Another idea that I came up with. Sorry that I haven't posted any new chapters for my other stories. I guess I just haven't been inspired to write anything new for any of them.

Hope you like this story. Ever since the first episode, I've imagined what Callie's family was like and I came up with this...


As Callie rounds the corner, walking to the Fosters' house, she was stunned to see Stef and Lena sitting on the front steps. Warily, Callie places one foot in front of the other wondering, "Is someone in trouble? Did something bad happen?"

When Lena spots Callie not far away, she yells, "Callie. We need to speak with you."

Callie wrecks her brain to figure out what she has done wrong, coming to the conclusion that her behavior has been impeccable the past few months. Callie sits in between them, her eyes darting from Lena to Stef and back to Lena. "Is something wrong?" Callie assumes that they must know about her and Brandon's relationship. Why else would they have such dire facial expressions?

"No. Nothing is wrong." Stef says the last word with an emphasis and attempted conviction.

Callie breathes an imaginary sigh of relief, glad that she and Brandon are off the hook. Callie gives an inquisitive look to Lena.

"Sweetie." Lena is clearly trying to ease Callie into something, which makes Callie uneasy. "There is someone who contacted the system, and as a consequence, me and Stef, who wants to see you and Jude." Lena doesn't give away enough details for Callie to figure out who the person is.

Callie shifts, attempting to hide her anxiety. "Who is it?" She pronounces the words slowly and quietly, almost uncertain whether she wants to know.

Lena shoots Stef a look, letting her do the hard part. "Ryan." Stef says, awaiting Callie's reaction.

The three of them sit in silence. Callie processes the information in her mind for a minute. She hopes that it's a mistake, that maybe it is not the Ryan she is thinking of. Unfortunately, he is the only Ryan she knows.

"My brother Ryan?" Callie can barely get the words out because she hasn't even thought about her brother in years.

"Yes." Lena places a hand on Callie's knee, noticing Callie's pained expression.

Callie raises to her feet, simultaneously saying, "I don't want to see him." She runs into the house.

Brandon has noticed Callie's bad mood since yesterday, but has been unable to find a private moment to ask her about it. Luckily, school has a lot more private hideouts than the Fosters' home.

Brandon is leaning against a railing, waiting for Callie. He knows the exact doors she will exit through and when he spots her, he yells, "Cal. Wait up." He jogs over, matching her pace. "Did your teacher hold you up again?"

"No." It is obvious that Callie's bad mood hasn't gone away yet. An indication are Callie's sharp answers. The more direct her responses, the more upset she is. This system has always worked for Brandon.

"My moms have been whispering a lot. And I noticed they spoke to you. Is something wrong?"

Callie suddenly stops, grabbing Brandon's hand. "Are you spying on me?"

"No. Of course not."

Callie sees the concern in Brandon's eyes, making her feel guilty for snapping at him. She turns and begins to walk again. "I'm sorry."

Brandon follows Callie. "It's fine. I just wish you would tell me what is bothering you."

"It's my brother." Callie eventually gets the words out.

"Jude?"

"Jude does have something to do with it, but I mean Ryan. I mentioned him to you once." Callie watches as people rush to their cars, going home or to the mall, excited about the weekend.

"The name is familiar, but you never said he's your brother." Brandon watches Callie's unchanging expression, recognizing that she is fighting to keep her emotions locked up. "Did something happen to him?"

"He wants to see me, out of the blue." Callie grimaces and looks at Brandon for a split-second, enough time to catch his expression.

From a distance, Callie hears someone calling her name and she turns around. She perceives a guy - tall, brunette, resembling Callie in many features - walking towards her.

Callie looks around for an escape route, wondering if she has enough time to make a clean break. She comes to the conclusion that a scene would be inevitable.

The guy stands in front of Callie, an awkward smile on his face. "Hi Callie." He attempts to hide the anxiety in his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Callie is less than polite, angry that he came despite her wishes.

Ryan's smile fades, pain floods his eyes. "Is that a way to greet your brother after years of separation?" He opens his arms for an embrace that Callie simply shrugs off.

"Hi. I'm Brandon." Brandon extends his hand, trying to shift the attention from Callie.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Ryan shakes Brandon's hand. "How do you know Callie?"

Brandon looks at Callie, noticing her annoyance and lack of desire to be in this particular situation. "I'm..." Brandon stops himself from saying 'boyfriend' because it is always on the tip of his tongue. "Her foster brother." Brandon answers Ryan's question.

Ryan's attention shifts back to Callie. He strokes her arm, stopping at the elbow and squeezing it. "Cal. Cheer up. I missed your smile so much."

"I bet you did." Callie says sarcastically, meeting Ryan's gaze.

"Would you mind if I talked to Callie alone?" Ryan asks Brandon, not peeling his eyes off of Callie for an instant.

Callie stares into Ryan's eyes, searching for a reason to hate him, but finding none. She perceives the brother she used to know. Despite Ryan's abandonment and the years that Callie had to fend for herself, she doesn't hate him. Every day Callie imagined that Ryan would come back for her and Jude. In the darkest of times, that dream would bring a smile to Callie's face. It was the light of every tunnel, the silver lining of every cloud.

Brandon looks at Callie, prolonging his answer, giving her every chance to refuse Ryan's offer.

A slight smile plays at the corners of Callie's mouth. She tries to hide it with no avail. "Brandon, it's fine. Can you tell Lena and your mom that Ryan will drop me off later?"

Brandon looks for a hint of doubt in Callie's eyes, but she seems content with her decision. "It was nice meeting you Ryan." He eventually says.

"You too Brandon." Ryan replies.

Brandon walks in the direction of his car, turning a few times to make sure Callie is alright. Brandon notices Callie follow Ryan to his car and get in. They drive off.

Ryan and Callie find a cafe overlooking the beach and they sit outside with their cold drinks. Ryan studies Callie, observing her head to toe. It makes her feel somewhat uneasy, but she does the same thing to Ryan when he is not looking.

Eventually Ryan breaks the silence. "So, tell me about your life. I know that I missed a lot, but I'm here now." His words sound apologetic and Callie tries not to focus on the fact that a single outing won't be enough to explain her whole life story.

"There's not much to tell." Callie turns her head to look at the waves, the people on the beach, and anything else in sight to avoid Ryan's gaze.

"When I left with dad, I figured you would be okay with your mom. I couldn't have imagined that things would turn out the way that they did." Ryan explains.

"I know." Callie nods, still refusing to look at Ryan.

"I should have come sooner. I'm really sorry." Ryan is a little upset by Callie's coldness.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you had more important things to do." Callie purses her lips. "High school. College. Dating." She turns her head, revealing her watery eyes. "Just about anything besides taking care of me and Jude." A tear flows down Callie's cheek.

Ryan extends his arm, wanting to wipe away Callie's tear, but she leans back and wipes it off herself. "That's not how it was." Ryan places his hand on Callie's. "I used to send you letters. Didn't you get any of them?"

"Yeah. They worked well to kindle trash can fires." Callie removes her hand from under Ryan's.

"When I heard that your mom died, you and Jude were already in the system. Plus, I was just a teenager. What did you expect me to do?"

Callie shakes her head, disappointed with Ryan's justification. "You and dad are so alike. When things get tough, you pretend not to notice." Callie looks down at the table.

"Dad walked away from all of us, not only you. And I am nothing like him because I would never willingly abandon the people that I love." Ryan's pained expression goes unnoticed by Callie.

Callie wraps her fingers around her glass, looking at her drink. "You can't even imagine what happened to me in the foster homes that I was placed in." Callie holds back the rest of the tears that have formed. "I needed someone to depend on, someone to talk to. Dad was the last person I could count on. But you... I didn't expect you to fix things. I expected you to be there. You say you were just a teenager, implying that you couldn't have done anything. Well I was just ten years old, and I took care of myself and Jude. I had to make a lot of sacrifices." Callie scoots back her chair and runs inside the cafe, searching for the ladies' room.

Once in the privacy of the bathroom stall, she releases the tears that have collected behind her eyes. She thinks of the day that her family fell apart. As she sat at her bedroom window, Callie witnessed her mom and dad fighting on the front lawn. They yelled, their words - their insults - reaching Callie's ears, as well as the neighbor's. Callie watched their motions, her mom's tears, her dad's waving of the arms. She memorized every detail of that scene, replaying it numerous times over the years. The detail that stuck out the most was Ryan, as he stood next to the car, mouthing to Callie, "Everything will be alright." By dinner time, Callie's father was gone, taking Ryan with him. That was the last time Callie had seen either of them. Her mother cried over the sink as Jude and Callie sat at the kitchen table, eating cookies and drinking milk.

Callie looks at her reflection in the mirror, examining the mess that she doesn't quite recognize as herself. She takes a paper towel, placing it under the running water, and dabs at her face with it. The redness caused by the tears subsides.

Callie stares at her reflection, unable to bring herself to move, to return to the table and sit across from Ryan. She notices a window out of the corner of her eye. Without a second thought, Callie pulls at the latch and swings the window open. She throws her bag out and climbs through, legs first. To her surprise, the landing does not hurt as much as she expected. Callie makes her way to the bus stop across the street.

Within ten minutes, Ryan bangs on the bathroom door and asks a woman to check if there is a teenage girl inside. The woman explains that the bathroom is empty. Ryan realizes that Callie is long gone.