Callie

The weekend passes and Monday rolls around. I'm awaken not by the alarm I set on my new phone, but from the pain radiating from my entire body. In addition to my sore muscles, I have a headache that makes it hard for me to keep my eyes open and I can't even think about trying to stand up. I feel like shit. On top of all of that, I'm freezing… Oh no.

I'm sick.

My experience with being sick while in the foster system has been less than pleasant. After the first time it happened, I learned my lesson and have hidden any illness I may have from my foster parents. It's a lot of work and tends to be some long, dreadful couple of days, but I manage to make it every time. I grab my phone from the night table and press the home button to see what time it is. Big mistake. It's so bright it physically pains my eyes to look at it and I drop it to the floor. I don't have the energy to pick it up so I just lay there, eyes closed, willing my body to work properly.

I don't hear any noise in the kitchen so it's safe to assume I woke up pretty early and no one else is awake, especially Stef and Lena. I figure I can go back to sleep. Maybe a few minutes of rest are what I will need to get through the day.

Stef

"Let's go, guys! Breakfast is ready!"

Another hectic morning in the Foster's household. Everyone is running about, trying to gather themselves for school. Jude is downstairs and seated at the table, ready to go as per usual (such a sweetheart). Brandon is making his way into the kitchen and I assume the thundering I hear on the stairs is Jesus.

"Medication," Lena says as soon as Jesus is within eyesight. He rolls his eyes but walks over to grab the bottle from the basket. Mariana comes down next, hair curled to perfection. She takes a seat and begins to reach for her breakfast. I notice that Callie hasn't come down yet.

Odd.

Usually she and Jude are the first one's down. They're always ready to go and we never have to call their name twice.

"Where's Callie?" I ask Mariana. Jude's head snaps up and he looks at me and then Mariana.

"Asleep," she answers, pouring herself some orange juice, "Her alarm was literally going off forever and she didn't even move." Lena shares a look with me and I'm about to go check on Callie when Jude stands up and blocks my path.

"I'll get her," he volunteers. To others, this would look like him just trying to be helpful. But I know better. He's worried. I'm not sure if he's so worried about Callie so much as he is worried about how Lena and I will react to her waking up late.

"It's okay, buddy," I say as reassuringly as possible and smile, "I'll get her. Finish your breakfast, okay?"

Jude studies me for a moment, "I can get her," he repeats, "I'll be fast."

I put my hands on Jude's shoulders and look into his eyes, "Jude, honestly it's okay. I'll go check on her, I don't mind. Finish eating breakfast before the heathens wolf it all down." I say with a wink.

"I take offense to that!" Jesus objects holding up a piece of bacon.

I guide a reluctant Jude back to his seat and give Lena a look that says 'keep him calm' before heading for the stairs. I wonder why Callie is so tired. Another nightmare? I didn't hear anything last night and neither did Mariana because she definitely would have said something. I knock lightly on girls' door before entering. I immediately see Callie. She is curled into a ball, facing away from me. I get closer and take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Callie," I say gently. I put a hand on her back. The heat radiating from her sets off flags in my head. I press my hand to her forehead and sure enough she's warm, most likely due to a fever.

I begin to run my fingers through her hair, "Wake up, baby." I murmur.

It takes a minute, but she eventually begins to stir. Eyes still closed, she turns around to face me. She blinks a few times before finally opening her eyes. Her gaze settles on me and for a moment she looks confused. In a split-second, confusion is replaced with panic and she shoots up.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims, starting to get up, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep. I'll be ready in five minutes, I swear!"

I put take her hands in mine to stop her, "Callie, it's okay. You're sick, sweetheart."

"No I'm not," she refutes immediately.

I sigh, "You are. You have a fever."

"No I don't."

I narrow my eyes at her and Callie narrows hers right back. Such a teenager.

"Fine," I say, standing up, "I'm going to go get a thermometer. If it says anything above 99, you stay home."

"Fine." She agrees with a shrug. I leave to go to the kids' bathroom to grab the ear thermometer we keep in there. I begin to rummage through the cabinets and drawers. Of course Callie would be stubborn about being sick. Clearly I'm right; I hope that once she sees the thermometer reading she'll be more willing to agree with me. After a while I finally find it and head back to the girls room.

Oh wow.

Callie is dressed for school, backpack next to her on the bed. Although she is dressed for the day, her hair is disheveled and she looks absolutely exhausted. I take a seat next to her and power the thermometer on.

"I'm going to put this in your ear, alright?" I warn her ahead of time. She nods that she understands. I push her hair behind her ear and she moves away from me somewhat. "Hold still," I murmur. I bring one hand up to hold her cheek while I use the other to put the thermometer in her ear. I wait until I hear a beep and remove it to look at the screen.

"Just what I thought," I say, handing Callie the thermometer so she can see for herself, "102.3. You, my dear, are sick." I try not to sound so gleeful about it but I can barely contain myself because I was right.

Callie looks at the reading for herself, mouth set in a frown. She hands the thermometer back to me, "I want to go to school."

"Uh, uh." I say, shaking my head, "Anything above 99 and you stay home, that's what I said. Change back into your pajamas, Sweets. I'm going to run downstairs and get some medication and supplies for you and then we're going to hang out for the rest of the day."

She tilts her head, "Why aren't you going to work?"

I give her a weird look, "Because you're sick." I answer as if it's obvious (and it should be).

"Don't miss work," she tells me, "I can stay home by myself."

"Callie―"

"Really," she continues, "I've stayed home by myself while I was sick plenty of times. I'll be okay."

I think she's trying to make me feel better but she's doing the exact opposite. I can't imagine leaving a child to care for themselves while sick. That's crazy. God…what the hell is wrong with this system?

I take Callie's face in my hands, "I'm going to stay home because you're sick and because I want you to get better. I want to take care of you, Honey. Please let me?" I run my thumb over her cheek and she lets out a little exhale.

"I just…" she begins to whisper, "I don't want you to waste your time with me."

This girl is truly after my heart.

I pull her in towards me and wrap my arm around her. She is hesitant at first but soon relaxes. I think the fever is tiring her out. I move my lips right next to her ear, "You could never waste my time, do you hear me? You're so important, Callie."

She shudders in my arms and I just hold her for a minute. I want her to feel my words, not just hear them. Without thinking, I press a kiss to the crown of her head, "Change into some more comfortable clothes and get back in bed. I'll be right back, okay?"

Callie nods and I move back so that she can get changed. I leave the room and head back down to the kitchen.

Callie

I wait in bed for Stef to come back. I changed into some flannel pajama pants and a long sleeve shirt because I'm still pretty cold. I don't get why she wants to stay home with me so badly when she could be at work or doing anything that's better than staying home with a sick kid. It felt so nice to have her running her fingers through my hair and hugging me.

I wonder if it's a biological response to want your mom when you're sick. That could just be me, but I feel like it's natural to crave the closeness and the attention. There are certain times, like when I'm sick or getting hit or worse when I really miss my mom. She always knew how to make me feel better.

Stef walks into the room and takes a seat on the bed, "Everyone is off to school," she tells me, "Even Jude who really didn't want to leave."

I smile. I love and hate that Jude worries about me so much. It's nice to have someone so dedicated to me, but at the same time I don't want him to obsess about my well being 24/7. He's just a kid, after all.

"Is he okay?" I'm sure he is but I still ask out of habit.

"He's fine," Stef assures me, "A little worried but he'll be okay." She pulls the blankets off of me and holds her hand out to me, "Come one. We're gonna relocate." I take her hand and she helps me stand up. She leads me to the master bedroom.

"Climb in," she instructs, pulling back the blankets on her bed. I do and she disappears into her bathroom. I've never really been in here before. It's nice and smells like a mix of Stef and Lena. Stef comes back with a bottle of Tylenol and a water bottle.

"For your fever," she says as she hands them to me. I take the medication and watch as she settles in next to me with her laptop, "You need to sleep now. I'll wake you up soon so you can eat."

I nod, suddenly aware of how tired I am. I pull the blankets over my body and rest my head on the pillows. From the scent wafting off of them, I infer that I am on Stef's side of the bed and she is on Lena's. I watch as Stef types away at her keyboard. I can't really see what she's doing. I wonder if it's paper work for her job. I'm starting to feel guilty again that she stayed home with me.

Eyes never leaving the screen, Stef reaches out a hand so than she can run her fingers through my hair, "Stop thinking so much and go to sleep, Hon."

So I do.

Sorry this is short. I'll update again on Sunday.

Work has been tiring and I also have friends visiting from Montreal plus my grandfather is flying in tomorrow. And on top of THAT, my cousins flew in from Switzerland. It's been a hectic week going places with all of them and I'm so tired.

This past Monday's The Fosters episode…all I can say is the damn unicorn.

Ciao for now,

Liv