As they waited on Helen's porch, Stef tried to think about where Callie may have gone. Time was going by so slowly and she felt she could have been using it to look for her instead of standing here waiting for the police to show up.

She had held off calling Lena. Figuring that if they were able to find Callie, she didn't need to create any fear. She, herself, was scared to death, but still held that spark of hope that Callie hadn't gone off too far. She could have been at a friend's house or she could have been just walking around town. Stef knew that if that was true, they would most likely not have any trouble in finding her.

In her peripheral vision, she saw a car pulling into the driveway. The three of them watched as a police officer stepped out and walked up to meet them.

Bill was the one to greet him, extending his hand out for the police officer, who introduced himself as Officer Wilson, to shake.

"Is this the first time she has run away?" In his hands, he held a notepad and pen and was writing down notes while talking with them.

Stef tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "No," she admitted, letting out an inwardly sigh and tried to keep her voice steady. "W-we had a situation a month ago."

"Can you tell me what that situation was?"

"She was upset." When Officer Wilson gave her a look, telling her to explain, Stef brought her hands up to her face. "Look, I know what this might seem like, but Callie is confused right now. She's troubled and is doing what she thinks is best." She watched as he scribbled that down on his notepad.

"I'm going to need details about what she looks like and information about where she would most likely be."

Stef reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, pulling out the small school photo she had of Callie. Handing it to Officer Wilson, she said, "This is her school photo." After Helen filled him in on what Callie was wearing this morning, she told him where she believed Callie may have went off to, mentioning the group home Callie was in after she ran away the last time.

"We'll do our best to find her and call you once we have any information."

They thanked him, once again shaking his hand, watching as the police car drove away until it disappeared.

As she got back in her car, Stef decided she needed to call Lena now as she decided she was going to contact Mike and they would go look for Callie as well.

"Hey love," her voice wasn't cheery anymore.

"Hey honey. I just got home. Is Callie with you?" When Stef didn't answer and there was just silence on the line, Lena thought she may have accidentally hung up. "Are you still there?"

"Lena, I hate to tell you this over the phone, but when we arrived to pick Callie up... well she wasn't there."

"What do you mean she wasn't there?" Lena dropped the packet of coffee creamer she had in her hand onto the counter and waited for Stef to go on.

"We went up to her room and pulled the dresser opened, but all that was there was her school supplies." When Lena didn't voice a reaction, she continued, "Sh-she ran away again." She was crying now, failing her plan to keep calm.

"Oh god," was all Lena could say. She felt tears slipping from her own eyes. "This is all our fault."

Stef sniffled and tried to get herself to stop crying. "There's a police officer out looking for her now, but I'm going to call Mike and have the two of us search as well."

"I'm coming with you," Lena proposed.

"No. I'm sorry, but you need to be there with our other children. Jude's essay is tonight and he's going to need all the support he can get."

"Just please call me once you find her."

"I will. I've gotta go now. I love you and tell our babies that I love them too."

"I will. I love you too." When she hung up, she stared out the window into the backyard, shocked about what just happened. She felt goosebumps on her arms and had to sit down.

Once her kids would be coming through the door from a long school day, she would have to explain to them what happened, and she felt unprepared for that. If only this was a nightmare. She would give anything for it to be a nightmare.

"Hi momma."

Lifting her head up, Lena realized she had been sitting in the same spot from the time she hung up with Stef to when the kids got home. "Hey miss thing. How was school?"

Mariana grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, sitting in the middle of the table, and shrugged. "It was okay." Taking a bite, she looked her momma over, "Are you okay?"

Lena offered her a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm okay," she lied. "But can you go get your brothers? I need to talk to all of you about something."

Confused, Mariana disappeared upstairs and returned a few minutes later with Jesus, Brandon, and Jude following behind her. The four of them sat down around the kitchen table and stared at Lena, waiting for her to tell them whatever it was she wanted to talk to them about.

Lena looked at Jude sadly and wasn't sure where to begin. "Today, your mom and I got an emergency license that would allow Callie to come back home."

"That's good, right?" Jesus asked, wondering why his momma looked so sad when saying it.

"Yes, that is good," she assured him. "But..." she paused for a moment, not feeling like she was ready to do this. "When your mom went to pick her up... I'm sorry, babies, but..." she decided she needed to just say it, "Your sister ran away again."

The room went completely silent. Jude stared wide eyed at Lena, completely frozen in place.

"Jude?" Lena asked, worriedly. "A police officer and also your mom and Mike are out doing their best to find your sister and bring her back," she gently told him.

"I-I don't want to do my essay," he stuttered.

Lena realized that he suddenly went white as a ghost. "B, can you get Jude a glass of water?"

Brandon did what he was told and handed the glass of water to Jude.

"Honey, drink that."

Jude tried to drink the water but felt like he was going to get sick as soon as he swallowed it. He sat the glass down in front of him and looked up at Lena before clutching a hand over his mouth. "I'm going to-"

He didn't even finish his sentence before standing up and running to the bathroom.

"Jude!" Lena went after him. As she entered the bathroom, he was leaned over the toilet emptying the contents of his stomach. "Oh honey."

Once he was finished, he leaned back into Lena's embrace. "I'm sorry."

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about." Lena helped him stand up. "Let's get your mouth rinsed out." She helped him to the sink and turned the faucet on, grabbing one of the small cardboard cups next to it. Filling it up with water, she handed it to him.

"Why did she do it again?" He asked her with a hurtful voice, feeling his eyes glaze over.

Lena let out a sad sigh and got down to his level. "Your sister is confused right now," she said with a small, gentle voice. "And I don't want you to think this is your fault, because it is far from it. And Callie is not mad at you and she still loves you the same."

When he didn't respond, she gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "How about you go lay down for a little while." Standing up, she watched as he left the bathroom to head upstairs to his room.

Later that evening, Stef was finally returning. Lena, who had been waiting on the couch, stood up from her spot and looked passed Stef to see if Callie was coming in as well.

"Nothing?" She asked, though she already knew the answer.

Stef shook her head, biting her lip. She walked over to Lena and the two embraced. Stef buried herself into Lena's shoulder. "I don't understand," she said after breaking from her wife's grip. "I thought things were finally looking up."

She and Mike had spent the last few hours driving all over the city. She went everywhere she thought her daughter would be but had found her nowhere. The cop she had spoken with had yet to get back with her and she just wanted this all to end and for things to go back to normal.

"Me too."

They sat down on the couch and Lena reached over to grab Stef's hand. "We'll find her," she promised.


When she battered her eyes open, it was obvious that she had fallen asleep. The sun she had stared at earlier was now replaced with the glowing moon.

Sitting up, the room was pitch black. There was no lamp or light switch. Callie swung her legs over the bed and worked her way around the room, leaning on the wall. When she made her way to the door, she once again tried to open it, but it was still locked.

Leaning her ear against the door, she tried to hear for any sounds or movement. When she didn't hear anything, she figured he must have gone to sleep.

When her stomach growled, she realized how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything all day. She worked her way back to the window. She knew there had to be a way out of here and wished there was a way to turn a light on.

Trying to once again open the window, Callie tried to use all her force. She tried several times, but it wasn't working. There had to be something in this room she could use as a weapon. In the pitch darkness, she tried to look for one.