AN: To anyone, who has read my new story and is worried that I will abandon this -don't be! I have no intention of abandoning this one!

Callie POV

"Can you tell me who Liam is?" Stef question takes me by surprise

I didn't know how to react, I hadn't expected her to say his name. How did she even knew this name? I hated that name, I hated what it reminded me of - nothing but pain and suffering. But mostly it reminded me of betrayal, how he broke my trust. He used me.

"Who?" I chuckle back awkwardly, trying not to show her how nervous I got

"Liam" Stef repeated "You said his name on the run, this morning"

"No, I didn't" I state back not missing a beat. I had a feeling I replied too fast and now Stef saw how eager I was to avoid this topic, how nervous I got.

I don't remember saying his name, I remember I thought I saw him. The guy on the bike, the light haired man looked so much like Liam. My mind played a trick on me.

"Okay, you are right. You didn't say it out loud…but you mouthed it" Stef admits, she tries to catch my gaze, but I am desperately trying to avoid it – looking to ground, up front, to other side, to my hands

"You were mistaken" I reply by trying to play it cool, when on inside - I was freaking out, worried that she will read me like an open book.

I wasn't ready to tell someone else about him besides mom, I wasn't ready to share it. Or maybe I was just afraid to tell them, scared of their reaction, afraid that they would treat me differently. Treat me like a victim, seeing me as one.

"I'm not wrong. I know what I saw…you said his name quietly, to yourself, but you said it"

"So what?" I ask back holding the camera closer to my chest with one hand, so it doesn't bounce around so much as I walk

"Callie, you fr—okay, I don't know exactly what it was, a panic attack or a small freak out or whatever you want to call it…but you froze. You froze seeing the two guys..."

I briefly glance to her and second later realize that was a mistake. The way she looked to me, witch such concern and love in her eyes, I shouldn't have looked. Now that Stef saw my eyes, she probably saw how anxious this conversation was making me.

"I needed to rest" I blur out the first thing that comes to my mind

"That's a lie and you know it" Stef replied back firmly "I saw the look in your eyes this morning. And I see your look now. I know that look" She said as we kept on walking upslope "I have seen that look before, many times"

"Oh, yeah…?" I ask back, challenging her without knowing it

"Yes! I have seen it on work, I have seen it in Mariana and Jesus when they faced their own demons from past, from when they were in foster care. I had one myself when I returned to job after I was shot…I had a panic attack when we had to raid a house. I freaked out because I remembered the night when I was shot. I know that you had one too…it's okay. You don't have to be ashamed or embarrassed about it. I understand, Callie"

I glance to Stef for few seconds. I hate that I see nothing, but concern and love in her eyes, I hate that she was right. I turn to look up front, away from her eyes and suck in my lower lip. I didn't want to admit it, because if I do, then she will once again want to know who the hell is Liam and I don't want to talk about him.

I start to walk faster, trying to get away from her. I tried to run away, because I didn't know what else to do, what to say to her.

Stef reaches for my hand and gently stops me. She stands right in front of me, hand still softly resting on my arm. I turn my head sideways away from her, looking back at the path.

"I can see that you are scared, that this talk makes you nervous. I get that you don't want to talk about it now…and I won't pressure you to talk to me" Stef said very gently, trying to catch my gaze once again "But if you ever feel like you want to talk about it, about anything - you can come to me, we can talk about it. I'm here for you, whatever you need, whenever you need me"

I force myself to look up to her. She tilts her head lightly to one side, not taking her eyes off me. Slowly I nod my head three times acknowledging that I heard her and understood her, and that maybe one day I will do just that - I will come to her if I want to talk.

Stef let go of my arm and smiled to me "Come on, we are falling behind from the group," she said and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the path.

Lena POV

When I saw that Callie was back up front with the rest of us. I slowed down and moved to the back of the line where Stef was walking by herself.

"How did it go?" I was curious about how their talk went

Stef told me about their little incident this morning, when we started to head out to the hike. She was very concerned about the girl and so am I. People don't just freak out like that over nothing and after yesterday's talk, I am sure, Callie has many more demons from past that we don't know about. So far, we have met only one - Mr. Malloc, but we both had a feeling, that Liam, could be another.

"I'm not really sure. At first she denied that she even knows a Liam. But her eyes and body language told me otherwise. She desperately tried to avoid it, couldn't even look to me" Stef said scratching her brows, I reach for her hand and we walk hand in hand "In the end…she didn't exactly admitted that she knows someone named Liam, nor did she tell me who he is, but she admitted, without saying, that I was right about her having a small freak out"

"I didn't want to push her" Stef added few seconds later, it sounded like she was trying to explain herself, her actions, why she didn't get Callie to open up to her more "With the day we had yesterday…I didn't want to push her and get back to that…place we were 2 days before. I don't want that."

"I know you don't baby" I reply softly, watching her "Neither do I. She just needs to realize that we are here for her, no matter what. And that she can come to us…"

"I told her that" Stef said quietly watching the ground in front of her "I don't know why, I just have a bad feeling about this" she looked up and sideways "Liam guy, whoever he is. The way she looked this morning. It's like she saw a ghost, she looked so frightened, Lena-"

Suddenly, Stef was interrupted, by a scream that came from up front of the group. It was Mariana who screamed out, it wasn't like a scream of joy or happiness, she got scared of something. Mariana and everyone up front stopped walking and they all retreated few steps back. Amy was telling them loudly and firmly to step back.

"What's going on?" Stef called out and let go of my hand, watching the kids

"There is a snake up front!" Jesus called from the front

"Did it bite anyone?" I asks concerned as we head up the trail to see for ourselves

"No" Brandon said walking few more steps back with Frankie, he holds her up in her arms, close to his chest, her legs are wrapped around his torso and she is holding to him

I walked up to Mariana who looked pretty scared "You okay honey?" I ask brushing some hair out of her face

"It just scared me, that's all" She replied "It made that hissing sound and it seemed like it was going to attack us, bite someone"

"I have no idea what kind of snake it is, it could be venomous" Amy said watching it from afar. It wasn't moving toward us, it was just sitting there, in the middle of the path. Watching us.

Stef was standing on the other side of Amy, also looking at the snake "That's one big ass snake" she comments

"Stef! Don't scare the kids!" I say to her instantly when Mariana pressed to my side a bit more

"But mom is right" Jude said watching it "What are we going to do?"

"Isn't there a class in school where teaches teach you these kind of thing?" Amy looks back to all of the kids

"That's scouts, mom!" Callie says back as she looks through the camera at the snake "We don't have survivor class in school! But Bear Grylls would know what to do…"

"Neither one of you have been a boy scout?" Amy asks the boys

"They haven't" I replied for them "But I think we all have watched few shows on Animal Planet and National Geographic. And if I remember correctly, neither one tell you that you should try and upper hand the snake on your own. It can be venomous, like Amy said. And we are in the middle of nowhere…if someone is bit - it can turn really ugly, help is hours away"

"We should catch it like the dude…Steve Irwin used to do!" Jesus suggests "He was fearless!"

"Are you insane? What did I just say, Jesus!" I turn to look at him, Amy just slowly shakes her head at the boy

"I think we just need to wait till it leaves" Mariana says loosening the grip on me

"What if it doesn't?!" Brandon asks from the back "What if it just decides to sit there all day long?"

"Yeah…it doesn't really seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere" Jude added stepping to front to see it better

"We walk around it!" Stef suggested, but I can't say I like that idea either. I don't say anything, but there could be more snakes in the bushes when we walk around them, there could be a lair.

"Anyone has a better idea?" Amy looks to the kids and hushes Jesus before he opens his mouth "No Steve Irwin voodoo!"

"Okay, let's find a rout around" Stef says heading off the trail.

As Stef walks first, she calls back to others "Watch where you put your feet please! You can never be too careful with that!" We walk around it with a safe distance.

When we get back to the path, others don't hesitate much on looking back at the snake. They all move forward. I stop for few seconds and I look back to it, same as Callie, who stays back and snaps few more pictures of the snake.

"We can later on find out what we encountered" She explains why she took so many photos of it

"That's some good thinking" I say turning around so we could follow others, Callie does the same

"I think it was out on the trail because there was sun shining on it. Snakes like warm places, the trail ground there was probably warm…it was just warming up. And I am pretty sure it wasn't venomous" She says when she looks at the pictures in her camera as we walk

"How do you figure?" I ask curious. She stopped and handed me the camera to look at the pictures she has taken

"As far as I remember from biology, I think there were 4 types of venomous snakes," she explains when I look at the pictures

"Hey, you two slow pokes! Please keep up with the group!" Amy calls from way up front and waves at us. I hand the camera back to Callie when we continue to walk down the trail in a bit faster pace than before.

"Rattlesnakes…but this isn't one, because there is no rattle on the tail. Cottonmouths…if I remember correctly they had these like…white stripes on their head. This one doesn't have that" She looks up to me and continued "I don't remember the name, but I do remember that the third group were like extra bright color. They really stand out, this one is pretty brownish. Not bright at all"

"I think those are called Copperheads" I dig that name out of my memory, I remember that from one Animal Planet show "And the forth was Coral snakes, yes?" I say it for her

"Yeah, they are black, yellow and red. They could be some other combination of colors of course, but I remember a picture of one. I remember thinking in class that this one is the prettiest one. Will kill you, but it still beautiful"

"And this one like you said is simple brownish" I say and look over my shoulder back to the snake one last time

"Yeah…I don't think it is venomous" Callie repeats

"You could be right, Callie. But I still think we made a smart choice when we didn't decide to go with Jesus plan. I can't believe you remember that from what…Junior year?" I was quite impressed with her memory

"I think I only remember it because it was the first class in new school when I started to live with Amy" She says turning off her camera

"Doesn't change the fact that is still impressive. You have a good memory" I praise her and she blushes lightly, we fasten up the pace to catch up with other up front

"What were you talking about?" Jude asks as he slowed down to walk with us

"Snakes" Callie and I say at the same time

"Do you think it was venomous, mom?" Jude asks looking up to me

"Callie can probably tell you all about that" I direct the talk to Callie, who starts to tell exactly what she told me minute ago. I stay quiet and just watch the two siblings interact, smiling at how happy both of them looked.

Amy POV

"Are we there yet?" Jude asks me as we were walking side by side

"Almost"

"Are we close?" Mariana asks next just seconds later. This has been going on for the last 5 minutes when I told them that we were close.

"Just minute away" I reply as I keep walking. Somehow, their constant – are we there yet- questions, haven't annoyed me, not one bit.

"Amy, are we close now!?" Jesus called from the way back

"If you race me up, we will be there in 20 seconds!" I call back as I turned around and walked backwards, looking at others who walk behind me

Jesus took off running and run past everyone from the way back. I barely had time to react, I turned around and started to sprint just when he was 3 steps behind me. The backpack on my back was slowing me down. My feet slipped a little, when I started the sprint, but that didn't stop me. I run shoulder to shoulder with Jesus till we both reached the view point.

When we got there we high five for good race, he had won just by one step "Nice sprint"

"I play volleyball, remember…we sprint a lot there" He says as he too leans down pressing his hands to his knees

"Should have taken that in the equation before I challenged you" I say laughing when others slowly walk up the view point

I stand up straight and extend my arms both ways "What do you think? Look at that view!"

Everyone was mesmerized by the view we had. We could see the Lake Tahoe clearly from here, we could see just how freaking big it was. We saw the hills on the other side of the lake, the trees that surrounded us. The view was pretty spectacular.

Stef lifted Frankie up to her shoulder so she could see better. Lena stood next to them and they simply enjoyed the view.

"How far do you think we see?" Brandon asks as he looks the other way of the lake, to the sea of green, to the trees that reach miles away.

"Pretty dam far…I don't want to say a number, because I don't want to give you wrong information" I say patting his shoulder

"A guess then?" He asks back glancing to me

I stand next to him and look at the area, I honestly had no idea "5 km maybe…could be more. It is hard to tell" I say and head over to where Jude was standing

"How did you know this was the place to go?" Jude asks when I put hand on his shoulder

I lean down to him and whisper "It was written in the pamphlet"

He leaned away, grinning at me "Don't tell others," I ruffle his hair a bit and take off the backpack. Callie once again is doing her thing, snapping pictures with everyone on the amazing background, right now it was Mariana's turn to have her pictures taken.

I was drinking some water, when she waved me over and handed the camera to Mariana "Come on, we need to have a picture together mom"

I tossed the water bottle on the bag and walked over to Callie without even hesitating. We took so many variations of the photo that I started to wonder when will Callie start whine about her memory card being full.

Callie then starts to gather everyone's backpacks and starts stacking them on top of one another. When the stack of bags looks steady enough, she places her camera on top of it and just like the first day when we arrived in the camp site, she starts to organize everyone for another family photo.

After we were done admiring the view and when Callie has taken few group photos, we went little bit down the path, where there was a rest set up with a table, recycle bin and dry bathroom. We all sat down to have lunch there and rest for a moment.

After our lunch we decided to head over to another view point, because everyone seemed to like this hike. There was barley any bickering, there was no whining about how tiered they are or how hard it is to walk upslope most of the time. So we all decided we wanted to continue this hike. And that is exactly what we did.

The view from the other view point, wasn't that much different, but it was still quite amazing look to see. From the second view point, we were only some hour away from our camp. We didn't hesitate at the second view point as long as we did at the first some, we moved out faster because the kids wanted to get back to the camp.

When we get back to our camp, first thing we notice is that we have new camp neighbors. The spot next to us was now occupied by people, there was just one car. One family. I think I saw 3 kids running around.

After we got back, we all just slumped down in the camp chairs, resting our feet for a moment. We were talking over our hike for some half and hour until Stef, Lena and I decided to making supper. That is when the kids finally started whining about how tired they are and how much their feet hurt.

"I won't be able to walk tomorrow!" Mariana said as she was massaging her calves

"My foot hurt" Jude said as he was taking off his shoes

"I think I need back massage!" Brandon said yawning and then put his hands on his lower back and stretched it

Callie was the only one not whining, but that was probably because she was busy looking at the small screen on her camera as she went over all of the hundred photos that she took today.

"My shoes are all wore off! Mom!" Jesus called sitting barefoot by the fire, holding up his shoes. The sole of the shoe was open at one side "Do you see this…Mom! Mom!"

"I see it, Jesus!" Lena said peeling potatoes for our supper "But mom and I can't really anything about it. Not right now, while we are camping. We will buy you new shoes when we get back"

"I don't want new shoes…I like these ones!"

"Then we will take them to shoemaker and have them fixed" Stef replied as she was getting the fire ready so we could put on the pots

"I have a blister!" Jude said looking at his left sole

"Cut it open!" Jesus suggested from other side of the camp fire

"That would hurt!" Jude replied not liking that idea one bit

"No it won't!" Jesus tried to talk him up to it "I have done it before. It doesn't hurt and it heals up pretty fast"

"No one…is cutting open anything!" Stef said standing up, but when she went over to Jude to see it herself she commented "Or…maybe Jesus was right. That is a big blister!"

"It started to hurt on the way back" Jude explained when Stef was examining the blister on his sole of the foot

"Amy, can you put that head away!" Mariana said looking over to me by the table where I was preparing the fish "That fish is looking at me. It's creepy!"

I quickly grab the fish head and toss it in the garbage bag and then returned to gut the fish that was in front of me. Only one more to go, besides the one that I was gutting now.

Then came a panic call from Lena "Where is Frankie?" Lena jumped up from where she was sitting. She was looking around, trying to locate Frankie.

"She was right by—" Stef said looking to the tent, but when she didn't see her, she stood up immediately

"Frankie!" Lena called out running to their tent

"FRANKIE!" Stef called out when she didn't see her daughter "Where are you? If you are hiding please come out Frankie! You are scaring your moms, baby"

Stef run to check the cars, under the car, behind the cars. Panic set in immediately, when Stef came back empty. All the kids jumped and all scattered out to try and locate her, without any questions asked. It all happened in few seconds.

Lena had checked all of the tents and when she crawled out of the last one she announced "She is not here!"

Her hand then flew over her mouth as she tried to keep the sob from escaping, tears were streaming down her cheeks. She lowered her hand and called out in panic again "FRANKIEEEE!"

AN2:I know, I am a terrible, terrible person. Don't hate me...please.