"Okay, Jesus, we need to talk." Lena said as they entered the room. "Brandon, we want to talk to you, too, so don't go far."

"Alright." He said as he left the room. "Don't let him break any of my things…"

"Go on Brandon." Stef said before sitting down on Jesus's bed. "Your conference went well. Your teacher thinks you are behaving fairly well. She does want to keep you after school at least one day a week to help you with reading. She also commented that you have a very nice heart."

"So, I am not in trouble then?" Jesus asked. After most parent teacher conferences he got a lecture about his grades and grounded for his behavior. He thought this year was going better, but it was hard for him to really tell sometimes.

"Not for that." Lena said pulling him in for a hug. "However, for going in our room to get your games, you are in trouble. I think Mom said another week without them. Also for this reason and others, we aren't going to have any more days for a while that you all walk yourselves home. I will be keeping you with me at school."

Jesus looked relieved. "That's okay. Callie and Brandon can get bossy anyway. Is that it?"

"No, that is not it. Come sit down with us, son." Lena said patting the bed between them. "You do know that nothing you could do would make us love you any less, right? If we had gone to your conference and you were failing all of your classes and disrupted class constantly, it would change nothing. Well, Mom would want to come sit in class with you for a few days and you wouldn't see your video games for the rest of your life, but we would still be your moms. Remember how we don't really need the piece of paper? You are our baby forever and we love you very much. We are going through with the adoption to make it official. Next week, Buddy. It is happening."

"In that case, can I get my 3DS back for good behavior? I am not failing anything this year…"

"No chance. You should feel fortunate that you aren't getting a spanking just because…" Stef said teasing him and beginning to tickle him.

"Save me, Mama!" He said laughing.

"Okay, Mom, that's enough… Jesus, the pizza will be delivered soon. Go wait downstairs with Jude."

"Okay, as long as he doesn't try to read that girly book with me… "Jesus said getting up.

Lena grabbed him and pulled him back down. "Do I need to remind you of pretty nails? Or you playing dress up with Mariana? Jude is little right now and trying to discover himself. No matter who he is or becomes we respect him for being him. You don't have to like the unicorn book, but he can. Got it?"

"Yes, Mama. I won't tease him about it. For the record, I was like four when I had pretty nails… And you painted them."

"Jude isn't much bigger than four, he is only six. Your last dress up experience was like two months ago. We did let you do those things and we will let Jude. You will let Jude be himself because you are a fantastic big brother with a kind heart."

"Get Brandon on your way out, please."

"Why? I am sure his conference went very well."

"Just get him." Stef said in a no nonsense sort of voice.

Brandon appeared a few moments later. "Have a seat, son." Lena said gently. "We need to talk a little about your homework and grades."

He hung his head a little before sitting down. "Yes, you should be ashamed. You have always had good grades, but it seems like they have all dropped recently. Mostly due to not really doing your homework. Care to explain?" Stef asked sternly.

"Not really. I just thought I could handle things. I am not a baby, I could take myself home and I didn't need Mama to go through my backpack. Sometimes I got my homework done really well before school, but then it started getting harder."

"And your teacher sent a note home about it." Lena prompted.

"You know about that, too?" Both women made noises that showed they knew. "There was a note. It seemed easier to not say anything because I still thought I could fix it."

"Who signed my name, B. I know it wasn't me, but who did it?" Lena asked still being very calm.

"Dunno." He said quickly in his lying tone again.

"The lying is going to get you nowhere, but more trouble. Who signed Mama's name? Was it someone in our household?"

"No. It was some boy at school. I didn't know him. He said he could take care of it."

"Did he also sign your field trip note?" Stef asked.

Brandon looked shocked. "What note? We didn't have to get anything signed for that. They weren't looking for parents to go…"

"Well, I am going with your class and Mom is going with Callie's. Your teacher doesn't mind. What she does mind is your lying, forging, and your lack of homework. As a matter of fact Mom and I also do not like that stuff. There will be no more walking home together after school. You will be staying with me. Also, I will be going through your backpack again like I do Jude and Jesus. Your homework will be done at the bar like everyone else. I will be confirming with your teacher every afternoon what needs to be done for a while."

"And you are grounded for at least a week. It will be longer if you do not tell us who is signing forms for Mama. We are serious about this Brandon Michael. No more games."

"I really don't know."

"Well, you need to sit in your room and think about it. We will let you know when it is time for dinner. If you think of who it was we will be talking to the girls. Love you, B."

Both moms got up to leave slowly hoping that Brandon would change his mind, but he was silent. Lena spoke again when they got to the hallway. "Which one next?"

They made eye contact. "I think Callie. She also knows the mysterious forger and she could probably shed some light on why she hit Jordyn. All things I am curious about."

Stef sort of knocked as they opened their own door. Callie knew she was already in trouble without mentioning the privacy issue again. "Hey, Baby." Lena said sitting down next to her daughter on the bed. "We would have been in here earlier, but we have been busy with your brothers. I guess we should start with your conference. Your teacher said you were doing very well. We did, however, see there was a note about your field trip that someone had written my name on. I believe Mom already told you that we will both be on that trip after all. If they have plenty of other parents, we thought just the four of us could be a group together seeing that you did not want us there. Is this because of Trevor or something else?"

Callie turned bright red in embarrassment. "Mom told you?" She rolled her eyes and received a slight flick to her shoulder from Stef. "Of course she did. No, it isn't because of Trevor. I just wanted to go on this field trip alone. Kids sometimes call us names."

"Because you have two moms or because you have a large family?" Lena asked quietly sort of already knowing the whispered words around her kids.

Callie nodded. "Both. And because one or both of you show up at all of our class parties and attend every field trip. Most of the kids in my class said their parents weren't even going to conferences, but I knew both of you would be there. You always are."

"And that's a bad thing?" Stef asked, clearly not getting it.

"It is one thing to have a family that is, well, a little odd. I mean, let's face it, there aren't a lot of other kids out there with two moms or such a culturally diverse family… It is another to have your mommies at school all the time when you are ten. Think about it, would either of you have liked that?"

"No." Stef said slowly. "But we love you guys and we love spending the time with you. At some point you will be happy that you had such a supportive family. However, if you did not want us to go on your field trip what should you have done instead of forging Mama's name?"

"First of all, I didn't forge any signatures. I promise. Secondly, I guess I could have just asked to go by myself. Would you have let me, though?"

"We can't really answer that at this point, Bug. You didn't give us the chance. If you didn't sign it and Brandon says he didn't, who did do it?"

"A girl that I know." Callie said.

"Do I know this girl, too?" Lena asked suspiciously.

"How am I supposed to know?" Callie asked with attitude and she promptly received another slight flick to her shoulder. "Sorry, Mama. I don't know who you know."

"If it is a girl at school or one you hang out with in the neighborhood, I probably know her. If she lives in this house, I certainly know her."

"No, I it is girl I really didn't know from somewhere else."

"Okay, we will also tell you that until we know who the forger was, you are also grounded. Now, for a bigger issue. Jordyn's mom obviously called her after you left her house. I do not appreciate you lying to me about your sister's whereabouts or allowing your sister to go there. More than that, you may not hit anyone for any reason."

"I really didn't let her go, she went on her own. I mean, how am I supposed to stop her?"

"You could have called one of us from the home phone. You have the number." Lena said firmly. "You all won't be staying by yourselves for a while either. I need to keep a better eye on you after school."

Callie groaned. "If this is about Brandon's homework that has nothing to do with me. I am doing fine. I have been doing my homework and reading thirty minutes every night! Please don't make me stay with you at school!"

"Just like you said, though, Bug, you can't really control your sister and brothers. Mama can if she is there. That still doesn't tell me why you lied to me or why you hit Jordyn."

"Jordyn is a b-"

"Do not finished that word unless you want to have dish duty all next week." Lena warned.

"She was asking for Mariana's new tennis shoes in order to be her friend. Then she made fun of our family. It made me mad. I didn't even think about the consequences. I am sorry."

"Ah, but it isn't us that you need to apologize to, Lady Bug. I will be taking you over the Jordyn's house after dinner to apologize to her and her mother. What she did wasn't right, but you could have ignored it and come home. Neither of you were supposed to be there at all because Mama and I already knew that she was… exactly what you were thinking." Stef said with a wink to Callie receiving a dirty look from her wife.

"Well, we are going to leave you in here to think about some things. Someone will come for you at dinner time. Let us know when you are ready to tell us who has been forging my name and we will let you know how long you are grounded. By the way, we love you, Callie."

Next they walked into the girls' room to see Mariana. "We heard some good things about you at your conference, Miss Thing. You are talking more at school and making good grades. Mama and I really like that."

Mariana gave a small smile. "I have been making bracelets and necklaces for my friends, Mommies. I have some new friends that are light colored like Mommy."

"Well, we need to talk to you about how you are making friends… Real friends will never ask you for things. It is okay to make jewelry for your friends, but not okay if they only want to be your friend because you gave them something." Lena explained pulling the little girl on her lap.

"And we don't care what color your friends are. Mama is a different color than me and I love her. You and Jesus are a different color than either of us and we love you. Love isn't about color." Stef said giving her a kiss to her head.

"Yes, but Jordyn said that blond hair and light skin are best."

"I have light skin and blond hair, does that make me better than Mama?"

"No… Mama is very pretty and smart and great. I love her. I think it is just for kids… moms don't count."

"Lexie has dark hair and a skin color much like yours, but she is a very good friend. What about her?" Lena asked.

Mariana hung her head. "I am not friends with Lexie anymore. Jordyn told me that I couldn't be friends with her and Lexie. She told me to tell Lexie that I didn't like her anymore."

"And you did it?" Stef asked even though it wasn't necessary. "You may not give your shoes to that girl or anything else unless it is her birthday. Mama and I do not want you hanging out with her because she is unkind. I bet if you call Lexie you can make things right with her."

"Okay. I do like Lexie, I just wanted more friends. Can she come over and play tomorrow?"

"No, because you are in trouble with us for going to Jordyn's house today." Stef said almost laughing. "You will be in good company since your brother and sister are also grounded."

"Is Brandon in trouble because of his grades?" Mariana asked confirming Lena's other suspicion.

"Perhaps. I would also like to know where you learned to sign my name, young lady." Lena said trying to keep her temper under control.

"They told? I bet it was Brandon…"

"Actually, it was you that told." Stef said actually surprised by this turn of events.

"Oh. So I guess you will want my Hello Kitty pen, then?" Mariana asked going over to the desk she shared with Callie.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. You will be apologizing to both Brandon and Callie's teachers and maybe more. What else have you signed?" Lena asked.

"Nothing." She said not looking Lena in the eye.

"Not a good answer. Try again."

"The first thing was a note from my teacher about the beads. I quit bringing them it was okay. I also may have signed a math test once or maybe twice. I did okay, I just forgot…" Mariana looked at her moms' faces. "I will apologize to her also. I promise I won't do it again."

"One more thing, why did you sign Mama's name? It seems like that wasn't a good plan. She works at that school and many papers with her signature go to the office."

"I didn't think about that… Mama writes very pretty. I have also worked on writing pretty like Mama. Your writing is messy and your name is hard to read."

"Well, I think I just heard the doorbell which would mean it is time for dinner." Lena said almost laughing. "No more signing either of our names to things. This is a very serious offense that we will be discussing with all three of the ones involved. We love you, Mariana."

"Even when I mess up really bad?"

"Even then, Miss Thing."

XXXXX

When dinner was over, Brandon insisted on pulling Stef and Lena to the side. "I have something to tell you guys."

They went into the family room with him and Callie followed behind quietly. "What is it B?" Stef asked. Neither had revealed to Brandon or Callie that they knew who the forger was yet and they were interested in seeing what he would say.

"I remembered the name of the boy writing Mama's signatures. It was Trevor Scott. He is in Callie's class. You should probably ban him from the field trip for signing our forms, Mama." Brandon said thinking he could solve two problems.

"Callie Marie, get in here!" Stef yelled surprising the two on the couch and the one creeping behind the wall. "I know you are close!"

"Yes, Mommy." She answered sweetly.

"You two should know that we both know who was signing Mama's name on things. Trevor is going on the field trip and I will be meeting him. He wasn't the one, though, was he, B?"

"No…"

"The one who did it is much closer to our house, isn't she, Callie?"

"Yes..."

"Your sister is willing to do a lot of things for friends. One way you could help her with this is assure her that you love her without asking her to do things for you. This was not okay. The two of you are going to be working some things together for the next couple of weeks. You were right when you said you were no longer babies, so I will be having you all do many extra chores like bathrooms, vacuuming, and mopping."

"We are going on this field trip, but if you really don't want us to go the next time, we won't. I did change your diapers, get up with you in the night, wipe your snotty little noses, and clean up your vomit many times, but if I embarrass you, I will stay out of things…" Stef said to the kids.

"Wait, Mom, you never changed any of my diapers." Callie said. "I was long out of diapers before we met."

"Okay, I have cleaned up your bed after you wet it a time or two and what about the other things, Bug?"

"You have done all of those… I am not really embarrassed by you. I love you a lot actually. I still tell you more than I tell anyone else. I was going to tell you about Trevor, I just wasn't sure how." Callie said starting to cry a bit.

Lena sensed this was a Stef and Callie moment so she escorted Brandon from the room to leave them alone. "Why? You used to tell me everything." Stef said gathering her daughter closer.

"I wasn't sure what you would think." Callie admitted. "I mean, I have never known anything other than having two moms. I grew up playing house with my sister and even playing wedding with her when she insisted. You and mama love each other so much. I want what you have someday, but I wasn't sure how you would feel about me liking a boy instead of a girl like you."

"Oh, Bug. Mama and I don't care if you are attracted to boys or girls. It is not even something you have to know at this point. The important thing is that going into your tween years you are open and honest with your mama and me just as we try to be with you. Seriously, though, if you don't want us to go, we don't have to."

Callie laid her head on Stef's lap. "No, it's okay Mom. Just don't say anything to Trevor, or really, anyone else."

"So, I can go, but I have to be silent?"

"That would be best."

"Do you remember trying to explain to Mike one time about how Mama and I had private time, but weren't making a baby? Or when I took just you out by yourself and you told the waitress that you were going to marry me someday? Or when you asked about boobs in the middle of a checkout line at the grocery store? All of those were times that I loved having you around, but I wanted you silent." Stef teased Callie tickling her stomach a little.

Callie giggled and squirmed away. "And those are all stories that I don't want you telling on my field trip."

"You didn't make this requirement last year when we went to the aquarium."

"I will be in middle school next year, Mom! Besides, I didn't even know Trevor then…"

"So seriously, Bug, was Trevor the biggest reason you didn't want Mama and I to go on this trip with you? Or are you being teased like you mentioned earlier?"

"We are all teased some, but you don't have to worry about it because I can take care of it. Grandpa Frank said everyone needed to be able to stand up for themselves. He taught me to hit first and hit hard. He said it was especially important for me to learn since Brandon wasn't willing to mess up his dainty piano hands."

"Yeah, my dad taught me that, too." Stef said proudly running her fingers through Callie's hair. "Just don't let your mama hear you talk like that. It can be another one of our secrets."