What if…

Disclaimer: ABC Family is credited with the basic storyline and the wonderful characters, things you haven't seen on the show, that's all me!

Summary: Something stopped Callie that night and she never left the Foster home. Can she assimilate into their family lifestyle or will it all be too much for her.

Notes: Another day another chapter. I'm happy that there still seems to be love for my story and that people are enjoying where I am going with it. We have a nice fluffy chapter coming here so I hope everyone enjoys it!

IMPORTANT: I'm using my own storyline, from my story Truth, of how the Liam saga played out in my other story Truth, it's not that I didn't like how the show handled it, I just kind of like how everything was finalized in my version and it's where my mind is when I'm writing so it would be too difficult to turn my mind off.

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"Alright, alright, everyone settle down," Stef said, motioning with her hands for everyone to sit down. They were gathered around their kitchen table with a variety of board games in front of them. "Callie, Jude, you see anything you want to play?" She said, trying to give the game night choice to one of the new family members.

Jude and Callie looked over their choices; there were a lot of games they didn't even recognize and others that they didn't know how to play.

"I don't know how to play any of these," Jude said, speaking softly. He seemed embarrassed by the fact and lowered his head to hide how upset he was. Callie threw her arm around his shoulders to comfort him, making him lift his head and face the family. The fact that neither of them were familiar with the games showed the Foster family what kind of homes they had been growing up in and what they had missed out on.

"That's okay, we can describe them and after you pick one we'll explain the rules and stuff," Jesus said, not wanting Jude to be upset. "This one here, Things, it's like…they give a statement and you get to finish it on these little papers, then we take turns trying to guess who wrote each one. It's also a fun way to get to know each other too, because you have to try and get into each other's heads to win."

"And this one," Mariana cut in, "this one here is called Malarkey. In this game they give us like a question and then everyone has to think of what they think the answer could be. Then one person is given the right answer and we each take turns giving our answer, not knowing who has the right one. And we vote on who we think has the right one."

"Taboo is another one we have here," Brandon said, taking a turn. "In this game there are two teams. Each team has one person go at a time and they have to try and get their other teammates to say a word on the top of a card, without saying any of the other words on the card."

"Hear any you guys like?" Lena asked her eyes sad for the Jacob's children. The more she learned about them, the more she thought that they had been denied a childhood that they deserved.

"Maybe…the first one?" Jude said, unsure of his choice.

"Yes!" Jesus said, excitedly. "That's my favorite!" He came over and messed with Jude's hair, "great choice bro."

Jude smiled up at Callie who smiled back at him. She loved seeing him that happy and excited. As much as she tried to keep that smile on his face in the past, she had seen it less and less as they went from foster home to foster home. She hoped that she would be seeing it more often now that they might be adopted by the Foster family.

"Alright, everyone grab a strip of paper and a pencil," Stef said, getting the game supplies out of the box and helping pass things out.

"I'll read the first card!" Mariana volunteered. Once she saw that everyone was set up. "Alright, so the card says, 'Things…you shouldn't keep in your pocket.' So everyone write down their answer, fold their paper up, and pass it over to me. Then Mama gets a chance to guess first after I read them off," Mariana said, explaining the directions as well as starting the game.

Jude giggled from his spot next to Callie and she wondered what he was writing as she tried to think of something to put on her own slip of paper. Eventually she thought of something and was the last person to hand in her paper.

"Alright listen up everyone. Things you shouldn't keep in your pockets: milk, Mama's keys, anything you aren't willing to lose when wash is done, elephants, more pockets, nacho cheese, and finally headphones," Mariana read, laughing after a few of the choices. "Mama?"

"Alright, I would have to say 'Mama's Keys' would be you Stef, because I hope you learned that lesson pretty well after last time," Lena said, referencing the other day when Lena had been going crazy looking for her keys only to learn that they were in Stef's pocket.

"You got me," Stef laughed, leaning over and kissing Lena, unaffected by the fact that she was just knocked out of that round.

"Okay…and now I'm going to say that 'Milk' was… Jesus?" Lena guessed.

"Nope!" He said excitedly. "So Mama gets a point for guessing what Mom wrote and knocking her out of the round. Now it's Brandon's turn to guess because Mom can't guess when she's knocked out," he explained to Jude who nodded to show his understanding. Callie was sitting next to him, soaking up the rules as well because she had never played the game either.

"So…I'm going to guess that Mama said 'Anything you aren't willing to lose when wash is done,'" he said, pointing to Lena as he guessed.

"I guess that was kind of a giveaway. If only my children stuck to the chore chart maybe that one wouldn't have been so easy," Lena laughed.

"Point for Brandon and he guesses again," Mariana said.

"Can you repeat what's left?" Brandon asked, trying to remember what was what. The two he was sure of had been taken care of, now he had to try and figure out what his siblings had written.

"Sure, we have: Milk, elephants, more pockets, nacho cheese, and headphones," she read off.

"Okay…so 'Milk' isn't Jesus…is 'Elephants' yours Jesus?" Brandon guessed.

"I guess everyone is trying to get me tonight. But the answer is no dear brother," Jesus laughed, happy to still be in the game. "Your turn little guy," he said, referencing Jude was had a pensive look on his face.

"I think 'headphones' is…Brandon?" he said, unsure of himself but thinking that headphones fit for Brandon because he was always complaining that his headphones were tangled from being in his pocket.

"You got me," Brandon said, smiling to show that he was alright with being knocked out.

"Good job baby," Callie said, kissing his forehead.

"You're definitely 'more pockets,'" he said to his sister, smirking as she rolled her eyes and nodded. "Remember that pair of jeans that you threw out because there were pockets inside your pockets?" he asked.

"Sure do," she replied, laughing a little at the memory.

"Jude's knocked two out, all that's left is Jesus and himself, and mine of course but you can't guess mine because I'm the reader. So Jude, can you guess Jesus'?" Mariana asked, looking over the three answers that were left having a pretty good idea who was who.

"Well…the only thing Jesus could be is 'Nacho Cheese'. Someone already guessed 'Milk' for him and I know which one is mine," Jude said with a smile, proud that he figured it all out.

"You got me, so that means Mariana was 'Milk' and Jude, you were 'Elephants?" Jesus asked.

"Yup, they just shouldn't be there," he said matter-of-factly, causing the rest of the family to laugh.

"Very true Sweets," Stef said.

After the game ended, with Jude beating everyone by double digits, they retired to the den to pick a movie.

"Callie, since Jude picked the game, maybe you could pick the movie while mama and I make popcorn for the group," Stef said, pointing over to their library of DVDs.

"Um…I don't know," Callie said, biting her bottom lip. She didn't want to pick something that no one liked. They had such a great night so far and she just wanted to make sure that the night ended as perfectly as it started; she wanted this memory of the Foster family to be pristine.

"Anything you want," Brandon coached quietly. He could see that Callie didn't want to pick a movie but she had to start putting herself out there with the family without worrying that they wouldn't like her choices or that her choices would affect their feelings about her.

"Okay…how about…Narnia?" She said questioningly, holding up the first of the Narnia movies.

"Awesome," Mariana said from her spot on the couch.

"She loves the guy who plays Peter in the movie," Jesus said, making Mariana throw a pillow at him while yelling for him to shut up. Their antics put Callie at ease and she smiled to herself as she loaded it into the DVD player.

After the title menu was playing on the screen she stood up and looked for a place to sit during the movie. Jesus and Mariana had both claimed the spots by the arms of the sofa, Jude was curled up on the cozy chair right next to the couches (surprising Callie because normally he liked to sit with her when they watched movies together), and Brandon was next to Jesus. That left three possible spots but Callie knew, from pervious movie nights, that Stef and Lena normally got the other two comfortable chairs by the kitchen because they were always up getting more popcorn or drinks for the kids. So really, the only spot left was on the couch next to Mariana and Brandon. Remembering what he had said to her earlier about being whatever she needed him to be, she moved over to the open spot on the couch and curled herself up there.

"Callie, did Mariana sway your choice," Stef said as soon as she saw the title screen for Narnia on the TV.

"No I did not! Callie picked that one all on her own!" Mariana protested from her spot, sticking her tongue out at Jesus when he snickered the Stef's comment.

"Please tell me we don't have another one in love with Peter Pevensie," Lena laughed, causing the room to burst out in laughter at Mariana's put out look.

Callie laughed along with the family, not sharing the real reason she loved the movie so much. She couldn't help but love the family aspect of the movie and how the siblings fought for each other and would die to protect each other.

"Have we had enough picking on Mariana? Because if so, I'd like to watch the movie," Mariana said, groaning but still smiling.

"Alright kids, pass the popcorn down. Make sure everyone gets some, Jude did you get a bowl?" Stef said, passing bowls of popcorn down the line, trying to make sure each kid had their own bowl because when they didn't, there tended to be sharing issues.

"Alright, let's start the movie. And everyone remember Mom's no talking rule!" Lena said, knowing how much Stef hated when people talked at the movies, it was the number one reason they didn't go out to watch movies anymore.

Halfway through the movie Callie was intently watching the movie. She was so into the movie that she unconsciously reached down to her bowl only to find it empty. Brandon noticed her confused reaction to her lack of popcorn and quietly poured some of his into her bowl. He would have offered to share his bowl, but he was still working on the whole giving Callie space thing so he decided to just give her some of his.

"Thanks," she whispered, picking up a kernel and popping it into her mouth.

"Anytime, what are brothers for?" he whispered back a little too loud, causing his mom to shush him loudly.

Callie couldn't fight the smile on her face, looking around the room at everyone sharing seats and popcorn, she truly felt like a family for the first time in a very long time.

Callie woke up to someone shaking her shoulder. She didn't remember falling asleep during the movie and was actually very surprised that she did considering the fact that it was one of her favorites. She guessed that the lack of sleep recently had worn her out and her body shut itself down to allow itself some recovery time.

"Bed time sleepyhead," Mariana said, shaking her shoulder again because she wasn't sure it Callie was truly awake just yet.

Callie looked up at her and slowly things started to come back to her. Her body stiffened at the realization, if she was looking up at Mariana, who was shaking her awake, who was she leaning on.

Whipping her body around she almost smacked her head into Brandon's as she attempted to move away. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on him and she felt terrible for doing it. She knew that he was trying so hard to follow her lead on everything and she felt like she had led him on by falling asleep on his shoulder.

"It's alright Callie," he said, raising his hands in surrender. He was worried that he had made her uncomfortable by letting her sleep through the movie like he did but he didn't have the heart to wake her up when she looked so tired. "No harm, no foul."

She just nodded, looking sorry.

"Come on, Jesus already took Jude up to bed and the moms are cleaning up in the kitchen," Mariana said, trying to pull her to her feet.

"I'm up," Callie said, lifting herself up and away from Brandon. "Okay, let's go," she said to Mariana.

"Night Brandon, night moms," Mariana called out.

"Night," Callie called out as well. Both girls ascended the stairs, hearing replies from Brandon and the moms as they went.

As Callie lay in bed that night, she found herself unable to sleep again. Even though she had gotten about twenty minutes on the couch earlier and she was exhausted when she woke up, her nap seemed to have jumpstarted her insomnia again.

The only different this night was, Mariana seemed unable to sleep either.

"You alright?" Callie finally asked her, seeing her change sides in bed for the thousandth time.

"I think so…only…" Mariana said, trailing off as she bit back what she was going to say. She had something on her mind all day but she had been able to push it to the back of her mind earlier because she was so focused on Callie and how she was doing. Now that she had time to relax her mind, everything was coming back to her.

"Only what?" Callie said, sitting up and facing her. She could tell by Mariana's tone of voice that something was off with the usually carefree girl.

"Only…I think I saw my mo…I mean Anna today," Mariana finally said.

"What? Where? Did you tell someone? Did you tell Lena or Stef?" Callie said, jumping out of bed and rushing over to Mariana's where she sat on the end.

"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't even her. When we were at Jesus' game today, at the school, I thought that I saw her. Like…watching but… but far away. I'm not even sure it was her, it might not have been. So I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want everyone freaking out over nothing," Mariana said in a sort of rush.

"Mariana, we need to tell someone. If it was her, she wasn't allowed to be there. Stef and Lena told us that point blank," Callie said, focusing on needing to help Mariana and forgetting about her inability to sleep.

"But what if it wasn't her? Then I'd be worrying everyone for nothing," Mariana said, slightly distraught at the idea of causing her family more worry and pain that she already had in the past month.

"I think your parents would rather be worried, than not know anything about it and find out later. What if something happens and you could have prevented it by telling them that you saw her today," Callie said, trying to get Mariana to see reason.

"You're right, I mean…look where lying got me last time," Mariana said, a tear falling from her eye as she remembered the guilt she felt from Stef getting shot.

"Right, so you're going to tell them," Callie said, making sure they were both on the right page.

"Yeah…but tomorrow. I don't want to wake them up tonight considering it may be nothing," Mariana said, needing a night to think about what she was going to say.

"Okay, but promise me that you are going to do it. If you want, I'll come with you when you tell them," Callie said, putting a hand over Mariana's to show her support.

"Thanks, I might need that courage tomorrow," Mariana said, smiling up at Callie. It felt so nice to have someone to talk to and share things with. It was something she had been missing ever since she and Lexi had begun fighting after her Quinceañera.

"I'm not going to let you forget either," Callie said, trying to gauge if Mariana was feeling better after their little talk.

"I know, which, believe it or not, helps. Thanks Callie, night," Mariana said, lying back down and pulling her covers up. Callie moved off her bed and returned to her own bed, wondering if she could follow Mariana's lead and fall asleep.

Staring at the ceiling she hoped so, otherwise it was going to be a long night.

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So I hope everyone liked the Foster family fun night! The games that I mentioned were all games that I love to play with my sisters and cousins. "Things" is an awesome game I would totally suggest it to anyone who loves to play games with large groups of friends. It's also a really great way to get to know other people because people's answers are very revealing. For example, one of the cards said "Things that would make the workplace more exciting" and my 9 year old cousin replied "guns and women." It was shocking and hilarious.

I am trying to work in the twin's storyline here, because I feel like the story is so focused on Callie and her road to recovery and stuff that it needs another storyline to help it along. So I am going to try and be more diligent at adding their stuff in.

Night not have an update tomorrow night, got some family stuff going on so I don't foresee a lot of writing time. But soon, I promise!

So…hope everyone enjoyed!