AN: I got a review about Lux being a little brattier in this than she was in Life Unexpected which is understandable. I made Lux as a more complicated character on here for many reasons. One being that her parents aren't Cate and Baze. Those two were more carefree than Stef and Mike are, so I alternated her reactions to everything as such. Plus, I changed a lot from Life Unexpected, so this is how I would imagine Lux reacting with all the changes. It's no secret that Stef and Mike are more authoritative parents, who have had children and know how to set boundaries and rules. In Life Unexpected, Cate and Baze had no clue what they were doing and it showed in their parenting. A) Cate was acting drunk at Lux's party and trying to be her friend so that Lux would like her more and B) Baze letting her throw a party as his bar, giving her plenty of access to alcohol and there are many more of these "parenting" scenes throughout the two seasons. Who would take them seriously after that? Also, something that would change Lux's opinion about everything is that Cate and Baze signed the paper so that Lux could get emancipated without a second thought but were given temporary custody by the judge and had no choice but to make things work and take care of Lux. Whereas in this fic, Stef and Mike are already parents and already know the ins and outs of parenting, so they try to take Lux in as their own, without her consent. Stef promised to sign the paper when she had no idea that Lux was her daughter, so you could just imagine Lux's hostility toward her and Mike, who also refused to sign. So, I made her more difficult on here, because it isn't her choice to be with Stef and Mike, or a judge's, it's theirs. In short, she has more of a reason to be angry with Stef and Mike as well as their families, than she had with Cate and Baze. I'm alternating her energy, because the family she is around now, is completely different than the family she had in Life Unexpected. I'm sorry if you think she's being different. But I think she would need time to adjust to all of this and I don't think she would be all calm and collective if she were being forced to act like someone she's not. In addition, there are a few other things that will be tweaked from Lux's life, especially the Valerie and Trey situation and that will also have to do with the defensive wall that she's putting up. If you guys have any more questions, please let me know. I don't want to confuse anyone, but I don't want to make everything so close to the show either.

Stef's POV

A few minutes pass in complete awkwardness as I wait for Lux to walk back over toward me.

Surprisingly, she doesn't.

I'm not sure why, but she doesn't even glance over in my direction. It's like she completely forgot that I was here to begin with, and she wasn't trying to make an effort anymore in our relationship.

My phone starts vibrating and I can already sense that it was Lena.

Who else would be calling me at this time?

I answer it, "Hey, babe. What's up?"

"Where are you? I thought you were just dropping her off, Stef. That was over and hour ago?" she asks me with a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Yeah, I know. I just came over to meet her friends."

"Oh..." she answers and I could tell that something was up.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing. I mean….It's just…"

"Babe, what is it?" I ask. I couldn't take the awkward silence between the line anymore. I needed her to spit it out already.

"I spoke to Callie…"

"And… Did she give you a reason as to why she behaved the way that she did during dinner?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And I think you it'd be a good idea if you and Lux come back… There's more to the story than you might think."

I contemplate as to what she just said. What did she mean by that? I wonder.

"What are you talking about. hun?"

"Callie thinks she remembers Lux from another foster home…" she answers nervously.

"She thinks?"

"She's pretty sure," my wife corrects. "I'll talk to you more about it when you get here. I just… when are you coming home."

"Soon, Love, soon," I answer as I hang up the phone and pick up enough nerve to walk over toward Lux. I knew that it was a bad time to interrupt her, but I knew that we needed to get to the bottom of this and the sooner the better.

Lux's POV

When Stef walked over toward me and asked to leave, I tried my best not to get riled up by it. No, I didn't want to leave my own birthday party. And yes, I could sense the tension that Tasha and Bug were sending my way when they realized I was about to go, but they couldn't realize that I was trying to make things work between all of us.

Although I couldn't understand why…

Once Callie told Stef and her entire family about what I had done, they wouldn't want anything to do with me.

Not even Stef.

But maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe that was for the best.

She and Mike would be more inclined to sign the papers and I could do what I wanted to do in the first place.

I watch as Stef opens the door to her house for me and allowed me to walk in, and I couldn't help but wonder, if it were the last time I would be invited into her home. But why did I feel almost upset about the thought?

Stef closes the door behind us and ushers me toward the kitchen, "This way please."

I follow behind her without even thinking about it, and as soon as I enter the kitchen and see Lena and Callie waiting for us.

And let the games begin…

"Sit down, love," Stef instructs.

And strangely, I find myself doing just that. Did I feel intimated by her? I have no idea. But nonetheless, I take a seat on the only empty stool, now that Stef has occupied the one next to me. Unfortunately, I was sitting in the stool right across from Lena.

"So…" Stef starts awkwardly. "I've been told that you and Callie know each other… Is this true?" she asks as she cocks her head to the side and waits for me to answer.

I wouldn't.

It would just burry me farther into the ground.

She glances toward Callie, once she sees that I'm not going to provide her with the answer that she's looking for. "Callie, is this true?" she asks her softly.

Callie looks directly at me, and I could tell that she's nervous.

But why should she be?

My guess is that she's been in this family for longer than I have, which has been a total of three days now. So whatever she says is going to be believed by them over me.

And it's not like she wouldn't be telling the truth anyway.

I was in no place to contradict her.

"Um…" Callie starts, "I remember you from when we stayed at the Gilberts house. I don't know if you remember…but when you did what you did…you got Jude and I kicked out too."

I stare at a spot on the floor across the room, once she's finished talking. I wouldn't look up at any of the judgmental looks on their faces, because I've seen enough of them.

I'm not even sure what to say at this point. Luckily, I don't have to say anything, because Stef asks the next question, "What do you mean she got you kicked out, Callie?" I can tell the tone in her voice depicts confusion. Though I can't understand why, because Callie's words were recited clear as day.

Callie gulps loudly before she continues, "Her and her friends sprayed graffiti all around the outside of the house we were all living in… as a prank, I guess."

A prank? I hardly called it a prank. It wasn't meant for laughter or something to be remembered.

I keep my eyes focused elsewhere, but I can still feel Stef's gaze falling back on me, "Lux, is this true?"

Does it really matter what the truth is anymore?

Doesn't she realize that she's asking me a hypothetical question? It doesn't make a difference whether I say it is or it isn't, she already knows the answer to the question.

Lena speaks next, "Honey, you're not in trouble here. We just want to know the truth. That's all."

I finally glance over at her, once I realize that it shouldn't even matter to me what these people think. Maybe this is for the best anyway, right?

I just came here to do one thing, to get approval and get emancipated. "Yes, it's true," I answer as I stare from Lena to Stef.

"Why?" Stef asks with confusion.

Just another question not worth answering, but by the look on her face she still expects one.

"I… can't even remember. Two years is a long time," I answer. "I did a lot of stupid things."

Yes, it was a lie, but why should I even bother confessing the truth now?

So I could have another mom not believe me?

I didn't need relive another Valerie moment.

I think I'll pass on that one.

I glance back over to all of them and I'm not sure what they expected from me.

"Why didn't either of you mention it before?" Stef asks both Callie and I.

I shrug my shoulders. I didn't want to waste my energy on my "I forgot" response. They probably wouldn't believe it anyway. I've already lied to Stef too many times and she knows it.

Callie doesn't answer at all so Lena speaks for her, "Bug here was worried that the same thing would happen again."

Stef reaches for Callie's hand, "Hey, come on now. You know we would never let that happen, right? I told you that Lux coming here wouldn't change how I feel about any of you kids."

"No, I know. I just… I don't know what got into me," Callie says awkwardly.

Stef quickly stands up and walks over to her and pulls Callie in for a hug. She sighs heavily. "I told you that you'd never have to worry about anything like that again. And I meant it," she says as she lets go of their embrace and looks her in the eyes. "No more of this keeping things to yourself. We talked about this, yes?" Stef asks her and Callie nods back. "Alright, now get to bed," she finishes as she playfully pushes Callie out of the kitchen.

I couldn't help but wonder, Did this girl seriously think I was going to get her kicked out of another house just by me being there? And did she really think that I was out to get her or something?

Why couldn't she realize that I didn't want to be there as much as she wanted me there?

Stef's POV

What Callie just admitted to me was the last thing I was expecting when Lena told me that she remembered Lux from another foster-home. I already knew that I had my work cut out for me with Lux and the rest of my kids, but I didn't expect that there would be any problems so soon into inviting her over. And what Lux and her friends did… as a prank?

"So, how was dinner with your friends?" Lena asks in an effort to move from the awkward silence to a decent conversation.

"Short," Lux responds flatly.

I could tell that she felt uncomfortable about the entire situation, understandably so. And the fact that I cut her own time that she got to spend with her friends did make me feel even worse. "I'm sorry that I cut short your visit with your friends. And I'm also sorry that you didn't really get to eat, Sweets. But, I can fix you up something now. What would you like? A sandwich maybe?"

"I'm actually not that hungry," she responds almost emotionless as she tries to stand up from the stool.

"Don't be ridiculous. You only had like five pieces of broccoli all day," Lena says plainly.

Four actually. But I don't want to correct her and have Lux think that I'd watched her while she ate, even though it was the truth.

"I can fix you something real quick. Just tell me what you'd like on your sandwich…"

"Seriously, I'm not hungry. I'm just tired. Is Mike coming to pick me up or are you dropping me off?" she asks casually.

I hated that she already wanted to leave. And it bothered me even more that she felt like she had to go to Mike's to feel comfortable. She was going to have to get used to us too, regardless of what happened between her and Callie. So I glance down at the table and try to pick up enough nerve to lie, "Mike actually texted me that he was working tonight, so he asked if you could stay here and I said yes. Soooo… Are you sure you don't want to eat anything? It's really no problem at all," I assure her.

Lux crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm positive that I'm not hungry."

Lena glances toward me and I know that she can tell that I'm trying to change the direction of this conversation to a more positive one, but am failing miserably, "Well, why don't I show you where you'll be sleeping?" she says as she stands up and gestures Lux out of the kitchen, "Right this way."