A/N: To the reviewers who are upset that I don't update as often or say that my writing has "gone downhill" and they'd expect improvement since I'm in college:

School comes before fanfiction. How I do in college determines my future, writing fanfiction for fun does not.

I'm sorry you feel my writing has gotten worse. I try to maintain the same quality I began with but as time goes on, my writing style is bound to change.

I'm not enrolled in a single writing class so…yeah.

Stef

"I have to be honest here Stef," Captain Roberts says over the phone, "These progress reports aren't very promising."

I drop my head into my hand and take a steadying breath. I'm sitting on my bed with copies of the various progress reports I received for Callie. I have yet to submit my own progress report, which has to be more detailed considering I'm her probation officer and foster mother. Roberts needs to see every progress report given to me and I really wish she didn't.

"A number of those progress reports are leaving out very important details," I argue, "They don't tell who Callie truly is. She had made tremendous progress, Captain. I can attest to that."

I hear Roberts sigh, "I'm sure she has, Stef, but with the report you have yet to submit, Callie has two good reports among a sea of poor ones. It's not looking good."

I barely find the courage to ask my next question, "Is she…Do you think Callie is going to be sent back to juvie?"

There's pause, "Truthfully, Stef? At this point I have to say yes."

My heart hits the pit of my stomach at her words.

Callie

Lena picks me up from group along with Jesus. We have to go to the supermarket to pick up some ingredients for dinner and Jesus was brought along because anything is better than math homework, apparently. We pull up to the organic market Lena is so fond of she instructs Jesus to grab a cart. Once we're inside, Lena walks somewhat ahead to grab things off the shelves while Jesus and I lag behind with the cart.

"What do you talk about in group?" Jesus asks as he puts one foot on the bottom shelf of the cart and uses the other foot to propel himself forwards.

I shrug, "Just foster care stuff. Nothing interesting—"

"So what was juvie like?"

Wow. He barely gave me a chance to answer the first question. I wonder how long he's been wanting to ask me this.

"It was…okay, I guess." I answer cautiously, "We had to get up really early, like five in the morning, every day and we had chores, school."

Jesus nods, taking in the information wit vast interest, "So that day you came, that night? How did you get bruises?"

I should have seen this coming, "This girl beat me up."

"Why?"

"I got out earlier than her…and I told her off for cutting me for showers."

Jesus laughed, "Mariana cuts me every morning for showers! That's crazy. Why did you go in the first place? To juvie?"

"I used a baseball bat on my foster dad's car."

"Nice!" Jesus grins and holds his hand up. I giggle and give him a high five. Just then, Lena comes to the cart to dump some food she collected.

"What are we high fiving." She asks.

"Vandalism." I answer with a straight face.

Lena gives a dramatic sigh, playfully rolls her eyes and turns around to get more food, "You two are impossible!" she calls over her shoulder. I smile at her antics.

"So this probation thing," Jesus continues, pushing the cart farther down the aisle, "What's going on with that?"

"As long as I'm good, I don't go back to juvie." I reply in simplest terms. I know it's a bit more complex than that, but there's no need to get into details.

Jesus nods, "So you have nothing to worry about, right?"

I bite my lip, "I hope so." I say quietly. Now he's got me thinking. Do I really have nothing to worry about? I've been working really hard and even Stef said I was so I don't think I'm going back to juvie. Then again, life has a way of going in the opposite direction of what I would like.

Lena returns once again with some more food, "Alright my little hoodlums, ready to go?"

Back at the house I'm sitting on my bed sandwiched between Jude and Mariana. They're helping me find foster kids to photograph. Since it would be too hard find individual kids in foster homes, we decided to locate some of the group homes in the area. We've been at it for a while. I push the laptop back a bit and turn to Jude who has been writing down names.

"What do we have so far?" I ask.

He looks down at his notebook, "Um…Lutheran Social Services, Burton John Foundation, and Girls United."

I nod thoughtfully, "Maybe I should just start with one and see how that goes."

"Go with Girls United!" Mariana suggests, "Girls would probably be more willing to be photographed than boys."

She has a point. I bring the laptop back towards me and look up Girls United. I'm able to get a phone number as well as the name of a woman, Rita Hendricks. I have Jude write down the information so that I could make a call sometime this week.

"Can I go with you?" Jude asks after he's done writing, "I could help."

I nod, "Sure."

"Me too!" Mariana says, tapping my shoulder, "I want to meet the girls. This is so cool, Callie."

I blush a little and duck my head, "Thanks."

There's a little knock at that door and the three of us look up to see Stef, "What are you guys up to?" she asks as she walks into the room and takes a seat at the desk.

"We found foster kids for Callie to take pictures of," Mariana answers in an excited voice, "There's a group home called Girls United and they're pretty close by."

"Mariana and I are going to help," Jude interjects with a smile and I have to smile as well.

Stef smiles in approval, "That's great! I just came up to let you guys know that dinner is ready." Jude and Mariana get up to head downstairs and I hang back because I want to talk to Stef privately.

"Stef?" I ask just as she's about to leave.

She turns around, "Yes?"

"What's going to happen to me?"

Stef furrows her eyebrows, "I'm sorry?"

I look down at my sneakers, "Am I going back to juvie?"

Stef sighs and gets a look on her face. She takes a seat next to me on the bed, "What's going through your mind, Love?"

I begin picking at my nails, "I was just thinking about the whole point of this probation thing and I just want to know what's going to happen to me. Weren't my progress reports due? Principal Sanchez mentioned them to me."

Stef's eyes narrow and I see a flash of anger, "What did she say to you?" she asks in a voice I can tell she's struggling to control.

"She just told me that she was sending her progress report soon so I'd better shape up." I answer honestly. I hadn't wanted to mention in to Stef or Lena because it made it sound like I wasn't doing anything, "I'm trying really hard in school Stef," I rush to reassure her, "It's just—"

"I know you are," She interrupts me with a pat on my knee, "I know, Callie."

I hold her gaze as I repeat my question, "Am I going back to juvie, Stef?" I want her to be straightforward with me; enough with this sugar-coating bullshit.

I think she senses this because she lets out a breath and drops her eyes, "I don't know Callie," she replies and I can tell she's being honest, "I have a say in where you go but ultimately it's my captain's decision." I nod, happy that she's being truthful with me, but I can't help the way my shoulders slightly slump. My future has always been so uncertain. I wish I just knew what was going to happen instead of having to deal with this 'maybe-maybe not' charade.

"She gave me a bad progress report," I mumble, "Principal Sanchez." It's a question, but I don't phrase it like one because I already know the answer.

I feel Stef's hand under my chin and she turns my face so that I have no choice but to face her, "Callie, you are not a progress report. You're not a couple of words written on a sheet. You're so much more than that! Don't worry about what the progress reports say, just focus on you." I nod, but the feeling of doubt still remains at the back of my mind.

"We should go downstairs for dinner," Stef suggests, standing up and offering me her hand. I take it and she helps me off the bed before bringing me in for a side-hug and kissing my temple. I can't help the warm feeling that runs through me when she does this.

"Leave the worrying to me, alright?" Stef says, giving my shoulder a squeeze, "I don't need you getting grey hair before me."

I smile, "Okay," and we head downstairs for dinner.

Stef

"Jesus, at least chew before you swallow," I say, shaking my head as I watch him wolf down his food. Mariana pulls a face and Jude laughs. Everything is at warped speed with that boy.

Lena nudges Callie, "Mariana said you found a group home you'd like to take photos for?"

Callie nods and it's so nice to see the excitement in her eyes, "Yeah. It's all girls and close by so I'm going to call tomorrow."

"That's amazing, Honey," Lena beams, meeting my gaze. I know she's just as proud of Callie as I am.

I turn to Brandon, "And do you feel ready for your lesson tomorrow Mr. Worrybody?" I tease lightly.

He shoots me a playful glare, "Yes, Mother." I stick out my tongue at the name which makes me sound so much older than I am.

"What's it called?" Callie muses aloud as she picks up her glass, "The creative process."

Brandon nods appreciatively, "Exactly."

Jesus snorts, "Yeah, or we can just call it Brandon losing his shi...itake mushrooms," he saves himself just in time with a warning glare from Lena.

Jude furrows his eyebrows, "Shiitake mushrooms? I don't get it."

"Nice save," Mariana says in a sarcastic tone, giving Jesus a mini round of applause.

The doorbell rings and I look at Lena, silently asking if we should be expecting someone. She shrugs in response. I stand up from the table, "I'll get it," I announce, "Try not to lose your shiitake mushrooms while I'm gone." The kids giggle and Lena just shakes her head. I get to the front door and pull it open and who I see are the last people I expect to see at this particular moment.

It's Captain Roberts and Bill.

"W-what's going on?" I ask, eyes flitting between the two of them. They are both in work mode and it's hard to get a read on them.

They look at each other, trying to figure out who will speak. Captain Roberts takes a breath, "Stef, I'm so sorry to do this to you right at this moment but there's no other way around it—"

"Do what?" I ask, feeling like I'm missing something here. Captain Roberts looks at Bill who sighs and scratches his head before facing me.

"We need to take Callie. Tonight."

Thank you for my kind reviews; I appreciate them more than you'll ever know :) I'm so happy to see them, you have no idea. I'll try to update again next week, I have a pretty clear idea of what path I want to go down.

Until next time,

-Liv