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TK stormed out of the firehouse and refused to return as his dad and the others yelled for him, “How could they?!?!” he muttered as he cut across a nearby parking lot and dunked into the nearby coffee shop.
“Can I take your order?” the barista questioned as she glanced up upon TK’s entrance into the unusually quiet store.
“Green tea,” TK responded as he paid her as he grabbed his drink and took a seat in the corner and quickly texted his location to Carlos. He only had to wait ten minutes before his boyfriend and his partner entered the café in uniform.
“TK,” Carlos sighed in relief as soon as he spotted the unusually quiet male, “what’s going on?” he questioned as he laid his cell phone face down on the table like TK had done.
“I’ve been suspended,” TK whispered as he pulled a folded piece of paper from his front pocket and slide it over to him as Danielle joined them, placing a coffee in front of her partner.
“Why?” demanded Carlos as he turned his attention to the form in front of him, “Stealing drugs?!” he turned his stunned eyes at TK, “they accused you of using?”
“Yes,” he whispered, as he started to twist the napkin he was holding, “Dad and Captain Vega wouldn’t let me talk to defend myself and refused my offer of a drug test in order to prove my innocence.”
“They can’t do that,” Danielle interrupted at that news, “when drugs go missing at a fire station, the ENTIRE unit gets tested, no choice.”
“That’s what I said!” TK replied as he glanced between the two officers, “I don’t know what else I can do, they refuse to listen to me,” not even my dad, TK thought to himself.
“Don’t worry,” Carlos grabbed his cell and punched in his dad’s contact number, “they won’t have a choice…Dad, are you busy? I need your help.”
TK was silent as he watched Ranger Reyes enter the coffee shop twenty minutes later, “Mijo,” he smiled as he spotted Carlos getting up from the table.
“Dad,” Carlos sighed in relief, “Danelle and I need to get back on patrol,” he paused as though he was unsure of how to phrase his thoughts to his father.
“Mijo, do not worry,” his father replied as he clasped Carlos’ shoulder tightly, “your boyfriend will be fine with me,” he nodded over to TK before turning his attention back to his son, “I’ll take him to your mother afterwards,” he commented, meaning the drug test that he had managed to get scheduled for TK via one of his contacts.
“Thanks dad,” Carlos glanced at the still to quiet TK as he and Danielle headed back to their patrol car.
“Let’s get started, alright TK?” Gabriel stated as he led the shocked paramedic to his vehicle.
It was nearly midnight when Carlos arrived at his parents’ house on his quest to locate his boyfriend, after he had left TK with his dad, his cell phone had blown up as he received messages and calls from the members of the 126. Ranging from Owen demanding him to force TK to return to the firehouse in order to face punishment, then to demands as to why the APD and Rangers had arrived and forced the entire crew to take drug tests and the ambulance ended up being taken off of service and transported to the APD impound lot for Crime Scene Investigators to go over in the quest for evidence.
Carlos was silent as he come into the house, and was immediately greeted by his parents sitting at the dining room table drinking coffee, “TK?”
“Asleep,” his mother responded as she gestured in the generally direction of Carlos’ childhood bedroom.
“How is he doing?”
“Still in shock,” Gabriel replied as he gestured toward the lab results from TK’s rush drug test, “he’s clean like you both stated.”
“I knew that already,” Carlos countered his father even as he picked up the lab results and read it himself, “why?”
“TK’s an easy target at the firehouse,” Gabriel stated as he took a sip of his drink, “they figured he wouldn’t fight the accusation because of his history in New York.”
“He’s not that person anymore,” Carlos countered as he glanced between his parents as though he was afraid, they wouldn’t believe either him or TK.
“We know that mijo,” Andrea interjected as she reached out in order to clasp his shaking hands in hers, “he’s a good man and he loves you and he trusted you to be able to help him discover the truth.”
“That’s right, mijo,” Gabriel placed his hands over his wife’s, as they talked about what could possible be the issue at 126.
“Carlos?” TK’s sleep filled voice called from the entryway as he appeared in the doorway, Mr and Mrs Reyes,” he greeted them with a smile before his attention was drawn back to his boyfriend.
Carlos smirked when he spotted TK wearing his old APD shirt and his dad’s Rangers sweat pants, his boyfriend was a walking advertisement for law enforcement, “Hi baby,” Carlos withdrew his hands from his parents as he walked over to TK and wrapped him in his arms, “how are you feeling?” he said softly.
“Believed,” TK replied as he glanced over toward his boyfriend’s parents, “did they tell you?”
“Yeah,” Carlos interrupted with ease, “I knew that you would pass.”
“My dad didn’t,” TK countered sadly.
“Then that’s his fault,” Andrea stated as she and her husband got up and headed toward their bedroom, “we’ll see you both at breakfast.”
“Yes, mom,” Carlos replied as he pulled TK behind him back toward his room.
“Carlos!” TK gasped out in surprise.
“Shh,” Carlos whispered, “we have to be quiet,” as he closed the door closed behind them even as he tugged TK close with his free arm, he closed the space between their lips within a heartbeat as he walked them backwards toward the waiting bed.
The following morning, TK and Carlos entered the kitchen where they were greeted by Carlos’ parents as well as some men from his father’s team, the AFD Chief, and an Attorney for the AFD, “Good morning Chief,” TK uttered in shock as he shifted behind Carlos slightly, he knew the Chief was friends with his father and he was unsure how he had taken the Rangers interfering with what should have been an internal affair within the AFD.
“Firefighter Strand,” he stated as he and the attorney gestured for him to follow them toward the living room where they would conduct an interview about the charges that had been placed against TK as well as the counter charges against the 126.
“Drama,” muttered Gabriel as he passed his son a coffee cup as he motioned for him to join the team that were reviewing the information that they had gotten from both the CSIs as well as the results from the 126s rapid drug tests.
“Judd?!” shouted TK from the living room, his raised voice caused Carlos to spin around in concern at the sound of his boyfriend’s raised voice.
“What…?” he tailed off as he glanced over at his father in concern.
“The person who set TK up is Judd Ryder,” Gabriel revealed as he handed over Judd’s drug test results to his shocked son.
“He’s TK’s friend,” Carlos sighed as he corrected himself, “He WAS TK’s friend.”
“It happens son,” Gabriel countered as they watched the completely drained firefighter in the living room listen as the results of the Rangers and AFD investigation was revealed to him. He had been set-up by a friend, someone that he had considered to be a member of his family and the rest of his family, including his own FATHER had believed the worst of him.
“He’s going to need you mijo,” Andrea stated softly, “He just lost his place in this word, and he’s going to need you in order to find his place in it again.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Carlos promised as he watched the interview wrap up and TK collapse down unto the couch in an eerily silent manner that worried Carlos, “TK?” he whispered as his parents went to talk to the Chief, attorney and his fellow Rangers.
“The Chief said that the 126 was going to be closed for the next week in order to finish the investigation in how Judd managed to get the drugs,” TK whispered as he looked up into his boyfriend’s concerned eyes, “there’s going to be a review of how dad….Captain Strand and Captain Vega handled the situation.”
“What…” are you going to do? Carlos wondered, was he going to be able to return to the 126 again or return home to where he lived with his dad?
“I don’t know,” TK glanced toward the now empty kitchen, “the Chief said that I could have some time to think about what I wanted to do,” he paused as he forced his attention back to Carlos, “Can I…”
“Of course,” Carlos countered, “you can stay with me as long as you want,” or forever, he thought to himself.
“Thank you,” he replied as Carlos sat down next to him, drawing him into his arms, “can I stay?” he forced himself to ask.
“How long do you want to stay?” Carlos wanted TK to be specific here, if he said the wrong thing here, he could destroy the both of them without meaning too.
“Forever…?” TK trailed off as he rested his head on Carlos’ shoulder.
“Forever,” Carlos promised as he heard his parents slip back into the house, “my parents are back.”
“Let’s go see what the plan is?”
“Let’s go,” Carlos’ heart felt hopeful at his and TK’s future together and knew that they could handle whatever was coming as long as they were united.
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