Recap: Callie is 13 and in a new middle school where she makes friends with Mariana and gets to know the Fosters. Callie's foster brother Dan has tried to get Callie to sell pot for him, and was arrested by Stef in the last chapter. Mariana met her birth mom Ana and gave Ana her ipod, but hasn't told her moms.

Author's Note: I think there were 6 votes to leave them at the Fosters and 7 or 8 to make them go to the Olmsteads first, but I wimped out and left them at the Fosters. Sorry! Hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: Resolutions

The drive back to the Fosters house was a quiet one. Callie felt relieved and glad that she and Jude were staying at the Fosters tonight, instead of being taken somewhere new. But she also felt guilty and worried that Stef and Lena would be angry with her. She bit her lip as she felt herself adrift again in a confusing mixture of emotions.

Lena met them at the door with a serious expression on her face. The girls followed the moms into the living room, and Lena pointed at the couch and told them to sit down.

Lena crossed her arms and sternly said, "Explain to me why you skipped school and ended up at Callie's foster house."

Mariana stuttered, "Um, we just lost track of time?"

"Try again. We're not falling for that again."

Mariana blushed and tried again, "Um, you see, I lost my ipod!" She had suddenly remembered that she gave her ipod to Ana and thought maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. "And," she continued at a faster pace, "we were looking for it outside. I thought maybe I dropped it on the way to school."

Callie glanced up at her in surprise. She was so amazed at Mariana's talent at coming up with plausible stories. She had been ready to tell them the whole truth, but she thought better of it now. She decided to back up Mariana, "And...Mariana was worried you'd be upset, so I told her she could borrow my ipod until she found hers, so we went to my house to get it."

Mariana finished, "We didn't think her foster brother would be there, and we left as soon as he came in." There, that should do it. Callie and Mariana glanced and nodded at each other with wide eyes, hoping the story would pass.

Lena looked at them thoughtfully, "Girls, you can't just leave school without telling anyone. We didn't know where you were. You could have been hurt. We were worried sick."

Mariana's eyes widened at the thought of worrying her moms, "We're sorry! really! We didn't mean to worry anyone." Callie nodded at her words, feeling terrible.

Stef caught Callie's gaze and cornered her. "Did you know that your foster brother was selling drugs?" she asked in her no nonsense cop tone.

Callie nodded, with dread in her stomach. She avoided their eyes and murmured, "He wanted me to sell for him at school, but I said no."

Lena gasped, "Why didn't you tell someone?"

Callie looked up in surprise, "Who would I tell?"

Stef took a deep breath and angrily said, "Your foster parents? Lena and I? This is the kind of dangerous situation where you need to go to an adult for help." She gave Callie a frustrated look, "Do you understand that?"

Callie nodded, too scared to speak.

"Are you sure?" Stef pressed.

Callie nodded again and then whispered, "It's just that in my world, you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Telling adults doesn't usually help in my world," Callie admitted truthfully. Her experiences in foster care had taught her that telling an adult often made things worse instead of better. They would get moved once again and often put in a worse situation.

Lena came over and sat down next to Callie and reached out to hold her hand, "Honey, I'm sorry that's been your experience." She stroked her hand, "But we are here to help. And we will…. Do you trust us?"

Callie thought about that for awhile. She hadn't trusted adults for a long time, but yes, she decided she did trust Stef and Lena. She looked up at Lena, "Yes...I should have told you. I'm sorry. I really wanted to tell you about Dan asking me to sell drugs at school, and I almost did. I told him I wouldn't do it, but it was hard." She looked down feeling embarrassed at how hard it was.

Lena tilted her head to catch Callie's eyes again and said, "I'm proud of you for telling your foster brother no. That took a lot of courage." Callie looked up in surprise.

Stef added, "I agree, it must have been hard to stand up to him and do the right thing. You were brave, but it was a dangerous situation, and I wish you had asked for help too."

"I think it helped that you were around," Callie shyly admitted. "That helped me to stand up to him. And I think I would have told you if it had gotten worse."

"I'm glad," Lena said as she patted her hand.

"Ok, let's get some dinner and then set up some sleeping bags for you and Jude in Mariana's room."

The girls stood up in relief. As they left the room, Stef added, "By the way, you're both grounded, and we'll talk about this more later."

xoxoxoxo

Jude was so excited to be at the Foster's house with all of their belongings. He whispered to Callie, "Maybe we can stay here for awhile!". Callie looked at him sadly and softly said, "I wouldn't count on it buddy." He shrugged, but he was still excited during dinner and even doing his homework with Lena's help.

Lena helped him get ready for bed and tucked him into a sleeping bag, while the girls played a board game downstairs. He still seemed too wired to sleep though. Stef came in to give him a good night kiss too. Lena suggested, "Want to borrow Callie's ipod and listen to some music for awhile? or I can read to you?"

Jude hesitantly replied, "Callie doesn't have an ipod, but would you really read to me? Callie reads Harry Potter to me sometimes."

Lena answered, "Sure", while glancing up at Stef with questioning look.

Stef was also surprised to hear that Callie did not have an ipod when she had just told them that she let Mariana borrow it.

Stef walked purposefully downstairs to find the girls and ran right into Callie coming out of the bathroom. "We need to talk," she said as she grabbed Callie's arm and led her into the kitchen.

"Sit," she ordered, pointing to a stool. "Jude just told me you don't have an ipod," she said, crossing her arms and fixing Callie with a glare.

Callie blushed and looked down as she whispered, "Sorry."

"Care to explain?"

Callie didn't know what to say without getting Mariana in trouble. She shrugged and stared at the table.

"Mariana," Stef yelled out to the living room, "get in here." Mariana came in timidly, looking at Callie in alarm.

"We know that Callie doesn't have an ipod, so why did you go to Callie's house? Where's your ipod?"

Mariana stuttered, "I.. I gave it to someone?"

"Who?"

Mariana was silent.

Stef put her hand under Mariana's chin and lifted her eyes up to her, "Who did you give it to Mariana?"

She quietly answered, "Ana."

"What?"

Lena heard the commotion and came down to the kitchen too. Mariana told them how Ana had approached her and how she had agreed to meet her at Callie's house and ended up giving her the ipod.

Lena asked with a frustrated look, "Why didn't you tell us, Mariana?"

"I wanted to talk to her," Mariana admitted. "Would you have let me?"

Stef said "No!" forcefully at the same time as Lena replied "Yes." They looked at each other in surprise.

Stef started pacing the kitchen, "I'm filing a restraining order against Ana. You are not to go anywhere near her, understood?"

Lena went to Stef and put her hand on her arm to calm her and gently led her back to her seat. She turned to Mariana, "If you want to see your birth mom, your mom and I will talk about it. When we think you and Ana are ready for it, we will plan a supervised visit."

Stef took a deep breath to calm herself and added, "Supervised is key here, Mariana. If we had been there, you would have been in a safe environment, and you would have kept your ipod." She was trying to keep her anger and frustration at bay. She still planned to get a restraining order.

Lena looked back at Mariana and gently asked, "Did seeing your birth mom go as you had hoped?"

Mariana shook her head, "No…. I wish you had been there."

"I'm glad you see that now."

Mariana looked up at her moms with tears in her eyes, "Do you still love me?"

"Always sweetheart," Lena answered as she pulled her into a hug. Stef came up on the other side for a squeeze to complete the mama sandwich. She was still upset at Ana, but she saw how Mariana was hurting and knew that she needed her moms.

Then Stef looked over at Callie and gently said, "Come here sweets." and pulled her into the hug too. "This is a mama sandwich and it makes everything feel better."

Callie couldn't help but smile. Mama sandwiches did make everything feel better.

xoxoxoxo

That night after all the kids were asleep, Lena settled in Stef's arms and softly said, "I know we don't really have room to foster more children, but…"

"I know what you're going to say, love, but that would make 5 kids!"

Lena reached out to hold Stef's hand, "I know, I know, but somehow Callie and Jude are already becoming a part of our family. They're here almost every weekend anyway. And Mariana and Callie are already like sisters…. And it feels right. How did you feel when we were hugging Callie and Mariana tonight?"

"Like she belonged here," Stef admitted.

"And it felt so good to tuck in Jude and read him a story. He belongs here too." Lena continued. "I'm falling in love with both of them."

Stef sighed, "I know what you mean. I don't want to let them go either…. Will social services even let them stay?"

"I don't know. But our license is still good. They'll probably need to come do an inspection."

"Damn," Stef cursed, "we'll have to put out the fire extinguishers and drug lockup boxes again."

"Yeah, but we know the drill."

"Where will they sleep?" asked Stef.

"We can fit another bed in Mariana's room and one in Jesus' room."

"Okay," Stef sighed. Lena looked up and smiled at her. "Okay," Stef said again with a smile and bent down for a kiss.

xoxoxoxo

The next morning, Callie woke up with dread. She thought that they would have to go to a new foster home today and then probably a new school. They might not get to see the Fosters again.

Lena knocked on the door and said, "Time to get up for school, kids. Come down for breakfast when you're ready. We need to talk to you before school."

At the breakfast table, Stef gave them a big smile as she said, "So, Mama and I talked last night, and we would like to foster Callie and Jude. What do you think?"

"Really?" Jude yelled. Stef nodded and smiled even wider.

All the kids were excited and yelled out yes. Callie smiled at Mariana and Jude, with tears in her eyes.

Lena said, "Good, it's unanimous," looking around at everyone's smiles. She put her arms around both Callie and Jude to give them a squeeze. "I called your social worker this morning, and we will meet with him today while you are at school to do all the paperwork."

She turned to look at Mariana and Callie and said, "And everyone is going to school and staying there all day, right?" They quickly nodded with wide eyes.

"Okay, shake a leg everyone, get your backpacks and into the van," Stef ordered. "And Mama and I need a kiss and a hug from everyone before you go!"