Hey guys! Sorry about the wait! The response on this story was amazing! I'm so glad you guys like it! Most of you are wanting the adoption to go fast and Caleb and Callie and Jude to accept the Fosters, but it's a process. Foster parents fall in love faster than Foster kids, so you won't see much hesitation on Lena and Stef's part but you will a lot of hesitation on the kids part. They still have a lot of open wounds that need to be healed. This chapter seems a bit rushed, but it lays down a lot of footwork for the entire story. The first two chapters are always the hardest so thank you guys for hanging in there with me, I hope you guys like it. Remember to review! Enjoy:)
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"Stef." Lena walks out the house and meets Stef halfway up the walkway. It's been about ten minutes since Bill left and all three children have been on edge. It was late, and they had a long day ahead of them, but Lena figured Stef would be able to calm them better. So Lena lingered in the doorway and watched for her wife's car, while the children silently looked around. When Lena saw Stef car pulls up, she excused herself and prepared herself for a possibly heated conversation.
"Hey love." Stef kisses her partner and attempts to walk passed her and into the house, but Lena side steps and blocks her.
"How was your dads?" Lena asks and Stef gives her a funny look.
"The usual. We watched padres, I had a beer, he had scotch, and we pretended to like each other of a couple of hours." Stef smiles and kisses Lena on the cheek and tries to walk passed her again, but again Lena stops her.
"So I um-before you go in there... I did something." Lena's guilt stricken face grabs Stef's attention.
"What exactly?" Stef's mind starts to jump to the worst possible situation. Lena doesn't say anything but she hands Stef her padres keychain.
"Where did you get this?" Stef asks and Lena watches her.
"It was on his backpack." Lena says purposely being vague.
"Who's backpack?" Stef looks at the house. She looking at the living room window and sees a very familiar hat, and an even more familiar face. She doesn't say anything to her partner, instead she rushes up to the door and into the house.
Caleb who was sitting on his knees, trying to get a look outside, was momentarily distracted by Jude, and didn't notice Stef coming to the door.
"Caleb." Stef says causing the little boy to sit on his bottom and look at her.
"Stef." Caleb looks at her confused. "Why are you here?" Caleb asks her and Stef gives him a confused look.
"This is my house, Are you ok?" She does a quick scan of all three children. Caleb nods and looks at her.
"Why did you do this? Why did you have us come here? I told you we were ok. I don't need your help, or your pity." Caleb stands up and Stef couldn't help but to smile. She knew him, because he was her.
"Caleb I'm not taking pity on you. I'm really happy you are here." Stef looks around him and at Callie and Jude. "All of you." Stef smiles and Caleb sits back down.
"Ok guys, we just did a remodel, so we will get you set up in your own rooms." Lena comes in after watching Stef interact.
"Can we stay together tonight? It's a new place and Jude gets scared." Callie speaks up and Stef smiles at her.
"Sure sweets. But just for the night ok?" Callie nods and gathers a sleepy Jude off the couch.
"Come on, I will show you guys to your room." Lena smiles and Caleb allows Callie and Jude to go first. He walks close behind them but Stef stops him for a minute.
"Here." Stef hands him the keychain and he looks at it. "Told ya it was good luck." Stef winks and Caleb feels Callie next to him again.
"Thanks." Caleb turns around and walks up the stairs with his siblings.
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"I like it here." Callie says running her fingers through Jude's hair. Callie and Jude are on the bed and Caleb is on the air mattress right next to it. Caleb says nothing as he turns on his side.
"I know what you are going to say. But I think it's different this time." Callie kisses Jude's hair before closing her own eyes. Caleb tilts his hat so it's over his eyes before falling asleep himself.
Stef and Lena looked through the cracked door and smile.
"I feel it too." Lena whispers and Stef kisses her. Lena smiles and Stef walks silently into their room and pulls the blanket over Callie and Jude, and carefully pulls Caleb's hat off his head. She runs a hand through his soft black hair and smiles.
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The next morning Caleb, Callie and Jude get dressed quietly before heading down the stairs.
"Bacon who wants bacon?" Stef calls out over the chatter of her three children.
"Jesus, take your pill." Lena reminds as the kitchen continues to buzz with excitement. The three Jacob children just stay by the stairs and observe. Brandon is the first to notice, and Mariana, and then Jesus.
"Hey guys." Stef smiles.
"Good morning." Lena says.
"Hop in guys, we got bacon, eggs, and pancakes on the way." Stef picks up her coffee, but all the children stay in place. Mariana nudges Brandon and he looks at his moms.
"Right. So this is Brandon, Mariana, and the cool dude over there, that's Jesus." Stef introduces.
"And that is Caleb, Callie, and Jude. They are going to be staying with us for a while." Lena smiles.
"You guys better get some while it lasts. Mama likes to leave for school on time." Mariana speaks up.
"Actually, Caleb and Callie and Jude are staying home until Monday. Mama has to get them enrolled and all set up at school, and then we have to get them all set up here." Stef tells them.
"Well can I stay home then. To you know, help." Jesus asks and Stef just let's out a laugh.
"Nice try but no. That reminds me, you guys have to walk because mama and I have a meeting. So let's go." Jesus puts a piece of bacon in his mouth, and Brandon tries to eat while walking to the sink. Mariana stays sitting and finishes her juice before standing up and putting her cup in the sink. They file out one by one, all giving sincere smiles to three.
"Alright guys, come on in." Stef waves them in and Jude stands on his toes to sneak a look at the pancakes.
"I think we have a hungry boy." Lena walks over to Jude and offers her hand. Jude looks at Callie and then Caleb. Callie nods and Jude takes it, letting Lena lead him to the table. Callie follows close behind but Caleb stays by the stairs.
"You aren't hungry?" Stef says looking over at the boy. Caleb looks around the kitchen and spots a package of goldfish. Stef follows his gaze and smiles at him.
"Pancakes sound ok?" Stef asks and Caleb looks at her.
"Caleb doesn't like pancakes." Callie speaks up and Stef turns to her.
"Oh ya? What does he like?" Stef asks the young girl. Callie looks at her brother.
"Goldfish." She answers and looks at Lena who cringes. Stef sets her cup down and grabs the goldfish.
"Only this once." Stef says to Caleb but really directs it to Lena, who is watching her. Lena cuts Jude's pancakes but eyes Stef.
"Orange juice sound ok?" Stef asks the boy and Caleb pops a goldfish in his mouth. Stef pours Caleb a cup of juice as Lena cuts Callie's pancakes.
Stef walks to the coffee pot and Lena looks at her.
"Goldfish?" Lena mouths and Stef shrugs.
"Are we going to see Bill?" Callie asks and both moms turn towards their foster daughter.
"Yes, but for a little bit, he wants to talk with us. That all." Stef smiles and Callie looks at Caleb for confirmation.
"Or to give us back." Caleb mumbles and Callie looks at him panicked.
"Caleb-" Stef begins but Jesus and the other kids join them back in the kitchen.
"Bye moms." Brandon says and the kids say their goodbyes. With all the commotion, Caleb, Callie, and Jude are able to escape the kitchen without anyone noticing. They retreat to the room they stayed in last night and start packing their bags.
"You said we can trust them Caleb." Callie says as she helps Jude fold his shirt.
"I know, I thought we could." Caleb says taking off his hat and moving his hair to one side.
"We can't trust anyone Caleb, you know that."
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"Bill." Stef says opening the door. It's been about an hour since breakfast and staying downstairs proved to be difficult. Wanting to give the children as much space as possible, but wanting to give them the reassurance they need.
"Lena, Stef." Bill smiles and walks inside the house. Lena leads him to the kitchen, where coffee has been made and the kitchen clean from breakfast. They all exchange pleasantries before Bill sets the files on the table.
"The Jacob siblings." Bill opens Caleb and Callie's file first.
"What should we expect?" Stef asks sipping on her coffee.
"They are great kids, with a bout of bad luck. Stef you know the case." Bill says and Stef nods her head.
"They aren't dangerous, nor aggressive, the protect each other and Caleb usually takes the fall for everything."
"He only eats goldfish and juice." Lena reports and Bill smiles.
"That's because he trusts you. He is testing your limits." Lena nods in understanding and looks at Stef.
"I guess the question is, what do you want to do? Do you want this to be permanent? Temporary?" Bill asks finishing his coffee and Lena and Stef look at each other.
"We want them to be permanent, but we have to trust it's what they want to." Lena says and Stef agrees.
"Tell you what, take a couple weeks, fully immerse them in your family, and if you still feel like there is hesitation on their end, we will come back and discuss it." Bill stands up gathering his bag.
"The father requested a visit, completely up to you guys." Bill watches their facial expressions and can't help but to smile.
"Give them a chance, you will be surprised. I was." Bill leaves them with that as he walks away. He spots Callie, Caleb, and Jude as he is walking towards the door.
"Hi guys." Bill says and they peak their heads out. Lena and Stef joins Bill and can't help but to laugh.
"Do we have to go to the visit?" Callie asks but Bill just looks at Lena and Stef.
"That's up to them." Bill smiles and looks at Stef.
"I will walk out out." Stef and Bill walk to the door and Lena turns to watch them.
"They want us." Callie whispers looking at Caleb. Caleb just looks at his sister before looking back at the adults.
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Later on that day, Lena is in the kitchen fixing lunch and listening to some music on the radio.
"Oooo the oldies." Stef says walking into the kitchen. She reaches into the fridge and grabs the grapes.
"Remember when these were popular?" Lena asks looking up from a sandwich. Stef nods and gives a small laugh.
"Ya it was right around the time I could actually dance to them without breaking." Lena giggles at Stef comment.
"Honey you could never really dance." Lena says and Stef picks off a grape and throws it at her and Lena continues to laugh.
"Hey guys." Stef notices Callie standing in the doorway with Jude and Caleb.
"You guys hungry? Lena is making sandwiches."
"Oh man, Stef." Lena says before turning up the radio. Stef listens and the song immediately registers in her head. "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5, causes both Stef and Lena to get up and start singing. The three children watch as they start singing to each other. Callie giggles when Stef picks up a wooden spoon and sings into it. Callie walks over and picks up the mustard and starts to sing with them.
"Look at this, someone thinks she knows the oldies!" Stef exclaims tickling Callie's sides and sings with the girl. Jude comes in shortly and stands next to Lena. He just watches and laughs as his sister and foster moms, sing and dance. Caleb stays in the doorway and just watches. Fighting smiles and the urge to join them. He isn't sure what takes over but he is suddenly in the middle of it all. He does the running man with Jude as the girls sing. He lets it all go, the anger, the sadness, the pain, and just lets himself live in this moment. Laughing and dancing with his... Family.
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"Anchor beach?" Callie asks at dinner that night and Lena looks at her.
"Yup, Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana, go there, and I am principle there." Lena says serving vegetables to Jude.
"It's right on the beach." Jesus says with mashed potatoes in his mouth. Stef gives him a pointed look and he closes his mouth and finishes his potatoes.
"Can I just stay home?" Caleb asks and Stef puts her elbow on the table with her fork in hand.
"Caleb, you've missed a lot of school this year, you can't miss anymore." Stef says and Caleb looks at her.
"I don't like school. I want to stay home."
"Caleb, you have to go to school." Stef says and Caleb pushes his plate away.
"I'm not hungry." Stef sighs and looks at Lena remembering their conversation with Bill. He is testing their boundaries, seeing how much he can get away with. Only eating goldfish was one thing, but school was nonnegotiable.
"You need to eat." Lena stands up and hands him a ziplock bag of goldfish. She caught on pretty quickly what Caleb was doing and pre-made bags for times like these.
"I don't want it." Caleb crosses his arms across his chest and all the kids share a look with each other. No one has ever challenged the rules like this.
"Caleb you are going to school, and you are going to eat." Lena says putting her foot down.
"No." Callie looks at her brother, she had never seen him so defiant.
"Listen to your mother." Stef says.
"She's not my mom!" Caleb storms out of the kitchen and Stef and lena share a look before looking at the rest of the kids. Callie and Jude look down at their plates and Callie speaks up keeping her gaze locked on her plate.
"If you are going to punish Caleb you have to punish me to." Lena and Stef look at the young girl.
"Callie, nobody is getting punished." Lena says and Callie looks at her.
"You are safe here, love." Stef gives her a soft smile which Callie returns.
"I'm going to talk to Caleb." Lena says and kisses Callie and Jude on the head on her way up.
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"Hey." Lena walks into Caleb's room after watching the boy pick at his nails for a few minutes.
"Hi." Caleb lifts his hat up and scratches his head before putting it back on his head.
"You know, mom and I like to see those pretty green eyes every once in a while." Lena smiles and lifts the bill slightly to see his Caleb's eyes.
"I know a new school can be scary."
"Try 5 new schools." Caleb mumbles and Lena smiles softly at him.
"What's one more then?" Lena asks him. "You had to be pretty brave to go to all those schools." Lena smiles softly.
"I don't want to go to another school, I hate school." Caleb crosses his arms across his chest and Lena sighs.
"This school is different Caleb, I promise. You are going to love it." Lena smiles but Caleb shakes his head.
"Can I just be home schooled?" Caleb pleads and for a second Lena almost gives in.
"I will be there the whole time buddy, no need to worry." Lena reassures him.
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The next day, after a morning of reassuring words, the moms convince Caleb to go to school. But when they return home, Caleb stomps into the house and slams his backpack on the table before stomping up the stairs. Callie and Jude come in after him, quietly, and go up the stairs. Lena shuts the front door and walks into the kitchen, where she sees her partner taking Caleb's backpack off the table.
"Rough first day?" Stef asks pulling out a wine glass for her partner. Lena nods and runs a hand through her hair.
"I promised him it would be good. I promised him he would have fun, and it would be ok. 30 minutes in, kids are teasing him about his hat." Lena pulls Caleb's hat out from a bag and shows it to Stef. "Kids knocked it on the ground and stepped all over it. I asked him if he wanted it back, but he hasn't talked to me." Lena sets the hat on the table and sighs. "I let him down Stef."
"You didn't let him down. He had a bad day, we all have one. Look on the bright side, now we get to see his eyes." Stef jokes and that causes Lena to crack a smile. "It's just part of adjusting." Stef says before she kisses Lena.
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"Hey." Stef knocks on the doorframe of Caleb's bedroom. She looks around the room, and makes a mental note to remind him to start decorating. With only a bed and dresser, it was a little depressing.
Caleb looks up from his notepad and looks at her.
"Hey." He says softly. He pulls his hood tighter around his head and Stef walks into the room.
"Want this?" Stef hold out Caleb's hat. Caleb glares at it before taking it and throwing it on the ground.
"What did it ever do to you?" Stef tries to joke but Caleb doesn't budge. "I hope you are nicer to my key chain." Stef tries again but again Caleb doesn't budge. Stef sits on the edge of his bed and Caleb looks at her.
"I don't want my dads stupid hat, or his stupid visit." Caleb says, anger in his voice.
"Is this what this is about, you going to visit your dad. Caleb you don't have to go." Stef reassures him.
"Lena promised me it would be ok! But it's not! My dad is in jail, school sucks, and I don't fit anywhere!" Caleb throws his notepad off his lap.
"You fit Caleb, you fit right here." Stef puts a hand over her heart. "Since day one." Caleb looks away from her and Stef sighs. She desperately wanted to get through to him. He was the hardest of the three. Stef picks up his notepad and places it back on his lap.
"Did I ever tell the story about my first day at a new school?" Stef asks and Caleb looks at her. "My mom put me in this really really fancy public school. And for a long time I only went to private catholic school. So it was my first day, and it was lunch, and I was walking through the lunch room, when I tripped and fell, spilling my lunch everywhere. Everyone laughed at me and called me the clumsy catholic. Oh man, I was so humiliated." Stef chuckles. "I was so mad, my mom swore to me, it would be better than private school, but it wasn't. Everybody was mean, and I didn't fit in, and I was being teased. I didn't talk to my mom for weeks, but one day, this little boy named Micah came up to me and asked me to play with him. He was my best friend until he moved, but by then I had tons of friends and I didn't even think about my first day." Stef finishes the story and see that Caleb is still looking at her. "You can't be mad at mama because of some kids. You will find your place. You already found your family, now it's time to settle in." Stef gestures around the room. Caleb looks around before looking down at his notepad. Stef gets up and walks to the door.
"Before I forget." Stef turns and places a hat on his head. "It was mine. It might be a little big, but you don't want your dads, how about your moms." Stef walks out the room and Caleb takes it off his head. It's the same style as his old one, but there is something different about it. It's not linked with his past, it's connected to his future.
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"What if I don't want to play a sport?" Caleb asks as he rocks back and forth on his stool.
"Then you will learn to play an instrument." Stef says tying the bread back up and setting sandwiches in ziplock bags.
"And what if I don't want to play an instrument?" Caleb asks and Lena puts her hand on his back, halting his rocking.
"Then you will play a sport." Stef says and Lena pours him some juice.
"There is no way out of this. Jesus plays volleyball, Mariana does ballet, Brandon plays piano, Callie is going to learn guitar, and Jude wants to learn to paint." Lena lists off everyone's activities.
"You can choose something, or mama and I will." Stef says, setting his lunch bag in front of him.
"You need to do something with all of your extra time and energy. Plus it will help you make friends." Lena says sliding eggs on his plate.
"What if I don't want friends?" Caleb challenges and Stef comes up behind him and turns his hat backwards.
"You still have to choose something." She kisses his forehead as he slumps his shoulders.
"Let's go people. 10 minutes and counting before we need to be out this house!" Stef yells up the stairs.
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So that is it for this chapter.. What did you guys think? What will Caleb chose as his activity? Will Caleb make friends? Will they ever get comfortable? How will the visit go with their dad? Will Callie accept the moms as her mom? So many questions! Tell me what you guys think! Review!