A/N I always wondered what the car ride home from San Ysidro was like. It proved harder to write as a stand alone so i got a little carried away. Hope people like it. If the subject is interesting leave a note, because i have a second chapter in mind. Thanks for reading.

The whole afternoon, when Brandon and Callie failed to show up after school, Lena had this feeling she she was living someone else's life. Her family didn't do this. The children didn't just disappear without telling them where they were going. Certainly not the eldest son, Brandon. At least not until now.

Even driving down toward San Ysidro, Stef at the wheel, Mike in the back seat, Lena still couldn't fathom what was going on. She started to have an inkling as to how Dorothy must have felt when she got swept up into the vortex, her world spinning completely out of control.

Yet when Dorothy finally landed, she was in Oz. Lena, instead, found herself at a crime scene in San Ysidro staring in horror, shock actually, as Stef and Mike stormed off toward an ugly cracker box of a house while she remained seat-belt on, in a soccer-mom type Subaru, watching a big ugly guy wave a gun at what, through the house's picture window, was clearly Brandon.

Through the open door of the house she could hear shouting. Suddenly the guy wheeled away from Brandon looking for the world as if he was going to shoot at something or someone she couldn't see. Lena braced herself for the shot, feeling an icy cold sensation rise from her toes, freezing her entire body to the point it was difficult to breath.

Only the shot never came. Instead, she heard even more shouting and harsh screaming and then,mercifully, the guy stopped dead in his tracks. He put his hands up and sunk to his knees. She felt herself exhaling, her heart racing as she watched Mike move in with the cuffs. It was so quick and she was so frightened she never saw the two black and whites arrive even though their cherry lights were flashing.

As the back-up cops got out and headed warily toward the house, guns drawn. Lena got out of the car not really registering their presence. One of the cops whirled around towards her as she headed for the house, and for a second, she too was staring at a pointed gun. "Freeze," he yelled.

She stopped, thinking this was all she needed tonight, to be accosted by a jumpy cop .

' Get down, On your knees "he yelled, " She looked at him at first cowed remembering, the conversations she had with her mother about police when she was a teenager, and the way people of color need to act with police.

But something in her wouldn't let her take that route tonight. She looked him calmly in the eye as she should would a wayward 17 year old boy who thought he could intimidate her from handing out detention. "I am Lena Adams I am the vice principal of the Anchor beach Charter School, my partner, Stef Adams, is one of the Cop's in the house. We are here to pick up our kids."

The cop held her at gun point, but didn't say anything. Lena watched him, trying to hold back tears of frustration and fright, but when Brandon stepped out of the house with a young boy, she broke the stand off "The older one is mine."

The cop looked at the boys, and saw the guy in cuffs being led out of the house, he turned back to her holstering his gun "Ok but stay away from the prisoner and the house.

She nodded and moved off toward her son. It wasn't until she had hugged him and made sure he was okay that she remembered a little guiltily the young boy standing next to them.

"Who is this" she asked.

"Jude, Callie's brother" Brandon said nonchalantly. As if she should have known all along.

Lena sighed and in a second the whole afternoon had a strange but logical thread running through it-though it angered her all the same. And not for the first time that evening she kicked herself for bringing Callie home from Juvie without really knowing anything about her. "How fucking, naive," she admonished herself, feeling a little sick in her stomach.

She nodded them over to the car, and still upset, fuming mad, really, got on her cell and called the social worker who had placed the girl. He listened quietly, consoling as she vented. As she spoke she calmed down, What was done was done, ultimately no one got hurt and before she hung-up, she was thinking clearly and they agreed to meet in the morning.

When she was finishing on the phone, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stef talking earnestly with Callie and then drape her arm over the girl's shoulder, shepherding her towards the car. There was a motherly warmth to Stef's actions and the girl surprised Lena by seeming to relish the touch.

Lena raised her eyebrows watching the two. She, herself, wasn't feeling the love for the girl at this moment. And wondered whether she could sit in the same car with the reckless youth who endangered her family, let alone hug her.

She sighed and walked over to Stef. She wanted to make sure that Stef knew she had talked to the social worker about finding another placement for the children, and that Lena realized that Callie brought too much chaos with her.

Stef reached out her arms to her as she approached. "Stef, I called bill he'll come in the morning." Lena said, thinking she was burying a bone of contention that might of laid between them. Stef sighed and shook her head ,"No. We're not putting these kids back into the system."

Lena looked a this woman she had loved for the last 10 years and all the emotions, the fear for the children, the anger at herself and her fury at the cop flooded through her. She nearly broke down sobbing like a child, right then and there, as the bubble lights flashed and thick wrist-ed cops with wide leather belts stomped around,. She would have too, but a line from a movie percolated into her head, and instead she chuckled, eyes blurred with tears, a little giddy from relief. She whispered. "Toto, I feel we're not in Kansas anymore,"

Stef looked at her quizzically and then to Lena's delight agreed with a smile ."No, this isn't Kansas, so lets go home Dorothy."

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After making sure everyone was buckled up, Stef put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. The normalcy of her request after the craziness and terror of the the last hour, made Lena turn to her and a give a smile that was part amusement but mostly gratitude. She felt so happy to be leaving and just put everything behind them. It was wonderful that her partner was able to simply move forward and not dwell on what had just happened. It all had to be dealt with but not here, not now

She shut her eyes feeling the motion of the car in her stomach and wondered what caused Stef's change of heart on Callie. It seemed Stef's wariness had vanished and she had become almost protective of the girl.

From the car Lena hadn't been able to see too much, but it was apparent that something that happened in the house convinced Stef that Callie and her brother were worth the time and the risk. Whatever it was, it affected the girl too, because whenever Stef spoke she seemed to get the girl's full attention. That last easy to understand, but was still nice to see..

She tried to relax as she felt the car move on to the I-5 on ramp. She could feel a tension headache starting to throb above her eyes. Driving away was the easy part, leaving the thoughts of what nearly happened behind was much harder.

Although she was a gentle person, and had grown-up in a privileged academic suburb of San Francisco, as an African American she was use to facing hard things. It was never easy dealing with ugliness, but it was something that wasn't foreign to her. Violence in the home, however, things like wife beating, child smacking and its repercussion; that was something she had never experienced and had no interest to start now.

"We should be home in about 20 minutes, traffic willing" Stef turned to her and smiled. She accelerated the car fully merged now onto the expressway.

Lena, opened her eyes and looked at her, reaching out and touching her arm, she wanted to hug her right here, now; to feel her breath in her hair to get as close as possible. She needed her touch to reassure her, to put as much distance as possible between the family and the ugly almost surreal police scene that had unfolded.

"No one was hurt babe," Stef said half to herself.

"A normal day at the office," Lena replied sadly.

"Not like this, no,"

Lena paused at that and looked at Steff concerned.

"Are you Okay?", she said quietly, hoping the kids in the back seat couldn't hear.

"I feel like I'm vibrating from the adrenaline. If someone honks or cuts me off , pht."

"Pull over then, Stef, let me drive," she whispered the concern showing in her voice.

Steph nodded,

" I should eat something. There is and In and out, at the next exit. Do you mind, hon, if we stop there."

"Its fine babe," Lena said.

Stef stared forward, her eyes focusing on the road ahead. The only sound in the car was light road noise percolating up through the floor boards and steady hum of the tires rolling on the pavement.

Softly, so the kids couldn't hear. Stef hoarsely whispered "It could have gone either way,Lena," She looked straight ahead her mouth pursed .

"But it didn't, "said Lena kindly,

"But it didn't" affirmed Steff," nodding her head, avoiding Lena's eyes.

"You made sure of that," added Lena.

A few minutes later Stef saw the burger joint. Before she pulled into the driveway she turned, briefly glancing over her shoulder giving a quick smile to Callie, " Callie and Brandon," she called out "You guys haven't had anything to eat, so I'm assuming everyone is good for a cheese burger, except Lena who we know doesn't indulge."

"I'll join you with a diet Coke" Lena said.

There was silence in the car other wise,

Lena turned to the back and saw Jude look to Callie, she watched the girl in turn smile and touch the boy reassuringly. And then as if cued he said, "I've had dinner, but could I get a shake."

"A shake for the lad, and Callie, you can join him, but after a burger. In fact a big kid like you Jude, probably needs a burger too" said, Stef.

"Okay," he said.

"Thank You, Stef, " added Callie, searching to catch Stef's eyes in the mirror. Lena continued to watch the two out of the corner of her eye. Their attachment to each other was palpable, concrete, almost a fourth child in the car.

For a brief moment Callie's and Lena's eyes locked, Callie stiffened and the motherly older sister vanished and was replaced by the coarse almost thuggish girl Lena had met at Chula Vista the day before.

"Brandon?" said Stef,

"Yeah, great, I'm hungry" he couldn't hide the surprise in his voice and he looked quizically at Lena searching for a reaction.

"And young man," Stef added , "this isn't a reward for a very boneheaded night, I just don't like to eat while other people watch."

"Sure Mom, there were better ways to go about this, I know." He spoke, trying not smile at his mom's rationalization for ignoring the families ban on most for fast food.

Steph snorted and looked at Lena.

"Lovely," she declared, and turned into the drive thru.

After getting their orders in the drive through, Callie said, " I could use a bathroom break, OK?"

"I should probably go to." Brandon added.

Stef pulled the car into a parking space shifted into park and shut off the engine.

"OK hurry," Stef paused and added , "You two, don't have any other destination planned for tonight, right"

Callie caught the edge in her voice and at first looked down at her feet, but then straight at the Women. "Jude's here, I have everything I need, thanks for that."

The two oldest children were barely out the door when Jude started to move quickly out of the car turning his head to the women, "I need to go too,"

Before Lena and Steph could say anything, Callie stopped and turned, "Of course, Bud c'mon, lets go ."

After the Car door slammed, Steph look at Lena raising her eyebrows.

Lena grimaced and said "We have a 15 year old mom, huh."

Steph looked at her, " You realize she would have been happy to take a bullet for Jude Maybe she even wanted to." She reflected, " Make thing simple."

Step shook her head and sighed." Afterwords when we're outside, and I am trying to point out how crazy this was, She tells me 'send her back to Juvie, but just keep the boy.' I think it was part of the plan all along" she said.

"She got beat up in Juvie," remarked Lena.

"I don't think that is the only place she got beat-up," said Stef,

"He's a bit like a duckling waddling after mother duck," Lena observed.

"As soon as we entered the house she ran for the boy. And he lit up like the fourth of July when she grabbed him, just lit-up" said Stef.

"I can imagine,"

"She is the sun, the moon and the stars, my dear, at least to him," Said Stef.

"Isn't it nice to love and be loved," said Lena smiling.

She reached over the gear shift to put her arms around Steph, Right before she kissed her, she touched her cheeks, feeling a wetness she hadn't notice in the darkness of the car. "Oh honey," she said. Her voice full of love and sadness, as she wrapped her in her arms.

Stef looked at her as they embrace, "oh, Lena, I see stuff like this all the time, scared kids, frightened kids and its always terrible, but when its kids you know or are responsible for," her voice trailed away.

She dragged Lena deeper against her chest and as their lips moved together and their tongues rolled and unfurled together, Lena felt the tension above her eyes melt along with everything else in her body.

The children walked silently back to the car, Callie had her arms around Jude's shoulder. Brandon a little behind. Within about five feet of the car, Callie stopped short, looked at Brandon and raised her eyebrows, an embarrassed smile crossed her face. "uh..."

Brandon looked to the car and his Mom's snuggling, He looked at Callie, and said

"Hey, its a healthy adult relationship."

Callie breathed out looked at the car looked back to Brandon and said,"So we go back inside?"

"No! ..no way," said Brandon incredulously

"Okay, but its a parking lot, we just can't stand here."

"UM" Brandon said, stalling for time,. He tilted his head and smiled ,"We always make the youngest in the group knock on the window."

He moved quickly towards Jude grabbing him gently and nudging him forward. "Go get em big guy," he said laughing "We're counting on you."

"No, You" Jude said louder then he meant. He planted his feet and leaned back pushing hard against Brandon, gigling nervous but happy..

The movement and noise outside the car caught Lena's attention

"Erm... we have company," said Lena, watching the kids horse around, enjoying how seamlessly Brandon had become integrated in the unit.

Stef sighed and swallowed and moved out of the embrace, She turned to look at the kids, her heart feeling unbearably sad. "She's such a frightened child, I just hope we can help, that we're not too late."

She looked at Lena, started the car, and rolled down the window.

"Lets get this ship on the road." She said, waving to the kids to get inside.