February 28th, 2003
This relationship was so much better than either of them thought it would be. It was nice to be in something steady. It was nice to have a hand to hold when walkig down the street and it was nice to have a pair of shoulders to slip your arm around while at the movies. It was nice just to have someone there.
Ty glanced at the couple as they cuddled on the couch. He was so sick of seeing this all of the time. He cleared his throat. Carlos looked up at him.
"What do you want, Man?" He asked.
"Well….When are the two of you moving in with each other?" Ty asked. Kim sat up and laughed softly.
"Direct and to the point aren't you?" She asked.
"Sorry. I was just curious." He said, "Aren't you in that stage yet?" Carlos shook his head with a chuckled.
"I don't think we are. Are we Kim?" He asked.
"Nope. We aren't." She said, "Sorry. Maybe in a couple of months." Ty nodded as he went back into the kitchen.
"He's nut." Carlos said. Kim nodded, "But I'm used to that." Kim giggled and looked up at him.
"I suppose we should spend a little more time at my place." Kim said, "My bed is bigger and bouncier than yours."
"Oh it is is it?" Carlos grinned running his hand down her arm. "Well, after work tonight we'll go back to your place."
"Sounds good." Kim grinned and kissed him softly.
* * *
Kim pulled her keys out as she walked up the stairs.
"Excuse the mess." She said walking inside. Kim led him up another set of stairs to a big oak door. Carlos shrugged.
"I'm not dating you because of your ability to clean." He chuckled. Kim rolled her eyes and unlocked the front door.
"Welcome to Casa Kim." She smiled flipping on the lights. Carlos looked around the apartment and smiled.
"I like it. It's nice a roomy." He said, "And it's not messy."
"Sure it is." Kim smiled, "Would you like some coffee or food?"
"Or some Kim." Carlos winked. Kim smiled as she began taking her braid out. She blushed slightly. She still couldn't believe she and Carlos were a couple. Who knew that would happen?
"You can have some Kim later." She chuckled. Carlos' eyes sparkled as he took a step towards her. Kim giggled stepping back. "Get away, Nieto."
"Why?" Carlos growled playfully.
"Because I was going to make you dinner while in the nude." She giggled. Carlos groaned and nodded.
"Are you serious?" He asked.
"Very serious." She said unbuttoning her shirt.
"Maybe we are at the moving in stage if this is how dinner will be cooked every day." Carlos said. She chuckled softly throwing her shirt at him.
"Maybe we are." She winked and started pulling her pants down, "Do you want past?" Carlos nodded.
"Sure…Sounds fine." He mumbled. He really didn't care what he would eat. He just wanted to watch her cook naked.
"All right. Get out some wine and we'll make this a very nice dinner." She said unhooking her bra. A small groan came from Carlos.
"Did I ever tell you that you had a wonderful body?" He asked.
"A few times, Lover." Kim winked peeling her panties off.
"God, fuck the food, Kim." He said opening the wine bottle, "I just need you." Kim smirked.
"Are you sure?" She asked. Carlos spilled some wine onto her chest. She gasped with a laugh. "What are you doing?"
"Having my wine." He bent down and started lick the wine off of her. Kim groaned and closed her eyes. She nodded.
"Fuck food." She mumbled and took his hand. She could care less about food right now. She wanted Carlos now. So much for putting sex off for later.
March 14th, 2003
"I was thinking about getting her some kind of jewelry. Women like jewelry don't they?" Carlos asked Doc. He shrugged.
"I suppose." Doc said, "Why are you asking?"
"Because I want to get Kim something but I don't know what."
"Get her something? Why?" Doc asked.
"Because we've been together for awhile, like um three months." Carlos said. Doc rolled his eyes.
"A whole three months." He shook his head.
"Yeah a whole three months. That's a long time for us." Carlos said, "I just want to get her something. You know Kim, what would she like?" Doc glanced at him and sighed.
"A necklace maybe. Nothing fancy. A gold chain with like a small pendent or something." He said, "Something simple but not plain." Carlos nodded and wrote this down on his palm.
"Good idea." Carlos said. Doc laughed softly.
"You love her don't you?" He asked. Carlos nodded.
"Yeah." He said with a grin. Sure he loved Kim. Who wouldn't? She was gorgeous. She was funny. She was her.
"All paramedic units to three alarm blaze at thirty-five Winthrope Avenue." Dispatch said through the radio.
"God, I hate fire victims." Doc muttered. Carlos stared at the radio. That address. He knew that address, but from where.
"I know someone at that address." Carlos said. Doc looked at him.
"Who?" He asked. Carlos racked his brain. Who? Just then, he remembered. Carlos' chest tightened. The colour drained from his face. "Carlos, who lives at that address?"
"K-Kylie." Carlos sputtered out. Doc sped up even faster.
"I'm sure she's fine. The bucket boys probably have her sitting in Kim's ambulance right now without a scratch on her."
"I hope so." Carlos whispered. He couldn't bear to see Kylie get hurt. Doc whipped around the corner and the fire blazes in their eyes. It was so huge and going over to the houses next to it.
"She's fine." Doc said, trying to reassure Carlos. As soon the bus stopped, Carlos jumped out. He rushed to the house but Lombardo grabbed him.
"What do you think you're doing? You can't go in there." He said.
"She's in there!!" Carlos cried. "I need to get her."
"Who's in there? Do you know how many people live in that house?" Lombardo asked. Kim walked up behind Carlos.
"KYLIE!! Kylie is in there. Get my daughter!" Carlos yelled.
"Kylie lives here?" Kim's eyes went wide.
"Get her!!" Carlos cried. He glanced down on the ground and saw a body bag. His legs went weak, but Kim held him up.
"Carlos, how many people are in there?" Lombardo repeated.
"Ah…. The Kennedy's…and um, they have a daughter…about ten years old." Carlos whispered, "And Kylie…She's two." A window burst in the second floor. Lombardo pushed Carlos and Kim back further, "Please get her."
"We're trying." Lombardo ran to the engine. Kim bit her lip and looked at Carlos.
"She'll be fine…" Kim whispered. Carlos' lips quivered.
"What if she's not?" He asked softly. Kim sighed and rubbed his back. DK ran out with the Kennedy's daughter in his arms.
"How is she?" Kim ran up to him and looked at the black body. "P-Put her down right here." DK placed the girl on the ground as Kim tried to find a pulse. She shook her head; "Get a body bag."
"She's dead?" Carlos asked. Kim nodded.
"Yeah." She mumbled.
"We have another one here!!" Lombardo and Dave yelled as they carried Mrs. Kennedy out. Carlos ran to her. Her eyes tried to focus on him, but they were burnt much like the rest of her body.
"You'll be fine." He said pulling her shirt off. Skin came off with the shirt. Carlos gagged slightly. He could never stand the smell of melting skin. "Ma'am, where's Kylie? Is she inside?"
"K…" She groaned.
"Where is she??" Carlos cried. Tears dripped from his eyes. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Oh God." He looked for her pulse, but couldn't find it. "Don't die. You can't die." Carlos tried to give her CPR, but more skin was sliding off of her body.
"Let her go." Doc said.
"She was trying to tell me where Kylie was!!" Carlos cried. "I need to find Kylie. She needs to be okay!!"
"Another one!!" Jimmy ran out of the house with a pink bundle in his arms. Crying was coming from it.
"Kylie!!" Carlos jumped up and ran over to Jimmy. Kylie was sobbing in his arms. Carlos took Kylie and went to the Bus, "Are you okay?" He took the blanket off of her and inspected her.
"How is she?" Kim asked.
"There's not a scratch on her." He said. Carlos held the crying toddler tight in his arms. So much relief was flooding Carlos' body. She was okay. She wasn't burnt to a crisp. "You'll b-be okay, Kylie. We'll take you to the hospital and have a doctor look at you just to make sure." He kissed her cheek softly. She was okay.
* * *
Carlos ran the wash cloth over Kylie's cheek. Kim stood watching Carlos clean the soot off of his daughter.
"I can get her something to eat from the cafeteria." She said.
"Sure." He mumbled. Kylie smiled softly blowing bubbles off of her hand.
"See? Bubba." She said. Carlos smiled softly.
"Yeah. There's a lot of bubbles." He said as a nicely dressed woman walked into the room.
"Mr. Nieto?" She said. Carlos looked up at her and nodded.
"Yeah. Who are you?" He asked. She extended her hand.
"Kathleen Kelley. I'm from the adoption agency." She said.
"Oh yeah. We've been waiting for you." Carlos picked Kylie up and wrapped a towel around her, "So what's up?"
"We've been put in a difficult situation, Mr. Nieto." She said. Kim watched them carefully, trying to figure out where this was going.
"How so?" Carlos asked drying Kylie's hair.
"The Kennedy's are dead. You are Kylie's biological father. You opted for an open adoption so you could pick a family for her the first time and so you have the right to do that again." She said.
"Really? You're not going to place her in just any home?" he asked.
"Legally we cant." Kathleen said, "I don't want to rush you or anything, but I really don't like to place kids in a foster home when they could be in a perfectly good home." Carlos glanced at Kim and then back at Kathleen.
"I can pick the family again?" He smiled slightly.
"Yes, Sir." Kathleen said. Carlos looked down at Kylie. She was getting sleepy. Her eyes were half-mast. She was probably sleeping when the fire started. How would the death of the Kennedy's be explained to her? He bit his lip and looked at Kathleen.
"I want to keep her." He said.
"Come again?" Kathleen stared at him.
"I want to take Kylie back with me. You said I can choose any family I want her to be apart of and I chose. She's a part of my family." Carlos said. Kim stared at him. He was serious.
"Mr. Nieto, you gave Kylie up once. What makes you think you can care for her again?" Kathleen asked.
"Things have changed." He said.
"What has change?" Kathleen asked smugly, "We can't just give her to a bachelor living in a one room apartment. She needs a proper home." Kim looked at the hurt in Carlos' eyes.
"He's not a bachelor anymore." Kim blurted out. Kathleen turned and looked at Kim with confusion, "Carlos and I are engaged to be married. We don't have a dare set yet though. He lives in my apartment. We would love to have Kylie there. It's a three-bedroom apartment. It's near a nice school. Kylie would have two parents and an older brother. It's perfect for her." Carlos stared at Kim in disbelief. She was lying for him. She was lying and helping him get Kylie back. Kathleen narrowed her eyes.
"You're getting married, Mr. Nieto?" She asked. He nodded.
"Yes. I want a winter wedding but Kim wants a summer one." He said, "We may just have to settle on fall one I suppose."
"I see…" Kathleen sighed slightly opening her briefcase, "I really don't have a choice in the matter, I suppose. You're her father."
"I get her?" He asked. Kathleen nodded.
"Yes, but we will be making monthly visits to your new apartment to make sure everything is going all right for the next year."
"I fully understand that, Ma'am." Carlos said. His heart pounded in his chest looking down at Kylie. Kim walked up to her and pulled a new shirt on over her head. He was going to get her.
"Very well. Fill these out and send them to our offices." She said.
"I will." He said. Kathleen smiled slightly.
"I will see you next month, Mr. and Mrs. Nieto." Kathleen winked at Kylie and walked out of the room. Carlos exhaled.
"Oh my god…" he whispered. Kim smiled as she pulled Kylie's pants on. Carlos looked at him, "Thank you so much, Kim."
"It was nothing. I want Kylie to be with her father." She said.
"You didn't need to do that. I can never repay you enough." Carlos whispered, picking the whimpering Kylie up.
"Momma." She whimpered. Kim sighed slightly patting Kylie's back.
"Kylie has been through a very traumatic experience. It's going to take her a while to accept you as her father. You need me." Kim said, "You don't need to repay me. I have you and Kylie now in my apartment." Carlos bit his lip.
"You really want me to move in?" He asked.
"You have to Kathleen is going to be checking up on us." Kim smiled slightly "It'll be nice, Carlos. I promise."
"We ah, need to get her things, like clothes and stuff." He said. Kim nodded.
"Tomorrow we'll go shopping for her, but for now She needs to go back to sleep. She looks very tired." Kim said. Carlos nodded and kissed Kylie's head. This felt so surreal. He watched Kylie's adoptive family die. He watched all of Kylie's things being burnt. But now he had Kylie. He should be sad and upset, but yet her was thrilled. He had his baby girl back and he would do anything to keep her in his arms…and Kim's arms as it was now.
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