The weekend had always been Stef's favourite time of the week, and this one was no different. Brandon's performance in the final of his competition had been a modest success and had left the whole family brimming with pride for the teenage boy and, much to Lena's distaste, had led to the whole family cooping up in a booth at the kid's favourite ice cream parlour.

"What kind of celebration would it be without ice cream?" Jesus had pleaded to Lena. With Stef joining in with Mariana's puppy eyes for good measure, her partner was ultimately won over, although it earned her a playful swat on the butt in return.

Today is Saturday, and Stef had risen early to gather the needed essentials for the beach day the kids had roped them into last night. She is looking forward to it, really; now that the kids are older, it feels like she hardly sees them anymore with each of their ever-expanding social lives and jam-packed schedules. It will be good to spend some quality time with her babies – last night had been a reminder of just how much fun the Foster clan could have together.

As she showers, her mind drifts away from each of her kids and the immense sense of pride she holds for her eldest son, and to the little boy she met yesterday. With the rush to get back on time for Lena's early dinner and Brandon's competition, the child had almost slipped entirely from her thoughts – until now, anyway.

She wonders what the little boy will be doing this weekend; if he's enjoying the comic book she'd bought for him, and if he managed to carry all those bags of groceries home without the bags bursting. She recalls the complete gratitude he'd shown when she'd given him the comic book, and the smile on his face is one she knows will stay with her for a while. It's crazy how the simplest of things can make someone happy, and she's glad she'd managed to be that boy's source of happiness for at least one day.

Soon, the water begins to cool, and she sighs with the realisation that one of the kids must be using the shower in their shared bathroom. So help the boys if it's Mariana – she'll be in there all day until every last drop of the hot water is used up. Before she knows it, she hears Jesus's frustrated groan as he pounds on the door to the kid's bathroom, and laughs as her prediction comes true.

She shakes her head in amusement. Sometimes, the love she has for her family is so strong, it makes her wonder how she got so lucky. But soon, she finds herself wondering if that little boy has someone who cares for him; if he has someone who makes sure he has hot water for his shower, and lunchmeat for his sandwiches. She hopes he does – she doesn't know why, but it pains her to think of a sweet, innocent little kid like him going unloved.

"Do you have the time?" Lena asks a half hour later as the two of them stand side by side in the bathroom, each of them scrupulously applying light makeup and taming their hair. At her words, Stef freezes slightly, and she finds herself picturing the young, broken looking girl she'd found yesterday morning on the sidewalk. Although Lena's tone was light and friendly – unlike the girl's fearful, stuttering one – the phrase has the same ring to it.

Stef pictures the girl's face, not just battered and bruised, but jaw clenched tight as she tried to put up a tough front. If only she'd known that her eyes gave away the fear she wasn't voicing.

"Honey?" Lena asks, looking towards her partner in the double mirror.

Letting out a sigh, Stef returns her attention to Lena. "Yes?"

"The time?"

She looks down at the flashy bracelet watch on her wrist and reads off the time, causing Lena to throw her cosmetics back into the drawer and mutter something about how they should hurry up and get going so they could miss the morning rush of traffic. Stef continues to apply her mascara, not really listening to Lena's propositions for how they should handle lunch, and instead thinking about the girl. Like the boy, she really hopes that the girl has someone to point her in the right direction and to steer her out of trouble – she'd met plenty of girls in her situation before, and none of their stories had ended well. But the girl she met yesterday gives off a different vibe; something almost like determination – the good kind.

As usual, the family doesn't make it out into the car until an hour after the last showers are turned off – or freezed out, as Jesus had mumbled – and it takes another three round checks to make sure everyone has what they need for the day. Opting to save money – and steer her children away from the greasy, fat filled food truck snacks – Lena had suggested they take a picnic, and all the kids had rushed around madly ten minutes before they left searching for sandwich fillers and snacks.

Now, they're driving out the neighbourhood and towards the beach a little farther down from the more secluded area by Anchor Beach School. It's a nice family friendly area with a boardwalk and several amusements that Stef knows will interest the boys more than the sunbathing Mariana had declared she would be spending the afternoon doing.

The beach is much more crowded than she'd anticipated, and Stef hopes they'll be able to find a good spot to lie out their towels and declare theirs for the afternoon. "Seems like everyone had the same idea as us," Lena comments, slipping her seatbelt off and opening the car door.

Stef follows suit, making her way to the back of the car and opening the trunk. "Yeah, well I guess we're not the only ones who decided to gather their teenagers for a day, huh?" She smiles, and reaches in to grab the towels and the striped duffle bag in which she'd packed a change of clothes for everyone what appears to be an endless supply of sunscreen. As Mariana eyes the plethora of coloured bottles suspiciously, Stef raises her hands in defence. "What? You can never be too careful!"

After Lena grabs the picnic bag, and the boys take the parasol and beach balls, the family walk down onto the beach and begin to survey the surroundings for the perfect spot. It's only a matter of time before they find themselves a little down the beach, close enough to the boardwalk so that the kids can come and go as they please and with the restroom at a reasonable distance, which Mariana and Lena had deemed as a necessity.

The kids almost immediately slip down into their bathing suits, Mariana rolling out her towel under the parasol and pulling out a stack of magazines, and Stef laughs, knowing she'll be occupied until at least lunchtime. Lena is quick to toss out a bottle of the sunscreen to everyone, poking Stef in the stomach and teasing her for just how much pain she'll be in tonight if she doesn't put enough on. Stef repays her with devilish tickles, before pressing her lips to Lena's perfect bow shaped ones.

"Okay, gross," Brandon says, snapping the lid onto the bottle of sun cream and tossing it back into the bag. "Now can we go down to the water?"

Stef feigns hurt, and begins to melodramatically waffle on about how she isn't good enough for him, which only earns her three strange looks from the teenagers around her and a jab in the stomach from Lena, who assures Brandon and the fidgeting Jesus, that they can, in fact, do whatever they want – within reason, of course.

And the rest of the morning is spent much like every other beach day the Foster family had taken in the past years – the boys had grown out of their childish splashing games and had since turned to playing beach volleyball, and Mariana, who had grown tired of keeping up with her brothers, tended to stick by the moms, just as she had from the moment she entered her teenage years.

Stef had hoped that they could use this time today to actually unite as a family, and after speaking with Lena, it's decided that they will all eat lunch together up at the parasol.

"Okay, I'm going to the bathroom before we eat. Does anyone else need to come?"

Mariana shoots right up, pulling her face out of the magazine she'd been reading almost religiously for the past hour, and climbs over to Stef's side. "Me."

"Anyone else care to join us?" Stef calls out to the boys, who seem engrossed in a game of two on two soccer and fail to reply. "Okay then, Miss Thing. Just me and you," she says, wrapping her arms around her daughter's shoulders as they walk up the beach and head for the boardwalk.

Just before they reach the pier, though, Mariana asks if she can go and retrieve her sunglasses from the car. Stef feels a little uneasy about allowing Mariana to go alone, but after the reassurance that she isn't a little girl anymore, Stef tosses her the keys and tells her daughter to meet her by the toilet block once she's done. "And don't forget to lock the car!" she calls, receiving an embarrassed glare from the young girl followed by an incredulous smile.

Grinning, Stef wanders along to the boardwalk to the toilet block, only to sigh in frustration when she notices the line to get in. It's hardly terrible, but her rumbling stomach had expected to be in and out the toilet in a couple of minutes, not ten. She almost thinks about going back to meet Mariana at the car to pass the time, but dispels the idea when she realises that the line is already starting to get longer, and her spot is valuable.

Some minutes later, after admiring the view of children playing on the beach and families eating out on the boardwalk, she finds herself staring at the back of a head of brown, shoulder length hair. As the line moves forward, she notices the hesitation in the girl's step, and the wince that comes afterwards as they come to a halt. It crosses Stef's mind that she should perhaps ask the girl if she's okay, but she doesn't want to come off as strange and overbearing – it is a complete stranger after all. She should just mind her own business.

But all attempts of minding her own business are placed aside when the girl turns slightly, and Stef catches sight of her face – the same purpling cheekbones, busted lip and hollow eyes as the girl she'd come across yesterday morning in San Ysidro. She squints her eyes, challenging her brain to stop tricking her, because surely it can't be that same girl – this stretch of beach is miles away from the bashed up neighbourhood they were in yesterday; why would she be here in Mission Bay? For a moment, Stef wonders if she really has gone crazy – maybe she was having an early menopause or something – but her suspicions are confirmed when the girl turns right around to face her. It's definitely the girl from yesterday, and she doesn't look happy to see her.

"What? Are you, like, stalking me now or something?" the girl asks, shaking her head in disbelief and crossing her arms tight over her chest.

Aware that she is still staring at the girl, Stef blinks a little and regains her stature, trying to hide the blush that's crept onto her face. In fact, Stef is so stunned that the girl is here at all, she forgets to answer the question.

Obviously assuming Stef's silence as a verification of her statement, the girl looks down at her feet, biting her lip as she nods her head slightly. "So you're here to arrest me, then?"

It doesn't take long for Stef to notice that the girl's voice has deflated from the fierce, accusing tone she'd sported before. "What?" Stef asks, both shocked and confused at the girl's rather ludicrous assumption.

"You know what I'm talking about," she sighs, looking up for the first time to face Stef fully. The girl's big brown eyes are almost pleading, and Stef's heart breaks when she notices a dark ring around one of them – another injury among the girl's patchwork face that hadn't been there yesterday.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stef articulates, trying to make it clear that she doesn't mean any harm, and that she most certainly isn't here to lock her up. Frankly, the image of the young girl in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit makes Stef shudder, and for a moment, she has to remind herself that this girl isn't one of her kids, or anyone she knows – just a stranger. But like yesterday, Stef gets the impression that this girl has been treated very wrongly in life, and she finds herself immediately concerned as to why on earth she would think Stef was here to arrest her.

A flicker of recognition flashes through the teen's eyes, as if she has just contemplated the idea that Stef might not be following her, that she might actually be here for recreational purposes too, and she seems to lower her guard slightly, mumbling a quiet, "Oh."

"Why would you think I was here to arrest you?" Stef asks, quite horrified that that was the first thing that had come to her mind, and now curious as to what she had done to deserve police involvement.

But just like Stef had assumed, the girl is smart, and she begins to back away slightly, realising her mistake. "It doesn't matter," she says, looking around, maybe for a way out.

Right then, Stef is desperate to keep the girl talking, to find out more about her and where she's coming from, regardless of whether she'll find out if she's committed some kind of felony or worse, and finds herself speaking the first words that come to her mouth. "I'm here with my family."

The girl gives her an odd look, one that she'd received all too many times from her own daughter, before continuing to let her eyes roam the area. "Nice…" she says sarcastically.

Just before Stef gets the chance to ask whom she is here with, a voice calls out and the girl whips her head round fast.

"Callie!" it comes again, and soon, a young boy arrives at the girl's side. "Cal, my money got stuck in the vending machine!"

"What?" The girl, who she assumes is called Callie, turns away from Stef to face the boy, blocking him from her view.

The boy repeats his complaint, and Callie proceeds to tell him that she doesn't have enough money to get him another drink. Stef's heart sinks. Before she can give it a second thought, she steps out of the line and steps towards the two kids.

"Can I help at all?"

Immediately the girl, Callie, turns to Stef and grabs the boy's arm, pushing him behind her. "We're fine, thanks," she says, icily.

But before she can walk away, the little boy pokes his head out from behind Callie, and Stef instantly reels back in surprise as his eyes widen in recognition.

"Stef?" he questions incredulously, a look of both surprise and shock on his face.

Stef, a little lost for words at the sight of the timid boy who had stood in front of her yesterday at the grocery store, forces herself to wipe away her surprise. "Hey there, buddy." While she speaks, Stef is aware of Callie looking between her and the little boy, her brow furrowed as if she's trying to figure out how they know each other. "How's the comic book?"

"G-good, thanks," he mumbles nervously, now aware of Callie trying to determine the situation.

"Do you need some more money for the vending machine?" Stef asks, only realising once she's spoken that she doesn't have any money on her, and that it's back in her wallet in the car. But before she gets the chance to even contemplate how she'd go back and get it, Stef see's Callie walking back, pulling the boy with her.

"We have to go," she says quickly, glancing around nervously. "Come on, Jude."

Just like that, the pair are walking down the boardwalk, the wait in line for the bathroom forgotten along with the money stuck in the vending machine. Stef watches as Callie wraps her arm around the little boy, pulling him close to her as they walk, much like the gesture she and Mariana had shared just ten minutes earlier. She knows that she shouldn't – Callie had made it clear they didn't need her help – but how can Stef just let them go? The two people who had dominated her mind for the past twenty-four hours have suddenly just fused together, and now they are heading back down the boardwalk, away from the amusements and restaurants and towards the highway, leaving Stef no more informed of their situation than she was beforehand.

Ducking out of the line, Stef begins to jog along the boardwalk in attempt to catch up with the two kids. "Wait!" she calls, and Callie turns her head at the sound of the voice, but carries on walking when she see's Stef coming after them.

Desperate now, Stef decides to call on the boy, hoping that he will be less hostile than the girl. "Jude?"

Just like she'd hoped, the boy turns around and pauses in his spot, despite Callie's protests to keep moving. Eventually, Stef manages to close the distance between them, panting slightly from her minor workout. The look on Callie's face shows she isn't impressed with the woman's strategy to win them over, and Stef does admit that it was kind of cheap, winning over the pair by calling out a little boy who obviously felt torn in the situation.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Stef raises her eyebrow, directing the question towards Jude and trying her best to ignore the dirty look Callie is giving her. "At least let me buy you guys a soda or something," She offers, although it's more like a plead.

The little boy looks up to Callie, who seems to be trying to tell him something with her eyes, but if he understands at all what she's trying to communicate, he ignores her. "I am pretty thirsty, I guess," he says, shrugging, a small smile on his face.

Callie looks as if she might scream, or cry – Stef can't quite tell – but sucks in a deep breath and juts her chin out. "Fine."

"Great!" Stef says, pleased with herself. "Now, just let me go grab my wallet. Wait right here, I'll be back in a moment."

As she walks off, her hands sweaty from nerves, Stef realises that she's asking a lot of them by telling them to wait. She knows that the chances of them still being there when she gets back are slim, and that she shouldn't really be bothered if they had decided to leave as soon as she turned her back, but there's that little niggle of something telling her that these kids could use her help – she just hopes they'll let her get close enough to be able to give them it.

Thanks for reading and for reviewing - I always like to know what you think, whether it be positive or negative. I know a lot of you have been anticipating this slightly more official meeting between Callie and Stef...and I'm glad to finally be able to kick start this part of the plot!

So, how do you think things will go down when Stef returns? Will Callie and Jude still be there?

Let me know your thoughts! - K