A few weeks later...

The 2013 San Diego Pride Rally took place on a beautifully sunny evening. The weather was perfect and the turnout was incredible. While waiting for the speeches to start, the Foster boys got rainbow-colored flags that one of the volunteers was handing out. Jesus laughed as Jude started waving his flag high in the air; the younger boy's excitement for the weekend just couldn't be contained.

"Hey, where did those come from?" Callie asked as she, Mariana, and Talya rejoined the boys. They'd gone for a walk to look around.

"I'll grab you some," Brandon offered and headed off after the flag guy.

"I got you something," Callie told Jude, handing him the plastic bag that she had been carrying. Inside was a t-shirt with the words 'Pride is my Favorite Color' printed in rainbow colors across the front.

"That's perfect!" Jude exclaimed, and instantly pulled it on over top of the shirt that he was already wearing. His older siblings smiled.

"It looks good on you," Mariana told him.

Jude turned around, looking for one person's opinion in particular. "What do you think?" he asked Connor.

The other boy smiled at his best friend. He'd happily accepted an invitation to tag along with the Fosters for the weekend. "That's cool. Think I should get one, too?"

"Sure!"

Callie pointed to where the different vendors were set up. "I got it over there. Do you have your phone?" she asked Jude. He tapped his pocket. "Okay, we'll be waiting here."

As Jude and Connor ran off, Brandon came back with extra flags for his sisters and girlfriend. "Thanks," Callie told him. As he handed one to her, she smiled at the sight of his rainbow-colored fingernails. Mariana and Talya had painted everyone's nails that afternoon before they left the house.

Brandon looked at his hands as he noticed her gaze. "What?" he asked. "Did I mess them up already?"

Callie shook her head. "No, they look fine. Everyone's together looks really good." It was a nice showing of solidarity from the family. She'd never imagined that she and Jude would end up in a home like this.

Lena had been standing a few paces away from the kids, splitting her attention between watching them and watching Stef. Her wife hadn't been able to get into the spirit of things yet; she was leaning against a lamppost a little ways away, totally lost in thought.

"Hey," Lena said as she stood next to her. "Are you okay?"

Stef nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me, Stefanie Foster. You might be able to pass that off with the kids, but I know better."

She sighed. "Okay, I'm not fine."

Lena took her hand. "You're wishing your dad was here?"

Stef nodded. "Yeah… I shouldn't have taken no for an answer when I offered to have him ride with us. I mean, he just got cleared to start driving again this week! Ever since he got out of the hospital, he's been so ridiculously stubborn about staying independent."

"Would you expect anything less from your father?" Lena wondered.

Stef cracked a smile. "No." But as her melancholy look returned, Lena knew what her wife was really worried about.

"He'll be here, babe. He knows how important this is to you."

At that moment, Stef's cell phone started ringing. Frank's number was on the caller ID. "Dad?" she answered.

"I finally found a place to park," were the first words out of his mouth. "Whew, there are a lot of people here! Is it always like this?"

Stef laughed. "Pretty much."

"Where are you all?"

She looked around at the thousands of people surrounding them. "Um… It'll probably be easier if I just come get you. Where did you park?"

% ^ % ^ % % ^ % ^ %

When Stef and Frank rejoined the rest of the family, the kids all eagerly greeted their grandfather. "Isn't this cool?" Jude asked as he gave him a hug.

"It's definitely something," Frank agreed.

Stef watched as her father slowly took in what all of the kids were wearing. Connor's t-shirt now matched Jude's, and the other kids had Pride-themed attire as well. Mariana, Callie and Talya each had a rainbow of ribbon hanging from their ponytails and Lena had woven some of the colorful strands through her hair, too. It was all very loud and unapologetic and Stef wondered if maybe it was too much, too soon for her conservative father. Perhaps having him come to the rally had been a bad idea.

"Well," Frank finally said, looking down at his white polo shirt and khaki pants. "I suddenly feel a bit underdressed."

Mariana laughed. "We can get you some color, Grandpa."

"Good," he replied. "I want to show my pride for my family, too."

Stef offered him her flag. "This is a start," she told him.

Frank smiled as he took it. "Thank you."

Lena wrapped her arm around her wife's shoulders, and they shared a little grin. All they could hope for was to take things one step at a time.

The speeches at the rally were wonderful and everyone was exhausted but happy by the time they finally got home after dropping off Connor and Talya. "What's for dinner?" Jesus wondered as they trudged in through the kitchen door.

"Leftovers," Lena told him. "I'm too tired for anything else."

"I can make a salad," Mariana offered.

Stef kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, love."

As she went to open the door to the fridge, Mariana noticed something odd on the family calendar. "What's next Thursday?" she asked the moms. There was a big, red circle around the date.

Brandon frowned as he looked, too. "That's not anybody's birthday or anniversary or anything."

The moms smiled. "It will be," Stef told the kids.

"We got a call from our lawyer this morning," Lena explained. "Next Thursday is Callie and Jude's Adoption Day."

All of the kids' fatigue was magically forgotten. "It is?" Jesus wondered. "That was fast!"

Mariana wrapped her arms around Callie. "I'm so excited! I'll have a sister for real!"

Jude ran to hug each of the moms in turn. "Are you ready to be Fosters?" Stef asked him and Callie. They both nodded.

"I almost can't believe it," Callie replied.

"Do we get to call you Mom and Mama now, too?" Jude wondered.

Lena hugged him a little closer. "If you want to, we would love that. But you don't have to."

"I want to," Jude proclaimed. "Mom, Mama?"

Stef grinned. "Yes?"

"I'm hungry."

Everyone laughed and they started getting dinner together. The paperwork was a formality at this point - they all belonged together.

Fin.

A/N: To everyone who has sent feedback - thank you so much. This week was pretty rough, but seeing e-mails with your comments always made me smile. I'm working on a 4th story for this series, but it's coming along slower than the first 3 did. So stay tuned; I'll be back eventually!