"Dad?" Stef said in complete surprise and confusion when she saw her father standing awkwardly in the doorway of a home she hadn't even hold him she moved to.
"Stef." Frank said awkwardly as he realized that his daughter was not aware of his invitation.
Stef turned to stare accusingly at her mother, having a strong feeling that she had something to do with this surprise guest.
"Don't look at me." Sharon replied with her hands up defensively. "I haven't spoken to your father in ages."
Lena quickly walked up to the door, ready to play peacekeeper, mostly for the sake of their three children. "Frank, I'm so glad you could join us." She said, opening the door wider to let him in, and making it clear to everyone that she'd been the one to extend the invitation.
Stef turned to her girlfriend in disbelief before she's able to overcome her shock and invite her father in, however unwelcome he was.
"Uh… the um… the party's out back." Stef said as she moved aside to give her father room to enter. "Mom will take you." She added, glancing at her other, giving her look that told the older woman that her daughter wanted a moment alone with her girlfriend.
"C'mon Frank, Brandon's out back." Sharon said, guiding her ex-husband through the kitchen and out the back door.
Meanwhile, Lena held her breath as Stef gestured for her to follow her up the stairs where they could have a bit of privacy.
"Can I explain…" Lena began the moment they were at the top of the stairs, hoping that Stef would give her a chance before she blew a fuse.
"Why would you invite him here?" Stef questioned, biting her tongue until Lena explained.
"I just thought he should be included." Lena answered. "He's your father and he deserved a chance."
"You do remember what happened the last time he joined us for something don't you?" Stef questioned, and then continued before Lena had a chance to even nod. "And you know his anger is directed towards us because we're together."
"Yes, I know that Stef." Lena assured calmly.
"Then why?" Stef questioned, still unable to understand why Lena would put herself and the rest of them through all that all over again.
"Because of you." Lena answered. "And Brandon."
Stef continued to stare at her girlfriend, waiting for her to explain herself further for she was interested to know what she was thinking.
Lena took a step closer to Stef and gently rested a hand on her arm. "Look, I know your dad doesn't particularly like me and I know that both you and he are uncomfortable around each other right now; I'm not exactly floating on a cloud near him either; but he's your dad and he's Brandon's grandfather and it's not fair for you to destroy your whole relationship with him because of me."
Stef's eyes went wide as she wondered what Lena was implying exactly and she was about to say something but Lena cut her off.
"Give him a chance." Lena said gently but with a hint of authority as well. "Give him some time to come to terms with everything before you go alienating him."
"How do you know that he will 'come to terms' with this?" Stef asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"He came today, didn't he?" Lena pointed out. "All I did was invite him and he knew that we are together and that I'd here." She pointed out. "He chose to come anyway."
Stef couldn't argue with that thought a part of her hoped like hell that Lena was right for as angry as she was with her father, she did miss him and she knew that Brandon missed him too.
"I sure as hell hope you're right." Stef said, biting her lip. "I don't want Brandon to have to get used to his grandfather's absence all over again.
With that Stef walked back down the stairs and Lena turned to watched her, knowing that though Stef was too stubborn and proud to admit it, she too hoped that they could patch up their wayward relationship.
"Are you really okay with this?" Frank asked his now ex-son-in-law who had just walked into the kitchen for a drink after showing Brandon and Jesus how to fly the remote-controlled helicopter that Sharon had bought them.
"I have to be, don't I?" Mike asked with a somewhat defeated shrug. "I mean, I want to be in my sons life so I have to accept it."
"You could have said no." Frank responded. "You could have refused the divorce or taken custody."
Mike looked at Frank for a moment as he gathered his thoughts before he finally spoke up. "I wasn't happy at first." Mike admitted, lost in the memory of when this all began. "I didn't want to let Stef go - god knows she's the love of my life. But I knew she wasn't happy and when she finally realised, or got the courage or whatever, to go after what she really wanted; what she really needed; how could I hold her back?"
Both men were silent for a few moments as they stared out the window at Stef who was down on the ground tickling Brandon mercilessly while Jesus and Lucas tried franticly to stop her by jumping on her back to throw her over.
"I've never seen her so happy." Mike admitted as Stef finally released Brandon and then lay back in the grass so the three boys could tackle her instead. "She genuinely seems so free."
"It's wrong." Frank shook his head, still struggling to just accept something his daughter wanted that he believed was ruining her ticket to heaven.
Mike turned back to Frank. "Look, you know I'm not a man of the book and I don't have that problem when it comes to accepting all this but can you honestly look at her right now and say that any of this is wrong?"
Once again Frank turned back to his daughter who had now been abandoned by the two boys and was being pulled back up into a standing position by the woman he believed had caused this whole mess.
"I know you love Stef." Mike continued. "And I know you want what's best for her. I want the same thing for Brandon and I know that right now, this is the best he could possibly get. You have to figure out what's more important." Mike knew that frank loved his daughter despite his dislike of her choices. It may be a struggle but he was sure in the end he'd find a way to make it work.
A couple of hours later people were starting to clear off until the only ones left were Frank, Sharon, Lucas and his family and Mike. Stef had already begun taking the leftover food into the house while the others nursed a beer or an iced tea and the four kids were still playing in the yard but their pace and speed had decades tremendously. The afternoon had been a great success and Jesus and Mariana had been easily accepted by everyone and as a result they had opened up a lot through lunch.
Frank and Stef basically tried to avoid each other as much as possible and Lena wasn't sure if she was happy about that or not. On the one had she had hoped for them to make some sort of connection but on the other hand she was glad that the head-strong father-daughter duo hadn't ruined the day with their difference in opinion.
The party was now basically over and Stef was still trying to avoid her father until he left and so she began to clear up the left over food. Piles of sausages, chips, sandwiches and burger patties needed to be put into boxes and stuck in the fridge and she could think of no better time than the present to begin. She assumed that Frank would be on his way any minute now and until then she would just stay away. She began wrapping the sandwiches in cling wrap when she heard the door to the kitchen open and assumed Lena had come to give her a hand.
"My dad left yet?" Stef asked without really turning around, the hope clear in her voice.
"In the minute." A man said causing Stef to spin around at lightening speed.
"Dad, uh…" Stef tried to find something to say to over up rudeness but her father just waved her off.
"Don't worry about it." Frank said somewhat uncomfortably as he took a step towards his daughter.
Stef looked away and the two stood awkwardly in the kitchen while laughter and conversation wafted though the open door.
"I'm surprised you came." Stef finally said honestly as she looked up at her father.
"I was surprised that Lena invited me." Frank replied with a bit of a smirk.
"So was I." Stef laughed back as she turned to look through the window at the woman in question. She smiled when she saw that Mariana was once again planted at Lena's side, craving the attention she'd so lacked from her biological mother.
"Mariana just won't give her a break." Stef explained, seeming to have momentarily forgotten who she was talking to. "She wants to be with Lena all the time."
"What's their story?" Frank asked with surprising interest as he too watched the twins in the back yard.
"Druggie mom, absent dad." Stef said, knowing that was basically enough to get the gist of the story. "Last foster mom dropped them off at the precinct and just never came back." She explained, the pain for the two children written all over her face. "They are a handful, I'll give you that." She smiled fondly trying to lighten the mood."
"They seem okay." Frank observed, not having witnessed anything dramatic through the afternoon.
"They are." Stef agreed. "Jesus just has enough energy to swim across the English Channel and Mariana is always so insecure she needs the constant reassurance that we aren't leaving her. On her first day of school she refused to go to class - I think she felt that once we left we may not come back for them. She spent the whole day in Lena's office."
"What about Jesus?" Frank inquired, having noticed the bond between the siblings.
"I don't think he could sit in one place that long if you paid him." Stef responded. "But they are such good kids." She added and Frank could tell right then that Stef had already fallen for these two kids. "Jesus is always there for Mariana when she's scared and Mariana is always coming up with ways to keep him out of trouble."
"How long are they going to be here? I mean, are you thinking of adopting them?" Frank asked as Stef went back to wrapping sandwiches. He was beginning to feel for these kids too truth be told, Jesus was exactly what Frank imagined Brandon to be.
"Don't know." Stef answered with a sad smile. "Their mom wants them back but she just can't stay clean. "For now we are okay with just giving them a safe, stable home. We'll see what happens down the road."
A silence fell over the two of them and Stef assumed that her father would just bid her farewell and be on his way but the words that came out of his mouth next were the last thing she ever expected to hear.
"I'm proud of you Stef." Frank said, his voice filled with honesty.
Stef looked up at her father in surprise, unsure of how to even respond to that statement.
"What you've done for these kids is amazing." Frank added, almost clarifying that he still wasn't thrilled with other parts of her life but he did approve of this.
As Stef looked at her father she could clearly see that he was trying to build bridge that he was comfortable crossing and as much as she wanted to yell at him about accepting everything about her she knew that she needed this rickety bridge just as much as he did.
"Thanks dad." Stef said with tears filling her eyes. The most obvious of topics being shelved for the moment.
"I'd love to hand out with the kids." Frank continued. "All three of them. I haven't seen B in ages and I'd love to get to know the other two. Maybe they could come over one weekend and we could go to the park or something.
"I think they'd like that." Stef smiled as she pictured her father chasing three kids between the monkey bars. "I'll see what can be arranged."
With that Frank finally bid his daughter goodbye and made his way through the house and out the front door leaving Stef with a genuine smile that was carefully observed by her meddling girlfriend spying through the kitchen doorway.
