Scarlett Johansson | One-Shots (1)

Hitchhiking Pt. 3

-3 months later-

Scarlett:
After laying on my back for an hour after waking up, Callie finally stirs. She had a rough night last night... again. So to make her feel better the best I can, I held her close and let her fall asleep snuggled into my side with her head on my chest.

"You know, this is the first time I had someone like you to be vulnerable with," Callie's soft, cracked voice says, not moving from her comfy spot.

"Someone like me?"

"No. I- That- I just meant like-"

"Relax," I lightly chuckle. "It's okay." My fingers on her back move in slow patterns and she lets out a tiny breath. "How are you doing?"

"I'm tired," she whispers.

"Well, you can't stay in bed all day, unfortunately. So come on." I slip out from under Callie, leaving her to lay with her face in her pillow.

"What do we have to do today?" she mumbles into the cotton.

"I have work, we have a dinner to go with everyone, and game night is after that."

"We? I'm not a part of the cast." As much as her words seem strict, her tone is sad. It hurts to hear her in so much pain.

"Yes." I come back over and sit on the edge of her bed. "We have a dinner to go to. Chris went out of his way to make sure you were going. So get up."

She groans in response and pulls the covers back over her. Not wanting her to be alone in the trailer all day so sulk, I grab the blankets with both hands and pull them off of her.

"Noooo!" she whines, trying to pull them back against my strength. She's strong. I'll give it to her.

"Fine." I abruptly release the blanket and she sinks back into the bed and pulls the blanket back over her head so she's just a ball under the sheets. "I'll check on you later then. Feel free to be social today. But you are going to dinner and game night."

"No."

"Yes." I rip the top of the blanket from her grip and pull it down so just her head is exposed. "Don't suffocate yourself." I kiss her head and leave for work which is just a few feet away from the trailer.

-

"How's Callie doing?" Jeremy asks while we watch another scene without us being shot.

"She's struggling. Didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

"It's gotta be tough. Not having people to call your family. Well, real family. We're like her adopted family," he finishes with a chuckle.

"Yeah," I nod. "Adopted..." I mumble to myself.

"Did you say something?"

"Hm? No. No, it's fine."

I spend the rest of the day thinking about my conversation with Jeremy. We're Callie's adopted family. She's been living with us for almost five months now and we've all fallen in love with her. We treat her like our own. Me especially. She's practically my daughter. So why not make it official?

-

"Good to see you aren't in bed anymore," I say when I walk into my trailer to Callie sitting on the couch with a bag of chips. She half-smiles and goes back to her phone.

I catch myself staring at her. I'm caught up in thoughts about the conversation earlier. As I stare, I find myself picturing Callie as my daughter. My real, adopted daughter. Callie Johansson. It has a nice ring to it. I imagine talking about mother-daughter things, picking her up when she falls (metaphorically speaking), sending her off to college if that's what she wants, watching her grow up, and raising her as my own. The last time I was this sure of something was when I was a kid and knew I wanted to be an actress.

"What?" Callie asks when she notices my gaze.

"Nothing." I shoot her a smile. "Get dressed. We have to go to dinner."

Dinner is no different than other cast dinners we've been to. Everyone is obviously super sweet with Callie, including her like they're best friends. It melts my heart but I'm ready to go "angry momma bear" on anyone who is anything but sweet with her.

On the way out of the restaurant, I'm stopped by Lizzie. Callie is walking with Evans and Robby so I'm fine leaving her to walk out without me.

"How are you doing?" Liz asks.

"What do you mean? I'm good."

"Uh-huh."

"What?"

"You didn't talk too much at dinner. What's going on in that head of yours?"

My smile grows big and I wait until everyone else is in their cars or talking amongst themselves. "I'm going to adopt Callie."

"Wait what? Seriously?"

"Do you not approve?"

"No. I do! That's so amazing! You should definitely do it!"

"I know she's in need of a family. A real one. And I love her so much. She already feels like my daughter. I want to make it official. I want her to be mine."

"That's so cute! I'll be Auntie Liz!"

Liz hugs me tight before we part ways for the night.

-

Back in the trailer, my nerves are through the roof.

"Hun, we should talk," I announce before Callie can leave the kitchen area for bed.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all. Here, come sit." I gesture to the kitchen booth so we sit on opposite sides.

"What's up...?"

"Do you like it here?"

"Yeah. I love it here."

"Can you tell me honestly how you're doing?"

"I..." She breaks eye contact to look at her fiddling hands on the table in front of her. "I'm having a hard time. It's hard to think about not having a family, you know?" I nod sympathetically. "I thought family was supposed to be forever but here I am... Without a family."

"What if we changed that?"

Callie looks back up to meet my eyes. Her eyes are a little glossy and her eyebrows are furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

I take her hands in mine which confuses her even more. "Callie, the day we picked you up in Arizona was the best day of my life and I didn't realize that until recently. I'm so glad we found you. Not only did I help you to your feet but I found my missing piece."

Callie's eyes fight to let tears escape. "W-What are you talking about?"

"I want you to be a part of my family. Callie, I would like to adopt you."

"Are you serious? Like for real?"

"Yes."

Finally, the flood of tears comes. Tears stream from her eyes so quickly that I barely have time to process it. When I do, I instantly rush to her side of the booth and embrace her in a tight hug.

"Yes," she sobs.

"Yes?"

"I want that."

My smile grows huge once again. I hug her tighter and let a tear of my own fall. I can't wait to live the rest of my life with Callie by my side. My soon-to-be daughter, Callie Johansson.