The next day, Callie was laying on her bed, holding the jewelry box Robert had given her, turning it over and over in her hands. On the lid, her mother's picture smiled back at her, and she wondered why her mom had cheated on Robert. She thought they'd loved each other, the way she and Brandon did. She would never cheat on Brandon.

She was snapped from her melancholy thoughts by a knock on her door. At first, she thought it was Brandon, just coming home from the doctor's. He had an appointment that day to get his cast off.

"Callie?" a voice called. "It's Robert... dad. May I come in?"

"Yes," she answered, not quite knowing what to think.

Robert entered the room, and sat down on the edge of Callie's bed. He looked down at her with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry, Callie." He gently patted her hand. "I wish things were different."

Callie regarded him as her eyes grew misty. "I'm sorry, too."

He nodded solemnly. "I guess... now I know the real reason why Colleen broke up with me. She was..." He sighed without finishing his sentence.

"Was my mom a bad person?" Callie quietly asked.

"No," he said firmly, shaking his head. "She wasn't. And I'll always love her. But at least now I know that the reason we didn't last wasn't because I didn't fight hard enough."

"She loved you, too," Callie told him. "I know she did. Because she named me after you, and she loved me."

She lifted her jewelry box from her bed. Inside, the earrings Robert had given her rattled in the empty space. "I guess... you'll want these back?"

"No, baby," Robert sighed. "They're your things. I want you to have them." Tears shone in his eyes as he pushed the box back toward her. "Callie, these past few weeks have been wonderful, because I got the privilege to know you. You're an amazing, beautiful young woman. Anyone would be proud to be your father. And I wish I was, honey."

"I wish you were, too," Callie replied.

"Maybe we're not biologically related," he told her. "But I'll always think of you as my little girl. And I hope you'll still be able to think of me as a father-figure, because I've come to love you very much. And this doesn't change that."

"Lena says DNA doesn't make a family. Love does."

"Well, Lena is right," he replied. "You'll always be part of the family, honey. Always."

Callie nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I love you, daddy."

Robert looked at her tearfully, then took her into his arms. "I love you too, sweetie," he whispered. "Always and always." He pressed his lips to her forehead and gave her a tender kiss. Then, he brushed her tears away with his thumb.

"You know, Callie," he added. "You're a lucky girl. You have this whole houseful of people who love you so much. I think your mom would have been happy to see you here."

"I think so, too," Callie replied.

She walked Robert downstairs, and saw him out. After he was gone, she went into the kitchen, where Lena was cooking dinner, and Jude was setting the table. She took each of them into a hug.

"What did we do to deserve all this love?" Lena teased, as Callie embraced her.

"Nothing," Callie replied. "I was just think about how lucky I am to have you."

Just then, she heard Brandon come through the front door and burst into the kitchen, followed by Stef. He pulled her into a hug, and kissed her. It still felt strange to embrace him him front of the family, but it was wonderful. "How did your appointment go?" she asked.

"Let me show you," he smiled. He slowly raised his hand, the one that was injured, and touched her cheek, cupping her chin. Then, he dropped his arm, and took her hand in his, curling his fingers around hers.

Callie gazed down at their linked hands in amazement, then burst into tears. She threw her arms around him, and felt him pull his fingers through her hair.

"I love you, Princess."

Callie lifted her head and smiled. "I'll never get tired of hearing that."

He nodded, his eyes shining. "Then I'll say it again."

The End- thanks for sticking with this story... sorry about all the changes. I really need to stop second guessing myself. Love to everyone who enjoyed it