Yeah. Life's been interesting lately. Hopefully have some time to focus and finish this before summer ends. To the anon who made such a lovely request for a one-shot regarding Jesús's funeral; even when it first happened, I didn't believe they were going to kill Jesús off. Doing that would dramatically affect every relationship on the show and since they still haven't adequately explored how Frankie's death affected Stef and Lena, I just don't see that happening. After seeing the previews I still believe that Jesús will be heading off to boarding school. If you, however, have another request, I will fill that.
"Lena's parents are gonna be here soon," Callie observed from the doorway, watching as Mariana sped around the room with quick, economical motions.
"I know. That's why I want to make sure everything's nice. Gram always comes up to see our rooms and look at our decorations and stuff. She says I have the eyes of an artist."
"Hm." Callie continued to observe her foster sister. "Do you like them?"
All of Mariana's motions suddenly ceased. She turned slowly on her heels to look at Callie. "They're my grandparents," she said, her voice expressing her surprise. "I love them."
"But they're not really your-" Callie bit her tongue before she could say anything else. She still had a tendency to view the family through her own lens. A lens, she admitted to herself, that did not fit this family. She was getting better at that though.
Mariana put her hands on her hips, a clear challenge.
Callie raised her own hands in a calming gesture. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? It's just weird sometimes. I mean, most of the time everything is fine and it's just regular family stuff and then there's other times when…this family seems really weird."
"I don't like when you say that," said Mariana. "My family isn't weird, they're just different. And it's okay to be different." She turned away and began making her bed, her energy noticeably deflated.
Callie sighed, "yeah, yeah. I've heard the speech. Diversity's cool. But…these guys that are coming…they aren't really related to any of you. Just Lena. Only Lena." She began making her own bed neatly, hoping her actions would make up for some of her words that she knew were hurting the other girl.
"They're my grandparents," said Mariana. "They're my adopted grandparents." Suddenly she threw her pillow against the bed, hard. "You know what Callie? I don't want to talk to you about this anymore. You're making me mad."
"I'm sorry Mariana. Really." Callie walked over to the other girl and put her hand on her shoulder. "I'm not trying to say all the wrong stuff. I'm not trying to make you mad. I just-" She paused for a minute. What was she trying to do?
"Trying to figure stuff out?" asked Mariana, her anger cooling a little as she looked at the other girl.
"Yeah," Callie mumbled. "I guess I am."
"Are you scared?"
"No," said Callie immediately, trying to sound tough.
"It's okay if you are. But you don't have to be. They're really nice. They'll like you. They probably even brought you presents."
"Why would they do that?" said Callie.
Mariana shrugged, reaching over to pick a minute strand of lint that had landed on her bedspread. "They just will. That's what they're like."
Callie frowned.
Mariana turned back to examine her. "That's what most grandparents are like. Aren't yours?"
Callie stiffened, then shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "I don't know. My dad's parents died when I was pretty young. We have some pictures and stuff, so I know what they looked like. Mom just had her mom and she died before I was born."
"That's so sad," Mariana's voice was sympathetic. "I'm sorry."
"Can't miss what you don't know," said Callie glibly. It was something her mom said once when she was talking to her grown-up friends, something about their fathers.
Mariana looked at her, head tilted quizzically. "I don't think that's true. Sometimes I think about what it might be like to have a dad." At Callie's look she added hurriedly, "I want my moms, I always want my moms, but it would be interesting to have a dad too…to see what it was like."
"My dad's nice," Callie agreed quietly. "I miss seeing him." She swung her arms thoughtfully. "I mean, we don't do a lot together, but he's always there at least, you know?"
"Uh-uh," Mariana said, shaking her head in negation. "What do you mean?"
"I mean my mom mostly takes care of us. My dad only takes care of us by himself a little bit."
"How come?" asked Mariana.
Callie felt flustered for a moment. "Cause…just cause my mom mostly does. Kind of like Lena."
"Not really," said Mariana. "I mean, on school days she's here a little bit more but Mommy almost always puts us to bed and then she hangs out with us as much as she can on the weekends."
Callie twisted her hands together for a moment, her family feeling suddenly inadequate in a way she couldn't explain. She shrugged, "I guess it's just different with regular families." She nearly bit her tongue when she saw Mariana's face. "Mariana, I didn't mean-" But the other girl had turned stiffly and was marching out the door. She made sure to slam it before she left. Callie scowled at the door, then down on her lap. Darn it. She hadn't meant to sound mean again about the family. This family. The one she was liking more and more. Sometimes stuff just slipped out. She also didn't like the way Mariana's questions made her feel. She felt…angry. Defensive really. Mariana acted like her family was perfect and she was becoming more and more aware that her own…wasn't. Maybe it never had been. When she closed her eyes now she couldn't see them playing games or going to the park. She only saw the times when her dad was out or her mom was staring out the window or when her parents weren't speaking to one another. It…well, it scared her. She already felt if there was only a thread tying her to her father. She was desperately afraid that someone with scissors was going to snip that thread away. She hoped it wouldn't be Lena and Stef. She couldn't bear the thought that they might…that they would…
"What happened?" asked Jude, poking his head in to regard her with his wise little face.
"Nothing," Callie sighed. "Me and Mariana just got in a fight."
"Another fight," Jude said, inching in further until he blocked the doorway.
Callie rolled her eyes. "Okay, another fight. So what. She'll get over it."
"I don't like when you fight with Mariana," he said, walking over to stand next to her. "She's nice."
"Thanks for standing up for your own sister," said Callie, feeling a little wounded.
"I love you lots and lots and lots," said Jude, hugging her unselfconsciously. "You're the best sister ever. That's why I don't want you being so mean all the time. You don't need to be Callie…you aren't. You aren't a mean person. And these guys are really nice. They're nice to both of us and I can tell you like them." He loosened his grip around her waist a little to gaze up at her.
"I know they're nice," she mumbled.
"So stop fighting all the time," he said, this time giving her a shove, albeit a gentle one.
She looked down at him. Jude, the only family she really had left. The only one to really fight for. She shrugged. "I'll try to be nicer," she said, not completely committing to it.
He gave her a look that reminded her so much of their mom, that her heart ached a little. "You don't have to be so tough you know," he said. "It's gonna be all right. I know it."
This made her more sad then ever. Her brother was still such a little kid. He believed in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and that things would be okay. If nothing else, she had to make sure he kept believing that…no matter what. "You're right Jude," she said instead. "I'll be nicer." She was determined to commit herself to this.
"Good." He grinned at her and extended his hand. "Want to go downstairs and play now? Gram and Grandpa are going to be here soon."
She looked down at her brother in consternation, he seemingly oblivious to what he said. "Sure," she said slowly. "Let's go play."
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Callie watched with some amusement as Lena buzzed by the living room for the fifth time. Maybe genetics really didn't mean much 'cause she was acting almost exactly like Mariana had. Jesús and Brandon had begun a Lego city, Mariana was involved in some kind of byzantine skyscraper (that also managed to use complimentary colors throughout) and Jude chugged along adding his own architectural wonders. All the children were managing to play calmly and with relatively good humor so that wasn't why they had so many fly-bys. No, Lena was checking to make sure they still were only playing with the Legos and hadn't managed to drag anything else out. The other children seemed sweetly oblivious so Callie watched unimpeded, grinning, as Lena poked her head in once again. This time there was less than five minutes between check-ins. "Do you need any help Lena?" asked Callie.
Lena momentarily lost her stride. "Oh, uh, no honey. That's fine. You all did your chores earlier. I'm just…tidying."
There was a chuckle from Brandon and Callie narrowed her eyes at him. Apparently he wasn't as oblivious as he'd been pretending. "Can we have macaroni and cheese for dinner Mama?" he asked.
Lena looked slightly horrified, "no! We're having fish…and vegetables."
"When are Gram and Gramps getting here?" asked Mariana, looking up as she set another block in place.
Glancing at the clock Lena said, "any minute. Mommy texted me a little while ago and said she had them and they're on their way."
"How come Stef is picking up your parents and you aren't?" asked Callie curiously.
"They played Rock, Paper, Scissors," said Brandon with a grin. "Mom lost."
"Brandon," said Lena.
"Sorry," he looked at her seriously. "I mean she won."
Jesús looked at Callie. "Moms don't like driving in the airport traffic," he informed her. "It makes them grumpy."
"We don't get grumpy, Jesús," said Lena, thoroughly sidetracked. "It's just not a pleasant experience, that's all."
She looked around the room, biting a lip as she surveyed it. "The house looks great Mama," said Mariana. "It's really, really clean and smells good."
"Are the candles too overpowering?" asked Lena. "I should blow them out maybe. I just wanted to get rid of the wet-clothes-in-the hamper smell," she said, glaring at Jesús.
"Sorry," he shrugged. "I just forgot about them."
"I could do a whole science experiment on having Jesús as a brother," said Brandon, smirking at his brother. "The Growth of Mold and Other Surprises."
"Shut up," said Jesús without any heat.
"You know how I feel about that phrase," Lena warned. "And Brandon, stop teasing your brother please. I don't need you all getting into it when Gram and Grandpa are here."
"Don't worry," said Jesús, who had caught on to his brother's gentle teasing of their mama. "We'll make sure to go somewhere else when we gotta fight."
"I don't want you fighting at-" Lena caught on to their goofy grins. "Very funny boys. I think maybe you have too much time on your hands. Come help me set the table please."
Jesús groaned as Brandon hefted a sigh as he rose.
Once they were gone Callie looked at Mariana deciding she needed to try to make amends before these new people invaded the house. "Your building is nice," she offered.
"Thank you," said Mariana politely, if a bit coolly.
Callie rolled her eyes. Great, she was holding a grudge. "I like the colors," she tried again.
"I have an eye for colors," said Mariana, as she carefully placed a brick. Callie was resigned to Mariana being mad at her for the rest if he night when Mariana turned to her with a small smile. "Wanna help?"
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"Look who's here," Stef sang as she entered the home, carrying two moderately heavy bags with ease.
"Gram! Gramps!" bellowed Mariana, nearly knocking down her building in her excitement. She ran over to the two strangers in the door.
Callie looked at the two, somewhat incredulously, despite the fact that she knew Lena's mom was black and her dad was white. She still…she still had expected something different. Or more to the point, the same. She frowned a little. It was like this family took especial pride in being mismatched.
"Gram! Gramps!" Jesús yelled on the heels of his sister. He hurled himself in the man's arms, as Mariana was still cuddled in the woman's arms.
Brandon followed, pulling a smiling Lena with him. "Hi Mom. Daddy. It's so good to see you." She was quickly enveloped in what could only be called a gigantic group hug.
Jude rose from his knees to quickly grasp Callie's hand.
"This must be Callie and Jude," said the new lady, walking over to them with a smile. "Everyone in this house calls me Gram."
Jude peeked out from behind Callie, a tentative smile on his face. "Hi Gram," he whispered.
"H-hi," Callie stumbled. She couldn't call this lady Gram, even if she'd never really ever had a Gram. It was too strange. She just met her!
Dana gave her a smile and a quick hug. Stewart followed with a hug as well and a gentle smile. Callie felt herself relax a little more.
"So, Stef," said Dana, turning to her daughter's lover. "I think we have some things in those bags for our favorite grandchildren."
"We're you're only grandchildren," giggled Mariana, who had recaptured her grandmother's hand.
"Still my favorite," said Dana, giving the top of her head a kiss.
Stewart went over to the bags and began rummaging through them.
"Between you and my mom, you're spoiling the kids rotten," said Stef with a small smile. "You don't need to bring them things. They love just being able to see you."
To their credit, the twins and Brandon nodded enthusiastically at this, although their eyes were irresistibly drawn to the rather large and bulging bag.
"Stef, Stef, Stef," said Dana in a playfully reproving manner, "don't you know that's a grandparents job? It's our repayment for raising you."
"My mother didn't need repayment. I was a wonderful child," said Stef. At that, Lena, Brandon, Mariana, and Jesús all began giggling. "What?" said Stef in mock affront, going to Jesús and picking him up to tickle him. "You don't believe me?"
He shook his head, still giggling.
"Ungrateful bunch," said Stef with a sigh, letting him down.
"Mama was good, right Grams?" asked Mariana, casting a loving glance to her mother.
"You're Mama was very good." Dana paused theatrically, "unless she was being stubborn about something. Which happened a lot."
"Thanks a lot Mom," said Lena, rolling her eyes a little.
Stewart drew out five neatly wrapped packages one at a time. All were a different shape, and all were a different size. Callie was a little surprised to see five, despite what Mariana said. She figured it would be something simple, like a jar of bubbles or something. How would they know what to get her and Jude anyway?
"For our granddaughters," said Stuart, handing a package to Mariana, then Callie.
"And out grandsons," said Dana, handing a package to Jesús, Brandon, and Jude.
The children eagerly gave the thanks, then looked at their mothers expectantly. "Yes, you can open them," said Lena for both of them.
In less time then it took to say the words, the packages were open. Mariana had a cream-colored dress with intricate beading around the torso. Callie thought it was a bit redundant because Mariana already had a closet full of clothes, but Mariana squealed in delight and after enthusiastic hugs to her grandparents, ran upstairs to put it on.
Jesús had unwrapped some sort of outdoor game that had these big heavy balls. He looked at his grandpa.
"Bocce," said Stuart. "I'll teach you how to play."
"Cool!"
Brandon's gift was some sort of sound editor library that he could add to his piano. He promised his grandparents a concert that evening.
Callie looked at Jude. He was holding a board game. It had some sort of fantasy motif on the cover and Jude looked delighted. She looked down at her own present. It was a spirograph art set. "Thanks," she said sincerely, holding both Dana and Stuart's gaze for longer than she had previously. "This is really nice."
They both gave her smiles that Callie instantly recognized as Lena's and she relaxed further.
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Dinner was fun. Like, no-holds-barred fun. First of all, Dana was hysterical. Even more fun then her general good humor was the banter between herself and her daughter. Stef added to it but was careful not to pile on Lena. Instead, she joked with Dana and had the kids laughing so hard that a couple of them nearly choked. Stuart was quieter but he was great as - what Stef called it later – the straight man role. This made Lena roll her eyes and swat at Stef ineffectually and no matter how much the kids demanded to know what was so funny, they wouldn't tell them.
Things got more interesting when everyone decided to play Charades. Callie had played this a few time with her parents, but not often. It was a game that was more fun with a lot of people and that didn't happen a lot around their house. As seemed to be the general nature of the home, they decided a free-for-all would be the most fun with everyone having an equal chance to act things out and guess. Without words, Stef was able to convey that the older children were to make sure the younger ones got their fair chance. As different member of the family tried to act out the suggestions written on the slips of paper, it became quickly apparent that the real point of the game was trying to make everyone laugh.
Mariana frowned down at her card in confusion, then looked up, making eye contact with most of the adults. "Is this a real song, 'cause I've never heard it before?"
All eyes turned to Stef. "Hey why's everyone looking at me?" Stef said.
"The Law of Probability," said Lena.
Stef rolled her eyes. "You said there's a music note so it's obviously a song sweets. Go ahead and act it out."
Mariana looked at the slip of paper again, then at the ceiling.
"Come oooon Mariana," groaned Jesús. "Tonight please."
Mariana shrugged, then pointed at Jude.
"Boy?" said Brandon instantly.
"The Boys are Back in Town?" asked Lena
"Than you for that flashback to the 70s honey," said Stef, smirking at Lena.
Mariana shook her head and pointed insistently at Jude again.
"Jude?" said Jesús in a tentative tone, fearing he'd be teased for his obvious guess.
Mariana grinned and nodded wildly while Jude looked around at the rest of them.
"Is it Hey Jude?" asked Stuart.
"Yes," said Mariana dramatically, finally able to talk. "Thank you Grandpa you got it!" She acted like her performance had gone on for interminable hours instead of less than five minutes.
Stef snickered a little. Lena nudged her. "Hey, it wasn't me," said Stef quickly.
Dana waved her had a little. "That one was me."
Jude grinned a little. "I know that song, Mommy played it for me," he said enthusiastically. He had felt a little shy under the attention but now he giggled easily.
Callie smiled, feeling a tugging at her chest but also able to share her brother's good humor. She laughed even more when it was Stef's turn. Stef groaned when she saw the piece of paper and aimed a glare at her sons, knowing by content (and handwriting) that they had plotted together.
The boys (and the rest of the family) were in hysterics as Stef tried vainly to mime her impressions of Barney and Friends. Puffing out her cheeks in an attempt to inflate them did turn her a little purple though. When she finally had to go back to her seat, defeated, she made sure to attack-tickle Brandon and Jesús. When Lena tried unsuccessfully to act out Dora the Explorer, Stef flatly rebelled. "Ok, ok. I think we're done with Charades for tonight. Time for all sneaky little children to get ready for bed." She sent a meaningful look toward her brood. Thank G-d they were done with the terrible little-kid-shows-phase. Listening to one of those theme songs made her want to put an icepick through her eye just to stop the pain.
That night, Stef and Lena had to remind the kids several times to settle down and go to sleep. Their giggling kept drifting down the hallway.
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As the week went by, both Callie and Jude became more and more comfortable with Stuart and Dana. Callie had lost nearly all of her reticence, although she still couldn't bring herself to call them "grams" and "gramps". Both of them tried to spend time with the children individually, in pairs, and as a group. Callie was really looking forward to that evening. Dana was going to take she and Mariana out for ice cream and then to an open air bazaar in downtown Chula Vista. Callie propped her chin in her hands as she watched Mariana. The other girl was styling her hair, her eyes never leaving her own mirrored image. After holding it up for what must've been the thousandth time, Callie groaned.
"What?" asked Mariana, annoyed.
"Aren't you done yet? Dana's probably waiting for us."
"Nu-uh. She said to be ready at 6:00 and it's only 5:48," said Mariana with a quick glance at her alarm clock.
Callie let her head drop onto the coverlet, muffling her second groan.
"Go downstairs," said Mariana. "You don't have to be here."
Callie shrugged. She actually liked hanging out with Mariana. She saw the other girl's lips purse in disappointment as she continued to fiddle with her hair. "What's wrong?"
The little girl sighed, "I wish I had blond hair, like Mommy."
"Your hair's fine," said Callie.
Mariana made a face, "it's boring." She turned in her chair to look at Callie, brush held limply in her hand.
Callie looked at her consideringly, "have you ever tried to do anything to it?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno, like…dye it?"
"No," said Mariana, her eyes widening in fascination.
"It's pretty cool. I helped my friend Maddy do some streaks in her hair. It looked nice." Callie rolled over so she was no longer on her stomach and sat on the bed, her body language mirroring her foster sister's eager anticipation.
"What color?"
"Um, dark pink I think." Callie thought a moment, "yeah. It was definitely pink."
"That is so cool," breathed Mariana. "Do you remember how to do it?"
Callie shrugged, "sure. It's not actually hard."
Mariana bit her lip, "would you…could you do mine?" Her eyes were wide with admiration.
Callie felt a smile curling at her lips. Just like Jude. "Sure."
Mariana clapped her hands and squealed with delight. "Will you do yours too? So we match?"
"Uh-huh," Callie's smile grew wider when Mariana and ran over and hugged her tightly around the neck. "Okay, okay. Stop strangling me you goof."
"I bet we could get the stuff tonight, don't you think Callie?"
"Probably."
With one last squeal, then one last hug, Mariana skipped out the door.
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Callie looked critically in the mirror. Everything looked right. Now they just had to unwrap the aluminum foil and see the results. She had managed to buy what she needed last night, while Mariana and Dana looked through a booth that was selling painted landscape pictures.
Mariana's hands were clasped tightly in her lap. "Is ready yet Callie? Is it ready?" She managed to bounce without actually moving.
"I told you not to ask me that anymore," Callie warned the other girl, reaching out to begin unwinding the other girl's hair.
"Sorry," Mariana gave another imperceptible bounce. "I can't wait Callie. This is so, so cool."
As she had been hearing a variation of this for the whole darn day (since they weren't actually able to begin the process until that evening), Callie merely grunted her understanding. She unwrapped the section of hair carefully, wiped it off, then began blow drying it. By the time she was done, a perfect streak of pink hair, a little over an inch wide and going all the way to her scalp, resided in Mariana's brunette tresses.
Mariana subsequent squeal of delight was loud enough to cause Jude to come running into their room, without knocking. "What's wr-" His eyes widened and he looked at Callie, "can you do mine too?"
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As they went down to breakfast the next morning, Callie felt a tiny flutter of concern. That feeling was only exacerbated when Brandon, who had been eating cereal at the table, dropped his spoon into his milk. "Oh my G-d, Moms are going to totally kill you."
Mariana's voice immediately came out wobbly, "why?"
"We're supposed to get out picture taken today Mariana. Remember? The whole family. We have to dress up in our fancy clothes and everything." Brandon shook his head. "Grams and Mama have been talking about it a lot. She's gonna be mad."
"I thought it looked pretty." Mariana was milliseconds from tears.
Brandon just shook his head, not in negation, but in warning.
"Aw, leave us alone," said Callie gruffly, putting a protective arm around Mariana. "It looks nice. It's not like we dyed our whole head. Streaks are cool."
Brandon shook his head, "I don't want to be around when you tell Mama that."
"Tell Mama what?" Lena asked, coming up behind the girls.
Brandon dropped his gaze and stirred his cereal nervously with his spoon as the girls slowly tuned to face her.
Lena's look of distress conveyed her feelings more accurately then words ever could. Mariana promptly burst into tears. "I'm sorry Mama," she said immediately. "I just wanted to look pretty."
"Oh, girls, the picture is today. And Grams has been talking about this portrait for months." Lena's aggravation, partly because of the pressure her mother had been putting on her about the picture and partly because she remembered her own childhood battles with her mother over hair, made her voice sharper than she had intended.
Mariana sobbed harder and Callie felt her tummy flip-flop hard. "I'm sorry Lena. It was my idea. Please don't punish Mariana."
"Why didn't you ask permission? You got the supplies the other night, didn't you? When you were out shopping with Grams. You must have sneaked around to get it because she would have told me if you had bought anything." Lena wasn't yelling, but her voice has certainly risen.
Callie felt her own lips tremble a little. She hadn't realized the picture was such a big deal but obviously it was.
"Good morning fam-?" Stef's voice trailed off as she stepped into the kitchen. Callie felt her insides shrivel a little more. Stef looked at the girls, then her wife whose normally unflappable demeanor was, well…flapped. "Okay, what's going on here?" she asked calmly.
Lena placed her hands on Mariana's shoulders and turned her to face her mother.
Stef's eyes widened slightly. She fought the crazy desire to laugh. With Mariana's woebegone expression and Lena's look of disapprobation, one might have thought the little girl had robbed a bank. Valiantly, she fought back her own irritation at the defilement of her daughter's beautiful hair. Obviously, Lena wasn't going to play "reasonable mom" today, so that was going to be her job. "What happened?" she repeated in a tone slightly less firm then she used with convicts she had captured.
Callie, who had turned to face her as well, and who was also sporting a pink streak, Stef noticed, was the first to speak. "I dyed it," she whispered. Honestly, she knew they should have asked permission, but she hadn't expected this level of disapproval. Both Stef and Lena had always seemed pretty cool about…self-expression. They let Jude wear dresses, for goodness sakes!
"I see that," said Stef. "Will it wash out?"
"Not…not for awhile," admitted Callie, "we-we bleached it first."
"Mariana," said Lena, instantly more frustrated.
Mariana buried her face in Lena's stomach. "I'm sorry Mama. I'm really sorry!"
Lena's arms automatically went to comfort her, but Stef could see the stress marking her face. "Well, that was not a good choice girls," Stef said, keeping her voice calm. "You should have asked Mama or I about it. You know how important this picture is to Mama."
Well Callie hadn't, not really. She was beginning to figure it out now though. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
Stef combed her fingers through the girl's hair thoughtfully. "I bet if we braided this, but it back a little, we wouldn't even really see it," she said, speaking mostly to her partner.
The anxiety eased slightly from Lena's face. "Yeah…yeah you're right. I could French braid their hair." She touched the top of Mariana's head. She had been so upset at the idea of getting into an argument with her mother. Hair had been an issue during much of Lena's high school days, and the bitter arguments that had followed had put a strain on their relationship. Lena didn't want that now…didn't want her daughters to be in the middle of it. She smiled at Stef, relieved. "I think that would work." She felt the rest of the tension leach out of her.
"Hi everybody, what's for breakfast?" Jude chirped.
Stef's eyes widened and Lena closed her eyes, praying for patience as she looked at a third matching streak in Jude's hair. "We'll figure something out," said Stef, hustling Jude out of the room before Lena could even stammer out a single word.
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Everything worked out in the end. The girls' hair was braided and decorated with lacey barrettes. Stef tried flattening Jude's hair on his head, armed with nothing but a hairbrush and gel. Then, covered up the streak with some hair on top of it. Luckily, Jude had been growing his hair out and she was able to do this. Surprisingly, at least to Lena, was her mother's reaction. She chuckled when she heard about it and made especial effort to tell the girls that she thought the streaks looked very pretty, although she did warn them that they should have asked their mothers before doing so. At Lena's slightly open-mouthed expression, her mother cupped her cheek gently. "Baby, don't you think I learned anything from your adolescence?" Then she kissed her forehead before busying herself in the other room, making sure the boys hadn't wrinkled their clothing.
Stef went over to her wife and hugged her from behind, letting her lips press against her cheek as she whispered in her ear. "Alright?"
"Yeah," Lena leaned back in her lover's arms and turned her head to kiss her in return. "I'm great."
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"We'll be back soon," said Dana before they left for the airport, giving everyone a big hug and a kiss. "Don't look so sad."
"You can email us too," said Stuart. "I love email, especially when you add pictures."
Jesús brightened visibly at this. "I'll send you one today, Gramps!" he said eagerly.
Stuart patted his head, "you do that, buddy."
The children crowded on the front porch as Lena led her parents to the car.
"Bye Grams! Bye Gramps! Have a safe flight!" hollered Brandon,
"I love you guys!" Mariana yelled.
"Come back soon!" said Jesús, waving his arms enthusiastically.
"I'll miss you!" said Jude wistfully, plucking at the plush elephant they had given him after a trip to the toy store.
Callie ran her tongue around her lips nervously. "Bye Grams and Gramps," she whispered, tasting the words for the first time.
Behind her, Stef smiled.