AN: Oh hello there... I know it's been far too long but I hit a brick wall with this story and couldn't figure out where I wanted it to go BUT I have it all figured out now, I know exactly how this fic is going to end and so now more than I'm more motivated to write this fic and get it completed. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think? Keep on believing in Brallie... Our outlaws are meant to be :)

- fostersjacob


Three days have passed and Brandon hasn't left the hospital, not once. Not only are his family extremely worried about Mike but about Brandon too. He's barely eaten, he looks defeated and it's concerning.

Mike is still stable but he had to be put under an induced medical coma to give his body the chance to fully recuperate. Brandon only leaves Mike's side every few hours to use the bathroom and maybe have something to snack on or a drink but then the rest of the time he's sitting by his bedside waiting, hoping, wishing for him to wake up.

Callie convinced him to come home for the night to have a shower and get a good night's sleep in his own bed. Stef and Lena were grateful that Callie was able to get through to him as they had tried and failed a few times to get him to leave the hospital.

Stef and Lena are standing outside his bedroom door when they hear crying, concerned they follow the noise and find themselves standing by Callie and Mariana's room. The door is open and so they go in, ready to comfort their son only to find that he's already being taken care off. He's on Callie's bed being held by her as he cries, no different to the way Stef or Lena would comfort each other.

It's then Callie looks up, tears in her eyes, and notices Stef and Lena standing there. Callie opens her mouth to say something, to say anything but she doesn't. They smile sadly at her and say nothing, they both leave, making sure to shut the door behind them but still they can hear their son's cries which only makes them cry too.

They don't discuss what they saw until they're in bed later that night. "Lena?"

Lena puts down her phone and places it on the bedside table. "What's up love?"

Stef sighs. "It's Brandon and well, Callie, you don't think that they uh that they're..."

She doesn't finish her sentence but Lena knows what her wife is suggesting. "Honestly? I think it's a real possibility. With Robert no longer signing the papers, they're never going to be brother and sister, so maybe, maybe they are."

"I thought as much," Stef admits.

"Would it really be so bad?" Lena asks, extremely curious about her wife's thoughts on the matter.

"I think," Stef says before pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts. "I think I misjudged them, you know, when Brandon told us that they were in love. I thought it was just a heated crush and it would all blow over but I've started to notice things lately, then tonight the way they were so comfortable with each other and she just held him and let him cry it all out, I don't know Lena, I think maybe I wouldn't be as against the idea as I used to be."

Lena reaches out to hold Stef's hand and squeezes it gently. "Love is love, we'll deal with it, whatever happens, we'll deal with it together as a family."

(*)

Brandon wakes up in his bed but not alone, Callie is next to him and she too is awake. "Hey," he says, his voice hoarse.

Callie smiles, leaning closer to him so she can rest her head on his chest. Brandon's stroking Callie's hair and he knows he should be worried about getting caught by his moms or Jude or Jesus or Mariana but he can't bring himself to care. He needs her here with him and that's all there is to it. "Hi."

"Sleep well?" He asks.

She nods. "I did," she says, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. "Did you?"

Brandon smiles. "I did, thanks to you."

There's a knock on Brandon's bedroom door, he should be panicking but he's not. He doesn't say anything and neither does Callie and then the door opens. The door swings open and in comes Lena, a massive smile on her face. "I knew it."

"Wait, what?" Brandon asks, a puzzled look on his face.

"It's okay Brandon, we're not mad." Lena assures her son.

"WE?" Callie asks.

Lena smiles. "Stef and I, we discussed it. It's a unique situation but with Callie moving in with the Quinn's soon, there's nothing we could do about it even if we wanted to, which we don't."

Brandon quickly turns to face Callie. "You're leaving?"

"I-I was gonna tell you."

Lena takes this as her queue to leave. "I'll give you guys a minute, be quick though, Momma wants to talk to you."

As soon as Lena leaves Brandon gets up, he starts pacing around the room, not sure what to say or how to feel. Callie is going, she didn't tell him but they're together now, they can be together. Callie gets up too, she wallks over to Brandon, "I didn't know how to tell you, I was gonna tell you... It's for the best, Brandon, he's my dad and I-"

"Stop," Brandon interrupts. "It's okay. I know you would have told me in your own time, I get it. You deserve to get to know them, I'm just gonna miss seeing you all the time, but we're together now and nothing is ever gonna tear us apart again, okay?"

"Okay," she tells him. "Okay."

"Good," Brandon says, taking both her hands in his. "I love you Callie, always."

She smiles. "I love you too."

Brandon leans forward so he can place a kiss on her forehead. They leave his room together, hand in hand, ready to face Stef and the rest of the family together.

(*)

Everyone in the house knows about Brandon and Callie now and surprisingly no one was angry about it, not even Jude, in fact Jude was rather happy with the news. Callie had spoken to him on her own, explained that she would always be there for him but she owed it to herself to try and get to know her father and sister better and he understood. Besides, all Jude has ever wanted is for Callie to be happy. No matter where she lives she'll always be his sister, so there was no use in getting angry about it or causing an unnecessary fight, he's genuinely happy for her.

"You okay? I mean like with me and Cal-" Brandon asks, not able to finish his question as Jude cuts him off.

"Yeah," Jude insists, nodding as he speaks. "I'm okay with it."

Brandon lets out a sigh of relief as he takes a seat next to him. "Good, good, that's good."

"Just don't hurt her okay? She's already been hurt too many times and I couldn't protect her then but I'm older now, just don't hurt her."

"I would never intentionally hurt Callie," he says sincerely. "Never. I love her, more than anything, okay? Thanks for being okay about all this, it means a lot to me and I'm sure it means a lot to Callie too."

Jude smiles, he can already feel his relationship with Brandon improving. "I know you do, she loves you too, I can tell."

Brandon smiles. He's about to say something in response when Jude's bedroom door swings open. It's Stef. She's red in the face as she's run up here from the backyard in a hurry, still holding her phone tightly in her hand. Brandon quickly gets up off the bed, "Mom? What's wrong? Is it Dad? Is he okay?"

Stef catches her breath, taking a moment before she answers her son. "He's awake, Mike's awake, he's asking for you."

Tears fill Brandon's eyes. "He's okay?"

Stef nods, a massive smile on her face. "He's okay," she confirms. "He's really okay."

Brandon cries, he can't help it, he's just so relieved. Stef takes Brandon into her arms and holds him, "Shh, it's okay B, it's okay."

He pulls away from Stef and looks over at Jude. "Could you let Callie know I've gone to the hospital? My phone battery's dead so I can't call her."

"Of course," Jude says. "Soon as she gets back from seeing Daphne I'll let her know."

Brandon thanks him and leaves with Stef, Lena is already in the car ready to drive them to hospital and all Brandon can think is how lucky he is to have such an amazing family.

(*)

"So, I'm gonna go away for a little while."

Brandon looks at his father intently, a puzzled look on his face. "What? Why?"

Mike sits up a little, wincing as he does so, he smiles through the pain though. "I just think I need a little break, that's all B, I'm gonna go to my mom's just for a little bit."

"Oh," Brandon says. "Okay then."

"I'll call you everyday," Mike tells him. "You can even come visit if you want to."

Brandon nods. "Sure."

"Don't be mad, B."

"I'm not mad," he says. "I'm just gonna miss you. I nearly lost you and now you're going away, I'm just gonna miss you dad."

Mike reaches for Brandon's hand and squeezes it reassuringly. "I'm always gonna be here for you Brandon, always. I won't be gone long, probably just a couple of weeks."

Brandon smiles. "Well, I suppose I'll survive that long without you."

Mike laughs, so does Brandon, "I guess you will B, just about."

"Did mom tell you about um did she say-"

Mike interrupts, a big grin on his face as he does so. "Your mom did mention something to me before you came in here... So, you and Callie huh?"

Mike is genuinely happy for his son. He knows a little about what Brandon went through last year, not much, but he knows enough and to watch him suffer like that was painful, he's glad his son is happy again. "Yeah," Brandon confesses, a shy smile on his face. "Me and Callie."

"I'm happy for you son, really happy, don't you think otherwise."

Brandon gets up out of the chair and leans over slightly to hug his dad, he makes sure to be careful, he doesn't want to hurt him. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too," Mike tells him, his voice thick with emotion. "More than you'll ever know."

Brandon notices Mike looking at the door, he follows his father's gaze until he sees, he sees Callie standing there. She came. Well, of course she did. Mike signals for her to come in using his hand. Callie opens the door and comes in. "Sorry," she apologizes. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Forget about it," Mike says. "You're more than welcome here."

Callie smiles. She's never really spoken to Mike much in the past but things are different now, he's her boyfriend's father. Her boyfriend. It feels good to say that, even if it is only her saying it in her head. "Thank you," she says. She walks towards Brandon who quickly takes her hand in his, he's practically radiating happiness right now. For the next couple of hours Callie and Brandon stay with Mike, she gets to know him better and he her, Brandon couldn't be happier. His father was on the mend, the family knew about his relationship with Callie at last and are okay with it and soon he'll be on his way home from the hospital with his girl and they can play music together like old times. Life is good, life is very good. For now.