A/N Hello all, thank you all for reading! It's been a blast reading reviews and I'm happy people have enjoyed the story I had so much fun writing. I haven't individually responded, but I've read every one, so thank you! As a warning, this chapter does contain a sporadic f-bomb, which haven't been in other chapters. Also, this is the last one. Again, I can't thank you enough for hanging in there and reading all the way through. I've had this story written for quite a while and I am excited to have finally shared it. Happy reading!

Chapter Nineteen

Roy backed the squad into the bay. After filling out appropriate paperwork, they headed for the day room, wanting something to drink. They found the entire engine crew sitting at the table, waiting. Their own seats empty with two full steaming mugs. Marco explained the contents when they looked questioningly at them from a distance. "It's Mama Lopez's tea." They nodded in understanding.

The two medics stayed in the doorway and looked at each other, having a silent conversation. "They want an explanation." Roy silently said to his partner.

"I know, they deserve one." John voicelessly replied. Johnny took the initiative and sat down in 'his' chair, thankfully holding the warm mug and glancing at Marco in gratitude. "I'm sure you're all curious." he started cautiously.

Four faces replied with looks of "Ya think?"

John looked down at his mug. After taking a gulp of the warm contents he said, "She's my cousin.'' He waited a moment for his shiftmates to compose themselves. After a moment, he continued. "I've never talked about my childhood. It wasn't fantastic." He looked up at Roy, who nodded encouragingly. "You know I was raised on a reservation-" Johnny looked at Chet, daring him to make a joke. The phantom remained silent. "-In Montana. My Aunt ran away when I was about five." He waited for his bristling teammates to settle again. "She ran away because she was pregnant." He stopped to take another sip of the tea, enjoying its taste. "So, apparently, I have a cousin. Neither of us knew we existed since our last shift." Johnny looked up and observed the reactions. Chet looked like he was about to be ill, Mike looked pained, Marco was muttering under his breath in rapid fire Spanish, and Cap was tight lipped. Roy smiled grimly in support. "So, uh, that's who she is. And why I don't talk about myself." Johnny said, story time over. He left a lot unsaid, but his crew was able to piece it together. John finished the rest of his tea, thanked Marco, who was still speechless, and left.

"What, the actual, fuck." Mike said when Gage was gone, truly showing his feelings. He rarely, if ever, cursed. Cap was surprised at Mike's colorful choice of language, but could hardly reprimand him as they were in a safe environment and he shared the same sentiment.

Roy stayed at the table to give John some privacy. Chet was the first to look up and say, "Is he serious?" he asked in disbelief. Not because he didn't believe his friend, but because he was still shocked.

Roy nodded and sighed. "Meeting her hit him pretty hard. He clearly had no intentions of talking about his past. Ever. He didn't even tell me. Looking back, it makes a lot of sense." he added as an afterthought. Everyone nodded thoughtfully.

"Is the letter related?" Marco asked, remembering rumors and teasing from D shift that morning.

"She dropped it off." Stanley said, making the connection Captain Dennis wrote about.

"Jane, her name's Jane." Roy supplied, hoping to stop the use of 'She'. He finished his cup of tea and took his and John's empty mug to the sink. He bade his goodnight, leaving the stewing engine crew alone. In the bunkroom, he didn't talk to his partner, still respecting his space.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Chet watched Roy leave, still unable to move from his spot. Thinking about the past, he felt terrible about teasing John and joking about his heritage. Not understanding his background and abuse. Images of abused children he had seen as a firefighter and as a vet in Vietnam plagued his mind. He bounced his leg, needing some type of movement to dispel the tension. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Mike, getting up to get a glass of water. The entire engine crew was too wired to go to bed.

"I knew something was up." Mike finally ventured. "He got here before me this morning." He said, sitting back down with his glass. Marco and Chet's eyebrow's rose in surprise. They all knew Mike got there very, very early. "There's only one thing we can do." Mike said, surprising everyone with a solution, they looked at him expectantly. "Nothing." He said, clasping his hands on the table. Hank agreed, nodding silently.

"Si." Marco approved after a moment. Stanley, Mike, and Marco agreed. They looked up in concern at Chet, he was staring at his empty mug, his mind a million miles away. "Chet?" Marco said, suddenly worried at the quietness of his line partner.

"Huh?" Chet responded, shaking himself.

"Do you agree?" Mike asked. Chet looked around, realizing everyone was staring at him.

"Agree to what?" he asked, looking back down at his tea.

"Act as if nothing happened, to not walk on eggshells around John." Hank summarized.

"That is the best way." Chet said with an air of finality. Marco looked up at him, worried.

"He's still Johnny, Chet." Marco softly said. "Nothing's changed." Chet nodded, looking up. The rest of the A shift determined that no matter what Johnny, their family member, would go through, they were right there with him.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Joann woke to a phone ringing instead of her alarm clock. Internally she panicked. Receiving phone calls at odd hours was never good if you were a firefighter's spouse. She cleared her throat and picked up the phone. Roy's voice was on the line. "Morning Jo," he said, sounding tired, but not 'zombie-esque'. There was some worry in his voice, but not enough to stress over, yet.

"Mornin'." she said, her voice scratchy with sleep.

"Did I wake you, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I thought your alarm clock had gone off by now." In the background, Roy could hear ringing and flinched in sympathy.

"It is now, what's up?" she asked. Roy rarely called before coming home.

She got up, dressed, and decided on pancakes. Their normal school morning routine was cereal and orange juice. Chris came down the stairs, dragging his backpack behind him. Jen came flying down, racing in front of him. "Mommy, can I have cinnamon cereal this morning?" she eagerly asked.

"No," she paused, raising her hand in an attempt to stop an argument before it started. "We're having pancakes because Uncle Johnny is coming over." she waited for the inevitable explosion of happiness. There wasn't one.

Chris stopped dragging his backpack and looked at Jen, who nodded sincerely. "Is Dad or Uncle Johnny hurt?" he asked tentatively for both of them.

Joann was taken aback, "They're fine, Uncle Johnny's just coming over for breakfast." She looked at them, wondering when they became so wise.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny squirmed in his seat while driving to Roy and Joann's. "I'm meeting with my cousin in less than twelve hours." He couldn't tell if he was excited, nervous, or upset. He decided on all three. Pulling up in 'his spot', he parked his car and followed his partner into the garage, closing the door behind them. When he and Roy walked into the kitchen, Chris and Jenny ran at them full speed. Jenny for Roy and Chris for Johnny. Both kids yelled out "Daddy!" and "Uncle Johnny!" Joann smiled at them, flipping a pancake.

"Morning boys." she said with a smile on her face. Roy carried Jenny to her seat at the table, and Chris followed behind. Everyone sat down, soon followed by Joann with a plate piled high with pancakes. Johnny looked around the table, the table at which he was lucky to be called Uncle, partner, family. He looked at Roy with gratitude, knowing his best friend and his family would be there no matter what the future held. Roy returned John's face with a smile, his smile upholding a promise.