9 years earlier
It was just another day in the life of Stef Foster, Lena Adams and Brandon Foster when a young girl was invited into their family. She had been abandoned by her latest foster family as they realised that they would not be good parents. The foster father had dropped the child off at the local police station with a handwritten note. Scared out of her mind the poor 5 year old girl cried her eyes out, only to be held by Stef who sang a little song to calm her down. At that moment Stef had fallen in love with the little brunette. After a few days of begging, her wife by heart Lena had agreed to foster her.
A year later a similar situation occurred. The twins, Jesus and Mariana, had been left at the same station for the same reason. Their foster family had given up caring for them both. Stef, being her usual cheery and motherly self, gave the twins a lollipop each and realised they needed a stable and loving home. Going through days of begging once again, Lena agreed to foster the twins as well as they were the same age as their foster daughter, but with a condition. No more foster children. Stef happily agreed and their family grew from four to six overnight.
Present day
"MARIANA! I need a shower before school! You had one last night!" Jesus yelled at the bathroom door. He dropped his head in defeat and went into his room in frustration. Downstairs Lena and Stef shared a laugh at the daily struggle of four teenagers sharing a bathroom. The eldest child, Brandon, was digging into his bowl of cereal as if his life depended on it. "Hungry, there brother?" Daisy asked with a giggle. "Ha, ha, ha," he mocked before joining in with a giggle himself. Stef and Lena took a moment to look at their beautiful children. The two had a wonderful relationship and often spend hours practicing the piano and guitar. Brandon had a love for the piano and worked hard to get the recognition that he deserved. Daisy on the other hand just enjoyed playing the guitar and found an interest in spending time with her older brother. They could not be happier with their "little" family and never regretted taking in anyone.
"MARIANA! JESUS! Get down here and eat something before we have to go!" Stef yelled from the kitchen. A lot of noise and running around upstairs indicated that the twins was on their way. Satisfied, Stef sat down next to Lena and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
Once the twins had landed in the kitchen and taken a few bites of their breakfast, Lena noticed the time and hurried everyone out the door.
Both Mariana and Daisy was stuck in the same class at the end of Mondays, Mr. Timothy's literature class. Daisy had always struggled in his classes as she could not understand texts, whereas Mariana was really good at it. She would never admit it, but she enjoyed reading between the lines. At home the two would always do assignments together. Daisy often felt like a burden when it came to school, the only subject she enjoyed by now was art and craft, but she still enjoyed Timothy's classes as he always gave her an extra chance and helped her out in class and after if needed.
Today the class went over a book they had to read a few pages of during the weekend. Sadly, Daisy had spent hours and hours on reading the pages and had forgotten the majority of it. So, when Timothy called her name, she visibly shrunk in her seat.
"Daisy, what do you think of the two main characters behaviour?" Timothy asked in his usual accent. Daisy send Mariana a pleading look, asking for help as she could feel anxiety rise within her. Her sister looked at her with sympathy before raising her hand.
"Mr. Timothy, I believe that Adam brings out the worst in Josie and is ultimately forcing her to do criminal actions," Mariana said before giving the teacher a chance to dismiss her. Timothy loudly sighed and shifted to face her.
"That is correct, Mariana. Would you mind continue explaining as to how Adam can force her to do something against her will?" Timothy asked, crossing his arms over his chest after leaning against his desk. He looked at his student, who failed to say anything in class, and noticed the irregular breathing pattern. He felt bad for her as he knew she was one of the most hard working students, but that she had issues speaking out loud and reading longer texts after being prescribed medication for her anxiety disorder.
"He threatens her by saying he would leave her if she didn't do the actions. Josie is dependent on knowing someone loves her as she has lived her entire life being told she was worthless," Mariana explains. The last bit was barely a whisper as she knew how that felt and could already feel the sadness inside her body. The class went on as any other day.
After school, Lena was waiting by her car for the children. One by one they filled the car to the brim. Lena looked at her watch, waiting for her last child to join them on the road home. Once she looked up, she saw Daisy slowly making her way through the crowd of students.
"May I walk home, mamma?" she asked with a hoarse voice. Lena raised an eyebrow at the sound of her voice. That could only mean one thing, an anxiety attack. Her face expression softened in seconds and she put her hand on Daisy's shoulder. "Of course, just be home by dinner," she answered. Daisy nodded, still keeping her eyes on the ground. "Love you," Lena said, bringing her in for a hug. They stood there for a while before Lena pulled back and got in the car. Before driving the kids home, she sent her wife a text message.
Hey love
I think Daisy had an attack at school today. She's walking home.
She needs her mom. See you at dinner.
Love you,
Lena
Around 6 o'clock, Stef barged through the door yelling "I'M HOME MY BABIES" as she always did. She dropped her bag on the floor by the door before being engulfed in a hug by her lover. Lena still had a spoon in her hand but could care less when she saw the love of her life. It never got old, seeing each other. "Hey mamma, how's Daisy?" Stef asked as soon as their hug broke. Lena let out a big breath and walked back into the kitchen. Mariana was sprawled all over the table looking at school assignments. "She's not home yet," she simply said. Stef kissed the top of Mariana's head and helped Lena prepare the rest of the dinner.
"Timothy called after we got home," Lena began talking, but stopped when she looked back at Mariana. The girl cared for her sister, but she did not need to know just how worried her mothers were about their eldest daughter.
"Mari, why don't you go rest upstairs a bit before dinner?" Stef asked, noticing the look on her wife's face. She nodded, packing her things into her backpack before walking away. Mariana knew it was a demand and not a question.
"He could see she was struggling. Her breathing was off and she didn't say a word. Mari covered for her," Lena explained dropping the spoon on the countertop. They both let out a sigh, Stef brushing a hand through her hair. "So, it's getting worse?" Lena did not respond, which was the same as answering yes.
A few minutes later the front door opened, barely making a sound. In walked a crying young teenage girl. She walked into the arms of her mothers without saying a word. The three stood in the kitchen like that until they heard the water boil over the edge of the pot. In two quick movements, Lena had saved the dinner and let out a small laugh. Daisy followed with a much needed giggle. Stef couldn't help herself when seeing her hurt daughter both smile and laugh, she joined in and soon they all held their stomach as it began to ache.
"Good job, mamma," Daisy said looking into her eyes for the first time since they left for school and work that morning.
After dinner Mariana once against claimed the bathroom for an evening shower, much to the annoyance of Jesus, who wanted the shower he didn't get in the morning. Brandon playing the piano could be heard throughout the house as a background sound. Not loud enough to be a disturbance and not too low they couldn't hear the improvements. Daisy went straight to her room, wanting nothing more than to sleep as the day's anxiety levels dropped and she felt the impact it had on her body all at once. Without changing into her comfortable pyjamas, she just slumped onto her bed. Before she could even close her eyes, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," she mumbled into her pillow. The door slowly opened to reveal her mother. Stef walked in and sat on the edge of her bed. Looking down at her beautiful daughter, she moved a piece of hair behind her ear. Daisy's usually bright, blue eyes, was gone and replaced by red and puffy ones.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked in a whisper. Daisy moved closer to the wall to make space for her mother to lay down next to her. As Stef realised the gesture, she gladly laid down. Nose on nose.
"Not good. It's getting worse. I can't even answer a question in class without feeling it creeping in," she admitted, looking straight into the eyes of her mother. Something she rarely did. Stef flashed a sympathetic look and pulled her in for a hug. They stayed like that for a while. Daisy lived for moments like that. Just the two of them, hugging and feeling the warmth.
"Do you want me to call the doc and say that the medication is not working or do you want to give it another month?" Stef suddenly asked, not breaking their embrace. "Call, please," she whispered. Stef kissed the top of her forehead and stroked her hand through her hair. They stayed like that until Stef knew she was asleep.
Once in her own bedroom, Stef crawled into bed next to her wife. Lena put her book on the nightstand and looked at her. "I'm calling the doctor in the morning, her wishes. She's alright for now," she explained before kissing her. As their lips parted, Stef put her head on her lap. Lena immediately began running her fingers through her long blonde hair, just as Stef had done with Daisy.