Its 5:30 am, Lena rolls over to turn off the alarm and was greeted by a smiling Stef, "Good morning Love!" Stef leaned down and planted a kiss on her head, when Lena reached up and pulled her in for a hug. Stef moved the hair out of Lena's face as they continued to pepper each other with small kisses, "I will go get the kids up and start breakfast so you can get ready... ok?" Lena moans in aggravation and looks up at Stef with her big brown eyes, "Can't we just play hooky today?", she gave a small smile and she kissed Stef again. "No, sorry babe, but we've got bills to pay and an education to provide to our kids." Stef stands up as she buttons her uniform shirt and smiles down at Lena.
Stef stops at Brandon's door, leans on the frame and can't help but smile at her twelve year old son. She may be biased but Brandon has become such a great kid, so kind, thoughtful and incredibly talented. She knows the divorce was tough on him and then to tell him that she was a lesbian was confusing... But Brandon took it all in stride. Stef walks in, runs her hand through his hair and kisses his forehead, "Good morning B... today's a new day... time to rise and shine." She smiles down at him as Brandon's eyelids flutter open and he stretches. He looks up at her with a huge grin, "morning mom..." "How'd you sleep?" B shrugs... "Pretty good." Stef stands up to wake the others, when she looks over her shoulder, "breakfast is in 30 minutes."
Next she enters in to Jesus's room to find that the eleven year old is already dressed and playing his PSP. Stef stops and watches for a few moments... Jesus has come a long way since they were adopted last year. He was extremely hyper, impulsive and strong-willed... Stef brushed it off as typical boy behavior but Lena insisted that they have him tested. A few weeks later they learned that Jesus had ADHD and he was promptly put on Ritalin. Thankfully Lena has a PhD in child psychology and has experience in the field of child behavior. They started work with Jesus on controlling himself, teaching him coping mechanisms for when his emotions became too much to handle and they also put him in some activities to help with his energy level. "Hey Bud! Are you ready to go?" Jesus glances up from his game, smiles and looks back down, "Yep! I even changed my underwear and put on my shoes." Stef chuckles quietly and raises an eyebrow, "That's great dude, do you want to come and help with breakfast?" She steps aside... anticipating Jesus's answer... with much enthusiasm, Jesus shouts with glee, "Yeah sure!" He tosses the gaming device on his bed and races out of his room.
Stef watches as Jesus jogs down the stairs before she turns in to Mariana's room. The small girl is sleeping peacefully, Stef leans down to kiss her cheek when she starts to think about how much Mariana has changed. Even though she is his twin, she was not as confident, accepting or trusting as Jesus was. She was fearful, shy and completely overwhelmed with Stef, Lena and Brandon. When Stef met the twins at the station and offered them lollipops... Mari wouldn't even take it from Stef... She was cautious and very concerned about the people around her. It took Stef and Lena a long time to gain her trust and to reassure her that they would never hurt her. Now, at eleven years old, Mariana loved to be with her family and friends, she did well in school and loved to dance. Stef brushed away piece of hair and watch the young girl's face twist in annoyance, "Hey Miss Thing... time to get up and get ready for the day... come on baby." Stef pulls Mariana up by her arms and brings her in for a hug as she kisses the top of her head. "Good morning mom..." Mariana yawns and wraps her arms around Stef, "Hi sweet girl... how'd you sleep?" With her face buried in Stef's uniform, she mumbles "good." Mariana pulls away and smiles up at Stef... "Good. Now let's get up and get going... Breakfast will be ready soon." Stef stands up to leave as Mariana starts to untangle herself from her blankets.
Brandon had been ready for a while now, but was waiting for Mariana and his mom to go down stairs... with a little privacy; he crosses the hall and knocked on the master bedroom door. From within, Lena invites the visitor inside and Brandon quickly shuts the door behind him. Lena was doing her hair in the full length mirror and saw Brandon's reflection enter the bedroom, without turning around she smiles, "Good morning B, Sleep well!?" Brandon approaches Lena, smiles and then looks around apprehensively, "yeah yeah... I slept just fine. Um, Mama... could I bring a lunch to her again? She seemed really happy when I gave her the bag yesterday... I think she's really hungry Mama." B looks up at Lena, his eyes full of concern... Lena gives him a small smile, "Sure, I think she is very grateful to have someone like you watching out for her... I am so proud of you Brandon." Brandon grins and looks down at his hands... "Mama... why is she so hungry?" Lena sighs and brings him in for a side hug, "I don't know bud... but I'm going to find out. Ok? I don't want you to worry too much. The teachers and I are watching out for her." She kisses his temple and looks in to his worried eyes, "Come on... I smell bacon." They grin at each other and head down towards the rest of the family.
"I was beginning to worry about you two!" Stef states as she glances over her shoulder, while flipping pancakes. Lena smiles at her and then walks over to Mariana, "Good morning baby" as she kisses the back of her head. She makes her way towards Jesus, quickly stopping to grab his medication, hands it to Jesus and brings him in for hug. "Mornin Mama, could I have a friend over after school?" "Hm... I don't think so Jesus... Mariana has dance, Brandon has piano and you have volleyball... it'll be dinner time by the time we get home." Jesus's shoulders slump in disappointment and Lena runs her hand through his hair as in apology. Stef starts to pass out pancakes, eggs and bacon, while Brandon pours drinks, Mariana passes out utensils and Lena works with Jesus on packing lunches. As Stef gets her own coffee, she notices an extra brown bag... "Um hon, the last time I checked we only had three kids..." she looks at Lena with confusion, "oh um, Brandon is bringing an extra lunch for another student... don't worry about it. Everything is alright." Lena quickly glances at Brandon to reassure him and puts the two brown bags in his back pack. Stef looks at Lena with concern but pushes it aside to please her wife... "Well we should get going! The car is leaving in five minutes... whoever is not in it, can walk to school. OK?" Lena turns towards Stef, kisses her on the lips and leaves her with a tight hug. Stef can't help but smile lovingly at her wife, Lena's hugs are so full of warmth, they're comforting and you can't help but feel protected when she embraces you. Stef gives each of the kids a kiss good bye and bids them farewell.