Author's note: Hey guys, I'm not here on the actual day I should post this, and I thought I'd rather post it a day early than a day late, so here you go!

CHAPTER 12 – NEW OLD PARENT

"Connor it's for you!" Stef called and Connor rushed downstairs and took the phone, questioning who would call him here.
"Hey Connor, it's Erin."
"Mom?"
"Yes, sorry, it's mom."
"I can't believe I finally talk to you again," Connor said.
"When Mary, from Child Protective Service called me and told me what happened, I just had to call you. I want you to know that I got my parental rights, and I now got custody over you, and I'm glad to finally be able to see you again," Erin said.
"Where are you?" Connor asked.
"I'm still in Minnesota, where I've lived since the divorce, but I'm flying out tomorrow, I'm busy packing and we'll live there in San Diego together so you can finish your school and stay with your friends. It's arranged that we can live in the house where you grew up, and I've sent some guys to repair your bedroom door," Erin said.
"They told you everything, didn't they?" Connor said, surprised by how much his mother knew.
"I think so yes," Erin replied.
"Did they tell you anything personal about me?" Connor said, hoping that his mother didn't know about him and Jude.
"Only that you are a strong young man, who is good with words. They described how you pleaded, and it sounds like you're well educated!" Erin said enthusiastically.
"So nothing really personal?" Connor asked.
"No, why?" Erin asked.
"Nothing, just checking how much I have to tell you. We haven't seen each other in nine years, so there's probably a lot to catch up on for both of us," Connor responded.
"Oh well, I'll arrive tomorrow afternoon at the airport, will you come to welcome me?" Erin asked.
"Oh, sure. What time to you arrive?" Connor asked.
"Around 4PM Pacific time," Erin responded.
"Alright, I will pick you up then. And Jude and I will do some shopping and we will make you dinner, so you don't have to," Connor said, accidently talking about Jude.
"Jude?" Erin asked.
"Oh, he's my best friend, we do a lot together, and I'm at his place now, his moms let me stay with them until I found something else," Connor explained.
"I can't wait to meet him," Erin said.
"Well, see you tomorrow around 4 then," Connor said.
"See you tomorrow," Erin said, and she hung up.

Connor called Jude downstairs and told him and Stef everything about the phone conversation, and Jude agreed to spend the afternoon and evening with Connor's mother, as it was Saturday the next day, so he wouldn't have to do anything anyway, and he figured Connor might need him, as he could tell that Connor was pretty nervous about meeting his mother again.

(*)

When the boys woke up next morning, Connor was in panic. He hadn't seen his mother in nine years, and could hardly remember her. His father had thrown out all pictures of her, and Connor couldn't save any, as he was only five years old at the time, and hardly knew what was going on. Jude calmed him down by saying that it was no problem, they'd just make a sign with her name and she'd be able to find them on the airport. The rest would come later. Connor, assured by this, lied down again and kissed Jude on the tip of his nose. They cuddled for a long time, until Jude, who was lying with his head on Connor's tummy, heard Connor's stomach growl and burst out in laughter. The two got dressed, checked each other out, and went downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning boys, did you sleep well?" Lena asked.
"Yeah we did," Connor said, while he gratefully accepted a pancake that Stef offered him.
"Jude, go easy on the syrup, okay? This is the last bottle and the rest still needs breakfast too," Stef said, while she and Lena walked out of the door for a doctor's appointment.
"Don't you laugh at me like that," Jude told Connor, but it didn't come across as serious as Jude wanted, because a grin formed on his face.
"Sorry, I just relived the morning after the camping trip, where you told me that I had enough syrup when your plate was literally flowing over," Connor said.
"Don't exaggerate like that, it was not flowing over," Jude said, but chuckled at the memory.

The two cleaned up the dishes after they were done, Jude washing them, and Connor drying them. Afterwards, they planned the rest of their day. First they would go shopping for groceries, as that gave the rest some time to wake up. Then they'd go upstairs, lie down for a little longer, as both boys were still quite tired, both not having slept well from all the adrenalin they still had from the day before. They didn't know yet what they'd do when they were going to do in Jude's room. They could watch a movie, play videogames, or something else, like borrowing Brandon's keyboard and have some fun on that. Around three thirty, they'd take the bus to the airport, where they'd wait for Erin. Then they'd take the bus to Connor's house and they'd cook there, while chatting with Erin about what had happened in nine long years. Around nine thirty, Jude would go home, because he had to be back at ten, and their day would be over.

So first, they went to the supermarket. The others were still sound asleep, so they made sure not to wake them. On their way to the supermarket, they bickered about what they were going to make. Eventually, they settled on spaghetti bolognese, as this was easy to make, and it still tasted enormously good. Neither of them had ever made it, so there was some discussion about the ingredients when they arrived at the supermarket.
"Tomatoes? What are those for?" Connor asked.
"Ehm… we're making spaghetti bolognese right? I mean, there are tomatoes in that…," Jude replied.
"I'm pretty sure there aren't," Connor said.
"Are you sure you're gonna cook for your mother this evening if you don't even know the basic ingredients of what you're making?" Jude asked while laughing.
"Very funny, but I'm sure that there aren't any tomatoes in the sauce," Connor said.
Jude retrieved his phone from his pocket and did a small internet search, after which he proudly presented his phone to Connor.
"See, it's on top of the list. Tomatoes are ingredients of the sauce," he said victoriously, laying the tomatoes in the cart.
Connor, recognizing his defeat, pouted, but chuckled as he saw Jude in his victorious mood.
"You look very cute like that, makes me wanna kiss you," he whispered and laughed when he saw Jude's expression go from happiness to worry, as they were in a public place and they weren't out yet.
"Shhhh, don't say that!" Jude exclaimed, and some people looked over to see what was going on. Connor started laughing even harder, punching Jude's shoulder, and Jude let out a relieved sigh. He was relieved that nobody had heard Connor say that to him, even though there was nobody that they knew around to hear it. When they had gathered all the groceries they needed, they went to the pay desk, and after they'd payed, they loaded everything in bags, after which they cycled to Connor's house.

When they got there, they placed the bags on the kitchen counter, and just as Jude wanted to head out again to go back to the Adams-Foster house, but Connor stopped him.
"Jude!" He exclaimed, causing Jude to turn around in alarm.
"What's wrong?" Jude asked, his voice sounded worried.
"Nothing, I was just thinking… When we get to your house, the rest will be awake," Connor said.
"Yeah, so?" Jude asked.
"I thought we could spend some more time together… You know… Just the two of us… Alone," Connor said, and Jude saw the mischievous look on his face. Jude copied the mischievous expression to tease his boyfriend.
"Oh yeah? What do you want to do?" He asked.
"I thought we could go to my room to… have some fun," Connor said and Jude was shocked by his boyfriend's words.
"No, no, sorry, no. I can't. Connor, we're fourteen years old, I don't want to rush into this! We're kids! Especially since Callie got raped in the other foster home I've told you about, no, I'm not ready. No, sorry," Jude stammered. On one hand, he was confident not to do what Connor was implying, but on the other hand, he hated to disappoint his boyfriend.
"Oh, Jude, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give off that vibe. No, I never intended to sound that way. I don't want to do it either. I just meant that we could cuddle on my bed!" Connor reassured Jude.
"Oh… good. Thank God. If you only want to cuddle, I could be into that. But only cuddling!" Jude giggled.

The two went upstairs, Jude following Connor and when they got to Connor's room, Connor lied down on his bed, spreading his arms and legs, so that there was no space for Jude. Jude pouted.
"I thought you wanted to cuddle," he said, but Connor didn't move.
"You can lie on top of me if you want," Connor smirked while he winked at Jude.
"Dork," Jude said, while he lied down on top of Connor, his lips immediately searching Connor's, but just as they were about to close the gap in between their lips, Jude's phone rang. The two boys started laughing, feeling a little embarrassed, as it felt like they'd been caught by the person on the other side of the line. Jude picked up his phone, still smiling at Connor.
"Hey, it's Jude," Connor could hear him say.
"Oh, hey Callie!

Oh yeah sorry, we forgot to lay down a note for you guys.

We went to the supermarket to get groceries for our dinner with Connor's mum tonight.

Yeah, we dropped them off at Connor's place, we're still there, but we'll come home soon, I promise.

No, you don't have to come and get us, we can cycle.

No really, it's okay, we're fine.

Okay, see you in a while."

"Well, that was awkward", Jude said after he hung up the phone. Connor giggled and pulled Jude closer again, this time actually closing the gap between their lips, pulling Jude into a long kiss. When they finally broke, Connor looked at Jude with the same mischievous look as before, and ran his hand down Jude's chest. When he reached the end of Jude's shirt, he lifted the shirt slightly, running his hand up Jude's bare tummy.
"You mind if we both take off our shirts and then cuddle some more?" He whispered.
"No I don't mind," Jude whispered back, although neither of the boys knew why they were whispering, as there was nobody around to hear them. Connor winked at Jude and pulled Jude's shirt over his head, after which he allowed Jude to do the same to him. Connor lied on his back and Jude lied on top of him. Jude placed his hand on Connor's chest, and gave him small kisses on his neck.
When they had cuddled for quite some time, Jude remembered what he'd said to Callie about coming home. He gave Connor one last kiss before he came off the bed, pulled on his shirt again, and helped Connor get off as well.
"We have to go, I promised Callie, besides, I still have to change, and we almost gotta go to the airport!" He said. Connor shot a look at the clock and when he saw the time, he also pulled on his shirt and walked with Jude to the door.

When they came at the Adams-Foster home, Jude opened the door with his key and they went in.
"Jude is that you?" Callie screamed from the kitchen.
"Yes, it's me!" Jude shouted back
"Thank God, I was worrying!" Callie said, while she came closer.
"Don't be, we can handle ourselves," Jude said and he knew that Connor was smirking.
Jude went upstairs to change while Connor stayed downstairs to give Jude some privacy. In just one minute, Jude came back and the two of them walked over to the door.
"Oh Callie?" Jude shouted towards the kitchen, where Callie had settled again.
"Yeah?" they heard from the kitchen.
"I'll be home by ten, so don't worry if I don't come earlier," Jude said, and he and Connor laughed. They went through the door and went left when they came at the end of the driveway. The nearest bus station was right around the corner, so they didn't have to walk far. When they sat down, Connor looked at the upcoming stations, and realized that this bus didn't even go to the airport.
"Jude? This bus doesn't go to the airport," he said.
"Are you serious? I thought every bus went there!" Jude said.
"No, but two stations away from here we can transfer to another bus that will go there," Connor replied.
"Alright, we'll do that then," Jude agreed.

They got to the airport in twenty minutes, and when they looked at the clock, they saw that Connor's mother had just landed. They knew that she'd still have to get out of the plane and get her luggage, so they didn't hurry to get to the arrivals hall. When they got there, nobody had come out yet, so they waited in front of the door. In ten minutes, the first people arrived and Connor held up the sign that they'd made that morning. Five more minutes later, a woman came walking towards them.
"Connor? I'm Erin… I mean, I'm mom," she said. Connor was left speechless. He didn't at all recognize her.
"I'm so glad to see you, I've missed you," Erin said.
"I missed you too," Connor muttered, still at a loss for words.
"And you're Connor's friend Jude, I suppose?" Erin said, while giving Jude a hand.
"Yes ma'am, I am," Jude said, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Pleasure to meet you," Erin said, giving Jude a big smile.
Jude and Connor both took one of Erin's big suitcases and dragged them across the airport so that Erin wouldn't have to do that by herself. Once they got out of the main building, they walked over to the bus station and took the right bus. This bus stopped right across the street of Connor's house, where Connor and his mother would live. When they got there, Connor showed Erin around, as Erin had never been in this house before. Adam had bought this house after the divorce, as their old house remembered him too much of Erin, or so he had said. Connor showed her where she would sleep and they placed the suitcases in this room. In the meantime, Jude had started cooking, and Connor when Connor and Erin came back from upstairs, Connor went to help Jude. Erin wanted to help too, but Connor told her they were fine and she sat down. During the preparation for dinner, Connor and his mother caught up. Connor told Erin what was going on in his life (although he did leave out his relation with Jude), and Erin told Connor what had happened in hers.

When dinner was ready, they sat down at the table and started eating.
"Connor, this is delicious!" Erin exclaimed.
"All credits go to the chef!" Connor said, pointing at Jude.
"You did most of the work!" Jude protested.
"All I did was following your instructions!" Connor said, "I didn't even know that we needed tomatoes to make this!" he added, making Erin laugh.
"Well in that case, Jude, this is delicious!" Erin said, "You can cook for us more often!"
Connor touched Jude's foot under table to let Jude know that he agreed with his mother.
"Mom, I there's something I left out when I told you about my life now. Dad has known the wrong me for a long time, I only told him this after the hearing, but I want to start a new life. Part of that life is you, a new parent, but part of it is also me. I don't want you to know the wrong me, like dad did," Connor said while he shot Jude a look, asking for confidence. Jude shot Connor an assuring look back, which gave Connor that little more confidence that he needed.
"Well, what is it?" Erin asked, and Connor could tell she was honestly curious.
"Jude isn't just some friend of mine. He's my boyfriend," Connor said, looking down to the table, hoping his mother wouldn't have the same reaction as his father.
"Ah, I see," she said.
"I understand that this might be confusing, but I don't want you to get to know me in the wrong way. I don't want to pretend that I'm someone I'm not, only to reveal even later that I'm not. I want you to get to know me, not some fake me," Connor said.
"I understand that, honey, I do. And I don't care if you are gay. That's one of the things your dad and I sometimes bickered about. Maybe your father is the biggest bigot I've ever met. But I don't care if you're gay. I want to be part of your life again. Besides, I think you and Jude make a cute couple," Erin said, and both Jude and Connor began to blush, hearing these sweet words from this semi-stranger.

When they'd finished dinner, Jude and Connor offered to do the dishes, and Erin went to bed, as she wanted her jetlag to be as minimal as possible, so she'd sleep early to reduce the time it took for her brain to adjust to the new time. While cleaning the dishes, Jude and Connor talked about their conversation with Erin.
"I think it's great that she's so supportive," Jude said.
"Yeah, she's so different from my father, it's weird they even got together in the first place," Connor said.
"Well, we're not quite the same person either, we have a lot of differences! You like sports, I couldn't care less about it!" Jude said.
"True… Hey, do you think we can tell people on school now? I mean, the only reason why I didn't want to was the possibility that somehow my dad might find out because he heard someone on school talk about it," Connor asked Jude.
"Hmm, sure, it might be easier to just be ourselves on school too," Jude agreed, and with that, they settled that the next Monday, they'd tell some people on school. Their prediction was that it'd spread like wildfire when one person knew it, making it easier for them, as they didn't have to tell anybody else, only confirm.

Around half past nine, Jude said he'd go home and Connor walked him out. When they came to the front door, Connor laid his hands on Jude's shoulder and turned him around.
"I love you Jude, and I want everyone to know that I'm proud to love you," Connor said.
"I love you too, Connor, and I think you're very brave to tell your mother about us after you've just met her again after so many years," Jude replied and they kissed each other goodnight. When they broke the kiss, Jude turned around, opened the door and walked to his bike. He turned on the lights and rode off into the dark. Connor stood still at the open door, watching the boy he loved so much ride away, until eventually all he saw was a little red dot of Jude's backlight getting smaller and smaller.

Authors note:
I do not own anything recognizable.
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think via a message on here, or use my askbox on tumblr: always-jonnor-love-.-tumblr-.-com-/-ask(Without the dashes, but otherwise this site wouldn't let me post it).
Please let me know what you think, your opinion means a great deal to me!
The next chapter is called "Finally Ourselves (More Secrets Revealed)".