DISCLAIMER: If I owned the Fosters, this would have happened in the first episode of season 1.5
SUMMARY: Post-episode one shot from 1x15. Besides Jude, there are some other people Callie needs to talk to. (Or, the final scenes I wish they'd done.)
As Callie stepped out the front door to the Adams Foster house, she could see that Stef and Lena were sitting in the front seat of their new car, talking. A little twinge of guilt ran through her at the knowledge that she had to interrupt them. It wasn't hard to imagine how little private conversation the women got in a house with that many kids. If she'd done a great many things differently over the past few months, she would have been able to just turn around, go back inside, and leave them alone. However, it wasn't so.
Stef and Lena looked up at the sound of tapping on the passenger window. Callie gave them a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry," she said as Lena opened her door.
Lena shook her head. "It's okay, sweetheart. What's up?"
"I'm supposed to be back at Girls United by 9…" Both women looked at their watches; it was 8:41.
"Okay, no problem," Stef told her. "Have you said goodbye to everyone?"
Callie shook her head. "I'll be right back," she promised before hurrying back up the driveway.
The women looked at each other. "We both take her?" Lena suggested. "Our moms are here with the rest of the kids."
Stef nodded. "Yeah. And then we can keep talking on the way back."
The drive across town was mostly quiet, other than the music that was softly coming from the car's speaker system. The women asked a couple questions about life at the group home but only received short, vague answers.
"How's your roommate doing?"
"Better."
"Have you gotten used to all the chores yet?"
"Kind of."
"Is school going okay?"
"I guess."
Eventually, they gave up. It had been a long, emotional day and they figured Callie was still processing it all. They could relate to feeling so overwhelmed.
The car pulled up in front of the Girls United house just in time. Stef and Lena smiled as they turned around in their seats to say goodbye. "Thank you so much for coming today," Stef told Callie. "It meant a lot. Tell Rita thank you for us, too."
She nodded. "I will."
"We'll be back for the next family day," Lena promised.
Callie looked down, gathering her courage. "Are you sure?" she quietly wondered.
The moms frowned. "Of course, love," Stef told her. "We've got all the dates marked on the calendar; Jude counts down the days every morning at breakfast."
But the teen shook her head; that wasn't what she'd meant. "Are you sure that's what you still want me to be? Family?" She wanted to be back in their home, but the idea that they might not want her left her cold with terror. Although she certainly couldn't blame them after what she'd done.
Stef and Lena simultaneously reached to take Callie's hands. "Always and forever," Lena assured her.
"Is that what YOU want?" Stef cautiously asked.
When Callie finally looked up at them, her eyes were shining with tears. "Yes.. I'll do whatever you want to make everything up to you, I swear. I'm sorry about all of it and I just... I-I want to come home."
They all looked up as the porch light came on at the house; Rita was standing in the doorway. A quick glance at the car clock showed that it was now after 9.
"The best thing you can do right now for us and yourself is to keep following your program," Lena told Callie. "Keep doing what you're supposed to be doing; we'll work everything else out, okay?"
She nodded as she wiped her face. "Okay."
Stef gave her a reassuring smile. "Family day," she also promised the teen.
"Right. See you then." And then Callie opened the back door and hopped out.
Stef and Lena stared at each other in surprise. "I can't believe it," Lena whispered. "I mean, I was hoping so hard but I didn't believe it would really happen."
Stef smiled a little as she turned the key in the ignition. "I guess the snow wasn't the only miracle of the night."
"Sorry. I'm sorry," Callie muttered to Rita as she ran up the steps and into the house. "I know I'm late." The clock in the living room showed 9:03.
The counselor sized her up for a long moment; she could tell Callie was different. "I think that clock is five minutes fast," Rita finally said.
Callie looked up in surprise. They both knew that wasn't true, but the teen wasn't going to argue. "Okay... Thanks."
"How's your family doing?"
Callie looked back out the window to where Stef and Lena had been parked a few moments before. She wasn't naive enough to think that going home would be totally simple, but at least she had hope that someday things could get back to the way they'd been. She was willing to take a chance on that.
"I think we're going to be okay."
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Tell the world I'm coming home
Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday
I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Tell the world that I'm coming...
Song Credit: "Coming Home" by Diddy Dirty Money ft. Skylar Grey