Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited or reviewed. It really does mean a lot. I read every single one.
Sorry it took me forever to post an update.
I don't own the Fosters.
"Brandon?" Stef questioned.
"Yes, mommy?" Brandon grinned.
"Lena!" Stef exclaimed as she turned over to look at her wife.
"What!?" Lena asked as she jumped from being woken up so abruptly by Stef.
"Look!"
Lena looked over Stef to see a grinning much younger Brandon. "Oh, no. Not again."
"Oh, no? Not again!?" Stef repeated. "That's your response to this!?" Stef jumped out of bed, startling Brandon in the process.
"Mommy, what's wrong?"
Stef stopped and looked down at her much younger looking son. She knew she was flying off the handle and she didn't want to scare Brandon. She had to remain calm. They would figure out what was going on. How? She wasn't sure yet. "Nothing, baby. I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."
"But, who are all of those kids? And why is Ms. Adams here?"
Stef and Lena exchanged the same look. They would have to explain their relationship to Brandon all over again. If history were to repeat itself, they knew Brandon wasn't going to have a bad reaction to the news that he would now have two moms and a dad.
"Baby, it's a long story and I'm going to explain everything, but right now we need to go make sure the other kids are okay."
"They're fine, tell me the story."
"Why don't we just make sure," Stef responded as she led Brandon out of the room, Lena following close behind.
Stef and Lena were surprised to find that both the boys and the girls bedrooms were empty.
"Brandon, honey, where exactly are the other kids?" Lena asked.
"They're already downstairs. The bossy one is making that baby breakfast."
Stef and Lena could already tell that when he said the bossy one he was referring to Callie and the baby was obviously Jude.
Upon entering the kitchen, Stef and Lena stopped in awe. They had no idea just how much of an impact seeing their children at such a young age would do to them. These were the lost years. The years they missed. They never imagined that they would get to experience this.
Callie was sitting next to Jude in the kitchen nook. She was carefully feeding him cereal.
Jesus and Mariana were seated at the table, patiently waiting.
"MOMMY! Can you hear me? Hello?" Brandon tried to get Stef's attention.
"Yeah, Brandon, I'm sorry did you say something?"
"Yeah, I said that you have to tell the bossy girl that she's supposed to eat at the table. I tried to tell her and she yelled at me, loudly!"
"I already told you! Those chairs are too high for Jude. He's still little. He could fall! Do you want my brother to fall!?"
"No, why would I want that?" Brandon questioned, dumbfounded at the accusation.
"Because you're a stranger and you want something bad to happen to Jude!"
"I am not a stranger! You're the stranger! I live here with my mommy!"
"So what! You're a stranger to me! You're not safe!"
"I am too!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are not!"
"Okay, that's enough guys," Lena tried to diffuse the situation. "You're both safe, okay? None of us are strangers, I promise."
"Um, who are you?" Callie asked with an attitude.
Stef couldn't help but giggle at the tone in Callie's voice and the expression she had on her face. It was literally like her first night with them, only with a smaller version of Callie.
Lena gave Stef her infamous look, even though inside she wanted to laugh as well. This little girl was definitely their Callie.
"Oh, come on, honey, you have to admit she has a point. She doesn't know who you are yet."
"Honey?" Brandon questioned. "I thought you only called me honey now that dad left."
"I'll explain later," Stef responded.
Brandon sighed as he sat down at the table. "I'm so confused."
"Callie, honey, I'm Lena and this is Stef."
"How did you know my name? Did my mommy or daddy talk to you? Did one of them drop me off here? Do you know where they are?"
"More questions! She asks so many questions!" Brandon exclaimed.
"Brandon, chill," Stef warned.
"I'm chill!" Brandon yelped.
Lena looked at Stef for help. She didn't want to lie to Callie, but she didn't have it in her to tell her that her mother was dead and she was no longer in the care of her father, who actually wasn't her birth father.
"Callie, your parents trusted us to take really good care of you for now," Stef tried to assure the little girl in front of her. "You don't have anything to worry about. You're safe here. I promise."
"But, you're a stranger," Callie responded, this time with a little more thoughtfulness in her voice.
"I know it may seem that way honey, but I promise Lena and me are not strangers. At least not strangers that you have to be afraid of."
A small tear fell down Callie's cheek. "I just want my mommy."
Stef looked into those beautiful chocolate brown eyes. The brown eyes that melted her heart every time she looked at her daughter. She wanted nothing more than to hold her in her arms and never let her go, but she wasn't sure if Callie was ready for that yet. "I know, honey, I know."
Brandon looked at Callie and started to feel for the girl in front of him. He didn't like how bossy she was, but he also didn't like that she was upset. "Hey, listen. My mom's a police officer, so she's not going to hurt you. And Ms. Adams is one of the nicest teachers at my school, well most of the time. So, you don't have to be afraid."
Callie still wasn't convinced, but everyone did seem really nice. Although, Brandon still rubbed her the wrong way, but that could just be because he was a boy. She wasn't too crazy about boys at the moment.
Lena looked over at the twins and noticed how quiet they were both being. She wondered what was going through their minds through all of this. Upon approaching the twins, Lena put a hand on both of their backs. But, the second she touched Mariana, the room was filled with a gut-wrenching scream.
All feedback is always welcomed and greatly appreciated. If you have any ideas or want me to try to include anything, let me know. I'll do my best to fit it into the story.
Thanks for reading :)