If I owned The Fosters, do you seriously think we would have to wait until January for new episodes? No, I don't own it.

"Can we go now?" Jesus asked for about the hundredth time in the past thirty seconds.

"Jesus, we've been over this," Lena said, exasperated, but bemused at his eagerness. It was hard to believe this was the same reluctant child she'd talked to mere moments ago. "We're waiting until Stef gets home. She's going to drop Brandon off at his dad's house and then take you to the sleepover," she explained for the umpteenth time.

"I know, I know," Jesus said, a goofy grin on his face. Lena took in his smile, relieved, but still a bit concerned. Jesus couldn't have done a complete 180 in a matter of minutes. She knew that he was probably trying to appear overenthusiastic to convince both her and himself that the thought of leaving Mariana didn't bother him. The fact that he, probably subconsciously, was acting overexcited to deal with the guilt worried her. However, when she considered the alternative, the dark and burdened Jesus she had seen earlier, she figured that she would much rather him exaggerate the joy rather than the despair.

"Relax," Lena placed a hand on his leg, which was shaking rapidly in anticipation. "You still have plenty of time. You didn't say you'd be over there until, what, six?"

"6:30," Jesus quickly corrected.

"See? Even better. It's only," she glanced down at her watch, "5:45. You'll be fine," she said, patting his leg reassuringly in attempt to calm him down.

Lena sighed softly. Where was Stef? She said she'd be home by 5:30. Sure, fifteen minutes wasn't that long, and traffic could be bad. After all, it was a Friday night at rush hour, but still. She had a cell phone. Why couldn't she just call?

She worried about her, and not only when she late. She constantly worried about Stef. She hated knowing that she could possibly be in a potentially dangerous situation at any minute during her workday. The uncertainty, the peril of it all made her nervous. Stef always teased her for being such a worrywart, but she couldn't help it.

Sure, it'd gotten a little easier with time, once she grew a bit more used to the idea, but she was far from comfortable with it. There was always a lingering in the goodbye kiss in the mornings, the thought ever-present in the back of her mind that it could be their last.

Lena glanced at her watch again. 5:53. She whipped her cell phone out of her pocket, getting ready to dial Stef's number. However, before she could punch the first button, she heard the front door open. Not a second later, she felt Jesus jump up from beside her and sprint to the door with the energy and excitement of a puppy greeting its owner.

"You're home! Let's go let's go let's go!" He said at a speed that Lena didn't know was even attainable by humankind.

"Well it's nice to see you too," Stef replied, wide-eyed, as she stepped into the house.

"Come on come on come on we have to hurry," Jesus said quickly and deathly serious.

"And why is that?" Stef said, matching his serious expression, crouching down so she was at eye-level with the young boy.

"Because," he started, taking a deep breath, "Alex and I are going to eat pizza and then he is going to teach me how to skateboard."

Stef raised an eyebrow, "skateboarding, huh? Well we definitely wouldn't want to be late for that, now would we?"

"Nope," Jesus shook his head.

"You probably want me to hurry up and get Brandon then, yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Stef stood up. "I'm hurrying," she said, taking an excruciatingly slow step. "I'm hurrying," she said again, repeating the process, taking a couple more agonizingly slow strides.

"Stef!" Jesus whined.

"What?" Stef said with mock confusion. "I'm going as fast as I can!"

"No you're not!" Jesus protested.

"I am!" Stef defended.

"Well then I bet you couldn't beat me up the stairs," Jesus dared.

"Oh," Stef laughed, "that sure sounds like a challenge to me!"

Seeing where this was headed, Lena started to make a move to stop the inevitable. "No running in the-!" she started. But it was too late. Before she could finish her sentence, two pairs of legs were pounding on the stairs, four sprinting feet racing their way to the top of the landing. "House," she finished to herself, crossing her arms, waiting for her partner and children to return to the first level of the home.

Stef was the first to join Lena, which she was thankful for. She wanted a minute of privacy to talk with her, and she didn't want to make a scene in front of the kids.

"And you," Stef said, approaching her with a cheeky grin. "Oh how I've missed you, my love," she said, giving her a hug and kissing her on the cheek. It almost made Lena forget why she was angry.

Almost.

"What is it?" Stef frowned, her forehead creased. She stepped back, an arm's length away, when she realized that Lena wasn't reciprocating the affection.

"You were late," Lena said coldly.

Stef sighed. "I know," she looked down. "And I'm sorry, I was about to call but I didn't think the drive would take as long as it did and I figured you'd be busy getting the kids all packed and…" she rambled off when she realized the excuses were having no effect on Lena. She was still getting the dreaded 'look.' Raised left eyebrow, regal posture, the whole shebang.

"I'll make it up to you," she pouted, trying to look cute and innocent. And it was working, damn it.

"How? I don't think you can," Lena teased her, shrugging and looking away.

"Oh I bet you'd be surprised," Stef whispered, touching her forehead to Lena's.

"Yeah? You think?" Lena asked, placing her hands on her back and pulling her closer.

"I know," Stef replied, her voice soft in Lena's ears, and her breath hot on Lena's skin.

"Hm," Lena said, closing her eyes and smiling, the two in a tight embrace. They didn't look at each other, for both sets of eyes were closed, but they saw each other all the same. The patterns of their heartbeats synchronized and their steady breathing became one breath as they held each other close.

"Ugh, we can't do this right now," Lena said, reluctantly breaking the comfortable silence that had formed, but making no move to leave.

"Why not?" Stef mumbled, as if she didn't already know why.

"Because Brandon and Jesus and the sleepovers," Lena replied.

Stef let out a groan. "After?" She proposed hopefully.

"Mariana will still be home," Lena reminded her.

"Yeah but she usually goes to sleep pretty early," Stef assured her, running her hands through Lena's hair, her fingers massaging her scalp.

"Then after that, I'm all yours," Lena managed to say, holding in a moan as Stef continued to absentmindedly play with her hair, her touch gentle and filled with obvious desire.

"You promise?" she asked, kissing her neck.

"I promise. Now stop it, before you give me a hickey," Lena said with a small giggle, playfully slapping her away.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Stef asked, ignoring Lena's protests.

"Well considering I work around children, yes, I think it would probably be considered extremely unprofessional."

"Ugh, you're such a tease," Stef sighed, unwillingly moving her head away from Lena's neck and opening her eyes. "Fine," she moped. "I'll go get the kids," she said, ready to turn and head up the stairs.

"Oh, and Stef?" Lena called after her.

"Yes, love?"

"No running in the house," she crossed her arms, trying to maintain a grave expression.

"Why?" Stef flashed her a mischievous smile. "You gonna get me in trouble?" she tested with a raise of her eyebrow.

"You're such a child, Stefanie Foster," Lena shook her head.

"Yeah, well, I always was a piece of work," Stef shrugged, taunting Lena by intentionally jogging up the stairs.

Lena rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but grin. "But you're my piece of work."

Thanks so much for the great response to chapter 1! I am blown away by the amount of support I've gotten, so please keep it up! You guys are awesome, and I'd love it if you'd continue to review and give me great feedback!

Once again, thanks to justliziam for being the best beta ever!