TK groaned as consciousness slowly brought his senses back online. Pain was pretty much the only thing he could focus on at the moment, with sharp stabs pulsating in time with his heartbeat on the back of his skull. His chin was tucked against his chest, but lifting his head felt like an impossible task.

Where was he? And what happened? The fact that he couldn't recall the circumstances that led him to this predicament made things worse. Even if he had experience waking up disoriented didn't mean it got easier.

"Carlos?" TK mumbled, hoping that wherever he was, his love was there with him. Carlos made everything better.

"He's waking up," a woman's voice said from somewhere near him. Was she a doctor? This didn't feel like a hospital. "Come on, sweetie. Open your eyes." TK felt his head get lifted and he exhaled shakily as his stomach flipped in response to the movement. If the loss of consciousness hadn't been a big enough clue of him having a concussion, the nausea pretty much solidified it.

"What- what's going on?" TK murmured, attempting the painstaking process of peeling his eyelids open. Not knowing where he was and letting his addled brain try to figure it out without looking would only put more strain on him. But the lights were too bright and he winced as they made his head pound even more.

"You had a little accident, but you're gonna be okay," the woman assured him. Was this a paramedic? Were they about to take him to the hospital? This obviously wasn't Tommy or Nancy, so a different house must've been responding to the call. Did they know he was one of them?

"Is my dad here?" TK whispered. If his dad was here, he could call Carlos. He needed Carlos.

"Yes honey, your dad is right here," the woman replied. That was the push that TK needed to finally open his eyes all the way. He blinked a few times as his vision tried to adjust, turning the blurry blobs in front of him into something more clear. But what he saw when he finally focused was not at all what he'd been expecting.

"What the hell?" TK choked out, finding himself face to face with the strange woman from earlier. The burst of adrenaline helped push away his sluggishness and he jerked back, looking around wildly as he tried to figure out what all was happening.

He was handcuffed to a chair that had some sort of tray laying over his lap. His hands could move a little from where they were secured along the sides of it, but not enough to do anything productive. TK couldn't see his legs, but it felt like his ankles were taped to the chair as well, if his inability to move was any clue. With escape looking unlikely at the moment, he turned his attention to the other people in the room with him.

The woman was crouched in front of him, staring at him like they knew each other. And not just from their brief encounter the day before. This was something else entirely and that realization sent a shiver down his spine. That bad feeling he'd had about her had been right.

The man who'd hit him was standing off to the side in silence. He had more of a blank look on his face, but he kept flicking his eyes towards and away from the woman. Was this some crazy ploy they had going on? What had TK stumbled into?

"Brian, you're okay," the woman soothed, reaching out to run her hands through his hair. TK shuddered, flinching back as far as physically possible.

"My name is TK Strand. I'm a paramedic with the Austin Fire Department. I am not who you think I am," TK insisted, trying to keep his voice calm. Who was Brian and why did they think he was that person? The woman acted like she'd realized her mistake the day before, but evidently not.

"Brian, you're just confused," the woman said sympathetically. "But that's okay. Mommy is going to make everything all better." TK felt ice flood his veins. This woman was clearly unwell, which made her that much more unpredictable.

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. But if you let me go, I can help you find Brian. I know some people who are good at those sorts of things," TK said, trying to reason with her. If he could just make a phone call, this would all be over.

"But I've already found you. I've been searching for you for so long, how could you even think about leaving me already?" the woman wept, surging forward to paw at his face. TK shook as he forced himself to stay still through her frantic touches. He didn't need to give her a reason to turn them painful. "I lost you once, but I won't make that mistake again. You're home now."

TK could feel the panic start to settle into his gut. It was different when he was running into dangerous situations at work, because he was mentally prepared and had people with him to help. But right now he was alone and at the mercy of two people who were unhinged. He had to do something to better his odds.

"Hel-"

That was as far as TK's cry got, before a hand was clasped over his mouth and the edge of a knife was pressed against his throat. TK heaved panicked breaths out of his nose as he felt the blade knick his throat, sending a thin line of blood rolling down his neck. One wrong move and this was over.

"Oh Burt, don't hurt him!" the woman cried, covering her mouth in despair. TK wanted to snap at her that that ship had already sailed, but being mouthy wouldn't do him any favors.

"Lorna, why don't you go to the bathroom and grab a bandage?" Burt suggested gently, his voice a stark contrast to how roughly he was holding TK's head immobile. Lorna tearfully nodded, rushing out of the room. Burt knelt closer to TK's ear, growling a little before he spoke again. "Try anything like that again and I'll cut out your tongue. Understood?" TK felt a tear break free from the corner of his eye as he gave the barest of nods. Lorna may not want to hurt him, but Burt had no such qualms.

"I'm back!" Lorna announced as she bustled back into the room. She set a few supplies on the tray and stared pointedly at the hand covering his mouth until Burt finally pulled it away. TK stayed frozen, not wanting any movement to be seen as him trying to act out. Burt was already on edge and he didn't need to push him further. But maybe that was something he would be able to take advantage of later. They obviously weren't on the same page with what was going on, even if they were helping each other at the moment.

Lorna dabbed a cotton ball of alcohol against the cut on his neck and TK winced at the burn. The wound was too small to do any real damage, but he could appreciate the lowered risk of it getting infected. The bump on the back of his head was more worrying, but they made no moves to do anything to take care of it. He guessed the plan was to just forget that it was even there, which was easier for them than him. It still hurt like hell.

"I still have your favorite dinosaur band aids," Lorna said softly as she carefully pressed the bandage to his throat. She kept one of her hands cupped against the side of his neck, rubbing her thumb up and down in a gesture of comfort. TK wanted to scream for her to take her hands off of him, but he couldn't. He was powerless.

"Thank you," TK murmured, keeping his face expressionless as she beamed in response to his words. Maybe if he could butter her up, he could convince her to let him go. Probably not with Burt around.

"Of course, Brian. Mommy will always take care of you," Lorna cooed. "And that reminds me. It's time to get started."

"Get started with what?" TK asked hesitantly. Lorna smiled at him before getting up and looking through different kitchen cabinets.

"Lorna, are you sure you need to do this this time?" Burt asked, sounding more unsure than he had any other time. For someone who was willing to cut out someone's tongue, that made TK even more terrified than before.

"I have to, you know that!" Lorna snapped, running a hand over her hair. TK tried to see what she was getting, but he couldn't from his angle. He couldn't stop himself from pulling on his restraints, knowing that he wasn't going to like whatever it was she had planned.

"Get started with what?" TK whispered, trying to keep himself from hyperventilating. If they were about to kill him, they should just say so. Keeping him in the dark was only making things worse.

"Maybe you should wait a little longer? You just got him back, right?"

"We just got him back!" Lorna bit out.

"I'm sorry, that's what I meant."

"I have to do this right, then we can be a family. The way we were always supposed to be!" Lorna cried, slamming a spoon down on the counter. TK jumped at the sound, shaking in anticipation. He was a trained professional, but right now he felt helpless and scared. All he wanted was to be back home with Carlos. "I think this is everything."

TK twisted his neck as far as it would go, trying to see what it was the woman had. He saw the edge of a bowl and some sort of bottle, but he couldn't tell what was in it. Whatever it was, he didn't want it.

"It won't go bad this time, you'll see," Lorna said, tapping the counter nervously. TK closed his eyes as he fought off his panic. What did they mean by "this time?"