[TW: Death, I guess?]

"Come on, Dad. Dad?" Stef called, trying to wake her father. Stopping in her tracks, she held her fingers where they had fallen against his wrist for a moment before pulling back in shock.

Though tears threatened to fall, they did not as she reached into her back pocket for her phone and pulled it out. Her eyes were still on her father as she unlocked her phone, glancing down only to find Lena's number before putting it to her ear and refocusing.

As the tones rang out, she remained looking at Frank with a tense expression. Lena picked up.

"Babe, where'd you go? I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I was just trying to help-"

"Lena, I'm at my Dad's house," Stef stated bluntly, silencing her wife. "He, uh, he's dead. I- I don't know what to do. I need to call an ambulance and let my Mom know but I just-"

She stumbled over her words until eventually she gave up, and Lena knew that no matter what had happened between them, she needed to be there for her wife. Stopping what she was doing, she tried to think strategically but her mind was too clouded.

"Okay, call 911 and follow the ambulance to the hospital in the car. Text me which one it's going to be and I'll get a cab and meet you there. Don't call Sharon, not yet…that can wait a little while," Lena reasoned as she picked up her keys and headed upstairs to find the twins. "I love you, alright?"

"I love you, too." Stef mumbled out before hanging up the phone. Without even looking, she dialled 911 and heard the operator on the other end. "I need an ambulance."

"Okay, ma'am, can you tell me what's happened?"

"My father's dead. 1672 Pringle Street," her words felt empty as she listened to the operator confirm details before dispatching a vehicle.

The blonde moved to sit on the edge of the sofa, eyes still set on her father as she bit back guilt for not having come yesterday or this morning. She knew it would pass, but she had to ride it out first.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" She heard calling through the house and realised she had lost track of time.

"In here!" She responded, loudly as she could though it was barely more than audible. "Which hospital will he be taken to? I need to inform my family."

"UCSD Medical, Ma'am," the paramedic offered as he kneeled in front of Frank's body and checked it for any sign of life.

Stef looked down, texting Lena and feeling a little relieved that it was close to home. There was an irony in the fact that even after everything, the car was the biggest practical issue in that moment.

She didn't pay attention to what they were doing, she just sat there, waiting for them to move him onto a stretcher and carrying him out to the ambulance. Reluctantly, she rose and followed, locking the patio door behind her.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, ridiculously quiet because normally she would listen to the radio when driving alone. The silence felt good though, it held her together as she kept her eyes glued to the back of the ambulance that she knew carried her father's dead body.

After parking her car and heading for the front door, Stef found herself suddenly encompassed in a tight embrace and she might have been shocked if it wasn't for the sense of relief she felt in the familiarity of her wife's hold.

"What happened, love? Are you alright?" Lena questioned worriedly as she drew back to look Stef in the eyes; all she saw there was disparate sadness and it broke her heart.

"I walked in and he was dead, I thought he was asleep," Stef scoffed though there was no humour in her tone. "We, uh, we need to call Mom. If she's coming from the condo then it'll take her a pretty long time."

"I'll sort it, I'll call her, don't worry yourself. Just focus on you, okay?"

The two of them walked inside and asked at the front desk before being seated and told that a doctor would be with them soon to talk.

Lena promised she'd be back in a minute and went off to call Sharon, leaving Stef to people watch as she observed the concerned and crying relatives of patients, waiting for information. She realised that only a few weeks ago, that had been her family, waiting to find out if she was going to be alright.

"Your Mom gets in late tonight, she says to tell you that she loves you." Stef was drawn from her thoughts by the renewed presence of her wife. "I just told the twins I had to go out; I didn't want to leave them worrying and then come home to find five kids in a panic."

Stef didn't reply, she reached across and took Lena's hand in her own in search of comfort, but she didn't speak. She wasn't ready to talk it out, process it, whatever Lena expected her to want to do right now, she just needed a while to pretend that things were still normal before she had to face it.

Lena squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Stef had to fight the momentary urge to pull away, as though accepting support from her wife was somehow disrespecting her father's memory. It hurt her to know that the legacy her father would hold in her heart was one of self-criticism and judgement.

"Frank Cooper?" An approaching doctor called to the room of waiting patients, and Stef and Lena rose instantaneously at the sound of his name, approaching the young man cautiously. "Ms Cooper, I take it?"

"Mrs Adams Foster, but yeah, his daughter," Stef responded, finding the fire deep down in her gut to be just a little defiant. "He's dead, isn't he."

"I'm afraid to say that your father did pass away. It was a heart attack, not uncommon in people his age, especially with high blood pressure. If you want to see him, you can take as long as you need before we move him downstairs." To the morgue, Stef added non-verbally.

Following the doctor, the two women crossed the foyer and entered an exam room, where lying on a gurney, was Frank Cooper.