I wanted to continue with this story of a young Brandon, Jesus and Mariana. Here is the third part.

It took Mariana a half hour to eat half of a piece of pizza. The boys had finished eating 10 minutes prior and were wiggling in their chairs as they waited for the last family member to be finished so they could get ice cream.

Finally, Mariana put down the half eaten and now cold slice of pizza and looked down. Stef and Lena had a feeling that the girl wanted to be done, but didn't want to get in trouble for it.

"You full, sweetie?" Lena whispered into the girl's ear.

Not looking up, the girl nodded and flinched as though she were going to be hit.

Stef and Lena exchanged glances. "That's alright, honey. I know you're tummy probably isn't so hungry right now." Stef said with a small smile.

"But mom! We want ice cream!" Brandon interjected.

Stef looked up at him with knowing eyes. "Brandon."

That was all she had to say before the boy understood his mistake and mumbled a small "sorry" towards the little girl who now felt like she was ruining everything for the boys.

"You know, I think everyone tried their best to eat and that deserves ice cream!" Stef said, hoping to cheer up the girl, as well as the two boys who had been doing very well in the hopes of getting a treat.

Mariana looked up and smiled, though she was hesitant. She didn't know why they were being so nice to her.

"What do you think, hmm?" The blonde tilted her head so she was looking directly at the girl and gave her a bright smile.

Mariana, as her response, stuck her thumb in her mouth, laid her head on Stef's shoulder, and nodded. Stef smiled as she nodded in return before turning towards the boys.

"Well. I know the three of us are going to get ice cream. But I think we might be needing a few more people to come with." She said in a teasing manner.

"Mommy! Me and Jesus wanna go! Please? We eated all of our dinner!" He folded his hands together and pushed out his lip. Looking over at Jesus, who was simply watching, he nudged him with his elbow. The boy gasped and quickly folded his hands and stuck out his lip as well.

Stef looked from one boy to the other, trying not to outwardly laugh at how adorable they looked. "Hmmmmmm. Mama I dono. What do you think? Should we take these handsome boys with us to go get ice cream?" She stroked her chin as if she was thinking very hard about this decision.

"What do you think, Mariana? Should we take them with us?" She tried to look at the girl and get something out of her.

After a moment, the Latina picked up her head and gave a small nod before smiling and burying her head back into the crook of Lena's neck.

"Well I guess if Mariana says it's ok..." Stef began as she turned towards the boys and they let out a loud cheer and began to run around the kitchen.

"Go get your shoes and a jacket on, boys." Stef said laughing slightly at their reaction.

"If they're hyped up on sugar and don't go to sleep tonight, you're dealing with them." Lena said in a half-joking manner before kissing Mariana's head. "Come on. Let's go get ready too." She told the girl as she got up, kissed her wife, and made her way up the stairs, still holding the girl.

"No I want this one!"

"Wait! What about this one?!"

"I want all of them!"

The boys had been looking at the numerous flavors of ice cream for the better part of 10 minutes while waiting in line.

Finally, when it was their turn, they scrambled; making last minute changes to their orders.

"Can we get two scoops, mommy?" Brandon asked as his eyes remained wide and glued to the treats in front of him.

"No, buddy. Just one for each." She explained as she stood behind the boys and placed her hands on their backs in the attempt to move them towards ordering.

Mariana hadn't let go of Lena since they got out of the car. Luckily, there was only one other family in the store and it wasn't too overwhelming, but it was still a situation that frightened the little girl.

"What kind do you want?" Lena asked as she tried to get the girl to look up from the crook in her neck, which Stef had jokingly asked if there was something awesome hidden there that Mariana was constantly looking at.

With no response except her watchful eye on her brother, Lena softly patted her back and sighed. "Ok, well how about half chocolate and half vanilla and you can try both to see which you like better. Then, next time you will know which one to get!"

As she shoved her thumb into her mouth, she nodded, but kept her eyes on Jesus, who was with Brandon and Stef, deciding on which toppings to add.

As Lena stepped up to order, Mariana saw the boys and Stef making their way towards a table. She was content that she could still see her brother. However, that didn't last long as the Latino saw a small toy section on the other side of the ice cream shop and suddenly took off running.

"Jesus!" Stef called out to him as she got up and quickly walked towards the direction he had ran. At the loss of sight of her brother and her foster mother, Mariana could only think the worst. She needed to help her brother. Quickly, she wiggled out of Lena's arms. The mother wasn't expecting such a sudden movement and the girl easily escaped.

"Mariana, love where-" was all Lena could get out before the tiny girl ran towards her brother and the blonde. "Mariana!" She called again, but the brunette didn't turn around. Lena sighed as the woman behind the counter smiled slightly in an understanding manner. She did, after all, work at an ice cream shop; she had seen it all when it came to children. "Stef, Mariana is by you." She announced as she quickly pulled out her card to pay for the ice cream.

Mariana didn't entirely have a plan as to how she was going to help her brother, but she knew that he had taken many beatings for her over the years and that she needed to be the one to protect him now. As she rounded the corner, she saw Jesus standing on his tip-toes trying to reach a toy on the top shelf, and Stef squatting next to him, clearly trying to get him to look at her. The girl quietly made her way over towards her brother, though she was frightened.

"You can't just take off like that, love." Mariana heard Stef explain in a calm voice once Jesus had stopped and looked at her.

"I wanted dis toy for Bwandon." He explained quickly and put his head down in guilt.

Stef sighed. She knew that it was going to be a difficult first few months with these two, but the fact that Jesus was trying to get a toy to share with Brandon warmed her heart and she knew every moment would be worth it.

"That is so nice of you, buddy!" Stef replied with a genuine smile. "But next time you need to ask before you leave, especially when we are out somewhere," She explained gently.

Suddenly noticing the presence of his twin, Jesus addressed her. "Hermana!" He said quickly, which made Stef turn and look at the girl as well.

"Did you get some ice cream?" Stef asked in an overly excited manner.

Mariana nodded her head, but remained looking at her brother. She didn't think Stef was mad about Jesus running, but she could never be sure.

"Estoy bueno, hermana." Jesus assured his sister, as though he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Stef looked at both children and smiled. "How about we go finish our ice cream and then we can go home and watch a movie!" she suggested.

Jesus gave out a loud whoop before sprinting back towards the table. "Walk!" Stef reminded him, though he didn't hear her.

The Latina hadn't expected her brother to leave her so quickly and was stunned as he took off. Stef sensed her uncertainty as she stood up and stretched her legs slightly from crouching down next to Jesus.

"How about you, hmm? Does that sound like a good idea to you?" Stef asked with a smile. She held out her hand towards the child after she realized she was not going to be getting a verbal response from the girl.

Mariana looked up at the blonde with uncertainty. She didn't think she was dangerous, but she didn't think she could trust her yet. Much to her relief and Stef's disappointment, Lena walked up behind them and gently addressed the girl. "Come on, Jesus and Brandon are waiting for you. They said you could pick out the movie." She said in a tone that she hoped would get the girl excited.

Instead, she latched onto Lena's leg and looked down.

Both moms exchanged worried glances, but before they could discuss it, the sound of yelling followed by two pairs of little feet running pulled them towards the boys.

Stef sighed but made her way towards the two boys while Lena bent down and picked up the small girl. She knew she would have to talk to the Latina about not being carried at all times, but the ice cream shop was not the place to have that discussion.

"So what movie should we watch?" Lena asked from the back seat, as Mariana had refused to let Lena leave her in the back by herself, even though her twin was right beside her.

The Latina had her thumb in her mouth and remained looking down.

"Mommy! Can we watch Power Rangers?" Brandon asked excitedly when no one answered the question.

"Mariana is going to pick out the movie, bud." Stef replied as she glanced back through her rear-view mirror. "But, maybe you can show her and Jesus all of your movies when we get home." Stef suggested.

Brandon nodded his head. "Ok." He then turned around in his booster seat to look at the twins. "We got lots of movies!" He explained excitedly. "What movies do you like?"

The two looked at one another before Jesus spoke up. "We not 'loud to use Mommy's TV" He responded with sadness in his voice.

"Your mommy won't let you watch movies?" Brandon asked with deep interest. He had never heard of such a thing.

Jesus mirrored his sister's fixed gaze on the floor of the car and shook his head.

"Well, then we are just going to have to try out all of the movies and see which ones you like best!" Lena interjected, knowing the twins were becoming uncomfortable with Brandon's innocent questioning.

"Yeah! We can watch movies all the day long!" Brandon responded happily, thinking this was a great idea.

Stef chuckled at her son's enthusiasm. "Bedtime is still at 8." She reminded him with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Aww mommyy! Can't we stay up late tonight?!" He pleaded with her with puppy dog eyes.

Lena responded for her wife. "Buddy, Mariana and Jesus are probably really tired and need a good night sleep." She said as Jesus looked at her. "But we can watch movies tomorrow too." She assured the boy as his shoulders slumped. "Ok, buddy?"

Brandon nodded. "Ok."

Stef finally pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. As she got out and opened the back door for the Brandon, Lena unbuckled herself and went to Jesus to unbuckle him from his seat so he could get out with Brandon. Once the boys were out, Lena squatted down in front of the little girl and waited for her to look up at her.

"Ready to go inside?" Lena asked with a smile.

The little girl nodded and Lena reached over to unbuckle the straps. She got the girl out of the seat and before she could wrap her arms and legs around the woman, Lena set her down on her feet. She then proceeded to back out of the car and stood outside on the driveway, looking in at the girl who had yet to move. "Are you coming, sweetheart?" Lena asked. She knew the girl wanted to be carried, but she was determined to not let her hide. It was a small start, but it was a start.

Mariana bit her lip as she looked out at Lena who was waiting for her. They boys and Stef had gone inside and it was just the two of them. Slowly, she walked towards the car door. Lena smiled and held out her hand for the girl to use to help get out.

"OK! Let's go see what those boys are up to." Lena said with a smile as she kept the girl's hand in her own before closing the car door and leading the Latina up to the house. Mariana kept extremely close to Lena's leg, but she walked on her own and for that, Lena was happy. She knew it would take a while, but she was going to get the girl to continue to thrive in their care.