Chapter nine since ya'll so fine! ;)

Stef walked into the Avondale Police Department, eyes searching for a familiar face. She finally spotted her friend, Detective James Graw. She had gone to the academy with him and he was a nice guy with green eyes and short cropped brown hair. His big stature led people to fear him right off the bat, but he truly had a kind heart.

"Stef," he greeted, walking towards her, "It's been too long."

She nodded and shook his hand, "I wish it was under better circumstances." He led her to a private conference room and once they were seated, she explained her situation to him.

"I'm not sure how far we'll be able to get if we're keeping this off the books." James said, leaning back in his seat.

"I know," Stef replied, "Can you just start by locating her phone? She probably has it on her."

The detective nodded and gestured for her to follow him to his desk. Once they were situated, he allowed Stef to type in the number and search it. Stef watched the screen as the technology worked.

Locating…Locating…Ping!

"It says she's at… Avondale Park." James read off the screen.

"That's about two miles from the funeral home," Stef said, already typing directions into her phone, "I owe you one."

Lena and Jude walked back to the hotel together. They had gone out to have some dinner while Stef visited the local police department. Jude had been understandably quiet.

"We're gonna find her," Lena said quietly to the boy, "It's going to be okay."

Jude looked up at her, "Callie's still my sister…right?"

Lena nodded, "Yes, baby."

"I wish we had never come," Jude admitted quietly, "I thought it was the right thing to do. Callie didn't want to come, I could tell."

Lena slipped her hand into Jude's and squeezed tightly, "This isn't your fault Jude."

"It feels like it is."

Lena wrapped her arm around Jude's shoulders and pulled him into her side, "I know Callie doesn't blame you and Stef and I certainly don't blame you. There was no way you could have known how today would have turned out. Stef will find Callie."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

They were at the entrance of the hotel when a man walked up to them, a large box in his hands. He was of a short stature and shady looking with a hoodie and ripped jeans. "Are you Lena?"

She pulled Jude behind her, "Who are you?"

"Sorry," the man flashed a smile and dropped the box to the floor. He stuck out his hand, "The name's Malcolm."

"What do you want?"

Malcolm dropped his hand once it was clear Lena had no intention to shake it, "I was at the wake. I was a good friend of Chris," he answered, "We were uh, roommates."

"In jail?" Jude piped up from behind Lena. She placed an arm around the boy.

"Listen, I really don't―"

"Hear me out," Malcolm said, hands up, "Chris was my bro. He talked to me a lot about his life before…he talked a lot about his kids. He checked up on them when he got out and he put this together." He gestured towards the box.

"What is it?" Lena asked.

Malcolm looked down at the box, "Pictures, letters…" He shrugged and shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, "He was keeping it at my place because his mother was always snooping around…"

"Pictures?" Jude interrupted, "Of what?"

Malcolm offered a smile, "Of you guys. God, he loved you two. He was always talking about you guys."

"How did you know where we would be?" Lena asked, still in defense mode.

Malcolm chuckled and scratched his stubbly face, "Only one good hotel in Avondale. Keep the box, Chris wanted the kids to have it. Have a goodnight." Without another word he walked away, disappearing into the bustle of the sidewalk.

Lena bent down and picked up the box with its considerable weight, "Let's go inside, Jude."

25, 25, 27, 28…

Callie counted the number of electrical candles lit in memory of someone. She stopped in front of the display to observe them closely and noticed a stack of blank cards. She looked around and seeing no one, she grabbed two as well as the pen provided. She wrote out two names.

Cynthia Jacobs

Christopher Jacobs

She placed them side by side and clicked on each candle. She watched the fake flames flicker. Was she truly the reason her father drank? No, not father. Not father. Callie looked out the stained glass windows and noticed she could no longer see the saints which led her to conclude that it was night time. She needed somewhere to sleep. She took a last glance at the flickering candles before making her way out of the church.

Brandon strolled down the hallway and glanced into Jesus' room to see the twins sitting on the floor, working on something. Curious, he walked in and peered down at them.

"What are you guys working on?"

Mariana looked up briefly before continuing to browse on her laptop, "We're redecorating our rooms so Callie and Jude can have their own space."

Brandon was pleasantly surprised. Mariana was definitely a drama queen and had an attitude that could rival a diva's, but she definitely had her moments. He plopped down on the floor next to his siblings, "Do you guys need help?"

Jesus handed him a picture, "I found this in Jude's stuff. We were thinking we would get it blown up at the picture store and frame it." Brandon took the picture and studied it. It showed Jude as a newborn across a bed and Callie and her mother leaning against the side. Callie looked very solemn but her mother showed a hint of a smile.

"What if…they don't want to remember this stuff?" Brandon asked quietly, tracing a finger over Callie's face, "Maybe there's a reason this was hidden."

Mariana shook her head, "No, they need this. It will be good for them." She turned to Jesus with a nervous expression, "Right?"

Jesus offered his twin and smiled, "Of course it will, Mari."

Stef pulled up to the park. She looked at the clock on her dashboard. It read 11:46 PM. It was late; much too late for Callie to be roaming a park by herself. She got out of the car and began to look around but saw no sign of Callie let alone signs of anybody. She ran a hand through her hair and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Where are you?" she muttered to herself, glancing around. She took out her cell phone and dialed Callie's number. A ringtone rang out in the still night and Stef whipped around. She followed the sound to a bench where she found the discarded cell phone. Reaching down, she picked it up and turned off the ringer. Stef shook her head to herself. She was not looking forward to facing Jude and Lena with no idea of Callie's whereabouts. In a moment of defeat, she started back towards her car, formulating a new plan. Stef was pulling out her keys and happened to look up when she saw somebody coming down the far end of the path. She squinted her eyes to look farther and her mouth fell open in amazement.

"Callie!"

Fosters tomorrow! WHOO HOO! I'm pumped!

Do you know what an AMAZING movie is? Frozen! I am a seventeen year old girl who was literally flipping shit when I watched it. It was flawless. It stops playing this week near me though :( Poo.

Sorry this is a short chapter but chapter 10 will make up for it.\

REVIEW PLEASE!

-Liv