Callie POV

There was an incredible heat outside. Apparently, today was the first day of weeks long heat. Nothing unusual for California, but still. Despite the heat, I was standing in front of the grill, in the Sun, with a cold beer in my hand. Next to me, Jude was flipping the meat in the grill.

It was another one of those BBQ we throw for ourselves. Last BBQ we had was held at the Adams Foster household, so it was time to be held at the Scott Ellis household. Even now, after years, we still all look forward to the family gathering. You could say, it was our tradition. A reason to get together. To see each other.

"How is the new apartment?" Jude asked me as he flipped the last piece of meat to the other side

"It's really weird," I replied shortly and took a sip of my beer, before I go into a longer answer "Like, I love that I finally have my own place. Love the peace and quiet, and the fact that I'm now this independent woman. But at the same time, I miss seeing mom and Cooper, and Duke every morning. Having to eat breakfast and dinner alone at time feels a bit lonely. And not having anyone to talk to, when I come home..." I shrugged thinking about how much I had wanted to tell mom about my day yesterday after a really hard and exhausting work day. Instead I had just settled for a good book after I had ordered myself a pizza.

"Sounds like you are still adjusting," Jude replied while adjusting his hat. I nodded in agreement.

It had only been three weeks since I had fully moved out of the house and into the apartment. It was bound to take some time till I adjusted completely to the change. After all, I had went from living with a family, to being separated from my family after mom's death and being alone for almost 5 years, to finding a new family, reconnecting to my brother and becoming a part of even bigger family. I'm still part of that huge family and will be forever, but feels strange being alone.

All I can say, this phase of becoming an actual adult we call being young adult is really confusing and strange. I find comfort in the fact that I'm not the first one and won' t be the last one to find this part of my life so baffling. I often find myself thinking I need to talk to an adult, but then realize that I'm technically an adult and I should know the answer to my own question.

"Just wait...you will soon be in my shoes," I grinned at my brother as I nudged him with my elbow playfully

Jude laughed back and returned his attention back to the meat "Great, can't wait! Watching you maneuver on with your life is not giving me any comfort...not a single ounce. You are horrible at being adult."

"Hey, now...I'm not so bad!" I laughed back "I could do worse, you know. I could be stealing toilet paper from my mom, but at least I buy my own stuff."

We stood by the grill, watching the meat in silence for a couple of moments, before Jude spoke up again "Are you going to the Fair next weekend?"

"Yes, but-" I couldn't finish as Jude cut me off excited

"Great, we can all go together. Frankie has been crazy about us all going together. Brandon's going to fly in as well, so we will all be able to go like we did years ago."

"Actually..." I said slowly, afraid of how he will take the news

Jude's shoulders dropped a little as he saw how tentative I had become "You have to work?" He asked knowingly, after watching me

I nodded back "We were asked to be one of the paramedics during the whole event. You know, to be there just in will be a lot of people. At events like that, there are always someone who needs medical attention. Besides, of the heat...lot of people forget to drink enough water, or forget to wear a hat and get heatstroke."

Jude placed his hand on my arm as though consoling me "You don't have to explain. I understand all that, Cal," my brother smiled back at me "I'm just sad you won't be able to go with all of us."

"We might cross paths," I reasoned back "Besides, you can all come and have a quick chat with me." And knowing the Adams Fosters, the certainly will.

The weather reports were true about the weekend, when the Fair was taking place. It was a very hot, dry and sunny day without a single cloud up in the clear blue sky. The temperature reached a 32 C (89.6 F). Even as Beth and I were standing in the shadow, I could feel a drop of sweat rolling down my temple. We had already aided for countless of people who were feeling week after spending too much time in the hot Sun. One older woman had been suffering heatstroke. Another ambulance on the scene took her to hospital. We had handed out all of the cold water we had taken with us and there was already a new batch of cold water coming in. Multiple people had forgotten sunscreen. There were also some small minor injuries, a kid had fallen down and hurt his wrist. Few others had eaten too much and had vomited or felt sick/nauseated. But other than that, things were calm.

"Nice heat," I said before I took a sip of the water I had with me. I offered Beth the water, she took it and drank a little before handing the bottle back to me.

"These people are crazy," Beth said watching the people who were attending the fair "If I had not been working, I would be sitting in my apartment next to a fan with a cold beer in my hand, not be here...outside in this heat!"

"If I hadn't been working, I would be here," I said feeling a wave of sadness wash over me as I thought about how much fun they were all probably having together, because I was missing, missing being with them.

Beth gave me a glance, but said nothing.

"My whole family is out there...somewhere. I would be with them...suffering in the heat, yet enjoying the family time," I continued after a moment as I looked around the crown

"It's probably just a matter of time before we see them or they come find you," Beth patted me on my back

"Day's still young," I agreed, opening the water bottle again and emptying the much needed drink

"Awww," Beth sighed "You miss them."

I slowly turned to my partner, screwed up my face and unconvincingly reasoned back "No," Even I didn't believe what I was saying, so there was no chance that Beth did as well "Fine...a little bit!" I admitted at the end

Beth cupped my face, smushing it slightly, grabbing my attention "You so do, you big softie!"

Before I could respond, I felt someone jumping on my back "Callieeeeee!" I heard the familiar Frankie's voice. The next thing I know, I was swarmed by the whole extended family, being in the middle of a huge hug. And even thought, I had heard dogs barking in the distance, I recognized Duke barking instantly, thought I did not see him anywhere.

There was Mariana on my right side, Jude on my left. Pretty sure Jesus was behind me, behind Frankie, who was on my piggy back. In front of me, I saw Brandon, who I hadn't seen in months. He looked grown up, yet the same. Hair was longer, though. And besides Brandon, with her hand on B's and Mariana's shoulder stood Lena, grinning at me. I saw Cooper walking up with Duke in a leash.

"When did you guys get here?" I asked, when the big hug started to disperse and Frankie jumped down from my back

"Some 4 hours ago," Lena told me

"Have you seen Amy and Stef?" I asked them as I adjusted the radio that was over my shoulder

"Not yet," Cooper said, as Duke was pulling him closer to me. Duke's tail was wiggling left and right hitting everyone around him.

Stef and Amy were working today as well. Not only they were here in case they needed to maintain order, but police offers were also handing out cold water and helping whoever needed it. In such a large and popular event as this, first responders were always on sight. Helping whoever needed any help. Especially in a hot day like this.

"Where are you going first?" Beth asked them all

"The go carts!" Frankie beamed at my partner

"Sounds fun," I replied ruffling her hair playfully

We chatted for few more minutes about nothing in particular. I reminded them to keep hydrated and try to get out of direct sun every now and then for a 5 minutes, before they all went to enjoy the day.

"Wanna go grab an ice cream?" Beth suggested nodding to the ice cream stand that stood between a fresh juice stand and craftsman stand. It goes without saying that there was a queue for the ice cream.

"If you hadn't suggested it, I would have," I agreed and we made our way towards the ice cream stand.

Halfway towards it, I saw mom and Stef standing at the other side of the field. They stood under a large tree, in the shadow, handing out cold water to the people, who were passing by.

"Hey," I tapped Beth on the arm, who was now standing in the line to get ice cream "I'll go and say hi to my mom," I pointed to their direction.

Beth leaned backwards, trying to see to where I was pointing so that she knows where to look for me. Once she saw them, Beth nodded back and showed me a thumbs up "Vanilla for you?"

"Yeah. Thanks!" I smiled at my partner before walking towards my mom

Amy POV

"What was I thinking..." I whined after I had handed the cold water to an elderly couple

Stef gave me a look, not understanding what I was referring to, before handing out yet another bottle of water to a by-passers "Keep hydrated!" she told the woman and the child. The woman thanked her, took the water and continued on.

"What were you thinking about when?" She screwed up her face as she pressed one of the cold water bottle to the side of her neck

"Moving from Boston to San-fucking-Diego! How are people willingly living here? The heat, he constant drought, the dryness, the Sun...it's like living in Hell! What the Hell was I thinking?"

"I think you were in love with Aaron that time around," Stef smirked at me "People do crazy stuff in the name of love."

Stef was of course right. I moved here with Aaron. He had a job offer he could not say no to. Markus used to love the heat, same as Aaron. It was like they were both born for the heat. Born to live in California. They certainly could withstand it better than I. Callie seemed to be fine in this heat as well. She definitely complained less than me. For me, Boston's weather was much more acceptable. During hot streak like this, I often found myself questioning my choice of moving here. The nights during the heat were the worst. I can barely get few hours of sleep.

One thing was clear - if it wasn't for my family, then and now, I would have stayed in Boston. I hate the heat. This was too hot for me.

"Stupid love. Blah!"

If the weather reports were true, this heat will remain for the next month. And drought is already upon us. The grass is no longer green, it has burned out. Flowers have welted, nothing grows. The animals are suffering as well. Not to mention fires starting in the woods. Rivers will soon be dry.

"People who live in California are crazy! Same thing goes for Arizona, Texas and Florida!" I continued, gesturing to the people around us "Look at all the crazy, stupid people Stef!"

"Hey, look!" Stef exclaimed pointing across the field "There comes your favorite crazy, stupid person!"

As I looked towards were Stef was pointing, I saw Callie coming towards us. She was still some good 100 meters away from us. A smile crossed my face instantly and my grumpy mood about the heat disappeared. I raised my arm up and held it there, waving at her. Even from the distance, I saw her smile back and wave back at me. It warmed my heart and lightened up my day.

But the next second...

She hadn't even lowered her arm down, when out of nowhere, her body, along with all of the other people around her, was roughly thrown away from an explosion happening by her right side.

I had automatically, covered my face and turned away from the blast, to protect myself. I felt the aftershock wave hit me. And when I stood up straight, chaos and panic ensued. My ears were still ringing from the loud noise. Dust from the explosion was coming down. Something was burning. Smoke was raising in the air. There was a nasty smell. Burt flesh. People, who hadn't been thrown by the blast, were screaming and running away. Afraid that another explosion might take place.

Seconds passed. Confusion, fear and worry grew. I was standing still in my spot, unable to move, looking at the chaos in front of me.

My heart, almost stopped, when my brain realized that I had just watched my daughter being thrown at least 5 meters (16 feet) from the blast and that I could no longer see her. She was lying there, on the ground, with the rest of the people caught in the explosion. And there was only one thought on my mind - I had to find her.

"Callie!" I screamed running to look for her, not caring about anything else. I felt Stef's hand on my arm briefly before, but I got away from her. I don't care about any other person. I don't care that another explosion might take place. I was no longer a cop.

In this moment, I was a mother. And as a mother, I could not lose another child.