Chapter 4 woo hoo! Let's rock:

Lena peered into Mariana and Callie's bedroom. Brandon and Callie were sitting together on the floor, not talking, but Lena had a feeling that's what Callie needed right now. She noticed the way Brandon had his arm wrapped around Callie and didn't know whether to interpret it as comfort or something more. Lena made her way back into her bedroom where Stef was just pulling on a more comfortable shirt.

"Callie has calmed down," Lena notified her, taking a seat on the bed, "Her and Brandon are…sitting."

Stef cocked an eyebrow, "Sitting?"

"Yeah."

Stef shook her head and took a seat as well, "We need to get her some help, Lena."

"Professional help?"

Stef nodded, "I know she's already going to group therapy but she needs something more personal, something that could focus just on her."

"I'll look into some of the school psychologists," Lena said, taking out her phone to make a note to herself.

Knock Knock

"Come in!"

The bedroom door opened and Jude walked in stopping a few feet from the door. Lena smiled, "Hi, Jude. What's up?"

"I told Callie I want to go to the funeral."

Stef patted the bed, inviting him to sit with them, "Okay. We have to go to Arizona so we'll leave Thursday morning. I'm gonna call my mom to come stay with Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus."

Jude furrowed his eyebrows, "They're not coming with us?"

Lena put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Would you like them to?"

"It's probably better that they didn't," Jude admitted, looking down, "Callie doesn't like to be around a lot of people when she's sad. She pretends like she isn't, but she is."

"And how about you?" Stef asked, "Are you sad?"

Jude shrugged, "A little I guess. I don't remember him that much… Callie and I used to talk to him, but then we didn't." He paused, "She said he wasn't so nice. Is that true?"

"Well," Lena began, glancing at Stef, "That's something you will have to ask Callie about yourself." Jude nodded.

"I could use some help with dinner," Lena said, standing up, "I'm almost done."

"I can help!" Jude offered, smile on his face.

Stef walked into Mariana and Callie's room and peered inside. Callie and Brandon were still seated on the floor. Callie was holding the guitar on her lap, strumming notes with Brandon's guidance.

"Hi, Babies," Stef made her presence known quietly, "Dinner's almost ready, you should come downstairs." Brandon got up and looked at Callie who seemingly had not heard anything at all. He shared a look with his mom and headed towards the kitchen. Stef was about to follow him when she heard Callie speak.

"I'm sorry."

Stef turned around, "For what, baby?"

"For yelling at you," Callie replied, stopping her finger movements and moving the guitar aside, "And for yelling at Lena."

Stef shrugged, "Everyone is entitled to a bad day."

Callie stood up, eyes on her shoes, "Stef?"

"Yes, Callie?"

The blonde officer was not prepared for the hug initiated by the brunette teen that felt like she was holding on for dear life. Stef brought one hand to the back of Callie's hair and the other wrapped around her back.

"Sweet girl," she whispered into dark brown hair, "Everything will get better." Her statement was acknowledged by Callie tightening her hold.

On Wednesday night, the Foster's gathered together in the living room for an impromptu family meeting. The following morning, Lena, Stef, Jude and Callie would be heading to Arizona for Christopher Jacob's wake and funeral.

"Okay," Stef began, "While we are away, my mother will be coming to stay with you guys. We are leaving tomorrow morning and we will be back hopefully Sunday morning."

Jesus groaned, "We're fifteen! And Brandon is sixteen! Why do we need a babysitter?"

Stef's eyes narrowed, "Was it not just last weekend you almost burned the house down putting tinfoil in the microwave?" Mariana snorted into her hand but stopped when her twin's glare reached her.

"Please be good." Lena added, "We're leaving money for emergencies only. Clothes are not an emergency." She gave Mariana a pointed look and it was Jesus' turn to laugh.

"What time are you heading out?" Brandon asked.

"Early," Stef answered, "So we need to get to bed." She kissed every child on the head and hugged the one's she wouldn't be seeing for the next few days extra tight. Lena mimicked her actions.

"Hold down the fort, B." Stef murmured into her son's ear and he nodded.

At two in the morning, Callie found herself still awake. She picked up her phone before slipping out of bed and making her way into the hallway. She peered into Jesus and Jude's room and watched her brother sleep for a bit.

"What are you doing?"

Callie jumped and whirled around. Brandon was standing behind her, holding a bottle of water. She clamped a hand over her chest, "Christ, Brandon!" she hissed, pulling him away from the boys' bedroom, "What are you doing?"

Brandon raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I just ask you that?" He gestured for her to follow him into his room. They took a seat on the bed and Brandon placed his water bottle on the night table.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow? Well, today?"

Callie ran a hand through her hair, "A little, I guess. I just want to fast forward to Monday when everything is over."

"You should try to get some sleep," Brandon advised, starting to pull back his own blankets.

Callie watched him, "Well, why were you awake?"

"I was thirsty," Brandon answered, jerking his head towards the water bottle, "And plus, you were thinking really loudly."

"Was I?"

Brandon slipped under his blankets and let out a breath. Callie made a move to leave the room. Brandon sat up, "Do you want to sleep with me?"

Callie froze and Brandon processed what he had just said, "No! That's not what I meant…God, I mean, do you want to sleep in my room? I could keep you company until you fell asleep."

Callie mulled over her options. She knew consciously that Brandon would never try anything with her but an annoying little voice in the back of her head was screaming warnings. But sitting with Brandon seemed a lot better than being left to her convoluted thoughts. Callie took a seat at Brandon's keyboard.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting comfortable."

Brandon shook his head and pushed the covers off of himself, "Don't be ridiculous; take my bed."

Callie laughed, "Now you're being ridiculous. I have a bed; I'm not going to kick you out of yours because I'm too scared to sleep in my own."

Brandon tilted his head at this, "Scared? Of what?"

Callie shook her head and that was the end of that. She got up and crawled onto the bed, on top of the covers next to Brandon, a considerable amount of space between them. Brandon switched off his bedside lamp and settled in, turning his head so that he could look at Callie. She did the same, mirroring his position.

"I don't want to go," Callie admitted in a small voice, "Jude wants to. He's so brave. I'm supposed to be looking out for him and I'm acting like a big baby."

"No, you're not," Brandon whispered back, "You're acting like a big sister." Callie grew quiet.

Brandon put his hand on top of the covers near Callie's. She looked at it for a moment and hesitantly reached out for his hand. She hooked her pinky finger around Brandon's and closed her eyes. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, and that she was putting herself in a dangerous position, but she was so tired and Brandon's bed was so comfortable…

"Sleep, Callie."

So she did.

Sorry that was kinda short. Let me just tell you, I started writing chapters 7-9 and shit goes DOWN. I mean it hits the fan, walls, mirror… It's gonna be good. Thank you for all the reviews! :)

I'm about to have a late Christmas party with the gals and I have to clean. *Sigh* Cleaning is so annoying. Everyone needs to learn to accept me for my flaws: my messy, unorganized, mold-infested flaws.

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-Liv

P.S.-Sorry if there are typos/random words where they shouldn't be. My brain thinks faster than my hands can process which is why I'm always omitting/adding words or letters.