After The Fight

Summary - The Adams Foster family deal with the aftermath of Brandon and Wyatt`s fight with Liam.

Author`s note - This story is set after Episode 2x09: Leaky Faucets and is a prequel to one of my previous stories, Warning.

The Adams Foster home can back to life after a quiet morning with Lena and Jude`s return from the camping trip. Everyone else greeted them and went to have breakfast where they talked about the camping trip. However Brandon and Callie were conspicuously quiet during breakfast after their ordeal from the Mexican street festival yesterday. Lena briefly enquired about the cut on Brandon`s face, which he told was from an accident. However Stef whispered to her about what really had happened. Lena immediately made it a point to talk to talk to Brandon and Callie after breakfast.

"It's so great to have breakfast with you guys again." Lena said.

"It wasn't the same without you and Jude." Mariana said.

"We`ll wash the dishes for you." Jesus said as he took Lena`s plate.

"Oh, that`s very considerate of you." Stef said. "Brandon, Callie, can we talk to you both outside."

"Sure." Callie replied.

Stef, Lena, Brandon and Callie went outside to the backyard, while Jesus, Mariana and Jude looked on curiously as they were washing the dishes. The foursome walked over by the big tree and stood under it.

"I got a brief summary of what happened yesterday, but i want to hear it from you both." Lena said.

"I got separated from Wyatt for a minutes and then saw him and Brandon fighting Liam." Callie said.

"Did you run into Liam?"

"No i didn't, but didn't feel very comfortable being in the crowd."

Lena's heart immediately sank after hearing what Callie just told her and she immediately went to give her a hug. "I`m so sorry that you had to go through that."

"I feel like i ruined the day." Callie said with her eyes starting to water.

"No, you didn't." Lena said as she held Callie's right hand. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You're going through a lot, still the effects of what happened to you."

"I would like for you both to make an appointment with the therapist for tomorrow. I feel like talking about this."

"We will, Sweetie." Stef said.

"We are so proud of you for taking this step." Lena said. "We're so happy that you`ve been seeing the therapist lately and i think that this will be a big help for you, because we don't want you to have to feel anxious and being in fear whenever you`re out. That`s no way to live."

"Thanks you so much." Callie said as she hugged Lena.

"You`re going to okay?"

"I`m starting to feel better. I`m going to go help wash the dishes."

"Okay Sweetie." Stef said as she gave Callie a quick hug.

After Callie went back inside, Stef and Lena turned their attention to Brandon, who was ready to talk.

"Okay, Brandon," Lena said. "I want to hear from you on what happened."

"I ran into Wyatt and he told me that he saw Liam." Brandon said. "He wanted to go confront him, but i told him that we should get Callie out of there. Then i got separated from Wyatt for a couple of minutes and found him fighting Liam. I tried to break it up, but Liam hit me with an elbow. It triggered something that caused me to go after him."

Lena processed what Brandon had just told her for a moment before replying to him. "I`m glad that you tried to get Callie out of there."

"I`m really sorry about this." Brandon said

"No, you have nothing to be sorry about." Lena said. "You didn't know that things would get out of hand."

"We`ll talk more about this later with everyone else." Stef said.

Brandon immediately went back inside, leaving Stef and Lena alone to talk for amongst themselves.

"I really wasn't expecting this happening while i was away." Lena said.

"I didn't either." Stef said. "It's a shame that it did, because Brandon and Callie really deserved a nice day out after what they`ve been through."

"So what do we do now?"

"I`m going to make some phone calls about getting a restraining order against Liam for all of us. I'm not going to take any chances of him possibly coming after Brandon and Callie."

"I think that's the right thing to do. We'll have to talk with the kids about this Later."

Stef silently nodded in agreement with Lena before they went back in the house.

_

Callie came back in the kitchen and saw that Jesus, Mariana and Jude had just finished washing the dishes. Jude was left to dry off the dishes. "You want some help?" She asked.

"Yeah." Jude replied. "What did Stef and Lena want to talk you and Brandon about?"

Just as Callie was about to answer Jude`s question, Mariana rushed in the kitchen and pulled Callie over to the living room.

"What are you doing that for?" Callie asked.

"I just talked to Mat on the phone and he told me about Brandon and Wyatt getting into a fight with Liam yesterday."

Callie felt a little anxious about having to explain what happened.

"Brandon got into a fight at the fair?" Jesus said as he walked in on the conversation with Jude following suit from the kitchen.

"Yeah, he and Wyatt got into a fight with Liam." Callie said.

"Did he do anything to you?" Mariana asked with a concerned look on her face.

"No he didn't. Wyatt had saw him and went to confront him, which led to the fight."

"Man, i should've known something was up with how Brandon was running around looking for you." Jesus said.

"Did Liam hurt Brandon and Wyatt?" Jude asked.

"No, he didn't." Callie replied. "In fact, Brandon was plummeling Liam before security broke it up and gave him a bloody nose."

Mariana immediately broke out in a big smile when Callie mentioned Brandon plummeling Liam. "I wish that i saw that."

"I didn't know Brandon had that in him." Jesus said, impressed by Brandon`s action. "That was pretty badass."

"So what`s going to happen next?" Mariana asked.

"There`s supposed to be a family meeting about this later." Callie replied.

"I`m sure Moms will handle this. I better go text Mat about this."

As Mariana went went upstairs to text Mat, Jesus lingered around the kitchen with Callie and Jude. "Hey, can i talk to you for a moment?" He asked Callie.

"Sure." Callie replied as she walked over in the space between the kitchen and living room.

"Look, i`m really sorry about not being there to help Brandon and Wyatt out with Liam. I was with Haylie and-"

"It`s alright, Jesus." Callie said, interrupting Jesus. "I didn't want you to get into any trouble."

"No it wouldn't been any trouble." Jesus said. "I`ll always your back, especially with Liam, and would never let anything happen to you."

Callie felt very grateful for Jesus` strong support. "Thanks, Jesus." She said. "It means a lot to me."

Callie gave Jesus a supportive touch on his left arm and shared a smile with him before he went back in the living room. Callie resumed drying the dishes with Jude, who was giving her a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" Jude asked.

"Yeah, i`m starting to get better." Callie replied as she and Jude held hands briefly before they finished up drying the dishes.

_

Brandon was listening to some music and reading the sheet music to a new song that he had been working on with the band when he heard a couple of knocks on the door. "Come in." He said.

Jesus, Mariana and Jude entered the room after Brandon told them to come in. Brandon took a look at the trio and immediately got the sense that they wanted to talk about the fight.

"How you`re doing, Champ?" Jesus asked.

"I take it that Callie told you about what happened yesterday." Brandon said.

"She told us that you kicked Liam`s ass." Mariana said.

"Tell us, how did you come out at him?" Jesus asked. "Did you come at him with the left?"

"Yeah." Brandon replied. "I don't really want to into the blow by blow account."

"Dude, i`m really sorry that i wasn't there to help you and Wyatt out. I was tied up with Hayley."

"Not much of a surprise." Mariana said. "Something important happens and you blow your chance to help out because you`re with Hayley."

"Yeah, whatever." Jesus said while rolling his eyes. "You shouldn't cast any stones since you were with Mat."

Brandon and Jude laughed at the twins` argument.

"Seriously Bro, i think that you did the right thing with what you did to Liam." Jesus said. "You really had Callie`s back there."

"Yeah he had it coming." Mariana said. "I wish that you and Wyatt had got the chance to beat on him some more."

"Thanks guys." Brandon said.

The twins excused themselves to go off to their separate activities, leaving Brandon and Jude alone.

"Um, Brandon." Jude said. "Thanks for what you did for Callie."

"Sure, Bud." Brandon said.

"We never had anyone do anything like this for us and it's cool of you to do that."

"It`s no problem. I tried to break things up and get Callie out of there, but things just escalated, you know."

"Yeah."

Brandon and Jude silently sat in the room for a moment before Brandon spoke up.

"I didn't intent for that to happen yesterday," Brandon said. "but it did and i did what i had to do."

"I know." Jude said as he stood up. "Thanks for helping out."

"No problem, Bud. I`m always willing to have you guys` backs."

Brandon and Jude shared a look of understanding for a few seconds before Brandon playfully ruffled Jude`s hair before he left. After Jude left the bedroom, Brandon thought about the conversation he and Jude just had and felt grateful that he put some peace of mind with Jude.

_

The family slowly gathered in the living room for the family meeting. Brandon, Callie, Jesus, Mariana and Jude sat down on the couch, while Stef and Lena sat down in the chairs in front of them. There was an air of eageriness to talk about the altercation at the Mexican street fair.

"Okay i`m sure Brandon and Callie has filled you in about what happened at the street fair yesterday." Lena said to start the meeting. "Me and Mom want to talk to you all about it."

"I know that you guys might have some strong feelings about this." Stef said. "Obviously this was something very unexpected."

"I`m sure you`re well aware that Brandon did try to get defuse the situation by getting Callie out of there and only got into a fight when it got out of hand."

"We know." Jesus said. "Brandon and Wyatt did what they had to do."

"It`s not like they started it." Mariana said. "Besides Liam had it coming."

"Yeah he ought to be lucky that i didn't join in, otherwise-"

"Jesus, please lets not go there." Lena said, interrupting Jesus to spare herself of his threats of violence.

"But what about he did to Callie? It`s so unfair that he got away with it."

"Not to mention that he`s still a threat to other girls." Mariana said. "I think that Brandon and Wyatt did everyone a service yesterday."

Stef and Lena took a moment to gauge the tense atmosphere in the living room, especially with Jesus and Mariana getting worked up. They knew how the twins were when they got that way and immediately decided to find a way to calm them down.

"What`s going to happen now?" Jude asked.

"Well, i`ve been making some calls and talked it over with Mama." Stef said. "We`ve decided to take out a restraining order against Liam."

"It`s a temporary restraining order." Lena said. "This is a precaution to prevent Liam from stalking Callie again along with you guys as well and start the process to hopefully get a permanent restraining order him."

"This is not just for Callie, but for the whole family. I want you guys to be protected and not have to look over shoulders when you`re out somewhere."

"We understand." Brandon said.

"We`re fortunate that the fight didn't escalate any further." Lena said. "This could've ended up worse if security hadn't intervened."

"The only one who got hurt was Liam and he deserved it." Mariana said.

"Yeah, he deserved a lot more." Jesus said.

Everyone kept quiet for a moment to calm themselves before Stef spoke up again.

"There`s another reason why we`re taking out a restraining order against Liam." Stef said. "It`s also to prevent any of you from going after him."

"Come on, Mom." Brandon said.

"It`s not like we`re going to being going out for vigilante justice by stalking him." Mariana said.

"That`s true, but this is a precaution to protect you guys from doing so." Lena said.

Brandon, Jesus and Mariana grumbled about it, which immediately got Stef to get up and kneel down in front of the twins.

"I know that you think that we don't trust you." Stef said. "Me and Mama have all of the trust in the world with you guys, but at the same time, we know how you can let your emotions cloud your judgement and we didn't want to take a chance on you going out and doing something reckless that will get you in some serious trouble."

"We completely understand how you feel about Liam and wanting to go after him for what he did to Callie," Lena said. "but it wouldn't do any of us any good if you acted recklessly by going after him somewhere."

"Even me and Mike would have a very hard time trying to get you guys off if it was premeditated, especially if Callie is brought up."

"So we`re supposed to do nothing?" Jesus asked.

"In a way, yes." Lena replied.

"We want you guys to go about your days like you normally do and not have to look over your shoulders." Stef said.

"What if Liam were to come around?" Jude asked.

"He won't, Jude." Lena replied. "This restraining order is to prevent him from going anywhere near our house, school, Callie`s workplace or any other places we frequent."

"So you guys don't need to worry about Liam and having to look over your shoulders Me, Mike and everyone else in the San Diego P.D. will have your backs and go after Liam if he even looks at you." Stef said.

"What if we happen to be in the same area as him?" Mariana asked.

"Well you just walk away."

"And if Liam starts to hassle you, please try to walk away as best as you can and someone like a police officer, security guard or the nearest adult." Lena said.

"But we do get to defend ourselves against him though?" Jesus asked.

"Only if it`s a last resort." Stef said. "Anymore questions?"

The kids all shook their heads in response to Stef's inquiry.

"I guess that we`re done here." Lena said. "Lets go set up for dinner."

The meeting immediately broke up with everyone heading to the kitchen except for Stef, who lingered behind. "Hey, B, can i talk to you for a moment?" She asked.

Brandon immediately walked over and stood at attention in front of his mother. "What`s up?" He asked.

"You remember us talking to Callie about therapy earlier today?"

"Yeah."

"I want to know if maybe you would want to do the same thing."

"No, i don't feel like doing it."

"I knew that you would say that, it`s just i can't help but wonder your going after Liam could be your way of getting out some anger after all that you`ve been through with having your hand smash and Dani-"

"Mom, i`m fine." Brandon said, interrupting Stef.

"Are you sure?" Stef asked.

"Yeah. I`m trying to deal with it."

"I just wanted to put that out for suggestion. I don't want to twist your arm or anything about it, but still, i hope that you`ll at least consider it."

"I will, Mom."

"You know that you can always talk to me, Mama or everyone else here."

"I know that, Mom. I`ll be sure to keep that in mind."

Stef immediately went to give Brandon a hug as a way to comfort him. "I love you, B." She said after kissing Brandon on the cheek."

"I love you too, Mom." Brandon said while holding Stef tightly for comfort with her.

_

Lena was finishing up some paperwork for school, while Stef was in the kitchen.

"Hey, do you want some tea?" Stef asked.

"Yes." Lena replied.

Stef came in the living room holding two mugs of green tea and sat down next to Lena on the couch, who immediately put the papers in the folder on the coffee table.

"They got you buried in some more paperwork?" Stef asked.

"Yes they do." Lena replied while taking a tip of tea. "Just part of being acting principal."

The moms silently drank their tea for a minute before Lena spoke up. "So what was that talk you had with Brandon about?" She asked.

"I suggested that he could go see about getting some therapy." Stef replied. "I think that he has been holding in a lot of stuff and it just came out during that fight."

"What did he say?"

"B said that he would think about it."

"I think it would be good for Brandon to open up to someone after all that he has been through."

"Yeah, it would." Stef said. "Honey, can i tell you something that i didn't want to tell the kids?"

Lena was intrigued by what Stef had to tell. "Okay, i`m listening." She said.

"I talked to Mike earlier after the dinner and we're going to go pay Liam a visit a couple of days from now after he gets the restraining order."

Lena was surprised by what Stef just told her and immediately had a bad feeling about the proposed meeting with Liam. "I hope that you and Mike aren't going to-"

"No, me and Mike aren't going to do anything to Liam." Stef said, interrupting Lena. "We're going to warn him to stay away from the kids in a very firm manner."

"I hope that`ll be all you and Mike will be doing."

"I hope so too."

Stef and Lena both went into their own thoughts for a moment before Stef took a look at Lena. She knew that Lena felt very uneasy about her and Mike going to meet Liam and immediately placed her right hand on top of Lena`s to reassure her.

"I know that you don't like the thought of me and Mike going to pay Liam a visit," Stef said. "but we`re only going there to help protect you, the kids and any girl out there. You know what Liam has done to Callie and i`m not going to take any chances of him harming her again or anyone else in this family."

Stef took a moment to take a deep breath before speaking again. "I`m not looking to be a vigilante," She said. "but at the same time, if Liam so much as look at you or any of the kids, i`m going to do what i have to do to protect our family."

Lena took in what Stef had just told her. She knew what Stef meant about having to whatever she had to go to protect the family, even if it was outside of the law, which she didn't agree with mostly. Lena then smiled at Stef and held her hand tighter. "I`m behind you all the way, Stef." She said. "Just make sure you and Mike won't get in any trouble."

"We won't, Honey." Stef said as she put her arm around Lena. "However if Liam tries anything, well, me and Mike will have to handle it."

"I hope that it won't come to that."

Stef and Lena cuddled together and started watching a movie.

_

Brandon was listening to a rough demo of a new song he and the band were working on in his room. He made mental notes of what improvements the song needed while listening to it. Just as the song was ending, he heard a couple of knocks on his door. "Come in." He said.

The door opened to reveal Callie, who walked in the room.

"Hey." Brandon said to greet Callie. "What`s up?"

"Just wanted to check in on you." Callie said as she stood next to Brandon.

"I`m doing fine. Just working a new song."

"How it`s going?"

"It`s a work in progress. You know how it is."

"I hope that you`ll finish it soon, because i would love to hear it."

Brandon and Callie fell into an uncomfortable silence for almost a minute before Brandon spoke up. "Look about what happened with the fight." He said. "I didn't get a chance to say, but i`m really sorry that you had to see that."

"It`s alright, Brandon." Callie said.

"No it's not. I tried to break it up, but when Liam hit, something just snapped inside of me."

"Well, at least you didn't get in any trouble about it."

"Yeah."

"I`m going to head to bed." Callie said as she started to walk out of Brandon`s room.

"Hey, have you talked to Wyatt?" Brandon asked.

"No i haven't." Callie replied. "He has texted me a few times, but i`m not ready to talk to him yet."

"I think that you should at least hear what he has to say."

"I`ll think about it. Good night."

"Good night."

After Callie left, Brandon turned on one of his favorite classical pieces that he used to play. As Brandon listened to the music, he thought about all that recently transpired from the incident at the Mexican street festival to Stef and Lena`s talk with him and everyone else in the house at first, but mostly he thought about he wasn't able to completely open up to Callie about his pented anger about what Dani did to him finally coming out with him beating up Liam. It hurt Brandon that he couldn't bring himself to share that secret with Callie, but at the same time, felt that it was something he had to do to protect himself and her for the time being.

Fin