Did Lena really have to call her mom on her? was all Lux could think about at this moment. Who cares if she caught on that she wasn't actually sick? It was clearly none of her business. Or didn't she get that by now?

Just then, Lux could hear the door of Lena's office open and see Lena's face popping through, "Mom's outside."

The older woman watched as Lux huffed and grabbed her bag from the floor, before flinging it over her shoulder and walking back into the hall with Lena. The two of them had barely formed any kind of relationship in the past 6 months that they'd been living together and now it was beginning to feel different.

Now, Lux was really starting to hate this woman.

And it wasn't that Lena didn't try.

Boy, she tried.

And apologized.

And tried again.

But it was hard for any kind of bond to form between them, when Lux hardly acknowledged when her other "mom" was in the room at all. Whenever she spoke at the dinner table, Lux would glance away awkwardly and stare at her plate, even when Lena was speaking directly to Lux. The teen would answer her sometimes, if she were asking her a direct question. But even her answers seemed as if she were completely uninterested in the topics, answering with simple, "yeahs" and "ohs."

Lena also noticed that Lux wouldn't remain in the same room with her if Stef or one of the other children weren't right there with them. She hated feeling like her wife's kid would never accept her and she hadn't wanted to push for things to change, especially when she felt to blame for most of it.

Lena knew that she needed to pull Lux aside and finally talk with her about why the blonde felt the need to pretend as if she didn't even exist. She wanted to explain to her how she felt about it, but she also knew that doing this could possible go very wrong.

Lux was very impulsive and very much like Stef.

Lena was afraid she would try to leave again or decide to move back in with Mike.

But the one thing Lena did know was that Stef was really happy. With Lux there, it was as if Stef finally had her entire family back. And it was that fact that made Lena bite her tongue all those times, just like she'd probably do again and again.

Lux got in Stef's car and closed the door behind her, fully expecting an entire interrogation at this point. It was one of the few things she despised about her mom, her incessant need to question everything.

Why couldn't she have been a vegetarian chef? Lux always thought to herself during these moments. Or a movie star? Or anything else but a cop…

"Mama says you not feeling well?" Stef began.

"Nope," Lux answered flatly. "And… you can say Lena," Lux felt the need to finally correct.

Stef paused for a few seconds before seeing her wife wave goodbye from the school door. She smiled and waved back before turning her gaze toward Lux.

"Don't be upset with her because she called me. She did the right thing. We don't want you to walk home if you're not feeling well," Stef replied as she put the car in drive.

"I'm not upset with her because of that," Lux lied. "I just don't like it when you call her that while you're speaking about her to me. She's not my mom."

The cop squinted her eyes at the road in front of her before moving them toward her daughter again. Lux could tell that what she said had caught a nerve by the expression on her mother's face. But she also knew it annoyed her ever more every time she had to hear it.

"Lux," Stef paused as she tried to determine what exactly to say and how to handle this. She was very angry but masked it well, realizing that she might probably give Lux more reason to dislike her wife if she were to show that anger. "…Lena is an amazing woman. And she cares for you very much. Please don't let her hear you say something like that."

"But she's not," Lux said flatly. "She's your wife I've accepted that. But can you accept that I don't feel comfortable with you calling her my mom when it is so obvious she isn't? And why should I? Because I live with her? If that's the case, then I have like 15 moms…" she voiced in a sarcastic tone.

"Lux, she's trying. You can't honestly say that she isn't," Stef felt the need to clarify. "She wants to be a part of your life."

"Is that why she called you and didn't take me home herself?" Lux questioned and waited for her mom's answer. She continued when she didn't get one right away, "… Look, she knows she's not my mom, you know she's not my mom, so why pretend like she is?"

Stef sat there in silence as she kept driving. She couldn't help but feel as if Lux did have a point, but she also knew that Lena felt like she was walking on eggshells most of time with Lux. Could it have been that Lena's own behavior toward Lux had a lot to do with them not getting along? the blonde was beginning to wonder.

"I'm sorry," Lux finally blurted out. She could tell that what she said hurt Stef and that wasn't her intention. She had gotten very close with her mom and the thought of hurting her made her regret a lot of what she had just said. "I just… I really just… I need you to just call her Lena when you're talking to me…. It's her name," she tried to justify. "I just–"

"Okay," Stef nodded in agreement as she pulled her car into the driveway of the house. "I can do that."

Stef waited awhile before deciding to check up on Lux, who robotically went downstairs and disappeared from sight after their conversation. She wasn't entirely sure that Lux was sick, but the idea of finally being able to care for one of her "sick" children for the first time was a hard one to pass by, despite what just happened.

It was too early to make soup, she figured so she decided on oatmeal instead. She couldn't remember Lux eating breakfast anyway so it was better than nothing. The blonde put a bowl of oatmeal on a tray and some saltine crackers beside it along with a glass of water and some Advil.

Lux could hear her mother coming down the stairs when she fumbled with her phone. She had been contemplating whether or not to press the send button on her text to Eric, but Stef coming down the stairs rushed her decision.

LUX: I'm sorry. That was not how I wanted you to find out. I was going to tell you, I swear.

Sent.

No! I shouldn't have sent it! she cursed herself before hiding her phone underneath her covers and laying back down.

Maybe it was too soon, she thought to herself.

Stef slowly opened the door that was only left ajar before looking over to Lux's bed.

"I brought you some oatmeal and some crackers."

Yay… Because that would just make everything all better, Lux thought to herself. She wanted to be left alone at this point, so she closed her eyes and stayed still, hoping that her mother would go away.

Stef could only see her daughter's back but she wasn't the easiest to fool. She did have five other kids. "I know you're not sleeping. Nice try, sweets…"

Silence.

"Lux, you do realize you snore when you're fully out, yes?"

"Do not," Lux gave into the accusation.

"No, you don't but you're still awake so the plan worked," Stef said matter-of-factly.

"I just gave right in to that one," Lux mumbled in a defeated tone before she turned her body around and sat upright.

"Yes, you did," Stef smiled. "They all do," she praised herself as she placed the tray directly in front of Lux.

"You didn't have to do this," Lux answered.

"I wanted to," Stef said sincerely, which made Lux sort of feel bad for not being sick at all. "There's some Advil there too for your headache," the woman pointed to the napkin beside the water.

"Thanks," Lux answered before grabbing the pills and throwing them in her mouth and drinking some water. She put the glass back down on the tray and stared back up at her mother, who was just standing there watching her without saying anything.

"What?" Lux asked in confusion.

"No, nothing, just…" Stef just stopped talking and layed her own body down on the end of Lux's bed, putting her elbow on the bed and her palm on her head to hold herself up a little.

The teen watched her with an even more confused expression on her face. "Don't you have to go to work?"

"Nope," Stef answered casually. "I took the day off."

"Because of me?" Lux continued.

"You sound surprised?" Stef made a face before relaxing her expression a little. "…I've never really had a chance to be there for you when you were sick so I… I just wanted to be here. That's all…Why? Is that a crime?" Stef joked when Lux hadn't said anything in response.

"No, I just… No," she answered flatly.

"Did you ever have this?" Stef finally questioned.

"Have what?" Lux took a spoonful of oatmeal and blew air on it to cool it off.

"Did someone ever take care of you when you were sick?" Stef clarified.

It seemed like such a weird question to ask to Lux, but she didn't want to directly say that. "Why do you ask?" the teen asked as she put the oatmeal in her mouth.

"Just curious," Stef answered. "I'm your mother. It's nice to know these things."

"Oh," the teen began. "Not all the time. I mean…Well, only when I lived with Valerie and…" Lux paused not really wanting to mention Trey's name. "Valerie would take care of me," she finished.

Stef regretted asking the question at this point. She hadn't wanted to remind Lux of those people, but here she was asking a direct question where they were the answer.

And she was really beginning to hate that woman even more now.

"Valerie wasn't a bad person, Stef," Lux said as if she could read her mother's mind. "She really wasn't. She did a lot for me."

She was my mom, Lux wanted to say but chose not to.

But the older woman completely disagreed. The sound of that woman's name made Stef's blood boil. She wanted to kill her that night when she left Lux alone with that man. She might have done so, if she actually stayed any longer and waited for her to show up.

And to make things worse, now Stef felt like all she was doing was mirroring Valerie's behavior. Of course, it would confuse her daughter.

"Okay," Stef nodded before she got up from the bed and stood up. She leaned over and gave Lux three quick kisses on the forehead. "Eat your food and let me know if you need anything. I'll be right upstairs. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."