Casey looked down at the papers in front of her and sighed as she continued to fill them out, which was made somewhat difficult by the fact that her eyes were blurred with tears and her hand was shaking, making it almost impossible to form her letters correctly. She had already filled most sections with the necessary information. Currently she was filling out the section that discussed the number of children in the household and their names. Finishing the top paper, the redhead moved it aside and switched to the next one, sighing when she realized the next form was a petition for a legal name change. She silently cursed how difficult it was to do something as simple as change from maiden name to married name and back again.

"Mommy?"

Casey looked up, sighing softly when she saw Serena standing in the entrance to the dining room, holding out her favorite baby doll. "Hey, sweetheart," she murmured.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Serena asked, walking over to her and raising her arms, indicating that she wanted to sit in Casey's lap.

Casey gently lifted her, and hugged her as Serena made herself comfortable. "I'm okay, honey," she answered vaguely. She hadn't told the girls about what was going on yet. Part of it was because she had no idea how to break the news. But, above all, it was because saying it out loud meant it was really happening, and Casey knew that if she attempted to talk about it, she would break down all over again, and possibly chicken out. "Where's your sister?"

"Taking a bath," Serena answered, reaching for one of her mother's dark red curls.

"Taking a bath?" Casey repeated, alarm immediately consuming her. She gently placed her daughter on the floor and ran out of the dining room, through the living room, and up to the second floor, taking the steps two at a time. She paused in front of the closed door to the bathroom and tried to open it, but it was locked from the inside. Hearing the water running, Casey began to panic. "Stephanie, I need you to open this door for me, now," she ordered. Hearing no response, Casey tried to the door again, panicking even more when it still refused to budge. She immediately began to think of everything that could have happened, and each worry that crossed her mind ended at her daughter's funeral. "Stephanie, open the door!" Casey cried.

Just when she was about to hurry downstairs for a screw driver, the door opened, and Stephanie stood in the doorway, looking up at her. "I'm okay, Mommy."

Casey looked past her, noticing the overflowing bathtub. "Oh god," she murmured, hurrying over to the bathtub. She slipped on the wet floor and nearly fell in the process. "Steph, what did you do?" she moaned once the water was shut off and she had unplugged the drain.

"Sorry, Mommy," Stephanie murmured, carefully walking over to her and sitting down next to her on the edge of the tub. "Are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.

Casey sighed and wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her. "I'm not mad at you, honey. I was just worried. You know better than to be around water when you're by yourself. I can't bear the thought of seeing you get hurt, or your sister."

"Or Mama," Stephanie pointed out, much to Casey's chagrin. Stephanie placed her finger on her mother's nose and giggled. It was one of her favorite things to do, and Casey had given up on trying to figure out why. "I heard you."

"You heard me what?" Casey asked, wondering what the little girl was talking about.

"The phone," Stephanie answered, pulling out of Casey's arms and looking up at her. "Where's Mama?"

Casey sighed, burying her head in her hands. She felt her daughter's hand on her shoulder but it did little to ease her frustration. She realized, with horror, that Stephanie had overheard her on the phone with a friend earlier the day. The words echoed through her memory as she remembered what she had said. "When Olivia comes home, she will discover that she no longer has me, or our daughters, and I will do everything in my power to make sure she never sees them again." It had been said in the heat of the moment, but how could she explain the circumstances to her children, who were only two? They were bright, but they were still far too young to understand what was happening. "Stephanie," Casey began, wondering what to say. She hated to lie, but telling the truth could have just as dire effects, especially if the girls never forgave her. "Come with me." Casey lifted her daughter off of the floor and held her in her arms as she stood up, then managed, with one hand, to grab a towel and dry the floor off. Placing the towel in the laundry, she carried Stephanie downstairs and into the dining room, sighing when she noticed Serena standing up on the chair. "You two are killing me," she groaned, placing Stephanie on the floor and then lifting Serena from the chair and placing her on the floor next to her sister. "I want to tell you two something," she announced.

"What, Mommy?" Serena asked, climbing onto her chair and sitting down. Stephanie did the same thing, and both girls looked to their mother for further explanation.

Casey sighed, taking the seat that was normally occupied by Olivia at the head of the table. She folded her hands and looked from one daughter to the other. "Serena," she said, looking at Serena, "and Stephanie," she continued, her gaze landing on Stephanie, "You know that you are loved by both of your mothers. You are the pride and joy in our lives, and we would never want to hurt you." Casey paused, biting her lip thoughtfully. She wondered how to go on. "Mama is in California, doing some things for her work. Police work. When she comes back..." Here Casey broke off, utterly lost as to what to say next. There was no way to cushion this, she realized, other than not tell them, and she knew they would find out eventually, no matter how long she managed to hide the truth. It was now or never. "When she comes back she won't be here anymore."

"Where?" Serena asked, meaning she wanted to know where Olivia would be going.

"I don't know," Casey answered truthfully. "But not here."

"Why?" Stephanie chimed in.

Casey sighed softly. "Because...she did something...to hurt me, and you two as well. We have to leave. I know you two are going to hate me, and I'm sorry, but I have to do what's best for you." Casey realized she was rambling about something the girls probably had no clue about, but at the same time, she could see by the intrigued way both of them were leaning forward, listening to her, that they at least understood some of what she was saying.

"Mommy's leaving?"

"Yes," Casey answered. "I'm sorry, girls."

"Come back?"

Casey shook her head. "I don't know yet." She paused when she heard her phone ring. She had turned it on at her boss's request, in case he needed to get ahold of her. But this call was from Olivia, and, once again Casey hit the ignore button.

Later that night, Casey laid on her back, alone in bed. The girls had screamed and cried, but Casey had managed to calm them down and put them to bed. Now she was listening to the voicemails in her inbox, many of which were from Olivia. Casey hit delete on another one and listened to the last one. Her tears began to fall again as she listened to her wife's voice. "Casey, please don't ignore me. I know I messed up, and I know I don't deserve you anymore, but I love you with everything I have. Courtney means nothing to me! You're the one I can't bear to lose. Please call me, Case. We need to talk. All I want is for you to forgive me."

Casey sighed, her finger hovering on the delete button. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and followed through, then laid her phone on the nightstand and sighed. She slid under the covers and buried herself, dissolving into sobbing once more. She was a wreck with Olivia...and she was a wreck without. There was no way to deny it: her heart wanted one thing and her brain wanted to run in the opposite direction. Either way, she was screwed.