~Six Months Later~
"And when some of the other people kept telling my foster father how unfortunate it was that I was disabled and he just got so mad at me and then that night I was too tired to climb the stairs to bed and so he hit me for not being normal." Callie explained one night. "They made me learn exercises and tactics to slow my heart down. I have to sit down, stop and take deep breaths, count slowly to ten and sip on some water if I can."
"What about other homes?" Lena asked curiously. She had been learning so much about the girl over the last six months and while everything hadn't been all unicorns and rainbows Lena couldn't understand why any family would refuse to allow Callie to stay with them for any length of time. Yes, the girl needed supervision and care but she wasn't a trouble maker and she didn't ask for much; her basic medical needs were taken care of by the state and in every other aspect she was just like any other ten year old around - she wanted to watch movies, hated doing homework and craved any sort of love and attention she could get.
Callie shrugged as she finished coloring the tail of a horse. "Some were okay, others weren't." She answered very diplomatically. "One foster mom was really nice, she would bake me cookies; the kind without sugar so that I didn't get too worked up and my heart wouldn't race."
"What happened with her? Why were you moved?" Lena asked. Not all of Callie's homes were bad, in fact a majority of them seemed to genuinely like Callie so she didn't really understand why none of them seemed to work out.
"After she had to rush me to the hospital for the third time I think she just gave up." Callie answered. "They wanted a more normal kid."
"So only one foster father ever hurt you?" Lena confirmed.
"Only one ever hit me like that." Callie corrected. "I had a family that refused to do anything beyond the basics once. I was only five so I was moved really fast. And one foster mother insisted that she could cure me by making me exercise and eat healthy. That home didn't last long either."
"It must have been hard, moving around so much." Lena sympathized as she watched Callie's coloring get more vigorous as they talked.
"I got used to it." Callie answered without looking up. "The trick is to stay detached."
As Lena watched the child she realized just how grown up Callie seemed. She was talking as though she was in her late teens or early twenties instead of being just ten. She spoke as though she'd learned a lot from her experiences and had taught herself how to not let them affect her any more.
"I used to dream that my mother would just show up one day and tell me that it was all a mistake." Callie said, surprising Lena. "That she always wanted me but couldn't keep me. I guess I just always hated that she left me because of my heart."
"Sometimes people just aren't capable to deal with tough situations." Lena offered gently. "But I for one know at least one person that loves you to the moon and back and wouldn't trade you for the world."
Callie smiled wildly for she knew exactly who that person was. "I love you too Lena." She said sincerely. She had said those words to several foster parents before but she knew in her heart that she never meant it so much as she did now.
"So, I wanted to ask you something." Lena said, sounding somewhat nervous all of a sudden.
Callie looked up with a frown. She'd been down this road before - foster parents telling her how much they loved her just to inform her that it was time for her to move on.
"How would you feel about staying here forever?" Lena asked as she bit her bottom lip, waiting for an answer.
"Forever?" Callie asked in confusion. "Will the state allow that?"
"They will if I adopt you." Lena answered, studying Callie closely for her reaction.
"You want to adopt me?" Callie asked in surprise.
"I do." Lena smiled at the girl. "I want that very much. I love you Callie and I don't want anyone to ever take you away from me."
"You know that I'm sick right?" Callie confirmed, thinking that this was almost too good to be true.
"I know but I love you anyway and I want to be there for you though it all." Lena assured as she pulled the child up by the hand so that she could seat her on her lap. "What do you say?"
"YES!" Callie said immediately. "Yes, Yes, Yes."
"I can't believe you never told me any of this." Max said to Stef after she'd finally admitted to him about her personal infestation that kept her busy every free moment she had over the last six months.
"It's not something I'm proud of and honestly, it hurt each time I thought about it." Stef admitted out loud for the very first time. "My parents weren't exactly willing to talk about it either so I just learned to keep it to myself."
"That's awful." Max said sympathetically. "No kid should have to deal with something like that alone."
"Well imagine what that little girl must be dealing with." Stef said. "I don't know anything of what happened to her."
"What did you find out so far?" Max asked, hoping to help her out in the investigation.
"The family that was supposed to adopt her didn't because she had congenital heart failure. She went into foster care and was a patient at the hospital she was born in until she was eighteen months old but after that she went to a new family and they lost track of her as well. She was named Callie Jacob by the first family that was to adopt her but I can't find a record of her anywhere."
"Did you speak to any of these families?" Max asked, wondering if they could use their power to get some answers.
"No, the nun said that they wouldn't really know much anyway. Once she was out of their care they would have no information on her and all medical information I already got from the hospital." Stef admitted, feeling defeated.
"What about the social worker?" Max asked. "Can we not track her down through social services?"
"I don't know." Stef answered. "I wouldn't know were to being. I mean what do I say I want the social worker of Callie Jacob?"
"It's a start." Max offered. "It might be a long shot but it also might be your only chance."
Stef nodded but there was something in her eye that told Max that maybe things weren't that simple.
"What?" Max asked softly as he took Stef's hand in his own and gently brushed it with his thumb.
Stef looked up at him and he could see the dampness in her eyes. "What if she's dead?" Stef whispered her greatest fear. "What if she had a terrible life?"
Max didn't answer for there was no answer he could give. Nothing he said could possibly make things okay right now and so the only thing they could do was to finish the investigation and hopefully find the girl they were looking for.
