HEY GUYS! First and foremost, I don't own anything, this is just my brain, running with an idea. Second, please read and review! Third, reviews: Even though they're not all showing up, thank you guys so much! I'm so glad there have been so many reviews and honored for all the favorites and follows. To answer a couple of questions, yes this is an AU, and it takes place in the third season. The woman I'm talking about was the (I believe she was) court appointed social worker that was talking with the moms about the adoption, when Rita was there and everything. Before they gave the go ahead. Most importantly...ENJOY! :) Without further ado...

CALLIE'S POV

I didn't want to think about things. Mission accomplished. I realize that the waves are up to my waist as I sit here in my hiding spot, and I should move. But for some reason, it doesn't seem to matter. I can't seem to make my body function, outside of my arm. I lift the bottle to my lips and take one last swig. It is now empty. Just like me.

I hear laughing and realize it's me. I should probably stop or someone's going to hear me. But it hits me, I don't care. Nothing matters any more. My lack of family, my mistake that took it all away and my little brother. Oh, Jude. He cornered me yesterday and asked me about the weight I've lost. It wasn't intentional. I have no appetite.

I just don't care any more. Every time I get to see my family, especially Stef and Lena, I get my hopes up that they've come up with something to get us past this. But they leave each time, and there I am again. Alone. I am always alone. Always empty.

No matter how many people are around me. Robert and even Sophia have been around, but it doesn't help. Nothing helps. Hope is dead, and I've noticed that caring is a dead concept too. I reach up feeling a tear run down my cheek. Dammit, I'm crying now? I don't know what's worse! Both will surely get me caught by the happenstance passerby. And I'm just not ready for that tonight. I just want to be left to my solitude. At least if I'm by myself I have a reason for feeling this way.

Taking a moment, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I should move. The water is getting higher each time it comes in. It's high tide and the undercurrent isn't strong, though I feel my body trying to flee my hidden location with every time the waves go back toward the open water.

Alas, it doesn't matter. I think I hear someone calling my name, but it's fleeting as I hit the realization, I can no longer feel any part of my body. The cold water, the soft sand, the warm rock I am sitting against...I have achieved numbness. I can't help but internally smile from my sudden lack of feeling, sure at this moment, I couldn't make a single muscle in my body move if I had to.

As my eyes close, I think I see Stef climbing over one of the rocks. I wonder if it's real or not, but my eyes continue closing, not caring if it's her or a mirage. I simply cannot force them to stay open any longer. I am numb. And it's incredible.

STEF'S POV

"Callie!" I scream out. There is nothing but sand. I've been walking for almost an hour, the tide is coming in, and I have still yet to find her. I hear another officer yell out her name, and Mike in front of me somewhere. I'm so unsure of what's going to happen once I find her. I've determined, I will find her tonight.

Mike is the only one who knows she may be intoxicated when she's found. We both continue to yell for her. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I instantly retrieve it to see if it's her. It's Lena. She's worried sick at home, and so are the kids. Even she is unaware of the extent of the situation.

I tell her that we haven't found her and put my phone back in my pocket. They're supposed to be bringing search dogs in, but they haven't arrived yet. I see a couple of huge rocks right in the water line and something tells me I need to look, though dread pulls at my stomach.

"Callie!" I call out. I round the huge boulder, and begin to climb. There she sits. Her eyes close and she has an odd expression on her face. The water is rushing in and it's almost at her chest and I notice the empty alcohol bottle floating near. "Mike! Get over here, I need your help!" I try to keep the panic from my voice, but I don't succeed. I jump down feet first and put my hands on her face, trying to rouse her.

"Callie?" Her skin is freezing and as the water rushes in again, I can see why. It may be September, but the temperature of the ocean is still barely sixty-five degrees. "Mike!" I scream out again. My adrenaline is running so much I could probably lift her where she is, but she's dead weight right now, and she's soaking wet. I need help getting her around the rock as it's clearly at least a foot deeper at the edge of it, and I refuse to take any chances now that I've finally found her.

"Callie, come on, baby. Talk to me, sweets." I'm about to scream for Mike again, when he pops over the edge and is beside me in the water. I hear him radio in for an ambulance and the next few minutes literally blur together as we get her out of the crevice and lay her flat, further up the beach, where no water is reaching.

I press my fingers into the pulse point on her neck. It's fast and very weak. I hear Mike from the side of me. "Stef, she's not breathing."

I don't even realize the tears falling from my own eyes. I think I'm in cop mode, but I'm very wrong. And yet, I refuse to leave her side. "Start CPR. And find out where that ambulance is!" I'm shouting orders but I'm not thinking about anything except the stillness of the girl laying in front of me. In this light, she looks like she's giving up, even in unconsciousness.

CALLIE'S POV

I can't see anything. I can hear Stef and Mike scream and yell at me to breathe, but I am breathing. Can't they tell? They keep yelling. Everything is fading out now. And suddenly I'm floating. I look around and there's nothing but water. I can hear nothing but the soft sounds of the waves around me.

I should be scared, but I'm oddly comfortable. My mind wanders to a simpler time. I'm happy. Most people wouldn't consider it a happy time, but my mind takes me to the first night Jude was at the Foster's with me. We are home. And I feel it. I felt it when Stef told me I wasn't disposable. She meant it. I could see it in her eyes. They took Jude in, no questions asked. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it.

I am happy. I haven't felt love from any type of mother figure since losing my mom. Stef will probably never know what that statement meant to me. My eyes close slowly and open again. I'm warmer than I've ever been before. I feel like I'm wrapped in loving arms. My mom's. Jude's. Stef and Lena's.

Something flashes in front of my face, and I'm no longer warm. I feel like ice is running through my veins. Air is being forced into my lungs, and I hear Stef. She sounds like she's panicked and pleading with me to stay with her and not to give up. But I feel myself being pulled back into the warmth. I'm not ready to leave yet. I close my eyes once more and let myself slip back into my happy place.