*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE FOSTERS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS

** SOME STRONG LANGUAGE USED PROCEED WITH CAUTION

MARIANA'S POV

After Brandon gets punched in the stomach, I realize how real and harsh the situation we are in is. And how long we might be stuck here. I know for a fact Moms don't have that kind of money. Who knows what will happen to us if they don't come up with the money. But I think it's time that I figured out what's happening, why we were even kidnapped. Brandon is still breathing heavily, his head is on his lap. "Hey," I cautiously say, "Brandon," he still doesn't look up, "So did Callie tell you what happened with Liam?"

He still doesn't look up. I figure he doesn't know anything, and that he's not going to talk to me. But he finally says, "All she told me was that there was this guy, that she had a fling with, and that she really did like, but he got Jude and her kicked out. They didn't even give her clothes or food or a chance to explain. They got kicked out the next morning."

Callie never told me any of this, I knew she had a rough time, but not this rough. "Well what about you and Callie? What's going on with you two? I thought you liked her."

He sighs, "Well you thought right. And I still do like her. But don't think I didn't hear you two talking. I know she doesn't actually like me back. That's why I ran off like that. I was so mad and upset, but mostly hurt."

His head still in his lap, I can tell he really does like Callie, might even love her. "I can't believe you. She was talking about," I look into the other room to make sure our kidnappers are not listening, "She was talking about not liking Wyatt genius. That's what you get for spying on us."

Brandon finally looks up and says, "So do you think.. you know.. she might.. like me back?"

His eyes are full of hope, "Brandon, honestly I think what you two have going on is more than 'like'. You guys have a real connection, and you can't ignore it just because one of you is afraid of the consequence. Especially Callie, she's the one who's always up for breaking the rules for the people she loves, and I think now it's your turn."

"But do you think she likes me?" Brandon asks, pushing for an answer.

"Brandon, she never told me whether she likes you or not, " I slowly say. Brandon puts his head back in his lap, he groans inwardly to himself. "But, Brandon, listen to me!" He still doesn't look up. "Brandon look at me dammit!" I shout, he looks up because I have never yelled at him before. "Like I said earlier, go for it. She never told me if she likes you or not, but without her telling me. I can tell she feels as much passion as you do. When we get back I think you should ask her out."

Brandon gives me a small smile, "Thanks. But that's a big 'if' we get back. Moms don't have this kind of money."

I am going to tell him that, they are our Moms, they'll find a way, but I hear the door open, and Liam walks in.

BRANDON'S POV

Liam comes into the room, "For once Loverboy, I have to agree with you. It's a big ' if ' you get back."

I squirm in the chair I am tied to, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough of it to warn you that you do not want to be with Callie."

"And why is that?" I ask.

"My parents fostered Callie three years ago. She was the first foster child that was close to my age; she is three years younger than me. We hung out a lot, and over time, I grew to like her. Kind of the way you like her now."

I sneer at him, "I bet you don't care for her half as much as I do." I see Mariana smile out of the corner of my eye.

" You don't think I cared for her? Well one night I told her I liked her, and then she said we couldn't be together because we could get kicked out. If my parents saw me with 'the foster girl', they would definitely kick me out. But I was willing to risk it, I don't get why she wasn't. I thought she genuinely liked me. Callie is a stubborn girl, if she doesn't want a relationship, it's not going to happen Brandon. You should stop trying. "

" Well unlike you, I'm not going to give up on Callie," I say with confidence.

"You think I gave up on her?" Liam yells. It's so sudden Mariana and her chair fall over. Liam lifts her back up and says, "You think I stopped caring?" Liam looks at the wall like he is recalling a memory. "And I regret doing it every single day," he mumbles softly to himself.

"Doing what?" I say, anger starting to boil up inside of me again. "What did you do to Callie? Tell me RIGHT NOW or I swear-"

Liam looks away with regret, but then suddenly looks back at me, his eyes on fire, "You know what? Why am I telling you all this? Why are you telling me what to do? You are the captive. You should be scared of me. Yeah you Loverboy SHUT UP AND STAY STILL."

And with that Liam walks out of the room and slams the door.

Mariana whispers, "Hey Brandon, let's try to get some sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

I look out the door and at Liam, "Fine," I say. But the anger is still burning inside of me. I am going to figure out what he did to her, and punish him for it, no matter what.

JESUS' POV

I come down the stairs to see Moms and Mike come in holding envelopes, I guess its the money. "How much is that?" I say.

"About 440,000."

"But that's not enough. We need $500,000 to get them back, knowing Liam even more."

"You don't think we know this isn't enough! We are doing the best we can," Mom (Stef) says, "And Callie we don't want to put you in a position that you're uncomfortable with so this is entirely up to you. We don't want to put you in danger in any way but we were thinking if Mike and I went with you for protection, you could make the drop with this money because he would listen to you."

"Why," I scoff, "Because he has some silly crush on her?"

"No Jesus because he raped her and now has some creepy obsession with her," Mom (Lena) practically yells at me.

Jude looks shocked, "Liam.. Raped you? Callie why didn't you tell me?"

"Jude, I.. I'm sorry but you were too young and-"

"It's okay sis, but you still should've told me." Jude hugs Callie.

"Hey Callie," I say, she just looks at me.

"You're not gonna yell at me again are you?" she says with a smirk, at least she still has her sarcastic sense of humor.

"No I'm not. I'm sorry for being such an idiot, I should've heard you out before running off like that. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. But now we've gotten that out of the way, can we talk about how we're get Brandon back? And Mariana? I'm willing to do anything if it means getting them back."

"Okay," Mom (Stef) says, "Here's what we are going to do."

CALLIE'S POV

It's now 6 pm, I am about to call Liam to see where he wants to meet. I am kind of scared, but mostly filled with adrenaline. We need to get Mariana and Brandon back.

Brandon. You really don't know how much you love someone til' their gone. I really miss him, I need him.

"Callie, you ready?" Jesus says which breaks my train of thought.

"Oh.. um.. Yeah. Lets do this."

I dial the blocked number, "Liam?" I cautiously say.

"What do you want?" he angrily says.

"We have your money. Now we want Brandon and Mariana."

"Fine, a deal's a deal. We will meet outside of our old foster home at 9 tonight. I think you know where it is, right?"

"Of course." I obviously know where it is. After the whole 'incident' I would go major lengths

to avoid walking on that street.

"You can bring your whole posse along, your moms, the twin bro, Jude, but NO COPS."

I have to smile at that, he obviously doesn't know that Stef is a cop. He doesn't know about Mike either. "Fine, we will see you later."

"Later Cal." And he hangs up. I cringe at the old nickname he used to call me.

"Kay it's all set up, let's get everything together."

• • • • •

I am standing outside my old foster home from three years ago. Even standing outside it brings back horrible memories. It helps though to know that Stef, Lena, Jesus, and Jude are here too. They are right in the car next to me. Mike is in his car right behind them. It's already 9:10 pm, where could Liam be? Is he backing out of this deal? Right then a black SUV pulls. Classic kidnapping sequence style. Liam hops out the of the drivers side and opens the passenger door and pulls Mariana and Brandon out. Mariana looks like she's been crying, her eyes are all red and puffy. But Brandon just stares at me, like he's trying to figure something out. Their hands a still tied together, but their legs are free and they can speak. "Okay I have Loverboy and Crybaby over here, where's the money?"

I show him the envelope. "On three, okay?"

"One, two, three." I toss the envelope up in the air and he pushes Brandon and Mariana forward. Jesus jumps out of the car and Mariana runs into his arms and starts sobbing. "Shh, shh everything's okay now everything's okay," Jesus whispers into the top of her head.

Brandon just walks over to me and says, "I'm so sorry."

In that moment, I couldn't care less about the rules. I untie his hands and I pull him into a hug. We stay like that for what seems like forever until Liam yells, "WHAT THE HELL?! THIS IS $500,000. You guys are short."

He pulls Brandon away from me and drags him back toward the SUV, "LIAM Liam listen to me,"

He looks at me, "WHAT?"

"That's all the money we have. Please. We'll find a way to get you the rest, please. Why are you doing this?"

"Why Callie. Why would you rather be with him than me, huh? What does he have that I don't?" Liam looks like he is on the verge of breaking down.

"Because Liam, when I told Brandon we couldn't be together, he didn't take advantage of me. He didn't rape me."

Brandon's face is full of shock. "You raped her?! You son of a-" He throws a punch at Liam, and Liam blocks it, and punches the side of Brandon's face. Brandon's kneeling on the ground, and now Stef and Lena are running out of the car. "No, stay back," I say, "Please."

They stay with Jesus and Mariana, Lena rubbing Mariana's back. Stef looks ready to pull out her gun and shoot Liam in the forehead.

"Well then, if you can't be with me, you can't be with anyone."

He pulls out a pistol and aims it at my heart, we hear the click, and Mariana yells, "NO!"

What Liam doesn't see is Brandon getting up ready to punch him, but Brandon's just a bit too late. Liam has already pulled the trigger, but Brandon knocks him off balance enough so it's not aiming for my heart. It seems like everything is going in slow motion, and I can see the bullet coming towards me. It hits me in the stomach, but I don't feel any pain. I just fall to the ground. Liam just starts running away forgetting about his car, and Mike and Stef run out and chase him. Stef yells, "LENA CALL 911!"

I can see Brandon and Jude hovering over me. Jesus and Mariana are by the car with Lena, Mariana crying even more now. Jude's lip is quivering, but he is trying to be strong for me. Brandon is taking off his plaid shirt (he still has a t shirt under), and is pressing it against my wound. He says, "Please. Callie. Stay with me I can't lose you now. Just concentrate on my voice. Callie, please, Callie, Callie, Callie Call-" His voice seems to be fading away, my vision is becoming blurry.

All I can see, is the starry sky above me now, but before I black out, I hear a soft whisper, "I love you."