Chapter 1

Callie had been absent from the Fosters-Adams household for almost 48 hours now. As far as they could tell, she ran away. They had got in touch with everyone they thought she knew, checked places where she would go and Stef had officially filed a police report with the station she worked out, setting out APB to their state and those surrounding.

Jude sat quietly at the kitchen table. His thoughts firing like gunfire. Each thought trying to pinpoint where Callie would go, and why. Was this because of him? He couldn't help but think, last time this happened he took total blame for why, but this time, he didn't know, he couldn't think of anything he had done to push her like this.

Lena glanced at the clock, and back to Jude. She could feel the ache in his body, the worry, and the fear. It was written all over him, in his expression, in his posture, in his breathing. He had been sitting in that same spot for hours, nothing she or anyone could say would calm him, let him breathe, they needed to find Callie. Not just for Callie's sake, but for Jude's.

Stef had just walked in through the door, causing Jude and Lena to jump, searching for answers all over the blondes face. They couldn't find anything but sadness, hopelessness, and fear. Lena and Stef couldn't help but let their minds slip to why Callie would leave, but Stef kept thinking this was so out of the ordinary, things had been going relatively good, Callie was so close to being adopted.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Stef says, her eyes welling up with tears, begging to pour down her face. She looks at Jude and Lena, telling herself she has to be strong for them, she is the cop, and she can't stand here and cry. But this was her daughter – this was Callie. They had got so close, and she didn't understand. "Maybe we should head to bed for the night, we all need rest. We'll keep on looking in the morning, it's all we can do right now. Every cop is out looking that they can spare," Stef says, desperation in her words. She wanted to keep searching but she knew she had to take care of the family she had right now, she had her other family where she worked looking for Callie and they had sent her home, told her to get rest, the last thing she wanted to do. But there was truth in what they said, she was exhausted.

Lena finally got Jude to go upstairs minutes later, she knew in her mind he may not sleep, but he needed to at least try. This boy was officially her son now, but he always felt like that to her anyway. The moment she met him, it all clicked. She tucked him in, rubbing her hands over his forehead and into his hair, trying to calm him, to let him slip into sleep. She could feel his body relax, his forehead and eyebrows release tension as he slipped into a heavy sleep. She carefully got up and closed the door quietly, heading back downstairs to find Stef.

Stef looks up sensing another presence in the kitchen, it's Lena. "You should sleep," Stef says, directing it towards Lena, Stef looks down to a cup of coffee in her hand she had just poured. "I'm going to stay up for a little while longer, try and relax, then I'll be up." She pauses, "Please, sleep baby." She needs one of them to be in a clear head state if anything happens, sleep deprivation is not a clear state of mind.

Lena nods, sensing Stef needs time by herself to ponder her thoughts, and agrees to go upstairs and slip in bed, God knows she needs sleep. But the worry in the pit of her stomach may not let that happen. She disappears up the stairs, finding the house quiet.

Hours had passed and nothing. Stef had drank almost a full pot of coffee and decided on going to the living room, trying to find comfort in the couch and the light of the TV, she turned on the captions so she didn't have to wake anyone. Muting the tv before it could make noise. She lay her head back and felt the exhaustion consume her, she fought to stay awake but the darkness took over.

It seemed like she had been asleep for a minute when she hear a noise, her eyes popping open realizing she had fallen asleep. She got up to follow the noise, and that's when she found the source. It was the door handle of their front door, the lock jiggling, keeping whoever on the other side out. Her mind flew into cop mode, still in her uniform and belt, armed with her weapon, she carefully reaches back not trying to make any noise to scare her family sleeping soundly above, and she draws her weapon. Unlocking the door slowly, guarding herself, she slowly opens the door. Nothing could prepare her for what was on the other side.