AN: Thanks again everyone for reading, supporting me and for the nice words. It's nice to hear from you. I hope you are still enjoying the story :)

Amy POV

March 7th

I was dusting the living room, when I heard Callie's voice coming from the doorway "You're cleaning the house at 7 AM on Wednesday morning?"

"I am," I confirmed the obvious as I continued to dust the bookshelf. I heard a crunch sound, sounded like she was eating cereal.

Once I was done dusting, I turned to Callie. She was standing in the middle of the room, holding her cereal bowl in her left, spoon in her right, her mouth was still moving as she chewed the cereal, but her were eyes on me.

"But you cleaned the house yesterday," Callie said after she was swallowed the food

"The social worker Sydney Fields is coming over today to talk to me. I just want this place to look neat," I explained while I ran the washcloth over the coffee table. Callie swallowed hard and froze in her spot at the mention of Sydney Fields.

I pause the dusting and stood up straight "Don't worry about it," I tried to assure the girl, but by her facial expression I could tell, she didn't believe me. There was nothing but fear and worry in her eyes. I tossed the washcloth down to the coffee table and walked up to Callie.

When I was right in front of her, I placed my hands on her upper arms "Honey, everything is going to be okay. If Mrs. Fields had found something, a reason to take you out of this home, she would have already done that and you wouldn't be standing in front of me right now!"

I could tell my Callie's facial expression that she had thoughts running around her head, not leaving her alone. Her look was darting around, not stopping on one spot for too long, but her forehead was frowned up a little.

I ran my hands down her arms "I know you are worried. Trust me, I am too!" I sighed and briefly averted my look down "But we have to try and stay positive. Stressing out about it won't do us any good, because it will not change anything. I know it's hard, but try not to think about it," I said as I was trying to catch her look that was still darting around. When I finally did catch a glimpse of her eyes, I thought I saw something in her eyes – guilt. It got me worried.

"Callie?" I said softly, trying to get her attention on me

"I lied to Mrs. Fields!" Callie blurred out. I hadn't thought that she would tell me about, what she was feeling guilty about, without me coaxing the answer out of her. Her quick answer came as a surprise to me.

"You lied to the social worker?" I asked to make sure I heard her right

Unknowingly I had taken my hands off her. I think it was the surprise of her coming clean and the news, that made me do that. But I didn't take my eyes off her for a second. There were many questions running around my head.

I tried to understand - what had she lied about?

Why would she lie?

What would she get out of it?

Was she trying to protect me or herself?

Was it intentional lie or did it just slip out?

Was it a white lie or a malicious lie?

Callie looked at me remorsefully and whispered out "I'm sorry," Not being able to hold the eye contact, she averted her look down. The young girl looked scared, probably of my reaction.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and took a step closer to her "It's okay, Callie! I'm not mad!" I assured her

She raised her head up "You aren't?" Callie asked questioning my honestly, her voice small

"No, sweetie," I said softly "I'm a little bit surprised and confused about why you did it, but -" I shook my head "I'm definitely not mad! Can you tell me why you did it?"

"I was trying to help," Callie admitted quietly. After the statement, she started to chew her lip nervously.

"Help who?" I asked, trying to understand "Me?"

Callie nodded her head "She asked if you had ever forgotten to pick me up. Then she said that if you had, that it counts as a form of neglect - inadequate supervision or something. I thought that she would take me away if I would have said..." Callie trailed off. She didn't have to finish her sentece for me to understand what she was reffering about.

"I understand that you were trying to protect me and I'm happy about that," I said with a small smile, but then I turned more serious "But, Callie, you don't have to lie for me!" I said in serious, but soft tone as I reached out to her forehand. Callie tilted her head down as she continued to listen to me.

"Whatever happens, whatever the circumstances….even if it's hard- I want you to be honest and truthful. I don't want you to carry that burden with you," I paused remembering how she had looked just minute ago, before she had told me

"It's weights on you and soon or later it can pull you down. Lying never leads to anything good. I wouldn't want you to be put on a spot and called out for doing it later," I tilted my head to one side "Do you understand?"

Callie nodded her head back without raising her head up.

"With words please," I requested gently

Callie tilted her head up, looked me in the eye and replied "I understand,"

I took my hand off her forearm and placed it on her side of the neck "Never again! Okay, pumpkin?"

Callie sighed deeply before she answered "I'll try," I smiled, knowing that she could have just said – yes – to put a stop to the conversation, by saying what I wanted to hear, but instead, she had answered more honestly, thus, making me happy.

~o~o~o~

Mrs. Fields was sitting on the couch. Her black folder was open and sitting next to her on the couch, but the files, that had been in the folder, were now on the coffee table. She had been here for about an hour now.

I was carrying two cups of tea in my hands. Mrs. Fields heard me enter the room and raised her head up to watch me.

"One spoon of sugar! Here you go," I said handing her the tea she ordered

"Ah - thank you!" She smiled at me reaching for the cup. Once I had gotten rid of the one cup, I went to sit down at the armchair I was sitting before I left to make the drinks. I took a seat down and for now, while the tea cools down, lowered it on the armrest, but still held on to it.

She took a sip of her tea and then placed the cup down on the coffee table. After that, she got back to the business "Like I mentioned before, I talked to Callie's PO about her probation. He was very happy with her progress so far," Mrs. Fields said looking up from the file "You have been keeping her out of trouble. That's something no other foster parent has managed before. He hasn't received a single complaint," I remained quiet and simply listened to what she had to say

"And her grades are up as well," Mrs. Fields said pointing to part of the file. She turned to me again "I talked to the school principal Mrs. Witters – she said that Callie hasn't caused any trouble and is behaving well in school. But she did mention that there had been some small bump, before Christmas. Could you tell me about that, please?"

"Nothing much to tell. She skipped few classes at the beginning, the first few weeks here. We talked to her and it sorted out," I shrugged my shoulders not knowing what else to tell her

"I would like to hear in more detail, how you handled that," Mrs. Fields said reaching for a pen and taking the notebook she had with her, closer to her

"Um…well," I stammered at first as I shifted in my seat "Aaron and I kind of made a deal with her,"

"What kind of a deal?" Mrs. Fields asked curious, she seemed to be very interested in the subject

"That if the missed classes count doesn't go up till Christmas, we would take her to whichever movie she wanted to see, the whole family would go to a restaurant she wanted and also that she could walk home from school on her own. It's the walking home alone she really wanted. Apparently, she had much more freedom in the previous homes and she wasn't used to us driving and picking her up so much,"

"So you...bribed her?" Mrs. fields raised her eyebrow at me

"It wasn't bribing!" I reasoned back

Mrs. Fields wrote something down. That got me a bit anxious. Once she stopped writing, she looked to me and asked "Had you taken her to restaurant or movies before?"

"Not to movie theater, but-"

Mrs. Fields cut me off "Telling a kid to do something in particular in return for good grades, or in Callie's case full attendance is the definition of bribing, Mrs. Scott!"

"You didn't let me finish," I glared at her, upset that she was spinning this the wrong way and making me the bad guy

"No explanation is necessary-" Mrs. Fields said as she wrote something down again

"With all due respect, I get to explain myself!" I insisted in louder tone and cut her off this time

The social worker, surprised by my small outburst, stopped writing and leaned back a bit. She placed her hands on the notebook and tilted her head to one side. I took the silence and the stern look as if she was giving me one chance to explain it, to tell my side of the story.

"It was a one time thing!" I clarified as I leaned forward to place the cup of tea on the coffee table, to make sure it doesn't spill

I didn't lean back in the chair. I was sitting on the edge of the seat, leaned towards her a bit as I continued to explain "We did what we had to do, to get her to stop skipping school. At that time, everything we said to her, went in one ear and out of the other without stopping anywhere. She didn't listen to us. She didn't take school seriously. She would skip school and wander around the city alone for hours! Simply talking didn't cut it, so we did the only thing we could – we made a deal with her!"

I leaned back and finally took a calm breath. Mrs. Fields turned her tilted her head to the other side as she clenched her hands together.

"It worked!" I continued in a much calmer manner than before "She stopped skipping school. She had a goal. A motivation. She had something she had to work for. That kept her going to school. More importantly - it kept her in school!"

"You said we bribed her, but here's the thing-" I said leaning an inch closer to her in hope to get the message to across to her loud and clear "Bribery has negative implication. Nothing negative came out what we did. Our deal had positive implication. Her attendance was up, she was learning in school, she wasn't wandering around the city alone anymore going god-knows-where! What we promised her - the movie, her choice of cafe or restaurant, us allowing her to walk home on her own after school – it was a reward!"

I saw a small change in Mrs. Fields cold stone face, she got softer. I think she understood what I was trying to tell her.

"She kept her part of the deal, so we kept ours. After the movie, we came home, ordered a pizza and we sat in this same room and watched Home Alone together. It was the first time she actually spent time with us. And you know what - she was happy. She actually enjoyed spending time with us!"

"There were no more deals after that!" I explained "It wasn't necessary anymore. She kept out of trouble after that!"

"Okay," Mrs. Fields said after she had listened to my story

"Okay," I repeated what she said as I leaned back in the chair. I felt much more relaxed now that I had my chance to explain. She picked up her pen and scribbled something down, but this time, I wasn't worried about what she had written down.

There was a small pause, while she drank her tea and finished writing down whatever she needed to write down. I was sipping my tea as well.

"While speaking about parenting, most of the time you mentioned the word - we. Meaning, you and your late husband Aaron, made the parenting choice together. Am I right?" Mrs. Fields asked, placing the cup on the coffee table

"Yes, that's right," I confirmed

"Who's idea was it suggest this...reward?"

"I don't know. The idea just came up while we were discussing what we will do about Callie skipping school. I don't remember, who brought it up,"

"Here is what I am concerned about Mrs. Scott-" She said placing her hands on the file in the lap "Before your husband and son passed, you and Aaron were parenting together. You probably switched between ,who is going to make dinner, who is doing laundry, who is picking up the kids, who is taking who to after-class activities. You did co-parening. If one was upset, frustrated or angy with something, the other could take the lead on taking care of the kids. If one could not make to a meeting in school, the other went. You were a duo. Now that you are a single parent..." she didn't finish, but gave me a look

I knew what she was suggesting – that I can't do it alone. That I am used to splitting the parenting that I can't handle the tantrums, the teenage attitude and everything that comes with with a teenager on my own.

"My husbands death, didn't change my ability to parent. I still have the same principals I had before, I still have the same way of parenting!"

"But you are used to co-parent," Sydney added "And now you are alone,"

"Sure, it's an adjustment. Just like anything else in my life in the last month. But I'm more than willing to take on the challenge of being a single parent,"

Mrs. Fields wrote something down again, but while she was writing she asked "What about your job?" she looked up to me "Let's say, you are on a robbery scene. Your phone rings. It's the school. The Principal is calling to ask you to come to school, because Callie is in trouble for, I don't know, hitting another student-"

I interrupt her "Callie would never hit another student,"

"It's only a scenario I would like to play out with you," She explained calmly "You are in the middle of a crime scene, you have a job to to do. Your fellow officers, victims, bosses except things of you. But the school calls, Callie's in trouble – they need you there. There is no Aaron, who can handle this. You need to be in two places at once. What do you do?"

"Well..." I breath in deeply giving myself few seconds to think about my answer "I would inform the police officer or detective, my Captain or who ever is in charge of the crime scene that I have family business I have to attend to. If necessary, call in someone for a favor to cover my shift. Inform my partner as well. Go to school, talk to principal, get Callie home, talk to her about what she did wrong, how she should have acted in instead of hitting, give some sort of consequence for her actions. If possible, I would return to job after the situation is handled,"

"What if the detective in charge, doesn't allow you go?" she twisted the situation around a bit

"Callie is more important. I would call my Captain, explain the situation to her and go to Callie, whatever the reason she needs me!"

"You think your captain would be so supportive of you?" She asked while scribbling something down, splitting the attnetion between me and the notepad

"No, I know she would," I said with certaintly "She knows my situation, she knows I have Callie, she knows I'm a single parent and she knows my priority is Callie. I'm not the only single parent in the precinct. Captain is very supporting and understanding about these thing. I would work the hours I missed on weekends or I would stay longer a day or two, or come in early, do some extra paperwork,"

"What if the calls become regular?"

"If it keeps happening over and over again, then clearly something had happened that makes Callie act out so much! I would find out the reason behind that,"

The social worker smiled at me "Okay, I think I'm done here," she said "If there is anything you would like add, now is the time,"

I weighted in my options. This could backfire, but I told Callie to be honest, so I should do it as well.

"Callie lied to you," Mrs. Fields looked at me surprised and confused, not understanding what I was talking about

"You asked her, when you first came here, if I had forgotten to pick her up. She told you I hadn't. Callie lied to you," Mrs. fields kept quiet allowing me to continue "She tried to protect me," I clarified "It happened once. I didn't forget, but I was late, because I lost track of time,"

"She was angry with me, I was angry with me, we talked it through, I apologized multiple times and I promised her that it would never happen again – and it hasn't!" I told her "And I intend to keep it that way!"

"Usually, parents use this opportunity to say how much they love their kids and how they would never hurt them, or how they promise to change," Mrs. Fields said back watching me closely, trying to understand why I brought it up in the first place

"She lied, because she was scared. Because Callie didn't want you to take her out of the home. I just want you to keep in mind, that Callie trusted me enough to tell me that. She felt safe enough to admit that she lied to you,"

"Noted," Mrs. Fields said and closed the notebook. She reached for the file on the coffee table, opened it and put it on her lap "Now, about the Callie's living sitation,"

Callie POV

I took the sign, that I saw Amy's car in the school parking lot, as a good sign. She was still picking me up. If the visit had gone bad, David, my PO, Sydney Fields or some other CPD worker would be meeting me instead of my foster mom.

Making my way up to her car, I saw how Amy was looking out the side window, towards the football field. She hadn't noticed me walking towards her.

When I pulled open the side passenger doors, I saw how Amy's head snapped towards me. While she was startled at first, she greeted me with a smile the next second "Hi! How was school, pumpkin?"

"Hi. It was okay. Like any other day," I replied sitting in the seat and putting my backpack in my lap

"No tests?" Amy asked, watching me

"No," I shook my head as I pulled the seat belt over me

"Have you made up your mind about the Music School thing?" She asked casually as she started the car. It's like she was doing everying she could not to talk about the elephant in the room - how her meeting with the social worker went.

"It depends," I said glancing out the passenger side window. Amy didn't drive out.

"On?"

"I won't excactly be able to participate if I no longer will be living with here. Am I staying with you?" I asked turning to face Amy. Her facial expression gave out no indication as to what the answer could be. Amy let go of the steering wheel, her hands fell in her lap. She averted her gaze away from me.

"It didn't exactly go like I thought it would," Amy said quietly, still not looking at me

Well, this was not good. Amy didn't look happy or relieved. It seemed like I will have to pack my bag, when I get home. Maybe this was going to be the last ride she will give me, sort of like a goodbye. Once she takes me home, Sydney Fields will be waiting for me to take me away to some group home.

Amy sighed deeply and raised her head up, to look out the front windshield to the school.

I watched her, waited for her to tell me the verdict. I was preparing for the worst. Kept reminding myself that I hated her at first. That way I was trying to prepare myself to leave. It would be a lot easier if I hated her – it wouldn't hurt. The problem was, I didn't hate her anymore. It's my own fault. I should have known better than to get attached to a foster parent.

I knew from the beginning, this wasn't going to be permanent. What I hadn't expected was for Sydney Fields to take me away this way. I had thought that my actions would get me sent away. It had always been my fault before. I had done something to anger the foster parents, damaged property, given too much attitude, being too much trouble, taking back, not being good enough.

"Looks like you are stuck with me, kiddo!" Amy turned to me and said with a smile on her lips

"I'm staying? They won't take me away?" I said carefully, but secretly I was excited

"No one is taking you anywhere!" Amy clarified "And your blue bag stays right where it is, hidden away from you!" she winked at me

"Why did you look so...down?"

"The social worker suggested that I should take some online classes for single parenting," Amy explained "Well, suggested, is nicely put. Ordered would be the right word. So, I'm going back to school. And also she will visit us once a month for the next 3 months for closer observation and then make another assessment,"

"That's a lot of rules,"

Amy leaned over and placed her hand on my neck and looked staright to my eyes "None of those matters, because the important thing is that you are not going anywhere. And like I have already told you – I'm going to do anything necessary for you to stay! If I have to take some damn classes, so be it!"

She leaned back in her seat and changed the subject "Now, how about we go get the pizza that we didn't get to have, because Sydney Fields interrupted us?"

"About time!" I exclaimed happily "I had never waited for a pizza for 3 weeks!" I added and watched, how the smile on Amy's face grew even bigger than it already was. It was a nice feeling knowing that I was the reason she smiled so bright.