Callie sat at the table finishing her small tub of yogurt, not looking up at Lena. She felt a little pleased with herself though she felt bad that she had made them fight. But at least tonight, she'd get things to go her way. Lately she'd been the one giving in all the time and she just needed to feel some power.
When Callie finished the last bite of yogurt she finally looked up at Lena and was suddenly taken aback - Lena was no longer standing, staring towards where Stef had left, looking hurt - now she was looking directly at Callie, angrily.
"Go to bed." Was all Lena said as she snatched the empty tub from her and went to rinse it out.
Callie carefully got up and left the kitchen silently, she had never seen this side to Lena. She had gotten exactly what she wanted by making each mom feel like the other one held more authority but she knew that it was in her best interest to just stay out of sight - for tonight at least.
Once Callie was gone Lena finally just slumped into a chair as the tears began to fall. She felt so annoyed with herself. Stef had been right all along, to worry about Callie. Callie wasn't ready to be sent off like that for the evening but Lena had been so desperate for some free time with Stef that she hadn't really thought anything through. Stef had stood strong and firm, making Callie do what needed to be done but with Lena's help Callie had made her feel completely betrayed.
Lena had seen the anger in Stef's eyes right before she left but she could also see the hurt and she knew that came from the fact that Lena hadn't supported her. All Stef was trying to do was get Callie to eat a proper meal but instead of helping her Lena had just made it more difficult.
Lena reluctantly climbed the stairs to check on her other kids, wondering if Stef would be home to say goodnight to them too before they actually went to sleep.
She found the four other kids sitting with Jude in his room.
"Hey baby." Lena said as Brandon moved over so she could take his spot.
"Why does she do that?" Jude asked in a tearful voice.
"Sweetheart she's having a hard time." Lena explained. "Don't worry. She will be okay. We'll make sure of it."
Jude didn't look convinced but he did look tired and so did all the other kids.
"Off to bed now babies." Lena said as she gave each one a kiss. "Don't worry about Callie. She'll feel better tomorrow."
She watched them leave, not mentioning that Stef had left, she figured she'd be back before they actually got to bed.
Lena went to her room to brush her teeth and get ready for bed herself before grabbing her phone and calling Stef. She still hadn't come home yet and Lena wanted her home in time to say goodnight to the kids. She sighed in frustration when the phone went straight into voicemail, indicating that Stef had turned off her phone. Stef was always the more hot tempered of them both but Lena had seldom seen her get this angry. Stef usually never allowed anyone to just walk away in the middle of an argument and the fact that she had done it herself, meant that she was more angry than ever.
Lena sighed as she picked up her book and headed downstairs to wait for Stef to get home. She'd read to keep her mind occupied though she was certain that five seconds after she read the first line she's forget what it said.
Upstairs Callie was in her room, lying on her bed. She had been brushing her teeth when Lena went to talk to the other kids and she had half expected Lena to come talk to her after but when she didn't Callie just climbed under the covers, waiting for Stef to get home. She had known that they would be angry with her - that's the reason that she did what she did but she also knew that she would have to deal with the consequences soon enough. Once Stef calmed down she would not allow Callie to get away with what she'd done and this time she was certain Lena wouldn't be on her side.
"Good night." Mariana said softly as she turned out the light and climbed into her own bed. She hadn't liked the scene with Callie that evening but she was trying to be supportive - but lately Callie had been causing so much trouble that the others were afraid to do or say anything that would upset her.
Lena must have dozed off at some point because the next thing that she knew it was four am the following morning. Lena sat up and pulled the curtain aside, expecting to see Stef's car out front but panicked slightly when she found the spot empty. She quickly pulled her phone again and called Stef but once again the phone went directly to voicemail.
Unsure of what to do next Lena called Mike. He'd be able to help her. She felt a little guilty calling him this early in the morning but as the phone rang in her ear she glanced outside at the empty driveway again and knew she was doing the right thing.
"Lena?" Mike asked groggily, though the concern in his voice was evident - there would be no other explanation as to why Lena was calling at this ungodly hour.
"Hey Mike, you haven't heard from Stef have you?" Lena asked, trying to sound casual.
"No." Mike said. "Why? Where is she?"
"She took off soon after you left last night and hasn't returned. Her phone's going straight to voicemail, I was hoping she'd called you or something." Lena said.
"What happened?" Mike asked as he got out of bed to get dressed.
"We had a fight." Lena said. "It was my fault really. She was just trying to get Callie to eat a proper meal, something she hadn't done in a while, but I kept contradicting her. She took off when I played right into Callie's game."
"I'm coming over." Mike said, hearing the desperation in Lena's voice. "You just relax, I'll stop by the station to see if she's there and bring her back if she is."
Lena paced the entire downstairs as she waited for Mike and every sound she heard drove her to check to see if Stef had returned. When she was finally sure she heard a car drive up she knew it had to be Mike. She opened the door but he was alone, Stef wasn't with him.
"She didn't go down to the station." Mike informed Lena as he entered the house. "No one's heard from her but they'll call me if she shows up."
"What do I do?" Lena asked in desperation.
"Have you tried Sharon?" Mike asked, thinking that Stef may have called her mother.
"No." Lena said. "Stef wouldn't have called her in the middle of the night. There's nothing she could do from there. It's around six-thirty now."
"Just call, Lena." Mike urged. "You'll feel better."
Mike waited while Lena dialed her mother-in-laws number and began talking before pulling out his own phone to make some calls.
"Hey Sharon." Lena said. "Sorry to wake you so early but has Stef called you by any chance?" Lena asked, not beating around the bush.
"No honey, why?" Sharon asked, hearing the worry in Lena's voice and taking note of the early hour east coast time meaning the even earlier hour on the west coast.
"She left at nine last night and hasn't come back. Her phone's off too. I was just hoping she'd called you." Lena said.
"Is everything okay?" Sharon asked. "She didn't leave for work I gather."
"No, not for work." Lena said and then with a sigh she related all the events starting with Callie cutting herself and ending with their fight over yogurt.
"I know you're worried but we both know Stef and how much she loves you and the kids. She'll be back." Sharon tried to calm her daughter-in-law down. "She probably just needs some space."
"She's never gone like this Sharon." Lena said miserably. Stef had walked out in anger a few times before but she had always been back within the hour. Lena just hoped that nothing bad had happened that was causing Stef to stay away.
"It's been stressful on all of you." Sharon observed. "And you know my daughter doesn't take it well when she can't just fix things." Sharon tried to lighten the mood.
But Lena was too worried to laugh or even crack a smile and her sigh told Sharon as much.
"What are the kids doing?" Sharon asked, wondering if they knew their mom was gone and if Lena was having a hard time handling all of them.
"Sleeping." Lena answered, Mike's here though, he's trying to find her.
"Well I'm gonna take the first flight out I can and should be there by the evening." Sharon answered. "It sounds like you guys could use some help."
"Thanks Sharon." Lena said. She felt bad dragging her mother-in-law all the way across the country but right now she needed all the support she could get.
"Anytime honey." Sharon smiled. "And don't worry too much, Stef won't go far."
Lena headed outside to find Mike talking to their captain.
"I'm not sure cap..." He said. "She just got mad and took off."
Captain Roberts was a tough, independent woman much like Stef and she cared a lot about her troops. She was always encouraging them to be honest with their spouses and partners about the dangers of their jobs and to talk about the things they deal with so that it doesn't build up inside them. She liked Stef and knew that her disappearance was not only out of character but also a last resort for her.
"The guys at the station are constantly searching for her phone so the minute she turns it on we'll find her." Mike said in answer to whatever the captain had asked.
"No, not so far." Mike answered again. "But I'm gonna call the hospitals as ask too. If you can have the guys on patrol look out for her too."
Lena suddenly sighed in regret as she listened to Mike. They were obviously formulating a plan and hopefully would find Stef soon enough but she just hoped it wouldn't be in some hospital.
Mike hung up the phone. "Captain Roberts sent out an under-the-radar APB so people are looking around for her." He told Lena. "We'll check the hospitals in case something happened and the moment someone finds her they'll call Roberts."
"Thanks Mike." Lena said, almost in tears.
"No problem Lena." He said, guiding the woman to the couch and made her sit down. He could see how pale she was from the worry and lack of sleep. "I'm gonna make you some tea."
Four hours later Mariana and Callie made an appearance. They came down the stairs, both sleepily rubbing their eyes. Both girls stopped at the entrance to the kitchen when they saw Lena and Mike sitting together. Mike on the phone and Lena listening intently, both of them with worried looks on their faces.
"What's going on?" Mariana asked, pulling Lena out of her focus.
Lena glanced at her daughters - Mariana looking confused and Callie looking a little afraid.
"Where's mom?" Callie asked in a small voice, terrified that something had happened and that she was the reason.
"She's not home yet." Lena answered, trying to keep the worry out of her voice but she knew she wasn't successful. "Mike's trying to find her."
"When did she leave?" Mariana asked, still confused. Her mother wasn't working nights lately and she never left without saying bye even when she did.
"Nine last night." Lena answered her daughter, watching as Callie's face paled completely. "She was angry and she needed some space."
Mariana's face filled with worry before she turned to glare at her sister - giving her an angry look, knowing that Callie's behavior the night before had something to do with her mom's absence.
"Mariana, please go wake your brothers." Lena said, afraid that the two girls would start fighting. Right now she couldn't deal with that and she didn't want to set Callie off again and have her act out.
Mariana reluctantly climbed up the stairs, leaving the two adults and Callie in the kitchen.
Callie didn't say a word, she had no idea what to say - she was afraid that she had pushed too far and that Stef wouldn't come home or that something happened and she couldn't come home. What would happen to her after that? Would Lena still love her? Would she even still want her after what she'd done?