Once again, thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites! They mean a lot to me.

Beta'd by KB.


They arrived at the courthouse early at Lena's insistence, the hustle and bustle of the house pre-wedding too much for all of them this morning. It was quiet when they arrived, with only a handful of officials around getting ready for the day ahead. An attentive gentleman in his fifties directed them to an empty waiting area, where chairs were set out in small pods and an old coffee machine stood in one corner.

They sat in a row, Callie flanked by Stef and Lena; all of them lost in their own thoughts about what was going to happen. Each cradled a Styrofoam cup of coffee in their hands – well, if you could call it coffee. It was a bitter, brown liquid that none of them could stomach, but it had provided them with a topic of conversation for a minute or two. Now, silence had fallen while they waited.

Stef leaned back in her chair, her head resting on the wall behind her as she stared up at the ceiling, following a crack that ran from one corner to another. Lena's eyes darted down the corridor, the courthouse a foreign place to her, and she watched with interest as the halls started to fill with people. Callie was slumped in her seat with her head lowered and her eyes concentrated on the floor.

"What time is Alex getting here?" Lena asked, breaking the silence.

Stef rolled her head to look towards Lena. "Uh, about ten o'clock," she answered.

They met each other's eye before both looking down at Callie. "You doing okay?" Stef asked, directing her question to the young girl in between them.

Callie didn't respond, leaving Stef's question hanging in the air. Carefully, and slowly, she placed her hand on Callie's knee.

"Callie?"

Callie's gaze drifted towards Stef's hand before she looked up at her foster mother and gave a small nod. Her head dropped again, avoiding any conversation. It was hard not to push the teenager to talk, both women desperate to know what was going on inside her head; but they had agreed to give her space, hoping that they had come far enough for her to feel like she could talk to them if she wanted.

The minutes continued to tick by in silence, a nervous energy filling the space between them. They became lost in their thoughts once again and so the two older women were startled when Callie suddenly stood up from her seat.

"You okay?" Lena asked, her eyes full of concern as she looked up at the young girl.

"Yeah. I, uh, I'm just going to the bathroom," Callie mumbled.

Lena's gaze flicked towards Stef. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine," Callie said, offering a reassuring smile that left no-one convinced. They watched her walk down the hallway, her body growing smaller as she got further and further away.

Lena closed her eyes and sighed, her body deflating. Stef leaned across the empty seat between them and wrapped her hand around Lena's.

"Hey," she said gently. She wanted to placate her, tell her that it was going to be okay, but they both knew that was far from the truth.

Lena bit her lip and Stef could see her processing her thoughts. She squeezed her hand, silently encouraging her to formulate those thoughts into words, knowing that it would eat her up if she kept her feelings hidden inside.

"I want her to lie," Lena confessed eventually.

She didn't have to look at Stef to sense her surprise. "I mean, I don't; of course I don't. I want her to tell the truth and I want Liam to go to jail for a hell of a long time," she said, exhaling deeply. "But if that won't happen, if he's gonna walk free? Then there's a part of me that wants her to lie."

She rolled her eyes upwards, her guilt apparent, and shook her head. "I know she's more mature than most sixteen year olds out there, but she's still a kid, and I feel like she's counting on us to tell her what to do and we're letting her down by not."

Stef ran her thumb lightly over her partner's skin. "We talked about this," she said calmly. "It has to be her choice."

"I know," Lena said, her voice a little harder than she intended. She squeezed Stef's fingers, offering an apologetic smile. "I know," she repeated, more softly this time.

Stef tugged at her hand and Lena's shoulder dropped to the side, her eyes closing as Stef placed a soft kiss on her temple.

Stef's head tilted to one side and her gaze drifted down the corridor, spotting Callie walking back towards them. She squeezed Lena's hand one more time before letting go and sitting up, making space in between them once more. Callie walked slowly but with purpose, her brow furrowed as if she was thinking furiously, which Stef assumed meant that she was still trying to work out what she would say when she was in the witness box. If she could trade places with the teenager, she would in a heartbeat; wishing that there was something she could do to take away the responsibility that lay squarely on Callie's shoulders right now.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Callie faltered. A flash of panic crossed her face, causing Stef to stand up instinctively. She followed Callie's eye line and caught sight of a family on the other side of the corridor. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the young man smirking confidently at her foster daughter.

Liam.

It caught her by surprise how old he looked, and how tall and broad he was compared to Callie's small frame. She felt anger rile up inside of her, which didn't go unnoticed by Lena, who stood up next to her.

"Stef," she warned, not only wanting to avoid making a scene but also conscious that Stef was still not fully healed following the shooting. She saw Stef puff out her chest resiliently and put a placating hand on her forearm.

Stef glanced at her partner, catching her elbow and pulling her into step beside her as she made her way swiftly towards Callie. As they reached her, Stef glared furiously at the Olmsteads; angry at Liam for what he had done and angry at his parents for letting it happen. She spared them only a fleeting moment before focussing on Callie. Lena had already grabbed Callie's hand and pulled her attention away from the family standing just a few steps away from them. Stef slid her arm around the girl's waist and pulled her close.

"It's okay," she murmured, only loud enough for Callie to hear. "Come on."

Callie's feet were rooted to the spot and Stef flattened her hand on her back, pushing her gently to encourage her to walk. They guided Callie back down the hallway, Stef on one side and Lena on the other, and found their seats again. Callie's hands were firmly in the grip of Stef and Lena's, and she was grateful for the physical contact, if only to stop her from shaking. Her eyes were glassy, giving away the scared child that she was. It reminded Lena of the first day she met her, outside Juvie. How far they had come since that day, yet still they couldn't protect Callie from her past.

With one hand holding Callie's, Lena placed the other on her back and rubbed gentle circles. "Callie?" she said tenderly. "It's okay to be upset."

Callie blinked a few times and shook her head resiliently. "I'm okay," she said.

"Callie, you don't have to be strong for us," Stef admonished lightly.

"We know this is hard," Lena said. "It's okay to be scared and it's okay to be angry. You don't have to hide that from us."

Callie looked at her then, her eyes piercing through Lena as if she had a million and one thoughts running through her mind. She opened her mouth to speak just as the ADA, Alex, arrived, flustered and dropping papers around his feet and stumbling over an apology. Three pairs of eyes rolled together at his incompetency.

Alex looked directly at Callie. "The clerk will call us into the room in about ten minutes. How are you, are you ready?"

Callie nodded resolutely, looking more determined than she had in days. "I'm ready."


Stef slipped her cardigan over her shoulders and let out a deep sigh. Her body ached with exhaustion, the last few weeks starting to take its toll. The shooting and its aftermath, the wedding preparations, the court case, the constant presence of her mother: all weighing down on her. Following her release from the hospital, Lena had been desperate for her to take the time needed to fully recover, but Stef's stubborn streak refused to allow her fiancée to shoulder the burden of everything that was happening on her own, regardless of the semi-healed bullet wound she carried.

She could hear Lena crashing around the kitchen downstairs, taking her anger and frustration out on the pots and pans as she made lunch. Despite Callie's honesty in the court room, they got the outcome they had expected. The judge had delivered his decision with surety, but there had been a hint of regret in his voice. Callie's body had shrunk in defeat as the judge spoke, her hands still firmly in the grip of Stef and Lena as they refused to let go. They had kept their reactions minimal for Callie's sake, but their disappointment had been evident.

The Olmsteads had been quiet and Stef was grateful that Callie had been spared their celebrations. She had caught Mrs Olmstead wiping away a tear as they left the courthouse and thought perhaps the woman knew what kind of man her son had become after all.

Callie had disappeared into her bedroom as soon as they had arrived home, announcing that she was tired, and had not emerged since. Walking into the hallway, Stef lingered outside her bedroom door for a moment, her hand wavering over the handle as she thought about checking up on her foster daughter. She understood that Callie needed time to get her head around the judge's decision, but she hated the idea of her being alone for so long.

Eventually, Stef knocked lightly on the door, waiting for Callie to invite her in before entering. Callie was lying on her bed, legs stretched out and hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. Stef sat down on the edge of the bed, hands clasped and resting in her lap.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked, disappointed when Callie merely shrugged her answer.

"You know, Lena and I are here for you if you wanna talk about it," Stef offered. "I know today must have been really hard and I think it would be good if you talked about it – to someone."

Their relationship had warmed since the day Stef had arrived home from work to find Callie sitting around the kitchen table, but the young girl still had walls built around her that would take time to knock down. Stef knew that she and Lena had only just started to make a crack.

Callie lowered her gaze and caught Stef's eye. After a beat, she moved, lifting herself up to sitting and twisting around so that her legs swung over the edge of the bed.

"I thought I'd be more angry," she said softly.

Lena chose that moment to break a mug downstairs, the sound echoing through the house, causing both heads to turn towards the door.

"I think Lena's angry enough for all of us," Stef teased, eliciting a small smile from Callie. Stef turned back towards her, dipping her head to try and catch her eye. "How do you feel?"

"I feel… like I shouldn't be surprised that things didn't go my way. Because ever since my mom died, that's pretty much how everything turns out," Callie answered stoically. "I mean, the lawyer told us that we'd lose." She paused to correct herself. "That I'd lose."

It broke Stef's heart to hear her isolate herself in that way. She shook her head. "It shouldn't be like that. You shouldn't feel like the world is against you, not when you're sixteen and your whole life is ahead of you. I wish…"

She paused. She wished that it had never happened; that these kids had come to them when their mother had died, so that they could have been protected from the last six years. But that was impossible.

"I just wish there was more we could do to get you what you deserve."

A silence fell over them.

"I'm sorry," Callie said eventually.

"For what?" Stef asked.

"If I'd told them it was consensual then maybe we would've had a chance. It wouldn't have all been for nothing."

"Oh sweetheart," Stef sighed, wrapping her arm around Callie's shoulders and squeezing her tightly. "Don't ever apologise for telling the truth. Just because we didn't get the outcome we wanted, doesn't mean it was for nothing."

"You're not mad?"

"Mad? No, honey. I am so proud of you. We both are," Stef said. "And I think you did the right thing. Screw the law, screw the judge, screw him. You did what was right for you, and that's all we care about."

Stef pulled her foster daughter close. She felt her tense up but she didn't let go, giving Callie a moment to relax into her embrace. Callie dropped her head onto her shoulder and Stef rested her cheek on top of her hair. It was the first real hug that Stef had ever given her.

"Thank you," Callie said, so quietly that Stef only just heard her. "Thank you for believing me."

Stef closed her eyes. "Thank you for telling us." She hugged Callie's body tighter and kissed the top of her head, before rubbing her arm and pulling back slightly. She noticed Callie hide her face to wipe away a stray tear that had rolled down her cheek.

"Listen, I know the last thing you probably want is a house full of strangers this weekend," Stef started to say.

"I don't mind," Callie said with a shrug. "It'd be nice to have something happy to think about."

"Well, look, if gets too hard at any time, then you come and find us, okay?" Stef said.

Callie nodded.

Another crash echoed up the stairs, causing Stef to roll her eyes. "I think I'd better go and rescue the kitchen from Lena."

Callie chuckled, allowing herself a momentary reprieve. Grateful to hear her laugh, Stef patted her legs before standing up and making her way downstairs, hoping they still had enough plates for dinner.


Lena wrapped her arm around her soon-to-be-wife and let out a contented sigh; their naked bodies curled together, legs entwined. Her head rested in the crook of Stef's neck and she smiled when she felt Stef's lips press against her forehead and her nose nuzzle her hair. It was early, but the sun was already streaming through the curtains and she could hear the faint sound of birds chirping outside.

They had fallen asleep around two a.m. With a firm nudge from Lena, Stef had finally explained what had been going through her head over the last few weeks, the words falling out of her as she opened herself up. There had been tears from both of them and declarations of love as Stef had given Lena the reassurance she needed over and over again that a lifetime being married to her was what she wanted; finally shutting up when Lena had covered her mouth with her own.

They had stirred a while ago, both too comfortable in their embrace to move, despite the busy day ahead. It was Saturday; they were getting married today. The thought made Lena smile. She closed her eyes as she thought about feeling like this, every day for the rest of her life: loved, happy and content.

"Lena?" Stef said, interrupting her daydream.

"Hmm?" came the soft reply

"I've been thinking about what you said – about Callie. About how she deserves more, how she deserves a break. They both do."

Lena opened her eyes. She had heard this tone in Stef's voice before, almost ten years ago. She lifted her head and propped it on her hand, shooting Stef a questioning look.

"I know we don't have much space and I know money is an issue…" Stef started to explain.

"But you want to keep them?" Lena interjected.

"You don't?"

Lena fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Stef turned her head to look at her, waiting for her reply.

"Yes, of course I do," Lena said eventually. She rolled onto her side, her head resting on her hand. "Do you think they'd want to stay?"

Stef mimicked her so that they lay face to face down the middle of the bed.

"I hope so. I mean, they seem happy here, right? Comfortable, safe?" She spoke as if she was trying to convince herself. "I just can't imagine them leaving, you know?"

Lena smiled. "You have a big heart, Stefanie Foster. And I'm so glad I have a piece of it."

Stef returned her smile and instinctively edged forwards just as Lena did, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. Stef's hand found Lena's skin, stroking it gently, craving the physical contact.

"Are we sure about this?" Lena asked, a little doubt creeping in. Stef looked at her and raised her eyebrows a little, her eyes saying 'yes'. A smile flashed across Lena's face. "Then I want to tell them – today. I don't want them coming to the wedding not knowing."

They shared a smile and Lena exhaled deeply.

"Two more, huh?" she stated. "I never thought I'd have five kids."

"I always wanted a big family," Stef said. "I hated being an only child. When Brandon was little, I wanted so much to be able to give him a brother or a sister. For a long time, I didn't think it would happen. Until you."

Lena looked surprised and Stef gave a small shrug.

"Everything that felt impossible became possible when I met you." Stef smiled. "I love you. I love this family we've created. I love that I get to enjoy it for the rest of my life."

Lena's heart beat faster in her chest. She lifted her hand and wrapped it around Stef's neck, pulling her close and embracing her in another deep kiss. She fell onto her back, taking Stef with her and emitting a soft moan as Stef's hand followed the curve of her hips.

It was Stef who pulled away first. "As much as I would love to stay in bed with you, we really should get up," she said a little woefully.

Lena pouted. "C'mon, half an hour?"

Stef rubbed her nose against Lena's as she shook her head. "Maybe we can finish this tonight? You know, when we're an old, married couple." She flashed Lena a sly grin.

"I like the sound of that," Lena said. "An old, married couple.

Stef dipped her head one more time, placing a quick kiss on Lena's lips, before rolling away from her and sitting up. The bed sheets fell around her, exposing her lean back. Lena's eyes flared as she looked her fiancée up and down, reaching out her hand and running it lightly over her hips.

"Stef?"

Stef looked over her shoulder at her.

"I love you, too," Lena said softly. "And our family."

Stef smiled, unable to hide her delight at hearing those words, and turned, dropping her body on to Lena's; kissing her way up her neck and along her jaw line. She felt Lena smirk.

"Half an hour, hmm?"

A devilish grin spread across Stef's face. "I only need ten minutes."