AN- Just a quick note to say thank you! You are all awesome! I read through it a few times I tried to find errors, again it is so hard to proof your own stuff. I am trying! :) If anyone ever wants to proof for me, let me know :) Other then that enjoy!
"Hello there"
Stef looked up from her computer screen to see an officer she didn't recognize standing next to her desk.
"Uh hi" She said quickly pushing her reading glasses to the top of her head while offering him a warm smile.
"Name's Officer Jim Hensberg, I just got transferred here." He said with a little bit of a sigh.
She nodded "Stefanie Adams Foster" She said sticking out her hand "But everyone here calls me Stef"
"Really?" He said eyeing her "Shame, Stefanie is such a pretty name."
Stef cleared her throat and forced a smile "Uh, yeah I guess, I have no problems with it. I am just more of a Stef."
He nodded "I see, well I was told they are assigning us together for the next two weeks, so you can show me the ropes of your station"
Stef cringed she saw an email from Captain Rogers mentioning something new about training, but she hadn't read it all the way through yet. Rogers was out of town for a week so she hadn't been overly concerned about it.
"I don't know why they are putting us together for two weeks, I've been an officer since you were in diapers" He said scratching his head "I just need to know where the coffee pot is, the rest I have figured out"
Stef let out a small laugh "Then it will be an easy two weeks for you, won't it, Jim?"
He nodded and sat down in a chair next to her desk "Alright, partner what are we working on?"
"I was just finishing up some paperwork on speeding tickets, exciting huh?"
He shrugged "Paperwork is part of the job, I've never found it boring" He then picked up the picture of baby Callie and the frame she'd bought to put it in. "Cute baby, yours?" He guessed as he opened the frame and put the picture in for her.
She smiled proudly "Yeah, that's my daughter. When she was just a peanut! She's not that little anymore. Not even close really she's a beautiful teenager now."
He put the picture on her desk so it was standing up facing her. "She was a beautiful baby. I can only imagine her now." He looked at Stef "Do you have more children?"
She laughed again knowing how people reacted when she said the following sentence. "Yeah, I have five"
"Damn" He whistled as his eyes traveled her body making her shift in her uncomfortably in her seat "You have five kids, and you still look like that?"
"Excuse me?" Stef shot crossing her arms over her chest.
"I don't mean anything bad by it" He held up his hands "Most mothers of five, look exhausted, circles under their eyes and let themselves go. Too busy chasing after the little ones."
Stef's eyes got wider "Well I don't appreciate that comment, that's very judgmental of mothers and women everywhere!"
Jim rolled his eyes at Stef "Don't be dramatic, I wasn't intending it to be insulting. Does your husband stay home with the kids?"
Stef eyed this guy she could feel his eyes scanning her body, trying to figure out how she kept her shape after five kids. "No, actually my wife and I both work. Our children are old enough to be home by themselves for a few hours. My wife is a vice principal so she has a school schedule. She's home with the children weekends and holidays."
Jim's eyes got bigger as he looked to Stef with disbelief in his eyes "Wife?"
Stef nodded "Yes, I have a wife, five children and an ex-husband that works here. Mike Foster, I am amazingly blessed by my family." She said defensively clearly seeing how Jim's eyes went from disbelief to disgust.
"Well Adams Foster, let me know when you're done with your paper work, until then I will be at my desk setting it up"
Stef nodded her jawline setting "Sure thing Jim."
She shook her head and watched him go, she'd only spent five minutes with the guy and could tell that he was judgmental and not a big fan of working women. Of the fact that she was married to a woman. The next two weeks were going to be very long.
"Are you excited about spending the afternoon with Daphne?" Lena asked her daughter as they were on their way to pick up the girl. "I know it's not the full, fun day you wanted...
Callie nodded as she used the arm rest on the door to prop up her head with her hand "Yeah, it'll be fun, I think she's excited." Her eyes locked out the window.
Lena reached out and placed her hand on Callie's knee "Did Jude upset you this morning?"
Callie shrugged as her hand went down to Lena's that was still on her knee. She ran her fingertips over the rings Lena was wearing. Studying the stones and designs
"What's going through your head right now Callie? What are you thinking about it?"
"Not much of anything" She said with a shrug.
"Are you upset you're not getting your full day with Daphne?"
Callie shook her head as she pulled her hand away from Lena's and went back to looking out the window.
"Are you upset with me?" Lena finally asked but before she could get answer she heard a thumping noise as the car began to shake.
Lena groaned and pulled her hand back from Callie's knee and quickly threw on her hazard lights quickly getting the car to a grocery store parking lot. "What could possibly be going on?" She muttered to herself throwing off her seatbelt and quickly getting out of the car. She spotted the problem right away. A nail in her front passenger side tire. She let out a groan and closed her eyes as Callie climbed out of the car to see what was going on.
Lena almost saw the disappoint fill the girls face as she realized, this was going to put a damper on her day with Daphne.
"Hey Cal" Lena said wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulder "We are less then half a block from mom's work, lets walk down there really quick take her car, and I'll get Daphne and drop you two off. Come back and deal with this and have it all fixed by the end of your afternoon! Sound okay sweetheart?" At this point she'd practically do anything to see her kid smile.
Callie offered Lena a small smile and nodded.
"Why don't you text her, let her know we're fifteen minutes behind schedule, while I text mom to let her know I am taking her car."
Callie nodded again while Lena dug her phone and purse out of the car locking it quickly leaving the hazards on.
"Hopefully mom is around her phone, I mean I have keys to her car, but I don't want to freak her out if I just take it"
Callie looked up from her phone to Lena "Will that be okay? I mean Daphne will understand. I can catch a bus."
"No, honey its fine" Lena assured her "I promise, no big deal. Let's just get to mom's work, get the car and get you and Daphne to her birthday day of fun."
Callie nodded as she finished up her text before shoving her phone into her pocket. The two made their way down the busy sidewalks with cars whizzing by to her left and people walking quickly around them.
Lena walking beside her daughter watching as the girl's hand traveled up to her necklace, grabbing a hold of it while they walking, her fingers rubbing the pendent in almost a nervous fashion. Her eyes darting around them trying to avoid people from getting into their space while she unconsciously slid in closer to Lena's side. So close that Callie's free hand would brush against Lena's every minute or so. "We're almost there" Lena said enthusiastically as the police station came into view hoping that would calm her daughter.
Callie's eyes never once left from looking straight ahead of her, her hands never left her necklace. "Yeah, I see it" She acknowledged with almost no tone to her voice at all.
Lena's phone buzzed in her hands taking her attention away from Callie to her phone, she did the best she could to read it in the bright light. "Oh, mom is still at the station, she said to come in and say hi before we snag the car."
Callie nodded as her pace quickened causing Lena to up her pace to keep up with her. "We will say hi to mom, then get going right away. I promise you Callie we'll get you to Daphne. You're going to have such a fun day." However the way her daughter was acting she wasn't as assure as she sounded. She was pretty sure her daughter was having a mild anxiety attack.
They walked quickly into the police station getting out of the hot California sun, "This way babe" Lena said placing her hand on Callie's back as she watched her become even more agitated with the buzz of the police station. A place where Callie had a few unpleasant memories. Lena was going to do her best to make this trip fun, she wasn't a kid in trouble, and she was just a kid that was stopping by her parent's work place. That should be a good memory.
Lena led them to Stef's desk and found her wife pointing at a screen showing another officer something.
Stef spotted them right away, her eyes lighting up as she pulled her readers off and set them on desk.
"Hi ladies, I hear you're having a rough morning" She said standing up to greet them.
Lena watched as the guy shot a glare in her direction while crossing his arms over his chest. She in return gave him her famous warm smile. Which caused his glare to disappear as he looked down at his shoes.
"Lena, I am going to lunch in thirty minutes, so what I am thinking is you take my car get Daphne and Callie to the mini golf place, come back here meet me for lunch. We'll get the spare tire on and take it to the tire place down the street. We should have you up and ready to go by the time that you need to pick up the love bug from her afternoon events" She said stealing a glance up at Callie winking ever so slightly.
"Oh, Stef really?" Lena asked "Honey, I don't want you to spend your lunch break dealing with that!"
"Hey, the tire place has free popcorn and horrible strong coffee, and you'd be with me! It's like an awesome date!" She laughed "Doesn't that sound rather enticing?"
The officer behind her let out a sigh, Lena's glanced up at him before looking to her wife. "That sounds lovely"
Stef nodded as she back down in her chair turning her attention to her very quiet daughter. Who shifting from foot to foot, one hand rubbing her necklace, her bottom lip sucked into her mouth as she chewed on it nervously while her eyes darted around the station.
"Hey you" Stef said purposely reaching for both of Callie's hands taking them into her own and holding them down by her successfully capturing Callie's attention while she used her thumbs to rub small comforting circles onto the back of her hands. "My baby, are you okay?"
Callie's eyes traveled to Stef's as she gave her a small nod.
Stef tilted her head to the side really taking in the girl "Are you feeling alright? You'd tell me if you weren't feeling good, even if it's just a headache, yes?"
Callie nodded again.
"You're words seem to be missing today" Stef noted. "Such a shame, I love the sound of my Callie girl's voice." She said pulling her arms a little.
"Her words are missing today" Lena agreed
Callie blushed a little but gave Stef a small smile.
Stef squeezed her hands but didn't let go. "Jim this is my daughter Callie" She said turning her head slightly and my wife Lena. "Ladies, this is Officer Jim and he's new to our department. I am showing him the ropes."
Jim gave Callie a smile ignoring Lena all together. "Hi Callie, nice to meet you"
"Hi" Callie replied politely.
Lena cleared her throat "Well, Stef, we've taken enough of your time and I promised Cal we'd get Daphne."
Stef continued to hold onto Callie's hands but turned back to Lena "I'll meet you at the car, it's at the grocery story right?"
Lena nodded "Yeah, by the tree in the parking lot towards the back"
"Great" Stef nodded to her before standing up. "Can I have a hug, Cal?"
Callie nodded and leaned in wrapping her arms around her mother.
Stef held her to her tightly and put her lips to Callie's ear. "Whatever voices are going on inside your head right now, tell them that your mom says go away! You are loved. My precious, and worth more than all the gold in the world!"
Callie nodded and pulled away as she leaned up and whispered to Stef "I don't like him" She whispered very quietly that Stef almost missed it.
Stef pulled away and nodded "I know babe" She then patted her on the shoulder "Go have fun, sun screen and water. Missy! See you tonight! I want to hear all about your adventures with your friend! Now go bless her, and make her birthday totally special. With your lovely presence! Lucky Daphne! I wish it were me spending the afternoon mini golfing with you!"
Callie nodded as she actually smiled one of her big beautiful smiles where her eyes lit up. "Bye mom! Have a good day at work! Be safe okay? Please?"
"You've got it baby girl" She nodded "Today really is going to be a lot of paperwork, no worries."
Lena grabbed Callie's arm and then pulled her close to her. "We'll see ya soon Stef" She gave Officer Jim another one of her famous warm smiles that he ignored, before walking her daughter away.
Jim cleared his throat "Your kid always that quiet? Aren't most teenage girls more vocal and bouncy hair twirling bubble gum chewing fast talking little things?"
"Wow, you have a way with women don't you?" Stef rolled her eyes "Not all teenage girls are vocal and bouncy, bubble gum chewing talkative little things. I am pretty sure both my girls would take offense to that."
Jim held up his hands "I am an officer of the law, my job is to read people. Which I did with your daughter! Your kid looked super nervous, not comfortable in her own skin. Or maybe it's the station? Or her mother? I don't know what it means but I can tell you that something is going on, I am trained to read that kind of body language and so are you!" His tone accusing as he glared at her. "Shouldn't you have noticed it?"
"Listen Jim" Stef said facing him "You and I have to work together for the next two weeks, we don't have to like each other, that's fine. You don't have to like me or my life style! But whom I love shouldn't matter to you! My personal life including my family after this conversation will be off limits to you." She crossed her arms over chest "Since you're pointing out in almost an accusing way that something is wrong with my daughter, I am going to close with this. My family has just lived through hell the last six weeks, as they were all a part of the Ancho Beach school shooting, that child you just pointed out as having something wrong, ran for her life, saw people die, and her and her mother both have chunks missing out of their arms where they were shot! On top of it was the anniversary of her biological mother's death! That kid has lived through hell! I know what is going on with my child, and I know how to handle it! So don't you come in here and accuse of me of whatever it is you are trying to accuse me of!"
Jim crossed his arms over his chest "You're out of line Mrs. Adams Foster"
"Officer" She snapped to him
"Mrs." He repeated again before walking away leaving a very seething Stef.
Mariana came out of the dressing room and twirled around in the new dress she had just tried on. "What do you think?" Her hands running over the soft material her face lighting up with excitement.
Hayley looked up at it and shrugged "Eh, it's alright, I don't think it's you. Maybe if you lost fifteen pounds"
Mariana's head snapped up the dress fit like a glove and she thought it looked perfect!
Two other girls sitting around Hayley nodded while Courtney a very new student to Anchor Beach stood up and moved around Mariana studying the dress before she pulled Mariana back into the dressing room with her. "Mariana" She whispered pushing a strand of her long red curly hair away from her face. "You cannot listen to her. This dress looks good on you, perfect actually" She whispered "Hayley just tried that dress on herself and it didn't look good she doesn't have the figure for it. You do"
Mariana's face was flushed and she could barely hear with all the blood rushing to her head, she'd never been so embarrassed in her life. Was she fat? She studied herself in the mirror. Her fingers grabbing at her stomach, then her cheeks, her arms. Grabbing at what she could squeeze.
"Mariana" Courtney said again "Honey, you're perfect the way you are. They are just jealous?"
"Of what?" Mariana asked with a sarcastic laugh.
"That you're beautiful" Courtney stated standing behind Mariana "You have the perfect skin complexion, the perfect shape, the best smile, the longest eyelashes, I can go on." She offered.
Mariana turned to Courtney "If you're sure of this, then why are you hanging out with them? If they think I am fat why are you hanging out with those girls?"
"Because, I knew you were going to be here" Courtney said quickly.
Mariana turned to look at her "What? Everyone only ever wants to hang out with Hayley."
Courtney turned Mariana back around so she was looking at herself in the mirror. "Because, Mariana you're just as beautiful as those girls if not more so, but you were the first person that talked to me when I started three weeks ago, three weeks into the year and my mom put me in school" She shook her head "Nobody cares, but you did. You made me feel welcomed. I am here because you're not like them. I am questioning why you want to hang around them at all?"
Mariana's eyes studied the dress, she'd been in love with the dress since she'd seen it, now she couldn't wait to get off. She felt it pulling against her fat.
"Why don't you change, and we leave them and go do something fun?"
Mariana shrugged "We will see. I'd feel bad leaving them"
Courtney opened the door of the dressing room and let out her own sarcastic laugh "Yes, but they had no problem ditching us"
Mariana's head popped out of the dressing room as well. Sure enough her friends were gone.
The Fosters
"You know, you're kind of weird" Kelsey taunted slightly as she came up to the bottom of the Fosters drive way to find Mariana drawing on the sidewalk "Only Lexie likes you. Cause we think you smell"
Mariana's eyes grew wide as she put her chalk down "But I don't smell! My mommy buys me pretty spray with sparkles in that smells like bubble gum! My other mama does the laundry all the time! We don't smell!"
"Well Jesus and Brandon don't" Kelsey shrugged as she put her hand on her lip narrowing her eyes at Mariana "But you do!"
"That's not very nice" Mariana sighed "I don't talk to you like that, why can't we just be friends? I would like very much to be your friend" She said quietly recalling what Lena had told her to do, when someone was being mean to her.
Kelsey eyed Mariana "Hmm it'll cost you to be my friend."
"Like what?" Mariana asked standing up wiping off the chalk dust. "My mommy doesn't pay me much lowance"
"It's allowance" Kelsey rolled "I am hungry, and so are my friends" She pointed down the block "How about a snack and your bracelets" She said eyeing the sparkly bracelets Stef had brought home for her just last week.
"But my mommy gave them to me" She sighed "Because they reminded her of me."
Kelsey shrugged "Fine, but stay a loser with only Lexie and Jesus who will play with you."
"That's not true!" Mariana snapped "Emma, and Kate play with me too!"
"Yeah, well Emma and Kate are weird too, stupid"
Mariana let out a another sigh "Will you really be my friend?"
Kelsey crossed her heart with her finger tip "Cross my heart hope to die!"
Mariana slipped off the bracelets and handed them to Kelsey before looking up at the house. "I'll go get some cookies, my mama and I made them this afternoon." Her eyes darting to the house, they were for a meeting, but surely Lena wouldn't mind. Besides she was busy helping Jesus study.
"Great!" Kelsey smiled giving Mariana a quick hug "I'll get our friends! I am so glad you decided to my friend Mariana! You'll never be not popular again" She then took of running.
Mariana took a deep breath biting her lip before she quickly decided to go grab the cookies and get back outside before Lena noticed. She was sure once she explained it to her, she'd see the cookies were more important for Mariana to give out, then for a dumb meeting. She needed friends! It was important to her! She'd do almost anything at this point to fit in. Her moms would understand. They just would. She decided before running into the house to get those precious cookies that had now brought her new friends! Things could only get better from here. She smiled to herself at the thought. Only better!
