Jori Family shots

Sunlight flooded the kitchen, painting everything in warm gold. The smell of strong coffee mingled with sweet pancakes, and the Vega-West family was all gathered around the table.

Ruby, quiet as a mouse, sat next to Jade, nibbling on her toast, her green eyes darting around the room, taking everything in. Lola, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of words, excitedly recounting some cartoon she'd seen. Across from them, Callie and Cassie were in a full-blown blueberry heist, giggling as they swiped from each other's plates.

Jade sipped her coffee, a familiar smirk playing on her lips as she watched the organized chaos. "Alright, everyone, eat your breakfast before it gets cold. And," she added, pointing her fork at Callie and Cassie, "stealing each other's blueberries isn't a meal."

Tori chuckled, shaking her head as she buttered her toast. "Hey, I was thinking about taking the girls to the park later," she said, looking at Jade.

Suddenly, everyone was wide awake.

"The park?" Cassie's eyes lit up.

"With the swings?" Callie added, bouncing in her seat.

"And the giant slide?" Lola chimed in.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you loved driving me up the wall at home."

Lola grinned. "We do, but we also love swings!"

Ruby, who'd been quiet, finally spoke up. "I'm staying home with Mama." She looked at Jade with that same stubborn look Jade knew all too well.

Jade smirked, ruffling Ruby's hair. "That's my girl."

Tori rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Fine, you two can have your little goth hangout while I deal with the wild ones."

"Mommy, can we get ice cream after?" Callie asked, tilting her head with that adorable, manipulative look.

Tori pretended to consider it. "Hmm... only if you're on your best behavior."

"We'll be good!" Cassie and Callie chorused.

Jade leaned back, smirking at Tori. "You know they're lying, right?"

"Oh, I know." Tori sighed dramatically. "But a mom can hope."

The girls erupted in giggles, and the morning rolled on, just another typical, joyfully chaotic morning at the Vega-West house.

After breakfast, it was a whirlwind of getting the girls ready for the park. Cassie, of course, absolutely had to wear her favorite pink hoodie, while Callie, bless her, decided that one of Jade's old black band t-shirts made a perfectly acceptable dress. Lola was sporting her usual purple sneakers, and all three of them were practically vibrating with excitement as they piled into the car.

Jade leaned against the doorframe, that familiar amused smirk playing on her lips. "Try not to lose any of them," she teased as Tori wrestled Cassie into her car seat.

Tori scoffed. "Please, I'm a professional. I've handled stadium tours with screaming fans—I think I can manage three kids at a playground."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Because last time, Cassie somehow convinced a bunch of kids to do a flash mob, and Callie got stuck in the tube slide."

"That was one time!" Tori protested, a little too quickly.

"And Lola climbed the jungle gym so high they practically needed a helicopter."

Tori groaned. "Okay, maybe two times." She turned to the girls, giving them a stern look. "New rule: No flash mobs, no getting stuck, and no climbing anything that requires a rescue squad."

"Yes, Mommy!" the girls chorused, though Callie and Cassie exchanged these little, knowing glances that made Tori's stomach do a nervous flip.

With a final eye-roll from Jade and a quick kiss on the cheek from Tori, they were off.

At the Park

The park was buzzing, just as you'd expect. Kids were tearing around, parents were chatting on benches, and you could hear the distant jingle of an ice cream truck. The second Tori unbuckled them, Callie, Cassie, and Lola were gone, sprinting towards the playground like they'd been locked up for weeks.

"Stick together!" Tori called after them, already feeling like she was outnumbered.

Cassie and Callie immediately hopped onto the swings, trying to see who could swing the highest, while Lola made a beeline for the monkey bars. Tori settled onto a nearby bench, taking a sip of her iced coffee and watching them with a smile.

"Mommy, watch me!" Cassie yelled, pumping her little legs like crazy.

"I'm watching, baby!" Tori grinned.

Just when things were starting to feel... well, almost peaceful, she heard a familiar, dramatic wail: "Help! My shoe fell in the slide!"

Tori sighed, already knowing this was going to be one of those park trips.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jade sat in the director's chair, flipping through the script. The studio hummed with that quiet, focused energy, assistants adjusting lights for the next shot. She was locked in, laser-focused, until her phone buzzed.

Tori.

She sighed, answering, "What's up, Vega?"

But the voice on the other end was...off.

"Tori, slow down. I can't understand a word you're saying—what the hell is going on?" Jade's grip on the phone tightened. She was catching snippets of frantic rambling: police station, some crazy woman, the girls crying. And then, the sound of sniffles. Tori was crying.

Jade shot out of her chair, grabbing her bag. "Where are you?"

More babbling.

Jade took a sharp breath, trying to keep her voice level. "Tori, take a deep breath. Tell me exactly where you are."

Finally, between shaky breaths, Tori managed, "I'm at the police station. Some...some woman called the cops on me. Said I was trying to kidnap our own kids."

Jade froze. A cold dread settled in her stomach.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," she said, her voice low and dangerous.

She didn't wait for a response before hanging up and storming out of the studio.

Whoever was messing with her family was about to seriously regret it.

Jade practically stormed into the police station, her heels clicking on the tiled floor like angry punctuation marks. Her eyes were burning, her jaw clenched tight – whoever was responsible for this was going to get a piece of her mind.

The second she walked in, she saw Tori, huddled on a hard plastic chair, holding Cassie and Callie close. They were both sniffling into her chest. Lola and Ruby sat beside them, looking totally confused and a little scared. Tori's face was pale, her eyes red and puffy, and her hands were shaking as she rubbed Cassie's back.

Seeing them like that made something inside Jade just...snap.

"Tori." Her voice was sharp, but soft enough to get her attention.

Tori's head shot up, relief flooding her face. "Jade." She breathed out shakily, her eyes welling up with tears again. "This... this woman... she..."

Before she could finish, a loud, self-righteous voice cut through the room.

"She was trying to kidnap those children! I saw it! She doesn't even look like their mother!"

Jade slowly turned her head. A middle-aged woman with a tight, pinched expression and a classic "Karen" haircut stood near a police officer, arms crossed.

Oh, so this was the genius.

Jade took a step forward, but Tori grabbed her wrist. "Jade, please, don't..."

Jade ignored her. She fixed the woman with a glare that could have frozen fire. "Say that again."

The woman sniffed, tilting her chin up. "I saw her trying to leave the park with those little girls. They don't look anything like her! I did the right thing by calling the police."

Jade let out a short, bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, you did the 'right thing'?" she repeated, dripping with sarcasm. "By scaring my kids? By making my wife cry?" Her voice was dangerously low now. "You thought you were some kind of hero, but all you did was traumatize a family, you absolute idiot."

The woman looked startled by the venom in Jade's voice, but she stood her ground. "Well, how was I supposed to know? She doesn't look like their real mother."

Jade's fists clenched. "You want to know what's real? Those four little girls crying because of you. That's real. The fact that Tori carried three of them for nine months is real. The fact that one of them looks like a cardboard copy of her. The fact that she loves them more than anything is real. "

The officer, clearly uncomfortable, cleared his throat. "Ma'am, we've already confirmed that Ms. Vega-West is the children's mother. It was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Jade scoffed. "She was humiliated and dragged to a police station in front of our kids."

The officer sighed. "I understand your frustration, but we had to follow protocol."

Jade's eyes darkened. "No, you chose to listen to some busybody instead of the actual mother of these kids. And because of that, my wife is sitting here crying, and my daughters are terrified."

Tori, still shaken, reached for Jade's hand, squeezing it. "Babe, please, let's just go."

Jade looked down at her, seeing the exhaustion in her wife's eyes. With a slow, deep breath, she nodded. "Fine."

But before she turned to leave, she shot one last icy glare at the woman. "Stay the hell away from my family."

The woman, looking flustered and unsure, didn't say a word.

Jade picked up Cassie, who clung to her like a little monkey, while Tori held onto Callie, Ruby and Lola. Without another word, they walked out of the station, leaving the mess behind them.

The moment they stepped outside, Tori let out a shaky sigh. "Jade..."

"I know, baby," Jade murmured, kissing her temple. "Let's just go home."

And with that, they got into the car, driving away from the absolute worst afternoon they'd had in a long time.

Jade's eyes were stormy, and her grip on Cassie tightened as they stepped out into the crisp afternoon air. Tori was still clearly shaken, but she was keeping it together for the kids, her arm wrapped protectively around Callie and Lola.

But just as they reached the car, Jade stopped dead. Her fingers flexed, her breathing went sharp and controlled, and then—

She spun around on her heel.

"Oh, hell no."

Tori barely had time to react before Jade started marching back toward the police station doors.

"Jade!" Tori's voice was sharp as she reached out, grabbing her wife's wrist just in time. "No. We are not doing this."

Jade whirled around, eyes blazing. "That woman humiliated you. She made our daughters cry. And you expect me to just walk away?" Her voice was low and dangerous, the kind she usually reserved for people who seriously crossed a line.

"Yes, I do." Tori's voice was firm but gentle, her grip tightening on Jade's wrist. "Because we already won, babe. We're leaving with our girls. That woman? She gets to live with the fact that she made a huge mistake."

Jade's jaw clenched. She knew Tori was right. But that didn't mean she liked it.

A small voice piped up beside them.

"Mama..."

Jade turned her head to see Ruby standing there, arms crossed, looking utterly unimpressed.

"You totally should've fought her," Ruby muttered, her green eyes narrowed in disappointment.

Jade blinked. Then smirked. "I know, right?" She ruffled Ruby's hair. "But your mommy wouldn't let me."

Ruby sighed dramatically, like she was personally betrayed by this injustice. "Lame."

Tori groaned. "Please don't encourage her."

Jade just chuckled, hoisting Cassie higher on her hip. "C'mon, let's go home."

As they loaded the kids into the car, Ruby was still muttering to herself about how "Mama definitely would've won that fight."

And honestly? Jade couldn't disagree.

The drive home was unusually quiet. The tension from the police station still hung in the air, thick and heavy. Tori kept glancing in the rearview mirror, checking on the girls. They were all quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Callie and Cassie sat side-by-side, clutching their stuffed animals, while Lola stared out the window, her eyes distant. Ruby, though, had been watching Jade the entire time, probably figuring out how many times she could ask about the "fight" she knew almost happened.

As they pulled into the driveway, Jade glanced at Tori, her brow furrowed. "You okay?"

Tori gave a weak smile, nodding. "Yeah, just... it's been a lot. But we're home. We're good."

Jade nodded, still buzzing with that protective energy. As she turned off the engine, she turned to the girls, trying to lighten the mood. "Hey," she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "who wants ice cream?"

Lola's eyes immediately lit up. "Ice cream!" she cheered, as if that simple idea could wash away any lingering worry.

Cassie blinked, looking at Callie as if to ask if it was okay to be excited. Callie, always the first to jump in, grinned. "I want chocolate! Please! Can we get those big cones with sprinkles?"

Ruby, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet, perked up. "Sprinkles too?" she asked, looking between her moms with hopeful eyes.

Jade smirked, looking at Tori. "Sprinkles sound good, right, Mommy?"

Tori gave her a knowing look, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips. "Fine, but you all promise not to eat it too fast and get it everywhere."

"I'll eat mine slowly, I promise!" Lola said eagerly, bouncing in her seat.

Tori chuckled, leaning back in her seat, looking at Jade. "Okay, okay. Ice cream it is."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate—but only if you promise to actually eat it, and not wear it." She held up a finger. "And no throwing it at each other this time."

Ruby's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "I'll try, Mama," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But no promises."

Cassie, the sweet one, added, "I'll just eat it quietly and not make a mess, I swear!" She looked so earnest, it was impossible not to smile.

Jade chuckled softly. "We'll see. Let's get inside first, and then we'll go for ice cream."

As the girls scrambled out of the car, they clung to each other, still a little shaken but finding comfort in the promise of a treat. Jade and Tori exchanged a glance before getting out, the weight of the day still lingering, but softened by the love and chaos of their kids.