A/N: Some of this may be choppy timeline-wise, but I was combining two storylines into one (one was slow the other fast), so until I can go back to do a hard edit, just ignore the inconsistencies. I only used Grammarly. Again, please ignore the multiple spellings of Hanukkah throughout the story, that's one of the things that I have to go back through later for. I know this is long for an epilogue, but there was a lot that I wanted to cram in.
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.
It's been just over two years since TK moved from New York to Texas. Two years since he had his heart shattered, was forced to move halfway across the country, and subsequently met the love of his life.
Looking back on it, TK can't believe how much has happened since coming to Texas. Between both his and Carlos' jobs and the tragedy Nieves went through shortly before he met them, they all know how short life can be; so, with Nieves' permission, he proposed to Carlos and they got married about a year ago.
Since they've been together officially, Carlos has finalized the adoption of Nieves, and officially made TK her guardian, should the worst happen, with the Ryders as a backup. When going through the adoption process, TK and Carlos talked about if he should also adopt Nieves, but in the end, they had decided that for now, they wanted Nieves to keep just Reyes and that it didn't matter to TK what a piece of paper said.
They were now in the process of adding to their family, and with that comes the challenge of their children potentially having "official" different religions. They, of course, would celebrate both but would have different religious milestones.
Carlos and he could figure that out later, right now he had to get his daughter to school on time. With it being the last day of school before winter break, the holidays are especially hectic this year since the first night of Hanukkah falls on Christmas Day.
"Nieves," TK calls up the stairs. "Let's go! You're going to be late!"
"Coming!" She calls back as she hurries down the stairs.
"Come on, Kiddo," he teases her. "You should be excited. Last day of school before two weeks off."
"I know," she sighs as she puts on her shoes.
"And in January, we're going to be in the final steps to foster-to adopt," TK reminds her.
"I know."
"You don't sound excited," TK notices. "You've been wanting to be a big sister for a while. Always asking me and Papá when we were going to give you a sibling."
"I'm still excited," she responds.
"Are you sure? Because if you changed your mind, we don't have to foster right away… or ever."
"No, I want a sibling."
"But you're not excited about something else?" TK guesses.
"You're not going to be a firefighter anymore," she comments quietly.
"Ah, that," TK realizes. "You need to get to school," he tells her, looking at the clock. "But we can talk about it with Papá tonight."
"Okay," Nieves agrees quietly.
"Hey," he tilts her head with his hand under her chin, so she is looking up to him. "I love you," he kisses her forehead.
"I love you too, Dad," she hugs him.
"Come on, I'll drop you off before my meeting," he picks up her pink tie-dye school bag.
TK follows her out of the house, locking the door behind him. Nieves goes to the back of TK's car. "You buckled?" TK questions from the driver's seat.
"Yup," she pops the 'p'.
"Okay, I'm going to pick you up after school and tonight when Papá gets home, we can talk about why you're worried about me being a paramedic now. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah," she whispers.
TK makes sure that Nieves makes it into the school before calling Carlos. "Hey, babe. Is everything okay? Is everyone okay?" Carlos answers worriedly. "Don't you have a meeting today?"
"I'm going now, I just dropped Nieves off at school."
"What's up? Is she okay?"
"Physically she's fine," TK responds slowly. "But I think she's worried about me switching from fire to medical," TK sighs.
"She's afraid that you're a bad paramedic?" Carlos guesses.
"She didn't say that in so many words, but something was bothering her and it kind of seemed like that's what she was leaning into," TK answers. "I told her that we would talk about it tonight when you get home from work."
"Okay," Carlos nods, even though he knows TK can't see him. "Did she seem like she was going to stop talking again?"
"I didn't get that feeling, but if she does, we handle it like last time."
"Yeah," Carlos sighs.
"Hey, she's going to be fine. She was traumatized and then finding out that her mom's death wasn't an accident…" TK pauses, trying to find the right words. "She's been through a lot in the past couple of years and me changing jobs… to the thing that she sees as killing her mother."
"It wasn't you that killed her mother," Carlos tells his husband.
"I know, but maybe I should stay a firefighter. Maybe it's a mistake to become a paramedic, I don't want to re-traumatize her… again," TK worries.
"TK, you're amazing with her, you always have been. I know you don't feel the drive as a firefighter anymore. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it as a family like we always do."
"Yeah," TK sighs.
"Go to your meeting," Carlos encourages him. "Everything will be fine."
"Okay. Love you."
"I love you too."
TK spends the drive to the Y with Nieves on his mind. Entering the same place that has been a fixture of his life since he came to Austin, he sees that he's one of the last to arrive.
Going straight for the refreshment table, he quickly pours himself a cup of coffee before taking a seat. Just as he gets settled, the Chair clears his throat. TK is on autopilot as they go through the moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer.
Knowing most of their stories, TK half-listens as they go around in a circle, introducing themselves.
When it gets to TK, he has to take a moment to organize his scattered thoughts. "Hi, I'm TK. I'm an addict."
"Hi TK," the group echoes.
"I'm two years and three months sober, and I'm here to keep myself in check." Once his introduction is over, he goes back to his own thoughts, half-listening to the meeting.
It's been a year since Carlos took custody of Nieves, and he is halfway through the adoption process. It's a rare night that TK and Carlos share the day off, letting them spend time as a family. "Papá, tu teléfono está sonando," Nieves calls for Carlos, walking into the pitching from the family room where she was settled on the couch reading a book on the Kindle Carlos got her for Christmas last year.
"Who is it?" Carlos asks, turning slightly from the stove.
"I don't know. It says California. Who do you know in California?"
"Umm…TK has some extended family in California, but I would have their numbers in my contacts."
"I met some people from California when I was in San Angelo for the wildfire, but they shouldn't have my number let alone Papá's," TK adds.
"I'll take a look at it after dinner," Carlos tells her, taking the phone, and sending the call to voicemail before putting it in his pocket. "Go wash up," Carlos orders her. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Okay," Nieves nods leaving the kitchen to use the sink in the bathroom.
"What's the chance that it was a mistake?" TK wonders.
"I don't know. You know if your family got new numbers?"
"Not unless they got new numbers in the last week," TK answers.
Neither of them can continue the conversation as Nieves returns.
Dinner conversations revolve around updates on the adoption, what is happening with the members of the 126, if Nieves is excited for second grade, the wedding, and TK starting to bring up Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. With the holidays, TK will start talking about them about a month ahead of time to introduce them to Carlos and Nieves. Giving them the time to ask any questions that they might have.
"TK?"
"Yes, Monkey?"
"Does your family in California celebrate with you?"
"Baby, my dad's side isn't Jewish," TK reminds her.
"Papá and I aren't either and we celebrate with you. And sometimes Grandpa comes over."
"You're too smart for me sometimes," TK smiles.
"TK?" She asks again, hesitating this time.
"Yes," he gives her all of his focus, knowing something else is on her mind.
"After you and Papá get married, can I call you 'Dad'?"
TK looks to Carlos, having never had this conversation with him. Carlos sees his deer-in-the-headlights look and helps him.
"Cariño, why do you want to call him 'Dad'? Do you feel pressured to because of the wedding?"
Nieves turns to him. "No, Papá. I want to call him 'Dad' because he's like you and does everything a dad does," she answers. "He helps me with my homework, reads to me, plays with me and he takes me to soccer when you have to work. He helps us celebrate our holidays and he's teaching us about his. Por favor, Papá?"
TK and Carlos look at each other, having a conversation without words. "You can if TK is okay with it," he answers.
"Can I?" She gives TK her hazel puppy eyes.
TK gets down to kneel in front of her, "You can call me whatever you want to, Sweetheart."
Hearing this, Nieves leaps into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Te amo," she whispers.
"I love you too," he whispers back, standing up with her still in his arms. "Both of you," he looks to Carlos.
Carlos takes that as his cue to wrap them- his family- in his arms.
"Any idea what the phone call was about?" TK asks after coming out of Nieves' room after reading to her.
"No idea," Carlos answers. "I'll call back tomorrow."
"Baby, I know you said that your sister never told her biological father, but what if he found out?"
"No," Carlos answers. "She's ours, and I'm going to fight like hell to make sure she stays with us," he grabs TK and holds him close
"We fight like hell," TK corrects him. "I know she's young, but she's been through a lot, maybe if it comes down to it, a judge will let her pick."
"You have to be twelve," Carlos informs him.
"Okay, but no judge in their right mind would move her from us."
"TK, you know they want kids with the biological parent."
"I know, but in this case, the biological parent is a stranger. You've been there for her since she was born. You were her dad before it was official,"
"Thanks," Carlos mumbles, holding onto TK's hand. "Speaking of 'dad', how does it feel that Nieves wants to call you that? If it makes you uncomfortable, I can talk to her."
"It's okay with me, really… unless you don't want her to call me that? I guess this is one of the things we should have seen coming and talked about."
"I'm fine with it," Carlos answers. "You're not just saying that?"
"No, I mean it. I told you when we talked after that first misunderstanding. I'm ready to be a parent to Nieves, whatever that looks like… however much you two let me."
"What did Nieves and I do to deserve you?"
"I think I should be asking you that question," TK quietly responds, resting his head on Carlos' shoulder. "What are we going to do tomorrow? Should we see if your mom can watch Nieves?"
"Yeah. I don't want her to think we're hiding anything, but I don't want to spring anything on her."
"Okay, we find out what's going on, if there is anything… if there isn't, there's no reason she needs to know anything. And if there is something happening, we figure it out and make a game plan before we tell her," TK suggests.
"Sounds good," Carlos agrees.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay."
"Ready?" TK questions Carlos after they drop Nieves off with his mother.
"As I'll ever be," Carlos answers, dialing the same number that called the night before.
"Hello?" They pick up.
"Who is this? I received a call last night saying it was important but with no other context."
"My name is Matthew Brooks, ADA. Is this Carlos Reyes? Next of kin for Esmeralda Reyes?"
"This is he, but my sister has been dead for a year, so I don't know what-"
He is cut off, "There's new information that we are still looking into, but we have reason to believe that your sister's death wasn't an accident."
"What do you mean, not an accident?"
"There was an incident with a paramedic leading to an investigation here in California. Looking through his work history we found a pattern and are trying to find out who his other victims are and who are truly an accident."
"Let me get this straight," Carlos tries to clear up. "You're saying that my sister was murdered?"
"The paramedic that treated Ms. Reyes after the car accident would bring people to the brink of death to save them."
"How did you find out? And how do you know my sister was worked on by this paramedic? It's been a year."
"I can't say much about an open investigation, but concerns were brought up the chain of command and from there the situation escalated. A paramedic has now been arrested and his work history is now being looked at trying to find potential victims. As of now, Ms. Reyes's death is being marked as suspicious. Someone will be in contact with you as we learn more. The trial process may take a while as we are hoping to hold trial in all the states he was in, to get justice for all of his victims. We may need victim impact statements from the families to testify in court."
"Here's your statement: My niece was traumatized. She lost the only parent she ever knew and wouldn't speak for almost five months. When her school wouldn't work with us, I had to pull her out and moved her over three and a half hours away from her friends and everything she knew. Her life was turned upside-down. I'm not putting her through that," Carlos hangs up the phone.
"Baby?" TK asks, not liking the part of the conversation that he heard from Carlos.
"You heard enough to know," Carlos answers. "How do we tell Nieves?"
"Let's see what we find out first before we tell her, just so we can answer any questions," TK takes control, leaving the room to grab his computer.
Typing into Google 'California paramedic arrested', TK finds a few articles as well as a link to a YouTube video of what looks like a reporter outside of the scene where the paramedic in question kidnapped and tortured two paramedics from a firehouse in Los Angeles. They are both surprised to see a middle-aged man walk up to who they assume is the paramedic in question and punch him in the face, knocking him to the ground. It takes two people to pull him away and it is then that TK notices something, making him pause the video.
"What is it?" Carlos looks to him as TK rewinds it a little.
"I recognize her," TK answers, moving the mouse to hover over a black woman who is walking behind a stretcher with what looks like a half-conscious Asian man in it. "She was part of the crew that came from California to the wildfire."
Carlos has no words and just shakes his head in disbelief. He knows they need to tell Nieves, but what neither of them anticipated was Nieves not talking again for two months.
TK picks Nieves up from school, noticing that her mood is still subdued. When they get home, TK asks her if she has homework as they walk through the door.
"No, Dad. It's winter break. We don't have homework during break," she answers, putting her backpack where it always goes.
"Go wash up, we can bake one last practice batch of sufganiyot," he leads her towards the sink.
"Won't we have too much then if we're making them on Christmas Eve to take to Abuelitos?"
"We can take all the extras to Uncle Judd's when we go to their holiday party on Sunday."
"Okay," she agrees going to the sink, turning on the water. "Can we do some raspberry ones too?"
"We can, do you like those ones?"
"I still like the strawberry ones the best, but raspberry is yummy," she answers.
"Okay, and I was thinking we could do some with chocolate. What do you think?"
"Yeah," Nieves nods. Together the two of them get to work on making the sufganiyot.
Three hours later Nieves rushes to the door from where she was playing a game on her tablet, "Papá!" She greets him with a hug.
"Hey, cariño," he kisses her head as he wraps her in his embrace. "Let me change, then you, me, and Dad can talk okay?"
"Sí, Papá," she agrees. "We made sufganiyot she tells him.
"Did you now?"
"Sí, Dad said we can take them to Uncle Judd's on Sunday."
"That sounds good. I know the 126 likes when Dad makes them."
"Hey, Baby," TK pecks his lips, coming up from his other side.
"Hey, I'm going to change and then we can talk."
"Okay," TK agrees. "I was thinking we could get takeout tonight. I have a feeling after this conversation, neither one of us are going to want to cook. And maybe Nieves could use some comfort food. I know nothing can compare to your mom's food, but Nieves does love her Thai food."
"Sounds good to me," Carlos agrees. He gives TK another kiss before asking, "Is this also your way of saying the two of you destroyed the kitchen making the sufganiyot?"
"Maybe? I have most of it cleaned up… I just ran out of room in the drying rack so there's still some stuff in the sink."
Carlos lovingly rolls his eyes at his husband. "I'll be right back."
Carlos returns fifteen minutes later, hair still wet from his shower. "Okay, mija," he sits down next to her while TK sits on the edge of the coffee table in front of them. "What's going through your head about Dad's new job?"
"I know paramedics are supposed to be good and save people, but a paramedic killed my mom."
TK goes with Carlos to pick Nieves up from his parents' house. "Papá! Dad!" Nieves greets them when they walk into the Reyes home.
"Hey, Baby. Did you have fun?" TK asks, forcing a smile.
"Sí," she answers before squirming out of his arms to greet Carlos.
"I hear a congratulations is in order," Andrea comments hugging TK.
"Huh?" He asks, unaware of what Andrea is talking about.
"Nieves calling you 'Dad'," Andrea answers.
"Oh, yeah. Right," TK nods.
Andrea can tell that something is bothering TK, "What's wrong mijo?"
"I think it's better if Carlos tells you," TK answers carefully.
Carlos looks up, hearing his name. "I just want to take Nieves home and tell her first."
"Tell me what Papá?"
"At home, cariño," he answers before looking back to Andrea. "Come over for dinner tonight and we can talk after? Bring Dad too and I'll call Luna and Marisol. It's something that you all need to hear, and I'd rather only have to go over it once."
"Okay," Andrea agrees, sensing that something is very wrong. "I'll make sure your father is there."
TK and Carlos make sure Nieves gathers her things before leaving to go back home. The car ride from the Reyeses' to their own home is silent and Nieves can tell that something is wrong.
"What happened?" She asks as soon as they cross the threshold.
"Let's sit down," Carlos leads her to the couch.
Once they are all sitting, Carlos takes a deep breath, still having no idea how to tell his niece that her mother might have been murdered and not killed in an accident like they all thought. "Nieves, we need to talk about your mamí."
"Why?" Nieves wants to know. They still talk about her a lot, but for the most part, they let Nieves take the lead on that subject.
"Because we found out some new information and we don't want you to think that we're hiding anything from you." When he thinks Nieves digested what he told her, he continues, "Last night the phone call I let go to voicemail left a message for me to call back. When I did, it was a lawyer and he told me that there's a person in custody who was hurting people and they died because of it."
"I still don't get it. It was a California number. We're in Texas."
"Nieves," TK jumps in. "Before this person was in California, he was in several cities. One of them was Dallas."
"That's where I lived with Mamí," she connects.
"It was. Cariño, he was in Dallas when your mamí died."
"Is he why mamí is dead?" Nieves whispers, tears streaking down her face.
"We don't know," TK answers. "Right now, her death is being marked as suspicious."
"Why would he do that?"
"Baby, there's still a lot that us and other people don't have answers for."
"But we wanted to tell you because we didn't want you to find out by overhearing Dad and me, or anyone else in our family talking about this," Carlos tells her.
"Is there anything you want to ask us?" TK questions. Nieves shakes her head. "Okay, but you know that you can talk with us about anything, right?" Nieves nods.
"We love you," Carlos reminds her as he wipes the tears off of her face.
"Okay, what's going on Carlitos?" Luna questions.
"Yeah, this is a bit short notice for a family get-together," Marisol adds.
"Mijas," Andrea gives them a pointed look.
Carlos lets out a breath, still not knowing how to explain this, even after already talking with Nieves several hours earlier. "Yesterday I got a phone call from California, telling me to call back because it was important," he takes a deep breath, preparing to turn their world upside-down. "The short version is that… we don't know yet, but Esmeralda's death might not have been an accident."
"What do you mean mijo?" Gabriel asks as Andrea burrows her face into his chest and his sister grabs each other for support.
"We don't know everything yet, but it looks like the paramedic who worked on Esmeralda had a savior complex and would give his patients drugs to bring them to the brink of death so he could see them."
"Un ángel de la muerte?" Luna asks.
"No, that's when the intent is to kill."
"It's all the same," Marisol tells him.
"Not to the law," Carlos reminds her. "And we don't know for sure yet, but her death is now marked as suspicious."
"Who will we know?" Andrea asks, wiping tears from her eyes.
"I don't know that we will unless he confesses to it," Carlos admits. "When she died, we all thought it was an accident, so tox screens weren't ordered."
"What are you going to tell Nieves?" Luna wants to know.
"We told her what we know," Carol answers.
"Carlitos, she's just a little girl," Andrea objects.
"I don't want her finding out because she overhears us talking about it," Carlos replies. "I want her to know she can ask questions, and not be afraid of knowing something she 'shouldn't'. We might have to give a victim impact statement."
"How's she handling it?" Gabriel asks, concerned for his granddaughter.
"She's been pretty quiet," Carlos admits. "Doesn't want to leave my or TK's sight."
"That doesn't sound good," Luna murmurs.
"I'm not surprised by it," Carlos responds. "She'll be fine, she just needs time."
"How did you get her out of the house with TK?" Marisol questions, their dinner being made up of the older Reyeses.
"She loves TK's dad's dog."
"So, what's the plan?" Gabriel asks.
"We're playing it by ear," Carlos answers. "But I don't think it would hurt if you have a victim impact statement as well."
"Why weren't we notified too?" Luna wants to know.
"I don't know. Maybe because I was listed as next of kin, or there are public records that I got guardianship of her child after her death."
"She can't catch a break, can she," Marisol comments shaking her head.
On the day of the trial for the Dallas victims, the adults of the Reyes family, TK, and Nieves make the three-and-a-half-hour drive to attend the trial and give their statements.
The makeshift family of three walk into the courtroom, Nieves in between Carlos and TK holding on to both of their hands.
Both TK and Carlos are dressed in black suits and ties; Nieves in the black dress that she wore to her mother's funeral.
Hearing the defense attorney defending the man that murdered his sister, makes Carlos' blood boil. To listen to how this person destroyed so many families, all so he can get recognition. He glances over to the next row to see his mother crying and his father stoic. He looks past them to see both of his sisters holding on to their husbands for support. Seeing how the adults are reacting, he's glad that his nieces and nephews aren't here, that they are either at school or their respective paternal grandparents, and wishes that Nieves didn't have to.
Nieves, who has a vice grip on both himself and TK. He looks to see the tears streaming down her face. The longer they talk, the closer she gets to him, wanting comfort.
He wraps his arm around her and TK squeezes her knee in reassurance. After another hour of going back and forth, the judge declares a one-hour recess for lunch and the victim impact statements would be read when they gather again. The Reyese and TK meet at the doors and decide to go to a small family-owned diner for lunch.
At the diner, they push two tables together so they can all sit together. While they eat, TK and Carlos fill them in on how he was found out. "It's kind of… insane to think that the paramedics who figured this all out was part of the team that TK worked with when he went to San Angelo to help with the wildfire," Carlos comments.
"Yeah, but it made it easier for us to find out what happened… even things that were kept from the public," he responds.
"So, what happened?" Marisol asks.
"And did you actually work with one of the paramedics that figured it out?" Luna adds.
"Yeah," TK nods. "We didn't really keep in touch, but Marjan is connected with one of the firefighters through social media, so we were able to make contact through them to get actual contact information," TK informs them.
Carlos continues, "One of their paramedics took a leave of absence, so they were getting floaters for a while, but the last one they got was Greenway and he was to be permanent until their regular paramedic got back."
"Their paramedic, Hen, didn't really like him to begin with because the paramedic who was on leave is her good friend, but she started to get suspicious when she left a patient, who was stable, alone with him and the next thing she knew, the patient was coding."
"She thought it was strange, but didn't put the pieces together until later," TK adds.
Carlos continues, "Eventually, her normal partner came back and she wasn't working with him again until the call center in Los Angeles caught on fire."
"It was a three-alarm," TK informs them. "Once they got everyone out, they were also at the hospital because of their captain, and they saw him bringing in a victim who was coding. They couldn't do anything."
"This victim was a dispatcher, so some of them attended the funeral and reception. It was after that when Hen spoke out about her suspicions. She talked to Chimney, the paramedic who was on leave. They knew that the victim was stable at the scene because by the time they were at the hospital with their captain, the only ones still being transported were minor injuries. If she wasn't stable, Hen would have shipped her out sooner as a priority," TK continues.
Carlos picks up the story from there, "They did some digging and went into the station and did some not-so-legal things, but found out before he was in LA he was in four different fire departments across the country. They came to the conclusion that he was making it so that his patients would need to be saved, but he slipped up. So he would move on to not be caught."
"They went to another member of their crew because he's dating a newscaster, so she has access to footage where they could try to find out what happened. They saw that he injected her with something and soon after she went into cardiac arrest," TK jumps back in. "After they got what they needed they went to both their captain and his wife since she's a police sergeant with the Los Angeles police department. Carlos worked with her before."
Carlos tells the rest "Once they were done talking, Hen went to go home and it escalated. He found out that they were asking around about him and he called her. He didn't threaten her, but enough to make her worry. He ended up kidnapping Chimney and Hen also walked into it and was drugged when she went to check on him. He stopped Chimney's heart and revived him twice."
"He was arrested, and more charges got stacked on. We got the phone call and here we are," TK summarizes.
"He might have never been caught," Andrea states with her hand over her mouth.
"But he was mi amor," Gabriel reminds her.
"And he's never getting out?" Luna asks.
"He's got a lot of charges against him in multiple states. The deaths he caused… that's going to be the hard part to prove," Carlos tells them. "The charges against the Los Angeles paramedics, there's too much proof against him. Everything else, we just have to hope the juries convict him."
"And he's being tried in multiple states?" Marisol clarifies.
"He's being tried in each state he worked in. They want to get justice for all his victims."
"Do we know for sure that… that," she can't finish her sentence.
"No, but based on what we have and what we know about the accident, initially she wasn't hurt bad. It was only after paramedics arrived that she just went downhill."
Finishing up with dinner, they pay their bills and head back to the courthouse.
Re-entering the courtroom, they took the seats that they occupied before the judge called the recess for lunch. They watch nervously as the courtroom fills back up. "Papá, will we find out today?"
"Maybe. There's a lot of factors that go into it. We might not know until tomorrow."
"We can go home when it's over?"
"Yeah. We're going home when this is all over," Carlos confirms. Nieves snuggles into his side. He wraps his arm around her, keeping her close, "You have been so strong and brave through all of this. I know your Mami would be so proud of you."
"I miss her," she whispers, tears silently running down her face.
"I know. It's okay to miss her. We all do."
"Can we see her?"
"We can visit when we get back to Austin," Carlos answers.
"Can Dad come with us?"
"If you want him to," Carlos answers, looking over to TK, he usually lets Carlos and Nieves have their own time with Esmeralda.
"I will go if you want me to, but if you change your mind when we get there, I can wait in the car," TK answers from her other side.
"I want you to come. I want you to meet my Mami."
"I would be honored to meet your Mami," TK answers softly.
Soon after they are done talking about their plans for the next couple of days, the judge comes back in causing them all to stand. Allowing them to sit, the judge starts calling on people to give the victim impact statements. With Esmeralda being his potential last victim before he moved on to Denver, impact statements for Esmeralda will be the last that are read.
As the statements are read, Carlos keeps looking between his mother, sisters, and Nieves. He keeps Nieves as his priority, one because she is a child that he is responsible for, but also because he knows that his father and brother-in-laws will take care of his mother and sisters.
After what feels like forever, it is time for the Reyeses to give their statements. As head of the family, Gabriel is first. Followed by Andrea then the girls.
Their statements are what you expect. Gabriel is stoic, but grieving the loss of his first-born child. Andrea is emotional, talking about the things she will now never get to see her daughter do. Both of his sisters talk about how they idolized Esmeralda as children, how she was a confidant, and how they could always go to her because of a sister's bond. The common marker of all the statements being that there is now forever a hole in their hearts.
Carlos is next and the last one to speak in front of everyone. Taking the stand, Carlos is sworn in. He takes a deep breath to calm himself before he speaks.
"Esmeralda was my oldest sister. She was seven years older than me, so she was like a second mom to me. She was the one who took looked after us after school until our parents got home from work, she taught all of us to swim and cheered us on in anything we did. Esmeralda was there for me through everything; from the angsty teenage years to following our father's footsteps and becoming a police officer. She was the first one that I came out to as gay, and she did what she did best. She told me that it was okay, and I was still her brother no matter what."
"When she was eighteen, she decided that Austin was too small for her and she wanted to go to a bigger city. I was eleven when she made the decision and was devastated. She promised that she would always be there for me. She would come back for all the major holidays, no matter how much traffic she'd be stuck in, phone calls once a week."
"Esmeralda was twenty-six when she got pregnant with Nieves. I was the first one that she told," he pauses. "She was afraid that she would disappoint our parents. But she was determined to do it on her own. Whenever I asked about the father, she would always tell me that they would be better off without him. When she came down to Austin to tell our parents that she was expecting, she took me out to the pond where she taught me and our sisters to swim. We talked for a long time about anything and everything. I don't know how long we were there for, but just before we were about to leave, she told me that she had an important question that she had to ask in person."
"She asked me if I would be Nieves's guardian if something were to ever happen to her. I was nineteen, just figuring out life, but she was my older sister, and nothing was ever going to happen to her," he gives a sad smile. "Until it did."
"I am so thankful for the memories I have with my sister. Getting to dance with her at her quinceañera is one of them. Like the rest of my family, it breaks my heart that I won't be able to make more. But what crushes me, is that Nieves was six and won't get to make those memories. She won't have her mom for her first crush, or when she gets her heart broken for the first time. Esmeralda won't be there for her quinceañera or for her wedding. She won't be there to meet her grandchildren in thirty years. I don't know how much she will remember of her mother as time goes on. He," Carlos looks over to Jonah. "Robbed Nieves of the only parent that she knew," he finishes his speech.
Carlos steps down from the stand, taking his place next to Nieves. Because of Nieves' age, she does not have to give her statement infant of the jury and everyone else. Instead, she will go into the Judge's chamber with Carlos as her guardian, the judge's security guard. and the stenographer.
Nieves holds onto Carlos' hand tightly as they follow the judge, security guard, and stenographer into the judge's chamber. The security guard stands by the door, and the judge takes his seat and the stenographer takes her seat. Carlos and Nieves take the two empty seats. Once everyone is settled, the judge gently encourages Nieves to start. Nieves looks to Carlos of permission. He nods, telling her, "It's okay, just tell him your thoughts about your Mami."
"I like living with my tío, and he lets me call him Papá now, but I miss my Mami," she tells the judge. "It was just Mami and me, and now she's not here. I like being close to the rest of my familia, but miss Dallas and my friends."
The judge takes his time with Nieves, letting her go at her own pace. When they are done, they all go back to their places in the courtroom. The judge takes his seat, banging his gaffe to gain control of the room. "Court is adjourned for the day. We will return tomorrow morning after deliberation for a verdict."
"A paramedic did," TK acknowledges.
"Why did he do it?" Nieves asks, unshed tears in her eyes.
Carlos sighs, "He…"
TK can see that Carlos is struggling and helps him out, "He was a paramedic for the wrong reasons. He saved someone when he was a kid and he got a lot of attention for it. He liked how it felt and when the attention went away, he wanted it back," TK explains.
"So, he killed people to get the attention he wanted?" Nieves asks confused.
"He would give them a drug that they didn't need and it would bring them really close to dying, and that's when he would jump in to 'save' them," TK explains. "He wasn't trying to kill them; he was making them really sick so they would need the help, and that's not any better."
"He would make it so they would need saving," Carlos simplifies it.
"How would that give him the attention that he wanted?" Nieves questions, not understanding how everything was connecting.
"It wouldn't," Carlos agrees.
"Then why did he do it?" Nieves whispers, hazel eyes shining.
"It gave him a feeling of adrenaline," Carlos starts. "And he wanted to keep feeling like that.
"But why would he want to feel like that?" Nieves wonders.
TK looks to Carlos, catching his eyes they have a silent conversation, and Carlos nods, giving him his permission.
"Nieves," TK pulls her attention to him. "You know that I go to my meetings because I'm an addict, right," he waits for her to show some sign that she is following him.
"But you're better," Nieves states.
TK nods, "You're right. I work really hard to be better. For you, for Papá, and for myself, but I'm always going to be an addict. And the right word to label me is recovering addict," TK explains.
"I don't get how you being an addict has to do with the paramedic that killed my mom."
Carlos steps in, "Nieves, you know how we talk about how addiction is an illness? It's just one we can't see?"
"Yeah."
"For Dad, he's addicted to the way that the drugs make him feel," Carlos explains to Nieves, with TK nodding his approval. "Jonah, the paramedic that killed your mom, he was addicted to the way that he felt when he was 'saving' people."
"So he's sick?" Like Dad?"
"He's sick, but what he was doing was hurting other people," TK explains. "My addiction, I was only hurting myself," he explains.
"Dad's addiction was only hurting himself physically, but it hurt the people who care about him to see Dad doing this to himself. What Jonah was doing was physically hurting other people," Carlos clarifies.
"And now that people know what Jonah did, he's in jail and he's going to be there for a long time," TK informs her.
"Nieves looks at TK worriedly.
"What's wrong, cariño?" Carlos questions, noticing her expression.
"Dad's addiction. People know about it. Does that mean he's going to jail too?"
"No," Carlos answers quickly. "Dad…"
TK can see Carlos struggling, "Remember when you found my bag of chips and asked me about them?" TK questions, pulling his current one, a bronze Two Years, out of his pocket.
"Yeah," Nieves answers, grabbing the chip to look at it.
"I get them to remind me why I stay sober."
"It reminds you?"
"It reminds me how hard I worked to earn it, and how I don't want to throw it away."
"Do you ever feel like…"
"Do I ever feel like I want the drugs again?"
Nieves nods.
"I think I will always have that craving, some days are just easier to get through than others."
"Why do they make you feel like that?"
TK takes a minute to think about it before answering. "I don't think there is an answer for that. But I never want you to try it to find out why. Understand?"
"Yes, Dad." She hesitates, "Does he not have an answer either?"
"I don't know Baby."
"So you're a good paramedic?"
"I am. Just like Tía Tommy and Aunt Nancy."
"They're good because they want to help people," Nieves states.
"Yeah. They want to help people. Just like Papá is a police officer and how Uncle Judd and Paul and Tío Mateo, and Grandpa are firefighters."
"And how you were a firefighter?"
"Yeah, and now I'm going to help people like Tía Tommy and Aunt Nancy."
"And Aunt Grace is 9-1-1? And Abuelito is a Texas Ranger."
"Mmm-hum. You have a whole big family whose jobs are to help people," Carlos reminds her.
"Dad?" Nieves looks back to TK across from her.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I thought you were a bad paramedic."
"It's okay, I know you were scared. And I don't blame you after we found out what happened with your mom," he reinforces as she slowly gives him a hug. TK looks over Nieves' head to Carlos, silently asking for permission.
Carlos nods, knowing what TK is thinking, and goes to grab it. Returning to them, TK and Nieves are now on the couch. He hands a box wrapped in blue wrapping paper with silver snowflakes on it to TK before sitting down next to them.
"We were going to give this to you on Christmas Eve, but I think you can open it now," TK gives it to her.
"What is it?" Nieves asks.
"Open it and find out," Carlos encourages.
Nieves rips off the paper to see a ten-inch pink and purple gradient menorah, "I get my own menorah?" She asks in shock.
TK nods, "Papá and I were talking and we decided it was okay. You've taken all the Jewish holidays in stride. You love learning about them."
"We celebrate both in this house," Carlos adds. "You respect both; you've embraced learning about Dad's culture. Dad and I thought you were ready."
"Thank you, Dad," Nieves puts the box down and hugs him.
"You're welcome, Baby," TK answers.
"Gracias Papá," she hugs Carlos.
"Does this mean we can light them together this year?" She asks, turning to face TK.
"It does," TK answers. "I already got the candles for both of us."
TK, Carlos, and Nieves meet the rest of the Reyeses and the 126 at the courthouse a month later. TK and Carlos both wearing button-downs and nice pants, and Nieves wearing a park purple dress that Andrea got her when they went out shopping.
The Reyeses and the 126 also all dressed up. "Are you ready Carlos?" Gabriel questions walking up to his only son.
"As I can be," Carlos answers nervously.
"You guys didn't have to come," TK shakes his head as he greets the 126.
"Are you kidding me?" Judd asks. "I can't think of a better way to spend a day off."
"How are you guys feeling?" Grace asks.
"Excited, nervous," TK answers, looking over to where Carlos and Nieves are with the rest of the Reyeses.
"Today is going to be fine," Grace encourages. "After the last few months, this is the best reason to be here," she nods to the courthouse.
"Yeah," TK agrees looking from Grace to Carlos and Nieves.
They stand outside for a moment talking before walking inside. Finding out what courtroom they need to be in, TK and Carlos take the lead with Nieves between the two of them. When they get to the right courtroom, they are met by the adoption lawyer. Going inside, the Reyeses take the first row with the 126 filing in behind them. Carlos, the lawyer, and Nieves take a seat at the table; when TK goes to take a seat with the rest of the Reyes, Nieves grabs his hand.
"What is it, Sweetie?"
Nieves looks between TK and the empty chair. "Stay?"
"I'm not going anywhere," TK tells her. "I'm just going to sit with your abuelitos," he reminds her.
"Stay," she repeats.
Carlos looks away from the lawyer to them, "You can sit with us," Carlos tells him.
"This is about you guys," he argues.
"You're a part of our family," Carlos reminds him.
"Somos familia," Nieves tells him.
TK is still hesitant, but after an encouraging look from Andrea, he takes the seat on the other side of Nieves.
Just as they get settled, the judge walks in causing everyone to stand up. "Please be seated," the judge tells them. "We are here today for the kinship adoption of Nieves Reyes to Carlos Reyes."
"Yes," their lawyer answers. "I have all the paperwork here," she hands it over to him.
After quickly scanning the documents over, he looks up, "Everything seems to be in order. Carlos, have you chosen a custodian in the event that you are unable to care for Nieves?"
"Yes, your Honor," he answers. "TK Strand is custodian, and if he is also unable, Judd and Grave Ryder," Carlos lists. First looking to TK and then to Judd and Grace, smiling.
"Okay, I just have a few questions before I sign off. "Carlos, would you like to adopt Nieves into your family? To treat her and be there for her, as if she were your natural-born child?"
"Yes, your Honor," Carlos answers, smiling at Nieves.
The judge then looks to TK, "TK, do you understand the responsibilities of being custodian, should the need ever arise?"
"Yes, your Honor," TK nods before looking back to Nieves.
Lastly, the judge looks to Nieves, "Nieves, do you want Carlos to be your dad?"
"He already is," Nieves responds, causing the judge to smile slightly and Carlos to gently scold her. "I mean, yes," she corrects herself.
"Then in the authority invested in me," he declares while signing the adoption certificate, "in the state of Texas, I pronounce you a family. Congratulations," he smiles.
Both the Reyes family and the 126 clap and cheer, holding back only to crowd them in the hallway once they are out of the courtroom.
They all gather back at Andrea and Gabriel's house after to celebrate. They have a sheet cake from the panadería that did the cakes for all of the girls' quinceañeras, with white icing and pink writing that says: 'Happy Adoption Day Nieves!'
TK and Carlos stand around talking to their parents, happy to see that Carlos' family and TK's work family getting along and mingling. Nieves is off playing with her cousins, looking the most carefree that they have seen her since finding out the truth.
"She's strong," Owen comments.
"That's all her mother," Carlos gives a sad smile.
"I think she's learned some of that from you too," TK tells him. "Don't underestimate yourself."
"Maybe," Carlos nods. "Should we get the kids for cake?"
Andrea nods in agreement, before going to gather everyone up and getting Luna to round up the kids. When the kids come in, Nieves makes a beeline for Carlos. "Hey, cariño. Ready for cake?"
"Sí," she nods.
"Carlitos, Nieves, pictures first," Andrea insists. Knowing that she is not one to be argued with, Carlos and Nieves stand behind the cake so Andrea can get her picture. She gets one of Carlos and Nieves, Nieves by herself, and Carlos insists that TK be in one with them, as well as pictures with the grandparents.
Once all the pictures are done, or as the children in the family call torture, Carlos starts cutting up the cake. He gives Nieves the first piece and then the rest of the kids before giving to the adults.
TK's fire family are the first to leave, after sticking around a bit longer after cake and the Reyeses stay since Andrea insisted that they all have dinner together.
Owen being TK's father is the only one from the firehouse to stick around. TK is pleased to see his father getting along with Carlos' family.
Like any family dinner at the Reyes home for something important, they are there until close to the bedtime of the younger Reyeses. Nieves is already passed out on the couch from her exciting day, so TK picks her up.
Nieves snuggles into him, "Hey, we're leaving, so you have to say goodbye to everyone," he rubs her back, trying to rouse her.
"Soy somnolienta," she mutters.
TK looks to Carlos for help, since his Spanish is still pretty basic. "She said she's sleepy."
TK puts his attention back on Nieves, "I know, but once you say goodbye to everyone, we're going home and you can sleep in the car."
Nieves gives in and lets TK put her down, she trips over her own feet in her tired state before saying goodbye to her grandparents, followed by her aunts and uncles, and lastly her cousins who are also in various stages of sleep. She saves Owen for last, unsure of what to do with him, so she just waves to him before going back to TK so he can pick her up again.
TK laughs as he does so, and he and Carlos make their rounds with goodbyes as well. When they are done, they go out to the car where once again TK has to put Nieves down because Carlos' car does not make it easy to put a sleeping child into the back seat; and TK makes sure he teases Carlos about that as they get her settled.
The drive home is quiet, not want to wake her up again until they have to.
When they get home, Carlos gives TK the keys after turning off the car so he can open the door while he gets Nieves.
Carlos gets Nieves ready for bed fairly quickly before going back to the living room with TK. "Good day?" TK asks him when he gets back.
"The best; it's going down in the top five," Carlos answers.
"What are the others?" TK wonders.
"Meeting you, the proposal, our wedding will be in there, and if we ever expand our family," Carlos answers sure of himself.
"Really?" TK asks, surprised at the first one.
"Yeah," he smiles.
"You mean all of them?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"I was a hot mess when we met," TK reminds him.
"I knew when we met because we are soulmates."
"You believe in that?" TK is surprised.
"Yeah, do you?"
"Yeah, but I didn't think you did," TK answers. "And for the record, I think were soulmates too."
Christmas Day, Nieves climbs into Carlos and TK's bed to wake them up. Haven gotten used to being responsible for a young child, and TK has gotten better about waking up when not on shift. The three of them go to the family room where TK and Carlos let Nieves open her gifts from Santa before opening their gifts to her. When she is finished, Nieves and TK give Carlos his Christmas gift from them. When they are done they all relax in their pajamas watching a Christmas movie before they have to go to Carlos's parents home for Christmas dinner.
When the movie is over, the three of them get dressed and then load into the car to see Carlos's family. "We're seeing Pop tonight?" Nieves asks TK.
He turns in his seat so he is facing her, "Yeah, he's going to come over for Hanukah when we light the menorahs."
The car ride to the Reyes family home is quick, Carlos playing Christmas music on the radio. When they arrive, Nieves bolts to find her grandparents, leaving her dads laughing at her, shaking their heads as they gather the things from the back of the car.
"Mijita, did you forget something?" They hear Andrea asking her when they walk through the door.
"No," Nieves answers confused.
"She was excited to see you Ma," Carlos answers.
"She means us," TK tells Nieves laughing.
"Sí, mijo," Andrea agrees before looking back to Nieves. "I was starting to think you drove yourself."
"You're silly, Abuelita. I can't drive."
"She's going to be driving before you know it," Gabriel joins the conversation.
"Don't remind me," Carlos groans.
"You have seven years until she gets her permit," TK reminds him.
"That's still too soon," Carlos shakes his head.
"It will be fine, Carlitos," Gabriel tells him. "If the world can handle your sisters' driving, Nieves will be a piece of cake."
"We'll ease you into it," TK jokes, kissing his cheek.
"Nieves, why don't you say hi to your tíos y primos," Andrea hints.
"Okay," Nieves responds suspiciously.
When Nieves leaves the room, Andrea turns TK towards the table where the snacks are. Sitting there is an electric menorah, like he has at the firehouse.
"You didn't have to do this," TK is both shocked and touched.
"Your family," she answers.
"It's a part of who you are and we're assuming a part of who your future kids will be," Gabriel adds.
"It will be," TK confirms.
"Speaking of," Carlos decides he should break it to his parents now. "This year we got Nieves her own menorah. She respects both religions and all holidays; she knows she's Catholic and what religion means to her family."
"Carlitos," Andrea stops him. "It's okay. We know that you raising her in a mixed-faith house could mean celebrating and being a part of TK's religion. I- we know Esmeralda would be okay with it too."
"She's on track for her First Communion," Carlos continues, still not believing his parents. "Well on track for her," he adds, having made the decision to hold off for a year, between Nieves losing her mother, not talking in the aftermath, moving and changing churches, plus the fallout of the discovery of the truth, he felt like it was in her best interest.
At sunset, TK turns on the electric menorah that Andrea and Gabriel got. They continue to celebrate, the children playing with their new games and the adults talking about what their plans are in the coming days with the other sides of their families.
At six o'clock, TK, Carlos, and Nieves are the first to leave so they can meet Owen at home and celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. "Aren't we supposed to light them before it gets dark?" Nieves asks TK in the car on the way home.
"We are, but sometimes it's not always possible," TK answers. "And I think that spending time with Papá's family is more important than being on time. We can be on time for the rest of Hanukkah," he tells her.
"Did you have fun at Abuelitos?" Carlos questions.
"Sí, Papá. It was fun and my primos weren't as bad this time."
"Maybe you're just getting used to it," Carlos tells her, glad that them being loud doesn't bother Nieves as much as it did when they first came back to Austin.
Nieves shrugs her shoulders, as they pull into the driveway. Carrying their things inside, TK is putting an empty container into the sink when he can hear Nieves yelling that his dad is here with Buttercup.
"Hey, Dad," TK greets seeing Nieves hug his father.
"Happy Hanukkah," Owen hugs him once Nieves lets go.
"Merry Christmas," TK hugs his dad back.
"Pop," I want to show you something," Nieves takes his hand and pulls him towards the kitchen.
TK goes to Carlos where they can hear from the family room, Nieves showing her grandfather her menorah. "We did good," Carlos tells him, holding him close.
"It's all on you," TK shakes his head.
"You've been a big part of her life since we met you two years ago," Carlos reminds him.
Once they are all settled the four of them gather around the kitchen table where TK recites the three prayers for the first night and then he lights the shamash candle on both of the menorahs before he and Nieves use them to light the candle for the first night. His being blue and white while Nieves are blue, purple, white, and pink. When they are done, Nieves looks at TK excitedly, and TK looks back at her with nothing but pride in his eyes.
When they are done they go to the living room, letting the candles burn, to exchange gifts. Carlos and Nieves give TK his Hanukkah gift and TK and his father exchange Christmas and Hanukkah gifts. Once they are done the four of them go back into the kitchen where they play the dreidel game and have a few latkes until it is time for Nieves to go to bed. They all talk about how they are excited about what is to come and what the future holds.
A/N: There's a couple of things I want to go over in this final A/N. First I want to touch base with some things in the story, There's probably some legal inaccuracies. Second I know that the menorah has to be lit before sunset, but with TK not really being practicing, I can see him as the person who it won't haunt him if they don't for one night. Also, I don't know if it's allowed/politically correct that they give Nieves her own menorah, but my reasoning is that the Jewish holidays are now part of her family and though not her religion, she participates in everything. Nieves is now eight and I was trying to use something to compare to that would help her understand why Jonah did what he did. They don't hide that TK is an addict from her so I don't know if that was a PC choice, but I felt like it worked for what I was trying to do. And for anyone who guessed Jonah Greenway, you were correct. It was also pointed out to me that I only made it clear on my Tumblr that this fic is based on a movie. This is based on the movie Christmas with Holly which was based off of a book.
So, after almost a year of writing this story, and seven months after it was due (it was part of an event), we have officially come to the end of "Home For the Holidays." Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I don't think they're in this fandom, but thank you to my Twitter friends who helped me with the Spanish parts. Including, but not limited to helping me with names, and making sure my translations wouldn't make Native Spanish speakers tear their hair out.
Names:
-Esmeralda- I think I just liked the name.
-Luna & Marisol- I chose these because they actually have opposite meanings.
-Nieves- This was a holiday story and it means "Snow"
-Dulce- This one was in honor of a real person. In September 2019, five-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez, went missing in a park in New Jersey, USA. To this day she is still missing.
Translations:
"Papá, tu teléfono está sonando." = "Dad your phone is ringing."
"Un ángel de la muerte?" = "An angel of death?"
"Somos familia." = "We are family."