Next chapter! this fic is now officially at over 300 reviews and i am completely amazed by that! Thank you to every reviewer, you have truly kept this story going with your comments, suggestions and encouragement! This story would be nothing and nowhere without your kind words and support so thank you :)

Shout out to Shanshay who helped me a lot with the inner workings of the foster system and Bill's reasoning!

Stef exited Callie's room and shut the door firmly behind her, her heart racing.

"Hey Bill"

She bit the proverbial bullet and answered the phone, trying to sound light and carefree and failing miserably at both.

"Stef, is there any news? How is Callie doing?"

Stef was relieved to hear the concern in Bill's voice. It made her feel better to know that the social worker genuinely cared about the siblings.

"I'm sorry we meant to call but its been a busy morning"

She ran her hand through her hair for the thousandth time that day and then checked her watch, surprised to find it was only nine o'clock. She was drained and exhausted and she still had a whole day to get through.

"Callie's fine, the surgery went well and she's awake and talking. The bullet missed her internal organs and major blood vessels and the doctors were able to remove it no problem. She also has some bruised ribs and two broken ones from Juvie, but there is nothing that can be done for them except rest and time"

Stef parroted Dr Morgan's words to Bill, leaving out the part she played in Callie's injuries, fearing what it would mean for the teen if the social worker knew.

She could hear Bill's hurried footsteps through the phone as he replied.

"Look Stef we have to talk, I'm at the hospital now, what room is Callie in?"

Stef's heart dropped, Bill's tone did not sound encouraging at all.

"Uh I'm with Callie in room 6029, I'll call Lena and have her meet me here as well."

She heard the ding of an elevator as Bill likely stepped onto it.

"Okay I'm on my way up."

Stef said goodbye and hung up, only to immediately dial her partner.

Lena picked up after only two rings.

"Stef? Is Callie okay? What happened?"

Lena's voice was trying to sound calm and quiet but Stef could hear the underlying panic and realised that Lena was with the kids and probably trying not to worry them.

"Callie's fine, but Bill is on his way up, could you get back to Callie's room? And don't bring the kids, I don't want to worry Jude."

Lena sighed at Stef's answer as the four of them stepped into the elevator.

"Love, we're already on our way up, I'll leave them in the waiting room on Callie's floor until we're done."

Stef nodded her head in agreement before remembering Lena couldn't see her.

"Yeah that sounds good, see you in a sec."

She hung up and blew out a cleansing breath, trying to wall up her emotions for their conversation with Bill. She had a promise to keep and she wouldn't let her fragile mental state blow it.

She leaned back against the closed door to Callie's room and closed her eyes to centre herself for a moment, opening them again and snapping back to her full height as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Bill, good to see you again."

Stef forced a smile to her face as she held out her hand, firmly shaking Bill's in greeting.

"Stef. I wish it were under better circumstances."

His face was grim and the files he held under his other arm did nothing to calm Stef's churning stomach.

"Uh Lena is on her way up and this room here is empty, I thought maybe we could all talk first before you speak to Callie. She's been through a lot and she needs all the rest she can get."

Stef's hopeful tone did not go unnoticed by Bill who sighed in response.

"I really do need to speak to Callie, and Jude as well, but I suppose we can talk first."

Stef nodded her head in thanks and was relieved to see Lena walking down the corridor behind Bill.

"Hey babe"

Stef spoke first, alerting Bill to Lena's arrival, he turned to greet the darker woman as well.

"Lena"

"Bill"

Their greetings were short and that only caused Stef to worry further. She had to keep her promise to Callie. She had to prove that the teen could trust her.

"Alright lets go in here shall we?"

Stef motioned to the door next to Callie's and stood back as Lena and Bill entered before her, closing the door behind her as she followed them in.

Lena spoke first.

"Bill, I know what I said last night, but we've had some time to think about it and we want Callie and Jude to stay with us, at least until Callie's healed."

She looked over to Stef as she spoke and the blonde nodded her head in support, relieved that Lena was getting straight to the point.

Bill walked over to the empty bed and placed his files down on the bedside table, sitting on the mattress so he was facing both women.

" I understand, but given the circumstances, it may not be in the siblings' best interest to remain in your care."

Though Stef had expected as much, it didn't hurt any less to hear her fears confirmed. She looked over at Lena who showed no sign backing down at Bill's comment.

"Why not?"

Lena's voice was hard and Stef wished she felt half as strong as her partner sounded.

"You shot the kids' foster father. In front of them no less, it may not be a good idea for them to be around the woman who killed their last foster parent"

Bill's words were directed at Stef and she could see that he was not meaning to be harsh, he was not trying to hurt her, he was just trying to make them understand the position he was in, he had an obligation to look out for the children, keep their best interests at heart. His job was not too spare the feelings of foster parents.

"He was abusing them Bill. If anything, they probably want to be around Stef. She's the only one who ever actually tried to protect them."

Lena's voice was unwavering, but Stef could see the tension running through her lovers body, the way the darker woman clenched her fists and rocked back on her heels slightly told Stef that Lena was not as confident as her words made her sound.

Bill looked at his hands before looking back at the women, his eyes pained as he cleared warred with himself.

"Yes, well that's another thing. Its no secret that Callie didn't like her foster father. It was his charges against her that landed her in juvie and from what I understand, you followed her to Jude's foster home last night. Her actions last night could be seen as her trying to get her revenge on him, leading a cop to his house and putting herself in a position where he had to be killed."

The look on Bill's face told Stef that he didn't truly believe what he was saying, or that he didn't want to believe it in any case.

"That's ridiculous! She left school early, made sure she went out the back so she wouldn't get caught, and then when Stef did get to the house, Callie tried to convince her not to shoot that awful man!"

Lena was rapidly running out of steam and her voice broke slightly as she finished her tirade, editing the last bit of her argument so that Bill wouldn't know what Callie had done; how Callie had protected Stef.

Bill scrubbed a hand over his face.

"What are we looking at here Bill? What is it you want to do with them?"

Stef was tired of arguing aimlessly she needed to know his intentions so that she had something solid to argue against.

"For now it may be best if Jude was placed with a different family. It would not be beneficial for him to be in the care of the person who killed his last foster father and he will probably need counselling, both he and Callie will also need to see a psychologist. Callie will be placed in a group home when she is released from the hospital, they will be able to take care of her and give her the care she requires."

Bill looked uncomfortable with his own suggestion and Stef immediately jumped at that.

"You are not splitting them up."

Her voice brooked no argument and she would have sworn she saw Bill's shoulder's relax slightly at her statement.

His reactions were puzzling her and she couldn't understand what his game was.

Bill nodded his head. He was glad Stef had said that, he remembered the last time he had tried to separate the two. They'd clung to each other and screamed bloody murder. Callie had been extremely injured at the time and Bill had stopped trying almost immediately, terrified she would hurt herself further if he persisted in trying to remove her brother.

"Bill please, they have both been through so much, they need each other now and they need a stable environment and you know that we can provide that. Jude has already taken a shine to Brandon and Callie is slowly starting to open up. We can take care of them Bill."

Stef could see Lena nodding in her peripheral vision, but her eyes stayed locked on Bill, it was his reaction that mattered most.

"I really don't think its a good idea Stef. I know they would be safe physically, but its their mental wellbeing I'm worried about."

In truth, Bill didn't know how the siblings would take to being in the Foster's home, but he didn't want to run the risk of hurting them. He knew they'd been through a lot, despite his very best efforts to keep them safe.

It was days like these he really hated hit job.

Stef and Lena were both at a loss for what to say, neither knew how to convince Bill and neither were prepared to lose the siblings.

A knock on the door broke the tension and all three adults were surprised when it was Jude who stuck his head into the room.

"Lena-"

Jude cut himself off before he could ask his question, seeing Bill talking to his latest foster parents had the blood rapidly draining out of his face.

Bill had complete control over him and Callie, he decided where they went and whether they stayed together or not. Seeing Bill rarely meant good news. It usually meant they were being removed from one hell-hole and placed in another.

The door swung open completely and Jude stood in the middle of it, looking more scared than either woman had seen him yet.

Jude took a breath and tried his best to channel Callie as he spoke, willing his voice to sound brave and strong.

"Are you gonna take us away?"

He had been going for 'brave' and 'strong' but instead, he had sounded frightened and panicked at the thought.

Nine was like Base. It had taken them six years, seven schools and nine homes to find a good one and now there was the chance they would be taken from it and Jude was scared.

Stef looked at Bill and Lena before looking back at Jude and answering him.

"Not if we can help it bud"

She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but judging by the look on his face, she gathered that it was anything but.

"Do you want to stay with us sweetie?"

Lena had finally regained her composure. Her and Stef were a tag team, they jumped in for each other and covered each other when the other needed a moment and she was tagging back in.

Jude nodded his head and looked at Bill, his eyes begging the social worker to let them stay.

Bill studied Jude carefully. The boy was easy to read and what Bill could see in his face gave the social worker hope. Maybe Callie and Jude had finally found a soft place to land.

He looked between Stef and Lena who wore similar expressions to Jude and finally gave in.

"We're just sorting out the paperwork Jude, nothing to worry about."

He smiled at the boy, who shyly smiled back.

"I'm gonna go tell Callie"

He turned to leave, trying his best to hide his excitement when Lena stopped him.

"Jude did you need something? You looked like you had a question when you came in?"

She raised her eyebrows as she looked at the newest, if temporary, addition to their family.

Jude shook his head as he answered.

"No it doesn't matter, I'll just ask Callie"

Lena nodded her head as he left, sighing as the door closed and she made eye contact with Stef.

They were going to have to break him of that habit, turning to Callie instead of them. Lena smiled as she realised they would have plenty of time to do just that.

Bill cleared his throat.

"For now, Callie and Jude can remain in your care, however, they will both need to be assessed by a psychologist, and if after the assessment it is decided that they require more care than you can provide them or that this is not a good fit, then both siblings will be removed."

Bill looked expectantly at the couple who nodded their heads in agreement.

"This is Callie's file, and this is Jude's. All hospital visits, red flags, and important information from their past are documented in here."

He stood and handed Stef the files, Callie's nearly double the size of Jude's, which was still quite thick.

The blonde nodded and held the files to her chest.

All the answers to all the questions she had were in the files she now held in her grasp. A part of her wanted to read Callie's, but a bigger part of her wanted the teen to divulge the information herself.

She had time to decide which part to give into.

"Thank you Bill, we will take great care of them."

It was Lena who spoke, moving to shake Bill's hand.

The social worker smiled at her as he replied.

"They're great kids, they've just had bad luck."

Stef nodded as she too shook Bill's hand, bidding him a farewell as he left the women alone with a promise to get in touch soon to speak to both Callie and Jude properly.

"They're staying."

Lena broke the silence, looking at Stef with wide eyes.

The blonde smiled as she pulled Lena into a hug with her free arm.

"Thats right babe, we just went from three teenagers to four and a half!"

Lena chuckled softly.

"We should get back to the kids."

Stef sighed at her partner's suggestion.

"If we must!"

She acted put-out but Lena could see that the blonde was anxious to see her babies again.

They walked out of the empty room and back into Callie's, surprised to find all the kids already in there.

"Hey guys, didn't mama tell you to wait in the waiting room?"

Stef furrowed her brows as she took in the site of her three guilty children, all sitting around the room in chairs they seemed to have procured from other rooms.

"We were just talking"

Mariana was the one to respond on behalf of the group and Stef smiled, walking towards her daughter while Lena moved towards the bed, where Callie and Jude were once again snuggled up together.

"Okay well speaking of talking, we all have something to talk about obviously."

Stef started off the conversation, looking to Lena as the brunette took over.

"We had a meeting with Bill and we've come to a decision. We are not in a position to offer Callie and Jude a home forever.."

She trailed off and Stef picked the thread up.

"But we would like you guys to be as comfortable and safe as possible until Bill does find you a permanent home, however long that may take"

Lena nodded as the blonde finished speaking, waiting to see how their children reacted to the news.

"Jude already told us they're staying, we're cool with it."

Jesus looked at his twin and his brother as he spoke, both of them nodding their agreement at his words.

Stef had her eyes on the siblings in the hospital bed who seemed to be silently conversing, talking without saying a word.

Finally Callie broke their eye contact, looking straight at Stef and nodding her head once.

Stef nodded back, they didn't need words.

She had kept her promise. She had started to earn Callie's trust. Now all she had to do was keep it.

Okay so next chapter will be the sibling conversation that took place at the same time as this chapter and then the chapter after that, callie will be going home! Let me know if there is anything you want to see in either of those chapters!

All mistakes were my own, it is 3am here, i am bound to have missed something so feel free to point it out!

Please review, they really keep me writing and inspire me to do it faster!

Much love, BC xo