"To Foster and Scott!" Maxwell Scott said proudly as everyone at the firm held up their champagne glasses. "I didn't doubt for a moment that we would win and we owe it all to our girl Stef."

Stef blushed but looked proud as everyone raised their glasses to her. She had worked hard on this case and it had been a huge boost to their firm. Winning this case really put them on the map and she knew that from now on their name would be said with pride and strength.

"You did it babe." Max said to his partner as he took her aside for a moment of privacy. The two had met at Yale their freshman year and been practically best friends through college and law school. They had both gotten jobs at different law firms until just a year before when they came together to begin their own practice. With some financial help from their wealthy parents the two put together a team of relatively new but very determined lawyers and soon Foster and Scott was formed. Now, after after a number of wins and and equal number of losses the firm had finally gotten it's foot well in the door by winning a major case involving over a quarter of a million dollars and everyone at the firm was ecstatic.

"We did it." Stef corrected. While she was aware that she had a major role to play in winning this fight, she didn't want the credit. A win for her was a win for the firm. "I may have been the one up there but we all put in the work."

"Well that may be true but you still deserve this." Max said as he pulled out a very expensive looking jewelry box from his coat pocket and handed it to her.

"This better not be a ring." Stef warned as she took the box with a smile. It was no secret that Max was in love with her. Several times through the years he'd asked her out but each time she had said that she just wasn't interested. Her single goal had been to get the best education she could. And he had no reason not to trust her for she had never seemed to date anyone. A couple of boys passed through but none stuck around for more than a week or two and Stef just seemed content with her life the way it was.

"Please, I'm not a glutton for punishment." Max teased. "There's only so many times a man can be turned down."

"Do me a favor and don't let our clients hear you say that." Stef teased back as she opened the box to find a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings. "Max." Stef said in disbelief. "This is too much."

"It's not." Max assured, looking squarely into Stef's eyes. "You deserve them."

For the life of her Stef couldn't think of anything to say and so she settled for the simplest yet most meaningful response. "Thank you."

Max smiled back before glancing around at the party. "We did it babe." He said proudly. "We have everything we ever wanted."

Stef smiled back as well for her goal had finally been reached however there was a part of that statement that didn't hold true for Stef for there was one thing she'd been missing for ten years - her little girl. Stef knew that she needed to find the child before she ever truly believed that her life was complete.


~Four Months Later~

"What do you mean she's switching schools?" Lena asked aghast as she sat in front of Callie's social worker. "She's just been here for four months."

"The family can't keep her any more, the stress is just too much for them. They want her moved before Thanksgiving." The social worker explained sadly. He knew that Callie and her teacher had become very close - close enough for the girl to actually have sleepovers and tea parties with the woman.

"So where will you put her?" Lena asked. She had fallen madly in love with the young child and while there was definitely a gentle, frail side to Callie there was also a wild and fierce one as well.

"For now she's going to the children's hospital for a night or two." The social worker explained. "We don't have a place for her yet so the hospital is the safest one. A group home is too dangerous with her condition."

"And then what?" Lena questioned.

"Then we see." The social worker said. "Not many people want a kid that has trouble just walking up and down the stairs every day."

"I want her." Lena said surprising everyone in the room including herself. She took a moment for her own words to sink in but once they did she knew that she was making the right decision. "What do I have to do to foster her?"

"Ms. Adams, you really need to think about this." The social worker said. "Callie is a very dependent child. I know you've spent a fair amount of time with her so you know that but having her full time is a whole different ball game. She has surgeries and medical requirements and a very strict diet."

"What do I have to do?" Lena asked firmly.

"You will need a fostering license, that can take two to three weeks. It includes a home inspection, background checks and family history and because of Callie's condition you will also need to take a first aid course as well as a brief study of her condition." The social worker explained.

"And yet she has been placed in abusive homes before." Lena mocked bitterly.

"I wasn't always her social worker." The man said. "I have tried my very best with Callie but it's not always easy."

"I know, I'm sorry." Lena apologized. "I just hate what this poor kid's going through."

"Are you serious about fostering her?" The social worker asked.

"Absolutely." Lena replied. "I already love her."

"Then let's get started." The man replied with a genuine smile.


"I'm really coming to live with you?" Callie asked excitedly.

"Yes." Lena replied with a smile. "Your current foster family has agreed to keep you until my license comes through in a couple of weeks and then you move in with me."

"I can't wait." Callie said happily as she wrapped her arms around her teacher. "Thank you Ms. Adams. I don't know how long you'll foster me for but this is going to be the best home ever."

Lena couldn't help but wonder the same thing for even though she hadn't ever actually lived with the child she had already fallen in love with her and had often thought about adopting her.


"What do you mean they didn't keep her?" Stef asked in surprise. She was sitting in front of the now elderly nun at the Abbey where she'd stayed through the end of her pregnancy and had politely but firmly ordered them to give her the details of her daughter's adoption.

"She had a condition…" The nun began.

"What condition?" Stef interrupted her. "What was wrong with her?"

"Her heart was very weak." The nun explained. I didn't know much, all I know was that she required special care and the family changed their minds."

"So where did she go?" Stef questioned, a fist in a tight ball as she refrained from punching the woman.

"Foster care." The nun replied. "I lost track of her after that."

"So why wasn't I informed?" Stef asked angrily. "Why wasn't she given back to me?"

"You were a minor and you parents did not wish for the child in your care." The nun explained.

"This is bullshit." Stef replied angrily. "You have no idea what happened to my daughter or if she's even alive? You can't even tell me what the problem with her heart really was?"

"That's all I know, I'm sorry." The nun sympathized. "Maybe the hospital can help you further."

Stef huffed and walked away more determined than ever to find the child. She had to know for herself that the girl was okay.