Throughout the next few days, she kept to herself. They noticed her picking at her food during meal times, the bags under her eyes, how she only spoke when spoken to. They felt the walls they had gotten her to let down were going back up and they only hoped they could fix this.
From the moment the life changing discovery was made, words couldn't even describe the devastation they felt. They tried so hard not to break down. To not scream that this was unfair. They felt trapped, lost, and as though they were drowning as the judge told them to come back on Monday. The usual hectic car rides with five kids was nothing but silent and the two women couldn't help but feel it was all their fault. If only they would've known sooner and would have been able to get this resolved before they had tried to adopt the brother and sister pair.
Callie was very insistent that she was okay. And when she really thought about it, the more that statement became true. There was only one goal that mattered. When she stood in the courtroom and watched as the judge finally made it official for her brother to become an Adams Foster, that was a moment she would always remember. She no longer cared what would happen with her. Jude had a family now, that was all she cared about.
As she leaned over to kiss her wife, Stefanie Adams Foster only hoped today would be the day this would all be fixed. Just having got the mail, she placed the bills and junk mail on the table.
"Look at this," she said, showing the manila folder to her wife, Lena. A smile on her face.
"Could it be?" Lena was smiling widely as well. "This early?"
"Should we wait for him or should we open it now?"
"Of course we should wait for him," Lena laughed.
"Sorry," Stef shrugged. "But I don't think he's even gotten out of bed yet."
"Then we'll place it on the table until he comes down."
Stef did so and to distract herself, she walked behind her wife and wrapped her arms around her shoulders in an embrace. "I just can't believe he's finally ours," she beamed into Lena's curls.
"Me too," Lena leaned into the embrace, taking in her wife's scent.
Being able to say that Jude Adams Foster was theirs and it truly being true, there were no words that they could use to describe the way they were feeling. He was there to stay forever. He would never be taken away from them; he would never have to be abused in the system again. He was safe and sound with them and that's the way it should be.
Stef placed a gentle kiss on Lena's temple before pulling away. She bent down, placing her hand on Lena's stomach, rubbing gently. "How's my baby this morning?"
"Hungry," Lena giggled, gesturing towards the bag of potato chips she was eating. It wasn't like her to eat those for breakfast, but it had become one of her cravings ever since becoming pregnant.
"Well, they gotta become strong and healthy," Stef defended. "And I think they agree," she said once she felt the baby kick.
Lena chuckled, "They don't say no to food, that's for sure."
"Who doesn't say no to food?"
Turning their heads, they saw as Jude made his way into the kitchen.
"We were just talking about your little brother or sister," Lena smiled at Jude as she placed another potato chip in her mouth. She reached over and grabbed the manila folder from its place on the table as Jude sat down. "Jude, I think you got some mail."
Jude, who had just begun to pour himself some cereal, looked over. He got up from his seat and took the folder from Lena's hands.
"My birth certificate!" he held the piece of paper out to show them. "Look! Jude Adams Foster!"
"Ooh, let me see!" Lena reached out to grab the side of the paper.
"Oh, your hands," Jude retracted the birth certificate, causing Lena to let out a small chuckle. She grabbed the wash cloth next to her and wiped the crumbs from the potato chips off of her hands. Stef walked over to the other side of Jude and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"You're officially ours!" Stef kissed the side of his face.
"I can't believe it!" Jude beamed.
"Can't believe what?" Callie came into the kitchen.
"Look, Callie! My birth certificate!"
Callie grabbed hold of the side of the paper. "Oh my god!" She let go and ruffled his hair, "That's awesome, buddy!" She watched her brother sit back down at the table, still clutching on to his birth certificate. A swarm of butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She was just so happy he was finally adopted.
"Hey," Stef placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her as she turned around. "I don't want you to worry. You'll get your home run, too, here soon." She spoke softly with sincerity in her eyes.
Callie nodded, "I know." She offered her foster mother a small smile before she, too, sat down at the table.
Lena looked at the time. "We've got to be in court here soon," she began to get the table cleaned up. "I'll go make sure everyone else is up and getting ready."
"After lunch, I need to get Brandon to his appointment," Stef said after looking at the time as well.
...
The waiting area seemed different. Or perhaps it was because it no longer had that same cheerful, joyful atmosphere. Callie could feel her hands shaking. She bit her lip as she looked around nervously.
There was a chill in the air as they waited desperately for their turn in the courtroom. They sat in a corner with four chairs. Callie and Stef sat on one side as Lena and Jude sat on the other. Callie guessed that her leg was shaking as well, because she felt Stef place her hand on it, trying to get her to stop. "It will be okay," Stef had whispered to her.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to get herself to calm down, but questions kept surfacing its way to the tip of her brain. What if she couldn't be adopted today either? What if the judge feels she should be in a different home? What if she never gets adopted? She tried to snap herself out of it. Think positive.
The doors to the courthouse opened, gaining the attention of the four of them. They looked over to see Donald, Jude's dad and Callie's... dad? She didn't know what exactly to call him now. He walked over awkwardly and held a hand up, "Hi."
"Hi, Donald," Lena and Stef said. Jude waved as Callie just looked the other way.
Donald looked at her for a moment, feeling a little hurt, before looking at the set of chairs. Jude patted the one next to him and he walked over and sat down.
"It's nice to see you again," Lena extended her arm out so he could shake her hand.
"You too," Donald shook her hand. He looked over at Callie again, before turning his attention towards Jude. "Are you liking it with them?"
"Yep!" Jude said. "I got my birth certificate today!"
"That's awesome!" Donald smiled.
Callie couldn't look at him. Every time she did, she could feel her anger building and tears wanting to form. She had gone her entire life believing that this man was her father, just to discover years later that it was all just a lie. Was there something else that wasn't being told to her? She felt she wouldn't be surprised if there was.
"Excuse me?" They looked up and saw the court clerk talking to them. "The judge is ready for you."
Slowly, they all stood from their seats. Stef wrapped her arm around Callie's shoulder as Lena did the same with Jude, and the five of them walked inside the courtroom. They sat on the left side, in the first row as Donald sat on the right. The judge entered shortly after.
He looked over the paper as he sat at the podium, "I understand, we had some issues with Callie's adoption last week."
"Yes, your honor," Stef was the one to respond.
The judge looked over to Donald, "And you are her adoptive father?"
Donald nodded, "Yes, your honor. I'm the one on her second birth certificate."
"I understand you have a statement for us?"
Donald walked up. "Yes, I do, your honor," he began. "I met Callie's mother when she was six months old. From the moment I held her, I knew she was mine. When we got married, we were one big happy family. I was there for Callie's first steps and her first words. I taught her how to ride a bike and held her when she got sick, and helped her with her homework. By the time she was older, the idea of trying to explain something like this to her, it just felt silly to me. I was and am her father." He finished his statement and could feel tears pricking at his eyes as each memory came back to him.
"Thank you," the judge said after Donald was finished. "You may take your seat."
Donald did so and did a small smile and another awkward wave in their direction.
The judge took his glasses off and looked over the papers once again. "It seems to me, that Donald Jacob was Callie's father for basically her whole life," he nodded. "But," he said. "There is no signature from Robert Quinn on her birth certificate. Judging by that, it's possible that he doesn't even know Callie exists."
Callie could feel her heart sink as she had a pretty good idea to what was coming next.
"Therefore, the only decision I can make is that until Robert Quinn can be located, Callie's adoption is going to have to be denied." And with that, the judge once again slammed the gavel down.
Callie stared, deniably at the gavel. It now rested silently on the podium, as if it were now in some kind of deep sleep. Her mind was blank; void of any emotion at that point. What more could she feel? She knew this was going to happen.
"Callie?"
She looked up to see Lena, Stef, and Jude now staring at her. They had already stood from their seats to make their way out of the courthouse.
"Love?" Lena placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.
Without saying anything, Callie stood from her seat and began to make her way out of the courtroom. Stef and Lena shared a sad look. This hurt them more than anything. To see the hurt in her eyes while trying to grasp around this screwed up situation. Callie was supposed to be theirs; that was how it was supposed to be from the start. How could something like this be happening?
They got back in the car with Stef in the driver's seat and Lena in the passenger's. Jude and Callie sat in the back. Jude squeezed Callie's hand. Callie gave him a small smile as if letting him know that she was okay.
"How about we stop somewhere and get us some lunch, what do you guys say?" Stef looked to her wife and kids. She wanted to do something to get their minds off of this. For now anyway.
"McDonald's?" Jude perked up.
"Sure," Stef smiled softly at him. "Does that sound good to you, Cal?" She looked at her daughter through the rearview mirror, the sad look on Callie's face was obvious and it broke her heart.
Callie looked over and nodded quickly and turned to look out the window.
Just like Jude had done to Callie, Lena reached over and squeezed Stef's hand. Stef looked over at her and gave her a soft smile and tried to keep her tears at bay. She rubbed her thumb gently on the back of Lena's hand.
"McDonald's is a good choice," Lena turned her head to look at Jude as Stef pulled the car out of the parking space and they made their way out of the parking lot.
...
"So you're not getting adopted until Robert's found?"
Later that day, Callie stood against the counter at "Not a Burger Stand". She had been working there for a whole month now, with the promise of being able to keep up with her school work. She had her hands in the pockets of her apron. They were slow that day much to Callie's dismay. Her coworker, who was also her friend, Daphne, stood beside her as her other friend from school, Wyatt, sat down at the table next to them.
"No. He thinks Robert doesn't know I exist," she told them.
"That's crazy," Daphne responded as she began to fill the ketchup dispensers up.
"Yeah, I guess it is," she looked down at the floor. "But I'll be seventeen soon and then I only have a year until I'm eighteen."
Daphne and Wyatt looked at her. "Are you sure you want to wait until then to get adopted? I mean, won't you be at risk of getting taken out of the home?" Wyatt was the one to ask.
"I mean, why go through that hassle?" Callie said. "I'm sure that will just be a waste of time for us all."
"But don't Stef and Lena want to adopt you?" Daphne asked, as she finished one ketchup dispenser and was going on to the next one.
"I mean, yeah, but this will just be a big let down again." Callie looked down at a stain on her apron. "I don't want to put them through something like this. I'll be fine with waiting," she said as she now leaned her arms up on the counter as she leaned further into it. She glanced to the window as she spoke. Deep down, she knew she was trying to convince herself of that, but didn't want to admit it. She let a fake smile grow on her face as she looked at Wyatt. "I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."