Hello! I've started watching the Fosters on ABC family and absolutely loved it! i loved the instant bond between Callie and Brandon and I can't help but ship them as a couple! They would be perfect together! 3 3 In this story Jude doesn't exist (i love him so much, but don't see how i can fit him in :). Callie never went to Juvie, she was placed in the foster system after her stepfather abused her so badly she ended up in the hospital. Hope you enjoy! xxx Lottie

Callie's POV

The brightness scared me. The white of the walls, the fluorescent lighting, the steady beeping of the machines. The hospital has always been my least favorite place, too many tainted childhood memories took place in this prison. My eyes adjusted to the brightness, my head clearing out of the fog of sleep. I took in the empty room, and a feeling of relief rushed through me when I realized it was just that- empty. He wasn't here. No need to lie, to make up some ridiculous accident that I had which would explain my injuries. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the pillow. Cold. It was cold here. I shivered a little in my hospital gown. Footsteps approaching on the linoleum sent me upright, subconsciously preparing myself for his blows.

"Callie? Are you awake?" I didn't recognize the voice of the woman who leaned in my doorway. Her red hair was pulled up hastily, her eyes tired and red. I stared at my feet, not answering.

"You are Callie right?" I raised my eyes to meet her green ones, and nodded slowly.

"Hi. I'm Mary-Anne. Can I come in?" I nodded once again, and she crossed over to the armchair next to me, pulling papers out of her bag. "I have something I need to talk to you about. You're being placed in Child Protective Services, do you know what that is?"

"Yes. It's Foster Care." I said, trying to keep my voice even. I pulled my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on my battered knee. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, a child can't be clumsy enough to justify sixteen different hospital-worthy injuries by herself.

"You're a smart girl Callie, you know this isn't your fault. We'll be placing you with a temporary family for now, but because of your peculiar situation, it might be awhile until you see something permanent. Do you understand?" I stared at her with an unbreakable gaze, but inside, my head was racing. I had mastered the art of acting strong in front of others, in that house it was act strong or be hit. My heart pounded in my ears, I was terrified. All I had ever wanted was to get away from that house, to get away from him. But I feel so alone. Alone and empty.

"I understand." My whispers filled the silence between us.

xxx

Callies POV Continued

There I was again, standing in front of the house that haunted my nightmares. The dying brown grass needed to be cut, the chain link fence broken in several places. The small house was sagging and it smelt like beer. I hated that smell. I suppressed the urge to throw up as I walked into my room. If you could call it that. The tiny bed was shoved in the corner, with a basic cotton blanket thrown over it haphazardly. Less than two inches away was a bureau, with only one drawer, that was stained with unrecognizable substances. I nervously tugged at my locket. It was the only thing of value I had. It was fake gold, a heart shaped locket on a rusting chain, with a picture of my mother inside. How I missed her. After she left, everything fell apart. The bruises started getting bigger, hurting more, the absences from school more frequent and noticeable. I left my friends, I couldn't trust anyone anymore. Mary-Anne stood behind me, obviously appalled at the entire situation. She handed me an olive canvas duffle to place my stuff in, a step up from the normal plastic trash bag. I transferred the piles of clothes and toiletries from my drawer to the bag, not that there was much to transfer. A couple of shirts, a couple of sweaters, some underwear, two pairs of jeans, some shorts and a pair of leggings. My running gear was the only thing I had ever asked for, and I piled in the spandex/sports bra/tank top combination. All secondhand. I reached around the space, grabbing two paperback books, and my stuffed bear. It wasn't much, but when you're trying to be invisible, you don't ask for anything. I grabbed my spiral notebook and folder from school and shoved it in there too. Might as well.

"Do you need a moment?" Her voice cut through the stale air with agitation, like she needed to be somewhere else.

"No," I replied, looking around one last time. "Let's just go."

xxx

Brandons POV

Another kid. There was going to be another kid in this house in three hours. Lena and Steph were staring us down from their usual place at the head of the breakfast table. Marianna was doing her nails, this time a vibrant blue, the obnoxious fumes filling the kitchen air. She didn't seem to care at all. Jesus was jumpy, he hadn't taken his pill yet, and just wanted to leave so he could meet his friends at the skatepark. Neither of them looked happy that there was going to be another living, breathing human being under this roof.

"Just remember, Callie's had a rough life. She's been forced to give up her childhood, and from what I heard from CPS, It wasn't a very good one. All I know is that her mom passed away and she was placed in foster care recently after an incident with her stepfather. Just please, try to be nice to her." Steph was talking about our new boarder, Callie her name was. Lena clinked her nails against the side of her coffee cup in a rhythm, thinking.

"Sure-Whatever." Marianna responded, "When can I go to the mall? I don't want to spend my Saturday afternoon at home." Steph let out a deep sigh as Jesus started getting jumpier.

"You're all free to-", before she could finish her sentence they were both off, Jesus taking off on his skateboard, scratching the wood floors once again, and Marianna instantly on her cell phone, not even messing up her polish. I just sat there, watching the unfolding chaos.

"How long do you think she'll stay?" I asked, being the only one left in the kitchen. I raised my eyes to meet the blue one's of Steph, my biological mom, and the brown one's of Lena, my newly found other mom. Lena and Steph exchanged a look. They hesitated before responding.

"We don't know," Lena started, and we heard the load oak door slam in the wake of the twins. "She needs a temporary home. It will be awhile until they find something more permanent."

"Don't worry Mom," I said, rising from the table and clearing the plates, "I'll help her adjust."

"This is why we love you." Steph said, patting my shoulder. "Just don't push too hard."

*A couple hours later*

Marianna and Jesus were late again. We were all supposed to be home by seven to meet Callie once she got here, but per usual, I was the only one home on time. My phone rang, Talya was calling. I slid to the left to ignore her call. Lately she was being really clingy and jealous. She was suffocating me. Steph, Lena and I were standing by the door, waiting. The crunch of a car's tires on the gravel alerted us to their presence. Steph reached down to turn the door handle just as a knock echoed through the room. She opened the door allowing the two unfamiliar people in.

"Hi," a tired, middle-aged, redhead started, "I'm Mary-Anne with CPS, we talked on the phone earlier?" She stuck her hand out and shook with my moms.

"Yes, Yes. Nice to see you. And you must be Callie?" Lena replied. We all looked toward Callie, and it took a great deal of self control not to cry out. She was looking down at her feet, her shaggy brown hair partially obscuring her face. Her brown eyes were scared, her hand clutching her bag so tightly her knuckles were white. The first thing I noticed was the bruise covering the entire side of her jawbone. Then the busted lip. Then the bruises on her tiny wrists, black and blue and ugly. At the sound of her name, Callie tilted her head up and nodded towards Lena, putting up an effort, but only able to manage a small half-smile.

"Hello." Her voice was strong and confident, the complete opposite of what she had looked like when she first arrived.

"This is our son Brandon, you will be staying in the extra bed in his room." Lena started. " We start dinner at 7:30 and can give you all the stuff you need to know then. Brandon, honey, why don't you help Callie settle in and we'll start dinner?" She turned to Callie once more and added, "Callie, know you're safe here. Welcome to our home." Lena reached out towards Callie, pulling her into a hug that was mainly one-sided. "Well see you in a few."

xxx

Callie's POV

I stiffened when Lena touched me. My entire body hurt, the morphine was not enough to stop the pain. They seemed nice enough. I didn't know they were lesbians, but its not like that matters or anything. As they said, it's only temporary. I tugged at the gold locket once more, as they left the room and Mary-Anne left the house. She could not wait to get out of here. Once again, alone. Brandon smiled at me, reaching out his hand to shake mine.
"Hey there," he said, his eyes shining. They looked kind. I hesitated for a second, before taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm Brandon. I guess were gonna be bunkmates.."

"Hey. I'm Callie. And I guess we will." I said clearly. I wasn't weak, and I sure as hell wasn't going to act like I was. He motioned for me to follow him upstairs. Walking up, I passed all the family pictures, on vacation, in the park, some with the other two kids that weren't here yet. It was nice, seeing that some people in this world were actually able to have a family that didn't fall apart.

"Here we are," Brandon said, gesturing around to his room. I spotted a guitar in the corner, I made a mental note to ask to borrow it in a couple days. "This is your bed." He pointed over to one in the opposite corner, covered in new yellow sheets.

"Thanks." I said, dropping my bag on the floor and sitting on the bed. He was looking at me again.

"I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable that were sharing a room. It was the only room with an extra bed." He said bashfully, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Nah. It's totally fine." I said, allowing myself to give him a little half smile. He could tell I had my wall up, he could tell I was guarded. I could see it in his eyes, see the way he was trying to make conversation without stepping on a minefield.

"You can ask, ya know." I said after a while, as Brandon moved over to his bed, which was perpendicular to mine. He looked over at me puzzled.

"Ask what?" His curly brown hair flopped on his forehead, covering his wrinkled line that showed his confusion.

"I see you staring. I'm not oblivious. You can ask me why I'm all beat up." I looked over at him, tucking my knees to my chest. Brandon's face was flushed, his flustering expression evident.

" But are you gonna tell me?" He asked, meeting my eyes. I looked at my feet again. I felt strange around Brandon. Like I didn't need to have my guard up, like I didn't have to be so cold. But I was know it's temporary. I know that if I open up and trust him he's just going to leave and hurt me. I can't let anyone do that, not after what he did. I looked over at Brandon again. I am strong. I can't avoid it forever.

xxx

Brandon's POV

I heard Callie take in an audible breath. I mentally swore at myself for not remembering what Lena had said earlier.. Don't push too hard. But I had a strange feeling about Callie. I had a feeling like I could trust her, like she could trust me. I met Callie's pain filled brown eyes with mine. Just from her eyes I could tell she was strong. I could tell she had gone through so much more than anyone should have to.

"Well-", her voice rang out clear, "Long story short it was my step dad." She looked over at me again, as she was playing with the zipper on her shoes. "I reminded him too much of my mother, so after she died, he became depressed. Started drinking, then taking it out on me. He started a couple years ago, just hitting me where people wouldn't see it, so they wouldn't ask questions. But as the time passed he grew sloppy, hitting me all the time, in places that could be seen easily. A couple nights ago would have been their ten year anniversary. He absolutely lost it. Started beating me senseless. It only stopped when he passed out drunk. They took me to the hospital, to CPS, and now to here..." She trailed off. I could tell it was hard for her to tell the story. I started to reply when Steph's voice rang out and called us down to dinner. I got up off the bed and reached my hand out to Callie.

"Hey, I know you don't know me at all, but opening up must have taken a lot of strength. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Come on, lets go eat." I felt her small hand close in mine as I pulled her slight frame off the bed.