Everyone had an image in their mind about what Jude would look like - the moms imagined a young child while the kids all imagined a kid their own age; Jesus imagined a tough, bulky kid while Brandon and Mariana pictured a more timid, gentle child; Stef pictured a little boy that looked just like Callie while Lena imagined a completely new face - so they all had an idea of what Jude would look like but no one was prepared for the kid that showed up just a couple of hours later.
"Two kids at the home beat him up." Bill had explained after introducing Jude to Stef and Lena, handing over both his and Callie's files and then pushing off for some other work.
"Honey, can we get you something to eat or drink?" Stef asked gently as Lena went to get some ice for his face and the kids went upstairs to give them some time to talk.
Jude remained silent as he looked down at his hands, his lip swollen, his cheekbone already turning purple and his forehead finally clotting up.
"You're safe here Jude." Stef said. Her voice was soft and kind but her tone was firm and clear. "No one in this house is ever going to hurt you."
Jude finally looked up at Stef, a frown on his face. "They said you wanted me." He stated courageously, confused by the thought.
Stef smiled gently as Lena handed him a napkin with ice. "I'm a friend of Callie's." Stef explained and watched as Jude's face instantly lit up.
"You know where she is?" He asked. Suddenly the little boy was shining through and he instantly won Stef and Lena's hearts.
"I do." Stef answered with a smile. "She's still in hospital but she's doing much better and she comes home on Monday." She explained.
"Here?" Jude questioned, daring to hope.
Stef looked down for a moment, wondering how to answer that exactly. "I hope so." She finally said, resulting in another frown from Jude.
Stef and Lena shared a look. They both knew that this time they had to be completely honest even though both of them were nervous about how the young boy would react. Finally, with a nod of encouragement from Lena, Stef told him their story.
"Callie never trusts anyone." Jude said once he had heard the whole story. "She tells me not to trust anyone either." He admitted before looking down. "I'm just glad I go out of that home."
"What happened today Jude?" Lena asked. All Bill had told them was that he was beaten but nothing more.
"Two kids." Jude answered. "They're bullies. They hit everyone for no reason." He said, a sadness in his voice. "One of them was my roommate and he was there because he set his house on fire a few years ago and the other one robbed a bank or a CVS or something."
"How old are they?" Lena asked in surprise.
"Sixteen or Seventeen, I think." Jude answered with a shrug.
"And you're twelve?" Lena confirmed.
Jude nodded. "Almost thirteen." He said somewhat proudly.
"How come you were made to share a room with someone so much older than you?" Stef inquired. Most of these homes tended to keep kids of the same age together so that things like this didn't happen.
"They're all that age." Jude answered. "I'm the youngest and the other kids are all over fifteen."
"Then why would they send him to that home?" Lena asked Stef even though neither knew the answer.
Jude didn't say anything even though he had a pretty good idea what the answer was - he was like other boys - he liked girly things. He knew that Stef and Lena were gay so they were probably okay with it but still, he was surprised by this whole encounter.
Both women sensed Jude's hesitation and so they decided to wind things up for tonight. "I'll go start on dinner while Stef tells you about Callie." Lena said, knowing that the boy was dying to find out everything about his sister."
"So this is Stef's son Brandon, he's the oldest at sixteen." Lena began introducing the kids as they came down for dinner.
"Almost seventeen." Brandon pointed out just as proudly as Jude had earlier.
"And these are the twins, Jesus and Mariana. They just turned fifteen." Stef said.
"Hey Jude, we're excited to have you." Brandon said welcomingly.
"Yeah, I'm super psyched to give up half my room." Jesus teased.
"JESUS." Stef and Lena both reprimanded. They knew Jesus was only joking but they didn't want Jude to feel at all unwelcome.
"I'm kidding." Jesus defended before looking back at Jude. "I am kidding." He confirmed.
"I bet you're excited to see Callie tomorrow." Mariana said with a big smile. She remembered the two nights that she and Jesus had been separated while they were still in foster care. It was only because Jesus had gotten a really bad bug and had to be quarantined so that the other kids didn't get it as well but still Mariana had waited eagerly to be reunited with her brother.
But Jude looked less than enthusiastic as he glanced at Stef for some help with the explanation. They had talked about it while Lena was cooking and Stef had understood Jude's hesitation.
"Actually, we're going to surprise her on Monday when we go pick her up and bring her home." Stef explained, refraining from telling the kids that Jude was reluctant to let Callie see him with his face all beat up.
"Good thinking." Jesus joked. "Maybe then she'll actually forgive you." He said, clueless to the real reasons even though Jude did everything to keep his head down and avoid people seeing his face.
An easy conversation settled as the six of them had dinner. Jude answered whatever he was asked and listened as the others discussed their lives. This was the first home in a long time where the family actually sat down to dinner together and it was nice to feel like part of a family again.
"Are Mariana and Jesus adopted?" Jude asked as he dried the dishes that Lena was washing. Stef had gone upstairs to call Lucy and the other kids were doing their own thing so Jude offered to help out.
"Yes, we adopted them a few years ago." Lena answered with a smile, glad that Jude felt comfortable enough to start up a conversation.
"And Brandon?" Jude asked curiously.
"Stef used to be married before and they had a son together." Lena explained, knowing that Jude was curious about Stef's sexuality. She could see a small frown on Jude's face and figured he possibly felt a similar confusion that Stef had for so many years.
"It took Stef a while to realize and then finally accept that she was gay." Lena explained further, deciding to clear up Jude's questions without forcing him to ask them.
"Was it hard?" Jude asked, wondering if she felt the same way he did even though he wasn't sure of his own sexuality yet.
"It was." Lena answered truthfully. "Unfortunately her father was never able to really accept it and so she struggled a lot."
"That's sad." Jude sympathized. "I can't imagine your own parents not accepting you." He realized that he'd suffered in the system but at least he always knew that his parents would have loved him no matter what.
"Me neither." Lena agreed. "My parents never once made me feel wrong about who I loved."
"Everyone should be allowed to love whoever they want." Jude commented, unaware that Lena was watching him carefully.
As Lena studied Jude she realized that he wasn't as tainted and harmed by the system as his sister and she was also beginning to realize that the reason for this was Callie and suddenly, just like Stef, even she couldn't waited until they could bring the girl home.