Chapter Text
***
Maddie walked up to the 118 with dread in her stomach, this was her last chance to locate her brother Evan; she had managed to track him from the fire station where their parents had left him back in 1995 and then to the Saint Paul Foster Care System, where he had remained for two years before getting adopted in a closed adoption when he was five years old. According to the Supervisor she had spoken to, the Fire Chief who had discovered him had remained in contact while he had been in the system; but he had been unfortunately, unable to give her any information on who had adopted him. Maddie had submitted a formal request for contact but had received a denial from Evan and his new family. Her pleading with the Supervisor didn’t work, neither did the news of Daniel’s limited time; the decision was solely Evan’s choice.
“Can I help you?” questioned Chimney when he spotted the unknown female standing at the entrance of the fire station.
“Hello, I’m Maddie,” she stuck her hand out as she glanced around nervously before returning her attention to him, “I’m looking for a Robert Nash?”
“Cap’s not here at the moment,” he supplied with a hidden ease as he tried to get, he attention on him and not on the others standing nearby, “I’m Chimney,” he introduced himself, “What do you need with Cap?”
“I’d rather wait for Captain Nash,” she countered, all to aware that what her parents had done to Evan wouldn’t gain her nor Daniel any sympathy from the firefighter.
Maddie spotted the police car when it pulled up in front of the station, an officer and firefighter emerged from the vehicle and heading toward the entrance of the station.
“You must be Maddie,” Bobby called out in greeting as he and Athena came to a halt in front of his guest, “I’m Captain Nash and this is my wife Athena,” he gestured toward the police Sergeant standing next to him, “Chim said you were looking for me?” he questioned curiously.
“Yes,” she sighed in relief, now if only he knew where on earth Evan was, “you were the Fire Station Chief in Saint Louis, back in 1995?”
“That’s right,” he frowned as Athena stepped away in order to take a phone call.
“Do you remember a small boy who was left there?” she asked hesitantly, as she pulled a worn photograph of a two-year-old Evan from her front pocket.
Bobby frowned at the image of a young Buck, he flipped the photo over and noticed the name Evan printed on the back, “Evan?”
“His name,” she frowned at the questioning tone.
“He never told us his name,” Bobby revealed as he handed the photo back to her, “we didn’t know he could even speak until he had been in foster care for nearly six months.”
“Oh, god,” Maddie brought her hand up in order to cover her mouth in shocked denial, “he didn’t speak?”
“No,” Bobby sighed as he ran his hands through his hair as he remembered the frustration, he and Buck’s foster family had in trying to communicate with the young boy, “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you looking for him?”
“He’s my brother,” Maddie started as she ran her hands through her hair, “Our parents left him there after Daniel recovered from the transplant…”
Bobby interrupted her quickly, “Transplant?”
“Bone marrow,” she revealed as she pulled out another photo but of Daniel this time, “Daniel had juvenile leukemia,” she explained at his questioning gaze, “the graft worked and he entered remission.”
“So, he entered remission,” Bobby swore softly as he realized what happened next, “so they didn’t need Evan anymore?”
“My parents only had Evan in order to save Daniel,” Maddie commented off-handily not even registering how her off-handed comments would be taken by the Fire Captain, “when Daniel recovered our family was back to how it was before Daniel had gotten sick.”
“Who are you? Why are you here?” demanded a furious Athena as she stormed up to the pair with her cellphone still clutched in her hands, “and why do I have Saint Louis PD on the phone with me?”
“What?” Bobby frowned at the last question from his wife.
“My name is Maddie Buckley-Kendall,” the stunned Maddie stated as she nervously glanced toward the exit of the firehouse, “I originally started looking for Evan at the firehouse that my parents left him, and then I went to the Child Services office but I NEVER went to the police.”
“How dumb are you?” Athena countered harshly, “The supervisor from Child Services contacted the police as soon as you left his office,” she shook her head at the blank expression on Maddie’s face, “your parents ABANDONED your brother…”
Maddie cut the Sergeant off, “they left him at a fire station…”
Athena held her hand up, “Saint Louis didn’t have a Safe Haven Law in 1995 and even if they did you can only leave a baby that’s 72 hours old, NOT three-years-old!”
“But…”
“There’s an active warrant for your parents, for child abandonment,” Athena revealed as the rest of the members of the 118 emerged from the loft at the sound of her raised voice, “What are your parents names?” Athena gently lowered her voice, “and where are they currently residing?”
“But... NO,” Maddie shook her head in denial, “that’s not true, Evan is probably just getting you to say this in order to get back at us!”
“Baby, you know that’s not true,” Athena sighed as she spotted the cruiser pull into the bay.
“Sergeant?” Officer Harrison called out as he and his partner approached quietly.
“Harrison, Lopez,” Athena identified the Officers for Maddie’s benefit, “this is Maddie Kendell, she’s the daughter of the persons concerned in the warrant.”
“Ma’am, we need you to come in with us in order to answer some questions,” Lopez stated as he and his partner came to a stop in next to Athena.
“No, I NEED to find Evan,” Maddie pleaded, “Daniel doesn’t have time for this!”
“I thought that you said that Daniel was in remission,” Bobby interrupted as a growing horror dawned in his eyes, she had come to find Buck because they NEEDED him again in order to save their chosen son.
“Daniel relapsed,” Maddie revealed as she glanced around the room as she felt the weight of her parent’s choices for the first time, “he needs Evan.”
“What do you mean Daniel NEEDS Evan?” Athena demanded as she exchanged disbelieving looks with Bobby and her fellow Law Enforcement Officers.
“Daniel needs another bone marrow transplant,” Maddie explained slowly as though she couldn’t understand their inability to follow the conversation.
“So that’s why you came here,” Athena gestured around the firehouse, “you’re looking for Evan, but not as your brother but as a donor.”
“Yes!” Maddie sighed as she realized that they were finally understanding the situation, “Daniel doesn’t have that much time left, the Social Worker said that Captain Nash kept in contact when Evan first went into foster care and I was hoping he knew where he ended up.”
“Why didn’t you submit a request for contact with the agency?” questioned Bobby with a slight frown on his face.
“I did,” Maddie pulled out the crumbled response from her jacket pocket, “Evan denied my request for contact, so I’m tracking him down instead.”
“You’re refusing to honor the no contact request from your brother?” Officer Lopez said in stunned disbelief as he exchanged glances with Athena and Bobby.
“Evan is throwing a tantrum,” Maddie complained even though she had no evidence of this fact, “he needs to grow up and help his family.”
“You’re not his family,” Athena bluntly interrupted her statement, “your family lost any and all rights to Evan when you abandoned him,” Athena gestured for her fellow officers to remove their unwanted guest from the fire station, “I’ll arrange to get your vehicle to the police station,” she paused at the entrance to the vehicle bay, “Do NOT come back to the 118, Evan is not here.”
“But…”
“Baby,” Athena paused as she spotted the distress in her eyes, “Evan is not a toy you and your family can put on a shelf and take off when you want him again.”
“We…”
“Someone is having a tantrum,” Athena interjected smoothly, “and it’s not Evan.”
***