1.11

"You don't have to do this, you know," Wyatt said in his usual, nonchalant manner. There is something about him that Callie has always felt calm about – a gentle giant, someone who wouldn't hesitate to protect her, but he wouldn't push her either. It was as if he knew and had faith that she would always come around in her own time. He gave her a sense of control she didn't knew she had.

Callie didn't reply to his remark, but they both know that she knew she could have stayed on at the Fosters if she wanted to – which was a scary idea because she was never really "wanted" before. And there she was, on the road again, not knowing what is ahead of her. At least she didn't have to worry about Jude this time, or did she? Her mind started to wander as she imagined how Jude would react to find her gone. Or Stef and Lena. It was just yesterday that they were asked to be a part of the family, it was less than 24 hours since Stef and Lena exchanged vows and everyone was dancing and embracing each other as family. Is running away at this time a little too cruel? Will Brandon even have enough time to process the entire thing and tell everyone exactly what happened? Or will Jude beat him to it?

Her mind replayed the memories she had from the day she moved in with this new family. She could recall Lena's terrified face when she saw her bruised and cut face for the first time. Suddenly, there was more than just Jude to think about, she realized. The Fosters have made their way deeper into her heart than she had allowed them to. With her previous foster homes, packing up and go was the easiest thing to do, as long as she had Jude with her. And now the situation is completely reversed.

"I'm going to the store to get something for the road. Want anything? A packet of sense and sensibility, maybe?" Wyatt's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Callie smiled and shook her head as she continued to stare out of the window, letting her thoughts drift by. As she waited for Wyatt to return, she caught a few silhouettes, outlining familiar figures as she looked harder. As she focused on them she realized they were raising their voices at each other, almost as if they were in an argument. One of the voices was extremely familiar, as Callie instinctively unlocked the car door to go nearer.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Stef greeted her wife with a kiss on the cheek while they were still snuggled up in bed.

"Mm…" Lena sighed in contentment as she reached for her phone to look at the time. "Gosh, getting married was more tiring than I thought. Look at the time. I wonder if the kids are up."

"The kids… right. We now have five of them. How did we skip getting married all this while?" Lena laughed at Stef's remark as she turned to plant soft kisses on her wife's lips. It felt as if they were falling in love all over again. Perhaps, Stef thought, there's something magical about getting married after all. Both were caught in the moment of warm embrace and passionate lip-locking until they both paused at the same time, as if they have read each other's minds.

"Don't you think…" Stef began, while Lena finished her sentence, "…that it's awfully quiet outside this morning? Especially this late?"

They got out of bed and put on their robes to check on the kids. As they opened the door they saw the twins standing outside, as if waiting for them all the while.

Surprised, Stef asked, "Jesus? Mariana? What's the matter? How long have you been standing here?"

Mariana looked at her brother as Jesus spoke up, "Not too long. Brandon and Jude are still asleep. But… we thought we should show you something."

Before neither of the newlyweds could respond, Mariana took Lena's hand and led them to her bedroom. Stef and Lena looked around and noticed that Callie's corner was empty – her things, and her – gone.

"Oh boy…" was all Stef could mutter. Lena looked at Mariana and asked, "Did you know about this? Did she tell you where she was heading?"

Mariana shook her head. "When I woke up this morning she was gone. I thought she might've gone to the beach or something but I don't think people go to the beach with everything in their possession. I tried calling her cellphone and I found out that that's the only thing she left behind."

"No, that's not the only thing she left behind," a small voice said from behind.

They turned around to see Jude, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Callie gasped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "It's me," Wyatt reassured her. "What are you doing here? What are you spying on?"

Callie was hiding behind another parked car about ten meters away from the scene, and pointed to the figures as they both watched them get into the car and drove away. She turned to Wyatt and asked, "Are we supposed to be at Indiana at a specific time?"

"No, not really. I told my mom I'll be there in a few days' time, she didn't want me to rush."

In an instant Callie took Wyatt's arm as she walked hastily back to the car. "Good. We need to follow that car."

"Whoa, whoa ,wait, hold on. What is this about? Who were those people?"

"I'll explain in the car. Hurry, or we'll lose them!" Callie's sense of urgency led Wyatt to start the car and drive off to catch up with the one that just left.

"Callie, we're actually veering off from the route we're supposed to take. What is this about?" Wyatt asked, not taking his eyes off the car ahead of them. He understood that Callie wanted him to tail them, but not be too obvious. He would do anything she asked, but he needed to know why.

Lena sat next to Jude on the sofa as she held him close. Stef and the twins went to search at the possible places Callie might be at while Brandon teamed up with his father to search further parameters. Lena stayed home with Jude in case Callie returns. No one seemed to remember that neither of them have had any breakfast this morning.

"Did we scare her away when we asked yesterday?" Lena was trying to figure out reasons that might have prompted Callie to take off. "I mean, she looked happy, didn't she?" Lena got up and knelt down in front of Jude as she gently asked him, "Jude, sweetie, did Callie tell you anything before she left? Was she uncomfortable with us or something?"

Jude looked down and shook his head, trying hard not to cry. "Jude," Lena gently rubbed his arms, "you can tell us. It's important if it could lead to us finding Callie."

Jude swallowed hard as he started to speak with a quiver in his voice, "We got into a fight yesterday. Well, sort of. I was mad at her. I told her she was selfish and that she never really cared about me." At that point, tears started streaming down his cheeks as Lena drew him closer.

"Oh Jude honey, I'm sure that's not the reason why she left. Siblings fight all the time, but they make up eventually. Callie loves you too much to runaway just because of that." Lena knew that there has to be more than that, and allowed Jude to continue on his own pace.

"If, one of us does something wrong, it affects the both of us right? We're a package deal."

"Well, that would seem to be the way at first," Lena replied, and knowing what Jude was worried about she continued, "but that would depend what exactly happened. But no matter what, you're safe here, Jude. Whatever Callie has done this time, you're not going anywhere without our permission. And we will find her and bring her home, okay, little man?"

Jude nodded slowly, and looked back at Lena as he cleared his throat. "There's something else…"

"And what is that something else?" Mike looked at Brandon while focusing on the road at the same time. "What happened? What did you do?"

Brandon put both his hands behind his head as if he was being under arrest. He took a deep breath as he tried to articulate his words. "I…We… Look, Callie and I got a lot closer ever since she came into the family. One thing led to another, we tried really hard denying everything we felt but… at the wedding…"

"…you didn't." Mike feared the worst. "You know it's against the rules. And these rules don't bend."

"It was just a kiss! We were both vulnerable and at that time the moment just felt right! I know I was stupid, but I couldn't help it…We, couldn't help it."

Mike breathed a sigh of relief that nothing went further than that, but he was not about to show Brandon the lightness of the situation. He kept silent while figuring out the right things to say.

"And Jude caught us. He was pretty upset. I think he was scared that if Callie goes, he goes too. And just before that, mom actually told them that we were going to adopt them."

"Perfect timing, Brandon," Mike retorted before he continued, "but we'll settle that with your moms later. Let's focus on what's important first. Did she give you any idea where she might be?"

"No," Brandon replied as he took his phone out of his pocket, "but I think there's someone that I can call."