Brandon and the twins will all waking up from their spots in the family room. Stef, with the help of the three kids at home, got the girls' room painted the evening before. As a result, Mariana could not sleep in her room. Stef decided that a movie night was in order. All of them put on pajamas and then they watched movies, with only the interruption of Lena's phone call, until all three kids were asleep. At first, Stef's plan had been to sneak back up the stairs, but she couldn't figure out how to move Mariana off of her lap enough to stand up. Finally, she just adjusted her nine year old daughter where they could sort of lay on the couch together with Mariana still mostly on top of Stef.

"Mom…" Jesus whispered. "Mom…" He said louder. "MOM." He practically shouted.

Stef sat up quickly almost sending the half-awake Mariana to the floor. "What's the matter, son?

"Is it time to build my ramp yet? We finished paining and now it is Saturday and you said Saturday would be the day we could build the ramp. Can we? Please?"

Stef rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It is seven fifteen." Brandon said looking at the clock. "We must have been tired because we slept in."

"Fifteen minutes after the time you normally get up is not sleeping in…." Stef groaned. "Sleeping in is when you allow your mother to sleep until at least ten. In the summer you all sleep later and it is almost sleeping in. This is you all getting up on your normal schedule." Due to Lena's strict adherence to a morning schedule, the kids all did pretty well getting up right on time even on weekends now.

"Oh. Well, are we going to build the ramp today?" Jesus asked again.

"Probably. Right now, though, we are going to have breakfast. Any suggestions?"

"French Toast." "Bacon and scrambled eggs." "Sausage with fried eggs." The kids answered at once.

"Okay, since I really mostly make pancakes and that was not mentioned, you all get dressed and meet me back down here in a few minutes. We are going to go out to eat for breakfast. You all can have all of those things. How does that sound?"

She was answered with cheers and feet hurrying to get up the stairs. Stef hated to admit that her mom was right about a night on the couch. Her neck was quite sore and her legs still felt like they were cramped. Having the night with her babies, though, was more than worth it.

Stef made her way up the stairs slowly hoping that her legs would really hold her up. She nearly tripped over Callie's pillow that was throw in the hall causing her to stub her toe on the girls' dresser. Before she knew what she was doing, she had yelled an obscenity.

All three kids peeked out of the rooms they were in and immediately started giggling. Stef turned red. "Okay, that's enough…."

"I don't know, Mom. I think you have dishes for all of next week." Brandon said still laughing.

"Maybe more. Mama really hates the word you said. I think you might also have to clean the bathrooms to clean up that bad language." Jesus added with a teasing twinkle in his eye.

"Well, your mama isn't here and I don't think there is any way she will find out about this is there?" Stef said obviously teasing back.

"What's in it for us?" Mariana asked smiling.

"Breakfast."

"Good enough for me." Mariana said going back into her room to finish getting dressed. Brandon also decided that it was over and a good time to go back into his room as well.

"I am not sure, Mom, it might just slip out of me sometime. I can be a little impulsive, you know." Jesus said looking halfway serious.

"Just keep in mind that if Mama hears that word slip out of your mouth you will be the one on dishes and bathrooms for a week, not me."

"And you will be the one sleeping on the couch for the week, right, Mom?" Jesus asked ducking out the way of the pillow Stef threw at him.

"Right or maybe I will take over your bed and send you to sleep at the neighbor's house." Jesus looked like he was going to say something else. "Breakfast, Jesus. Remember that our goal was breakfast. And let's not forget your pill."

Stef took the kids to a diner that she frequented more when she was single than she had in the last few years. She still went there occasionally for coffee while she was working, but had never taken any of the kids there.

"Officer Adams Foster? I am surprised to see you on a Saturday out of your uniform and with several young friends." The waitress said as the family came in.

"Yep! These are a few of my kids, Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana." Stef said pointing at each child. "Their mama is out of town with my other two and I thought we would come get a special breakfast here."

"Ah, you are a little impaired with your cooking? No matter, I can get them all fixed up. I had no idea that you had so many precious children. I mean, you have mentioned that you have a family, but five kids. They all seem bigger than how you usually talk about them."

"They are my babies… I am shocked myself to see how fast they grow sometimes. Anyway, my youngest is not here this morning. You would see that he is still very little."

The waitress seated them with menus. "The special this morning is all-you-can-eat pancakes with either sausage or bacon and eggs."

"Thank you." Stef said as the waitress walked away. "So, I think most of the things you all wanted are found on the first page."

"I think I want the pancakes." Jesus said. "All that I can eat would be a lot. Mama never lets me have that many."

"Me too!" The other two answered.

"I was going to make you pancakes at home. I thought you all wanted other things. I could have made as many as you wanted to eat." Stef said in mock hurt.

"It's just not the same. This place probably has real syrup, not that almost healthy stuff Mama tries to serve. Besides, this way you can eat them with us… I bet I can eat more than you, Mom." Jesus challenged.

"You're on, Bud!"

The waitress came back over. "So, do you know what you guys want to eat yet?"

"I think we would like four orders of the pancakes. I want bacon and coffee with mine. You will have to ask the others what they want with theirs."

Everyone ordered and the kids chattered happily while they waited for their food. Stef decided that when she had Saturdays off she would make a regular schedule to bring some or all of her kids back here. As she had told the waitress they were growing up too fast. Moments like these made her love being the mother of these super special children.

XXXX

Lena woke up with both kids snuggled into to her. Callie had started off the night in the same bed, but distant and had moved closer all the time. Lena was unsure if her move was due to the slight chill in the air or the tension she was feeling for today. It was really probably a combination of both. She gave each of the kids a little kiss before carefully moving them over so she could get up. Lena then went to take a shower and have a little alone time before the day got started.

The sound of the shower running woke Callie up a little earlier than she would normally be awake. She noticed at once that Lena was missing and realized she was the one in the shower. Callie went and found her picture again. Colleen had her same brown curls and dark eyes. She truly wished she had been able to get to know her birth mother. Her life would have been completely different and she loved her moms, but there was just something inside of her that longed for this other woman.

Lena had not been expecting either one of the children to wake up. She walked out of the bathroom wrapped in her towel and saw Callie sitting up on the other bed sniffling a little. "Honey, what's wrong?" Lena asked walking over to her daughter.

"Nothing." Callie answered with her voice laced with both guilt and sadness.

"It doesn't look like nothing. It looks like you are really upset by something. Do you mind telling me what is going on? I am always willing to listen, especially if it is about Colleen. We are going to say good bye today and it is okay to be sad."

"It's not that." Callie said too quickly.

"Okay, well, I am going to get dressed and then I am going to come back out. Maybe you will be ready to talk to me then?"

Callie nodded a little knowing that she would tell her mama eventually anyway. It might even feel good to talk about a little of this with someone. Stef had certainly helped the night before.

Once Lena was dressed she came and sat across from Callie on the bed in the hotel room. "So, you are looking at the picture with you and Colleen again this morning, babes? What's going through your head?"

Callie sighed with a few more tears silently streaming down her face. "I am thinking that it isn't fair. She was here all the time, but the first time I get a chance to know anything about her she is dead. My grandmother isn't exactly what I was expecting either. Grandma and Grams are just so great… I had no idea that she wouldn't be like them."

Lena thought about the fact that she had warned Callie that might be the case, but decided it wasn't the time to mention it. "That's exactly why I call her your birth grandmother rather than your real one. Your grandmothers are amazing. They both love you like no other. I am fairly convinced my mother loves my children more than she ever loved me… Linda is caught up in her own grief which started years before her daughter died. She is dealing with loneliness and possibly some depression." Lena looked into Callie's eyes. "Remember that none of this is your fault."

"I know, Mama, but maybe she needs someone to help her. Maybe if I came and stayed with her she wouldn't be lonely or sad. Do you think I could do that?"

"Again, Callie, this has nothing to do with you. I know that you would like to help her, but you are just a little girl. It is going to take something more. Now, if you want to stay in touch by letter or email, that would be okay as long as Mom or I could read your correspondence at least for a little while to make sure it is healthy. As for visiting, you haven't even ever visited Grams or Grandma by yourself before. I don't think I will be sending you to Linda's house first. Maybe when you are older if you stay in touch, that would be something you could try. Right now, the best thing we can do for her is to sit with her and support her through the funeral and things. And you can also give her grace for whatever she says to you. Know that she doesn't even necessarily know what she is saying."

"Okay, Mama." Callie crawled over to her mother and almost crawled on her lap with her picture. "Do you think I look like her?"

"Yes, from the outside. I can't tell much about her inside from this picture. Mom and I always tell you that DNA doesn't making family. You definitely have her DNA. However, you also have Mom's protective nature for the people you love. You have my compassion. You are our baby."

"And I got Mom's strong will and your overly emotional side, right?" Callie said grinning a little as she leaned into her mama.

"Of course. Although, Mom's stubbornness serves her well at work. My emotions help me be your mother. Even if you got both of those qualities from us, you will be fine." Lena hugged Callie up close and allowed her own tears to flow into her daughter's hair.

Jude fully woke up to this scene and rubbed his eyes a little. "Why are you crying, Mama? I will make it better if I can..."

"We are both a little sad about saying good bye to Colleen today. How are you feeling about it?"

"Okay, I guess. I mean, she wasn't my mama like you are my mama. I didn't really know her." Jude said making his way over to the other bed.

"Well, sometimes that can feel sad inside, too. You really didn't get to know the woman who gave birth to you. It is okay to feel sad for that."

Jude looked at her strangely and blinked a few times. "Oh. Well, after meeting that lady, I am not sure I would have really like Colleen. Is that okay, too?"

"You might change your mind sometime, but any feeling you have is okay."

"In that case, are you going to die, too, Mama? If Colleen could die in a car accident you could, too, right?" Jude asked looking scared and somewhat tearful.

Lena could tell by the look on Callie's face that she also had this question. "Yes, I suppose so. We have no guarantees, but Mom and I are extra careful on the road. We also try to eat healthy and exercise in order to take care of ourselves."

"Mom drinks." Callie stated. "I have seen her drink beer. You sometimes drink wine, too. Isn't that what happened in Colleen's accident?"

"Yes and no. Mom drinks, but mostly only at home and she is almost never actually drunk. If we drink when we go on a date, we always take a cab home. We both feel very strongly about not drinking and driving. We don't want to do anything that will endanger our lives since we need to be around for our babies."

"I remember one time after you went out that Mom's car was missing. I guess that makes sense. What about the people in the other car? They weren't even drinking, but they got killed anyway. Maybe you and Mom shouldn't ever go out at night. Being at home with us would be safer."

"Well, Cals, like I said before, there are no real guarantees. We will try to keep ourselves safe, but not to the point that we all quit living. We could say that we know that some kids break arms and legs riding bikes so we won't ever ride one again. Instead, we always make you wear a helmet, but still let you ride. Cars can be dangerous, but when you are sixteen, we will teach you to drive a car and we will trust you to drive safely alone once you get a license. I know that I will worry about you. I do even when you are riding a bike, but I also know that it is important to live your life. Colleen shouldn't have gotten in the car with Donald, but it was a choice she made in the way she was living her life. Do you understand that any better?"

"I think so, Mama."

"Also know that if anything ever happened to me, Mom would take great care of you. She loves you both very much just like I do."

"But what if something happened to both of you?" Jude almost whispered.

"Then you have grandparents. Your grandma or my parents either one would take care of all of you in a heartbeat. You really don't have to worry about things like that. We would not just give you away to another family nor would we give you back to your birth family."

"I think I get it, Mama." Callie said. "We have a good stable family and we will be okay no matter what happens."

"Exactly, sweetheart." Lena looked at the clock and was surprised how late it had become. "Well, I am sorry to break this time up, but you both need to get dressed so we can go eat breakfast. Then we will come back and get dressed up for everything we need to do today."

XXX

Lena took the two kids back into the funeral home again. This time they were a little more prepared at least. She took them over to the family area when she saw Linda. "Hello. Is this where we need to be?"

"Yes, of course." Linda answered more subdued than she had been the night before. "Good morning, Callie. Good morning, Jude."

"Good morning." They both answered quietly.

A few people trickled past them to say how sorry they were for their loss. Neither Callie nor Jude really knew how to respond, but Lena thanked each person on the behalf of her children.

"You know that you really don't have to be here, right?" Linda asked Lena in sort of an off putting way.

"Colleen was the birth mother of two of my children. She gave both of them life and honoring her life is nothing compared to that." Lena answered gently knowing that Linda was really hurting right now and trying to set the example for her kids.

The funeral itself was quick. Colleen was not all that old and due to the nature of her death, there was not much to say. There was a slide show of pictures. Lena held tightly to Callie's hand as she saw her daughter crying again while she was watching it. As soon as it was over, all the other funeral attendees were brought by the family again. Jude warmed up to the idea of greeting strangers after the first few, but Callie really didn't. Lena found herself again accepting condolences for Callie.

Callie was feeling a little claustrophobic and very uncomfortable with all of the people. When it seemed like the crowd was thinning she grabbed Lena's arm to get her attention and then whispered. "I need to go to the bathroom. May I go?"

Lena nodded her permission knowing the bathroom was very close and sensing Callie's discomfort. Callie scurried away from the people mostly just to get some alone time again. After she was gone for what she thought was a few minutes, she washed her hands and face again. The bathroom door opened. Callie was expecting to see Lena come after her, but instead she saw someone else. Someone that she recognized, but could not really place. Chills went up her spine as she felt like this was a person that she strongly disliked, even if she could not quite remember why.

"Hello, Callie. There is no need to look at me like that. I am your mommy. You remember me, don't you?" Gretchen asked.