"So how did you get her to let you drive?" Lena asked with a smirk. It was a known fact that if Stef was in the car she preferred to be the one behind the wheel.
The three of them were sitting at the dining room table instead of in the kitchen for a change, grilled chicken with asparagus and potatoes in front of them, while Lena did most of the talking.
"Stef drove all morning." Mike shrugged. "Just gave her a break."
Stef looked curiously at Mike before adding. "He basically stole the keys off my desk before I could stop him."
Lena chuckled along with Stef but Mike just gave an awkward smile.
The conversation continued in this awkward way through lunch with Lena and Stef talking and Mike basically adding very uninteresting tidbits here and there. Stef continued to talk as Lena's face also began to turn into a scowl as she constantly glanced at Mike.
Finally, lunch was over and Lena got up and headed into the kitchen to get the cake and as she was taking it out of the box and placing it on a cake tray a pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into a hug.
"You've really mastered the art of that scowl there babe." Stef joked as she kissed Lena's cheek.
Lena shrugged away from Stef's hold and turned around to face her wife.
"Did you tell Mike about my..." Lena trailed off, embarrassed to even voice her accusations.
Stef's opened her mouth to respond but couldn't think of what to say and that was enough for Lena to get an answer.
"Why would you tell him?" She asked miserably.
"I didn't tell him." Stef defended. "He sort of figured it out."
"How?" Lena asked. How could he possibly just 'figure it out' unless Stef had implied it in some way.
"He kind of got it from our conversation that day." Stef answered. "He was with me in the car. He was only kidding but he said it was a good thing I was gay or you'd be upset that we were together all day."
"So you admitted it?" Lena said with a sigh.
"I didn't mean to honey, I'm sorry." Stef tried to pull Lena back towards her.
"You should have warned me." Lena said.
"I didn't know he'd act like this honey." Stef said. "I think he's just trying to make you feel comfortable."
"Comfortable? When I know he knows how ridiculous I was?" Lena asked, wide eyed. "Besides you should have told me anyways."
"I'm sorry baby." Stef said. "I didn't want to upset you. We were finally past this and I didn't want to bring it up again. I'll talk to Mike, he'll go back to normal."
Lena could see the pain in Stef's eyes, she was trying so hard to do the right thing by Lena and Lena realized she was being too hard on her. Stef had been so good to her and do everything for her - it was only fair that she had someone to help her as well - god knows that she herself hadn't been doing that lately. Lena finally reached out and pulled Stef towards her, holding her tight, silently letting her know that she was forgiven.
"I think you might be right about moms." Brandon said, as he took a seat beside Callie during lunch.
"What do you mean?" Callie asked with a frown.
Brandon showed Callie the text he had received from his father.
B, call mom or me to say that you were called into the principals office. We need an escape from this torture.
"What do you think they're up to?" Callie asked her brother.
"I don't know." Brandon answered honestly. "But I think until we know for sure we should keep it a secret from Lena."
"Yeah." Callie agreed. "She's been through enough."
The two began eating in silence, both thinking about what would happen if their mom was having an affair and their family broke up.
"You know, it won't change how they feel about you." Brandon suddenly said, remembering Jude's fear on their way to school.
Callie looked up at him, unconvinced. "Good thing at least Robert wants me. At least I won't go back into the system."
"You won't go anywhere." Brandon said firmly, hoping to convince his sister. "I won't let you." He added.
Callie smiled at him gratefully. She knew that Brandon still had feelings for her, it was clear when they kissed after the fundraiser but Callie had come to her senses and eventually pushed him away. She didn't love him, not like that. She wanted him as a brother and nothing more. But that didn't stop the way he felt about her. Though he was a good guy and made sure his feelings were kept in check.
"I hope not." She said honestly as she tried to give him a sincere smile.
The two oldest children had kept the text to themselves, deciding not to worry the younger kids either. They hoped to find out the truth about what his parents were up to but until they did, they weren't going to spread rumors. Instead they smiled and talked about random stuff the moment the twins joined them. Ever since the attack the four older kids, who had their lunch break at the same time, sat together. They still needed the security of being in a group and with each other. Jude, unfortunately had his break an hour before theirs and so wasn't able to join them but he always assured his siblings that Conner never left his side, regardless of what his father thought.
"I have to go to Kaitlyn's house at five for practice." Mariana told Brandon. "We have a meet on Friday against the public school and we need all the practice we can get. You think you could drop me and pick me up?" She asked.
Normally, anyone needed Brandon to drive them somewhere would have had to beg and plead and bribe to get his services but they all knew that right now Brandon wouldn't let Mariana go alone even if she'd wanted to.
"Sure." Brandon said, shrugging like it was no big deal.
"I'll come alone for the ride." Jesus smiled.
"I'll stay home with mama." Callie said. "No reason to leave her home alone longer than we need to."
All the kids smiled at each other. They had found a routine in this mess and took comfort in knowing that they had each other's backs. It was definitely reassuring, especially since they weren't sure what their family would be like in a while.