A/N: So, there is at least one inconsistency that I notice while putting this together, remember, I am going back later to fix everything and do a hard edit. There is a little bit that seems like character bashing, but I promise that there isn't. As always, Spanish translations will be at the end.
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.
November 16
Carlos Reyes sits outside of the office of Arthur Kramer Elementary School, with Nieves. "Va a estar bien," he whispers calmly. You know, your tías Luna and Marisol were always getting in trouble. I think they had their names on the chairs there were in the office so often," Carlos continues.
Nieves remains silent, only looking you to her tío, high hazel eyes piercing his own brown orbs.
"Principal Matthews is ready for you," the secretary directs to Carlos.
"Carlos stands up, "Everything will be fine," he reminds her before following her into the office.
"Why do we need to leave so early?" TK questions his father as they are packing up Owen's car at dawn.
"Because it's a twenty-six-hour drive," Owen reminds him. "The sooner we get there the sooner we can start rebuilding."
"Uh-huh," TK hums, throwing the last bag into the car.
"We're going to switch off driving every two or three hours," Owen tells him. "Are you good to drive?" he questions.
"Yes, Dad," TK rolls his eyes. "It's been two months."
"I know… I just-"
"Worried, I know. You haven't let me go back to my apartment on my own since. You barely let me out of your sight."
Owen nods, "I'm sorry, but I'm not taking any chances. I gave you your options."
"Thanks for not making me go back to rehab," TK whispers.
"Remember, we're doing this my way. It's not too late."
"I know," TK responds before getting into the passenger seat of Owen's car.
"Nieves' homework assignments are still coming in incomplete," Mrs. Sanchez, Nieves' teacher, informs Carlos.
"I'm working on it," Carlos responds quickly. "We got most of it done this week."
"I'm afraid you did her assignments, Mr. Reyes," Mrs. Sanchez voiced her concern.
"No, Nieves colored the house," Carlos tells her.
"This is what we expect to see and this is your niece's," Mrs. Sanchez shows him two different papers. The first one is multi-colored while the second one is clearly supposed to be a red brick house. "And there is the concern that she doesn't do her work in school, but has been bringing in somewhat completed assignments from home."
"Come on, this is first grade and Nieves' mother died only three months ago," Carlos sighs.
"Mrs. Sanchez has taken Nieves' situation into consideration," Principal Matthews tells him.
"I have my teacher's aide working exclusively with her, but in all fairness o my other twenty-eight students—" she's cut off.
"What are you saying?" Carlos questions.
"Mr. Reyes, Nieves still isn't speaking," Principal Matthews emphasized.
"The doctor said it isn't unusual. She's always been a shy and anxious kid and with the shock of losing her mom… she is going to talk again," Carlos declares.
"But she's not talking now," Principal Matthews looks to Mrs. Sanchez. "Now, we feel she would be more comfortable if we… put her back in kindergarten for another year, hmm?"
"What?!" Carlos asks, shocked. Nieves is a really smart kid. Please, just cut her some slack."
"We all want what's best for Nieves," Mrs. Sanchez reassures him.
"Perhaps you should make another appointment to see her pediatrician," Principal Matthews suggests.
"She's not sick."
"Well, her pediatrician might suggest a prescription for an antidepressant. SSRIs have been used for selected mutism."
November 17
"Bear Creek Elementary, Principal Valdez's office," a woman answers the phone.
"Hi, this is Carlos Reyes, is there any chance I can speak with Principal Valdez?" he asks while throwing another suitcase into the bed of Judd's truck.
"Please hold, sir," the receptionist responds.
While Carlos waits, he goes back to the front porch to pick up another bag. While Judd stays by the truck, making room for more luggage, "Hi, Carlos. How's Dallas? How's your niece?" Principal Valdez asks when the call is transferred to her.
"Well, that's why I'm calling," Carlos starts. "I need to get back to Austin. Would it be possible for me to enroll Nieves at Bear Creek to start right after Thanksgiving?" he asks, sounding both hopeful and questioning. "She's a really hard worker and you won't even know she's in the room…"
"Well then, she must take after her uncle because I remember the three Reyes girls," Principal Valdez responds.
"She's a good kid," Carlos states. "I… I really need to get back."
"We can get her into a class," Principal Valdez tells him.
"Thank you, Principal Valdez. Thank you," he repeats.
Carlos finishes up his call, gathering details and what he will need to transfer her, and then goes inside to find Nieves in her bedroom, sitting on her bed, hugging a purple stuffed unicorn that has a rainbow-colored mane. Carefully sitting down next to her, Carlos hugs Nieves, pulling her head into his chest. He kisses her head, "Hey, no te preocupes. Todo va a estar bien."
Sighing, Carlos asks Nieves if she wants more of her sandwich. When she gives no indication that she heard him, he tries to get her to eat. Getting no answer again, he tries a different tactic. "What about Berry? Does he want your sandwich for later?"
Before he can push further, the doorbell rings. Sighing, Carlos gets up to answer the door. Going to the door he sees it is his boyfriend, Chad. Carlos opens the door to let him in, "Hey, Chad," he greets, kissing Chad's cheek as he goes by him.
"How's the packing going?" Chad questions as he enters.
"I got most of it done, just Nieves' bed to break down."
"You know there are other schools in Dallas," Chad states, with a hint of annoyance.
"Babe, I know this was sudden," Carlos tries to keep the peace.
"It was. Less than a day."
"This has actually been on my mind for a while."
"Really?" Chad is shocked.
"I know this doesn't seem fair to you, to us… but this could be good for us. Nieves and I would be around family again, and that could mean more time for us," Carlos tries to convince him.
"That would be great if we weren't three hours apart," Chad responds. The mood changes and Chad tries to save himself, sighing, "We will… we will make it work," he grabs Carlos' hands in his and gives him a quick peck on the lips.
"We will," Carlos agrees. "Do you want to go and say hi to Nieves?"
"No, I should get going. I just wanted to see you before you left."
"Well, let me cook you something," Carlos insists.
"No, I don't want to keep you. It's a long drive," Chad reminds him. "I'll come see you when you get settled," Chad pulls Carlos in for a kiss.
"Okay," Carlos agrees.
Chad walks towards the door leaving, just as Judd walks into the house. "Truck's almost filled. There's just enough room for her bed. Anything else and we will have to make another trip," he tells Carlos.
"Okay. Thanks again for doing this Judd. I know this was short notice."
"No problem. It will be nice having you back in Austin. I swear you're the only patrol cop in our grid who knows what they're doing."
"We don't know that I'll be back in the same grid."
"We know it," Judd shakes his head. "Now where is Miss Nieves?" he questions.
"In her bedroom," Carlos answers.
"Come on. Let's t her bed," Judd leaves the way. "If we can leave in the next hour, we should still have daylight to get the big stuff inside your place in Austin."
"Let's do it," Carlos agrees.
Judd climbs into his truck and takes off while Carlos makes sure that Nieves is securely in her car seat in the back of the Camaro. "This is going to be good for us," he tells her, handing Berry to her. "We'll be near your abuelos, your tías and tíos, and primos," Carlos tells her.
Nieves just stares at him.
"Okay, it's a three-hour drive, so we're going to stop to get something to eat when we get closer to Austin," Carlos kisses her head.
After over a day on the road, Owen pulls up to Austin Firehouse 126. Stepping out of the car the two Strand men take note of what they are working with, including the memorial that still holds flowers. Owen opens the bay door so they can enter, stepping onto the apparatus floor, Owen comments, "This place is exactly like it was the night the call came in. They shuttered it the next day."
"It's like a tomb," TK breaths as he looks around. "Dad, tell them you changed your mind," he tells Owen. "We—we don't belong here," he states, still looking around.
"We were invited here," Owen counters.
"Yeah, not by anyone grieving the loss of those men. I mean, they're not even ready to get rid of the dead flowers on the sidewalk," he points out. "And now what, some city slicker's gonna come in here, and scold them on how they're doing life all wrong?"
"'City slicker'?" Owen questions.
"An outsider. A stranger," TK clarifies.
"Sometimes it takes an outsider. Someone they can blame, and possibly hate," he reminds his son.
"Just don't go out of your way to prove the point, okay?" TK shakes his head.
"You know me. I tread very lightly," Owen states.
They walk around the rest of the station to get the whole picture of what they are dealing with. Once Owen makes mental notes on everything he needs to do, the two head out making sure that the bay door is shut once again.
Climbing into the car, TK looks to his dad, "Do we even have our living situation settled, or are we sleeping in the car until we do?"
"I have an appointment with a realtor in a few days, but until then we have a motel room," Owen answers as they pull away from the deserted station.
Carlos pulls up to his home behind Judd's truck, not surprised to see the cars of his parents and sisters already there when they arrive.
"Carlitos," Andrea greets her only son as he gets out of the car and helps Nieves out.
"How's my son and granddaughter?" she asks giving them both a hug once the doors are shut.
"Andrea, give them room to breathe," Gabriel shakes his head at his wife.
"You know when the last time I saw them in person was," Andrea shoots a look to her husband, "I'm going to hug them."
Carlos shoots a quick glance at his ward, knowing that his mother is talking about the funeral for his sister.
"How was the drive? Are you hungry? You both look like you've lost weight. Are you two eating?" she rattles off.
Carlos hears a gentle laughter before his older sister Marisol speaks, "Mami, give Carlitos a chance to answer," she smiles. "Hola, hermanito," she hugs him.
"Hola, Marisol," he returns the hug. He then turns back to his mother, "We are both good," he squeezes Nieves' shoulders as she stands in front of him. "The drive was fine, we stopped and got food probably an hour before we reached city limits. And—well… I'm eating and I've been trying to feed her, but she hasn't had much of an appetite since…" Carlos drifts off.
"Well, just let Abuelita fix that," Andrea takes Nieves' hand and leads her into the house.
"Don't worry," Luna, his second oldest sister, tells him. "We stocked your kitchen so everything is fresh."
"Did she hear the part where we stopped for food before we reached Austin?"
"Probably not over the part where Nieves hasn't been eating," Gabriel answers.
Before Carlos can respond, Marisol starts, "The guys are out back with the kids, so when you're ready just let them know and they'll help with the heavy lifting."
"Thanks," Carlos nods.
TK settles on his bed in the motel. "Austin is more open-minded, right?" He questions his dad.
"For the most part, yes," Owen answers.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Owen looks up. "What part are you worried about?"
"Being a gay Jew in Texas," TK answers.
Owen gets up to sit next to TK, "If I thought you wouldn't be safe here, I wouldn't have brought you."
TK nods, resting his head on his dad's shoulder for a moment.
"Call us if either of you need anything, understand?" Andrea directs to Carlos as she and Gabriel are getting ready to leave later that night.
"Understood," he agrees, knowing his mother.
"Andrea, they're going to be fine," Gabriel attempts to lead his wife away.
"I'm a mother, I worry," she gives him a look.
"We'll be fine," Carlos assures his mother. "Won't we, Nieves?"
She doesn't answer but glues herself closer to her uncle. Andrea raises her eyebrow at her youngest child and only son.
"Mom, we did fine in Dallas; we'll do fine in Austin too."
"Fine," Andrea sighs, "but call me tomorrow. I want to know how you two are doing."
"Sí, Mama," Carlos agrees as Gabriel leads Andrea out the door.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Carlos asks his niece once they are alone, his sisters and their families having left hours before his parents. Nieves only looks to him, hazel eyes wide with trust. "Tomorrow we can go to the store and get paint for your bedroom," he tells her. "What do you think? You want a pink room, like in Dallas?"
Nieves shrugs and rests her head on his shoulder.
November 18
"This is treading lightly?" TK questions his father when Owen hands him an axe to take out a wall.
"Yeah," Owen nods like he was just asked a trick question. "Why?"
"How is tearing down walls treading lightly?" TK clarifies.
"Have you seen this place?" Owen asks back. "We need to bring it into the twenty-first century. That means making it more open and getting more natural light in here."
Knowing he has no chance of talking his dad out of anything, he takes the axe and gets to work. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a man in a white shirt walking up to his dad. His dad also sees the man and leads him away showing him the progress they are making with rebuilding the 126, both figuratively and literally.
The next morning, Carlos wakes up Nieves early so they can start painting her room. Making her scrambled eggs for breakfast, Carlos is able to get her to eat most of it.
"Have you decided what color you want to paint your room?" Carlos asks her as he is doing the dishes.
Nieves shrugs, hugging Berry closer to her.
"Okay, we can go look at the different colors, and if you see one you like you can point at it. Does that sound good?"
Nieves looks at him for a moment before nodding.
"Okay, go to your room and get changed so we can get the paint,"
Nieves returns ten minutes later with Berry in her arms. "Did you brush your teeth?" Carlos asks, receiving a nod in return. "Okay, go put your shoes on and we can go. She goes to the front door and grabs her sneakers in her left hand, Berry still held tightly in her right. Sitting on the floor, she puts the shoes on her feet before getting up and walking over to Carlos. "Do you want me to tie them for you?" he questions. Nieves nods, so Carlos kneels down and ties her shoes.
"Are you ready?" Carlos checks after putting on his own shoes.
Nieves nods.
"Do you want to leave Berry here, or is he coming with us?" Carlos asks while making sure he has his wallet and keys. Nieves hugs Berry closer to herself, giving him his answer. "Okay, with us it is. Let's go," he takes her hand in his and leads them out of the house.
Once outside, Carlos helps her get into the car seat before driving to Lowe's. With everyone preparing for the holiday in the upcoming week, no one is thinking about home improvement sans the emergency repair, so it is not crowded and they are able to go straight to their destination.
Nieves looks at all of the colors in front of them but makes no move to choose one herself, so Carlos grabs a couple of paint swatches to help her. He grabs several swatches that have shades of pink, purple, blue, and green. "Do you see any that you like?" Carlos prompts.
She shrugs, so Carlos puts the swatches back and grabs new ones with different shades of the base colors that he had before. "Any of these?" Nieves doesn't answer again, but Carlos notices her focusing on the swatches that have shades of pink and purple on them. "Do you like any of the colors here?" he holds out the pink and purple swatches.
Nieves doesn't react at first, just as he's about to put the swatches back so he can pick up different ones, she slowly points to a color on the pink swatch. It is dark and bold, labeled Raspberry. "Is this the one that you like?"
Nieves nods but is still hesitant- looking at the purple swatch. "Do you like something on here too?"
Nieves points to one labeled Mulberry, it is bold, vibrant, and dark. Carlos puts the two colors next to each other to compare them. "You know what?" Carlos grins at her. Nieves shakes her head. "We need two gallons to paint your room and these colors go well together. We can get a can of each. Two pink walls and two purple walls, or we can do stripes if you want," Carlos offers. Nieves tilts her head to the side. "Do you want to do that?" Carlos questions. She pauses, like she is thinking about it, then shyly nods her head.
"Okay, let's get the paint and while they're mixing it, we can grab brushes, paint trays, and rollers," Carlos leads her to the paint.
After finding the type of paint that he wants, he places two cans and a smaller can of white paint for the woodwork into the cart and then they go to the paint counter to get it mixed. Carlos makes it clear that he wants two different colors before taking Nieves to the aisle where the paint supplies are. He grabs a pack of paint brushes, a set of paint trays, and a paint roller in a pack that has a few new roller covers. "Can you think of anything else we need?" Carlos asks Nieves, already knowing he won't get an answer.
Nieves shrugs, but just past her, Carlos sees painting tape that he has not picked up yet. "Can you grab one of those?" he points to the box that has rolls of blue tape. Nieves looks over to the box before doing as he is asked.
"Let's go check on the paint," Carlos tells her after she drops the tape into the shopping cart.
Arriving back at the paint counter, they see that the second can of paint is almost done. After a few minutes of waiting at the counter, the employee uses a mallet to seal the paint can again.
Carlos puts the paint in the shopping cart and then leads Nieves to a line so they can check out. On the way to his car, Carlos tells her, "I was thinking we can start painting tomorrow. Do you remember my friend Judd? He's the one who came down to Dallas to help us move here." When her only response is to look at him, he continues, "His firehouse is still under construction, so he said he would help with painting your bedroom."
Nieves hugs her bear tighter.
"Your room is going to smell like paint for a little bit, so once we're done, I don't want you sleeping in there until the smell is gone. It should be gone in a couple of days, but until then, you can sleep in my room and if you need me, I'll be on the couch. Okay?"
Nieves just stares at him.
After a full morning and part of the afternoon working on the construction of the 126, TK and Owen find themselves in a small diner for a late lunch.
"So, who are you looking to bring in?" TK questions Owen after taking a sip of his water. Owen hands over the files that he was looking at. Skimming through the personnel information, TK stares at his father. "Bring them here? People are going to lose their minds," TK comments.
"Yep," Owen agrees. "They will, but we are looking for the best. Not just the best, we're looking for the 1927 Yankees," he reminds him.
"Will they even want to come here?" TK questions. "It's not like people are open to different here."
"People will just have to get used to it."
Their food arrives before TK can make another comment. "Do you think, if they take the job and transfer, they'll be okay with me?" he looks to his dad after the waitress leaves.
"They're from big cities and it's the twenty-first century… and they're not exactly from the 'good old boys club'," Owen reminds TK. TK raises an eyebrow, "But if there is a problem, there will be one warning and then a transfer will be in their future."
"When do you think the house will be up and running?"
"We're making good time," Owen answers as TK glances up to see a Hispanic man with a little girl that looks a lot like him, especially the hair. TK assumes it's his daughter. The pair is walking out of the diner when TK notices the little girl dropping the unicorn she had clutched in her arms. When the man keeps walking and looks like he doesn't notice the dropped bear, TK quickly gets up and walks over to them.
"Hey!" TK calls out. "Wait up. I think you dropped this," TK scoops up the unicorn before handing it back to the little girl. "Safe and sound," he announces once the unicorn is back in its owner's arms, giving her a soft, assuring smile. She hides her face into the unicorn, and TK looks up to her father.
"Thanks, you saved Berry," the man tells him.
TK nods, "I… um, I should get back," he makes a vague gesture to where his father still is at their table.
Carlos nods, "Thanks again," he smiles before leading the child out of the diner.
Owen raises an eyebrow at his son when he makes it back to their table. "Dad. Don't," TK wants to stop his father before he can start.
"What?" Owen asks, feigning innocence.
"I know what you're thinking."
"So did you get his number?" he questions.
"No, I just wanted to make sure his daughter didn't lose her bear."
"How do you know she was his daughter? Maybe he was just watching her," Owen suggests.
"They looked too much alike," TK points out. "And he's probably married or straight. I don't need to get my ass kicked within a week of moving here."
Not wanting to push his son, Owen changes the subject. "I found a therapist for you."
"Oh, that was fast."
"It was, remember my rules."
"How long do I have to go for?"
"Until either myself or the therapist decides you don't need to go anymore."
TK sighs, "When's my first appointment?" TK pushes his food around on his plate.
"In two days."
"That was quick," TK comments.
"For good reason."
"Is the survivor going to come back?"
"If he's ready," Owen answers after a moment. "I have a meeting scheduled with him after the interviews. If he's not, then his spot will be waiting for when he is."
"We got the paint for Nieves' room," Carlos tells his mother as they FaceTime that night. It had started as a phone call, but Andrea had wanted to speak with her granddaughter too, so Carlos FaceTimed her after about ten minutes so she could see Nieves.
"Nieves, did you pick the color?" Andrea asks.
She doesn't answer but moves closer to Carlos. Carlos looks to her for a moment but doesn't want to push her, so he answers for her, "She did. There were two colors that she liked, so we got both and are either going to do two walls of each color or we're going to do stripes."
"Carlos," Andrea exclaims. "You're making more work for yourself."
"Mom," Carlos sighs, "it's fine. It's just paint and I did just uproot her from everything she knows."
"It's better to be near family, speaking of, if you waited until after Thanksgiving, I'm sure your sister's husbands would help you paint Nieves' bedroom."
"Mom, I want to get her set up as soon as I can… you know, give her some semblance of normal back. And I already have help painting her room. Judd, the guy who came down to Dallas with his truck to help bring her stuff here, he's gonna stop by tomorrow and we can get her room done."
"What was the point of being closer to family, if you're not going to ask them for help, mijo?"
"David and Esteban have their own kids to worry about," Carlos reminds her. "And Judd volunteered if I needed help getting her settled in; plus, his station still isn't up and running again."
"Fine, are you bringing her here for Thanksgiving?"
"Yes, I'm bringing her to the ranch for Thanksgiving," Carlos responds as Nieves yawns. "Mom, I should go. Get Nieves to bed."
"Okay, goodnight mijo," she tells her son. "Buenos nuchas, mijita," she waves to Nieves, getting a shy smile in return.
Carlos ends the call before shooing Nieves from the couch. "I'll be in when you're done to tell you a story, okay?"
Nieves nods before going into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
While she is in the bathroom, Carlos pulls out his laptop to look at the documents that he needs so he can return to work. He's only looking at them for ten minutes, before Nieves comes back to him, unicorn in her arms like always, now dressed in her pajamas. "Ready for your story?" he asks, putting the laptop back down. Receiving an answer in the form of a nod, Carlos gets up and leads her into her bedroom.
Nieves climbs into her bed and Carlos makes sure she is covered completely, "You got Bambi," he checks, making sure the bear is in her arms. "Okay, now where did we leave off?" he asks her. She just looks at him, "That's right," he agrees. "The princess…"
It takes all but ten minutes for Nieves to be out cold. Carlos waits another five minutes to make sure she doesn't wake up again. Once he is sure she is in a deep sleep, he quietly goes back out to the living room where he picks up his laptop again.
November 19
"Who's the first interview?" TK questions as he and his father make their way into the partially refurbished 126.
"Marjan Marwani," Owen asks.
"She's the one from Miami, right?" TK double-checks.
"Yes," Owen answers. "And Paul Strickland is from Chicago, and Mateo Chavez is from Austin."
"Aren't you worried about this Mateo kid? He's failed the test four times," TK thinks back to the files that he read the previous day.
"You know not everyone tests well, son," Owen reminds him. "And I have my suspicions, but I'm going to wait until the results come in."
"What kind of results?" TK is suspicious.
"Nothing bad, just a road bump."
"Can't a road bump be dangerous in this line of work?"
"It can, but not this kind."
"Okay," TK gives up. "When is the first interview?" he questions as they pull up to the 126.
"In an hour," Owen answers, glancing at the clock in the car.
"Miami Fire and Rescue Instagram got, what, six million likes now?" TK questions Marjan as he holds up his phone watching the viral video of her jumping into the water.
"Nine," she corrects proudly. "Cardi B reposted it last night."
"You've racked up eleven reprimands in one year," Owen wants to learn more about this number that he found in her personnel file. "That has to be a record," he adds.
"Well, my parents taught me if you're going to do something, be the best."
"That is a good lesson," Owen agrees.
"Insubordination, reckless behavior," Owen reads her file to her.
"I'm allergic to pot leadership," she tells him.
"Insubordination, insubordination," he continues to read off, while TK looks up to the Miami firefighter.
"How would you feel about relocating to Austin?"
"Well, look, I'll be honest. The real reason I agreed to come out here is 'cause I've always wanted to check out the Candlelight concert series," she admits.
"How is it for you in Miami?" Owen questions.
"Things have really changed for me in Miami since that video went viral," she tells Owen. "For the first time, I genuinely feel respected."
"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that your department's not using you for a prop?" Owen questions.
"How do I know you're not looking for a prop of your own to show everybody how woke you are?" Marjan fires back.
"When I look at ups and what you've accomplished, I don't see a Muslim or a woman. I see a kick-ass firefighter."
"How'd you know he was the arsonist and he had a gun?" Owen questions, watching the video of Paul tackling the man in Chicago, as the man sits across the table from him.
"Got lucky," Paul answers, arms crossed over his chest.
"Yeah, lucky, my ass," Owen mumbles as Paul settles into his chair. "You got a stack full of Lifesaving Commendations, which tells me you have a gift for threat assessment," Owe presses. "Would you say that has anything to do with being trans?"
"Growing up the way I did, there was a lot of folks who wanted to hurt me, so, I guess I learned to figure out who they were before I figured out who I was," Paul answers.
"How would you feel about relocating to Austin?" Owen asks.
"Thanks, Cap, but I transitioned on the job in Chicago, and that was hard enough. I don't want to imagine what things are going to be like down in Texas," he stands up from the table to leave.
"You know, somewhere in this town right now is a kid who is just like you were," he tells Paul, and the man s walking away, causing him to stop and look back. "Feeling scared, hopeless. "I'd like you to show him, or her, or they, it's okay to be who you are." Paul looks like he's considering it. "And I'll double your salary," he stage whispers.
"You're sure you got the right 'Mateo Chavez?" Mateo questions.
"You set AFD academy records in multiple categories," Owen comments.
"Field stuff is easy," Mateo brushes off.
"The field is where you're tested," Owen acknowledges, taking a sip of his water.
"Except you have to pass the written exams too," Mateo reminds the fire captain, "but I, uh, flunked out."
"Four times," Owen nods. "When you wash out that many times, why do you keep coming back?"
"Because I was born to do it, sir," Mateo answers with confidence.
Owen nods, liking his answer, "When you were washing your boss' car, you were wiping down the inside of the door handles. Why? Nobody would ever know if they were clean or not."
"I would, sir," he answers confidently.
Owen looks to TK, to see what his son thinks.
"My teachers all said I was a little slow," Mateo comments seeing them look at each other.
"I don't know what your teachers told you in the past, but I know what you're not. You're not stupid," Owen reinforces.
"I'm not?" Mateo questions, sitting up in his chair straighter.
"No. You're thorough, you're relentless, and you're exactly the kind of man I want in the 126."
"Thanks again for helping out," Carlos tells Judd as he opens the door letting the bigger man in.
"No problem," Judd brushes him off. "Do we need to move the furniture first?" he questions as he takes off his hoodie, revealing that he is wearing an old t-shirt, ready to paint.
"Yeah, some of it," Carlos answers. "I was able to move some of it, but her bed and the dresser needed two people to move it," he explains.
Judd follows Carlos to Nieves' room where she is laying on the floor coloring in one of the pages in the coloring book that she had brought with her from Dallas.
"Hey, Nieves," Judd greets her when they enter. "Are you ready to paint your room?"
She looks up to him. "You need to get up so we can move the rest of the furniture," Carlos tells her. Nieves stands up and grabs her crayons and coloring book, placing them on the small table that Carlos had already moved to the center of the room.
Once they get the remaining furniture to the center of the room, Carlos lays the tarps on the floor near the walls. "You know you have two different colors here, don't you?" Judd questions as he grabs the cans of paint to put some into the paint trays.
"Yeah, she liked both. We're either doing two walls of each or stripes. I don't know if she decided yet," Carlos looks to his niece.
Not to his surprise, Nieves remains silent. Judd looks to Carlos, "Let me try something." He kneels down so he is on the same level as Nieves. "Do you want two walls of each color?" Judd asks softly, holding up one finger, "or," he holds up a second finger, "do you want to do stripes?"
Nieves is still silent.
"Can you show me?" Judd asks, voice still soft. "One finger for two walls of each, two fingers for painting stripes on the walls," he coaches her.
Nieves hugs her bear tightly but slowly holds up two fingers. Carlos looks shocked, but Judd is grinning at his work. "I think we got our answer," Judd grins.
"I'm going to get the laser," Carlos tells the two, still slightly shocked that Judd got his niece to communicate with them.
It takes Carlos a moment to find the laser straight edge, but when he returns, he sees Judd kneeling next to Nieves as she shows him something in her coloring book. "Hey," Judd smiles when he sees that Carlos is back. "She was just showing me the puppy that she colored," Judd tells Carlos. "it's very colorful," Judd informs Carlos, who leans over to see the pink and purple puppy.
"She's an artist," Carlos agrees. "So, I was thinking we can start with the pink and then do the purple second," Carlos suggests as he is placing the tape on the wall so they can paint the stripes.
"Sounds good to me," Judd agrees, grabbing the can of pink paint and pouring some into the tray.
Before they start, Carlos picks up the N-95 mask and places it over Nieves' face. The mask is too big for her and covers half of her face making Judd laugh when he looks over to them. "I don't want her breathing in the paint," Carlos tells the other man.
"It's not like we're spray painting the room," Judd comments.
"I know, but her lungs are still growing," Carlos feels a tug at his shirt. He looks down to see Nieves pointing at the mask that he put on her then pointing to Bambi. "You want Bambi to have a mask too?" Carlos asks.
Nieves nods, pointing to her bear again. Carlos smiles and grabs another mask, handing it to her so Nieves can put it on Bambi herself.
Together the two men are able to get the first layer of pink paint up. "Do you think it needs a second?" Carlos asks, looking at their work.
"Probably, I can already see some spots that look patchy," Judd answers, pointing to a spot where he can see it drying unevenly.
"Let's take a break, we can't do anything until the paint dries."
Judd nods and follows Carlos out of Nieves' bedroom. Carlos sets Nieves up so she can watch a movie on the TV while he and Judd can talk in the kitchen. "How did you do that?" Carlos wonders.
"You just got to give her a way without talking," Judd answers.
"I just hope Bear Creek is as patient as you were," Carlos sighs.
Judd can tell there is more than just wanting to be near family, by the tone of his voice. "There's more to it. Then moving back so you can be with family, ain't it?" Judd questions.
Carlos lets out a slow breath, "The principal in Dallas wanted to put her back in kindergarten," he admits.
"What?" Judd asks shocked.
"Because she hasn't spoken since her mother died," Carlos explains to Judd. "I don't know what good that would do, but that's what they wanted to do."
"She's traumatized, she's not not understanding what's going on. I think she understands more than we realize," Judd comments.
"That's what I'm worried about. I don't know how to help her if I don't know what's going through her head."
"Have you talked to your family about this?"
"No," Carlos answers sharply. "They already don't like this arraignment. They don't know why she was left in my care. Both my sisters think that they should of have been given custody since they have kids… and you know a job that doesn't put you at risk every day. And my mother thinks the same."
"What about your daddy?"
"My dad's trying to keep them at bay, but the Reyes women are a force to be reckoned with," Carlos gives a harsh laugh.
"They'll see eventually," Judd tells him. "Her mom left her with you for a reason, maybe it was because you don't have your own kids yet—that you could give her your full attention."
"She is mine," Carlos responds without thinking. "From the moment my sister died and her lawyer read the will that I would be responsible for her."
"And that's the attitude your sister was probably looking for and knew that you would give. Is this how your sister would have saw it?" Judd questions.
"I don't know. I mean I know they love her, but I don't know if they could love her like their own when they have their own."
"And you can," Judd reinforces.
"The chance that I would ever have my own, biological, kid is small. I always knew if I was going to be a parent, it would probably be through adoption. My kid doesn't have to be my blood," Carlos finishes.
"I think that's what your sister was looking for when she listed you as guardian," Judd states. "You did everything you could for her in Dallas, hell, you uprooted your life so she could stay in her home."
"And I still ended up taking her from Dallas," Carlos shakes his head.
"Only after you realized that it wasn't going to work for either of you in Dallas," Judd reminds him. "You're doing the right thing, and both of you are going to be just fine."
"I hope so," Carlos sighs, glancing over to where Nieves is. "We can probably start on the second coat," he suggests, wanting to change the subject.
"Okay," Judd responds, standing up. "Is Nieves good watching the movie or do you want her in the bedroom with us?"
"She's fine there, I'll just let her know where we're going," Carlos answers walking into the living room. "Nieves," he softly pulls her attention from the movie she is watching, "Judd and I are going to start painting again. You can keep watching your movie if you want, but if you're looking for either of us, we're going to be in your room."
Nieves looks at him for a moment before getting off of the couch to follow him back into her bedroom.
"Our helper is back," Judd comments when he sees Nieves trailing behind Carlos.
"She is," Carlos answers as he places the mask back on her face.
As the two men work on painting the walls, Nieves sticks close to her uncle, occasionally wandering over to where Judd is working. They are just about to start the second coat of purple when Judd announces he has to leave, "I have a meeting with the new captain of the 126," he tells Carlos.
"Okay, thanks for everything you did today," Carlos thanked him, not just for help with the bedroom.
"No problem," Judd nods. "I can stop back again tomorrow and help move the furniture back," he offers.
"Thanks, but it can wait until this weekend when I get one of my brother-in-laws to help. Her bed isn't blocked so she can get to it once the paint smell leaves," Carlos responds. "You've done more than enough."
"Hey, first responders are family. I got you," Judd nods. "But if you ever need a babysitter, and your family can't just give us a call, Gracie and I wouldn't mind."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't know," Carlos is hesitant.
"Hey, the offer stands for whenever the both of you are ready," Judd assures him. Carlos just nods, and Judd takes that as his cue to leave.
Once Judd leaves, Carlos turns to Nieves, "Well, it's just you and me, kid," he tells her as he grabs a paint roller and starts on the second coat of purple.
TK is standing by the truck with his father and the newly hired new 126 crew talking when he sees a tall man enter the bay doors. He looks over to his father who catches his eye and nods at TK's unspoken question, the lone survivor.
Owen leaves the group to greet the new arrival. "So that's…" Paul starts.
"Yeah," TK answers quickly. "I think his name is Judd," TK adds after thinking for a second.
"Is he coming back?" Marjan questions.
"That's why he's meeting with my dad. He wants to see if he's ready."
"And if he's not?" Mateo wonders. There's a collective yelling of his name and pointed looks at the hopeful probationary firefighter. "What? After what happened… who would be?"
"My dad said a spot will be open when he's ready."
"How does someone come back from that though?" Marjan asks softly, looking to where Owen and Judd disappeared from.
TK sighs, "You don't. Not really," he answers. "I don't think my dad ever did," he adds at their confused looks.
"Your dad?" Paul raises an eyebrow, starting to put the pieces together. "You guys are from New York…"
In the short amount of time that he's known Paul, TK already knows what he looks like when he is piecing something together, "Yeah, he was the lone survivor of his house when 9/11 happened," TK reveals, knowing it won't be a secret for long anyway.
TK can see that the others are taking in the new information, but before any of them can make a comment or ask questions they hear a faint yelling that gets stronger as more words are said. The first thing that they can hear is, "you got a whole 'We are the world' thing going, right? But you got no place for a guy like me who can actually do the job." Hearing this they all look to each other, knowing in some way or another they fit into the category of 'different'.
"He's going to be fun to work with," Marjan comments softly.
"You gonna do me a favor?" they hear. "Who the hell do you think you are? This is my house!"
They look to where the sound is coming from and then to each other, "I'll go," TK volunteers, knowing it is his dad that Judd is yelling at, and at this moment, Judd doesn't know that he is gay and Jewish, or as Judd calls it, 'We are the world'-esque.
"So how about this? You take your sorry and stick it up your ass," Judd tells Owen as TK rounds the corner. As TK enters the room, he sees Judd stand up, pushing his chair back and leaving his dad at the table alone.
They pass each other as Judd leaves and TK enters, "Well that could have been better," TK comments.
"I told you, son, sometimes they just need someone to be angry at," Owen reminds him.
"Angry is one thing, Dad," TK sighs, "but you heard him, 'We are the world'? I know they recruited you and you needed to be diverse, which you did, but how he reacted to it…" TK pauses. "You're the only one who fit's the good ol' boys club that fits Judd's idea of a fireifhter. But Marjan, Paul, and Mateo have it worse because, you can tell by looking at them that they don't fit Judd's mold. And that's only what you can see. You can't see that Paul is trans, or that Mateo is dyslexic or that I'm gay and Jewish."
"He's angry. From his file, he's never had a harassment complaint. Other than a few commendations, there's not much to it."
"The truth comes out when people are angry," TK stresses.
"It does," Owen agrees. "And when some people are angry, they try to push people away… even if they don't know who they are pushing away." Owen sees the worry in his son's face, "If he becomes a problem, I will have no problem transferring him," Owen promises.
"Okay," TK gives in, somewhat defeated.
"I do have some good news," Owen grins.
"What?" TK questions suspiciously.
"We have an appointment with a realtor tomorrow morning before shift… and if it goes well, we won't be in the motel anymore."
"That's great Dad," TK smiles.
"Come on, let's let the crew know what's going on, and then we can head out for the night," Owen throws an arm lazily over his son's shoulder.
"And we are finished," Carlos declares after cleaning the last roller in the sink. Nieves looks at him and tilts her head before looking at the unopened can of white paint. "Correction, we are done with the walls. Tomorrow morning, I will do the woodwork, and then your bedroom will be finished."
Carlos cleans out the pain from the sink before turning to his niece, "What do you want for dinner?"
Nieves shrugs her shoulders, not giving him an answer.
He kneels down so he is level with her, "You have to eat," he tells her softly. "You barely touched your lunch." Nieves remains quiet, just staring at him with her hazel eyes. "Is there anything that you're really hungry for?" Her only response is to hug her bear tighter. Carlos thinks back to what is an easy comfort food that he might be able to get her to eat, "What if I make you a grilled cheese sandwich?" Carlos asks, close to begging. "And tomato soup to dip your sandwich into?"
Nieves' only reaction is to lean into Carlos' side. "If I make that, will you eat some?" She rests her head against him, so Carlos doesn't take that as a no.
Leading her into the kitchen, Carlos has her sit at the table where they left her coloring book from their last painting break. "Do you want to color some while I make dinner?" Once she is distracted Carlos starts pulling out what he needs to make them dinner.
When he pulls out a can of Campbell's tomato soup, he sees Nieves watching him, and he smiles at her, "Don't tell Abuelita that this is from a can, okay," he tells her.
She smiles at him shyly so he takes that as a yes.
Because it's a simple dinner, it takes no time at all for Carlos to finish and place both a plate and bowl in front of Nieves. She moves her book to an empty chair so it is out of the way and starts nibbling on her sandwich. It takes half an hour, but Nieves eats enough that Carlos is satisfied that she isn't going to go to bed hungry.
"Okay, bath time," Carlos reminds her. He makes sure that the stove is off before leading her into the bathroom. "How did you get so much paint on you?" he asks her as he gets her into the tub.
As he expects, he receives no answer. Nieves bathes herself for the most part and Carlos helps her with her hair and getting off some of the more stubborn paint spots on her arms and face.
When Nieves is clean, Carlos gets her out, wrapping her in a big fluffy towel. After changing into clean pajamas, Carlos brings her out to the couch and puts on the movie that she had started earlier when he and Judd took the first break from painting her bedroom. Nieves makes herself comfortable leaning into Carlos, Bambi in her arms like always.
"I'm going to be here when you're ready to talk again. I'm not going anywhere," he promises softly as she is focused on the movie, he presses his lips to the back of her head, wishing he could take away her pain.
As the movie ends, Nieves' head is getting heavy as she is close to sleep. Carlos scoops her up and carries her into his bedroom, placing her in the middle of the bed. He wakes her up enough to remind her that she is in his room for the night and that if she needs him, he will be on the couch.
Once she is in bed, Carlos starts cleaning up in the kitchen. He puts the leftover soup in a container before making room for it in the refrigerator. His next step is to wash all of the dishes. When Carlos is finished, he gets ready for bed himself making himself comfortable on the couch, exhausted after the long day of painting he's had.
November 20
Owen and TK wake up early the next morning so they can meet the realtor. "This looks like a lot of space," TK comments as they pull up outside of the home.
"This is what happens when you leave New York," Owen jokes.
TK hums while looking around. "Is that the realtor?" He asks as another car pulls up.
Owen looks, "It is," he answers getting out of the car, with TK following.
"Strand?" She asks walking up to them.
"That is us," Owen confirms.
"If y'all follow me," she motions as she leads them through the front door. They follow her inside as she shows them around.
"There's a jacuzzi tub in the master and another bath downstairs. All the appliances are new. Kitchen was renovated last year," she informs the pair walking in front of them in the open space. "Great backyard, hill country views. Rent's 4,500," she tells them.
Owen turns around hearing this, "You're kidding," he's shocked.
"If that's a problem we can talk to the owners," she offers.
"No," Owen denies. "It's not a problem."
"Well, I'll give y'all a minute to chat," she walks out of the room leaving Owen and TK alone.
"I can rent this in Texas for less than a studio apartment in Red Hook," TK tells his father.
"Well, 'cause that Brooklyn real estate is dumb. I mean, I think we kind of have to do this," Owen tells TK as he walks to look out the window.
"Isn't it a little much for just one guy?" TK looks away from the window, back to his dad.
"What do you mean?" Owen questions.
"I'm— I'm not living with my dad, like, permanently. Am I?" TK half asks half states.
"My only priority right now is that you live," Owen states as he walks closer to TK. "And that means keeping you under my roof." They are both looking out the window now, "Remember our deal? You do what I say?" He looks to his watch, "By the way, don't you have a meeting before your shift?"
"All right," TK mutters patting his dad on the arm as he passes. "All right," he says louder as he walks out the way they came.
Carlos wakes up the next morning to see Nieves looking over him with Berry in her arms. "Hey, cariño," he greets, voice full of sleep. He grabs his phone to check the time 5:00, "It's early, are you okay?" he questions sitting up.
Nieves answers by climbing on the couch next to him. Carlos feels her forehead with the back of his hand but finds it to feel normal. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asks softly.
Nieves leans in closer to her uncle. "Was it about your mom?" Carlos is surprised when she slightly shakes her head, it looks more like a twitch, but Carlos takes it as a no. "Is it because I'm going back to work today?"
Nieves leans in closer and Carlos takes that as a yes.
"Cariño, look at me," he gently forces her to look at him. "I know you know I have a dangerous job," she starts. "But I promise you, I will do everything that I can to come home to you."
"Do you want to go back to sleep for a little bit?"
Nieves answers by laying down on the couch with her head in Carlos' lap. "Okay," Carlos laughs. He shifts so he is also laying down and Nieves is now on his chest. Carlos watches Nieves as her breathing evens out; he waits until he is sure that she is back to sleep before drifting off himself.
The next time they wake up, Carlos is happy it is the more decent time of 8:30. He gives her Fruit Loops for breakfast and has Life for himself. "So, when I go to work this afternoon, you're going to Abuelita's."
Nieves looks to him.
"And then I will pick you up tonight, but you're going to have dinner with Abuelita and Abuelito."
Nieves continues to stare at him.
"Can you please try to eat with them tonight?" Carlos asks.
Nieves tilts her head.
"That's all I ask," Carlos sighs, "I promise I will pick you up when my shift ends tonight." Carlos can see that she still looks unsure, "How about this? I will call Abuelita when I am on my way to get you. Does that sound good?"
Nieves hugs her unicorn tighter with one arm before taking a bite of cereal. Carlos takes that as a yes.
When they finish eating and Carlos puts the dishes in the sink, they head back into Nieves' room so Carlos can finish the woodwork before he has to go in. Carlos makes sure that Nieves has the mask on before he starts.
"You're going to be on your own with Abuelita today," Carlos tells her. "But on Thursday, you're going to be seeing everyone for Thanksgiving. Your tías, your tíos, your primos."
Nieves stares at him. "It's going to be fun," Carlos promises as he works on the woodwork.
TK walks into the room in the Y that was reserved for an AA meeting. He looks around and quickly finds the table with refreshments. TK makes a beeline to the table to grab a coffee before finding an empty seat from the chairs that are set up in a circle in the middle of the room.
He settles in his chair and waits for the meeting to start. To pass time, he plays on his phone until he hears someone clearing their throat to gather everyone's attention. A man, whom TK would guess is close to his father's age, calls for a moment of silence. He assumes that this man is the chair of the meeting. After the moment of silence, the chair leads them in reciting the Serenity Prayer, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
The chair looks around, "I see we have a few new faces. Do any of y'all want to introduce yourselves?"
TK glances up from his shoes when he hears a woman's voice talking. She's young TK notes, probably just of age. TK is broken out of his train of thought when he hears a voice directed at him. "I'm TK. I'm an addict," he states.
"Hi TK," everyone echoes.
"Um, this isn't my first time at a meeting, just my first time at one in Austin. I'm from New York and had a pretty bad relapse. I," he pauses. "I guess Texas is supposed to be a fresh start," he decides on.
The chair takes the hint that TK is done talking and moves on to the next person. TK quietly listens to the room as others share their journeys. TK stares at his coffee for the whole hour, not sure if this is the right meeting for him.
When the hour is up, TK goes back to the refreshment table to throw out his now empty cup before he heads in the direction of the door. Before he can reach it, he stops when he hears his name called.
"Yeah?" he questions unsure.
"We have the room for another hour if you want to stick around," the chair informs him.
"Oh, um… I actually have to go. I have work," he explains
"Okay, here, before you go," the chair hands him a card.
"Thanks," TK mumbles, accepting the card before leaving.
"Reyes!" Carlos hears someone shout his name when he enters his precinct. Looking up he sees his former partner, Lexi Mitchell, heading toward him.
"Lexi, hey," he greets as they exchange a quick hug. "Much change since I left?" he asks as they release each other.
"Not much, some promotions here and there, but nothing big with the chain of command," she answers. "So, you back for good?"
"Yeah," Carlos nods.
"Was it the force?" she wonders.
"No, DPD was fine," Carlos responds. "It was more the school Nieves was in."
"Is she in a better school here?" Lexi wonders.
"Hopefully. They wanted to put her back in kindergarten," Carlos explains.
"In Dallas?"
"Yeah."
"But she's going to be in first grade here?"
"That's what I enrolled her for," Carlos responds.
"It's going to be fine. You know, Austin is better than Dallas anyway," she grins.
Carlos gives a dry laugh and shakes his head at her. "It was good catching up," he tells her, "But I should get my assignment."
"Get your assignment, but we're partners again," she informs him.
"What? How?"
"I'm too much of a force," she jokes. "Apparently, you're the only one who can put up with me for more than a few weeks at a time."
"You are truly something else," he shakes his head at this new information.
TK sits in the back of the firetruck on the way to the first call in the newly re-opened 126. "Why are we being dispatched?" he questions. "This sounds like a medical call."
"Because," Owen answers from the front of the truck, "EMS is farther out than we are. We can assist and make it easier for when EMS does get there."
Arriving at the scene, the 126 see that they are at what appears to be a family barbeque. "My cousin's up here. He's in bad shape," they are told by the man who met them in front of the house as he leads them to the backyard. "Just spit up some blood. You gotta help him, please!"
"What's the ETA on EMS?" Owen questions as they enter the backyard to find a crowd, most likely where their victim is.
"Supposedly on the way," TK answers
"All right," Owen decides, "till they get here, you assess the patient," he tells TK, knowing he is dual-certified.
They push their way through who they assume are worried family members to get to him. "Marjan, talk to the family, see if he has any allergies," Owen tasks her. He then turns to Mateo to work on crowd control so they have room to work.
"You mean give us some room to work," a woman says causing Owen to find the source of the voice. "This scene belongs to us," the woman says as she pushes her way through with two people behind her.
The remaining fire crew of Owen, TK, and Paul look to see the team of three paramedics. There are two women and a man.
"You must have missed the part where they made me the captain of the 126," Owen tells the woman who spoke while the other two make their way to the patient.
She turns to him, "Tommy Vega, Paramedic Captain," she introduces herself. And this scene is medical, so I run the call."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, since when does EMS tell Fire what time it is?" Owen questions, taken aback by this woman- Tommy Vega.
The fire crew, including Marjan and Mateo, who are now back, look on, waiting to see how their captain reacts to this new information.
"You didn't read the Travis County manual, did you?" Tommy questions as she drops her bag for the man to access.
"Uh, I'm more of a visual learner," he stumbles a reply.
"In Texas, EMS calls the shots involving medical emergencies," she informs him, "so you do what I say, captain."
"Airway sounds blocked," announces the male paramedic.
Tommy turns her attention back to her patient, "Blood in the sputum, esophageal spasms. You see his little pepper garden?" she asks the man whose name tag says Rosewater. "This is Boerhaave syndrome."
Both Rosewater and the other woman, Gillian as her tag reads, both look at her when she announces this. "Get me the suction tool," she orders. "And a 1% solution of Lidocaine-Epinephrine."
"Here?" Gillian questions the order.
"He's not going to make it to the hospital," Tommy responds, shocking the family members who are still standing around, watching helplessly.
While her paramedics are gathering the requested items, Tommy turns to Owen, "I need your men to move him onto the picnic table now.
Owen looks down for a second, not used to being spoken to like this, before looking around to his team, "You heard the captain."
"He's got a ruptured esophagus," she informs them while TK, Paul, Marjan, and Mateo lift him onto the picnic table. "His chest cavity's filling with fluid, drowning his lungs." They place him on the table, "I've gotta get the fluid out."
Paul rips the patient's shirt open allowing Tommy to get to work. They all watch as Tommy works, waiting for a sign that whatever she is doing is going to help the man. It feels like forever, but the man's eyes eventually pop open, as he sucks in a breath.
"Well, that was something," Paul comments when they are back at the 126.
"Yeah, I don't think that I've ever seen someone talk to my dad like that," TK laughs watching his dad's shadow in his office.
"Judging by his reaction," Marjan starts, "he hasn't either," she grins, remembering the look on her new captain's face.
"Have you heard anything about Judd?" Paul asks TK.
"No, just that my dad didn't think he was ready to come back to work when he came in for that meeting."
"What happens when he is ready to come back?" Marjan looks to TK.
"What do you mean?" Mateo asks confused. "Isn't him coming back here the plan?"
"It is," Marjan starts, "but we're the island of misfit toys."
"And he didn't seem to be too on board with that," Paul finishes.
"We'll deal with it then," TK answers. "My dad said if it becomes an HR problem, he'll have no problem transferring him."
"Says the guy who is Judd's type of firefighter," Marjan scoffs.
"I didn't realize Judd's type of firefighter is a gay firefighter," TK smirks at Marjan and can see instant regret on her face. "Marjan, it's fine. I'm out," he tells her. "Out and proud."
"Still, I feel like I made you tell us."
"You didn't. It's not something I hide, I just didn't think to tell you sooner because everyone in my life knows," TK shrugs.
"So, I guess none of us are his people then," Mateo states.
"I doubt we're most firefighters' people here," Paul comments.
Carlos couldn't have asked for a smoother first day back with APD. He and Lexi were sent on enough calls to keep them busy, but not so many that he is counting down the minutes until his shift is over… well he is counting, but not because of the calls.
As the day goes on, Carlos watches as it gets darker so he isn't surprised when it starts raining with a few hours left in his shift. The closer it gets to the end of his shift, the harder the rain starts coming down, and the more Carlos is glad that Nieves is safe at his parents' house with his mother.
With only twenty minutes left of his shift, Carlos gets called to an accident scene likely caused by the inclement weather. Knowing this could possibly hold in up for a couple of hours, he sends a quick text off to his mom letting her know before driving to the scene.
When he arrives at the scene, he sees that it is a single vehicular accident with what looks like to be one victim. Taking in the scene he sets up flares so that other cars heading in their direction will hopefully be able to see so they can stay safe. "Hello? Ma'am? Can you hear me?" he questions the driver. Receiving no answer, he then uses his radio to get an ETA on the AFD.
It takes a few minutes but he finally sees the lights of the firetruck arriving to the scene. Noting that it is the newly re-opened 126, he introduces himself, "Captain Strand?" he questions, holding out his hand, "Officer Reyes, Austin PD. Good to meet you, sir," he greets as they walk to the car.
"Good to meet you."
"Single vehicle accident," he fills in the fire captain. "Looks like she hydroplaned, hit the light pole, and rolled the vehicle."
"How many people inside?" Captain Strand asks.
"Just the driver, Allison Parker. Doors are too smashed to get her out," he points out the condition of the doors. Hearing chatter he looks up, "And don't look now, but you're about to have an audience," he adds, seeing the news crews that are now present.
"Show them what we got," Captain Strand orders his crew. He climbs up to the broken window, trying to get the attention of the driver, "Allison, can you hear me." Carlos doesn't hear the woman give a response. Captain Strand gets down from the car, "She's unconscious, we gotta move," he orders.
"Hey, Cap. We got gas in the water," Carlos hears another man calling out his findings. Due to the rain, Carlos can't see much other than the man speaking looks to have a dark skin tone, when Captain Strand moves his flashlight to his man, Carlos catches part of the name on his turnout gear, Strick. "The fuel tank must have busted," he notes.
Hearing this new information Captain Strand orders everyone to get back. He then gives another set of orders, "Mateo, disengage that battery terminal. TK, get the CO2. Paul, I need you to get me the Jaws of Life."
"On it, Cap," the man who first brought attention to the gas tank rushes off. Carlos figures he is Paul.
Carlos watches as this fire crew works so smoothly together and he is amazed at how they are on the same page for being only one shift in together. He watches as Captain Strand sends in who Carlos assumes is the only woman on his crew into the car to help Allison.
"Looks like she's pregnant," the woman firefighter, Marjan, informs them all. "I got a pulse. She's trapped under the steering column."
"If we can't cut her out of the car, we cut the car off of her," Owen decides.
"We gotta get her out, I'm worried about this baby," Carlos can hear Marjan telling them.
Carlos stands back as Paul uses the Jaws of Life to rip off the door trapping Allison so he and Captain Strand can have access to the victim.
As they are doing this, the man who Captain Strand sent to get the CO2 comes running back, "Hey, Dad, the EMTs just pulled up." Carlos is surprised that there is a father-son duo working on the same crew.
"Okay, get her stable," Owen reminds Marjan as she puts a c-collar around Allison's neck.
"All right. Let's get her up quickly. We gotta check on the baby."
Between Marjan and Captain Strand's son, they get Allison on the gurney. "All right, guys, set her down. Scene's all yours Captain," Captain Strand informs the paramedic captain.
Carlos listens in as the Paramedic Captain makes her assessment. Carlos is about to leave to let the paramedic team do their job when Allison starts to become agitated. He can hear the Paramedic Captain trying to calm her patient.
"This baby and my other baby, Henry. My ten-month-old." Carlos' heart drops into his stomach at the statement he hears, "He's in his car seat in the back!"
All first responders within earshot stop what they're doing when they hear this. They look to each other momentarily before sprinting into action.
Captain Strand moves to the car, "Marjan, what do you see in there?" he questions the woman who is closest to the car.
"There's baby seat attachments, but no baby seat," she confirms.
"All right!" Captain Strand yells, gathering everyone's attention. Carlos can hear the paramedic captain trying to calm the now frantic mother. "We're looking for a car seat that probably got tossed when this thing rolled," he continues. "We're going to assume this child is still alive. Why don't you guys start up at that tree line? We're gonna look on this side of the bank. We'll meet up in the middle," Captain Strand orders his crew.
Captain Strand looks around to make sure his crew are following their orders, "Where's Paul?" he questions when he notices his missing firefighter.
"Hey, Cap, over here!" Paul yells. When Captain Strand and the others start following Paul, he continues, "The SUV was already rolling when it struck the pole. She hydroplaned into this guardrail," he points out, "and started rolling from there." He starts walking in the opposite direction, "The doors must have flung open with some force, because…" Paul looks up.
"Oh, my God!" Marjan states that they hear a baby crying from above them.
"Mateo, get the ladder as close as you can to the baby without touching him," Captain strand orders.
Mateo nods and goes to the truck to readjust it. Once in position, Captain Strand climbs the ladder. "Hey, Henry," he calls out to the baby when he is halfway up, "hang on." From the ground, everyone can hear Henry screaming. "I see him," Captain Strand calls down to the rest of them. "Trying to get to him."
They watch as he reaches into the car seat to grab Henry. As he does so, the car seat falls, the branch no longer able to hold it. "Oh no, the baby!" Carlos hears a man behind him gasp.
Everyone holds their breath until they hear Henry crying from above them in Captain Strand's arms. The sound is like a weight being taken off of everyone's shoulders as they all start clapping and cheering, happy that the baby is okay.
Captain Strand climbs down the latter with the baby and immediately goes to Allison once he is back on the ground, "I believe this belongs to you," he hands Henry over to his mother. Once Henry is safely in his mother's arms, the paramedics push the gurney away so they can put them in the ambulance.
There's still a firefighter standing next to Carlos while everyone else had dispersed. Captain Strand looks back and nods to the man standing next to him and the man nods back. Carlos looks over to the firefighter, "He's an impressive guy," he comments.
"He's my dad," the man responds, this must be TK, and now that they are standing near each other, Carlos has a feeling that he's met him before somewhere. Under the helmet, he looks vaguely familiar, and Carlos feels like he heard the voice before, but can't place from where.
Glad that there was a happy ending to the call, Carlos starts wrapping up the scene, knowing when he is done, he can clock out and get back to his niece. Paperwork can wait until morning.
"That was some call," Paul shakes his head as he throws himself on to his bunk.
"Yeah, I thought that baby was a gonner," Mateo adds.
A collective call of "Probie," echoes the room.
"What?" he asks confused.
They all give him a pointed look.
"We should celebrate," Paul tells them. "Tomorrow night."
"Celebrate?" Marjan raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah! I say we had a pretty successful first shift," he points out.
"You're about to jinx us, man," TK looks in Paul's direction.
"If we get a call crazier than that accident scene, I will…" Paul thinks.
"If you jinx us and we get a worse call, you're on bathroom duty for a month," TK tells him.
"And if I don't jinx us?" Paul challenges.
"If you don't," Marjan joins in. "It's TK's job."
"Hey," TK looks to her.
"Hey, you started it. Probie and I are doing anything between you two."
"Fair," both TK and Paul give in.
"But seriously," Paul continues. "We should go out. I hear the Honky Tonk is a good hangout spot."
"We've been here for two days," Marjan shakes her head. "How did you find out so fast?"
"I hear things," Paul answers.
"Is that part of your thing?" TK wonders.
"Do you think it is?" Paul questions back, causing TK to throw a pillow at the other firefighter jokingly.
Translations:
Va a estar bien - "It's going to be okay."
Tías - "aunts"
Tío- "uncle"
no te preocupes. Todo va a estar bien- "Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay"
abuelos, your tías and tíos, and primos - "Grandparents, aunts uncles, cousins"
hermanito- "little brother"
sí, mama- "yes, mom"
mijo- term of enderment
Buenos nuchas, mijita - "good night" trm of enderment
cariño- term of enderment