The next morning, Callie woke up far earlier than she'd thought she would, considering how exhausted she'd felt the night before. Sunlight was gently streaming through the window, and she spent a minute looking around the room. Her room. It was mostly decorated with Mariana's things, but it was still partially hers. Callie had convinced herself she wasn't ever going to see this room or this house again, but now... here she was. Home.

There was a soft knock on the door, and then it cracked open. Lena smiled when she saw that Callie was awake and motioned for her to join her so they wouldn't wake Mariana. "Good morning," she told her foster daughter once they were alone in the hall.

"Morning."

"Stef and I wanted to talk with you for a bit before everyone else gets up. Let's go downstairs, okay?"

Callie took a deep breath. She'd known this conversation had to be coming, and wasn't really looking forward to it. But there wasn't any way to avoid it. "Okay."

Once they reached the kitchen, Lena went over to start the coffee maker. "Do you want a cup?" she asked Callie as she took mugs out of the cabinet.

She blinked in surprise. "You're actually offering me coffee?"

Lena smiled. "I have a feeling we're all going to need it."

That didn't do much to alleviate Callie's concern, but she wasn't going to turn her down. "Okay."

The machine had just started brewing when Stef joined them in the kitchen. She had a small box in her hands, which Callie realized was a first-aid kit. "One of us is going to check you out," Stef told her in a tone that left no room for discussion. "Do you have a preference on who?"

Callie shook her head and picked up the hem of her shirt without protest. Stef forced her face to remain expressionless as she saw the new and old wounds on her right side. The latest ones were red, raw, and angry-looking. It would have been bad enough if someone else had done this to Callie; the fact that she did it to herself made Stef's heart ache. Her eyes met Lena's for a brief moment, and she knew her wife understood; they were starting down a rough road.

"This is probably going to sting," Stef warned, trying to keep her voice steady, as she got out peroxide and some cotton balls. The last thing they needed right now was for Callie to end up in the hospital with an infection.

The teen shrugged. "I can handle it."

Lena took her hand in support. "How long have you been cutting?" she quietly asked.

"It started after everything with Liam."

"Were you ever suicidal?"

Callie tensed as she felt the burn from the peroxide, but she didn't make a sound. Lena sympathetically squeezed her fingers. "No," she finally said when the pain faded. "It was never about that. I could never do that to Jude. I just... I deserve it."

Stef looked up from her spot kneeling beside Callie's stool. "No, love, you don't."

"We want to help you," Lena promised, "But the most important thing is whether you want to help yourself. You've already taken the first steps. Being able to talk to us and trying to figure out why you're hurting yourself is a good start. We were also very glad you gave Stef your knife."

Callie sighed. "I know I shouldn't cut myself, that it's not normal, but... sometimes I just feel so terrible and that's how I have to deal with it."

"That's what we'll start working on," Lena told her. "Other ways to deal with those feelings. For starters, we found a list of other things you can go besides hurting yourself when you get overwhelmed."

Callie glanced down to watch as Stef put a bandage on her side. "Like what?" she asked.

"Writing in a journal, drawing, ripping up paper..." Lena suggested. "We'll figure out what works for you."

"If you need something physical," Stef told her as she started repacking the first aid kit, "I could use a jogging partner. Or we can go beat up on a bag at the gym."

Callie nodded. "Okay, I can try."

"We're not expecting an overnight cure," Lena assured her. "We know this will take time and work. But we'll do whatever we can to help. I've also been looking into therapy programs for you. Besides talking with us - which we are always willing to do - that can be a place for you to express what you're feeling and learn how to cope. And I know that you're not a big fan of therapy, but... you can at least give it a chance."

"Okay," she agreed.

"Brandon was also here when Wyatt called," Lena continued, "So he already knows, too, and can be someone else for you to talk to, if you think it'll help. The twins and Jude don't know, and we'll leave it up to you whether you want to tell them or not. Just know that we're all going to be on your side."

"There are going to be a few rule changes around here," Stef warned her. "At least for a little while. I hope you can understand that some of the trust we've all been working on is going to have to be rebuilt. More than anything else, we want to make sure that you're safe. You're probably not going to like what that means sometimes, but please remember that we want you to get better."

Callie managed a small smile. "The knife slot in the silverware drawer is empty, huh?"

"Yes," Lena told her in all seriousness. "Among other things. Until we figure out alternative behaviors for you, we thought it was best to remove temptation."

They all sat in silence for a long moment. Stef took Callie's free hand. "What are you thinking right now, love?"

She sighed. "I guess I'm kinda scared. I don't want to let you down again - "

"This has nothing to do with letting us down," Lena interrupted. "This is just about you, Callie, and your well-being."

She looked away. "I wish I wasn't me. I wish I could just be normal."

"Normal is overrated," Stef replied with a smile. "But we know what you mean. We'll do anything we can to help you, love."

"We can't help if you run away from us, though," Lena pointed out. "We know you're not accustomed to anyone being permanent in your life, but we want to change that. Family does NOT quit on family, is that clear?"

Callie nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry."

"Running away from problems doesn't make them go away," Stef added. "It just makes them bigger... While you were gone, Brandon talked to us. And he told us about what's been going on with you two."

Callie's heart stopped. "He did?" she choked out.

"Yes," Stef replied, "And before you have a coronary, I hope that the first part of this conversation proves that we have no intentions of sending you away. We're in this for the long haul, okay?" Callie couldn't manage to do anything besides nod. "That said..." Stef continued. "We wish we'd known about this earlier, because we do have a problem. It would potentially be both illegal and unhealthy for the two of you to be in a relationship if we adopted you."

"So you have something else to think about," Lena told her, "And you can take all the time you need. We're letting what happens next be up to you. If this was just a crush and you don't have any interest in pursuing it, we can go ahead like we were planning. But if it is something you think it IS worth pursuing, then we won't start the adoption."

"But what about Jude?" Callie instantly asked.

"You are two individual people," Stef replied. "I know it probably hasn't seemed that way for the past eight years, but... If Jude wants to stay, our offer definitely still stands. But you have to decide what's going to be best for you, love."

"We can still foster you until you turn 18," Lena proposed. "And you and Brandon ought to still follow CPS rules and wait until then, but... we aren't stupid."

"Waiting a year and a half is a bit too much to hope for," Stef agreed. "So, as long as you're not totally blatant about it - and as long as you have more sense than Jesus and Lexi - we'll look the other way."

Callie was stunned. "Really?"

They both nodded. "It's your decision."

One chapter left...