Stef's POV

I couldn't believe how badly this dinner was going.

This wasn't supposed to happen. All of my children were supposed to try to get along and Lux was supposed to see that this was a better place for her to stay than Mike's. Instead:

We try to serve meat to a vegetarian.

I'm supposed to be her mother and the fact that I don't even know that she doesn't eat meat, just makes me feel more like crap.

Callie's being rude, which is something I haven't seen in a long time, since the day Lena brought her home to be exact.

Jesus is talking about a school shooting, when he knows how uncomfortable Lena feels about gun talk in this house.

Mariana isn't saying a word, and behaving nothing like herself.

Lena looks as if she's going to cry over the fact that the dinner she worked so hard to prepare for Lux went practically untouched by her.

And Jude is staring at Callie as if he was afraid that she would explode at any minute.

And Lux looks like she's ready to pounce from her chair the second that she finishes the depressing pieces of vegetables on her plate.

It was obvious that she hated the fact that she had to switch schools, and to be honest I did understand where she was coming from. But it wasn't legal for me to allow her to attend another school out of the county. And the school that she was attending was pretty crappy and filled with nothing but drugs and violence. I would know because I've had to show up there practically every week because of it.

It was a change that she was going to have to deal with, and I knew that it was for the best.

"I should actually get going," Lux says as she begins to stand up. "I promised my friends I'd meet them at seven and it's already six."

To make things worse, I didn't even know how to parent her. She acts as if it's perfectly okay to make plans and leave, without asking for my permission. I knew that I couldn't let that behavior slide in front of all of the other kids, because I was afraid they'd all think it was okay to do that too. Why did this seem so much harder with Lux than it was for Callie? I know that the fact that she chose to live with Mike had something to do with it. But I had a feeling that even if Mike laid down the rules for her, she wouldn't think twice before breaking them.

I wipe my mouth with a napkin and even though I'm not finished eating, I start to stand up, "I'll drive you."

"No, that's okay. I actually prefer to take the bus." All of my kids look at me as if they're waiting for me to yell at her or something.

Did she really think this was up for discussion? "And I prefer to drive you," I answer in my no non-sense tone. I was getting pretty agitated that she was behaving as if she didn't actually have to listen to me.

"Fine," she answers in a defeated tone. She looks toward Lena, "Thanks for dinner, Lisa."

Jesus can't help but laugh, while everyone else is looking to Lena and I for our reactions again.

"Her name is Lena," Callie points out angrily.

Lux looks toward my wife, "Sorry Lena. I'm just really bad with names. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything."

"It's fine," Lena says with a smile as she brushes it off. "I understand."

"Okay," Lux says awkwardly. "Well, bye everyone. I don't really want to get anyone else's name wrong, while I'm here, so...I guess I'll wait outside?"

"Yes, I'll be right there," I answer. As soon as she leaves the room I look towards Callie, "And we're going to have a talk when I get back."

Lux's POV

I'm leaning against Stef's car by the time that she comes out of the house. It would've been nice if she just offered the ride, but the fact that her offer turned into an order was really starting to get on my nerves. Her daughter was extremely rude for no reason, and the fact that I was starving wasn't helping my mood at all. Eating a few pieces of vegetables in over twenty-four hours was hardly enough to keep my stomach from growling.

She opens the car doors with her automatic-key and we both get in. God, please don't let this woman talk during this whole ride…

I've always had bad luck when it comes to praying, because she automatically opens her mouth, "Hey sweets, I'm sorry about the way Callie behaved tonight. That's not like her at all actually, which is really weird."

"That's fine," I assure her. Why does she keep calling me that, as if it'd make the situation all the more better? Callie's behavior doesn't excuse hers…

"It's not fine… I'll talk to her." She puts her car in reverse, "So, where are we headed?"

"Tijuana."

"Tijuana?" she asks as if she heard me wrong.

"Uhuh." She nods her head reluctantly and puts her car in drive. Most people in nicer neighborhoods got nervous when they heard the town's name. It has a bad rep and I'm not so sure it's deserved or not. Yes, there's a lot of violence, but I've never really thought about it as the "danger-zone" that these people think of when they hear the name. Or maybe I've spent so much time there that I don't even notice it anymore. I guess you can get used to just about anything.

"…Do you spend a lot of time there?" she asks.

"Pretty much." I knew that I was making it hard for her to continue talking by my short answers, but that was the point. She didn't get it though.

She coughs nervously as straightens herself in her seat, "…So whose house are we headed to? Tasha's?"

"Yep," I answer. I didn't want to go into the entire conversation about Bug, because I knew that would lead to more unnecessary questions.

"Oh, she seems nice…"

Did you forget the fact that she called you a bitch earlier? I wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so. "I guess."

"How long have you two been friends?"

"…Since we were seven."

"Wow. That's a long time."

"Yep."

She sighs, "You know, I really wish you would participate in this conversation some. It kinda feels like I'm talking to myself here."

"That's not what you want," I answer in disbelief as I shake my head. Who is she kidding?

"What does that mean?" she asks in confusion.

"…Nothing. Just forget I said anything."

"No, no, no. You were going to say something so say it," she continues in a serious tone as she decides to pull the car over and put it in park.

"Fine… You say that you want me to participate in the conversation, when really you just want me to go along with whatever you say. God! Ever since you found out I was your kid, you've been telling me what to do, what school I have to go to, where I'm going to stay, where I'm going to go, how I'm going to get there, and ignoring my input completely. And what? Now all of a sudden you want me to talk? As if my opinion actually matters to you?"

"It does matter, Lux… Look, I'm trying the best that I can here, and it's not easy for me either… I'm sorry if you feel like I'm… trying to control you in some way or another. But like it or not, you are my kid."

"Unfortunately," I mumble. Immediately after I said it, I felt like complete crap. And the silence that followed it didn't help either. "…I'm sorry, Stef. I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah…you did," she mumbles and I could hear the pain in her voice as she answers and it just makes me feel all the more worse. "But that's okay. This is something that we're all going to have to learn to adapt to, and thing's will be more normal before you know it."

"Normal? How could this ever be normal?" I ask. I practically made her cry and she thinks that this will be normal soon? What the hell is she talking about?

"It's going to take some effort, from both of us… I don't want to feel like I'm the only one trying here. I get it, okay. You didn't ask for this and the last thing you expected to happen three days ago was to find out that your parents loved you, that they didn't give you up for adoption, and that you were taken from them and given to someone else who decided to give you up for whatever reason. But it did and none of this is going to go away, no matter how hard you try to fight it… And I know this completely ruined your whole plan to get emancipated and you're pissed about it. I would be too, if I were in your shoes. And I get how it could feel like your father and I are trying to control you and turn you into someone else… But we're just trying to do what's best for you. And if we thought that sending you off to live on your own at fourteen years old was a good decision, we'd be all for it. But it's not," she starts shaking her head slightly. "…We're good parents and you would see that if you just gave us a chance… Can you do that?"

She asks that as if the answer was so simple…as if I could snap my fingers and be the prodigal daughter they had expected me to be.

Couldn't she see how messed up I was?

Couldn't she see that she should be running in the opposite direction, rather than chasing me?

"…I'm not so great at this daughter-thing," is all I can muster out. "I don't know how to make some effort…"

"That's okay," she assures me. "Because I'm actually great at this mother-thing," she says confidently as she smiles and tilts her head to the side. "I've already driven you crazy, so I must've done something right."

I can't help but laugh and for some reason and I hate myself for it afterwards. I knew that I shouldn't be letting her get to me.

I should keep my distance.

She could reject me tomorrow and I learned that lesson the hard way from Valerie.

Nothing is permanent.

Stef's POV

I couldn't help but wonder why Lux felt the need to disguise her smile so quickly. It was as if she didn't want to get too attached to me, as if she was afraid to actually like me.

She reminded me a lot of Callie, when she first came to live with us. She was very closed-off and impersonal, but something was keeping Lux from wanting a relationship with me. Was it her friend, Tasha? It was the only person she had ever mentioned since I met her.

I realize that I have been staring at her for a long time and it's obvious that I made her feel uncomfortable by the way she's fidgeting in her seat and looking away from me. "I'm sorry. I must've dozed off," I tell her as I put the car back in drive and make my way back on the road. I couldn't tell her that I was contemplating on whether or not I should hug her.

I wanted to. Ever since we left the hospital and the nurse told me there was a possibility that I was her mother.

But I was afraid of what that hug would do.

The last thing I wanted was to freak her out so soon.

I would have to take baby-steps before I do that. It was like Mariana all over again, with Callie's jumpiness and trust issues mixed into one. I knew I had my work cut out for me here.

After a few minutes of silence in the car, I finally ask the question that was burning in my throat, "So where are we really going here?" I glance in her direction as I ask it. I knew that there was a chance this wouldn't work, but it wouldn't hurt to at least try it.

"What do you mean?" Lux asks in confusion.

"Love, I have five teenagers at home, and I can smell a lie miles away," I stare at her sternly, "Rule number one in the effort-making handbook: Trust. We have to learn to trust each other… So where are we really going?" I continue to look back at the road so that I don't scare her too much, and so that she feels safe with telling me the truth.

I can practically hear her gulp out loud, which causes me to smile slightly, "Um…Bug's apartment."

"Bug?" I ask as I squint my eyes and make a face.

"My boyfriend."

"Oh," I answer casually even though a thousand worries go through my mind at once. I'm not even sure how to respond but she's being honest with me and showing that she's trying. So pouncing on her about this didn't see like the brightest idea at the moment. "…Does your boyfriend live with his parents in this apartment?"

"Nope. He's on his own. I was going to live there after I got emancipated, but we all know how that went," she says sarcastically. "…The exact opposite happened."

I try to keep my cool and act as if my fourteen year old daughter didn't just tell me that she was planning on moving in with a guy named Bug. Was that where she had been staying, when I went to go check on her at her foster-mom's house? Why am I automatically assuming the worst possible scenario? I knew that I probably shouldn't seem upset about it, and it'd probably be best to keep it cool. I didn't want her to stop talking.

I start to remember Mariana, when she first started to open up to Lena and I. It took almost two weeks before she actually started answering with more than just a yes or no. And when we finally got her to open up, she started talking about every bad thing that ever happened in every home she ever been in. Of course it was uncomfortable for Lena and I at first. But we were more relieved to hear her voice and glad that she felt safe enough to talk to us.

I guess I'd have to do the same thing with Lux in the present situation.

"My friends will be there too," she continues, as if that makes it okay. I still didn't like the fact, that there wasn't going to be an adult present, but I would try to suck it up for now.

"Tasha?" I ask, letting her know that I'm at least trying to remember their names. The fact that she called Lena "Lisa" earlier worried me a little. And I know that Lena must've felt bad about it too.

"Tasha and Gavin, Natasha's boyfriend."

I nod my head, as I try to remember her friends' names."…So, how old is he? This Bug kid?" I finally ask.

"He just turned seventeen last week." Here we go again… The mom in me wants to overreact about the age-difference, but I knew that it'd just get her to close up again. I try to convince myself that it's not that much of a gap. There's a wider gap between Lena and me.

"Does he go to school with you?" I ask.

"Used to. He dropped out last year."

The news about this Bug guy seems to get better and better.

"Uh-hm," I say skeptically.

"Not that he's not smart or anything, because he is… He just saw no point in going after awhile... Make a right, there," Lux says as she points to the next block.

"No point in going to school, huh? He should have a talk with Lena. He'd be begging to go back after she was done with him," I laugh.

"Maybe. Lena seems nice…"

"She is," I smile at the thought of her and I can't help but feel relieved that she likes her.

"How long have you two been together?"

"Ten years. Almost eleven."

"That's a long time," she mumbles.

"Yes it is," I agree.

"You can stop at the grey building," she says as she points to a few buildings down.

I do just that and put the car in park. "What time should I pick you up?" I ask, knowing that the question might retract an angry comment. I didn't want to seem overbearing, but I needed her to know that she wasn't going to stay over here again, regardless of what she did while she lived in her past foster-homes.

"I can get a ride to Mike's," Lux answers casually as she gets out of the car. I take one look at the neighborhood again and see a just how bad in shape it was, not to mention the street was pretty dark, due to the one street light that actually worked on the entire block.

I stare at her for a while and it's obvious to her that I want to get something off my chest. I don't want to make it seem like I'm breathing down her neck or anything. But I know that if this were Mariana or Callie, I would never have let them come to this neighborhood alone in the first place, let alone drop one of them off here and let them figure out a way to get back on their own.

She senses my hesitation, "Do you want to come in? …I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to."

I'm taken aback by her offer and I know that she's probably only offering out of pity, but my level of curiosity is suddenly bigger than my pride, "Sure."

Okay, sooo I wanted to sort of squash the drama between Lux and Stef for now. I'm trying to show that they're both trying to make this work (baby steps people, baby steps.) And I needed that to happen before I explain the whole Callie/Lux situation next chapter.

And as always, thanks for all of your reviews! And hello to the new followers :)

SPOILER ALERT- Was anyone else disappointed in the time jump in last night's premiere? There were a few flashbacks but I wanted to see so much more. Like when Mariana first dyed her hair- her families reactions? Or everyone's reactions to Brandon's beating? Or more from the court hearing when it came to Vico? Or the conversation Callie had with the moms about not wanting to find Robert Quinn? Or when Stef and Lena told the rest of the family they were actually pregnant? So much of the good stuff was just skipped… And for some reason I'm definitely not feeling the Wyllie. There was so much more drama with Brallie, believe it or not and I never thought I'd say this, but I want them back together now more than ever.

Just my thoughts. You don't have to agree with them, but I just wanted to vent. Feel free to vent to me about last night's premiere too. Disagree? No problemo. I'm bored and I'd love to read your thoughts :) Oh, and I hate Jesus and Emma together. I liked him with Lexi way more, and something about Emma pisses me off for some reason. I don't know why. Maybe it was because she knew he had a girlfriend and tried to get him to break up with her (She's too slick for me). And that promo for next episode- let's hope that there's not a "Morning After Part 2…"