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: I wasn't sure if I was going to get an update done today but I'm glad to deliver. I hope everyone likes where the story goes in this chapter and some of you may even see some of your suggestions in the story! 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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"Hi, you've reached the Foster's …" Lena gently put the phone down with a worried look gracing her face. She had tried to call Stef at home three times already to see how Jude was doing and the fact that she hadn't answered her cell or the home phone was concerning.
Leaning back in her chair she wondered if Callie was faring any better, she knew how worried the girl must be. At least she didn't know about the lack of anyone answering the phone at home.
Lena tried to focus back on the work that she needed to have done. Student schedules for the next semester wouldn't get done on their own and, with so many requests for some higher level classes; she was going to have to see where they could trim some classes to add new ones.
Trying to ignore the worry in the pit of her stomach, Lena pushed the phone away and set back to work. With most of the kids here with her at school, and Jude home with Stef, she knew figured everything should be fine.
Talya was in the hallway, taking a break from a boring lecture on Newton's second law under the guise of needed the bathroom. She hated when Dr. Kevin lectured on topics and just expected them to sit and take notes for the whole period. She didn't even have Brandon in the class with her to pass notes to.
As she wondered past the nurse's office she was surprised to see Callie in the back, turning restlessly on one of the beds. She noticed the place where the nurse usually sat was empty and wondered what was going on. Not interested in returning to class anyway, she made her way into the office.
"Callie?" She asked softly, not wanting to wake her if she was actually asleep. As soon as she said her name, Callie's eyes opened and she sat up slightly on the bed, she wasn't happy that she was still awake but she knew she hadn't really been sleeping before Talya walked in anyway.
Although Mr. Edwards had left her there sleeping the period before, the nurse had been less than quiet and she went about her daily business and then she had made a point to wake Callie completely to tell her that she was going to the other side of the school to help the elementary nurse try and handle an outbreak of the flu. Callie had rolled back over and hoped to fall back asleep but the small amount she had gotten renewed her worries for Jude and she found herself feeling anxious in the nurses bed.
"Hey," She said softly, propping her back up against the wall and sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest.
"You alright? Where is the nurse?" Talya asked.
"I'm fine, just exhausted. Mr. Edwards brought me here to sleep but Nurse Jackhammer didn't seem to care the most people need quiet to sleep," Callie replied, a small smile gracing her face when Talya laughed at the nickname she had come up with for the nurse.
"Yeah, she isn't the most nurturing of nurses. The one in the elementary wing is much nicer," Talya commented. She was standing awkwardly near the bed, wondering if it would be weird for her to sit next to Callie.
"That's where she went; I guess there are a lot of kids who came to school sick today with the flu. Makes sense that Jude has it now, I never understand why parents send their kids to school sick," Callie said. She noticed how awkwardly Talya was standing and how uneasy she seemed after what Callie said so she moved over so that Talya could sit on the bed but still keep her distance from Callie if she didn't want to be too close to her. Talya took the opportunity to sit down; throwing the bathroom pass she had been playing with to the side.
"Sometimes parents can't take off, or get sitters. I know I went to school sick a few times because of that. I guess some parents think their jobs are more important," Talya answered. Callie looked at her with slightly wider eyes, she felt sorry that she said anything about it now. "It's fine and all, it's kind of nice to have the house to myself so much now that I'm older," Talya continued when she saw that Callie was pitying her. She hated being pitied, she had come to terms with her family situation a long time ago. That was why she loved the Foster's so much, their family dynamic was she envied and desired.
"So…" Callie said, trying to change the topic but not knowing what to talk to Talya about. She wanted to stay off the Brandon subject, seeing as how she kissed him the other night and he was technically now dating Talya…again. Unfortunately, she didn't know the girl too well and that was the only thing they had in common so she was drawing a blank on conversation topics.
"Yeah…" Talya echoed. Both girls paused and then began to laugh at the situation. Clearly they both couldn't find much to talk about.
"Thanks for coming and checking in on me. More than Nurse Jackhammer did," Callie said, giving Talya an out if she wanted to leave.
"No problem. Actually, seeing as how this is the first time we've been alone together since … well ever," she laughed at the thought. "I have something to say to you, I wanted to thank you, you know, for coming after me a few weeks ago. Besides Brandon, you were the only person that seemed to care how I felt about the…you know, video. And I know I wasn't always the nicest person to you, which was totally wrong of me, and yet you still stood up for me. I can see what Brandon saw in you." Talya had no idea how awkward she had just made this conversation for Callie with that last statement. Callie decided to try and ignore it.
"Those guys were jerks for videotaping you and assholes for posting it online. I know how much it sucks to have one mistake that you made, begin to define you," Callie said, referring to how her stint at Juvie kept her from making any friends at this school. Who were they to judge her, they had no idea what had happened, that she had only done what she did to protect her brother.
"Sorry about that again. I know I wasn't the most inviting person when you first got here," Talya apologized.
"It's cool. The word 'Juvie' scares most people. We're cool," Callie said.
"Well… I'm taking a really long time in the bathroom and Dr. Kevin is going to probably be suspicious when I get back," Talya said, grabbing her bathroom pass and standing up. "Try to get some more sleep, you look pretty tired still." And with that Talya left Callie alone in the nurse's office.
As soon as she was in the hallway she pulled out her phone and let Brandon know where Callie was. She knew that they shared the next class together and she didn't want him to worry.
Brandon was sitting in history when his phone vibrated, signaling an incoming text message. Discretely he pulled the phone out of his pocket and opened the message; he was surprised to see it was from Talya because she knew how he felt about texting during class.
Callie in nurse. Does ur moms know?
Brandon was shocked, and almost sure Lena didn't know, because if there was a chance that Callie was sick, Lena would have rushed her home so his mom could take care of her.
Brandon wanted to text his mama and let her know but he knew she would be upset with him texting in class, even if it was for a good reason. He decided to wait until the bell rang and he could visit her at her office, she would write him a pass if he was going to be late.
As soon as the bell rang he was out the door and quickly making his way over to the main office area. When he got there he noticed his mama's door closed.
"Is my mama in there?" he asked the secretary, hoping that maybe she was just taking a call and would be done soon.
"Sorry Brandon. She got called to the elementary wing because there seems to be a lot of kids coming down with the flu. She's helping with the phones so that all the parents can be notified and the kids can all be picked up as soon as possible," she told him and he bit his lip trying to figure out what to do. He knew Lena wouldn't want him running around the school looking for him and she also probably would have her phone on her if he tried to call or text her. He contemplated calling his mom but he knew that she was home with Jude and he wouldn't want to have her drag Jude out of the house to come get Callie while he was sick.
Biting his lip and bouncing on his toes for a minute Brandon made the decision to text Lena and hope she got it soon. He quickly made his way out of the office with his phone in hand, composing the message so it would be done by the time he got in class.
He arrived in music just on time and was very grateful to not have to explain why he was late. He couldn't help but notice Callie's empty seat and he began to try and mentally will Lena to check her phone.
"Jamie has a fever and needs someone to pick her up from school…yes…at the front…thank you very much," Lena said before hanging up. She was eternally grateful to finish calling the last parent on the list.
As a charter school, they did have a limited staff, and with this sudden outbreak of the flu she had been asked to step in and help notify the parents. She was more than thankful for the distraction though because she still had the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Thanks for all your help Lena," Nurse Jillian said, finishing her last phone call as well. "It would have taken us at least another hour to finish those calls if you hadn't come to save us," she joked.
"Not a problem at all. Glad that I could help. All those poor kids. I have one of my own at home sick today and I know he was miserable when we left today," Lena said, hoping Stef had gotten one of her messages and had called her back. She went to check her phone only to realize she had left it in her office.
"Who's home sick? Jesus? Mariana?" Nurse Jillian asked.
"No…it's Jude Jacobs actually, Stef and I have been fostering him and his sister Callie. We spoke with them the day of the wedding and they agreed to bless us by joining our family so we are going to start the adoption process soon. I guess I already see them as our children though," Lena said, sharing with her co-workers for the first time their plans to adopt again.
"Wow, adding two more to the family huh?" Jillian replied, happy for her co-worker and friend. "That's a big deal."
"Yeah, but they really deserve to have a good family, and they have enriched our lives from the moment they came into it. I can't imagine either of them not being there," Lena said, trying not to think about how they almost lost Callie the other day.
"Well congratulations, I think we all know that they couldn't have found a more loving family to join," Jillian said.
"Thanks Jill, I think I'll do some rounds and check on my children," Lena said, standing and stretching before walking out into the hallway.
Luckily she only had to visit two different classrooms to check on each of her children because third hour was when the twins shared a class and Callie and Brandon shared a class. She went to the twin's classroom first, making sure they were both paying close attention to their math lesson, especially Jesus because it wasn't his strongest subject. Smiling at how focused they both looked Lena went down the hall to the music area where Brandon and Callie should have been in class. She saw Brandon right away, headphones on, focused over a keyboard but looking frustrated. As she looked for Callie over in the area where the school guitars were, she was shocked to see she wasn't there.
Lena felt her body go cold at Callie's absence and immediately she began to think about the fact that Callie might have run, she might be gone. It wasn't an unrealistic fear, Callie had gotten off of school property and onto a bus without her knowing before, what was to stop her from doing it again? The feeling that she had in her pit of her stomach all morning intensified and she felt her knees go weak.
Her hand found the doorknob and she tried to will herself to open the door and ask about Callie's whereabouts. Maybe she had just gone to the bathroom or something, maybe nothing was wrong. After all, Brandon didn't seem too upset or bothered by her absence.
Eventually she calmed herself down enough to knock once before opening the door.
"Mrs. Adams, can I help you?" the music teacher, Ms. Simons, asked.
"I'm looking for Callie Jacobs?" she said, trying to steady her voice even though she was panicking on the inside.
"Callie never joined us today, and I don't believe I've seen her today," Ms. Simons said, only causing Lena's panic to rise.
Over in the corner, Brandon sighed in frustration as he once again missed a key note in the sequence he was practicing. He looked around to see if Ms. Simons was around to give him some pointers on how to get his fingers in the right position to complete it when he realized that everyone was looking over to the door, he was shocked to see his mama there, panic clearly creeping onto her face.
Immediately he realized that she probably didn't get his text and had no idea where Callie was, seeing as how she tried to run away two days before, he understood her panic.
Quickly taking his headphones off he got their attention by asking, "Are you looking for Callie?"
Lena and Ms. Simons turned towards him at his question.
"Do you know where she is?" Lena asked, desperately hopeful. Ms. Simons wasn't sure what was going on but she could tell it was serious so she stayed quiet and let the mother and son talk.
Brandon could see how frightened she looked, although she just seemed frazzled to the untrained eye, Brandon knew her too well and the glossy look in her eyes showed she was on the verge of tears. He quickly got up from the bench and went over to her, moving her towards the door and away from the other students because he knew she wouldn't want them to see her in this state.
"She is in the nurse's office, Talya saw her there last period," Brandon said quickly and quietly, he didn't need an audience or a bunch of kids gossiping about things they knew nothing about.
"Oh thank God," Lena said with a high sigh of relief.
"She's fine… I think," Brandon assured her, placing his hand on her arm to further calm her down.
Ms. Simons could see that this was a family thing that was going on between her vice principle and her student so she quickly got the attention of the rest of the students and made sure they were focused on their own work instead of what Lena and Brandon were talking about.
"Okay, I am going to check on her now, you alright to stay here?" Lena asked, knowing that she had frightened Brandon slightly by her reaction to Callie's absence from class. It hadn't been intentional but all she could think of, when she saw that empty seat, was that Callie had taken off and they were never going to see her again.
"I'm fine mama, go see her and make sure she's okay. If you need to take her home I'll make sure the twins walk home with me and we'll meet you there after school," Brandon said. As much as he wanted to leave class right away and check on Callie, he knew that she probably wouldn't want to see him at the moment and that someone had to be responsible for the twins if Lena had to bring her home.
"Thank you sweetie," Lena said, fighting back the urge to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. "I'll text you if we end up leaving. And I'm giving you permission this one time only to check your phone in class," she said with a smile.
"Got ya mama," he replied, watching her leave with a longing look. He wondered if he was going to regret his decision.
Lena tried not to run to the nurse's office but her pace was certainly quicker than normal. Had any student walked out of their classroom they would have witnessed their normally very reserved vice principle speed walking down the hall in heels, clacking loudly as she walked.
When she reached the secondary nurse's office she almost cried out in relief when she saw Callie sleeping on the bed in the back of the office. Even though Brandon had told her she was in the nurse's office, she couldn't shake the fear of her being gone until she finally saw her.
She already knew that Nurse Jackson was in the elementary wing but she wasn't too happy that she had left Callie here on her own and didn't even think to tell her that she was there. Sometimes she wondered why that woman even got into nursing in the first place, especially in a school district, if she didn't like kids.
She slowly and carefully made her way over to Callie's bed, trying to be quiet and not interrupt her sleeping. If she was sick she would need all the sleep she could get, especially if she caught Jude's flu.
Unfortunately for her, Callie had always been a light sleeper. It was something she had developed over years of living in abusive foster homes; she learned to always be on her toes.
"Lena?" she asked, slightly disoriented. She had just gotten back to sleep and now she was being woken up again, she began to wonder why she bothered.
"Hey Callie, you alright?" Lena asked, sitting on the very edge of the small bed, just needing to be close to her.
"Yeah, I was just so tired…" Callie said, embarrassed that she was in the nurse's office for being too tired. She wouldn't have ever checked herself into there but Mr. Edwards had been insistent and she was too tired to argue.
"But you're not sick?" Lena asked, needing confirmation.
"No," Callie said quickly. She propped herself on her elbow and tried to prove how 'not-sick' she was. As soon as she was sitting up, Lena couldn't help herself, she leaned in and pulled Callie to her and into a tight hug.
"Whoa," Callie said, not used to being hugged by anyone other than Jude. Lena held on tightly until Callie's arms came up to hug her back.
"I was so scared that you left us," Lena said into her hair, holding back tears.
Callie was shocked and froze. No one had ever wanted her before, no one had ever cared if she stuck around, she was used to being a once a month paycheck for her foster parents.
She felt loved and wanted…and it scared her.
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So… I was a little unsure of the chapter, and I'm afraid some characters might have been a little out of character and it wasn't really my intention. I needed to get certain plot points out and I think I may have sacrificed some of the characterization that I strive for…I hope not…but if it happened I am sorry and I promise I will be back on point in my next update.
On a happier note, I was able to incorporate a few suggestions from my wonderful reviewers. Lena finding Callie missing from class and going into a bit of a panic was someone's idea that I just found so perfect for my story so that was in here. And some of you asked for some Callie/Talya so that was there, I also had a very little Callie/Lena in the end. I plan to have a little more in the very near future but I loved the idea of Lena being so overwhelmed by Callie still being part of her life that she just hugged her. I felt that was a good place to stop this chapter.
Hope everyone enjoyed!
PS: I made enough peach jam to last me a lifetime…or a zombie apocalypse… whatever comes first.