Chapter Three: The art of being grounded

"You're both grounded until further notice," Stef told the two children sitting in front of her and Lena the next night after Jude and Frankie were in bed, Mariana was in her room, and they had had time to process and think about everything that had happened in the past 24 hours.

They had talked to Callie and Jude's social worker and the children were staying with them; they had ordered Jude a bed and he would be moving into the room Callie had been staying in and Callie would be moving into Mariana's room. Callie had stayed in the room with Jude the previous night, as it had been four months since the two had seen one another, but they wanted it to be a short time thing, as a thirteen year old girl didn't need to share a room with her seven year old brother.

The bed was arriving the next day and they were going to move Callie's bed into what would be her and Mariana's room in the morning. Mariana had a full size bed, as did Callie and Jesus. Frankie had a canopy bed in her room, doused in every color pink imaginable, with enough glitter to support a drunk unicorn. Jude was getting a bed he had picked out with the help of Lena — a blue loft bed with room under for him to play. He had wanted sheets with dragons and fairies on them and a comforter that was a light blue with gold glittered stars. Callie had told him no, but Lena had shushed her quickly and quietly so as to ensure Jude got something he truly wanted. It was something Stef and Lena had talked about and wanted to do for Jude.

The mothers had also talked about the room arrangements for quite some time before deciding the boys would have their own rooms. They had thought about putting Jude in with Jesus, but the age gap was too much. Jude was only seven, while Jesus was sixteen. There was less than three years between Callie and Mariana. They had explained their reasoning to the children, but Callie had begged the two to let her stay with Jude so she wouldn't bother Mariana. Callie had even offered to stay in Frankie's room with her, but again, there was such a large age gap, the mothers felt it was important for Frankie and Jude to have their own rooms so they didn't have to grow up too soon. Callie was only thirteen, but she'd been through more life experiences than most children her age, so putting her in with Mariana just made the most sense.

Mariana, who up to that point had looked slightly angry, had softened her expression and looked at Callie when she'd offered to sleep in Jude's room with him. She'd not have offered that at thirteen, that was for sure.

"Callie, I'd love to share my room with you. I have the biggest room after Mom and Mama, and there would be plenty of room for us to each have half of it. It will be nice to share a room with a girl who I can talk to."

Callie had looked shocked, and had nodded her head, accepting Mariana's offer. Mariana was three years older than she was, so she knew Mariana probably wasn't as happy as she was acting, but that was okay. She just needed a bed to sleep in at night. She could stay in Jude's room the rest of the time. She knew the rules of foster care though. Boys and girls, even brothers and sisters, could not share a room past a certain age. And when you were in foster care, real kids never wanted to share their rooms. Ever.

Back to the current situation, however, Stef and Lena both realized neither child in front of them had said anything about being grounded yet.

Jesus looked put out, as the moms had known he would. But they also knew he had expected nothing less, possibly even more than a mere grounding. He'd gone with the expectation of being in trouble, but, as he had told Lena earlier in the day, he couldn't let Callie go alone. Not when she was so tiny and young.

Callie, on the other hand, looked absolutely clueless.

"What does that even mean," she finally asked.

Lena and Stef looked at each other and then back at Callie, whose entire face was one of confusion. They'd not been certain she'd been serious, but the look on her face now told them she was.

"Callie, honey, being grounded means you're on restriction. You can't watch television, you cannot go anywhere without Stef or me with you, you will have an early bedtime, you lose all electronics unless you need them for homework, at which point you will do your homework with me in the kitchen, etc." Lena recited off.

Callie knitted her brow together and leaned forward, eyeing them both carefully.

"You already make me go to bed at 9:30 like … every night," Callie said, still obviously confused, and even more obviously thinking 9:30 was an early bedtime. Did Callie think that was a punishment? Is that why she had seemed so … irritated … when they sent her to bed each night? She went earlier than Jesus and Mariana, but they were older. Frankie went to bed at 7:30, with lights out at 8:00. It was going to be the same with Jude since he was so young.

The moms decided to ignore that at the moment. They had worked the entire month Callie had been with them on getting her on a schedule. It was still a struggle, but they were getting there. It had surprised them both when Jude had told Callie he was ready for bed at 7:30 when they had sent Frankie to bed. They both just assumed Callie had trained him to get enough sleep, but not herself. She was protective of Jude, watching his every move. But the four months apart had been hard on the little boy. He was thin and gaunt. He looked like he neither slept nor had enough to eat in a long time.

"You will go at 8:30 for now." Lena told her gently.

"So that is it? I go to bed early? I don't go anywhere. I don't have electronics. I don't have a phone. I don't watch television …"

"For now, you will stick with us. No going anywhere after school, etc. Okay? No going anywhere alone." Stef said, getting that they had a long way to go with Callie in so many ways. Honestly, they needed to get her things in general. She needed a phone so they could get in touch with her or her with them; she needed things she could enjoy during her leisure time; and she needed things she might just want. They had not expected her to be a long term placement when she had first come to them, and most foster children were not allowed to take much to their next placement and there was no point. But Callie was here to stay as far as Lena and Stef were concerned, so they really did need to get her some things. At least with Jude, they still had a lot of the Jesus' toys in the garage. The things Callie needed were not something they had much of. She was too thin to wear any of Mariana's clothes because she was underweight. They didn't wear the same size shoes and Callie didn't much care for the way Mariana dressed anyways, though she had not told anyone that — Stef and Lena could tell.

Callie nodded in response to the grounding explanation, though the confusion was still clear on her face.

"Okay guys, go get ready for bed." Lena told them both. Jesus was up and out of the room immediately.

"Jesus. Do not forget to give me your phone before you go to bed." Stef said after the boy. He stopped at the stairs and turned, nodding so his mom would know he'd heard her.

Callie got up, and headed towards the stairs herself. But, before she made it to the steps leading to her bed, she slowly turned around and looked at Stef and Lena.

"When I'm not grounded anymore, will I get to eat meals here again? And, can Jude please eat supper? I am the one who messed up, not him. He told me Jim Pearson didn't give him much to eat after I left because of what I did to his car. So can he still eat," Callie asked, her hands wringing together, worry evident in her face, especially around her eyes.

Stef and Lena stared at her, silent, for several moments.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Lena asked her, a tremble in her voice only Stef could hear and recognize. It was Lena hoping what she feared was not true. Hoping that Callie was not saying, in her own way, she'd not been fed when she was in trouble.

Callie looked at them both, her eyes squinting in their direction.

"Once I am done being grounded — in trouble — will I get to eat meals here then? Or will I still only get to eat at school? And will you let Jude eat? You know, since he didn't do anything."

"Why would you or Jude not get to eat supper, Callie?" Stef asked.

"Why would I? If I am in trouble, the only place I get to eat, if I am lucky, is at school. I told you my first night here, Stef, this isn't my first time in a foster home. So yea, I am used to not getting to eat when I am trouble. Hell, I am used to not getting to eat when I haven't done anything. I just wish I hadn't gotten so used to eating over the last month …" Callie went on, the two women realizing immediately the child was ranting and probably had no idea what she was saying in her fear and frustrations of the unknown. Because of her fear they would not feed Jude because she'd gone after him, trying to save him from a home she'd been banished from.

Stef and Lena both stood up and walked over to Callie, Lena reaching her first, placing her hands on Callie's shoulders.

"Callie, you will always have enough to eat here. Always. That is never something you have to worry about. You could do the most horrible thing imaginable, and you will always be fed. Do you understand that, Callie Quinn? You will ALWAYS have something to eat in this house. You will never go to bed hungry. I do not care if you are in class and you are hungry … you come tell me and I will make sure you have something to eat right then. If it is in the middle of the night, you wake me, and I will make you something to eat. Callie, you will never do anything to make us not feed you. Ever."

"Do you understand, Love," Stef asked from beside Lena, worry and concern filling her face from the very idea Callie might not tell them when she was hungry because she feared their reactions.

Callie nodded, though both women could tell there was uncertainty in her eyes and they also knew they needed to diffuse the situation now, before Callie became upset right before bed.

"Love, it's," Stef started, then looked down at her watch, "8:05. You have just enough time to go snag a shower in our bathroom before you need to get into bed. Make sure you wash your hair. You haven't for several days and it needs it. Lena and I will be up soon to tuck you in, okay? And if you need help with anything else, all you have to do is let us know."

Callie nodded and turned quickly, running towards the stairs.

Lena turned around and looked at Stef, trying not to cry at the amount of absolutely disturbing information they had learned in the last two days.