"I cannot believe this is actually happening right now." Bailey mumbled straightening out her shirt for maybe the tenth time.
Carlos looked up in the rearview mirror and chuckled.
"Mija, calm down," He said. "They're really excited to meet you."
They were currently driving to Carlos' parents' house. Originally, the meeting was supposed to be at their house but with the repairs still not quite finished, they'd decided to move it to Carlos' parents' ranch. TK turned around in the passenger seat and looked back at their daughter.
"Why are you so nervous kiddo?" He asked.
Bailey shrugged and hummed. TK gave her a knowing look.
"You do know, come on sweetheart." TK pushed.
Bailey sighed and bit the inside of her cheek.
"It's just that I never met them when I was around as a foster and now I'm just showing up as an adopted granddaughter and I just don't want them to not like me." She said.
Carlos understood where she was coming from, they hadn't done things conventionally in any way shape of form. So it made sense that Bailey was nervous.
"I know that it's weird to be showing up as a part of the family while never having met anybody," Carlos said. "But, dad and I have told them so much about you. They know about your art and we've sent them pictures of you and the things we've done as a family. And you know about them, I've told you stories and different little things. You're not a stranger to them Bails, you're their granddaughter."
Bailey listed to her papá's words intently. He was right, he had told her about them numerous times and she knew quite a bit about them and the rest of his family.
"Are your sisters and cousins going to be there?" Bailey asked.
"I'm actually not sure," Carlos said. "It was still up in the air when I last talked to my mom.:
TK turned back around and glanced out of the window before turning back to Bailey and smiling.
"It looks like we're about to find out," He said. "We're here."
She stuck by her fathers like glue as they made their way up the pathway to the front of the house. There were several cars around the front of the house and they could hear many voices coming from the backyard. Apparently papá's sisters and cousins had decided to come which meant more people and Bailey wasn't sure how to feel about that. When they made it up to the porch TK looked at Bailey with a soft smile.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Sure." She squeaked.
Carlos wrapped his arm around Bailey's shoulders and knocked on the door. He and TK knew that Bailey was nervous though they wished they could somehow calm her nerves, they also knew that the only way that her nerves would go away was meeting the family and realizing that they had already accepted her even in their distance. The door opened, revealing Carlos' mother, a broad smile on her face.
"OH! Carlitos, TK, Bailey, you made it." She pushed the screen door open and TK caught it, pulling it open the rest of the way.
"Hola mamá." Carlos said, accepting the hug that his mother offered.
Andrea turned to Bailey with a smile.
"Bailey, I'm so happy to meet you. Gabriel is out back trying to get the grill to light, I swear it gives out every other week," She laughed. "Come in, come in, everybody is out back already. The kids have been talking about playing catch with you, TK, since the last time we all got together and I think that Rose and Miguel are about to lose their minds."
TK laughed. Rosa, Carlos' older sister, and her husband Miguel had been overjoyed when they'd found out that TK was keen on playing around with kids and entertaining their interesting ideas about baseball. Together, the trio walked through the house that Carlos had grown up with. Bailey's eyes wondered over the pictures hanging on the walls. They lined the living room, dining room and the hallways. They were just walking through the sitting room when Andrea stopped and turned to Bailey.
"Bailey, Gabriel and I were so excited to hear that one of your paintings was put into the Art Museum a few weeks ago. We went and saw it when it opened to the public and it was beautiful, nieta. Your papá sent us a picture of you on the night it was put up." She said.
Bailey's eyes widened.
"You did?" She asked then looked to Carlos. "You did?"
Carlos nodded.
"Yeah, mija, I told you I'd sent them pictures, you really think I didn't share that?" He said.
Andrea laughed.
"Nieta, your pictures are all around," She said. "Carlos and TK have bragged about you so much I think I know you better than you do. You have been a member of this family since the day you stepped foot into my son's home, never forget that."
Bailey's eyes watered at Andrea's words. Andrea opened her arms a bit and Bailey immediately moved forward and accepted the hug,
"Gracias abuelita." She muttered using the little Spanish that she'd picked up in school and being around papá.
Andrea laughed and hugged her tighter.
"Welcome home nieta." She whispered.
Bailey was enamored, there were so many people and they were all so accepting and loving. Rosa had given Carlos a fairly intense speech about how he should have brought Bailey to meet them sooner and that she wanted to spend time with her new niece. Her papá had looked like a scolded child and Bailey had laughed when TK had tried to tag in and Rosa had turned her rath on him. She had been pulled into a high-energy game of tag with the other kids and TK and Carlos watched with pride as she fell so well into place with the family.
"She looks to be having a lot of fun." TK said, settling comfortably into his boyfriend's side.
"Yeah, she does," Carlos agreed, wrapping his arm around TK's shoulders. "You think she's still anxious?"
TK shrugged.
"She doesn't seem to be but you know how she is. She can hide her emotions so well I swear she might as well come with her own DaVinci code." He said.
Carlos chuckled.
"Yeah, sometimes it definitely feels like that." He agreed.
TK shivered a bit as a breeze began to pick up.
"You cold?" Carlos asked.
TK nodded.
"Yeah a little bit." He admitted.
Carlos nodded and hugged TK closer, his eyes moving back to where the kids were playing. Bailey had begun to slow down and Carlos peeked up.
"Hey, I think Bailey's feeling it too." He said.
"What?" TK asked, his eyes flying to their daughter.
They stayed still for a moment to see if Bailey truly was in danger of a drop or would shake it off. But then she stumbled and they were on their feet. Bailey felt the change too and tried to make her way over to her fathers but they made it to her first.
"Hey mija, how ya feelin'?" Carlos asked, catching Bailey's shoulders.
"Cold." She said thickly.
"What's her temp TK?" Carlos asked, looking to TK who had dug out his phone from his pocket.
TK flipped through his phone before his stomach flipped.
"95° and dropping." He muttered.
"Okay, let's get her inside." Carlos said.
Together they started to move toward the house. Andrea saw
"Carlos, que pasa?" She asked.
"Bailey's dropping hard mama," Carlos said, helping TK bring Bailey up to the house. "She's too cold."
Andrea nodded, worry lacing her features.
"In the living room, I'll get Gabriel." She said.
Once inside TK stayed with Bailey on the couch, holding her close.
"D-d-d-dad, I-I'm c-c-c-cold." Bailey stuttered.
"I know kiddo, okay," TK muttered as Bailey tilted to the side and shivers racked through her body. "Almost Bails, papá's coming."
Carlos ran through the house picking up every blanket he could find and rushing back to where TK was holding Bailey in the living room.
"What can we do Carlos?" Andrea asked.
"Can you get something warm for her to drink? Maybe a warm water bottle?" Carlos suggested.
"Nothing hot though," TK spoke up. "We can't warm her up too quickly, if we do we'll have an entirely different problem."
Andrea nodded and hurried off to the kitchen to see what she could throw together. Gabriel moved to the fireplace and worked on stocking up a flame. Soon, with the blankets, the fire, and Andrea's hot chocolate, Bailey's temperature began to reach normal. Her shivers turned to only the occasional chill and she soon relaxed against TK, exhausted.
"Okay, I think we're good." TK said.
"Are you sure TK?" Andrea asked, looking to her granddaughter with worry in her eyes.
TK smiled reassuringly.
"Yeah, she stopped shivering and her temperature is back up to 96° and she's relaxed." He said.
"Okay." Andrea said, letting herself sit down in a chair across the room.
Carlos looked to his parents and smiled.
"Gracias, por tu ayuda." He said.
"De nada Carlitos," Gabriel said. "Para familia, cualquier cosa."
TK was practically an owl with how often he kept turning to check on Bailey on their way home. She'd had fallen asleep almost immediately after getting into the car, shivering, against most people's opinions, is actually very draining
"TK, she's okay." Carlos said.
TK sighed and sunk into his chair.
"I know she is; I also know that she's going to feel terrible when she wakes up." He said.
Carlos nodded.
"Yeah, my mom said that she'd stop by tomorrow morning with my dad to spend some time with Bailey. She feels bad that this happened." He said.
"She can't blame herself. The temp dropped quickly; we didn't notice." TK said.
Carlos cocked a brow and threw a side-long look at his boyfriend.
"Maybe you should take your own advice their babe." He chuckled.
"Oh shut up and drive." TK mumbled crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.