A/N: Okay, here's chapter two. It is a beast, almost 2,050 words. I was going to split it up, but I figured since I may not be able to update for a while on account of college, I'd keep it as is so you get a treat. I really enjoyed writing this one, not very much with AJ, but what does involve him is a big future plot point. :) Hope you like.

Chapter Two

Lena's POV

I sat across from the kids who were still standing in front of the couch waiting for permission.

"Go ahead." I said. They had been through a lot. If I had thought so when I first met them two days ago, that was nothing compared to seeing them in this house. The girl, Callie, I reminded myself, she looked absolutely terrified. Her eyes didn't leave her brother's even as he kept a constant eye on me, and a constant hand interlaced in hers.

"You'll meet the others later. Mariana's at dance, Brandon's at his dad's and Stef and Jesus are cleaning out the garage."

The boy nodded. "We met Mariana already. She kind of… ran into us." He looked at Callie who bumped his shoulder.

I chuckled. I could imagine. "That girl's always rushing somewhere. I think you'll get along well." I looked at Callie who still hadn't said anything. She hadn't spoken during our last encounter either. It was something I found strange, but I knew there had to be a good reason.

She nodded smiling shyly as she tapped her brother on the shoulder. He shook his head, and she continued to prod him looking from me to him.

"So," I leaned forward. I think I got the hint. "Jude, is there anything I should know? Anything at all?"

Jude sighed. "Callie's not deaf." It was defensive, tired like he was used to answering the question constantly.

I saw Callie's eyes turn steely, she shoved Jude.

I shook my head. "No, no, of course not." I smiled. " But I meant about you."

I saw Callie rummaging through a backpack she had with her. She pulled out a few things: photographs, a book(one I recognized. Anchor Beach had assigned it on a few occasions), and a bottle of blue nail polish, setting them on the coffee table and pushing them forward.

I examined the photos. There was one of a dark haired young girl who couldn't be older than three holding a baby on her lap as a woman with the same dark hair stood behind the chair smiling at the children. I guessed that the girl was Callie. The woman was their mother. I just knew. She had the same look Stef and I did when we were looking at our kids. It wasn't hard to know that the baby was Jude.

Another photo showed the kids at an older age, maybe seven and four. Jude sat in a chair with one of those paper crowns sitting crookedly on his forehead. He was leaning forward blowing out candles. Callie was reaching forward as if to shove him face first into the cake, an impish grin on her face. The last photo in the pile was one of just Jude. He was older still, maybe ten, sitting in a tree holding out his nails which were painted blue, to the camera as he smiled, but there was something different in his face. The Jude in this picture had seen more, his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. A young man stood at the base of the tree, just barely out of the frame. His back was to the camera, but his hand was pointed to the sky in a thumbs up position in Jude's direction.

Next I picked up the book: The Giver. The story was one I knew well, and judging by the book's condition, they did too. The cover was dog eared, and scrawled in the inside cover was a message. May you and your brother always be Givers and show what you're made of. Happy Birthday my sweet girl -Mom

Looking at these items, I knew these kids were special. They deserved to be able to feel safe. I also knew I would try my hardest to make sure they did.

"Hello?" I heard Stef's voice from the kitchen. "Where is everyone?"

"In the living room." I called.

I looked over to read the kids' faces as Stef walked in followed by our youngest son Jesus. "I think a dragon has started hoarding in our garage." Stef smiled. "Are these them?" She glanced over to where Jude and Callie sat on the couch. " Hey there, I'm Stef."

Callie lifted her head giving a small nervous smile.

"This is Callie," Bill introduced putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Both Stef and I noticed her visibly flinch at the contact.

"I'm Jude." Jude introduced himself glaring daggers at the social worker.

"It's nice to meet you both." Stef said.

"Uh… can I talk to you guys a moment?" Bill said looking toward the kitchen.

"Of course." I looked over to Jesus who had already perched himself on Jude's side of the couch, introducing himself. "You gonna be okay in here?"

Jesus nodded. "We're fine."

"Alright." I glanced back to where Callie sat. Her eyes met mine, but her expression didn't change from the "brave face" she had been putting on earlier when she had given me the things from her backpack. I could see Stef watching us, the silent exchange. It was clear she wanted to say something, but instead she squeezed my arm as I finally broke the spell giving a simple nod in the direction of the kids as we followed Bill into the kitchen.

Brandon's POV

"Hey, you doing okay B?" AJ had left a while ago, slipped past before my dad even realized he was gone, disappeared into the spare bedroom, which now held extra of everything: bed, dresser, even extra hangers in the closet. These small changes had been implemented when AJ had moved in, a stark refusal to share anything still unexplained to either my dad or me. It was a mutual curiosity that colored our visits now, each of us trying to get something out of AJ, make him feel included. I guess it was my way of making up for being so distant earlier. These moments where it was just me and my dad were almost foreign now.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I invited AJ over Saturday, that's okay?"

"That's great." Dad said. "So, what are your plans for the rest of the week? Anything exciting?"

As if on cue, my phone vibrated in my pocket: a text from my brother.

The new kids are here.

New kids? The memory of the dinner conversation two days before crept back slowly. Moms had gotten a call from Bill: two siblings, a boy and a girl that were in need of a home. No one else would take them in, so Mama had offered to meet them. It wasn't until later when I was upstairs in my room, that Moms had come in and explained more.

They were considered troubled. Mama wouldn't say much more about it no matter how much I asked, but it was made clear I was to be especially nice. I knew the drill, but still the curiosity was there. Troubled, I learned, could mean a wide range of things when you were talking about new foster siblings. As I looked at the text Jesus had sent, I wondered what kind of drama he and Mariana had started.

"Moms are fostering two new kids." The reply came out distractedly. "I've gotta get back."

Dad nodded along. "That's right. Your mom was telling me, made me promise not to have you here too long." He grinned. "That's exciting though."

"Yeah," I grabbed my keys as I made my way to the nearby bedroom. My last experience hadn't exactly been smooth, AJ could attest to that, so I knew my moms would be watching closely. I wasn't exactly sure exciting could be used to describe the news.

"What the hell man? Why are you calling now?" I stopped just before I came to AJ's door. Even though it was mostly closed, I could hear the words. "I've been tryin' to get in touch with you… yeah, but you told me not to call." I heard the sound of his footsteps. "No, that's not what I meant. When?" I walked over peeking into the bedroom. AJ's back was to me as he leaned over the desk, a pen in hand. He was writing something down. "Look, can I call you back? Fine you call me whatever. Later."

I could barely duck back against the wall before AJ turned toward the door slamming the end call button on his phone and throwing it toward his headboard.

I exhaled trying to act as though I hadn't just overheard his entire conversation walking to the door frame and knocking. "Hey, I've got to get home. I'll text you about Saturday."

AJ looked up. "Yeah, alright. Catch you later." I couldn't help noticing even as AJ offered a fist, he was distracted. His eyes were glazed over, a sign that his thoughts were probably anywhere but here. I think at that point if I told him I was leaving to jump out of a plane, he would have had the same response.

Even as I got in my car, I couldn't help but wonder, who had AJ been talking to?

Stef's POV

"They're good kids." Bill said. We were sitting at the kitchen table as Bill was looking at Callie and Jude's file. "But there's something you should know."

I turned to Lena as she grabbed my hand.

"Callie has been mute since she was thirteen years old. We don't know why. No one has been able to get a word out of her, not even Jude." He shifted clearing his throat as he paged through the file. "You may have some trouble separating Jude from Callie, for even the most basic reasons. He's… extremely protective."

"Nothing we aren't used to." I said. It was true. When the twins had first come to us, Jesus barely let us near his sister. The twins wouldn't even participate in family activities. Soon enough though, we were able to make both of them understand that we wouldn't hurt them, that they were safe with us. I had no doubt that the same thing would come to be true of Callie and Jude in time.

"Is there any particular way that Callie communicates?" Lena asked.

Bill shook his head. "She refused to try anything. The only form of communication I know of that she does is writing for school just the minimum, and that's for obvious reasons." He gave a dry chuckle.

I could already see the wheels in Lena's head turning. "Have any of her foster families ever taken her for speech therapy, just to get a way to talk to her?"

Another shake of the head. "They haven't exactly had the best of luck when it comes to foster families. Since Callie stopped talking, they've been bounced at least nine times if not more." He sighed. "No kids should ever have to move around that much."

"That's terrible." I said.

"It is." Bill replied. "They really are good kids. They deserve a good home."

"We'll give them one." Lena said. "We'll call you Monday then?"

"I'll come to check in, see how things are going." Bill stood holding out a hand to each of us. "Thank you so much. I appreciate it."

"Of course." I said. "We're happy to do it."

I turned as the door opened and Brandon walked in.

"Hey B, how was it?"

"Good. Dad says hi." I noticed even as he smiled in response that he was distracted. He moved around the kitchen, grabbing a glass, the carton of juice out of the fridge and an apple from the basket, without so much as a glance. Something was weighing on him, I could tell.

"Anything newsworthy?" I continued my prodding even as I felt Lena watching me in amusement.

He looked up peering above the rim of the glass with a shrug. "AJ said yeah about game night. I should probably go introduce myself right?" As he placed his now half empty cup on the counter, his gaze drifted to the living room.

"Yeah, good idea." Lena piped up casting me a warning glance. She always seemed to know when to leave things be when it came to the kids, and I guess now was that time. "Oh, there's something…"

But Brandon was already gone.

I shook my head, the memory of a few months back playing in my head. "It'll be fine."

When Mike had introduced Brandon to AJ, it hadn't gone the way any of us had expected. Brandon wasn't one to become jealous, especially of foster siblings. We had always taught him that there was plenty of love for everyone, and he had gladly taken on the role of older brother teaching Jesus and Mariana everything from how to shoot a basket to how to throw a punch, but there was something different about Mike being the one to take in a kid, especially one the same age as Brandon. Lena and I had immediately noticed a change. Brandon became hostile toward Mike snapping at him and refusing his calls. The fight between Brandon and AJ at the twins' Quinceanera still stood out in my mind. After a serious lecture and subsequent grounding, things had seemed to smooth out between the boys, according to Mike's reports, but still I couldn't help but worry, especially with Callie's situation, that things would somehow become tense again for our kids.

"Shall we?" Lena smiled as we crossed from the kitchen into the living room where Jude was talking with Jesus and Brandon.

"Callie's going to be a senior this year." I heard him saying. "I'm going into eighth grade."

"No way." Jesus replied. "Brandon's a senior too. Maybe Mr. Bigshot can show Callie around Anchor Beach." He elbowed Brandon good naturedly.

I noticed Brandon was staying back, nodding occasionally, but watching pensively. I had a feeling I knew what he was waiting for, the same thing I had been waiting for, but it wasn't going to come.

Callie bit her lip, watching Jesus and Brandon. I noticed that with every word, she inched further back shrinking visibly. If it was possible, she probably would have been part of the couch by now.

"Alright," I said walking over. "That's enough. Let's give them some space, yes? Help Mama set the table."

The boys nodded moving toward the kitchen, leaving me alone with Callie and Jude. I was still watching Brandon and Jesus, but even with my back turned I could hear a whispered reassurance.

"No one's gonna hurt you Cal'."

It was settled in my mind then: a firm and unshakable resolution. I would help this girl and her brother, no matter what.

A/N: There will be a lot of Callie/Moms in this story, specifically Lena and Callie, but Stef/ Callie will play a big role as well as Stef/Jude. I am probably going to switch focuses occasionally but both moms will get their bonding moments with the Jacob siblings. This will not have any romantic Brallie, but Brandon will bond with Callie at points as will Mariana and Jesus, and of course AJ :) What do you think will happen with him? Any idea what Brandon will do? Suggestions are always welcome! Next chapter: we hear from AJ and Jesus, Mariana has her second meeting with Jude and Callie, and someone has a breakdown. Suggestions always welcome! Until next time.