Fosters 1. Chapter 1

Over the past four years that Jude lived with the Fosters he had learned quite a lot from his four older siblings. However, they had an advantage over him if nothing else in sheer numbers. At times even Stef had a hard time keeping track of all four at once. Curfews were moved back when all the kids were going to be out together, and the four kids learned to cover for each other with great ease (they still got caught sometimes, but also pulled off a wide variety of stunts). By the time Jude was getting to that age, all of the older siblings had left home leaving him with two very expert mothers and a little sister, Maddie (who was a small image of Lena).

Sixteen year old Jude Foster leaned up against the car with a sigh. Being the youngest son of a cop and a vice principal put him in a tough spot. It seemed like every day his "friends" were pressuring him to go to a party or other event that he knew Stef and Lena would never allow him attend. After several days of Jude carefully turning them down, the other guys had started calling him a "Mama's Boy" and he was back to just eating with Conner at lunch again. Conner was nice about it, but he knew that things were beginning to get tense between the two of them. It also did not help that if it was actually honest with himself he truly was a "Mama's Boy" who would almost rather spend the time at home with his mothers and Maddie than anywhere else.

Jude decided today would be different; today when they guys started teasing him about not going he announced that he would go. Now it was just a matter of either getting permission or finding a way to sneak out. Since Jude had an honest heart, he decided that he would first see if he could obtain permission. He just wasn't sure how to ask.

Lena helped four year old Maddie get into the car and she unlocked the door for an obviously troubled Jude. Her day had been long and was going to become longer as she had a board meeting to attend later that evening. Looking over at Jude climbing into the car, she knew his day must have also gone badly.

"Hey, Jude," Lena said trying to use the Beatles reference to at least get a smile from her son. She paused a moment, but got no reaction. "Jude?" She tried again to get his attention. "Jude Foster, are you with us?" Lena tried once more, this time getting giggles from Maddie that seemed to wake Jude out of his catatonic state with a start.

"Mama, did you say something?" Jude asked Lena drawing a few more giggles from Maddie in the back.

"I was just asking about your day, that's all, Love."

Jude sighed once again and decided to get it over with now. "Some of the kids at school are kind of getting together tonight to do some stuff…. I can be home before midnight. Can I go?"

"First of all, Jude, it is 'May, I go.' Secondly, your curfew on a school night is 7. You have a math test coming up on Friday to prepare for as well as a history project coming up. Both reasons to be home by 7," Lena explained patiently, "And you better not have just rolled your eyes at me, Little Man, you know that is not acceptable."

This time Jude let out more than just a sigh and crossed his arms as he stared out the window. "PLEASE quit calling me Little Man, LENA! I am SIXTEEN!"

Lena was taken aback by this outburst of her youngest son. She did not know that he did not like to be called his nickname from his younger years and could not remember the last time he had called her by her first name rather than, Mama, like her other children. "Okay, Sweetheart, rather Jude, would you please take a deep breath, calm down, and use respectful words. What is going on?"

"You just don't understand!"

"I understand that tonight is not a good night for you to go out. I also understand that I am not fond of your new attitude. Do you understand that if your attitude does not get better right now, you will find yourself in major trouble with your mom and me?"

"Okay, whatever, just leave me alone," Jude griped under his breath. Now it was Lena's turn to sigh. What had happened to her little boy? Lena looked over at Jude and tried to give him a reassuring look only to be met by another scowl.

An awkward silence filled the car the rest of the way home. Lena was disheartened by Jude's attitude and was remembering back to her four other teenagers to understand his attitude better. Did she say something wrong? Jude was not really like any of his siblings, he rarely asked to go places and until now he rarely spoke with any disrespect. Lena wiped the tears from her eyes as she figured out what she would do. She decided she would talk to Stef about this issue tonight after the board meeting. Even though Lena had the degree to work with children, Stef knew more about teenage rebellion.

Jude was still trying to think through how he could avoid trouble, but yet have a life with his friends. It is true that Conner could come over almost any day that he asked, but he did not want to just hang out with Conner. He felt old enough to make some of these decisions on his own. On the other hand, he could also see that Lena was crying and he felt bad. Over the years he had seen her cry on several different experiences; none, until now were his fault.

Maddie was shocked and confused about the interaction between her brother and Mama. In her whole life she was unsure if she had ever heard Jude yell at anyone, much less their Mama. Plus, she thought she saw a little tear on her Mama's cheek. Not knowing what to do, Maddie stayed quiet in the back hoping that no one was upset with her.

Pulling up at the house, Lena helped Maddie out of the car and looked back at Jude. "Buddy, if you really want to get together with the guys, I will discuss it with Mom. Maybe over the weekend you could go somewhere with them or maybe they could come over here sometime?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure," Jude answered with a small smile. "We can work it out for some time. I know you have that board meeting tonight, so maybe we can just talk to Mom tomorrow night about planning something. I am sorry about earlier."

"You do know that I love you, right, Jude?"

"Of course, and I love you, too, Mama."

Considering the issue dropped, Lena gave her son a little hug and continued into the house. Jude enjoyed cooking and volunteered to make dinner. He made Maddie his personal assistant which gave Lena a little time to sit down and prepare for her board meeting. Jude and Lena both hoped a little time and space would help resolve the feelings they had after their argument.

Jude loved spending time with the little girl. As much as he missed his older siblings, he would not give up his time with her for anything. While they cooked, they talked about her day and Jude got an idea. "So, Maddie, how would you like to help me with something when Mom gets home? It will be sort of like a secret just between us," Jude asked knowing full well that Maddie could never resist being in a secret.

"Sure, Jude! What do I have do to?"

"Well, do you remember the conversation I had with Mama in the car?" He paused waiting for the little girl to nod. "It would hurt Mama's feelings if we told Mom about what we said. We already said we were sorry for our mean words so we just don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?" He paused again waiting for a nod. "Tonight, I have some plans with my friends and I am going to go out. All you have to do is not talk about what we said in the car."

"Did Mama say you could go out tonight? I can't lie for you, Mommy doesn't like lying…" Maddie was remembering how she just got in trouble for lying recently and this secret was already making her have the lying feeling again.

"Nope, no need to lie. She never said that I could not go, right?" Jude asked while Maddie looked on questioningly.

Maddie stopped to think. "I don't remember her saying no…"

"Exactly, so you won't be lying, just don't say anything. It is our secret, right, Sis?" Jude said extending his hand to shake.

Grabbing his hand, Maddie agreed. Lena walked back into the kitchen and smiled as she saw her two youngest getting along so well. She didn't understand what came over Jude earlier as he was the easiest of all of her kids to raise so far. He was normally easy going and very compliant. She could not remember the last time he had been grounded or even lectured until today. Glancing back at the two kids, Lena decided whatever it was, he was fine now. Jude looked up at her with a little guilt, from her understanding due to the attitude in the car, and she nodded back to show she forgave him.

"When is Mommy going to get here?" Maddie whined in frustration as she wanted to help Jude with his secret.

"Well, Sweetheart, Mommy is going to be a little late today. We should go ahead and eat so I can get to my meeting, but she will be here any moment." Lena said as she kissed her daughter's head.

Maddie set the table and the three of them sat down to eat. Dinner was filled with conversation mostly by Maddie. Lena then looked at the clock and realized she had to go. She kissed both children and told Jude to watch his sister until Stef got home. By the time they were about halfway cleaned up from the meal, Stef came in from work. She immediately went up the stairs to take off her belt and put the gun in the safe and then came back down.

"Hello, my babies!" Stef announced as she kissed both of her children on the forehead.

Both kids greeted their mother with Maddie reaching to be picked up and hugged closer. "So Mom, it is a good thing you are here because I asked Mama earlier if I could go out with some friends tonight and it is already 6."

"Did Mama tell you curfew is at 7? What, might I ask, are you planning on doing for an hour?" Stef questioned laughing at her son just a little.

"Mama said since I made dinner, I watched Maddie, and I am caught up with school I could stay out until 10 tonight." Jude knew that Lena would be back late from her meeting tonight and as long as he got back before her, he would have no problem getting back into the house without Lena knowing he was gone. He also knew that she would never believe that he could stay out until midnight. Stef looked at Jude oddly, but he was not known to lie so she shrugged off the bad feeling that she had.

"Well, if Mama said 10, then be sure you are back by then ready for lights out at 11. It is a school night and there will be no excuses to miss school tomorrow… She really said 10?"

"Mama didn't say no…" Maddie said winking at Jude before he glared to her stop talking. Stef gave them both looks. She knew something was up, but was not completely sure on what.

"When you say plans with friends, which friends do you mean? If it is Conner, you know that he is more than welcome to come over here…"

"Conner is one of them, in fact, he is the one outside ready to pick me up right now. Good night, Maddie! See you later, Mom! I love you both!"

As Jude left the house Stef called out that she loved him, reminded him to take his phone, and to stay safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Jude hopped in the car with Conner only feeling a little guilty. He reasoned that if Lena had given him permission he wouldn't have to lie or sneak out so this was really her fault and not his. Besides, he was not really sneaking as Stef let him go. He knew he could get back before Lena and no one would know anything different. The only thing that concerned him was whether Maddie could keep his secret.

The party was mostly just loud music and alcohol. Jude was unsure at first, but then someone handed him a drink. He decided one drink wouldn't hurt. Pretty soon, Jude was having the time of his life. He could see why his friends came to these sorts of parties. One drink became two. Two became three… He was rapidly loosening up. Conner was a little concerned at first, but after a few drinks he was not acting like himself either.

Lena pulled up to her house around 9:30 glad that the meeting was over and her other work was caught up enough to come on home earlier than expected. She walked into the house and was met by quiet. Just a few years earlier, this house had been constantly filled with laughing, fighting, and general noise. Now, it struck her that her family had made a lot of changes in the past few years. Brandon had gone the furthest when he was accepted at Julliard in New York. Callie moved a few hours away to LA for school and Marianna joined her there. Jesus was going to college locally, but chose to live away from home. Lena also consider how it would change again in a few years when Jude left home as well.

Stef heard Lena come in and went to greet her. "Maddie is all tucked in asleep and we have the house otherwise to ourselves…"

Lena pulled back from Stef's embrace quickly noticing her son was left out. "Where's Jude?"

"Out with his friends still. I am expecting him back in the next twenty minutes."

"You gave him permission to stay out until 10 on a school night!? What were you thinking?"

"Me?" Stef questioned, "You told him since he had done some chores he could stay out later. I let him go with YOUR permission!"

"Stef, we have raised four other kids… When did I EVER give one permission for one of my babies to stay out until 10 on a school night? Did he at least work on his math or history before he left?" At this point Lena had raised her voice a little louder than she intended and Stef was becoming angry.

"I was home like ten minutes before he left, he said he was caught up and that he had your permission!"

"I had my cell phone on, why didn't you call me and ask? You know I don't like the kids staying out late on school nights! Besides, I had already told him no. Next time call me!"

Lena and Stef made eye contact and came to the same conclusion. Jude was playing them against each other. Jude had lied. Jude left the house without permission. Neither of them were the cause of any of this mess. Lena informed Stef of the conversation between her and Jude in the car, which left Stef wondering why Lena had not called. She dismissed the thought knowing it would just start their fight back up.

Stef quickly got out her phone to track down his whereabouts only to find that she had never installed the tracking app on his phone. "That sneaky boy… No tracking app. Well, he should be home soon and we will be ready for him then in the meantime, we should give him a little call…" When his voicemail picked up she became very frustrated. "I think our boy just declined my phone call."

"Well, maybe he is not taking your call because he does not know what kind of trouble he is in yet. Let me try…" Lena's call rang several times before also going to voicemail.

Back at the party, Jude was feeling buzzed and had lost track of all time. He felt his phone vibrate and saw his mom was calling, but he thought Stef might be able to hear in his voice that he had been drinking so he ignored the call he still had plenty of time to get home by 10. The next time he looked at his phone it was a little after 11 and he had missed four phone calls from his mothers and he had a few texts asking where he was and why he was not home. Conner was in no condition to drive, and looking around he didn't seen anyone who was any better off. There was no doubt in his mind that he would not be able to get back into the house unnoticed alone so he began working on a new plan. He found the number he was looking for in his contact list.

"Hello, B… I sorta lied to Mom tonight and left the house without permission… I thought I could beat Mama home, but now I am pretty sure that I can't. I had a little to drink and I missed curfew. Moms are both going to be really mad! You've been in this type of situation before… What should I do?"

Brandon could hardly believe what he was hearing. Jude, by far the best behaved of his siblings, was calling him for advice on how to sneak back into the house and avoid their moms. "Little bro, calm down… First of all, do they know where you are?" When Jude answered no he went on, "Do you have a safe way to get home?" Jude answered yes. "Well, I will help you create a diversion. Seriously, though, get home as quickly as possible before there is any more trouble. Being an hour late or even four hours late, is better than never. Just get home now! Getting yourself home is also better than the cops showing up and having Mom hear it from her coworkers or them waking up in the night to find you still missing. When you get home, go in through the back door and go up the stairs as quietly as possible. Get ready for bed and pretend to be sleeping. I will call you back with more details. Bye, Jude, and be safe!"

Next, Jude called Jesus knowing that his brother would always drop what he was doing for Jude. Jesus had opted to go to college in San Diego and was always nearby. He immediately agreed to come get Jude and get him home to make sure he was safe and to avoid as much trouble as possible.

When Brandon hung up with Jude he called Marianna who lived in an apartment off campus with Callie in LA. "Hey, Mari, is Callie also there… Put your phone on speaker, we have to talk." When both girls answered he went on, "Jude is in trouble and needs us to cover for him real quick. " He knew the girls were panicking on the other end of the phone so he assured them that Jude would be fine. "I need you two to call moms and insist that you need to talk to them. Make something up if you need to, just call and keep them on the line as long as possible. If they bring up Jude give him a little time, and then tell them to check his room. He will be coming in the back door so keep them distracted." After receiving affirmative answers from the girls, Brandon said bye and hung up. Brandon then called Jude, told him the plan, and stayed on the line to wait for Jesus. Only then did the oldest stop to consider that he probably should have told Jude to call home instead of Jesus.

Stef and Lena had moved chairs In front of the door as they waited for their youngest son to make it home. They remembered many long nights with the other four, but with Jude it was different. He stuck around home most of the time and when he did go out it was usually only with Conner with permission. Rather than completely angry, they were also apprehensive. "What if he ran away, Stef? After Callie, I don't know if I could handle that again. And that argument we had today in the car….It all makes me feel uneasy, like he left because he is unhappy."

"Lena, Babe, Jude is completely our kid. He is very happy here, he is just testing his boundaries. All the kids went through this. We should just be glad he went this long without rebelling. He is a good kid and he will be home soon, you'll see! Then, we will punish him hard. He will know where he stands and we will have our good little Jude back." Stef's phone began ring, but not Jude's special ring, but rather Calie's.

"Hey, Stef, can you put your phone on speaker? Mari and I need to talk to you and Lena together." When Callie heard Lena on the line she looked at Mariana and they both greeted their moms.

Stef looked at Lena and could tell she was also feeling uneasy by this conversation. Callie had always had a tight relationship with her biological little brother. It had taken years to assure the girl that she was not his parent. Now, Stef felt torn. If she told Callie that Jude was not home, Callie would be worried and might drive home from LA tonight. However, if Jude really ran away, they could use the girls' help to find him and get him back home. Not to mention Callie would hate for them to keep something like this from her. For now, Stef decided to not bring it up and Lena followed suit.

After about half an hour of seemingly random conversation with the girls, Stef was done. "Okay, girls, what is really going on? You two never call this late without a real reason. You both know that I love you, but it is nearly midnight and I would like to sleep at some point tonight." Lena shot her a look of disappointment as she never wanted to cut off any conversations with any of her kids, particularly Callie, when it appeared the communication was going well.

"Well, Mom, Mama, I wasn't sure how to bring this up, but I have a new boyfriend. His name is Tyler and he is senior and he is majoring in criminal justice. He is hoping to become a cop like you, Mom. I was wondering if I could bring him home to meet you guys this weekend." Callie answered all of Lena's questions and of course Tyler was invited. Stef became suspicious not only that it would take Callie this long to bring it up, but also because she only called Stef "mom" when she wanted something or was hiding something. Working on her suspicion, Stef got up and confirmed the back door was locked.

Marianna grabbed her phone and texted her brothers to make sure Jude had gotten in. Jude texted back and said he did not have a key to get into the back door and it was locked. Marianna showed her text to Callie and she also began to panic. Mari texted Jude back and told him to go to the front door and they would figure something out.

"That's great, Callie. I would love to meet Tyler in a few days. Right now, though, I just confirmed the back door is locked and I think I will check on Maddie and Jude before I go to bed. Night my babies, I love you both." Stef through in the Jude part with a wink to Lena as she was certain the girls were involved with Jude's disappearance.

"Wait, Moms!" Marianna started, "Could you guys check on something for me? I think I left my black pumps at home. Can you go look in our closet and see if they are in there?"

"You will be home in like two days, Miss Thing, can't you check then?" Stef asked.

"It won't kill us to check and it will only take a minute. We are headed to look right now, then we can check on Maddie and Jude and go to bed." Lena made eye contact with Stef who stayed hidden by the front door waiting for Jude while Lena alone went upstairs talking to the girls.

Marianna texted Jude the all clear. He thanked Jesus for driving him and crept up stealthily to the door turning the nob slowly and coming face-to-face with Stef.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Sorry for the delay. **

**I did not make this clear in the first section, but I do not own The Fosters. **

"Why, if it isn't Jude Jacobs Foster himself." Stef said slowly, "You do realize you are in big trouble with us, right?" Sniffing the air around Jude, she continued, "Is that alcohol I smell on you, Little Man? This night just keeps getting better for us, doesn't it?" Jude looked at the floor instead of at his mom. "What was your plan anyway? Sneak back into the house unnoticed and pretend like you had been here? What kind of half-baked scheme is that?"

"Brandon said it worked for him once…" Jude muttered quietly under his breath.

"What was that, Foster? That didn't sound like an apology, but I will give you another chance to be more clear."

"It's just that at my age Callie was applying for an Independent Living Program. Mariana was selling pills. Brandon was sneaking around behind your back all the time. And Jesus…**"**

"So, no apology? And how did those choices work out for them? Do you remember me almost getting killed when Jesus and Mariana were sneaking around? Do you remember how Callie realized should could not live independently before she even got in the program? If you realized they made mistakes, LEARN from them. I expected more from you."

Jude decided saying nothing at this point was his best option. He did not even want to make eye contact and he was too tired and buzzed to think straight. "Do not think a hangover will be enough to get you out of school tomorrow either, Foster, this was your choice. Do you have any idea how worried we were about you tonight? What, are you not speaking or even looking at me now?" Stef was becoming irate with Jude, as he continued walking away as if he could not hear.

"WE ARE NOT THROUGH HERE, Little Man, YOU MAY NOT WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Stef continued to yell following Jude out of the room. Jude pulled out his phone at this point and sent a group text to his siblings with the word "Caught" on his way up the stairs. By the time he got it sent, Lena, aware of Stef's screaming, approached Jude with her hand out.

Jude handed her is phone without even looking up. "Thanks that will be mine until further notice. We will talk about this tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that…. You probably get the picture. For now though I am so happy to see you alive and in one piece." Lena grabbed the boy and held him close kissing the top of his head when he eventually leaned into it. "I love you so much, Baby. Now before you get ready for bed, go say goodnight to your mom." The way Lena said those last words, Jude knew it was not a choice. Lena sort of grabbed him, turned him around, and gave him a little push in the right direction. Reluctantly, he went.

"Oh, you are back again," Stef said as Jude launched himself at her. She hugged him back and gave him a series of quick kisses to the side of his head. "You know that I love you, right, Buddy?"

"Yeah, Mom, I do. I love you and Mama, too. Goodnight!" Jude walked back down the hallway and smiled sheepishly a Lena on his way to his room. It was after midnight now and morning was going to come too soon. As he shut his door, Stef and Lena made eye contact and both noted that he still had not apologized for anything that had happened. Then, they heard Maddie's door creak open.

"Mama!" Lena looked over at her little girl who was almost crying. "Mama, is Jude in trouble?"

"Yes, Baby, he is in some trouble, but it is okay, we still love him and he is home now." Lena said scooping up her little girl in her arms.

"Is he in trouble for lying? He said it would hurt Mommy's feelings if I told about you guys fighting in the car. He said you didn't say he couldn't go. I sorta feel like I lied to Mommy, too because I kept his secret." Maddie was now fully crying on Lena's shoulder as Stef walked up.

"Baby, I am not mad at you! We will have to talk tomorrow about keeping secrets from your moms, but I love you so much and now you need to go back to bed. School will come early tomorrow morning." Stef leaned over and kissed her daughter as Lena rocked her back to sleep. Then she heard a beep and saw Jude's had received a text. She took the phone from Lena and started reading through the four texts that Jude had received in the last few minutes. Lena laid Maddie back down in her room and shut the door as Stef called her over.

"Look at this, Lena, it appears that Jude was unable to take our calls and texts, but was able to communicate with four other individuals that very are close to us. If this had not been an attempt to deceive us, I would have a strange sense of satisfaction about how close our family has become. He even had Maddie in on it. What are we going to do with our kids?" Stef said with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Well, I guess right now, we should go to bed. We will need to talk to Jude, Maddie, and probably the others more in the morning. By the way, if he gets sick in the night tonight, I am leaving him to you."

"Fair enough. What about the big ones? Will you leave them to me, too?"

"If it is within reason. First, we have to deal with Jude first thing in the morning."

The next morning, Jude woke up with a headache when Stef came in his room to wake him. He could only vaguely remember what happened the night before. He knew that school was not optional, though, so he pulled himself out of bed, showered, and got dressed before making his way down the stairs. "Good morning, Love, how did you sleep?" Lena asked as she sipped her coffee. Jude scowled at her, muttered something incoherent, and reached for the coffee. Lena grabbed his hand, "My kids don't drink coffee. You may have milk, juice, or water."

"Callie drank coffee when she was my age…"

"And I weaned her off when she became mine. She drinks coffee again now, because she is grown up. When you graduate from high school and move out, you may also have coffee. Until then, it is milk, juice, or water." Jude got down a glass and filled it with water. "Good choice. Grab something to eat quickly and bring it on out to the back porch. Mom and I want to talk to you about last night before school."

Jude moved slowly, partially because of his headache and also because he knew if he wasted enough time he wouldn't have to deal with his mothers. The details of the night before were coming back to him, and he knew he was in for it. Drinking seemed okay last night, but this morning he couldn't shake the feeling that it somehow connected him to a person that he did not want to become. After about five wasted minutes, Stef came in from the back porch and grabbed a container of yogurt, a spoon, and a banana. "Oh, look, Jude, you are having yogurt and a banana for breakfast. And it is coming with you right now to the back porch."

"I am sure you remember why you are here. So we don't need to rehash the details, right?" Jude sort of nodded and Lena continued. "When I came home last night and you were not here, I was afraid that something terrible had happened to you. I tried calling, but you didn't answer. The purpose of your phone is so that we can communicate with you. If you had even bothered answering, you would still have a phone to use. That choice alone has forced me to ground you from your phone for two weeks."

"You lied to me about curfew and caused your Mama and me to argue. As a result, you will not have permission to go anywhere with any of your friends, including Conner, until you get your phone back." Stef continued for Lena.

"Jude, you said some things to both of us that were disrespectful and not like the person we are raising you to be. You apologized the first time, but that alone does not take away the words you said. For last night you still have not apologized, however, I am willing to put you on probation for it this time. If it happens again, there will be more consequences. Do you have any questions or comments at this point?"

"No, I get it." Jude said hanging his head a little.

"Well, that just leave one issue… Underage drinking is illegal and unacceptable in this house. That is not the path that I want you on at this point. Getting caught could have led to probation or even jail time. It will not happen again." As Stef said those words, something sparked inside of Jude. His father was an alcoholic and he had been in jail. "However, I like that you did not drive drunk or ride with anyone who had been drinking. That shows great judgment on your part."

"Jude, your mom and I both love you a lot and we what you to know that you can always come to us when you need help. Do you understand what we have said?"

Jude stood up and began to walk away before Stef spoke again, "Your mama asked you a question, sir. Your probation requires a respectful answer."

Jude glared back at both of his mothers. "Of course I understand, I am not stupid, Stef! Even you drink. It isn't a big deal. Now can I just go to school?"

"So you want to play that way? Probation over. Go get the power cord to your game system and have it back to me in the next two minutes. The quicker you are, the less time you will serve. Go!" As Jude stomped off angrily, Stef turned to Lena and saw she was tearing up again. "We will get through this, I promise. Whatever this is, he can be better and he will be."

When Jude came back down with the power cord he sort of threw it at Stef. He knew that he messed up; he even understood the consequences. Neither of those could shake his angry feeling he had towards himself. Stef and Lena might think they love him, but if he was becoming his father it would just led to pain.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thank you all for your comments! **

Lena sat at her desk on Friday morning. Between work and home, this week was not the best she had experienced. Jude was coming home with her every day, but was still acting strangely. For the most part he had kept his tone respectful, but would not speak unless he was forced. Jude had always thrived on physical contact, but the last few days he seemed like he was trying to avoid it. The girls would be home late tonight and Jesus agreed to come to dinner tomorrow night. Lena had hopes that seeing his older siblings would put Jude in better spirits.

Lena's thoughts were interrupted by a ping that indicated that she had a new email. She saw it was the ineligibility report and the at-risk of failing report for the week. Part of Lena's job was to contact the parents of the students on both lists and help establish communication lines to aid in student success. Fortunately for her, there were very few failing students and only a handful or so on the at-risk list. Unfortunately, for Jude, his name appeared on the at-risk list. As she was pondering what do to with Jude next, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."

Jude peeked in and then approached the desk, handed Lena a note, and started to walk back out. "Wait, Jude. He might need a reply. Plus, I really need to talk to you about something else." Jude rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk. He already knew what was in the note and he suspected that the other topic would also be unpleasant.

Lena unfolded the note and read it a few times to be certain of what it said. "Lena, Jude has been very disruptive in my class today. Since he has never been this sort of an issue before, I told him that he could come talk things out with you instead of giving him a detention."

Jude had is arms crossed and was leaning back in the chair slightly. "Is there anything you want to say to me about this, Jude?" Lena asked standing up. Jude just looked at her, obviously unwilling to speak. Lena waited about thirty seconds just in case. "Fine. I am writing up your detention myself. I am done with this."

"But my teacher said I didn't have detention…"

"As your vice principal, I say you do."

"You cut everyone else slack on this kind of thing, Brandon, Callie, Jesus, Mariana… All of them got out of tons of trouble. Now with me and my first detention and you won't even talk about it? How is that fair?"

"Drop it, Son. You did not talk when you had the chance and I am not going to be sucked into your argument. We have another issue to discuss as you have landed yourself on the at-risk of failing list this week. Before I look, can you tell me what I am going to find? Are we looking at one class or several?"

"As my vice principal you should know, Lena."

"Okay, Jude, let's get something established right now. When we are here at school you have two choices for how your will address me. You may call me Mrs. Adams-Foster like the other students. Or, as you are one of only six privileged individuals, you may call me Mama, which is my preference. Using disrespectful terms in my office will result in more detention or even In School Suspension."

"Callie and even Brandon…"

"I am not talking to either Callie or Brandon at the moment so it does not matter what they did or did not do. Quit comparing yourself to them… Anyway, I have looked up your grades and it is only your math grade. It seems like you have not turned in much work this week and you failed your test this morning. Until all your grades are at a C or higher and those assignments are turned in, all homework will be done at the kitchen table with me watching. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear..."

"Now, as it is school policy, I will be calling your mom to discuss both grades and your detention. So, perhaps you can discuss both the detention and the grades with her further after school."

"Good luck contacting my mom. She has been dead for ten years now. Let me know how that works out for you…" Jude started to leave the office again to be stopped by Lena at the door.

"Yes, Jude, your bio mom has been gone for ten years now, but you are not alone. Your mom and I both love you so very much. We adopted you because we wanted you in our family. We have seen you grow and change and become a wonderful young man. Right now, though, that young man is a little difficult to find." Lena looked over at Jude and saw that his façade had cracked just a little. She went over to him and hugged him close. Jude stiffened in her embrace. "For right now, Bud, you need to get back to class. Let your teacher know that you will be serving a detention. I do not want to get any more bad news from you or about your today. Got it?"

"I got it."

As he left Lena called out to him, "I love you, Jude!" and was met by only silence.

Lena started making her parent contacts from her lists. She saved Jude for the last because she wanted a little more time to think before calling Stef. Lena felt a little rejected when Jude brought up his bio mom again. Ever since he had entered their household Jude and Lena had been very close. He had happily agreed to be adopted, even when it looked like Callie would not be adoptable. He had begun using the names Mom and Mama with no prompting before the adoption even went through. Now, it seemed like he was doubting all of those choices and this left her confused and hurt. She picked up the phone and dialed Stef's cell phone number.

Stef's phone started to ring and she looked at the id. The school's number came up and that seemed odd. Usually Lena used her cell phone to call. Stef answered tentatively as she was unsure who would be calling from the school, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear Lena's voice on the other end. Then she got the bad news that Jude was at risk of failing math and that he had a detention to serve after school for disrupting class. Lena also told Stef about her plan to have Jude do all school work at the kitchen table with supervision. She finished with how Jude stiffened when he was hugged and did not reply that he loved her too.

The only part she left out was the comment about his bio mom. It still hurt her heart some and she was not ready to share it with anyone, not even with Stef. "Call Jude back to the office and check him out. He can serve his detention on Monday, today I would like to have a little mother-son bonding time."

Jude was barely paying attention in English. His mind was racing a million miles per hour. He knew that he had failed his math test this morning. That added to the fact that he had not completed his math homework since the night before he snuck out would probably drop his grade significantly. The detention was honestly not his fault. Jude thought the teasing would stop after going to the party, but in some ways it had only increased. The disruptive behavior that resulted in the detention was just trying to get the other guys to stop. Jude was already being called a "Mama's Boy" without being a nark by telling his mama that he was being teased. He sort of thought she would just tell him to not let it happen again without any explanation. When that did not work, Jude was a little angry with Lena, but even more angry with himself. Even she had given up on him.

His father had been an alcoholic; his drinking had led to the death of Jude's bio mom and the start of a six year horrific journey jumping from one bad foster family to another. Since finding himself in a similar place as his father, Jude had been thinking of his bio mom more. He felt like she would like Stef and Lena, but it wasn't the same and somehow felt disloyal. The concerns they had for him also made him angry. Did they also know he was going to turn out like his father? His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom, "I need Jude Foster to come to the office to check out."

Jude grabbed the books he would need for the weekend and trudged to the office. He was hoping to avoid Stef as long as possible and this was not in his plans. As expected Stef was waiting in the office for him. "Okay, Jude, it is just me and you for the afternoon. Are you ready to go?"

"I would rather stay here. How can my vice principal just check out an at-risk student from school? Shouldn't I stay here and learn stuff?"

"You are not failing any afternoon classes and it is always okay for a student to be checked-out by a parent for the day." Lena answered smiling. "I think spending the afternoon with your mom is exactly what you need."

"Are you sure she is my mom?"

"Yes, Jude, I am. First, I know her and you and my student records back up what I know. Every time you say something sarcastic, you sound just like her. When you stubbornly cling to not needing help when it is obvious you do, you act just like her. Also," Lena said dragging Stef and Jude closer together, "when you hug, you fit perfectly. DNA doesn't make family, Jude." Stef grabbed Jude and also felt him stiffen at first and then hug back just a little.

"So, Jude, are you all set?" Stef said as she let him go.

"If I must go, then I am ready. For the record, though, I would rather stay here."

"I love you, Jude" Lena said and she gave him a quick half hug. "Have fun with your mom." Then she turned to Stef and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Be good."

Jude started to walk out of the office when Stef nudged him. "Good bye?" He questioned looking more at Stef than Lena. He received another nudge. "I am not sure what you want me to say."

"Traditionally when your mama says she loves you, you reply that you love her too. Maybe you are just a bit out of practice this week. We can fix that."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I promise the next chapter includes the others. This one will mostly resolve Jude.**

Jude shrugged his shoulders and followed Stef out to her car. Once they were both in and ready, Stef started the car and started driving. The car ride was silent for several minutes. Then Jude noticed they were not headed home. "So, we just missed the turn to go home… Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Stef was met by silence again. It was going to be a long afternoon if she could not get him to talk. "Jude, can I ask you a question and have your answer it honestly?" Jude shrugged again and Stef took it as a yes. "Are you mad at me?"

Jude was expecting Stef to ask him what was going on again or perhaps about his detention. Her question threw him off a little. "Not really. I mean, I guess I was, but not really now…"

"Fair enough. Okay, answer this one. Are you mad at your mama?"

"A little. She shouldn't have given me a detention when she didn't even know what happened. My teacher was there and he didn't give me one. She just went all 'Jude, you are being disrespectful to me.'" Jude said the last part in his best Lena voice.

The detention in Stef's mind was just a little symptom of a bigger issue, but the disrespect would not be tolerated. "Usually your mama likes to talk things out. Did she ask what happened?" Jude shrugged another yes. "Did you give her any explanation?" Another shrug, this one was taken as a no. "What did you think would happen? In words again, please?"

"I thought she would trust me; it was not my fault and I have not ever been in trouble at school before. I thought she would tell me not to let it happen again and it would all be okay. She has let everyone else out of a detention. She says she loves all of us the same, but told me to leave Brandon and Callie out of it."

"Before this week you have never been in major trouble anywhere, not at school or at home. You have started a habit of comparing yourself to your siblings. It isn't your best argument. Do you remember any of them getting in trouble at school?" Another shrug yes. "Did they get and serve detention?" Stef detected a small nod this time. "Maybe with no explanation she just figured that your recent behavior at home had carried into school? Make sense?"

It did made sense to Jude. He started to nod and then remembered that Stef liked to be answered aloud, "Yes."

"You know that Mama and I discuss everything. We have already talked about your conversation with her earlier. I have her perspective, but I would like to hear yours. What was going on when she said you were being disrespectful?"

At first Stef was met with a shrug. She shot him a look and Jude cleared his throat. "I think it was several things. I wasn't talking to her and when I did finally talk I said that you guys weren't my moms. I didn't mean it, I was just trying to make Lena mad. I told her my mom was dead."

Stef smiled to herself. Although she did not like was she was hearing, she was definitely making progress with her son. Lena had not mentioned the part about his bio mom, but Stef understood why. "Okay, here is one more for you and I think I already know the answer. Are you mad at yourself?"

"Yes, I mean no…" Jude was once again thrown off with this line of questioning. How did she know these things? "Maybe?"

"I will take the first answer. And, to answer your unasked question, I am a cop and your mom. I have learned few things in my day." Stef smiled at him as she pulled into a parking space. "Are you up for some ice cream? I know this is your favorite place."

"I thought I was in trouble. Didn't you pick me up to lecture me or ground me some more?"

"Didn't I say this was mother-son bonding? I just wanted to spend some time with you. I want to make sure we are okay before your sisters come home. We have a mutual love of ice cream and it seemed like a good place to start."

They went in, ordered their ice cream, and went to sit down. Stef decided to keep the topics a little lighter while they ate. Pretty soon she had Jude genuinely smiling, a sight she felt like she had not seen most of this week. They settled into an easy conversation. Stef wished Lena was here to witness the old Jude coming back out and hoped the change back would be permanent. After the ice cream, they got back into the car.

"Now where to, Son?"

"Home?"

"You know that when we go home, we do have some serious things to discuss, right?"

"School then? "Jude joked a little.

"You are ready to talk to your mama?" Stef teased back.

"Let's go home. I think I can only handle one mom at a time right now."

When they got home, Stef decided to tackle the smallest issue first. "So, tell me about your detention. You say it is not your fault, so make me understand." Jude took a deep breath and explained his interactions with the other boys. While he was talking, Stef realized this peer pressure and bullying is what made him sneak out in the first place. "I see your point. Did you tell your teacher what was going on? " Jude said no. "Without him having some explanation he was having the same problem as your mama had earlier. All he saw was you disrupting his class. Therefore, he tried giving you some benefit of the doubt, but again if you are unwilling to talk about it, well what can you expect?"

"A detention?" Jude said with a little smirk. "I just don't want to be some kind of Mama's boy that runs to my mama a bunch of times every day to nark on the other guys. I am already, well, different. Everyone at school knows Mama and most even know you; having a vice principal and a cop for my mothers makes me different. Everyone at school knows that I was adopted which also makes me different. Everyone at school knows that Conner and I are dating. I am an easy target."

"If you don't want to talk to your teacher or to your mama, how about next time this happens you come tell me. I know about bullying and I can help you without getting any of the guys in trouble. I will only share with your mama with your permission if it seems necessary. Be proud of who you are, Jude. You are not inferior to anyone else. Not because of your family or who you are dating." On a hunch, Stef continued, "You know, who you are is not really based on your bio parents either. You are your own person."

"I made the same mistake as my father…"

"Not really. You went and got yourself half-drunk one night. According to Callie he drank much of the time. You called Jesus and had him bring you home. He drove drunk. You schemed a plan with five siblings to sneak home to your two mothers who love you more than you can understand until you have a son. Your father had an accident that resulted in the death of your bio mom and landed him in jail. Your biggest mistake was not calling home when you realized you needed help. Maybe your father also made that mistake, but you are not the same as him. When I see you, I see a little bit of me, a little bit of your mama, and a whole lot of Jude."

"But what if I become a drunk like him?"

"It won't happen. I have known since you came home drunk that you had punished yourself inside more than your mama and I could. When we laid out your consequences you were not angry until I mentioned the underage drinking. Your anger seemed to be directed at us, but as your mom, I knew it was really at yourself. This week you have been pushing us away to punish yourself. I used to tell Callie all the time that she was not your mother… Now, I will tell you that you are also not your own mother. Leave the discipline to us." Stef stood up and went to hug Jude. He responded immediately and hugged back. "I love you, Jude." She said kissing his head.

"I know… I love you, too, Mom."

Stef was once again only disappointed by the fact that Lena was not here to share this moment. "Jude, I will be telling your mama about this conversation. I would really like it, though, if you would talk to her first. She will be home with Maddie soon. How about if we plan some sort of surprise for Maddie and so the two of you can talk when they get home?"

Jude went into the kitchen to make Maddie's favorite snack: celery with peanut butter and raisins. Stef went to the hallway closet and got out Candyland, Maddie's favorite game. Between the snack and the game, she figured they would have at least half an hour for Jude and Lena to sort things out.

When Lena walked in the door, she was met once again by quiet. This time, it was different. She could tell something in their household had changed for the better. Maddie had even quit talking for a moment like she also understood. Stef went to greet her daughter and wife. She kissed both and told Lena that Jude wanted to talk to her on the back porch. Stef then picked up Maddie and carried her to kitchen table that was already set up with her snack and game.

Lena made her way to the back porch to see Jude. When he saw her, he immediately got up and hugged her tight. "I am so sorry for everything, Mama. I love you!" Both Jude and Lena wiped tears from their eyes as they sat down to talk through everything. Jude had always felt close to Lena and that's probably why he was harder on her than Stef. He apologized again.

When they were done, Lena hugged Jude again. "Jude, to be honest with you, the hardest part of all of this was when I felt like you were rejected your mom and me. I know that you had a bio mom that you loved and I can never fully replace that. I want you to know, though, that I will always be here. Promise me that next time you have those feelings that you come talk to your mom or me. Okay, Buddy?"

"I promise, Mama. No more secrets."

They walked back into the house only to hear Maddie yelling at Stef. "That's not fair!"

Lena quickly intervened, "Maddie what is going on, you can't talk to Mommy like that."

"You just don't understand, Lena!" The tiny girl yelled back.

Lena made eye contact with Stef and then looked questioningly at her tiny daughter. "What did you say, Maddie?"

"When Jude was angry with you that's what he said… Callie and even Brandon sometimes calls you Lena, too." Up to this point, Jude had been listening to the interaction without making his presence known. He had not realized how his actions had effected his little sister, but he wanted to make it right.

"I got this." Jude said looking up at his moms. "I was wrong, Maddie. Mom once told me that when you see your older brothers and sisters make mistakes you should learn from them and not repeat what they have done. You are lucky to have five older brothers and sisters to learn from, you can probably avoid lots of mistakes. According to Mama, we are two of only six people who have the right to call them Mom and Mama. That makes you pretty special. I can promise, whatever the issue is, they can understand if you give them a chance." Jude hugged the little girl and then looked back at his moms to see their arms around each other smiling back at him. "I am sorry that I was a bad example. I will try harder to be a big brother."

"Jude, why don't you go and wait in the porch for your sisters and Callie's friend, Tyler. When Maddie is done with her timeout, she will join you. Mom and I will make dinner tonight."

After Jude left and Lena settled Maddie in timeout around the corner, Lena and Stef had a silent celebration.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N This is it. Thanks for reading.**

"The girls will be home any minute! I cannot wait to meet Tyler!" Lena squealed to Stef as they made dinner. Maddie was out of timeout and had brought out Candyland to play with Jude on the porch while they waited. Jude played cautiously knowing that her competiveness is what got her in trouble with their mom earlier. He, unlike Stef, did not mind letting her win, so their game was going well.

Suddenly the little girl jumped up disturbing the board "They are coming!" She yelled. "I can see the car, Jude!" Jude had to remind her to stay on the porch. As they pulled up she started calling for them continuously as she hopped up and down, "Callie! Mariana!" As the girls approached with Tyler her calls and hops became louder and faster. When they came up the porch Maddie leaped into Callie's arms and kissed both of her sisters before being placed back on the ground. Jude also hugged both of his sisters.

"Tyler, this is our other sister, Maddie, and our littlest brother, Jude. Guys, this is Tyler." Jude stood up to shake Tyler's hand and gave him a half hug while Maddie latched onto one of his legs.

Stef chuckled to herself as she saw the girls walk in the door with Maddie still attached to Tyler's leg and Jude following along behind. "Well, if it isn't two of Jude's coconspirators." Stef held out her hand and Callie smirked and slapped her five. "No, darlings, I would like your phones, please, this is not a choice."

"Are you kidding..." Callie started and then seeing the look on her mother's face, she sighed and handed over her phone and Mariana followed with an eye roll. Tyler looked on with interest. Callie had described her family as the type of people who hugged, kissed, and said "I love you" constantly. This greeting didn't fit with the image he had in his mind nor with the enthusiastic greetings from Callie's younger siblings (one of which was still on his leg).

"Thank you. By the way, welcome home my babies and my baby's friend! I have missed you both so much!" Stef grabbed her two older daughters in a group hug and kissed the heads before turning to Tyler and shaking his hand. This seemed like more the greeting he was expecting.

"Mom, this is Tyler, Tyler, this is my mom, Stef. And yes she did just take my phone. Not sure why, but that is what happened."

"It is nice to meet you, Tyler. Your girlfriend seems to not understand that if I am still paying the cell phone bill, I have the right to ground her from said phone for calling me in the middle of the night to distract me from catching her little brother. Make yourself at home, just not so at home that you also get your phone taken away…" At this comment Callie turned a little red and Tyler laughed nervously. Stef pried Maddie off of Tyler's leg and sent her towards the kitchen. Jude just watched with amusement.

"When do I get my phone back? I mean, it isn't safe for us to drive back to LA at the end of the weekend without a phone…" Callie started looking hopeful.

"Tyler, do you have a phone? " He nodded. "Perfect, you will both be safe going home with Tyler. Iwill be sure to give him Brandon's phone number before he leaves as Jesus and Jude will also be phoneless. Or perhaps if you run into trouble you can call Maddie instead of just me or your mama. I know you all prefer to handle these things yourselves."

Lena entered the room rolling her eyes as Stef said her last bit. "Dinner's ready. You must be Tyler. I am Lena, Callie's mama. Don't mind Stef, she is just upset that the kids teamed up against her. Girls, you will have your phones back before you leave for the weekend, I promise. Although, I would like to know why none of you told us what was going on?"

"Well…" Callie started looking at Mariana.

"We will have plenty of time to discuss this topic after dinner…"

"Is Jesus coming over for dinner tonight?" Callie asked trying to change the subject again.

"I would call him for you, but I don't seem to have a phone anymore…" Mariana started. Stef just smiled and put her arm around her daughter again.

"That won't be necessary, I see him pulling up right now." Originally Jesus was not coming over until Saturday, but when he heard that Tyler was coming, he decided to spend the weekend at home as well. Stef went out to Jesus's car to greet him and also take his phone. Stef followed Jesus back into the house with a smile on her face. Inside the house, the kids were talking and laughing together. Lena said she could not really ground them from their phones long term, but at least for tonight, her kids, other than Brandon, would all be phoneless. She was planning on a family movie night tonight followed by a family slumber party. All great ways to get to know Tyler better.

After dinner, Tyler volunteered to help with the dishes. Stef and Lena volunteered Jude and Maddie to help him. They decided it was a good time to gather their older three and Brandon on Facetime and have another serious talk. "Before we get started, do any of the four of you want to tell us what you were thinking?"

"My only part in this was being Jude's designated driver. I got him home to you safely. For that, I lost my phone and I am not sure why. I was just taking my job as a big brother seriously." Jesus started.

"Jesus, that would be great and all, but why didn't you use that same phone to call Mama and me and tell us he was safe and on the way?"

"I guess I didn't think about it. He sounded scared so I just did it."

"Jesus, you are nineteen years old. You have to quit acting impulsively and think. We were super worried about him a simple phone call would have cleared it up. We will discuss sentencing with you all in a moment. Who else wants to talk?"

The girls made eye contact and decided they could go together. "Well, Mari and I called you guys. We really did have things to say…"

"Callie, your phone call was obviously a distraction. Try again."

"Mama," Mariana started trying to appeal to Lena who had been fairly quiet so far. "Callie and I feel very badly for not telling you both what was going on. We were not very involved, though. All we were told is to call you and that is what we did."

"Okay, so when I looked at your phone earlier, I did not see texts between you and Jesus and you and Jude, right?" Stef said winking at her daughter.

"Stef, we are very sorry. I did realize later that it was not a good plan. Jude is my, well our, little brother and we also just wanted to see him get home. I did not speak with him by text or by phone…"

"Right, because you were on the phone with us while Mari used her phone, still not off the hook. That brings us to you, Brandon. How do you plea?"

"Guilty. Jude called me. I knew better. When he called me I should have either called you or told him to call you. Instead, I came up with the plan for the girls to call you while Jude found his way home. If anyone deserves to be in trouble, it is me as the oldest for not taking my responsibility seriously and bringing everyone else into it."

Stef was obviously moved by Brandon's explanation. "I am going to start with you all as a group. I will tell you same as your mama told Jude. The purpose of your phones is to communicate with us and with each other. You did great on the later, but you failed on the first." She looked at Mariana and Callie to stop their interruption as they did call. "I cannot take away your phones long-term, so instead, you will all be paying your own cell phone bill this month. Be sure to answer all phone calls from us or be prepared to pay next month as well." Groans came from all four. "Next, Jesus, Jude has a dentist appointment next week and Maddie the week after. You are so fond of picking up your siblings to help us out, so I know you will not mind taking them there and bringing them home afterwards. I will let you know if there are other errands in the next few weeks. Got it?"

"Got it, Mom. Can I go?"

Stef and Lena agreed he could and then they turned to the girls. "You two are further away, but a little more responsible. You were on the phone with us and didn't tell us that you knew Jude was out of the house but safe. At nineteen and twenty I expected more from you. Jude is only sixteen. In addition to paying your own phone bills, we have found a place in LA and volunteered you both to work there for 20 hours. Your job will be taking phone calls for troubled teens and keeping them on the line until help arrives. See, it is perfect for both of you. You love to distract people and keep them on the phone, right?"

"Right…" They both mumbled.

"You are both free to go. Now Brandon… You are correct that you are the guiltiest, besides Jude of course, as the oldest and as the one who came up with this plan. Jude trusted you, as his big brother to give him good advice and you let him down. Did you actually think Jude could sneak back in and pretend to be sleeping? For real, we knew he was missing from the house. You are right, you should have called us and told Jude to call us. The phone bill obviously applies to you also. However, the worst part for you has to do with where you live. Tonight, we are having a family movie night which will almost certainly be followed by a family sleep over in the living room. You will miss both. That's no popcorn, no cheesy G rated movie, and no family bonding time."

"Wouldn't I miss that anyway? I mean I am all the way across the country…"

"I am not finished. I also found a Big Brother organization in your area. You will be meeting your new little 'brother' on Monday at 6 pm. You will be committed to hanging out with me once a week for the rest of the semester. Please show good judgment and guide him well."

"I will Mom. For what it is worth, I am still very sorry. I love you guys and I hope your weekend with Tyler is great. I met him last week over Facetime and I really like him"

"What? Did you met Tyler before us? Again, better at communicating with each other than with us… Oh, well. I love you, too, Brandon. Have a sad lonely weekend without us."

"I love you, too, Brandon. Bye!" Lena added at the end. She hung up the phone and turned to her wife. "Well, Love, I think you handled that perfectly. Finding ways for them to help their communities was inspiring."

"Thanks. It helps to have connections with cops all over the country… Hark, is that arguing I hear coming from the family room?"

Both Stef and Lena got up and looked through the door. Inside they saw Tyler looking bewildered and their kids all holding a different DVD they were intent on watching for their family movie night. Each trying to talk above each other, Jesus decided to throw a pillow at Callie. She didn't see who threw it, so she threw a pillow at Jude. Now along with promoting their movies, they were in an all-out pillow fight. The two mothers quietly slipped into the house. Callie was the first to see them. "Uh… Hey Stef, hey Lena…."

The last pillow hit the ground the kids all seemed to freeze. Then Maddie spoke up. "Callie," she cried urgently as she got out from behind the couch, "I really need to talk to you."

Callie picked up the girl and hugged her close. "What is it Maddie?"

"Jude says that we are really special people. That's because we are the only group of kids in the whole wide world who get to be Mommy and Mama's kids."

"That's right, Maddie, Jude is pretty smart. We are special."

"Well, I am a lucky that I have five kids bigger than me to learn from, but you don't. I am littler than you, but you can learn from my mistakes so you don't get timeout like I did." Maddie leaned into Callie's ear and whispered loudly (like a typical four year old). "Mama says that it hurts her heart when I call her Lena. If you are one of the special ones, too, you might get a timeout for hurting Mama's heart."

Callie kissed Maddie and carefully set her back down on the floor before turning to her moms who obviously overheard the entire conversation. "Jesus and Jude, clean up the pillows. Mariana and Maddie, go get the sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. Tyler, you can pick the movie tonight, make sure it is rated G for Maddie. Then I want you all to go get into pajamas for a family slumber party in the family room. If you need to, Tyler, you can borrow sleep pants from Jude or Jesus. Callie, you will be making the popcorn with us in the kitchen." Stef watched as each of them started on their assigned tasks before she joined Lena and Callie in the kitchen.

Lena had already started the popcorn and was sitting at the island across from Callie. Stef could see that Lena was handling this one and decided she could deal mostly the popcorn. "So, I guess Maddie has been in a little trouble this week as well?" Callie asked to ease the tension some.

"It has been a long week, Callie. Your mom got Jude straightened out pretty well today, but in four years I had never seen him act that way. He has been talking back sometimes and very distant other times. Maddie is like a parrot. She imitates everything Jude does the same way as he used what you did. She adores Jude and usually it is a good thing that she wants to be just like him. Maddie got in trouble to using almost the same words as Jude."

Callie waited for what Lena said to sink in. Maddie imitates Jude who spent most life imitating his big sister. Once again Callie was feeling very guilty for her part in both her brother's and sister's trouble. "Maddie said that if hurt you to not be called Mama by your kids. Was she right?"

"Callie, we have never asked you or made you call us by anything other than our names. We didn't even know you until you were sixteen. Jude fell into the habit on his own. Maddie has never had any other parents."

"But was she right?" Callie waited a bit and saw that Lena was tearing up just a little and she knew her littlest sister was correct. Lena secretly felt a little rejected every time Callie called her by her first name. "You know, you guys are ALWAYS saying to come to you if anything happens that hurts me. If you were feeling hurt about this, Mama, you should have come and told me. I feel bad that my baby sister had to tell me something I should have realized myself."

"Honey, it is really okay. Don't make the words of a four year old make you feel guilty. Her time out was more over yelling at Mom while they played Candyland. It wasn't about you, really."

"You guys took me in from juvie, helped me rescue my brother, hunted me down instead of having a honeymoon, agreed to adopt us both anyway, helped me get through high school, and sent me to college. I owe you my whole life. I have known for four years that you were my moms, now it is time for me to give you the titles you deserve to help the rest of the family. Mama, Mom, I love you both." As Callie said this, she stood up hugged both of her moms and kissed each on the cheek. "And if I mess up again, just point me towards Maddie's time out spot…"

Tyler entered the kitchen about this time ready for the slumber party, but stayed out of the way to just watch the interaction between his girlfriend and her parents. "I think Callie needs a Mama sandwich, Babe, do you agree?" Stef asked looking at Lena. They both grabbed her at once hugging her tightly and kissing her several times on the cheeks. All three of them were laughing when they noticed Tyler in the corner of the kitchen. "So, Tyler, did you pick a movie?" He handed over a very worn DVD case. "Interesting choice… You realize this was not Callie's pick, right? Actually, this is Maddie's choice. Which one of my daughters are you trying to date anyway?"

"Well, we could watch Callie's instead…"

"Nope. This was your choice and not Callie's. I am just impressed that you already seem to know that the way to Callie's heart requires getting into Maddie's. Do you have any siblings?"

"No ma'am. I am an only child, but I have enjoyed watching Callie and Mariana together. Now that I see everyone together, I can see that I really missed out having brothers and sisters."

"Well, you are welcome to come home with Callie any weekend you choose. Just so you know, your spot is the couch tonight for our family slumber party… Callie may sit on the couch with you, but when it is time to sleep, she needs to move down to the floor with her siblings. We have to keep everything G rated as we do still have a preschooler in the house. Got it?"

Callie by this time was holding Tyler's hand. "Of course, Mom. Tyler is always a gentleman."

"Well, what you do other places is up to you, but in this house Lena and I are the only ones with permission to…"

"Thanks Mom, but we are done with this conversation…" Callie was blushing by this time and definitely did not want to have a sex talk with Tyler and her mom. "Come on, Tyler, we need to get back into the family room to claim some blankets and pillows before they are gone."

Stef and Lena hugged again and finished making the popcorn. They got out bowls and started taking them to the kids who were already set up all over the floor. As the movie started, Lena snuggled in next to Stef. Tyler was sitting on the couch with Callie laying against him, Marianna sitting next to her, and Maddie laying across them. Jude and Jesus were on the floor throwing popcorn to each other trying to catch it in their mouths. Stef and Lena looked at each other and smiled. Despite the chaos of the week they loved their family and lived for moments like these.


End file.

Fosters, Family