Chapter 16

Stef plopped down on the couch beside her wife. She let out a breath as she patted Lena's leg. "When was the last time we had the house to ourselves on a nice quiet afternoon?"

Lena opened her mouth to reply when the doorbell rang. A chuckle escaped her lips. "I think you just jinxed it."

Stef laughed as she pushed herself off the couch. She made her way towards the front door. Her eyebrows raised as she opened the door and found Robert standing on the porch. "Robert?"

"Hi Stef." He greeted with a small grin. "I know we're not on the best terms right now, but there's something I need to tell you guys."

Stef turned back to her wife to exchange confused glances. There had been a mutual tension between the two women and Robert since he announced his want for custody two weeks ago. After seeing the judge, Callie was required to have weekly visits with Robert for the remainder of the waiting period.

"It's about Callie." He added nervously.

"Uh yeah, come in." Stef waved her arm towards the living room. She closed the door behind Robert and pointed to the chair by the couch. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good, thanks." Robert said as he sat down.

Stef returned to her spot beside Lena. "So, what's going on?"

Robert reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small bottle. He handed it to Stef and Lena. "I found this in Callie's bag last night."

Lena took the bottle. Her eyes widened as she read the label: Prenatal Multivitamin. "What? They were in her bag?"

Robert nodded. "There were also ginger candies in there. I remember Jill living on ginger products during the first trimester. There have been other signs too. Her clothes have been getting baggier. It was eighty degrees the other day and she was wearing a sweatshirt. She uses the bathroom a lot and she refused to even try the sushi at dinner the other night."

"Oh my god." Stef breathed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. The pieces began to fit the puzzle. There were signs; Callie hadn't worn a fitted shirt in weeks, she had been running to the bathroom many times a day, she had stopped eating certain foods, and ginger ale had been her best friend. Her eyes gawk at the bottle in Lena's hand, blinking once, twice, three times; hoping that the label would somehow change. "I don't…I don't even know what to say."

Lena closed her eyes from a moment before she glanced at Stef. Her mind thought back to Callie's battered and bloody body trembling in Brandon's arms the night of the Winter Ball. "Could…could it be from…"

"That was months ago. You really think she's been hiding this for that long?" Stef inhaled shakily, bringing her fingers up to massage her temples. Her mind was swarming with thoughts. She couldn't imagine Callie being that far along in a pregnancy without anyone knowing, but Callie was still very traumatized and she didn't think she had been intimate with anyone.

Robert opened his mouth to question the event the two women before him were referring to, but the front door opened. As if on cue, Callie and Brandon entered the living room. Callie froze when she saw her foster mothers and biological father sitting in the living room with confused and concerned expressions. Her stomach plummeted. Without a doubt, the topic of discussion revolved around her. "What's going on?"

"Come sit." Stef said tightly. She narrowed her eyes at her son, the realization that he could be the father hitting her. The two had said they had been together for three months and it was clear Callie trusted Brandon more than anything. It was very possible they could have been intimate. The very thought made Stef's blood boil. They had preached about safe sex over and over again.

Brandon's eyebrows knitted together. His eyes met Callie's anxious ones. She took a seat on the couch and Brandon sat beside her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she glanced back and forth between her foster mothers and Robert. "What's up?"

"Robert found these in your bag." Stef shoved the vitamins towards Callie. She kept her eyes on the brunette, waiting for a reaction.

Callie swallowed thickly and as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. The room suddenly felt drastically warming, yet goosebumps covered her skin. It was over. Her secret was out. Brandon shifted beside her. She hesitated before her eyes scanned the three adults; Robert appeared mostly confused with a hint of worry, Lena's face was etched with concern, and Stef was unreadable, but Callie swore she saw anger in her eyes. This was not the way she was planning on telling them and she had certainly wanted tell Stef and Lena before Robert. But it was all over. There was no going back now.

"Would you like to explain?" Lena asked gently and Callie realized she had been staring at the bottle silently for too long.

"I'm…I'm pregnant." She croaked shakily, holding her breath as she waited for their reactions. She had developed a thousand different scenarios for this exact moment in her mind. She had practiced saying it in the mirror countless times, and yet nothing could have prepared her for this moment. Nor did she ever think Robert would discover her secret and be the one to spill it.

Stef inhaled sharply and closed her eyes for a moment in an attempt to process the young brunette's words. She had assumed Callie was pregnant by the evidence Robert had shared, but Callie admitting somehow made it seem that much more real. Her face remained hard and her voice curt. "I don't understand. When did this happened?"

Callie was taken aback by Stef's question. Shame swam in her eyes. "In December."

Stef's stomach twisted. Her features softened as her shoulder dropped. Suddenly, she was wishing Callie was pregnant with Brandon's baby. "December? This is from…the Winter Ball?"

Callie nodded as tears shone in her eyes. "I haven't…with anyone else."

"Are you sure? That you're pregnant? You took emergency contraception." Lena asked even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She thought back to that awful first night in the hospital. The traumatized girl had spent the entire night and early morning throwing up. The emergency contraception probably had not been absorbed.

Callie reached into her bag and pulled out a picture of the sonogram she received earlier today. She handed it to her foster mothers. "I'm positive. Brandon took me to the doctors today. I'm eighteen weeks pregnant with a healthy girl."

"I don't…" Stef searched for her words as she stared at the sonogram picture in her hands. This didn't seem real. Eighteen weeks. The young girl had been suffering alone with this life changing news for eighteen weeks. Were they that oblivious that they didn't see the signs sooner? "I don't understand how we didn't know this."

"I…I was hiding it from you. Brandon, Daphne, and Rita were the only ones that knew. I was trying to process it and I was terrified to tell you guys especially with you being pregnant too." The tears were on the brim of her eyelids now and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before they finally erupted.

"Oh love." Stef frowned as she leaned forward and pulled the trembling brunette into her arms. That was all it took for the tears to burst. Stef rubbed her back soothingly. "You know you can come to us with anything. Why were you terrified to tell us?"

Callie pulled out of Stef's arms and wiped at her dampened cheeks. "For one, I found out I was pregnant like an hour before Lena announced her pregnancy."

Lena closed her eyes as she thought back to that day. It all made sense. Callie had seemed especially off when she came home that day, was distant when Lena announced it, and then they had found her sobbing on the bathroom floor.

"I already put you guys through so much. In the beginning, I was in denial and trying to process it and then the longer I waited to tell you, the harder it became. I was afraid you'd be mad or…or call my social worker." A sob ripped through her throat on the last part of her explanation.

Stef reached across to take Callie's hand in hers. She looked into the brunette's teary eyes. "My love, you never ever have to worry about that. There is nothing you can do that would make us not want you."

"And you never have to be scared to tell us something." Lena added. Her heart was breaking for the young girl before her. She couldn't imagine what she had been feeling harboring this secret for so long. "We could never be mad at you for something like this either. This wasn't your fault."

"I was trying not to interrupt, but can someone please explain what happened." Robert spoke up in a shaky voice. His mind was filling in the holes with something he didn't want to believe was true. "What happened at the Winter Ball?"

Stef watched Callie's body tense. She gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you want me to tell him?"

Callie shook her head as she wiped at her eyes again. She looked at her father hesitantly. "I…I was assaulted."

Those were the words Robert was hoping wouldn't come out of her mouth. He swallowed thickly as he tried to fit the pieces together. "This…this is why you're…pregnant?"

Callie nodded, refusing to meet Robert's eyes. She couldn't handle seeing the disappointment in his eyes.

"Who did this? Did you catch the guy? Are you pressing charges?" Robert rambled, running a hand through his hair.

Callie closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. Brandon reached over and placed a gentle hand on her knee. She suddenly found the strength to continue. "Uh it was…it was an old foster brother and someone from school."

Robert's eyes grew wide as nausea swam in the pit of his stomach. "Two guys? Your old foster brother?"

"They…they apparently met at a party. My old foster brother…he was getting revenge for taking him to court the first time and the other guy…he wanted revenge on Brandon."

"What? The first time? What did Brandon do?" Robert couldn't make sense of Callie's words. His brain felt scrambled and he had to remind himself that this was reality and not a nightmare he was about to wake up from.

Stef inhaled deeply. She could tell Callie was barely holding it together answering Robert's questions. She gently rubbed the brunette's arm before looking at Robert. "Callie was in a foster home about two years ago with this foster brother and he raped her. When Callie came here and told us about it we tried to press charges, but it was her word against his and he didn't get convicted. The other guy, Vico, got Brandon to sell fake IDs with him and when Brandon realized it was a bad idea, he stopped and started to buy them back. Vico, who clearly has issues, got mad. I guess they met at a party and somehow found out about each other's wants of revenge. The night of the Winter Ball they got Callie outside alone and took her to the woods where they…attacked her. We are in the process of pressing charges. We have a very strong case."

Robert's eyebrows were practically at his hairline. He was quiet for a moment before clearing his throat. "I'm sorry, this is a lot to process."

"We know." Stef nodded before adding with a hint of bitterness. "We've been dealing with this for months."

"Robert, I know you're trying to process all of this, but we're trying to process that she's pregnant and have questions about that." Lena told Robert before turning to face Callie. "Have you thought about your options?"

Callie nodded as she wiped at her dampened cheeks. "I'm keeping her. It's too late for an abortion, but I wouldn't personally be able to do that anyway and after everything I've been through with the system, I can't risk her ending up there if I go the route of adoption. It's too late now anyway, I love her."

Stef watch Callie place a hand on her stomach and she could see a hint of pregnancy bump as the clothing moved against her skin. Her mind was reeling. It felt like a new bomb was dropped nearly everyday. She wasn't quite sure how the young brunette was holding it together. She was being forced in motherhood at a young age and yet she was welcoming it with open arms.

The three adults were silent for too long. Callie fidgeted on the couch as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I understand if this is too much. I don't want to be a burden. I'm keeping her no matter what though so if you want to give up on me then…"

"Hey, hey, hey." Stef interjected. "We are not giving up on you, love. We just told you there is nothing you could do to make us not want you. You didn't even do this. This wasn't a mistake you made. This was forced on you. And even if it was a mistake, we would still support you and love you."

Callie felt more tears sting her eyelids. "But you guys are having a baby of your own."

"Callie, there's plenty of room for a baby in my house." Robert spoke up.

"Don't." Callie shook her head as she clenched her jaw. There were enough emotions and thoughts meddling in her mind; she didn't need to think about the custody battle right now. "Don't make this into a custody debate right now."

Lena glared at Robert before she smiled sincerely at Callie. She reached across her wife to pat Callie's leg. "If you want to keep her, we will make room for her."

A sigh of relief escaped from Callie's lips. The two women sitting before her continued to amaze her with the amount of love they had. Another tear slipped from her eye, but a small smile stretched her lips. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"When are you due?" Lena asked. She assumed she was only a few weeks ahead in her pregnancy than Callie.

"September 12th." Callie replied. "So, I can at least finish up this school year."

"We'll figure out school, love, but it's most important that you take care of yourself and the baby." Stef smiled softly. "We are going to help you as much as possible."

"Cal, I know you don't want to make this about custody, but you wouldn't have to worry about any of these things at my house. There's plenty of room for a baby there and we could hire a nanny."

Stef gritted her teeth as she turned to Robert to unleash her wrath, but Callie beat her to it. "I told you to stop. I don't want to live with you. I'm sorry, but this is my home and it always will be. I told you I would still have a relationship with you, but I want to stay here. They just told me they'd make room and I don't want some nanny to watch my baby."

"Robert, thank you for bringing this to our attention, but I think it's time for you to leave now." Stef stood and started for the door. She was grateful that he included them in his concerns for Callie, but now he was taking things too far. "You can discuss everything with Callie another time, but right now she's overwhelmed as it is and you're making it worse."

Robert stood with an annoyed sigh. "I'm sorry, Callie."

"Now that you know everything, please keep in mind that this is another choice you're taking away from me." Callie's said softly, her eyes silently pleading with Robert.

Robert's face revealed the conflict erupting in his mind. "I'll talk to you later."

Callie watched as Stef closed the door after Robert stepped out. She brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed her face. She just wanted a break from everything that was going on; one day to just forget about everything. Brandon reached into her lap and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. "You doing okay?"

"He's going to go to the judge about the pregnancy." Callie whispered, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "And now you know why emancipation isn't going to work."

Stef returned to her spot on the couch. "Callie, we will find a way to keep you in this house. I just want you to focus on keeping yourself and the baby healthy."

"Will you love my baby?" Callie blurted out in a small voice as she glanced back and forth between Lena and Stef. It was one of the biggest fears she had when she thought about revealing the pregnancy. She feared the family wouldn't accept it; wouldn't get passed the baby's conception. "Will you love her even though she was created from something horrible?"

"Callie, of course we will love this baby. This is your baby. What do we always say? DNA doesn't make a family, love does. I promise you we love this baby already, especially because it's half you, which means it's already an amazing person." Stef eyes remained glued to Callie to express her sincerity. "Before Ana became clean we had some pretty harsh feelings towards her, but we love Jesus and Mariana. We loved you and Jude without knowing anything about your biological parents. We see this baby as yours and that is it."

Callie nodded and fell into Stef's arms as they folded around her. She cherished the comfort of her foster mother's embrace. She pulled away after a moment and wiped at her dampened cheeks. "I'll tell everyone else tomorrow, but I want to tell Jude first. I think he needs to hear it from me alone so can we just keep this quiet for today?"

"Whatever you need, love." Stef patted Callie's leg gently.

"Thank you." Callie smiled as she stood. "My bladder feels like it's about to explode so I'm going to head upstairs."

Stef laughed as she watched her son follow Callie towards the stairs. "Okay sweets."

Lena waited until she heard the bathroom door upstairs close before she met her wife's eyes. "So much for a quiet afternoon alone."

Stef chuckled with a nod. "Yeah you think. I don't…I don't even know what to do."

"What is there to do?" Lena asked. "She's already made up her mind about keeping the baby."

"I know, but she's sixteen. Is this really what we want for her?"

"No, we don't want her to become a mother at sixteen." Lena began with a frown. "But we also didn't want her to get hurt and traumatized the way she was. She's had too many choices taken away from her already so we have to support her and agree with her decisions. Not to mention that giving up a baby is going to cause more distress and trauma on her."

"No, you're right. I do support her and I don't want her to give the baby up, I just…wish this wasn't even happening." Stef rubbed her temples. There was no easy solution to this situation. "She has so much potential and she can't get a break. I mean this is going to delay school and who knows about college now. And I mean now her childhood is practically over."

"I'm pretty sure her childhood ended when she and Jude were thrown into foster care. She was practically a mother to Jude." Lena reached for Stef's hand. "We'll help her graduate and get into college. There's no rush. If she's behind a couple of years then so be it. We'll find a way to make this work and if anyone get figure this out it's Callie."

Stef closed her eyes for a moment. Lena was right, but it didn't make it okay. Stef was fully aware Callie would figure this out, but she shouldn't have to. "I know, this is just a lot to take in. And it kills me that she's been dealing with this alone."

"I wish she would have come to us sooner, but I'm pretty sure she had Brandon helping her through this." A small smile found her lips. "I know we were both a little uncertain about this relationship in the beginning, but honestly I have to say that I'm relieved. They both found someone who cares and loves them and treats them better than anything. I mean isn't that what we want for our kids? And especially Callie, who would probably come across so many problems in the dating world with all that she's been through."

Stef patted Lena's knee and nodded. "No, you're a hundred percent right, my love. I just want that girl to catch a break."

"I know. Me too." Lena nodded. "Guess we're having two babies soon."

Stef laughed as she leaned back on the couch and pulled Lena into her arms. She pressed a kiss to her wife's cheek. "We're really the Brady Bunch, huh?"

Lena smiled as she rested her head on Stef's shoulder. They sat in a comfortable silence, both still processing the latest news. Callie's words replayed in their head. It seemed surreal, like they had dreamt the last hour. But they hadn't. In a few short months there would be two babies joining the Foster family.

Thanks for reading! The secret is finally out. The rest of the Fosters will find out next chapter. After receiving a review last chapter, I just want to note that this has been from the start and will continue to be a Brallie story. This does not mean the that the moms are giving up on Callie. Also, I just want to say how excited (and sad) I am for the season finale. Although, I have a feeling they are going to kill off Grace.

Hope you enjoyed! Review!