When Stef left for work the following morning Lena seemed much more relaxed. She had finally realized just how ludicrous her accusations towards Stef and Mike were and now she felt a little foolish. When she had woken up that morning Stef was still in bed and Lena had curled up close to her and held her tight. Stef had woken up smiling as she hugged Lena in return, both of them thinking that they were finally making progress.
"Bring him by for lunch." Lena said as Stef walked out the door.
"If we have the time I will." Stef promised. "I'll call and let you know."
"Okay." Lena smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too babe." Stef replied.
The kids also headed out to school though Mariana and Callie were rather quiet. Jesus was bouncing down the street, his medication hadn't kicked in yet and he was very active.
"Hey Jude." Jesus said to his younger brother. "I dare you to pick up that lizard and give it to Mariana." He said, pointing to a gecko on a tree.
"And risk my life?" Jude joked. "No thank you."
They all expected some sort of response from Mariana but the girl remained quiet as she continued to walk towards the school with her sister, neither of them even aware of what was going on around them.
"What? No comeback?" Jesus asked, pulling Mariana's ponytail.
"JESUS!" Mariana shrieked at the tug on her hair.
"That's better." Jesus said, happy that he got a rise from his sister.
"What's up with you two?" Brandon asked, noticing their somber mood.
"Nothing." Callie answered.
"Come on." Brandon said. "What's going on with you two? Did you have a fight?"
"No." Both girls answered together.
"Then what?" Brandon coaxed.
"We're just worried about moms." Mariana finally answered their brother.
"But mom said they were fine." Brandon reminded her.
"Yeah but remember Jenna and Kelly?" Mariana pointed out. "They were in love even when they had finalized their divorce."
"That's not gonna happen to moms." Jesus said firmly as he grabbed his twins hand.
"You never know." Mariana said.
Jude, becoming increasingly worried, walked up to Callie's side and leaned into her when she pulled him close.
"It's gonna be okay buddy." She whispered to him.
"But what if it's not?" Jude asked, eyes wide. "We finally got a real family, I don't want it to break."
He was on the verge of tears but being a thirteen year old boy he was trying hard to hold them in.
"You'll still have a family." Callie assured him. "You're an Adams Foster now remember."
"What about you?" Jude asked.
"She's got a family too." Mariana answered for Callie and she grabbed her big sister's hand. "She'll always have a family.
By now the four younger kids were already holding hands and so Brandon grabbed Jude's free hand and they continued towards the school. No matter what happened between their mom's they were a family and they were determined to stay that way.
"So Lena invited you for lunch." Stef said as the two headed towards their Captains office.
"She's not gonna poison me is she?" Mike teased.
"Nah." Stef answered. "She wouldn't risk her reputation as a good cook."
Mike laughed. "So what's she serving today?"
"No idea." Stef answered. "Dana's frozen meals are over so Lena'll cook something."
"How about I pick something up so she doesn't have the extra work." Mike suggested. If he was being invited over so often he wanted to contribute as well.
"No." Stef turned down his offer. "It'll keep Lena's mind busy, give her something to do."
"Gotcha." Mike said. "Desserts on me though."
"Deal." Stef smiled. "I do love the coffee cake at the bakery across from the station." She added with a smirk.
"Done." Mike laughed.
Ten minutes later the two were groaning. Captain Roberts had signed her team up for a refresher course and that meant the two were stuck playing pretend all morning and unfortunately it usually went on longer than planned.
"I don't wanna miss lunch." Stef whispered to Mike. They were sitting at desks while a video was being shown, informing them of what to do during emergencies.
"We won't." Mike whispered back. They were like two high-schoolers stuck in class.
"Have you never been to one of these before?" Stef asked with a roll of her eyes.
"We'll make it for lunch." Mike assured her before turning his attention back to the screen. "What is this crap anyways?"
"I wonder if they show the criminals these slides as well, so that they know just how they are supposed to act while they are trying to get away from us."
Mike grinned at her at the thought. There was no correct way to deal with these situations. Every one of them was different and at the end of the day every cop knew that they had to play it by ear. These courses were just a waste of everyones time.
True to his word Mike had himself and Stef out of the class by the time they had to leave for lunch.
"I cannot believe you did that." Stef said laughing as the two made their way down the corridor.
"I got you out didn't I?" Mike said
"By asking our son to call and say he got into trouble at school." Stef laughed. "What kind of lesson are we teaching him."
"That there are ways to get out of a boring situation." Mike answered with a shrug.
Stef punched him in the arm playfully.
"You wanna make it to your wife for lunch of not? Mike asked.
"Let's go." Stef said willingly.
"We'll stop and grab the cake on the way." Mike said. "And I'm driving." He added, quickly plucking the car keys off Stef's desk before she could reach for it.