Callie's POV

I knew it was him, I recognized that scent anywhere. Even if he was across the river, I could still smell him. It was him, but I had to pretend as if he wasn't there. If I tried to head back toward Mike, and the other officers, he would probably know that I saw him. He was across the bridge but I didn't know if he had a gun. As I kept looking I knew he was watching, some part of me wanted Mike or even Stef come and find me but Stef was with Jax and Mike was now a good distance from me. I was alone…again.

Then I found it, her body. It wasn't near the river, it was in it. She didn't like a girl, the rushing water must've peeled her skin off. Her body would've been washed down the river too if it wasn't stuck on what seemed to be rocks and sticks. This sight was making me sick. Without thinking I asked, "Why?" Seeing her body made me forget that he was even there….

"Because she was ungrateful, and snobby." Kennedy said, stepping closer to the river. I was able to get a good look at his face. It was the same face that haunted my dreams for years. He had bags under his eyes and was wearing his uniform. He never wore his uniform, he was probably aware that there were cops around the area. "What about him?" I asked, he knew exactly who I was asking about. Xavier.

"He was too naive, he thought he was in love. I did him a favor." He told him, yeah right. "What about me?" I asked, I knew he was going to try to kill me, but I wanted to know why.

"You protect them, they need to know that life is tough. I know you won't stop protecting them, unless you're dead. I'm doing them a favor and I'm giving you a break. Besides, you protect everyone but no one protects you. Jude will eventually leave you too, once he finds the right people. You're destined to be alone, killing you would be doing you a favor. You know this is going to hurt me more than you. After all, you're my little girl." He told me, despite him being the type of person he was, there was some truth to what he said. Then a creepy smile appeared on his face. I knew what it meant, it meant the game of 'hunt' was about to start.

"See I know you're faster than me, but are you still faster with a bullet in you." He said, I had already slowly started walking backwards. As I turned to run directly behind me I heard a gunshot.

I didn't have time to look back, I just kept running. My left leg was beginning to hurt and was getting cold. I didn't stop to check, I just kept running. As I was running I began to see the cabin, I remember it being further from the river. My leg was freezing but I felt sweat on my face. I was getting dizzy as I arrived at the cabin. Then I heard someone call my name. I needed to go further but my legs stopped. I tried getting up but my legs wouldn't move.

"Shit." I cursed, then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was about to fight back when I heard, "Callie." It was Stef. "He's coming." I told her, before I blacked out.

I tried opening my eyes but it was too bright, I tried again after a few seconds. It still stung my eyes but it hurt less than the first time. I then tried getting up but I heard someone come over. "Hey, there. How are you feeling?" Lena asked. A took a second to remember what happened. STEF! JAX! They are still in danger.

"Where are Stef and Jax?" I asked, panicked. "It's okay, they're ok. Stef's outside talking to the doctors and Jax is at the police station." She told me, I want to believe her but… "Hey, is everything okay here?" Stef asked, walking in. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"She's worried about you and Jax." Lena told her. "Heart of gold." Stef said. "I'll get you two some snacks." Lena said before leaving.

"Where is he?" I asked. "Jax is at the station, giving his statement." "I know, not him, Jude." I made it clear who I was asking about. Her eyes softened, and held my hand.

"Callie, you're…you're disposable, you're not worthless."

Hearing those words…I want to believe, I really do. I nearly cried.

"He's at home with the rest of them." I nod but I have to ask. "We caught him, he's going to prison for a long time." I felt relief, for the first time in a while.

Stef came closer and the next thing I knew she was embracing me.

"I almost lost you today." Her voice was breaking as she said that. I let her hug me, in fact I hugged her back tightly. I felt tears escape my eyes.

After a few minutes, we heard Lena return. "Everything okay, in here?" She asked, with a few snacks in her hands. Stef and I released from the hug, I saw her face and she had also cried.

"Yeah, everything's going to be okay." Stef said, trying to assure herself more than us.

When the doctor came in, he explained that I could go home in a few hours. He said I was lucky the bullet didn't do any major damage, I sure don't feel lucky. He recommended that I stay off my feet as much as possible. He told us a few other things, like avoid lifting anything heavy and avoid doing any type of sport for the meantime.

After he left, a few officers requested my statement. Lena seemed annoyed, Stef was too but understood they had to. I explained what happened and they had conflicting feelings about me having some sort of conversation with him before he tried shooting me. I told them I couldn't exactly remember what he said. The two cops attempted to blame me but Stef had put them in their place.

I was thankful she was here, in fact I have her to thank for protecting Jax, Jude and the others and hearing us out.

Once I was discharged they wheeled me out in a wheelchair despite my protest. Once we got home the rest of the kids were waiting for me in the living room. Including Jessie and Alex. They said they were all happy to see me, including Brandon which was surprising.

After that they all slowly began to leave until I was on my own. I decided to read for a bit and watch some TV. Stef and Lena were trying not to hover but were really bad at pretending. Stef came in too many times either 'looking' for something or 'getting' something. She sometimes sat down and started 'reading' a book.

Soon Jax stopped by, causing Stef and Lena to finally stop hovering. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He told me. "I'm fine, I promise." I replied.

He checked to see if anyone was watching and we were in the clear. He gave me a small pocket size journal. "I took it from the cabin. I know, I know." He whispered as I gave him a warning look. "Look at it." I did, I saw what he meant by it. "This is far from over, we need to find out what happened to these people and where they are." He explained. I sighed knowing I would help him. I hate that I can't say 'no' to helping people. "What are you getting me into?" I whispered. "Keep it, I had Alex make me a copy of it." "Alex knows?" I asked. "No, you know he doesn't ask questions." He reminded me. I slide the journal into one of my pockets.

"So what now?" I asked in my regular voice. "Well, they said they would give him a proper grave, both of them." He informed me. "What about you?" I asked. "I think if I don't get thrown in Juvie I might get a job. I'm going back into the system anyway so…yeah. I guess I have to process that my brother is really gone. After all these years, I'm glad I have some sort of closure." He confessed. I grabbed his hand, he looked up at me. "You were, no you ARE our hero." He told me. "But I couldn't save him." It's true, I might be their hero but I couldn't save him.

"There was nothing any of us could have done. He knows that if you could have you would have." But it didn't feel like that. "You gave everything for us…" He said before saying his goodbye and leaving. Part of me wanted him to stay but the other part knew I had to let him go, like he did for me all those years ago.

After he left I was left with my thoughts.

The next few days I kept to myself, Alex and Jessie came by to see how I was doing. Jax came to let me know about the funerals and give me his new phone number. Devin, Andrew and Faith checked up on me through text because I told them not to come visit me. Jude was trying to be supportive toward me, however he was the one who ended up crying and I was the one consoling him. Not that I mind, I love Jude to death. This hurt him more than it did me, he was too young to understand when we were in that house. Lena and Stef kept assuring me that they were there whenever I wanted to talk. I had to call Tom, my manager to inform him of the situation, he was very understanding.

After a few days, my legs were well rested and I decided to ask permission to go to the library. I think Stef and Lena were just glad I finally wanted to leave the house.

Once I got there I decided to do some research on the names that were in the journal. I wasn't sure what I would find but indeed some of these people were reported dead or missing.

However, one story stuck out to me. A woman reported that one night her boyfriend took their two year-old daughter and she never saw them again. The police didn't try looking for her or the boyfriend, this was about fourteen years ago. Something about it felt wrong. I decided to get a piece of paper and start writing all about this missing two year old, Cindy Jane. Who by now would be sixteen.

I called Jax and asked if he had researched anything in the journal yet.

"No, but I'm guessing you do." He said. "Yeah, Cindy Jane. Something about her story doesn't feel right. Her mother reported her as kidnapped by the woman's boyfriend. Doesn't really explain if they are both the parents of the child or not. And the police never looked into it." I informed him.

"Ok, I'll look more into it, call if I find anything new." Jax said before hanging up.

I checked the time, it was about half an hour before my first shift back since I had gotten shot. I stayed at the library a bit longer then went to work. A few hours into my shift Stef and Lena called and texted a few times, I had to turn off my phone. My leg began to hurt after a few hours but I couldn't leave work.

I walked home and Stef and Lena called me to the living room. They seemed angry for some reason.

"Where were you?" Stef asked, annoyed. "I told you, I went to the library." I was a bit confused. "Why didn't you answer your phone?" Lena asked. "I had my phone silenced and didn't notice." I lied.

"Are you sure?" Stef asked. She knew I was lying, that's for sure. I didn't want them to know I worked in case they wanted me to quit or take all my money. But for some reason I didn't want to disappoint them.

"No, I was at work." I admitted. Both women looked shocked, I think they didn't expect me to give in so easily.

"Since when have you had a job?" Stef asked.

"Since a few days after Juvie." I told them.

"Cal, please no more lies." Stef told me. "Listen I know it's been a rough few days but you have to let us know where you are. Things could get dangerous especially for a sixteen year old girl." Lena explained. I already knew, what they didn't understand is that they're probably the first people to care. It's hard to let someone else care about my well being.

"Callie, words please." Stef said.

"It's hard, just telling us hard. I'm used to taking care of myself and others." I explained.

"Are you sure she's not your daughter?" Lena asked Stef, as they both looked at me suspiciously. "I'm not sure, we might need to take a DNA test." Stef chuckled and I couldn't help but smile.

"So are all your secrets?" Stef asked in a serious tone. "Stef." Lena warned her. I gave Stef a guilty look, I still had another phone they didn't know about. And I worked out with Devin and Andrew. The journal, however, is kind of a legal issue, and Stef is a cop. Oh and the real relationship Kennedy and I had, he was like a father to me and I knew he felt the same. Also there were tapes of everyone and what he did to us. Not to mention tapes that had things that he did to 'criminals' the torture they went through.

"What else?" Stef asked.

I pulled out my second phone and told her, "Devin gave it to me after you guys gave me one. I didn't know him at the time so I didn't tell." "Anything else?" Stef asked again.

"I exercise with them after work…" I wanted to tell her about the journals and the type of relationship Kennedy and I had, but Jax could get into serious trouble. Also I wasn't sure she wanted to know anything that had to do with Kennedy. I looked down, I couldn't look at her, I didn't want to disappoint her.

"Sweets? What is it?" Her voice softened from earlier. I looked up and decided to tell her.

"Kennedy wasn't just my foster father…I. Mindy and Jessie had each other, then after Mindy. Jessie had Jude. Then after Xavier, Jax had Alex. I…Kennedy was like my father, he treated me like a daughter. Which in a way was the reason he gave me more punishments than everyone else. Sometimes when we played 'hunt' he would only come after me, which is also why I'm so much faster. I was his favorite…he loved me." I admitted.

Stef grabbed my hands. "Callie, someone who loves you doesn't want to hurt you. He hurt you, in multiple ways." She explained, and I smiled,

I knew what love was supposed to be like, the kind of love I gave to Jude. I didn't deserve that kind of love, I was too damaged and I killed everything I touched.

"Is that all?" She asked. "That I can think of." I told her.

"Well you're going to have to ask for less work hours, we can discuss that later. And we need to know where you are and who you're with, even Devin. Although, we prefer if you didn't talk to him anymore, I'd doubt you'd listen to us. As for the phone, you can decide if you keep it or give it back to Devin, but if you keep it, we'll need the number. In case of an emergency. And you can't keep punching people when you're upset. You need to use your words." Lena instructed and Stef nodded in agreement.

I agreed to their terms and decided to keep the phone.

Later that night, I had another nightmare. I thought I had finally gotten over them, I guess being back there brought the memories and nightmares back.

I sat up on my bed thinking, maybe I could've saved him. Maybe Xavier would still be alive if I tried to get them out of there sooner. I can't help but to think back to what Kennedy said. Was I really destined to be alone, no way… I still had Jude, I wasn't alone. Now I have the Fosters…I know it's only temporary but they're starting to feel like home.

I decided to check my phones and I see that Jax had texted me that he found something about Cindy Jane. I grabbed a pencil and journal and quietly headed downstairs. I decided to sit in the kitchen and call.

"Hello?" He asked. I expected him to have been away at this time but he sounded full of energy. As if whatever he found made him forget the last couple of days. "Hey, it's me, Callie." I responded, in a whisper, not wanting to wake up anyone.

"Listen, I've been doing some research and I've found the woman's name. It turned out she has another daughter, an older daughter. I've also found the address where she lives." He explained excitedly. I think for a second.

"Did you really find all that?" I asked, as expected he responded with, "Okay fine, Alex did, but I suggested he find any family members."

I smiled, he was still proud of himself. Reminded me of how he used to be when he was younger. Before what happened to his brother, he used to be the one that got excited over the little things. He used to have light in his eyes, but that night I saw his eyes lose that light and I couldn't do anything about it. Maybe now that his brother will have a proper grave he can start moving on with his grief.

"Ok, was there anything else?" I asked, maybe there was something else that could help us find Cindy.

"Well, that's just it. The daughter completely discredited her mother's story. The daughter said her mother went crazy and lied about the entire thing. She said that the mother never had a boyfriend and that there was never a little girl." Jax explained. That doesn't make any sense, so I pulled out my journal and looked for any pictures of the girl.

"You think the mother lied?" I asked. "I don't know, the mother swears that her daughter was kidnapped." "You think the daughter was too young to remember?" I asked.

"I don't know but…we have the address, remember?" I could hear the smirk on his face. "Dude, I can't be getting into any more trouble." I told him. "I can always go alone?" He knew me too well, despite it being years. He knows I won't let him go alone. "Send me the address and we'll talk about the time tomorrow." I gave in.

"And um…" "It'll be a closed casket. They said the body was too decomposed." He knew what I would ask. "You should've seen her, she was mostly bone…" I tried using dark humor to attempt to cheer him up. I knew it was his kind of humor, it wasn't before but over the years, it was how he coped.

"You saw her?" He asked a little concerned.

"He knew I would find it…he was waiting." I never told how it all went down, he only knew that Kennedy shot me.

"I don't understand, how did he find you? And how did he know you were going to be there?" Jax asked. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Don't know. He could've been in the forest this entire time, or he could've been watching me this entire time." I said, they both were terrifying opinions.

I could hear him take a deep breath and then say, "I'll see you later." "See you soon." I replied before hanging up.

"Was that Jax?" I jumped and turned around, I didn't think I was loud enough to wake anyone. Yet, Stef is standing in front of me. Maybe she has super hearing or maybe she couldn't sleep either. She's a cop so I shouldn't be too surprised.

"Yeah, we were talking about the funeral." It wasn't a complete lie.

She walked next to me and sat down. I'm now grateful I didn't write anything down on the paper, because she would have definitely known we were up to something. She held my hands in hers.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, that you had to live through that. What he did was something terrible, none of you should've gone through that. And I'm sorry that even after all these years you still have to deal with this. Just remember you're not alone. We're all here for you and Jude." I was holding back tears.

This woman had made me cry more in the past few days than I have in years.

"Thank you." I did mean it. Her and Lena have been with Jude and I through all of this.

Dang it! I'm attached to these people. I broke my own rule, don't get too attached because it's only temporary and sooner or later they'll change.

"You have nothing to thank me for, love." Stef told me. She called me 'love', the nickname I've heard her call her family a few times. She must've slipped up, she couldn't have meant like that.

"I'm going to go back to bed." I told her before quickly leaving.

It was the next morning, it was my first day back since I had gotten shot. Everyone was fighting for the bathroom, including Jude. He's been getting more and more comfortable with the Fosters, it'll be really hard on him when we have to leave.

After I finished my shower and went into my room, there was a knock. "Come in" I yelled. To my surprise it was Brandon.

"Can we talk?" He asked, as he came in.

"Sure." I sat on my bed and he sat next to me.

"I know it's a dumb question but are you okay?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Ok, if you ever need to talk. I'm here." He said. "Thanks."

Then we headed downstairs, with the rest of the family. They were all finishing serving themselves. Lena had finished serving Brandon a plate and pasted it to him as he sat down. I was heading to grab a plate to serve myself but Stef stopped me.

"Here you go sweets." She placed a plate with breakfast already on it, in the spot next to her. She was wearing her uniform but I was avoiding the gun holster. I didn't want to freak out again.

I sat down next to her and breakfast went on as normal.

As we were all leaving, Stef stopped me and asked, "Hey, are you going to be okay being back in school so soon?"

"I thought you preferred us in school." Don't they want me in school?

"We do but, if you're not sure you can handle it, we'd prefer to go when you're ready." She explained.

"I can handle it, I'm ready. Besides, school is a good distraction." I told her.

"A teenager who's rejecting a free no school day pass. What kind of teenager are you?" She joked. I grinned and walked away.

We finally arrived at school and split ways. As I walk down the hallway I can tell people are whispering about me. I was able to get all the way to lunch, without anyone directly making fun of me. I heard a few people talking about the new teacher. They kept bragging about how was a great teacher and he's super cool.

Until, I walk to my locker putting away a few things, when I hear someone come up to.

It was a boy, ugh, what's his problem.

"Hey freak. Guess you are too much of a weirdo that you drove your foster father to insanity. So much so that he tried to kill you." He then laughed.

How did he know that? I looked around and realized, everyone knows. Everyone knows about Kennedy…

I came here so I can forget him. I can't seem to get away from him.

"Poor man" "Must be so hard living with a freak." "Drove him insane." I heard people whisper.

I need to get out of here, I need to run… I need…

No, I can't, I promised Stef and Lena…

Lena is probably in her office right now, I can't tell her. That would only make the bullying worse.

Jude I need to find Jude, and make sure he's okay.

I decided to hurry and find Jude. He's at his locker, I go up to him. "Hey bud, how's school been so far?" I asked him. He looked like he wanted to tell me something.

"It was good." He said.

Good no one has been messing with him. "Ok, you tell me if anything's wrong." He nodded, I gave him a hug and kissed his head before walking away.

I walk out of school, but I don't know where I should go.

Maybe I should go find Devin, but I've asked for his help too much. Plus I think Stef and Lena would probably be mad I skipped to go with Devin.

Speaking of which, there's a chance Stef might be at the station. But what if she's not… Where can I go to get away from him?

Jude's POV

I was at my locker, when I heard Callie. "Hey bud, how's school been so far?" I looked at her. I wanted to tell her that I've heard a few kids talking about her, but I could tell from her being here she already knew. She tried to hide the look on her face but I could see a bit of panic on her face.

"It was good." I lied, I didn't want to make things worse.

She let out a breath of relief. "Ok, you tell me if anything's wrong." I nodded letting her know I understood. She hugged me and kissed my head, then walked away.

I didn't know where she was going but I knew she wasn't going back to class. She was going alone. What if he found a way to her… I need to tell Lena. I practically ran to her office.

I open the door without knocking, normally I wouldn't but I was scared for Callie.

"Hey Bud, what's wrong?" Lena asked.

"Callie left." I see her expression instantly change. She stopped working on whatever paperwork she was working on, she was worried.

"What happened?" She asked as I sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"People are talking about her, calling her mean names. I think she might've heard them." I explained.

"Okay, let me handle this and you head back to class." She told me.

"But Callie…" "Stef and I will handle this, we'll find her." She assured me. I believe her, they were really nice. I like them.

Lena's POV

After assuring him we would find his sister he returned to class. I tried calling her but as expected she didn't answer. So I checked her attendance, hoping Jude was worried for nothing. However, I knew that wasn't the case with Callie. Since we've met her, we saw how impulsive she is. Especially when something scares her, she runs and can't help it. Stef and I have been trying to give her space but it's only making things worse.

I grabbed my phone and called Stef. "Hey, babe." She answered.

"Hey, something happened with Callie, she left school, again." I informed her. I heard her sigh in frustration. "Ok, well I'm at the station I was talking to Captain Roberts. I'll…." She was cut off by someone talking to her. "What?...Ok." I could hear her responding to the person. "Love, Callie's here, she asked for me. I have to go. I love you" I could hear the worry in her voice.

I was relieved, Callie hadn't completely run away again. She ran to Stef, I kind of wish she would have come to me instead. I'm glad she felt safe enough to go to Stef. Stef was falling in love with Callie already and I think Callie might feel the same about Stef, whether she realizes it or not.

I'm glad Jude came to me, he's the sweetest little boy I've met. He's already won my heart. It might seem like nothing but for kids who've been in abusive homes and had to endure what they did, this was a big step.

I'm glad they are making progress.