Episode 20

"Is all of this necessary?"

Stef doesn't even make an effort to find her spouse's face as she hastily throws on her uniform, a whirlwind of yanking and noise and anxiety. "I have to get down to the station, I have to know what happened, I have to know if maybe it's not true...you know the media these days-"

"Stef," Lena says softly, her voice unusually solid and sure, "that much is true. The news doesn't just go pronouncing people dead without evidence." Stef looks up as she tugs on a shoe, but she's not really listening to her, she just shakes her head rapidly.

"Regardless, I have to do this for Jesus, for Mariana, they need some hope-"

"Hope?" she repeats, absolutely flabbergasted as she strides towards the cop, who's now standing in front of the closet mirror, adjusting her sloppy outfitting job. "You mean false hope! You can't do this to them, Stef, think about what you're saying-"

"I know what I'm saying, Lena!" She turns to her now, and there are wild hairs escaping her bun and her eyes are already unbelievably bloodshot as she addresses her. "They need the truth, they need the facts, they need something to hang on to because I will not lose my kids! I will not just sit around and watch everything I love about them disappear!"

Lena's forehead relaxes and she sighs quietly. "They're troopers. They might not be fine now but they will be. These things...these things aren't new to them."

"It shouldn't have to be that way." Stef mutters as she side steps Lena and snatches the car keys off their dresser, stopping only when she finds Brandon in the doorway. "Hey, I'm just going to head down to the station for a while."

"Yeah, I heard." he admits, looking between the two. "I think that's a good idea. You should go with her, nobody should be alone right now."

Lena shakes her head without a second thought. "Which is exactly why I need to stay here. Mariana and Jesus-"

"Aren't going to be any more responsive to you than to me." he cuts in honestly. "Callie's here with me. We've got this. They'll be fine. We'll be fine. You'll be back before they even realize you've gone."

Lena and Stef lock eyes, both thoroughly conflicted, though Stef seems to sort through it first. "I need you." she admits, her voice lower than it was just moments before. "I need my rock."

Lena's eyes appear a little glassy when she meets Brandon's. "Okay," she agrees quietly, running a frantic hand through the side of her hair, "okay, you're in charge, get everyone together, you guys need to be together. Watch the twins. We'll be back soon."

Lena collects her few belongings and the two women kiss their son briefly on the cheeks before darting past him downstairs and out the door. He can barely hear the car start over the pouring rain now, which is suddenly very fitting.

When he turns on his heel back into the hallway, Callie's standing in the middle, staring at Jude's bedroom door, and seems to be so entranced by it that she doesn't even notice Brandon when he approaches her. "What is it?"

She looks up at him from the corner of her eye, biting her bottom lip. "Jude...nobody told Jude. I can't..." she shakes her head erratically before turning her body a little more towards him, "Brandon, I can't tell him...how am I supposed to tell him?" Her eyes lock on his chest, focusing on the third button of his shirt. It's easier to just check out for a while.

He can see why she wouldn't want to do it, even though it's not her fault, always being the bearer of bad news can be very impressionable on children. "Don't...don't worry about it. I'll tell him." he offers, but she doesn't raise her eyes, not even at this. She only moves her head when his hand is on the door knob, pushing into Jude's bedroom without a knock. "Jude?"

He looks up from his PSP, still laying in his pajamas on his unmade bed. "Sorry, I'll come down for breakfast right now."

"No, no," Brandon says gently, waving him off as he takes a seat on the edge of his bed, "that's alright, actually, my moms just left. They're going over to the police station for a little bit to find out about something that happened."

He pauses his game and puts it down, but he hasn't entirely caught on to the seriousness of the situation yet. "Something happened?"

"Yeah, an accident," he says slowly, and when Callie appears in the doorway, looking clearly distraught, Jude's eyebrows thread together in a deep 'V'. He's afraid to ask again, but he does. "Callie, what happened?"

Brandon looks back at Callie once before turning back to Jude and explaining, "Mariana and Jesus' friend Lexi passed away yesterday." Jude looks to Callie for confirmation, and when she nods her head slightly, leaning on the door frame, he finds Brandon again, but doesn't say a word. "We don't know how or why yet, and I know it's not fair, but she's safe and happy now wherever she is, so you don't have to worry about that."

He brings his legs to his chest and wraps his arms around them, almost casually, and nods. "Okay."

Callie finds her voice. "Jude, if you're not okay, you don't have to lie-"

"I said I'm okay, Callie."

Brandon blows out air between his lips. "Your sister's right-"

Jude doesn't let him finish his sentence, sitting up straighter against his headboard, as if to convince them that this news doesn't affect him at all. "I just want to be alone, okay?"

Brandon and Callie glance at each other, not entirely fond of the idea but they both know they can't push him, so Brandon stands from his spot, squeezes his shoulder, then heads out the door, closing it behind him. Callie wraps her arms around her body, unsure of what to do with herself. Brandon looks down at her, wanting desperately to just hold her, but he knows now is not the time to get into that. Instead, he suggests, "We should check on the twins."

Callie's eyes drift to the bathroom. "I think Mariana's in there."

"Okay," he says as he starts to head towards the bathroom, but she grabs his arm and stops him. "Maybe I should just go. I don't know...you should go find Jesus though."

Brandon doesn't want Callie to have to feel like she has to be strong for Mariana, but he hasn't seen Jesus since he went up to the bathroom, clearly sickened, and he's in a very unstable and potentially dangerous emotional state right now, so it's probably a better idea. "Yeah, okay."

The smell hits her before she's even fully inside. "Mariana..."

Mariana is sitting across from the toilet, her back against the wall, her legs stretched out in front of her. It seems she's making an effort to sit upright but her whole body is slumping, appearing relaxed, though Callie knows this is obviously some illusion. She bravely steps inside, peers inside the toilet now coated with pure bile- seeing as Mariana hadn't even eaten breakfast yet- and quickly flushes it before kneeling next to the girl. "Mariana," she prompts again, but she never looks up, just keeps staring straight ahead as if there's something interesting on the wall above the toilet.

Callie knows what's going on, she refuses to come back to reality. She's not going to reach her now, but she keeps trying, anyway. "Is there anything I can get you?" She knows it's too early to give some speech about how empathetic she is, so she opts for this route for now. "Some ginger ale, maybe?"

Slowly, her head turns, and Callie swears she doesn't blink once. Her face is so void of everything- color, emotion- it's almost frightening. Her lips part and the bottom one juts out a little, but she doesn't speak. She only stares at Callie, and her eyes are flashing with the words she can't say, and so Callie gingerly takes her hand and coaxes her up off the floor.

"We can go downstairs, I'll get everybody else." Mariana is standing on her own now but she never lets go of Callie's hand. "We can just sit there if you want. Or we can put something on. Whatever you want." Callie doesn't expect her to reply, and she doesn't.

When they reach the hallway, Brandon is at the top of the stairs, looking distressed. With her eyes, Callie warns him not to say anything if it's bad news, so his face changes and he waits for them to arrive before walking down with them. Callie leads Mariana over to the couch and sits down with her, but Brandon has that look on his face again and she has to excuse herself momentarily. "I'll be right back, I promise."

She follows him into the kitchen. "Please don't tell me-"

"I can't find him." he confirms, and her face falls. "I've looked everywhere, every room, every closet, no Jesus."

She peers over his shoulder and out the kitchen window. "Have you checked out back?"

He flips around and darts out the door with Callie in tow, scanning the back porch quickly before discovering that he's not here, either. He skips over the steps and just jumps straight down, marching across the grass but finds no signs of him. Finally, when he turns back around to go back inside, he spots him in the hidden corner of the yard, sitting up against the fence. Brandon lets out a long breath and slows himself as he approaches him. "We've been worried about you, we couldn't find you." He worries that this isn't the right thing to say, so he adds, "But it's fine."

Jesus pulls his knees up a little more, his wrists hanging loosely over them, his head leaning back against the fence. Callie's only watching from the porch, but even from here she can tell he's going to be a different case than Mariana. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Brandon frowns. "I said it to Jude and I'll say it to you, you don't have to lie-"

He doesn't snap at him but he looks a little peeved as he interjects, "Really, I'm okay. I didn't know her that long, anyway."

"Jesus," Brandon wasn't expecting him to be this calm about it, but he instantly regrets it when he says it, "she was your girlfriend."

But instead of cracking like he expects, he looks up at him steadily, and with an even tongue, simply replies, "You think I don't know that?"

Brandon has to stop and look up to the sky for a moment, and it's only then that he notices it has stopped raining entirely, though the tree stills drips residual down on their heads, and Jesus is sitting in pure mud. He looks out towards the street over the fence and sees people walking by, an average day for them. Life goes on. Fresh, clean air fills their lungs. They can revel in the smell of wet asphalt, and the comforting thought that the sun will be out soon.

But not for the Fosters. For the Fosters, the rain will come again.

"Go put on some clean clothes, I'll put in something to watch." Brandon orders and Jesus takes to the stairs, still trying to convince his brother that he's completely fine, and will always be. Brandon knows that's not how it'll work, there's only two different ways to come about this: he's either devastated and eventually recovers, or he's fine and is eventually devastated. He wishes he were the former; he doesn't know how much worse the breakdown will be when it's been brewing for some time.

Callie's back on the couch next to Mariana, and they're both staring at the television, though one of them is checked out of this world and probably doesn't even know she's staring at it. Brandon looks at them with sad eyes before putting in The Little Mermaid, the only Disney movie he can find with no character death. Callie tries to smile at him when he looks at her again, but it's ridiculously forced and not believable.

"Should I get Jude?" Brandon asks her, but she shakes her head.

"This is what he does. He'll join us when he's ready."

Jesus thumps down the stairs in clean jeans and plops into the recliner, pulling his knees back up again. He glances at Mariana out of the corner of his eye but makes no move towards her. Any other time or situation he'd be there for her, but he doesn't know what to tell her. Lexi was her friend before she was his girlfriend, he knows her pain is magnified. And she doesn't seem to acknowledge that anyone else is in this room with her, anyway. "What movie?"

"Uh, The Little Mermaid." Brandon tells him, not surprised when he receives an eye roll from the boy in response. He's about to take a seat next to Callie on the couch when Jude appears at the bottom of the stairs, eyes puffy and red, skin blotchy. Callie's spine straightens immediately and shoots out, "Jude, what's wrong?"

Three pairs of eyes watch him now but he makes no move towards them. He seems to be trying to stay composed but the second he opens his mouth, he sobs. "I'm sorry!"

Callie gets up to retrieve him, obviously questioning, "Sorry for what, Jude?" but he doesn't look at her, his eyes are bouncing back and forth between Jesus and Brandon. He doesn't even look at her when she bends down next to him. "I'm so sorry!"

Brandon, still standing, walks over to the boy and does the same as Callie. "What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yes I do," he cries, though he sounds firm as he says it, "ever since I've been here only bad stuff has happened!"

Brandon and Callie look at each other, both pained as they hear the young boy cry about something that is completely out of his control or power. Callie's seen him cry before, but something about this time makes her heart ache more; maybe it's knowing all of the things he's been through before arriving here, and all the new stuff after. He's had too much happen to him at such a young age, he's barely had a childhood. "Jude, no," she grinds out, fighting back her own tears, "this is not your fault."

"None of it is," Brandon adds, taking him by the shoulders so he'll look him in the eye, "don't you ever think that. You're the best one here, you have to know that. Don't ever think that you've only brought us unhappiness. You've brought my moms so much happiness. Don't you know that?"

He shakes his head furiously, and when Brandon takes a look at Callie, she's biting her lip a little too hard, he's afraid she'll split it open. So he goes on, "It's not your sister's fault, either. Without you guys, all of this would've happened, anyway. You've just made it a little more bearable."

Jude looks at Callie after he says this, and she nods in agreement, a skinny tear slipping down her cheek. She wipes at his own with her palms. "Listen to Brandon. He's smart."

"But-"

"He's right," Jesus speaks up from his seat, directing all their attention. Brandon is surprised, he hadn't expected him to, but he's glad he does. "I don't blame you for anything, Jude. You're awesome."

Brandon silently thanks his brother, especially upon looking at Jude again, who has stopped crying and has nothing left to say. Callie stands up but doesn't grab his hand, she knows he hates crying in front of other people and she doesn't want to do anything he'll be embarrassed of. But when Brandon stands he places his hand on his back and ushers Jude over to the couch, informing him of the movie they're watching. He doesn't seem to mind as much as Jesus.

Callie squeezes back in between Mariana and Brandon, and Jude takes the other side of him. When they're all situated, Brandon catches Jesus' eye, silently inviting him to join them. He stands without a sound and takes the space left next to Jude.

The movie isn't even halfway through when both the twins and Jude have knocked out. Jesus' arm is wrapped around the young boy, pulling him in closer, and Mariana is asleep with her head on the arm of the couch, uninterested in the comfort of another. Callie's fingers envelop Brandon's forearm, her head against his shoulder, and she can feel when his head moves, examining the four of them, so she mumbles softly, "Thank you."

His eyes don't leave the screen as he replies. "For what?"

But she never answers him back, she's fallen fast asleep on his arm. He decides he could use a little rest, too, but he leaves the movie on. Ariel's finally human and has found her prince charming. He's a sucker for it.

When Stef finally steps out of her office, her face is ghostly pale. Lena's been waiting for her to make her reappearance, hoping it would end the suspense and the anxiety that now plagues her, but seeing her expression only makes her heart stop. "What is it?" she asks as she approaches her. "What is it? Do I even want to know?"

Stef runs her hands over her face as they stop next to the coffee machine, out of the way of the others. "I don't know how I'm going to tell them this. I don't know if I can."

"Stephanie Foster," Lena demands, her voice a harsh whisper, "come out with it now before I have a heart attack."

She leans in a little closer, sighs quietly, then finally explains, "Lexi was trying to cross the border when she was murdered. She was trying to come back here." She waits for Lena's reaction, but when she merely shakes her head, disbelieving, she has to add, "Yeah, she left a note for her parents. She wasn't just trying to get back to town, Lena, she was trying to get back to us."

Lena's head won't stop moving, she doesn't want to believe it, she can't.

"She was trying to get back to Jesus."

A/N: So a few of you guys in the past have said I use too much description while writing, so lately I've been trying to get rid of some of it, but now I feel its all dialogue! But it's up to you guys to let me know if its alright, if it needs more, if it needs less, etc. You guys have been doing an awesome job reviewing, thank you so so much! Sorry for the late post this morning, my laptop wouldn't connect to the internet, then it overheated, so I had to get on my sister's, which is super slow. Everything that can go wrong, does! Oh well, I'd climb mountains for my lovely reviewers and readers! I'll try to get back to your reviews today. Thanks again! :)