Changes were alternately gradual and swift. The next three months flew by and the day came when Stef was shocked by the realization that Callie and Jude had been with them for over six months. Steady inroads had been made and the Jacob children felt very much like part of the family. Callie was much more comfortable coming to them with problems or successes she encountered, and Jude embraced them whole-heartedly, his memories of his previous life dimming faster than his sister's. Their burgeoning level of comfort was shown in little ways, small in actions but vast in general importance. It was in the way Callie chose to sit next to her when they watched movies, or asked Lena to read to her at night. It was in the way Jude climbed in their laps with every assurance he would be welcome showing easily on his face. Stef inwardly marveled at the differences in the way the various children had come into their family. Brandon had been her first; she had learned what each wrinkled forehead, each curve of the lip, each giggle had meant. She had learned his baby talk, not all but enough to get by. They had grown together easily, each one learning the other by heart. Lena had blended so easily into their family, it has seemed like they had always been together. When Mariana and Jesús had joined them, it had been different, although no less an act of love. Their sense of safety had been so insufficient that they trusted no one but themselves. The Adams-Foster household, the people, changed for them. They tried to soften their voices, gain patience where there had been less, and slowly, the children's faces and emotions were as easy to read as the most basic primer. Callie and Jude had not come to them with so much suspicion, but with a loss so great it blinded them, leading them into walls and corners where they had stumbled and fallen, broken in a way so fundamental that they thought they might never be whole again. But Lena and Stef had taken their hands, and led them back into the light, showing them there were rainbows after a storm and healing after sorrow. It was belief now that tied the children to this family, a belief that life could be good again, if not the same as they remembered. For the matriarchs in the family, it became harder and harder to contemplate giving them up, even to an amazing family. Without consulting one another, Lena and Stef began individual accounting, just in case…just to see if it would be possible to financially support their family with these additions. Their hearts needed no such accounting, the children already had a place there.

The visits to the prison brought their own tribulations. Callie's feelings for her father constantly flip-flopped. After her initial upset at the prison, she still went to her father eagerly, willing to tell him about her days and open to his questions. Before and after the visits, she would lapse into a dark silence, sometimes fuming out loud, but mostly inside because when she said anything negative about their father, Jude would cry. Lena and Stef quickly assured her that she could talk to them and it became a sign of her increasing trust in them that she allowed herself to do so. These small rages against her father would end in tears, because she felt bad about being angry when she loved him so much. Stef and Lena would comfort and reassure her. Lena brought up the idea of discussing it in her therapy sessions but Callie just shook her head. She liked her counselor well enough, but she didn't trust her as much as she trusted Lena and Stef.

Stef was more worried at the steady decline she saw in Donald. Every time they visited the prison, she could read his defeat, his despondency growing. He held the children as if he could never let them go, but seemed almost pained to see them at first. Sometimes he was bruised, but refused to talk about it with anyone. Callie seemed to sense his growing distance and she seemed torn between clinging and anger. Jude, sensitive to both the ebb and flow of his sister's emotions, as well as his father's grew more tentative around the times of their visits, less happy, and full of bewilderment.

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Callie pounced on Stef as soon as she entered the house. "Guess what Stef? Guess what?" The child's voice was full of excitement.

Lena laughed from the kitchen. "She's been waiting, quite impatiently I must add, for you to get home."

"Nuh-uh," Callie argued, but with a smile on her face. "I'm just excited."

"Yes you are," said Lena, her face softening. "Go ahead and tell her."

"Brooke, you know Brooke in my class?"

"Vaguely," said Stef with a straight face. Callie had been chattering non-stop about the little girl for the last three weeks. Apparently, they had developed quite a friendship. Lena, whose position at the school allowed her more then a little insight to the students that attended, said Brooke was a sweet girl who would probably make a good friend for Callie. So vetted, the moms were ecstatic to see Callie gain such a friend.

Callie gave her an exasperated look. "Ste-ef. You know who she is."

Stef laughed. "Yes, I know who she is sweets. What happened with Brooke?"

"Well, Brooke is turning eleven on Thursday so she's having her birthday party on Saturday and it's a slumber party! She's inviting Maddie and Kyra and Lissa too! And she says her mom is going to make a huge cake and we're going to get pizza and watch movies and we even get to go to their gym and swim in the pool there!" Callie managed to jumble the information together in one long sentence while she pranced about in excitement.

"That's great sweetheart!" Stef gave the little girl a hug, letting her arm rest companionably on Callie's shoulders as she looked at Lena. "I suppose Mama heard all about this earlier?"

Lena nodded, "right after school let out. Callie paid me a little visit before aftercare."

"She said I could go, and I can, right Stef? Right?"

"Of course, love," said Stef. "I'm so happy for you." She might have teased one of her other kids, lightly of course, for their over-the-top enthusiasm but this was really big for Callie. She hadn't had a real friend since she'd come to live with them.

"Thanks!" News told, Callie dashed back to the yard where the rest of the children were playing.

Stef sauntered over to her wife, nuzzling her cheek then dropping a kiss on her lips. "Hey gorgeous."

"Hey," Lena said, pausing in her pea-shelling ministrations to pull her closer. "How was your day?"

"Not bad," said Stef, relaxing into Lena's arms only to be pushed away when she tried to reach into the bowl for a pea.

"Agh. No Stef. Go wash your hands."

"They're clean," Stef defended herself. Lena gave her a look of such stubbornness, that Stef knew she would never win. "Fine." Heaving a sigh she scrubbed her hands quickly and returned to the island where she was allowed a handful of peas. "Callie's really excited, yeah?"

"I swear, if I hadn't driven them home, she would have just flown on pure joy. She is absolutely over the moon right now." Lena grinned at her lover, propping her chin on her hand. "She's so excited and it's not because the party is anything fancy. Brooke's parents are pretty down-to-earth."

"Sounds like my kind of people," said Stef. She had been blown away by some of the parties her children had attended. Even if they had been better off, she could not imagine dropping thousands of dollars for any kind of party.

"You'll like them," said Lena. "Brooke is a really positive influence on Callie. She's kind of shy too, so Callie's a great ally. She's brought Brooke out of her shell."

"That's great." Stef felt the kind of contentment only a parent could feel in hearing good things about their kids. "You want me to start cutting up some mushrooms?" she asked.

"That'd be great."

Stef wandered over to the refrigerator, about to pull the door open when her eyes fell onto the activities calendar stuck there with a magnet Jesús had made in first grade. "Honey?"

"Yeah?"

"The party is this Saturday?"

Lena immediately caught the stress in her partner's voice. "Yeah. Why?"

"The kids are supposed to visit Donald this Saturday."

All of Lena's motion stopped as she looked at Stef, shaking her head in negation. "No, it's next Saturday. I'm sure of it."

"It's on the calendar hon."

Lena closed here eyes. "Oh no," she whispered.

Stef's mind was working rapidly, trying to figure out what to do. "We could try to move the visit to the next weekend?" she said.

"Stef, you told me they have to do the scheduling weeks in advance, that it's a nightmare trying to get all the visitors in."

Stef gnawed her lower lip. "Maybe if I called in a favor-"

"How much clout do you have? I mean really? Lena put her hands on her hips, frustrated not with Stef, but with the situation. "Corrections officers and police officers aren't necessarily buddy-buddy."

"Do you have an idea?" Stef asked helplessly.

Lena rolled a pea shell absently between her fingers. "I could call Carla, that's Brooke's mom. They aren't really doing anything fancy. They could postpone it pretty easily I think."

"That seems like a lot to ask from them…and the other kids," Stef said. "Moving the party is kind of a big deal."

"Brooke would be really upset if Callie weren't there. I think they'd be willing to change it just based on that."

Stef nodded, feeling uncomfortable despite herself. She didn't like asking such big favors from people she didn't even know. "What are we going to tell Callie?" she asked.

"Well, let's start by telling her the problem's solved so she doesn't have to worry about it," suggested Lena.

"Maybe we should wait…until the problem's actually solved," said Stef, an arch to her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll call Carla and let her know the situation. Maybe we can talk to Callie about it after dinner."

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After managing to disperse the other children following dinner, Lena led Callie to the couch in the living room as Stef followed. A little of the bounce faded from the girl's steps as she caught on to the mood of the older women. "Am I in trouble?" Callie asked.

"No sweetheart. We just wanted to talk to you about something without having the other kids all around." Lena said, squeezing her shoulder.

"Is it-is it a bad thing?" Callie asked as she sat on the couch.

"It might be difficult at first," said Stef cautiously. "But everything's all going to be okay."

Callie nodded tensely, clearly unsure that would be true.

Stef and Lena traded looks. "So Brooke's party is next weekend," Lena began. "But Mom and I realized that's also when you have a visit scheduled with your dad. I called-"

Callie stood up so fast she almost tripped. "I don't want to go see my dad," she said passionately.

"Callie-" Lena tried.

"It's not fair! I want to go to the p-party," Callie wailed.

"Callie!" said Stef firmly, using her no-nonsense voice. "Stop and listen to what Lena is trying to tell you."

Quelled by Stef's tone, Callie sniffed a little and looked at Lena with watery eyes.

"I called Brooke's mom and she said she'd be happy to move the party to the next weekend. She said it's no big deal."

Callie's mouth quivered. "Brooke is gonna be so mad at me."

"No she's not," Lena pulled her back onto the couch to sit in between her and Stef. "Brooke was more upset by the idea that you wouldn't be there. When her mom told her, she said she wanted you to come most of all and if this would help, she'd be happy to do it."

"R-really?" Callie sniffed again but her eyes were gaining hope.

"Really," said Stef from the other side of her.

"Can I…can I call her to make sure?" Callie asked in a pleading tone.

"Sure," said Stef.

Callie gave them a shy smile and even more shy hugs as she ran across the living room, towards the kitchen phone. She paused at the threshold, turning slowly back to face them. "You…you won't tell my dad I said that, right? I was only kidding. I really do want to see him. I was just…surprised."

"Of course we know you want to see your dad," said Lena. "You were also really excited about the party. It's okay honey. It's okay to have all these different feelings."

Callie nodded reluctantly. "But you won't tell him I said that, right? You won't tell him?"

"We won't tell him," said Stef. "Now why don't you go call Brooke?"

Callie gave them that shy smile again, then skipped off to do just that.

Stef and Lena sighed and unconsciously leaned into one another. "Poor little girl," said Lena softly. "Think she'll ever forgive herself for saying that? For thinking that?"

Stef took Lena's hand and kissed it. "We'll make sure she does."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Stef felt distinctly trepidatious on the next visit to the prison. Callie's guilt hung over her, light but perceptible. Lena's gentleness and her own conviction had not been able to make it vanish entirely. Not yet anyway. Stef felt her heart sink lower when she received her first glimpse of Donald. He had grown more thin and dark shadows were under his eyes. He sat stiffly, although he were injured in some way. When he saw his children he smiled, but the smile was so brittle that it looked like it might break at any moment. He looked weary almost to death. Either from her own guilt, or sensing her father's pain, Callie's hug was tentative and she had trouble meeting his eyes.

Jude chatted cheerfully with his father, but his eyes anxiously ran over his father's face. A sensitive boy, he could also tell that something was going on. "How are you Daddy?" he asked, touching his father's cheek gently. "You look really tired."

"I uh, I haven't been sleeping very well, kiddo," Donald admitted.

"Can you take a nap? I take a nap if I'm really tired. I don't have to much though, because I'm not a baby. Babies take lots of naps," Jude said.

"Sometimes," Donald said. "Babies aren't the only ones who need naps sometimes. Sometimes kids and grown-ups need them too."

"Why can't you sleep Daddy?" Callie asked, her forehead puckering in worry. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong baby. Really. I just can't sleep sometimes."

Callie remained unsure. Clearly, she didn't believe him. Donald must have noticed this because he tried to redirect the conversation. "What fun things are you guys doing this week?"

"I get to go to my friend Connor's house," said Jude, wiggling excitedly. "He's so much fun Daddy. I like him a lot!"

"That's great buddy. What do you guys do?"

Jude shrugged. "Play with Legos, play video games. We do lots of stuff. He's a nice friend and we hardly ever fight. Mostly he comes to our house 'cause he likes it better. We have a lot of fun stuff to do at our house."

"That's great." Donald's eyes held a far-off look. "I remember when your friends would come to our house. They use to love it. Your mom made cookies for them to eat. And then she'd make play-doh using Kool-Aid. You guys use to love that stuff, remember?"

Jude frowned a little. "I think so," he said, straightening in his father's lap. "The play-doh smelled really good, right Dad? And it was different colors all mashed up?"

"Yeah," said Donald with a smile.

"That was a long time ago though," said Jude matter-of-factly. "I don't play with play-doh anymore. That's kind of for little kids." He looked at Stef for reassurance. "I'm a big boy now, right Stef?"

She gave him a slightly sad smile, watching as the smile slipped from Donald's lips. "You are getting to be a big boy love."

"I remember that Daddy," said Callie softly. "Mommy use to make Snickerdoodles. They were the best cookies in the whole neighborhood. Everyone loved them." She edged a little closer to him and lay her head on his shoulder.

Donald's smile appeared again, weaker than before but with unmistakable love. "That's right baby.

"Mommy would set up a badminton net and sprinklers in the summer. We made up a new game called Water-Badminton," Callie continued. "And she didn't even care if we got a little water inside the house. She didn't yell. All the other kids thought she was so cool."

"Yeah. Mommy really didn't let the little things bother her," Donald agreed. "She always said there was too much-" his throat closed up and his eyes filled with tears. "She always said," he tried again, struggling to get the words out. "She always said there was too much life to live to worry about the small stuff," he choked out. Tears began to run down his face.

Jude and Callie traded worried glances, then looked at Stef rather desperately. Stef felt her own throat close. She had a feeling if she touched Donald, even in comfort he would draw away. She was relieved when, almost as one, the children hugged their father tightly.

He choked out another sob, but clutched the children to him. He took a breath and got control of himself quickly, his eyes travelling over his fellow inmates with a nervous, calculating air. "Sorry," he muttered to Stef, refusing to meet her eyes.

"It's okay," she said, keeping her voice low as well to avoid any unwanted listeners. "It's okay to let them know you feel sad about her."

He nodded, still avoiding her eyes. He visibly tried to present a more cheerful countenance for the rest of the visit. He joked with the children, listened intently to their stories with a smile on his face, and gave them warm hugs when they left.

Still, Stef couldn't say she was surprised when they received a phone call from the prison a week later saying that Donald Jacob would not be visiting with his children next month.