The wave of disappointment that clouded Lena's face when she opened the door to find Captain Roberts standing there was clearly visible on her face.
"Captain?" Lena said as she opened the door wider for the woman to enter.
"We got a trace on her card." Roberts said, not waiting for pleasantries, knowing that Lena would want to know what she had found out.
"Where is she?" Lena asked.
"She checked out of a Motel 8 in Albuquerque about three hours ago." Roberts said.
"New Mexico?" Lena said in shock. "She went to New Mexico."
"We tried her phone again but it's still off. We called the motel but they said she paid when she left so she wasn't there anymore." Roberts explained. "The man at the front desk said that she came in around nine this morning, rented a room and obviously slept because she looked like hell when she got there. She woke up a few hours later, had something to eat at their little cafe and then checked out around one."
"How did she get there?" Sharon asked. "She must have had to stop for gas so how come that didn't show up on her card?"
"She must have paid in cash." Roberts explained. "Hopefully she's out of cash now and will use her card for gas so we can keep track of her."
"Can't we call the police there to find her?" Lena asked, desperate to get a trace on her wife.
"I've called the head of the Albuquerque Police Department and they said they'll keep a look out for her but since she's already checked out of the motel we don't know where to send them." Roberts informed her.
As Roberts said this last line Mike walked through the door with Brandon and Mariana. He had clearly head what Roberts had said and a frown instantly formed on his face.
"Albuquerque?" He asked. "She's in Albuquerque?"
"She used her card at a Motel 8." Roberts explained once again for his benefit.
"Are we sure it's her?" Mike asked, wondering if her card had been stolen.
"The reception desk confirmed her description " Roberts assured him. "And we asked if she was injured in anyway, they said she just looked exhausted.
"So what do we do now?" Lena asked, slightly relieved to learn that her wife was okay.
"We wait." Roberts said. "Hopefully she'll use her card again and we'll be able to get an idea of where she's going to be. If she's headed further away we'll lock down her card so that she can't go anywhere and then we'll send someone out to get her."
"I'll go." Mike quickly offered. "I'll be able to bring her back."
"No way." Lena interrupted. "I'm going, or at least I'm going with you."
"Lena, you really shouldn't." Sharon, Mike and Roberts all said.
"I'll get her back I promise." Mike added. "She can't get far with no money."
"I can't believe she did this." Lena said more to herself than the others in the room. "I can't believe she just took off."
Mike and Roberts excused themselves and headed to the dining room to make a plan while Sharon took Lena to the living room.
"Honey she was stressed." Sharon said, trying to help Lena. "She obviously needed a day to herself. She'll be back."
"It's eight hundred miles away Sharon." Lena said angrily. Now that she knew Stef was okay the anger was taking over. "You don't go that far away just because you're angry."
Sharon didn't say anything, she knew Lena was upset and she knew that she needed to get the anger out.
Jesus and Vasquez had returned and when Vasquez learned that Stef was okay he decided to head down to the station for a while. Jesus went to the kitchen to join his siblings and found Lena answering questions.
"Why did she leave?" Mariana was asking. "I know you said she was angry with you but about what?"
Lena glanced at Callie, still sitting where she had left her by the window in the breakfast nook, before looking back at Mariana.
But Mariana caught the look and so did the others. "It was because of Callie wasn't it?" Mariana asked bitterly. She had been trying all day not to blame this on her sister but just like Lena, once the worry was gone the anger took it's place.
"It was because I didn't support her with Callie." Lena stated, not wanting Callie to feel like she was to blame.
"What do you mean?" Brandon asked, wanting more details.
"Mom was trying to get Callie to eat something but Callie wasn't so I suggested yogurt." Lena explained. "Stef got upset because yogurt wasn't a meal."
"She took off for that?" Jesus asked in disbelief.
"That was just the last straw." Lena said. "She's been worried and stressed for days and she just needed some space."
"This is crap." Jesus said as he jumped off his stool and bolted upstairs, mumbling something under his breath causing Mike and Roberts to coming into the kitchen.
Lena watched her son storm upstairs but let him go. She knew he also needed some time to himself to just cool off. She turned to her other children - Brandon and Mariana were talking to each other and Jude remained silent, looking down at the table. Callie was holding her phone and tracing her thumb over the crack in the screen.
"Jesus is right." Mariana finally said, breaking the silence. "She just took off and she isn't even turning on her phone. If we had done that she'd have killed us."
"I know you're angry guys." Lena said. "I am too. What mom did isn't right and she will hear about it. But I want you to remember that she loves you very much and would never do anything that would keep her away from you. We'll get her back and we'll all talk together as a family and you'll get your chance to tell her how you feel and so will she. For now let's just focus on getting her back."
"How about some dodge ball?" Mike suggested, hoping to get the kids minds off their mom and have them release some of their stress outdoors.
Lena busied herself making sandwiches for everyone while the kids joined Mike and Captain Roberts outside - she needed something to do while she waited for a trace on Stef. Now that she knew she was okay she had nothing to do but think about how angry she was. She was no longer angry with Callie though, all her anger was now reserved for Stef. Each time Lena glanced at Callie she could see the worry on the girl's face and she guessed it was because she was partly the reason that Stef had left. Lena knew that Callie thought something bad would happen to her, she could see it on her face, but she also knew that promising her that everything was going to be alright wasn't going to do much good. They'd been making that promise for months now but Callie still didn't believe it. The only way to prove it to her was to keep showing it to her and that's exactly what Lena planned to do.