A/N: I got a couple requests to post the alternate Brallie ending for this story, so here it is. If you don't like them as a couple, please just stop reading now; I don't need to get your flames. Thanks!

They talked for a few more minutes before the twins came downstairs, both apparently starving to death. While Stef and Lena started cooking breakfast, Callie slipped out of the kitchen and went back upstairs. In the hallway, she could hear faint music coming from Brandon's room; he was practicing piano. She quietly opened the door and slipped inside in order to listen.

"You can just come over here," he spoke up at one point while still playing.

"You heard me?"

"Yeah, there's a spot in the floor that creaks."

Callie smiled as she walked over to the doorway to his music nook. "What's this song?"

"Something new that I'm writing," he replied as he stopped and turned around. "It's about you."

She blushed. "You shouldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a mess."

"No, you're not. I know things are complicated, but... part of that is my fault. And the other part... you'll figure it out. We're all going to be here for you." He'd been terrified when he first heard from Wyatt what Callie was doing to herself. Then that had quickly been replaced by a deep resolve to help her. "So, your life is... colorful, but you're not a mess. And I like that my life got a lot more colorful once you were a part of it."

Callie looked away. "Seems like the main colors in my life are black and red."

Brandon got up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey. You'll find the rest of them, it just will take time. I told you before that you deserve to be happy. We'll find what makes you that way."

"What if that was you?" The words were out of her mouth before she'd even realized it.

He seemed equally surprised. "Uh, what?"

"Well... I just had the world's weirdest conversation with your moms."

"Our moms," he corrected her.

"Yeah, maybe not."

Brandon's eyes widened. "They're not sending you away, are they?" He took a step toward the door, all ready to go argue her case. Callie put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"No, they're not, but, um... They said that if we wanted to give 'us' a try... they wouldn't adopt me, but I could stay. And we could be together."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah... Although I'm not sure if THEY were serious."

He smiled. "I bet they were. My mom knows what it's like to have to follow your heart, and to hell with everything else."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, that was probably a pretty messy divorce..."

"Very... Wait, what about Jude?"

"They'll still adopt him."

"That's perfect!"

Callie sighed. "I'm still trying to figure out if this is a good idea... 'Us', I mean. Even if your moms aren't going to care... there are other things to worry about."

"I know. We'll be okay."

"I am not okay," she protested. "I'm not even close to okay right now. I want to be, but... I'm scared because I don't want to screw 'us' up, or screw myself up any worse."

Brandon took her hands. "The last thing I want is to make anything harder for you. We'll go slow."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she couldn't keep from asking. "That I'm what you want?"

He smiled. "You're what I've wanted since the day you got here. Are YOU sure that you want to give up having a family for ME?" The choice seemed crazy to him.

"Your moms said I could always change my mind later," Callie informed him. "So I guess it'll work out either way."

"You mean - and not that I'm planning for this - but if things didn't work out with us, they would adopt you later?"

She nodded. The memory of Stef's exact words made her smile a little: Whether it's when you're 17 or 37, we will always want you to be a part of this family. "There are plenty of brothers and sisters out there that hate each other - we'd just have a unique reason for it."

"I could never hate you," Brandon promised.

"You think so?"

He looked her straight in the eye. "No, I know so."

Despite just agreeing that they needed to go slowly, Callie couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. The memory of their secret moment during the wedding was warm and comforting and she found herself giving in to temptation. Brandon was surprised at first, but he didn't pull away.

The door suddenly opened and they both stepped back, looking just as guilty as they felt. "Hey, what happened to knocking?" Brandon asked saw his mother standing there.

"It's my house," she easily replied. "You two have the same rules as everyone else; no closed doors if you're alone. And I was serious when I said that you better have more sense than Jesus."

"Of course we do," Brandon told her. "I know better than to try buying the morning after pill at the drugstore that's right around the corner from the house."

"Or the school," Callie added.

Stef grabbed a pillow off of her son's bed and threw it at them. "Show some sense BEFORE you get to that point!" They both laughed. "Mama's finishing breakfast and could use some help. So why don't you volunteer?"

Brandon shrugged. "Sure. We'll be down in a minute." Once Stef had left, he looked back to Callie. "Where were we?"

"Trying to taking things slow," she told him with a smile. "Though not being entirely successful."

"No, not really," he agreed. "This is going to be interesting, huh?"

"Definitely."