Stef looked back at Callie. She wasn't sure how to tell the girl that Jude was missing. She cared so much about him and after this she was sure Callie would never let Jude out of her sight again.
"Callie honey." Stef said as she took a seat beside her. "Sweets, Jude ran away from school today."
She watched as Callie's eyes went wide. "He what?" She said in a horrified voice.
"He left school and we think he may be headed home but is there anywhere you think he'd be?" Stef asked.
Callie nodded her head but still tried to think of anything.
"Okay, you wait here and I'm going to go back home and see if he went there." Stef said.
"No way!" Callie exclaimed as she stood up. "I'm coming with you."
Stef knew it was pointless to argue and she realized that it may be easier on Jude if Callie was with her, he was afraid of her enough already.
She quickly told the receptionist that they'd be back for the x-ray and the two headed home. Once again Callie's needs were put behind those of her brothers.
Callie barely waited for the car to come to a complete stop at the house before she charged out and headed to the door. Stef noticed that she didn't let her injured foot didn't slow her down at all.
Stef was right behind Callie in a moment as Callie opened the door and yelled for Jude.
Within a few seconds they heard him come bounding down the steps calling Callie's name. He had tears in his eyes as he raced towards Callie and barreled into her wrapping his arms around her tightly.
Stef watched as Callie held on to him for a few minutes and then pried him off her. She looked down at him for a moment before she said "Jude, you can't just disappear like that. Everyone was so worried about you."
Jude looked even more upset. "I just wanted to be with you and when I got home you weren't here and I thought..." And he trailed off as he glanced at Stef.
Stef sighed as Callie pulled Jude into a hug again.
"I told you Stef wouldn't hurt me, Jude." She said looking at Stef and apologizing with her eyes.
"Where were you?" Jude asked.
"At the doctor." Callie said. "They told us that Stef was going to take me there to get my foot checked remember?"
The boy didn't respond and Stef took this statement as an opportunity to get Callie back for an x-ray.
"Alright sweets," She said as she gently pulled on Jude's arm to bring him in front of her. He looked afraid as he glanced at Callie but put on a brave face as she nodded. "What you did today was not okay. You cannot just disappear without telling anyone where you are."
"I'm sorry." Jude said in a small voice.
"Okay." Stef said. "We'll talk about this later but for now I'm going to call Lena and tell her that you are safe and I want you to help Callie into the car okay. She needs to get an x-ray." She said.
Jude wiped his eyes and nodded as Callie lead him out to the car and Stef pulled out her phone to call Lena.
After the x-ray and confirmation that all the glass was out, Stef took the two kids for a late lunch. They ordered tacos and as they all ate Stef watched Jude get more and more relaxed. He was happy to be around his sister and she made an effort to depend on Stef to show Jude that that she wasn't going to hurt them.
Stef couldn't help but admire the girl. There was absolutely nothing that she wouldn't do for her brother. She could imagine Callie, ten years from now, all grown up with children of her own. She could see that she'd make a wonderful mother and do whatever she needed to so that her kids would grow up safe and loved. She just wished that Callie didn't have to be that mother right now - at sixteen to her baby brother.
On the way home from lunch Stef stopped a CVS to get an ointment that the doctor had prescribed for Callie. She then lead the two children into the house and watched them walk upstairs. She went into the kitchen to grab an aspirin and some water and then followed them up.
She found them both on Callie's bed. Callie was still explaining to Jude why what he had done had been stupid. She heard her tell the boy that she'd be so mad at him if he ever did something like that again. Jude
"Here love." She said as she walked up to them and handed the pill to Callie.
Stef sat on the bed next to Jude trapping him between herself and Callie. "Jude," She began gently. "Can you tell me why you're so afraid of me?"
Jude looked to Callie for help but she just smiled at him and nodded her encouragement. "Callie told me to be careful around you because you're a cop." Jude said carefully.
"Is that the only reason?" She asked.
Jude just shrugged his shoulders so Stef asked another question.
"Did I do anything to make you afraid of me?" She asked cautiously.
This time Jude shook his head.
"So you're afraid of me only because Callie told you to be careful around me. Is that right?" She waited for him to nod. "Alright, then let's find out why Callie was afraid of me." She said as they turned their attention towards Callie and watched the girl's cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
"Callie, have I done anything to make you afraid of me?" She asked the same question of the girl.
Just like Jude Callie just shook her head.
"Then you want to tell me what about me made you so uncomfortable?" She asked.
Callie looked down at her hands. She wasn't sure how to answer this question. She had learned to trust and even like Stef and she didn't want to hurt her.
"Sweetheart, it's alright to talk about how you feel." Stef said, sensing Callie's hesitation.
"You're a cop." Callie said by way of explanation.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Stef asked. "Cops are around to protect people."
"No cop I've ever met has protected us." Callie said, and then quickly added "except you."
Stef smiled sadly. She knew that there were cops out there who abused their power and she hated the fact that it gave all of them a bad name.
"Is that the only reason?" Stef inquired.
Callie thought for a few minutes trying to get her thoughts into words.
"There are some things in my past that I'm not proud of." She said without looking at Stef. "I didn't want you to find out about them."
"Okay." Stef said, careful not to sound judgmental.
"If I went back to juvie I didn't want you to send Jude away because of my past." Callie admitted.
"Sweetheart," Stef moved over to the other side to sit by Callie. "Everyone has a past. Everyone has done things that they aren't proud of. What's important is that you learn from that try to do better." Stef turned Callie's face so she could look at her. "We aren't just our past love." She said.
"That's not how it works for foster kids." Callie said as she pulled her face away from Stef's grasp. "People look at our file and think they know us. Some of them have never even actually met us." Callie said with an edge to her voice.
"Have you ever even seen your file?" Stef asked the girl curiously.
Callie shook her head.
Stef got up and walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with two cream colored folders, one significantly thicker than the other. She handed that one to Callie and the other one to Jude. As Callie when to open her's Stef stopped her.
"You aren't going to like everything that's in there." Stef said honestly. "You were right when you said that a foster child's past follows them around, a lot of your past is in that file. But not all of it is bad honey." Stef said softly.
Callie looked up at Stef in confusion.
"There are reports in there that say that you are a loving and caring girl who looks after her little brother so well. Previous teachers have written that you are so intelligent and could go so far if someone just gave you a chance. Bill has written numerous letters to Judges and CPS saying that your behavior is only a result of the life you've been dealt. He never once felt that that was the real you and he tries so hard to find you a good home."
She waited a few minutes for Callie to process all that she had said and then continued. "Do you want to know what this file tells me?" She asked.
Callie looked up at her waiting for her to continue.
"It tells me that there is a girl names Callie Jacob who hasn't had a real home for six years. It tells me that this girl has been passed from person to person for so long that the only one she can count on is herself. All those papers in there that say that Callie has been violent, aggressive, uncooperative, only tells me that it was your way of dealing with the things that were happening to you. It tells me that the girl sitting in front of me deserves to be loved, and cared for and protected just like she as done for her little brother for so many years."
Callie was crying openly now and Jude reached out to hug her.
Stef reached over and picked up Jude's fine from the bed. "You want to know what Jude's file tells me about you?" She asked.
Callie looked confused wondering what about her would be in his file.
"It tells me that you have protected Jude from a lot of physical abuse." She said. "He has barely any medical records besides routine checks while you have more than I could count. It tells me that you are brave and strong and that Jude is exceptionally lucky to have you for a sister." She said with a smile as Jude nodded to Callie.
Callie pulled Jude around to hug him. "I love you so much baby." She said.
"I love you too Callie." Jude said. "Are you still mad at me?" He asked as he pulled away from his sister.
"No." Callie said. "But if you ever scare me like that again I'll kill you myself." She said with a smile.
Stef watched as the two of them held on to each other.
"Are you still afraid of me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No." Jude said as he reached out to hug Stef and she hugged him back as she pulled Callie in as well. They were all laughing as they began to tickle Jude who tried to get away.
After a few minutes she let them go and then turned seriously to Callie. "Whatever it is about your past that makes you so afraid," She began. "You can always talk to us about it. We would never judge you and we would do whatever we could to help you." Stef said seriously.
Callie looked at Stef and nodded as she smiled. She wasn't ready just yet but maybe someday she would be.
"Whenever you're ready." Stef said as she pulled Callie in for one last hug.