Author Note:

If you guys haven't had the chance, please hop on over to the Chapter 35 extension by theypreferthetermpeople (s/12821714/1/Making-Wisdom-Out-of-Wounds-Continued). She wrote a StefxLena scene after Stef helps Callie with her shower and it's a beautiful addition.

Life is flying by here. I just started drafting the last chapter (tear!) amidst washing baby clothes. My second kiddo should be arriving in spring and I've long given up the idea of finishing up this fic before his arrival. I'm on track to finish drafting but expect posts will be slower.

Stef and Lena will learn what Callie overheard around the Chapter 40 mark; once we get there, hopefully it'll be clear how the tension with Jude precipitated all of that. Callie has been doing a good job keeping her insecurities under wraps, but a couple more stressors will perpetuate her anxiety about being unwanted and strain her ability to keep it to herself. There are no plans to have Stef get injured at work. There's been enough crises in IUW and I do not have the heart to throw in another setback. It would be so hard on Callie. Plus, Stef has been making so many inroads with her.

New readers: welcome, I hope you enjoy! ~b

Chapter 37: Pulling Apart at the Seams

"Lena!" Stef called as she threw her wallet and keys onto the entryway console. "Anyone home?" The house was a little too quiet for her own comfort; usually the kids would be around, either doing their homework or lounging in the family room.

Making her way into the kitchen, she found her wife elbow deep in a sink full of dishes, staring distractedly out the window. Their children were outside in the backyard.

"Babe?" she tried again. Walking up from behind, she wrapped her arms around Lena's waist to get her attention. "Smells good."

"Oh, hi honey. I didn't hear you come in," Lena said. "Dinner's almost ready—it just needs to simmer a little bit longer. Pulled pork burgers, coleslaw, and soup."

"Mmm, sounds great…but that's not what I was referring to," Stef whispered into her ear.

Lena smiled as her wife buried her nose in her neck. She turned off the faucet and wiped her hands before reciprocating with a hug and a kiss of her own. I'm so glad you're finally home," she sighed.

In actuality, Stef hadn't been that late tonight; she just happened to be exhausted after dealing with all five of their children. Days like this it felt as though she was a frazzled new parent all over again.

"Thanks for letting me do what I love…" Stef said. It was something she was always appreciative about but knew she didn't express nearly as often as she should.

When Jesus and Mariana were still new to the family, Lena had been offered an administrative position within the school district. The pay grade was a notch higher, making it attractive because it would have allowed Stef to go down to part-time. However, it required long hours—some on weekends—being on call, and travelling. Lena had gone back and forth on whether to accept it, but ultimately turned it down. She knew Stef wouldn't have been happy being home more and that two parents working unpredictable hours would be too much of a stressor on their family. The twins needed a lot of attention then, and the job didn't make sense. But Stef had carried the burden of guilt ever since.

"Wait—what happened?" Stef asked, concerned all of a sudden. It wasn't like Lena to sound so discouraged.

Lena shook her head. Their kids were menaces, that's what. "Jesus and Jude were pretty hyper and being disruptive during homework…no one was able to focus, so I ended up sending all of them out and said no one was coming back in until we were ready for dinner."

"That sounds fair. I would've done the same." The cop looked out the window to take inventory and frowned; they were all there, except their youngest. The implication being that something had happened and that he'd probably been sent to his room. "Uh, where's Jude?" she asked, a little nervously. He had been acting out more since their family session.

Lena sighed loudly, clearly exasperated. "Upstairs having quiet time," she said, referring to their euphemism for a time out. "He kept pestering me and pestering me about riding his bike. I compromised by saying that he could walk it if he wanted to, but that was it—that he was not to ride it," she explained, regretting that she had caved. "Anyways, with Jesus'…encouragement…he promptly took it to the side of the house to try and ride it where I wouldn't see. I'm guessing Callie was trying to stop him because I heard the two of them arguing, and then she and Jesus started getting into it." That was when she had gotten involved.

The cop slumped her head down in defeat. All this over a bike that Jude had had for less than a week. The reason they'd been strict with him on not riding it was because he didn't know how to yet and they were still waiting for his helmet to arrive. Knowing how much Jude looked forward to it, she had ordered one for him right away and had already spent hours replacing the brake lines, sanding out and painting over the rust, and tightening up the handlebars. So it was frustrating that he was being so impatient.

"I don't think I can stand hearing one more peep about that bike," Stef said, shaking her head. "If he can't listen, he's going to lose it."

"That's essentially what I told him. That maybe it needed to go away for awhile." Lena agreed but it hadn't felt good to tell him that.

"And how did my little man take it?"

"Let's just say, it could've gone better," Lena admitted. She bit her lip, figuring out how to best temper her words. More often than not, Stef's days were draining. The last thing she wanted to do was to dump every little thing on her as soon as she came through the door.

Seeing her wife raise an eyebrow, she realized it was too late; Stef expected details. She just hoped she wouldn't be too upset with their youngest. "None of them were budging at first…but while I was having a word with Jude, he turned on Callie and started yelling at her for 'always getting in the way,' saying that if it hadn't been for her that I wouldn't have found out. He was pretty angry with her."

She shook her head sadly. That was putting it nicely—in reality, it'd been a full blown meltdown, one that rivalled the one during their family therapy appointment. Annoyed with Jude and not having the energy or patience to deal with him in that moment, she had sent him to his room to cool down.

"Oh, honey," Stef said sympathetically, guessing that Lena had probably been beating herself up over this. "Why didn't you call me? I would've left right at the end of shift."

"I thought I could handle it, I guess," Lena confessed. "No, really," she insisted, unable to help but feel slightly self conscious at the skeptical look her wife was giving her.

"It was fine until I gave Callie what I thought was a very gentle reminder that she needed to come to me instead of trying to step in like that. She—she didn't argue with me. Actually, she was all smiles and agreed, but I'm pretty sure she's crying about it…right now," Lena said, gesturing to the very end of their backyard. Callie was sitting by their tree, head buried in her arms.

"Oh, no…

"They're going to be okay…right?" Stef asked, dismayed that not only Callie and Jude weren't getting along but that the tiniest attempts at redirection were met with a disproportionate level of anxiety from their daughter. "I'm worried about Miss Callie. She's was so sensitive last night, too," she said, remembering their discussion on Ricochet and the girl's fears that her job was dangerous.

"Me too," Lena agreed. "Gisella did say to expect things to become worse before they get better. That as the two of them become more secure in their relationship with us and receptive to the idea of adoption, their relationship will naturally reconfigure. They're not going to have to rely on each other as much."

"I guess I just hate that our children are hurting."

"Me too, Stef."

"How else was Bug's day?"

"Hard to say. She looks a little run down and didn't eat much of her lunch…all this stress is going to catch up with her," Lena said, remembering how it looked like Callie was struggling to keep down the few bites she'd taken. Several times she had asked her how she was feeling, but the girl had stubbornly maintained everything was 'fine.' Being thirteen, she wasn't exactly skilled at holding up a front, though.

"Hmm? Well, Callie admitted to still having withdrawal, so that's to be expected, I think. I tried to push her to talk about it last night but she was pretty dismissive. She did say that she was happy you were letting her snack, though," the cop said, smirking at her wife.

"Seriously? I am not that bad, am I?" Lena asked, offended. She resented that.

"No, no. We just have a separate cupboard of banished food for no reason," Stef teased, pecking her wife on the cheek. "Hey…what's wrong?" she questioned, noticing Lena's face fall.

"I just wish Callie and I had a better relationship," Lena admitted. "She's so guarded with me still."

There, she had said it. She had openly admitted to one of her greatest fears which had only grown since her wife came into their room last night after Callie had fallen asleep.

"You should've seen her. She was so sweet," Stef gushed. She had been describing how Callie had snuggled up to her after all her questions about the K9 dog she was working with.

Between spending morning and afternoon breaks, and lunch time together, Lena had gotten more face time with their daughter than ever. But after over a week of this, Callie hadn't really opened up to her. She always made polite conversation, but apart from asking for instrumental help, she shied away from most other interaction.

"That's not true at all. You two have a relationship," Stef soothed, looking into her wife's eyes as she caressed her cheek. "Didn't Gisella say that Callie and Jude's attachment to us would be different?"

"Sure. It's just that, you got further with her last night than I have all week," Lena replied, unable to hide her jealousy. Although she knew it was well-intentioned, her wife's lack of understanding and validation of her frustration was making her feel more irritated, not better. It was more of a dismissal than anything.

She began to look away, but not before Stef cradled her face between her hands.

"Stop. You're a good mom, Lena. That kid loves you." She didn't get why Lena was taking things so personally. "She called you 'Mama' first, remember?" she reminded.

"No…she didn't," Lena huffed, turning around to return to the dishes. "She referred to me as 'Mama'. She called you 'Mom,' first. There's a difference, Stef." She'd been more sensitive about this topic once she realized Callie hadn't called her anything since then.

Shocked, Stef stared at her wife. This wasn't anything to get so down about. "It's the same, no—?"

"No. It's not," Lena snapped in exasperation as she began to loudly scour a pot. "Can you—can you just go talk to Jude?" she said abruptly, not wanting to continue this conversation any longer.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she heard Stef walk away, now feeling guilty for resenting her wife on top of everything else.

Callie crept in the back entrance, holding the storm door until it clicked softly into place. After making sure no one was around, she closed the main door and turned the deadbolt. Stef always harped on them to completely lock the door as soon as they came in, and she didn't want to forget.

Tucked under her arm was the small, portable stereo that the cop had showed her before. It was less than a foot long, the type where you slid the speakers into place. Safely hidden in her hoody pocket was the first cassette in the series her Mom had recorded, headphones, and a pair of D-batteries Stef had left for her beside the player.

Quickly making her way to the den off the living room, Callie slid into the leather office chair. She swivelled it around so that it's back faced the door before slouching down low so she wouldn't be seen. Holding her breath, she put in the tape, only exhaling once the robotic hum of the reel spinning kicked in.

It was funny, how things worked. Only a few weeks ago, she couldn't recall her Mom's voice. But now that she could hear her again, everything came flooding back. Details like the side her Mom always parted her hair, and the shampoo she liked to use. It was crazy that she'd ever forgotten.

She had just stopped to rewind the tape from the point where her Mom began reading, to the beginning so she could listen to the birthday greeting again when she heard a noise. Craning her neck around the chair, she noticed Jude's socked feet at the door.

Crap.

"Callie?" he called, pushing the door wide open. He'd been told to find his sister and to apologize for what he'd said to her that afternoon.

"Uh—yeah, Jude. Hold on." Callie hurriedly ripped off the headphones and pushed the stereo behind her. She glowered at him, annoyed at the interruption. "What?"

"MOM said—" he began before realizing that Callie had something behind her. "What are you—"

His face clouded as understanding set in. "You're listening to the tape without me, aren't you?" he accused, getting upset. He couldn't believe it. First, he had had to find out in front of everyone that the possibility of listening to their Mom's voice existed because Callie had hid it. Now, she was continuing to keep it from him.

Callie froze. Truthfully, she'd been starting to consider the women as their mothers, but to hear Jude refer to Stef as his Mom in the cavalier manner he did was a shock to her system. There was no way he'd thought about the implications of that word as much as she had, yet he was acting as though he had right to hear their real Mom. And that wasn't fair—especially not since he'd decided that he wanted to have a relationship with their Dad.

"No," the girl lied. Trying to come up with something more convincing, she said, "I'm seeing if the player works…so I can play it…" It wasn't a complete untruth—she had done that as a first step. Nonetheless, she kicked herself; that wasn't very good.

Jude balled his fists. "You're lying!" he exclaimed, becoming outraged at the unfairness of it all.

"Why won't you let me listen?" he demanded. His frustration was reaching a peak. Callie had been standing in his way all day and he'd gotten into trouble with both Moms because of her.

"Because it's mine! Not your's!" Callie retorted, incredulous. This was her present that belonged to her. It wasn't something she had ever shared with him and she didn't get why he expected things to be any different now.

Plus, it wasn't like she wasn't ever going to let him in on it—but she needed time with it by herself, first, before then.

"She's my Mom, too!" Jude shot back. He felt stupid at the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Callie taunted, crossing her arms. "You don't even remember her!" she spat as her resentment with Jude began to unfurl.

"That's not true! I do SO remember!" Jude defended, sniffling. That his sister could be right was the source of his biggest insecurity and jealousy. Being five years older, Callie had gotten to do all of this fun stuff with Mom and make memories, well before he was able to participate. And just when he became old enough, she had died. He had missed getting to do any of that.

"What, Jude? What do you remember?" In spite of seeing his hurt, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction when he wasn't able to come up with an answer.

Infuriated, the boy lunged to grab the cassette player off the chair. Who said that he needed to wait for Callie to let him do anything?

"Give it back, Jude! It's not your's!" So focused on hiding the stereo when he'd come in, Callie was sure she hadn't turned it off and that it was still running.

"You want it back? Fine!"

"JUDE! NO!" Callie shouted, feeling a twinge of panic as her brother started pushing several buttons in series. She didn't like that he wasn't listening to her like he usually did. "Don't! You don't know how to do it!" she said, beginning to give chase.

Trying to dodge his sister, Jude weaved between the furniture. If he couldn't listen to it, then she couldn't either.

Desperate to get her brother to stop, Callie grabbed him as he bolted past to take refuge behind the armchair. Not expecting him to pull away from her so violently, she lost her grip. She watched in horror as Jude hit the floor hard. The stereo flew from his hands, smashing against the fireplace tile.

"Ow!" Jude complained, beginning to cry as Callie walked past him to pick up the player instead of seeing if he was okay. He had hit the corner of his hip on the desk as he fell and it was tingling.

"Now look what you've done," the older child said with an exasperated sigh. She picked up the shattered plastic case and hit eject, trying not to think about how mad their foster mothers would be when they learned it had broke.

Callie's eyes widened as she popped out the tape and saw that the reel had scrambled around the cassette.

"No…," she gasped in disbelief. "No, no, no…"

It looked bad, but she didn't know to panic just yet. Gingerly, she removed the tape and the mass of black plastic until she located where it was stuck in the mechanism. Only when she tried to extricate it with a slight tug and it gave way with a snap that it sank in. The cassette was broken.

"Jude," she said in a choked whisper as tears clouded her vision. "Jude! How could you?

"That—that's the only thing I have left of Mom's—that's the only way I can remember her!" she told him, trying to make him understand. She'd only gotten to listen to it twice.

"Are you HAPPY NOW? YOU'VE WRECKED IT!" she screeched. "She's GONE! SHE'S GONE AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

"I—I'm sorry," Jude stammered as the full gravity of what he'd done hit him.

"THAT'S THE THING. YOU'RE NOT!" she shouted, angered by his crying. She wanted to hit him. "YOU'RE NOT!"

Her words only caused him to become more upset. He hated it whenever his sister was mad at him. "Callie—I didn't mean to—" he tried to defend.

"GET OUT! GET—OUT! I don't want to see you!" Callie bawled, frustrated that Jude was making no effort to leave.

"Callie!"

"YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MOMS NOW SO WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE—MINE—ALONE?!" she screamed, not caring who heard her.

She knew, by the way he had flinched at her words, that it was mean—meant to carve Jude out from the relationship he so badly wanted with their Mom. It was probably the most hurtful thing she had ever said to him, but right now, she didn't care.

"WHOAAA! ENOUGH!" Stef shouted over the siblings. Initially, she and Lena had held back, wanting to see if the kids would be able to work out the argument amongst themselves. However, they'd aborted mission and come running once the yelling escalated and they heard a loud thud.

Met with stunned silence, Lena went to help Jude up off the floor. The boy immediately buried himself in her chest as his crying increased. Callie, too, was crying, and she stood with her head bowed, not wanting to make eye contact with either of the women.

"Alright…what's going on here?" the cop demanded as she crossed her arms. Now that she had their children's attention, she alternated her gaze between the two—trying to send a message that she knew they were equally responsible for this mess.

The broken stereo player amidst the tax papers scattered all over the floor was explanation enough of what their fight had been over. However, she held back, curious if they would confide in her and Lena if they weren't pushed. Her heart fell, realizing that she was partially to blame. After all, she'd been the one who told Callie to listen to the tape anywhere but in her room until she was ready to share.

She was unimpressed, though not entirely surprised, when neither child responded.

"Callie?" Hands jammed into her hoody pocket, her daughter was visibly nervous. Trying to exercise patience, Stef cleared her throat.

"Look...Mama and I are expecting an answer from the both of you," she said sternly when the girl only shrugged.

"Now," she ordered, raising her voice slightly to motivate them to reconsider their silence. Unfortunately, it only succeeded in making her kids flinch.

Wanting to back her wife up, Lena pulled over the desk chair. She sat down, maneuvering her youngest so that he stood facing her. "Jude—

"No. You are right where you need to be right now, young man," she told him firmly when he tried to pull away.

Shocked at the admonishment, a new bout of tears rolled down Jude's cheeks. This was the second time today that he had found himself in trouble with her and Lena felt for him knowing that he was not happy about it. She thumbed away his tears, lifting his chin to make him look at her. "Eyes up here when I'm talking to you."

She willed herself to be patient as she deliberated the best way to navigate this situation. Neither Callie nor Jude were used to having adults intervening but that was something they needed to learn was going to change. They could fight, but as their parents, she and Stef would get involved as they saw fit. "Now. I'm only going to ask you this once, so I want you to think carefully before you answer. What happened?"

"Callie p—pushed me!" Jude exclaimed through heaving sobs, self preservation the only thing on his mind at this point. He'd already been punished today because he had tried to ride his bike after being told not to. He wasn't going to mess up again.

He tugged down the waistband of his pants a little to show Lena where he'd hit the corner of the desk.

"Oh, no. Ouch," Lena consoled at seeing the dark scrape on his hip. It wasn't bleeding but it looked painful. "We'll put some ice on that okay?"

Seeing her daughter's face turn ashen, Stef felt her irritation spike. "Is this true? Did you push Jude?"

Callie's gaze flickered up to meet her foster mother's before falling again. She was screwed. Although that wasn't really the truth, it had been her fault that he'd fallen, the last thing she wanted was to get into more crap for lying. She just hadn't expected him to tell on her like that. In fact, this was the first time he had told on her since living at home, and he'd done so without any hesitation. Wiping her nose with her sleeve, she slowly nodded.

"Why? You know better than that, Callie…" the woman scolded.

She turned to the boy, deciding to give him a chance when her daughter kept silent. "Okay. Callie pushed you. What happened before then?"

"N—nothing," Jude lied, shaking his head to corroborate. He gave Lena a pleading look, hoping they'd believe him. He had definitely neglected to tell the whole story but did not want the women to find out about his part in all of this.

Lena narrowed her eyes, knowing better than to accept what he was telling them at face value. Kids didn't end up fighting out of the blue—at least her children never did—and both of their fidgeting was a dead giveaway.

"Jude. Remember when we talked about how being honest is always the right thing to do? Hiding something may seem like the easy way out but Mom and I do not appreciate learning about things after we give you a chance to set things straight. So I want you to think about what you're telling us, because we will find out—and we know that you will not like the consequences for that," she warned.

"Callie?" Stef tried again, bringing her attention back to her daughter.

"Nothing happened," the girl quickly replied. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to slow down to sound more convincing. "I shoved him," she added in a nearly inaudible tone. There wasn't any point in saying anything more.

The woman cocked her head. There was more to this story. "And what happened to the stereo?"

"I—It was me," Callie lied. She took a deep breath in the hopes she'd come across more confident. "I threw it. I—I'm sorry," she apologized, tearing up at knowing she was digging herself into a deeper hole. She was mad at Jude but wasn't going to throw him under the bus like he'd done to her.

Stef massaged her temple as she gave her wife a resigned look. Things weren't going the way she had hoped with both children skirting around the truth. She'd expected that it would be hard to get them to budge on the details but the lying especially confused her, and she wondered what had changed. Only last week, they'd been in Lena's office and that day, Callie and Jude had been forthcoming with them.

Knowing that the two would need to be separated if there was any hope of learning the real story, Stef refrained from further questioning.

"Alright. Callie. You go upstairs," she instructed. "Mama and I need to talk to Jude."

In Callie's rush to change into her PJs, the broken cassette fell out of her pocket onto the rug. Stunned by the reminder of the loss, she stared at it in sad disbelief before anger took over. Grabbing it, she shoved it into the back of her drawer, slamming it shut with such force that the dresser rocked. For a moment, it was satisfying—her way of saying she didn't need that tape.

It hurt to have it taken away so soon after having it returned—so much so that a part of her wished she hadn't known about its existence in the first place. As far as she was concerned, the first one—with her Mom's recorded message to her—was the most special. The rest she didn't care about as much.

Turning off the light, Callie curled onto her side to face the wall, desperately wishing for sleep. She expected that Stef and Lena would come talk to her once they finished with Jude and she felt as though there was no way she could get through it. Too worked up however, she remained wide awake. Soon, she felt the bed cave beside her and Lena's hand rubbing her back. Surprised that the woman was being nice to her even after what she'd admitted to, hot tears pricked her eyes once again.

"Honey…you and Jude are going to be just fine," Lena said softly at hearing her daughter's hiccupped cries. Callie was so upset.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, trying not to move. Although she was comforted by having Lena there, she really didn't want to talk and was hoping that if she didn't engage, Lena would leave her alone.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't have her way.

Feeling the foot of the bed sag, she realized Stef was there, too. Discouraged, she inched closer to the wall away from Lena's hand.

The women shared a weary glance. As much as Callie wanted her space, this talk was needed to ensure that the new territory was an opportunity for learning. She and Jude were free to disagree with each other—that was a normal part of having siblings. However, kindness and respect for each other were still expected. An altercation like the one they had had tonight wasn't acceptable.

"Come on. Sit up please," Lena said, patting Callie's arm. "Mom and I want to talk to you."

She was barely able to refrain from rolling her eyes when her daughter's response was to bury her face in her pillow. "That wasn't a request, sweetheart. The faster we do this, the sooner you can go to sleep," she encouraged.

"Go away…" the girl whined. If it wasn't a request, Lena shouldn't have said they wanted to talk to her. She had a feeling, however, that now wasn't a good time to point that out.

"Now, Callie. I am not going to tell you again," Lena said in a firm but gentle tone.

Callie groaned in annoyance. "Fine!" She ran the back of her hand across her nose before dragging herself out from beneath the covers. "Happy?" she mumbled, avoiding looking at either of her foster mothers.

"I am. Thank you," Lena replied patiently. She wasn't going to let that get to her.

"I'm sorry that you and Jude fought," she empathized, shocked to see how red and puffy her daughter's face was. "Oh, honey…are you okay?"

Callie nodded. She didn't need their sympathy. "It's not a big deal," she said hoarsely.

"Of course it is—"

"—Can we just get this over with?" the girl snapped in irritation, forgetting that Stef was right there until she heard her clear her throat.

The cop levelled a scathing look at Callie, deciding it'd be best if she took over. Their daughter did not respect her wife, period. "Is this really how you want to start this conversation?" she questioned rhetorically as the girl shook her head.

"I didn't think so. So if I were you, I'd lose that attitude. You are not in trouble right now but if you keep this up, that can change," Stef castigated.

Sulking at being told off, Callie watched as Stef got up and crossed one leg underneath before sitting down. She drew in a shaky breath, nervous about what Jude had told them. She had definitely said some things to him that she knew the women would not react well to if they were to find out.

"What happened tonight? It's not like you to get so upset with Jude that you resort to pushing—which, by the way, we appreciate you telling us," Stef began as Callie lowered her head.

"I do think you know that that's not how we solve our problems in this house when we get angry. However, I don't think you would have behaved in that way without a reason."

Based on how readily Jude had volunteered his side of the story and Callie's passive, despondent acceptance—Stef had suspected the truth lay somewhere in the middle. There were holes in Jude's account of what had taken place; he had maintained full innocence, saying he only wanted to listen to the tape and that his sister had shoved him for no reason.

"It's not important," Callie replied in hushed resignation, all signs of defiance gone as she brushed away a stray tear.

"Of course it is, love. That you are upset it important to Mama and I," the woman coaxed. "We want to help but can't if you're not willing to be transparent with us."

"There was no reason," the girl insisted. "I…I just got mad and pushed him, okay?"

"I know you were angry," Lena sympathized, recalling part of the exchange she and Stef had heard. "But Mom is right. You know better than to get physical. If something was happening that you did not like, you should have come and gotten one of us. Understood?" It was unlikely that Callie would budge on their story but she hoped her daughter might pick up on the hint that neither she nor Stef believed that they were being told the truth.

Stef nodded. "Mama and I wanted to talk to you about something you said to Jude—something we overheard you tell him that probably hurt his feelings," she quickly added.

It was a lie. They hadn't overheard the exact comment; rather, Jude had told them. However, the last thing the women wanted was for Callie to be more upset with the boy for telling on her, adding more strain to their relationship. "Do you have any idea what that might be?" she inquired, offering her daughter a chance to take responsibility.

Callie gave the cop a guilty look. She sorta knew what Stef was alluding to, but there was no way she planned to admit to anything until she was absolutely certain that that was what her foster mother was referring to.

"Are you sure?" Stef questioned as the girl fidgeted under her gaze. This was important enough that she was willing to let her be uncomfortable for a little while longer.

"Um. Yeah," Callie stammered. Her face was beginning to burn from the lie.

Lena smiled sadly to herself. She understood that for the siblings, the fight—though relatively benign—was a watershed moment they were deeply upset about and processing. Thinking what it meant for them. Still, she was discouraged that Callie refused to confide in them.

"Sweetheart…you insinuated that because Jude doesn't remember your Mom, that she isn't his Mom," Lena said sternly. "Did you or did you not?" she asked, annoyed when Callie gave a small shrug.

She had been livid when Jude had eventually disclosed what Callie had said. It'd taken a while to piece together; their son had been inconsolable, clinging to Stef as he repeatedly tried to communicate through gut-wrenching sobs. "Mom! Mom!"

"You are to apologize to Jude first thing tomorrow. Do you hear me?" Lena said, making their expectation clear.

"We do not use hurtful language like that in our family—and that especially was uncalled for," Stef added. "I don't want to find out that you taunted Jude in that way again."

"You can't tell me how to talk to him!" Callie huffed.

Stef gasped, though more out of amusement than incredulousness at her daughter's naïveté.

"No! You can't tell me how to talk to Jude!" Callie argued, indignant at her foster mother's reaction. Frustrated, she kicked in Stef's direction from under the blanket. This was so stupid—it wasn't their place. Plus, she had been the one who had raised him. Not them!

She quailed somewhat when Stef caught her foot and gave her a look that told her she'd gone too far.

"Stop. We don't do that," the cop ordered, raising her voice to meet Callie's. "It's okay to disagree but we still expect you to be respectful."

"Hey. Stop..." she tried again more gently when she felt the girl withdraw her foot, presumably to launch another kick at her. The mere thought of another tantrum tonight was overwhelming.

Her stubborn child responded by folding her arms across her chest and glowering at her.

"Well it's true," Callie responded with attitude. "You can't—"

"And why not?" Stef challenged.

"Because…he's my brother!"

It was such a genuine response that it was comical. To keep herself from laughing, the cop purposely avoided making eye contact with Lena. Her wife, also motivated to keep composure, had gotten up in a hurry to adjust the curtains.

"Jude is your brother," Stef validated, taking Lena's spot beside the girl. "And you're right, Mama and I cannot control what you say to him. But the same rule of using kind and respectful language when speaking to others—anyone—still applies, Cal. That was a low blow, kiddo, and we're disappointed that you chose to talk to him in that way."

Callie felt her stomach knot up at hearing those words. She hated when she was a disappointment, yet somehow she'd managed to do it again and add to their regret. "Sorry. I'll stop," she said softly, rubbing away the tears that pricked her eyes. "I'll apologize to Jude."

It discouraged her that Stef and Lena were siding with him, but she knew there wasn't much she could do about it. Not if she wanted to keep living here, anyway.

"Sorry..." Callie whispered once more.

"Honey," Stef murmured, taken aback by the fresh batch of tears flooding the girl's cheeks. Her heart ached at the child's insecurity. It had been such a minor scolding—they had barely raised their voices, and the only consequence was for Callie to apologize to her brother.

"No, no…don't do that, love," she said, gently grabbing the girl's hand away from her face. Callie had gone to run her pyjama sleeve against her nose. She cringed as her daughter sucked in loudly; no matter how many times she and Lena had explained that would only make the congestion worse, the habit was well-ingrained.

"Are you—are you still mad at me?" Callie asked as her breath hitched. It was a question directed at no one in particular; just something she wanted to know.

From across the room, Stef exchanged a concerned look with her wife, worried by the complete shift in the girl's demeanour.

"What? No, lovebug. Mama and I are mostly frustrated and a little confused that you shoved Jude and about what you said to him," the cop said honestly. "And while we're not exactly happy with your attitude tonight, I think we can all agree that that was a bit out of character for you two…we'll help you smooth things over with him tomorrow, okay?"

"'Kay."

The women watched as Callie wrapped her comforter around her and curled back onto her side. Her way of telling them she was done engaging.

"Do you not want to head down for bedtime snack?" Lena asked.

Callie's polite decline was muffled by her pillow. "No thank you. I'm full from dinner."

The cop sighed as she smoothed Callie's hair. She and Lena had just gone through the same thing with Jude earlier. "You know that even if you're not hungry we expect you to show, yes?" she tried gently, not wanting to push their daughter too much.

"I know. I just want to be alone. Please?" Callie begged.

Stef gave her wife a tired glance. They would let things slide this one time. It was only fair, since they'd allowed Jude to skip, too. "Just for tonight, okay Bug? We expect you there tomorrow."

The girl nodded before pulling the covers over her head. "'Kay."

"Can we bring you anything? Tuck you in?" Lena asked.

"No thanks," came the dejected reply.

She didn't want them right now.