Chapter 4. Guarded

"Mom?" Called Brandon.

Stef had her back turned to him, as she looked through the fridge. She turned around to face her son, "Hey, hon. What's up?"

Brandon sat down at the table. "Mom, we need to talk."

"Okay," said Stef, shutting the fridge door. "What's on your mind?"

"I think you better sit down, Mom," said Brandon. "This is pretty important."

Stef's face clouded with concern, as she sat across from Brandon, and asked; "What's wrong? Is everyone okay?"

Brandon took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before speaking. "Yeah," he began. "Everyone's fine. Including Callie."

Stef raised her eyebrows with surprise. "You heard from Callie?"

"Actually," Brandon admitted, "I didn't just hear from her. I saw her. She's... upstairs."

Stef started to stand up, but her son gestured for her to stay put. "She's home," he warned, "but she's had a rough trip home, and she's pretty worried that she won't be welcome back here. So please don't go all 'bad cop' on her, okay?"

Stef laughed. "When do I ever go 'bad cop' on people?"

Brandon raised his eyebrow with a mischievous grin.

"I just want to talk to her and make sure she's okay," said Stef. She put her hand on Brandon's shoulder. "Go ahead and ask her to come down. She and I will have a good talk. Tell her I can't wait to see her."

"Will do," said Brandon. "And thanks," he added as he turned to leave the kitchen. When he got upstairs, Callie was sitting on his bed. She was wearing clean clothes, some of the new things Lena had bought for her to wear to school. She looked nice, Brandon thought.

He went to her side. "Callie?" He said, "I talked to mom, and she wants you to come downstairs and talk with her. She's in the kitchen."

Callie looked panicked.

"Hey, don't look so scared. It'll be fine," Brandon assured her.

"You don't know that," said Callie. "Your moms probably hate me now."

Brandon sat down next to her. "No, they don't," he promised. "They're hurt that you left, but no way do they hate you. They've missed you, and mom even just said she can't wait to see you."

Callie's face hinted at a smile. "Really?" She asked.

"Yes," said Brandon. "Go and talk to her." He hugged her, and wished her good luck.

Callie walked downstairs slowly, her nerves alive with anxiety. Cool, calm, and collected, she silently coached herself. When she reached the kitchen, Stef was sitting at the table. When her foster mother saw her, she stood up. "Oh, Callie" she said. "Come here and let me give you a hug." Callie went to Stef, who took her into her arms in a warm and loving embrace. As they held onto each other, Callie burst into tears. So much for cool, calm, and collected, she thought, as tears trailed down her cheeks.

"Baby," Stef soothed, trying to comfort her. "Don't cry. You're safe now."

Callie sniffled. "I'm sorry," she said.

"I know, love. I know," Stef said calmly. "We'll talk about it." She led her foster daughter to the living room. "Let's talk in here." They sat down next to each other on the couch, and Stef got a tissue and wiped Callie's tears from her face. Then, she took the girl's hands in hers."Callie, honey," she said. "You scared us to death. Why on earth did you run away? Aren't you happy with us?"

Callie knew her foster mother deserved the truth, but there was so much she couldn't tell. The kiss at the wedding, her feelings for Brandon, the details of her fight with Jude, and now her pregnancy. She started to feel the invisible walls go up around her. They had been protecting her for as long as she could remember. Usually, the walls went up when she felt she was getting too close to someone. If she didn't let people love her, it wouldn't matter when they let her down. But the problem was, she not only loved Stef, but respected her. She wanted Stef to love her, and she wanted to be honest with her. She decided that if she chose her words carefully, she could tell most of the story; how she was feeling at the time, without revealing the sordid details. She could be honest, while still staying guarded.

"I got scared," she said, breaking the silence. "I did something dumb, and Jude and I got into a huge fight before the wedding. He said... things... that hurt my feelings. He blames me for us getting kicked out of our other foster homes."

She paused, waiting for Stef to ask for details. When she didn't, Callie continued; "I was afraid that things wouldn't last here, and if I did something wrong and we had to leave, Jude would be hurt again. I thought he would be better off without me. You all would."

Stef couldn't believe what Callie had just revealed. How could she think any of them would be better off without her? "Oh, baby. You've got it so wrong," Stef said, tears filling her eyes. "Lena and I love you so much. We want you to be our daughter. That's why we want to adopt you!"

"You still want to adopt me after all the trouble I've caused?" Callie asked.

"Yes, of course we do!" Stef told her. "Look, I know it's hard for you, but you need to realize that you and Jude are here to stay. Nothing either of you can do will change that. We're a family, and families don't just place out a member when they make a mistake. Our love for you doesn't have conditions. Do you understand that?"

Callie nodded. "I'm trying."

"That's all I can ask," said Stef. "But we do need to discuss what you did. Running away is not the answer to your problems, honey. It's very dangerous. I should know. I see the bad things that can happen to runaways all the time at work. We are all extremely blessed that you made it home safely. It could have been tragic. And besides that is the fact that you could of broken your parole by running away. Luckily, your adoption is already in the works, and you're no longer required to go to group therapy."

"I'm not?" Callie asked, delighted by this bit of news.

"Nope," said Stef, "But that isn't the point. You got off easy this time, but maybe next time you won't. So I need you to promise me that if you have a problem in the future, you'll come to us instead of running away again. You can always come to us. Okay?"

Callie looked down at her lap, then back at Stef. "I promise. I know running away was a mistake. I just wish I could take it back. And I really am sorry."

"Thank you, sweetheart," said Stef. "I also want you to apologize to Lena when she gets home. Will you do that?"

"Sure," Callie nodded.

"Good. Now you come here and let me give you another squeeze," Stef said, reaching out with open arms. As she hugged her foster daughter, she hurt for her. She silently prayed that her words got through to Callie, as she kissed her temple and whispered, "I love you." And she smiled as she felt Callie hold her a little tighter.

To Be Continued