A/N: Okay, here ya go. Bit of a boring chapter I'm afraid, but it had to be done. Chapters are going to be a bit shorter for a while. Don't blame me it's just where the story breaks fall. Hopefully though, this means faster updates. I'm employed once again so free time will be less than it was, but we shall survive! Okay, go! Hope you like it.

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The weeks flew by and soon Sara and I had been together for five months. It had taken some getting used to, but life as a mother of three was becoming second nature to me now, as was being in a committed relationship with a supportive co-parent. I was experiencing what life could be like in an equal partnership and I was in awe of the difference it made to have someone always at your side, helping you and, to a certain extent, letting you help them.

We had structure, we had schedules, and we still found time to relax and have fun. Dinner, for instance, happened as close to six as we could make it every night. One of us cooked, the other helped the girls through setting the table, and later we washed and dried the dishes together. Everyone had a vegetable, a starch, and a protein source on their plate.

I had never lived like this before. Certainly not in my childhood or adolescence when my mother worked bizarre hours and my father hugged the bottle like it was the Bible. Definitely not during my time as a dancer when I was permanently in a drug induced haze. And absolutely not during my marriage. I had tried to have this sort of thing with Eddie, but I had never been able to count on him for food or money, let alone being on time for dinner. My life had never been reliable or stable.

But life, now, just seemed to click. Sara and I worked as a team, it was the only way we could maintain the pace in which we lived. Instead of fighting, we discussed issues. It was hard, and it didn't always work. When we got too heated we just took a step back, and spent some time apart. We learned to work in tandem, knowing what the other was doing at all times, what child was where, working off each other to make sure everything got done and we weren't dead by the end of it. Eventually, we got it down so well that we didn't need to talk, we were so in touch with the other's needs, that we finished each other's sentences.

And yeah, there were problems here and there, and sometimes dinner didn't happen right at six, or someone wouldn't eat their vegetables, or work hours were not the most convenient. But these were trivial problems; I had three kids, I had to learn to let the little things go. If spilled milk was my biggest problem, then I was grateful- it was a far cry from picking your wasted husband up from a strip club in time to catch him trying to pick up a girl who could be a younger version of you. As far as I was concerned, life with Sara and the girls? It was the best I'd ever had.

One morning, I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes after we'd sent the girls off to school. Sara had gone back into the lab to check on some urgent results she was waiting for and I was waiting for to come home before heading off to bed. As I put the final dish in the dishwasher, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Sidle?" The voice was a pleasant one, and somewhat familiar.

"No, this is Catherine Willows, who's this?"

"Oh, Catherine! Hi, this is Denise Adams, Lindsey's third grade teacher? Do I have the wrong number?"

"Hi, Denise. No, you have the right number, Sara just isn't here right now. Can I take a message?"

"Uhh, sure. Just tell her that I'd like to set up an appointment to discuss her daughter, Ayla."

At her words, I knitted my brow. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, just a routine meeting." Somehow, I didn't quite believe her.

"Oh, okay. Well…I'll let her know."

"Thanks! Bye-bye."

Hanging up, I frowned at the phone. What was wrong in Ayla's class? She hadn't said anything. Ms. Adams had never called me in for a parent-teacher conference when Lindsey was in her class. What could be wrong?

At that moment, Sara came home. I heard the door shut and the keys get discarded on the front hall table. "Hey, I'm home." Sara walked in to see me frowning pensively. "What's wrong?"

I hung the phone up and sighed. "I just got off the phone with Ayla's teacher." I went up on my tiptoes and kissed her cheek. "She wants to set up an appointment to talk about Ayla."

"Like a parent-teacher whatsit?"

I nodded and started cleaning the counter. "She said it was just a routine check-in, but I think she was lying- something in her voice."

Sara came to hug me from behind, "I'm sure everything's fine, she would have said if something were wrong."

I shook my head. "Not necessarily. I got the impression that she only wants to talk to you- Ayla's mother." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Sara kissed my jaw lightly and pulled me firmly into her arms. "Calm down, babe. She doesn't know the whole situation. When we go to the meeting, we'll just have to set the record straight, okay?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now, did she come through on caller ID?"

I picked up the phone and nodded again.

Sara took the phone, "Then I'll just have to call her back and set it up."

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It turned out, that I was right; this wasn't an ordinary meeting. When Sara called back, she learned that the principal would also be in attendance, though that was all Denise Adams would say over the phone. So, at four thirty on Thursday, I left Maggie with a babysitter and headed off to the school. The older girls were in the after-school program that day, and Sara, who was giving a deposition for a case, was meeting me there.

These sorts of things always made me nervous. I'd always felt different from other parents. I didn't go to meetings, I wasn't on any committees, and I'd never made anything for a bake sale. I felt awkward around other mothers, but I really felt out of place around teachers, like they were judging me not just as parent, but as a person, based on how well my child did in their class. But today was different. Today, I would have Sara with me. I was still nervous though. I tried on three different pantsuits before settling on a navy pinstripe. I wanted to look professional, to remind them and myself that I was a confident, productive member of society and therefore worthy of their time.

I walked into Denise Adams classroom feeling tense. What would she have to say about Ayla?

"Mrs. Willows?" Denise was sitting at her desk opposite the principal, Ruth Goldwater. "Can I help you?" She looked genuinely confused by my presence.

I smiled, "Yes, I'm here for Ayla's parent-teacher conference."

She looked even more confused than before. "Umm…why? I mean to say, I was expecting Mrs. Sidle."

I nodded, "I know, you see-" my cell started to go off and I saw that it was Sara. "Excuse me, I have to take this. Just one sec." I half-turned and answered the phone. "Babe?...Yeah, I'm here already…Oh, that's too bad. I'll just hold down the fort until you get here…Okay, yeah. Love you too." I moved back toward the desk, dropping my phone into my bag. When I looked up, Denise and the principal both had strange looks on their faces. I smiled cautiously, "That was Sara. She got held up at a deposition and it took longer than it was supposed to. She's on her way now, she'll be about ten minutes late."

"That's fine," Ruth Goldwater spoke, "Now, you were saying about why you're here?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. Umm…it's kind of a long and complicated story, but the short version is that I'm Ayla's parent just like Sara is. Sara is my partner and we take care of each other's children. Ayla's education is important to me and I wanted to be here. She is as good as my daughter. Uh, Sara said we could go ahead and start without her, she didn't want to hold anybody up."

The principal shifted uncomfortably, "Actually, I'm afraid we can't do that, Ms. Willows."

I frowned, "Why not?"

"Well," she smiled in a feigned apology, "as much as you may be acting it, I'm afraid you are not Ayla's mother."

That stung. A lot. Even if it was true. "Excuse me?" My voice was less confident than I'd wanted it to be.

Dr. Goldwater continued, "You aren't listed in her paperwork as a legal guardian, only Ms. Sidle is. And I'm guessing that means that you have no legal custody of Ayla. Without some sort of documentation to that affect, I'm afraid we can't discuss her well-being with you, not without Ms. Sidle present. I'm sorry." She didn't seem too sorry.

I clenched my jaw to keep the anger from boiling over. "I see."

Denise Adams looked very uncomfortable with this turn of events, "You're welcome to stay with us and wait, Catherine. I can show you some of Ayla's school work and art projects. Do you remember the bean experiment we did when Lindsey was in my class? We're doing that again this year, and Ayla's is by far the best."

But I shook my head. I was not about to wait in here while some uptight principal looked down her nose at me. "I think I'll wait for Sara outside. Excuse me."

I stood outside, arms crossed over my chest, not sure if I wanted to scream, cry, or throw something. How humiliating! And that woman just sat there and as good as told me she didn't approve of my lifestyle. Would she have been so condemning if I were a man just trying to be a good father? Somehow I doubted it. By the time Sara pulled up, I had worked myself up and was considerably upset. As soon as she saw me, she knew something was wrong. She rushed toward me with worried eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you out here?"

I shook my head. "I'm not Ayla's mother, did you know that?"

Sara looked hesitant. "Is that a trick question?"

I stamped my foot, "No, it's not. It's an entirely legitimate question, because up until a minute ago, I didn't know it made a difference."

"And it does?" She was wary and I could tell it was because she didn't know whether to hug me or to slowly back away.

"Apparently!" At the crack in my voice Sara opted for the hug, and drew me into her arms.

"Hey," she rocked us from side to side, her chin resting on top of my head, "what's going on?"

I sniffed and looked up, blinking to keep that tears at bay. "They won't talk to me about Ayla unless you're there."

Sara connected the dots, "Because you're not her parent?"

I nodded, "Right."

"Well, that's just bullshit." She didn't sound mad, just factual.

I nodded again. "Complete bullshit." But I wasn't angry anymore. Being in Sara's arms tended to do that to me.

She pulled back and smiled at me. "We'll just have to fix it then, okay?"

I nodded, trying to pull myself back together.

"You look sexy as hell in that suit, you know."

The rest of the conference went off without a hitch. It turned out that Ayla was not only doing well in her class, she was doing too well. Ms. Adams explained it to us by showing us Ayla's bean project. It was by far the best. The way it worked was, everyone got a bean and some dirt in a paper cup. Each child was then supposed to care for their bean and then document how it grew. The idea was to start the kids on learning the scientific method. But Ayla already knew the scientific method.

Independently of anyone else, our girl found books on plants and gardening in the library and taught herself about photosynthesis. Then she figured out the exact best way to grow a bean. Her bean plant was a foot taller than anyone else's, and her diagram was by far the most advanced. When Sara and I saw what she had done, we were proud beyond belief.

But the teacher and principal were worried by Ayla's advancement, they were afraid it made her too different from the rest of the students.

"We're just concerned that she's going to be unhappy here. The other children have already singled her out as different and it's very hard to lose that stigma once it's there."

"Do you have a solution?"

"Yes, well, Ms. Adams estimates that if Ayla were to stay here, anything less than seventh grade would be below her intelligence level."

I protested, "If being one grade ahead makes her stand out, what do you five is going to do?"

"Well, that's why we don't think it's a good idea for Ayla to stay here."

"What?"

"There are several very good private schools in the area that are equipped to handle Ayla's advanced aptitude. We think it would be in your daughter's best interest to look at some of these schools."

Sara and I exchanged glances. Money wasn't the problem, it was the fact that it would be a third school. How could we get all of them to their class on time? Still, if was the best thing for Ayla, we'd just have to find a way. I nodded at Sara who turned, "What do we have to do?"

It turned out that all there was to do was look at the schools and take their entry tests. Sara and I picked the older girls up and drove home to relieve Maggie's babysitter. That night, after we had tucked in the girls, in the rare quiet moment we had before we left for work, Sara approached me with a piece of paper in her hand. She sat beside me on the sofa, looking nervous and uneasy.

"Babe?"

"Yeah."

"What's up?"

She licked her lips, hesitating. "Umm, well, you know how this afternoon that woman wouldn't talk to you without me present?"

I put my paper down and sat up straight, my legs curled up under me. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, the reason they did that is because when she was enrolled, I didn't put you down as one of her legal guardians."

"Because I'm not." I chewed the inside of my cheek.

"Right, well…" she paused nervously, "would you like to be?"

I was caught by surprise, "What?"

Sara looked decidedly uncomfortable, "Would you like to be legally responsible for the girls? Be their mother, legitimately?"

I was in shock, I didn't say anything. This made Sara even more nervous, she dropped her head and started to babble, playing with a string of the sofa.

"It's just…the girls love you, and you're good for them, and you've been acting as their mother for nearly six months and you've been doing a fantastic job- you intimidate me, that's for sure. I mean, I understand if it's too much too fast, but today you were so upset and I thought maybe this was something that you might get excited. I've been thinking about it for a while now."

I smiled widely. "So, you're saying that you want me adopt Maggie and Ayla?"

She nodded without looking up, "But I understand if-"

I touched her knee. "Why do you think I would say no?"

She looked up then, took in the happy expression on my face, and returned my smile, shrugging. "I guess I was worried that you didn't want the responsibility of that."

"I already have the responsibility, now I can have the credit too."

Sara placed a hand over mine on her knee. "So, you really want to do this?" She squeezed my hand. "You really want to be the mother of my children?"

I liked the sound of that. "Yes, without a doubt." I rested my chin on our joined hands, "We're in this Sara. I'm not about to shy away from any responsibility, especially not one I love having. I want to do everything I can to make sure that you and the girls stay here for a very, very, very long time. Okay?"

Sara nodded and handed me the sheet of paper she'd been holding.

"What is it?"

"It's information on second parent adoption and adoption for gay couples. It's not legal everywhere, but it is legal in Nevada and that's all that matters."

I studied the sheet, "And second parent adoption is…?"

"It's the kind of adoption we'd have. It's like a step-parent adoption, adopting your partner's child."

I skimmed over Sara's neatly bulleted points and at the bottom, the names of two lawyers. I smiled up at her. "You've really been thinking about this, haven't you?"

She blushed slightly.

I rubbed her arm. "No, I think it's incredibly sweet. I never would have researched it before asking you about Lindsey, I-" Sara's eyes widened. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what?"
"Nothing!"

I thought about what I'd said and shook my head. "Sara?"

She was casually not looking at me. "Hmm?"

"Look at me." Reluctantly, she did. "Would you consider adopting Lindsey? I know I would love for you to be her mother and I know that she would too."

Sara bit her lip. "You're not just asking because I asked you, are you? I mean, you really want this, right?"

I drew circles on her knee. "When I told my mother about you, about us, I accidentally called you Lindsey's parent, and Mom caught me on it. She asked me if I meant it. And I said yes, I did. You are twice the parent Eddie ever was. Then she asked me if we had talked about making it legal. I told her we hadn't, but the job was yours if you wanted it. Sar, all I want is for us to be a family, in every way we can. So? How 'bout it? You want the job?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I want it." She kissed me swiftly. "Of course I want it."

After the incident that afternoon, it was pretty clear that the sooner we got this done the better, and that meant talking to the girls and talking to a lawyer. Talking to Lindsey was no problem, she was over the moon.

"So, you mean Sara will be, like, my mom?"

I grinned, "Yup, what do you think?"

She shrieked. "Are you kidding? This is so awesome. It's just like I wanted. Now Ayla and Maggie really will be my sisters! Yes!"

I looked at Sara, "That was easy."

Sara regarded a leaping Lindsey, "Apparently she likes the idea." She laughed.

It was a little more complicated with Ayla and Maggie. They'd lost both of their parents and had to start a whole new life with a new parent. Would they welcome another parent? Another change in their lives? I decided to talk to them by myself first, and Sara agreed it was a good idea.

I came into the living room and sat down on the floor next to Ayla. I rubbed her back as she bent over some construction paper. "Sweetheart? Can I talk to you for a second?"

She sat back and looked at me with wide innocent eyes. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, sweetie, of course not." I paused. "Why? Should you be?" She shook her head vehemently and I cracked a smile. "Okay, no, I just wanted to talk to you about something. Have you seen your sister?"

Ayla craned her neck. "Maggie!" she yelled, rather loudly.

There was the padding sound of little bare feet running on wood floors, and Maggie's head popped over the sofa. "Hello!"

I grinned. "Hello! Maggie May, come here for a minute, I want to talk to you."

"'Kay." She came around the couch, plopped down on the floor, crawled over to me, and curled up in my lap. She smiled up at me. "Ready. Set. Go!"

I wrapped my arms around her and looked at Ayla. "Ayla, do you know what adoption is?"

She nodded. "Sara adopted me and Maggie. It means she takes care of us, like a mommy."

I kissed the top of Maggie's head. "That's right. Well, I was wondering…Ayla I would really like to adopt you and your sister. What do you think about that?" I waited apprehensively.

Ayla seemed to think about it. "You want to be in charge of us like Sara?"

I nodded. "I would love for you to be my little girls."

The seven year-old frowned. "What about Daddy and Papa?" My heart ached at her tone. "I don't want to forget them."

I reached out and touched her hair. "Oh, honey. You won't forget them, I won't let that happen. Honey, I'm not trying to replace your Daddy and Papa, okay? I would never want to do that. They will always be your parents. But… I want to be around all the time to take care of you and play with you. I love you so much, and I want us to be a family."

"Sara and Lindsey too?"

"Yep."

"If Sara dies, that means we stay and live with you, right?"

I was caught off guard by the question. At first I wanted to assure that Sara wasn't going anywhere because that's what I needed to hear. But I didn't want to lie to her- something could happen to Sara. So I settled for the truth. "Yes, you'd stay with Lindsey and I."

Ayla nodded as if she'd expected as much. Then she looked at me very seriously. "I think…" she began, "I think it would be good idea for you to adopt us. I think that would be good."

My heart soared. "Thank you, baby." I pulled her to me and she giggled. "Thank you so much."

"You're squishing me."

Maggie didn't really understand what was going on, but when we asked her if she wanted to live with Catherine forever, there was an emphatic yes.

With the girls approval, we felt free to consult a lawyer. Adoption is not something that can be done over night. You can't just sign a paper like they do in the movies. Second-parent adoption requires a series of petitions, meetings with a judge, competency hearings, routine check-ups- it's a long and involved process.

Lindsey's adoption was the easiest of the three. We got a friendly judge and it only took us a month to get everything in order. On the day Lindsey officially became Sara's daughter, we let the girls skip school and we had a family party all day. Sara cried.

It turned out to be a lot more difficult for me to adopt the Maggie and Ayla. There were problems because they were born in a different state, and problems because they had just been adopted by Sara. And finally our judge was not very understanding of our situation, and decided that Sara and I needed to be in a committed relationship for at least a year before I could adopt the girls. So that was put on hold for awhile, at least for seven more months.

Starting the day Sara and discussed the adoption, we all made a much bigger effort to act like a family. The girls were sisters now. I had three daughters. It was an easy transition. It was an amazing transition.

I remember lying on the sofa one day, my head in Sara's lap, and Maggie draped over me, dead asleep. On the floor Lindsey and Ayla were playing 'pet shop' with every single one of their stuffed animals. Sara was reading up on her forensic pathology, running fingers through my hair, and I remember thinking 'Is this possible?'

A year ago I was an emotional wreck, I had a frightened, devastated little girl, I was so lost. My family had been hanging on by a thread and now it was torn apart. I was utterly alone and convinced that nothing would ever be okay ever again. And now? I smiled. Now, I was madly in love with an amazing woman, and we had built an amazing family together. An almost perfect family. Almost.

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Oooh, it's kind of a cliffie! Almost. What does almost mean exactly? Is something wrong? How could something be wrong!? Guess what happens! No, seriously, go ahead and guess. And while you're at it, review!!