Summary - As the Foster family tries to go about their business as best as they can; Brandon, Callie, Stef and Mike are on edge waiting on what could happen next.
Disclaimer - I didn`t create any of the characters, with the exceptation of a few, in this story. They are the property of Bradley Bredeweg, Peter Paige and ABC Family. Any infringements is unintentional.
The Foster household started come to life at around 7 AM with Stef being the first one up. She did a couple of yoga exercises that Lena recommended to her while recovering from the shooting and felt some discomfort in her left ribs, which is where she got wounded, while trying to stretch to the side. Stef`s recovery from the shooting had gone remarkably well, but she still wasn`t 100%. After finishing the exercises, Stef went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get in a quick shower. After she put on her robe and then exited the bathroom, Stef went to check on Brandon, who was still sleeping. She quietly went in the room and gave Brandon a quick kiss on his forehead. As Stef looked at Brandon, she felt very distressed that he had just went through a terrible ordeal and now had to deal with a dark cloud of uncertainty hovering over him with Liam in a coma instead of enjoying the rest of his summer. She wanted so much to make it all go away, but knew that wasn`t so easily done.
"Morning there Sunshine." Lena said as she greeted Stef with a kiss. "How are you feeling?"
"I`m just trying to make it." Stef replied as she got her uniform out of the closet.
As Stef begin to change into her uniform, Lena`s intuition began to kick in as she watched her. Lena knew that Stef was trying her best to hide her feelings with a mask of stoicism, but she was obviously visibly distracted and worried about Brandon and Callie.
"I know how worried you are about Brandon." Lena said.
"This is the last thing he and Callie needs." Stef said in a melancholy tone. "It`s bad enough they`re struggling to deal with the altercation and now this."
Lena immediately grabbed Stef`s left hand to hold it as a show of support. Stef replied with a smile. "You know that you`re not alone in this." Lena said.
"I know." Stef said as she finished buttoning up her shirt. "We`re not going to let anything happen to them."
"Speaking of that," Lena said as she and Stef went downstairs. "i`m going to talk with that lawyer you served with you on the force a while ago."
"Andrew Cho?"
"Yeah. I`ve heard that he`s pretty good and wanted to get some legal advice from him regarding the situation."
"He`s about as good as they come."
"I`m just worried about what it could cost should the case go to court." Lena said as she turned on the stove.
"Don`t worry about that." Stef said as she put the dishes on the table. "I`m sure the union could cover some of the cost."
Stef and Lena then went about the business of fixing breakfast, which consisted of hash browns and eggs. As the moms cooked breakfast, Jesus and Jude came downstairs and went to the living room to do some pushups.
"Hey guys." Stef said as she sat on the edge of a chair. "Nice to see you`re starting to exercise more Jude."
Jude grimaced as he struggled to finish his last pushups.
"Give me one more." Jesus said to encourage him. "There you go."
"That was so hard." Jude said, struggling to catch his breath.
"It`ll get easier if you do them regularly." Jesus said as he pulled Jude up from the floor.
"I like doing yoga better."
"I don`t know how you can do those poses where you have to stretch out for a minute. I almost pulled a muscle trying to do a hard pose."
"I`m in agreement with you about yoga Jesus." Stef said as she gave Jesus and Jude a couple of bottles of water. "However it does have it`s fringe benefits."
Lena smiled at Stef, who just winked at her.
"I`m with you mom on the fringe benefits." Jesus said.
"You only went to that one class only because Lexi was in it." Jude said, teasing Jesus, which got a laugh from Stef and Lena.
"Yeah ha ha."
Callie and Mariana entered the kitchen as Stef, Lena and Jude were having a laugh at Jesus` expense.
"What`s so funny?" Mariana asked as she and Callie sat down at the table.
"We were just having a little fun teasing Jesus." Lena said.
"I don`t want to run late for work." Stef said as she gathered her bag.
"Have a good day." Lena said as she kissed Stef.
"I will honey. Bye babies!"
"Bye mom." Jesus and Mariana said simultaneously as Stef left the house.
After Stef left for work, Lena, Jesus, Mariana, Callie and Jude started eating their breakfast and were joined a few minutes later by Brandon. The breakfast went in typical fashion with some small talk.
"Hey." Brandon said as he approached Callie, who was starting to wash dishes. "You need some help?"
"No i got it covered," Callie replied. "but thanks anyway."
"So how are you doing?"
"I`m doing fine. How about you?"
"Same with me. You have any plans today?"
"Yeah. I have this photography workshop in about an hour."
"That sounds cool. If you have some time, you`re welcome to come over the homeless shelter for some volunteer work with me, Jesus, Lexi and Talya later around 3.
Callie immediately felt anxious when Talya`s name was mentioned. Although things between them were better, Callie still felt uneasy around Talya now that she and Brandon had been making a fresh start, especially in light of her and Brandon`s kiss before the wedding. "No thanks." Callie said as she dried her hands off with a towel. "Maybe some other time."
"Hey man." Brandon said as Jesus came back in the kitchen. "You haven`t forgotten about the thing at the homeless shelter?"
"No i haven`t." Jesus said while rolling his eyes. "Do i have to do this?"
"Yes you do." Lena said. "It is a good way for you to give back to the community."
"Not to mention that it`ll look good to any prospective colleges." Mariana said.
"Don`t suppose it won`t hurt to give it a try." Jesus said.
After the conversation, everyone headed their separate ways. Brandon and Jesus went to watch TV in the living room, while Callie and Jude headed upstairs to get their stuff and Mariana checked her email on her laptop.
"Hey you guys ready?" Lena yelled.
"We`re coming." Jude said as he and Callie went downstairs.
"Why are you giving me that look?" Lena said, noticing a frown on Jude`s face.
"Why do i have to go see this tutor now? Can i do it when school get started?"
"You`re going to the tutor so that you can be better prepared for school. Besides it`s time for you step it up and get those grades up."
"Did they have to go to a tutor too?"
"Yes we did." Jesus said. "I remember me and Mariana had to cancel a trip to the waterpark because we had to do a lot of studying on World War II."
"Oh that was the worse." Mariana said. "That guy Mr. Black was so hard and wanted us to be so detailed with our work. Like how was i suppose to know the difference between a Panther tank and a Tiger tank."
Mariana`s comment got a laugh from everyone.
"Jude will be in safe hands." Lena said as she got her keys. "Lets get a move on you two."
As Callie and Jude headed out the door, Brandon stood up and opened it for them. "I guess i`ll see you later." Brandon said.
"Yeah." Callie said.
She and Brandon shared a nervous laugh and smile with each other before Callie went to get in the car with Jude and Lena. Brandon watched them drive out off down the road and then headed back in the house. He couldn`t help but focus all his thoughts on Callie. Although they had vowed not to push things after the kiss, Brandon still had those certain feelings stiring inside him regarding Callie.
Stef parked at her usual spot in the parking lot at the North Division headquarters of the San Diego Police Department. Stef said hello to some familiar faces as she walked in the building. However she also noticed a lot of stares at her. Stef knew that everyone knew about what happened with Brandon. Word tended to spread around the police department whenever some cop`s kid got in trouble and now Stef felt the scrutiny of having all eyes on her during the reading of daily assignments, which made her feel very uneasy.
"Hey." Mike said as he approached Stef in the hallway after the briefing. "Don`t let them bother you."
"I`m trying not to," Stef said. "but it`s impossible to notice everyone staring at you."
"Hey what`s up Mike and Stef." Officer Rasheed Thompson said as he came over with Officer Jerry Stein. They were two of Stef and Mike`s closest friends on the force and nicknamed the Odd Couple due to their differences in age and styles, with Rasheed being young, energetic and brash; while Jerry was older and reserved.
"Hey guys." Stef said.
"We heard about what happened with Brandon." Jerry said. "How is he doing?"
"He was a bit shaken up, but other than that, he`s doing fine." Mike replied.
"You know that everyone`s behind you guys."
"We know." Stef sighed.
"You should`ve told us about this guy earlier." Rasheed said in a quieter tone.
"Yeah we heard that he got off on those charges." Jerry said. "We would`ve made sure he wouldn`t go anywhere near Brandon and Callie."
Stef immediately felt her stomach churning after hearing Jerry`s comment. "I appreciate you guys wanting to help out," Stef said. "but this isn`t how we want to go about and i don`t you two losing your badges over."
"I understand how you feel Stef, but we always you and Mike`s backs anytime and that goes for your kids too."
"Yeah man we would`ve took care of business for you with this Liam dude." Rasheed said. "You know what i mean."
"Yeah we do." Mike said with a grim look on his face. He knew all too well that some officers were willing to bend the rules for personal reasons.
"I see the captain wants to talk you guys." Jerry said while noticing Captain Roberts looking at Stef and Mike. "We better get out of anyway."
"Yeah see ya guys." Stef said as the other officers headed out on their patrol.
Stef and Mike immediately walked into Captain Roberts` office. Captain Roberts closed the door behind her and then sat down at her desk.
"I`m very aware of what happened with Brandon and Callie on Saturday night." Captain Roberts said. "How are they doing?"
"They`re doing fine." Stef replied.
"That`s good to hear."
"Any news on Liam Olmstead?" Mike asked.
"I`ve heard that he`s still in a coma and will undergo surgery in his brain in the next day or two as soon as swelling goes down." Captain Roberts replied.
Stef and Mike were stoic outwardly, but both felt very nervous that Liam`s life was still on the line.
"I`m sure you know that the Olmsteads want to press charges against Brandon and i want to tell you both to stay away from the investigation. I don`t want to hear any buts either of you. This came down from the brass and besides you both are still on thin ice after that shooting."
"How could we ever forget that." Mike said.
"I know that you both want to do something to help Brandon and it`s understandable, but i don`t want you two to jeopadize your careers.
"We understand what you`re saying Captain." Stef said. "We`re in the process of getting some legal help just in case."
"I can`t speak for Stef Captain," Mike said. "but i`m willing to follow your orders about the case. However if the situation were to come to a head, i have to do what i have to as a father to protect Brandon."
Stef and Captain Roberts quietly contemplated Mike`s statement."I understand where you`re coming from Mike." Captain Roberts said. "That will be all for now."
Stef and Mike immediately exited Captain Roberts` office and headed outside to their squad car.
"That was really great what you said in there." Stef said as she got in the car.
"I meant every word." Mike said as he started the car. "I`m going to do whatever it takes to protect Brandon. No matter the cost."
Stef sat silently during the drive and took a brief look at Mike. She admired him for his tenacity in defending Brandon. Despite everything that had happened between them, Stef knew that she could always rely on Mike to help her out with Brandon and was even more grateful for it during the present situation.
It was a partly cloudy and warm afternoon around San Diego. Brandon, Talya, Jesus and Lexi had finished their volunteer work at the homeless shelter and headed over to the park for a walk. After a few minutes of conversating about what happened at the homeless, they saw an ice cream truck a few feet away and went to get themselves some ice cream.
"This new chocolate chip ice cream they just got is pretty good." Jesus said in between licks.
"Yeah it isn`t bad." Lexi said. "I wish that they had a favor like Mocha or Cappuccino."
"You`re such an ice cream snob."
Brandon, Talya and Lexi laughed at Jesus` comment. The foursome walked around for a few minutes. As Jesus and Lexi were talking about some volleyball camp, Brandon noticed that Talya was detacted and paid no attention to the conversation. He knew that when Talya was like this, she had something on her mind.
"Hey are you alright? Brandon asked.
"Oh yeah." Talya replied. "Look can i talk to you alone for a moment?"
"Sure. Hey guys we`ll catch up with you in a moment."
Jesus and Lexi immediately picked up on the vibe with Brandon and Talya. "Yeah we`ll be over here." Jesus said as he and Lexi went to leave Brandon and Talya sitting by themselves on a bench.
"What`s on your mind?" Brandon asked.
"I didn`t want to get into this around Jesus and Lexi, but it`s about what happened with you, Callie and Liam."
Brandon immediately grimaced when Liam was mentioned. "What is there to say. What happened happened."
Talya saw how umcomfortable Brandon was at that moment. "I`m sorry that i brought it up."
"No it`s alright."
"It`s just that when i first heard what happened, i was so worried that something happened to you or Callie."
"You had every right to be worried, but we came out of it alright."
"I`m glad that you did."
"Right now i`m stuck in this waiting game not knowing what could happen with Liam or something else happening."
"You`ll come through this."
Brandon and Talya then sat silently for a moment before Talya broke the silence. "Listen Brandon." Talya said. "I know that this isn`t the best question to ask-"
"You want to know if i somehow went after Liam for what he did to Callie and then getting away with it." Brandon replied, interrupting Talya.
"I`m sorry to ask you that. It`s just that i heard my dad talking to one of our neighbors about it."
"I would never do that something like that, but i can tell you that i would`ve did what the same thing i did on Saturday regardless if it was Callie, you, my moms, Mariana or Lexi."
Talya felt comforted by what Brandon had just said and placed her hand on top of his as a show of support.
"Hey you are two going to be long?" Jesus yelled.
"I guess we better get going." Brandon said as he and Talya got up and headed over to meet up with Jesus and Lexi. "You know how impatient he can be."
As he walked back with Talya, Brandon was in pensive mood after he had lied in a way about his emotions on that. He didn`t want to worry Talya about it and choose to keep it to himself.
A few weeks had passed since the incident. The Fosters went on with their usual business of getting ready for school to start back. Lena was busy with administrative work at Anchor Beach on some days, while Stef worked on the budget for the kids` new clothes and supplies for school. Callie and Jude were grateful that they were getting some new clothes and had some fun shopping for it with Mariana. As for Liam, the surgery on his skull fracture was successful and he emerged from his coma a few days later. However he faced a tough recovery, suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and needing rehab.
A couple of days before school begin, the Fosters, along with the Riveras and Talya and her parents, went to a musical program showcasing San Diego`s best young musical talents including Brandon, who was playing a classical solo piece. As Brandon played his classical piece, Stef, Lena and Mike looked on proudly with Stef shedding some tears. Callie couldn`t help but marvel at how beautifully Brandon`s playing was during his solo piece. She always has been impressed by his playing, but had a greater appreciation of it having hearing it during a show. After Brandon finished the last note, he got a robust ovation from the audience, most notably from his family and friends, who gave him a standing ovation. Later in the show, Brandon returned to the stage as part of a special School of Rock type musical tribute to J.J. Cale along with some other musical prodigies from around the city. The makeshift band played Call Me The Breeze, which immediately got the audience in a very lively mood with some of them, most notably Stef, Lena and Jesus on their feet. When Brandon did the piano solo in the last part of the song, Stef and Lena clapped and yelled enthusiastically. Brandon took a quick glance at them and couldn`t hide the smile on his face. After the song ended, the audience gave the band a big standing ovation. Brandon looked over at where his family and friends were and gave them a thumbs up.
"Freebird!" Jesus yelled out.
"Jesus." Mariana said as she playfully punched him on the face, while everyone else laughed at Jesus.
The next day, the Fosters went to a back to school over at the beach near Anchor Bay Charter School. Stef and Lena mostly mingled with the other parents, while the kids were off hanging out with their friends and dancing. Later toward the end of the party, Stef and Lena dragged the kids away for some dancing. The moms wanted to get as much fun as possible embarrassing their kids, who happily played along. Later in the evening, the Fosters trudged back home with tired feet and some full stomachs.
"I can hardly move my toes." Stef complained as she down on one of the lounge chairs in the living.
"I know." Lena said as she walked in from the kitchen with a couple of bottles of water. "It`s getting harder trying to keep up with these kids."
"Yeah, but we still have our moments."
Lena smiled at Stef`s comment and gave her a quick kiss before heading back into the kitchen.
"Hey guys." Stef to Jesus and Jude, who were playing a video game. "Don`t forget that we`re back to school bedtime."
"We know mom." Jesus said.
"Good because i don`t want you staying up all night or else i have to throw some water on you to wake you up in the morning."
Jude immediately laughed at Stef`s comment. As everyone were doing their different activities before bedtime, the doorbell rang.
"Whoever this is better have a good reason for coming over this late." Stef said as she walked over to the door. She opened it and saw a couple of fellow police officers. "Hey guy. What can i help you with?"
"Hey there Stef." Officer Clarke said. "I`m Officer Clarke and this is Officer Allen. We`re from the Southern Division."
"Is your son Brandon here?" Officer Allen asked.
"Yes he is." Stef replied. "Hold on for a moment. Lena could you get Brandon."
As Lena went upstairs to get Brandon, Stef started to feel nervous. "Is this about that altercation he had not that long ago?"
The officers gave Stef sad looks, which immediately made her even more anxious. "Please tell me you`re not here to arrest him?"
"I`m afraid so." Officer Clarke said.
"This can`t be happening."
"I`m sorry Stef. Here`s the warrant."
Brandon came outside and went over to Stef and the officers. "Hey mom what`s going on?" Brandon asked while looking around suspiciously.
"Brandon Foster." Officer Allen said as he walked over to Brandon. "You`re under arrest for Aggravted assault."
"No!" Brandon yelled out, throwing his arms in the air in disgust. "Mom."
Stef could only sadly look at Brandon. She had never felt so helpless as a mother as in that moment. "I`m sorry B." Stef said.
Officer Allen read out Brandon`s Miranda right and briefly put his hands behind his back to cuff him, which caused Stef to immediately come between them. "Could you please not cuff him here?" Stef plead. "I don`t want his siblings to see him handcuffed."
"Yes we can do that out of respect for you and your family." Officer Clarke said.
As Brandon was walking to the police car with the officers, the rest of the family came outside and in an instant, Jesus and Mariana ran over to Brandon.
"Hey let him go!" Jesus yelled as he and Mariana got near Brandon.
"I`m sorry, but you could two please back off?" Officer Clarke plead with the twins.
"He didn`t do anything wrong." Mariana angrily said. "He was defending himself."
"I`m sure this can be straightened out in court."
"This is so wrong." Jesus said while trying to move pass the taller Officer Allen. "You can`t do this."
"Jesus come on." Lena said as she and Callie tried to pull Jesus away. "Don`t make things any worse."
Jesus calmed down and back down. Brandon watched the whole conflict nearby. "Can i talk to them for a moment?" Brandon asked. "Please i really need to."
"Alright kid." Officer Clarke said. "Don`t do anything suspicious."
Brandon walked over toward his family. He immediately saw Jesus was still stewing, while Mariana was starting to cry and Jude looked on sadly. Brandon`s heart was aching having to see this. "Hey guys." Brandon said. "I`m going to be alright."
"Brandon this isn't right." Mariana said with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You shouldn`t have to go through with this."
"I know that, but you guys gotta go on and keep it together. I`ll be fine. Just take care of each other."
Brandon kissed Mariana on her forehand and got a quick hug from Jesus before he started to walk back to the squad car.
"Hey Callie." Brandon said. "Can i talk to you alone?"
Callie immediately went over to the squad car while Brandon went in the backseat.
"Can you make sure that Jesus and Mariana-" Brandon asked.
"Brandon don`t worry about it." Callie said interrupting Brandon. "I got this. Just take care of yourself."
Brandon silently nodded to Callie to indicate that he trusted her to be there for his siblings. He took one last look back at everyone as the squad car went down the street. Everyone else were left standing in the yard for a moment before heading back inside, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness after having to watch Brandon being arrested. Stef called Mike to let him know what had just happened before she got her car keys.
"I`m going to go see what Mike and i can do." Stef said as she stood by the door. "Please make sure everyone are going to get through this."
"You don`t need to ask." Lena replied. "Just do what you can to get Brandon back home as soon as possible."
Stef gave Lena a kiss goodbye before heading over to where Brandon was being held. Jesus, Jude and Callie headed upstairs to bed after a few minutes of lingering around in the living room. The threesome immediately heard Mariana sobbing from the stairs and went to her and Callie`s room to see her curled up on her bed, holding her teddy bear. Callie immediately rushed over to sit on Mariana`s bed and held her to offer comfort. Jesus and Jude followed behind and sat down on Callie`s bed. The foursome stayed up for about 10 minutes before each of them slowly fell asleep with Callie sleeping with Mariana, while Jude slept in Callie`s bed and Jesus went back to his and Jude`s room. Callie was the last one to fall asleep. She felt overwhelmed having to watch Brandon being arrested and then seeing how it was affecting everyone, especially Mariana. She shed a single tear for Brandon before quickly wiping it off. As sad as she felt, Callie knew that she was going to need a lot of strength to help everyone get through this crisis.
To be continued...
A/N: I apologize for my lateness in completing this part. I had a slight case of writer`s block along with doing some research for this part and the next ones.