Hiya folks! Here is chapter two - apparently a highly anticipated one to see Kasey's reaction. Obviously there will be a lot of development over a few chapters but this is the first part for her. I tried writing the flashbacks in italics but it didn't feel right for such long parts so I've tried to put dividers and done it in bold. Thanks for the feedback on that so far, let me know if this helps and I'll keep doing it. Anyhow, I hope it's OK.

Also, for anyone who may be interested in some Callie/Stef I posted a one-shot yesterday called "A little less alone". It was a one off after a discussion TheTBone and I had sharing our views on the finale (and what we would have liked to be in it...). If you like my writing or even just Stef/Callie then it may be worth a gander.

Thanks to thesameguest and TheTBone for their help.

"Are you sure you haven't tidied it away somewhere Lena?" Stef jumbled through papers desperately.

"Stef, I'm pretty sure I would remember tidying away a plane ticket."

She frantically darted back to her bag.

"Maybe you moved it somewhere that you would expect to find it without thinking."

Stef paused with a look of burning frustration.

"Where do you think I'm looking? The places I don't expect to find it?"

Lena rolled her eyes. She'd been with Stef long enough now to feel easy enough with her temperaments. The good, the bad and the sarcastic.

Stef clapped her hands down onto her thighs. "This is a sign. I shouldn't be going."

"No. Stef, this is important - and more so you've been looking forward to a weekend away, even for work."

"But it's the first time I'm leaving the kids -"

"And they'll be fine. Come on, it'll be like a holiday for them. Mom being away. It's just for two nights."

"It's only one night..."

"And I'm sure you'll be thrilled if I let them stay up till midnight the night you come home. Come on - it doesn't matter anyway. They'll be fine. Just take a beat. Think, and you'll find it. It'll be in the last place you look."

"Lena, I love you, but sounding a little less like my mother right now would probably increase your chances of me not strangling your optimism."

Stef collapsed down onto the bed.

"Do you really think they'll be OK?" She moved up onto her elbows. "Do you think they understand that I have to go?"

Lena caught a flicker of something under the bed.

"I think they're more likely to now..."

She dipped her head down to the sight of a tiny foot. Stef looked at her confused, before whipping her head down to see what it was she was pointing at. She let out a frustrated breath and flopped back covering her face with her hands.

"Kasey. Get out from there. Now, please." she groaned as the foot twitched back further under the bed.

"I'm gonna count to three..." she added, Lena hiding a smirk. Even though she knew it was an awful show if solidarity, it didn't change the fact Stef had been barking at her all morning in her own stubbornness.

"One...Two...Three..."

She gave her a moment before another sigh and rolled off the bed, heaving her daughter out by the foot that had given her away. She slid out easily, already protesting, and was pulled up onto her feet, Stef grappling her shoulders.

"What have I told you about spying on people?"

"I wasn't spying...I was..." she looked around the room. "I was trying to find out if you were still going."

Stef's eyes squinted.

"Kasey. That's is spying."

The small girl shrugged. "OK. I'll remember that." she tried to run off but Stef tugged her back.

"N-n-no. Kasey, we're not done here."

"So are you staying then?" she asked, cutting her off. That was the second time she'd brought it up. The wheels began to turn.

Stef squinted at Lena whose look indicated she was clearly having the same thought.

"Kasey. Do you happen to know where my ticket is?" she asked as calmly as she could. Kasey's face dropped guiltily as she realised the jig was up.

"What happens if I do?" She asked nervously.

Stef licked her bottom lip trying not to strangle the young girl. She took a moment to compose herself.

"Well, that depends on if you give it back to me right now or not." Her voice was low and quiet. "If you have it and you give it to me now then I'll probably give you a time-out. If you have it and I miss my flight you're going to have a weekend with an incredibly angry Mommy and probably a permanent time-out."

Kasey's eyes widened in fear. "But what if I don't want you to go?" She asked earnestly, Stef's heart wrenching.

Lena dipped her head to the side, also moved by the sincerity in Kasey's question.

Stef looked to Lena who raised her eyebrows sympathetically. They both knew this was a step that had to be taken at some point.

"Sweetheart, I have to go. I'll be back before you know it though - and you're going to have so much fun with Lena that you won't want me to come back. Now please, can you get my ticket?"

Kasey's head drooped down, looking up at Stef's eyes in her crouched down position.

She huffed and pulled the ticket out from under her shirt before stomping out of the room.

Stef took the ticket but let her go, breathing out heavily.

"She doesn't want me to go." She replied, looking at Lena.

"Stef, sweetheart. She has to be able to let you go. It's important for her development. For both of them. You keep saying you want them to start relying on you less. That you want them to get more used to our new arrangement."

"Rely less, yes, but Kasey had already become a little more independent. You remember when she thought Mike and I were going to stop looking after them and she tried to take it on herself to look after Brandon? if she's worried about me leaving then it's for a reason..."

"Then all the more reason to give her an opportunity to see that when you're not here the sky won't fall. Look, it's been a year since the divorce. Trust me, this experience will be good for her. If it's something big I'll figure it out. I'll be here for her."

Kasey listened to the words outside the door, blinking down a tear. New arrangement? Why did she need to rely less on her Mom? Why were they so desperate for her to rely on Lena? While she had been upset about Stef not being there for the first time she now thought harder about how little she had seen he Dad over the last year. What if the same was about to happen with her Mom? She couldn't lose them both. She would never be ready to lose her Mom.

The lights rolled across the window, zipping past the police car as it drove to the hospital. Kasey wiped her tear holding her chest as tightly as she could. She barely heard the words the officers were saying, all she could hear were the words: "Your Mom has been involved in a shooting. We need to take you to the hospital" on repeat. Everything past that had been a blur. Her mouth hung open in the darkness, the siren of an ambulance indicating they were close. She wasn't ready to be there yet.

She breathed in through her mouth and thought of those early memories. Facing her Mom not being there for the first time. The idea of going it alone. The more recent idea that the last words they exchanged were in anger and that she had let her stupid temper blot her Mom's possible final memory of her daughter. She shook her head, trying to blink away the persistent thought, but it was relentless. More than ever she needed something that she had never felt so unobtainable. She craved someone to cradle her. Someone to hold her. She craved her Mom and yet she felt further away from her touch than she had ever been.

She ran up to the waiting room to see Captain Roberts and the twins with Lena sat in a seat at the side in her own world. She entered in, terrified, as the room froze around her. She also saw Mike. As soon as she saw him her heart plummeted and immediately the emotions crashed down. Here she was facing losing her Mom and literally an hour before she had told him she didn't want him as a father. Her eyes blurred and her heart pounded hot, driving forces through her veins she'd never felt so intensely. Before she knew what she was doing she ran to him and jumped into his arms. He felt her tighten around her, savouring every muscle that gripped his waist. She was too shellshocked to sob but the tears ran down her face. Mike worked his hand up through her hair and held her in tightly, the captain stepping back and Lena looking down to the floor, her own mind still in turmoil.

"Daddy, I'm - "

"Shh. Sh. Sh." He soothed her. "She's here and she's safe."

Kasey pulled off and wiped her eyes, the frenzy expiring. She still had so many issues, so much unsolved resentment. She still hated what she had been through but it seemed to dissolve into oblivion. She pulled away and breathed out, nodding, seeing Lena get up from her chair, twitching her hands nervously down her thighs.

Zoning back into the room around her she pinched her forehead and went over to Lena.

"Mom, I'm so sorry I didn't pick up." She whispered as Lena gripped her tightly.

"Don't worry about that now." She replied. "The important thing is that you're here." Kasey pulled off and rubbed her hand down Lena's arm.

"Is there any news?" She asked, teary eyed, as the others too made their way over.

"We're waiting for her to be stable. When she is, we'll know more."

There were various reactions from the family around, Kasey looked around at them all, they had been processing this for different lengths of time and she could see it in their faces. Seeing the others allowed her to put her own regret aside and immediately go into protection mode. She looked over to the twins and saw them both looking scared.

"I don't understand, what happened?" She asked and Lena realised that this was genuine ignorance. Of all people to know something she would have thought Kasey would have been in the loop.

Lena looked across at the twins and back at Kasey. The last thing that was needed now was an explosion and if Kasey had no idea then that could easily happen. Captain Roberts looked at the scene unfolding and stepped in. She knew enough of what had been happening recently and had known Kasey long enough to see what the danger was.

"Kasey, why don't you come with me. I'll fill you in."

She looked to her confused and back at Lena who nodded. Her immediate reaction was it must be work related. She knew how hard that would be for Lena to explain. Nodding to her, Kasey moved to the door as the captain placed a gentle hand on her back, the twins watching nervously.

"Kasey, I don't want you to over-react to what I'm about to tell you. Remember that everyone here is upset and there is a lot of stress on your Mom right now." Kasey nodded frustrated. She had no intention of making a scene.

"Please, just tell me Captain." She pleaded.

The tall woman nodded and put a hand on Kasey's arm.

"It seems there was a mix-up with your brother and sister. They have recently been in contact with their birth mom and your parents had reason to believe that your brother was with her at her house."

Kasey blinked and shook her head, still unsure of what was happening or where this was leading.

"Captain Roberts..." Kasey heard Jesus' voice. "Please, let me explain."

She eyed him nervously as Kasey's face thundered in confusion.

"Ana's been manipulating Mariana for money after she made contact and recently it got too much so I tried to help her out. I was trying to get her into a women's shelter this evening when mom thought I was there at the house. Her druggie boyfriend was there instead and well, he shot Mom."

Kasey stuttered but only silence and an urge to be sick came out. She looked down at the floor and up at Jesus, her closest brother, and wondered how all of this could have been happening without her knowing. She thought about screaming and she thought about storming over to him to shake out the reasons why but none of it came. All she could find was silence. She gulped down a few more lost reactions before she shook her head and walked away.

The captain looked over to Jesus who moved to go after her but she grabbed his arm.

"Leave her be. She won't go far." She assured him as they watched her go and moved back into the room.

Kasey crashed round the corner and collapsed on the closest chair she could find. She was in an information overload and immediately scanned the last few weeks for signs of anything. The pills immediately sprang to mind as well as Jesus' questions about the shelters. She thought about the falling out of Jesus and Mariana and analysed every exchange. What she couldn't find was a clear link. She couldn't see how this all fitted.

"Kasey." She heard Callie's voice as she and Brandon strode in.

"Where are they?"

She pointed down the hall, still trying to process and unable to talk.

"Uhm...Mom's not stable yet." She added blindly, as if it would make a difference. It was still the only bit of information she had. Callie put a hand on her shoulder as they paced briskly to the waiting room. She watched as they disappeared and thought about the words she'd just said, momentarily drifting away from her confusion over how this came about. She once again focused solely on Stef and the memories of her past.

"Kasey, I'm going to go now." Stef knocked lightly on the door, looking her up and down.

"Can I come out of my time-out then?" She whimpered back, Stef surprised to find she'd put herself in one in response to her comment before.

"Uhm, yes honey." She covered, realising she had completely forgotten the threat in the first place and certainly hadn't ordered it.

"Look, I want you to behave OK? I know it's going to be strange me not being here but Lena will take good care of you."

Kasey looked down at her fingernails as Stef brushed back her hair. She knew there was something on her mind that wasn't coming out and selfishly, asking now would no doubt delay her. If it was serious, Lena would deal with it or call her back and if it wasn't then there would be plenty of time when she got back.

"Do you really have to go?" Kasey asked again.

"Yes, love." Stef cupped her cheek. "This is important for my job and it'll be good for you to spend some time with Lena and Brandon, anyway."

"But I don't want to spend time with Lena, I want to spend time with you!" She replied as Stef laughed subtly.

"Honey," Stef giggled softly, "you've spent most of your time this week playing with Cooper and me trying to hold on to you for all of two minutes. I'm pretty sure you can cope. The only difference is you're thinking about me not being here. I bet you won't even notice."

Kasey sighed deeply, her eyes still fixed on her hands.

"Are you coming back?" She asked bluntly.

"Of course I'm coming back, silly!" Stef laughed rubbing Kasey's head and driving her down onto the bed, provoking a small giggle. She leaped on next to her and ran her hand through her hair, their faces in line with each other. She slid her thumb down her cheek and stared at her gently.

"And I am a phonecall away, OK? If it's important. Which - " she prodded her. "- means I'm also a phonecall away from Lena so if you don't behave I will know about it. If I hear anything other than you being on your best behaviour then you will be hoping I don't come home, got it?" She pulled her head forward and kissed her multiple times.

"I love you, baby." She kissed her again and squeezed her, pulling herself into a seating position and Kasey up onto her lap.

"I love you too." Kasey mumbled back before looking to her again. Stef locked her gaze for a few moments, Kasey trying to hold a serious look before her face cracked into a smile and she dived firmly around Stef's neck. Stef held her tight and drunk in the sensation. Nothing made her feel more complete than that look of pure love coming from one of her children. The sign she knew she was doing something right.

"OK Mommy, you gotta get going, car's outside to pick you up." Lena smiled at the doorway as Stef gave Kasey one more kiss before hopping up to hug a running and leaping Brandon.

Kasey watched her as she left.

"You wanna come wave her off, Kasey?" Lena asked as Kasey's attention stayed fixed on Stef's disappearing figure. "Kasey?" Lena repeated.

"Kasey!" She snapped awake, noting that at some point Lena's voice had morphed into Callie's,

"Your Mom's stable, you should probably come back. Lena is in with her now."

She immediately sprang up. "Can we see her?" She asked.

"Not yet. Just Lena right now." Callie placed a hand on her arm. "If she's stable she'll be fine, Kasey."

"God, nothing about this is fine!" She bit back before immediately apologising. "Sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's OK." Callie smiled, her voice soft and tender.

"I just can't believe that all this has been going on."

"The pills and stuff?" Callie asked, rubbing Kasey's arm.

Kasey threw her a further look of confusion. "So this did have something to do with the pills?"

Callie paused, she had always assumed Kasey knew something but she had thought so little about it since she found out that it had never come up again.

"I think Mariana was selling them...to get her biological mom money. I guessed you knew..."

"You guessed I knew?" she replied, frustrated. "You knew? How many people knew?" She snapped again. This time she didn't apologise, though her eyes made it clear that her anger wasn't necessarily directed at Callie.

"I don't know." Callie shrugged. "It's something I thought was long over with...it just never really came up again."

She sat down again, rubbing her face with her hands. "Just, leave me alone Callie, please." She peeked a look at a sorry looking Callie and felt a desperate need to reassure her. "Thanks for telling me. I just, I need a minute."

Callie nodded placing a hand on Kasey's back. "OK - just, remember where we all are."

"I can't face them right now." Kasey croaked. "I don't want to take it out on them...but I know that I will."

"I'll come tell you if there's news." Callie agreed before walking back to the room. She took a deep breath. As she saw Kasey she thought back to her own memories of being where she had been all those years ago. To her own anger and fear.

Next Chapter Preview: Callie tries to distract herself by taking care of the others but it doesn't stop her revisiting her own insecurities:

They were taken to their bench again. Their purgatory as the powers that be decided their fate.

She didn't take her eyes off the officers.

"Why was Daddy so sad?" Jude asked, his eyes wide and confused.

The small voice was enough to pull Callie back from her stare.