Chapter 31.

Callie was hunched over her textbooks, gripping a yellow highlighter, when Brandon came home from classes.

"Hey, Studybug," he said, setting his bag down by the door.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey."

He crossed the room to the sofa and sat down beside her, laying his hand on her knee. "Can you take a little snuggle break?"

She bit her lip, considering his tempting offer. "I don't know... I have a lot of material to cover." She'd been trying to get all of her major assignments out of the way before the wedding.

"Come on," he pleaded. "I missed my best girl today. Just five minutes?"

Sighing, Callie set her book aside. "Okay. Five minutes."

With that, Brandon scooped her up in his arms, tickling her stomach.

"Stop!" she giggled, on the verge of wetting her pants.

He stopped tickling her, and just held her, occasionally planting a kiss on her cheek or forehead. "This is nice, isn't it? Just the two of us?"

Callie curled up closer to him, rubbing his bicep. "It really is." She brushed her lips against his cheek, catching his gaze. "You really don't want me to have a baby, do you?"

Brandon gave her a pained look, contemplating what to say. "Honestly," he admitted. "No."

She nodded, defeated.

"It's not that I never want you to have one," he explained. "I'd be thrilled to have one in a couple years. Just not yet."

She sighed, so softly it was barely a whisper. "I can wait."

"Are you sure?" he tentatively asked. "It seemed really important to you yesterday."

"Well," she shrugged. "You're more important to me." Absentmindedly, she stroked the bridge of her nose. "I've been thinking about it all day. More than my schoolwork, actually. And I don't think I could do it unless you were completely on board. It wouldn't be fair to either of us."

"I just feel bad stopping you," he confided, cradling her head in the crook of his arm. "I want to give you everything you want."

"But I shouldn't have everything I want," she told him. "Not unless it's what we both want. The baby would be our child, not just mine. So, I'm gonna wait. We're... gonna wait."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Brandon leaned in to give her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied quietly. She knew she was doing the right thing, but still, her eyes stung with tears.

"Can I ask you something?" said Brandon, suddenly interrupting the silence.

"Yeah," she nodded, widening her eyes so her tears would evaporate before they could fall.

"Why was having a baby so important to you?" he asked.

She paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I guess I just wanted a family so badly. A family of my own, that I can take care of."

"You already have a family," he told her. "Me."

In spite of her glum mood, Callie felt herself smile, remembering Rita's words, which were so similar to his. "You know," she ventured. "I've never understood why you chose me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, waiting for her to answer.

"Well, I mean, you were dating one of the prettiest girls in school when we met. You could have had any girl you wanted. Why me?"

"Because I wanted you," he replied. "I fell in love with you. And just for the record, you're prettier than Talya, inside and out."

"Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you..." she admitted, hard as it was to verbalize her deepest insecurity.

Brandon sighed. "Callie, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have you. I think about that every day. I wouldn't trade you for anything."

She nodded. "Thanks... that makes me feel good." She smiled weakly. "I just have such a hard time, believing in anything."

"You can believe in me," he promised. "If you're ever unsure, just come to me, Cal. I'll tell you that I love you anytime you need to hear it."

"I kind of want to hear it now," she confided.

Brandon smiled, nuzzling her neck. "I love you, Callie."

The next day, Brandon came home from school late. "I've got a surprise for you," he told Callie, chewing his lip to keep himself from smiling.

"What is it?" she asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"Come into the living room," he told her, gesturing for her to follow.

Callie slid off the kitchen table and when she reached the living room, right away she noticed a cardboard box sitting in the middle of the room. "What's that?"

"Sit down and I'll show you."

She sat down, and Brandon bent down, taking something out of the box. Finally, he turned around, cradling a tiny tiger-striped kitten in his hands. He brought the animal to Callie. "Meet our new baby."

"Brandon..." she laughed. "Oh my gosh." She took the small orange bundle in her lap, stroking it. "You didn't have to do this. Is it even allowed?"

"I asked the landlord," he nodded. "It's fine."

"I've never had a pet before," she told him, hugging the kitten. "They weren't allowed in the trailer park where we lived when I was little. And some places don't let foster families have them."

"Do you like him?" Brandon asked, sitting down beside her.

The kitten began to purr as she petted him. "I love him! Thank you so much."

"I know it's not quite the same as having a real baby," he explained. "But he's definitely lower maintenance. And you get to name him."

Callie looked into the kitten's blue-green eyes. It's stubby pink nose twitched as it sniffed the air. "I used to have a stuffed toy cat," she told Brandon. "My mom gave it to me the day Jude was born. It's name was Toby, and I carried it everywhere." She smiled at the memory. "I think I'm gonna call this little guy Toby, too."

"I like that," said Brandon. He reached down to pet the kitten. "Toby Foster, it is."

Sixteen Years Earlier:

"Here comes Mommy and Daddy, with your new brother," said Mrs. Nelson, the Jacob's next door neighbor. She pointed out the window.

Four-year-old Callie pressed her nose to the window to see her parents coming up the driveway. Her mother was holding a bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.

Just then, Donald opened the door for Colleen, and they stepped inside. "Hi, Lovey," said Colleen, smiling at her daughter. "I missed you so much, babe. Come give mommy a hug."

Donald took the infant from his wife, and Colleen took Callie in her arms, kissing her over and over. "Would you like to meet your new baby brother?" she asked.

Callie gave her an unsure look. "I was the baby. Now I'm not."

Colleen gave her a sympathetic look. "Oh, Callie. You'll always be our baby." She brushed her daughter's hair back, looking into her dark eyes. "You're our first baby, and nothing will ever change that. We love you."

"And being a big sister is an important job," Donald told his daughter. "This little guy will look up to you his whole life."

"Do you want to hold him?" Colleen asked, giving Callie a hopeful look. "He's been waiting to meet you."

She shrugged. "Well, okay."

Callie sat back on the couch, and Donald positioned her arms. Then, her mother set the infant in her lap, hovering close to help her support his head. "Callie, this is Jude."

The infant was red-faced and wrinkled, yawning, pumping his tiny fists. His head was covered with wispy, dark hair. "He's funny looking," said Callie.

Colleen laughed. "That's how all newborn babies look," she explained. "He just has to grow into himself. You looked just like him when you were born."

"I did?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yup," her mother nodded. "You had a whole head full of dark hair. You looked just like a little monkey."

Callie turned to her father. "Did I really, daddy?"

Donald glanced over at his wife, something like sadness flashing in his blue eyes. He nodded, a tight smile on his face. "Let me take the baby now, kiddo," he said, reaching for the infant. "I know a little girl who has a present to open."

"A present?" Callie bounced eagerly, suddenly excited.

Colleen passed her a pink gift bag. "This is for you, from Jude."

Callie reached into the bag, and pulled out a pale blue stuffed cat. "I like it, mommy!" she squealed, hugging the toy to her chest.

"I'm glad," her mother told her. She opened the tag attached to the cat's tail. "See here... his name is Toby. Now, what do you say to your brother?"

Rising to her knees, Callie crawled closer to her father, looking down at the baby in his arms. "Thank you, Judie." She leaned down and kissed his plump cheek.

To Be Continued