A/N Thank you all for your comments!

Lena sat at her desk on Friday morning. Between work and home, this week was not the best she had experienced. Jude was coming home with her every day, but was still acting strangely. For the most part he had kept his tone respectful, but would not speak unless he was forced. Jude had always thrived on physical contact, but the last few days he seemed like he was trying to avoid it. The girls would be home late tonight and Jesus agreed to come to dinner tomorrow night. Lena had hopes that seeing his older siblings would put Jude in better spirits.

Lena's thoughts were interrupted by a ping that indicated that she had a new email. She saw it was the ineligibility report and the at-risk of failing report for the week. Part of Lena's job was to contact the parents of the students on both lists and help establish communication lines to aid in student success. Fortunately for her, there were very few failing students and only a handful or so on the at-risk list. Unfortunately, for Jude, his name appeared on the at-risk list. As she was pondering what do to with Jude next, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."

Jude peeked in and then approached the desk, handed Lena a note, and started to walk back out. "Wait, Jude. He might need a reply. Plus, I really need to talk to you about something else." Jude rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk. He already knew what was in the note and he suspected that the other topic would also be unpleasant.

Lena unfolded the note and read it a few times to be certain of what it said. "Lena, Jude has been very disruptive in my class today. Since he has never been this sort of an issue before, I told him that he could come talk things out with you instead of giving him a detention."

Jude had is arms crossed and was leaning back in the chair slightly. "Is there anything you want to say to me about this, Jude?" Lena asked standing up. Jude just looked at her, obviously unwilling to speak. Lena waited about thirty seconds just in case. "Fine. I am writing up your detention myself. I am done with this."

"But my teacher said I didn't have detention…"

"As your vice principal, I say you do."

"You cut everyone else slack on this kind of thing, Brandon, Callie, Jesus, Mariana… All of them got out of tons of trouble. Now with me and my first detention and you won't even talk about it? How is that fair?"

"Drop it, Son. You did not talk when you had the chance and I am not going to be sucked into your argument. We have another issue to discuss as you have landed yourself on the at-risk of failing list this week. Before I look, can you tell me what I am going to find? Are we looking at one class or several?"

"As my vice principal you should know, Lena."

"Okay, Jude, let's get something established right now. When we are here at school you have two choices for how your will address me. You may call me Mrs. Adams-Foster like the other students. Or, as you are one of only six privileged individuals, you may call me Mama, which is my preference. Using disrespectful terms in my office will result in more detention or even In School Suspension."

"Callie and even Brandon…"

"I am not talking to either Callie or Brandon at the moment so it does not matter what they did or did not do. Quit comparing yourself to them… Anyway, I have looked up your grades and it is only your math grade. It seems like you have not turned in much work this week and you failed your test this morning. Until all your grades are at a C or higher and those assignments are turned in, all homework will be done at the kitchen table with me watching. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear..."

"Now, as it is school policy, I will be calling your mom to discuss both grades and your detention. So, perhaps you can discuss both the detention and the grades with her further after school."

"Good luck contacting my mom. She has been dead for ten years now. Let me know how that works out for you…" Jude started to leave the office again to be stopped by Lena at the door.

"Yes, Jude, your bio mom has been gone for ten years now, but you are not alone. Your mom and I both love you so very much. We adopted you because we wanted you in our family. We have seen you grow and change and become a wonderful young man. Right now, though, that young man is a little difficult to find." Lena looked over at Jude and saw that his façade had cracked just a little. She went over to him and hugged him close. Jude stiffened in her embrace. "For right now, Bud, you need to get back to class. Let your teacher know that you will be serving a detention. I do not want to get any more bad news from you or about your today. Got it?"

"I got it."

As he left Lena called out to him, "I love you, Jude!" and was met by only silence.

Lena started making her parent contacts from her lists. She saved Jude for the last because she wanted a little more time to think before calling Stef. Lena felt a little rejected when Jude brought up his bio mom again. Ever since he had entered their household Jude and Lena had been very close. He had happily agreed to be adopted, even when it looked like Callie would not be adoptable. He had begun using the names Mom and Mama with no prompting before the adoption even went through. Now, it seemed like he was doubting all of those choices and this left her confused and hurt. She picked up the phone and dialed Stef's cell phone number.

Stef's phone started to ring and she looked at the id. The school's number came up and that seemed odd. Usually Lena used her cell phone to call. Stef answered tentatively as she was unsure who would be calling from the school, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear Lena's voice on the other end. Then she got the bad news that Jude was at risk of failing math and that he had a detention to serve after school for disrupting class. Lena also told Stef about her plan to have Jude do all school work at the kitchen table with supervision. She finished with how Jude stiffened when he was hugged and did not reply that he loved her too.

The only part she left out was the comment about his bio mom. It still hurt her heart some and she was not ready to share it with anyone, not even with Stef. "Call Jude back to the office and check him out. He can serve his detention on Monday, today I would like to have a little mother-son bonding time."

Jude was barely paying attention in English. His mind was racing a million miles per hour. He knew that he had failed his math test this morning. That added to the fact that he had not completed his math homework since the night before he snuck out would probably drop his grade significantly. The detention was honestly not his fault. Jude thought the teasing would stop after going to the party, but in some ways it had only increased. The disruptive behavior that resulted in the detention was just trying to get the other guys to stop. Jude was already being called a "Mama's Boy" without being a nark by telling his mama that he was being teased. He sort of thought she would just tell him to not let it happen again without any explanation. When that did not work, Jude was a little angry with Lena, but even more angry with himself. Even she had given up on him.

His father had been an alcoholic; his drinking had led to the death of Jude's bio mom and the start of a six year horrific journey jumping from one bad foster family to another. Since finding himself in a similar place as his father, Jude had been thinking of his bio mom more. He felt like she would like Stef and Lena, but it wasn't the same and somehow felt disloyal. The concerns they had for him also made him angry. Did they also know he was going to turn out like his father? His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom, "I need Jude Foster to come to the office to check out."

Jude grabbed the books he would need for the weekend and trudged to the office. He was hoping to avoid Stef as long as possible and this was not in his plans. As expected Stef was waiting in the office for him. "Okay, Jude, it is just me and you for the afternoon. Are you ready to go?"

"I would rather stay here. How can my vice principal just check out an at-risk student from school? Shouldn't I stay here and learn stuff?"

"You are not failing any afternoon classes and it is always okay for a student to be checked-out by a parent for the day." Lena answered smiling. "I think spending the afternoon with your mom is exactly what you need."

"Are you sure she is my mom?"

"Yes, Jude, I am. First, I know her and you and my student records back up what I know. Every time you say something sarcastic, you sound just like her. When you stubbornly cling to not needing help when it is obvious you do, you act just like her. Also," Lena said dragging Stef and Jude closer together, "when you hug, you fit perfectly. DNA doesn't make family, Jude." Stef grabbed Jude and also felt him stiffen at first and then hug back just a little.

"So, Jude, are you all set?" Stef said as she let him go.

"If I must go, then I am ready. For the record, though, I would rather stay here."

"I love you, Jude" Lena said and she gave him a quick half hug. "Have fun with your mom." Then she turned to Stef and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Be good."

Jude started to walk out of the office when Stef nudged him. "Good bye?" He questioned looking more at Stef than Lena. He received another nudge. "I am not sure what you want me to say."

"Traditionally when your mama says she loves you, you reply that you love her too. Maybe you are just a bit out of practice this week. We can fix that."