Stef had been searching for something to make for dinner when she heard the front door open. Eight hours had passed since everyone left for school this morning, and she hadn't even considered what to cook.

The blonde opened the fridge and noticed that Lena must've already taken the meat out of the refrigerator for dinner.

"Pasta it is," Stef mumbled right before she walked over toward the cabinets and opened them in search for the pasta.

"Hey," Lena greeted as she walked over and kissed her wife.

"Hi, my love," Stef smiled. "How'd the first day of school go? –Where is everybody?" she asked out of confusion when she hadn't heard any arguing between her children of any kind. Something was definitely off to her.

Lena smiled. "Mariana and Callie stayed after, to sign up for some clubs–"

"Against Callie's will I'm assuming," Stef joked.

Lena chuckled, "Of course... Jesus had to stay for wrestling signups. Jude went over to Connor's. And… Brandon said something about band tryouts?"

"At the school?" Stef questioned.

"No... Lou quit, so they're looking for a new singer."

"Oh, that's too bad," Stef said as she pulled spaghetti sauce from the cabinet.

"And how's everything going here?" Lena asked as she watched Stef pull out a pot and begin to fill it with water.

"Everything's fine…" Stef paused as she tried to figure out what to say to Lena about Lux. She had the entire conversation planned out in her head, so she herself couldn't understand why it would go completely blank.

"Oh," Lena nodded as she glanced down and grabbed the box of pasta, opening it and removing them from the carton to hand them over to her wife. "Did you talk to her about–"

"No," the blonde admitted. "I didn't. But I did find out why she suddenly felt so sick… other ways."

Lena scrunched up her forehead as she listed to Stef. "Do I even want to ask?"

The cop chose not to say anything immediately. Instead, she walked over toward where she could see Lux's door. When she saw it was shut, she turned her gaze back over to Lena. "So," she began to whisper. "I accidentally read a text on her phone."

Lena made a face at Stef.

"Please don't give me the look, Lena. I had no choice," Stef attempted to defend as she gazed away and turned on the stove with the pot.

The brunette shook her head, "And what did it say?"

"Well… It's not so much what it said… It's what she said to Bug. She still has him under "Minnesota" for some reason," Stef mumbled.

"Okay? So, this was about Bug?" Lena squinted her eyes at her.

"Apparent-ly," Stef answered. "From what I got, Bug found out something that Lux didn't want him to know."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Stef confessed. "I didn't see an incoming text from him to her. She deleted it, I'm assuming. She's too smart," she squinted her eyes as she thought about it.

"So…" Lena was beginning to realize. "You didn't accidentally read her text. You went through her phone then?"

"That's kinda besides the point," Stef defended. "But yes, I went through her phone, only because I could tell she was waiting for a text and she had already fallen asleep. It was lying right there."

"Well, now we can't question her about it. You know that, right?" Lena informed her wife.

"Yes, I know," Stef snarled. "What I don't get is how people can really get into arguments when their in long-distance relationships… They don't even see each other."

"When is he coming back from Minnesota?" Lena asked.

"Who knows? I hope he stays there," Stef confessed before looking back up to her wife, "Which reminds me…"

"Yeah?"

"Um…" Stef tried to figure out a way to best explain this, "I think –well, it seems as if you AND Lux," she added, "…need to try something else because this isn't really working," Stef finished.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked. "Did she say something to you?"

"No–kinda," the blonde corrected. "I don't… well I don't f-feel as if she really understands that you're her mom too," Stef answered nervously. She hadn't wanted to hurt Lena's feelings but there wasn't really another way to say it either.

Lena nodded her head and offered her wife a small smile. "Yes, I kind of figured that."

The blonde's facial expression depicted more seriousness. "And you're…okay with this?"

"No, I'm not okay with it," Lena admitted, "But I don't want Lux to feel as if she has to develop a relationship with me. I don't want to push her into something she doesn't even want or isn't ready for. You know Lux, that would never work–"

"So you'd rather just… do nothing about it? Is that what you're saying?" Stef interrupted as if that was obviously not the answer.

"I don't want to ruin your relationship with her," Lena admitted to her wife.

Stef appeared puzzled by her expression. "How would that–"

"Stef, you and Mike are her parents," Lena answered simply. "After all that happened, she finally accepts you both."

"You're her parent too," Stef reminded her.

"That's not what I meant," Lena answered her wife. "I meant that… Look, I remember how hurt you felt when we first found out about her, Stef. I remember how upset you were when she decided to move in with Mike, and then when she left again after what I said…"

Stef's face remained frozen as she listened to her wife. She had never imagined that she was the reason Lena felt so uncomfortable to say something to Lux about all of this. She also couldn't understand why the woman would choose to keep this from her at the same time.

"I didn't want to be the reason why she left again," Lena wiped away the tear that managed to escape her right eye.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Stef asked as she grabbed her wife's arm and gently squeezed it. "You can't think like that," she whispered. "Lux isn't–"

"I didn't want to get in the way of you two," Lena admitted. "She keeps pushing me away, ALL of the time. And I'm trying," Lena sobbed lightly, causing for Stef to pull her wife's head closer so she could kiss her forehead.

She let go but stayed close. "Lux is difficult, Lena. It's going to take her a while to get used to you, but you can't stop trying… Trust me, I'm still working on it," the blonde joked as she tried to get her wife's attention by staring at her in her eyes. "She won't be the one to initiate anything," Stef informed her. "You're going to have to… And you can't be afraid that anything you say is going to affect what Lux and I have built either because it won't. Lux knows that I love her. Nothing you say is going to change that."

"She doesn't feel comfortable around me," Lena disclosed.

"It's going to take a little time, my love," Stef assured her. "But the more you keep ignoring it and letting her think that treating you like this is okay, the harder it'll be to reverse... I became her parent, the second I found out she was mine. Imagine what would've happened if I let her get emancipated and did whatever she wanted? …She'd probably be in Minnesota by now with Bug doing god knows what, and I would've never gotten the chance to know her. Even now, I struggle everyday with her and I can tell she does too. Sometimes she let's me parent her and others," Stef paused and shook her head, "…it's a working progress, but that's still what it is. Progress. You can't really make progress by doing nothing, honey."

"I'm not really sure what to do?" Lena answered honestly. "She isn't like any of the other kids. I wouldn't even know how to start–"

"Start with what you just told me. Be honest. If she's anything like me, she'd appreciate it," Stef smiled slightly. "We have to take it one step at a time, yes?"

Lena nodded in agreement before she allowed her wife to hug her again.