AN: I'm sorry about the mistake in my last chapter. Hammock was not the word I was going for :D (Thank you to the guest who pointed it out). I believe the correct word was hummock. It does mean a small hill right? (a small bump in a plain ground) Or did my English skill let me down again? Maybe I should start using vocabulary...

Hope you enjoy :)

Jude POV

I was sitting in the armchair, looking out the living room window, waiting till Callie and mom gets back. It was getting dark outside, but they still weren't home yet.

The twins got home hour ago and right now Lena was filling them in about what had happened. They both of course had noticed that mom is gone, that Callie was nowhere to be seen, that dinner was not ready. Mariana was the first one, who noticed the change in my behavior as well. Jesus pointed it out few minutes later, saying that I was not acting as myself.

"When was that?" I hear Mariana ask mama. They were all sitting in the kitchen, so I heard them talking loud and clear.

"Some 4 hours ago," mama replies

"Why haven't you called them? Ask them where they are," Jesus, weirdly enough, tried to look at this more rationally

"Neither one have their phones with them. But Jude and I are pretty sure, that they are together," there was a pause in their conversation after Lena explained it to them

But the silence was broken by Mariana "So, they are just half-siblings?" I turn my head and look to the doorway that leads straight to the kitchen

"Nothing has changed, Mariana!" Lena replies in a bit more firmer voice "They are still siblings, they will always be siblings. Callie and Jude grew up together, they have always been in each other lives. The half in front of sibling, doesn't change anything! It the same with biological, foster, adoptive siblings!"

"I know that mom!" Mariana argues back "I'm not saying that they aren't sibling anymore! I simply surprised about the fact! It must suck to find out about it now, when their mom is dead," When Mariana mentioned our mom, I turn away and continue to look out of the front window

"Mariana!" Lena chastises Mariana for her use of language. But their conversation continues after that. The only difference, I was no longer listening to it.

The front doors suddenly open, taking me by surprise. How had I not seen that they came back? I jumped up from the armchair and hurried to the hallway. Callie was standing in the hallways, waiting for Stef, who was closing the doors behind them.

"Callie!" her head snaps to me. I draw nearer till I am right up to her, in her arms. Mom pats my shoulder as she walks pass us to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was.

"Is he here?" Callie whispers in my ear, while we were still embracing

"No, he left soon after you and mom run off," I reply not moving an inch away from her "Why did you run?"

"I needed to clear my head," She replies and slowly leans out of the hug "I'm sorry I left like that, Jude. What Donald said...it was too much for me to handle-" Callie sucked in a breath and looked down to her shoes "-I needed to get out of there. Further away from him..."

"I understand. I'm glad you are back!"

"Yeah, well...you can thank Stef for that," Callie looks down the hallway, where mom had walked off "I'm pretty sure if she hadn't ran after me like that, I would still be wandering the streets alone going god knows where!"

"Where did you go?" I ask curiously. They were gone for some 4 hours, I doubt they were just aimlessly wandering the city.

"I went to see mom," Callie says after a little while, a small smile appears on her lips

"To the-?" I don't have to finish my sentence. Callie understands me from half sentence.

"Yeah. We could go next week together. Buy flowers, maybe a candle or two," Callie suggests. I do like the thought of it.

"I don't even remember the cemetery name she is buried at-" I admit looking down to the floor, but I avert my look back to Callie a second later

"Mount Hope Cemetery!" Callie tells me as she shifts in her stance "You were 6 years old, I don't expect you to remember. Besides the funeral you have never returned there. I didn't remember the path to moms grave. Stef and I had to go to the cemetery manager to find out where she was resting," I knew Callie said that to make me feel better for not remember

"Why haven't we gone to see her before?"

"Foster care," Callie's answer was very simply "We didn't have the time, resources or any kind of help or support."

"Stef went with you?"

"Stef waited down by the trail while I went to see her," I don't think Callie realizes that she was smiling, when she mentioned Stef's name

"Do you feel different?" I ask after a little pause. We were still standing by the front doors.

"About what?" Callie looks to me confused

"About me?" the half-sibling stuff was bothering me. If I would say it wasn't – I would be lying, to my self and to everyone else.

Callie places her hand on my shoulder and moves her hand a bit closer to my neck "If anything has changed, it's that – I love you more! I appreciate that you are in my life even more than before. You are-" Callie gazes to my eyes to see if I am listening to her and then spoke slowly emphasizing the next few words "the single most import person in my entire life. You will always be that person. Nothing will ever change how I feel about you, how much I care about and how much I love you!"

I suck in my lower lip and avert my look down, as I feel tears whelm up in my eyes. Callie of course notices that. She kisses my forehead before she pulls in a tight embrace.

Lena POV

The bathroom doors were open. Stef was brushing her teeth, while I was putting on lotion on my legs.

"Do you think they are okay?" I ask Stef, when I hear her open the tap in the sink

I had to wait few seconds till Stef replied "It sounded like they were," A moment later Stef walks out of the bathroom

"Callie was thinking about Jude, reassuring him. It doesn't mean they are okay. You spend few hours with her alone, how did she seem to you?"

Stef walks around the bed to her side. She takes off her bracelet and places it on the nightstand "She was upset, obviously. But I think she's going to be okay, Lena. I don't think we have to worry about Callie...or Jude for that matter. They have each other and it seems like, at least to me, that it's all they need to get through this or anything for that matter!"

"You may be right," I say pulling my PJ pants on "They seem to draw strength from each other,"

"Of course I am right!" Stef smirks back at me, when she was already settled down in the bed

"Don't get too cocky," I smirk back as I craw under the blanket as well

Stef extends her arm up, inviting me to lay my head on her chest. I turn off the lamp that was on my nightstand before I scoot closer to Stef. When I lay my head down on her chest, she kisses my forehead three times and wraps her arm around me.

"You never told me where the two of you went," I ask her quietly as the darkness surrounds us

"To visit her mom," Stef's voice was hushed

"Where is she buried?" I tilt my head upwards a bit

"Mount Hope Cemetery. It's some hour and half away from here" Stef explains "This was the first time she went to visit her,"

"First time?" the words caught me off guard "She had never-"

"No. Today was the first time. She didn't remember how to get to her moms grave," I noticed the sad tone in Stef's voice, I could tell her heart was breaking for this girl "She started to panic, she got frustrated with herself, she was scolding herself..." Stef took in a shaky breath "She was so angry with herself that she couldn't remember the path..."

"8 years is a long time," I had quickly calculated the time, when she was there last

"I know that. You know that. But Callie is very hard on herself!" Stef breathes out, her hand is moving over my back fondly "Callie thinks there is no excuse for the fact that she didn't remember the way to moms grave."

Sounds familiar to some degree. Stef is the same way. She takes everything personal. She always finds a way to blame herself, even for others mistakes. Especially, if the mistakes were done by one of the kids. She even blames herself for Mike's drinking and all of his problems. Stef would do anything and everything necessary to protect her family. Callie would do the same thing for Jude, because he is the one person, who she values the most in this world. She has put her life on hold for Jude, she gave up her childhood while she tried to keep his intact.

"We should take them to see her next weekend," Stef speaks up pulling my out of my thoughts about how much Stef and Callie are alike "What do you say about that?"

"It's a great plan," I reply smiling even though I know Stef doesn't seem me smile "I think the kids will like that!"

Silence fell upon us after that. My eyes were closed. I was slowly starting to drift asleep while listening to Stef's heart beating in her chest and her even breaths. I thought Stef was falling asleep as well, but I was wrong.

"Callie sought comfort in me, Lena!" Stef says barely above whisper, she sounded beyond happy. I open my eyes even though I know that the only thing I will see is darkness that surrounds us.

I tilt my head up a bit "She trust you! I am glad you were there for her, when she needed someone,"

"My feet hurt so bad!" Stef groans in a whiny tone after a little while, when I had closed my eyes again. I laugh out quietly, before I snuggle a little bit closer to her.

Callie POV

January 20th

Last two days were relativity okay, even despite the fact that Donald had dropped the news bomb on me. It shook the ground I stood on, but somehow I managed to hold my balance and stay on my feet. A huge thanks for that goes to Stef. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't ran after me. Who knows where I would have wandered off...

On the Monday morning, I was pleasantly surprised by Stef and Lena. They offered to take Jude and I to visit our mom this weekend. I was sure, if Jude and I wanted to visit her, we would have to go there by foot or drive there by bus. I hadn't expected that to happen, but I guess, I should start getting accustomed to them breaking the stereotype that the foster parents made. This was not the first time Stef and Lean have proven to me that they are not like any other foster parent, who I have met.

Tuesday went by quickly. Nothing noticeable happened. It was a slow day at work, calm evening at home, no drama, no nothing. But today, well today is a whole different story. In the morning, same as the last two days, I was in a good mood. I had slept well, Lena had made waffles for breakfast, Stef gave me a ride to work. But of course, my good mood had to be ruined. Having three good days in a row was too much to ask for apparently. My mood was ruined by one of my customers.

"Hey, you should smile more! I bet you have a pretty smile, princess!" the customer calls me as I walk away from his table, carrying the dirty dishes.

The guy was in his 30 or something. Looked like a total jerk and acted like complete asshole. He was sitting at his table with his cap on, he had chewed his food loudly and with his mouth open. The guy had ordered a beer, which only made his stay here more unwelcome that it already was. He had cursed out loud while complaining about his food, even though it was made exactly how he wanted it. I had to bring him another plate, because the meat was not cook the way he likes it. He had ordered medium rare meat and that's exactly how the cook made it. But no, he still wasn't satisfied with it so he decided to put all of his anger out on me. After he ate, he tried to get my attention by snapping his finger. When I finally went to him, all he wanted was another beer.

He was the most rude customer I have ever worked it. I wish he would just leave and I would never see him again, but I still had to bring him his check over. Safe to say, I am not expecting to receive a tip.

"Jerk!" I say to myself as I walk away, trying to ignore his words

"What a jerk!" Lisa, another waitress with whom I work with, says when she leans at the counter, while I hit out the check for the guy

"Yeah..he's like the worst customer ever. All in one!"

"Don't expect to receive a tip," Lisa warns me

"I don't! I already know I won't get one," I grab the check and put it on the little plate "Ugh, I don't want to go back..."

"Just one more round," Lisa encourages me "then he will be out of here!"

Lisa goes over to one of her table, while I still remain standing by the counter. I take a deep breath in, put on a fake smile, put on a strong front and head over to him.

"Your check," I say placing it down on the table. When I turn to walk away, to give him some time to pay, I feel his hand brush against my backside.

By instinct, I turned around slapping his hand away from "Don't touch me!" I warn him

The sexual harassment comments I could take. I could also take the looks at my breasts. Mostly I tried to ignore those, brush them off, pretend I don't hear the comments or don't see the looks. If I want to receive the tips, I have to tolerate it. The sexual harassment comes with the waitress job, I can't escape it. But one thing I will not tolerate is someone touching me like that. That is where I draw the line.

"Come on," He grins at me as he reaches for my hand. I pull my hand back immediately, when his fingers brushed against my palm.

"Don't be like that, princess! We could go to the restrooms," he looks me up and down. The guy licks his lip, when he looks at my lower body region "-have some fun!" he winks at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes, he was clearly picturing me naked or even worse, he was already picturing us having sex in his mind. That look he gave me, made me shiver, it made me feel dirty.

"Pay the bill and leave!" I tell him bluntly and walk away

"I know you want it! Admit it - you want me!" He calls after me so everyone in the restaurant hears it. Some of the families that were there, looked warily at the guy. Few woman, who were eating there, gave me a sympathetic look as I walked pass.

Peter, our manager, was up to me few seconds later. He eyes the customer from a far "You okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm good!" I nod back, my voice shook a little as I spoke. Even my hand was trembling. I was so scared he would touch me again. Just a simple touch like that, made me want to take shower or 10. I still felt how his hand brushed against me. It made me cringe.

"I will handle it," Peter reassures me and offers me a warm smile back. I manage a little smile in return as my gratitude.

Peter got into a very heated argument with the guy. For about 10 minutes he was arguing back that he wouldn't pay, because the service was horrible, food was not good, the prices are too high the beer was not cold enough, but the food was not warm enough. To say it simply, customer made a scene. Somehow Peter managed to make him leave. I don't think Peter even cared about receiving the money for the service. He simply wanted him gone from his restaurant, just like the other clients and us.

When the guy left, Peter apologized to the other customers. He then came back to me.

"That guy was complete jerk. Drunk jerk," Peter says scratching his back of the head as he looks to the exit, where the guy was last seen "Callie, you can take the rest of the day off," He says when he turns back to me

"I can work. It's just 2 more hours-"

"Callie," he says calmly, yet sternly "Go home. I can see that you are shaken up."

"I need the money-" I argued back

"You will get paid in full. Don't worry," he reassures me. I was lucky that I got such understanding boss.

"Thank you!" I say from my heart

When I get back to the house, I see that Lena's car was already in the driveway. That means that Jude was home probably as well. When I walk in the house, I find both of them sitting at the table in the dining room. The table was covered in books. Lena was helping Jude with his homework.

"Hey!" Jude gives me a small wave and then returns to his homework. Math – I saw the books in front of him.

"Hey...studying hard, I see?" I walk up to him and kiss the top of his head before I peak a look over his shoulder, down to his notebook in which he was writing down

"I have the big test in two weeks," Jude says focusing on the books

"In January? Aren't the big tests on December and like the end of the semester?" my hand was resting on his shoulder

"This is different kind of test," Lena says, her hand was resting on the backrest of the chair Jude was sitting on. She was partly turned to him.

"What test are we talking about?" I ask getting slightly worried, I pull my hand away from Jude's back and turn to face Lean

"Entrance examination," Lena tells me with a smile "We want to get into Anchor Beach!" She places her hand gently on Jude's shoulder. Jude looks to her briefly, flashing a smile at his mom, but then concentrates back to the books.

"Wow...uh, I didn't know there is entrance examination"

"It's our school policy. Students must meet certain criteria. It's the way it has always been," Lena glances to Jude "And we want to get in. So, we are preparing for a test,"

"I'm gonna leave you to it then and go grab a shower," I respond before I walk away

Lena POV

I felt that something was off with Callie, the moment she stepped through the front door. She was home a lot earlier than she should have. Callie told us this morning she will have a shift till 6, but she was home little over 4.

When she appeared in the doorway, Callie looked downcast, upset and distraught about something. The girl looked tensed up and her movements were a little bit stiff. I also couldn't help but to notice that Callie tried to act and appear more happier than she is. She has lived here long enough and by now, I have learned to distinguish a fake smile from a genuine one.

Another sign, that told me that something was wrong, was that Callie showed affection to Jude, even with me sitting right next to them. Callie rarely shows affection, gives hugs and kisses to Jude, when we are around. She usually waits till no one is around. But, if she does show affection, when we are around, it tends to be brief. One thing we learned and understood from day one – Callie is a private person.

"I think it's enough for today," I rub Jude's shoulder, when he finished the exercise "You did really good today!"

A wide smile appears on his lips. He closes the math book, gathers his stuff. When Jude was on the step that leads to the hallway, he stops and turns back to me. He was holding all of his books and notes under his arm "I know it's still 2 weeks from today, but do you think I will get in?"

"There is no doubt about it in my mind!" I replies with certainty reassuring the young boy "You have improved a lot over these last few weeks. There is no reason for you to worry, Jude!" The encouragement was all that Jude needed. He smiles at me, showing me his gratitude, before he spins on his heel and hurries upstairs to his room.

I didn't exactly like that he wanted to get in Anchor Beach in the middle of the school year, but I could tell Jude was not happy in the school he was in now. He felt left out, because the other kids all went to Anchor Beach. Even Connor. Jude had been talking about school change with me for the last month or so. He was very persistent about it. If that is what he wants, that is what we are going to work for.

I make my way over to the kitchen and put on the kettle. Callie went upstairs to get a shower some 15 minutes ago, she should be down any minute now. I make her cup of tea and sit down at the kitchen table as I wait for her to come down.

Callie comes down some 15 minutes later. She had never taken a shower for so long. The tea was no longer hot, it wasn't cold either. It was right in the temperature that it could be drank, without worrying about burning your tongue.

Her towel was tossed over her left shoulder. She was carrying the shower bag in her right hand. Callie's hair was still wet, it was dripping a little. Her clothes that she wore out today, were over her left hand. She was now dressed in sweat pants and a long sleeve baseball like shirt.

"How was the shower?" I ask, when Callie stops in the kitchen

"It was good," she replies

"I made you peppermint tea," I nod to the cup in front of me and pick it up to place it down on the other side of the table "One tea spoon of sugar!" I have also noticed what tea she drinks and what coffee she likes. Noticing these little things comes in handy in moments like these. These little things make her feel more comfortable, more safe and more relaxed, thus, the chance of her opening up grows as well. It all comes down to being and feeling safe around us.

"Um...thanks," Callie walks up to the table and places all of her stuff on the stool. She takes a seat at the end of the table and then pulls the cup closer to her. Her hands grip the cup tightly, drawing the heat from warm beverage.

"You know – you can leave your stuff in the bathroom! You don't have to carry it with you every time,"

"I don't want to take up space," Callie replies looking down to the drink

"There is enough space, sweets. The bathroom is big enough!" Callie doesn't say back anything so I decide to change the topic "So, how was your day?"

Without looking up, Callie slowly shakes her head "...it was not good,"

"Why is that?" I ask threading carefully "Did something happen at work?" I make an educated guess

Callie started to play with the cup grip handle, her look was still averted down to the table "There was this customer at work today. He was very rude. The guy was snapping fingers, cursing, complaining about his food all the time and I was his waitress," Callie detained a little pause as she sucked in a shaky breath "Whenever I went to him, to take order or bring him food...he kept saying these…nasty things to me, looking me up and down, giving me dirty looks all the time" she said in disgust

She starts to chew my lip nervously. Slowly and carefully I move my hand over the table to her hand. My index finger brushed up against her palm first. Callie didn't pull her hand back or flinch, so I placed my hand fondly over hers.

"When I went to him, to give him his check, he..." she suck in a breath, her voice cracked. I saw her lower lip whimper but she sucked it in the next moment. Callie took her left hand away from the cup and pressed her fingers up against her temple "He grabbed my ass and suggested we should to have sex in the bathroom stall..."

It is no secret that if you work as a waitress, sexual harassment is something that is going to happen to you. There are always going to be people who will make inappropriate comments and give you dirty looks. I knew there was a big chance that Callie deals with it every day. And every day she comes home and deals with it all alone, keeping it all to herself. It breaks my heart to hear that someone tried to touch her like that.

Her face frowned up, like she was about to cry. I could no longer take the hurt look in the girls eyes. Without thinking twice about, I get up from the stool and walk up Callie's back. I wrap my hands around her from behind and press my head to hers, my chin was pressed at her shoulder.

"It's over. You are safe here," I whisper in her

"I feel so dirty even from the way he looked at me and how he spoke," Callie cried out "But when he touched me..."

"Shh...Everything is going to be okay, love! You are safe here!" I kiss her temple as I continue to embrace her, while Callie cried about it