What if…

Disclaimer: ABC Family is credited with the basic storyline and the wonderful characters, things you haven't seen on the show, that's all me!

Summary: Something stopped Callie that night and she never left the Foster home. Can she assimilate into their family lifestyle or will it all be too much for her.

Notes: It seems like everyone has a little something they want to see in the story but not specific big plots. That's fine; I'll keep the creative juices flowing and try to incorporate the family interactions that people want to see within the story. I have a couple of ideas at the end of the chapter if you guys want to give them a look and decide whether or not you want to see them come to fruition in this story. And as always, enjoy!

IMPORTANT: I'm using my own storyline, from my story Truth, of how the Liam saga played out in my other story Truth, it's not that I didn't like how the show handled it, I just kind of like how everything was finalized in my version and it's where my mind is when I'm writing so it would be too difficult to turn my mind off.

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As Brandon got the books for his morning class out of his locker, he tried to come up with something to say to Talya about why he was going to have to end their re-budding relationship. Even though he really enjoyed spending time with her, he didn't have the same kind of feelings for Talya that he did for Callie. And he knew it really wasn't fair to Talya to drag her along.

"Hey stranger," came a voice to the right of him. He was a little surprised to see Talya hanging off the side of his locker. She usually hung out with friends before school and only met up with him right before first period. "I didn't hear from you at all yesterday, everything alright?" She asked.

"Um…yeah. We just spent the day as a family, you know, settling in after the wedding and all," Brandon lied. He didn't want to tell her that he spent the day locked in his room, barely doing anything, in an attempt to give Callie the space she was clearly asking for.

"Oh, that's cool I guess," She said, linking her arm with his as they walked through the hallway.

"So, not that I mind or anything, but why aren't you with the girls…you know, gossiping?" Brandon asked, feeling a little uncomfortable at how clingy Talya seemed all of a sudden. If Brandon really thought about it, Talya had been like this since they had gotten back together, but he had been very distracted with his mom in the hospital and then all the wedding preparations.

"Oh… well I don't really talk to Meghan and Laura anymore," Talya said, uncomfortable with the topic. She hadn't really spoken to them since the video of her topless had been leaked on the internet. Whereas she had considered herself pretty popular before that incident, she didn't seem to have too many people in her corner anymore these days.

"Oh," Brandon said, slightly distracted. He wasn't sure how he was going to break up with Talya…again. "Uh…before I forget. Lena had a favor to ask of us," Brandon said, sticking to a topic that was safe.

"Oh?" Talya asked, surprised. As much as Brandon's parents had loved her before, they were a little colder to her after she had Brandon had broken up. Although she knew that Brandon didn't tell his moms why they ended their relationship, she was sure that anyone who broke their son's heart would be out of the family circle for a while.

"Yeah. She asked if we could kind of keep an eye on Callie, involve her and stuff. It's just that Jude is home sick and she's really worried about him. So she was hoping that you and I could keep her mind off of things," Brandon said, not wanting to give away anything that he shouldn't, like the fact that Callie tried to run away the other night.

"Of course," Talya readily agreed. Although she had felt threatened by Callie's presence in the Foster's home before, she had warmed up to the girl pretty quickly after she was the only one besides Brandon who stuck up for her when some boys showed her 'video' to the class.

Brandon was a little surprised at how quickly Talya had agreed to help Callie out but he was glad. He hadn't been able to stand it when she was so insecure and obsessed with his relationship with Callie.

Deciding to pocket the other conversation he needed to have with Talya for the moment, the two made their way to first period together.

Meanwhile, Callie was very distracted in her first period class. She sat in her desk and tried to pay attention but her knee was bouncing constantly and she kept looked at the clock, willing it to go faster. All she wanted was for this school day to end so she could get back to Jude. She kept having these flashes of how it was in the other foster home, how she had gotten back to the house to find Jude extremely pale, lying in bed confused and unaware of his surroundings. She had promised him that he would never have to go through that again, and that was a promise she was determined to keep.

She looked back up at the clock and noticed that only five minutes of the period had passed. That clock had to be wrong.

Mrs. Smathy, her math teacher, had noticed her inattentiveness and knelt next to her desk to see what was wrong.

"Callie, is something bothering you?" she whispered as to not draw the attention of the rest of the class who were working on the do now.

"I'm fine Mrs. Smathy. Sorry, I'll get to work," Callie said. She didn't want to draw her teacher's attention any more so she set to work on the do now, maybe time would move faster if she wasn't watching every second pass.

Back at the house Stef was warming up another bowl of soup for Jude, who had just woken up a few minutes ago. He had been quiet once he noticed Callie wasn't there and Stef had to explain that Callie was at school but she was there to help him with whatever he needed. He had nodded to show that he understood but hadn't spoken a word yet.

Stef sighed as the microwave beeped. She knew that Jude and Lena had built a stronger bond at this point, but she had been working on getting to know Jude better and making him comfortable in her presence. She hoped that he would be alright with just being with her today.

"Alright Sweets, soups up!" she said, walking back into the bedroom with a bowl balanced on a tray. She put the tray on the desk before helping Jude into a sitting position and propping him up with pillows. "Shouldn't be too hot," she commented as she put the tray on his lap.

"Thanks," He said, the first thing he had said all morning.

"I was wondering if this sickness had taken your voice," Stef joked. "Good to hear you talking again. Can you tell me how you feel?"

"Not too good, my head still hurts," Jude said, not quiet meeting Stef eyes. He seemed very focused on his soup bowl, not looking up from the steaming liquid.

"After you eat you can have some ibuprofen, which should help with the aches," Stef said, hoping he would just look up at her once.

Jude at his soup in silence, only finishing about half the bowl before flopping back into the pillows to signal that he was done eating. He felt Stef remove the tray but she didn't leave the room right away, instead she came and sat at the end of the bed, in the same spot Callie had slept the night before. Thinking about Callie, and what he had said to her the night of the wedding, a distressed moan left his lips.

"Are you in pain?" Stef asked, mistaking the sound for one that pertained to his illness.

"Can I ask your opinion?" Jude asked, instead of answering. When Stef hummed and affirmative answer he looked up at her and she was finally able to see the internal struggle that he was going through. It hurt her heart to see him so sad and she immediately made sure that he knew he had her undivided attention.

"If someone said something really mean to you, like on purpose because they were mad, would you ever forgive them?" he asked, thinking back to how he called Callie selfish.

"Well, to be honest, it would depend on what the person said and whether they were sorry for saying it, truly sorry," Stef answered. She wondered if someone had been picking on Jude again, she couldn't imagine that sweet boy saying anything mean to anyone. She thought back to how she hadn't seen Connor in a while and wondered if they had gotten into a fight.

"They said sorry, but the stuff they said was the worst things possible. And they were all lies too!" Jude said, feeling even sorrier.

"Sometimes people can be forgiven for saying things in anger, but not always, especially if the words were particularly hurtful. Let me tell you a story Jude, and let's see if this helps answer your question. Do you remember my dad? He came to dinner that night that Lexi's parents were here," she paused and waited for Jude to nod. "Well, do you remember seeing him at the wedding?"

Jude bit his bottom lip in concentration as he racked his brain for a memory of the man at the wedding. He was shocked that he couldn't remember him being there, what kind of father would miss his child's wedding? Eventually, Jude shook his head.

"You're right to not remember him there, because I uninvited him," she saw the shock fill Jude's eyes. "You see, when I was younger, a little younger than Jesus and Mariana, my dad found out that I might like women instead of men and he wasn't happy about it."

"Why?" Jude interrupted, suddenly very interested in where this story was going and forgetting what had prompted it.

"Well Jude, as you probably know, there are some people in this world who think that it isn't okay for a woman to love another woman or a man to love another man. It's not right, but that's just how some people think," she explained.

"I just don't understand why anyone else should have an opinion or care about who you love, as long as you love them," Jude answered, thinking back to the talk that he had Lena had after he got made fun of for painting his fingernails.

"You are 100% right babe, but not everyone is as smart as you unfortunately, my dad included. So, instead of being okay with how I felt about my friend, he got mad," Stef said.

"He didn't hit you did he?" Jude asked, an undertone of fear in his voice. Stef had to hold herself back from gathering Jude up in her arms. She hated that he associated anger with violence and, not for the first time since they came to live her, she wanted to find their previous foster parents and shake some sense into them.

"No Sweets, he didn't lay a hand on me, he used his words to hurt me though. One night he got really mad and he said that he could never love me if I was going to disrespect God's wishes and continue with my sinner lifestyle," Stef said, closing her eyes briefly at the painful memory, even to that day those words echoed in her head at times.

Jude's eyes were wide with shock. Even though he didn't really have a lot of memories of his dad, he couldn't imagine him saying that to him, ever. He could see that Stef was upset by the memory and he grabbed her hand to comfort her.

"Thanks babe," Stef said, coming out of the memory and rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "So to bring you back to your original question, my dad did apologize, years later, but I was unable to forgive him and because of that, I asked him not to come to the wedding. I only wanted people who truly supported me at mine and Lena's wedding."

"I'm sorry your dad said that to you, it was very mean of him," Jude said softly, thinking about whether what he said to Callie was as bad as what Stef's dad said to her.

"So do you want to tell me why you asked that?" Stef asked. "Is someone picking on you?"

Jude just shook his head negatively, unsure if he should tell Stef the truth. He was afraid, if she knew how mean he had been, she wouldn't want him to live there anymore.

"Jude…did you say something mean to someone?" Stef asked, slightly shocked.

Once again he didn't verbally answer; he just nodded and looked up at Stef with tears in his eyes. He didn't want her to hate him.

Seeing how upset he was becoming, Stef gathered him, blankets and all, and settled him in her lap. "Now, I know we haven't known each other for a long time Jude, but I think I'm pretty good at telling what kind of person someone is…and when I look at you I see a caring and sweet boy. Sometimes people say things in anger that they don't mean," she said, hoping to easy his worry.

"I told Callie she was selfish… and that she ruins everything…" Jude said quietly, so quiet that Stef almost missed it.

"Oh?" She replied, trying to figure out when this happened and what could have prompted the two siblings to fight.

"I just got so mad at her, I thought… well…" Jude struggled with figuring out what to say, he knew he couldn't say anything about catching Brandon and Callie kissing because then they would get removed from the house. But he also didn't know how he could explain how mad and mean he was to Callie without telling Stef about it.

"Well Jude, let me offer these words of advice. Your sister loves you so much, and it's an intense family love like I haven't really seen before in someone so young. I honestly don't think there is a single thing you could say to her that would change how much she loves you," Stef said, resting her head on his forehead as he relaxed in her lap. She could feel the tension leaving his little body as she spoke. "I can't promise that she will forgive you right away, but I know she will forgive you. Because a love like that doesn't dissolve because of one simple fight and some mean words."

They stayed in their snuggled position for the rest of the day, Jude sleeping and Stef rubbing his arms to comfort him.

Callie was trying to listen to Mr. Edwards as he went on about the power of expression and the strength of love in the novel they were currently reading but she felt her body drooping without her permission. The anxiety from the morning had drained out of her body as the day went on and she found herself running on fumes.

"And the theme, Love being able to overcome any obstacle, do we think this is a realistic theme? Is it applicable to our world today?" Mr. Edwards asked the class. He looked around, searching for a volunteer until his eyes fell on Callie. He had been keeping a close eye on her since she had been attacked and this was the worst he had seen her since then. She seemed dead on her feet. He thought that maybe, if she was actively participating, she would pepper up a bit. "Ms. Jacobs?"

Callie heard her name being called and she tried to raise her head to meet Mr. Edward's eyes to answer his question but she felt like there were weights on her head preventing her from lifting it. Callie found herself too tired to even care, it had been two days since she had actually slept for more than an hour and she felt like she just couldn't muster up enough energy to even care.

"Callie?" Mr. Edwards asked again, worried by her appearance and lack of response. At this point, the whole class had turned in their seats so they could watch the scene unfold. They figured Callie was just being a delinquent and refusing to listening to the teacher and were hoping for a show.

Seeing that Callie truly was unable to answer him, Mr. Edwards quickly turned to the rest of the class and gave them a silent reading assignment. Once they were occupied he turned his attention back to Callie and wondered if he should call a nurse.

"Callie I need you to answer me," he said softly, kneeling next to her desk, seeing her struggle to keep her eyes open. "Are you alright?"

Callie turned her head ever so slightly and Mr. Edwards could see the exhaustion on her face and how she struggled to stay awake.

"Alright, I'm going to send you to the nurse, there you can lie down and get some sleep that you look like you desperately need," Mr. Edwards finally decided. He looked around the classroom for someone he could trust to guide Callie to the nurse's office and felt himself wishing that Wyatt was still around because he knew the two of them had bonded over his guilt exercise. Feeling frustrated he turned back to the class and said, "I will be right back, that reading should keep you occupied. You won't like the consequences if I come back to find anyone out of their seats."

He gathered Callie's books and put them in her bag before slinging it over his shoulder and helping Callie stand. She leaned heavily on him and still hadn't said much which worried him. He guided her down the hallway to the nurse's office and moved her over to one of the beds they kept in the back.

"What seems to be the problem?" Nurse Jackson asked.

"She's exhausted, she could barely keep her head off the table in class," Mr. Edwards said, looking at Callie as she curled up on the bed and began to close her eyes.

"Well, too much late night TV huh?" the nurse commented, laughing at her own joke that neither of them thought was funny.

"Once she is settled, let Vice Principle Adams know she is here okay?" Mr. Edwards said, about to leave and get back to his class which was probably acting like a bunch of wild monkeys at the moment.

"Is she in trouble?" the nurse asked.

"No, Lena is her foster mother and would want to know if Callie was in the nurses office for any reason," Mr. Edwards said, shocked that the nurse didn't know that. He knelt down next to Callie's bed, where her eyes were open ever so slightly. "Get some sleep Callie; you look like you need it."

And with that, Callie's eyes drifted shut and she finally got the rest her body needed.

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So we had a little Jude/Stef interaction which was cute. I could see Jude trying to go to someone about what happened between him and Callie but having to be vague because of the circumstances so I tried to write it like that. Also, Callie was just exhausted at the end of this chapter; she isn't getting sick like Jude. Remember she hadn't slept for two days and had spent most of her waking time stressed out and anxious. So everything just caught up to her and she couldn't keep her body functioning.

Next chapter I think we will have a little Lena/Callie interaction in the nurses office. I might also have either Talya or Brandon see her there and go and check on what happened, maybe even have one of them go and tell Lena instead of the nurse. Let me know what you think about those ideas.

Also, I'm trying to figure out where I am going to be able to throw some Jesus and Mariana into the story. With Lexi gone, off to Honduras forever, and the thing with Anna kind of coming to a head, I'm struggling with how to incorporate them. I might have some kind of big blow up between them and their birth mom. I know she was arrested but since she didn't actually do anything wrong, I'm assuming that they would have to let her go and that she would continue to try and scam her kids out of money. That might also lead to a little foster family coming together against her kind of thing.

So those are some options. Hope everyone is enjoying.

PS: I'm going peach picking and making probably like a million jars of peach jam tomorrow so I don't know how much time I will have to write. I'll do my best though!