Protecting Your Own

Fighting Back

Protecting Your Own Part 6 - Fighting Back

Summary - After Brandon's arrest, the Fosters band together to fight for him. Also Lena makes a surprising revelation to Stef.

Disclaimer - I didn't create most of the characters, with the exception of a few, in this story. They are the property of Bradley Bredeweg, Peter Paige and ABC Family. All infringements are unintentional.

The alarm clock on the dresser in Callie and Mariana's room buzzed at 5:40 am. Callie, who had woke up earlier, immediately walked over to turn the alarm off. Then she took a quick look at Mariana, who was still asleep and balled up on her bed. Callie felt so bad for Mariana that she had to see Brandon being arrested last night. Seeing Mariana crying afterwards was ingrained in Callie's mind and still bothered her. However Callie had little time to worry about and decided to get ready for the first day of school. She went to the bathroom for the usual morning activities of brushing her teeth, getting in a shower and then drying herself off, which took 15 minutes. After she finished drying herself off, Callie then put on a new black underset, an old t-shirt and pajamas before leaving the bathroom. Before going to her and Mariana's room, Callie took a quick glance in Brandon's room and saw Jesus sitting at his desk. She immediately went over to Brandon's room.

"Hey." Callie said.

"Oh hey Callie." Jesus replied. "I just wanted to come in here. This seems like a bad dream and i'm waiting for Brandon to come out at any moment to tell me to get away from his desk or not to hog the bathroom, but it's so hard that he's not here."

Callie felt terrible for Jesus, who was trying his best to hide how hurt he was emotionally about Brandon's arrest, but she could tell that he was upset about it. Callie knew after living with the Fosters for a while how strong a bond the twins have with Brandon and it was tough for her seeing them hurting without their older brother. "This really sucks." Jesus said in disgust.

"I know that it sucks about what happened last night and i feel the same way too," Callie said. "but you can't let this get you down. Your moms and Mike are doing what they can to help Brandon and before you know it, he'll be back here complaining about not having any hot water."

Jesus laughed a little at Callie's last comment. "I guess i better get my shower while there's still some hot water." Jesus said as he stood up. "Thanks for listening."

"No problem." Callie replied as she gave Jesus a quick reassuring pat on the back before he headed off to the bathroom.

Callie then headed back to her and Mariana's room to get dressed. As she changed into one of her new outfits, Callie noticed Mariana sitting up for the first time in a few hours. After Callie finished putting on her jeans, she went to sit down next to Mariana, whose eyes were dry, but red after all the crying she did. She didn't know what to say to Mariana and could only put her hand on top of Mariana's.

"I don't know if i can go to school while Brandon's stuck in jail." Mariana said.

"I know how you're feeling right now." Callie said. "Believe me i've had many days where all i wanted to do was to stay in bed, but something inside me said to get up and go out to face the day as best as you can."

Callie's words immediately began to sink in with Mariana. As bad as her problem was, she knew that Callie had faced a lot worse and immediately begin to feel a bit rejuvenated.

"Feel better?" Callie asked.

"I'm starting to." Mariana replied.

As Callie gave Mariana a hug, she saw Jude standing in the door holding a glass of water. "Hey buddy."