Here comes a long chapter...

xxxxx

"Fuck! This isn't happening," Alex let his head fall onto the steering wheel. Today had officially turned into a nightmare.

"Why aren't we driving?" Laura whispered confused as she looked out of the window.

"We don't have gas any more. But I know a motel that's not far away. So let's go there and then we'll call Arizona and Callie to get us," Alex saw the fear in Laura's eyes.

"Are we going back?"

"Laura. We can't run away. The police will…"

"The police?" Laura widened her eyes in shock, "But we didn't do anything. Will we go to jail?"

"No, we won't, well you won't," he regretted saying the last sentences out aloud. Immediately Laura got teary eyes. "Don't cry. Let me do the thinking okay and…and we just walk to the motel now and then we make a plan."

"I don't want us to go to jail. We aren't criminals," Laura tried to be brave and suppressed her tears as she unbuckled the seatbelt. Alex and Laura walked in the dark. He was trying hard to find a solution when he felt the small hand squeezing his.

"Will they find us in Africa too?" Laura whispered with a hopeful smile.

Alex smiled softly back as he tried to hide his own panic.

xxxxxx

"WHAT?" Alex ran into the orphanage with mere panic on his face, "Tell me this isn't true." He wanted to spend a day with Laura but here he was standing in the orphanage and heard the horrible news.

"Alex, calm down!" the director of the orphanage told him. She liked him and could tell that Alex was good to Laura but it was not her decision whether he should be allowed to foster Laura or not.

"Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me? Where is she?" Alex screamed madly at the director of the orphanage. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Alex, she is with a nice family. They already have an adopted child that is twelve and…"

"Shut up! She doesn't even know the family. She didn't even have a vote although it's about her life and Callie and Arizona wanted to adopt her. Where do they live?"

"Alex!"

"Tell me!" Alex threatened but then felt strong hands around his arm, "I would let go of me."

The security man didn't say anything, pulled him outside and just looked down at him, "Go or we'll call the police."

"Get out of my way," Alex tried to get inside again to find out where Laura was living right now but that big man didn't move a bit. The moment he felt the pain in his hand and the around his eye, Alex knew that trying to punch a security guard had not been a good decision.

"Do that again and you'll land in prison," the security guard threatened as he pointed his finger at the smaller man. Alex looked up madly but then decided to turn around to go home.

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"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Alex paced up and down in his room as he tried to think of a plan. But he had no clue where Laura was. This was such a bad timing. He knew that Laura would be scared and alone right now and that if someone else than Callie and Arizona adopted her, there would be the possibility that they wouldn't be allowed to even see her any more. He went through his hair and then sat down on his bed but immediately jumped up again when someone was whining in pain. Alex immediately knew who it was, looked under his bed and pulled the little girl out. "Laura! Oh my god, who did this to you?" He touched her split lip and could tell that a bruise was forming around her eye. "Fuck, they hit you?"

Laura looked up at him with sad eyes and slung her arms around him, "I don't want to live with them. I want to be with you. Please don't make me go there, please don't," Laura sobbed heavily.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry that I didn't find out earlier. They told me today. You will never go back to them," Alex explained guiltily and couldn't believe that anyone dared to hit Laura and that she had to suffer three days at their place.

"Can I stay with you?" Laura asked helplessly as she looked up with the saddest eyes Alex had ever seen. Of course he wished to tell her that this was possible but he couldn't lie to her. So he kneed down and took both of her shaking hands.

"Laura, I know that this is hard and I really wished I could promise you that you can stay with me but I can't because I cannot make that decision but Arizona and Callie…"

"Why?" Laura didn't understand that it was impossible. Alex took care of her and she loved spending time with him. Sometimes she had the feeling that Alex wasn't really fighting for her because in her mind everything looked so plausible and easy. She should just live with Alex. End of story.

"Because the stupid state has to decide. But I promise you that..." Alex was confused when Laura shook her head and let go of him and then sat down on his bad and cried into her hands.

"You always promise," she sobbed hysterically and wanted to run out of his room but he grabbed her and pulled her up into his arms. Laura had never tried to get out of his embrace and it hurt Alex that she didn't want to hug him now but he could understand her feelings. He of all people knew how it felt to be a child without a stable home. He rocked her back and forth until she calmed down.

"I know this is hard and it sucks. I'm mad too because I want to see you happy and live with me," Alex answered softly although inside he was freaking out and just wanted to hit the shit out of these people who had hit his Laura, "but we have to call the orphanage now and Arizona and Callie will…"

"I don't want to go back," Laura still cried and shook her head, "Nobody will worry."

He knew how it felt to be neglected. As a foster child himself he had experienced abuse more than once but there was no way that he would let Laura go through the same shit.

He wanted to tell Laura about Arizona and Callie's adoption plans but his mobile rang and he went outside to talk: "Nice family you chose for her. These bastards hit her and made her run away to me." Alex almost yelled into the phone. He wished that Laura could just stay with him right now but he also knew that he would make it worse if he wouldn't tell the truth, that Laura was with him. "Of course she's all right with me. She was crying because you put her into a family that she doesn't even know and that is abusive." Alex fumed again when the director didn't allow Laura to calm down at his place and decided to come over.

"Alex, no one hit her and her new family is great."

"So you're actually considering putting her back?" Alex whispered into the phone to make sure that Laura wasn't listening.

"It is her new family and it always takes time to adapt."

"She has a family. Us! Arizona, Callie and me. They want to adopt her."

"Alex, this isn't the right time for this discussion. I come and get her and I'm sorry for this situation but neither a single man nor a lesbian couple should adopt Laura. End of discussion."

Alex couldn't believe what he had just heard. This was absurd and so wrong on so many levels. He hung up madly, took a deep breath and then walked back into his room, "Laura, they…Laura?" he looked around in confusion when no one was in his room any more. Then he saw the open window, "Fuck!" he stormed out of his house, forgot his mobile phone and hoped that Laura had not run to far.

xxxxx

Laura tried to run as fast as possible while the tears streamed out of her eyes. She didn't care that it was dark and freezing, all she cared about was running. She didn't want to live with strangers. Of course she had no clue where she was heading. She was a little girl, seven years old and the only thing that she felt right now was loneliness.

xxxxxx

"LAURA!" Alex screamed into the dark in panic. He wished that he had his mobile phone with him to call Arizona and Callie for help but he knew that he couldn't go back now. He continued running and was relieved when he saw her pink hair-band on a branch. It was then he saw her trying to get out of the grip of a man.

"Calm down, Laura. Please!" the older man told the little girl who tried to free herself.

"I don't want to live with you!" Laura sobbed and scratched him helplessly.

Alex pushed the man backwards to his car and looked madly at him, "Get your fingers off of her."

"This isn't what it looks like. She's my foster child," the man said calmly and friendly.

"This is the one who hit you?" Alex fumed and looked from Laura to the man. Then he snapped, pulled the man at his sleeve and punched him right into his face. "How can you touch a little girl, you bastard?"

"I didn't…" the man had no time to say anything when Alex pushed him onto the streets. Then everything escalated. Two other men saw the fight on the streets and got out of the car to help the man that was lying on the streets with a bleeding lip and got yelled at by a younger guy. These men ran over to them. That's when Alex did something he would regret. He told Laura to jump into the car and within a second he was inside himself and started to drive as fast as possible.

"That fucking bastard, he hit you. I can't believe this. When will they finally take care of the children in an orphanage?" Alex could tell that Laura was scared and shook heavily, so he put his hand onto her shoulders and squeezed it. "Don't worry, nobody is going to hit you any more."

"Ummm…okay," Laura whispered confused and wiped her tears.

"Everything will be all right," Alex whispered to reassure himself but in reality he knew that he was just about to do a huge and stupid mistake.

xxxxxxx

He was relieved when they reached the motel. He knew that the next step would be hard but he also knew that Arizona was right. Running away would make the whole situation worse, so he dialed two numbers and then kneed down in front of Laura who sat on the bed with a fast beating hard.

"You send me back to the family, right?" Laura whispered scared.

"Of course not. I would never let you live in an abusive home. I know this is confusing and scary but I'm definitely not sending you back. You know that if I could, I would have already adopted you. But the state doesn't allow it and it sucks. For you and for me!" Laura listened carefully to what Alex was saying. "But running away isn't an option and it was wrong of me to steal the car and drive into."

"But I want to be with you," Laura whispered sadly, "We can just go somewhere where no one knows us. Nobody will look for me forever or miss me. And…we could tell Callie and Arizona where we are so that they could come and visit us."

"That sounds good but unfortunately that's impossible and although this isn't the best situation to tell you but there's a family that would love to adopt you and I know you like them too. We just have to show the state that they are the best shot you can get but it will be easier to prove that than with me as a single man."

"No!" Laura shook her head wildly and slung her arms around Alex, "I want you. Nobody else." Tears streamed down her cheeks, "This isn't fair!"

"Duh! This sucks," Alex caressed her back and made her look at him again, "But it's Callie and Arizona. They want to adopt you."

Laura looked extremely shocked at him and didn't know what to say. Of course she loved them but it had never come to her mind that they could actually adopt her. All kinds of emotions rushed through her small body. "Laura, this is good news. They will definitely not send you back to a family that hit you, so Arizona and Callie can…" Laura interrupted Alex.

"They didn't hit me," Laura whispered with a sob.

"What?" Alex asked confused and widened his eyes.

"I fell down the stairs when I run away," Laura sobbed.

Alex didn't know what to say. He felt even more panic and let his head hanging to think for a moment. "Please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry!" Laura cried into his chest.

"I'm not mad. Well not at you but at me," Alex whispered as he caressed her back, took a deep breath and finally told her, "I called Arizona and Callie and the police."

"The police?" Laura jumped up, "Why? Why did you call the police? We have to run away," Laura took his hand and pulled him to the door.

"No. We wait until they come. The police think that I kidnapped you and was not nice to you, so we have to show them the difference. But don't you worry. It'll be all right in the end," Alex wished that he could really believe that.

xxxx

Some minutes later Callie and Arizona arrived at an old motel and already saw two police cars outside. They ran inside and saw how Laura clung to Alex as if she would die if she let go of him.

"No, no, leave him alone," Laura screamed in the arms of an officer that had trouble holding her. She was kicking and scratching him while Alex was handcuffed on the floor with an officer on top of him. Somehow Laura managed to break free and ran to Alex and tried to push the officer off of him, "You're hurting him. Leave us alone!" she cried hysterically and then slung her arms around Alex neck and held him tightly.

"Laura, it's okay…" Alex tried to calm her down, which was not really easy with the pain radiating through his body.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't hurt him," Callie walked in front of the officer, "he's an idiot but definitely not a criminal." The officer didn't really listen and pulled Alex in a standing position to walk outside with him.

"Let me go," Laura used all her strength and finally bit the officer into his hands to get free. She immediately ran after Alex but was stopped by Arizona who put her arm around her waist. Unfortunately Laura pushed her backwards and made her fall onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" Callie asked worried and ran after Laura when Arizona nodded. Her heart broke when she saw Laura trying to open the police car's door with all her strength. "Alex," Laura cried. It wasn't easy pulling her back but Callie somehow managed it without hurting the girl.

"Nooooooooooo!" Laura screamed when the first police car drove away with Alex.
"Laura, shhh…calm down," Callie held her tightly while Laura tried to break free, "it's me, Laura. Callie"

It took a while until Laura calmed down and stopped fighting the embrace. When she looked up and saw that the woman holding her was really Callie, she cried into her chest and held her tightly. Callie and Arizona had tears in their eyes too and looked worried at each other. They had never seen Laura that devastated. Callie looked madly at the officer who told her that they had to come with them. She wanted to yell at him but she knew that Laura had already experienced enough right now. So she got up from the ground, took Laura into her arms and walked with her and her wife to the car.

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A little later Arizona and Callie lay in their bed and tried to calm Laura down. "No, we have to go back," Laura was still sobbing and tried to push Callie away who sat in front of the bedroom door but of course Callie was stronger.

"Laura, there is nothing we can do for him now but tomorrow. You have to sleep and…" Callie tried to reason again and again and went through her hair but Laura pushed her hand away.

"No," Laura slumped to her knees again and sobbed, "Let me out!"

"Sweetie, Alex is asleep now and nothing is going to happen to him. You need to sleep too." Arizona sat on the floor in her pajamas as well and tried to calm Laura down but whenever they wanted to hug her, Laura tried to get to the door in panic. They could tell that she started to hyperventilate through all her crying. So Arizona took a deep breath and just pulled the girl into her lap and although Laura tried to get free, she held her there.

"Laura, look at me. Take deep breaths," Arizona held her hands onto Laura's chest but could tell that Laura was not calming down but having a panic attack. Laura suddenly started to puke and panicked even more. "It's okay, sweetie, just let it all out. Nothing is going to happen to you." Arizona drew circles on Laura's back while Callie held a bucket in front of the girl. The women looked worried at each other and when Arizona touched Laura's forehead she could tell that the girl was getting a fever from all the stress. When Laura was done with puking her whole body shivered and her energy was lost. She still cried but didn't protest when Callie pulled her up into her arms and went into bed with her. Laura couldn't even hold up her head any more. Arizona got into bed as well.

"Shhh…it's going to be all right, kiddo," Callie held her tightly to her chest as Arizona continued rubbing Laura's back. "Laura, Laura, look at us," Callie pushed Laura softly onto her back when she could feel her hyperventilating again. While Callie laid a hand onto Laura's chest and could feel the heart race, Arizona massaged the upset stomach. "Sweetie, you're making yourself sick again. Try to focus on my breathing and do the same, okay?" Arizona breathed in and out. Laura looked up at her with reddish eyes and tried to imitate Arizona's breathing.

"You're doing great, baby," Callie whispered and kissed her cheek. Callie and Arizona could see that Laura was finally calming down and loosing the sleeping fight but as soon as she had her eyes closed, she opened them fast again.

"Don't fight it, we won't go away," Arizona whispered into her ear and slung her arms around Laura when the girl turned around and snuggled into her with her thumb into her mouth. Callie continued rubbing Laura's back and was relieved that all of them could finally go to sleep.

Xxxxxxx

Alex woke up in prison with an aching back and a bad mood. He had not slept much because he had only thought of Laura. He felt guilty and stupid but also extremely furious. Then the door opened and Arizona came inside with the maddest face he had ever seen on his mentee.

"How is she?"

"How is she?" Arizona screamed down at him, "She had a panic attack and it took us hours to calm her down. She's with Callie right now and would barely talk. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I…I…," it was the first time that Alex didn't know what to say.

"You weren't thinking at all, Alex. How could you be so stupid? Couldn't you just wait a little longer until we would've adopted her?" Arizona screamed even louder.

"I know it okay. I fucked it up. I know that but what would you've done if you knew she was in an abusive household? Have you seen her split lip and her eye? I thought that they fucking touched her and I promised myself that this would never happen to Laura, okay. I failed. You don't know how it is to be pushed around from one foster home to another. When nobody cares for you. When you get hit all the time. At day, at night. When nobody listens to what you actually want in your own life and when the only thing you can do is running away because you have to be the one convincing yourself that you're not worthless. Yes, I made a mistake and I was stupid and irresponsible and…I regret it but…" Alex didn't know what to answer any more and went through his hair, "I didn't really want to kidnap her and I definitely didn't sexually abuse her."

Arizona rolled her eyes, "I know that. And I also know that the orphanage isn't Disneyland but you know that Callie and I want her. You were the one asking us, Alex, and now this? There is no reason why you pulled such a stunt."

"I know. Don't you think that I know that? It was the stupidest thing I've ever done but…I didn't know what to do."

"You could've come to our house, explain the situation in the orphanage. There were lots of solutions."

Alex nodded, sat down on his bed again and looked at the ground. "We have a lawyer for you. He'll come around at one and be with you when they question you. I know you don't talk about your past but Bailey told me about it."

"Bailey?" Alex asked shocked. He hated when people suddenly looked differently at him because of his troubled childhood.

"Yes, everyone knows about the situation and how stupid you really are," Arizona said madly. "So, you tell the police about your past and you make them…"

"No way. My past has nothing to do with this situation," Alex defended himself.

"Let me get this clear. You could spend a long time in prison if they found you guilty for kidnapping an innocent child, for a sexual abuse that you didn't do, for almost punching a security guard, hitting an innocent man and stealing a car. You are gambling with your future, Karev. Do you think that any patient would want a criminal to be their doctor? You work in Pedts for God's sake. Your past has everything to do with what happened. You tell them that you were a foster kid. You tell them that you went to more than 17 foster homes, that you were abused, that your mother was mentally ill and you tell them about your siblings, about your father, about everything." Alex looked shocked at Arizona and didn't know what to say. "So for once in your life you do what people tell you. You're an idiot but I don't want your future to be ruined and Laura needs you. I need you. The hospital needs you. Do understand that?"

Alex nodded with teary eyes. He didn't want to cry in front of Arizona and turned around to the wall. He hit the wall madly until Arizona put her hand around his hurting fist and held it tightly.

"Thank you," Alex whispered sadly, "and…and tell her that I'm okay and that…that…"

"Alex, she's seven. She knows you're in prison and won't believe that. We just have to make sure that you get out fast."