'BEEP BEEP'
Stef's hand shot out to grab her phone from the nightstand and shut it off. She glanced quickly at the time before placing it back in its resting place. She turned back to face Callie who was still fast-asleep, Lena who was walking about the room and…
"Mariana?"
The girl in question cracked an eye open before shutting it and snuggling beneath the covers, "Hm?"
"What are you doing in our bed?"
Mariana yawned, eyes still closed, "I woke up and saw Callie never came back to our room and I found her in here. Mama said I could climb in."
"That I did," Lena chimed in as she pulled on a blazer, "You might want to get in the shower, Miss Thing, if you plan on taking forever."
"I showered last night," the girl answered with a small smile, "I just need to do my hair."
Callie let out a groan as her eyes fluttered open, "Someone has really cold feet."
"Sorry!" Mariana apologized with a smile.
Jesus walked into the bedroom, toothbrush hanging from the corner of his mouth. He held out the cordless phone to Stef, "Mom, phone."
She took it from him and pointed to the bathroom, "Over the sink please. Hello?"
"Hello, Officer Foster? It's ADA Colbert. I'm sorry to call so early. I'm due at work soon and I need to know if Callie wants to go through with the pre-trial or not."
Stef grimaced and looked at Callie who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "Uh, can I get back to you in like twenty minutes? The trial has kind've slipped our minds…"
"Is that the ADA?" Callie asked, sitting up. Lena looked from the teen to Stef who nodded. "Tell him I'll go through with it."
Stef lowered the phone to her chest, "Are you sure, Sweets?" The brunette gave her a sharp nod, "Mr. Colbert? She's going through with it. Okay. Yes. Yes, we will. Bye." Stef pressed the end button and placed the phone on her night table.
"When is the trial?" Lena asked, taking a seat on the bed.
"We're aiming for this weekend," the blonde answered, "It's a pre-trial, so no jury."
Mariana turned to face Callie, "Not for nothing, but I hope you nail the bastard."
Callie smiled a little and nudged Mariana with her shoulder, "Yeah, me too."
Jude walked through the hallway of Holy Cross Prep, arms weighed down by the multitude of books given to him by various teachers. He had a lot of catching up to do. He made his way to the locker assigned to him and opened it, unceremoniously dumping the books inside. He shook his arms a bit to get the feeling back in them. The morning had gone alright: the teachers seemed nice and so did the other boys. The school was definitely a lot nicer than he was used to, but he was supposed to pray in the morning and at the start of each class and at the beginning and end of lunch. It was borderline ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that he had to wear a uniform every day. Jude closed his locker and fixed his backpack before heading towards the expansive cafeteria for lunch. As he entered, his eyes caught sight of something and a grin came over his face.
A payphone.
Lena sat at her desk, lost in thought. She found her mind drifting more often than not ever since Jude was taken from the family. She looked down at the salad she had been picking at for the last five minutes and pushed it away. She had no appetite. Her phone rang and she reached over to answer it.
"Anchor Beach Charter School, this is Vice-Principal Adams."
"Lena?"
The woman's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the phone, "Jude? Is that you, baby?"
"It's me! I'm supposed to be at lunch right now but I saw this payphone…" She heard him take a shaky breath, "I want to come home."
Lena swallowed hard as she tried to keep it together, "I know, honey. We sent a petition to Adelaide's lawyer. We're going to bring you home. Are you alright? Is she treating you okay?"
"She's not being mean," Jude answered, "But she's making me go to a Catholic school and I have to read the bible a lot and pray. I don't like the way she talks about you and Stef. She doesn't understand."
"She doesn't," Lena agreed, "Don't listen to her, alright?"
"Okay." A rustling could be heard over the line, "Lena? I have to go. The lunch aide said I have to eat now. Tell Callie I miss her, okay? And Stef and everyone, too. I miss you, too."
Lena sniffled, "We all miss you, Jude, so much. We're coming for you soon, baby. I love you."
"I love you, too. Bye."
The curly-haired woman waited until she heard the dial tone before returning the phone to its cradle. She smiled to herself knowing that he was for the most part okay. It would be nice to at least let the family know that Jude was fine for the moment. She sighed; she needed her baby home.
Adelaide opened her front door to find her lawyer, Arthur Benton, standing on the steps with a grim expression. He was a sharp looking man, even at his age,
"Arthur," she greeted, stepping aside so he could come in, "What brings you here?"
The man held up some papers, stapled together, "This." He replied, "A petition from Stefanie Foster and Lena Adams for full custody of Jude."
Adelaide took the petition to look at it closer, "I saw this coming, but you're prepared, right?"
"Of course." Arthur replied with a devilish smirk. He took out his cell phone and scrolled through his calendar, "I'll see if I can have the trial set for next week, even. I know some people at the court house. It helps that this is family court; it will be small."
Adelaide began to pace, "Arthur, I need you to understand the gravity of this trial. I cannot lose. Christopher made so many mistakes…I could have prevented that. Jude is my second chance. I need to make him into the person his father could have been."
Arthur nodded his head, "I understand. Don't worry: when I fight, I fight to win."
Saturday afternoon found Callie in the courthouse with Stef and Lena, desperately clutching their hands as they waited for the judge to deliberate. The teen had decided to keep the one thing she had: the truth. She had told the judge what had really happened as opposed to what the ADA had wanted her to say/ As much as she wanted Liam to go to jail for the crime he had committed against her, she didn't want to be a liar.
"Hey."
Callie turned to face Stef, who was smiling at her with eyes that were safe and full of love, "Callie, no matter what happens I just want you to know how proud we are of you. You did the right thing, Love."
Callie nodded, "Yeah. Thanks." The court officer waved them over. The three women stood up and headed back into the court room, ready to hear the verdict. They took their seat behind ADA Colbert on the opposite side of the gallery from the Olmstead's. Callie chanced a look a Liam who looked like a scared little boy. Serves him right.
"…lack of evidence, I have no choice but to release Mr. Olmstead." The judge banged his gavel and that was that. The Olmstead's looked relieved: they stood up and hugged each other, all smiles as they left the court room.
ADA Colbert came over to his clients with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry you didn't win."
Callie shrugged and pushed some hair behind her ear, "It's fine. I knew my chances going in." With one last remorseful look, the lawyer disappeared. Callie turned to face Stef who looked resigned and Lena who looked pissed.
"It's okay," the girl assured her foster-mothers, "As long as Sarah is out of that house. That's all that matters."
"But what about you?" Lena asked gently.
Callie gave a sad smile and turned away, "What about me?" The two women were left to stare at their daughter's retreating form.
So I have had four snow days and two delayed openings (not in a row) over the past two month. Long Island's weather is going cray! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Did you see this Monday's past episode? Such good acting! I want to somehow incorporate scenes from the episode into my story but I haven't figured out how yet.
February Break whoo-hoo! I am ready to do absolutely nothing! :)
Please review! Do you know what would make me happy? Getting up to 200 reviews! I'm working on the courtroom chapter where the Fosters petition for custody of Jude. I promise it will be good! ;)
Please review!
-Liv