A/N: Hey Friends- first I wanted to thank you all for the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys rock! I also wanted to thank Lacorra and Goodgirlz333 for helping me and being so... flexible haha. Secondly, feel free to leave suggestions on where you'd like the story to go, I have a pretty clear idea on what's going to happen next but I'm open to new ideas!
I Do Not Own The Fosters.
"Callie?" Jude croaked, worry filled his voice as he shook Callie by the shoulders. He found her in a closet about an hour or so later, unconscious, and he was scared. As Callie came to, she felt the pain creep up her spine and shoot through her ribs and hips. She felt a mixture of regret and frustration when she paused, Jude rarely ever spoke and to hear his voice for the first time in months made her heart leap. She looked at him with tears threatening to spill over and smiled briefly; "I'm okay bud... I just need to sleep it off" Callie knew it was worse than she was saying, but there was no reason to upset him even more. She used Jude to balance herself and they made their way up the stairs, it was a painfully slow trek up the stairs.
As Stef locked up the house and turned off lights, Lena was tucking the kids in and kissing them good night. She stopped briefly in Brandon's doorway to watch his fingers glide over the keys and his head bob to the beat of the music. She smiled as she went up, ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek;"Mama don't sneak up on me like that!" He turned to her, pulling out his ear buds and grinning at her." "Oh, I'm sooo sorry" she replied sarcastically; "10 more minutes and then in to bed, okay?" "Alright... Uh hey Mama? Do you think I could bring two lunches tomorrow? For Callie and her brother?" Brandon looked at her hopefully; "I'm not sure B, I will think about it... At the rate you're going, I'm going to be feeding the whole school soon!" She joked in attempt to lighten the mood. Brandon chuckled quietly and shook his head "Good night Mama" He gave her a hug and set about getting ready for bed.
Lena stepped out of the bedroom and walked right in to Stef's arms, they hugged a moment before walking hand in hand to their room. "So Brandon wants to bring extra lunches to Callie and her brother tomorrow..." Lena offered casually as she applied lotion to her legs; "Oh? You're both really concerned about them huh?" Stef brought the brush through her hair and glanced over at her wife; "Yeah, his natural tendency to help people is so sweet and I think the siblings really need it" "Do you think they're being abused? Or neglected?" Lena walked up behind Stef and started massaging her shoulders; "Well besides the lunches or lack there of... There's no other reason to believe that..." "Then I really don't think you two should be worrying" Stef took Lena's hand and kissed it gently; "I can't help it... It's just a gut feeling." "Love, can we really afford two more lunches based on a gut feeling?" Stef watched as Lena sighed in desperation and decided to just drop it for tonight, it was no use trying to convince her wife when she had nothing to persuade her with. "I suppose you're right..." The two women crawled into bed and Stef took Lena in to her arms and rested her face in the crook of Lena's neck; "I love you and I love your passion for these children, I know you'll do the right thing" She whispered and kissed her wife on her neck; "Good night love" Lena stared ahead and listened to her wife's breathing even out indicating that she had fallen in to a deep slumber.
"1, 2, 3, 4... 5 lunches? I thought you weren't going to give them lunch anymore?" Stef directed an accusatory look at Lena and then continued to place a piece of fruit in each bag; "I'm doing the right thing" Lena replied with air quotations, "Besides, I'm sure Brandon will lose interest and then we'll be able to move on." Lena leaned over to put a second sandwich in Jesus's bag and kiss her wife good morning. "Okay" Stef was hesitant but finished packing all 5 lunches upon Lena's insistence. Mariana made her way in to the kitchen and took a seat at the counter, she reached for a cereal bowl and finally noticed the extra lunch sacks; "I know Jesus eats a lot but don't you think three lunches is a bit much?" She looked at the moms quizzically as Brandon appeared at the bottom of the stairs smiling from ear to ear; "Those are for Callie and her brother! Right Mama?!" Brandon was thrilled that his mothers saw it his way and decided to assist him, "Yes B" Lena replied casually while she placed the lunch bags in their designated backpacks. "Isn't Callie the girl you went and sat with instead of Mari and I? She's kinda freaky" Jesus shrugged his shoulders as he sauntered in to the kitchen, grabbing an orange and a banana on his way to the counter. "She's not freaky! She's just... Shy." Brandon said defensively and Jesus held up his hands in surrender; "Okay whatever!" "Hey hey, that's enough, let's finish up breakfast please? So we're not late!" In an exasperated tone, Stef looked at her wife and tilts her head, sending a silent message; "It's going to be fine" Lena whispers and the ladies kiss each other goodbye; "I'll see you this evening"
Today, Jesus and Mariana waited in the court yard with Brandon, in effort to support their brother and help these mystery kids. "Where are they?" Jesus asked anxiously as he was not a patient man; "They'll be here any minute, they get off of bus 3..." Brandon glanced at Jesus and then back at the parking lot; "You don't have to stay..." He said rather hopeful as not to make Callie uncomfortable. "We want to meet them!" Mariana stated; "You didn't stop talking about her at all last night, she seems important." Mariana glared at her oldest brother; "There they are!" Brandon hopped up from his seat to meet them in front of the school entrance again. "Hi Callie! This is my sister Mariana and my brother Jesus! Jesus, Mari, this is Callie and her brother!" Jude grinned, the possibility of having more friends was thrilling and the highlight of his morning. Unfortunately Callie was still feeling the beating from last night and the pain was clouding her judgement, so she simply nodded in acknowledgment in their direction. "Well here are your lunches!" Brandon handed over the sacks and noted the gratitude in Jude's eyes, Jude took his own lunch bag and went up to Brandon to hug him in thanks. Callie then took Jude's hand and led him in to Anchor Beach without another word. "Well she's... Friendly?" Mariana was confused as to how Brandon could befriend someone as cold as Callie but was whisked away by a few friends before she could question him anymore. "Yeah... I gotta go." Jesus shook his head, slightly disappointed that he missed the free time before school began to meet Callie and Jude... Who didn't prove to be a better alternative. Brandon watched his siblings go their own way before he started for the double doors, he knew something was wrong and he was going to take it upon himself to find out what it was.
Callie spent most of the day in sort of a daze, as the pain really was making it merely impossible to focus on anything else. She sat staring out the window when the bell caught her attention, she slowly stood up and gathered her books when her teacher asked her to stay behind; "Hey Callie, is everything okay? You didn't really participate in class and to be honest, I'm not really sure you were completely here today..." Mrs. Connors looked at Callie meaningfully, patiently awaiting an answer from the young girl. Callie swallowed the lump in her throat and look away; "Y-yes I'm fine." "Are you sure? Perhaps a visit to the nurse would do you some good" She tilted her head to look in to Callie's eyes, she saw the panic etched on her face and decided she would need to bring this to Karina and Lena's attention, "No, I will be okay. Thanks." Callie glanced up at Mrs. Connors, forced a smile and swiftly left the room.
Stef thought today would be a good day to surprise her wife with lunch, she has had a lot on her mind. She carefully made her way through the busy courtyard towards Lena's office when she spotted Mariana and Jesus with a large group of friends, they were so preoccupied with their lunches and the chatter that they didn't even notice her. She then started to look for Brandon, she was secretly hoping to get a glimpse of Callie. She continued walking when she saw B sitting with who she assumed was Callie and Jude. She started making her way towards Brandon's table when she heard her name, she spun around to see a smiling Lena; "What are you doing here!?" Stef glanced back at B and his friends and figured it was best to let them be; "Oh, I thought we could have lunch together? I brought Thai!" Lena grinned and led Stef through the sea of kids towards her office. Finally at their destination, they took their seats and began distributing food; "Hey, who was B sitting with?" Lena looked up from her noodles and tilted her head; "That's Callie and her brother..." "Oh... They look... A bit rough" Lena gave Stef an "I told you so" look and resumed eating; have you looked at their files or gotten any info on them?" Stef was starting to see what had her wife and son so concerned and she could feel the worry bubble up inside her. "Nope, I haven't had any reason to pull the kids records and we can't just call child protective services based on a whim" Stef looked at her wife in disbelief and sighed as she realized there was nothing that could be done right now.
"Did you try the apple tarts? Those are my mom's favorite and she doesn't share well" Brandon had been sitting with the Jacob sibling for nearly a half hour and neither of them has said a word. He was used to Jude's silence by now but he was worried about Callie; "I don't really like them but Jesus and my mom compete to see who can eat the most!" He couldn't help but laugh when Jude took a bite of his apple tart and smiled like none other. Callie had been picking at her lunch, she didn't have much of an appetite but didn't want to come off rude... She really was thankful for the lunches and Brandon's friendship, she just wasn't in the mood. Luckily she was saved by the bell. she carefully got to her feet and thanked Brandon as she followed Jude back toward the school.
As Lena strode through the halls of Anchor Beach, she thought of all the things she needed to get done before the final bell of the day rang. She was in her own little world when an elementary teacher stepped in her path; "Oh Heather! Hi! I'm sorry I'm not paying attention..." "No no, Lena it's fine, actually do you have a moment to talk privately?" Lena took her middle finger and her index finger and massaged in between her eyes, she could feel a migraine coming and she wasn't prepared; "Uh sure, let's just step in to your room" Heather closed the door behind them and looked over at Lena; "I'm so sorry to take your time, I know you're a busy lady and you have far more important things to be doing right now..." Heather looked on apologetically as Lena nodded, giving her the "Go ahead", "I am extremely concerned about Jude Jacob and his progress here at Anchor Beach." She figured it was best to get to the point as Lena was obviously in a hurry; "I haven't heard him say a single word since he joined my class and his grades are not good... I'm not sure how he is even a student here..." Heather felt guilty as this could potentially get Jude removed from the Anchor Beach program but she felt she was doing him an injustice for his education. "Okay, I will take a look at his file tonight or tomorrow and then I will get you and Karina together to discuss what needs to be done... Alright?" Unbeknownst Lena, she found another piece of a rather complicated puzzle...