A Foster Kid
Summary: What if Callie overhead Lena calling her a foster kid? This is my take on what I think could have happened in episode 2X13. It might be a little OOC.
Callie ignored what Mariana was saying. The only thing she could focus on was the fact that she might not be able to graduate high school next summer. Why was the whole universe against her? Callie let go of the nail she had been picking at and looked from Lena to Stef. "Can I?" she asked as she got up from the couch.
"Yeah," Stef said with a sigh and then she looked up at Callie. "Hey, we love you."
Callie wanted to roll her eyes at the statement, but instead she said, "Love you, too." She didn't even try to make it sound convincing and she quickly left before one of them could point it out. All she wanted right now was a long hot shower, so she could forget about everything for just a moment.
So Callie headed for the stairs, but when her foot touched the first step she heard Lena say, "God, I hate seeing her like this, she... She looks so defeated."
"Yeah, well, can you blame her? It has just been one thing after another for her," Stef answered back.
"Yeah, I know, but we have got to help her graduate," Lena said and Callie peeked into the living room just as Lena and Stef got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen. Callie followed quietly, so she could still hear what they were saying. "Graduating for high school is the single most important thing a foster kid can do."
Callie froze. Foster kid?
"A foster kid?" Stef asked skeptical, "Is that what we are calling her now?
"Well," Lena sighed, "Until the court decides otherwise it's what she is."
Callie took a step backwards and then another and another until she turned around and ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She wanted to cry and scream till her throat went raw, but she didn't. Instead she walked into her and Mariana's room and pretended that nothing was wrong.
"What were you and moms talking about?" Mariana asked without even looking at Callie. She was sitting on the floor with her back against her bed reading a fashion magazine.
"Nothing, just some school stuff," Callie said as she lay down on her bed, facing the wall. She was just going to close her eyes for a second.
Callie practically jumped off the bed when the sound of Stef's voice reached the girls' bedroom. She was calling them down for dinner, but Callie didn't want to go. She didn't want to spend time with her foster family right now, so she pulled the bed covers over her head.
"Come on, Callie," Mariana said from the doorway. "It's time for dinner."
"Go away," Callie said, but it came out as a mumble and after a second Mariana sighed annoyingly and left without the other girl.
Callie closed her eyes again and breathed in the hot air. It felt suffocating to lie under the thick covers, but she didn't move. And just as she had dozed off for the second time, she was awakened yet again. She could hear footsteps walking into the room and then feel someone sitting down on the side of her bed. Callie lay completely motionless and pretended to be asleep. Even when she felt the covers being moved away from her face she kept her eyes closed and her breathing even. She knew she was behaving like a child, but right now she just wanted to be left alone.
"Callie? It's time to wake up," Lena said as she stroked the girl's curly hair. "We are having a family dinner, so everyone needs to be there."
Callie had to bite the inside of her cheek, so that she wouldn't scream at Lena. Family dinner? Wasn't Lena the one who had just made it clear that Callie wasn't really a part of the family, that she was just a foster kid? And as a foster kid you are never really part of a family, because you never know when you will be sent away again.
Callie moved away from Lena's hand and sat up on the bed. "I'm not hungry."
Lena sighed. "I know there is a lot going on in your life right now, but you still need to eat."
"It's not that. I'm just not hungry."
"Okay, but you still have to come down and sit with the rest of us," Lena said as she got off the bed.
Callie followed, but before leaving the bedroom she bent down and grabbed her backpack. And as they got to the foot of the stairs Lena turned left, but Callie continued straight ahead.
"What are you doing?" Lena asked confused.
"I'm going to the library," Callie said with her hand on the doorknob.
"What? No. Family dinner, remember?"
"But I said I wasn't hungry."
"What's going on here?" Stef asked as she walked up behind her wife, but Lena ignored her question.
"And I said that you still had to sit with the rest of us. It's family dinner," Lena repeated.
Callie tilted her head to the side. "But you're not my family. You said it yourself, I'm a foster kid." She sighed. "I'll be back in a few hours." And with that she turned the knob and walked out of the door.
She started walking down the street, half expecting someone to come running after her, but no one came. She didn't know where to go. She hadn't actually planned on going to the library, but maybe the quiet atmosphere there would do her some good.
Stef was pacing back and forth on the front porch. It was a little after 10pm. and they still hadn't heard anything from Callie.
"Calm down," Lena said from her seat on the porch swing.
Stef stopped and turned towards Lena. "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when I don't down where our baby is?
"We know where she is."
"No, we know where she said she would be."
"And that would be the library, which is also where the tracker on her phone said she is."
"But that was two hours ago!" Stef said and the panic she felt was very noticeable. What if Callie had run away again?
"Don't panic. Perhaps her phone has just run out of power and that's why it's turned off," Lena said as she got up from the porch swing and wrapped her arms around her wife, hugging her tightly. "And the library closes by 10, which means that she will probably be home any minute now."
Stef breathed in deeply and stepped out of her wife's embrace. "You know, I'm gonna kill her if she isn't, right?"
"Right…" Lena said slowly as she looked over Stef's right shoulder and onto the street where a dark stumbling silhouette was walking towards their house. She sighed. "You might feel like killing her anyway." Stef looked up at Lena, confused by her words, but the look on her wife's face made Stef turn around and she quickly understood what she meant. "Don't freak out," Lena said and tried to grab Stef's hand to hold her back, but she wasn't fast enough. Stef was down from the front porch and onto the street before Lena even had time to really react.
"Where have you been?!" Stef almost screamed when she reached Callie, who was now sitting in the middle of the road, Indian style and with her head in her hands.
"Oh, is mommy mad?" Callie said with a laugh as she looked up and tried to focus her eyes on Stef's face. "I went to the library."
"Like hell you did," Stef said, grabbing Callie's arm and pulling her to her feet. "How much have you had to drink?"
Callie pulled her arm out of Stef's grip. Her legs felt like jelly and everything was spinning. "I did go to the library," she said. "The drinking happened after I left."
The words that she spoke sounded weird, even to herself. It was because of what the alcohol had done to her mouth. Her tongue felt heavy and her lips were numb. Callie swayed a little from side to side and tried to focus her head on what was going on around her, but then Stef grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the house. The sudden movement wasn't a good idea, because Callie's stomach turned and suddenly she found herself down on all four with her head in the front yard hedge.
"Oh God," Stef mumbled to herself as she kneeled beside Callie. She stroked her back and moved her hair away from her face, so it wouldn't get dirty. When Callie had finished emptying her stomach, Stef helped her get away from the hedge and sat with her on the front lawn.
"Here you go," Lena said, handing Callie a dishtowel and a bottle of water as she sat down on her other side. Lena had quickly run to the kitchen to grab the things while Stef had tended to the girl.
"Thanks," Callie said without looking at either at them. She wiped her mouth and hands off and took a long sip of the water. She felt much sober now after throwing up, but she also felt less brave and a lot more stupid. She folded the dishtowel and laid that and the bottle on the grass as she said, "I'm really sorry."
Lena sighed. "What happened?"
Callie pulled her knees against her chest and hugged them close to her chest. "I just got really upset," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"And you thought getting drunk was a good idea?" Stef asked.
"Stef!" Lena scolded.
Stef sighed. "You need to talk to us when you feel like this. Running away and getting drunk isn't the right thing to do."
"You called me a foster kid," Callie said with tears running down her cheeks as she turned her head slowly towards Lena. "I know that is what I am, but I thought… I thought I was still part of your family."
Lena wiped a tear of Callie's cheek. "That's not what I meant."
"And, baby, you are as big a part of your family as any of the others are," Stef said as she wrapped her arms around Callie, but the girl pulled back and looked at her.
"No, I'm not. Not really. Not if you see me as a foster child, because then I'm not permanent in your home and you can just sent me away again when you don't want me anymore, just like everyone else has."
Stef pulled Callie back in her arms and held her tight. "You are our daughter and we will fight with everything we got for you to stay with us. But no matter what happens, you will always be a part of our family."
"Your family," Lena said, kissing the top of Callie's head and stroking her back.
"You promise?" Callie whispered against Stef's shoulder.
"I promise." Stef kissed her cheek. "Come on, sweets, let's get you into bed."
Callie stood up, but even though her head was starting to clear up, her legs were still weak and she had to hold on to Stef, so that she wouldn't fall to the ground. Stef wrapped her arm around Callie's back to keep her steady and Lena took her hand hers. "I'm sorry I got drunk," she said as they walked into the house. "But I really did go to the library first."
"We know. Stef tracked your phone."
"I knew you would and that's why I turned it off later when I left." They entered the bathroom and Callie sat down on the closed toilet lid.
"Bed or shower?" Stef asked.
"I just wanna go to sleep," Callie answered, suddenly realizing how tired she was.
"I'll go find something for you to sleep in then," Lena said and left the bathroom.
Stef kneeled in front of Callie and placed her hands on the girl's knees. "What made you want to get drunk?"
Callie shrugged her shoulder. "I have never been drunk before. I have never wanted to. I don't like to lose control and I have always had to look after Jude."
"But then why did you drink tonight?"
"You know what people say: drink your worries away, so that's what I did."
"Did it work?" Stef asked worried.
Callie shook her head. "No, it was kind of horrible and it's definitely not something I will be doing again anytime soon."
"That's good to hear," Lena said with a smile as she walked over to Callie and handed her the clothes.
Callie looked at it and wondered if she would be able to get it on by herself. Embarrassed she looked up at Stef. "I don't think I can change into this by myself."
Stef just smiled and quickly helped the girl get into her sleep clothes while Lena turned around to find her toothbrush.
When Callie was finally ready for bed, she said goodnight to Lena and then followed Stef into her and Mariana's bedroom. The other girl was already fast asleep, so Callie walked quietly over to her bed. She got under the covers and Stef bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you," Stef whispered.
Callie smiled. "I love you, too."
And this time she really meant it.