AN: I know it has been a while, but when you write for a living, fun writing is often harder. I have hit a spot where work has slowed down for a bit, so I am hoping to update more. I have to get back into the swing of things, for sure. Please let me know what you think about this chapter.
The weekend went by much faster than Callie would have liked because she was still sick and was now becoming moody just from the chaos of a busy house. She wanted to be well by Monday for the adoption ceremony, but it was Sunday and she had still been running a low grade fever despite Lena staying on top of alternating meds all day and all night. That had made Lena even more suffocating, but the moment she left Callie alone, Callie immediately wanted her back beside her. At least until Stef got home from work. She just didn't want to be alone. Her mom had never left her alone when she was sick, and it was hard to be alone now especially. And it was Lena and Stef she wanted.
She had been staying in Lena and Stef's room for the most part, sleeping to the noises of a fan and endless Netflix movies and shows. She was layered under several blankets, surrounded by a nest of pillows, and one of her mom's favorite shirts. She had tossed her leggings aside earlier so she would be more comfortable.
Callie had been quarantined from the rest of the household except for the two adults, but Mariana kept sneaking in to watch tv with Callie, to the point Lena had finally given in and told her she could hang out with Callie as long as she sat in a chair and not the bed, and only for a short time. Lena knew it was futile to even think Mariana was keeping her distant though. The two were as thick as thieves now, and the mother was positive that Mariana wanted to not only spend her time with Callie, but to watch television while she was grounded. Something normally not allowed. Since Callie had been sick, though, they had loosened the grounding rules. Plus, it would give Lena time to go over some things for the next day with Stef.
As it quickly dragged closer, Monday was something Callie both feared and anticipated. She was going to be adopted by Stef and Lena. The three of them had talked about the adoption at length. They had told Callie on more than one occasion that they were her mothers even though the adoption was not yet final, but also that they were not replacing the mother she lost. They wanted to honor Colleen and her memory for their children. They had already hung several photos of her around the house. They had ensured both children they could talk about her as much as they wanted — that they wanted to know more about Colleen and it was a way for them to learn who she was in life. They had photos of Donald as well, but currently the only one put up was in Jude and Jesus' room, on Jude's side of the room.
"Tomorrow you will officially be my sister," Mariana said, her arms wrapped around one of Stef's pillows she had grabbed when she came into the room.
Callie nodded, but never took her eyes off of the television. They were watching a cooking show at the moment because Callie didn't have to pay attention to know what was going on to know how a cooking competition was going.
"Aren't you excited?" Mariana asked from the other side of the room.
Callie looked over at Mariana, wondering, not for the first time, what was going through her head. Mariana seemed flighty when you first met her, but the girl was really smart. She was much better at school than Callie and Jesus. She, Jude, and Brandon were all excellent at school in nearly every subject, while Callie and Jesus barely got their homework done most days. They probably wouldn't ever get it done if Lena didn't stay on top of them.
"Of course I am excited," Callie said softly.
"Then why aren't you acting like you are excited?" Mariana asked her.
Callie looked at her, an eyebrow arched.
"It's hard to be excited when you have the flu and feel like you are dying," Callie said sarcastically.
"Geesh. Sorry I asked," Mariana muttered. Callie rolled her eyes. She did love her soon to be sister, but she would currently rather be alone or have Lena or Stef with her. Mariana talked too much. Usually it didn't bother Callie, but today it was. A lot. It was exhausting and she knew Lena had told Mariana to be quiet, but when did that ever work?
"I am just saying you could act a bit more excited about being adopted officially tomorrow," Mariana snapped, unable to keep her opinions to herself when she was so excited about it.
"Are you kidding me, Mariana?" Callie asked, sitting up quickly.
Too quickly, as she felt a wave of nausea hit her quickly, but she wasn't going to let Mariana win this.
"You are the one acting like nothing is going to happen tomorrow!" Mariana screeched.
Callie stood up. She was not going to let Mariana say she wasn't happy about tomorrow. At all.
Lena and Stef were in the dining room going over paperwork for the next day when they heard yelling coming form their room. Both looked at one another before simultaneously standing up and heading toward the stairs.
They sped up when they heard the yelling escalate and the words "bitch" and "shit" come from one of their daughters' mouthes, though they were not sure which one had said either of the words.
They were surprised to find both of the girls nose to nose, both trying to yell louder than the other, though. The two had not fought with one another since they'd finally become friends two weeks after Callie had moved in.
"Enough!" Stef yelled over the two.
Both girls stopped, their faces both set in a scowl, with Mariana red with anger and Callie paler than she had been, though her cheeks were beyond flushed with fever.
"Mariana, go to your room right now," Stef said, leaving no room for argument.
Mariana, however, did not get that memo.
"She is the one who started it!"
Callie twisted quickly and glared at Mariana.
"I am NOT! You are the …" Callie started, then moved her hands quickly to her mouth and looked at the two adults for help because she knew there was no way she was going to make it to the bathroom before throwing up everything she had drank in the last several hours.
Thankfully, Lena knew exactly what was about to happen and already had a wastebasket in front of Callie and was guiding her to the bathroom as she vomited.
Stef looked at Mariana with a raised eyebrow.
"She isn't excited about being adopted tomorrow! It piss… ticked me off" Mariana said angrily.
Stef ignored her daughter's slip and sighed before she put her arm over the teenager's shoulder and guided her out of the room and toward her own.
"Miss Thang, Callie is excited, but she is also sick. You are not exactly a peach when you are sick either. In fact, you can be a right terror. This is also bitter sweet for her and you need to accept that. You cannot expect her to be excited in the same way you were when you were adopted," Stef explained gently.
"She isn't going to have to be in the system though. She should be excited!" Mariana snipped. The system was not a place anyone would want to go. It was horrible if you weren't placed with someone like Mom and Mama. Mariana and Jesus had lived in a few of those horrible homes before lucking out by getting dropped off at the same police station Mom had worked at. They may not have been so lucky otherwise.
"Mariana, enough. Callie and Jude have never known anything other than her biological parents and Mama and me — those are the parents she knows. She didn't know a biological mother like yours. She didn't know the foster parents who dropped you off at the police station, love. And you have to accept that. You also have to remember she is sick. You need to give her space. Do you understand?" Stef asked.
Mariana sighed.
"Yea, I understand."
"I mean it, Miss Thang. You will stop giving her a hard time about this."
"Mom, I get it!" Mariana whined and then threw herself down on her bed dramatically. Stef arched an eyebrow and stared at her child.
"Mariana, are you serious right now? Do I need to remind you that, despite Mama and me letting up on the rules a little, that you are still grounded? And that I could easily add time or another punishment to that?"
This peaked Mariana's attention and she sat up with a sigh.
"Sorry, Mom. I will leave Callie alone."
"Good decision, Miss Thang, good decision."
And then Monday was there.
Callie was walking between Lena and Stef, Jude was next to Stef, holding her hand. They walked into the main entrance of the courthouse, nerves getting the best of Callie. Callie leaned closer to Lena as they came to a stop in the main entrance. Fever was evident on the young girl as she rested her head on Lena's arm, even through the material of Lena's dress.
Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus were behind them. Everyone was excited, but Callie was also nervous and sick to her stomach. She'd already been told they were going home directly after the adoption was final because she was still too ill to be out. They were going to have a small celebration at home, and would save a more elaborate celebration with family and friends after Callie was feeling better. It wasn't fair to Callie otherwise, and they wanted everyone to enjoy it.
As they walked toward the courtroom, a man walked quickly to over to them. Callie felt Stef tense up.
"Ian, hello," Lena said quickly, wrapping her arm around Callie and bringing her close. She was surprised to see Donald's lawyer there. It was unexpected. It made Lena feel uneasy, and she knew, just by looking at her wife, Stef was feeling the same way. Anything out of the ordinary on an adoption day was cause for concern.
"Lena, Stef, we have a bit of an issue. I need to talk to you for a moment before you go into the court room."
And the nerves and uneasiness became twofold.
