TW- Kidnapping, neglect, eating disorders, emotional abuse, death of a child (not Sonny), panic attacks, mentions of suicide. (I swear theres lots of happy parts)
Sonny swung his feet back and forth as he scribbled contently in his notebook, night had descended on the station and the officers unfortunate enough to be working the grave yard shift were peacefully working, they were a lot quieter than their daytime counterparts. Officer Tanner was sat opposite Sonny staring intently at a pile of paperwork sprawled out in front of him on the table , he had dark bags under his eyes and his shoulders were hunched over. Surely his shift would be over by now thought Sonny.
"Everything alright?" Asked Tanner feeling the boys piercing blue eyes on him.
"Do you normally stay here this late?" Inquired Sonny softly, he didn't want to upset or pry but the man seemed dangerously tired. Sonny held his breath as he waited for a response, he wasn't sure if he had crossed a line, he didn't know what was appropriate to say as he'd only spoken more than one word to two people in the last ten years. He was only allowed to say thanks or hello to the strangers they bumped into, also there were even days when Ryder didn't speak and he preferred complete silence, the older Ryder got the more frequent the days of silence became. All of this meant Sonny was extremely inexperienced when it came to interacting with people.
"No" replied Ryder honestly.
"You're staying because of me" concluded Sonny. He didn't understand why the officer would waste his time looking after him, they were complete strangers until a few hours ago.
"I don't mind waiting on my own" admitted Sonny quietly, he found the officers presence comforting but he didn't want to be a burden.
"No sonny I don't mind staying, you're a good kid" assured Tanner causing Sonny to screw his face up in disagreement. Sonny was pretty sure Tanner's view of him would change if he knew he had killed someone, if Tanner knew he was the reason Eve died.
"But surely you'd rather be at home?" Sonny questioned, he didn't know if Tanner had anyone waiting for him but at the very least a warm bed would be a lot better than the hard chairs in the police stations break room.
"I won't be able to relax at home knowing you're here all alone. Plus my family will all be asleep by now, they won't know whether I'm there or not" admitted Tanner trying to put the boy at ease.
"You're a good person" stated Sonny meeting Tanners eyes for a second before returning his attention to his drawing.
"You are too Sonny" insisted Tanner reaching out and tapping the blonde's shoulder , the officer could see a blush creeping into the young boys cheeks as he shook his head in disagreement.
"Are you nervous about seeing your dad?" Tanner asked as he glanced at the old noisy clock hanging on the wall, Sonny's dad would be there soon.
"Yeah" Sonny confessed shakily before continuing,
"I remember him, not very clearly it's all a bit distorted but over the years small memories have come back to me. But we're virtually strangers. I'm not the same son he lost, what if he's disappointed?" Asked Sonny with fear in his voice, his body relaxed slightly after releasing the words that had been whirring around his head since he had found out his dad was alive. He hadn't intended to say so much but he was relieved he had.
"He'll just be happy to see you safe and sound. It won't always be easy but I'm sure you both will get through it" comforted Tanner reaching into his pocket pulling out a smile piece of paper.
"Just in case here's my number, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call" stated Tanner handing Sonny his card.
"Thanks" He replied slipping the card into his backpack. As he returned his attention to his notebook his limbs felt heavy and his drawing was becoming shaky and sloppy, his head fell slowly onto the table and he almost lost his battle with sleep when the sound of an officer talking to Tanner shook him awake.
"Give me one second Sonny" asked Tanner exiting the room with the officer. Sonny peered out of the door to the break room, he could see them talking to two wary looking men.
After a few moments the men turned towards him, Sonny quickly buried his head in his notebook.
Meanwhile Matt's heart was vibrating furiously in his chest, the detective was explaining everything to him but it was nothing Kelly hadn't told him in the car. However they did tell Matt that Sonny would need a lot of care and attention, it wouldn't be easy but Sonny would be ok. Matt's breath caught in his throat when his eyes landed on the boy in the break room.
"Sonny" gasped Matt, that was his boy without a doubt. He had Matt's blonde hair and blue eyes but what persuaded Matt the most was his smile, he had Hallie's smile. Tanner looked sympathetically at Matt, he had two young boys at home, he couldn't imagine how painful it would be to spend ten years not knowing where they were ; wondering if they were even alive. Tanner knew that even though they were being reunited the father and son both had a long road ahead of them.
"Come on, I think you've waited long enough" announced Tanner heading to Sonny.
As the three men entered the room Sonny felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights, he had no clue how to act. Little did Sonny know Matt was feeling exactly the same, Sonny was his little boy, he wanted to pull him into a hug and tell him he'd never leave him but he didn't want to overwhelm the teen. Refraining from hugging his son was agonising.
"Hi" croaked Sonny, giving the blonde man a shy smile.
"Hey" breathed Matt slowly taking the seat opposite the boy. Sonny gazed at the man behind the older blonde, he remembered him from the few memories he had from before he was taken . He remembered going to a fire station and wearing a helmet, sitting in the front of the truck as the sirens blared.
"Hey Sonny, I um I'm your dad but I guess ... I guess that feels strange right now, h-how about you call me Matt for now?" Casey offered gently, he despised having to refrain from reaching out and pulling the young boy into his arms, after Sonny had first gone missing he'd imagined their reunion countless times, he always pictured Sonny running up to him yelling "dad" and he'd scoop the boy up into his arms and he'd promise to never let go, as time went on and his hope dwindled he stopped imagining their reunion, therefore he was unprepared for Sonny to look at him with uncertainty in his eyes, to look at him as if he was a stranger.
"That sounds good to me" answered Sonny offering the man another smile, he greatly appreciated Matt's offer, he knew this must be hard for the older man but he was relieved Matt understood he wasn't ready to call him dad yet. Sonny turned his attention to the man behind Matt.
"You're um you're Sevy right?" Inquired Sonny cautiously as the name popped into his head. Kelly chuckled gently as he was overcome with relief, Sonny remembered his him. He expected sonny to briefly remember Matt but he never expected Sonny to recognise him.
"Yeah that's right, most people call me Kelly but you and your da... um Matt always referred to me as Sev" explained Kelly earning a small nod from Sonny.
"So kiddo, it's really late now and you must be tired, I know this all weird but are you ok to go home with Matt and Kelly?" Asked Tanner tentatively as he crouched down in front of Sonny blocking the other two men from his view.
"Yeah" Sonny replied softly grabbing his backpack.
"You might want to use the bathroom first, we have a long journey" advised Kelly gently. Sonny nodded before disappearing out of the room.
"He's a fantastic Kid, it won't be a walk in the park, raising kids never is but he's going to be fine" comforted Tanner noticing the anxiousness in Matt's eyes.
"Thanks" he replied jumping up as Sonny returned.
"Ready?" Questioned Kelly.
"Yep" responded Sonny but before following Kelly and Matt out of the room he stopped and turned back to Tanner.
"Good luck kid, remember call me if you need anything but I doubt you'll need me, they're good people" comforted Tanner offering his hand for Sonny to shake, but the boy ignored the hand and flung his arms around the officer , after recovering from his surprise Tanner returned the warm hug. Ryder hated hugs, the only time he'd hugged Sonny was the day they scattered Eve's ashes.
"Thank you" whispered Sonny before letting go and heading after Matt.
They'd only been on the road for five minutes when the younger blonde succumbed to sleep, Matt peered in the mirror to observe the young boy and he suddenly he felt fear flooding over him.
"What are we going to do?" Gasped Matt the situation suddenly dawning on him.
"What do you mean Matt?",
"I live in a one bed house that's falling apart, what am I going to do?" Asked Matt panicked, he hadn't thought about any of this on the way to the station, he had been too focused on refusing to get his hopes up. Matt's house was small and rundown, when Kelly visited he slept on the sofa bed but that wouldn't be a suitable solution now.
"Damn it I never thought of that" cursed Kelly scrubbing a hand across his face when something occurred to him.
"Come back to Chicago, stay with me, I have two spare rooms and plus it's actually your house" responded Kelly with a grin, he knew Matt left Chicago because it was full of painful memories but he hoped that maybe with Sonny he'd finally return.
"I don't know Kelly?",
"Oh come on, I have lots of space" exclaimed Kelly, after Sonny disappeared Matt couldn't cope living in an apartment full of memories of his son, he'd moved out a year after Sonny was taken. Matt had brought a house to fix up, it became his project to help him ignore the helpless feeling and the memories gnawing at his soul. Kelly left their old apartment shortly after and moved in with Shay. Then Matt suffered a traumatic brain injury after Sonny had been missing for about five fully recovered but he'd lost his drive, he didn't want to return to fifty one so he gave in his notice, packed his bag and left. However Matt kept the house and rented it out. Casey had been gone roughly six months when Shay passed away, Kelly spent a month with Casey but watching Matt he realised running away solved nothing. Kelly had hoped that when he returned Matt would follow but Casey had refused to leave his isolation, instead Casey told Kelly he could stay in the renovated house rent free,Kelly insisted he paid rent but he was quite happy living in the house, as long as he lived there he knew Matt would never sell it, leaving a small glimmer of hope that one day the blonde would return to Chicago. Now finally after years of clinging onto hope, Matt returning with Sonny wasn't just some dream but an actual possibility.
"I guess you're right"sighed Matt.
"Can I get that in writing" quipped Kelly.
"Haha very funny, we'll go to my house collect my stuff and if we don't encounter any problems we should be heading back to Chicago by tomorrow evening" explained Matt, Kelly's head felt hazy he couldn't believe this was happening, the two most important people in his life were coming home.