It was one of those days that seemed too perfect and soon enough it became just that. Tony had just gotten off from his job as a school resource officer and was getting ready to collect Tali from the babysitter. He had first gone home to change from his uniform into his street clothes. Typically he would pick Tali up in uniform and change after they got home but he had to do some laundry today and dry-cleaning stopped collecting at five. He put his dry-cleaning in one bag and his regular laundry into a second bag. After dropping the laundry off, he headed to Tali's daycare. Tali was sitting in the play-area with her best friend Victoria Palmer. Both girls had grown so much in the year since Tali had joined Tony.
"Abba!" Tali cried.
"There's my girl." Tony called back.
"Daddy!" Tori squealed running past Tony and into Jimmy's arms.
"Hey baby girl, mommy had to take grandpa Ed to the doctor but I am here." Jimmy explained.
"How's life treating you autopsy gremlin?" Tony asked.
"Kind of complicated, Ed has had pneumonia. He's doing better but we had a few scares. Now Breena is coming down with something and my car is in the shop. Speaking of which Tori we best get going or we will miss the last bus." Jimmy explained.
"I am glad Ed is getting better and I hope things continue to turn around." Tony replied.
"Thank you" Jimmy sighed.
"Hey Jimmy I was thinking. It's out of the way but I have that extra car-seat from my neighbor and it would be easier than traveling on the bus with a two year old." Tony offered.
"I hate to complicate your night." Jimmy commented.
"It's no big deal. I have an easy dinner planned. I just have to stop by the laundromat and pickup my clothes." Tony explained.
"I thought your new building had laundry service." Jimmy remarked.
"They do but they are doing maintenance on the machines." Tony explained.
With the help of Jimmy, Tony got the second car-seat installed into the backseat of his minivan. He got Tali buckled in while Jimmy fastened in Tori. Both girls were secured into their seats and then the two men were on there way. Tony stopped off at the laundromat and grabbed his and Tali's clean clothes. He loaded the bag into the back and slammed the door shut. Jimmy had moved to the backseat and was playing with both girls.
"Sorry it took so long. I had to wait for the dryer to finish." Tony apologized.
"It wasn't done?" Jimmy questioned.
"I set it ten minutes longer than I thought." Tony replied.
"Ah well Tali got a little fussy but I got her calmed down." Jimmy replied.
"Thanks for that." Tony replied.
"I hate to ask this but can we make one more stop?" Jimmy asked.
"It's no trouble at all. What do you need?" Tony asked.
"I just have to run by CVS and pick-up Tori's ear medicine." Jimmy replied.
"She still on that?" Tony questioned.
"We have an appointment to get tubes put in her ears next month. We were supposed to get it done last week but Ed was in the hospital and Breena just wanted to be sure he was one hundred percent before she commuted to anything." Jimmy explained.
"How did I not know?" Tony asked.
"Don't feel bad Breena and I didn't tell many people. You know how it is when you are a parent. Any decision you make can be contradicted. I don't need to hear stories about kids dying or being permanently disfigured by complications. It seems like everything can kill you these days." Jimmy explained.
"Anything could always kill you." Tony reminded.
"I guess you are right." Jimmy agreed.
"Don't worry about it. Tori will come through just fine." Tony assured.
Jimmy climbed back into the front seat and fastened his seat-belt. Tony adjusted the mirror and backed out of the parking lot. The roads were fairly quiet for a large town at rush hour but Tony guessed most people had stopped off for happy hour. He wouldn't mind a drink himself but that wouldn't be appropriate with Tali and Tori. The girls were fast asleep in the backseat and Jimmy was not far behind. Tony's own eyes were getting heavy and he was glad to be close to the Palmer's house. With any luck Jimmy would offer him a drink and he could make it home. He changed lanes and prepared to turn onto the street that would lead to the Palmer's. The truck just came out of nowhere, going the wrong way and Tony did not have time to react. The truck t-boned Tony's car. Tony did not know which sound was more sickening. The sound of metal crushing metal or the sound of bones breaking.
From there it was an out of body experience. It was like seeing somebody else's body reach over and touch Jimmy's shoulder. The younger man slumped over. No sound, no voluntary movement. Jimmy's glasses were broken but Tony still removed them and held them under Jimmy's nose. No fog formed and Tony could not help but cry. The adrenaline set in and he managed to pull himself out of the car. He broke the window and climbed over the glass to get to little Tori. He did not need the glasses to check for life. Nobody survived having their neck broken the way that Tori's was. He kept crawling through twisted metal and over glass, until he came to Tali. His daughter's eyes were opened but she was not moving. He did not want to move her but he smelled smoke. He dove out of the car with Tali in his arms. He stood for maybe a minute but grew ever more dizzy. He managed to make it to the side walk. Before falling hard onto the pavement. The last thing he remembered was the sound of the car bursting into flames as the darkness overtook his body.
"SOMEBODY CALL 911!" A voice called in the distance.
"It's a man!" Another voice called.
"And a kid!" A third chimed in.
"Oh God! There's another in the car!" A final voice called.
A/N: What will happen with Tony and Tali? New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.