Here's the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Stef POV

I had tried so hard not to fall asleep. I wanted to be awake in case Callie woke up or needed something. I realized I had failed when a knock at the door and the calling of my name woke me.

I turned to see if it was a doctor or nurse that had to check in on their patient. However, I immediately became anxious when I met the apologetic eyes of Gomez. He waved me outside, so that we could talk without disturbing Callie.

"What can I do for you Gomez?" I already knew the answer.

"I gotta take Callie's statement."

"Right now? I mean the poor girl's still asleep."

"The sooner the better, Stef. You know that." I nodded. I did know that.

"Can you let me wake her? She's already uncomfortable and scared as it is."

"Of course. I don't want to make this hard on her. If she wants, you can stay with her while she talks to me." I smiled in thanks before making my way back into the room.

I couldn't completely see Callie, I didn't want to turn on the lights and give her a headache again, so I cautiously moved to her side. I felt around the mattress for her hand and squeezed when I found it.

"Callie? Sweets, I'm sorry, but you gotta wake up for me." She startled me when she responded with no tiredness in her voice.

"Are the cops here to take my statement?" She had probably heard the whole conversation.

"Yeah. I wish they didn't have to do it right now, but they want to do it while all of the details are clear in your memory." I was going to smile reassuringly, but then I remembered that she probably couldn't see me very well.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it."

"Oh, Callie. I'm so sorry, that's not what I meant-" she obviously didn't like the pity in my voice.

"It's fine." She snapped. Then she continued in a softer voice, "It's not your fault. Is the cop gonna come in or...?" She was changing the subject.

"Yup. I'll bring him in. Do you want me to stay with you while you give your statement?" Callie looked down at her casted arm.

"You don't have to."

"It's no problem. I'd feel better in here with you anyway." I had to make it seem like it was for me, or else she never would have accepted the offer. She answered with a small "okay," so I got Gomez. Before we entered I gave the man a warning.

"Be gentle. She's had a really rough night. She'll close herself off if you push too hard." He nodded his understanding and followed me into Callie's room.

"Hi Callie. My name's Officer Steven Gomez. I'm here to take your statement about what happened last night. Do you mind if turn the light on?"

"That's fine." Callie's voice sounded empty. She was distancing herself from the situation.

When Gomez flicked the lights on, I expected Callie to at least wince a little, but she didn't move at all. Her face remained blank and showed no sign of the pain she had to be feeling in her head.

"Okay, I'm not sure if you remember me from the robbery scene, but I tried to take your statement there. Why don't you tell me what happened after you left work and everything that occurred afterwards." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.

"Uh, Jude and I walked home. He wanted to call Stef about our foster father, but I told him no."

"Why didn't you want him to call Stef? Why did he want to? Didn't you just get home?"

"She didn't need to worry about us. Stef has her own kids and her own problems. She doesn't need to take on ours too." I had to butt in, even though I knew I wasn't supposed to.

"Callie, I gave you my number for a reason. I wanted you and Jude to be safe." She didn't acknowledge me in the slightest. Instead, she continued with her story.

"So um, I told him it was only for huge emergencies, a last resort kinda thing. He wanted to call because our foster father, Marc, had lost his job recently. He'd been home all of the time now and drank day and night. Jude was nervous that he would be in a bad mood."

"Was he often in a bad mood?"

"Whenever he was drunk, so yeah I guess. More so since he lost his job. He didn't have anywhere to be, so he didn't have to care about being sober."

"How'd he support two kids and himself with no job?"

"He mainly fostered us for the checks, so he had to really rely on those. He said the only reason he kept us was because he took my checks from work. Because of the robbery, I completely forgot to collect my pay. When he found out I didn't have any money for him, he freaked out."

"Freaked out how?"

"Um, he punched me once and I fell. I was kinda already dizzy after I got hit at the robbery. Then he just kept kicking me over and over again. He stepped on me a few times to knock the air out of lungs. He didn't stop until the cops got there."

"Where was your brother during this?"

"I told Jude to run upstairs and lock the door until I told him he could come out. I didn't want him anywhere near Marc."

"And how were the police notified?"

"Jude ran to the kitchen to grab the home phone before he ran upstairs. He called Stef." I'm so glad that boy called me. I didn't want to think about how much worse this situation could have been. At the thought, I reached out and grabbed Callie's hand. I held it tightly in mine to show my support.

"Alright Callie. I think that's all for questions. We just have to document your injuries and you'll be all set." She was not going to like this.

"Can't you just get that from my medical file?" I exchanged a look with Gomez.

"They need pictures, Callie."

"What? No!" She had tensed immediately. "I'm not letting anyone take pictures of me."

"Callie. Please if you want Marc to go to jail for a very long time, you need to let them take pictures. I'll leave the room if it makes you more comfortable." I didn't want to, but I had to get her to do this.

"I'm not letting some random guy take pictures of me. No." She was getting very defensive. I understood why the idea made her anxious though. Gomez spoke up.

"What if Stef takes them? You kinda know her and she's a girl." This was totally against protocol, so I was not expecting him to throw out this strategy.

Callie hesitated and looked at me. I looked write back with the most comforting smile I could muster. She sighed, "I guess."

"Okay. I'll leave the room. Just grab me from the hallway when you're done." With that, he handed me a camera and went into the hallway. I turned back to Callie, who wouldn't look up from the floor.

"I know this is awkward, Sweets. We'll go as quickly as we can, okay?" She nods, not even looking at me. I know the affirmative shake of her head is the only response I'll get, so I take it as an okay to start. I explained what I was going to do before I moved. I didn't want to startle her, and have Callie close herself off even more.

"Callie, I'm gonna take a few pictures of your face and then your arm, okay?"

"Mmhm" I hated that she wouldn't talk to me. But I knew I had to do the job before I could try to get her to warm up to me.

The first few pictures were fine. Callie stayed still and let me take them with no problem. I knew the next few would not be so easy.

"Okay, Callie. I have to get a few pictures of your ribs and chest." That got a response. Callie's head shot up and looked at me.

"What? Why? You have other pictures. Isn't that enough?"

"Sorry, Sweets. I gotta take pictures of everything."

"You've got to be kidding me." She sat up in the bed slowly with a few gasps of pain that broke my heart. She turned her back to me once she was in an upright position. "I don't think I can untie it with one arm." She was finally asking for help. Even if she didn't really have any other choice, it was progress.

I got the hospital gown undone, so she turned around to face me again. I could tell she was nervous by the way she completely avoided my gaze with her eyes.

"I just have to move it to the side okay? Just for a few quick photos and then we're done."

"Mmhm" she was back to not using words.

I reached for the gown and held it to the side so I could see her ribs. They were such a dark purple color, that I knew she couldn't not be in excruciating pain. I tried not to show any emotions. I didn't want Callie to feel anymore uncomfortable than she already was. I took the pictures of her ribs quickly and then moved my eyes to her chest. Right under her neck, I could practically see the boot print from when Marc stepped on her. I wanted to cry for the awful things Callie had been through yesterday, but I had to stay strong for her. I took two pictures, hoping one of them came out okay. Since I was done, I dropped the gown.

"Turn around. I'll tie your gown back up." Callie turned without question. She flinched a little when my hand grazed her back and she immediately apologized.

"Sorry, sorry." She shook her head slightly.

"That's alright." I figured accepting the apology would be better than arguing that it wasn't her fault.

I helped Callie back into bed and told her I'd be right back.

"I just have to give Gomez his camera back, okay?" Callie nodded at me, so I went into the hallway.

"How'd it go?"

"It was okay. You have plenty of evidence so this bastard better go away for quite a while."

"That's the plan." He paused. "Thanks Stef. I know that wasn't easy to do."

"Thank you for letting me do it. I think you would've had an even tougher time with her."

"I gotta get these to the station. Good luck, Stef."

"Thank you." He made his way to exit the building. He stopped to hold the door open for someone that was entering, and he smiled when he saw a familiar face. "Hey Lena. Stef's over there." I saw Lena, with Jude right behind her. I waved over to them. Jude ran to my side.

"Can I see Callie? I really need to see her. Lena said she was awake." I smiled at the little boy.

"Of course you can see your sister. I'm sure she's excited to see you." I pointed to the door, "Get in there buddy." He didn't need me to tell him twice. He rushed past me and went right into the room. I turned to Lena.

"How was he last night?"

"He slept pretty well. He didn't eat much this morning though. He was probably too excited about seeing Callie." I smiled and nodded.

"Should we head in?" Lena looked over my shoulder at the kids.

"Let them have a minute. Besides, we have to talk."

"Okay. What about?"

"Well, I was thinking about how we told bill we would foster them until he can find them something soon. And I'm not sure why, but the thought of sending either of them away just made me sad."

"So...? You want to like adopt them?" When she didn't answer right way, I continued. "Lena, we just met them two weeks ago."

"I know. I know. But come on. You feel that connection too. Don't you?" I sighed.

"Of course I do. We can't jump the gun on this though. Not with these kids. Callie does not trust easily. Offering to adopt her right now would be way too overwhelming. How about we tell Bill to stop looking for other homes for them. We'll foster them and see how that works out first."

"Okay. I think I can do that." She smiled at me.

"Come on. Let's tell them the good news." I put my arm around Lena's shoulders and kissed her cheek before leading her into the room. We were met with the sight of Callie and Jude laying together in the small hospital bed.

"Hey guys. Callie, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay." She answered Lena with hesitancy lacing her voice. I decided to speak up.

"So we have something that we need to talk to you both about." I looked at the two, asking for permission. Both nodded, but didn't say anything. They looked like they thought I was going to yell at them. "Lena and I talked, and we believe that you guys need a good place to stay. We're gonna talk to Bill about fostering you guys for longer than a few days." Lena jumped in.

"We want you guys to feel safe. You've been through a lot lately and deserve a break. We would both feel better if we absolutely knew you were getting that break. What better way to make sure you're safe than to have you stay with us?" I studied the kids' faces. Jude looked excited, like he had already felt safe in our home. Callie looked skeptical, as if she was waiting for a 'but'.

Callie POV

They wanted to foster us. Why? Why would they want to help us so badly? What is it that they wanted in return?

"What about your other kids? They're fine with you two taking in two more kids?" I had to find the downside to this offer before I was blindsided.

"They'll be fine. They'll understand." Stef answered me. Maybe they were just genuinely kind people. I looked at Jude, who had the biggest smile on his face. He truly wanted this.

"Okay. Thank you." I wasn't quite sure how to answer their offer, but both women smiled, so I figured my response was sufficient.

"Callie, you still have a couple days in the hospital, but Jude can still stay at our house. As soon as you're released, you'll get to come home too."

Lena had called it home. I hadn't had a home in six years. It was always just a house, some wood and stone. Now, I was being offered a home with two beautifully kind women. A place to rest and be safe, maybe even loved. That was another unfamiliar concept, love. I loved Jude with all of my heart, and he loved me, but there was no one else. No one else that loved us, or even cared for us. It was weird to even consider the possibility of someone actually loving me and Jude again. But maybe, just maybe, if we could get through the long road of healing together, then some love would be uncovered along the way.

Thank you so much for reading this story! I really appreciate all of the favs, follows, and reviews! I did leave the story at a spot where I could continue it on purpose. If people are interested, I could try to write a sequel. If you'd rather have me do a totally different topic for a new story, let me know. If you have any suggestions or ideas about what I should write next, if you even want me to write another story, you can PM me or just put it in the reviews for this story. Again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this, I had a lot of fun writing it :)