"Evan!" Athena called as she ran for the open door, stopping just past the wall of the garage, looking down the driveway as far as she could.
She wanted to go after the child, but she also couldn't leave her three year old daughter alone. She would need to run back inside and grab the girl from her bed, wake her up and deal with a cranky toddler while she tried to find her foster child. Just as Athena had made up her mind and turned back towards the open door, there were suddenly tires screeching and a child screaming. Without thought, Athena turned around once more and ran down the drive. As she came around the small bend just before the main road, Athena stopped in her tracks. There was an SUV in the middle of her drive, still running. What caught her gaze and got her moving once more was the little boy laying in a ball on the ground, a few feet in front of the car.
"Evan?" Athena crouched down in front of the boy, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.
A car door opened and Athena looked up as Romero quickly stepped out.
"He came running around the corner and I slammed on the brakes, I didn't hit him though. He was still standing when I stopped, and then he dropped," Romero breathed as he rounded the front of the car, "Is he okay?"
Athena looked back down at the boy. She could hear his sniffling and hiccuping cries, his eyes squeezed shut. Quickly she ran her hands over his arms and legs as best she could while he was curled into a ball.
"Evan, sweetie, you're not in trouble, I promise." Athena whispered to the boy. "I need to make sure you're okay."
It took a few minutes of talking to Evan, trying to reassure that he really wasn't in trouble, before the boy finally opened his eyes and looked up at her. His eyes were shining with tears and he was still hiccuping but he uncurled his body, allowing Athena to help him sit up. Athena was able to get a better look at the boy.
"You weren't hit by the car, right? You're okay."
"I'm sorry!" Evan cried. "I didn't mean to break the glass. It slipped!"
"Shh," Athena slowly and carefully pulled the boy into her lap. "I know. It was an accident. I should have known better and given you one of May's plastic cups because of the cast."
Evan wrapped his arms around her neck and continued to sob. Athena stood with the boy in her arms with the help of Romero. The detective still looked troubled for almost accidentally running down the eight year old.
Athena cleared her throat. "What was bringing you here, Rick?"
Romero blinked and finally tore his gaze from the boy to his partner. "We got a call from a woman in regards to the photo we put out." He nodded his head towards Evan.
Athena got the message and nodded to herself, "Let me get him settled back inside and check on May, she was asleep in her room when he ran out of the house."
She began the quick track back to the house, as she was entering it was to find May screaming for her from the living room. She cursed under her breath as she rushed down the stairs and called to her daughter. Instantly she was on her knees on the floor and had two crying children in her arms. She was shushing them, rocking slightly back and forth trying to calm them down, their cries quieting just as she heard the door click closed behind her. Romero had entered the house.
It took ten minutes for Athena to calm the children down and get them tucked together on the couch with a Disney movie playing to keep their attention, cleaning and bandaging the small cuts on Evan's feet and hands. Once she knew they were settled and would be okay for the time being, she joined Romero in the dining room, where he had cleaned up the mess of the broken glass and water. She smiled gratefully at him as she went about making them some coffee.
"So a woman called the hotline, did she recognize Maddie?" Athena asked as she sat down at the table within view of the living room with Romero, passing over his cup of coffee.
Romero nodded and took a sip of his drink before he spoke. "She recognized her neighbors' niece and nephew, Maddie and Evan Buckley."
"Buckley?" Athena sat up a little straighter. "Anything about their uncle?"
"That's where it gets complicated." Romero stated. "Peter Buckley was found dead in his home two days ago. Alcohol poisoning."
"Those children have been living on the streets for at least a month, why weren't they reported missing, if not by the uncle, at least by a neighbor when they no longer saw the children outside the home?"
"According to the neighbor, Alicia Hart, Peter Buckley told his neighbors that they had gone to stay with another family member. Nothing was questioned about it until Mr. Buckley turned up dead. Police have been searching for that family member but it seems Peter Buckley was the remaining member besides his niece and nephew." Romero pulled a pad of paper from his pocket and flipped through it. "His brother was Phillip Buckley, the children's father. Their mother was Margaret Leighton, an only child whose parents died before Maddie was even born. Phillip and Margaret were killed in a car accident six months ago. Maddie and Evan were also in the accident, and shortly after sent from Hershey, Pennsylvania to San Diego to live with their uncle."
"No wife or kids for Peter Buckley?"
Romero shook his head. "Ex-wife left him years ago after the death of their only child, Daniel."
"Why wasn't the photo of the children flagged right away to inform us they were missing?"
"System issues," Romero shrugged. "They got it fixed this morning but by then the neighbor had seen the photo on an online news outlet and called."
That night, Athena got both kids tucked into bed. Evan had been quiet through most of the evening after Romero had left, eating his dinner quickly before sitting there with his head down waiting for Athena and May to finish. She had excused him, allowing him to go and play with his toys - she made sure the deadbolt was on the door after Romero had left because the boy was unable to reach that high, and unless he could scale a tall wooden fence she didn't have to worry about him escaping through the backyard. She didn't have the heart to try and talk to him so soon after the incident earlier about his uncle, she was not ready to have him break down or try and run yet again.
She knew now that they had a last name it could possibly be a little easier to find Maddie. Athena had already talked to Evan's assigned social worker. Once Maddie was found she would come and stay with Athena as well until a more permeate foster home could be established. As Athena got ready for bed herself, she couldn't help but frown at the idea of giving up the boy. She had only had him two days, and already she felt like he was becoming her child just as much as May was. She didn't want to make a rash decision, but Athena was ready to speak with the social worker about keeping Evan, and in addition, Maddie - possibly adopt them down the road.