A/N. It occurred to me a while ago that I really love my OC Luke Adams from 'September'. So I decided to make him even more awesome and bring him into some random one-shots. You don't have to read 'September' to understand this one if you don't want to. Um. . . that's all I have to say. I don't own anything.

"Daddy, me and Logie and Kenny and Jamie are gonna go camping tonight in the woods!" Seven-year-old Carlos Garcia launched himself into his father's arms and clung tightly. "We're gonna sleep in the tent and roast marshmallows and make s'mores!"

Carlos Garcia Sr. laughed and set his son down on his own feet and gave him a high five. "That sounds great, buddy!" He told his oldest child encouragingly. "Maybe your sisters will get some sleep since you noisy boys will be outside."

Carlos frowned and tilted his head to one side as he considered his father's words, trying to figure out if he was just teasing him. "We aren't that noisy." He finally disagreed.

The perfect seriousness in which the little boy spoke the words was what made Mr. Garcia laugh again. "Carlitos," He said fondly. "You boys are never very quiet I'm actually quite concerned that the animals outside won't get very much sleep tonight if you're going to be there."

"Daddy!" Carlos folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "Stop teasing me!"

Dark eyebrows shot up and disappeared under the brim of the navy blue police cap. Carlos' father was the head chief of the force that took care of the small Minnesota town. A muscled arm shot out and wrapped around his son's small waist. Mr. Garcia scooped the little boy up and used his free hand to tickle the squirming body. "Are you sure I'm teasing?" He asked over the giggles.

"D-daddy, s-stop!" Carlos gasped out. He latched onto his father's hand with both of his hands and wrapped his fingers around the wrist, trying to pull it away from him.

"Carlos, what in the world are you doing?"

Father and son stopped their antics at the feminine voice and put on matching angelic faces as they turned to face Mrs. Garcia who had just joined them in the family room. "He started it!" They chorused.

Mrs. Garcia shook her head and laughed lightly. She willingly took Carlos as her husband handed him to her and hugged him before setting him back down to the floor. The couple chuckled as Carlos instantly scampered away to his room. "Sometimes I wonder how many kids I really have." Mrs. Garcia smiled and kissed her husband as he pulled on his jacket.

"Hey now!" Mr. Garcia protested. "Are you calling me a child?"

"He started it." Her gentle reply was an affectionate mimic of his earlier words and they exchanged smiles. "What time will you be getting home tonight?"

Mr. Garcia shrugged his shoulders reluctantly. "I'm not sure. The station just got a few new recruits. Rookies. I'm supposed to oversee their training and then talk to them myself about what we're expecting of them. You know how that always goes."

"You're a good teacher." Mrs. Garcia said proudly. "Anyone special this time around?"

"Rich at the academy told me to watch out for this one kid. His name is Luke something. He said there were three words to describe the guy. Impulsive, stubborn and reckless." Mr. Garcia shook his head and groaned.

"Well, there must be a reason they let him graduate and move on." Mrs. Garcia pointed out generously.

Mr. Garcia nodded. "That's another thing Rich said. If he can control himself a little better than we might have one heck of an officer in a few years. He's just. . . a little rough around the edges." He shrugged one last time and glanced out the window, a grin spreading across his face. "Anyway, we'll see. For now, you you'd better let Carlos know that his friends are here."

The door was flung open and three more little boys tumbled into the Garcia's family room, chattering excitedly. "Where's Carlos?" A blonde with piercing green eyes demanded as soon as he detached himself from the other two.

"Kendall, don't be rude." Lacey Knight scolded gently. "What do you say?"

Kendall looked at her in confusion, completely lost. "Please?" He ventured a guess.

A taller boy giggled and elbowed Kendall. "Not that, silly." He said wisely. "You're supposed to say hi to Carlos' mommy and daddy."

"Oh!" Kendall laughed too. "Hi, Mama and Papa." He greeted them with the term of endearment that he and his friends had come to use for their "other parents" and then raced upstairs to find Carlos himself.

The smallest of the newcomers tripped as he struggled to pull off a sneaker without untying it. He steadied himself on Mr. Garcia's pant leg and blushed faintly. "Sorry, Papa." He murmured shyly.

Disregarding the fact that he was already running late for work, Mr. Garcia knelt down and quickly undid the shoelace, smiling at the little boy. "No big deal, Logie." He ruffled the dark head of hair and stood back up. "Why don't you and James go help Kendall find Carlos?"

James took his friend's wrist firmly and tossed a winning smile up at the adults before he rushed off to the stairs, dragging the smaller boy along with him. "C'mon, Logan! Let's go!"

"How's he doing?" Mrs. Garcia turned to Mrs. Knight in concern.

"Logan?" Lacey shrugged and sighed. "It's hard to tell. He's so quiet. I can tell he misses his mother but it's like he's afraid to let anyone in. I'm just glad he has Kendall and Carlos and James. They take care of him."

"They all take good care of each other." Michelle Diamond, James' mother, said gratefully. "They're so young but it's already so easy to see how close they are."

"The Four Musketeers." Mr. Garcia said agreeably. "Well, ladies. I'm afraid I must leave you for the station. I'll call if I won't be back in time for dinner but enjoy your little get together while you're at it. Don't let our boys get in too much trouble."

Mrs. Garcia gave him a small shove. "Stay out of trouble at the station." She returned with a laugh. "Watch out for that poor Luke kid."

"Ah, yes. The rookies. Always a fun time, especially when a friend at the academy calls me to warn me about one of them." Mr. Garcia grinned goodnaturedly. "I'll let you know what I think tonight. See you then." He dropped a kiss on his wife's cheek and then said goodbye to her friends before leaving his home for the station.

"This is so cool!" Kendall declared as he ducked inside the large camping tent. "It's way cooler than those tents we make at my house with all the blankets and chairs!"

"It's real." Logan said quietly, his brown eyes open wide in wonder. He turned to stare at Carlos. "Are we really going to stay in here tonight?"

Carlos nodded, a huge grin filling his face. "Uh-huh. When my daddy gets home from work he's gonna stay with us. But see how there's two rooms here? We're gonna sleep in this one and my daddy is gonna sleep in the other one. So we're kinda going to be by ourselves."

Logan glanced out at the darkening sky, secretly glad that his "Papa" was going to be with them. Mr. Garcia was a police officer and he always made Logan feel safe. Even though sleeping "in the woods" qualified as in Carlos' backyard, still in perfect sight of the house, he had been nervous. But not anymore. Now he was confident that they were going to have a really fun time.

"Your mommy makes really good tacos." James changed the subject quite suddenly. He rubbed his tummy in contentment and grinned. "My mommy made tacos once and me and her and my daddy all got bad tummy aches. So now my daddy makes dinner most times."

"My daddy makes dinner too." Logan said quietly. "Well, my mommy used to but now my daddy does.

Logan's mother had died when they were six and even though Kendall, James and Carlos all knew that Logan was somewhat sensitive when talking about Mrs. Mitchell, they couldn't help their curiosity. "Who makes better food?" Carlos inquired, not bothering to use past tense in reference to Logan's mother.

But Logan didn't look very upset by the question. "My mommy was better." He answered promptly. "Sometimes my daddy doesn't cook and we get pizza. And sometimes he makes me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

"You get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner?" Kendall asked in disbelief, his green eyes wide with jealousy. "Lucky. That's my most favorite food."

"I like tacos." Logan replied. "I'm tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." He shrugged then, uncomfortable now. "So what are we gonna do?"

Carlos' eyes lit up at the question. "Let's play Hide and Seek!" He suggested brightly. "It's still a little light out."

James and Logan agreed readily but it was Kendall who looked doubtful. "I don't know." He said, suddenly serious. "It's gonna get dark soon."

"Are you afraid?" James challenged.

A blush heated Kendall's cheeks and he glared at James. "No! But why don't we just play it tomorrow when we have more time? We can stay here and eat s'mores."

"I'm not hungry." Logan was never one to disagree with his friends, especially Kendall because even at seven Logan was confident in Kendall's judgment. But tonight was different because he really wanted to play his favorite game. "C'mon, Kendall." He pleaded, "Just for a little."

Kendall bit his lip and surveyed his friends who were all watching him hopefully. "Okay." He said reluctantly. "Let's go tell our mommies then."

"Why?" Carlos asked indifferently. "They're inside and it'll take too long to go and tell them. Let's just play."

"Besides," Logan said forlornly. "I can't tell my mommy."

It was Logan's words that made Kendall give in once again. He didn't want Logan to be sad and feel left out. "Okay." He said again, smiling when his friends cheered happily. "Who's it then?"

"You!" Logan said impulsively. "You're oldest."

Kendall didn't really know what his age had to do with being the seeker first. Besides he was really only a little older. They were all seven, he was just seven first. Soon he would be eight. But he nodded. "Fine. I'll count to one hundred and you guys go hide."

"Close your eyes and don't peek!" James instructed sternly. He covered Kendall's eyes with one of his hands. "Peeking is cheating."

"James, I'm not going to cheat." Kendall said indignantly. "But you have to take your hand away so you can go hide."

James' eyes widened in realization while Carlos and Logan both giggled. "I knew that." He said hastily.

Kendall rolled his eyes. "Sure. Just go hide." He turned his face away and buried it into his pillow. "One. . . two. . . three. . . four. . ."

Chief Garcia sighed and rubbed his temple, wishing he had some Advil to ease the throbbing in his head. He hadn't been at the station all day but it felt like that. A wet nose brushed the hand that rested on his knee and the police chief smiled. "Hey, boy." He said fondly. His German Shepherd, Scout, licked his hand until he gave in and rubbed behind the dog's ears. "Long day at the office, boy."

It really had been a long day with the new recruits. In all honestly, he didn't know how any of them graduated from the police academy. One of them could barely remember his own name much less any of the questions Garcia had asked him. Another was already the laziest person the chief had ever met. And then there was Luke and Garcia was absolutely one hundred percent sure that the rookie was the cause for his migraine.

Rich had described him perfectly. Impulsive. He had brought his own dog along with him when everyone in the world knew that officers were assigned a dog to work with. Stubborn. He absolutely refused to give up the dog. At least it was a standard breed for a police dog, a purebred German Shepherd that he had found abandoned on the city streets while attending the academy. And Shadow was the perfect name because the dog never left her owner's side unless she was told to. They worked well together and that was why Garcia was letting things stay the way they were. For now anyway. Reckless. This was the worst. Luke gave absolutely no rational thought to his own safety but rushed headlong into each scenario that had been set up for him. In the five drills they had gone through, Garcia was sure that Luke would have died in four of them. That was a problem.

"Kid needs to use that head he's got on his shoulders." The police chief told Scout absentmindedly. "That one drill that he did survive he was with the team. At least I know he won't risk another man's life. Just his own." The dog whined and Garcia smiled. "Yeah, I know. We all risk our lives here. That's part of the job. Believe me, I get enough of that at home. But at least we think before we act."

His phone rang and he sighed when he saw the number. "Home." He told his dog. "Probably Carlos wondering where I am. I told him I'd camp with him and his friends tonight." A quick glance at his watch showed him at it was nearly 8:00. He hated disappointing his little boy. "Hello?"

"Carlos!" It was his wife but she didn't sound angry or annoyed with his lateness. She sounded frantic, "You have to come home now. The boys are missing."

He sat up so quickly that the movement sent a stack of papers fluttering to the floor. "What?" He demanded. "What do you mean they're missing?"

The answering sob was enough to paralyze him with fear. "I was talking with Michelle and Lacey just inside and we noticed that the boys had been quiet for a while. So we went to check on them and they weren't anywhere near the tent. We looked in the woods and called for them but we couldn't find them anywhere."

Chief Garcia stood up, pulling on his jacket as he did so. Scout was at his side in an instant and the two of them rushed out of his office. "Stay calm." He told his wife when he was so close to panicking himself. "I'll be right over with some of the guys." He hung up and scanned the nearly empty room in the front of the building. No. "Rookies," He greeted them trying to sound professional. "I need your help."

He could not believe that this was happening. His son and young friends were missing somewhere in the dark woods when it looked like rain and all he had to help him was Charlie who had forgotten to pull on his boots on his way out the door, Randy who didn't seem the least bit alarmed at the news, and Luke who insisted on bringing his dog with him. But there wasn't any time to argue. He had only given them a brief run-down of the situation and then they were off in two separate police cruisers, Randy and Charlie in one, and Luke and Shadow with him and Scout.

Mr. Garcia knew that their troubles had only increased when Randy and Charlie left before them and weren't at his house when he and Luke arrived. "I don't believe this." He muttered.

"Charlie was driving." Luke said as he motioned for Shadow to leap out of the car. "He probably forgot where he was going and Randy was too lazy to remind him."

"How did you three graduate?" Garcia asked the student that had been shoved upon him and the rest of his men at the station.

Luke shrugged and offered a sheepish grin. "I don't know about Randy or Charlie but I'm pretty sure they got sick of me."

The chief didn't have time to reply because the two of them were greeted by three frantic woman along with Jefferey Knight and Rodger Diamond who were barely holding onto their own sanity. Mr. Garcia's anxiety quickened because the presence of James' and Kendall's fathers meant that the three mothers hadn't been the only ones searching for the missing boys. "All right." He said, the calm in his voice as false as anything he had ever heard before. "This is Luke. He's going to help us find them."

"Carlos! Logan! James, I found them!" Kendall broke into a run and rushed over to the large tree that his two friends were sitting under. "Where were you! I found James and then I looked everywhere for you and we couldn't find you and you didn't answer when we called!"

Logan cringed slightly at Kendall's anger but stayed calm. "Carlos is hurt." He said quietly.

Instantly the anger faded from Kendall's face and he dropped to his knees besides Carlos who sat with his back against the wide trunk of the tree. "What happened?" He asked, worry creasing his brow.

"Kenny? Where- Oh, there you guys are." James sighed in relief and plopped down besides Kendall. "We looked everywhere for you. What happened? Is Carlos okay?"

Looking frustrated, Logan held a finger to his lips to silence Kendall and James. "Carlos tried to climb a tree to hide. He fell and hurt his ankle. But he can move it so I think he only twisted it. I don't think he broke it."

Kendall nodded and touched Carlos gently on the shoulder. "Can you walk, Carlos?"

Carlos' normally cheerful face was streaked with tears and his eyes were filled with pain. He shook his head and jerked his injured foot away, whimpering as the action sent pain shooting through his entire leg.

"Carlos, don't move it!" Logan cried out firmly. "No, Kendall. He can't walk. You and James have to go back to his house and get your mommies to come help. I'll stay here."

But Kendall shook his head violently. "Uh-uh!" He practically shouted. "We're not leaving you alone here in the woods. It's too dark for that. Besides," Kendall's face was serious and he chewed on his bottom lip, an anxious habit he had recently picked up. "I. . . I'm not sure where we are right now."

Fear flashed across Logan's face and his mouth dropped open. "You mean. . . we're lost?" He dropped his voice to a whisper but it didn't stop the others from going into a panic.

"Lost!" James' voice squeaked in fear. "We're not lost are we, Kendall?" He spun in a circle and looked quickly around at their surroundings. "All we have to do is. . . go that way." He pointed uncertainty off to the left. "Maybe."

"I don't know." Kendall said honestly, his voice trembling. "I wasn't paying attention where we were going the whole time we were looking for Carlos and Logan."

Carlos started to cry again, this time in fear, rather then pain from his injured ankle. "I'm sorry!" He wailed. "It's my fault! Logie told me not to go so far but then he followed me! And then he told me not to try and climb this tree but I did anyway because I thought I could and then I fell and now we're stuck here and it's just getting dark and we're lost and-"

"Shhh!" Kendall wrapped his arms around his younger friend and held him in a tight hug. "Don't cry, Carlitos. It's not your fault that we got lost. We just have to. . . get found. But we will 'cause our mommies and daddies will be worried about us and look for us. Besides, your daddy is a police man. It's his job to save people. He'll save us." He motioned for Logan and James to draw closer so that they were all smashed together for warmth and comfort. The four little boys shivered as the sun began to set and the air grew chillier. "We just have to stay here and wait." Kendall said, trying to sound confident.

"How long will it take?" Carlos' tears had stopped for the time being and he was content to be held by Kendall with James and Logan right in front of him, knee to knee. As long as he and his friends were all okay he didn't need to cry or be scared.

Kendall shrugged, jostling Carlos slightly. "I don't know." He said again. "But they'll find us so don't worry too much."

"I'm afraid of the dark." Logan admitted, his voice muffled as he turned bury his face in James' light jacket.

James' fear was forgotten as he reached over to comfort his friend. "Don't worry, Logie." He said, trying to sound like Kendall when he was trying to make Carlos feel better earlier. "We won't let the dark hurt you you."

"When I'm in my room I sleep with a night light." Logan admitted. "I didn't use to be afraid but after my mommy died I started to have nightmares. My daddy bought me a nightlight and that helps keep the monsters away. Monsters are afraid of light."

"There's no such thing as monsters." Kendall said, wishing his voice sounded more confident. "But I think I have a flashlight here. We can turn it on when it gets really dark, okay?"

Logan shivered, hoping that they wouldn't be alone that long. But he nodded gratefully and rested his head on James' shoulder, keeping his gaze on Kendall and Carlos to make sure that they were safe at all times. "Okay."

"Well?" Claire Garcia turned hopefully at the sound of the back door opening. But the light in her eyes faded when she saw her husband and Jeffery Knight and Robert Diamond come into the family room without any little boys.

"You didn't find anything?" Mrs. Knight's voice broke as her husband stepped forward to embrace her. "Jeff, where could they be?"

Mr. Garcia gave his wife a quick hug and sighed. "We didn't find anything." He said in answer to Lacey's desperate question. He glanced at his watch and felt his heart drop in fear when he saw that it was after 11:00. The boys had been missing for hours. . .

"What if someone took them!" James' mother had been holding back her tears along with the rest of the mothers but now she lost all control and collapsed sobbing against her husband's chest.

"Carlos?" Claire turned to her husband and didn't see her husband. She saw the chief of the Minnesota police force and any calm she had left her. "What do we do now?"

"Right now? We head back to the station and file reports that say our children are missing." Chief Garcia spoke as naturally as he could. He had been doing this sort of thing for years. But he had never thought he would one day be filing a missing child report for his own son. "Did you get Ryan yet?"

Lacey shook her head and cleared her throat so she could speak around her tears. "No. He's at a conference in the city and all I get when I call her cell phone is his voice mail. I can't. . . I can't leave a message about this. I've just been saying to call as soon as he can but. . ."

"All right." Robert pulled gently away from his wife. "Listen, sweetie. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get more people looking for them, all right? They'll be fine. All of them. I promise."

"What about Luke?" Mr. Knight glanced at the police chief for an answer. "I haven't seen him since we all split up to look for the boys.

As worried as he is about his boys, the absence of Luke is even more alarming. Had the boys really been taken and had Luke's impulsiveness gotten him hurt or- Mr. Garcia shook his head. He couldn't think about four seven-year-old little boys being the the clutches of a dangerous killer. Focus on one thing at a time. "I don't know." He said heavily. "But we can't wait for him. Let's just get over to the station, file the reports and. . . take it from there."

Because right now, there's nothing else they can do.

The flashlight flickered and died, leaving the boys in the pitch black darkness of the woods. Logan whimpered in fear and turned to James for comfort. "Kenny," He whispered pleadingly. "Where are they?"

Kendall bit his lip. "I don't know." His own bravery was beginning to wear thin. All he wanted to do was cry. He wanted his mommy and daddy to hold him. He didn't want to be out in the scary woods anymore.

"I'm hungry." Carlos remarked as his empty stomach rumbled. "And cold and tired and. . . scared."

"It'll be okay." James said with zero confidence. "Just wait and see."

A dog's bark sounded in the distance and the boys sat up straight. "I bet that's Scout! My daddy's doggy!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled as loudly as he could. "Scout! Daddy!" When a dog's bark answered him, Carlos clapped his hands together in excitement. "I bet that's Scout! My daddy is gonna save us!"

But then there came an unfamiliar voice. It called all four of their names and was echoed each time by the dog's bark. But none of the boys recognized the man calling to them. They exchanged looks of terror, each of them sure that they were now in even more trouble. Danger.

A beam of light pierced through the darkness from the other side of the stream that the boys were near. It was a flashlight and they could just make out the shadowy forms of a man and dog running towards them. The figures reached the edge of the stream and stopped there. "Carlos?"

"That's me!" Carlos said, forgetting that he wasn't allowed to talk to strangers. "Who are you?"

"My name's Luke." The light swept upwards to reveal a young man dressed in a police uniform. His voice was gentle as he continued to speak with to the little boys. "I work with your daddy, Carlos. I'm here to help you. Your mommies and daddies are all really worried about you."

Kendall stood up in front of his friends. "We don't know you."

Luke opened his mouth to assure the boy but before he could say anything, Carlos lurched clumsily to his feet and limped forward. "Kenny, he's a police man! He's gonna help us."

"Wait!" The tone of Luke's voice switched from gentle to alarmed in a split second. "Carlos, don't come any closer, buddy. Let me and Shadow come to you, okay? Stay right there!"

Carlos was taken aback by the change and didn't listen to Luke's instructions. "But why?" He asked as he took another step, staggering even closer to the edge of the stream. Then his good foot slipped on the mud and Carlos fell to the ground. But he didn't just lay where he had fallen. He slid down the small hill and into the icy water below.

The weather had been pleasantly warm In mid-April but the nights could still get fairly chilly and the temperature of the water startled Carlos. It was deeper than he thought it would be, perhaps up to his waist if he could stand. But the current didn't allow him to stand and as much as he struggled he couldn't swim to safety.

He didn't go very far before he got caught in the branches of a dead tree that hung over the water's edge. Carlos heard his friends yelling at him but he couldn't answer them. He kicked, frantically trying to free himself but only succeeded in tangling himself even further until he found himself face down in the water, unable to move.

When it was summer and they could go swimming, Carlos and his friends sometimes played a game where they tried to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest. That had been fun because Carlos could always come up for air when he wanted to. But now he couldn't. He was trapped underwater and terrified. When a strong pair of arms grabbed him around his waist, Carlos panicked even further and sucked in, filling his lungs with water.

Luke lifted the little boy out of the water and staggered back to shore. He could hear Carlos friends' yelling and crying in fear but he didn't bother to answer them. He laid Carlos out on the flat ground and laid his ear to the unmoving chest. CPR was a basic skill that he had needed to learn in the police academy. But it was something he hoped he would never need to use, especially on a seven-year-old kid. "Come on, buddy." He whispered as he began going through the life-saving motions.

Logan stood frozen, clinging to James with one hand and to Kendall with the other. He could tell that his friends had no idea what Luke was doing to Carlos but he knew himself. Carlos wasn't breathing right now. Carlos could die. But the words "Carlos" and "die" didn't sound right together. It was impossible, really. They were only seven. Much too young to die. Logan watched helpless, not hearing Kendall and James as they pelted questions at him.

Luke bent over Carlos' still body again and went to blow more air into him. But before he could, Carlos shuddered to life and began coughing and sputtering. What seemed like gallons of water poured out of his mouth and Luke quickly flipped the little boy over to his side and rubbed his back gently. "That's it. You're okay. You're okay. Just breathe."

Carlos wanted to breathe more than anything but it wasn't as easy as it usually was. He was coughing too hard and too much and it scared him. But the gentle voice kept him calm until his coughing eased and Carlos began to breath normally again. He was cold now. So cold. He couldn't stop shaking.

"Stay there! We'll come to you." Luke gathered Carlos into his arms and went to collect his jacket that he had thrown off before jumping into the stream after Carlos. He wrapped the trembling little boy in the warm material and then carefully waded back into the stream to cross to the other side.

"Is he okay?" Kendall demanded anxiously as soon as Luke neared them with Shadow at his side and Carlos in his arms.

"He'll be fine." Luke assured him. "Let's get you boys to the police station and then maybe the hospital, okay?"

"But," James hesitated. "We don't know where to go. That's why we didn't come home. Because we got lost."

Luke smiled. "Well, don't worry because Shadow and I know right where we are. Just follow me." They reached the police cruiser in a fairly short amount of time and Luke quickly loaded the boys in the back seat, wrapping them all in a warm blanket. He jumped in the front seat and blasted the heat so that it was only blowing in the rear to warm the boys, especially Carlos. "Almost there." He promised them.

He glanced in the rear view mirror and met the gaze of the blonde that was so wary of him. "Kendall, right?" The little boy nodded, his defiant green eyes beginning to look weary. "Hey, buddy. I need you to do something for me. Make sure that you guys stay awake, okay? Don't fall asleep. Can I count on you?"

The request made Kendall forget that he didn't know who Luke was. Luke wanted him to look out for his friends. He has asked him. He grinned proudly and nodded. "Absolutely."

The worried parents had just reached the police station when the sky opened up and a typical spring storm unleashed its fury. Rain poured down so hard that it was nearly impossible to see anything outside the windows and thunder crashed and lightening lit up the sky. The wind blew too. And even though they were all adults, it was terrifying. Terrifying because their children were somewhere out in the storm.

It was odd being on the receiving end of police work. Awful. Horrible. Mr. Garcia never wanted it to happen again. He stared at the form he was supposed to be filling out. This was his son that was missing.

They were mid-way through filling out the forms when the door of the station flew open and crashed into the wall. Mr. Garcia spun around and instantly his eyes found Kendall and James and Logan as they walked in, holding a blanket over their heads. The relief he felt died instantly when he saw that Carlos wasn't with them.

Before he could absolutely panic though, Luke strode through the door, nearly tripping over his shadow dog. In his arms he held a small bundle wrapped up in his jacket. Carlos. "He's fine." Luke told the worried parents as they rushed over. "He hurt his ankle and he's wet because he fell into the stream but-"

"The stream?" Mr. Garcia took Carlos gently from Luke's arms and held him close with his wife. But the younger man's words still surprised him enough to have to make sure he heard right. "But that's miles from our house"

Luke nodded. "I know." Shadow whined and licked his hand. "Look, I have to go take care of my girl. She's probably wet and cold and hungry."

"Can I come?" Logan asked before any of the adults could say anything. "My daddy isn't here yet."

The little boy's words made Luke stop in his tracks and he looked around the room, eyes wide in disbelief. But he recovered fairly quickly and nodded. "Sure, Logan. Let's go."

"Daddy, he saved my life." Carlos said as they watched them disappear down the hall. "When I fell in the water I got trapped underwater and I stopped breathing."

The words were spoken with all the innocence of a seven-year-old who really had no idea had close he had come to dying. But they froze Mr. Garcia and he held his son even closer. He had almost lost him tonight. No matter how brave someone is, if they have a heart at all, then almost losing someone so precious to them, will scare them out of their minds. School shootings and bomb threats could not compare to the knowledge that Carlos almost drowned tonight.

And the man who saved Carlos had just one into the kennel without any thanks. It wasn't just that he had saved Carlos from drowning. It was that he had saved all of the little boys tonight and no one-

But before the chief could finish that thought, the station door opened again and Ryan Mitchell practically blew in. "Where's Logan?"

He was so anxious and panicked and worried that it was easy enough to forgive him for being so late. Mr. Garcia pressed a kiss to Carlos' forehead and handed him to his wife. "I'll show you. He went with Luke, the officer who found them, to take care of his dog.

"Daddy!" Logan was overjoyed to see his father and immediately dropped the towel he was using to dry Shadow to rush over to Ryan who scooped him up into his arms and held him tightly.

"Thank you." How painfully ironic that Ryan was thanking Luke first when he had been the last to arrive. "Thank you so much."

Any other rookie would have been thrilled to be considered a hero on his first day. But Luke merely nodded. "Just doing my job." He said coolly. "I'm just glad Logan has his father now."

The slight dig went unnoticed by Ryan who was still too absorbed in Logan to attention to anyone else. But Mr. Garcia caught a flash of anger in Luke's blue eyes and he set about easing the growing tension in the room. "Ryan, why don't you take Logan on home now? I bet he's exhausted."

"Wait!" Logan squirmed from his father's arms and ran back to Luke to fling his arms around the police officer. "Thank you for saving me and my friends."

"Anytime, buddy." The smile that crossed Luke's face made it hard to believe that he had ever been angry. "Just don't make a habit of it, okay?" He withdrew from the hug carefully. "Don't. I'm still wet remember? I don't want you to get wet too."

Wet. Luke was soaked. Then it all made sense. Kendall, James and Logan all coming in with a blanket over their heads. Luke carrying Carlos wrapped in his jacket. And the kennel was freaking cold. It was a wonder Luke could rub the towel over his dog's wet body because he was shaking so much. "Luke," Mr. Garcia shook his head and quickly took off his own coat to put it over the younger man's shoulders.

"'m f-fine." Luke straight up lied, his teeth clacking together so hard that it was painful and made his head ache. "Just a l-little wet. A-and cold."

"So you need to get warm and dry." The chief shook his head and pulled his rookie officer to his feet. "Come on. I'll get Stan to take care of Shadow. He's great with dogs. You need to go to the hospital. We're already taking Carlos in to get checked out and you're coming with us."

"No." Luke shook his head stubbornly. "I d-don't need a doctor. I'm fine."

Stubborn. But Luke Adams was not the most stubborn person in the room right now. "Just in case." Mr. Garcia said. "Better safe than sorry." He sighed and ran a hand through his short, dark hair. "How in the world can I thank you for saving my son's life?"

The blush brought color to Luke's pale face. "J-just doing my job." He stuttered.

"Well, I think you'll make a perfect addition to the force." The chief said confidently.

"Thank y-you."

It occurred to the police chief then that Luke had yet to speak a complete sentence lately without stammering. "Well, that's only if you don't die of hypothermia. Come on. Let's go."

They were greeted warmly by the others. Claire Garcia disregard the fact that Luke was drenched and shivering and hugged him so tightly that the poor officer coughed hoarsely. Carlos made sure that everyone in the building knew that Luke had saved his life.

At last the Garcia managed to drag their small group away from the others. Mr. Garcia gave Luke a gentle shove into his car. "Next stop, the hospital."

Luke and Carlos groaned at the same time and Mr. Garcia couldn't help but laugh a little. But on their way, with Carlos curled up in his mother's arms in the backseat, he turned to the young officer. "Luke, you saved my son's life. I know that it's your job and just let me say that you're terrific at your job. But I don't know how I could possibly thank you enough. I could have lost him tonight if it wasn't for you."

"Well," Luke said quietly. "I'd do it again in a second. I'm just glad that you're his dad. And I just wish that Logan's dad cared about him enough to be there when we first got there. Logan deserves someone like you for a dad."

The unexpected turn in the conversation has Mr. Garcia choosing his next words carefully. "Ryan's wife died a little over a year ago. He's-"

"Still a father." Luke interrupted.

Mr. Garcia nods but then looks pointedly in the rear view mirror where Carlos is watching them and listening to every single word of their conversation.

Luke nodded in understanding and fell silent. "You're welcome." He finally says because there was nothing else he could think of to say. "I'm glad I came here. I wanted to work down in Texas before because that's where I'm from but. . ."

"Well, believe me. We're all glad you came here too." Mr. Garcia said softly. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

A/N. Oh my gosh, that was way longer than I thought it would be. Um. Anyway that's all. Review?