A/N: Thanks so much for the response to the first chapter! I've been debating whether or not the name of this story is okay for the longest time, it was a close call between this and dear Callie but idk, this was my first choice so I went for it. Anyway, to those who mentioned the length of the first chapter – I always like to start stories with small chapters, just to give people a feel without dragging it on too much, idk. Hopefully this makes up for it.

PS. to any of those who read Hopeless Wanderer, I'll be updating it tomorrow!

January, 2014

The family that they'd been torn apart over, who'd offered Jude a home forever, hadn't lasted as long as he'd hoped.

They'd taken good care of him, sure, but he'd never felt quite at home. The only thing that really kept him grounded was the constant flow of letters he'd been sending and receiving from Callie. They came in every single morning, without fail, and each one came with a small gift. Sometimes it was novelty things like toys and chocolate, other times it was money, sometimes it was gift vouchers. He never really bothered with the gifts, though, it was the words that he clung onto with his dear life. For seven months, they came from a return address in San Diego and then, later, started arriving from somewhere in New York. He had folded up every letter and placed them in a small box under his bed so that he could read them at night, so that he could imagine that his sister wasn't on the other side of the country.

She never seemed to talk much about what it was that she was doing in New York, or how she had even ended up there in the first place. She just asked him how he was doing, how the food was, how the family was, and he always gave her a positive response even if it wasn't entirely the truth.

They fell into a pattern of making things seem more simple than they were, but Jude couldn't help but worry. He had a family, a home, and some good friends. Who did Callie have?

He never told her once that none of it seemed worth it without her by his side.

Two years into being fostered by the Halperts, their young son, michael, got sick. They were sorry to say goodbye to Jude, they promised that they had his best intentions at heart.

He didn't really mind though, he always knew that this was only temporary.

That's when he stopped receiving the letters. He figured that his address must have gotten lost in with the moving, but he had high hopes that she'd find him again.

He wondered what it was like in New York, he wondered if she was eating enough, if she had a home, if she was happy. It can get cold there in the winter, he always thought to himself, Hopefully she has a jacket.

He spent some time in a group home and then a placement with a less than pleasant man that only lasted a couple of months before he he was placed with the Fosters.

Nowadays, he knows what it's like to really belong to a home. He's happy, healthy, and loved. For a while, he thought about Callie less than he had before. He knew she was strong, and so he had himself convinced that she was probably already adopted by some lovely rich family, living in the East end of New York.

But ever since they asked him about the adoption, ever since they asked him to be their son, he hasn't been able to get her out of his mind.

He hasn't told them about her because she told him not to when they'd been seperated.

"You don't tell anyone about me, right? I don't want me ruining your chances at a forever family."

But he always wants to tell them about her, talk about how she was always so protective, talk about how she always put his needs ahead of hers. He wants to shout it sometimes, I have a sister! But he always keeps quiet.

It's been a week since they announced the plans to adopt and now he's sitting on the edge of his bed with a box of her letters on his knee. He pulls out one and opens it up, a pouch with a bean falls out onto the floor and he smiles.

"I wish I could find some magic beans."

He's four, and Callie is sitting at the edge of his bed reading him a book of fairy tales when he speaks up.

"What do you need magic beans for?"

He smiles. "Well, I mean, then one day I could see what it's like to walk up on the clouds."

She laughs and closes the book. "Well, I'll see if I can get you some of those, Jack."

He opens up the old, wrinkled letter and reads it for the 100,000th time.

Jude,

I hope that you are okay. I can't stop thinking about how much I wish that I could have gone with you, and how much I hope that you don't hate me for the decision I made. Right now, you're young, and so you might not fully understand why we've been seperated, but you'll get it soon enough. Trust me.

I just hope you know that it's for the best, that it's so that you can have a better life than you would stuck in the foster system.

It's been a while since I heard from you, and yet I still continue to write these letters. I'm sure you're busy with school, or your family, or whatever. I don't mind you not replying, I just don't have it in me to stop writing.

Things in New York are okay. I managed to get myself into a good group home since the family I was living with ended up having to move to Australia due to a family emergency. I have a job now that I go to every day after school, I want you to know that I'm saving all of my money in case you need me to come and find you.

I miss you, bud. Like, every single day. It gets harder and harder, and I hope that it isn't as painful for you as it is for me because, frankly, it's exhausting. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise, Jude.

Just please don't ever forget that I will be there in an instant if you need me, okay?

Love you,

Callie.

He closes over the paper and sighs. This was the last letter that she sent, or the last letter that he'd received. He assumes that it has something to do with moving out of the last house; he thinks that maybe the family never bothered to send another address for her.

He wonders what the letters would look like now.

He wonders if she'd ever admit that she might need him just as much as he needs her.

A knock at the door shakes him from his reverie and he hides the letter under his pillow, looking up to see Stef standing at the doorway with a warm smile on her face. Sometimes, Stef reminds him of Callie.

"Jude, sweets. Dinner's ready."

He follows his mom down to the kitchen to sit down for dinner and does what he's been doing every night for the past month. He looks around the table and he thinks about Callie.

What would the fosters think of Callie if they knew her? Would they think that she has lovely eyes? Would they be grateful for how protective she is? Would she enjoy Lena's cooking? Would she get along with Mariana?

Would she be safer than she is right now?

Would she be happier?

Because, as much as he doesn't care to admit it to himself out loud, he knows that she's not as happy as she used to be. He hasn't heard from her in two years, but the last letter he received had worried him a little, she had been a little less convincing.

He shakes the thought away and goes to work on convincing himself that she's currently living in a brownstone in New York with a lovely mother and a caring father.

Later that night, before he goes to bed, he decides to write another letter to her in hopes that she might receive it from her last known address. He'd tried it before a few times but had never heard back.

He hopes that, maybe, this time he'll be more lucky.

Dear Callie,

I know that it's been a couple of years since we last spoke, a lot of stuff got in the way and I'm sorry if you sent me anything that I didn't receive. I never got adopted by that family, but I've finally found my forever family. I'm getting adopted, Cal! Can you believe it?

I have two moms, one of them is a cop and the other is the vice-principle at my school, anchor beach. I have two brothers and a sister and I live in a really really nice house and I'm really happy.

I miss you, Cals. Like, a lot. I hope that you are doing as good as I am. I hope that you haven't forgotten about me, and I hope that we can finally meet up again soon. I haven't told this family about you, but I will one day. They're all really accepting and nice and so I think that they'd like to hear all about you.

My mom, Stef, reminds me of you. She's stubborn, and very protective. I think that you'd like her very much.

I want you to write back if you get this. I need to know that you are okay, even though I know you well enough to understand that you might not actually tell me if you're not.

I hope that you have a forever family, cal. But don't forget that I will always be your brother.

Love you lots,

Jude.

PS. I never did plant that bean, found my way up to the clouds without it thanks to you.

In the end, he sighs and scrunches up the letter before tossing it into the trash. He can't handle being disappointed one more time.

Hopefully, one day, she'll find him. It can't be that hard, can it?

A/N: I hope that was okay, I'll try update again asap. Please please please let me know what you think. I'm not going to drag it out for too long, so Jude might have to tell the parents (or they might have to find out themselves) about Callie soon.

I'd also really appreciate some ideas on where to take this story. I have some major parts planned out, but maybe some requests or suggestions from you guys might help me figure the blank bits out!

Thanks again.