Author Note:

This chapter took on a life of its own and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. This was originally one scene that focused on the legal ramifications of Callie's recent decisions...but then I became curious about how it'd tie in with a Case Worker, and what Callie and Jude might have been like before they got to their current placement (everything always looks so easy on the show). A nice way of admitting that I got carried away.

Apologies for any inaccuracies; I'm sure there are some. Thank you to theypreferthetermpeople for help understanding the US system, and to AchillesMonkey for the advice on how PTSD from trauma and abuse would manifest in children. ~b'shert

Chapter 25: A Monster that Comes to Call

"What's all this?" Lena asked, holding the front door open for Bill as he came in carrying a banker's box under each arm. Despite the circumstances surrounding their meeting, he appeared cheerful.

It was Monday afternoon and she and Stef had been waiting somewhat anxiously for his arrival. The Case Worker had already called twice before, letting them know that he would be delayed each time. While they understood that this was the nature of the field—that urgent matters got prioritized and things were constantly being re-shuffled throughout the day—they really wanted the discussion to happen before the kids hot home from school.

At first, they had wanted to push the appointment to Tuesday to allow Callie at least a day of normalcy. However, knowing that her Parole Officer had been the primary reason for Bill calling a family meeting, they decided that it'd be best to have it dealt with sooner than later.

"Just a sec. I'll show you," he said, smiling widely as he set the boxes down on the coffee table. He fumbled with his keys to slice through the packing tape holding the lids in place, almost impatiently, before removing one and tilting the box towards them.

"There's one more in the car. Remind me before I leave or feel free to grab it from the trunk if I'm with the kids at that time."

There was a pause before Stef and Lena realized what it was they were looking at. Inside, numerous freezer bags were neatly packed together. Through the plastic, they could make out stacks of family photos, Baby's First Year albums, and brag books. Clay hand and foot prints scattered amongst other Happy Mother's and Father's Day crafts. The classic blue and pink striped hospital swaddle blanket was visible through another.

"Oh my god," Stef exhaled, looking over at Lena who was already wiping tears off her face.

"Is this—?" she began, turning to Bill in sheer disbelief. "How?" she asked incredulously when he only smiled and nodded in confirmation.

"You both know how it is. There's not a lot of space in foster homes so it's not possible for kids to bring too much with them, other than the essentials. That's especially a challenge for kids like Callie and Jude who were living with families they wouldn't have been removed from had it not been for poor luck," he explained.

"When I did the final sweep of their apartment, the junk removal service we had contracted had already taken care of the furniture and confidential documents. The landlord had gone in and set aside a memory box Colleen had started as well as several personal affects and toys. I just couldn't leave that stuff behind. Our office has a warehouse in the back and it's been sitting there, waiting for permanent housing to come through."

"I'd recommend going through everything before passing it onto Jude and Callie. You may decide to hold back on some things if you feel they're not quite ready to get everything at once. The other reason being that I didn't have time to check for bedbugs or other pests, which is why everything's been bagged separately by placement." He chuckled sadly when Lena shuddered. "I'm not so worried about the stuff from home but there are also items we asked Callie and Jude to give up after they had already taken them through a few placements."

Bill dug around, holding up a bag of cassette tapes. "This would be a good start. Callie really wanted to keep them but was told no, that she couldn't count on having access to a cassette player. She wasn't too thrilled about that."

"Anyway, now it's ready to be passed on. Congratulations, by the way," he said, beaming. Stef and Lena's happiness and relief were contagious. Although there had never been a doubt in his mind that the couple's petition for adoption would be approved, he understood their cautiousness.

"How are you feeling about Adoption Day being only two months away?" he inquired, aware of some of Callie's recent difficulties.

Stef and Lena looked at each other, their eyes twinkling.

"Well, we can hardly wait for it, that's for sure," Stef managed to reply. She, too, had been hopeful, knowing that already having a successful adoption under their belt would help. Still, she pushed it aside—no potential parent ever wanted to get their hopes up, only to have things not work out.

"We're hopeful that having an exact date the kids can look forward to will help them feel a bit more settled," Lena added. "I think Callie is still afraid things might fall through…that has probably contributed to some of the things that have been going on."

"Being through several homes would certainly do that," Bill agreed. "I'd love for Jude and Callie to settle down and get comfortable, too. This has been a wonderful place for them both, especially after being separated. That was really hard on them."

He pulled out his most recent report. "So, how are they doing? We discussed hygiene, bedwetting, and physical health last time I was here."

"They still need help with their self-care but it has gotten much, much better. We're intervening only when there's visible dirt but in between those times, both are independent with their routine. Jude isn't evading baths anymore and he allowed Lena to wash his hair yesterday after she'd done Callie's," Stef explained. "Though, there may or may not have been protesting," she said, laughing. According to her wife, Jude had squawked in dismay throughout the process.

Bill nodded and wrote continue skill building and maintenance under Callie and Jude's individual plans. "That's amazing! It seemed like we were stuck for awhile. Did you ever figure out why Jude was against bathing?"

"It wasn't bathing, per se. We think he was afraid of the noise the shower made," Lena informed.

"Oh! I forgot—we're done with Goodnites!" she added excitedly. "We limit Jude's water intake to an hour before bed and that's helped. He's had maybe two accidents since then but came to us right away each time."

"Wonderful," Bill praised, writing maintenance into his plan. "He must be so proud of himself!" He flipped the page. "Any other night time challenges with sleep or nightmares?"

"Keeping them on a consistent sleep/wake schedule is still a struggle but they sleep through the night," Stef answered truthfully. "Nightmares are ongoing but on the decline."

"Still good news. Those will take awhile. What about mealtimes?"

"Their appetites are healthy, that's for sure," Lena said, laughing along with her wife. She still couldn't believe how much both kids could scarf down in one sitting as long as they were offered. "Their eating patterns are still disorganized so we enforce meals and snacks, and keep offering until we are sure they're full. We noticed that if we don't do that, they aren't comfortable asking or helping themselves even if it's clear to us that they are still hungry."

Bill pulled out a faxed copy of notes from the children's last physical. "The family doctor has some concerns about Callie's weight. She's recommended that she gain at least fifteen pounds," he pointed out.

"We incorporated her dietary recommendations right away. I weighed them yesterday and Callie has gained almost six pounds." Lena couldn't help but feel annoyed; with the level of scrutiny they got, she couldn't understand how the kids had been neglected to the point of malnourishment in other homes.

"That's great. It sounds like they're thriving," Bill praised. Despite the recent stressors, everything felt on track and he was happy to see the women through another successful adoption.

"Anything else you want to discuss that's happened between the last visit and this one? Any new issues or concerns that have come up, other than the recent difficulties at school?" he asked as he replaced his pen in the clipboard's clamp.

"No, nothing I can think of," Stef replied, establishing the lead on this. "We've been encouraging Callie and Jude to spend more time apart and that's a bit of a work in progress. Some days are better than others and they're more receptive to doing their own thing; other days it's a struggle to have one of them in the backyard while the other is inside."

She was careful in her selection of what she was disclosing: enough to be believable, but not much beyond that so the Case Worker wouldn't prod. "Callie has been developing a bit of an attitude, mostly when she's frustrated she can't get her way or when we reinforce the boundaries we set for her. Nothing major, though. Most of the time she's reserved and quite affectionate with us."

Bill frowned. "When you say attitude, what does that look like?"

"Mostly talking back and swearing. Like Stef said, it usually escalates when we're trying to set a boundary and Callie realizes we aren't going to back down," Lena replied. "Last week after her suspension she managed to rack up a number of consequences at home, so she hasn't been too happy with us to be honest," she added, feeling terrible for hiding the more significant events from Bill. Callie deserved so much better. "But at thirteen, I'm expecting that in terms of development, too."

"You read my mind. What you described is common in the transition period. Callie is settling down and starting to feel like you are safe, trustworthy people she can rely on. All children need to know where the line is and that's exactly what she is doing when she tests her limits. Which, by the way, is always something I take as a good sign. It's when children go quiet—afraid to rock the boat—that I start to worry."

"It can't be easy, getting used to a new set of rules each time you need to move," Stef said sadly. "I think both of them have gotten used to a certain degree of unpredictability and we're asking them to adjust to a consistent routine with new rules and expectations. It's unfortunate that this groundwork hadn't been laid before."

"I totally agree. What it is though, is that it's virtually impossible to standardize care across all the homes, apart from asking for children's basic needs to be met. At least now Callie and Jude can get used to their new digs now and the way you and Lena do things. What sorts of things have you tried to manage Callie's behaviour?"

His question prompted Stef to look at her wife, hoping she wouldn't disclose anything more than they needed to. She knew her wife well enough to know that amidst her anger was guilt over what had happened, and she didn't want Lena to make a mistake that would cost Callie.

"Well, she's been grounded for blowing off her classes and for getting suspended. She also lost her guitar for mouthing off and we had her write lines to earn it back," the cop began, hoping she wouldn't be judged for that. "Shoot. Which reminds me, I need to give that back to her since she completed the lines yesterday," she said

"We've also told Callie that she will need to spend her breaks and lunches with me in the office for the time being—until we're certain she can make better choices for herself," Lena supplied.

"How have these approaches worked for you?"

"To be honest, grounding hasn't been effective, which is why we're trying out the modified time-in that Dr. Wiseman recommended. That way, we get to spend time together and hopefully get some positive experiences built in, too," Lena said. "The lines were tough. It was something Stef and I hadn't discussed."

"It was tough. Callie initially had a lot of difficulty grasping it as a consequence, but seemed okay once I explained it again. I guess we need still need to talk about whether that should stay on the table," her wife admitted. "It would probably be easier to have a swear jar…but then we'd have to think about giving all the kids an allowance."

"Well, like most parents, you'll find that you may need to try different things before determining what works for each child. I think you probably remember going through a similar process with Mariana and Jesus," he reminded.

"Now that everything's in order for the adoption, I think family therapy is going to be key to help support the transition. Just like it was with the twins, it would be more for Jude and Callie's sake. Lena, you mentioned that you recently got Callie into Gisella Wiseman's practice, which is wonderful. This is exactly her area of expertise and she's got a great reputation for her grief, loss, and trauma work in children."

"I'm sure she has a plan in mind already but you may want her support in facilitating some of the discussion around parents who have to relinquish their rights. When I met with Donald to go over the papers, he asked to eventually have contact with the children, understandably. He accepted that it wouldn't be in the kids' best interest until they had some time to settle in and that ultimately they would need to be able to give informed consent. That could get tricky if you think one child is ready but the other is not."

Stef and Lena eyed each other worriedly. Donald wanting to see his kids hadn't even been on their radar. On top of that, they had left it up to Callie to decide if she wanted to go back. Though she had half-heartedly agreed when they asked her about it over the weekend, they knew that she had only been telling them what she thought they wanted to hear. They felt badly enough that they were deliberating cancelling it on Callie's behalf but Bill had brought up some good points, too.

"Oh no," he said slowly, noticing the way they had reacted. "Did things not go too well?"

"Ah—not quite," Stef sighed, treading carefully. No way was she going to disclose Callie had run away. "If we could convince Callie to go, do you think her Parole Officer would be amenable to switching her out of her court-ordered group? I know it's more cost-effective on their end but we're already paying for this out of pocket and are willing to continue as long as it benefits Callie."

"We know that she actually participated and that one-on-one would be much more beneficial to her," Lena said, understanding where Stef was going with this. "Gisella can actually do the trauma work that is outside the scope of what the group can provide."

"Yes, for sure. I'll add that to the risk management plan he's requested and will negotiate that. I don't see how that would be a problem, especially when even Dr. Kodema is questioning the therapeutic value of having Callie there. The fact that she's suggesting how group-inappropriate Callie is certainly hasn't helped to make her case look any better. If we can get her attending and taking part in individual or even family sessions, it demonstrates that their recommendation was inappropriate—not that she's 'unable to rehabilitate,'" he said sadly.

"I know," he agreed when Stef straightened into a defensive posture and rolled her eyes.

"Since we're on the topic now, let's think of some strategies we can implement to help support Callie with her parole," Bill redirected. He had already given Lena a heads up about the call he received from the Parole Officer and trusted that the women had discussed the details between them.

"I think the best course of action is if I put forth a recommendation for why it's in Callie's best interest to stay in community, in addition to what we'll be doing to have her adhere to the conditions that have been set forth by the court. What that means is I'll include a summary of her progress since she's been in your home—things like her grades, physical health, and the gains in socioemotional development. I'll make sure to connect with Gisella's office to have her provide her clinical opinion, too." He had been around long enough to know that a one-page response wouldn't suffice.

"So, what happens after this? How long do we need to wait?" Stef asked curiously. This had been her greatest worry for a long time: the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war.

"That's a good question. Essentially the response goes through my Supervisor, who signs off on it before it's sent to the PO. We already have a date set for a Case Conference with her PO and other representatives from Juvenile Justice. That's a chance to address any questions or concerns that emerge," he explained. "The whole process could take two to three weeks."

Lena cut right to the chase, acknowledging the elephant in the room. "How serious is this, Bill? I know probation violation is a big deal but this is also Callie's first time. Are they looking at revoking her parole?"

Bill sighed. He had expected this question to come up and had prepared his answer carefully. "I don't expect that they'd revoke her probation based on the violations alone, no. It'd be a different story if Callie had managed to get arrested and charged with something else, though."

"If they wanted to pick her up, they would've done so already. They have grounds to do that, even based on the truancy alone," the cop clarified.

If this was the response to skipping school and a suspension, she was sure Callie wouldn't stand a chance should it ever emerge that she had accessed a gun and ran away.

Bill paused, wanting to be honest but not worry Stef and Lena more than they needed to be. "I mean, it's significant enough that her case is being brought up the chain and that they want more information. In talking with her PO, it seems his main concern is why there was such a long string of absences from school that went under the radar. He was also concerned about the drug and alcohol use on school grounds because of Callie's previous charge of possession, which is understandable."

"Look, I know this all probably sounds scary because we don't know what's going to happen," Bill validated, seeing the women's tired and worried expressions. "But right now all he's asked for is increased frequency of visitation and reporting from the school, and a plan from our end to see Callie through to the end of her probation. I think we can provide that, as well as demonstrate that it can be plausibly implemented. So let's just try to stay focused on that."

Together, the three adults reviewed the sign-in process to monitor for class attendance as well as ways to increase supervision to dissuade Callie from skipping. Between them, they worked out that Callie had likely intercepted the automated messages from the school notifying of her absences, which is why no one had found out until Stef had caught her. Once they figured that out, Lena immediately phoned admin to update their contact information so that calls from the absence line would go directly to their cell phones. As well, she approved the request to increase frequency of reporting to monthly rather than quarterly. They hoped that implementing these changes right away would demonstrate that they were taking the breaches of parole seriously, were taking steps to address them, and ultimately get Juvenile Justice to back off a little.

After much debate, they also came to the decision that Callie was to continue sessions with Dr. Wiseman. She wouldn't be thrilled, but all three of them thought she would comply. Plus, if they were asking Callie's Parole Officer to let her switch from the current group she was in, they needed to follow through.

Reluctantly, they also agreed to increased visits with him in the short-term, asking that it only be considered once other changes had been put into action—including increased visitation with Bill first. They were not averse to increased monitoring by the Parole Officer; however, knowing Callie was afraid of the police, they didn't feel comfortable readily accepting.

As they were wrapping up, the kids bounded in, accompanied by a tired-looking Sharon. "Hey Jujube, hey Cal! You're just in time," Bill greeted cheerfully as the siblings came into the living room.

"Did you know that most people think that jujubes are pronounced ju—jubes instead of juju—bees which is the right way?" Jude yammered. "It's an easy mistake to make but if you look at the box—Ow!" he whined as Callie elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"Sorry," he said automatically.

"No, no. The apology is mine. I thought it was a matter of preference," Bill managed to respond before guffawing.

"Do you, uhm—got any?" Jude asked shyly.

Wearing an expression of exaggerated regret, Bill slapped his forehead. "You know what…I think I left them behind in my office," he said seriously, checking his pockets. Just as the boy's hopefulness waned, he reached into the inside of his jacket. "Oh! It's your lucky day!" he exclaimed, causing both kids to grin.

Stef was certain her youngest was going to pee himself as Bill pulled out a slightly squashed rectangular carton and Jude all but grabbed it out of his hands.

Lena was on it right away. "Excuse me? What do you say?" she scolded lightly, mortified at her son's presumptuousness. Still, she was having a lot of trouble keeping it together. Around them, Jude was a fairly docile child so it was surprising to see him comfortable enough with Bill to talk back and ask for candy.

"Please can I have it?" Jude asked her hopefully, his face dropping when the woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow. That was clearly a no.

"You may," she prompted slowly, remaining stern to send a message they were not yet done.

"Oh…thank you," he tried again, realizing his mistake and wanting to be off the hook. Lena looked scary.

Lena shook her head at her son in disapproval. "It's not me you need to thank, Jude," she informed him.

"Sorry," he said, turning back to Bill before mumbling, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"See, there's the bee!" the boy cried out, enthusiastically pointing out the little cartoon insect to the Case Worker.

Stef and Lena exchanged a sympathetic look at seeing how quickly the moment had passed for him. Even though the interaction hadn't made him feel good, Jude felt secure enough to know that Lena had only been unhappy because she needed to remind him to use his manners—as she usually did. Now that the slate was wiped clean, he was happy it was over.

"Alright Juju-bee, I'm going to talk to Callie first. We'll come get you when we're done. Leave us some, please. And more than a quarter of the box this time," he instructed, chuckling as Lena rolled her eyes. Hey, if it took a bit of junk food to bond with the kids he needed to care for…

"Okay!" the eight-year-old chirped, running back to Sharon. Unbeknownst to him, she'd been waiting patiently by the kitchen to get him out of their hair.

Bill got up off the couch. "Here, have a seat, Callie." He gestured to Lena. "Let's switch spots," he offered, committed to having the foster family play a good part while he took responsibility for the bad news. He had nearly a five-year-history with her and could afford to take a few hits, while Stef and Lena could not. At the end of the day, Callie wasn't going home with him.

"How was school today?"

"Good," Callie whispered, the first signs of panic bubbling in her chest. She didn't like that she was in the company of the three adults where she would be subjected to endless questioning. Somehow, foster parents always seemed to get mad after Bill came over. She would have to be extra careful with how she answered.

"Getting everything done that you need to? My nieces and nephews tell me that it's almost end of term."

Callie nodded. "Yeah, it's busy. A charter school is kinda hard."

"That it is. And you've never been to one before, right? I see you're doing really well, though. Your grades are high and that's not easy to do when you're coming when the school year has already started. Keep it up!" he praised as Callie gave him a small smile.

"Doing well in school isn't just about the marks though, hey? You can't just go in to drop off your assignment and peace out, or be out to lunch when you do attend. I know that's what you're used to doing but we have the same deal as before. You need to go to every single one of your classes."

"I know it's hard to change. But because it's a written condition of your parole, it means you agree to go to school. So unless you're ill—I don't want to hear about any more missed blocks."

Bill felt guilty when Callie shifted uncomfortably. Due to heavy caseloads, children rarely saw their Case Workers over good news, which made it a challenge to build strong relationships based on positive experiences. That was what Service Providers were for.

"What happened last week? Everything had been going so well…I was surprised that you were suspended," he said, levelling his minor with a serious gaze.

Her stomach in knots, Callie stared at him miserably. "I don't know."

It was the moment Stef felt her protectiveness for her daughter take over. Seeing Callie's face blotch up as it usually did before she'd start to cry, her eyes darting up to Bill and back down again, the woman couldn't help it. Callie looked crestfallen and frightened.

Stef very well knew that their daughter was a ward of the state—meaning that she and Lena were just another set of arms for Bill in caring for her. They were accountable to him; not the other way around. Still, to maternal instinct, it felt like an affront. As though he was overstepping his role.

"I think it needs to be clarified at the Case Conference that there was never any proof that Callie was doing drugs and alcohol on the campus," she interjected. "At no point in time did a teacher see her with either in hand. Yes, there was a concern she might have been in a car where there were allegedly marijuana and open beer but I'm not sure it's anything beyond that," Stef asserted calmly.

She wasn't sure what was coming over her but threatened was the only word she could think of to describe how she felt. It was a cunning move and Stef knew she was being aggressive for running on a technicality but that wasn't beneath her if it meant fighting the Parole Officer. Without evidence, it'd be hard to prove that Callie had violated the condition specifying no illicit substances and alcohol.

"Either way, we've made it clear that none of this is to happen again," Stef said sternly as she gave her daughter a pointed look.

Callie felt her stomach plummet at hearing the cop's words. She had never felt so disappointed and ashamed in herself. Not only did Stef know the truth about what she'd done but she was sticking up for her and she couldn't understand why. Imagining the worse, she swallowed hard. Would Stef make her pay for it when Bill left?

"Is this true? No one saw you?" Bill asked, turning to Callie. This wasn't the first time he had case managed a youth with criminal justice involvement and, like Stef, he was well aware that every detail mattered.

He sighed tiredly and gestured around the room at the adults when the girl didn't respond right away. "All of us in this room are working very hard to support you. For us to do that, we need you to be truthful with us," he said patiently.

"Go ahead, honey. You're not going to be in any trouble," Stef encouraged when Callie glanced worriedly at her, looking for direction.

"No one saw us. Just Wyatt. Timothy—my English teacher—said to come out of the car and I did but I didn't have anything on me."

"What happened after that?" Bill inquired.

"He said to go to the Principal's office."

Trying not to sigh loudly, the Case Worker peered over his glasses at the youth. Getting answers out of her had always been like pulling teeth. "Yes?"

She stole a glance up at Bill, catching the knowing, disappointed look he gave her. "I—I didn't go. Sorry," she confided, mumbling as she hung her head.

Arms crossed, Stef watched the exchange intently and nodded in approval. There it was—the loophole that would save Callie this time.

Lena, who'd initially been confused by the discussion, had never been happier with her daughter for disobeying.

"Okay. Thank you, Callie." He hid his smile, hopeful that this would help him advocate for her. He didn't need her knowing that, however. "I need you to start toe-ing the line a little more carefully, kiddo. You've some pretty good things going for you here and I don't want to see you shoot yourself in the foot when you're this close to the finish line," Bill warned. "We're not going to have a repeat of this. Right?"

He had wanted to wait for an answer but settled for another nod before deciding to cut to the chase. "Alright. Stef, Lena, and I've been talking about a few things we can do to help you follow your parole conditions. I believe they've already gone over some of them with you so we won't revisit those," he began.

"I do want to talk to you about Dr. Wiseman, though." From the way Callie looked at him, it was clear as day that she knew what he was going to say. They had been down this path many times together.

"I'm going to recommend that you keep going to see her. No, hold up—let me tell you why," Bill said quickly when Callie began to argue. "It will get your PO to lay off a little. I know it sucks," he said empathically. "Stef and Lena left it up to you but I'm making the decision for you right now," he continued with finality.

"I just want you to show up and try. Plus, if he wants any assessments, you'd probably be switching over to her anyway. I'll start looking into the possibility of getting you out of group but it may take a little while," he offered, hoping that was a good enough olive branch to win over her cooperation.

"What do you mean, if they want assessments?" Stef asked, her tone none-too-gentle. "Isn't there a process? He just can't ask for that, right?" she demanded. She knew exactly what the Parole Officer was trying to pull and she wasn't going to have any of it. Looking between Bill and Lena in horror, she could only hope that they would back her up on this.

Bill immediately regretted mentioning anything. "He hinted that he wanted her assessed for any learning or behavioural difficulties in case an alternative program might be a better fit," he said, keeping it general for Callie's sake. "But you're correct, it's not his place."

"Whoa. Wait," Lena began before her wife completely cut her off.

"He doesn't have that right!" the cop said incredulously. "First he recommends a group where the kids are on average two years older, who are far more entrenched in the youth justice system. Then he complains about lack of participation and makes insinuations about rehabilitative potential! Maybe if he stopped trying to set up all his kids for failure then they would feel like the system had some faith in them!" she huffed angrily before shaking her head.

"I know. We also feel that was completely inappropriate," the Case Worker conceded. Although Bill had his own concerns about the Parole Officer's intentions and how he'd exercise diplomacy, he was confident this decision was in their hands. He turned to Lena, wanting to give her a chance to speak though he already anticipated what her thoughts on the matter might be.

"I think what Stef is trying to say is that assessments can't be demanded, as I'm sure you're aware, especially when there aren't concerns. That determination of whether it's warranted is always up to the discretion of a licensed clinician after a formal screening process. There have been absolutely no concerns about a behavioural disorder at any time—not from the school, me, or Dr. Wiseman. Never. Assessing for something without therapeutic rationale is harmful, period," the woman snapped.

"Believe me, it's already on our radar of things to address at the case conference. We're not going to allow that to happen if we can help it," he reassured the women before turning his attention to Callie. He'd been keeping a close eye on her and had seen her sadness, fear, and remorse mount as the heated discussion between the adults progressed.

"We're not allowing that to happen, okay? Not without good reason," he repeated for her sake. Callie was staring at him from behind Lena, confusion and discouragement evident on her young face. Realizing they were just spinning their wheels and there was nothing more they could do beyond simply waiting, he reached a hand out towards her. It was time to wrap this up.

"Cal, it'll all get sorted. Come on. Let's go find your brother and see if he remembered to save us any treats," Bill suggested, grateful when she accepted and stood to follow him.

A/N:

How do you think Callie is holding up through all this?

(I should point out that I paint a far sunnier picture of the relationship children in care would typically have with their Case Worker. I think it would be rare for Bill to have been with Callie and Jude from the beginning. In Canada (as I'm sure is the case in the US too), our Case Workers are invaluable to the children they're assigned to. They're responsible for advocating/coordinating for care needs and ensuring housing, education, lifeskills, health, and socioemotional needs are being met. Unfortunately, our government doesn't invest enough in foster care. What this means is that caseloads have climbed drastically; Case Workers are often overworked, assigned many more people they can effectively manage. They get burnt out and leave the profession, even if they do care about what they do. As a result, kids in crisis fall through the cracks, stuck in unideal situations for a long time before anyone notices. It isn't unusual for children to go through an average of over 1 Case Worker a year. That is appalling.)