A/N: I have been a pretty regular reader of fanfiction for a while, and figured it was time for me to post something. That being said, I am not a professional writer, and there may be mistakes. These mistakes are all mine. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Fosters or any of the characters. They belong to ABC Family. No copyright infringement was intended.

A Broken Plate

Callie was sitting on the back porch with her guitar in one hand and some old music of Brandon's in the other. It had been nearly a month since she and Jude had come to live with the Fosters, and she felt that they were fitting in relatively well. Jude felt safe here, Callie knew. That was all she wanted; if he was happy, then so was she.

Enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun on her face, Callie relaxed. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this peaceful. There was no shouting, no sounds of skin hitting skin, and not even the light-hearted bickering of her foster siblings. Although Callie felt no desire to truly break the serene calm of the air, the guitar and music were beckoning her. She set the music in a position that was easily readable, picked up the guitar, and prepared her fingers for the first chord. Before she could start to play, though, the sound of shattering glass pierced the air.

Callie jumped up from her perch and rushed into the kitchen. Next to the dishwasher, Jude was standing with a distraught look on his face.

"What happened?" Callie demanded as she hurried to his side.

"The plate was still a bit wet from the dishwasher," Jude explained softly, "and it slipped from my hands when I went to pick it up. I'm sorry Callie, it was an accident! I was just trying to be helpful."

Callie gave him a curt nod and then told him to go outside and play. She then quickly got to work cleaning up the broken glass, hoping that no one in the house had heard the crash. Callie knew what happened when stuff was broken. Even though Stef and Lena were generally easy-going, nothing like this had happened since Callie and Jude had come to stay with them. She knew most foster parents weren't very forgiving. After she finished picking up the large pieces of plate, she grabbed a broom and dustpan to collect all the smaller bits. Just as she finished emptying the dustpan in the wastebasket, Stef entered the kitchen.

"Did I hear something shatter?" she asked Callie.

Callie shot her a fearful look, but replied, "Yes. I dropped a plate when I was unloading the dishwasher. I'm so sorry. I cleaned it up and everything. It won't happen again."

By this time, Jude had appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He glanced at first at Stef and then at Callie, trying to gauge the mood of the situation. Unable to get a good reading on either female, Jude chose to stay silent.

To Callie's surprise, Stef wasn't at all upset about the plate. In fact, she was far more concerned about Callie's welfare than her porcelain.

"The glass didn't cut you, did it?" she asked worriedly, "it can be really tricky to clean up."

Callie gazed at her with disbelief, "Wait, you're not mad? I broke your plate. Are you sure you aren't going to punish me?"

Stef merely shook her head. Jude sighed with relief and edged out of the room. The tension drained from Callie's shoulders, and she silently put the broom and dustpan back in their places. Stef motioned for Callie to follow her onto the back porch. Callie complied, her bare feet padding on the wood floors.

Once back out on the porch where Callie had originally been sitting, Stef began to talk.

"I'm guessing you didn't drop that plate. Judging by both your expression and Jude's, I'd say he was the one unloading the dishwasher, and you were covering him. Am I right?"

Callie shot Stef a guilty look and affirmed Stef's guess with a slight nod.

"May I ask why?" Stef said gently.

Callie looked at her with a bit of surprise, but answered softly, "Most people aren't as forgiving as you and Lena. At other houses, dropped plates or broken items generally result in some form of punishment, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional. Jude doesn't need to be punished for something as trivial as dropping a plate, so I covered for him. We had no idea about how you'd react."

Stef shot Callie a sympathetic glance. She knew how difficult it was for Callie to share things like that with her. The two sat in silence for a while before Stef spoke.

"I told you this before, and I will tell you again Callie. You aren't worthless. You aren't disposable. I admire and appreciate what you are willing to do for your brother. In this home, though, that isn't necessary. I promise you that no one in this house will ever lay a hand on you or Jude. We don't punish people for having accidents. I make small mistakes all the time. I love that Jude was trying to help us by unloading the dishwasher. So from now on, we don't need any more lies, okay? Jude needs to be able to learn from his mistakes, which won't happen when you always take the fall for him. I promise, though, that any punishment Jude receives will have an intent to help him, not to harm."

Callie nodded. She knew that she could take Stef's word on the punishments. Jude would be safe here. Bad things weren't going to happen like they did other places. As strange as it felt, Callie noticed that she felt lighter. It was as though all the guilt and responsibility had been taken off of her shoulders and transferred to Stef and Lena's. Callie had forgotten what that sense of security felt like.

Jude came out onto the porch as their talk finished. He wrapped his arms around Callie and gazed up at her.

"Are we safe here, Callie?"

She nodded and gave him a gentle smile, "Yeah, buddy, we're safe. You don't need to worry. You've got a lot of good people to look after you."

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