Warning: This will make you cry and it is basically Nicholas Sparks meets The Fosters. Thank you to the Anon who submitted this and well done. tw: major character death, angst
brandon and callie are in nyc bc he went to julliard, she went to nyu. it’s been about a year since they graduated uni and they’re in nyc trying to figure out their careers and stuff
their relationship is as complicated as it was in high school. they’re not together and sometimes see other people bc they’re still legally siblings. they’re platonic best friends even though they’ll never see each other as brother & sister. even across the country from their family they can’t forget about them and that they could ruin everything by being together. so they’re not together. there’s still lingering touches, jealousy, longing glances & angst but they rarely slip up
ok they get drunk & hook up a couple times. but it was only because they’re drunk & it changes nothing, they repeatedly tell themselves. they don’t truly believe it
then one night, after one of brandon’s concerts, they fall into bed together. it’s the same but also not because they’re completely sober and it feels like everything has changed
then morning comes and they realize nothing has changed. they still share a family they both love more than anything. so it’s heartbreaking but they try to go back to normal
weeks later though callie realizes she’s pregnant
she panics after taking the test so she calls brandon. then they panic together like wtf are they going to do?? they’re legally siblings, they can’t just be like “moms we’re having a kid together!”
brandon cautiously asks “will you get an abortion?” bc he honestly doesn’t want that but he will support callie in whatever choice she makes
and callie tells him she doesn’t know what to do. she doesn’t want an abortion but can they have a baby together? what about their family??
brandon tells her he understands how she feels “but this is about you and the small cluster of cells growing into a baby.”
callie cries into his chest, stressed and upset and overwhelmed with emotions. he holds her saying “we’re in this together”
they sit together in silence for an hour, leaning into each other, unsure about everything in their lives
brandon finally says “you could have the baby and nobody has to know i’m the father. if that’s what you want.” bc the idea pains him but he has to what’s best for callie
“no. we’re in this together, this is our baby” she refuses to lie and keep her baby from their father. so her mind is made up. “we’re having a baby”
they can’t bring themselves to tell their family
they know they have to tell them soon but they’re so worried about their reactions they put it off
callie sees a doctor, brandon goes with her of course, everything is well but they’re still keeping it a secret
until weeks later brandon buys a cute onesie on a whim. it’s gender neutral blue and it reads “i love my daddy” bc he’s a nerd omg
callie loves it but it makes her realize it’s so real, they’re having a baby. they have to tell their family
so they agree they’re traveling to cali in two weeks to tell them in person
they never go to cali to tell their family… :(((
a few nights later they’re walking to her apartment late at night after eating dinner at their fave restaurant
and (i don’t want to go into details omfg) they get mugged by two dudes with guns and it goes badly
brandon is shot multiple times trying to protect her, she’s physically unharmed
he’s rushed to the hospital, she’s covered in his blood & sobbing “you can’t leave me”
at the hospital he goes into surgery, they eventually have to sedate her bc she’s hysterical. it’s a low amount that isn’t harmful to the baby bc they’re medical professionals they figure out she’s pregnant quickly duh
so stef receives the call from the hospital and it’s a mess but the entire family & mike make it to nyc by morning
they make it hospital and ask for brandon foster. the nurse tells them he’s in surgery again and in critical condition. they have to wait, “but you can see his wife. she’s completely fine, she’s sleeping but should wake up soon”
and they’re so confused bc what?? see the paramedics and nurses thought callie adams-foster was the wife of brandon foster. yes they don’t have rings but they were probably stolen in the mugging. (idk how plausible this is so just go with it)
lena goes “his wife? he isn’t married?” the nurse goes “callie adams-foster? she was with him at the time of the incident” “that’s our daughter” “oh, i’m sorry for the confusion. she’s in room 250.”
she leads them to callie’s room, where she’s restlessly sleeping. “you can stay with her while waiting for news about your son. like i said, she’s completely fine. she and the baby are unharmed. she just needs rest.”
the entire family is shocked. mike is the first one to recover from the shock and asks “the baby??” “yes, sir. she’s about four months pregnant, we had an ob-gyn check her. both of them are healthy.” the nurse just leaves confused because they’re all so shocked
the entire family stands there so shocked, confused and worried because brandon is in critical condition, they don’t know if he’ll recover, and callie is pregnant
lena always the voice of reason asks “do you think it’s b…?”
she doesn’t finish the sentence before stef shakes her head “it can’t be”
no one says anything else, they anxiously wait to hear news about brandon or for callie to wake up and explain what the hell is going on
jude is holding one of callie’s hand, mariana is holding the other when she wakes up a little disoriented
lena calms her “hey, sweetie. you’re ok, you’re ok”
callie nods slowly “where’s brandon? is he ok? please say he’s ok”
stef tells her they’re not sure he’ll be ok and callie breaks, sobbing uncontrollably
they can’t calm her down, nothing works, she cries until she’s too tired to cry. her hand settles on her stomach which has become a habit and everyone notices obviously
they don’t want to upset her but they have to know if she’s carrying brandon’s baby so stef asks her
callie only nods, a couple tears rolling down her face
and the moms would be upset and angry at them but how can they when they’re unsure brandon will live and callie is so distressed
so they don’t ask anymore questions. it’s not the time, they’re more worried about brandon. but they have to know eventually
they get an update from a doctor finally who says brandon is out of surgery and it went well but he’s still in very critical condition. they’re not sure he’ll make it
there’s a lot of crying from everyone because this is brandon, their son, their brother, their selfless and caring piano player. but callie only shakes her head in denial “he’ll live. he promised we were in this together. he promised”
the next hours are agonizing, they let them see brandon one by one. stef first, she apologizes to him for ignoring the strong bond b/w him and callie, she feels so guilty. she just keeps repeating “i love you, i’m sorry, i love you. my baby” she’s crying so much, this is her son
mike goes in next, it hurts him so much to see his son, so strong and caring, laying motionless and pale in a hospital bed. he has no words. he just holds his hands for minutes “i love you son.”
lena goes in after him and tries hard not to cry as she talks to him. “i love you brandon. you need to recover and get well. we all love you so much. we need you…callie and your baby need you.”
then mariana sees him. she’s sobbing so much she can barely talk. “i love you big brother. you’re going to be ok, you’re going to be annoying me and playing the piano and raising a baby with callie and everything will be ok. it has to be. i love you so much”
jesus goes in after her. he hugs her as she exits brandon’s room. then he sits next to brandon, staring at his unresponsive brother, unsure of what to say because he sucks at words when he’s emotional. he’s been trying hard not to cry because he has to be strong for his moms, for mariana, for his family. but now the tears are coming silently. “dude, i’m going to be an uncle. you’re going to be a dad. you better get well. for callie, for us. you’re strong, i know you’ll get better.”
jude goes in next because callie keeps refusing to go in to see brandon saying she can’t. so jude goes in. “you’re the best big brother. i love you brandon. but i’ll be really mad at you if you leave callie and your baby. she’s been through a lot and you make her so happy. you can’t die”
finally callie goes in. she nearly crumbles at the sight of him motionless, pale on a hospital. this boy she loves so much, who holds her up when she needs him to, looks like he’s already dead. she’s sobbing as she inches towards him, the sound of his heart beat on the monitor reassuring her. she falls into the chair unable to support her own weight anymore. she grabs tightly onto his hand and just sobs hysterically into his bed. “brandon. you can’t die. please don’t leave me. you promised. we’re in this together. i need you, our baby needs you. we deserve to be happy right? and you make me happy. so happy. i love you so much.” she can barely speak through the tears but she has so much to tell him. “i love you, i love you, please. brandon. we’re in this together ” she stays there memorizing every detail of his face, caressing his hands and saying “i love you” in between tears until the nurses tell her she has to leave. she refuses to move until they get jesus to come in and practically carry her out as she cries and fights against him. she doesn’t want to leave him, she can’t leave him
hours later brandon foster dies after fighting hard for his life. he never wakes up, never says a last “i love you” to callie or his family
everyone is devastated, especially callie. she cries for hours after the doctor tells them (so does everyone else) but then she shuts down
they can barely get her to move, to talk or to eat & drink. they only get her to eat & drink water with reminders that she has to take care of herself and the baby
stef’s mom and lena’s mom arrange the funeral and take care of everything because the family is too upset and too worried about callie to do it. they are too, of course, but they need to help and stay busy.
so they sell both callie and brandon’s apartments in nyc and callie goes home because she can barely take care of herself, they’re not leaving her alone
everyone is sobbing at the funeral. they can’t imagine life without brandon. he was their son, their brother, their friend. now he’s gone.but life moves on.
stef and lena get callie to open up to them about her relationship with brandon. “i loved him so much and we never got a chance to be happy. he’s never going to see our baby.” it’s a very emotional conversation, there’s a lot of crying and the moms apologize for never giving them a chance and ignoring what they saw but now it’s too late
and callie tells them of course she forgives them, she doesn’t hold any resentment. she doesn’t want to have to explain it again so she asks them to tell the family (mariana, jude & jesus) what they need to know so they won’t be curious and ask. the memories are too painful
slowly they all heal. callie’s pregnancy brings them all joy because they get to have a part of brandon and this baby was made of love and he or she will be so loved
callie heals too. she always wishes brandon was there as their baby grows and kicks inside of her but she becomes happier in these moments too. she’s going to love their baby a lot and make sure he or she knows who their father was
but it still hurts so much. some days it’s hard for her to get out of bed but she’s going to be strong for their baby. she knows that’s what he would want
callie doesn’t find out the gender, she wants it to be a surprise. she picks out two names. if the baby’s a boy she wants to name him brandon michael foster. if the baby’s a girl she wants to name her brielle colleen foster
when callie goes into labor the moms hold her hands and it’s so hard for her doing this without brandon. she misses him so much. she cries out “i need him here” they brush back her hair and say “i know, sweetie, but you can do this”
hours later brielle colleen foster is born. she has her father’s brown eyes and grows up to love music and piano
there’s a lot of photos of her as a newborn baby wearing a cute blue onesie saying "i love my daddy”
