OK folks, here is the next chapter. I know there is a lot in this episode so I hope folks aren't getting bored! The next 4 are all pretty big ones, especially for Kasey/Stef. All the heart to hearts are coming as well as the blowouts. Enjoy and give me your opinions/predictions/anything really!

"So I was thinking maybe we could go finish the project at Scurro's. You know, get out of the house."

Callie paused and looked for the crack in Kasey's face that she was kidding. Only finding genuine intent, she raised an eyebrow.

"I know your Moms are pretty liberal, Kasey, but pretty sure being grounded still means not leaving the house..."

"Well yeah, a little, but I mean they only grounded me to make a point and like we'll be studying. Plus, they're not gonna be home and who knows when I'll next get the chance? I need to get out of that house!"

"You've been grounded for two days!" Callie chuckled. "And one of those you were allowed out..."

"Yeah, but...look, one hour. It'd be just like we were working at home." Kasey pleaded.

"No...no way. I'm not letting you get yourself in more trouble. Or get me in trouble for that matter."

Kasey ran round as Callie began to walk away. She ran in front of her with her hands clasped. "In the absolute minute chance Moms find out I'll just say I told you they had changed their mind about their punishment. Please, Callie! Come on, it could be the last opportunity we have to hang out in who knows how long I'll be grounded for."

"And that's a reason to break more rules?"

"Such a minute chance..." Kasey puffed out a bottom lip in a smile. She kept her locked gaze until Callie finally rolled her eyes.

"God. One hour! Your Moms don't find out and you're buying the coffee."

"You are the best!" Kasey bounced at the prospect of not having to risk facing another night sat at home thinking about Mike.

They made their way to class only to see Jude running up towards them.

"Kasey!" he yelled. Callie turned and smiled, seeing a new light about him.

She winked and continued her journey into school, leaving them to it.

"What's up?" Kasey asked, slightly nervous. She hoped he hadn't come to tell her that Blake had begun again. After the promises she'd made him she still wasn't entirely sure she could keep herself as under control as he would have desired and she could really do without any more major trouble.

"I just wanted to let you know..." he panted. "Amber and Paul finally got together." he smiled broadly.

Kasey laughed, shaking her head. "You ran over here to tell me that?"

Jude smiled with an embarrassed shrug.

"I know it was bugging you."

He looked deep into her eyes and she saw what it really was. Forgiveness. She took a deep breath and lightly punched his arm. "Thanks." She felt a warm glow flood down her body, lit from his gaze. She shook her head back to reality. "Now please get to class 'cause if I get you in trouble..."

"I'm going." he smiled, running back. She watched him go, the feeling of relief still sweeping over. She knew she still had a lot to learn but this was at least one less thing to worry about.

"All we have to do is switch the sections a bit. Wyatt didn't say that much anyway so it's his loss that he already did the prep for us."

"We're gonna have to have at least one practice with Cooper too so it'd be pretty sweet if the two of you stop getting yourselves grounded. We're gonna have to do a lunchtime." Callie grumbled. As they walked into the cafe.

"Hey Ricky! Usual please, thank you!" Kasey gave the barista a warm smile. He looked at her and back at the boss nervously, twitching his cloth around the counter.

"Hey Kase, uhm...I don't think I'm allowed to serve you." he added as he saw the manager throw him a pointed look.

Kasey looked at Callie and back at him with a confused smile.

"You know my usual is a mocha, right? I'm not ordering alcohol..."

"I know." he stuttered, flashing an embarrassed laugh before dropping it instantly. "It's just...you're on our barred list."

"What?" Kasey snapped. "Is this like a weird management joke? I'm one of your best customers." she smiled but lost it as the manager shook his head before heading to the back.

"Sorry Kasey, not happening. You're on the list and I can't serve you."

"Did Jim just blank me?" her grin was now firmly gone. "Ricky, can you at least tell me why I'm on the list?"

"I wish I could but I don't know."

"Ask Jim then!" she snapped. "Hell I will." he voice grew louder as Callie grabbed her shoulder.

"Kasey, leave it. We'll go home. Come on! We can sort it out another time."

"I'm sorry guys." Ricky shrugged as Callie pulled Kasey out the door..

"Why did you pull me out?" she turned her anger to Callie, thrusting her hand towards the cafe.

"Because making a scene right now is a number one way to get busted. For all you know this could be what gets back to your Moms."

"What does that even have to do with anything?"

"Look I dunno but we shouldn't be here anyway. Maybe it's a sign. Look, you can't come anyway. Leave it till you're no longer grounded then sort it out. If there's been a mistake it may be fixed by then anyway."

Kasey gasped out a couple of absent protests until finally breathing out firm annoyance. She turned and kicked a stone, Callie looking back at the cafe before following behind.

Jesus knocked lightly on Kasey's door. He knew Mariana was against trying to help Ana at all but he couldn't stand the feeling of hopelessness.

"Why won't this damn computer connect!" She banged on the side of the doghouse computer they were able to use for homework when they had lost their own. Part of the punishment always seemed to be the endless frustration.

"It's like this thing is engineered to drive us crazy. I can't access anything!" She moaned rubbing her hair furiously.

"I think that's kinda the point of it, sis." Jesus quipped, moving over to her bed.

She rubbed her hands down her face. "How am I meant to contact anyone without a phone or a computer that won't take a bazillion years to get onto social media."

"Again...I think that's kinda the point."

She heaved a loud sigh. She was determined to try and solve this mystery tonight, regardless of Callie's logic, that it didn't even cross her mind to ask Jesus about why he had appeared.

"So, Kasey, you know that SUV program you watch?"

"SVU." She corrected by reflex, not even the distraction of the computer frustrations enough to suppress defense of her favourite program.

"They have women who like have abusive boyfriends right? They ever talk about shelters and stuff?"

"Among other things. They also have a bunch of facepalmingly frustrating cliffhangers that make you want to punch a wall. Kinda like this damn computer!" She refreshed the page violently, still oblivious to Jesus' deeper concerns. He watched her distraction and wondered if this was a good idea. He had expected her to lead the conversation as soon as he brought it up but today she seemed to busy and he wasn't sure he had the tools to sort it himself.

"Why do you wanna know?" She finally asked, instinctively curious but still unable to take it too seriously over her distraction.

"Just - " He realised he hadn't even thought this far ahead and certainly hadn't expected that he have to start. She could usually read him but not today, and he didn't have the nerve to dive in and tell Kasey the truth, not after leaving it so long. "It's for a paper." He lied.

Kasey scratched her lip and turned to him. "Dude, no offence but using TV for a paper isn't the best way to go. Trust me. Can't you google?"

"I guess..." he replied. He now wondered what his motivation had been to come in the first place. He had wanted her to pick up the signs, to draw it out of him. Now she wasn't, he wanted to run. Was it just because she seemed to busy or was that simply an excuse for him to back out? He thought it over one more time but eventually got off the bed. He couldn't do it.

"Thanks anyway." As he left she finally felt a twinge of responsibility. She had barely registered his presence but as the page failed again she got a jolt of concern.

"Sorry Je, been a bad day. There'll be a bunch of stuff online." She finally offered with a small smile. "If you want me to read it over when you've found it...I've got little else to do these days."

He nodded. "That won't be necessary, but thanks." He delved his hands deep into his pockets and jogged up the stairs. He was mad at himself for buckling, but also mad that what he wanted hadn't happened. All he had wanted was some reassurance, something he couldn't find from a webpage but it was clear he had already set this up for that to be impossible. Ana always resulted in them having to act alone, and that was what he would have to do.

"I have thought it over and over and I don't get it. I can't contact anyone at all either." Kasey came into the kitchen where Callie sat making her way through a pile of work. This had been her second distraction of the evening but she put her pen down and wore it well.

"Still trying to figure out why Paul still hasn't asked out Amber?" Callie joked, hoping it would quell the rant that was about to follow.

"Very funny. Actually they got together today." Kasey threw her a glare. Callie smirked back with he eyebrows raised, washing Kasey with a dose of reality. She made a mental note to leave 7th grade drama aside for good now.

"I'm talking about Scurro's." She returned focus as Callie sighed.

"Kasey, it'll pass. When you're not grounded anymore you can go talk to someone. Get some proper answers. It's not like you can go anyway."

"I wish I could contact Benny..."

"Well it looks like you'll have to wait till tomorrow."

"Wow, you sound like my Mom!" she teased. Callie gave an embarrassed smile. There were worse people to be compared to than Stef or Lena.

Callie moved back to her work only to be stopped again by a frustrated sigh. She wasn't getting anything done while Kasey was looking for an ear.

"Maybe it was Moms, you know? Testing me."

"I doubt it, isn't Lena all about open dialogue and transparency? I can't see them doing that."

"Yeah but Mom's all about mind games."

"I don't think she'd go out of her way to bar you from a cafe. She'd probably get them to tip her off so she could catch you in the act."

"That's true." Kasey rested her head on her palm in defeat.

"What about your Dad?" Callie asked nervously, knowing it was a sensitive subject.

Kasey looked down at her other hand with a shrug.

"I doubt he'd know it was even my hangout." she mumbled.

Callie studied her body language and closed her book over.

"Dads are tough." she replied, grabbing Kasey's attention. She had never heard Callie talk about her parents at all and she'd never wanted to ask her.

"Did you...not get on with yours?"

Callie took a deep breath wondering whether she wanted to go down this road or not. She looked at Kasey's receptive eyes. She had told her all about the rape and Kasey's reaction had proven her trust and her friendship, not bringing it up again unless she did, but still a keen ear.

"I got on fine with my Dad. He wasn't around all that much but you know, he wasn't a bad guy. Then he made a pretty big mistake and we lost touch."

"You lost touch because of what he did? Did he run off with someone?" Kasey asked confused.

"No. He uh...he was responsible for my Mom's death. Drunk driving accident. He went to prison and one day he stopped writing. I don't know why. I guess we weren't as close as I thought."

Kasey's mind was still hooked on the bombshell Callie has just delivered to hear the latter statement. Suddenly she was haunted by the image of the bottle in her Dad's car.

Callie noticed the sudden draining of colour.

"I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't just be throwing things like that around. You didn't ask for -"

Realising Callie was trying to apologise snapped Kasey out of her trance.

"God Callie, don't apologise. Jeez. I'm sorry, I just didn't expect...I mean..." she shook her head. "That's awful."

Callie shrugged. "It happened a long time ago now."

"Did your dad drink a lot or...?" Kasey asked feeling slightly guilty that her question had an ulterior motive to further understand her Dad's own situation.

"Not really. I guess he drank a bit but I never thought of him as an alcoholic. I guess he was too confident. It sort of felt like it came out of nowhere. You can never let your guard down, you know?"

Kasey thought the words over, still unable to shift that bottle from her mind. She thought back to a time when they had been jolted around by a tipsy Mike and had narrowly missed being flipped.

They were interrupted by the door clicking open and Lena striding in.

"Hey! How was the dinner thing?" Callie blinked her eyes back to focus away to the present, an impulse she had perfected over the years. .

Lena closed the door behind her, removing her bag and placing it at the side.

"It was dinner with my ex. As well as could be expected." she grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"When your Mom comes home tell her I'm having a bath." she added before striding up the stairs.

Callie and Kasey looked at each other speechless, eagerly awaiting Stef's return to get more of the story. Finally she obliged them and scurried in.

"How was your dinner?" Callie asked once the basic greetings had been exchanged.

"Good." she sighed.

"That why Lena just went storming upstairs telling us to let you know she's having a bath - and probably not in a gross, suggestive way like you would tell us to tell her when you're trying to make us uncomfortable." Kasey added.

"Well it was a little too good for Lena apparently."

The curiousness worked as a temporary distraction from the former heaviness of the topic.

"Why? Was it weird?" Callie asked, flicking her pen on the table.

"No, no. Just, apparently nobody told me that if I get on with my partner's ex I'm not allowed to invite her to dinner again tomorrow."

"You did what?" Kasey screwed up her face. "You need a memo for that? Did you not read the eyebrows? I imagine it was pretty obvious."

"Apparently we were too busy ganging up on her about them to do so. I don't know, I'm just pretty sure I have to make it up now so - there you go."

Callie saw a small smile on Kasey's face. Relieved to see her finally distracted by something else. She smirked down into her work again, waiting to enjoy see Kasey play.

"Well, I hope you remember there's no apple tarts in the doghouse." Kasey honoured her expectations, trying to keep a serious look.

"Well you are the expert at being in there, that's for sure." Stef teased with a squint. "What about you two anyway? Have fun?"

"Not really, just homework." Kasey lied as Callie edged her a look.

"Good. I don't want you having fun. Not you of course, Callie. You can have fun."

"Thank you." she replied with a smile. "I'm afraid I'm stuck with math homework though." she returned to her books as Stef looked at Kasey. She was distracting herself with a drink of water and looking down at Callie's book. She knew she had to talk with her about the Mike situation, especially after more of a development at work, but she was pretty sure Callie being there may cause her to deflect even more.

"I'm gonna go get changed. I'll maybe come catch you later. Maybe we can talk a little more." she ran a hand through Kasey's hair, leaving her nervous.

"Did that sound like a bonding talk is on the horizon?" Kasey whispered as Callie looked at her with a teasing smile.

"Either that or she knows about Scurro's and she's sweet talking you before she buries you under the floorboards." she whispered before sucking on the end of her pen.

"You think?" Kasey replied full of dread, not sure which outcome she would prefer.

"Guess we'll see if you come down to breakfast or not." Callie raised her eyebrows gathering her books.

"You're going? If you're here she can't talk to me about anything serious."

"I'm not gonna be your Mom shield Kasey, she's gonna get you at some point. Embrace it, it may help." she slung her books under her arms and retreated.

"I'm gonna remind you of that next time you're in this position." she shouted back.

"What? Like last week?" she goaded back. "Embrace it." she repeated again before swaggering up the stairs leaving Kasey to slump her chin into her hand.

Next Chapter Preview: Stef's efforts to pry Kasey open are rewarded

She finally dared to look up at Stef whose eyes were wrought with concern. She closed her own eyes again and looked away. Why was this so hard? She saw a bottle. It was open. It didn't matter, it could be anything. Not being able to say it made it a bigger deal. Now she was fighting back tears. She didn't even know why. Now Stef would definitely think it was worse than it was. Why didn't she just say it all to begin with? She panicked, and felt another knot in her stomach. Oh God, just say something.

"Mom, I don't want to -" she re-routed. "I don't want to do this!" she tried to hide her eyes by turning to look at the other end of the room. Anything but that. Now she'd just volunteered herself for a pep talk.

Stef's heart began to pull. Not even she had imagined it being this hard for Kasey. She took her palm and pressed it against Kasey's forehead, pushing her head softly against her shoulder. "Just take your time."