Lauren had been playing with some of her friends in the sandbox, when a boy, Renaldo, asked, "Who's your mom?" Renaldo was four just like Lauren. He had messy black hair and dark brown eyes. "I've seen your daddies, but where's your mommy at?"

Lauren blinked unsure of how to answer that. Inside, she felt Sara stir, slightly annoyed. "I-I don't have a mommy." Lauren finally said after taking a moment to consider. She looked at where her dads were. Jas and Muscles were talking to another parent near the playground. She was a fairy with bright pink hair that Lauren thought looked a lot like cotton candy.

"But everyone has a mommy," Renaldo argued, "How else can babies be made? You need a mommy to hold you in her tummy."

Lauren shook her head before her eyes flashed pink, "We don't have a mother. It's just us and our fathers. Now please drop it, you're making her uncomfortable."

Renaldo frowned as he dug up sand with a small shovel, "Yeah, but my mommy said she carried me in her tummy for nine months! That's the only way for babies to be born!"

Lauren's eyes flickered back to brown again, "I don't know who my mommy is. I guess my dad is my mommy. People sometimes think he's a girl."

"So did he carry you in his belly too?"

Lauren shrugged, "I don't know." She never thought about it before. It had always been herself (including Sara of course) and her dads. Now she wondered where her mom was. Does she have a mom?

"You need a mom," Renaldo said at-matter-of-factly, "Everyone needs a mom. They take care of us!"

"My daddies take care of me," Lauren argued growing frustrated. Renaldo grew mad too at her for yelling, "Well your daddies are weird. Why do you have two daddies but no mommy? That's weird!"

"Shut up!" Lauren screamed, she threw sand at him before getting up and running away into the woods nearby.

Jas and Muscles turned upon hearing their daughter yelling. "Lauren!" Jas called but their daughter ran straight past him and Muscles. Behind her, Renaldo cried as he tried to wipe the sand from his face. His mother came and comforted him while giving Jas and Muscles dirty looks.

Another parent shouted at them, "You need to hurry up and get her. There's a steep cliff in there!"

The two former pirates immediately chased down their daughter in a panic, "LAUREN!"

Jas could feel the parental adrenaline kicking in. He frantically swept his eyes all around, looking for their little girl in pink.

"Jas!" Muscles yelled before seizing him by the back of his shirt and pulling back. It was a good thing he did because that was when Jas noticed he nearly ran off the cliff edge. It wasn't as steep as he thought it would be, however, if a child fell off it they would surely be hurt. "Lauren!" He yelled, "Lauren, baby, where are you?" No response. He couldn't see what all was down there. There were too many shrubs and thorny bushes. Just the thought of their baby falling down and hurting herself left Jas shaking with fear. "I'm going down there."

He didn't wait for Muscles to respond before climbing down the cliff carefully. He hopped down when he was about halfway and looked for any sign of Lauren. "Baby girl, where are you?"

He looked for anything pink. Nothing.

"Do you see her?"

"No," he called back to Muscles. "I don't think she came this far." He stepped through the thorn bushes, wincing when they bit at him. Again, there was no sign that Lauren had been here. Jas didn't know whether to sigh in relief or grow more worried. Even if Lauren hadn't fallen, she could still have gotten hurt somehow.

"I'm coming back up." He called to his husband. Muscles offered his hand and Jas was pulled up. "Where could she have gone?" Muscles asked, more to himself than to Jas.

"She wasn't down there, thank goodness," Jas said, he began to shake with worry. A million scenarios flooded his mind. Lauren could have been attacked by an animal, or taken by a stranger, or maybe fell and broken something, or-

"Jas, breathe," Muscles urged gently, "We'll find her. Remember Sara is out there too. If something happens, I know she'll protect both herself and Lauren."

That was right. Sara was still there. Yet, it didn't do much to settle Jas' nerves. He wanted his little girl back in his arms safe and sound.

"Father, Papa."

"Lauren!" They both cried and rushed to squish their daughter in a tight hug. Jas nearly cried, his heart leaping with joy and relief before anger and parental frustration took hold. "Lauren, what were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how worried your Papa and I were?" He stopped upon realizing she was crying.

"Honey, we're sorry, your daddy and I were just worried," Muscles said rubbing her back. It was then that he noticed her eyes were magenta. "Sara, baby, what happened?"

"Lauren is upset," She started, shifting uncomfortably. Jas put his arm around her to help encourage her. "I'm not sure how to comfort her. I don't know if I can. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Jas stroked her hair, "Can we talk to her?"

"Do you promise not to yell?"

Jas looked away ashamed, he hadn't meant to lose his temper, but he was so scared and worried. He normally was very calm and slow to anger. But when he saw his daughter run away and heard about the cliff, his anxiety shot through the roof. He couldn't bare the thought of losing his baby. His worry and fear exploded into anger. It was no excuse to yell at her though. Yet, as a father, he needed to do his due diligence and parent her. Brushing what she had done under the rug would be a disservice to his daughter.

"I promise, I'm sorry for losing my temper." Jas said pulling her into a hug, "I was just worried. We thought you had fallen down a cliff."

Their daughter looked away, "I had noticed it and taken control. Lauren is still upset, but I think you can better manage it than I can."

"Sara, listen, sweetie, we're your parents. It's our job to take care of you both. You're a kid, you should live as a kid."

She smiled in response, "I try to. I'm just not used to it." Her eyes then returned to brown and immediately Lauren broke down into tears.

"Baby girl, what's wrong?" Jas cooed, scooping her up in his arms. It felt nice to have her back. He hugged her tightly, nuzzling her hair. "Why did you run away?" Muscles rub her back. Lauren sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I-I'm sorry, Daddies."

"Why did you run away like that, did something happen?" Muscles asked.

Lauren bit her lip, hesitating for a moment, "I don't want you to be mad."

"Why would we be mad, baby girl?" Jas asked, their daughter rested her head on his chest while tracing the flower tattoos on his arm. It was something she liked to do whenever cuddling close to him.

"Because I threw sand at Renaldo." She whimpered and looked at him and Muscles, "He asked where my mommy was. Everyone is supposed to have a mommy because she carries babies in her tummy. I-I don't know who my mommy is."

Oh.

Jas and Muscles locked eyes for a moment. This was a conversation they had both been dreading for. Neither was sure how to go about it. Lauren was only four and she was obviously going to have questions about her parentage. They had hoped she would ask when she was older, but then again, maybe they should be grateful it had taken her this long to ask.

Jas decided they would need to talk when they got home. He kissed his daughter's head, "We'll explain when we get back home, okay?"

"Am I in trouble, Daddy?"

Jas hummed in thought before glancing at Muscles who seemed to consider it too.

"Well, you did throw sand in someone's face," Muscles started, "So for punishment, you need to apologize to him."

Lauren nodded in understanding, "I was mad."

"We know, baby girl, but when you're mad like that you need to pull yourself away and come to me or Papa. It's not good to hurt someone just because they make you angry."

She nodded again, "I'm sorry."

"I know," Jas smiled, "But you need to apologize to Renaldo too." Seeing his daughter nod, Jas and Muscles walked back home. Renaldo wasn't in the playground anymore. No doubt, his parents took him home after Lauren hurt him. Jas made a mental note to talk to the parents later and have Lauren apologize.

Upon arriving home, the small family sat down in the living room area. It took them roughly a half hour to return, which didn't feel like enough time for either husband to decide how to explain to their daughter of her birth and adoption.

"Who's my mommy?" Lauren asked, ripping off the bandage. She, like most children her age, wasn't very patient and didn't have the social skills to read people's emotions yet.

Jas bit his lip considering how to approach this. He felt Muscles grab his hand and squeeze it in reassurance. Jas squeezed back.

"Well, sweetie, we don't know." Muscles started, there was no other way to put it. Jas hated how bitter it sounded and it killed him a little to see the hurt look on his daughter's face.

"Sometimes, mommies can't take care of their babies, so they give them to families that will," Jas continued for his husband. "We don't know who your mommy is, but that doesn't change anything about us. You're our daughter and we love you."

"Both of you," Muscles added knowing very well that Sara was listening behind the scenes.

Jas nodded in agreement, "You were a baby when we first saw you. You were so tiny and sweet and we knew we wanted you to be our daughter. Every family is different, sometimes families find each other. We didn't expect to find such a beautiful, wonderful little girl, but we did and we've loved you since day one."

Lauren was silent for a minute, processing what had been said. "So, happened to her?"

"We don't know," Jas sighed sadly, "But we chose you because you're special to us." He hoped his words were as genuine as they felt. There was nothing he would change when it came to their little girl. She was perfect. Sweet, smart, kind, and just the best thing he and Muscles could have ever asked for.

Lauren looked at them and smiled, "We love you too, Daddies. You're better than a mommy." Both fathers brimmed with tears as they hugged her.

A few days later and the family was at the playground again. And once again Lauren was playing in the sandbox with her dads watching from a distance. Jas spotted Renaldo running up to her. Lauren immediately stood from where she had been playing and offered him a smile, "I'm sorry for throwing sand at you."

Renaldo huffed, obviously still mad, "It wasn't nice! I should tell your mommy, but you don't have one!" He laughed, pointing at her. Lauren's face turned red. Jas and Muscles both tensed up feeling angry on their daughter's behalf. Thankfully Lauren didn't throw sand at Renaldo, instead, she pointed at him and screamed.

"My daddies chose me, your mommy is stuck with you." Before sticking her tongue out at him and spitting. Renaldo looked furious, his face turning red too. Before anything else could be said, Jas immediately rushed in and scooped Lauren up, "Okay, baby girl, that's enough." He frowned at Renaldo, "Why don't we go talk to your mommy about what you said."

The boy's face immediately paled and internally Jas smirked. Nobody messes with his baby.