AN: Sorry about the wait.
Callie POV
The other kids and I were sitting in the waiting room. We were sitting in pairs, pretty far from one another. Frankie was sitting in Brandon's lap, her head pressed to his chest. Brandon was doing his best to sooth her, even thou he was scared as well. Jesus was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Mariana, they were holding hands. Silent tears are streaming down Mariana's cheeks. Jude was sitting next to me, he has placed his hand over my.
Besides Frankie's sniffs, the room was pretty much quiet. The other people in the waiting room, just like us, were silently sitting, watching the hallway, waiting for any kind of news. Lena went to talk to the doctor and hasn't come back yet. She has been gone for some 5 minutes now.
The three officers were hanging around as well. Last I saw Captain Roberts, she was in hallway, on her phone. She giving orders to whoever was on the other side of the call. If I heard right, Mike, was still on the scene of the shooting. But that was some 10 minutes ago. I have no idea where Captain Roberts is now.
"Should we call grandma?" Jesus speaks up looking over to Brandon
Brandon's facial expression said it all – he didn't know. Just because he was the oldest, doesn't mean he isn't scared.
"Um...I'm... I'm not sure" Brandon stuttered out
"Mama called grandma last time" Mariana said wiping away the tears from her cheeks
"It will take her hours till she gets here" Jesus says "I think we should call"
"Shouldn't mama make the call?" Jude joined the conversation "What would you even say to grandma?"
Jesus shrugged back at Jude "That mom is in hospital and that she need to come here as fast as she can"
As their conversation went on, I couldn't stop thinking about Amy's parents. And what about Cooper? Does he knows, was he informed? Who is going to call them? As far as I knew – mom and I were each other emergency contact person. The more I thought about it, the clearer it got to me - I'm the one who needs to make the calls and inform Cooper and her parents about what has happened.
I reach for my bag that was on the chair next to me and look for my phone. When I have the phone in my hand, I look up to the others. They were still in heated conversation about whether they should wait till Lena comes back or call Sharon on their own.
I stand up, ready to head out of the waiting room to make the call, but Jude reaches for my hand and stops me.
"Where are you going?" Jude looks to me confused
"Get fresh air" it wasn't a complete lie, I was going outside to make the call
"Mama said to wait here" Jude said blinking his brown eyes back at me
"Lena is not my mom, she is yours!" I say pulling my hand out of his hand and walk out of the waiting room. Jude doesn't follow me, he lets me go.
I head out of the hospital the same way we got here. I turn right when I am out of the hospital and walk few steps away from the entrance. After I lean back at the hospital wall, I unlock my phone.
When I start to scroll down to look for Cooper's name, my hands start to tremble lightly. I hold the phone only in my left and pull my right hand in a fist, trying to stop it from shaking.
The slight hand trembling started after I started to think about how I will break the news to Cooper. Then my mind just started to pile things on top. Horrible thoughts, like Amy dying, started to occupy my mind. The long lost fear of me being put back to foster care emerged in my mind. Also, the memories of the day my mom died resurfaced. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the thought of me losing my mom (my new mom) out of my mind.
I shove the phone in my jeans pocket and hold both of my palms out in front of me. I watched how my hands trembled and listened to my heart beat fast in my chest. My vision got blurry because of the tears that were forming in my eyes.
A sob escaped my mouth and two tears fell over my cheeks. I press my right hand over my mouth, hoping it will stop me from sobbing out again. When I close my eyes, few more tears spill over. I try to stop myself from crying, but my emotions took over. It was all too much. The thoughts, the memories, all the fears – it was just too much.
"Callie! There you are, I was looking for you" I hear Lena's voice, I hear her high heels hit the pavement. I open my eyes and see her walking over to me
"Oh, Callie…honey" She says softly when she sees that I am crying. Lena started to walk with more rapid steps towards me.
I lean off the wall and go right into her arms.
I needed someone to tell me everything is going to be okay, because I didn't believe it myself anymore. I needed someone to hold me, I needed a friend to lean on. I needed someone, with who I don't have to pretend and act all tough and strong. Because I am not either of those things. I am scared, I am not strong. I don't have the energy to pretend.
Her hands wrap around me, when I press my head to her shoulder and let the tear flow over my cheeks freely.
"Shh, it's going to be okay, honey..." Lena soothed quietly as she held me tightly
"I can't do it" I cry out in her shoulder after some minute in her embrace
"Do what, honey?" She asks and strokes the back of my hair gently
"I can't call them. I don't know what to tell them…or how to tell them. Can you call Cooper and Amy's parents for me, please? I don't know who else to ask..." I ask warily when I lean out of the hug
I wasn't sure if she would agree. Lena had her own worries, she had Stef to worry about and her own kids. She probably needed to call Stef's mother as well, maybe even her own parents. I mean, Amy is not her family. I am not her family. Lena has talked to Cooper like three times and she hasn't even met Amy's parents. I had no one else to ask this. Lena was my only option.
Lena runs her thumb over my cheeks, wiping away the tears "Of course I will call them, honey. Don't you worry about that. I will handle it, Callie"
"Thank you" I whisper to her when I lean back towards her for another hug
Lena POV
The first call I made was to Sharon. I hated that this was the second call I had to make to her about her daughter being shot. Once I told her, I could already hear her typing on her laptop, looking up the first flight she could take to get here.
"How bad is it this time?" I hear Sharon walk around her apartment, she was opening and closing drawers and doors
"As far as I know, she was shot twice. One bullet pierced through her left shoulder, Captain Roberts said that it went through. Other brushed by her left upper arm. Roberts said Stef was walking and talking on the scene and hospital. She passed out from blood loss when she was talking with Roberts. They started a blood transfusion. Stef was taken to surgery like 5 minutes after that."
"Did you see her?"
"Just for a second. I saw them taking her to operating room" I say remembering seeing her on the bed, she was surrounded by doctors and nurses. She had oxygen mask over her mouth and two bandages were covering her left arm. Both were soaked in her blood.
"Do we know if she will have any permanent damage to her arm?" I heard the concern in her voice.
"They said it was too soon to tell, they simply don't know the full extent to the damage yet. All they knew, from the x-ray they did, that the bullet didn't hit any bone."
"Call, text or send e-mail if anything changes!" Sharon states when the conversation is about to end
"Of course, I will inform you if anything changes" I say pacing by the entrance to the hospital. With that my first call ends.
I take few deep breaths in and out, trying to calm myself down. But I knew I had to make few more calls that couldn't wait.
I scroll down to Coopers number that Callie added to my contact list. My thumb lingers over the call button for few seconds, before I press it. I hear the phone ringing before I even put the phone up to my ear. I start to pace back and forth when I put the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" Cooper picks up the phone. I froze, when I heard his voice. It was so casual, there was no worry in his voice. He thought this day is like any other day. Cooper had no idea that his life is about to change.
"Hello!?" Cooper repeated after a second, because I hadn't answered back yet
"Cooper!" I snap out of it "This is Lena calling"
"Lena?" he asked back surprised, I interpreted it as if he didn't know me
"Adams Foster. You changed my window glass. Amy's partner Stef's wife-"
He laughs out on the other end "I know who you are Lena. I am surprised that you called me, that's all. Can I ask what this is about? I am at work now, with a patient…"
"It's about Amy" I say and stop walking. Holding my left hand wrapped around my shoulder, right hand holding the phone up my ear, I look down to the pavement and suck in my lower lip
"What about her? Is everything okay?"
"No" I answer shaking my head at myself
"What do you mean?" Now there was the worry in his voice
"There was a shooting. Amy and Stef were both shot. They are in hospital" I inform him and the only thing I hear back is his breathing "Amy is critical. She is in surgery as we speak"
There was still silence on the other end "Cooper? Did you hear what I said?" I heard some ruffling sound, like he had pressed his phone to his shoulder or something. Next thing I hear people talking, but I couldn't make out any words. I just heard chatter in background.
"Which hospital?" he asks back, I think I hear him running
"Mercy"
"Come on, come on!Move it!…Damn it!" I hear Cooper mumble back. Next, I heard a loud bang, like doors colliding with wall, when you pull them open too hard. Or maybe it was when you slam doors shut too hard and fast.
"Callie?" He was definitely running now
"Callie is here, in the hospital"
"I will be there in 10" he says and hangs up the phone the next second, ending the call
The next call I was about to make will be even more harder than the last one. I will be talking with people who I have never met in my entire life. I will be a stranger that will tell them their daughter is shot. I can say honestly, this was a call I was not ready to make.
I am mumbling their names quietly to myself as the phone keeps ringing.
"Yes?" A woman picks up the phone
"Um…hello. Is this…Linda Baker?" I ask when I stop pacing around
"Yes, this is her. May I ask who is calling?"
"This is Lena Adams Foster. I know you don't know me, we haven't met. I am a friend of your daughter and granddaughter"
"Adams Foster?" She wonders out loud "Where do I know that surname from?"
"Amy's partner or force is Stef Adams Foster. I'm her wife" I explain to her quickly
"Oh, yes. That's it. May I ask what is this about?"
"It's about your daughter" I take a small pause and look up to the sky, to gather the strength and courage I need to continue this conversation
After the call ends, I lean back at the hospital wall. My hands are trembling just like Callie's hand were, when I found her out here. I press my head back at the wall, close my eyes and take few deep breathes, trying to calm myself down. My heart was racing inside my chest.
I needed to stay strong for the kids. I couldn't break down now. It has just began. Now the worst part starts – the waiting. The endless minutes of sitting, waiting, hoping for the best. There is nothing we can do to help. It is completely out of our hands. Our loved one's lives are in the hands of strangers.
I remember very well, the last time we were in this situation. I can't make the same mistakes I made then. The twins needed me back then, but I was so cold to them. Brandon was out of control, blaming the twins for everything. And I did nothing to stop it. I was too scared about losing the love of my life, that I forgot about my kids. But Jude was consoling me, instead of the other way around. Thankfully my mom was in the town and she helped with Frankie. Mike wasn't much help as well. He came to the hospital with spiked coffee.
That won't happen this time. We will keep together this time. I won't make the same mistakes again. I take one last deep, calming breath in and head inside the hospital to the waiting room.
When I walk in the waiting room, I see the kids all sitting apart from each other. Callie was sitting alone in the furthest corner. Jude was sat in the middle of the room. Twins were keeping together at the right side of the room, but Brandon and Frankie were sitting on the other end of the line of chairs where Jude was sat. This hurt me, it hurt me more than I thought it ever could. They were so divided.
I head over to the twins first. After I place a hand on Mariana's shoulder, she looks up to me. Mariana has red, puffy eyes. I nod to the long seat where Brandon, Frankie and Jude are sitting. Without saying anything, she stands up and walks over to Jude, she takes a seat next to him.
When Jesus stand up, I kiss his temples and we walk together to the row of chairs in the middle of the room. Jesus sits down next to Brandon.
After that, I head over to Callie, who is sitting in the corner and take her hand "Come sit with us, Callie"
"Did you call them?" Callie asks quietly when she stood up
"I did. Cooper should be here in 10. Linda and Harold said they will take the first flight here. They are on their way"
"Thank you" Callie replies quietly
"Let's go sit down" Hand in hand we walk over to the others
Callie sits down next to Mariana, while I take Frankie out of Brandon's lap. I take the last free seat between Callie and Jesus. Frankie sits in my lap, she presses her head to my chest and her little hands grab on my shirt. I kiss the top of her head and look around the other kids.
"They are going to be okay" I tell all of them when I see all of their sad eyes. It wasn't much of reassurance, but there wasn't really anything else I could say. Their lives are in the hands of the doctors. As I was assured by the nurse, the best doctors are working on them.
5 minutes later Cooper runs in the hospital. He still had his red sport shorts on, sneakers and the black t-shirt with the logotype of the place where he works at. Cooper looked in the waiting room. He saw as all sitting there and headed our way.
Callie looks up to him with sad eyes, but she doesn't say anything. She lowers her head back, keeps her eyes on the ground up front and continues to pick her fingernails.
"Anything?" Cooper asks looking to me, I shake my head back at him
"How long has it been?" Cooper asks fidgety
"Some 30 minutes. You should sit down, Cooper. It will be some time before we hear anything" I say from experience
Cooper looks around the room, looking for a seat. He runs his hand over his hair and walks to the chairs opposite our, right next to the entrance. When he sits down, he leans down, pressing his elbows to his knees. But he doesn't stay like that for long, he leans back in the chair and runs his left hand over his face. He leaves his hand over his mouth for few second.
I look up to the clock that was on the wall over the doors. It reads 1:23 PM.
So the waiting begins.