"God, my mother is the most infuriating woman on the planet." Stef grumbled as she stripped herself of the clothes she'd worn on the flight home and added them to the pile of dirty clothes she'd taken out of her carry-on. "Even after all the drama, she's still making jokes about the whole thing like the guy just took of with her pen or something.

Lena smiled sympathetically as she picked up the pile of clothes from the floor and began sorting through them for the machine so she could start a wash while Stef stepped into the shower. "But everything's okay now?" She questioned, still concerned about the trouble her mother-in-law had gotten herself into.

"Yes." Stef replied over the sound of the shower spray. "I reported her credit cards stolen and they are issuing her some new ones. We also changed the locks on the house and got her a new cell phone. Her old one has been deactivated and the new one has her number now. But this guy still has a lot of information about her and he knows where she lives and she can't even tell me whether he was just interested in the cash or if he was after something else as well." She paused a moment as she rinsed out the shampoo from her hair and then continued to rant while she conditioned it and soaped herself. "I spoke with the police and they will keep an eye out for the guy. We got his name from the yoga class register but they aren't sure where he disappeared to. They checked his apartment but he wasn't there and his listed employer said he'd been fired over two months ago."

"What about Sharon?" Lena asked in concern. If this guy knew where Sharon lived could she possibly be in danger?"

"The cops said they'd keep an eye on her and her condo for a while as well." Stef answered, stepping out of the shower. "Thought she doesn't know that or else she'll be hitting on them next and we definitely don't need her pestering them."

"At least she's safe." Lena commented, knowing how frustrated Stef must have been. Her own mother often drove her crazy too but when they needed help, they had earned the right to it.

"She would be safer if she didn't do stupid things like this in the first place." Stef replied. "I mean who leaves their purse, filled with everything important, with a complete stranger?" She asked rhetorically. "And to top it all off, this guy is only like twenty-eight years old, what the hell is she doing with a kid that young anyway?" She asked in disgust.

Lena didn't comment then, she knew this was just Stef's way of venting and she had to admit that this guy was very young and maybe that itself should have tipped Sharon off but her mother was who she was and Stef knew that.

"She's pretty good at getting herself into these messes I just wish she'd work on getting out of them herself as well, instead of dragging me into it." Stef complained.

"I know it's frustrating, but at the end of the day she's your mother and she has nowhere else to turn." Lena reminded her gently.

Stef suddenly stopped what she was doing as a far off look filled her features - she'd heard the words that Lena had said but it was no longer her mother she was thinking about. She'd heard that sentence before and the face that came to mind was the one of a young girl with scraggly brown hair, soulful eyes and a heart-piercing smile.

"They deserve what they have coming." Another officer said as he tossed a jacket at a girl whose boobs were practically hanging out of her dress.

"They still deserve some love." Stef replied, glancing back at the girl in her car. "At the end of the day they are still just kids and they probably have nowhere else to turn."

"Oh my God." Stef sighed in realization as she leaned back against bathroom counter. "She's a prostitute." She mumbled, more to herself than to Lena.

"You're mother?" Lena repeated in utter shock. She had no idea how Stef had come to this conclusion but she definitely hadn't expected to hear something like that.

"No, Callie." Stef explained her train of thought, still thinking about the girl and trying to figure it all out. "She was one of the girls we arrested down at El Cajon a few weeks ago. She kept begging me to let her go, like she had somewhere she had to be."

"I remember you telling me about that night." Lena said, also thinking back to what Stef had told her. "But what does this have to do with Sharon?" She questioned, still a little confused about how the topic had jumped so drastically.

"Jason Smith, the ass that he is, had said that those girls deserved what they got, like they weren't even people, let alone just children." Stef explained, thinking back to that night. "I remember telling him that those kids probably had no where else to turn." She recited Lena's line back to her, glancing back at her to convey the significance of her words.

"I remember you saying that one of those girls was only thirteen." Lena recalled, her heart aching at the thought.

"Yeah, but we tracked her parents down and sent her home." Stef answered, glad that that kid at least made it out okay. "Callie was there too. She had run at first but I managed to catch her and she kept begging me to let her go but she just refused to tell me why."

"So what happens now?" Lena asked, wondering what Stef planned. "You think she's still working the streets?"

"I'm pretty sure of it." Stef answered. "It would explain why she's always kind of nervous around me even though she obviously wants to talk."

"Maybe she wants a way out but doesn't know how to ask for the help." Lena offered, hoping that that was the case. She'd never met Callie but Stef had talked of her often enough lately for her to feel an attachment to the girl as well.

"Maybe." Stef replied, just as hopeful as Lena but a little less certain about it. "I'll go talk to her tomorrow and see what I can find out."