Felix left. He said goodbye to Kira and hiked off down the road, leaving Sarah with Kira and Callie and the lingering ghost of Graham in the center of that unfortunate triangle. Add in the hovering danger of cops and scientists and preachers and, really, this situation has reached a point that Sarah is entirely too tired to manage.

"Hey, monkey," Sarah says, hitching her mouth up into a smile as she settles on the bed with Kira. She slots a glance over towards the door, making sure it's closed, and takes a deep breath. "I need to tell you something."

"Is it about why Uncle Felix left?"

"A bit, yeah." Sarah smiles and it's honest- because Kira is smart, because she's so much more than Sarah's ever been- but it still stretches tight against the tension in her jaw. "Uncle Felix had to go take care of Auntie Alison, you know? She's got a lot to deal with, and he's going to help her.

"But he also left to give you and me and Callie some time to talk." Sarah swallows against the tension building in her throat, but that just moves it down to her chest, then her stomach, and God, she's just tired of throwing new people into her daughter's life. "Kira, Callie's brother, Graham, he's- he's your dad, and I wanted you to meet him, because I thought you should know him, but-Kira, he died."

It hurts more than it should to say aloud, a knot settling in her gut and twisting up into her ribcage. She had never loved him, had lied to him and taken his money and run- had all but taken his sister from him, if the wide-eyed betrayal written across his face when he walked in on them had been at all honest- but he had been a good man.

"He was in a car accident a few years ago, and Kira, I- I'm sorry it took me so long to come home, and to get myself together, I'm so sorry. I never wanted this for you, I wanted you to have a better life than me, with a family."

It's not until Kira pops up onto her knees on the mattress and presses her palm against Sarah's cheek that Sarah realizes she's crying. She pulls her daughter closer, wrapping around her small form and burying her face in Kira's hair.

After she's put Kira to bed for the night, Sarah makes her way downstairs. She's managed to avoid Callie for most of the day- or, really, Callie's mostly been out in the workshop, doing who knows what, and Sarah's spent the afternoon sequestered in the spare bedroom with Kira- but as she comes down the stairs, Callie is settled into a chair in the living room with a book and a beer, biting at one of her fingernails absently. She glances over the top of her book, one eyebrow quirking up in Sarah's direction.

"She's out like a light," Sarah says quietly. "Took her awhile, she misses Felix, but-yeah." She rubs a hand over her eyes, too tired and too worried to pretend there isn't a lanky Felix-shaped void at her side. "She wanted me to tell you goodnight."

Callie doesn't say anything, but hums some noncommittal noise and ambles out of the room. Sarah grinds her teeth together and slumps against the wall, tallying how much energy she has to funnel into another argument, but then Callie reappears with a fresh beer, popping the lid and handing it to Sarah.

"Thanks," Sarah mumbles. She picks at the label around the neck, staring openly as Callie curls back into her chair. It's a different brew than what Graham kept when he was there.

"So now what are you gonna do?" Callie asks, neutral and quiet.

"I don't-"

Lights from a car in the driveway slice across the living room, cutting off Sarah's uncertain response, and Callie is out of her chair immediately, pointing her to the wall between the windows and out of sight. She grabs her almost-empty beer and steps outside to where the sheriff's car is idling.

"Hey, Dave, how are you?" she says easily. "It's been awhile."

"Oh, you know," he says. "Getting by, do what you gotta do."

"What brings you up here? Little late for a social visit."

"Got a report of some folks stealing from Bill's store, back closer to town. A mom and kid, cleared out with a bunch of food. A truck was stolen back outside the city and someone called in seeing it around here, thought I'd swing by and see if you'd seen anything."

"Nah, can't say I have. It's been all quiet up here."

The sheriff eyes her, level and silent, for long moments, and Sarah's fingers dig into her own thigh to keep quiet.

"You know, I do what I can to leave you alone up here, Cal, don't even ask about that little weed patch you got growing in the back."

"Yeah, I appreciate that," Callie says. Her voice doesn't waver, and Sarah closes her eyes against the her own nerves. "I'd help you if I could, but I haven't seen anything."

"Okay," Dave says after a moment. He smiles and raises a hand, almost like he's going to pat her on the shoulder, but then it falls back to rest on his gun belt. "You have a good night."

"You, too. It was good to see you."

"You too." He dips his head in goodbye and ambles back to the truck. Door open, he pauses, and glances back at Callie. "Brittany and I stopped by the cemetery the other day, left some flowers."

"I saw," Callie says, and now, finally, her voice wavers. "They looked really nice, I appreciate it."

"Take care, Callie," Dave says. He climbs into the truck and backs down the driveway. Inside, Sarah slumps against the wall, legs weakening and chest aching.

It's a long minute before Callie comes back inside, and it's not until her footsteps hit the porch that Sarah moves. She shoves off the wall and grabs her duffel bag from its spot on the couch, throwing sweatshirts and socks into it haphazardly.

"Hey, what- what are you doing?"

"I shouldn't be here," Sarah says, not looking up from her work. "I shouldn't have put you in this position, you shouldn't have to lie to the cops. We're leaving."

"What, now? It's the middle of the night, Kira just went to sleep!"

"Yeah, well, she's used to it," Sarah says. She shoves the last of her crumpled shirts into the bag and starts folding Kira's neatly. "It's probably better to leave now anyways."

"Sarah, don't just run again."

"I'm not running out on you. Jesus, Callie, I'm not that person anymore, but I'm in some real shit."

"So going off in the middle of the night on no sleep because a local sheriff came by is a good way to deal with it? Come on, don't be an idiot. At least wait until morning and figure out where you're going to go." Callie pulls her up to her feet, away from the suitcase, and Sarah yanks her arm away, taking a long step back and shoving shaking hands through her hair. Her back collides with the wall behind her, hard enough that it would have shoved the air out of her lungs even if Callie wasn't staring at her with that honest wide-eyed look she'd always had eight years ago.

"Don't run, not like this," Callie says quietly. She's closer, suddenly, somehow, and it takes a Herculean effort but Sarah manages to meet her eyes and level her breaths, even under the weight of Callie's gaze. She's too close now, from too many steps that Sarah managed to miss out on, gaze darting down to the uncertain line of Sarah's mouth and back up to her eyes as she leans in and this is a bad idea, a terrible idea, the worst one Sarah's had since she picked up Beth Childs' purse the first time. It's a mistake to do this again, to let it happen as it did years ago, but Callie is here, dark hair and dark eyes and a mouth that settles automatically into a smirk when she isn't glaring at Sarah, and Sarah moves without meaning to.

Sarah is hesitant even as she moves forward but Callie isn't, one hand curling around the back of Sarah's head and the other pushing her into the wall when Sarah's mouth finds hers. Sarah pushes forward when Callie bites down on her lip, a little bit angry and a little bit desperate, but Callie's height presses her back against the wall, pinning her there easily.

It's still a terrible idea and Felix would throw her out a window if he knew she was making this mistake again, but Callie's tongue is in her mouth, familiar and confident like Sarah never left and Sarah's leg is hooking around her hip and- well, as long as they don't wake Kira up, it can't be the worst thing she's done recently. It's not like she's sleeping with a monitor or a morgue attendant, after all.