Chapter 14: Revealing the Engagement.

AN: I do not own the Fosters. If I did, there would be no long waits between seasons, and we would all be basking in Season 3B Jonnor now instead rewriting a Fanfiction.

Connor's POV:

The final days of the trip passed in a flurry of swimming, hiking, and yes... we did have sex again. More than once. In fact we'll probably have to thank Danny and Harry for gifting us those condoms, since we ended up using all of them. I can honestly say that I have never felt more in love with Jude than I have now. To be as close to him as that brings me, is intoxicating. So intoxicating that we uh... might have used them all.

The final night of the trip, Jude and I sat on a log on the beach. Our hands were linked, and Jude's head rested on mine, which rested on his shoulder. He both looked up to the sky, and the stars present there.

"It's so peaceful out here." Jude said softly.

I made a noise of agreement.

"The last few days have been perfect." I said, "Alone with you like this. My fiancé."

He giggled at the word.

"Fiancé." He whispered.

We kissed, losing ourselves in each other as we always did.

All too soon, we pulled back into the driveway of the Adams Fosters house and stared up at it, content smiles on our faces. The rest of the camping trip had went off without a hitch, and while we wished we could have stayed longer, we were both glad to be home. I looked at Jude, who was blinking sleep out of his eyes, and gave him a soft smile which he returned. He reached out and threaded his fingers into mine, the ring on his finger glinting in the sunlight.

I can't believe he said yes.

He actually FUCKING SAID YES.

My boyfriend of four years was officially my fiancé.

I stared into his eyes, and got lost in them as he did the same. We were so lost in each other that I didn't notice the stealthy approach made by a certain Scotsman to the door of my Suburban. He knocked on the window, causing me to jump in fright, sending my head crashing into the ceiling.

"GAH! Motherfucker!" I swore and turned to glare at the person responsible for my suffering.

I have never wanted anything more, than I wanted to wipe the smirk off of Danny's face at that moment with a well placed punch. The glare that Danny was receiving from Jude would have made men of weaker dispositions cower in fear and beg for mercy.

Unfortunately, all it did on Danny was make him laugh.

"OI! LOVEBIRDS!" He cackled as I rubbed my aching head.

I decided, just this once, to succumb to the intense desire to cause him injury, so I rolled the window down, and my fist flew out without warning to catch Danny in the side of the face. The impact caused him to lurch backwards and he immediately started rubbing the spot my fist had landed.

"Okay, I deserved that." Danny conceded.

"You're lucky I haven't hit you yet like I was planning to." Jude said crossly.

"I was just coming to tell you two to get a move on! Stef and Lena are setting down dinner as we speak." Danny said, still rubbing his jaw, "You know how they get when somebody is late."

My glare disappeared at the mention of food, which Jude and I sped into the house to consume as much of as humanly possible. Both of us were hungry for something that wasn't cooked over a campfire.

"Okay, since this is about food, you're forgiven." Jude said, his tone flipping on the dime as we exited the Suburban and followed Danny back into the house.

Lena, Stef, Callie, Brandon, Mariana and Harry looked up from the lasagna that they were tucking into when we thundered into the room. Danny thundered passed us to claim the seat next to Harry, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he sat down. It never failed to make me smile that Danny and Harry had pretty much became a part of the family. Brandon, Callie, and Mariana all thought of Danny and Harry as their brothers, and the feeling was mutual. Although the argument could be made that Danny was closer to Brandon than the others because of their mutual love of writing music, while Harry was closer to Mariana because they were both crazy good with computers.

They all shot us amused looks as we moved further into the kitchen and grabbed plates from the cupboard.

"Finally decided to come inside, huh?" Brandon asked teasingly.

"We heard there was food involved." I said simply as Jude and I sat down next each other in our normal spots.

"One thing that has never changed with you, even after all these years. Still thinking with your stomach." Jude teased with a grin.

"Hey, you ran in here as fast as I did." I said, helping myself to a large portion of the lasagna, before grabbing a piece of garlic bread. I offered him a piece.

"Want some?" I teased.

His nose crinkled in disgust.

"You know I hate garlic bread." He said.

He's right. I did know this, but I always did it anyway. Just because I thought the little crinkling of his nose when he makes his disgusted face was freaking adorable.

"You don't know what you're missing." I said as I devoured the bread.

"Happy to eat something that isn't cooked over a campfire, are we?" Harry joked, while simultaneously being dead serious.

"YES." Jude and I said synchronously.

"I know what you mean." Callie agreed, "I mean, I have absolutely nothing against camping food, but having it for three days in a row can drive somebody crazy."

"Yeah, no kidding." Brandon interjected, "When we all went camping as a family for the first time, the first thing Jude, Jesus and I did when we got home was pig out on snacks. Which is saying something in itself, given Jude's infamous dislike of snacking between meals."

Jude gave a small laugh and smiled at the memory. I remember him telling me about making s'mores around the fire with the rest of his family on that trip.

"Come to think of it, s'mores sounds good right now." I thought to myself.

"I wouldn't mind some s'mores though." Mariana quipped as I took a drink.

I snorted at the coincidence, and instantly regretted it as my drink came out my nose and I started coughing. Jude smacked me on the back, and handed me a napkin to wipe my nose.

His ring glinted on his finger.

Before I could take the napkin, ever the eagle eye, across the table I saw Danny glance at Jude's hand. His eyes widened, and a smirk grew to split across his face. He nudged Harry, whose eyes focused on the ring and his expression soon mirrored Danny's. I shook my head at them, nonverbally asking for discretion, before I took the napkin.

It was at this time that I remembered the condoms and decided to mess with them a bit.

"Soooo. Danny, Harry, how was Scotland? What'd you guys do?" I asked.

"Hasn't changed much. I gave him the tour of Edinburgh. Took him to, uh... took him with me to visit Gideon's grave for the first time. But I already told you that on the phone." Danny said,

"How d'you like meeting your real parents in person for the first time, Harry?" Jude asked him.

Harry smiled.

"They were even nicer in person. First thing they did was hug me. I have never cried so hard in my entire life." He said, "We talked a lot. They asked me for more details on what my life had been like. I told them about how my step parents are, and they said they were sorry for giving me up. I really liked spending time with them. It felt... right. Normal."

"I'm glad." I said.

It was at this point that Jude and I both turned our gazes back on Danny and our expressions switched from happy to menacing.

"By the way, we got your guy's little... gift in our bag." Jude purred dangerously.

I look of absolute dread took residence on Danny and Harry's faces. They knew exactly what Jude was referring to. They didn't need to know that neither of us were really mad about it anymore. In fact, we were actually kind of grateful, since we did end up using them all.

"Should we run?" Harry asked Danny.

"Nope. They'll just chase after us." Danny answered, before taking a bracing breath, "Okay, give us your worst."

Jude and I glared at them for a minute, before relenting.

"Thank you, they came in handy." Jude started evilly.

"All eight of them." I finished, just as evilly.

"Care to let us in on the joke?" Lena asked curiously.

Shit. Forgot about Stef and Lena. They're sure to ask questions.

"NO!" Jude and I screeched at the same time.

Now it was Danny's turn to smirk evilly, and I cursed at ourselves for making such a grave miscalculation by having this exchange in front of our family.

"All eight huh?" He leered mischievously, "Oooooooh, you two got BUSY huh?"

At the same time, Stef, Lena, and all the siblings turned to look at us, eyes wide and mouths agate.

"Danny, you will die a slow, excruciating death." I growled, "I swear to god."

"Excruciating? Thas' a big word for you. Tell me; how did it feel?" He teased.

My eye twitched as I glared at him, imagining myself removing his left eyeball with a table spoon for his insinuation that I have low intelligence.

"I have a 4.0 grade point average, you troglodyte." I shot back at him, "I know plenty of big words."

"Really? Name another." Danny challenged.

"Disembowelment." I growled, "Dismemberment."

"Boys?"

Jude and I turned to Lena and Stef, who stared at us with raised eyebrows. I peaked at everybody else in the room to see that they were also staring at us with the same expression.

"Explain. Now, please." Stef said in her police office voice.

Jude and I looked at each other. We sighed in unison, realizing that there was no way out of it.

"At the end of the first night, we found a small gift from those two in my clothes bag." I said reluctantly, flashing a malevolent glare at my grinning best friends.

"What was it?" Brandon asked.

Jude mumbled something quietly.

"Sorry, didn't catch that?" Callie asked.

"It was a box of condoms." Jude mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

The whole table started roaring with laughter. Brandon was laughing so hard it looked like he was gonna fall out of his chair, and Danny and Harry looked no better. Stef and Lena were the first to stop laughing, because they suddenly remembered us saying that we used them all.

"You said that you used them all." Stef said aloud.

That shut everybody else up.

"Um. Yeah, we did." Jude said, sitting up straighter in his seat and staring her down, "Is that a problem."

"As long as you two are safe, we don't care if you're active." Stef said bluntly, "Jude, you're seventeen. Connor you're eighteen. You're both old enough to make that choice for yourself."

"Good, because we were expecting a lecture." I said.

Jude raised his left hand and rubbed his forehead in embarrassment.

The entire table went silent again. Everybody's eyes were locked on the ring.

Brandon looked like he'd just been hit over the head with a frying pan.

Mariana looks like she's about to burst into simultaneous sobs and giggles.

Callie has her hand covering her mouth.

Stef and Lena are a little wide eyed, but are managing to control themselves.

Danny and Harry were grinning at us, and it looked as though Danny's eyes might have a slight red tint to them, indicating that he was fighting off tears. If I asked him later, he probably wouldn't even deny it.

I nudged Jude, who looked at me. I motioned to his hand. His eyes widened.

"Holy Shit." Brandon whispered.

I couldn't hold back my beaming smile as I nodded.

"Yeah. He said yes, guys." I said, turning to gaze upon Jude's blushing face with a giddy grin.

"I can't believe you actually went through with it, Connor." Brandon said, "I thought you'd change your mind."

"I thought a lot about it. After the first night out in the woods, my mind was made up. I couldn't not do it, you know?" I said, still smiling.

"Are you two absolutely sure?" Lena asked, "I'm happy for you both, but I have to ask."

Jude and I shared a look, and I felt his hand intertwine with mine.

"Yeah, we're sure." Jude answered, "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have said yes. I love Connor, and I always knew that someday I was gonna marry him. This just made it official."

Stef and Lena rose from their seats and marched over to us, wrapping us in a group hug.

"Our babies." Lena croaked, her emotions finally showing, "You grow up so fast."

"It seems like only yesterday that you were asking if your 'friend' Connor could come over to work on a project together." Stef said, her eyes now wet as well as she addressed Jude, "And now you're marrying him. Where have the years gone?"

"It's so surreal." Brandon said.

"Yeah, but we always knew it would end up here." Mariana interjected, "We always knew that these two would end up married. Even when they broke up that one time, we all knew it wouldn't last long."

"It's also kind of infuriating though." Callie said jokingly, "That the youngest of the siblings is gonna be the first to get married."

"And that their relationship has lasted at least three times longer than all of our relationships combined." Brandon quipped, joining in on the teasing

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voices?" Jude asked teasingly.

They didn't even bother denying it.

"Yes, it is." The siblings chorused in response, deadpanned expressions on their faces.

"We're not even joking." Mariana said, dead serious, " In this family, it's nothing short of a miracle."

"It is not." Jude tried to insist, but was cut off by Brandon.

"The short breakup when you were in sophomore year notwithstanding," Brandon said, "You two are the only relationship among us that has lasted almost since it started. Except for Moms."

"And we've all had a litany of relationships since then." Callie said, "You two are still together."

"We've all been tempted, more than once to come to you for advice." Mariana said, "In WHAT sane world do the older siblings ask their youngest brother for relationship advice?"

Jude started laughing.

I was sitting there, feeling kind of stunned. I had no idea that they held our relationship in such high esteem.

"When are you guy's gonna have the wedding?" Stef asked, "How long do we have to prepare for it?"

"About three years." Jude answered.

Everybody looked shocked.

"That was his condition for saying yes. A long engagement." I explained.

"Why such a long time?" Lena and Stef asked at the same time.

Jude looked at them confused.

"Well, we're still in High School." He said, "We don't graduate for another year and a half."

"Yeah, so?" Brandon asked, still kind of confused, "I would do it anyway."

"Well, I figured that Moms would want us to wait until we're out of high school at least." Jude answered, "And I'm not even eighteen yet. I figured you guys would all say we were two young."

"Well, yeah." Stef agreed, "It would be better to wait until after high school."

"But is that what you two actually want?" Lena asked.

"It doesn't matter what we want, Jude." Mariana interjected, "It's what you want that matters."

"I will admit, that it would make me happy not to wait three years." I admit, "Hell, I'd do it right now if it was possible."

Jude looked at me, his eyes sparkling.

"You're that eager to marry me?" He asked, his voice only cracking once.

"Of course I am, Juju." I said softly.

He looked at his moms, then to his siblings, then Danny and Harry.

I picked up my glass of Coke, and started to take a drink.

"If it's entirely up to me, then... I wanna do it as soon as legally possible." He said with conviction.

I gasp, accidentally inhaling a large gulp of pop, necessitating more thumps on the back from Jude as I fought to clear my air passages.

Afterwards I looked at him in shock. I had looked up the law on marriage in California. I knew how soon that would mean.

"How soon is that?" Brandon asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Stef beat me to it.

"By California state law," Stef answered, "Two parties can marry without parental consent upon reaching the age of eighteen."

I continued to look at Jude in shock.

"So if that's what you want, Jude, you'll still have to wait until November." Lena finished for Stef.

"What d'you think?" He asked me, turning in his chair to stare at me.

I stare at him, my eyes wide and my breathing erratic. I reach out and take his other hand into my free hand and squeeze.

"Is this what you want?" I ask him, "Because if it is, that's what we'll do."

He looks me in the eyes and nods.

"Yeah. It is. I wanna be with you forever, and I wanna make it official." He said, "The only reasons I said we should wait until we were twenty aren't a problem anymore, so why wait?"

I can't stop a few tears from escaping as I lunge and wrap my arms around him. He laughs and tucks his face into the crook of my neck. He pulls out of the hug, and he smiles. I lean in for a kiss, not caring in the slightest that the entire family is watching. After he broke the kiss, he leaned back and smiled at me. I smiled back.

"You two, I swear. You look like the human form of the emoji with heart eyes." Harry teased.

"I would say welcome to the family, Connor," Brandon said, "But you already are part of the family, little bro."

Brandon called me little bro.

How am I supposed to not cry at that?

I get up and I walk over and I give Brandon a hug. Mariana and Callie soon join in.

"How's your dad gonna react to the change of plans?" Jude asked me as I was released from the group embrace.

Everybody looked at him questioningly/

"We already told him over the phone." I explained, "He called us the day after and asked if I'd done it yet. So, we told him. And He'll be fine. He likes you now. He trusts us. I'll call him and tell him after dinner."

"What kind of wedding do you two want?" Callie asked.

"Well, we wanted to have it on the beach, but given that it'll be November, I don't know it that'll be a good idea." I answered.

"Well, it's California during a draught, Connor." Harry interjected, "I doubt that'll be a problem. Although, you two will have to start planning immediately."

"Why?" Jude asked.

"Takes a long bloody time to plan a wedding, Judicorn." Danny said, earning him a glare for uttering the nickname.

"Only Mariana and Connor can call me that." He says as he glared. Danny puts his hands up in joking surrender.

"Anyway, we don't want anything too expensive either." I continue, "We want something simple and private. Just the family and friends. The most expensive thing will probably be the wedding rings."

With that, talk of the wedding continued, with Mariana and Callie periodically busting into giggling fits at the prospect of planning their baby brother's wedding. When my dinner was finished, I rose from the table and pulled out my phone.

"Be right back." I said, dialing my dad's number as I rose.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" He asked drowsily.

"Takin' a nap I'm guessing?" I ask.

"Yeah. Whaddya need, son?"

"I was just calling to tell you that Jude changed his mind on the wedding date." I said.

"What? He push it back further?" He asked confused.

"No. He moved it up. Quite a bit." I answered.

"When does he want to do it?" He asked.

"He wants to get married as soon as the law will allow." I said.

"So November then?" He asked. "You alright with doing it that soon?"

"Yeah. I'd do it tomorrow it they'd let us." I said with a happy chuckle.

"Tell Stef and Lena to give me a call if they need help planning. When you coming home?" He asks.

"I'm staying here tonight. Danny and Harry are too. I'll be home tomorrow in time for lunch."

"Okay, see you then. And son..." He said, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks dad." I said, smiling widely, "Bye."

He hung up, and I returned to sit back down at Jude's side.

"He's fine with it." I answer the unasked question.

I stared at Jude, initiating my favorite activity of getting lost in his eyes. In seven months, I was going to marry him. In seven months, he would become my husband. I get a thrilling shiver of pleasure when I think that word. Husband. Husband! I should be feeling nervous, scared, terrified even...

But at the moment, all I could feel was right.

Seven months, was all I had to wait.

Seven months that couldn't fly past quickly enough.

I had no idea that a certain thorn in my side would return to wreak havoc.

I should have known, the last time I had seen her, that my mother would cause trouble upon hearing about my plans to marry Jude.

I just never realized how much trouble she could cause.