Stef and Callie meet when Stef raids a street filled with underage prostitutes, one of them being Callie. The young girl finds herself attached to the cop and seems to need her like she hasn't needed anyone in over five years.

(Almost every story about Stef and Callie involve Stef chasing after Callie and Callie trying to keep her distance. Now, I toss things up - Callie is just another teenager that Stef barely notices in the crowd of over thirty of them but Callie feels an almost immediate connection to the cop and longs to be near her.)


Luck had run out for Callie Jacob just two weeks after her tenth birthday. First she lost her tooth and not in the sense that it just fell out and she put it under her pillow but that she actually lost it - she was running around the backyard when it popped out of her mouth and she couldn't find it anywhere. A few days later she had a terrible cold and had to miss her best friend's summer pool party and the day after that her five year old brother accidentally knocked over her goldfish bowl, killing the poor creature. So Callie had realized that she was on a streak of bad luck but what she didn't know was just how bad and for just how long this streak would last.

Five years later to the day, Callie was standing against a lamppost on the street - in a cheap, glittery sequin dress she'd picked up at a thrift store, high healed boots that were badly scuffed and held up with a safety pin and way too much makeup for a girl her age - waiting for a car to pull up and buy her services for the night. If she was lucky it would be an older guy looking for a quick release before heading back home to his wife. They were the kind who didn't expect too much, paid well and generally treated the girls nicely. The younger lot were more into self pleasure and tended to want a lot more for their dollar.

Callie and two of her friends who were all standing together perked up when they heard a couple of cars drive down their street. They quickly straightened their hair and clothing, ready for a night of work but once again luck wasn't on Callie's side when the cars in questions suddenly began flashing their red and blue lights as the cops tried to corner the prostitutes.

Callie ran as fast as her worn-out boots would carry her. The only thing she had going for her was the fact that she knew these streets way better than the cops did and if she could just get into the small alley between the two buildings up ahead then she could slip between the dumpsters through a hole in the wall and hide in the empty building until it was safe to come out. Callie was just a few feet away from the alley when she took a chance and looked behind her, hoping to find that no one had followed her but not only was someone following her but they were just a step or two behind and the moment Callie slowed down to glance behind the cop grabbed hold of her and tried to slow her down.

"Let go of me." Callie yelled as she yanked her arm back as hard as she could. The short sleeve of her flimsy dress ripped instantly and Callie was able to slip away from the cop's grasp. She ran as fast as she could but even she knew it was no use for in less than five seconds the cop had caught hold of her again.

"Let me go." Callie yelled again as the cop tried to force her to the ground. "I said let go." Callie yelled again as she whirled around and slapped the cop straight across the face, surprising herself. It was only then that Callie was able to actually take in the cop she was fighting against. The woman had blond hair and green eyes and looked just as shocked as she herself was. It took a moment for Callie to realize that this was her chance and she once again spun around and tried to make a run for it but the woman was

quick to react and and caught her again trapping her arms behind her back and forcing her to the ground.

As Callie struggled against the handcuffs that were being put around her wrists she realized that even with all of this the cop was still being gentle. Callie wasn't in any pain, she wasn't being smashed into the concrete sidewalk and the restraints weren't too tight. Callie stopped struggling and turned as much as she could to look at the woman again and she was surprised to see kindness and sympathy in them instead of judgement and power that she'd expected.

"Here, let me help you up." The woman said gently as she noticed Callie trying to turn and caught Callie under the arms and helps her to the standing position.

"FOSTER." Someone called out and the cop turned towards the voice. "Need help?"

"I got her." She said before turning back to Callie. "Come on love, let's get this over with." She said as she led Callie back to the car she'd first been so excited to see.

Callie sat in the back seat watching the cops talking to one another and they tried to cuff a few more girls that were putting up a better fight than Callie had.

"They deserve what they have coming." Another officer said as he tossed a jacket at a girl whose boobs were practically hanging out of her dress.

"They still deserve some love." Stef replied, glancing back at the girl in her car. "At the end of the day they are still just kids and they probably have nowhere else to turn."

"You have to let me go." Callie said to the blond cop who was standing right outside her window waiting for her partner so they could drive off. "Please." Callie practically begged, forcing the woman to turn around and actually look at her.

Callie had to make it home tonight. She couldn't afford not to for she had to make sure her brother woke up, got dressed, had breakfast and made it to school on time. She couldn't leave it up to him for he was just barely nine years old.


Stef sat at her desk with the teen girl in front of her. She had asked several questions but the only thing the girl said was that she had to get back home. She refused to give them any details and Stef was beginning to lose hope. She knew that by tomorrow half of these girls would be back on the street. There was just nothing they could do. Those who'd committed a crime in the past would be in the system and could be identified but the rest would go unnoticed and it looked like this brunette in front of her would be one of them.

Stef walked the youngster back to the holding cell with the rest and then pulled out another one, ready to go through the whole process once again with another kid that was way too young to be working the streets and that would probably give absolutely no information about who she was and where she'd come from. All these girls were just random faces that would soon be forgotten. Each cop would do what they could but in the end, the girls would be released.


Callie ran as fast as she could managed. She was about twenty minutes away from home and Jude should have been ready to leave for school already. She knew she would have to keep him home today and claim that he'd been sick for there was no way she'd get home in time. She was just fortunate that a male officer had come early to release the girls. Five of her friends had been arrested for previous crimes but the rest of them were free to go with warnings that if they were caught again then they wouldn't be released. But Callie knew that was just a lie for with no record, they would be forgotten and the next time this happened they would receive the same warning.

"Jude" Callie called as she entered the small one room apartment she rented in a rundown building in a slightly better part of El Cajon.

"Where were you?" Jude asked, tear streaks still visible on his face. "I thought you left me." He wailed.

"No, never." Callie said as she pulled the boy close and held him tight. "Work just ran late and the buses weren't running anymore. I'm sorry, I should have called but I thought I'd be home ages ago." She lied. Jude thought she worked the night shift at a diner a few miles down the freeway and she had no intentions of ever letting him know the truth.

"You can't leave me." Jude wailed into Callie's dress, her provocative attire going unnoticed by his innocent eyes.

"Never. I promise." Callie replied, holding him tight. She was suddenly thankful that she got home late and had to keep him home from school. It would give him a chance to settle down again and get over his fear of losing his sister.


"Hey love." Stef called as she entered the kitchen to find Lena cleaning up the breakfast dishes. "Sorry I missed breakfast."

"Good morning." Lena smiled and handed Stef a cup of coffee. "You got home pretty late." She commented, studying Stef's tired face.

"Um." Stef nodded as she took a sip of the ambrosia her wife had poured her. "We arrested a bunch of girls down at El Cajon." She explained.

"Oh no." Lena groaned, hating even the mention of that area.

"Some of them were so young." Stef said, a distant look in her eyes as she remembered some of the girls. "A few were arrested for drug trafficking, two tried to make a break for it at the station and we had drag them back. Another just kept begging me to let her go, like she had a kid to get home to or something and one looked like her face had been used as a punching bag." Stef sighed and added softly. "The youngest was a thirteen year old runaway."

Lena listened as Stef shared her night. She knew it was one way for Stef to let go of some of the things she saw and dealt with at work. It couldn't be easy for Stef to see those girls and not be affected by it all and when things were particularly dangerous or gruesome Stef kept it to herself. But things like this were shared just so that the burden was less.

"I'm sorry honey." Lena smiled sympathetically as she began rubbing Stef's shoulders to release some of the tension. "What can I make you for breakfast?" She asked, bringing a small smile to the blond's lips.


"Today was awesome." Jude smiled as he stuck a huge bit of cotton candy into his mouth, his face covered in a pink, sticky mess.

"I'm glad you had fun." Callie smiled as the two walked down the pier past a few more food and game stalls.

"Can we ride the ferris wheel again?" Jude asked hopefully, knowing that Callie didn't often allow him to spend money the way that they had today.

"You go." Callie agreed. "I ate one too many hotdogs and I just might throw up." She said as she handed him a dollar and took what was left of his cotton candy. She took a seat on one of the empty benches and watched as her brother climbed into one of the passenger cars, ready for his ten minute ride. Just a few minutes at the pier and he'd long forgotten about his frightening morning and the smile hadn't left his face since. Callie waved as the wheel started and soon her mind was lost in the past and how they got to where they were now.


Author's Note:

New AU that's been in my mind for a while. I'm not giving up on Girl Next Door. I appreciate all the support for that story but I definable plan to continue. I just need some time to figure out the outline and where to go with it. This story is already in my head so I decided to get it down. I don't know how long it will be but at least I have something to post while I brainstorm the others.

This is a sort of different take on how Stef and Callie meet. Callie is just another face in a sea of faces that Stef comes across everyday - that it, until Stef realizes that the girl is around a lot. I hope you like it and suggestions are welcome - though I do have some things planned out already.

Thanks for the reviews, reads and support. It's amazing to hear just how much faith you guys have in me. I especially want to thank those who review almost ever chapter of every story with actual comments and support and I want to remind all of you writers out there that just because someones stories are good doesn't mean yours aren't too. Mistakes happen to the best of us and those of you with English as a second language are doing fantastic (You know who you are). Keep writing for I guarantee someone somewhere is enjoying it.

Loads of love.

Junebug.