A/N: I do not own any of Fosters Family characters in the story, all rights belong to ABC Family.

Thank you for reading. Look forward to your reviews.

Stef sat back down at the kitchen table hoping that she might finish working on the case files she had promised the captain, before Brandon and Lena got back, and before she had to start dinner. Time flew without Stef realising and before she knew it, an hour had passed and neither Lena nor Brandon had returned. Stef got up and made her way down the passage, the closer she got to Brandon's room she heard a gentle voice that spoke softly and melodically like a warm gentle summer breeze swishing through the trees.

"...He was a real rabbit at last, at home with the other rabbits. Autumn passed and winter, and in the spring while the boy was out in the wood, two rabbits crept out and peeked at him. One of them was brown all over, but the other had markings around his fur and about his little soft nose and around his back eyes there was something familiar. So the boy thought to himself...'why he looks just like my own bunny that was lost when I had scarlet fever'. But he never knew that it really was his old bunny, come back to look at the child that first helped him to be real."

"Why didn't the boy know he was his old bunny?" Stef heard Brandon ask, as she stood outside the door to his bedroom out of site.

"Well because when we are kind to people and we show them love, and compassion we change them for the better and they change us for the better, and sometimes as a result we can't even recognise them" Lena spoke in the same soft and gentle tone she had use to tell the story.

"So the little boy loved the rabbit so much and was so kind to the rabbit that he changed him into a real rabbit?" Brandon returned

"Yes, and the rabbit was so kind to the little boy that when he was sick he helped him get better" Lena replied. "Do you know the moral of the story?"

"What's a moral?" Brandon asked innocently

"A moral is the important lesson we should learn from the story, something we must take away after reading the story and carry it with us in our hearts wherever we go so we can learn from it. Morals help us become better people"

Brandon had a curious look on his face, "So the moral...is we must always be kind?" he asked.

Lena winked at the little boy who looked up at with big brown eye, unsure whether he had given the correct answer "Yes that's perfect, you are very clever. We must always be kind, even if someone else is being mean to us. Good things only happen to people who are kind to each other" Lena retorted with pride beaming through her eyes and a giant smile at the answer Brandon had given her.

"I was mean to Jack today" Brandon spoke with disappointment and shame in his voice as he bowed down and looked at the floor in front of him.

Lena stretched out her arm and wrapped it around the little boys shoulder and pulled him close to the side of her body.

"Why where you mean to Jack today?" Lena asked wanting to give Brandon an opportunity to tell his side of the story.

"He called me and mommy a dyke" his tiny little squeaky voice became even more high pitched as he tried to control the hurt and discomfort he felt as he spoke the words that obviously had affected him deeply.

"That wasn't very nice of him; dyke is not a nice word. I'm really sorry that he said that to you Brandon" Lena responded with sympathy. "But you know that is not true right?"

Brandon nodded.

"I pushed him" Brandon spoke the words as though he was in confessional.

"Were you angry when you pushed him?" Lena asked

Again Brandon nodded; "He was saying mean things about my mom" he looked at Lena, expecting understanding.

"And that hurt your feelings, didn't it?"

"Umhum" Brandon nodded again fiercely, his hair bouncing up and down his head this time. "I'm sorry"

"It's ok to be angry when someone is calling you or your mom or anyone mean and hurtful names, no one should be allowed to do that, it is very wrong! When someone does that they are being a bully, and it is not very nice or kind to be a bully. But you know that pushing them or fighting with them is not going to make it better, it will only make it worse." Lena looked Brandon in the eye as she spoke the words

"I'm sorry!" sorrow filled Brandon's voice, his lips curling down to the floor.

"Can I ask you to do me a favour?" Lena asked as she looked down at the little boy.

"Ok" Brandon starred back at Lena.

"The next time Jack or anyone does anything like that, say or do anything that is mean or hurtful to anyone, can you come and tell me? I promise that you won't get into trouble and I will do everything I can to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Do you think you can do that?"

Brandon nodded

"Ok good, thank you" she shot Brandon a big smile. "You know your mommy is so lucky to have you" Lena pulled Brandon in close to her as he rested his shoulders on her chest and she gave him a tiny kiss on the forehead. It was hard not to fall in love with this charming, kind and delightful little child.

A tear rolled down Stef's cheek as she stood outside the door listening to the conversation between Lena and Brandon. Her heart filled as she placed her left hand over her chest. She took a deep breath to gather herself before she stepped into the room.

"Hey you two, I was wondering if you had disappeared" she remarked looking down at Brandon tucked under Lena's arm. The two of them setting on the floor at the foot of Brandon's bed, their legs stretched out in front of them.

"Lena was reading me a book" Brandon responded quickly.

"She was? What was she reading to you?" Stef asked, pretending not to have heard anything before this moment.

"The Velveteen Rabbit" Brandon picked up the book to show his mother.

Stef slowly walked into the room to stand in front of both them.

"Aahh that's the book grandma got you" Stef smiled

"I like the way Lena tells the story mom"

"You do, I thought you liked it when I made 'all the different voices'" The tone of Stef's voice becoming deeper and badly imitating a Southern accent in an effort to make a British accent, as she uttered the last four words in her sentence.

"I like Lena's voices better" Brandon responded without realising exactly what he had just said. His child like innocence making it sound much cuter than it really was.

Both Stef and Lena let out a laugh, Lena looked up at Stef apologetically. "Well then my little rabbit, you are going to have to convince Lena to read it to you again" Stef slowly crept towards Brandon her arms stretched out, her fingers wiggling. She leaned down and tickled Brandon's stomach as she picked him up off the floor and wrapped her arms around his waist, planting giant kisses all over his cheeks. Brandon let out a series of high pitched little shrieks of joy as he wriggled around in his mother arms.

The laughter from Stef and Brandon filled the room, Lena smiled at the two of them. Their laughter slowly came to an end, like an echo fading into the distance.

"Ok my little maestro, time for your bath, then dinner" Stef put Brandon back down on the floor.

"Can Lena stay for dinner?" Brandon asked

"Well, that's up to Lena, I know you and I would love for her to stay for dinner" Stef made the remark looking at Lena expectantly.

Lena looked up at Stef then back at Brandon, "Brandon, I would love to stay for dinner, thank you."

"Ok, great, why don't you take your clothes off while I run you a bath and then you can help me make dinner" Stef looked at her son. How much she loved this little boy in front of her.

Stef ran Brandon's bath, and Lena went back into the kitchen to return a phone call she had missed earlier in the day. It took just under 40 minutes for Stef to give Brandon his bath and get him into his pyjamas. As they both walked into the kitchen they were greeted with the most aromatic smell, it hit them both like a wave in the ocean. Standing in the kitchen was Lena, decked out in an apron, hard at work.

"Wow mom, it smells so good" Brandon stood with his mom at the door.

"Lena..." Stef began but was interrupted before she could get the next word out.

"It's nothing impressive, it's just pasta, and I'm almost done. Brandon, would you mind helping me finish setting the table" Lena continued, she didn't miss a beat

"Ok" Brandon responded quickly making his way over to the table.

"Can I do anything to help?" Stef asked looking at Lena and Brandon arrange the table settings.

"Nope, just sit down and relax, dinner will be served in about 5 minutes" Lena said looking over at Stef with a huge smile.

Stef walked around the kitchen table towards where Lena was placing the salad, she stretched out her arm and put it on Lena's shoulder. Lena turned to look at Stef with a smile on her face, the look on Stef's face was filled with appreciation, 'thank you' Stef mouthed as she walked passed and sat down at one of the set places at the table.

From the outside looking in you would have been forgiven for admiring this perfectly happy little family sitting down for dinner together. Stef took a moment to look around the table and appreciate just how incredible this site was. Her entire life the world had her believing that to have a family, to be a family it required a man and a woman to be married in matrimony and bare children. This is the family her father and the church had taught her to believe in. But as she sat as looked around the table at the two people who held her heart in their hands, the contentment and satisfaction confirmed that the choices she had made where right, this was family, this felt like home and nothing could ever bring Stef more joy. There were times, much like today, where she questioned if she had done the right thing, the strain of ending her marriage, her fathers disapproval, Mike and his drinking was overwhelming even at the best of times, but this site, sitting at dinner and watching Brandon and Lena chat away without a care in the world. She knew for the first time since standing in that car park and declaring her love for Lena that this was the best decision she had ever made. This is the family she wanted; this was the family she longed for, and if it meant walking away from everything she had been taught to believe in then she wouldn't change a thing, this is the life she wanted, this is what brought her joy.

"Mom, this is better than your pasta" Brandon tried to speak with a fork full of spaghetti hanging from his mouth.

Stef snapped out of her daze of happiness "Hey now, you love my cooking" Stef responded playfully trying to feign disappointment.

"Yeah, but this is really good mom" Brandon responded as he put another fork full of pasta in his mouth.

"Brandon, honey, slow down and we don't talk with our mouth full please, and wipe your mouth, you have sauce everywhere I don't want to have to give you another bath" Stef restrained herself from laughing at her son shaking her head.

"This is really fantastic Lena, thank you for cooking dinner" Stef looked over at Lena who tried to help Brandon wipe the sauce off his face.

Lena stretched out her hand and placed it on Stef's and gave it a gentle squeeze, Stef intertwined her fingers in Lena's and squeezed back. Both turned to look at Brandon who was happily making good in roads into his pasta dish, the site made both women smile. They all finished dinner, and enjoyed a little ice cream for dessert. After dinner Brandon sat down to watch his allotted 1 hour of TV before, before getting settled for bed. Stef and Lena tag teamed the dirty dishes before Stef sat down to try and finish the last of the paperwork she had yet to complete. Lena joined Brandon in the TV room. An hour passed before Stef walked into where Brandon and Lena had managed to curl themselves up on the couch.

"Hey Buddy, time for bed" Stef spoke up as she admired the view

"Aaaahhh mom, five more minutes please?" Brandon tried to convince his mother, he looked over at Lena in the hopes he would find some support. Lena lifted her eyebrow giving him a very stern look that said, nice try buddy but that's not going to work with me look.

"Come now, none of that tonight, up and at em kiddo. Say goodnight to Lena"

"Good night Lena, thanks for the delicious supper" Brandon leaned in to give Lena a big hug

Lena leaned in and embraced the little boy "Thanks for helping me with the table, you did a great job. Good night, sleep tight"

Stef ushered Brandon into his room and helped him climb into his bed and under the covers.

"Ok my little guy; thanks for being a good boy while mommy worked this afternoon" she rubbed her hand over his chest.

"Mom" Brandon asked

"Yes baby"

"Can Lena come over more; I like it when she comes over"

"You do" Stef was surprised at the statement her son had just made, but she was delighted that Brandon loved having Lena over as much as she did.

Brandon nodded with a smile in return

"You just want her to cook you dinner and read you stories, don't you?" Stef lifted an eyebrow suspicious of his motives "I like it when she comes over too buddy, I'm glad you like Lena. Mom likes her a lot and I would really like it if we could all spend more time together" the remark was both a statement and a question

Brandon smiled "Cool" Stef gave Brandon a gentle wink, which he tried to return but he ended up blinking instead.

It seems both the Fosters duo had been charmed by one Lena Adams.

"Ok my little whipper snapper, sweet dreams, mommy loves you" She gave him a giant kiss on the forehead.

"Love you too mom" Brandon curled himself under the covers.

Stef switched off the bedroom light and left the door ajar, so light came in through the passage. She made her way back towards the kitchen where should found Lena looking over the kitchen counter making a cup of tea. Stef walked behind Lena and wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her head in the mound of hair on Lena's neck. She placed small gentle kisses on the base of Lena's neck. She lifted her left hand to brush Lena's hair to the side allowing her to continue kissing her way up behind her ear. Stef relished the feel of Lena's skin on her lips, the sweet taste of body lotion mixed with perfume. Stef pushed up against Lena's back as Lena rolled her head back onto Stef shoulder and moved it over to the side to give Stef room to bury her face in her neck. The moment was sensual, filled with passion both women allowed themselves to get completely lost. Stef made her way from behind Lena's ear towards her jaw, Lena slowly turned her body to face Stef, and Stef tenderly traced her lips along the bottom of Lena's jaw, stopping at the bottom of her chin then slowly making her way up towards her mouth. Stef slipped out her tongue and Lena opened her mouth just enough to let Stef slip her upper lip between Lena's lips, sucking deeply on Lena's bottom lip. Lena enveloped her lips with Stefs. Lena's mouth was warm, her lips where full and supple. They stood in the middle of the kitchen engulfed in each other, their bodies pressed tightly together, Lena's hands griping Stef's back desperately clutching onto her. Stef ran her right hand through the back of Lena's neck and into her hair. There was nothing, nothing in the world but the two of them relishing in the pleasure of being in each other's arms. They embodied everything that two people newly in love could be. Stef could not get enough of how Lena tasted, how her body felt wrapped her arms, she pushed herself harder against Lena's body, slipping her right leg between Lena's legs. Lena moved her left hand slowly down towards the base of Stef's back down, she ran her hand over Stef's butt down to her leg and grabbed the top of her thigh, her nails digging into the denim of Stef's jeans, pulling her leg towards her body feeling the top of her thighs grind against Stef's leg. This feeling, the sensation made goose bumps crawl up Stef's spine, she felt her body tingle with pleasure. She had never felt so close to someone in her life. Their parting was the result created by the necessity to breathe, Lena gently bit on Stef's lower lip as they slowly pulled their lips apart, an effort to draw her back. Stef pulled back in letting her lips settle on Lena's. They placed their foreheads against each other, their eyes closed, their breathing the only thing filling the space between them. They did not utter a word; they stood there in silence letting their love for each other wash over them like rain falling from the heavens. Stef was the first to smile, she let out a little laugh, and Lena joined her.

"I want to, you know I do...but Brandon..." Stef uttered softly.

"I know, it's ok" Lena responded understanding Stef's situation. She gave Stef one more kiss on the lips.

Stef growled hard, as she forced herself to pull back from Lena's embrace. Her heart was beating fast and she wanted nothing more than to continue but she knew if she didn't stop now she would never be able to. Her mind told her she needed to be a responsible parent, but her body screamed to behave like an irresponsible teenager. Stef rolled her body to lean against the kitchen counter. They stood there in silence for a while.

Lena broke the silence. "It's getting late I should go" the statement was half hearted, and unconvincing.

"NO, not yet please" Stef sounded a little like Brandon as she cried out.

Stef reached out and took Lena's hand in hers, bringing it up against her chest wrapping her other hand over knuckles.

"Thank you for today" She lifted Lena's hand and gave it a kiss. She let their hands rest on her chest.

"You're welcome. I meant what I said earlier Stef, I want to be here for you" Lena looked over at Stef.

Stef smiled as her memory was filled with the conversation she had with Brandon before she put him to bed. "It seems I'm not the only who's heart you have stolen, Brandon asked if you could come over more, he likes having you around that much"

Lena smiled proudly. "He's a fantastic little boy, he reminds me so much of you"

"I want to tell him about us, let him know that we are more than friends, I just don't know how"

"Just be honest with him, that's all kids want...honesty"

"I've had to explain to him that his parents are getting divorced, I feel like I'm turning his entire life upside down and after today, I'm scared that he won't understand and that it will freak him out" Stef took a deep breath "He begged me not to leave Mike because he doesn't want to be dyke, what if I tell him and he turns on me, and you. What if he doesn't understand" the words were full of fear as they tumbled out of Stef's mouth. A confession of her darkest fear, yes Brandon liked Lena but what happens if he doesn't like the idea of his mother being with Lena. How on earth were they going to navigate their way around that? Brandon was her life, Lena was her heart.

They both stood there for a moment in silence, contemplating the reality that the success and happiness of their relationship could easily rest in the hands of a five year old little boy. If Brandon didn't accept this union, he could make life incredibly difficult.

"Brandon loves you, he wants' you to be happy, trust that!" was all Lena could think to say.

Stef nodded her head, and lifted Lena's hand once again to give her a kiss on the back of her hand.

It was Lena's turn to take a deep breath. "I really should get going" she looked over at Stef trying hard to look as though she wanted to go, but failing miserably. "You still have a lot of homework to finish and I have a meeting first thing in the morning."

Stef squeezed Lena's hand before letting it go, her hands instantly feeling cold. She looked down acknowledging that Lena made a point that was difficult to argue with.

"Dinner was amazing, we both look forward to more of your cooking" Stef remarked as she lifted her face to give Lena a goofy look.

Lena laughed as she made her way to the other side of the kitchen to pick up her bag. They both slowly made their way to the front door.

"My dad is coming back on Thursday; I'm going to try and arrange to have him take Brandon on Saturday night and you I can go out for a date and maybe..." Stef had a massive childlike grin plastered all over her face.

"And maybe what Office Foster?" Lena smiled as she leaned into to Stef and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"And you know...other stuff" Stef giggled.

"No I don't know, whatever do you mean Officer Foster" Lena looked incredibly adorable when she was being playful.

Stef leaned across towards Lena's ear and whispered something that made Lena laugh out loud that she had to put her hand over her mouth very quickly. Stef pulled back, her face was plush red but she had a huge smile from ear to ear.

"I'd better go before this gets out of hand" Lena could barely contain herself from laughing.

They pulled into a tight embrace, squeezing each other hard.

"I love you" Stef spoke, the words were sweet innocent and filled with sincerity. She had never meant those words as much as she did in this moment.

"I love you" Lena affirmed

They untangled themselves and gave each other one more kiss, before Lena took hold of the door.

"Saturday?" Lena's eyes were expectant.

"Saturday!" Stef replied with a smile.

"Drive safe; let me know when you are home!" Stef rubbed Lena's arm.

"I will...bye" Lena said with a smile

"Bye" the words soft and melancholic as Stef watched Lena walk out and close the door behind her.

A/N: Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this story, an even bigger thank you to everyone that has taken the time to post a review.