So I don't know if this needs to be said, but being as this is AU, and happening about six years before the season premiere, little Callie is not going to be reacting the same way as sixteen-year-old Callie. Little Callie is not looking for a new mother, much less two. She hasn't been through multiple foster homes, so she isn't going to recognize the Foster-Adam's home as a safe haven. She wants her own home, her own parents. Attitude and adjustment are the name of the game for awhile. Anyway. Thanks for reviewing. This should be an interesting journey.

A silence bomb detonated in the kitchen leaving the five members of the family in various states of response.

Stef looked at her children; Mariana was wearing a troubled expression while Brandon was sporting a frown. Jesús didn't bother to let the silence settle a second longer then it had. "They aren't freaks!"

Callie's face shifted, showing more emotion than she had all afternoon. She folded her arms mutinously, her body language displaying more than words could say.

"Isn't she adorable," said Stef in an undertone to her wife.

Lena sighed and gave her a exasperated look mingled with concern. "Callie," she said calmly, "in this house we use kind words to the people around us." Without drawing any more attention to the little girl, or let her continue arguing, she spoke to the rest of the children, "go ahead and finish up your pizza kids, we'll watch a movie after dinner."

"Cool," said Jesús, shrugging off his earlier frustration, emotional changeability a hallmark of his general personality and moved onto important matters…like food.

"Okay," piped Mariana, looking between her mothers and Callie nervously.

Brandon merely nodded and concentrated on his pizza, but he watched Callie carefully out of the corner of his eyes.

"I could use some pizza too," said Stef, maneuvering herself onto a stool and ignoring Callie when she edged away from her, "did you guys save me any cheese?"

Jesús snorted, "dream on Mom, you know the cheese pizza is for us."

"You can have my piece Mommy," said Mariana, "I only took one bite," she lifted her plate towards Stef.

Stef grinned and gave her hand a little kiss, "I'm just kidding baby. I want the Mama pizza, the one with all the vegetables and stuff."

Jesús made retching noises as he crammed half a piece of pizza in his mouth.

"Oh Jesús, dude," said Stef, "a little table manners please."

He shrugged and grinned at her. Stef rolled her eyes and looked at the Jacob children. "Did you help eat all the cheese pizza too?" she asked.

Jude looked at her shyly, a little smile appearing for a brief second as he nodded.

"You did!" said Stef, playing up her shock, hoping to see the smile widen.

"I don't like this pizza," said Callie. "I like the pizza from Pizza Hut the best. That's the kind we always get. This pizza sucks."

"We'll try that next time Callie," said Lena as she passed some water to Stef and a napkin to Jesús. Stef raised an eyebrow at her wife.

Callie's gaze shifted between them, looking both pensive and frustrated.

The rest of dinner employed a similar conversational style. Nobody was really up to their usual jocular conversation, knowing the two little visitors had attended their mother's funeral that day. Callie didn't say much more but Lena was slightly encouraged by her previous outbursts if only because she was at least engaging with the family, unlike before when she seemed miles away.

Jesús had been sent upstairs to take a shower and Mariana, a notoriously slow eater was still only halfway through her pizza when Lena turned to Brandon, hoping she could have a moment to speak to her partner. "Brandon, why don't you take Callie and Jude into the living room? They can pick the movie for tonight."

"Sure," Brandon slid off of his stool and headed for the living room. Callie sat still for a moment, looking around the table, then reached for her little brother's hand. Silently they followed Brandon.

Stef breathed out slowly as she looked at Lena, then nodded towards the door. She got a slight nod in return. "Mama and I are going to step outside and talk real quick sweets," she told Mariana. "Please finish up your pizza so we can start the movie when we get done."

"Okay," said Mariana, taking another tiny bite.

Stef put a hand on her lover's back, leading her gently out the door. "Lena," she said softly when the door had closed.

"I know," Lena held up her hand, pulling her sweater more tightly around herself. "I know everything you're about to say Stef, you don't have to say it."

"Isn't that a part of processing our feelings?" Stef said, rubbing at her head tiredly.

"No, you're right," Lena sighed, "you have every right to say how you're feeling about this. I'm sorry."

Stef grinned wryly, drawing her partner in for a close embrace, "I know you know what I wanted to say. Don't worry about it. It's just, well – she has some issues."

"She just buried her mother today," reminded Lena from the cocoon of her lover's arms.

"I know that love. I think she…they…really need some help. Are you sure we're the most qualified to do that?"

"No," admitted Lena, "but I think we're the only ones who are in the position and have the willingness to help them right now. We can't let them sit around in a group home, waiting for months or years for the perfect people to come around. We're the ones here now. We have a chance to do something, and even if we make some mistakes I'll sleep better knowing that at least we tried and everything we did was in the hope that it would help them." Even with her face half buried on Stef's shoulder, her words came through clearly.

"You and your soft heart," said Stef, tweaking one of her curls.

"Says the woman who brought home twins," Lena reminded her.

"Yeah," Stef kissed her forehead.

They stood like that for several minutes, soaking in the warmth of their connection, watching as the sun sank lower into the horizon. Lena sighed and leaned forward to kiss Stef's lips gently. "We better get in there. We've got five kids in the house now. Who knows what kind of chaos they could cause."

"Five kids," Stef shook her head. "We're like the damn Brady Bunch."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"So here are our movies," said Brandon, beginning to pull out the pile of DVDs. They didn't have as much as his friend Aiden, but they had a fair amount. "Most of them are rated G, some PG but they don't have any bad stuff in them, my moms are pretty strict about that."

Callie didn't bother looking through the movies, her face tilted towards the kitchen as she ignored him. Jude leaned forward curiously, going through the movies with careful deliberation. Suddenly his movement slowed, then stopped. Brandon leaned closer, to see what movie had caught his attention. "Beauty and the Beast?" he asked, "you like that one?"

Jude nodded. "Uh-huh," he mumbled.

Brandon grinned at the little boy. Mariana was going to absolutely love this kid. They might actually become friends which would be cool since Mariana still had a tendency to be shy around new people. "Well you're going to be Mariana's favorite person ever. This is her top choice of movies." He turned to Callie, his smile fading as he looked at the stony, threatening look on the girl's face. He stood up and began carefully backing into the kitchen. He'd read somewhere about not breaking eye contact with predators, and it seemed like a pretty good idea in this case too. "I'll go tell my moms that we chose a movie," he called near the stairway, definitely out of pouncing range.

Once in the kitchen he headed straight for his mom who was drinking a beer as she tried to straighten up the kitchen. "Mama's checking on Jesús, she'll be down in a minute," she informed him before he asked.

"Uh-huh," said Brandon distractedly, looking towards the living room, "Mom you know how it's bad for boys to hit girls?"

"I know we've talked about the dangers of boys who grow up hitting girls sometimes become men who grow up to hit women," agreed Stef, putting down the leftovers she had in one hand to give her son her full attention.

"And dad said only assholes beat women," said Brandon, folding his hands and propping his chin to look at her.

"B, don't say that word," Stef sighed, putting the cold beer against her forehead, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"Not even if it's in a direct quote?"

"No."

"What if the person was not a regular guy like dad, but famous? Could I repeat a swear word if I were quoting them?" Brandon asked, genuinely curious and determined to get a complete answer.

"No."

"Oh."

Stef could see the wheels turning in her son's head and sighed. "Brandon, did you have another question you were going to ask me? Something that got this whole conversation started?" She tried to keep the annoyance out of her tone.

"Oh yeah. So, since I'm not allowed to hit a girl, what do I do if one hits me? Can I push her away, or should I not do that either? Do I just wait until she finishes pummeling me or whatever, then get up? Is there any point I can actually defend myself without getting in trouble, or should I let her bloody me up before doing anything?" The questions came out rapid fire as he touched one finger at a time to make sure he had listed all of them.

"First of all, I don't want you to let anyone hit you. Secondly, why are you asking me that?" She hoped it wasn't for the reason she was thinking of.

Brandon glanced meaningfully towards the living room. Damnit.

"Did Callie tell you she was going to punch you?" Stef craned her neck as if she could see around the walls to the living room through sheer will.

"No, but she looked at me like she wanted to punch me," Brandon's tone wasn't fearful, merely matter-of-fact.

"How do you know that?" Stef moved closer to the counter as she leaned forward and braced her own chin on her hands, matching his thoughtful pose.

"I'm not stupid," he assured her.

Stef rolled her eyes, "I mean, what exactly made you think that?" she clarified.

"I dunno. Just a gut feeling, but you said we should always trust our gut. You said it's nature's way of helping us survive."

"Look," Stef shook her head a little, gathering her thoughts, "Callie's not going to hit you."

"She might. All I want to know is how much I should let her beat me up before I do something about it. I mean, you've seen her Mom. She looks pretty strong. If she hits me, I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt." He had yet to be hit by a girl that wasn't Mariana, and his sister tended to go more for slaps which were mostly attention-grabbing. Callie seemed like she would be a different story.

"If you think Callie's going to hit you, I want you to walk away," said Stef. Now the headache was in full force and she raised a hand to rub her head.

"What if she catches me?"

"Brandon," Stef began stridently, then took a breath. She could tell from his puckered mouth that she'd hurt his feelings. She knew he wasn't trying to irritate her on purpose but being the target of a hundred questions on top of the whole situation was starting to get to her. He gloomily turned away. "B, B!" said Stef.

He turned back towards her, folding his arms sulkily.

"I'm sorry," she said, walking over to him to give him a hug. "I didn't meant to hurt your feelings." He shrugged, trying to act as if he didn't care. "The truth is, I'm a little nervous about everything myself. I need you to step up here, and help Mama and me out."

He looked at her, lip retracting, "you want me to help?"

"I do. I want you to take extra, special care of the twins and I want you to be really sweet to Callie and Jude."

"I am Mom. Really."

"I know sweetie. And," she hesitated now, "if Callie tries to hit you, or the twins, I want you to get away as quickly as you can and find Mama and I or another adult you can trust." She cupped his chin briefly, "if she, I don't know, wrestles you to the ground or whatever, you can push her away, as gently as you can, and leave the situation as soon as possible."

"Okay," said Brandon, looking relieved. "I can do all that."

"Remember bud, Callie and Jude are going through a really, really hard time right now. They might say something or do something that makes you mad but it's your responsibility to take a deep breath and make good choices. That's how we help people who are going through tough times," she kissed his head.

"I know Mom, that's pretty much what Mama said too."

"Well, your Mama is the smartest lady I know so that must be a good plan," she gave him a nudge off the stool, "so, did you guys figure out a movie?"

"Beauty and the Beast," he gave her a sidewise little grin.

"Really? Sounds like Callie and Mariana are going to be getting along just fine," Stef said, starting to push him towards the living room.

"Nu-uh, it was Jude's choice," said Brandon, trying to snag a piece of fruit as he was shoved out the kitchen.

"Bud, you just ate."

"I'm still hungry, Jesús sucked down half the pizza before I finished on slice."

"Liar!" Jesús hollered as he came barreling down the stairs at 120 mph.

"Whoa, buddy. Slow down," Stef said, holding an arm out. "Did you wash your hair and everything?" She pulled him over to sniff his hair and briefly inspect him.

"Mo-om," Jesús complained immediately.

"Hey, I'm not the one who actually managed to have crust form on my ears, even after taking showers every night," she informed him critically, as she finished her inspection.

That's just 'cause I didn't always use a washcloth, but I do now!" said Jesús. "'Cause you and Mama make me," he muttered grumpily to his brother.

Brandon giggled and Jesús gave him a little shove. Before it could develop into a full-fledged wrestling match, Stef picked up Jesús with one arm and grabbed Brandon in a headlock with the other, "C'mon monkeys, let's go watch the movie." She pulled them into the living room, then released them.

Callie watched them from a chair, a protective arm around her brother. There seemed to be a lot of commotion in this house. Less so than the group home, but it was still a little nerve-racking

"What movie are we watching?" asked Jesús as Mariana and Lena appeared.

"Beauty and the Beast," Brandon said, looking at Mariana as he said it.

"Really!" Mariana's voice squeaked in childish delight, she grinned at Callie and Jude, then at her mothers, not registering Callie's instant frown. "That's so, so cool."

"Beauty and the Beast," whined Jesús, "I'm so sick of that c-"

Brandon grabbed his brother's arm when he noticed his Mom's warning look, "C'mon. Lets get the cards. We'll play triple War while we watch it."

"Triple War?" Jesús was immediately intrigued. "We've only ever done double War before," he headed for the cupboard to get the decks of cards.

"Uh-huh," said Brandon, "And we'll use jokers this time and they'll be worth the most. Five million!"

"No Brandon, let's make them 10 million…no a hundred million!" said Jesús eagerly.

"Sure." The boys settled to the side as they began rearranging the decks of cards. Mariana got the DVD and put it into the player. "This is my favorite movie," she said bashfully to Callie and Jude.

"Really?" piped Jude, in the same tone.

"I love Belle because she's brave and likes to read. Mommies say I'm just like her."

Callie's scowled harder at this declaration, and Mariana's forehead puckered in confusion as she looked towards her mothers for support. Lena nodded at her so Mariana carefully pressed play, then scooted back in between the couch where her mothers were sitting and the chair where the Jacob children were sitting, squished next to one another.

"I had an interesting conversation with Brandon about our new little ones," said Stef in Lena's ear after the first ten minutes of the movie passed in relative peace. The boys weren't really watching the movie. They glanced at it one and awhile but most of their attention was taken with their game, except when Jesús quietly sung along with Belle to Stef and Lena's great amusement. They weren't disturbing the other children, so their mothers didn't care.

"I wonder if it was as interesting as the one I had with Mariana," said Lena in the same tone.

Stef pressed her forehead against Lena's neck, "How do you think they're settling in," she said, her voice low enough to only be heard by her partner.

Lena looked at the Jacob children. Little Jude was clearly enraptured by the show, although his pleasure was subdued. Callie was still strung as tight as piano wire, every inch of her body exuding tension. "The poor little thing is scared to death. I wish we could do something to relax her more."

"Time I think, don't you?" Stef asked, reaching her hands to entwine both sets of fingers within Lena's.

"Yeah, but I'm worried. She's a ball of emotion but she has barely expressed any of it. That's not good for her."

"I imagine she'll probably-"

"Oh," said Jude, softly but distinctly as the strains of "Be Our Guest" filled the room, "this is the best song!"

"I think so too!" squealed Mariana, reaching up to grab Jude's hand in her excitement.

"Don't!" yelled Callie, sliding down from the chair and pushing Mariana away.

Mariana landed on her elbows and looked at Callie with wide eyes that were beginning to pool with tears. It was the violence of the action, not actual pain that made her begin to cry in earnest.

"Hey, hey, hey," said Stef, reaching for Callie as Lena picked up Mariana and began to soothe her.

"Don't touch my sister!" yelled Jesús, starting for Callie. Brandon tackled him clumsily so he couldn't go any further.

Callie batted Stef's hand away furiously and backed towards the chair, "Don't touch me!"

"Callie," said Stef evenly, "we don't hurt people in this house. You need to calm down."

"You need to leave me alone!" Callie shouted, her eyes darting around furiously as she looked for an escape route.

Jude looked around and broke into sobs louder than Mariana's cries. Callie's whole demeanor immediately crumpled. She put her arms around her brother. "I'm sorry Jude, I'm sorry baby," she said over and over.

Stef looked around the room, two crying kids, one on the verge, one spitting mad, and another with an I-told-you-so in his eyes. "Well," she said to Lena, "I think it's time for bed."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Getting five children to bed was about a million times harder then getting three into bed. The math shouldn't work that way, but it became pretty obvious that it was true.

Brandon was immediately sent to take a shower in the moms' bathroom. Mariana would only take a bath after him if Lena stayed with her. Jesús was banished to calm down in Brandon's room with some of his action figures and a whispered lecture from his mom. Stef didn't even want to attempt showers with the Jacob children, not knowing whether bathing would be an issue for them or not. She settled on making them wash their faces and brush their teeth which Callie facilitated after shutting the bathroom door rather abruptly in Stef's face. Stef gritted her teeth, and decided she needed to set a few ground rules with the little girl. Part of dealing with children was consistency, even in troubled times and she needed to do that now before things got out of control.

When the Jacob children emerged from the bathroom, Stef escorted them to Jesús's room and watched as they settled together on his bed, ignoring the air mattress entirely. Jude was looking between her and Callie with wide eyes. Stef decided to begin gently, "Do you guys need anything else for tonight? I'll get some water bottles and there's a nightlight already plugged in," she gestured to the wall.

"No thank you," Jude said, after his sister remained quiet.

"Okay. Well, I know Lena already showed you where our room was. You guys can come to us if you need anything. Don't worry about waking us up. It's important for you guys to be ok and we're happy to help you."

Jude nodded, but Callie simply folded her arms. Stef cleared her throat, "Callie, why did you push Mariana? She wasn't going to hurt Jude, she just wanted to share his excitement with him."

Callie shrugged slightly and glared some more.

Stef's voice took on a sterner edge, "well that wasn't okay. It's very important that everyone here feel safe. You guys, and the other kids. You are not allowed to hurt anyone," she held eye contact with Callie until the little girl finally dropped her gaze to stare at the bedspread. Stef nodded, then gentled her voice again, "why don't I read you guys a story? We have lots of books."

"I'm tired," said Callie stiffly. "I want to go to sleep."

After looking at his sister, Jude nodded hesitatingly, "me too," he agreed quietly.

"Okay," said Stef. "I'll get the water bottles, then let you sleep. Remember what I said about waking me or Lena up if you need anything."

She left the room and passed by her and Lena's bedroom on the way down the hall. She could see the kids piled in bed with Lena. She poked her head in, "Anyone need a water bottle?" she asked.

"Me!" said all three kids, barely glancing up from the book that was opened up on Lena's lap.

"Wine," mouthed Lena, then stuck out her tongue to show she was kidding, for now.

Stef grabbed the water from the kitchen and deposited it on Jesús's bed stand for the Jacob children. Jude was already nestled against Callie, and she was stroking his head with a sort of absent fondness. "Good night kiddoes," Stef said.

When she returned to her bedroom she picked up Jesús and plopped him closer alongside Brandon so she could squirm next to Mariana. Lena was reading The Willows in Winter, a sequel to Wind in the Willows that the children had been very eager to hear. She stroked Mariana's hair as Lena read on, laughing when the children laughed, and inch by inch, trying to relax. Her mind kept going back to their little visitors in Jesús's room, and she could see by Lena's glances at the door, that she was thinking of them too. How terrible, to be so small, and feel so helpless when dealing with such utter loss. It made her throat tighten, and she hugged Mariana a little closer, then reached out to stroke first Jesús's face, then Brandon's. About a half hour later, the children were beginning to look sleepy and were significantly more calm. The boys finally agreed to retire to Brandon's room, but Mariana flatly refused. "I'm scared," she murmured, tears already forming again, "please don't make me." Lena sighed, but she knew trying to get Mariana to sleep in her own room tonight would induce more trauma and most likely, an utterly sleepless night for Mariana, for Stef, and herself. "Okay," you can sleep in our bed, but Mommy and I aren't going to bed yet, so you'll be up here for a little bit by yourself. I'll stay until you fall asleep, but no complaining. That's the deal, understand?"

"Okay," Mariana snuggled into the covers which immediately relaxed her further. They smelled like her moms. Good smells that meant safety and warmth. Stef tucked her in first as Lena went to say good night to the boys. Brandon was reading and Jesús was listening to nature sounds, the only night music allowed to him, as he fiddled aimlessly with the sheets. "I don't know if I can sleep, Mama," he admitted "me head's full of too many thoughts tonight."

"Why don't you try the rain one," Lena said, pitching her voice low, "I think that always works, doesn't it."

"Oh yeah," Jesús brightened. "G'night Mama," he threw an arm around her, and gave her a hearty smack on the cheek.

"Ew, gross. Slobber," she teased, poking his belly. He giggled and closed his eyes. Brandon closed his book when she came over to his bed and sat on the side, "how are you doing baby?"

"I think I need extra reading time," he bargained, always looking for an opportunity for more reading time.

"Nice try buddy. You have twenty more minutes, then lights out." Lena kissed his forehead, and tucked the sheets around him.

He sighed, then nodded. "Okay."

"No flashlight either," she warned before she got out the door. "If you wake Jesús up he'll never go back to sleep, which means you won't either."

He nodded reluctantly, but with great understanding. Before they'd got a good handle on the medications, Jesús had had nights where he would be up until five in the morning, crash for a couple hours, then be up again. It was exhausting for everyone in the family.

"Night."

"Night Mama."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"Why does Callie hate me Mama? I didn't do anything to her. I was trying to help. That's all," Mariana's voice was plaintive.

"Oh sweetheart, Callie doesn't hate you." Lena pulled Mariana onto her lap, kissing the silky black hair. "Remember that I told you when people were really sad sometimes they don't know what they're feeling? Callie's really sad right now and she's having trouble dealing with all that sadness. You didn't do anything wrong."

Mariana pulled the blanket over them both and frowned, "but it wasn't nice for her to be mean to me Mama. I was trying to be nice to her and Jude."

"I know that honey. But remember, Callie is very, very sad right now," Lena repeated, tucking a portion of Mariana's hair behind her ear, "she's sad and mad and is probably going to make some bad decisions. We have to do our best to help her and be kind to her."

"I'll be nice to her," said Mariana, "but I'm going to stay away from her for now."

Lena sighed, feeling guilty as she squeezed Mariana. "You are safe in our house, baby, I promise."

Mariana snuggled closer, "okay," she said quietly.

Lena rubbed her back until Mariana fell asleep, then walked down to join Stef on the couch. A glass of wine was already poured for her and she took it gratefully, "thanks honey," she said, kissing Stef's head before she sat down.

"Yeah." Stef put down her book and took off her glasses. "That wasn't a good night love," she said bluntly.

"I know," Lena said, fighting the urge to apologize. She wasn't the one who attacked Mariana. She was, however, the one who allowed Callie into the house, "I'm sorry," she finally said.

Stef frowned, "I wasn't trying to sound like I blamed you. I just…she's a very angry little girl, and she scared Mariana. Jesús is all up in arms and Brandon thinks Callie is going to hit him."

Lena put down her wine without taking a sip, "what do you want to do Stef?" she asked.

"I don't know," Stef said. "I don't. I'm not saying we should…send them back."

"I hate that," said Lena.

"What?"

"Send them back, like they're a pair of pants that's don't fit or something that got broken in the mail," Lena plucked at the blanket on the couch, looking at the stairway with a lost expression.

"I didn't mean it like that," despite herself, Stef felt hurt. "You know what I was trying to say."

Lena pulled her attention back to her partner, "I know you didn't. I'm sorry Stef, that wasn't directed at you. I just feel so badly for her, but I really don't know if we can help her. I thought we could keep them, short term, for a couple of months until they could be put into a long-term foster home – a good one."

Stef pulled her arm until Lena lay against her chest, "I know that sweetheart." They sat quietly until Stef cleared her throat, "I can't help but feel sorry for her. Poor little thing. She's trying to be so tough, but you can tell she's barely hanging on."

Lena kissed her hand, "I can't help but think about our babies. If they were alone, I'd hope someone kind would look at them and see through their pain and see their good hearts, that someone would take care of them, so they weren't so alone…so lost in the world," her voice broke a little.

Stef kissed her cheek, then leaned forward until their foreheads touched and sighed, "we won't give up so early in the game. Let's see what we can do, okay?"

Lena's kissed her deeply, pausing to stroke her face as they pressed together more tightly. Then they lay quietly together, lost in their own thoughts, but connected by their entwined hands.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" The screams of a little girl filled the house. Stef turned frantically, trying to find Mariana within the blankets, only to find an equally pair of startled brown eyes when she found her.

What's wrong Mommy?" Mariana sounded frightened.

"Stef?" Lena asked, sounding groggy, she'd had a little more wine than usual and was feeling it.

"I don't know," said Stef thrusting Mariana towards Lena and rolling out of bed. She headed for Jesús's room at a run, opening the door to see Callie sitting straight up in bed, the dim lighting of the nightlight giving her a dark silhouette, her eyes blank but wide with terror. "Callie, baby, wake up. Wake up sweetheart," she gently stroked the little girl's back. Callie stopped screaming, but was reduced to panting breaths.

"What's happening Mommy?" asked Jesús, his voice much higher than usual. Brandon stood beside him in the shadow of the doorway, his hair standing up with bedhead making him appear more frightened.

"Callie's just having a bad dream," said Lena, corralling the boys as she carried Mariana in one arm, "let Mommy take care of her. I'll take you back to bed." She pushed Brandon ahead of her and grabbed Jesús by the hand.

"But what's wrong?" Stef heard Jesús say as he was lead down the hall.

It seemed like longer, but only seconds had passed. "Breath Callie, breathe baby," coached Stef softly as she looked at Jude. Shockingly, the little boy was still completely asleep, his mouth open as he breathed loudly, little arms out flung over his pillow.

Callie's breath began to slow, and her eyes blinked once, then again as she looked around the room. Finally she focused on Stef, and her lips twisted in grief. "It's okay sweetheart, it was just a bad dream," Stef said in the same soothing tones.

The little girl pushed back into the bed until the older woman was no longer touching her. Stef let her hand rest on the bed spread. Callie's eyes were wide and wet, trickles of tears running ceaselessly down her face, "no," she whispered, "no it's not."

"Baby-" Stef began.

Callie curled up on the bed looking smaller, her sobbing changing from fear to desolation.

Stef sat down on the bed, a lump in her throat. She wanted so badly to comfort the little girl, but knew it would be soundly rejected. A part of her felt she should let the child mourn in private, but a larger part couldn't bear to leave her alone in her sorrow. She sat, unmoving, unspeaking as Callie's sobs grew farther apart and her ragged breathing became a little deeper. Finally, she fell asleep. Stef knelt beside her, exchanging the damp pillow for a fresh one and wiped the little girl's face.

"Mommy," Callie whispered.

Stef stopped, blinking back tears, and gently kissed the child's cheek.