"it's a terrifying thing when love finally works" - JH Hard

-----

The first day of Spring Break would’ve been something to celebrate, however, the family of three found very little joy in it as it was 4am and they were all shuffling around the house like zombies in an attempt to get ready to go camping.

As Freen struggled to get herself dressed for the day, she had the added pressure of getting Emily ready as well seeing as she little girl was an over-emotional lump who refused to get up.

Nita, on the other hand, went about getting ready while chugging cups of coffee.

By 5, they managed to get themselves ready and downstairs with all of their bags piled up at the door.

Not five minutes later there was a knock that startled Freen who had fallen asleep while leaning against the wall. The foster mom opened the door to reveal Becky who looked chipper as ever.

“Who’s ready to go camping?” Becky asked, faltering at the sight of her girlfriend who was leaning against the door, and the two girls that were asleep on the stairs. “Wow, you guys look rough.”

“Not morning people,” Freen reminded, reaching down for some of the bags to bring to Becky's car.

“No kidding. Let me help you,” Becky said, taking the bags from Freen and bringing them to her parked station wagon.

Another trip later and she had the car set to go. All she had to do was get her now sleeping girlfriend and the two girls in it.

“Rise n’ shine,” Becky hummed, giving the three people on the stairs gentle shakes, making all of them snap awake.

“Do you have everything you  need?” Becky asked as she helped the group get to their feet.

“More coffee,” Nita mumbled as she pointed behind herself.

“No more for her. She had like six cups,” Freen said, her words slurring slightly.

“Sure doesn’t look like it,” Becky said, taking Freen's keys to lock up the house before ushering the girls down to the car and making sure they all got buckled in.

By the time Becky situated herself in the driver’s seat, Freen, Emily, and Nita all managed to fall back asleep, filling the car with their breathing and some light snores.

Becky laughed and rolled her eyes before starting the engine and heading in the direction of the mountains.

-----

Five hours later, the group arrived at their camping spot; a secluded little patch that was clear of trees and had straight access to a small body of water. It was perfect for their mini getaway.

Freen and Becky got to work setting up the tents while Nita kept Emily busy picking flowers along the tree line.

“I like the difference that some sleep has on you,” Becky commented as she ran a pole through the tent.

“Remind me again why we had to leave at 5am?” Freen asked, glancing behind herself to make sure the girls were in her line of sight before returning her attention to Becky.

“Because traffic. And I also wanted to optimize our time here together,” Becky explained, making Freen audibly aww.

“You’re the cutest softie ever,” the taller brunette gushed, giving Becky's face a squeeze before kissing her.

“You’re going to ruin my street cred,” Becky said between kisses, making Freen laugh.

“What street cred?” Freen asked before turning away to get started on the other tent.

“That’s just rude, Freen Sarocha,” Becky said, using one of the tent poles to hit Freen's butt.

Freen simply wiggled her hips teasingly before stepping out of reach.

The two adults managed to set up the tents with less banter and were relieved to finally have someplace for themselves and the girls to sleep that night (though Becky did suggest that if all else fails they could’ve slept in her car).

“Who wants to go swimming?” Becky called out, gaining the attention of Emily and Nita.

Emily had fists full of flowers, which she excitedly ran over to Freen and Becky to show off.

“Aren’t they pretty?” Emily asked, handing a bundle to each woman.

“They are,” Becky agreed, smelling her small handful of wildflowers.

“Thank you for picking them for us, babygirl. But let’s leave the other flowers alone, okay?” Freen asked, knowing very well it would be wasteful to allow her child to pluck every flower in sight.

“Okay,” Emily agreed, before skipping back over to her sister.

“No one answered my question,” Becky reminded, already shimmying out of her clothes to reveal the bikini she was wearing underneath. “Anyone want to see how warm the water is?”

“I’m good,” Nita said as she rummaged in her duffle bag for something.

“I wanna go,” Emily said, also removing her clothes to reveal her swimsuit.

“Wait, Emi. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nita said, grabbing the hand of her little sister. “What if you sit with me and read?”

“I’ll watch her,” Becky promised, making Nita look at her.

“I packed a lifejacket for her,” Freen said, going to the trunk of the car and pulling out the brand new vest. “See, Nita. She’ll be completely safe with Becky and this thing.”

Nita chewed her lip and looked between the two older women and her little sister.

“Just not too deep,” Nita said, her eyes pleading with Becky and Freen to listen to her.

“Of course. I’ll be careful with her,” Becky said as Freen quickly grabbed some sunscreen to lather on the little girl.

While Becky and Freen got Emily ready for the water, Nita took her towel and her sketch pad and went to sit on the dock.

Despite the warm sun hitting her, the girl made no move to undress into a swimsuit in fear that someone might catch sight of her scar.

Nita started a fresh sketch as Becky, Freen, and Emily slowly stepped into the cold water, all of them giggling at the chill as they ventured forward.

“Look, Nity! I’m swimming!” Emily called out as she began to doggy paddle in the water, Freen and Becky still on either side of her as they stood in the water that was now up to their chests.

“I see you, Emi,” Nita promised, smiling kindly at her little sister before returning to her sketch.

-----

When dinner time rolled around, Becky got a fire started and began to cook some chicken sausages over the hot flames.

Freen and Emily sat on a log in front of the fire, the two bundled in a blanket while Emily told Freen and Becky an animated tale with her hands moving around excitedly.

Nita had stepped away to use the nearby outhouse and was likely on her way back when a loud cry was heard in the bush.

“Fuck!” Nita's voice clearly cried out, making Freen and Becky stand up quickly to get to her.

“What happened?” Freen asked as Nita emerged from the bush clenching her hand tightly.

“Nothing,” the teen grit out, heading for her tent.

The sight of a small blood trail slipping past her clenched fingers told Freen it was definitely not nothing.

“Let me see it,” the foster mom said, stepping in front of the teen and attempting to grab her hand.

“It’s fine,” Nita argued, trying to keep her hand away from Freen. “I just need a bandaid.”

“Just let me help,” Freen practically begged, making Nita stop her fighting briefly to look her in the eye.

The teen seemed to give in as she opened her hand to reveal a large surface scratch along her palm and thumb.

“How’d this happen?” Freen asked, gently holding the hand and examining the wound to see if it needed stitches.

Thankfully, it wasn’t deep enough by Freen's evaluation.

“I slipped and tried to grab a tree. Unfortunately, a sharp branch got in the way,” Nita explained, hissing when Freen tried to turn her hand to the side to check her thumb.

“C’mon. We need to clean this out. Bec, you got Emi?”

"Yup,” Becky promised, offering a thumbs up.

Freen nodded and began to lead the teen towards the car where they had the first aid kit.

The foster mom quickly grabbed the kit along with a collapsible chair and set both things up by the open trunk.

“Sit down,” Freen said, patting the trunk’s rear for Nita.

The teen complied and took a seat,
while Freen placed herself on the camping chair and grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

“This is going to sting,” Freen warned as she held Nita's bleeding hand and aimed the top of the bottle towards it.

“Whatever,” Nita said, looking away in hopes of not letting Freen see the panic in her eyes.

The searing pain that followed Freen's dousing of her hand almost sent Nita back to the day that Mark cleaned her rib wound.

Thankfully, the pain didn’t last nearly as long thanks to Freen's quick thinking to blow on it.

“Good girl,” Freen praised absentmindedly, reaching for a piece of gauze to lap up some of the blood spots that were harder to rinse.

After double-checking for any splinters in the wound, Freen grabbed a bottle of ointment and put a generous amount over the wound before grabbing more gauze and a wrap.

As Freen cared for Nita's hand, the teen couldn’t help the painful twist her stomach did at how motherly Freen's touches were.

She felt safe and cared for, and Nita swore she’d never let anyone but her own mother treat her that way.

But here Freen was, blowing on her wound to make it sting less while gently wrapping it with white bandage.

She didn’t care that bloody water dripped onto her leg, or that she had to stop what  she was doing to help. All she cared about was Nita.

And that nearly broke the teen’s heart.

“There,” Freen whispered in finality, tapping off the end of the gauze before leaning forward to press a loving kiss to the now wrapped up palm of Nita.

Nita quickly wiped a lone tear that tumbled down her cheek before retracting her hand and standing up.

“Thanks,” was all the teen could supply, despite every fiber of her being telling her to hug Freen.

“I’m glad I could help,” Freen said, offering a kind smile as she gathered the small pile of trash  she accumulated. “Why don’t you head back to the fire, ka?”

Nita nodded and headed back to her sister and Becky who were starting to put sausages into buns.

“Just in time,” Becky smiled when the teen approached, handing over a plate of food. “How’s your hand?”

“Fine,” Nita said, taking her plate and sitting on the log next to Emily.

“Did a bear bite you?” Emily asked as she took a large bite of her food.

“No, Emi, a bear didn’t bite me,” Nita said, shaking her head and laughing a bit at the six-year olds antics.

“Good. Cause then he’ll want to eat the rest of you up.”

“Who’s going to eat who up?” Freen asked, arriving to the campfire and taking the plate that Becky extended to her.

“A bear is gonna eat Nity,” Emily explained.

“I hope not,” Freen said as she sat next to Becky on the log opposite of the girls. “We’d miss her, wouldn’t we?”

“Yeah. It’s a good thing a bear didn’t bite her,” Emily said before tapping Nita's shoulder and encouraging the teen to lean down a bit so she could whisper the last bit in her ear. “Just to be safe I’m gonna set a bear trap tonight. It’s a secret, though.”

Nita nodded and put a finger to her lips in solidarity, which Emily copied.

“Uh-oh, they’re plotting something,” Becky said, making Emily giggle.

“Don’t worry. No one’s gonna get hurt,” Emily promised.

-----

The next morning, Becky woke up and felt Freen's warm breath on her neck.

The brunette smiled when she recalled Freen crawling into her sleeping bag a few hours before with the claim that she was too cold to sleep on her own.

Becky pressed a light kiss to Freen's forehead and laid there a bit longer before the screaming of her bladder was too much to ignore.

With careful movements, Becky pulled herself out from under her girlfriend, only eliciting some groaning from Freen, before she was eventually freed.

It was still early in the morning, barely 7am, which meant the sun was just starting to rise.

Becky sleepily made her way towards the outhouse, being mindful of her step since Nita slipped on something the previous day.

Just as Becky reached the outhouse, her foot landed on something extremely sticky. Looking down, she found her foot had ended up on a paper plate doused in honey with a paper stuck under a rock close by.

Picking up the paper, Becky found Emily's crayoned scribble which read: This is NOT a bear trap

With a small laugh and a sigh, Becky turned around and walked her way back to the camp, the plate of honey still stuck to her foot.

Being slightly distracted, Becky didn’t notice the smooth rock that went downwards, nor did she have any sense to balance herself before she fell, causing the woman to go down with a surprised yelp.

Just as she got up and dusted her sleep pants off, Becky heard the distinct sound of Freen calling out her name.

“Baby, are you okay?” Freen called again.

“I’m fine! I found the rock that Nita slipped on,” Becky explained as she emerged from the tree line, the plate of honey still stuck to her foot.

“What’s that?” Freen asked, pointing to Becky's foot.

“ Emi left a bear trap,” Becky explained, holding up the note.

“And you stepped in it?”

“Yup,” Becky agreed.

“With a barefoot?” Freen continued, making Becky furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

“Yeah…”

“ Bec, why on earth are you walking barefoot through the woods?”

“Because I had to pee and looking for a slippers took too long,” Becky said, pouting as if it would make her point more justifiable.

“I don’t know if I should be more grossed out or amused,” Freen said, taking the note from Becky and reading Emily's scribble. “I’ve got to give it to her. This girl’s got tact.”

“My bear trap!” Emily said from the opening of her tent, making both women look her way. “Did it work? Did I catch a bear?”

“No, babygirl. You caught a Becbear,” Freen said, laughing when the girl pouted.

“Oh man! I thought my note would convince a bear to get stuck in the honey.”

“A+ for effort there, baby,” Becky said as she peeled the sticky plate from her foot.

“ Emi, did you use all of our honey?” Freen asked as she took the plate from Becky.

“Bears are really big, mama. I needed enough honey to catch one.”

“So that’s a yes,” the foster mom said, rolling her eyes as she did her best not to laugh. “I guess it’s a sugar in my tea kind of morning.”

“I’ll come help you with the fire in a moment. I just need to quickly clean my foot.”

“I’ll help you!” Emily said, running after Becky towards the water.

Becky playfully scooped the girl up and spun her around as she stepped into the water, making Emily squeal excitedly.

“No swimming yet you two!” Freen called out from the camp, though it came a bit too late as Becky stepped backwards, lost her balance, and ended up sitting in the shallows with Emily who continued to laugh hysterically.

“Why do I even bother.”

“Whoopsie,” Becky laughed with Emily who started to playfully splash the water around them.

-----

Freen sat by the fire and sipped her tea while she watched Becky and Emily play in the water.

They had managed to eat breakfast and change into their swimsuits despite the morning mishaps and the foster mom had finally released them to resume their antics while she waited for Nita to wake up.

It was nearing 9am when Freen heard a tent zipper opening. She turned her attention to find Nita emerging, still slightly bleary-eyed and her hair a muck over her head.

“Morning, sleepyhead. Would you like something for breakfast?” Freen asked, already pouring out a cup of coffee for the teen who made her way over to the log and accepted the extended mug.

“I’m okay,” Nita said, sitting next to Freen before she mixed in some sugar and milk into her coffee.

“How’d you sleep?” Freen asked as she gently sorted out some of Nita's hair.

“Fine. Emi slept in my bag with me.”

“Did she let you sleep?” Freen pressed a bit, hoping to keep the teen talking.

“ Ka. I only took a foot to the rib once, but I was fine,” Nita said, laughing lightly before she sipped her coffee.

“Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been a foot to the face,” Freen said, laughing with Nita.

“She’s gotten you with that one?” Nita asked, to which Freen nodded.

“Thank you,” Nita said, making Freen furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

“You’re the first foster parent that’s let her sleep with them and willingly puts up with the kicking.”

Freen smiled weakly at her foster daughter, fighting the urge to feel sad for the girls and their unfortunate childhoods.

“For what it’s worth, I love having you two around,” Freen promised, giving Nita's forearm a gentle squeeze.

“You’re just saying that,” Nita sighed, looking at Freen's hand.

Before Freen could respond, a wet little body was hugging Nita from behind, surprising the teen slightly.

“What the-.”

“Come swimming with Becky and me!” Emily said, making Nita laugh when she realized who it was.

“Maybe later, Emi,” Nita said, setting her coffee down and turning slightly so she could pull Emily over the log and onto her lap.

“But it’s so warm,” Emily attempted to intrigue her sister.

“I wouldn’t say warm,” Becky said, wrapping herself in a towel while she handed a second one to Freen who wrapped Emily up.

“I think it’s a good idea to take a break for now, yeah?” Freen suggested, using the towel to rub up and down Emily's arms.

“We could go for a hike,” Becky suggested, to which Freen nodded.

“Maybe I can catch a bear!” Emily exclaimed, jumping off of Nita's lap and looking to the three people excitedly.

“Let’s hope not,” Becky laughed, taking a seat next to Freen.

“Would you guys mind if I stayed here and sketched?” Nita asked, making Freen and Becky look at each other briefly.

“I don’t see why not,” Freen shrugged, deciding they were in a safe enough location that still had cell service in case Nita needed help.

“We’ll leave you a walkie talkie in case we lose service,” Becky said, making Nita nod. “We should get ready then. The sooner we leave the sooner we can be back for lunch.”

Nita continued to enjoy her coffee while the other three got ready for their short hike.

Just as the teen set herself by the water with her sketchpad, Freen and Becky had approached her with few things at hand.

“Here’s the walkie talkie, sunblock, and pepper spray,” Becky said, setting everything down next to Nita.

“Pepper spray?” Nita asked, picking up the canister.

“In case of bears,” Freen said.

“There are no bears around here,” Nita argued.

“That’s what I said,” Becky said as she looked at Freen.

“I just want you to be safe. That’s all,” Freen said, to which Nita nodded.

“Thanks. Have a nice hike,” Nita said, setting the spray aside and opening her sketchpad to the one she started yesterday.

“We’ll be back soon,” Freen promised, before taking Becky's hand and leading her back towards Emily who had found a large stick which she declared to be her walking stick.

Once the voices become distant and then entirely non-existent, Nita breathed out a sigh of relief  and pulled her black tank top off, revealing the sports bra she had on underneath.

She set her sketchpad aside, laid back, and allowed the warm sun to wash over her torso.

Nita couldn’t remember the last time she felt that good.

To be continued...