little league baseball game.

Five innings into the game, Kerry felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she smiled when Alexandra, Carlos' six year old daughter, held out her arms towards Kerry in the universal gesture for a hug. She complied with a smile. "My goodness, Alex, you just get prettier and prettier each time I see you!" She said.

The young girl smiled and giggled, "Auntie Kerry, you just saw me a couple weeks ago!"

Kerry smiled at the young girl and stood up, Alex threading her hand through Kerry's as she did. "Where are your mom and sister?" she asked. Before Alex replied, Kerry glanced at Abby over her shoulder and nodded her head, cueing Abby to get up and follow. Abby complied, following Kerry and her niece. Kerry's very cute niece, she noted; Alex's thick, brown curls fell to just below her shoulder blades and her naturally tan skin looked even darker in contrast to her brightly colored floral skirt and white tank top.

Alex led them to the other side of the dugout, pulling Kerry's hand gently and talking all the way. Abby couldn't understand exactly what she was saying, but had to secrete a chuckle when she saw Kerry's head nod and heard a handful of 'mhm's' coming from her lips.

Alex released Kerry's hand once they found themselves on the other side and skipped over to her mom. "Mommy! See! I told you I would find Auntie Kerry!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

Carlos' wife looked to where Kerry stood. "Kerry…" she greeted, smiling. "Wasn't sure if we'd be seeing you today."

Kerry smiled back, "Henry wanted to see everyone…" she turned and towards Abby then looked back to Carlos' wife, "Rachel, this is my friend Abby;" she turned back to Abby, "Abby, Carlos' wife, Rachel."

The two women flashed each other a warm smile and shook hands. No words were exchanged and Kerry broke the momentary silence, "Are Florina and Gonzalo here?"

Rachel nodded, her brown curls bouncing slightly, and pointed to her right. Kerry and Abby's eyes followed and found the couple further down the fence, talking with who Kerry knew to be Eddie. "You're coming to the cookout after the game, right?" Rachel asked, her wording almost identical to her husband's, sending a smirk straight to Kerry's lips and a forcing a chuckle from Abby's throat.

Kerry shrugged. "I'm betting I'll get that from them, too…" she leaned against the fence and then noticed something missing. "Where's Grace?" She asked of Carlos and Rachel's eight year old daughter.

Rachel pointed towards the dugout. Kerry glanced to her left and smiled when she saw the young girl; a too-big team cap sat on her head and she held a bat in her hand. "She's playing batgirl for the game."

There was a small 'pffft' noise from the ground and Alex spoke up, her raspy voice demanding attention. "Yeah, 'cause she stole my idea!"

Abby and Kerry both hid their smiles at the six year old's exasperation. Rachel rolled her eyes goodheartedly. "Daddy said you can do it next game, babe."

Another sound, this one more a huff than anything, could be heard and the three woman refocused their attention to the game.

By the end of the six innings, Henry's team pulled away with a win and Florina, Gonzalo and Eddie had yet to venture their way. As everyone went towards the dugout, parents and siblings congratulating their sons and brothers, Florina appeared at Kerry's side. Abby sensed a moment of tension and planned her escape quickly, "I'll just go find Joe…" she said, heading for where she knew her son to be.

Kerry locked eyes with Abby for a moment, their gaze saying more words than they could vocalize without giving them away. She nodded at her love then looked at Florina. The older woman smiled slightly. "Is that that Abby?" She asked.

Kerry smiled at her choice of words. "Yep…I think you guys met when Henry was just an infant."

Florina gave her a wry smile. "Fourteen years ago? You think I remember that?" She chuckled, more to herself than at Kerry. "She seems sweet…is Joe her husband?"

Kerry's left eyebrow arched. "No…Joe's her son. He's twelve." She knew what Florina was doing; the older woman was checking up on her, making an attempt to find out if the two women were sleeping with each other. She knew it wasn't out of spite or hatred of Kerry having a sex life; the Lopez's had actually, in the seventeen years Kerry had been a part of their lives, began to accept her lifestyle, especially since Henry wanted nothing to do with some of their more narrow-minded thoughts. In the more recent years, even, Florina had acted as a somewhat maternal figure to Kerry. It was an awkward relationship at times, but both women learned to love and accept each other for who they were.

Florina nodded then looked at Kerry. "You're coming to the cookout, right?"

Kerry laughed a short laugh. "I saw that coming…" she grinned, "I'll see how Henry's feeling and check with Abby…" she trailed off, suddenly hoping the invitation was open to Abby and Joe, as well.

Florina caught on and gave Kerry a smile, her small, weathered hand gripping Kerry's forearm for a moment. "The four of you, of course…the more the merrier, right?"

Kerry smiled and nodded. "I'll go talk to them now…"

Florina inclined her head slightly and Kerry went off in search of Abby, Joe, and her concussed son.

Thirty minutes later, after a quick stop at home, Kerry and Abby were walking slowly into the backyard of Florina and Gonzalo Lopez's house. The two boys had run ahead, eager to join Henry's cousins and family members in the pool to escape the heat, leaving Kerry and Abby by themselves.

Kerry halted Abby right outside the gate to the backyard and, without a glance over her shoulder or a quick scan of her surroundings, planted a quick, albeit passionate, kiss on the younger woman's lips.

Abby stumbled slightly before pulling back. She raised her eyebrow and glanced around, "Kerry…"

Kerry smiled softly and leaned in once more. Just inches away from Abby's face, she spoke softly, "It's alright." Kerry only let her lips linger for a few moments before pulling away. "I love you."

Abby smiled and caressed Kerry's jaw line with one stroke. "I love you, too."

Kerry pulled away slowly and walked through the gate and into the backyard, keeping a fair amount of distance between herself and Abby.

The couple went around, visiting and chatting, laughing and eating. Abby was astounded at how friendly the majority of Sandy's family was; while she had hardly ever seen Gonzalo, the few times she had, she'd gotten the sort of vibe that told her he wasn't a very nice person, but now he was smiling and laughing and talking with Kerry. She figured, however, that no father could be cheery just weeks after the death of their only daughter.

After an hour or so, the buffet table was set out and everyone was lining up to eat. Abby went off to find Joe, just to check in on her son, and Kerry stayed back for a moment, allowing others to get in line before her. She stood on the deck, watching Abby and Joe interact like a silent movie; she couldn't understand what they were saying, but didn't particularly mind just watching the younger woman move. Suddenly, she sensed a presence to her left. Kerry felt a hot blush creeping up her neck, but refused to acknowledge the person, afraid that she'd been caught.

"You are sleeping with her." It was Florina. Maternally perceptive Florina.

Kerry glanced at the older woman out of the corner of her eye and let out a small, though clearly audible, sigh. She nodded.

"Does Henry know?" She asked, her gaze moving from Kerry to her backyard.

Kerry shook her head. "Not yet."

Florina nodded slowly, understandingly. "You love her."

It was a statement, not a question, but Kerry felt compelled to answer. "I do." She whispered, her voice failing her as she admitted it to the one woman she'd been most afraid to face; when Kerry had first gotten together with Courtney, Florina had been less than approving. Kerry hadn't particularly cared, though, because, at the time, the Lopez's played a small, miniscule part in her and Henry's lives. Then, once she and Henry moved to Miami, the entire family began to resent her decision, deciding to put the blame on Courtney more so than on anything else. Three years later, when Kerry moved back after her split from Courtney, her deceased wife's family had welcomed her with open arms, absolutely delighted to have their grandson and nephew back home. As the years went on and she had the occasional relationship, more times than not, Florina disapproved, turning her nose up at any and every woman Kerry brought to Thanksgiving or Christmas, Easter or the 4th of July. At first, Kerry assumed it was the gay thing, but when she'd had enough of it and asked Carlos what his mother's problem was, he had alluded to the fact the Florina could tell Kerry wasn't happy with those women; they weren't what Kerry needed in her life. That particular revelation dumbfounded Kerry, striking a cord that sent a shock of admiration through her. Since then, though neither woman had vocalized what Carlos had told Kerry, the pair had been on a new level of friendliness; Kerry felt as if Florina had a sort of maternal feeling of duty for her, and she quite liked it.

Florina placed a hand on Kerry's forearm, allowing it to linger for a few moments, and squeezed gently. "Then don't give up on her."

Kerry felt her mouth go slightly slack but she made sure she kept it closed. She looked full-on at the older woman who smiled slightly and nodded forward once. "Let's go eat before the boys load their plates."

Kerry returned Florina's smile with one of her own and followed her ex mother-in-law towards the line of guests.

Abby was walking over with a sopping wet Joe in front of her and caught Kerry's eye, giving her a smile that was all eyes. The corners of Kerry's mouth turned up, too. Her little talk with Florina made it the fact that she and Abby would soon have to tell their sons that much more obvious, but the conversation had also given her confidence a boost; if Florina felt good about the situation, chances are she would rub off on the rest of the family and it'd be, for the most part, smooth sailing when it came to telling them, too. Not that that meant she wasn't at all nervous about making her relationship with Abby public; she was. She was most anxious, however, for Abby; Abby wasn't gay and had never made her relations with women public; years ago, when Kerry first realized her own sexuality, she had often wondered about the young then-nurse. However, once her on-again off-again relationships with John and Luka and whoever else became more and more public and Kerry and Sandy got together, she began to just not care. Sure, she still found the younger woman extremely attractive, but she was content just being friends. Abby had, in the past few days, alluded to having relations with women, but had never admitted or called herself bisexual. Kerry knew their relationship would come as a shock to those who knew them, and she also recognized the fact that not everyone of their friends would be pleased or accepting; a wave of fear and guilt and every related emotion washed over her whenever she thought of how Luka would react and feel when he found out.

Kerry promised herself, as she grabbed a thick paper plate from the end of the table, that she would talk with Abby soon and, together, they would figure out the next step; she took no joy out of hiding their continually growing relationship from their sons and knew that, no matter how scary it was, they would soon have to come clean.

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being, though, wanting to enjoy the company of her family and friends.

A/N: Boston Latin School really is one of the hardest test-in schools in the country...not so sure about Latin of Chicago, but the site makes it seem pretty rigorous. Anyway, thanks for reading..please, please, please review! They mean the world to me and I'll consider them a birthday present ;)