Chapter 11.

"Why does Mom have to get chemo if they got the tumor out?" Jude asked, chewing a mouthful of cereal.

"Well, Honey," Lena explained. "There could be cancer cells the doctor can't see. This way, whatever bad cells are left will get killed."

"I can't wait to see Mom," Callie breathed, sitting down at the table and peeling a banana. "This day can't go by fast enough."

"I know," Mariana sighed. "I wish we didn't have to go to school today."

"You guys have missed far too much school already," Lena pointed out, putting her bowl in the sink. "Mom will be here when you guys get home." It was three days after Stef's surgery, and she was to be discharged that day. Lena was thrilled that her wife would soon be home. The house wasn't the same without Stef.

"Okay, kids," said Sharon, once everyone was done eating. "Last one to the car is a rotten egg." The kids groaned and playfully rolled their eyes, then came to kiss Lena goodbye.

Before Sharon left the house, Lena look her aside. "I can't thank you enough," she confided. "You've been such a help. Not just to Stef, but to me and the kids, too. I don't know if I could do it all alone." In spite of herself, tears filled her eyes.

"Sweetheart," Sharon breathed, taking her into her arms. "It's no problem. I would do anything for you and Stef and my grandbabies. Anything at all." She pressed a kiss to Lena's cheek. "I love you as if you were my own."

"I love you, too," Lena told her, drying her eyes with a napkin.

Sharon looked back and laughed. "Guess I'm the rotten egg. I'd better get going."

"Bye," said Lena. She watched out the window as Sharon and the kids pulled out of the driveway and headed toward Anchor Beach. Then, she got dressed and left for the hospital.

When she arrived, she went to the nurses' station on Stef's floor to sign in. "Can I help you?" a receptionist asked.

"Yes," Lena nodded. "I'm here to see my wife, Stefanie Adams Foster. I was told she was being discharged today."

The young woman pulled up a file on the computer. "The doctor should be in to visit your wife shortly. He may want to discuss some concerns with you."

"Concerns?" Lena asked, furrowing her brow. Unintentionally, her mind went to a scary place. "Is Stef okay?"

"She's stable," the receptionist assured her. "You're welcome to wait for the doctor with her."

"Thank you," said Lena. She turned and hurried to her wife's room, stopping to sterilize her hands.

Stef lay her her bed, her eyes half-shut. Her blond hair was a mess, as if she'd been tossing and turning. Lena approached her slowly. "Hi, Sweetheart. It's me."

Stef opened her eyes fully, and her mouth turned up in a smile. "Hi."

"How are you, Honey?" Lena asked her. She still couldn't shake her feeling of concern.

"Better, now that you're here," Stef replied, raising her head a few inches from the pillow. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Lena told her. "Are you in pain?" She touched her wife's warm hand.

Stef nodded the best she could. "It hurts to move," she confided. Her eyes were glassy, and her cheeks were flushed. "And I miss my babies." Callie's teddy bear was tucked protectively in the crook of her arm.

"The kids miss you too," said Lena. "All they could talk about this morning was you're coming home."

"I can't wait to get out of here," Stef lamented.

Lena took her wife's hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly. "I love you so much, Baby."

Just then, Stef's doctor came to the door. "Good morning," he said, nodding to Lena.

"Good morning," she answered.

Doctor Gordon greeted Stef, then began checking her vitals.

"Do you know when I can bring her home?" Lena asked Doctor Gordon. "She's supposed to be discharged today." In her mind, she willed him to say that Stef could leave, but she had the sinking feeling that she wouldn't be able to for some reason.

The doctor nodded, then gestured for her to follow him to the hall. "Your wife is running a low-grade fever," her told her. "I'm sorry to do this to you, but I feel it's best if we don't discharge her until it goes down."

"So, she can't go home?" Lena asked, her heart dropping. She knew she would have five heartbroken kids on hand later.

"I'm sorry," Doctor Gordon apologized again. He truly did look sorry. "I'd rather not let her go until she's been fever-free for twenty-four hours."

"I understand," Lena nodded. "Is it okay if I stay and visit her for a little while?"

"Of course," he replied. "Not too long, though. She needs her rest."

"Thank you," said Lena, as the doctor turned away. They was a lump in her throat, and she swallowed it.

"I'm not going home, am I?" Stef asked. Her eyes shone with fever and tears.

Lena sat down beside her, trying not to betray her disappointment. "Not today, Honey," she admitted, stroking Stef's arm. "I'm sorry. Maybe tomorrow, if you're feeling better."

Stef closed her eyes and nodded. Her reaction was the saddest thing Lena had ever seen.

Lena bent over and pressed a kiss to her wife's hot cheek. Then she noticed a paper cup of ice chips on the bedside table. "Are you thirsty, Hon? Do you want some ice?"

"Yes," Stef quietly replied. "Thank you."

Lena picked up a few pieces of ice and carefully fed them to Stef. "Don't you give up," she told her. "This is just a little setback."

Stef had seemed so defeated when she realized she wasn't going home that day, and even though Lena was discouraged herself, she knew that she needed to reassure her wife in any way she could. "You need a day to get your strength back, and that's fine," she promised her. "And you knew we're all thinking of you while you're in here. We all love you so much."

Stef smiled, twisting the rubber bracelet Callie had given her around her wrist. "I know. Tell everyone I'm thinking of them too, and I love them more than anything."

"I will," she nodded, blinking back her tears. "I'll tell them." She took Stef's hand back in her own, and sat with her until a nurse came in and told her it was time to go.


Lena had spent most of the day sitting at the kitchen table, worrying about the kids. She now knew better than to call them at school; she'd only scared them over nothing last time. She wouldn't interrupt their school day unless it was a true emergency. Anyway, bad news was easier to take at home.

At three-thirty on the dot, Sharon came home with the kids, led by Callie. The young girl looked around the room, her eyes wide and excited. "Where's Mom?" She and the other kids looked to their mother questioningly.

Lena gave her children a pained looked. "She wasn't able to come home today, Loves. She's still in the hospital."

"Why?" Callie asked, her dark eyes welling with tears. "You said she'd be here when we got home."

"I thought she would be," Lena explained. "But she has a fever, and the doctor wanted her to stay a little longer."

A round tear rolled down Callie's cheek, and she turned away to hide it, but Lena had seen. "Come here, Sweets," she offered, reaching for her hand. "Let me hold you."

"No!" Callie cried, pulling away. "I- I don't feel like talking to anyone."

Lena sighed sadly. "Honey... I wish she were here too. But she may be able to come home tomorrow, if she's well enough."

"I'm going upstairs," she said.

"Honey, I just want to talk to you..." Lena pleaded.

"I said I don't want to talk!" Callie shouted. "Just drop it."

Suddenly, Lena's stress and fatigue bubbled over. "That's enough, young lady," she warned. "You may go upstairs, and you may not come down until dinner."

Callie gave her a hurt look. "I'm sorry, Lena."

"I know you are," she nodded. "But I asked you to go upstairs. Now, please go."

Callie turned away, and hurried up the stairs. Instead of going to her own room, she went into the room her moms shared, and collapsed on Stef's side of the bed in a heap, burying her face in the pillow. Alone, she gave in to her tears. Her finger brushed over her nose, and guiltily, she slipped her thumb into her mouth, letting the familiar motion bring her comfort.

"Callie? Honey, are you in here?"

She jerked her thumb out of her mouth as Lena came into the room. "There you are," she said softly. "I thought you would be in your room."

"You told me to go upstairs," Callie replied. "You didn't say which room."

"Why are you in here?" Lena asked her, sitting down on the bed.

"It smells like Mommy in here," the young girl confided. "I know it sounds silly, but it's almost like she's here."

"It's not silly," Lena breathed, taking her daughter's hand. "I've been sleeping with her pillow while she's been gone, for the very same reason. I know you miss her. We all do. But she might get to come home tomorrow. You have to think positive!"

"I'm scared," Callie admitted. "What if something happens to her, and we never see her again?"

"That won't happen, Baby," Lena told her. "They're taking good care of her at the hospital."

"It does happen!" she insisted. "It happened to my mom when she was in the accident. I never got to say goodbye."

"That's not going to happen to Mom," said Lena. "She's going to be home very soon."

"How can you be so sure?" Callie asked her.

"I just can," Lena replied. "Honey, you always expect the worst case scenario. That's not good, because if you're always planning for the worst, you miss out on the good things." She sighed. "I do owe you kids and apology, though. It was wrong of me to get your hopes up about Mom coming home until I knew for sure. I'm so sorry for disappointing you, Baby. Forgive me?"

Callie nodded wistfully, rolling over. "I'm all mixed up inside," she confided. "It feels like a piece of my heart is missing. I just want Mom home, and everything to go back to normal."

"Me too," Lena agreed. "But I'm still here for you... you know that, right?"

She nodded again. "I know." She sat up, folding her legs underneath her. "Thanks, Mama."

Lena smiled at her daughter, and burst into tears all over again. She remembered the day Stef was diagnosed, and how thrilled she was when Callie had called her 'Mom' for the first time. She couldn't believe she was finally experiencing it for herself. She took Callie in her arms and held her tight.

When they parted, Callie looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry too. I wasn't fair to you."

Lena placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Let's just call it even." She smiled. "I love you Slug-a-Bug."

"I love you too," said Callie, leaning in for another hug.

At eight-thirty that evening, the phone rang. Callie was doing her homework at the table, and she hopped up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Baby Girl," said Stef.

"Mommy?" Callie breathed, in a fragile voice. Her mother sounded so far away.

"How's Mommy's girl?" Stef asked her, trying to sound cheerful despite her fatigue.

Hot tears ran down Callie's cheeks as she gripped the phone in her hand. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, Sweetie," she replied. "I miss all of you. I'm sorry I didn't get to come home today."

"It's fine, Mom," Callie assured her, so as not to upset her. "Don't worry about us." She paused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm getting there," she told her, weakly. "My fever broke. If it stays down, I can come home tomorrow night. I can't wait to give all of my babies a hug."

"That's great," Callie sniffled. "I can't wait to see you."

"Can I talk to Mama?" Stef asked her.

"Sure," she replied. "I'll put her on." She paused. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

Callie turned to Lena, who stood in the kitchen doorway, watching her curiously. "Mom wants to talk to you," she told her, handing her the phone.

She went into the living room, where Sharon was reading, and Brandon and Mariana were watching Jesus and Jude play a video game. "You guys, that was Mom on the phone!" she announced.

"What did she say?" Brandon asked, looking up.

Callie smiled, hardly able to contain herself. "Her fever broke. She might get to come home tomorrow night!"

To Be Continued