A/N: This is an AU I thought of when re-watching season 2. What if Callie wasn't at Helen's for just one night? What if she were there longer? I'm very happy with how the TV show played out, but I always thought that with the system being what it is, it was very easy for them to get Callie back. What if it hadn't been that easy? Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

When the doorbell rang Callie Jacob didn't think too much about it. She knew Jesus had invited Emma over to help him study, so she figured she'd decided to come by early. Or maybe Jesus had invited her for dinner. She didn't really care. But when Jesus had come into the dining room, looking worried and nervous, her stomach dropped as it did every time she knew something bad was about to happen.

"A social worker's here."

Those four words were enough to cause bile to rise up in her throat, but she kept a brave face on for Jude. The last thing he needed to do was worry about her.

The family walked into the foyer, Callie in the back, doing her best to blend in. She knew it was a futile endeavor. She always managed to stick out in the families she stayed with.

"Can we help you?" Stef asked, crossing her arms defensively. She looked like she was preparing for a fight. For some reason the gesture made Callie want to burst into tears.

"I'm really sorry about this," the woman began, looking apologetic. "My name's Elaine, and it's come to our attention that your license to foster has expired."

Stef and Lena looked at each other quizzically before turning back to the social worker. "We were never notified."

"We were under the impression that you were in the process of adopting your foster children, Jude and Callie. And this morning we learned that Callie's adoption was denied?" the woman phrased it like a question, as though afraid any negative word she uttered would cause a fight she wasn't prepared to have.

"For now, but we sent the abandonment papers to her biological father and are just waiting for him to sign them. Why? What does any of this have to do with you?"

Lena placed a hand gently on Stef's arm to calm her. Everyone knew perfectly well what was about to happen.

"Well, with the adoption having been denied and your foster license currently expired, I'm afraid I have no choice but to remove Callie from the home."

Callie took a deep breath. She knew what had been coming but still felt as though she'd been punched in the gut. How could this be happening? She was supposed to be a member of this family by now. But of course she wasn't. Because that wasn't how the universe worked. Stef and Lena hadn't renewed their license because they hadn't thought they needed to and now Callie was about to be separated from Jude. From her family.

"I'm sorry, what? How can you just barge in here, in the middle of dinner I might add, and tell us that we aren't fit to have our daughter in this house? We are going to adopt her any day, and she'll legally be ours. How can you say she can't be here?" Stef exploded. She shrugged off Lena's arm and began pacing the room, something Callie knew she did when she was angry and frustrated.

Elaine's eyes finally came to rest upon Callie, and the girl felt her cheeks flame from the unwanted attention. "I'm sorry," she repeated, "but the law states that foster children cannot reside in a house without a fostering license. My advice would be to go to the courts first thing in the morning and get an emergency extension until your license can be renewed. Until then, I have to take Callie."

"No," an unexpected voice snapped suddenly. Everyone turned to find Jude standing in the center of everyone, his arms crossed in imitation of Stef's, looking angrier than Callie had ever seen him.

"Jude…" Lena began, but the younger boy cut her off.

"No, you don't. She's my sister and just as much a member of this family, so you don't have any right to take her away! We're a package deal, we've always been, so you can't split us up."

Callie sighed. "Jude, she's right. Technically, I'm still in the foster system, so I have to do what she says. I'll be fine, though. I always am."

Jude turned to look at her, his eyes full of unshed tears. "But it's not fair. It's not fair that I got adopted and you didn't."

"I know," Callie admitted, feeling her own unshed tears fighting their way to the surface. "But it is what it is. I'll be fine, Jude. Okay? I promise. I'll be back before you know it, and they'll never separate us again."

It was obvious to Callie that her little brother wanted to say something more, but they looked at each other in silent understanding, and Callie knew he'd come to accept the situation.

"I'll go pack." Callie turned and headed upstairs before she had to endure any more pitying stares from the foster family that had come to mean so much to her.

She was just finishing up throwing some random clothes into her ratty blue duffel bag when Mariana stormed into their room. "I can't believe this is happening! It's not fair that they deny your adoption and then send you away. Don't they realize they're only hurting the kids they're supposed to be helping?"

"No one said it was fair," Callie mumbled. She was careful to zip her duffel bag closed and give herself a second to compose herself before turning to face her foster sister. For some reason the whole situation made her embarrassed and ashamed. Everyone in this family legally belonged to each other except for her, and even though they kept reassuring her she was a member of the family, at times like this she was painfully reminded of just how much that wasn't the case.

"Moms will get you back. There's no way they're going to let the system just tear you away from us." Mariana seemed to be reassuring herself more than Callie.

Callie shrugged. "Okay. I'm gonna go down before Elaine comes up to make sure I'm still here. But I'll see you around."

Mariana nodded, looking uncertain, and the two embraced each other, leaving the unspoken settle between them in silence.

Finally Callie came down with Mariana trailing sadly behind her. Callie felt the stares of the Adams Foster family all around her, and she suddenly wanted to snap at them to stop. She felt uncomfortable enough about it, and didn't need to feel worse than she already did. The only person she wanted to see was Jude, and he'd shut himself in his room.

As if reading her mind, Stef spoke up. "He's just a little upset, sweets. He'll come around. But you know how much you mean to him. Besides, it'll only be for a little while. We are going to do everything in our power to make sure you come back as soon as possible. Tomorrow, if I have anything to say about it."

Callie managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Stef. And Lena. For everything." As she turned to follow the social worker out of the house, she hoped it wasn't too obvious that she didn't believe them. She'd heard too many empty promises to believe another one. If there was one thing she was more certain of than anything, it was that the system liked to set up as many roadblocks as possible between Callie and her happiness, and if that included Stef, Lena, and the rest of the family, she knew she wasn't coming back any time soon.

She stared at her lap, refusing to accept any of the pitying looks the rest of her foster family continued to shoot her way, as she sat in the back of Elaine's plain blue Honda Civic. They drove away, and Callie finally let the despair wash over her as she was once again reminded that she was no one's daughter, and never would be.