A/N: This is actually only 80% finished, and basically 0% edited (besides a quick run through Grammarly). Everything will be posted by Sunday night my time zone, I just had to start tonight because this is the date I picked (this got a bit more ambitious than I thought it would). So keeping that in mind, please don't tell me about small grammatical issues in the comments, once everything is up, I will be editing it with a fine-tooth comb (I will also be looking for inconsistencies because I'm scatter-brained and writing out of order and changing things a lot). Spanish Translations will be at the bottom of each chapter.
Speaking of Spanish, even though they are not in this fandom, and probably won't see it, I just want to thank my Spanish-speaking friends on Twitter again,who were patient with me and answering questions that I had, whether it be about a translation, questions about names or which translation makes sense in a particular scenario.
Art is done by, heydumbass-dumbasser on Tumblr. If you want to see it, I will share it on my Tumblr and once everything else is done, I will try to get it on AO3 as well.
MAY
"So, it's all down to this, folks, Texas' season on the line. The bottom of the ninth, the Longhorns have the bases loaded with two outs. O'Dowd is up to bat," the announcer rattles off as the batter steps up to the plate and the night watchman throws a paper plate in the microwave that has something wrapped in tin foil. "And it's a ground rule double, bringing in two runs and leaving two in scoring position," the announcer continues when O'Dowd gets a hit.
The night watchman cheers as sparks start to fly in the microwave, he turns around when he hears a weird sound coming out of the microwave to see his food on fire. He quickly pulls the fiery plate out and tosses it into the trash can knocking it down. "Oh, gig me!" he exclaims, seeing the fire getting bigger.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
"The microwave caught on fire!" he yells backing away from the fire. "The flames! The flames are moving fast!" he continues.
"Okay, stay calm, sir," Grace reminds him. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the farm and feed factory," he answers, "off of Old Walker Road. I'm in the kitchen in the main building and-" he watches as the fire rides up to the ceiling, "I am so fired."
"126, please be advised, caller is trapped in the break room in the center of the compound," she informs the responding unit.
"Dispatch, this is Engine 126," Judd acknowledges. "This place is going up like a tinderbox. We are talking about at least a four-alarm," he informs her as they arrive on the scene.
"Okay, y'all take care of yourselves out there, you hear?"
The 126 gets out of the engine and starts attacking the fire while they wait for reinforcements. They start to lose pressure and Judd tells his captain about a fire hydrant that he saw; getting the okay, he jogs a line to the hydrant to give them a fighting chance.
The hydrant works and the crew cheers. "Come in 126, do you copy?" Grace's voice sounds from their radios. Judd being the farthest from the action is the only one who is able to hear it.
"Dispatch, this is 125, what's up?" he questions.
"We just got a call in Spanish from a maintenance man. Said they store fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, in that facility. Y'all need to pull those men back," she tells them urgently.
Hearing this, Judd runs back to the danger where his second family is. "Hey, Engine 126! Engine 126, fall back!" he yells, waving his arms in the air, trying to do anything to get their attention. "Fall back! Fall Back!" As he runs back, the building explodes, taking the engine with it, leaving Judd laying on the ground.
Hearing the explosion, Grace tries to reach anyone from the 126, "Ladder 126, do you copy?" she tries to stay professional, but can't help as the worry creeps in for her husband. "Ladder 126, please respond." No one answers her, "Ladder 126!" she screams, when she still gets no answer, she whispers "Ladder 126."
Grace takes a breath to compose herself, "Units near the farm and feed factory off of Old Walker Road, I have lost contact with the 126. Assistance is needed."
"Dispatch, this is 3-6-3-H-20," Carlos answers the call. "I'm five minutes away," he announces, flicking on his lights and sirens.
When Carlos arrives at the factory, he sees chaos. The factory looks like it is a complete loss and the 126 Engine has been knocked down, and the ones closest are close to unrecognizable; he can't find a pulse on only of them. Carlos looks around and sees one of the firefighters farther away from the center of the explosion and goes over to him. He sees that it is Judd Ryder, he reaches over to feel for a pulse. Feeling a weak, but steady one he radios for an ambulance. "Dispatch, this is 3-6-3-H-20. I need an RA now to the farm and feed factory, now," he urges.
He looks up and sees that more units are arriving. He goes over to Mitchell, "We have one survivor," he informs her.
"Do we know who?"
"Judd Ryder," Carlos answers.
"Isn't his wife a dispatcher?" Mitchell thinks.
"Yeah, Grace," Carlos answers as he watches the paramedics load Judd into the ambulance.
"Go get Grace and bring her to the hospital. We can take it from here," Mitchell pushes him.
"This is a big scene," Carlos is unsure.
"Go, you're the one who saw him, it's probably going to go best coming from you," Mitchell suggests.
Carlos nods before getting in his patrol car to drive to the dispatch center. On the way over, he does something that he hasn't in a while. He prays. He prays that Judd is still alive, that he stays alive.
He parks his patrol car and walks into the building. Taking the elevator to the dispatch floor, Carlos prepares himself to give Grace what he hopes doesn't end up being the worst news that she hears.
Spotting Grace, he walks over to her station. When she sees him, her heart drops into her stomach. Carlos sees her reaction, "Hey, hey," he grabs her by the shoulders to ground her. "He's alive," he assures her. "He's on the way to the hospital. Grab your stuff, we'll meet him at the hospital."
Grace nods, shakily and follows Carlos out to his patrol car. Carlos holds the passenger door open for her, before getting into the driver's seat.
The drive to the hospital is silent. Carlos parks at the ambulance bay and walks her into the emergency room, making sure that a nurse has her before he goes to move his patrol car.
AUGUST
It's foggy out, so Esmeralda isn't surprised that she gets rear-ended on the way home from a retirement party for a co-worker. She feels fine, but her airbags deployed. She reaches to her temple, feeling something wet. Bringing her hand in front of her face, she sees that there is blood.
A bit dazed, Esmeralda is pulled out of her thoughts when there's a knock on her window. It's a paramedic. He motions for her to open her car door, which she does.
"Hey, I'm a paramedic. Do you mind if I take a look?"
"Yeah, okay," she agrees, slowly getting out of her car.
"Did you lose consciousness at all?" The paramedic asks her as he leads her to the back of the ambulance.
"I don't know," Esmeralda answers as he helps hers sit on the gurney.
"Okay, look this way for me," he directs, shining a penlight in her eyes. "Possible concussion, but the hospital is going to want to get some scans to be sure.
"I don't need to go to a hospital, I just need to get home to my daughter."
"It looks like you lost consciousness," he tells her as he tapes a gauze pad to her head. "And this cut is going to need some stitches," he motions to her head.
"How long will that take?" She winces at the pressure, now feeling some pain as the adrenaline wears off.
"I can give you something to take the edge off," he offers.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Do you have any allergies to any medications?"
"No."
"Okay," the paramedic nods, prepping a needle. "Just a pinch and it should kick in in a few minutes."
"Hello?" Carlos sleepily answers his phone when it goes off, noting the Dallas area code.
"Is this a Mr. Carlos Reyes?" The voice on the other end of the line.
"It is, who is this?" Carlos questions.
"This is Cindy, at Medical City Dallas Hospital. You are the emergency contact for Esmeralda Reyes?"
Hearing this Carlos' heart drops to his stomach. "Esmeralda is my sister. Is she okay?"
"I can't say anything over the phone."
"Is my niece okay?"
"We can tell you more in person," she tells him.
"I'm in Austin. It's going to take me a few hours to get there," Carlos answers throwing a hoodie on before hanging up.
Carlos looks at his phone to see it's just after ten o'clock, he should get there around one if he's lucky. He grabs his wallet and keys before rushing out the door.
Carlos makes it to Medical City Dallas Hospital in a little less than three hours. Though smooth, the whole ride was nerve-wracking not knowing about his sister and niece.
Parking hazardly in the first spot he can find in the emergency room parking lot. He rushes through the doors to the emergency room, going straight to the help desk. "I'm looking for my sister, Esmeralda Reyes. I got a phone call about three hours ago?"
"If you take a seat, someone will be with you shortly," she tells him after looking up the name on the computer.
"Thanks," Carlos mutters impatiently. Instead of taking a seat, he paces.
It feels like forever, but a doctor comes out looking for Carlos. Carlos can see it in the doctor's face; the look that they are about to be the bearer of bad news. He's had that look before when giving notices to family members.
"What happened?" He questions.
"Why don't we go somewhere more private?" The doctor suggests, leading Carlos into a conference room.
"What happened?" Carlos repeats, not wanting to beat around the bush.
"Your sister was in a car accident. She suffered from a head laceration but was alert on the scene. Esmeralda coded in the ambulance," she pauses. "Both the paramedics and hospital staff did everything that they could, but she could not be revived."
Carlos nods, taking this in. "What about my niece? Was she with my sister?"
"According to the reports from the paramedics, your sister was alone when the car accident occurred." Carlos lets out a sigh of relief. "We do need you to identify her body as a formality," she adds sympathetically.
Carlos nods, "I understand."
"If you will follow me," the doctor guides.
They go through the emergency room and down a hallway until they stop in from of an elevator. Stepping into it, the doctor hits the button to take them to the basement. Once the elevator stops, they walk down another hall until they reach the morgue.
Following the doctor into the morgue, she pulls out a slate revealing a woman's body. She pulls the sheet down to reveal the woman's face. "That's her. That's Esmeralda," Carlos confirms.
She nods, pulling the sheet back up. The next hour is a blur for Carlos, he fills out the forms he is handed and takes his sister's belongings. The entire time, the only thing he is thinking is that he has to get to Nieves.
After taking the last of the paperwork that the social worker, who at some point showed up, hands him, Carlos leaves. Getting into his car, he puts his sister's belongings onto the floor of the passenger seat and drives to his sister's.
He spends the ride trying to figure out how to tell Nieves. He's given a lot of death notices before, but never to his six-year-old niece.
Pulling up to his sister's house, he sees that the light is still on. Someone peeks out the blinds, probably noticing the headlights of his car.
Carlos gets out of his car and goes up to the door. "Who are you?" She calls through the door.
"Carlos Reyes, Esmeralda's brother."
"Prove it, or I'm calling the cops," her voice shakes.
"Whenever Esmeralda goes out, she leaves my number with the emergency contact list. If you call the number she has listed for me, you'll hear my phone ring," he answers.
He hears her moving away from the door, most likely to get the number from the refrigerator. He hears footsteps back on the other side of the door. "I'm calling now," she yells through the door.
A few seconds later, Carlos' phone starts ringing. He pulls it out of his pocket to see a Dallas area code number on the screen. He shows it to the girl through the window next to the door.
"That's my number," she tells him through the window. She moves away from the window and back to the door. Slowly, it opens. "What's going on?" She questions when she opens the door for him. "I can't get a hold of Esmeralda and I thought all of her family was in Austin," she continues as she shuts the door behind him.
"We are," Carlos answers. "But, I got a phone call from Medical City Dallas Hospital a few hours ago as her next of kin. They wouldn't tell me anything over the phone and when I got there… she was in a car accident and was pronounced when she arrived at the hospital."
The babysitter covers her mouth in shock. "What's going to happen to Nieves?" She questions, looking down the hall where the sleeping child is.
"Esmeralda listed me as guardian when Nieves was born, but I need to talk to her lawyer on Monday," Carlos answers. "And probably need to look into getting emergency custody later today to cover until Monday."
"Katie?" A small voice questions. She looks to both adults, "Tío?" She goes to Carlos. "Dondé está mami?" She asks as Carlos lifts her into his arms.
"We'll talk in the morning," Carlos avoids her question. "Do you want me to put you back to bed?" He asks, rubbing her back.
Nieves nods into his neck.
"I'll be right back," he tells Katie as he carries Nieves into her bedroom. He gently puts her back in bed, making sure she has her stuffed unicorn before covering her up. "Te quiero," he kisses her forehead.
"Te quiero, Tío," she replies sleepily.
"She okay?" Katie asks when he comes back to the living room.
"Yeah, for now. I still need to tell her in the morning."
"Are you two going to be okay?"
"Yeah," Carlos answers. "It's late, if you don't want to drive, you can sleep on the couch. I'm fine on the floor."
"I'm fine to drive. If you need me to babysit, you have my number, and Esmeralda has it written down somewhere too," Katie tells him before leaving. Carlos locks the for behind her and gets blankets out of the closet to make a bed for himself on the couch.
Carlos wakes up early the next morning to small fingers poking him in the arm. He turns his head to see Nieves standing over him. He sits up to make room for Nieves to sit next to him.
"Tío, what are you doing here? Where's Mami?" She snuggles into his side.
"We need to talk about Mami," he tells her gently.
"Where is she?"
Carlos turns so he's facing her. "Last night when Mami was coming home, she got into a car accident and got hurt."
"So she's at the doctor's?"
"No, baby. When she got hurt, a paramedic was taking her to the hospital so doctors could help her. Do you know what a paramedic is?"
"They help people like you do."
"They do," he nods. "Well, the paramedics did everything that they could, but Mami was too hurt for them to help."
"Can't the doctors help?" She asks, eyes big.
"Mami was too hurt for the doctors to help her. Nieves, Mami died last night. She's not coming home."
"She has to," Nieves cries into Carlos' shirt.
"She can't," Carlos pulls her into his arms, doing his best to comfort the child.
SEPTEMBER
"I'm going to ask Alex to marry me tonight," TK Strand tells his father as they are going up the service elevations for yet another window washer rescue.
Owen looks to TK without saying anything. "Dad, please don't say anything negative, all right? I already bought the ring," TK informs his dad.
Owen glances at his son, "How about moving in together first?"
"Grand gestures, right? Isn't that what you always say?" TK looks to his dad as they get out of the elevator. "Big swings?"
"I've also been divorced twice," he reminds TK. "New York Fire. We're here to help," he calls out to the man hanging from the side of the building.
As the father-son duo get their equipment ready, they can hear the screams for help Fromm the window washer. "Oh, God, I love New York," Owen sighs as they take in the view.
"So, uh, you gonna tell me what you really think about this proposal, or are you just gonna keep pretending that you don't have an opinion?" TK questions as they walk back to the truck.
"You're an adult, you think it's right… I say go for it," Owen responds when they reach the truck.
"Really?" TK questions, not expecting this answer from his dad.
"Yeah," Owen reaffirms.
"Thanks, Dad," he leans in, pulling his father into a hug.
Owen starts coughing, "Hey, you okay?" TK asks concerned, pulling away.
"Yeah, it's some viral thing I can't kick. I'm gonna go to the doctor and get some antibiotics."
"Alright," TK nods, as he goes to get into the truck.
"Hey," Owen stops him. "I'm happy for you." TK smiles at his dad before getting into the truck.
Nervously, TK plays with the ring in his hands, looking up he sees his boyfriend walking towards him. He stands up to give Alex a hug in greeting.
"Hi."
"Hi."
They kiss and TK rests his head on Alex's shoulder for a moment before pulling away.
Both sit down, and as he does, Alex looks around, "This is nice," he comments.
TK stutters, nervously, "Yeah, I wanted someplace really nice." He takes a deep breath, "So, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"So do I," Alex responds.
"Let me go first," TK quickly requests. "So, umm," TK smiles. "I," TK pulls out the ring and gets down on one knee. Opening his mouth to continue, he s stopped by Alex.
"TK… we need to talk."
"Let me go first," TK interrupts him. He lets out a breath, also letting out his nerves. "I love you. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but I know I want to start a life with you," he gets down on one knee. "Alex, will you marry me?"
"I'm seeing someone else," Alex tells him. "Mitchell, my spin instructor."
TK can feel his heart drop into his stomach. He leaves some cash on the table and hurries out of the restaurant, avoiding eye contact, embarrassed at what just happened.
TK plays with the ring as he walks in the dark streets of New York. He needs to forget, he needs to be numb.
On autopilot, TK makes his way to the nearest pawn shop. Trading the ring for cash, he stuffs it in his pocket and goes on his way looking for the nearest dealer.
Finding one, he pays for a bottle of oxy before making it back to his apartment, locking the door behind him, he sits on the couch staring at the bottle.
He spends the night staring, debating if he should break his sobriety. He doesn't want to, but he just wants to numb out the pain. And if he doesn't wake up… well, it doesn't matter.
When Beth Healy and Deputy Fire Chief Alden Radford leave his office, Owen grabs the attention of the first person he sees, a tall firefighter. "Hey, do you know where TK is?"
She responds, "We thought you could tell us. He hasn't come in yet."
Hearing this, Owen is immediately worried. He quickly gets up and hurries to his car, so he can go check on his son. The whole ride Owen is trying to get a hold of TK on his phone.
Arriving at TK's apartment building, Owen frantically presses all the buttons on the intercom until he is buzzed in when TK doesn't answer the buzz for his unit.
Racing to unit 105, Owen bangs on the door, calling for his son to open the door. "TK! Open the door!" He bangs on the door again before making a call on his cell phone, "Mary, it's Captain Strand. I need the ladder and ambulance at 2735 West Seventh, apartment 105. Bring the battering ram."
It feels like forever, but Truck 252 arrives at TK's apartment building followed by the ambulance. Both crews rush to unit 105, the battering ram in hand. Knocking down the door, they find TK laying face down on the floor, pills scattered around him along with the bottle.
Owen rushes to his son, turning him over to his back, "TK!" he screams. TK is grey and unmoving. "Hey, hey, hey. TK!" he calls. Starting chest compressions, he tells the others, "He's in cardiac arrest."
Owen can hear them talking, "Get the AED ready just in case," one paramedic says.
"Sir, you should let us take over," another paramedic addresses Owen.
Owen ignores them, only focusing on his son, "Give me the Narcan!" he orders. Someone hands him the Narcan and Owen jams the device into his thigh. Owen holds his breath, waiting to see if the Narcan worked while a paramedic is bagging TK providing him with oxygen.
Time feels like it is standing still. After what feels like forever, TK's eyes shoot open, his body arching as he gasps for air. "He's back," announces the paramedic who was bagging him.
"Easy," another paramedic tells TK as he rolls over.
"Watch his airway," another man warns as TK vomits on the ground.
TK gasps for air, rolling back on his back, he finds Owen in his line of sight. "Dad," he gasps. "Dad. Dad," he repeats, sitting up, clawing into his father's arms.
"It's okay. It's okay, it's okay. You're okay, you're okay," Owen reassures his son, his head resting on top of TK's while running his hand through his hair.
"Sir," a paramedic pulls Owen's attention away from TK. "We should get him to a hospital."
"Dad, no," TK looks at his father.
Owen looks to the paramedic and nods, "TK, we need to make sure it's out of your system," he reminds TK gently.
"Fine," TK gives in. "But I'm not using the stretcher."
TK is in the hospital for ten hours for observation to make sure the pills were out of his system. Owen stays for the first few hours with TK. When Owen is convinced that TK isn't going to pull a disappearing act on him, he goes into the station to fill out the paperwork from the call at TK's apartment and to call Deputy Chief Radford about going to Austin. After getting the paperwork sorted, contacting Radford, and making arrangements for both him and TK to get to Texas, Owen goes back to TK's apartment to get him new clothes before going back to the hospital.
When TK gets out of the hospital, Owen drags him to a pier facing the Brooklyn Bridge. Both sit down facing the bridge, "Damn it, TK, you promised me this would never happen again," Owen reminds him. "Where'd you get the pills?" he questions.
TK sighs, "Come on, Dad-" TK throws his arm out in front of himself, "I mean, there's an opioid epidemic. I mean, you could throw a stick and you'll hit ten guys selling Oxys," TK points out.
"Is this your first relapse? Or is there something you want to tell me?" Owen questions, worried about the answer.
"No," TK answers quickly, "I haven't touched a pill in- in years." Owen gives a questioning look to his son. "I swear."
Hearing this, Owen asks the next question that he is afraid of the answer, "Were you trying to kill yourself?"
TK doesn't answer right away, he fidgets a bit before telling his dad, "No." Fidgeting more, he looks to Owen, "He's in love with somebody else. And that's why he's been acting weird. A Spin Cycle instructor named Mitchell."
Owen looks down for a moment, not knowing what to say before looking back to TK, "I'm sorry," he tells his son, left hand resting on the back of his hair, petting his head a couple of times before moving his hand to TK's back and eventually back so his arm is resting on his leg.
TK turns to look at Owen, "Are you gonna have to report this now?"
"We used the battering ram," Owen reminds him. The whole crew was there."
"The last thing I need right now is to be suspended."
Owen looks down before looking back to TK, "I'll report it as an accidental overdose," he decides. "That'll satisfy them," he states. "But it won't satisfy me," he continues. "It is tough love from now on. You want out of this? You do this my way. Therapy, twice a week, with a therapist that I choose. And pack your stuff. We're getting out of town."
"Dad, please, I am not in the mood for a vacation," TK groans.
Owen shakes his head, "I'm not talking about a vacation."
"What do you mean?" TK questions both shocked and confused.
"I mean, we're leaving," Owen clarifies.
"Leaving? This is home," TK argues.
"And I almost lost you here. You need a fresh start and there's an opportunity for us… in Texas," Owen tells him.
"In Texas?" TK checks.
"Yes, Texas. I said no at first, but was told to call if I changed my mind. I called back after your overdose. And to be more specific, Austin," Owen responds. "Do you remember on the news, that firehouse in Austin? It lost the whole crew on a call, there was a sole survivor."
"Yeah, the factory fire," TK responds.
"This morning I had a meeting with a deputy fire chief from Austin and a woman from the Department of Justice. They wanted me to go to Austin to rebuild the house that was lost."
"Because you are the only one to ever build a house from scratch," TK states. "Wait… what was with the lady from the justice department?" TK questions, trying to piece together how she fits in.
"The Justice Department got involved because of a diversity problem in the department. The Civil Rights Division got involved so the Justice Department had to step in."
"There's a diversity problem… and they want you to rebuild the house?" TK tries to understand.
"It goes back to being the only one to have rebuilt a firehouse after a tragedy. And being from New York… well, it's not the 'good old boys' club here like it is in some of the houses in Austin."
"Yeah," TK agrees.
"You are staying at my place tonight and then tomorrow we are leaving in the morning," Owen decides.
"When do we pack?" TK asks, shocked about the fast timeline.
"Tonight," Owen responds.
"Are you going to tell mom?" TK wants to know.
"No, I'm not. You are," Owen answers making his son groan.
Translations:
Tío = Uncle
Dondé está mami = Where is mommy?
Te quiero= I love you