I don't own The Fosters. Does anybody want to chip in some money to help me buy it?

"Honey, I'm home!" Stef proclaimed, channeling her inner 50's sitcom father and tossing her keys on the counter. "Lena?" she called again, looking around the first floor in confusion. She figured Lena would mostly likely be in the living room or the kitchen. Not locating her in any of the common areas, she headed upstairs.

As she walked down the hallway of the second floor to her and Lena's bedroom, she peered into Mariana's room as she passed. She was surprised to see the small girl sitting on her bed, hugging her knees tightly to her chest, her eyes fixed on the window. She contemplated going in to talk to her, but ultimately stopped herself, figuring maybe she'd better check in with Lena first.

"Hey, babe," Stef greeted as she stepped inside their room, spying an exhausted looking Lena, her eyes closed and leaning against their headboard.

Lena slowly opened her eyes and sat up. "Hey. Sorry, I didn't realize you were home," she apologized. "Must not have heard you come in."

"Really? And here I thought I'd been obnoxious in making my presence known."

Lena let out a strained chuckle.

"So what's up? I saw Mariana sitting in her bedroom. She looked pretty upset. Did something happen?" Stef asked, climbing onto the bed and lounging next to Lena.

Lena let out a frustrated breath. "So Sanchez called."

"Uh-oh, nothing good ever starts with 'So Sanchez called,'" Stef interjected.

"Yeah, no kidding. Anyway, so Sanchez called and asked me if I wouldn't mind going to this conference in Alcoa."

"And?"

"And he kind of did it when I was in the middle of talking to Mariana about Jesus being gone tonight."

"Ouch. Talk about bad timing. When's the meeting?"

"It's tomorrow, which means I'm going to have to drive down tonight which means Mariana will not only have her brother gone but also me which means-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there," Stef put her hands up, trying to calm Lena down. "Did you tell Sanchez you would go?"

"Yes, which prompted Mariana to say 'you're leaving me too?' with one of the most crushing expressions I've ever witnessed."

"Oh, God," Stef whispered, closing her eyes. Not only was that revelation heartbreaking in and of itself, but she couldn't imagine how terrible Lena must be feeling. It was bad enough that she was the one who actually saw this play out; and to make it worse, Lena was one of the most empathetic people she'd ever met. She was no doubt feeling incredibly guilty for something completely out of her control.

"I feel so awful about it. I mean, she needs me here, she's never needed me more, and here I am abandoning her too."

"You're not abandoning her," Stef said firmly, almost reprimanding.

Lena ignored the comment. "Trust me; I wouldn't go unless it was really important. But I feel like I have to, I mean we're desperate, we've been preparing for this conference for months."

"Sweetheart, it's fine, don't worry about it," Stef assuaged her.

"Are you sure?" Lena asked, still unconvinced.

"Yes, of course, it's fine. Go. Have your fun with the stick-up-their-ass school board people," she said, trying to throw a little insulting humor in there to relax Lena.

"But Mariana-"

"What, you don't trust me?" she asked, mock-offended. "I'll have you know that I raised Brandon without you for a couple years and he doesn't even have a single visible inappropriate tattoo yet. He's not a chain smoker either, so I've got to be doing something right."

"It's not that, it's just-"

"I know what you meant," Stef assured her, turning serious since Lena was failing miserably at picking up on her sarcasm for the time being. "She'll be fine, sweetheart. It's just one night. Plus, knowing that kid she'll probably be asleep not five minutes after you're gone. She's an early riser, and she insists on getting her precious 'beauty rest,' as she refers to it."

"Okay," Lena supposed, nodding her head. She obviously trusted Stef to handle things. And who knows, maybe it would even be good for Mariana. Sometimes growing required being out of your comfort zone for awhile. This could be a real turning point in her life, learning to trust new people and learning to let go of some of her more clingy tendencies. "Okay, you're right."

"I'm always right," Stef clarified, pecking Lena on the cheek. "Although I do have to say I am a bit disappointed that we won't get to finish what we started earlier. And to think you promised me I would be all yours. You dirty liar," she accused.

"Distance and time make the heart grow fonder," Lena told her, returning a quick kiss before rolling off the bed. "I better get packing if I want to make it to the hotel before four in the morning," she sighed, pulling an overnight bag out from a shelf in their closet.

"I don't want you to go," Stef whined, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Trust me, I don't want to. I wish that-"

"Kidding, babe, kidding," Stef cut her off. "Well, not kidding, but like I said, it's fine. I'll still be here when you get back."

"If the conference doesn't kill me," Lena replied overdramatically.

"If the extreme boringness starts to feel threatening, just remind it that your wife's a cop. That should get it to back off."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Lena replied, rolling her eyes and throwing a shirt into her suitcase.

"Any time."

"So, what do you plan on doing with Mariana tonight?" Lena asked, continuing to move about the room and gather a few necessary items.

"Oh, I don't know," Stef shrugged. "Maybe rent a movie, paint our nails, eat some sesame seeds-"

"No!" Lena exclaimed, whipping her head around to face Stef. "Mariana is highly allergic to sesame seeds! She could have a-"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding," Stef defended. "Obviously I know that. And who the hell sits around eating raw sesame seeds anyway?"

Lena did not look amused. "Could you stop with the sarcasm? I'm clearly not equipped to process it at the moment."

"I'm sorry, love," Stef stood up, joining Lena in the center of the room. "But you really should stop worrying so much. It's just for one night."

"Right," Lena said, "just one night. What could go wrong?"

I know I say this every time, but your support continues to overwhelm me. Thank you all so much for your incredible feedback. You really make writing this a lot of fun! I appreciate each and every one of your reviews, so please continue to give generously! I can't thank you enough!

Justliziam is the coolest beta you will ever meet.