Chapter Seventeen: Give 'Em Hell, Kid
"Nothing's impossible. If it can be dreamed, it can be done." -Theodore Roosevelt
Almost a month after Will's stay in the hospital, it was finally time to move to DC. JJ and Will had purchased a four-bedroom craftsman, and as of yesterday morning, the house was officially theirs.
Will slammed the tailgate of his truck shut as Beck put the last box in the truck bed.
"Well, that's everything," Beck said, sounding glum.
Will couldn't stop himself from laughing at the sad puppy look on Beck's face.
"Beck, I'm going to DC not Antarctica," he told his brother.
"Ok, but how are you gonna survive without your big brother three blocks away?" Beck teased.
"I thought we talked about this," Will said.
"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Beck argued.
Will sighed and raised an eyebrow at Beck.
"I'm happy for you, I am. But what can I say? I'm gonna miss my little brother," Beck told him.
Will understood how he felt, because he was feeling the exact same way. It'd always been Will and Beck, the inseparable brothers against the rest of the world. Beck had been the one to distract him when his parents were screaming at each other before their divorce. He'd been the one to tell Will it wasn't their fault that their mother left them. They'd been the one constant in each other's lives, and now that was over.
"Beck if I didn't know any I'd swear you were gonna miss me," Will joked.
"Maybe I am," Beck replied, pulling Will into a hug.
They stood there for a moment before Beck clapped Will on the back and drew back.
"You guys better get going, you got a long drive ahead of you," Beck said.
"Yeah, I know. Tate, let's go," Will called to Tate, who'd been saying her goodbyes to Amelia and the boys.
As Tate came up to the truck, Will walked towards Amelia and the boys to say one last goodbye.
"Well, guess this is it, squirt," Beck said to Tate.
"Guess so," Tate replied.
Tate was still dreading the move to DC, but she knew it had to happen. Not only would they have to start over again in DC, but they'd be leaving Amelia, Beck, Asher, and Ezra behind, which was the worst part. Tate never thought she'd have this, a big family that actually loved her, and when she first met them, she didn't believe that they actually thought of her as family.
But now, now she knew they did. She knew they loved her.
"I know I was too late getting there last time you needed me, when Will got hurt-" Beck told Tate who then interrupted him.
"You weren't too late," she assured him.
He gave her a sad smile and shook his head.
"I almost was, squirt," he said.
The memory of walking into the hospital, with that woman trying to take Tate away and the look of fear in his niece's eyes was seared into his brain. He should've been there soon, should've gotten on a flight the second Jonesy called. But he didn't, and he knew he'd messed up. He'd broken his promise to Tate, and he'd broken his promise to Will.
"Beck, I was in that waiting room for almost twelve hours. Twelve hours where anything could've happened. You weren't too late, you were right on time," Tate replied.
Tate meant what she was saying. She knew it wasn't Beck's fault that he didn't get there right away, and he'd done everything in his power to help her, to protect her.
"When did you get so smart, huh?" Beck jokingly asked.
"Maybe I've just been holding out on you".
"Listen, no matter what happened last time, I promise that if you need me, I'll be there, okay?" he said seriously.
"I know," Tate said, and the look in her eyes told Beck she actually believed him.
"Alright, c'mere," he replied, pulling Tate into a hug.
"Keep an eye on your old man for me, alright? Don't let him get into any trouble".
"Sounds pretty hard, but I think I'll manage," Tate joked.
"Alright," Will said, coming up behind them. "You got everything, kiddo?".
Tate nodded and Beck released her from the hug.
"Get going then," Beck told them.
WIll and Tate hopped in the truck and Beck watched as they pulled out of the driveway.
He missed them already.
The next morning, Tate and Will arrived in DC to find several cars already parked in the driveway of the craftsman. As Will stepped out of the car, he spotted JJ coming down the porch steps to greet them.
"You finally made it," JJ said, kissing Will firmly on the lips.
"What can I say? It's a long drive," Will replied.
"And Will got lost so we somehow ended up in Kentucky," Tate told JJ, giving her a hug.
"It's not like your navigation skills are that great either," Will argued.
"In my defense, I was asleep," Tate said.
"Yeah, sure you were," Will retorted before looking back at the cars parked in the driveway.
"Who else is here?" he asked JJ.
"The team wanted to help us move in. They'll probably stick around for dinner too".
As Tate went inside to go see the team, Will pulled JJ back in for another kiss.
"And how are our boys?" he asked her, feeling a sharp kick under his hand that was resting on JJ's stomach.
"Trouble-makers just like their day," JJ said.
"I think you mean like their mom," Will corrected.
"What I think is that we better start unloading these boxes," JJ replied, ignoring Will's comment.
While they'd been talking, Morgan had come out of the house and greeted Will.
"Hey, man, thanks for helping with all this," Will said, shaking his hand.
"No problem. What do you say we get some of this inside?" Morgan asked, reaching into the truck bed to pull out a box.
Besides Will and Tate's stuff, they also had JJ's belongings from her apartment, so it looked like it'd be a long day of moving stuff in and unpacking.
After a long day of moving everyone was sprawled around the backyard eating pizza. It'd been exhausting, but on the bright side they'd been able to unpack everything, as well as assemble most of the furniture, including the twins' cribs.
"So kid, you ready to start school on Monday?" Derek asked Tate, taking a sip of his beer.
"I guess," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
She was actually not ready, thank you very much, but she certainly wasn't about to tell Derek that.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Derek told her.
"That's cause you weren't bullied in high school, Morgan," Reid jumped in.
"You were bullied because you were 12 when you graduated," Morgan argued.
"Okay, that's a fair point".
Tate supposed Reid was the only one who could understand a little of what she was going through. She was two years younger than most of the kids she would be in a grade with, and would still be taking the most accelerated classes.
"Well, at least it'll be your last time switching schools," Emily said.
"Yeah," Tate replied, not really believing it.
There were too many reasons that Tate might have to switch schools in the future, and she didn't like any of them. Maybe Will and JJ would break up, or Will would send her back to foster care, or maybe CPS would just decide he wasn't a good parent. Which wasn't true at all, of course.
But still, Tate had learned in life that everything was temporary, and it's best not to get too comfortable. If you don't get comfortable, it hurts less when the rug is inevitably pulled out from under you.
Monday morning rolled around, and Will was dropping Tate off at her first day of school, giving them both a sense of deja vu.
"No stalling this time," Will told her as they pulled up.
"Who, me? Stalling? Never," Tate said, acting astonished.
"It'll be fine," Will told her and leaned over to open the door.
"Wow, not even pretending my stalling is working like last time. I'm hurt, Will," Tate pouted.
"Yeah well, tough love, kiddo," Will said.
"There's no way this isn't gonna be horrible," Tate replied.
"Gotta face the music sometime".
"Fine," Tate said, getting out of the truck and closing the door behind her.
As she walked away, she heard Will call out to her from the truck.
"To quote Derek Morgan, give 'em hell, kid,".
Tate laughed a little, remembering what Derek had said last night.
She walked into the building and began trying to find her first class. However, the school was fairly large, and basically a maze, so by the time the first bell had rung, Tate was still wandering the halls.
"I take it you're lost?" a voice asked from behind her.
Tate turned around to see a boy standing in the hallway. He seemed about her age, if only several inches taller, and had short and curly light brown hair, with sharp green eyes.
"Yeah, just a bit," Tate admitted.
"You have your schedule?" he asked, and Tate handed it over. It wasn't like she needed it anyways, she'd memorized it the second she'd read it over.
"Cmon, I'll drop you off," the boy said, leading the way towards the staircase.
"So I'm assuming you're new?" he asked as they walked up the stairs.
"Yeah, I just moved here from New Orleans," Tate explained.
"You don't have an accent," the boy noted.
"I was only there a few months. I lived in Boston before that".
"You're a freshman?".
Tate nodded as the boy led her down a hallway. "What about you?".
"A sophomore," he told her.
"Well, here's your stop".
"Thanks," Tate said, about to reach for the door handle.
"So I go all out of my way to escort you to class and I don't even get to know your name?" the boy teased.
Despite his teasing, Tate could tell he was nice. His grin gave it away. It was a real one, not the fake one people plaster on when they're laughing at someone instead of with them.
"Oh right. I'm Tate, Tate Jacobs," she told him.
"Carter, Carter Fuller," the boy replied before walking down the hallway.
Once he'd gotten about halfway down he called out to Tate, who'd been about to enter her class.
"See you around, Jacobs".
Tate's morning classes went by fairly quickly. For the most part, everyone ignored her, and she didn't have to do the awkward introduction that some teachers had made her do. Standing up in front of the class and introducing herself was one of the things Tate hated most.
But now came the worst part of her day: lunchtime. Tate hated it for one reason and one reason only, that it was overly complicated. It'd be weird if she went and sat down with people she didn't know, but sitting at a table alone was awkward, and she ran the risk of accidentally sitting at someone's "unassigned assigned" table.
She was about to give up and leave the cafeteria to find somewhere else she could eat unnoticed when she heard someone calling her name.
Turning towards the voice, she saw Carter jogging over to her.
"Good, you're here. Come sit," he said, not giving her a chance to respond as he grabbed her arm and led her over to a table occupied by two other girls and two boys.
"Carter, what have I told you? You can't just go dragging people to a table against their will," one of the girls spoke up.
"Everyone, this is Tate. Tate this is Ellie, Lucy, Noah, and Ben," Carter said, indicating to each person as he introduced them to Tate.
Ellie had flaming red curls with gray-blue eyes, and Lucy was her opposite-blonde with brown eyes. Ben also had blonde hair, but hazel eyes instead of Lucy's dark brown, and Noah had jet black locks along with ice blue eyes.
"He didn't kidnap you, did he?" Ellie asked.
"It's fine," Tate assured her, sitting down.
"He did the same thing to me last year if it makes you feel better," Noah told her.
"Hey, I rescued her from the hallway this morning. Who knows what could've happened if I didn't?" Carter said in an attempt to defend himself.
"How noble of you, Carter," Lucy retorted.
"You're the one always complaining there's too much testosterone around, so I brought you another girl. You're welcome,".
"Just ignore him," Ellie said to Tate.
"Will do," Tate replied, laughing as she began to eat her lunch.
"So where are you from?" Lucy asked, seeming interested.
"Uh, New Orleans, but before that Boston".
"Ooh, New Orleans. I've always wanted to go," Ellie said.
"Fair warning, the accents get old very quickly," Tate joked.
The other kids laughed, and Tate felt herself relaxing slightly. They seemed fairly nice, and didn't seem bothered that Carter had brought her over. They also all actually liked each other, which was good, because Tate had discovered way too many friend groups where people were just waiting to stab each other in the back.
"Play any sports?" Carter asked.
"Of course, that's all you think about," Ben quipped.
"It's an important question," Carter argued.
"Mostly just soccer," Tate replied.
"Carter's slightly sport obsessed. He plays varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball," Ellie informed her.
"So, are all of you freshmen?" Tate asked the girls while the boys played a game of paper football on the table.
"We are, but Noah and Carter are sophomores," Lucy told her.
Tate nodded and watched with the girls as Carter lost miserably. It seemed that despite his talents in several sports, paper football was not his forte.
Tate walked out of school with Ellie and Lucy, having had history last period with them. The boys all had sports practice after school but had assured her they'd see her tomorrow.
"And so my grandmother's just been watering Johnny's pot plant for two weeks and has no clue," Ellie said, finishing her story about how her grandmother thought her brother's pot plant was a cute little shrub.
Tate found herself genuinely laughing, which was a surprise. Usually, she wasn't able to find friends she actually enjoyed hanging out with, but she just clicked with this group.
Tate heard someone call her name and noticed Will sitting in his truck.
"Is that your dad?" Lucy asked.
Not wanting to explain the whole situation, Tate simply nodded.
"Yeah, I better go," she said, waving goodbye to the girls.
As she was climbing into the truck, Tate heard Ellie yell from behind her.
"I see what you mean about the accents".
Tate laughed and shut the door, finding herself looking at a rather confused Will.
"What?" she asked him as he started up the truck.
"Nothing," he replied, shaking his head.
The truth was he didn't think he'd ever seen Tate actually act like that around other kids her age. Like she actually liked them.
"I see you met some friends," Will noted.
"Yeah, I think so," she told him, and this time Will knew she wasn't lying.
A few days later, Will came home from work to find JJ sitting at the counter looking over a file.
"Hey, how was work?" she asked, as he leaned over and gave her a kiss.
"It was fine, my partner seems good," Will replied.
Madeline was good at her job, and although she was no Drew or Charlie, Will knew they'd work well together.
"That came in the mail for you," JJ said, indicating to a manilla envelope sitting on the counter.
Will read the letter over and his heart sank. Noticing his reaction, JJ got up and walked over to him. She rubbed his back as he sighed and leaned against the counter.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked him, concerned.
"The petition for adoption was denied," Will explained.
"What!? What do you mean denied?" she asked, grabbing the piece of paper.
"Apparently neither the state of Louisiana or the District of Columbia feel I would provide a healthy permanent home, especially not with my dangerous profession".
"And yet somehow they're okay with you looking after her temporarily for the foreseeable future?".
"I guess so," Will said, running a hand through his hair.
This wasn't fair, it just wasn't. Tate deserved to have a permanent home, a family, and no matter how many times he promised Tate that she wasn't going anywhere, he knew he might not be able to keep it. At any point, someone from the state could decide she shouldn't live with him anymore, and take her away, just like that.
"I'm just glad I decided not to tell her until it'd been approved".
Will had planned on asking Tate if she was okay with him adopting her after it had been approved by a judge but before the actual proceeding. Now, it looks like he wouldn't get to.
"I'm so sorry, Will," JJ told him.
"Yeah," Will said, clearing his throat slightly. "I'm uh I'm gonna go shower".
Will walked upstairs, feeling so incredibly pissed at the world. Here he was trying to give a kid who'd lost everything a safe and loving home, and they rejected him. Tate deserved better than the constant moving around of foster homes, the different families every few months, never knowing which ones would hurt her. She deserved to feel safe and loved, and she deserved to know something permanent. She needed a constant in her life, something she hadn't truly had in seven years.
JJ knew this was crushing him, and wanted to go after him, but she understood he needed to be alone for a few minutes. She couldn't help but think this was her fault. That maybe if both of them applied to adopt they would've been seen as a more stable home.
But she just couldn't adopt Tate, she wasn't ready. She loved Tate, she really did, but she could barely handle the idea of becoming a mother to her own children, much less someone else's.
Right now, she was just JJ, Will's girlfriend who happened to live with them. But if she adopted Tate, she'd be her mother, something completely different.
JJ heard the door open, and soon Tate appeared in the kitchen.
"Hey, JJ," she said, dropping her bag on the floor.
"Hey, sweetie, how was school?" JJ asked, shoving the letter in the trash. She knew Will wouldn't want Tate seeing it, wouldn't want her knowing just how temporary her situation was.
"It was good. Is Will home? His car was in the driveway".
"Yeah, he just went up to shower. I don't think he's feeling too well so maybe just leave him alone for the night," JJ told the girl. She knew Will needed time to process, and there was no way he could look Tate in the eye right now knowing what he knew.
"Okay," Tate shrugged and went about getting herself a snack.
"Not every friendship is meant to last a lifetime. What does last forever is the pain when that person is gone. You can't let your love for somebody cause you to be afraid of what might happen." -Barry Allen