"Hey, how's our girl doing?" Lena asked softly as she answered her phone. She was sitting cross legged on her bed, and she refused to actually get some sleep without hearing about how Callie was. Stef had called her after the girl had first woken up, she'd texted her before Callie had given her statement, and now she was ready to hear how their daughter was holding up.

Stef sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "She's holding up as well as can be expected," the blonde replied, sadness dripping from her voice. "The poor thing's exhausted, she just fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago. I would've called earlier, but I didn't want to leave her side until I knew she was actually asleep."

Lena smiled sadly, nodding as she held the phone against her ear. "I'm glad she has you there with her," she said softly. "I think that's what she really needs right now." Lena leaned back against the pillows at the head of the bed and let out a heavy sigh. "Was she okay giving her statement?" Lean asked, staring up at the ceiling. Unlike Stef, Lena still didn't have any sure idea of what Callie had gone through, and she had no idea what it would be like for Callie to give her statement. She could only imagine how hard it must have been for her daughter.

Stef's voice was sad on the other end of the call as she responded, and Lena felt her heart ache for their child. "It was hard for her, but she got through it. God, Lena," Stef breathed sadly, "she's been through Hell already, but hearing what she had to go through might've actually been worse than having to wonder what actually happened..."

Stef trailed off, and Lena swallowed the lump in her throat. She still didn't even know what Callie had been through, and as much as she wanted answers and as much as she wanted to know what Callie had been through so that she could help her, Lena wasn't exactly sure if she was ready to hear the details of it all unless they were coming from Callie herself.

"Stef," Lena spoke, her voice soft and somewhat hesitant, "I know I should wait for Callie to tell me on her own what happened, but Nick-" she stopped, not quite sure how to ask what she wanted to ask her wife. She didn't know how to form the words, how to ask the question that made her sick to her stomach each time she thought about it. "I know that he hurt her -badly- but he didn't, um..." She paused, took a breath, and then continued slowly. "Stef, did he-"

"No," Stef answered confidently before Lena could even get the question out. "No, love, no he didn't. I asked her that before she even gave her statement. He didn't, Lena. Don't worry."

Lena let out a huge, heavy sigh of relief and felt a huge weight on her chest slide right off. Of course she still felt horrible about what had happened to Callie, and of course her heart broke every time she thought of what her daughter -and what all of her children- had been through, but knowing that Nick Stratos hadn't taken advantage of Callie was an incredible relief to her. Callie had been through something traumatic and horrible and devastating and heart-wrenching, but she hadn't been raped. She wasn't going to have to relive the same horror that lived through when Liam had hurt her. At least Lena wouldn't have to worry that that had happened to Callie again.

"Thank God," Lena whispered, taking a breath.

A few seconds of silence settled over the line, then Stef spoke up again. "How are the rest of the kids doing?" She asked, her voice growing slightly concerned.

Lena let out a soft sigh, gnawing lightly on her bottom lip. "Well, aside from being worried about Callie, Brandon seems alright for the most part. Jude's pretty upset, which is only reasonable. He's holding up alright, though. As for the twins, Jesus has basically been glued to his phone and to Mariana's side." Lena paused, biting her cheek for a moment, then continued after a few seconds of silence. "Mariana's hardly said a word. I was going to talk with her after we got home, but as soon as we got in the door she told me she was going to bed."

"She's probably exhausted," Stef breathed out quietly. "All of them probably are."

"I know," Lena nodded, rubbing her temples. "I just can't even image what's going through our baby's head right now. You know Mariana, she's probably going to insist that she's fine. I just don't want her to think that she has to deal with all of this on her own."

"I know, love, I know," Stef replied softly. "We'll talk to her tomorrow, make sure she knows she can come to us when she needs anything. I don't doubt Jesus has been keeping a close eye on her, too. If she won't talk to us, one of us can go to him, ask him if he knows anything about what she's feeling right now."

"Yeah, yeah you're right," Lena whispered with a small nod as she closed her eyes.

She could hear Stef's light sigh on the other end of the call. "What are you feeling right now?" her wife asked, her voice tired but her question genuine.

Lena let out a quiet breath, swallowing the knot in her throat that she hadn't realized was there until her wife asked the question. "Scared," she answered after a brief moment of silence, her voice so quiet that she almost couldn't hear herself speak. "I just don't want the kids to have to go through all of this. It's not right."

"Yeah, me too," Stef breathed out sadly. "I love you, you know that?"

A small, sad smile played on Lena's face as she opened her eyes and looked up to the ceiling. "I love you too, Stef," she replied quietly. "So, so much."

There was a long, but comfortable, pause, then Stef spoke up again. "Now get some sleep, alright? I might not be there with you, but I know you haven't taken a moment to rest today at all. You need to rest."

Lena let out a soft chuckle. "So do you."

"And I will. You know I can sleep anywhere, love. Hospital chairs are not an exception. Now go to sleep. Do it for me if you won't do it for yourself."

Lena smiled softly once more. "Alright," she sighed gently. "Goodnight hun, I love you."

"I love you more," Stef replied genuinely before hanging up.

Lena let out a long, tired sigh as she set the phone down on the bedside table, then she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. There were no words to describe how incredibly grateful she was for her wife. Stef was her lifesaver in more ways than one. Sure, a large part of Lena wanted to fall asleep at her wife's side. She wanted to hold her, to hug her, to know that her wife -who had walked through the hallways of that school without hesitation despite the fact that there had been a shooter- was alive and safe, but an even greater part of her was relieved to know that Stef was at the hospital, caring for their daughter. There was nothing that Lena wanted more than to be with Callie, but she knew that she had to watch out for the wellbeing of her other children as well. She had to make sure that they were eating, and sleeping, and that they were taking care of themselves as well. Knowing that Stef was there with Callie, that she was their for their child, was the greatest relief she could have had.

Okay so it's been forever since I've updated, but here you go. I don't exactly know why it's taken so long, but it just has. Plus, life's been hectic and I had a brief moment where I didn't know where I wanted this story to go next. I'm pretty confident about it now, though, so I hope you all enjoy this update.

Additionally, I just want to say that I do not hate Nick Stratos. Sure, the one in this storyline, I hate him. But personally I would like to defend his character in the story's actual plotline. He's a kid who has his own mental issues -which are not his fault- and he never had the intention to hurt anyone. His near suicide attempt does not make him a bad person, and I'm glad the show portrayed it that way. I have personal reasons for feeling this way, so maybe you won't all see it how I do, but I genuinely feel bad for his character and for anyone who can relate to him.

Anyway, yep! Please please please review, whether it's positive or negative, because if it hadn't been for one very recent review, I don't think I would've jumped back into this story as I did. So please let me know what you think. Happy New Year!