Model Airplane Part I
Jude's 5th birthday had come and gone, but still perfectly existent was his amazement with his new presents. Currently, the family had a three-day weekend to lounge around, with Anchor Beach being closed all day Friday. Friday morning started out peacefully enough, with Stef and Lena in the family kitchen preparing banana pancakes for breakfast. Jude waddled down first, his bare feet smacking against the wood floors. In his hands, he clutched a few of his new toys: a stuffed rabbit, a Wonder Woman action figure, and a newly constructed model airplane.
"Good morning, Mr. Jude." Stef said brightly as Jude climbed up to a bar stool and set his toys in a row on the countertop. He whipped his head up and rather loudly proclaimed, "Hi!" He beamed.
"Inside voice, bud." Lena said gently, wiping her hands and wrapping him in a quick hug. Lena and Stef began griddling the pancakes as Jude told them stories about the three toys he brought to breakfast.
Soon the pancakes were ready to eat, and Stef, Lena, and Jude set the table. Callie padded down the stairs yawning and rubbing her eyes. Stef knew she didn't have the best night of sleep as the cop had heard her leave her room and return at least 5 times during the night, and just as she was about to talk to her insomniac daughter, the movement stopped, sending Stef back to bed.
"Morning, slug-a-bug." Lena smiled, swooping down to kiss her daughter's cheek.
"I think our Callie girl still has some waking up to do." Stef said lightheartedly as she scooped her daughter up and set her on one of the stools.
"Mom! I can sit down myself!" Callie exclaimed angrily, clearly awakened by her outburst.
"Hey." Stef said sharply, setting a hand on Callie's knee. "Calm down now, Callie."
Jude saw that his sister wasn't happy, and moved his stool closer to hers and held up the red airplane.
"Look, Callie. It's an airplane. It's red. I like red, and you do too… I think. You and me and 'Zeus made it yesterday. Mommy helped." Jude said, flying the airplane around Callie's head.
"I know, Jude. I was there." Callie grumbled, stabbing her fork into the stack of pancakes. Jude's face fell.
"Callie…" Lena warned, eying her in her peripheral vision. Stef frowned at Callie.
Jude didn't give up so easily, and tried again to cheer his sister up. "But look at it, Callie. Mom found that red paint and now it's pretty. I think the pilot's name should be Rick… or Rory. I wish my name was Rory. But I like Jude too. Maybe the pilot could be me! Maybe someday I'll be a pilot…" Jude continued as Callie's temper began to get out of hand.
"Shut up Jude! God, you're so freaking annoying." Callie spat, dropping her fork onto her plate.
Stef jumped to her daughter's side just as Lena stepped to her son's.
"Hey! That's enough. Let's go, Callie. You go and sit in my room and I will be up there in a minute. Go, Callie." Stef said harshly, nudging Callie to the stairs.
Callie regretfully stomped up the stairs and into her moms' room.
Back in the kitchen, Lena had given Jude a hug and turned her full attention to hearing about the pilot of the red plane. Stef gave Jude a kiss on the forehead before turning to speak to Callie in the master bedroom.
She opened the door and saw Callie sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest, and she wore a pout on her tiny face. She looked up when her mother entered the room but quickly averted her stare.
"Sit on the bed, please." Stef said monotonously.
Callie picked herself up and dragged herself to the bed, sitting in the middle.
Stef joined her daughter, taking a seat against the headboard, folding one leg in front of her and letting the other drape against the side of the bed.
"What's going on with you? Where's my sweet Callie?" Stef asked, putting her hand on Callie's ankle.
Callie shrugged, finding interest in her moms' closet.
"You were walking around a lot last night, babe. Why was that?" Stef tried a different question.
"You heard?" Callie spoke quietly, turning to face her mother while still avoiding eye contact.
"Of course I heard. I heard your little feet padding around at least five times last night. Why were you walking around the house so late, sweets?" She said gently, moving her hand to the girl's back.
Callie stayed silent.
"Callie… I'd like an answer now please." Stef said firmly.
"I kept having nightmares." Callie said in a whisper. "Every time I tried to go back to sleep they would happen again."
"Oh, baby. Why didn't you come in to talk to Mama and I? We could have made you feel better." Stef said, her voice filling with sympathy.
"I didn't want to bother you." Her eyes filled with tears. "They were just so scary."
Stef pulled Callie closer, but she was still able to look into her daughter's eyes.
"Well I'm sorry, sweetheart. What was the dream about?' Callie was silent again.
"You know, talking about it makes it less scary. And also, I want to know what's going on inside my Callie girl's head." Stef said, brushing a few tears off of Callie's cheeks.
"It was about our last foster home. With that guy… Pearson. The night he beat me. Jude was only one, so he doesn't remember it." Her body racked with sobs. "He kicked me right here." She choked out, pointing to her ribs. Stef had enough. She grabbed her daughter tightly, lightly rubbing the place on Callie's ribs with a finger.
"But you remember what happened after that, Callie?" Stef said soothingly. Callie nodded.
"You came in… wearing your police clothes. Then Mike held the bad guy down and put him in the police car and he went to prison for a long time. Then you took me to the hospital and Mama came to pick up Jude. Only, you weren't Mom and Mama then, you were the nice ladies who gave me and Jude a home." She smiled.
"And we got you fixed up at the hospital, then we took you home and you met your brothers and sister and we fell in love with you two." Stef said, tucking a piece of hair behind Callie's ear.
Callie laid her head on Stef's lap, yawning. "I'm tired, Mommy." Stef rubbed her back.
"Okay, baby. Here's what's going to happen now. I am going to tuck you in bed and you are going to get some more sleep, because without it you are Miss Grumpypants and I want to see Miss sweet Callie instead." Callie nodded sleepily. "And afterwards, you are going to apologize to your little brother and the two of you can go outside and enjoy the day. Got it, Cal?" Callie nodded again.
"Alright, enough with the lecture. Go to sleep, baby." Stef said lovingly, pulling the sheets and blankets from under her daughter and smoothed them on top of her. She pressed a kiss to Callie's forehead and sat upright against the headboard, crossing her legs on top of each other and opening the book on her nightstand. She flipped the pages quietly, raking through Callie's hair as she fell deeper into sleep.