Flynn was just finishing up telling Julie about Reggie's adorable and super hot rendition of Hungry Eyes when she heard Ray's scream for Julie. It was all shuffling and thumping as Julie ran down the stairs, the only thing she could make out was Julie's panicked scream of "Reggie!" before the line clicked off.
Flynn's stomach sank, she thundered down the stairs banging on Alex's door on the way down. He stepped out into the hallway, confused, his hair sticking up in every direction.
"What happened?" He asked sleepily. "It's Reg." She answered. The sight of Flynn rushing past and down the stairs was answer enough. He followed her down as she threw the front door open.
They stood in the doorway for a second so that they could just make out the Molina's open door, the light spilling out onto the porch. Rose, Ray and Julie crouched around an unmoving body.
"Reg!" Flynn screamed and ran across the street. Alex followed in her wake, neither one of them had bothered to put on shoes. Robert and Jason had woken up in the commotion of their daughters screams and a minute later had joined them. They passed two pairs of slides over to Flynn and Alex.
Rose had stood up while Flynn practically shoved Ray out of the way and cradled Reggie's head tenderly, using the towel to staunch the flow of blood that had yet to slow since Rose had pressed it to his head.
Julie was clutching Reggie's right hand, Alex his left. His hands were limp and his face paler than they'd ever seen it, their worry grew because of it. Alex reached out for Flynn's hand, Julie took her other.
To anyone who happened to be passing by the house at this hour, it would have looked like some kind of witchy ritual. Three kids forming a circle of held hands around an unconscious boy, all of their eyes closed. Yeah, definitely looked like a bunch of hocus pocus.
The adults had moved a little away to wait for the ambulance and Julie could just make out her mother's angry hisses as she spoke to Robert.
"I want to bury her, Robert. I want full custody. Jacob hasn't even checked up on him since the divorce. How do we do this?" She asked, Ray's hand clutched in hers.
"It shouldn't be too hard. You need to take pictures before he gets to the hospital. They'll record proof as well, it'll be good to have the evidence before and after. File a police report. I can help you file charges against her." Robert explained. He had his phone out, typing up a checklist of things they'd need to give custody to Rose and Ray.
"He's not going to want that." Flynn called from behind them.
"I know, mija. At this point, I don't really care. She's not coming anywhere near him as long as I'm around." Rose answered and turned back to Robert. Flynn cracked a smile at that, it was short lived but at least it was there.
A minute later Victoria pulled up and slammed her breaks, leaving her green Prius haphazardly parked almost in the middle of the street. She was in her pajamas and bathrobe, only her phone and wallet clutched in her hands.
"Oh,Cariño!" Victoria said as she came up on the porch, bending over to run her fingers lightly over Reggie's face. Before anyone could explain, the ambulance pulled up and the EMT's ushered the kids away from Reggie's unconscious body.
"Alice?" Victoria asked as she stood next to Rose. "Alice." Rose hissed in answer. Victoria's eyes narrowed and she looked over to Ray who was watching his wife with worry evident in his gaze.
The Vasquez women had fire in their blood. An aggressive streak that was sometimes terrifying but most times warranted. They were downright scary, though, when someone they loved was threatened. Ray knew, no matter how much he tried to stop her, Rose was going to make Alice pay. From the look on Victoria's face, he'd have a hell of a time trying to stop them both.
He'd get a reprieve tonight because they would not leave Reggie's side but when the doctor's released him and Reggie was safe in their house? Ray would have to watch them like a hawk to make sure Victoria and Rose didn't sneak off to the Peters house.
It seemed that the rule of three applied quite literally. Bad things always happened in threes and their group was no exception. The fact that each of the three times had landed them in the waiting room of the hospital was besides the point. First Julie, then Luke, and now Reggie.
Alex thought if he never entered a hospital again in his life, it would be too soon. The EMT's had rolled Reggie into the operating room as soon as they'd arrived. He needed stitches, about thirty to be exact, and he most likely had a concussion.
All things considered, it was better than they'd initially thought when they found Reggie bleeding on the Molina's porch. He'd make a full recovery but they were keeping him for twenty four hours for observation anyway. He'd be released Monday morning.
Rose, Ray, Robert, and Jason were talking to a social worker. Rose had demanded she speak to one as soon as they arrived at the hospital. She gave over their insurance information and stated clearly and aggressively that Reggie was their adopted son and that they'd be covering his medical bills.
They were huddled in the corner, heads bent as they watched the woman write out every detail of the night while looking at a picture on Rose's phone. The woman shook her head sadly and made another note before speaking to Robert. He nodded in answer and pulled out a business card, handing it over. Rose pulled out another paper from the pocket of Ray's jacket and handed it over. The woman nodded again, patted Rose on the arm and excused herself.
Flynn, Julie, and Alex sat huddled on the same godforsaken couch they sat in every single time. Flynn was pressed between them, her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees. She was staring at the wall opposite them, her eyes glazed over. Julie and Alex pressed closer to her.
"We should let the others know." Alex said as he pulled out his phone.
Alex to Sunset Soulmates: We're at the hospital. Reggie's hurt.
Julie: Wake up!
After all, it was nearing half past two in the morning so it made sense that they'd all be asleep.
Luke: I'll be there in 10, ordering an uber now. Dad's coming.
Willie: I'm gonna order one too
Carrie: I'm ready, Dad's driving me, We'll pick up Nick and Willie
Nick: I'm at the end of my driveway.
Willie: I'm outside, mom wants to come with.
Twenty minutes later seven people stormed through the waiting room doors. Carrie, Nick, Willie, and Luke beelined for the other three huddled on the couch. Carrie came up behind Flynn and wrapped her arms around her. Nick, Willie, and Luke situated themselves on the floor in front of the couch. Luke taking Flynn's hand, Willie wrapping his hand around her ankle, Nick took her other hand.
Leia, Trevor, and Mitch walked to the rest of the adults to find out what happened. By The end of the explanation, Trevor had offered up his lawyers to help get custody of Reggie. Robert politely declined stating that he had been building a case against Alice for years. His best friend, who happened to be a prosecutor, could get the adoption fast tracked as long as they collected irrefutable evidence, the same way he'd done for the Ryder's and Alex.
Leia had teared up and taken Rose's hand, squeezing it in support. The entire situation was too close to home. It might not have been her own mother that landed her in the hospital all those years ago but the memories were close just the same. She'd even had the same injury once. She looked over to Willie who had his head resting against Flynn's shin, Alex's free hand running his fingers through her son's hair. At least the kids seemed to be handling it as well as they could.
Mitch was watching all of this silently. He wasn't ready to be back in this hospital so soon after Emily's death but Rose had situated herself next to him, Ray on his other side. Their presence helping to steady him as he looked over at Luke.
His son was pressed up against Julie's legs, his knuckles white with the hold he had on her hand. His eyes were wide and he looked like he was ready to bolt at the slightest movement. Julie leaned down and whispered something in his ear and Luke's shoulders relaxed, his head fell back against Julie's knees, her free hand scratched at his scalp.
Trevor was pissed. Scratch that, pissed didn't even begin to cover it. He was furious. The sight of his kid and her friends all huddled up, and exhausted. A weariness on their faces way beyond their years, was enough to make his fists clench at his sides. He never spoke about it, not even Bobby and Carrie knew the full truth about their own missing mother.
He had told them that she just hadn't been ready to be a mother and so when Carrie had been born a year after Bobby, she had packed her bags and taken off. That wasn't the full truth, though.
Michelle had left, yes. But Trevor had forced her out. She enjoyed the glitz and the glamour too much. She had spent Trevor's money on drugs instead of on their kids. The first time he had caught her high, while Carrie screamed in her crib and Bobby cried silently next to her, was the last. He'd divorced her, made sure she wouldn't get a penny from it, and gotten full custody of his kids. They'd never seen her again after that.
So standing there now, under the fluorescent lights of the waiting room, Trevor tried his hardest to stifle his anger at yet another mother. Another woman who had brought a child into the world and did nothing but neglect them, hurt them, traumatize them. When she should have been their single biggest supporter. He picked up his phone and called his lawyer anyway. They'd be prepared should Robert run into issues in their case for custody.
They were all scared but seeing Flynn, usually the most unflappable of them all, curled up and small, her silence was deafening and it was enough to send them all into an anxiety spiral. No one spoke, no one had to. They all knew, no matter how much Reggie tried to hide it, that his mother had been drinking again.
Julie was wracked with guilt. After all, she'd known for months but she had promised him. Pinky swore that she wouldn't say anything to anyone. That was as good as an unbreakable vow as far as she was concerned, but she still couldn't stop blaming herself. If she had told her parents at least then they could have gotten Reggie out of there and they wouldn't be sitting in this cursed hospital yet again while he was getting his head stitched back together.
The adults stood huddled, still talking quietly. Julie watched her parents. How worried Rose was but there was anger simmering under the surface. Ray had the same look, his anger better hidden but not enough for Julie to miss the way his brows furrowed or the way he dug his fingers into his thigh. An attempt to try and keep a lid on it. The reason for their anger wasn't there anyway so there was no point in letting it out.
Julie felt her the bones in her right hand scrape together with the force of Luke's hold. She looked down at him and took in the way his shoulders were tensed so hard they were almost touching his ears. The way his eyes had widened with fear, like a rabbit trapped under a circling hawk. She leaned over, pulling her hand out of his and cupping his cheek instead.
"We're going to see him soon. Just keep thinking about Reggie. He's going to need all of us." Luke nodded when she smiled down at him and his shoulders relaxed when her hand came up to scratch at his scalp. He sank back into the couch, resting his head against her knees.
"Mr. and Mrs. Molina?" The doctor had come out, smiling sadly. Rose and Ray moved to him.
"He's going to be okay, he needed twenty eight stitches and he does have a concussion so we're going to be keeping him awake until morning. There were glass shards embedded in the cut so that's why it took a little longer. You can go see him but only you two for now." He explained. Rose and Ray nodded in agreement.
"What? No! We need to see him!" Flynn said from behind Julie's parents. The rest of them were huddled around her, nodding in agreement. When had they moved from the couch? Rose wondered.
"You have to let us see him. Please, doctor." Julie said from Flynn's left.
"I would really appreciate it if you let them in to see him after we're done talking to him." Ray said, trying to convey how important it was that they all be allowed in.
The doctor cocked a brow taking in the seven worried faces in front of him and then the adults all surrounding them. Finally he smiled and nodded.
"He's a lucky kid to have so many people who love him." He leaned forward and winked at them, the small smile still on his lips.
"It's against hospital policy to have more than two people in the room at a time, but as long as you're quiet, I think I can pull a few strings." He winked at them and gestured for Rose and Ray to follow him.
"Does he have a safe place to go when he's released on Monday?" The doctor asked.
"Yes, we're building a case for full custody, until then he'll be staying with us." Rose answered.
"Good. That's good. Try not to stress him out too much. He has a headache, even if he declined a mild painkiller." They nodded as they entered the room he was in.
Rose clutched Ray's hand. The sight of Reggie in the large bed, in the hospital gown made him look so small. She walked over to the left side of his bed and trailed her hand over his cheek. He leaned into her hand like a kicked puppy getting love for the first time.
"Hi, mijo. How are you feeling?" She asked. He teared up and pushed his face harder into her hand.
"Better now." He said. Ray walked up to the other side, taking his hand.
"I need you to listen to me, hear me on this." Rose started, Reggie nodded for her to continue.
"We're going to be adopting you, legally and officially. We've been collecting every scrap of evidence and Robert is confident that the judge will side with us. The thing is, Reg, is that you're going to need to talk to the judge. It's only going to be us and Robert there. Alice might be there too." She finished. His eyes widened and he started shaking his head but stopped when a wave of nausea rolled through his stomach.
"You're not going back to that house and we're not letting her near you. Tonight could have been so much worse. Do you understand?" Ray explained. Reggie nodded.
"Good. We're going to make sure you're safe and taken care of okay?" Ray continued.
"Okay." Reggie repeated. Rose smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead, next to the bandage. He teared up at the contact. He hadn't been lying when he told his mother that if the world was fair, Rose and Ray would have been his parents.
"Okay. We're going to leave and let the kids come in before they storm the doors." She smiled at him.
"All of them?" Reggie asked.
"All seven of them." Ray responded. Reggie's eyes widened but he smiled and nodded.
They let Flynn walk in first and she bolted for the bed, throwing herself down next to him. She hugged him close and buried her face in his neck. Reggie reached out and ran his hand down the length of her braids, basking in the comfort of having her there.
There were three chairs lined up against the wall and Julie, Luke, and Alex grabbed them to pull them towards the bed, situating them around it.
It wasn't the most comfortable but at least they'd all be able to be close to him. Luke sat down and pulled Julie onto his lap, scooting closer to the bed. Alex did the same with Willie, and Nick with Carrie.
Reggie had a moment where he was blown away at the sight of Carrie and Nick. Just a few months ago they were hurling ugly words at each other and now Carrie sat at the side of his hospital bed, looking just as worried as the rest of his friends. It made his head spin, how much things could change in such a short time.
Reggie turned to Julie then. There were dried tear tracks on her face, her hair had frizzed up so bad with the stress of the night that her scrunchie stood no chance of containing it. She looked destroyed and Reggie was racked with guilt at the sight.
"I'm sorry, Jules." He whispered it but all of them heard it. They turn to her as one at his words, hoping for an explanation. Flynn's watching her too, still quiet.
"It doesn't matter. You're coming home." She responds and leans her head against Luke's. Reggie's hand still clutched tightly in hers.
The rest of them are still looking between Reggie and Julie, still waiting on an explanation so Reggie turns back to them and explains everything. How Julie was the first to know that Alice had started drinking again. How she had been there to help him clean up in the morning. The way he had begged and pleaded and made her promise that she wouldn't tell anyone.
He turned to Flynn then. Explaining that he was most worried about her and wanted to spare her the stress of worrying about him and his situation. Her brows furrowed at this, her lips pressed together as she tried to suppress her anger at this boy who stressed more about their feelings than his own life or death situation.
"Next time, let me decide what I can and can't handle. Okay?" She asked and he nodded in agreement. Flynn put her head back on his shoulder and kissed his neck.
They stayed curled around his bed, talking and keeping him awake along with themselves. Luke's legs had gone numb after an hour. Alex's had started vibrating with pins and needles but he kept Willie securely on his lap anyway. Nick was pretty sure he'd collapse if he tried to stand up at this point. His hand stayed curled around Carrie's waist anyway.
The doctor came in at seven to let Reggie know that he could go to sleep now. The kids got up after kisses and hugs and promises of seeing him later that day. Reggie fell asleep before the last of them had left the room.
Their parents were still in the waiting room. Rose asleep against Ray's shoulder. Mitch was asleep in the chair between Ray and Trevor who was typing away furiously on his phone. Leia sat on Rose's other side, her head on the other woman's shoulder, asleep as well.
Jason and Robert were awake and whispering to each other about what Robert's prosecutor friend is saying. The others wake up when the kids come out, gathering themselves and leaving so everyone can get some sleep before they come back later.
Rose has everyone come to their house where Ray orders breakfast for all of them, no energy left for cooking. The kids go up to Julies room and cuddle up on the air mattresses on the floor that had never been put away. The parents sip their coffee and wish for once that it was possible to hook up an IV full of caffeine instead of having to drink it and wait for it to wake them up.
At eleven Rose grabs Victoria's hand and pulls her out of the house. Ray is distracted by the kids piling in to eat and Robert's papers spread out around him. Adoption applications and their foster license. Police reports and restraining orders that he had emailed to him from Jason's detective friend.
Victoria was still clad in her pajamas as she followed Rose to the studio where her sister pulled out four large duffle bags. Handing two over to Victoria before heading to Victoria's car, still parked crookedly in the street. Rose hands over the keys she'd snatched from the key hook by the door.
"We're going to get Reggie's things. I want to have his room ready before he gets home." Rose explains as she throws the duffle bags in the back seat.
"And Alice?" Victoria asks. Rose smirks in response but doesn't answer. Victoria nods and gets into the driver's side. They pull away from the house and head up the block to Alice's house.
Rose is knocking on the door before Victoria can even put the car in park. There's shuffling and the sound of broken glass tinkering on the other side rings in her ears. Rose clenches her hands into fists. Victoria comes up next to her just as Alice opens the door.
Rose shoves her out of the way, paying no mind to the way the woman is clutching at her head and rubbing her eyes.
"What the hell, Rose?" She shrieks and then cringes at the volume of her own voice. Rose turns to Victoria instead of answering.
"Vicky, his room is the second door on the left. Pack everything you can." Her voice is quiet, controlled.
Victoria nods and goes up the stairs smiling to herself. Her sister was vicious and that was saying something since all the women in her family were dangerous in their own ways. She left the door open as she packed his things, listening in case Rose needed help.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Alice asks again, this time louder and angrier.
"Just grabbing Reggie's things. He won't be coming back here, ever. Oh and we've filed a restraining order so don't even think about showing up at my house." Rose answered, throwing an envelope at the woman's feet.
She walked around the lower floor taking in the shattered glass and the hand print on the doorway of the living room, the blood had dried turning it a dark brown instead of the bright red it had been. Rose took out her phone and snapped a few pictures of the broken glass and the droplets of blood littering the floor before turning back and taking another of the handprint.
"Are you out of your mind? I'm his mother! What makes you think you can keep my kid away from me?" Rose looked back to her, one eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"That." she said as she gestured to the blood and the broken glass. Alice looked around, seeming to take it in for the first time.
"You should mind your own business. Keep your nose in your own house. Don't worry about what goes on in mine." Alice snarled. "And get the fuck out of my home." Alice added.
"Reggie is my business, Alice. And trust me, this isn't a home. It's barely a house, thanks to you and your failure of a husband." Rose hissed into her face.
Alice inhaled sharply and tried to push Rose through the open door but Rose was sober, and stronger so she pushed back, forcing the other woman back.
"Please, put your hands on me again. It'll make my entire year." Rose snarled at her. She'd thought ahead and bundled her hair into a tight bun in case the situation escalated. She refused to admit that she came here hoping that it would.
Alice stared her down, her eyes almost glowing with anger. "You can't keep my son from me." she says again and Rose laughs, sarcastic and mean.
"I sure the fuck can. You put him in the hospital. Twenty eight stitches and a concussion. I can only thank whatever guardian angel was watching over him for getting him to our house before he passed out in the middle of the street." Alice flinched back like she'd been hit. Good.
"You're done. Do whatever you want with your pathetic life but you won't ruin Reggie's ever again." Alice reared back and slapped Rose across the face. It wasn't so much that it hurt her but more that it made her blood boil and her fingers tingle.
Rose shoved her back against the wall, grabbing the hair at the base of Alice's neck and forcing her head back so hard, it slammed against the plaster. Flashes of Reggie's face raced through Rose's mind as she looked down at the woman.
Thirteen and so small climbing through Julie's window with a nasty purple bruise blooming across his jaw. Purple bags under his eyes more often than not when he'd stayed up listening to Alice and Jacob scream at each other. Open cuts and gushing blood as he collapses in their doorway.
Any control Rose was grasping on to had disappeared and now she was all fury and hate. She slammed her head against the wall again. She was so close to Alice's face that their noses almost touched.
"If you ever, ever come near Reggie again, or any one of those kids. I'll kill you. Trust me on this. I have ways of making a body disappear. No one will ever know and I'll sleep just as peacefully as I do now." Rose hissed in Alice's ear. She slammed her head against the wall once more for good measure before letting go and backing away as Victoria came down the stairs dragging four filled duffle bags.
"All good?" Victoria asked as she stared Alice down. Rose nodded and backed towards the open door. She grabbed two of the duffle bags from Victoria and turned to walk out before turning back to Alice.
"I meant what I said. Stay away from him." Rose said.
They loaded the car and drove back to their house. When they walked in, Ray was pacing on the porch. He took in the duffle bags they carried and the red hand print spreading over Rose's cheek and sighed heavily.
"Please tell me you didn't." He said as he took the bags from Rose and Victoria.
"Didn't what?" Rose asked innocently. He sighed again and looked to Victoria who gave nothing up.
"Rose." He said, exasperated. "We can't do anything to jeopardize the custody case." He explained.
"And we didn't. Don't worry so much, Ray. We just went over there to get Reggie's things before he gets home." Victoria explained. She took Rose's hand and led her in, snapping her fingers for Ray to follow and bring everything up to Reggie's room.
He sighed again and followed them up. He should have kept a closer eye on them but it was too late now so all he could do is hope that Alice got what she deserved.
Reggie came home Monday morning. The house was quiet since everyone was at school. Rose and Ray brought him into his room and he noticed that his posters hung here now. His clothes were folded neatly in the drawers and the bed was made and ready for him to collapse in.
He turned around and pulled both of them into a hug. He'd thanked them so many times, cried into their hugs more than he could count. He'd caused them massive trouble and mountains of paperwork and yet here they stood. Still at his back, still taking care of him. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky or what work of the universe had been looking out for him but he was so thankful to them.
They pulled him closer and enveloped him in a hug. "I'm never letting you go again, okay?" Rose whispered in his ear. He nodded, hiding his flushed and teary face in her shoulder.
"You're home now, mijo. Go relax, maybe try to get some sleep before everyone gets home and rushes you." Reggie nodded and pulled back.
"Thank you, for everything." He said to them.
"Family doesn't thank each other for doing what family is supposed to do." Rose said and he didn't miss the double meaning in her words.
Reggie decided to take a shower after getting a shower cap to cover the bandage over the stitches and then he passed out in his new comfortable bed. Safe and quiet in the home he'd wished he had for years that was finally, officially about to be his.
When he woke up again it was dark outside and there were bodies pressed up against him. Flynn's braids tickled his nose from where her face was buried into his neck. Julie's arm was thrown over his stomach from the other side, her head on his chest. Luke was behind her, his arm thrown over Julie and his hand on Reggie's chest. Alex was behind Flynn and his hand was on Reggie's shoulder. Willie cross legged next to Alex, his head resting on his arms on the mattress. Carries and Nick were next to him in the same position.
Their soft breathing filled the room. Everyone was asleep and he didn't dare move, didn't dare disturb the peace in the room. Being surrounded by them again was like coming home and hadn't today been just that? He'd finally come home. His breaths came easier than they had in a very long time.