"How can you wake up this early and not be exhausted all the time?" Bailey muttered as she and TK drove through Austin on their way to the fire house.
TK laughed.
"A lot of practice," He said. "You can crash again when we get to the house, we're almost there."
Bailey nodded. She hadn't even bothered getting dressed beyond a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She'd packed an extra set of clothes for when she wanted to truly get dressed but she knew that she'd be able to shower and change at the station. TK pulled into his usual parking place and Bailey slid out of the car, yawning again as she did.
"Come on kiddo, the bunks await, I think there's still a weighted blanket in one of the cabinets somewhere. I can try to find it if you want." TK said, knowing that his daughter liked to have the occasional grounding pressure when she slept.
"Yes please." She said through a yawn.
TK chuckled and wrapped his arm lightly around Bailey as they walked inside. She looked like she was sleep walking, her eyes half closed and her head resting on his shoulder. If TK were being honest he wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't sleep walking. Even at 6:00 in the morning, the fire house was bustling as shifts ended and started. Most shifts knew who Bailey was, having seen her around the house and the occasional house barbeque but she was still closest with her dad's crew.
"Bailey!" Mateo called; a wide smile spread across his face as an early morning greeting.
Bailey answered in mumbles though TK thought he heard a 'morning' in their somewhere. He eased her onto the couch for now and Judd pulled a blanket out from underneath the side table, draping it over his honorary niece gently.
"She is really tired." Marjan laughed, nursing a steaming cup of coffee.
TK nodded.
"She's still sleeping off some of the meds that they gave her yesterday." He said, putting some of his and Bailey's things in the kitchen.
Owen came down the stairs and paused when he saw Bailey on the couch.
"No school today?" He asked, looking at TK.
"We're taking a couple days." TK said.
Owen 'ahhh'ed silently and nodded. He was proud of his son for stepping up the way he had been. TK watched Bailey with a trained eye, knowing Bailey's tells and habits well. He expected it when she began to naturally roll onto her side and he jumped forward, wrapping an arm around her and easing her onto her stomach, taking the brunt of the weight off of her injured side. Judd watched in partial awe.
"You know her well." He smiled.
"She's a hardcore stomach sleeper," TK laughed. "I was hoping she wouldn't turn until I got her upstairs but I guess she's staying here now."
"Put her headphones in, she'll be fine." Owen said.
TK pulled Bailey's headphones out of her bag and pressed one into each of her ears, turning on one of her favorite resting playlists. And of course as he hit play, the alarm sounded for a medical call.
"Of course." He mumbled.
TK put Bailey's phone down on the coffee table and ran his fingers through his hair quickly.
"Okay, what do we need to know." Owen asked, seeing the reluctance in his son's eyes.
"Don't let her rest on her left side while she's sleeping, she's good about being cautious though. She knows all of this but I'll let you know anyway. When she wakes up make sure she eats something. She needs to take her meds with breakfast. Oh, and she needs to redress her incision. If I'm back I can help her if not somebody else has to, she can't twist to reach the back portion," TK said closing his eyes, running through his mental checklist. "Yeah that's it."
"Strand let's roll!" Nanci called.
"Go we've got this." Owen said, pushing his son towards the ambulance gently.
Owen watched as his son jogged towards the ambulance, looking back a couple of times. Judd laughed when they finally pulled out, sirens thrilling through the air.
"He's a good dad." Judd said.
"Yeah, he is." Owen agreed.
When Bailey opened her eyes she was a bit confused. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on the couch but she was a but shocked when she realized she was on her stomach. She jolted up, her hand racing to her side. It didn't hurt which surprised her but maybe she hadn't rolled onto her left side. A hand touched her shoulder and she flinched away, her head whipping around to see who it was. Her eyes fell on Paul and he held up his hands, letting her know that she was okay before pointing to his ears, telling her that she had headphones in. For the first time since she woke up she heard the soft music filling her ears. She reached up and pulled out the Bluetooth headphones.
"You're okay kiddo," He said. "I saw you were awake and was wondering if you were hungry."
"Um." Bailey sat back on her heels and was surprised when she didn't feel her shoes. She looked around and saw that her tennis shoes were sitting neatly next to her backpack by the coffee table.
"Bailey?" Paul said, bringing her back out of her head.
Bailey looked back at Paul and nodded.
"Yeah, food sounds good. I have to take my meds and change the dressing on my incision. Is my dad here?" She asked.
"He's out on a call. But come sit at the counter and I'll make you a plate. Pancakes or waffles?" He asked.
Bailey slipped off of the couch and walked over to the kitchen with Paul.
"You made both?" She asked.
"Half the house likes pancakes, half like waffles. Gotta make everybody happy." Paul laughed.
"With all of the dietary restrictions in this house you make everybody happy by making one thing. I mean come on halal, gluten-free, nitrate-free, no nuts," Bailey laughed. "I know grandpa wanted diversity but I didn't think that extended to diets as well."
Paul laughed.
"Pancakes or waffles?" He asked, pointing to the two plates.
"Waffles all the way." Bailey said.
"My kind of girl." He laughed making up a plate for her and sliding it over.
"Do you have any-"
"Blueberries." Paul said, sliding a small container over to her as well.
"You're awesome." Bailey smiled, popping a few berries into her mouth.
"Gotta keep our youngest member happy too." Paul said.
Bailey smiled before remembering her meds and pulling the bottle out of her bag. She opened the bottle and shook one of the pills into her hand. A glass of orange juice was placed in front of her and Paul raised a brow.
"Pulp free orange juice for the pulp-phobic teen." He said.
"I'm not pulp-phobic," Bailey said taking her medication, chasing it down with a gulp of the juice. "It's a texture thing. Like Mateo and oatmeal."
Paul laughed.
"Good example." He said.
"I try." Bailey shrugged.
Marjan found Bailey in the locker room having just showered. She was sitting on the bench in a pair of shorts and a tank, her shirt on but tucked under her chin as she fidgeted with her side. Marjan knocked on the doorjamb lightly to alert the teen to her presence. Bailey turned at the sound and gave her a small smile.
"Hey, what cha' up to?" Marjan asked.
"Changing my dressing," Bailey said, hitching her shirt up again. "Well, trying to."
Marjan nodded and approached, sitting on the bench next to Bailey.
"Want some help?" She asked.
"Yes please." Bailey smiled.
Bailey held up her shirt while Marjan went about cleaning and redressing Bailey's incision.
"You scared your dad pretty bad yesterday." Marjan said.
"Yeah, I know. I have to figure out how to make it up to him and papá." Bailey said.
"You know their anniversary was a couple of weeks ago. They were gonna do something but they were both working." Marjan offered.
Bailey quirked a brow as her brain began to work.
"Oh really?" She muttered.
Marjan smiled as she finished reapplying the bandage over Bailey's incision. The teen was plotting.
Bailey pushed the pasta around her plate at dinner, the wheels in her head still turning, working over the half-baked plan to thank her fathers for everything they'd done for her up to this point. Almost every member of the 126 was a bit unnerved by the girl's silence. TK though was eating quite happily, he knew that Bailey was only working something over in her head, nothing to be concerned about.
"Guys stop worrying about her, she's fine." TK said standing and putting his plate in the dish washer before heading off towards the bathroom.
Marjan waited for TK was out of ear shot before she leaned over the table to speak.
"Okay, I can practically hear your brain working from here Bails, what are you thinking?" She asked.
Bailey looked up from her plate and saw everybody at the table watching her.
"What are you all doing Friday night?" She asked.