A/N: Hey lovelies! I apologize for the delay in my update, and for the short chapter that follows. I've been REALLY busy with work and debating on whether or not I should continue, seeing as how there are so many similar plots now. I'd like to finish the story, if you all want me to… Please leave me a review and let me know what you all think—I will gladly bend to peer pressure :)

Chapter Seventeen: Rest

When it became glaringly unambiguous that Callie was incapable of breaking Stef's clutch, and that she had honestly no cards left to play, she slumped despondently on the sunken mattress, entirely riddled with the exhaustion of her exerted efforts.

Taking a cue from the slight angle of Callie's now wilting figure, Stef relaxed her own posture enough to allow for the girl to comfortably lie down. She immediately curled onto her side and closed her swollen eyes.

Releasing the breath that she hadn't realized she was detaining, Stef lay carefully aside her, directing her gaze to the stained popcorn ceiling. She was finally assured enough by Callie's pacified state to let her own eyes drift softly shut… but, just in case, the teenager's hand was still loosely linked in her own— and, surprisingly, it was Callie who held on tighter.

Chapter Eighteen: A Bittersweet Good-bye

Stef woke with a start, surprised by the bright sunlight cascading into the dusty and unfamiliar room. She caught the face of the clock in her surveillance, and it was flashing noon already— the wearied travelers were still in Indiana. Ugh. I should call Lena back. She probably thinks that we have been driving for hours by now. At the thought of her stunning and saintly wife, no matter the circumstance, Stef couldn't suppress a sleepy smile. She would be elated to lay eyes on them.

Stef's determination to chase after Callie alone had been a problematic conclusion for both women, but Lena had finally understood that the others would rely on her reassuring presence at home—and that Jude would especially require her attention. She had fought the notion at first, inclined to accompany her wife in the search for their missing heart, but, after one look at Jude's distraught and crumbling shape, Lena had to acknowledge that Stef was right. So, she had rocked the boy softly and kissed her better half in a bittersweet good-bye, tears obstinately tracking down her sculpted cheeks. It was not the honeymoon that either had anticipated.

Stef was about to grab her cell when she realized that her hand was cold and empty…

Fighting to keep the choking desperation out of her voice, she cried out frantically, "CALLIE? Where are you?"