ALTERNATE ENDING 1, CHAPTER 21

The weekend came and as usual Stef, was the first to awake. The kids had made it half of the night in their own beds before climbing into theirs. She looked over at her sleeping family and once again was thankful.

She got up and started a pot of coffee going. She had faced most of her demons but, there was still a couple left. First, she and Lena had not been able to talk to the kids like they had wanted to. It just never seemed the right time. Things were going good and the kids were getting along and they hadn't wanted to throw anymore negative at them. Also, she needed to see her Father. Her feelings were hurt about his not even trying to contact neither her nor Brandon. She wanted him to know that she had moved in with the love of her life and that they were starting a life together.

She went into the living room passing pictures of Lena, Callie, family and friends along the way. She was going to have to integrate more of her things and Brandon's. She had stopped by the old apartment and picked up the rest of the things she planned to keep. Thankfully Mike hadn't shown up while she was there so she had been able to pack up what she wanted rather quickly and leave. When she got home, she stored them with the other boxes in the guest room.

She mulled over her Mother's suggestion of introducing Callie to her Father. She knew her Father would never do anything overtly hurtful to the child but, she was responsible for her now. And Callie had enough hurts to nurse without some subtle or not so subtle comment from Stef's Father to add to her list. Finally, she decided, she'd leave it up to Callie. If Callie agreed to go out with her just the two of them, then she'd take her. If not, it would just have to wait for another day.

She started to hear stirrings from upstairs, so she went up to investigate. Lena and Callie were cuddling together and laughing over something. Stef stood at the bed beside them. Lena scooted over and made room for her. Stef kissed her while she lowered herself to her side. She reached across her and tickled Callie's belly.

"What's so funny?" Stef asked.

"We were watching the babies kick and Callie said they looked like monsters trying to break out of me. I told her the only lil monster Mama had was her."

Stef smiled, "I see. And how are our boys?" She ran her hands across Lena's still expanding tummy.

For a split second there Lena lost her smile and a shadow fell across her face. "They're fine," she recovered quickly. "What's for breakfast?"

But, Stef was a trained interrogator. Part of that training was reading people's body language as well as their faces. She had seen Lena's face, even if it was for a split second and she knew that Lena was aware that her pregnancy was already in the danger zone. If something was going on, she needed to know now.

"Lena?!"

Lena tightened her lips and motioned to Callie with her eyes. She straightened her back and struck one of her regal poses that usually signaled that she was done with the conversation. But, Stef was now on high alert. "Where's your phone?" she asked Lena while looking around.

"Why?" Lena was now frowning. She knew Stef wasn't going to let this go.

Stef found the phone and started to go through the contact list. She found the OB's number and walked downstairs to talk privately. She left a message that she would appreciate it if they could get back to her quickly. She left her number as a call back number.

Stef then called her Mom and asked her if she wouldn't mind coming over. Her Mom was thankfully also an early riser and jumped at the chance to spend time with the little ones. Stef went back up and chose outfits for the kids and left them on their beds.

Lena was now frowning at her openly when she returned to the bedroom but Stef ignored her. Brandon was now awake and so she climbed beside him and spent some time snuggling before she sent the kids off to get dressed. Once they were alone, she turned to Lena and demanded to know what was going on.

"Stefanie I'm fine!" Lena huffed. "It was just a little twinge."

"It didn't look little," Stef accused. "Anyway, I called the doctor and asked for her to call back." Lena glared over at her. "You can tell her it was a little twinge and then we'll see what she says. I'd suggest though that you get dressed and get ready for a long day."

Lena threw her another glare and tossed a throw pillow at her. Stef easily dodged it and stuck out her tongue. She then pulled Lena down and kissed her until the two were breathless. "I'm just worried babe. And I'm not going to apologize for it either."

"I know." Lena pressed her forehead into Stef's. "I'm just …."

"I know. Go get dressed." Stef gave her one more kiss and sent her off.

Her mom arrived and Stef went down to tell her what was going on. As she passed the kids room, she noticed they were playing instead of dressing. She figured them being dressed now wasn't too important and left them to it.

Sharon was in the kitchen starting on breakfast when Stef came down and filled her in on what was going on. She had just finished when her phone rang with a call back from the doctor. Stef ran the phone up to Lena who talked with her while Stef stood listening in the open bathroom doorway. Lena hung up and sighed. "She wants us to go in to the hospital and she'll meet us there."

Stef nodded and went to tell her Mom and then the kids. She decided to just tell the kids that she and Mama were going to spend time together. Brandon continued playing but when Callie realized they were leaving without her she started to get dressed quickly. By the time Stef and Lena got downstairs, Callie was still in the middle of pulling on her clothes and trying to follow them at the same time. Sharon came out to try and calm her when it became obvious Callie was not planning on being left without a fight. Stef had to push Lena out the door and close the door on Callie's screams.

Lena looked over at her with tears in her eyes and Stef said, "I know, I know. But she'll be fine with my Mom. We'll call and check on her later babe." She put the car in drive and went to the hospital.

They checked in and were immediately shown to a room. A nurse came by and took vitals. She noted that Lena's blood pressure was running high. She left her with a hospital gown to change into. Shortly after, a doctor came by and introduced himself as Dr. Herring. He said that Dr. Hillcroft would be along shortly but she had asked him to take a look at how things were going. He had Lena lie down while he did an ultrasound. Lena winced a little when the wand made contact with her skin.

"Is everything okay?" Lena asked nervously while the doctor printed off some of the pictures.

The doctor took a deep breath and turned to her fully. By this time, both women were beginning to get scared. Stef took Lena's hand in hers. He frowned and asked her, "Are there any other symptoms that you haven't told us about?"

Lena closed her eyes briefly and started to tear up. She took a steadying breath and then said, "I've been having back pain since last night." Stef looked at her in surprise. She hadn't said anything about that all night. "And when I went to the bathroom, this morning, there was some spotting."

The doctor nodded and said, "I think your placental abruption has increased. I'm going to have to do a vaginal exam to check what's going on down there." Lena nodded and squeezed Stef's hand. The doctor performed the exam and then excused himself.

"Spotting Lena? Seriously? I barely got you here to begin with!" Stef was upset that Lena had kept so much from her. But, when Lena looked at her with her eyes wide with fear and tears threatening to spill over, Stef had to wrap her in her arms and kiss her. "You should've told me baby," she said in a softer tone.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was just so scared." Lena wrapped both arms around Stef and let a few tears fall. They broke away as Dr. Hillcroft, Lena's normal ob/gyn came into the room. They looked at her expectantly.

"Well, you've had a busy morning huh?" Dr. Hillcroft tried to lighten the mood. After looking back and forth at the two faces and seeing nothing but fear written across them, she decided to go all in. "Well, it's not looking good. Your blood pressure is extremely high and your cervix is opening. With all of your other symptoms, I think we're going to have to deliver."