Chapter 14:

Callie fiddled with a button on her black cardigan as Stef pulled the car into the church parking lot. She and Jude were riding with Stef and Lena while the rest of the family was in Sharon's car. The brunette took a deep breath and reached across the seat to take Jude's hand. He looked up at her and offered a smile but she could tell he was just as nervous as she was. She took a deep breath; Adelaide was not going to get to her. She wouldn't allow it. I have every right to be here.

Lena turned around in her seat, "You guys ready?"

Callie glanced at Jude and nodded, "Yeah. Let's go."

They got out of the car and met up with Sharon and the rest of the kids. They began to walk towards the church, Stef and Lena in the front, the kids mixed together in the middle, and Sharon picking up the rear. Callie was glad someone was behind her in case she felt the need to turn back. A town car was parked in front of the church and….

Adelaide.

Stef quickly glanced back before setting her gaze forward, ready for a fight. The old woman saw the people headed towards her and a scowl appeared on her face almost instantly. Adelaide stalked towards them and stopped in front of the group, hands folded across her chest, "Jude may come in with me but the rest of you need to leave."

Stef sighed, "Jude and Callie are both here to say goodbye to their father. I am kindly asking you to let us in."

Adelaide scoffed, "Yes. That's all we need in there: two queers and a bastard child. I'm surprised the church hasn't burst into flames already." Stef opened her mouth to retaliate but was surprised to find her mother had made her way from the back and stood directly in front of Adelaide.

"I don't know who you think you are but you do not get to talk to my daughter that way," she said in a threatening tone, hands on her hips. "You sure are one to judge."

"I'm not the one judging," Adelaide answered calmly, "I'm sure God will recognize their sin and punish them accordingly."

Sharon barked out a cold laugh, "Sin? Last time I checked love wasn't a sin. And love is what my daughter has with her partner. Love is what's making Jude and Callie the amazing people they are because you were too SELFISH in your 'moral beliefs' to take them in instead of putting them in that hellish system. God will recognize YOUR sin and punish YOU accordingly. Here's some news for you: God is God; you're not. You will let BOTH of my daughters, my granddaughter and ALL of her siblings into that church, do you understand me?"

Adelaide shifted her gaze from Sharon to inspect of the rest of the group, everyone looking ready to come to their mothers' and Callie's defense. Realizing she was outnumbered, Adelaide simply turned around and headed into the church. Lena looked at Sharon with astonishment and Stef with bursting pride.

"That was bad-ass, Grandma!" Jesus exclaimed with an impressed smile, the rest of the kids with similar expressions on their faces.

"Language," Lena warned lightly, "But he's right. That was…pretty badass."

Sharon chuckled, "Nobody messes with my babies. Let's go inside."

They made their way into the church and picked a pew more towards the front. Sharon filed in followed by Stef, Callie, Jude, Lena, Mariana, Jesus, and finally Brandon. The family alone took up almost the entire row. Stef looked around apprehensively. Church was definitely on her no-no list. The attitudes people of the faith generally expressed towards her lifestyle was almost entirely judgmental and outright disrespectful. She swore to herself the day she professed her love to Lena that she would never come to church again and yet her she was. An organ began to play and everyone was instructed to stand as the casket made its way down the aisle. The pallbearers had solemn faces. Adelaide followed the casket from behind, tears rolling down her cheeks and a handkerchief clutched in her hand. Stef felt a bit bad for her; she couldn't imagine the pain of outliving your child.

Callie watched as the wooden box holding Christopher Jacob passed their pew and came to a rest atop a stand near the altar. She checked to make sure Jude was alright. He had been to their mother's funeral but he was so young at the time. They got through the scripture readings and eventually it was time for the eulogy. A man walked towards the pulpit, unfolding a piece of paper as he went.

Jude tugged on Callie's sleeve, "That's Malcolm. He was Dad's friend," he whispered. Callie turned her attention to this man.

Malcolm cleared his throat, "Good morning everyone. My name is Malcolm Quiroga. Christopher was my best friend." He paused and took a deep breath, "Chris made some mistakes in his lifetime, I'm sure you know, but he was truly a good guy. I met Chris when we were…away. We shared a room and I think the only reason I stayed sane was because of him. On those days when I thought I was going to go crazy, Chris would tell me these stories about two people who were the center of his universe, his kids Callie and Jude." Callie felt Jude press into her side as he said this.

"Man he loved those two," Malcolm continued, "I know so much about them they might as well be my own kids! Chris said when Callie was born―she's older―he said he had never been so scared in his entire life. He thought he was gonna break her or something. He told me how she was so smart and kind…just like her mom. Just like Cynthia." Callie could practically see the smoke coming out of Adelaide's ears at the mention of her mother.

"Then Jude was born and Chris said he had never felt so complete," Malcolm continued, shifting his feet, "He had an amazing wife, a daughter and a son and he felt like he had a purpose. But sometimes, Chris got scared that he would mess up. Cynthia left him alone with the kids one weekend so she could visit some friends about an hour away." Malcolm chuckled, "He said to me, 'It's a miracle nobody was missing a limb by the time Cynthia came back. Raising kids is hard.' Sometimes, when he got really scared, he would make poor decisions. His poor decisions affected his family in great ways; ways that he came to greatly regret. He said if he had the ability to go back and change something, it would be his decision to pick the bottle over his family. Everyone has their faults. Chris realized his own a bit late but when he did, he set out to right his wrongs. We got out around the same time and found an apartment. We found jobs and we were fixing ourselves up. Chris was fixing himself up so he could finally see his kids. It's a shame it never happened. Jude, Callie…your father loved you both very much. You guys were his everything. I know that he is so proud of both of you."

Stef glanced at Callie and Jude from the corner of her eye and saw the tears on both of their cheeks. She offered one hand to Callie who clasped it immediately and the other to Jude who did the same. Malcolm finished his speech and that was that. The funeral service concluded soon after and in a matter of time the casket was making its way down the aisle for a final time. Mariana reached over Lena to hold out a pack of tissues to Jude and Callie. Callie smiled at the gesture and took them from her.

"Your make-up is running." Mariana whispered to her and Callie chuckled. Typical Mariana. She carefully wiped her eyes and turned offered a tissue to Jude.

"You okay, Baby?"

Jude nodded, "Yeah. I think I just want to go home now." He turned to Lena, "Can we?"

Lena shared a look with Stef and nodded, "We sure can. Let's go."

After an eight hour drive (including a pit stop at Sharon's house), the Fosters were finally back home. They stumbled into the house, exhausted, their luggage in the car to be brought in later on.

"I'm gonna go to sleep," Callie mumbled tiredly, heading for the stairs. Mariana and Jesus shared a look before quickly dashing up to their rooms. Stef furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Brandon, "What was that?"

"We kind of…did something." Seeing the look on his mother's face, Brandon put his hands up innocently, "Nothing bad. It was mostly Mariana's idea. How about you guys just come see?"

Stef, Lena, Callie and Jude followed Brandon up the staircase and into the hallway where Mariana and Jesus were each standing in front of their closed bedroom doors.

"You go first," Jesus nodded at Mariana, foot tapping in excitement. She smiled at him and turned to Callie.

"So, I realized that you didn't really have a space for yourself." Mariana began to ramble nervously, "I mean, we've been sharing my room but it's still mostly mine and I thought you should have your own space, y'know? So I did some redecorating. Jesus and Brandon helped. I hope you like it."

She took a deep breath before opening the door and walking inside, flicking on the light as she went. Callie's mouth fell open as her eyes finally fell over her side of the room. The sheets on Callie's bed had been changed from its girly theme to a more subdued theme of black and white. A shelf was now mounted on the wall and held a number of Callie's books. A string of lights hung across the wall. Mariana's posters and pictures had been removed and in their place were framed photos. Callie recognized them as the pictures she had taken and posted on Instragram. Above all she recognized a picture that was slightly bigger and in the middle: it was of her, Jude, and their mom. She walked up to it and placed a hand on it; she hadn't seen this picture in years. She felt her eyes well with tears as she turned to face Mariana.

Mariana saw the tears in Callie's eyes and began to panic, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have snooped but you don't really talk about your mom that much and I just figured that…" She was cut off as she was pulled into Callie's arms for a fierce hug.

"Mariana," Callie said, leaning back a little, "This is honestly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I love it."

Mariana smiled, "You do?" Callie nodded with a smile, "Good. I'm glad."

Jesus bumped Jude's shoulder, "Wanna go check out your room?" Jude nodded eagerly and followed him out with Callie and Brandon close behind. Stef pulled Mariana in for a hug and pressed a kiss to her head, "You, Marina Foster," she said, "Are an amazing young woman and I am so proud of you."

"This was very nice of you, Honey," Lena commented as well with a proud smile, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I wanted her to know that this is permanent. Callie feels like you're going to change your minds one day and send her and Jude away," Mariana admitted.

Lena raised an eyebrow, "She told you this?"

Mariana shook her head, "Not really. She didn't have to. I know because sometimes…sometimes I feel that way, too."

"Oh, Baby," Lena whispered, "Oh, Mariana. No, we would never give you or Jesus up. We love you both so much."

"You're stuck with us, kid," Stef joked, "For better or for worse."

Mariana let out a relieved breath and allowed herself to relax for the first time since the shooting, "That's so nice to hear."

I had some inspiration from an episode from "All in the Family" for Sharon's little spiel :)

So the overwhelming consensus is NO BRALLIE. The people have spoken, and I will listen. This will be about Callie and family.

I have a College Psychology midterm in like three hours so pray for me darlings. And good luck to anyone else suffering through midterm week!

-Liv

P.S.-Please review! They make my little world go round.