I'm not really happy with this chapter, but here it is. I also am not very happy with the next one either, but the show must go on, right?
Sorry for the delay.
Several brightly colored sandcastle-shaped buckets were packed full of wet sand. Jane had shown Ethan and Samantha how to tightly pack the buckets so that when upturned and gently tapped, the sand would come out cleanly and intact. The little girl was currently shoveling wet sand into a bucket while Ethan packed sand between his small hands, trying to construct a wall between the sandcastle towers. Jane, for her part, was kneeling on the other side of the castle, digging a moat around the sand structure.
Maura, however, was reclined back in a beach chair under the large beach umbrella, reading a thick book through her very chic designer sunglasses. Jane had made a comment about how boring that was, but the older woman had simply smiled at her and lightly shrugged.
"Guys," Jane said suddenly, but quietly enough that Maura couldn't hear. "Let's take a break and get in the water for a bit."
"Mama," Ethan shouted excitedly, startling his mother out of her reading. She looked up from her book expectantly. "Come get in the water with us!"
"Let me get to a good stopping point and I'll join you," Maura called back with a smile.
Ethan frowned, but said nothing. The look didn't escape Jane's attention though. Grabbing the smallest pail, Jane scooped some sand inside of it and winked at Ethan, who looked at her with wide eyes as he quickly grasped her idea. "Stay here for a minute. I'll get her," Jane said quietly.
"Mama will be so mad!" he whispered, glancing up the beach to his mother under the umbrella.
"Don't worry!" Jane grinned and walked the 10 or so yards away to the older woman.
"Maur, c'mon," Jane urged as she approached the small shaded area. "The kids want you to come play!"
"Yes, yes, as soon as I finish this chapter!" she replied, not looking up from her book.
Jane stepped closer. "Nope. Now." Quickly she dumped the small bucket of sand into the honey blonde's lap.
A gasp later, Maura jumped out up out of the reclined beach chair, thumb holding her place in the book as she swiped away the sand from her swimsuit and skin with her right hand. "Jane!" she finally shrieked, looking up at the young brunette to find she had sprinted off about two yards back toward the children and their sandcastle. The grin Jane wore instantly melted away the anger that had bubbled up seconds prior. Quickly pulling out the bookmark from the back of the book, Maura slipped the thick cardstock into place and dropped the novel onto her bag.
"Guess you need to wash off now, huh?" Jane replied loudly, grinning again as she swung the now empty bucket back and forth playfully.
Maura glanced past Jane to the children and, satisfied that they were still working on the sandcastle, smiled sweetly at Jane as she lifted her right hand and curled her index finger, indicating for Jane to come closer.
"Ha, no way! I'm not stupid!"
Slowly the honey blonde stepped toward Jane and instinctively Jane stepped backwards.
"'Thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges,'" Maura quoted.
"Uh, okay?" Jane replied, quirking up an eyebrow.
"Shakespeare, Twelfth Night." Maura took another step toward Jane. Again the young woman stepped back. "What goes around comes around," the honey blonde explained quietly.
Before Jane could formulate a witty response, Samantha and Ethan breezed past her toward their mother, each latching onto a hand and tugging her in the direction of the crashing waves. With a bright smile, Maura willingly let the children lead her away from the giant beach umbrella.
After playing in the water for about 45 minutes, just splashing each other, chasing, jumping waves, Ethan announced that he was a little hungry and asked if they could go have a snack under the umbrella. The four of them left the water and walked back up the beach, past their sandcastle, to their belongings. Maura pulled out some carrot sticks and a couple of bananas while Jane pulled out juice pouches for the children and bottled water for her and Maura.
Ethan and Samantha thanked them politely and sat munching on their snacks in their small beach chairs. Maura asked them about their sandcastle and what else they had planned to build on it, and Ethan chattered excitedly about how many more towers and walls they wanted to build, finishing the moat, and several other odds and ends they wanted to add.
When the children finished eating, Jane asked quietly, "Do you want me to come help build more?"
The little boy looked pensive for a moment before shaking his head. "No thanks. We want to keep building and then surprise you and Mama."
"Okay, darling," Maura replied softly. "But before you go, let me put some more sunscreen on you two."
A few minutes later, the children were off and running back to their sandcastle construction.
Jane and Maura decided to remain at the umbrella.
"I think I'll have a nap in the sun," the young woman announced as Maura pulled out her novel again and settled fully into her beach chair.
Quickly Maura advised, "Put on more sunscreen first since we've been in the water."
"You're such a mother," Jane mumbled.
Maura immediately lifted her sunglasses and set them on top of her head, frowning as she looked over at Jane. "First of all, I am a doctor and if I were to let you go back into direct sunlight without more sunscreen, it would be a great disservice not only to you, but myself as well, as I certainly don't want you to hear you complain about sunburn when it could have been prevented. Secondly, I love you and I care about your health and well-being."
Jane scrunched up her nose, but nevertheless reached into a beach tote and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen, holding it out for the older woman. "Fine. Do my back."
A smile stretched across Maura's face as she sat up, spreading her legs and dropping them off the sides of the chair, and patted the space between her knees for Jane to sit.
An obedient Jane slowly lowered herself onto the seat, placing her hands on Maura's shins.
Maura did not linger this time applying sunscreen as she had back at the house. Only a minute or two later, she patted Jane's back gently and announced that she was finished. "When you finish applying, would you do my back as well?"
"Sure."
About 20 minutes after Jane dragged her beach chair into the sun, Maura glanced up again at the children, noticing that two little boys and a girl had joined Ethan and Samantha in their sandcastle building. All three looked closer to Ethan's age than Samantha's, and while at first she was alarmed, she quickly noted that all of the children seemed to be interacting quite well.
As Maura observed them all playing, she noted that the little girl and the smaller of the two boys appeared to favor each other considerably, and she thought they were likely fraternal twins. Curious as to who the parents were, Maura glanced toward the beach around their little camp and noticed two women spread out with their belongings to her left. They too were watching the children play. The dark-haired, tanner woman, with very curly hair pulled back into a messy ponytail high on her head, was saying something to the long-haired blonde woman next to her. The blonde then laughed, head thrown back carefree as she placed her hand on the other woman's, linking their fingers together.
A pang shot through Maura as she realized the two were a couple and the thought that she couldn't interact like that with Jane made her heart ache. She swallowed the painful lump in her throat, now emotional.
Jane's deep voice suddenly sounded next to her, though soft. "What's wrong?"
The older woman jumped slightly. She hadn't noticed or heard the young woman pull her chair back under the umbrella. "Hmm?" Maura replied, eyes still trained on the two women.
"You've got that weird look on your face. Something's wrong. What is it?" The young brunette was clearly concerned.
Maura sighed heavily. "A conversation for another time, I believe," she cryptically replied.
"Um, okay," Jane said, confused. She followed the direction of Maura's gaze. "One of them the mom you think?"
"I believe they're both the moms," Maura said, finally looking over at Jane with a smile. "They appear to be watching the children as well."
"They're together?"
"They're holding hands, Jane."
"Oh. Right."
"I think the dark-haired woman is biracial," Maura observed randomly. "The oldest boy may biologically be the blonde's, but the other two must be adopted. They appear to be of Latin American descent, and clearly neither of the women are."
"Okay, why is any of this relevant?"
"It's not," Maura replied. "I'm just making observations like the true scientist I am, Jane."
"People watching," Jane said quietly. "I get it. Well, what if they aren't a couple?"
"Their behavior certainly has implied that they are, Jane," the older woman said, glancing over at the couple before looking back to Jane. "Though I suppose I could be misinterpreting their body language."
"Oh crap, they're coming over," Jane said suddenly.
Maura whipped her head around to see that the two women were in fact trudging their way through the hot sand toward them.
"Hi!" the dark-haired woman greeted once she and the blonde were within a couple of yards from Jane and Maura. "Your children, I assume?" she asked brightly, looking between the two seated women.
Affirming with a nod, Maura smiled, but Jane said nothing as she blushed and looked down.
As the couple finally reached them, the blonde stuck out her hand toward Maura. "I'm Stef," she introduced, shaking hands with Maura. "And this is my wife Lena."
Stef stretched her hand out to Jane, who shook it, while Lena shook Maura's hand and then Jane's.
"Maura," the honey blonde doctor stated softly. "And this is Jane."
The young brunette noticed Maura's lack of mentioning who exactly Jane was and she thought briefly she should ask Maura about it later when they were alone.
"Would you like to sit?" Maura offered. "We have an extra blanket, but unfortunately no more chairs. Or Jane and I could switch, let you sit in the chairs and we'll sit on the blanket?"
"Oh no, a blanket's fine," Lena said quickly.
Immediately Maura set her book inside her bag and pulled out the spare beach blanket as she stood. Jane also stood and folded up the children's chairs, setting them aside. Together she and Maura unfolded the blanket and lowered it to the sand, then quickly sat back down in their chairs.
After Lena and Stef settled on the beach blanket, Lena spoke. "We thought it would be nice to have some adult interaction after several days now of mostly just interaction with the children."
"So you're here for the week then?" Maura inquired.
"Yes, this is our fourth day here. We'll leave the morning of the seventh day to drive back home to New York," Stef explain.
"Long drive?" Jane asked.
Lena chuckled, but Stef answered. "Just under four hours, but with three small children, it feels like twice that."
"You must not live terribly far over the state line then," Maura replied. "North of the City, perhaps?"
"Albany, actually," Lena replied with a smile.
"Ah, too bad. I did a summer internship in the Bronx between undergraduate and medical school. New York City will always have a special place in my heart because of my time there."
"Where are you from?" Stef asked.
"Boston," Jane and Maura replied simultaneously.
"Not very far from here at all then!" Stef commented.
"No, but this is the first we've gotten out here all summer," Maura replied.
"Oh, you own a house here?" asked Lena excitedly.
"My parents do technically, but we use it most."
Jane noticed that Maura continued to use "we" as if it included Jane. In a roundabout way, it did, but she figured that these two women probably assumed she and Maura were a couple as well. For some reason, that thought unsettled her, given their current situation. Curious, she turned her head toward Maura and shot her a confused look, but the honey blonde looked back at her innocently, unsure of why Jane would look at her that way.
Just then, a wailing noise came from the direction of the children and all four women's heads snapped up in attention. Samantha was standing by the sandcastle, crying as Ethan stood right by her with a shovel in his hand.
Maura was on her feet and rushing toward the children in an instant. "What happened?" Her tone was worrisome.
"He took my shovel!" the little girl cried out as she rushed toward her mother, arms outstretched.
"Ethan?" Maura asked the little boy expectantly as she scooped Samantha up and settled her on her left hip.
"I have to finish the moat!" he replied with a frown. "Brandon and Mariana are using the other two shovels to pack sand into the molds!"
"So you took the shovel instead of simply asking whether or not you could use it?"
Ethan blushed and looked down, ashamed.
"Go sit under the umbrella for 10 minutes," Maura said quietly.
"But-"
"Go," Maura said again with an air of finality. Quietly she set Samantha back down and then kneeled beside her, talking excitedly with her and the other three children.
Ethan made a sulking face as he handed over the shovel and walked begrudgingly up the beach to the umbrella where Jane, Lena, and Stef were sitting.
"What'd ya do, little man?" Jane asked as the five year old approached.
"Took Sam's shovel without asking," he grumbled, plopping down in his mother's beach chair. "Mama sent me here for 10 minutes."
"Ouch," the young brunette replied. "But you kinda deserve it, squirt."
"Samantha's just whiny because she's a three year old," Ethan replied. He then look at Lena and Stef. "Are you Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana's moms?"
"Yes, we are," Lena replied with a smile. "I'm Lena and this is Stef." She pointed to her wife.
"I'm Ethan. I bet it's cool to have two moms," he said with a grin. "But I guess Jane's kinda like our mom now, too, since Papa is in Japan this summer. Right, Jane?"
Stef and Lena looked curiously at each other first, then to Jane. Lena quietly started to say, "You mean..." before she let her voice trail off.
The young brunette had turned red with embarrassment as she shook her head and looked down. She couldn't bring herself to actually speak.
"Jane is our nanny," Ethan explained. "Well, at least while Papa is gone. But she's the coolest nanny ever, so I kinda hope she stays."
Stef looked at Jane, noticing something very odd in her expression, especially at Ethan's last words, but unable to place it exactly. "Sorry, we just kind of assumed," the blonde offered quietly.
The young brunette simply shrugged, but she looked at Ethan and gave him a smile. "Thanks, little man. I think you're pretty cool, too."
Just then Maura walked back up to the group.
Ethan sat up excitedly at his mother's return. "Has it been 10 minutes yet?"
Maura shook her head no, causing the little boy to slump back down in the beach chair with a groan. "Don't sit like that," Maura scolded. "Sit up straight."
"But Jane sits like this sometimes and you don't say anything to her," Ethan grumbled.
Looking pointedly at Jane, who couldn't help but look up at the honey blonde with an innocent grin, Maura replied, "Do as I say, not as Jane does."
"Does that mean I can't have belching contests, too?"
Hazel eyes widened in alarm as Maura looked back to Jane, who threw up her hands in protest. "Hey oh, no! He's yanking your chain, Maur," the young brunette quickly refuted. "Not once have I ever let that happen. Too terrified of what you'd do to me!"
Assessing Jane's sincerity and apparently satisfied with her analysis, Maura looked down at Ethan. "You, young man, have learned a terrible sense of humor this summer being around Jane."
Ethan grinned goofily up at his mother, who moved to the side of her chair and bent down to kiss the top of her son's head. "Now scoot back down to the sandcastle and let me sit down."
As Ethan climbed out of the chair and started to run off, Maura sat carefully down in it and was settled only a moment before the little boy came scampering back, startling the honey blonde. He leaned in close to his mother and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Sorry, Mama," he said quietly before turning around and taking off toward the sandcastle.
Maura called after him, "Apologize to your sister!"
Lena smiled at the scene. "He's very sweet, Maura."
The honey blonde smiled back. "He is, isn't he? I don't know what got into him. He would never normally just jerk away something from Samantha like he did."
Stef chuckled. "Sometimes kids act differently around other kids. Who knows why he really decided to do that!"
The curly-haired older woman cleared her throat. "So, Maura...Ethan mentioned that your husband is in Japan this summer?"
Maura glanced at Jane and swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable, but when she looked to Lena and Stef, she smiled anyway at the married couple. "Yes, he is. For an extended business trip on a new project."
The look Maura gave Jane did not go unnoticed between Stef or Lena, and Stef looked to Jane to see that she was staring straight ahead at the kids, looking, quite frankly, sick to her stomach. Lena, on the other hand, continued talking with Maura. "Ah, well that's exciting! What does he do exactly?"
"He's the COO of a quality management company, working within the digital technology industry," Maura explained, sneaking a glance at Jane, who was, as Stef observed, staring straight ahead at the children.
Jane shot up suddenly and announced, "I think I'll go help the kids finish building their sandcastle."
Immediately Maura reached for Jane's arm as she passed, fingers locking around the young brunette's left wrist, forcing the brunette to stop her tracks and turn toward her lover. "Jane," she said softly.
Jane looked down at Maura and shook her head softly, biting her lip. "Just do your thing, Maura," she whispered before she pulled away and continuing on toward the children.
Dropping her hand back to the chair, Maura sighed heavily as she watched the young woman walk away.
"Is everything okay?" Stef asked quietly, brow furrowed in concern.
"It will be, I think," Maura finally replied, looking toward the couple on the beach blanket. She gave them a sad smile, then looked back toward Jane, who was kneeling at the sandcastle with all the children, and felt the need to correct herself. "I hope."
Yes, that's Stef and Lena Foster (with Brandon and the twins) from the abc family show The Fosters...just pre-Callie and Jude...and children's ages adjusted to suit the purposes of this story. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to include them in another chapter, but I probably will.
Please tell me what you think of this chapter! :)