ALTERNATE ENDING 1, CHAPTER 19

Stef and Callie went back downstairs where Lena, Sharon, and her parents were conversing in the living room. Lena held out her hands for Callie. Stef placed her down on her legs and Callie clamored up and maneuvered around her belly to become engulfed in her arms.

"Well, Mama," Stef said as she lowered herself on the end of the sofa. She picked up Lena's feet and placed them on her lap. "Callie's decided to stay home. And I told her that Gram and Grampa had a lot of fun things planned for them but if she would rather stay home, then that was fine."

"Callie?" Lena asked placing kisses atop her head.

"I want to stay with you Mama." Callie answered cuddling as close as was possible.

"Then, why did you just run away from Mama? That hurt Mama's feelings." Lena had begun rocking her gently.

Callie took a deep breath. She looked up at her Mama. "I thought you didn't want me anymore," with this, Callie began to cry softly again.

Stef took some Kleenex off the table next to her and handed it to Lena.

"That's not possible. Mama could never not want you," Lena dried her face and kissed her on her forehead. "I just thought that you'd want to go and spend time with Gram and Grampa too. And you know they don't live far away. It's not like before when we had to take a plane to see them. You would've been close so that Mama could get to you anytime you needed her."

Dana came and knelt beside Callie and Lena. "Baby, Grampa and I were just missing you. We wanted to spend some time with our Callie girl. We didn't know coming with us was so horrible. You kinda hurt Gram's feelings a little."

"I miss you too Gram but I want to stay home with Mama. I don't mean to hurt your feelings." Callie explained.

Stef decided to pipe in, "How about you do something with Gram and Grampa during the day and then come back home after. Just like when Grandma Sharon takes you out. She always brings you back after you have some fun. How does that sound?"

Callie took a while answering while she thought over the new arrangement. She looked at her Mama and then at Gram. "Okay." She leaned over and kissed her Gram but stayed stuck to Lena.

They began making plans. It was decided that, Gram and Grampa would come over and take the kids out to their choice of activity. Because Callie required naps, they would be able to get away with only spending the latter half of the day out. Brandon and Callie were to take turns choosing what they did for the day. Brandon even offered for Callie to have her turn first. Callie thought long and hard and decided another trip to the waterpark would be good.

The family decided there had been enough excitement for the day and decided to stay in for a while. Stuart went to pick up some lunch while everyone at the house stayed and chatted more. After lunch, the kids went down for a nap while the adults watched a movie.

Once the kids were up again Dana, Sharon, and Stuart took them to the nearby neighborhood park. This gave Stef and Lena some alone time.

Stef filled Lena in on what all had transpired between her and Callie. She knew that the time had come for them to talk about what she and Mike had discussed also. Lena and now Callie had told her that they were afraid of him. Stef couldn't just dismiss their feelings. They were her family. And keeping them safe and happy were her first priorities.

Stef had come to see that Callie had questions and she deserved honest answers about what had happened to her Mama. Lena was the one with the psychology degree. Hell, she had a Ph.D. She needed her help in how to handle Brandon and how to figure out how to talk with them about everything without scarring them for life.

"So, we really need to figure out what we're going to say to the kids," Stef finished. Stef had no idea what Lena was thinking. She had been silent the entire time Stef had talked.

Lena had her lips pulled tight and was staring straight ahead. She took the band off of her wrist and pulled her hair into a bun. Her curls cascaded down out of it in different directions. Stef had noticed that she did this when she had something in front of her to tackle. It was her way of saying, let's get it done.

Finally, she began to speak. "Since they'll be out with our parents until bath time, we'll have to wait until there's time tomorrow. I don't want them having to go to sleep with these things going through their heads.

Stef nodded and looked away trying to gather herself for the next part. She rubbed Lena's legs absently as she searched for the right words. Finally, "I saw Mike." She blurted out.

Lena narrowed her eyes but did not say anything. She knew there was more to come.

"He knew that I was moving in this weekend and he came with some stuff that had gotten left behind at the apartment." When Lena still remained silent, she continued, "He and his lawyer are working on a deal for him. He's going to rehab for 18 months and then he's going away for 20 years. He only has to serve half of that though. Even less if he gets time for good behavior. Then, he'll be on parole for the remainder of his sentence. Brandon would be around 14 when he gets out."

"He begged me not to tell Brandon. He doesn't want his son to be ashamed of him." Stef finished in a rush. She looked away from Lena terrified that she might see hate on her face. That was something Stef could not bear from a woman she loved more than she had ever thought possible.

When the silence continued to stretch, Stef dared to look over at Lena. She was crying softly to herself.

Stef leaped up and moved as close to her as possible. She tried to pull her into her arms. "Baby," she kissed her multiple times. "Please talk to me, love. I can't read your mind."

Stef grabbed more Kleenex and used it to wipe Lena's face. Seeing Lena in pain was something that she couldn't bear. "Love, please. Don't go all nonverbal on me." She kissed Lena multiple times until her tears subsided.

Finally, Lena was able to look over at Stef. She took a deep steadying breath and let it out slowly. "How did my life become this?" she asked almost as if to herself. Stef nodded in understanding and Lena grabbed the Kleenex and wiped her eyes and nose. "I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of being sick and tired. I'm tired of this man having so much power over my life. I will not lie to my child to protect his reputation."

Stef bit her lip and nodded. The kids had a right to know the truth and they would handle what came next as a family.

Stef went to make dinner for her and Lena to share. She wanted it to be special because it was their first night in the house as partners. Pizza was a favorite shared by the both of them but Stef wanted to make an impression. She went with steak and green beans with slivered almonds. Stef even made brownies for dessert for the two of them. While she waited for the brownies to cool before frosting, there was one more thing that nagged at the back of her mind.

While they had talked, Stef had asked Lena what they should say to both kids, but Lena had only mentioned Callie. She called her my daughter. Stef was trying not to take it too personal. She knew that Lena loved Brandon. Stef had started to think of the kids as shared between the both of them. Wasn't that the point of them all being a big family? But, Lena was still using the words yours and mine to describe them. Stef wanted to shrug it off as a slip of the tongue but, it still bothered her slightly. As soon as things got intense between the two of them it was back to being separate again. She hoped this wasn't going to be a bigger problem.