Thank you so much for your reviews, follows and favourites. They are all very much appreciated and encouraged me to write another story. :)

Beta'd by KB.


Lena's eyes cracked open in the morning sunlight and, for a moment, she didn't remember.

She was buried underneath the blankets, her head resting on the plump pillow beneath her, and as she breathed deeply all she could smell was the scent of Stef's vanilla spice perfume. She waited for the familiar feeling of strong arms wrapping around her waist, the grumbling in her ear at the morning's arrival, and the soft kiss on her shoulder.

It didn't come. All that came was a sudden recollection of the weekend's events.

The phone call from Mike; the cold walls of the hospital waiting room; the fear and uncertainty and anger that settled over her heart as she waited for news. The tubes and machines and discarded gauze lying around the emergency room; the image of Stef on the hospital gurney with a taunting bullet hole in her side. The blood, thick and red and staining everything it touched, so vivid in her memories.

Lena sat up and wiped the trickle of sweat from her forehead as she tried desperately to push those thoughts out of her mind. Her body ached, a fitful night's sleep doing nothing to alleviate the stress that had worked its way into her back and shoulders and settled there in knots. She pushed her shoulders back and rolled her neck. What she wouldn't give to have her partner's hands on her body right now, soothing and massaging the pain away.

Her hand wandered mindlessly to the spot behind her where Stef would normally lie, the empty space causing her heart to contract. It was rare for them to spend a night apart and Lena hated the idea of Stef all alone in the hospital, with no home comforts.

Lena looked down at the other side of the bed. There was a gap where Mariana had fallen asleep beside her earlier and Lena guessed that she had probably grown frustrated by her mother's tossing and turning all night.

She glanced up at the clock on the bedside table, which read 6:16am. Not caring about the early hour, Lena grabbed her cell phone and called the hospital, the nursing staff assuring her that Stef was still okay and sleeping.

Knowing that sleep was out of the question for herself, Lena climbed out of bed, slid her feet into her slippers and padded out to the hallway. Slowly, as quietly as possible, she pushed each bedroom door open. Mariana was safe in her own bed, sprawled out on her front and hugging the pillow beneath her, a small frown on her face giving away the guilt that she still carried. Callie lay on her back, her hands gripping the bed sheets tightly.

In the next room, Brandon lay on his side, his cheeks stained red and the pillow he rested on wet from soaking up his tears. Lena stopped to watch him sleep for a while, taken aback by how much he looked like a little boy again. She couldn't help but lean down and gently press her lips to his hair, like she used to when he was younger.

Across the hallway, Jesus faced the window, the blankets rising and falling in a steady rhythm as he slept. As Lena moved across the room, her feet brushed against a small, crumpled piece of paper on the floor by his bed. She picked it up and smoothed the edges, anger creeping in again when she saw the details of the woman's shelter that Jesus had tried so hard to get Ana into. Screwing it up, she tossed it into the bin, dismissing all thoughts of that woman and focussing on her family instead.

She came to Jude last, who was curled up in a ball and holding a photograph against his chest. The morning sunlight gleamed over it, showing a young Callie of maybe four or five years old with a woman who was so obviously her mother, kneeling in front of a baby who could only be Jude. She knelt down beside the bed and studied his face. There was so much about this young boy that she didn't know. As she watched him, he opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he took in his surroundings.

"Lena?"

"It's okay, sweetheart. Everything's okay," Lena said gently. She brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Thank you for holding my hand yesterday."

Jude offered her a small smile.

"Are we going to the hospital today?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course. We'll go in a few hours," Lena promised. "Get some more sleep, okay?"

Jude gave a small nod and closed his eyes as Lena kissed his forehead.

Stepping out into the hallway, she inhaled deeply. Five kids and she couldn't help but think how close she had come to becoming a single mom. The thought of doing it all without Stef terrified her. They weren't a family without Stef; she was the one who held them together when everything around them seemed to be falling apart.

A small smile spread across her face, taking her by surprise. It was going to be okay. They were going to have a happy ending – the twins were safe, Stef was going to be fine, and they were going to get married. It was all going to be okay.


They arrived at the hospital just after 9.30am. None of the kids had slept late, all of them anxious to be with their mom. Lena sent them to the shop, telling them that it would be nice if they arrived with gifts and flowers, but selfishly wanting a few moments with her partner before the kids drew her attention away.

Stef was upright in bed, her head tipped to one side and her eyes closed; her brow furrowed as if she were thinking deeply about something. The mask over her mouth was gone, but she still had a tube in her nose. Her arms rested by her side, her left hand clenched in a tight fist. Lena paused in the doorway. Stef was never quiet; she was brash and noisy and had a smart mouth, always with a quip or a joke. She had been a whirlwind in Lena's life for the last ten years and the silence was hard to take.

Lena stepped inside the room and placed her bag carefully on the chair, causing Stef to stir.

"Hey," Stef murmured a little groggily, turning her head.

"Hey," Lena said, walking up to the bed and taking her love's right hand in her own. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't, I was just resting." Stef looked towards the door. "Where are the kids?"

"At the gift shop, they'll be here soon," Lena said. "They all can't wait to see you."

Stef smiled, her face lighting up immediately. Lena returned the gesture.

"You look brighter today," she said, unable to hide her delight at seeing her partner more awake. She brushed a stray piece of hair away from Stef's eyes and leaned forwards to kiss her temple, lingering for a moment. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, pretty good," Stef answered. "Although I could have done without the guy next door watching repeats of Jeopardy at one o'clock in the morning, especially because he was so bad at it. I, on the other hand, would have won us almost $4,000 thanks to my wealth of knowledge about the American presidents."

They both chuckled, the smile falling quickly from Lena's face when she noticed Stef wince.

"Are you okay? Are you in pain?" Lena asked, frowning. She pulled back, as if she was about to rush out of the room to find a nurse, but Stef caught her hand to stop her.

"I'm okay. It just hurts to laugh," she said.

Lena chewed on her bottom lip, unconvinced.

Stef squeezed her hand. "I'm okay," she repeated. "Just no laughing, only serious conversation." She frowned solemnly, but her eyes twinkled playfully.

Lena pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth twisting upwards as she tried to hide a smirk. "Serious conversation, huh?" she mused, stepping up to the bed once more. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Stef grinned. Her eyes drifted to her left hand and she lifted it, unclenching her fist slowly. Lena's gaze followed.

"The nurse brought me my stuff this morning. They pulled my necklace off when I got here."

Curled in her hand was a thin silver chain with a small diamond hanging from it. She let one end of the chain drop, the link broken. "You gave me this on our tenth anniversary."

"I know," Lena said, remembering their celebrations clearly in her mind.

"They broke it."

"It's okay," Lena said, catching the chain and wrapping her hand around Stef's. "We can fix it."

"But it won't be the same."

Her words hung in the air and Lena wasn't sure if she was still talking about the necklace.

"Hey," Lena said, lifting herself to perch on the edge of the bed and capturing Stef's attention. "It's just a necklace. If it's broken, we'll fix it. And it'll be just as special as before, I promise; maybe even more so."

Stef gave a small nod. As she dipped her head, Lena kissed her forehead. They stayed leaning into each other for a moment, until Stef looked up.

"Did you tell the kids we're getting married?" she asked.

"Not yet," Lena admitted. "I thought maybe we'd do it together. Besides, I… I wanted to make sure that you really meant it. That it wasn't just some drug-induced euphoria."

She blushed bashfully, dropping her eyes and running her thumb lightly over the back of Stef's arm.

"Lena," Stef said softly.

"I just… I want you to ask because you want to get married, not because I want it," Lena confessed. She looked up to see Stef staring intently at her. "I love everything about our life just as it is, you know that, right? Nothing has to change."

"I know," Stef said emphatically. "I want to marry you, Lena. Because I love you; because I belong with you and you belong with me. Forever."

Lena felt her eyes filling with tears, elation spreading across her chest, and she nodded, letting out a small laugh. "Good answer."

Stef smirked. "Come here," she murmured.

Lena shuffled forwards and kissed her fiancée hard. Never again would she let Stef leave the house without kissing her goodbye and telling her that she loved her.

They kept their foreheads pressed against each other, their noses squashed affectionately. "I love you, too," Lena whispered.

The sound of playful bickering amongst their children came floating down the hallway and into the room. Lena pulled back slightly.

"Let's tell them right now," she said resolutely. "Let's tell them we're getting married."

Stef smiled. "We're getting married."