Still working on The Mess That Is Callie & Jude so I've got this little one-shot that I didn't use.

All unedited so be kind.

The storm had started suddenly at midday and come the night it was a huge never ending thunderstorm. Most of the FosterAdams family were able to sleep through it comfortable, all except for one.

"Mom." Stef is woken by the soft voice and she opens her eyes to sit up in the dark and noticed a figure in the doorway. "Mom." He calls again and Stef knows it Jude this time. "Jude love what's wrong?" She asks as she waves her hand to usher him into the room and he comes around to settle on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" She urges again and before he can manage to answer another thunderclap crashes above them and he practically jumps into her arms and Stef is surprised, she had no idea that Jude was still scared of thunder, but judging by his state of foster homes, she's not surprised that no one has ever comforted him through it.

"It's okay love." She whispers as she wraps her arms around him and holds him close. "Do you want to spend the night?" She asks softly and she can tell that Jude is deliberating the idea. "I don't want to seem babyish." He admits as he buries himself against Stef as another crack appears possibly even louder than before. "It's not babyish sweetheart. You can be afraid of the thunder, and you're not the first or the last of your siblings to crawl into bed with me and mama." Stef admits stroking his hair back, from where his head is buried against her shoulder as she remembers three weeks ago when Jesus had crawled between them when he had that stomach bug, which he was lucky not to pass on to the rest of the family.

"So do you want to sit here all night or would you rather crawl into bed?" Stef questions and as the thunder and lighting crash again Jude makes his decision and he scrambles for bed covers and slips down under and beneath them leaving just a small tuft of hair sticking out from the top of the covers and Stef just reaches out to switch the light back off and rest her hand on his back, which she can still feel shaking so she curls an arm around him and after a couple of moments Jude realises what she's doing and he curls up against her chest and lays there comfortably trying to drown out the crashes of thunder with the beating of her heart underneath him and it does help enough for him to drift off between cracks of thunder.

He jumps out of his dreams everytime another one booms overhead but it only takes a sleepy Stef a couple of moments to settle him again and then he's sleeping until the next crack a cycle which last until about 4am when sheer tiredness lets him crash out completely, feeling safer than ever wrapped in his mothers arms.

Short and Sweet?

Hope you enjoyed.

Comments keep me going in this trying time.