Hey guys, so I am so so sooo sorry that it's taken this long to update. In al honesty, I was struggling to figure out what should happen next - by which I mean that I have a plan but getting there is the difficult part :3 Still, here's chapter twenty-one (finally) and I once again apologise for the lateness of it (sorry!).

As always, thank you to all you lovely people who favourite, followed or reviewed last chapter! :) Please feel free to do the sae with this one ad know that all feedback is greatly appreciated (as well as guesses as to where this is heading!). Okay, thanks!

And without further ado, onwards with the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Fosters, nor will I ever do so... it's unfortunate but the truth *deep sigh* :'(

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It didn't take Stef long to find Callie. The teen had barely got to the end of the road before she'd collapsed to the floor, sobbing noisily as she held herself.

Without a moment's hesitation, Stef knelt down and wrapped her arms around her, giving her comfort. For the first time since living with them, Callie didn't object. But then again, Stef wasn't sure if the girl was even aware that the blonde was holding her.

"Oh Sweets, Sweets it's okay." As the cop rested her cheek on top of Callie's head, steadily rocking from side to side in an effort to soothe the crying teen, she was briefly reminded of doing the same for each of her kids during their lives; Brandon as a baby when he was being fussy, Jesus after he'd fallen from his skateboard as an energetic ten year old, and Mariana as a shy eight year old after a particularly bad dream. And now with Callie, after an encounter with that man...

Frowning, Stef reminded herself of the reason for the current situation that she'd found herself in. Stilling her movements, she straightened up slightly, so she was sitting cross-legged on the pavement, and then pulled Callie close to her once again. This time, however, she was met with some resistance.

"Please, Sweets."

The girl shook her head and quickly wiped away her tears, reluctant to be comforted by the cop... Particularly as she still thinks I'm a murderer.

Stef sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay," She said, "You don't have to hug me or anything, I just wanted to keep you close - I want to make sure that you're okay, Sweets."

"Bullshit."

"Language, Sweets. You can be upset with me - that's fine - but you don't swear, you continue to respect the house rule, understood?"

"We're not in the house."

Once again, Stef sighed, but this time she found herself struggling to stay calm - the girl was just as stubborn as she was and seemed to be gifted as pushing all of her buttons. "You know what I mean, Sweets."

"Stop fucking calling me Sweets!" Angrily, Callie faced the cop, her annoyance at the term of endearment being used very much clear.

Stef simply raised an eyebrow. "Okay," She said, "Well then, if you watch your language, then I won't call you, Sweets, okay?"

Callie narrowed her eyes, trying to work out Stef's plan. "Fine," She eventually responded, "But you can't use any pet-names - I'm not your damn kid!"

To her credit, Stef decided against pointing out the girl's choice of words and instead nodded. "Deal."

The two shook hands, before each faced forwards, pointlessly staring ahead at the street opposite, each stubbornly waiting for the other to speak.

Eventually, Stef cracked, knowing that it would be silly to stay on the side of the road indefinitely. "So, how come you don't think that I care about whether or not you're okay?"

Callie scoffed loudly and let out a dry, humourless chuckle, "You're kidding, right?" She asked, "How have yo given me any other opinion? You hate me. Sure, you haven't beaten me or locked me in the cellar or anything, but it's pretty clear that you don't like me - so why should I believe that you suddenly care about me?!"

Stef frowned at that, not liking how the girl beside her seemed to perceive her, "I don't... I don't dislike you." She said after a minute of silence, "I don't. I'm sorry that you thought that I did - I would never intentionally make someone feel unwelcome... or uncared for."

"You didn't... You didn't make me feel completely unwelcome, just like you didn't trust me, y'know?" Callie bit her lip, diverting her attention away from the blonde. Stef frowned slightly, carefully watching the girl as she tried to figure out exactly what she'd meant be that.

"You heard." She knew she'd came to the right conclusion when the teen's body stiffened. "Oh Love, I didn't mean it! As soon as I voiced my theory, I realised how stupid it sounded. I know that you're not a murderer, Callie, you're a sweet girl who cares so sooo much for her brother, and could never do something so... evil."

"You know I've been in juvie, right?" Callie looked at her, her brown eyes completely dead, "How much do you really know about me?"

"Enough, I know enough." Stef smiled softly at the teen. "I know that you're not a murderer, Callie, so don't try pretending otherwise - it won't work. I'm so sorry that you heard me in my moment of madness, I'll try to control it better next time."

Both fell silent for a couple of minutes, until Stef spoke again.

"Swee-" At Callie's warning look, she quickly corrected herself, "Callie, I'm sorry but I've got to ask - who was that man? Did he hurt you? What did he want?"

Callie shrugged, shifting slightly on the cold, uncomfortable pavement slab. "That was Liam. He was an old foster brother that I had. I guess that he doesn't like me much either." She shot Stef a dry smile and shrugged again, "I have no clue what he wanted."

It amazed her how good she'd gotten at lying. Like she didn't know. He wanted to threaten her with Sarah - tell or do anything stupid and she'd get the same treatment that she herself had received whilst residing in the Olmstead household.

"Oh yeah, and does this Liam guy have a surname?"

At that, Callie shook her head in an almost frantic fashion. "Don't." She said, "Please, Stef, don't."

"Cals, I'm an officer, I shouldn't let him get away with threatening you - and don't deny it, he had you against a wall and you're clearly shaken up from it."

"JUST LEAVE IT!" Standing up, Callie glared at her foster mother, "Why can't you just do that?! Look, it doesn't matter - he doesn't matter, so please, just leave it."

Stef sighed, but slowly nodded her head. "Okay. I'll leave it... If you answer one more question for me..."

"Sure." Relieved that Stef was going to drop the subject, Callie didn't think twice about agreeing to the cop's terms.

"Was Liam the 'Kid' who gave you those bruises yesterday?"

"No." Callie bit her lip, before looking away from Stef and quietly adding to her answer. "But his cousin was."