Note: Sorry for the lack of Brallie in this chapter, but I promise, I'm going somewhere with this.

Chapter 9.

Callie brought her suitcase up to her old room, and looked around. Everything was pretty much the same as it had always been, save for a few of Mariana's possession that had ended up on 'her' side. She smiled when her eyes swept over her bed. Stef had made it for, as she said she did. Going to it, she sat down, patting the bedspread. The bed was perfect; it wasn't huge and prissy, like her bed at the Quinns. And it wasn't hard and creaky like the bed in her dorm. Everything about the Fosters' house was comfortable and inviting.

She decided to unpack later, and went to find Jude. It was time to start making amends with the people she loved, and she was going to start with him. She found him sitting on the back porch. She cleared her throat so she wouldn't startle him. "Hey, buddy."

He looked back, briefly acknowledging her.

"Can I sit down?" she asked.

Jude shrugged his thin shoulders, and she took the spot next to him on the step. The sat together in silence, then Callie grabbed his hand. "I've missed you, you know."

His dark eyes were unreadable.

"I'm sorry," she told him in a soft voice. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you like I should have been." She gently squeezed his hand, wanting to feel something solid, because he looked like a ghost, haunted and lost. It seemed half-possible that he could evaporate into thin air at any moment. "I hate myself."

Jude's pinkie twitched, and she thought he might squeeze her hand back, but he didn't.

"It scares me to see you like this," she carefully admitted. "It's like you're here, but you're not. Maybe that's a little bit of why it was easy to stay away, but I know that's not an excuse. There is no excuse."

She reached out to smooth down his hair. "I'm your big sister, and I should have taken care of you, like I always have. I want you to know, though, that you didn't do anything to keep me away. Not at all."

Resting her hand on his shoulder, she mulled over whether or not to tell him the hardest truth of all. "I love you just as much as I always have," she confided. "You're my baby brother. But I really do love Sophia, too, and I don't want to shut her out. That wouldn't be fair to her. I love both of you the same amount, just differently."

She managed a small laugh. "You know, this all reminds me of a story Brandon told me once. When, um, Stef and Lena asked him about adopting the twins, he told them he was okay with it, because there was enough to go around." She paused, gauging her brother's reaction. "I'm working on getting my priorities straight. But I promise, when it comes to you and Sophia, there will be enough to go around."

She breathed a deep sigh before going on. She was surprised by how easy Jude was to talk to in person, compared to when she struggled to find enough stuff to talk about when she called him each week.

"She needs me too" she told him. "You know? The Quinns' house isn't like it is here. Everything is so stiff and formal. They don't hug each other, or talk about things that are bothering them. If someone hurts you, they buy you something expensive and expect the problem to be solved. Sophia may be the one living in a mansion, but you're the lucky one... to have all this."

Jude gave her a light nod, barely tilting his chin.

"I wish you would talk to me, buddy," Callie told him calmly. "It's okay if you're not ready, but... maybe someday soon?" If he never spoke again, she thought, she would never forgive herself.

Three Years Earlier (two weeks after moving in with the Quinns)

"Can I get an ice cream sandwich?" Callie asked the man at the snack cart outside the museum. It felt deliciously bad to be out of school on a Tuesday afternoon. She used to skip school all the time when she was younger. She'd forgotten what a rush it was.

"One dollar, please."

She took a crumpled dollar from her purse and paid the man, then sat down on the stone steps of the museum. She unwrapped the ice cream sandwich, licking the wrapper clean before taking a bite. As she ate her snack, she people-watched.

She smiled when she saw a young woman with dark, wavy hair, walking with a tiny girl who also had dark, wavy hair. The little girl toddled on her chubby legs, gripping the woman's hand. They reminded Callie of herself and her mother. They used to visit this museum a few times every Summer.

She reached down and scratched her leg. The socks that went to her school uniform were itchy. It was the embroidered crests on the ankles. She wished she'd packed a change of clothes in her backpack that morning, but she didn't think of it, so she had to spend the day dressed like a Catholic schoolgirl. She'd thought she'd disliked Anchor Beach, but her old school seemed like Heaven on Earth compared to the snooty private school she now attended.

She'd just popped the last bite of the ice cream sandwich in her mouth, when she thought she heard her name being called. Panicked, she looked around, and for a split second, her eyes met with Robert's, who stood across the street, holding his briefcase. When he started to cross the busy street, she got up and ran into the museum. Once she showed the security guard her pass, she took off, desperate to lose her father in the crowd.

The museum was like a maze. There were plenty of places to hide. She turned corners until she was lost. When she finally stopped, she leaned against a wall to catch her breath. She was in a room she'd never been in before. It housed a collection of historical mourning clothes. She looked around at the macabre display of mannequins dressed in dark, gloomy dresses, and shuddered.

When she got her bearings, she moved on to a different, less creepy room in the museum. Surrounded by paintings of fruit, she allowed herself a sigh of relief; Robert hadn't caught up with her. Maybe had hadn't even really seen her? There were lots of people on the museum steps, and he was all the way across the street. Maybe she just thought she'd heard him call her name? Satisfied with her explanations, she decided to enjoy the rest of her mental health day.

Later that afternoon, though, she heard Robert say her name in a hushed tone. He didn't sound happy. She tiptoed to the kitchen, and quietly picked up the other phone to listen in. He was talking to Stef.

"She's out of control," he told her. "I couldn't believe it when I caught her skipping school today."

"Well," Stef sighed. "Callie has a will of her own. You wanted her, and now you have her, issues and all."

"I don't know what to do with her," he explained. "I can't talk to her. When I try, she just ignores me."

"Listen," said Stef. "Callie isn't a bad girl, once you get to know her. Deep down, she's really the sweetest kid in the world. I promise. You just need to have patience."

"Well, I'm almost out of patience," he replied wistfully. "I have to lay down the rules, but I don't know how to get through to her."

"Take away her visit with us this weekend," Stef told him, in a strained, almost tearful voice.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Robert asked.

"Maybe so," said Stef. "But it worked beautifully when she was in the group home. If she loses a privilege she really wants, she'll stop acting out to get it back."

"I'll try it," he reluctantly agreed. "Thanks so much."

"Do you want me to try talking to her?" she hopefully offered.

"No. I think I can take it from here."

Deciding she'd heard enough, Callie hung up the phone and went to her room. Once she was inside, she slumped on the bed, and burst into tears. She was angry at both Robert and Stef. Maybe even more so at Stef. How could she do this to her? She knew what visiting home meant to her. She was supposed to be on her side. Didn't she love her anymore?

Seething, she decided she would do exactly the opposite of what Stef expected, just to be difficult. She wouldn't be sweet; she would 'act out' next week, and the week after, and the week after that. That would show them.

"Hey," said Callie, finding Stef in the kitchen.

"Hi angel," Stef smiled. "Come here."

Callie walked into her arms, and accepted a hug. She still fit perfectly into Stef's arms.

"I'm so happy to have you home," Stef told her, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Even if it's just for a few days. I love you so much, sweetie."

"I love you too," said Callie. She craned her neck to kiss her foster mother on the cheek.

Stef ran her fingers through Callie's hair, still holding her. "I never want to let you go," she laughed. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." She smiled weakly. "Listen, I never really apologized to you, for when I was younger."

"What do you mean, honey?" Stef asked, her brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry for getting in trouble and losing my visits with you guys so many times back then. It was so stupid of me." She looked down in shame.

"It's okay, baby," Stef told her, gently caressing her cheek. "I'm not mad at you. I understand. You were going through so much at the time. It had to be hard."

"I wanted to hurt Robert for taking me away," she admitted. "And you, for giving him ideas. I was mad at you for a long time. But I only ended up hurting myself and Jude. I could have seen him every weekend, and maybe he wouldn't still be this way? I feel like it's all my fault."

"You know," Stef confided. "I've felt a lot of guilt over that decision, too. Tough love wasn't the right approach for you, Callie. I see that now. I should have never suggested it, but at the time, I honestly thought it would work."

"It's okay," she replied in a shaky voice. "I understand."

"We've both made mistakes, honey," said Stef, looking deep into her eyes. "But that was a long time ago. What do you say we let it go, and move on? Both of us, starting right now."

Callie smiled, giving her one more hug. "I'd like that." She brushed her finger under her eyes, wiping away the tears that filled them before they could escape. "I've been doing a lot of thinking," she continued. "I'm nineteen now. I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions. You said that when I'm of age, I can come back if I wanted to. Well, I do."

Stef nodded, giving her a curious smile.

"Obviously, I can't live here permanently, because of school," Callie told her. "But I want to be a part of this family again. I want you and Lena to be my moms again. If you still want me for a daughter."

Stef pulled Callie back into her arms, and buried her face in her hair to hide her tears. "Callie... we never stopped being your moms. Not ever. You'll always be our little girl, and we don't need a piece of paper to tell us that."

"I'm going to make everything right," Callie promised her. "You'll see."

To Be Continued