The first thing that TK noticed was a loud conversation happening around him. It wasn't the fighting between his mom and Enzo that he was used to though. Instead of the constant anger that colored their words, TK was hearing panic and confusion. He could relate to both of those feelings right now.

TK forced his eyes open, needing to know how bad of a situation he was in. It was never a question of whether it was bad or not, since it was always bad. But there was a big difference between a few bruises bad and not being able to walk for two days bad. TK really hoped it would be closer to the former than the latter.

He could tell he was in the station, just in a different spot than before. Now he was closer to the ambulance, instead of the fire truck. But he wasn't on the ground or even on a couch. TK was on a gurney. They were going to strap him down and send him away. He couldn't let that happen.

"No," TK murmured, twisting to one side so he could roll off. That caught everyone's attention and they were immediately swarming him, yelling out frantic questions. It was too much. "No!"

"Tyler!" his dad pleaded, reaching out to grab him. TK jerked away, fully rolling off the gurney and landing on his stomach with a thud. He crawled away as fast as he could, slotting himself into a corner and wrapping his arms around his knees. This was what he'd always done when he tried to hide from Enzo, for all the good it did. He'd gotten too big and the apartments were too small for it to work, but the habit had stuck.

"Please don't," TK whimpered, hiding his face in his arms. He'd built himself up in his mind over the past day, imagining how this meeting would go. TK would be brave and confident, getting what he needed and going on his way. Seeing his old family would just be a means to an end and it wouldn't matter. But who was TK fooling? He was still the same weak, pathetic kid who cried himself to sleep at night.

"Alright, everyone back up. Let's give him some space," a woman's voice said. It was one TK hadn't heard before. It was soothing, sort of husky and high pitched at the same time. TK still wasn't going to trust it though. "We're overwhelming him."

"Michelle," his dad choked out, sounding near tears. TK squeezed his eyes closed tighter. Whenever he made his mom cry, the punishment would be worse than ever. And Judd was a lot bigger than Enzo. TK couldn't help shuddering at the thought.

"Give me a minute with him," Michelle requested. That was exactly what Enzo would say to his mom, before the worst nights started. His mom slept in her bed, blissfully unaware, while TK had the worst nights of his life. He clung to the hope that she didn't know what was going on. If she had, it would shatter any optimism he had left in him. Because if you couldn't trust your own mother to protect you from that, there was no point in living in this world at all.

TK could feel the air displace in front of him as Michelle sat down on the floor. He wished he could move back, but he'd trapped himself in the corner like an idiot. Trying to fight his way out was a possibility, but there was no way he'd be able to get past everyone. And after so many days of barely any sleep or food, he was running on fumes.

"Hi. My name is Michelle. I'm a paramedic. Your name is Tyler?" Michelle introduced softly. He wondered if he could get away with saying no and claiming this was all a misunderstanding. Probably not, since his dad had recognized him immediately. TK wasn't sure how he felt about that. There was a big difference between seven and fifteen. What if his dad had kept tabs on him all along, but didn't care to stay in touch? "Tyler?"

"It's TK," TK mumbled, not lifting his head. What harm would it do to tell them that? He hadn't gone by Tyler in years and it felt weird hearing it now. TK was a name he'd chosen for himself, but he wasn't completely attached to it. If he had to change it after he left here to stay hidden, it wouldn't be a big deal.

"It's nice to meet you, TK. Do you think I could look you over real quick? We're kind of worried about how you're doing."

"I'm fine," TK insisted, wrapping his arms tighter around his legs. He didn't like being touched.

"Well, you did pass out a few minutes ago. And you've got a nasty bruise on your face. We just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," TK said again, a bit more firmly this time. There was no way he was consenting to an exam. If anyone thought he was willingly going to take his clothes off and let people put their hands on him without a fight, they were sorely mistaken.

"How about this? I'll tell you something about me and then you can tell me something about you?" Michelle proposed. TK didn't know anything about this woman, so he didn't know why she thought he would trust anything she said. Even her name could be a lie. "It might be a little hard to do this if you don't look at me, but I can roll with it. I've got this scar on my wrist from cooking. It's funny, I've got a steady hand in the field, but I can be a bit of a klutz in the kitchen."

Against his better judgment, TK peeked a cautious eye up to see. Michelle was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of him with her arm held out between them. She looked to be a little older than Judd and had a friendly, open face. Not the permanent scowl that he used to encounter on most people he interacted with in New York.

"There are those green eyes I've heard so much about. How'd you get that bruise around one?" Michelle asked, gesturing to the shiner that went from his eyebrow to his cheekbone. He'd been lucky enough to get away without much swelling, but the discoloration was unavoidable.

"Fight," TK mumbled, leaving it at that. He couldn't say that he'd gotten sucker punched and pinned down behind a dumpster. It was only a lucky kick to the other guy's junk that got him out of that situation without more damage.

"A combative patient gave me this," Michelle said, pulling aside the collar of her shirt a bit to show a thin scar across her shoulder. TK had been fortunate enough to get away with few visible scars over the years. Every hurt was seared into his brain, but no one had to know that. "I happened to notice you've got a bruise on your chest as well. Can you tell me what happened?" TK glanced down at himself, before looking back at Michelle. Only the tiniest edge of it was visible when his shirt shifted, but he figured she was trained to notice little things like that. It didn't necessarily mean they'd done anything to him while he was unconscious.

"Accident."

"Accident?"

"Car accident."

"Ouch. How long ago was that?" Michelle asked, wincing sympathetically. She seemed interested in his answers, unlike the adults who would see him limping into school and blandly ask if he was okay while doing ten other things. They were just ticking a box, covering their backs in case something worse happened around them. Since TK always said he was fine, they didn't have to care.

"Couple days."

"Did you get checked out at the hospital?" TK shook his head. He'd taken off before anyone had a chance to show up. If he'd been taken to the hospital, they never would've let him go. "Not ideal, but can't change the past. Are you in pain? Experiencing any shortness of breath?"

"No," TK mumbled. His chest was sore as hell, but he wasn't going to admit it. If he hadn't dropped dead from it yet, he probably wasn't going to.

"If that changes, will you tell me? I'm not going to push you, but the paramedic side of me has to try," Michelle chuckled, raising her eyebrows at him in question. TK shrugged, hoping he wouldn't be around long enough to ever have to deal with it either way. "So, Marjan said you were looking for Owen when you got here. Would you like me to get him for you? I know he and Judd are desperate to see you."

TK's mouth went dry at her suggestion. That was what he came for, but it was obvious now that he was unprepared for the meeting. He'd just been so desperate to get off the streets that the idea made sense at the time. But what had he been thinking? Who got on a bus and traveled over one thousand miles to ask strangers for money? TK would've been better off begging on the streets.

"I-I don't know," TK stammered. He didn't know anything anymore.

"How about I tell you a bit about them?" Michelle suggested. "I've worked with them both for a couple years now."

"Okay," TK agreed. Even if he didn't talk to them, he was curious. It wasn't guaranteed that Michelle would tell the truth about them, but it wouldn't hurt to listen for a bit.

"Owen is a good captain. Handpicked his whole crew when he rebuilt this station. Treats them fairly and is willing to stick his neck out for everyone he cares about. Not bad on the dance floor either," Michelle said with a grin. "Judd's a bit guarded when you first get to know him, but is the most loyal guy you'll ever meet. Absolutely glows when he's with his wife."

"Judd got married?" TK whispered, trying to wrap his head around that thought. Obviously Judd wasn't a teenager anymore, but it was still hard to come to terms with it all. Everyone had grown up and moved on.

"Grace. They're good for each other. She makes sure Judd takes care of himself, which isn't his strong suit. And he treats her like she hung the moon."

"They moved on without me, huh?" TK sniffled, rubbing his nose across his sleeve. His mom told him all the time that they were happy to have him gone and it seemed like that was true. They'd built new lives for themselves while TK's had slowly eroded away.

"Give them a chance to talk and I think you'll find that isn't the case," Michelle replied, raising an eyebrow in challenge. TK wanted to refuse, but what was the point? They had him and he didn't have any power here. Just giving him this chance to breathe had been a kindness he hadn't expected. If he kept resisting, they might get angry.

"Okay," TK agreed, clenching his jaw to keep his chin from trembling. Michelle gave him a bright smile and told him to hold tight for a minute, then got up and walked out of sight. This could be his only chance to escape, but TK's body wouldn't move. He didn't know if it was because he physically couldn't, or because he mentally needed this meeting to happen. Either way, TK was there when his old family came into view.

His dad had a hand over his mouth as he carefully approached. Judd was hovering behind him, looking more nervous than TK ever remembered when they were kids. His big brother was always the bravest person he knew, with his dad a close second. Now they were both staring at him with red rimmed eyes, looking as out of sorts as TK felt.

"Tyler. It's really you," Owen whispered, letting a tear fall from his eye without wiping it away. That may have been TK's name, but he wasn't at all the boy they knew all those years ago. He'd been gone for so long that TK could barely even remember him.

"I'm sorry for bothering you and disrupting your lives," TK said quietly, staring down at the floor in front of his feet. From what Michelle told him about them, they were living happily without him. Coming back would only bring them stress, temporary or not. "I know you probably forgot about me, but-"

"Forgot about you?" Owen gasped, staring at him incredulously. Owen reached behind his back and TK flinched, only relaxing when he saw the wallet in his hand. He slid it across the floor so it landed at TK's feet. "Open it." TK scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, before cautiously picking up the folded leather. Maybe he'd be able to sneak some of the money out without them noticing. TK opened it up, ignoring the ID and credit cards. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at until the edge of a plastic flap caught his attention. TK pulled it out of its sleeve and it unfolded.

"Oh," TK breathed out, staring down at his hands. It was them. Picture after picture of the three of them as a family, before everything went wrong. TK sitting on Judd's shoulders after a football game. Owen untwisting the straps of TK's backpack on the first day of school. TK in his little league uniform. Owen holding TK as a newborn, while Judd looked on in awe.

TK looked up at them through watery eyes. People who were glad you were gone didn't keep things like this. And the pictures were worn enough to prove that they weren't recent additions, hastily shoved in to uphold a lie. The lies had come from his mother.

"We never forgot about you for a second."