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Owen
Carlos drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, glaring at the red light that refused to change. It wasn’t the most effective method, he had to admit, but it was all he could do at the moment.
He was already running late to pick up TK on their way to visit their first round of potential wedding venues, and this stoplight wasn’t doing him any favors. Granted, it didn’t really matter what time they arrived — they hadn’t scheduled an appointment at any of the places they were going. It was more the excited nerves thrumming through Carlos’ system that pushed him to get to the fire station as soon as possible.
In the end, it didn’t matter when Carlos got there, because when he did, he quickly noticed the empty space in the corner where an ambulance should be. His shoulders drooped, and he huffed a short laugh at himself. It figured he had been stressing out over nothing.
“Carlos,” a voice called from the kitchen. Owen was smiling at him by the counter. “You here to get TK?”
“Yeah. He out on a call?”
Owen nodded. “They left awhile ago. They should be back soon. Come,” he waved him over to take a seat on one of their barstools.
Carlos walked over, smiling at Judd as the man greeted him with a pat on the back as he passed him. He could hear Nancy, Paul and Mateo yelling at each other in the living area, probably arguing over some game again. As he sat down, Owen poured him a glass of juice, and Carlos’ chest warmed when he saw it was the same flavor he usually gravitated toward whenever he visited Owen’s house. He’d never told Owen he preferred that one.
“So,” Owen said, sliding a glass toward him before pouring himself one, “you guys are looking at venues today, huh?”
“TK told you,” Carlos nodded. He’d expected as much.
“Pretty sure everyone here knows at this point,” Owen chuckled. “He couldn’t shut up about it all day.”
Carlos pressed his lips together to reel in his smile. Obviously, he knew TK was just as excited to get married as he was, but it never failed to send a thrill through him to see it in action. He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Yeah,” he said, scrolling through to find the album of venue photos he’d saved before handing the phone to Owen. “I think we’re going to start at Allan House, then head over to a vineyard we were looking at, and then maybe stop at Brodie Homestead on our way back if there’s time.”
Owen flipped through the pictures, nodding along and murmuring under his breath. Carlos tried not to laugh as he caught words like “natural light” and “ambience” slip through. These were very much the same things that TK emphasized when they were selecting their contenders.TK was very different from his dad in many ways, but when it came to their eye for design, he was definitely Owen Strand’s son. Carlos didn’t have any doubts that the spots they were considering would pass Owen’s inspection.
As expected, Owen appeared satisfied with what he saw. But there was something about his expression that nagged at Carlos — a tightness in his jaw that caused his back to straighten. Finally, when Owen finished scrolling and passed his phone back with a polite smile, Carlos broke.
“Okay, what?”
Owen blinked. “What?”
“What’s wrong?” Carlos asked. “You don’t like them?”
“I do!” Owen said, alarmed. “I really do. All of those spots are beautiful. You and TK could make an incredible wedding out of any of them.”
Carlos continued to stare at him, unconvinced. There was more Owen wasn’t saying, he could tell. After a few seconds of matching Carlos’ silence, Owen gave in with a frustrated breath.
“Fine. It's just…” Owen sighed. “None of them really seem like you two. I can’t picture you and TK actually getting married at any of them.” He leaned forward to grip Carlos’ shoulder. “You should definitely still visit them though. A lot of times these places look way different in person than they do in stills.”
Carlos nodded, staring at the counter as he processed Owen’s words. Maybe he should have been frustrated with the fire captain for injecting his personal opinions before he or TK even had the chance to see the venues in person, but then again, he had literally asked for it. And even though his criticism should have been discouraging, part of Carlos was relieved to hear it.
“To be honest with you, we’re really just doing this to make sure we don’t miss out on the perfect place,” Carlos said with a soft grin. “Odds are we’ll end up getting married at my family’s ranch anyway. It’ll save us a ton of money, and my mom will insist on it.”
“Has she offered it to you?”
“No, but she will,” Carlos said, certain. “I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten more involved yet, honestly. TK told me he would be fine with just going straight to the courthouse, but there’s no way she would ever allow that.”
Owen scoffed, shooting him an incredulous look.
“Uh, there’s no way I would ever allow that,” he said. “I’m not about to let my only child have a courthouse wedding, I hate to break it to you.”
“Nah, TK is on his own with that one,” Carlos laughed. “I mean, I’d marry him tomorrow if I could. But… there was a time when I believed I would never get to have a proper, big wedding. So now that I can…”
Carlos trailed off when he couldn’t handle the fond look Owen was giving him any longer. He’d only ever seen Owen look at TK that way before. Seeing the same look directed at him now, there were equal chances that Carlos was about to burst into tears, or explode into a million pieces.
He and Owen had always had a good working relationship, forged in a mutual respect that only grew stronger with Carlos’ evolving relationship with TK. Still, there hadn’t been many opportunities for them to actually get to know one another on an individual level. They’d only had a handful of interactions between them when TK wasn’t around. The thought that, despite this, Owen might already have love for him on a similar level to the love he had for his actual son was almost too overwhelming for Carlos to bear. He distracted himself by taking a sip of his juice.
“Well, between you, me, and your mother, I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to make this the wedding of the century,” Owen said, casually.
When Carlos looked back at him, there were still hints of the same fondness there, but his expression was more amused than anything else. Owen leaned forward on his elbows.
“So, with the venue more or less settled, let’s talk details. Have you thought about aesthetics at all?”
Carlos and Owen were still talking, both their glasses empty and drying out on the counter, when the ambulance pulled into the bay. TK approached the pair with growing bemusement as he watched his father scribble madly into a notebook while Carlos talked.
“Hey guys,” he said, half laughing. “What’s going on?”
“TK, would you prefer bouvardia or lilac as a filler flower?” Owen asked without looking up.
“I’m sorry?” TK said.
Carlos pulled him into his side once he was close enough, and TK absent-mindedly planted a kiss on the top of his head.
“We’ve just been brainstorming ideas for flower arrangements,” Carlos said, smiling up at him before shooting a soft warning look at Owen. “But we haven’t decided on anything without you.”
“Right. Absolutely,” Owen said, finally looking up with an all-too innocent expression.
TK groaned, “God, Carlos, why did you get him started with this? You’ve created a monster.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carlos said. TK rolled his eyes when he saw a matching innocent look on his fiancé’s face. “I, for one, have been having a great time.”
“Shit, there’s two of you,” he grumbled, making Carlos laugh. TK pulled him from his stool. “C’mon, we’re already running late for our tours.” He leaned over and swiped the notebook from his dad’s hands, ignoring his protests. “We’re gonna need this more than you anyway.”
Paul
“Ooh, I love this song!”
Carlos hid a smirk behind the rim of his nearly empty pint glass, watching Paul attempt to navigate his way out of the conversation he was having with a tipsy brunette that had wandered over to their table a few minutes ago. The guy truly was too polite for his own good, though Carlos supposed he had no room to talk.
For the umpteenth time that night, Carlos was grateful for the ring on his left hand. They were at their third bar of the night for Carlos’ bachelor party, and he had not been hit on a single time — his engagement ring a flashing neon sign to all men and women alike that he was proudly taken. It certainly wasn’t the main reason why he and TK both wanted rings after they got engaged, but it definitely was an unspoken perk.
Right now, that perk gave him a front row seat to the train wreck happening before him, with zero fear that any flirtation would end up shifting his way. He and Paul were the only two people at their table when the brunette showed up. Michelle, Lexi and a few other of Carlos’ friends from work were on the dance floor, while Marjan was busy buying the next round of drinks.
“Do you want to dance?” The woman asked after Paul didn’t reply to her previous comment.
Paul continued his struggle to find any words to say in response to her, and Carlos couldn’t help but feel a ping of sympathy for the woman. He knew from experience how intimidating it was to approach a complete stranger in a setting like this. And it wasn’t like she was being overly forward or gross about her advances. The worst thing he could say about her was that she was pretty oblivious to the glaring signals Paul was sending to show that he wasn’t interested, but even then, her blissful ignorance could be attributed more to the liquid courage than anything else.
“Sorry,” Paul said after a long pause. “But we’re waiting for our friend to come back with another round.”
It was a weak excuse if Carlos had ever heard one, and the woman finally seemed to catch onto this as well. She pouted cheekily, then shifted back to a grin.
“Okay,” she said, pivoting away and peeking at him over her shoulder. “Well, come find me if you change your mind.”
Paul slumped against his seat once she’d walked off, relief lining his face. Carlos huffed and set his beer down.
“So, what was wrong with that one?”
“I don’t know, man," he said, shrugging vaguely. "She just wasn’t my type.”
“Just like the last five women who’ve approached you tonight?”
Paul groaned, rolling his head back to look at the ceiling.
“Excuse you, I don’t need to have a specific reason to turn someone down. I just wasn’t feeling it.” He looked back at him with a mild glare. “Why are you so bothered by it, anyway?”
“Hey,” Carlos said, lifting his hands with a chuckle. “You’re the one who told me you wanted to find a hookup tonight.”
“And you know that’s not as easy for me as it is for most people.”
Carlos nodded. He did know that. Their friendship had been pretty much instantaneous, and over the years, Paul had gradually opened up more to him about the struggles he faced every day just for being trans. He knew as well as the rest of them that Paul found it difficult to find people he could pursue a relationship with.
However, Carlos also knew that finding casual sex partners was less of a struggle for Paul, normally. They didn’t go out clubbing as much as they used to, but he remembered a time when Paul seemingly had no problem finding someone to spend the night with.
Paul could see his thoughts wandering, and he prodded him.
“What?”
Carlos hesitated before he replied, considering if he should even suggest this.
“Or maybe,” he eventually said, “you don’t actually want a one-night stand tonight. Maybe you’ve been looking for something more meaningful.”
Paul stared at him, furrowing his brows in confusion. After a few seconds, he scoffed with a smile and downed the rest of his drink.
“I never thought I would see the day. Carlos Reyes, of all people, belittling hookups,” Paul said. “Don’t you have casual sex to thank for your relationship with TK?”
“First of all,” Carlos started, pointing at him with a smirk. “Nothing was ever casual between me and TK. I could tell you that then, and even if TK wouldn’t have admitted it at the time, I’m sure he would agree now.”
Paul smiled even as he rolled his eyes at his words, but Carlos could detect a hint of wistfulness hiding in his expression. He had been struggling not to get too sappy over TK all night long, but he reeled it in now. He had an important point to make.
“Secondly,” he continued. “I’m not belittling anything. I’m just saying that there’s been nothing terribly wrong with any of the women who’ve tried to get with you tonight, so perhaps your subconscious is trying to tell you that’s not what you want anymore. There’s nothing wrong with hookups, but there’s also nothing wrong with wanting more than that.”
Paul was quiet for a moment after he finished. Suddenly, he squinted, and Carlos leaned back in his seat.
“Where is this coming from?” He asked, suspiciously. “You know something. What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing!” Carlos defended, which only made Paul squint harder.
God, this was not the time for Detective Strickland to come out. Carlos was thankful the man was well on his way to wasted. There was no doubt in his mind that Paul would have already connected the dots had he been sober. The last thing Carlos wanted out of his bachelor party was to mediate drama between his friends, especially drama that he unwittingly instigated.
Before Paul could press him further, they were distracted by Marjan approaching with a tray packed with shot glasses and an equal mixture of beer, whiskey and water. She set it on their table with a huff.
“Sorry that took so long,” she said. “It took forever to get the bartender’s attention.”
Paul waved off her apologies, reaching over to grab a glass of whiskey and shoot half of it right away. Marjan shook her head as she handed Carlos another beer, grabbing a glass of water for herself.
“Watch it. If you puke in my car tonight, you’re walking the rest of the way home,” Marjan warned. She scanned the rest of the bar. “Where’d everyone else go?”
Carlos tilted his head toward the dance floor, and Paul added, “I think I saw Mitchell trying to lead the crowd into the Cupid Shuffle earlier.”
Marjan laughed. “Bet she had great luck with that,” she paused for a second. “You guys want to join them?”
Paul immediately nodded, wincing as he gulped down the rest of his whiskey. But Carlos leaned back in his seat.
“You guys go ahead. I’ll stay back and watch our drinks,” he said. He saw Michelle making her way toward him anyway.
Marjan took a generous drink of her water, then started toward the dancers. Paul, however, held back, and pinned him with a serious look that was undercut by the glaze over his eyes.
“I haven’t forgotten what we were talking about,” he said. “You know I’ll get you to tell me eventually.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Carlos hummed. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
If you remember, Carlos didn’t say.
“Tell him what?” Marjan asked, who had returned to their table after Paul didn’t follow her.
“Nothing,” Carlos and Paul said simultaneously.
Tommy
“Carlos, I swear, if you don’t get back to your changing room, so help me god–”
“I’ve already finished getting ready,” Carlos said, barely sparing Paul a glance as he fiddled with the lining of the tablecloth.
It was just half-an-inch off, but no matter how many times he adjusted it, it still wouldn’t balance out. He couldn’t understand it — none of the other tables had this problem.
“Okay, it was my bad letting you get dressed with an hour left before the ceremony,” Paul admitted. “But if you think I won’t intentionally mess up your hair to get you back there–”
The threat was finally enough to get Carlos to look back at him with a warning glare, stepping a foot out of his reach.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Look man,” Paul sighed. “I know it’s stressful, alright? There’s a lot going on, and I understand that it's hard for you to sit back and let other people do the work for you. But that’s your job right now. All you gotta do is to meet TK at the altar in an hour and get yourself married.”
“And I will, but in the meantime I can help out,” Carlos insisted, making Paul roll his eyes. “There’s still a lot that has to get done. The chairs haven’t been fully set up, the flowers are orange , and the lights didn’t come with the clips they were supposed to–”
“Carlos, do I have to drag you–”
“Hello boys,” a soft yet scolding voice said from a few feet away. Carlos and Paul turned with wide eyes to find Tommy standing there, hands on her hips. “Marjan told me you’d wandered off somewhere.”
He and TK definitely made the right choice designating Tommy as the point-person to oversee the setup of their wedding. She had been running around all day putting out fires, but right now she was the picture of elegance in her floor-length purple gown. That elegance was pretty intimidating, however, when it was aimed at them, especially paired with the steely look in her eyes.
Paul pointed at him. “It was his fault Tommy. I was just trying to get him back.”
Before Carlos could strangle him, Tommy smiled and said, “Paul, why don’t you head back to the house and finish getting ready. I’ve got this.”
Paul glanced between them for a moment, then lifted his hands in surrender and walked off. She turned to him next, and gestured away from the reception area.
“Carlos, walk with me.”
Her tone offered no room for argument, so with a passing glare at the offending tablecloth, Carlos followed. They walked in silence for a few minutes, edging along the trees outlining the property. In the distance, Carlos could see the stables on the opposite side of his family’s ranch. The increasing space between him and the barely controlled chaos behind him was already making it easier for him to breathe.
“So, jitters huh?” Tommy finally asked.
Carlos took a second to be grateful that his anxiety wasn’t mistaken for him getting cold feet. He’d been waiting for this day for so long, the last thing he wanted to do was back out now. But his thoughts wouldn’t stop spiraling. They had been ever since Marjan showed up to his room half an hour ago to deliver him a goddamn orange boutonniere.
“The flowers are orange, Tommy,” Carlos replied.
“Right,” she said. “They were supposed to be yellow.”
Carlos nodded at the ground. “I know it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things. But it’s just… today–”
“Has to be perfect?” Tommy guessed.
He let out a frustrated sigh, rolling his eyes at himself.
“It’s not that I don’t think you and the crew are capable,” Carlos said. “It’s just a me thing. I can’t help but think that if I’m not there to make sure everything goes smoothly, it will just crumble to pieces instead.”
Tommy nodded along, and again things fell silent. They were now closer to the stables than they were to the ceremony area. After a few minutes, Tommy smiled gently.
“You remind me a lot of Charles, you know?”
Carlos gaped at her, heart freezing in his chest. He didn’t know Tommy very well — and he had never gotten the opportunity to really know Charles — but he knew from TK that Tommy was very open about her late husband with others. She and TK had a unique bond due to their shared losses, but it was a very different thing to be compared to a lost loved one yourself. Carlos struggled to figure out what to say in response.
Luckily, Tommy didn’t let him.
“We didn’t date for very long before we got engaged, but he had a big family like yours, and they wanted the big, traditional, church wedding.” She smiled at the memory. “Charles took the reins planning the whole thing. He said he was protecting me from all the opinions on his family’s side, but honestly, he had a vision from the beginning and wanted to make sure it was executed to the letter.”
Carlos huffed out a laugh.
“Yeah, sounds familiar,” he said. “I’m guessing the day didn’t go exactly according to his vision?”
They had finally reached the stables, so they both turned back the way they came, shifting left to head toward his parent’s house.
“Not quite,” Tommy smiled. “The church’s organist came down with food poisoning and couldn’t make it. Charles was scrambling all over the place to find a replacement, and trying to fix a million other details that weren’t quite right, according to him. He got bad enough that even I noticed — my bridesmaids weren’t very good at keeping things quiet.”
Carlos smiled, feeling some secondhand sympathy at the picture she created. If their flowers being the wrong color was enough to set him off, he couldn’t even imagine how panicked he would have been if their music was messed up.
“So, what happened?”
“The best man and maid of honor organized a place for us to meet up before the ceremony without our parents knowing,” she said. “It didn’t fix any of the issues, but our friends knew I was the only person who could calm him down in that moment.”
Carlos closed his eyes at the wave of longing that hit him. He hadn’t seen TK in over 24 hours — hadn’t talked to him in almost as long. Paul had confiscated his phone after catching them texting a few hours into their separation. They had both agreed to this while they were planning, but Carlos hadn’t anticipated how difficult it would be in practice. While they often went more than 24 hours without seeing each other because of their jobs, it was a different thing being apart before their wedding. There was less than an hour to go, but the need was still an ever-present itch under his skin.
As they walked up the patio steps toward the house’s back door, Carlos turned to Tommy.
“Wait, so were you able to find a replacement organist?”
“Nope,” she said, opening the door for him. “We ended up using the church’s sound system to play a recording. It wasn’t ideal, but looking back, I don’t mind it one bit. It wouldn’t have felt right if everything had gone off without a hitch.”
Carlos chuckled, shaking his head as they wandered up the steps to the second floor.
“You’re probably right. But honestly, that doesn’t really make me feel better right now, no offense.”
“I know,” she said, grabbing his wrist to stop him in the middle of the hallway. They were standing in front of a set of double doors, and Carlos frowned at the slightly mischievous smile on Tommy’s face until he registered which room they were next to. “But this might.”
And she pushed open the doors, revealing TK standing on the other side. All the breath left Carlos’ body. He didn’t even register what TK was wearing, too caught up in the mixture of relief, anticipation, and love shining on his face. The sight of him alone was enough for Carlos to feel the tension bleeding out of his spine.
Carlos looked at Tommy, who pointed at him in what he was sure would have been a warning gesture if she didn’t also have a beaming grin on her face.
“You have ten minutes,” she said, before pushing him inside and shutting the doors behind him.
“Hi,” TK said in a whisper that carried across the room.
Carlos didn’t reply. Instead, he crossed the room in four huge steps to wrap TK in his arms. TK returned the embrace tightly, and Carlos sighed, burying his face in his neck. Any lingering tension immediately melted away as they breathed together.
“Hi,” Carlos finally replied after a few minutes.
TK pulled away just enough to look at him. His eyes were red-rimmed, and Carlos could feel the emotion swelling in his as well, but they were keeping it together for now. TK bumped his forehead against his, then looked down and shifted his hands so he could adjust Carlos’ lapels.
“You know,” he said with a smirk, fingering his boutonniere, “you look pretty good in orange.”
Marjan
Carlos was just finishing up the dishes when he heard his phone ring from the living room. Figuring it was TK calling, he placed the final bowl in their cupboard and hustled into the living room to pick up his phone. He frowned when he saw the caller ID, then answered.
“Marjan?”
“Hey Carlos,” she replied. She sounded tired, but it was the way her voice warbled that put Carlos on high alert.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. “Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m fine, calm down,” Marjan said. “There was… kind of an accident at my roller derby practice.”
Carlos’ brain instantly flashed back to the time the 126 had responded to a roller derby accident years ago. According to TK’s description, a woman had been impaled and her arm was shattered nearly to the point of losing the limb. He swallowed back the panic rising in his throat. Marjan was talking to him right now, which meant she couldn’t be hurt too badly.
“Could you come pick me up?” She asked in a resigned tone.
He wondered, briefly, why she was asking him this favor and not someone else, but he quickly set that aside.
“Sure, of course,” he said, already moving to grab his coat and keys. “Is your practice at the same place as your games?”
“Yeah,” she said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Thank you Carlos. I really owe you one.”
As he reassured her that it was the least he could do, Carlos paused at the front door. Hanging up with Marjan, he doubled back to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit that TK insisted they keep in their loft. It was bulkier than Carlos’ original kit before they moved in together, but he supposed that came in handy on days like today.
Carlos arrived at the roller derby rink a few minutes later, and entered to find Marjan sitting on a bench, an ice pack pressed to her face. No one was using the rink, but several other team members were still milling around, a few with some scrapes and bruises. A couple of them approached Marjan to check up on her, but she waved them off, giving Carlos a half smile as he approached.
“Hey,” he said, crouching down to meet her eye level. The ice pack still covered half her face. “Wanna show me the damage?”
With a heavy sigh, Marjan lowered the ice pack. Carlos kept his expression neutral even as concern swarmed him. Marjan’s lower lip was swollen and split down the middle, a nasty scrape crawling up the side of her cheek that merged into a bruise blooming underneath her eye. It would likely grow into a full-on black eye by tomorrow. There was a small cut on her eyebrow as well, and when Carlos looked down, he saw some bruising on her hands and wrists that he would bet continued underneath her sleeves.
“Well,” he said after a beat, “you were smart to ice that.”
Marjan smiled, then grimaced immediately at the pain, making Carlos wince in sympathy. He reached for the first aid kit, pulling out some antiseptic wipes.
“What happened?” He asked, gently swiping over her cuts, taking note of the ones that were still bleeding.
“I was just being stupid and wasn’t paying attention,” she shrugged. “Went down face first. This stuff happens sometimes. It’s not a sport for the fragile.”
Carlos suspected there were some things she wasn’t saying, but he trusted her enough to know there weren't any immediate threats he had to deal with. He nodded and dug into the kit to find some butterfly bandages before he inspected some of her worse cuts. The corner of Marjan’s lips lifted as Carlos applied a bandage to her eyebrow.
“I’ve gotta say, I’m kind of impressed,” she said, smirking wider when Carlos gave her a questioning look. “I thought your husband was the paramedic, not you.”
He rolled his eyes with a smile.
“He’s not the only one with basic first aid training,” he said. “They won’t let you out of the academy without it.” He paused before he said the primary thought on his mind. “But I am a little surprised that I was the person you called for help in this situation.”
Marjan’s expression tightened, and Carlos could see some of her walls come back up.
“I didn’t want Paul to worry. Nancy and Mateo are traveling this weekend, and I know TK is busy tonight, so…”
Again, he could see there was something she wasn’t telling him. He was tempted to press her on it this time, but he figured they weren’t in the right setting for that. With a sigh, he began packing up the kit.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll need stitches,” he said, “but there’s not much I can do about the bruising. Icing it should help. Do you feel like anything is broken? We can still go to the hospital.”
“It’s fine Carlos. If I needed a hospital, I would’ve gone to one already,” she said, standing up.
Carlos privately thought that he wouldn’t exactly trust her to make that judgment call on her own. Marjan, like many members of the 126, wasn’t the most responsible when she was the one that needed taking care of.
The two made their way outside and into the parking lot. As Carlos unlocked his car, he gave Marjan a curious look.
“How do you normally get to and from practice?” He asked. “You don’t drive yourself?”
Marjan was silent for a minute as she slid into the passenger seat. Finally, she said, “Paul usually drives me. We uh, we get dinner afterwards, sometimes.” When Carlos’ questioning look didn’t waver, she sighed and continued. “I texted him and told him one of my teammates was driving me home tonight.”
Carlos nodded, turning the keys in his ignition. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Carlos piped up again.
“You know, even with ice, I doubt those bruises will completely fade in time for your next shift. Your lip definitely won’t be,” he said, shooting her a quick, knowing look. “Paul is going to see them eventually.”
Marjan let out an exasperated sigh, leaning her head back against the seat.
“I get that, alright?” She said. “But at least they’ll be healed enough that he won’t freak out as bad as he would have. He always worries too much.”
"You worry about him too, Marjan.”
“I know. But this is… it’s different,” she said. Carlos remained silent, and Marjan eventually elaborated. “You remember two years ago, when the whole ‘Down with Firefox’ thing happened? Because of that, the rest of the league basically boycotted me and I felt like I had no choice but to quit.”
Carlos blinked. TK hadn’t told him that. Maybe he didn’t even know.
"The team convinced me to rejoin once things had calmed down, but Paul was super skeptical. He never told me not to go back, but I think he wanted me to say no. It’s part of the reason why he drives me now.”
“He wants to make sure you don’t go through the same thing again.”
Marjan nodded, then gestured to her face. “This will just make him worry for no reason. It really was just an accident, and he already has enough stuff to worry about without me adding to that list.”
Carlos digested this while he stared out the windshield into the darkening skies of downtown Austin. He thought it was ironic that Marjan was worrying herself silly just because she didn’t want to make Paul worry. But he knew sharing that wouldn’t help anything, and honestly, he related a lot to what Marjan was saying. Mulling it over, a memory popped into his head.
“One time, a few years ago, I was chasing a perp and he clocked me across the face before I could get him subdued. I was fine, but it left a nasty mark right by my temple.” He lifted a hand to gesture to the area, recalling the sting of it. “I avoided TK for days afterward. This was before we were living together. I came up with the dumbest excuses not to see him. I even considered getting some concealer to cover it up.”
He could see Marjan looking at him in his periphery. “I’m guessing he found out eventually?”
Carlos nodded. “Yep, and you know what? He was a lot more concerned that I tried to keep it from him than he probably would have been if I had been upfront with him about it,” he said. “He told me he would rather know when I’m hurting, even if it makes him upset, than for me to feel like I have to hide from him to prevent him from being upset.”
Marjan was silent for awhile after he finished. Finally, she said quietly, “Yeah, well you and TK have a very different relationship than me and Paul.”
Carlos chose not to reply. While Marjan may technically be right, her and Paul’s relationship was a lot more similar to his and TK’s than either of them realized. He felt Marjan’s eyes burning holes into the side of his face the longer he stayed quiet.
“Carlos,” she said warningly.
“Look, let’s switch the roles here,” he said, shifting the subject. “Imagine Paul was the one who got hurt — it doesn’t matter how. How would you feel if you found out about it days after the fact, and that the only reason you found out at all was because his injuries hadn’t healed yet?”
Marjan blew out a frustrated breath, and Carlos bit back a smile, hoping that point had finally made it home. After a few seconds of waffling, she groaned.
“Just drop me off at Paul’s place,” she demanded. When he turned to her, she rolled her eyes, a ghost of a smile on her face. “Yeah, obviously I noticed you’re taking the route that passes his building, you meddlesome ass.”
Nancy & Mateo
TK: running late babe 😔 should be there in 30 mins!
Carlos rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile as he sent a reply to TK’s text. After years of knowing him, he knew that when his husband was running late, it was always smart to add at least 15 minutes to his ETA. If they were lucky, TK would arrive 45 minutes after the time they’d set to meet up with Nancy and Mateo for brunch.
And of course, Carlos was already parked outside the restaurant, five minutes early. Fortunately for TK, he could see the place was already packed. They would probably be waiting awhile before they got a table.
With a sigh, Carlos exited his car and headed inside, firing off a quick text to Nancy and Mateo to let them know he was there. By the time he added their group to the waiting list and found a seat in the lobby, neither of them had replied, which he figured meant they were on their way. He occupied himself by milling through different apps on his phone until he heard Nancy calling his name.
“Hey!” He greeted her with a hug, then frowned when he saw she was alone. “Where’s Mateo?”
When Nancy just shrugged, Carlos’ confusion deepened. He was about to ask more when Mateo’s voice broke through the crowd, and he turned to see the man weaving his way toward them.
He also greeted Carlos with a hug, then asked, “Is TK not coming?”
“No, he’ll be here. He’s just running late,” Carlos said.
“Ah, cool, cool, cool,” Mateo said, rocking back and forth on his heels.
Carlos’ eyes shifted between the couple, noting the way they stood close together, but still didn’t make any direct contact. Both of them were smiling at him as if nothing was wrong, but there was an awkwardness that permeated the air and made the waiting area much more claustrophobic than it was just a few minutes ago.
Carlos sighed internally. He wasn’t even good at navigating his own relationship drama. He wasn’t sure how he would fare dealing with someone else’s.
Unfortunately for Carlos, the awkwardness persisted, and only increased while they waited. Both Nancy and Mateo eagerly talked to him about his week, but they actively refused to engage in conversation with each other. They wouldn’t even make eye contact, opting instead to look straight at him. After about ten minutes, it started to get a bit creepy.
Once they were seated, things got a bit better, with Nancy and Mateo seated next to each other and naturally facing Carlos across the table. The tension was still prevalent, however. At one point, Mateo completely turned around in his seat when Nancy shifted to look at him, using the excuse that he thought he had heard TK’s voice.
Eventually, Carlos couldn’t take it anymore when Nancy and Mateo finally touched for the first time, completely by accident. Their fingers brushed as they both reached for the pitcher of ice water their waitress had left them. Mateo instantly shrunk back, while Nancy sent him a glare she probably thought was subtle. It wasn’t.
“Okay,” Carlos said. “You guys wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Nancy blinked at him, and Mateo stared down at the table, neither one willing to answer his question right away. That was fine, Carlos could wait.
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked a few seconds later. “We’re having brunch.”
“Nancy, you might be a better liar than Mateo, but that doesn’t mean you’re a good liar,” Carlos deadpanned.
This time, it was Nancy who looked down at the table, while Mateo rolled his eyes to the ceiling. When it became clear that Nancy wasn’t going to reply, Mateo stepped in.
“Fine,” he said, meeting Carlos’ questioning gaze head on. “I’m pretty sure Nancy broke up with me this morning.”
Alarm bells blared in Carlos’ head. He instantly regretted asking them about it — he regretted coming to brunch that morning. Part of him wanted to sneak off a text to TK telling him to abort, to save himself, but he didn’t know how to do that without bringing himself further into the mess he had unwittingly brought to the surface.
Meanwhile, Nancy groaned, “God, you are so dramatic,” she said. “I did not break up with you. I’m just pissed at you. There’s a difference.”
Gradually, the alarms softened, and Carlos took a deep breath.
“Well,” he said, “we have mimosas on the way. Sounds like the perfect setting to hash things out.”
“There’s nothing to hash out,” Mateo said. “Nancy doesn’t like the way I do my job. I already told her I’m not changing it. I don’t see a way we can move forward from that.”
Nancy opened her mouth, a fury lighting her eyes that sent Carlos hurrying to intervene. He really, really didn’t want to witness a ‘Real Housewives’ style brunch fight in real life right now.
“Can you guys please just back up a bit?” He pleaded. “Tell me what happened, because I’m lost here.”
Nancy huffed, then said, “I assume TK told you about the call we had yesterday?”
Carlos took a second. TK responded to several calls yesterday, but if he remembered correctly, his husband had described it as a fairly slow day. There was only one call that was somewhat intense.
“The apartment complex fire?”
Nancy nodded. “There were two stories burning when we got there. Evac went smoothly, and they were getting the hoses ready when the landlord noticed there was a tenant missing — a disabled old woman who lived on the lower floor.” Nancy paused, clenching her jaw before she continued. “So, without thinking, without waiting for directions, this one hauled his ass back into the building alone to go get her. He didn’t even bring his oxygen mask.”
“I got her out, didn’t I?” Mateo asked, while Nancy just rolled her eyes. “I was just doing my job. I was the closest one to the building, I didn’t have time to grab my mask, and we both made it out fine anyway. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Nancy didn’t even look at him, instead turning her exhausted gaze to Carlos.
“And it’s been this attitude ever since,” she said.
Mateo scoffed. “Please, how would you even know what type of attitude I’ve had? You wouldn’t,” he said, before turning to Carlos. “Because this one gave me the cold shoulder the rest of the day until I picked her up this morning, and she started coming after me for being reckless.”
“Only because you were being reckless,” Nancy said.
“It’s my jo–”
“Lucky for you two,” Carlos interrupted, fully calmed down now, “I happen to know a thing or two about being with someone who attracts danger.”
It was far from Carlos’ favorite thing about his husband, but he had to admit TK hadn’t become less of a danger magnet after finishing his first will. The near-death experiences, thankfully, had taken a pause. But he still often came home with bumps and bruises, and every so often Carlos would get calls from the hospital reporting that TK had suffered a less serious injury, including a mild concussion, a sprained wrist, and — on one terrible occasion — a couple of cracked ribs.
“That’s different, Carlos,” Nancy said, making Mateo turn to her incredulously.
“How so?” He asked. “I’m pretty sure TK has landed himself in the hospital more often than I have for work stuff.”
“The difference is, TK follows protocol,” she said. “Usually, when he gets hurt, there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. TK would never run headfirst into a burning building with no backup and no oxygen.”
“Today he wouldn’t,” Carlos said. “A few years ago, I’m not so sure.”
An image of TK, stone-faced and bruised, sitting handcuffed next to his police desk after a bar fight flashed in his head. He didn’t like thinking about that night. He never liked thinking about the times TK got hurt. But it was important to remember how far they’d come, and how they got to the place they’re at now.
“You and TK have talked about this a lot?” Nancy asked.
“Constantly. Even before we were officially dating,” Carlos said. “We’ve had our fair share of fights about it.”
“But you still let him do his job though,” Mateo said.
“Sure. We both have dangerous jobs — there’s not much either of us can do about that,” he replied. Carlos continued as Mateo shot Nancy a triumphant look. “It still sucks though. I worry about him all the time, and I know he worries about me too. But us knowing that actually helps a little. TK knows that when he gets hurt, it often affects me much more than it does him. That’s enough to remind him to be careful whenever he can.”
Nancy and Mateo kept quiet as Carlos paused. There was clearly still tension between them, neither one of them willing to bend just yet.
“You guys have been together over a year, haven’t you?” Carlos asked. They both nodded. “Surely, you both have been in some dangerous situations in that time? But it wasn’t as big of an issue before, because this sounds like the first time one of you put yourself at risk unnecessarily.”
Mateo looked suitably chastened now. He looked down at the table, while Nancy watched him, clearly still angry, but with concern growing on her face. Carlos leaned forward.
“Mateo,” he said, making the man meet his eyes. “No one is telling you not to do your job, right?” He looked at Nancy, who nodded in agreement. “It sounds like she just doesn’t want you to throw yourself into danger for no good reason.”
“Is saving somebody’s life not a good enough reason?” Mateo challenged. The fight in his eyes was beginning to dim, however.
“Your life is just as important, Mateo,” Carlos said. He paused as Mateo huffed and shook his head, waiting until he met his eyes again to make his next point. “Nancy really cares about you, and it’s not just her. You have a lot of people who care about you being around. It’s important that you know that.”
Mateo swallowed harshly, visibly uncomfortable with the serious turn their conversation had taken, but he nodded, which was enough for Carlos to lean back in his seat. Concern had completely overtaken Nancy’s expression by then, and she opened her mouth to speak when a new voice interrupted them.
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” TK said, a few steps from their table. He greeted Carlos with a soft “hey baby” and a kiss to his temple, before sitting down next to him.
Once he’d settled, his brows furrowed as he took in the somber expressions on Nancy and Mateo’s faces.
“What’d I miss?” He asked slowly.
There was a long pause. Then, Nancy brightened, and took Mateo’s hand on top of the table.
“Nothing much,” she said. “We were just explaining to Mateo why waffles are the superior brunch food over pancakes.”
Mateo gaped at her in mock offense, promptly launching into his opening arguments in a debate the pair had clearly had several times before. As they argued, TK shot Carlos a questioning look. He squeezed his hand under the table in a silent reassurance that he would explain later.
Judd & Grace (and Charlie)
Carlos and Judd watched with a mixture of amusement and concern as Grace rifled through various kitchen drawers, growing more and more agitated the longer she went without finding what she was looking for.
“It’s in here somewhere,” she muttered.
“What exactly are you looking for, sweetheart?” Judd asked.
Grace hadn’t told them that yet. They were just going over Charlie’s bedtime routine when Grace had a visible lightbulb moment and launched into her search.
“The cheat sheet I made for Carlos yesterday,” she said. “It has a list of all of Charlie’s favorite songs and toys, all the numbers he can call if something goes wrong, and–”
“Babe,” Judd interrupted.
When Grace looked at him, he had moved over to their fridge, and plucked the list off the door where it had been stuck there with a magnet. Grace stared at it for a beat.
“Right,” she said, before handing the note over to Carlos. “Sorry, Carlos. My mind’s a bit jumbled tonight.”
Carlos smiled. He knew that before he even stepped foot into the Ryder house that night. Grace had told him no less than a dozen times that this would be their first full night away from Charlie. They were going out to dinner, then spending the night at a resort on the edge of town. He’d figured it would be hard for both of them to be away from their baby that long, but they were also well overdue for a break after over a year of non-stop parenting.
“It’ll be fine Grace,” Carlos said as he took the note. “I used to babysit my cousin’s kids all the time when they were younger than Charlie’s age. I can handle it.”
The child in question was napping peacefully in her playpen as they talked. At nearly two years old, she almost always slept through the night, and she’d already had her dinner. All Carlos had to do was entertain her once she woke up from her nap, put her to bed, and then change and feed her in the morning. He’d had much more daunting tasks when it came to child care before.
But Grace still seemed hesitant.
“Well, alright,” she said, scanning the counters as if she was still in search of something. “Did I tell you about–”
“You did, Gracie. You’ve covered everything he needs to know about three times over,” Judd said. He came up behind her to place his hands on her shoulders so he could gently push her toward the door. “Our boy’s got it. Now let’s get going. I’m so starving I could eat a horse.”
Carlos followed them, picking up Grace’s purse as the mother detoured through the living room so she could plant a quick kiss on Charlie’s head on the way.
“Where’re you guys going?” Carlos asked.
“Carmen’s,” Judd answered.
Carlos handed the purse to him and nodded in recognition. “Oh yeah, TK and I went there a couple months ago,” he said. “I really liked their mole — that’s not easy to get right.”
“Grace hasn’t been able to stop talking about how much she wants to try their flautas since they opened.”
“Let’s not start exaggerating babe,” Grace said as she shrugged into her coat. She turned to Carlos. “Now, don’t hesitate to call us for any reason, Carlos. Anything at all.”
“I promise,” he said. “I’ll even send you a video later tonight if that will make you feel better.”
The suggestion was enough to make Grace visibly relax, and she smiled at him gratefully. She stepped forward to give him a quick hug and peck on the cheek.
“You are an angel on earth,” she said.
“Now who’s exaggerating,” Judd said as he took her hand and opened their front door. “Thanks again, man. Call us if you need anything.”
He slowly closed the door as Grace took one last peek at her daughter on their way out. And then quiet enveloped the living room as Carlos was left alone with the baby.
With Charlie still asleep, there wasn’t much for him to do. He heated up the dinner he brought for himself, and opened his text thread with TK, keeping one eye on the playpen as he ate. Just as he was finishing up his final bites, he heard some soft snuffling that alerted him that Charlie was waking up. Scarfing down the rest of his food, he hurried to set his dish in the sink before he made his way over to the playpen. As expected, Charlie was slowly blinking her eyes open.
“Hey sweetie,” he said with a smile, gently picking her up and rocking them back and forth.
She let out a few small whimpers, and Carlos sent up a silent prayer that she wasn’t about to start tantruming when she realized both her parents were missing. Thankfully, their rocking motions and some soothing noises settled her down quickly. She smiled at Carlos, and he grinned back at her, reaching for his phone so he could snap a quick picture of them to send to TK.
As he suspected, within seconds his husband was replying with a deluge of heart emojis and cursing at him for intentionally riling him up. Carlos laughed. Just because he had a baby to entertain didn’t mean he couldn’t be entertained as well.
It wasn’t like TK had any room to complain, honestly. Every time he was around Jonah, even just through Facetime calls, the level of cuteness never failed to send Carlos’ heart into overdrive. They’d had fewer interactions with Charlie, but seeing his husband with a baby always had the same effect on him, no matter what baby it was. It was only fair he took the opportunity to get a little payback now.
Charlie truly was an unreasonably cute kid. Entertaining her proved to be entertaining enough for Carlos as well. She was at an age where just him repeating the same weird sound over and over was enough to send her into repeated hysterics. Eventually, he pulled out one of her coloring books and watched as she completely ignored the outline on each page in favor of scribbling with her three favorite crayons.
They had migrated onto her building blocks when Carlos straightened at the sound of the front door unlocking. He had just enough time to set Charlie back in her playpen before he saw Judd and Grace walk back into the house. He frowned at them.
“Did you forget something?” He asked, glancing at the clock. It had barely been half an hour since they’d left.
Grace let out an exasperated laugh and gestured at Judd. “Someone forgot to make a reservation, of all the things,” she said, while Judd shrugged. “So we decided to cut our losses and relieve you for the night.”
Before Carlos could reply, Grace had already made her way over to the playpen, and cooed a mixture of greetings and happy noises at her daughter. Charlie, in turn, reached for her mother with a giggle. Grace complied immediately, picking her up and carrying her down the hallway and out of sight.
Carlos turned a stunned look at Judd, who just shrugged again and tilted his head toward the kitchen. Carlos followed.
“I know it didn’t end up being for very long, but we still really appreciate you doing this,” he said.
“Yeah, anytime,” Carlos said, waving off a beer Judd offered him from their fridge. “You know, it’s funny. I didn’t think you needed a reservation at Carmen’s.”
He didn’t have to add that there was also a hotel booking they were missing. Judd sighed, adopting the same exasperated smile his wife had a few minutes prior.
“Don’t mention it to her, alright?” He requested. Carlos nodded. “I think she’s a bit self-conscious that she’s still so dependent about being with her. I’m happy to be the scapegoat.”
“It’s understandable,” Carlos said. “Honestly, I’m not sure I would be any better in her shoes.”
“Oh yeah?” Judd asked. Carlos stiffened at the mischievous smile growing on his face. “You and your man been talking about this lately?”
Carlos rolled his eyes, but a smile quirked his lips. He and TK had barely been married six months, but he knew this question was coming eventually. If not from Judd, it definitely would come from some of his extended family soon.
“We’re still a bit young for that,” he said. “But we have talked about it — before we got married, though. Since then, not so much.”
Judd remained silent, seeing that he had more to say. Carlos hesitated, unsure whether he should elaborate on what he was thinking. It was a lot more personal than just the general hypotheticals about future children, and it was more to do with TK than it was about him.
TK had never asked him not to talk about this with their friends or family, however, and he knew how close Judd and TK were. In all likelihood, Judd already knew what he was about to say, even if TK had never outright admitted it to him.
“I think… TK is scared to bring it up again, now that it’s a much more real option for us,” Carlos finally said. “When we talked before, he told me he was worried that the process might be more difficult for us because of his history.” He didn’t have to elaborate on that. Judd definitely knew what he was talking about. “I think he’s afraid that once we actually try, he’ll end up being right about that.”
His chest ached when he finished. He hated to even think about this, but he knew it was something they would eventually have to address. Judd stayed quiet for a moment, before he replied.
“His recovery wouldn’t disqualify you from being parents, would it?”
“It shouldn’t, but his mind sometimes takes him to the worst case scenario,” Carlos said. “In this case, that would be him being the reason we can’t have kids.”
Judd took a beat, then asked, “Would that change anything for you? If you weren’t able to have kids, would that be a dealbreaker?”
“God, no! Of course not,” Carlos said, appalled even at the thought. “I mean, I do want kids with him, but I want to be his husband way more than that.”
“You should probably tell him that,” Judd shrugged. “You’re the only one who can offer him that reassurance.”
Carlos paused. He had to believe TK already knew that, but then again, it probably wouldn’t hurt to make sure it was crystal clear. And honestly, TK likely knew a lot more about how his addiction might play a role in their options than he did, and he was overdue to get educated on it.
Grace breezed into the kitchen with Charlie clinging to her side.
“Carlos, you’re welcome to stay for dinner if you want,” she said, opening the fridge with her free hand. “We have plenty of leftovers from last night.”
“Oh, no thank you Grace. I already ate,” Carlos said, shifting over to grab his dish from the sink. “I should get going anyway. If you ever need a babysitter again, please feel free to reach out.”
He hugged Grace and Charlie on his way out, while Judd gave him a knowing smile along with a pat on the back. In his car, Carlos let out a deep breath, the weight of his previous conversation with Judd still pressing against his chest. He pulled out his phone, knowing the weight wouldn’t leave until he talked to his husband about it.
Opening their previous text thread, Carlos smiled. Maybe coming home early would make up for the picture he sent earlier.
TK
TK drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, jutting out his lower lip. In a rare moment of character growth, he was actually about 20 minutes early to his lunch appointment with his dad. Unfortunately, he doubted Owen was also here this far ahead of time.
Over the last year, the two of them had gotten much better at prioritizing time with one another. Part of that was because they made it a point to meet up, just the two of them, at least once a week. This week, Owen had stepped it up, and made a lunch reservation for them at one of TK’s favorite Italian restaurants — one that was notoriously difficult to book a table at without giving at least a few weeks’ notice.
TK frowned through the windshield as he looked at the half-empty parking lot outside. For how popular he knew this place was, he expected its parking lot to be packed at all times. He shrugged. Maybe if they weren’t super busy, he would be able to grab their table early.
He sent a text to his dad before he got out of the car.
TK: Hey, I’m here early. Gonna try and get our table.
Pocketing his phone, he made his way through the parking lot and pushed open the entrance door. TK frowned when he saw there wasn’t a hostess waiting at the front desk, nor any customers seated in the lobby. He could hear voices echoing down the hallway that led to the main dining area, which meant he hadn’t somehow mixed up the days and come when the restaurant was closed.
If there wasn’t a hostess available, hopefully one of the other employees would help him find his table. Making his way down the hall, he was just a few feet from rounding the corner when, out of all people, his dad popped out and nearly bowled him over in his haste to push him back.
“Woah, Dad what–” TK paused and softened his voice to a whisper when Owen shushed him. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
Owen shook his head. “No. I just got your text,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Figures you would choose today of all days to be early to something.”
“Hey, you’re worse than me,” TK said, miffed. “What’s going on?”
He tried to peek around the corner, huffing when his dad held him back. Instead, he squinted through the tinted screen that lined the wall blocking the dining room. He froze when he recognized the slightly distorted image of curly black hair on the other side.
Carlos was smiling at what appeared to be Tommy, based on the height and hair volume of the woman standing next to him. A shorter blur of black hair — probably Grace — stepped in front of them, and passed Carlos what had to be Charlie, who curled up against his shoulder as Grace moved toward the back of the room. TK let out a silent gasp when she passed a figure that could only be Enzo standing near one of the tables. And if Enzo was there, that meant Jonah likely was as well.
Listening closely, TK recognized Gabriel’s boisterous laugh. He seemed to be talking to Judd, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. The cacophony of voices drowned each other out, making it nearly impossible to identify the individuals behind him. But it did indicate there had to be at least a dozen people there.
Turning a startled look at his father, Owen sighed in defeat.
“Carlos booked out the place to hold a surprise party for your 30th birthday,” he said. “We’re not quite done setting it up yet. We were kind of banking on you arriving fashionably late, as usual.”
TK gaped at him. His birthday was next week. Since it landed on a weekday, he and Carlos had been planning to celebrate with a low-key movie night, then hang out with their regular 126 crew that weekend. His heart pounded as he deciphered the implications of what his dad had just told him.
“But… he booked the entire place?” He asked, while Owen just nodded. “He must’ve had to do that months in advance.”
Maybe even longer, he thought.
“Which means,” Owen started, “it would be very unfortunate if you waltzed in there ahead of schedule and ruined all that hard work.” He smiled when TK shook his head rapidly in agreement. “So, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re gonna go back to your car and wait there until I text you when we’re ready. Then you’re going to come back in and act as if you had no idea this was happening. Sound good?”
TK nodded. Walking back through the parking lot in a daze, TK’s mind reeled as he thought about all the effort Carlos must have put in to pull this all together. He always knew his husband was organized — and way more thoughtful than he probably deserved — but he’d truly reached a new level today.
As he sat in his car, TK’s chest warmed thinking back on the way Carlos was smiling at Tommy, the way he automatically cradled Charlie with no question from Grace, the way Gabriel laughed with Judd like they’d known each other for years.
Carlos had long since been adopted into the 126 family, well-before they ever got married. Most of the time, however, he interacted with the crew alongside TK, who acted as a natural connector between his two worlds. He hadn’t realized how important it was to him that Carlos was able to forge his own connections within the firehouse until he saw it for himself.
For most of TK’s memory, his entire family had consisted of a single parent, with that role shifting between several different people as he grew up. Now, his family was bigger than ever, including Carlos’ sprawling extended family, and his family at the 126. But he’d always considered the two groups as separate entities, and this was proof that they weren’t. They were slowly merging together, not just through their connection to TK, but their connection to Carlos as well.
TK’s phone buzzed. He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes as he checked his dad’s message.
Dad: All set. I’ll let Carlos know you’re coming in if you’re ready.
TK smiled, sending off a reply. He was so ready.