Alrighty, I posted as soon as I could. Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous. Thanks for sticking with this story til the end! I don't own The Fosters.
"Who is it?" Jesús managed through his angry tears.
"It's Mom. Can I come in?" Stef sounded concerned. The twins exchanged a look; Mariana nodded, sniffling.
"Sure," Jesús allowed, resting his forehead in his palms. His mum opened the door gently, taking in the sight of her teenagers sitting together and crying. It had been years since she'd seen Jesús cry.
"What's going on, loves?" she asked gently, crossing the room and taking a seat between them, putting one arm around each child. She'd been planning on scolding them for skipping, but could tell now wasn't the time.
"Lexi left today," Mariana said quietly. She'd been crying all day and was better able to get control of herself now, while Jesús, having finally let go, was more or less a mess pressed into his mother's shoulder.
"Are you two really all weepy about that?" Stef laughed. "Oh, honeys. It's two weeks!" Another sob welled up in Mariana.
"No, it isn't. It's forever. They're never coming back," she bawled.
"What?" Stef shifted to push Mariana away from her and make eye contact. "Are you serious?"
"She's moved to Honduras for good," her daughter wailed, falling into her mom's lap.
"Oh, baby," Stef soothed, stroking her smooth black hair. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could bring her back." Mariana sat up, wiping her eyes.
"The problem is, no one can," Mariana said, sniffing. "Except her stupid parents."
"You know they had no choice," Stef reminded her gently. "Ernie's mother is ill. They needed to see her. And it's very hard being undocumented in this country."
Jesús pulled away from Stef's embrace and sniffed angrily. He hated crying, and he especially hated doing it in front of people. He didn't want his mom or Mariana to think he was weak.
"It's okay to cry," Stef told him, guessing at the root of his sudden I'm-fine façade.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice rough.
"Don't bullshit me," Stef said, rather harshly than she might have meant. She tried not to swear, for Lena's sake more than the kids, but sometimes it slipped out. "You've lost someone you care about and you're hurting. It's okay, Jesús. Let yourself mourn."
Her son ignored her and crossed his room, head down. He smacked into his other mother in the doorway, where she'd suddenly appeared, drawn by the crying noises now audible through the open door.
"Sorry," he mumbled, trying to duck around Lena.
"Stop," Lena said, sticking out an arm to block his exit. "Look at me." Jesús met his mum's eyes defiantly, but upon seeing the love and gentleness in hers, his angry exterior was broken again, and he bit his bottom lip, tears welling.
"C'mere, baby," Lena invited, holding her arms out. Her son fell into her embrace, and she hugged him for a long moment before guiding him over to sit next to his twin.
After a moment of silent comforting, broken only by the twins' gasping breathing as they struggled to control their tears, Lena spoke again.
"We can't bring Lexi back," she started, "as much as we wish we could. But we are here for you. For both of you. We're your moms, and it's our job to help you when things like this happen. This is a loss, and loss is hard, even if it's not death. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to cry," she directed this at Jesús, "and it's okay to mourn. But don't shut us out, okay?"
"We love you both so much," Stef continued, "and we want to be here for you. But we can't support you if you pretend like everything's fine, okay?" Mariana nodded silently, leaning against her mom's side. "Jesús?" He, too, nodded, sighing.
"Can we all agree that you'll talk to us when you're sad?" Lena suggested. "It might not make her come back, but it might make you feel better." Again, the twins nodded.
"Alright," Stef said, kissing first Mariana and then Jesús. "Why don't you two sweethearts get ready for bed now, okay? Come on, Mariana. Let's leave your brother to put on his pajamas."
The three women left the room, after both moms hugged Jesús, who was starting to get embarrassed again. More hugs were exchanged in the hall, and then Stef and Lena sent Mariana off to her room, while they proceeded to their own.
"Do you think we said the right things?" Stef asked as she undressed. "I mean, I've never had my best friend move 3,000 miles away with no prior notice. I didn't really know how to comfort them."
"I think we said exactly the right things," her wife said, sitting down on the end of the bed. "Just because we haven't had their exact experience doesn't mean we can't support them. I think they just need time."
"We can do that," Stef agreed, nodding. "We can do that."