1x07
Michelle would be lying if she said that the past month had been easy.
Because it hadn't been anywhere close.
And she was tired, so very tired.
All she wanted to do was sleep.
But it despite it being her day off she had a job to do.
And no amount of sleep was more important than making sure Emily got her meds.
"Michelle!" The little girl running toward her smiled as she held out her arms.
Michelle welcomed her with open arms, hugging her tightly as she spoke.
"There you are!" She had been worried for a minute when she didn't see her inside the tent. "Hey!"
She reluctantly let go of the girl when she heard Patrick round the corner.
"Aw, I thought you two might've left and gone to the VA program." She had been trying for months to convince them to go.
They should be somewhere safe and warm.
Or at least, Emily should be somewhere safe and warm.
"Ah, well, I'm almost ready." That's what he had said six months ago when she brought the idea up for the first time. "I really am this time."
She prayed that it didn't take something bad happening for him to realize that he needed to do what was best for Emily.
"We stopped by and checked it out." She wasn't convinced that he would ever be ready though.
"They gave me this?" Emily held up the stuffed teddy bear and Michelle couldn't help but offer her a smile.
"Did they?" But that little girl deserved so much more than one little teddy bear.
If you asked Michelle, she deserved the whole damn world.
"You better take good of him like your daddy takes care of you." She knew that Patrick loved his little girl, she would never deny that, not in a million years.
But this little girl needed a roof over her head and warm showers and food.
"You know I tried." Trying wasn't going to cut it forever though. "I didn't lose her insulin on purpose."
Michelle would never say it out loud but she didn't think for a second that Emily's insulin got 'lost'.
"That's all the more reason why you need be in the shelter." But being somewhere that someone had eyes on them would help too.
"I can't stay there at night. I just…" She got it, sort of. "I close my eyes and everything starts to close in."
She understood that PTSD was no joke.
But her worry wasn't about Patrick anymore.
It was about Emily.
And that poor girl needed more than her father could give her right now.
"I get it." But it wasn't her place to say or do anything to help.
Nothing other than to offer some free advice and provide them with the meds that she could.
"You remember this?" She turned back to Emily as she pulled the needle and syringe out of her bag. "Just a little pinch."
Emily nodded her head as she hugged her bear close, watching as her father gave her the injection and wiped the spot clean.
She was probably the bravest girl Michelle had ever met and she just wished that she could do more.
Which is why she had given Patrick the phone and told them both to call her, anytime, day or night.
She would be there.
She had to be there.
—
Carlos had dragged her away not long after that conversation though, telling her that they found a lead on Iris' case.
So she had left, but she hadn't been able to get the girl and her father of her mind.
So despite dealing with Detective Washington and being in a foul mood all afternoon, she had done her best not to let it ruin her hope of one day getting Emily the help she needed.
Sighing to herself she kicked the tire of her Jeep as she slammed her hands against the side of the vehicle.
"Guess this wouldn't be a good time to tell you I have to cancel our plans for tonight?" Well that was just great.
She was looking forward to being able to let loose and enjoy herself a little.
Something about being with Owen made her forget everything else that was going on in her life.
"Why?" She turned around quickly and shot daggers in his direction.
It really wasn't a big deal, but right now, well right now she was angry.
"I've gotta keep training for the CPAT. TK's off tonight and doesn't have plans so…" He stopped talking when she rolled her eyes and she figured that that maybe wasn't the right response to his comment.
"So you're gonna go work on slowly killing yourself instead of spending the night with me?" God she sounded like a jealous bitch right now. "I see how it is."
"Michelle…" Owen reached for her but she pushed his hand away with a growl. "It's not like that. You know I need to train."
"Fine, Owen, go train." She was talking to him like she was in high school and he was blowing her off for something stupid like video games with his friends instead of date night with her.
Except, it kind of felt like that to be honest.
"Look, I know you don't like the idea of me doing this…" He stopped once again when she turned away from him, grabbing her bag from the passenger seat before slamming the door shut behind her.
"No Owen, I hate the idea of you doing this." She emphasized the 'hate' part of her sentence as she brushed past him and headed toward the firehouse.
If he was going to blow her off then she wasn't going to go home and sit alone in an empty house and sulk all night.
"I thought you were going home." He called after her.
"I changed my mind." She turned around and shot him a dirty look, the sarcasm dripping from her words as she let it all out. "You know, people do that sometimes. Especially when something better pops up."
And then she turned back around and stormed inside, taking the stairs two at a time in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible.
Owen was confused.
Really, really confused.
He got it, Michelle was pissed that he still wanted to run this CPAT.
He knew that it bothered her.
But he had to do this.
Not just for him, but for them.
But then TK was canceling on him at the last minute.
The kid claimed he was tired and needed sleep.
Owen bet it had something to do with whoever he had been sneaking out to see lately.
So instead he had picked up a pizza and grabbed a six pack of beer and headed to Michelle's.
But she wasn't home and she wasn't answering her cell.
He contemplated leaving, but he figured that she would be back soon.
So he let himself inside and kicked off his shoes and made himself comfy on the couch.
And he must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew he was waking up to someone dropping a blanket over him.
And then that someone was retreating down the hallway.
He heard the shower cut on a few minutes later so he pulled himself from the couch and quietly headed to the bathroom.
Part of him wanted to surprise her and just strip down and step in.
But after the mood she had been in earlier, he figured that wasn't wise.
"Want some company?" He called softly as he leaned against the door frame.
He watched as the shower curtain pulled back and she tilted her head to the side, eyeing him softly.
"Sure." Her response was whispered but she was smiling nonetheless.
So he stripped down and climbed in, his hands instantly going to her hips as he pulled her to him.
"I thought you were training tonight." The sarcasm in her tone didn't escape him and he simply made a face at her before kissing her softly.
"TK had to cancel." He whispered as he pulled back, his forehead falling to rest against hers.
"Oh." She didn't sound the least bit sorry for him and he tickled her sides, laughing when she squealed and pushed him away. "I won't apologize for that."
"I don't expect you too." He knew she was mad at him.
He knew that she didn't want him to do it.
"Good." She huffed out, reaching around him to grab the shampoo off the hanging rack. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to take a shower here."
He raised an eyebrow as she turned her back to him, but he wasn't going to let her get away that easily.
He felt her body tense for a second as he pulled her to him, her back pressing against his chest as he nipped at her neck.
"Like you wouldn't appreciate a little distraction." He knew her well enough to know that she always liked a good distraction.
"Owen…" Her tone was warning, but teasing at the same time, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he let his right hand slowly make it's way down her body.
She let out a low moan when he let a finger dip between her legs, running over her core slowly.
"Want me to stop?" He moved his left hand up to cup her breast, his lips nipping and kissing along her neck as he waited for an answer.
The slight shake of her head told him all he needed to know so he got to work, moving his whole hand down, sliding a finger into her with ease.
She let out a small whimper, her head falling back as he rubbed his thumb over her folds.
"Good?" He knew the answer to that question and yet he couldn't help but ask it.
"Mhm." She whined out, her eyes slamming shut as he added another finger.
He chuckled softly as he continued his movements, his hands doing all the work as he left what he knew would be a nice looking hickey on her neck.
She'd probably kill him in the morning for it, but he was proud of his handiwork.
"Owen…" The sound her dragging out his name as she reached up to cup his arms tightly almost did him in right then and there.
So he picked up speed and ran his thumb over just the right spot and the next thing he knew she was coming undone.
"You okay?" He gave her a minute to come down from her high before spinning her around and kissing her softly.
She nodded her head as she reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair.
Yeah, he had to agree with her on this one.
This was so much better than training for the CPAT.
—
But so was the sweet victory of watching Billy get struck by lightning.
Not that he would ever say that out loud.
But after the things the man had said about him.
About his team and even his own son.
After he had learned the horrible truths about what he had done to Michelle.
Well the man was lucky that Owen was a firefighter first and a human being second.
Because any decent man would have just left him laying there.
—
He had gone to see him in the hospital though, for what reason he wasn't sure.
But something inside him told him to be the bigger person in this situation.
Especially after his team had been so supportive and he had felt the victory of getting to keep his job.
He had felt a little, relieved he guessed it was, seeing Billy in that hospital bed.
There was very little that could be done to the man that would make up for all the hell he had put everyone through.
But this was a start.
And despite agreeing that they were better off as 'friends' instead of enemies he didn't actually agree with his own words.
But again, it was best to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Michelle had been shocked when Detective Washington had called her.
She certainly wasn't expecting any news on Iris' case just yet.
But she prayed that it was good news, something that would help find her sister once and for all.
She had been thankful when Carlos had agreed to go with her.
"Just in case." He whispered as they stepped out of the car and onto the road.
She nodded her head as she made her way toward the detective.
And then she waited.
Waited for something, anything, that would give her her sister back.
But as she watched the pick up truck being pulled from over the median she felt her heart break.
Even though she knew this was possible, it was the opposite of the outcome that she wanted.
"I'm so sorry Chica." Carlos reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing gently as he stepped closer to her.
"We'll get the truck back to the garage and go through it's contents." Detective Washington said softly. "I promise I'll call you once we have something."
Michelle simply nodded her head before dropping Carlos' hand and making her way toward his cruiser.
She just wanted to disappear.
To run away and never come back.
This had all been too much.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Carlos asked softly as he slid into the driver's seat a few minutes later. "Your moms?"
"Owen's." She choked out the man's name and Carlos simply nodded his reply.
"Owen's it is." And then they were headed toward his place, the silence in the car killing her.
She knew that Carlos was hurting too, she could see it in his eyes and hear it in the tone of his voice.
But he would never show her that.
He would never take away from her pain in order to showcase his.
They pulled up in front of Owen's house a few minutes later and the man was waiting on the porch for them.
"I texted him before we left the scene." She should've known Carlos would be looking out for her. "Figured this is where you'd wind up eventually."
It was where she seemed to be winding up an awful lot lately.
"Thank you Carlos." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek before exiting the vehicle and making her way toward Owen.
"Hi." Owen whispered softly as he offered a wave toward the cop before the vehicle pulled off.
"Hi." She whispered back as she stayed put at the bottom of the stairs.
She knew she was welcome inside, but she felt so weighed down and so heavy and tired and she didn't know how to just walk inside like everything was fine.
"I made a lasagna. And pulled out the fancy tequila." He smiled at her softly as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Figured we could watch a movie, maybe get drunk, play one of those video games that TK enjoys playing when he's really, really mad."
She could help but chuckle at his words.
He knew her so damn well it scared her sometimes.
"Okay." She nodded her head as she made her way up the stairs, hugging him tightly when he extended his arms in her direction. "Thank you."
She didn't even know if she had said those words loud enough for him to hear, but she wanted to make sure they were out there.
"You're very welcome." He pressed a kiss to her head as he ran a hand up her back.
"I don't wanna talk about it though." She pulled back and gave him a stern look.
"Then we won't talk about it." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead before continuing. "But if you do wanna talk about it, we can."
She knew that he was there for her and that he would help her in any way he could.
But right now, all she wanted to do was forget everything that was happening around her.