Summary - Brandon`s case finally goes to court with Callie having a huge role and being forced to face some old demons.
Disclaimer - I didn`t create any of the characters, with the exception of a few, in this story. Tney are the property of Bradley Bredeweg, Peter Paige and ABC Family. Any infringement is unintentional.
The next few days following the meeting with the A.D.A saw the Fosters going about their lives as best as they could. Brandon finally returned to school at Anchor Beach. While he had his share of stares from people, he also got a lot of support from everyone. Brandon later jokingly told Jesus that he had never been this popular before. Things at school died down for Brandon after a couple of days. As everyone went about their business as best as they could, Brandon`s preliminary hearing loomed on the horizon. On Friday afternoon, Stef and Lena went to have a meeting with Andrew Cho at his office.
"So where is Mike?" Andrew asked as he welcomed the ladies in his office.
"He wasn`t able to make it due to work." Stef replied as she and Lena sat down in front of Andrew`s black desk.
"Well i`m sure you two can get him up to step on things. I want to go over some things before the hearing. First of all, there won`t be much evidence presented other than the lead pipe that Brandon hit Liam with."
"How many witnesses are going to testify?" Lena asked.
"There were only three witnesses. A man that was walking his dog a couple of blocks away, a college student that was at the gas station and Callie."
Stef and Lena immediately felt uneasy when Callie`s name was mentioned and briefly looked at each other. Andrew picked up on the ladies` discomfort. "Is there anything wrong about that?"
"We`re worried about Callie." Lena said. "She testified against Liam not that long ago and it didn`t end well."
"We`re kinda worried about her possibly having doubts about doing this again after the jury didn`t believe her." Stef said.
"I understand your concerns about Callie having doubts about testifying," Andrew said. "but i think that she`s going to be very crucial in the hearing. Listen i want to do what i can for this not to go to trial and have the charges against Brandon dismissed. I want to show the judge that Brandon was defending himself against Liam, who went after him and Callie, and show what kind of man Liam is."
"We`ll talk to Callie about this later." Stef said. "Is this anything else we need to know?"
"No that`s about it." Andrew said as Stef and Lena stood up. "I`ll see you on Tuesday."
"Okay thanks Andrew." Lena said as she shook hands with Andrew before she and Stef left his office.
The drive home was quiet with Stef and Lena thinking about the meeting with Andrew and what laid ahead with the hearing.
"I`m so worried about Callie having to testify after having that terrible experience in her case." Lena said.
"I know." Stef said as she turned in the driveway at the house. "I feel the same way, but like Andrew said, Callie is very crucial to the case."
"I just hope that she`ll take the news as best as possible." Lena said as she and Stef got out of the SUV and headed inside the house.
After the family had a pleasant dinner where Jesus and Mariana did most of the talking, everyone mostly went their separate ways. Brandon was in his room practicing on his keyboard, while Jesus and Jude were watching a movie and Mariana was in her room using her laptop to catch up on things and chat at Facebook. Callie was reading a book when Stef and Lena approached her. "Hey." Callie said.
"Oh hey Callie." Stef said. "Listen we need to talk to you for a moment outside if you don`t mind."
Callie took a glance at Jesus and Jude, who immediately noticed what was going on. "Sure."
The ladies walked outside to the backyard where Callie sat down at the spot where she usually went to play her guitar.
"I take it you want to talk to me about testifying in the hearing." Callie said. "I`ll do it if you want to ask."
"We know that you do," Stef said. "but we want to know how feel about it?"
"I`m having some doubts about the A.D.A. using my record against me and the judge not believing anything i have to say. I don`t want to do anything that would damage Brandon`s case."
Stef and Lena both felt very sad that Callie had such a tough burden on her shoulders. They immediately sat down next to Callie with Stef putting her arm around her.
"We understand how you would skeptical about having to testify after your previous experience in court," Stef said "but we`re all behind you."
"You showed a lot of courage telling the truth back then." Lena said.
"What if the judge doesn`t believe me?" Callie said.
"You make him and everyone else in that courtroom see the truth." Lena said in an authortive tone.
Callie only nodded her head in response.
"You`re feeling better about this?" Stef asked.
"Yeah i do." Callie replied.
"Alright then. Why don`t we head back inside."
As Callie went back in the house with Stef and Lena, she started to feel better after her talk with Stef and Lena, but at the same time, still had some doubt in her mind.
The weekend came and went with the Fosters busying themselves with various activities to distract themselves as much as possible before the hearing, especially Brandon and Callie, who had a private concert at a country club and a photography seminar respectively on Saturday and Sunday. Monday was back to school and work for everyone. As the day progressed, everyone began to feel some nervousiness with the hearing drawing closer. This was most prominent during dinner where everyone felt very tense. Jesus and Mariana did their best to try to lighten the mood with a couple of funny stories from school. After dinner, everyone went off their own ways to study, do homework and watch some TV before heading off to bed. Later in the night, Callie began to stir after not getting much sleep. She was still pretty nervous about the prospects of testifying in the hearing. After a minute, Callie took a quick glance over at a sleeping Mariana, snuck out of their bedroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen where she fixed herself a glass of water. As Callie was drinking the water, she heard someone coming downstairs. Brandon immediately appeared in the kitchen, much to Callie`s relief.
"Oh hey you`re up." Callie said as she put her glass down.
"Yeah." Brandon said. "I couldn`t sleep because of the hearing."
"I couldn`t either. You wanna go in the living room?"
"Yeah."
Brandon and Callie immediately went to the living room and sat down on the couch. They sat in the mostly dark room before finally glancing each other briefly to break the tension.
"I would ask you how you`re feeling," Callie said. "but it`s pretty obvious how you`re feeling. So it would be stupid of me to ask."
"No it wouldn`t." Brandon said to reassure Callie. "I feel so helpless having things out of my hands and tired of going to court."
Callie felt sad that Brandon had to go back to court and be scrutinized again.
"So i`ve heard that you`re suppose to testify." Brandon said.
"Yeah i have to go through that again." Callie said while rolling her eyes.
"Well at least you don`t have to lie this time."
"Yeah, but i`ll still have my record used against me."
Brandon immediately picked up on the doubt Callie was wrestling with. "I would say something to cheer you up, but i don`t want to get yelled at you again."
Callie chuckled at Brandon`s comment. After they shared a laugh, Brandon and Callie stared intensely at each other.
"Callie i want to tell you this." Brandon said. "Regardless of what happens, i have complete faith in you doing the right thing."
Brandon and Callie looked at each other for a moment. In the last few months, they had built a strong bond of trust between them and now Brandon just showed his trust in her, which heartened Callie.
"I guess i better head back to bed to get in some sleep." Brandon said as he stood up. "I`ll see you in the morning."
"Yeah." Callie said. "Good night."
Callie stuck around downstairs and her leather photo album that Stef and Lena gave her to keep her photos in recently. She pulled out a photo that had a silhouette of Brandon playing his keyboard. Callie remembered getting high praise from a couple of professional photographers for it. As she looked at the photo, memories immediately came flashing back in her mind. Callie remembered her moments with Brandon such as when he skipped his music competition to help get Jude away from her abusive former foster father and nearly getting himself shot and of course their kiss before Stef and Lena`s wedding. She mostly remembered Brandon`s undying loyalty and believing in her when she didn`t believe in herself. Callie now felt more of a personal responsibility to help Brandon after all that he had done for her and began to feel a newfound strength slowly growing inside of her. After a couple of minutes, Callie put the photo back in the album and went back upstairs to her and Mariana`s room. As Callie was lying in her bed, she felt ready to face whatever that laid ahead in the hearing.
The next morning at the Fosters house was filled with the usual frentic activity as everyone rushed to get in their showers before all of the hot water was used up. Brandon and Callie were the first ones up by virtue of them not being to able much during the night. After they took quick showers, Brandon and Callie slipped into their pajamas and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast. Following the breakfast, they headed back upstairs to dressed for the hearing.
As Brandon was finished getting his necktie tied, he heard a knock on his door. "Yeah." He said. Brandon turned around and saw Jesus and Jude entering his room. "Hey guys."
"Hey man." Jesus said as he sat down at Brandon`s desk. "Just wanted to check on you before you head to court."
"I`m doing alright. Just trying to not to feel so nervous about it."
"I wish that we could go to the hearing."
"You probably won`t be missing much and would get bored after a few minutes."
"You know that if something were to go wrong in the case, we would get you across the border and find somewhere to you hide."
"Why down in Mexico?" Jude asked.
"Cause me and Brandon knows En Espanol and they don`t snitch down there."
Jesus` comment got a laugh from Brandon. "I hope that it won`t come to that." He said as he stood up.
"Seriously man, you know that we would do anything for you and got your back."
Brandon felt very heartened by Jesus` show of loyalty. He always knew that Jesus could be counted on be by his side for a fight in a heartbeat. "Thanks." Brandon said.
"I better get my stuff together before we leave." Jesus said as he stepped out of the room.
Jude stayed behind as Brandon put on his sport coat. "Brandon i forgot to tell you this," Jude said. "but thanks for helping Callie out with Liam."
"You`re welcome." Brandon said.
"You know that you`re the first one that has had our backs."
Brandon felt flattered by Jude`s comment. "I`m always glad to help you guys out."
Brandon and Jude looked at each other for a moment with an understanding of kinship. "We better get going." Brandon said as he and Jude left his room and headed downstairs.
Callie finished putting her hair in a ponytail and made some adjustments to her outfit, which was a black business type suit with a white dress shirt. "How do i look?" She asked Mariana.
"You look like you could be on The Good Wife." Mariana replied, which got a laugh from Callie. "How are you feeling about going back to court?"
"I feel a lot more positive about it. I`m ready get in there and kick ass."
Mariana smiled and slapped hands with Mariana to show her approval and support.
"Time to go!" Lena yelled from downstairs. Callie and Mariana immediately got their purses and headed downstairs with everyone. Lena, Jesus, Mariana and Jude wished Brandon and Callie good luck before they headed off to school. A few minutes later, Stef, Brandon and Callie left the house for the court downtown. After what seemed like a long wait in the last few days, the trio were finally ready for the hearing.
A 15 minute drive, Stef, Brandon and Callie made their way to the Central Courthouse. The trio were met by Mike and a few minutes later, Andrew Cho and his Associate attorney, Michael Williamson. The attorneys went over some last minute details with Callie for a few minutes before one of the court clerks informed them that the hearing was about to begin.
"It`s time to go the work." Andrew said. "How are feeling Brandon?"
"Nervous, but pretty good otherwise." Brandon replied as he, Andrew, Mike and Michael went in the courtroom, while Stef stayed behind with Callie at one of the waiting areas.
The hearing got underway as Judge Miguel Suarez entered the courtroom. A.D.A. Charles Pierce and Andrew had their opening arguments to start the hearing. A.D.A. Pierce presented the lead pipe that Brandon hit Liam with to the judge, while Andrew countered that Brandon was defending himself and Callie against Liam. After finishing the opening arguments, A.D.A. Pierce called Amber Burke to the stand. She saw at least part of the fight from nearby in the gas station. Andrew had dissected her story and used her talking on her cell phone for most of the fight against her, which was an opening blow against A.D.A. Pierce. The next witness was Charlie Dalton, who was talking his dog across the street during the fight. He presented more of a challenge to Andrew, who made some leeway with him in regards to his story. After Charlie Dalton finished his testimony, the hearing broke for the hour long lunch recess. As everyone made their way back to resume the hearing, anticipation was very high for this part of the hearing, which was considered the start of the main event.
"The people would like to call is Liam Olmstead." A.D.A. Pierce announced to the courtroom, which immediately caused most of the people in attendance to murmur.
A few seconds later, everyone got to see Liam, who entered the courtroom and slowly walked to the stand with a slight gait. It was immediately evident to everyone how visible Liam`s injury were, especially with the noticable scar on the left side of his head, which ran from his forehead to the scalp. After being sworn in, Liam answered a couple of softball questions from A.D.A. Pierce before getting the serious stuff.
"Mr. Olmstead." A.D.A Pierce said as he approached Liam. "Can i tell what you can remember from the night of the altercation?"
"Umm i don`t remember much other than going inside the store." Liam replied. "Other than that, it`s a black hole."
"Were you going out somewhere that night?"
"No i`m not that all into the night life."
"Can you tell the court the extent of the injuries you received?"
"I suffered a Depressed skull fracture, was in a coma for a couple of days and had surgery to relieve cr-cranial pressure after a Epidural hematoma was found in my brain."
"I understand that you have been in rehab."
"Yes i have."
"Can you tell us about it?"
"It has different things for each day like memory awareness, speech and physical activities to get my strength back."
"What are the physical ailments that you have had since your assault?"
"I have frequent headaches, i`m very sensitive to a lot of light and loud sounds and feel dizzy after doing any type of physical activity for an extended time."
"Do you have to take medication for these ailments?
"Yes i do.
A.D.A. Pierce took a moment to ready himself to ask the next round of questions. "Mr. Olmstead can you tell us your relationship to Callie Jacob?"
"She was my foster sister." Liam replied.
"I understand that she was taken out of your parents` home."
"Yes. She and her brother were taken out by CPS."
"Can you tell us why?"
"Because i had an inappropiate relationship with her. We were pretty close and i had a lack of judgement one night."
"How did Ms. Jacob act after that night?"
"Things got pretty weird. She wanted to be more closer with me, but i told her that we shouldn`t do this. It wasn`t long before my parents found out and had her removed."
"A few months ago, you had rape charges brought against by Ms. Jacob, which were dismissed. Do you think that they could`ve possibly played a role in you being attacked?"
"I guess it`s likely. Callie can be volatile at times."
"So do you think that she could`ve at least had a spur of the moment plan with Brandon Foster to strike back at you?"
"I can`t say for sure, but i wouldn`t put it pass her. After all, she can be pretty persuasive."
Brandon immediately rolled his eyes after Liam`s comment, while Stef stewed with disgust at the lies about Callie being told by Liam.
"I have no further questions."
Andrew immediately stood up and walked toward Liam. "Now Mr. Olmstead, you said that Ms. Jacob was volatile. Am i right?" He asked.
"Yes." Liam replied.
"I think that you shouldn`t be casting stones since you`ve proven to be even more volatile Mr. Olmstead."
"Objection!" A.D.A Pierce yelled. "Is this bibical talk going somewhere?
"Substained." Judge Suarez said. "Get to your point Mr. Cho."
"I am your honor." Andrew said as he was handed a file from Michael. "We have on record that you`ve confronted Ms. Jacob a couple of times before the altercation were you severely injured. Am i correct about this?"
"Yes."
"Why did you confront her?"
"She had mentioned me to my other former foster sister Sarah, who was freaked out by it. I told her to stay away from her."
"What about the second confrontation?"
"She had a friend of her`s or maybe her boyfriend at the time sent me some threats online and i went to tell her to get him to stop them and to stop harassing Sarah when he came out of nowhere to attack me."
"Did you at any point grab Ms. Jacob by her arm in either of those confrontations?"
Liam rubbed the temple of his head to indicate his nervousness for the first time and help relive his head that was starting to ache.
"Mr. Olmstead did you aggressively grab Ms. Jacob by her arm on the different times you`ve confronted?"
"Yes i guess." A flustered Liam stammered. "I didn`t mean to do it."
"Right because she`s so volatile." Andrew said sarcastically. "Can you tell us how did you find out where Ms. Jacob was?"
"I guess it was on an internet search. I saw her name at Instagram."
"Now why couldn`t you had called her foster parents, Officer and Mrs. Fosters, and told them about this so called harassment by Ms. Jacob?"
"I didn`t know their phone number."
"Right. You didn`t bother looking it up and thought that it was better for you to confront her instead."
"Objection your honor!" A.D.A Pierce yelled. "This is pure speculation by Mr. Cho and i would like to that statement stricten from the record."
"Substained." Judge Suarez said. "This will stay on the record counselor."
Andrew took a moment to look inside another folder. "Mr. Olmstead do you remember a Ms. Brittany Black?" Andrew asked as he walked toward Liam.
"I guess i do." Liam replied with a puzzled look on his face.
"Do you remember meeting her at the popular nightclub The Double Deuce?"
"Yeah. I was invited by a couple of former co-workers. It wasn`t my scene, but it was a boys` night out and i wanted to let off some steam after a week of work."
"What happened when you met Ms. Black?"
"Umm we danced and talked for the most part. Later that night, she freaked out."
"What caused to her act like this?"
"She said that i had touched her inappropiately and got angry at me by shoving me against the bar and causing a drink to be spilled on me."
"Do you remember aggressively grabbing Ms. Black by her arm and then shoving her to the floor?"
"I don`t remember if i had grabbed her, but i do remember that she had slapped me in the face and tried to get in a punch before i shoved her, albeit it slightly. She might`ve stumbled after having a few too many drinks."
"What happened later that night?"
"Well i remember that Ms. Black came back as me and my co-workers at the times were leaving and she had brought her brother with her."
"Now this is where you had gotten into a fight with her brother Nick "Bane" Black in the parking lot?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell us the details from it?"
"I know that we had exchanged some words and i said that i obviously set him off."
"Was it that you had called Ms. Black an annoying slut?"
"Something like that. I don`t really remember."
"And that started the fight between you and Mr. Black?"
"Yes."
"Now i read from the police report that Mr. Black had to be pulled off of you. Is this true?"
"Yes." Liam replied with a frustrated sigh.
"Mr. Olmstead you seem like a strong man given your build. I`m surprised that you got physically pounded like that."
"Mr. Black looked like he could be a biker and was about bigger than some football players."
"Objection." A.D.A Pierce said impatiently. "I like to know what this previous incident has to do with this case?"
"I wanted to use that incident in relation to the ones that Mr. Olmstead has had with Ms. Jacob to show the court what a clear and present threat he is and that he is an aggressive man that bullies women to get his way, but then in typical fashion, comes up on the short end whenever he was confronted by a man willing to defend themselves and the women that he has threatened.
Liam brooded after hearing that last comment from Andrew and clinched his left hand into a fist before closing his eyes and taking some breaths to calm himself.
"I have no further questions." Andrew said as he went to sit down.
"You may step down Mr. Olmstead." Judge Suarez said.
Liam immediately stood up and angrily walked out of the courtroom, feeling exposed and emasculated. His parents followed behind to console him. Stef and Mike looked on at Liam`s discomfort with amusement.
"We took a big step forward there." Andrew whispered to Brandon, Stef and Mike. "Now we need Callie to give the final push."
Callie sat patiently in the waiting area. She felt restless by the monotonous waiting and looked at the time on her cell phone to help break the boredom. Ten minutes later, Callie noticed that she had a text from Mariana, which she immediately read. The text was Mariana asking if anything big happened. Callie smiled at the text and replied that she didn`t know since she had been stuck in the waiting area. As Callie texted Mariana back, one of the bailiffs approached her.
"Excuse me," The bailiff said. "but we`re ready for you."
Callie immediately put her phone away in her purse and walked to the courtroom. She stopped at the entrance for a moment to get herself ready mentally for the task ahead. After she walked inside the courtroom and went to the witness stand, Callie was sworn in. As Callie was taking her oath, she looked over to the right side of the courtroom and saw Liam`s parents, who looked at her with contempt. Callie stoically looked at them for a moment before scanning over to the left side where Stef smiled at her, while Brandon and Mike gave her more reserved looks to show their confidence in her. After taking the oath, Callie sat down and readied herself for the questions. Andrew stood up to begin his questioning of Callie. He started out by asking Callie her name and where she lived before getting to the more serious questions.
"Ms. Jacob, can i ask you what you and Mr. Foster were doing on the night of Saturday July 25?" Andrew asked.
"We went to a concert at Soma."
"Who did you see?"
"We saw the Silver Swords along with a couple of other bands."
"Now was this a date between you and Mr. Foster?"
"No it wasn`t. We met up with his friend Aiden and his date."
"Now where did you and Mr. Foster go after the concert?"
"We went to an Exxon station on Mission Bay Drive to get some ice cream and candy."
"Did you run into Mr. Olmstead inside the store?"
"No, we heard him call out to me outside."
"How would you describe Mr. Olmstead`s demeanor?"
"He acted very aggressively at me, blaming me for him losing his job and Sarah being removed from his parents` home because i had brought charges against him. Me and Brandon tried to walk away, but he wouldn`t let us go."
"What did you and Mr. Foster do at that moment?"
"We tried to get away, but Liam wouldn`t let us go. He started shoving Brandon and then shoved him into me, which caused me to fall down."
"What did Mr. Foster do?"
"He checked on me and then punched Liam, which started their fight."
"What happened during the fight?"
"Brandon and Liam exchanged punches for a moment before Liam wrestled Brandon over by a dumpster behind the store and starting punching him."
"What did you do when all this was taking place?"
"I yelled at Liam to leave Brandon alone and then i went to get an empty beer bottle, which i used to hit Liam with in the face."
"What happened next?"
"I went to check on Brandon and tried to get him up to get out of there before Liam slapped me hard in the face and then forcefully grabbed me by the arm."
"Did you feel that Mr. Olmstead would do anything to you?"
"Yes i did."
"Now this was when Mr. Foster hit Mr. Olmstead with the lead pipe?"
"Yes he did to defend me."
"What happened afterwards?"
"I ran to go get help, while Brandon called 911."
Andrew paused for a moment before he resumed questioning Callie. "Now you said that you had two previous encounters with Mr. Olmstead." Andrew said as he approached Callie. "Could you please tell the court about them?"
Callie took a breath before answering Andrew`s question. "The first time i ran into was at a party." Callie replied. "He told me to stay away from Sarah, his foster sister at the time, and grabbed me by the arm before i got my foster sister and left there. The second encounter was outside of Anchor Beach School. Liam confronted me about my friend Wyatt leaving him threatening messages online, which i didn`t know about. Then he forcefully grabbed by the arm again before Wyatt jumped out and attacked him to defend me."
"Did Mr. Olmstead stalk you at any point?"
"Yes he did. He left a message on my Instagram, letting me know that he knows where i live. In fact i`ve saved it on my phone."
Andrew immediately went to get Callie`s cell phone from Stef and then walked over to hand it to her. Callie went to her inbox, found Liam`s message that she saved and handed the phone to Andrew, Who showed the message to Judge Suarez and A.D.A. Pierce.
"This here is evidence that Mr. Olmstead presented a clear danger to Ms. Jacob and that Mr. Foster had every right to defend her and himself from him." Andrew said. "I have no further questions."
As Andrew went to take a sit, A.D.A. Pierce stood up to cross examine Callie. "Ms. Jacob, you pressed rape charges against Mr. Olmstead. Am i right?" A.D.A Pierce asked.
"Yes i did." Callie replied.
"From what i`ve read, your case wind up being thrown out due to lack of evidence. How did that make you feel?"
"I felt very angry that no one would listen to the truth."
"Now you had a chance to have Mr. Olmstead put away on Statutory charges, which would`ve prevented this whole situation. Why didn`t you take that option?"
"Because it would`ve said that i had had consenual sex with Liam, which didn`t happen. I refuse to compromise the truth of what Liam did to me so that your office would get a win."
A.D.A. Pierce stewed a bit over Callie`s bitter comment, which was a not so subtle shot at how the D.A. office handled her case, while Stef had a slight smirk on her face.
"Can you tell the court about your relationship with Mr. Foster?" A.D.A Pierce asked, which caused some murmurs in the courtroom.
Callie steeled herself before answering the question. "We`re pretty close friends." She replied.
"How close are you to him?"
"Objection!" Andrew yelled. "The A.D.A. is making pure speculation."
"Substained." Judge Suarez said.
"The reason why i`m asking this Ms. Jacob is because of your previous history."
"Brandon is a trusted friend if you want to know."
"Ms. Jacob have you ever been to the Exxon station on Mission Bay Drive before?"
"A couple of times."
"Did you know that Mr. Olmstead is a regular customer there?"
"No i didn`t."
A.D.A Pierce took a moment to gather himself for his next round of questions for Callie. "Now you said earlier that Mr. Olmstead had slapped you in the face after you had hit him with a glass bottle and then forcefully grabbed you by the arm. Why didn`t you break free from him?"
"I tried to kick at his groin," Callie replied. "but he kept turning his hips to block it and squeezed my arm harder."
"The reason why i asked you that question is that it is very likely that you set Mr. Olmstead up so that Mr. Foster could hit him in the head with the pipe."
"Objection!" Andrew loudly yelled. "The A.D.A is making a very irresponsible accusation."
"Substained." Judge Suarez said. "Can you get to your point counselor?"
"Ms. Jacob had ample time to go and alert someone about the altercation," A.D.A Pierce said. "but instead she took it upon seek some payback of her own. She likely wasn`t expecting to run into Mr. Olmstead, but made a spur of the moment decision to get even with him."
Everyone fell into a hush silence in anticipation of what was about to happen next.
"Ms. Jacob did you seek or at least had seek out any type of revenge against Mr. Olmstead at any time?"
Callie felt very anxious having to be grilled so intensely. However she kept her composure and stayed calm in the moment. "No i never seek out any plot of revenge against Liam." She calmly replied. "I won`t lie to you. I do think about getting revenge against him for what he did to me and sometimes find myself wanting to hurt him as much as he hurt him. As much as i would want to do that, i could never bring myself to do that. Me and my brother have finally found a happy home with people who care about us. I have too much to lose to ever seek revenge against Liam. Brandon is one of the most kind and decent person i`ve ever met. He has been nothing but supportive to me since we first met and i would never ask him to risk himself and his future to go attack Liam. He only acted in self defense."
A.D.A. Pierce looked at Callie for a moment before walking back to his desk. "I have no further question." He said.
"You may step down Ms. Jacob." Judge Suarez said.
Callie immediately left the witness stand and took a deep breath as she walked away. She felt mentally drained after her trying testimony. As Callie walked back to the sitting area, she was greeted by Stef, who had a smile of pride on her face. "You did great." Stef said as she put her arm around Callie.
"Since there are no more witnesses," Judge Suarez said. "There will be a special recess until i render my decision sometime in the next hour. I advice you all to stay nearby. Court adjurned."
Everyone in the courtroom went in different directions to anxiously wait on Judge Suarez`s decision.
An hour dragged on as Brandon, Callie, Stef and Mike patiently waited on Judge Suarez to render his decision. After 20 minutes had passed; Brandon, Mike and Callie left to get something to eat from the snack machine, while Stef left to attend some unknown business. The foursome reconvene after a few minutes. They tried to make some small talk, but were too nervous to speak. A little past the hour mark, Lena appeared with Jesus, Mariana and Jude in tow.
"Hey." Stef said as she gave Lena a hug. "We`re surprised to see you guys here."
"I couldn`t bear to have to wait to hear what happened at home." Lena said. "Plus i decided to go ahead and bring them."
"We`re glad that Jesus, Mariana and Jude came. Brandon and Callie deserves to see some more friendly faces." Stef said as she watched the kids talking.
"How did Callie`s testimony go?" Lena asked.
"She was great up on the stand." Mike said. "Plus you should`ve saw what happened with Liam."
"What happened?"
"Andrew grilled Liam pretty good during the cross-examination."
"Yeah he had him sweating and squirming in his seat."
"I would`ve paid to see that." Lena said, amused by the thought of Liam`s discomfort.
Andrew walked over to the Fosters after going away for a few minutes to take an important call. "Did i hear my name just mentioned?" Andrew asked as he joined the parents.
"Yeah we were just talking about the great job you did on the cross-examination with Liam." Stef replied.
"We really want to thank you for all that you`ve done for Brandon." Mike said.
"Hey no problem." Andrew said. "I`m very happy to have helped a great young man like Brandon."
As everyone were engaged in their separate conversations, Michael came from the courtroom and approached the group. "Judge Suarez is ready to deliver his ruling."
"Come on guys." Stef said to alert the kids, who immediately walked in the courtroom.
Brandon went back up front to sit with Andrew and Michael, while the rest of the family sat behind him. A few seconds later, Liam`s parents returned to the courtroom and took their seats on the other side. Everyone in the courtroom rose as Judge Suarez returned a minute later and then sat back down to hear his ruling. He put some papers in front of him and then put on his glasses.
"This has obviously been a very trying ordeal for both parties. Judge Suarez said. "I`ve carefully examined both of the parties` arguments. I deeply regret that Mr. Olmstead was seriously injured during the altercation with Mr. Foster. After some careful consideration, Mr. Olmstead`s previous transgressions against Ms. Jacob where he forcefully confronted her on a couple of previous occasions along with his stalking of her, as was eloquently presented by Ms. Jacob, was impossible to ignore. Therefore i think that Mr. Foster acted in accordance with the California Self-defense laws and rule that the charge against him be dropped. Case dismissed."
Brandon took a huge sigh of relief after Judge Suarez`s ruling, while the rest of the family were overjoyed and relieved by it. On the other side of the courtroom, A.D.A. Pierce took his defeat stoically, while Liam`s parent were very disappointed by the outcome and left immediately. Brandon stood up to shake hands with Andrew and Michael and thanked them for their help. Then he walked over to greet his family and hugged Mike. As Brandon was hugging Mike, he took a brief look at everyone and felt overwhelmed emotionally to the point where he shed some tears. "Thank you all such much." Brandon said with a shaky voice.
Stef and Lena came up to hug Brandon simultaneously. As Brandon was hugging his moms, he immediately noticed that Callie was missing.
Callie watched the emotional scene with the family after Judge Suarez`s ruling for a moment. She felt happy for Brandon that it was over. However she decided to sneak out of the courtroom and headed for the ladies` restroom. Callie stood by the sink and looked in the mirror for a moment before finally releasing her pent up emotions by crying. She felt overwhelmed by a mixture of long overdue fulfillment that her voice was finally heard and sadness that it took so long. A couple of knocks on the door immediately snapped Callie back to reality. She quickly dried her eyes with a tissue and walked over to open the door to find Jude standing outside.
"We were looking for you." Jude said. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah i`m feeling much better now." Callie replied with a smile on her face. "Lets get out of here."
Callie and Jude headed over to join the rest of the family as they finally left the courthouse after a very long day.
The Fosters went out after leaving the courthouse to have a bit of a celebration dinner at a Chinese restaurant. After an hour and a half, they finally returned home. The house was a much happier place now that Brandon`s ordeal was over with. Stef, Callie and Jude were busy in the kitchen preparing to bake some chocolate chip cookies as a late dessert.
"You`re doing good there buddy." Stef said, praising Jude`s work in preparing the cookie dough. "He`s so great in the kitchen."
"Yeah he got that from our mom." Callie said.
"Hey you don`t mind if i talked to you for a moment."
"No i don`t."
Callie and Stef immediately walked over by the sink.
"You were so great on the stand today." Stef said. "We`re all very proud of you for what you did for Brandon and overcoming what happened at your trial."
"I didn`t want to let you guys down." Callie said.
"See the system does actually work."
Callie smiled at Stef`s comment for a moment. However she felt overwhelmed by a sense of sadness and looked down at the floor, which was immediately noticed by Stef.
"Are you alright sweetie?" Stef asked as she held Callie`s hands.
"I feel like i didn`t do enough." Callie replied. "It felt good helping Brandon and all, but Liam still hasn`t been punished for what he did to me."
"Don`t sell yourself short. You did so much today not just for Brandon, but also for yourself. You made your voice be heard. Besides Liam is already being punished somewhat, having to deal with the after effects from being wacked in the head by Brandon. So that will do for now."
Callie only nodded her head in response to what Stef had just told her.
"By the way." Stef said. "When i took off for a few minutes during the recess before the decision, i went and filed a permanent restraining order against Liam."
"That`s great." Callie said. "How it`s going to take?"
"Well you shouldn`t take long. I talked to Andrew about it and he says that we have a great chance of getting it. Do you think you`ll be up for going back to court again to help make this happen?
"Absolutely i would. Thanks for doing this."
"Protect and serve is my job." Stef said as she put her arm around Callie. "I`m going to make sure that Liam never bothers you or anyone else we care about ever again. Besides if he even comes near you, he`s going to have to deal with some of the San Diego P.D.`s finest and a lot of my co-workers would love to get a piece of him."
Callie felt very reassured by what Stef had just said to her. She shared a quick hug with Stef before finishing up getting the cookies in shape. As Stef left the kitchen, Jesus and Mariana came in to join Callie and Jude.
"Hey guys." Callie said as she and Jude started to put the cookie dough on the pan.
"Hey Callie." Mariana said. "I know that we did this earlier, but we wanted to thank you for what you did for Brandon today."
"Yeah you really came through for him." Jesus said.
"I`m very happy to have done so." Callie said. "After all La Familia Foster always has each other`s backs."
Jesus and Mariana smiled at Callie after she said Spanish version of the family`s name. Jesus then stuck his index finger out to get some of the cookie dough before Callie gave him a sharp smack with the wooden spoon on his hand.
"Ouch." Jesus said while rubbing his right hand.
"No early tasting." Callie said with a mock authortive tone.
Jude immediately laughed at Jesus, who got him in a playful headlock. "What you are laughing at?" Jesus said as he dragged Jude back in the living room.
Callie and Mariana laughed at the guys and then finished preparing the cookies to be bake. After putting the cookies in the oven, Callie took a moment to look at Jesus and Jude having a spirited video game with Stef and Mariana cheering them. She felt at peace and grateful that she and Jude had the Fosters in their lives.
Brandon was sitting on the porch. He looked out in the night, thinking about everything that has transpired with him in the case. Brandon reflected on everything that happened from the altercation with Liam to Callie`s amazing testimonal, which he felt very grateful. After a few minutes, Brandon heard the front door opening. He immediately snapped to attention and saw Lena approaching.
"You`ve been out for here for a while." Lena said as she closed the door. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Brandon replied. "I was just thinking about everything that had happened."
Lena immediately went to sit down next to Brandon. "You were absolutely great throughout this whole thing." Lena said.
"I don`t know about that. I didn`t do much of anything."
"I think that you did a lot more than you think. This ordeal showed what you are made of. A lot of people in your situation would`ve went stir crazy, but you showed so much poise in the face of adversity. We`re all very proud of you for how you conducted yourself."
Brandon silently nodded to adknowledge Lena`s praises of him.
"You did a lot for Callie too." Lena said.
"How did i aside from protecting her from Liam on that night?" Brandon asked.
"Well in a way, you got her some overdue justice. Sure Liam isn`t locked up, but he`s paying the price for going after you and Callie with what you did to him. Every day he has to look at that scar in his head and the chronic pain he experiences is a reminder of what you did to him. Personally i think that he`s got what he deserves. I wish that A.D.A. would`ve saw that."
"I`m just glad that it`s over."
Lena looked at Brandon for a moment and saw how much the stress of the day in court and the weeks of uncertainty with the case had worn on him. "You know, you can take a day off tomorrow if you want to." Lena said. "You`ve been through a lot lately and look like you could use a break."
"No i want to get back to school tomorrow." Brandon said. "I don`t want to fall behind anymore and you know that i will never hear the end of it from the twins."
"Yeah i can already picture Jesus trying to play sick."
Brandon and Lena laughed at their last comments and then shared a assuring look at each other.
"Thanks anyway." Brandon said.
"You`re welcome." Lena said as she gave Brandon a quick hug. "You`re coming inside?"
"No i`m going to stay for a couple of more minutes."
"Okay don`t be out too late."
Lena went back inside, leaving Brandon alone again. He immediately thought about better days being ahead for him and Callie for a moment before going back inside for the night.
The next few days saw life return to some normality for the Fosters. Brandon got a happy reception from his friends back at school on the day after the case was dismissed. Callie looked on at the happy scene from a distance before heading to class. The rest of the week went uneventfully with everyone busy with school work and their jobs. The weekend finally came with a sunny Saturday. Callie went outside to the backyard with her guitar in tow. She took a moment to enjoy the sunny day before tuning her guitar. After a couple of minutes, Callie fiddled around with a couple of chords. While playing a chord, she immediately saw Brandon walking toward her.
"It sounds pretty good." Brandon said as he approached Callie.
"Aww it sucks." Callie said.
Brandon sat down next to Callie and the two of them fell into an awkward silence for a moment before took a glance at each other and shared a smile.
"You`re getting better." Brandon said to break the silence. "Sorry i`ve been a stranger lately."
"It`s alright." Callie said. "We both have been pretty busy with school, therapy and piano classes."
"Speaking of that, the Grim Reaper said that my playing has improved and sounds more inspired lately."
"Nice to hear that you got praise from Caesar."
Brandon laughed at Callie`s comment and then looked at her in an admiring way for a moment. "I`ve been wanting to tell you this for a while," Brandon said. "but thank you for what you did at the hearing."
"I was very happy to have done that." Callie said. "Besides i kinda owed you for almost getting shot while trying to get Jude."
"You don`t owe me a thing Callie. I`m always willing to help you in any way."
Callie felt very grateful by what Brandon had just said to her. "I guess you can say the same thing about me now." She said.
Brandon and Callie smiled at each other in an adoring manner after Callie`s comment. They now felt a much stronger connection between them after the recent events. As Brandon and Callie looked at each other, they felt the temptation to share a kiss with each other, but instead settled for holding hands for a moment to say on the safe side just in case.
"I was just warming up." Callie said to break the silence. "I wanted to play something i`ve been working on."
"I would love to hear it." Brandon said.
Callie then played the new tune for Brandon, which started a peaceful, music filled day for them.
Fin
Author`s Notes: I hope that everyone enjoyed reading this story. I felt very angry about Callie not getting any justice for what Liam did to her in the summer finale. However i decided to channel my anger into writing this story. I really hope that Callie will eventually get some much deserved justice soon. If it takes Liam having his skull bashed in, then i`m all for it. I really hope that we`ll see at least some elements from this story (preferably Brandon defending Callie and bashing Liam`s head in) on a future episode of The Fosters.