"Jude's here!" Jesus trumpeted, spotting his youngest sibling, and then he noticed the extremely tall boy standing behind Jude, the boy with the ruined face. And Jesus said, "Holy shit," both because of who the boy was, and because of what had happened to him.
"Language," Stef scolded Jesus without turning away from the barbeque. It didn't matter that Jesus was well into his twenties, he would always be her child.
Before Jude could explain the situation to his mother, Mariana turned around and shrieked. "It's Connor, oh my god, it's Connor!"
She slid across the grass, flying past her little brother to hug the solider. "Hi! Oh my god, how long have you been home? Are you okay?"
Stef had abandoned her barbeque for a moment to go and meet with Connor. "Let the poor boy breathe!" She instructed Mariana, before she beckoned Connor into a hug of her own. She had spent countless hours getting to know Connor as he and Jude grew up together, and she would bet that, had one of her own boys gone to war, she would have been just as heartbroken as she had been when Connor had left. "How are you, love?"
"I'm good, Stef." Connor answered. "Mariana, I got home just a few days ago, and I'm okay."
He talked as he hugged Callie and greeted Brandon and Jesus with quick grasps of each other's arms and side hugs.
"I hate to ask the obvious," Jesus said, "but what happened to your face?"
"Jesus," Stef gasped.
"We were all thinking it," Jesus cried.
"Oh." There was a voice behind Connor; Lena, who had been upstairs, changing out of a t-shirt she'd spilled water on. "Is this Callie's mystery guest?"
Connor turned around. In the years since he had known Jude's family, he'd become close to all of them. They had accepted him as an honourary child. He felt as if Jesus and Brandon were brothers; Callie and Mariana his sisters. He respected Stef and he cared about her, but, behind Jude, it was Lena that Connor loved the most in the Adams Foster family.
"Hey," Connor said to her.
"Oh, Connor," Lena breathed. She sprinted the few steps that separated the few steps between her and the young man and, like all of her family members before her, she hugged him. "I've been so worried about you. I'm so happy to see you safe and home!"
"Me too," Connor admitted. "It's been a long three years."
"I bet," Lena agreed, stepping away from us. "This is a great surprise."
Connor grinned. "You should have seen Jude's face when I surprised him the night I got home."
"I bet he was shocked," Lena nodded.
"Come on guys, let's stop hovering over here," Stef began to shoo them toward the barbeque. "I have burgers to watch out for, so let's talk over there."
In a flurry of movement, lawn chairs were relocated next to the barbeque, so that they could talk to one another and Stef all at once. Jude maneuvered himself so that he ended up between Connor and Callie.
"Jude, why didn't you tell us Connor was home?" Stef asked, including her silent son in the conversation, as they all had learnt to do.
"Sorry," Jude mumbled without thinking about it. Now that he had fallen back into the habit of speech, he wasn't sure how he had gone so long without it. He lifted his eyes to Stef, who was beaming at him, but who was desperately trying not to show how glad she was to hear his voice.
"Well," Stef finally said, pointing her spatula at Jude, "I'll forgive you just this once."
Jude smiled at her, grateful that his family would accept his speech with the same clunky grace that they had accepted his silence. Jesus would be the most likely to make a comment about it, but Jude didn't hold it against Jesus in any way. He knew that his brother wasn't doing it to be cruel or spiteful, but that Jesus only commented the things he did because that was how Jesus communicated. Jude knew his brother loved him, just as he loved his brother. And if ever Jesus went too far, Jude knew that Jesus would back off and apologize the moment Jude indicated that he needed to.
He looked to Jesus then, to see his brother's reaction, but Jesus was only staring at him.
"What?" Jude finally asked.
"I … kind of thought you'd still sound twelve and my mind is just kind of blown."
"Wow, Jesus," Brandon shook his head. "You're off the walls tonight."
"You do seem kind of amped," Mariana agreed. "What's up?"
"I have an announcement!" Jesus stood up, commanding attention. "I have made the decision that next fall – I know, almost a year away – but … next fall, I will be going to university, after avoiding school for the past six years."
"Aww, honey," Lena exclaimed immediately. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks," Jesus beamed.
"Congratulations," Stef rasped. "Do you know what you're going to take?"
"You can't laugh," Jesus told the family seriously.
"We wouldn't," Callie assured him. "We know this is important to you."
"I want to become a teacher, well, a guidance counsellor, but I have to teach for a few years before I do that." He looked at Lena. "You inspired me, Mom."
Lena held her hands over her heart. "Oh. I love you. Come hug me."
Jesus leaned over, hugging the woman who was sitting next to him.
"Any other announcements while we're at it?" Stef questioned her children. "Mariana, you want to tell us about the new boyfriend?"
"He's technically an old boyfriend," Mariana confided. She twirled her hair around her index finger, before saying, "Do you guys remember Zac?"
"The one with the sick mother?" Lena inquired.
"Oh, him," Stef mused as Mariana nodded. "He was a sweet kid."
"Well, I ran into him a few weeks ago and we went out for coffee to reconnect and we just didn't want to stop talking."
"I've bet you've been doing some reconnecting," Jesus joked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Mariana stretched and hit her brother in the chest. "Luckily, he's matured since high school, unlike some people."
"You love me."
"You're my twin, I have to!"
"Okay, okay," Stef murmured, in the tone that let her children know it was time to settle it down. "Callie, Brandon, is there any good news either of you have?"
"I have something," Callie revealed.
Jude looked to his sister, waiting for her to reveal her relationship with Brandon. Somehow, he'd always had the sneaking suspicion that Brandon and Callie were never going to be able to let each other go; that they were going to be in love for a long time. It was, upon reflection, lucky for them that Callie had never been legally adopted by Stef and Lena. While she was an undisputed member of the family, loved no more but no less than any of the others, she had come to realize that being adopted only meant a slip of paper. She considered Stef and Lena her moms, even with the entrance of Robert Quinn into her life. Jude had another suspicion that it was bonding with Robert and Sophia that had caused this change of heart; that, and she had already been falling back in love with Brandon.
"Well, spit it out," Lena encouraged. "With all this good news coming, we may have to do something special to celebrate."
Callie took a deep breath. "This might be the last thing anyone is expecting to hear but … I'm pregnant."
Every single person present chorused "WHAT?" at roughly the same time. The exception being Brandon, who tugged at the sleeve of his hoodie, unsure of what to do. Jude was sure that most people were shocked – if Callie and Brandon had been keeping their relationship under wraps, everyone probably thought that Callie was single.
"Wait," Jude cried, while everyone else was still gathering their wits. "I thought you told me you were just drinking with Mariana."
Callie made an apologetic face. "I … the baby was making me feel emotional and I didn't want to tell you just yet."
"Is this why you're moving out?" Mariana cried. "You're getting an apartment with the baby daddy?"
"Who is the baby daddy?" Stef interrupted Callie's answer. "I mean … the father of your child. Who is it?"
"Oh my God," Jesus exclaimed suddenly, his hand flying out to point at Brandon. "That's why you told me you wanted to get your own place because you're with Callie and you're expecting and oh my god how long have you two been back together?"
"You sound like a teenaged girl," Mariana observed.
Beside Jude, Connor snickered.
"Is that true?" Stef asked, studying Brandon and Callie.
"We were going to tell you about the relationship at this family dinner and the baby next family dinner, but, I just decided I wanted to do it all at once," Callie admitted. She then twisted her head to look at Brandon. "Sorry."
"That explains Brandon's face," Connor commented to Jude, to which Jude nodded.
"Well, I mean congratulations," Lena said. "I'm so surprised but come here you two."
She crossed the circle, drawing Callie and Brandon into her arms. Stef was a few steps behind her, shaken from her shock by Lena's movement. They stood there, cradling each other for a moment.
"Oh god," Stef groaned.
"What?" Lena asked her.
"We're old enough to be grandmothers."
"You don't look a day over twenty-two," Lena complimented her wife.
"You didn't even know me when I was twenty-two," Stef argued.
"That's how old you looked when I met you," Lena said with a wink.
"Moms are so cute," Jude overheard Callie say to Brandon.
Jude took a deep breath, and studied his family. They had all come from different backgrounds; they had all gone through their own struggles in life. They didn't even look alike, in some cases, but they were a family; they were his family. They were his brothers, his sisters, and his mothers. Jude couldn't describe the feeling he had when he looked at his family, talking and laughing with one another, and he realized that they were all happy; his family, the people he loved the most, were happy. He looked at Connor, realizing that, for the first time in three years, everybody he loved was in one place.
He reached over and took Connor's hand, twining his fingers through the other man's. They may not have been ready to announce their love to the world yet, but Jude knew that if there was one place he could be himself, it was in front of his family.
"Are you kidding?" He heard Jesus shriek. "Am I really the only single one?"
"Oh, get over yourself," Callie laughed immediately, knowing what Jesus was commenting on.
"I'm happy for you all, really," Jesus insisted. "It's just unusual."
"You have quite the ego," Mariana told her brother.
Lena was shaking her head, smiling. "Let's recap, in the past twenty minutes we have learned: Connor is back from war; Jude is speaking again; Mariana and Zac are dating; Callie and Brandon are dating, pregnant, and are moving in together; and Jude and Connor are together."
The siblings, and Connor, all exchanged looks and nodded.
"Aw man," Jesus moaned suddenly. "This means I have to find another roommate."
"I'm sure you'll find someone willing to put up with you," Brandon assured him, and then his face changed. "Never mind. You're going to be living alone forever."
"You're hilarious big brother, really," Jesus retorted sarcastically. He rolled his eyes for effect, and then his gaze fell upon Connor. "Hey, Connor, who are you currently living with?"
"Uh, my parents," Connor answered slowly. "Why?"
"Do you feel like moving in with me? Brandon's not leaving for another like, month at least, so lots of time to think about it."
"I think it might be a good idea," Connor mentioned hesitantly.
"We can talk about details later," Jesus nodded. "Mom, you can put 'Connor is moving in with Jesus' on your list of things that have occurred in the past twenty minutes."
Stef laughed, and said with a flourish, "And now, for the least exciting words of the night. It's time to eat!"
"Stef," Connor corrected, "I think you mean the most exciting."
Stef laughed. "For that, my sweet, you get the first plate."
"Dude, what?" Jesus groaned, and good-naturedly shuffled into line behind Connor.
Jude stepped into line behind Brandon, who turned his head to look at his younger brother.
"Congratulations," Jude said.
"Thanks." Brandon smiled. "Start preparing yourself, Uncle Jude."
"Will do," Jude grinned, a sense of completeness settling over him.
This is what family felt like.
I don't own anything recognizable.
~TLL~