Kerry studied herself intently in the mirror. Tonight everything had to be perfect. She had to be perfect. For two years she and Sandy had been together and tonight for the first time she was meeting her partner's family. Neither of them knew exactly why it had taken so long for introductions to be made. She guessed it was partly because Sandy's family lived in New York, and maybe partly because both she and Sandy had hectic jobs with schedules that were all over the place. They rarely got the same day off, let alone a week vacation to drive up country. Though buried deep in the back of her mind Kerry knew it was because both women hadn't been too sure their relationship would last, especially with the rocky way things had started. She had driven Sandy away twice, with the whole coming out issue, and again with her insistence that Sandy carry on their next attempt to have a baby. But somehow they had pulled through and remained together.

With each passing day Kerry fell deeper in love with the spunky firefighter, and from the way "I love you" rolled so easily off Sandy's tongue, she felt safe to say that the feeling was mutual. That was something that scared the doctor just the same. She had been married once before, and had never felt so strongly about her husband the way she felt for Sandy, she had never opened herself up to him, or let her guard down completely. She had never allowed him to see her vulnerable. Granted her first marriage had been one more out of convenience then love, she had always cared deeply for her ex. She realized it wasn't her feelings for Sandy that scared her, it was opening herself up completely without a second thought that did.

So when they had both put in and received their vacations for the same week, and Sandy had asked Kerry to drive up to New York with her to meet her family, Kerry had said yes quickly. Now, staring at herself in the hotel mirror, just minutes away from meeting her extended family, she was panicking.

"Get a hold of yourself, Kerry" she whispered. "You'll be fine. Sandy will be right there with you. If she says they'll love you, then they'll love you." She paused her self pep talk to regard her blouse. It was simple, white with pearl buttons. Any other time she thought it looked pretty good on her, but tonight it was hideous. "This shirt isn't right. It looks wrong."

Across the spacious room Sandy lifted herself off the bed where she had been laying, switching back and forth between the thousands of channels their large TV received. "It looks fine" she interjected, as she passed behind Kerry and entered the bathroom.

Kerry only half acknowledged her with a slight hand wave as she grabbed her bag and shifted through it, pulling out two more shirts. One was a simple black t-shirt with a v-neck that normally ended at just the right spot on her chest. But tonight she likened it to something those hookers down the street would wear. "Sure, I'll shake their hands, say 'Please to meet you Mom and Dad' then shove my breasts in their face. That should impress them."

"That one looks fine too. And unfortunately for me, It doesn't show hardly any of your breasts" came Sandy's reply from the bathroom doorway. She leaned against the doorframe, a smile of pure amusement painted her face as she watched her partner carry on. There was never any sense in trying to reason with Kerry when she was like this.

Ignoring her, Kerry tried the next shirt. It was a very plain powder blue t-shirt. No v-neck, just a regular collar. It hugged her in all the right places accentuating her lovely shape, but wasn't too showy. Coupled with her black dress pants, she thought she looked pretty good. "This will do" she decided, then turned to face her partner, who had left the bathroom and was now pulling Kerry into her arms.

"You look so beautiful," Sandy sighed as she gently kissed Kerry's lips, careful not to smudge either of their lipstick.

"So do you," Kerry gave her an appreciative once-over before returning her lips to Sandy's for another gentle kiss. "I love you, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Sandy smiled brightly, Grabbing Kerry's left hand with her own. Their brand new gold bands glistened from the overhead light. Sandy may have only presented them to Kerry just the other night, but she had been planning it for months. Like she said in her long rambling proposal, she knew they couldn't be "officially" married, but they could still exchange rings and sign all the appropriate papers to come as close to it as possible. She wanted to have an actual wedding ceremony, but she knew Kerry would be hesitant. She wasn't one for big to-dos. That was also something they could discuss when they got back home, along with the adoption issue.

"Come on, we should go now," she asserted, looking at Kerry's watch. "Don't worry. They'll love you, I know it."

Once again they were back in the car. In just fifteen minutes Kerry would be meeting her new relations, and she was more scared then she had ever been before. Sandy kept assuring her that it would be all right, but Kerry wasn't too sure. She was never one to create a good first impression. Just ask Susan Lewis. Hell, just ask anyone. She could be quite off-putting, she knew that, and when she tried to lighten up it just confused people. Normally how she came across to others wouldn't matter in the slightest, but this was different by far. These people were important to Sandy, so that made them important to Kerry.

"Just breath," came a reassuring voice, and Kerry's hand was lifted from her lap and pressed against her wife's loving mouth.

She smiled slightly, her nervousness apparent on her face. It was so easy for Sandy to be calm about this, though she wondered if maybe deep down the spunky Latina was equally nervous. Maybe she was just putting on a brave face for both their sakes. Kerry already knew about Sandy's grandfather. It had been the first thing they discussed when planning this trip. She knew her partner loved her grandfather dearly, and maybe it was knowing that she wouldn't be accepted by him that scared her the most. Suddenly Kerry was reminded of her own family. Her adoptive parents had been dead for years, and it saddened her to think that they'd never get to meet their new daughter. She mused that, the lesbianism angle aside, her parents would have loved Sandy. As for the lesbianism angle, she wondered what their reactions would have been.

She guessed they would have been supportive, as they had been throughout her life. They had accepted everything about her when they chose to adopt her, even though she was considered 'damaged' by most of the other foster parents she had been placed with. Meeting the Weavers had been like coming home. They had welcomed her immediately and shown her more love in one day then she had ever been given in those first nine years of her life combined. It wasn't until Sandy came along that she felt that love again.

Now here she was, forty-four years old, reliving her past. She felt just like that nine year old girl she used to be, hoping against hope that this new family would accept her.

End Part Five