I'm so sorry for such a long wait! I'll try super hard to get chapters out more regularly.
So it seems like everyone is voting for option A and then some also want option C. I want to get this story going so I'm going to make a time jump.
Callie's POV
Six months later
Evan's death hit Jude and me really hard. He was completely crazy and an asshole, but he was also a friend. We had him buried next to his parents in his hometown.
I laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling. My leg had finally healed nicely and I was allowed to start exercising at a normal pace. I was starting a job at NCIS the next day as a combat trainer. Ziva got me the job and Gibbs even put in a good word for me. Jude had started taking classes at Georgetown University and was excelling in all of his classes. He was finally starting to become a normal fourteen year old.
"Callie! It's time for dinner!" Stef's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. My stomach grumbled and I hurried downstairs.
"Lena made your favorite so we can celebrate your job tomorrow!" Jude beamed at me.
I inhaled deeply and soaked in the scent: biscuits and gravy. My mom used to make them all the time when she was home from deployment. I found her recipe buried in my personal belongings and gave it to Lena.
I split two biscuits on my plate and ladled the steaming gravy over them. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.
"Whoa there missy! You have to save some for the rest of us!" Stef pulled the ladle out of my hand and shoved my shoulder jokingly.
We all sat around the table laughing and had a wonderful family dinner. Jesus shoveled down countless plates of the food and then begged Lena to make more because he was "so freaking starving!"
"Dude you will explode if you eat one more biscuit." Brandon laughed. He had finally warmed up to the idea of me and Jude being there and was actually acting like a normal foster brother.
"Jude, Ziva said you can come with me to NCIS tomorrow since you don't have class. I won't be doing anything except a bunch of paperwork. Do you wanna come?" I wiped my face with a napkin and started to clear the table. It was my turn to do dishes.
"Yeah sure if moms… I mean Stef and Lena don't care." His face turned bright red and he stared down at his lap.
Stef and Lena shared a smile. "Of course you can go with her, Jude." Lena rubbed his back in an effort to ease his embarrassment. "Brandon, can you drive them to the navy yard tomorrow before you go to school?"
Brandon swallowed his last bite of food and nodded. "Yeah. What time do you have to be there Callie?"
"Ziva said 8, but I want to be there early if that's okay. I was thinking 7:45?" I scraped left over food into the trash and started to rinse the dishes.
"Sure, we'll leave here at 7:30." He set his plate on the counter next to me and headed upstairs to do homework. Jesus, Jude, and Mariana followed soon after leaving me in the kitchen with Stef and Lena.
We sat in silence for a few minutes but I couldn't take it any longer. "I'm sorry that Jude called you moms. He should know better." I said, breaking the silence.
Stef sighed a little and stood next to me. "You don't have to apologize for that Callie. We don't mind, really!" She rubbed my shoulder and smiled widely.
"On our first night here, you said that you weren't expecting us to move out. What did that mean?" I prodded. I thought about those words every day since Stef said them.
"Come sit down, love." Stef turned off the water and motioned for me to sit at the table. "You know that you and Jude are very, very special to us, yes?"
I nodded and Lena took over. "We wanted to talk to you and Jude together, but we figured that it would be best if we talked to you first." She took a deep breath and continued. "What do you think about making this a permanent home?" Lena grabbed my hand and rubbed small circles on my palm.
"Wait, do you mean like… adopt us?" My heart was pounding. I wanted to believe it but I also didn't want to get my hopes up.
Stef smiled widely and pulled me into a tight hug. "Of course we mean adopt you! We love you and your brother so much! You have brought so much joy and happiness into our lives and we want to give you a home. We want to give you a family."
I looked back and forth between them. They both stared back at me with wide, expectant eyes. "I wouldn't want to be a part of any other family." My cheeks flared bright red.
Stef squealed and squeezed me tighter. Lena wrapped her arms around both of us and peppered my cheek with kisses.
"Can you do me a favor?" I said after the celebration stopped. "Will you ask Jude like you asked me? Tell him that you haven't talked to me about it yet. He always feels like he is the last to know about everything. I think it would make him feel good."
Stef looked at Lena who stifled a laugh. "Actually, we talked to him about it yesterday. He badgered us about what was going to happen to the two of you so we just asked him! I'm sorry but you were with Ziva and he wouldn't let it alone!" An apologetic and worried look took over Stef's face.
I let out a loud laugh. "It's okay! Really, my feelings aren't hurt so please don't feel bad! I'm going to finish the dishes and then go get ready for bed. I have an early morning and a long day ahead of me!"
I scrubbed the last of the dishes and put them away while Stef and Lena talked about the schedules for the next day. I hugged them both goodnight and retired to my room. Mariana was talking to Mat, her boyfriend, while she painted her nails. I changed into my pajamas and curled up under the sheets. I zoned out after a while, drowning in my thoughts.
After ten years of hating what I had become, I was finally starting to feel normal again. After ten years of not knowing what day would be my last, I finally felt safe. After ten long years of believing that no one loved me, I was finally going to have a family. I fell asleep smiling and dreamt about my adoption day.
…
"Callie! Wake up! You're going to be late if you don't get up now!" Jude's voice pierced my sleep. I sat up quickly and checked my phone. It was 7:00 in the morning which meant I only had thirty minutes to get myself ready and eat a good breakfast.
I jumped out of my bed and flew into the bathroom to take a five minute shower. In the meantime, Jude laid out some clothes for me on my bed. Mariana braided my hair into two French braids and helped me do a little bit of professional-looking makeup. I was the exact polar opposite of Mariana. She loved dressing up in super cute clothes, painting her nails a different color every day, and always making sure her makeup was perfect. I, on the other hand, liked a simpler look. I rarely let her do my makeup, but when I did, she always did a fabulous job.
"Okay, I think that looks good!" Mariana said as she finished applying just a little bit of eyeliner. "I can't believe that you are going to have, like, a real job. I wish I could be done with high school. It sucks!" She pouted as she handed me some lip balm.
"If I could go to school all day, believe me, I would. This is going to be so stressful! I'm only sixteen and I've basically been an adult since I was six. I just want my life to slow down." I looked at my hands and wrung my fingers together.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Mariana hugged me and led me downstairs to breakfast.
"Oh how nice of you ladies to join us!" Stef said jokingly. She placed two blueberry pancakes and a scoop of fruit on my plate.
"Hey, since I'm going to my job today can I have a cup of coffee?" I asked pleadingly. I batted my eyes at Stef and pouted my lips a little.
"Absolutely not! You can have a glass of milk or orange juice. Which would you like?" Lena shot down my request, but her voice was only full of love.
I sighed sarcastically and accepted a glass of chocolate milk. Brandon, Jude, and I all ate quickly so we could make it to the navy yard on time. We were running out of the house at exactly 7:30 when Stef told the boys to go to the car and held me back in the house.
"Stef I have to go! I'm going to be late on my first day!" I tried to leave again but she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug.
"I want you to be safe today. You were only cleared for this job last week. Don't strain yourself. If you feel worn out, take a break. Do you hear me Callie?" She pushed me back but held onto my shoulders.
"I hear you loud and clear! I'm not even training anyone today. I have to fill out mountains of paperwork before I can do anything. But I really do have to go now!" I opened the door but Stef stopped me once again.
"Wait!" She grabbed a thermos off of the table by the door and handed it to me. "Don't tell mama." She whispered in my ear. I smiled at her and ran to the car. I jumped in the front seat and Brandon tore out of the driveway and sped down the road.
I opened the thermos and inhaled deeply. Coffee. I smiled and took a sip. As we drove to the navy yard, Stef's words replayed in my head. 'Don't tell mama.' It was the first time anyone had referred to either of them as mom or mama. I liked the sound of it.
"Okay we're here!" Brandon parked the car at the entrance to the navy yard and let me and Jude out. "Good luck!" He pulled away and sped off to school.
Jude grabbed my hand and pulled me through the security checks. I was suddenly more nervous than ever. My palms started to sweat and my breath became shallow.
"Hey, you're going to just fine! You are so good at this and you are going to make the agents so much better at combat. And maybe one day you will be able to be an agent yourself!" Jude pulled me into a tight hug as he reassured me.
"Callie! Happy first day of work, my dear!" Rose's warming voice greeted us as we entered headquarters. "Here you go!" She handed me a visitor's badge and I slipped it on my neck. She laughed a little and shook her head. "That's for your brother silly! You aren't a visitor anymore!"
"Oh yeah." My cheeks reddened and I handed the badge to Jude who eagerly put it on. "Do I need anything?"
"You'll get everything upstairs." Rose squeezed me into a tight hug. "Good luck sweetie. Have fun and don't let Tony get on your nerves!"
"Thanks Rose!" I called as we headed for the elevators.
The ride upstairs felt like it took an hour. Jude kept telling me that everything was going to be fine and that I was going to do great. Even though I wanted to believe him, my anxiety kept pulling me back into a dark hole.
The doors opened and the open floor before me was swarming with people. I led Jude over to where Gibbs' team was.
"Hey, kid. How's the leg?" Gibbs patted me on the back and showed me to a desk.
"My doctor gave me the all clear for regular and intensive training!" I smiled proudly at Gibbs. He somehow made me feel so safe. He reminded me a lot of my dad; strong, well-rounded, and very intense.
He smiled back at me and pushed a chair over for Jude to sit in. They shook hands and then Gibbs ruffled Jude's hair and pushed him playfully. Jude and Gibbs hit it off the moment they met each other.
Ziva, Tony, and McGee joined Gibbs around my desk. Tony presented a small box with a red ribbon tied around it. "Happy first day kiddo." Tony said as he handed it to me.
I opened the box and revealed my NCIS credentials. I opened the black wallet-looking thing and saw a shiny gold badge. "I get a badge?!"
"Yes you do! Everyone with a priority-level job has a badge. You'll have to go downstairs to human resources to get your picture take, but after that your creds are complete!" McGee smiled down at me proudly.
Gibbs' cell phone rang and he stepped away to his own desk.
"Gear up!" He said seconds later. "We got a dead Marine at the Pentagon."
The team dashed to their desks.
"Callie, Jen from human resources will be up soon to walk you through the paperwork process. We'll be back soon. Think you can hold down the fort until we get back?" Gibbs winked.
"Dad! Your dollar bill is crinkled and the vending machine won't take it." A boy about Jude's age rounded the corner.
"Connor I don't know what to tell you! I have to go so you will just have to wait until I get back." Tony said to the boy. He ran to catch up with the team in the elevator and shot Connor an apologetic look.
Connor groaned loudly and slumped down in Tony's chair.
"You're Tony's son?" Jude asked curiously.
"Yep, Connor DiNozzo. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand and Jude shook it firmly. "What, did he never mention me or something?"
"Well he told us he had a son, but he never told us your name." I answered.
"Yeah, my dad is kind of private about me. I lived with my mom in California for the last five years after they got a divorce."
"What made you move back to D.C.?" Jude prodded.
Connor dropped his head and avoided eye contact. Silence filled the empty space between us. "She has some mental issues; multiple personality disorder, severe OCD, depression. My dad finally figured out something was really wrong and got full custody of me." He looked up quickly. "But she is in a facility where she can get help! My dad even said that he could find her a place here so she could be close to me."
"Well, I'm sorry that she is going through that, but I'm glad that she's getting help." Jude squeezed Connor's shoulder reassuringly.
"Ms. Jacob?" A voice from behind me called. "Hi, I'm Jen from Human Resources. If you want to come with me I can get you started on your paperwork."
I smiled politely and followed the young woman towards the elevator.
"Hey, wanna go see autopsy? It's so cool! And Ducky is super awesome!" I heard Connor ask Jude.
I turned around and saw the two laughing as they ran for the stairs. I smiled at them. Jude was making a friend. He was coming so far from the rigid boy he was just half a year before. The elevator doors closed and I breathed in deeply. My life was finally starting to feel more normal than it had in my entire lifetime.
I hope you liked this chapter! It took me FOREVER to write this. I feel like it isn't very action-packed like the other chapters. Sorry if it felt like if dragged on for a long time! Let me know what you would like to see next!