A/N: Thanks to everyone for the feedback for the last couple of chapters. I love the community of readers and writers on this site.

In the morning, when Wyatt and Callie woke up, they got Egg McMuffins for breakfast, filled up the gas tank, and hit the road again. She noticed that he was quieter than he'd been the previous day, but assumed that was her fault. Like she'd originally told him, no one wanted her after they actually got to know how messed up and broken she was.

She spent the quiet morning thinking up plans for what she was going to do after they got to Indiana. Obviously Wyatt wasn't going to want her around. Maybe she could keep going east, to New York or something? Or maybe go to Chicago? She could find someplace to work, just enough money to be able to live off of. She couldn't see much of a future for herself, but that was the price she'd pay for doing right by her brother. As long as Jude had the future he deserved, her life didn't matter.

At one point, as they neared St. Louis, Callie realized that Wyatt had turned off of the main interstate they'd been driving on since Oklahoma City. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"It's supposed to be faster to go around downtown," he easily told her. Callie didn't have a reason not to trust him, so she settled back into her seat to watch the view out the window. She started getting suspicious, though, when she noticed signs for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport - and then realized that Wyatt was following the signs.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Why are we going to the airport?"

He sighed and wouldn't look at her. "Because you're going home, Callie."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. I can't!"

"You have to."

"How could you do this?" she furiously asked. "You lied to me!"

"I told you that I would take care of you. This is the best way I know how. You need them, Callie; it's where you belong."

Callie was prepared to grab her backpack, jump out of the car, and bolt as soon as they came to a stop in front of the terminal. She could easily lose Wyatt in the crowd, and then she'd figure out a new travel plan for herself. However, when she opened the car door, she was NOT prepared to see Stef and Lena standing outside of the building, waiting for her.

Wyatt turned the engine off and just waited. For a seemingly eternal moment, no one moved. But then Stef and Lena came over to the car and both women wrapped their arms around Callie. "We love you, sweetheart," was the first thing Wyatt heard them say, and he couldn't help a little smile. If he had ran away from home, the first things his mother would tell him was how long he was grounded for and not to ever scare her like that again. The Fosters really were the kind of family Callie needed.

However, Callie shook her head as the moms continued to tell her how glad they were to see her, pushing her way out of their embrace. "No," she told them. "You don't want me. You can't want someone like me."

Lena brushed a stray lock of hair out of the teen's face. "Well, it's too late for that," she replied. "You're stuck with us, now, sweetheart. We're not going anywhere without you."

Callie just stared at her for the longest time, trying to process that statement. The fact that the moms were there right now - that they'd flown all the way to Missouri to get her - was something that spoke volumes. Nobody had ever cared enough about her to come looking across the city, let alone halfway across the country.

Finally, she broke down in sobs. "I'm sorry," Callie whimpered over and over. "I'm so sorry."

Lena held her, rubbing her back and smoothing her hair. "We know, sweetheart. It's going to be okay."

Wyatt got out of the car and grabbed Callie's duffel bag from the back. Stef went over to take it. "Thank you," she told him, "For calling us."

He nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner... I know I probably don't have a right to say this, but... I hope you're going to take good care of her. She... she needs somebody to treat her right, be there for her."

"You've been a very good friend for her," Stef tried to assure him.

Wyatt shrugged. "I love her."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "You have my word; we'll take good care of her."

Callie had calmed down somewhat, and stepped away from the car with her backpack in her hands. "What happens now?" she asked her foster mothers.

"Well, we've got a flight back home in a couple hours," Lena told her. "And then... we'll have some things to work out. But we're not giving up on you, and you can't give up on us."

Callie nodded. "What about you?" she asked Wyatt.

He was focussed on his shoes. "I guess I should probably get going. I've got a lot of ground to cover still."

"Am I ever going to see you again?" she wondered.

Wyatt shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe. I'll always just be a phone call away. You can keep me up to date on the latest drama at Anchor Beach," he added with a grin. As if either of them had ever cared about school gossip.

Callie smiled a little, too, although fresh tears were threatening to fall. "Thank you," she told him. "For everything you've done. You are the best friend I've ever had." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and Wyatt just held her for the longest time. Finally, he pulled back.

"You should probably go with your moms," he quietly told her. "You don't want to miss your flight."

Callie nodded. "Drive safe."

"I will." She watched as he got back into the car and drove out of her life.

Inside the airport, Stef, Lena, and Callie got their boarding passes and went through security. They stopped in the food court to get some lunch before continuing on to their gate. Stef and Lena noticed that Callie wasn't really talking, but they didn't want to push her yet. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions for everyone in the family.

At one point, about 40 minutes before their flight, Callie abruptly stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom," she told the moms as she threw away her trash.

Stef also got up. "Yeah, I probably should, too." She noticed a look of concern flicker across Callie's face for a moment, but then it was gone and the blank mask was back in place.

They left their bags with Lena and walked in silence down the hallway toward the ladies' room. Before Callie could go inside, Stef took her arm. "I want you to give me whatever you have in your pockets," she quietly told the teen.

Callie frowned. "W-what?"

Stef shook her head. "Please don't. Don't try to lie to me and don't pretend this isn't serious. I know where you are right now, Callie. I know what it's like to despise the person that's staring back at you in the mirror. To think that you're poison to the people you love most. To want to punish yourself for choices you've made - and for things that are outside of your control. There... there was a time when I really considered doing things to myself that were not healthy." She set her jaw, forcing back the memories. "But I had my son depending on me, and that pulled me back from the edge. My family made me strong. And your family is going to pull you back, too."

Callie choked on a sob. "I'm not like you."

"You are," Stef assured her with a smile. "So much. I knew it almost as soon as we met. You are not worthless, love, and one day you're actually going to believe me when I say it."

After the longest moment, Callie reached into her pocket, pulled out her knife, and gave it to Stef with only a slight hesitation. She didn't want to have to lie anymore, and didn't want to feel the pain. Most of all, she really wanted to get to that day.

everybody's got their own opinion

everybody's got a place where they belong

like a favorite song

I don't want to be a faded memory

I don't want to be the ghost that you can't shake

I want to be the real thing

the world can be so cruel

but I will sing for you

this cradle song

TBC...