Chapter 6

Callie stood before the mirror, gawking at her reflection. Tears pooled beneath her eyelids as she examined the marks that littered her body. The bruise beneath her eye was prominent, fading the slightest bit since the attack a week ago. The bruise running along her jaw was still purple, the edges beginning to turn a shade of green. The gash on the corner of her forehead was still red and raised, healing from the removal of the stitches two days ago. Her neck and the swell of her breasts were decorated by an array of red marks from the healing bite marks. The bruises on her arms began to fade, some remaining darker. Her bruised and swollen wrist was hidden beneath the cast. The right side of her abdomen was a blend of purple and blue. A long scratch ran across her stomach above her bellybutton. Both of her inner thighs were painted with a large bruise and topped with scratches. She wore a brace on her left knee and a splint on her left ankle.

She tore her eyes away from her reflection, not even bothering to look at her back. She knew it was just as bruised as her front. She wiped at her tears furiously and dragged herself to her closet. She gaped at the clothes hanging for a moment before more tears flooded her eyes.

Today was her and Jude's adoption day; a day that she had been waiting for since her mother died. She was supposed to feel happy, but all that she felt was pain, physical and emotional pain. Just another thing Liam and Vico ruined.

She flinched when she saw the knob turning and she quickly grabbed the towel to wrap it around her body. The door opened and Mariana stepped inside, her eyes locking with Callie's teary ones. "Hey, sorry. I didn't know you were in here. Are you okay?"

"I don't know what to wear." Callie whispered as a single tear escaped her eye.

Mariana had never seen Callie so vulnerable. She closed the door quietly and walked to the closet. "Well you asked the right person."

"I wanted to look nice, but nothing hides my bruises."

Mariana glanced at her sister's body, cringing slightly at the marks. Callie only wore a towel; the most amount of skin Mariana has seen since the attack. These marks were already a week old. Mariana couldn't imagine what Callie had been through.

Callie watched Mariana's eyes scan her body and suddenly her insecurity tripled. "I'm ugly."

Mariana shook her head quickly, her features softening as she took Callie's hand in her own. "No, no. You are nowhere near ugly. You are beautiful. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable; I just can't imagine how much you are hurting."

Callie remained silent, unconvinced by the shorter brunette's words. She watched as Mariana moved to the closet and browsed the dresses hanging in Callie's section. "I think the only thing that'll cover everything is a Hazmat suit."

Mariana smiled at Callie's sarcasm. She pulled out a dark, navy blue dress with purple flowers decorating the fabric. "What about this? We can't cover everything, but that doesn't mean you can't look nice."

"The only way you're getting me to look nice is with a magic wand." Callie scoffed, but she took the dress from Mariana's hand.

"That's not true. You look good in pretty much anything." Mariana said, earning a skeptical glance from Callie. "Do you want me to leave while you get dressed?"

Callie chewed on her bottom lip. "I um…I'm going to need help."

"Okay, I can do that." Mariana smiled. She wanted to help her foster sister in any way that she could, even if it was something as simple as helping her get dressed.

The Foster children sat patiently in the courtroom waiting area. Mariana was texting feverishly beside Brandon. Brandon was looking back and forth between Mariana and Callie, who sat on his other side. Callie was fighting a battle in her head. Jude sat next to Callie with a wide smile plastered across his face as he talked to Jesus, who was beside him. Lena and Stef stood further away talking to the lawyer.

Brandon glanced over at his sister. "Everything okay?"

Mariana tore her eyes away from her phone to look at Brandon. "Uh yeah. Zac is just going to live with his Dad and he's leaving today."

Brandon frowned. "I'm sorry."

Mariana blinked back tears. "It's fine. I'll be fine."

Brandon offered his sister a smile as he patted her leg. "You will be. You'll find someone."

Stef strolled over to the seats and looked at Jude and Callie. "Hey, can I talk to you two for a second?"

Callie and Jude glanced at one another as they stood and followed Stef to where Lena was standing. Stef stood beside Lena and spoke up hesitantly. "So there's…there's a problem with the adoption…with uh Callie's paperwork."

Callie felt her stomach drop. She nodded as she glanced back and forth between Stef and Lena. "What? What is it?"

"The uh the court needed your original birth certificate. I guess there were only duplicates in your foster care file and um…when they got yours…" Lena's voice trailed off as she turned to Stef to continue.

"There was a different name listed for father." Stef announced.

Silenced fell among the four. The words rung in Callie's ear. Another shock. "So…Donald isn't my dad?"

"Not according to the birth certificate. It says Robert Quinn? Does that name mean anything to you?" Lena asked.

"Um well Quinn is my middle name. But Mom told me it was a family name." Callie swallowed thickly. "What does this mean?"

"We don't uh…" Lena began, glancing at her wife. "We don't really know."

"We'll talk to Donald, see what he knows. We'll figure something out, I promise." Stef said sincerely as she watched Callie's eyes dart around the room. "But until then…"

"I'm not getting adopted." Callie finished. Jude snapped his head towards his sister.

Lena looked at Stef once more before returning her attention to Callie. "Not today, but you are getting adopted, Callie. We promise."

"Well…" Jude spoke up meekly. "I'm not getting adopted without you."

Callie turned to face her brother as she shook her head. "No, Jude. We have waited too long for this day, okay? I'm not going to let you do this."

"But…" Jude started sadly.

"No, it's okay, it's okay." Callie reassured as she bent over him slightly and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, I'm okay, alright? Today is your day."

Jude's eyes glistened with tears as he listened to his sister.

"You are going to walk into that courtroom and officially, officially, officially become a member of this family. Okay?"

"Okay." Jude nodded with a sniffle.

Callie moved her hands to her brother's cheeks and forced a smile. It was taking everything to hold it together, but she had to for Jude. "Okay."

Callie leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Jude's cheek. Stef and Lena watched with their own tears gleaming in their eyes. They didn't know how much more heartbreak they could watch Callie suffer through.

"I'm just going to step out and get some air." Callie whispered. It was only a matter of time before she finally fell apart.

"Callie." Lena said with concern.

"I'll be back in a minute." Callie reassured as she took off for the exit. She needed to get away from everyone. She needed to get out of this courtroom. Her eyes darted around when she stepped outside. She made it to a nearby bench, practically collapsing on it as she grabbed her tightening chest. She was trying to take deep breaths, but they just became shallow and heavy. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her hands grew clammy.

"Callie."

Callie's head shot up at the sound of the voice and suddenly Stef was sitting beside her.

"Callie, take deep breaths. You're okay, you're safe. You're having a panic attack. You'll get through this." Stef spoke softly as she gently grabbed one of Callie's hands. "In and out, in and out."

Callie followed Stef's words. Her breathing evened out after a few moments. She peeled her eyes away from Stef, ashamed of her reaction. She needed to be stronger. Especially now that this was Jude's day.

"Are you okay?" Stef asked hesitantly. She could practically see the battle erupting in Callie's mind.

Callie nodded as she took interest in her hands. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, love." Stef placed a hand on Callie's shoulder.

Callie tensed for a moment until she reminded herself that it was just Stef. "I shouldn't have acted that way. I…I need to control my emotions better."

Stef frowned. "Callie, it's okay to be upset, it's okay to fall apart. There is nothing wrong or weak about that."

Callie smiled sadly. "My second foster parents used to tell me I was a baby whenever I cried. Jim used to beat me more for the few times I cried in front of him."

Stef felt physical pain strike her heart for all the hurt and horror the girl before her had gone through. She rubbed Callie's shoulder soothingly. "You've been extremely mistreated, Callie, and I completely understand why you put up walls and hold in your emotions, but you are safe now. You have a loving family and you need to let those walls down; you need to let your emotions out. We will never, never judge you or be upset with your emotions."

Callie blinked back tears as she met Stef's eyes again. "But I can't be a part of the family."

Stef took both of Callie's hands in her own. "Listen to me, you will always be a part of this family. I don't care if there is a piece of paper declaring that or not, you will always be a part of this family. There is nothing you can do to change that. We will always love you no matter what."

Callie looked into Stef's eyes as her own eyes gleamed with unshed tears. Stef pulled Callie into her arms and that was all it took to break the barrier. Tears rushed down Callie's cheeks and splashed onto Stef's shoulders. Stef and Callie held onto one another tightly as if they were the only thing keeping one another breathing. They sat like that for several minutes; neither of them wanted to let go of the other. Callie was the one to pull away reluctantly. She wiped at her dampened cheeks. "I guess we should go back in. I don't want to worry Jude."

Stef smiled. Callie's selflessness and unconditional love for her brother amazed her. "Okay, but I want you to remember this conversation."

Callie nodded as she blinked back remaining tears. She inhaled deeply and wiped her face once more. Stef helped Callie off the bench and they made their way back into the courtroom. Stef caught Lena's eyes and the two nodded at one another.

Lena walked over to Callie and embraced her in a hug. She rubbed her back gently. "This doesn't change anything. You're still a member of this family and you always will be."

Callie suddenly felt overwhelmed with love and she was so grateful for it. She hadn't felt this much love since her mother and that feeling had been squandering from her memory. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank us." Lena whispered as she let go of the young brunette.

The ceremony continued. Callie watched as Jude signed the papers wearing an ear to ear smile. Lena and Stef wore matching ones as they stood close by to him. Callie was genuinely happy for her brother and extremely relieved that he was safe, but part of her was heartbroken that she wasn't standing up there with him

Thanks for reading! Thanks for reading! The dialogue between the moms and Jude and Callie is from the show. This story will somewhat follow scenes from the show, but in its own way. Sorry for the delay, I was taking a couple of online summer courses and that was taking up my free time. Those are finished now and I can focus on writing before the semester begins. Hope you enjoyed! Review!