"Lena, come on, tell me what you're cooking. I am hungry and need some inspiration."

"It's just a salad. Some tomatoes, kale, broccoli."

"That's some salad. If I was there, would you share it with me?"

Sharon's loud footsteps were not enough to disturb her daughter's conversation. Stef was completely engrossed in her chat with Lena. If Sharon didn't know any better, she would definitely say that her daughter was flirting. Perhaps it was time for Sharon to have a conversation with Stef about Tess Brown. Did her daughter remember the incident at all? Sharon could never forget it. She had never told Stef, but the situation had played a large part in her decision to leave her husband. She regretted not fighting for Stef, not standing up to Frank. Stef had been so young and innocent. Sharon hadn't known the real nature of her daughter's relationship with Tess. At the time, Frank hadn't been the only one who had questioned how close those two were.

But Frank had been convinced. He'd railed at Sharon for hours about how he would not allow their daughter to become a heathen. When he sent her away to that priest, Pastor Dan, Sharon had known it was wrong but didn't know how to stop it. Some things couldn't be prayed away.

Now, years later, Stef was getting close to another woman… again. This time, the stakes were higher, Stef was married. Sharon needed more information to perhaps find a little redemption.

"Ok fine, I have to go too. Mom's here. I'll talk to you soon," Stef laughed, "You're probably right." After a short pause, Stef continued, "Ok. You hang up then." Stef reluctantly put the phone down and looked at her mom.

"You're talking to her a lot." Sharon tried not to sound judgmental.

Stef still felt the sting of it, "What of it?"

"Nothing, just remarking. Did you ever find out?" Sharon spoke carefully.

Stef was on guard, "Find out what?"

"Is she married?" 'Get to the point,' Sharon mused.

Stef groaned. She thought about lying, but somehow she felt like she would not honor Lena if she did that. Stef could not do that, ever, not to Lena, not about Lena. "No, she's gay." As soon as the words were out, Stef began to worry. Suddenly, the memories came back. Tess Brown. She breathed heavily in anticipation of what her mother would say.

"Oh." It was as Sharon had feared.

"That's it?" Stef challenged. "Not gonna send me away?"

"Stef." Sharon had not expected this reaction. She hoped Stef was prepared for what was to come. Sharon hoped that she herself was equipped to handle all that was to come. She loved her daughter and wanted her to be happy.

"Stef, what? I can't have female friends? I'm going to hell. Do you think I forgot that you and dad sent me away after Tess Brown and I got close." Stef had tried not to think of that time in her life. It was so humiliating to be accused of something she had not done. She and Tess Brown had not ever done more than cuddle. There had'nt been anything gay between them. They were best friends who cared about each other, more than anything. Her father had ruined that, tainted it, made it dirty. She was not about to allow that to happen again.

"No, Stef. That was not my idea. And you'll never know how much I regret allowing your dad to do that to you. You had every right to explore and be who you were." Sharon needed to apologize.

"I wasn't exploring mom. It was friendship." Stef had to make sure that was clear.

Sharon shook her head. "It doesn't matter Stef. You needed to live your life, let it reach its own conclusions. We had no right to interfere. It was wrong."

"Mom, what are you trying to say?" Stef wasn't trying to be dense on purpose.

Sharon swallowed, "I am trying to say that I don't think being gay is a sin. I am trying to say that now, with Lena, you have a chance to figure out if what you had with Tess could have been more."

Stef tried to say something, but she was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth several times and no words came out. After several seconds, she finally spoke, "You think…" Stef stopped again, struggling to find the right words, "you think I like women?"

"What I think is not the issue. What matters here is what you think. Look, I am going to go. I think I've said enough." Her intention had been to get Stef thinking, not to argue. Sharon quickly exited, grabbing her purse, not letting Stef have a chance to even think about stopping her. Stef needed to face this. Her future was on the line.

'Why did everyone think that she had something going on with Tess?' They had been friends, best friends. It was true that neither of them had been dating. Stef had been part of the basketball team and Tess had been a forward on the team. As point guard and team captain, Stef had always felt in charge of all her teammates. But Tess had been special, Tess made her laugh, made her feel funny and charming. She laughed at every one of her jokes.

Most of their interactions had come at school until senior year. They had both been worried about leaving high school. Basketball season had been over, so they had to find excuses to hang out. She had been afraid, so afraid of losing Tess. Tess had been a good enough player to get scholarships at a university. Stef hadn't had such prospects. She hadn't thought that far. They'd both felt the urgency of their impending separation. They would sit on the couch, watching TV, listening to music. Often, they would end up holding hands or simply lying on each other's legs.

One such afternoon, Tess had been sitting on the couch. Stef had lain down across the couch, her head on Tess' lap. Tess had been caressing her hair. Nothing had ever felt so soft, so good. It had been relaxing and dreamy. Her dad had walked in right at that moment and had practically thrown Tess out. He'd started yelling, calling Tess a dyke. Both girls had been horrified at Frank's anger. Then it all turned surreal, as he grabbed Stef's hand and began praying for the salvation of her soul. He had immediately called Pastor Dan Nichols and arranged a short stay for Stef. He didn't leave her alone once, no chance to call Tess, to explain.

She never hung out with Tess again, both of them knew that they were to stay far away from each other. At the time, Stef didn't know what had been worse, the humiliation of being berated by some priest about being gay or losing Tess. And in that moment, Stef realized that the mourning she was doing now for her marriage was nothing compared to the ache of losing Tess. That had to mean something. And now, Lena was becoming her sunshine, her happiness. Stef knew without a doubt that Lena was something special in her life, her feelings for Lena were intense and confusing.

Pastor Dan Nichols and her dad had made sure that Stef never got to analyze her feelings. They'd separated her from Tess and made sure she'd grimace each time she thought about lesbians. And now her friends were lesbians, why was this topic coming up again?

Stef spent an entire day thinking of all these things and she could only come to one conclusion, she needed to see Lena. Life was confusing, Stef was irritable and only one person could provide comfort. So she did the only thing she could think of, she called Lena over so they could hang out at the park.

"Thanks for coming. Brandon really needed a break." Stef hoped Lena could not sense the desperation she had felt about seeing her.

"It was my pleasure." Lena said meaningfully.

They sat down on the grass, close to the sandbox and watched Brandon run around the small playground. "You don't seem OK," Lena commented. It was unusual for the boisterous cop to be so out of sorts. She was silent and broody. Lena couldn't help but miss Stef's non-stop humor. She seemed younger and vulnerable.

"It's my dad. I am just thinking about him a lot." Lena's generous demeanor made it safe for Stef to open up. Looking in those dark eyes was exactly like falling, knowing there was a net at the bottom of those brown depths.

"The one you ran from as an adult?"

"The very one. He is a very religious man…" Stef stopped herself, realizing she didn't know this about Lena. "You're not religious are you?"

Lena raised her eyebrows, "lesbians aren't usually tight with god." Stef laughed, knowing all too well the truth in that statement. "Really though," Lena continued more seriously, "I wasn't raised that way, so it's not like I miss church or something. You?"

Stef sighed, she shook her head, "I did grow up like that. Sin this, sin that. I can't seem to get away from it, but I have tried. My father, he uh," Stef didn't want to reveal too much, she just wasn't ready. "He made sure that I turned my back on the church. I haven't looked back. My dad, he is still very much involved and that's part of the wedge between us. I'll just never be good enough."

Lena could certainly relate to that. She placed her hand on Stef's, not out of a sense of intimacy but comfort and understanding. "He's missing out," Lena smiled.

Stef smiled and tried to stifle a yawn, "I just wish I wasn't so tired." She hadn't slept a wink all night.

Lena wondered why Stef hadn't just stayed at home, instead of taking Brandon to a park. "Why don't you lie down?"

Stef looked around and frowned, "Doesn't really compare to my couch."

Lena guessed she shouldn't, but she couldn't help but offer, "There's my lap…"

Stef didn't have to be told twice. She quickly lay down and placed her head on Lena's soft thigh. She closed her eyes and soon felt soft fingers caressing her hair. She looked up and locked gazes with Lena. Instantly, it all came flooding back. She'd been in that spot before. She'd thought more about that one moment in time in the last day, than she had in her entire life. Tess Brown looking down at her, much like Lena was doing now. No, not quite like Lena. Lena was looking down at Stef with a tenderness that she could never have imagined. Stef closed her eyes and remembered. And just like that, she knew that both Tess and Lena had looked at her with desire. For the first time, Stef felt ready to admit something she'd never been able to admit to anyone, including herself. She probably had the same look on her face. She had been attracted to Tess and she was attracted to Lena. She leaned in towards Lena's hand and tried to enjoy the feelings, really feel them for the first time. She felt the tender touch of a woman, Lena's delicate slim fingers smoothing her hair. Stef opened her eyes and found Lena's brown eyes burning into her. Now, she could feel as the feminine look caressed her features and touched her very soul. Leaning on Lena's lap, she had never felt as close to another human being as she did in that moment, feeling their connection through the heat of Lena's leg, the silken graze of Lena's long fingers, and the heat of their shared look.

"Mommy," Brandon's shriek pierced through both their consciousness and promptly ended the moment between the two women. Stef looked over and saw Brandon lying down on the sand. She didn't get a chance to even glance at Lena, as her motherly instinct took over and she rushed towards her son. She didn't see the regret on Lena's soft features, right before Lena herself reacted and also went to take care of Brandon.

"Are you ok sweetie?" Stef reached her son in time to see him looking at a scrape on his knee. As soon as he saw it and then looked back at his mom, he began to weep. He cried and cried, nothing Stef could say seemed to console him.

Lena looked at the scene and didn't know if she should interfere. She took out a tissue from her purse and decided that she might as well try. "Brandon," the Vice-Principal's voice carried enough authority to get the boy to stop for a second and look her way. "Look at what I have in my purse." She showed him the tissue, "It's special, from the nurse. It's what she uses to clean up kids when they come into her office." This seemed to get Brandon's attention and Stef watched in wonder as he allowed Lena to wipe the wound clean. The blood was soon gone and the boy had stopped crying.

"Well, look at that. The nurse sure knows what she's doing," Stef commented hoping the incident was over.

"I've been to the nurse before. She's very nice." Brandon brightened at the memory.

"You were very brave," Lena added. This pleased Brandon and his attention was soon focused on the ice cream truck circling the park.

"Could I have some ice cream?" Stef and Lena looked at each other and silently communicated the shared feeling that Brandon was taking advantage of the situation. They smiled at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Sure Brandon, let's go." Stef grabbed Brandon's hand and began to walk him towards the vendor. She smiled when Brandon used his other hand to reach for Lena's hand and tug her along as well.

Lena didn't miss that the visual they were making was the living representation of all she'd ever dreamed of. A beautiful woman to raise a family with. Suddenly, she didn't know what she was playing at. She should not have touched Stef or allowed her to lay on her lap. And now she shouldn't be bonding with someone else's family. This couldn't possibly end well.