The Sequel to 'Push' where Callie once again finds herself having doubts about Stef and Lena's love for her and tests them to make sure she's still wanted.
(I was requested for Push to continue and at first I was just going to add more drama before the ending but since that story was complete I decided to start a sequel.)
Callie had taken the first step towards trusting Stef and Lena but she was still far from the end. Over the next few weeks she began to talk to them more and she hadn't hurt herself since that first day after the wedding. None of this meant however, that she didn't still feel scared sometimes. Sometimes she felt the need to hurt herself just to let some of that fear out but she chose, instead, to talk to whichever of the two adults was available at the time and they, in turn made sure that at least one of them was always available and kept assuring Callie that she was loved.
The time for Callie to take the second step came when Stef and Lena announced that Lena wanted to have a baby. Callie had played it cool and just like her siblings she had shown enthusiasm and support at the idea of a new baby but deep down she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't good enough. Stef had a connection with Brandon that nothing could ever break and now Lena wanted that too. Callie realized though that she had to be extremely careful about her feelings - she didn't want to pass her worries onto Jude or even Mariana and Jesus for that matter. At least the twins were already adopted but things were still up in the air for her and Jude. She promised herself that she wouldn't share her fears with him but she was also determined to keep an eye on him just in case he started to feel unwanted.
Callie became a little more reserved after the announcement of the baby but made sure she still talked to Stef and Lena enough to keep their guard down. This new plan worked well for another couple of weeks until Callie found out that she couldn't be adopted. She had put on a happy face and supported Jude as he was made a member of the family but secretly harbored the feeling of suddenly being entirely alone. That night the need to 'release' some of the hurt was overwhelming. It had been long enough for Stef and Lena to be less ridged about clearing the bathrooms of anything sharp and knocking on the doors whenever Callie was in there for more than a few minutes and so it wasn't hard for Callie to find a discarded razor. She smashed the plastic by slamming a drawer on it and carefully pulled out all three blades.
The feel of the blade in her hand was like having the sun shine on her face on a freezing December day. It was her key to freedom from all the misery she was feeling. She knew that this time she had to be much more careful about what she did. As much as she had enjoyed the bonding time with Stef and Lena she definitely didn't want to be hovered over and watched like before. She had learned from her mistakes and wasn't about to make them again and so this time she stuffed the blades and all the pieces of the razor into her pocket and waited until she knew she'd have time to do it right.
Stef and Lena were completely thrilled about the prospect of having a baby and with all the other things that were going on their days were pretty busy. Besides regular work there was the quest for Robert Quinn and the doctor's checkups for Brandon. Jesus was back on his pills and his body was still getting used to it and Mariana was going through a crisis of her own and was trying desperately to fit in with a particular group of girls that resulted in her trying to be something she wasn't. Jude, as usual, seemed to be the only one without any drama.
With all this going on they had eventually cut down on the bathroom checks and the checkups on Callie to make sure that she wasn't hurting herself. She seemed to be opening up more and they took that as a sign that they could loosen up the ropes on her a bit. This was a decision that they would later learn to regret.