A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update the last couple of days. On Friday I was busy, on Saturday I was at my volunteer job and then I slept over at my friends house.

Maria immediately got up and grabbed her jacket and shoes, immediately going to the kitchen where Steve sat with Elsa, coloring.

"Why is Alexa on the ice?" She asked, sending Shawna an accusatory look as Steve shot Maria an alarmed look.

"What?"

"Yeah. Alexa is on thin ice. Someone should be watching her! You don't just let a two-year-old wander off!"

Shawna sighed, "Oh relax, will you? Alexa has played on that ice many times." She said, not at all phased as Steve got up, following Maria out the door.

"Alexa! Don't move!" Maria called, running as fast as she could towards the pond. Alexa looked up when she heard Maria's voice.

The little girl smiled and got up, standing on the ice that had already begun to crack from people constantly running across it.

"Don't move!" She yelled again, louder this time. Alexa still couldn't hear her and started walking towards the edge, to more solid ground.

What happened next happened so fast that they could barely react in time. Alexa fell through the ice, disappearing underneath the surface of the water. Both Maria and Steve dove into the frigid water, hoping to find her before she disappeared too far below the surface. They both knew that if one couldn't find Alexa, then the other would, and it would more than likely be Steve.

Maria couldn't see any trace of the child anywhere, and she had to go to the surface to breathe.

She broke the surface seconds later, gasping for air. All the commotion caused the other members of the family to rush outside, coming to the edge of the body of water. Several family members stood with a look of shock on their features, others were crying, but Shawna stood as still as a statue, her arms crossed and a stone cold glare on her face.

"Alexa! Steve!" She called, diving down once more, only to have to resurface. Her lungs weren't quite as strong as they had been before her bout of pneumonia the year before.

After what seemed like hours, Steve finally resurfaced with the little girl in his arms. Alexa was unconscious as Steve carried her out of the water, laying her on the ground as he proceeded to do CPR and for several minutes, it was silent until Alexa started coughing up water before she opened her eyes. She was in shock for several seconds until she finally realized what happened and started crying. Maria narrowed her eyes at Shawna as everyone, even the other children, began fussing over the toddler.

"What happened?" Mark asked.

"Yeah. One minute everyone was silent and the kids were playing, and then we heard screaming." Mike added in agreement.

"I'll tell you what happened. Shawna happened." Maria said, turning on her heel and walking back up to the house and storming up the stair case as everyone got back into the house behind her and Steve placed Alexa on the counter as Jaqueline retrieved her medical bag.

"She seems fine, just traumatized. We should watch her for secondary drowning." She said, wrapping a shock blanket around Alexa.

"Secondary drowning?" Karen and Kelly both asked, crossing their arms.

"It typically happens in children three to twenty-four hours after they have an accident involving water. Fluid builds up in the lungs and restricts air flow. It leads to suffocation. If she has a wet-sounding voice, lethargic, or has breathing difficulties, she needs to go to the hospital. So everyone needs to keep a close eye on her." She explained, looking pointedly at Steve as Maria came into the kitchen, slamming the files on the table in front of Shawna.

"What's this?" Shawna asked, brown eyes glaring at Maria.

"You should know. You had to sign similar papers to become a foster mom." Maria said as Shawna put on her reading glasses and looked over the papers.''

"You? You want to adopt her? What makes you think that you'd be a better mother? With that kind of childhood? You'll sooner turn into the abusive psycho your father was!"

That was a low blow. Maria and Emily's father wasn't like that anymore and everyone knew that.

"Steve wouldn't let that happen, and I would sooner die than touch a child like that." She said softly.

"Well, he'll no sooner leave you when he sees your true nature."

"No, Aunt Shawna. Maria is a great mother! Better than you, anyway." Emily said. She was standing between Danny and Anna, who looked appalled.

"How would you know? You barely knew your own mother. None of you did."

"I may not have known my own mother for very long, but I knew that she was a horrible excuse for a mom. No offense," Emily began, giving Patty, Karen, and Kelly an apologetic look, "She did drugs. She slept around. She abused alcohol! Maria does none of that. When Diana didn't want to take care of me because she was too drunk or too drugged up to give a damn, it was Maria who stepped up to take care of me. Just like Danny did for her."

Shawna almost didn't know what to say, "Your father told me about what happened between you and Maria over the summer. She hit you. You had a bruise on the side of your face for almost two weeks.

Emily sighed, "Yes, and she couldn't properly look me in the eyes for weeks. I shared information that she didn't want me to share, and was it justified? No, but until that point, she had not once laid a hand on me, and since then she has not touched me like that again. Believe me. When it comes down to it, Maria is a much better mother." She answered, defending her sister, who gave her a soft smile before turning to look back at Shawna.

"So are you going to sign the papers or not?"

A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)