So this story is starting out with Callie and Brandon: 6; Jesus and Mariana: 5 and Jude: 3. Instead of Callie and Jude's mom dying when they were 10 and 7, their mom died when Callie was 6 and Jude was 3. The Jacob children have recently joined the Foster family and Jesus and Mariana were adopted 3 months before the story takes place. Enjoy!

"Mama! Mama!" Six year-old Callie Jacob screamed, tossing and turning in her bed. Her hair was matted to her forehead, and her blankets were kicked off her bed.

This was que for Stef and Lena Adams Foster, who ran into Callie and recently adopted Mariana's room. They went over to Callie's bed and Stef sat on the edge of the bed.

"Callie, sweetheart," Stef cooed, moving the hair from Callie's forehead. "Callie, calm down , love."

After a minute of Stef and Lena repeating those soothing words, the young girl calmed down and looked at the two women.

"I want my Mama," The upset six year-old stated. Her face was full of pain and she hated the fact that she was sleeping in a house she barely knew. A now calm Callie, realized that her mom wasn't there. She now said with a straight face," Good night. Sorry." Callie turned away from her foster parents and crossed her arms.

"Callie," Lena said," you know you can lay in our bed if you want. Mariana does that when she has a bad dream." Callie continued to ignore the two women and face towards the wall. "Okay, well if you need anything, Callie, just let us know."

Callie Quinn Jacob had nothing against the foster parents. They were actually really nice. But this girl had almost all of her world stripped from her. The only person she had left was her three year-old brother Jude Jacob. Her mom was dead, her dad thrown in jail, and her young brother too young to understand exactly what happened. No one in this world understood how Callie felt. The only person who could ever understand was her Mama.

Callie now tugged herself back to reality, and grabbed a hair tie from a nightstand. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and curled up in fetal position. The exhausted and upset girl silently cried herself to sleep for the fourth night in a row during her stay with the Fosters.

-linebreak-

"Callie!" Jude squealed as he jumped on his sister's bed. "Sissy wake up." Callie opened her eyes and saw the little boy with brown hair and wide brown eyes identical to his older sister. "Yayy! You awake!" Jude said clapping his little hands together.

"Hey Jude," Callie said, sitting up in her bed. "How'd you sleep, Little Man?" Jude smiled at the nickname that their mom had called him.

Jude said," Good. Hey sissy, will you play with me?" Callie nodded and got out of her bed. Ever since her mom died, Callie vowed to herself that she would put Jude first. Her needs came second.

"What do you want to play?" Callie asked, opening a bag where she kept her and Jude's toys.

"Dolls!" Jude cheered. Callie knew that her brother was different than other little boys. He liked to paint his nails and play dolls. Callie never minded, but other kids always teased her brother, calling him "weirdo" and "freak". One time Callie got in trouble because she punched a boy who called Jude a "freaky gay boy. " Callie knew a lot for her age, but her mind refused to completely understand the word 'gay'. Her mom always said that Jude was different but that it wasn't a bad thing. If Callie knew one thing, though, was that this family was far from normal. Not that that was a bad thing either.

"Okay," Callie shrugged as she pulled out two dolls and they started playing together.

After playing for a little while Jude turned to Callie and asked," Callie. Do you miss Mama?" Callie set down her doll and sat next to Jude.

She wrapped Jude in a hug and said, " Everyday, Jude." Callie felt tears prick her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She had to stay strong. For Jude. "Why? Do you miss Mama?"

Callie felt Jude nod against her. "Sissy, I'm tired." Callie looked at the clock. His first nap time was around noon, and the clock read 11:50. "You snuggle with me?" Jude aaked the six year-old. Callie nodded and picked up Jude, carrying him to her bed. Callie layed Jude down and crawled into bed with her brother.

"I love you Jude," Callie said, kissing her brother's cheek. Jude wrapped his arms around his sister, and Callie listened until her brother's breathing evened out. After she was sure that Jude was asleep, she untangled herself and went downstairs to eat. She knew everyone had already eaten, but she hadn't . She walked downstairs and went to the kitchen, passing Stef, Lena, and the twins who were watching a movie.

She saw Brandon sitting in the kitchen, coloring in a coloring book, and he said," Hey, Callie."

The young girl looked at Brandon and answered him with a simple,"Hi." Brandon wasn't sure how he felt about the quiet new foster kid. She reminded him of when Mariana first came to their house. Except Callie was tough and watchful of her younger brother, while Mariana was just shy.

"Why didn't you get up for breakfast?" Brandon asked, his six year-old mind filled with curiosity. Callie just simply shrugged. "Okay..." Brandon said skeptically. He wasn't sure if he trusted Callie. Sometimes she gave a look that looked like she wanted to hurt somebody. Callie reached to the fruit bowl and grabbed an apple.

She was eating quietly when Stef called from the living room," Callie! Brandon! Why don't you come watch the movie with us."

Brandon answered," Okay moms. I'm coming." Brandon turmed to Callie and said,"You know they won't hurt you, right? Come on, let's go watch the movie." Callie shrugged and followed Brandon, as Brandon sat by the twins and Callie sat by herself on the floor. Callie wished that she could be cuddling with her mom right now, but she tried to push those thoughts out of her head as her focus resumed to the TV screen. For now, Callie was okay with sitting by herself and watching the movie with the nice family she lived with.