Bailey groaned when her alarm went off. 7:00 AM was not the time she wanted to be awake, but it was worth it to get out of out the house for the day. TK had made sure to exchange numbers with Bailey just in case she were to need anything, and he and Owen also started to pick Bailey up on their way to work. So, over the coming days a pattern had emerged. Every morning Bailey would pack a day bag and TK and Owen would pick her up and she would spend the day around the fire house. Being with the team felt more like home than any house she'd ever been in and she loved that. Since she was spending the majority of her day at the fire house, the Hubbards seemed to be getting increasingly aggravated. Bailey often left before any of them were awake and got home after dinner, leaving her in the house at night only. Most parents, foster or otherwise, would be thrilled that their child was out and about during the summer months but the Hubbards weren't most parents. They complained that Bailey was never home and therefore neglecting her chores. So, she'd made it pointedly clear to her foster family that her chores were getting done daily and made sure to get them done before she left the house every morning.

Bailey rolled out of bed and changed out of her pajamas and into her robe before making her way into the laundry room to start her laundry. She had three chores that had to be done. Her laundry was her own responsibility, but it didn't stop her foster brother from throwing his laundry in the night before and not starting the machine so that she either had to take it out and face the wrath of the Hubbards or simply throw hers in with his and leave his for him to fold and put away later. She also had to take out the trash cans and she had to water the plants in the front and back yards.

Once she started her laundry she immediately went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. It made the most sense for her to start the laundry first and then work on everything else while the washing machine was running. By the time she was out of the shower and had her teeth brushed the washing machine was singing, signaling that it had completed it's task. Bailey slipped on her robe again before swapping the wet laundry into the dryer, making sure to pull out the few pieces of clothing that needed to be hung out. Once she started the dryer Bailey made her way back to her room to get dressed and finish getting ready. Thirty minutes later she was dressed, and her laundry was folded and put away. Since the trash cans weren't yet full, they could wait for a while, but the plants needed to be watered.

As early as it was the heat had yet to build and Bailey was fine to be outside. She started in the back first, watering the flowers and the herd and vegetable garden along the fence. When she moved to the front she saw that TK and Owen were already there. Bailey looked at her phone for the time, worried that she may have been running late but she saw that it was in fact TK and Owen who were running early. TK got out of the car and walked slowly up to her as she turned on the hose.

"You guys are early." Bailey smiled.

TK chuckled.

"Yeah well, it's just been that kind of a morning," He said. "How has your morning been?"

Bailey shrugged.

"Normal," She said. "I'm almost done here, just need to water the flowers and then I'll be set."

TK nodded. Bailey expected him to go back and wait in the car, but TK stood and walked along with her as she moved from bush to bush.

"You know you don't have to walk with me, right?" She said.

"Yeah, I know," TK said. "But you looked like you could use some company. I'm honestly surprised that you get as much as you do done in the morning. I'm lucky if I remember to make my bed before I leave."

Bailey laughed.

"I've been doing this a while." She said starting to roll up the hose.

"What do you mean? Chores?" TK asked.

Bailey shrugged.

"Yeah, partly," She breathed. "The other part of it is foster care."

Bailey squatted down to wrap the hose into the hutch and TK kneeled down next to her to help.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Bailey shrugged.

"Think of it like a business, if you hire a new employee but they don't pull their weight, that employee will inevitably be fired," Bailey explained. "The foster system is pretty much the same thing. Now, I'm not saying that every foster family is like this because that just isn't true but sometimes it is kind of like that. If I don't pull my own weight or work harder than the kids who are already in the home then the family might not want me in their home anymore."

TK listened as Bailey explained her situation is if it was normal. It broke his heart to hear her talk like that and he made a silent promise to make her days with the 126 as enjoyable yet relaxing as possible. Together they stood and Bailey wiped her hands off on her jean shorts before looking at TK with a smile.

"And I'm done." She said.

"Alright, let's get goin'." TK said, stepping aside and letting Bailey move in front of him.

Owen watched as his son and Bailey walked back to the car. They'd gotten close fast and he couldn't help but smile. He was happy to see the teen smiling as opposed to the solemn mood that Bailey had seemed to be in when they first met. The first moment that he could, Owen had made sure to get in contact with her case agent. He was concerned about some of the things that Bailey had said about her experience living with the Hubbards. If he was certified to take foster kids, Owen would have taken her that day, but he wasn't, and it wasn't exactly a short process. It could take months to become a certified foster parent if not longer. But, he had no intention of leaving Bailey out in the wind. When the back door opened he turned to greet Bailey, a smile on his face.

"Good morning." He smiled.

"Hello." Bailey said, pulling the door closed.

"Okay, TK probably said that it was an early morning for us, so we decided to make breakfast at home," Owen said. "So, we have an egg sandwich with mozzarella, bacon, tomato, and avocado on toasted sourdough."

Owen passed the sandwich back to Bailey, who's mouth had dopped open.

"You are going to spoil me, this looks amazing." She said, happily accepting the sandwich and taking a bite.

Bailey moaned as flavor exploded in her mouth.

"Oh my God, this is so good." She said.

Owen laughed as he turned back around.

"I'm glad you like it." He said.

She may not be his kid but hell if he wasn't going to spoil her while he could.

"And while dad was being Chef Ramsey with the sandwiches, I went full Jamba Juice and made a little creation of my own," TK said picking up the tumbler from the center console. "I know you like your smoothies, so I threw a number of different things in there."

Bailey took the tumbler and cocked a brow.

"What kind of fruit is in here?" Bailey laughed.

Bailey shrugged and carefully set her sandwich on the seat next to her and skeptically took a sip of the smoothie. She was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

"That's really good," She said, taking another sip. "If EMS doesn't work out you've got a promising future in smoothies."

TK laughed.

"Good to know." He said.

The firehouse was a second home for Bailey now. The whole team knew her, and she knew all of them. Many of the other shifts knew her as well since she'd be there as long as TK or Owen were working. She'd ridden along on a few calls which she had been ecstatic about seeing the 126 in action. There were a few of Bailey's habits that confused the 126 a bit. The first being her tendency to push herself into corners and watch her surroundings. There were times where they'd find her under the stairs or between bookshelves, curled up with a book or sketchbook in hand and headphones in her ears. Art, as it turned out, was her escape above everything else and her new surroundings brought new inspiration and Bailey intended to take full advantage of it. Another new development that had the house scratching their heads was Buttercup's attachment to the teen. Normally the large St. Bernard was attached to TK like a shadow but ever since she'd started coming around, where Bailey went Buttercup was sure to follow.

"TK, I think Buttercup has a new favorite." Judd laughed as Buttercup hopped up onto the couch and laid his head on Bailey's lap.

TK cocked a brow as he looked over but couldn't help but chuckle. Bailey didn't seem to mind having Buttercup around, in fact she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit and TK couldn't remember the last time Buttercup had been so invested in a game of fetch like how he was when Bailey tossed the tennis ball for him. How had this girl been flipped through the system so precariously? Did all people see when they looked at her, her challenges? TK sighed and shook his head; Bailey was so much more than that.

"Hello?" Somebody called, catching the attention of the 126.

It was only a moment later that Carlos turned the corner into the kitchen and TK smiled.

"Carlos." He smiled, hugging his boyfriend tightly.

"I thought I'd stop by before heading into the station," Carlos smiled, looking around the kitchen and living room, greeting his friends. When his eyes landed on the couch he saw a familiar head of brown hair sitting beneath a lump of fur. "Bailey Williams as I live and breathe."

Bailey looked up and smiled softly.

"Hi Officer Reyes." She said.

TK furrowed his brow.

"You guys know each other?" He asked.

Carlos chuckled.

"You could say that. She's been in the back of my squad car a few times." He said.

"I'm sorry, she what?" Owen spoke up.

Bailey slumped farther into the couch.

"She's never been in any kind of trouble, but she's been labeled a runaway in her file," Carlos said. "I've taken her home a few times."

"A runaway?" TK asked and then looked over at Bailey with a raised brow. "When did you run away?"

Bailey remained silent for a few minutes, but TK's look only prompted her to grow more uncomfortable as he waited for an answer. Finally, she stood up and made her way into the kitchen.

"I never actually ran away. I just left the house without telling anybody where I was going." She said.

"That's kind of the definition of running away Bailey." Owen said.

"Not in this case because when it happened I was only gone for a few hours. Once was because I went to the library and ended up falling asleep, another was because I was coming home from school and ended up having a full drop and ended up in the hospital and the last time was because it was…um." Bailey tapered off, her eyes falling to her shoes.

Carlos knew exactly where this was going, and he also knew that Bailey wasn't very open about talking about it. But with a bit of encouragement she could get it out.

"Bails." He prompted and Bailey looked up, tears in the corner of her eyes.

"I was at the cemetery visiting my parents," She said. "It was the anniversary of their deaths."

The house fell silent. Bailey could feel the silence, feel the tension, it felt like the room was getting smaller. Carlos was the first to speak up.

"When we got the call that it was Bailey I honestly couldn't believe that the Hubbards had called it in knowing what day it was. When I got to the cemetery I sat with her for a couple of hours. We talked for a bit and then I took her home. None of the times that the Hubbards called it in were ever truly viable as runaway calls but we had to take them because-"

"Because I'm a foster kid," Bailey cut him off. "It's not exactly a fair system."

TK walked over and pulled Bailey into his arms.

"I don't care if you're a foster kid, you shouldn't have had to go through any of this." He said.

Bailey wrapped her arms around TK, and he held her tightly. One look at his dad and a full conversation was exchanged. Something had to change.

Bailey was quiet for a while after that but once she realized that the 126, though surprised, took the information and moved on, she opened back up again. Again Buttercup took it upon himself to trail behind Bailey and push her out of her silence, literally. The amount of times that Buttercup practically headbutted Bailey's legs to get her to play with him was endless. They'd finally left the fire house about 7:30 and Bailey was sitting quietly in the backseat and TK was deep in thought. Owen looked between his son and Bailey as he drove.

"Does anybody want tacos?" He asked, tired of sitting in the silence.

Bailey perked up at the mention of food.

"I will always say yes to tacos." She said.

"I could go for tacos." TK agreed.

When Owen parked in front of the taco truck TK wasn't surprised to see that Carlos was sitting at one of the picnic tables.

"Well, funny seeing you here." TK laughed occupying the seat next to Carlos.

Carlos chuckled and kissed TK lightly. Bailey sat across from them, a light smile on her face.

"Hi Officer Reyes." She said.

"Bailey, it's Carlos," Carlos said. "Officer Reyes is just too formal."

"Okay," Bailey laughed. "Then hi Carlos."

"Hi Bails." Carlos said.

TK smiled

"Bailey, you left your sweatshirt in the car, kiddo." Owen said approaching the table with Bailey's purple sweatshirt in hand.

"Oh, thank you." Bailey said, taking the sweatshirt and slipping it over her head.

"It's still weird seeing you so relaxed," Carlos said watching Bailey relax into her seat. "You're always so tense when I see you."

Bailey laughed.

"Well you would be too if you knew you were about to be put into the backseat of a police cruiser." She said.

"Touché." Carlos laughed.

There was an ease to the conversation that Bailey had never experienced before. There was no force to the conversation, every laugh and smile was genuine and free, she knew that there was no pity, no sadness behind their words and she loved it. Her peers at school tended to steer clear of her because of her history or if they did talk to her there was an air or pity and it made her uncomfortable, forcing her back into her shell. But, with Carlos, TK, and the rest of the 126 her shell was nearly nonexistent. She relished in her new freedom not knowing how long it would last.

"Yo, Bailey." TK's voice broke through her thoughts and she sat up straight.

"Sorry what?" She asked.

"Your food's here." TK said, pointing to the styrofoam container that he'd placed in front of her.

"Oh, thank you." Bailey smiled, opening the lid.

"What were you thinking about?" Carlos asked, taking a bite of his own tacos.

"Just thinking. I get lost in my own head sometimes." Bailey shrugged.

TK nodded.

"Just make sure you can find your way back out again." He teased.

Bailey laughed and nodded but Carlos could see the hesitation on her face.

"Bails?" He prompted.

"Your mind can be a scary place sometimes." She admitted.

"Yeah, it can be," Owen said. "But the important thing is to have an anchor. Something that can draw you out of your head."

Bailey nodded.

"What's your anchor?" She asked, looking at Owen.

Owen smiled.

"My family. They're what keep me going." He said.

Bailey nodded.

"I guess since I've never really had a constant I've used art and music as a way to keep myself grounded." She said.

"I've seen you draw around the fire house," TK said. "You're good."

"Thanks," Bailey said. "I think I prefer painting over drawing though. I sketch concepts and then transfer them to canvas later."

"You'll have to bring some of your canvases by the house sometime. I wanna see some." TK said.

Bailey smiled.

"I just might." She said.

As Bailey walked up to the house TK watched her go to make sure she got in okay. Before she shut the door she waved to let him know that she was good.

"I know you're thinking about what you can do to help, so do you want to clue me in now instead of springing it on me later?" Carlos said as he pulled away from the curb.

TK glanced over at his boyfriend and laughed lightly.

"You know me too well." He said.

Carlos chuckled.

"That's kind of my job, babe." He said.

TK nodded.

"I was just playing with an idea in my head is all." He said.

"Does it have anything to do with those foster application papers sitting on the printer at home?" Carlos asked.

TK looked over at his boyfriend.

"You saw those huh?" He smiled.

Carlos nodded.

"I did," He said. "And I also happened to notice a little problem with them."

TK furrowed his brow.

"What problem? I got them off of the foster agency website, they should be the right ones." He said.

"Oh no, they're the right ones. That's not the issue." Carlos said.

"Then what's the problem?" TK asked.

Carlos turned into the driveway at the condo and slid the gear shift into park before turning to TK.

"You only filled out half of the information." He said opening the door and getting out of the car.

That didn't do anything to clarify TK's confusion. He quickly followed his boyfriend to the front door.

"Carlos," He called. "What are you talking about?"

Carlos chuckled and opened the front door before making his way over to the dining room table where the papers were waiting

"Come on, I'll show you. I finished it for you." Carlos said.

TK approached him and gently took the papers that Carlos offered to him. He thought that he'd finished filling it out, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he'd missed a few items. His eyes scanned the papers until they fell on the secondary applicant section. Originally it had been blank but now it was filled in with Carlos' information. TK looked up at Carlos slowly.

"You want to apply together?" He asked.

Carlos nodded.

"To be honest I've been thinking about it for a while," He said. "But there's just one thing that I want to ask you before we fill out the last little bit."

TK nodded.

"The application requires that dual applicants provide a single address. I know that you put your dad's address but now that you know that I want to apply too, do you think that we could put ours down?"

"Ours?" TK muttered, his eyes widening when he realized what Carlos was implying. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

Carlos nodded; nerves clear in his eyes.

"God, yes." TK smiled.