"You should have seen her Stef." Lena said, excitement filling her voice. "She was so relaxed and happy. I worried for a while after she saw that onesie, but after the pedicure she really relaxed. We had lunch and then did a bit more shopping and then went down to the pier for a walk before we headed back home."
Stef couldn't help but smile, both at her daughter's day as well as her wife's enthusiasm. The two were getting ready for bed after making sure that all the kids were safe in their own rooms.
"And she genuinely seemed happy about the baby." Lena said, more with relief than anything else. "I think just the two of us spending the day together really helped her realize that nothing changes."
"I'm glad Lena." Stef said sincerely. "Maybe we can arrange for it again, with each of the kids. I don't want any of them to feel replaces, even subconsciously."
"I really don't think they do." Lena said honestly. "Mariana is so excited she keeps talking about names and outfits, Jude seems excited too and while the other boys aren't quite at that level of excitement, they still like to see the scans and put their two cents in with name options."
"I'm not saying that they aren't excited, honey." Stef clarified. "But we don't want any of them to feel like they are being sidetracked even more and regardless of the reason I'm sure all of them would love a mama day with you."
"You're right." Lena said. "I love that too and Mariana was so excited about the clothes we bought, she grumbled that we went without her."
"Well don't take all the kids clothes shopping please, otherwise this little girl is going to have enough clothes to last her a life time and she's going to need a house all to herself to keep them in." Stef teased as she planted a kiss on Lena's lips and let her hand slip under Lena's loose blouse to her stomach.
"I promise." Lena smiled as she kissed Stef back, enjoying these few moments of just being happy and worry-free. "But I think along with a mama day the kids would like a mom day too." She suggested.
"How about we do something together tomorrow?" Stef suggested. "I'm off and we can probably convince the kids to cancel their plans if we throw in some pizza and ice-cream." She said confidently.
"Sounds like a plan." Lena smiled. "What do you have in mind?" She asked.
"How about Belmont Park?" Stef suggested. "It's not far and there's something for everyone. The boys will love the rides and the girls and do some shopping and everyone will enjoy the food."
"We haven't been there in a while." Lena said, thinking how it was so close and yet they hadn't been there in years.
"Well Jude had mentioned that Disney was the first amusement park that he'd ever been to after my mom brought them home after the wedding so it'll be something new for him and probably Callie too, she missed out on Disney and the other kids always love it." Stef said.
"It's great." Lena said. "And it's off season so it shouldn't be too crowded."
"And you and I can stay on the ground and just enjoy watching the kids." Stef said, knowing that regardless of Lena's pregnancy, the rides weren't exactly top on her list.
"You love the rides." Lena said. "You join the kids, I'll stay with our stuff."
"But I love you more." Stef said, pulling Lena over to the bed and sitting them both down. "And I'd much rather spend the time with you."
Lena smiled as the two began kissing, gently at first and then a little more firmly until they both lay down, Lena first and Stef hovering on top.
"Jude, can we talk to you bud." Lena said as she and Stef filled bags of water and some simple snacks. They had woken Jude first so he could dress and they could talk to him privately while the others frantically got ready for their day out. Each one had readily agreed to cancel whatever plans they'd made to spend a day with their moms which surprised the mom's slightly. It wasn't often that a bunch of teenagers gave up their plans to hang out with their parents. It made them realize just how much this time was needed.
"What's going on?" Jude asked, without a hint of worry in his voice.
Both mom's smiled at how easily he'd learned to trust them and believe that he was safe no matter what.
"We wanted to talk to you about Callie." Lena said gently.
"What about Callie?" Jude asked, slight anger filling his face.
"Honey, we know you're angry with her and it's okay to be angry but it's not okay to blame her for anything." Stef said.
"But it's her fault." Jude said. "She ruins everything."
"Honey, she hasn't ruined anything." Lena said clearly.
"She always does and then we get kicked out." Jude said, getting agitated because they didn't seem to believe him.
"First of all you are two separate people." Stef stopped him. "You two are not tied together, and whatever she does or doesn't do isn't reflected on you. Besides, this isn't a trial period. This isn't time for us to decide whether or not we want both of you, we already do and nothings going to change that. You two are ours forever."
"Honey, Callie isn't eating because that's her way of reacting to something that's bothering her." Lena added. "We know that you said something to her which is why she's been eating lately and while it's good that she's eating, we don't want her to be afraid, what we're trying to do is solve the problem so that she actually wants to eat."
"But all she has to do is chew and swallow." Jude said, still not understanding exactly why Callie was behaving like this. "What's so hard about that?"
"It's not the actual eating that's the problem honey." Stef explained. "Callie feels like she's losing control of herself and her life and this is the one thing that she has complete control over, we can't force her to eat. It makes her feel like she still has some power."
"What do you mean?" Jude asked. "What control is she losing?"
"You know how you said that you're finally in a good home?" Stef questioned and waited until she received a nod from the boy. "Well for Callie it's a little different. She's been taking care of the two of you for so long now that she doesn't know how not to do that and as we are taking over she feels like she's losing control and she'll forget how to do it if something goes wrong and she's left alone again so she's trying to keep her distance from us, not really anger us."
"But she doesn't need to take care of us any more." Jude said, calmly again. He felt bad that she couldn't feel as safe as he did.
"We know that honey and so does she but it's going to take her some time to feel safe about it." Lena said. "And we want you to help her instead of being angry with her and threatening her or asking her to leave. Instead we want you to encourage her to talk to us and trust us just like you do."
"She needs you sweetheart." Stef said. "Just like you needed her all those years, she needs you now. You're the one that trusts and believes and she needs you to help show her how."
"I never thought of it like that." Jude admitted, understanding more now. "I guess I always had someone to depend on but she never did but now she has you."
"And she always will." Stef interjected. "No matter what she does she'll always have us."
"I know." Jude said, fully believing the words. "I'll be nice to her, I promise."
"Okay." Stef smiled at him. "Now go put these bags into the car for me please." She handed him the bags of water and snacks and watched him walk away.
As Jude did as his mothers had asked he thought about what they'd said. He did sort of understand Callie's behavior now though she still couldn't quite get why she didn't believe them. They had never let them down and he believed that they never would. All he knew was that he wouldn't say what he had planned to say to his sister - to please be normal and not ruin their day.