Callie's POV
Three days later
They said that the blizzard that came through DC was the worst one in over a century. The power went out the night of the shooting and we still have it back. Luckily we have a generator that can power a small portion of the house. But it's pretty cold and miserable. School is cancelled and we can't leave the house because it's still storming. It let up a little bit a couple days ago and the NCIS team was able to leave.
I still can't believe that Director Vance fired me. I didn't ask to get pulled into any of this! Working at NCIS was going to be so good for me. I never even got the chance to train anyone. I could teach them so much. I could help them! This whole situation pisses me off so much. This was supposed to be the start of a better part of my life. Why did this have to happen?
"Mind if I come in?" Stef's words pulled me away from my journal. She was standing in the doorway to my and Mariana's room holding two thermoses.
I smiled and nodded, eagerly accepting the warm drink. She sat down next to me on my bed and we huddled together under my warm blankets. We sat in silence for a short while, slowly sipping our apple ciders.
"You've been a little MIA the past couple of days. How are you doing, my love?" Stef pulled me close and I laid my head on her shoulder, welcoming her security.
I sighed deeply before answering. "I'm okay. I've just been thinking about what I'm going to do now that I don't have a job and I'm not in school."
"Mama and I have been talking about this and we were thinking that you should take some time to heal yourself. You have had a lot of injuries lately and you really haven't had much time to heal completely. I mean you've been shot four times in the last 6 months! I can't imagine how that physically tolling that must be let alone mentally and emotionally. What do you think about starting therapy again? I know we talked about it about a week ago, but so much has happened since then." She drew little circles on the back of my hand as she spoke, trying to calm me before I got worked up.
I closed my eyes and tried to stop the flashbacks to my therapy sessions at New Intelligence. I couldn't help but feel the cold stiffness of the room and the awkwardness of disclosing my assaults to a man I barely knew. My heart started to race and my palms became sweaty as images of my past flooded my mind.
"Hey, come back to me Cal. Stay with me, love." Stef's calm voice slowly brought me back to my reality.
My voice was quiet as I spoke. "I'm scared." I admitted, just above a whisper.
"Scared of what?"
"I'm scared of what I will have to say to the therapist. I'm scared of what they'll say to me. I'm scared that more chips are going to go haywire and more rogue agents are going to try and hurt you guys. I'm scared to go to sleep tonight. I'm scared that Jude is never going to be the same again. And I'm scared that… that you and Lena are going to see Jude and me for who we really are and send us away." Hot tears streamed down my face and I felt myself try and recoil from Stef's touch.
She gently took my thermos from me and set it on my night stand with her own. She pulled me closer and wrapped both of her strong arms around me, enveloping me in a tight embrace of love and safety. "Callie, you have every right to be afraid of those things. I hope you don't feel that those fears are unfounded. You don't have to say anything to your therapist that you aren't ready to say. And if they say anything to you that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me or mama and we'll find you someone new. Jude is going to keep an eye out on those chips and make sure that nothing happens. It might take a little while but he's going to come back to you. Mama and I are making sure that he gets all of the help and support that he needs. And, Callie, I don't want you to ever think that we would ever send you away. We love you and your brother more than you could ever imagine! We can't understand fully what either of you are going through, but we know that it's hard and we want to love you through it. Think you can help us do that?"
I smiled and snuggled closer to her. "I'll try. And I suppose I'll give therapy a try. I can't make you any promises, but I'll give it a go."
She kissed the top of my head and hugged me tight. We laid there for a few minutes in silence. We were both on the brink of sleep when there was a knock on my door.
"Mom?" Jesus's voice called from the entry. "There are two police officers at the front door. They said that they're looking for Callie and Jude."
Sorry for the short chapter! I wanted to get something out there since I haven't written in a long time. I'm trying to get back into writing this story, but it is going to be sporadic. College is very stressful and time consuming after all! What would you like to see in the coming chapters? I have an idea for the next couple (I think), but I want to try and incorporate your ideas! Leave me some reviews or send me a message on what you'd like to see!