Chapter 21

"Callie, what did you mean by that? You can't just drop a bomb and walk away! We need to talk about this!" Stef called after her daughter. As soon as the family got home from court Callie went straight to her room to avoid talking to her moms.

"Go away! I shouldn't have said anything. Just forget about it!" Callie slammed the door to her room which only made Stef mad.

Stef pulled open the door. "You know better than to slam doors in this house! We talk about what we are feeling!" Stef walked over to Callie and sat her down on the bed. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to yell. I'm not mad at you, I just want to talk about this."

Lena came upstairs when she heard the yelling but was relieved when she saw the two had calmed down. "Mom and I just want to try and help you. And if we need to we'll try and get Sophia some help."

Callie groaned in annoyance but knew Stef and Lena weren't going to let her out of it. "After I was sent to juvie I was begging the guards to just listen to me. I needed them to hear my side of the story. Every time I tried to say that my foster dad was beating Jude they just ignored me. Finally I decided that I had to come up with a plan. I had to get all my facts in order so I would have bullet proof case. I stayed up for three days straight. I guess I got really agitated from the sleep deprivation." Callie wiped away a tear and continued. "One of the guards told me that my social worker had called to let them know that they had deemed the home safe for Jude to stay. They found no reason to remove him from our foster dad's care. I freaked out! The guards put me in a straight-jacket in front of everyone. They tossed me in 'the cool down room' which was just a padded cell. After I was in there for a few hours some doctors came and took me to the mental health wing. They pumped me full of meds and would leave the restraints on me because they said I was at risk for hurting myself."

"Oh, Callie." Stef pulled Callie into her arms and rocked her gently. Lena sat down next to her wife and daughter in complete shock.

"They told me if I was good they would let me go back to general population. I think I was in the psychiatric ward for two weeks. I was so doped up that I didn't even know my own name."

"Well we have to do something about this! Someone needs to be held responsible!" Lena was fuming. She couldn't believe that people could just get away with something so horrible.

"I already tried. I called every public defender I could when I got here. But they all said that what they did was justified." Callie looked back and forth between Stef and Lena as she tried to read their expressions.

"She's right, Lena. She was in their custody. If they felt she was at risk…" Stef rubbed Callie's hand. "Do you want to tell us what it was like?"

"No. I've processed it as much as I can. I'm over it. But, I don't think Sophia needs to be there. She isn't strong enough. I hate—I mean, I really don't like her because of what she helped Robert and Jill do but I can't let another kid rot in there. She won't be the same when she gets out. And then she'll just be tossed in some group home until she ages out of the system."

Lena took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "Okay, well I'll get in contact with Sophia's lawyer in the morning. We will set up a meeting with the judge. Callie, they are going to want you to speak on Sophia's behalf. Are you prepared for that?"

"As long as she can be out of my life forever afterwards? Sure, I guess so. Can I go to bed now?" Callie pleaded. She felt like a little kid as she leaned into Stef but didn't care.

"Of course, sweetie. Get changed into your pajamas and brush your teeth. I'll come back in after a little bit." Stef kissed Callie's head and walked into her own room.

"Goodnight my love. I'm so very proud of you for going up on that stand today." Lena leaned over and gently kissed Callie's cheek. "We'll talk in the morning some more about what is going to happen. But try and get some rest for now." Lena left after that and followed in Stef's suit to their bedroom.

"Why don't you think she told us about that? She's opened up about everything else; Liam, her mom, her previous foster homes!" Stef sat on the bed with her head in her hands.

"I think we need to realize that there is possibly more Callie hasn't told us. She's a very private person; she doesn't open up unless we pry. She's a lot like you in that aspect." Lena gently took her wife's hand in her own. "Do you think Jude is the same way? He hasn't told us anything that has happened to him except the ridicule he received from his last foster dad."

"I suppose it's definitely a possibility. But should we really push them about it? I mean that could only make them close themselves off even more." Stef was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to dig deep into her children's hearts and find out what pains they had endure before they landed with her family. But, contrarily, she was afraid of what she would hear. Would she be able to handle it?

"I guess we just let them know that we are always here to talk to. We can ask if anything is bothering them and maybe, just maybe, they will let us in even more. It's hard, my love, it's very hard. But we will get through this rough patch. I promise."

Stef agreed silently. "I'm going to tuck Callie in. Will you make sure the other kids are quiet? We really don't need Jesus and Mariana arguing about something and waking the entire neighborhood."

Lena laughed and kissed Stef before making her way downstairs to hold down the fort.

Stef changed into her own pajamas and then went to make sure Callie was resting.

"Mom?" Callie asked as soon as Stef entered the room.

"What's up, Callie?" Stef sat down on the edge of the bed and began running her fingers through Callie's long, curly hair.

"Will you stay with me for a little bit? I know that he is in prison but I can still see him when my eyes are closed." Callie's eyes glistened with tears in the dark room.

Stef smiled sadly at her and readjusted herself. She leaned against Callie's headboard and pull her daughter close; similar to the night Callie had seen Liam and the Mexican street festival.

Within in minutes Callie was sleeping peacefully with her head rested on Stef's chest.

"Hey, you look comfortable." Lena poked her head in the door and smiled at the sight before her. "I decided to call Sophia's lawyer tonight. I just wanted to get it out of the way. He says that he is happy to hear that Callie will speak on Sophia's behalf. He is going to contact the judge in the morning. I guess there is a pretty good chance that Sophia will be transferred to a regular psychiatric facility instead of stay in the one at juvie."

"Okay, well I guess I'm glad to hear that. I just have a hard time believing that the Sophia we have dealt with over the past week is really who she is. I'm guessing her parents messed her up pretty good." Stef reached a hand out for Lena who happily took it. "I think I'm going to stay in here for a while. Every time I try to get up she just latches on tighter."

"Well you better not leave me in that bed all alone tonight, woman!" Lena teased. She leaned down and kissed Stef on the lips and then gently kissed Callie's head. "Goodnight, my loves."

Lena blew a kiss to Stef as she walked out. Stef smiled, wondering what she did to get so incredibly blessed with such a beautiful wife and such wonderful children.

She tried one more time to escape Callie's grasp on her t-shirt but was only met with an upset whimper from Callie.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to be here all night, huh?" Stef whispered to Callie even though she was sleeping heavily. Callie finally relaxed again and snuggled even closer to Stef. Stef smiled and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she too was sleeping peacefully.

And for the first time in nearly a week, Callie didn't wake screaming because she'd had yet another nightmare.

Stef didn't lay awake praying to God, asking Him to let the trial go well.

Lena didn't cry as she remembered the sight of all of her children in the emergency room, injured by Robert's hand.

All of the Foster's slept peacefully, thankful that they were safe. Thankful that the monster who had nearly destroyed their family was locked behind bars.

For the first time in a long time, things seemed as if they were going to be okay.

Don't forget to leave me some reviews! This story will soon be coming to a close. I plan on having just two more chapters! I want to thank all of you for your wonderful support! You are so awesome! If you would like me to keep writing Fosters fanfics just leave me some ideas in the reviews or you can pm me! If you do give me an idea, let me know if you want it to be short (one or two shot) or if you'd like it to be longer.