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Imagination Ink🖋️ turned 3 today!

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Chapter 40

BAILEY TOOK A DEEP BREATH as she pulled out her cap and gown. This was really happening. She was graduating high school with honors and a full ride to UCLA. She smiled and closed her eyes as a lump began to form in her throat. For 17 years she thought about this day, the day that she would officially be free from the horrors of the foster care system and now, after the last year she had mixed feelings about it. She’d learned so much these past months and gained even more. She had expanded her inner circle to point of overflowing but she wouldn’t change it for the world. This was how she wanted to live, surrounded by people who she loved and who she knew loved her in return. Noah had texted her earlier that morning and that had again brought a smile to her face. He had decided on a school in Arizona so they would be attempting a long distance situation but she was just happy that he had found someplace that he liked.

She pulled the gown on over her dress and zipped it up. It took some work to make sure her cap wasn’t going to pop off of her head but six bobby pins later she was confident she wasn’t going to lose it until she wanted to. She looked at herself in the full length mirror hanging on the back of her door and her breath caught, this was reality, she’d made it.

✵✵✵

TK’s eyes flipped around the bedroom as he looked around trying to gather everything they may need. Jacket, wallet, tissues, oh lord, what else was he forgetting.

“Babe.” Carlos said, catching his boyfriend’s attention.

TK looked over to him.

“Relax, she’s not leaving yet.” Carlos said, resting his hands on TK’s shoulders.

TK took a deep breath.

“I know, it’s just crazy that this is actually happening,” He said. “I mean after everything she’s been through, moving around for most of her life and then finally settling here, the trauma, the anxiety, the fire, then more anxiety, and now graduating,” TK continued. “How did this happen so quickly?”

Carlos smiled.

“Sadly, time doesn’t stop,” He said. “She’s ready, and besides, she’s gonna be in LA. The 118 is right there if they need her and you know that she’s going to be calling home every chance she gets. That’s just who she is.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” TK agreed.

“And it’s just graduation today. She’s not taking off on us.” Carlos reminded him.

TK laughed.

“You make a very valid point.” He relented.

Carlos shrugged.

“I make a few of those every now and again.” He said with a smile.

TK laughed.

“Let’s go get this girl graduated.” He said.

Carlos smiled.

“Let’s.” He agreed.

✵✵✵

The ceremony felt like it went in slow motion, speeches, waiting, more speeches, and again more waiting until finally it was time for diplomas. Noah was rows ahead of her since his last name started with A while hers rested towards the end beginning with a R. She waited albeit a bit anxiously as slowly, row by row students stood, walked and were seated again. Until finally she was standing and taking small steps forward until she was at the top of the steps leading to the stage.

“Bailey Reyes-Strand.” The principal announced.

Bailey took a deep breath as she walked across the stage, taking the diploma from the principal and shaking his hand she turned toward the photographer in the crowd with a smile. Behind the photographer though, was her family. The whole of the 126 and their families, abuelo and abuela, her cousins and aunts and uncles, even Mitchell and his wife, son, and new foster twins. Her smile grew wider, she’d learned so much from them and she couldn’t wait to see what lessons would come tomorrow and the next day and the next. After all, what’s Texas without a few lone star family values.

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Chapter 39

HAD BAILEY AND NOAH MEANT to fall asleep up at the point that night? No, no they had not. Had they though? Oh most definitely. It was sun breaching over the Austin horizon and hitting Bailey’s face that woke her. She grumbled a bit and buried herself deeper into Noah’s bare chest. Noah pulled her tighter against his body and Bailey smiled at his warmth. When a cold breeze hit her body, Bailey knew that something wasn’t right. She peeled her eyes open and froze.

“Oh shit.” She said, feeling around in search of her phone.

“Bails, what are you doing?” Noah muttered.

“Noah, wake up.” She said, shaking her boyfriend.

“What? What? I’m up?” Noah said, reaching up to rub his face.

“Noah it’s morning.” Bailey said, pushing herself up a bit on his chest.

“Huh?” Noah groaned.

“It’s morning,” Bailey repeated. “We never got home last night.”

Noah’s eyes shot open.

“Shit.”

She was dressed in only the t-shirt that Noah had shed the night before and her underwear. Safe to say, she was not dressed to still be out, let alone to never have gone home after a late night tryst at the Austin Point Lookout with her boyfriend. Bailey flopped back down on Noah and he grunted a bit from the impact.

“My dads are going to kill me.” She mumbled against his skin.

Noah ran his hand up under the fabric of Bailey’s shirt – his shirt – in a soothing gesture.

“Maybe we can sneak in without your them noticing.” Noah said, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Bailey arched a brow. Noah looked down at her.

“Yeah I didn’t think so.” He said.

“At least you don’t have to sneak into your house too. Maybe you can squeak by with only one lecture.” 

Noah laughed.

“You know you have two dads right?” He asked. “One of them has access to guns and the other could probably kill me and nearly kill me and have a whole team of firefighters to help him make it look like an accident.”

Bailey couldn’t help but laugh even though she could feel the beginnings of her anxiety clawing at the pit of her stomach.

“Why are you laughing? I’m serious.” Noah said but he couldn’t help the smile that played at his mouth.

If Noah lost everything else that was going for him (which was a lot) he would always be able to make Bailey laugh.

✵✵✵

Bailey pocked her head through the front door of her house, looking around to see if the coast was clear. TK and Carlos, she could see were cuddled up on the couch under a blanket passed out cold. No doubt they had been fallen asleep waiting for her and Noah to return from their date. Bailey quietly tip-toed into the foyer, quickly followed by Noah. They were hoping to get upstairs and into Bailey’s room without waking up Bailey’s fathers. Both teens cringed, however, as the front door shut harder than she had intended behind her and Noah. TK and Carlos shot up off the couch ready to go to war it seemed, though apparently nobody had told their balance since they were a bit unsteady on their feet.

Once they had finally regained their bearings their eyes trained towards the front door where Bailey and Noah now stood sheepishly, their cheeks flushed in embarrassment and anxiety reeling in their stomachs. Carlos blinked away his sleep and squinted towards the teens, not having put in his contacts yet, he half blindly reached for his glasses. With them securely on his face the sleep fell away from his face, quickly replaced by a mass of emotions that could only be explained as a father’s look of indifference.

“Bailey Hayden Reyes-Strand, where in God’s name have you been?” He began.

Both teens began talking at once trying to explain to the men why they hadn’t returned the night before. TK slumped next to his boyfriend and they looked at each other, not being able to make heads or tails of what either one of them was saying.

“Woah woah woah,” TK said, surprisingly loud for it still being so early and no coffee in his system. Bailey and Noah cut off. “Slow down and speak one at a time.”

“I am so sorry dad, I really am. We fell asleep and when we woke up it was already morning and we came back as soon as we woke up I swear…” Bailey tapered off.

“We really didn’t mean to fall asleep sirs; it just sort of…happened.” Noah added.

Carlos and TK nodded as they listened to Bailey and Noah explain. Carlos glanced over at the clock and saw that it was barely 6:00 in the morning. On most mornings he would not consider that all that early but on a Sunday morning, that was far too early to be awake.

“Okay, we are not done talking about this but it is still too early to dig into anything else so go upstairs and get some more sleep and when it’s a more suitable time to be awake we will continue this conversation.” Carlos said.

The teens nodded and started up to her room.

“Bailey.” TK said, stopping their daughter before she can get too far up the stairs.

Noah had stopped too but Bailey motioned for him to continue up the stairs and after a moment he hesitantly complied. Bailey stepped back down to the first step and looked at her fathers with a shy weariness on her face.

“We aren’t mad, Bailey. Scared, worried, a little disappointed but not mad,” TK said, cupping his daughter’s cheeks. “Just be more aware next time. Maybe set an alarm for midnight so that if you do accidently fall asleep again you have something that will wake you up before it’s sunrise and your papá and I are falling asleep on the couch and raising our chiropractor bill okay?”

The brought a small smile to Bailey’s face.

“Okay dad. I am really sorry though.” Bailey said.

“We know you are mija,” Carlos said with a gentle smile. “Now go get some more sleep.”

Bailey nodded.

“Love you papá. Love you dad.” She said.

“Love you too kiddo.” TK replied.

✵✵✵

TK put the plate of pancakes in the middle of the dining room table and took his place at the circular table in between Bailey and Carlos. They were only minutes into breakfast when Bailey felt Noah’s hand creep onto her knee and squeeze gently, getting her attention. Bailey looked over to her boyfriend and he moved his left hand over her right and played with the ring adorning her finger. She looked from Noah’s hand to his face and them her eyes flicked over to her fathers who were serving themselves breakfast. Noah gave Bailey a reassuring nod and squeezed her hand.

“Sooo…” Bailey began catching her fathers’ attention

Carlos and TK looked at each other and then back at their daughter. They could see that Bailey was searching for the right words.

“Are you okay Bails?” Carlos asked, wanting to relieve the tension that had overtaken the room.

“Yes,” Bailey said quickly, realizing what her silence may have led her parents to begin thinking. “Yes, yeah, everything is amazing. I’m just trying to think about how to tell you guys about something that Noah gave me last night.”

Carlos and TK looked to Noah and he gave a small smile and Carlos and TK’s faces broke into smiles. Bailey opened her mouth to begin speaking but then she saw the looks that her fathers and Noah were sharing.

“What?” She asked. “What’s going on?”

Noah looked at his girlfriend with a mildly guilty smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked and then she turned to her fathers. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

TK chuckled slightly.

“I think you should take that one Noah.” TK said.

Bailey looked to Noah. Noah brought their conjoined hands up onto the table and ran his thumb over the back of Bailey’s hand.

“Bailey, I wanted to do everything right, wanted to make sure that I knew that you felt the same way that I did. So, knowing that you talk to your dads about pretty much everything, I asked them for permission to give you the promise ring. You tell them everything and I knew that without directly telling me exactly how you felt, they would give me an answer that reflected your feelings.” Noah said.

Bailey was speechless. She was just as speechless as she had been when he had given his original speech the night before and it was all she could do not to launch herself at Noah at the breakfast table. Instead, she settled for leaning over and pushing her lips against his. Bailey could feel him smile against her lips and she pulled back a moment later, resting her forehead against his.

“So you aren’t mad?” Noah asked.

“Not even close.” Bailey replied.

The couple was all smiles, and as soon as they truly separated Carlos and TK were very enthusiastic about seeing the ring that was now settled perfectly on their daughter’s right ring finger.

“So everybody knew?” Bailey asked incredulously.

“Well, not everybody,” Noah said with a smile and Bailey looked to him, motioning for him to expand on his claim. “You didn’t.”

Bailey gasped slightly and threw a blueberry at him. Noah feigned hurt and threw the blueberry back at Bailey. One thing turned to another and pretty soon all four of them were throwing berries at each other from across the table.

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Chapter 38

“DO YOU KNOW WHY NOAH asked you to meet him out here?” Carlos asked.

Noah and Bailey had had a date night planned for well over a week and he had kept the plan under wraps for days. Every time Bailey asked what she should be expecting he simply smiled and said to dress comfortably. She had been annoyed to say the least. TK had chuckled when Bailey had explained her displeasure, remembering moments where Carlos had surprised him or vice versa. But, with a bit of explanation that Noah simply wanted to surprise her and that there was nothing to be anxious about, Bailey was able to relax a bit.

With TK on shift for another half hour, Carlos was deemed the chauffeur for the evening. Earlier that evening Noah had sent Bailey a location for where to meet him. She’d need a ride out, but he would bring her home.

“Not in the slightest.” Bailey replied.

Carlos nodded, looking to his phone again for directions. However, as they continued down the road things started to look a bit familiar.

“Wait a minute.” He mumbled, leaning forward over the steering wheel and looking around.

“What?” Bailey asked.

“This looks familiar,” Carlos replied sitting back and looking out of the side windows a couple times and smiling as memories started to play through his head. “Your dad and I used to come up here all the time. When we first started dating there was this massive solar storm and we came up here that night and watched the excess burn off, it looked like the northern lights.”

Bailey smiled.

“Did you come up here often after that?” She asked.

Carlos’ cheeks burned hot and he was glad that it was dark enough that his daughter couldn’t see his reaction.

“Yeah,” He said. “We came up here at least once a week to just look at the city and the stars. It was our favorite time because it was so quiet compared to being in the middle of the city. It was peaceful.”

Bailey smiled at her papá before turning back to the road. It made her happy to hear about the different happy times that her fathers have had and continue to have. When she looked back out the windshield she saw a small light that started to grow larger as they got closer.

“What’s that?” Bailey muttered.

Carlos’ eyes strained but eventually he smiled.

“I have a feeling that,” Carlos said. “Is what we’re here for.”

When they pulled up to the lookout point, there Noah was, leaning against the side of his car, a smile on his face. Bailey hugged Carlos quickly before getting out and walking toward Noah.

“Well hello milady.” Noah said with a smile.

He pushed himself off of where he was leaning against the side of the car and approached her.

“Hello.” Bailey smiled, pushing herself up onto her toes and wrapping her arms around Noah’s neck.

Noah planted a gentle peck on her lips and Bailey smiled again. Carlos, being the father and mild comedian that he was, honked his horn once to let the young couple know that yes, he was still there and Bailey laughed, letting her forehead fall onto Noah’s shoulder before turning back to her papá. The teens waved to Carlos to let him know that he was okay to leave and soon Carlos was headed off back down the trail that had brought him up to the lookout. Once he was far enough out of view, Noah picked Bailey up and spun her around like he often did when they first saw each other in the halls at school. Bailey laughed happily as Noah put her down and planted another kiss on her lips, a more appropriate one in her opinion but certainly not for in front of her papá.

“You look beautiful, Bailey.” Noah said, once they’d separated.

Bailey laughed.

“I’m in leggings and a sweater Noah.” She said.

“You look beautiful in anything.” He said.

“I doubt that.” Bailey said.

“Then I’ll keep reminding you until you don’t.” Noah retaliated.

“You should have seen me in my hospital gown, that would have changed your mind.” Bailey quipped.

Noah shrugged playfully.

“Doubtful.” He said.

Bailey rolled her eyes.

“Now come on, let’s go get comfortable.” Noah said, interlacing his fingers with hers and nodding towards the car.

“I feel like this is how most horror movies start.” Bailey laughed.

“Oh yeah?” Noah asked.

“Yeah,” Bailey replied. “You know, handsome guy-”

“Oh you think I’m handsome?” Noah teased.

Bailey smiled but ignored him, continuing her little story.

“Lures a young, innocent girl-”

“Innocent?” Noah balks.

“Out to the middle of nowhere for what she thinks is going to be a night of romance and stargazing but she really ends up dead in a ditch, so far from anything that even the coyotes wouldn’t be able to find her body,” Bailey finished. “And I’m pretty innocent in comparison to most girls our age.”

Noah shrugs.

“Still, I don’t think I would call you innocent,” He said. “A certain movie night seems to come to mind. You know the one where-”

“Yeah yeah, I know the one.” Bailey mumbled.

Noah chuckled and started walking backwards toward the back of the car.

“Come on,” He said. “Don’t you want to see why I lured you out here?”

Bailey laughed but had to admit she was growing increasingly more curious as to why Noah had asked her to meet him all the way out at the lookout. When she turned the corner and looked into the trunk of the car however, everything made sense. Noah had completely transformed the back of his car into their own personal hideaway. String lights were hung along the edges of the roof and there were pillows and blankets set up all around.

“Noah,” Bailey breathed. “This is beautiful.”

Noah smiled.

“Climb on in.” He said.

With a little maneuvering they were both able to climb in. Bailey was surprised at how comfortable it was, and how much bounce there was to the bed-like configuration.

“How did you get it so bouncy?” Bailey asked.

Noah laughed.

“About ten camping mattresses and a full size memory foam mattress topper.” He said.

“Is that why your bed felt so weird yesterday when we were watching Law and Order?” Bailey asked.

“You mean when we were trying to wa-”

“You know what I mean.” Bailey said, waving him off.

Noah laughed again.

“Yes, that is why the bed felt so weird.” He agreed.

Bailey nodded and laid down on one of the pillows, looking at all of the lights that were strung along the ceiling.

“Chocolate covered strawberry?” He asked, holding a container out to her.

“You know that I will never turn down chocolate,” Bailey said, picking up one of the strawberries. “This is amazing, I don’t know how you could make this anymore perfect.”

“The night is still young milady, very young indeed.” Noah smiled.

✵✵✵

“So,” Carlos breathed. “How do you think the kids would feel knowing that we were getting together without them knowing?”

He leaned back in his chair with a small smile and Clayton and Mary Anderson both smiled.

“I don’t know if Noah would be scared or somewhat relieved that we were all getting along.” Mary laughed.

Noah’s parents had reached out to TK and Carlos not long after the two teens had officially gotten together, wanting to know who was raising their child’s significant other. Safe to say, nobody was displeased with the turn out. Clayton was a Sargent for the APD and Mary was a nurse who worked at Austin General Hospital. Normally she worked the evening shift, however they’d chosen one of the two nights of the week where everybody seemed to be free. No shifts were to be had during parent night. TK chuckled.

“I think Bailey would have more of a problem with it than Noah would if their personalities have anything to say about it.” He said.

Clayton laughed.

“Even so, you’ve raised an amazing young woman, gentleman, you should be proud.” He said.

“Thank you sir, but we can’t take all the credit. Bailey came to us the way she is, she has seen some horrors but through it all she has become an incredibly kind and caring person.” Carlos said.

“Nevertheless,” Mary spoke up. “I couldn’t think of anybody more perfect for Noah. Bailey calms him, grounds him. Her organizational habits have rubbed off on him and I honestly never thought I’d see my son writing a term paper a month before it was due just because he knew somebody else was. You may claim not to be able to take credit but I think you have instilled some amazing habits into that daughter of yours.”

TK and Carlos smiled.

“Thank you ma’am,” TK said. “Noah as well as helped Bailey a lot. Whether it be through medical ups and downs or just helping her let loose a little bit, she’s happier since he’s come into her life. Carlos was telling me about the smile on her face when he dropped her off up at the lookout tonight. Bailey has different smiles as you may have noticed but the one she wore tonight, that one is reserved for moments where she is only happy. And in her life, that is hard to come by.”

Mary and Clayton smiled. TK and Carlos have found that it’s impossible not to be proud when others are praising your child, especially when you know their backstory and others may not.

“Well, I think that it is a good time to get out those cards, yes?” Mary said.

“Yes, I am ready for my re-match.” TK said eyeing Clayton.

It had become a bit of a tradition to play Uno at their little gatherings. It may seem silly or childish even but nothing won a table of first responders over more than a game of Uno, a pitcher of iced tea lemonade, and a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

✵✵✵

“I’m sorry, she said what?” Noah laughed.

Bailey swallowed her own laughter again before imitating, for the third time, what the woman had said back in LA about not being able to stand at the firetruck with her child.

“You’re all here, they should give everybody the same chance,” Bailey mimicked. “And then when she was confronted by one of the LAPD officers, she paratactically threw her son at me and took off. She only made it about ten feet before they caught her but still.”

Bailey was still laughing when she picked up one of the pieces of chocolate that had fallen off of a strawberry.

“I honestly cannot believe that she threw her son at you.” 

“Ask my dads, it happened,” Bailey argued. “Buck didn’t really believe it either until Chris started talking about it.”

“Wait, who’s Buck?” Noah asked.

Even though Noah put on a brave face she could see that he bristled a bit. Bailey smiled and ran her fingers through Noah’s hair gently before resting her hand on the side of his neck.

“Calm down love, he is a firefighter at the 118 and very much in a committed relationship with another man there,” Bailey said and then shrugged, letting her hand fall back into her lap. “Not that either of them really recognize it, or really know it,” She said with a furrowed brow. “But that’s a whole other topic of conversation.”

Noah chuckled as Bailey reached for another shard of chocolate.

“I have something for you.” Noah said, brushing a strand of hair from where it had fallen in Bailey’s face.

“Oh yeah?” Bailey hummed with a smile, wiping the chocolate from her fingers on her napkin. “And what’s that?”

Noah smiled and reached over his little pillow barricade into the front seat and pulled out a little bag. He handed the bag to her gently and

“Noah, what did you do?” Bailey laughed, carefully pulling the tissue paper out of the bag. Within it, a little box was wrapped in yet more tissue paper. Bailey laughed but easily tore through it to reveal, a ring box. “Noah.” She breathed.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Noah said. “But with graduation coming up so fast, and you going to UCLA in the fall I had to get you something that showed you that I’m serious and that even if we’re at different schools or in different states, I’m still with you.” He said, gently taking the box and opening it. The ring was beautiful in its simplicity. It was sterling silver with an intricate infinity symbol with several tiny diamonds along the rim. Noah took the ring out of the box and held it.

“This isn’t a proposal but a promise,” Noah picked up her right hand and Bailey swallowed the lump in her throat. “I promise to wait for you, to be faithful to you, and to always be there for you, no matter the distance. Do you promise Bailey?”

Words failed her but her emotions said it all and she nodded with earnest. Noah’s face broke into a smile as he slid the ring onto her right ring finger. Bailey launched forward and her lips met his, Noah had little balance in the awkward shape of the car and in Bailey’s excitement, she’d managed to push them over, but neither cared. When they pulled back they were both smiling.

“That was a very exuberant yes.” Noah laughed.

Bailey smiled.

“Well, I have always said you take my words Anderson.” She whispered.

Bailey looked at her hand where the ring now sat.

“One day I’ll move it over to your left hand.” Noah said, kissing her head softly.

He reached up and interlaced their finger, letting their hands fall onto his chest. Bailey looked up at Noah with a smile.

“I love you.” She said quietly.“I love you too.” Noah replied.

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Chapter 37

BAILEY SAT AT HER BOOTH in the school gym, just like all of the seniors in her class, she had several of her projects laid out and on display. She never did understand the purpose of this fair, it felt so backwards to have people coming to speak to her about colleges instead of her seeking them out. She was fairly certain that this was the school’s attempt at getting those who hadn’t committed to a school to do so. Why they had chosen a Saturday morning to do it, she didn’t know, but she was there, nonetheless. The school had arranged for her piece to be delivered from the museum so that it could be included in her display and bright and early at 6:30 that morning she’d received a phone call from the principal saying that it had arrived in one piece and had been secured in a plexi-glass display case. The other piece that she’d selected for the display had been the one that had been hanging in the firehouse. Judd had delivered that piece that morning and it was propped securely on an easel next to her museum piece. Her smaller prints were scattered around the table as well as her several school projects both artistic and strictly academic alike.

People had visited her booth, several people in fact, but after six hours of sitting and entertaining the public Bailey was feeling the effects of her 6:00 AM wake-up call. She was sitting in her chair her eyes barely staying open when another group approached and she blinked rapidly to try and put up her polished front.

“Woah, you look dead on your feet.” Came a voice.

Bailey snapped up and saw that it wasn’t a college recruiter but the 126 who had come to her booth.

“Hey guys.” Bailey said, relaxing back into her chair.

“I think you need this more than we thought.” Her dad said holding up an In N’ Out Burger bag and a cup.

“Is that what I think it is?” Bailey asked hoping for her usual order.

“Double-double no onions, fries, and a large Neapolitan shake.” TK recited, holding the bag out to her.

Bailey smiled brightly, accepting the bag and cup.

“Thank you.” She said taking a drink of the milkshake.

“So, how many people have come by?” Carlos asked, slipping back behind the table and taking a seat on the little cooler that held Bailey’s waters.

“A lot, I’m peopled out and I’ve still got like four hours.” Bailey admitted taking a bite of her burger.

One by one the members of the 126 took up places spread out behind Bailey’s booth laughing and talking to one another. Bailey smiled as she was drawn from one conversation to the next, never really starting or finishing any one conversation but floating around and everybody floating with her.

“Excuse me, this is Bailey Reyes-Strand’s booth, yes?” Somebody asked.

Bailey looked up from her lunch and saw a man in a suit standing in front of her table. She quickly swallowed her food and wiped her mouth and hands before standing and nodding.

“Yes it is, I’m sorry, I was just eating some lunch.” She said.

The man smiled.

“It’s not problem at all, I get it, I remember doing these fairs when I was your age, I thought they’d never end. It’s good to see that you’ve got company though.” He said gesturing to the 126 who’d taken up several places around the table.

Bailey smiled.

“Family is my biggest support system.” She said.

“As it should be,” The man said. “I must say though, Bobby’s description of your work did not do it justice in the slightest.”

Bailey blinked rapidly.

“I’m sorry, Bobby? As in Bobby Nash from LAFD House 118?” Bailey asked.

The man laughed.

“The one and only. I met him and the other members of his firehouse a few weeks back and we were talking and he mentioned your name. Said I might want to look into your work.” He said.

Bailey blinked again and then looked back at her parents who were clearly just as confused as she was.

“Um, so what are you doing in Austin Mr.-” Bailey trailed off.

“Oh, I am so sorry my name is Kevin Thomas, I’m a scout for University of California Los Angeles.” He said with a smile.

Bailey’s eyes widened.

“You’re a scout for UCLA? Why are you talking to me?” She asked.

Mr. Thomas laughed and opened the folder he’d been holding under his arm and pulling out an envelope.

“Because,” He said. “I’m a scout for the art department, and I hoped that you might be interested in coming to school in LA next year.”

He held out the envelope with a smile and Bailey took it gingerly.

“I will definitely think about it.” She said.

“Good,” He said. “All of the details are dictated in that letter. I’m going to be in Austin for a few days so give me a call if you have any questions.”

“I will, thank you.” Bailey said.

Mr. Thomas waved at the 126 and stepped away from the table. Immediately Bailey turned and began to open the letter. She past the envelope to Owen who took it and flipped it over looking at it for a moment while Bailey read the letter. She was silent as her eyes widened, only prolonging the suspense.

“Well?” Tommy asked.

“What does it say Bails?” Carlos asked.

“It’s uhh, it’s a…” She trailed off and handed the letter to Carlos who immediately scanned the page.

“It’s a full ride to UCLA.” He finally said.

There was silence, until there wasn’t.

✵✵✵

Bailey was staring at the UCLA letter that was propped up on the apple bowl in the center of the dining room table as she supported her chin on her arms which were resting on the table in front of her. It’d been a couple of days since the fair and she’d talked to several other scouts during the duration of the event but for some reason she was stuck on UCLA. Bailey wasn’t sure if it was because it was the first offer she received or because it’d been a school she’d been interested in off and on but the offer was incredibly tempting.

“Hey kiddo.” TK said, walking in from the front porch and opening the fridge and pulling out a water bottle.

The porch of their new rental home had become a favorite space for the family since their backyard was no more than a small, paved space with a little bit of grass.

“Hey.” Bailey mumbled.

TK slowed to a stop on his way back outside as he passed the table.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Bailey replied.

“Yeah, cause that was convincing,” TK said, pulling out the chair across from Bailey’s and sitting down. “What’s going on?”

Bailey sighed and sat back in her seat.

“It’s this letter.” She said.

TK nodded.

“Okay, what about it?” He said.

“I don’t know,” Bailey shrugged. “It’s just bothering me. It’s like I’m stuck on it for some reason. I’ve talked to all of these schools and I’m just stuck on UCLA. I feel like I haven’t given the others a fair shake, ya know?”

TK hummed.

“Well, maybe you being stuck on it means something,” He said. “You know when I was figuring out what I should do after high school I was just as lost as you are, if not more so. So, I applied to a lot of schools and thought that maybe if I got an acceptance then there was my answer and I’d go there and figure out what I should pursue by looking at that school’s catalogues. Go in undecided and make a choice after some time.”

Bailey nodded.

“What happened? What school did you get into?” She asked.

“Oh I didn’t get in anywhere,” TK laughed. “My grades were awful; I mean I passed but man, they were bad.”

Bailey chuckled quietly. She wouldn’t have but it was obvious that her dad wasn’t self-conscious about it.

“So what did you do?” She asked.

TK took a breath and smiled at her gently.

“For a while I didn’t do anything,” He admitted. “Until I got a circular in the mail from the fire academy,” TK said. “That was my kick in the pants. I’d always watched my dad go off to work as a kid and I would think that that would be me one day and I’d forgotten about it until I got that ad. I signed up the next day and two months later I was starting at the academy.”

Bailey nodded and looked from her dad back to the letter. She’d always had a connection to UCLA, she wasn’t sure why but it’d always been in her head that that would be a school that she’d want to go to one day. For a long time it felt like an elaborate dream, one that was never really achievable, but now it was real, it was achievable, and it was right there in front of her.

“So you think I should do it?” She asked.

“I think,” TK said standing up and circling the table so that he was standing behind her. “That you should let your heart,” He said tapping her chest. “And your head,” He tapped her head gently. “Work together instead of keeping them separate. There seems to be a connection to LA for you, so I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see where that pull takes you.”

TK kissed her head gently before walking back out to the porch. Bailey sat there for a bit, not moving, just thinking and she closed her eyes, taking some deep breaths. Maybe her dad was right, she’d kept her heart and her head separate but maybe letting them work together every now and again weren’t all that bad of an idea. When she opened her eyes and looked at the letter she knew that that was meant for her, it was where she felt drawn and where she wanted to be.

✵✵✵

TK smiled when he saw Bailey reach for her phone. He had a feeling she’d end up in LA when he saw her face while they were there. She looked like she’d fallen in love.

“What are you thinking about?” Carlos’ voice wondered into his line of thought.

TK smiled.

“I’m thinking about how soon I can order UCLA dad t-shirts and it not be weird.” He said.

Carlos arched a brow and turned to look in through the window to see Bailey holding the letter and talking on the phone.

“I knew it,” Carlos laughed. “Mateo owes me five bucks.”

TK laughed.

“You bet on whether our daughter would go to school or not?” He asked.

“No,” Carlos said defensively. “We bet on when she’d make the call. I saw no more than three days; Mateo said a week.”

TK laughed again.

“That doesn’t make it better.” He said.

Carlos shrugged.

“I’m just glad that she found a place that she’s going to be happy. It’s weird to see her making that decision already but I know that she’s ready.” He said.

TK nodded.

“Yeah, but she’s grown up a lot in the past year,” He said and looked back inside. “She’s not that kid that we found on her bedroom floor anymore.”

[mb0328]

Chapter 36

“HEY BAILS, YOU READY FOR dinner?” Carlos called through the open back door into the yard of the house they were still currently sharing with Owen and Mateo.

They were nearing the final stages of finalizing at rental across town and the family of three was more than ready to have their own space again.

“Yeah, I’ll be in in a minute. I’m almost done.” Bailey called back.

“Okay.” Carlos replied.

He could only see the top of her head over the large canvas that she had been working on for the past week since being home from LA. And, much like most of her other projects, nobody was allowed to see the piece until she was done. Mateo had tried to sneak a peek at the unfinished painting and he’d ended up with a palate of paint on his head. He’d had a very colorful head of hair for a few days until he could get the color out.

TK came up beside his boyfriend and leaned against the counter.

“Hey babe.” TK greeted.

Carlos looked to TK and smiled before his eyes fell back to where he was slicing the carrots for the salad.

“Hey Tiger.” Carlos replied. TK leaned forward so that he could see around Carlos’ body and out into the backyard. “Is she still working on that painting out there?”

Carlos chuckled.

“Yes she is,” He said. “I almost ended up with a palate on my uniform when I went out there to let her know I was home. She had her headphones in so I had to speak up and it scared her half to death.”

TK laughed.

“She gets so into her work it’s pretty easy to scare her.” He said.

Carlos shrugged.

“Yeah.” He said with a laugh.

The couple was cut off when they heard the screen door slide open on its track. Bailey walked in wiping her hands on her paint rag.

“Is it done?” Carlos asked.

Bailey took a breath and nodded.

“Pretty much, I’ll let it dry overnight and then seal it tomorrow morning. It should be completely dry by tomorrow night.” She said.

TK furrowed his brow. Living with Bailey and having her talk about her work as often as she did meant that he and Carlos and several of the 126 had picked up on certain terminology used in the art world.

“You don’t usually seal your paintings do you?” He asked.

Bailey shook her head.

“No,” She said. “Not normally. I sealed my museum piece and the piece that I gave you for your anniversary but I don’t always. I really only seal it when I know that the piece won’t be taken down and cleaned or if I know that it’s going to be hanging in a place of with high air particulate.”

Carlos nodded slowly.

“Is this a commission then?” He asked.

“Nope,” Bailey said simply. “I’m going to go wash up for dinner.”

Carlos opened his mouth to ask another question but Bailey had already made it to the stairs to head up to the bathroom. Carlos looked to TK with just as much confusion on his face as TK did.

“Not a commission but she knows about the air particulate count?” Carlos asked.

TK shook his head.

“I don’t know, I really don’t. We’ll be scratching our heads for hours if we try to figure it out. We might as well just wait until she tells us.” He said.

Carlos nodded but he was still curious as he glanced out toward the back patio again where the large canvas was still sitting on the easel.

“She is certainly good at keeping things a secret.” He said to himself with a chuckle.

✵✵✵

The next evening the 126 had gathered at Owen’s house for their monthly team and family bonding dinner. After an excellent meal prepared by Owen and a dessert that Grace had brought the group was sat in the living room charring quietly amongst themselves.

“Yo what’s with the huge canvas on the porch?” Judd finally asked as they were settling into the couches and chairs.

“That’s Bailey’s new piece.” TK said, taking a drink from his water.

Judd raised his brows in surprise.

“Seriously? That thing’s huge.” He said.

Bailey chuckled from her spot beside Carlos.

“It’s a 40 inch by 60 inch canvas.” She said.

Marjan chuckled.

“Judd’s right Bails, that’s huge.” She said.

Bailey nodded, admitting that the size was quite large.

“It’s finally done though if you guys want to see it.” She said.

Carlos sat up a bit straighter.

“We can?” He asked.

Bailey laughed.

“Yeah, I’ll go get it.” She said pushing herself up from the couch.

It took a moment of shifting and the 126 sat waiting in the living room as Bailey carried the large canvas inside.

“So, I’ve been working on this for about a week but it’s been months of sketching and idea boards. So, I hope y’all like it.” She said, turning around with the canvas and leaning it up against the fireplace.

The air seemed to leave the room as everybody took in the intricacy of the painting. The swirling colors that so pointedly shaped the front half of a fire engine and the bold numbers marking the truck as one of the 126 that emblazoned the side door.

“Oh my god, Bailey, it’s amazing.” Owen breathed.

Bailey beamed with pride as she took in the amazed looks of the crew.

“So you like it?” She asked.

A mix of agreement came from the house members and Bailey’s smile widened.

“I’m glad,” Bailey said. “Because it’s for you guys.”

Everybody froze.

��Well, it’s for the firehouse,” Bailey clarified. “The wall above the truck port always seemed so empty so I figured that it’d be cool to have something there and the canvas is big enough that it should fill the space nicely.”

“Bailey are you serious?” Owen asked.

Bailey smiled.

“Of course I am. This is for family.” She said.

[mb0328]

Chapter 35

BAILEY WAS AWAKE LONG BEFORE her alarm went off. She’d rolled over and looked at the clock and when she had seen that it was still thirty minutes before they needed to be moving she simply laid there, a smile plastered across her face. She would have gotten up and woken up her dads if they hadn’t impressed the need for sleep the night before. They were very adamant about not being woken up before the alarm rang through the room. So, she remained still and thought about the day that lay ahead. Safe to say it was every kid’s dream to go to Disneyland.

When the alarm finally went off Bailey jumped up from the bed and onto the one her dads were sharing. TK groaned but she could distinctly hear Carlos chuckle.

“I told you she would have energy this morning.” Carlos mumbled.

Bailey laughed.

“Come on, it’s time to get up!” Bailey said shaking TK who only groaned again, pulling the blanket over his head. “Please dad, come on.”

TK pushed the blanket down and looked at his daughter.

“Are you 17 or 7 Bails? Cause I’m pretty sure no 17-year-old should have this much energy at 5:00 in the morning.” He argued.

“For Disney I’d have this much energy at 4.” Bailey snipped back.

TK cocked a brow and chuckled.

“There’s that teenager snark,” He said and then took a deep breath and hauled himself into a sitting position. “Fine, I’m up.”

“Yes!” Bailey cried, sitting onto her knees.

“Oh come ‘ere kiddo.” TK said grabbing Bailey and pulling her down in between he and Carlos.

Bailey screeched but soon was laughing as TK and Carlos attacked her stomach with tickles.

✵✵✵

Bailey was in awe. The colors, the sounds, the smells, it all invaded her brain and she never wanted to them to leave. It was unlike anything that she had ever experienced before. Maybe it was because her dads had talked so much about it and she was making it into something unworldly but she truly felt as though their words hadn’t done it justice. She spun around and looked at her fathers who were standing with proud smiles on their faces as they watched their daughter take in their surroundings.

“So?” Carlos asked. “What do you think?”

Bailey’s smile got impossibly wider.

“I never want to leave.” She said.

Carlos chuckled and TK approached Bailey.

“Well, I certainly agree that Main Street is amazing but let’s go on some rides and really up that adrenaline, yeah?” He said.

Bailey nodded enthusiastically.

“Where to first?” Carlos asked.

“Indiana Jones.” Bailey said inspecting the map she’d grabbed at the entrance.

Carlos peered over Bailey’s shoulder and nodded.

“Looks like a good choice and we can do Jungle Cruise while we’re over there.” He said.

“And Pirates.” TK said, pointing out the ride on the map.

Carlos chuckled.

“You have not stopped talking about Pirates since we booked the trip, we will ride Pirates.” He said.

“Do you have a Pirates of the Caribbean obsession that you haven’t told us about dad?” Bailey asked.

TK scowled.

“I do not have an obsession with Pirates of the Caribbean I just have always wanted to ride it and haven’t been able to.” He argued.

“Uh huh, right,” Carlos said. “So it has nothing to do with Johnny Depp?”

TK’s cheeks reddened and Bailey laughed.

“It’s okay dad, I get it.” Bailey said starting to walk slowly down Main Street.

TK and Carlos followed close behind. TK hit Carlos’ arm.

“I thought I asked you never to bring that up again.” He said.

Carlos chuckled at his boyfriend.

“Babe, I love you. It is therefore my right to torment you about the little intricacies of your fantasies.” He said, wrapping an arm around TK’s waist.

TK groaned.

“It’s still not an excuse.” He mumbled knowing full-well that he was guilty of the same thing.

✵✵✵

She felt it when it started, the slow creep of the warmth in her gut that shot a signal of warning through her. Not now, she didn’t want this to end, the wonder, the fun, the joy that they were sharing as a family. It was their first official family vacation and she would not be the one to ruin their thrill. Maybe she was just feeling something that wasn’t there, sensing a shot that was no more than a tingle. Bailey took a deep breath and took mental note of where her levels lay. No, she thought, I’m fine, it’s just a cramp. Twenty minutes later she realized that cramp was more of a shot than she’d wanted to admit.

✵✵✵

“I swear I thought I was fine.” Bailey mumbled, leaning on TK’s shoulder in the Disney infirmary.

TK hugged Bailey closer to his side and kissed the top of her head.

“We know Bails, we’re not mad.” He promised.

Bailey nodded but her body language betrayed her. Carlos kneeled down in front of her and rubbed her knee.

“Think of it this way,” He said. “Now we’ve officially seen all of Disney.”

Bailey couldn’t help the small smile that played at her lips.

“Not exactly the part of Disney I wanted to see.” She teased.

“What? You didn’t want to get the chance to meet the Disney nurses?” TK baited; his tone playful as his hand ran in circles on Bailey’s back soothingly.

Bailey laughed quietly.

“Well hun, your temperature is back down again so I think you’re good to go as soon as your energy starts to come back. You’re probably tired so I would suggest you get some food in you to bring your blood sugar back up and then you should be right as rain.” The nurse said.

She had been the nurse to see Bailey the moment her dads had brought her in. She’d been hanging half-conscious in between them and that certainly got people’s attention.

“Thank you.” Bailey said quietly.

The nurse smiled.

“Dear, you are very welcome. It’s been nice to have something other than puking kids or heat stroke come through.” She said.

TK furrowed his brow.

“It technically was heat stroke though.” He said.

The nurse laughed.

“Not in the traditional sense though which always is interesting to see,” She said. “I’m sorry it happened though; it probably was not the plan.”

Bailey smiled.

“Not really.” She replied.

It took some time and a grilled cheese but eventually Bailey’s energy did return to her. Though she was moving slowly, she was ready to take on the rest of the park.

✵✵✵

Carlos looked at the rear-view mirror and smiled. They’d stayed in the park until it closed and then spent a considerable amount of time meandering through Downtown Disney going in and out of stores and just watching the people and taking in the sights. Bailey had fallen asleep before they’d hit the freeway with a smile on her face and Minnie ears on her head.

“She had a lot of fun today.” Carlos laughed.

“I swear she’s a 7-year-old trapped in the body of a 17-year-old.” TK laughed.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing for her to be considering she never got to act like a 7-year-old when she actually was 7.” Carlos pointed out.

TK shook his head.

“No, definitely not and I’m not mad that she got to just be a kid today,” He said. “I think I’m more upset that it took this long for her to be able to do it.”

Carlos nodded.

“Me too,” He agreed. “But she’ll never have to worry about that again. She can be whoever she wants to be from now on. No matter how old she is, she can always let go and be a kid. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

TK nodded.

“Her face when she saw Mickey today.” He laughed.

Carlos laughed.

“She was more excited than the little kids.” He said.

“Not to mention all the rides,” TK said shaking his head. “God it was a good day.”

“Nothing like it.” Carlos agreed.

“Promise me it won’t be long before our next family vacation.” TK said.

Carlos looked at his boyfriend with a soft smile.

“I promise that we will be sure that we will go on family vacations at least once a year. Even if it’s just a small one.” He said.

“Good.” TK said.

[mb0328]

Chapter 34

BAILEY WOKE UP THE NEXT morning feeling 100% better than she had the night before. She was excited but understandably nervous to meet up with the 118 for lunch. Carlos had gotten up and picked up the rental car relatively early. Now, they were driving through downtown LA with both Carlos and TK looking from the directions on their phones to the various street names around them.

“Are you sure we didn’t miss it?” Carlos asked.

“No, it should be the next one,” TK said. “Yeah, look it’s this one. Turn here.”

Fifteen minutes later they were pulling up in the visitor parking lot next to Firehouse 118.

“Hello!” TK called, as they stepped through the front garage doors.

He looked up toward the loft where he saw several heads pop up over the railing.

“Hey TK.” Buck called with a smile.

Carlos smiled and waved at the members of the 118. Bailey was standing part way behind her fathers and shyly smiled.

“Come on upstairs guys, lunch is almost ready.” Bobby called.

The small family made their way up the steps to the loft and greeted their friends.

“Bailey, it is lovely to meet you.” Hen said.

“Hi,” Bailey said. “Thanks for helping me last night everybody.”

Bobby waved off the statement.

“While you are very welcome it was no problem at all. We were happy to help and are very happy that you are better,” He said. “Now let’s eat.”

The tension visibly left Bailey’s shoulders and she relaxed into one of the chairs at the table as the food was passed around.

✵✵✵

TK, Carlos, and Eddie all sat and watched as Buck taught Bailey and Christopher how to beat the arcade game on the loft of the 118 firehouse. TK had seen the connection between the two men back during the San Andreas fire and since then it had only seemed to grow.

“So, when you gonna ask him Diaz?” TK asked taking a sip of his water.

Eddie seemed to snap out of his daze and flicked his eyes over to TK.

“Sorry?” He asked.

Carlos looked over at his boyfriend and chuckled, he’d also caught on rather quickly to the simmering connection between Buck and Eddie, even if had seemed to be placed on the back burner.

“Buck, when are you gonna ask him?” TK prompted again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eddie said shaking his head.

“Sure you don’t.” Carlos said with a nod.

Eddie shook his head again.

“We’re really good friends, that’s all,” He said. “And I may have given him parental rights over Christopher if anything were to ever happen to me but I mean he’s so great with him. Christopher doesn’t seem him as one of his dad’s friends he sees him as a father figure and I really appreciate that. I mean how many people are you gonna find that accepts your kid practically as their own so soon after meeting them? And his connection with Chris is undeniable I mean he would do anything for him. You know Buck was so terrified that after the tsunami I wasn’t going to let him see Chris anymore but I couldn’t do that to him,” Eddie took a breath. “To either of them.”

TK nodded and looked to Carlos who was smiling gently.

“We know exactly what that’s like.” Carlos said.

“When TK started showing interest in fostering Bailey I was on board pretty quickly I mean I’d known her for a little while but then she was in our home and we were involved in her life and adoption was just the next step, there wasn’t any questions about it. She was our daughter as much as we were her dads. She’s told us about a few kids or even adults at school who seem hesitant to accept that a family doesn’t need a father and a mother but can consist of any combination of people but she’s so firm in her own beliefs and life experiences that she either brushes them off or has some sarcastic and witty response ready on the fly to come back with,” Carlos said with a laugh at some of the comments that their daughter had come up with over the past year. His favorite by far though was when a kid in her class had made a comment about how her adoption was just a choice of pity and that they weren’t a real family because a family can’t have two dads and a broken excuse for a daughter, her response was ‘Well, at least my dads chose me, even with my broken parts. Your parents didn’t have any choice when they ended up with you.’ Even if she had ended up with detention, Carlos and TK were holding their sides with laughter when she recounted the event. “Christopher is the same way,” Carlos continued. “He’s smart and accepting and kind. He isn’t afraid to be different and have a family that is different. The way he is around you and Buck when you’re all together is telling enough. He loves the way you are. He loves you as a family unit.”

Eddie listened closely to Carlos’ words. Everything he said hit a note for him. A family is a family no matter what the make-up looks like.

“Thank you.” He said a thoughtful smile on his face.

Carlos nodded.

“Of course.” He said.

“YES!” A shout brought the fathers attention back to the ongoing game in the corner.

Christopher was stood up on a couple fire hoses with his arms raised as Buck leaned against the wall and reached forward to give Chris a high five while Bailey was smiling and laughing happily. Carlos and TK smiled.

“So,” Eddie said. “Bailey calls you dad TK, and Carlos you’re-”

“Papá.” Carlos finished for him.

Eddie nodded.

“Why papá?” He asked.

Carlos shrugged.

“Not sure, she just started using it and it stuck.” He said.

“Hmm,” Eddie hummed. “Chris calls Buck, Bucky. Don’t know when or how that started but…”

Eddie shrugged. Who was he to judge terms of endearment when he knew very well that if you asked his mother then his name was Mundito. TK laughed.

“Well, kids will be kids.” He reasoned.

“That they will be.” Eddie agreed.

As if on cue, the alarm rang out through the firehouse, making everybody jump to attention. It was second nature for TK’s muscles to jump when he heard the bell, having worked in a firehouse for as long as he had. Eddie and Buck joined the trail of firemen, women and paramedics headed down to the trucks while Bailey held back with Christopher and her dad and papá. That is, until Bobby spoke up.

“You guys wanna ride along?” Bobby asked.

Bailey looked to her dads, a gleam in her eye.

“Can we?” She asked.

TK chuckled.

“I don’t see why not.” He shrugged.

✵✵✵

Bailey was ecstatic to be able to ride along with the 118, TK and Carlos surely didn’t miss the wide smile on her face as they drove through the streets of LA. Chris had also tagged along and the little man was pointing out random buildings along the streets. He and Bailey seemed rather enraptured in conversation and by the time they rolled up on the pile up.

“We’ve got Chris.” Carlos told Eddie and Buck so the men would know their boy was safe and they could focus on their work.

Everybody went to work while TK, Bailey, Carlos, and Chris all stood out of the way. Carlos had helped Chris out of the truck and the four of them stood leaning against the truck. Chris was enamored with the work that his father and his friends were doing, how they saved people every day made him feel like he lived with modern day superheroes like the ones in his comics and on TV, Bailey though, was more caught up in the area they were in. The buildings towered over them and even though the intersection was blocked off for emergency and first responders people and cars still bustled about around them, she took it all in. Yelling brought her back though and they turned to see a woman and a young boy standing at the police barricade.

“They’re there and they aren’t first responders, my son should be able to get closer to see too.” The woman yelled.

Bailey shifted so that she could see the woman’s son. She was holding his arm and the boy did not look at all interested in what was going on and Bailey cocked a brow.

“I guess people are stupid here too.” She mumbled with a laugh.

The police officer who was trying to keep the woman back was eventually pulled away and the woman was able to slip under the barricade, pulling her son up to the firetruck. Carlos placed himself between the woman and Chris, motioning for TK to take him.

“Ma’am you need to go back behind the barricade.” He said, bringing out his “cop voice” as Bailey had deemed it. It was the more authoritative and commanding voice that Carlos saved for work situations when people weren’t taking him seriously.

The woman cocked her hip and raised her brow.

“You’re all here, they should give everybody the same chance.” She said.

“Ma’am, I’m an off duty police officer,” Carlos said pulling out his badge. Bailey hadn’t even realized that he’d brought it. “My husband is a paramedic. We’re here in case they need us. We happened to be having lunch with the 118 when the alarm went off.”

“And the kids?” The woman scoffed.

“They’re-”

“I’m an intern,” Bailey said stepping forward and cutting off Carlos. “I’m here to learn more about the LA fire department. I’m from Texas and am doing a project on how fire stations are run in different states. One of the firefighters’ son was in today when the alarm went off so I said that I’d watch him at the scene since I’m supposed to go with them.”

Carlos blinked and looked to TK who seemed just as surprised that Bailey had been able to come up with an excuse as fast as she had. The woman was shocked as well though obviously undeterred.

“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that-”

“That you need to leave this scene.” A new voice entered the conversation.

Five seconds, that was all it took.

One. The woman pushed her son at Bailey who caught him.

Two. She tried to make a run for it toward the crowd of people.

Three. Two other police officers tackled her to the ground.

Four. They dragged her, kicking and screaming, to an awaiting cruiser.

Five. The door was shut on the woman who was still screaming something about her rights and police brutality through the door. Bailey couldn’t help but laugh.

Another officer gently guided the boy away and Bailey took a few steps back until she left the ladder truck behind her.

“So what do you think kiddo?” TK asked leaning back on the ladder truck.

Bailey turned and looked at her dad.

“I love LA.” She said, her smile wide enough to outshine the sun.

[mb0328]

Chapter 33

AHH AIRPORT SECURITY, TO SOME it’s a mild annoyance in their path on their way to a much more enjoyable place and experience, to others it’s a more moderate annoyance. To Bailey, it was hell. Her bag was always flagged because of her medication and the detectors always picked up on her port and she had to explain to the agent that no, she had not somehow implanted a bomb or anything dangerous into her abdomen rather it was a built in thermometer and yes, that was a thing. It hadn’t surprised her when the metal detector beeped but she groaned and hung her head nonetheless when the TSA agent called her over.

“Any sharp objects or anything that could injure me on your person miss?” The woman asked.

“No ma’am.” Bailey replied.

“Do you know why the detector went off today?” She asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Bailey replied. “I have a port in my side.”

The agent nodded.

“And are you traveling with anybody today?” She asked.

“My dads.” Bailey said, gesturing to TK and Carlos who were waiting a couple feet away.

The TSA agent turned to them.

“Gentlemen,” She greeted. “Since your daughter is underage you will need to be present while we complete our search.”

Carlos nodded.

“We understand.” He said.

“Can I just show you my port so we can go?” Bailey asked.

She really wasn’t in the mood for a search at 4:30 in the morning. Carlos gave her a look.

“Let the agent do her job, Bailey. We have plenty of time before our flight.” He said.

“You’re right,” Bailey replied and turned back to the agent. “I’m sorry for being rude.”

The agent smiled gently.

“It’s alright hun, I know this isn’t fun,” She said. “Can I see your port? And then we’ll just swab your hands and shoes and that should be all.”

Bailey nodded and pulled up the left side of her shirt, easing the waistband of her leggings down so that the agent could see her port. The agent expected it for a moment before nodding.

“It looks very similar to an insulin pump or a Dexcom,” The agent said as Bailey moved her leggings back up over the device. “My daughter has one.”

Bailey nodded.

“It’s pretty much the same thing just with an internal thermometer instead of an insulin drip and it’s surgically implanted and I don’t change it every few days,” She replied. “This one is smaller than the one I originally had.”

“When did you get it replaced?” The agent asked grabbing the residue wipe from the table next to her.”

“Last October,” Bailey said holding out her hands. “I clipped my old one climbing out of a firetruck and it tore.”

The agent winced.

“What were you doing in a firetruck?” She asked.

“Reading. My dads are first responders, a paramedic and a police officer. I hang out at the fire station sometimes and I was reading in the back cab of the ladder truck. When I climbed out I hit my port on the side.” Bailey said.

The agent nodded.

“Ouch,” She said. “I’m sure your dads loved that.”

“Not really,” TK spoke up with a light chuckle. “Nearly gave us heart attacks.”

The agent laughed.

“Well, you’re clear.” She said. “Have a nice trip and try not to hurt yourself anymore. Your dads don’t need any more heart attacks.

“Thanks.” Bailey said, picking up her sweatshirt and her backpack and rejoined TK and Carlos.

Together they began walking through the terminal in search of their gate. Normally, she did okay in the airport crowds when she was with somebody but the early morning flight combined with the impending long travel day just made her feel like there were extra eyes on her and it made her uneasy. She moved so that she was walking in between Carlos and TK as her eyes ran across the closed storefronts.

“Bailey.” TK said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Bailey’s head swiveled to him.

“Sorry what?” She asked.

“I asked if you wanted anything to eat. There’s a Starbucks next to our gate.” He said.

“Uh, yeah, that sounds good.” She said.

“Okay, how about you and I go grab some seats and papá can grab us something.” TK suggested.

Bailey nodded.

“Sounds like a plan,” Carlos said. “I’ll be back.”

TK took Carlos’ backpack from him and together TK and Bailey went to find a good set of three seats to claim. They weren’t difficult to find, so early in the morning the airport was practically deserted.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on kiddo?” TK asked.

Bailey looked up at him and shrugged.

“Come on Bails don’t shut down on me,” TK said. “You know what Dr. Stevens said. Shutting down is the first step back to-”

“Back to panic, I know,” Bailey said. “I just don’t like going through TSA is all.”

TK nodded.

“Because of getting searched?” He asked.

Bailey nodded.

“It happens all the time but with so few people around it feels like they’re all watching me, judging me. I don’t like it.” She said.

TK nodded again.

“You know they aren’t though right?” He asked gently.

The last thing he wanted to do was invalidate Bailey’s feelings. He knew her anxiety could take her to some pretty dark places and invalidation could push her there. She nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, no I know. It’s just like the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end and it makes me all fidgety and anxious.” Bailey said.

TK nodded.

“Okay Bails, just take some breaths and let’s take your mind off of it. You brought your sketchbook right? Maybe work on some sketches and listen to some music. Papá should be back soon with breakfast.” He said.

Bailey nodded and pulled out her sketchbook, a pencil, her phone, and a pair of headphones. Carlos returned about ten minutes later carrying a drink carrier and three bags all containing breakfast sandwiches.

“Is she okay?” Carlos asked, sitting down next to TK.

TK nodded.

“Just a little anxious. Some food will help I think.” TK said gently putting a hand on Bailey’s shoulder.

Bailey’s head jerked up and she pulled a headphone out.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Breakfast mija.” Carlos said, holding out the bag with her sandwich in it.

“Oh, yum bacon.” Bailey said, a smile on her face.

TK and Carlos couldn’t help but laugh as Bailey took a bite of her sandwich.

“What?” She asked, her mouth fill.

TK shook his head.

“Nothing kiddo, it’s just nice to know that bacon is a solution to many things.” He said.

Bailey’s smile widened and she took another bite humming in delight. Again, TK and Carlos didn’t stifle the laughs that bubbled out.

✵✵✵

“And Carlos looks at me and says…” TK tapered off.

“What fall?” Carlos finished.

The whole table burst into laughter. The 118 had invited the pair out to dinner when TK had called and let them know that they had gotten to the hotel safely. Bailey was practically asleep on her feet so they’d fed her something light so she wouldn’t get sick and tucked her safely into bed, letting her know that they’d be back by 11:00 and to call if she needed anything. They’d caught a cab to the restaurant since their rental car wouldn’t be ready until the morning and had met the 118 at the door. Now though, they felt comfortable talking and laughing about stories of calls and life since the San Andreas fire two years prior. It felt good to relax after a long day, they wished Bailey could be there as well but she was tired and needed sleep, the introductions could wait.

The table erupted in laughter again and TK felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out expecting to see a text from his dad or one of the other members of the 126 but instead he saw a notification from the medical app that was connected to Bailey’s port. He quickly clicked on it and waited for it to load. He bit the inside of his cheek impatiently as the wheel spun in the middle of his screen. Finally the live temp popped up and his breath caught.

“Carlos.” TK said, sitting straighter.

Carlos looked at his boyfriend suddenly worried.

“What?” He asked but TK didn’t answer. “TK what?”

TK showed Carlos his phone and the color in his face drained. He looked up at the members of the 118.

“Please tell me you drove here.” He said quickly.

Bobby nodded.

“Yeah.” He said.

✵✵✵

Safe to say the 118 was beyond confused as Carlos told them the hotel that they were staying at.

“Does somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” Eddie spoke up from the back seat.

He, Buck, and Athena had jumped into Bobby’s SUV with TK and Carlos before they left the restaurant. Chimney, Hen, and Maddie had followed in Hen’s car. TK was on the phone with the 9-1-1 dispatcher, telling them everything that they needed to know and where to go. Carlos swallowed thickly.

“Remember how TK and I said that we have a daughter? We were gonna bring her by the station tomorrow since today was so long but you guys are gonna meet her now,” Carlos said and as he spoke they pulled into the hotel parking lot. TK and Carlos were the first out the others weren’t far behind, as they made their way through the lobby Carlos continued his rundown. “Her name is Bailey, she’s seventeen years old and she has a condition called thermoregulatory dysfunction, from a spinal injury when she was three.”

“Are you serious?” Maddie spoke up. “That is like a one in a three thousand chance.”

TK shrugged as they moved up the stairs to the third floor.

“Welcome to our lives,” He said. “I got an alert on my phone that Bailey’s temperature was high. She’s got an implant in her side that gives accurate core body temperatures constantly.”

Chim’s eyebrows shot up.

“That’s incredibly handy, and a little weird.” He said.

Carlos shrugged.

“Yes to both but it’s saved her life more than once.” He said.

“Here here here.” TK said, skidding to a stop and swiping the key card through the reader on the door.

Bailey was delirious when they finally got into the room. Carlos rushed to her side.

“Bails, Bailey look at me mija.” Carlos said. With his hand resting on her cheek he could feel the heat radiating off of her body.

“Carlos, her eyes.” TK said.

Bailey’s eyes were rolling in her head.

“What’s her temp right now?” Hen asked.

Carlos looked at TK’s phone and his breath caught.

“105°.” He squeaked.

Bailey groaned and her back bowed in the bed as she unceremoniously tried to push the blankets off of herself. TK pulled the blankets off and practically stripping the bed in the process. She was mumbling incoherent words to herself.

“She’s almost completely gone neurologically.” TK said.

“Ice bath is our best bet right now.” Hen said.

“There’s an ice machine by the elevator. Buck and I’ll get as many bags as we can.” Eddie said grabbing some of the spare trash bags from the desk and pulling Buck with him.

“I’ll start the bathtub.” Maddie said, going into the bathroom.

Bailey was on the verge of seizure temp, they needed to get it down now. Carlos and TK were already trying their best to keep her flailing limbs from hurting herself or somebody else.

“Bath’s good to go.” Maddie called.

Carlos slipped one arm under Bailey’s shoulders and the other under her knees, picking her up carrying her into the bathroom.

“Put her straight in the water,” Maddie said grabbing a number of towels. “Does she have a swimsuit in her suitcase?”

“Uhh, I don’t know if she packed one or not.” Carlos said, putting Bailey directly into the half-full tub of water.

“Hen, look in Bailey’s bag, see if you can find a swimsuit.” Maddie called.

“Which one is hers?” Hen asked looking around the room at the three different suitcases sitting against the far wall.

“It’s this one.” TK said, picking up the suitcase with paint specks splattered on it and putting it on the bed.

Hen unzipped it and quickly shuffled through the clothes before finding the bathing suit that Bailey had tucked inside. She carried the suit into the bathroom and handed it to Maddie. Maddie looked to Carlos.

“Why don’t you step out for a second,” She suggested. “We’ll get her changed and then I’ll let you know when you can come back in.”

Carlos hesitantly nodded and kissed Bailey’s forehead. Her eyes were rolling under half closed lids but she seemingly found Carlos through her unfocused gaze.

“Pa…pá.” She breathed harshly.

“It’s okay Bails,” Carlos said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Bailey groaned but nodded groggily. Maddie gave him a reassuring smile and he walked out into the bedroom to wait. TK looked to him when he exited the bathroom.

“They’re changing her into her swimsuit.” Carlos said running his hands through his hair and resting them on the back of his neck.

TK nodded and took a deep breath.

“She’s gonna be okay guys.” Bobby said.

“We know, it’s just after what happened in October, these drops are always a bit more stressful.” Carlos said.

“What happened in October?” Eddie asked.

Carlos and TK explained what happened with Bailey and her port and the 118 looked shaken.

“She coded three times?” Buck asked shocked.

TK nodded.

“Worst twenty-four hours of our lives.” He said.

Bobby nodded.

“I can imagine.” He said.

The bathroom door opened and Hen poked her head out.

“You guys can come in now.” She said.

Carlos looked to TK and they both nodded and headed towards the bathroom together. Slowly, Bailey’s temperature came down. Carlos and TK didn’t leave her side, resting against the bathtub. The 118 were scattered around not only the bathroom but also the bedroom, waiting for some sort of news. Maddie had gone full nurse, monitoring Bailey’s temp and the temperature of the water slowly adding a bit of warm water every few minutes so that the water slowly warmed from cold to room temperature. Bobby had called into dispatch to let them know what was going on and to have an ambulance on standby just in case but Hen, Chimney, and Maddie were confident that she would be okay. Bailey’s eyes peeled open after about twenty minutes.

“Dad? Papá?” She asked.

TK and Carlos raised their heads and smiled.

“Hey Bails.” TK said sitting up taller and picking up her hand. “How ya feelin’?”

“Tired.” She admitted.

Maddie nodded.

“You gave us quite the scare kiddo,” She said. “Your temp is back to normal now though. A good night’s sleep and some Tylenol and you’ll be good as new in the morning.”

Carlos looked to Maddie and gave her a small smile.

“Thank you.” He said.

“Of course.” Maddie said.

“Papá?” Bailey spoke up. “Can I get out of the water now?”

Carlos chuckled.

“Yeah, you can get out now mija,” He said. “I’ll grab you some clothes from your bag.”

✵✵✵

Soon, Bailey was in bed, TK keeping a close eye on her from the adjacent bed and the 118 were out in the hall with Carlos.

“Thank you for all of your help tonight guys,” Carlos said. “Especially you Maddie.”

Maddie smiled and leaned into Chim’s side.

“Of course.” She said.

“Gotta say though, this isn’t exactly how we planned on meeting Bailey.” Bobby said.

Carlos chuckled.

“It wasn’t how we planned on introducing her to you.” He said.

“If she’s feeling up to it in the morning, why don’t you guys come by the station for lunch?” Bobby suggested.

Carlos nodded.

“That would be really nice, thank you.” He said.

Bobby nodded.

“We hope to see you tomorrow then.” He said.

“Good night guys.” Carlos said pulling the room key out of his pocket and swiping it against the reader.

He quietly entered the hotel room as to not wake Bailey. She was soundly cocooned in the blankets in her bed and the AC was quietly humming, keeping the room cool. TK looked up from his phone and smiled at Carlos.

“Hey babe.” TK whispered.

“Hey.” Carlos replied plopping down on the bed next to his boyfriend.

“So that was an interesting night.” TK laughed quietly.

Carlos smiled and nodded.

“Yeah,” He said. “Yeah it was.”

TK looked over at Bailey and leaned his head against the headboard.

“How is she?” Carlos asked.

“Upset,” TK breathed. “She feels bad that she dropped while we were out. Thinks she ruined our night.”

Carlos sighed.

“It’s too much for her to worry about.” He said.

“This week will be good for her,” TK said. “She needs time to just be a kid. Time to be able to let go and have fun instead of constantly being worried about one thing or another.”

Carlos nodded in agreement.

“This week will be good for all of us.” He said.

[mb0328]

Chapter 32

CARLOS WAS AT THE KITCHEN table working on a few things that the station had sent over for him to do while he was on leave. Since the fire two weeks ago things had been a bit tense. They’d temporarily moved in with Owen who was still housing Mateo so five people and a dog in a house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms was not a good idea, no matter how you tried to configure it. Bailey had been sleeping on an air mattress in TK’s old room while TK and Carlos slept in the bed. That wasn’t an issue, they’d shared a room before, however the bathrooms are what were currently causing an issue. TK had taken to sharing a bathroom with his dad so that left the second bathroom to Carlos, Mateo, and Bailey. You didn’t have to be very imaginative to figure out how that was going.

On top of the current living predicament, Bailey had still needed to complete her schoolwork. She’d been given a leave of absence that gave her until the end of Spring Break but she’d still been asked to complete her assignments. With no space to do her work in private, she was struggling in every edge of her world.

“It’s my turn in the bathroom, you already had it this morning.” Bailey called, knocking on the door.

Mateo was yet again in the bathroom and Bailey was close to losing it. She was covered in paint, had somewhere to be in an hour and was far too exhausted to try and argue with people.

“I’m almost done, I promise.” Mateo’s voice came from the other side of the door and Bailey bit the inside of her cheek and rolled her eyes in spite.

“Yeah you said that fifteen minutes ago.” She mumbled, dropping her towel and clothes in a neat pile next to the door and slumping back down the stairs.

She walked through the house and her body language caught her papá’s attention.

“I thought you were gonna shower Bails.” Carlos said looking up from his laptop.

“I thought so too. But Mateo is in the bathroom.” Bailey sighed, plopping onto one of the stools at the counter.

“Again?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah.” Bailey mumbled.

“Hello hello.” Owen said, happily walking into the kitchen from the back yard, TK not far behind.

Bailey smiled glumly and TK furrowed his brow, stopping next to his daughter. Bailey leaned her forehead against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her gently, avoiding her hands and portions of her shirt which were still covered in paint. TK looked to Carlos with a look that clearly asked, ‘what happened?’ to which Carlos only shook his head. TK rubbed at Bailey’s back for a bit before he could clearly feel his shirt growing damp and when he looked he could see that she was crying.

“Hey, Bails, what’s going on?” He asked hugging her tight to his chest, paint covered shirt be damned.

Bailey shook her head gently, never pulling away.

“Okay, how about we go upstairs and go sit in the bedroom for a little while.” TK suggested.

Again though, Bailey shook her head, harder this time.

“I just wanna have space again.” She mumbled after a few minutes.

TK’s heart ached. This was definitely not what he wanted for his daughter and when he looked over to Carlos he could see that he felt the same way.

“I know you do kiddo; I know.” He said gently.

Owen watched as TK just pulled Bailey into a tighter hug. He knew that they were having a hard time, he knew that Bailey specifically was struggling with more anxiety and without her own space, she had very little outlets that she could turn to. The fire had thankfully spared the shed in the backyard so they’d been able to move her art supplies to his backyard but Owen knew that it wasn’t the same.

“Hey Bailey, why don’t you grab your stuff and use my bathroom. I’ve gotta run to the grocery store so it’ll be empty and you can take your time.” Owen said.

Bailey looked up and turned to her grandfather.

“Really?” She asked, wiping at her cheek.

“Yeah really kiddo,” Owen said gently and waved her to his side. “I’ll walk up with you.”

TK watched Bailey walk away with his dad and sat down on the stool that Bailey was previously occupying.

“You okay?” Carlos asked.

TK briefly nodded before shaking his head and then nodding again. Carlos laughed.

“Well that was telling.” He said.

TK chuckled.

“Oh, was it?” He asked.

Carlos laughed again.

✵✵✵

“We really need to get out of here.” Carlos said, leaning against the kitchen counter as TK closed the fridge.

TK looked over at him and nodded.

“Yeah, Bailey is on the verge of a mental breakdown and I honestly can’t blame her. Sharing a bathroom with Mateo wasn’t my favorite thing to do either,” He replied. “I’m glad my dad stepped in this morning cause I was at a loss.”

Carlos nodded.

“Have you thought about what your dad talked about last night?” Carlos asked.

“The conference in LA?” TK asked.

Carlos nodded.

“Yeah, I mean it’s technically over Bailey’s Spring break so she wouldn’t have any homework to do, it’d give us some family time and we could stop in and visit the 118.” Carlos said.

“And we wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with my dad.” TK mumbled.

Carlos laughed.

“Yeah, that does help.” He said.

TK nodded in thought.

“It’s not a bad idea. I don’t remember the last time we had a real vacation. And it’d be our first with Bailey.” He said.

“And it’ll be our last before she graduates in May.” Carlos added.

TK held up his hand.

“Do not start with that,” He warned. “My dad was talking about it the other day and I just about lost it.”

Carlos pouted at him mockingly before walking over and wrapping his arms around TK’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Awe, I’m sorry.” He said.

TK smiled lightly and leaned back into Carlos’ chest.

“I just can’t believe how fast time’s gone. I swear she was just moving in last week.” TK laughed.

“I’m pretty sure all parents feel that way carniño.” Carlos said.

TK took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” He said. “And you’re also right about LA. I think we should do it.”

TK could feel Carlos smile against his neck.

“I’ll start looking at flights.” He said.

But when he went to pull away, TK caught his arms and pulled him back against his back.

“Maybe in a little bit,” He smiled. “This is nice.”

Carlos chuckled and tightened his grip around his boyfriend.

“Is it now?” He teased.

“Uh huh,” TK hummed. “Very.”

Carlos pressed open-mouthed kisses to the base of TK’s neck and TK had to bite his lip to keep from moaning. This was the first time they’d had any time alone since the night of the fire and damn did it feel good to have Carlos’ mouth on him again.

“I missed this.” TK said quietly.

“Yeah?” Carlos mumbled.

TK nodded subtly.

“AHH!” Somebody shouted.

Carlos and TK sprung apart and saw Mateo standing at the entrance to the kitchen with his hands thrown over his eyes.

“Damn it Mateo.” TK groaned.

Mateo peeked through his fingers before putting his hands down. Both Carlos and TK looked at him with looks that could kill.

“When the hell did you even get back?” TK asked.

“Like five minutes ago,” Mateo said, slowly walking into the kitchen as if he were unsure if it was safe. “Are you making dinner?”

TK glared at him.

“No, dad’s picking up tacos on his way home from the station.” He said.

“Where’s Bailey?” Mateo asked.

“At Noah’s,” Carlos replied before shifting and looking at Mateo with his brows furrowed. “Is there a point to this line of questioning or are you just trying to make yourself feel better?”

Mateo opened his mouth to reply but TK held up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t answer that.” He said grabbing Carlos’ hand and leading him out of the kitchen and up to their room.

As soon as they closed the door TK practically dove for his computer.

“What are you doing?” Carlos asked.

“Booking three tickets to LA,” TK replied looking up at his boyfriend. “We gotta get outta here.”

✵✵✵

Bailey quietly opened the door to her grandpa’s house when Noah dropped her off. She was technically ten minutes later than her curfew dictated her return but she and Noah had gotten caught up in a few things, and time had gotten away from them. She’d hoped that her dads would be busy with their own evening activities and wouldn’t notice the time but what she wasn’t expecting was the whole of the 126 sitting around the living room together. She froze in the entry way when she saw them, the door closing had caught their attention and the conversation had petered out. Judd looked over at her with a small smile and then glanced at TK and Carlos.

“Welcome back kiddo.” He laughed.

Carlos looked over to the door with a cocked brow.

“Little late mija.” He said.

“Uhh, yeah, sorry about that.” Bailey muttered.

Bailey shifted around the entryway, not entirely sure what to do. Carlos laughed.

“Come in here Bails, we’re not mad.” He said.

“You’re not?” Bailey asked taking slow steps into the living room.

“It’s ten minutes Bailey, not ten hours.” TK said.

Bailey’s shoulders relaxed as her dad spoke.

“It is getting pretty late though.” Judd said looking to his wife who nodded in agreement.

“Definitely,” Grace said. “I think it’s time we headed out.”

Slowly, everybody began to trickle out of the house leaving the home’s occupants in their own company. TK gave dad a look that was unmistakable and Owen nodded.

“Okay Mateo, let’s give them some privacy.” He said.

Mateo looked to his Captain with a furrowed brow.

“Why do we have to leave?” He asked.

“Because I said so.” Owen said, grabbing Mateo’s shoulder and guiding him upstairs.

TK and Carlos waited until they heard the footsteps reach the top of the stairs before turning to their daughter. Bailey had taken refuge on the end of the couch that TK and Carlos had already claimed, she’d pulled her knees up under her and curled comfortably around a pillow. She looked to her fathers now, wondering if they’d changed their minds about being mad about missing her curfew.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked.

Carlos immediately spoke up.

“What? No.” He said, quickly dashing Bailey worry. “We just wanted to talk to you about something.”

Bailey nodded.

“Okay, what about?” She asked.

TK spoke now.

“We know that things have been really crazy the past few weeks with school, the fire, having to move and lose a lot of your personal space,” He said. “So, we were thinking that it might be fun to take a vacation for Spring break.”

Bailey’s eyes widened.

“Really?” She asked. “Where?”

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “There’s a conference in LA that we were originally thinking about going to alone but we think that it’d make a cool family vacation. The conference is only over the weekend which would give us the rest of the week to go see the sights, visit with some friends, and just have a good time.”

“Maybe we could go to Disneyland?” Bailey asked.

TK and Carlos looked to their daughter whose eyes were sparkling with hope. They looked to each other and TK laughed a little bit and shrugged. He certainly wouldn’t be against a Disney day. Carlos smiled.

“I think that could be arranged.” Carlos said turning back to Bailey.

Bailey’s face lit up in a smile and she bounded across the couch, pulling her fathers into a hug.

“Thank you thank you thank you.” She said.

TK and Carlos couldn’t stop smiling, this was going to be fun.

[mb0328]

Chapter 31

IT WAS THAT KIND OF a night, everybody was tired, stressed, and anxious. With an arsonist in the wind and both of their fathers somehow getting caught up in the shuffle, Carlos and TK only wanted to spend time with their family. Bailey, however, hadn’t been feeling well since her drop two days prior so she’d been in bed since earlier that afternoon. The poor girl was exhausted, a little feverish, and on the verge of a sensory overload. So, with their daughter out of commission, they’d decided to take the evening to spend some…quality time together.

Carlos pinned TK’s arms above his head as he kissed down his neck. TK eyes fluttered closed as a smile touched his lips and he moaned quietly. Until, however, he noticed a difference in their surroundings.

“Do you smell that?” TK asked, catching Carlos’ attention.

“Smell what?” Carlos questioned.

TK lay there for a moment before he realized.

“Smoke.”

✵✵✵

“Bailey!” Carlos screamed, fumbling back through the hallway to get to his daughter’s room.

“Papá!” Bailey’s voice came back.

TK made it to the door first, feeling the knob for any heat. He found none and pulled it open. Bailey fell backwards onto them. The back wall of Bailey’s room was engulfed in flames and Carlos pulled Bailey against his chest and he and TK guided her back into their room.

“Carlos call 9-1-1, hang a towel outside the window so that they know where they are,” TK said moving to the bedroom door and shoving a blanket under it. “This will buy us a few minutes. Where’s the fire extinguisher?”

“Under the kitchen sink.” Carlos replied pulling a shirt on over his head.

“We don’t have one up here?” TK asked.

“No.” Carlos muttered.

“Okay.” He mumbled.

Bailey swallowed hard as she looked between her fathers, hoping they had some idea of what to do when the curtains sparked up in flames. Bailey screamed and clutched at Carlos’ shirt who only held her tighter.

“This cannot be happening,” TK said moving to Bailey and Carlos. “Watch out,” He called as another corner sprang up in flames. “The window, how far down do you think that drop is?”

“Uhh,” Carlos racked his brain. “Like twenty, twenty-five feet.”

“That’s our only shot.” TK said.

Carlos pushed Bailey over to TK and grabbed one of the chairs from near the bed, busting out the bedroom window quickly. TK grabbed Bailey’s shoulders and turned her to him so that she was looking in his eyes.

“You go first, we’ll be right behind you.” He said.

Bailey shook her head roughly, not wanting to leave them

“Look look look, if we don- if we-” She started.

“Hey hey hey,” TK cut her off. “We love you so much.”

“Now go.” Carlos said pushing Bailey towards the window.

She was just about to jump through it when the bedroom door busted open and Owen walked through, a bandana wrapped around his face.

“TK, follow me!” He called.

“Dad!” TK said.

“Let’s go, come on, come on.” Owen urged.

TK and Carlos kept Bailey in between them as they moved.

“Put these over your faces.” Owen said, handing them each a bandana.

“Do not touch the walls on the way down. Go go go.” Billy shouted, taking up the tail end of the group.

“Hey, hurry up, this whole place is about to flash over!” Judd called as the group finally made it down the stairs.

Everybody quickly moved out of the house, pushing and pulling each other until they were all clear. The whole world sparked bright as the fire finally consumed the roof and Bailey watched as her home burned.

✵✵✵

Carlos and TK held Bailey close in between them, all three wrapped in blankets. Bailey was still cooling down, her head lolling from one side to the other. TK’s heart jolted when Bailey let out a shattering cough that made his own chest hurt.

“Sweetheart that cough doesn’t sound too good,” Nancy said. “Can you come over to the ambo with me? I want to get you on some oxygen.”

Nancy put a gentle hand on Bailey’s arm gently pulling the girl over to where the ambulance was parked but Bailey wasn’t having any of it. She immediately pulled away.

“No no no,” She said, panicking and pushing herself harder against her fathers. “Papá, no.”

“Hey, hey,” Carlos said. “You’re fine mija, you’re gonna be with Nancy and Tommy.”

When he looked down at Bailey he saw that her eyes were glazed, it was almost like she wasn’t really seeing him. He cupped her cheek and studied her expression thoroughly, her eyes were glazed over and even without her speaking, her body language screamed anxious. She wasn’t going to go anywhere that he and TK weren’t, that was glaringly obvious.

“Nance, could you maybe bring a portable oxygen tank off the truck?” TK suggested. “She’s pretty shaken up right now.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Nancy said, walking off toward the ambulance.

Carlos held Bailey close as Nancy went to get the portable oxygen tank.

“Bailey!” Somebody yelled.

Bailey flinched away from the sound, pushing farther into her father’s body. Carlos looked up over the crowd and saw Noah trying to get through the police barrier.

“Hey!” Carlos called, catching the attention of the officers. “He’s good, let him through.”

The officers nodded, allowing the teen to pass. Noah made a beeline for the small family of three.

“Are you all okay?” Noah asked.

“We’re fine. Shaken up and a little anxious but otherwise okay.” TK said.

Noah looked to Bailey who still hadn’t said anything.

“Bails?” He said softly.

Bailey’s eyes lifted slowly seeing Noah and smiling slightly but still maintaining her position. She did however reach out a hand to allow Noah to hold it.

“I’m here Bails, just take your time.” He said, squeezing her hand reassuringly and running his thumb over her knuckles.

TK and Carlos’ appreciated Noah’s patience with their daughter. Everybody understood that the situation was overwhelming, Bailey had been through hell and now this. TK sighed as he looked around at the aftermath of the fire, firetrucks, police cars, ambulances, and more. How was it that they were surrounded by friends and family and yet they still felt alone.

✵✵✵

Everything was ash, there was nothing left of the home that they’d brought Bailey into and that hurt TK and Carlos deeply. They’d worked so hard to build a home for their family and in one evening, all that was left to show their efforts was smoldering wood, charred fabrics, and warped metal. TK and Carlos had been able to coax Bailey into the back of the ambulance with Nancy and Noah so that they could have some time to survey the damages. They stood together on what used to be their front lawn, wrapped in fire blankets.

“I can’t believe it’s all gone.” Carlos muttered, a lump forming in his throat.

TK wrapped his arms around Carlos and pulled him close.

“We’re gonna be okay Carlos, everything’s gonna work out.” He said.

“How?” Carlos asked. “How is all of this going to work out? Everything that we had was in that house.”

TK shook his head.

“Not everything, babe,” He said, nodding towards the ambulance. Carlos turned and looked over. Bailey was still sitting in the back with Noah, she was curled into his side, her head resting on his shoulder as Nancy checked her vitals. “We still have each other, and we still have our amazing daughter. I mean, I don’t know about you but I’m not going anywhere.”

Carlos smiled.

“You’re right, we still have our family.” He said.

[mb0328]

Chapter 30

“I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS actually happening right now.” Bailey mumbled straightening out her shirt for maybe the tenth time.

Carlos looked up in the rearview mirror and chuckled.

“Mija, calm down,” He said. “They’re really excited to meet you.”

They were currently driving to Carlos’ parents’ house. Originally, the meeting was supposed to be at their house but with the repairs still not quite finished, they’d decided to move it to Carlos’ parents’ ranch. TK turned around in the passenger seat and looked back at their daughter.

“Why are you so nervous kiddo?” He asked.

Bailey shrugged and hummed. TK gave her a knowing look.

“You do know, come on sweetheart.” TK pushed.

Bailey sighed and bit the inside of her cheek.

“It’s just that I never met them when I was around as a foster and now I’m just showing up as an adopted granddaughter and I just don’t want them to not like me.” She said.

Carlos understood where she was coming from, they hadn’t done things conventionally in any way shape of form. So it made sense that Bailey was nervous.

“I know that it’s weird to be showing up as a part of the family while never having met anybody,” Carlos said. “But, dad and I have told them so much about you. They know about your art and we’ve sent them pictures of you and the things we’ve done as a family. And you know about them, I’ve told you stories and different little things. You’re not a stranger to them Bails, you’re their granddaughter.”

Bailey listed to her papá’s words intently. He was right, he had told her about them numerous times and she knew quite a bit about them and the rest of his family.

“Are your sisters and cousins going to be there?” Bailey asked.

“I’m actually not sure,” Carlos said. “It was still up in the air when I last talked to my mom.”

TK turned back around and glanced out of the window before turning back to Bailey and smiling.

“It looks like we’re about to find out,” He said. “We’re here.”

✵✵✵

She stuck by her fathers like glue as they made their way up the pathway to the front of the house. There were several cars around the front of the house and they could hear many voices coming from the backyard. Apparently papá’s sisters and cousins had decided to come which meant more people and Bailey wasn’t sure how to feel about that. When they made it up to the porch TK looked at Bailey with a soft smile.

“You ready?” He asked.

“Sure.” She squeaked.

Carlos wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulders and knocked on the door. He and TK knew that Bailey was nervous though they wished they could somehow calm her nerves, they also knew that the only way that her nerves would go away was meeting the family and realizing that they had already accepted her even in their distance. The door opened, revealing Carlos’ mother, a broad smile on her face.

“OH! Carlitos, TK, Bailey, you made it.” She pushed the screen door open and TK caught it, pulling it open the rest of the way.

“Hola mamá.” Carlos said, accepting the hug that his mother offered.

Andrea turned to Bailey with a smile.

“Bailey, I’m so happy to meet you. Gabriel is out back trying to get the grill to light, I swear it gives out every other week,” She laughed. “Come in, come in, everybody is out back already. The kids have been talking about playing catch with you, TK, since the last time we all got together and I think that Rosa and Miguel are about to lose their minds.”

TK laughed. Rosa, Carlos’ older sister, and her husband Miguel had been overjoyed when they’d found out that TK was keen on playing around with the kids and entertaining their interesting ideas about baseball. Together, the trio walked through the house that Carlos had grown up with. Bailey’s eyes wondered over the pictures hanging on the walls. They lined the living room, dining room and the hallways. They were just walking through the sitting room when Andrea stopped and turned to Bailey.

“Bailey, Gabriel and I were so excited to hear that one of your paintings was put into the Art Museum a few weeks ago. We went and saw it when it opened to the public and it was beautiful, nieta. Your papá sent us a picture of you on the night it was put up.” She said.

Bailey’s eyes widened. December felt like a lifetime ago. It was mid-February and yet the museum exhibit was still a topic of conversation.

“You did?” She asked then looked to Carlos. “You did?”

Carlos nodded.

“Yeah, mija, I told you I’d sent them pictures, you really think I didn’t share that?” He said.

Andrea laughed.

“Nieta, your pictures are all around,” She said. “Carlos and TK have bragged about you so much I think I know you better than you do. You have been a member of this family since the day you stepped foot into my son’s home, never forget that.”

Bailey’s eyes watered at Andrea’s words. Andrea opened her arms a bit and Bailey immediately moved forward and accepted the hug,

“Gracias abuelita.” She muttered using the little Spanish that she’d picked up in school and being around papá.

Andrea laughed and hugged her tighter.

“Welcome home nieta.” She whispered.

✵✵✵

Bailey was enamored, there were so many people and they were all so accepting and loving. Rosa had given Carlos a fairly intense speech about how he should have brought Bailey to meet them sooner and that she wanted to spend time with her new niece. Her papá had looked like a scolded child and Bailey had laughed when TK had tried to tag in and Rosa had turned her rath on him. She had been pulled into a high-energy game of tag with the other kids and TK and Carlos watched with pride as she fell so well into place with the family.

“She looks to be having a lot of fun.” TK said, settling comfortably into his boyfriend’s side.

“Yeah, she does,” Carlos agreed, wrapping his arm around TK’s shoulders. “You think she’s still anxious?”

TK shrugged.

“She doesn’t seem to be but you know how she is. She can hide her emotions so well I swear she might as well come with her own DaVinci code.” He said.

Carlos chuckled.

“Yeah, sometimes it definitely feels like that.” He agreed.

TK shivered a bit as a breeze began to pick up.

“You cold?” Carlos asked.

TK nodded.

“Yeah a little bit.” He admitted.

Carlos nodded and hugged TK closer, his eyes moving back to where the kids were playing. Bailey had begun to slow down and Carlos peeked up.

“Hey, I think Bailey’s feeling it too.” He said.

“What?” TK asked, his eyes flying to their daughter.

They stayed still for a moment to see if Bailey truly was in danger of a drop or would shake it off. But then she stumbled and they were on their feet. Bailey felt the change too and tried to make her way over to her fathers but they made it to her first.

“Hey mija, how ya feelin’?” Carlos asked, catching Bailey’s shoulders.

“Cold.” She said thickly.

“What’s her temp TK?” Carlos asked, looking to TK who had dug out his phone from his pocket.

TK flipped through his phone before his stomach flipped.

“95° and dropping.” He muttered.

“Okay, let’s get her inside.” Carlos said.

Together they started to move toward the house. Andrea saw

“Carlos, que pasa?” She asked.

“Bailey’s dropping hard mama,” Carlos said, helping TK bring Bailey up to the house. “She’s too cold.”

Andrea nodded, worry lacing her features.

“In the living room, I’ll get Gabriel.” She said.

Once inside TK stayed with Bailey on the couch, holding her close.

“D-d-d-dad, I-I’m c-c-c-cold.” Bailey stuttered.

“I know kiddo, okay,” TK muttered as Bailey tilted to the side and shivers racked through her body. “Almost Bails, papá’s coming.”

Carlos ran through the house picking up every blanket he could find and rushing back to where TK was holding Bailey in the living room.

“What can we do Carlos?” Andrea asked.

“Can you get something warm for her to drink? Maybe a warm water bottle?” Carlos suggested.

“Nothing hot though,” TK spoke up. “We can’t warm her up too quickly, if we do we’ll have an entirely different problem.”

Andrea nodded and hurried off to the kitchen to see what she could throw together. Gabriel moved to the fireplace and worked on stocking up a flame. Soon, with the blankets, the fire, and Andrea’s hot chocolate, Bailey’s temperature began to reach normal. Her shivers turned to only the occasional chill and she soon relaxed against TK, exhausted.

“Okay, I think we’re good.” TK said.

“Are you sure TK?” Andrea asked, looking to her granddaughter with worry in her eyes.

TK smiled reassuringly.

“Yeah, she stopped shivering and her temperature is back up to 96° and she’s relaxed.” He said.

“Okay.” Andrea said, letting herself sit down in a chair across the room.

Carlos looked to his parents and smiled.

“Gracias, por tu ayuda.” He said.

“De nada Carlitos,” Gabriel said. “Para familia, cualquier cosa.”

✵✵✵

TK was practically an owl with how often he kept turning to check on Bailey on their way home. She’d had fallen asleep almost immediately after getting into the car, shivering, against most people’s opinions, is actually very draining

“TK, she’s okay.” Carlos said.

TK sighed and sunk into his chair.

“I know she is I also know that she’s going to feel terrible when she wakes up.” He said.

Carlos nodded.

“Yeah, my mom said that she’d stop by tomorrow morning with my dad to spend some time with Bailey. She feels bad that this happened.” He said.

“She can’t blame herself. The temp dropped quickly; we didn’t notice.” TK said.

Carlos cocked a brow and threw a side-long look at his boyfriend.

“Maybe you should take your own advice their babe.” He chuckled.

“Oh shut up and drive.” TK mumbled crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

[mb0328]

Chapter 29

BAILEY SAT IN HER MATH class looking out the window of the portable. Early December meant that it was the wet and cold season, and this year was no exception. It had been raining for three days now but today the lightning and thunder had struck with a vengeance unlike anything she’d ever seen. It was standard practice for Bailey to wear a sweatshirt and have a jacket or sometimes even two with weather like this. Her dads were both working 24-hour shifts though so she was home alone for the night. They were both a bit nervous about leaving Bailey alone for the night. They trusted her explicitly, trust was not the issue, the issue was a mixture of the weather and the moderate unpredictability of Bailey’s thermoregulatory dysfunction. Safe to say that even though she had promised her fathers that she’d be fine, Bailey was anxious about spending the night alone in the current weather conditions as well.

“Bailey.” Somebody called.

Bailey looked to the front of the classroom where her teacher was looking at her expectantly.

“I’m sorry what?” She asked.

“The problem on the board, come and complete it please.” Mrs. Daniels said.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Bailey said, blinking out her daze and walking to the white board.

She was halfway through the problem when the wind picked up and they could hear things hitting the side of the portable, drawing her attention from the board. The portable was separate from the main school building, it was one of the few classrooms on campus while part of the main building was being renovated. Her phone started to vibrate in her back pocket and she furrowed her brow. It wasn’t common for her to get notifications throughout the day and soon enough the vibrations quit. However, not even a minute later it was vibrating again. Something wasn’t right, she pulled out her phone and saw that it was her dad calling her. Bailey put down the marker, her problem half completed and approached her teacher.

“Mrs. Daniels,” She said, getting her teacher’s attention. “My dad’s calling me. He’s on shift at the fire house and he never calls me while I’m at school if he can help it and I just…I need to take it.”

Mrs. Daniels could see the anxiety on Bailey’s face and nodded.

“Of course, head to the back of the room, I don’t want you going outside in this weather.” She said.

Bailey nodded and walked to the back of the room quickly before accepting the call.

“Dad, what’s going on?” She asked, holding the phone up to her ear.

“Oh good,” Her dad breathed a sigh of relief. “Bails listen, there are some serious high wind warnings coming through and I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Dad, I’m fine,” Bailey looked outside again and then thought again. “Maybe a little anxious, but fine.”

“Okay, I know you’re supposed to be home alone tonight, are you still okay with that?” TK asked.

“Yeah,” Bailey replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Because I can call in or maybe you could stay with Noah and his family for the night-”

“Dad,” Bailey said, interrupting her father’s stream of worry. “I’ll be fine.”

She heard her dad take a deep breath on the other end of the line.

“Okay, as long you’re sure.” He said.

“I am.” Bailey said.

“Alright sweetheart, go on back to class and papá and I will see you tomorrow morning.” TK said.

“Okay,” Bailey said. “I’ll see you then.”

“Love you kiddo.” TK said.

“Love you too dad.” Bailey replied.

After that phone call Bailey’s anxiety was an ever-present flipping in her stomach. She played it off fairly well but Noah was far too observant to let it slide.

“Okay, what’s going on?” He asked, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into his side gently.

Bailey exhaled heavily.

“My dad called me and said that there were high wind warnings for tonight and I’m supposed to stay home alone tonight. So-”

“So, his concern is playing with your anxiety but you still told him that you were fine and not to worry.” Noah finished for her.

Bailey chuckled.

“You catch on quick.” She said.

Noah nodded.

“It just makes sense,” He said. “I’m the same way. I don’t want to worry my parents when they’re working night shifts even if I’m worried about something so I just tell them I’m fine and brush it off.”

Bailey was surprised. She had thought that since Noah had grown up with his father being in the force and his mother being a nurse that he was used to spending nights alone, now she could see that she was wrong.

“I didn’t know you had a hard time too,” She said. “I’m sorry for assuming, I shouldn’t have.”

Noah shrugged.

“It’s okay.” He said.

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry.” Bailey insisted.

Noah smiled.

“It’s okay. But thank you for apologizing,” He said. “Do you want me to hang out at yours for a bit after school? I’m gonna take you home so it’s not a big deal.”

Bailey shook her head.

“You and I both know that you’re saying that now but in reality you’ll stay really late and then go home and kick yourself because you’ve got your History project due on Monday and you haven’t started it yet.” She said.

Noah arched a brow.

“How do you know that I haven’t started it? I could be almost done with it.” He argued.

It was Bailey’s turn to arch her brow and Noah relented.

“Yeah, I know, I didn’t believe that either.” He laughed.

Bailey laughed.

“I do appreciate the ride home though,” Bailey said. “I won’t have to wear three jackets now.”

Noah laughed and nodded.

“Of course, love.” He said kissing the side of her head.

“Now we just have to make it through the rest of the day.” Bailey sighed.

“Well, that should be interesting.” Noah said.

The rest of the day was just that, interesting. Not because the topics that the teachers covered were interesting, but because there were just weird things were happening. Apparently as the weather grew gloomier, the moods of the students grew more eccentric, there were a group of boys who were in through for dousing the chemistry teacher’s car in dish soap with the hope that it would rain before the end of the day and the car would be covered in suds. Why? No clue. But nobody ever said that high school boys made sense.

“You ready to go?” Noah asked, coming up behind Bailey as she leaned against the railing outside the front doors of the school watching the principal lecture these aforementioned boys till kingdom come.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Bailey said. Noah slipped his hand into hers and together they walked to Noah’s car. “Noah?”

“Yeah?” Noah asked, reaching into his pocket for his car keys.

“Was that soap thing funny to you?” Bailey asked.

Noah stopped, looked back at the car and the boys and then back to Bailey.

“Yeah, a little?” He replied, cracking a smile.

Bailey blinked a couple times before simply walking around the car and climbing into the passenger side.

✵✵✵

After Noah dropped Bailey off at her house she dropped her backpack on the couch and immediately went straight out to her studio in the back. She connected her phone to the Bluetooth speaker on the shelf and started pulling out art supplies to jump into a painting. She was cut short however when there was a large crash outside of the door and Bailey stood frozen. She hit pause on her phone and the shed was thrown into silence.

“What the hell was that?” She muttered.

She moved quickly to the door and tried to open it, to no avail. She peeked out of the window and saw that a large branch had broken off of the nearby tree and fallen in front of the shed door.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” She cried.

✵✵✵

Judd had offered to drive TK home since his car was under three feet of tree.

Bailey: Don’t be mad.

When Bailey’s text came through TK furrowed his brow.

TK: What are you talking about? Why would I be mad?

Bailey: Because something happened last night.

TK sat up straighter in his seat and stiffened.

“TK? What’s going on?” Judd asked.

“I don’t know, I’m trying to find out.” TK said.

TK: What happened?

Bailey: You know how you warned me about the wind?

TK: Yeah

Bailey: Well, I kind of had a run in with a tree…

TK: You what?!

Bailey: I’m fine, I promise. I’m just a little stuck.

TK sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his nose and forefinger.

TK: Where?

Bailey: My art studio. A branch fell in front of the door and I can’t get out.

TK: Well…I’m on my way home now and Judd’s with me so we’ll get you out when we get there.

Bailey: Okay. Love you.

TK chuckled.

TK: Love you too Bails.

Judd looked over at TK.

“So, what’s going on exactly?” Judd asked.

“I think we’re gonna have to see this before we believe it.” TK groaned.

Judd cocked a brow but shrugged.

“Okay then,” He said pulling the car up in front of TK and Carlos’ home. “Let’s see how bad this is.”

TK chuckled and pulled his bag onto his shoulder before pushing the door open.

“What the fuck?” He muttered, stepping out of the car slowly and taking in the scene in front of him.

TK stood in his front yard, his jaw nearly on the ground.

“There is a tree through my daughter’s bedroom window.” He said.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about your daughter than the window.” Judd said.

“Bailey’s fine,” TK breathed. “She texted me; she was in her art studio when the tree fell. She’s trapped but fine.”

“Trapped?” Judd asked.

TK nodded.

“Tree branch fell in front of the door. It’s too heavy for her to push out of the way so she’s just hanging out in there.” He said.

“I’m glad that we reinforced that thing.” Judd muttered.

“Tell me about it,” TK muttered. “She’ll be fine for a while, but I’d like to get her out of there as soon as we can.”

Judd chuckled.

“That girl got really lucky this time.” He said.

“Yeah, she did,” TK mumbled. “I’m gonna walk around back and check on Bailey. Carlos should be home soon, but can you call the others and see if they can spare a couple of hours?”

“Of course,” Judd said. “I’ll see if Paul can scrounge up a couple chainsaws.”

“Thanks Judd.” TK said walking back to the side gate to head to the backyard.

When he made his way around the house he froze when he saw the destruction littering the backyard. Luckily the only real damage to the house and yard was a branch through Bailey’s window and a bigger branch in front and partially on her art studio.

“Dear God,” TK muttered making it to the door. “Bails, I’m here kiddo. Are you okay?”

Bailey appeared in the window a sheepish smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just embarrassed and a little tired.” She said.

“Did you even go to bed last night Bails? It’s 7:30 in the morning, I didn’t think you’d be up this early.” TK said, assessing the limb that was trapping Bailey inside.

“I don’t think you want me to answer that.” Bailey said.

TK paused.

“Why?” He asked, Bailey didn’t respond, instead she just sunk out of view of the window, and TK squeezed his eyes shut. “Bailey, you’ve been in there since last night haven’t you.”

“Uh, yeah.” Bailey said.

“Bailey Hayden Reyes-Strand. Why didn’t you call me when it happened?” TK said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to think that I couldn’t handle myself. Besides, I’m fine. I have food and water and I knew that you were gonna be home this morning and if you called and said that you were gonna be late then I would have told you.” Bailey rambled.

TK sighed.

“Bailey, you know that I don’t think that you can’t handle yourself. I just worry, it’s kind of my job.” He said.

“I don’t want you to though.” Bailey said, her voice getting quieter.

TK sighed, and pulled himself up onto the branch, leaning against the outside wall of the shed.

“Bails, come back to the window.” He said.

Bailey slowly moved to the un-opening window and sat on the stool under it. He could see that she was upset.

“Bailey, you know Carlos and I, we would do anything for you. We’ll always worry about you. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t trust you and love you,” TK said, catching Bailey’s eyes. “You’re our daughter Bailey, maybe not by blood but in every way that counts.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you.” Bailey said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

What TK would give to hold her right now.

“You could never disappoint me, Bailey.” He said.

“Really?” She asked.

“Really,” TK agreed, a soft smile on his face. “Now, let’s get you out of here so you can get some sleep.”

“I slept a little bit.” Bailey argued.

TK chuckled.

“Where, in your little hammock thing?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Bailey laughed.

“You are such a dork.” He laughed.

✵✵✵

It had taken a couple of hours and the majority of the 126 but they finally got Bailey out of the shed. TK had called Carlos while Judd had begun calling their teammates and Carlos had immediately booked it out of the station and was home in record time.

“She is such your daughter.” He laughed looking over at TK.

TK mocked hurt but knew that Carlos’ comment came from love. Judd pulled Bailey out of the shed, they’d had to pry the door off and cut it in half since the branch was far too large for them to remove in a short amount of time. Bailey stretched out once she was free and yawned wide, the exhaustion of the sleepless night before finally catching up to her. However, when she looked up and saw the branch through her window her shoulder sagged.

“You have got to be kidding me.” She groaned.Nobody could help the laughter that bubbled up after that.

[mb0328]

Chapter 28

“GRACE CAN YOU HELP ME with my hair, I’m failing miserably.” Bailey said, shuffling out of the bathroom in her shorts and t-shirt, her hair half held up with her right hand while she held a comb in her left.

Grace looked up from her computer and laughed a bit, motioning for Bailey to come closer.

“I thought I could do it on my own but I think I just tied it into a knot instead.” Bailey said.

Grace stood and inspected the teen’s attempt at the hairdo. She hadn’t done too horribly but she had created a sufficiently impressive mess.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say a knot but you’ve created quite the mess,” Grace laughed. “Come back into my bathroom and I’ll help you out. Do you have a picture of what you were trying to do?”

“Yeah.” Bailey said pulling up the photo and showing it to Grace.

Grace smiled inspecting the photo.

“I think I can manage that.” She said.

Together Grace and Bailey sat in the bathroom, Grace twisting and looping Bailey’s hair into the half up half down bow. Bailey’s hands were twisting in her lap, nerves starting to build about the night to come.

“Any particular reason your wringing your hands like towels, hun?” Grace asked.

Bailey bit the inside of her cheek.

“I’m nervous about tonight.” She admitted.

“Why? The hard part’s over isn’t it. You made it into the exhibit.” Grace said, pulling the last few strands of Bailey’s hair into place.

Bailey shrugged.

“I didn’t tell dad and papá but each of the participants have to talk about why they painted what they did,” Bailey said. “I’m not all that great at talking in front of people.”

Grace nodded and moved in front of Bailey, kneeling down so that she could meet the teen’s eyes.

“Have you written what you want to say?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Bailey said looking down at her lap. “But it’s not very good.”

“You’re gonna be fine. You’re not only talented with a brush Bailey,” Grace said, catching Bailey’s chin with her finger and bringing it up so that she was looking Grace in the eye. “You have a way with words too. When the time comes, you’ll know what to say.”

Bailey nodded.

“Has anybody ever asked you to define something that you’ve spent your whole life thinking you’d lost?” She asked.

“I can’t say that they have.” Grace said.

Bailey nodded.

“Yeah,” She breathed. “That’s kind of where I am.”

Grace looked at Bailey for a moment but the look in Bailey’s eye told Grace not to push the matter.

“How about we finish getting you ready. Your dads will be here soon to pick you up.” Grace said.

It took Bailey a while to finish getting ready, putting on her makeup and taking her dress out of the garment bag. Marjan and Grace had been thrilled when Bailey asked them if they’d help her find something for the event. They’d spent days hopping from store to store, TK and Carlos started expecting the women on their doorstep every Saturday and Sunday morning for a number of weeks before they came home with a dress in hand. She had only just fastened her bracelet around her wrist when there was a knock on her door.

“Come in.” Bailey said.

The door was pushed open and Judd poked his head in.

“You have visitors at the door darlin’.” He said, opening the door a bit wider.

Bailey stood up, her coat and bag in hand.

“You look lovely.” Judd smiled.

“Thanks Uncle J.” Bailey smiled.

She followed Judd out of the guest room and into the living room where she saw her dads talking to Grace.

“Ah, there she is.” Grace smiled.

TK and Carlos turned and saw Bailey standing in her dress.

“Oh Bailey.” TK said.

“You look gorgeous mija.” Carlos said.

Bailey smiled and walked over to her fathers; they hugged her lightly before pulling back. Carlos looked over at TK and nodded.

“We have something for you,” TK said. “It’s a bit overdue if you ask me but we wanted to make sure that the timing was right and now seems a good as any.”

“Babe,” Carlos said, putting a gentle hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “You’re babbling.

Carlos pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it towards him before pulling out a thin chain. Bailey was confused until she saw the pendent that was hanging from the necklace. A small sterling silver EMS symbol hung from the chain. As it turned she saw a delicate etching of 126 on the back.

“It’s beautiful.” She breathed.

“This way,” Carlos said, motioning for Bailey to turn around. “You will always have us with you.”

Carlos gently clasped the necklace around Bailey’s neck before pulling her hair through so that it fell naturally at her back again. Bailey turned around, tears in her eyes.

“Oh sweetheart, no tears,” TK laughed, swiping his thumb under Bailey’s eye to catch the tear before it could fall. “Happy things.”

Bailey laughed.

“I know, I don’t know why I’m crying.” She said.

“Because you’re happy.” Carlos offered.

“Incredibly.” Bailey said, wrapping her arms around her dads.

“We love you so much Bailey.” Carlos said, kissing the top of her head.

“I love you too.” Bailey said.

Bailey pulled back, swiping her hands under her eyes lightly again to make sure that her cheeks were dry.

“We should head to the museum; we don’t want to be late.” Carlos said.

“The family awaits.” TK announced, ushering people to the door.

“Hey Bailey,” Grace called. Bailey turned and looked at her Aunt. Grace approached her with a smile, adjusting the necklace that now hung on her neck. “I think you have your speech.”

Bailey smiled.

“I think you’re right.” She said.

✵✵✵

The 126 was gathered happily in the lobby, waiting for the exhibit to officially be unveiled when they heard a mic turn on, gathering the attention of the dozens of people in the room. They turned to see a man taking the stage and standing behind a podium.

“Welcome all to the 17th annual Austin Art Museum High School exhibit unveiling. As most of you may know this is an annual event in which we add five pieces of art from local high schoolers to our ever-growing exhibit. Tonight we have a few firsts for our event. Our first silhouette piece as well as our youngest artist. Tonight promises to be intriguing and promising. So, without further ado let us begin our evening. Please welcome the owner of the Austin Art Museum, Mr. Gabriel Peters.” The man said, stepping away from the podium as Mr. Peters took his place.

“Good evening and welcome again. Thank you for joining us this evening as we celebrate the lovely pieces of art that these young adults have put so much time and effort into. I won’t bore you with a long speech so instead I will simply say this. You don’t find beauty in art in just the image, but also in the meaning and truth behind it. So as you admire tonight’s pieces I encourage you to not only respect the pieces as a whole but also listen to their creators, you may just learn something,” Mr. Peters says with a gentle smile, nodding to somebody on stage who carries up a canvas covered in a black sheet. “Our first piece of the night, ‘Chosen Family,” is a silhouette piece painted by our youngest nominee. She has asked that before we reveal her piece that it remains covered until she has spoken. Please join me in welcoming to the stage Miss Bailey Williams.”

TK and Carlos both looked at their daughter in surprise, the rest of the 126 sharing similar expressions. The only one who didn’t seem to be surprised was Grace who gave Bailey a reassuring smile as she took the stage. Bailey stood at the podium, her head held high and a smile on her face. She took a deep breath and waited for the room to quiet before speaking. “Thank you Mr. Peters for that lovely introduction,” Bailey began, taking a breath before starting her speech. “Family is defined in our dictionary as a group of one or more parents and their offspring living together as a unit. Or a group of people related to one another by blood or marriage. But my idea of family isn’t so conventional or easily defined. I was put into the foster care system at the age of three after my parents were killed in a robbery homicide, I in turn was injured and now live with something called thermoregulatory dysfunction or the inability to control or maintain my body temperature. This may seem like a strange way to begin a speech that’s supposed to be about a painting but bear with me. It is because of this condition of mine that I was introduced to the most amazing group of people. This new group of people now includes people that I call Uncle and Aunt, Grandpa, and Dad and Papá. For so long I thought that you only got one chance at family, and that my chance had been taken from me the night my parents were stolen from me,” Bailey said, her voice catching in her throat. TK clutched at Carlos’ hand and swallowed hard. He wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t cry. “But I was wrong. Some families are created in different ways but are still in every way, a family. For my piece I decided to paint my family, not the family that I lost but the family I chose, the family that chose me,” 

She said stepping back and carefully pulling the sheet off of the canvas, revealing the piece.

“Fire house 126. My name is Bailey Reyes-Strand and this is the family that we chose.”

TK had failed, tears were practically pouring down his face but he wore them with pride. The piece was beautiful. The burning fire behind the silhouettes of every member of the team only emphasized the bold words written along the top. Carlos wrapped an arm around TK’s waist and pulled him close.

“That’s our girl up there.” He said.

TK nodded.

“Our daughter.” TK replied with a smile.

“She’s right you know.” Owen said, stepping up to the couple.

TK turned and looked at his father.

“About?” He asked.

Owen gestured up towards the painting.

“Fire House 126, it really is the family we chose.” He said.

✵✵✵

Everybody had filtered back to TK and Carlos’ for a bit of a post-gala celebration limited to family. Bailey had been bouncing in her seat on the way home from the museum, they were going to tell everybody about the adoption plan tonight. She’d used the last name Reyes-Strand in her speech at the gala but the 126 hadn’t thought much of it since she’d begun using the name more often anyway. They weren’t aware of the new meaning that it held.

“You know the bouncing won’t get us there any faster Bails.” TK laughed, looking back at his daughter.

“I know, I’m just excited.” She said.

“We know you are but you’re making your father nervous.” Carlos laughed.

“She is not.” TK defended, though he had a bit more of an edge in his voice than he’d intended making Carlos and Bailey laugh.

When they finally pulled into their driveway some of the others had already arrived.

“Bailey, the temperature dropped quite a bit, do you have a coat in here?” TK asked.

“I’ll be fine to the door.” She said.

“Okay.” TK said.

They quickly moved inside so that the cold air couldn’t chill them too badly, though Bailey still moved to the kitchen quickly in search of a warm drink.

“I’m gonna go grab her sweater from upstairs,” Carlos said. “Do you want to pull out some snacks for everybody?”

“Yeah.” TK said

People began to trickle in steadily as the minutes passed and soon the whole family was there, just as they had been so many times before.

“So what do you think?” Carlos asked.

He and Bailey were in the kitchen brewing drinks.

“About what?” She asked.

“About all of this? The family.” Carlos clarified.

“Oh,” Bailey said, she looked around at the room full of people and smiled. “It feels right. I always wished for parents, just people who were willing to call me their daughter or at least family. And now I have that.”

Carlos pulled her against his side, planting a soft kiss on top of her head.

“All of that and more,” He whispered. “Let’s go find your dad and make this announcement, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Bailey smiled.

Carlos flitted through the room in search of TK, he found him talking with his dad in the corner.

“Hey babe, you ready?” Carlos asked, lacing his fingers with TK’s.

“Yeah,” TK said. “Is she?”

Owen raised a brow.

“Ready for what?” He asked. “I thought we were done with surprises.”

TK laughed.

“We’ve got one more dad.” He said.

Together they met Bailey by the fireplace.

“Before we tell them I have something that I want to say. Something that I didn’t say in my speech but want everybody to hear.” Bailey said.

“Yeah, of course sweetheart.” TK said.

“Ready?” Carlos asked.

Bailey nodded and turned to face the room.

“Everybody,” Carlos said, pulling people’s attention from their individual conversations. “Hey, thank you for coming tonight and thank you for supporting Bailey.”

A round of ‘of course’s’ and ‘yeah’s’ swooped through before the room quieted.

“Now, we have one more little surprise for you tonight but before we get to it, Bailey wants to say a couple things.” Carlos said.

Bailey took a breath.

“When my teacher asked us to paint our idea of family I was at a loss. My whole life the only idea of family that I had was the vague memory of my parents and the faded photo that I have in an old picture frame. I thought that if I moved on then I’d be disappointing them or somehow hurting their memory. But when I met all of you I realized that by moving on I wasn’t replacing one family with another, I was expanding it. And I thank God every day that it was the 126 that answered my call that day,” Bailey said, looking around at her family, happy tears in her eyes. “Because you all have become my family.”

“Oh sweetheart.” Grace said, wrapping her arms around her niece tightly.

Carlos cleared his throat and swiped a finger under his eyes.

“With that said,” He smiled pulling Bailey in front of he and TK, a hand on her shoulder. “We have a bit of an announcement to make.”

Everybody fidgeted in their seats.

“The topic of family seems to have a heavy weight on tonight. And we’d like to add to it. Carlos and I have officially filed to adopt Bailey.” TK said.There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as people stood in surprise and joy. Bailey was laughing and crying as she was hugged by everybody. This was her family; this was her home

[mb0328]

Chapter 27

TK and Carlos slumped up the front steps of the house.

“Bailey’s with Judd and Grace tonight right?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,” TK said through a yawn. “Grace is gonna help her get ready for the museum thing.”

“Do we have to pick her up or are they bringing her?” Carlos asked, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

“I don’t know, it depends on what time she’s ready I guess. If anything Judd said that they can bring her,” TK said rubbing his eye. “But I kind of want to take her.”

“What do you want for dinner?” Carlos asked.

“I don’t care. Bed sounds better.” TK said.

Carlos laughed looking over his shoulder at his boyfriend as he pushed the door open.

“You would say that.” He said.

“Not for that,” TK defended but then he thought about it. “Well, maybe for that.”

They both walked into the foyer and slipped off their shoes, putting their keys away and hanging their jackets.

“You were just yawning.” Carlos said.

TK smirked and slipped in front of Carlos, his hands falling to Carlos’ waist.

“I could be persuaded to stay awake.” He said leaning in close.

“Oh really?” Carlos asked kissing TK lightly.

“Yeah.” TK replied, in between kisses.

“Should I come back? Or…” Somebody spoke up, making TK and Carlos jump.

Carlos turned around and saw Marjan standing in their living room. Carlos opened his mouth but really didn’t know what to say, he looked back at TK who was just as confused as to why his coworker was standing in their living room.

“Um, Marjan,” Carlos started. “What are you doing here?”

Marjan smiled.

“I am here to get you changed.” She said.

“Yeah, that did not clear anything up.” TK said.

“TK your clothes are in Bailey’s room, Carlos yours are hanging in the downstairs hall bathroom,” Marjan instructed. Both men looked ready to argue but Marjan raised a hand to stop them. “I suggest you follow instructions.”

TK and Carlos exchanged looks and shrugged.

“I’ll see you in a minute.” Carlos whispered, pressing another light kiss to TK’s lips.

He watched as TK walked up the stairs and then followed his own set of instructions. Hanging on the hook behind the door was a pair of jeans and a nice white dress shirt, a navy-blue blazer hung around it. On the counter a pair of black socks and shoes.

“Okay then.” He muttered, quickly changing.

Many of his bathroom products had been laid out for him. Things like his toothbrush, a comb, and his cologne were lined up in a neat row next to the sink. He quirked a brow but didn’t exactly want to piss Marjan off so he went down the row. When he stepped out Marjan was no longer in the living room, instead Paul was in her place.

“Okay, how many of you are here?” Carlos asked.

“I was just about to ask the same question.” He heard TK’s voice behind him and when he turned his breath caught.

TK was dressed similarly to Carlos though instead of a white shirt and blue blazer he words a light blue shirt and a grey blazer.

“Hello handsome.” TK smiled running his hands down the front of Carlos’ shirt and blazer.

“Hello to you too.” Carlos smiled.

Paul cleared his throat gently, bringing the men’s attention to him.

“If you’d follow me, you’re table is ready.” He said, bowing his head and walking towards the back slider.

TK and Carlos followed without argument, at this point curiosity was winning them over. The moment they stepped through the back door they were stunned. Their backyard had been transformed into the most beautiful scene they’d ever seen. Fairy lights were draped along the patio covering and electric candles were scattered around the yard all surrounding a table set for two draped in a white tablecloth. A path lined with small lanterns. And behind it all stood Bailey dressed in a black and white dress, her hands resting in front of her. Paul gave them a bit of a push down the path before disappearing back inside. TK and Carlos walked together, hand in hand.

“Bailey.” Carlos breathed as they approached their daughter.

Bailey wore a wide smile on her face. She pulled out the two chairs for her fathers and TK and Carlos sat, one in each.

“I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me and it had come to my attention that you were both on shift during your anniversary a couple weeks ago so I planned this.” Bailey said gesturing to the yard.

“Bails, you didn’t have to.” TK said, amazed that their daughter had gone to such lengths for them.

“I wanted to,” Bailey said. “And before Paul comes out here with dinner, I have something for you.”

TK cocked a brow.

“Does this have something to do with the reason we haven’t been allowed in the back shed all week?” He asked.

Bailey laughed, walking around to the other side of the planter and nodding.

“It does, I couldn’t risk you guys seeing it before it was done. I only finished it late last night and to be honest I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be dry in time,” She said picking up the canvas and holding it backwards as she walked over to the table. “I hope you like it.”

When she turned it around TK’s breath caught.

It was stunning to say the least. Bailey’s silhouette pieces were well-known by everybody close to her since she was always working on them but this was unlike anything they’d seen her do before. Instead of an inanimate object it was TK and Carlos, forever captured in a moment of pure love.

“I don’t know how many pictures I went through before I found one that I liked but Grandpa had a picture on his phone that I kept coming back to,” Bailey explained. “So, I decided to use it.”

“Bailey, it’s beautiful.” Carlos said standing and pulling her in for a hug.

TK took the painting from Bailey’s hand and examined it further, running his hand over the paint, feeling each individual brush stroke that he knew she put so much thought into. Though the one thing that brought tears to his eyes was her signature at the bottom right corner of the portrait. In Bailey’s neat hand, a white BRS was painted.

“TK are you crying?” Carlos asked, moving behind his boyfriend and resting his hands on TK’s shoulders gently.

“Yeah.” He choked out pointing to the signature.

Bailey smiled.

“You saw.” She said quietly.

Carlos saw the signature and smiled.

“Bailey you signed it-”

“Bailey Reyes-Strand,” Bailey said for him. “I figured it was about time I started using the name. It belongs to my family after all.”

TK put the painting down against the table and stood, pulling Bailey into a tight hug.

“I love you daddy.” Bailey said, wrapping her arms around her father.

“Love you too sweetheart.” TK said

She felt another set of arms and she automatically knew it was Carlos.

“I love you Papá.” She said.

“Love you mija.” Carlos replied.

✵✵✵

The 126 and Grace all watched through the kitchen window as the small family hugged in the backyard.

“Should we bring out dinner now?” Mateo asked.

Grace waved her hand at him.

“Give them a minute.” She said.

As soon as the group separated Grace nodded to Mateo and Paul to take the food out. She saw Bailey gesture for her fathers to sit back down before giving them each a kiss on the cheek and gracefully bowing out to leave her them to their dinner. She ducked inside where Grace immediately embraced her.

“You did good honey.” She said.

Bailey looked up at her and smiled.

“You packed and ready to go?” Grace asked.

“Yeah, Judd put my bag in the truck while I was helping set up earlier.” Bailey confirmed.

Grace turned to her husband with a cocked brow.

“And her dress Judson?” She asked. She’d had a heavy hand in picking out Bailey’s dress for the Museum event and as such, was rather protective of it.

“Hanging from the grab handle in the back seat as instructed.” Judd said.

“Good, I’m going to go to the bathroom and then we can head out.” Grace said.

Bailey nodded, moving into the kitchen to help Paul, Marjan, and Mateo clean up the kitchen. Bailey was wiping down the counter when she saw Judd grabbing an apple from the bowl in the middle of the dining table.

“Judd those are-”

“Ah ah ah, he’ll figure it out.” Marjan said, stopping Bailey from warning Judd that the apple he was so happily about to bite into was ceramic, an early art project from the beginning of the school year.

The moment Judd tried to bite into the apple he recoiled.

“What the hell?” Judd said, examining the apple closely.

“They’re ceramic.” Bailey said, a small laugh escaping her.

Judd gave her an incredulous look before carefully yet angrily putting the apple back into the bowl. “I’ll be in the car.” He muttered, mumbling unintelligible nothings as he walked.

Grace walked out of the bathroom just as Judd shut the door. She looked from the door then to the group in the kitchen.

“What happened?” She asked.

And in that moment nobody could contain their laughter.

✵✵✵

TK and Carlos dug into their dinner as soon as Paul and Mateo set it in front of them. Paul had made chicken parmesan and, like always, it was delicious. TK looked up from his plate for a moment, catching Carlos’ gaze.

“What?” TK asked.

Carlos smiled.

“Nothing, just admiring the view.” He said.

“You’re so cheesy.” TK laughed, taking another bite of his chicken.

“You love it.” Carlos teased

TK shrugged, relenting to the fact.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.” He agreed.

Carlos chuckled, taking a drink of his water, his eyes flicking towards the house momentarily, no doubt he’d caught somebody looking at them through the kitchen window.

“Who?” TK asked.

“Bailey.” Carlos laughed.

TK smiled.

“Of course.” He said.

Carlos’ smile widened.

“Can you believe that she’s really ours?” He asked.

TK shook his head.

“No,” He admitted. “But, I am so incredibly grateful that she is.”

Carlos nodded.

“Me too. And I am so proud of her for everything that she’s accomplished.” He said. “Do you remember when she got the letter from the museum last month?”

TK laughed.

“Yeah,” He said. “She screamed so loud that I thought somebody had busted through the door.”

“You almost fell down the stairs trying to get to her.” Carlos said, laughing so hard that TK could barely understand what he said, not that he needed to be reminded of his near catastrophic foot fumble.

“Please don’t remind me.” TK laughed.

“Oh I will be reminding you of that until I am blue in the face, babe.” Carlos said.

TK’s brow arched.

“Two can play at that game, Carlos. You’re aware of that aren’t you?” He said.

“You don’t have anything nearly as bad-”

“Last week.” TK interrupted.

“What about las-”

“Bailey’s new paint set.” TK continued.

“TK.” Carlos said, realizing where TK was taking the conversation

“Your new shirt and pants.” TK continued.

“Okay, okay,” Carlos said holding his hands up in surrender. “I get it, you can play too.”

“And…” TK prompted.

“What fall last month?” Carlos resigned.

TK couldn’t help but smile.

✵✵✵

“Your dessert.” Paul said, a fake British accent putting a brownie sundae and two spoons in from of them.

TK laughed at Paul’s accent but smiled.

“Thank you, Paul,” TK said, then looked at his colleague with a sincere look. “For everything.”

Paul nodded.

“Thank your daughter, she’s the one who put all of this together. Speaking of which she asked me to tell you that she is good for the night, she, Judd, and Grace left about fifteen minutes ago. The rest of us will be leaving shortly, leaving you two alone,” Paul said folding his hands behind his back before delivering the final instruction he was asked to relay. “I was also asked to inform you that after you are finished out here please head on inside and follow the roses.”

Carlos’ brows arched but he nodded.

“Thank you, Paul, have a good evening.” He said.

“You too.” Paul replied, a smirk on his face.

Paul made his way inside and when he heard the slider shut TK looked to Carlos with a furrowed brow.

“Follow the roses?” He asked.

Carlos shrugged.

“Don’t look at me,” He said with a laugh. “But, I do want to enjoy this evening so, let’s eat this beautiful dessert and then we can discover whatever it is that is inside. Okay?”

Something in Carlos’ eyes made TK just want to forgo dessert all together but he nodded.

“Okay.” He agreed.

Carlos smiled. It took them little time to eat the brownie but TK would have been lying if he said that he really tasted it. His eyes had been drawn to a much more…enticing dessert. When Carlos met his eye TK couldn’t help but blush, his eyes dropping to his hands. Carlos chuckled.

“What do you say we head inside,” He said. “Figure out what those final instructions mean.”

TK nodded.

“That sounds lovely.” He agreed.

Carlos stood first, holding out his hand for TK to take and together they walked inside, TK leaning easily into Carlos’ side. When they got inside they found that the instructions were more literal than they really had anticipated. A path of rose petals trailed through the living room and up the stairs.

“Follow the roses.” Carlos echoed.

TK grinned, turning swiftly and looking at his boyfriend, his eyes gleaming. They followed the trail all the way to their room where when they pushed open the door they found their room had been set to a relatively provocative mood. The lights had been turned low, electric candles were scattered around on the nightstands and dresser. More petals were scattered on the bed and on the pillows. The couple laughed quietly but neither could deny the appreciation that welled up in them.

“God I hope that Bailey didn’t plan this part.” Carlos said.

“Oh no, this has Grace and Marjan written all over it.” TK laughed.

“Well,” Carlos said, his arms slipping his arm around TK’s waist, pushing him against the door jam. “I’d hate to see all of their hard work go to waste.”

[mb0328]

Chapter 26

CARLOS STRETCHED HIS ARMS ABOVE his head as he walked out to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. When he opened the box there was an orange folder sitting at the base of the mail. He paused before pulling it out. When he saw the return address he smiled. The Texas Child Adoption Agency, the paperwork had finally come. After Bailey’s hospital visit earlier in the week, he and TK had finally made the call to get the paperwork to officially adopt Bailey. They still wanted to talk to her and make sure that it was what she wanted but they also wanted to be ready if she decided it was. He walked back inside; his eyes glued to the folder. Bailey was still asleep up in her room but TK was leaning against the kitchen counter sipping at his coffee.

“TK, look what came.” He said, catching his boyfriend’s attention.

TK blearily looked up at the folder that Carlos was holding up. As soon as he saw it though he woke up.

“Are those the papers?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Carlos said.

TK’s smiled widened.

✵✵✵

“Where’s Bailey? I looked in her room but she’s not in there.” TK said.

Carlos chuckled as he sliced the tomatoes for lunch.

“She’s out in the studio.” He said, pointing through the kitchen window towards the old shed turned art studio.

TK laughed.

“I should have known.” He said opening the back slider and heading out through the yard.

When he got to the door he could hear Bailey’s music filtering through the walls. He knocked on the door, hoping that he was loud enough to be heard over the music. The music cut off mid lyric and then he heard Bailey bustling around. A few curses later the door cracked open.

“Yeah?” She asked.

TK laughed at her appearance, she had paint in a couple places on her face and he could tell that she had paint all over her hands by the way she was holding the door.

“Can I come in?” TK asked.

“Umm,” Bailey hummed. “I’m kind of in the middle of a project that I’d like to keep secret until it’s done. I’ll come out there, just give me a minute.”

Bailey looked went to close the door but TK stopped her.

“Hold on Bails, it’s okay, I was just coming to ask you to come in for a bit. Carlos and I want to talk to you about something and lunch is almost ready.” He said.

“Oh,” Bailey said, a relieved smile on her face. “Okay, can I have like ten more minutes, just to set some stuff aside?”

“Yeah” TK nodded.

“Thanks dad.” She smiled pushing the door shut gently.

TK smiled as he walked back to the house, looking over his shoulder once before walking inside.

✵✵✵

True to her word, Bailey walked in the house ten minutes later. Carlos had set the BLTs out on the table for lunch and Bailey smiled. She’d washed her hands in the studio so she sat down as soon as she walked in. BLTs, as TK and Carlos had discovered, were one of Bailey’s favorite things. She’d devour anything with bacon but BLTs were at the top of the list by far.

“Okay, so now that you’re here,” Carlos said. “We wanted to talk to you about something.”

Bailey froze, her hands mid reach for her sandwich. She slowly tucked her hands back under the table and wrung them with her napkin.

“Am I in trouble?” She asked, suddenly feeling small.

Carlos’ eyes widened when he realized how that must have sounded. Being moved from home to home as many times as Bailey had been, that same sentence must have preceded a move on a number of occasions.

“Oh, God no mija. Not even close.” He assured her.

Bailey relaxed and took a deep breath.

“Oh, okay.” She said.

TK gently placed a hand on her arm and rubbed her shoulder.

“We wanted to talk to you about the way things are right now and if you like them?” He asked.

Bailey’s brow furrowed.

“If I like them?” She asked.

“Yeah, if you’re happy here,” TK continued. “With us.”

“Am I happy?” Bailey said and TK and Carlos held their breath for a moment. “I love it here.”

TK and Carlos both smiled as Bailey spoke.

“I’ve never felt so comfortable in a house, and it doesn’t just feel like four walls and a roof, it feels like a home, my home. And everything you have done for me, the studio and with all of the hospital visits and my PTSD. And having the 126 is so cool.” She said.

TK swallowed the lump in his throat. She really was happy here, with them. He looked at Carlos who’s smile looked about as wide as his. He gave him a nod and Carlos placed a manilla folder on the table and slid it across the table to her.

“What’s this?” Bailey asked, tenderly running her fingers across the surface.

“It’s something that will make things more official.” TK said. “Nothing changes, well, maybe a few things but things will be more secure.”

“Is this…” Bailey tapered off as she flipped the folder open.

As her eyes scanned the pages her hand flew to her mouth and tears pooled in her eyes.

“Adoption papers.” TK nodded.

“All filled out and ready to be sent in. We just wanted to make sure that this is something that you wanted.” Carlos said.

Bailey looked up and her eyes were filled with pure joy.

“Yes,” She said, her voice catching. “Yes.”

Bailey stood and practically through herself at her fathers. TK gave up trying to hold back his tears when Bailey clung to him and Carlos. She would officially be their girl; she would officially be there daughter.

[mb0328]

Chapter 25

“HOW CAN YOU WAKE UP this early and not be exhausted all the time?” Bailey muttered as she and TK drove through Austin on their way to the fire house.

TK laughed.

“A lot of practice,” He said. “You can crash again when we get to the house, we’re almost there.”

Bailey nodded. She hadn’t even bothered getting dressed beyond a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She’d packed an extra set of clothes for when she wanted to truly get dressed but she knew that she’d be able to shower and change at the station. TK pulled into his usual parking place and Bailey slid out of the car, yawning again as she did.

“Come on kiddo, the bunks await, I think there’s still a weighted blanket in one of the cabinets somewhere. I can try to find it if you want.” TK said, knowing that his daughter liked to have the occasional grounding pressure when she slept.

“Yes please.” She said through a yawn.

TK chuckled and wrapped his arm lightly around Bailey as they walked inside. She looked like she was sleepwalking, her eyes half closed and her head resting on his shoulder. If TK were being honest he wasn’t entirely sure that she wasn’t sleepwalking. Even at 6:00 in the morning, the fire house was bustling as shifts ended and started. Most shifts knew who Bailey was, having seen her around the house and the occasional house barbeque but she was still closest with her dad’s crew.

“Bailey!” Mateo called; a wide smile spread across his face as an early morning greeting.

Bailey answered in mumbles though TK thought he heard a ‘morning’ in their somewhere. He eased her onto the couch for now and Judd pulled a blanket out from underneath the side table, draping it over his honorary niece gently.

“She is really tired.” Marjan laughed, nursing a steaming cup of coffee.

TK nodded.

“She’s still sleeping off some of the meds that they gave her yesterday.” He said, putting some of his and Bailey’s things in the kitchen.

Owen came down the stairs and paused when he saw Bailey on the couch.

“No school today?” He asked, looking at TK.

“We’re taking a couple days.” TK said.

Owen ‘ahhh’ed silently and nodded. He was proud of his son for stepping up the way he had been. TK watched Bailey with a trained eye, knowing Bailey’s tells and habits well. He expected it when she began to naturally roll onto her side and he jumped forward, wrapping an arm around her and easing her onto her stomach, taking the brunt of the weight off of her injured side. Judd watched in partial awe.

“You know her well.” He smiled.

“She’s a hardcore stomach sleeper,” TK laughed. “I was hoping she wouldn’t turn until I got her upstairs but I guess she’s staying here now.”

“Put her headphones in, she’ll be fine.” Owen said.

TK pulled Bailey’s headphones out of her bag and pressed one into each of her ears, turning on one of her favorite resting playlists. And of course as he hit play, the alarm sounded for a medical call.

“Of course.” He mumbled.

TK put Bailey’s phone down on the coffee table and ran his fingers through his hair quickly.

“Okay, what do we need to know.” Owen asked, seeing the reluctance in his son’s eyes.

“Don’t let her rest on her left side while she’s sleeping, she’s good about being cautious though. She knows all of this but I’ll let you know anyway. When she wakes up make sure she eats something. She needs to take her meds with breakfast. Oh, and she needs to redress her incision. If I’m back I can help her if not somebody else has to, she can’t twist to reach the back portion,” TK said closing his eyes, running through his mental checklist. “Yeah that’s it.”

“Strand let’s roll!” Nancy called.

“Go we’ve got this.” Owen said, pushing his son towards the ambulance gently.

Owen watched as his son jogged towards the ambulance, looking back a couple of times. Judd laughed when they finally pulled out, sirens thrilling through the air.

“He’s a good dad.” Judd said.

“Yeah, he is.” Owen agreed.

✵✵✵

When Bailey opened her eyes she was a bit confused. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the couch but she was a but shocked when she realized she was on her stomach. She jolted up, her hand racing to her side. It didn’t hurt which surprised her but maybe she hadn’t rolled onto her left side. A hand touched her shoulder and she flinched away, her head whipping around to see who it was. Her eyes fell on Paul and he held up his hands, letting her know that she was okay before pointing to his ears, telling her that she had headphones in. For the first time since she woke up she heard the soft music filling her ears. She reached up and pulled out the Bluetooth headphones.

“You’re okay kiddo,” He said. “I saw you were awake and was wondering if you were hungry.”

“Um.” Bailey sat back on her heels and was surprised when she didn’t feel her shoes. She looked around and saw that her tennis shoes were sitting neatly next to her backpack by the coffee table.

“Bailey?” Paul said, bringing her back out of her head.

Bailey looked back at Paul and nodded.

“Yeah, food sounds good. I have to take my meds and change the dressing on my incision. Is my dad here?” She asked.

“He’s out on a call. But come sit at the counter and I’ll make you a plate. Pancakes or waffles?” He asked.

Bailey slipped off of the couch and walked over to the kitchen with Paul.

“You made both?” She asked.

“Half the house likes pancakes, half like waffles. Gotta make everybody happy.” Paul laughed.

“With all of the dietary restrictions in this house you make everybody happy by making one thing. I mean come on halal, gluten-free, nitrate-free, no nuts,” Bailey laughed. “I know grandpa wanted diversity but I didn’t think that extended to diets as well.”

Paul laughed.

“Pancakes or waffles?” He asked, pointing to the two plates.

“Waffles all the way.” Bailey said.

“My kind of girl.” He laughed making up a plate for her and sliding it over.

“Do you have any-”

“Blueberries.” Paul said, sliding a small container over to her as well.

“You’re awesome.” Bailey smiled, popping a few berries into her mouth.

“Gotta keep our youngest member happy too.” Paul said.

Bailey smiled before remembering her meds and pulling the bottle out of her bag. She opened the bottle and shook one of the pills into her hand. A glass of orange juice was placed in front of her and Paul raised a brow.

“Pulp free orange juice for the pulp-phobic teen.” He said.

“I’m not pulp-phobic,” Bailey said taking her medication, chasing it down with a gulp of the juice. “It’s a texture thing. Like Mateo and oatmeal.”

Paul laughed.

“Good example.” He said.

“I try.” Bailey shrugged.

✵✵✵

Marjan found Bailey in the locker room having just showered. She was sitting on the bench in a pair of shorts and a tank, her shirt on but tucked under her chin as she fidgeted with her side. Marjan knocked on the doorjamb lightly to alert the teen to her presence. Bailey turned at the sound and gave her a small smile.

“Hey, what cha’ up to?” Marjan asked.

“Changing my dressing,” Bailey said, hitching her shirt up again. “Well, trying to.”

Marjan nodded and approached, sitting on the bench next to Bailey.

“Want some help?” She asked.

“Yes please.” Bailey smiled.

Bailey held up her shirt while Marjan went about cleaning and redressing Bailey’s incision.

“You scared your dad pretty bad yesterday.” Marjan said.

“Yeah, I know. I have to figure out how to make it up to him and papá.” Bailey said.

“You know their anniversary was a couple of weeks ago. They were gonna do something but they were both working.” Marjan offered.

Bailey quirked a brow as her brain began to work.

“Oh really?” She muttered.

Marjan smiled as she finished reapplying the bandage over Bailey’s incision. The teen was plotting.

✵✵✵

Bailey pushed the pasta around her plate at dinner, the wheels in her head still turning, working over the half-baked plan to thank her fathers for everything they’d done for her up to this point. Almost every member of the 126 was a bit unnerved by the girl’s silence. TK though was eating quite happily, he knew that Bailey was only working something over in her head, nothing to be concerned about.

“Guys stop worrying about her, she’s fine.” TK said standing and putting his plate in the dish washer before heading off towards the bathroom.

Marjan waited for TK was out of ear shot before she leaned over the table to speak.

“Okay, I can practically hear your brain working from here Bails, what are you thinking?” She asked.

Bailey looked up from her plate and saw everybody at the table watching her.

“What are you all doing Friday night?” She asked.